Skip to main content

Full text of "History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916"

See other formats 


M. 


'  PUBLIC  LIBBAR' 


3  1833  02141  9996 

Gc    977.2    St6hi 
Stoll,     John    B.,     1843-1926, 
History    of    the    Indiana 
democracy,     1816-1916 


^Thomas Jefferson  filAVANDREW Jackson  f 

f 


g,    I  Samuel  J  Tilden_ 


J  I  ThOMASA-IJENDRlCKSf 


INDIANA  COL.L.eCTiOiS 


HISTORYo^ 
^^elNDIANA 
DEMOCRACY 


1816-1916 


By  JOHN   B.   STOLL 

HISTORIAN^  ■>' 


PUBLISHED   BY 

INDIANA  DEMOCRATIC  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

INDIANAPOLIS.  INDIANA,   USA 

NINETEEN  SEVENTEEN 


COPYRIGHTED    BY 

NDIANA    DEMOCRATIC    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

INDIANAPOLIS,    INDIANA,    V    S    A 

N  I  N  E  T  E  E  N  .  S  E  V  E  N  T  E  E  N 


BOOKWALTER-BALL   PRINTING   COMPANY 

■     ENGRAVERS,    PRINTERS    AND    BINDERS 


URING  the  three  years  that  I  was  engaged  in  writing  this  book, 
the  early  history  of  Indiana  naturally  often  became  the  sub- 
ject of  conversation  in  mingling  with  educators,  legislators, 
politicians,  editors  and  men  engaged  in  professional  and  busi- 
ness pursuits.  In  all  these  talks  but  one  individual  revealed 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that  under  the  first  constitution,  in  force 
from  1816  to  1851,  the  people  of  the  commonwealth  were  per- 
mitted to  vote  for  and  elect  only  two  State  officers — Governor 
and  Lieutenant-Governor.  Other  State  officers  were  elected 
by  the  General  Assembly.    Judges  were  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

Among  all  those  with  whom  I  conversed  relative  to  these  matters,  there 
,was  not  a  single  one  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  the  first  constitution  of  In- 
diana never  was  submitted  to  popular  vote  for  adoption  or  rejection,  but 
became  the  supreme  law  of  the  State  as  drafted  by  the  constitutional  con- 
vention, whose  members  had  been  chosen  by  the  voters  of  the  territory. 

The  idea  of  a  responsible  leadership  and  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  a  rep- 
resentative government  were  far  more  strongly  intrenched  in  the  public 
mind  than  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  case  when  in  later  years  popular 
delusion  gave  emphasis  to  the  theory  that  ability  and  power  to  lead  meant 
curtailment  of  the  right  of  the  people  to  rule. 

Thoughtful  perusal  of  this  book  will  make  clear  what  sort  of  govern- 
ment the  founders  of  the  Republic  had  in  mind  when  they  established  the 
United  States  of  North  America.  A  clear  understanding  can  be  gathered 
of  the  principles  applied  in  the  formation  of  this  government  by  closely  fol- 
lowing the  historical  recital  in  the  opening  chapters.  No  one  can  intelli- 
gently peruse  the  pages  of  this  book  without  becoming  greatly  enriched  in 
information  that  will  be  found  of  incalculable  value  in  the  exercise  of  the 
prerogatives  of  citizenship  and  the  performance  of  duty  devolving  upon  an 
alert  and  patriotic  electorate. 


[Chapter  I.] 


POLITICS  IN  THE  EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE 
REPUBLIC 


PARTY  ALIGNMENTS  WERE  VARIABLE  AND  LARGELY 
SONAL— AFTER  THIRTY  YEARS  LINES  BECAME 
MORE  SHARPLY  DRAWN  AND  AR:)RE 
DISTINCTLY  DEFINED 


PER- 


N 


pMINALLY,  the  Democratic 
party,  whose  history  in  Indiana 
it  is  the  purpose  of  this  volume 
to  narrate,  is  younger  by  a 
dozen  years  than  the  State 
itself;  but  in  its  principles,  al- 
though not  in  its  name,  it 
traces  its  lineage  to  Thomas  Jefferson, 
the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  in  that  sense  is  as  old  as 
the  Nation.  The  State  of  Indiana,  and 
the  country  in  which  it  is  an  important 
commonwealth,  have  never  been  without 
a  political  party.  Wherever  the  active 
life  of  the  people  has  been  developed,  po- 
litical parties  have  always  sprung  into 
existence.  An  absence  of  political  parties 
would  be  an  indication  of  passive  indiffer- 
ence to  their  true  interests  on  the  part  of 
the  people,  or  of  tyrannical  repression  on 
the  part  of  their  rulers. 

The  freest  and  most  gifted  nations  have 
the  most  sharply  defined  political  partisan- 
ship. It  is  not  a  commendable  virtue  for 
a  citizen  to  stand  aloof  from  political 
activity,  and  it  should  be  a  shame  rather 
than  a  boast  for  any  intelligent  person  to 
declare  that  he  does  not  affiliate  with  or 
"belong"  to  a  political  party. 

Edmund  Burke  defined  a  political  party 
as  "a  body  of  men  united  in  promoting,  by 
their  joint  endeavors,  the  national  inter- 
est in  some  particular  policy  or  movement 
in  which  they  are  all  agreed."  The  very 
name  "party"  indicates  that  each  such 
body  of  men  represents  but  a  part  of  the 
citizens.  Therefore,  a  party  possesses  the 
consciousness  of  only  one  part  of  the  Na- 


tion and  has  no  right  to  attempt  to  identi- 
fy itself  with  the  whole  and  arrogate  to 
itself  all  the  virtues  and  patriotism  of  the 
people.  Convinced  that  its  principles  are 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  public,  it  may 
rightfully  combat  for  them  and  seek  to 
have  them  prevail,  but  it  has  no  right  to 
ignore  the  views  of  those  who  differ  from 
it  or  to  seek  the  utter  destruction  of  other 
parties.  In  fact,  the  experience  of  popu- 
lar governments  demonstrates  that  the 
public  interest  is  best  promoted  by  the  ex- 
istence of  two  nearly  equally  balanced  po- 
litical parties. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War,  which 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  this  Na- 
tion, there  were  but  two  parties — those 
favoring  continued  allegiance  to  Great 
Britain,  and  those  supporting  the  move- 
ment for  independence.  The  latter  called 
themselves  Patriots,  and  the  others 
Tories ;  while  the  former  designated  them- 
selves as  Loyalists  and  their  opponents  as 
Rebels.  Doubtless  both  were  sincere,  and 
high  authority  has  defined  a  patriot  revo- 
lutionist as  a  "simply  successful  rebel." 

The  Confederation  in  which  the  Colonies 
had  united  to  achieve  their  independence 
was  soon  found  inadequate  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  an  independent  Nation.  So 
a  convention  was  called  to  amend  the  Arti- 
cles of  Confederation.  At  once  two  par- 
ties appeared.  One,  including  Washing- 
ton, Hamilton,  Franklin  and  Pinckney,  be- 
lieved a  strong  central  government  neces- 
.sary.  The  other,  including  Thomas  Jeffer- 
.son,  Patrick  Henrj',  Samuel  Adams, 
George  Clinton  and  James  Monroe,  feared 


(9) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


that  the  central  government,  if  too  power- 
ful, would  infringe  upon  the  liberty  of  the 
people.  The  former  party  was  called  Fed- 
eralist, and  the  latter  Anti-Federalist. 
The  Federal  Constitution,  as  finally 
adopted,  was  a  compromise,  providing  an 
instrument  capable  of  a  double  interpreta- 
tion on  the  disputed  point,  and  the  two 
parties  continued  under  the  new  govern- 
ment. The  Federalists  gave  the  Constitu- 
tion a  broad  construction  with  large  pow- 
ers to  the  Nation,  while  the  Anti-Federal- 
ists gave  a  strict  construction,  which  made 
the  States  the  paramount  authority  except 
in  specially  defined  cases.  Alexander 
Hamilton  was  from  the  first  the  leader  of 
the  former  party,  and  Thomas  Jefferson 
was  soon  recognized  as  the  head  of  the 
latter.  Both  men  were  members  of  Presi- 
dent Washington's  cabinet.  But  the  Pres- 
ident's firm  conviction  of  the  necessity  for 
a  strong  central  government  enabled  the 
Federalists  to  control  the  policy  of  Con- 
gress during  the  first  twelve  years — the 
formative  period  of  the  new  government. 
Besides,  through  the  life  tenure  of  the 
members  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Federal- 
ist views  on  the  construction  of  the  Con- 
stitution prevailed  for  many  years  in  the 
judicial  branch  of  the  government. 

Jefl'erson's  political  sagacity  led  him 
early  to  perceive  that  an  "anti"  party 
would  not  successfully  appeal  to  the  peo- 
ple, so  he  sought  a  party  name  that  should 
stand  for  something  affirmative.  His  own 
idealism  in  connection  with  a  residence  in 
France  made  him  an  admirer  of  the  prin- 
ciples set  forth  by  the  French  in  establish- 
ing their  Republic.  Moreover,  there  pul- 
sated throughout  this  country  a  feeling  of 
grateful  sympathy  for  France  because  of 
the  assistance  she  had  rendered  us  in  our 
war  for  independence.  With  shrewd  po- 
litical wisdom  Jefferson  appropriated  this 
sympathy  by  using  the  term  which  the 
French  had  employed  and  named  his  party 
"Republican."  The  Anti-Federalists  had 
already  accused  Hamilton  of  influencing 


Washington  to  favor  a  government  mod- 
eled after  that  of  England,  which,  under 
popular  forms,  would,  they  asserted, 
actually  establish  monarchical  or,  at  best, 
aristocratic  rule.  In  fact,  in  the  political 
bitterness  of  the  times,  the  Federalists 
were  often  by  their  opponents  called  mon- 
archists. 

The  formal  beginning  of  this  Repub- 
lican party  dates  from  May  13,  1792, 
when  JeflFerson,  still  a  member  of  the 
Cabinet,  addressed  a  letter  to  President 
Washington  in  which  he  said:  "The  Re- 
publican party,  who  wish  to  preserve  the 
government  in  its  present  form,  are  fewer 
in  numbers  than  the  Monarchical  Federal- 
ists. They  are  fewer,  even  when  joined 
by  the  two  or  three,  or  half  a  dozen  Anti- 
Federalists,  who,  though  they  dare  not 
avow  it,  are  still  opposed  to  any  general 
government;  but  being  less  so  to  a  Re- 
publican than  to  a  monarchical  one,  they 
naturally  side  with  those  whom  they  think 
pursuing  the  lesser  evil." 

This  may  be  taken  as  the  platform  of 
the  Jeffersonian  Republican  party;  and 
no  political  pronouncement  was  ever  more 
adroitly  worded  to  appeal  to  all  the  dis- 
satisfied elements  of  the  people.  Its  as- 
sumption that  the  Federalists  were  pre- 
paring the  way  for  a  monarchy;  its  ap- 
parent solicitude  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Constitution,  and  its  repudiation  of 
the  views  of  the  extreme  States'  Rights 
partisan,  were  calculated  to  attract  not 
only  the  actual  opponents  of  the  adminis- 
tration, but  the  conservative  supporters 
of  the  new  form  of  government. 

Washington's  proclamation  of  neutrali- 
ty in  the  war  between  France  and  Eng- 
land brought  into  prominence  a  class  of 
active  politicians  among  the  sympathizers 
with  the  former  country.  They  assumed 
the  name  "Democrat"  and  formed  a  circle 
of  societies  patterned  after  the  Jacobin 
Clubs  of  Paris.  One  of  them,  indeed,  the 
Charleston  Society,  actually  affiliated  with 
the  Paris  Clubs.     Their  prime  instigator 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  9  1 


was  the  French  ambassador,  Genet.  These 
societies  became  quite  numerous  in  the 
central  and  southern  states.  For  a  time 
they  were  very  active  and  extremely  vin- 
dictive in  language,  branding  all  who  did 
not  agree  with  them  as  enemies  of  "the 
people."  They  humored  the  whims  and 
passions  of  the  more  ignorant  masses,  as- 
sumed eccentricities  of  dress  and  lan- 
guage, and  expressed  contempt  for  all 
constituted  authority.  With  the  natural 
instinct  of  their  class  to  be  "agin'  the  gov- 
ernment," they  sided  with  the  party  of 
Jefferson  and  called  themselves,  political- 
ly, "Democratic-Republicans,"  and  were 
particularly  vicious  in  abuse  of  Washing- 
ton. The  Federalists  were  horrified  and 
the  Republican  leaders  disgusted  with 
their  antics ;  nevertheless,  the  latter  were 
naturally  not  averse  to  receiving  the  aid 
of  their  votes. 

With  the  same  spirit  which  during  the 
Civil  War  led  the  two  political  parties  at 
the  North  to  dub  their  opponents  respect- 
ively   as    "Abolitionists"    and    "Copper- 
heads," the  Republicans  in  those  days  had 
called  the  Federalists  "Monarchists,"  and 
now  the  Federalists  retorted  by  terming 
the  Republicans  "Democrats." 
®        These  "Democratic-Republicans,"  how- 
05    ever,    were   not   the   progenitors    of   the 
^    Democratic  party  whose  illustrious  lead- 
?    ers  later  helped  to  build  the  greatness  of 
o    Indiana.    Their  societies  were  regarded  in 
M    those  days  very  much  as  is  the  I.  W.  W. 
00    organization    at    present.      A    prominent 
„    member  of  the  Jeffersonian  party,  Hon. 
Edward  Livingston,  speaking  years  after 
of  the  conditions  at  that  time,  stated  that 
gross  as  were  the  attacks  upon  Washing- 
ton,   they    came   from    Bache,    Leib   and 
Duane,  and  the  noisy  and  frequently  silly 
leaders  of  the  professed  Democrats;  and 
it  is  greatly  creditable  to  the  Republicans 
proper  that  their  opposition  to  Washing- 
ton's administration  was  legitimate,  and 
their  public  utterances  were  decorous  and 
affectionate    toward    the    President    per- 
sonally. 


Although  later  writers  have  applied  the 
names  "Democrat,"  "Republican,"  and 
"Democratic-Republican"  interchangeably 
to  the  party  of  Jefferson,  there  is 
abundant  evidence  that  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century  the  party  leaders  avoided  the 
name  assumed  by  the  imitators  of  the 
Jacobin  Clubs  of  Paris,  and  it  is  said  that 
Andrew  Jackson  in  those  early  years  de- 
nounced the  appellation  "Democrat"  as  a 
political  slander.  At  any  rate,  when  Jef- 
ferson, in  his  first  inaugural,  appealing 
for  the  support  of  the  entire  American 
people,  declared  "We  are  all  Federalists, 
we  are  all  Republicans,"  he  did  not  men- 
tion any  Democrats.  The  fact  is  that  the 
suppression  of  the  whisky  insurrection, 
which  those  societies  were  charged  with 
having  incited,  and,  a  little  later,  the 
threatened  war  with  France,  virtually 
drove  them  out  of  existence.  It  was  not 
until  the  odium  created  by  the  folly  and 
extravagancies  of  their  promoters  had 
been  forgotten  in  the  lapse  of  years,  that 
the  term  Democratic  in  its  true  sense  of 
"rule  by  the  demos" — all  the  people — was 
revived  in  its  old  glorious  Grecian  mean- 
ing and  accepted  by  a  political  party  in 
this  country.  And  that  occurred  when 
the  State  of  Indiana  was  twelve  years 
old. 

The  Federalist  party,  of  which  Alex- 
ander Hamilton  was  the  acknowledged 
leader,  had  two  objectives :  First,  to  form 
a  government  strong  enough  to  make  and 
hold  a  place  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth;  and,  secondly,  to  create  a  central 
authority  sufficiently  powerful  to  coalesce 
the  diverse  and  often  conflicting  interests 
of  the  various  states  into  one  general  wel- 
fare. In  pursuit  of  the  first  objective 
James  Madison  was  in  hearty  and  active 
accord  with  Hamilton,  and  they  worked 
together  effectively,  through  the  framing 
and  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
and  the  first  two  years  of  Washington's 
administration — the  vital  period  in  the 
organization  of  the  government.  To  Madi- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


son  was  due  very  largely  the  framing  of 
the  "Compromises  of  the  Constitution" — 
those  phrases  on  which  differing  construc- 
tions could  be  and  have  been  placed.  It 
was  as  to  the  meaning  of  these  phrases 
that  the  distinction  of  "Strict  Construc- 
tionist" and  "Broad  Constructionist" 
arose.  Jefferson,  whose  absence  from  the 
country  as  Minister  to  France  from  1785 
had  prevented  him  from  taking  part  in 
the  framing  or  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, became,  on  his  return  in  1789,  the 
leader  of  the  Strict  Constructionists,  and 
on  matters  of  internal  policy  he  was 
joined  by  Madison.  There  were,  however, 
able  and  patriotic  men  on  both  sides  of 
the  question — said  question  being  funda- 
mentally", whether  the  Federal  govern- 
ment has  only  limited,  strictly  defined 
powers,  leaving  the  States  supreme  within 
their  respective  borders,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, whether  the  primary  allegiance 
of  the  citizen  is  due  to  his  State  or  to  the 
Nation.  This  question  was  not  finally  set- 
tled until  it  was  decided  by  the  arbitra- 
ment of  arms  in  the  Civil  War. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that 
whatever  may  have  been  their  theory  as 
to  the  construction  of  the  Constitution, 
the  six  most  noted  Presidents  have  not 
hesitated  to  exercise  the  broadest  govern- 
mental and  executive  authority  when,  in 
their  judgment,  the  "general  welfare"  de- 
manded it.  Washington  did  this  in  the 
whisky  insurrection  and  in  his  proclama- 
tion of  neutrality  in  the  war  between 
France  and  England;  Jefferson  did  it  in 
the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  and  in  laying 
the  embargo;  Jackson  did  it  in  removing 
the  bank  deposits,  and  in  suppressing 
nullification;  Lincoln  did  it  in  suspending 
the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  and  in  issuing 
the  emancipation  proclamation;  Cleveland 
did  it  in  the  Chicago  strike,  and  in  his 
notice  to  England  in  the  Venezuela  mat- 
ter, and  Roosevelt  did  it  in  the  anthracite 
troubles  and  in  acquiring  the  Panama 
canal  zone. 


The  first  popular  test  between  the  Fed- 
eralist and  Republican  parties  came  in  the 
presidential  election  of  1796.  There  were 
no  formal  nominations,  but  a  general  as- 
sent that  the  Federalist  candidate  for 
President  should  be  Washington's  asso- 
ciate as  Vice-President,  John  Adams,  and 
that  the  Republican  candidate  should  be 
Thomas  Jefferson.  The  electors  at  that 
time  voted  for  two  candidates.  The  one 
having  the  highest  vote  became  President 
and  the  one  with  the  next  highest,  Vice- 
President.  As  to  their  second  choice,  the 
Republicans  were  divided  between  Aaron 
Burr  and  Samuel  Adams — Burr  receiving 
30  votes  and  Adams  15.  The  Federalists 
were  likewise  divided — Thomas  Pinckney 
of  South  Carolina  having  59,  and  Oliver 
Ellsworth  of  Connecticut,  11.  There  were 
also  a  number  of  scattering  votes,  Wash- 
ington himself  receiving  one.  Of  the  two 
chief  candidates,  Adams  received  71  votes 
and  Jefferson  68.  Thus  Adams  became 
President  and  Jefferson  Vice-President. 
A.  K.  McClure,  in  his  book,  "Our  Presi- 
dents and  How  We  Make  Them,"  says  of 
this  election:  "In  no  modern  national 
campaign  have  the  candidates  been  so  ma- 
liciously defamed  as  were  those  in  this 
contest  of  the  fathers  of  the  republic. 
Jefferson  was  denounced  as  an  unscrupu- 
lous demagogue,  and  Adams  was  de- 
nounced as  a  kingly  despot  without 
sympathy  for  the  people  and  opposed  to 
every  principle  of  popular  government." 

The  alien  and  sedition  laws  enacted  dur- 
ing Adams'  administration  were  an  ex- 
treme exercise  of  centralized  power.  They 
were  aimed  at  the  practices  of  the  Demo- 
cratic societies,  but  were  opposed  by 
Hamilton  as  uncalled  for,  unwise,  and  a 
fatal  political  blunder.  They  tended,  as 
he  foresaw,  to  make  the  Federalist  ad- 
ministration obnoxious  to  the  people. 
Washington  died  during  the  last  days  of 
the  year  1799,  and  the  campaign  of  1800 
was  a  repetition  of  that  of  four  years 
previous,  both  in  the  personality  of  the 


(12) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


candidates  and  the  virulence  of  the  oppos- 
ing sides.  This  time  each  party  voted 
unitedly  for  its  two  candidates,  giving  the 
opportunity  for  a  tie.  The  Republicans 
had  73  electoral  votes  for  Jefferson  and 
Burr,  and  the  Federalists  65  for  Adams 
and  Pinckney.  As  the  vote  was  a  tie  be- 
tween Jefferson  and  Burr,  and  as  each  had 
a  majority  of  the  electoral  college,  the 
House  of  Representatives,  under  the  Con- 
stitution, had  to  elect  one  of  the  two  as 
President,  whereupon  the  other  would  be- 
come Vice-President.  As  the  Federalists 
were  "out  of  it"  so  far  as  a  candidate  of 
their  own  was  concerned,  their  Represen- 
tatives in  Congress  either  abstained  from 
voting,  or  voted  as  personal  or  partisan 
motives  influenced  them.  The  voting  was 
by  States,  and  the  contest  continued  seven 
days.  Hamilton,  regarding  Jefferson  as 
much  the  safer  man  for  President,  cast 
his  influence  in  his  favor  and  he  finally 
received  the  votes  of  ten  States  to  four 
for  Burr  and  two  blank. 

This  action  of  Hamilton  aroused  the  un- 
dying hatred  of  Aaron  Burr,  and  was  the 
underlying  cause  of  the  challenge  to  a 
duel,  which  the  "code  of  honor"  of  that 
day  compelled  Hamilton  to  accept,  and  in 
which  he  was  killed.  Before  his  death, 
however,  Hamilton  had  warmly  sustained 
the  action  of  Jefferson  in  the  acquisition 
of  Louisiana,  although  most  of  the  Fed- 
eralists, for  partisan  reasons,  denounced 
the  purchase  as  bitterly  as  latter-day  anti- 
imperialists  have  denounced  the  acquisi- 
tion of  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines. 
Indeed,  such  is  the  course  of  politics  that 
had  Hamilton  lived  it  is  not  a  violent  pre- 
sumption that  he  and  Jefferson  would  have 
been  actively  co-operating  for  the  good 
of  the  country. 

Adams  took  his  defeat  hard.  He  packed 
his  goods  and  left  the  White  House  at 
midnight  of  March  3.  Still  time  tempers 
even  the  asperities  of  politics.  Adams 
lived  to  see  his  son  hold  important  offices 
under  Jefferson  and  his   successors,  and 


even  to  be  a  Republican  President.  There 
was,  moreover,  friendly  correspondence 
between  Jefferson  and  Adams,  and  both 
died  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1826 — the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  day  made 
memorably  glorious  by  their  mutual 
action  in  the  Continental  Congress. 

Burr  resigned  the  Vice-Presidency,  bade 
farewell  to  the  Senate  in  a  speech  that 
moved  even  his  enemies  to  tears,  em- 
barked upon  a  scheme  to  wrest  Mexico 
from  the  Spaniards  and  establish  either 
an  independent  republic  or  an  empire,  was 
tried  for  treason  on  the  charge  that  he 
intended  to  seize  part  of  Louisiana  in  the 
scheme,  and,  though  acquitted,  was  thor- 
oughly discredited,  and  died  in  poverty 
and  obscurity.* 

The  experience  at  this  election  led  to 
an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  estab- 
lishing the  present  system  of  electing  the 
President  and  Vice-President  by  separate 
votes  of  the  electors. 

In  the  administration  of  his  office  Jef- 
ferson practiced  the  democratic  simplicity 
of  manners  which  he  professed.  He 
avoided  all  pomp  and  ceremony.  The 
stories  of  his  hitching  his  horse  to  the 
fence  on  the  occasion  of  his  inauguration, 
and  of  his  receiving  foreign  ministers  in 
dressing-gown  and  slippers,  are  probably 
as  mythical  as  the  tale  of  Washington  and 
the  cherry  tree,  or  of  Jackson's  smoking 

*The  retirement  of  Aaron  Burr  from  the  Vice- 
Presidency  before  the  expiration  of  his  term  has 
been  variously  treated  by  historians.  Some  have 
entirely  ignored  it,  and  some  have  called  it  "resig- 
nation." Parton  says  he  "took  leave  of  the  Sen- 
ate," and  gives  a  dramatic  account  of  the  scene 
when  the  Senators,  moved  to  tears  by  Burr's  elo- 
quence, unanimously  adopted  resolutions  extolling 
his  fairness  as  presiding  officer,  and  proceeded  to 
elect  one  of  their  number  as  president  pro-tem  to 
succeed  him.  The  event  occurred  during  execu- 
tive session  March  2,  1805.  Burr's  motive  can 
only  be  surmised.  He  himself  quietly  attributed 
it  to  "indisposition,"  which  might  refer  to  physical 
illness  and  might  mean  that  he  was  "indisposed" 
to  participation  in  the  installation  of  his  hated 
enemy,  George  Clinton,  the  vice-president  elect. 
Possibly  he  desired  the  spectacular  effect  actually 
produced.  But,  whatever  his  motive,  or  by  what- 
ever name  the  act  be  designated,  Aaron  Burr  abso- 
lutely relinquished  the  Vice-Presidency  two  days 
before  his  term  of  office  expired. 


(18) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


a  corn-cob  pipe  while  transacting  business 
with  representatives  of  other  nations. 
But,  instead  of  delivering  his  inaugural 
address  in  person,  as  Washington  and 
Adams  had  done,  after  the  manner  of  the 
King  of  England  to  Parliament,  he  sent  in 
a  written  message  to  be  read  by  the  clerk, 
thus  establishing  a  precedent  that  was  fol- 
lowed by  all  of  his  successors  until  the 
time  of  Woodrow  Wilson,  who  returned 
to  the  practice  of  Washington. 

For  the  elections  of  1804,  formal  nomi- 
nations were  for  the  first  time  made.  The 
Republican  members  of  Congress  met  in 
caucus  and  renominated  Jefferson  for 
President,  at  the  same  time  nominating 
George  Clinton  of  New  York  for  Vice- 
President.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
Congressional  caucus  nominations  which 
continued  until  the  time  of  Jackson.  It 
was,  however,  but  the  nationalizing  of  a 
practice  that  had  grown  up  in  several 
States,  by  which  the  members  of  the 
Legislatures  in  their  respective  party  cau- 
cuses had  named  candidates  for  State 
offices  and  Congressmen,  and  sometimes 
indicated  the  choice  of  the  State  for  Presi- 
dent. The  Federalists  made  no  open  nomi- 
nations, but  their  leaders  united  on 
Charles  C.  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina  for 
President  and  Rufus  King  of  New  York 
for  Vice-President.  The  election  showed 
the  complete  collapse  of  the  Federalist 
party.  Jefferson  and  Clinton  had  162 
electoral  votes,  while  Pinckney  and  King 
had  but  14. 

The  early  custom  had  been  for  the  Vice- 
President  to  follow  as  President.  Adams 
had  been  Vice-President  under  Washing- 
ton, and  Jefferson  under  Adams.  But  as 
Jefferson's  second  term  approached  its 
close  there  were  indications  that  he  pre- 
ferred his  Secretary  of  State,  James  Madi- 
son, for  his  successor.  There  was  some 
demurring  in  Virginia  where  the  friends 
of  James  Monroe,  feeling  that  he  had  not 
been  treated  fairly,  urged  him  for  the 
presidency.      The    Congressional    caucus, 


however,  was  controlled  by  the  friends  of 
Madison,  and  nominated  him  for  Presi- 
dent, re-nominating  George  Clinton  for 
Vice-President.  There  was  considerable 
ill  feeling,  especially  in  Virginia,  where 
the  "Quids,"  led  by  John  Randolph  of 
Roanoke,  for  a  time  threatened  a  serious 
defection.  The  trouble,  however,  was  al- 
layed by  the  influence  of  Jefferson,  who 
arranged  that  Monroe  should  enter  the 
Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State,  and  thus 
be  in  line  as  Madison's  successor,  accord- 
ing to  the  new  order  of  promotion.  The 
Federalists  again  informally  accepted 
Pinckney  and  King  as  candidates  without 
nomination,  and  made  a  desperate  rally 
to  regain  power.  The  result  was  a  slight 
gain,  as  they  had  47  electoral  votes  to  122 
for  Madison. 

Like  some  other  Presidents  since,  who 
have  been  chosen  in  deference  to  the 
wishes  of  their  predecessors,  Madison  did 
not  measure  up  to  the  expectations  of  his 
friends.  He  was  greater  in  constructive 
than  in  executive  ability.  Constitutionally 
a  man  of  peace,  he  was  confronted  by  con- 
ditions of  war,  and  his  administration 
seemed  on  the  point  of  failure  when  a 
number  of  the  younger  element  in  Con- 
gress, led  by  Henry  Clay,  John  C.  Cal- 
houn, William  H.  Crawford  and  Felix 
Grundy,  forced  him  into  a  more  active 
policy,  including  a  declaration  of  war 
against  England — a  war,  however,  for 
which  the  country  was  absolutely  unpre- 
pared, and  in  which  it  was  saved  from 
utter  disgrace  only  by  the  heroism  of  its 
improvised  navy,  and  the  brilliant  vic- 
tory of  the  volunteers  under  Andrew  Jack- 
son at  New  Orleans. 

Madison  was,  however,  re-nominated  in 
1812  by  the  Congressional  caucus,  though 
the  discontent  in  his  own  party  was  so 
great  that  fifty  members  absented  them- 
selves. George  Clinton,  after  serving 
nearly  eight  years  as  Vice-President,  had 
died  in  office  and  been  buried  at  Wash- 
ington, whence  his  remains  were  removed 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  9  1 


to  New  York  one  hundred  years  later.  So 
the  caucus  nominated  John  Langdon  of 
New  Hampshire,  the  first  president  pro 
tem.  of  the  Senate,  for  Vice-President,  but 
he  declined  and  a  second  caucus  named 
Elbridge  Gerry  of  "gerrymandering" 
fame  in  Massachusetts. 

The  re-nomination  of  Madison  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  first  "bolt"  in  our  national 
politics.  The  Republican  members  of  the 
New  York  Legislature  nominated  their 
party  leader  in  the  State,  DeWitt  Clinton, 
as  an  opposition  candidate.  The  Federal- 
ists made  no  nomination  for  President, 
but  at  a  conference  the  leaders  agreed  to 
support  Clinton  and  named  Jared  Inger- 
soU  of  Pennsylvania    for    Vice-President. 

Thus  the  Republican  party  was  divided, 
with  the  Federalists  generally  supporting 
Clinton.  But  the  war  he  had  been  so 
averse  to  waging  rallied  to  support  Madi- 
son and  he  was  elected  by  a  vote  of  122  to 
89.  DeWitt  Clinton  afterward  took  part 
in  the  organization  of  the  Whig  party,  and 
as  Governor  of  New  York  State  achieved 
a  national  reputation  and  wonderfully 
aided  the  development  of  his  own  State 
and  of  the  great  West  by  the  construction 
of  the  Erie  Canal. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  regard  to  the 
"war  of  1812"  that  owing  to  the  slowness 
of  communication  in  those  days,  some  of 
the  events  of  the  greatest  political  impor- 
tance connected  with  it  actually  took 
place  after  the  treaty  of  peace  had  been 
signed.  The  signatures  were  affixed  De- 
cember 24,  1814.  The  Hartford  Conven- 
tion was  then  in  session,  and  early  in 
January  passed  the  resolutions  denounc- 
ing the  war,  which  sealed  the  fate  of  the 
Federalists.  Under  a  proclamation  of 
President  Madison,  January  12  was  ob- 
served as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  for 
peace,  and  more  than  all,  on  January  8, 
General  Jackson,  with  7,000  volunteers, 
defeated  10,000  British  veterans,  and  won 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  which  victory 
made  him  President  later  on. 


While  the  two  elections  of  James  Mon- 
roe have,  because  of  the  lack  of  opposi- 
tion, been  termed  the  "era  of  good  feel- 
ing," his  path  to  the  first  nomination  was 
by  no  means  easy.  He  was  not  personal- 
ly popular.  William  H.  Crawford,  a  Sena- 
tor from  Georgia,  was  an  aggressive 
candidate,  and  the  Congre.ssional  caucus 
for  nominating  was  already  so  unpopular 
that  only  58  of  the  141  Republican  mem- 
bers attended  on  the  first  call.  The  in- 
fluence of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  how- 
ever, brought  118  to  a  second  meeting, 
and  Monroe,  through  the  same  influence, 
obtained  eleven  majority  over  Crawford. 
Daniel  D.  Tompkins  of  New  York  was 
named  for  Vice-President. 

For  a  time  the  discontent  seemed  omi- 
nous. Public  meetings  were  held  in  various 
parts  of  the  country  denouncing  "King 
Caucus  that  seeks  to  control  the  people  in 
the  selection  of  their  highest  oflScers."  At 
several  of  these  meetings  bitter  addresses 
were  made  by  Roger  B.  Taney,  afterward 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Had 
there  been  a  strong  opposition  party, 
Monroe  might  have  been  defeated ;  but  the 
Federalists  were  so  utterly  discredited  by 
the  part  some  of  their  leaders  had  taken 
at  the  Hartford  Convention  that  their 
open  assistance  would  have  been  an  in- 
jury to  any  candidate.  The  result  was 
that  no  nomination  was  made  against 
Monroe,  and  no  national  contest  waged. 
The  presidential  electors  of  Connecticut, 
Delaware  and  Massachusetts,  34  in  all, 
cast  their  votes  for  Rufus  King  of  New 
York  and  Monroe  received  the  remaining 
183 — of  which  Indiana  furnished  three. 

This  State  had  adopted  a  Constitution 
in  June,  1816,  and  the  Legislature  had 
chosen  presidential  electors  later  on;  but 
it  was  not  admitted  into  the  Union  until 
December  17.  At  first  an  animated  dis- 
cussion was  held  as  to  whether  the  votes 
should  be  counted,  and  the  two  houses  of 
Congress  separated  to  enable  the  House 
of  Representatives  to  settle  the  question 


(IB) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  6 


of  eligibility.  No  action  was  taken,  how- 
ever, but  when  the  two  houses  again  met 
the  result  was  announced,  including  the 
vote  of  Indiana,  which  thus  cast  her  first 
presidential  vote  for  a  Jeffersonian  Re- 
publican candidate. 

Madison  retired  to  his  farm  in  Virginia 
and  interested  himself  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  took  no  active  part  in  politics, 
but  when  the  South  Carolina  nullifiers 
were  quoting  his  Kentucky  and  Virginia 
resolutions  of  1798  in  justification  of  their 
nullification  and  secession  doctrines,  he 
wrote  several  powerful  letters  to  demon- 
strate the  fallacy  of  their  reasoning.  He 
died  six  days  before  the  Fourth  of  July, 
1836. 

Monroe  made  John  Quincy  Adams  his 
Secretary  of  State.  During  his  adminis- 
tration of  eight  years,  two  moderately 
protective  tariffs  were  passed,  Florida 
was  annexed,  the  first  slavery  conflict  was 
adjusted  by  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
and  the  famous  "Monroe  Doctrine"  in  re- 
gard to  European  interference  with 
America  was  promulgated.  It  was  a 
period  of  recovery  from  war  and  of  gen- 
eral growth  and  prosperity.  Naturally 
cautious  and  conservative,  Monroe  had 
aroused  no  personal  antagonisms  during 
his  first  term.  A  general  assent  to  the 
principle  of  two  terms  shut  out  ambitious 
competitors  in  his  own  party,  and  the 
utter  disintegration  of  the  Federalists  had 
destroyed  outside  opposition.  The  regu- 
lar congressional  caucus  was  called  in 
1820,  but  so  few  attended  it  that  no  nomi- 
nation was  made,  and  Monroe  repeated 
the  experience  of  Washington  in  securing 
a  unanimous  electoral  vote — with  the  ex- 
ception of  one — without  either  nomina- 
tion or  election  contest.  Tompkins  was 
re-elected  Vice-President. 

In  this  election,  following  the  Indiana 
precedent,  the  electoral  vote  of  Missouri 
was  counted,  the  State  having  adopted  its 
constitution,  though  not  having  been  ad- 
mitted into  the  Union. 


Unlike  some  modern  statesmen,  Monroe 
had  served  his  country  so  unselfishly  that 
he  had  absorbed  his  private  fortune,  and 
he  left  the  oflSce  of  the  presidency  without 
means  of  support.  For  a  time  he  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  in  Virginia,  and 
then  found  a  home  with  his  son-in-law  in 
New  York,  where  he  died  July  4,  1831.  He 
was  buried  without  ostentation,  and  his 
grave  was  left  unmarked  until  a  few  years 
ago. 

The  presidential  campaign  of  1824  was 
a  personal  rather  than  a  political  contest. 
All  the  candidates  were  members  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  there  Avas  no 
declaration  of  principles,  as  it  was  as- 
sumed that  any  of  them  would  carry  out 
the  policy  of  previous  administrations. 
While  many  candidates  were  discussed, 
only  six  were  favorably  presented.  They 
were  named  by  mass  meetings  and  State 
Legislatures,  and  one,  William  H.  Craw- 
ford, by  the  discredited  Congressional 
caucus.  Of  the  six,  DeWitt  Clinton  of 
New  York,  who  had  run  against  Monroe 
in  1816,  withdrew,  and  John  C.  Calhoun 
was  transferred  to  the  list  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent. The  four  that  remained  through  the 
campaign  were  John  Quincy  Adams,  Sec- 
retary of  State;  William  H.  Crawford, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  Henry  Clay, 
who  had  been  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  Andrew  Jackson, 
who  had  been  United  States  Representa- 
tive and  Senator,  and  Supreme  Court 
Judge  in  his  State,  but  who,  above  all,  was 
"the  Hero  of  New  Orleans." 

The  contest  did  not  develop  any  great 
bitterness,  and  resulted  in  no  choice  for 
President,  though  Calhoun  was  almost 
unanimously  elected  Vice-President.  The 
electoral  vote  stood :  Jackson,  99 ;  Adams, 
84 ;  Crawford,  41 ;  Clay,  37.  The  election 
accordingly  went  to  the  House,  as  between 
the  three  highest  candidates.  There  the 
friends  of  Clay  helped  to  elect  Adams. 
Clay  was  made  Secretary  of  State,  and 
the  Jackson  men  charged  that  there  had 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


been  a  "deal"  in  connection  with  the  elec- 
tion. The  charge  was  denied  and  is  not 
now  believed  to  have  been  well  founded. 
But  the  bitterness  aroused  made  a  lasting 
break  between  Jackson  and  Clay,  though 
both  still  belonged  to  the  same  political 
party.  In  this  election  the  vote  of  Indiana 
both  in  the  Electoral  College  and  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  was  cast  for  the 
idolized  hero  of  New  Orleans,  Andrew 
Jackson. 

The  administration  of  John  Quincy 
Adams  conformed  to  the  highest  type  of 
statesmanship.  He  treated  the  office  as  a 
public  trust  and  not  as  either  a  personal 
or  party  perquisite.  He  made  only  two 
dismissals  from  office,  and  both  for  good 
cause.  He  favored  internal  improvements 
more  than  did  his  predecessors,  but  that 
was  because  the  opening  and  developing 
of  the  West  had  created  greater  need  for 
them.  In  fact,  Jackson,  when  in  Con- 
gress, by  his  votes  sustained  measures  the 
same  in  principle.  It  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  John  Quincy  Adams  was  not 
a  Federalist,  but  a  consistent  and  earnest 
supporter  of  Jefferson  and  his  policies. 
Soon  after  his  retirement  from  the  Presi- 
dency he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, where  he  continued  to  serve 
his  country  until  his  death  in  1848.  He 
literally  died  in  service,  having  been 
stricken  with  apoplexy  at  his  seat  in  the 
House. 

The  presidential  campaign  of  1828  be- 
gan almost  as  soon  as  Adams  had  been 
inaugurated,  when  the  Legislature  of  Ten- 
nessee presented  the  name  of  Jackson  as 
his  successor.  Criticisms  of  Adams'  ad- 
ministration revived  much  of  the  asperi- 
ties and  resentments  of  the  old  Republican 
and  Federalist  campaigns.  Mass  meet- 
ings and  resolutions  of  Legislatures  fol- 
lowed one  another  in  rapid  succession,  on 
the  one  hand  urging  the  election  of  Jack- 
son and  on  the  other  recommending  the 
re-election  of  Adams. 


The  campaign  soon  developed  into  a 
contest  between  the  old  party  leaders  who 
had  managed  affairs,  chosen  the  candi- 
dates and  held  the  offices,  and  a  newer, 
more  uncouth,  but  more  vigorous  element 
that  had  been  developed  with  the  growing 
country. 

The  name  Republican  was  still  retained 
by  all,  but  with  qualifying  adjectives.  The 
supporters  of  Adams  called  themselves 
National  Republicans,  while  many  of  those 
of  Jackson,  probably  having  never  heard 
of  the  obnoxious  societies  thirty  or  forty 
years  before,  took  the  name  "Democratic- 
Republican."  There  were,  however,  no 
national  conventions,  no  platforms  of 
principles,  no  declarations  of  policy.  The 
contest,  like  that  of  1824,  was  personal, 
and  the  more  common  designations  were 
"Adams  men,"  or  "Jackson  men."  The 
Jackson  men  won  by  an  electoral  vote  of 
178  to  83,  and  Calhoun  was  elected  Vice- 
President  on  the  same  ticket.  Indiana  had 
cast  her  vote  for  Jackson  and  Calhoun. 

Verification  of  the  statement  that  po- 
litical alignments  during  that  period  were 
more  personal  than  partisan  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  Indiana  gave  a  majority  for 
Jackson  in  three  successive  presidential 
elections.  In  1824  the  popular  vote  of  In- 
diana was  7,343  for  Jackson,  5,315  for 
Clay,  3,095  for  Adams.  In  1828  the  vote 
was  recorded  22,237  for  Jackson,  17,652 
for  Adams.  In  1832  Jackson  had  31,552 
and  Clay  15,472.  When,  four  years  later, 
in  1836,  the  contest  was  between  Jackson's 
favorite,  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  William 
Henry  Harrison,  the  latter  carried  the 
State  quite  decisively — 41,281  for  Harri- 
son and  32,480  for  Van  Buren.  The  same 
candidates  were  pitted  against  one  an- 
other in  1840,  and  Harrison's  majority 
over  his  competitor  was  greater  than  in 
the  preceding  election,  the  vote  being  65,- 
362  for  Harrison  and  51,695  for  Van 
Buren.  The  fact  that  General  Harrison 
had  been  Territorial  Governor  of  Indiana 
prior  to   its   admission    into    the    Union 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1 


doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  this  par- 
tiality for  the  military  candidate.  The 
fact  that  Van  Buren  was  "Jackson's  man" 
in  both  of  these  elections  did  not  have 
sufficient  weight  with  the  voting  element 
to  secure  for  him  a  majority  of  the  State's 
electorate.  In  1824  Jackson  carried  the 
State  by  a  plurality  of  only  1,928,  while 
four  years  later  his  majority  over  Adams 
was  4,585.  In  1832  Jackson  beat  Clay 
by  more  than  two  to  one — to  be  exact,  by 
a  majority  of  16,080.  The  increase  of  the 
vote  at  each  succeeding  presidential  elec- 
tion bears  eloquent  testimony  to  the  re- 
markable growth  of  population  of  the 
State. 

The  election  of  Jackson  was  partly  the 
result  and  partly  the  cause  of  a  thorough 
revolution  in  the  politics  of  the  country. 
It  was  the  culmination  of  a  change  in  po- 
litical conditions  that  had  been  going  on 
since  the  foundation  of  the  government, 
but  more  especially  since  1810,  when  the 
younger  element  took  control  of  Madison's 
administration.  In  the  older  States  suf- 
frage had  originally  been  limited  to  prop- 
erty qualifications.  In  the  new  States  it 
was  granted  to  every  white  male  of  twen- 
ty-one. In  earlier  years  presidential  elec- 
tors were  chosen  by  the  State  Legisla- 
tures, but  the  broadening  of  the  suffrage 
had  led  to  a  demand  that  the  electors  be 
chosen  directly  by  the  people;  so  that  in 
1828  they  were  so  elected  in  all  the  States 
but  one,  and  that  one.  South  Carolina.  In 
the  earlier  years,  candidates  were  named 
by  persons  already  holding  office,  or  by 
cliques  of  self-constituted  leaders,  but 
Jackson's  nomination  had  been  started  in 
mass  meetings.  In  the  earlier  years  office 
holding  had  been  confined  to  the  cultured, 
aristocratic  class,  and  though  the  term 
was  not  employed  there  was  virtually  a 
merit  or  civil  service  system  of  terms  of 
office.  Jackson's  followers  openly  de- 
manded a  share  in  the  offices,  and  many  of 
the  more  active  came  on  to  Washington  to 
secure    them.      New  men  had  also  been 


elected  to  Congress  and  the  various  State 
offices,  and  they  were  present  everywhere, 
to  the  horror  and  disgust  of  the  old  party 
leaders,  who  spoke  derisively  of  the  "tri- 
umphant reign  of  king  mob"  and  the  "mil- 
lennium of  the  minnows" — small-fry.  To 
such  there  seemed  a  fearful  chasm  be- 
tween the  life  of  1820  and  that  of  1829. 
As  one  disgusted  "patriot"  expressed  it, 
"Political  affairs  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  John  Holmes,  Felix  Grundy  and  the 
devil."  There  was  a  general  change  of 
federal  office  holders  all  over  the  country. 
The  test  was  not  of  party  faith  or  allegi- 
ance, for  all  were  Republicans.  No  Fed- 
eralist had  held  an  office  for  a  dozen  years. 
The  shibboleth  for  the  incumbent  applied 
alike  to  the  country  postmaster  and  the 
highest  federal  appointee,  was:  "Is  he  a 
Jackson  man?"  If  "Yes,"  he  stayed;  if 
"No,"  he  left  or  was  removed.  The  prin- 
ciple, "To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils," 
which  Jackson  proclaimed  and  vigorously 
applied,  has  no  doubt  been  grievously  mis- 
used to  the  great  detriment  of  the  coun- 
try, but  it  wrought  a  benefit  at  the  time 
by  bringing  the  government  into  closer 
sympathy  with  the  mass  of  the  people. 

The  truth  is  that  in  1829  the  people  first 
assumed  control  of  the  governmental  ma- 
chinery, which  up  to  that  time  had  been 
held  in  a  sort  of  trust  for  them  by  political 
leaders;  and  the  administration  which 
then  came  into  power  was  the  first  in  our 
history  which  represented  the  people 
without  restriction  and  which,  therefore, 
presented  not  only  the  virtues  but  the 
faults  of  the  people.  Hence,  in  every  es- 
sential this  administration  was  Demo- 
cratic— the  people  ruling. 

This  was  the  origin  of  the  great  Demo- 
cratic party  of  the  nation.  It  sprang,  in- 
deed, as  did  the  Whig  party  a  little  later, 
from  the  old  Republican  party  of  Jeffer- 
son, and  for  a  time  bore  the  hyphenated 
name,  "Democratic-Republican." 

The  formal  assumption  of  the  single 
name,  "Democrat,"  did  not,  however,  take 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


place  for  several  years — not,  indeed,  until 
most  of  the  old  Jeffersonian  Republicans 
had  retired  from  active  political  life.  In 
the  campaign  of  1832  the  Democratic-Re- 
publicans supported  Jackson,  and  the  Na- 
tional Republicans  Henry  Clay.  An  Anti- 
Masonic  party  was  also  in  the  field,  with 
William  Wirt  of  Maryland  as  its  candi- 
date. Jackson  received  219  electoral 
votes ;  Clay,  49 ;  Wirt,  7,  and  South  Caro- 
lina cast  11  for  John  Floyd  of  Virginia, 
who  had  not  been  a  candidate.  Wirt  got 
his  7  votes  from  Vermont. 

In  1836  the  Democratic-Republicans 
nominated  Martin  Van  Buren,  who  had 
been  Vice-President  during  Jackson's  sec- 
ond term.  The  Anti-Masons  and  part  of 
the  Whigs  named  William  Henry  Harri- 
son; another  portion  of  the  Whigs  nomi- 
nated Daniel  Webster,  and  Judge  Hugh 
L.  White  of  Tennessee  was  put  forward 
as  an  anti-Jackson  Democratic-Repub- 
lican. The  opposition  to  Van  Buren  con- 
solidated on  one  candidate  in  each  State. 
The  result  was  170  for  Van  Buren,  113  for 
the  other  three,  and  South  Carolina  again 
casting  her  11  votes  for  a  man  who  had 
not  been  a  candidate,  William  P.  Mangrun 
of  North  Carolina.  Indiana,  unmindful  of 
the  fact  that  Van  Buren  was  Jackson's 
choice,  voted  for  William  Henry  Harrison. 

By  1840  the  opposition  to  the  Demo- 
cratic-Republicans had  been  consolidated 
into  the  Whig  party.  The  former  re- 
nominated Van  Buren,  and  the  latter 
again  named  Harrison. 

For  popular  enthusiasm  the  campaign 
resembled  that  of  1828,  only  this  time  the 
enthusiasm  was  for  the  Whigs.    Harrison 


had  234  and  Van  Buren  60  electoral  votes, 
the  former  carrying  every  Northern  State 
except  Illinois  and  New  Hampshire — In- 
diana thus  going  with  the  Whigs. 

The  National  Convention  of  1844  made 
the  first  formal  use  of  the  name  "Demo- 
crat" for  the  party  really  formed  by  Jack- 
son sixteen  years  before,  and  that  name 
has  ever  since  been  retained.  It  popular- 
ly, and  very  properly,  reverts  back  to 
Jackson's  administration.  Samuel  J.  Til- 
den,  moreover,  continued  the  use  of  the 
name  Democratic-Republican  so  long  as 
he  was  chairman  of  his  party's  State  com- 
mittee prior  to  his  election  as  Governor  of 
New  York  in  1874.  In  the  following  pages 
the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  will  be 
treated  as  dating  from  1828,  though  as  a 
matter  of  fact  Jefferson  will  ever  be 
cherished  as  the  founder  and  exponent  of 
American  Democracy.  Although  it  has 
sometimes  severely  suffered  from  the  folly 
or  selfishness  of  leaders  it  had  trusted,  and 
although  it  has  changed  the  details  of  its 
policy  to  meet  changing  conditions  in  the 
country's  development,  it  has  ever  re- 
mained fundamentally  true  to  Jefferson's 
liberal  teachings  and  Jackson's  unfalter- 
ing confidence  in  the  common  people. 

History  has  been  termed  collated  biog- 
raphy. As  this  introductory  chapter  has 
told  of  the  political  actors  and  their  deeds 
in  leading  up  to  the  formation  of  the  Na- 
tional Democratic  party,  so  the  history  of 
Indiana's  Democracy  will  be  prefaced  by 
a  sketch  of  the  activities  of  the  political 
leaders  during  the  twelve  years  that  In- 
diana did  her  part  in  the  old  Jeffersonian 
Republican  Party. 


(19) 


[Chapter  II.] 


INDIANA'S  PIONEERS 


THEIR   STRUGGLES,  TRIALS   AND   TRIBULATIONS— PRIVA- 
TIONS BRAVELY  ENDURED— BUT  SUCCESS  EVENT- 
UALLY CROWNS  THEIR  HEROIC  EFFORTS 


HE  woi'k  of  the  pioneers  was 
the  work  of  conquest.  It  was 
a  struggle  with  matter  whose 
subservience  to  mind  was  to 
bring  Hfe  into  soHtude  and 
make  homes  for  future  thou- 
sands. It  was  a  hand-to-hand 
conflict  with  nature,  who,  with  her  tempt- 
ing hoards  just  beyond  reach,  has  set  men 
on  the  long  and  perilous  road  toward 
perfection.  Their  mission  was  peaceful 
and  constructive,  their  immediate  goal  a 
mere  existence.  Moved  by  visions  of  ulti- 
mate victory,  they  cheerfully  made  every 
sacrifice  and  dedicated  their  lives  to  the 
long  and  doubtful  struggle.  Making 
roads,  draining  swamps  and  clearing  land 
for  agricultural  purposes  made  the  years 
one  long  stretch  of  hardship  and  toil.  The 
seasons  brought  no  respite,  but  added, 
each  in  turn,  to  the  difficulties  yet  to  over- 
come. The  conquest  of  the  soil,  the  dis- 
arming of  unseen  hostile  forces  were  for 
them  gigantic  enterprises  against  which 
their  meager  equipment  could  but  slowly 
avail.  Meadow  and  swamp  were  infested 
with  venomous  snakes  and  poisonous  in- 
sects. Malaria  and  insidious  fevers  un- 
dermined the  health  of  the  strongest. 
Physical  sufl'ering  and  unrelieved  pain 
aroused  terrors  in  the  most  confident  and 
the  bravest.  For  every  inch  of  ground  the 
wilderness  exacted  its  toll  of  human 
energj'  and  life.  Through  pain  and  suf- 
fering, childhood,  youth  and  maturity 
learned  stern  lessons  and  the  irrevocable 
laws  of  nature. 

An  accurate  delineation  of  the  persever- 
ance and  the  determination  of  the  pioneers 
and  their  faith  in  final  success  would  re- 


veal a  heroism  as  great  as  was  ever  dis- 
played on  the  battlefield.  Forest,  swamp 
and  unbroken  prairie  led  them  to  conflicts 
as  fierce  as  any  knight  ever  waged  in  sup- 
port of  his  honor  and  his  prowess.  Prac- 
tically exiled  from  all  known  civilization, 
they  worked  unselfishly  for  the  develop- 
ment of  territory  that  only  future  genera- 
tions could  enjoy.  Money,  as  a  medium  of 
exchange,  was  almost  unknown.  The 
products  of  the  field  and  dairy  went  beg- 
ging for  a  market.  The  housewife  was 
forced  to  spin  and  weave  in  order  to  pro- 
vide clothing  for  her  family.  The  forced 
existence  in  a  narrow  sphere  with  its  lim- 
ited activities  was  not  without  its  advan- 
tages. While  it  exacted  the  most  strenu- 
ous physical  toil,  it  sharpened  the  wits 
and  challenged  the  intellect  to  keener 
action.  Close  contact  with  nature  and  the 
stress  of  spiritual  conflicts  developed  char- 
acter and  heart  as  easier  conditions  could 
never  have  done.  Mutual  helpfulness  and 
unselfishness  relieved  the  rigors  of  priva- 
tion and  softened  the  grief  of  sickness  and 
death.  Never  in  the  history  of  mankind 
has  ideal  communism  become  so  nearly  a 
reality:  a  man's  word  was  his  bond;  a 
verbal  compact  stood  above  the  medium  of 
legal  execution.  Piety  was  a  common  vir- 
tue and  the  love  of  God  the  lever  of  moral- 
ity. 

A  fine  sense  of  citizenship  and  civic  duty 
grew  out  of  the  individual's  attitude 
toward  work.  Every  blow  of  the  ax  in- 
voluntarily set  echoes  ringing  in  strong 
and  loyal  hearts.  The  love  of  country 
grew  with  the  consciousness  of  every  hard- 
won  possession.  Every  struggle  with 
matter  proclaimed  an  inner  growth  that 


(21) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  6 


meant  new  life  and  new  responsibilities. 
The  pioneers  grew  in  numbers,  in  strength 
and  in  comprehension.  From  actual  ex- 
perience they  learned  the  rules  of  incipient 
statehood.  They  anticipated  the  needs  of 
future  society  and  produced  men  as  strong 
and  capable  as  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
Community  interests  resolutely  met  tested 
them  as  social,  economic  and  moral  forces. 
Time  has  proven  their  loyalty  as  citizens 
and  established  their  record  as  heroes  and 
benefactors  of  mankind. 

Need  any  one  wonder  that  these  people, 
undergoing  hardships  incomprehensible 
to  the  present  generation,  became  strong- 
ly attached  to  one  another  and  refused  to 
permit  differences  of  opinion  as  to  what 
was  then  termed  "politics"  to  disturb  their 
peaceful  relations? 

LIFE  IN  THE  LOG  CABIN. 

The  simple  life  of  the  Indiana  pioneers 
was  many  years  ago  happily  described  in 
an  enterprising  newspaper  published  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  State.  "There 
were  no  churches  in  those  days,"  wrote 
the  author.  "The  meetings  were  held  at 
private  homes.  The  people  then  did  not 
go  to  church  to  display  their  finery.  The 
men  at  these  private  home  meetings  wore 
jeans,  while  the  women  wore  flannel.  A 
calico  dress  was  a  rarity  indeed.  The 
preachers  were  muscular  Christians,  who 
pointed  men  to  salvation  through  love  of 
their  race  rather  than  because  they  re- 
ceived a  good  salary  for  doing  so.  Their 
salaries  were  but  $50  to  $75,  and  on  these 
meager  sums  they  endured  great  hard- 
ships with  Christian  fortitude.  Often 
they  sacrificed  their  lives  in  their  work. 
In  those  days  the  Indian  squaws  took  a 
deep  interest  in  the  household  affairs  of 
the  whites  and  they  made  the  lives  of  the 
housewives  miserable  by  begging  for  cu- 
cumbers. The  houses  of  the  first  settlers 
were  log  cabins,  with  generally  but  one 
room.  The  man  who  could  live  in  a  hewed 
log  house  was  considered    an    aristocrat. 


These  rough  homes  boasted  of  but  few 
window  lights  and  greased  paper  was  used 
instead  of  glass." 

SIMPLICITY  NOT  THEIR  ONLY  VIR- 
TUE. 

Many  characterizations  of  the  early  set- 
tlers have  been  penned  and  printed.  Glow- 
ing tributes  are  the  rule;  carping  criti- 
cisms the  exception.  Among  those  who 
have  enjoyed  excellent  opportunities  to 
institute  comparisons  there  is  substantial 
agreement  that  as  a  portrayal  of  pioneer 
life  in  Indiana  this  picture,  drawn  by 
David  Turpie,  stands  unrivalled  and  un- 
excelled : 

"What  may  be  called  the  modern  history 
of  our  State  began  on  the  day  when  Gen- 
eral Clark  set  out  from  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio  upon  his  famous  expedition  against 
Vincennes.  That  expedition  and  its  for- 
tunate result  first  revealed  to  the  people 
of  Virginia  and  the  Atlantic  States  the 
resources  of  the  immense  region,  well- 
watered,  fertile  and  arable,  that  lay  in  the 
territory  of  the  Northwest.  The  country 
was  not  known  before,  but  it  was  un- 
noticed. The  exodus,  long  continued, 
which  followed  this  revelation,  attested 
its  value  and  reality.  The  migration  to 
Indiana  during  the  closing  years  of  the 
eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  next 
century,  in  some  respects  has  had  few 
parallels  in  the  world's  history.  It  was 
not  like  that  of  the  ancient  Phenicians  to 
Carthage  and  northern  Africa,  or  that  of 
the  Greeks  to  the  shores  of  the  Euxine, 
or  of  the  Romans  to  Spain  and  Britain — 
still  less  did  it  resemble  that  of  the  Eng- 
lish to  the  tidewater  regions  of  Massachu- 
setts, Virginia  and  the  Carolinas. 

"All  these  colonists  in  their  removal  still 
retained  and  enjoyed  the  means  of  com- 
munication and  commercial  intercourse 
with  the  kindred  and  countrymen  whom 
they  had  left  behind  them.  But  the  immi- 
grants to  the  country  now  called  Indiana, 
in  that  early  period  spoken  of,  having 
passed  the  last  military  outpost  on  their 
way  and  gone  thence  into  the  depths  of 
the  wilderness,  were  as  wholly  severed 
from  the  world  as  Columbus  when  he 
sailed  upon  his  first  voyage  into  the  un- 


(22) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191G 


known  waters  of  the  Western  ocean.  They 
were  in  a  condition  of  extreme,  almost 
total,  isolation.  They  made  their  home  in 
the  midst  of  a  vast  forest,  for  the  most 
part  unexplored  and  uninhabited  save  by 
roving  bands  of  Indians,  equipped  with 
weapons  far  more  deadly  than  those  of 
the  chiefs  and  warriors  who,  more  than  a 
hundred  years  before,  had  attempted  with 
their  clubs,  bows  and  arrows,  to  exter- 
minate the  white  settlements  in  the  val- 
leys of  the  Potomac  and  Connecticut. 
Whether  the  pioneer  settler  reaped,  plowed 
or  planted,  his  rifle  must  be  within  reach. 
Solitude  seldom  broken,  danger  always 
imminent,  shadowed  his  daily  life  and 
labor. 

"Plutarch  observes  that  those  who 
found  prosperous  States  and  communities 
are  more  worthy  of  praise  and  com- 
mendation than  any  other  benefactors  of 
the  human  race.  Yet  it  has  been  some- 
what the  fashion,  both  in  writing  and  con- 
versation, to  decry  the  pioneers  and  early 
settlers  of  our  State  as  being  generally 
coarse,  ignorant,  lawless  and  violent.  The 
founders  of  Indiana  were,  for  the  most 
part,  immigrants  from  the  thirteen  origin- 
al States,  and  they  came  hither  in  nearly 
equal  proportion  from  the  North  and 
South.  They  were  the  best  element  of 
that  hardy  population  which  inhabited  the 
long  line  of  the  old  Colonial  frontier  ex- 
tending from  Maine  to  Georgia.  Some  of 
them  were  men  of  intellectual  attainments 
and  of  classic  education,  everywhere  wel- 
comed and  recognized  as  leaders  in  the 
new  community.  The  much  greater  num- 
ber were  actuated  by  one  dominant  pur- 
pose, one  salient  ambition;  this  was  to 
make  for  themselves  and  for  their  house- 
hold larger  and  better  homes.  These  pio- 
neers in  emigration,  leaving  their  former 
domiciles,  did  not  leave  behind  them  their 
respect  for  law  and  order,  their  reverence 
for  religion,  or  their  love  of  civil  and 
political  liberty.  All  these  they  carried 
with  them  upon  their  journey.  The  early 
legislation  and  the  first  constitution  of  our 
State  show  in  every  line  and  sentence  of 
the  venerable  text  how  thoroughly  they 
were  imbued  with  those  principles. 

"These  predecessors  in  our  goodly  her- 
itage had  the  courage  to  leave  a  land  of 
comparative  comfort  and  security;  forti- 
tude to  endure  the  hardships  and  dangers 
incident   to   such   departure,   self-reliance 


constant  and  unwavering,  a  fixity  of  pur- 
pose and  integrity  of  life,  which  upheld 
their  hands  and  hopes  in  what  they  had 
undertaken.  They  were  a  thoughtful 
people,  slow  to  anger,  quick  neither  to 
take  nor  to  give  offense,  but  prompt  to 
resent  insult  or  injury  when  offered.  They 
were  diligent  in  their  work — but  took  their 
time  in  doing  it ;  they  depended  more  than 
we  do  upon  the  morrow  for  its  completion, 
but  they  did  complete  it.  They  were  very 
frank  in  conversation,  kindly  in  social  in- 
tercourse. Their  manner  of  speech  was 
plain,  direct — to  use  their  own  phrase, 
home-spoken,  but  without  coarseness  or 
duplicity. 

"Many  of  these  patriarchs  had  unique 
personal  histories  and  gifts  of  description 
and  narration  quite  remarkable;  and  if 
their  stories  were  long,  they  were  eagerly 
listened  to,  on  account  of  the  manifest 
good  faith  and  verity  of  the  narrator. 
They  were  a  very  religious  community,  yet 
without  the  least  trace  of  superstition. 
Possessed  of  lively  imaginative  powers, 
they  might  have  peopled  the  wide  expanse 
of  wood  and  waters  around  them  with 
elves  and  fairies,  nymphs  and  naiads ;  but 
they  looked  in  the  woods  only  for  game 
or  Indians,  and  saw  only  what  they  looked 
for. 

"Nevertheless,  they  walked  not  by 
sight  alone.  They  cherished  a  faith  sin- 
cere and  simple,  unobscured  by  the  mirage 
of  the  higher  criticism.  Nearly  all  of 
them  belonged  to  some  church  communion ; 
there  was  much  difference  of  opinion  on 
these  subjects,  but  this  caused  no  breach 
of  brotherly  kindness  or  of  neighborly 
good  will  and  courtesy.  The  creed  and 
form  of  worship  were  as  free  as  thought 
itself.  Not  a  few  of  these  men  in  the 
vanguard  of  civilization  were  very  illiter- 
ate, being  able  neither  to  read  nor  write ; 
yet  they  were  not  uneducated.  They  had 
learned  some  of  the  lessons  of  life  and 
knew  them  better  than  the  savants  of 
Oxford  or  Cambridge,  or  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  with  all  their  erudition.  They 
had  in  a  very  free  way  wrought  out  their 
destiny  in  the  wilderness.  Mental,  moral, 
political  independence  was  their  birth- 
right. 

"Our  forefathers  dwelling  under  the 
sky  of  the  West  were  a  chosen  people  who, 
without  the  visible  guidance  of  the  cloud 
or  pillar,  made  a  Christian  solution  of  the 


(23  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-  1 


problem  that  for  ages  had  embroiled  their 
ancestors  in  bloodiest  warfare.  Even  in 
the  infancy  of  this  commonwealth  or  in 
the  days  of  its  youth  and  inexperience, 
there  was  no  religious  test  either  for  office 
or  the  franchise.  No  Baptist  was  ban- 
ished, no  Quaker  was  scourged  or  held  in 
durance,  but  every  one  worshiped  God 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  con- 
science. If  any  man  forbore  either  to  be- 
lieve or  worship,  he  incurred  thereby  no 
statutory  pains  or  penalties.  The  founders 
of  our  State  passed  beyond  the  line  of 
mere  religious  toleration;  they  eliminated 
from  their  form  of  policy  both  persecution 
and  its  victim,  and  provided  that  martyr- 
dom should  be  a  thing  impossible.  They 
relied  upon  the  utmost  freedom  of  speech 
and  opinion  as  the  best  safeguard  of  truth 
and  the  surest  correction  of  error.  They 
gave  no  credence  to  the  doctrine  that  the 
growth  of  religious  sentiment  should  be 
accompanied  by  some  sort  of  proscription 
of  dissent,  or  that  as  faith  waxed  stronger, 
charity  should  cease  or  fail.  Greater  was 
the  charity  of  our  fathers,  even  as  their 
faith  more  abounded. 

"The  ancient  provisions  of  the  ordi- 
nance of  1787,  touching  common  school 
education  and  involuntary  servitude,  al- 
though for  a  long  period  the  subjects  of 
active  controversy,  were  faithfully  ad- 
hered to  and  loyally  maintained. 

"In  the  beginning  of  our  social  and  civil 
organization  those  who  attended  meetings 
of  anj'  kind  always  went  armed.  An  aged 
judge,  speaking  of  this,  told  me  that  in 
his  youth  the  courtroom  during  term  bore 
the  appearance  of  a  military  post;  wit- 
nesses, parties,  jurymen  and  bystanders 
brought  with  them  their  guns  and  ac- 
coutrements. I  have  seen,  several  times, 
on  the  walls  of  old  meeting  houses,  rem- 
nants of  the  wooden  hooks,  upon  which, 
during  the  hours  of  worship,  the  rifles  of 
those  present  were  hung,  loaded  and 
primed,  ready  for  instant  use.  These  pre- 
cautions were  taken  against  attack  by  the 
Indians,  which  was  often  sudden  and  un- 
expected. Still,  a  habit  so  constantly  in 
use  must  have  had  a  marked  effect  upon 
the  m.anners  of  the  people.  It  largely  con- 
duced to  the  observance  of  the  true 
civilities  of  life,  to  mutual  respect  and 
deference,  whether  in  public  or  private  in- 
tercourse. 


"Among  brave  men  thus  equipped,  who 
met  together  for  any  purpose,  there  was 
a  savor  of  knightly  bearing  shown  in  the 
considerate  regard  paid  to  the  feelings  and 
wishes,  even  to  the  prejudices  and  pre- 
possessions, of  their  comrades  and  asso- 
ciates. Utterances  of  indiscretion  and 
violence,  in  this  armed  presence  were 
quietly  suppressed;  the  cost  of  the  feud 
was  counted,  its  consequences  were 
weighed  and  measured,  restrained  and 
averted. 

"The  native  chivalry  of  the  frontiers- 
man, though  it  may  have  been  unpolished 
and  uncouth,  had  yet  a  real  origin  and 
meaning.  Its  influence  was  felt  percept- 
ibly long  after  the  custom  of  bearing  arms, 
once  so  general,  had  become  obsolete. 

"In  that  primitive  age  there  was  an 
innate  honest  simplicity  of  manners,  as 
of  thought  and  action.  Fraud,  wrongdoing 
and  injustice  were  denounced  as  they  are 
at  present ;  they  were  also  discredited,  dis- 
honored, and  branded  with  an  ostracism 
more  severe  than  that  of  Athens.  Wealth 
acquired  by  such  means  could  not  evade, 
and  was  unable  to  conceal,  the  stigma  that 
attached  to  the  hidden  things  of  dis- 
honesty. 

"The  moral  atmosphere  of  the  time  was 
clear  and  bracing ;  it  repelled  specious  pre- 
tensions, resisted  iniquity  and  steadily  re- 
jected the  evil  which  calls  itself  good. 
Moreover,  there  never  has  been  a  people 
who  wrought  into  the  spirit  of  their  public 
enactments  the  virtues  of  their  private 
character  more  completely  than  the  early 
settlers  of  Indiana.  We  have  grown  up 
in  the  shadow  of  their  achievements; 
these  need  not  be  forgotten  in  the  splendor 
of  our  own." 

PARTY  RELATIONSHIP  IRONICALLY 
DEFINED. 

As  already  indicated,  party  relationship 
was  in  the  "good  old  days"  subject  to  sud- 
den and  frequent  changes.  In  the  absence 
of  clearly  defined  appellations,  men  who 
"dabbled  in  politics"  were  designated  as 
Adams  men,  Jacksonites,  Harrisonites, 
Smithites  or  Jonesites — dependent  on  who 
was  up  for  assignment  to  public  position. 
So  confusing  had  become  the  party  labels 
temporarily  and  shiftingly  applied  that  a 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


critical  contributor  to  one  of  the  more 
prominent  newspapers  of  that  period  let 
himself  loose  in  this  fashion : 

"I  have  been  pestered  of  late  by  many 
new  and  uncommon  phrases  and  some  old 
words  with  new  meanings  to  them,  which 
many  of  the  candidates  have  lugged  into 
their  handbills  and  public  speeches;  such 
as  'Jackson  Republican,'  'Whole-Hog  Jack- 
son man,'  'Republican  of  the  Jefferson 
School,'  'Patriot,'  'Hero,'  'Statesman,' 
'Tried  Republican,'  'Federalist.'  I  have 
taken  great  pains  to  find  out  the  meaning 
of  these  words  and  phrases  and  I  believe 
I  have  at  last  nearly  mastered  the  subject. 
The  following  is  the  vocabulary  of  the 
words  in  their  present  acceptation : 

Jackson  Republican:  An  old  Federalist  who 
supports  Gen.  Jackson  for  the  office  which  he  has 
gotten  or  hopes  to  get. 

Whole-Hog  Jackson  Man:  A  fiery  tempered 
person  who  has  no  opinion  of  his  own,  but  votes, 
praises,  censures  and  turns  just  as  he  is  bidden 
by  his  county  caucus. 

Republican  of  Jefferson  School:  A  man  who 
always  joins  the  strong  party  and  swears  he  never 
changes. 

Patriot:  A  man  who  can  live  by  his  own  trade, 
but  wants  the  public  to  support  him. 

Hero:     Anybody  who  has  fought  a  duel. 

Statesman:  A  man  who  knows  how  many 
States  there  are  in  the  Union  and  can  tell  their 
names. 

Federalist:  Everybody  who  is  against  my  elec- 
tion. 

The  Party:  Five  or  six  office  hunters  in  each 
county  who  teach  the  sovereigns  how  they  ought 
to  vote. 

The  Good  Cause:  My  cause.  My  plan  of  get- 
ting into  office. 

"But  the  phrase  which  perplexed  me  is 
'Tried  Republican.'  When  I  hear  a  man 
say  he  means  to  vote  for  a  'tried  Re- 
publican' I  am  astonished  and  disposed  to 
ask  him  what  he  will  have  him  tried  for 
— treason,  felony  or  breach  of  the  peace? 


"When  the  new-fangled  doctrine  of 
nullification  shall  be  attempted  to  be  put 
into  practice  we  shall  no  doubt  see  many 
'tried  Republicans'  and  not  a  few  of  them 
condemned  and  executed." 

FOUNDATION    FOR    MORALITY    RE- 
CEIVES EARLY  ATTENTION. 

As  far  back  as  1799  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Northwest  Territory  met  at 
Cincinnati  in  the  month  of  September  and 
was  addressed  by  Governor  St.  Clair.  He 
called  attention  to  the  necessity  of  mak- 
ing provision  for  and  the  regulation  of  the 
lives  and  morals  of  the  present  and  rising 
generation  in  the  territory  and  the  neces- 
sity of  providing  for  the  repression  of 
vice  and  immorality  throughout  the  big 
stretch  of  country.  He  declared  that  steps 
should  be  immediately  taken  for  the  pro- 
tection of  virtue  and  innocence,  "for,"  said 
he,  "the  security  of  property  and  the 
punishment  of  crime  is  a  sublime  employ- 
ment. Every  aid  in  my  power,"  he  con- 
tinued, "will  be  afforded,  and  I  hope  we 
shall  bear  in  mind  that  the  character  and 
deportment  of  the  people  and  their  happi- 
ness here  and  hereafter  depend  very  much 
upon  the  spirit  and  genius  of  their  laws." 
Among  the  laws  enacted  as  the  result  of 
this  appeal  was  an  act  to  stop  Sabbath- 
breaking,  another  to  stop  profane  swear- 
ing, dueling,  cock  fighting,  running  horses 
on  the  public  highways  and  gambling  at 
billiards,  cards,  dice,  shovelboard,  etc. 
The  whipping  post  and  the  pillory  were 
established. 


[Chapter  III.] 


INDIANA'S  ADMISSION  INTO  THE  UNION 


(December  11,   1816) 


THERE  WERE  THEN  BUT  THIRTEEN  ORGANIZED  COUNTIES 
IN  THE  TERRITORY,  WITH  A  TOTAL 
POPULATION  OF  63,897 


EARING  on  this  subject,  vol- 
umes have  been  written  and 
printed,  with  elaborate  details 
of  incidents  illustrative  of  the 
trials  and  tribulations  of  the 
early  settlers.  All  of  these 
writings  and  narratives  are 
exceedingly  interesting  and  instructive. 
In  epitomized  form  the  story  has,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  writer,  never  been  more 
comprehensively  told  than  was  done  by 
Senator  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  in  a  notable 
address  delivered  by  him  on  the  Fourth  of 
July,  1883.  The  readers  of  this  volume 
will  be  delighted  with  the  illuminating 
manner  in  which  that  famous  orator  nar- 
rated the  circumstances  and  conditions  un- 
der which  Indiana  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  in  the  year  1816: 

"It  was  on  the  fourth  of  July  in  the  year 
1800  when  'The.  Indiana  Territory'  was 
organized  under  Congressional  enactment, 
embracing  'all  that  part  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
river  which  lies  to  the  westward  of  a  line 
beginning  at  the  Ohio,  opposite  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Kentucky  river,  and  runnmg 
thence  to  Fort  Recovery,  and  thence  north 
until  it  shall  intersect  the  territorial  line 
between  the  United  States  and  Canada.' 
The  region  thus  deiined  by  boundaries 
comprised  all  of  the  States  of  Indiana  and 
Illinois,  and  the  larger  portion  of  the  State 
of  Michigan,  and  yet  within  all  this  vast 
domain  the  civilized  population  was  esti- 
mated at  but  4,875,  less  than  the  basis  of 
1,000  voters.  It  was  the  organization  of 
a  giant  wilderness  through  whose  mighty 
depths  stalked  the  painted  and  plumed  bar- 
barian in  the  haughty  supremacy  of  his 
power.     Here  and  there  a  feeble  and  scant 


ray  of  civilization  had  penetrated  this 
widespread  abode  of  savage  life.  Like  a 
small  lamp  in  a  great  darkness,  the  settle- 
ment at  Vincennes  had  been  throwing  its 
feeble  but  steady  and  serene  light  on  the 
surrounding  night  for  nearly  a  hundred 
years.  According  to  reliable  history,  civ- 
ilized man  first  took  up  his  abode  at  the 
old  post  in  1710,  sixty-five  years  before  the 
first  guns  of  the  Revolution  were  fired,  and 
ninety  years  before  the  Indiana  Territory 
was  created  by  act  of  Congress.  But  there 
had  been  no  growth  or  expansion  at  the 
post,  as  the  meager  population  of  the  en- 
tire territory  in  1800  amply  proves.  It 
had  been  as  stationary  as  its  name  implied. 
In  1805  the  Territory  of  Michigan  was  or- 
ganized and  separated  from  the  Indiana 
Territory,  and  finally,  by  act  of  Congress, 
February  3,  1809,  the  Indiana  Territory 
was  again  divided  by  setting  off  all  that 
part  lying  west  of  the  Wabash  River  and 
a  direct  line  drawn  from  the  said  Wabash 
River  and  Post  Vincennes  due  north  to  the 
territorial  line  between  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  to  be  known  as  the  Territory 
of  Illinois.  In  1808,  a  year  prior  to  this 
final  division,  we  find  an  enumeration  of 
the  white  population  of  the  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, there  being  about  nineteen  thousand 
inhabitants  in  that  portion  which  is  now 
the  State  of  Indiana,  and  about  eleven 
thousand  in  that  portion  now  the  State  of 
Illinois. 

"The  early  stages  of  progress  in  the 
Northwest  were  not  swift  nor  easy;  they 
were  slow  and  painful  and  the  life  of  the 
pioneer  was  full  of  toil,  privation  and 
peril.  Emigration  from  the  old  States 
was  reluctant  to  seek  new  fields  of  enter- 
prise, environed  as  they  were  by  every 
danger  which  fact  or  fancy  could  present 
to  the  mind.  Settlers  came  in  slowly  and 
tediously  over  roads  of  their  own  construc- 
tion.    When   Indiana  was  admitted  as  a 


(27) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


State  into  the  Union,  after  sixteen  years 
of  important  territorial  government,  after 
the  battles  of  Fort  Harrison  and  Tippe- 
canoe had  been  fought,  after  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans,  and  the  treaty  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain  at  the  close  of  the  war  of 
1812,  with  the  Indian  titles  nearly  all  ex- 
tinguished, and  the  Mississippi  River  and 
all  its  tributaries  opened  to  the  unmolested 
trade  and  commerce  of  the  American  peo- 
ple, she  yet  showed  by  a  census  then  taken 
a  population  of  only  63,897.  There  were 
but  thirteen  organized  counties,  and  Knox 
headed  the  list  with  8,068  inhabitants. 
Then  came  Franklin,  Washington,  Clark, 
Harrison,  Wayne,  Gibson,  Dearborn,  Jef- 
ferson, Switzerland,  Perry,  Posey  and 
Warrick  in  the  order  I  have  named  them. 

"And  what  a  small,  tame  affair  the  first 
gubernatorial  election  appears  to  us  as  we 
look  at  it  from  this  distance  and  compare 
it  with  some  other  Indiana  elections  which 
we  have  known!  At  a  general  election 
held  on  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1816, 
for  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  Rep- 
resentative in  Congress,  members  of  the 
General  Assembly  and  the  various  county 
officers,  calling  out  a  full  vote,  Jonathan 
Jennings  received  5,211  votes  and  was 
elected  Governor  over  Thomas  Posey,  who 
received  3,934  votes.  With  less  than  10,- 
000  voters  to  persuade,  and  only  thirteen 
county  seats  to  visit,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  some  of  my  friends  in  both  parties 
would  rather  have  had  such  a  race  for 
Governor  than  the  one  they  are  likely  to 
be  engaged  in  twelve  months  hence. 

"In  the  convention  which  framed  the 
first  constitution  of  Indiana  there  were 
forty-three  members,  and  it  is  both  curious 
and  pleasant  to  find  so  many  names  in  that 
body  which  have  remained  familiar  to  the 
people  of  Indiana  at  every  stage  of  her 
subsequent  history.  Jonathan  Jennings 
was  its  president  and  William  Hendricks 
its  secretary;  each  of  whom  soon  after- 
ward served  the  infant  State  as  Governor 
and  as  Senator  in  Congress.  James  Noble 
was  also  there,  and  Enoch  McCarty,  Rob- 
ert Hanna,  John  DePauw,  John  Badaliet. 
Samuel  Milroy,  Joseph  Holman,  David  H. 
Maxwell  and  others,  whose  honored  names 
adorn  the  annals  of  the  State.  A  careful 
and  competent  historian  of  that  period  has 
spoken  as  follows  of  those  who  first  here 
laid  the  foundations  of  a  great  and  power- 
ful commonwealth : 


The  convention  that  formed  the  first  constitu- 
tion of  Indiana  was  composed  mainly  of  clear-  1 
minded,  unpretending  men  of  common  sense,  | 
whose  patriotism  was  unquestionable  and  whose 
morals  were  fair.  Their  familiarity  %vith  the  the- 
ories of  the  Declaration  of  American  Indepen- 
dence; their  territorial  experience  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  their  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  of  the  constitution  of  the  j 
United  States  were  sufficient,  when  combined,  to 
lighten  materially  their  labors  in  the  great  work 
of  forming  a  constitution  for  a  new  State.  .  .  . 
In  the  clearness  and  conciseness  of  its  style,  in  the 
comprehensive  and  just  provisions  which  it  made 
for  the  maintenance  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
in  its  mandates,  which  were  designed  to  protect 
the  rights  of  the  people,  collectively  and  individ- 
ually, and  to  provide  for  the  public  welfare,  the 
constitution  that  was  formed  for  Indiana  in  1816 
was  not  inferior  to  any  of  the  State  constitutions 
which  were  in  existence  at  that  time. 

"And  with  this  constitution  for  the 
guidance  and  welfare  of  her  people,  In- 
diana was  admitted  into  the  full  fellowship 
of  the  Union  December  11,  1816,  and  un- 
der these  bright  auspices  began  her  un- 
paralleled career  as  a  State. 

"There  was  but  little  reading  matter  in 
the  pioneer  settlements.  The  first  news- 
paper in  all  that  vast  region  now  compris- 
ing Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan  and  Wis- 
consin, was  the  Western  Sun,  at  Vin- 
cennes,  published  by  Elihu  Stout.  In  its 
columns  the  young  and  the  old  of  that  day 
eagerly  scanned  the  sayings  and  doings  of 
those  who  were  entrusted  with  public  af- 
fairs. No  other  people  are  so  deeply  in- 
terested in  good  government  as  those  who 
are  not  yet  strong,  rich  and  self-reliant. 
In  consequence  of  this  fact  the  inhabitants 
of  the  frontiers  at  every  stage  of  Ameri- 
can history  have  been  vigilant  obsen'ers 
of  their  public  servants." 


THE  FIRST  STATE  GOVERNMENT. 

It  is  quite  evident  from  the  data  at  hand 
that  with  the  growth  of  population  in  In- 
diana during  the  sixteen  years  preceding 
its  admission  into  the  Union  came  a  class 
of  men  eminently  fitted  to  manage  the  af- 
fairs of  the  infant  commonwealth  and 
worthily  to  represent  it  in  the  halls  of 
Congress. 

Excellent  judgment  appears  to  have 
been  exercised  by  the  electorate  to  choose 
men  of  high  character  and  eminent  ability 
to  serve  the  State  both  at  home  and  at 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Washington.  Thus,  a  good  beginning  was 
made  in  the  ministration  of  public  affairs. 

As  intelligently  and  comprehensively 
narrated  by  the  painstaking  State  histo- 
rian, William  Henry  Smith,  "an  election 
was  ordered  for  choosing  delegates  to 
frame  and  promulgate  a  constitution,  and 
for  the  election  of  a  Governor."  The  two 
opposing  candidates  for  Governor  were 
Thomas  Posey  and  Jonathan  Jennings, 
then  a  delegate  in  Congress.  The  election 
was  held  on  the  first  Monday  of  August, 
and  Mr.  Jennings  was  elected  Governor, 
Christopher  Harrison  Lieutenant-Govern- 
or, and  William  Hendricks  member  of 
Congress. 

The  vote  for  Governor  in  1816  stood : 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

Jonathan  Jennings   5,211 

Thomas  Posey   3,934 

Total    9,145 

FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Christopher  Harrison 6,570 

John  Vawter  847 

Abel  Finley  18 

John  Johnson  14 

Davis  Floyd   13 

Amos  Lane   12 

Total   7,474 

Although  the  State  was  not  finally  ad- 
mitted into  the  Union  until  December  11, 
the  first  Legislature  elected  under  the  new 
constitution  began  its  session  on  the  7th 
of  November,  when  Jonathan  Jennings 
took  the  oath  of  office  as  Governor.  By  the 
terms  of  the  constitution  Governors  were 
elected  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  the 
other  State  officers,  with  the  exception  of 
Lieutenant-Governor,  were  chosen  by  the 
Legislature. 

Governor  Jennings,  in  his  opening  mes- 
sage to  the  General  Assembly,  said : 

"The  result  of  your  deliberations  will  be 
considered  as  indicative  of  the  future  char- 
acter of  the  State,  as  well  as  of  the  future 
happiness  of  its  citizens.  The  reputation 
of  the  State,  as  well  as  its  highest  inter- 
est, will  require  that  a  just  and  generous 


policy  toward  the  general  movement,  and 
a  due  regard  to  the  rights  of  its  members 
respectively,  should  invariably  have  their 
proper  influence.  In  the  commencement 
of  the  State  government  the  shackles  of 
the  colonial  should  not  be  forgotten  in  our 
limited  exertions  to  prove,  by  happy  ex- 
perience, that  a  uniform  adherence  to  the 
first  principles  of  our  government,  and  a 
virtuous  exercise  of  its  powers,  will  best 
secure  efficiency  to  its  measures  and  sta- 
bility to  its  character.  Without  a  frequent 
recurrence  to  those  principles,  the  admin- 
istration of  the  government  will  impercep- 
tibly become  more  and  more  arduous,  until 
the  simplicity  of  our  republican  institu- 
tions may  eventually  be  lost  in  dangerous 
expedients  and  political  designs.  Under 
every  free  government  the  happiness  of 
the  citizens  must  be  identified  with  their 
morals;  and  while  a  constitutional  exer- 
cise of  their  rights  shall  continue  to  have 
its  due  weight  in  the  discharge  of  the  du- 
ties required  of  the  constitutional  authori- 
ties of  the  State,  too  much  attention  can- 
not be  bestowed  to  the  encouragement  and 
promotion  of  every  moral  virtue,  and  to 
the  enactment  of  laws  calculated  to  re- 
strain the  vicious  and  pi'escribe  punish- 
ment for  every  crime  commensurate  to  its 
enormity.  In  measuring,  however,  to  each 
crime  its  adequate  punishment  it  will  be 
well  to  recollect  that  the  certainty  of  pun- 
ishment has  generally  the  surest  effect  to 
prevent  crime;  while  punishments  unnec- 
essarily severe  too  often  produce  the  ac- 
quittal of  the  guilty,  and  disappoint  one 
of  the  great  objects  of  legislation  and  good 
government.  .  .  .  The  dissemination 
of  useful  knowledge  will  be  indispensably 
necessary  as  a  support  of  morals,  and  as 
a  restraint  of  vice;  and  on  this  subject  it 
will  only  be  necessary  to  direct  your  atten- 
tion to  the  plan  of  education  as  prescribed 
by  the  constitution." 

Mr.  Jennings  served  as  Governor  for 
six  years,  and  during  his  administration 
the  Legislature  mainly  directed  its  efforts 
to  putting  on  the  full  habiliments  of  State- 
hood. Among  its  first  duties  was  that  of 
filling  the  other  State  offices  and  electing 
two  members  of  the  United  States  Senate. 
Robert  A.  New  was  elected  Secretary  of 
State,  W.  H.  Lilly,  Auditor,  and  Daniel  C. 
Lane,  Treasurer.     James  Noble  and  Wal- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 

ler  Taylor  were  chosen  Senators.  The  In  increasing  the  State's  revenue  the  Gov- 
laws  were  codified  and  made  applicable  to  ernor  met  with  many  difficulties.  The  ob- 
the  State  government.  A  number  of  laws  jects  of  taxation  were  not  numerous  and 
were  passed  on  various  subjects;  courts  the  great  scarcity  of  money  in  the  State 
were  established  and  their  jurisdiction  de-  made  it  difficult  for  the  collector  to  realize 
fined,  and  the  Bank  of  Vincennes  was  on  the  demands  of  the  State  upon  the  prop- 
adopted  as  a  State  bank  and  was  author-  erty  that  was  assessed.  In  the  next  year 
ized  to  establish  a  number  of  branches,  the  problem  had  become  so  acute  that  Gov- 
Commissioners  were  also  appointed  to  se-  ernor  Jennings  said  that  in  order  to  en- 
lect  a  site  for  the  permanent  capital  of  force  the  payments  of  the  revenue  of  the 
the  State.  The  slavery  question  continued  State  on  the  part  of  those  charged  with 
to  give  considerable  concern.  Notwith-  the  collections  he  recommended  that  all 
standing  involuntary  servitude  had  been  suits  connected  therewith  be  instituted  in 
forbidden  by  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  the  Harrison  Circuit  Court  and  that  the 
again  by  the  State  constitution,  slaves  appointment  of  an  Attorney-General  be  au- 
were  openly  held,  and  efforts  were  contin-  thorized  by  law  whose  duty  it  should  be  to 
ued  to  introduce  slavery  under  the  dis-  prosecute  such  cases, 
guise  of  apprentices.  In  his  first  message  The  second  State  election,  in  1819,  shows 
to  the  Legislature,  Governor  Jennings  thus  this  result : 
referred  to  the  subject : 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

"I  recommend  to  your  consideration  the 

propriety  of  providing  by  law,  to  prevent  iT-"]. ''^""'"^.^ Hf 

more  effectually  any  unlawful  attempts  to  Christopher  Harrison 2,007 

seize  and  carry  into  bondage  persons  of  Samuel  Carr 80 

color,  legally  entitled    to    their  freedom ;  ^^^er  Allen i 

and,  at  the  same  time,  as  far  as  practica-  yor  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 
ble,  to  prevent  those  who  rightfully  owe 

service  to  the  citizens  of  any  other  State  ^^^''^  So°"  '^'i^O 

or  territory  from  seeking  within  the  lim-  '^°^^  DePauw 3,422 

its  of  this  State  a  refuge  from  the  posses-  J^™^^  McKmght 5 

sion  of  their  lawful  owners.     Such  a  meas-  °«""'^  Pennington 2 

ure  vdll  tend  to  secure  those  who  are  free  Christopher  Harrison 2 

from  any  unlawful  attempts   (to  enslave  Abraham  Markle 2 

them)  and  secure  the  rights  of  the  citizens  mu            a.-        j?  •  ^        i  • 

of  the  other  States  and  territories  as  far  ^he  question  of  mtemal  improvements 

as  ought  reasonably  be  respected."  also  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Legis- 

In  a  speech  delivered  by  Governor  Jen-  ^^^ure  during  the  administration  of  Gov- 
nings  in  the  month  of  August,  1817,  atten-  ^^'^^  Jennings.  The  State  was  rapidly 
tion  was  directed  to  the  need  of  greater  ^"'"^  "P  ^^^^  popu  ation,  but  the  lack  of 
educational  facilities  in  the  State,  the  ne-  "^^^"^  ^o  transport  the  surplus  products  to 
cessity  for  a  revision  of  the  statutes,  the  "^^^^^^  ^^«  delaying  immigration.  No 
need  for  the  organization  of  the  judiciary  ^o^^s  had  been  built  anywhere  in  the 
and  of  a  law  to  prevent  the  carrying  into  State,  except  a  few  that  had  only  been 
bondage  of  persons  of  color  residing  in  the  cleared  of  the  trees,  and  the  settlements 
State  and  legally  entitled  to  their  freedom,  were  still  largely  confined  to  the  neighbor- 
He  also  urged  the  necessity  of  raising  the  hood  of  water  courses.  In  August,  1822, 
State's  revenue  to  a  sufficient  amount  to  before  the  expiration  of  his  second  term, 
meet  the  expenses  of  the  year  and  to  pay  Governor  Jennings  was  elected  to  Con- 
the  debt  consequent  upon  holding  the  con-  gress  from  the  Second  district,  and  the 
stitutional  convention  of  the  previous  year,  unexpired  portion  of  his  term  as  Governor 


(30) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


was  filled  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Ratliff 
Boon.  Governor  Jennings's  resignation 
was  dated  September  12,  1822. 

It  is  vi'orthy  of  note  that  the  first  Con- 
gressman from  the  newly-admitted  State 
of  Indiana  was  William  Hendricks,  an 
older  brother  of  the  father  of  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  who  in  a  later  year  (1860)  be- 
came the  chosen  leader  of  the  Indiana 
Democracy  and  remained  such  beyond 
cavil  to  the  end  of  his  life,  the  latter  part 
of  1885.  So  satisfactorily  did  William 
Hendricks  represent  his  constituency  that 
he  was  twice  re-elected  to  Congress,  serv- 
ing three  terms  in  all.  As  a  further  evi- 
dence of  appreciation  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
elected  Governor  in  1822,  but  before  com- 
pleting his  term  he  was  again  sent  to  Con- 
gress, this  time  as  Senator.  A  second  term 
as  United  States  Senator  was  accorded 
him,  thus  extending  his  congressional 
service  to  eighteen  years  in  all.  Historic- 
ally we  are  informed  that  "during  his  term 
as  Governor  the  people  were  struggling 
under  the  load  of  business  depression  fol- 
lowing 1820,  and  that  but  little  of  moment 
was  done  by  the  Legislature  except  advanc- 
ing the  cause  of  education." 

SOME  OF  THE  FIRST  STATE  LEGIS- 
LATURE'S DOINGS. 

November  15,  1816,  a  resolution  was  in- 
troduced in  the  House  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into 
consideration  the  expediency  of  providing 
for  the  election  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  com- 
mittee was  composed  of  Amos  Lane,  Dear- 
born county;  John  Dumont,  Switzerland; 
Ratliff  Boon,  Warrick;  Thomas  Carr, 
Clark,  and  Edward  Hogan,  Gibson,  to  meet 
with  a  joint  committee  of  the  Senate. 

In  joint  session  the  Senate  and  House 
elected  as  presidential  electors:  Jesse  L. 
Holman,  General  Joseph  Bartholomew, 
and  Thomas  H.  Blake.  They  voted  for 
Monroe. 


The  vote  for  United  States  Senator  was : 
James  Noble,  26 ;  Waller  Taylor,  20 ;  James 
Scott.  16;  Jesse  L.  Holman,  3;  Ezra  Fer- 
ris, 2 ;  Davis  Floyd,  2 ;  Walter  Wilson,  2 ; 
Elias  McNamee,  1. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS  CHOSEN  BY 
LEGISLATURE. 
In  1820  the  Legislature  in  joint  session 
elected  as  presidential  electors:  Daniel  I. 
Caswell,  John  H.  Thompson,  and  Nathan- 
iel Ewing.  The  Vincemies  Sun  stated 
after  these  gentlemen  had  discharged  their 
official  duty :  "It  is  said  the  electors  voted 
for  James  Monroe  for  President  and  Dan- 
iel D.  Tompkins  for  Vice-President." 

CAUCUSING  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

The  history  of  party  organization  in  In- 
diana may  be  said  to  date  from  the  first 
Jackson  campaign  of  1824,  incited  by  the 
United  States  Bank  issue,  which  had  been 
raised  by  "Old  Hickory."  This  extended 
back  even  to  the  Madison  administration, 
for  the  Western  Sun,  published  at  Vin- 
cennes,  reporting  the  legislative  elections 
of  August,  1820,  says:  "Election  reports 
show  that  majorities  had  been  given  over 
the  'Banking,  or  Federal  ticket.'  " 

The  same  publication  furnished  an  in- 
sight into  methods  of  candidate  making, 
for  a  later  issue  makes  this  announcement : 
"A  register  has  been  opened  at  the  grocery 
store  of  Mr.  William  Micure,  where  the 
friends  of  the  different  candidates  may 
record  their  names  under  their  respective 
favorites." 

In  the  1824  campaign  originally  David 
Robb,  of  Gibson  county;  Hiram  Aldridge, 
of  Shelby ;  Jonathan  McCarty,  of  Fayette ; 
John  Milroy,  of  Lawrence,  and  John  Carr, 
of  Clark,  were  chosen  as  Jackson  electors, 
but  some  dissatisfaction  arose  because  cer- 
tain ones  would  not  withdraw,  while  oth- 
ers were  held  to  be  ineligible.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  state  of  feeling  thus  aroused, 
a  call  was  issued  for  a  convention  to  be 
held  September  16  at  the  Court  House  in 


(31) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


Salem  "for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  elec- 
toral ticket  in  favor  of  Andrew  Jackson 
for  President  of  the  United  States." 

Thirteen  counties  were  represented  at 
the  convention  by  delegates  who  selected 
Samuel  Milroy,  of  Washington  county,  as 
chairman,  and  Jacob  Call,  of  Knox  county, 
as  secretary.  A  new  electoral  ticket  was 
named,  composed  of  David  Robb,  of  Gib- 
son county;  Samuel  Milroy,  of  Washing- 
ton; Elias  McNamee,  of  Knox  county; 
Jonathan  McCarty,  of  Fayette,  and  John 
Carr,  of  Clark. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Canby,  of  Madison;  Samuel 
Beach,  of  Jeffersonville,  and  Jesse  B.  Der- 
ham,  of  Jackson  county,  were  appointed  "a 
general  corresponding  committee  with  full 
power,  and  whose  duty  was  to  fill  any  va- 
cancies that  might  occur  on  the  electoral 
ticket,  and  to  take  such  measures  as  may 
be  necessary  to  insure  success." 

The  Henry  Clay  electoral  ticket  was 
composed  of  William  W.  Wick,  of  Marion 
county;  Marson  G.  Clark,  of  Washington 
county ;  James  Rariden,  of  Wayne  county ; 
Walter  Wilson,  of  Gibson  county,  and 
Moses  Tabbs,  of  Knox  county. 

The  electors  for  John  Quincy  Adams 
were:  Isaac  Blackford,  of  Knox  county; 
Jesse  L.  Holman,  of  Dearborn  county ;  Da- 
vid H.  Maxwell,  of  Monroe  county ;  James 
Scott,  of  Clark  county,  and  Christopher 
Harrison,  of  Washington  county.  (Jesse 
L.  Holman  was  the  father  of  William  S. 
Holman,  who  served  a  longer  period  in 
Congress  than  any  other  Indianian,  and 
who  achieved  a  national  reputation  as  the 
relentless  objector  to  every  extravagance 
in  the  expenditure  of  public  moneys.  Mil- 
lions upon  millions  of  dollars  were  thus, 
through  his  vigilance  and  steadfastness, 
saved  the  nation  during  his  long  and  use- 
ful congressional  service.) 

TRIBUTE  TO  "OLD  HICKORY." 

The  second  and  final  convention  called 
to  appoint  Jackson  electors,  Dr.  J.  T.  Can- 
by,  of  Madison,  Samuel  Beach  of  Jeffer- 


sonville, and  Jesse  B.  Derham  of  Jackson 
county,  were  appointed  a  general  corre- 
spondence committee  having  full  power, 
and  whose  duty  was  to  fill  any  vacancies 
on  the  electoral  ticket  "and  take  such  meas- 
ures as  may  be  necessary  to  insure  its  suc- 
cess." 

Samuel  Judah,  Dr.  Israel  T.  Canby, 
Henry  S.  Handy,  of  Jefferson;  Samuel 
Carr,  of  Clark,  and  William  Kelsey,  of 
Lawrence,  were  named  to  prepare  an  ad- 
dress to  the  people  of  Indiana  on  the  ap- 
proaching election,  same  being  published 
October  16,  1824,  by  the  Western  Sun  and 
General  Advertiser,  of  Vincennes,  in  part 
as  follows : 

"The  history  of  Andrew  Jackson  pre- 
sents every  pledge  deeds  can  give  of  his 
ability  for  all  his  country  can  require  of 
him. 

"His  political  principles  undoubted,  his 
integrity  without  a  stain,  and  above  sus- 
picion ;  his  greatness  of  intellect  proved  by 
the  ever-successful  result  of  all  his  enter- 
prises, we  confide  in  him  and  we  deem  him 
most  worthy  the  Presidency  of  the  na- 
tion.    . 

"The  history  of  philosophy,  the  legisla- 
tion of  Solon  and  genius  of  her  sons  have 
immortalized  Athens.  The  time  was  when 
the  spirit  of  Minerva  inspired  her  coun- 
cils. Neptune  bowed  his  trident  before 
her,  and  the  commerce  of  the  world  poured 
the  wealth  of  nations  at  her  feet.  But 
corruption  sealed  the  destiny  of  the  Athen- 
ians— Pericles  had  expended  the  spoils  of 
the  public  treasury  in  bribing  his  fellov/ 
citizens — virtue  had  ceased  to  exist  at 
Athens,  etc. 

"As  Americans,  as  citizens  of  the  West, 
as  Republicans,  and  as  men  only  actuated 
by  a  sincere  love  of  our  common  country, 
of  its  love,  prosperity  and  happiness,  we 
most  earnestly  recommend  to  you,  fellow 
citizens,  to  support  the  man  of  the  people, 
Andrew  Jackson." 

At  the  presidential  election  in  1824  the 
people  of  Indiana,  for  the  first  time  since 
her  admission  into  the  Union,  were  per- 
mitted to  name  the  electors  by  popular 
vote.  Prior  thereto  the  electors  were 
chosen  by  the  Legislature.  The  electors 
named  in  1816  were  chosen  before  Indiana 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


8  16-1 


had  been  admitted  into  the  Union.  There 
was  some  objection  to  this  procedure,  but 
in  the  absence  of  serious  opposition,  In- 
diana's three  votes  were  included  in  the 
count  for  Monroe. 

JACKSON  STATE  CONVENTION  IN 
1828. 

At  this  gathering,  held  on  the  8th  of 
January,  Israel  T.  Canby  presided.  Ben- 
jamin V.  Becker  was  named  as  vice-presi- 
dent, and  Paris  C.  Dunning  and  William 
Marshall  officiated  as  secretaries. 

Jackson  electors  chosen  were:  Benja- 
min V.  Becker,  Knox;  Jesse  B.  Derham, 
Jackson;  Ross  Smiley,  Union;  Ratliff 
Boon,  Warrick;  William  Lowe,  Monroe. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare 
an  address  to  the  people  of  Indiana  in 
favor  of  Andrew  Jackson.  This  commit- 
tee was  made  to  consist  of  Samuel  Judah, 
Knox;  Paris  C.  Dunning,  Monroe;  John 
Cain,  Marion;  Marcus  Willitt,  Rush; 
Thomas  Fitzgerald,  Warrick. 

A  general  superintendence  committee 
was  named  as  follows:  R.  C.  Newland, 
Eli  W.  Malott,  John  McMahan,  Henry  S. 
Handy,  of  Washington  county;  General 
John  Carr,  of  Clark;  William  Hoggatt, 
Orange;  William  Marshall,  Jackson;  A.  S. 
Burnett,  Floyd;  John  Milroy,  Lawrence; 
Nelson  Lodge,  Jefferson;  Elihu  Stout, 
Knox;  William  C.  Keen,  Switzerland; 
Thomas  Posey,  Harrison;  Jacob  B.  Lowe, 
Monroe;  David  V.  Culley,  Dearborn. 

FRIENDS  OF  ADAMS  AND  CLAY. 

The  supporters  of  the  Adams  adminis- 
tration held  their  convention  January  12, 
1828,  and  named  for  presidential  electors 
General  Joseph  Orr,  of  Putnam  county; 
John  Watts,  of  Dearborn;  General  Joseph 
Bartholomew,  Gibson;  Rev.  James  Arm- 
strong, Monroe.  Mr.  Armstrong  subse- 
quently declined,  and  General  Amaziah 
Morgan  was  substituted.  John  Watts  pre- 
sided over  the  convention  that  named  these 
electors.     A  protective  tariff  and  internal 


improvements  were  presented  as  the  main 
issues  of  the  campaign.  Opposition  to 
Jackson  was  pronounced. 

JACKSON    STATE    CONVENTION    OF 
1831. 

For  the  1832  campaign  the  Jacksonites 
met  in  State  convention  at  the  State  House 
December  12,  1831.  Benjamin  V.  Becker, 
of  Knox  county,  presided.  Arthur  Patter- 
son, of  Parke,  and  David  Robb  served  as 
vice-presidents,  and  Wm.  J.  Brown  of 
Rush  and  Nathaniel  Field  of  Clark  offi- 
ciated as  secretaries.  Thirty-nine  coun- 
ties were  represented. 

A  committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Mor- 
rison, Feeney,  Culley,  Reid  and  Davis  re- 
ported a  series  of  resolutions  which  were 
published  in  the  Co.s.s  County  Times  of  De- 
cember 30,  1831.  They  dwell  on  the  de- 
pressed condition  of  the  country  when 
President  Jackson  entered  upon  office  and 
point  with  satisfaction  to  the  improvement 
wrought  by  his  administration;  foreign 
treaties  made  by  the  Jackson  administra- 
tion come  in  for  laudation. 

Electors  named  were:  George  Boon, 
Sullivan  county;  James  Blake,  Marion; 
Arthur  Patterson,  Parke;  Nathan  B.  Pal- 
mer, Jefferson,  and  Marks  Crume,  Fayette. 

Contingent  electors:  Thomas  Givens, 
Posey  county ;  Alexander  S.  Burnet;  Floyd ; 
Walter  Armstrong,  Dearborn,  and  John 
Ketcham,  Monroe. 

Resolutions  adopted  were  to  this  effect: 
"That  we  approve  the  measures  of  the 
present  administration,  and  especially  the 
late  change  in  the  cabinet,  the  payment  of 
the  national  debt,  the  removal  of  the  In- 
dians, and  the  right  system  of  economy 
and  accountability  effected  and  recom- 
mended by  our  present  'revered'  President, 
Andrew  Jackson." 

Hon.  John  Tipton,  Hon.  Ratliff  Boon, 
Hon.  Jonathan  McCarty,  Hon.  John  Carr 
and  Gen.  Samuel  Milroy  were  named  dele- 
gates to  the  Baltimore  convention. 


2 — History 


(33) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Central  Committee:  A.  F.  Morrison,  D. 
L.  McFarland,  Abraham  W.  Harrison, 
George  L.  Kinnard  and  Henry  Brady,  Ma- 
rion county;  Nathaniel  Bolton,  Jefferson; 
Jacob  Shank,  Shelby;  John  C.  Julien,  Hen- 
dricks ;  John  P.  Dunn  and  William  Lanius, 
Dearborn;  Enos  Lowe,  Putnam;  Aaron 
Finch,  Jefferson;  Edward  A.  Hannegan, 
Fountain;  John  Spencer,  John  Irwin  and 
Daniel  Reid,  Wayne ;  John  C.  Huckleberry, 
Clark;  John  W.  Cox,  Morgan;  William  P. 
Riser,  Bartholomew;  John  Wood,  Rush; 
John  Berry,  Madison;  Jeremiah  Smith, 
Randolph ;  R.  C.  Newland,  Washington ; 
John  Gardner,  Vermillion. 

Governor  Ray  seems  to  have  experienced 
some  difficulty  in  balancing  himself  polit- 
ically. Ostensibly  a  Jacksonian,  he  con- 
sidered it  an  affront  to  be  asked  to  commit 
himself  one  way  or  another. 

'•THE  FORLORN  HOPE." 

The  opponents  of  Jackson  styled  them- 
selves National  Republicans.  They  held 
their  State  convention  at  Indianapolis,  No- 
vember 7,  1831.  Nineteen  counties  were 
represented  by  thirty-one  delegates. 
Twelve  others  were  given  seats.  Charles 
Dewey,  of  Clark  county,  presided ;  Douf an 
Maguire,  of  Marion  county,  acted  as  sec- 
retary. The  resolutions  adopted  start  out 
with  these  declarations : 

"The  friends  of  the  American  system 
composing  this  convention  warmly  partici- 
pate with  their  fellow  citizens  of  Indiana 
and  the  adjacent  States  in  the  general  de- 
sire to  see  the  vital  interests  of  domestic 
industry  and  internal  improvements  res- 
cued from  their  present  state  of  jeopardy, 
and  fostered  and  maintained  with  un- 
abated zeal.  They  are  especially  desirous 
to  witness  a  correct,  honorable  and  suc- 
cessful administration  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment. The  captivating  promises  of  re- 
trenchment and  reform  in  which  the 
friends  of  General  Jackson  so  copiously 
indulged  previous  to  the  last  election  have 
not  been  realized.  The  alleged  abuses  of 
the  former  administration  have  been  cop- 
ied and  re-copied  so  often  by  the  present, 
that,  if  their  number  and  magnitude  had 


not  destroyed  the  resemblance,  we  should 
be  led  to  imagine  that  the  defects  of  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Adams  had  been 
selected  as  the  models  for  that  of  General 
Jackson." 

The  resolutions  declared  for  a  tariff  of 
duties  for  the  protection  of  American  in- 
dustry, for  internal  improvement,  and  en- 
dorsed Henry  Clay  for  President. 

Delegates  to  the  Baltimore  convention 
selected  were:  John  I.  Neely,  Isaac  Howk, 
and  George  H.  Dunn. 

The  Indiana  Democrat  said  this  conven- 
tion "numbered  several  who  had  lately 
been  invited  into  retirement  by  the  peo- 
ple," mentioning  Messrs.  Test,  Oliver  H. 
Smith,  John  H.  Thompson,  Isaac  Howk, 
Law  and  W.  W.  Wick.  The  paper  called 
it  "A  Forlorn  Hope." 

THE  VAN  BUREN  CAMPAIGN  OF  1836 
A  preliminary  meeting  was  held  at 
Brookville,  Franklin  county,  March  14, 
1834,  to  pave  the  way  for  nominating  a 
successor  to  President  Jackson.  Dr.  John 
Bradburn  presided  and  Ben  Sed  Noble 
acted  as  secretary.  Col.  C.  W.  Hutchens, 
Jonathan  Eads  and  Dr.  George  Berry  were 
the  committee  on  resolutions  which  re- 
ported an  endorsement  of  Martin  Van 
Buren  for  President  and  Richard  M.  John- 
son of  Kentucky  for  Vice-President.  No 
further  action  was  taken  at  this  gathering, 
but  a  convention  was  called  to  be  held  at 
Indianapolis,  December  9,  1834,  at  which 
General  Samuel  Milroy  presided.  Robert 
Mclntyre  of  Fountain  county  and  David  V. 
Culley  of  Dearborn  county  were  named  as 
vice-presidents,  and  William  B.  White  of 
Fountain  county  and  A.  F.  Morrison  of 
Marion  officiated  as  secretaries. 

Three  delegates  to  the  national  conven- 
tion which  was  subsequently  called  to  be 
held  at  Baltimore,  May  20,  1835,  were 
named  from  each  of  the  seven  districts,  as 
follows : 

First — John  B.  Moyer,  Orange  county; 
Joseph  Lane,  Vanderburg;  John  Pitcher, 
Gibson. 


(34) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


Second — Lewis  H.  Sands,  Putnam; 
Ralph  Wilson,  Vigo ;  Hiram  Decker,  Knox. 

Third — Dr.  Jesse  Jackson,  Scott;  Gen- 
eral William  Marshall,  and  Isaac  Stewart. 

Fourth — Andrew  Davidson,  Decatur; 
John  P.  Dunn,  Dearborn;  William  J. 
Brown,  Rush. 

Fifth— Daniel  Reid,  Wayne;  John  Spen- 
cer, Allen ;  John  D.  Vaughan,  Wayne. 

Sixth — Alexander  F.  Morrison,  John 
Cain  and  Livingston  Dunlap,  Marion. 

Seventh — Genei-al  Samuel  Milroy,  Car- 
roll; T.  A.  Howard,  Parke;  Thomas  B. 
BrowTi,  Tippecanoe.       -i  ( '  (-'-i''"  A*2, 

VAN  BUREN'S  NOMINATION  RATI- 
FIED BY  INDIANA  DEMOCRACY. 
An  enthusiastic  ratification  convention 
was  held  at  Indianapolis,  January  8,  1836. 
The  convention  was  called  to  order  by 
George  Boon,  of  Sullivan  county.  General 
Samuel  Milroy,  of  Carroll  county,  was 
made  temporary  chairman,  and  Thomas  B. 
Brown  of  Tippecanoe  and  Jesse  Jackson 
of  Scott,  secretaries.  The  permanent  or- 
ganization was  oflScered  by  the  following 
named  gentlemen : 

President:  Nathan  B.  Palmer,  Marion 
county. 

Vice-Presidents :  William  Casey,  Posey ; 
George  Boon,  Sullivan;  John  Prather, 
Clark;  Thomas  Howard,  Dearborn;  Ross 
Smiley,  Fayette;  Elihu  Stout,  Knox;  Wil- 
liam White,  Vermillion. 

Secretaries:  Thomas  B.  Brown,  Tippe- 
canoe; Jesse  Jackson,  Scott;  William  C. 
Foster,  Monroe ;  James  W.  Borden,  Wayne. 
Upon  taking  the  chair  Mr.  Palmer  said: 
"We  have  convened  on  the  present  occa- 
sion as  the  representatives  of  the  people, 
clothed  with  the  important  trust  of  select- 
ing an  electoral  ticket  from  our  Demo- 
cratic brethren,  pledged  to  vote  for  the 
Hon.  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  for 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  for 
Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  for 
Vice-President. 

"These  distinguished  gentlemen  stand 
pledged  as  the  disciples  of  Jefferson  and 
Jackson,  to  carry  out  and  to  preserve  in 
their  purity  those  great  republican  prin- 
ciples, which,  from  the  earliest  period  of 


our  government,  it  has  been  the  great  ob- 
ject of  the  Democratic  party  to  sustain." 

In  closing,  Mr.  Palmer  said : 

"Nor  should  we  be  regardless  of  the  im- 
portance of  union  and  harmony  in  our 
ranks.  ...  A  spirit  that  asks  not 
the  aid  nor  interference  of  Congress  to 
make  for  the  people  a  president.  Yea, 
more,  a  spirit  of  indignation  of  the  de- 
moralizing tendency  of  that  open  and 
avowed  object  of  so  multiplying  candidates 
for  the  Presidency,  that  the  people  may 
be  induced,  through  local  interests  and 
local  influences,  to  so  cast  their  votes 
as  to  cheat  themselves  out  of  the  choice  of 
the  chief  magistrate  of  this  Union.  But  I 
pursue  this  subject  no  farther.  The  out- 
rage contemplated  in  this  attempt  is  too 
palpable  to  escape  the  notice  of  any  intelli- 
gent citizens." 

There  were  reasons  for  sounding  this 
note  of  warning.  Insidious  eff'orts  were 
made  in  various  parts  of  the  Union  to 
bring  out  candidates  for  the  presidency, 
with  a  view  to  complicating  affairs  and 
causing  strife  and  contention  among  those 
who  had  steadfastly  upheld  the  adminis- 
tration of  President  Jackson.  Judge  Mc- 
Lean was  formally  brought  out  for  the 
presidency  by  a  caucus  of  the  Ohio  Legis- 
lature. Thomas  H.  Benton  was  put  in 
nomination  at  a  meeting  in  Alabama.  John 
Forsyth,  the  distinguished  editor  of  the 
Mobile  Regi-'iter,  was  put  in  nomination  by 
the  Georgia  Legislature. 

The  WesteDi  Sun  published  a  letter  Jan- 
uary 24,  1835,  from  Thomas  H.  Benton,  in 
which  he  declined  to  stand  as  a  candidate 
for  the  vice-presidency  on  the  nomination 
given  him  by  the  Mississippi  State  conven- 
tion. He  lauds  Van  Buren  and  declares 
harmony  is  necessary  in  order  to  preserve 
the  party,  and  states  his  belief  that 
schemes  are  afoot  to  disorganize  the  party 
by  bringing  out  numerous  candidates.  The 
letter  was  i.ssued  in  answer  to  one  sent  him 
by  a  committee  composed  of  Robert  T. 
Lytle,  Ohio ;  Henry  Hubbard,  New  Hamp- 
shire; Ratliff  Boon,  Indiana,  and  H.  A. 
Muhlenberg,   Pennsylvania,   these   gentle- 


(35) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


men  urging  reconsideration  of  his  an- 
nounced declaration. 

The  committee  on  resolutions  consisted 
of  James  Whitcomb,  Monroe ;  A.  C.  Grif- 
fith, Jackson;  V.  P.  Antwerp,  Vigo;  J.  R. 
Craig,  Posey;  George  Finch,  Vander- 
burg;  A.  C.  Reid,  Marion;  A.  C.  Pepper, 
Dearborn,  and  James  Ritchey,  Johnson. 

Electors-at-large :  John  Myers,  of  Knox, 
and  William  Rockhill,  of  Allen  county. 

Contingent  electors-at-large :  Robert 
Mclntyre,  of  Fountain  county,  and  Jona- 
than Lyon,  of  Washington  county. 

DISTRICT  ELECTORS. 

1.  Thomas  C.  Stewart,  Pike  county. 

2.  George  W.  Moore,  Owen. 

3.  Jesse  Jackson,  Scott. 

4.  Marinus  Willet,  Rush. 

5.  Gen.  Elisha  Long,  Wayne. 

6.  Jonathan  Williams,  Morgan. 

7.  Capt.  William  White,  Vermilion. 

CONTINGENT  ELECTORS. 

1.  Col.  John  Pinnick,  Orange  county. 

2.  John  Thornburgh,  Putnam. 

3.  Jonathan  Lyon,  Washington. 

4.  William  Purcell,  Dearborn. 

5.  James  Leviston,  Union. 

6.  Gen.  John  Milroy,  Hancock. 

7.  James  Strange,  Parke. 

State  Central  Committee  named  at  this 
convention:  Livingston  Dunlap,  Nathan 
B.  Palmer,  James  Morrison,  Arthur  St. 
Clair,  John  Cain,  A.  F.  Morrison,  S.  W. 
Norris,  James  B.  Ray,  Nathaniel  West, 
Sr.,  Nathaniel  Bolton,  John  Jamison,  John 
Livingston,  Archibald  C.  Reid,  Demas  L. 
McFarland  and  Henry  Brady,  all  from 
near  Marion  county. 

THE  OPPONENTS  OF  VAN  BUREN  IN 
ACTION. 

A  meeting  favorable  to  the  elevation  of 
General  William  Henry  Harrison  v^^as  held 
at  the  Franklin  county  court  house  in 
Brookville,  February  5,  1835.  Enoch  Mc- 
Carty  presided.  Resolutions  were  adopted 
lauding  the  candidacy  of  General  Harri- 
son for  the  presidency.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  prepare  an  address  to  the 


citizens  of  the  United  States,  as  follows: 
David  Mount,  Dr.  Samuel  St.  John,  Major 
J.  L.  Andrew,  John  A.  Matson,  Robert 
John,  Lemuel  Snow,  Bartholomew  Fitz- 
patrick,  James  Samuels  and  Capt.  John 
Shultz. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  Franklin 
county,  February  6,  1835.  Fielding  Jeter 
was  chairman  and  Col.  B.  S.  Noble  secre- 
tary. Jeter  left  before  the  convention 
was  over  and  Noble  took  the  chair. 

John  A.  Matson  presented  the  following 
resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  the  evils  of  excited 
party  spirit  have  become  so  great  in  the 
United  States  that  the  people  are  imperi- 
ously called  upon  to  take  some  measures 
to  allay  the  excitement.     .      .      ." 

It  ended  by  declaring  confidence  in  Gen- 
eral William  Henry  Harrison  of  Ohio. 

C.  W.  Hutchens  offered  a  motion  to  ad- 
journ for  four  weeks,  which  was  lost.  He 
then  offered  as  a  substitute: 

"Whereas,  Several  hundred  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Franklin  county  united  in  inviting 
together  their  fellow  citizens  for  a  specific 
object,  viz.,  to  adopt  measures,  that  in  the 
opinion  of  this  assemblage  shall  be  best 
adapted  to  the  work  of  allaying  party 
strife  or  excitement — a  consummation  de- 
voutly to  be  wished ;  we  have  after  mature 
reflection  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
object  can  be  best  attained  by  leaving  the 
business  of  candidate-making  to  others 
who  are  better  acquainted  with  the  claims 
of  prominent  men  than  is  possible  in  the 
nature  of  things  than  we  can  be.  There- 
fore, 

"Resolved,  That  we  will,  each  of  us,  re- 
turn to  our  respective  places  of  abode,  and 
with  the  utmost  composure,  await  the 
presentation  of  the  candidates  for  the  of- 
fice of  President  and  Vice-I'resident  of  the 
United  States,  and  also  impartially  exam- 
ine, from  the  best  opportunities  offered, 
the  qualifications,  and  make  our  selections 
accordingly. 

"Resolved,  That  we  deprecate  all  at- 
tempts to  dictate  to  us,  from  whatever 
source,  and  that  we  prefer  open  dealing  to 
blind  innuendo. 

"Resolved,  That  we  think  this  course  en- 
tirely characteristic  of  freemen,  and  con- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


tradistinguished  by  that  of  calling  together 
a  select  few  for  the  advancement  of  party 
views  to  operate  more  abroad  than  at 
home." 

These  resolutions  were  adopted.  C.  W. 
Hutchen  then  moved  to  amend  the  resolu- 
tion of  John  A.  Matson  by  striking  out  the 
name  of  Harrison  and  inserting  the  name 
of  the  person  who  may  be  nominated  by 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  to  be 
held  on  the  20th  of  May,  1835.  This  mo- 
tion failed,  as  did  also  that  by  Hutchens, 
to  substitute  the  name  of  Martin  Van 
Buren  for  that  of  Hai-rison. 

Though  the  Democrats  of  Indiana  did 
not  succeed  in  securing  the  election  of  Van 
Buren  electors,  they  felt  highly  elated  over 
the  victory  won  in  the  country-at-large. 
While  averse  to  General  Harrison  being 
made  Pi'esident  of  the  United  States,  they 
felt  that  the  pioneers  owed  him  a  large 
debt  of  gratitude  for  the  splendid  military 
sei'vice  he  rendered  in  fighting  the  Indians 
and  making  it  possible  for  white  men  to 
gain  a  habitation  and  enjoy  the  benefits 
thereof. 

VAN  BURENITES  JOLLIFY. 

A  jollification  over  the  election  of  Van 
Buren  and  Johnson  was  held  December  26, 
1836,  at  Ross  Smiley's  store  at  Longwood, 
Fayette  county.  The  newspaper  account 
says: 

"When  the  meeting  was  proposed  it  was 
only  intended  to  meet  and  drink  a  few  bot- 
tles of  wine  in  sociability,  expressive  of 
the  good  feeling  experienced  on  the  occa- 
sion. But  finding  the  meeting  would  be 
numerously  attended,  a  beautiful  young 
hickoiy,  five  inches  in  diameter,  was  plant- 
ed with  the  bark  and  limbs  thereon,  and 
bearing  a  flagstaff",  with  a  new  hickory 
broom  on  the  top  and  a  flag  of  the  Union 
suspended  at  a  distance  of  seventy-five  feet 
from  the  ground.  On  the  flag  was  im- 
pressed the  name  of  Martin  Van  Buren  in 
large  letters,  with  the  eagle,  stars  and 
stripes,  and  decorated  with  ribbons — all  in 
handsome  style." 


INDIANA'S     REPRESENTATION     IN 
CONGRESS  FROM  1816  TO  1833. 

During  the  first  six  years  of  Statehood 
Indiana  had  but  one  Representative  in 
Congress — William  Hendricks.  Under  a 
new  apportionment,  as  the  result  of  large- 
ly increased  population,  the  State  became 
entitled  to  three  Representatives.  This 
ratio  continued  until  1833,  when  the 
State's  representation  was  more  than  dou- 
bled. William  Prince,  ex-Governor  Jona- 
than Jennings  and  John  Test  were  elected 
to  the  Eighteenth  Congress.  Mr.  Prince 
was  killed  by  the  explosion  of  a  steamboat 
on  the  way  to  Washington  to  begin  his 
term  of  ofl^ce.  Jacob  Call  was  elected  to 
fill  the  vacancy. 

To  tho  Nineteenth  Congress — 182.5  to 
1827 — Ratlifl:  Boon,  Jonathan  Jennings 
and  John  Test  were  elected. 

There  was  quite  a  "shake-up"  in  the 
election  of  members  to  the  Twentieth  Con- 
gress, Boon  having  been  defeated  and 
Thomas  Blake  chosen  in  his  stead.  Jen- 
nings fared  better,  succeeding  himself,  but 
Test  was  replaced  by  Oliver  H.  Smith. 

At  the  following  election  the  delegation 
to  the  Twenty-first  Congress  was  again 
made  to  consist  of  Boon,  Jennings,  and 
Test.  But  at  the  election  two  years  later 
Ratliff'  Boon  was  the  only  one  of  the  trio 
to  retain  his  seat,  so  that  Indiana's  delega- 
tion to  the  Twenty-second  Congress  was 
made  to  consist  of  Ratliff  Boon,  John  Carr, 
and  Jonathan  McCarty.  With  the  ending 
of  that  decade  terminated  Indiana's  trio 
representation. 

In  order  to  give  the  present  generation 
something  of  an  idea  of  the  manner  of  men 
sent  to  Congress  from  Indiana  in  the  ear- 
lier days  of  the  State's  existence,  brief 
biographical  sketches  are  presented : 

WILLIAM  HENDRICKS,  a  Represen- 
tative and  a  Senator;  born  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  November  12, 
1782  ;  attended  the  common  schools ;  moved 
to  Madison,  Ind.,  in  1814;  Secretary  of  the 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


first  State  Constitutional  Convention; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Fourteenth, 
Fifteenth,  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Con- 
gresses and  served  from  March  4,  1815, 
until  his  resignation  in  1822 ;  Governor  of 
Indiana  1822-1825;  elected  United  States 
Senator  from  Indiana;  re-elected  in  1831, 
and  served  from  March  4,  1825,  to  March 
3,  1837;  died  in  Madison,  Ind.,  May  16, 
1850. 

RATLIFF  BOON,  born  in  Franklin 
county,  North  Carolina,  January  18,  1781 ; 
moved  with  his  father  to  Warren  county, 
Kentucky ;  emigrated  to  Danville,  Ky.,  and 
learned  the  gunsmith's  trade ;  attended  the 
public  schools ;  moved  to  Indiana  in  1809 ; 
on  the  organization  of  Warren  county  was 
appointed  its  first  treasurer;  member  of 
the  State  House  of  Representatives  in 
1816-1817;  elected  to  the  State  Senate  in 
1818;  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  of  In- 
diana in  1819;  upon  the  resignation  of 
Jonathan  Jennings  as  Governor,  filled  out 
the  unexpired  term  until  December  5, 
1822;  re-elected  Lieutenant-Governor  and 
resigned  to  become  candidate  for  Con- 
gress; elected  to  the  Nineteenth  Congress 
(March  4,  1825  to  March  3,  1827)  as  a 
Jackson  Democrat;  elected  to  the  Twenty- 
first,  Twenty-second,  Twenty-third,  Twen- 
ty-fourth and  Twenty-fifth  Congresses 
(March  4,  1829,  to  March  3,  1839)  ;  unsuc- 
cessful candidate  for  the  United  States 
Senate  in  1836 ;  moved  to  Pike  county,  Mis- 
souri; died  in  Louisiana,  Mo.,  November 
20,  1844. 

JONATHAN  JENNINGS,  a  delegate 
from  Indiana  Territory,  and  a  Representa- 
tive from  Indiana;  born  in  Hunterdon 
county,  New  Jersey,  in  1784;  went  with 
parents  to  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  pursued  an  academic  course; 
went  to  Indiana  Territory  and  became 
Clerk  of  the  Territorial  Legislature ;  elect- 
ed the  first  delegate  from  Indiana  Terri- 
tory to  the  Eleventh  Congress;  re-elected 
to  the  Twelfth,  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth 


Congresses,  and  served  from  November 
27,  1809,  to  March  3,  1817;  elected  Gov- 
ernor of  Indiana  in  December,  1816,  and 
served  until  1822;  appointed  Indian  Com- 
missioner in  1818;  elected  to  the  Seven- 
teenth Congress  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused 
by  the  resignation  of  William  Hendricks; 
re-elected  to  the  Eighteenth,  Nineteenth, 
Twentieth  and  Twenty-first  Congresses, 
and  served  from  December  2,  1822,  to 
March  3,  1831 ;  died  near  Charlestown, 
Ind.,  July  26,  1834. 

JOHN  TEST,  a  native  of  Salem,  N.  J. ; 
attended  the  common  schools ;  studied  law, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  prac- 
tice in  Brookville,  Ind.;  held  several. local 
offices;  elected  as  a  Clay  Democrat  to  the 
Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  Congresses 
(March  4,  1823,  to  March  3,  1827)  ;  un- 
successful candidate  for  re-election  to  the 
Twentieth  Congress ;  re-elected  as  a  Whig 
to  the  Twenty-first  Congress  (March  4, 
1829,  to  March  3,  1831)  ;  presiding  judge 
of  Indiana  circuit  court;  moved  to  Mobile, 
Ala. ;  died  near  Cambridge  City,  Ind.,  Oc- 
tober 9,  1849. 

THOMAS  HOLDSWORTH  BLAKE, 
born  in  Calvert  county,  Maryland,  June 
14,  1792;  attended  the  public  schools  and 
studied  law  in  Washington,  D.  C. ;  member 
of  the  militia  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
which  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Bladens- 
berg,  in  1814;  moved  to  Kentucky  and 
then  to  Indiana ;  began  the  practice  of  law 
in  Terre  Haute;  prosecuting  attorney  and 
judge  of  the  circuit  court;  gave  up  the 
practice  of  law  and  engaged  in  business ; 
for  several  years  a  member  of  the  State 
Legislature  of  Indiana;  elected  as  an 
Adams  Republican  to  the  Twentieth  Con- 
gress (March  4,  1827,  to  March  3,  1829)  ; 
appointed  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office  by  President  Tyler,  May  19, 
1842,  and  served  until  April,  1845;  chosen 
President  of  the  Erie  &  Wabash  Canal 
Company;   visited    England   as   Financial 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181  (3 -191 


Agent  of  the  State  of  Indiana;  on  his  re- 
turn died  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  November 
28,  1849. 

OLIVER  H.  SMITH,  a  Representative 
and  a  Senator  from  Indiana;  born  on 
Smith's  Island,  near  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Octo- 
ber 23,  1794 ;  moved  to  Indiana  in  1817 ; 
attended  the  public  schools;  studied  law, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  prac- 
tice in  Connersville,  Ind. ;  member  of  the 
State  House  of  Representatives  in  1822- 
1824;  Prosecuting  Attorney  for  the  Third 
Judicial  District  1824  and  1825 ;  elected  as 
a  Jackson  Democrat  to  the  Twentieth  Con- 
gress (March  4,  1827,  to  March  3,  1829)  ; 
unsuccessful  candidate  for  re-election ; 
elected  as  a  Whig  to  the  United  States 
Senate  and  served  from  March  4,  1837,  to 
March  3,  1843  ;  declined  the  Whig  nomina- 
tion for  Governor  in  1845 ;  engaged  in  the 
railroad  business  in  Indianapolis;  died  in 
Indianapolis,  March  19,  1849. 

JOHN  CARR,  elected  as  a  Democrat  to 
the  Twenty-second,  Twenty-third  and 
Twenty-fourth  Congresses  (March  4, 
1831,  to  March  3,  1837)  ;  elected  to  the 
Twenty-sixth  Congress  (March  4,  1839,  to 
March  3,  1841)  ;  died  in  Charlestown,  Ind., 
January  20,  1845. 

U.  S.  SENATORS  CHOSEN  PRIOR  TO 
1840. 
James  Noble,  Waller  Taylor,  William 
Hendricks,  Robert  Hanna,  John  Tipton, 
Oliver  H.  Smith  and  Albert  S.  White  were 
chosen  prior  to  1840  to  represent  Indiana 
in  the  United  States  Senate.  Two  of 
them — William  Hendricks  and  Oliver  H. 
Smith — had  previously  served  in  the 
Lower  House  and  are  biographically  men- 
tioned in  the  foregoing  chapter.  They 
will,  therefore,  not  be  included  in  the 
sketches  following: 

JAMES  NOBLE,  born  near  Berryville, 
Clarke  county,  Virginia,  December  16, 
1785 ;  moved  with  his  parents  to  Campbell 
county,  Kentucky,  in  1795 ;  studied  law  and 


was  admitted  to  the  bar;  moved  to  Brook- 
ville,  Franklin  county,  Indiana,  in  1811; 
member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature; 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  in 
1816;  re-elected  in  1821  and  1827,  and 
served  from  November  8,  1816,  until  his 
death,  in  Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.  26,  1831. 

WALLER  TAYLOR,  born  in  Lunenburg 
county,  Virginia,  before  1786 ;  attended  the 
common  schools ;  studied  law,  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar,  and  practiced;  member  of 
the  State  Legislature;  moved  to  Indiana 
in  1805,  and  located  in  Vincennes ;  Territo- 
rial Judge  in  1806;  served  as  aide-de-camp 
to  Gen.  William  H.  Harrison  in  the  war 
of  1812;  appointed  Territorial  Judge; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  United  States 
Senate;  re-elected  and  served  from  No- 
vember 8,  1816,  to  March  3,  1825;  died  in 
Lunenburg,  Va.,  August  26,  1826. 

ROBERT  HANNA,  born  in  Laurens 
district,  South  Carolina,  April  6,  1786;  set- 
tled in  Brookville,  Ind.,  in  1802 ;  sheriff  of 
the  common  pleas  court  1811-1820;  mem- 
ber of  the  Indiana  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion of  1816;  brigadier-general  of  State 
militia;  register  of  the  land  office;  moved 
to  Indianapolis  in  1825;  appointed  United 
States  Senator  as  a  Whig  to  fill  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  James  Noble,  and 
served  from  December  5,  1831,  to  January 
3,  1832;  member  of  the  State  Senate; 
served  in  the  State  House  of  Representa- 
tives ;  killed  by  a  railroad  train  when  walk- 
ing upon  the  track  in  Indianapolis,  No- 
vember 16,  1858. 

JOHN  TIPTON,  born  in  Sevier  county, 
Tennessee,  August  14,  1786;  received  a 
limited  schooling;  moved  to  Harrison  coun- 
ty, Indiana,  in  1807 ;  served  with  the  "Yel- 
low Jackets"  in  the  Tippecanoe  campaign, 
and  attained  the  rank  of  brigadier-general 
of  militia ;  sheriff  of  Harrison  county,  In- 
diana, 1815-1819 ;  member  of  the  commit- 
tee to  locate  the  State  capitol  in  1821 ; 
served  in  the  State  Hou.se  of  Representa- 
tives 1819-1823;  one  of  the  commissioners 


(39) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D 

to  select  a  site  for  a  new  capital  for  In- 
diana in  1820 ;  commissioner  to  determine 
boundary  line  between  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois ;  appointed  U.  S.  Indian  agent  for  the 
Pottawatamie  and  Miami  tribes  in  March, 
1823 ;  laid  out  the  city  of  Logansport,  Ind., 
April  10,  1828;  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  death  of  James  Noble;  re-elected  in 
1833,  and  served  from  January  3,  1832, 
until  March  3,  1839;  died  in  Logansport, 
April  5,  1839. 

ALBERT  S.  WHITE,  born  in  Blooming 
Grove,  Orange  county.  New  York,  October 
24,  1803 ;  was  graduated  from  Union  Col- 
lege in  1822 ;  studied  law,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1825;  moved  to  Lafayette,  Ind., 
in  1829 ;  Clerk  of  the  State  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives for  five  years;  elected  as  a 
Whig  to  the  Twenty-fifth  Congress 
(March  4,  1837,  to  March  3,  1839)  ;  presi- 
dent of  several  railroads;  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  served  from 
March  4,  1839,  to  March  3,  1845 ;  declined 
a  re-election;  elected  as  a  Republican  to 
the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  (March  4, 
1861,  to  March  3,  1863)  ;  Judge  of  the 
United  States  court  for  the  district  of  In- 
diana in  1864,  and  served  until  his  death 
in  Stockwell,  Ind.,  September  24,  1864. 

CONGRESSMAN,  GOVERNOR  AND 
SENATOR. 
When  the  delegate  convention  met  at 
Corydon  on  the  10th  day  of  June,  1816, 
under  the  authority  of  the  enabling  act  of 
Congress,  to  frame  a  constitution  for  the 
new  State,  William  Hendricks  was  chosen 
secretary  of  that  small  but  able  and  his- 
toric body.  He  was  an  elder  brother  of 
Major  John  Hendricks,  father  of  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks.  Those  who  knew  him  in 
the  days  of  his  activity  described  him  as 
having  been  large  and  commanding  in  per- 
son and  as  bearing  in  his  physiognomy 
the  marks  of  strong  intellectuality.  In 
August  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  Congress  under  the  approved 


EMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

constitution,  thus  becoming  the  first  Rep- 
resentative of  the  State  of  Indiana  in  the 
National  Legislature.  Twice  re-elected  to 
this  position,  he  acquitted  himself  so  cred- 
itably that  he  was,  in  1822,  elected  Gov- 
ernor of  the  new  commonwealth  without 
opposition,  receiving  all  the  votes  cast  for 
that  high  office— 18,340. 

The  vote  for  Lieutenant-Governor  was : 

Ratliff  Boon   7,809 

William  Polke  4,044 

Erasmus  Powell 3,603 

David  H.  Maxwell 2,366 

It  is  a  notable  circumstance  that  Jona- 
than Jennings  preceded  Hendricks  in  Con- 
gress as  territorial  delegate  and  after 
serving  two  terms  as  Governor,  succeeded 
him  as  member  of  Congress.  This  ex- 
change of  places  is  in  itself  evidence  of  the 
high  esteem  in  which  these  two  men  were 
held  by  the  people  of  Indiana. 

Ratliflt'  Boon  had  been  chosen  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor in  1819.  When  Governor 
Jennings  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1822 
he  resigned  the  office  of  Governor.  Boon 
constitutionally  became  his  successor  and 
served  as  acting  Governor  from  September 
12  to  December  5,  1822.  At  the  August 
election  of  that  year  Boon  was  again 
chosen  Lieutenant-Governor  on  the  ticket 
headed  by  Mr.  Hendricks.  He  served  as 
such  until  the  close  of  the  legislative  ses- 
sion of  1824,  when  he  filed  his  resignation 
with  the  Secretary  of  State.  This  docu- 
ment was  dated  August  30,  1824.  Under 
the  same  date  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
State  Senate  in  which  he  announced  his 
act  of  resigning  the  office  which  he  had 
held  under  two  administrations — those  of 
Governors  Jennings  and  Hendricks. 

Before  the  close  of  his  term  as  Gov- 
ernor, Mr.  Hendricks  was  elected  United 
States  Senator  to  succeed  Waller  Taylor. 
He  filed  his  resignation  as  Governor  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1825.  There  being  then  no 
Lieutenant-Governor,  by  reason  of  the  res- 
ignation of  Ratliff  Boon,  January  30,  1824, 
James  B.  Ray,  as  President  of  the  Sen- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ate,  became  acting  Governor,  serving  as  two  leaders  wei'e  in  hearty  accord  on  that 
such  until  December  11,  1825.  Mr.  Ray  and  other  questions  and  issues.  In  mat- 
was  twice  elected  Governor,  his  second  ters  pertaining  to  pacification  or  concilia- 
tenn  expiring  in  1831.  tion  the  name  "Hendricks"  seems  to  have 
At  his  first  election  Mr.  Ray  w^as  cred-  possessed  a  high  degree  of  magnetic 
ited  with  13,040  votes,  while  his  competi-  power. 

tor,  the  distinguished  jurist,  Isaac  Black-  And  yet,  toward  the  close  of  Mr.  Hen- 
ford,  then  an  anti-slaveiy  Whig  but  later  dricks's  second  term  as  U.  S.  Senator  cir- 
on  a  Democrat,  received  10,418  votes,  cumstances  so  shaped  themselves  as  to 
Scattering.  12.  For  Lieutenant-Governor  frustrate  his  aspiration  to  a  third  term  in 
the  vote  stood:  that  coveted  station.     It  may  be  assumed 

John  H.  Thompson 10,781  that,  having  served  three  successive  terms 

Samuel  Milroy 7,496  in  the  House,  he  cherished  the  hope  that 

Dennis  Penninp;ton  1,496  he  might  be   delegated   to   represent  his 

Elisha  Harrison 1,434  g^j^^g  f^^,  ^  jjj^g  number  in  the  Senate.     It 

General  W.  Johnson 851  .      t->            u         ioo/>    J.^     i.  xi              i.- 

„    .^    •                                         o^  was  in  December,  1836,  that  the  continu- 

Scatterins:   84 

,,  ^^  ,  ;  ,  ,  .  ,  ance  of  his  senatorial  service  came  to  a 
Mr.  Hendricks  served  two  terms  in  the  ^^^j  ^^^j^j^^^  The  candidates  pitted 
Senate  of  the  United  States  He  must  have  ^^^.^^^  ^.^  ^^,^^^  Governor  Noah  Noble, 
possessed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  con-  ^^^^^^  Lieutenant-Governor  Ratliff  Boon 
dilatory  quahties  and  pacifying  charac-  ^^^^  Congressman  Oliver  H.  Smith.  On 
teristics  of  his  nephew,  Thomas  A.  Hen-  ^^^  ^^.^^  ^^^1,^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  Hendricks  were 
dricks,  whose  undisputed  leadership  of  his  j^  ^^^  j^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^.^^^^.^^ 
party  for  a  full  quarter  of  a  century  is  changed.  On  the  ninth  ballot  Smith  car- 
without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  State,  ^ied  away  the  honors-to  the  amazement 
Unlike  his  predecessor,  Governor  Jen-  ^^  ^^e  "old  timers"  who  at  the  beginning 
nings,  Mr.  Hendricks  did  not  seem  to  have  i^^ked  upon  his  candidacy  as  a  daring  and 
become  involved  in  the  bitter  controversies  .o^ewhat  presumptuous  political  venture, 
and  contests  provoked  prior  to  the  State's  William  Hendricks  was  bom  at  Ligo- 
admission  into  the  Union.  The  pro-slav-  ^^j^^,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
ery  element  that  came  into  Indiana  Terri-  j^  j^g^  jje  was  educated  at  Canonsburg, 
tory  had  ingratiated  itself  in  the  good  ^^^^^^  f^^  a  classmate  Dr.  Wylie,  after- 
graces  of  General  and  Governor  William  ^^^d  a  distinguished  President  of  the 
Henry  Harrison,  who  himself  was  a  cham-  g^^^g  University  at  Bloomington.  Both  be- 
pion  of  that  cause.  Jonathan  Jennings  ^^^^  eminent,  one  as  a  statesman,  the 
was  the  uncompromising  foe  of  slavery  ^^^er  as  an  educator.  Their  diverse  path- 
and  as  such  was  repeatedly  elected  as  dele-  ^^^y^  ^id  not  diminish  their  early  friend- 
gate  to  Congress  before  the  Territory  had  ^y^-^^  ^^.^ich  terminated  only  with  their 
been  clothed  in  the  habiliment  of  State-  i; 

hood.  As  a  native  of  the  State  of  Wil-  j^'  ^j,  admirable  book,  entitled  "Bio- 
ham  Penn,  Mr.  Hendricks  may  without  graphical  and  Historical  Sketches  of  Early 
much  hazard  be  assumed  to  have  been  in  i,,diana,"  William  Wesley  Woollen,  who 
sympathy  with  Mr.  Jennings  on  the  slav-  pj-j^j.  ^^  locating  in  Indianapolis  was  for 
eiy  question.  Public  feeling  ran  high  on  years  a  resident  of  Madison,  the  town  at 
that  issue  in  the  Territory,  and  in  view  of  which  William  Hendricks  established  him- 
the  fact  that  in  each  succeeding  contest  self  and  resided  from  1814  to  the  end  of 
Mr.  Jennings  came  out  of  the  fray  as  vie-  his  useful  life,  in  the  year  1850,  thus 
tor,  the  inference  is  warranted  that  these  speaks  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch: 


(41) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


"Men  who  found  empires  should  not  be 
forgotten.  They  plant  the  tree  of  civil 
liberty,  and  water  its  roots,  while  those 
who  come  after  them  but  trim  its  branches 
to  preserve  its  symmetry.  If  they  plant 
carelessly  and  in  poor  soil  the  tree  will 
have  but  a  sickly  growth.  That  the  men 
Avho  planted  Indiana  in  the  wilderness 
planted  wisely  and  well  is  evidenced  by  its 
wonderful  growth.  It  was  then  inhabited 
only  by  a  few  thousand  hardy  pioneers 
who  had  settled  on  its  southern  and  east- 
ern borders;  now  it  contains  two  millions 
of  prosperous  people,  its  whole  area  being 
covered  with  happy  homes. 

"William  Hendi'icks  had  as  much  to  do 
with  laying  the  foundations  of  this  great 
State  and  commencing  its  superstructure 
as  any  other  man,  excepting  Jonathan  Jen- 
nings only,  and  yet  how  few  there  are  who 
know  he  ever  lived.  How  transitory  is 
the  fame  of  human  greatness. 

"Worldly  honors  are  not  easily  won,  al- 
though the  bard  tells  us  that  some  men 
have  greatness  thrust  upon  them.  In  the 
contest  for  fame  there  is  sharp  competi- 
tion, and  those  only  win  who  have  endur- 
ance and  mettle.  A  number  of  educated 
and  talented  young  men  had  come  to  In- 
diana in  quest  of  fortune,  and  had  William 
Hendricks  been  a  dolt  or  a  laggard  he 
would  have  been  distanced  in  the  race. 
But  he  was  neither.  He  was  talented  and 
energetic,  and  he  won.  He  also  knew  how 
to  utilize  the  means  at  his  command  and 
to  make  the  most  of  the  situation.  When 
he  came  to  Indiana  he  brought  with  him 
a  printing  press,  and  soon  afterward  com- 
menced the  publication  of  a  weekly  paper. 
It  was  called  the  Eagle,  and,  I  believe,  was 
the  second  newspaper  published  in  the 
State,  the  Vincennes  Sun  being  the  first. 
Through  his  paper  he  became  known  and 
paved  the  way  for  his  political  fortune. 
He  made  the  first  revision  of  the  laws  of 
the  State  and  had  it  printed  on  his  own 
press.  The  Legislature  offered  to  pay  him 
for  this  work,  but  he  declined  all  pecuniary 
compensation.  It  then  passed  a  resolu- 
tion of  thanks,  the  only  return  for  his  la- 
bor he  would  take. 

"Governor  Hendricks  was  a  friend  to 
education.  Hanover  College  and  the  State 
University  at  Bloomington  both  received 
his  fostering  care.  He  took  an  active  in- 
terest in  public  enterprises,  and  frequent- 
ly aided  them  with  his  purse.     He  was 


very  politic  in  his  actions,  never  antagon- 
izing a  man  when  he  could  honorably  avoid 
it.  He  had  a  large  estate,  and  after  leav- 
ing the  Senate  he  spent  his  time  in  manag- 
ing it  and  practicing  law.  He  held  on  to 
his  real  estate  with  great  tenacity,  leasing 
it  for  a  term  of  years  when  practicable, 
instead  of  selling  it.  Many  houses  were 
erected  at  Madison  on  property  leased  of 
him,  and,  like  most  houses  built  under  such 
circumstances,  they  were  poorly  and 
cheaply  constructed.  His  disposition  to 
lease  rather  than  sell  his  property  caused 
much  dissatisfaction  among  the  people, 
and  very  greatly  lessened  his  influence. 

"On  the  16th  of  May,  1850,  Governor 
Hendricks  rode  out  to  his  farm,  just  north 
of  Madison,  to  oversee  the  building  of  a 
family  vault.  While  assisting  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  a  receptacle  for  his  body 
'after  life's  fitful  fever'  was  over,  he  was 
taken  ill  and  soon  afterward  died.  The 
author  is  not  certain  whether  he  died  at 
the  farm  house  or  was  taken  back  to  his 
home  in  the  city,  but  is  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  he  breathed  his  last  near  the 
spot  where  he  is  buried  and  where  his  re- 
mains have  crumbled  to  dust. 

"Governor  Hendricks  was  of  a  family 
that  occupies  a  front  place  in  the  history 
of  Indiana.  There  is  probably  no  other 
one  in  the  State  that  has  exerted  so  wide 
an  influence  upon  its  politics  and  legisla- 
tion as  his.  His  eldest  son,  John  Abram, 
was  a  captain  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  a 
lieutenant-colonel  in  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion. He  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Pea  Ridge  while  in  command  of  his  regi- 
ment. Another  son,  Thomas,  was  killed 
in  the  Teche  country  during  General 
Banks'  campaign  up  Red  River.  A  broth- 
er and  a  nephew  sat  in  the  State  Senate, 
and  another  nephew,  Hon.  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  has  received  the  highest  hon- 
ors his  State  could  confer  upon  him. 

"Governor  Hendricks  was  about  six  feet 
high  and  had  a  well-proportioned  body. 
He  had  auburn  hair,  blue  eyes  and  a  florid 
complexion.  His  manners  were  easy  and 
dignified,  and  his  address  that  of  a  well- 
bred  gentleman.  He  was  not  a  great  law- 
yer, nor  an  eloquent  advocate,  but  he  pre- 
pared his  cases  with  care  and  was  reason- 
ably successful  at  the  bar.  In  early  life 
he  was  a  Presbyterian,  but  in  his  later 
years  he  joined  the  Methodist  church  and 
died  in  her  communion." 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-19  1 


The  I)idiam  Gazetteer  of  1850  thus 
spoke  of  him :  "Governor  Hendricks  was 
for  many  years  by  far  the  most  popular 
man  in  the  State.  He  had  been  its  sole 
representative  in  Congress  for  six  years, 
elected  on  each  occasion  by  large  majori- 
ties, and  no  member  of  that  body,  prob- 
ably, was  more  attentive  to  the  interests 
of  the  State  he  represented,  or  more  in- 
dustrious in  arranging  all  the  private  or 
local  business  entrusted  to  him.  He  left 
no  letter  unanswered,  no  public  office  or 
document  did  he  fail  to  visit  or  examine 
on  request;  with  personal  manners  very 
engaging,  he  long  retained  his  popularity." 

In  northern  Indiana  there  is  a  thriving 
town,  located  in  Noble  county,  that  was 
laid  out  by  Isaac  Cavin  and  named  Ligo- 
nier.  It  was  in  this  town  that  the  author 
of  this  book  established  the  National  Bari' 
ner  in  May,  1866.  This  paper  is  still  in 
existence,  but  bears  the  name  Ligonier 
Banner.  Like  Mr.  Hendricks,  Isaac 
Cavin  came  to  Indiana  from  the  vicinity 
of  Ligonier,  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  a  most  estimable  man 
and  a  highly  successful  farmer  on  the  cele- 
brated "Hawpatch,"  the  garden  spot  of  In- 
diana. 

RATLIFF  BOON. 

When  Governor  Jonathan  Jennings  ac- 
cepted an  election  to  Congress  his  unex- 
pired term  was  filled  by  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Ratliff  Boon.  And  upon  being 
elected  a  second  time  as  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, in  1822,  he  served  two-thirds  of  his 
term  and  then  resigned.  His  reason  for  re- 
signing was  that  he  wanted  to  go  to  Con- 
gress. He  made  a  successful  race  for  that 
position  in  the  First  district  in  1824,  but 
was  defeated  two  years  later  by  Colonel 
Thomas  H.  Blake.  But  in  four  subsequent 
races  he  was  again  successful.  As  a  Con- 
gressman he  was  quite  active  and  influen- 
tial. During  the  greater  part  of  his  con- 
gressional service  he  was  chairman  of  the 
then  highly  important  committee  on  pub- 


lic lands.  In  1836  he  a.spired  to  a  seat  in 
the  U.  S.  Senate,  antagonizing  Senator 
Hendricks,  who  desired  to  be  re-elected  to 
a  third  term.  The  election  of  a  Whig, 
Oliver  H.  Smith,  was  the  final  outcome  of 
the  contest.  Mr.  Boon  was  a  radical  Jack- 
sonian  Democrat,  though  in  the  earlier 
part  of  his  political  career  he  styled  him- 
self a  Jeffersonian  and  later  on  a  Ben- 
tonian.  His  congressional  career  ended  in 
March,  1839,  and  a  few  months  afterward 
he  moved  from  Indiana  to  Pike  county, 
Missouri.  In  that  State,  then  absolutely 
under  the  sway  of  Thomas  H.  Benton, 
Boon  soon  again  actively  engaged  in  poli- 
tics. He  became  leader  of  the  anti-Benton 
Democrats,  who  were  bent  on  sending  him 
to  Congress.  His  health  had,  however,  be- 
come undermined.  He  was  intensely  anx- 
ious that  James  K.  Polk  be  elected  to  the 
presidency  in  1844.  When  assurance  came 
the  latter  part  of  November  that  Henry 
Clay  was  beaten  and  Polk  triumphantly 
elected,  Ratliff  Boon  expressed  himself 
quite  willing  to  die.  His  spirit  fled  from 
its  tenement  November  20,  1844. 

The  spirit  of  conciliation,  concession 
and  compromise  must  have  been  very 
much  in  evidence  at  the  beginning  of  In- 
diana's State  government.  This  was  espe- 
cially made  manifest  in  the  first  election 
of  U.  S.  Senators,  when  James  Noble  and 
Waller  Taylor  were  chosen.  The  latter 
was  a  pronounced  pro-slavery  man  and  a 
bitter  personal  and  political  enemy  of  Gov- 
ernor Jennings.  When  Indiana  was  still 
a  territory  Judge  Taylor  ran  against  Jen- 
nings for  delegate  to  Congress.  The  con- 
test was  made  an  offensively  bitter  one, 
not  by  Jennings,  but  by  Taylor.  The  lat- 
ter boasted  of  having  publicly  insulted  his 
competitor  and  of  having  done  his  utmost 
to  provoke  the  fighting  of  a  duel.  "Liar, 
sneak,  coward,"  were  some  of  the  choice 
epithets  hurled  at  Jennings,  who,  however, 
maintained  his  equanimity  and  compla- 
cently ignored  the  vituperation  of  his  an- 
tagonist.    It   would   seem   strange,    how- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  1 


ever,  that  under  such  circumstances  Wal- 
ler Taylor  could  twice  have  been  chosen  to 
the  exalted  office  of  United  States  Senator. 

GOVERNOR  JAMES  BROWN  RAY. 

As  a  result  of  the  resignation  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Ratliff  Boon,  January  30, 
1824,  James  Brown  Ray,  a  Senator  from 
Franklin  county,  was  chosen  president  pro 
tempore  of  the  Indiana  State  Senate.  He 
presided  over  that  body  to  the  close  of  the 
session,  and  was  again  chosen  to  that  posi- 
tion at  the  beginning  of  the  next  session 
in  January,  1825.  Upon  Governor  Hen- 
dricks' election  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  Mr. 
Ray  became  acting  Governor.  He  was 
then  an  exceedingly  popular  young  man. 
The  following  year  he  became  a  candidate 
for  Governor  and  was,  as  already  stated, 
triumphantly  elected  by  a  majority  of 
2,622  votes  over  the  distinguished  jurist, 
Isaac  Blackford.  Ray's  administration 
must  have  given  measurable  satisfaction, 
for  at  the  next  election,  in  1828 — presi- 
dential year,  when  Andrew  Jackson  was 
triumphantly  elected  to  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States — Governor  Ray  was  re- 
elected. He  had  two  competitors — Dr. 
Israel  T.  Canby  and  Harbin  H.  Moore. 
Governor  Ray  received  15,141  votes;  Dr. 
Canby,  12,315,  and  Mr.  Moore,  10,904.  He 
held  the  office  until  1831,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Noah  Noble. 

The  race  for  the  Lieutenant-Governor- 
ship was  a  remarkably  close  one,  as  ap- 
pears from  these  figures : 

Milton  Stapp 17,895 

Abel  C.  Pepper 17,262 

The  total  vote  for  Governor  exceeded 
this  by  3,000,  the  three  candidates  being 
credited  with  38,360. 

Governor  Ray  became  involved  in  a 
somewhat  acrimonious  controversy  over 
the  appointment  of  supreme  judges.  It 
appears  that  he  had  aspirations  to  go  to 
the  U.  S.  Senate  and  that  two  of  the  judges 
assumed  to  be  justly  entitled  to  i-eappoint- 


ment  were  denied  such  recognition  by  the 
Governor  on  account  of  their  refusal  to 
aid  him  in  his  senatorial  aspirations. 

This  greatly  impaired  his  popularity. 
Prior  thereto  he  had  rendered  himself  un- 
popular by  accepting  an  appointment  as 
commissioner  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with 
the  Miami  and  Pottawatamie  Indians.  The 
constitution  expressly  forbade  a  State  offi- 
cer holding  a  federal  appointment  of  trust 
and  profit.  To  get  around  this  he  request- 
ed that  no  formal  commission  be  issued  to 
him  and  that  he  be  simply  authorized  by 
letter  to  serve  on  the  aforesaid  commission 
in  conjunction  with  Generals  Lewis  Cass 
and  John  Tipton.  This  extraordinary 
procedure  was  sharply  criticised  by  the 
Legislature.  Formal  action  was  taken, 
but  the  matter  was  permitted  to  drag 
along  for  a  time.  A  final  decision  was 
evaded  and  Governor  Ray  was  permitted 
to  resume  the  functions  of  that  office.  It 
was  a  "close  shave,"  this  escape  from  a 
formal  declaration  that  the  office  of  Gov- 
ernor had  been  vacated  by  the  acceptance 
of  an  appointment  to  effect  a  settlement 
with  the  Indians. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Governor  Ray 
instigated  the  gigantic  internal  improve- 
ment movement  that  subsequently  proved 
so  disastrous  to  the  State,  the  subjoined 
characterization  of  the  man  by  William 
Wesley  Woollen  will  be  adjudged  as  being 
of  more  than  passing  interest: 

"In  Governor  Ray's  messages  to  the 
Legislature  he  argued  forcibly  and  elo- 
quently the  great  advantage  that  must 
accrue  to  Indiana  by  the  construction  and 
operation  of  railroads,  and  predicted  much 
which,  although  at  the  time  seemed 
chimerical,  has  really  come  to  pass.  Many 
considered  him  insane  and  his  utterances 
those  of  a  madman,  but  time  has  demon- 
strated that  in  the  main  he  was  correct. 
He  saw  more  plainly  than  any  other  man 
of  his  day  the  future  of  the  State  in  which 
he  lived.  After  he  left  office  he  contin- 
ued to  dilate  upon  his  favorite  subject,  and 
to  predict  a  great  future  for  Indianapolis. 


(44) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


A  writer,  who  seems  to  think  the  Governor 
was  somewhat  off  his  mental  balance,  thus 
speaks  of  him  in  a  late  article  in  an  In- 
dianapolis paper: 

During  a  long  period  of  mental  disturbance  in 
his  old  age,  Governor  Ray  was  fond  of  discussing 
his  "grand  scheme"  of  railroad  concentration  at 
Indianapolis.  Here  was  to  be  the  head  of  a  score 
of  radiating  lines.  At  intervals  of  five  miles  were 
to  be  villages,  of  ten  miles  towns,  and  of  twenty 
miles  respectable  cities.  This  crazy  whim,  as 
everybody  regarded  it,  has  been  made  a  fact  as 
solid  as  the  everlasting  hills.  The  only  point  of 
failure  is  the  feature  that  possessed  special  in- 
terest to  the  Governor.  The  Union  Depot  and 
point  of  concentration  of  the  radiating  lines  are 
not  on  his  property,  opposite  the  court  house, 
where,  by  all  the  requirements  of  symmetry  and 
consistency,  they  should  have  been.  Oddly  enough, 
one  expedient  in  construction,  which  certainly 
looked  silly,  has  been  actually  put  in  use  success- 
fully in  some  one  or  another  of  our  far  Western 
lines.  Where  deep  gorges  were  to  be  crossed,  he 
thought  that  trestle-work  might  be  replaced  by 
cutting  ofi^  the  tops  of  growing  trees  level  with 
the  track  and  laying  sills  on  these  for  the  rails. 
It  is  not  many  months  since  the  papers  published 
a  description  of  exactly  that  sort  of  expedients  in 
crossing  a  deep  and  heavily  timbered  hollow  on  a 
Western  railway — the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  prob- 
ably. So  thoroughly  has  the  great  "hub"  scheme 
and  its  connections  and  incidents  been  identified 
with  Governor  Ray  and  his  hallucinations,  that 
there  are  few  who  know  anything  of  the  matter 
at  all  who  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the 
origination  of  it  is  at  least  as  likely  to  be  the 
work  of  Governor  Noble's  deliberate  reasoning  as 
of  Governor  Ray's  fantasies.  In  his  annual  mes- 
sage of  1833-4  he  discusses  the  importance  of  the 
internal  improvement  system,  then  projected  and 
widely  debated,  but  not  adopted  by  the  State,  and 
only  partially  pursued  by  the  help  of  canal  land 
grants  by  Congress,  and  he  argues  for  the  con- 
centration of  artificial  facilities  for  transporta- 
tion here.  In  other  words,  without  saying  it,  he 
wants  Indianapolis  to  be  exactly  the  "hub"  that 
Governor  Ray  predicted  it  would  be.  Whether  the 
national  Governor  in  office  got  his  notions  from 
the  fancies  of  the  deranged  ex-Governor,  or  the 
latter  only  expanded  in  his  fantastic  projects  the 
official  suggestion  of  the  other,  we  shall  never 
know.  But  the  probability  is  that  the  sane  Gov- 
ernor profited  by  the  hints  he  saw  in  the  wild 
talk  of  the  insane  Governor.  For  Governor  Noble 
was  not  a  strikingly  original  genius,  and  Gov- 
ernor Ray,  as  eccentric  and  egotistical  as  he  was, 
had  more  than  an  average  allowance  of  brains. 

"After  Governor  Ray  ceased  to  be  Gov- 
ernor he  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  but 
he  did  not  succeed  in  getting  much  legal 
business.  He  seemed  to  have  'run  down 
at  the  heel,'  and,  although  he  was  in  the 


prime  of  life,  the  public  appeared  to  think 
him  .superannuated,  as  having  passed  his 
day  of  usefulness.  In  1835  he  became  a 
candidate  for  clerk  of  Marion  county 
against  Robert  B.  Duncan,  Esq.,  and,  for  a 
time,  seemed  bent  on  making  a  lively  can- 
vass. But,  before  the  election  came  off, 
he  had  virtually  abandoned  the  contest. 
Although  he  did  not  formally  withdraw, 
he  had  no  tickets  printed,  and  when  the 
ballots  were  counted  it  was  found  that 
few  of  them  had  been  cast  for  him.  In 
1887  he  ran  for  Congress,  in  the  Indian- 
apolis district,  against  William  Herrod, 
and  was  defeated,  receiving  but  5,888 
votes  to  his  competitor's  9.635.  This  want 
of  appreciation  by  the  public  .soured  him, 
and  made  him  more  eccentric  than  ever. 

"In  the  summer  of  1848  Governor  Ray 
made  a  trip  to  Wisconsin  and  returned 
home  by  way  of  the  Ohio  river.  While  on 
the  river  he  became  unwell  and,  on  reach- 
ing Cincinnati,  was  taken  to  the  house  of 
a  relative.  The  disease  proved  to  be 
cholera,  and  terminated  in  his  death  Au- 
gust 4,  1848.  He  was  buried  in  Spring 
Grove  Cemetery,  near  Cincinnati,  outside 
the  State  he  had  helped  to  found. 

"In  his  latter  days  Governor  Ray  was 
so  eccentric  that  most  people  thought  his 
mind  diseased.  He  always  walked  with 
a  cane,  and  sometimes  he  would  stop  on 
the  street  and,  with  his  cane,  write  words 
in  the  air.  It  is  no  wonder  that  those  who 
saw  him  do  this  believed  him  insane.  A 
short  time  before  he  died  he  advertised, 
in  an  Indianapolis  paper,  a  farm  and  a 
tavern  stand  for  sale,  and  for  a  proposi- 
tion to  build  a  railroad  from  Charleston, 
S.  C,  through  Indianapolis  to  the  north- 
ern lakes,  all  in  one  advertisement. 

"In  person,  Governor  Ray,  in  his  young- 
er days,  was  very  prepossessing.  He  was 
tall  and  straight,  with  a  body  well-propor- 
tioned. He  wore  his  hair  long  and  tied  in 
a  queue.  His  forehead  was  broad  and 
high,  and  his  features  denoted  intelligence 
of  a  high  order.  For  many  years  he  was 
a  leading  man  of  Indiana,  and  no  full  his- 
tory of  the  State  can  be  written  without 
frequent  mention  of  his  name." 

By  birth  he  was  a  Kentuckian. 


(45) 


[Chai'ter  IV.] 

INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENT  BUBBLE 

UNDER  WHIG  RULE  THE  SLOW  BUT  SURE  POLICY  WAS  DIS- 
CARDED AND  A  GIGANTIC  SCHEME  OF  CANAL 
BUILDING  DEVELOPED-DISASTER  THE 
INEVITABLE  CONSEQUENCE 


y  u  OAH  NOBLE,  the  fourth  elected 

f\  T  ..  Governor  of  Indiana,  was  a  na- 
1 1  \l  ^^^'^  °-^  Virginia,  grew  to  man- 
|1  1  hood  in  Kentucky,  and  located 
'-■■-■'-'"  at  Brookville  about  the  time  In- 
diana was  admitted  into  the 
union.  In  1820  he  was  elected 
sheriff  of  Franklin  county  and  re-elected 
in  1822.  Two  years  later  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  virtually 
without  opposition,  only  twenty  votes  hav- 
ing been  cast  against  him.  In  order  to 
guard  against  his  running  for  county 
clerk  the  friends  of  the  incumbent  of  that 
office  suggested  that  Noble  be  groomed  for 
Governor.  The  suggestion  met  with  high 
favor,  and  in  due  course  of  time  he  was 
put  in  training.  He  easily  secured  the 
nomination  by  the  Whig  party,  and  al- 
though Jackson  Democracy  was  largely  in 
the  ascendancy  in  the  State  at  that  time, 
Mr.  Noble  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of 
2,791  over  James  G.  Read,  Democrat,  and 
this  in  face  of  the  fact  that  another  Whig, 
Milton  Stapp  by  name,  was  also  a  candi- 
date for  that  office  and  polled  4,422  votes. 
The  total  vote  for  Governor  cast  at  the 
election  of  1831  reached  37,549,  divided 
as  follows: 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

Noah  Noble,  Whig 17,959 

James  G.  Read,  Democrat 15,168 

Milton  Stapp,  Whig 4,422 

FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

David  Wallace,  Whig 17,101 

Ross  Smiley,  Democrat 12,858 

James  Gregory 5,346 

Three  years  later,    in    1834,    Governor 
Noble  successfully  aspired  to  a  re-election. 


He  polled  27,676  votes,  his  Democratic  an- 
tagonist, James  G.  Read,  receiving  19,994. 

For  Lieutenant-Governor  David  Wal- 
lace, Whig,  polled  29,415  votes,  and  David 
V.  Culley,  Democrat,  14,260. 

Shortly  after  his  retirement  from  the 
Governorship  the  Legislature  elected  him 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Public  Im- 
provements. In  1841  he  was  chosen  to  fill 
another  highly  important  position,  that  of 
Fund  Commissioner.  He  was  held  in  high 
esteem  throughout  his  career.  Born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1794,  he  died  in  the  very  prime 
of  life,  February  8,  1844,  near  Indiana- 
polis. 

What  happened  during  Governor  No- 
ble's two  administrations  is  thus  compre- 
hensively set  forth  in  "A  Century  of  In- 
diana," by  Edward  E.  Moore: 

"Vast  System  of  Internal  Improve- 
ments.— Governor  Noble  was  an  advocate 
of  extensive  public  improvements,  having 
been  elected  on  a  platform  declaration  to 
that  effect.  He  early  began  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  for 
the  promotion  of  which  Congress  had  giv- 
en, in  1827,  a  large  and  valuable  grant  of 
land.  This  canal  was  to  connect  Lake 
Erie  with  the  Wabash  river,  at  a  point  be- 
low which  the  river  would  be  navigable; 
and  in  1836  a  general  system  of  internal 
improvements  having  been  agreed  upon, 
consisting  of  canals,  railroads  and  turn- 
pikes, covering  almost  the  entire  State, 
bonds  were  issued  and  sold  and  contracts 
let.  Then  ensued  an  era  of  great  prosper- 
ity. There  was  employment  for  every- 
body at  profitable  wages,  money  was 
plentiful  and  easy  to  get  and  a  spirit  of 
daring  speculation  and  of  general  extrava- 
gance seized  upon  many  of  the  people  and 
helped  to  embitter  the  unfortunate  experi- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


ences  so  soon  to  follow.  The  future,  with 
these  great  improvements  completed,  was 
pictured  in  exceedingly  bright  colors.  It 
was  thought  by  some  that  the  revenues  to 
be  derived  from  the  railroads  and  canals 
would  not  only  pay  for  their  construction, 
but  would  build  up  such  a  surplus  in  the 
treasury  of  the  State  as  to  relieve  the  peo- 
ple of  all  burdens  of  taxation. 

"The  improvements  undertaken  con- 
sisted of  1,289  miles  of  roads,  railroads 
and  canals  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $19,- 
914,424.  Bonds  for  many  millions  were 
issued  and  sold  and  the  State's  indebted- 
ness by  1841  had  been  pushed  up  to  the 
appalling  aggregate  of  $18,469,146.  The 
total  of  roads  and  canals  completed  up  to 
that  time  amounted  to  only  281  miles. 

"The  State  Embarrassed. — Works  Aban- 
doned and  Compromise  Made  With  Cred- 
itors— The  First  Railroad. — It  very  soon 
became  apparent  that  the  State  had  over- 
estimated its  financial  resources,  and  be- 
fore a  halt  could  be  called  had  involved 
itself  beyond  its  ability  to  pay.  And  to 
make  matters  worse,  the  pall  of  the  great 
panic  of  1837  descended  upon  the  whole 
country,  at  the  very  time  of  the  State's 
greatest  embarrassment.  All  the  works 
had  to  be  abandoned,  bringing  bankruptcy 
to  contractors  and  distress  to  thousands 
of  citizens.  Construction  ceased  entirely 
in  1839. 

"The  State  found  itself  unable  to  pay 
even  the  interest  on  its  indebtedness, 
much  less  to  proceed  further  with  the  im- 
provements. It  finally  entered  into  com- 
promise agreements  with  its  creditors,  re- 
lieving itself  of  a  part  of  the  debt  and  re- 
ducing interest  charges.  The  creditors 
were  permitted  to  take  over  the  unfinished 
improvements  in  part  satisfaction  of  their 
claims,  the  balance  being  paid  in  new 
bonds,  or  treasury  notes.  As  a  rule,  the 
improvements  were  not  completed  by  the 
new  owners,  and  the  State's  vast  expendi- 
tures were  practically  for  naught.  Then 
the  securities  in  the  nature  of  bonds,  and 
certificates  of  stock,  to  possession  of  which 
the  State  was  entitled  under  the  compro- 
mise settlements,  were  not  all  surren- 
dered, and  afterwards  attempts  were 
made  to  exact  payment  of  them.  Claims 
were  also  preferred  on  the  grounds  that 
the  State  had  rendered  the  canal  prop- 
erties valueless  by  granting  franchises  to 
competing    railroads.      Finally,    in    1873, 


after  years  of  agitation  and  bitterness,  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  was 
adopted  prohibiting  the  Legislature  for  all 
time  from  paying  any  of  these  compro- 
mised debts,  particularly  that  of  the  Wa- 
bash and  Erie  Canal. 

"Of  all  the  vast  projects  undertaken  by 
the  State,  the  Madison  and  Indianapolis 
Railroad  alone  was  fully  completed,  its 
completion  being  accomplished  by  the  as- 
signee company  to  which  the  State  surren- 
dered it.  It  was  the  first  railroad  built 
to  Indianapolis,  its  entrance  into  that  city 
signalizing  the  year  1847.  The  Wabash 
and  Erie  Canal  was  completed  as  far  as 
Lafayette,  and  was  extensively  patronized 
by  the  people  having  surplus  products  to 
transport,  but  the  receipts  from  tolls  were 
not  sufficient  to  maintain  it,  much  less 
produce  dividends  to  apply  on  cost  of  con- 
struction. The  White  Water  Canal  was 
completed  from  Lawrenceburg,  on  the 
Ohio  river,  to  Connersville,  and  its  facil- 
ities for  transportation  purposes  availed 
of  by  the  people  for  many  years. 

"State's  Undertaking  not  Wholly  Unad- 
vised.— It  would  be  very  unfair  for  the 
people  of  this  day,  enjoying  all  of  their 
wonderful  facilities  for  travel  and  com- 
merce and  trade,  to  say  that  the  vast  un- 
dertakings of  1836  were  wholly  unadvised. 
The  question  of  'internal  improvements' 
was  one  of  the  great  issues  of  the  day,  not 
only  in  Indiana,  but  in  other  States,  and 
in  the  country  at  large.  The  Erie  Canal 
in  New  York,  constructed  at  a  cost  of  $7,- 
000,000,  had  proved  itself  a  paying  invest- 
ment and  of  vast  benefit  in  facilitating 
travel,  in  reducing  freight  rates  and  in 
settling  up  the  country.  And  there  were 
many  other  examples  of  profitable  canal 
construction  to  be  held  up  before  the  peo- 
ple by  the  early  '30's.  The  work  was  not 
taken  up  hastily  in  Indiana,  or  without 
discussion.  The  need  was  great,  and  the 
people,  thoroughly  in  earnest,  thought 
they  were  prepared  for  whatever  sacrifice 
was  necessary  to  meet  it.  The  issue  had 
been  before  them  for  a  decade  or  more. 
They  could  not  foresee  the  panic  condi- 
tions which  set  in  in  1837,  nor  the  early 
development  of  the  modern  railroad.  In 
spite  of  the  panic  and  the  financial  break- 
down on  the  part  of  the  State,  most  of  the 
system  of  improvements  planned  would 
have  been  completed  eventually,  and  to 
the  incalculable  benefit  of  the  State,  had 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


it  not  been  for  the  coming  of  the  railroads. 
These  early  made  the  canals  useless,  or 
practically  so,  as  their  competition  was 
impotent  against  the  more  rapid  means  of 
transit,  and  their  construction  ceased,  or 
rather  was  not  resumed. 

"The  Surplus  Revenue  Fund.— In  1836 
the  United  States  treasury  found  itself 
overburdened  with  a  large  surplus  fund, 
for  which  there  was  no  immediate  or  pros- 
pective need.  The  national  debt  had  been 
extinguished  and  there  was  no  other  de- 
mand to  be  met  outside  of  the  ordinary 
running  expenses  of  the  Government. 
Hence,  the  question  arose  as  to  what 
should  be  done  with  the  surplus.  After 
much  discussion,  Congress  decided,  by  an 
act  approved  June  23,  1836,  to  deposit  all 
the  fund  but  $5,000,000  with  the  several 
States,  proportioning  it  among  them  on 
the  basis  of  their  representation  in  Con- 
gress. The  total  amount  to  be  thus  dis- 
tributed, in  four  equal  installments,  was 
$37,468,859.  Three  of  the  installments 
were  paid  to  the  various  States,  but  be- 
fore the  fourth  was  due  the  panic  of  1837 
had  paralyzed  the  Government  revenues 
and  no  further  distribution  was  ever 
made.  Indiana's  share  of  the  fund  actual- 
ly distributed  amounted  to  $806,254.44.* 

"It  was  clearly  the  intention  of  the  Gov- 
ernment that  this  transaction  should  be 
considered  merely  in  the  nature  of  a  de- 
posit of  funds  with  the  States,  and  that 
repayment  would  be  required,  but  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  have  passed  without 
any  demand  being  made.  And  although 
the  distribution  was  not  an  equitable  one, 
when  all  sections  of  the  country  are  con- 
sidered, it  is  unlikely,  after  such  a  lapse 
of  time,  that  Congress  will  ever  exact  re- 
payment. 

"By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1837  it 
was  directed  that  one-half  of  Indiana's 


*D.  H.  Montgomery,  in  his  "Student's  American 
History,"  says  of  the  transaction:  "It  was  styled 
a  'deposit.'  but  it  was  practically  a  gift.  .  .  . 
Some  States  divided  their  share  of  the  money 
among  the  whole  population,  each  person  getting 
a  few  shillings;  others  used  the  money  to  begin 
great  systems  of  roads,  canals,  and  similar  public 
improvements.  These  works  were  seldom  carried 
to  completion,  and  generally  ended  by  piling  up  a 
heavy  State  debt.  A  few  States  still  hold  and  use 
the  income  of  the  money."  All  of  which  would 
indicate  that  Indiana,  by  investing  her  share  for 
the  benefit  of  her  schools,  is  one  among  the  very 
few  States  making  wise  use  of  a  Government 
bounty  so  unwisely  bestowed. 


portion  of  this  'surplus  revenue  fund'  be 
distributed  among  the  counties,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  enumeration  of  male  citi- 
zens twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over,  in 
amounts  not  to  exceed  $400  to  any  one  in- 
dividual, at  8  per  cent,  interest,  and  the 
other  half  inve.sted  in  stock  of  the  State 
Bank.  The  interest  on  the  loans  and  the 
dividends  on  the  bank  stock  were  to  be 
turned  into  the  common  school  fund. 

"Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  first  two  in- 
stallments went  to  the  counties  and  the 
fourth  was  never  paid,  the  fund  was  not 
equallv  divided,  the  counties  receiving 
$537,502.96  and  the  bank  $268,751.48.  Of 
the  latter  sum  $40,000  was  used  to  pay  in- 
terest on  internal  improvement  bonds,  and 
of  the  portion  distributed  to  the  counties 
a  large  percentage  was  lost  through  bad 
loans,  carelessness  in  enforcing  collections 
and  depression  in  values  of  mortgages  and 
other  securities  resulting  from  the  panic 
of  1837.  The  portion  recovered  was 
turned  over  to  the  State  Bank  in  1841,  and 
this,  and  the  original  investment  in  stock 
of  the  bank  proved  so  fortunate,  yielding 
large  and  certain  dividends,  that  the  fund 
more  than  restored  itself.  With  the  clos- 
ing of  the  State  Bank  in  1859,  the  money 
was  transferred  to  the  State  treasury  and 
reinve.sted  through  the  counties  for  the 
benefit  of  the  schools.  It  now  constitutes 
a  very  important  item  of  the  State's  mag- 
nificent common  school  endowment. 

"The  State  Bank  of  Indiana.— The  State 
Bank  of  Indiana,  which  proved  to  be  a 
most  successful  and  stable  institution,  was 
chartered  in  1834.  The  charter  provided 
for  the  establishment  of  twelve  branches 
and  the  thirteenth  was  later  added.  The 
capital  stock  authorized  was  $1,600,000, 
of  which  the  State  agreed  to  subscribe 
one-half.  It  had  a  complete  monopoly,  as 
no  other  banks  were  permitted  to  operate 
in  the  State.  During  the  panic  of  1837  it 
was  compelled  to  suspend  specie  payment 
temporarily,  but  resumed  in  1842,  and 
from  that  date  until  its  charter  expired  in 
1859  it  never  failed  to  meet  all  demands 
upon  it,  and  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  be- 
ing one  of  the  best  managed  and  mo.st  re- 
liable banking  institutions  in  the  West. 

"Lssue  of  State  Scrip — 'Red  Dog'  and 
'Blue  Pup'  Currency — Days  of  'Wildcat' 
Money. — During  the  stress  of  its  difficul- 
ties attendant  upon  the  collapse  of  the  in- 
ternal improvement  system,  and  the  gen- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  9  1  €( 


eral  panic  which  enveloped  the  whole 
country,  Indiana  was  compelled  in  1839  to 
resort  to  the  expedient  of  issuing  State 
scrip.  The  entire  extent  of  such  issue 
amounted  to  $1,500,000.  It  bore  6  per 
cent,  interest  and  was  receivable  for  taxes, 
but  rapidly  depreciated  until  its  market 
value  was  only  40  to  50  cents  on  the  dollar. 
It  was  printed  on  red  paper,  and  the  peo- 
ple desrisively  called  it  'red  dog'  currency. 
It  was  finally  redeemed  and  was  worth  a 
large  premium  at  the  last,  due  partly  to 
the  restoration  of  confidence  in  the  finan- 
cial integrity  of  the  State  and  partly  to  the 
accumulated  interest. 

"Before  the  panic  was  over  merchants, 
plank-road  contractors  and  others  resorted 
to  the  issuance  of  private  scrip.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  its  circulating  value 
also  quickly  fell  below  par,  and  taking 
their  cue  from  the  fact  that  it  was  printed 
mostly  on  blue  paper,  the  people  called  it 
'blue  pup'  currency,  as  distinguished 
from  the  State's  'red  dog'  currency. 
Much  of  the  private  scrip  was  redeemable 
only  in  trade,  or  merchandise,  or  toll  on 
the  plank  roads.  The  State  was  flooded 
with  'wildcat'  currency  in  the  form  of  de- 
preciated paper  put  out  by  'banks  of 
issue'  in  surrounding  States,  which  drove 
good  money  out  of  circulation." 

GOVERNOR  DAVID  WALLACE. 

Sons  of  Pennsylvania  seem  to  have  been 
in  favor  with  the  voters  of  the  young  Com- 
monwealth of  Indiana,  as  made  manifest 
in  the  choice  of  Governors.  David  Wal- 
lace, who  succeeded  Noah  Noble  in  the 
gubernatorial  chair,  1837,  was  born  in 
Mifflin  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  24, 
1799.  General  Harrison  was  instrumental 
in  having  young  Wallace  made  a  cadet  at 
West  Point.  Graduated  in  1821,  he  be- 
came a  tutor  in  that  institution,  serving 
as  such  a  short  time,  then  enlisting  in  the 
army  as  lieutenant  of  artillery.  His  father 
having  located  in  Brookville,  that  pictur- 
esque Indiana  town  became  his  place  of 
residence.  He  studied  law,  and  several 
years  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature  three  times  in 
succession— 1828,  1829  and  1830.  In  1831 
he  was  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  and 


re-elected  in  1834.  It  is  said  that  as  pre- 
siding officer  of  the  State  he  had  few 
equals  and  no  superior.  In  recognition  of 
his  demonstrated  ability,  his  party 
(Whig)  nominated  him  for  Governor. 
His  Democratic  competitor  was  John  Du- 
mont,  an  able  and  distinguished  lawyer 
residing  at  Vevay,  on  the  southern  border 
of  the  State.  The  vote  stood:  Wallace, 
45,240;  Dumont,  36,197.  For  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  David  Willis,  Whig,  had  48,823 ; 
Alexander  S.  Burnett,  Democrat,  22,311. 
Elected  as  a  champion  of  the  internal 
improvement  policy,  inaugurated  by  his 
predecessors,  Governor  Wallace  did  his  ut- 
most to  make  that  undertaking  a  success. 
With  all  the  ability  and  resourcefulness  at 
his  command,  he  found  himself  unable  to 
save  from  wreckage  the  stupendous  en- 
terprises into  which  the  State  had  been 
lured  by  enthusiasts  and  visionaries — 
well-meaning,  it  is  true,  but  woefully  un- 
mindful of  that  cautionary  admonition, 
"look  before  you  leap."  Having  done  his 
best,  his  party  turned  him  the  cold  shoul- 
der when  he  sought  a  renomination 
in  1840.  With  characteristic  ingrati- 
tude for  service  well  rendered,  the 
Whig  convention  of  1840  nominated 
for  Governor  Samuel  Bigger,  a  gen- 
tleman who  had  been  prominently 
identified  with  the  internal  improve- 
ment scheme  of  that  decade.  Without  a 
murmur  of  complaint,  Governor  Wallace 
accepted  defeat,  and  at  the  completion  of 
his  term  of  office  resumed  the  practice  of 
law.  A  year  after  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress from  the  Indianapolis  district,  de- 
feating the  popular  Colonel  Nathan  B. 
Palmer.  Seeking  a  re-election  in  1843,  he 
met  with  defeat  at  the  hands  of  William 
J.  Brown,  who  beat  him  by  1,085  votes. 
The  demoralization  of  the  Whig  party  by 
the  political  defection  of  President  John 
Tyler  doubtless  had  much  to  do  with 
bringing  about  this  result.  Undaunted 
by  political  adversity,  he  pursued  assidu- 
ously the  practice  of  his  profession.     In 


(50) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


1846  he  permitted  himself  to  be  made 
Chairman  of  the  Whig  State  Committee, 
and  in  1850  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  that  framed 
the  organic  law  under  which  Indiana  still 
operates  its  governmental  machinery. 
Despite  his  superb  ability  as  a  debater,  he 
took  but  little  part  in  the  delibei'ations  of 
that  body.  This  occasioned  grievous  dis- 
appointment to  his  friends  and  admirers. 
The  most  noteworthy  statement  credited 
to  him  in  the  records  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  is  the  declaration  that  while  a 
member  of  Congress  he  voted  for  the  ex- 
pulsion from  that  body  of  the  high  priest 
of  abolitionism,  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  on 
account  of  his  persistence  in  stirring  up 
sectional  animosity  between  North  and 
South.  Giddings  then  represented  the 
famous  "Western  Reserve"  (of  Ohio)  in 
Congress  and  took  high  rank  as  one  of  the 
most  outspoken  and  defiant  anti-slavery 
agitators  of  the  land.  The  last  official  po- 
sition filled  by  Governor  Wallace  was  that 
of  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  to 
which  he  was  elected  in  1856  and  which  he 
filled  with  marked  ability.  He  died  sud- 
denly on  the  4th  of  September,  1859.  In 
eulogy  he  was  declared  to  have  been  "a 
just  judge — firm,  upright,  clear,  patient, 
laborious,  impartial  and  conscientious"- — 
certainly  a  very  high  and  appreciable 
tribute  to  honesty,  integrity  and  efficiency. 
His  oratory  was  of  the  choicest  phrase- 
ology and  of  inspiring  delivery. 

LAST   OF  WHIG   GOVERNORS— SAM- 
UEL BIGGER. 

A  native  of  Ohio  succeeded,  in  1840,  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania  as  Governor  of  In- 
diana. His  name  was  Samuel  Bigger,  a 
product  of  Warren  county,  Ohio,  born 
March  20,  1802.  He  was  the  son  of  John 
Bigger,  a  Western  pioneer,  and  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Legislature. 
Though  reared  on  a  farm,  he  was  frail  of 
body,  too  delicate  to  perform  manual  la- 
bor.   Accordingly  he  was  prepared  for  col- 


lege. As  the  result  of  earnest  applica- 
tion to  his  studies  he  graduated  from 
Athens  University  and  then  fitted  himself 
for  the  legal  profession.  In  1829  he 
moved  to  Liberty,  Ind.,  where  he  practiced 
law  for  a  short  time,  and  then  located  at 
Rushville.  Like  other  Indiana  lawyers,  he 
sought  and  secured  a  seat  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, being  first  elected  in  1834  and  re- 
elected in  1835.  The  first  year  of  his  legis- 
lative career  he  sought  to  be  elected 
Speaker,  but  was  defeated  by  Colonel 
James  Gregory  by  a  39  to  37  vote.  After 
his  legislative  service  he  became  a  judge 
of  his  judicial  circuit.  In  this  position  he 
made  a  creditable  record.  The  reputation 
thus  gained  secured  him  the  Whig  nom- 
ination for  Governor  in  1840  over  Gov- 
ernor Wallace,  a  much  abler  man  and  a 
far  more  forceful  and  eloquent  public 
speaker.  The  campaign  was  a  most  excit- 
ing one.  It  was  the  famous  "Tippecanoe 
and  Tyler  too"  campaign,  in  which  figured 
conspicuously  and  fantastically  the  log 
cabin,  hard  cider  and  coon  skins.  General 
Harrison  was  immensely  popular  in  In- 
diana, having  for  years  been  its  Terri- 
torial Governor.  Though  Indiana  had 
three  times  voted  for  "Old  Hickory"  for 
the  Presidency,  it  refused  to  give  its  elec- 
toral vote  to  Jackson's  legatee,  Martin 
Van  Buren,  either  in  1836  or  in  1840. 

GENERAL  TILGHMAN   A.   HOWARD. 

The  Dem.ocrats  had  as  their  candidate 
for  Governor  an  exceptionally  able,  strong 
and  good  man  in  the  person  of  General 
Tilghman  A.  Howard,  then  a  member  of 
Congress  from  the  seventh  district.  He 
was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  but  his 
boyhood  days  were  spent  in  North  Caro- 
lina until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age. 
Fascinated  by  the  picturesque  scenery  of 
East  Tennessee,  he  located  in  that  part  of 
the  Union,  following  the  pursuit  of  a 
school  teacher  and  then  of  a  merchant's 
clerk.  He  drifted  into  a  law  office,  and  at 
the  age   of  twenty-one  was   admitted   to 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


the  bar.  Having  developed  high  qualities 
as  a  public  speaker,  an  appreciative  elec- 
torate made  him,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven,  a  State  Senator.  In  this  capacity- 
he  soon  won  prominence  and  distinction, 
so  much  so  that  he  was  placed  upon  the 
Jackson  electoral  ticket  in  1828  and  tri- 
umphantly elected.  Two  years  later  he 
became  a  resident  of  Indiana,  locating  at 
Bloomington,  where  he  opened  a  law  ofRce 
and  soon  after  formed  a  copartnership 
with  James  Whitcomb,  who,  in  the  follow- 
ing decade,  became  Governor  and  later  on 
United  States  Senator.  After  a  residence 
of  about  three  years  at  Bloomington, 
Howard  concluded  that  the  town  of  Rock- 
ville,  in  Parke  county,  would  prove  a  more 
advantageous  location  for  him.  He,  how- 
ever, continued  his  business  relations  with 
Mr.  Whitcomb  until  1836,  when  he  dis- 
solved it  and  associated  himself  with 
Judge  William  P.  Bryant.  This  connec- 
tion continued  three  years,  when  Judge 
Bryant  withdrew  from  the  firm.  His  place 
was  taken  by  Joseph  A.  Wright,  who,  like 
Mr.  Whitcomb,  also  in  later  years  became 
Governor,  and  for  a  short  time  United 
States  Senator.  This  combination  of  tal- 
ent continued  up  to  the  time  of  Howard's 


As  an  ardent  supporter  of  "Old  Hick- 
ory," Howard  was  appointed  United 
States  District  Attorney  for  Indiana  in 
1832.  This  important  office  he  held  for 
seven  years.  In  1839  he  made  the  race 
for  a  seat  in  Congress  and  was  tri- 
umphantly elected.  His  district  com- 
prised nineteen  counties  in  the  western 
and  northern  parts  of  the  State,  extending 
clear  over  to  Michigan  City.  Contrary  to 
his  wishes  he  was  made  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  Governor  in  1840.  He  en- 
tered upon  a  very  vigorous  campaign,  at 
the  close  of  which  he  was  worn  down  by 
fatigue  and  disease.  Yet  he  murmured 
not.  His  strong  religious  faith  lent  him 
stamina  and  afforded  him  serene  buoyancy 
even  in  the  hour  of  defeat,  distress  and 


disaster.  In  the  truest  sense  of  the  word 
he  was  a  Christian  gentleman  of  steadfast 
character. 

During  the  time  he  served  as  District 
Attorney  of  Indiana  it  became  necessary 
for  the  Jackson  administration,  in  1835, 
to  appoint  a  commissioner  for  the  purpose 
of  adjusting  and  settling  a  number  of 
claims  against  the  Government  growing 
out  of  treaties  with  the  Indians.  This 
task  was  considered  one  of  unusual 
delicacy  and  of  utmost  importance.  There 
was  much  difference  of  opinion  among 
President  Jackson's  cabinet  officers  as  to 
who  should  be  selected  for  this  position, 
when  "Old  Hickory"  himself  solved  the 
problem  by  suggesting  Tilghman  A. 
Howard  as  the  very  man  needed  and  best 
suited  for  this  difficult  task.  Needless  to 
say  that  the  selection  fully  met  the  expec- 
tations of  the  administration.  General 
Howard  proved  himself  the  right  man  in 
the  right  place — the  very  soul  of  honor 
and  integrity. 

While  serving  as  a  member  of  Congress, 
and  after  having  been  selected  to  make  the 
race  for  Governor,  the  suggestion  was 
made,  the  latter  part  of  May,  1840,  that 
some  sort  of  State  demonstration  be  made 
in  his  behalf  at  Indianapolis,  including  a 
dinner.  To  this  suggestion  he  made  this 
characteristic  reply: 

"I  have  considered  the  matter.  It  is  not 
democratic,  and  would  be,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, imitating  the  folly  of  our  antago- 
nists. Freemen  ought  to  meet  together  to 
reason  on  public  interests  when  they  as- 
semble for  political  effect,  and  allow  me 
to  say  to  you  that  the  mass  of  our  people 
will  not  be  any  the  more  zealous  by  any 
public  demonstration.  They  will  turn  out 
to  hear  debate.  I  shall  have  as  many  as 
I  deserve  to  have  to  hear  me,  and  my  wish 
is  to  have  no  demonstration,  no  proces- 
sion, no  flags,  no  drums,  nor  any  other 
exhibition  unworthy  of  a  free,  thinking, 
orderly  community.  I  shall  leave  here  at 
the  very  earliest  day  and  hurry  home  and 
you  may  rely  on  it  I  will  be  at  several 
points  yet  in  Indiana  before  the  election 
(in  August).     Allow    my    suggestion    to 


(52) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


prevail.  Let  us  be  what  Democracy  should 
be,  too  independent  to  be  deceived  by 
shows  or  led  away  by  them;  possessing 
too  much  respect  for  our  fellow-men  to  at- 
tempt to  mislead  them  on  those  great  sub- 
jects that  concern  the  general  happiness." 

The  Legislature  chosen  in  1842  having 
a  United  States  Senator  to  elect,  the  can- 
vass of  that  year  was  made  mainly  upon 
that  issue.  The  Whigs  supported  Oliver 
H.  Smith,  and  the  Democrats  General 
Howard.  No  other  man  was  spoken  of  in 
connection  with  the  office  until  after  the 
Legislature  met.  The  two  candidates  met 
just  before  the  Legislature  convened  and 
had  a  talk  about  the  Senatorship.  General 
Howard  said  to  Mr.  Smith  that  he  knew 
one  of  them  would  be  elected  if  the  will  of 
the  people  was  carried  out.  "But,"  said 
he,  "the  vote  will  be  so  close  that  a  man  or 
two  may  be  found  who,  like  Judas,  would 
sell  his  party  for  a  few  pieces  of  silver. 
There  is  nothing  certain."  That  General 
Howard  was  correct  events  proved.  On 
the  first  ballot  he  received  74  votes,  Mr. 
Smith  72  votes,  Edward  A.  Hannegan 
3  votes  and  Joseph  G.  Marshall  1  vote.  It 
will  be  seen  that  Howard  lacked  two  votes 
of  election.  It  was  said  at  the  time  these 
votes  were  offered  him  if  he  would  promise 
office  to  the  givers,  but  he  scorned  the 
proffer.  On  the  sixth  ballot  Mr.  Hanne- 
gan was  elected.  General  Howard  having 
withdrawn  from  the  contest. 

In  the  summer  of  1844  General  Howard 
was  appointed  by  President  Tyler  Charge 
d'Affaires  to  the  Republic  of  Texas.  He 
left  home  on  the  Fourth  of  July  and 
reached  Washington,  the  capital  of  Texas, 
August  1,  1844.  In  a  few  days  he  was 
taken  sick  with  fever,  and  in  fifteen  days 
from  the  time  of  his  arrival  he  died.  He 
breathed  his  last  at  the  house  of  John  Far- 
quher,  a  few  miles  from  Washington.  He 
was  buried  in  Texas,  and  for  three  years 
his  remains  rested  in  that  far-off-  country. 

Adopting  the  language  of  William  Wes- 
ley Woollen,  "General  Howard  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church,   but  he 


was  not  a  sectarian.  He  believed  there 
were  many  branches  of  the  same  vine, 
many  paths  leading  to  the  straight  gate. 
He  was  too  great  to  be  a  bigot,  too  good  to 
have  no  charity." 

General  Howard  was  always  dignified 
in  public.  He  seldom  indulged  in  levity; 
but  notwithstanding  this,  he  had  the  fac- 
ulty of  drawing  all  classes  of  men  to  him. 
The  sober  and  the  gay,  the  lettered  and 
the  unlettered  alike  followed  his  fortunes. 

Although  General  Howard  never  at- 
tended an  academy  or  a  college,  he  was  a 
very  learned  man.  He  was  acquainted 
with  the  civil  law,  with  theology,  history, 
politics,  geology,  mineralogy,  botany, 
philosophy  and  the  occult  sciences.  His 
mind  was  a  vast  storehouse  of  knowledge, 
it  being  questionable  if  there  was  another 
man  in  the  State  of  such  information 
as  he. 

During  the  canvass  of  1840  a  newspaper 
published  at  Greencastle  sought  to  make 
political  capital  against  General  Howard 
by  commenting  upon  his  well-known 
opinions  on  temperance.  When  he  spoke 
in  that  town  he  read  the  article  and  told 
the  editor  to  get  out  another  edition  of  his 
paper  and  throw  it  broadcast  over  the 
State.  "I  want  every  voter  to  know  my 
opinions  on  this  question,"  said  Howard. 
"I  am  willing  to  stand  by  them,  and,  if 
need  be,  fall  by  them." 

In  a  debate  with  a  gentleman  who 
evaded  the  issues  and  went  out  after  side 
ones.  General  Howard  told  the  following 
story,  and  applied  it  to  his  opponent: 
"Once,"  said  he,  "a  representative  from 
Buncombe  county  made  a  speech  in  the 
North  Carolina  Legislature,  in  which  he 
talked  of  many  things  entirely  foreign  to 
the  matter  before  the  House,  and  on  be- 
ing called  to  order  by  the  Speaker,  and 
told  to  confine  himself  to  the  question  at 
issue,  replied :  'My  speech  is  not  for  the 
Legislature;  it  is  all  for  Buncombe.'  "  "All 
for  Buncombe"  became  a  common  saying, 
and  has  remained  such  to  the  present  day. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


As  has  already  been  stated,  General 
Howard  died  and  was  buried  in  Texas. 
But  the  people  of  Indiana  were  not  willing 
that  his  dust  should  commingle  with  for- 
eign soil.  The  Legislature  of  1847  passed 
an  act  directing  the  Governor  and  Gen- 
eral Joseph  Lane  "to  have  the  remains  of 
Tilghman  A.  Howard  removed  from  their 
place  of  burial  in  Texas  and  reinterred  at 
such  place  in  Indiana  as  his  family  might 
desire."  The  act  was  approved  by  his 
friend  and  former  partner,  James  Whit- 
comb,  then  Governor  of  the  State.  The 
will  of  the  Legislature  was  carried  out, 
and  the  remains  of  Howard  disinterred 
and  brought  to  Indiana.  They  remained  a 
while  at  Indianapolis,  receiving  high 
honors.  From  thence  they  were  taken 
to  Greencastle,  where  like  honors 
awaited  them.  They  were  then  removed 
to  Rockville,  his  old  home,  and  interred  in 
his  orchard.  Previous  to  placing  the  coffin 
in  the  ground,  Professor  William  C.  Lar- 
rabee,  afterward  Indiana's  first  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction,  delivered  a 
eulogy  upon  the  dead  statesman,  replete 
with  beautiful  thoughts.  It  closed  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Take  him  and  bury  him  among  you. 
Bury  him  where  the  primrose  and  the 
violet  bloom  in  vernal  beauty,  where  the 
rose  of  summer  sheds  its  fragrance,  and 
where  the  leaves  of  autumn  fall,  to  pro- 
tect the  spot  from  the  cheerless  blast  of 
the  wintry  winds.  Bury  him  in  that  rural 
bower  on  the  hillside,  within  sight  of  his 
quiet  cottage  home.    Bury  him  by  the  side 


of  the  pretty  child  he  loved  so  well — the 
beauteous  little  girl,  who,  years  ago,  died 
suddenly  when  the  father  was  away  from 
home.  Bury  him  now  by  her,  that  child 
and  father  may  sleep  side  by  side.  Ye 
need  erect  no  costly  monument,  with  la- 
bored inscription,  over  his  grave.  On  a 
plain  stone  inscribe  the  name  of  Howard, 
of  Indiana's  Howard,  and  it  shall  be 
enough." 

Senator  David  Turpie  pronounced 
Tilghman  A.  Howard  "A  man  of  rare  ca- 
pacity, wisdom  and  discretion,  and  of 
singular  purity  of  life  and  morals.  Even 
the  venial  excesses  so  common  in  the  cus- 
toms of  that  time,  and  so  often  indulged 
in  by  those  engaged  in  public  life,  he  care- 
fully avoided.  Wholly  free  from  cant, 
without  the  slightest  trace  of  the  formal- 
ist or  Pharisee  in  his  demeanor,  he  yet 
would  not  in  these  things  conform,  but 
went  his  own  way,  as  he  had  chosen. 
.  .  .  Many  persons  have  spoken  to  me 
of  Mr.  Howard,  and  all  have  made  mention 
of  the  depth  and  sincerity  of  his  religious 
convictions.  In  every  circumstance  of 
life  he  acted  as  if  he  were  in  the  presence 
and  under  the  protection  of  his  Maker — 
not,  as  he  believed,  that  general  care  taken 
of  the  young  ravens  or  of  the  sparrows  in 
their  fall,  but  that  concern  more  immedi- 
ate, spoken  of  by  the  Psalmist  of  the 
Friends : 

"  'I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 
Their  fronded  palms  in  air, 

I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care.'  " 


[Chapter  V.] 

HARD  TIMES  AND  THEIR  EFFECT 

MATTERS  THAT  ENGAGED,  WARPED  AND   EXCITED    THE 
PUBLIC  MIND 


EFORE  proceeding  to  a  review 
of  the  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler 
too"  campaign  of  1840,  it  is 
quite  important  and  essential 
to  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
situation  that  some  attention  be 
given  to  the  financial  and  in- 
dustrial condition  of  the  country,  to  the 
questions  of  moment  upon  which  there 
was  marked  division  of  public  opinion, 
and  the  causes  that  led  to  a  crystallization 
of  the  forces  of  opposition  to  the  Van 
Buren  administration. 

As  tersely  yet  comprehensively  epitom- 
ized by  General  Thomas  E.  Powell,  the 
United  States  Bank,  in  the  year  1816,  re- 
ceived 

"A  charter  for  twenty  years.  The 
law  that  created  the  bank  also  provided 
that  the  national  revenue  should  be  de- 
posited in  that  bank  to  be  paid  out  by  it 
in  accordance  with  directions  it  should  re- 
ceive from  time  to  time  from  the  Treas- 
ury Department.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  had,  however,  the  right  to  re- 
move these  deposits  whenever,  in  his 
judgment,  the  public  interest  demanded 
the  change.  The  intention  of  the  law  un- 
questionably was  that  the  national  de- 
posits should  be  continued  in  the  bank  as 
long  as  the  bank  continued  to  be  a  safe  de- 
pository and  performed  its  duties  accord- 
ing to  law.  In  his  message  to  Congress  in 
1829,  1830  and  1831,  President  Jackson 
expressed  strong  dislike  of  the  United 
States  Bank.  A  great  many  people  in  the 
country  were  in  favor  of  continuing  the 
bank,  and  Jackson's  political  opponents 
conceived  the  idea  that  if  the  bank  were 
rechartered  it  would  hamper  Jackson  in 
the  Presidential  election  of  1832.  Henry 
Clay  was  at  that  time  endeavoring  to  clear 
his  own  path  to  the  Presidency;  conse- 
quently he  favored  the  rechartering  of  the 
bank,  hoping  thereby  to  handicap  Jack- 
son. 


"Under  the  fine  manipulation  of  Clay, 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  in  the  winter  of 
1832,  passed  a  bill  providing  for  the  re- 
newal of  the  charter  of  the  bank.  Presi- 
dent Jackson  promptly  vetoed  the  bill. 
His  opponents  had  felt  sure  that  he  would 
not  venture  to  take  this  step.  They 
thought  it  would  make  him  enemies  and 
increase  the  strength  of  the  National  Re- 
publicans, of  which  Clay  was  the  leader. 
In  the  next  Congress,  however,  Jackson 
had  a  majority  of  his  own  supporters  and 
no  further  attempt  was  made  to  renew 
the  charter  of  the  bank. 

"The  bank's  charter  would  not  expire 
until  1836,  but  the  fight  being  on,  Jack- 
son was  not  willing  to  allow  the  bank  to 
die  a  natural  death.  He  therefore  decided 
to  remove  the  national  deposits,  giving  as 
his  reason  for  this  act  that  they  were  un- 
safe in  the  United  States  Bank.  He 
brought  the  matter  before  Congress  dur- 
ing the  session  of  1833.  But  the  House 
of  Representatives  expressed  an  aversion 
to  the  project.  He  then  brought  the  mat- 
ter up  in  his  Cabinet,  but  Duane,  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  firmly  declared 
he  could  not  conscientiously  consent  to  the 
measure.  Then,  as  Duane  would  not  re- 
move the  deposits.  President  Jackson  re- 
moved Duane  and  appointed  Roger  B. 
Taney  in  his  stead.  Secretary  Taney  at 
once  issued  an  order  for  the  removal  of 
the  deposits  from  the  National  Bank  to 
the  State  banks.  The  banks  to  which  the 
deposits  were  distributed  immediately  be- 
came known  as  'pet  banks.' 

"The  National  Republicans  all  over  the 
country  were  loud  in  their  denunciations 
of  Jackson,  and  the  managers  of  the 
United  States  Bank  at  once  set  out  for  re- 
venge, and  for  financial  self-protection. 
They  proceeded  to  call  in  their  loans  and 
then  restricted  discounts.  Inside  of  a  few 
months  they  had  forced  the  collection  of 
many  millions  of  dollars.  They  knew  the 
efi"ect  this  would  have  upon  the  country, 
but  the  managers  of  the  bank  declared 
that  they  had  made  their  loans   on  the 


(65  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  1 


credit  of  the  Government  deposits,  and 
this  being  withdrawn,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  call  in  their  loans.  The  result 
was  financial  troubles  in  the  winter  of 
1836  and  such  men  as  Daniel  Webster  and 
Henry  Clay  laid  the  responsibility  for 
these  troubles  at  the  President's  door. 
Jackson  was  denounced  all  over  the  land 
as  high-handed  and  tyrannical,  and  he 
was  charged  with  taking  control  of  the 
National  Treasury,  of  which  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  in  Congress  were 
the  constitutional  guardians.  Meanwhile 
the  State  banks  which  had  received  the 
surplus  revenue  regarded  it  as  a  perma- 
nent deposit,  capital  in  short,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  enlarge  their  operations  accord- 
ingly. So  it  came  about  that  men  who 
were  permitted  to  borrow  from  the  State 
banks  what  they  actually  needed  could 
now  borrow  what  they  might  wish.  Spec- 
ulation largely  increased;  Western  lands, 
steamboat  lines,  new  roads,  suburban 
tracts,  any  project  which  the  speculator 
might  present,  found  ready  investors,  and 
thus  the  destruction  of  the  United  States 
Bank  led  directly  to  the  panic  of  1837. 

"The  usual  causes  which  have  produced 
so  many  and  almost  periodical  monetary 
depressions  in  our  history  played  their 
part  in  the  panic  of  1837,  and  prominent 
among  them  were  speculation,  undue  ex- 
tension of  credits,  unproductive  invest- 
ments and  large,  unwarranted  expendi- 
tures. 

"It  should  also  be  mentioned  that  an 
element  of  disturbance  was  projected  into 
the  financial  situation  in  1834  when  an  act 
of  Congress  changed  the  relative  values  of 
gold  and  silver  from  fifteen  to  one  to  six- 
teen to  one  in  order  to  promote  the  cir- 
culation of  gold.  Besides  all  this  the 
financial  stringency  in  England,  France, 
Belgium  and  over  the  continent  of  Europe 
generally  tended  to  aggravate  the  situa- 
tion in  the  United  States. 

"The  distribution  of  public  funds  to  pet 
banks  caused  those  institutions  to  encour- 
age customers  to  borrow  money.  This  led 
to  speculation  in  all  kinds  of  projects,  the 
most  important  of  which  was  Western 
lands.  These  lands  were  purchased  by 
speculators,  paid  for  in  notes,  sold  at  an 
advance  to  another  speculator  and  again 
paid  for  in  notes ;  the  operations  to  be  re- 
peated over  and  over  as  the  boom  in  val- 
ues progressed.     Labor  was  drawn  from 


productive  to  unproductive  work;  men 
rich  in  bonds,  soon  to  be  worthless,  ac- 
cumulated debts  beyond  all  reason. 

"This  speculation  in  public  lands  swift- 
ly grew  to  enormous  proportions.  In  1829 
the  sale  of  public  lands  amounted  to  a 
little  over  $1,500,000.  In  1830  it  was 
$2,300,000;  in  1832  $2,600,000;  in  1833 
$3,900,000;  in  1834  $4,800,000;  in  1835 
$14,757,000;  in  1836  $24,877,000.  In  1836 
President  Jackson  determined  to  check 
the  wild  speculation  which  had  developed 
all  over  the  land.  To  do  so  he  issued  an 
order  that  the  land  oflSces  should  receive 
nothing  but  gold  and  silver  or  certificates 
of  deposit  in  specie  in  the  United  States 
Treasury  in  payment  for  land.  The  law 
at  that  time  was  that  all  except  actual  set- 
tlers should  pay  for  land  in  gold  or  silver, 
but  the  law  was  not  maintained.  In  that 
year  the  Government  deposits  with  the 
'pet  banks'  had  reached  the  sum  of  $41,- 
500,000.  As  soon  as  Jackson  issued  his 
specie  circular  Congress  ordered  the 
money  in  the  banks  to  be  distributed 
among  the  several  States  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  Presidential  electors  to 
which  each  State  was  entitled,  the  money 
to  be  used  for  internal  improvements. 
Now  the  banks  had  looked  upon  this 
money  as  a  permanent  deposit  and  had 
loaned  it  to  customers.  With  vaults  full 
of  paper  securities,  how  could  they  pay 
in  gold?  The  gold  had  disappeared  and 
in  its  place  was  paper,  which,  when  the 
crisis  came,  nobody  would  take.  The 
order  of  Congress  therefore  embarrassed 
the  banks,  crippled  the  speculators,  with- 
drew money  from  circulation  and  pre- 
cipitated the  terrible  financial  calamity  of 
1837. 

"The  specie  circular  tied  up  the  public ; 
the  distribution  of  the  Treasury  surplus 
to  the  States  tied  up  the  banks.  Loans 
had  to  be  called  in  and  accommodations  to 
business  men  were  greatly  restricted.  In 
March,  1837,  England  began  to  look  to 
America  for  remittances  of  specie  through 
bills  on  American  houses.  American 
houses  were  not  able  to  pay  their  bills  in 
specie,  and  from  April  1  to  April  10 
more  than  one  hundred  failures  occurred 
in  New  York  City.  Before  the  end  of 
April  the  failures  were  too  numerous  to 
be  recorded.  From  the  metropolis  the 
commercial  paralysis  spread  all  over  the 
country. 


(56) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


"It  then  became  apparent  that  to  survey 
the  wilderness  did  not  convert  it  into 
farms  nor  would  platting  farms  build 
cities.  The  spirit  of  speculation  had  pro- 
duced in  the  public  mind  a  state  of  en- 
chantment like  that  of  the  poet,  Bryant, 
when  he  wrote  'The  Prairie.'  Standing 
upon  an  uninhabited  tract  his  fancy  ran 
riot  until  he  not  only  saw  cultivated  fields 
and  populous  cities,  but  heard  the  voices 
of  people  yet  to  be.  When  he  became 
hungry  he  went  back  to  dinner.  So  it  was 
with  the  people  of  this  country  in  1837. 
They  were  rich  on  paper  and  in  prospects 
yet  to  be  realized.  When  they  had  to  have 
three  meals  a  day,  wear  clothes  and  pay 
notes  at  the  bank  they  found  it  necessary 
to  get  back  to  cold  facts.  The  only  facts 
which  were  of  any  use  when  disaster  came 
were  gold  and  silver.  These  could  be  ob- 
tained only  by  earning  them,  and  as  that 
would  take  time  the  disaster  could  not  be 
averted.  That  wild  speculation  in  land 
was  a  large  contributing  cause  to  the 
panic  is  plainly  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
in  1842  sales  of  land  had  fallen  to  less 
than  one  and  a  half  million  dollars  from 
twenty-five  millions  in  1836. 

"President  Van  Buren  was  importuned 
to  have  the  Government  interfere  between 
the  speculators  and  disaster;  to  have  the 
Government  identify  itself  with  com- 
merce, in  fact.  This  the  President  refused 
to  do.  What  he  did  do  was  call  a  special 
session  of  Congress  which  convened  in 
September,  1837,  and  to  which  he  sent  a 
message  which  deserves  to  be  ranked  as 
one  of  the  greatest  state  papers  in  Amer- 
ica. In  that  message  he  proposed  the 
establishment  of  a  sub-treasury  system 
such  as  exists  today.  Congress,  however, 
refused  to  pass  his  sub-treasury  bill.  It 
did  pass  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  26  to  20, 
but  was  defeated  in  the  House.  His  great 
idea  was  to  receive  recognition  later  on, 
however. 

"In  his  message  to  the  extra  session  of 
Congress  President  Van  Buren  pointed 
out  that  the  Government  had  not  caused 
and  could  not  cure  the  profound  commer- 
cial disaster;  that  all  banks  had  stopped 
specie  payments  and  that  therefore  some 
other  custody  of  public  moneys  must  be 
provided;  that  the  Government  could  not 
help  the  people  to  earn  their  living  but 
it  could  refuse  to  aid  the  deception  that 
paper   was   gold   and   the   delusion   that 


values  could  be  created  without  labor.  In 
the  face  of  a  storm  of  abuse  he  took  a  firm 
and  magnificent  stand,  but  his  statesman- 
ship on  that  occasion  did  him  no  good,  but 
rather  harm.  The  country  was  in  distress 
and  looked  to  him  for  aid  which  he  was 
unable  to  give,  and  with  that  unreason 
inseparable  from  a  panic  of  any  kind  he 
was  held  responsible  for  all  trouble  and 
became  the  object  of  unsparing  denuncia- 
tion." 

Conditions  in  the  country  at  large,  so 
lucidly  and  intelligently  described  in  the 
foregoing  review,  were  supplemented  and 
aggravated  by  the  then  existing  conditions 
in  Indiana.  The  influx  of  population  rep- 
resented a  class  of  people  who  sought  to 
better  themselves  by  utilizing  the  bound- 
less opportunities  here  presented,  espe- 
cially in  agricultural  pursuits.  Fertile 
land  in  abundance  was  to  be  had  for  a 
mere  pittance,  as  compared  with  prices  in 
the  more  extensively  settled  regions  of  the 
East  and  South.  Many  of  those  who  came 
from  the  South  were  hostile  to  slavery. 
Scant  means  did  not  admit  of  acquiring 
plantations  in  States  like  Virginia.  Their 
pride  did  not  permit  them  to  work  among 
slaves.  As  well  stated  by  Logan  Esarey 
in  his  "Internal  Improvements  in  Indi- 
ana" :  "One  can  scarcely  realize  the  con- 
dition of  Indiana  in  1825.  There  was  no 
railroad,  no  canal,  no  pike.  All  her  rivers 
except  the  Ohio  were  obstructed  by  fallen 
trees,  ripples  and  bars.  Two  stage  lines 
led  to  Indianapolis,  one  from  Madison,  the 
other  from  Centerville.  The  service  was 
bad,  roads  frequently  impassable,  and 
stages  usually  late." 

Transportation  was  the  great  problem 
calling  for  solution.  In  the  parlance  of 
the  day,  it  was  the  paramount  issue — the 
momentous  question  aff"ecting  every  in- 
habitant of  the  State.  Wheat  and  corn  in 
abundance  could  be  produced,  but  by  rea- 
son of  inadequate  transportation  facili- 
ties there  was  no  profit  in  raising  grain 
that  cost  three  times  as  much  to  haul  to 
Cincinnati  as  the  farmer  realized  there- 
from in  disposing  of  it  to  the  local  dealer. 


(57) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


Need  any  one  wonder  that  the  tillers  of 
the  soil  chafed  under  these  conditions  and 
that  they  lent  a  listening  ear  to  every 
scheme  that  gave  any  sort  of  promise  of 
relief? 

Human  nature  in  those  days  M^as  not 
much  different  from  what  it  is  today.  The 
life  of  a  pioneer  settler  in  Indiana  was  far 
from  an  easy  one.  Hardship  was  in  evi- 
dence wherever  one's  eye  might  be  turned. 
Relief  could  come  from  one  source 
only — ^transportation  facilities.  Immature 
thought  was  the  great  stumbling  block  to 
a  realization  of  this  blessing.  Had  the 
power  of  organized  effort  been  invoked; 
had  patience  been  cultivated  and  im- 
petuosity curbed;  had  feasibility  been 
made  paramount  to  plausibility;  had  wis- 
dom and  practicability  been  insisted  upon 
before  plunging  heedlessly  into  this  or 
that  scheme — in  short,  had  good,  strong, 
common  sense  been  injected  into  the  move- 
ment for  the  inauguration  of  internal  im- 
provements from  the  very  start  and  rigid- 
ly adhered  to  as  the  work  progressed,  a 
mountain-high  debt  would  not  have  been 
piled  up  and  bankruptcy  would  not  have 
discredited  and  dishonored  the  State. 

It  would  be  well  if  every  thoughtful 
citizen  of  the  State  could  be  induced  to 
procure  a  copy  of  Logan  Esarey's  history 
of  "Internal  Improvements  of  Indiana" 
and  give  the  same  studious  perusal.  It  is 
not  a  tiresome  presentation  of  the  subject 
elaborated  and  discussed,  but  a  very  read- 
able and  highly  instructive  contribution  to 
the  historic  literature  of  Indiana.  The 
facts  therein  set  forth  ought  to  be  brought 
.to  the  knowledge  of  every  man  and  woman 
who  cares  to  be  enlightened  with  refer- 
ence to  the  trials  and  tribulations  that 
were  encountered  by  Indiana's  pioneers 
during  the  formative  period,  1826  to  1840. 

The  lesson  which  the  internal  improve- 
ment mania  teaches  is  that  a  too  ready  re- 
sponse to  and  compliance  with  popular 
clamor  more  often  entails  injury  than  it 
confers  benefits.     That  famous,  courage- 


ous and  fearless  journalist,  Horace  Gree- 
ley, once  upon  a  time  declared  that  it  was 
his  purpose  to  give  to  the  readers  of  his 
Neiv  York  Tribime  "not  so  much  what 
they  would  like  to  read  as  what  they  ought 
to  know."  Had  there  been  a  combination 
of  influential,  practical  men  resolved  upon 
first  ascertaining  what  the  State  needed 
and  ought  to  have  been  supplied  with  in 
the  line  of  transportation  facilities,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  a  carefully  worked- 
out  plan  might  have  been  adopted  by  the 
State  and  put  into  practical  use  and  opera- 
tion. Of  course,  the  fact  must  not  be  lost 
sight  of  that  local  jealousies  were  certain 
to  be  encountered.  That  bane  of  society 
is  not  easily  repressed.  Every  locality 
thinks  its  claims  should  be  first  considered 
and  its  wants  first  supplied.  If  politi- 
cians, legislators,  statesmen  and  public 
journals  could  be  brought  to  the  under- 
standing that  the  common  welfare  should 
have  first  consideration,  the  spirit  of 
jealousy  and  envy  might  more  easily  be 
held  in  subjection.  A  striking  illustra- 
tion of  this  truism  was  furnished  in  the 
adjoining  State  of  Illinois  where  that 
superb  statesman,  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
exerted  a  most  beneficent  influence  by  de- 
vising sundry  safeguards  in  granting 
franchises  to  railroads  and  other  corpora- 
tions. He  foresaw  probabilities  that  came 
to  a  realization  during  his  life-time  and 
that  in  course  of  time  brought  millions 
upon  millions  of  dollars  into  the  State 
treasury,  thus  conferring  a  direct  benefit 
upon  the  taxpayers  of  Illinois  without  im- 
posing any  real  hardships  upon  the  cor- 
porations as  they  developed,  grew  and 
prospered  as  a  result  of  the  steady  in- 
crease of  population  engendered  by  the 
creation  and  operation  of  transportation 
lines  for  the  convenience,  comfort  and  ad- 
vancement of  a  thrifty  people. 

Leadership,  properly,  wisely  and  un- 
selfishly applied,  rarely  fails  to  produce 
results  that  prove  beneficial  and  advan- 
tageous to  the  community,  the  State  or 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


the  nation  at  large.  However  vehemently 
leadership  may  be  decried  by  demagogues 
who  delight  in  tickling  the  vanity  of  what 
they  assume  to  constitute  "the  people,"  it 
is  .  an  incontrovertible  truth  that  sound, 
safe,  wise  and  sagacious  leadership  has 
ever  proved  a  benefit  and  a  blessing  to 
communities  that  had  the  good  sense  to 
accept  and  utilize  the  same.  Under  a  rep- 
resentative system  of  government  leader- 
ship is  as  essential  as  is  the  direction  of 
forces  in  the  construction  of  buildings, 
bridges,  highways,  etc.  To  lead,  guide 
and  direct  is  but  another  form  of  expres- 
sion for  bringing  order  out  of  chaos. 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Adams,  Jackson, 
Lincoln,  Douglas,  Tilden,  Thurman  and 
Hendricks  were,  in  their  day  and  genera- 
tion, leaders  of  men,  and  the  people 
profited  by  heeding  their  counsel  and  giv- 
ing emphasis  to  their  views  by  causing 
them  to  be  enacted  into  law. 

In  his  history  of  the  Ohio  Democracy, 
General  Thomas  E.  Powell  expresses  the 
opinion  that 

"It  is  doubtful  if  in  any  American  cam- 
paign any  political  party  has  used  so 
much  buncombe  and  so  little  brains 
as  did  the  Whigs  in  the  presiden- 
tial campaign  of  1840.  Yet  they  won.  On 
the  Whigs'  side  it  was  a  popular  rush  to 
a  circus  where  the  admission  was  free 
and  all  who  attended  could  take  part  in 
the  festive  performance.  Enormous  po- 
litical meetings  were  held  and  these  were 
attended  not  by  men  alone  but  by  entire 
families;  fathers,  mothers,  sons  and 
daughters  all  turned  out.  There  were 
Revolutionary  soldiers  marching  in  pro- 
cession; there  were  bands  of  music  and 
there  were  barrels  of  cider;  there  was 
speech  making  and  festivity,  and  for  a 
sideshow  there  was  a  log  cabin  with  the 
latchstring  hanging  out  and  a  live  coon 
inside.  The  log  cabin  and  the  coon  traveled 
by  wagon  from  place  to  place  and  the  bar- 
rels of  cider  were  supplied  by  the  com- 
munities. The  voice  of  the  spellbinder 
was  heard  in  the  land ;  there  was  so  much 
enthusiasm  that  there  was  no  time  for 
thought.  It  w^as  the  proletariat  running 
loose  in  a  bloodless  raid. 


"Many  causes  have  been  assigned  for 
the  political  revolution  of  1839-40  which 
swept  Democrats  out  of  power  in  the  State 
and  nation  and  placed  the  young  Whig 
party  in  the  ascendency.  Van  Buren's 
espousal  of  an  independent  treaty  would, 
at  the  first  glance,  seem  to  be  the  rock 
upon  which  he  foundered.  This  would 
imply  that  in  1840  the  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  preferred  the 
national  bank  to  the  sub-treasury  system. 
In  preparing  its  platform  the  Whig  party 
was  very  careful  to  avoid  a  declaration  on 
that  point ;  nevertheless  it  undid  the  work 
done  by  Van  Buren  toward  the  establish- 
ment of  an  independent  treasury  system. 
During  the  campaign  Van  Buren  was  as- 
sailed for  his  sub-treasury  plan  and  no 
doubt  many  imagined  they  could  trace  the 
troubles  of  1837  to  the  destruction  of  the 
United  States  Bank,  and  consequently  en- 
tertained the  belief  that  a  return  to  the 
old  order  of  things  would  be  wise.  Yet 
the  Whigs  as  well  as  the  Democrats  con- 
demned the  'pet  bank'  system.  It  is  there- 
fore improbable  that  his  advocacy  of  the 
sub-treasury  system  was  the  cause  of 
Van  Buren's  defeat.  The  fact  is  he  was 
held  responsible  for  both  the  real  and 
imaginary  errors  of  President  Jackson. 
Also  he  had  been  President  during  a  great 
commercial  crisis  and  the  people,  not  only 
of  that  day  but  of  this,  have  a  strange 
habit  of  laying  all  their  commercial 
troubles  at  the  door  of  the  White  House. 

"Tim.es  had  been  bad  during  most  of 
Van  Buren's  regime  and  the  general  cry 
was  for  a  change.  Things  might  be  bet- 
ter, they  could  not  well  be  worse,  or  so  the 
people  apparently  thought.  That  the  com- 
mercial troubles  which  occurred  during 
Van  Buren's  administration  and  the  con- 
sequent desire  for  a  change  led  to  the  de- 
feat of  himself  and  his  party  is  made 
absolutely  clear  by  the  speeches  of  Daniel 
Webster  during  that  campaign.  Like  all 
politicians  the  great  Webster  was  afflicted 
with  a  political  bias.  He  must  have  known 
that  Van  Buren's  attitude  during  the  re- 
cent troublous  times  had  been  grand ;  and 
if  he  had  possessed  to  any  degree  the  fore- 
sight with  which  statesmen  are  usually 
credited  or  the  intellect  for  which  he  was 
renowned,  he  must  have  seen  that  the 
sub-treasuiy  system  would  prove  vastly 
superior  to  the  national  bank.  Indeed,  it 
is  to  be  presumed  that  he  did  see  and  un- 


HISTORY      INDIANA     DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


derstand  these  things,  for  in  his  speeches 
he  studiously  avoided  logic  and  regaled 
his  audiences  with  dogmas  and  eloquence. 
Everywhere  he  went  he  cried  out  to  his 
hearers : 

"  'Every  breeze  says  change ;  the  cry, 


the  universal  cry  is  for  change.'  Change 
was  the  keynote  of  his  oratory  and  change 
became  the  watchword  of  his  party 
throughout  that  memorable  election.  It 
was  the  only  argument  they  had,  but  it 
won." 


[Chapter  VI.] 


THE  UNIQUE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1840 

LOG  CABIN,   COON  SKINS,   HARD  CIDER,  TIPPECANOE  AND 
TYLER  TOO 


mHE      "Tippecanoe     and     Tyler 
=    too"  campaign  was  both  unique 
and     grotesque.         It     stands 
without     a     parallel     in     the 
'    annals    of    American   politics. 

In  Ohio  and  Indiana  the 
enthusiasm  for  William  Henry 
Harrison  was  doubtless  intensified  by 
the  fact  that  he  was  "one  of  them" — 
both  Ohioan  and  Indianian.  Log  cabins 
were  built  and  exultantly  carried  in  spec- 
tacular processions.  Coon  skins  were  dis- 
played on  poles,  and  barrels  of  hard  cider 
were  dispensed  to  thirsty  ones  at  the  big 
rallies,  political  gatherings,  picnics,  etc.  It 
was  a  great  time  for  the  exuberant  and  the 
emotional.  From  the  very  beginning  of 
the  campaign  it  had  become  apparent  that 
victory  was  in  store  for  the  Whigs.  Mar- 
tin Van  Buren,  the  elegant  and  accom- 
plished New  York  gentleman,  was  at  a 
discount  with  the  sturdy  Westerners,  who 
recognized  in  William  Henry  Harrison  one 
after  their  own  heart.  At  the  November 
election  Van  Buren  carried  but  two  North- 
ern States — Illinois  and  New  Hampshire 
— and  only  five  States  in  the  South.  The 
result  in  Illinois  was  chiefly  due  to  the 
tremendous  efi'ort  put  forth  by  the  idol- 
ized "Little  Giant,"  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  more  of  a  tri- 
umph for  Douglas  than  a  victory  for  Van 
Buren.  In  the  Electoral  College  Harrison 
had  234  votes,  Van  Buren  60,  but  the 
popular  vote  shows  no  such  disparity  in 
strength  as  might  be  inferred  from  these 
figures.  On  the  popular  vote  Harrison  had 
1,275,017;  Van  Buren,  1,128,702.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  Van  Buren 
suifered  a  crushing  defeat  in  1840,  his 
vote    in    that    losing  contest  was  350,000 


greater  than  he  polled  four  years  before 
when  he  was  triumphantly  elected  as  the 
successor  of  "Old  Hickory." 

General  Powell  is  quite  correct  in  say- 
ing that  "the  Whig  Party  gained  little,  if 
anything,  by  the  victory  of  1840.  Presi- 
dent Harrison  died  April  4,  1841,  after 
being  President  but  one  month.  By  his 
death  the  Whigs  lost  the  substantial  fruits 
of  their  victory.  The  utterly  incongruous 
elements  that  had  been  held  together  dur- 
ing the  campaign  of  1840  by  discontent 
and  wild,  unthinking  enthusiasm  began 
speedily  to  fall  apart.  Tyler  had  never 
concealed  his  Democratic  views  of  govern- 
ment, and,  as  President,  he  made  no  pre- 
tense of  carrying  out  Whig  doctrines. 
When  Congress  passed  a  bill  to  establish 
a  National  Bank  he  promptly  vetoed  it  and 
in  no  way  exerted  himself  to  promote 
Whig  legislation.  Indeed,  he  allied  him- 
self with  the  Democrats  so  openly  that  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  express  a  desire  for  the 
Democratic  nomination  for  President  in 
1844." 

INDIANA'S  PART  IN  THE  CAMPAIGN 
OF  1840. 

Activity  in  this  exciting  campaign  be- 
gan early.  On  the  historic  eighth  of  Jan- 
uary the  Democrats  held  a  largely  at- 
tended, enthusiastic  convention.  The  in- 
tensely partisan  semi-weekly  Indiana 
Journal  called  it  the  "Office-holders'  Con- 
vention." Sneeringly  the  charge  was  set 
forth  that  it  was  composed  of  209  office- 
holders, bank  directors,  lawyers,  etc.,  and 
102  of  other  occupations,  being  two-thirds 
officeholders  and  one-third  farmers  and 
mechanics.  Unctious  emphasis  was  given 
by  that  paper  to  the  statement  that  the 


(61) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


Harrison  convention,  held  on  the  16th  of 
January,  was  composed  of  413  farmers 
and  mechanics,  and  208  officeholders,  bank 
directors,  lawyers,  etc.,  making  it  two- 
thirds  farmers  and  mechanics  and  one- 
third  officeholders — just  the  reverse  of  the 
Van  Buren  convention.  The  nature  of  this 
criticism  serves  as  an  illustration  of  the 
campaign  fodder  which  in  those  days  was 
made  to  do  service  for  the  purpose  of 
warping  the  intellect  of  the  yeomanry. 

The  general  management  of  the  Demo- 
cratic campaign  had  been  largely  intrusted 
to  such  stanch  party  men  as  N.  B.  Palmer, 
Treasurer  of  State;  W.  J.  Brown,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  J.  L.  Ketcham,  lawyer. 
As  speakers  the  Democrats  had  on  the 
stump  such  men  as  General  Tilghman  A. 
Howard,  U.  S.  Senator  Edward  Hanne- 
gan,  James  Whitcomb,  Marinus  Willett, 
Finley  Bigger,  Amos  Lane,  Thomas  Smith, 
Robert  Dale  Owen,  John  Law,  Joseph  A. 
Wright,  John  G.  Davis,  Paris  C.  Dunning, 
Delaney  Eckels,  Alvin  P.  Hovey,  Andrew 
Kennedy,  John  Spencer,  Elisha  Long,  Na- 
thaniel West,  General  Drake,  John  Carr, 
William  W.  Wick,  James  Brown  Ray, 
Joseph  Holman  and  Ross  Smiley. 

The  principal  speakers  on  the  Whig  side 
were  Joseph  G.  Marshall,  0.  H.  Smith, 
George  Dunn,  Albert  S.  White,  William 
Herod,  Caleb  Smith,  Richard  W.  Thomp- 
son, Henry  S.  Lane,  Newton  Claypool, 
Samuel  C.  Sample,  John  Liston,  Thomas 
J.  Evans,  Schuyler  Colfax,  John  Vawter, 
Milton  Stapp,  John  Dumont,  Jeremiah 
Sullivan,  Joseph  C.  Eggleston,  William  G. 
Ewing,  James  H.  Cravens,  Jonathan  Mc- 
Carty,  John  Ewing,  George  H.  Dunn, 
Samuel  Judah,  Randall  Crawford,  Thomas 
H.  Blake,  Elisha  Huntington,  Judge  De 
Bruler,  Charles  Dewey  and  Conrad  Baker. 

In  both  these  lists  will  be  found  the 
names  of  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  later 
on  became  quite  conspicuous  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  State  and  nation.  Cabinet  offi- 
cers, U.  S.  Senators,  Governors,  Con- 
gressmen and  other  distinguished  officials 


will  be  found  liberally  represented  among 
those  who  made  the  welkin  ring  during 
that  memorable  campaign. 

As  stated  by  Historian  Smith,  "For 
near  six  weeks  these  men  went  up  and 
down  the  State.  Joint  debates  were  the 
order  of  the  day.  Barbecues,  torchlight 
parades  and  rallies  varied  the  program. 
It  is  estimated  that  forty  thousand  people 
gathered  at  one  time  on  the  Tippecanoe 
battleground.  The  campaign  closed  with 
a  monster  parade  in  Indianapolis  the 
night  before  the  election.  Mr.  Whitcomb 
was  to  speak  on  the  North  Side  and  Sena- 
tor 0.  H.  Smith  on  the  South  Side.  After 
waiting  till  midnight  for  the  noise  to  sub- 
side, the  two  speakers  left  the  stands." 

Throughout  the  campaign  much  viru- 
lence was  injected  into  the  discussions. 
Even  a  gentleman  so  amiable  and  courte- 
ous as  Senator  William  Hendricks  did  not 
escape  ill-natured  attack.  Because  of  his 
conciliatory  course  during  the  heated 
United  States  Bank  controversy  he  was 
spoken  of  as  "being  on  all  sides  and  never 
long." 

At  the  August  election  for  choosing  a 
Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor,  the 
only  State  officers  elected  by  the  people 
under  the  old  constitution,  Samuel  Bigger 
received  62,678  votes  and  Tilghman  A. 
Howard,  54,083.  The  vote  for  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor stood :  Samuel  Hall,  Whig, 
62,612;  S.  S.  Tuley,  Democrat,  53,388. 

At  the  presidential  election  in  Novem- 
ber the  vote  of  Indiana  stood:  William 
Henry  Harrison,  Whig,  65,302;  Martin 
Van  Buren,  Democrat,  51,695;  Harrison's 
majority,  13,607. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  total  vote 
for  Governor  was  116,761,  while  the  total 
vote  for  President  reached  116,997.  .Yet 
Harrison's  majority  exceeded  that  of  Big- 
ger, 5,012.  So,  after  all,  the  result  in  In- 
diana could  hardly  be  properly  called  a 
landslide. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


The  Harrison  electors  for  Indiana  were : 
Jonathan  McCarty,  James  H.  Cravens, 

Joseph  G.  Marshall,  Caleb  B.  Smith, 

John  W.  Payne,  William  Herod, 

Joseph  L.  White,  Samuel  C.  Sample. 

Richard  W.  Thompson, 

The  unsuccessful  candidates  for  Van 
Buren  electors  were: 

William  Hendricks,  John  L.  Robinson, 

Geo.  W.  Ewing,  Andrew  Kennedy, 

Robert  Dale  Owen,  W.  J.  Peaslee, 

Geo.  Bowen,  J.  M.  Lemon. 

Thomas  J.  Henley, 

David  Turpie,  a  student  of  tender  years 
at  that  time,  attended  the  Tippecanoe 
barbecue.  He  says  it  was  an  immense  af- 
fair. It  lasted  three  days.  He  places  the 
number  of  persons  participating  at 
20,000,  just  half  of  Smith's  estimate. 
However,  a  difference  in  estimates  of 
crowds  is  not  usually  taken  seriously  from 
either  a  mathematical  or  ethical  point  of 
view. 

Judge  Turpie  speaks  thus  of  the  great 
meeting:  "Several  stands  were  erected 
for  speaking,  printed  bills  gave  the  names 
of  the  speakers  and  announced  the  hour 
of  meeting,  and  many  bands  of  music 
played  during  the  intervals.  Eminent 
statesmen  of  the  Whig  party  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country  spoke  on  this 
occasion,  but  the  star  speaker  and  guest 
was  Mr.  James  Brooks  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  Mr.  Brooks  was  the  editor  of  the 
New  York  Evening  Express,  at  that  time 
the  leading  Whig  newspaper  in  the  East. 
He  had  been  long  a  friend  and  admirer  of 
Mr.  Clay  and  had  earnestly  supported 
his  candidacy  for  the  Presidency;  his 
presence  at  this  great  assemblage  was  un- 
derstood to  signify  that  the  distinguished 
Kentuckian  would  give  his  aid  to  the  cause 
of  General  Harrison." 

It  may  be  stated  in  this  connection  that 
both  Henry  Clay  and  Daniel  Webster 
considered  themselves  more  entitled  to 
the  Presidential  nomination  in  1840  than 
William  Henry  Harrison.  Both  felt  that 
1840   was   the   psychological   moment   to 


vitalize  a  Whig  nomination  into  a  Presi- 
dential i-eality.  Fate  had  decreed  other- 
wise, as  in  many  other  cases.  In  po- 
litical life  there  are  indeed  many  disap- 
pointments. 

EX-PRESIDENT  VAN  BUREN  VISITS 
INDIANA. 

In  a  neatly  gotten  up  booklet  entitled 
"The  Rooster,"  issued  by  John  F.  Mitchell 
of  the  Hancock  Democrat,  is  given  a  some- 
what amusing  account  of  a  visit  made  to 
Indiana  by  former  President  Martin  Van 
Buren.  As  related  by  Mr.  Mitchell,  the 
ex-President  made  a  tour  of  the  West,  in 
1843,  following  the  route  of  the  National 
or  Cumberland  road,  which  is  the  main 
thoroughfare  in  Greenfield.  His  visit  to 
Greenfield  was  a  great  occasion  and  the 
Democrats  made  extensive  preparations 
for  his  entertainment.  The  journey  from 
the  East  was  made  by  stage,  and  almost 
all  of  the  stage  drivers  were  Whigs. 

During  President  Van  Buren's  ad- 
ministration he  had  vetoed  a  bill  for  an 
appropriation  for  the  improvement  of 
the  National  road.  The  West  was  great- 
ly displeased  at  this  action,  for  the  road 
in  many  places  was  almost  impassable. 
The  stage  drivers  had  planned  to  give  the 
ex-President  an  opportunity  to  count  the 
mud  holes  along  the  road.  Near  Green- 
field there  was  a  steep  hill  and,  at  a  signal, 
the  driver  pulled  his  horses  to  the  side 
and  the  famous  traveler  was  thrown  into 
the  mud.  When  Mr.  Van  Buren  arrived 
in  Greenfield  he  was  in  a  deplorable  con- 
dition and  new  clothes  had  to  be  pro- 
vided. 

Later  in  the  day  a  public  reception  was 
held  in  the  front  room  of  the  Chapman 
tavern.  Mr.  Joseph  Chapman  took  great 
pleasure  in  introducing  his  young  son, 
Martin  Van  Buren  Chapman,  to  the  ex- 
President.  This  same  Martin  Van  Buren 
Chapman  later  became  a  teacher  in  the 
Greenfield  Academy  and  is  responsible 
for  a  large  portion  of  the  early  training 


HISTORY     INDIANA     DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


of  Indiana's  favorite  poet,  Mr.  James 
Whitcomb  Riley,  who  was  his  pupil. 

In  the  same  booklet  is  given  an  ex- 
tended account  of  the  origin  of  the  famous 
shibboleth,  "Crow,  Chapman,  crow!" 
There  lived  in  those  days  in  Hancock 
county  an  ardent  Democrat  named  Joseph 
Chapman.  Political  discussions,  then 
quite  frequent  and  spirited,  were  freely 
participated  in  by  this  champion  of  De- 
mocracy. He  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  and  was  highly  respected. 
During  the  campaign  of  1840  quite  a 
number  of  Democrats  declared  themselves 
for  Harrison.  Reports  of  this  disaffec- 
tion reached  the  city  of  Indianapolis  and 
prompted  the  Democratic  postmaster  of 
that  town  to  write  a  letter  of  encourage- 
ment to  Mr.  Chapman.  In  this  letter  its 
recipient  was  laconically  urged  to  "Crow, 
Chapman,  crow!" — that  is  to  say,  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  day,  to  keep  a  stiif 
upper  lip,  or  to  present  a  bold  front.  This 
letter,  it  seems,  was  stolen  and  published 
by  some  unscrupulous  Whig.  By  reason 
of  the  reference  to  numerous  alleged  ac- 
cessions to  the  camp  of  the  Harrisonites, 
much  ado  was  made  over  the  affair — much 
more  than  its  importance  seems  to  have 
merited.  The  commonly  accepted  ver- 
sion was  that  Mr.  Chapman  had  acquired 
quite  a  reputation  as  an  imitator  of  a 
rooster  crowing.  This  was  afterward 
denied  as  wholly  unfounded.  However, 
out  of  the  story  grew  the  propensity  for 
identifying  the  rooster  with  Democratic 
exultation.  For  a  long  time  "Crow,  Chap- 
man, crow!"  served  excellently  in  the 
columns  of  Democratic  publications  to 
herald  something  of  a  cheering  character 
politically.  At  any  rate,  in  due  time  the 
rooster  became  the  Democratic  emblem 
in  Indiana,  and  is  still  so. 

In  the  days  of  Jackson  the  Democratic 
emblem  was  a  hickory  pole  and  broom. 
In  after  years  a  live  or  stuffed  rooster  was 
considered  quite  the  thing  in  Democratic 
processions.     Both  emblems  answered  a 


purpose  and  afforded  much  delight  to 
those  who  are  fond  of  injecting  something 
spectacular  into  a  political  campaign. 

POLITICAL  REACTION  SOON  SET  IN. 

DEMOCRATIC  SENATOR  IN  1842 ;  DEMOCRATIC 

GOVERNOR  IN   1843. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  a  political  re- 
action to  set  in  after  the  landslide  of  1840, 
and  after  the  death  of  President  Harri- 
son and  the  not  wholly  unexpected  defec- 
tion of  the  Virginian  who  advanced  from 
the  second  to  the  first  place  in  the  new  ad- 
ministration. The  nomination  by  the 
Whigs  of  John  Tyler  to  the  Vice-Presi- 
dency and  his  subsequent  election  in  No- 
vember was  an  expediency  procedure, 
prompted  by  a  desire  to  bring  to  the  Whig 
standard  the  various  elements  of  opposi- 
tion to  the  Van  Buren  administration. 
Tyler  was  something  of  a  free  lance  in 
politics,  though  for  years  closely  allied 
with  Henry  Clay.  Political  shifts  were 
easily  made  in  those  days,  and  Tyler  did 
not  regard  himself  inseparably  tied  to 
the  party  that  had  elevated  him  to  the 
second  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  Na- 
tion. He  considered  himself  privileged  to 
follow  his  personal  views  and  convictions 
rather  than  being  obliged  to  adjust  him- 
self to  the  program  mapped  out  by  the 
party  leaders  who  had  deemed  it  "good 
politics"  to  place  him  on  their  ticket  and 
to  clothe  him  with  the  habiliments  of  high 
office.  When  his  determination  to  pursue 
this  course  became  generally  known  the 
usual  cry  of  "traitor"  was  raised  in 
chagrined  and  distressed  Whig  circles 
throughout  the  land.  Maledictions  were 
hurled  at  him  right  and  left.  Crimina- 
tion and  recrimination  followed  in  pro- 
fusion. The  more  vehement  the  accusa- 
tions the  wider  the  breach.  Reconcilia- 
tion had  been  rendered  impossible. 
Estrangement  had  become  so  complete  as 
to  have  been  rendered  irreparable. 
Toward  the  last  year  of  the  Tyler  ad- 
ministration   flirtation    with    Democratic 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


leaders  had  been  so  marked  as  to  justify 
the  conclusion  that  it  amounted  to  an  in- 
vitation to  tender  John  Tyler  the  Demo- 
cratic nomination  for  the  Presidency  in 
1844.  Needless  to  add  that  the  hint  was 
not  taken.  When  the  convention  met  at 
Baltimore  to  nominate  a  Presidential 
ticket  a  large  number  of  Federal  office- 
holders were  on  hand  to  urge  his  nomina- 
tion. Receiving  no  encouragement,  they 
held  a  sort  of  rump  convention  of  their 
own  and  formally  nominated  Tyler  for 
the  Presidency  without  naming  a  running 
mate.  The  performance  was  too  gro- 
tesque to  be  seriously  regarded,  so  some 
weeks  after  this  nominee  issued  a  ran- 
corous letter  formally  taking  himself  out 
of  the  running. 

At  the  State  election  in  1842  the  lead- 
ing question  before  the  people  of  Indiana 
was  who  should  be  chosen  by  the  Legisla- 
ture to  represent  this  commonwealth  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  The 
Democratic  favorite  for  this  position  was 
General  Tilghman  A.  Howard,  who  two 
years  before  had  met  with  defeat  in  his 
race  for  the  Governorship.  The  choice 
of  the  Whigs  was  Senator  Oliver  H. 
Smith,  who  aspired  to  re-election.  The 
race  was  an  exceedingly  close  one,  as  al- 
ready set  forth  in  a  preceding  chapter, 
and  resulted  in  the  entrance  of  a  "dark 
horse"  in  the  person  of  Edward  A.  Han- 
negan  and  his  election  upon  the  with- 
drawal of  General  Howard,  who  had 
come  within  two  votes  of  the  coveted 
prize,  but  who  had  become  convinced  that 
the  cards  were  staked  against  him  on  ac- 
count of  his  refusal  to  promise  certain 
offices  to  several  mercenary  members  of 
the  Legislature. 

Mr.  Hannegan  was  a  remarkably  bril- 
liant man,  somewhat  erratic,  but  able, 
courageous,  yea,  fearless.  His  habits 
were  decidedly  convivial.  He  was  a  native 
of  Ohio;  attended  the  public  schools; 
studied  law ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
began  practice  in  Covington,  Ind. ;  served 


several  terms  in  the  Legislature;  was 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  23rd  and  24th 
Congresses  (March  4,  1833,  to  March  4, 
1837)  ;  defeated  for  re-election,  but  in 
1842  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate 
for  a  full  term  of  six  years.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  Polk  administration  he  was 
appointed  Minister  to  Prussia,  serving 
from  March  22,  1849,  to  January  13, 
1850,  when  he  was  recalled  on  account  of 
his  temperamental  incompatibility  with 
diplomatic  discreetness  and  disregard  of 
diplomatic  usages.  Upon  his  return  to 
Indiana  he  became  involved  in  some  seri- 
ous imbroglios  that  impelled  him  to  move 
to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  died,  Febru- 
ary 25,  1859.  Intemperance  marred  an 
otherwise  brilliant  career.  It  proved  to 
be  an  unconquerable  foe. 

The  plight  into  which  the  State  had  been 
brought  by  the  several  Whig  administra- 
tions in  inaugurating  a  stupendously  im- 
practicable, ill-considered  and  enormous- 
ly expensive  internal  improvement  scheme 
admonished  the  Democrats  of  Indiana  to 
cast  about,  in  1843,  for  a  man  for  Gov- 
ernor whose  ability  and  integrity  gave 
promise  of  bringing  order  out  of  chaos, 
restoring  the  commonwealth's  shattered 
credit  and  affording  relief  to  the  sorely 
burdened  taxpayers.  They  had  selected 
such  a  man  three  years  before,  but  the 
coon  skin,  log  cabin  and  hard  cider  phan- 
tasy blinded  the  people  to  their  real  inter- 
ests and  impelled  them  to  defeat  Tilgh- 
man A.  Howard.  The  Indiana  Democracy 
had  within  their  ranks  another  man  of 
equal  sterling  qualities  and  high  attain- 
ments who  could  be  depended  on,  in  case 
of  his  election,  to  bring  about  a  more 
satisfactory  and  assuring  condition  of 
affairs.  The  man  believed  to  be  equal  to 
the  emergency  was  James  Whitcomb — 
upright  citizen,  rigid  economist,  talented 
lawyer,  wise  legislator,  and  patriotic  states- 
man. His  nomination  at  once  met  with 
hearty  approval  and  with  final  ratification 
at  the  polls. 


(65) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRAC  Y 


16-1 


Mr.  Whitcomb  was  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, but  was  reared  on  a  farm  near  Cin- 
cinnati. As  a  lad  he  displayed  an  extraor- 
dinary fondness  for  the  study  of  liter- 
ature and  the  acquirement  of  knowledge. 
So  persevering  was  he  in  his  studies  that 
he  soon  fitted  himself  for  college.  In  due 
time  he  graduated  from  Transylvania 
University.  Having  qualified  himself  for 
the  law,  he  was,  in  March,  1822,  admitted 
to  the  Fayette  county  bar  in  Kentucky. 
Two  years  later  he  located  in  Blooming- 
ton,  Ind.,  and  soon  won  his  way  to  a  lu- 
crative practice.  In  1826  he  was,  by  Gov- 
ernor James  Brown  Ray,  appointed  Prose- 
cuting Attorney  of  his  circuit.  Recogni- 
tion of  his  ability  led  to  his  election  to  the 
State  Senate  in  1830,  and  to  his  re-election 
three  years  later.  He  took  a  conspicuous 
part  in  the  attempt  to  safeguard  the  State 
against  the  internal  improvement  mania, 
but  found  himself  unable  to  stem  the  tide. 
In  1836  President  Jackson  appointed  him 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
which  position  he  filled  ably  and  accept- 
ably to  the  end  of  the  Van  Buren  adminis- 
tration. Early  in  1841  Mr.  Whitcomb  re- 
turned to  Indiana,  locating  in  Terre 
Haute,  where  he  soon  commanded  a  large 
and  lucrative  practice. 

His  campaign  for  the  Governorship  was 
masterly  and  productive  of  splendid  re- 
sults. His  competitor  was  Governor  Sam- 
uel Bigger,  who  three  years  before  was 
triumphantly  elected  to  that  office.  Whit- 
comb defeated  Bigger  by  2,069  votes. 
Jesse  D.  Bright  was  the  Democratic  nom- 
inee for  Lieutenant-Governor  and  elected 
by  a  plurality  of  4,301. 

The  total  vote  for  Governor  at  the  1843 
election  was  121,135.  Of  these  James 
Whitcomb  had  60,787,  Samuel  Bigger 
58,718,  Elizur  Deming  1,630. 

For  Lieutenant-Governor,  Jesse  D. 
Bright  had  60,982,  John  H.  Bradley 
56,681,  Stephen  S.  Harding  1,687. 

There  is  but  little  doubt  that  the  Meth- 
odist church  of  Indiana  contributed  large- 


ly to  the  defeat  of  Governor  Bigger  and 
the  election  of  Mr.  Whitcomb.  The  latter 
was  for  years  a  Methodist  class-leader  and 
stood  deservedly  high  in  the  church. 
During  the  campaign  the  charge  was  made 
that  in  opposing  some  legislation  which 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  Asbury 
University  (now  DePauw),  Governor 
Bigger  had  said  the  Methodist  church  did 
not  need  an  educated  clergy;  that  an 
ignorant  one  was  better  suited  to  the  ca- 
pacity of  its  membership.  Bishop 
Ames,  referring  to  this  episode,  said  in 
1846:  "It  was  the  Amen  corner  of  the 
Methodist  church  that  defeated  Governor 
Bigger,  and  I  had  a  hand  in  the  work." 
Bigger  was  for  years  a  ruling  elder  in  the 
Presbyterian  church.  He  was  an  accom- 
plished musician  and  an  artist  in  handling 
the  violin.     So  was  Governor  Whitcomb. 

So  acceptable  was  the  first  administra- 
tion of  Governor  Whitcomb  that  he  was 
honored  with  a  triumphant  re-election  in 
1846,  defeating  his  Whig  competitor,  Jo- 
seph G.  Marshall,  by  a  majority  of  3,958. 
And  Marshall  was  one  of  the  strongest  and 
most  popular  men  in  the  State.  Paris  C. 
Dunning,  a  most  estimable  and  excellent 
man,  was  Wh'tcomb's  running  mate  in 
this  contest  and  triumphantly  elected. 

In  its  issue  of  January  13,  1846,  the 
Indimiapolis  Sentinel  gave  the  Whitcomb- 
Dunning  ticket  this  ringing  endorsement : 

"The  State  conventions  of  two  great 
parties  have  both  been  held  and  candi- 
dates for  the  two  principal  executive 
offices  have  been  nominated.  If  we  may 
anticipate  the  end  of  the  beginning,  we 
may  be  sure  of  an  easy  victory.  The  Dem- 
ocratic convention  was  one  of  the  most 
enthusiastic,  the  Whig  convention  the 
most  depressed,  that  it  has  been  our  good 
fortune  to  behold.  Whitcomb  was  nom- 
inated for  re-election  by  acclamation  with- 
out a  single  dissenting  voice.  The  Whigs, 
full  of  doubt  and  fears,  finally  agreed  to 
Mr.  Marshall,  because  such  men  as  0.  H. 
Smith  and  ex-Governor  Bigger  would  not 
submit  to  the  odium  which  the  certain  de- 
feat of  the  Whig  party    would    have    in- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


flicted  upon  them.  For  it  is  the  custom 
with  the  Whig  party  always  to  attribute 
their  reverses  to  the  unpopularity  or  un- 
fitness of  their  candidates.  We  well  recol- 
lect the  sneering  cut  which  the  Journal 
gave  these  leaders  of  its  party  for  their 
refusal,  imputing  it  due  to  selfishness  and 
cowardice.  But  we  think  they  only  gave 
evidence  of  superior  wisdom  in  thus  re- 
fusing to  be  sacrificed. 

"The  coming  contest  we  think  will  be  a 
cool  one.  The  people  will  calmly  investi- 
gate the  course  of  Governor  Whitcomb's 
administration  and  decide  accordingly. 
It  is  in  view  of  this  investigation  and  de- 
cision that  we  make  the  positive  predic- 
tion of  success  to  our  party  in  August. 
We  know  that  Governor  Whitcomb  has 
administered  our  affairs  as  prudently, 
honestly  and  successfully  as  perhaps  any 
other  man  in  the  country  could  have  done. 
In  the  face  of  the  greatest  obstacles  he 
has  done  much  good,  and,  so  far  as  we 
have  knowledge,  no  harm.  This  is  saying 
a  great  deal,  if  the  weight  which  we  in- 
tend them  to  imply  is  given  to  our  words. 
The  people  never  did  desert  a  faithful 
servant  and  will  not  now. 

"Paris  C.  Dunning,  of  Monroe  county, 
who  was  nominated  as  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  is  a 
gentleman  of  much  talent  and  energy  of 
character.  He  did  good  service  as  a  Polk 
elector  during  the  last  canvass.  He  is  far 
the  superior  of  Mr.  Orth,  the  young  gen- 
tleman nominated  by  the  Whigs  for  the 
same  office.  Mr.  Dunning  will  make  him- 
self known  to  the  people  before  the  Au- 
gust election." 

The  Sentinel  had  evidently  read  the 
signs  of  the  times  correctly.  Its  predic- 
tion that  Whitcomb  and  Dunning  would 
surely  be  triumphantly  elected  was  veri- 
fied to  the  very  letter  by  the  majesty  of 
the  ballot. 

Quoting  the  language  of  W.  W.  Woollen : 
"Governor  Whitcomb  filled  the  execu- 
tive chair  during  an  eventful  period  of 
the  State's  history.  He  entered  the  office 
with  the  State  loaded  down  with  debt, 
upon  which  no  interest  had  been  paid  for 
years;  he  left  it  with  the  debt  adjusted 
and  the  State's  credit  restored.  'He 
smote  the  rock  of  national  resources,  and 
abundant  streams  of  revenue  burst  forth ; 


he  touched  the  dead  corpse  of  public 
credit,  and  it  sprang  upon  its  feet.'  It 
was  at  his  suggestion  and  on  his  recom- 
mendation that  the  Butler  bill  was  passed, 
whereby  one-half  the  State's  debt  was 
paid  by  a  transfer  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie 
canal,  and  the  other  half  arranged  for  by 
the  issuance  of  bonds  drawing  a  low  rate 
of  interest.  The  settlement  was  alike 
satisfactory  to  the  bondholders  and  the 
people,  and  in  Governor  Whitcomb's  own 
words,  restored  'the  tarni.shed  escutcheon 
of  Indiana  to  its  original  brightness.' 
Had  he  done  nothing  else,  he  would  de- 
serve the  gratitude  of  all,  but  this  was 
only  one  of  the  many  things  he  did  for  the 
good  of  the  people  and  the  honor  of  the 
State.  It  was  by  his  efforts  that  a  public 
sentiment  was  created  which  demanded 
the  establishment  of  our  benevolent  and 
reformatory  institutions,  and  he  it  was 
who  awakened  the  people  of  Indiana  to 
the  importance  of  establishing  common 
schools  and  providing  a  fund  for  their 
maintenance.  It  was  while  he  was  Gov- 
ernor that  the  Mexican  war  broke  out,  and 
Indiana  was  called  upon  for  soldiers  to  a.s- 
sist  in  'conquering  a  peace.'  Five  regi- 
ments of  infantrv  were  organized  and 
mustered  into  the  service  under  his  di- 
rection, and  the  ease  and  rapidity  with 
which  it  was  done  proved  him  as  able  in 
organization  as  in  finance. 

"The  Legislature  of  1849  elected  Gov- 
ernor Whitcomb  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  for  the  term  commencing 
in  March  of  that  year.  He  was  qualified 
by  talent,  by  education  and  by  experience 
for  the  place,  and  he  would  have  added 
luster  to  a  name  already  great  by  his  serv- 
ice there  had  his  health  been  good  and  he 
permitted  to  serve  out  his  term.  But  dis- 
ease had  fastened  itself  upon  him,  and 
therefore  he  was  unable  to  discharge  his 
Senatorial  duties  as  he  otherwise  would 
have  done.  He  often  left  the  capital  in 
quest  of  health,  but  he  found  it  not.  His 
disease  (gravel)  was  painful  in  the  ex- 
treme, but  he  bore  it  with  Christian  forti- 
tude. He  died  at  New  York,  October  4, 
1852,  away  from  the  State  whose  repre- 
sentative he  was.  His  remains  were  con- 
veyed to  Indianapolis  and  buried  in  Green- 
lawn  Cemetery,  where  they  have  mould- 
ered to  dust.  The  State  erected  a  monu- 
ment to  his  memory,  and  it  still  stands  to 
point  out  the  spot  where  lies  all  that  is 


(67) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  6 


mortal  of  one  whose  influence  upon  public 
sentiment  is  felt  even  at  the  present  day." 

Shortly  before  James  Whitcomb  was 
nominated  for  Governor  he  had  written  a 
pamphlet  in  opposition  to  the  high  pro- 
tective tariff  idea.  Upon  the  publication 
and  circulation  thereof  encomiums  were 
fairly  showered  on  its  author.  It  was 
pronounced  the  ablest  argument  on  the 
subject  discussed  that  had  yet  been  put 
into  print.  It  was  widely  circulated.  In 
1882  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  by  special 
request,  reprinted  the  document,  accom- 
panying it  with  profuse  yet  merited  lauda- 
tion. 

That  there  has  been  no  overstatement  in 
any  of  the  tributes  to  this  remarkable  man 
will  be  made  apparent  by  the  reproduction 
of  an  extract  from  one  of  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks'  eloquent  addresses,  delivered 
in  April,  1882,  at  Indianapolis : 

"Governor  Whitcomb  was  a  great 
scholar.  He  was  capable  not  only  of 
acquiring  but  of  using  the  accumulations 
of  learning.  With  him  learning  became 
an  influence,  an  instrumentality,  a  power. 
His  tastes  were  cultivated.  He  com- 
manded beautiful  and  strong  language, 
and  in  it  he  clothed  his  thoughts,  that 
were  always  appropriate  to  the  subject 
and  the  occasion.  I  heard  him  address 
the  people  in  his  first  candidacy  for  Gov- 
ernor. It  was  the  greatest  political  speech 
I  have  ever  heard.  There  was  not  in  it  a 
vulgarism  or  an  appeal  to  low  sentiment. 
He  addressed  reason,  emotion,  sympathy. 
The  multitude  stood  enraptured.  As  men 
went  from  the  place  of  meeting  they  fell 
into  grave  and  serious  conversation  about 


what  they  had  heard,  and  the  impression 
remained.  From  that  day  he  was  a  lead- 
er, but  not  as  men  commonly  speak  of 
leadership;  he  maneuvered  for  no  combi- 
nations ;  he  was  a  leader  in  a  higher  sense. 
He  declared  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
truth  and  trusted  to  its  influence  upon 
men's  minds  to  bring  them  into  common 
action.  He  led  legislators  because  it  was 
safest  for  them  to  follow.  His  manner 
was  grave  and  serious,  his  voice  was  full 
and  musical  and  his  delivery  almost  with- 
out gesture.  I  never  heard  him  in  court, 
but  am  sure  he  was  a  formidable  antago- 
nist before  either  court  or  jury." 

Mr.  Woollen  is  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  "Governor  Whitcomb  was  an 
active  Freemason.  He  was  the  first  man 
knighted  in  Indiana,  the  honor  being  con- 
ferred upon  him  May  20,  1848.  Raper 
Commandery  was  organized  in  his  house, 
and  for  some  time  held  its  meetings  there. 
He  was  proud  of  his  connections  with 
Masonry;  in  his  aflFections  Masonry  stood 
only  second  to  his  church." 

During  the  third  year  of  his  occupancy 
of    the    gubernatorial    chair,    March    24, 

1846,  Mr.  Whitcomb  was  married  to  Mrs. 
Martha  Ann  Hurst.      She   died   July    17, 

1847,  shortly  after  giving  birth  to  a 
daughter,  who  in  later  years  became  the 
wife  of  Claude  Matthews,  Secretary  of 
State  from  1891  to  1893,  and  Governor  of 
Indiana  from  1893  to  1897.  Governor 
Whitcomb  recorded  his  adored  wife's 
death  in  the  family  Bible,  following  the 
record  with  these  much-meaning  words: 
"How  brief  our  happy  sojourn  together." 


[Chapter  VII.] 

PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1844 

POLITICAL  PENDULUM  EASILY  SWAYS   IN  THE  OTHER 
DIRECTION 


HE  victory  won  in   1843  under 

'  I  ^  ly  the  leadership  of  Whitcomb  and 
I  I  Dunning  had  an  inspiring  effect 
X  ill  on  the  Indiana  Democracy.  It 
awakened  confidence  in  their 
ability  to  carry  the  State  for 
Polk  and  Dallas  at  the  Novem- 
ber election,  and  to  aid  to  the  extent  of 
twelve  electoral  votes  in  again  placing  the 
country  under  Democratic  control.  As- 
sembling in  convention  at  Indianapolis  in 
the  month  of  June,  they  selected  an  elec- 
toral ticket  composed  of  some  of  the  best 
and  most  prominent  Democrats  in  the 
State.  For  electors  at  large  they  those  Dr. 
Graham  N.  Fitch,  of  Logansport,  and 
James  G.  Read,  of  Jeffersonville.  For  Dis- 
trict Electors  they  named: 

District 

1.  William  A.  Bowles,  Orange  county. 

2.  Elijah  Newland,  Washington. 

3.  John  M.  Johnson,  Franklin. 

4.  Samuel  E.  Perkins,  Wayne. 

5.  William  W.  Wick,  Marion. 

6.  Paris  C.  Dunning,  Monroe. 

7.  Austin  M.  Puett,  Parke. 

8.  Henry  W.  Ellsworth,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  Charles  W.  Cathcart,  Laporte. 
10.  Lucien  P.  Ferry,  Allen. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 


Livingston   Dunlap, 
Horatio  J.  Harris, 
J.  P.  Chapman, 
A.  F.  Morrison, 
Thomas  Johnson, 
Elias  N.  Skinner, 
Samuel  P.  Daniels, 
Abram  Koontz, 


James  P.  Drake, 
Nathan  B.  Palmei 
Charles  Parry, 
Capt.  John  Cain, 
E.  Hedderly, 
Nathaniel  West, 
Julius  Nocolai. 


A  ringing  declaration  of  "Democratic 
Principles  and  Measures"  was  promul- 
gated in  this  form: 

A  simple  and  frugal  Government  con- 
fined within  strict  constitutional  limits. 


A  strict  construction  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  no  assumption  of  doubtful  pow- 
ers. 

No  national  bank  to  swindle  the  labor- 
ing population. 

No  connection  between  the  Government 
and  banks. 

A  diplomacy  asking  for  nothing  but 
what  is  clearly  right  and  submitting  to 
nothing  wrong. 

No  public  debt  either  by  the  general 
Government  or  by  the  States,  except  for 
objects  of  urgent  necessity. 

No  assumption  by  the  general  Govern- 
ment of  the  debts  of  the  States,  either  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  by  the  distribution  of 
the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands. 

A  revenue  tariff  discriminating  in  favor 
of  the  poor  consumer  instead  of  the  rich 
capitalist. 

No  extensive  system  of  internal  im- 
provement by  the  general  Government  or 
by  the  States. 

A  Constitutional  barrier  against  im- 
provident State  loans. 

The  honest  payment  of  our  debts  and 
the  sacred  preservation  of  the  public 
faith. 

A  gradual  return  from  the  paper  credit 
system. 

No  grants  of  exclusive  charters  and 
privileges  by  special  legislation  to  banks. 

No  connection  between  church  and 
State. 

No  proscription  for  honest  opinions. 

Fostering  aid  to  public  education. 

A  "progressive"  reformation  of  all 
abuses. 

In  Indiana,  as  in  other  States,  the  cam- 
paign of  1844  became  one  of  intense  bit- 
terness. A  good  deal  of  personal  abuse 
was  injected  into  it.  The  apostacy  of 
Tyler  had  greatly  embittered  the  Whigs. 
Even  the  death  of  President  Harrison, 
officially  declared  to  have  been  due  to  an 
attack  of  bilious  pleurisy,  but  by  others 
asserted  to  have  been  brought  about  by  ex- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


haustive  worry  over  the  intense  pressure 
for  recognition  by  importunate  office- 
seekers,  constituted  no  insignificant  part 
of  the  campaign.  Democrats,  though 
tacitly  approving  the  attitude  of  Tyler  on 
the  "burning  issues"  of  the  day,  did  not 
deem  it  incumbent  on  themselves  to 
champion  or  applaud  the  course  of  that 
public  functionary.  When  the  Whigs,  in 
their  rage,  denounced  Tyler  as  "the  cor- 
rupt, foresworn,  perfidious,  mocking 
image  of  executive  rule  at  Washington," 
Democrats  were  content  with  the  re- 
joinder that  Tyler  was  placed  in  power  by 
the  Whigs  and  that  the  Democrats  were 
in  no  sense  responsible  for  his  official 
creation.  This  was  considered  a  "knock- 
down argument"  that  afforded  no  comfort 
to  the  Whigs.  A  new  political  epithet  was 
introduced.  It  had  originated  in  New 
York,  where  a  factional  Democratic  meet- 
ing terminated  in  a  row  and  a  rumpus  be- 
tween "Equal  Rights  men"  and  the 
"Hunkers."  During  the  fracas  the  gas 
was  turned  out  by  connivance.  The  Equal 
Rights  men  were  so  determined  to  con- 
tinue the  meeting  that  they  lit  what  were 
then  called  loco  foco  matches  and  con- 
tinued the  proceedings  with  that  sort  of 
scant  illumination.  The  novelty  of  the 
thing  was  so  engaging  that  it  received 
widespread  publicity,  and  in  due  course 
of  time  the  term  Loco  Foco  was  applied  to 
Democrats  in  general.  As  a  political 
nickname  it  did  service  up  to  1858.  It 
was  no  longer  heard  of  after  that. 

The  Democratic  speakers  in  Indiana 
made  eff'ective  use  of  both  State  and  na- 
tional issues.  They  presented  strong 
arguments.  Responsive  audiences  in- 
spired the  campaign  managers  with  high 
confidence  in  the  outcome.  And  they  were 
not  disappointed.  A  count  of  the  votes 
cast  at  the  November  election  showed  this 
result : 

James  K.  Polk,  Democrat 70,181 

Henry  Clay,  Whig 67,867 

James  G.  Birney,  Abolitionist.  .   2,106 


What  pleased  the  Democrats  particu- 
larly was  that  Polk  carried  the  State  by 
a  majority  over  both  the  Whig  and  the 
Abolitionist  candidates.  There  was  no 
sort  of  indebtedness  due  the  third  party 
for  "favors  rendered"  in  running  a  candi- 
date of  their  own. 

The  situation  was  quite  diff'erent  in 
some  of  the  Eastern  States,  as  will  appear 
from  the  following  extracts  from  A.  K. 
McClure's  book  entitled  "Our  Presidents": 

"Mr.  Clay  enjoyed  a  much  larger  meas- 
ure of  personal  popularity  than  any  other 
man  in  the  Nation,  and  he  was  universal- 
ly accepted  as  the  most  gifted  political 
orator  of  his  day.  He  was  to  the  Whigs 
of  that  time  what  Blaine  was  to  the  Re- 
publicans during  his  several  unsuccessful 
battles  for  the  Presidency.  It  is  a  notable 
fact  in  political  history  that  no  pre-em- 
inent political  orator  ever  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  Presidency.  Garfield  was 
the  nearest  approach  to  it,  but  he  was  a 
contemporary  of  Blaine,  and  Blaine  far 
outstripped  him  either  on  the  hustings  or 
in  parliamentary  debate.  Clay  had  en- 
tered both  the  House  and  Senate  when  lit- 
tle more  than  eligible  by  age,  and  he  was 
admittedly  the  most  accomplished  presid- 
ing officer  the  House  ever  had.  He  was 
the  Commoner  of  the  war  of  1812,  and 
rendered  most  conspicuous  service  to  his 
country.  His  speeches  in  the  House  did 
more  than  the  persuasion  of  any  other 
dozen  men  to  force  the  young  Republic 
into  a  second  contest  with  England  on  the 
right  of  search  on  the  high  seas.  He  was 
always  strong  in  argument,  was  often  im- 
passioned and  superbly  eloquent,  and  in 
every  great  emergency  of  the  country  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  present  century 
he  was  the  pacificator.  President  Madi- 
son was  most  reluctant  to  declare  war 
against  England,  and  he  yielded  to  it  only 
when  it  became  a  supreme  necessity  to 
obey  the  general  demand  of  the  country 
for  an  appeal  to  arms. 

"When  Clay  was  nominated  for  Presi- 
dent in  1844,  it  was  generally  believed 
that  he  would  have  an  easy  victory  over 
Van  Buren,  and  when  Polk,  of  Tennessee, 
was  made  the  compromise  candidate 
against  him,  the  Whigs  at  first  believed 
that  the  nomination  of  a  comparatively 
obscure  man  against  the  great  chieftain 


(70) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


of  the  Whigs  would  give  them  a  walkover. 
The  campaign  had  made  little  progress, 
however,  until  the  Whigs  discovered  that 
the  Democrats  were  going  to  "be  thorough- 
ly united  on  Polk,  and  that  he  was  prob- 
ably the  strongest  candidate  who  could 
have  been  nominated  against  Clay.  His 
chief  strength  was  in  his  negative  qual- 
ities. He  had  not  been  involved  in  any  of 
the  conflicts  of  ambition  among  the  Demo- 
cratic leaders.  He  was  regarded  as  the 
favorite  of  Jackson,  and  while  his  nom- 
ination had  been  made  without  any  previ- 
ous discussion  or  suggestion  of  his  claims 
to  the  Presidency,  he  had  filled  high  State 
and  national  positions  with  credit,  and  he 
could  not  be  accused  of  incompetency.  I 
doubt  indeed  whether  any  other  Democrat 
could  have  been  nominated  by  the  Demo- 
cratic convention  to  make  a  successful 
battle  against  Clay. 

"The  Whigs  entered  the  contest  defiant 
in  confidence  and  enthusiastic  to  a  degree 
that  had  never  before  been  exhibited  in 
the  support  of  any  candidate.  The  devo- 
tion of  the  Whigs  to  Clay  was  little  less 
than  idolatry,  and  strong  men  shed  scald- 
ing tears  over  his  defeat.  He  was  largely 
handicapped  in  his  battle  by  the  compli- 
cations put  upon  the  Whig  party  by  Presi- 
dent Tyler.  The  Cabinet  was  wholly 
Democratic  and  bitterly  against  Clay. 
Under  the  demoralization  caused  by 
Tyler's  betrayal  of  the  party  the  Whigs 
had  lost  the  House  in  1842,  but  they  re- 
tained their  mastery  in  the  Senate,  and  a 
new  peril  to  Clay  was  soon  developed  in 
the  growth  of  the  Abolition  sentiment  of 
western  New  York.  Neither  Clay  nor 
Polk  made  campaign  speeches,  and  both 
maintained  themselves  with  scrupulous 
dignity  throughout  the  long  and  excep- 
tionally desperate  contest. 

"Pennsylvania  was  then,  as  in  1860,  the 
pivotal  State  of  the  struggle,  and  the 
death  of  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Governor  during  the  midsummer  deprived 
the  Whigs  of  a  source  of  strength  that 
most  likely  would  have  given  them  the 
State  in  October.  The  Democrats  had  a 
violent  factional  dispute  in  choosing  a 
candidate  for  Governor.  Mr.  Muhlenberg, 
who  had  been  a  bolting  candidate  against 
Governor  Wolfe  in  1835,  thereby  electing 
Ritner,  the  anti-Masonic  candidate,  was 
finally  nominated  for  Governor  over 
Francis  R.  Shunk,  the  candidate    of    the 


opposing  faction.  Muhlenberg  was  weak- 
ened by  his  aggressive  factional  record, 
and  the  Democrats  were  hardly  hopeful 
of  his  election,  but  he  died  just  when  the 
struggle  was  at  its  zenith,  and  Shunk  was 
then  unanimously  and  cordially  accepted 
as  the  Democratic  leader. 

"The  Whigs  had  nominated  General 
Markle  of  Westmoreland,  who  was  unques- 
tionably the  strongest  man  they  could 
have  presented.  The  Presidential  battle 
was  practically  fought  in  that  contest  for 
Governor,  and  when  Shunk  was  elected  by 
4,397  majority  there  were  few  who  cher- 
ished much  hope  of  Clay's  election.  Penn- 
sylvania, lost  in  October,  could  not  be  re- 
gained in  November,  but  the  Whigs  did 
not  in  anv  measure  relax  their  eff'orts,  and 
Polk  carried  the  State  over  Clay  by  6,332. 

"When  Pennsylvania  faltered  the  greatly 
impaired  hopes  of  the  Whigs  centered  in 
New  York,  as  it  was  believed  that  New 
York  might  decide  the  contest  in  favor  of 
Clay,  even  with  Pennsylvania  certain  to 
vote  against  him.  The  nomination  of  Silas 
Wright  for  Governor  had  thoroughly 
united  the  Van  Buren  followers  in  support 
of  Polk,  and  while  Clay  .stood  against  the 
annexation  of  Te.xas  and  the  extension  of 
the  slave  power,  the.  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment of  New  York  was  greatly  strength- 
ened by  the  fact  that  both  Clay  and 
Polk  were  Southerners  and  slaveholders. 
Birney.  the  Abolition  candidate,  received 
15,812  votes,  while  Polk's  majority  in  the 
State  was  5,106.  Mr.  Greeley,  who  was 
one  of  the  leaders  in  the  anti-.slavery  move- 
ment, and  much  more  practical  than  the 
organized  Abolitioni.sts,  bitterly  denounced 
that  party  for  defeating  Clay.  In  his  Whig 
Almanac  for  1845  he  had  an  elaborate  re- 
view of  the  contest,  in  which  he  said: 

The  year  1844  just  ended  has  witnessed  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  political  contests  that  has 
ever  occurred.  So  nice  and  equal  a  balance  of 
parties;  so  universal  and  intense  an  interest;  so 
desperate  and  protracted  a  strupfjle,  are  entirely 
without  parallel.  .  .  .  James  K.  Polk  owes 
his  election  to  the  Birney  or  Liberty  party.  Had 
there  been  no  such  party,  drawing  its  votes  nine- 
tenths  from  the  Whig  ranks,  Mr.  Clay  would  have 
received  at  least  the  votes  of  New  York  and  Mich- 
igan, in  addition  to  those  actually  cast  for  him, 
givins:  him  14(i  electoral  votes  to  Polk's  129.  To 
Birney  &  Co.,  therefore,  is  the  country  indebted 
for  the  election  of  Polk  and  the  annexation  and 
anti-tariff  ascendency  in  the  Federal  Government. 

The  number  of  States  voting  was 
twenty-six,  the  same  as  in  1840.    The  new 


(71) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-  1 


Congressional  apportionment  had  reduced 
the  Representatives  from  242  to  223, 
making  the  total  number  of  electors  275. 
The  popular  vote  in  all  the  States  ex- 
cept South  Carolina  (which  for  many 
years  chose  its  electors  by  the  Legislature) 
was  as  follows: 

James  K.  Polk,  Democrat.  .1,337,243 

Henry  Clay,  Whig 1,299,068 

Jas.  G.  Birney,  Abolitionist      65,608 

Of  the  electoral  vote,  Polk  had  170,  Clay 
105. 

In  further  explanation  of  the  outcome 
of  the  campaign,  Col.  McClure  says : 

"The  Whigs,  in  keen  despair  over  the 
defeat  of  their  ablest  and  most  beloved 
champion,  charged  fraud  as  the  controlling 
factor  in  giving  the  Democrats  their  vic- 
tory, but  the  battle  had  been  fought  and 
lost,  and  there  was  nothing  left  for  them 
but  submission.  The  electoral  count  was 
uneventful,  and  Polk  and  Dallas  were  form- 
ally declared  elected  President  and  Vice- 
President  without  objection. 

"The  most  desperate  contests  outside  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania  were  made 
in  Tennessee  and  Delaware.  Tennessee 
was  the  home  of  Polk,  and  the  "Old  Hero 
of  New  Orleans"  threw  himself  into  the 
contest  for  Polk  with  tireless  energy.  He 
inspired  his  veteran  followers  not  only  be- 
cause he  wanted  Polk  elected,  but  because 
he  much  more  wanted  Clay  defeated.  Clay 
had  defeated  him  for  President  in  the 
House  in  1825,  and  Jackson  never  forgot 
a  friend  and  rarely  forgave  an  enemy.  It 
v/as  many  days  after  the  election  before 
the  vote  of  Tennessee  could  be  ascertained, 
and  it  was  claimed  by  both  parties  until 
the  official  vote  was  declared.  It  was 
finally  announced  that  Clay  had  carried 
the  State  by  1 13,  and  the  success  of  Clay 
in  that  State  was  the  only  silver  lining  the 
Whigs  had  to  the  dark  cloud  of  their  de- 
feat. 

"Another  memorable  battle,  though  not 
in  any  sense  an  important  contest  as  af- 
fecting the  result,  was  fought  in  Delaware. 
The  States  did  not  then  vote  for  President 
on  the  same  day  as  now.  All  of  them  voted 
for  Presidential  electors  in  the  month  of 
November,  although  at  that  time  nearly  all 
the  States  elected  their  State  officers  and 
Congressmen  earlier  in  the  year.     Dela- 


ware, with  only  three  electoral  votes,  held 
both  her  State  and  Presidential  elections 
on  the  second  Tuesday  of  November,  and 
when  her  election  day  came  around  it  was 
known  to  all  that  Clay  was  absolutely  de- 
feated for  President. 

"New  York  and  Pennsylvania  had  voted 
for  Polk  a  week  before,  and  on  the  second 
Tuesday  of  November  only  Massachusetts 
and  Delaware  were  left  among  the  States 
that  had  not  chosen  electors.  Massachu- 
setts was  Whig  and  hardly  contested,  but 
Delaware  made  a  most  heroic  battle  for 
Clay,  even  when  it  was  known  that  a  vic- 
tory in  the  little  Diamond  State  could  not 
aid  the  election  of  their  favorite.  The 
Democrats,  inspired  by  their  positively 
assured  success  in  the  national  contest, 
exhausted  their  resources  and  efforts  to 
win,  but  in  the  largest  vote  ever  cast  in 
the  State,  Clay  won  by  287  majority,  re- 
ceiving a  larger  vote  than  was  cast  for  the 
Whig  candidates  for  Governor  or  for  Con- 
gress, both  of  whom  were  successful,  the 
first  by  45  majority  and  the  last  by  173." 

In  remembrance  of  the  log  cabin,  hard 
cider  and  coon  skin  campaign  of  1840,  the 
Democratic  national  platform  adopted  at 
Baltimore,  in  May,  1844,  started  out  with 
this  stinging  declaration: 

"Resolved,  That  the  American  Democ- 
racy place  their  trust,  not  in  factitious 
symbols,  not  in  displays  and  appeals  in- 
sulting to  the  judgment  and  subversive 
of  the  intellect  of  the  people,  but  in  a  clear 
reliance  upon  the  intelligence,  patriotism, 
and  the  discriminating  justice  of  the 
American  people." 

The  1844  platform  consisted  of  fifteen 
planks,  nine  of  which  were  bodily  taken 
from  the  Van  Buren  platform  of  1840.  It 
is  worthy  of  note  that  the  latter  docu- 
ment was  preceded  by  this  declaration : 

"Resolved,  That  the  convention  deems 
it  expedient,  at  the  present  time,  not  to 
choose  between  the  individuals  in  nomina- 
tion, but  to  leave  the  decision  to  their  Re- 
publican fellow-citizens  in  the  several 
States,  trusting  that  before  the  election 
shall  take  place  their  opinion  will  become 
so  concentrated  as  to  secure  the  choice  of 
a  Vice-President  by  the  Electoral  College." 


(72) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Using  the  term  "Republican"  even  dur- 
ing the  Jacksonian  era  of  the  Democratic 
party  serves  as  an  indication  of  the 
tenacity  with  which  members  of  the  organ- 
ization adhered  to  that  pai'ty  appellation. 
In  the  National  Convention  of  1848  that 
nominated  Cass  and  Butler,  the  noted 
Arkansas  fire-eater,  William  L.  Yancey, 
persisted  in  using  the  term  "Republican" 
instead  of  Democrat. 

A  SELF-SACRIFICING  DEMOCRAT. 

In  the  "good  old  days"  there  turned  up 
occasionally  an  individual  pre-eminent  for 
devotion  to  party,  self-sacrificing  in  spirit 
and  action,  and  charmingly  free  from 
sordidness.  Within  this  category  comes 
James  G.  Read,  who  represented  the  coun- 
ties of  Daviess  and  Martin  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  five  years  successively, 
the  county  of  Clark  two  years,  then  served 
nine  years  in  the  Senate.  While  a  State 
Senator  he  was  twice  made  President  of 
the  Senate,  or  acting  Lieutenant-Governor. 
Prior  to  that  he  was  twice  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  Governor,  first  in  1831,  then 
in  1834,  and  defeated  both  times.  In  addi- 
tion to  all  this,  he  officiated  several  times 
as  President  of  State  and  district  conven- 
tions and  as  candidate  for  presidential 
elector.  The  compensation  for  service  in 
the  State  Legislature  was  meager,  barely 
enough  to  defray  expenses  at  the  Capital. 
Making  two  unsuccessful  races  for  the 
Governorship  must  have  entailed  more  ex- 
pense. Mr.  Read  is  entitled  to  honorable 
mention  in  the  first  and  only  history  of 
the  Indiana  Democracy. 
ROBERT  DALE  OWEN,  PHILOSOPHER. 

For  years  a  Democratic  gathering  in 
Indiana  seemed  incomplete  without  the 
presence  of  Robert  Dale  Owen.  He  was  a 
much  greater  man  than  his  fellow-citizens 
seemed  to  realize.  That,  however,  is  not 
unusual  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  In- 
diana not  excepted. 

Mr.  Owen  was  born  in  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land,  November   9,    1801.      In   his   native 


land  he  pursued  classical  studies;  came  to 
the  United  States  with  his  parents  in  1832, 
and  located  in  New  Harmony,  and  aided  in 
the  establishment  of  a  social  community. 
He  was  editor  of  the  Free  Euqnirer, 
published  in  New  York  1828-1831.  The 
.year  following  he  returned  to  New  Har- 
mony, and  three  years  later  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  and  re-elected 
two  or  three  times  in  succession.  Recog- 
nition and  appreciation  of  his  eminent 
abilities  led  to  his  election  to  Congress  for 
two  terms,  from  1843  to  1847.  Amidst  one 
of  those  strange  political  upheavals,  the 
cause  of  which  few  can  fathom,  Mr.  Owen 
was  defeated  in  his  third  congressional 
race.  He  served  with  distinction  as  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  1850.  From  1853  to  1858  he  repre- 
sented the  United  States  in  a  diplomatic 
capacity.  He  died  at  Lake  George,  N.  Y., 
June  25,  1877. 

Mr.  Owen,  richly  endowed  with  a 
philosophical  mind,  was  a  public  speaker 
who  never  failed  to  interest  his  audiences. 
He  was  a  thorough  believer  in  the  political 
philosophy  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and 
never  tired  of  expatiating  on  the  sublime 
teachings  of  the  author  of  the  imperish- 
able Declaration  of  Independence.  For 
this  devotion  to  genuine  democracy,  Mr. 
Owen  was  fiercely  and  not  infrequently 
coarsely  assailed  by  the  Indianapolis 
Journal  and  kindred  unscrupulous  partisan 
publications.  Denunciation  fell  upon  his 
head  for  proclaiming  on  all  suitable  occa- 
sions undying  faith  in  these  Jeffersonian 
Doctrines  : 

"Honesty  is  the  first  chapter  of  the  book 
of  wisdom." 

"I  have  never  believed  there  was  one 
code  of  morality  for  a  public  and  another 
for  a  pi-ivate  man." 

"To  inform  the  minds  of  the  people  and 
to  follow  their  will  is  the  chief  duty  of 
those  placed  at  their  head." 

"The  information  of  the  people  at  large 
can  alone  make  them  the  safe,  as  they  are 
the  sole,  depository  of  our  religious  and 
political  freedom." 


(73) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


"There  is  a  debt  of  service  due  from 
every  man  to  his  country,  proportioned  to 
the  bounties  which  nature  and  fortune 
have  measured  to  him." 

"It  is  impossible  not  to  be  sensible  that 
we  are  acting  for  all  mankind;  that  cir- 
cumstances denied  to  others,  but  indulged 
to  us,  have  imposed  on  us  the  duty  of 
proving  what  is  the  degree  of  freedom  and 
self-government  in  which  a  society  may 
venture  to  have  its  individual  members." 

"The  station  which  we  occupy  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth  is  honorable,  but 
awful.  Trusted  with  the  destinies  of  this 
solitary  republic  of  the  world,  the  only 
monument  of  human  rights  and  the  sole 
depository  of  the  sacred  fire  of  freedom 
and  self-government,  from  hence  it  is  to 
be  lighted  up  in  other  regions  of  the  earth, 
if  other  regions  of  the  earth  ever  become 
susceptible  of  its  benign  influence.  All 
mankind  ought  then,  with  us,  to  rejoice 
in  its  prosperous  and  sympathize  in  its 
adverse  fortunes,  as  involving  everything 
that  is  dear  to  man.  And  to  what  sacri- 
fices of  interest  or  commerce  ought  not 
these  considerations  to  animate  us?  To 
what  compromises  of  opinion  and  inclina- 
tion, to  maintain  harmony  and  union 
among  ourselves,  and  to  preserve  from  all 
danger  this  hallowed  ark  of  human  hope 
and  human  happiness.  That  diff'erences 
of  opinion  should  arise  among  men,  on 
politics,  on  religion,  and  on  every  other 
topic  of  human  inquiry,  and  that  these 
should  be  freely  expressed  in  a  country 
where  all  our  faculties  are  free,  is  to  be 
expected." 

Faith  in  Jeffersonian  doctrines  is 
strengthened  in  turning  to  his  first  inau- 
gural address  and  cogitating  over  these 
lofty  sentiments: 

"I  know,  indeed,  that  some  honest  men 
fear  that  a  Republican  Government  can- 
not be  strong;  that  this  Government  is 
not  strong  enough.  But  would  the  honest 
patriot,  in  the  full  tide  of  successful  ex- 


periment, abandon  a  Government  which 
has  so  far  kept  us  free  and  firm,  on  the 
theoretic  and  visionary  fear  that  this 
Government,  the  world's  best  hope,  may 
by  possibility  want  energy  to  preserve  it- 
self? I  trust  not.  I  believe  this,  on  the 
contrary,  the  strongest  Government  on 
earth.  I  believe  it  the  only  one  where 
every  man.  at  the  call  of  the  laws,  would 
fly  to  the  standard  of  the  law,  and  would 
meet  invasions  of  the  public  order,  as  his 
own  personal  concern. 

"Let  us,  then,  with  courage  and  confi- 
dence, pursue  our  own  Federal  and  Re- 
publican principles,  our  attachment  to  our 
Union  and  representative  Government. 
Kindly  separated  by  nature  and  a  wide 
ocean  from  the  exterminating  havoc  of  one 
quarter  of  the  globe;  too  high-minded  to 
endure  the  degradations  of  the  others; 
possessing  a  chosen  country,  with  room 
enough  for  our  descendants  to  the  hun- 
dredth and  thousandth  generation ;  enter- 
taining a  due  sense  of  our  equal  rights  to 
the  use  of  our  own  faculties,  to  the  acquisi- 
tions of  our  industry,  to  honor  and  con- 
fidence from  our  fellow-citizens,  resulting, 
not  from  birth,  but  from  our  actions  and 
their  sense  of  them;  enlightened  by  a 
benign  religion,  professed,  indeed,  and 
practiced  in  various  forms,  yet  all  of  them 
including  honesty,  truth,  temperance, 
gratitude,  and  the  love  of  man ;  acknowl- 
edging and  adoring  an  overruling  Provi- 
dence, which  by  all  its  dispensations  proves 
that  it  delights  in  the  happiness  of  man 
here  and  his  greater  happiness  hereafter; 
with  all  these  blessings,  what  more  is 
necessary  to  make  us  a  happy  and  pros- 
perous people?  Still  one  thing  more,  fel- 
low-citizens— a  wise  and  frugal  Govern- 
ment, which  shall  restrain  men  from  in- 
juring one  another,  which  shall  leave  them 
otherwise  free  to  regulate  their  own  pur- 
suits of  industry  and  improvement,  and 
shall  not  take  from  the  mouth  of  labor 
the  bread  it  has  earned.  This  is  the  sum 
of  good  government,  and  this  is  necessary 
to  close  the  circle  of  our  felicities." 


[Chapter  VIII.] 


INDIANA'S  REPRESENTATION  IN 
CONGRESS 


FROM  1833   ro  1841 


P  TO  1833,  as  set  forth  in  pre- 
ceding chapters,  Indiana  was 
represented  in  the  lower  House 
of  Congress  by  three  members. 
Under  the  census  of  1830  a  new 
apportionment  was  made.  In- 
diana had  grown  wonderfully. 
Her  population  in  a  single  decade  had  more 
than  doubled.  In  1820  it  was  147,178;  in 
1830  it  had  risen  to  343,031 — an  increase 
of  195,853,  or  133.1  per  cent.  This  entitled 
Indiana  to  seven  seats  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  Washington.  No  em- 
barrassment was  occasioned  the  electorate 
of  Indiana  by  this  demand  upon  its  con- 
gressional timber.  It  had  an  abundance 
thereof,  even  in  those  days,  and  could 
easily  have  furnished  a  much  larger 
supply.  Men  of  statesmanlike  qualities 
had  flocked  into  the  young  commonwealth 
from  East  and  South,  and  were  still 
coming  with  the  influx  of  new  population. 
To  the  Twenty-third  Congress  (1833  to 
1835)  Indiana  sent  this  array  of  talent: 

1.  Ratliff  Boon. 

2.  John  Ewing. 

3.  John  Carr. 

4.  Amos  Lane. 

5.  Jonathan  McCarty. 

6.  George  S.  Kinnard. 

7.  Edward  A.  Hannegan. 

Boon,  Carr  and  Hannegan  have  already 
had  mention.  John  Ewing  was  born  at 
sea,  while  his  parents  were  on  their  way 
from  Cork  to  Baltimore.  The  family 
located  in  Indiana.  Young  Ewing  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools;  established  a 
Whig  paper  at  Wabash,  called  the  Tran- 
script: engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at 
Vincennes;  served  several  terms  in  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature;  was  first 
elected  to  Congress  by  a  majority  of  two 


over  Dr.  -John  W.  Davis,  who  in  turn  de- 
feated him  two  years  later  by  about  1,000; 
was  thereafter  again  elected  to  Congress, 
serving  from  1837  to  1839.  He  died  at 
Vincennes,  April  6,  1858,  highly  esteemed 
by  all  the  people,  regardless  of  their 
political  affiliation. 

Amos  Lane  was  born  near  Aurora,  N. 
Y.,  March  1,  1778;  educated  in  the  public 
schools;  practiced  law  at  Lawrenceburg; 
served  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives;  twice  elected  to  Congress  as 
a  Democrat  and  defeated  as  a  candidate 
for  a  third  term. 

Jonathan  McCarty  was  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee; educated  in  the  public  schools; 
located  in  Franklin  county;  served  in  the 
State  Legislature;  removed  to  Conners- 
ville,  Fayette  county ;  held  several  county 
offices;  served  two  terms  in  Congress  as 
a  Whig;  defeated  for  a  third  term;  was 
a  Harrison  elector  in  1840.  Died  in 
Keokuk,  Iowa,  in  1855. 

George  S.  Kinnard  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1803;  was  by  his  widowed  mother 
taken  to  Tennessee,  where  he  completed 
his  preparatory  studies ;  located  in  Indian- 
apolis; held  several  local  offices;  studied 
law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar;  served 
in  the  Legislature  and  was  by  it  elected 
to  the  office  of  State  Auditor;  was  made 
colonel  of  State  militia;  twice  elected  as 
a  Democrat  to  Congress,  and  served  from 
March  4,  1833,  until  his  death  from  in- 
juries received  in  the  explosion  on  the 
steamer  "Flora."  on  the  Ohio  River,  No- 
vember 25.  1836.  William  Herod,  a  Whig, 
was  chosen  to  fill  the  unexpired  term. 

In  the  Twenty-fourth  Congress  (1835 
to  1837)  these  gentlemen  represented 
Indiana: 


(75) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


1.  Ratliff  Boon. 

2.  John  W.  Davis. 

3.  John  Carr. 

4.  Amos  Lane. 

5.  Jonathan  McCarty. 

6.  George   S.   Kinnard    (died). 

6.  William  Herod  (to  fill  vacancy). 

7.  Edvifard  A.  Hannegan. 

John  Wesley  Davis  was  born  in  New 
Holland,  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  April  16, 
1799 ;  graduated  from  the  Baltimore  Medi- 
cal College  in  1821 ;  moved  to  Carlisle,  Sul- 
livan county,  Ind.,  in  1823;  member  of  the 
Legislature  for  several  terms;  served  as 
Speaker  of  the  House  in  1832;  appointed 
commissioner  to  negotiate  an  Indian 
treaty  in  1834;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to 
Congress  from  1835  to  1837  and  defeated 
for  re-election  by  two  votes ;  thereafter  re- 
turned to  Congress  from  1839  to  1841; 
given  a  rest  by  the  Harrison  tidal  wave, 
but  triumphantly  elected  and  re-elected 
from  1843  to  1847;  made  Speaker  of  the 
National  House  December,  1845.  Upon 
the  conclusion  of  his  congressional  serv- 
ice he  was  again  sent  to  the  State  Legis- 
lature and  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House, 
having  in  caucus  defeated  William  H. 
English,  who  at  that  time  began  his  politi- 
cal career.  President  Polk  appointed  Dr. 
Davis  as  minister  to  China,  in  which  capac- 
ity he  served  from  January  3,  1848,  to 
May  25,  1850.  Having  several  times  rep- 
resented Indiana  in  Democratic  national 
conventions  and  achieved  a  national  repu- 
tation, he  was  chosen  president  of  the 
Baltimore  convention  that  nominated 
Franklin  Pierce  for  the  Presidency  in  1852. 
President  Pierce  appointed  Dr.  Davis  as 
Governor  of  Oregon.  The  appointment 
was  at  first  declined,  but  finally  accepted. 
The  office  evidently  was  not  to  his  liking. 
Holding  it  a  year,  he  resigned  and  returned 
to  his  beloved  Indiana.  In  1856  he  was 
again  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  by 
what  he  appreciatively  characterized  as 
"the  most  flattering  vote  I  ever  received 
from  the  good  people  of  Sullivan  county, 
among  whom  I  have  resided  for  more 
than  thirty-five  years." 


The  last  oflice  to  which  Mr.  Davis  was 
assigned  was  that  of  visitor  to  West  Point 
Military  Academy,  of  which  he  was  made 
president.  He  lived  until  August  22,  1859, 
when  he  died  at  his  cherished  home  in 
Carlisle.  With  his  demise  terminated  the 
career  of  one  of  Indiana's  most  remark- 
able and  distinguished  men.  He  was  a 
forceful  speaker,  a  clear  thinker,  a  genial 
gentleman,  a  thoroughly  honest  man,  a 
true  lover  of  his  country,  and  in  sunshine 
or  gloom  ever  an  ardent  but  always  a  con- 
scientious Democrat. 

William  Herod  began  the  practice  of  law 
at  Columbus,  Ind.,  served  as  member  of 
the  State  Senate,  and  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  George 
S.  Kinnard.  Herod  was  re-elected  to  the 
Twenty-fifth  Congress  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority  over  former  Governor  James 
Brown  Ray.  In  his  next  race  for  re-elec- 
tion Herod  was  defeated  by  William  W. 
Wick,  Democrat. 

In  the  Twenty-fifth  Congress  (1837  to 
1839)  these  gentlemen  served  their  con- 
stituents : 

1.  Ratliff  Boon. 

2.  John  Ewing. 

3.  William  Graham. 

4.  George  H.  Dunn. 

5.  James  H.  Rariden. 

6.  William  Herod. 

7.  Albert  S.  White. 

William  Graham  was  a  Kentuckian;  be- 
came an  inhabitant  of  Indiana  Territory 
in  1811,  settling  at  Vallonia;  there  prac- 
ticed law ;  member  of  the  Territorial  Legis- 
lature in  1812;  member  of  the  first  Gen- 
eral Assembly;  delegate  to  the  State  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1816;  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  1820; 
member  of  the  State  Senate;  elected  as  a 
Whig  to  the  Congress  of  1837  to  1839. 
Died  near  Vallonia,  August  17,  1858. 

George  Hebford  Dunn  resided  at  Law- 
rencehurg;  served  three  terms  in  the  Leg- 
islature; Treasurer  of  State  from  1841 
to  1843;  defeated  as  the  Whig  candidate 
for  Congress  in  1835;  had  better  luck  next 


(76) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1 


time,  but  was  again  defeated  in  third  race. 
Was  a  man  of  superior  ability.  Died  at 
Lawrenceburg  January  12,  1854. 

James  Rariden  was  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky ;  practiced  law  at  Centerville,  Wayne 
county;  served  in  both  branches  of  the 
State  Legislature;  delegate  to  the  State 
constitutional  convention;  twice  elected  to 
Congress  as  a  Whig.  Died  in  Cambridge 
City. 

As  members  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Con- 
gress (1889  to  1841)  these  gentlemen  were 
chosen  to  serve  their  constituents: 

1.  George  H.  Proffit. 

2.  John  W.  Davis. 

3.  John  Carr. 

4.  Thomas  Smith. 

5.  James  H.  Rariden. 

6.  William  W.  Wick. 

7.  Tilghman  A.  Howard. 

George  H.  ProfRt  was  a  native  of  New 
Orleans,  La.  After  establishing  himself 
in  Indiana  he  was  four  times  elected  to 
the  Legislature.  Twice  elected  to  Con- 
gress as  a  Whig.  Appointed  by  President 
Tyler  as  minister  to  Brazil;  the  Senate 
having  refused  to  confirm  the  appoint- 
ment, he  returned  to  the  United  States 
after  serving  one  year  and  two  months. 
Died  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  September  5,  1847. 

Thomas  Smith  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania; moved  to  Indiana  and  engaged  in 
tanning  at  Versailles,  Ripley  county; 
served  so  acceptably  as  a  representative 
and  State  Senator  that  he  was  four  times 
nominated  by  the  Democrats  for  Congress, 
triumphantly  elected  three  times  and  de- 
feated in  his  second  race.  While  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  he  vigorously 
opposed  the  wild  schemes  of  internal  im- 
provement which  bankrupted  the  State 
and  brought  financial  dishonor  upon  her 
name.  His  course  upon  this  subject 
added  to  his  popularity  at  home  and  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  his  subsequent 
political  advancement.  As  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention  he  protested 
earnestly  and  eloquently  against  a 
proposed    clause    discriminating    against 


negroes.  His  sense  of  justice  would  not 
permit  him  to  countenance  injustice.  He 
was  singularly  free  of  narrowness  and 
prejudice.  His  manner  as  a  debater  was 
plain,  straightforward,  emphatic,  impres- 
sive. As  a  Jeffersonian  he  held  very  pro- 
nounced views  on  the  .slavery  question. 
He  recognized  it  as  an  institution  older 
than  the  Union  itself,  but  nevertheless  he 
could  never  persuade  himself  that  it  was 
other  than  an  evil.  Holding  these  views, 
he  deplored  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise.  Unwilling  to  subscribe  to 
doctrines  that  his  conscience  could  not 
approve,  he  regretfully  severed  his  affilia- 
tion with  the  party  that  had  sent  him 
three  times  to  Congress,  and  in  course  of 
time  identified  himself  with  anti-slavery 
organizations.  He  died  at  Versailles  April 
12,  1876. 

An  exceedingly  interesting  character 
was  William  Watson  Wick.  He  was  born 
in  Cannonsburg,  Pa.,  February  23,  1796, 
taught  school,  studied  medicine,  and  then 
law.  Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar  he 
began  practice  at  Connersville,  Ind.,  in 
1820.  By  the  Legislature  he  was  elected 
Secretary  of  State  in  1825;  State  at- 
torney for  the  fifth  judicial  circuit, 
1829-1831;  president  judge,  1831-1835. 
Was  three  times  elected  to  Congress 
and  defeated  in  his  second  race.  In 
recognition  of  his  services  to  the 
Democi'atic  party  he  was  made  postmaster 
of  Indianapolis  under  the  Pierce  adminis- 
tration, serving  from  1853  until  1857. 
Originally  he  was  a  Whig.  Like  a  good 
many  other  Indianians  of  that  period  he 
had  no  hesitancy  about  changing  party 
affiliations  when  he  could  no  longer  approve 
its  policies.  He  quit  the  further  study 
of  medicine  because  he  did  not  care  to 
be  contemplating  men's  miseries.  Hold- 
ing public  positions  with  meager  salary 
attachments  kept  him  poor.  His  worldly 
possessions  rarely  reached  a  thousand  dol- 
lars, all  told.  Like  many  other  public  men 
of  his   day,   he  was   convivially   inclined. 


(77) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Poor  in  purse,  he  was  quite  desirous  of 
retaining  the  Indianapolis  postoffice.  He 
had  gotten  along  in  years  and  understood 
full  well  that  resuming  the  practice  of  law, 
after  having  been  out  for  so  long  a  time, 
would  afford  but  poor  picking.  He  was 
sorely  grieved  that  he  should  be  turned 
out  of  office.  But  he  realized  that  he  had 
taken  a  firm  stand  on  the  slavery  question, 
and  that  he  had  committed  himself  un- 
equivocally against  the  attempt  to  foist 
slavery  upon  Kansas.  In  letters  to  Indiana 
members  of  Congress  he  entreated  them 
to  resist  further  encroachments  by  the 
slave  power.  This  made  him  a  political 
heretic  in  the  eyes  of  Senator  Jesse  D. 
Bright,  who  had  the  ear  of  President 
Buchanan.  At  the  expiration  of  his  four- 
year  term,  William  Watson  Wick  had  to 
step  down  and  out  and  turn  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Indianapolis  postoffice  over  to 
John  M.  Talbott.  It  was,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, a  severe  blow  to  Mr.  Wick, 
but  he  neither  raved  nor  moaned.  He  was 
accustomed  to  adversity;  he  never  gave 
much  thought  to  tomorrow.  His  father, 
a  Presbyterian  minister,  intended  his 
William  Watson  to  qualify  himself  for  the 
ministry,  but  the  young  man  could  not 
reconcile  himself  to  that  calling ;  there  was 
too  much  of  the  wag  in  him  for  such 
sedateness.  Referring  to  the  fact  that 
his  father  was  a  preacher  and  his  uncle  a 
merchant,  Judge  Wick  once  dryly  re- 
marked: "One  chose  piety  and  poverty, 
the  other  merchandising  and  money-get- 
ting, and  they  both  succeeded.  One  laid 
up  treasures  in  heaven,  the  other  on  earth, 
and  verily  they  both  had  their  reward." 

When  the  campaign  of  1860  came  on 
Judge  Wick  took  the  stump  for  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  earnestly  and  eloquently  pleading 
the  cause  of  popular  sovereignty  and  vig- 
orously denouncing  the  unreasonableness 
of  the  proslavery  element  that  was  sup- 
porting Breckinridge  and  Lane.  Shortly 
after  the  defeat  of  Douglas,  Judge  Wick 
left  Indianapolis  to  take  up  his  abode  with 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  William  H.  Overstreet, 


at  Franklin,  Ind.  He  died  at  her  home 
May  19,  1869,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Franklin  cemetery. 

In  the  Twenty-seventh  Congress  (1841 
to  1843)  Indiana  was  represented  by  this 
exceptionally  able  delegation: 

1.  George  H.  Proffit. 

2.  Richard  W.  Thompson. 

3.  Joseph  L.  White. 

4.  James  H.  Cravens. 

5.  Andrew  Kennedy. 

6.  David  Wallace. 

7.  Henry  S.  Lane. 

Among  these  exceptionally  able  men  was 
Richard  Wigginton  Thompson,  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  a  resident  of  Terre  Haute. 
He  was  popularly  known  as  "Silver- 
tongued  Dick  Thompson,"  and  in  later 
years  acquired  distinction  in  the  literary 
world.  The  "History  of  Protective  Tariff 
Laws,"  issued  in  1888,  may  be  said  to  con- 
stitute his  most  important  work  in  this 
line.  He  was  born  in  Culpeper  county,  Va., 
June  9,  1809;  pursued  classical  studies; 
moved  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1831 ;  clerk  in 
a  store;  moved  to  Lawrence  county,  Ind.; 
taught  school;  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1834,  and  began  practice  in 
Bedford,  Ind. ;  member  of  the  State  House 
of  Representatives  1834-1836;  served  in 
State  Senate  1836-1838  and  served  for  a 
short  time  as  president  pro  tempore; 
elected  as  a  Whig  to  the  Twenty-seventh 
Congress  (March  4,  1841-March  3,  1843)  ; 
unsuccessful  candidate  for  re-election; 
presidential  elector  in  1840  on  the  Harri- 
son and  Tyler  ticket ;  re-elected  as  a  Whig 
to  the  Thirtieth  Congress  (March  4,  1847- 
March  3,  1849)  ;  declined  a  renomination ; 
declined  the  office  of  Austrian  minister, 
tendered  him  by  President  Taylor,  the  of- 
fice of  Recorder  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
tendered  by  President  Fillmore,  and  a  seat 
on  the  bench  of  the  Court  of  Claims,  ten- 
dered by  President  Lincoln;  presidential 
elector  on  the  Lincoln  and  Johnson  ticket 
in  1864:  delegate  to  the  Republican 
national  convention  in  Chicago  in  1868  and 
in  Cincinnati  in  1876;  Judge  of  the  Fifth 


(78) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  181G-1  9  16 


Irdiana  Circuit  Court  1867-1869;  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  under  President  Hayes 
from  March  12,  1877,  until  his  resignation, 
December  21.  1880;  chairman  of  the 
American  Committee  of  the  Panama  Canal 
Company ;  director  of  the  Panama  Rail- 
road Company.  Died  in  Terre  Haute,  Ind., 
February  9.  1900. 

Joseph  L.  White  was  born  in  Cherry 
Valley,  N.  Y.,  fitted  himself  for  the  law, 
and  began  practice  in  the  historic  town 
of  Madison.  Served  one  term  in  Con- 
gress, then  moved  to  New  York,  and  there 
resumed  the  practice  of  law.  Later  on 
he  engaged  in  manufacturing.  Died 
January  12,  1861. 

James  H.  Cravens  was  by  birth  a  Vir- 
ginian;  moved  to  Madison  in  1829  and 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Later 
on  he  located  in  Ripley  county,  where  he 
practiced  law  and  managed  a  farm.  Was 
an  elector  on  the  Harrison  ticket  in  1840 
and  served  one  term  in  Congress  as  a 
Whig.  Though  a  Virginian  by  birth,  he 
was  a  pronounced  anti-slavery  man.  As 
such  he  was  nominated  for  Governor  by 
the  Freesoilers  in  1848,  and,  of  course, 
defeated.  His  devotion  to  the  Union  im- 
pelled him,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  to  enlist 
in  the  Eighty-third  Regiment  of  Indiana 
Volunteers,  of  which  he  was  made  lieu- 
tenant-colonel. He  died  at  Osgood,  Ind., 
December  4,  1876,  and  was  buried  at  Ver- 
sailles. 

Andrew  Kennedy  was  one  of  the 
noted  men  of  the  State.  Born  in  Dayton, 
Ohio,  July  24,  1810,  he  came  with  his 
parents  to  Indiana,  locating  on  the  Indian 
reservation  near  Lafayette.  Soon  after  he 
went  to  reside  with  an  aunt  in  Conners- 
ville,  where  he  became  an  apprentice  in  a 
blacksmith  shop.  While  in  the  act  of 
shoeing  a  horse  he  was  kicked  so  severely 
that  continuation  at  that  trade  was 
deemed  physically  impracticable  and  in- 
advisable. Fairly  well  equipped  with  a 
common  school  education,  he  qualified 
himself  for  the  law.     Located  at  Muncie, 


he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1830.  By 
reason  of  his  fine  natural  abilities  and  his 
thorough  understanding  of  human  nature 
he  built  up  a  remunerative  practice.  Pos- 
sessing the  elements  of  per.sonal  popular- 
ity in  an  eminent  degree,  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1835  and 
promoted  to  the  Senate  in  1838.  As  a 
candidate  for  Presidential  elector  in  1840 
he  made  quite  a  reputation  as  a  stump 
speaker.  Before  the  expiration  of  his 
term  as  Senator  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress and  thereafter  twice  re-elected, 
serving  from  1841  to  1847.  A  fourth 
nomination  was  tendered  him,  but  de- 
clined. He  evinced  a  desire  to  be  made 
United  States  Senator,  to  succeed  Edward 
A.  Hannegan,  and  at  the  opening  of  the 
legislative  session,  in  December,  1841, 
proceeded  to  Indianapolis  to  make  a  can- 
vass for  that  high  office.  He  was  stricken 
with  .smallpox,  which  dread  disease  pre- 
cipitated a  rather  unceremonious  ad- 
journment of  the  General  Assembly, 
though  this  was  the  only  case  in  town. 
He  died  the  last  day  of  December  of  that 
year  at  the  Palmer  House,  for  many  years 
Democratic  headquarters.  His  body  was 
taken  at  the  dead  of  night,  wrapped  in 
the  clothes  of  the  bed  in  which  he  died,  to 
the  cemetery,  attended  only  by  the  hack 
driver  and  sexton,  and  consigned  to  Moth- 
er Earth.  The  hackman  and  the  sexton 
who  performed  the  sad  task  of  laying  him 
away  in  his  tomb  contracted  the  fatal  dis- 
ease which  took  him  off  and  in  less  than 
two  weeks  thereafter  were  laid  by  his 
side.  "A  .sad  ending,"  as  Woollen  put  it, 
"was  this  of  a  career  which  promised  so 
much."  Deep-felt  sorrow  was  manife.sted 
throughout  the  State  over  this  .sad  ending 
of  an  extraordinary  career.  While  in 
Congress  Mr.  Kennedy  delivered  a  re- 
markable speech  on  the  celebrated  Oregon 
bill,  declaring  himself  in  favor  of  the 
"fifty-four  forty  or  fight"  doctrine,  gen- 
erally espoused  by  belligerent  Democrats. 
So  earnest  was  his  delivery  that  he  fainted 


(79) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


at  the  conclusion  of  his  speech.  Upon  re- 
covery congratulations  on  his  forensic 
effort  were  literally  showered  upon  him. 
Among  those  who  thus  manifested  their 
appreciation  of  natural  oratory  was  John 
Quincy  Adams,  a  bitter  opponent  of  the 
Oregon  measure.  Approaching  the 
"Blacksmith  orator,"  the  illustrious  Mas- 
sachusetts statesman  said:  "Kennedy, 
let  me  take  by  the  hand  the  greatest  nat- 
ural orator  in  America."  In  one  of  his 
characteristic  speeches  in  the  Senate  the 
"Little  Giant  of  the  West,"  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  made  this  reference  to  the  Con- 
gressman from  the  Muncie  district:  "I 
am  reminded  of  the  case  of  Hon.  Andrew 
Kennedy,  a  Democratic  member  of  Con- 
gress from  Indiana,  who,  some  years  ago, 
was  elected  from  a  district  which  had 
about  four  thousand  Whig  majority.  One 
day  he  got  up  to  make  a  speech  in  the 
House,  when  one  of  his  colleagues  asked 
how  he  got  there.  He  replied:  'I  come 
from  the  strongest  Whig  district  in  the 
State  of  Indiana,  a  district  that  gave  Gen- 
eral Harrison  a  bigger  majority  than  any 
other  in  the  United  States  of  America.  I 
beat  three  of  the  ablest  Whigs  there  were 
in  the  district,  and  I  could  have  beaten 
three  more  if  they  had  dared  to  run 
against  me.'  " 

David  Wallace  served  but  one  term  in 
Congress,  from  the  Indianapolis  district, 


after  having  served  six  years  as  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor and  three  years  as  Gov- 
ernor. He  was  denied  a  re-election  to  the 
Twenty-eighth  Congress.  According  to 
Woollen,  "Governor  Wallace  was  not  a 
money-making  and  money-getting  man. 
He  took  more  pleasure  in  filling  his  mind 
with  knowledge  than  in  filling  his  pockets 
with  money.  He  entered  into  a  business 
venture  at  Fort  Wayne,  which,  proving 
unfortunate,  cost  him  his  entire  estate. 
One  day,  while  sitting  in  his  yard  talking 
with  his  eldest  son,  the  sheriff  came  with 
an  execution  which  he  sought  to  levy  upon 
the  Governor's  property.  After  some 
parleying  the  sheriff  left,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor, addressing  his  son,  said:  'William, 
I  want  you  to  remember  that  it  will  be  a 
good  deal  better  to  have  a  few  thousand 
dollars  laid  away  for  old  age  than  to  have 
been  the  Governor  of  the  State  or  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress.'  " 

Henry  Smith  Lane  was  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  served  in  the  State  Senate, 
filled  the  unexpired  term  of  Tilghman  A. 
Howard  in  Congress,  was  re-elected,  and 
served  in  all  from  December  7,  1840,  to 
March  3,  1843.  He  was  strongly  in  favor 
of  the  Mexican  war,  in  which  he  served 
as  lieutenant-colonel  of  an  Indiana  regi- 
ment. He  will  receive  further  attention 
in  subsequent  chapters. 


(80) 


[Chapter  IX.] 


JESSE  D.  BRIGHT  MADE  U.  S.  SENATOR 

TWICE  ELECTED  TO  THAT  EXALTED  POSITION— NAMED  AS 
INDIANA'S  CHOICE  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY  IN  1856 


PNDER  the  constitution  of  1816 
Representatives  in  the  State 
Legislature  were  elected  an- 
nually, for  one  year;  Senators 
for  three  years.  The  county  of 
JeiTerson,  of  which  Madison 
then  was  and  still  is  the  county 
trongly  Whig.  In  those  days 
strife  was  easily  engendered. 
The  Whigs  put  in  nomination  for  State 
Senator  a  rigid  Sabbatarian  who  opposed 
Sunday  mails.  Assuming  that  the  Demo- 
crats would  not  have  the  temerity  to  place 
a  candidate  of  their  own  in  the  field,  a 
more  liberal  faction  of  the  Whig  party 
trotted  out  a  candidate  of  their  way  of 
thinking  to  oppose  the  regular  nominee. 
Espying  a  fine  opportunity  to  slip  in  be- 
tween these  two  Whig  candidates,  Jesse 
D.  Bright  entered  the  race  and  was  tri- 
umphantly elected.  He  was  a  strong 
character,  a  man  of  affairs,  a  superb 
judge  of  human  nature  and  an  excellent 
mixer.  He  had  served  two  years  as  Sen- 
ator when  he  was  nominated  by  the  De- 
mocracy for  Lieutenant-Governor  and 
after  an  animated  campaign  elected  by  a 
plurality  exceeding  four  thousand.  He 
made  an  excellent  presiding  officer  and  by 
his  courtesy  and  fairness  greatly  en- 
deared himself  to  members  of  the  General 
Assembly. 

Previous  to  his  election  to  these  posi- 
tions he  had  served  acceptably  as  Pro- 
bate Judge  of  Jefferson  County  and  as 
United  States  Marshal  for  the  State  of  In- 
diana. In  the  latter  position  he  was 
afforded  opportunity  to  form  many 
acquaintances  throughout  the  State.  This 
doubtless  contributed  largely  to  his  sub- 
sequent nomination  and  election  to  the 
office  of  Lieutenant-Governor. 


When  the  term  of  Albert  S.  White  as 
United  State  Senator  was  about  to  expire, 
in  1845,  Governor  Whitcomb  let  it  become 
known  that  he  would  greatly  appreciate 
the  honor  of  an  election  to  that  high  office. 
But  the  Lieutenant-Governor  was  a  bet- 
ter politician  than  the  Chief  Executive. 
So  Bright  carried  away  the  honors,  and 
the  Governor  had  to  defer  his  Senatorial 
aspirations  until  1849,  when  the  expira- 
tion of  Edward  A.  Hannegan's  term  made 
it  possible  for  Whitcomb  to  step  from  the 
gubernatorial  chair  into  the  seat  then 
about  to  be  vacated  by  the  man  who  as 
a  "dark  horse"  snatched  away  the  Sen- 
atorial honors  from  Tilghman  A.  Howard 
in  1843. 

Though  Bright  had  made  himself  quite 
solid  with  the  party  managers,  opposition 
to  his  re-election  developed  in  1850. 
Robert  Dale  Owen,  one  of  the  ablest  men 
in  the  State,  had  become  an  avowed  can- 
didate for  the  succession.  Charges  were 
openly  made  that  Bright  sought  to  secure 
a  re-election  by  bribery.  He  heard  of  it 
and  hastened  on  to  Indianapolis  to  defend 
himself.  In  an  interview  with  Mr.  Owen 
he  easily  proved  his  innocence  of  the 
charge  preferred  against  him.  Owen 
withdrew  from  the  race  and  Bright  was 
re-elected  without  further  contest. 

Though  an  intense  partisan.  Bright 
sustained  friendly  relations  with  Henry 
Clay.  On  some  public  measures  these  two 
Senators  agreed  and  co-operated.  And 
Bright  stood  high  in  the  Senate.  This 
was  made  manifest  when,  in  1853,  upon 
the  death  of  Vice-President  King,  the  In- 
diana Senator  was  elected  President  pro 
tempore.  This  position  he  filled  creditably 
until  John  C.  Breckinridge  was  installed 
as  Vice-President  in  1857.    While  presid- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


ing  officer  of  the  Senate  Mr.  Bright  re- 
fused to  assign  three  anti-slavery  Sen- 
ators— Charles  Sumner,  Salmon  P.  Chase 
and  John  P.  Hale — to  any  of  the  standing 
committees,  upon  the  ground  that  "they 
were  not  members  of  any  healthy  political 
organizations." 

The  death  of  Senator  Whitcomb,  after 
serving  a  few  months  more  than  half  of 
his  term,  resulted  in  the  appointment  by 
Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright,  in  the  month 
of  October,  1852,  of  Charles  W.  Cathcart, 
of  Laporte  county,  to  serve  until  the 
Legislature  effected  an  election  for  the  re- 
mainder of  Senator  Whitcomb's  term. 
The  choice  of  the  Legislature  of  1853  fell 
upon  Judge  John  Pettit,  of  Lafayette. 
Dr.  Graham  N.  Fitch,  of  Logansport, 
aspired  to  the  position,  but  the  caucus 
gave  preference  to  Judge  Pettit.  The  lat- 
ter served  from  the  date  of  his  election 
until  March  4,  1855,  when  the  Whitcomb 
term  expired.  The  Legislature  of  1855 
was  unable  to  agree  upon  a  joint  session 
for  the  election  of  a  Senator,  so  for  two 
years  Indiana  had  but  one  representative 
in  the  Upper  House  of  Congress.  The 
Legislature  of  1857,  chosen  in  1856,  was 
Democratic  on  joint  ballot,  the  House  be- 
ing of  that  faith,  while  the  Senate  was 
controlled  by  a  combination  of  Repub- 
licans, Freesoilers,  Know-Nothings  and 
Prohibitionists,  styling  itself  for  the  time 
being  "The  People's  Party." 

Senator  Bright's  second  term  expired 
March  4,  1857.  He  was  desirous  of  being 
made  his  own  successor,  but  had  doubts 
about  the  legality  of  an  election  in  case  a 
joint  session  could  not  be  agreed  upon  by 
the  two  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly. 
The  question  was  submitted  to  a  commit- 
tee of  three  eminent  jurists,  who  gave  it 
as  their  opinion  that  an  election  effected 
by  a  majority  of  the  entire  membership 
of  the  Legislature  would  be  valid. 
Thereupon  it  was  decided  to  proceed  to 
the  election  of  two  Senators — one  to  suc- 
ceed Bright,  the  other  to  fill  the  vacancy 


existing  since  1855.  This  program  was 
carried  out,  and  Bright  and  Fitch  were 
duly  commissioned  by  Governor  Willard. 
The  Legislature  elected  in  1858  was  Re- 
publican. After  a  protracted  debate  the 
election  of  Bright  and  Fitch  was  de- 
clared to  have  been  illegal  and  therefore 
null  and  void.  That  done,  Henry  S.  Lane 
and  William  M.  McCarty  were  chosen  to 
fill  the  two  alleged  vacancies.  These  gen- 
tlemen proceeded  to  Washington  and 
claimed  the  seats  held  by  Bright  and 
Fitch.  Admission  was  refused  Lane  and 
McCarty,  although  three  distinguished 
Democrats — Douglas  of  Illinois,  Mason  of 
Virginia  and  Broderick  of  California — 
voted  that  the  election  of  Bright  and  Fitch 
was  irregular,  illegal  and  therefore  in- 
valid. 

Bright  had  been  unfriendly  to  Douglas 
for  several  years.  The  action  just  noted 
made  him  hate  the  "Little  Giant"  with  all 
the  intensity  of  his  nature.  He  was  as 
bitter  in  his  enmity  as  he  was  cordial  in 
his  friendship.  In  such  matters  he  toler- 
ated no  middle  ground.  "He  that  is  not 
for  me  is  against  me"  guided  his  action 
throughout  his  political  career.  It  is  this 
that  made  him  the  relentless  foe  of  Gov- 
ernor Joseph  A.  Wright,  and  to  a  some- 
what milder  degree  of  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks, David  Turpie,  Chas.  W.  Cathcart, 
W.  J.  Brown,  W.  A.  Gorman,  Robert  Dale 
Owen,  William  S.  Holman,  and  any  num- 
ber of  other  distinguished  Indiana  Demo- 
crats who  refused  to  conform  to  his 
wishes  or  to  obey  his  commands. 

It  is  said  that  when  President-elect 
James  Buchanan  had  under  consideration 
the  formation  of  his  Cabinet  he  had  Sen- 
ator Bright  in  view  for  Secretary  of 
State.  The  accuracy  of  this  statement 
may  well  be  questioned  for  various  rea- 
sons, chief  of  which  is  that  Buchanan 
finally  chose  for  this  position  General 
Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan,  a  man  of  diplo- 
matic   qualities,    of    conciliatory    disposi- 


(82) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


tion,  eminent  ability,  and  in  several  re- 
spects the  very  opposite  of  the  Indiana 
Senator. 

The  strained  relations  existing  between 
Senator  Bright  and  Governor  Wright  did 
not  deter  the  Democracy,  in  State  conven- 
tion assembled  at  Indianapolis  in  Febru- 
ary, 1852,  from  giving  these  rival  leaders 
this  unqualified  endorsement: 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  and  endorse 
the  administration  of  our  present  Gov- 
ernor, Joseph  A.  Wright,  and  that  we 
pledge  to  him,  as  nominee  for  re-election 
in  the  approaching  contest,  our  hearty 
support. 

"Resolved,  That  we  have  undiminished 
confidence  in  the  undeviating  and  well- 
tried  Democracy  of  our  distinguished  and 
able  Senators  in  Congress,  James  Whit- 
comb  and  Jesse  D.  Bright,  and  that  we 
fully  endorse  their  senatorial  action." 

At  the  same  convention  General  Joseph 
Lane  was  warmly  endorsed  for  the  Presi- 
dential nomination.  The  delegation  was 
not  formally  instructed  to  vote  for  Lane 
"first,  last  and  all  the  time,"  but  directed 
to  vote  as  a  unit.  The  delegation  voted 
on  thirty  ballots  for  Lane,  then  went  over 
to  Cass.  On  the  thirty-fifth  ballot  a  "dark 
horse"  in  the  person  of  Franklin  Pierce 
was  entered  and  nominated  on  the  forty- 
ninth  ballot. 

In  the  convention  of  1856  these  endorse- 
ments were  accorded  the  Senator  and 
Governor: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Democracy  of  In- 
diana have  undiminished  confidence  in  the 
Hon.  Jesse  D.  Bright,  our  Senator  in  Con- 
gress, and  while  we  are  ready  cheerfully 
and  enthusiastically  to  support  for  the 
presidency  in  the  approaching  election 
whoever  may  be  selected  as  the  candidate 
for  that  office  by  the  Democratic  national 
convention,  from  whatever  quarter  of  the 
Union  he  may  come — if  the  Northwest  is 
honored  with  that  distinction  we  present 
the  name  of  the  Honorable  Jesse  D.  Bright 
to  that  convention,  and  to  the  Democracy 
of  the  Union,  as  a  suitable  candidate  and 
one  whom  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  de- 
light to  honor. 

"Resolved,  That  the  entire  vote  of  the 
delegates  from  this  State  be  cast  as  a  unit 


in  the  national  convention  and  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  delegation  shall  control  the 
entire  vote  of  the  State. 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  State  government  by 
His  Excellency,  Joseph  A.  Wright,  and 
that  his  integrity,  ability  and  executive 
talents  have  fully  met  the  expectations  of 
the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana,  and  won 
for  him  increased  confidence  and  gratitude 
from  the  people." 

Though  residing  in  Indiana,  Senator 
Bright  owned  a  plantation  over  in  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  a  slave-owner  and  in  full 
accord  with  the  South  on  the  question  of 
slavery.  Fully  aware  that  civil  war  would 
eventuate  in  the  destruction  of  slavery, 
he  counseled  against  secession  and  rebel- 
lion. But  he  could  not  persuade  himself  to 
believe  that  the  Union  could  be  kept  to- 
gether by  coercive  methods.  His  sym- 
pathies being  Southern,  his  affiliations 
naturally  were  with  Southerners.  As  a 
slaveholder  he  was  oppo.sed  to  war  being 
waged  against  the  South.  On  the  first  day 
of  March,  1861,  while  holding  a  seat  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  he  addressed  a 
letter  "To  His  Excellency,  Jefferson  Davis, 
President  of  the  Confederation  of  States," 
in  which  he  recommended  his  friend 
Thomas  Lincoln  of  Texas  to  "favorable 
consideration  as  a  gentleman  of  first  re- 
spectability and  reliable  in  every  respect. 
He  visits  your  capital  mainly  to  dispose  of 
what  he  regards  a  great  improvement  to 
firearms."  The  bearer  of  this  letter  \vas 
arrested  on  his  way  to  the  Confederate 
Capital  with  Senator  Bright's  letter  upon 
his  person.  The  matter  was  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  Senate;  proceedings 
for  expulsion  were  instituted,  and  after 
afli'ording  ample  opportunity  for  defense, 
the  Senate  expelled  Mr.  Bright  from  the 
seat  he  had  uninterruptedly  occupied  for 
sixteen  years. 

In  the  campaign  of  1860  Senator  Bright 
opposed  both  the  nomination  and  election 
of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  to  the  Presidency. 
While  he  did  not  deem  it  advisable  to  put 
a  State  ticket  in  the  field,  he  did  bring  into 


(83) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6 


the  race  a  Breckinridge  and  Lane  elector- 
al ticket.  He  entered  upon  a  vigorous 
campaign,  earnestly  appealing  to  his  old- 
time  friends  to  stand  by  him  in  this  crisis. 
Out  of  a  total  vote  of  272,143  he  managed 
to  poll  12,295  for  Breckinridge  and  Lane. 

When  a  Democratic  Legislature  was 
elected  in  1862  Mr.  Bright  did  his  utmost 
to  induce  the  Democrats  of  that  body  to 
"vindicate"  him  with  an  election  to  his 
unexpired  term  in  the  Senate.  This  was 
refused,  the  choice  of  the  party  having 
been  centered  on  Mr.  Hendricks'  running 
mate  in  1860,  David  Turpie.  Responsi- 
bility for  this  "slight"  was  laid  at  the  door 
of  Mr.  Hendricks,  whom  Bright  dubbed 
"Oily  Gammon,"  but  who  nevertheless  re- 
tained for  an  even  quarter  of  a  century 
the  unquestioned  and  uncontested  leader- 
ship of  the  Indiana  Democracy. 

Soon  after  the  infliction  of  this  sore 
disappointment  Mr.  Bright  concluded  to 
shake  the  dust  of  Indiana  off  his  boots 
and  to  take  up  his  residence  on  his  plan- 
tation in  Kentucky.  He  served  two  terms 
in  the  Legislature  of  that  commonwealth 
and  was  at  one  time  talked  of  for  the 
United  States  Senatorship.  He  had  ex- 
tensive interests  in  the  coal  mines  of  West 
Virginia,  which  afforded  him  a  large  in- 
come. In  1874  he  moved  to  Baltimore. 
Broken  down  in  health,  he  died  in  that 
city  of  organic  disease  of  the  heart.  May 
20,  1875. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Bright 
appears  to  have  experienced  some  moder- 
ation of  his  ultra  political  views.  He 
earnestly  supported  the  reconciliation 
and  reconstruction  policy  of  President 
Johnson,  and  in  1868  favored  the  nomina- 
tion by  the  Democrats  of  Salmon  P.  Chase 
for  the  Presidency.  In  1869  he  wanted 
the  Democrats  of  the  Indiana  Legislature 
to  enter  into  a  combination  to  elect  one  of 
the  Republican  bolters  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  his  choice  being  a  former 
trusted  lieutenant  of  his.  Senator  James 
Hughes,  who,  during  the  rebellion,  joined 


the  Republican  party.  Like  Clement  L. 
Vallandigham,  of  Ohio,  Jesse  D.  Bright 
believed  in  letting  by-gones  be  by-gones, 
in  gracefully  accepting  the  decree  of  fate, 
and  acquiescing  in  changes  that  could  not 
be  prevented.  In  other  words,  he  believed 
in  the  advisability  of  what  in  Ohio  was 
dubbed  "the  new  departure."  In  a  speech 
delivered  by  Mr.  Hendricks  in  1872  he  ex- 
pressed substantially  the  same  idea  when 
he  said :  "Let  us  turn  our  backs  upon  the 
past  and  look  hopefully  to  the  future." 

THE     BRIGHT-FITCH     SENATORIAL 

CONTEST. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  this  case 
and  the  general  misconception  of  the  points 
mvolved  therein,  the  reader  will  doubtless 
appreciate  highly  the  presentation  of  the 
legal  aspect  by  an  authority  of  the  em- 
inence of  Judge  David  Turpie.  As  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1859 
he  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  animated 
contest  over  the  proposition  to  annul  the 
action  of  the  preceding  Legislature. 
What  he  had  to  say  on  this  interesting 
subject  is  well  worth  studious  perusal: 

"As  upon  my  former  service  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  so  now,  came  again  the 
question  of  the  senatorial  election,  as  the 
first  business  of  the  session  of  1858,  which 
arose  in  the  following  manner:  the  Legis- 
lature of  1855,  chosen  in  1854,  had  the 
duty  imposed  upon  it  of  choosing  a  United 
States  Senator.  But  the  two  houses  of  that 
body  being  of  different  political  faith,  de- 
clined to  go  into  joint  convention  for  that 
purpose.  The  vacancy  caused  by  the  ex- 
piration of  Mr.  Pettit's  term  was  not  filled, 
and  for  two  years  Indiana  had  only  one 
member  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Jesse  D.  Bright. 
The  Legislature  of  1857,  chosen  in  1856, 
was  Democratic  on  joint  ballot;  of  its  two 
branches  the  House  was  Democratic,  the 
Senate  was  controlled  by  the  opposition. 

"Under  these  circumstances  the  House 
appointed  a  day  for  the  election  of  two 
Senators,  one  to  fill  the  vacancy  existing 
since  1855,  the  other  to  fill  the  vacancy 
about  to  occur  bv  the  expiration  of  Mr. 
Bright's  term.     The  Senate,  as  such,  ig- 


(84) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  (j  -  1  9  1  6 


nored  this  action  of  the  House,  but  the 
Democratic  members  of  that  body  left 
their  seats  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  came 
over  to  the  House  on  the  day  appointed, 
organized  a  joint  convention  and  elected 
Doctor  Graham  N.  Fitch  to  fill  the  existing 
vacancy,  and  Mr.  Jesse  D.  Bright  as  his 
own  successor  for  a  third  term,  each  of 
them  receiving  a  majority  of  all  the  votes 
of  all  the  members  elected  to  the  General 
Assembly.  The  opposition  in  our  State, 
and  especially  that  of  the  Legislature  of 
1858,  including  the  anti-administration 
Democrats,  held  that  the  election  of  Bright 
and  Fitch  so  conducted  was  unconstitu- 
tional and  invalid ;  that  both  vacancies 
were  yet  unfilled  and  that  it  was  their  duty 
to  elect  two  Senators.  They  took  the 
ground  that  the  word  Legislature,  in  the 
clause  of  the  federal  constitution  relating 
to  the  election  of  Senators,  necessarily  im- 
plied the  concuri-ent  action  of  both  Houses 
as  such  to  form  a  lawful  joint  convention. 
We  contended,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
v.'ord  Legislature  was  not  used  in  any  tech- 
nical sense  in  the  clause  referred  to,  and 
that  the  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
members  might  legally  form  a  joint  con- 
vention and  elect  Senators  without  such 
concurrent  action.  In  support  of  this  con- 
struction we  referred  to  the  fact  that,  at 
the  time  of  making  the  federal  constitu- 
tion, several  of  the  States,  notably  Penn- 
sylvania, had  a  Legislature  composed  of 
only  one  chamber,  and  that  the  framers  of 
that  instrument,  sitting  in  Philadelphia, 
could  not  possibly  have  contemplated  the 
two  houses  as  such  in  the  use  of  the  term 
Legislature,  but  had  used  it  as  we  still  use 
the  word  magistracy,  to  designate  the  col- 
lective body  of  all  the  persons  in  the  coun- 
ty or  State  who  are  employed  in  the  duty 
of  administering  justice. 

"The  debate  lasted  many  days;  in  the 
House  it  became  quite  warm  and  exciting; 
the  Speaker,  Mr.  Gordon,  left  the  chair  to 
take  part  in  it ;  at  .last  a  vote  was  taken 
and  we  were  beaten.  No  further  resist- 
ance was  offered.  We  kept  our  seats,  took 
no  part  in  the  proceedings,  and  our  col- 
leagues of  the  opposition  held  a  joint  con- 
vention in  which  they  chose  Mr.  Henry  S. 
Lane  and  Mr.  William  M.  McCarty  as  Sen- 
ators from  Indiana  to  fill  the  supposed 
vacancies.  I  wrote  a  full  argument  upon 
the  law  and  facts  of  the  case,  closing  with 
an  earnest  request  for  federal  legislation 
on  this  question,  which  was  seconded  by 


several  of  my  colleagues.  It  seemed  to  be 
a  careless  and  somewhat  dangerous  predic- 
ament that  the  Legislatures  of  the  States 
should  continue  in  many  different  ways  to 
elfict  Senators,  when  Congress  had  the  un- 
doubted right  to  prescribe  by  law  a  uni- 
form method  of  pi'ocedure.  Copies  of 
these  papers  were  sent  to  Senators  of  both 
parties  at  Washington.  Many  letters  were 
received  in  answer.  Some  of  them  ap- 
proved, others  disapproved  the  grounds 
taken  in  argument  in  the  particular  case, 
but  all  concurred  in  the  necessity  of  Con- 
gressional action.  Yet  such  was  the  po- 
litical stress  of  that  troubled  period,  now 
approaching  in  the  history  of  our  country, 
that  it  was  not  until  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  war  that  Congress  enacted  this 
much-needed  legislation.  On  the  26th  of 
July,  1866,  an  act  was  passed  regulating 
the  mode  of  choosing  Senators  by  the  Leg- 
islature. Since  that  time  our  Senators  in 
Indiana  and  elsewhere  have  been  elected 
according  to  its  provisions. 

"Mr.  W.  H.  Seward  and  Mr.  William  G. 
Bayard,  who  were  Senators  in  1858,  Mr. 
Hendricks  and  Mr.  Lane,  who  were  Sena- 
tors in  1866,  have  more  than  once  stated 
in  my  presence  that  it  was  the  Indiana 
case  with  its  non-election  in  1855,  and  its 
contested  election  of  1858,  that  chiefly  im- 
pelled Congress  to  take  its  subsequent  ac- 
tion in  the  premises.  The  United  States 
Senate  held  that  the  election  of  Bright  and 
Fitch  was  valid.  Mr.  Lane  and  Mr.  Mc- 
Carty returned  from  Washington  as  pri- 
vate citizens,  but  they  lost  nothing  in  pub- 
lic estimation  by  their  journey,  nor  was 
the  action  of  our  Legislature  useless  or  un- 
profitable. It  led  to  the  passage  of  a  gen- 
eral law  on  this  subject,  one  of  the  mo.st 
important  of  our  statutes  at  large. 

"Although  very  firmly  convinced  of  the 
correctness  of  our  opinion  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  the  Senatorial  election,  what  gave 
additional  zeal  to  my  action  was  the  cir- 
cumstance that  Graham  N.  Fitch,  the 
friend  of  my  youth,  was  deeply  interested 
in  the  result.  He  served  in  the  United 
States  Senate  until  March  4,  1861,  taking 
first  rank  in  that  body.  He  was  afterward 
a  colonel  in  the  army;  he  had  the  choice 
of  many  titles,  but  he  preferred  to  be 
called  Doctor.  That  designated  his  favor- 
ite pursuit.  He  was  often  and  long  en- 
gaged in  public  employments  of  the  high- 
est character.  He  entered,  indeed  he  was, 
so  to  speak,  drafted  into  the  work  of  the 


(85) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


lecture-room,  taught  as  a  professor  in  the 
medical  schools  of  Indianapolis,  Cincinnati 
and  Chicago,  but  always  returned  to  his 
home — to  his  office  in  Logansport.  To  the 
profession  he  had  given  his  first  love,  and 
it  never  grew  old  or  cold ;  he  continued  in 
it  almost  to  the  day  of  his  death,  not  from 
necessity,  but  from  the  love  he  bore  it. 
His  early  labors  in  the  active  practice  were 
constant  and  toilsome.  He  always  drove 
with  two  horses.  I  have  met  him  more 
than  once,  returning  from  some  distant 
night-call  in  the  country,  seated  in  his 
buggy  fast  asleep,  while  his  faithful  team 
noiselessly  picked  their  way  along  the  cor- 
duroy road,  seeming  loath  to  disturb  the 
slumbers  of  their  master. 

"As  a  public  speaker  Doctor  Fitch  was 
versatile  and  attractive.  When  he  took  the 
stump  he  bade  good-by  to  the  physician. 
There  was  not  the  least  trace  of  the  mate- 
ria medica,  either  in  his  manner  or  utter- 
ances, nothing  of  either  shop  or  sham.  He 
had  read  and  thought  much  upon  the  con- 
stitutional principles  of  our  government, 
and  had  formed  his  opinions  of  the  proper 
mode  of  their  development  by  legislation. 
He  cited  with  eif  ect  and  with  precision  the 
writings  of  Jefferson,  Jackson  and  other 
worthies  of  the  Democratic  school,  but  an 
authority  to  be  cited  by  him  must  always 
be  brief  and  pointed.  A  skillful  disputant, 
he  had  great  powers  of  apprehension  and 
penetration;  he  detected  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  any  infirmity  or  inconsistency 
in  the  position  of  an  opponent,  and  as 
quickly  exposed  it. 

"In  a  prolonged  series  of  joint  discus- 
sions with  Mr.  Schuyler  Colfax  he  defeat- 
ed that  gentleman  for  Congress,  the  only 
defeat  suffered  by  him  in  a  long  political 
career.  During  the  Civil  War  Fitch  was 
authorized  to  raise  a  regiment,  the  Forty- 
sixth  Regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers, 
which  he  subsequently  commanded  in  the 
field.  His  recruits  were  gathered  by  a 
public  canvass  made  by  him  in  his  own 
and  adjoining  counties.  Several  times  I 
accompanied  him  in  this  canvass  and  spoke 
from  the  same  stand.  His  account  of  the 
beginning,  course  and  termination  of  the 
movement  of  secession  was  the  most  high- 
ly finished  and  thoroughly  wrought-out 
discussion  of  that  topic  I  have  ever  heard. 
His  exhortation  to  the  sons  of  Indiana  in 
behalf  of  the  Union  and  the  constitution 
was  irresistible.     His  regiment  was  rapid- 


ly filled  by  volunteer  enlistments  to  its  full 
complement.  Our  young  men  were  anx- 
ious to  go  with  him." 

The  strong  affection  Judge  Turpie  felt 
for  Dr.  Fitch  was  richly  merited.  It  was 
based  on  sterling  worth.  Friendship  be- 
tween two  such  men  has  in  it  genuineness 
and  sincerity.  Had  it  been  lacking  in 
these  essentials,  it  would  not  have  been 
professed.  Both  had  a  decided  aversion 
to  mere  profession,  to  hollow  pretense. 

Graham  Newell  Fitch  was  bom  in  Le- 
roy,  N.  Y.,  December  5,  1809.  He  studied 
medicine  in  the  medical  college  at  Fair- 
field, N.  Y.,  practiced  in  Logansport,  Ind., 
was  professor  in  Rush  Medical  College  of 
Chicago  from  1844  to  1849 ;  was  presiden- 
tial elector  in  1844,  1848  and  1856 ;  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  in  1836  and  1839; 
chosen  member  of  Congress  in  1848  and 
re-elected  in  1850 ;  served  as  United  States 
Senator  four  years,  from  February  4, 
1857,  to  March  4,  1861.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  rebellion  he  raised  the  Forty-sixth 
Regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers,  making 
earnest  appeals  to  the  young  men  of  his 
part  of  the  State  to  rally  to  the  defense  of 
the  imperiled  Union  and  the  vindication  of 
the  supremacy  of  governmental  authority. 
He  deplored  secession  and  deprecated  dis- 
sension. His  speeches  breathed  the  spirit 
of  genuine  patriotism  and  contributed 
largely  to  solidifying  public  sentiment  in 
support  of  the  Government.  After  the 
war  he  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention  that  in  1868 
nominated  Governor  Horatio  Seymour  for 
President  and  General  Frank  P.  Blair  for 
Vice-President.  He  died  at  Logansport, 
November  29,  1892. 

JOHN  PETTIT'S  LONG  PUBLIC 
SERVICE. 

With  absolute  truthfulness  it  may  be 
said  that  Indiana  fairly  abounded  with 
men  of  unusual  ability  and  eminent  quali- 
fication for  public  service.  This  circum- 
stance confirms  the  view  not  infrequently 


(86) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


expressed  that  if  a  nation  wants  strong 
and  able  men  there  must  be  trials  and 
tribulations;  even  poverty  can  hardly  be 
considered  a  drawback  in  the  development 
of  individual  stamina.  Certain  it  is  that 
if  thei-e  had  been  three  or  four  times  the 
number  of  important  stations  to  fill  no 
scarcity  of  material  would  have  been 
found  to  exist  to  fill  them  all,  and  fill  them 
well. 

John  Pettit  came  within  this  category. 
Born  in  Sacketts  Harbor,  N.  Y.,  June  24, 
1807,  he  fitted  himself  for  the  law,  and 
after  admission  to  the  bar,  acted  upon 
Horace  Greeley's  advice:  "Go  West, 
young  man,  and  grow  up  with  the  coun- 
try." He  located  in  Lafayette,  Ind.,  where 
he  began  practice  in  1838.  His  public 
career  began  with  two  terms  in  the  Legis- 
lature.    He  was  appointed  United  States 


District  Attorney,  and  from  that  position 
was  advanced  to  three  terms  in  Congress, 
serving  continuously  from  March  4,  1843, 
to  March  3.  1849.  In  1850  he  was  chosen 
a  delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention 
and  helped  to  frame  the  present  constitu- 
tion. As  an  elector  he  helped  to  cast  In- 
diana's vote  for  Pierce  and  King  in  1852, 
and  the  following  year  he  was  elected 
United  States  Senator  to  fill  the  latter  part 
of  Whitcomb's  unexpired  term.  During 
the  troublous  days  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
fight  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States  courts  in  Kansas.  After 
some  years  of  release  from  public  life  he 
was,  in  1870,  elected  a  member  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Indiana,  which  position 
he  filled  with  marked  ability.  He  died  at 
Lafayette,  January  17,  1877.  Judge  Pettit 
was  a  big  man,  physically  as  well  as  men- 
tally. 


(S7) 


[Chapter  X.] 

RE-ELECTION  OF  GOVERNOR  WHITCOMB 
IN  1846 


VENTS   of  magnitude,   of   tre- 

Q^  mendous  importance,  followed 
I  one  another  in  quick  succession 
I  since  the  election  and  inaugura- 
tion of  President  Polk.  Per- 
sons who,  during  the  campaign 
of  1844,  derisively  asked,  "Who 
the  deuce  is  James  K.  Polk?"  had  their 
minds  disabused  as  to  his  qualification 
and  fitness  for  the  high  office  to  which  he 
was  chosen  over  the  gifted,  eloquent  and 
idolized  Henry  Clay.  Though  nominated 
as  a  "dark  horse,"  James  K.  Polk  had 
made  an  enviable  record,  as  member  of 
Congress  from  1825  to  1839,  as  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  as 
Speaker  of  the  House  during  a  most  ex- 
citing period  of  federal  legislation,  and  as 
Governor  of  Tennessee.  His  inaugural  ad- 
dress, replete  with  sound  sentiment,  strong 
common  sense,  lofty  patriotism,  and  enun- 
ciation of  high  purposes,  was  read  with 
amazement  by  those  who  had  sought  to 
belittle  him  and  with  satisfaction  and  su- 
preme pleasure  by  those  who  believed  him 
to  be  worthy  of  filling  the  chair  vacated 
eight  years  before  by  that  other  sturdy 
Tennesseean,  Andrew  Jackson. 

The  tariff",  as  will  be  remembered,  was 
one  of  the  main  issues  in  the  campaign  of 
1844.  Up  to  this  time  no  clearer  or  more 
forceful  exposition  of  the  real  Democratic 
position  on  that  question  had  been  made 
by  any  public  man  authorized  to  speak  for 
the  party  than  that  set  forth  in  President 
Polk's  inaugural  address.  In  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  views  therein  expressed  were 
subsequently  made  the  basis  of  the 
"Walker  tariff,"  some  extracts  from  the 
Polk  inaugural  address  will  be  found  both 
interesting  and  instructive.  Note  the  sim- 
plicity, clearness  and  vigor  of  this  elucida- 
tion of  the  Government's  authority  to  levy 
taxes  upon  imports : 


"One  of  the  difficulties  which  we  have 
had  to  encounter  in  the  practical  adminis- 
tration of  the  Government  consists  in  the 
adjustment  of  our  revenue  laws  and  the 
levy  of  the  taxes  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  Government.  In  the  general 
proposition  that  no  more  money  shall  be 
collected  than  the  necessities  of  an  eco- 
nomical administration  shall  require  all 
parties  seem  to  acquiesce.  Nor  does  there 
seem  to  be  any  material  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  absence  of  right  in  the 
Government  to  tax  one  section  of  country, 
or  one  class  of  citizens,  or  one  occupation, 
for  the  mere  profit  of  another.  'Justice 
and  sound  policy  forbid  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  foster  one  branch  of  industry 
to  the  detriment  of  another,  or  to  cherish 
the  interests  of  one  portion  to  the  injury 
of  another  portion  of  our  common  coun- 
try.' I  have  heretofore  declared  to  my 
fellow-citizens  that  'in  my  judgment  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  Government  to  extend,  as 
far  as  it  may  be  practicable  to  do  so,  by 
its  revenue  laws  and  all  other  means 
within  its  power,  fair  and  just  protection 
to  all  the  great  interests  of  the  whole 
Union,  embracing  agriculture,  manufac- 
tures, the  mechanic  arts,  commerce,  and 
navigation.'  I  have  also  declared  my  opin- 
ion to  be  'in  favor  of  a  tariff  for  revenue,' 
and  that  'in  adjusting  the  details  of  such 
a  tariff  I  have  sanctioned  such  moderate 
discriminating  duties  as  would  produce 
the  amount  of  revenue  needed  and  at  the 
same  time  afford  reasonable  incidental 
lirotection  to  our  home  industry,'  and  that 
I  was  'opposed  to  a  tariff  for  protection 
merely,  and  not  for  revenue.' 

"The  power  'to  lay  and  collect  taxes, 
duties,  imposts  and  excises'  was  an  indis- 
pensable one  to  be  conferred  on  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  which  without  it  would 
possess  no  means  of  providing  for  its  own 
support.  In  executing  this  power  by 
levying  a  tariff  of  duties  for  the  support 
of  Government,  the  raising  of  revenue 
should  be  the  object  and  protectioji  the 
incident.  To  reverse  this  principle  and 
make  protection  the  object  and  revenue 
the  incident  would  be  to  inflict  manifest 
injustice  upon  all  other  than  the  protected 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


interests.  In  levying  duties  for  revenue 
it  is  doubtless  proper  to  make  such  dis- 
criminations within  the  revenue  principle 
as  will  afford  incidental  protection  to  our 
home  interests.  Within  the  revenue  limit 
there  is  a  discretion  to  discriminate;  be- 
yond that  limit  the  rightful  exercise  of 
the  power  is  not  conceded.  The  incidental 
protection  afforded  to  our  home  interests 
by  discriminations  within  the  revenue 
range  it  is  believed  will  be  ample.  In 
making  discriminations  all  our  home  in- 
terests should  as  far  as  practicable  be 
equally  protected.  The  largest  portion  of 
our  people  are  agriculturists.  Others  are 
employed  in  manufactures,  commerce, 
navigation  and  the  mechanic  arts.  They 
are  all  engaged  in  their  respective  pur- 
suits, arid  their  joint  labors  constitute  the 
national  or  home  industry.  To  tax  one 
branch  of  this  home  industry  for  the 
benefit  of  another  would  be  unjust.  No 
one  of  these  interests  can  rightfully  claim 
an  advantage  over  the  others,  or  to  be  en- 
riched by  impoverishing  the  others.  All 
are  equally  entitled  to  the  fostering  care 
and  protection  of  the  Government.  In  ex- 
ercising a  sound  discretion  in  levying  dis- 
criminating duties  within  the  limit  pre- 
scribed, care  should  be  taken  that  it  be 
done  in  a  manner  not  to  benefit  the 
wealthy  few  at  the  expense  of  the  toiling 
millions  by  taxing  lowest  the  luxuries  of 
life,  or  articles  of  superior  quality  and  high 
price,  which  can  only  be  consumed  by  the 
wealthy,  and  highest  the  necessaries  of 
life,  or  articles  of  coarse  quality  and  low 
price,  which  the  poor  and  great  mass  of 
our  people  must  consume.  The  burdens 
of  government  should  as  far  as  practicable 
be  distributed  justly  and  equally  among 
all  classes  of  our  population.  These  gen- 
eral views,  long  entertained  on  this  sub- 
ject, I  have  deemed  it  proper  to  reiterate. 
It  is  a  subject  upon  which  conflicting  in- 
terests of  sections  and  occupations  are 
supposed  to  exist,  and  a  spirit  of  mutual 
concession  and  compromise  in  adjusting 
its  details  should  be  cherished  by  every 
part  of  our  widespread  country  as  the 
only  means  of  preserving  hai-mony  and  a 
cheerful  acquiescence  of  all  in  the  opera- 
tion of  our  revenue  laws.  Our  patriotic 
citizens  in  every  part  of  the  Union  will 
readily  submit  to  the  payment  of  such 
taxes  as  shall  be  needed  for  the  support 
of  their   Government,   whether   in   peace 


or  in  war,  if  they  are  so  levied  as  to  dis- 
tribute the  burdens  as  equally  as  possible 
among  them." 

Whatever  conflict  of  opinion  there  may 
exist  with  reference  to  federal  taxation, 
there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  views 
set  forth  in  the  foregoing  extracts  always 
having  served  as  a  guidance  to  Democratic 
legislation  in  framing  laws  to  raise  reve- 
nue for  carrying  on  the  machinery  of  the 
general  government. 

The  public  mind  during  this  time  was 
largely  engrossed  with  "burning  ques- 
tions" relating  to  the  Mexican  war,  the 
annexation  of  Texas,  the  Oregon  dispute, 
etc.  Opinions  differed  widely.  In  regard 
to  Mexico  and  Texas,  the  slavery  question 
became  an  important  factor.  Those  who 
were  radically  opposed  to  the  opening  of 
any  more  slave  territory  were  irreconcil- 
ably against  the  annexation  of  Texas. 
Those  who  Avere  content  with  the  policy  of 
admitting  into  the  Union  territories  in 
pairs,  one  with  slavery  and  the  other  with- 
out, generally  favored  the  annexation  of 
Texas  and  waging  war  upon  Mexico  for  a 
variety  of  wrongs  and  outrages  perpe- 
trated by  the  Mexicans.  In  Indiana  so 
prominent  a  Whig  leader  as  Henry  S. 
Lane,  who  in  later  years  (1856)  presided 
over  the  first  national  convention  of  the 
newly  organized  Republican  party  and 
who  in  1860  was  chosen  Governor,  was  not 
only  an  earnest  and  enthusiastic  champion 
of  the  war  against  Mexico,  but  became  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  enlistment  of  volun- 
teers. In  his  speeches,  made  to  arouse  the 
war  spirit  of  Indiana,  he  bitterly  attacked 
the  Whig  leaders  who  opposed  the  Mexican 
war.  He  personally  organized  a  company, 
was  made  major  of  the  regiment  of  which 
his  company  constituted  a  part,  was  sub- 
sequently promoted  to  the  lieutenant- 
colonelcy,  and  served  gallantly  to  the  end 
of  his  regiment's  enlistment.  In  Ohio,  on 
the  other  hand,  many  of  the  Whig  leaders 
were  violently  opposed  to  the  war  with 
Mexico.  The  foremost  among  them, 
Thomas  Corwin,  for  many  years  a  distin- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


guished  member  of  Congress  and  several 
limes  elected  Governor  of  that  Common- 
wealth, vehemently  opposed  and  bitterly 
denounced  the  Mexican  war.  Elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate  in  1844,  and 
noted  for  his  eloquence  and  power  of 
oratory,  he  created  a  sensation  by  deliver- 
ing a  speech  on  the  Mexican  war  question 
in  the  course  of  which  he  exclaimed:  "If 
I  were  a  Mexican  as  I  am  an  American,  I 
would  welcome  you  with  bloody  hands  to 
hospitable  graves."  This  unpatriotic  dec- 
laration was  deprecated  by  many  of  his 
friends  and  admirers  and  had  the  effect  of 
greatly  diminishing  and  eventually  de- 
stroying the  popularity  he  had  enjoyed  for 
so  many  years. 

Governor  Whitcomb  made  an  excellent 
record  as  chief  executive.  His  persistent, 
well-directed  efforts  to  repair  the  injury 
inflicted  upon  the  State  and  its  credit  by 
the  bungling  and  impracticable  methods 
adopted  under  Whig  administrations  met 
with  high  appreciation.  So,  when  the  time 
came  for  naming  his  successor,  there  was 
no  diversity  of  opinion  in  his  party  as  to 
the  advisability  of  renominating  James 
Whitcomb  for  Governor.  As  his  running 
mate  Paris  C.  Dunning  was  named.  The 
election  in  August  shows  this  result : 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

James  Whitcomb,  Democrat 64,104 

Joseph  G.  Marshall,  Whig 60,067 

Stephen  C.  Stephens,  Abolitionist 2,278 

The  official  returns  as  given  in  the  re- 


port of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  184(5 
vary  from  the  above.  The  figures  therein 
given  are : 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

James  Whitcomb  63,94.'") 

Joseph  G.  Marshall r,9,93.3 

Stephen   C.   Stevens 2,278 

Thomas  F.  Marshall  (Clark  county  only).  .  71 

Joseph  Hardinp;  (Jay  county  only) 17 

FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Paris  C.  Dunning,  Democrat 62,808 

Alexander  C.  Stevenson,  Whig .59,132 

Stephen  S.  Harding,  Abolitionist 2,281 

Edward  E.  Moore,  in  his  "A  Century  of 
Indiana,"  bestows  this  well-deserved  trib- 
ute upon  the  recipient  of  the  popular  en- 
dorsement above  recorded:  "It  was  during 
Governor  Whitcomb's  administration  that 
the  compromise  with  the  State's  creditors 
was  arived  at,  whereby  the  Wabash  and 
Erie  Canal,  together  with  the  canal  lands 
granted  by  the  Government,  and  other 
rights  and  franchises,  were  transferred  in 
discharge  of  one-half  of  the  State's  indebt- 
edness, and  new  bonds,  at  a  lower  rate  of 
interest,  issued  for  the  remaining  half. 
With  this  settlement  confidence  was  re- 
stored, and  the  panic  having  spent  its 
force,  prosperity  began  gradually  to  re- 
turn." 

December  27,  1848,  Governor  Whitcomb 
was  elected  a  Senator  of  the  United  States. 
He  thereupon  resigned  as  Governor  and 
was  succeeded  by  Paris  C.  Dunning,  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, who  served  as  Governor 
during  the  remainder  of  the  term.  In 
1849  Joseph  A.  Wright,  Democrat,  was 
elected  Governor. 


[Chapter  XL] 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1848 

THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION  CAUSED  A  SERIOUS  SPLIT  IN  THE 
DEMOCRATIC  PARTY 


UEER  circumstances  arose  in 
1848.  The  two  leading  parties, 
Whig  and  Democratic,  came 
near  agreeing,  in  the  main,  on 
the  slavery  question,  although 
the  Whigs  generally  opposed 
the  war  against  Mexico  and 
were  anything  but  pleased  over  the  an- 
nexation of  Texas.  The  campaign  was  a 
queer  one  in  this,  that  the  successful 
aspirant  to  the  Presidency  was  a  slave- 
holder and  that  whatever  fame  attached 
to  his  name  was  acquired  in  the  Mexican 
war,  which  most  of  those  who  voted  for 
him,  especially  in  the  North,  had  bitterly 
opposed. 

The  annexation  of  Texas  had  been  ap- 
proved by  President  Tyler  shortly  before 
the  inauguration  of  President  Polk.  It 
was  an  open  secret  that  one  of  the  pur- 
poses of  the  war  against  Mexico  was  to 
get  a  slice  of  that  country  with  a  view  to 
making  slave  territory  thereof.  In  annex- 
ing Texas  a  stipulation  was  incorporated 
into  the  treaty  that  the  "Lone  Star  State" 
might  be  cut  up  into  five  separate  and  dis- 
tinct States.  Had  this  program  been  car- 
ried fully  into  effect,  the  slave  power  in 
the  Union  would  have  been  largely  in- 
creased. But  it  wasn't.  Texas  was  not 
subdivided,  and  none  of  the  territory  taken 
from  Mexico  became  "consecrated"  to 
slavery.  To  guard  against  the  latter  con- 
tingency an  amendment  to  the  bill  appro- 
priating 822,000,000  for  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  Mexico,  commonly  known  as  the 
"Wilmot  Provi.so,"  was  tacked  on  through 
the  instrumentality  of  such  anti-slavery 
Democrats  as  David  Wilmot  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Judge  Brinckerhoff  of  Ohio,  ex- 
pressly forbidding  the  introduction  of 
slavery  in  any  part  of  the  territory  that 


might  be  acquired  from  Mexico.  Though 
this  amendment,  adopted  by  the  House, 
was  never  formally  concurred  in  by  the 
Senate,  it  accomplished  its  purpose  in  an 
indirect  manner.  The  vote  in  the  House 
was  quite  decisive,  83  to  64,  only  three 
Democrats  from  the  non-slave-holding 
States  voting  against  it.  General  Lewis 
Cass,  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  the 
Democrats  in  1848,  had  declared  himself 
in  favor  of  the  "Wilmot  Proviso,"  but  sub- 
sequently modified  his  opinion  on  that 
subject,  doubtless  with  a  view  to  pro- 
pitiating the  South.  This,  however,  did 
not  prove  helpful  to  him  in  the  campaign. 
The  anti-slavery  Democrats  used  this 
change  of  attitude  effectively  against  him 
by  showing  that  the  "Wilmot  Proviso" 
was  but  a  repetition  of  the  clause  prohibit- 
ing slavery  that  was  put  into  the  ordinance 
of  1787  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  when  the 
Northwestern  Territory  was  ceded  by  Vir- 
ginia to  the  United  States. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention 
met  at  Baltimore  on  the  22d  day  of  May, 
1848.  It  was  presided  over  by  Andrew 
Stevenson  of  Kentucky.  The  two-thirds 
vote  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  175  to  78. 
Complications  had  arisen  in  the  State  of 
New  York  that  resulted  in  sending  two 
delegations  to  the  Baltimore  convention, 
one  dominated  by  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  the 
other  by  Samuel  J.  Tilden.  The  latter 
made  a  strong  representation  of  regular- 
ity; the  Dickinson  delegation  represented 
the  administration  element.  The  ill  feel- 
ing between  the  two  factions,  one  called 
the  "Barnburners,"  the  other  the  "Hunk- 
ers," was  intensified  by  the  circumstance 
that  Senator  Silas  Wright,  dearly  beloved 
by  the  New  York  Democracy,  after  having 
declined    the    nomination    for    the    Vice- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


Presidency  in  1844 — made  to  conciliate 
the  Van  Buren  element  in  1844 — was  sub- 
sequently induced  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion for  Governor  that  year.  This  ar- 
rangement had  the  effect  of  reconciling 
the  Van  Burenites  and  of  carrying  the 
State  handsomely  for  Polk  and  Dallas  as 
well  as  for  Silas  Wright  for  Governor. 
Two  years  later,  when  put  in  the  field  for 
re-election,  Governor  Wright  met  with 
overAvhelming  defeat.  Responsibility  for 
this  humiliation  was  laid  at  the  door  of 
the  "Hunkers."  Intense  bitterness  was 
engendered,  and  when  the  time  came  for 
appointing  delegates  to  the  national  con- 
vention the  "Barnburners"  had  things 
pretty  much  their  own  way.  But  the 
"Hunkers,"  under  the  skillful  leadership 
of  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  organized  their 
forces  and  appointed  a  contesting  delega- 
tion. They  charged  the  "Barnburners" 
with  being  antagonistic  to  the  established 
policy  of  the  party  with  reference  to  the 
slavery  question  and  as  being  hostile  to 
the  Polk  admini-stration.  The  wrangle 
over  the  disputing  delegations  from  the 
Empire  State  lasted  two  days.  After  an 
intensely  acrimonious  debate  a  motion  was 
finally  adopted  by  a  vote  of  126  to  124  to 
admit  both  delegations,  each  to  cast  half 
of  the  vote  of  the  State.  Though  this  was 
deemed  a  comparative  victory  for  the 
"Barnburners,"  they  withdrew  from  the 
convention,  and  the  "Hunkers"  consider- 
ately declined  to  participate  in  the  further 
deliberations  of  that  body. 

The  leading  candidates  for  the  Presi- 
dential nomination  were  Lewis  Cass  of 
Michigan,  James  Buchanan  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Levi  Woodbury  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. A  few  scattering  votes  were  cast 
for  Vice-President  George  M.  Dallas  of 
Pennsylvania,  W.  J.  Worth  of  Texas,  John 
C.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina  and  W.  0. 
Butler  of  Kentucky.  Necessary  to  a  choice 
on  the  first  and  second  ballots,  168;  on 
the  third  and  fourth,  169.  Cass  received 
125  votes  on  the  first  ballot,  133  on  the 


second,  156  on  the  third,  and  179  on 
the  fourth — ten  more  than  necessary. 
Buchanan's  vote  was  55,  54,  40,  33 ;  Wood- 
bury's, 53,  56,  53,  38.  Cass  was  declared 
duly  nominated  on  the  fourth  ballot, 
whereupon  the  convention  took  a  recess 
until  the  evening  to  place  in  nomination  a 
candidate  for  Vice-President.  William  0. 
Butler  of  Kentucky  was  largely  in  the  lead 
on  the  first  ballot,  receiving  114  votes,  as 
against  74  for  J.  A.  Quitman  of  Missis- 
sippi, 24  for  John  T.  Mason  of  Virginia, 
29  for  William  R.  King  of  Alabama,  13 
for  James  J.  McKay  of  North  Carolina  and 
one  for  Jefferson  Davis  of  Mississippi.  A 
second  ballot  was  ordered  and  Butler  was 
honored  with  an  unanimous  nomination. 

For  a  platform  the  convention  adopted 
a  declaration  of  principles  embodying  (in 
condensed  form)  these  points: 

"  '1.  That  the  American  Democracy 
place  their  trust  in  the  intelligence,  the 
patriotism,  and  the  discriminating  justice 
of  the  American  people.  2.  We  regard 
this  (trust)  as  a  distinctive  feature  of 
our  political  creed  .  .  .  and  contrast 
it  with  the  creed  and  practice  of  fed- 
eralism, under  whatever  name  or  form. 
.  .  .  3.  The  Democratic  party  .  .  . 
renew  and  reassert  before  the  American 
people  the  declaration  of  principles  avowed 
by  them  on  a  former  occasion.'  (Here  fol- 
low resolutions  1,  2,  3  and  4,  of  1840). 

.  .  8.  'No  more  revenue  ought  to  be 
raised  than  is  required  to  defray  the  neces- 
sary expenses  of  the  Government,  and  for 
the  gradual  but  certain  extinction  of  the 
debt.  .  .  .  (Here  follows  resolution  5, 
of  1840,  with  the  addition)  :  "And  that 
the  results  of  Democratic  legislation,  in 
this  and  all  other  financial  measures 
.  have  demonstrated  .  .  .  their 
soundness,  safety  and  utility  in  all  busi- 
ness pursuits."  '  (Here  follow  resolutions 
7,  8  and  9,  of  1840,  and  10  and  11,  of 
1844).  15,  16  and  17.  Justify  the  war 
with  Mexico,  and  compliments  the  army 
for  its  service  therein.  18.  Tenders  fra- 
ternal congratulations  to  the  National 
Convention  of  the  Republic  of  France.  19. 
Declares  the  duty  of  the  Democratic  party 
'to  sustain  and  advance  among  us  consti- 
tutional liberty,  equality  and  fraternity, 
by   continuing   to   resist   all   monopolies.' 


(94) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


.  .  .  20.  Orders  a  copy  of  these  reso- 
lutions to  be  forwarded  to  the  French  Re- 
public. 21.  Recapitulates  the  chief 
measures  of  Polk's  administration  and  de- 
clares that  'it  would  be  a  fatal  error  to 
weaken  the  bands  of  a  political  organiza- 
tion by  which  these  great  reforms  have 
been  achieved,  and  risk  them  in  the  hands 
of  their  known  adversaries.'  .  .  .  22. 
Compliments  and  congratulates  President 
Polk.  23.  Presents  Lewis  Cass  as  can- 
didate." 

When  the  convention  adjourned  the  be- 
lief among  delegates  was  quite  general 
that  the  New  York  trouble  would  be 
adjusted  somehow,  as  it  was  four  years 
before.  Their  hopeful  conjectures  were, 
however,  doomed  to  disappointment.  To 
the  more  thoughtful  ones  among  the  dele- 
gates the  signs  of  the  times  were  ominous. 
The  bitterness  of  the  dispute  between  the 
New  York  factions  had  filled  their  minds 
with  apprehension  of  dire  results. 

WHIGS    NOMINATE   TAYLOR   AND 
FILLMORE. 

Democratic  troubles  had  not  afforded 
much  encouragement  to  the  Whig  leaders 
when  they  turned  their  attention  to  the 
nomination  of  a  Presidential  ticket.  They 
recognized  in  General  Cass  a  man  of  high 
character,  of  inflexible  integrity,  and  of 
distinguished  ability.  He  had  manifested 
(jualities  of  both  leadership  and  statesman- 
ship that  at  once  rendered  his  candidacy 
formidable  and  assuring.  As  astute  ob- 
servers the  Whig  leaders  realized  that 
their  own  party  was  in  a  dilemma.  Presi- 
dential timber  in  their  ranks  had  become 
scarce  for  the  time  being.  Daniel  Webster 
was  no  longer  considered  an  available 
quantity.  By  reason  of  his  equivocal  atti- 
tude on  some  of  the  "burning  issues"  of 
that  period  Henry  Clay  had  forfeited  the 
support  of  many  of  his  former  ardent  ad- 
mirers. He  still  had  a  strong  hold  upon 
popular  affection,  but  his  repeated  failures 
in  Presidential  races  awakened  doubts  in 
the  minds  of  even  his  most  devoted  fol- 
lowers as  to  his  further  availability.     No 


one  in  the  North  had  risen  to  prominence 
and  distinction  to  be  seriously  considered 
in  connection  with  a  Presidential  nomina- 
tion. General  Winfield  Scott  had  some 
support,  but  he  was  adjudged  too  "fussy" 
to  be  made  a  safe  standard-bearer.  After 
many  earnest  consultations  the  conclusion 
seems  to  have  been  reached  that  the  "man 
of  the  hour"  was  General  Zachary  Taylor 
of  Louisiana — "Old  Rough  and  Ready" 
his  adherents  fondly  called  him.  It  was 
freely  admitted,  however,  that  he  was  not 
without  flaws.  He  was  not  a  man  of  con- 
spicuous ability ;  he  had  no  claim  to  large 
civic  experience ;  no  one  pretended  that  he 
was  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  statesman- 
ship. The  only  tangible  argument  in  his 
favor  was  that  he  had  made  a  creditable 
record  as  commander  of  the  United  States 
forces  in  subduing  the  Mexicans.  At  the 
same  time  they  were  confronted  with  the 
fact  that  the  opportunity  then  to  distin- 
guish himself  emanated  from  Democratic 
authority  and  favoritism  by  being  assigned 
to  chief  command  in  preference  to  Gen- 
eral Scott.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fact 
that  he  was  a  slaveholder  and  wholly  with- 
out a  political  record  made  the  anti-slavery 
men  in  the  party  feel  dubious  as  to  the  ad- 
visability of  making  him  the  nominee  of  a 
party  that  had  all  along  denounced  as  un- 
warranted and  unjustifiable  the  war  upon 
Mexico.  Then  the  only  assurance  any  one 
had  that  Taylor  even  considered  himself 
a  member  of  the  Whig  party  was  the  some- 
what vague  declaration  that  if  he  had 
voted  at  the  election  in  1844  his  ballot 
would  have  been  cast  for  the  Whig  nom- 
inee, Henry  Clay.  Several  attempts  were 
made  in  the  loi'm  of  resolutions  to  bind 
those  who  had  the  Taylor  interests  in  cus- 
tody to  something  definite,  but  all  motions 
and  resolutions  tending  in  that  direction 
were  promptly,  arbitrarily  and  auto- 
cratically ruled  out  of  order  by  the  pi-esid- 
ing  officer  of  the  convention,  ex-Governor 
John  M.  Morehead  of  North  Carolina. 
The  convention  met  in  the  city  of  Phila- 


(95) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


delphia  June  7,  in  what  was  then  known 
as  Chinese  Hall.  All  the  States  except 
Texas  were  represented.  After  a  good 
deal  of  parleying  and  sparring  a  pledge 
was  finally  obtained  from  the  leaders  of 
the  Taylor  element  that  if  not  nominated 
by  this  convention  he  would  not  be  the 
candidate  of  any  other  party  and  that  he 
would  support  the  Whig  ticket.  Upon 
final  assurances  being  given  by  a  formid- 
able array  of  Southern  delegates  that  Tay- 
lor would  accept  the  nomination,  would 
abide  by  the  decision  of  the  party,  and 
that  he  could  safely  be  trusted  as  an  ex- 
ponent of  the  Whig  party,  the  hero  of 
the  Mexican  war  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency  on  the  fourth  ballot.  He  had 
111  votes  on  the  first  ballot,  118  on  the 
second,  133  on  the  third,  and  171  on  the 
fourth.  Henry  Clay  started  out  with  97, 
dropped  to  86  on  the  second,  74  on  the 
third,  and  to  32  on  the  final  ballot.  Win- 
field  Scott  started  with  43,  rose  to  49  on 
the  second  ballot,  to  54  on  the  third,  and 
to  63  on  the  fourth  and  last.  Daniel  Web- 
ster's vote  was  22,  22,  17,  14.  The  Taylor- 
ites  were  considerably  chagrined  over 
their  inability  to  secure  the  adoption  of  a 
resolution  to  make  the  nomination  unani- 
mous, but  some  of  the  New  England  and 
Ohio  delegates  expressed  themselves  so 
emphatically  against  such  approval  of  an 
unsatisfactory  nomination  that  the  at- 
tempt had  to  be  abandoned.  These  dele- 
gates subsequently  identified  themselves 
with  the  Van  Buren  Freesoil  movement, 
thereby  (unwittingly  and  indirectly) 
bringing  about  the  election  of  the  very 
man  whose  nomination  they  refused  to 
permit  to  be  made  unanimous.  It  was  Van 
Buren's  candidacy  that  made  possible 
Zachary  Taylor's  election. 

Among  the  sorest  of  the  participants 
of  the  convention  was  Horace  Greeley, 
sage,  philosopher,  and  editor  of  the  Neiv 
York  Tribune.  This  truckling  to  the  slave 
power  was  galling  to  that  fearless  journal- 
ist and  pronounced  champion  of  the  anti- 


slavery  cause.  When  it  was  determined 
not  to  adopt  a  platform,  by  reason  of  the 
existing  diversity  of  opinion,  and  of  fear 
to  make  any  sort  of  expression  on  the 
slavei-y  question,  Greeley  left  Philadelphia 
in  disgust  and  repaired  to  his  sanctum 
sanctorum  in  New  York  to  indite  a  scath- 
ing denunciation  of  the  cowardliness  of 
the  Whig  convention.  In  terms  character- 
istic of  that  master  journalist  the  nomina- 
tion of  General  Taylor  was  bitterly  de- 
nounced in  the  Tribune.  The  article  was 
headed  "The  Philadelphia  Slaughter- 
house." It  was  a  terrific  arraignment  of 
political  cowardice  and  imbecility  and 
caused  a  tremendous  sensation  for  the  time 
being.  As  time  wore  on  and  the  Van 
Buren  movement  began  to  assume  formid- 
able proportions,  Greeley's  indignation 
subsided  somewhat.  Though  in  hearty 
accord  with  Van  Buren  on  the  slavery 
question,  he  had  fought  him  for  so  many 
years  and  had  denounced  him  so  unspar- 
ingly as  a  scheming  trimmer  and  foxy 
trickster  that  he  could  not  reconcile  him- 
self to  the  thought  of  establishing  political 
fellowship  with  the  Sage  of  Kinderhook. 
By  and  by  he  banished  the  unpleasant 
features  of  the  Philadelphia  convention 
from  his  recollection  and  gradually 
adjusted  himself  to  the  support  of  Taylor 
and  Fillmore.  The  warmth  of  this  sup- 
port was  somewhat  augmented  when  the 
New  York  Whigs  caused  him  to  be  nom- 
inated to  an  unexpired  term  in  Congress. 
The  propriety  and  expediency  of  con- 
ferring this  honor  upon  Horace  Greeley 
was  at  the  election  affirmed  by  a  gratify- 
Ingly  decisive  majority. 

There  was  quite  a  strife  for  the  Vice- 
Presidential  nomination.  Abbott  Law- 
rence, a  New  England  millionaire,  was  an 
active  candidate.  His  chief  if  not  only 
claim  to  such  mark  of  distinction  was  the 
possession  of  a  large-sized  "bar'l"  which 
he  gave  the  managers  to  understand  could 
be  freely  tapped  as  the  emergencies  of  the 
campaign  might  require.     To  the  credit 


(96) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


of  the  convention  be  it  said  these  dis- 
tinctively commercial  advances  were  re- 
spectfully but  firmly  rejected.  On  the 
second  ballot  the  nomination  for  Vice- 
President  was  conferred  on  Millard  Fill- 
more of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  He  was  an  ardent 
supporter  of  Henry  Clay,  and  the  conven- 
tion deemed  it  "good  politics"  to  placate 
the  admirers  of  the  eloquent  Kentuckian 
by  nominating  one  of  their  number  for 
second  place.  Fillmore  was  a  much  abler 
man  than  Taylor.  Struggling  with  ad- 
versity in  his  youth,  he  forged  rapidly  to 
the  front  after  he  had  equipped  himself 
for  the  bar  and  had  served  three  years 
as  member  of  the  New  York  Legislature. 
Three  times  he  was  elected  to  Congress, 
declining  a  renomination  to  a  fourth  term. 
He  was  the  Whig  candidate  for  Governor 
in  1844  and  defeated  by  Silas  Wright. 
In  1847  he  was  elected  State  Comptroller. 
Then  followed  his  nomination  and  election 
to  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States 
and  his  subsequent  accession  to  the  Presi- 
dency. 

While  a  member  of  Congress,  as  chair- 
man of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 
he  framed  the  tariff  of  1842.  This  tariff 
act  is  popularly  assumed  to  have  been 
the  product  of  Henry  Clay,  but  Fillmore 
was  its  real  author.  It  is  interesting  to 
note,  right  here,  what  were  Mr.  Fill- 
more's views  on  the  tariff  after  becoming 
President  upon  the  death  of  Zachary  Tay- 
lor. In  his  first  annual  message,  dated 
December  2,  1850,  President  Fillmore 
made  this  reference  to  the  tariff : 

"A  high  tariff  can  never  be  permanent. 
It  will  cause  dissatisfaction,  and  will  be 
changed.  It  excludes  competition,  and 
thereby  invites  the  investment  of  capital 
in  manufactures  to  such  excess  that  when 
changed  it  brings  distress,  bankruptcy  and 
ruin  upon  all  who  have  been  misled  by 
its  faithless  protection.  What  the  manu- 
facturer wants  is  uniformity  and  per- 
manency, that  he  may  feel  a  confidence 
that  he  is  not  to  be  ruined  by  sudden 
changes.  But  to  make  a  tariff  uniform 
and  permanent  it  is  not  only  necessary 


that  the  laws  should  not  be  altered,  but 
that  the  duty  should  not  fluctuate.  To 
efi'ect  this  all  duties  should  be  specific 
wherever  the  nature  of  the  article  is  such 
as  to  admit  of  it.  Ad  valorem  duties 
fluctuate  with  the  price  and  ofi'er  strong 
temptations  to  fraud  and  perjury.  Spe- 
cific duties,  on  the  contrary,  are  equal  and 
uniform  in  all  ports  and  at  all  times,  and 
offer  a  strong  inducement  to  the  importer 
to  bring  the  best  article,  as  he  pays  no 
more  duty  upon  that  than  upon  one  of 
inferior  quality.  I  therefore  strongly 
recommend  a  modification  of  the  present 
tariff,  which  has  prostrated  some  of  our 
most  important  and  necessary  manufac- 
tures, and  that  specific  duties  be  imposed 
sufficient  to  raise  the  requisite  revenue, 
making  such  discriminations  in  favor  of 
the  industrial  pursuits  of  our  own  coun- 
try as  to  encourage  home  production  with- 
out excluding  foreign  competition.  It  is 
also  important  that  an  unfortunate  pro- 
vision in  the  present  tariff,  which  imposes 
a  much  higher  duty  upon  the  raw  material 
that  enters  into  our  manufactures  than 
upon  the  manufactured  article,  should  be 
remedied." 

The  first  sentence  in  this  quotation 
must  be  startling  to  those  who  have 
labored  under  the  impression  that  the  ad- 
vocates of  a  protective  tariff  in  the  days 
of  Clay,  Webster,  Greeley  and  Kelley  were 
as  rapacious  as  are  the  apologists  for  and 
defenders  of  the  tariff  devised  by  Dingley 
and  later  on  made  more  extortionate  by 
Aldrich  and  Payne.  Ponder  over  these 
declarations:  "A  high  tariff  can  never 
be  permanent.  ...  It  brings  distress, 
bankruptcy  and  ruin  upon  all  who  have 
been  misled  by  its  faithless  pi'otection." 
And  kindly  note,  also,  that  there  is  no 
complaint  whatsoever  in  the  Fillmore 
message  about  the  rates  in  the  Walker 
tariff  of  1846  being  too  low.  The  chief 
contention  made  by  President  Fillmore 
was  that  duties  be  made  specific,  instead 
of  ad  valorem.  On  this  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject there  always  have  been  differences  of 
opinion  among  protectionists  as  well  as 
among  revenue  reformers. 

As  already  stated,  no  platform  was 
adopted  by  the  convention  proper.     But 


(97) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRAC  Y 


at  a  mass  meeting  held  after  the  conven- 
tion had  adjourned  a  sort  of  political 
manifesto  was  promulgated,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  comprehensive  epitome: 

"1.  Ratifies  nomination  of  Zachary 
Taylor  as  President  and  Millard  Fillmore 
as  Vice-President.  2.  Expresses  joy  at 
finding  Mr.  Taylor's  opinions  conservative 
and  faithful  'to  the  great  example  of  for- 
mer days,  and  to  the  principles  of  the 
Constitution  as  administered  by  the  foun- 
ders.' 3.  That  General  Taylor,  in  saying 
that,  had  he  voted  in  1844,  he  would  have 
voted  the  Whig  ticket,  gives  us  assurance 
.  .  .  that  the  heart  that  was  with  us 
then  is  with  us  now.  4.  That  we  look  on 
his  administration  of  the  Government  as 
one  conducive  of  peace,  prosperity  and 
union.  ...  5.  That  standing,  as  the 
Whig  party  does,  on  the  broad  and  firm 
platform  of  the  Constitution,  braced  up 
by  all  its  inviolable  and  sacred  guarantees 
and  compromises  ...  we  are  proud 
to  have  as  the  exponent  of  our  opinions 
one  .  .  .  who  has  said  .  .  .  'that 
he  will  make  Washington's  administration 
his  model.'  6.  Is  occupied  with  a  brief 
recital  of  Taylor's  military  services.  7. 
Asks  united,  zealous,  resolute  co-operation 
of  all  Whigs  'in  behalf  of  our  candidate, 
whom  calumny  cannot  reach,  and  with  re- 
spectful demeanor  to  our  adversaries, 
whose  candidates  have  yet  to  prove  their 
claims  on  the  gratitude  of  the  nation.' 

"1.  'I  reiterate,'  said  Taylor,  'what  I 
have  so  often  said:  I  am  a  Whig.  If 
elected,  I  would  not  be  the  mere  President 
of  a  party.  ...  2.  The  power  given 
by  the  Constitution  to  the  executive  to  in- 
terpose his  veto  is  a  high  conservative 
power,  but  in  my  opinion  should  never  be 
exercised  except  in  cases  of  clear  violation 
of  the  Constitution,  or  manifest  haste  and 
want  of  consideration  by  the  Congress 
.  .  .  3.  Upon  the  subject  of  the  tariff, 
the  currency,  the  improvement  of  our  great 
highways,  rivers,  lakes  and  harbors,  the 
will  of  the  people,  as  expressed  through 
their  representatives  in  Congress,  ought 
to  be  respected  and  carried  out  by  the 
executive.  4.  I  sincerely  rejoice  at  the 
prospect  of  peace.  .  .  .  The  prin- 
ciples of  our  Government,  as  well  as  its 
true  policy,  are  opposed  to  the  subjugation 
of  other  nations  and  the  dismemberment 
of  other  countries  by  conquest.'  " 


VAN    BUREN   AND   ADAMS   TICKET 
IN   LIMITED   POPULAR   FAVOR. 

After  much  earnest  consultation  the 
"Barnburners'  "  delegation  to  the  Balti- 
more convention  and  others  who  were  in 
sympathy  and  accord  with  them  decided 
upon  holding  a  State  convention  at  Utica, 
N.  Y.,  June  22,  and  inviting  thereto  dele- 
gates from  other  States  for  the  purpose 
of  definitely  determining  what  course  to 
pursue  to  promote  the  cause  in  which  they 
had  enlisted.  Delegates  from  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  Ohio  and  Wisconsin 
attended  this  conference  and  convention. 
After  two  days  of  earnest  deliberation 
Martin  Van  Buren  was  formally  nom- 
inated for  President  and  Senator  Henry 
Dodge  of  Wisconsin  for  Vice-President. 
Senator  Dodge  was  a  native  of  Vincennes, 
Ind.,  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  Indian 
affairs,  served  as  Territorial  Governor  of 
Wisconsin,  was  three  times  sent  to  Con- 
gress, elected  Governor  in  1846  and 
chosen  United  States  Senator  in  1848.  He 
was  "quite  a  man"  and  would  have  added 
much  strength  to  the  ticket  had  he  con- 
cluded to  "stick."  He  was  in  sympathy 
with  the  Freesoil  movement,  but  believed 
in  party  "regularity"  and  had  a  very  high 
opinion  of  General  Cass.  These  consid- 
erations impelled  him  to  decline  the 
proftered  honor  and  to  give  his  support 
to  Cass  and  Butler.  Van  Buren,  on  the 
other  hand,  readily  accepted  the  nomina- 
tion, which  acceptance  served  as  notice 
to  the  country  at  large  and  the  Democracy 
in  particular  that  the  voice  of  the  anti- 
slavery  men  would  be  heard  and  felt  at 
the  November  election. 

This  movement  grew  rapidly  in  popular 
favor,  so  much  so  that  the  leaders  declared 
it  to  be  expedient  to  convene  a  much  more 
representative  body  to  complete  the  ticket 
of  the  Freesoil  party.  Accordingly  such 
a  gathering  was  held  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
on  the  9th  of  August.  It  was  largely  at- 
tended and  had  accredited  representatives 
from     seventeen     of    the    thirty     States. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


Charles  Francis  Adams  of  Massachusetts 
presided.  John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hamp- 
shire had  ah-eady  been  nominated  for  the 
Presidency  of  the  Abolition  party.  He 
was  a  United  States  Senator  at  the  time 
and  had  won  a  national  reputation.  There 
was  a  strong  sentiment  in  his  favor  and 
he  developed  remarkable  strength  when 
the  convention  proceeded  to  a  ballot. 
Van  Buren's  nomination  was  favored  by 
159  delegates  and  Hale's  by  129.  Charles 
Francis  Adams  was  by  acclamation  named 
for  Vice-President.  Mr.  Hale  was  so  de- 
lighted over  the  platform  submitted  to 
the  convention  that  immediately  after  its 
adoption  he  formally  withdrew  as  the 
Presidential  nominee  of  the  Abolitionists 
and  throughout  the  campaign  gave  earn- 
est support  to  the  Van  Buren-Adams 
ticket. 

The  platform,  unanimously  and  vocifer- 
ously adopted  by  the  convention,  con- 
sisted of  nineteen  planks,  of  which 
thirteen  related  to  the  slavery  question. 
It  had  evidently  been  prepared  with  great 
care.  Every  sentence  in  it  seems  to  have 
had  painstakmg  consideration.  Persons 
familiar  with  the  writings  of  Samuel  J. 
Tilden  would  at  once  detect  in  the  phrase- 
ology of  this  pronunciamento  the  master 
mind  of  the  Sage  of  Gramercy.  Every 
phase  of  the  slavery  question  was  treated 
with  sublime  courage  and  absolute  fear- 
lessness. In  terms  that  could  neither  be 
misunderstood  nor  misinterpreted  the 
slave  power  was  notified  that  concessions 
to  it  were  already  too  generous  and  that 
henceforth  no  more  slave  territory  could 
be  created  under  the  forms  of  law.  And 
there  wasn't ! 

Epitomized,  this  document  presented  to 
the  consideration  of  the  American  people 
this  declaration  of  principles: 

"Freesoil  Platform  of  1848.— An  elo- 
quent and  impassioned  appeal,  in  a  three- 
fold preamble  and  sixteen  resolutions, 
against  the  extension  of  slavery,  from 
which  the  following  are  brief  extracts :  'A 
common  resolve  to  maintain  the  rights  of 


free  labor  against  the  aggressions  of  the 
slave  power,  and  to  secure  free  soil  to  a 
free  people.'  'We  propose  no  interference 
by  Congress  with  slavery  within  the  limits 
of  anv  State.'  'It  was  the  settled  policy 
of  the  nation  (from  1784  to  1800)  not  to 
extend,  nationalize  or  encourage  .  .  . 
slavery,  and  to  this  policy  .  .  .  the 
Government  ought  to  return.'  'Congress 
has  no  more  power  to  make  a  slave  than 
to  make  a  king.'  'The  only  safe  means  of 
preventing  the  extension  of  slavery  into 
territory  now  free  is  to  prevent  its  ex- 
tension into  such  territory  by  an  act  of 
Congress.'  'We  accept  the  issue  which 
the  slave  power  has  forced  upon  us;  and 
to  their  demand  for  more  slave  States  and 
more  slave  territory,  our  calm  but  final 
answer  is,  no  more  slave  States  and  no 
more  slave  territory.'  'There  must  be  no 
more  compromises  with  slavery;  if  made, 
they  must  be  repealed.'  'We  demand 
cheap  postage  for  the  people.'  'River  and 
harbor  improvements  .  .  .  are  ob- 
jects of  national  concern.'  'The  free  grant 
to  actual  settlers  ...  of  reasonable 
portions  of  the  public  lands,  under  suitable 
limitations,  is  a  wise  and  just  measure  of 
public  policy.'  'Honor  and  patriotism  re- 
quire the  earliest  practical  payment  of  the 
public  debt.'  'We  inscribe  on  our  banner, 
"Free  Soil,  Free  Speech,  Free  Labor  and 
Free  Men,"  and  under  it  we  will  fight  on, 
and  fight  ever,  until  a  triumphant  victory 
shall  reward  our  exertions.'  " 

Several  other  tickets  had  been  placed 
in  the  field,  but  after  the  Buffalo  conven- 
tion no  attention  was  bestowed  upon 
these  offshoots.  It  soon  became  apparent 
that  the  American  people  were  intent  on 
making  their  choice  of  favorites  from  the 
three  tickets  named.  The  Van  Buren 
ticket  rapidly  gained-  in  popular  support. 
At  first  the  Taylor-Fillmore  leaders  feared 
that  more  anti-slavery  Whigs  than  Demo- 
crats might  vote  the  Van  Buren  ticket, 
but  after  any  number  of  prominent  Demo- 
crats had  declared  themselves  for  the 
Buffalo  ticket  the  Taylorites  mustered 
courage  and  gradually  assumed  an  air  of 
confidence.  In  the  main  the  campaign 
was  fairly  decently  conducted.  The 
hottest  partisan  battle  was  fought  in 
Georgia,   where   Alexander   H.   Stephens, 


(99) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


who  thirteen  years  later,  in  1861,  was 
made  Vice-President  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  led  the  Taylor  forces. 
Stephens  was  physically  diminutive  but 
lion-hearted  as  to  courage.  During  the 
campaign  he  had  a  personal  encounter 
with  Judge  Francis  Cone  of  Greensboro. 
The  difficulty  grew  out  of  a  quarrel  on 
the  Clayton  compromise  of  1848.  Cone 
cut  Stephens  terribly  with  a  knife,  and 
cried:  "Now,  damn  you,  retract,  or  I'll 
cut  your  throat!"  The  bleeding,  almost 
dying  Stephens  cried:  "Never!  Cut!" 
and  grasped  the  swiftly  descending  knife 
blade  in  his  right  hand.  That  hand  never 
again  wrote  plainly.  Few  of  the  wit- 
nesses of  the  affair,  which  occurred  on 
the  piazza  of  Thompson's  Hotel,  Atlanta, 
expected  him  to  recover.  He  did,  how- 
ever, in  time  to  make  a  speech  in  favor 
of  Zachary  Taylor  for  the  Presidency,  the 
carriage  being  drawn  to  the  stand  by  the 
people.  This  affray  doubtless  had  some 
effect  on  the  vote  of  Georgia.  Stephens 
was  dearly  beloved  by  the  people  of  that 
Commonwealth.  Georgia  was  throughout 
the  campaign  in  the  doubtful  column. 
When  the  votes  were  counted  Taylor  had 
2,742  more  than  Cass.  Quite  helpful  to 
the  Taylorites  was  the  result  of  the  State 
election  in  Pennsylvania  in  October.  The 
Keystone  State  had  been  considered  safe 
for  Cass,  but  when  the  Whig  candidate 
for  Governor  carried  it  by  305  majority 
Democratic  confidence  began  to  waver. 
At  the  November  election  Taylor  and 
Fillmore  were  triumphant  in  Pennsyl- 
vania by  a  plurality  of  14,337  and  by  a 
majority  of  3,074  over  both  Cass  and  Van 
Buren. 

Of  the  popular  vote  Taylor  had  1,360,- 
101;  Cass,  1,220,544;  Van  Buren,  291,263. 
Of  the  electoral  vote  Taylor  received  163 ; 
Cass,  127;  Van  Buren,  none.  Of  the  fif- 
teen Southern  States  Taylor  carried  eight ; 
Cass,  seven.  There  were  then  just  as 
many  slave  States  as  free  States — thirty 
in  all.    Of  the  Northern  States  Cass  car- 


ried eight;  Taylor,  seven.  Every  State 
west  of  Pennsylvania — Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Michigan  and  Wisconsin — went  for 
Cass.  Down  East  Cass  carried  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine — due  to  the  rela- 
tively large  Van  Buren  vote.  Van  Buren's 
strength  was  greatest  in  New  York, 
Massachusetts,  and  Ohio.  In  Massachu- 
setts, New  York  and  Vermont  Van  Buren 
received  more  votes  than  Cass.  Relatively 
the  poorest  showing  made  by  Van  Buren 
was  in  New  Jersey,  where  he  polled  only 
829  votes;  in  Rhode  Island  he  had  730. 
In  the  South  Van  Buren  was  credited  with 
eighty  votes  in  Delaware,  125  in  Mary- 
land, and  nine  in  Virginia.  The  State 
that  divided  its  vote  nearest  equally  was 
Wisconsin,  which  gave  Cass  15,001;  Tay- 
lor, 13,747 ;  Van  Buren,  10,418. 

As  to  the  effect  of  the  election,  it  may 
be  said  to  have  been  nil.  The  only  signifi- 
cance about  it  was  the  vote  cast  for  Van 
Buren  and  the  platform  upon  which  he 
stood.  Not  a  single  slave  territory  was 
thereafter  organized  or  admitted  into  the 
Union.  But  for  twelve  long  years  the 
nation  experienced  the  liveliest  fight  over 
the  slavery  question  that  had  been  wit- 
nessed during  its  entire  existence.  As  for 
the  Whig  party — well,  it  succeeded  in 
electing  its  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
in  1848  by  putting  forth  a  negative  quan- 
tity, a  slaveholder  whose  only  prestige  was 
that  of  having  won  in  the  Mexican  war, 
which  Whigs  had  all  along  denounced  as 
an  outrage  and  a  national  disgrace.  They 
were  unable  to  control  either  house  of 
Congress,  were  literally  snowed  under  in 
the  next  Presidential  contest,  and  saw  the 
party  go  to  pieces  in  1854. 

INDIANA   IN   THE   CAMPAIGN   OF 

1848. 

For  the  purpose  of  organizing  for  the 
Presidential  campaign  of  1848  the  Indiana 
Democracy  met  in  State  convention  at 
Indianapolis  on  historic  Jackson  Day,  the 
8th  of  January.    Hon.  J.  G.  Read  of  Clark 


(100) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  9  1 


officiated  as  temporary  chairman.  A  com- 
mittee on  permanent  orgariization  was 
created.  This  committee  consisted  of  one 
from  each  of  the  ten  Congressional  dis- 
tricts, as  follows: 

A.  L.  Robinson  of  Vanderburg  county, 
J.  S.  Sullivan  of  Clark  county,  S.  F.  Cov- 
ington, Joseph  Leach  of  Union  county, 
Major  Z.  Tannehill  of  Bartholomew  coun- 
ty, John  W.  Cox  of  Morgan,  M.  L.  Roach 
of  Parke  county,  Thomas  Smiley  of  Tip- 
pecanoe county,  J.  J.  Shryock  of  Fulton 
county,  Frank  P.  Randall  of  Allen  county. 

Through  its  chairman,  A.  L.  Robinson, 
this  committee  named  the  following  gen- 
tlemen as  permanent  officers  of  the  con- 
vention : 

President — Ethan  Allen  Brown  of 
Dearborn  county. 

Vice-Presidents — J.  F.  Dufour  of  Switz- 
erland county,  J.  Coates  of  Fountain, 
Francis  Little  of  Bartholomew,  Lot  Day 
of  St.  Joseph,  Major  Z.  Tannehill  of 
Bartholomew. 

Secretaries — J.  P.  Chapman  of  Marion 
county,  Francis  King  of  Wayne,  J.  B.  Hall 
of  Dearborn,  S.  A.  Hall  of  Cass. 

The  State  Central  Committee  for  this 
year's  campaign  consisted  of  Dr.  Living- 
ston Dunlap,  General  David  Reynolds, 
Colonel  James  P.  Drake,  George  A.  Chap- 
man, E.  N.  Skinner,  William  Sullivan  and 
Charles  Mayer. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 
For  the  State  at  Large — A.  S.  Burnett 
of  Floyd  county  and  John  U.  Pettit  of 
Wabash.  Contingents:  James  H.  Lane 
of  Dearborn  county  and  Isaac  C.  Elston  of 
Montgomery  county. 

DISTRICT  DELEGATES. 

First — James  Lockhart  of  Vanderburg; 
Dr.  William  F.  Sherrod,  Dubois;  E.  R. 
James,  Posey.  Contingents :  Robert  Dale 
Owen,  Posey;  B.  Edmondson,  Gibson. 

Second— E.  G.  English;  H.  Deputy,  Jef- 
ferson; John  Carr,  Jackson.  Contingent: 
J.  H.  Sullivan. 


Third— F.  S.  Dufour,  Switzerland; 
James  P.  Milliken,  Dearborn;  Finley 
Bigger,  Rush.  Contingent:  E.  D.  Crook- 
shank. 

Fourth — Samuel  E.  Perkins,  Wayne; 
John  S.  Reid,  Union ;  James  Elder,  Wayne. 
Contingent:     James  Osborn,  Union. 

Fifth — J.  P.  Chapman,  Marion;  James 
Blake,  Marion.  Contingent:  F.  Hardin, 
Johnson. 

Sixth — John  R.  Jones,  Knox;  R.  W. 
Aiken,  Sullivan;  P.  M.  Parks,  Morgan. 

Seventh — James  M.  Gregg,  Hendricks; 
William  P.  Bryant,  Parke;  C.  T.  Patter, 
son,  Vigo. 

Eighth — Addison  M.  Crane,  Tippe- 
canoe; G.  W.  Lawson,  Fountain;  Captain 
Robert  H.  Milroy,  Carroll.  Contingent: 
Joseph  Ristine,  Montgomery. 

Ninth — Gilbert  Hathaway,  Laporte; 
Samuel  A.  Hall,  Cass.  Contingent:  John 
Bi'ownfield.  St.  Joseph. 

Tenth— Frank  P.  Randall,  Allen;  Sam- 
uel S.  Mickle,  Adams.  Contingent:  Madi- 
son Marsh. 

The  importance  of  naming  an  excep- 
tionally strong  electoral  ticket  seems  to 
have  been  duly  impressed  upon  the  con- 
vention. The  gentlemen  selected  were 
men  of  high  standing  and  of  much  more 
than  local  prominence.  For  electors  for 
the  State  at  large  the  convention  named 
two  men,  one  of  whom  (Mr.  Owen)  had 
already  served  two  terms  in  Congress,  and 
a  presiding  judge  (Mr.  Chamberlain), 
who  later  on  was  elected  to  Congress  in 
1852.  Among  the  district  electors  were 
several  who  had  also  filled  important  pub- 
lic positions.  In  its  entirety  the  electoral 
ticket  was  thus  constituted: 

FOR  ELECTORS  AT  LARGE. 

Robert  Dale  Owen  of  Posey  county. 
Ebenezer   M.   Chamberlain   of   Elkhart 
county. 

DISTRICT   ELECTORS. 

1.  Nathaniel  Albertson,   Harrison  county. 

2.  Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  Washington. 

3.  William  M.  McCarty,  Franklin. 


(101) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


4.  Charles  H.  Test,  Wayne. 

5.  James  Ritchie,  Johnson. 

6.  George  W.  Carr,  Lawrence. 

7.  James  M.  Hanna,  Clay. 

8.  Daniel  Mace,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  Graham  N.  Fitch,  Cass. 
10.  Andrew  J.  Harlan,   Grant. 

Heading  the  electoral  ticket,  and  having 
attained  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  force- 
ful public  speaker,  Robert  Dale  Owen 
played  an  important  part  in  this  cam- 
paign. He  was  the  subject  of  vigorous 
attack  by  the  opposition  generally  and  of 
vindictive  denunciation  by  unscrupulous 
partisan  publications.  When  his  critics 
found  themselves  unable  effectively  to 
combat  his  political  philosophy,  they 
sought  to  neutralize  the  force  of  his  argu- 
ment by  branding  him  an  "infidel  lec- 
turer." These  shafts  had,  however,  failed 
utterly  to  disturb  his  equanimity.  He  re- 
called the  fact  that  Thomas  Jefferson  was 
in  his  day  assailed  and  maligned  in  like 
manner  and  that  dismay  fell  upon  the 
heads  of  his  traducers  when  the  illustrious 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
met  their  accusations  with  this  incisive 
rejoinder  and  refutation: 

"As  to  the  calumny  of  Atheism,  I  am 
so  broken  to  calumnies  of  every  kind,  from 
every  department  of  government,  Exec- 
utive, Legislative  and  Judiciary,  and  from 
every  minion  of  theirs  holding  office  or 
seeking  it,  that  I  entirely  disregard  it. 
.  .  .  It  has  been  so  impossible  to  con- 
tradict all  their  lies,  that  I  am  determined 
to  contradict  none;  for  while  I  should  be 
engaged  with  one,  they  would  publish 
'twenty  new  ones. 

"Had  the  doctrines  of  Jesus  been 
preached  always  as  pure  as  they  came 
from  His  lips,  the  whole  civilized  world 
\^ould  now  have  been  Christian. 

"To  the  corruptions  of  Christianity  I 
am  indeed  opposed ;  but  not  to  the  genuine 
precepts  of  Jesus  Himself;  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian in  the  only  sense  He  wished  any  one 
to  be;  sincerely  attached  to  His  doctrines 
in  preference  to  all  others;  ascribing  to 
Himself  every  human  excellence;  and  be- 
lieving he  never  claimed  any  other. 

"The  greatest  of  all  reformers  of  the 
depraved  religion  of  His  own  country  was 


Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Abstracting  what  is 
really  his  from  the  rubbish  in  which  it 
is  buried,  easily  distinguished  by  its 
lustre  from  the  dross  of  His  biographers, 
and  as  separable  from  that  as  the  diamond 
from  the  dunghill,  we  have  the  outlines  of 
a  system  of  the  most  sublime  morality 
which  has  fallen  from  the  lips  of  man; 
outlines  which  it  is  lamentable  He  did  not 
fill  up.  Epictetus  and  Epicurus  give  laws 
for  governing  ourselves,  Jesus  a  supple- 
ment of  the  duties  and  charities  we  owe 
to  others." 

Even  a  character  so  gentle  as  that  of 
the  revered  Abraham  Lincoln  did  not  in 
the  days  of  his  struggles  escape  the  sting 
of  the  tongue  of  vituperation  and  slander. 
Chagrined  over  intimations  and  innu- 
endos  that  he  was  indifferent  and  derelict 
as  to  the  performance  of  religious  service, 
his  great  mind  impelled  his  gentle  heart 
to  unbosom  itself  in  this  soulful  manner: 

"I  have  never  united  myself  to  any 
church  because  I  have  found  difficulty  in 
giving  my  assent  without  mental  reserva- 
tion to  the  long,  complicated  statements 
of  Christian  doctrine  which  characterize 
their  articles  of  belief  and  confessions  of 
faith.  Whenever  any  church  will  inscribe 
over  its  altar  as  its  sole  qualification  for 
membership  the  Savior's  condensed  state- 
ment of  the  substance  of  both  law  and 
gospel,  'Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself,'  that  church  will  I  join  with 
all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul." 

Note  how  happily  this  blends  with  the 
sentiments  expressed  by  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son! 

General  Cass  carried  the  State  by  a  plu- 
rality of  4,838.  The  total  vote  cast  was 
152,7,52,  of  which  Cass  received  74,745; 
Taylor,  69,907 ;  Van  Buren,  8,100. 

Though  there  was  a  strong  Van  Buren 
sentiment  in  Indiana,  the  nomination  of 
General  Cass  met  the  approval  and  appro- 
bation of  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
the  Democratic  party.  There  were  sev- 
eral reasons  for  this:  Cass  was  person- 
ally very  popular  in  Indiana.  He  had  re- 
peatedly visited  the  State,  and  on  various 


(102) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


occasions    rendered    valuable    service    to  PRESIDENTIAL  VOTE  OF  INDIANA, 

its  people.     This  was  particularly  so  in  1848. 

the   adjustment    of    difficulties    with    the 

Indians.     His   counsel  with   reference  to        Counties.  Cass. 

the  construction  of  public  thoroughfares  Adams  ......... '. '. . ....     '398 

was  deemed  of  incalculable  value.     Then  Blackford 231 

Diown     50.^ 

the  fact  that  he  was  a  Westerner  and  resi-  r.oone  916 

dent  of  an  adjoining  State  weighed  heavily  ggnto"'""'*''^   ^'^78 

in  his  favor.     But  above  all  else  he  was  Clinton  964 

esteemed    as    a    high-minded    gentleman,  (■j-g'^vfo,.^ ^'397 

wise   legislator   and   patriotic   statesman.  Clay   734 

On  the  slavery  question  he  was  in  accord  cass"     ................     829 

with    prevailing    public    sentiment :    con-  Dubois  579 

servative.     This  made  him  acceptable  to  Delaware  ..... ..... ....     694 

the  vast  majority  of  the  party.     The  re-  ^f^^^^^ ^IH 

suit  of  the  November  election  fully  cor-  Dearhom  ...... ...... ..  I'soi 

roborated  the  judgment  formed  by  those  Elkhart 1,050 

who   in   convention   so   earnestly   labored  Fayette   ...............     765 

for  the   nomination   of  General   Cass   on  Floyd 1,154 

.,    ,  .,.  Fountain    1,343 

the  ground  of  availability.  Franklin 1,695 

Among  Van  Buren's  most  earnest  and  oieene  ................     921 

enthusiastic  supporters  was  General  John  c,ibson   802 

TT    /-.  i7  TT    1  i  u  Harrison    1,047 

H.  Cravens  01  Ripley  county,  who  was  a  Hendricks   775 

Whig    presidential    elector    in    1840    and  S°^5'"'^, 5^5 

^     ^  Huntington    463 

who  represented  his  district  in  Congress  Henry  ; 1,005 

from  1841  to  1843  as  a  Whig.    On  account  HaSr. ! ! ! ! .' ! ! ! ! ! !  i.' !     806 

of  his  pronounced  anti-slavery  views  he  Jennings   784 

left    the    Whig    party,    supported    Van  Jl^^loT..'. '.:'.'. '.'.'.: '.'.'.'.'.  I'xni 

Buren   for  the  Presidency,   and  was  the  Johnson  1,114 

Freesoil  candidate  for  Governor  in  1849.  jay  ...................     392 

In  later  years  he  sei-ved  with  distinction  k°ox"^''°   741 

in  the  war  for  the  Union.  Lagrange 636 

^    .      _,      ,  ^,     .  „     ,  Lawrence 1.031 

Ovid  Butler,  as  Chairman  of  the  Fi'ee-  lake  208 

soil  Committee,  issued  the  call  for  a  State  ^fa^rghan 428 

convention  at  Indianapolis  August  3  for  Miami 770 

the  purpose  of  effecting  an  organization  Montgomery'!!!.'!!!!.'!!  L547 

and  naming  delegates  to  the  Buffalo  con-  Morgan    1,029 

mi.  2.^  IT         -n  Monroe 1,084 

vention.     The  same  month  a  Van  Buren  Martin  497 

paper,   called   The  Freesoil  Banner,   was  JJoble""  613 

established  at  Indianapolis  by  W.  B.  Greer  Owen 953 

and  L.   Wallace,   two  young  anti-slavery  orange  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !     961 

men  and  former  Whigs.     In  view  of  the  Posey  1,226 

after  effect  of  the  Van  Buren  movement  Perry '!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !     335 

an   analvsis   of   the   Presidential  vote   of  {'"tnam   1,300 

.,     ,.  ,  .  .„  Parke    1,319 

Indiana,  by  counties,  will  prove  quite  in-  Pulaski 224 

'itriiptivp  Porter 401 

structue.  j^^pl^^    ggg 


Van 

Taylor. 

Buren. 

991 

13 

261 

1 

61 

28 

70 

773 

66 

1,011 

28 

60 

3 

726 

87 

1,200 

28 

520 

500 

29 

822 

76 

881 

55 

258 

1 

735 

2 

58 

347 

45 

1,245 

143 

1,378 

176 

756 

142 

,  423 

39 

1,040 

86 

1,018 

17 

900 

138 

1,411 

51 

325 

359 

918 

6 

860 

15 

1,277 

1 

1,158 

173 

275 

152 

457 

46 

1,215 

455 

809 

317 

665 

40 

926 

96 

2,075 

167 

632 

7 

676 

46 

86 

128 

276 

142 

797 

64 

1,044 

3 

629 

114 

1,070 

18 

138 

139 

1,027 

226 

305 

91 

731 

70 

1,877 

109 

1,501 

109 

986 

121 

780 

59 

342 

7 

824 

55 

497 

53 

882 

13 

439 

6 

760 

6 

763 

19 

519 

1 

599 

8 

1,647 

10 

1,398 

9 

135 

1 

343 

77 

1,114 

173 

(103) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


Randolph   787 

Rush 1,392 

Shelby 1,414 

Spencer    471 

Switzerland 1,106 

Scott 447 

Sullivan   1,142 

St.  Joseph   667 

Steuben    352 

Tipton 235 

Tippecanoe    1,523 

Union   637 

Vermilion   763 


631 

523 

1,142 

87 

1,121 

18 

681 

1,093 

44 

488 

16 

465 

0 

817 

332 

315 

194 

183 

3 

1,269 

405 

526 

208 

Vigo    852 

Vanderburg 667 

Washington    1,643 

Warren 460 

Warrick   862 

Wayne 1,432 

Wabash 739 

White   305 

Wells    416 

Whitley    373 

74,745 
Cass  over  Taylor— 4,838. 


16-19 

1  6 

1,585 

57 

734 

22 

1,126 

22 

708 

68 

457 

21 

2,085 

839 

847 

140 

268 

34 

252 

IK 

318 

21 

8,100 


[Chapter  XII.] 

GOVERNOR  JOSEPH  A.  WRIGHT 

SPLENDIDLY  MAINTAINS  STATE  LEADERSHIP  THROUGHOUT 
SEVEN  YEARS 

the  gospel  of  amity  should  be  proclaimed 
on  all  suitable  occasions,  the  writer  feels 
assured  that  the  incorporation  of  this 
lofty  sentiment  into  these  pages  will  be 
pleasing  to  every  reader  of  this  book: 
"In  wandering  through  your  mental  pleas- 
ure grounds,  whenever  you  come  upon  an 
ugly  intruder  of  a  thought  which  might 
bloom  into  some  poisonous  emotion  such 
as  fear,  envy,  hate,  woriy,  remorse,  anger, 
and  the  like,  there  is  only  one  right  way 
to  treat  it.  Pull  it  up  like  a  weed;  drop 
it  upon  the  rubbish  heap  as  promptly  as 
if  it  were  a  stinging  nettle;  and  let  some 
harmonious  thought  grow  in  its  place. 
There  is  no  more  reckless  consumer  of  all 
kinds  of  exuberance  than  the  discordant 
thought,  and  weeding  it  out  saves  such  an 
astonishing  amount  of  eau  de  vie  where- 
with to  water  the  garden  of  joy,  that  with 
it  in  hand  every  man  may  be  his  own  Bur- 
bank." 

When  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  assem- 
bled in  State  convention  to  nominate  can- 
didates for  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  to  be  elected  in  1849,  Senator 
James  Whitcomb,  twice  elected  as  Gov- 
ernor, was  chosen  to  preside  over  the 
assemblage.  This  was  a  fitting  compli- 
ment to  one  of  the  State's  really  great  and 
good  men,  and  gave  high  promise  of  wis- 
dom guiding  the  action  of  the  convention. 

As  Vice-Presidents  these  sturdy  Demo- 
crats from  the  ten  districts  were  chosen: 


y yi  ARKED  and  pronounced  as  was 

ITL  I"!  the  ill  feeling  between  Senator 
I  li/l  i  ■'^^^^ht  and  Governor  Wright, 
Ht_|_|     each  of  these  distinguished  In- 

'    diana     Democrats    seemed    to 

have  been  able  to  accomplish 
his  main  purpose,  at  least  when 
highest  interests  were  at  stake.  Doubt- 
less Governor  Wright  would  have  been 
delighted  to  have  shortened  the  Senatorial 
career  of  Bright ;  equally  certain  it  is  that 
the  latter  would  have  experienced  un- 
bounded satisfaction  had  it  been  in  his 
power  to  prevent  Joseph  A.  Wright  from 
being  elevated  to  the  Governorship  of  In- 
diana. 

When  such  rivalries  among  politicians 
of  the  same  affiliation  pass  under  review 
years  after  the  actors  in  these  dramas 
have  passed  from  earth ;  when  cogitations 
are  indulged  in  why  enmities  and  hates 
are  engendered  among  men,  the  thought 
forces  itself  irresistibly  upon  the  mind 
that  after  all  is  done  and  said  strife  and 
contention  are  found  to  be  inseparably 
associated  with  human  efforts.  Attempts 
at  fathoming  the  problem  why  this  ap- 
proaches the  inevitable  must  ever  prove 
abortive,  for  wherever  the  eye  may  be 
turned,  evidence  of  disharmony  is  percept- 
ible here  and  there,  if  not  everywhere.  It 
has  ever  been  thus,  and  unless  humanity 
undergoes  a  radical  change,  bordering  on 
complete  transformation,  it  in  all  proba- 
bility ever  will  be  thus. 

When  men  of  mature  years  become  in- 
volved in  strife  and  contention,  efforts  at 
pacification  or  reconciliation  are  rarely 
appreciated  at  full  value.  But  there  is 
compensation  in  the  preachment  of  the 
doctrine  of  forbearance  and  of  resistance 
to  the  aggressive  spirit  of  revengefulness. 
Thoroughly  imbued  with  the  belief  that 


1.  Gaines  H.  Roberts,  Warrick  county. 

2.  John  L.  Morrison,  Washington. 

3.  George  Berry,  Franklin. 

4.  George  Evans,  Henry. 

5.  Robert  Hankins,  Shelby. 

6.  Col.  Willis  A.  Gorman,  Monroe. 

7.  A.  D.  Billingsley,  Putnam. 

8.  George  H.  G.   Stackhouse,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  Lot  Day,  St.  Joseph. 

10.  Madison  Marsh,  Steuben. 


(105) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  6 


Secretaries — W.  B.  Chase  of  Lafayette ; 
Dr.  E.  W.  H.  Ellis,  editor  of  the  Goshen 
Democrat;  Colonel  William  W.  Tuley  of 
New  Albany,  and  R.  D.  Logan  of  Rush- 
ville. 

Public  sentiment  had  decided  before 
the  assembling  of  the  convention  that 
Joseph  A.  Wright  of  Parke  county  should 
be  nominated  for  Governor.  The  people 
had  faith  in  him ;  the  people  demanded  his 
nomination.  In  conformity  with  this  de- 
mand Mr.  Wright  was  nominated  amidst 
an  outburst  of  enthusiasm  that  admitted 
of  no  doubt  as  to  his  popularity.  The 
nomination  for  Lieutenant-Governor  was 
in  like  manner  conferred  upon  James  H. 
Lane  of  Dearborn  county. 

The  management  of  the  campaign  for 
Wright  and  Lane  was  intrusted  to  a  State 
central  committee,  which,  in  point  of 
adaptation,  fitness  and  excellence,  had  not 
been  equaled  up  to  that  time.  The  first 
name  on  the  list  was  Albert  G.  Porter  of 
Indianapolis,  who  later  on  served  several 
terms  in  Congress,  and  who  in  1880  was 
elected  Governor  over  Franklin  Landers. 
These  are  the  names  of  the  gentlemen  con- 
stituting the  State  Committee  for  1849 : 
A.  G.  Porter,  Dr.  A.  Gall, 

Daniel  Reynolds,  C.  G.  Werbe, 

Dr.  L.  Dunlap,  N.  Bolton, 

Wm.  H.  Morrison,         Francis  King, 
Geo.  A.  Chapman,         Gen.  J.  P.  Drake. 

NORTHERN  INDIANA  DEMOCRATS  PIQUED. 

Dr.  E.  W.  H.  Ellis  was  for  years  the 
most  active  and  energetic  Democrat  in 
northern  Indiana.  He  was  an  able  writer 
and  a  sagacious  politician.  As  such  he 
wielded  considerable  influence.  His  views 
on  the  slavery  question  were  very  pro- 
nounced and  he  gave  them  vigorous  ex- 
pression through  the  columns  of  his  paper, 
the  Goshen  Democrat,  as  well  as  in  party 
councils.  At  conventions  and  in  party 
caucuses  he  always  commanded  respect 
and  usually  had  with  him  a  formidable  fol- 
lowing. 

Owing  to  the  slow  development  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  State  and  the  long 


start  had  in  populating  southern  Indiana, 
political  power  was  correspondingly  feeble 
in  the  northern  tier  of  counties.  Never- 
theless a  good  deal  of  attention  was  given 
the  northern  part  of  the  State,  largely  on 
account  of  the  cleverness  and  native  ability 
of  the  men  who  were  dominant  in  public 
affairs  north  of  the  Wabash. 

It  so  happened  that  when  the  time  came 
for  nominating  a  successor  to  Governor 
Whitcomb,  southern  Indiana  Democrats, 
who  did  not  look  with  favor  upon  the 
gubernatorial  aspirations  of  Joseph  A. 
Wright  and  James  H.  Lane,  strong  induce- 
ments were  held  out  to  Judge  Ebenezer  M. 
Chamberlain  of  Goshen  to  become  a  candi- 
date for  that  office.  He  was  an  excellent 
man  and  the  Democrats  of  northern  In- 
diana held  him  in  high  esteem.  Accord- 
ingly they  went  to  the  State  convention 
with  high  hopes  and  large  expectations. 
But  it  did  not  take  them  long  to  ascertain 
that  the  southern  Indianians  who  induced 
Judge  Chamberlain  to  become  a  candidate 
were  not  in  position  to  deliver  the  goods. 
Joseph  A.  Wright  was  an  exceptionally 
adroit  politician  and  manipulator.  Jim 
Lane  soon  discovered  that  there  was  no 
chance  for  his  nomination  for  first  place, 
and  going  upon  the  assumption  that  a  half 
loaf  is  better  than  no  bread  at  all,  he 
slipped  under  the  wings  of  the  Wright  fac- 
tion and  gladly  accepted  second  place  on 
the  ticket. 

When  Dr.  Ellis  returned  to  his  sanctum 
sanctorum  at  Goshen  he  took  his  pen  in 
hand  and  formulated  an  editorial  of  a 
column  in  length  in  which  he  unmercifully 
blistered  the  hides  of  the  southern  Indiana 
Democrats  who  had  promised  so  much  and 
did  so  little  to  make  good  their  promises 
and  assurances. 

Only  three  or  four  counties  in  the  entire 
southern  part  of  the  State  gave  any  of 
their  votes  to  Judge  Chamberlain.  Dr. 
Ellis  "ripped  them  wide  open,"  yet  consid- 
erately and  diplomatically  declared  in  his 
vitriolic  pronunciamento  that  the  nominees 


(106) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


were  good  men  and  woi-thy  of  Democratic 
support.  Nothing,  he  contended,  could  or 
would  be  gained  by  withholding  support 
from  the  ticket  made  up  of  Joseph  A. 
Wright  and  James  H.  Lane.  Although  Dr. 
Ellis  a  few  years  later  severed  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Democratic  party  on  the 
slavery  question,  he  was  too  staunch  a 
Democrat  in  1849  to  think  of  bolting  a 
Democratic  nomination.  So,  after  all,  he 
had  his  say  without  tumbling  outside  the 
breastworks.  Wright  and  Lane  were  tri- 
umphantly elected.  After  having  served 
his  term  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  Jim 
Lane  went  to  Kansas,  became  a  howling 
Freesoiler,  secured  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  Senate  as  a  Republican,  and  for 
some  unknown  reason  committed  suicide. 
Dr.  Ellis  was  elected  State  Auditor  by  the 
Legislature  with  the  help  of  Governor 
Wright,  but  three  years  later  was  denied 
a  renomination  by  the  Democratic  conven- 
tion after  the  office  had  been  made  elective 
by  the  people.  He  afterward  became  a  Re- 
publican. Governor  Wright  himself  broke 
with  the  party  in  1862,  and  in  considera- 
tion of  a  scathing  denunciation  of  his  old- 
time  associates,  was  by  Governor  Morton 
appointed  to  fill  the  Jesse  D.  Bright  va- 
cancy in  the  United  States  Senate. 

Joseph  A.  Wright  was  pre-eminently  a 
self-made  man.  Born  at  Washington,  Pa., 
April  17,  1810,  he  came  with  his  parents 
to  Indiana,  a  lad  of  unusual  promise.  He 
evinced  a  strong  desire  for  education  and 
availed  himself  of  the  earliest  opportunity 
to  gain  entrance  into  the  State  University 
at  Bloomington.  He  paid  his  way  in  that 
institution  by  doing  janitor's  work  and 
making  himself  generally  useful.  To  earn 
money  for  buying  books  and  clothing  he 
hauled  brick  from  the  brick  yard,  did  odd 
jobs  with  the  trowel,  and  gathered  nuts 
in  the  woods.  In  later  years  he  prided 
himself  considerably  on  the  sundry  allow- 
ances voted  him  by  the  Board  of  Trustees 
for  repairs  made  about  the  building. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  year  1828  he  had 


equipped  himself  educationally  so  as  to 
enter  the  law  otfice  of  Judge  Hester  as  a 
student.  Before  he  was  twenty  years  of 
age  he  obtained  his  license  to  practice  law. 
Shortly  thereafter  he  located  at  Rockville, 
where  he  hung  out  his  shingle  as  an  attor- 
ney at  law.  In  1830  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Legislature,  in  which  body 
he  earnestly  sought  to  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  his  constituents  and  the  people  of 
Indiana  in  general.  During  the  "Tippe- 
canoe and  Tyler  too"  campaign  he  was 
promoted  to  the  State  Senate,  and  in  1843 
the  people  of  his  district  sent  him  to  Con- 
gress. His  aspirations  for  re-election 
were  frustrated  by  the  success  of  Edward 
W.  McGaughey,  who  beat  him  by  171 
votes.  His  nomination  and  election  to  the 
Governorship  by  a  majority  of  9,778  over 
so  popular  a  man  as  John  A.  Matson  was 
a  signal  triumph,  in  view  of  the  aggressive 
factional  animosity  that  had  been  arrayed 
against  him.  As  Governor  he  did  his 
utmost  to  promote  the  agricultural  inter- 
ests of  the  State.  Largely  through  his 
efforts  the  State  Agricultural  Society  was 
formed.  In  1852  he  was  elected  president 
of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  and 
twice  re-elected.  He  also  exerted  himself 
to  the  utmost  to  establish  a  safe  banking 
system.  The  State  having  at  a  previous 
election  declared  in  favor  of  a  new  Con- 
stitution, by  a  vote  of  33,173  for  to  28,843 
against,  he  interested  himself  earnestly  to 
have  that  mandate  executed  with  a  view 
to  assuring  the  framing  of  an  organic  law 
that  would  meet  amply  the  wants  and 
needs  of  this  rapidly  growing  Common- 
wealth. Throughout  his  career  he  fur- 
ni.shed  unvarying  proof  of  his  firm  belief 
in  and  exemplification  of  Carlyle's  creed, 
''Work  is  the  grand  cure  for  all  the  mala- 
dies and  miseries  that  ever  beset  mankind 
— honest  work  which  you  intend  getting 
done." 

The  campaign  made  by  Mr.  Wright  was 
largely  intellectual.  He  was  an  excellent 
mixer.      He   made   himself   easily    under- 


do?) 


STORY      INDIANA     DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


stood  by  the  people.  He  never  talked  over 
their  heads.  And  he  always  talked  sense. 
One  point  he  particularly  impressed  with 
especial  emphasis  upon  his  hearers,  and 
that  was  the  importance  of  electing  the 
right  sort  of  men  for  county  commission- 
ers and  township  trustees.  With  a  twinkle 
in  his  eye  he  used  to  say:  "Pick  out  the 
best  man  in  your  county  for  commissioner ; 
if  you  have  in  your  community  some 
overly  ambitious  scapegrace  who  thinks  he 
must  be  cared  for,  send  him  to  Washing- 
ton— there  he'll  be  lost  in  the  shuffle." 

There  were  three  tickets  in  the  field — 
Democratic,  Whig  and  Freesoil.  The 
gubernatorial  candidate  of  the  Freesoilers 
was  James  H.  Cravens  of  Ripley  county, 
a  former  Whig  Congressman,  who  couldn't 
"swallow"  Taylor  the  year  before  and 
supported  Van  Buren  and  Adams.  The 
vote  in  the  State  stands  thus  recorded : 
FOR  GOVERNOR. 
Joseph  A.  Wright,  Democrat.  .76,996 

John  A.  Matson,  Whig 67,228 

James  H.  Cravens,  Freesoiler.  .   3,018 
FOR   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Jam.es  H.  Lane,  Democrat 77,002 

Thomas   S.  Stanfield,  Whig. .  .66,385 
John  W.  Wright,  Freesoiler. . .   2,795 
(This,  it  may  be  observed,  was  the  last  election 
held  for  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  only 
under  the  constitution  of  1816.) 


It  may  here  be  noted  that  under  the  old 
Constitution  members  of  Congress  were 
in  Indiana  elected  in  odd  years.  This  was 
deemed  necessary  when  that  Constitution 
was  framed  and  adopted,  on  account  of 
the  time  required  for  gathering  the  re- 
turns and  having  them  duly  tabulated  and 
certified.  Transportation  facilities  in  the 
early  days  were  not  what  they  became 
later  on.  In  case  a  special  session  of  Con- 
gress were  convened,  a  member  of  that 
body  would  have  found  it  exceedingly  dif- 
ficult to  reach  the  national  capital  in 
time  to  answer  the  roll  call  at  the  opening 
of  the  session. 

The  year  1849  was  a  propitious  one  for 
the  Indiana  Democracy.  Besides  electing 
its  candidates  for  Governor  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor by  decisive  majorities,  it 
secured  a  good  working  majority  in  the 
Legislature  and  elected  nine  of  its  ten 
nominees  for  Congress.  The  only  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  Congress  defeated 
that  year  was  G.  F.  Conkley,  in  the  Sev- 
enth District,  who  was  beaten  by  Edward 
W.  McGaughey,  the  same  man  who  dis- 
tanced Joseph  A.  Wright  in  a  previous 
race  for  Congressional  honors. 


[Chapter  XIII.] 

ENMITY  THAT  DESTROYS 

REPEATED  DEFEATS  SUBVERT  A  BRILLIANT  ORATOR'S 
EQUANIMITY 


ESSE  D.  BRIGHT  and  Joseph  G. 

J  I  Marshall  were  residents  of  the 
I  same  town — historic  Madison. 
I  Bright  was  a  native  of  New 
York;  Marshall  of  Kentucky. 
The  father  of  Bright  was  a 
manufacturer  of  hats,  and  a 
man  of  great  force  of  character;  Mar- 
shall's father  was  a  Presbyterian  minister 
of  distinguished  ability.  Born  in  a  slave 
State,  Marshall  was  not  enamored  of  the 
in.stitution  of  slavery;  Bright,  born  in  a 
free  State,  looked  upon  slavery  as  being 
entirely  justifiable,  and  in  course  of  time 
himself  became  a  slave  owner  in  Ken- 
tucky, while  maintaining  a  residence  in 
Indiana.  Both  equipped  themselves  for 
the  law,  and  both  dabbled  persistently 
and  extensively  in  politics.  The  coun- 
ty in  which  these  two  men  lived, 
Jefferson,  was  politically  Whig,  yet 
when  Bright  started  out  to  run  for 
an  elective  office  he  rarely  failed  to 
carry  the  county.  His  political  shrewd- 
ness and  his  ability  to  manipulate  were 
a  great  source  of  strength  to  him  in  his 
campaigning  and  in  his  aspirations. 
While  it  is  quite  true  that  Marshall  was 
several  times  sent  to  the  Legislature  from 
Jefferson  county,  it  is  equally  true  that  in 
his  larger  aspirations  he  was  uniformly 
unsuccessful. 

Religiously,  Bright  was  a  Baptist;  Mar- 
shall a  Presbyterian.  To  what  extent 
they  permitted  religion  to  influence  their 
action  is  not  a  matter  of  record.  Evi- 
dently, however,  they  were  not  guided  in 
their  daily  walks  of  life  by  the  sublime 
doctrines  proclaimed  in  the  Sermon  from 
the  Mount: 

"Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  revile 
you  and  persecute  you  for  righteousness' 
sake. 


"Ye  have  heard  it  said,  Love  your 
neighbor  and  hate  your  enemy.  But  I  say 
unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them 
that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate 
you,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully 
use  you  and  persecute  you. 

"Ye  have  heard  it  said.  An  eye  for  an 
eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.  But  I  say 
unto  you,  That  ye  resist  not  evil,  but  who- 
soever shall  smite  you  on  the  one  cheek, 
tuin  to  him  the  other  also." 

Marshall  was  twice  chosen  a  member 
of  the  Legislature,  in  1837  and  again  in 
1840.  At  the  State  election  in  1843 
Bright  was  chosen  Lieutenant-Governor. 
Albert  S.  White's  teiTn  as  United  States 
Senator  was  to  expire  March  3,  1845.  The 
Legislature  of  1844 — chosen  in  1843 — was 
to  elect  White's  successor.  The  Whigs 
had  a  majority  of  ten  on  joint  ballot. 
They  nominated  Marshall  for  Senator. 
The  Senate  was  a  tie.  As  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  presiding  officer.  Bright 
gave  the  casting  vote  against  going  into 
an  election  for  Senator.  At  the  next  elec- 
tion the  Democrats  obtained  a  majority 
of  the  Legislature  and  Bright  managed  to 
capture  the  coveted  prize,  securing  the 
caucus  nomination  over  Governor  Whit- 
comb.  In  1846  Marshall  was  defeated  in 
the  race  for  Governor.  Eight  years  later 
substantially  a  similar  condition  to  that 
of  1844  arose.  Much  against  his  wishes 
Marshall  was  induced  to  run  for  Con- 
gress in  the  New  Albany  district  in  1852. 
He  was  defeated  by  Cyrus  L.  Dunham. 
Governor  Whitcomb  had  been  trans- 
ferred from  the  Governorship  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  He  died  in  the  fall 
of  1852.  Governor  Wright  temporarily 
filled  the  vacancy  by  the  appointment  of 
his  personal  and  political  friend,  Charles 
W.  Cathcart,  of  Laporte  county.  When 
the  Legislature  of  1853  met  John  Pettit 


(109) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


of  Lafayette  was  on  January  11  elected 
to  serve  during  the  remainder  of  Whit- 
comb's  term,  March'  3,  1855.  Bright 
wanted  Dr.  Graham  N.  Fitch  of  Logans- 
port  as  his  colleague.  In  the  Legislative 
caucus  the  vote  stood  54  for  Pettit  to  46 
for  Fitch.  The  selection  of  Pettit  was  a 
victory  for  Governor  Wright  and  a  defeat 
for  Senator  Bright.  At  the  election  of 
1854  a  fusion  of  Whigs,  Know-Nothings 
and  Freesoilers  was  effected.  By  this 
fusion  the  combined  opposition  had  se- 
cured a  majority  of  14  on  joint  ballot. 
The  Senate  was  Democratic  by  a  majority 
of  two.  Through  the  intercession  of  Sen- 
ator Bright  and  Lieutenant-Governor 
Ashbel  P.  Willard  the  Senate  refused  to 
go  into  joint  session.  The  fusion  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature  had  agreed  on 
electing  Joseph  G.  Marshall  for  United 
States  Senator.  A  joint  session  being  re- 
fused, Marshall  again  was  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment. Naturally  he  felt  the  sting 
of  defeat  quite  keenly.  Two  years  later 
Graham  N.  Fitch  was  elected. 

In  1851  Mr.  Marshall  became  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  proposition  to  sell  the 
State's  interest  in  the  Madison  and  In- 
dianapolis Railroad.  He  took  quite  an 
active  part  in  the  contest  for  the  election 
of  members  of  the  Legislature  that  was 
to  take  final  action  on  this  proposition. 
In  the  course  of  a  speech  on  this  subject 
Marshall  made  a  statement  which  Bright, 
who  happened  to  be  in  attendance  at  this 
meeting,  emphatically  denied.  Marshall 
reiterated  his  statement  with  consider- 
able warmth.  This  episode  resulted  in  the 
issuance  and  acceptance  of  a  challenge  to 
a  duel  at  Louisville.  Before  the  challenge 
was  issued  Marshall  had  purchased  a 
bowie-knife  with  which,  according  to  his 
own  statement,  he  intended  to  kill  Senator 
Bright  while  going  to  the  postofRce  for 
his  mail.  Fortunately  Bright  did  not  go 
for  his  mail  at  his  usual  time,  and  the 
threatened  encounter  was  thus  happily 
averted.      Marshall    said    Bright    always 


went  armed,  so  no  advantage  would  have 
been  taken  had  the  bowie-knife  attack 
been  actually  made. 

All  the  preliminaries  for  the  duel  at 
Louisville  had  been  arranged.  The  com- 
batants went  by  boat  on  the  Ohio.  The 
seconds,  surgeons,  etc.,  that  had  been 
chosen  on  both  sides  happened  to  be  men 
of  good  common  sense.  By  judicious 
parleying  they  managed  somehow  to  effect 
an  adjustment,  the  terms  of  which  very 
properly  never  were  divulged.  Whether 
these  two  eminent  antagonists  ever  be- 
came reconciled  to  one  another  nobody 
now  living  is  able  to  tell. 

W.  W.  Woollen  lived  in  the  same  town 
with  Bright  and  Marshall.  He  knew  both 
of  them  quite  well.  In  his  admirable 
"Sketches  of  Early  Indiana"  he  speaks 
thus  of  the  able  man  of  numerous  disap- 
pointments and  defeats : 

"Scotch-Irish  and  cavalier  blood  mingled 
in  the  veins  of  Joseph  G.  Marshall.  Like 
the  North  of  Ireland  man,  he  got  all  the 
contention  out  of  a  thing  there  was  in  it; 
and  like  the  cavalier,  he  was  warm- 
hearted, impulsive,  and  brave.  When  con- 
tending for  a  principle  be  believed  to  be 
right  you  would  imagine  him  a  born  son 
of  Carrickf ergus ;  when  at  the  fireside,  or 
around  the  social  board,  he  would  impress 
you  as  one  born  on  the  banks  of  the  York 
or  the  James.  His  father  was  a  Scotch- 
Irishman  and  his  mother  a  Virginian,  so 
his  leading  characteristics  were  his  by  in- 
heritance. 

"Joseph  Glass  Marshall  was  born  in 
Fayette  county,  Ky.,  January  18,  1800. 
His  father  was  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
and  he  thoroughly  indoctrinated  the  son 
in  the  principles  of  the  Scottish  Church. 
He  was  fitted  for  college  at  home,  enter- 
ing Translyvania  University  as  a  junior, 
and  graduating  from  that  institution  in 
182.3.  In  1828  he  came  to  Indiana  and 
settled  at  Madison,  where  he  resided  until 
he  died.  He  had  studied  law  in  Kentucky, 
and  although  a  young  man  in  a  town  noted 
for  the  strength  of  its  bar,  he  soon  ob- 
tained a  lucrative  practice.  Two  years 
after  coming  to  Indiana  he  was  elected 
Probate  Judge  of  his  county,  and  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  the  office  with  signal 


(110) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


ability.  When  he  left  the  judgeship  he 
returned  to  the  bar.  In  1836,  1840  and 
1844  he  was  on  the  Whig  electoral  ticket, 
and  each  time  made  an  active  canvass  of 
the  State.  In  1846  he  was  nominated  for 
Governor  and  was  beaten  by  James  Whit- 
comb  .S.9o8  votes.  In  1849  President  Tay- 
lor appointed  him  Governor  of  Oregon, 
but  he  refused  the  place.  Before  declin- 
ing, however,  he  went  to  Washington  and 
personally  thanked  the  President  for  the 
tender  of  the  oflice.  In  1850  he  was 
elected  Senator  from  his  county,  and 
served  the  legal  term.  In  1852,  much 
against  his  wishes,  he  was  nominated  for 
Congress  in  his  district,  and  was  beaten 
by  Cyrus  L.  Dunham  931  votes.  This 
was  the  last  race  he  made  before  the 
people.  In  addition  to  the  offices  named, 
he  represented  his  county  several  times  in 
the  lower  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

"Mr.  Marshall  had  an  ambition  to  go 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  but  his  ambi- 
tion was  never  gratified.  In  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1844  the  Whigs  had  ten  majority 
on  joint  ballot.  They  nominated  him  for 
the  Senate,  but  the  Democrats  refused  to 
go  into  an  election.  Each  party  had 
twenty-five  members  in  the  Senate,  and 
Jesse  D.  Bright,  then  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, gave  the  casting  vote  against  going 
into  the  election.  In  1845  the  Democrats 
carried  the  Legislature,  and  elected  Mr. 
Bright  to  the  Senate,  his  vote  being  80, 
and  Mr.  Marshall's  66.  His  defeat  the 
year  before  incensed  him  against  Mr. 
Bright,  and  ever  afterward  he  hated  him. 

"In  the  Legislature  of  1854  the  People's, 
or  anti-Nebraska  party,  had  a  majority  of 
fourteen  on  joint  ballot,  but  the  Demo- 
crats, having  two  majority  in  the  Senate, 
prevented  the  election  of  a  Senator.  Mr. 
Marshall  was  the  nominee  of  the  dominant 
party,  and  had  an  election  been  held  he 
would  have  been  chosen.  Thus  it  will  be 
seen  that  he  was  twice  kept  from  going 
to  the  Senate  by  the  refusal  of  the  Demo- 
crats to  perform  a  legal  duty. 

"Mr.  Marshall  was  at  Indianapolis  most 
of  the  time  during  the  session  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  1854-5,  and  while  there  con- 
tracted a  deep  cold.  The  cold  settled  on 
his  lungs  and  soon  became  alarming. 
Early  in  the  spring  of  1855  he  started  on 
a  Southern  trip,  in  hopes  of  regaining  his 
health.  When  he  reached  Louisville,  be- 
ing too  sick  to  proceed  farther,  he  took 


to  his  bed,  and,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1855, 
died.  His  remains  were  brought  to  Madi- 
son and  there  interred. 

"Indiana  never  had  the  equal  of  Mr. 
Marshall  in  breadth  and  strength  of  in- 
tellect. Neither  did  she  ever  have  his 
equal  in  ability  to  stir  the  passions  and 
sway  the  feelings  of  the  people.  She  has 
had  men  of  greater  culture  and  of  more 
general  information,  but  in  those  qualities 
which  enable  the  orator  to  melt  the  hearts 
and  fire  the  passions  of  his  auditors  he 
was  without  a  peer.  He  was  called  the 
"Sleeping  Lion,"  and,  when  fully  aroused, 
he  was  a  lion  indeed. 

"On  such  occasions  his  oratory  was  like 
the  hurricane  that  sweeps  everything  be- 
fore it.  Ordinarily  he  did  not  show  his 
power,  but  when  engaged  in  a  case  that 
enlisted  his  feelings  and  his  conscience  his 
words  were  like  hot  shot  from  the  can- 
non's mouth. 

"Colonel  Abram  W.  Hendricks,  in  a  re- 
cent address,  thus  speaks  of  Mr.  Marshall : 
'He  was  one  of  the  most  transcendently 
powerful  advocates  that  have  figured  at 
the  Indiana  bar.  His  intellect  was  colossal. 
He  seemed  to  know  the  law  by  intuition. 
His  logic  was  surrounded  by  a  glowing 
atmosphere  of  passion.  He  could  sweep 
through  his  subject  like  a  tempest  or 
crush  through  it  like  an  avalanche.' 
Colonel  Hendricks  had  practice  at  the  bar 
with  him  for  many  years,  and  knew 
whereof  he  spoke. 

"Mr.  Marshall  was  very  careless  of  his 
dress.  He  didn't  care  whether  his  coat 
fitted  him  or  not,  or  whether  the  bow  on 
his  neck-stock  was  under  his  ear  or  his 
chin.  He  usually  wore  low  shoes,  and 
there  was  often  quite  a  distance  between 
his  shoetops  and  the  bottom  of  his  panta- 
loons. He  carried  his  papers  in  his  hat 
instead  of  his  pockets,  and  wore  his  hat 
pulled  low  down  upon  his  head.  He  had 
a  great  big  head,  thickly  covered  with 
sandy  hair.  His  forehead,  mouth  and 
nose  were  large  and  prominent.  His  eyes 
were  a  light  blue,  and  were  the  least  ex- 
pressive of  his  features.  He  stood  over 
six  feet  high.  His  body  was  not  sym- 
metrical, being  from  his  shoulders  to  his 
hips  almo.st  the  same  in  size.  It  was  his 
head  and  face  that  told  you  the  manner 
of  man  he  was.  These  were  magnificent, 
and  his  uncouth  form  and  careless  dress 
served  to  show  them  to  the  best  advantage. 
Had  he  gone  to  the  Senate,  as  he  should 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


have  done,  he  would  have  made  a  reputa- 
tion equal  to  any  one  in  the  land.  He  had 
the  ability  to  shine  anywhere  and  would 
not  have  suffered  by  comparison  with  the 
ablest  men  in  that  body." 

With  reference  to  the  refusal  of  the 
State  Senate  on  two  occasions  to  agree 
to  go  into  joint  session  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  a  United  States  Senator,  it  may 
be  stated  that  in  those  days  State  Legis- 
latures were  privileged  to  do  as  they 
pleased  about  such  matters.     There  was 


no  federal  law  governing  the  election  of 
United  States  Senators.  On  another  page 
David  Turpie  relates,  intelligently  and 
comprehensively,  how  Congress  finally 
came  to  pass  a  law  prescribing  when  and 
how  United  States  Senators  were  to  be 
chosen  by  State  Legislatures.  This  legis- 
lative enactment  has  since  been  superseded 
by  the  adoption  of  an  amendment  to  the 
Federal  Constitution  making  United 
States  Senators  elective  by  direct  vote  of 
the  people. 


(112) 


[Chapter  XIV.] 


STRONG  MEN  WERE  SENT  TO  CONGRESS 
DURING  DECADE  (1843  TO  1853) 


IHE  census  of  1840,  revealing 
another  extraordinary  increase 
of  population,  gave  Indiana 
three  additional  Congressmen, 
raising  the  State's  apportion- 
ment from  seven  to  ten.  Under 
this  apportionment  the  follow- 
ing named  gentlemen  were  chosen  for  the 
Twentv-eighth   Congress— 1843   to   1845: 

1.  Robert  Dale  Owen. 

2.  Thomas  J.  Henley. 

3.  Thomas  Smith. 

4.  Caleb  B.  Smith. 

5.  William  J.  Brown. 

6.  John  W.  Davis. 

7.  Joseph  A.  Wright. 

8.  John  Pettit. 

9.  Samuel  C.  Sample. 
10.  Andrew  Kennedy. 

Thomas  Jefferson  Henley  was  the  first 
native  of  Indiana  to  be  elected  to  Con- 
gress. He  was  born  in  1810 ;  attended  the 
State  University  at  Bloomington;  was 
State  Representative  from  1832  to  1842, 
and  Speaker  of  the  House  one  term; 
elected  to  Congress  as  a  Democrat  for 
three  successive  terms  (1843  to  1849)  ; 
moved  to  California  in  1849  and  engaged 
in  banking  in  San  Francisco.  Was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  California  Legislature; 
Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  of  Cali- 
fornia for  seven  years,  and  wound  up  his 
official  career  with  the  po.stmastership  of 
San  Francisco. 

Caleb  Blood  Smith  was  born  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  April  16,  1808;  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Ohio  in  1814;  was  graduated 
from  the  Miami  University;  studied  law, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  prac- 
tice in  Connersville,  Ind. ;  founded  and 
edited  the  Indiana  Sentinel  in  1832;  mem- 
ber of  the  State  House  of  Representatives 
1833-1836,  and  served  as  Speaker  in  1836; 
elected    to    the    Twenty-eighth,    Twenty- 


ninth  and  Thirtieth  Congresses  (March  4, 
1843-March  3,  1849)  ;  presidential  elector 
in  1840;  moved  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and 
practiced  law:  presidential  elector  on  the 
Fremont  ticket  in  1856;  President  of  the 
Republican  National  Convention  of  1860; 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  President 
Lincoln  March  5,  1861,  to  January  1, 
1863;  resigned  to  become  judge  for  the 
District  of  Indiana.  Died  in  Indianapolis 
January  7,  1864. 

William  J.  Brown  was  for  years  one  of 
Indiana's  most  influential  politicians — 
adroit,  alert,  sagacious  and  courageous. 
He  was  born  in  Kentucky  November  22, 
1805;  in  1821  moved  to  Indiana;  member 
of  the  State  Legislature  and  Secretary  of 
State  for  Indiana;  elected  as  a  Democrat 
to  the  Twenty-eighth  Congress  (March  4, 
1843-March  3,  1845)  ;  Second  Assistant 
Postmaster  General,  1845-1849;  again 
elected  to  (the  Thirty-first)  Congress 
(March  4,  1849-March  3,  1851)  ;  editor 
of  the  Indiana  Sentinel  and  State  Libra- 
rian of  Indiana;  special  agent  of  the 
Postoflice  Department  for  Indiana  and 
Illinois.  Died  near  Indianapolis,  March 
18,  1857. 

Samuel  C.  Sample  was  born  in  Mary- 
land; moved  to  Indiana  and  settled  in 
South  Bend;  elected  as  a  Whig  to  Con- 
gress for  one  term,  from  1843  to  1845. 

(Robert  Dale  Owen,  Thomas  Smith, 
John  W.  Davis,  Joseph  A.  Wright,  John 
Pettit  and  Andrew  Kennedy  are  duly  men- 
tioned elsewhere.) 

A  notably  able  delegation  was  chosen 
by  the  people  of  Indiana  to  represent  them 
in  the  Twenty-ninth  Congress,  from  1845 
to  1847: 

1.  Robert  Dale  Owen. 

2.  Thomas  J.  Henley. 

3.  Thomas  Smith. 

4.  Caleb  B.  Smith. 


(113) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


5.  William  W.  Wick. 

6.  John  W.  Davis. 

7.  Edward  W.  McGaughey. 

8.  John  Pettit. 

9.  Charles  W.  Cathcart. 
10.  Andrew  Kennedy. 

Edward  W.  McGaughey  was  twice 
elected  to  Congress,  from  1845  to  1847, 
and  from  1849  to  1851.  He  was  a  cam- 
paigner of  considerable  resourcefulness 
and  ingenuity. 

Charles  W.  Cathcart  was  twice  elected 
to  Congress  from  the  Laporte  district. 
Upon  the  death  of  Senator  James  Whit- 
comb,  October  4,  1852,  Governor  Wright 
appointed  Mr.  Cathcart  to  serve  as  Whit- 
comb's  successor  until  the  Legislature 
would  effect  an  election.  Cathcart  took 
his  seat  December  6,  1852,  and  held  it  un- 
til "relieved"  by  John  Pettit,  January  18, 
1853.  Thus  the  Whitcomb  seat  in  the 
Senate  had  three  different  occupants  dur- 
ing the  six-year  term. 

In  the  Thirtieth  Congress  (1847  to 
1849)  Indiana  was  represented  by  these 
gentlemen : 

1.  Elisha  Embree. 

2.  Thomas  J.  Henley. 

3.  John  L.  Robinson. 

4.  Caleb  B.  Smith. 

5.  William  W.  Wick. 

6.  George  C.  Dunn. 

7.  Richard  W.  Thompson. 

8.  John  Pettit. 

9.  Charles  W.  Cathcart. 
10.  William   Rockhill. 

New  names  in  this  list  are  those  of 
Elisha  Embree,  John  L.  Robinson,  Geo.  G. 
Dunn  and  William  Rockhill. 

Elisha  Embree  was  a  native  of  Lincoln 
county,  Kentucky ;  came  with  his  father  to 
Indiana  in  1811;  practiced  law  at  Prince- 
ton; served  as  circuit  judge  from  1835  to 
1845;  elected  to  Congress  as  a  Whig;  de- 
feated as  candidate  for  re-election.  Died 
at  Princeton,  February  28,  1863. 

John  L.  Robinson  was  conspicuous  in 
Indiana  politics  for  twenty  years.  Born 
in  Mason  county,  Kentucky,  May  3,  1814, 
he  came  to  Indiana  when  eighteen  years  of 
age,   locating  in   Rush  county,  where  he 


made  himself  useful  in  a  country  store. 
By  and  by  he  engaged  in  business  for  him- 
self, but  success  did  not  crown  his  efforts. 
His  mind  concerned  itself  more  with  the 
study  of  human  nature  and  the  current  of 
events  than  with  figuring  out  a  reasonable 
profit  on  the  commodities  usually  sold  in 
a  country  store.  And  in  those  days  a  coun- 
try store  was  a  great  place  for  expound- 
ing doctrines,  cultivating  public  sentiment 
and  espousing  various  causes.  John  L. 
Robinson  was  a  master  hand  at  this.  It 
didn't  take  long  for  him  to  establish  a  lo- 
cal reputation  for  political  sagacity  and 
shrewdness.  When  but  twenty-six  years 
of  age  his  name  was  placed  on  the  Van 
Buren  electoral  ticket  in  1840.  He  was  no 
mere  figurehead  in  this  assignment.  He 
went  on  the  stump  and  acquitted  himself 
so  masterfully  as  to  astonish  both  friend 
and  foe.  Though  the  party  with  which  he 
affiliated  was  overwhelmingly  defeated  in 
that  campaign,  John  L.  Robinson  had  an 
abiding  faith  that  a  turn  in  affairs  po- 
litical was  but  a  question  of  time.  And  he 
was  right  about  this.  Two  years  after  the 
defeat  just  narrated  he  was  triumphantly 
elected  clerk  of  Rush  county.  Before  he 
had  completed  his  second  term  he  was 
elected  to  Congress  and  twice  re-elected 
thereafter.  Upon  the  accession  of  Frank- 
lin Pierce  to  the  Presidency,  Robinson  was 
appointed  United  States  Marshal  of  In- 
diana. In  this  position  he  was  enabled  to 
wield  considerable  influence  throughout 
the  State.  And  he  availed  himself  of  it  to 
the  utmost.  He  was  closely  allied  with 
Senator  Bright  and  proved  himself  a  most 
efficient  lieutenant  to  that  adroit  political 
chieftain,  who  in  turn  greatly  appreciated 
the  services  rendered.  In  terms  of  affec- 
tion. Bright  spoke  of  Robinson  as  "a  very 
brother."  Bright's  friendship  for  Robin- 
son was  put  to  a  severe  test  when  the  lat- 
ter got  the  notion  into  his  head  that  he 
wanted  to  be  Governor  of  Indiana.  An- 
other dear  friend  of  Bright's,  Ashbel  P. 
Willard,  nursed  a  similar  ambition.  The 
matter  was  finally  adjusted  to  the  satis- 


(114) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


faction  of  all  concerned  by  an  agreement 
that  Bright  should  keep  hands  off  and  let 
Willard  and  Robinson  fight  it  out  between 
themselves.  They  did,  and  Willard  won. 
Robinson  had  his  reward  in  being  reap- 
pointed to  the  United  States  marshalship, 
which  position  he  retained  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death  at  his  home  in  Rushville, 
March  21,  1860. 

One  who  knew  Mr.  Robiifson  intimate- 
ly, personally  and  politically,  thus  summed 
up  his  character:  "Of  all  the  public  men 
I  ever  knew,  he  was  farthest  removed 
from  the  time-server  and  the  demagogue. 
He  despised  political  intrigue,  chicanery, 
dissimulation,  tergiversation,  untruth  and 
injustice,  and  held  with  Jefferson  that  'an 
honest  heart  is  the  first  blessing,  a  know- 
ing head  is  the  second.'  .  .  .  His 
marked  decision  of  character,  his  clear 
judgment,  his  unselfish  devotion  to  the 
popular  cause,  his  unfaltering  faith  in  the 
masses  of  his  party,  his  pre-eminent  abil- 
ities as  the  advocate  and  defender  of  pop- 
ular rights,  combined  to  make  him,  as  ac- 
knowledgedly  he  was,  the  heart  and  head 
leader  of  the  Democracy  of  Indiana." 

George  G.  Dunn  was  born  in  Kentucky 
in  1813;  moved  to  Indiana;  admitted  to 
the  bar  and  practiced  in  Bedford;  was 
elected  prosecuting  attorney,  and  in  that 
capacity  proved  himself  a  terror  to  evil- 
doers and  criminals.  Served  in  both 
Houses  of  the  Legislature  and  was  at  two 
different  times  elected  to  Congress — first 
as  a  Whig  and  later  on  as  a  sort  of  com- 
bination candidate.  As  the  product  of  po- 
litical mongrelism  he  did  very  much  as  he 
pleased,  supremely  indifferent  as  to 
whether  school  kept  or  not.  He  was  a 
strong  man,  and  was  at  one  time  in  part- 
nership with  Richard  W.  Thompson. 
Died  at  Bedford,  September  24,  1857. 

William  Rockhill  was  a  native  of  New 
Jersey,  where  he  was  born  February  10, 
1793.  Had  a  limited  education.  Located 
at  Fort  Wayne,  and  was  elected  a  member 


of  the  Thirtieth  Congress.  He  served  but 
one  term.  Died  at  Fort  Wayne,  January 
15,  1865. 

Of  the  Indiana  delegation  to  the  Thirty- 
first  Congress  (1849  to  1851)  all  but  one 
were  Democrats.  The  solitary  exception 
was  Edward  W.  McGaughey.  It  was  a 
strong  delegation  and  consisted  of  these 
widely-known  gentlemen : 

1.  Nathaniel  Albertson. 

2.  Cyrus  L.  Dunham. 

3.  John  L.  Robinson. 

4.  George  W.  Julian. 

5.  William  J.  Brown. 

6.  Willis  A.  Gorman. 

7.  Edward  W.  McGaughey. 

8.  Joseph  E.  McDonald. 

9.  Graham  N.  Fitch. 
10.  Andrew  J.  Harlan. 

Nathaniel  Albertson  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, moved  to  Greenville,  Ind.,  and  was 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  Congress.  Served 
but  one  term. 

A  truly  remarkable  man  was  Cyrus  L. 
Dunham.  Briefly  told,  his  record  shows 
him  to  have  been  born  at  Dryden,  Tomp- 
kins county.  New  York,  January  16,  1817. 
He  was  distinctively  self-educated.  Upon 
his  removal  to  Indiana  he  located  at  Salem, 
Washington  county,  where  he  studied  law 
and  in  course  of  time  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
and  was  made  prosecuting  attorney  of  the 
circuit  court,  in  which  position  he  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  absolute  fearles.s- 
ness.  He  established  quite  a  reputation  as 
a  criminal  lawyer  and  became  famous  as 
a  public  speaker  of  unusual  power  and 
eloquence.  In  1846  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  and  re-elected  the 
year  following.  While  serving  in  this  ca- 
pacity he  became  quite  active  in  support 
of  a  bill  to  authorize  the  holding  of  a  con- 
vention to  frame  a  new  State  Constitu- 
tion. In  1848  he  was  a  Cass  and  Butler 
elector.  The  next  year  he  was  nominated 
for  Congress  by  the  Democracy  of  the 
second  district  and  triumphantly  elected 
over  William  McKee  Dunn  by  a  majority 
of  485.    Two  years  later  he  was  re-elected 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


by  a  majority  of  963  over  Roger  Martin. 
In  1852  he  defeated  Joseph  G.  Marshall, 
one  of  the  ablest  and  most  highly  esteemed 
men  in  the  State,  by  a  majority  of  931. 
when  Know-Nothingism  caused  a  sort  of 
political  dementia  in  1853  and  1854,  Dun- 
ham made  his  fourth  race,  his  competitor 
being  George  G.  Dunn,  and  was  beaten  by 
1,660  votes.  This  ended  Dunham's  Con- 
gressional career.  When  Daniel  McClure 
resigned  as  Secretary  of  State,  Governor 
Willard  appointed  Mr.  Dunham  to  fill  out 
the  unexpired  term,  ending  the  latter  part 
of  1860.  It  was  in  the  early  part  of  that 
year  that  Mr.  Dunham  conceived  the  idea 
of  competing  with  Thomas  A.  Hendricks 
for  the  nomination  for  Governor.  Dun- 
ham was  a  supporter  of  the  Buchanan  ad- 
ministration, while  the  great  body  of  the 
Indiana  Democracy  upheld  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  fight.  It 
soon  became  apparent  to  Mr.  Dunham  that 
the  Buchanan-Bright  faction  was  in  a 
hopeless  minority.  Gracefully  he  accepted 
the  situation  and  in  a  singularly  eloquent 
speech  he  moved  the  unanimous  nomina- 
tion of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 

Soon  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil 
war  Cyrus  L.  Dunham  organized  the  Fif- 
tieth Regiment  Indiana  Volunteers  and 
took  it  to  the  front.  After  serving  about 
a  year,  faithfully  and  heroically  fighting 
for  his  country,  ill-health  compelled  him  to 
resign  and  retire  from  the  service.  Upon 
his  return  from  the  field  he  located  in  New 
Albany  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law. 
In  1864  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature 
and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  proceedings 
of  that  body.  In  1871  he  was  elected 
judge  of  the  Floyd  and  Clark  Circuit 
Court.  While  holding  this  office  he  re- 
moved to  Jeffersonville,  remaining  a  resi- 
dent thereof  until  death  ended  his  event- 
ful career,  November  21,  1877. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  men  sent  to 
Congress  from  Indiana  was  George  Wash- 
ington Julian.  He  was  the  second  native 
Indianian  to  be  elected  to  Congress.  In 
his  biography  it  is  stated  that  he  was  born 


near  Center\nlle,  Ind.,  May  5,  1817;  at- 
tended the  common  schools;  studied  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1840 ;  mem- 
ber of  the  State  House  of  Representatives 
in  1845;  delegate  in  the  Buffalo  Freesoil 
convention,  and  Van  Buren  elector  in 
1848 ;  candidate  for  Vice-President  on  the 
Freesoil  ticket  in  1852;  delegate  to  the 
National  Republican  Convention  in  Pitts- 
burgh in  1856;  elected  as  a  Freesoiler  to 
the  Thirty-first  Congress  (March  4,  1849- 
March  3,  1851)  ;  elected  as  a  Republican 
to  the  Thirty-seventh,  Thirty-eighth,  Thir- 
ty-ninth, Fortieth  and  Forty-first  Con- 
gresses (March  4,  1861-March  3;  1871)  ; 
supported  Tilden  and  Hendricks  in  1876; 
appointed  by  President  Cleveland  Sur- 
veyor-General of  New  Mexico  December 
13,  1886,  and  served  four  years.  Died  in 
Irvington,  a  suburb  of  Indianapolis,  July 
7,  1899. 

Willis  A.  Gorman  was  born  near  Flem- 
ingsburg,  Ky.,  January  12,  1816;  pursued 
an  academic  course;  studied  law,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1835,  and  began  prac- 
tice in  Bloomington,  Ind. ;  Clerk  of  the  In- 
diana Senate  1837-1838;  Major  and 
Colonel  of  Indiana  Volunteers  in  the  Mex- 
ican war;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the 
Thirty-first  and  Thirty-second  Congresses 
(March  4,  1849-March  3,  1853)  ;  Terri- 
torial Governor  of  Minnesota  1853-1857; 
delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  Minnesota  in  1857 ;  practiced  law  in  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  1857-1861 ;  entered  the  Union 
army;  Colonel  First  Minnesota  Infantry 
April  29,  1861 ;  Brigadier-General  of  Vol- 
unteers September  7,  1861;  mustered  out 
May  4,  1864;  elected  city  attorney  of  St. 
Paul  in  1869.  Died  in  St.  Paul,  Minn., 
May  20,  1876. 

Joseph  Ewing  McDonald  became  dis- 
tinguished in  his  adopted  State  as  one  of 
its  ablest  lawyers,  most  sagacious  and 
courageous  politicians,  and  a  statesman  of 
the  highest  type.  Born  in  Butler  county, 
Ohio,  August  29,  1819;  moved  with  his 
mother  to  Indiana  in  1826 ;  apprenticed  to 
the  saddler's  trade  in  Lafayette,  Ind.;  at- 


(116) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  181G-1916 


tended  Wabash  College,  Crawfordsville, 
Ind.,  but  did  not  graduate;  studied  law, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1843,  and  com- 
menced practice  in  Crawfordsville ;  Prose- 
cuting Attorney  1843-1847 ;  elected  to  the 
Thirty-first  Congress  (March  4,  1849- 
March  3,  1851)  ;  elected  Attorney-General 
of  Indiana  in  1856  and  re-elected  in  1858 ; 
moved  to  Indianapolis  in  1859 ;  unsuccess- 
ful candidate  for  Governor  of  Indiana  in 
1864;  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
and  served  from  March  4,  1875,  to  March 
3,  1881.  Died  in  Indianapolis,  June  21, 
1891. 

A  most  remarkable  career  had  Andrew 
Jackson  Harlan,  who  was  born  near  Wil- 
mington, Clinton  county,  Ohio,  March  29, 
1815;  attended  the  public  schools;  studied 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar;  moved 
to  Marion,  Ind.;  Clerk  of  the  Indiana 
House  of  Representatives  in  1842  and  a 
member  1846-1848 ;  elected  &s  a  Democrat 
to  the  Thirty-first  Congress  (March  4, 
1849-March  3,  1851)  ;  re-elected  to  the 
Thirty-third  Congress  (March  4,  1853- 
March  3,  1855)  ;  moved  to  Dakota  Terri- 
tory in  1861;  Member  of  the  Territorial 
Legislature  in  1861,  and  served  as  Speak- 
er; driven  from  the  Territory  by  the  In- 
dians and  settled  in  Savannah,  Mo.,  and 
resumed  the  practice  of  law;  member  of 
the  Missouri  Legislature  and  served  three 
years  as  Speaker;  moved  to  Wakeeney, 
Kan.,  in  1883;  postmaster  of  Wakeeney 
four  years ;  removed  to  Savannah,  Mo.,  in 
1892.  Died  in  Savannah,  Mo.,  May  19, 
1907. 

The  last  delegation  to  be  sent  to  Wash- 
ington under  the  census  of  1840  and  the 
apportionment  made  thereunder  was  a 
distinguished  and  influential  one  in  the 
Thirty-second  Congress  (1851  to  1853). 
It  was  composed  of — 


Daniel   Mace. 
Graham  N.  Fitch. 
Samuel  Brenton. 


James  Lockhart. 
Cyrus  L.  Dunham. 
John  L.  Robinson. 
Samuel  W.  Parker. 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 
Willis  A.  Gorman. 
John   G.   Davis. 


James  Lockhart  was  born  in  Auburn, 
N.  Y.,  February  13,  1806;  moved  to  In- 
diana in  1832;  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  commenced  practice  in 
Evansville  in  1834 ;  Prosecuting  Attorney 
of  Vanderburg  county  1841-1842;  Judge 
of  the  Fourth  Judicial  District  1845-1851 ; 
Delegate  to  the  State  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  1850 ;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to 
the  Thirty-second  Congress  (March  4, 
1851-March  3,  1853)  ;  re-elected  to  the 
Thirty-fifth  Congress,  but  died  before  the 
assembling  of  the  Congress  in  Evansville, 
September  7,  1857. 

Samuel  W.  Parker  was  born  in  Jeffer- 
son county,  New  York,  September  9,  1805 ; 
was  graduated  from  Miami  University, 
Ohio,  in  1828;  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  began  practice  in  Conners- 
ville,  Ind. ;  held  several  local  offices ;  mem- 
ber of  the  State  House  of  Representatives 
1836-1841;  State's  Attorney  for  two 
years ;  elected  as  a  Whig  to  the  Thirty-sec- 
ond and  Thirty-third  Congresses  (March 
4,  1851-March  3,  1855)  ;  Presidential 
Elector  1844-1856. 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  born  near 
Zanesville,  Ohio,  September  7,  1819; 
moved  with  his  parents  to  Madison,  Ind., 
then  to  Shelby  county  in  1832 ;  pursued 
classical  studies  and  was  graduated  from 
South  Hanover  College  in  1841 ;  studied 
law  in  Chambersburg,  Pa.;  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1843,  and  began  practice  in 
Shelbyville,  Ind. ;  State  Representative  in 
1848  and  a  State  Senator  in  1849;  member 
of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of 
1851 ;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Thirty- 
second  and  Thirty-third  Congresses 
(March  4,  1851-March  3,  1855)  ;  Commis- 
sioner of  General  Land  Office  1855-1859; 
unsuccessful  Democratic  candidate  for 
Governor  in  1860;  moved  to  Indianapolis 
in  1860;  elected  United  States  Senator, 
and  served  from  March  4,  1863,  to  March 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


3,  1869;  elected  Governor  in  1872;  elected 
Vice-President  on  the  Tilden  ticket  in 
1876,  but  counted  out  by  the  Electoral 
Commission  of  1877 ;  elected  Vice-Presi- 
dent on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1884. 
Died  in  Indianapolis,  November  25,  1885. 
Daniel  Mace  was  born  in  Pickaway 
county,  Ohio,  September  5,  1811 ;  attended 
the  public  schools;  studied  law,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  commenced  prac- 
tice in  Lafayette,  Ind. ;  member  of  the 
State  House  of  Representatives  in  1836; 
Clerk  of  the  State  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  1837 ;  United  States  Attorney  for 
Indiana  1849-1853;  elected  as  a  Democrat 
to  the  Thirty-second  and  Thirty-third 
Congresses  (March  4,  1851-March  3, 
1855)  ;  re-elected  as  a  Republican  to  the 
Thirty-fourth  Congress  (March  4,  1855- 
March  3,  1857)  ;  appointed  postmaster  of 
Lafayette  by  President  Lincoln.  Died  in 
Lafayette,  July  26,  1867. 


Samuel  Brenton  was  born  in  Gallatin 
county,  Kentucky,  November  22,  1810; 
minister  of  the  gospel  1830-1848 ;  suffered 
a  paralytic  stroke  in  1848  and  compelled 
to  abandon  the  ministry ;  appointed  Regis- 
trar of  the  Land  Office  in  Fort  Wayne, 
Ind.,  1848 ;  elected  as  a  Whig  to  the  Thir- 
ty-second Congress  (March  4,  1851-March 
3,  1853)  ;  elected  as  a  Republican  to  the 
Thirty-fourth  and  Thirty-fifth  Congresses 
and  served  from  March  4,  1855,  until  his 
death  in  Fort  Wayne,  March  29,  1857. 
His  second  Congressional  race  was  made 
against  Congressman  Ebenezer  M.  Cham- 
berlain, of  Goshen,  who  was  strongly 
opposed  to  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  com- 
promise, but  nevertheless  defeated  as  a 
candidate  for  re-election.  A  fusion  of  the 
Know-Nothings  and  anti-slavery  men 
proved  too  strong  to  be  overcome  by  Judge 
Chamberlain.  " 


[CHAriEK   X\\l 


STATE  OFFICERS  CHOSEN  BY  THE 
LEGISLATURE 


NDER  the  Constitution  of  1816 
Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor only  were  elected  by  the 
people.  Other  State  officers 
were  chosen  by  the  Legislature. 
Up  to  1853  these  several  offi- 
ces were  filled  by  the  gentle- 
men named  under  their  respective  official 
titles  • 

SECRETARIES  OF  STATE. 

Robert  A.  New from  1816  to  1825 

William  W.  Wick,  .from  1825  to  1829 
James  Morrison  .  .  .  from  1829  to  1833 
William  Sheets  ..  .from  1833  to  1837 
William  J.  Brown,  .from  1837  to  1841 
William  Sheets  .. .  .from  1841  to  1845 
John  H.  Thompson. from  1845  to  1849 

Charles  H.  Test from  1849  to  1853 

AUDITORS   OF  STATE. 
William  H.  Lilley.  .from  1816  to  1828 
Benjamin  I.  Blythe.from  1828  to  1829 

Morris  Morris   from  1829  to  1844 

Horatio  J.  Harris,  .from  1844  to  1847 
Douglas  Maguire  .  .from  1847  to  1850 
Erastus  W.H.  Ellis. from  1850  to  1853 

TREASURERS  OF   STATE. 
Daniel    C.    Lane.  .  .from  1816  to  1823 

Samuel    Merrill from  1823  to  1835 

Nathan  B.  Palmer. from  1835  to  1841 
George    H.    Dunn,  .from  1841  to  1844 

Royal    Mayhew from  1844  to  1847 

Samuel    Hannah.  .  .  from  1847  to  1850 

•James   P.   Drake.  .  .from  1850  to  1853 

REPORTERS  OF  SUPREME  COURT. 

Isaac  Blackford   .  .  .from  1817  to  1850 

(One  of  the  judges.) 
Horace  E.  Carter,  .from  1852  to  1853 

(Died.) 

JUDGES  OF  SUPREME  COURT. 

James  Scott from  1816  to  1831 

John  Johnson from  1816  to  1817 

Jesse  L.  Holman. .  .from  1816  to  1831 
Isaac  Blackford  .  .  .from  1817  to  1853 
Stephen  C.  Stephens.. 

from  1831  to  1836 
John  T.  McKinney. from  1831  to  1837 

Charles  Dewey from  1836  to  1847 

Jeremiah  Sullivan,  .from  1837  to  1846 
Samuel  E.  Perkins. from  1846  to  1865 
Thomas  L.  Smith,  .from  1847  to  1853 


DOCTOR,  EDITOR,  COUNTY  AND 
STATE  AUDITOR. 
The  last  State  Auditor  chosen  by  the 
Legislature,  under  the  1816  constitution, 
was  Dr.  Erastus  W.  H.  Ellis,  for  many 
years  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Goshen 
Democrat.  He  was  one  of  the  truly  able 
men  of  the  State  who  deserved  all  he  ever 
got  from  the  party  which  he  served  so 
ably  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  first 
located  with  his  father  at  Mishawaka, 
then  moved  to  South  Bend,  and  from  there 
to  Elkhart.  This  was  in  1837.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1839,  he  was  induced  by  the  owners 
of  the  Democrat  to  become  its  editor  at  a 
salary  of  $200  a  year  and  board,  which 
amounted  to  two  dollars  a  week.  The  cir- 
culation of  the  Democrat  then  was  about 
400.  During  the  Van  Buren  campaign  in 
1840  Dr.  Ellis  conducted  a  campaign  pa- 
per called  the  Kinderhook  Dutchman.  It 
had  a  circulation  of  1,200.  He  also  issued 
the  St.  Joseph  County  Democrat  during 
the  Van  Buren  campaign.  In  August, 
1841,  he  was  elected  Auditor  of  Elkhart 
county  and  re-elected  in  1846.  This 
proved  quite  helpful  to  him  in  his  news- 
paper career.  He  continued  to  audit  and 
edit  until  January,  1850,  when  the  Legis- 
lature elected  him  to  the  more  lucrative 
position  of  State  Auditor.  During  his 
term  of  office  he,  in  connection  with  John 
S.  Spann,  established  a  weekly  paper 
called  The  Indiana  Statesman.  It  attained 
a  circulation  of  2,000  and  lived  two  years. 
By  reason  of  his  pronounced  anti-slavery 
extension  views  the  Bright  forces  defeated 
him  in  convention  when  he  sought  a  re- 
nomination  for  the  office  of  State  Auditor. 
In  1855  Dr.  Ellis  severed  his  connection 
with  the  Democratic  party.  He  joined  the 
newly  organized  anti-slavery    party,    was 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


nominated  for  State  Auditor  in  1856,  and 
defeated  with  the  rest  of  the  ticket.  For 
a  while  he  edited  a  campaign  paper  called 
We,  the  People.  It  had  a  circulation  of 
7,000.  He  filled  several  minor  positions 
under  State  authority,  became  very  poor 
and  returned,  penniless,  to  Goshen,  where 
he  was  installed  as  editor  of  the  Goshen 
Times.  In  1858  he  was  again  elected  Au- 
ditor of  Elkhart  county  and  re-elected  in 
1862.  By  Governor  Morton  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  member  of  the  Peace  Commis- 
sion that  was  to  avert  war  between  the 
North  and  South.  He  served  as  Draft 
Commissioner  and  assisted  in  organizing 
troops  for  the  Union  army.  Dr.  Ellis  was 
married  three  times  and  had  an  interest- 
ing family  of  children.  He  died  at  his 
home  in  Goshen  October  10,  1876;  was  at 
the  time  serving  as  postmaster  of  that  in- 
viting little  city. 

JUDGES  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  1816  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor,  such  appoint- 
ment being  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Senate.  The  appointments  for  the  first 
bench  were  made  by  Governor  Jennings, 
whose  choice  fell  upon  James  Scott,  John 
Johnson  and  Jesse  L.  Holman.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  named  as  Johnson's  suc- 
cessor Isaac  Blackford,-  who  served  con- 
tinuously from  1817  to  1853 — thirty-six 
years  in  all.  This  is  without  a  parallel  in 
the  history  of  the  State.  His  record  dur- 
ing all  these  eventful  years  entitled  him 
fully  to  every  word  said  in  commendation 
of  his  great  work  by  a  writer  who  knew 
him  well,  William  Wesley  Woollen : 

ISAAC  BLACKFORD. 

Thirty-Six  Years  On  the  Supreme  Bench. 

"Isaac  Blackford,  for  thirty-five  years 
a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana, 
was  born  at  Bound  Brook,  Somerset 
county,  N.  J.,  November  6,  1786.  When 
sixteen  years  old  he  entered  Princeton 
College,    from    which,    four   years    after- 


ward, he  graduated  with  honor.  He  then 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law  in  the 
office  of  Colonel  George  McDonald,  where 
he  remained  a  year,  and  then  entered  the 
office  of  Gabriel  Ford,  where  he  continued 
his  legal  studies.  In  1810  he  received  his 
license,  and  two  years  afterward  left  New 
Jersey  and  came  to  Dayton,  Ohio.  He  re- 
mained there  but  a  short  time,  and  then 
came  to  Indiana.  He  stopped  at  Brook- 
ville  a  while,  and  then  went  to  Salem  and 
located.  On  the  organization  of  Washing- 
ton county,  in  1813,  he  was  chosen  its 
first  Clerk  and  Recorder.  The  next  year 
Mr.  Blackford  was  elected  Clerk  of  the 
Territorial  Legislature,  which  office  he  re- 
signed on  being  appointed  Judge  of  the 
First  Judicial  Circuit.  He  then  removed 
to  Vincennes,  and  in  the  fall  of  1815  re- 
signed the  judgeship  and  opened  a  law 
office.  The  next  year,  1816,  he  was  elected 
a  representative  from  the  county  of  Knox 
to  the  first  I^egislature  under  the  State 
government.  There  were  many  men  in 
that  body  who  afterward  became  distin- 
guished in  the  history  of  Indiana,  among 
them  James  Noble,  Amos  Lane,  John 
Dumont,  Williamson  Dunn,  Davis  Floyd, 
Samuel  Milroy  and  Ratlifi"  Boon;  but  even 
at  that  early  day  Judge  Blackford's  repu- 
tation for  judicial  fairness  was  so  well  es- 
tablished that  he  was  chosen  Speaker 
without  a  contest.  The  next  year  Gov- 
ernor Jennings  appointed  him  a  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  a  position  he  graced 
and  honored  for  the  next  thirty-five  years. 

"In  1853,  his  term  as  Supreme  Judge 
having  expired,  he  opened  an  office  at  In- 
dianapolis for  the  practice  of  law.  He 
had  been  so  long  on  the  bench  that  he 
was  ill  at  ease  when  he  went  into  court 
with  a  case.  His  eft'ort  to  get  into  prac- 
tice was  not  successful,  and  in  a  short 
time  he  measurably  abandoned  it. 

"Judge  Blackford  was  not  at  home  at 
the  bar,  and  he  longed  to  be  again  upon 
the  bench.  The  opportunity  soon  came. 
In  1855,  on  the  organization  of  the  Court 
of  Claims  at  Washington,  President  Pierce 
appointed  him  one  of  its  judges.  He  held 
this  office  until  his  death,  December  31, 
1859.  He  discharged  its  duties  in  a  way 
that  added  luster  to  a  name  already  illus- 
trious, and  died  the  best  known  and  most 
eminent  jurist  Indiana  has  ever  produced. 

"When  Judge  Blackford's  death  became 
known  at  Washington  a  meeting  of  the 


(120) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1 


Indiana  Congressional  delegation  was  held 
to  take  action  upon  it.  Albert  G.  Porter, 
then  the  representative  from  the  Indian- 
apolis district,  in  a  speech  delivered  on 
that  occasion,  said: 

It  is  hardly  possible,  sir,  for  persons  who  reside 
in  an  old  community  to  appreciate  the  extent  to 
which,  in  a  new  country,  the  character  of  a  public 
man  may  be  impressed  upon  the  public  mind. 
There  is  not  a  community  in  Indiana,  not  a  single 
one,  in  which  the  name  of  Judge  Blackford  is  not 
a  household  word.  He  has  been  identified  with 
our  State  from  the  beginning.  He  may  almost 
be  said  to  be  a  part  of  our  institutions.  Judicial 
ability,  judicial  purity,  approaching  nearly  to  the 
idea  of  the  divine,  private  worth,  singularly  blend- 
ing the  simplicity  of  childhood  with  the  sober 
gravity  of  age — these  were  represented,  not 
simply  in  the  mind  of  the  profession,  but  in  the 
universal  popular  mind  of  Indiana,  in  the  person 
of  Isaac  Blackford. 

"At  the  same  meeting  General  William 
McKee  Dunn,  then  the  representative  from 
the  Madison  district,  said: 

For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  Judge 
Blackford  occupied  a  seat  on  the  Supreme  Bench 
of  our  State.  He  has  done  more  than  any  other 
man  to  build  up  our  jurisprudence  on  the  broad 
foundation  of  the  common  law-  His  reports  are 
not  only  an  honor  to  him,  but  to  the  State  of 
Indiana  also.  It  has  been  well  said  here  that  he 
was  an  "upright  judge,"  and  not  only  was  he  so 
in  fact,  but  so  careful  was  he  of  his  judicial  char- 
acter, and  so  regardful  of  all  the  proprieties  of 
his  position  that  he  was  universally  I'ecognized 
and  esteemed  as  "an  upright  judge." 

Indiana  is  proud  of  her  great  jurist,  but  to- 
day she  mourns  the  loss  of  one  of  her  most 
eminent  citizens,  and  now  by  her  united  delega- 
tion in  Congress  claims  that  all  that  is  mortal 
of  Isaac  Blackford  may  be  entrusted  to  her  care 
and  have  sepulture  in  her  bosom.  Let  his  body 
be  borne  back  to  the  State  with  whose  judicial 
history  his  name  is  inseparably  connected,  and 
there  at  its  capital  let  him  be  buried,  where  those 
from  all  parts  of  the  State  who  have  so  long 
known,  revered  and  loved  him  may  visit  his  tomb 
and  pay  affectionate  tribute  to  his  memory. 

"On  Thursday,  January  13,  1860,  while 
the  Democratic  State  convention  was  in 
session.  Governor  Willard  announced  to 
the  convention  that  the  remains  of  Judge 
Blackford  had  reached  Indianapolis  and 
were  then  lying  in  the  Senate  Chamber. 
He  also  said  that  the  Judge's  funeral 
would  take  place  that  afternoon,  and  in- 
vited the  delegates  to  view  the  remains 
and  attend  the  funeral. 

"In  1825  Judge  Blackford  was  a  candi- 
date for  Governor  of  Indiana,  but  was  de- 
feated by  James  Brown  Ray  by  a  majority 
of  2,622  votes.     Subsequently   he  was   a 


candidate  for  United  States  Senator,  and 
was  beaten  by  William  Hendricks  by  a 
single  vote. 

"Judge  Blackford  was  very  careful  in 
his  expenditure  of  money.  He  seldom 
parted  with  it  without  an  equivalent. 

"Judge  Blackford  had  an  only  son, 
George,  whose  mother  died  in  giving  him 
birth.  The  father  was  wrapped  up  in  his 
boy.  He  was  not  only  an  only  child,  but 
he  was  the  only  hope  of  perpetuating  the 
Blackford  name.  This  boy,  this  child  and 
companion  of  the  cloisteral  jurist,  sickened 
and  died  while  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  under 
medical  treatment  of  Dr.  Dudley.  His 
father  went  to  Lexington,  and  after  see- 
ing his  boy  laid  away  in  his  tomb,  returned 
to  his  home.  It  was  in  the  summertime, 
and  he  reached  Indianapolis  in  the  middle 
of  the  night.  Instead  of  going  to  his  room 
in  the  Circle,  he  went  to  the  residence  of 
Henry  P.  Coburn,  and,  without  knocking, 
opened  the  door  and  entered  the  house,  a 
house  in  which  he  was  ever  welcome.  Soon 
afterward  one  of  Mr.  Coburn's  sons  was 
awakened  by  the  stifled  sobs  of  the 
mourner.  He  arose  from  his  bed  and, 
lighting  a  candle,  beheld  Judge  Blackford, 
walking  the  floor  and  sobbing  as  though 
his  heart  would  break.  Not  a  word  was 
said.  The  young  man  knew  the  cause  of 
the  great  grief  of  his  father's  friend,  and 
having  no  wish  to  intrude  upon  its  sanc- 
tity, left  the  room.  Judge  Blackford  re- 
mained at  Mr.  Coburn's  for  several  days, 
and  during  the  time  held  no  conversation 
with  anyone.  He  took  his  meals  in  silence, 
and  when  they  were  over  returned  to  his 
room.  When  narrating  this  incident,  Gen- 
eral John  Coburn  said  to  the  author:  'I 
have  seen  grief  in  all  its  forms ;  have  seen 
the  mother  mourning  for  her  son;  have 
seen  the  wife  at  the  grave  of  her  husband, 
and  heard  her  sobs,  but  I  never  saw  such 
appalling  agonv  as  Judge  Blackford  ex- 
hiliited  that  night  at  my  father's  house.' 

"Judge  Blackford  had  a  room  in  the  old 
building  which  used  to  stand  in  the  Gov- 
ernor's Circle,  in  which  he  lived  for  many 
years.  It  was  plainly  furnished,  but  it 
contained  everything  necessary  for  his 
comfort. 

"One  who  knew  him  well  says  he  paid 
as  much  attention  to  a  comma  as  to  a 
thought.  He  has  been  known  to  stop  the 
press  to  correct  the  most  trivial  error,  one 
that  few  would  notice.     The  late  Samuel 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCEACY  —  1816-1 


Judah,  desiring  to  have  a  decision  delayed, 
once  asked  him  the  correct  spelHng  of  a 
word  he  knew  would  be  in  the  opinion. 
The  Judge  answered,  giving  the  usual 
orthography.  Mr.  Judah  took  issue  with 
him  and  argued  that  the  spelling  was  not 
correct.  The  Judge  at  once  commenced 
an  examination  of  the  word,  dug  out  its 
roots  and  carefully  weighed  all  the  au- 
thorities he  could  find.  He  spent  two  days 
at  this  work,  and  before  he  got  through 
the  court  had  adjourned  and  the  case  went 
over  to  the  next  term. 

"In  politics  Judge  Blackford  was  orig- 
inally a  Whig,  but  in  1836  he  supported 
Van  Buren  for  the  Presidency,  and  after- 
ward acted  with  the  Democracy.  He  hated 
slavery,  and  during  his  whole  life  his  in- 
fluence was  against  it.  Although  the 
ordinance  ceding  the  Northwestern  Ter- 
ritory to  the  United  States  provided  that 
slavery  should  never  exist  in  the  Territory 
or  the  States  formed  from  it,  it  was 
covertly  introduced  into  the  Territory. 
Laws  were  passed  authorizing  the  bring- 
ing of  negroes  into  the  Territory  and  pro- 
viding for  apprenticing  males  until  they 
were  thirty-five  years  old  and  females 
until  they  were  thirty-two.  Children  of 
colored  persons  born  in  the  Territory 
might  be  apprenticed  until  the  males  were 
thirty  and  the  females  twenty-eight  years 
old.  It  was  also  provided  that  slaves 
found  ten  miles  from  home  without  per- 
mission of  their  masters  might  be  taken 
up  and  whipped  with  twenty-five  lashes. 
Congress  was  petitioned  to  suspend  the 
sixth  article  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  pro- 
hibiting slavery  in  the  Territory,  but  hap- 
pily without  effect.  General  Harrison  was 
Governor  of  the  Territory,  and  approved 
of  all  these  measures.  He  had  about  him, 
and  enjoying  his  confidence,  Waller  Tay- 
lor, Thomas  Randolph,  and  other  immi- 
grants from  Virginia,  who  were  pro- 
slavery  men  of  the  most  decided  cast. 
Judge  Blackford  hated  slavery  in  all  its 
forms  and  early  allied  himself  with  the 
free  State  party  led  by  Jonathan  Jennings. 
He  held  General  Harrison  responsible  for 
the  effort  to  make  Indiana  a  slave  Terri- 
tory, and  when  the  General  became  a  can- 
didate for  President,  in  1836,  Judge  Black- 
ford refused  to  support  him.  His  action 
in  this  matter  put  him  outside  the  Whig 
party  and  into  the  Democratic — a  position 
he  maintained  while  he  lived. 


"His  legal  opinions  were  prepared  with 
the  greatest  care  and  precision.  They 
were  written  and  rewritten  until  they  were 
brought  to  his  critical  standard.  So,  too, 
with  his  reports  of  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  eight  volumes  of  which 
he  published.  Each  syllabus  was  wrought 
out  as  a  sculptor  chisels  his  marble.  He 
did  not  report  all  the  decisions  of  the 
court;  many  were  omitted.  Those  only 
were  published  which  he  regarded  as  sound 
and  just  on  the  general  principles  of  the 
law.  The  result  of  this  was  his  reports 
are  authority  wherever  the  courts  recog- 
nize the  common  law  as  their  rule  of  action. 
Since  they  were  published  a  law  has  been 
passed  compelling  a  report  of  all  the  opin- 
ions of  the  court.  There  have  been  so 
many  contradictory  opinions  given  since 
then  that  the  authority  of  our  highest 
court  is  not,  relatively,  as  high  as  it  was 
when  its  decisions  were  only  known 
through  Blackford's  Reports.  Judge  Black- 
ford's reports  were  short  and  sententious, 
his  style  being  clear  and  faultless.  He  did 
not  write  essays  or  treatises  in  his  opin- 
ions, but  treated  of  the  essence  of  the 
case,  and  of  nothing  more. 

"Without  favor,  fear  or  affection  he  held 
up  the  scales  of  justice  before  the  world. 
His  spotless  rectitude  and  unswerving  jus- 
tice made  his  name  a  household  word  in 
Indiana,  a  State  whose  judicature  he  found 
in  swaddling  clothes  and  left  clad  in  beau- 
tiful raiment." 

THE  OTHER  JUDGES. 

Judges  Scott  and  Holman  were  by  Gov- 
ernor Ray  denied  reappointment  in  1830 
on  account  of  their  refusal  to  aid  that  am- 
bitious public  functionary  in  his  effort  to 
secure  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate. 
Stephen  C.  Stephens,  a  pronounced  Aboli- 
tionist, and  John  T.  McKinney,  a  Whig, 
were  named  as  successors.  Both  encoun- 
tered considerable  opposition  to  their  con- 
firmation, but  the  Governor  finally  won 
out.  Dewey  and  Sullivan  were  generally 
considered  strong  jurists.  Governor 
Whitcomb  named  Judges  Perkins  and 
Smith,  both  of  whom  adorned  the  bench. 

So  far  as  Judge  Holman  was  concerned 
his  retirement  from  the  Supreme  Bench  of 
the  State  did  not  prove  a  detriment.  Three 


(122) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  9  1  G 


or  four  years  afterward  (in  1835)  Presi- 
dent Jackson  appointed  him  as  Judge  of 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court  for  In- 
diana. He  was  the  second  judge  of  the 
court  and  served  until  his  death,  on  March 
28,  1842.  Judge  Holman  was  a  native  of 
Danville,  Ky.,  being  born  in  that  city  Oc- 
tober 24,  1784.  He  received  a  common 
school  education  in  Kentucky  and  then 
studied  law  under  Henry  Clay  at  Lexing- 
ton. At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  moved  to 
Indiana  and  .settled  for  life  on  a  farm  near 
Aurora.  He  was  one  of  the  very  first  men 
in  the  State  to  bring  his  slaves  (inherited 
by  his  wife)  across  the  Ohio  river  and 
emancipate  them.     In  1811  he  was  Prose- 


cuting Attorney,  and  in  1814  became  a 
member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature.  In 
1881  he  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for 
United  States  Senator,  being  defeated  by 
John  Tipton  by  one  vote.  He  is  described 
as  a  particularly  careful,  laborious,  exact 
judge.  It  is  said  that  a  more  conscientious 
man  never  lived.  He  had  no  enemies  and 
he  yet  never  shirked  a  duty.  Judge  Hol- 
man loved  nature  and  books  and  was  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel.  In  denominational 
attiliation  he  was  a  Baptist.  He  was  the 
father  of  William  S.  Holman,  for  many 
years  the  ever-faithful  and  vigilant  watch- 
dog of  the  nation's  treasury. 


(  123  ) 


[Chapter  XVI.] 

EXPANSION    OF   UNCLE   SAM'S   DOMAIN 

FRUIT  OF  DEMOCRATIC  FORTITUDE,  FORESIGHT 
AND  WISDOM 


AKING    a    retrospective    view, 

'T'l  measuring  discerningly  and 
I  I  dispassionately  the  achieve- 
1  11  ments  of  American  statesman- 
ship during  the  first  half  cen- 
tury of  the  Republic's  exist- 
ence, there  is  presented  to  the 
appreciative  eye  this  inspiring  picture  of 
the 


GROWTH  OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Territory  Year       Sq.  Miles  Price 

Louisiana  1803  875,025  $15,000,000 

Florida  1819  70,107  5,499,768 

Texas   1845  389,795     * 

Oregon 1846  288,689     * 

Me.\ican  cession 1848  523,802  18,250,000 

Gadsden  purchase 1854  36,211  10,000,000 

*Annexed  by  treaty. 

In  striking  contrast  to  Europe's  history 
of  territorial  aggrandizement  is  the  record 
of  the  growth  of  the  United  States.  Not 
a  piece  of  land  has  been  added  to  our  do- 
main unless  compensation  in  some  kind 
was  made. 

But  not  only  in  its  acquisition  of  terri- 
tory has  the  United  States  proved  its  high 
national  morality  to  the  congress  of  na- 
tions. In  every  international  affair  in 
which  we  have  participated  we  have 
shown  a  regard  for  weaker  nations,  and  a 
disregard  for  the  opinions  of  strong  ones. 

The  history  of  the  relations  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  the 
last  hundred  years  is  a  testament  to  the 
efficiency  of  arbitration,  when  two  nations 
really  desire  a  peaceful  settlement.  The 
disputes  over  the  Maine  boundary,  the 
fishery  claims,  the  Oregon  dispute,  the 
Klondike  frontier  difference,  the  regula- 
tion of  pelagic  sealing,  were  all  of  as  much 


importance — commercially,  economically 
or  geographically — as  the  causes  of  most 
any  war  in  that  same  time. 

The  first  territorial  acquisition  of  the 
United  States  was  that  of  Louisiana  from 
France.  It  was  the  largest  real  estate 
deal  ever  accomplished  by  friendly  na- 
tions. The  United  States  paid  approxi- 
mately $15,000,000  for  more  than  875,000 
square  miles  of  territory. 

Spain  had  acquired  Louisiana  in  1763 
when  France  retired  from  America.  It 
controlled  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  the  free  passage  of  which  early  be- 
came a  point  of  dispute  with  the  United 
States.  By  1802  a  temporary  settlement 
was  made,  when  the  United  States  learned 
of  the  secret  treaty  of  San  Ildefonso, 
whereby  Spain  gave  Louisiana  back  to 
France. 

More  disputes  about  the  river  followed. 
Feeling  ran  high  in  the  new  Republic. 
Jingoes  advocated  war  with  France  to 
force  better  treatment.  President  Jeffer- 
son believed  France  might  be  persuaded 
to  sell  the  island  of  New  Orleans  and  that 
strip  of  the  present  Mississippi  and  Ala- 
bama between  the  thirty-first  parallel  and 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  boundary  of  the 
United  States  then  stopped  at  the  thirty- 
first  parallel. 

Robert  R.  Livingston,  the  American 
minister  in  Paris,  was  in.structed  to  pro- 
pose that  matter  to  Napoleon,  then  first 
Consul.'  James  Monroe  was  sent  to  as- 
sist Mr.  Livingston.  France  received  the 
proposal  with  disfavor.  War  talk  was 
heard  again  in  the  United  States,  when 
suddenly  Napoleon,  through  Talleyrand 
and  Marquis  de  Marbois,  his  minister  of 


(125) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


finance,  offered  to  sell  to  the  Republic  not 
only  the  island  and  small  strip  of  land,  but 
the  entire  province  of  Louisiana. 

The  first  price  asked  was  120,000,000 
francs,  with  the  assumption  of  all  the 
province's  debts  by  the  purchaser.  Amer- 
ica might  have  bought  at  that  price,  but 
as  Napoleon  was  anxious  to  replenish  his 
war  chest  to  fight  England,  he  lowered  his 
terms.  Ultimately  the  price  was  fixed  at 
$15,000,000,  and  April  30,  1803,  the  prov- 
ince of  Louisiana  became  American. 

The  wording  of  the  treaty  conveying 
Louisiana  was  vague,  and  soon  the  United 
States  became  embroiled  with  Spain  over 
the  strip  between  the  gulf  and  the  thirty- 
first  parallel.  Spain  claimed  that  terri- 
tory belonged  to  Florida,  then  a  Spanish 
province,  and  had  never  been  retrans- 
ferred  to  France. 

Spain  maintained  its  position,  and  in 
1810  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  part 
of  the  strip  rebelled,  organized  an  inde- 
pendent republic  and  then  asked  to  be  an- 
nexed to  the  United  States.  American 
troops  took  possession  without  any  an- 
nexation formalities.  In  1812  the  area  of 
American  control  was  extended  farther 
East.  After  England  used  Florida  for  a 
military  base  in  the  war  of  1812,  the  dis- 
pute between  Spain  and  the  United  States 
became  more  acute,  and  finally  a  confer- 
ence was  held  to  adjust  all  difficulties. 

It  resulted  in  Florida  being  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  Spain  releasing  all  claim  to 
the  strip  mentioned  before.  In  return  the 
United  States  agreed  to  take  over  all 
claims  of  American  citizens  against  Spain 
up  to  $5,000,000  and  pay  some  expenses 
and  debts  of  the  province,  all  aggregating 
about  $5,500,000.  The  United  States  also 
gave  up  its  claim  to  some  territory  west 
of  the  Sabine  river  in  the  present  Texas. 

The  United  States  made  several  efforts 
to  acquire  Texas  before  it  was  annexed. 
In  1827  an  offer  of  $1,000,000  was  made. 
Two  years  later  $5,000,000  were  offered. 


Mexico  refused.  In  1836  the  Mexican 
provinces  of  Texas  and  Coahuila  seceded 
and  organized  an  independent  republic 
under  the  name  of  Texas.  It  tried  repeat- 
edly to  enter  the  United  States,  but  not 
until  1845  was  the  annexation  completed 
and  the  Republic  of  Texas  disestablished. 
No  money  was  paid  for  Texas,  but  the 
people  of  the  State  were  rewarded  by  the 
increased  protection  they  enjoyed  as  a 
part  of  the  United  States.  Later  the  State 
was  paid  $10,000  for  lands  ceded  to  the 
general  Government  in  the  adjustment  of 
its  boundaries. 

With  Texas  the  United  States  also 
acquired  a  quarrel  with  Mexico  over  the 
territory  between  the  Rio  Grande  and 
Nueces  river.  The  Texas  declaration  of 
independence  had  named  the  Rio  Grande 
as  the  southwestern  boundary.  Mexico 
claimed  the  more  northern  stream  was 
correct.  The  United  States  chose  to  up- 
hold the  Texas  contention,  which  brought 
on  the  Mexican  war  of  1846-48. 

Uncle  Sam's  action  in  that  war  rather 
smacks  of  conquest,  but  he  sugar-coated 
the  forcible  seizure  of  New  Mexico  and 
California  by  paying  Mexico  for  them. 
The  price  was  $18,250,000,  $3,250,000  of 
which  was  to  liquidate  spoliation  claims 
of  American  citizens  against  Mexico. 

Some  writers  have  tried  to  show  that 
the  United  States  contemplated  only  seiz- 
ing the  strip  between  the  Nueces  and  Rio 
Grande  when  the  war  began,  but  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  struggle  made  it  necessary 
to  take  other  land.  Such  attempts  are 
futile.  The  United  States  took  California 
and  New  Mexico  by  force,  justifying  its 
action  by  the  knowledge  that  a  great  rich 
region  was  kept  undeveloped  by  a  back- 
ward nation,  and  paying  a  gold  compensa- 
tion. Had  a  European  nation  been  in 
Uncle  Sam's  place  in  1848,  Mexico  would 
have  been  stripped  not  only  of  land,  for 
which  it  was  paid,  but  money  as  well. 
Mexico  was  paid  $3,000,000  down  and 
$12,000,000  in  four  annual  payments. 


(126) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191   « 


During  the  Mexican  war  the  United 
States  also  acquii-ed  clear  title  to  another 
large  and  valuable  tract  of  land — Oregon 
Territory.  England  laid  some  claim  to  it, 
but  an  arbitration  conference  awarded  it 
to  the  United  States  in  1846. 

In  1854  the  United  States  made  its  last 
acquisition  of  contiguous  territory.  In 
that  year  a  strip  of  land,  now  known  as 
the  Gadsden  purchase,  was  acquired. 
Mexico  was  given  $10,000,000  for  it,  an 
excellent  price.  It  provided  a  way  for  a 
trans-continental  railroad. 

The  contemplation  of  such  a  record  is 
well  calculated  to  arouse  in  Democratic 
breasts  a  spirit  of  exuberance  and  exulta- 
tion. With  pardonable  pride  it  may  be  re- 
ferred to  as  a  splendid  vindication  of 
Democratic  judgment  and  fortitude  in 
holding  out  determinedly  against  the 
whimsical,  hysterical  and  at  times  vicious 
attitude  of  the  Whigs  in  opposing  both  the 
annexation  of  Texas  and  the  war  against 
Mexico.  Steering  clear  of  that  which 
might  be  considered  vainglorious  boastful- 
ness,  there  is  abundant  justification  for 
bringing  to  popular  attention  the  magni- 
tude of  that  marvelous  territorial  expan- 
sion under  which  a  mighty  nation  thrives 
and  prospers  between  two  great  oceans. 
In  fitting  terms  the  splendor  of  this 
achievement  is  vividly  brought  within  the 
grasp  and  comprehension  of  the  present 
generation  by  a  veteran  Democratic  jour- 
nalist who  for  many  years  championed 
and  vitalized  Democratic  doctrines  in  In- 
diana. His  admirable  production  richly 
merits  a  conspicuous  place  in  this  volume : 

ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  DEMOCRACY. 

(By  Major  Geo.  E.  Finney,  Editor  of  the 
Martinsville  Democrat.) 

"There  are  times  and  occasions  when 
opponents  of  Democracy  opprobriously  ap- 
ply such  terms  as  'Bourbon,'  'negative 
quantity,'  and  'unprogressive  plodders'  to 
the  party  that  prides  itself  as  having  had 
Thomas  Jefferson  as  its  founder.  By  way 
of  rejoinder  it  may  be  said  that  in  only 


one  particular  are  the  Democrats  Bour- 
bons. They  early  learned  and  imbibed  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution.  Its  meaning  in 
the  early  days  is  in  no  .sen.se  different  from 
its  meaning  now.  To  that  instrument 
they  have  clung  through  all  the  changing 
years.  As  to  it  they  have  learned  nothing 
new,  nor  have  they  forgotten  its  spirit  and 
its  teachings.  Thus  far  and  no  farther 
are  they  Bourbons. 

"A  'negative  party'?  Let's  see.  It  put 
its  impress  upon  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence; it  materially  assisted  in  orig- 
inating the  Government,  providing  those 
wise  measures  and  supporting  them  em- 
bodied in  the  constitution  under  which  the 
country  has  passed  through  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  years  of  unexampled  pros- 
perity and  happiness;  under  which  the 
country  has  been  brought  safely  through 
every  trouble  that  is  likely  to  frown  upon 
us,  and  under  which,  aided  by  superb 
statesmanship,  indomitable  courage  and 
confidence  in  man's  ability  for  a  patriotic 
self-government,  it  has  avoided  the  rock 
upon  which  other  countries  have  split. 
While  these  are  material  achievements 
whose  influence  envelop  us  by  night  and 
make  the  air  around  us  pure  Isy  day,  they 
are  not  such  things  as  those  upon  which 
a  measure  may  be  put  and  their  value  cal- 
culated by  dollars  and  cents,  or  their  ex- 
tent measured  by  leagues  and  furlongs. 
But  the  party  is  to  be  credited  with  large 
achievements  of  this  character,  too,  as — 

"Take  a  map  of  the  United  States,  trace 
a  line  beginning  near  Fernandina,  Fla.,  on 
the  north  line  of  that  State,  west,  with  an 
offset  to  the  north  at  Chattahoochee  river 
to  the  Mississippi,  thence  with  that  river 
to  its  source,  and  over  a  stretch  of  coun- 
try still  further  north  till  the  line  inter- 
sects Rainy  Lake  river,  near  its  issuance 
from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods ;  from  this 
point  east  along  the  lake  line,  St.  Lawrence 
river  and  the  northeast  boundary  to  the 
ocean,  thence  along  the  coast  line  to  the 
place  of  beginning.  Within  this  boundary 
is  found  the  original  area  of  the  United 
States,  embracing  827,080  square  miles  of 
territory. 

"The  total  area  in  square  miles  of  the 
United  States  (excluding  Florida  and 
Alaska)  is  2,967,226.  Deduct  from  this 
grand  total  the  original  area,  in  .square 
miles  thus— 2,967,226  minus  827,080,  and 
there  results  2,180,146.  These  figures 
represent  the  territory  which,  through  the 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1 


clear  foresight  and  the  splendid  diplomacy 
of  the  Democratic  party,  was  acquired 
and,  without  war  or  conquest,  added  to 
this  country. 

"Though  Florida  was  acquired  by  pur- 
chase as  a  result  of  a  compromise  on  the 
Rio  Grande-Sabine  river  boundary  line 
dispute  under  a  Democratic  President,  yet 
it  is  excluded  from  the  count  for  the  rea- 
son that  the  purchase  was  accomplished 
during  the  'era  of  good  feeling' — a  notable 
period  when  no  political  parties  were  bat- 
tling for  supremacy — and  therefore  the 
Democracy  is  not  entitled  to  exclusive 
credit.  Nor  is  Alaska,  because  that  icicle 
was  the  gift  of  the  Republican  party.  But 
all  the  contiguous  accessions  besides  the 
Democratic  party  gave  to  the  country,  and 
all  of  this  splendid  heritage  was  acquired 
in  the  face  of  opposition,  some  of  it  reach- 
ing if  not  to  treasonable,  at  least  to  most 
unpatriotic,  utterances. 

"A  magnificent  domain  in  itself!  Its 
northern  boundary  stretches  out  for  six- 
teen hundred  miles  before  reaching  the 
Pacific;  its  coast  line  eighteen  hundred 
miles;  its  southern  line  two  thousand 
miles,  and  its  river  line  the  whole  length 
of  the  Mississippi  and  more.  Within  this 
boundary  is  found  a  land  of  varied  condi- 
tion, but  most  of  which  contains  elements 
of  wealth  to  the  people  and  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. Its  auriferous  ores  glisten  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world ;  the  products  of  its 
grazing  grounds  reach  the  sea  and  cross 
it;  its  golden  cereal  is  quoted  in  the  world's 
great  marts;  its  luscious  fruits  gladden 
the  palates  of  the  peoples  of  many  climes, 
and  its  grand  scenery  attracts  the  lovers 
of  the  beautiful  from  far  and  near.  Upon 
every  league  of  this  vast  expanse — from 
the  mouth  of  the  Father  of  Waters  to  the 
far-away  Cape  Flattery,  from  the  Gila  to 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods — the  Democratic 
footprint  is  seen  and  the  sign-manual  of 
the  party  of  Jefi'erson  is  writ  in  characters 
of  unfading  glory. 

"The  area  of  accessions  is  more  than 
two  and  a  half  times  larger  than  the  orig- 
inal country,  conquered  from  England.  In 
a  national  sense  the  value  of  this  achieve- 
ment cannot  be  computed,  but  a  few 
minutes'  thought  will  open  the  mind  to  its 
vast  importance.  In  the  absence  of  this 
addition  of  territory,  the  Mississippi  and 
an  imaginary  line  north  of  its  source 
would  have  been  its  boundary  on  the  west, 
and  the  great  breadth  of  lands  between  it 


and  the  Pacific  coast  owned  and  occupied 
by  foreign  peoples.  He  that  has  read  his- 
tory, even  very  recent  history,  will  recog- 
nize at  once  the  danger  of  such  a  line  in 
case  of  trouble  with  national  neighbors, 
and  the  cost  of  maintaining  defenses  along 
such  a  stretch  of  boundary,  both  in  times 
of  peace  as  well  as  war.  I'he  clear  fore- 
sight of  Jefferson  appreciated  this  danger 
and  sought  to  avert  it.  Again,  to  our 
country  had  been  invited  the  oppressed 
people  of  other  nations  to  find  asylum  and 
home  within  our  borders.  And  the  people 
came.  It  was  easy  enough  to  see  that  in 
the  coming  years  more  territory  would  be 
needed,  and  this  thought  added  strength 
to  the  purpose. 

"Following  in  the  steps  of  Jefferson,  the 
later  Democracy  saw  safety,  national 
security  and  commercial  value  in  pushing 
the  boundary  farther  west,  for  on  the  sea 
line  a  boundary  was  to  be  found,  secure 
in  its  permanency,  dependable  in  its 
strength  and  economical  in  its  keep,  in 
that  it  would  require  few  fortifications 
and  its  liability  to  incursions  be  negligible. 
It  requires  little  fancy  to  conjure  up  the 
succession  of  quarrels,  brawls,  raids  and 
disturbances  of  various  kinds  that  always 
characterize  the  people  along  such  a 
boundary  as  that  which  Jefferson 
saw.  As  a  testimony  to  this  con- 
template the  late  and  present  con- 
dition on  our  Mexican  border.  Then 
would  we  sigh  with  a  vain  regret 
over  the  'what  might  have  been'  if  the 
tide  had  been  taken  at  its  flood.  But, 
thanks  to  the  Democratic  party,  such 
imaginings  were  anticipated.  The  wis- 
dom of  its  leaders  dictated  the  course  that 
was  to  redound  to  the  glory  and  welfare 
of  the  Nation.  Schooled  in  the  revolution, 
their  minds  expanded  with  the  happy  close 
of  the  great  struggle,  and  they  saw  with  a 
prescient  eye  the  grand  possibilities  of 
the  years  to  come. 

"When  the  young  man  has  studied  the 
parties  with  a  view  to  choosing  party- 
affiliations,  and  has,  as  well  as  he  may, 
mastered  the  principles  and  policies  of  the 
contending  parties  of  today,  he  will  feel 
a  pride  in  allying  himself  with  the  De- 
mocracy. In  the  contemplation  of  its 
grand  and  worthy  past,  he  will  feel  that 
he  has  in  some  sort  a  part  and  parcel  in 
its  grand  achievements." 


(128) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-  1 


PROPHECIES  OF  WOE  GONE  AWRY. 

Viewing  with  supreme  satisfaction  the 
events  that  brought  about  the  immense  ex- 
pansion of  Uncle  Sam's  territory,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  note  the  predictions  of  woe 
that  were  elicited  as  a  result  of  the  firm 
stand  taken  by  the  statesmen  who  cham- 
pioned the  policy  of  a  greater  American 
Union.  After  the  occupation  of  California 
by  the  United  States,  Sidney  Smith  pre- 
dicted that  "This  marks  the  end  of  the 
great  American  Republic,  for  a  people 
spread  over  such  a  vast  area,  having  such 
diversified  interests  and  separated  by  such 
natural  barriers,  cannot  hold  together." 

His  logic  was  perfect  and  his  conclu- 
sions eminently  correct,  but  for  a  totally 
unexpected  occurrence — the  invention  of 
the  telegraph.  The  telegraph  was  in  use 
then,  but  no  one  saw  even  dimly  its  possi- 
bilities. 

The  necessity  of  binding  together  the 
peoples  of  vast  nations  by  means  of  rapid 
communication  had  been  worrying  the 
world  for  some  time.  The  Russian  gov- 
ernment went  so  far  as  to  build  220  sema- 
phore towers  from  the  Russian  frontier  to 
St.  Petersburg,  by  way  of  Warsaw,  1,200 
miles.  Thirteen  hundred  operators  were 
employed,  and  a  semaphore,  on  the  plan  of 
the  present  railway  signal,  but  with  many 
more  arms,  was  used. 

In  1832  similar  systems  were  in  use  in 
France  and  Prussia  and  one  word  could  be 
signaled  from  Paris  to  Toulon,  475  miles, 
in  twelve  minutes.  These  systems  were 
hardly  established,  at  tremendous  expense, 
when  Professor  Morse  knocked  them  into 
a  cocked  hat. 

What  a  howl  was  raised  when  Jeffer- 
son consummated  the  celebrated  Louisiana 
Territory  purchase.  When  its  ratification 
came  up  in  Congress  Josiah  Quincy  of 
Massachusetts  rose  and  tore  hair.  Jeffer- 
son was  an  "idiot"  and  a  "madman,"  and 


Massachusetts  was  going  to  secede  if  this 
monkey  business  went  any  further. 

"This  constitution  never  was  intended 
to  be  and  never  can  be  strained  to  lay  all 
over  the  wilderness  of  the  West  without 
essentially  affecting  the  rights  and  con- 
sciences of  its  proprietors,"  he  declared. 
"Why,  sir,  I  have  heard  of  six  new  States, 
and  some  say  there  will  be,  at  no  great  dis- 
tance of  time,  more.  It  was  not  for  them 
that  this  constitution  was  adopted.  You 
have  no  authority  to  throw  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
into  a  hotchpot  with  the  wild  men  on  the 
Missouri,  or  the  mixed,  though  more  re- 
spectable, Anglo-Hispano-Gallo-Americans 
who  bask  on  the  sands  of  the  Mississippi. 
New  States  are  intended  to  be  formed  be- 
yond the  Mississippi.  There  is  no  limit  to 
man's  imagination  on  this  subject  short 
of  California  and  the  Columbia  river." 
The  "wild  men  on  the  Missouri"  con- 
stitute a  mighty  foi'ce.  They  are  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  galaxy  of  States. 
Their  number  is  counted  by  millions.  But 
please  don't  judge  harshly  of  Josiah 
Quincy.  How  could  he,  in  the  days  of  his 
activity,  have  foreseen  the  networks  of 
railroads,  the  myriads  of  telegraph  poles 
and  wires,  the  wondrous  performance  of 
the  telephone  and  the  other  cords  which 
are  yet  to  make  the  Columbia  and  the 
Hudson  next  door  neighbors? 

Viewing  ever  so  kindly  and  consider- 
ately the  dire  predictions  made  by  some  of 
the  sages  of  the  remote  past,  let  us  not  lose 
sight  of  the  comforting  fact  that  not  a 
single  slave  territory  or  new  slave  State 
was  carved  out  of  all  the  vast  territory  an- 
nexed and  acquired  from  Mexico !  Verily, 
poor  prophets  were  the  politicians  and 
statesmen  who,  in  those  days,  protested  so 
vehemently  against  the  expansion  cham- 
pioned and  accomplished  by  the  party  of 
Jefferson,  Jackson  and  Polk. 


(129) 


[Chapter  XVII.] 

INDIANA'S  SECOND  CONSTITUTION 

THE   FIRST   ONE   SEEMINGLY  SATISFIED  THE   PEOPLE   FOR 
THIRTY- FIVE  YEARS 


AKING  into  consideration  the 
fact  that  the  framers  of  In- 
diana's first  constitution  re- 
quired only  nineteen  days 
wherein  to  perform  the  task 
assigned  to  them,  it  must  be 
conceded  that  they  quite  suc- 
ceeded in  meeting  the  wishes  of  the  people 
whom  they  served.  Provision  had  been 
made  in  that  document  for  subsequent 
changes  at  relatively  short  intervals,  yet 
the  people  indicated  their  unwillingness  to 
avail  themselves  of  that  privilege  by  wait- 
ing thirty-five  years  before  they  sup- 
planted the  old  with  the  new. 

The  assumption  is  thus  warranted  that 
the  men  who  made  the  Constitution  of 
1816  did  a  good  job,  not  alone  for  the  im- 
mediate present  and  the  near  future,  but 
for  a  succeeding  generation.  Moreover, 
their  product  must  have  given  unfeigned 
satisfaction  to  the  wise  men  at  Washing- 
ton, in  congress  assembled,  for  that  august 
body  not  only  placed  its  stamp  of  approval 
upon  the  newly-made  constitution,  but  re- 
lieved the  people  of  the  infant  common- 
wealth of  the  necessity  of  passing  thereon 
by  popular  vote.  That  no  false  notion  may 
find  lodgment  in  the  Hoosier  mind  as  to 
this  having  been  an  exhibition  of  parti- 
ality and  favoritism  the  further  statement 
is  vouchsafed  that  Ohio  at  the  time  of  its 
admission  into  the  Union  was  favored  in 
like  manner.  Congress  evidently  believed 
in  those  days  that  when  the  people  of  a 
Territory  knocking  for  admission  into  the 
Union  are  authorized  to  select  the  men 
charged  with  the  framing  of  their  future 
organic  law,  such  selection  ought  to  be 
made  with  the  understanding  that  their 
acts  shall  be  final  and  not  subject  to  ap- 
proval or  rejection  by  the  populace. 


That  this  belief  was  founded  upon  rea- 
son and  sound  judgment  is  evidenced  by 
the  excellence  of  the  work  actually  done. 
Both  Ohio  and  Indiana  got  along  very  well 
for  many  years  with  their  respective  State 
constitutions,  though  neither  document 
had  first  been  submitted  to  popular  vote. 

Whether  the  Constitution  of  1851  is  a 
marked  improvement  upon  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1816  is  neither  the  purpose  nor  the 
province  of  this  publication  to  determine. 
There  is  just  one  phase  to  which  attention 
is  being  directed,  and  that  is  whether  the 
welfare  of  the  State  was  enhanced  by 
making  State  officers  other  than  Governor 
and  Lieutenant-Governor  elective  by  the 
people.  To  reach  a  just  conclusion  with 
reference  to  this,  let  comparisons  be  insti- 
tuted and  let  the  verdict  be  rendered  in 
conformity  with  actual  experience — the 
only  real  test.  The  question  to  be  passed 
upon  is  whether  a  better  class  of  men  have 
been  chosen  for  Secretary  of  State,  Au- 
ditor and  Treasurer  under  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1851  than  were  chosen  under  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  1816? 

Discussion  of  the  relative  merits  of  the 
two  methods  of  choosing  State  officials  has 
developed  a  pronounced  .sentiment  in  favor 
of  the  system  in  operation  in  Pennsylvania 
since  the  adoption  of  that  State's  new  con- 
stitution in  1872.  To  Charles  R.  Buck- 
alew,  for  many  years  the  idolized  leader 
of  the  Keystone  Democracy,  is  mainly  due 
the  credit  for  having  brought  about  the 
change  under  consideration.  In  all  its  hi.s- 
tory,  Penn.sylvania  never  had  a  long  list  of 
State  officers  to  choose  by  popular  vote. 
Under  the  present  system  the  people  of 
Pennsylvania  elect  only  four  State  officers, 
to  wit:  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
Treasurer     and     Secretary     of     Internal 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


Affairs,  besides  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
and  Appellate  Courts.  Secretary  of  State, 
Auditor,  Attorney-General,  Superintend- 
ent of  Public  Instruction,  etc.,  are  all  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor.  These  officials 
constitute  the  Governor's  Cabinet.  This 
Cabinet  is,  in  so  far  as  feasible,  patterned 
after  the  President's  Cabinet  at  Washing- 
ton. It  has  worked  excellently  in  Penn- 
sylvania, so  much  so  that  during  a  period 
covering  four  decades  not  even  a  sugges- 
tion has  been  ventured  to  supplant  it  vi^ith 
some  other  plan  or  system.  The  official 
business  of  the  State  is  transacted  far 
more  expeditiously  and  efficiently  than 
under  the  elective  system,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor is  afforded  far  greater  opportunity 
to  devote  his  time  and  attention  to  mat- 
ters properly  pertaining  to  his  office  than 
is  possible  in  our  State.  If  enlightenment 
on  this  subject  is  needed,  let  any  one  spend 
a  day  at  the  State  House  at  Indianapolis 
and  make  note  of  the  innumerable  trivial 
things  that  are  from  day  to  day  thrust 
upon  the  attention  of  Governor  Ralston. 
Under  the  so-called  Federal  (or  cabinet) 
plan  all  matters  are  referred  to  the  proper 
department  and  attended  to  by  the  proper 
person.  Three  or  four  of  our  Indiana 
Governors  have  had  their  lives  shortened 
by  the  tremendous  pressure  brought  on 
them  as  a  result  of  the  onerous  and  de- 
structive system  in  vogue  at  our  State 
Capitol. 

But  the  real  purpose  of  these  pages  is 
to  record  the  manner  and  circumstances 
under  which  the  Constitution  of  1816  was 
discarded  and  the  Constitution  of  1851 
brought  into  existence.  As  tersely  set 
forth  in  Moore's  "A  Century  of  Indiana," 
the  change  was  brought  about  for  these 
reasons  and  in  this  manner: 

"Feeling  that  the  State  had  outgrown 
its  first  constitution,  and  the  need  of  many 
changes  being  apparent,  the  people  voted 
affirmatively  in  1850  upon  a  proposition 
to  call  a  constitutional  convention.  The 
convention  convened  at  Indianapolis,  Oc- 
tober 7,  1850,  and  continued  in  session  un- 


til February  10,  1851.  It  was  composed 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  delegates,  and 
the  wisdom  of  their  work  in  framing  a 
new  constitution  is  generally  recognized. 
The  constitution  framed  and  adopted  by 
the  convention  was  later  ratified  by  the 
people  at  the  polls  and  became  the  funda- 
mental law  of  the  State.  It  went  into 
effect  November  1,  1851.  The  vote  upon 
its  adoption  stood — 109,310  yeas  and  26,- 
755  nays.  A  separate  ballot  was  taken  on 
the  thirteenth  article,  which  resulted  in  its 
adoption  by  substantially  the  same  vote. 

"The  thirteenth  article  forbade  the  com- 
ing into  the  State  of  any  negro  or  mulatto ; 
made  contracts  entered  into  with  any  such 
void  and  provided  fines  against  citizens 
who  should  employ  or  otherwise  encour- 
age negroes  to  remain  in  the  State.  Fines 
so  assessed  were  to  be  set  aside  as  a  fund 
for  colonizing  any  negroes  already  in  the 
State,  or  their  descendants,  who  should  be 
willing  to  immigrate.  This  article  was 
stricken  out  by  an  amendment  ratified  by 
vote  of  the  people  in  1881. 

"The  new  constitution  also  limited  the 
suffrage  to  white  voters  and  provided  that 
only  white  males  over  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  should  be  considered  in  fixing 
the  basis  of  representation  in  the  General 
Assembly.  By  amendments  adopted  in 
1881  the  word  'white'  was  stricken  out 
wherever  it  appeared  in  the  constitution, 
thus  ending  discrimination  between  the 
races  and  admitting  the  negro  to  the  fran- 
chise and  full  rights  of  citizenship. 

"Among  the  important  changes  made 
by  the  new  constitution  from  the  provi- 
sions of  the  old  were:  The  power  of  ap- 
pointing supreme  court  judges  was  tak- 
en from  the  Governor,  and  all  judicial  offi- 
cers were  made  elective  by  the  people ;  the 
Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Auditor  of  State 
were  made  elective  by  the  people  instead 
of  by  the  Legislature;  sessions  of  the 
Legislature  were  made  biennial  instead  of 
annual;  the  Legislature  was  forbidden  to 
pass  local  or  special  laws ;  a  system  of  gen- 
eral banking  laws  was  provided  for  and 
the  State  prohibited  from  becoming  a 
stockholder  in  any  banking  or  other  corpo- 
ration." 

The  making  or  amending  of  a  constitu- 
tion has  for  years  engaged  popular  atten- 
tion in  Indiana  to  such  an  extent  that  a 
complete  history  of  the  circumstances  at- 
tending the  creation  of  the  present  organic 


(132) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


law  will  surely  be  highly  prized  by  every 
reader  of  this  volume,  especially  when 
mention  is  made  that  this  historical  re- 
view emanates  from  the  pen  of  Prof.  Lo- 
gan Esarey  of  the  University  of  Indiana : 

WHY  CHANGES  ARE  IN  ORDER. 

"By  the  terms  of  the  Constitution  of 
1816  it  was  provided  that  every  twelve 
years  a  referendum  vote  should  be  taken 
on  the  advisability  or  necessity  of  calling 
a  constitutional  convention.  It  was  the 
generally  accepted  theory  then,  as  laid 
down  in  the  writings  of  Jefferson,  that  one 
generation  had  no  moral  or  legal  right  to 
bind  by  constitutional  limitation  a  suc- 
ceeding generation.  It  is  hardly  probable 
that  the  framers  of  the  constitution  in- 
tended by  this  provision  to  prevent  the 
citizens  of  Indiana  from  calling  a  constitu- 
tional convention  any  time  they  chose. 
It  is  more  probable  that  it  was  intended 
by  this  referendum  to  insure  each  gener- 
ation two  chances  of  holding  a  convention 
in  spite  of  an  opposing  General  Assembly. 
It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  immedi- 
ate followers  of  Jefferson  looked  with 
favor  upon  the  constitutional  convention 
as  one  of  the  most  effective  institutions  of 
popular  Democracy. 

"There  appears  to  have  been  very  little 
demand  for  a  new  convention  for  a  long 
time  after  1816.  As  one  of  the  opponents 
of  calling  a  convention,  George  W.  Julian 
said  in  1847 :  The  people  of  Indiana  are 
attached  to  their  constitution.  It  is  the 
work  of  their  forefathers.  Under  it  for 
thirty  years  they  have  enjoyed  a  degree  of 
prosperity  unsurpassed  by  any  State  in 
the  Union.' 

WHAT  A  REFERENDUM  REVEALED. 
"The  cause  for  calling  a  constitutional 
convention  among  English-speaking  peo- 
ple is  always  found  to  be  insistent  and 
acting  through  considerable  periods  of 
time.  The  American  people  generally 
have  not  lightly  called  into  activity  such 
revolutionary  bodies.  There  has  always 
been  some  deep-seated  dissatisfaction. 
There  were  several  minor  defects  in  the 
working  of  the  State  and  local  govern- 
ments under  the  first  constitution,  but  the 
chief  ground  of  complaint  was  the  work- 
ing of  the  General  Assembly.  This  body 
had  led  the  State  into  a  gigantic  system  of 
internal  improvements  in  which  the  State 
had    lost    more    than    $12,000,000.      The 


State  became  deeply  involved  in  debt.  Its 
bonds  were  hawked  about  the  Eastern 
markets  as  low  as  17  cents  on  the  dollar. 
A  gang  of  hungry  office  holders  had  been, 
and  still  were,  robbing  the  State,  and  the 
General  Assembly  seemed  unable  or  un- 
willing to  shake  them  off.  The  annual 
meetings  of  the  Assembly  seemed  to  be  an 
unnecessai'y  expense  and  the  annual  elec- 
tions kept  the  people  in  a  political  turmoil. 
Moreover,  the  General  Assembly  was 
neglecting  the  affairs  of  the  State  and  giv- 
ing its  time  and  attention  to  hundreds  of 
petty  private  affairs.  A  reading  of  the 
titles  of  the  special  laws  of  any  session 
will  give  one  an  idea  of  the  petty  jobbery 
that  was  carried  on  by  means  of  special 
laws. 

"With  all  this  dissatisfaction  the  de- 
mand for  a  convention,  if  we  are  to  take 
the  votes  on  the  subject  as  evidence,  was 
not  strong.  There  is  scarcely  any  mention 
of  the  vote  on  the  subject  up  till  1846.  A 
referendum  had  been  taken  in  1823,  only 
seven  years  after  the  constitution  went 
into  effect.  The  vote  was  decisive  against 
calling  a  convention.  In  1828,  four  years 
later,  the  regular  twelve-year  referendum 
was  taken  with  a  similar  result.  During 
the  following  twelve  years  there  was  lit- 
tle agitation  on  the  subject.  The  General 
Assembly  of  1845,  however,  took  up  the 
subject.  There  was  a  spirited  demand  by 
a  few  energetic  members  for  a  convention. 
They  succeeded  in  passing  a  law  authoriz- 
ing a  referendum  on  the  subject  at  the 
ensuing  August  election.  This  was  six 
years  earlier  than  the  constitution  de- 
manded, but  the  friends  of  the  movement 
urged  with  force  that  the  people  had  an 
undeniable  and  inalienable  right  to  call  a 
constitutional   convention   whenever  they 


DEMOCRATS  FAVORED  CHANGE. 

"The  result  of  this  referendum  vote  was 
that  out  of  a  total  of  126,133  votes  cast 
at  the  State  election  there  were  33,173  for 
a  convention  and  28,843  opposed.  A  ma- 
jority of  all  the  voters  had  not  expressed 
themselves  on  the  subject. 

"When  this  vote  was  reported  to  the 
General  Assembly  it  provoked  a  serious 
debate.  It  was  generally  agreed  that  the 
vote  was  not  decisive  and  that  it  did  not 
warrant  the  General  Assembly  in  calling 
the  proposed  convention.  Many  members 
favored  submitting  the  question  again  to 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1 


a  popular  vote  at  the  next  August  election. 
Other  members  opposed  all  agitation  on 
the  subject  as  calculated  to  bring  political 
disquiet  and  unrest.  The  times,  it  was 
pointed  out,  were  especially  dangerous. 
The  State  was  almost  bankrupt,  taxes 
were  high  and  times  were  hard.  Of  all 
times  the  present,  it  was  urged,  would  be 
the  worst  to  agitate  a  change  in  the  funda- 
mental law. 

"In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  a  determined 
group  of  members  the  question  was  not 
favored  by  the  General  Assembly.  It  is 
noticeable  that  what  might  be  called  the 
professional  politicians  avoided  taking 
sides  in  this  discussion.  The  referendum 
in  1846  was  not  mentioned  in  the  leading 
papers,  and  evidently  was  not  discussed 
on  the  stump.  The  Governor,  in  report- 
ing the  result  of  the  vote  in  his  annual 
message,  made  no  recommendation  that 
might  be  construed  into  a  position. 

"The  demand  for  a  convention,  how- 
ever, did  not  cease.  The  Democratic  party 
in  general  favored  the  proposition.  The 
court  practice,  they  said,  was  especially 
costly.  Probate  courts  and  associate 
judges  were  regarded  as  worse  than  use- 
less; they  were  meddlesome.  The  justices 
had  once  been  the  chief  officers  of  the 
county,  but  since  a  board  of  commission- 
ers had  taken  their  duties,  they  had  be- 
come petty  politicians,  valuable  only  to 
those  who  wished  to  bribe  a  court  or  cor- 
rupt a  jury. 

POLITICAL  JOCKEYING  AND  LOG-ROLLING. 

"Many  good  citizens,  regardless  of 
party,  looked  upon  the  appointing  power 
of  the  Governor  as  a  source  of  much  evil. 
They  thought  that  such  officers  as  the  Au- 
ditor, Treasurer  and  other  State  officers 
should  be  elected  by  the  people  rather  than 
by  the  General  Assembly.  The  recent  at- 
tempt by  the  Governor  to  barter  nomina- 
tions to  the  Supreme  Court  for  a  seat  in 
the  United  States  Senate  had  given  a  con- 
crete point  to  the  general  demand  to  limit 
the  appointing  power  of  the  Governors. 
By  1849  Governor  Whitcomb,  sure  of  his 
promotion  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
came  out  openly  for  a  convention  in  his 
annual  message.  He,  no  doubt,  put  his 
finger  on  the  weakest  point  in  the  govern- 
ment under  the  old  constitution  when  he 
emphasized  the  evil  of  private  and  local 
legislation.  In  the  annual  volumes  of  laws 
for  the  previous  four  or  five  sessions  the 


local  laws  had  outnumbered  the  general 
five  or  six  to  one.  In  the  volume  of  1849 
there  are  343  acts  published  as  'local  laws' 
and  273  as  'general  laws.'  Of  the  latter 
more  than  200  are  strictly  'local.'  The 
time  of  the  whole  session  was  consumed 
in  political  jockeying  and  log-rolling.  The 
annual  volume  of  laws  noted  above  con- 
tained 616  laws  and  37  joint  resolutions. 

APPROVED  BY  POPULAR  VOTE. 

"The  General  Assembly  of  1848  took  up 
the  question  and  passed  an  act  submitting 
the  question  of  calling  a  constitutional 
convention  to  the  voters.  A  large  major- 
ity of  the  votes  cast  at  the  ensuing  August 
election  were  in  favor  of  calling  a  conven- 
tion. The  following  General  Assembly,  by 
act  approved  January  18,  1850,  ordered 
an  election  of  delegates.  The  election  was 
held  at  the  same  time  and  in  all  essential 
parts  was  the  same  as  an  election  of  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Assembly.  There 
were  150  delegates  chosen  from  the  same 
districts  as  the  members  of  the  House  and 
Senate  except  in  two  unimportant  dis- 
tricts. 

"There  was  little  interest  in  the  cam- 
paign as  far  as  electing  delegates  was  con- 
cerned. It  was  hoped  by  many  to  make 
the  elections  nonpartisan,  but  such  was 
not  the  case  as  a  rule.  It  seems  true,  how- 
ever, that  the  Whigs  took  considerably  less 
political  interest  in  the  election  than  the 
Democrats. 

WHAT  WHIGS  FAVORED. 

"A  caucus  of  the  Whig  members  of  the 
General  Assembly  declared  in  favor  of  a 
constitutional  convention  and  especially 
urged  that  the  following  changes  be  made 
in  the  constitution :  All  officers  should  be 
elected  by  popular  vote;  the  General  As- 
sembly should  be  prohibited  from  borrow- 
ing money  except  for  urgent  necessities; 
the  county  seminary  funds  should  be 
transferred  to  the  fund  for  common 
schools;  the  General  Assembly  should 
meet  biennially;  local  legislation  should 
be  prohibited;  the  number  of  officers 
should  be  reduced  and  the  establishment 
of  new  ones  forbidden;  a  homestead  ex- 
emption should  be  provided,  and  more  en- 
couragement should  be  given  to  agricul- 
ture, mining  and  manufacturing. 

"In  the  county  of  Marion  the  Whigs 
offered  to  divide  the  ticket  equally  and 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


make  no  contest,  but  the  Democrats  re- 
fused. In  Jefferson  county  the  Whigs 
compromised  on  a  ticket  of  two  Whigs  and 
one  Democrat.  There  were  many  in- 
stances in  which  fusion  tickets  were 
elected  without  contest,  but  fusion  was  not 
general.  Of  the  fifty  delegates  from  sena- 
torial districts  thirty-three  were  Demo- 
crats and  seventeen  were  Whigs;  of  the 
one  hundred  delegates  from  representa- 
tive districts  sixty-four  were  Democrats 
and  thirty-six  Whigs.  Of  the  fifty  State 
Senators  elected  at  the  time  thirty-three 
were  Democrats  and  seventeen  Whigs;  of 
the  Representatives  sixty-two  were  Demo- 
crats and  thirty-eight  Whigs.  It  will  thus 
be  seen  that  the  political  affiliations  of  the 
General  Assembly  and  the  constitutional 
convention  were  the  same. 

MEN  OF  PROMINENCE  ENLISTED. 

"The  delegates,  150  in  number,  assem- 
bled in  the  Capitol  building  October  7, 
1850,  and  were  organized  bv  the  Secretary 
of  State,  Charles  H.  Test.  They  were  a 
representative  body  of  citizens.  The  best- 
known  men  of  the  State  at  the  time,  how- 
ever, were  not  present.  From  our  dis- 
tance one  would  say  that  Robert  Dale 
Owen,  Alvin  P.  Hovey,  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks, W.  S.  Holman,  Schuyler  Colfax 
and  Horace  P.  Biddle  were  among  its  most 
distinguished  members,  but  they  were 
young  and  entirely  without  reputation  at 
the  time.  The  really  distinguished  men  of 
the  convention,  as  they  gathered  together 
for  the  first  time,  were  Thomas  D.  Wal- 
pole,  Abel  Pepper,  Daniel  Kelso,  James  G. 
Reed,  David  Kilgore,  Ross  Smiley,  Michael 
G.  Bright,  William  M.  Dunn,  George  W. 
Carr,  David  Wallace,  Jacob  Page  Chap- 
man, James  Rariden  and  John  I.  Mor- 
rison. Seventy-five  of  the  members  had 
served  in  the  General  Assembly,  thirteen 
of  whom  had  sat  in  the  last  session. 
Twenty-five  more  made  this  the  stepping 
stone  to  later  legislative  service.  Four- 
teen saw  service  in  the  United  States  Con- 
gress, two  later  became  Governors,  while 
one  was  an  ex-Governor.  There  were 
seven  well-known  editors,  three  of  whom 
came  from  Indianapolis.  The  great  law- 
yers of  the  State  were  noticeably  absent. 
A  widespread  prejudice  against  educated 
men  existed  at  the  time.  There  were  three 
graduates  of  the  State  University  and  per- 
haps as  many  more  were  graduates  of 
other  colleges. 


SOME  OBJECTIONABLE  FEATURES. 

"The  spirit  of  Jack.son  controlled  the 
convention.  Daniel  Read,  a  delegate  of 
Monroe  and  a  professor  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity, referred  to  Jackson  as  'a  man  of 
as  remarkable  sagacity  as  ever  lived.'  As 
a  consequence  of  this  it  was  attempted  to 
strengthen  Democracy  among  the  people 
by  bringing  the  Government  nearer  the 
voter.  The  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Au- 
ditor of  State,  formerly  appointed  by  the 
General  Assembly,  were  made  elective.  To 
these  were  added  the  new  office  of  Su- 
perintendent of  Public  Instruction  to  be 
filled  by  popular  election.  Besides  the 
above  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  and  Cir- 
cuit Courts  were  made  elective  by  the  peo- 
ple for  six-year  terms.  The  Prosecuting 
Attorneys  and  the  local  justices,  all  for- 
merly appointed,  were  made  elective,  the 
former  by  the  voters  in  the  judicial  cir- 
cuit and  the  latter  by  the  voters  of  the 
township.  In  the  county  the  voters  were 
made  the  electors  of  a  Clerk  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  an  Auditor,  Recorder,  Treasurer, 
Sheriff,  Coroner  and  Surveyor  for  each 
county.  The  General  Assembly  was  given 
permission  to  establish  other  elective  offi- 
cers, a  power  which  it  has  used  immoder- 
ately. Some  of  these  officers  so  elected 
were  eligible  only  for  one  term,  but  the 
majority  were  permitted  to  hold  for  two 
consecutive  terms.  In  dealing  with  the 
suffrage  elections  and  oflfice  holding,  the 
general  principles  of  Jacksonian  De- 
mocracy then  prevalent  were  applied.  In 
general  the  convention  made  the  most  lib- 
eral application  of  the  principles  of  man- 
hood suffrage  and  popular  elections. 

"It  was  accused  in  many  places  of  play- 
ing politics  by  allowing  unnaturalized 
citizens  to  vote  after  one  year's  residence. 
Senator  Jes.se  Bright  made  this  criticism. 

DISCRIMINATION  AGAINST  NEGROES. 
"In  dealing  with  the  negroes,  both  free 
and  slave,  the  convention  illustrated  the 
confused  political  notions  of  the  times.  It 
re-enacted  the  provisions  of  the  ordinance 
of  1787  with  a  bruskness  that  indicated  an 
absolute  majority  of  Abolitionists;  yet  the 
provisions  refusing  negroes  the  right  to 
vote  or  even  to  settle  in  the  State  are,  in 
spirit,  directly  contradictory  to  the  above 
enactment.  Not  only  the.se  provisions,  but 
the  speeches  of  the  members  on  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery,  show  the  utmost  diversity 
of    opinion.      Not    less    than    forty    .set 


(135) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


speeches  on  slavery,  few  of  them  dealing 
with  any  question  before  the  convention, 
were  made  by,  the  members. 

"In  the  article  on  the  legislative  depart- 
ment two  important  changes  were  made, 
both  dictated  by  the  overwhelming  proof 
of  experience.  One  change  was  the  sub- 
stitution of  biennial  for  annual  sessions  of 
the  General  Assembly.  The  other  forbade 
the  General  Assembly  making  special  or 
local  laws. 

"In  this  field  the  granting  of  divorces  by 
the  General  Assembly  had  occasioned  most 
hostile  criticism.  For  years  the  churches 
had  opposed  this  exercise  of  power  by  a 
legislative  body.  A  former  General  As- 
sembly had  invested  the  State  courts  with 
power  to  try  divorce  bills,  but  the  Assem- 
bly could  not  divest  itself  of  the  power 
and  the  abuse  continued. 

POPULAR  INTEREST  AROUSED. 

"The  convention  adjourned  Monday 
morning,  February  10,  1851.  It  had  been 
in  session  eighteen  weeks.  No  event  in 
the  State's  history  had  received  as  much 
attention  and  publicity.  The  daily  papers 
and  many  of  the  larger  weeklies  published 
the  proceedings  entire  from  week  to  week 
or  from  day  to  day.  Innumerable  articles 
by  citizens  in  praise  or  condemnation  of 
the  work  appeared  in  the  papers.  An- 
swers by  the  members  in  defense  were 
equally  plentiful.  Editorials  explained 
the  work  of  the  convention  day  by  day  and 
gave  the  editors'  opinions  of  its  value.  It 
was  an  eighteen  weeks'  course  in  political 
science  for  the  citizens  of  the  State. 

"The  completed  constitution  was  read 
at  the  last  session  of  the  convention  on  the 
morning  of  February  10.  It  appeared  at 
once  on  the  front  pages  of  the  newspapers, 
many  of  which  repeated  its  publication  in 
the  three  or  four  succeeding  issues.  The 
convention  ordered  55,000  copies  of  the 
constitution— 50,000  in  English  and  5,000 
in  German — printed  for  distribution. 
These  appeared  early  in  March. 

"The  convention  had  suggested  that  the 
new  constitution  be  submitted  to  the  peo- 
ple for  ratification  or  rejection  at  the  next 
August  election.  The  General  Assembly 
affirmed  this  suggestion  February  4,  1851, 
and  the  Governor's  proclamation  followed 
immediately,  directing  the  election  officers 
to  carry  the  order  into  efl'ect. 


FAVORED  BY  BOTH  PARTIES. 

"There  was  no  organized  opposition  to 
the  ratification.  Both  parties  favored  the 
new  constitution.  At  the  ensuing  election 
every  county  gave  an  affirmative  majority 
but  Ohio.  Starke  county  cast  a  unanimous 
vote  for  the  constitution.  The  total  vote 
was  113,230  for  and  27,638  against  ratifi- 
cation, a  majority  of  85,592  out  of  a  total 
vote  of  140,868.  The  vote  for. the  exclu- 
sion of  colored  persons  was  substantially 
the  same,  being  an  affirmative  vote  of  113,- 
828  out  of  a  total  vote  of  135,701.  Three 
counties,  Lagrange,  Randolph  and  Steu- 
ben, voted  against  negro  exclusion.  The 
total  vote  on  the  constitution  was  little 
short  of  that  cast  for  Congressmen.  The 
total  vote  in  the  ten  Congressional  dis- 
tricts was  148,529.  That  there  was  no 
partisan  opposition  to  the  constitution  is 
shown  by  this  vote.  The  Democrats  car- 
ried the  State  at  this  election  by  a  major- 
ity of  only  9,469. 

"The  new  constitution  went  into  opera- 
tion November  1,  1851.  The  General  As- 
sembly elected  in  August,  1851,  met  as  di- 
rected by  the  old  constitution.  The  first 
general  election  under  the  new  constitu- 
tion was  held  in  October,  1852,  the  old  offi- 
cers holding  until  the  newly  elected  ones 
were  qualified  and  took  their  positions  ac- 
cording to  law.  There  was  no  jar  in  the 
operations  of  the  State  government  dur- 
ing the  change. 

"One  of  the  objections  urged  at  first 
against  a  constitutional  convention  was 
that  it  would  cost  an  enormous  sum  of 
money  at  a  time  when  the  State  was  al- 
most bankrupt  and  could  ill  afford  to  spend 
any  money  except  for  the  most  urgent 
need.  The  total  expense  for  the  eighteen- 
week  session,  as  shown  by  the  State  Treas- 
urer's report  was  $85,043.82." 

If  it  be  true,  as  contended  by  John 
Quincy  Adams,  that  "the  will  of  the  people 
is  the  end  of  all  legitimate  government  on 
earth,"  then  there  can  be  no  diversity  of 
opinion  as  to  the  necessity  of  the  "will  of 
the  people"  being  soundly  formed  and 
thoughtfully  executed.  When  this  is  ex- 
pected to  be  done,  the  character,  stability 
and  judgment  of  the  electorate  must  have 
greater  consideration  than  has  been  be- 
stowed upon  the  same  for  decade  upon  de- 
cade.   Lincoln,  who  always  spoke  tenderly 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


and  affectionately  of  the  "plain  people," 
and  who  for  many  years  sustained  very 
close  relations  to  the  masses,  felt  con- 
strained to  admit  that  "the  people  wob- 
ble," but  qualified  the  gentle  accusation  by 
saying  that  "they  finally  wobble  right." 
When  this  ensues,  as  Colonel  Geo.  B.  Lock- 
wood  interprets,  the  demagogue  disap- 
pears, the  fame  of  the  opportunist  withers, 
the  reputation  of  the  political  coward  dies. 
But  what  about  the  mischief  wrought 
while  the  people  wobbled? 

Burke  was  eternally  right  when  he  de- 
clared that  "government  is  a  contrivance 
of  human  wisdom  to  provide  for  human 
wants."  Again  is  thus  pressed  upon  pub- 
lic attention  the  desirability  and  necessity 
of  an  alert  electorate,  the  safeguard  of  a 
Republic.  But,  bear  in  mind,  alertness 
can  neither  be  created  by  legislative  en- 
actment nor  instilled  into  the  electorate  by 
constitutional  provision.  It  will  have  to 
be  evolved  from  a  citizenship  of  tested 
virtue,  of  nobility  of  purpose,  of  patriotic 
aims,  and  of  good  common  sense.  An 
alert  electorate  will  be  guided  by  sound 
leadership  instead  of  being  swayed  by  the 
sophistry  of  glib-tongued  demagogues. 
Reason  must  count  for  more  than  seduc- 
tive plausibility ;  stern  truth  for  more  than 
evanescent  sentimentalism. 

As  some  viands  are  unpalatable  to  epi- 
cures, so  stern  truth  is  distasteful  to  per- 
sons who  care  to  burden  their  minds  only 
with  things  that  accord  with  their  fancy. 
Unmindful  of  such  aversion.  Professor 
William  James  is  entitled  to  being  ac- 
corded a  respectful  hearing  while  shouting 
these  solemn  truths  into  the  public  ear: 

"The  human  individual  lives  usually  far 
within  his  limits.  He  possesses  powers  of 
various  sorts  which  he  habitually  fails  to 
use.  He  energizes  below  his  maximum 
and  he  behaves  below  his  optimum.  .  .  . 
Compared  with  what  we  ought  to  be,  we 
are  only  half  awake.  Our  fires  are 
damped,  our  drafts  are  checked.  We  are 
making  use  of  only  a  small  part  of  our 
possible  mental  and  physical  resources." 


The  right  to  vote  is  a  privilege,  not  a 
natural  prerogative;  a  delegated  author- 
ity. It  is  conferred  upon  individuals  by 
constitutional  ordinance.  The  privilege 
thus  accorded  ought  to  be  .sacredly  re- 
garded. It  probably  would  be  were  it  not 
§0  common.  But,  however  regarded,  it  is 
the  essence  of  governmental  authority. 
Its  debasement,  debauch  or  decadence 
would  presage  the  inevitable  downfall  of 
free  institutions. 

Now  let  us  look  at  some  of  the  incon- 
sistencies traceable  to  the  indiff"erence  of 
the  electorate.  By  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority of  the  popular  vote  the  draft  of  a 
constitution  was  ratified  in  Indiana,  in  the 
year  1851,  which  contained  a  clause  that 
conferred  upon  aliens  residing  within  the 
State  one  year  the  right  to  vote  upon  hav- 
ing made  a  declaration  of  intention  to  be- 
come a  citizen,  in  conformity  with  the 
naturalization  laws  of  the  United  States. 
About  that  time  the  Know-Nothing  move- 
ment was  making  considerable  headway, 
so  that  within  a  few  years  it  became  a  con- 
trolling factor  in  Indiana  politics.  Then 
formal  declaration  was  made  by  the  then 
dominant  party  organization  "that  we  are 
in  favor  of  the  naturalization  laws  of  Con- 
gress with  the  five-year  probation,  and 
that  the  right  of  suffrage  should  accom- 
pany and  not  precede  naturalization." 
Now,  why  did  these  people  fail  to  assert 
themselves  when  a  new  constitution  was 
being  framed  and  adopted?  There  was  no 
pressure  brought  upon  the  constitutional 
convention  by  persons  of  foreign  birth  to 
make  voters  of  aliens  upon  a  one-year's 
residence  in  the  State.  It  is  entirely 
within  the  bounds  of  reason  and  probabil- 
ity to  say  that  not  a  half-dozen  aliens  set- 
tled down  in  Indiana  because  of  this  ex- 
traordinary grant  of  the  elective  fran- 
chise. Reasoning  persons  of  foreign  birth 
never  complained  of  the  five-year  proba- 
tionary period  established  under  our  nat- 
uralization laws.  On  the  contrary,  they 
commended  and  lauded    it    when    a    pro- 


(137) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


scriptive  cabal  temporarily  gained  ascend- 
ancy in  some  commonwealths  by  demand- 
ing that  the  probationary  period  be  ex- 
tended to  twenty-one  years  and  that 
Catholics  be  rendered  ineligible  to  public 
office.  Wisconsin,  with  its  immense  Ger- 
man, Norwegian  and  Scandinavian  popu- 
lation, a  few  years  since  abolished  the  one- 
year  abomination  and  limited  the  right  to 
vote  to  citizens  of  the  United  States  duly 
naturalized  or  to  the  manner  born.  Mich- 
igan did  practically  the  same  thing  when 
it  passed  under  a  new  constitution.  In 
Indiana  alone,  among  all  the  States  of  the 
central  West,  the  mistake  of  sixty  years 
ago  continues  as  a  mockery  to  the  high 
prerogative  of  citizenship. 

Perhaps  an  even  more  flagrant  incon- 
sistency was  enacted  in  our  neighboring 
State  of  Ohio.  During  the  sixties,  several 
years  after  the  Civil  War,  an  amendment 
to  the  constitution  to  strike  out  the  word 
"white"  was  submitted  to  popular  vote 
and  defeated  by  over  50,000.  On  the  very 
heels  of  this  popular  rejection  of  negro 
suffrage  the  vote  of  Ohio  was  recorded  in 
favor  of  the  fifteenth  amendment,  estab- 
lishing negro  suffrage  in  every  State  in  the 
Union — including  the  entire  mass  of 
ignorant  ex-slaves  in  the  cotton  States  of 
the  South.  A  more  flagrant  assault  upon 
intelligent  voting  never  was  perpetrated 
in  this  or  any  other  country.  To  cap  the 
climax,  just  as  soon  as  the  fraudulent 
ratification  of  the  fifteenth  amendment 
was  officially  proclaimed,  the  very  party 
that  had  brought  about  the  prostitution  of 
the  ballot  passed  an  act  by  Congress  ab- 
solutely abolishing  the  right  of  suffrage 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  by  making  all 
municipal  offices  appointive  by  a  commis- 
sion designated  by  the  President.  This 
action  was  prompted  by  the  fact  that  Ayith 
the  aid  of  disreputable  whites  in  the  city 
of  Washington  negro  domination  could 
and  doubtless  would  have  been  established 
at  the  capital  of  the  Nation.  Such  an  in- 
novation would,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Jacobins 


then  in  control  of  the  legislative  branch  of 
the  Government,  have  been  entirely  in 
order  in  Louisiana,  South  Carolina, 
Florida  and  Mississippi,  but  was  adjudged 
intolerable  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

No  ism  has  ever  failed  to  find  champions 
and  supporters,  no  matter  how  absurd  it 
may  have  been,  measured  by  any  standard 
of  reasoning  or  common  sense. 

Recall  the  commotion  caused  by  the  Rev. 
William  Miller  of  Vermont  during  the 
early  forties,  when  he  issued  his  statement 
that  he  had  received  a  divine  command  to 
announce  the  second  coming  of  Christ 
about  the  year  1843 — how  many  people  de- 
voted all  their  time  to  preparing  them- 
selves for  the  ascension  to  heaven  in  white 
robes,  sacrificing  their  property,  and  do- 
ing all  manner  of  foolish  things.  Cogitate 
over  the  folly  of  owners  of  orchards  chop- 
ping down  their  apple  trees  during  the 
Washingtonian  crusade  against  liquor  so 
as  to  guard  against  the  product  of  the 
orchard  being  converted  into  cider.  Be- 
hold the  thousands  of  beguiled  men  and 
women  following  "Divine  Healer"  Schlat- 
ter from  day  to  day  and  professing  to  have 
been  freed  of  all  manner  of  diseases  and 
ailments  by  simply  touching  the  raiment 
of  that  shrewd  impostor.  Contemplate 
for  a  moment  the  large  number  of  dupes 
who  poured  their  shekels  into  the  capa- 
cious receptacles  of  the  Illinois  charlatan, 
John  G.  Schweinfurth,  who  by  artful 
methods  made  himself  appear  as  an  image 
of  Christ.  Peruse  the  statistics  emanat- 
ing from  several  of  the  governmental  de- 
partments at  Washington  setting  forth 
how  vigilant  officials  in  the  service  of 
Uncle  Sam  had  in  a  single  year  saved  gul- 
lible men  and  women  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  million  dollars.  Imag- 
ine for  a  moment  the  insecurity  of  life  and 
property  if  for  a  single  day  or  week  the 
protecting  arm  of  the  law's  vigilant  and 
faithful  sentinels  were  off  duty.  All  this 
furnishes  ample  reason  why  there  is  so 
much  "wobbling"  wherever  and  whenever 


(  138) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY— 1816-1910 


glib-tongued  charlatans  and  unscrupulous 
demagogues  manage  to  get  the  ear  of  the 
dear  people.  And  thereby  is  furnished 
cogent  reason  why  safe,  sound,  trust- 
worthy leadership  is  so  much  needed  in 
every  locality,  in  every  village  and  ham- 
let, in  every  town  and  city,  in  every  county 
and  district — a  leadership  that  instills 
wholesome  sentiment  into  the  public  mind 
and  furnishes  incentive  to  right-thinking 
and  right-doing ;  a  leadership,  not  for  self- 
aggrandizement  and  spoliation,  but  a  lead- 
ership whose  chief  purpose  and  highest 
aim  is  to  promote  the  general  welfare  and 
to  foster  the  common  good.  Such  leader- 
ship does  not  go  upon  the  assumption  that 
politics  is  the  science  of  getting  51  per 
cent,  of  the  votes  by  hook  or  crook.  It  has 
a  higher  conception  of  politics.  It  believes 
in  honesty  being  the  best  policy  and  in 
right  making  might. 

In  the  maddening  race  for  building  up 
large  centers  of  population — big  cities — 
too  many  people  forget  all  about  the  notes 
of  warning  sounded  by  Jefferson.  That 
wise  patriot  and  far-seeing  statesman 
more  than  a  hundred  years  ago  described 
large  cities  as  being  "pestilential  to  the 
morals,  the  health  and  the  liberties  of 
men."  Several  of  the  New  England  States, 
recognizing  the  soundness  of  the  Jeffer- 
sonian  view,  safeguarded  themselves 
against  the  pernicious  effects  of  such 
massing  together  by  rendering  it  impossi- 
ble for  large  cities  to  gain  the  mastery  in 
legislative  assemblies  and  thus  control  the 
domestic  policies  of  these  commonwealths. 
The  Empire  State  of  the  Union  inserted  a 
clause  in  its  constitution  making  it  im- 
possible for  the  city  of  New  York  to  gain 
the  ascendancy  in  the  General  Assembly, 
no  matter  how  greatly  its  number  of  in- 
habitants might  exceed  that  of  the  rest  of 
the  State.  A  Senator,  discussing  this 
feature  of  legislative  apportionment,  made 
bold  to  declare  that  in  his  opinion  a  typical 
country  gentleman  in  the  interior  of  New 
York  ought  by  right  to  count  for  as  much 


as  at  least  a  half-dozen  dwellers  in  the 
slums  of  the  Bowery.  And  no  one  in  that 
body  took  issue  with  this  Senator  on  that 
proposition.  The  people  of  Indiana  will 
be  amenable  to  the  charge  of  gross  indif- 
ference to  the  State's  highest  intere.sts  if 
they  do  not  in  good  time  safeguard  them- 
selves in  .some  way  against  being  dom- 
inated by  large  centers  of  population.  The 
history  of  the  world  amply  verifies  the 
declaration  of  Dr.  Francis  E.  Clark  that 
"no  Nation  was  ever  overthrown  by  its 
farmers."  Let  the  so-called  rural  popula- 
tion and  the  inhabitants  of  the  thrifty 
towns  and  smaller  cities  bear  in  mind  that 
if  popular  delusion  should  ever  succeed 
in  foisting  upon  this  Commonwealth  a 
State-wide  primary  election  law  it  would 
be  easily  within  the  power  of  the  five  larg- 
er cities  to  control,  through  combination, 
the  nomination  of  every  candidate  on  the 
State  ticket.  The  powerful  influence  of 
money  in  politics  is  so  demoralizing  and 
pernicious  that  its  destructive  effects  are 
quickly  felt  wherever  exerted  to  any  con- 
siderable extent.  With  clear  vision  the 
sturdy  New  England  patriot,  Samuel 
Adams,  espied  what  was  coming  when  in 
1789  he  gave  expression  to  this  pregnant 
thought :  "We  have  achieved  a  great  lib- 
erty ;  we  have  wrought  out  a  great  consti- 
tution ;  but  my  only  fear  is  that  our  people, 
who  are  now  poor  and  simple  and  love  lib- 
erty because  they  have  made  sacrifices  for 
it,  will  after  a  while  grow  rich  and  will 
prefer  their  riches  to  their  liberty." 

Fittingly  there  may  be  added  to  this 
verified  apprehension  the  recent  lamenta- 
tion of  the  venerable  Dr.  Abraham 
Kuyper,  ex-premier  of  the  Netherlands 
and  advisor  to  Queen  Wilhelmina:  "The 
world  has  mocked  God !  The  nations  have 
forgotten  and  ignored  Him.  Even  in 
Christian  circles  there  were  departures 
from  Him  that  ruleth  over  earth  and  .skies. 
And  now  this  God,  mocked,  forgotten  and 
ignored,  fills  the  hearts  of  men  with  terror. 
The  mightiest  among  them  tremble." 


[Chapter  XVIIL] 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 

SELFISH  AND  CORRUPT  PRACTICES   BY  POLITICAL  MANIPU- 
LATORS ITS  WORST  FOE 


ONVENTION— literally,  a  com- 
ing together — derives  its  pol- 
itico-social meaning  from  the 
old  Roman  "Conveetu  populi" 
— the  gathering  of  the  people. 
It  is  applied  to  extraordinary, 
or,  at  least,  occasional  gather- 
ings, rather  than  to  the  regular  and  more 
frequent  meetings.  Thus,  a  fraternal  so- 
ciety has  its  local  lodges  and  meetings,  but 
the  larger  conventions  occur  only  once  in 
one  or  more  years ;  and  a  State  has  annual 
or  biennial  sessions  of  its  Legislature,  but 
its  constitutional  conventions  are  far 
apart. 

In  nations  wherein  the  ultimate  sov- 
ereignty is  vested  in  the  people,  the  con- 
vention is  the  method  by  which  this  sov- 
ereignty is  peacefully  exerted;  the  people 
either  directly  or  through  delegates  tak- 
ing matters  into  their  own  hands  and  at 
their  pleasure  modifying  or  entirely 
changing  the  form  of  government.  Polit- 
ical economists  recognize  two  classes  of 
these  conventions — the  I'evolutionary, 
which  alters  the  form,  and  the  recon- 
structive, which  only  amends  it.  Of  the 
former  class  are  the  "Constituent  Assem- 
blies" of  France.  The  first  which  grew 
out  of  the  assembling  of  the  State's  gen- 
erals overthrew  the  monarchy  and  pro- 
claimed a  Republic;  and  there  have  been 
ten  others  since,  making  of  France  in  al- 
terations an  empire,  kingdom  and  repub- 
lic back  and  forth.  England  has  had  three 
conventions.  The  first  was  at  Runnymede, 
when  the  assembled  barons  reconstructed 
the  government  so  as  to  limit  the  power  of 
the  king ;  the  second  was  the  revolutionary 
convention  in  1660  which  set  aside  the 
Commonwealth  and  recalled  Charles  the 
Second  to  the  throne ;  the  third  was  the  re- 


constructive convention  of  1689,  which, 
assuming  the  kingdom  in  existence  though 
the  king  was  in  exile,  called  William  of 
Orange  to  reign  conjointly  with  Mary  his 
wife,  but  placed  additional  restraints  upon 
the  royal  prerogatives. 

In  this  country  there  have  been  many 
conventions  of  both  kinds.  At  the  very 
time  the  English  convention  was  calling 
William  and  Mary  to  the  throne,  the 
Massachusetts  colony  was  holding  a  revo- 
lutionary convention  which  deposed  Gov- 
ernor Andros,  overthrew  the  government 
he  had  set  up  and  restored  the  Charter 
rights.  Immediately  preceding  the  war 
for  Independence,  several  of  the  colonies, 
separately,  or  working  together,  held  con- 
ventions of  the  revolutionary  character, 
all  tending  to  a  change  of  government. 
The  Continental  Congress  that  issued  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  a  perfect 
example  of  the  revolutionary  convention. 

The  convention  which  framed  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  was  reconstructive.  It 
did  not  attempt  to  change  the  essential 
principles  of  the  Government,  but  only  "to 
form  a  more  perfect  Union."  In  the  order- 
ly development  of  our  Nation,  the  conven- 
tions which  formed  the  first  constitutions 
of  the  several  States  may  be  termed  revo- 
lutionary, inasmuch  as  they  change  the 
government  from  territorial  to  State, 
while  the  successive  conventions  that 
amend  the  constitutions  are  reconstruct- 
ive, because,  although  they  change  details, 
they  leave  the  general  structure  undis- 
turbed. 

At  present  the  most  common  use  of  the 
term  "convention"  is  in  connection  with 
political  parties — particularly  the  declara- 
tion of  their  principles  and  the  nomination 
of  their  candidates.    It  has  been  seen  that 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


in  the  earliest  years  of  the  Republic  no 
conventions  were  held  or  needed,  so  far 
as  national  affairs  were  concerned.  The 
views  of  the  Federalists  and  Anti-Federal- 
ists were  known  by  the  position  they  took 
on  the  Constitution,  and  the  platform  of 
the  Republican  party  was  embodied  in 
Jefferson's  letter  to  Washington.  As  to 
candidates,  there  were  none  but  Washing- 
ton, until  he  retired,  and  then  Jefferson 
and  Adams  were  universally  recognized  as 
representatives  of  their  respective  parties. 
In  State  elections  there  was  a  very  com- 
mon assent  that  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature, having  been  chosen  by  the  people, 
might  very  properly  gather  in  caucus  or 
convention  to  name  the  candidates.  By 
analogy  the  same  practice  was  transferred 
to  Congress  in  the  matter  of  naming  candi- 
dates for  President.  These  legislative  and 
congressional  caucuses,  as  they  were 
called,  were  in  reality  reconstructive  con- 
ventions, in  which  the  legislators,  acting 
as  delegates  for  the  rank  and  file  of  their 
respective  political  parties,  named  the  can- 
didates for  their  support.  It  was  not  until 
the  caucus,  becoming  a  "close  corpora- 
tion," had  been  made  the  instrument  for 
the  accoijiplishment  of  selfish  purposes, 
that  the  people  overthrew  it  and  estab- 
lished the  later  system — conventions  con- 
stituted for  the  sole  purpose  of  formulat- 
ing party  principles  and  nominating  can- 
didates. 

The  earliest  of  these  conventions  were 
decidedly  revolutionary.  Some  of  them 
took  the  form  of  mass  meetings  and  im- 
promptu gatherings,  and  they  all  resulted 
in  overturning  the  old  order  of  things  and 
in  the  organization  of  new  parties.  The 
first  made  Jackson  President  and  formed 
the  Democratic  party.  Then  in  1832  a 
convention  presented  the  anti-Mason  party 
to  the  country,  and  two  or  three  years 
later  the  Whig  party  was  similarly 
brought  into  being.  In  1855-6  the  second 
Republican  party  was  formed  by  a  series 
of  revolutionary  conventions,  very  similar 


in  character  to  those  which  brought  forth 
the  Democratic  party  nearly  a  third  of  a 
century  earlier.  All  the  "third  parties" 
have  had  their  beginnings  in  the  same 
way. 

After  the  political  party  is  organized, 
the  conventions  that  formulate  its  prin- 
ciples and  nominate  its  candidates  are  re- 
constructive. They  pass  resolutions  and 
put  forth  platforms  to  adapt  the  party 
policy  to  new  conditions  that  arise,  and 
they  seek  to  nominate  candidates  that  will 
meet  the  popular  approval. 

For  all  these  purposes  the  convention  is 
the  ideal  method.  Properly  constituted,  it 
represents  the  whole  body.  Its  "coming 
together"  is  not  simply  the  physical  meet- 
ing of  the  delegates;  it  is  a  commingling 
of  minds.  It  furnishes  an  opportunity  for 
comparison  of  views  and  discussion  of  men 
and  measures  which  ought  to  result  in  the 
wisest  possible  action.  When  the  political 
unit  for  which  the  convention  acts  is  small 
the  whole  body  of  electors  may  "come  to- 
gether." Such  were  the  New  England 
town  meetings  copied  into  several  States. 
There  the  people  got  together,  talked  over 
the  public  needs,  debated  questions  of 
policy,  discussed  the  fitness  of  candidates, 
and  finally  passed  upon  all  the  measures, 
and  elected  the  officials  for  the  ensuing 
terms — a  sort  of  constitutional  convention, 
legislative  body  and  electoral  college 
blended  in  one. 

But  with  greater  population  and  larger 
units  of  territory,  the  direct  action  of  the 
electors  became  impossible,  and  the  dele- 
gate body  a  necessity. 

While  the  nominating  convention  re- 
tained its  original  and  proper  character  of 
representing  its  constituents  and  seeking 
to  promote  their  best  interests,  it  was  a 
powerful  instrument  for  good  in  the  polit- 
ical party.  It  combined  the  wisdom  of  all 
into  unified  action. 

But  abuses  arose.  The  selfishness  of 
party  backers  seeking  personal  advantage 
rather  than  the  good  Of  either  party  or 


(142) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


country,  led  them  to  attempt  the  control 
of  conventions.  Too  often,  notably  so  in 
localities  where  a  nomination  is  equivalent 
to  an  election,  they  succeeded.  By  means 
of  "snap  caucuses"  and  corruption  of 
delegates  they  subverted  the  will  of  the 
people  and  "bossed"  the  convention,  mak- 
ing it  subservient  to  their  own  ends.  This 
state  of  affairs  has  existed  to  a  far  greater 
extent  in  the  Republican  than  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 
the  former,  until  a  few  years  ago,  has  had 
much  more  to  do  .with  the  distribution  of 
the  loaves  and  fishes  than  the  latter.  Un- 
fortunately, a  deplorably  large  number  of 
voters  has  come  to  regard  the  distribution 
of  loaves  and  fishes  as  the  chief  function 
of  party  organization. 

Naturally  the  people  revolted  and  the 
convention  fell  into  disrepute.  Hence  a 
substitute  has  been  sought  in  the  primary 
elections.  But  this  is  a  cumbrous  method. 
It  leaves  out  entirely  the  consultations  and 
discussions  which  were  the  foundation  of 
the  convention's  strength.  Then,  too,  the 
primary  election  is  not  free  from  the  de- 
fect which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  boss  con- 
trol of  the  convention — the  indifference  of 
the  people  except  on  extraordinary  occa- 
sions. 

If  the  people  would  turn  out  at  the 
caucuses  and  elect  proper  delegates  to  the 
convention,  control  by  corrupt  bosses  could 


not  occur,  and  experience  so  far  indicates 
that  the  voters  are  just  as  indifferent  in 
the  ordinary  primary  election.  The  "short 
ballot"  which  restricts  the  elective  offices 
to  a  few  may  be  a  remedy,  by  giving  the 
people  a  little  better  chance  to  know  what 
they  are  doing  instead  of  leaving  them  to 
vote  in  the  dark,  as  most  have  to  at  pres- 
ent. But  the  real  cure  of  all  the  evils  of 
representative  government  is  an  alert,  in- 
telligent electorate,  and  the  best  way  for 
it  to  act  is  through  the  properly  consti- 
tuted conventions. 

The  customs  and  instincts  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  tend  toward  the  placing  of 
representatives  between  themselves  and 
the  selection  of  their  candidates.  When- 
ever a  prirriary  election  law  runs  counter 
to  this  instinct  it  becomes  null  and  void  in 
some  way  or  other.  The  people  will  get 
around  it  by  conferences  or  "unofficial" 
conventions.  The  underlying  common 
sense  of  the  electorate  demands  the  con- 
sultation and  discussion  of  platforms  and 
candidates,  which  can  be  secured  only  in 
a  delegate  convention.  It  is  proper  that 
such  convention  be  safeguarded  as  far  as 
possible  against  corrupt  or  selfish  control, 
but  the  surest  safeguard  is  to  be*  found  in 
a  patriotic  electorate,  vigilant  and  intelli- 
gent in  selecting  the  delegates  that  consti- 
tute the  convention. 


(  143  ) 


[Chapter  XIX.] 


RENOMINATION  OF  GOVERNOR  WRIGHT 


INDIANA'S  MATCHLESS  ORATOR,  ASH  BEL  P.  WILLARD, 
CHOSEN  AS  HIS  RUNNING  MATE 


HE  Indiana  Democracy  met  in 
State  convention  at  Indiana- 
polis February  24,  1852. 
Colonel  A.  C.  Pepper  of  Ohio 
county  was  made  tempoi-ary 
chairman  and  C.  S.  Horton  of 
Switzerland  county  temporary 
secretary. 

A  committee  on  permanent  organization 
having  been  selected,  its  recommendation 
of  the  following-named  permanent  officers 
was  unanimously  approved  by  the  conven- 
tion: 

President — Judge  Thomas  L.  Smith,  of 
Floyd  county. 

Vice-Presidents — Ethan  Allen  Brown, 
Ohio;  Gamaliel  Taylor,  Jefferson;  Wm. 
Rockhill,  Allen;  Z.  Tannehill,  Bartholo- 
mew. 

Secretaries — James  Elder,  Wayne;  John 
B.  Norman,  Floyd;  Austin  H.  Brown, 
Marion.  (These  three  gentlemen  were 
editors  of  influential  Democratic  news- 
papers.) 

Robert  Dale  Owen  presented  this  reso- 
lution, which  was  unanimously  adopted 
amidst  vociferous  applause : 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention  nom- 
inate as  Democratic  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor for  the  next  term,  Joseph  A. 
Wright." 

For  Lieutenant-Governor,  Ashbel  P. 
Willard  of  New  Albany  was  nominated  by 
practical  unanimity. 

The  remainder  of  the  State  ticket  was 
made  to  consist  of  these  selections : 

Secretary  of  State — Nehemiah  Hayden, 
Rush. 

Auditor  of  State— John  P.  Dunn,  Perry. 

State  Treasurer  —  Elijah  Newland, 
Washington. 


Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — 
W.  C.  Larabee,  Putnam. 

Supreme  Judges — Wm.  Z.  Stuart,  Cass; 
Andrew  Davidson,  Decatur;  Samuel  E. 
Perkins,  Marion;  Addison  L.  Roach, 
Parke. 

Editorially,  the  Iiulianapolis  Sentinel 
spoke  in  these  commendatory  terms  of  the 
action  of  the  convention : 

"Our  present  popular  Governor  is  the 
Democratic  nominee.  He  has  resided  in 
the  State  thirty-five  years.  Unaided  by 
wealth,  influence  or  name,  he  has  risen 
from  the  humble  bricklayer — the  orphan 
boy — to  his  present  position.  At  twenty- 
two  he  entered  the  State  Legislature  as  a 
Representative  from  Parke  county.  He 
served  one  term  in  the  State  Senate,  and 
afterwards  as  a  member  of  Congress  from 
the  Vigo  district.  Elected  to  his  present 
position  over  his  popular  and  worthy  com- 
petitor by  a  majority  of  9,778,  he  is  again 
presented  for  the  suffrages  of  the  people 
of  Indiana.  His  name  is  a  tower  of 
strength.  The  hearts  of  the  people  are 
with  him  and  for  him.  The  young  Whig 
lawyers  with  sleek  heads  and  flowing 
beards  may  denounce  him  with  their 
vituperation  and  abuse  to  their  heart's  con- 
tent. The  honest  farmers  and  working 
men  are  with  him." 

The  compensation  of  State  officers  in 
those  days  was  certainly  moderate.  In  a 
speech  delivered  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, May  19,  Robert  Dale  Owen 
recommended  that  the  annual  salaries  be 
fixed  at  these  figures:  Governor,  $1,500; 
Supreme  Judges,  $1,200;  Circuit  Judges, 
$1,200;  State  officers,  $1,200;  Librarian, 
$700.  This  was  an  increase  of  $200  each 
in  the  salaries  of  eighteen  officers  and 
much  less  than  the  maximum  talked  of  at 
the  time,  which  was.  Governor,  $2,500,  etc. 


(145) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D 

DEMOCRATIC  ACHIEVEMENT. 

With  pardonable  pride,  the  Indianapolis 
Sentinel  pointed  to  the  splendid  record 
made  by  Governors  Whitcomb  and  Wright 
in  extricating  the  State  from  the  financial 
dilemma  into  which  it  had  fallen  under 
Whig  administration.  Here  is  a  sample  of 
the  Sentinel's  encomiums : 

"When  the  Democrats  were  called  to  ad- 
minister the  State  government,  her  credit 
was  prostrated ;  no  interest  was  paid  upon 
her  debt,  and  so  dark  and  gloomy  was  the 
future  that  the  fearful  thought  of  repudia- 
tion was  springing  up  in  various  parts  of 
the  State.  The  State  debt  was  then  almost 
$17,000,000  and  the  interest  was  increas- 
ing with  fearful  rapidity.  But  look  at  the 
change  which  eight  years  has  made.  The 
State  now  owes  less  than  $7,400,000;  her 
■  credit  is  sustained  in  every  market  and  the 
dark  thought  of  repudiation  has  given 
place  to  the  bright  hopes  of  freedom  from 
indebtedness.  $2,424,000  has  been  paid  m 
money,  and  in  redeeming  the  outstandmg 
scrip  from  circulation,  the  remainder  by 
the  transfer  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie 
Canal." 

SAD  OCCURRENCE. 

On  the  night  of  the  convention  the  Hon. 
Ethan  Allen  Brown,  when  returning  to 
the  evening  session,  fell  over  an  obstruc- 
tion and  inj  ured  his  hand.  He  was  obliged 
to  leave  the  convention  and  return  to  his 
hotel.  His  hand  continuing  to  bleed,  a 
physician  was  summoned,  and  shortly 
after  his  arrival  Mr.  Brown  died.  Death 
was  caused  by  the  bursting  of  a  blood  ves- 
sel. Mr.  Brown  had  just  been  chosen  as 
delegate-at-large  to  the  National  Conven- 
tion at  Baltimore. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 
For  the  State-at-Large :      John    Pettit, 
Tippecanoe;    James   H.   Lane,   Dearborn. 
Contingents :    Dr.  W.  F.  Sherrod,  Orange ; 
John  W.  Dodd,  Grant. 

DISTRICT  ELECTORS. 

1.  Benjamin  R.  Edmonston,  Dubois  county. 

2.  James  A.  Athon,  Clark. 

3.  John  A.  Hendricks,  Jefferson. 


EMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

4.  Ebenezer  Dumont,  Dearborn. 

5.  William  Grose,  Henry. 

6.  William  J.  Brown,  Marion. 

7.  Oliver  P.  Davis,  Vermillion. 

8.  Lorenzo  C.  Dougherty,  Boone. 

9.  Samuel  A.  Hall,  Cass. 

10.  Reuben  J.  Dawson,  DeKalb. 

11.  James  F.  McDowell,  Grant. 
DELEGATES-AT-LARGE   TO   NATIONAL 

CONVENTION. 

Ethan  Allen  Brown Ohio 

John  W.  Davis Sullivan 

W.  J.  Brown Marion 

John   S.   Buckles Delaware 

W.  W.   McCoy Laporte 

Michael  G.  Bright Jefferson 

DEMOCRATIC  STATE  COMMITTEE. 
A.  G.  Porter,  C.  G.  Werbe, 

David  Reynolds,     N.  Bolton, 
L.  Dunlap,  Francis  King, 

Wm.  H.  Morrison,  J.  P.  Drake, 
Albert  Gall,  W.  J.  Brown. 

GOVERNOR  WRIGHT'S  ATTITUDE  ON 
THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION. 

Governor  Wright  never  was  and  never 
could  be  a  champion  of  the  institution  of 
slavery.  But  he  was  at  the  same  time  a 
conservative  as  to  the  manner  of  dealing 
with  the  slave  question.  He  recognized  the 
fact  that  slavery  existed  when  the  Union 
was  formed;  that  its  existence  was  recog- 
nized by  law,  and  that  under  the  law  slave- 
holders had  rights  that  could  neither  be 
ignored  nor  violated  with  impunity.  His 
chief  concern  at  that  time  was  to  preserve 
the  peace  and  to  avert  sectional  strife.  In 
order  that  his  attitude  with  reference  to 
the  then  pending  issues  might  be  fully  un- 
derstood, he  declared  himself  thus  in  a 
statement  published  in  the  Sentinel  of  De- 
cember 5,  1851 : 

"Indiana  holds  him  an  enemy  to  the 
wellrbeing  of  this  Republic  who  pursues 
any  course  tending  to  widen  the  breach  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South.  Minor 
questions  sink  into  insignificance  com- 
pared to  the  great  paramount  duty  of 
every  American  citizen,  the  preservation 
and  integrity  of  the  American  Union. 

"Each  and  all  of  the  laws  constituting 
that  compromise  which  has  been  as  oil 
cast  upon  the  troubled  waters  are  assented 


(  146) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  9  1   G 


to  and  have  been  carried  out  so  far  as  they 
apply  to  us,  in  word  and  letter,  according 
to  the  strictest  judicial  construction,  by 
citizens  of  our  State.  This  has  been  cor- 
dially and  with  as  near  an  approach  to 
hearty  unanimity  as  any  measure  enacted 
to  reconcile  similar  sectional  differences 
can  ever  be  expected  to  receive. 

"Indiana  desires  to  see  the  compromise 
made  under  the  Constitution  and  expressly 
framed  to  carry  into  effect  its  provisions, 
remain  undisturbed.  We  say  to  the  South, 
as  well  as  to  the  North,  that  these  meas- 
ures must  stand — that  this  sectional  con- 
troversy must  not  again  be  opened  up — 
that  time  is  an  element  which  enters  into 
everything  that  is  valuable,  must  test  their 
wisdom  of  efficacy — that  from  whatever 
quarter  of  the  Union  efforts  shall  be  made 
to  revive  this  sectional  agitation,  Indiana 
is  against  it. 

"Nor  will  she  by  her  votes  countenance 
those  who  favor  the  opening  afresh  in  any 
manner,  under  any  pretense,  the  questions 
so  recently  and  so  happily  disposed  of — 
let  us  hope  forever.  Our  duty  is  plain ; 
abide  by  the  past,  sustain  the  measures 
faithfully,  cease  agitation  and  trust  for  the 
future  to  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  of 
the  people  under  the  guidance  of  Provi- 
dence." 

This  doubtless  accurately  expressed  the 
sentiment  of  a  vast  majority  of  Indiana's 
inhabitants,  with  but  few  exceptions.  The 
radical  anti-slavery  element  represented 
by  George  W.  Julian  had  no  notable 
strength  outside  the  Julian  district.  Dem- 
ocrats and  Whigs  were  in  entire  accord 
with  Governor  Wright's  views,  as  set  forth 
in  the  foregoing  declaration. 

DEMAND  FOR  ROBERT  DALE  OWEN. 

Prior  to  the  convening  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Convention  in  February,  pub- 
lic expression  was  given  to  a  pronounced 
sentiment  in  favor  of  making  Robert  Dale 
Owen  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion. A  strong  editorial  on  that  sub- 
ject appeared  in  the  Louisville  Jour- 
nal, then  edited  by  Geo.  D.  Prentice. 
In  this  editorial  were  set  forth  va- 
rious cogent  reasons  why,  in  the 
opinion  of  Mr.   Prentice,  Indiana  should 


place  at  the  head  of  its  educational  inter- 
ests a  man  of  Mr.  Owen's  superior  qualifi- 
cations. This  article  was  reproduced  in 
the  Sentinel  with  favorable  comment.  The 
publication  of  these  commendatory  refer- 
ences to  Mr.  Owen  prompted  that  gentle- 
man to  declare,  in  a  communication 
printed  in  the  Sentinel  of  December  23, 
that  "on  account  of  private  arrangements 
connected  with  his  duties  to  his  family 
he  could  not  be  a  candidate  for  the  office  of 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  at 
the  February  convention."  In  the  same 
letter  he  protested  vigorously  again.st  the 
exclusion  of  ministers  of  the  gospel  from 
school  positions,  saying  the  schools  are 
"secular  and  not  religious  in.stitutions." 
He  also  objected  emphatically  to  any  ex- 
clusion being  made  on  account  of  any  par- 
ticular religion.  The  latter  objection  was 
evoked  by  the  rising  spirit  of  Know- 
Nothingism  that  had  taken  strong  hold  in 
some  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  Union. 

POLITICS     MAKES     STRANGE     BED- 
FELLOWS. 

This  trite  saying  was  strikingly  ex- 
emplified in  the  earlier  period  of  political 
contention.  Judge  Turpie  had  some  such 
experiences  when  he  engaged  in  joint  dis- 
cussions with  some  of  his  competitors.  But 
perhaps  the  most  notable  of  these  close  as- 
sociations was  that  unctuously  related  by 
one  of  the  candidates  for  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor in  1852.  The  rival  aspirants  for  this 
office  were  A-shbel  P.  Willard  of  New  Al- 
bany and  "Billy"  Williams  of  Warsaw. 
Both  were  remarkably  effective  stump 
speakers.  Willard  was  highly  educated 
and  an  ideal  orator.  Williams  was  de- 
ficient in  education,  but  irresistible  as  a 
natural  orator  before  a  popular  audience. 
During  the  seventies,  when  representing 
the  Tenth  district  in  Congress,  "Billy"  told 
the  writer  of  the  time  he  had  with  Willard 
while  going  through  the  arduous  task  of 
a  series  of  joint  discussions.  One  of  these 
wordy  combats  took    place    in    a    locality 


HISTORY      INDIANA     DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

where  hotel  accommodations  were  scant,  divest  himself  of  his  coat,  then  of  his  col- 
It  became  necessary  for  these  two  distin-  lar,  then  of  his  vest.  One  afternoon  he 
guished  disputants  to  occupy  the  same  was  making  a  speech  in  a  Quaker  settle- 
bed.  Both  were  jolly  good  fellows.  Not-  ment.  It  began  to  rain.  People  put  up 
withstanding  the  fact  that  they  belabored  their  umbrellas,  but,  enchanted  by  Wil- 
one  another  at  a  lively  rate  in  their  fiery  lard's  oratory,  they  stayed  and  eagerly 
speeches,  a  strong  personal  friendship  had  drank  in  the  words  as  they  fell  from  his 
sprung  up  between  them.  "Both  of  us  felt  eloquent  lips.  As  the  rain  descended 
tired,"  the  inimitable  Billy  said  in  the  thicker  and  heavier,  the  orator  stopped 
course  of  his  narrative,  "so  it  wasn't  long  abruptly,  appealing  to  his  audience  to  ad- 
after  we  had  gone  to  bed  that  Willard  be-  journ  the  meeting.  With  astonishing 
gan  to  snore  in  stentorian  tones.  Pretty  unanimity  the  crowd  shouted,  'No,  go  on !' 
soon  he  would  turn  over,  throw  his  leg  Speaking  was  renewed.  The  audience  was 
over  me  and  exclaim,  'Billy,  of  all  the  au-  spell-bound.  Three  times  Willard  appealed 
dacious  liars  I  ever  encountered,  you  are  to  his  hearers  to  bring  the  meeting  to  a 
entitled  to  be  enrolled  on  top  of  the  list.'  close.  To  each  request  the  audience  thun- 
Complacently  falling  asleep,  repeating  his  ^e^ed  back  an  emphatic  No!  Straighten- 
snoring  with  reinforced  vigor,  and  again  j^^^  ^-^^^^^  ^^  ^^  ^-^  f^U  ^^-^^^^  ^jU^^d 
throwing  his  leg  over  me,  he  drawled  out,  exclaimed:  'The  more  rain,  the  more 
'Billy,  how  can  you  stand  up  before  an  m-  ^^^^   ^^^  ^^^^           ^^^  ^^^^  ^             ^^^ 

telligent  audience  and  unfold  yourself  as  r,-  n      4.1,              -r*             4.       t   +> 

„,.       o,     A      •      •  •      V  more  whisky,  the  more  Democrats.    Leter 

a  very  prince  of  liars?     Again  giving  him-  .         „,.„      ,„.,.,.             ,       ,,     . 

self  over  to  the  sleep  of  the  righteous,  ^^^^^     Willard  finished  his  speech.    Most 

Willard  soon  again  unconsciously  set  his  «f  his  hearers  were  soaked  by  the  ram,  but 

snoring  apparatus   in  motion.     For  the  they  considered  themselves  amply  compen- 

third  time  he  threw  his  leg  over  me,  this  sated  for  the  discomfort  experienced  by 

time  accompanying  that  performance  with  the  matchless  oratory  of  their  nominee  for 

this  tribute  to  my  veracity :     'Well,  Billy,  Lieutenant-Governor." 

you  are  without  doubt  the  sleekest  liar  I  As   the   inimitable    and    incomparably 

have  ever  come  across.'    How  many  times  good-natured    "Billy"    related    these    in- 

he  reiterated  these  testimonials  during  the  cidents  in  his  political   career   his   coun- 

night  I  am  unable  to  say.    I  was  tired,  ex-  Penance  was  illuminated  as  if  he  had  been 

hausted,  and  became  oblivious  to  all  that  reminded   of   one   of   the   most  pleasing 

happened   or  didn't  happen   during  that  ^^^j^^g  ^^  j^jg  ^fg 

memorable  night  of  joint  bed  occupancy.  ^^^    campaign     made     by     Governor 

When  we  got  up  m  the  morning  there  were  ^           ^^^  ^^  ^.^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^.j,.^^^ 

no  signs  of  anything  unpleasant  having  ,    ^    ,.         r,^,             ,.. 

occurred.    Continuing  our  battle  of  words,  ^"^  effective.    The  result  was  a  sweeping 

we  fought  it  out  to  the  bitter  end.    Willard  Democratic  victory,  as  attested  by  the  offi- 

had  the  satisfaction  of  beating  me  by  a  cial  figures : 

little  over  15,000,  while  I  had  the  satisfac-  Pqjj  qovernor. 

tion  of  doing  considerably  better  than  the     j^^^^^  ^  ^^.^^^^  ^^^^^^^^ ' 93  ^^g 

head  of  the  ticket,  who  was  defeated  by     Nicholas  McCarty,  Whig 73,641 

over  19,000.     Yes,  those  were  great  days,     Andrew  L.  Robinson,  Freesoiler 3,303 

with  great  doings.    As  a  public  speaker  he  ^^^  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR, 
was  simply  a  wonder.    He  preferred  out- 

door  to   indoor  speaking.       When    he    got      4^.^bel  P-^,^illard,  Democrat 90,239 

^  "  \Vilham  Williams,  Whig 75,094 

warmed  up  to  his  subject  he  would  first     j^^es  P.  Milliken,  Freesoiler 3,086 


(148) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 

MAJORITIES  FOR  THE  OTHER  CANDIDATES,  test  over  the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the 

Secretary  of  State— Nehemiah  Hayden 15,134  Union ;  located  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis 

Auditor  of  state— John  p.  Dunn 15,916  during  the   Civil   War;   engaged   in   bank- 
Treasurer  of  State-Elijah  Newland 16,702  jng.  became  president   of   the   First   Na- 

Supt.  of  Public  Instruction— W.  C.  Larabee.  15,851  x-,tji  -jjj-u^ 

Supreme  Judges- Wm.  Z.  Stuart 14,961  i^""^'   ^^"^^ '   ^'^^'^   ^^e   Government   in   a 

Andrew  Davidson 14,212  financial  way.    In  1880  he  developed  Pres- 

Samuel  E.  Perkins 11,545  idential  aspirations,  but  the  state  conven- 

Addison  L.  Roach 12,985  tion  instructed  the  delegation  to  the  Cin- 

Not  only  did  the  Democrats  elect  every  cinnati  convention  steadfastly  to  support 
candidate  on  their  State  ticket  by  decisive  Thomas  A.  Hendricks.  Four  years  before 
majorities,  but  they  secured  a  good  work-  Mr.  English  earnestly  and  energetically 
ing  majority  in  both  Houses  of  the  Legis-  supported  Tilden  and  Hendricks.  Upon 
lature.  In  this  body  they  had  34  Senators  the  nomination  of  General  Winfield  Scott 
and  57  Representatives.  Of  the  eleven  Hancock  to  the  Presidency,  Mr.  English 
members  of  Congress  they  secured  ten.  was  nominated  for  Vice-President.  He  re- 
The  only  Whig  nominee  that  escaped  de-  tained  the  chairmanship  of  the  Democratic 
feat  was  Samuel  W.  Parker,  in  the  Fifth  State  Committee  and  conducted  a  system- 
district.  The  delegation  to  the  Thirty-  atic  campaign.  Though  considerable  en- 
third  Congress  was  made  up  of  these  dis-  thusiasm  was  aroused  in  behalf  of  Han- 
tinguished  gentlemen :  cock  and  English,  the  disappointment  of 

1.  Smith  Miller,  Patoka.  Democrats  who  had  demanded  the  renom- 

2.  Wm.  H.  English,  Lexington.  ination  of  the  ticket  of  1876  was  felt  so 

3.  Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  Valley  Farm.  keenly  that  the  Indiana  Democracy  went 

4.  James  H.  Lane,  Lawrenceburg.  down  in  defeat  both  in  October  and  in  No- 

5.  Samuel  W.  Parker,  Connersville  vember.     Mr.  English  had  become  one  of 

6.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Shelbyville.  j.i.     oi   j.   ,  i^i  •     ^  ,,.,,,. 

7.  John  W.  Davis,  Rockville.  ^^e  State  s  wealthiest  men,  and  died  at  his 

8.  Daniel  Mace,  Lafayette.  home  in  Indianapolis,   February   7,   1896. 

9.  Norman  Eddy,  South  Bend.  His  SOU,  William  E.,  during  the  eighties 

10.  Ebenezer  M.  Chamberlain,  Goshen.  served  part  of  a  term  in  Congress.     The 

11.  Andrew  J.  Harlan,  Marion.  fj.^^  gjl^g^  jg^^g  j^^  jggg  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^_ 

Smith  Miller  was  born  in  North  Caro-  after  to  affiliate  with  the  Republicans. 
Una,  May  30,  1804;  engaged  in  farming  at  james  Henry  Lane  was  born  in  Law- 
Patoka,  Gibson  county,  Indiana;  served  as  renceburg,  Ind.,  June  22,  1814;  attended 
member  of  the  Legislature  and  was  twice  the  public  schools;  studied  law,  was  ad- 
elected  to  Congress.  Died  near  Patoka,  fitted  to  the  bar  in  1840,  and  began  prac- 
March  21,  1872.  ^-jce  in  Lawrenceburg;  member  of  the  City 

William  Hayden  English  was  the  third  Council;    served    in    the    Mexican    war; 

native  Indianian  to  be  elected  to  Congress.  Colonel  of  the  Third  Indiana  Volunteers, 

Born  m  Lexington,  Scott  county,  August  June  25,  1846 ;  mustered  out  June  24,  1847 ; 

27,  1822;  pursued  classical  studies  in  the  recommissioned  Colonel  of  the  Fifth  In- 

University  of  Hanover;  studied  law  and  diana  Infantry  October  22,  1847 ;  mustered 

was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1846;  principal  ^^^^  j^,y  ^g^   1348;  appointed  Brigadier- 

clerk  ot  the  Indiana  House  of  Representa-  ^  ^     ^  ^r  ^     1.  ^  •       •      .1 

,.        .     ,_.„      1    1    •     iu     rp  T^  General  of  Volunteers  for  service  in  the 

tives  in  1843;  clerk  in  the  Treasury  De-  „.   •,  ,ir      t~>         .         ,0     -.r,,.-.  j 

v^„,^-w,„„f  of  Wo  I,; f^„  -mAA  10A0  Civil  War  December    18,    1861,    and    ap- 

partment  at  Washington,  1844-1848 ;  secre-         .   ,         ,  ,,,,,'. 

tary  of  the  Indiana  Constitutional  Conven-  Pomtment  was  canceled  March  21,  1862  ; 

tion  in  1850 ;  four  times  elected  to  Con-  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  1849 ;  elected 

gress  as  a  Democrat,  serving  from  1853  to  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Thirty-third  Con- 

1861 ;  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  con-  gress    (March   4,    1853-March   3,    1855); 


(149) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


moved  to  Kansas  Territory  in  1855 ;  mem- 
ber of  the  Topeka  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion; elected  to  the  United  States  Senate 
by  the  Legislature  that  convened  under 
the  Topeka  Constitution  in  1856,  but  the 
election  was  not  recognized  by  the  United 
States  Senate;  president  of  the  Leaven- 
worth Constitutional  Convention  of  1857; 
elected  as  a  Republican  to  the  United 
States  Senate  in  1861,  and  re-elected  in 
1865,  and  served  until  his  death  by  suicide 
near  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kan.,  July  11, 
1866. 

Norman  Eddy  was  born  in  Scipio,  N.  Y., 
December  10,  1810;  was  graduated  from 
the  medical  department  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1835 ;  went  to  Indiana 
and  located  in  Mishawaka  and  practiced 
medicine  there  until  1847;  studied  law, 
moved  to  South  Bend  in  1847  and  prac- 
ticed law ;  State  Senator  in  1850 ;  held  sev- 
eral local  offices ;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to 


the  Thirty-third  Congress  (March  4,  1853- 
March  3,  1855)  ;  defeated  for  re-election; 
Colonel  of  the  Forty-eighth  Indiana  Regi- 
ment of  Volunteers  during  the  Civil  War ; 
Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  1865-1870; 
elected  Secretary  of  State  in  1870.  Died 
in  Indianapolis,  January  28,  1872. 

Ebenezer  Mattoon  Chamberlain  was 
born  in  Orrington,  Me.,  August  20,  1805; 
attended  the  public  schools;  studied  law; 
moved  to  Connersville,  Ind.,  in  1832, 
where  he  completed  his  studies;  was  ad-' 
mitted  to  the  bar  and  commenced  practice 
in  Elkhart  county  in  1833 ;  member  of  the 
State  House  of  Representatives  in  1835- 
1837;  judge  of  the  Elkhart  Circuit  Court 
for  nine  years;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to 
the  Thirty-third  Congress  (March  4,  1853- 
March  3,  1855)  ;  was  strongly  opposed  to 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise ;  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  law  in  Goshen. 
Died  there  March  14,  1861. 


(  n>o ) 


[Chapter  XX.] 


TIDAL -WAVE  YEAR  FOR  DEMOCRACY 

NOMINATION  OF  PIERCE  AND  KING  RATIFIED  AT  THE  POLLS 
BY  OVERWHELMING  MAJORITIES 


HILE  the  Indiana  Democratic 
Convention  held  at  Indiana- 
polis, February  24,  did  not 
specifically  instruct  its  dele- 
gates to  the  National  Conven- 
tion, as  usual,  held  in  Balti- 
jd|  more,  June  1,  1852,  it  adopted 
with  the  utmost  unanimity  these  resolu- 
tions : 

"Resolved,  That  Joseph  Lane,  the  State 
legislator,  the  gallant  general,  the  Terri- 
torial Governor,  tried  in  the  council  cham- 
ber, tried  in  the  tented  fields,  tried  in  the 
executive  chair,  and  never  found  granting, 
is,  of  the  people  of  Indiana,  the  first  choice 
for  the  Presidency.  While  we  repose  en- 
tire confidence  alike  in  his  administrative 
capacity,  in  his  firmness,  in  his  honesty  of 
purpose  and  in  his  unswerving  devotion 
to  Democratic  principles,  at  the  same  time 
desiring  above  all  things  union  and  har- 
mony in  the  support  of  the  nominee  of  the 
National  Convention,  let  the  choice  of  the 
majority  fall  as  it  will,  and  fully  trusting 
the  judgment  and  devotion  to  principles 
of  our  delegates  to  that  convention. 

"Resolved  further,  That  we  leave  said 
delegates  untrammeled  by  instructions  as 
to  persons  to  act  as  their  convictions  of 
right  and  propriety  at  the  time  may  dic- 
tate. 

"Resolved,  however,  That  in  casting  the 
vote  of  the  State  for  President,  the  said 
delegates  be  instructed  to  give  it,  through- 
out, as  a  unit  and  not  by  separate  dis- 
tricts ;  the  name  of  the  person  so  voted  for 
to  be  at  all  times  determined  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  of  said  delegates. 

"Resolved,  That  if  General  Joseph 
Lane  be  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Pres- 
ident of  the  National  Convention,  we 
pledge  to  him  the  vote  of  Indiana — of  that 
State  the  honor  of  whose  sons  he  has  so 
nobly  vindicated — by  a  majority,  as  we 
confidently  hope  and  truly  believe,  of 
25,000  votes." 

It  is  worthy  of  special  mention  that 
these  resolutions  were  reported  by  an  ex- 


ceptionally strong  committee  of  which  the 
renowned  Robert  Dale  Owen  was  chair- 
man and  Oliver  P.  Morton  a  conspicuous 
member  from  the  "Quaker  district." 
Four  years  later  the  same  Morton  headed 
the  first  Republican  State  ticket  as  its 
nominee  for  Governor,  and  ten  years  later 
Robert  Dale  Owen  was  credited  with  hav- 
ing furnished  the  strongest  argument  sub- 
mitted to  President  Lincoln  in  support  of 
the  urgent  appeal  that  he  issue  a  procla- 
mation for  the  emancipation  of  four  mil- 
lion slaves.  At  this  very  convention  both 
Owen  and  Morton  expressed  the  utmost 
satisfaction  over  the  various  compromises 
entered  into  to  propitiate  the  slave  power 
and  condemning  all  further  agitation  that 
might  in  any  way  disturb  harmonious  re- 
lations between  North  and  South. 

Upon  one  of  Indiana's  delegates-at- 
large.  Congressman  John  W.  Davis,  was 
conferred  the  distinguished  honor  of  be- 
ing selected  as  permanent  chairman  of 
the  convention.  And  very  creditably  did 
Dr.  Davis  acquit  himself  in  that  position. 
He,  with  a  number  of  other  delegates, 
loyally  supported  General  Lane  for  the 
Presidential  nomination,  but  at  heart 
these  gentlemen  were  for  Stephen  A. 
Douglas.  When  the  balloting  showed 
steady  gains  for  "The  Little  Giant,"  the 
Indiana  delegation  abandoned  Lane  and 
went  over  to  Cass  as  a  compromise.  Par- 
ticularly active  in  behalf  of  General  Lane 
was  Congressman  John  L.  Robinson,  ably 
aided  by  the  Brights.  These  gentlemen 
were  especially  hostile  to  Senator  Douglas, 
whose  defeat  was  of  far  greater  impor- 
tance to  them  than  the  nomination  of  any 
one  of  the  other  aspirants,  except  Lane. 

All  the  signs  of  the  times  pointed  un- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


erringly  to  signal  Democratic  victories  in 
1852,  both  in  Indiana  and  the  country  at 
large.  This  in  itself  was  an  incentive  to 
extraordinary  effort  in  behalf  of  the  lead- 
ing candidates  and  accounts  for  the  tenac- 
ity with  which  their  supporters  adhered 
to  the  favorite  sons  from  various  parts  of 
the  Union.  The  friends  of  General  Cass, 
convinced  that  the  battle  in  1848  was  lost 
through  no  fault  of  his  but  rendered  in- 
evitable on  account  of  the  colossal  blunder 
committed  in  inciting  the  friends  of  Mar- 
tin Van  Buren  to  open  revolt,  were  espe- 
cially solicitous  that  the  Michigan  states- 
man be  afforded  another  opportunity  in  a 
fairer  race  and  under  more  auspicious 
circumstances.  But  the  decree  of  fate 
determined  otherwise.  General  Cass  de- 
veloped considerable  strength,  but  the 
persistent  efforts  of  the  followers  of  Bu- 
chanan, Douglas  and  Marcy  made  it  im- 
possible to  bring  his  vote  beyond  the  131 
point.  Thirty-three  times  the  Indiana 
delegation  cast  its  vote  solidly  for  General 
Joseph  Lane,  but  throughout  that  ballot- 
ing only  one  delegate  from  some  other 
State  came  to  his  support.  The  name  of 
Franklin  Pierce  had  not  been  mentioned 
until  the  thirty-fifth  ballot.  He  started 
then  with  15  votes,  rose  to  30  on  the  next, 
then  dropped  to  29,  and  stayed  at  that 
through  eight  ballots.  Then  he  rose  to 
44,  49,  55,  then  came  the  stampede  that 
gave  him  nearly  the  entire  vote  of  the  con- 
vention and  secured  his  triumphant  nom- 
ination. 

Inasmuch  as  Joseph  Lane  was  the  first 
Indiana  Democrat  presented  for  a  Presi- 
dential nomination,  a  brief  review  of  his 
eventful  career  would  seem  to  be  de- 
manded. He  was  a  native  of  Buncombe 
county,  North  Carolina,  where  he  was 
born  in  the  year  1801.  In  1814  his  father's 
family  emigrated  to  Kentucky,  and  two 
years  afterward  crossed  the  Ohio  river 
and  located  in  Warrick  county,  Indiana. 
Alternately  young  Lane  worked  in  the 
county  clerk's  office  and  in  a  dry  goods 


store.  Before  he  was  twenty-one  years 
old  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and 
he  had  to  wait  until  he  became  of  age  be- 
fore he  could  take  his  seat.  For  over 
twenty-five  years  he  served  the  State  as  a 
member  of  either  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives or  the  Senate  of  the  Indiana 
Legislature.  When  the  Mexican  war 
broke  out  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  State 
Senate,  where  he  was  then  serving,  and 
joined  the  command  of  Captain  Walker 
as  a  private.  When  the  Second  Indiana 
Regiment  was  organized  he  was  made 
Colonel,  and  on  July  1,  1846,  he  was  made 
Brigadier-General  by  President  Polk. 
During  the  war  he  served  with  distinction 
under  Taylor  and  Scott  and  he  com- 
manded at  the  battle  of  Huamantla.  Soon 
after  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Polk  Governor  of 
the  Territory  of  Oregon.  In  1850  he  was 
removed  from  that  office  by  President 
Taylor,  but  the  next  year  was  elected  as  a 
delegate  from  Oregon  to  Congress  and 
continued  as  such  until  the  State  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Union,  when  he  became  Sen- 
ator. In  1860  he  was  nominated  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  by  one  wing  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  on  a  ticket  with  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky. 

Mr.  Lane  died  in  1881  in  the  forest  re- 
gion of  his  beloved  adopted  State,  poor  in 
purse,  but  rich  in  the  esteem  and  con- 
fidence of  his  countrymen. 

ALABAMAN  NOMINATED  FOR  VICE- 
PRESIDENT. 

On  the  second  ballot  William  K.  King 
of  Alabama  was  unanimously  nominated 
for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

The  party  platform  adopted  was  worded 
precisely  as  that  of  1848.  Two  additional 
planks  were  added — one  approving  the 
compromise  measures  patched  up  by  Clay, 
Webster,  Fillmore,  Crittenden,  Douglas, 
etc.  The  final  declaration  was  to  the  effect 
"that  the  Democratic  party  will  resist  all 
attempts  at  renewing  in  Congress,  or  out 


(152) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


of  it,  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question, 
under  whatever  shape  or  color  the  attempt 
may  be  made."  The  nomination  of  Gen- 
eral Franklin  Pierce  was  very  generally 
greeted  with  enthusiasm,  especially  by  the 
younger  element  of  the  party.  Most  of  the 
Freesoil  Democrats  who  had  rallied  to  the 
support  of  Van  Buren  and  Adams  in  1848 
enlisted  under  the  banner  of  Pierce  and 
King  and  contributed  their  mite  to  the 
sweeping  victory  the  following  November. 

The  remainder  of  the  story  of  1852  is 
easily  narrated.  Confused,  chagrined  and 
demoralized,  the  Whigs  met  in  Baltimore 
on  the  16th  of  June,  with  every  State  rep- 
resented. John  G.  Chapman  of  Maryland 
was  made  the  presiding  officer. 

As  narrated  by  Col.  A.  K.  McClure,  "the 
Southern  delegates  fortified  themselves 
before  the  meeting  of  the  convention  by  a 
caucus  declaration  of  the  party  platform, 
and  it  was  an  open  secret  that  if  the  con- 
vention accepted  the  platform,  enough 
Southern  men  would  support  Scott  to  give 
him  the  nomination.  They  knew  that  Fill- 
more could  not  be  elected  and  that  Web- 
ster was  even  weaker  than  Fillmore,  and 
they  were  willing  to  accept  Scott,  who  was 
the  candidate  of  the  anti-slavery  element 
of  the  party,  if  the  compromise  measures 
were  squarely  affirmed  by  the  party  con- 
vention, while  Scott  was  willing  to  accept 
the  nomination  with  any  platform  the  con- 
vention might  formulate.  Fillmore  had 
carried  the  compromise  measures  and 
forced  the  Whigs  to  accept  them  in  the 
party  platform,  but  the  insincerity  of  that 
expression  was  manifested  by  the  refusal 
to  nominate  Fillmore,  and  by  the  nomina- 
tion of  Scott,  who  represented  the  anti- 
compromise  Whigs  of  the  country.  There 
were  53  ballots  for  President,  but  during 
the  long  struggle  there  was  but  little  ex- 
hibition of  ill-temper.  Scott  started  with 
131  to  133  for  Fillmore  and  29  for  Web- 
ster, and  ended  with  159  for  Scott  to  112 
for  Fillmore  and  21  for  Webster." 

The  nomination  of  General  Scott  was 


made  unanimous,  and  William  A.  Graham 
of  North  Carolina,  who  was  then  serving 
as  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  the  Fill- 
more administration,  was  considerately 
given  a  unanimous  nomination  for  Vice- 
President  on  the  second  ballot. 

The  platfoi'm  adopted  by  the  convention 
declared  that — 

"The  Union  should  be  revered  and 
watched  over  as  the  palladium  of  our  lib- 
erties." 

"As  the  people  make  and  control  the 
Government,  they  should  obey  its  consti- 
tution, laws  and  treaties  as  they  would  I'e- 
tain  their  self-respect  and  the  respect 
which  they  claim  and  will  enforce  from 
foreign  powers." 

"The  Federal  and  State  Governments 
are  parts  of  one  system,  alike  necessary 
for  the  common  prosperity,  peace  and 
security,  and  ought  to  be  regarded  alike 
with  a  cordial,  habitual  and  immovable 
attachment." 

"The  series  of  acts  of  the  Thirty-second 
Congress,  the  act  known  as  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  included,  are  received  and 
acquiesced  in  by  the  Whig  party." 

THE    FREESOIL    PARTY    AGAIN    IN 
EVIDENCE. 

The  Freesoil  Democrats  held  their  na- 
tional convention  in  Pittsburgh  on  the  11th 
of  August.  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachu- 
setts, presided.  Without  the  formality  of 
a  ballot.  Senator  John  P.  Hale  of  New 
Hampshire  was  nominated  for  President 
and  Congressman  George  W.  Julian  of  In- 
diana for  Vice-President.  Reiterating  the 
declaration  of  1848,  the  platform  declared 
that— 

"Slavery  is  a  sin  against  God  and  a 
crime  against  man,  which  no  human  en- 
actment nor  usage  can  make  right." 

"The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850  is  re- 
pugnant to  the  Constitution ;  we  therefore 
deny  its  binding  force  on  the  American 
people  and  demand  its  immediate  and 
total  repeal." 


(153) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


"Slavery  is  sectional  and  freedom  na- 
tional." 

"We  recommend  the  amicable  settle- 
ment of  (international)  difficulties  by  a 
resort  to  decisive  arbitrations." 

"The  Free  Democratic  party  is  not  or- 
ganized to  aid  either  the  Whig  or  Demo- 
cratic wing  of  the  great  slave  compromise 
party  of  the  Nation,  but  to  defeat  them 
both." 

On  the  popular  vote  the  Democrats  had 
1,838,169;  the  Whigs  1,380,576;  Free  De- 
mocracy 156,149.  Of  the  electoral  vote 
Pierce  and  King  had  254 ;  Scott  and  Gra- 
ham 42 ;  Hale  and  Julian  none.  Scott  and 
Graham  carried  four  States:  Kentucky, 
12;  Massachusetts,  13;  Tennessee,  12; 
Vermont,  5. 

Badly  as  the  grizzly  warrior,  Scott,  was 
defeated  in  this  contest,  it  will  be  observed 
that  he  carried  twice  as  many  States  as, 
fifty-six  years  later,  were  carried  by  Wil- 
liam Howard  Taft.  No  comparison  is  to 
be  made  between  these  two  men  as  to  fit- 


ness and  qualification.  The  vote  of  In- 
diana stood:  95,340  for  Pierce,  80,901 
for  Scott,  6,929  for  Hale— total,  183,170. 
Franklin  Pierce  was  by  far  better  fitted 
for  the  Presidency  than  was  his  chief  com- 
petitor. Born  in  Hillsboro,  N.  H.,  Novem- 
ber 23,  1804;  graduated  from  Bowdoin 
College  in  1824;  studied  law  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1827 ;  member  of  the 
State  House  of  Representatives  1829- 
1833 ;  served  as  Speaker  1832-1833 ;  twice 
elected  to  Congress;  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  and  served  from  March  4, 
1837,  to  February  28,  1842,  when  he  re- 
signed. Resumed  the  practice  of  law  in 
Concord;  served  in  the  Mexican  war  as 
Colonel;  commissioned  Brigadier-General 
in  March,  1847,  and  remained  in  Mexico 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1850  he  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  and  made  president  of  that 
body.  His  triumphant  election  to  the 
Presidency  in  1852  marked  the  beginning 
of  the  end  of  the  Whig  party. 


[Chapter  XXI.] 


FORTY-TWO  DAYS  A  UNITED  STATES 
SENATOR 


P  to  the  time  when  Benjamin  F. 

UJ  Shively  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  it  was 
commonly  remarked  that  no 
man  living  north  of  the  Wa- 
bash river  had  served  in  the 
upper  branch  of  Congress. 
Had  that  declaration  been  so  modified  as 
to  render  it  that  no  man  residing  north  of 
the  Wabash  had,  prior  to  Mr.  Shively's 
selection,  been  elected  a  United  States  Sen- 
ator, the  accuracy  of  the  statement  would 
have  been  incontestable  —  though  the 
somewhat  qualifying  statement  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of  that  three  United  States 
Senators  were  chosen  from  Logansport, 
which  is  located  along  the  Wabash,  in  the 
persons  of  John  Tipton,  Graham  N.  Fitch 
and  Daniel  D.  Pratt,  and  one  from  Lafay- 
ette, also  a  Wabash  river  town,  in  the  per- 
son of  John  Pettit. 

Governor  Whitcomb  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1848  and  took  his 
seat  in  that  body  March  4,  1849.  He  was 
not  in  robust  health,  grew  steadily  worse, 
and  died  October  4,  1852.  Governor  Jo- 
seph A.  Wright  appointed  as  Whitcomb's 
successor  a  former  Congressman  from  the 
northern  part  of  the  State,  Charles  W. 
Cathcart,  of  Laporte  county,  who  took  his 
seat  upon  the  assembling  of  Congress,  De- 
cember 6,  1852.  When  the  Legislature  of 
1853  assembled  a  lively  contest  ensued 
over  the  selection  of  a  candidate  for  the 
temporarily  filled  Senatorship.  For  some 
unexplained  reason  no  effort  was  made  to 
secure  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Cathcart  by 
the  legislative  caucus.  The  friends  of 
Governor  Wright  rallied  to  the  support  of 
Judge  John  Pettit,  of  Lafayette,  while  the 
adherents  of  Senator  Bright  did  their  ut- 
most to  secure  the  caucus  nomination  for 
Dr.  Graham  N.  Fitch,  of  Logansport.  The 


vote  stood  54  for  Pettit  and  46  for  Fitch. 
Pettit  was  duly  elected  January  11  and 
took  his  seat  just  one  week  later,  viz., 
January  18,  1853.  Then  Charles  W.  Cath- 
cart was  relieved  of  Senatorial  duties,  his 
service  extending  over  exactly  forty-two 
days.  Having  previously  served  two 
terms  as  Representative  in  the  Lower 
House,  he  enjoyed  a  distinction  not  often 
conferred  upon  national  legislators.  His 
career  as  man  and  public  official  is  replete 
with  interest  and  presents  instructive  in- 
formation as  to  the  possibilities  of  forg- 
ing ahead  in  this  land  of  unsurpassed  op- 
portunity. 

Charles  W.  Cathcart  was  born  on  the 
island  of  Madeira,  July  24,  1809.  Re- 
ceived a  good  education  in  the  Catholic 
schools  of  the  country  where  he  was  born, 
and  in  his  early  years  took  to  the  sea  and 
became  a  master  of  the  science  and  art  of 
navigation.  He  worked  as  a  ship  carpen- 
ter, going  once  to  Greenock,  Scotland. 
Meantime  his  parents  had  come  to  reside 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  where,  after  various 
adventures  on  sea  and  land,  Charles  joined 
them,  and  went  to  work  for  the  chief 
clerk  in  the  General  Land  Office.  That  en- 
gagement opened  his  eyes  to  the  advan- 
tages of  the  great  West,  so  in  1831  he  came 
to  Indiana,  reaching  the  State  on  foot. 
He  went  first  to  the  community  of  Robert 
Dale  Owen  at  New  Harmony,  with  whom 
he  seems  to  have  been  acquainted.  Hear- 
ing there  of  the  beauties  and  attractions 
of  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State,  he 
resumed  his  journey  and  reached  Laporte 
county.  He  first  located  at  South  Bend, 
worked  awhile  at  Niles,  then  settled  in 
Laporte  county,  completed  the  survey  on 
the  Michigan  road  lands  under  Judge 
Polk,  which  had  been  undertaken  by  his 
son,  Adam  Polk,  afterwards  Sheriff'  of  La- 


(  155  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


porte  county,  and  when  the  land  sale  at 
Logansport  took  place  he  purchased  the 
lands  in  New  Durham  township  where 
ever  afterward  he  had  his  home.  Being  a 
carpenter,  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  and 
about  Laporte,  and  had  several  interest- 
ing experiences  during  the  Blackhawk 
war.  Mr.  Cathcart  was  afterward  ap- 
pointed clerk  in  the  Land  Office  at  Laporte 
by  John  M.  Lemon,  receiver,  whose  daugh- 
ter, Josephine,  he  made  his  wife.  After 
his  marriage  Mr.  Cathcart  engaged  exten- 
sively in  farming,  at  which  he  was  very 
successful.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  Au- 
gust 22,  1888,  he  was  justly  regarded  one 
of  the  county's  foremost  farmers. 

In  1835  Mr.  Cathcart  became  a  Repre- 
sentative in  the  State  Legislature,  issuing 
during  his  campaign  a  frank  statement  of 
his  position,  which  was  published  in  the 
Michigan  City  Gazette.  He  ran  for  State 
Senator  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1840, 
but  was  defeated,  and  was  defeated  for 
Representative  in  1843,   but   was   chosen 


district  elector  in  the  Polk  and  Dallas 
campaign  of  1844.  He  served  in  Congress 
from  1845  to  1847,  defeating  Judge  Sam- 
ple, of  South  Bend,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1847,  in  this  contest  defeating  Daniel  D. 
Pratt,  who  later  on  became  a  United 
States  Senator.  Mr.  Cathcart  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  Senator  in  place  of 
James  Whitcomb,  deceased,  serving  from 
December  6,  1852,  to  January  18,  1853. 
He  was  pitted  against  Schuyler  Colfax  for 
Congress  in  1860,  but  was  unsuccessful. 
In  the  following  canvass  he  took  the  stump 
as  a  War  Democrat  in  advocacy  of  Mr. 
Colfax's  Congressional  candidacy,  and  his 
efforts  proved  quite  a  factor  in  that  gentle- 
man's election.  Though  not  what  is  com- 
monly called  an  orator,  Mr.  Cathcart  was 
a  power  on  the  stump.  When  the  war 
broke  out  he  promptly  took  the  side  of  his 
country,  and  his  patriotism  was  manifest 
throughout  the  entire  struggle  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union. 


(156) 


[Chapter  XXII.] 


THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION  AND  THE 
VARIOUS  COiMPROMISES 


NONE  OF  WHICH  SEEMED  TO  HAVE 
QUALITY 


POSSESSED  COHESIVE 


MONG    the    difficult    problems 

AIm  which  confronted  the  founders 
I  of  this  Republic  in  establish- 
1  ing  a  new  power  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth  and  mak- 
ing its  government  conform  to 
the  new  ideals  that  had  been 
evol\  ed  in  the  New  World,  none  were  more 
difficult  of  solution  than  the  question  of 
slavery  and  that  of  the  proper  spheres  of 
State  and  Federal  authority.  Both  prob- 
lems were  attacked  in  the  true  English 
spirit  of  opportunism  and  compromise — 
an  endeavor  to  surmount  the  present  diffi- 
culty and  satisfy  all  parties.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  both  these  problems  were 
finally  solved  at  the  same  time  and  by  the 
same  means — the  force  of  arms. 

In  the  earlier  days,  however,  there  was 
greater  difference  of  opinion  on  the  re- 
spective authority  of  the  State  and  the 
Nation  than  there  was  on  the  slavery 
question.  Even  during  Washington's  first 
administration  pai'ty  lines  were  drawn  be- 
tween Federalists  and  anti-Federalists, 
and  more  intense  partisan  bitterness  has 
never  existed  than  was  manifested  by 
these  two  organizations  before  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Slavery,  on  the  other  hand,  was  recog- 
nized by  all  as  an  evil  and  an  anomaly  in 
a  free  government,  and  the  only  diff'er- 
ences  that  existed  were  as  to  the  best 
methods  of  securing  its  ultimate  extinc- 
tion. The  best  exposition  of  the  feelings 
and  purposes  of  the  fathers  on  this  ques- 
tion is  given  in  the  address  issued  by  the 
Democratic  legislators  of  New  York  State 
at  the  close  of  the  session  of  1848.  It  has 
been  termed  the  "First  Gun  for  Freesoil," 


and  was  the  joint  production  of  Samuel  J. 
Tilden,  Martin  Van  Buren  and  the  latter's 
son,  "Prince"  John.  By  ample  quotations 
it  showed  that  thei'e  was  no  sectionalism 
in  the  attitude  of  the  founders  of  the  Re- 
public in  regard  to  slaveiy.  All  consid- 
ered it  as  an  evil  and  looked  to  its  ultimate 
elimination.  The  only  differences  of  opin- 
ion were  as  to  the  means  of  bringing  about 
the  desired  result. 

The  ethical  side  was  epitomized  in  the 
words  of  Jefferson :  "I  tremble  for  my 
country  when-  I  remember  that  God  is 
just."  Patrick  Henry  voiced  the  wish  and 
faith  of  all  in  these  words :  "I  believe  the 
time  will  come  when  an  opportunity  will 
be  offered  to  abolish  this  lamentable  evil. 
Everything  we  can  do  is  to  improve  the 
opportunity,  if  it  happens  in  our  day;  if 
not,  let  us  transmit  to  our  descendants,  to- 
gether with  our  slaves,  a  pity  for  their  un- 
happy lot  and  an  abhorrence  of  slavery." 
The  practical  mind  of  Washington  sug- 
gested the  method  of  action :  "I  can  only 
say  there  is  not  a  man  living  who  wishes 
more  sincerely  than  I  do  to  see  a  plan 
adopted  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  But 
there  is  only  one  proper  and  effectual 
mode  by  which  it  can  be  accomplished,  and 
that  is  by  the  legislative  authority;  and 
this,  so  far  as  my  suffrage  will  go,  shall 
not  be  wanting." 

The  plan  of  Washington  was  put  into 
effect.  The  abolishment  of  slavery  within 
its  borders  was  conceded  to  be  the  affair 
of  each  State.  But  the  matter  of  importa- 
tion of  slaves  and  the  status  of  the  institu- 
tion in  the  territories  was  vested  in  the 
general  Government.  The  Federal  Con- 
stitution, which  is  the  organic  law  of  the 


(157) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Nation,  provided  that  the  slave  trade 
might  be  abolished  at  the  end  of  tw^enty 
years;  and  it  was  so  terminated  by  Con- 
gressional action.  Indeed,  so  careful  were 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  to  avoid 
even  a  recognition  of  the  system  that  the 
word  "slave"  or  "slavery"  does  not  appear 
in  it,  "because,"  in  the  words  of  Madison, 
"they  did  not  choose  to  admit  the  right  of 
property  in  man;"  moreover,  by  giving  a 
three-fifths  representation  for  the  persons 
held  in  servitude,  the  Constitution  lifted 
the  bondmen  above  the  grade  of  mere 
chattels,  and  one  of  the  first  acts  of  Con- 
gress was  to  reaffirm  the  ''"Ordinance  of 
1787" — written  by  Jefferson — prohibiting 
slavery  forever  in  the  territory,  ceded  by 
Virginia,  north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of 
the  Mississippi.  In  1793  the  first  Con- 
gressional action  towards  allaying  ill- 
feeling  between  the  States  resulted  in  the 
enactment  of  a  law  providing  for  the  re- 
turn of  fugitives  from  one  State  into  an- 
other. This  law  was  popularly  known  as 
the  "fugitive  slave  law,"  although  its  pro- 
visions related  to  fugitives  from  justice  or 
involuntary  servitude. 

From  the  beginning  the  ethical  consid- 
eration of  the  question  of  slavery  was 
complicated  by  the  financial  interests  in- 
volved. The  respite  of  twenty  years  given 
the  African  slave  trade  was  a  concession 
to  the  shipowners  and  slave  traders  of  the 
northern  cities,  and  the  abolition  of  slav- 
ery in  the  northern  States  was  much  facil- 
itated by  the  fact  that  slave  labor  did  not 
prove  profitable  in  that  section.  Neither 
was  that  kind  of  labor  particularly  profit- 
able at  the  South  until  after  the  invention 
of  the  cotton  gin.  But  for  the  mechanical 
genius  of  Whitney,  it  is  possible  that  the 
"opportunity"  hoped  for  by  Patrick  Henry 
might  have  arrived  during  the  lifetime  of 
Jeff"erson,  and  slavery  might  have  been 
abolished  by  the  voluntary  action  of  all 
the  States,  according  to  the  plan  suggested 
by  Washington. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  cotton  industry 


having  given  impetus  to  slavery  in  the 
South,  Congress,  in  its  legislation  for  the 
Territories,  recognized  the  institution  in 
that  part  of  the  country  lying  south  of  the 
Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
State  of  Louisiana  was  also  admitted  in 
1812  with  a  constitution  authorizing  slav- 
ery. The  States  just  north  of  the  cotton- 
producing  region  also  found  it  profitable 
to  raise  slaves  for  sale  to  the  Southern 
planters.  In  the  meantime  an  abolition 
sentiment  had  been  growing  in  the  north- 
ern States.  The  North  had  not  only  freed 
its  own  slaves,  but  was  becoming  active  in 
opposition  to  any  further  extension  of 
slavery  in  the  Union.  Out  of  this  conflict 
of  interests  and  ethical  views  a  variety  of 
opinions  as  to  the  system  was  developed 
and  tenaciously  maintained  North  and 
South.  The  unanimity  of  opinion  held  by 
the  founders  of  the  Republic  was  replaced 
by  a  diversity  of  views  in  which  each 
sought  to  justify  his  own  on  moral 
grounds.  One  class  believed  in  the  right 
of  a  superior  race  to  dominate  an  inferior 
one  and  boldly  asserted  that  slavery  was 
not  only  a  humane  institution,  but  had 
divine  sanction  as  a  civilizing  instrument 
to  elevate  the  negro  from  his  native  state 
of  savagery.  This  view  was  held  by  in- 
fluential religious  organizations  at  the 
South  and  proclaimed  from  the  pulpit  and 
through  the  press.  It  was  also  held  by 
these  that  the  slave  was  better  oflF  than 
the  free  negro  "running  at  large."  An- 
other class  deprecated  the  existence  of 
slavery,  but  contended  that  since  it  had 
been  an  established  institution  from  the 
formation  of  the  Union,  there  should  be 
no  interference  with  it.  Still  another 
class  held  that  since  slavery  existed  law- 
fully in  certain  States,  legal  protection  of 
the  property  rights  of  the  slaveholder  was 
proper  and  necessary,  but  that  there  must 
be  no  extension  of  slavery  into  new  terri- 
tory. Then  there  was  a  fourth  class,  in- 
significant in  numbers,  it  is  true,  but  in- 
sistent in  proclaiming    its    views,    which 


(158) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


held  that  slavery  was  wholly  and  totally 
wrong,  "the  sum  of  all  villainies,"  and 
that,  therefore,  it  had  become  a  public 
duty  to  abolish  the  institution.  In  the 
course  of  the  controversy  the  foremost 
champions  of  this  last  view  were  William 
Lloyd  Garrison.  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  Ger- 
rit  Smith,  Wendell  Phillips  and  Owen 
Lovejoy. 

In  addition  to  the  moral  and  economical 
aspects  of  the  controversy,  political  com- 
plications arose.  The  slaveholding  inter- 
ests demanded  that  equality  of  representa- 
tion should  be  maintained  in  the  Senate — 
that  is,  that  for  every  free  State  admitted 
there  should  be  a  corresponding  one  per- 
mitting slavery.  This  balance  of  power 
had  remained  until  1820,  when  Maine  and 
Missouri  applied  for  admission  into  the 
Union.  Missouri  was  formed  out  of  the 
"Louisiana  Purchase,"  to  which  the  North 
claimed  that  the  provisions  of  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787  should  be  applied.  The 
South,  however,  insisted  that  if  Maine 
were  admitted  as  a  free  State,  Missouri 
should  also  come  in  as  a  slave  State.  The 
controversy  became  very  bitter;  but  the 
matter  was  finally  adjusted  by  admitting 
the  two  on  the  basis  of  the  Southern  de- 
mand, but  accompanying  their  admission 
with  a  solemn  compact  that  all  other  terri- 
tory west  of  the  Mississippi  and  north  of 
the  parallel  of  the  south  line  of  Missouri 
should  be  placed  under  the  inhibition  of 
the  Ordinance  of  1787;  that  is,  it  should 
be  forever  free.  This  measure  became 
known  as  the  "Missouri  Compromise." 
Jefferson  did  not  approve  of  the  compro- 
mise. "I  consider  it,"  he  said,  "the  knell 
of  the  Union.  A  geographical  line  coin- 
ciding with  a  marked  principle,  moral  and 
political,  once  conceived  and  held  up  to 
the  angry  passions  of  men  will  never  be 
obliterated."  Prophetic  words!  The  ob- 
literation was  secured  only  through  the 
blood  of  thousands  of  Americans. 

While  agitation  and  discussion  both 
within  and  without  the  halls  of  Congress 


waxed  hot  and  bitter,  no  action  of  impor- 
tance affecting  the  slavery  question  was 
taken  until  the  war  with  Mexico  rendered 
probable  the  acquisition  of  territory  from 
that  country.  It  is  true  that  Texas,  having 
secured  her  independence,  had  been  on  her 
own  request  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
slave  State,  as  also  had  been  Arkansas,  but 
there  had  been  Northern  States  admitted 
also.  The  war  with  Mexico  had,  indeed, 
grown  out  of  the  admission  of  Texas. 

Inasmuch  as  slavery  had  been  aboli.shed 
in  Mexico,  the  question  as  to  the  territory 
to  be  obtained  from  that  country  involved 
leaving  things  as  they  were,  or  the  estab- 
lishment of  slavery  in  communities  where 
it  did  not  exist — and  anti-slavery  feeling 
in  the  North  was  thoroughly  aroused.  In 
1846,  when  the  bill  appropriating  money 
for  the  expenses  of  the  war  was  before  the 
House  of  Representatives,  David  Wilmot, 
a  Democrat  from  Pennsylvania,  offered  an 
amendment  providing  that  slavery  should 
be  forever  prohibited  in  any  territory  that 
might  be  acquired  as  the  result  of  the  war. 
This  was  the  famous  "Wilmot  Proviso." 
It  was  adopted  by  the  House  but  rejected 
in  the  Senate. 

In  1848  the  Democratic  State  Conven- 
tion of  New  York  adopted  the  principle  of 
the  Wilmot  Proviso  and  passed  resolutions 
protesting  against  the  establishment  of 
slavery  in  any  of  the  Territories.  This 
action  of  the  New  York  Democracy  awak- 
ened bitter  antagonism  in  pro-slavery 
circles  and  resulted  in  sending  a  contest- 
ing delegation  from  the  Empire  State  to 
the  Democratic  National  Convention. 
That  convention,  after  two  days'  delibera- 
tion, resolved  to  admit  both  delegations 
from  New  York,  each  with  half  the  vote 
of  the  State.  This  proposition  was  in- 
dignantly declined  by  the  Van  Buren  men, 
whereupon  the  "Hunker"  contestants, 
headed  by  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  though  sit- 
ting in  the  convention,  took  no  part  in  the 
voting.  General  Lewis  Cass  was  nom- 
mated  for  President.  Then  followed  the 
Freesoil  Democratic  party  with  Van  Buren 


(159) 


HISTORY     INDIANA     DEMOCRACY  — 1816-19  1 


as  the  nominee  for  President  and  Charles 
Francis  Adams  for  Vice-President.  The 
result  was  the  election  of  the  Whig  candi- 
date, Zachary  Taylor. 

In  the  meantime  the  struggle  increaseid 
in  bitterness.  California,  rapidly  filling 
up  with  miners,  mostly  from  the  North, 
was  asking  for  admission  into  the  Union, 
and  the  population  of  Oregon  had  'become 
sufficient  to  entitle  it  to  territorial  govern- 
ment. Texas  was  putting  forth  claims  to 
part  of  the  ceded  territory,  and  the  ques- 
tion whether  slavery  should  be  recognized 
in  territorial  governments  had  become 
very  acute. 

The  Clayton  Compromise,  brought  for- 
ward in  1848,  proposed  to  leave  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery  in  the  territory  involved  to 
the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
Senate  approved  the  compromise,  but  the 
anti-slavery  House  of  Representatives  re- 
jected it.  Finally,  early  in  1850,  Henry 
Clay  brought  forward  his  compromises, 
which,  after  eight  months,  were  enacted 
into  laws,  which  resulted  in  the  admission 
of  California  as  a  free  State ;  the  organiza- 
tion of  Oregon  as  a  Territory  with  slavery 
prohibited ;  the  establishment  of  territorial 
governments  for  Utah  and  New  Mexico 
without  restrictions  as  to  slavery ;  the  area 
of  Texas  reduced,  she  being  paid  $10,000,- 
000  for  the  loss  of  territory;  the  forbid- 
ding of  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  the  enactment  of  a  strin- 
gent fugitive  slave  law.  Neither  side  was 
fully  satisfied  with  these  compromises  and 
their  adoption  helped  to  seal  the  fate  of 
the  Whig  party. 

Within  two  years  propositions  came  for 
organizing  a  territorial  government  in  the 
country  west  of  Missouri.  These  resulted 
in  an  enabling  act  for  the  Territories  of 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  which  was  passed 
in  May,  1854.  This  act,  taking  the  Clay 
compromises  as  a  precedent  for  leaving 
the  question  of  slavery  to  the  verdict  of  the 
people  of  the  Territory,  repealed  the  old 
Missouri  Compromise  and  established  the 
principle  of  what  was   by   some  termed 


"popular  sovereignty"  and  by  others 
"squatter  sovereignty."  Strife  between 
the  North  and  the  South  for  the  settlement 
of  Kansas  resulted  in  a  civil  war  in  the 
Territory  and  was  a  potent  factor  in  form- 
ing the  Republican  party,  whose  chief 
tenet  was  that  set  forth  in  the  Freesoil 
convention  which  nominated  Van  Buren 
in  1848,  namely,  that  there  must  be  no 
slave  Territories  and  no  more  slave  States. 

Finally,  to  cap  the  climax  of  causes  for 
irritation  at  the  North,  came  the  "Dred 
Scott  Decision,"  delivered  by  Chief  Justice 
Taney,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1856. 
Dred  Scott  was  a  negro,  who  had  been 
taken  as  a  slave  to  Fort  Snelling,  in  the 
Louisiana  Territory,  held  there  for  several 
years,  and  had  there  married  his  wife, 
brought  there  in  the  same  manner.  They 
were  then  taken  to  Missouri  and  held  as 
slaves,  two  children  being  born  to  them. 
In  1854  Dred  Scott  brought  suit  for  the 
freedom  of  himself  and  family,  basing  his 
claim  on  the  fact  that  they  were  unlaw- 
fully held  in  servitude  at  Fort  Snelling  be- 
cause of  the  prohibitive  clause  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  The  suit  passed 
through  three  inferior  courts  and  reached 
the  Supreme  Court  in  December,  1855.  It 
was  reargued  the  next  spring,  but  the  de- 
cision was  deferred  until  after  the  Presi- 
dential election  of  1856.  The  decision, 
concurred  in  by  six  of  the  eight  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  was  accompanied 
by  an  elaborate  opinion  from  the  Chief 
Justice.  It  held  that  two  questions  were 
involved  : 

First,  was  Dred  Scott,  even  if  free,  be- 
ing a  descendant  of  Africans  imported  as 
slaves,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
competent  to  bring  suit  in  the  courts? 
This  question  the  court  decided  in  the 
negative,  and  the  Chief  Justice,  in  his 
opinion,  declared  that  at  the  time  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  was  adopted,  and  for  a 
hundred  years  before,  the  practice  of  all 
civilized  nations  was  based  on  the  theory 
that  the  negroes  were  an  inferior  race  fit 


(160) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


only  for  bondage,  and  that  "the  black  man 
had  no  rights  which  the  white  man  was 
bound  to  respect." 

The  second  question  was  whether  the 
section  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  for- 
bidding slaveiy  in  the  Louisiana  Territory, 
on  which  was  based  the  claim  for  freedom, 
was  constitutional.  This  question  also  was 
answered  in  the  negative,  and  Dred  Scott's 
claim  to  freedom  was  denied.  Moreover, 
the  six  justices  declared  that  Congress  had 
no  power  to  exclude  slavery  from  any 
Territory  of  the  United  States.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  this  declaration  is  di- 
rectly opposed  to  the  opinion  expressed  by 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  "That  Congress  has  no 
power  to  establish  or  permit  slavery  in  the 
Territories." 

By  a  singular  coincidence  of  circum- 
stances this  "Dred  Scott  Decision"  was 
made  absolutely  nugatory.  Before  it  was 
rendered  the  negro  family  had  been  pur- 
chased by  an  anti-slavery  man  and  made 
free;  also,  in  1854,  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise had  been  repealed.  The  decision, 
however,  had  a  powerful  effect  upon  the 
fate  of  slavery.  It  furnished  the  text  for 
animated  and  earnest  discussion  through- 
out the  North,  particularly  exemplified  in 
the  debate  between  Lincoln  and  Douglas  in 
the  Illinois  Senatorial  campaign  of  1858. 
This  discussion  rallied  the  North  to  the 
support  of  the  doctrine  promulgated  by 
the  Freesoil  Democratic  Convention  in 
1848,  which  was  now  embodied  in  the 
rallying  cry  of  the  new  Republican  party 
— "No  more  slave  States;  no  slave  Terri- 
tories." 

As  a  result  of  fifty  years  of  discussion, 
controversy  and  compromises,  public 
sentiment  had  finally  become  divided  along 
these  lines:  (1)  Recognition  of  slavery  in 
the  States  where  it  legally  existed,  but 
denial  of  the  right  to  take  slaves  into  the 
Territories  and  a  demand  that  no  more 
slave  States  be  admitted  into  the  Union. 
(2)  Slavery  being  a  recognized  institution, 
the  question  of  its  introduction  to  be  left 
to  the  people  of  the  organized  Territories. 


(3)  Slaves  being  recognized  as  property, 
the  slave  owner  to  be  protected  in  taking 
his  slaves  where  he  should  choose.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  final  decision  was  made 
without  reference  to  any  of  these  views. 
Slavery  was  wiped  out  of  existence  as  a 
result  of  the  unreasonableness  and  arro- 
gance of  the  slave  power. 

The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the 
Presidency  in  1860  was  followed  by  the 
great  Civil  War  between  the  pro-slavery 
and  the  anti-slavery  States.  This  war 
finally  solved  the  two  great  problems 
which  had  confronted  the  founders  of  the 
Nation.  The  authority  of  the  general 
Government  was  made  supreme  and  the 
right  of  secession  denied.  Slavery  was 
abolished,  first,  partially  as  a  war  meas- 
ure, and,  finally  and  completely,  according 
to  Washington's  plan,  "through  legislative 
action"  in  the  organic  law  of  the  Nation 
by  the  adoption  of  the  thirteenth  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to 
recall  the  origin  of  slavery,  and  particular- 
ly its  establishment  in  this  country. 
Slavery  is  doubtless  as  old  as  society.  It 
is  founded  upon  the  law  of  force — that  the 
weaker  must  submit  to  the  stronger. 
Justinian,  in  his  Institutes,  refers  its  ori- 
gin to  three  sources,  viz.,  captivity  in  war, 
purchase  of  the  individual  for  a  price  paid 
himself,  and  birth  from  a  slave  mother. 
African  slavery  is  traceable  to  the  first 
and  third  of  these  sources. 

Slavery  was  introduced  into  this  coun- 
try by  the  sale  of  twenty  negroes  in  Vir- 
ginia from  a  Dutch  man-of-war  in  Au- 
gust, 1620.  So  little  favor  did  it  find  that 
at  the  end  of  fifty  years  there  were  scarce- 
ly 2,000  slaves  in  the  colony.  In  1699  the 
General  Assembly  passed  the  first  of  a 
succession  of  acts — twenty-three  in  all — 
prohibiting  the  importation  of  negro 
slaves;  but  every  one  of  these  acts  was 
vetoed  by  the  royal  Governors,  and  one  of 
the  complaints  against  the  King  of  Great 
Britain  by  the  colonists  was  that  he  had 
prevented  the  people  of  this  country  from 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


putting  a  stop  to  the  injurious  traffic.  It 
is  noteworthy,  too.  that  one  of  the  earhest 
acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia, 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
was  to  pass  a  law  prohibiting  the  importa- 
tion of  slaves  into  the  State.  This  was,  as 
a  matter  of  history,  the  first  legislation  in 
the  civilized  world  "setting  the  seal  of 
reprobation  upon  that  opprobrium  of  mod- 
ern civilization,"  the  African  slave  trade. 


It    occurred    nearly    thirty    years    before 
Great  Britain  took  like  action. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  introduction  and 
maintenance  of  slavery  in  the  colonies  was 
against  the  wishes  and  in  spite  of  the  op- 
position of  the  colonists.  It  was  due  to  the 
avarice  of  British  slave  traders  and  of 
owners  of  British  slave  ships,  and  was 
akin  to  the  similar  selfish  policy  which  led 
England  to  make  the  new  world  the  dump- 
ing ground  for  her  criminals. 


[Chapter  XXIII. ] 


UNEXPECTED  UPHEAVAL  IN  1854 

AND  THE  CAUSES  THAT  LED  THERETO— SLAVERY,  LIQUOR, 
KNOW-NOTHINGISM  AND  GENERAL  DISCONTENT 


mN  the  year  1854  the  Democracy 
of  Indiana  held  its  State  Con- 
vention in  the  balmy  month  of 
May   (on  the  24th).      The    at- 
tendance,  as  usual,  was  large. 

On  motion  of  J.  W.  Borden, 
Lieutenant-Governor  Ashbel  P. 
Willard  was  made  temporary  chairman. 
Upon  taking  the  chair,  he  delivered  a 
characteristic  speech — one  that  thrilled 
the  great  convention  and  aroused  un- 
bounded enthusiasm. 

The  honor  of  officiating  as  permanent 
presiding  officer  was  conferred  upon  Sen- 
ator Jesse  D.  Bright.  The  hearty  greeting 
accorded  him  upon  being  presented  to  the 
convention  bore  eloquent  testimony  to  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  polit- 
ical associates. 

As  Vice-Presidents,  these  gentlemen 
were  named:  Richard  Raleigh,  Elisha  G. 
English,  John  L.  Spann,  A.  C.  Pepper, 
James  Osborn,  J.  M.  Gregg,  John  S.  Davis, 
Jacob  Walker,  A.  L.  Wheeler,  J.  C.  Van 
Olman  and  Mr.  Johnson. 

Secretaries — James  Bradley  and  C.  B. 
Bentley. 

STATE    OFFICERS    NOMINATED. 

For  Secretary  of  State,  Nehemiah  Hay- 
den,  of  Rush  county,  received  413  votes, 
to  60  for  Wm.  R.  Bowes,  of  Laporte. 

For  Auditor  of  State,  John  P.  Dunn,  of 
Perry  county,  was  nominated  by  395  votes, 
to  74  for  Joseph  J.  Bingham,  of  Lafayette. 

On  motion  of  B.  R.  Edmonston,  Elijah 
Newland,  of  Washington  county,  was  by 
acclamation  renominated  for  State  Treas- 
urer. 

On  motion  of  General  James  R.  Slack, 
of  Huntington,  William  C.  Larrabee  was 
in  like  manner  renominated  for  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction. 


For  Supreme  Judge,  Fourth  district, 
Alvin  P.  Hovey,  of  Posey  county,  was 
nominated  over  James  M.  Hanna,  of  Sulli- 
van, by  a  vote  of  272  to  113. 

STATE   CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  B.  R.  Edmonston,  Dubois  County. 

2.  James  S.  Athon,  Clark. 

3.  Samuel  H.  Buskii-k,  Monroe. 

4.  A.  C.  Pepper,  Ohio. 

5.  N.  H.  Raymond,  Wayne. 

6.  William  J.  Brown,  Marion. 

7.  William  E.  McLean,  Vigo. 

8.  Joseph  J.   Bingham,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  Samuel  A.  Hall,  Cass. 

10.  James  Sinclair,  Allen. 

11.  S.  L.  Rugg,  Adams. 

FIRST  DEFEAT  AFTER  A  DECADE. 

After  the  stunning  defeat  in  1840,  the 
Democrats  of  Indiana  enjoyed  an  uninter- 
rupted succession  of  victories,  beginning 
with  the  triumphant  election  of  James 
Whitcomb  to  the  Governorship,  in  1843. 
Every  State  election  held  thereafter  sig- 
nalized a  Democratic  victory.  P^our 
gubernatorial  elections  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  Democrats — in  placing  at  the 
head  of  the  State  government  such  faith- 
ful and  efficient  public  servants  as  James 
Whitcomb  and  Joseph  A.  Wright,  both 
elected  to  two  successive  terms.  Notwith- 
standing the  conceded  excellence  of  their 
administrations,  conditions  arose  that,  at 
the  time,  were  susceptible  of  being 
thoughtlessly  construed  to  mean  a  vote  of 
censure,  but  which  in  calmer  moment  was 
pronounced  one  of  those  strange  mani- 
festations which  Mr.  Lincoln  mildly  and 
considerately  termed  "wobbling." 

A  combination  of  circumstances  led  to 
the  popular  verdict  of  1854.  The  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  brought 
about  largely  through  the  efforts  of 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  the  almost  desper- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


ate  hope  and  expectation  of  calming  the 
rising  storm  of  slavery  and  anti-slavery 
agitation ;  a  renewal  of  the  intensely  bitter 
fight  against  the  liquor  traffic;  the  rapid 
spread  of  that  political  eruption  known  as 
Know-Nothingism,  and  a  liberal  sprinkling 
of  indefinable  discontent — all  these  irrita- 
tions on  the  body  politic  contributed  to 
the  remarkable  upheaval  that  led  to  what 
in  efi'ect  amounted  to  a  recantation  of  the 
verdict  of  1852. 

Edward  E.  Moore  speaks  thus  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  Fusion  movement 
accomplished  its  purpose  for  the  time  be- 
ing: 

"Governor  Wright's  administration  was 
signalized  by  a  great  agitation.  Several 
local  and  special  acts  dealing  with  the 
liquor  traffic  were  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1850,  and  in  1853  a  general  law, 
with  local  option  features,  was  enacted. 
This  latter  fell  under  the  condemnation  of 
the  courts  on  grounds  of  unconstitution- 
ality, and  the  people,  already  impatient 
because  of  the  evils  of  the  traffic,  seemed 
especially  provoked  at  the  result.  So  in 
1854,  rallying  all  the  temperance  forces  of 
the  State,  and  uniting  all  elements  of  op- 
position to  the  Democratic  party,  which  at 
its  convention  had  declared  against  tem- 
perance legislation,  the  temperance  people 
succeeded  in  electing  a  full  State  and  legis- 
lative ticket  on  a  prohibition  platform. 
The  enthusiasm  was  tremendous.  And 
when  the  Legislature  met  in  1855  it  pro- 
ceeded to  pass  a  State-wide  prohibition 
law,  and  the  Governor,  though  a  Demo- 
crat, signed  it.  But  before  the  task  of 
putting  it  in  operation  had  proceeded  very 
far  this  law  also  was  declared  unconstitu- 
tional by  the  Supreme  Court. 

"Largely  because  of  the  overshadowing 
importance  now  assumed  by  the  slavery 
question  the  temperance  agitation  grad- 
ually subsided,  but  it  never  entirely  ceased. 
Through  spasmodic  movements  of  differ- 
ent kinds  and  the  continuous  efforts  of 
temperance  societies  and  parties,  the  agi- 
tation has  been  kept  continually  before  the 
people  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  It 
began  before  the  days  of  Statehood.  The 
evils  of  intemperance  were  especially 
marked  in  its  influence  upon  the  Indians. 
They  would  barter  anything  they  pos- 
sessed for  the  white   man's    'fire   water,' 


and  it  not  only  affected  their  temper,  mak- 
ing them  troublesome  and  dangerous  to 
deal  with,  but  destroyed  them  physically. 
Stronger  temperance  documents  than  the 
messages  and  State  papers  of  some  of  the 
early  Governors  would  be  hard  to  find." 

The  Fusion  convention  was  held  Thurs- 
day, July  13,  at  Washington  Hall,  Indiana- 
polis. Thomas  Smith,  of  Ripley,  a  former 
Democratic  member  of  Congress  from  the 
Fourth  district,  had  been  selected  for 
president  of  the  convention  at  a  prelim- 
inary meeting,  held  the  night  before, 
presided  over  by  Jacob  P.  Chapman,  with 
John  L.  King,  of  Madison,  as  secretary. 

Smith  was  a  pronounced  opponent  of 
slavery  extension.  Associated  with  him 
were  a  number  of  other  hitherto  prom- 
inent Democrats,  among  them  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  Dr.  E.  W.  H.  Ellis,  Dan  Mace,  M. 
C.  Garber,  H.  L.  Ellsworth,  ex-commis- 
sioner of  patents,  Capt.  John  A.  Hendricks 
and  others  of  that  type.  Most  of  these 
men  subsequently  became  permanently 
identified  with  the  newly  organized  Re- 
publican party. 

In  taking  the  chair.  President  Smith 
commented  on  the  causes  which  had  called 
together  so  vast  a  concourse  of  people. 
"It  was,"  he  said,  "the  uprising  of  the 
masses  determined  to  pursue  the  dictates 
of  their  own  sense  of  right  rather  than 
the  behests  of  party  leaders."  He  had  been 
a  Democrat  all  his  life  and  was  no  less  a 
Democrat  now.  No  man  had  a  right  to 
say  that  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise was  a  Democratic  measure  so  far 
as  the  sentiments  of  the  majority  of  the 
Democrats  in  the  free  States  were  con- 
cerned. They  were  opposed  to  it;  it  had 
never  been  submitted  to  them;  they  had 
not  and  would  not  give  their  sanction  to 
it.  Forty-three  of  the  Democratic  mem- 
bers of  Congress  out  of  the  eighty-nine 
members  from  the  free  States  had  voted 
for  it.  What  right  had  any  party  to  say 
it  was  approved  by  the  majority  of  the 
Democrats  from  the  free  States? 

Col.  Smith,  in  the  course  of  his  address. 


(164) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D 

spoke  approvingly  of  the  Ordinance  of 
1787  and  its  influence  on  the  great  North- 
west. Rev.  George  B.  Jocelyn,  a  Meth- 
odist minister,  made  his  first  political 
speech  on  this  occasion,  while  Hon.  H.  L. 
Ellsworth  and  Capt.  John  A.  Hendricks, 
both  of  whom  had  taken  part  in  the  re- 
cently held  Democratic  convention, 
repudiated  the  platform  adopted  at  that 
time. 

The  official  vote,  as  cast  in  the  election 
of  1854,  was : 

FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 
E.  B.  Collins,  Dearborn,  Fusion.  .  .98,259     12,623 
Nehemiah  Hayden,  Democrat 85,636 

FOR  AUDITOR  OF  STATE. 
Hiram  E.  Talbot,  Putnam,  Fusion.  .91,812       5,604 
John  P.  Dunn,  Democrat 86,208 

FOR  TREASURER  OF  STATE. 

W.  R.  Noffsinger,  Parke,  Fusion.  .97,726  12,134 
Elijah   Newland,  Democrat 85,592 

FOR  SUPREME  COURT  JUDGE. 
Samuel  B.  Gookins,  Vigo,  Fusion. .  .96,386     11,029 
Alvin  P.  Hovey,  Democrat 85,357 

FOR  SUPT.  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

Caleb  Mills,  Fusion 99,857     14,022 

William  C.  Larrabee,  Democrat 85,835 

Noffsinger  received  23,367  votes  on  bal- 
lots bearing  an  incorrect  initial.  A  bitter 
controversy  arose  over  reputed  efforts  to 
prevent  his  taking  the  office,  but  the  Gov- 
ernor issued  to  him  the  commission  with- 
out compelling  legal  action. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Alvin  P. 
Hovey,  at  the  time  of  his  nomination  for 
Supreme  Judge,  was  a  member  of  the 
Supreme  Court  by  appointment  of  Gov- 
ernor Wright.  Addison  L.  Roache 
resigned  from  that  body  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Hovey,  who  entered  upon  duty 
May  8,  1854.  The  Democratic  State  Con- 
vention, which  met  on  the  24th  day  of  the 
same  month,  nominated  Hovey  for  that 
position.  At  the  general  election  that 
year,  October  10,  Samuel  B.  Gookins, 
nominee   of   the    Fusionists,    was   elected 


EMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

over  Hovey  and  served  until  1857,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  James  L.  Worden. 
Democrat. 

Addison  L.  Roache  resigned  from  the 
Supreme  Court  bench  May  8,  1854.  Alvin 
P.  Hovey  was  appointed  his  successor. 
At  the  next  genei-al  election,  held  October 
10,  Hovey.  who  had  been  given  the  Demo- 
cratic nomination,  failed  of  election  with 
the  rest  of  the  Democratic  ticket. 

CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION. 

Not  only  did  the  Fusionists  elect  their 
entire  State  ticket  and  a  majority  of  the 
General  Assembly,  but  they  also  succeeded 
in  electing  nine  of  the  eleven  members  of 
Congress.  Only  two  of  the  eleven  Demo- 
cratic Congressional  nominees  escaped 
defeat.  These  were  Smith  Miller,  in  the 
First,  and  Wm.  H.  English,  in  the  Second 
district.  In  the  Lafayette  district  the 
Fusionists  bodily  captured  Dan  Mace, 
whom  the  Democrats  had  three  times  sent 
to  Congress,  and  made  him  the  Fusion 
nominee — and  elected  him  with  a  major- 
ity of  2,519.  Among  the  Democratic 
Congressional  candidates  who  went  down 
in  defeat  were  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  in 
the  Sixth  district,  beaten  by  478  votes, 
and  Wm.  S.  Holman,  in  the  Fourth,  de- 
feated by  Will  Cumback.  Only  two  of  the 
nine  districts  that  sent  Democrats  to 
Congress  in  1852  stood  firm.  These  were 
the  First  and  the  Second,  re-electing  Smith 
Miller  by  813  and  William  H.  English  by 
586.  Two  of  the  eleven — English  and 
Cumback — were  natives  of  Indiana.  The 
delegation  was  made  up  of  these  gentle- 
men: 

1.  Smith  Miller,  Patoka. 

2.  William  H.  English,   Lexington. 

3.  George  G.  Dunn,  Bedford. 

4.  William  Cumback,  Greensburg. 

5.  David   P.  Holloway,  Richmond. 

6.  Lucien  Barbour,  Indianapolis. 

7.  Harvey  D.  Scott,  Terre  Haute. 

8.  Daniel  Mace,  Lafayette. 

9.  Schuyler  Colfax,  South  Bend. 

10.  Samuel  Brenton,  Fort  Wayne. 

11.  John  U.  Pettit, 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


THE  ISSUES  INVOLVED  IN  THE  1854 
CONTEST. 
With  a  view  to  enabling  the  discerning 
reader  to  gain  a  fair  understanding  of 
what  was  involved  in  this  contest  and 
brought  about  such  drastic  results,  the 
platforms  of  the  opposing  parties  are 
herewith  reproduced  in  their  entirety: 

DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM,  1854. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Democrats  of  In- 
diana fully  approve  of  the  principles  of 
the  act  extending  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  over  and  organizing  the  Territories 
of  Nebraska  and  Kansas. 

"2.  Resolved,  That  we  concur  in  the 
opinion  that  it  is  not  properly  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Congress  to  determine  the 
provisions  of  the  constitution  of  a  State, 
further  than  to  require  that  it  be  a  re- 
publican form,  but  on  the  contrary,  that 
the  people  do  possess  the  right  and  power 
to  adopt  such  form  of  government  as  they 
may  deem  best  suited  to  their  views  and 
wants,  and  that  this  right  shall  be  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  self-government. 

"3.  Resolved,  That  this  convention  is 
distinctly  opposed  to  that  provision  of  the 
Nebraska  and  Kansas  bill  commonly 
known  as  the  Clayton  amendment,  which 
made  a  distinction  between  native  born 
and  foreign  inhabitants,  who  may  be  resi- 
dents of  the  Territories,  and  feel  gratified 
that  the  efforts  of  the  democracy  have  been 
successful  in  expunging  that  odious  fea- 
ture from  the  act. 

"4.  Resolved,  That  intemperance  is  a 
great  moral  and  social  evil,  for  the  re- 
straint and  correction  of  which  legislative 
interposition  is  necessary  and  proper,  but 
that  we  can  not  approve  of  any  plan  for 
the  eradication  or  correction  of  this  evil 
that  must  necessarily  result  in  the  inflic- 
tion of  greater  ones,  and  that  we  are  there- 
fore opposed  to  any  law  upon  this  subject 
that  will  authorize  the  searching  for  or 
seizure,  confiscation  and  destruction  of 
private  property. 

"5.  Resolved,  That  we  regard  all  polit- 
ical organizations,  based  upon  the  single 
idea  of  temperance  reform,  as  dangerous 
to  the  perpetuity  of  our  republican  form 
of  government  by  withdrawing  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  from  the  great  political 
principles  upon  which  it  is  founded,  and 


that  we  most  earnestly  appeal  to  our  fellow 
Democrats  throughout  the  State  to  adhere, 
in  the  selection  of  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, to  the  practice  of  choosing  such  men 
as  will  make  these  great  principles  of 
Democratic  policy,  under  the  influence  of 
which  this  country  has  been  brought  to  its 
present  elevated  and  prosperous  condition, 
paramount  to  all  other  considerations. 

"6.  Resolved,  That  we  have  full  faith 
and  confidence  in  the  wisdom,  patriotism 
and  ability  of  Franklin  Pierce,  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  we  fully 
approve  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  his 
inaugural  message  and  his  message  to 
Congress,  and  that  we  most  truly  and 
cordially  endorse  the  general  policy  of  his 
administration  as  carried  out  in  conform- 
ity with  the  principles  laid  down  in  said 
message. 

"7.  Resolved,  That  Judge  Douglas,  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  is  entitled  to 
and  receives  our  hearty  thanks  for  so  ably 
advocating  the  principles  of  non-interven- 
tion, as  contained  in  the  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska bill,  and  that  we  cordially  endorse 
the  action  of  our  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives in  sustaining  the  same. 

"8.  Resolved,  That  the  Democracy  of 
Indiana,  still  adhering  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  Confederacy,  openly  and  avowedly 
condemns  any  organization,  secret  or 
otherwise,  that  would  aim  to  disrobe  any 
citizen,  native  or  adopted,  of  his  political, 
civil  or  religious  liberty." 

PEOPLES'  PLATFORM  (REPUBLICAN),  1854. 

"Whereas,  We,  the  freemen  of  Indiana, 
without  respect  to  party,  and  actuated  by 
a  common  devotion  to  our  Republic,  and  a 
common  reverence  for  its  founders,  have 
assembled  ourselves  together  in  commem- 
oration of  the  passage  of  the  ordinance 
of  July  13th,  1787,  consecrating  the  North- 
west Territory  to  freedom;  and, 

"Whereas,  The  unanimous  adoption  of 
said  ordinance  by  the  Representatives  of 
all  the  States  in  the  Union  at  that  date 
clearly  evinces  that  opposition  to  the 
extension  of  slavery,  to  the  extent  of  con- 
stitutional power,  was  the  fixed  policy  of 
our  fathers ;  and, 

"Whereas,  We  regard  the  recent  repeal 
of  the  eighth  section  of  the  'Missouri  Com- 
promise' as  a  gross  and  wanton  violation 
of  the  faith  of  the  Union,  plighted  to  a 
solemn  compact,  restricting  the  extension 
of  slavery;  therefore. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  181  (J -191 


"Resolved,  That  we  are  uncompromis- 
ingly opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery ; 
and  further,  that  we  utterly  deprecate  and 
repudiate  the  platform  of  principles 
adopted  by  the  self-styled  Democratic 
convention  on  the  24th  day  of  May,  last, 
endorsing-  and  approving  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska iniquity. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  waive  all  for- 
mer party  predilections,  and,  in  concert, 
by  all  lawful  means,  seek  to  place  every 
branch  of  the  Federal  Government  in  the 
hands  of  men  who  will  assert  the  rights  of 
freedom,  restore  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise and  refuse,  under  all  circumstances, 
to  tolerate  the  extension  of  slavery  into 
Territories  secured  to  freedom  by  that 
compromise. 

"Resolved,  That  we  regard  intemper- 
ance as  a  great  political,  moral  and  social 
evil — a  legitimate  subject  of  legislation — 
and  that  we  are  in  favor  of  the  passage  of 
a  judicious,  constitutional  and  efficient 
prohibitory  law  with  such  penalties  as 
shall  effectually  suppress  the  traffic  in  in- 
toxicating liquors  as  a  beverage. 

"Resolved,  That  we  utterly  condemn  the 
abusive  attacks  which  have  recently  been 
made  from  various  quarters  on  the  prot- 
estant  ministry  of  the  country.  We 
cherish  with  gratitude  and  pleasure  the 
memory  of  their  patriotic  zeal  in  the 
Revolutionary  struggle,  and  we  recognize 
in  the  ministry  of  the  country  the  worthy 
sons  of  such  illustrious  sires." 

The  anti-liquor  movement  began  during 
the  forties.  It  had  assumed  formidable 
proportions  in  1848  and  culminated  in  the 
election  of  a  Legislature  that  had  the  dis- 
position to  deal  drastically  with  the  evil 
of  intemperance.  Several  causes  con- 
tributed to  the  creation  of  a  pronounced 
sentiment  in  opposition  to  the  liquor 
traffic.  Quite  a  number  of  men  high  in 
office  were  notoriously  intemperate  in 
their  habits.  Some  of  them,  otherwise 
held  in  high  esteem,  were  retired  to  pri- 
vate life  on  account  of  their  fondness  for 
liquor.  A  man  of  extraordinary  orator- 
ical powers,  chosen  to  represent  Indiana 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  shot 
his  brother-in-law  while  both  were  in  a 
state  of  intoxication.  Malaria  was  quite 
common    in    Indiana,    and    the    popular 


remedy  was  quinine  and  whisky.  In  agri- 
cultural pursuits  whisky  was  considered 
an  indispensable  adjunct  to  harvesting. 
Snake  bites  were  of  frequent  infliction, 
and  whisky  was  the  popular  antidote.  A 
"bracer"  before  breakfast  was  regarded 
an  absolute  necessity  in  many  households. 
There  were  no  internal  revenue  laws  in 
those  days,  and  a  country  store  without 
whisky  for  sale  was  indeed  a  rarity.  All 
these  usages  and  practices  had  their  effect. 
Popular  education  was  too  slow  a  process 
to  lessen  the  evils  of  intemperance,  so  the 
conclusion  was  reached  that  the  right 
course  to  pursue  in  the  premises  was  to 
legislate.  This  was  done.  For  the  same 
reasons  that  Governor  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks approved  the  dra.stic  Baxter  law  of 
1873,  Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright  signed 
the  temperance  legislation  that  came  to 
him  for  approval  or  rejection  during  his 
second  term  of  office.  But  the  Supreme 
Court,  elected  by  the  people  in  1852,  made 
short  work  of  this  sort  of  legislation  by 
declaring  it  to  be  unconstitutional  in  its 
main  provisions.  The  grounds  upon  which 
this  was  done  is  briefly  yet  comprehensive- 
ly set  forth  in  this  epitome,  carefully 
formulated  by  the  Hon.  James  E.  McCul- 
lough.  Assistant  Attorney-General : 

GROUNDS    UPON     WHICH    LAWS    WERE    DE- 
CLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL. 

"The  local  option  law  was  an  enactment 
of  March  4,  1853,  and  the  prohibition  law 
was  approved  February  16,  1855.  The 
said  local  option  law  provided  for  taking  a 
vote  by  townships  annually  at  the  April 
election  on  the  license  question,  and  that 
without  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the 
legal  voters  of  the  proper  township  'for 
license,'  none  could  issue.  In  connection 
with  the  affirmative  vote  a  bond  was  also 
required  by  the  applicant  for  license.  So 
much  of  this  act  as  made  the  issuing  of  a 
license  depend  upon  the  favorable  vote  of 
the  township  was  held  unconstitutional  in 
Maize  vs.  The  State,  4  Ind.  342.  The  de- 
cision of  the  court  was  based  on  the 
ground  that  the  legislation  was  obnoxious 
to  the  sections  of  the  constitution,  which 
respectively  provide  as  follows : 


(167) 


HISTORY 


NDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


Section  25,  Article  1:  No  law  shall  be  passed, 
the  taking  effect  of  which  shall  be  made  to  de- 
pend upon  any  authority,  except  as  provided  in 
this  constitution. 

Section  26,  Article  1:  The  operation  of  the 
laws  shall  never  be  suspended,  except  by  author- 
ity of  the  general  assembly. 

Section  22,  Article  4:  Local  laws  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  offenders  and  for  the  regulation  of 
county  and  township  business,  are  expressly  for- 
bidden. 

Section  23,  Article  4:  Whenever  a  general  law 
can  be  made  applicable  all  laws  shall  be  general 
and  of  uniform  operation  throughout  the  State. 

"The  holding  of  the  court,  in  substance, 
was  that  so  much  of  the  legislation  as 
made  the  legality  of  a  license  in  a  town- 
ship depend  upon  the  vote  of  the  people 
was  to  make  the  taking  effect  of  the  law 
depend  upon  that  vote,  which,  under  the 
constitution,  the  Legislature  was  unau- 
thorized to  do.  The  court  further  says: 
'If  we  regard  the  act  of  March,  1853,  in 
force  from  its  passage,  as  is  claimed  in 
argument,  then  we  conceive  it  to  be  in 
conflict  with  Section  26  of  Article  1.  That 
section  reads :  "The  operation  of  the  laws 
shall  never  be  suspended  except  by  au- 
thority of  the  General  Assembly."  '  As 
already  indicated,  the  court  also  holds  the 
act  is  in  violation  of  the  local  law  clause 
of  the  constitution  above  quoted. 

"In  the  case  cited,  while  the  court  holds 
that  the  local  option  feature  of  the  legisla- 
tion is  void,  it  holds  that  the  statute  may 
nevertheless  stand  as  a  license  law  with 
the  local  option  feature  eliminated.  How- 
ever, in  the  case  of  Meshmeier  vs.  The 
State,  11  Ind.  483,  the  court  overruled  so 
much  of  the  former  decision  as  held  that 
any  of  the  act  in  question  was  valid,  and 
held  that  the  whole  act  fell  in  consequence 
of  the  local  option  feature  being  so  con- 
nected with  the  other  provisions  of  the 
act,  as  that  a  part  could  not  be  held  valid 
and  a  part  invalid. 


"The  prohibitory  law  of  1855  was  held 
void  in  Beebe  vs.  The  State,  6  Ind.  501.  The 
decision  in  this  case  may  be  said  to  be 
based  upon  the  ground  that  the  legislation 
in  question  is  iiltra  vires  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  under  the  constitution  thereof. 
The  court  says,  on  page  510:  'The  first 
section  of  the  first  article  (of  the  consti- 
tution) declares  that  all  men  are  endowed 
by  their  creator  with  certain  inalienable 
rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  Under  our 
constitution,  then,  we  have  some  rights 
that  have  not  been  surrendered,  which  are 
consequently  reserved  and  which  govern- 
ment cannot  deprive  us  of  unless  we  shall 
first  forfeit  them  by  our  crimes.'  Several 
sections  of  the  constitution  are  quoted  by 
the  court  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that 
the  legislative  power  of  the  State  under 
the  constitution  is  not  at  all  unlimited. 
For  instance,  the  section  providing  that 
'the  privilege  of  the  debtor  to  enjoy  the 
necessary  comforts  of  life  shall  be  recog- 
nized by  wholesome  laws;'  the  section 
against  'passing  a  law  impairing  the  obli- 
gation of  contracts;'  the  section  against 
'any  law  restraining  the  free  interchange 
of  thought  and  opinion,'  etc. 

"These  sections  were  quoted  by  the 
court  in  support  of  its  position  to  the 
effect  that  the  Legislature  had  by  no  means 
been  given  unlimited  power  over  the  un- 
alienable rights  of  citizens  or  others  within 
the  State,  and  it  is  held  that  among  these 
rights  is  that  of  acquiring  property,  sell- 
ing or  disposing  of  the  same  and  using 
the  same,  and  that  intoxicating  liquors  are 
property,  and  were  so  regarded  at  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution,  and  hence  the 
right  to  manufacture,  sell  or  use  the  same 
is  one  of  the  rights  not  taken  away  by 
the  constitution,  nor  is  power  given  to  the 
Legislature  to  take  the  same  away." 


[Chapter  XXIV.] 


THE  KNOW-NOTHING  CRUSADE 

THE  PROSCRIPTION  OF  FOREIGN-BORN   RESIDENTS  AND 
OSTRACISM  OF  CATHOLICS 


URING  the  early  fifties  a  new 
party  sprang  up  to  hinder  and 
harass  the  progress  of  national 
understanding  and  to  defer  the 
solution  of  the  great  problem 
that  threatened  the  security  of 
the  American  Government. 
Party  strife,  resulting  from  violent  con- 
tentions over  State  rights  and  abolition, 
could  not  fail  but  produce  political  move- 
ments inimical  to  sane  reasoning  and 
humane  thinking.  A  mistaken  sense  of 
patriotism,  a  gross  misconception  of  the 
requisites  of  true  American  citizenship, 
produced  in  these  troublous  times  a  pe- 
culiar organization  known  as  the  Know- 
Nothing  party.  As  its  name  implies,  it 
fostered  sentiments,  narrow  and  provin- 
cial, hostile  to  every  internal  instinct,  and 
incompatible  with  the  spirit  of  political 
freedom  that  characterized  the  founders 
of  the  great  American  Republic.  It  was 
directed  first  and  essentially  against 
Catholic  influence,  or  Romanism,  as  this 
alleged  danger  was  called.  Its  organiza- 
tion was  founded  on  secrecy,  luring  the 
ready  followers  of  formalism,  such  as  en- 
joy connection  with  societies  whose  chief 
charm  lies  in  rituals,  oaths  and  vows  of 
a  more  or  less  doubtful  meaning. 

Later  the  Know-KTothings  turned  their 
eff'orts  more  directly  against  the  foreign- 
born  element  of  our  population.  It  is  but 
just  to  acknowledge  that  many  a  sincere 
man  was  attracted  into  this  circle  of  agi- 
tators who  posed  as  the  friends  of  liberty, 
and  incidentally  as  the  champions  of  the 
Southern  slave.  Then,  too,  not  a  few  of 
the  anti-slavery  men  supported  the  Know- 
Nothings  in  the  hope  of  hastening  the 
dissolution  of  the  old  Whig  party  and 
winning  support  for  the  Republican  party. 


which  a  few  years  later  was  preparing  to 
assume  control  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. The  name  of  the  Know-Nothing 
party  had  gradually  given  way  to  that  of 
the  American  party.  The  organization 
continued  to  flourish  under  this  more 
euphonious  appellation  without  having 
changed  any  of  its  original  tenets.  Vari- 
ous demonstrations  of  ill-will  again.st  the 
foreigners,  as  well  as  a  number  of  bloody 
assaults  made  on  the.se  inoftensive  people, 
aroused  strong  resentment  in  certain 
quarters  against  the.se  smug  defenders  of 
their  self-interpreted  Americanism. 

The  fact  that  foreigners  sought  protec- 
tion within  the  fold  of  the  Democratic 
party,  by  whom  they  were  cordially  re- 
ceived, began  to  arouse  the  opponents  to 
slavery  and  the  adherents  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  to  the  danger  that  threatened 
their  own  political  security.  This  unwar- 
ranted outburst  of  nativism  had  to  be  com- 
bated by  some  dignified  expression  of  dis- 
approval from  a  respectable  source.  One 
of  the  Republican  leaders,  Henry  Wilson, 
United  States  Senator  from  Mas.sachu- 
setts,  at  one  time  said  to  have  belonged  to 
the  now  oflfensive  party,  turned  his  whole 
energy  to  defeat  a  measure,  submitted  by 
his  own  Legislature  to  a  vote  of  the  people, 
which  provided  that  no  foreigner  should 
have  the  right  to  vote  until  he  had  been 
for  two  years  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  He  and  Edward  L.  Pierce,  later 
the  biographer  of  Charles  Sumner,  invited 
Carl  Schurz,  the  great  representative  of 
adopted  citizen.ship,  to  attend  a  public  din- 
ner given  at  Boston  on  the  anniversary  of 
Thomas  Jefferson's  birthday.  This  par- 
ticular day  was  chosen  in  harmony  with 
the  rejuvenated  Jefferson  States  Rights 
principle  that  had  been  revived  in  defense 


(169) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


of  the  new  fugitive  slave  law.  The  real  ob- 
ject of  Mr.  Schurz's  presence  was  to  arouse 
a  demonstration  against  the  nativistic  tide 
and  save  the  State  for  nobler  work.  The 
dinner  was  held  at  the  Parker  House  and 
was  attended  by  the  gentlemen  already 
named  in  this  connection,  as  well  as  by 
John  A.  Andrew,  later  War  Governor  of 
Massachusetts ;  Governor  Boutwell,  Frank 
Bird,  Samuel  Bowles  and  others.  Denun- 
ciations of  the  fugitive  slave  law  and  the 
narrow-minded  spirit  of  nativism  were 
freely  uttered  by  these  champions  of  lib- 
erty and  helped  to  pave  the  way  for  a 
larger  and  more  striking  gathering  that 
took  place  a  few  days  later,  on  April  18, 
1859,  at  Faneuil  Hall. 

Carl  Schurz  was  on  this  evening  the 
speaker  of  honor  and  availed  himself  of 
the  opportunity  to  voice  in  matchless  ora- 
tory the  sentiments  that  made  him  the 
ideal  son  of  a  great  Republic,  born  though 
he  was  on  foreign  soil.  In  his  memoirs 
Mr.  Schurz  apologizes  for  this  wonderful 
outburst  of  feeling  and  excuses  it  on  the 
plea  of  youth  and  the  strength  of  emotions 
as  yet  uncurbed  in  the  consciousness  of  the 
untold  possibilities  of  civil  liberty  in  Amer- 
ica. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  speech 
may  not  be  reproduced  verbatim,  as  every 
word  breathes  loyalty,  devotion  and  a 
boundless  love  for  the  land  of  his  adop- 
tion. 

The  first  paragraph  must  suffice  to  in- 
dicate the  spirit : 

"A  few  days  ago  I  stood  on  the  cupola 
of  your  State  House  and  overlooked,  for 
the  first  time,  this  venerable  city  and  the 
country  surrounding  it.  Then  the  streets, 
and  hills,  and  waters  around  me  began  to 
teem  with  the  life  of  historical  recollec- 
tions— recollections  dear  to  all  mankind — 
and  a  feeling  of  pride  arose  in  my  heart, 
and  I  said  to  myself,  'I,  too,  am  an  Ameri- 
can citizen.'  There  was  Bunker  Hill,  and 
Charlestown,  and  Lexington  and  Dorches- 
ter Heights  not  far  off";  there  the  harbor 
into  which  the  British  tea  was  sunk;  there 
the  place  where  the  old  liberty  tree  stood ; 
there  John  Hancock's  house;  there  Ben- 
jamin Franklin's  birthplace.     And  now  I 


stand  in  this  grand  old  hall,  which  has  so 
often  resounded  with  the  noblest  appeals 
that  ever  thrilled  American  hearts,  and 
where  I  am  almost  afraid  to  hear  the  echo 
of  my  ov/n  feeble  voice.  Oh !  no  man  that 
loves  liberty,  wherever  he  may  have  first 
seen  the  light  of  day,  can  fail,  on  this 
sacred  spot,  to  pay  his  tribute  to  Ameri- 
canism. And  here,  with  all  these  glorious 
memories  crowding  upon  my  heart,  I  will 
off"er  mine.  I,  born  in  a  foreign  land,  pay 
my  tribute  to  Americanism?  Yes;  for  to 
me  the  word  'Americanism,'  true  Ameri- 
canism, comprehends  the  noblest  ideas 
which  ever  swelled  a  human  heart  with 
noble  pride." 

Then  follows  a  clear  description  of  the 
first  train  of  emigrants  that  left  his  home 
on  the  Rhine  among  the  famous  Seven 
Mountains,  of  the  deep  impressions  that 
the  sad  farewell  made  upon  his  young 
heart  and  of  the  words  of  love  and  rever- 
ence that  all  spoke  when  they  mentioned 
"that  great  and  free  country  where  a  man 
could  be  himself." 

He  pointed  out  to  his  enraptured  listen- 
ers how  from  the  vigorous  elements  of  all 
civilized  nations  a  new  and  youthful  Na- 
tion had  been  created ;  how  this  great  Na- 
tion rested  on  the  principle  that  all  men 
are  created  equal  and  are  endowed  with 
certain  inalienable  rights,  among  which 
are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness. He  showed  how  our  political 
existence  lifts  the  lowliest  of  the  human 
family  from  degradation  and  inspires  them 
with  the  elevating  consciousness  of  equal 
human  dignity;  it  accepts  "the  most  con- 
servative, for  it  makes  a  common  cause  of 
individual  rights;"  how  the  equality  of 
rights  becomes  a  mutual  protection  among 
men;  "the  general  identity  of  interests  is 
the  one  thing  that  guarantees  the  stability 
of  Democratic  institutions;"  "equality  of 
rights  embodied  in  general  self-govern- 
ment is  the  great  moral  element  of  true 
Democracy;  it  is  the  only  reliable  safety- 
valve  in  the  machinery  of  modern  society ;" 
.  .  .  "there  is  our  safety;  there,  and 
nowhere  else."  And  we  have  our  difficul- 
ties.    There  are  many  who  are  incapable 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


of  independent  thought,  cramped  perhaps 
by  religious  and  other  teachings  not  in 
accordance  with  the  requirements  of  true 
Democracy.  Heterogeneous  elements,  un- 
fair aspirations  and  furious  passions  may 
apparently  threaten,  but  the  "genius  of 
true  Democracy  will  arise  and  restore 
calm.  It  is  ideal  to  say  that  inexperienced 
people  must  first  be  educated  to  self-gov- 
ernment. To  this  sophistry  the  fathers  of 
this  Republic  oppose  the  noble  doctrine 
that  liberty  is  the  best  school  for  liberty, 
.  .  ."  In  this  vein  he  continued,  resting 
his  case  not  on  the  emotional  side  of  his 
heartfelt  plea,  but  moving  step  by  step 
through  the  rational  and  judicial  aspects 
of  a  great  cause  on  which  rests  the  per- 
petuity of  our  institutions. 

The  wonderful  appeal  did  not  fail  in  its 
mission.  He  carried  conviction  and  faith 
into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  listeners, 
and  proved  that  lofty  ideals  have  their 
place  in  the  plain  business  of  popular  legis- 
lation and  statecraft.  He  likewise  struck 
a  blow  at  intolerance  that  has  made  it 
easier  since  to  speak  a  kind  word  for  the 
humble  and  the  neglected.  That  a  larger 
life,  politically  speaking,  has  grown  from 
these  practical  precepts  is  evident  on  all 
sides.  As  the  spirit  of  Know-Nothingism 
may  never  for  long  raise  its  head  from  the 
shadows  to  which  it  has  been  relegated,  it 
still  behooves  us  all  to  share  the  vigils  of 
the  true  patriot  who  seeks  above  all  to 
cultivate  the  spirit  of  tolerance  and  fair 
play  in  the  land  in  which  it  can  above  all 
others  be  preserved  inviolate  for  all  time. 

In  Indiana  Know-Nothingism  took  deep 
root  for  a  time.  To  the  credit  of  the 
Democratic  leaders  generally  be  it  said, 
few  of  them  faltered  when  this  intolerant 
crusade  was  at  fever  heat.  David  Turpie 
gives  this  interesting  account  of  what  hap- 
pened during  that  trying  period : 

"Although  not  a  candidate  in  1854,  yet  I 
was  an  active  participant  in  the  canvass 
then  made,  as  in  all  the  campaigns  from 
1848  onward.     The  opposition  was  at  this 


time  called  the  People's  party,  but  the 
nominations,  the  active  organization  and 
movements  of  the  party,  were  all  con- 
trolled by  clandestine  association  within 
its  lines,  known  as  the  Order  of  Native 
Americans,  commonly  called  Know-Noth- 
ings.  Our  canva.ss  was  made  upon  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  platform  as 
then  announced.  Our  majorities  in  1852 
had  been  large  and  general;  there  was  ap- 
parently no  violent  opposition  to  the 
course  of  our  administration  at  Washing- 
ton, and  on  the  face  of  things  success 
seemed  probable.  The  public  campaign  of 
our  opponents  was  a  mere  pretense ;  it 
dealt  to  some  extent  with  current  issues, 
but  disclosed  nothing  of  their  real  designs 
and  policy.  We  felt,  as  the  canvass  pro- 
ceeded, that  there  was  something  ajar  in 
popular  opinion,  a  subdued  though  quite 
an  active  commotion,  but  we  were  unable 
to  divine  its  causes  or  to  locate  its  effects. 
It  became  known  from  various  sources 
that  there  were  numerous  defections  from 
our  ranks,  and  it  was  surmised  that  these 
made  additions  to  the  lodges  of  native 
Americans,  which  sprang  into  existence 
on  every  side,  yet  the  personnel  of  these 
converts  was  known  only  to  the  brother- 
hood of  the  order,  which,  in  its  first 
obligation,  bound  the  new  member  to  con- 
ceal and  deny  his  membership.  It  was  not 
until  after  the  election  that  we  learned 
with  certainty  the  aims  and  objects  of  this 
wide-spread  combination. 

"The  result  of  the  election  in  October, 
1854,  afforded  us  a  good  deal  of  informa- 
tion, and  much  more  chagrin.  A  tidal 
wave  of  great  force  and  rapidity  had 
.swept  over  our  former  constituencies.  It 
had  submerged  the  highest  and  drye.st 
places  in  the  political  reserves;  it  had 
scorned  calculation,  laughed  at  prediction 
and  tossed  aside  apportionments  like  chaff 
before  the  whirlwind.  We  were  beaten  on 
the  State  ticket,  in  the  Legislature,  in  al- 
most two-thirds  of  the  counties,  and  if 
there  had  been  anything  else  to  lose  we 
.should  have  lost  it. 

"When,  however,  the  Legislature  met, 
which  had  been  elected  by  these  methods, 
when  it  had  enacted  the  Maine  law  and 
other  statutes  quite  as  obnoxious  to  the 
people  of  the  State,  a  reaction  set  in  and 
the  ebb  became  as  swift  and  .strong  as  the 
flood  had  been  in  their  favor.  Both  Whigs 
and  Democrats  abandoned  their  connec- 
tion   with    the    order,    revealed    and    de- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


nounced  its  hidden  dogmas  and  designs, 
which  now  were  made  public  and  no- 
torious. 

"This  movement  had  commenced  in  hos- 
tility to  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  but 
soon  comprised  all  foreign-born  and  nat- 
uralized citizens  in  its  proscription. 
Catholics  were  to  be  subject  to  a  special 
test  oath  of  allegiance,  and  foreign-born 
citizens  must  reside  twenty-one  years  in 
the  United  States  before  their  admittance 
to  the  franchise ;  offices  of  trust  and  profit 
were  to  be  held  only  by  native-born  Amer- 
icans; all  other  citizens  were  to  be  ex- 
cluded by  law  as  ineligible.  Americans 
must  rule  America.  The  passions  and 
prejudices  of  mankind  were  inflamed  to 
the  highest  degree  by  the  most  incredible 
rumors,  circulated  in  the  occult  councils  of 
the  lodges.  This  led  to  many  acts  of  brutal 
violence,  and  the  scenes  of  bloody  Monday, 
a  frightful  day  of  massacre  and  burnings, 
were  heralded  as  a  victory  at  the  polls  of 
true-born  Americans  against  the  rule  of 
foreigners  and  aliens. 

"The  Democratic  party  immediately 
assailed  and  denounced  this  policy  of  ex- 
clusion, appealing  to  that  liberal  and 
generous  spirit  of  the  people  which,  from 
the  beginning,  had  been  so  often  shown  in 
the  legislation  of  our  State.  This  appeal 
was  not  made  in  vain.  Our  success  in  In- 
diana in  1856  was  even  more  complete 
than  it  had  been  in  1852 ;  it  resulted  in  the 
final  overthrow  of  those  influences  of 
bigotry  and  persecution  which  had,  by 
their  stealthy  approach,  acquired  for  a 
brief  period  an  apparent  ascendancy. 

"The  prominent  figure  in  the  great  cam- 
paign against  Know-Nothingism  was 
Lieutenant-Governor  Ashbel  P.  Willard. 
.  .  .  He  was  a  wonderfully  gifted 
orator.  Before  a  popular  audience  his 
good  humor  was  invariable.  Neither  ques- 
tion, interruption  nor  contradiction  caused 
him  the  least  annoyance;  calmly  he 
awaited  the  proper  moment,  swiftly  de- 
livered his  answer  or  retort — ^the  assailant 
vanished.  With  this  constancy  of  self- 
control  he  was  not  otherwise  lacking  in 
emotion  or  sensibility;  indeed,  to  use  the 
phrase  of  the  good  people  of  that  day,  he 
was  known  to  be  uncommonly  tender- 
hearted. The  opposition  made  the  objec- 
tion to  his  selection  as  Governor  that  he 
would  empty  every  cell  in  the  penitentiary ; 
that  he  could  not  resist  importunity  nor 
repel  the  prayer  of  sympathy.    Sometimes 


he  noticed  this  objection  in  telling  his 
hearers  that  although  he  might  not  be  so 
strict  in  the  exercise  of  the  pardoning 
power  as  some  of  his  predecessors,  yet  he 
would  take  good  care  during  his  adminis- 
tration to  see  that  no  Know-Nothing 
received  the  benefit  of  the  executive  clem- 
ency. The  crowd  laughed  and  cheered, 
and  the  objection  was  forgotten.  .  .  . 
"In  dealing  with  the  dogmas  of  the  so- 
called  Native  American  Order,  he  sketched 
briefly,  at  the  close,  the  lives  and  char- 
acters of  Carroll  and  of  Arnold,  ending 
with  a  single  sentence  of  contrast :  'Bene- 
dict Arnold  was  a  Protestant,  a  native- 
born  American  and  a  traitor.  Charles 
Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  was  an  Irishman,  a 
Catholic  and  a  patriot.'  This  passage, 
much  noted  at  the  time,  may  be  even  now 
not  unworthy  of  remembrance." 

The  most  violent  anti-Catholic  dem- 
onstrations that  occurred  during  this 
proscriptive  movement  were  those  at 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Cincinnati  and 
Louisville.  What  were  in  those  days 
known  as  "Plug  Uglies"  had  identified 
themselves  with  the  Know-Nothing  or- 
ganization in  some  of  these  cities.  They 
were  a  lot  of  coarse,  brutal,  ill-bred  des- 
peradoes who  had  absolutely  no  regard  for 
personal  rights  or  religious  freedom.  On 
the  slightest  pretext  they  would  make 
violent  assaults  upon  peaceable  individuals 
whose  only  offense  was  that  of  having  been  ■ 
born  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  or  of 
worshiping  in  a  church  hated  by  these 
ruffians.  It  was  unsafe  even  for  Prot- 
estants to  hold  church  or  Sunday-school 
picnics  if  the  membership  thereof  chanced 
to  be  mainly  of  foreign-born  men  and 
women.  To  such  extremes  were  these  acts 
of  ruffianism  carried  that  fair-minded 
Americans  of  commanding  influence  in 
their  respective  localities  felt  impelled  to 
raise  their  voices  in  unmistakable  tones 
against  this  flagrant  violation  of  real 
Americanism.  From  North  and  South, 
from  East  and  West,  were  sent  forth 
vigorous  protests  against  this  proscript- 
ive, oath-bound,  intolerant  order. 

Perhaps  the  most  lucid,  logical  and  ex- 


(172) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


haustive  treatment  that  was  made  of  the 
Know-Nothing,  oi-  native  American, 
propaganda  is  found  in  a  letter  written  by 
Governor  Henry  A.  Wise,  of  Virginia,  in 
September,  1854,  of  which  the  following  is 
an  epitome,  or  rather  an  abridgment,  for 
his  own  words  are  almost  exclusively  used : 

"I  do  not  think  that  the  present  state  of 
affairs  in  this  country  is  such  as  to  justify 
the  formation,  by  the  people,  of  any  secret 
political  societv. 

"The  laws  of  the  United  States— Fed- 
eral and  State  laws — declare  and  defend 
the  liberties  of  our  people.  A  people  free 
in  every  sense — free  in  the  sense  of  Magna 
Charta  and  beyond  Magna  Charta;  free 
by  the  surpassing  franchise  of  American 
charters,  which  makes  them  sovereign  and 
their  wills  the  source  of  constitutions  and 
laws. 

"In  this  country  at  this  time  does  any 
man  think  anything?  Would  he  think 
aloud?  Would  he  speak  anything?  His 
mind  is  free :  his  person  is  safe ;  his  prop- 
erty is  secure;  his  house  is  his  castle;  the 
spirit  of  the  laws  is  his  body-guard  and 
his  houseguard ;  the  fate  of  one  is  the  fate 
of  all,  measured  by  the  same  common  rule 
of  right;  his  voice  is  heard  and  felt  in  the 
general  suffrage  of  freemen.  Would  he 
propagate  truth  ?  Truth  is  free  to  combat 
error.  Error  herself  may  stalk  abroad 
and  do  her  mischief,  and  may  make  night 
itself  grow  darker,  provided  truth  is  left 
free  to  follow,  however  slowly,  with  her 
torches  to  light  up  the  wreck !  Why,  then, 
should  any  portion  of  the  people  desire  to 
retire  in  secret  and  by  secret  means  to 
propagate  a  political  thought,  or  word,  or 
deed  by  stealth?  If  it  be  good,  why  not 
make  the  good  known  ?  Why  not  think  it, 
speak  it,  write  it,  act  it  out  openly  and 
aloud?  Or  is  it  evil  which  loveth  the  dark- 
ness rather  than  the  light? 

"Here  is  proposed  a  great  primary, 
national  organization,  in  its  inception — 
what?  Nobody  knows.  To  do  what? 
Nobody  knows.  How  organized?  Nobody 
knows.  Governed  by  whom?  Nobody 
knows.  How  bound  ?  By  what  rites  ?  By 
what  test  oaths?  By  Avhat  limitations  and 
restraints?  Nobody,  nobody  knows!  All 
we  know  is  that  persons  of  foreign  birth 
and  of  the  Catholic  faith  are  proscribed; 
and  so  are  all  others  who  don't  proscribe 
these  at  the  polls.  This  is  certainly  against 
the  spirit  of  Magna  Charta. 


"Our  condition  of  freedom  at  home 
shows  no  necessity  for  such  a  secret  or- 
ganization with  its  antagonism  to  the  very 
basis  of  American  rights.  The  proportion 
of  native  born  to  foreigners  in  the  country 
is  as  eight  to  one,  and  a  large  part  of  the 
latter  are  already  naturalized  citizens. 
The  proportion  of  Prote.stants  to  Catholics 
is  twenty-one  to  one.  What  is  the  neces- 
sity for  this  master  majority  to  resort  to 
secret  organization  against  the  minority? 
To  retire  in  secret  with  such  a  majority, 
does  it  not  confess  to  something  which 
dares  not  subject  itself  to  the  scrutiny  of 
knowledge?  Cannot  the  Know-Nothings 
trust  to  the  leading  Protestant  churches  to 
defend  themselves  and  the  souls  of  all  the 
saints  and  sinners,  too,  against  the  influ- 
ence of  Catholics?  Can't  they  trust  the 
patriotism  and  fraternity  of  natives  to 
guard  the  land  against  immigrants?  As 
to  their  religion,  I  ask  them.  Why  not  rely 
on  God?  And  do  the  Know-Nothings 
imagine  that  pride  and  love  of  country  are 
so  dead  that  secret  organizations  are  neces- 
sary to  beget  a  new-born  patriotism  to 
protect  us  from  foreign  influence? 

"Now,  in  defense  of  our  people,  I  say  for 
them  that  no  people  on  earth  are  more 
possessed  with  nationality  as  a  strong 
passion  than  the  people  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America.  Nowhere  have 
any  people  such  certainty  of  the  reward  of 
vigilance;  nowhere  have  they  such  free- 
dom of  self-government;  nowhere  is  there 
such  trained  hatred  of  kings,  lords  and 
aristocrats;  nowhere  is  there  more  self- 
independence  or  more  independence  of  the 
Old  World  and  its  traditions — in  a  word, 
nowhere  is  there  a  country  whose  people 
have,  by  birthright,  a  tithe  of  what  our 
people  have  to  make  them  love  that  land 
which  is  their  country  and  that  spot  which 
is  their  home.  No !  As  long  as  the  mem- 
ory of  George  Washington  lives,  as  long  as 
there  is  a  22nd  of  February  or  a  Fourth 
of  July,  as  long  as  the  everla.sting  moun- 
tains of  this  continent  stand  and  our 
Father  of  Waters  flows,  there  will  be 
fathers  to  hand  down  the  stories  to  make 
our  hearts  glad  and  mothers  to  sing  'Hail 
Columbia'  to  their  babes — and  that  song  is 
not  yet  stale.  There  is  no  need  of  a  secret 
society  to  revive  a  sinking  patriotism  in 
the  hearts  of  our  people. 

"And  who  would  have  them  be  selfish  in 
their  freedom?  Freedom!  Liberty!  Self- 
ish and  exclusive!     Never!     Is  there  any 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY— 1816-1 


necessity  from  abroad  for  such  a  secret 
political  organization  ?  Against  whom  and 
against  what  is  it  leveled?  Against  for- 
eigners by  birth.  When  we  were  as  weak  as 
three  millions  we  relied  largely  on  foreign- 
ers by  birth  to  defend  us  and  aid  us  in 
securing  independence.  Now  that  we  are 
twenty-two  millions  strong,  how  is  it  we 
are  become  so  weak  in  our  fears  as  to  ap- 
prehend we  are  to  be  deprived  of  our 
liberties  by  foreigners?  Verily  this 
seemeth  as  if  the  Know-Nothings  were  re- 
versing the  order  of  things,  or  that  there 
is  a  different  feeling  from  that  of  fear  aris- 
ing from  a  sense  of  weakness.  It  comes 
from  a  proud  consciousness  of  over-ween- 
ing strength,  which  would  say  to  the 
friends  of  freedom  abroad,  'We  had  need 
of  you  when  we  were  weak,  but  now  we 
are  so  independent  of  you  that  we  are  not 
compelled  to  allow  you  to  enjoy  our  re- 
publican privileges.'  But  this  secret 
organization  is  leveled  not  only  against 
foreigners  by  birth,  but  against  the  Pope 
of  Rome.  There  was  a  time  when  the  very 
name  'Papa'  frightened  us  as  the  children 
of  a  nursery.  But  how  now  with  the 
papacy  shorn  of  its  temporal  sovereignty? 
The  idea  of  the  Pope's  domination  at  this 
day  is  as  preposterous  as  that  of  the  return 
of  the  Gunpowder  Plot.  Protestants  and 
natives  are  here  both  free  and  strong.  Do 
they  wish  in  turn  to  persecute  and  exclude 
the  down-trodden  of  the  earth?  God  for- 
bid. 

"As  a  Nation  we  are  but  seventy-eight 
years  of  age.  And  the  ancestors  of  this 
people,  about  two  centuries  ago,  were  for- 
eigners, every  one  of  them  coming  to  the 
shores  of  this  country  to  take  it  away  from 
the  aborigines  and  to  take  possession  of  it 
by  authority,  directly  or  indirectly,  of  the 
Papal  power.  His  Holiness,  the  Pope,  was 
the  great  grantor  of  all  the  new  countries 
of  North  America.  Foreigners,  in  the 
name  of  the  Pope  and  Mother  Church,  took 
possession  of  North  America,  to  have  and 
to  hold  the  same  to  their  heirs  against  the 
heathen  forever!  And  now  already  their 
descendants  are  for  excluding  foreigners 
and  the  Pope's  followers  from  an  equal  en- 
joyment of  this  same  possession.  Much  of 
the  early  settlement  was  due  to  the  force 
and  constraint  of  religious  inhabitants. 
Puritans,  Huguenots,  Cavaliers,  Catholics, 
Quakers,  all  came  to  the  Western  wilds, 
each  in  turn  persecuted  and  persecuting 
for  opinion's  sake. 


"The  American  Revolution  made  a  new 
era  to  dawn — the  era  of  liberty  of  con- 
science. Is  it  now  proposed  that  we  shall 
go  back  to  the  deeds  of  the  dark  ages  of 
despotism?  I  trust  that  a  design  of  that 
intent  shall  remain  a  secret  buried  for- 
ever. 

"Our  laws  sprang  from  the  necessity  of 
the  condition  of  our  early  settlers.  The 
neglect  of  the  mother  country  left  the 
settlers  self-dependent  and  self-reliant 
until  they  were  thoroughly  taught  the  les- 
son of  self-government.  They  knew  pri- 
vation, fatigue,  endurance,  self-denial, 
fortitude — and  were  madmen  at  arms — 
cautious,  courageous,  generous,  just  and 
trusting  God.  They  had  an  unexplored 
continent  to  subdue  and  they  needed  popu- 
lation, more  fellow-settlers,  more  foreign- 
ers to  immigrate  and  aid  them  in  the  task 
of  founders  of  empire.  They  grew  and 
thrived  until  they  were  rich  enough  to  be 
taxed,  and  wise  enough  to  perceive  that 
taxation  without  representation  is  tyran- 
ny. The  attempt  of  Great  Britain  to 
impose  such  taxation  and  their  resolve 
never  to  submit  to  it  brought  on  the  alter- 
native of  war,  and  they  all,  foreigners  and 
natives.  Catholics  and  Protestants,  took 
the  dire  alternative,  united  as  a  band  of 
brothers,  and  declared  their  dependence  on 
God  alone.  And  they  entered  to  the  world 
a  complaint  of  grievances — a  Declaration 
of  Independence.  One  of  their  first  com- 
plaints was  that  King  George  was  striving 
to  prevent  the  population  of  the  country 
by  obstructing  the  naturalization  of  for- 
eigners. Another  was  that  they  had  made 
a  vain  appeal  for  justice  to  their  British 
brethren,  because  of  which  they  were 
driven  to  hold  them  as  the  rest  of  man- 
kind— 'enemies  in  war,  in  peace  friends.' 
Then  finally  to  uphold  their  liberties  they 
mutually  pledged  'their  lives,  their  for- 
tunes and  their  sacred  honor.'  And  M^ho 
are  they  that,  relying  on  the  same  God, 
made  this  solemn  pledge?  There  was 
Hancock  the  Puritan,  Penn  the  Quaker, 
Rutledge  the  Huguenot,  Carroll  the  Cath- 
olic, Lee  the  Cavalier,  Jefferson  the  Free- 
thinker. There  were  representatives  of  all 
the  signers,  and  the  signers  were  repre- 
sentative of  all  the  people  of  all  the  colo- 
nies. Did  not  this  pledge  bind  them,  bind 
us,  their  heirs,  forever  to  faith  and  hope  in 
God  and  to  charity  for  each  other — to 
tolerance  in  religion  and  to  mutuality  in 
political  freedom? 


{m.) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  6  -  1  0  1  (; 


"But  this  organization  is  not  only 
opposed  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions, 
but  seeks  to  annul  the  letter  of  our  laws 
and  constitutions.  For  the  Virginian,  the 
Declaration  of  Rights  adopted  June  12, 
1776,  is  the  fundamental  law.  This  in- 
strument declares  that  'no  man  or  set  of 
men  are  entitled  to  exclusive  or  separate 
emoluments  or  privileges  from  the  com- 
munit.v,  but  in  consideration  of  public 
services,  which,  not  being  descendible, 
neither  ought  public  offices  to  be  heredi- 
tary.' Yet  these  Know-Nothings  seek  to 
confine  all  offices  to  native  Protestants. 
The  Declaration  of  Rights  further  asserts 
that  'all  men  are  equally  entitled  to  the 
free  exercise  of  religion  according  to  the 
dictates  of  conscience,  and  that  it  is  the 
mutual  duty  of  all  to  practice  Christian 
forbearance,  love  and  charity  toward  each 
other.'  But  this  secret  society  puts  a 
penalty  upon  the  Catholic,  to  say  nothing 
of  its  lack  of  Christian  charity. 

"Know-Nothingism  also  seeks  the 
amendment  of  the  naturalization  laws  of 
the  Nation  and  therein  contravenes  Amer- 
ican spirit  and  practice.  One  of  the  best 
fruits  of  the  American  Revolution  was  to 
establish  for  the  first  time  in  the  world 
the  human  right  of  expatriation.  Prior  to 
our  separate  existence  as  a  Nation  of  the 
earth  the  despotism  of  the  Old  World  had 
made  a  law  unto  themselves  whereby  they 
could  hold  forever  in  chains  those  of  man- 
kind who  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  be 
born  their  subjects.  In  respect  to  birth- 
right and  the  right  of  expatriation,  and 
the  duty  of  allegiance  and  protection,  and 
the  law  of  treason — crowned  heads  held  to 
the  ancient  dogma,  'Once  a  citizen,  always 
a  citizen.'  If  a  man  was  so  miserable  as 
to  be  born  the  slave  of  a  tyrant,  he  must 
remain  his  slave  forever.  He  could  never 
renounce  his  ill-fated  birthright,  never 
forswear  the  allegiance  that  bound  him  to 
its  chains,  and  could  never  expatriate  him- 
self to  a  better  country.  If  America 
beckoned  to  him  to  fly  to  her  for  freedom 
and  give  to  her  the  cunning  and  the 
strength  of  his  right  arm  to  help  work  out 
her  destiny,  he  must  obtain  permission  and 
passport  or  be  regarded  as  a  fugitive  from 
justice.  But  the  foreigners  came,  and 
early  in  the  Revolutionary  war  some  of 
the  best  blood  of  the  colonies  were  hung  by 
the  king's  forces,  under  the  maximum  of 
'Once  a  citizen,  always  a  citizen.'  Only 
Washington's    threat    of    retaliation    on 


British  prisoners  stopped  the  barbarous, 
arbitrary  practice.  At  last  our  struggle 
ended  and  Cieorge  III  was  compelled  to  re- 
nounce his  claim  for  our  allegiance.  Still 
Europe  was  loth  to  give  up  its  dogma,  but 
the  leathers  boldly  defied  her  and  placed  in 
the  constitution  the  authority  of  Congress 
'to  establish  a  uniform  rule  for  naturaliza- 
tion.' The  rule  was  established,  and  this 
great  land  made  one  vast  asylum  for  the 
oppressed  of  every  other  land,  and  under 
its  provisions  the  best  blood  of  Europe  has 
come  to  our  shores,  received  protection 
and  repaid  our  fostering  care  by  helping 
to  upbuild  our  Nation.  These  immigrants 
have  become  in  every  respect  American 
citizens,  endowed  with  all  our  freedom. 
They  have  been  free  to  fight  for  the  flag 
and  they  have  fought  for  it  with  a  bearing 
and  sense  of  patriotic  duty  which  prove 
them  worthy  fellow-citizens.  The  war  of 
1812  was  partly  due  to  our  assertion  of 
the  right  of  expatriation  by  the  foreigner 
and  his  naturalization  by  this  Government. 
Does  this  secret  organization,  which 
opposes  naturalization,  wish  to  uphold  the 
claim  of  England  against  that  of  the 
United  States?  Yet  that  is  the  logical  re- 
sult of  its  position  in  regard  to  foreigners. 
"Again,  Know-Nothingism  strikes  at 
the  very  equality  of  citizenship  by  denying 
to  the  Catholic  or  the  foreign-born  the 
right  to  be  eligible  to  ofhce.  If  these  are 
granted  citizenship  and  yet  proscribed 
from  office,  they  must  be  rated  as  an  in- 
ferior class — an  excluded  class.  The  law, 
it  is  true,  does  not  exclude  them.  Would 
the  Know-Nothings,  if  they  had  the  power, 
formally  enact  such  exclusion  ?  At  present 
for  them,  by  secret  combination,  to  make 
this  class  unequal,  to  impose  a  burden  or 
restriction  on  their  privileges  which  the 
law  does  not,  is  to  .set  themselves  up  above 
the  law  and  to  supersede  by  private  and 
secret  authority,  intangible  and  irresponsi- 
ble, the  rule  of  public,  political  right. 

"There  is  no  middle  ground  in  respect  to 
naturalization.  If  we  let  foreigners  be 
naturalized  and  don't  extend  to  them 
equality  of  privileges,  we  set  up  classes 
and  distinctions  of  persons  wholly  opposed 
to  republicanism.  The  Federal  Constitu- 
tion especially  provides  that  no  religious 
test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification 
to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the 
United  States.  The  Know-Nothing  vio- 
lates the  Constitution  every  time  he  re- 
fuses to  vote  for  a  candidate  because  he  is 


HISTORY 


NDIANA     DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


a  Catholic.  Protestantism,  in  the  days  of 
the  Reformation,  protested  against  se- 
crecy; it  protested  against  shutting  out 
the  light  of  truth;  it  protested  against 
proscription,  bigotry  and  intolerance.  It 
loosened  all  tongues  and  fought  the  owls 
and  bats  of  night  with  the  light  of  merid- 
ian day.  The  argument  of  the  Know- 
Nothings  is  the  argument  of  silence.  The 
order  ignores  all  knowledge.  And  its  pro- 
scription can't  arrest  itself  within  the 
limit  of  excluding  Catholics  and  natural- 
ized citizens.  It  must  proscribe  natives 
and  Protestants  both,  who  will  not  consent 
to  unite  in  proscribing  Catholics  and  nat- 
uralized citizens.  Nor  is  this  all;  it  must 
necessarily  extend  itself  to  the  business  of 
life  as  well  as  to  political  preferments. 
Witness  the  dismissal  of  schoolmistresses 
from  the  schools  of  Philadelphia,  and  car- 
penters from  a  building  in  Cincinnati. 

'"But  Know-Nothingism  is  also  opposed 
to  the  faith,  hope  and  charity  of  the  gospel. 
Protestants  did  not  oppose  proscription 
because  it  was  a  policy  of  Catholics,  but 
they  opposed  Catholics  because  they  em- 
ployed proscription.  Proscription,  not 
Catholics,  was  the  odium  to  them.  Here, 
now,  is  Know-Nothingism  combating  pro- 
scription with  proscription,  exclusiveness 
with  exclusiveness.  Toleration  by  Ameri- 
can example  had  begun  its  march  through- 
out the  earth.  It  trusted  in  the  power  of 
truth,  had  faith  in  Christian  love  and 
charity  and  in  the  certainty  that  God  would 
decide  the  contest.  Here,  now,  is  an  order 
proposing  to  destroy  the  effect  of  our 
moral  example. 

"Again,  it  is  against  the  peace  and 
purity  of  the  Protestant  churches,  and  in 
aid  of  priestcraft  within  their  folds  to 
secretly  organize  orders  for  religions 
combined  with  political  ends.  The  world 
outside  of  the  churches  will  be  set  at  war 
with  the  sects  who  unite  in  this  crusade 
against  tolerance  and  freedom  of  con- 
science and  of  speech.  Freemen  will  not 
submit  to  have  the  Protestant  any  more 
than  the  Catholic  churches  attempt  to 
influence  political  elections.  Protestant 
priestcraft  is  cousin-german  to  Catholic, 
and  the  worst  union  that  could  be  devised 
is  that  of  church  and  State.  The  State  will 
prostitute  and  corrupt  any  church  which 
is  connected  with  it,  and  any  State  church 
will  enslave  any  State. 

"Know-Nothingism  is  against  free  civil 
government     by      instituting     a      secret 


oligarchy  beyond  the  reach  of  popular  and 
public  scrutiny  and  supported  by  blind 
instruments  of  tyranny  bound  by  test- 
oaths.  Nobody  knows  who  constitute  the 
supreme  council  of  the  order  or  how  many 
there  are  or  where  they  are.  Their  ad- 
herents are  sworn  to  secrecy.  Their  blows 
cannot  be  quarreled  against,  for  they  strike 
not  boldly,  like  men,  but  in  the  dark,  like 
assassins.  How  long  will  stand  the  pillars 
of  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  when 
liberty  of  conscience  is  gone  and  birth  is 
made  to  'make  the  man?' 

"Know-Nothingism  is  opposed  to  our 
progress  as  a  Nation.  Did  any  nation  ever 
so  grow  as  we  have  done  under  our  broad, 
liberal  policy  and  our  laws  of  naturaliza- 
tion? "They  have  not  made  aristocracies, 
but  sovereigns  and  sovereignties  of  the 
people  of  the  West.  They  have  strength- 
ened the  stakes  of  our  dominion  and 
multiplied  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
America  so  that  now  she  could  muster  an 
army,  if  need  be,  that  would  bid  defiance 
to  any  invader.  Now,  shall  all  this  policy 
and  its  proud  and  happy  fruits  be  cast 
aside  for  a  contracted  and  selfish  scheme 
of  intolerance  and  exclusion?  Shall  no 
asylum  be  left  open  to  the  poor  and 
oppressed  of  Europe?  Shall  the  growth  of 
our  population  be  arrested?  Shall  prog- 
ress be  made  to  stand  still?  Are  we 
surfeited  with  prosperity?" 

Governor  Wise  concludes  his  masterly 
manifesto  with  this  earnest  appeal  to  the 
sober  judgment  of  the  American  people: 

"We  have  institutions  that  can  embrace 
a  world-all  mankind  with  all  their  opin- 
ions, prejudices  and  passions,  however 
diverse  and  clashing,  provided  we  adhere 
to  the  law  of  Christian  charity  and  of  free 
toleration.  Nothing,  nothing  is  so  dan- 
gerous to  these  institutions;  nothing  can 
destroy  them  so  soon  and  so  certainly  as 
secret  societies  formed  for  political  and 
religious  ends  combined,  founded  on  pro- 
scription and  intolerance,  without  neces- 
sity, against  law,  against  the  spirit  of  the 
Christian  reformation,  against  the  whole 
scope  of  Protestantism,  against  the  faith, 
hope  and  charity  of  the  Bible,  against  the 
peace  and  purity  of  the  churches,  against 
human  progress,  against  national  acquisi- 
tions, against  American  hospitality  and 
courtesy,  against  American  maxims  of 
expatriation  and  allegiance  and  protection, 
against    American    settlements   and    land 


(176) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


ordinances — against  Americanism  in 
every  sense  and  shape.  Hence,  as  a  Prot- 
estant American  in  every  fiber  and  in 
every  feeling,  with  all  my  hand  and  all  my 
heart  and  all  my  might,  in  every  character 
and  in  every  sense,  I  protest  against  this 
secret  organization,  which  seeks  to  pro- 
scribe Roman  Catholics  and  naturalized 
citizens." 

INDIANA  DEMOCRACY'S  ATTITUDE. 

Clear,  explicit  and  unequivocal  was  the 
attitude  of  Indiana's  Democracy  with  ref- 
erence to  the  proscriptive  policies  of  the 
Know-Nothing  party.  In  convention  as- 
sembled at  Indianapolis,  January  8,  1856, 
the  party  defined  its  position  by  proclaim- 
ing these  ringing  declarations: 

"Resolved,  We  recognize  the  great  body 
of  the  people  as  the  only  tribunal  for  the 
decision  of  questions  affecting  their  gov- 
ernment, both  as  to  men  and  measures, 
and  open  appeals  to  their  reason  and  pa- 
triotism as  the  legitimate  means  of  influ- 
encing their  action,  and  we  utterly 
condemn  all  associations  and  combinations 
for  political  purposes  formed  to  govern 
them  by  oaths  and  obligations,  or  other 
compulsory  means,  or  to  impair  the  exer- 
cise of  free  will  and  independent  judgment 
among  them;  and  we  hold  in  abhorrence 
all  secret  political  orders  and  organiza- 
tions, deeming  them  dangerous  to  the 
stabiHty  of  government  and  the  rights  of 
the  people. 

"Resolved,  We  are  in  favor  of  religious 
toleration,  as  the  founders  of  our  republi- 
can institutions  achieved  and  understood 
it,  and  secured  its  enjoyment  by  constitu- 
tional guaranties,  and  we  declare  that  it 
ought  to  be  maintained  free  from  invasion 
either  by  means  of  legislative  interference 
or  the  equally  tyrannical  proscription  of 
political  parties  founded  on  bigotry  and 
ideas  of  intolerance. 

"Resolved,  While  we  esteem  it  the  duty 
of  government  to  foster  and  protect  re- 
ligion without  invidious  preferences, 
leaving  all  free  to  choose  among  denomina- 
tions according  to  their  consciences,  and 
while  we  esteem  it  the  part  of  true  re- 
ligion, under  every  form,  to  render 
allegiance  and  due  support  to  government, 
recognizing  the  Constitution  as  the  su- 
preme law  in  all  temporal  and  political 
concerns,  we  hold  the  separate  administra- 


tion of  the  aff"airs  of  church  and  State 
essential  to  prevent  that  union  of  the  two, 
which  experience  has  shown  to  be  per- 
nicious to  both  and  the  worst  form  of 
tyranny. 

"Resolved,  That  our  naturalization  laws, 
our  republican  institutions,  our  marvelous 
growth  of  national  greatness  and  the  hap- 
piness of  our  people,  have  been  and  are 
irresistible  inducements  and  invitations  to 
the  inhabitants  of  less  favored  lands  to 
become  citizens  of  ours,  and  that  past  ex- 
perience, justice,  sound  policy  and  national 
pride  all  concur  to  favor  the  continuance 
of  our  present  naturalization  laws;  that 
if  any  abuses  have  grown  up  under  those 
laws,  they  have  sprung  from  their  imper- 
fect execution  alone  and  not  from  inherent 
defects  in  the  laws  themselves,  and  that 
we  are  in  favor  of  that  policy  which  will 
soonest  assimilate  naturalized  citizens 
with  the  mass  of  our  people,  and  opposed 
to  that  anti-American  and  illiberal  policy 
which  proscribes  the  foreign-born  citizen 
for  the  accident  of  birth  and  drives  him  to 
self-defense,  to  antagonism  with  our  na- 
tive-born citizens  in  feeling,  political 
opinions  and  conduct." 

More  than  one-half  of  the  platform  was 
devoted  to  the  subject  covered  by  the  fore- 
going resolutions,  which  in  itself  serves  as 
an  indication  of  the  strong  feeling  enter- 
tained by  Indiana  Democrats  in  opposition 
to  the  heresies  so  ably  and  so  vigorously 
dissected  by  Governor  Wise. 

PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS. 

The  author  of  this  book  was,  during  the 
rage  of  Know-Nothingism,  serving  his 
apprenticeship  in  the  printing  establish- 
ment of  George  Bergner,  at  Harrisburg, 
Pa.  In  addition  to  conducting  a  printing 
establishment,  Mr.  Bergner  was  engaged 
in  the  book  and  stationery  business  on 
Market  street,  next  to  what  was  later  on 
known  as  the  Lochiel  Hotel,  named  in 
honor  of  General  Simon  Cameron,  whose 
country  residence  east  of  Harrisburg  bore 
the  Scotch  name  of  "Lochiel."  Diagonally 
across  from  the  Bergner  book  store  was  a 
rival  concern,  owned  and  operated  by  one 
William  D.  Jack,  a  full-fledged  member  of 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


the  Know-Nothing  organization.  Mr. 
Bergner  was  born  in  Germany,  but  came 
to  this  country  with  his  parents  in  early 
infancy.  He  married  into  a  purely  Amer- 
ican family,  none  of  whom  could  speak 
German.  In  his  religious  affiliation  Mr. 
Bergner  was  a  member  of  the  English 
Lutheran  congregation ;  politically  he  was 
a  Whig,  and  later  on  an  ardent  Republican 
— the  publisher  of  an  orthodox  Republican 
daily  newspaper.  Pandering  to  the  pro- 
scriptive  spirit  of  that  time,  Mr.  Jack,  in 


advertising  his  book,  periodical  and  sta- 
tionery business,  used  these  words  in  his 
circulars  and  newspaper  advertisements: 
"Buy  your  books,  periodicals  and  station- 
ery of  an  American  in  preference  to  a 
Hessian."  The  mere  citation  of  such 
boorishness  illustrates  more  strikingly 
than  could  be  done  through  and  by  elab- 
orate comment  the  meanness,  narrowness 
and  prescriptive  spirit  that  then  warped 
the  minds  of  so  large  a  number  of  zealots 
who  made  the  accident  of  birth  the  su- 
preme test  of  citizenship. 


[Chapter  XXV.] 


DEMOCRACY'S  TRIUMPH  IN  1856 


INDIANA  RETURNS  TO  DEMOCRATIC  COLUMN- 
CHOSEN  PRESIDENT 


BUCHANAN 


HE  Fusion  triumph  of  1854  in 
Indiana  did  not  possess  staying 
qualities.  As  a  result  of  the 
splendid  campaigning  carried 
on  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
Ashbel  P.  Willard  and  his  co- 
laborers  in  the  cause  of  De- 
mocracy, the  inroads  made  upon  the  ranks 
of  the  party  in  1854  were  effaced,  popular 
confidence  in  the  party's  cause  restored  and 
Fusionism  effectively  repelled  at  the  polls. 
The  State  convention  was  held  January 
10,  Judge  James  G.  Reid,  of  Clark  county, 
temporarily  presiding.  That  the  Bright 
element  was  in  the  saddle  was  made  mani- 
fest by  the  election  of  John  L.  Robinson, 
of  Rush  county,  as  permanent  chairman  of 
the  convention,  and  the  nomination  of 
Ashbel  P.  Willard  as  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor. Both  were  stanch  supporters  of 
Senator  Bright.  Further  evidence  of  the 
domination  of  the  Bright  element  was  fur- 
nished by  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  that 
in  case  the  national  convention  should 
conclude  to  nominate  a  western  man  for 
the  Presidency,  the  Indiana  delegation  be 
directed  to  cast  its  vote  as  a  unit  for  Jesse 
D.  Bright.  It  might  here  be  stated,  how- 
ever, that  when  the  national  convention 
assembled  at  Cincinnati  it  had  become 
quite  apparent  that  the  contest  was  be- 
tween James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois.  Un- 
der these  circumstances  it  was  not  deemed 
advisable  to  put  forward  Senator  Bright. 
Instead,  the  Indiana  delegation  was  lined 
up  for  Pennsylvania's  favorite  .son,  James 
Buchanan,  whose  nomination  was  accom- 
plished on  the  seventeenth  ballot. 

G.  W.  Carr,  of  Jackson,  and  James  H. 
Stewart,  of  Carroll,  were  named  as  vice- 
presidents  of  the  temporary  organization. 


and  as  secretaries  these  gentlemen  were 
chosen :  John  B.  Norman,  of  New  Albany ; 
John  S.  Williams,  of  Lafayette;  Solon 
Turman,  of  Greencastle,  and  Wm.  H. 
Schlater,  of  Richmond. 

Committee  on  Resolution.s — C.  Dobbins, 

C.  K.  Drew,  Horace  Heffren,  P.  M.  Kent, 
Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  J.  W.  Chapman,  Daniel 

D.  Jones,  Cornelius  O'Brien,  Lafe  Develin, 
Edmund  Johnson,  0.  K.  Dougherty,  Mar- 
tin M.  Ray,  D.  W.  Voorhees,  Wm.  M. 
Franklin,  Dr.  Jas.  H.  Stewart,  D.  C.  Stover, 
David  Turpie,  George  W.  Spitler,  Andrew 
Ellison,  Frank  P.  Randall,  D.  Mo.ss,  and 
Dr.  Isaac  Parker. 

The  platform  adopted  by  the  Indiana 
Democracy  approved  the  principle  of  the 
compromise  measures  of  1850  and  their 
application  as  embodied  in  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill,  condemned  all  combinations 
for  political  purposes  and  secret  political 
orders,  stood  for  religious  tolerance,  hold- 
ing separate  administration  of  the  church 
and  State  essential;  declared  that,  while 
favoring  sobriety  and  temperance,  the 
party  was  opposed  to  the  prohibitory 
liquor  law  passed  by  the  last  General  As- 
sembly; favored  the  naturalization  laws 
then  in  effect,  and  went  on  record  as  op- 
posed to  what  was  held  to  be  an  anti-Amer- 
ican and  illiberal  policy  which  persecuted 
the  foreign-born  citizen  for  the  accident  of 
birth  and  drove  him  in  self-defense  to 
antagonism  with  our  native-born  citizens 
in  feeling,  political  opinions  and  conduct. 

A  supplementary  resolution  was  adopted 
demanding  the  dismissal  of  any  mini.ster 
of  a  foreign  government  found  to  have  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  enlisted  or  aided  in  the 
enlistment  within  the  dominions  of  the 
United  States  of  any  person  to  serve  in  a 
foreign  war. 


(  179) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Another  resolution  endorsed  "the  faith- 
ful Democrats  who,  in  the  last  Legislature, 
by  their  action  prevented  the  'Hindoos' 
disgracing  the  State  by  electing  one  of 
their  tribe  to  the  United  States  Senate." 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  J.  W.  B.  Moore,  Warrick  county. 

2.  James  G.  Reed,  Clark. 

3.  Joseph  W.  Chapman,  Jefferson. 

4.  John  L.  Robinson,  Rush. 

5.  Lafe  Develin,  Wayne. 

6.  John  P.  Dunn  and  John  Talbot,  Marion. 

7.  William  D.  Allen,  Putnam. 

8.  John  W.  Blake,  Clinton. 

9.  Samuel  L.  McFadin,  Cass. 

10.  Robert  Lowry,  Elkhart. 

11.  Andrew  Jackson,  Madison. 

Another  report  made  the  State  Central 
Committee    consist    of   these    gentlemen: 


John  Hargrove, 
M.  C.  Kerr, 
Joseph  W.  Chapman, 
John  L.  Robinson, 
Lafe  Develin, 
Charles  W.  Hall, 


John  R.  Elder, 
Daniel  W.  Voorhees, 
James  H.  Stewart, 
O.  Everts, 
Samuel  W.  Sprott, 
Wilson  Smith. 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

At  Large — Graham  N.  Fitch,  Cass  county; 
Samuel  H.  Buskirk,  Monroe  county. 

District  Electors— William  F.  Parrett,  War- 
rick; Simeon  K.  Wolfe,  Harrison;  Samuel  W. 
Short,  Lawrence;  D.  Jones,  Franklin;  Edmund 
Johnson,  Henry;  Martin  M.  Ray,  Shelby;  James 
M.  Hanna,  Vigo;  Dr.  James  S.  McClelland,  Clin- 
ton; Orpheus  Everts,  Laporte;  Frank  P.  Randall, 
Allen;  S.  S.  Mickle,  Adams. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CON- 
VENTION. 

Senatorial  Delegates — William  Rock- 
hill,  Allen;  Joseph  W.  Chapman,  Jeffer- 
son; John  Pettit,  Tippecanoe;  John  L. 
Robinson,  Rush. 

District  Delegates — Turner  Nelson, 
Posey;  John  C.  Herbert,  Knox;  P.  M. 
Kent,  Floyd;  David  Huffstetter,  Orange; 
W.  A.  Aiken,  Monroe ;  Samuel  P.  Mooney, 
Jackson;  C.  O'Brien,  Dearborn;  A.  Davi- 
son, Decatur ;  James  Elder,  Wayne ;  James 
Osborn,  Union;  Alexander  Morrison, 
Marion;  Judge  L.  Hardin,  Johnson;  G.  F. 
Cookerly,    Vigo;    William    M.    Franklin, 


Owen ;  S.  W.  Telford,  Tippecanoe ;  Mahlon 
D.  Manson,  Montgomery;  A.  A.  Whitlock, 
St.  Joseph ;  N.  0.  Ross,  Miami ;  Dr.  G.  W. 
McConnell,  Steuben;  Judge  James  W. 
Borden,  Allen ;  Gen.  James  R.  Slack,  Hunt- 
ington ;  T.  Ryans,  Madison. 

Quite  an  array  of  vice-presidents  and 
secretaries — one  from  each  of  the  eleven 
districts — was  named  to  assist  Permanent 
Chairman  Robinson  in  conducting  the 
proceedings  of  the  convention.  The  names 
of  quite  prominent  Indiana  Democrats  of 
that  period  will  be  found  in  these  two 
lists : 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

1.  John  Law,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  Col.  Schoonover,  Washington. 

3.  Gen.  John  L.  Spann,  Jennings. 

4.  James  B.  Foley,  Decatur. 

5.  James  Osborn,  Union. 

6.  General  Milroy,  Hancock. 

7.  John  Allen,  Putnam. 

8.  James  H.  Stewart,  Carroll. 

9.  Benjamin  Henton,  Miami. 

10.  R.  J.  Dawson,  DeKalb. 

11.  General  Andrew  Jackson,  Madison. 

SECRETARIES. 

1.  Richard  C.  Stephens,  Martin  county. 

2.  Samuel  S.  Crowe,  Scott. 

3.  James  H.  Vawter,  Jennings. 

4.  Cornelius  O'Brien,  Dearborn. 

5.  Smith  Woods,  Henry. 

6.  John  Keightly,  Johnson. 

7.  Murray  Briggs,  Sullivan. 

8.  A.  J.  Boone,  Boone. 

9.  W.  R.  Bowes,  Laporte. 

10.  Albert  Heath,  Elkhart. 

11.  William  Norton,  Huntington. 

THE  STATE  TICKET  AS  NOMINATED 

For  Governor — Ashbel  P.  Willard,  of 
New  Albany. 

For  Lieutenant-Governor — Col.  John  C. 
Walker,  of  Laporte. 

For  Secretary  of  State — Daniel  Mc- 
Clure,  of  Morgan  county. 

For  Auditor — Gen.  John  W.  Dodd,  of 
Grant  county. 

For  Treasurer — Aquilla  Jones,  of  Bar- 
tholomew county. 

For  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 


(180) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


tion — Prof.  Wm.  C.  Larrabee,  of  Indiana- 
polis. 

For  Attorney-General — Joseph  E.  Mc- 
Donald, of  Crawfordsville. 

For  Reporter  of  Supreme  Court — Gor- 
don Tanner,  of  Jackson  county. 

For  Clerk  of  Supreme  Court — William 
S.  Beach,  of  Boone  county. 

A  sharp  contest  was  waged  for  the  nom- 
ination to  the  office  of  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor. The  contestants  were  Col.  John  C. 
Walker  of  Laporte  and  Robert  Lowry  of 
Goshen.  Walker  captured  the  nomination 
on  a  close  margin.  John  L.  Robinson 
wanted  the  nomination  for  Governor  and 
sought  an  alliance  with  Walker.  The  lat- 
ter refused  to  enter  into  the  proposed  com- 
bination. After  the  convention  Robinson 
avenged  himself  by  looking  up  the  birth 
record  of  Col.  Walker,  whom  he  suspected 
of  not  being  of  constitutional  age  to  fill  the 
office  of  Lieutenant-Governor.  Upon  ob- 
taining conclusive  proof  that  Walker  was 
in  fact  ineligible  on  account  of  his  youth, 
Robinson  caused  the  State  committee  to  be 
called  together  for  the  purpose  of  remov- 
ing Walker  from  the  ticket  and  naming 
some  other  gentleman  for  the  place.  When 
Walker  learned  what  had  taken  place  he 
cleverly  averted  action  by  the  committee 
as  to  himself  by  graciously  tendering  his 
resignation  which,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
was  promptly  accepted.  Abram  A.  Ham- 
mond, a.  very  estimable  gentleman  residing 
at  Terre  Haute,  was  selected  to  fill  the  va- 
cancy. 

The  ticket  placed  In  the  field  by  the  Re- 
publicans and  People's  Party  organization 
was  headed  by  Oliver  P.  Morton  for  Gov- 
ernor and  Conrad  Baker  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor.  Though  defeated  at  the  Octo- 
ber election  in  1856,  it  is  worthy  of  note 
as  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  both  were 
•  in  subsequent  years  elected  first  to  the 
office  of  Lieutenant-Governor  and  then  to 
that  of  Governor.  Morton  had  up  to  1854 
been  a  Democrat;  Baker's  affiliation  was 
with  the  Whigs.    Both  were  forceful  char- 


acters and  particularly  strong  on  the  polit- 
ical rostrum.  Professionally  both  gained 
considerable  prestige  as  members  of  the 
bar. 

THE  PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN. 

Three  Presidential  tickets  were  in  the 
field  in  1856 — Buchanan  and  Breckinridge, 
Democratic;  Fremont  and  Dayton,  Re- 
publican; Fillmore  and  Donelson,  Ameri- 
can. Fremont  was  the  son-in-law  of  the 
famous  Missouri  Senator,  Thomas  H.  Ben- 
ton, and  upon  the  admission  of  California 
into  the  Union  was  chosen  by  the  Demo- 
crats to  represent  that  young  common- 
wealth in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
Buchanan  had  long  been  conspicuous  in  the 
public  service  and  was  deemed  especially 
well  equipped  to  fill  the  high  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States.  Donelson 
enjoyed  the  distinction  of  having  been  the 
adopted  son  of  General  Andrew  Jackson. 
Inasmuch  as  there  was  not  the  slightest 
probability  of  his  election,  the  matter  of 
special  fitness  for  the  office  to  which  he 
was  nominated  as  the  running  mate  of 
Millard  Fillmore  was  of  minor  importance. 

Indiana  was  quite  conspicuous  in  the 
first  Presidential  convention  of  the  newly 
organized  Republican  party  in  this,  that  it 
had  for  its  permanent  chairman  Henry  S. 
Lane,  at  that  time  the  idol  of  his  party.  In 
the  Democratic  Presidential  Convention, 
held  at  Cincinnati  June  4,  William  Rock- 
hill,  of  Fort  Wayne,  was  honored  with  the 
position  of  vice-president  and  James  Elder, 
of  Richmond,  with  that  of  assistant  secre- 
tary. 

On  account  of  the  close  political  relation- 
ship established  in  1854  between  Whigs, 
Freesoilers  and  Know-Nothings,  no  Fill- 
more State  ticket  was  placed  in  nomina- 
tion. Therefore  the  October  election  was 
a  contest  between  the  Democrats  and  the 
People's  party,  the  latter  embracing  the 
various  elements  that  entered  into  a  fusion 
arrangement  two  years  prior.  The  result 
of  this  election  is  indicated  in  tabular  form 
as  set  forth  below : 


(181) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

OFFICIAL  VOTE  FOR  1856.  So  far  as  the  choice  for  Congressmen 

FOR  GOVERNOR.  '^^s  concerned,  it  came  close  to  being  an 

Ashbel  p.  Willard,  Democrat 117,981  5,842      even  divide— six  to  five. 

Oliver  P.  Morton,  People's 112,139 

FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.  THE  NOVEMBER  ELECTION. 

Abram  A.  Hammond,  Democrat 116,717  5,097 

Conrad  Baker,  People's 111,620  The  State  elections  held  in  October  clear- 

FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  'y  foreshadowed  the  election  of  Buchanan 

Daniel  McClure,  Democrat 118,241  8,191     and  Breckinridge  in  November.    The  Dem- 

John  W.  Dawson,  People's 110,050  ocrats  having  carried   both   Pennsylvania 

FOR  AUDITOR  OF  STATE.  ^"*^  Indiana,  the  chances  of  the  nevi^ly  or- 

r>       T  1.    -nr  T^  jj   T^           x       fianco  c  ^no     ganlzed   Republlcan   party   sweeping   the 

Gen.  John  W.  Dodd,  Democrat 117,953  6,678      "                      .^              ,.,n, 

E.  W.  H.  Ellis,  People's 111,275  country   Without   the   aid    of    these    two 

"October    States"    must    have    appeared 

FOR  TREASURER  OF  STATE.  j^^^^j^^^  .^^^^^^  ^^^^^^  .^  .^  ^^.^^^^  ^^^^ 

Aquilla  Jones,  Democrat. . .     118,052  6,664            tremendous  strides  made  by  the  cham- 

William  R.  Noffsmger,  People's 111,388  .             ^^                        ,  ^       ,        .  ^r        ,,     , 

pions  of  Fremont  and  Dayton  m  New  York 

FOR  ATTORNEY-GENERAL  OF  STATE.  ^^^  ^^her  States  was  quite  bewildering  to 

Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Democrat....  113,439  8,171     forecasters  and  prognosticators.     Of  the 

James  H.  Cravens,  People's 103,268  Western  States,  Indiana  and  Illinois  alone 

FOR  SUPT.  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION.        were  able  to  withstand  the  tide.    The  ver- 

Prof.  Wm.  C.  Larrabee,  Democrat..  117,640  6,329     diet  of  Indiana    is    expressed    by    these 

Charles  Barnes,  People's 111,311  figures  : 

FOR  REPORTER  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT. 

,,     J       ^              T,              4.                   110  0KQ  ^7  fiAQ                  Buchanan  and  Breckinridge.  118,670 

Gordon  Tanner,  Democrat 118,258  7,008                                ,        ,  t^     ,                       o/or,r 

-,,,,..',,  1WH  orfi  Fremont  and  Dayton 94,375 

John  A.  Stein,  People's 111,250  ■'                         „„  „o^ 

'  Fillmore    and    Donelson 22,386 

FOR  CLERK  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT.  „      ,             ,                             ,,,,,.  ^ 

„,.„.       „  Tj      1    T^           i            ^  1  o  nnn  r, -,  nr,         Buchanan  s  vote  exceeded  that  ot  Pre- 

William  S.  Beach,  Democrat 118,297  7,177 

John  A.  Beal,  People's 111,120  mont  and  Fillmore    combined    by    nearly 

2,000. 

THE  VOTE  FOR  MEMBERS  OF  CONGRESS.         \r,      ^,       ..  ^,  ^._        •       t     ,- 

T     1 1,    X   T^           X                -.nnAH  Annn         Truth  ot  the  matter  IS,  Indiana  was  at 

James  Lockhait.  Democrat 12,747  4,770      ,,     ,    ,.          ,         „            ,     .               ,.      , 

James  Veach,  People's 7,977  ^hat  time  far  from  being  radical  on  the 

W.  H.  English,  Democrat 10,577  2,650     slavery  question.     As  a  rule,  Whigs  who 

John  M.  Wilson,  People's 7,927  basked  in  the  sunshine  of  William  Henry 

James  Hughes,  Democrat 10,629  1,516     Harrison  were  more  pro-slavery  than  was 

John  A^  Hendricks,  People's 9,113  ^^^^  ^^  ^^  Democrats ;  or,  to  put  it  differ- 

James  B.  Foley,  Democrat 10,451  1,452           ,,       ,,                               '                  ., 

William  Cumback,  People's 8,999  ^ntly,  there  was  more   Freesoil   sentiment 

Edmund  Johnson,  Democrat 7,183  among  Democrats  of  the   Whitcomb    and 

David  Kilgore,  People's 11,132  3,949     Wright    school    than    there    was    among 

James  M.  Gregg,  Democrat 11,787  947     Whigs  of  the  Harrison  school.     This  was 

John  Coburn.  People's. .   10,840  emphasized  by  the  action  of  the  Indiana 

John  G.  Davis,  Democrat 11,137  1,608       ,   ,         ,.         .     ^                    ..,„,„ 

John  P.  Usher,  People's 9,529  delegation  in  Congress  in  1848,  when,  on 

Daniel  w.  Voorhees,  Democrat 11,072  the  2 1st  day  of  December,  Daniel  Gott,  a 

James  Wilson,  People's 11,302  230     Representative  in  Congress  from  the  State 

William  Z.  Stuart,  Democrat 11,890  of   New   York,   introduced   the   following 

Schuyler  Colfax,   People's 12,926  1,036      resolution: 

Robert  Lowry,  Democrat 9,989 

Samuel  Brenton,  People's 10,699  710         "Whereas,  The  traffic  now  prosecuted  in 

William  Carver,  Democrat 10,443  this  metropolis  of  the  Republic  in  human 

John  U.  Pettit,  People's 11,235  792     beings,  as  chattels,  is  Contrary  to  natural 


((iMh 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


I  8  1  G  -  1  9  1  6 


justice  and  the  fundamental  principles  of 
our  political  system,  and  is  notoriously  a 
reproach  to  our  country  throughout 
Christendom,  and  a  serious  hindrance  to 
the  progress  of  Republican  liberty  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth ;  therefore, 

"Resolved.  That  the  committee  for  the 
District  of  Columbia  be  instructed  to  re- 
port a  bill  as  soon  as  practicable,  prohibit- 
ing the  slave  trade  in  said  District." 

The  vote  on  this  resolution  stood,  98 
yeas  and  88  nays.  The  Indiana  delegation 
at  that  time  was  composed  of  Elisha 
Embree,  Thomas  J.  Henley,  John  L.  Rob- 
inson, Caleb  B.  Smith,  William  W.  Wick, 
George  G.  Dunn,  Richard  W.  Thompson, 
John  Pettit,  Charles  W.  Cathcart,  William 
Rockhill.  Six  of  these  were  Democrats 
and  four  Whigs.  Those  voting  for  the  Gott 
resolution  were  Cathcart,  Embree,  Henley, 
Pettit,  Robinson,  Rockhill — -five  Demo- 
crats and  one  Whig.  Those  voting  "No" 
were  Dunn  and  Thompson.  Not  voting: 
Smith  and  Wick.  In  later  years  Caleb  B. 
Smith  became  a  member  of  Lincoln's 
Cabinet,  and  Richard  W.  Thompson  served 
as  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  President 
Hayes. 

Among  those  who  voted  for  the  Gott 
resolution  was  Horace  Greeley,  who  had 
but  a  few  weeks  before  been  elected  to 
Congress  to  fill  a  vacancy.  The  surprising 
feature  of  the  proceeding  was  that  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  serving  a  single  term  in 
Congress  from  1847  to  1849,  recorded  his 
vote  in  opposition  to  the  Gott  resolution. 
Not  a  single  vote  from  the  slave-holding 
States  was  recorded  in  its  favor,  and  only 
eighteen  Representatives  from  the  free 
States  allied  themselves  with  the  Southern- 
ers in  voting  "No."  That  Abraham 
Lincoln,  subsequently  immortalized  as  the 
"great  emancipator,"  should  be  found 
among  these  eighteen  will  no  doubt  afford 
amazement  to  thousands  to  whom  this  re- 
cital of  a  generally  unknown  historic  fact 
may  serve  as  a  genuine  if  not  startling 
revelation. 


DEMOCRACY    MAINTAINS    ASCEND- 
ENCY 
EVEN    IN    THE    POLITICALLY    TROUBLESOME 
YEAR  OF  1858. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  convention 
held  up  to  that  time  by  the  Indiana  De- 
mocracy was  that  which  convened  in  the 
city  of  Indianapolis  on  historic  Jackson 
Day,  in  the  year  1858.  It  was  at  a  time 
when  excitement  over  the  slavery  question 
ran  high,  when  lines  began  to  be  sharply 
drawn  and  when  diverging  roads  were  be- 
ing chosen  by  Democrats.  The  "irre- 
pressible conflict"  over  the  slavery  question 
made  itself  felt  among  Democrats  who,  up 
to  that  time,  had  cherished  the  hope  that 
the  spirit  of  compromise  and  conciliation 
might  continue  to  hover  over  Democratic 
councils  and  Democratic  gatherings,  and 
that  fatal  division,  for  years  dimly  visible, 
might  yet  be  averted. 

The  temper  of  the  1858  convention  was 
in  the  main  admirable.  For  the  sake  of 
party  peace,  men  of  strong  convictions 
graciously  yielded  individual  opinions  as 
to  forms  of  expression  on  burning  issues, 
trusting  that  affairs  might  so  shape  them- 
selves as  yet  to  make  it  possible  to  proceed 
harmoniously  to  the  solution  of  the 
weighty  problems  that  engrossed  the 
thought  and  attention  of  the  ablest  minds 
of  the  land. 

Though  the  vote  of  Indiana  in  the  Cin- 
cinnati convention  of  1856  was  cast  as  a 
unit  for  James  Buchanan,  the  inference  is 
not  warranted  that  Buchanan  was  the  real 
choice  of  all  the  delegates  from  this  State. 
Among  them  were  a  goodly  number  of 
admirers  and  adherents  of  the  "Little 
Giant,"  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  They  be- 
lieved in  him  ;  they  had  genuine  admiration 
for  his  extraordinary  ability  and  his 
superb  qualities  of  leadership.  The  unit 
rule  prevented  them  from  recording  their 
individual  votes  for  the  idolized  leader  of 
the  Illinois  Democracy;  they  yielded  per- 
sonal preference  to  the  conclusions  of  the 
majority. 


( 183  ) 


HISTORY  INDIANA  DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  1 


When  an  irreconcilable  conflict  arose 
between  President  Buchanan  and  Senator 
Douglas  with  reference  to  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  question,  Democratic  sentiment 
in  Indiana  was  not  slow  in  asserting  itself 
on  the  side  of  Douglas  in  championing 
what  was  then  known  as  "popular  sov- 
ereignty"— the  right  of  the  people  of  a 
Territory  applying  for  admission  into  the 
Union  to  decide  for  or  against  the  intro- 
duction of  slavery.  By  lending  assistance 
to  the  slave  power  in  the  effort  to  estab- 
lish slavery  in  Kansas,  any  number  of 
those  who  in  1856  had  voted  for  Buchanan 
and  Breckinridge  became  pronounced 
opponents  of  the  Buchanan  administration 
in  its  attempt  to  foist  the  Lecompton  con- 
stitution on  the  people  of  Kansas  Terri- 
tory. The  administration  policy,  however, 
had  strong  support  in  the  two  United 
States  Senators,  Jesse  D.  Bright  and  Gra- 
ham N.  Fitch,  in  Governor  Willard,  in 
John  L.  Robinson,  and  other  Federal 
officeholders,  besides  that  always  formid- 
able element  which  believes  in  "standing 
by  the  party,  right  or  wrong." 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  by 
Joseph  W.  Chapman,  member  of  the  State 
Central  Committee.  Two  distinguished 
gentlemen  were  put  forward  for  the 
permanent  chairmanship  of  the  conven- 
tion— Governor  Ashbel  P.  Willard  and 
Congressman  William  S.  Holman.  The 
vote  stood  338  for  the  Governor  and  233 
for  the  Congressman.  Willard  having 
been  known  as  an  administration  man,  his 
triumph  aff'orded  undisguised  satisfaction 
to  that  side  of  the  house.  The  action  of 
the  convention  in  shaping  up  the  platform 
casts  some  doubt  upon  the  accuracy  of 
measurement  of  strength  as  to  Willard 
and  Holman  in  the  matter  of  factional 
alignment. 

Much  of  the  convention's  time  was  de- 
voted to  the  consideration  and  discussion 
of  the  platform.  In  course  of  the  ani- 
mated debate  General  Lew  Wallace,  of 
Montgomery,  offered  a  resolution  in  favor 


of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  asserting 
that  "by  practical  application  of  that  bill 
the  people  of  a  State  or  a  Territory  should 
be,  as  they  are  inalienably,  invested  with 
the  right  of  ratifying  or  rejecting,  at  the 
ballot  box,  any  constitution  that  may  be 
framed  for  their  government;  and  that 
now  and  hereafter  no  Territory  should  be 
admitted  into  the  Union,  as  a  State,  with- 
out a  fair  expression  of  the  will  of  its 
people  being  first  had  upon  the  constitu- 
tion accompanying  the  application  for 
admission." 

Daniel  W.  Voorhees  spoke  sustaining  the 
resolutions  as  they  had  been  adopted, 
maintaining  they  were  the  policy  of  the 
administration  and  contending  that  the 
people  of  Kansas  were  competent  to  settle 
their  own  affairs.  The  Indianapolis  Sen- 
tinel, in  commenting  on  this  speech,  stated 
that  Voorhees  was  effective  and  concili- 
atory, his  well-toned  declarations  carrying 
conviction  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  every 
Democrat. 

W.  S.  Holman  counseled  moderation  and 
insisted  on  the  right  of  the  States  and 
Territories  to  establish  and  maintain  their 
own  institutions. 

J.  W.  Chapman,  of  Jefferson  county, 
reported  for  the  committee  to  which  the 
resolution  had  been  submitted  as  still 
being  in  favor  of  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  act,  that  the  people 
should  have  the  opportunity  of  ratification 
or  rejection,  and  contending  that  the  same 
should  accorhpany  their  application  for 
admission. 

0.  K.  Dougherty,  of  Morgan  county, 
submitted  a  minority  report  reiterating 
as  above,  but  contending  that  evidence  of 
such  exercise  or  refusal  should  accompany 
the  application  for  admission. 

General  Wallace  then  withdrew  his  mo- 
tion to  lay  the  report  of  the  majority  and 
minority  on  the  table  and  moved  that  his 
original  resolution  be  submitted  therefor, 
which  carried  317  to  199. 


(184) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


The  report  as  amended  was  adopted,  as 
follows:     378  ayes  to  114  noes: 

"Resolved,  That  we  are  still  in  favor  of 
the  great  doctrine  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
bill;  and  that  by  a  practical  application  of 
that  doctrine  the  people  of  a  State  or  of  a 
Territory  are  vested  with  the  right  of 
ratifying  or  rejecting,  at  the  ballot  box, 
any  constitution  that  may  be  formed  for 
their  government ;  and  that,  hereafter,  no 
Territory  should  be  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  a  State  without  a  fair  expression 
of  the  will  of  the  people  being  first  had 
upon  the  constitution  accompanying  the 
application  of  admission." 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  such  men 
as  Lew  Wallace  and  Judge  Holman  ex- 
pressed themselves  as  well  satisfied  with 
the  foregoing  declaration,  there  was  still 
marked  dissatisfaction  over  the  spirit  and 
phraseology  of  certain  parts  of  the  resolu- 
tions. This  was  emphasized  by  Aquilla 
Jones,  a  lifelong  friend  of  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  in  declining  to  accept  a  re- 
nomination  to  the  office  of  State  Treasurer 
unanimously  bestowed  on  him.  In  adopt- 
ing this  course,  Mr.  Jones  declared  that 
"one  of  the  vital  principles  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  must  have  either  been  omitted 
or  asserted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be 
susceptible  of  an  equivocal  construction." 


STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  John  Hargrove,  Gibson  county. 

2.  Michael  C.  Kerr,  Floyd. 

3.  Joseph  W.  Chapman,  Jefferson. 

4.  John  L.  Robinson,  Rush. 

5.  Lafe  Develin,   Wayne. 

6.  Charles  W.  Hall  and  John  Elder,  Marion. 

7.  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Vigo. 

8.  James  H.  Stewart,   Carroll. 

9.  O.  Everts,  Laporte. 

10.  Samuel  W.  Sprott,  DeKalb. 

11.  Wilson  Smith,  Wabash. 
John  R.  Elder,  chairman. 

THE  TICKET  NAMED. 

For  Secretary  of  State — Daniel  McClure,  Morgan 

county. 
For  Auditor — John  W.  Dodd,  Grant  county. 
For  Treasurer — Nathaniel   F.   Cunningham,   Vigo 

county. 


For  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — Samuel 
L.  RuK'g,  Allen  county. 

For  Attorney-General — Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Mont- 
gomery county. 

For  Supreme  Court  Judges — Samuel  E.  Perkins, 
Marion;  Andrew  Davison,  Decatur;  James  M. 
Hanna,  Sullivan;  James  L.  Worden,  Whitley. 

The  campaign  was  marked  by  consider- 
able vigor,  both  parties  putting  forth 
strong  efforts  to  carry  the  State.  Though 
many  members  of  the  organization  still 
manifested  a  disposition  to  pose  as  a 
People's  party,  the  name  Republican  grad- 
ually became  more  agreeable  to  the  rank 
and  file  and  was  finally  accepted.  The 
Republican  ticket  for  1858  was  made  up 
of  these  widely-known  gentlemen: 

Secretary  of  State — William  A.  Peelle,  Ran- 
dolph county. 

Auditor  of  State — Albert  Lange  of  Terre 
Haute. 

Treasurer  of  State — John  H.  Harper  of  South 
Bend. 

Attorney-General — William  T.  Otto  of  New 
Albany. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — John 
Young,  Indianapolis. 

Supreme  Judges — Horace  P.  Biddle,  Logans- 
port;  Abram  W.  Hendricks,  Madison;  Simon 
Yandes,  Indianapolis;  William  D.  Griswold,  Terre 
Haute. 

Territorially,  these  selections  could 
hardly  have  been  better  chosen.  The 
ticket  was  generally  pronounced  a  strong 
one,  even  its  most  pronounced  opponents 
conceding  its  availability.  Placing  a 
capable  and  popular  German  living  in 
Terre  Haute  on  the  ticket  for  State  Au- 
ditor was  especially  adjudged  a  fine  stroke 
of  policy.  Nevertheless  the  ticket  went 
down  in  defeat — not  by  heavy  majorities, 
yet  sufficiently  so  to  serve  all  practical 
purposes.  Indiana  simply  was  not  yet 
ready  to  be  placed  in  the  Republican 
column. 

THE  OFFICIAL  VOTE. 

Secretary  of  State— McClure,  107,409; 
Peelle,  104,828. 

Auditor— Dodd.  107,242;  Lange,  105,- 
493. 


(185) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


Treasui-er — Cunningham,  107,634 ;  Har- 
per, 105,416. 

Attorney-General— McDonald,  107,291 ; 
Otto,  105,757. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — 
Rugg,  107,910;  Young,  105,014. 
Judges  Supreme  Court — 

Worden,  107,681 ;  Biddle,  104,582. 
Davison,    107,608;    Hendricks,    104,- 

492. 
Perkins,  108,158 ;  Yandes,  104,086. 
Hanna,  107,076 ;  Griswold,  104,965. 

THE  CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGA- 
TION. 

There  was  something  of  a  shakeup  in 
the  composition  of  the  Congressional 
delegation,  though  it  could  hardly  have 
been  designated  as  partaking  of  a  revolu- 
tionary character.  The  new  men  who 
came  in  were  James  Hughes,  William  M. 
Dunn,  Wm.  S.  Holman,  Albert  G.  Porter 
and  Charles  Case.  Wm.  H.  English  made 
his  last  race.  Four  triumphant  elections 
seemingly  satisfied  his  ambition.  He 
gained  quite  a  reputation  as  a  national 
legislator  during  the  eight  years  of  his 
service  in  the  halls  of  Congress.  Political 
upheavals  didn't  seem  to  affect  his  candi- 
dacy at  any  time ;  a  nomination  in  his  case 
meant  an  election.  After  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war  he  moved  to  Indianapolis,  en- 
gaged in  banking,  and  in  course  of  time 
accumulated  a  large  -fortune.  He  would 
have  made  an  excellent  Governor,  but 
never  aspired  to  that  office.  His  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States,  but  he  did  not  get  farther  in  this 
direction  than  the  obtainment  of  the 
nomination  for  Vice-President  in  1880, 
when  the  gallant  Winfield  Scott  Hancock 
was  defeated  for  the  Presidency  by  the 
scholarly  James  A.  Garfield.  That  result 
was  due  to  the  folly  of  the  Democrats 
failing  to  renominate  the  "old  ticket"  of 
1876.  No  power  on  earth  could  have  pre- 
vented a  vindication  of  the  majesty  of  the 
ballot  through  the  triumphant  re-election 
of  Tilden  and  Hendricks. 


EX-GOVERNOR  WRIGHT  MADE  AM- 
BASSADOR TO  BERLIN. 
After  the  election  of  Buchanan  to  the 
Presidency,  a  general  impression  prevailed 
that  Indiana  would  be  honored  with  a 
Cabinet  position.  Senator  Bright  and 
Governor  Wright  were  under  considera- 
tion. The  former  naturally  preferred  to 
remain  in  the  Senate  to  being  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  State  Department.  Not 
being  overly  blessed  with  the  world's 
goods.  Governor  Wright  decided  not  to 
accept  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Interior, 
for  which  he  was  so  eminently  qualified. 
He,  however,  indicated  a  willingness  to 
go  to  Europe  in  the  capacity  of  Ambassa- 
dor to  Prussia.  This  was  quite  agreeable 
to  Senator  Bright,  as  it  put  the  wide  ocean 
between  him  and  the  man  who  had  given 
him  so  much  trouble  politically  for  so  long 
a  time.  Buchanan  made  the  appointment 
quite  willingly,  and  Bright,  for  reasons 
stated,  saw  to  it  that  Wright's  appoint- 
ment was  promptly  confirmed  by  the 
Senate.  Ambassador  Wright  made  an 
excellent  record  as  such. 

POLITICAL    COMPLEXION    OF    CON- 
GRESS FROM  1817  TO  1861 
FIFTEENTH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1817-March  3,  1819.) 
Senate — 10  Federalists,  34  Democrats;  total,  44. 
House — 57  Federalists,  128  Democrats;  total,  185. 

SIXTEENTH  CONGRESS. 

(March  4,  1819-March  3,  1821.) 

Senate— 10  Federalists,  36  Democrats;  total,  46. 

House— 42  Federalists,  145  Democrats;  total,  187. 

SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS. 

(March  4,  1821-March  3,  1823.) 

Senate — 7  Federalists,  41  Democrats;  total,  48. 

House— 58  Federalists,  129  Democrats;  total,  187. 

EIGHTEENTH  CONGRESS. 

(March  4,  1823-March  3,  1825.) 

Senate — 40    Democrats,    8    Whigs;    total,    48. 

House — 72  Federalists,  141  Democrats;  total,  213. 

NINETEENTH  CONGRESS. 

(March  4,  1825-March  3,  1827.) 

Senate— 38     Democrats,  10    Whigs;    total,    48. 

House— 79  Federalists,  134  Democrats;  total,  213. 


(  186  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


TWENTIETH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1827-March  3,  1829.) 
Senate — 37   Democrats,   11     Whigs;     total,    48. 
House — 85  Federalists,  128  Democrats;  total,  213. 

TWENTY-FIRST  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1829-March  3,  1831.) 
Senate — 38    Democrats,    10    Whigs;    total,    48. 
House — 142  Democrats,  71  Whigs;  total,  213. 

TWENTY-SECOND  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1831-March  3,  1833.) 
Senate— 3.5    Democrats,    13    Whigs;    total,    48. 
House — 130  Democrats,  83  Whigs;  total,  213. 

TWENTY-THIRD  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1833-March  3,  1835.) 
Senate — 30    Democrats,    18    Whigs;    total,    48. 
House— 147  Democrats,  93  Whigs;  total,  240. 

TWENTY-FOURTH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1835-March  3,  1837.) 
Senate — 33    Democrats,    19    Whigs;    total,    52. 
House — 144  Democrats,  98  Whigs;  total,  242. 

TWENTY-FIFTH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1837-March  3,  1839.) 
Senate — 31   Democrats,  18  Whigs,  3   Independ- 
ents;    total,     52.      House — 117  ,  Democrats,     115 
Whigs,  10  Independents,  1  vacancy;  total,  242. 

TWENTY-SIXTH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1839-March  3,  1841.) 
Senate — 22  Democrats,  28  Whigs,  2  Independ- 
ents;    total,     52.      House— 103     Democrats,     132 
Whigs,  6  Independents,  1  vacancy;  total,  242. 

TWENTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1841-March  3,  1843.) 
Senate — 22  Democrats,  28  Whigs,  2   Independ- 
ents;    total,     52.      House — 103     Democrats,     132 
Whigs,  6  Independents,  1  vacancy;  total,  242. 

TWENTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1843-March  3,  1845.) 
Senate — 23    Democrats,    29    Whigs;    total,    52. 
House— 142  Democrats,  81  Whigs;  total,  223. 


TWENTY-NINTH  CONGRESS. 

(March  4,  1845-March  3,  1847.) 

Senate — 30   Democrats,   25   Whigs,   1   vacancy; 

total,   56.     House— 141    Democrats,    78    Whigs,   G 

Americans;  total,  225. 

THIRTIETH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1847-March  3,  1849.) 
Senate— 37    Democrats,    21    Whigs;    total,    58. 
House — 108   Democrats,   115   Whigs,   4   Independ- 
ents; total,  227. 

THIRTY-FIRST   CONGRESS. 

(March  4,  1849-March  3,  1851.) 

Senate— 35  Democrats,  25  Whigs,  2  Free  Soil; 

total,    62.     House— 116    Democrats,    111    Whigs; 

total,  227. 

THIRTY-SECOND  CONGRESS. 

(March  4,  1851-March  3,  1853.) 

Senate— 36  Democrats,  23  Whigs,  3  Free  Soil; 

total,    62.     House— 140    Democrats,   88    Whigs,   5 

Free  Soil;  total,  233. 

THIRTY-THIRD   CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1853-March  3,  1855.) 
Senate— 38  Democrats,  22  Whigs,  2  Free  Soil; 
total,    62.     House — 159    Democrats,   71    Whigs,   4 
Free  Soil;  total,  234. 

THIRTY-FOURTH  CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1855-March  3,  1857.) 
Senate — 42  Democrats,  15  Republicans,  5  Amer- 
icans; total,  62.     House — 83   Democrats,  108   Re- 
publicans, 43  Americans;  total,  234. 

THIRTY-FIFTH   CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1857-March  3,  1859.) 
Senate— 39  Democrats,  20  Republicans,  5  Amer- 
icans; total,  64.     House — 131   Democrats,  92   Re- 
publicans, 14  Americans;  total,  237. 

THIRTY-SIXTH   CONGRESS. 
(March  4,  1859-March  3,  1861.) 
Senate — 38  Democrats,  26  Republicans,  2  Amer- 
icans; total,  66.     House — 101  Democrats,  113  Re- 
publicans, 23  Americans;  total,  237. 


[Chapter  XXVI.] 

UNDER  NEW  LEADERSHIP 


INDIANA'S  DEMOCRACY  ENTERS  UPON  NEW  ERA— THOMAS 

A.  HENDRICKS  PILOTS  THE  PARTY  DISCREETLY  AND 

SAFELY  FOR  QUARTER  CENTURY 


IGNS    of    the    times    in    1858 

Si  pointed  unmistakably  to  the  in- 
I  auguration  of  a  new  era  in 
1 1  Indiana  politics.  The  leaven 
was  working.  The  culmination 
could  not  be  far  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

Weeks  before  the  assembling  of  the 
State  convention,  fixed  by  the  proper  au- 
thorities upon  Wednesday,  January  11, 
1860,  Democrats  throughout  the  State  de- 
termined to  take  part  in  the  deliberations 
of  this  representative  body.  The  friends 
as  well  as  the  enemies  of  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  had  become  thoroughly  aroused 
and  quietly  but  resolutely  resolved  to  take 
a  hand  in  deciding  who  should  be  entrusted 
with  the  leadership  of  the  National  De- 
mocracy, in  so  far  as  this  could  be 
determined  by  the  Democratic  sovereigns 
of  the  Hoosier  commonwealth.  So  intense 
had  become  the  feelings  of  the  warring 
elements  that  the  carrying  of  deadly 
weapons  was  by  not  a  few  considered  an 
essential  part  of  complete  and  self-justifi- 
able equipment. 

Seven  counties  had  sent  double  delega- 
tions. These  were  Hancock,  Jackson, 
Jennings,  Laporte,  Lawrence,  Randolph 
and  Spencer.  The  presence  of  the  largest 
number  of  accredited  delegates  yet  as- 
sembled in  any  State  convention  rendered 
expedient  and  necessary  the  adoption  of  a 
rule  that  only  delegates,  candidates  for 
office,  members  of  the  press  and  members 
of  the  State  Central  Committee  be  ad- 
mitted to  Metropolitan  Hall,  in  which  the 
convention  was  ordered  to  be  held.  The 
supporters  of  Douglas  had  come  to  an 
understanding  that  Judge  Robert  Lowry, 
then  proprietor  of  the  Goshen  Democrat, 


must  be  made  permanent  chairman  of  the 
great  convention.  Obstacles  were  in  the 
way,  but  by  judicious  management  these 
were  removed.  Joseph  W.  Chapman 
rapped  the  assembly  to  order.  General 
Lew  Wallace  put  Lowry  in  nomination 
for  temporary  chairman.  This  was  quick- 
ly followed  by  a  motion  that  a  permanent 
instead  of  a  temporary  chairman  be 
elected.  The  convention  was  thrown  into 
confusion,  amidst  which  Governor  Willard 
sought  to  sway  the  vast  assembly  by  his 
persuasive  eloquence.  In  this  he  was 
frustrated  by  apt  rejoinders  to  his  catchy 
phrases.  Pointed  reminders  that  he  was 
not  an  accredited  delegate  and  therefore 
not  entitled  to  the  floor  were  fired  at  him. 
This  elicited  an  ofi'er  from  White  county 
to  make  the  Governor  one  of  its  delegates. 
Finally  the  difficulty  found  adjustment  by 
the  Marion  county  delegation  announcing 
a  vacancy  in  its  ranks  and  the  election  of 
Governor  Willard  to  fill  the  same.  There- 
upon Governor  Willard  gained  recognition 
by  the  Chair  and  immediately  proceeded 
to  nominate  for  permanent  chairman 
Judge  Samuel  E.  Perkins,  of  Indianapolis. 
This  motion  was  presented  in  the  form  of 
an  amendment  to  the  pending  motion. 

Gordon  Tanner,  of  Jackson  county, 
gained  the  floor  and  said  he  "would  not 
try  to  amend  if  a  direct  vote  was  to  be 
taken  between  Judge  Lowry  and  Judge 
Perkins — Judge  Lowry,  the  friend  of 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  Judge  Perkins 
as  the  administration  candidate." 

Finally  the  vote  was  taken.  It  resulted 
in  1891/2  votes  for  Lowry  and  1741/.  for 
Perkins.  A  motion  to  make  Lowry's  elec- 
tion the  unanimous  action  of  the  conven- 
tion was  adopted  by  acclamation.     J.  J. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


Bingham,  of  Indianapolis;  John  B.  Nor- 
man, of  New  Albany;  S.  A.  Hall,  of 
Logansport,  and  Geo.  E.  Greene,  of  Vin- 
cennes,  were  made  secretaries  of  the 
convention.  All  of  them  were  editors  and 
stanch  supporters  of  the  "Little  Giant." 

So  much  time  was  consumed  in  the 
transaction  of  routine  business,  the  selec- 
tion of  a  committee  on  resolutions,  etc., 
that  the  convention  readily  assented  to  an 
adjournment  to  the  following  morning. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

Dr.  Norman  Eddy,  Lafe  Develin, 

Chairman,  A.  C.  Handy, 

A.  T.  Whittlesey,  G.  F.  Coolcerly, 

Dr.  W.  F.  Sherrod,  B.  F.  Schermerhorn, 

Paris  C.  Dunning,  Andrew  Ellison, 

Marcus  Levy,  David  Studabaker. 

SECOND  DAY'S  PROCEEDINGS. 

Feeling  continued  to  be  intense,  though 
more  calm.  The  friends  of  Douglas  felt 
assured  that  they  had  won  the  battle,  but 
they  also  felt  that  they  must  not  rest  on 
their  oars  nor  be  found  napping. 

NEW  STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  J.  G.  Gavitt,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  Michael  C.  Kerr,  Floyd. 

3.  Thomas  R.  Cobb,  Lawrence. 

4.  J.  J.  Schroyer,  Dearborn. 

5.  C.  E.  Shipley,  Delaware. 

6.  J.  J.  Bingham,  Marion. 

7.  B.  W.  Hanna,  Vigo. 

8.  B.  F.  Schermerhorn,  Carroll. 

9.  Norman  Eddy,  St.  Joseph. 

10.  A.  W.   Myers,  Whitley. 

11.  J.  S.  Shirley,  Grant. 

A.  B.  Palmer,  Indianapolis,  Chairman. 

INSTRUCTED  FOR  DOUGLAS. 

Col.  John  C.  Walker,  of  Laporte,  offered 
the  following  resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  while  we  pledge  the 
support  of  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  to 
the  nominee  of  the  Charleston  convention, 
whomsoever  he  may  be,  the  delegates  to 
that  body  from  this  State  are  instructed 
to  cast  their  votes  as  a  unit  for  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  and  to  u.se  all  honorable  means 
in  their  power  to  secure  his  nomination." 

United  States  Marshal  John  L.  Robin- 


son moved  to  amend  by  striking  out  the 
name  of  Douglas  and  inserting  that  of 
Joseph  Lane. 

An  amendment  was  offered  that  each 
Congressional  district  appoint  its  dele- 
gates with  or  without  instructions;  that 
the  convention  instruct  delegates-at-large, 
and  also  all  delegates  to  vote  as  a  unit,  a 
majority  determining  their  attitude.  The 
amendment  was  lost  160  to  236.  The 
Walker  resolution  was  then  adopted — 
ayes,  265;  noes,  129. 

This  definitely  fixed  Indiana's  attitude 
with  reference  to  the  Democratic  Presi- 
dential nomination.  It  served  as  a  prelude 
to  the  formal  declaration  embodied  in  the 
platform  agreed  upon  and  reported  by  the 
committee  on  resolutions.  The  platform 
bears  evidence  of  having  been  carefully 
considered,  sentence  by  sentence,  and  as 
having  been  constructed  by  men  of  ex- 
ceptional ability.  As  an  entirety  it  may 
fairly  be  pronounced  a  masterpiece  of 
political  pronouncement,  in  accord  with 
the  then  dominant  sentiment  of  the  In- 
diana Democracy.  From  a  literary  point 
of  view  it  excelled  any  of  the  platforms 
thitherto  adopted  by  any  preceding  State 
convention.  The  party's  preference  for 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  set  forth  in  this 
ringing  declaration : 

"Resolved,  That  as  a  statesman  of  tried 
character,  and  a  citizen  in  whom  all  sec- 
tions of  the  Union  may  confide  their 
interests,  as  the  friend  and  supporter  of 
our  rights  at  home  and  our  honor  abroad, 
and  in  the  sincere  conviction  that  we  will 
thereby  contribute  to  secure  to  all  sections 
of  the  Union,  and  each  of  the  States,  their 
just  and  equal  rights  and  their  full  share 
in  the  benefits  of  our  Federal  Union,  and 
in  no  sectional  spirit,  but  in  the  expansive 
love  of  our  whole  country,  the  Democracy 
of  Indiana  present  to  the  convention  of 
the  American  Democracy  to  assemble  at 
Charleston  as  their  choice  for  nomination 
as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  the  name  of  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  of  Illinois,  and  believing  him  to 
be  the  preference  of  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority of  our  people,  we  hereby  instruct 
the  delegates  this  day  appointed  by  us  to 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1   8   1   ()  -  1    9   1   () 


that  convention  to  cast  their  votes  in  his 
favor  as  a  unit  so  long  as  his  name  is 
before  the  convention,  and  to  use  all  hon- 
orable efforts  to  secure  his  nomination ; 
and  the  delegation  is  also  instructed  to 
vote  as  a  unit  upon  all  questions  which 
may  come  before  that  body  as  a  majority 
of  the  delegates  may  determine." 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Robert  Lowry,  E.  M.  Huntington, 
Samuel  H.  Buskirk,  James  B.  Foley. 

Contingents — James  B.  Fulwiler,  John  Mc- 
Manana,  Jeremiah  Smith,  Joseph  P.  Edson. 

1.  Smith  Miller  and  John  S.  Gavitt. 

2.  J.  B.  Norman  and  S.  K.  Wolfe. 

3.  H.   W.   Harrington   and   Paris   C.   Dunning. 

4.  J.  V.  Bemusdaffer  and  C.  B.  Bentley. 

5.  Lafe  Develin  and  W.  W.  Frybarger. 

6.  W.  H.  Talbott  and  J.  M.  Gregg. 

7.  Dr.  Ezra  Read  and  Henry  K.  Wilson. 

8.  L.  B.  Stockton  and  Maj.  I.  C.  Elston. 

9.  G.  Hathaway  and  S.  A.  Hall. 

10.  Pliny  Hoagland  and  George  W.  McConnell. 

11.  William  Garver  and  John  R.  Coffroth. 

The  Eleventh  district  adopted  resolu- 
tions declaring  for  Douglas,  or  some  other 
conservative  man  entertaining  the  same 
views  on  the  Territorial  question,  if 
Douglas  is  not  chosen ;  and  that  their  dele- 
gates in  no  case  vote  for  a  man  entertain- 
ing the  view  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  carries  or  establishes 
slavery. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

Electors-at-Large — Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  Jackson 
county,  and  John  C.  Walker,  Laporte  county. 

Contingents — A.  A.  Hammond  and  Paris  C. 
Dunning. 

1.  James  M.  Shanklin,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  Thomas  M.  Brown,  Floyd. 

3.  James  S.  Hester,  Brown. 

4.  Daniel  D.  Jones,  Franklin. 

5.  William  A.  Bickle,  Wayne. 

6.  Alexander  B.  Conduitt,  Morgan. 

7.  William  M.  Franklin.  Owen. 

8.  William  C.  Kise,  Boone. 

9.  Robert  P.  Effinger,  Miami. 

10.  William  S.  Smith,  Allen. 

11.  Andrew  Jackson,  Madison. 

HENDRICKS  NOMINATED  FOR  GOV- 
ERNOR. 
Colonel    Cyrus    L.    Dunham,    who    had 
been   appointed   Secretary    of    State    by 


Governor  Willard  in  1859  to  (ill  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of 
Daniel  McClure,  affiliated  with  the  Bu- 
chanan wing  of  the  party.  As  such  he 
became  an  avowed  aspirant  to  the  nom- 
ination for  Governor.  Though  pronounced 
in  his  views  as  to  party  policy,  he  was 
neither  an  extremist  nor  a  factionist.  He 
believed  in  subordinating  personal  views 
to  the  will  of  the  majority;  in  being 
"regular."  When  it  became  apparent  that 
the  Douglas  wing  was  clearly  and  unmis- 
takably in  the  ascendancy,  he  not  only 
abandoned  his  candidacy  for  the  Gov- 
ernorship, but  rose  in  the  convention,  and 
in  a  forceful,  eloquent  speech  moved  that 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  be  nominated  by 
acclamation.  This  generous  action  on  the 
part  of  Colonel  Dunham  aroused  intense 
enthusiasm  and  had  much  to  do  with 
creating  a  harmonious  spirit  in  framing 
up  the  ticket  in  its  entirety.  Without 
serious  friction  the  ticket  was  completed 
by  naming  Judge  David  Turpie,  of  White 
county,  for  Lieutenant-Governor;  William 
H.  Schlater,  of  Richmond,  for  Secretary 
of  State;  Joseph  Ristine,  of  Fountain 
county,  for  Auditor;  Nathaniel  F.  Cun- 
ningham, of  Terre  Haute,  for  Treasurer; 
Oscar  B.  Hord,  of  Greensburg,  for  Attor- 
ney-General; Samuel  L.  Rugg,  of  Fort 
Wayne,  for  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction; Cornelius  O'Brien,  of  Law- 
renceburg,  for  Clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  Michael  C.  Kerr,  of  New  Al- 
bany, for  Reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Mr.  Hendricks  was  the  unanimous 
choice  of  the  supporters  of  Douglas.  Al- 
ways conciliatory  and  consen-ative,  Mr. 
Hendricks,  while  unequivocally  the  choice 
of  the  admirers  of  the  "Little  Giant,"  was 
not  offensive  or  even  objectionable  to  the 
moderate  adherents  of  the  Buchanan 
policy.  Resigning  the  office  of  Land  Com- 
missioner, which  he  held  part  of  the  time 
under  the  Pierce  and  Buchanan  adminis- 
trations, avowedly  for  the  purpose  of 
re-entering  upon  the  practice  of  law,  he 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


had  freed  himself  of  obligation  implied  in 
administration  affiliation  and  was  thus 
unhampered  in  the  expression  of  whatever 
views  he  might  hold  with  reference  to 
party  policy.  The  wisdom  of  his  counsel 
was  made  manifest  by  the  selection  of 
Colonel  Dunham  as  an  Elector-at-Large, 
though  not  at  the  time  altogether  appar- 
ent to  the  fiery  element  of  the  Douglas 
following.  Dunham  verified  the  excellence 
of  Mr.  Hendricks'  judgmeni;  by  taking 
the  stump  in  favor  of  the  regular  Demo- 
cratic ticket  and  delivering  a  series  of 
very  eff'ective  speeches.  Strong  efforts 
were  made  by  Senator  Bright  to  induce 
Colonel  Dunham  to  decline  the  electorship 
candidacy  and  join  the  Breckinridge 
forces;  but  though  the  ties  of  friendship 
between  these  two  men  were  strong  and 
of  long  tenure,  Colonel  Dunham  stood 
firm,  and  throughout  the  campaign  ap- 
pealed with  fervid  eloquence  to  Democrats 
to  stand  unflinchingly  by  the  regular  or- 
ganization. 

The  campaign  from  opening  to  close 
was  intensely  earnest,  thrillingly  interest- 
ing and  unrestrictedly  determined.  No 
Presidential  nominee,  not  excepting 
Henry  Clay,  had,  up  to  that  time,  had 
more  devoted  or  enthusiastic  supporters 
than  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  His  captivat- 
ing personality,  his  striking  physiognomy, 
his  massive  head,  and  his  persuasive  elo- 
quence made  him  the  idol  of  those  who 
rallied  under  his  banner.  That  his  cour- 
ageous defiance  of  the  slave  power  and  his 
heroic  resistance  to  the  attempt  to  force 
slavery  upon  Kansas  drew  to  him  thou- 
sands of  Democrats  who  felt  ill  at  ease 
under  the  imposition  of  policies  incon- 
sistent with  the  teachings  of  Jefferson, 
Van  Buren  and  Tilden,  had  become  plain- 
ly apparent.  These  men  felt  that  the  time 
had  come  to  command  a  halt  and  they  as- 
serted themselves  in  no  uncertain  manner. 

The  Indiana  delegation  to  the  Charles- 
ton and  Baltimore  conventions  stood 
manfully  by  the  "Little  Giant."    On  their 


part  there  was  no  wavering,  no  sign  of 
timidity  or  lack  of  courage.  Both  at 
Charleston  and  later  on  at  Baltimore  they 
stood  unflinchingly  by  their  guns.  When, 
at  the  close  of  the  drama  at  Baltimore,  it 
had  become  apparent  to  them  that  the 
party  to  which  they  were  so  strongly 
wedded  and  for  which  they  had  fought  so 
many  political  battles,  would  in  all  prob- 
ability meet  with  defeat  at  the  polls  in 
October  and  in  November,  they  started 
upon  their  homeward  journey  with  the  in- 
flexible determination  to  do  all  that  could 
be  done  to  make  as  good  a  showing  at  the 
polls  as  was  possible  to  be  done. 

The  adjourned  session  at  Baltimore  be- 
gan June  18.  Three  days  were  consumed 
in  wrangling  over  the  platform.  That  dis- 
posed of,  followed  by  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Southern  Secessionists  and  a  small 
number  of  sympathizers  from  the  North, 
the  nomination  of  Douglas  was  easily 
effected  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote. 
Senator  Benjamin  Fitzpatrick,  of  Ala- 
bama, was  nominated  for  the  Vice-Presi- 
dency, but  promptly  declining  the 
proffered  honor,  Herschel  V.  Johnson,  of 
Georgia,  was  substituted  by  the  National 
Committee,  hastily  summoned  for  the  pur- 
pose of  filling  the  vacancy. 

Vexed  by  Senator  Bright's  "pernicious 
activity"  in  working  up  opposition  to  the 
regular  nominees  of  the  party,  both  State 
and  national,  the  leaders  decided  that  un- 
usual energy  must  be  injected  into  the 
campaign.  The  middle  of  July  a  mass 
meeting  was  held  at  Indianapolis  to  ratify 
the  nomination  of  Douglas  and  Johnson. 
Twenty  thousand  enthusiastic  Democrats 
gathered  at  the  State  capital  to  give  ex- 
pression to  their  feelings.  The  speakers 
at  this  meeting  were :  Governor  Willard, 
Senator  Geo.  E.  Pugh  of  Ohio,  Congress- 
man C.  L.  Vallandigham  of  Dayton,  Sam- 
uel R.  Hamill  of  Sullivan,  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  Richard  J.  Ryan  and  Judge  W. 
W.  Wicks.  Mr.  Ryan  introduced  a  resolu- 
tion which,  after  some  discussion,  passed 
in  this  form: 


(192) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


"Resolved,  That  we,  the  Democracy  of 
Indiana,  in  mass  convention  assembled, 
unanimously  condemn  the  course  of  all 
those  who  are  endeavoring  to  disorganize 
the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  by  their 
opposition  to  the  regular  nominees  of  the 
Democratic  National  Convention,  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  and  Herschel  V.  Johnson." 

The  Indianapolis  Sentinel  fought  vali- 
antly for  the  regular  ticket.  Here  is  a 
sample  of  its  onslaughts  on  the  Secession- 
ists. It  is  quoted  from  the  Sentinel's  issue 
of  July  20 : 

"The  fact  that  Breckinridge  and  Lane 
are  the  candidates  for  the  disunionists 
cannot  be  successfully  denied.  Those  of 
the  North  who  seek  to  defeat  Douglas 
swear  that  Breckinridge  and  Lane  are 
Union  men,  but  the  supporters  of  those 
candidates  at  the  South  talk  differently. 
The  Montgomery  (Ala.)  Mail  thus  openly 
avows  the  purpose  for  which  Breckinridge 
and  Lane  have  been  nominated.  That 
paper  says : 

Run  three  presidential  tickets  against  Lincoln, 
thereby  giving  Lincoln  the  best  chance  to  be 
elected.  After  I^incoln  is  elected  some  Southern 
communities — most  of  them  perhaps — will  refuse 
to  let  the  postmasters  appointed  under  his  admin- 
istration take  possession  of  the  office.  Then  the 
United  States  authorities  will  interpose  to  "en- 
force the  law."  Then  the  United  States  authori- 
ties will  either  be  shot  upon  or  they  will  shoot 
somebody  down.  Then  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity will  arise  up  against  the  United  States 
Government  and  will  be  sustained  by  neighboring 
communities  until  a  civil  war,  with  all  its  horrible 
butcheries,  envelops  the  land  in  a  shroud  of  blood 
and  carnage." 

According  to  the  Sentinel  of  September 
20,  the  friends  of  Breckinridge  and  Lane 
"Held  a  meeting  in  Indianapolis  on 
Monday  last  and  adopted  the  following 
resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  it  would  be  inexpedient  at  this 
time  to  place  a  national  Democratic  State  ticket 
in  the  field  for  State  officers. 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  conciliatory  over- 
tures which  have  from  time  to  time  been  made  to 
the  friends  of  Mr.  Douglas  in  this  State  and  re- 
jected by  them,  if  the  present  State  ticket  be 
defeated  they  alone  will  be  responsible  for  the 
result. 

"Resolutions  signed  by  W.  H.  Talbott, 
chairman,  and  John  R.  Elder,  secretary." 

The  Sentinel  went  on  to  say  that  both 
of  these  gentlemen  were  members  of  the 
Democratic  State  Convention  on  the  11th 


of  January  last  and  the  candidates  upon 
the  Democratic  ticket  were  their  choice 
and  received  their  cordial  support. 

An  imposing  Douglas  demonstration 
was  held  at  Indianapolis  September  28. 
It  attracted  thousands  of  the  "Little 
Giant's"  admirers  to  the  State  capital. 
He  arrived  the  evening  before,  and  was 
greeted  by  a  large  and  enthusiastic  crowd. 
Being  tired  out  by  exhaustive  campaign- 
ing, he  retired  to  his  room  at  the  Bates 
House,  but  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of 
the  vast  crowd  appeared  on  the  balcony. 
After  a  few  fitting  allusions  to  Hoosier 
fidelity  and  enthusiasm,  Senator  Douglas 
excused  himself  and  returned  to  his  room. 

Attorney-General  Joseph  E.  McDonald 
then  introduced  Governor  David  Todd,  of 
Ohio,  who  presided  over  the  convention  at 
Baltimore  after  Caleb  Gushing,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, had  vacated  the  Chair  and 
seceded,  accompanied  by  Ben  Butler.  Gov- 
ernor Todd  delivered  a  speech  that  elicited 
unbounded  enthusiasm.  He  was  followed 
by  C.  A.  Schaefer,  of  Ohio,  and  the  bril- 
liant Indianapolis  orator,  Richard  J.  Ryan. 

The  vast  concourse  that  did  honor  to 
Senator  Douglas  afforded  high  elation  to 
his  supporters.  The  parade  was  an  im- 
mense affair.  It  was  under  command  of 
Captain  John  M.  Lord,  as  chief  marshal, 
whose  Indianapolis  assistants  were  Cap- 
tain Love,  H.  H.  Dodd,  John  F.  Gulick, 
Capt.  H.  Prosser,  Gen.  W.  J.  Elliott,  Dr. 
A.  D.  Gall,  Samuel  Hesselgesser,  J.  B. 
Ryan,  Capt.  M.  North,  S.  M.  McCarty, 
Wm.  Wilkinson,  Charles  Howland,  Samuel 
A.  Todd,  Frank  Cunningham,  Reginald  H. 
Hall,  Jacob  Mull,  George  W.  Pitts,  JuHus 
Boetticher,  John  Stumph  and  Daniel  C. 
Greenfield. 

Assistant  marshals  for  the  State  at 
large  were  George  E.  Greene,  Col.  T.  G. 
Lee,  Gen.  L.  Druley,  Gen.  J.  B.  Foley, 
Gen.  J.  P.  Drake,  Gen.  W.  D.  Allen,  Capt. 
Lew  Wallace,  Geo.  W.  Spitler,  Dr.  Geo.  W. 
McConnell,  Gen.  D.  Moss,  Capt.  Z.  Berry, 
Lafe  Develin,  Nathaniel  Lord,  Jr.,  Michael 
Shannon. 


7— History 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Inasmuch  as  neither  the  Breckinridge  party,  therefore  the  propriety  and  advisa- 

and  Lane  people  nor  the  Bell  and  Everett  bility  of  honoring  Lane  with  first  place  on 

supporters   placed   a   State  ticket   in  the  the  ticket.     It  seemed  also  to  have  been 

field — being  content  with  revealing  their  tacitly    understood,      if     not     positively 

strength   through    electoral    tickets — the  agreed,  that  in  the  event  of  the  Republi- 

contest  in  Indiana,  up  to  the  time  of  the  cans  securing  a  majority  in  the  Legisla- 

October   election,    was   squarely   between  ture,  Mr.  Lane  was  to  be  chosen  United 

the     tickets     headed,      respectively,     by  States    Senator,    to    succeed    Graham    N. 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  and  Henry  S.  Lane.  Fitch,  and  that  Oliver  P.  Morton  would 

REPUBLICAN  STATE  TICKET.  then  be   afforded    opportunity    to    serve 

almost  the  entire  term  as  Governor.    The 

Governor— Henry  S.  Lane,  Crawfords-  fulfillment  of  this  agreement,  implied  or 

ville.  real,  was  rendered  possible  by  the  result 

Lieutenant-Governor— Oliver    P.    Mor-  of  the  election,  carrying  with  it,  for  the 
ton,  Centerville.  first  time,  the  election  of  the  entire  Re- 
Secretary  of  State— William  A.  Peelle,  publican  State  ticket  and  a  clear  majority 
Winchester.  of  the  Legislature. 

Auditor  of  State — Albert  Lange,  Terre 

Haute.  OFFICIAL  VOTE,  1860. 

Treasurer  of  State — Jonathan  Harvey,  GOVERNOR. 

Clark  county.  Lane 136,725       9,757 

Attorney-General— James      G.      Jones,  Hendricks 126,968 

Evansville.  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction —  Morton   136,470    10,178 

Miles  J.  Fletcher,  Putnam  county.  Turpie  126,292 

Reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court — Benja-  AUDITOR, 

man  Harrison,  Indianapolis.  Lange 136,007      9,646 

Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court— John  Paul  Ristine 126,361 

Jones,  Lagrange.  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Oliver  P.  Peelle 136,190      9,610 

Morton  was  his  party's  nominee  for  Gov-  Schlater   126,580 

ernor  in  1856.     When  the  time  came  for  TREASURER  OF  STATE. 

nominating  the  ticket  in  1860,  it  was  a  Harvey 137,640    10,526 

question  of  expediency  as  to  whether  he  Cunningham 126,514 

should  be  assigned  to  first  or  second  place.  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC 

The  argument  that  finally  prevailed  was  INSTRUCTION. 

that,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Henry  S.  Fletcher   137,129    11,383 

Lane  had  been  chosen  United  States  Sen-  ^"^g  125,746 

ator  by  Fusion  members  of  the  General  ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

Assembly  and  denied    admission    by    the  Jones  131,472      8,201 

Senate  at  Washington  on  the  ground  of  ""'"'^ ^-^'^^^ 

irregularity,  he  should    head    the    ticket.  REPORTER  OF  SUPREME  COURT. 

Attention  was  further  directed  to  the  fact  Harrison  134,924      9,688 

that  he  was  active  in  the  Mexican  war  and  ^^"" 125,236 

that  he  enjoyed  the  sustained  reputation  CLERK  OF  SUPREME  COURT. 

of  being  among  Indiana's  most  eloquent  ^°"^^  132,933    10,120 

orators.    Fudhermore,   a   larger   number  °'^^''^"  ^^2,813 

of  Whigs  than  Democrats  had  found  their  In  the  election  of  members  of  Congress 

way  into  the  newly  organized  Republican  the  Republicans  were  successful  in  seven 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


of  the  eleven  districts.  The  Democrats 
elected  John  Law  in  the  First  district, 
James  A.  Cravens  in  the  Second,  William 
S.  Holman  in  the  Fourth  and  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  in  the  Seventh.  The  Republicans 
clothed  with  congressional  prerogatives 
William  M.  Dunn  in  the  Third  district, 
George  W.  Julian  in  the  Fifth,  Albert  G. 
Porter  in  the  Sixth,  Albert  S.  White  in  the 
Eighth,  Schuyler  Colfax  in  the  Ninth, 
William  Mitchell  in  the  Tenth  and  John 
Peter  Cleaver  Shanks  in  the  Eleventh. 
In  passing  it  may  be  stated  that  of  the 
eleven  gentlemen  chosen  as  representatives 
in  Congress  from  Indiana  in  the  year 
1860,  William  Mitchell,  a  banker  residing 
at  Kendallville,  was  alone  in  being  made 
a  single  termer.  He  was  defeated  for  re- 
election in  1862  by  Joseph  K.  Edgerton 
of  Fort  Wayne. 

INDIANA'S    VOTE    FOR    PRESIDENT. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  vote 
cast  at  the  October  election  for  Governor 
and  other  State  officers  and  the  vote  cast 
at  the  November  election  for  presidential 
electors.  Lincoln  had  two  thousand  more 
than  Lane,  while  Douglas  fell  twelve 
thousand  behind  Hendricks'  vote.  This 
would  seem  to  make  clear  that  the  12,295 
Democrats  who  voted  for  Breckinridge 
had  generously  cast  their  ballots  for  Mr. 
Hendricks.  How  the  Bell  and  Everett 
supporters  distributed  their  favors  at  the 
October  election  the  good  Lord  only  knows. 
This  is  the  vote  for  Presidential  electors: 

Lincoln  and  Hamlin 139,033 

Douglas  and  Johnson 115,509 

Breckinridge  and  Lane 12,295 

Bell  and  Everett 5,306 

The  Presidential  electors  chosen  by  the 
Republicans  and  who  cast  the  vote  of  In- 
diana for  Lincoln  and  H.  Hamlin  were: 

At  Large — William  Cumback  of  Decatur 
and  John  L.  Mansfield  of  Jefferson. 

1.  Cyrus  M.  Allen,  Knox  county. 

2.  John  W.  Ray,  Knox. 

3.  Morton  C.  Hunter,  Monroe. 

4.  John  H.  Farquar,  Franklin. 


5.  Nelson  Trusler,  Fayette. 

6.  Reuben  A.  Riley,  Hancock. 

7.  John  Hanna,  Putnam. 

8.  Samuel  A.  Huff,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  James  N.  Tyner,  Miami. 

10.  Isaac  Jenkinson,  Allen. 

11.  David  O.  Dailey,  Huntington. 

The  Breckinridge  organization  for  In- 
diana consisted  of  an  electoral  ticket  and 
a  State  Central  Committee.  The  nominees 
for  electors  were : 

At  Large — James  Morrison,  Marion, 
and  Delano  R.  Eckles. 

1.  R.  A.  Clements,  Daviess  county. 

2.  Dr.  W.  F.  Sherrod,  Orange. 

3.  Daniel  Sheeks,  Monroe. 

4.  Ethelbert  Hibben,  Rush. 

5.  Samuel   Orr,  Delaware. 

6.  Franklin  Hardin,  Johnson. 

7.  James  A.  Scott,  Putnam. 

8.  Col.  W.  M.  Jenners,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  James  Bradley,  Laporte. 

10.  Robert  Breckinridge,  Jr.,  Allen. 

11.  John  R.  Coffroth,  Huntington. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE 

J.  B.  Gardner,  Levi  Sparks,  Geo.  W. 
Kyle,  Dr.  B.  F.  Mullen,  Alex.  White,  John 
R.  Elder,  James  M.  Tomlinson,  Julius 
Nicolai,  James  Johnson,  James  M.  Oliver, 
Thomas  Wood,  Thomas  D.  Lemon,  G.  F.  R. 
Woodleigh,  Dr.  F.  B.  Thomas. 

Under  the  caption,  "The  Result,"  the 
Indianapolis  Sentinel  of  November  7  com- 
mented thus  apprehensively  on  the  out- 
come of  the  Presidential  election : 

"The  telegraphic  returns  of  the  election 
yesterday  indicate  that  Lincoln  has  been 
chosen  President  by  the  vote  of  the  people. 
It  is  probable  he  will  have  the  entire 
electoral  vote  of  all  the  Northern  States. 
This  is  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
country  that  a  President  has  been  elected 
by  a  sectional  and  geographical  party.  Its 
effect  will  be  to  array  one  section  of  the 
Union  in  antagonism  to  the  other.  The 
issue  has  come  which  the  leading  men  of 
the  South  have  declared  will  be  sufficient 
and  justifiable  cau.se  for  disunion.  A  few 
weeks  will  determine  whether  we  shall  be 
divided  into  separate  confederacies  or 
remain  united  States.  Perhaps  it  is  as 
well  to  try  the  strength  of  the  Union,  of 
the  national   Government,    now    as    any 


HISTORY     INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


other  time.  If  it  survives  this  struggle 
there  will  be  but  little  danger  of  disrup- 
tion in  the  future." 

When  the  Secessionists  left  the  conven- 
tion hall  at  Charleston,  and  later  on  at 
Baltimore,  and  decided  to  nominate  a 
ticket  of  their  own,  they  knew  full  well 
what  they  were  about  and  what  the  effect 
of  their  action  would  be.  They  knew  that 
by  dividing  the  Democratic  party  the 
triumph  of  the  Republicans  would  be 
assured.  Their  hostility  to  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  was  as  flimsy  as  it  was  malignant. 
They  used  their  groundless  animosity  to 
Douglas  as  a  pretext  for  disrupting  the 
Democratic  party,  and  later  on  used  the 
product  of  their  own  connivance,  the  elec- 
tion of  Lincoln,  as  a  pretext  for  disrupting 
the  Union.  In  their  madness  to  perpetu- 
ate slavery  they  worked  the  destruction  of 
that  institution.  It  is  ever  thus:  When 
greed  dethrones  reason,  it  inflicts  upon 
itself  the  greatest  of  all  penalties — 
annihilation. 

DEATH  OF  GOVERNOR  WILLARD. 

There  was  substantial  agreement  among 
capable  judges  of  forensic  eloquence  that 
Governor  Ashbel  P.  Willard  was  the  most 
accomplished,  most  effective  and  most 
persuasive  orator  in  the  State.    As  Gov- 


ernor of  the  commonwealth  he  proved  him- 
self an  administrator  of  discernment  and 
marked  ability.  He  was  an  intense  par- 
tisan, yet  fair-minded  and  just  in  the 
performance  of  duty.  Though  in  the  main 
considered  a  supporter  of  the  Buchanan 
administration,  he  refused  absolutely  to 
become  a  party  to  waging  war  upon  the 
organization  when  it  chose  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  as  the  national  leader.  He  coun- 
seled moderation  and  conciliation.  His 
health  had  been  impaired;  vitality  was 
slowly  but  surely  ebbing  away.  In  the 
hope  of  prolonging  his  tenure  on  earth  he 
went  to  Minnesota.  But  the  trip  had  been 
delayed  too  long  to  produce  the  hoped- 
for  result.  Disease  was  gnawing  at  his 
vitals  and  refused  to  release  its  hold  at 
the  bidding  of  the  bracing  air  of  the 
Northwest.  On  the  4th  of  October,  1860, 
he  was  suddenly  taken  worse,  and  on  the 
evening  of  that  day  he  breathed  his  last. 
Then  and  there  passed  from  the  face  of 
the  earth  one  of  the  brightest  intellects  of 
that  period.  Under  the  constitution  of  the 
State,  Abram  A.  Hammond  became 
acting  Governor,  serving  as  such  until  re- 
lieved in  January,  1861,  by  Henry  S.  Lane, 
who  a  few  days  later  was  succeeded  by 
Oliver  P.  Morton. 


[Chapter  XXVIL] 


AN   INDISSOLUBLE  UNION  OF  INDE- 
STRUCTIBLE STATES 

CHERISHED  AND  INVIOLABLE  HISTORIC   DEMOCRATIC 
DOCTRINE 


HATEVER  personal  views  may 
have  been  entertained  by  men 
affiliated  with  the  Democratic 
party  during  the  tumultuous 
agitation  of  the  slavery  ques- 
tion, there  can  be  no  question 
as  to  the  historic  attitude  of  the 
party  with  reference  to  the  indestructibil- 
ity of  the  American  Union.  In  other 
words,  the  right  of  a  State  to  nullify  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  or  to  secede 
from  the  Union  has  ever  been  stoutly  de- 
nied by  the  illustrious  statesmen  who  have 
been  recognized  and  venerated  as  expound- 
ers of  Democratic  principles.  Within  this 
category  come  such  men  as  Jefferson, 
Madison,  Jackson,  Van  Buren,  Tilden, 
Douglas  and  Cass. 

Unreserved  approval  was  accorded  at 
the  beginning  of  the  struggle  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Federal  Union  to  this  dec- 
laration, formulated  by  Senator  Andrew 
Johnson  of  Tennessee  and  formally 
adopted  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
on  the  24th  day  of  July,  1861 : 

"Resolved,  That  the  present  deplorable 
Civil  War  has  been  forced  upon  the  coun- 
try by  the  disunionists  of  the  Southern 
States  now  in  revolt  against  the  Constitu- 
tional Government  and  in  arms  around  the 
Capitol;  that  in  this  national  emergency 
Congress,  banishing  all  feeling  of  mere 
passion  or  resentment,  will  recollect  only 
its  duty  to  the  whole  country;  that  this 
war  is  not  prosecuted  on  our  part  in  any 
spirit  of  oppression,  nor  for  any  purpose 
of  conquest  or  subjugation,  nor  for  the 
purpose  of  antagonizing  or  interfering 
with  the  rights  of  established  institutions 
of  those  States,  but  to  defend  and  main- 
tain the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution 
and  all  laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof, 
and  to  preserve  the  Union    with    all    the 


dignity,  equality  and  rights  of  the  States 
unimpaired ;  that  as  soon  as  these  objects 
are  accomplished  the  war  ought  to  cease." 
If  any  one  man  may  have  been  consid- 
ered authorized  to  speak  for  his  party  at 
that  critical  period  in  our  country's  history, 
that  man  was  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the 
chosen  leader  and  gallant  standard-bearer 
in  the  memorable  campaign  of  1860.  When 
it  had  become  apparent  that  war  between 
North  and  South  was  inevitable.  Senator 
Douglas  left  Washington  to  deliver  a  series 
of  public  addresses  on  his  way  to  Chicago. 
Accompanied  by  his  charming  wife,  he 
spoke  in  several  of  the  more  important 
cities  along  his  route,  including  Indiana- 
polis. Reaching  his  home  city,  Chicago, 
for  the  upbuilding  of  which  he  had  done  so 
much,  he  was  met  at  the  depot  by  an  im- 
mense assemblage  of  citizens  of  all  parties, 
who  insisted  on  escorting  him  in 
procession  to  the  great  Wigwam  which 
had  already  been  packed  by  an  audi- 
ence of  fully  ten  thousand  eager  hear- 
ers. It  was  there  on  a  beautiful  May  day 
(the  first)  where  the  "Little  Giant"  de- 
livered his  last  speech,  for  soon  after  its 
delivery  he  was  attacked  with  an  acute 
disease  from  which  he  died  on  the  morning 
of  June  4,  1861,  shortly  after  the  comple- 
tion of  his  forty-eighth  year.  His  last 
words  were:  "Tell  Stevie  and  Robbie 
(his  sons)  to  obey  the  laws  and  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

DOUGLAS'    LAST    WORDS    FOR    THE 
UNION. 

"Mr.  Chairman — I  thank  you  for  the 
kind  terms  in  which  you  have  been  pleased 
to  welcome  me.  I  thank  the  committee 
and  citizens  of  Chicago  for  this  grand  and 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  6 


imposing  reception.  I  beg  you  to  believe 
that  I  will  not  do  you  nor  myself  the  in- 
justice to  believe  this  magnificent  ovation 
is  personal  homage  to  myself.  I  rejoice 
to  know  that  it  expresses  your  devotion 
to  the  Constitution,  the  Union,  and  the 
flag  of  our  country.     (Cheers.) 

"I  will  not  conceal  gratification  at  the 
uncontrovertible  test  this  vast  audience 
presents — that  what  political  difi'erences 
or  party  questions  may  have  divided  us, 
yet  you  all  had  a  conviction  that  when  the 
country  should  be  in  danger,  my  loyalty 
could  be  relied  on.  That  the  present  dan- 
ger is  imminent,  no  man  can  conceal.  If 
war  must  come — if  the  bayonet  must  be 
used  to  maintain  the  Constitution — I  can 
say  before  God  my  conscience  is  clean.  I 
have  struggled  long  for  a  peaceful  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulty.  I  have  not  only 
tendered  those  States  what  was  theirs  of 
right,  but  I  have  gone  to  the  very  extreme 
of  magnanimity. 

"The  return  we  receive  is  war,  armies 
marched  upon  our  capital,  obstructions 
and  dangers  to  our  navigation,  letters  of 
marque  to  invite  pirates  to  prey  upon  our 
commerce,  a  concerted  movement  to  blot 
out  the  United  States  of  America  from  the 
map  of  the  globe.  The  question  is.  Are 
we  to  maintain  the  country  of  our  fathers, 
or  allow  it  to  be  stricken  down  by  those 
who,  when  they  can  no  longer  govern, 
threaten  to  destroy? 

"What  cause,  what  excuse  do  disunion- 
ists  give  us  for  breaking  up  the  best  Gov- 
ernment on  which  the  sun  of  heaven  ever 
shed  its  rays?  They  are  dissatisfied  with 
the  result  of  a  Presidential  election.  Did 
they  never  get  beaten  before?  Are  we  to 
resort  to  the  sword  when  we  get  defeated 
at  the  ballot-box?  I  understand  it  that  the 
voice  of  the  people  expressed  in  the  mode 
appointed  by  the  Constitution  must  com- 
mand the  obedience  of  every  citizen.  They 
assume,  on  the  election  of  a  particular 
candidate,  that  their  rights  are  not  safe  in 
the  Union.  What  evidence  do  they  present 
of  this?  I  defy  any  man  to  show  any  act 
on  which  it  is  based.  What  act  has  been 
omitted  to  be  done?  I  appeal  to  these  as- 
sembled thousands  that  so  far  as  the 
constitutional  rights  of  the  Southern 
States — I  will  say  the  constitutional  rights 
of  slaveholders — are  concerned,  nothing 
has  been  done,  and  nothing  omitted,  of 
which  they  can  complain. 

"There  has  never  been  a  time  from  the 


day  that  Washington  was  inaugurated 
first  President  of  these  United  States, 
when  the  rights  of  the  Southern  States 
stood  firmer  under  the  laws  of  the  land 
than  they  do  now ;  there  never  was  a  time 
when  they  had  not  as  good  a  cause  for 
disunion  as  they  have  today.  What  good 
cause  have  they  now  that  has  not  existed 
under  every  administration? 

"If  they  say  the  Territorial  question — 
now,  for  the  first  time,  there  is  no  act  of 
Congress  prohibiting  slavery  anywhere. 
If  it  be  the  non-enforcement  of  the  laws, 
the  only  complaints  that  I  have  heard  have 
been  of  the  too  vigorous  and  faithful  ful- 
filment of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Then 
what  reason  have  they? 

"The  slavery  question  is  a  mere  excuse. 
The  election  of  Lincoln  is  a  mere  pretext. 
The  present  secession  movement  is  the  re- 
sult of  an  enormous  conspiracy  formed 
more  than  a  year  since,  formed  by  leaders 
in  the  Southern  Confederacy  more  than 
twelve  months  ago. 

"They  use  the  slavery  question  as  a 
means  to  aid  the  accomplishment  of  their 
ends.  They  desired  the  election  of  a 
Northern  candidate,  by  a  sectional  vote,  in 
order  to  show  that  the  two  sections  cannot 
live  together.  When  the  history  of  the  two 
years  from  the  Lecompton  charter  down 
to  the  Presidential  election  shall  be  writ- 
ten, it  will  be  shown  that  the  scheme  was 
deliberately  made  to  break  up  this  Union. 

"They  desired  a  Northern  Republican  to 
be  elected  by  a  purely  Northern  vote,  and 
then  assign  this  fact  as  a  reason  why  the 
sections  may  not  longer  live  together.  If 
the  disunion  candidate  in  the  late  Presi- 
dential contest  had  carried  the  united 
South,  their  scheme  was,  the  Northern 
candidate  successful,  to  seize  the  Capitol 
last  spring,  and  by  a  united  South  and 
divided  North,  hold  it.  That  scheme  was 
defeated  in  the  defeat  of  the  disunion  can- 
didate in  several  of  the  Southern  States. 

"But  this  is  no  time  for  a  detail  of 
causes.  The  conspiracy  is  now  known. 
Armies  have  been  raised,  war  is  levied  to 
accomplish  it.  There  are  only  two  sides  to 
the  question.  Every  man  must  be  for  the 
United  States  or  against  it.  There  can  be 
no  neutrals  in  this  war;  only  patriots — or 
traitors. 

"Thank  God,  Illinois  is  not  divided  on 
this  question.  (Cheers.)  I  know  they  ex- 
pected to  present  a  united  South  against  a 
divided  North.    They  hoped,  in  the  North- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


em  States,  party  questions  would  bring 
civil  war  between  Democrats  and  Repub- 
licans, when  the  South  would  step  in  with 
her  cohorts,  aid  one  party  to  conquer  the 
other,  and  then  make  easy  prey  of  the  vic- 
tors. Their  scheme  was  carnage  and  civil 
war  in  the  North. 

"There  is  but  one  way  to  defeat  this.  In 
Illinois  it  is  being  so  defeated  by  closing 
up  the  ranks.  War  will  thus  be  prevented 
on  our  own  soil.  While  there  was  a  hope 
of  peace,  I  was  ready  for  any  reasonable 
sacrifice  or  compromise  to  maintain  it. 
But  when  the  question  comes  of  war  in  the 
cotton  fields  of  the  South  or  the  corn  fields 
of  Illinois,  I  say  the  farther  off  the  better. 

"We  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  the  sad  and 
solemn  fact  that  war  does  exist.  The  Gov- 
ernment must  be  maintained,  its  enemies 
overthrown,  and  the  more  stupendous  our 
preparations  the  less  the  bloodshed,  and 
the  shorter  the  struggle.  But  we  must  re- 
member certain  restraints  on  our  actions 
even  in  time  of  war.  We  are  a  Christian 
people,  and  the  war  must  be  prosecuted  in 
a  manner  recognized  by  Christian  nations. 

"We  must  not  invade  Constitutional 
rights.  The  innocent  must  not  suffer,  nor 
women  and  children  be  the  victims.  Sav- 
ages must  not  be  let  loose.  But  while  I 
sanction  no  war  on  the  rights  of  others,  I 
will  implore  my  countrymen  not  to  lay 
down  their  arms  until  our  own  rights  are 
recognized.     (Cheers.) 

"The  Constitution  and  its  guarantees 
are  our  birthright,  and  I  am  ready  to  en- 
force that  inalienable  right  to  the  last  ex- 
tent. We  cannot  recognize  secession. 
Recognize  it  once  and  you  have  not  only 
dissolved  government,  but  you  have  de- 
stroyed social  order,  upturned  the  founda- 
tions of  society.  You  have  inaugurated 
anarchy  in  its  worst  form,  and  will  shortly 
experience  all  the  horrors  of  the  French 
Revolution. 

"Then  we  have  a  solemn  duty — to  main- 
tain the  Government.  The  greater  our 
unanimity  the  speedier  the  day  of  peace. 
We  have  prejudices  to  overcome  from  the 
few  short  months  since  of  a  fierce  party 
contest.  Yet  these  must  be  allayed.  Let 
us  lay  aside  all  criminations  and  recrimina- 
tions as  to  the  origin  of  these  difficulties. 
When  we  shall  have  again  a  country  with 
the  United  States  flag  floating  over  it,  and 
respected  on  every  inch  of  American  soil, 
it  will  then  be  time  enough  to  ask  who  and 
what  brought  all  this  upon  us. 


"I  have  said  more  than  I  intended  to  say. 
(Cries  of  'Go  on.')  It  is  a  sad  task  to  dis- 
cuss questions  so  fearful  as  civil  war;  but 
sad  as  it  is,  bloody  and  disastrous  as  I 
expect  it  will  be,  I  express  it  as  my  convic- 
tion before  God  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
American  citizen  to  rally  round  the  flag  of 
his  country. 

"I  thank  you  again  for  this  magnificent 
demonstration.  By  it  you  show  you  have 
laid  aside  party  strife.  Illinois  has  a  proud 
position — united,  firm,  determined  never 
to  permit  the  Government  to  be  destroyed." 
(Prolonged  cheering.) 

DEMOCRATS  CARRY  THE  STATE  IN 

1862. 
EARLY  IN  THE  YEAR  THE  OUTLOOK  WAS  FAR 
FROM  ENCOURAGING. 
When  the  Democrats  met  in  State  Con- 
vention at  Indianapolis,  January  8,  there 
were  but  few  among  the  most  sagacious 
delegates  who  believed  it  to  be  possible  to 
carry  the  State  at  the  October  election. 
Two  days  were  devoted  to  transacting  the 
business  for  which  the  convention  had 
been  called.  The  first  day's  session  was 
chiefly  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  a  mo- 
tion offered  by  ex-Congressman  Wm.  H. 
English  that  an  adjournment  be  taken 
until  July  4,  which  motion  was  warmly 
seconded  by  Cyrus  L.  Dunham.  The  prop- 
osition was  vigorously  opposed  and  was 
voted  down.  This  was  followed  by  a 
wrangle  over  the  election  of  a  permanent 
chairman.  Joseph  W.  Chapman  had  been 
chosen  temporary  chairman.  Grafton  F. 
Cookerly  of  Terre  Haute  proposed 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  for  the  permanent 
chairmanship.  Congressman  John  G. 
Davis  of  Parke  and  Robert  D.  Walpole 
of  Indianapolis  were  also  put  in  nomina- 
tion. Walpole's  name  was  withdrawn, 
whereupon  Joseph  E.  McDonald  in  a  verj^ 
tactful  speech  moved  that  Mr.  Hendricks 
be  chosen  by  acclamation  to  preside  over 
the  convention.  This  motion  prevailed. 
Upon  taking  the  chair  Mr.  Hendricks  de- 
livered an  unusually  lengthy  address. 
Among  other  points  made  by  him  were 
these : 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


"The  civil  war  is  upon  us.  For  its  exist- 
ence the  Democratic  party  is  not  responsi- 
ble. For  many  years  we  have  admonished 
those  who  favored  a  sectional  party  of  its 
danger — in  the  sentiment  of  Washington's 
farewell  address  that  the  greatest  danger 
to  our  country  was  the  formation  of  geo- 
graphical parties  —  we  have  advocated 
'those  doctrines  which  we  believed  fair 
and  equal  to  all  sections;  a  change  could 
have  been  adopted  without  wounding  the 
pride  or  stimulating  the  arrogance  of 
either.'  Our  appeals  were  disregarded. 
Sectional  pride,  prejudice  and  hatred  in 
one  section  produced  the  same  sentiments 
in  the  other,  and  of  this  sectional  strife 
was  begotten  our  present  troubles.  The 
war  is  upon  us — 'wickedly  provoked  on  the 
one  side,  and  in  folly  and  sin  and  without 
sufficient  cause  commenced  on  the  other.' 
With  secession  upon  the  one  hand  and  sec- 
tional interference  with  Southern  rights 
upon  the  other,  we  hold  no  sympathy.  Our 
most  earnest  desire  is  for  the  restoration 
of  the  Union  upon  the  basis  of  the  Consti- 
tution, and  for  myself  I  will  give  an  honest 
support  to  all  Constitutional  and  proper 
measures  adopted  by  the  administration  to 
that  end;  and  I  will  as  earnestly  oppose 
all  acts  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  and 
in  suppression  of  liberty  because  of  my 
veneration  for  that  solemn  compact  of  our 
fathers,  and  because  such  policy  renders 
the  Union  impossible;  by  obliterating  the 
Union  sentiment  of  the  South  and  giving 
aid  and  comfort  to  its  enemies." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Hendricks'  ad- 
dress Joseph  J.  Bingham  was  made  per- 
manent secretary,  with  R.  S.  Hastings  of 
Lafayette  as  assistant. 

Mr.  Cookerly  moved  that  each  Congres- 
sional district  name  a  vice-president  of 
the  convention.  Judge  Pettit  opposed  this 
motion,  saying  that  there  was  no  neces- 
sity for  naming  vice-presidents.  Mr. 
Cookerly  replied  that  the  custom  of  thus 
selecting  vice-presidents  had  prevailed 
for  years,  and  he  knew  of  no  good  reason 
why  this  time-honored  practice  should 
not  be  continued.  The  convention,  how- 
ever, coincided  in  the  view  of  Judge  Pettit 
and  defeated  the  motion  for  the  selection 
of  vice-presidents. 


MEMBERS   OF   STATE    CENTRAL   COMMIT- 
TEE NAMED. 

1.  James  D.  Williams,  Knox  county. 

2.  Michael  C.  Kerr,  Floyd. 

3.  M.  W.  Shields,  Jackson. 

4.  George  Hibben,  Rush. 

5.  Edmund  Johnson,  Henry. 

6.  J.  J.  Bingham,  George  McQuat,  Marion. 

7.  Thomas  Dowling,  Vigo. 

8.  R.  S.  Hastings,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  J.  A.  Taylor,  Cass. 

10.  S.  W.  Sprott,  Dekalb. 

11.  J.  R.  Coffroth,  Huntington. 

THE  PLATFORM. 

Seventeen  planks  were  put  into  the  plat- 
form, as  agreed  upon  by  the  committee 
on  resolutions.  The  platform  in  its  en- 
tirety was  objectionable  to  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  Democrats,  chief  among  whom  were 
Gov.  Joseph  A.  Wright,  Wm.  H.  English, 
Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  James  Hughes,  Henry 
Seebirt,  Judge  David  S.  Gooding,  Col.  W. 
A.  Bickle,  Judge  A.  C.  Downey,  Gen.  Ebe- 
nezer  Dumont,  Gen.  Lew  Wallace,  Col. 
John  T.  Wilder,  Charles  W.  Cathcart, 
Robert  Dale  Owen,  Gen.  Alvin  P.  Hovey, 
James  M.  Gregg,  Col.  Norman  Eddy,  An- 
drew Jackson  and  J.  B.  Fulwiler.  The  main 
points  of  the  platform  are  set  forth  in  the 
planks  herewith  reproduced : 

"That  we  are  unalterably  attached  to 
the  Constitution,  by  which  the  Union  of 
these  States  was  formed  and  established, 
and  that  a  faithful  observance  of  its  prin- 
ciples can  alone  continue  the  existence  of 
the  Union,  and  the  permanent  happiness 
of  the  people. 

"That  the  present  civil  war  has  mainly 
resulted  from  the  long  continued,  unwise 
and  fanatical  agitation  in  the  North  of  the 
question  of  domestic  slavery,  the  conse- 
quent organization  of  a  geographical  party, 
guided  by  the  sectional  platforms  adopted 
at  Buffalo,  Pittsburgh,  Philadelphia  and 
Chicago,  and  the  development  thereby  of 
sectional  hate  and  jealousy,  producing  (as 
has  long  been  foreseen  and  predicted  by 
us)  its  counterpart  in  the  South  of  seces- 
sion, disunion  and  armed  resistance  to  the 
General  Government,  and  terminating  in 
a  bloody  strife  between  those  who  should 
have  been  forever  bound  together  by  fra- 
ternal bonds,  thus  bringing  upon  the  whole 


(200) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


country  a  calamity  which  we  are  now  to 
meet  as  loyal  citizens,  striving  for  the 
adoption  of  that  mode  of  settlement  best 
calculated  to  again  restore  union  and 
harmony. 

"That  in  rejecting  all  propositions  likely 
to  result  in  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of 
the  matters  in  dispute  between  the  North 
and  the  South,  and  especially  those  meas- 
ures which  would  have  secured  the  border 
slave  States  to  the  Union,  and  a  hearty  co- 
operation on  their  part  in  all  constitutional 
and  legal  measures  to  procure  a  return  of 
the  more  Southern  States  to  their  al- 
legiance, the  Republican  party  assumed  a 
fearful  responsibility  and  acted  in  total 
disregard  of  the  best  interests  of  the  whole 
country. 

"That  if  the  party  in  power  had  shown 
the  same  desii'e  to  settle,  by  amicable  ad- 
justment, our  internal  dissensions  before 
hostilities  had  actually  commenced,  that 
the  administration  has  recently  exhibited 
to  avoid  war  with  our  ancient  enemy,  Great 
Britain,  we  confidently  believe  that  peace 
and  harmony  would  now  reign  throughout 
all  our  borders. 

"That  the  maintenance  of  the  Union 
upon  the  principles  of  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution should  be  the  controlling  object  of 
all  who  profess  loyalty  to  the  Government, 
and  in  our  judgment  this  purpose  can  only 
be  accompiished  by  the  ascendancy  of  a 
Union  party  in  the  Southern  States,  which 
shall,  by  a  counter  revolution,  displace 
those  who  control  and  direct  the  present 
rebellion.  That  no  effort  to  create  or  sus- 
tain such  a  party  can  be  successful  which 
is  not  based  upon  a  definite  settlement  of 
the  question  at  issue  between  the  two  sec- 
tions ;  and  we  therefore  demand  that  some 
such  settlement  be  made  by  additional  con- 
stitutional guarantee,  either  initiated  by 
act  of  Congress  or  through  the  medium  of 
a  National  convention. 

"That  the  Republican  party  has  fully 
demonstrated  its  inability  to  conduct  the 
Government  through  its  present  difficul- 
ties. 

"That  we  are  utterly  opposed  to  the  twin 
heresies.  Northern  sectionalism  and  South- 
ern secession,  as  inimical  to  the  Constitu- 
tion; and  that  freemen,  as  they  value  the 
boon  of  civil  liberty  and  the  peace  of  the 
country,  should  frown  indignantly  upon 
them. 

"That  in  this  national  emergency  the 
Democracy  of  Indiana,  banishing  all  feeling 


of  passion  and  resentment,  will  recollect 
only  their  duty  to  the  whole  country ;  that 
this  war  should  not  be  waged  in  the  spirit 
of  conquest  or  subjugation,  nor  for  the 
purpose  of  overthrowing  or  interfering 
with  the  rights  or  institutions  of  the 
States,  but  to  defend  and  maintain  the 
supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  and  to  pre- 
serve the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equal- 
ity and  rights  of  the  several  States  unim- 
paired, and  that  as  soon  as  these  objects 
are  accomplished  the  war  ought  to  cease. 

"That  we  will  sustain,  with  all  our  ener- 
gies, a  war  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and  of  the  integrity  of  the  Union 
under  the  Constitution ;  but  we  are  opposed 
to  a  war  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
negroes  or  the  subjugation  of  the  Southei-n 
States. 

"That  the  purposes  avowed  and  advo- 
cated by  the  Northern  disunionists,  to  lib- 
erate and  arm  the  negro  slaves,  is  uncon- 
stitutional, insulting  to  loyal  citizens,  a  dis- 
grace to  the  age,  is  calculated  to  retard  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellion  and  meets  our 
unqualified  condemnation. 

"That  the  disclosures  made  by  the  in- 
vestigating committee  in  Congress  of  the 
enormous  frauds  that  have  stalked  into  the 
army  and  navy  departments,  implicating 
the  heads  of  those  departments  in  a  con- 
nivance at,  if  not  an  actual  participation 
in,  a  system  of  corruption,  and  in  which 
our  brave  soldiers  have  been  defrauded  of 
their  proper  supplies,  and  our  Government 
threatened  with  bankruptcy,  demands  a 
thorough  investigation  into  all  our  expendi- 
tures, both  State  and  National,  and  that 
a  speedy  and  marked  example  be  made  of 
all  such  'birds  of  prey,'  who,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  necessities  of  our  country, 
have  fed  and  fattened  upon  public  plunder. 

"That  the  meritorious  conduct  of  the 
Indiana  troops,  in  every  battlefield  where 
the  victory  has  perched  upon  the  national 
banner,  has  filled  the  people  of  this  State 
with  the  highest  gratitude  to  her  gallant 
sons,  and  that  we  send  our  best  wishes  to 
officers  and  men,  dispersed  throughout  the 
country,  and  the  heartfelt  greetings  gf 
every  Democrat  for  their  further  brilliant 
achievements  in  the  coming  contests  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  Union." 

THE  TICKET  AGREED  UPON. 
There    was    considerable    doubt    about 
Oscar  B.  Hord's  willingness  to  again  make 


(201) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-  1 


the  race  for  Attorney-General.  But  he 
graciously  yielded  to  the  pressure  brought 
upon  him  to  accept.  The  ticket  finally 
agreed  upon  consisted  of  these  widely- 
known  gentlemen:  Dr.  J.  S.  Athon  for 
Secretary  of  State,  Joseph  Ristine  for 
Auditor,  Matthew  L.  Brett  for  Treasurer, 
Oscar  B.  Hord  for  Attorney-General, 
Samuel  L.  Rugg  for  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction,  and  Michael  C.  Kerr  for 
Reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

MASS  CONVENTION  IN  JULY. 

The  dissatisfaction  over  some  of  the 
planks  in  the  platform  adopted  at  the 
January  convention  seems  to  have  been 
sufficiently  pronounced  to  have  made  it 
clear  that  the  calling  of  another  conven- 
tion had  become  expedient,  if  not  abso- 
lutely necessary.  This  was  done.  A  mass 
convention  was  provided  for.  July  30 
was  the  date  fixed  therefor.  The  State- 
house  grove  was  chosen  as  the  place  for 
holding  the  meeting.  Democrats  came 
from  all  over  the  State,  on  foot,  by  trains, 
wagons  and  carriages.  It  was  estimated 
that  from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  were 
present.  Col.  Thomas  Dowling  of  Terre 
Haute  called  the  convention  to  order  and 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent by  acclamation.  In  part  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks said: 

"We  are  surrounded  by  troubles.  Our 
society  is  in  an  excited  condition;  and  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  man ;  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  good  citizen ;  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
good  patriot,  to  maintain  the  public  peace: 
and,  as  the  presiding  officer  of  this  meet- 
ing, I  make  my  appeal  to  every  man  that 
he  consider  himself  a  committee  to  main- 
tain good  order  on  this  occasion.  Gentle- 
men, no  man  is  a  good  Democrat  unless  he 
is  a  good  citizen  and  a  patriot.  If  that  be 
true,  every  Democrat,  from  his  heart,  will 
endeavor  to  preserve  the  utmost  good  order 
on  this  occasion." 

Joseph  J.  Bingham,  editor  of  the  Senti- 
nel, was  designated  to  serve  as  secretary. 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED. 

Chairman  Hendricks  was  authorized  to 
name  as  members  of  the  committee  on 
resolutions  eleven  representative  Demo- 
crats, one  from  each  Congressional  dis- 
trict. This  committee  was  composed  of 
these  distinguished  representative  Dem- 
ocrats: James  D.  Williams,  John  B. 
Winstanley,  Samuel  H.  Buskirk,  Major 
Anderigg,  Lafe  Develin,  Judge  S.  E.  Per- 
kins, Judge  Wm.  M.  Franklin,  E.  F.  Lucas, 
P.  M.  Kent,  Samuel  W.  Sprott  and  John 
R.  Coffroth. 

The  committee's  report  appears  to  have 
met  with  general  approval.  It  contained 
these  declarations,  which  were  enthusiast- 
ically adopted  by  unanimous  vote: 

"1.  That  we  adhere  to  the  time-honored 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
we  believe  that  the  only  hope  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Union  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Constitution  is  in  the 
restoration  of  that  truly  conservative 
party  in  power. 

"2.  That  this  convention  endorse  as 
worthy  of  all  confidence  the  persons  nom- 
inated by  the  delegate  convention  which 
assembled  at  Indianapolis  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1862,  and  that  we  recommend 
them  to  the  people  as  honest,  capable  and 
faithful  to  the  Constitution. 

"3.  That  the  Constitution,  the  American 
Union  and  the  laws  made  under  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  Constitution  must  be  pre- 
served and  maintained  in  their  power  and 
rightful  supremacy — that  the  rebellion 
now  in  arms  against  them  must  be  sup- 
pressed and  put  down,  and  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  all  good  citizens  to  aid  the  General 
Government  in  all  measures  necessary  and 
proper  to  that  end. 

"4.  That  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  with 
patriots  everywhere  have  made  and  will 
continue  to  make  every  sacrifice  to  the  end 
that  the  rebellion  may  be  suppressed  and 
the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  main- 
tained and  the  Union  under  it  preserved, 
but  they  are  unalterably  opposed  to  a  war 
of  conquest  or  subjugation,  and  they  will 
never  consent  that  the  war  on  their  part 
shall  be  waged  for  the  purpose  of  interfer- 
ing with  the  rights  or  overthrowing  the 
established  institutions  of  any  of  the 
States.    In  the  language  of  Senator  Doug- 


(202  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DF:M0CRACY  —  1816-191G 


las,  uttered  at  Chicago  a  few  days  before 
his  death,  'We  must  not  invade  constitu- 
tional rights.  The  innocent  must  not  suf- 
fer nor  women  and  children  be  victims. 
Savages  must  not  be  let  loose.'  " 

The  speakers  for  this  great  outpouring 
of  Indiana  Democrats  were  C.  A.  Wickliffe 
of  Kentucky,  John  S.  Carlisle  of  Virginia, 
and  Senator  Wm.  A.  Richardson  of  Illi- 
nois, who  was  Stephen  A.  Douglas'  trusted 
manager  in  the  Charleston  and  Baltimore 
conventions  and  who,  by  reason  of  these 
intimate  relations  and  his  sterling  worth 
and  conceded  ability,  became  the  "Little 
Giant's"  immediate  successor  in  the  Sen- 
ate of  the  United  States. 

RINGING  ADDRESS  BY  THE  STATE 
CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

The  foregoing  resolutions  placed  the 
party  in  much  better  position  and  in  a 
far  more  favorable  light  than  it  had  been 
up  to  that  period.  At  the  same  time  there 
was  issued  by  authority  of  the  State 
Central  Committee  an  address  so  judi- 
ciously and  patriotically  worded  as  to  have 
produced  a  marked  change  in  public  sen- 
timent. The  demonstration  of  July  30 
and  the  spirited  address  promulgated  by 
Chairman  McQuat  made  it  possible  for 
the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  to  appeal 
with  confidence  to  the  suffrages  of  the 
people.  The  way  was  thus  paved  for  vic- 
tory. The  mistakes  of  January  were  cor- 
i-ected  by  the  mighty  voice  of  a  patriot- 
ically aroused  Democracy.  This  vigorously 
written  document  is  well  worth  studious 
perusal,  even  though  more  than  a  half 
century  has  passed  since  it  was  fir.st  given 
publicity : 
"To  the  People  of  Indiana  on  the  Crisis  of 

the  Country: 

"We  address  you  in  the  midst  of  a  crisis 
imminent  with  peril  to  the  institutions  of 
our  beloved  country.  In  doing  so,  we  cle- 
sire  to  discard  all  party  feelings,  and  ap- 
peal only  to  the  patriotic  impulses  of  our 
countrymen.  The  Nation  has  had  enough 
of  party  platforms  and  party  measures  to 
ruin  and  destroy  even  a  stronger  Govern- 


ment than  this,  founded,  as  we  have  been 
taught  to  believe  it  was,  on  the  affections 
and  consent  of  the  people.  Let  us  discard 
the  platforms  of  party,  and  party  itself, 
except  so  far  as  they  are  consistent  with 
the  preservation  of  the  Union  and  the 
Constitution  which  makes  us  a  Nation.  If 
there  be  a  sentiment  in  the  creed  of  the 
Democratic  organization,  enunciated  now 
or  heretofore,  which  makes  against  the 
restoration  of  the  UNION  AS  IT  WAS,  and 
the  return  of  peace,  we  lay  that  sentiment 
and  creed  upon  the  altar  of  our  beloved 
country  and  abandon  it  forever.  There  is 
no  party  platform,  whether  made  at  Balti- 
more or  Chicago,  'which  is  a  law  with  us,' 
and  we  deem  no  man,  no  Congress,  no 
executive,  a  safe  counselor  who  adhei-es  to 
the  single  idea  of  a  party  in  perilous  times 
like  these.  We  give  all  such  consideration 
to  the  winds  and  regard  them  with  ab- 
horrence. They  shall  have  no  place  in  our 
affections,  and  no  sympathy  in  our  hearts. 
Acting  upon  these  convictions,  we  repudi- 
ate for  ourselves  and  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  of  Indiana  all  and  every  party  feel- 
ing, prejudice  or  opinion  which  shall  come 
in  conflict  with  the  putting  down  of  this 
rebellion,  the  return  of  peace  and  the  com- 
plete restoration  of  the  American  Union 
in  all  its  purity  and  vigor. 

"Sixty-six  years  ago,  Washington,  in  his 
farewell  address,  gave  to  his  countrymen 
this  advice  and  solemn  warning:  'In  con- 
templating the  causes  which  may  distract 
our  Union,  it  occurs,  as  a  matter  of  serious 
concern,  that  any  ground  should  have  been 
furnished  for  characterizing  parties  by 
geographical  discriminations — Northern 
and  Southern,  Atlantic  and  Western — 
whence  designing  men  may  endeavor  to 
excite  a  belief  that  there  is  a  real  difference 
of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the 
expedients  of  party  to  acquire  influence 
within  particular  districts  is  to  misrepre- 
sent the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  dis- 
tricts. You  cannot  shield  yourselves  too 
much  against  the  jealousies  and  heart- 
burnings which  spring  from  these  misrep- 
resentations. They  tend  to  render  alien  to 
each  other  those  who  ought  to  be  bound 
together  by  fraternal  affection.' 

"Need  we  say  to  the  people  of  Indiana 
that  the  unwise  disregard  of  this  advice 
has  been  the  immediate  cause  of  the  pres- 
ent deplorable  civil  war?  The  far-seeing 
wisdom  of  'the  Father  of  his  Country'  was 
never  more  vindicated  than  in  that  portion 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


of  his  matchless  address  to  his  country- 
men. He  foresaw  that  the  restless  spirit 
of  faction  and  the  disturbing  elements  of 
sectional  strife  would  be  used  to  plant  dis- 
cord between  the  people  of  various  States. 
Though  that  sainted  patriot  did  not  live 
to  witness  the  wild  fanaticism  of  his  coun- 
trymen, his  immediate  successors  in  the 
Presidential  chair  were  not  so  happy.  The 
initiation  of  active  agitation  on  the  slavery 
question  began  as  early  as  1812,  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  was  continued  or  revived  in  1819 
on  the  admission  of  Missouri,  and  from 
that  period,  with  slight  intermissions,  it 
has  been  more  or  less  thrust  before  the 
country,  in  some  shape,  befitting  the  views 
of  the  factions  which  grasped  at  it  for  their 
advancement  to  power.  We  have  seen  its 
effects  in  its  dark  progress  to  its  present 
perilous  heights.  We  have  no  desire  to 
trace  the  slimy  track  of  this  agitation,  and 
are  content  to  remind  our  fellow-citizens 
that  prudent  men  have  been  always  dis- 
posed to  leave  the  question  of  slavery 
where  the  Constitution  left  it — in  the 
hands  and  in  the  keeping  of  those  States 
(old  or  new)  which  admitted  it  as  a  part 
of  their  domestic  policy.  We  assert  no 
right  over  it.  Having  rejected  slavery  for 
Indiana  as  a  matter  of  choice,  her  people 
claim  no  power  to  force  it  in  or  out  of  her 
sister  States,  leaving  them  to  be  the  judge 
of  what  befits  their  local  condition.  This 
has  been  the  doctrine  of  the  Democratic 
party — it  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Whig 
party.  It  was  the  declared  principle  of 
Clay,  Cass,  Webster,  Jackson,  and  that 
host  of  wise  and  conservative  statesmen 
which  reflected  dignity  and  honor  upon 
the  American  name.  To  stand  by  the  doc- 
trines of  Washington  and  his  successors, 
we  must  be  consistently  Union  men  and 
avoid  those  snares  of  party  and  those  de- 
vices of  sectional  agitation  which  render 
us  'alien  to  each  other,'  and  thus  destroy 
the  goveriim.ent  whiph  makes  us  one  peo- 
ple. We  can  use  no  better  and  more  forci- 
ble language  than  that  employed  by  the 
seventh  President  of  the  United  States, 
when  about  leaving  the  cares  of  State,  in  a 
farewell  address  to  his  countrymen.  It 
declares  the  whole  duty  of  a  true  Ameri- 
can citizen.  General  Andrew  Jackson,  in 
that  address,  in  speaking  of  this  slavery 
agitation  and  its  effect  upon  the  United 
States,  declared: 


But  the  Constitution  cannot  be  maintained,  nor 
the  Union  preserved,  in  opposition  to  public  feel- 
ing, by  the  mere  exertion  of  coercive  powers  con- 
fided to  the  general  Government.  The  founda- 
tion must  be  laid  in  the  affections  of  the  people, 
in  the  security  which  it  gives  to  life,  liberty  and 
property  in  every  quarter  of  the  country,  and  in 
the  fraternal  attachments  which  the  citizens  of 
the  several  States  bear  to  one  another  as  members 
of  one  political  family,  mutually  contributing  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  each  other.  Hence  the 
citizens  of  each  State  should  studiously  avoid 
everything  calculated  to  wound  the  sensibility  or 
offend  the  just  pride  of  the  people  of  other  States; 
and  they  should  frown  upon  any  proceedings 
within  their  own  borders  likely  to  disturb  the  tran- 
quillity of  their  political  brethren  in  other  por- 
tions of  the  Union.  In  a  country  so  extensive  as 
the  United  States,  and  in  pursuits  so  varied,  the 
internal  regulations  of  the  several  States  must 
frequently  differ  from  one  another  in  important 
particulars;  and  this  difference  is  unavoidably  in- 
creased by  the  principles  upon  which  the  American 
Colonies  were  originally  planted — principles  which 
had  taken  deep  root  in  their  social  relations  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  and  therefore,  of  necessity, 
influencing  their  policy  since  they  became  free 
and  independent  States.  But  each  State  has  the 
unquestionable  right  to  regulate  its  own  internal 
concerns  according  to  its  own  pleasure;  and  while 
it  does  not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  the  people 
of  other  States,  or  the  rights  of  the  Union,  every 
State  must  be  the  sole  judge  of  the  measures 
proper  to  secure  the  safety  of  its  citizens  and 
promote  their  happiness:  and  in  all  efforts  on  the 
part  of  other  people  of  other  States  to  cast  odium 
upon  their  institutions,  and  on  all  measures  cal- 
culated to  disturb  their  rights  of  property,  or  to 
put  in  jeopardy  their  peace  and  internal  tran- 
quillity, are  in  direct  opposition  to  the  spirit  in 
which  the  Union  was  formed,  and  must  endanger 
its  safety.  Motives  of  philanthropy  may  be 
assigned  for  this  unwarrantable  interference,  and 
weak  men  may  persuade  themselves  for  a  moment 
that  they  are  laboring  in  the  cause  of  humanity 
and  asserting  the  rights  of  the  human  race;  but 
every  one,  upon  sober  reflection,  will  see  that 
nothing  but  mischief  can  come  from  these  im- 
proper assaults  upon  the  feelings  and  rights  of 
others.  Rest  assured  that  men  found  busy  in 
this  v}ork  of  discord  are  not  worthy  of  your  con- 
fidence and  deserve  your  strongest  reprobation. 

"This  was  the  language  of  a  man  who 
loved  his  country  as  he  did  his  own  life, 
and  who  periled  that  life  for  the  glory  and 
safety  of  his  native  land.  They  were  spok- 
en while  he  filled  the  most  exalted  office  in 
the  gift  of  his  countrymen,  and  just  before 
the  term  for  which  he  had  been  elected  ex- 
pired. These  words  come  to  us  as  from 
the  grave.  Their  author  reposes,  or  all 
that  was  mortal  of  him,  at  the  Hermitage, 
in  "Tennessee,  and  if  the  spirits  of  the  gal- 
lant dead  are  permitted  to  look  down  upon 
the  affairs  of  earth,  he  is  today  contem- 
plating the  ruin  and  desolation  which  the 
enemies  of  our  institutions  have  brought 
upon  his  beloved  country.     We  adopt  his 


(204) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  6 


language  and  re-echo  his  warning  to  those 
who  love  the  Union  and  would  save  it  for 
their  children.  We  declare  before  heaven 
and  in  the  hearing  of  men  that  our  match- 
less Constitution  and  our  beloved  Union 
(in  spite  of  Secessionists,  Abolitionists  and 
other  powers  of  evil)  must  and  shall  be  pre- 
served." GEO.  McQUAT,  Chairman. 

SWEPT  THE  STATE. 

As  the  foregoing  document  was  being 
read  and  studied,  chances  to  carry  the 
State  constantly  improved.  When  the  re- 
sult of  the  October  election  became  known 
it  was  found  that  the  Democrats  had  elect- 
ed their  entire  State  ticket  by  more  than 
9,000  majority,  had  carried  seven  of  the 
eleven  Congressional  districts,  and  se- 
cured the  election  of  a  Democratic  Leg- 
islature which  the  following  January 
chose  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  United  States 
Senator  for  the  long  (six  year)  term  and 
David  Turpie  for  the  short  term,  the  latter 
expiring  March  3,  1863.  Both  selections 
were  made  with  the  hearty  approval  of 
the  Indiana  Democracy. 

Indiana  was  by  no  means  the  only  State 
in  which  was  experienced  a  political  up- 
heaval. Popular  discontent  over  the  slow 
progress  made  in  subduing  the  rebellion 
had  become  so  pronounced  that  an  outlet 
had  to  be  found.  Somehow  the  impres- 
sion had  forced  itself  upon  the  public 
mind  that  a  political  upheaval  in  favor  of 
the  Democrats  would  be  interpreted  as  a 
declaration  in  favor  of  a  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war.  In  fact,  this  ar- 
gument was  freely  advanced  in  nearly 
every  State  where  campaigns  were  being 
vigorously  conducted.  I  heard  a  Repub- 
lican Congressman  of  Pennsylvania,  John 
C.  Kunkel,  of  the  Harrisburg  district,  say 
that  the  Republican  party  had  been  in 
power  so  short  a  time  and  had  so  little 
experience  in  Governmental  control  that 
he  believed  it  to  be  good  policy  to  turn 
the  management  of  affairs  over  to  the 
Democratic  party  with  its  many  years  of 
experience  in  governing.  Whatever  may 
have  influenced  the  public  mind,  the  elec- 


tion of  1862  resulted  in  a  sweeping  Dem- 
ocratic victory.  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and 
even  Iowa  rolled  up  majorities  for  the 
Democratic  tickets.  In  the  election  of 
members  of  Congress  the  Democrats  near- 
ly doubled  their  strength.  By  the  adop- 
tion of  a  conflicting  policy  the  following 
year,  when  C.  L.  Vallandigham  of  Ohio 
became  a  martyr  to  his  extreme  anti-war 
pronunciamentos,  and  extremists  in  other 
parts  of  the  country  did  their  utmost  to 
imitate  him,  the  gains  made  in  1862  were 
effectively  neutralized  and  rendered  nuga- 
tory. And  the  experience  of  1868  had 
quite  a  bearing  on  the  Presidential  elec- 
tion in  1864. 

RESULT  IN  INDIANA. 

The  aggregate  Unconditional  Union 
vote  in  1862  was  18,342  less  than  the  Re- 
publican vote  of  1860,  while  the  Union 
Democratic  vote  was  increased  by  1,163. 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  UNION  STATE  TICKET 
FOR  1862. 

For  Secretary  of  State — James  S.  Athon,  Marion 
county. 

For  Auditor  of  State — Joseph  Ristine,  Fountain 
county. 

For  Treasurer  of  State — Matthew  L.  Brett, 
Daviess  county. 

For  Attorney  General — Oscar  B.  Hord,  Decatur 
county. 

For  Supreme  Court  Reporter — Michael  C.  Kerr, 
Floyd  county. 

For  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — Sam- 
uel L.  Rugg,  Allen  county. 

UNCONDITIONAL    UNION     (REPUBLICAN) 
TICKET. 

For  Secretary  of  State — William  A.  Peelle. 
For  Auditor  of  State — Albert  Lange. 
For  Treasurer  of  State — Jonathan  S.  Harvey. 
For  Attorney-General — Delana   E.  Williamson. 
For   Superintendent  of   Public   Instruction — John 

I.  Morrison. 
For  Reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court — William  S. 

Smith. 

The  election  results  for  the  several  State 
officers  were  as  follows : 


(205) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE.  had  written  a  letter  to  Jeff  Davis  recom- 
James  S.  Athon,  Democrat 127,977  9,591  mending  a  man  named  Lincoln  to  favor- 
William  A.  Peelle,  Republican 118,386  ^ble  Consideration  in  furnishing  arms  for 

FOR  TREASURER  OF  STATE.  use  in  the  Confederate  army.     Governor 

Matthew  L.  Brett,  Democrat 127,851    9,406  Morton  appointed  Gov.  Joseph  A.  Wright 

Jonathan  S.  Harvey,  Republican. .  .118,445  ^^    fju    ^j^g    yacancy    until    the    Legislature 

FOR  AUDITOR  OF  STATE.  could  make  an  election  for  the  remainder 

Jo.seph  Ristine,  Democrat 127,714    9,237  of   Bright's   term.   Wright  took   his   seat 

Albert  Lange,  Republican 118,477  ^yj^^^^j^   o^   jggg.      The  selection   of  Wright 

The    following   figures    show   how   the  was  partly  construed  as  a  non-political  act 

State  of  Indiana  voted  for  members   of  and  partly  as  a  compliment  to  the  war 

Congress  in  the  election  of  1862 :  Democrats,   of   whom   there   were   many. 

Plur.  The  Sentinel,  on  the  other  hand,  treated  it 

1st— John  Law,  Democrat 11,963    2,380  from  a  diiferent  standpoint.    At  first  that 

Alvah  Johnson,  Republican .  .     9,583  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^  disinclined  to  speak  in  harsh 

2nd-James  A.  Cravens,  Democrat  10,911     4,700  ^^  uncomplimentary  terms  of  the  appoint- 

Col.  Allen  May,  Republican. .     6,211  ,    ,     ^     ...        r^                   -iit-   ■    ,  j_  ,      , 

o  J    ti         w   tr      •     +       r.        iico^    ioQn  ment,  but  after  Govemor  Wright  had  sav- 

3rd — Henry  W.  Harrmgton,  Dem.  11,524     1,380  ,   '                       ,   ,,       r,.,       ,.   t 

Wm.  M.  Dunn,  Republican. .  10,144  ^gely  denounced  the  8th  of  January  plat- 

4th-Wm.  S.  Holman,  Democrat..  10,926    2,934  form  and  contemptuously  spat  upon  that 

Col.  James  Gavin,  Union...     7,992  document,  the  Sentinel  changed  its  atti- 

5th— Edmund  Johnson,  Democrat.     7,414  tude  and  poured  hot  shot  into  Governor 

George  W.  Julian,  Republican    9,272    1,858  Morton's  appointee.     Singular  as  it  may 

6th— Alexander  B.  Conduitt,  Dem.  11,654  appear,  the  St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat  also 

Ebenezer  Dumont,  Union...  12,525       871  seemed  to  be  displeased  over  Wright's  ap- 

7th— Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Dem.. .  12,517    2,481  pointment.     Soon  after  taking  his  seat  in 

Harvey  D.  Scott,  Republican.  10,036  ^j^^   g^^^^^^^   y^^^^^  3^   ^^j^j^^   delivered  a 

8th-John  Pettit,  Democrat        ...    11,181  ^^^^     ^^     ^^^     question     of     abolishing 

Godlove  S.  Orth,  Republican.  12,00o        824  f              .      ^,       t^.  ;    .   ^      „  ^   ,        ,  .         m, 

,,,     ^     . ,  ^      .     ^                     ,,  .,„  slavery  m  the  District  of  Columbia.     Ihe 

9th— David  Turpie,  Democrat 14,546  ^,   ,     V                 _■              ,-      ,  t^ 

Schuyler  Colfax,  Republican.  14,775       229  Glohe-Democrat,  a  radical  Republican  ora- 

lOth-JosephK.  Edgerton,  Dem...  12,353       436  ^le,  was  greatly  displeased  over  Senator 

Wm.  Mitchell,  Republican...  11,977  Wright's   speech,   pronouncing   it   an   in- 

lith— Jas.  F.  McDowell,  Democrat.  13,142       923  tensely  pro-slavery  deliverance.    As  a  sort 

J.  P.  C.  Shanks,  Republican.  12,219  of  justification  for  its  conservatism  these 

By  way  of  explanation  it  may  be  stated  remarks  by  Senator  John  Sherman  were 

that  the  Republicans  in  this  campaign  la-  reproduced  in  an  Indiana  paper: 

beled  their  ticket   "Unconditional   Union  .j„  ^^^  g^^^^  ^^^^^  j  ^^^  (qj^j^)  ^^  ^^ 

Ticket,    while  the  Democrats  placed  their  not  like  negroes.    We  do  not  disguise  our 

nominees  under  the  heading  "Democratic  dislike.    As  my  friend  from  Indiana  (Mr. 

Union  Ticket."  Wright)  said  yesterday,  the  whole  people 

of  the  Northwestern  States  are,  for  rea- 
GOVERNOR  WRIGHT'S  APPOINTMENT  ?«"«  whether  correct  or  not,  opposed  to 
AS  TTNTTFD   STATF^;   csFMATnT?   TO  having  any  negroes  among  them ;  and  that 
Ab   UNI  1  ED  blAlES   SENATOR   TO  principle  or  preiudice  has  been  engrafted 
SUCCEED  JESSE  D.  BRIGHT.  ^n  the  legislation  of  nearly  all  the  North- 
February   5,    1862,   the   United    States  w^^*^™  States." 
Senate   voted   to   expel   Jesse   D.    Bright  This  doubtless  was  the  dominant  senti- 
from  his  seat  as  Senator  from  Indiana,  ment     of     that     period.       The     "colored 
The  ground  upon  which  this  drastic  ac-  brother"  was  for  years  in  bad  odor  in  the 
tion  was  taken  was  that  Senator  Bright  Hoosier  commonwealth. 


(206) 


[Chapter  XXVIII.l 


McDonald  pitted  against  morton 

IN  THE  EXCITING  RACE  FOR  THE  GOVERNORSHIP  IN  1864 


HE    election    of    a    Democratic 
Legislature  in  1862  caused  Gov. 


I  I  I  Oliver  P.  Morton  a  good  deal  of 
I  A  i  annoyance.  Imperious  by  na- 
I" "I  ture,  bent  on  carrying  into  ef- 
fect whatever  plans  he  might 
have  seen  fit  to  map  out,  and 
considering  himself  a  monarch  of  all  he 
surveyed,  it  would  have  been  miracu- 
lous if  trouble  with  a  politically  ad- 
verse Legislature  had  been  averted. 
The  points  in  controversy  during  those 
exciting  days  having  been  adjusted  in  one 
way  or  another,  and  having  no  particu- 
lar bearing  on  matters  concerning  or  in- 
teresting the  present  generation,  it  would 
be  neither  edifying  nor  instructive  to  de- 
vote much  space  to  a  recital  of  the  more 
or  less  exciting  episodes  of  that  period.  All 
the  participants  therein  have  passed  from 
life  to  eternity;  so  we  can  well  afford  to 
throw  the  broad  mantle  of  charity  over 
whatever  may  have  been  left  behind  as 
reminders  of  the  wordy  battles  fought  at 
Indianapolis  and  the  State  at  large  by 
Governor  Morton  and  his  followers  on 
one  side  and  his  opponents  on  the  other. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  TICKET. 

For  Governor — Oliver  P.  Morton,  Indi- 
anapolis. 

For  Lieutenant  -  Governor  —  Conrad 
Baker,  Evansville. 

For  Secretary  of  State — Nelson  Truss- 
ler,  Connersville. 

For  State  Auditor — Thomas  M.  McCar- 
ty,  Wabash. 

For  State  Treasurer — John  I.  Morrison, 
Salem. 

For  Attorney-General — Delana  E.  Wil- 
liamson, Greencastle. 

For  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion— Geo.  W.  Hoss,  Indianapolis. 


For  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court — Laz- 
arus Noble,  Vincennes. 

For  Reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court — 
Benjamin  Harrison,  Indianapolis. 

For  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court — 
James  S.  Frazer,  Warsaw;  John  T.  Elliott, 
Henry  County;  Charles  A.  Ray,  Indian- 
apolis; Robert  C.  Gregory,  Lafayette. 

The  question  was  raised  as  to  whether 
Governor  Morton  was  eligible  to  re-elec- 
tion under  the  Constitution,  he  having 
filled  that  office  four  years,  less  three  days. 
It  was  held,  but  never  judicially,  that  the 
Constitutional  inhibition  did  not  apply  in 
his  case,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
elected  in  1860  to  the  office  of  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  became  acting  Governor 
upon  the  resignation  of  Governor  Henry 
S.  Lane  three  days  after  his  induction  in- 
to that  office  and  such  resignation  follow- 
ing Lane's  election  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  to  succeed  Dr.  Graham  N.  Fitch 
of  Logansport. 

the  democrats  place  joseph  e. 
McDonald  at  the  head  of 

THEIR  ticket. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  was 
held,  as  usual,  at  Indianapolis,  but  for  ob- 
vious reasons  not  as  early  as  had  for  years 
been  the  custom.  July  12  was  chosen  as 
a  more  fitting  time.  State  Chairman  Geo. 
McQuat  called  the  convention  to  order, 
and  Judge  David  Turpie  was  selected  as 
permanent  chairman.  A  ringing  speech 
was  delivered  as  this  man  of  extraordi- 
nary ability  took  charge  of  the  gavel. 

Joseph  E.  McDonald  was  nominated  for 
Governor  and  David  Turpie  for  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor. The  five  State  officers  tri- 
umphantly elected  in  1862 — Dr.  James  S. 
Athon,  Secretary  of  State ;  Joseph  Ristine, 
Auditor;    Matthew   L.   Brett,    Treasurer; 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


Oscar  B.  Hord,  Attorney-General,  and 
Samuel  L.  Rugg,  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction — were  honored  with  renomi- 
nations  without  opposition.  Ethelbert  C. 
Hibben,  of  Rushville,  was  nominated  for 
Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  for 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Samuel  E. 
Perkins  of  Indianapolis,  Andrew  David- 
son of  Greensburg,  James  M.  Hanna  of 
Sullivan,  and  James  L.  Worden  of  Fort 
Wayne,  were  chosen  by  practical  unani- 
mity. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 
J.  J.  Bingham,  Marion  County,  Chair- 
man; S.  M.  Barton,  Levi  Sparks,  S.  H. 
Buskirk,  James  B.  Foley,  Eleazer  Malone, 
William  Henderson,  W.  M.  Franklin,  E. 
M.  Weaver,  P.  M.  Kent,  Thomas  Tigar, 
Dr.  A.  Weaver. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL 
CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Joseph  E.  McDonald,  James 
M.  Hanna,  William  E.  Niblack,  Alfred  P. 
Edgerton. 

Contingents — Julius  Boetticher,  John 
Pettit,  James  W.  Gaff,  Samuel  A.  Hall. 

First  District— A.  T.  Whittlesey,  Van- 
derburgh county ;  Cutler  S.  Dobbins,  Mar- 
tin county. 

Second  District — Levi  Sparks,  Clarke 
county;  John  L.  Menaugh,  Washington 
county. 

Third  District — William  McEwen,  Bar- 
tholomew county;  Mede  W.  Shields,  Jack- 
son county. 

Fourth  District — Marcus  Levy,  Dear- 
born county;  John  S.  Campbell,  Rush 
county. 

Fifth  District — Lafe  Develin,  Wayne 
county;  William  C.  Applegate,  Fayette 
county. 

Sixth  District — A.  B.  Conduitt,  Morgan 
county ;  H.  H.  Dodd,  Marion  county. 

Seventh  District — John  G.  Davis,  Vigo 
county ;  Andy  Humphreys,  Green  county. 

Eighth  District— Samuel  C.  Wilson, 
Montgomery  county ;  E.  F.  Lucas,  Warren 
county. 

Ninth  District — J.  A.  Taylor,  Cass  coun- 
ty; Horace  Corbin,  Marshall  county. 

Tenth  District— David  H.  Colerick,  Allen 
county;  E.  V.  Long,  Kosciusko  county. 


Eleventh  District— L.  P.  Milligan,  Hunt- 
ington county;  David  Studabaker,  Adams 
county. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

At  Large^ — John  Pettit,  Lafayette; 
Simeon  K.  Wolfe,  Corydon. 

— District  Electors — 

1st— S.  M.  Holcombe. 

2nd — Elijah  Newland. 

3rd— A.  B.  Carleton. 

4th— B.  W.  Wilson. 

5th — James  Brown. 

6th — Frank  Landers. 

7th — Arch  Johnston. 

8th — Jonathan  C.  Applegate. 

9th— John  G.  Osborn. 
10th — Robert  Lowry. 
nth— J.  W.  Sansbury. 

THE  PLATFORM. 
The  greater  part  of  this  document  is 
devoted  to  the  unsparing  denunciation  of 
Governor  Morton  for  inducing  members 
of  the  Legislature  to  lend  themselves  to 
questionable  and  unlawful  acts ;  for  estab- 
lishing a  "financial  bureau"  without  au- 
thority of  law;  for  countenancing  the 
reckless  expenditure  of  public  moneys. 
The  general  administration  comes  in  for 
censure  for  suspending  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  for  suppressing  newspapers,  for 
arresting  citizens  without  warrant,  etc. 
Other  arraignments  are  set  forth  in  these 
terms  : 

"That  the  failure  of  the  administration 
to  promptly  pay  disabled  or  discharged 
soldiers,  and  pensions  to  the  widows  and 
children  whose  husbands  and  fathers  have 
fallen  in  battle  or  died  in  camp  or  by  the 
wayside,  and  the  readiness  with  which  the 
powers  at  Washington  audit  and  pay 
shoddy  contractors,  officers  and  placemen 
of  the  Government,  are  cruel  wrongs  to  the 
destitute  and  deserving,  and  merit  the 
withering  scorn  of  the  American  people. 

"That  the  noble  and  patriotic  sons  of  In- 
diana, who,  for  love  of  country  and  a 
restoration  of  the  Union  as  established  by 
our  fathers,  have  sacrificed  the  endear- 
ments of  home  for  the  hardships  and  perils 
of  war,  merit  the  thanks  of  the  people  of 
Indiana;  that  we  will  ever  hold  in  grateful 
recollection  the  memory  of  those  who  have 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


fallen  in  battle,  and  that  it  is  the  duty,  and 
should  be  the  highest  pleasui-e  of  the 
people  to  make  ample  provision  for  the  sup- 
port of  those  who  have  received  disabil- 
ities in  the  service  of  the  country,  and  the 
thousands  of  widows  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  orphan  children,  whose  husbands 
and  fathers  have  sacrificed  their  lives  in 
defense  of  their  country  and  honor  of  the 
American  flag. 

"That  a  faithful  adherence  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  to  which 
the  Democracy  are  pledged,  necessarily  im- 
plies the  restoration  of  liberty  and  the 
rights  of  the  States  under  that  Constitu- 
tion unimpaired,  and  will  lead  to  an  early 
and  honorable  peace. 

"Resolved,  That  we,  the  Democracy  of 
Indiana,  in  State  convention  assembled, 
are  in  favor  of  maintaining  personal  and 
constitutional  liberty,  and  we  pledge  our- 
selves to  sustain  our  rights  as  citizens  to 
the  bitter  end." 

THE  CAMPAIGN. 
Though  the  personal  relations  between 
Morton  and  McDonald  were  "reasonably 
friendly,"  both  having  been  intellectual 
giants,  a  good  deal  of  bitterness  was  in- 
jected into  the  joint  discussions  that  were 
held  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  The 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle  came  in  for 
a  large  share  of  invective  on  the  part  of 
Governor  Morton,  who  denounced  that 
oath-bound  organization  in  unmeasured 
terms  as  bands  of  traitors  to  their  coun- 
try and  as  having  for  their  purpose  the 
overthrow  of  Governmental  institutions. 
The  trials  for  treason  of  William  A. 
Bowles,  Andrew  Humphreys,  Horace  Hef- 
fren,  Lambdin  P.  Milligan  and  Stephen 
Horsey,  elaborately  and  sensationally  re- 
ported in  the  Indianapolis  Journal  during 
the  campaign,  were  utilized  for  all  they 
could  be  made  to  serve.  Governor  Mor- 
ton was.  however,  somewhat  hampered  in 
the  attempt  to  hold  the  Democracy  re- 
sponsible for  the  acts,  aims  and  purposes 
of  these  leaders  of  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Circle  and  Sons  of  Liberty  by  the 
heroic  action  of  the  Hon.  Michael  C.  Kerr 
of  New  Albany,  in  going  to  Indianapolis 
to  lay  bare  to  Governor  Morton  the  plots 


of  these  conspirators.  The  fact  that  Mr. 
Kerr  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for 
Congress  in  the  New  Albany  district  and 
that  he  had  step  by  step  risen  to  great 
prominence  in  the  party  of  his  choice, 
greatly  handicapped  Governor  Morton  in 
making  such  use  of  the  machinations  of 
these  visionaiy  marplots  as  he  had  hoped 
to  be  able  to  do  during  the  progress  of 
the  campaign. 

Though  David  Turpie  was  nominated 
for  Lieutenant-Governor,  he  was  induced 
to  withdraw  from  the  State  ticket  in  order 
that  he  might  comply  with  the  wishes  of 
the  Democracy  of  his  district  to  make  an- 
other race  for  Congress  against  Schuyler 
Colfax.  He  was  reluctant  to  do  this,  but 
finally  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  the 
Democratic  leaders  of  the  South  Bend  dis- 
trict. His  place  on  the  State  ticket  was 
filled  by  the  selection  of  that  gallant  war- 
rior, General  Mahlon  D.  Manson,  of  Craw- 
fordsville. 

Although  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  the 
Democracy  might  win  in  State  and  nation, 
developments  toward  the  close  of  the  cam- 
paign plainly  foreshadowed  the  re-election 
of  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency  and  the  tri- 
umph of  Morton  in  Indiana.  Only  three 
of  the  eleven  Democrats  nominated  for 
Congress  in  this  State  were  successful  at 
the  polls,  and  of  these  three  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  was  subsequently  un.seated  on 
contest.  Niblack  and  Kerr  had  to  their 
credit  such  decisive  majorities  as  to  ren- 
der them  incontestably  secure.  The  Legis- 
lature chosen  was  also  strongly  Repub- 
lican and  very  much  to  Morton's  personal 
and  political  liking.  Morton  was  credited 
with  a  majority  of  20,883  over  McDonald, 
while  Conrad  Baker  led  General  Manson 
by  16,139.     The  vote  stood: 

Oliver  P.  Morton 152.084 

Jospph  E.  McDonald 131,201 

Conrad  Baker 147.795 

Mahlon  P.  Manson 131.(i5(; 

At  the  Presidential  election  in  Novem- 
ber Abraham  Lincoln  polled  150,422  votes 
and  General  Geo.  B.  McClellan  130,233. 


(  209  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 

CONGRESSIONAL  RESULTS,  1864.  man  attempts  to  haul  down  the  American 

1.  W.  E.  Niblack,  Democrat 14,721    2,111  flag,  shoot  him  on  the  Spot."     The  utter- 

Cyrus  M.  Allen,  Republican. . .  .12,610  ances  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  were  the  real 

^'  WilHaSw  Curr'  °RTubHcan''^9  564    ^''^^^  expression  of  Democratic  sentiment.    And 

3.  Henry'w^HrrrinitotDem^^^^^^  ^^ese  utterances  could  not  be  neutralized 
Ralph  Hill,  Republican 12,075    1,237  by    the    mutterings    of    any    self-styled 

4.  Dr.  George  Berry,  Democrat 8,949  "knights"    whose    foolish    performances 

John  H.  Farquhar,  Republican.  .10,015    1,066  were  carried  on  in  caves  and  caverns. 

5.  George  W.  Julian,  Republican.  .13,426     7,145  q^j^^    ^„    ^^^^^    ^^^    ^^^^    ^^^.         ^j^^ 
James  Brown,  Democrat 6,281  ,        .,,.,.       ^^                 ,           .,,       ,, 

6.  John  Love,  Democrat 10,898  ^ar    to    identify    Democrats    with    these 

Ebenezer  Dumont,  Republican.  .18,886    7,988  oath-bound  treasonable  organizations.  The 

7.  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Democrat.  12,830       534  exact  truth  about  the  matter  is  that  Dem- 
Henry  D.  Washburn,  Repub. ..  .12,296  ocrats  were  vexed  a  good  deal  more  over 

8.  James  S.Harney,  Democrat....  12,349  ^^^^^  visionary  organizations  than  were 
Godlove   S.   Orth,  Republican.  .  .13,536     1,187      „         ,  ,.                rr,,      f ,, 

9.  David  Turpie,  Democrat 15,278  Republicans.    The  latter  utilized  them  for 

Schuyler  Colfax,  Republican. .  .16,658    1,380  political   purposes,   while   Democrats   ex- 

10.  Joseph  K.  Edgerton,  Democrat.  .14,037  erted  themselves  to  point  out  to  misguided 
JosephH.Defrees,  Republican..  14,617      580  and   wrong-headed   individuals  ai^iliating 

11.  James  F.  McDowell,  Democrat.  .13,383  +u^,.^,„uu   +i,„  f^^^„  ^f  +!,„,•«  „^„« rrr,„ 

mi.          1.T  ciMi     11  T1      ui-        ir\,oo    n  r, . „  therewith  the  tolly  or  their  course.     Ihe 
Thomas  N.  Stillwell,  Republican.  15,623     2,240 

recital  of  an  occurrence  in  the  southern 

POLITICAL  SECRET  ORDERS  NOT  part  of  the  State,  as  narrated  by  William 
FAVORED  BY  REAL  DEMOCRATS.  Wesley  Woollen,  will  make  clear  to  the  un- 
As  already  stated,  during  the  Guberna-  biased  the  folly  of  attempting  to  foist  up- 
torial  campaign  of  1864  between  Oliver  P.  on  the  Democratic  party  as  such  responsi- 
Morton  and  Joseph  E.  McDonald,  a  good  bility  for  the  existence  of  the  secret  or- 
deal was  said  about  the  "Sons  of  Liberty,"  ganizations  under  consideration: 

"Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle"  and  kin-  <.,,     „                       4.  •  x  t    -io^a  u 

J     J            .     ^.        J,          1       1  J.    X       T  ,  Mr.  Kerr  was  a  patriot.  In  1864  he  was 

dred  organizations  formed  and  fostered  by  ^  candidate  for  the  Democratic  nomination 

individuals  who  seemingly  had  forgotten  for  Congress,  the  late    Colonel    Cyrus    L. 

that  "Old  Hickory,"  idolized  by  all  Dem-  Dunham   being  his   principal   competitor, 

ocrats,  proclaimed  an  indissoluble  union  of  The  nominating  convention  met  at  Jeffer- 

indestructible  States  to  be  an  inviolable  ?rn''^?'  '1  ^^^  ?i^  Methodist  church,  on 

,       ,     »  .         .        „  Wall  street.     Politics  was   at   fever   heat, 

tenet  of  American  Democracy.  ^^^   ^^e   contest   between   Mr.   Kerr   and 

Andrew   Jackson,    Southerner   that   he  Colonel  Dunham  was  very  close.    An  hour 

was,   never  countenanced  treason   or   re-  or  so  before  the  convention  was  to  meet 

bellion.    When  South  Carolina  threatened  ^^^  ^err  called  a  caucus  of  his  friends  in 

„.^  ,.  >.  j_  .^  ,  XI  j_  a  room  over  the  store  of  General  Sparks, 
nullification  of  tariff  laws  that  were  ^here  were  present  at  the  caucus  several 
deemed  inimical  to  the  interests  of  its  peo-  of  Mr.  Kerr's  friends  from  New  Albany ; 
pie,  "Old  Hickory"  bluntly  told  them  that  General  Sparks  and  Mr.  J.  P.  Applegate, 
any  man  or  set  of  men  who  might  at-  from  Clark  county ;  Hon.  William  H.  Eng- 
tempt  to  nullify  the  laws  of  the  land  Hsh  then  a  resident  of  Scott  county;  Gen- 
,  ,  ,  ,  ,  .  ,  ,T  «Ti  eral  James  A.  Cravens,  of  Washington 
would  be  hung  as  high  as  Haman.  By  ^^^^^y^  ^^^  ^  f^^  other  gentlemen  from 
the  Eternal,  the  Union  must  and  shall  be  different  parts  of  the  district.  The  gentle- 
preserved  !"  he  thundered  at  the  would-be  men  thus  called  together  supposed  the  pur- 
nullifiers.  General  John  A.  Dix,  as  Sec-  Pose  of  the  meeting  was  to  make  arrange- 
retary  of  the  Treasury  under  Buchanan,  "?e"ts  for  the  management  of  the  conyen- 
1  i.  -c  J  j-u  J.-  1  •  -.^r.-,  ,  tion.  When  all  were  seated,  Mr.  Kerr 
electrified  the  nation  early  m  1861  by  arose,  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height  of 
sending   broadcast   the    dictum,    "If   any  six  feet  or  more,  and,  with  suppressed  ex- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


citement  but  with  perfect  self-control,  said 
he  must  withdraw  from  the  race  for 
Congress ;  that  he  was  in  possession  of  the 
knowledge  that  a  conspiracy  existed 
against  the  government  of  the  State ;  that 
the  conspirators  were  Democrats ;  that  he 
felt  it  his  duty  to  go  to  Indianapolis  and 
lay  the  facts  before  Governor  Morton ; 
that  such  a  course  would  embitter  certain 
Democrats  and  jeopardize  his  election 
should  he  be  a  candidate.  Mi*.  English  and 
others  made  remarks  after  Mr.  Kerr  had 
taken  his  seat,  the  purport  of  which  was 
that  he  was  right  in  his  purpose  to  make 
known  and  denounce  the  conspiracy,  but 
wrong  in  determining  to  withdraw  from 
the  contest ;  that  only  a  few  hot-heads  had 
gone  wrong;  that  the  great  body  of  the 
party  was  loyal  to  the  Government.  Mr. 
Kerr  persisted  in  his  purpose  to  decline, 
and  it  was  formally  announced  that  he  was 
no  longer  a  candidate.  Afterward,  how- 
ever, several  gentlemen  were  sent  to  him 
by  the  various  county  delegations,  who 
urged  him  to  stand.  He  finally  consented 
to  do  so,  and  was  nominated.  He  came  at 
once  to  Indianapolis  to  expose  the  con- 
spiracy, and  what  he  did  can  be  best  told 
by  giving  the  testimony  of  one  of  the  wit- 
nesses in  the  trials  of  Bowles,  Milligan  and 
others.    Says  this  witness: 

As  I  walked  down  Washington  street  I  saw  a 
gentleman  coming-  up  rapidly,  and  I  stopped  him. 
"Hello,  Kerr;  what  has  brought  you  here?"  said  I. 
He  seemed  very  much  excited.  "Do  you  know 
anything?"  he  said;  and  I  said,  "Do  you  know 
anything?"  "Yes,"  he  replied.  "What  is  it?" 
said  I.  He  then  said,  "The  devil's  to  pay  in  our 
section  of  the  State;  the  people  of  Washington, 


Harri.son  and  Floyd  counties  and  that  neighbor- 
hood have  got  the  idea  that  a  revolution  was  im- 
pending; the  farmers  were  frightened  and  were 
selling  their  hay  in  the  fields  and  their  wheat  in 
the  stacks,  and  all  the  property  that  could  be  was 
being  converted  into  greenbacks." 

Mr.  Kerr  was  so  deeply. impressed  with 
the  danger  of  the  situation  that  he  and  the 
witness  from  whom  I  have  quoted  went  tc 
the  residence  of  Hon.  Jo.seph  E.  McDonald 
in  the  night,  awakened  that  gentleman  and 
told  him  what  they  knew  about  the  con- 
spiracy. It  was  agreed  that  a  meeting  of 
prominent  Democrats  should  be  called  next 
morning  at  Mr.  McDonald's  office  to  con- 
sider the  situation.  The  meeting  was  held, 
and  during  its  sitting  Mr.  Kerr  made  a 
speech.     I  again  quote  from  this  witness : 

He  spoke  about  this  excitement,  this  revolution- 
ary scheme,  and  said  that  he  came  up  on  purpose 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  thing.  I  think  he  said  it  was 
our  duty  to  stop  it,  and  if  it  could  not  be  stopped 
in  any  other  way  it  was  our  duty  to  inform  the 
authorities. 

"Mr.  Kerr  was  su.stained  in  his  position 
by  Mr.  McDonald  and  other  prominent 
Democrats,  but  there  is  no  gainsaying  the 
fact  that  he  was  the  leading  man  of  his 
party  in  the  effort  to  destroy  the  con- 
spiracy, which,  had  it  been  inaugurated, 
would  have  deluged  Indiana  with  blood. 

"The  action  of  Mr.  Kerr  in  proposing  to 
decline  the  race  for  Congress  in  his  distrid 
was  in  keeping  with  his  character.  Young, 
and  ambitious  for  political  preferment,  he 
was  yet  willing  to  stand  aside  for  others 
when  he  believed  duty  called  him  to  make 
the  sacrifice." 


[Chapter  XXIX.] 


GOVERNOR  MORTON'S  RICHMOND 
SPEECH 

IN  FAVOR  OF  ANDREW  JOHNSON'S  RECONSTRUCTION  POLICY 
AND  AGAINST  NEGRO  SUFFRAGE 

gressed  it  was  deemed  wise  to  make  John- 
son military  governor  of  Tennessee,  in 
which  capacity  he  could  serve  the  Union 
cause  far  more  effectively  than  in  the  Sen- 
ate at  Washington.  It  was  Lincoln's  opin- 
ion that  the  spirit  of  patriotism  displayed 
by  War  Democrats  throughout  the  coun- 
try, but  especially  in  the  South,  ought  to  be 
given  deserved  and  substantial  recogni- 
tion. There  was  much  in  Andrew  John- 
son's career  that  commended  itself  to  Lin- 
coln's favor.  Like  himself,  Johnson  was  of 
humble  origin.  Dependent  upon  his  own 
resources  in  his  boyhood  days,  no  educa- 
tional advantages  were  within  his  reach. 
Instead  of  being  made  the  beneficiary  of 
schooling  he  served  an  apprenticeship  in 
a  tailor  shop.  A  charming  Tennessee 
girl  attracted  his  attention  and  challenged 
his  admiration.  In  course  of  time  this 
ambitious  young  man  and  this  buoyant 
maiden  were  united  in  marriage.  She 
chanced  to  be  an  apt  teacher,  he  an  apt 
pupil.  She  taught  him  to  read  and  write. 
With  the  acquisition  of  this  educational 
facility  came  an  intense  longing  for  read- 
ing books  and  acquiring  knowledge. 
Young  Johnson  made  rapid  progress.  A 
fine  specimen  of  manhood,  he  soon  ingrati- 
ated himself  in  popular  favor,  was  elected 
to  various  oflices,  became  Governor  of  his 
State,  and  toward  the  expiration  of  his 
term  was  chosen  United  States  Senator. 
In  the  latter  capacity  he  made  an  en- 
viable record  in  championing  the  home- 
stead policy  for  bona  fide  settlers  in  the 
territories  and  kindred  measures  in  the 
interest  of  struggling  humanity.  To  An- 
drew Johnson  belongs  the  credit  of  having 
first   urged   in   Congress   the   election    of 


FiTTrnMMmTnnjii  HAT  OHver  p.  Morton  was  a 
'  I  '  I  man  of  extraordinary  intellect- 
I  i  ual  power  will  not  be  seriously 
J_  I  questioned  by  any  one  at  all 
'  familiar  with  his  career  as  po- 
litical leader.  Governor  or 
United  States  Senator.  As  a 
platform  speaker  he  was  neither  ornate 
nor  eloquent.  He  disdained  indulgence  in 
flowery  rhetoric.  His  preference  ran  de- 
cidedly to  "sledge-hammer"  argument. 
With  all  the  vigor  of  his  masterful  mind 
he  marshaled  his  facts  and  drove  his 
points  into  the  understanding  of  his  hear- 
ers. It  may  be  assumed  that  he  was  sub- 
ject to  mental  anguish  if  he  suspected  that 
he  did  not  make  himself  clearly  under- 
stood or  failed  to  carry  conviction  to  his 
audience.  Intense  earnestness  marked  all 
of  his  more  important  utterances  on  ques- 
tions of  great  moment. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  Southern 
States  lately  in  rebellion  engaged  popular 
attention  to  an  eminent  degree.  It  be- 
came the  "paramount  issue,"  soon  follow- 
ing the  suppression  of  the  rebellion.  The 
assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln  by  John 
Wilkes  Booth  imposed  the  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  presidential  office  on 
Andrew  Johnson,  whom  Lincoln  himself 
desired  as  his  running  mate  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1864.  Johnson  was  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  rebellion  a  United  States 
Senator  from  Tennessee,  elected  by  a 
Democratic  legislature.  He  had  always 
been  a  Democrat.  His  place  of  residence 
was  in  East  Tennessee,  where  public  sen- 
timent was  intensely  loyal  to  the  Union. 
Secession  was  hated  and  rebellion  stoutly 
condemned  and  resisted.    As  the  war  pro- 


(213) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


United  States  Senators  by  direct  vote  of 
the  people.  He  was  an  intensely  earnest, 
thoroughly  honest  and  ruggedly  patriotic 
Tennesseean  and  American. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  neither  personally  nor 
politically  averse  to  Vice-President  Han- 
nibal Hamlin,  his  running  mate  in  1860, 
but,  as  already  stated,  he  believed  that  his 
associate  on  the  1864  ticket  ought  to  be  a 
war  Democrat.  And  he  preferred  John- 
son to  all  others  because  he  had  formed 
the  opinion  that  the  nomination  of  a 
Southerner  would  have  the  effect  of  pre- 
venting the  recognition  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy  by  England  and  France — a 
danger  then  quite  imminent. 

For  some  time  after  Johnson's  acces- 
sion to  the  Presidency  the  belief  was  quite 
common  that  Lincoln's  developed  program 
for  the  reconstruction  of  the  States  lately 
in  rebellion  would  be  carried  out  without 
encountering  serious  opposition.  The  fear 
that  found  most  expression  was  that 
Johnson,  by  reason  of  personal  animosity 
to  Southern  leaders  who  had  grossly  ma- 
ligned and  persecuted  him  before,  during 
and  after  the  rebellion,  would  be  far  more 
strenuous  in  imposing  terms  of  punish- 
ment than  Lincoln  would  have  been  had 
he  lived.  There  was  some  ground  for  this 
belief,  but  circumstances  shaped  affairs 
differently.  There  was  in  the  Republican 
camp  an  element  that  did  not  take  kindly 
to  Lincoln's  conservative  and  conciliatory 
policy.  The  leader  of  this  faction  was 
Thaddeus  Stevens  of  Pennsylvania,  a  man 
of  marked  ability  and  of  intense  hating 
predilection.  Amazingly  unscrupulous,  he 
hesitated  at  nothing  after  determining  to 
accomplish  a  purpose.  He  came  near 
plunging  Pennsylvania  into  war  during 
the  thirties  when  he  had  autocratically 
resolved  to  retain  Joseph  Ritner  in  the 
gubernatorial  chair  after  being  defeated 
at  the  polls.  The  Stevens  conspiracy  was 
prevented  by  the  appearance  at  the  State 
Capitol  in  Harrisburg  of  a  company  of 
men   from   Philadelphia   whose  sternness 


of  purpose  admitted  of  no  doubt  as  to 
what  they  would  do  to  Thaddeus  if  he 
persisted  in  counting  in  the  man  who  had 
been  voted  out  at  the  election  in  October. 

It  may  be  stated  that  Stevens  was  very 
much  opposed  to  the  nomination  of  An- 
drew Johnson  to  the  vice-presidency  in 
1864.  To  the  last  he  persisted  in  insisting 
on  the  renomination  of  Hannibal  Hamlin. 
He  couldn't  see  either  sense  or  propriety 
in  taking  up  for  the  second  highest  office 
a  man  whose  habitation  was  in  a  "d  —  d 
rebel  province." 

Stevens  M'as  a  bachelor,  club-footed, 
hard-faced,  vindictive.  When  a  Republi- 
can contested  the  seat  of  a  Democrat  in 
Congress  Stevens  did  not  pay  the  slightest 
attention  to  the  evidence  adduced  in  the 
case.  He  simply  inquired  of  some  one  in 
interest,  "What  is  the  name  of  our  ras- 
cal?" and  at  once  voted  to  seat  him  in 
place  of  the  man  really  elected.  He  was 
passionately  fond  of  a  game  of  poker,  de- 
nied the  existence  of  a  God,  and  hooted 
at  the  idea  of  man  being  the  creation 
of  what  was  called  "the  Almighty."  On 
the  latter  point  he  was  wont  to  say  that 
an  engine  could  be  taken  apart;  if  any 
of  the  machinery  within  was  worn  out 
it  could  be  replaced  and  the  engine  again 
made  serviceable.  Not  so  with  man. 
"When  his  interior  becomes  impaired," 
Stevens  used  to  say,  "there  is  no  repair- 
ing or  replacing  of  worn-out  parts.  He 
is  done  for;  he  dies  and  is  buried." 

Stevens'  plan  of  reconstruction  was 
radically  different  from  that  of  Lincoln. 
Punishment,  not  restoration,  was  his  pro- 
gram. To  accomplish  his  purpose,  he 
availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  to 
discredit  the  Johnson  administration  and 
cast  odium  upon  it.  With  ghoulish  glee 
grossly  exaggerated  and  perverted  stories 
about  Johnson  having  been  drunk  when 
inaugurated  as  Vice-President  were  re- 
vamped. Conservative,  conscientious  Re- 
publicans were  dismayed  over  these  mani- 
festations of  bitterness  and  malignancy. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  G  -  1  9  1  6 


Governor  Morton,  himself  originally  a 
Democrat  and  still  a  believer  in  the  firmly 
established  doctrine  of  "an  indissoluble 
Union  of  indestructible  States,"  felt  im- 
pelled to  come  to  the  support  of  President 
Johnson.  He  chose  the  principal  town  of 
the  county  (Wayne)  in  which  he  grew 
to  manhood  and  prominence — the  Quaker 
city  of  Richmond — as  the  place  for  de- 
livering a  carefully  prepared  speech  in  de- 
fense of  Pi-esident  Johnson's  reconstruc- 
tion policy  and  in  opposition  to  the  mon- 
strous proposition  to  make  voters  of  the 
lately  emancipated  slaves  of  the  South. 
So  able  was  this  speech  in  its  presentation, 
so  conclusive  in  argument,  so  clear  and 
convincing,  that  Governor  Morton  never 
attempted  to  explain  it  away  after  he  had 
changed  front  and  championed  the  very 
opposite  of  what  he  contended  for  at 
Richmond  on  September  29,  1865. 

The  only  copy  of  this  speech  now  known 
to  be  in  existence  is  on  file  in  the  State 
Library  at  Indianapolis.  For  obvious  rea- 
sons scant  reference  is  made  to  it  in  the 
biographies  of  Oliver  P.  Morton,  and  yet 
it  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  been  the 
ablest  and  most  statesman-like  speech 
ever  made  by  this  intellectual  giant.  What 
a  pity  that  he  did  not  join  such  Repub- 
lican Senators  as  James  R.  Doolittle  of 
Wisconsin,  Lyman  Trumbull  of  Illinois, 
Edgar  Cowan  of  Pennsylvania,  James 
Dixon  of  Connecticut,  Daniel  S.  Norton 
of  Minnesota,  and  others  of  that  type  in 
upholding  the  hands  of  Andrew  Johnson 
in  carrying  out  the  humane  program 
mapped  out  by  Lincoln  for  the  establish- 
ment of  constitutional  government  in  the 
South.  Had  he  stood  by  the  doctrines 
laid  down  in  his  Richmond  speech,  had  he 
adhered  firmly  to  the  Lincoln- Johnson 
plan  of  unification  and  pacification,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  conservatism 
would  have  triumphed  and  radicalism 
would  not  have  been  permitted  to  do  its 
demoralizing  and  destructive  work.  The 
pages  of  American  history  might  thus 
have  been  kept  clear  and  clean  of  recitals 


of  the  outrageously  corrupt  and  disgrace- 
ful performances  that  for  years  charac- 
terized carpet-bag  rule  in  Southern  States. 
The  stupendous  folly  of  forcing  into  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  the  fif- 
teenth amendment,  conferring  upon  vast 
hordes  of  densely  ignorant  beings  the 
right  of  suffrage,  might  not  now  fill  with 
apprehension  the  minds  of  discerning  stu- 
dents of  government.  The  thought  that 
in  a  number  of  States  in  the  South  public 
safety  imperatively  demands  organized 
denial  of  the  unrestricted  exercise  of  this 
constitutional  grant  awakens  suspicion 
that  sanity  must  have  been  dangerously 
clouded  and  obscured  when  that  vicious 
assault  upon  the  purity  and  beneficence 
of  the  ballot  was  first  conceived  and  finally 
perpetrated.  As  long  as  the  present  status 
of  pacific  submission  is  maintained,  and 
sanctioned  by  overwhelming  public  senti- 
ment North  and  South,  the  utter  perni- 
ciousness  of  this  license  for  the  pollution 
of  the  ballot  may  not  be  revealed  in  all 
its  hideousness ;  but  when  the  situation 
changes  and  the  subdued  mass  becomes 
aware  of  its  latent  power,  a  conflict  of 
races  may  prove  as  irrepressible  as  was 
the  conflict  between  slavery  and  freedom 
in  the  Fifties  and  early  Sixties. 

SPEECH  OF  GOV.  MORTON  AT  RICH- 
MOND, IND.,  SEPT.  29,  1865,  ON  RE- 
CONSTRUCTION AND  NEGRO  SUF- 
FRAGE. 

"So  that  Mr.  Johnson  has  restricted 
from  taking  the  oath  eight  classes  per- 
mitted by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  so  far  his  plan 
is  more  stringent  than  Mr.  Lincoln's  was. 
Mr.  Lincoln,  in  his  plan  of  reconstruction, 
declared  all  persons  should  have  the  right 
to  vote  for  the  delegates  to  the  conventions 
which  might  be  called  in  the  States  to  form 
State  constitutions,  who  had  taken  the 
oath  prescribed  by  him,  and  who  were  law- 
ful voters  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
State  in  which  they  resided  before  the  pas- 
sage of  the  ordinance  of  secession.  Mr. 
Johnson  has  made  precisely  the  same  con- 
dition. Mr.  Lincoln  then  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  Provisional  Governors,  giv- 
ing to  them  the  power  of  calling  State  con- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


ventions,  with  a  view  of  forming  State 
constitutions,  for  the  purpose  of  being  re- 
ceived back  into  full  practical  relations 
with  the  Government.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  the 
same.  Each  required  that  the  constitu- 
tions thus  formed  should  be  Republican  in 
form.  Mr.  Lincoln  put  forth  no  require- 
ment of  condition  that  was  not  equally 
contained  in  Mr.  Johnson's  proclamation. 
Their  plans  of  amnesty  and  reconstruction 
cannot  be  distinguished  from  each  other, 
except  in  the  particulars  I  have  already 
mentioned,  that  Mr.  Johnson  restricts  cer- 
tain persons  from  taking  the  oath,  unless 
they  first  have  a  special  pardon  from  him, 
whom  Mr.  Lincoln  permitted  to  come  for- 
ward and  take  the  oath  without  it ;  and  in 
the  further  diff'erence  before  mentioned, 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  required  one-tenth  of  the 
people  of  the  State  to  show  a  willingness 
to  take  the  oath,  while  Mr.  Johnson  has 
said  nothing  whatever  about  that.  This 
was  Mr.  Lincoln's  favorite  policy.  It  was 
presented  by  him  to  Congress  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1863,  accompanied  by  a  message. 
In  the  course  of  the  next  year,  1864,  on 
several  occasions,  Mr.  Lincoln  distinctly 
presented,  again  and  again,  this  policy  of 
amnesty  and  reconstruction  to  the  people 
of  the  South.  It  was  his  settled  and 
favorite  policy  at  the  time  he  was  re- 
nominated for  election  by  the  Union  con- 
vention at  Baltimore  last  summer,  and  in 
that  convention  the  party  sustained  him 
and  strongly  endorsed  his  whole  policy,  of 
which  this  was  a  prominent  part.  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  triumphantly  and  overwhelm- 
ingly elected  upon  that  policy,  and  soon 
after  his  election,  in  December,  1864,  in  his 
last  annual  message  to  Congress,  he  again 
brings  forward  this  same  policy  of  his  and 
presents  it  to  the  Nation.  And  again,  on 
the  12th  of  April,  only  two  days  before  his 
death,  he  referred  to  and  presented  this 
policy  of  amnesty  and  reconstruction.  That 
speech  may  be  called  his  last  speech,  his 
dying  words  to  the  people,  and  I  desire  to 
refer  to  it.  You  remember  the  occasion. 
It  was  after  Richmond  had  been  evacuated. 
It  was  the  day  after  they  had  received  the 
news  of  Lee's  surrender.  Washington 
city  was  illuminated.  A  large  crowd  came 
in  front  of  the  White  House  and  Mr.  Lin- 
coln spoke  to  them  from  one  of  the  win- 
dows. He  referred  to  the  organization  of 
Louisiana  under  his  plan  of  amnesty  and 
reconstruction,  and,  in  speaking  of  it,  he 
gave  the  history  of  his  policy.    He  said: 


In  my  annual  message  of  December,  1863,  and 
accompanying  the  proclamation,  I  presented  a 
plan  of  reconstruction,  as  the  phrase  goes,  which 
1  promised,  if  adopted  by  any  State,  would  be 
acceptable,  and  sustained  by  the  Executive  Gov- 
ernment of  the  nation.  I  distinctly  stated  that 
this  was  a  plan  which  might  possibly  be  accept- 
able, and  also  distinctly  protested  that  the  Exec- 
utive claimed  no  right  to  say  when  or  whether 
members  should  be  admitted  to  seats  in  Congress 
from  such  States. 

"I  want  to  make  one  remark  right  here. 
It  is  said  that,  under  Mr.  Johnson's  policy 
of  reconstruction,  the  men  who  originated 
and  carried  on  the  rebellion  can  be  returned 
to  seats  in  Congress  as  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives. The  gentlemen  who  talk  that 
way  forget  that  on  the  2nd  of  July,  1862, 
Congress  passed  an  act,  which  has  never 
been  repealed,  and  is  now  in  full  force  and 
effect,  prohibiting  any  person  from  holding 
any  Federal  office,  high  or  low,  great  or 
small,  who  has  directly  or  indirectly  been 
concerned  in  this  rebellion,  and  there  is  no 
danger  of  the  rebel  leaders  going  into  Con- 
gress unless  the  members  of  that  body 
shall  prove  recreant  to  their  trust  and  fail 
to  enforce  a  law  now  unrepealed  upon  the 
statute  books.  Mr.  Lincoln  referred  to  the 
act  of  Congress,  and  said  distinctly  that  he 
claimed  no  power  to  influence  the  admis- 
sion of  members  of  Congress,  and  no  power 
to  bring  forward  a  man  who  had  been  dis- 
franchised and  rendered  ineligible  by  an 
act  of  Congress.  Mr.  Johnson  has  never 
for  a  moment  claimed  that  he  could  do  such 
a  thing.  The  act  of  Congress  was  binding 
upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  it  is  no  less  binding 
upon  Mr.  Johnson,  and  it  has  not  been  pro- 
posed by  the  plan  of  either  to  interfere 
with  the  operation  of  a  statute,  or  bring 
any  man  into  Congress  or  into  the  posses- 
sion of  any  Federal  office  who  has  been 
made  ineligible  by  law.  'This  plan,'  says 
Mr.  Lincoln,  speaking  of  his  plan  of  re- 
construction— 'This  plan  was,  in  advance, 
submitted  to  the  Cabinet,  and  approved  by 
every  member  of  it.  One  of  them  sug- 
gested that  I  should  then  apply  the  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation  thereto,  except  in 
parts  of  Virginia  and  Louisiana,  and  that 
I  should  drop  the  suggestion  about  appren- 
ticeship, for  freed  people,  and  that  I  should 
omit  the  protest  against  my  own  power  in 
regard  to  admission  of  members  of  Con- 
gress, but  even  then  he  approved  every 
part  and  parcel  of  the  plan,  which  has  since 
been  employed  or  touched  by  the  action  of 
Louisiana.' 

"Here  Mr.  Lincoln,  just  before  his  death, 


(216) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


gives  the  history  of  his  plan  of  reconstruc- 
tion. He  says  it  was  submitted  to  every 
member  of  his  Cabinet — and  who  were  the 
members  of  his  Cabinet  at  that  time? 
Chief  Justice  Chase,  Edwin  M.  Stanton  and 
Wm.  H.  Seward  were  among  them,  and 
surely  the  indorsement  of  such  men  as 
these  must  give  additional  weight  to  any 
measure.    Mr.  Lincoln  goes  on: 

The  new  constitution  of  Louisiana,  declaring 
emancipation  for  the  whole  State,  practically 
applies  the  proclamation  to  that  part  previously 
exempted.  It  does  not  adopt  apprenticeship  for 
freed  people,  and  is  silent,  as  it  could  not  well  be 
otherwise,  about  the  admission  of  members  to  Con- 
gress. As  it  applied  to  Louisiana,  every  member 
of  Congress  fully  approved  the  plan  of  the  mes- 
sage. I  received  many  commendations  of  the 
plan,  written  and  verbal,  and  not  a  single  objec- 
tion from  any  professed  emancipationist,  until 
after  news  was  received  at  Washington  that  the 
people  of  Louisiana  had  begun  to  move  in  accord- 
ance with  it,  from  about  July,  1864. 

"In  conclusion,  upon  this  subject  he  used 
the  following  language: 

Such  has  been  my  only  agency  in  the  Louisiana 
movement.  My  promise  is  made,  as  I  have  previ- 
ously stated,  but  as  bad  promises  are  better 
broken  than  kept,  I  shall  treat  this  as  a  bad 
promise,  and  break  it  whenever  I  shall  be  con- 
vinced that  keeping  it  is  adverse  to  the  public  in- 
terest.   But  I  have  not  yet  been  so  convinced. 

"Now,  we  find  Mr.  Lincoln,  just  before 
his  death,  referring  in  warm  and  strong 
terms  to  his  policy  of  amnesty  and  recon- 
struction, and  giving  it  his  endorsement, 
giving  to  the  world  that  which  had  never 
been  given  before — the  history  of  that  plan 
and  policy,  stating  that  it  had  been  pre- 
sented and  endorsed  by  every  member  of 
that  able  and  distinguished  Cabinet  of 
1863.  Mr.  Lincoln  may  be  said  to  have 
died  holding  out  to  the  Nation  his  policy 
of  amnesty  and  reconstruction.  It  was 
held  out  by  him  at  the  very  time  the  rebels 
laid  down  their  arms. 

"Mr.  Lincoln  died  by  the  hand  of  an  as- 
sassin, and  Mr.  Johnson  came  into  power. 
He  took  Mr.  Lincoln's  Cabinet  as  he  had 
left  it,  and  he  took  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  of 
amnesty  and  reconstruction  as  he  had  left 
it,  and  as  he  had  presented  it  to  the  world 
only  two  days  before  his  death.  Mr.  John- 
son has  honestly  and  faithfully  attempted 
to  administer  that  policy,  which  had  been 
bequeathed  by  that  man  around  whose 
grave  a  whole  world  has  gathered  as 
mourners. 

"I  refer  to  these  facts  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  that  Mr.  Johnson's  policy  is 


not  a  new  one,  but  that  he  is  simply  carry- 
ing out  the  policy  left  to  him  by  his  la- 
mented predecessor — a  policy  that  had 
been  endorsed  by  the  whole  nation  in  the 
re-election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  had  been 
promulgated  to  the  whole  world  nearly  one 
year  before  the  time  of  his  last  election. 

"I  want  to  remark  one  thing  more  upon 
that  subject.  I  want  to  refer  to  the  action 
of  Congress  in  reference  to  the  question 
of  reconstruction.  You  will  remember 
that  some  time  in  the  month  of  April,  Hen- 
ry Winter  Davis,  a  very  distinguished  Con- 
gressman from  Maryland,  introduced  a  bill 
called  the  Winter  Davis  Bill.  It  provided 
a  plan  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  rebel 
States,  to  bring  them  back  into  practical 
relations  with  the  Government.  It  dif- 
fered from  the  plan  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  in 
some  important  respects,  one  of  which 
was  that,  in  electing  delegates  to  the  State 
convention  that  was  to  reorganize  the 
State  government,  he  allowed  no  man  to 
vote  who  had  been  concerned  in  the  rebel- 
lion in  any  way.  I  want  to  call  your  at- 
tention very  briefly  to  that  bill  and  show 
you  how  far  Congress  was  committed  by 
its  own  direct  action  to  the  main  points  in 
Mr.  Johnson's  policy  of  reconstruction. 
This  bill,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  here,  pro- 
vided for  the  appointment  of  Provisional 
Governors  in  these  States,  just  as  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's plan  had  done  and  Mr.  Johnson's 
now  does.  It  provided  that  these  Provi- 
sional Governors  might  call  State  conven- 
tions for  the  purpose  of  forming  State 
con.stitutions,  and  in  this  particular,  also, 
it  conformed  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  plan.  It 
then  went  on  to  define  the  question  of  the 
right  of  suff'rage  for  delegates  to  these  con- 
ventions. It  provided  that  the  delegates 
shall  be  elected  by  the  loyal  white  male 
citizens  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of 
twentv-one  years,  and  residents  at  the 
time  in  the  county,  parish  or  district  in 
which  they  shall  offer  to  vote. 

"I  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that 
Congress  itself,  only  a  little  over  a  year 
ago,  when  it  assumed  to  take  the  whole 
question  of  reconstruction  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  President,  expressly  excluded  the 
negro  from  the  right  of  suffrage  in  voting 
for  the  men  who  were  to  frame  the  new 
constitutions  for  the  rebel  States.  Not 
only  that,  but  it  went  on  to  state  what  the 
constitutions  should  contain,  and  provided 
that  if  the  constitutions  to  be  formed  by 
these  conventions  should  conform  to  the 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


provisions  of  this  bill,  then  those  States 
should  be  entitled  to  come  back  at  once. 
What  were  these  conditions?  They  only 
required  that  the  constitution  should  con- 
tain three  things:  first,  it  shall  contain  a 
provision  to  the  effect  that  no  person  who 
has  held  or  exercised  any  office,  civil  or 
military,  except  offices  merely  ministerial, 
and  military  offices  below  the  grade  of 
colonel,  State  or  Confederate,  under  the 
usurping  power,  shall  vote  for,  or  be  a 
member  of,  the  Legislature,  or  Governor. 
In  other  words,  the  bill  required  that  these 
conventions  should  exclude  from  the  right 
of  suffrage  in  the  South  all  persons  who 
had  been  in  the  rebel  army  above  the  rank 
of  colonel,  thereby  conceding  very  plainly 
that  they  might  give  the  right  of  suff'rage 
to  all  persons  below  that  rank.  The  bill 
provides,  secondly,  that  involuntary  servi- 
tude must  be  forever  prohibited  and  the 
freedom  of  all  persons  guaranteed  in  such 
States;  and  that  no  debt  or  obligation 
created  by  or  under  the  sanction  of  the 
usurping  power  shall  be  recognized  or  paid 
by  the  State. 

"These  were  all  the  conditions  that  were 
imposed  upon  the  constitutions  to  be 
framed  under  the  Henry  Winter  Davis 
bill.  It  simply  required,  if  you  please,  that 
the  constitution  of  South  Carolina  should 
not  give  the  right  of  suff'rage  to  any  man 
who  had  held  office  in  the  rebel  army  above 
the  rank  of  colonel;  and  that  involuntary 
servitude  should  be  abolished,  and  that 
they  should  not  assume  any  Confederate 
debt;  but  it  did  not  require  that  any  pro- 
vision be  made  to  confer  the  right  of  suf- 
frage upon  the  negro  at  any  time.  It  did 
not  require  that  they  should  make  provi- 
sion for  the  education  of  the  negro,  or  for 
giving  him  the  right  of  testifying  in  courts 
of  justice,  or  for  preserving,  in  any  partic- 
ular way,  what  may  be  called  his  civil 
rights.  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  you  remember,  re- 
fused to  sign  that  bill.  He  put  it  in  his 
pocket.  Though  it  had  received  a  majority 
in  both  Houses,  being  passed  in  the  House 
by  a  vote  of  74  to  66,  and  by  a  much  larger 
vote  in  the  Senate,  it  failed  to  become  a 
law.  Some  of  you  may,  perhaps,  remem- 
ber the  angry  manifesto  put  forth  in  con- 
sequence of  Mr.  Lincoln's  course  in  that 
matter  by  Mr.  Davis  and  Mr.  Wade,  and 
you  will  not  forget  that  the  result  was  to 
create  strife  and  division  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Union  party. 

"If  Mr.  Lincoln  had  not  refused  to  sign 


that  bill  there  would  today  be  an  act  of 
Congress  on  the  statute  books  absolutely 
prohibiting  negroes  frorh  any  participa- 
tion in  the  work  of  reorganization  and 
pledging  the  Government  in  advance  to  ac- 
cept of  the  constitutions  that  might  be 
formed  under  the  bill,  although  they  made 
no  provision  for  the  negro  beyond  the  fact 
of  his  personal  liberty.  If  that  bill  had 
become  a  law,  and  the  rebel  States  had 
formed  their  constitutions  under  it,  sim- 
ply guaranteeing  the  negro  his  personal 
liberty,  but  making  no  provision  for  suf- 
frage or  any  other  rights,  they  could  pre- 
sent their  members  of  Congress  and  you 
could  not  keep  them  out,  except  by  tram- 
pling on  one  of  the  acts  of  Congress.  But 
Mr.  Lincoln  refused  to  sign  it,  giving  his 
reason  for  doing  so,  and  it  is  only  another 
act  for  which  we  ought  to  thank  him.  So 
that  while  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  require 
negro  suffrage  in  his  plan  of  reconstruc- 
tion, we  here  have  a  solemn  act  of  Con- 
gress absolutely  prohibiting  the  negro 
from  any  participation  in  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  Southern  States.  Now,  how  is 
it  with  Mr.  Johnson?  Mr.  Lincoln  re- 
quired that  they  should  come  back  to  the 
Union  with  constitutions  free  from  slav- 
ery. Mr.  Johnson  has  said  so  time  and 
again — he  said  it  to  the  South  Carolina 
delegation.  He  said  to  the  Freedmen's 
delegation :  'It  is  one  condition  of  the  re- 
admission  of  these  States  that  slavery 
shall  be  forever  extinguished,  and  that  the 
rights  of  the  freedmen  shall  be  preserved 
and  respected.'  I  am  very  glad  to  see  that 
many  of  the  Southern  States  are  making 
commendable  progress  in  this  matter  of 
the  abolition  of  slavery.  I  see  that  the 
convention  in  Alabama  has  adopted  by  83 
to .  3  a  provision  forever  abolishing  and 
prohibiting  slavery  in  that  State — and  not 
only  so,  but  requiring  the  Legislature  to 
make  provision  for  the  protection  of  the 
freedmen  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  civil 
rights.      (Applause.) 

"I  come  now  to  speak  more  properly  on 
the  STibject  of  negro  suffrage.  The  Consti- 
tution of  the  LTnited  States  has  referred 
the  question  of  suffrage  to  the  several 
States.  This  may  have  been  right,  or  it 
may  have  been  wrong.  I  merely  speak  of 
the  subject  as  it  stands,  and  say  that  the 
question  of  suffrage  is  referred  by  the 
Constitution  to  the  several  States.  It  first 
provides  that  such  persons  as  had  a  right 
to  vote  by  the  laws  of  the  State  for  a  mem- 


(218) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1910 


ber  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the 
State  Legislature  should  have  a  right  to 
vote  for  members  of  Congress.  It  then, 
in  another  provision,  declares  that  the 
States  may,  in  any  manner  they  may  see 
proper,  appoint  or  elect  their  presidential 
electors,  so  that  the  whole  question  of  suf- 
frage has,  by  the  Constitution,  from  the 
beginning  been  referred  to  the  several 
States.  Now,  it  has  been  proposed  by 
some  to  avoid  the  operation  of  this  provi- 
sion by  excluding  members  of  Congress 
from  the  Southern  States  until  such  time 
as  they  shall  incorporate  negro  suffrage  in 
their  State  constitutions — to  say  to  them, 
'We  will  keep  you  out  of  your  seats  until 
such  time  as  the  State  from  which  you 
come  shall  amend  its  constitution  so  as  to 
provide  for  negro  suffrage.' 

"This  is  one  way  in  which  to  avoid  the 
force  of  the  constitutional  provisions. 
There  is  another  plan,  and  that  is  the  the- 
ory which  regards  these  States  as  being 
out  of  the  Union  and  holding  them  as  con- 
quered provinces,  subject  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Congress,  like  unorganized  terri- 
tory, saying  that  Congress  has  the  power 
to  provide  for  calling  conventions  in  these 
States,  just  as  in  the  territory  of  Dakota, 
and  may  prescribe  the  right  of  suffrage 
and  determine  who  shall  vote  in  electing 
delegates  To  these  conventions,  just  as  in 
the  territory  of  Dakota;  that  it  may  then 
determine  whether  it  will  accept  the  con- 
stitution offered,  as  might  be  determined 
in  the  case  of  any  other  territory. 

"I  will  not  stop  to  argue  this  question 
at  length,  but  will  say  this,  that  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war  up  to  the  present 
time  every  message  of  the  President,  every 
proclamation,  every  State  paper  and  every 
act  of  Congress  has  proceeded  upon  the 
hypothesis  that  no  State  could  secede  from 
the  Union ;  that  once  in  the  Union,  always 
in  the  Union.  Mr.  Lincoln  in  every  proc- 
lamation went  on  the  principle  that  this 
war  was  an  insurrection — a  rebellion 
against  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of 
the  United  States;  not  a  rebellion  of 
States,  but  a  rebellion  of  the  individuals, 
the  people  of  the  several  Southern  States, 
and  every  man  who  went  into  it  was  per- 
sonally and  individually  responsible  for 
his  acts  and  could  not  shield  himself  under 
the  action  or  authority  of  his  State.  He 
went  on  the  principle  that  every  ordinance 
of  secession,  every  act  of  the  legislatures 
of  the  rebel  States  in  that  direction  was  a 


nullity,  uncon.stitutional  and  void,  having 
no  legal  force  or  effect  whatever,  and  that 
as  these  States  were,  according  to  law,  in 
the  Union,  their  standing  could  not  be  af- 
fected by  the  action  of  the  people — that 
the  people  of  these  States  were  personally 
responsible  for  their  conduct,  just  as  a 
man  is  responsible  who  violates  the  statute 
in  regard  to  the  commission  of  murder, 
and  to  be  treated  as  criminals,  just  as  the 
authorities  thought  proper — that  the  peo- 
ple of  a  State  can  forfeit  their  rights,  but 
so  far  as  their  action  is  concerned,  in  a 
legal  pomt  of  view,  they  had  no  power  to 
affect  the  condition  of  the  State  in  the 
Union.  Every  proclamation  and  every 
act  ot  Congress  have  proceeded  upon  this 
hypothesis.  Mr.  Buchanan  started  out 
with  the  proposition  that  this  was  a  rebel- 
lion of  States.  He  said  we  could  not  co- 
erce a  State.  Our  reply  was,  we  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  States,  we 
will  coerce  the  people  of  the  States,  hold- 
ing every  man  responsible  for  his  conduct. 

"This  was  our  answer  to  Mr.  Buchanan. 
Upon  this  hypothesis  we  have  just  put 
down  the  rebellion.  But  it  is  now  pro- 
posed by  some  that  we  shall  practically 
admit  that  the  Southern  States  did  secede 
— that  they  did  go  out  of  the  Union — that 
the  work  of  secession  was  perfect,  was  ac- 
complished— that  the  States  are  out  of  the 
Union — that  a  government  de  facto  was 
established,  and  that  we  now  hold  these 
States  as  conquered  provinces,  just  as  we 
should  hold  Canada  if  we  were  to  invade 
it  and  take  possession  of  it.  As  a  conse- 
quence of  this  doctrine,  Jeff  Davis  can  not 
be  tried  for  treason  because  he  is  not  a 
traitor — not  a  violator  of  the  law,  but  the 
head  of  a  government  de  facto — the  ruler 
of  a  conquered  province,  and  we  have  no 
more  power  to  try  him  for  treason  than 
we  would  to  try  the  Governor  of  Canada 
for  such  an  offense  in  case  he  should  fall 
mto  our  hands  during  a  hostile  invasion 
of  his  territory.  That  is  what  this  doc- 
trine leads  to.  It  leads  to  a  thousand 
other  evils  and  pernicious  things  never 
contemplated  in  the  nature  of  our  Govern- 
ment. 

"Another  consequence  which  would  flow 
from  the  admission  of  that  doctrine  (and 
I  propose  to  argue  that  at  some  other 
time)  would  be  that  we  would  be  called 
upon  to  pay  the  rebel  debt.  If  we  admit 
that  these  States  were  out  of  the  Union 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  1 


for  one  moment,  and  we  were  to  be  re- 
garded in  the  light  of  belligerents,  it  would 
be  insisted  upon  at  once  that  when  we 
took  them  back  we  took  them  with  their 
debts,  as  we  would  take  any  other  con- 
quered province  or  State.  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  argue  that  question  any  further 
at  this  time. 

"The  question  of  negro  suffrage  is  one 
which  threatens  to  divide  us  to  some  ex- 
tent, and  is  surrounded  with  many  prac- 
tical difficulties.  I  reject  in  advance  all 
schemes  of  colonization,  as  they  are  im- 
practicable. We  have  no  right  to  insist 
upon  colonizing  the  negro.  He  is  an 
American,  born  in  this  country,  and  he 
has  no  other  countiy.  When  he  desires  to 
emigrate  he  has  a  perfect  right  to  do  so, 
but  his  emigration  must  depend  upon  his 
own  volition.  I  believe  that  the  time  will 
come  when  every  man  in  the  country, 
white  and  black,  will  have  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, and  that  suffrage  should  not  depend 
upon  color — that  there  is  nothing  in  that 
which  should  make  a  distinction.  I  be- 
lieve that  in  the  process  of  years  every 
man,  whatever  his  color,  whether  in  In- 
diana or  in  South  Carolina,  will  come  to 
enjoy  political  rights.      (Applause.) 

"The  right  to  vote  carries  with  it  the 
right  to  hold  office.  You  cannot  say  that 
the  negro  has  a  natural  right  to  vote,  but 
that  he  must  vote  only  for  white  men  for 
office.  The  right  to  vote  carries  with  it 
the  right  to  be  voted  for.  When  that  right 
is  conferred  you  can  make  no  discrimina- 
tion, no  distinction  against  the  right  to 
hold  office,  and  the  right  to  vote  in  a  State 
carries  with  it  the  right  to  vote  for  Presi- 
dent and  members  of  Congress,  and  for  all 
Federal  officers.  The  right  of  suffrage  be- 
ing conferred  in  South  Carolina,  for  State 
purposes,  under  our  Constitution,  as  I 
have  pointed  out  before,  carries  with  it 
the  right  to  vote  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  and  members  of  Congress. 

"In  regard  to  the  question  of  admitting 
the  freedmen  of  the  Southern  States  to 
vote,  while  I  admit  the  equal  rights  of  all 
men,  and  that  in  time  all  men  will  have 
the  right  to  vote  without  distinction  of 
color  or  race,  I  yet  believe  that  in  the  case 
of  four  millions  of  slaves  just  freed  from 
bondage  there  should  be  a  period  of  pro- 
bation and  preparation  before  they  are 
brought  to  the  exercise  of  political  power. 
Let  us  consider  for  one  moment  the  con- 
dition   of   these   people   in   the   Southern 


States.  You  cannot  judge  of  the  general 
condition  of  the  freedmen  and  negroes 
upon  the  plantation  by  what  we  hear  of 
the  schools  established  at  Hilton  Head, 
Norfolk  and  other  places  where  a  few  en- 
thusiastic and  philanthropic  teachers  are 
instructing  the  negroes.  I  have  no  doubt 
many  of  them  are  making  rapid  progress, 
but  these  are  only  as  one  in  many  thou- 
sands. Ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred 
of  the  negroes  in  the  South  live  on  the 
plantations,  and  you  cannot  judge  of  the 
condition  of  the  great  mass  by  those  who 
live  in  the  towns.  You  must  consider  the 
condition  of  the  whole  mass.  What  is  that 
condition?  Perhaps  not  one  in  five  hun- 
dred— I  may  say  one  in  a  thousand — can 
read,  and  perhaps  not  one  in  five  hundred 
is  worth  five  dollars  in  property  of  any 
kind.  They  have  no  property,  personal  or 
real.  They  have  just  come  from  bondage 
and  all  they  have  is  their  ov/n  bodies. 

"Their  homes  are  on  the  plantations  of 
these  men,  and  they  must  depend  for  sub- 
sistence on  the  employment  they  receive 
from  them.  Look  at  their  condition.  As 
I  said  before,  only  one  in  five  hundred  can 
read — many  of  them  until  within  the  last 
few  months  were  never  ofi:"  the  plantation ; 
most  of  them  never  out  of  the  county  in 
which  they  live  and  were  born,  except  as 
they  were  driven  by  the  slave  drivers. 
Can  you  conceive  that  a  body  of  men, 
white  or  black,  who  have  been  in  this  con- 
dition, and  their  ancestors  before  them, 
are  qualified  to  be  immediately  lifted  from 
their  present  state  into  the  full  exercise 
of  political  power,  not  only  to  govern 
themselves  and  their  neighbors,  but  to 
take  part  in  the  government  of  the  United 
States?  Can  they  be  regarded  as  intelli- 
gent and  independent  voters?  The  mere 
statement  of  the  fact  furnishes  the  answer 
to  the  question.  To  say  that  such  men — 
and  it  is  no  fault  of  theirs;  it  is  simply 
their  misfortune  and  the  crime  of  the  na- 
tion— to  say  that  such  men,  just  emerging 
from  this  slavery,  are  qualified  for  the 
exercise  of  political  power,  is  to  make  the 
strongest  pro-slavery  argument  I  ever 
heard.  It  is  to  pay  the  highest  compli- 
ment to  the  institution  of  slavery. 

"What  has  been  our  practice  for  many 
years?  We  have  invariably  described 
slavery  as  degrading  to  both  the  body  and 
soul.  We  have  described  it  as  bringing 
human  beings  down  to  the  level  of  the 
beasts  of  the  field.     We  have  described  it 


(  220) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


as  a  crime,  depriving  the  slaves  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  culture  and  of  all  gifts 
which  God  has  made  the  most  precious. 
If  we  shall  now  turn  around  and  say  that 
this  institution  has  been  a  blessing  to  the 
negro  instead  of  a  curse ;  that  it  has  quali- 
fied him  for  the  right  of  suffrage  and  the 
exercise  of  political  power,  we  shall  stul- 
tify ourselves  and  give  the  lie  to  those  dec- 
larations upon  which  we  have  obtained 
political  power. 

"Let  me  inquii-e  for  a  single  moment,  in 
what  condition  is  Indiana  to  urge  negro 
suffrage  in  South  Carolina,  or  in  any  other 
State?  Let  us  consider  the  position  we 
occupy.  We  have,  perhaps,  twenty-five 
thousand  colored  people  in  this  State. 
Most  of  them  can  read  and  write;  many 
of  them  are  very  intelligent  and  excellent 
citizens,  well-to-do  in  the  world,  well  qual- 
ified to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage  and 
political  power.  But  how  stands  the  mat- 
ter? We  not  only  exclude  them  from  vot- 
ing, we  exclude  them  from  testifying  in 
the  courts  of  justice.  We  exclude  them 
from  our  public  schools  and  make  it  un- 
lawful and  a  crime  for  them  to  come  into 
the  State  of  Indiana  at  any  time  subse- 
quent to  18-50.  No  negro  who  has  come 
into  our  State  since  1850  can  make  a  valid 
contract ;  he  cannot  acquire  title  to  a  piece 
of  land  because  the  law  makes  the  deed 
void,  and  every  man  who  gives  him  em- 
ployment is  liable  to  prosecution  and  fine. 
I  sent  out  the  Twenty-eighth  Indiana  col- 
ored regiment,  recruited  with  great  diffi- 
culty and  at  some  expense.  It  has  been 
in  the  field  two  years.  It  has  fought  well 
on  many  occasions  and  won  the  high  opin- 
ion of  officers  who  have  seen  it.  We  got 
credit  on  our  State  quota  for  every  man 
who  went  out.  Yet,  according  to  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  Indiana  more  than 
one-half  of  the  men  in  that  regiment  have 
no  right  to  come  back  again,  and  if  they 
do  come  back  they  are  subject  to  prosecu- 
tion and  fine ;  and  any  man  who  receives 
them  or  employs  them  is  also  liable  to  pun- 
ishment. Now,  can  Indiana,  in  this  con- 
dition— with  twenty-five  thousand  colored 
men  in  her  borders,  to  whom  she  denies 
suffrage  and  political  power,  and  almost 
all  civil  rights,  with  what  face,  I  say,  can 
Indiana  go  to  Congress  and  insist  upon 
giving  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  negroes 
in  the  Southern  States  ?  If  her  Congress- 
men ask  to  no  this  they  will  naturally  be 
asked  in  turn,  'What  have  you  done  with 


ihese  people  in  your  own  State?  You  have 
nad  them  for  many  years.  You  have  long 
had  an  opportunity  to  make  this  issue  as 
to  whether  they  ought  to  have  these 
rights.  Their  mental  and  moral  condition 
is  much  superior  to  that  of  the  great  mass 
of  the  freedmen  in  the  Southern  States.' 

"What  have  you  done?  You  have  done 
nothing.  I  ask  you,  what  would  be  the 
moral  strength  of  any  politician  present- 
ing these  questions  in  Congress?  I  ask  how 
any  member  of  Congress  from  Indiana, 
who  has  not  made  the  issue  at  home,  can 
present  himself  and  urge  the  right  of  Con- 
gress to  enfranchise  the  negroes  in  the 
Southern  States?  It  may  be  said  that 
there  are  only  a  few  of  them  in  Indiana, 
and  it  is  noc  important.  But  if  the  few 
who  are  here  have  a  right,  moral  or  nat- 
ural, to  the  franchise,  when  you  refuse  it 
to  the  few  you  refuse  it  to  all.  When  you 
refuse  it  to  25,000  you  violate  sound  prin- 
ciples just  as  much  as  if  you  refuse  it  to 
five  millions.  I  tell  you  these  Northern 
States  can  never  command  any  moral 
force  on  that  subject  until  they  shall  first 
be  just  to  the  negroes  at  home. 
*       *       * 

"If  you  enfranchise  all  the  negroes  in 
these  States  you  will  have  at  least  twenty 
negro  votes  to  one  white  vote,  and  in  the 
work  of  reconstructing  the  States  of 
South  Carolina,  Alabama  and  Florida  you 
would  have  a  larger  proportion — perhaps 
thirty  colored  votes  to  one  white  vote. 
Now,  I  ask  you,  what  is  to  be  the  eflfect  of 
that?  The  first  effect  would  be  to  erect 
colored  State  governments.  Under  such  a 
condition  of  things  the  negro  would  no 
more  vote  for  a  white  man  than  you  would 
vote  for  a  black  man.  They  would  no 
more  elect  a  white  man  than  they  would 
elect  a  black  man.  Human  nature  is  the 
same,  whether  in  a  white  or  colored  skin. 
There  would  be  nothing  that  would  confer 
more  pleasure  upon  a  man  of  that  race, 
of  course,  than  the  elevation  to  political 
power  of  a  man  of  his  own  race  and  color. 
Having  secured  power,  they  would  retort 
upon  us  that  which  we  have  so  steadily 
practiced  upon  them.  If  you  give  them 
the  votes  they  will  elect  men  of  their  own 
color.  And  we  would  have  no  right  to 
blame  them.  We  would  think  rather  bad- 
ly of  them  if  they  did  not.  I  would  ask 
you  if  the  negroes  of  Hayti,  or  any  other 
place  where  they  are  in  the  majority,  have 
ever  elected  a  white  man  to  oflSce?    Under 


(221) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 1 


Mr.  Sumner's  plan  you  will  give  them  an 
overwhelming  majority  in  every  one  of 
these  States,  and  you  will  give  them  the 
political  power  of  the  South.  That  they 
will  exercise  that  power  by  electing  men 
of  their  own  color  is  absolutely  certain. 
Believing  that  human  nature  is  the  same 
under  different  complexions,  that  the  ne- 
groes are  not  differently  constituted  from 
ourselves,  and  that  they  have  like  passions 
with  us,  we  cannot  doubt  how  this  power 
will  be  exercised. 

"Some  -will  say  that  if  they  can  find 
colored  men  qualified,  all  right.  There 
are  enough  colored  men  of  education  in 
the  North  to  go  South  and  fill  every  office 
there,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they  stand 
ready  to  do  it.  Here  we  deny  them  almost 
every  right,  except  that  of  personal  lib- 
erty, and  it  is  so  in  Illinois  and  some  of 
the  other  Northern  States;  and  when  you 
present  to  them  the  prospect  of  holding 
the  highest  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  people 
of  the  Southern  States,  rest  assured  they 
will  embrace  it.  They  will  have  colored 
Governors,  and  colored  members  of  Con- 
gress, and  Senators  and  Judges  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  etc.  Very  well;  and  sup- 
pose they  do  send  colored  Senators  and 
Representatives  to  Congress?  I  have  no 
doubt  you  will  find  men  in  the  North  will- 
ing to  sit  beside  them,  and  will  not  think 
themselves  degraded  by  doing  so.  I  have 
nothing  to  say  to  this.  I  am  simply  dis- 
cussing the  political  effect  of  it.  In  every 
State  where  there  is  a  colored  State  gov- 
ernment, a  negro  for  Governor  and  a  ne- 
gro for  Supreme  Judge,  white  emigration 
will  cease.  There  will  be  no  more  white 
emigration  to  any  such  State.  You  cannot 
find  the  most  ardent  anti-slavery  man  in 
Wayne  county  who  will  go  and  locate  in 
a  State  that  has  colored  State  govern- 
ment. You  will  absolutely  shut  off  at  once, 
and  effectually,  too,  all  emigration  from 
the  Northern  States,  and  from  Europe, 
too,  whenever  that  event  shall  happen. 
Thus  they  will  remain  permanently  col- 
ored States  in  the  South.  The  white  men 
who  are  now  there  would  remove  from 
them  and  would  not  remain  under  such 
dominion. 

"Very  well,  say  some,  that  is  all  very 
well  if  we  can  get  the  negroes  to  go  there. 
But  let  me  say  that  in  such  case  the  col- 
ored States  would  be  a  balance  of  power 
in  this  country.  I  ask,  is  it  desirable  to 
have  a  colored  State  government?     I  say 


it  is  not.  It  is  not  for  many  reasons.  One 
reason  is,  that  such  States  would  contin- 
ually constitute  a  balance  of  power.  They 
would  be  bound  together  by  the  strongest 
tie  that  ever  binds  men  together — the  tie 
of  color  and  race — the  tie  of  a  down-trod- 
den and  despised  race.  As  three  hundred 
thousand  slave  holders  by  a  common  tie 
were  able  to  govern  this  nation  for  a  long 
time,  so  four  millions  of  people,  bound  to- 
gether by  a  much  stronger  tie — despised 
by  the  whole  world  as  they  have  been — 
would  constantly  vote  to  act  together  and 
their  united  vote  would  constitute  a  bal- 
ance of  power  that  might  control  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  nation. 

"I  submit,  then,  however  clearly  and 
strongly  we  may  admit  the  natural  rights 
of  the  negro — I  submit  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  people — that  colored  State  govern- 
ments are  not  desirable;  that  they  will 
bring  about  results  that  are  not  to  be 
hoped  for;  that  finally  they  would  threat- 
en to  bring  about,  and,  I  believe,  would 
result  in  a  war  of  races. 

"Now  the  question  comes  up,  how  can 
this  thing  be  avoided  and  yet  confer  upon 
the  negro  his  rights?  Well,  if  I  had  the 
power  I  will  tell  you  how  I  would  avoid 
it.  I  believe  it  will  be  the  way  in  which 
it  will  be  ultimately  worked  out,  for  I  be- 
lieve the  time  will  come  when  these  rebel 
States  will  confer  upon  the  negro  the  right 
of  suffrage.  If  I  had  the  power  I  would 
arrange  it  in  this  way:  I  would  give  these 
men  just  emerged  from  slavery  a  pei'iod 
of  probation  and  preparation;  I  would 
give  them  time  to  acquire  a  little  property 
and  get  a  little  education;  time  to  learn 
something  about  the  simplest  fonns  of 
business  and  prepare  themselves  for  the 
exercise  of  political  rights.  By  that  time 
these  Southern  States  will  have  been  so 
completely  filled  up  by  immigration  from 
the  North  and  from  Europe  that  the  ne- 
groes will  be  in  permanent  minority. 
Why?  Because  the  negroes  have  no  immi- 
gration— nothing  but  the  natural  increase 
— while  we  have  immigration  from  all  the 
world,  and  natural  increase  besides.  Thus, 
by  postponing  the  thing  only  until  such 
time  as  the  negroes  are  qualified  to  enjoy 
political  rights,  the  dangers  I  have  been 
considering  would  have  fully  passed  away. 
Their  influence  would  no  longer  be  dan- 
gerous in  the  manner  I  have  indicated  and 
a  conflict  of  races  would  not  be  more  like- 
ly to  happen  there  than  it  now  is  in  Mas- 


(222) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEjMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


sachusetts.  In  Massachusetts  the  negroes 
have  exercised  political  rights  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  yet  there  has  been  no  dis- 
turbance there — no  conflict  of  races. 
Why?  Because  the  negroes  have  been  in 
the  minority.  They  cannot  elect  a  man  of 
their  own  color  to  any  office  to  bring  up 
that  prejudice  of  race.  I  believe  what  I 
have  stated  will  be  the  way  in  which  the 
question  will  work  itself  out.  But,  under 
the  policy  of  Mr.  Sumner,  we  are  to  ex- 
clude twenty  out  of  every  twenty-one  men 
in  the  Southern  States  and  bring  forward 
colored  voters  to  fill  the  places  of  those 
excluded.  The  inevitable  result  of  that 
policy  would  be  to  establish  colored  State 
governments  and  a  colored  balance  of 
power  in  this  Republic,  a  thing  which  I 
think  most  desirable  to  avoid." 

That  the  Republicans  of  Indiana,  under 
the  leadership  of  Governor  Morton,  cher- 
ished a  high  regard  for  Andrew  Johnson 
is  evidenced  by  this  plank  in  their  State 
platform,  adopted  in  February,  1864: 

"Resolved,  That  the  gratitude  of  the 
American  people  is  due  to  Andrew  John- 
son of  Tennessee  for  his  unselfish  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  his  patriotic 
and  successful  eff'orts  for  the  overthrow 
of  the  rebellion,  and  that  we  present  his 
name  as  the  choice  of  our  people  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States." 

At  the  Republican  State  Convention 
held  in  February,  1866,  these  resolutions 
were  given  precedence  in  the  platform 
adopted  by  the  Indiana  Republicans: 

"Resolved,  That  we  have  full  faith  in 
President  Johnson  and  his  Cabinet,  and 
in  the  Union  members  of  both  houses  of 
Congress,  and  in  the  sincere  desire  and 
determination  of  all  of  them  to  conduct 
the  affairs  of  the  Government  in  such 
manner  as  to  secure  the  best  interests  of 
the  whole  people;  and  we  hereby  declare 
that  we  will  sustain  them  in  all  constitu- 
tional efforts  to  restore  peace,  order  and 
permanent  union. 

"Resolved,  That  in  Andrew  Johnson, 
President  of  the  United  States,  we  recog- 
nize a  patriot  true,  and  a  statesman  tried ; 
that  we  will  support  him  in  all  his  consti- 
tutional efforts  to  restore  national  author- 
ity, law  and  order  among  the  people  of  the 
States  lately  in  rebellion,  on  the  basis  of 
equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men;  and 


that  we  pledge  to  the  administration,  ex- 
ecutive and  legislative,  our  united  and 
hearty  co-operation  in  all  wise  and  pru- 
dent measures  devised  for  the  security  of 
the  Government  against  rebellion  and  in- 
surrection in  times  to  come. 

"Resolved,  That  whilst  we  endorse  the 
President  of  the  United  States  in  his  con- 
stitutional efforts  for  the  safety  of  the 
Union,  and  the  restoration  of  law  and  or- 
der, we  do  hereby  express  our  entire  confi- 
dence in  the  Union  majority  in  Congress 
and  pledge  to  it  our  cordial  support. 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  province  of 
the  legislative  branch  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment to  detennine  the  question  of  re- 
construction of  the  States  lately  in  rebel- 
lion against  that  Government;  and  that, 
in  the  exercise  of  that  power.  Congress 
should  have  in  view  the  loyalty  of  the  peo- 
ple in  those  States,  their  devotion  to  the 
Constitution,  and  obedience  to  the  laws; 
and  until  the  people  of  those  States,  by 
their  acts,  prove  themselves  loyal  to  the 
Government,  they  should  not  be  restored 
to  the  rights  and  position  enjoyed  and 
occupied  by  them  before  their  rebellion." 

This  endorsement  of  President  Johnson 
was  unstintedly  given  five  months  after 
the  delivery  of  Governor  Morton's  incisive 
speech  at  Richmond,  and  doubtless  re- 
flected the  views  of  the  Republican  party 
at  that  time,  although  there  had  been  some 
criticism  of  Morton's  views  by  the  radical 
element,  led  by  Geo.  W.  Julian  and  other 
champions  of  abolitionism. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  while  the  Re- 
publicans carried  Indiana  by  20,000  major- 
ity in  1864  and  by  14,000  in  1866,  their 
majority  at  the  October  election  in  1868 
dwindled  down  to  a  little  over  one  thou- 
sand. The  defenders  of  the  Union  who 
survived  the  vicissitudes  of  camp  life, 
forced  marches,  and  the  carnage  of  battle, 
had  returned  to  their  firesides  and  re- 
sumed their  peaceful  occupations,  evident- 
ly did  not  take  kindly  to  the  repudiation  of 
the  principles  espoused  by  Governor  Mor- 
ton at  Richmond  in  1865,  else  the  Repub- 
lican majorities  would  not  have  melted 
av,  ay  as  they  did.  No  inconsiderable  num- 
ber of  Republicans  refused  to  exchange 
Lincolnism  for  Jacobinism. 


(  223  ) 


[Chapter  XXX.] 


DEMOCRATIC  PATRIOTISM 

THE  SPLENDID  WAR  RECORD  OF  INDIANA  DEMOCRATS,  AS 
WELL  AS  DEMOCRATS  OF  OTHER  STATES 

(By   Major  Geo.   E.   Finney,   Editor  Martinsville   Democrat.) 


ATRIOTISM  is  a  positive  quali- 
ty. It  is  the  foundation  stone 
on  which  rests  the  integrity  of 
a  nation.  It  binds,  cements, 
conserves  in  unity  and  strength 
the  institutions  of  a  people. 
Without  it  no  nation  could 
be  strong,  nor  long  preserve  its  autono- 
my —  could  long  enjoy  internal  peace 
or  external  comity.  The  love  of  country 
is  not  a  natural  gift,  but  comes  from  rea- 
son. Habit,  observation  and  education  at- 
tach us  to  it,  and  not  instinct.  In  a  re- 
public such  as  ours  partisanism  may  grow 
so  strong  as  to  weaken  patriotism,  and 
though  parties  are  necessary  to  preserve  a 
just  equilibrium  between  diverging  inter- 
ests, their  tendency  to  weaken  patriotism 
should  be  guarded  against  with  extreme 
care,  and  this  is  a  lesson  not  taught  with 
sufficient  pertinacity.  To  illustrate  this 
fact  it  is  only  necessary  to  present  the 
political  state  of  the  public  mind  just  previ- 
ous to  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war, 
and  which  in  the  same  words  will  give  the 
reader  and  student  of  today  a  clearer  view 
of  the  deep  strength  of  patriotism  that 
characterized  the  Democrat  of  the  North 
of  that  day,  inducing  him  to  enlist  himself 
in  the  cause  destined  to  preserve  intact  the 
national  existence  of  the  Union,  and  to 
offer  life  if  need  be  to  thwart  the  purpose 
of  those  who  for  partisan  ends  would  dis- 
member it. 

Persons  living  since  that  great  political 
crisis  cannot  form  a  correct  opinion  of  the 
condition  of  the  public  mind  in  that  day, 
which  is  necessary  to  a  full  appreciation 
of  the  strength  of  patriotism  that  actuated 
the  hosts  of  Indiana  Democrats  in  seizing 


the  implements  of  war  to  repel  a  large  sec- 
tional contingent  of  their  own  party  in  an 
insane  purpose  to  destroy  the  Union. 

In  the  year  before  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  there  had  been  a  most  exciting 
political  campaign  and  election.  But  for 
two  or  three  years  previous  to  that  cam- 
paign there  had  been  heated  discussions  in 
the  press,  on  the  rostrum  and  amongst  the 
citizens  of  communities  over  the  then  lead- 
ing political  question  of  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union.  Naturally  the  Democrats  were 
put  on  the  defensive  for  the  reason  that 
Southern  Democrats,  almost  wholly,  were 
the  propagandists  of  this  destructive  proj- 
ect. Before  any  overt  acts  were  essayed, 
the  question  was  regarded  purely  political, 
and  the  Democrats  of  the  North  were  dis- 
posed towards  defending  by  palliating  the 
declarations  and  purpose  of  their  Southern 
political  kinsmen — their  position  being  in 
the  main  that  the  threat  had  a  political 
aim  intended  to  thwart  the  political  pur- 
pose of  the  abolition  sentiment  of  the 
North,  the  abolitionists  being  held  the 
aggressors.  In  this  period  came  the 
notable  national  discussion  in  Illinois  be- 
tween Lincoln  and  Douglas,  in  which  slav- 
ery was  the  prominent  feature.  This 
brought  the  subject  to  every  community 
in  the  country,  and  it  was  the  fire-brand 
that  set  the  mind  ablaze.  So  that,  when 
the  campaign  of  1860  came,  the  people 
were  at  swords'  points — crazed  with  the 
subject,  and  allowed  their  minds  to  run  to 
excess  of  wild  exclamation  and  abuse. 
Taunts  and  jeers  were  hurled  and  op- 
probrious epithets  were  applied,  and  soon 
personal  assaults  were  indulged  in  when 
the  war  actually  came.  The  Democratic 
party  had  split  into  several  fragments  in 


8— History 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


the  campaign,  leaving  the  Republicans  to 
an  easy  victory  in  the  national  election, 
and  as  between  this  event  and  the  action  of 
the  electoral  college  overt  acts  of  dissolu- 
tion had  become  history,  the  seceding 
States  were  not  represented,  and  the 
Democratic  party  was  torn  into  shreds. 
Previous  to  this  quick  succession  of  polit- 
ical events  there  had  been  nothing  to  call 
out  the  latent  patriotism  of  either  Demo- 
crats or  Republicans.  But  now,  to  use  the 
words,  later,  of  President  Cleveland,  a  con- 
dition and  not  a  theory  confronted  us. 
Partisanism  was  thrown  aside  and  patriot- 
ism vivified  in  the  heart ;  and  though  still 
upbraided,  taunted,  jeered  by  the  Repub- 
licans in  the  mad  flush  of  a  political  vic- 
tory, Democrats  flocked  to  the  standard 
with  the  first  call  to  arms  and  remained 
active  under  it  through  the  bloody  years 
until  "the  war  drums  throbbed  no  longer." 
The  patriotism  that  stirred  men  to  action 
under  these  circumstances  must  have  been 
deep  and  abiding,  and  that  kept  them  in 
service  throughout  the  war,  and  to  those 
who  thus  proved  the  possession  of  unselfish 
love  of  country,  a  greater  meed  of  praise  is 
due  than  has  often  been  accorded  them. 
Let  the  writer  hereof  lay  this  humble 
tribute-wreath  upon  the  brows  of  those 
Democrats,  living  and  dead:  In  the  face 
of  most  ungenerous  abuse  and  contumely, 
with  a  patriotism  untarnished  by  any  base 
sentiment  and  under  the  highest  motives 
that  can  animate  loyalty,  they  "saw  their 
duty  and  did  it." 

In  distinctive  contrast  with  the  attitude 
towards  Democrats  of  the  great  body  of 
Republicans,  President  Lincoln  held  a 
clearer  view  and  a  juster  judgment  as  to 
his  duty  to  the  country,  and  his  purpose 
of  reclamation  of  the  severed  Union.  To 
solidify  the  North  in  the  struggle  and  to 
show  that  unlike  his  party  generally  he 
felt  sure  of  the  patriotism  of  the  Northern 
Democrats,  correctly  judging  them  by  his 
own  high  purpose  of  preserving  the  unity 
of  the  States,  he  sought  them  out  and  con- 
ferred upon  them  high  and  responsible  po- 


sitions. And  it  is  yet  to  be  learned  of  an 
incident  where  they  betrayed  the  trust. 
McClellan  commanded  the  army ;  he  was  a 
Democrat.  Grant  was  selected  from  a 
score  of  men,  and  put  in  command  of  the 
great  armies  of  the  North ;  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat, changing  his  political  views  and  be- 
coming a  Republican  not  until  the  war 
closed,  and  in  the  initial  days  of  the  recon- 
struction period.  The  superb  Hancock, 
who  held  back  the  South  on  that  blood- 
stained ridge  at  Gettysburg;  a  Democrat 
he,  and  a  gallant  soldier  and  heart-whole 
patriot  besides.  Franz  Sigel,  Democrat, 
was  made  a  general  and  given  command  of 
a  force,  that  with  the  wiry  German  at  its 
head,  became  an  idol  of  both  our  German 
and  American  citizenship;  Sigel  was  also 
prominent  in  civil  life — elected  Register  of 
the  city  of  New  York  in  1871,  and  was 
Pension  Agent  for  the  New  York  depart- 
ment, appointed  by  President  Cleveland 
during  his  first  term.  The  Irish,  too,  were 
represented  in  the  fighting  General  James 
Shields  of  Illinois,  a  Democrat,  a  statesman 
as  well  as  soldier,  who  also  served  the  coun- 
try as  a  United  States  Senator,  holding 
that  office  in  succession  from  three  differ- 
ent States — Illinois,  Minnesota  and  Mis- 
souri. However,  it  was  never  necessary  to 
"show  him,"  whether  in  the  Senate,  as 
Governor  of  the  Oregon  Territory  or  as  a 
soldier  in  the  field.  He  knew.  This  list 
might  be  extended  greatly,  but  these  names 
are  sufficient  to  show  the  unselfish  loyalty 
of  the  Democracy,  both  native  and  foreign 
born,  as  well  as  the  wisdom  that  character- 
ized the  great  President,  Lincoln. 

And  many  Indiana  Democratic  soldiers 
— generals,  colonels,  and  men  in  the  ranks 
— with  hearts  that  beat  in  unison  with  the 
grand  strains  of  "My  Country,  'Tis  of 
Thee,"  marched  and  slept  and  suffered  and 
fought  in  the  miasmatic  swamps,  and 
under  the  festoons  of  the  gray  Spanish 
moss ;  on  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi; in  the  trenches  at  Vicksburg;  in 
Mobile  bay;  at  Stone's  River;  at  Resaca; 
on   the   storm-swept   sands   of   Hatteras; 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


with  Sherman  on  the  march  to  the  sea; 
even  challenging  the  guns  above  the  clouds 
on  Missionary  Ridge;  at  the  bloody  angle 
and  on  the  ridge  at  Gettysburg;  in  the 
swamps  of  the  Chickahominy ;  working, 
watching  and  waiting  in  the  trenches  at 
Petersburg  and  Richmond;  on  the  fields  all 
over  the  South,  as  well  as  on  the  ensan- 
guined plains  in  front  of  Washington.  And 
everywhere  they  wrote  a  record  of  brave 
and  faithful  service,  the  great  thought 
that  animated  their  souls  being  to  reclaim 
and  preserve  the  Union.  On  every  field 
they  paid  the  price  of  devotion  to  a  lofty 
patriotism  by  the  ineflfable  sacrifice.  Why 
not  then  be  placed  on  their  brows  in  mem- 
ory a  wreath  bearing  the  legend — and  no 
greater  praise  can  be  bestowed  on  man — 
"They  saw  their  duty  and  did  it."  And 
the  men  that  stood  beside  them,  yet  es- 
caped the  cruel  shaft,  and  who  devoted 
their  lives  since  to  the  upbuilding  and  re- 
habilitation of  the  country  that  was  left 
torn  and  blood-stained — with  broken 
bones  and  saddened  mothers,  bereft  of 
sons  or  husbands — are  no  less  entitled  to 
like  honor  and  praise  from  those  who  en- 
joy the  fruits  of  their  well-directed  labors 
in  the  dark  days  of  America. 

HENDRICKS'  ATTITUDE  ON  THE 
WAR. 

WHAT  HE  HIMSELF  SAID  ABOUT  IT  NINE- 
TEEN YEARS  AFTER  IT  WAS  OVER. 
A  good  deal  was  said  during  and  after 
the  civil  war  in  regard  to  the  "equivocal 
attitude"  assumed  and  maintained  by 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  with  reference  to 
the  m.ethods  of  bringing  about  the  sup- 
pression of  the  rebellion.  Mr.  Hendricks 
was  reluctant  to  talk  about  his  record,  pre- 
ferring that  it  speak  for  itself  rather  than 
that  he  devote  his  time  to  defending  it. 
However,  at  the  close  of  the  exciting 
Cleveland  and  Hendricks  campaign  of 
1884  occasion  presented  itself  for  depart- 
ing from  his  established  custom.  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  Democratic  Veteran  As- 


sociation of  Indiana,  headed  by  Capt.  Wm. 
R.  Myers  of  Anderson,  called  at  the  hos- 
pitable home  of  Mr.  Hendricks  December 
4,  1884,  to  pay  their  i-espects  to  the  twice- 
elected  vice-president  who  had  eight  years 
previously  been  chosen  by  a  popular  ma- 
jority of  a  quarter  of  a  million  votes  but 
who,  with  Tilden,  was  denied  occupancy 
of  the  office  to  which  he  had  been  assigned 
by  the  people.  In  eloquent  words  Captain 
Myeis  paid  tribute  to  the  high  character 
and  the  sterling  worth  of  Governor  Hen- 
dricks, in  reply  to  which  the  latter  re- 
sponded in  this  direct  manner  and  in  these 
incisive  terms : 

"Captain  Myers,  I  am  very  much  grati- 
fied that  you  have  been  made  the  medium 
by  your  comrades  to  express  to  me  the 
sentiments  of  your  own  .speech,  and  of  the 
address  of  the  Association.  You  would 
distrust  my  sincerity  were  I  to  say  I  am 
not  gratified  at  the  honor  you  have  done 
me.  The  congratulations  from  you  and 
your  comrades  are  especially  gratifying 
when  I  consider  the  fact  that  you  and  I 
shared  in  the  contest  of  last  summer, 
which  I  regard  as  the  greatest  of  all  polit- 
ical contests  in  this  country  with  which 
1  have  been  acquainted,  and  that  we  have 
come  out  of  that  sharing  alike  in  its  re- 
sponsibilities and  its  glory.  You  have  re- 
ferred to  one  characteristic  of  the  contest 
which  I  hope  never  to  see  repeated  in  our 
country.  The  personal  attacks  and  slan- 
der that  have  been  indulged  in  were  un- 
worthy of  American  politics.  I  have  never 
referred  to  any  of  these,  .so  far  as  they 
personally  concern  myself,  during  the 
campaign,  and  will  only  do  so  now  very 
briefly.  During  the  first  month  of  the 
war  I  found  it  necessary  to  correct  one 
of  these  misrepresentations,  and  at  that 
time  used  the  following  language : 

Since  the  war  commenced  I  have  uniformly  said 
that  the  authority  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  is  not  questioned  in  Indiana,  and  I 
regard  it  as  the  duty  of  the  citizens  of  Indiana  to 
respect  and  maintain  that  authority,  and  to  give 
the  Government  an  earnest  support  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war,  until  in  the  province  of  God  it 
may  be  brought  to  an  honorable  conclusion  and  the 
blessings  of  peace  restored  to  our  country,  post- 
poning until  that  time  all  controversy  in  relation 
to  the  causes  and  responsibilities  of  the  war.  No 
man  vnVl  feel  a  deeper  solicitude  for  the  Indiana 
soldiers  as  long  as  the  conflict  remains  to  which 
they  are  called,  than  myself. 


(  227) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1 


"The  sentiments  then  expressed  guided 
my  conduct  throughout  the  war.  One  of 
the  political  leaders  of  the  times  charged 
that  I  failed  in  my  duty  in  having  opposed 
the  law  for  the  drafts.  To  opposition  to 
the  draft  I  must  plead  guilty.  I  favored 
an  army  of  volunteers,  encouraged  by  suit- 
able bounties ;  and  during  the  first  month 
of  my  service  in  the  Senate  I  said  that  I 
desired  to  express  the  opinion  that  Con- 
gress should  encourage  volunteering, 
rather  than  rely  on  what  many  deemed  an 
unpopular  measure  of  the  Government, 
namely,  a  draft.  I  did  not  regard  the 
draft  as  a  reliable  support  for  the  army. 
Prior  to  that  time  125,000  had  been 
drafted,  6,000  entered  service  under  the 
draft,  10,000  substitutes  were  furnished, 
and  20,000  M'ere  induced  to  volunteer  by 
the  bounties  that  these  commutations  en- 
abled the  department  to  pay.  The  draft 
of  125,000  resulted  in  36,600. soldiers  in 
the  field.  I  believed  then,  as  I  have  be- 
lieved ever  since,  that  volunteers,  encour- 
aged by  suitable  bounties,  relieving  them 
from  anxiety  about  providing  for  their 
homes,  gave  the  best  assurance  of  support 
to  the  army.  The  same  politician  to  whom 
I  have  referred,  speaking  of  myself,  said : 
'He  did  not  vote  in  favor  of  any  measure 
that  looked  to  cariying  on  the  war.'  I 
will  refer  to  but  two  acts  of  mine  in  the 
Senate  in  answer  to  that  statement.  On 
the  23d  of  April,  1864,  I  offered  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Appropriation  Bill,  to  increase 


the  pay  of  the  soldiers  and  non-commis- 
sioned oflScers  reasonably  in  proportion  to 
the  then  depreciated  condition  of  the  cur- 
rency. I  thought  that  proposition  was 
an  encouragement  to  the  army  and  to  en- 
listments, and  I  may  say  that  Colonel 
Lane,  then  my  colleague  in  the  Senate, 
voted  with  me  on  that  subject.  On  the 
same  day  I  voted  for  the  great  Appro- 
priation Bill  for  the  army,  for  the  year 
from  June  30,  1864  to  June  30,  1865— 
I  believe  the  largest  Appropriation  Bill 
ever  cassed  by  this  Government — voting 
$530,000,000;  and  under  that  appropria- 
tion the  army  was  carried  to  the  close  of 
the  war;  under  it  many  of  the  battles 
were  fought,  and  under  it  Sherman 
marched  to  the  sea,  and  the  surrender 
was  made  to  Grant." 

Vice-President-elect  Hendricks  closed 
by  expressing  his  gratification  at  meeting 
the  Democratic  Soldiers  and  Sailors'  Vet- 
eran Association  of  Indiana  on  this  oc- 
casion and  in  his  own  home,  and  tendered 
them  his  thanks,  not  only  for  the  honor 
they  had  done  him,  but  for  the  support 
they  had  given  him  in  the  great  contest 
then  just  closed. 

(For  obvious  reasons  it  is  deemed  fitting 
to  give  this  instructive  information  in  this 
part  of  the  History  instead  of  farther  back 
in  its  regular  or  chronological  order.) 


[Chapter  XXXI.] 


WHEN  THAT  CRUEL  WAR  WAS  OVER 


POLITICAL  ANIMOSITY  SUBSIDED  SOMEWHAT,   BUT  PREJ- 
UDICE WAS  STILL  IN  EVIDENCE 

and  to  the  infinite  delight  of  the  assem- 
bled multitude  that  champion  of  popular 
rights  pitilessly  exposed  the  tyrannical 
program  of  the  Jacobins  then  in  the  sad- 
dle and  appealed  eloquently  to  the  sense 
of  justice  that  has  ever  been  assumed  to 
serve  as  a  guidance  to  a  fair-minded  and 
justice-loving  people.  Great  outbursts  of 
applause  punctuated  the  able  and  eloquent 
address  of  Mr.  Voorhees. 


ml  HE    Democratic    State    Conven- 
tion of  1866  partook  somewhat 
of  the  character  of  a  reunion 
and  a  love  feast.     It  vi^as  held 
— '   at  Indianapolis,  March  15.    The 

night  before  a  largely  at- 
tended meeting  was  held  at  the 
old  State  House,  packed  to  capacity. 
This  meeting  was  presided  over  by  An- 
drew Humphreys,  of  Greene  county. 
Speeches  of  a  more  or  less  inspiring  and 
inspiriting  character  were  made  by  Jason 
B.  Brov/n  of  Seymour,  Colonel  Isaiah  B. 
McDonald  of  Columbia  City,  Judge  Robert 
Lowry  of  Goshen,  Cyrus  S.  McNutt  of 
Martinsville,  Colonel  J.  W.  Blake  of  Indi- 
anapolis, and  Judge  D.  T.  Laird  of 
Spencer. 

The  convention  proper  was  called  to  or- 
der by  State  Chairman  Joseph  J.  Bing- 
ham. Colonel  Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  of  New 
Albany,  was  chosen  temporary  and  after- 
ward permanent  chairman.  In  his  cus- 
tomary forceful  style  the  presiding  officer 
addressed  the  assembly  on  the  issues  of 
the  day,  presenting  strong  points  in  sup- 
port of  the  policies  advocated  by  the  De- 
mocracy and  giving  due  credit  to  Presi- 
dent Andrew  Johnson  in  seeking  to  re- 
establish harmonious  relations  between 
North  and  South. 

So  deeply  interested  was  the  convention 
in  listening  to  the  words  of  truth  and  wis- 
dom as  they  fell  from  the  lips  of  Colonel 
Dunham  that  at  the  close  of  his  masterly 
effort  insistent  demand  was  made  for 
more  oratoiy.  Naturally  the  delegates 
turned  their  faces  to  where  the  "Tall  Syca- 
more of  the  Wabash"  was  seated.  Loud 
calls  for  Voorhees  brought  that  master  of 
oratory  to  his  feet.  At  considerable  length 


STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  George  E.  Greene,  Knox  county. 

2.  Levi  Sparks,  Clark. 

3.  B.  F.  Jones,  Bartholomew. 

4.  William  S.  Hall,  Rush. 

5.  W.  P.  Applegate,  Fayette. 

6.  W.  H.  Talbott,  Aquilla  Jones,  R.  H.  Hall, 

Valentine  Butsch,  William  S.  Jennings. 

7.  Thomas  Dowling,  Vigo. 

8.  L.  B.  Stockton,  Tippecanoe. 

9.  Thomas  D.  Lemon,  Laporte. 

10.  Thomas  Davenport,  Kosciusko. 

11.  James  Sweetzer,  Grant. 

THE   TICKET   NOMINATED. 
Secretary  of  State — General  Mahlon  D.  Manson, 

Montgomery. 
Auditor — Christian  G.  Badger,  Clark. 
Treasurer — James  B.  Ryan,  Marion. 
Attorney-General — John  R.  Coffroth,  Huntington. 
Superintendent     of     Public     Instruction— R.     M. 

Chapman,  Knox. 

DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM  DECLARA- 
TIONS. 

"Resolved,  That  among  the  powers  re- 
served to  the  States,  that  of  withdrawal 
at  will  from  the  Union  cannot  be  found, 
and  consequently,  such  doctrine  can  be 
asserted  only  as  a  revolutionaiy  measure, 
and  not  peaceably  as  a  right ;  and  the  late 
action  of  the  Southern  people,  in  resorting 
to  such  means  as  a  mode  of  redress  of 
grievances,  was  illegal,  and  had  no  sus- 
taining principle  but  that  of  physical 
force,  and  that,  having  proved  insufficient, 
those  principles  became  remitted  to  their 


(229) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


constitutional  obligations  or  rights,  of 
which  obedience  and  protection  are  chief. 

"Resolved.  That  the  principles  avowed 
by  President  Johnson  in  his  annual  mes- 
sage, looking  to  the  early  practical  resto- 
ration of  all  the  States  to  their  rights  in 
the  Union,  meets  with  our  hearty  ap- 
proval; and  the  action  of  the  majority 
in  Congress,  dictated  as  it  may  be  by  re- 
venge, fanaticism,  or  thirst  for  political 
power,  and  being  exerted  to  thrust  such 
States  out  of  the  Union,  we  solemnly  con- 
demn ;  therefore,  we  cordially  endorse  the 
veto  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill,  and 
declare  that  in  our  judgment  the  courage 
displayed,  the  doctrines  avowed,  and  the 
high  sense  of  rights  manifested  in  that 
message,  and  subsequent  speeches,  prom- 
ise well  for  the  future  administration  of 
the  President,  and  we  hereby  pledge  him 
the  earnest  and  disinterested  support  of 
the  Indiana  Democracy  in  all  his  conflicts 
with  that  fanatical  congressional  ma- 
jority in  his  laudable  eff'orts  to  prevent 
them  from  changing  or  destroying  our 
cherished  form  of  government. 

"Resolved,  That,  in  our  opinion,  the  sole 
power  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives over  the  admission  of  members 
to  their  respective  chambers,  is  confined 
to  the  'election,  return,  and  qualification 
of  its  members  respectively ;'  that  this  con- 
vention further  declares  its  conviction 
that  Congress,  in  rejecting  from  repre- 
sentation eleven  States  acknowledged  to  be 
in  the  Union,  by  having  their  votes 
counted  in  favor  of  the  Constitutional 
amendment  abolishing  slavery,  the  Senate 
and  House  have  usurped  powers  not  dele- 
gated to  them  by  the  Constitution,  and 
are  acting  in  violation  thereof.  We  further 
believe  that  all  members  from  the 
Southern  States  who  have  been  lately 
elected,  and  possess  the  constitutional 
qualifications,  should  be  immediately  ad- 
mitted and  upon  the  refusal  of  Congress 
to  admit  the  members  of  such  States  to 
their  seats,  it  is  the  prerogative  and  duty 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
defend  and  uphold  the  integrity  of  every 
State  now  in  the  Union,  and  'to  take  care 
that  the  laws  are  faithfully  executed.' 

"Resolved,  That  the  soldiers  who  left 
the  comforts  of  a  home  to  sustain  the  flag 
of  our  country,  are  entitled  to,  and  should 
receive,  the  heartfelt  thanks  of  a  grateful 
people.  And  those  who  early  rushed  to 
the  standard  should,  by  the  action  of  Con- 


gress, be  equally  remunerated,  by  an 
equalization  of  bounties,  or  otherwise, 
with  their  brethren  who,  at  a  later  day, 
were  called  upon  to  fill  that  highest  duty 
of  a  citizen. 

"Resolved,  That  the  vote  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  conferring  the  right  of 
suffrage  on  negroes,  against  the  almost 
unanimous  vote  of  the  people  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  shows  a  recklessness 
which  none  but  fanatics  would  defend, 
and  none  but  tyrants  practice;  and  we 
hereby  denounce  that  vote  as  a  precursor 
of  universal  negro  sufi'rage,  and  to  other 
outrages  upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  people  of  the  various  States. 

"Resolved,  That  we  are  opposed  to  the 
repeal  of  the  13th  article  of  the  Consti- 
tution of  Indiana  prohibiting  negroes  and 
mulattoes  from  settling  in  this  State,  and 
nov/,  more  than  ever,  deprecate  the  en- 
trance of  that  class  of  persons  within  its 
borders;  and  we  most  emphatically  con- 
demn and  disapprove  the  action  of  the 
Republican  majority  in  the  late  General 
Assembly  of  Indiana  in  passing  through 
the  House  a  joint  resolution  providing  for 
the  abrogation  of  that  article  in  the  Con- 
stitution. 

"Resolved,  That  Senator  Hendricks,  and 
Representatives  Niblack,  Kerr  and  Voor- 
hees,  by  their  untiring  devotion  to  con- 
stitutional liberty,  have  shown  themselves 
true  patriots;  and  the  expulsion  of  Mr. 
Voorhees  from  the  House  we  denounce 
a  high-handed  outrage  of  a  profligate,  un- 
scrupulous party." 

It  will  be  observed  that  President  John- 
son's course  met  with  approval  in  both 
the  Democratic  and  Republican  State  plat- 
forms. There  was,  however,  this  differ- 
ence: As  Democrats  "warmed  up"  to 
Johnson,  the  Republicans  became  more 
and  more  chilly,  so  that  toward  the  close 
of  the  1866  campaign  not  much  regard  for 
the  Republican  platform  endorsement  of 
President  Johnson  lingered  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  conducted  the  campaign.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  radical  Republican  sen- 
timent was  by  that  time  strongly  tinctured 
with  open  hostility  to  the  Johnson  ad- 
ministration. 


(230) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  6  -  1  9  1  i; 


REPUBLICAN  STATE  TICKET  FOR  1866. 

Secretary  of  State — Colonel  Nelson  Trusler,  Fay- 
ette county. 
Auditor  of  State — Thomas  B.   McCarty.  Wabash 

county. 
Treasurer    of    State — General    Nathan    Kimball, 

Martin  county. 
Attorney-General — Delana    E.    Williamson,    Put- 
nam county. 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — George  W. 
Hoss,  Marion  county. 

The  net  result  of  the  1866  election  was 
the  triumph  of  the  Republican  State 
ticket,  the  election  of  a  Republican  Legis- 
lature, and  the  success  of  eight  of  the 
eleven  Republican  candidates  for  Con- 
gress. A  Republican  Legislature  for  1867 
foreshadowed  the  election  of  Oliver  P. 
Morton  to  the  United  States  Senate  to  suc- 
ceed Henry  S.  Lane. 

OFFICIAL    ELECTION    RETURNS    IN 

1866. 

SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Nelson  Trusler,  Republican 169,601     14,202 


Mahlon  D.  Manson,  Democrat. 


,155,3 


AUDITOR. 

Thomas  B.  McCarty,  Republican.  .169,.')72     14,171 
Christian  G.  Badger,  Democrat.  .  .125,401 

TREASURER. 

Nathan  Kimball,  Republican 169,815     14,525 

James  B.  Ryan,  Democrat 155,290 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
Delana  E.  Williamson.  Republican.  169,732     14,357 
John  R.  Coffroth,  Democrat 155,375 

SUPERINTENDENT  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

George   W.   Hoss,   Republican.  ..  .168.157     12,779 
Robert  M.  Chapman,  Democrat 155,378 

CONGRESSIONAL  MAJORITIES. 

Majorities. 

William  E.  Niblack,  Democrat 1,350 

Michael  C.  Kerr,  Democrat 1,743 

Gen.  Morton  C.  Hunter,  Republican 690 

William  S.  Holman,  Democrat 869 

George  W.  Julian,  Republican 6,228 

John  Coburn,  Republican 2,574 

Henry  D.  Washburn,  Republican 513 

Godlove  S.  Orth,  Republican 205 

Schuyler  Colfax,  Republican 2,148 

Major  Wm.  Williams,  Republican 1,272 

Gen.  John  P.  C.  Shanks,  Republican 2,877 


-   *  Ni- 


(231) 


[Chapter  XXXIL] 


HENDRICKS  AND  EDGERTON 

PLACED  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  STATE  TICKET 

FOR  1868 


HE  attendance  at  Democracy's 

T  State  Convention,  January  8, 
1868,  was  unusually  large  and 
exceptionally  enthusiastic.  A 
temporary  organization  was  ef- 
fected the  night  before.  Con- 
gressman Wm.  E.  Niblack  hav- 
ing been  chosen  to  pi'eside.  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  electrified  the  audience  with  an 
address  that  by  a  number  of  his  elated 
hearers  was  pronounced  the  ablest  and 
most  eloquent  the  "Tall  Sycamore  of  the 
Wabash"  had  ever  delivered.  He  was  in 
excellent  trim,  his  delivery  was  thrilling, 
his  argumentation  masterly.  Enthusiastic 
applause  punctuated  his  speech  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  As  he  uttered  his  closing 
sentence  he  was  honored  with  an  ovation 
of  which  any  great  orator  might  well  have 
felt  proud.  It  was  a  great  night  for  Dem- 
ocratic enthusiasm. 

For  pei-manent  chairman  the  Committee 
on  Organization  named  Joseph  E.  Mc- 
Donald, which  selection  was  ratified  with 
unanimity  and  enthusiasm.  Mr.  McDonald, 
on  taking  the  chair,  delivered  a  speech  in 
the  course  of  which  he  arraigned  the  Re- 
publican party  for  its  disregard  of  con- 
stitutional limitations,  its  revolutionary 
program  for  subjugating  the  people  of  the 
South  after  having  laid  down  their  arms 
and  returned  to  their  allegiance  to  the 
Union.  He  gave  hearty  approval  to  the 
patriotic  course  of  President  Johnson. 

STATE  TICKET  NOMINATED. 

Governor — Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Indianapolis. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Alfred  P.  Edgerton,  Fort 
Wayne. 

Secretary  of  State — Reuben  C.  Kise,  Lebanon. 

Auditor — Joseph  V.  BemusdaflFer,  Laurel. 

Treasurer — James  B.  Ryan,  Indianapolis. 

Clerk  Supreme  Court — Noah  S.  LaRose,  Logans- 
port. 


Reporter  Supreme  Court — M.  A.  O.  Packard, 
Plymouth. 

Superintendent  Public  Instruction— John  R. 
Phillips,  Daviess  county. 

Attorney-General — Solomon  Claypool,  Green- 
castle. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  George  E.  Greene,  Knox  county. 

2.  Levi  Sparks,  Clark. 

3.  Thomas  J.  Reilly,  Jennings. 

4.  C.  B.  Bentley,  Franklin. 

5.  Dr.  H.  F.  Barnes,  Union. 

6.  Andrew  Humphreys,  Greene. 

6.  Dr.  James  McWorkman,  Boone. 

7.  James  Sweetzer,  Grant. 

8.  John  Enos  Neff,  Randolph. 

9.  James  McConnell,  Noble. 
10.  John  P.  Early,  Laporte. 

Lafe  Develin,  Marion,  Chairman. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Vigo;  J.  E.  Mc- 
Donald, Marion;  Graham  N.  Fitch,  Cass;  W.  E. 
Niblack,  Knox. 

Contingent  Delegates  at  Large — Francis  T. 
Hord,  Bartholomew;  George  C.  Thatcher,  Shelby; 
W.  H.  Beck,  Fayette;  Murray  Briggs,  Sullivan. 

1.  A.  T.  Whittlesey,  Vanderburg  county. 
W.  S.  Turner,  Daviess. 

2.  James  A.  Cravens,  Washington. 
David  Huffstetter,  Orange. 

3.  H.  W.  Harrington,  Jefferson. 
W.  T.  Pate,  Switzerland. 

4.  Lafe  Develin,  Wayne. 
John  W.  Carleton,  Shelby. 

5.  W.  H.  Talbott,  Marion. 
D.  G.  Vawter,  Johnson. 

6.  Samuel  H.  Buskirk,  Monroe. 
Chambers  Y.  Patterson,  Vigo. 

7.  General  M.  D.  Manson,  Montgomery. 
Harris  Reynolds,  Fountain. 

8.  R.  P.  Effinger,  Miami. 
J.  M.  Dickson,  Madison. 

9.  E.  Sturgis.  Allen. 
Adam  Wolf,  Delaware. 

10.  General  J.  R.  Slack,  Huntington. 
Samuel  W.  Sprott,  DeKalb. 

11.  T.  J.  Merrifield,  Porter. 
C.  H.  Reeve,  Marshall. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

At  Large — John  R.  Coffroth,  Huntington  county; 
Bayless  W.  Hanna,  Vigo. 

1.  Thomas  R.  Cobb,  Knox  county. 

2.  C.  S.  Dobbins,  Martin. 

3.  James  Gavin,  Decatur. 

4.  John  S.  Reid,  Fayette. 

5.  Captain  John  M.  Lord,  Marion. 

6.  A.  B.  Carleton,  Lawrence. 

7.  T.  F.  Davidson,  Fountain. 

8.  James  F.  McDowell,  Grant. 

9.  John  Colerick,  Allen. 

10.  O.  H.  Main,  Elkhart. 

11.  Thomas  J.  Merrifield,  Valparaiso. 

The  state  campaign  was  vigorously  con- 
ducted. A  joint  discussion  between  Gov- 
ernor Baker  and  Senator  Hendricks  had 
the  effect  of  awakening  deep  interest 
throughout  the  State.  Each  Congressional 
District  was  honored  with  one  of  these 
oratorical  combats.  While  Senator  Hen- 
dricks doubtless  had  a  decided  advantage 
over  his  competitor  in  his  commanding 
personalitj'^  and  in  the  graces  of  oratory, 
Governor  Baker  was  not  to  be  despised 
as  a  campaigner.  He  was  forceful,  logical, 
and  persuasive.  The  writer  attended  two 
of  these  joint  discussions,  one  at  South 
Bend,  the  other  at  Auburn.  At  a  little 
gathering  of  Democrats,  after  the  South 
Bend  discussion.  Senator  Hendricks  took 
occasion  to  remark  that  Democrats  made 
a  great  mistake  in  trying  to  disparage 
Baker  as  a  debater  or  to  belittle  him  in 
other  respects;  that  Baker  had  revealed 
himself  as  possessed  of  unusual  ability 
and  no  little  adroitness  in  turning  points 
to  advantage.  The  debates  were  marked 
by  the  utmost  civility  and  the  absence  of 
anything  like  discourtesy.  That  these  two 
men  learned  to  esteem  and  appreciate  one 
another  during  this  oratorical  tournament 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  some  years 
afterward  they  formed  a  co-partnership 
m  the  practice  of  law  at  Indianapolis. 

In  his  campaign  speeches  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks adhered  closely  to  the  definition  of 
constitutional  doctrine  as  set  forth  in  an 
exceedingly  able  banquet  speech  delivered 
by  Attorney-General  Henry  Stanbery  at 


Washington,  .January  8,  1868,  in  the 
course  of  which  that  eminent  jurist — a 
former  Whig  and  later  on  a  Republican, 
but  at  the  time  a  staunch  supporter  of  the 
Lincoln-Johnson  policy  —  epitomized  the 
living  issues  in  these  terse  sentences : 

"The  Constitution  as  it  is;  the  limita- 
tion of  Federal  power  within  the  just  and 
well-defined  boundaries  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  not  outside  of  the  Constitu- 
tion; civil  law  instead  of  military  law; 
free  elections  and  constitutions  formed  by 
the  people  of  the  States,  and  not  by  the 
people  of  other  States,  whether  in  Con- 
gress or  out  of  Congress." 

THE  STATE  PLATFORM. 

As  usual,  the  State  platform  was  drawn 
out  at  great  length.  Terseness  and  brev- 
ity have  hardly  ever  commended  them- 
selves to  Indiana  platform-makers.  The 
idea  seems  to  have  become  generally  prev- 
alent that  unless  a  platform  is  somewhere 
in  the  neighborhood  of  a  yard  in  length, 
som.ething  must  have  been  omitted, 
slighted,  or  gotten  away  with.  The  ideal 
party  platform-maker  was  Samuel  J.  Til- 
den.  When  he  was  in  command  in  New 
York,  the  platforms  put  forth  by  the  Em- 
pire State  Democracy  were  models  of  di- 
rectness, brevity  and  terseness. 

The  more  important  planks  of  the 
Indiana  Democratic  platforms  are  here  re- 
produced as  reminders  of  how  Democrats 
in  this  State  felt  three  years  after  the 
close  of  the  civil  war : 

"Resolved,  That  language  is  not  ade- 
quate to  express  our  abhorrence  and  con- 
demnation of  the  Radical  reconstruction 
policy  of  Congress — a  policy  condemned 
by  every  consideration  of  justice  and  con- 
stitutional obligation;  a  policy  fraught 
with  the  most  alarming  apprehensions  of 
evil  to  ten  States  of  the  Union,  and  of 
destruction  to  the  Union  itself;  a  policy 
that  largely  increases  taxation;  a  policy 
that  requires  a  large  standing  army,  which 
adds  nearly  one  hundred  million  dollars 
annually  to  the  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment, while  it  beggars  the  people ;  a  policy 
the  avowed  object  of  which  is  to  continue 
in  power  the  most  venal  and  corrupt  polit- 


(234) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


ical  party  that  ever  dishonored  any  civ- 
ilization ;  a  policy  vindictively  enacted  and 
mercilessly  prosecuted  with  the  unconsti- 
tutional purpose  of  centralizing  and  per- 
petuating all  political  powers  of  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  dominant  Radical  party  in 
Congress,  and  a  policy  which  if  not  early 
arrested  by  the  American  people,  will 
sooner  or  later  overwhelm  our  national 
Government  in  one  common  and  appalling 
ruin.  We  demand  the  unconditional  re- 
peal of  the  act  of  Congress  conferring  ex- 
clusive rights  or  privileges  upon  any  class 
or  classes  of  citizens  at  the  expense  of 
other  classes. 

"That  the  national  bank  system  organ- 
ized in  the  interest  of  the  bondholders 
ought  to  be  abolished,  and  United  States 
notes  substituted  in  lieu  of  the  national 
bank  currency,  thus  saving  to  the  people 
interest  alone  more  than  eighteen  million 
dollars  a  year;  and,  until  such  system  of 
banks  be  abolished,  we  demand  that  the 
shares  of  such  banks  in  Indiana  shall  be 
subjected  to  the  same  taxation.  State  and 
municipal,  as  other  property  of  the  State. 

"That  the  bonds  and  other  securities  of 
the  United  States  and  eveiy  description  of 
property  should  bear  equal  proportion  of 
taxation  for  State,  county,  and  municipal 
purposes,  and  to  that  end  the  bonds  and 
other  securities  of  the  United  States  ought 
to  be  taxed  by  Congress  for  national  pui-- 
poses  in  amount  substantially  equal  to  the 
tax  imposed  on  property  in  the  several 
States  for  local  purposes. 

"That  we  are  in  favor  of  the  payment  of 
the  Government  bonds  in  Treasury  notes, 
commonly  called  greenbacks,  except  ex- 
pressly made  payable  in  gold  by  law,  at 
the  earliest  practicable  point. 

"That  the  unjust  and  iniquitous  tariff 
laws  now  in  force  ought  to  be  repealed, 
and  the  tariff  adopted  looking  to  revenue 
only. 

"That  M'e  are  opposed  to  conferring  the 
right  of  suffrage  on  negroes.  We  deny  the 
right  of  the  General  Government  to  in- 
terfere with  the  question  of  suffrage  in 
any  of  the  States  of  the  Union. 

"That  we  shall  ever  hold  in  sacred  rec- 
ollection the  dead  who  freely  sacrificed 
their  lives  for  the  defense  of  our  glorious 
Union,  that  the  present  and  future  gener- 
ations might  enjoy  the  rich  inheritance  of 
a  form  of  government  that  secures  an 
equality  of  rights  and  privileges  to  all  the 
citizens  thereof;  that  the  nation  owes  to 


the  surviving  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the 
Union  the  highest  marks  of  praise  and 
gratitude  for  the  great  sacrifices  they 
made  in  the  late  war,  and  to  those  disabled 
in  the  service  of  the  Union,  and  the 
widows  and  orphan  children  of  those  who 
fell  in  battle,  or  died  of  wounds,  or  in 
the  military  service  of  the  Union,  such 
personal  aid  as  will  enable  them  to  enjoy 
the  substantial  necessaries  of  life. 

"That  we  recognize  in  the  restoration 
measures  of  Andrew  John.son,  President 
of  the  United  States,  a  policy  which  would 
have  given  peace,  security,  and  prosperity 
to  the  State,  and  dispelled  the  dark  clouds 
caused  by  the  vindictive  measures  of  a 
Radical  Congress.  The  adoption  of  the 
President's  policy  would,  in  our  opinion, 
have  saved  the  nation  the  expenditure  of 
untold  millions  of  treasure,  lessened  the 
burden  of  taxation,  secured  peace  to  the 
South,  and  prosperity  to  the  Union. 

"That  Major-General  Hancock,  by  his 
order  at  New  Orleans,  reinstating  the  civil 
law  and  dethroning  the  military  despot- 
ism, has  manifested  the  highest  respect 
for  constitutional  liberty,  for  which  he  de- 
serves the  commendation  of  all  friends  of 
constitutional  government,  and  who  revere 
the  noble  profession  of  arms.  Like  the 
great  and  good  Washington,  this  gallant 
soldier  had  learned  to  respect  the  civil 
rights  of  all  good  citizens,  and  to  declare 
that  in  time  of  peace  military  tribunals 
should  have  no  place  in  our  jurisprudence. 
Eternal  honor  to  the  soldier  who  refused 
to  rise  above  the  laws ! 

"That  we  congratulate  the  Democracy 
of  our  sister  State  of  Ohio  on  the  gal- 
lant political  campaign  closed  on  the  8th 
day  of  October,  1867 — a  campaign  marked 
by  the  highest  order  of  devotion,  ability, 
and  effect,  and  that  prominent  and  close 
in  the  association  in  the  minds  of  our  fel- 
low-citizens of  Indiana  stands  the  name  of 
the  Hon.  George  H.  Pendleton,  identified 
with  the  vital  measures  upon  which  our 
party  enters  the  canvass  for  1868,  together 
with  his  ability  as  a  statesman  and  his 
high  personal  qualities.  All  these  entitle 
him  to  the  commendation  of  the  conven- 
tion as  a  true  and  consistent  Democrat, 
and  one  who  has  our  entire  confidence  and 
preference." 

The  Presidential  campaign  engaged 
popular  attention  to  a  far  greater  extent 
than  did  State  issues.    The  latter  received 


(235) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


but  slight  consideration;  indeed,  it  is  not 
quite  certain  that  there  were  any  such. 

In  somewhat  subdued  form  the  Indiana 
delegation  to  the  Democratic  convention 
was  considered  instructed  to  vote  for  the 
nomination  of  Geo.  H.  Pendleton  of  Ohio, 
for  the  Presidency.  "Gentleman  George," 
by  which  cognomen  that  estimable  citizen 
and  statesman  was  popularly  known,  was 
General  Geo.  B.  McClellan's  running  mate 
in  1864  and  achieved  high  reputation  as  a 
captivating  campaigner.  From  a  pro- 
nounced hard  money  champion  he  devel- 
oped into  a  still  more  pronounced  soft 
money  (greenback)  advocate.  His  "plan" 
commended  itself  greatly  to  Indiana  Dem- 
ocrats, so  when  the  State  convention 
named  delegates  to  the  New  York  conven- 
tion the  Pendleton  boom  experienced 
quite  an  impetus.  But  among  the  delegates 
were  a  goodly  number  of  those  who  looked 
upon  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  as  being  far 
more  available  than  they  adjudged  the 
gentleman  from  Ohio  to  be.  A  strong 
Hendricks  sentiment  developed  during  the 
earlier  sessions  of  the  New  York  conven- 
tion. During  the  protracted  balloting  he 
received  as  high  as  140  votes — nearly  as 
many  as  had  been  given  Pendleton  when 
Pendleton  stock  ranged  highest.  Had 
Indiana  formally  agreed  to  put  Hendricks 
into  the  race  there  is  but  little  doubt  that 
he  would  have  been  nominated  with  a 
whirl.  The  Bright  influence  would  not 
permit  this  to  be  done.  While  that  wily 
politician,  Jesse  D.  Bright,  ostensibly 
boosted  the  Pendleton  movement,  he  was 
in  reality  in  favor  of  making  Chief 
Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase  the  Democratic 
presidential  nominee.  The  alacrity  with 
which  politicians  of  radical  views  can  flop 
from  one  extreme  to  another  has  not  in- 
frequently furnished  both  amusement  and 
amazement  to  sticklers  for  consistency. 
It  was  common  belief  that  C.  L.  Vallandig- 
ham  of  Ohio,  another  anti-war  propa- 
gandist, favored  the  nomination  of  Chief 
Justice   Chase.     The   insurmountable   ob- 


stacle to  making  a  reality  of  this  scheme 
was  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  who  was  known  to 
be  uncompromisingly  opposed  to  any  oc- 
cupant of  a  judicial  position  being  nom- 
inated to  political  office.  New  York  had 
instructed  its  delegation  to  vote  for  Chief 
Justice  Sanford  E.  Church,  but  when  dis- 
covery was  made  that  that  eminent  jurist 
couldn't  get  any  votes  from  other  States, 
New  York  withdrew  the  name  of  Judge 
Church  after  the  sixth  ballot.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  fencing.  Several  days  were 
consumed  in  ineffective  balloting.  The 
patience  of  delegates  was  fast  being  ex- 
hausted. Then  a  stampede  thrust  the 
nomination  on  Horatio  Seymour,  who  did 
his  utmost  to  escape  the  ordeal  of  a  presi- 
dential campaign,  chiefly  on  account  of  his 
impaired  physical  condition,  but  perhaps 
still  more  so  by  reason  of  the  inner  con- 
sciousness that  Democratic  success  that 
year  was  unattainable.  Seymour  was  a 
grand  character,  a  man  of  eminent  ability, 
but  he  was  not  available  presidential  tim- 
ber, and  no  one  understood  this  better 
than  he  himself.  Certainty  of  the  ticket's 
defeat  v/as  in  a  sense  invited  by  the  nom- 
ination of  General  Frank  P.  Blair  for  the 
vice-presidency.  Blair  had  up  to  that  time 
been  a  rank  Republican.  He  was  vehement 
in  the  denunciation  of  Republican  recon- 
struction measures  and  in  charging  Gen- 
eral Grant  with  aiming  to  crown  himself 
with  Caesarism  —  that  if  elected,  he 
would  never  leave  the  Presidential  man- 
sion alive.  The  New  York  World  and  other 
influential  Democratic  papers  in  vain  re- 
monstrated against  such  extravagance  of 
speech.  Demands  for  his  removal  from 
the  ticket  were  made,  but  they  fell  upon 
deaf  ears.  At  the  November  election  Sey- 
mour and  Blair  polled  2,703,249  votes  to 
3,012,833  for  Grant  and  Colfax.  In  the 
electoral  college  Grant  and  Colfax  had 
214;  SejTTiour  and  Blair,  80.  New  York 
gave  Seymour  an  even  10,000  majority. 
New  Jersey  2,880,  and  Oregon  1,064. 
These    three    v/ere    the    only    Northern 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


States  that  were  carried  for  Seymour  and 
Blair.  While  at  the  October  election  in 
Indiana  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  polled 
170,614  votes,  Seymour's  vote  in  Novem- 
ber was  166,980.  Hendricks  was  beaten 
by  961 ;  Seymour  by  9,572. 

For  many  years  there  was  printed  at 
Indianapolis  an  able  and  influential  Ger- 
man weekly  paper  called  "Indiana  Volks- 
blatt."  Its  publisher  was  Julius  Boetti- 
cher,  a  fine  gentleman  and  clear  thinker. 
After  the  war  Mr.  Boetticher  had  his  po- 
litical editorials  of  a  national  character 
written  by  the  Hon.  Emil  Rothe,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, who  while  a  resident  of  Wiscon- 
sin used  to  engage  in  joint  discussions 
with  Carl  Schurz. 

Rothe  was  a  veiy  able  man  and  a  thor- 
ough Democrat.  In  a  series  of  articles 
the  nomination  of  General  Winfield  Scott 
Hancock  for  president  and  Wm.  S.  Groes- 
beck  of  Cincinnati  for  vice-president  was 
strongly  urged  through  the  columns  of  the 
VolksbJatt.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  ticket 
composed  of  these  two  great,  good,  and 
popular  men  would  have  commanded  a 
far  more  enthusiastic  support  than  did 
Seymour  and  Blair.  Hancock  and  Groes- 
beck  was  the  logical  combination  for  that 
period  in  our  country's  history.  But,  un- 
fortunately, logic  doesn't  always  guide  the 
action  of  political  bodies.  It  surely  didn't 
in  1868. 

While  the  nomination  of  Seymour  was 
generally  adjudged  a  spontaneous  affair, 
one  of  the  delegates  from  Northern  Indi- 
ana, Major  Samuel  W.  Sprott,  a  red-hot 
Pendletonite,  related  upon  his  return  from 
New  York  that  ten  minutes  after  Sey- 
mour's nomination  banners  and  transpar- 
encies with  Seymour  inscriptions  were 
brought  forth  in  a  popular  demonstration. 
To  satisfy  himself  whether  these  inscrip- 
tions had  just  been  hurriedly  put  on  can- 
vass he  stepped  up  to  one  of  the  most 
imposing  ones  to  ascertain  by  touch  of 
finger  whether  it  was  fresh  or  dry.  "Egad, 


it's  dry!"  the  Major  exclaimed  with  an 
expressive  twinkle  of  the  eye. 

One  of  the  notable  characters  among 
the  Indiana  delegates  was  Charles  H. 
Reeve  of  Plymouth.  Whatever  he  favored 
he  backed  with  energy  and  zeal.  There 
was  nothing  of  the  equivocal  in  his  make- 
up. And  he  prided  himself  a  good  deal  on 
the  originality  of  his  views  and  the  sound- 
ness of  his  conclusions.  He  was  a  man 
of  unquestionable  ability  and  inflexible  in- 
tegrity, but  at  times  he  was  also  eccentric, 
and  not  always  consistent.  In  1868  he 
was  a  "red-hot"  champion  of  Pendleton 
and  a  greenback  circulating  medium,  and 
in  1896  he  refused  to  support  Bryan  on 
account  of  his  attitude  on  the  silver  coin- 
age issue.  He  was  for  plenty  of  green- 
backs in  1868,  but  averse  to  a  superabund- 
ance of  silver  in  1896.  In  discussing 
Reeve's  eccentricity  in  these  particulars 
Mr.  Hendricks  once  upon  a  time  smilingly 
remarked  that  if  Charley  Reeve  had  lived 
in  the  days  of  Christ  he  (Hendricks)  felt 
certain  that  the  Senator  from  Marshall 
would  have  moved  to  amend  the  Lord's 
prayer.  Notwithstanding  his  eccentrici- 
ties, Senator  Reeve  was  in  many  respects 
a  most  companionable  gentleman  and  a 
highly  estimable  citizen.  He  took  great 
delight  in  expressing  his  views  through 
the  columns  of  the  public  press.  Usually 
he  signed  his  name  to  his  contributions; 
at  times  he  would  use  a  pseudonym.  He 
did  this  when  in  1874  he  published  a  com- 
munication in  the  Indinnapolis  Sc)iti)iel  of 
March  11  which  was  headed  "Hendricks 
a  Democratic  Caesar."  In  this  article  Sen- 
ator Reeve  asserted  it  to  be  known  to 
the  friends  of  Hendricks  that  "he  lacks 
firmness  and  yields  to  pressure."  "His 
natural  kindness  induces  him  to  surrender 
his  own  better  judgment  to  the  importu- 
nity of  his  friends."  "Had  he  the  firmness 
of  Jackson  he  would  be  the  idol  of  the 
people  today." 

The  article  then  relates  how  George  H. 
Pendleton  led  for  the  presidential  nomina- 


(237) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D 

tion  in  the  New  York  convention,  but  that 
Tammany  was  scheming  against  him,  the 
convention  being  held  in  Tammany  hall. 
On  the  fourth  ballot  the  chairman  of  the 
Indiana  delegation  asked  they  be  excused 
from  the  hall  for  a  time  in  order  to  con- 
sult among  themselves.  The  chairman 
led  them  out  and  explained  the  conference 
was  over  the  proposition  of  bringing  out 
Hendricks;  that  Pendleton  could  not  be 
named  and  New  York  would  vote  en  masse 
for  Hendricks.  Joseph  E.  McDonald  op- 
posed the  movement,  while  Voorhees  in- 
sisted upon  it  peremptorily.  A  messenger 
came  to  the  door  for  the  sixth,  seventh, 
and  perhaps  eighth  ballot.  No  vote  was 
taken  by  the  Indiana  delegation,  but  some 
one  shouted  "for  Pendleton,"  and  it  was 
so  cast.  On  the  next  ballot  Indiana  di- 
vided between  Hendricks  and  Pendleton. 
Richard  J.  Bright,  on  behalf  of  the  mi- 
nority, expressed  dissent,  as  the  delega- 
tion had  been  instructed  for  Pendleton. 
New  York  divided  its  vote.  Some  of  the 
delegates  accused  Hendricks  of  permitting 
the  use  of  his  name,  and  claimed  that 
every  ballot  was  being  telegraphed  him. 
It  was  also  claimed  that  Voorhees,  Fitch 
and  Niblack  wanted  a  chance  at  the  Senate 
and  Governor's  seat,  and  for  that  reason 
were  behind  the  Hendricks  movement. 

Thp  next  day  the  Indiana  delegation, 
fearing  all  was  lost,  the  minority  consent- 
ing, cast  its  vote  for  Hendricks.  Ohio  was 
angered  and  finally  withdrew  Pendleton. 
Seymour,  who  had  been  nominated  several 
times,  always  declining,  sat  pulling  his 
scraggly  hair.  Ohio  swung  to  Seymour, 
as  did  the  other  States,  and  finally 
Indiana. 

RESULT  OF  OCTOBER  ELECTION,  1868. 
GOVERNOR. 

Conrad  Baker,  Republican 171,575        961 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks,   Democrat.  .170,614 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

William  Cumback,  Republican 171,711     1,332 

A.  P.  Edgerton,  Democrat 170,379 


EMOCRACY— 1816-1916 

SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

M.  A.  F.  Hoffman,  Republican 171,293        967 

Reuben  C.  Kise,  Democrat 170,326 

AUDITOR. 

John  D.  Evans,  Republican 171,699     1,383 

Jos.  V.  Bemusdaffer,  Democrat 170,316 

TREASURER. 

Nathan  Kimball,  Republican 171,576     1,295 

James  B.  Ryan,  Democrat 170,281 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

D.  E.  Williamson,  Republican 171,696     1,351 

Solomon  Claypool,  Democrat 170,345 

SUPERINTENDENT  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

B.  C.  Hobbs,  Republican 171,606     1,231 

J.  R.  Phillips,  Democrat 170,375 

CLERK  SUPREME  COURT. 

T.  W.  McCoy,  Republican 171,618     1,221 

Noah  S.  LaRose,  Democrat 170,397 

REPORTER  SUPREME  COURT. 

J.  B.  Black,  Republican 171,688     1,430 

M.  A.  0.  Packard,  Democrat 170,258 

CONGRESSIONAL  RESULTS. 
Majorities. 

W.  E.  Niblack,  Democrat 1,496 

M.  C.  Kerr,  Democrat 6,434 

W.  S.  Holman,  Democrat 762 

George  W.  Julian,  Republican..     116 

John  Coburn,  Republican 1,032 

D.  W.  Voorhees,  Democrat 128 

Godlove  S.  Orth,  Republican...   667 

D.  D.  Pratt,  Republican 2,287 

J.  P.  C.  Shanks,  Republican...  941 
William  Williams,  Republican.  .2,313 
Jasper  Packard,  Republican.  . .  .1,221 
The  surprising  feature  of  the  October 
election  was  the  discrepancy  between  the 
Republican  preponderance  in  the  outcome 
of  the  Congressional  contests  and  the  in- 
significance of  the  Republican  majority 
for  Governor  and  other  State  officers. 
That  the  Republicans  elected  seven  of  the 
eleven  members  of  Congress  with  so  small 
a  diflFerence  in  the  aggregate  vote  may 
to  some  extent  have  been  due  to  personal 
popularity  or  to  superiority  in  campaign- 
ing, but  the  stronger  probability  is  that 
the  real  factor  of  the  seven  to  four  in- 
taking  was  the  skillful  manner  in  which 
the   State  had   been   gerrymandered   for 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Congressional  purposes.  The  dispropor-  The  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Con- 
tion  of  representation  in  the  Legislature  stitution  of  the  United  States,  which  con- 
was  also  in  the  main  ascribable  to  the  free  ferred  the  privilege  of  suffrage  on  the  ne- 
application  of  the  gerrymandering  process  gro,  a  provision  setting  forth  that  the 
in  apportioning  the  State  for  legislative  right  of  citizens  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied 
purposes.  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  any 
The  serious  aspect  of  Republican  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  pre- 
ascendency  in  the  Legislature  at  that  time  ^ious  condition  of  servitude,  was  submit- 
was  the  pendency  of  the  15th  amendment  ted  by  Congress  to  the  Legislatures  of  the 
to  the  Federal  Constitution  providing  for  thirty-seven  States  and  declared  in  effect 
the  introduction  of  negro  suffrage  '"  ^  kittle  over  a  year's  time, 
throughout  the  Union.  In  a  number  of  The  submission  was  made  by  the  For- 
States  the  proposition  to  enfranchise  the  tieth  Congress  on  February  27,  1869,  and 
negro  through  State  action  had  been  sub-  the  proclamation  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
mitted  to  popular  Vote  and  invariably  re-  was  dated  March  30,  1870.  Ratification 
jected.  Then  it  was  that  the  idea  of  con-  was  voted  by  the  Legislatures  of  twenty- 
ferring  the  right  of  suffrage  upon  negroes  "i^e  States.  New  York  gave  its  consent 
by  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  in  April,  1869,  but  rescinded  this  action 
was  conceived  and  in  course  of  time  put  January  5,  1870.  The  first  action  taken 
into  effect.  A  recital  of  the  manner  in  by  the  Ohio  Legislature,  on  May  4,  1869, 
which  this  was  done  will  always  be  an  was  unfavorable.  New  Jersey,  after  hav- 
interesting  and  instructive,  though  ever  ^^S  rejected  the  amendment,  gave  its  ap- 
humiliating,  chapter  of  political  history.  Proval  on  February  21,  1871,  subsequent 

In  Indiana  a  most  determined  fight  was  to  the  proclamation, 

made  to  prevent  the  ratification  of  this  The    States    rejecting   the    amendment 

amendment.  Rather  than  be  made  a  party  were     California,     Delaware,     Kentucky, 

to  ratification  the  Democratic  members  of  Maryland,  Oregon  and  Tennessee, 

the  Legislature   resigned   in   a  body.     A  Those  States  voting  acceptance  acted  on 

special  election  was  ordered  by  Governor  the  following  dates: 

Baker.  At  this  election  the  course  of  those  Nevada  March   l,  1869 

who  had  tendered  their  resignations  was  West  Virginia March   3,1869 

emphatically  endorsed  by  triumphant  re-  ^°'^^.  Ca'-o""^ March   5, 1869 

,      ,.  ™,  .  ,.    .        J,     .^       u    11    i  Louisiana   March    5,1869 

elections.      This    verdict    of    the    ballot  mi^^i^   March  5,1869 

stands  out  in  bold  relief  as  an  inextin-  Michigan   March   8,1869 

guishable  protest  against  the  unwisest  and  Wisconsin March   9, 1869 

most  pernicious  act  committed  in  time  of  Massachusetts March  12, 1869 

peace  fro,n  the  beginning  of  the  Republic  "^h  c.;..„„.- .:  ::l":l  \l  'Z 

to  the  present  time.  Pennsylvania March  26, 1869 

Oliver  P.  Morton  took  his  seat  as  United  Arkansas  March  30, 1869 

States   Senator  March   4,   1867.     Having  New  York  April   14,1869 

silently,  without  explanation  Or  justifica-  i"'^*-'^"^ ^^^     ]t'  ]ltl 

,  ,       ,  ,     ^  ,  ,  ,  Connecticut May      19, 1869 

tion,  gone  clear  back  on  what  he  so  ably  p,^,.ij^  j^„e    15^  iggg 

espoused  in  his  forceful  and  incontrovert-  New  Hampshire July      7, 1869 

ible  Richmond  speech,  he  became  actively  Virginia Oct.      8, 1869 

enlisted  in  the  advocacy  of  the   radical  Vermont  Oct.     21,1869 

,,,,,.  , .         .      ^,  Alabama Nov.     24, 1869 

measures  that  had  inception  in  the  mer-  ^jj^^^^^i  j^^      ^0^  18^0 

Ciless  souls  of  those  who  blindly  followed  Mississippi .Jan.      17, 1870 

the  behests  of  vindictive  Thad.  Stevens.  Rhode  Island .Jan.     18,1870 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Kansas  Jan.     19, 1870  If  you  Mall  assure  me  of  the  appointment, 

Ohio Jan.     27, 1870  I  will  withdraw  from  the  contest  for  any 

Georgia Feb.      2, 1870  position  on  the  State  ticket  and  take  the 

Iowa   Feb.      3, 1870  position  of  elector  at  our  State  Convention. 

Nebraska  Feb.     17,1870  If  this  proposition  does  not  meet  with  your 

Texas Feb.    18,1870  approbation,  please  return  this  letter  to 

Minnesota  Feb.    19,1870  nie.     Let  me  have  your  reply  at  an  early 

The  result  of  the  1868  election  afforded  ^^y-    ^  ^o  most   earnestly   hope   for   the 

opportunity  for  the  Republicans   to  sup-  ""/^^  "^  ^^^  Republican  party, 
f     ,  „,              .    TT     J  -1      ■     4-1-     TT  -4-  J  I  am.  as  ever,  your  friend, 

plant  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  m  the  United  "WILL  CUMBACK  " 

States  Senate,  in  which  body  that  gentle- 
man had  made    a    record    to    which    his         Now,  when  Mr.  Cumback  reduced  these 

friends  and  admirers  can  ever  point  with  thoughts  to  writing  he  doubtless  assumed 

pj-ide  that   Governor   Baker   had   become   thor- 

Early  in  the  year    1868    there    was    in  oughly  imbued  with  the  practical  ideas  of 

progress  a  good  deal  of  political  maneuver-  Governor  Morton  in  regard  to  adjusting 

ing.      Under   the    established    custom    of  matters  of  this  kind  by  private  arrange- 

political  parties  an  Acting  Governor  was  "^^"*-    In  assuming  this  he  may  have  been 

assumed  to  be  entitled    to    a    nomination  grievously  in  error.     At  any  rate  it  ap- 

»,,»„,  ■£  u    J     ■     J  -4-     T  •     4.  peared  later  on  that  Governor  Baker  re- 

fer the  full  term  if  he  desired  it.    Lieuten-  ,    ,  , ,      ^      ,      , 

ant-Governor    Conrad    Baker,    upon    the  warded    he  Cumback  overture  or  proposi- 

election  of  Governor  Morton  to  the  Senate,  ^^f "  ^'    improper  and  corrupt.       By  way 

,  A   X-        ^  Tin.-!     •     4-u  of  variation  he  branded  it  as    indecent  and 

became  Acting  Governor.     While  in  the  4.  „     n  x      i 

.     ,  .        1   4..      1  •   ji     J?    1-  J  corrupt.       But  when  the  convention  met, 

mam  he  enjoyed  the  kindly  feeling  and  „  1  j   ^      1      1  -,  ■       , 

„ ,  J.  ,  .  4.      4.1  •         •  Baker  and   Cumback   were   harmoniously 

confidence  of  his  party,  there  was  in  evi-       ,        ,     ,    ,,      u     j     4.  4.u     4.-  i    4.     t,  i 

,        ,.        .  ■    J,  jr  placed  at  the  head  of  the  ticket — Baker 

dence  a  pronounced  sentiment  in  favor  of^_  /-,ui4.t-4- 

1  •        ijr-ii    n      u     1      4-1,       T>       v.^■^  ^  for   Governor,   Cumback  for   Lieutenant- 
making    Will    Cumback     the     Republican  ml     4.  1    j   4-       4.u       • 

.         „      ^  TT-    -c  11      ■  Governor.     The  two  worked  together  in 

nominee  for  Governor.    His  following  was  ,  .  .  -p    4-  r.  mi. 

J     4.        J        4-1.     •     4.-        n/r      /^  „u  «i  happy  unison,  in  perfect  harmony.      Ihe 
ardent   and   enthusiastic.     Mr.   Cumback         ^^•'     ,,  ..       4-u4.t>i       uu 

,     ,  ,  u        -c  o  J  masses  had  no  suspicion  that  Baker  held 

had  been  a  member  of  Congress  and  was  ,     ,     ,        ,,  ,-4-4-i     -,  4.     i.-  u 

„  ,    ,  J     -4-        T4--  •  under  lock  and  key  a  little  document  which, 

generally    regarded    an    adroit    politician  ..         _,  ,,•  u    ui         r^      u     i> 

and  an  effective  stump  speaker.     Realiz-  f.  f^^^    P^^hc,    would   blow    Cumback  s 

ing  that  Baker  had  a  cinch  on  the  guber-  higher  aspirations  skyward, 
natorial   nomination,   Cumback   conceived         Hendricks'  neglect,  failure  or  refusal  to 

the  idea  of  driving  a  shrewd  little  bargain,  resign   the   Senatorship— thus   exemplify- 

While  in  that  frame  of  mind  he  took  his  ^S  h's  faith  in  the  wisdom  and  practicabil- 

pen  in  hand    and    indited    the    following  it^  of  the  maxim  that  a  bird  in  the  hand 

letter-  ^^  worth  a  half  dozen  in  the  bush — de- 
prived Governor  Baker  of  the  opportunity 

(Envelope  Marked  "Private.")  ^^  ^^^^  ^  successor,    as    Cumback    had 

"Greensburgh,  Ind.,  Jan.  6,  1868.  fondly  anticipated.     Indeed,  there  was  no 

"Governor  Baker:     Dear  Friend — If  I  occasion  for  Hendricks  resigning  his  seat 

had  not  a  thousand  things  to  demand  my  j^  the  Senate.    His  term  expired  March  4, 
attention  tnis  week,  I  would  come  up  and  j^^  ^     ^  j^^^^^  Governor  in 

see  you.    I  v;ill  therefore  venture  to  make  „,,         _,„„„    ,  ,  ,  ,  .        , 

this  suggestion :     I  think  Hendricks  will  October,  1868,  he  could  have  resigned  on 

be  chosen  by  the  Democrats,  and  he  will  the  day  of  his  inauguration   m  January 

certainly  (if  he  intends  to  inspire  hope  of  and  then  appointed  his  successor  in  the 

success  among  his  friends)   resign  his  po-  Upper  Branch  of  Congress.    There  was  no 
sition.    The  person  appointed  by  you  will,         i-4--     1  •  4.        .  -^     ■       1     j 

other  things  being  equal,  stand  the  best  P^l^^ical  interest  or  necessity  involved,  so 

chance  to  be  chosen  by  our  Legislature,  far   as   the   Republicans   were   concerned. 


(240) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1 


Their  majority  in  the  Senate  was  alto- 
gether too  large  for  the  good  of  the  party, 
surely  for  that  of  the  country. 

Notwithstanding  Governor  Baker's 
hostility  to  Major  Cumback,  the  latter 
easily  captured  the  Republican  legislative 
caucus  nomination  for  the  Senatorship. 
This  was  immediately  followed  by  an  ex- 
plosion. The  Cumback  letter  of  January 
6  was  made  public.  Its  publication  created 
intense  excitement  throughout  the  State. 
The  exposure  became  the  subject  of  ani- 
mated discussion  in  eveiy  nook  and  corner. 
It  made  the  old  stagers  prick  their  ears 
and  stand  aghast.  Enough  Republican 
legislators  had  been  corralled  to  prevent 
Cumback's  election.  These  conservators 
of  political  purity  stood  solemnly  pledged 
to  never,  no  never,  vote  for  Will  Cumback 
for  United  States  Senator.  Among  them 
was  State  Senator  James  Hughes  of 
Bloomington,  a  particular  friend  of  Jesse 
D.  Bright,  and  whom  the  Democrats  had 
elected  to  Congress  before  the  civil  war, 
who  supported  Breckinridge  and  Lane  in 
1860,  but  who,  like  Ben  Butler  and  Caleb 
Cashing,  became  suddenly  weaned  from 
his  pro-Southern  proclivities  and  later  on 
fondly  embraced  Republicanism  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  all  that  could  be  regarded  as 
"good  and  righteous." 

With  his  eagle  eye  intently  fixed  on  the 
Hendricks  seat  in  the  Senate  at  Washing- 
ton, Senator  Hughes  introduced  a  resolu- 
tion reciting  the  corrupting  and  demoraliz- 
ing contents  of  the  Cumback  letter  and 
denouncing  the  gi-aceless  methods  by  and 
through  which  a  seat  was  sought  to  be 
secured  in  the  Senate  at  Washington. 
When,  after  a  protracted  and  animated 
discussion  of  the  subject,  the  Legislature 
called  for  the  correspondence  between 
Cumback  and  Baker,  the  Governor  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  Hon.  Stearns  Fisher,  of 
Wabash,  saying  it  was  due  to  himself  that 
some  Senator  should  be  informed  as  to 
the  number  of  letters  comprising  the  en- 
tire correspondence.  One  from  Colonel 
Cumback,  dated  January  6,  1868;  his  re- 


ply thereto  dated  January  8,  1868;  one 
from  Colonel  Cumback  dated  February  21, 
1868,  and  his  reply  dated  February  22. 
The  Governor  asked  the  Senator  to  say, 
in  the  event  of  the  first  letter's  production, 
that  his  reply  was  an  indignant  rejection 
of  the  proposition. 

Jesse  D.  Bright,  whom  Mr.  Hendricks 
succeeded  in  the  Senate,  chanced  to  be 
about  Indianapolis  just  at  the  time  when 
these  symptoms  of  political  purity  were 
bubbling  forth.  With  charming  disinter- 
estedness he  circulated  among  Democratic 
legislators  and  whispered  into  their  ears: 
"A  splendid  opportunity  is  here  presented 
to  elect  a  United  States  Senator.  You 
can't  re-elect  Mr.  Hendricks;  that  is  a 
sure  case.  But  you  can  elect  James 
Hughes,  who  has  always  been  and  is  now 
at  heart  a  Democrat,  and  who  ought  not 
to  be  proscribed  just  because  he  wandered 
away  temporarily  during  the  war."  This 
was  a  catchy  plea,  but  strange  as  may 
appear,  it  failed  to  line  up  the  Democratic 
legislators  for  Hughes.  Then  some  virtu- 
ous political  Josephs  from  the  North  put 
in  an  appearance.  They  were  anxious  to 
get  Judge  James  S.  Frazer  of  Warsaw 
away  from  the  bench  by  transferring  him 
to  the  national  capital,  so  that  one  of  these 
protectors  of  political  virtue  might  be 
made  circuit  judge.  But  that  neat  little 
program  didn't  pan  out,  either,  so  that  in 
course  of  time  a  new  Republican  legislative 
caucus  was  called.  Will  Cumback's  name 
was  withdrawn  and  Daniel  D.  Pratt  of 
Logansport  agreed  upon  as  the  reunited 
party's  choice  for  the  United  States  Sen- 
atorship. All  the  Republicans  voted  for 
Pratt;  all  the  Democrats  for  Hendricks. 
At  the  preceding  fall  election  Pratt  had 
been  chosen  a  representative  in  Congress. 
His  election  to  the  Senate  and  his  accept- 
ance thereof  created  a  vacancy  and 
afforded  an  opening  for  some  other 
patriot  to  go  to  Washington.  This  favor 
was  bestowed  upon  James  N.  Tyner  of 
Peru,  a  gentleman  whose  patriotism  and 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


self-sacrificing  spirit  never  permitted  him 
to  let  a  desirable  or  lucrative  office  go 
begging. 

The  campaign  of  1868  was  ably  and  en- 
ergetically conducted  in  Indiana.  Much  of 
this  was  due  to  the  vigorous  manner  in 
which  the  Sentinel  performed  its  part  in 
that  memorable  contest.  April  13,  1868, 
Richard  J.  Bright,  of  Madison,  took  over 
the  Indianapolis  Herald  and  restored  to 
that  publication  its  former  name,  the 
Sentinel.  He  was  the  son  of  Michael  G. 
Bright  and  a  nephew  of  Senator  Jesse  D. 
Bright.  Lafe  Develin  had  conducted  the 
Herald  with  signal  ability  for  several 
years.  Associated  with  him  were  Joseph 
J.  Bingham,  Geo.  C.  Harding,  John  H.- 
Holliday,  John  Schley,  and  others.  Rich- 
ard Jesse  Bright  was  a  fine  specimen  of 
manhood,  a  positive  character,  a  devoted 
friend  and  a  fearless  opponent.  Inability 
to  make  the  Senti7iel  profitable  caused 
him  to  dispose  of  the  plant,  and  some  time 
afterward  he  became  sergeant-at-arms  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  a  position  he 
held  for  a  number  of  years.  As  a  Senate 
official  he  was  held  in  high  esteem  by 
Democrats  and  Republicans  alike.  At  this 
writing  he  is  still  a  resident  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  His  father  was  for  many  years 
among  the  most  influential  Democrats  of 
Indiana.  He  was  warmly  attached  to  his 
distinguished  brother,  Jesse  D.  Bright, 
whom  he  served  and  aided  in  many  ways. 
Michael  G.  Bright  had  much  to  do  with 
the  adjustment  of  the  financial  troubles 
in  which  the  State  had  become  involved 
during  the  grossly  misdirected  internal 
improvement  craze.  For  several  years  he 
was  the  State's  financial  representative  to 
straighten  out  the  kinks  that  for  years  so 
greatly  impaired  the  credit  of  Indiana.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  force  of  character,  a 
Democrat  of  the  stanchest  type  and  a 
citizen  highly  esteemed  by  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  His  business  quali- 
fications were  of  a  high  order.  It  was 
chiefly  due  to  this  that  he  was  chosen  to 
disentangle  the  ensnarled  finances  of  the 


State.  His  signal  success  in  that  under- 
taking attested  the  wisdom  of  his  selec- 
tion. 

DETERMINED  FIGHT  AGAINST  RATI- 
FICATION OF  THE  FIFTEENTH 
AMENDMENT  TO  THE  FEDERAL 
CONSTITUTION  BY  INDIANA  DEMO- 
CRATS. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  1869  ses- 
sion of  the  Indiana  Legislature  the  pro- 
posed fifteenth  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  was 
submitted  to  that  body  for  ratification  or 
rejection.  All  the  Democratic  members  of 
both  houses  were  uncompromisingly 
opposed  to  ratification.  When  they  dis- 
covered that  the  Republicans,  constituting 
the  majority,  had  been  lined  up  in  favor  of 
ratification,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
some  of  them  personally  doubted  the  wis- 
dom, justice  or  advisability  of  such  action, 
the  conclusion  was  reached  that  resort 
should  be  taken  to  breaking  a  quorum  by 
resignation.  That  their  action  did  not 
accomplish,  the  desired  purpose  detracts 
not  a  whit  from  the  glory  that  attaches  to 
their  names  as  sterling  defenders  of  an 
undefiled  electorate.  They  did  all  in  their 
power  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the 
ballot.  That  they  failed  is  not  their  fault. 
From  beginning  to  end  they  stood  up 
manfully,  courageously  and  patriotically 
for  a  cause  founded  upon  right  and  justice. 

Governor  Baker  officially  reported  sev- 
enteen members  of  the  Senate  and  thirty- 
seven  members  of  the  House  as  resigning 
March  4,  1869,  during  the  regular  session 
of  the  Legislature.  The  Governor  there- 
upon called  a  special  election  to  fill  vacan- 
cies, to  be  held  March  23. 

A  special  session  of  the  Legislature  was 
called  for  April  8,  to  act  on  appropriation 
bills  and  other  matters.  During  this  ses- 
sion it  was  reported  that  sixteen  Senators 
and  forty-two  members  of  the  House  had 
resigned.  A.  P.  Stanton,  of  Indianapolis, 
resigned  as  Speaker,  being  succeeded  by 
George  A.  Buskirk  of  Bloomington,  April 


(242) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  181G-191G 


12.  Stanton  was  not  considered  equal  to 
the  emergency,  hence  his  abdication  as 
Speaker.  The  Senate  passed  the  joint 
amendatory  resolution  May  13  by  a  vote 
of  27  ayes  to  1  nay.  Ten  Senators  were 
shown  on  the  record  as  being  present  but 
not  voting. 

When  the  resolution  was  brought  up  in 
the  House,  May  14,  John  R.  Coffroth  of 
Huntington  raised  the  point  of  order  that 
two-thirds  of  the  membership  were  re- 
quired for  a  quorum.  It  was  reported  at 
the  special  session  that  sixteen  Senators 
and  forty-two  members  of  the  House  re- 
signed. Mr.  Coffroth,  in  raising  his  point 
of  order,  said  the  roll  call  developed  but 
fifty-six  members  present,  which  was 
eleven  less  than  a  quorum.  Speaker  Bus- 
kirk  held  there  was  no  precedent,  or  law 
of  Congress,  indicating  what  should  con- 


stitute a  quorum  on  United  States  Con- 
stitutional questions;  he  therefore  let  the 
roll  call  proceed.  The  result  was  announced 
as  fifty-four  ayes,  nays  none. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  fifteenth  amendment.  The 
action  of  the  Democratic  members  who 
resigned  for  the  express  purpose  of  break- 
ing a  quorum  was  approved  by  their 
triumphant  re-election.  Not  the  slightest 
doubt  existed  as  to  public  sentiment  in 
Indiana  being  overwhelmingly  opposed  to 
this  amendment.  Yet  it  was  put  through 
as  a  party  necessity,  unmindful  of  the  note 
of  warning  sounded  by  Governor  Morton 
in  his  Richmond  speech  before  he  had 
made  himself  a  convert  to  the  dangerous 
and  revolutionary  program  mapped  out  by 
Thaddeus  Stevens  and  his  coadjutors. 


NEGRO  VOTE   A   DISAPPOINTMENT  TO   THE   REPUBLICANS, 

WHO  SUSTAINED  FIRST  DEFEAT 

SINCE  1862 


If  the  Republican  leaders  really  believed 
that  the  admission  of  negroes  to  the  ballot, 
under  the  operation  of  the  fifteenth 
amendment,  would  have  the  effect  of  mak- 
ing more  certain  Republican  ascendency 
in  Indiana,  they  experienced  a  sore  disap- 
pointment in  the  result  of  the  election 
that  year.  If,  as  is  quite  likely,  the  negro 
vote  was  cast  solidly  for  the  Republican 
nominees,  it  became  equally  apparent  that 
for  every  colored  vote  added  to  their  num- 
bers a  white  vote  was  lost  to  them.  No 
effort  was  made  by  the  Democrats  to 
gather  any  of  the  newly  enfranchised  vot- 
ers into  their  fold.  The  Republican  party 
as  an  organization  had  unequivocally, 
though  with  poorly  disguised  misgivings, 
committed  itself  in  favor  of  the  fifteenth 
amendment,  while  Democrats  with  the 
utmost  unanimity  freely  and  unreservedly 
condemned  the  arbitrary  and  revolution- 
ary manner  in  which  the  elective  franchise 
had  been  prostituted  to  base  partisan 
purposes. 


The  Democratic  State  convention  for 
1870  was  held  at  the  State  Capital  on  his- 
toric Jackson  Day,  and  was  called  to 
order  by  Lafe  Develin,  chairman  of  the 
State  Central  Committee.  The  gallant 
Union  soldier  element  was  very  much  in 
evidence  and  most  cordially  greeted. 
General  Mahlon  D.  Manson  served  as  tem- 
porary chairman,  and  upon  a  hero  of  two 
wars.  General  James  R.  Slack  of  Hunting- 
ton, was  conferred  the  honor  of  being 
made  permanent  chairman.  Both  of  these 
gallant  defenders  of  our  country's  flag 
delivered  speeches  that  elicited  unbounded 
enthusiasm.  Their  utterances  breathed 
the  spirit  of  genuine  unionism  and  devo- 
tion to  constitutional  supremacy. 

The  real  contest  in  the  convention  was 
over  the  State  auditorship,  then  by  far 
the  most  lucrative  office  in  the  State.  Six 
candidates  had  entered  the  race:  John  C. 
Shoemaker,  John  B.  Stoll,  Joseph  V. 
Bemusdaflfer — Steele,  Keightley  and  Tur- 
ner.    On  the  first  ballot  Shoemaker  had 


(243) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


366,  Stoll  2981/2,  Bemusdaffer  122,  Steele 
148,  Keightley  ""l27.  Turner  51.  On  the 
final  ballot  Shoemaker  had  591,  Stoll  502, 
Keightley  6.  Upon  the  announcement  of 
the  result  of  the  final  ballot  Mr.  Stoll,  in  a 
brief  speech,  expressed  his  entire  acqui- 
escence in  the  decision  of  the  majority, 
followed  with  the  declaration  that,  though 
not  chosen  as  part  of  the  ticket,  he  would 
be  found  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  for 
the  triumphant  election  of  the  convention's 
nominees.  Tumultuous  applause  greeted 
this  announcement. 

The  entire  ticket  was  made  up  of  the  fol- 
lowing-named gentlemen : 

Secretary  of  State — Colonel  Norman 
Eddy,  South  Bend. 

Auditor — John  C.  Shoemaker,  Cannel- 
ton. 

Treasurer — James  B.  Ryan,  Indiana- 
polis. 

Attorney-General — Bayless  W.  Hanna, 
Terre  Haute. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — 
Rev.  Milton  B.  Hopkins,  Kokomo. 

Supreme  Court  Judges — James  L. 
Worden,  Fort  Wayne;  Alexander  C. 
Downey,  Ohio  county;  Samuel  H.  Buskirk, 
Bloomington;  John  Pettit,  Lafayette. 

State  Central  Committee — Eccles  G. 
Van  Riper,  John  S.  Davis,  Floyd;  Richard 
D.  Slater,  Jr.,  Jefferson;  Nathan  H.  Ray- 
mond, Wayne;  E.  S.  Alvord,  Indianapolis, 
Chairman;  William  M.  Mack,  Vigo;  John 
S.  Williams,  Tippecanoe;  James  Sweetzer, 
Grant;  John  Obison,  Delaware;  Eli  W. 
Brown,  Whitley;  John  P.  Early,  Laporte. 

THE  PLATFORM. 

The  more  important  planks  of  the  1870 
platform  were  set  forth  in  these  words : 

"That  the  Federal  Union,  with  all  the 
rights  and  dignity  of  the  several  States, 
should  be  preserved;  and  to  secure  that 
great  national  blessing  the  Constitution 
must  be  respected  and  observed  and  every 
approach  to  centralized  despotism  de- 
feated, whether  attempted  by  Congress  or 
the  Executive. 

"That   recent   events   have,   more  than 


ever,  convinced  us  of  the  infamous  and 
revolutionary  character  of  the  reconstruc- 
tion measures  of  Congress,  and  we  de- 
nounce these  measures  as  an  invasion  of 
the  sovereign  and  sacred  rights  of  the 
people  and  all  the  States. 

"That  we  are  willing  to  pay  our  national 
debt,  in  strict  compliance  with  our  con- 
tracts, whether  it  was  made  payable  in 
gold  or  greenbacks,  but  we  are  unwilling 
to  do  more  than  that ;  and  we  declare  that 
the  five-twenty  bonds  are  payable  in 
greenbacks,  or  their  equivalent;  and  we 
condemn  the  policy  of  the  Administration 
which  is  squandering  millions  of  money 
by  buying  such  bonds  at  a  high  rate  of 
premium,  when  the  Government  has  the 
clear  right  to  redeem  them  at  par. 

"That  we  denounce  the  action  of  our 
last  Legislature  in  attempting  to  force 
upon  the  people  the  proposed  fifteenth 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  as  in  palpable  violation  of 
our  State  Constitution,  and  we  solemnly 
protest  against  Indiana  being  counted  for 
said  amendment;  and  we  hereby  declare 
our  unalterable  opposition  to  its  ratifica- 
tion. 

"That  any  attempt  to  regulate  the  moral 
ideas,  appetites,  or  innocent  amusements 
of  the  people  by  legislation  is  unwise  and 
despotic." 

Other  planks  declared  in  favor  of  a 
tariff  for  revenue  only  and  the  equal  ad- 
justment of  the  burdens  of  taxation;  for 
the  abolition  of  national  banks  and  the 
substitution  of  greenbacks  as  a  circulating 
medium;  for  a  larger  volume  of  currency; 
for  the  taxation  of  national  bank  stocks 
for  municipal  and  school  purposes ;  for  the 
taxation  of  United  States  bonds  for  na- 
tional purposes,  and  against  any  change  in 
the  naturalization  laws  of  the  United 
States,  whereby  admission  to  citizenship 
will  be  made  more  difficult  or  expensive. 

The  names  of  the  Republican  nominees 
for  the  various  State  oflSces  will  be  found 
in  the  tabular  election  returns. 

The  campaign  of  1870  was  not  an  overly 
exciting  one.  For  quite  a  while  but  little 
stir  was  made  in  the  domain  of  politics. 
By  and  by  demands  were  made  upon  the 
State  Central  Committee  that  some  life  be 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


injected  into  affairs  political.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Democratic  State  Committee  a 
resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  that 
the  speaking  campaign  be  conducted  by 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Joseph  E.  Mc- 
Donald, Thomas  Dowling  and  John  B. 
Stoll.  A  long  list  of  appointments  was 
arranged  for  the  latter.  His  engagements 
dated  to  October  1,  closing  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  State.  Experiencing 
an  intense  longing  to  reach  his  home  at 
Ligonier,  in  the  extreme  northern  part  of 
the  State,  strangely  and  unaccountably 
depressed  mentally  and  unable  to  become 
interested  in  anything  brought  to  his  at- 
tention, a  messenger  sent  to  meet  him  at 
the  train  upon  its  arrival  at  Laporte,  in 
quivering  voice  conveyed  the  crushing  in- 
formation: "Your  boy  died  this  after- 
noon." "Your  boy"  meant  the  dearly 
beloved,  exceptionally  bright  and  then  only 
son  of  him  to  whom  this  heart-piercing 
message  of  woe  was  communicated.  All 
attempts  at  telegraphic  information  of  the 
boy's  illness  had  miscarried.  A  malignant 
attack  of  diphtheria  prostrated  the  four- 
year-old  lad.  Anti-toxin  was  then  un- 
known to  medical  science;  despite  all 
efforts  to  save  this  precious  life,  the  spirit 
of  John  B.  Stoll,  Jr.,  fled  on  the  afternoon 
of  October  3,  1870.  Only  those  who  have 
had  somewhat  similar  experiences  can 
form  any  conception  of  the  anguish  inci- 
dent to  the  infliction  of  such  a  staggering 
blow.  Tender  messages  of  condolence 
came  from  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  State. 
A  singularly  sympathetic  letter  from 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  touchingly  reciting 
the  bereavement  that  befell  himself  and 
Mrs.  Hendricks  in  the  loss  of  their  only 
child  during  the  early  period  of  their  mar- 
ried life,  revealed  in  that  great,  good, 
lovable  statesman  a  gentleness  of  nature, 
a  nobility  of  soul,  that  in  a  measure 
accounted  for  the  wonderful  hold  he  had 
upon  the  affection  of  those  who  knew  him 
best  and  never  tired  of  doing  him  honor. 
In  a  conversation  with  A.  H.  Conner, 
chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Com- 


mittee, the  question  as  to  which  party 
would  carry  the  State  at  the  October  elec- 
tion, Ihe  laconic  reply  was  made  that  if 
the  crops  turned  out  favorably  and  boun- 
tifully, the  Republican  ticket  would  doubt- 
less be  elected.  If  crop  conditions  should 
chance  to  be  unfavorable,  Democratic  suc- 
cess might  safely  be  foreshadowed.  Chair- 
man Conner  doubtless  became  convinced 
later  on  by  an  analysis  of  the  situation 
that  his  prognostication  was  not  alto- 
gether well  founded. 

During  the  progress  of  the  campaign 
emphasis  was  given  to  the  sentiment  that 
gross  injustice  was  being  done  the  tax- 
payers of  the  State  in  this,  that  interest  on 
the  school  fund  was  made  a  part  of  the 
emoluments  of  the  State  Auditor,  instead 
of  being  covered  into  the  State  treasury 
for  the  benefit  of  the  school  system.  No 
law  seems  to  have  been  enacted  specific- 
ally providing  for  such  application,  but 
the  people  were  told  that  if  placed  in 
power,  the  Democratic  party  would  see  to 
it  that  justice  was  done  by  the  enactment 
of  appropriate  legislation  to  make  school 
fund  interest  part  of  the  school  revenue 
instead  of  swelling  the  emoluments  of  the 
State  Auditor.  While  the  Democrats  did 
not  gain  control  of  the  legislative  depart- 
ment, they  did  elect  their  State  ticket. 
Auditor  Shoemaker  saw  fit  to  continue  the 
policy  of  his  predecessors,  and  it  was  for 
this  reason  that  he  was  defeated  for  re- 
nomination  in  1872  by  the  same  person 
who  was  his  chief  but  unsuccessful  com- 
petitor two  years  before.  Mr.  Stoll  had 
repeatedly  declared  that  he  would  not  be 
a  candidate  against  Mr.  Shoemaker  if  the 
latter  as  Auditor  would  cover  the  school 
fund  interest  into  the  State  treasury.  Mr. 
Shoemaker  declined  to  do  this.  Influential 
Democrats  throughout  the  State — among 
them  such  men  as  "Blue  Jeans"  Williams, 
General  James  R.  Slack,  General  Levi 
Sparks,  General  Reuben  C.  Kise,  Judge  J. 
A.  S.  Mitchell,  Judge  David  S.  Gooding,  Col- 
onel A.  T.  Whittlesey,  Judge  Daniel  Noyes, 


(245) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Colonel  Thomas  Dowling,  John  B.  Ruger, 
Judge  Sol.  Claypool,  Martin  M.  Ray,  and 
hundreds  of  others — insisted  that  the  party 
could  not  afford  to  go  before  the  public 
with  Mr.  Shoemaker  as  the  nominee.  They 
conceded  that  ordinarily  Mr.  Shoemaker 
was  entitled  to  a  renomination  under  the 
two-term  usage,  but  since  he  had  chosen 
to  claim  the  school  fund  interest  for  him- 
self he  must  suffer  the  penalty  of  being 
set  aside.  A  few  years  later,  largely 
through  the  efforts  of  James  D.  Williams, 
elected  Governor  in  1876,  a  bill  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  requiring  the  school 
fund  interest  to  be  turned  over  where  it 
properly  belonged.  Considerable  effort 
was  required  to  effect  this  legislation,  but 
public  sentiment  had  become  so  pro- 
nounced on  the  subject  that  the  taxpaying 
public's  influence  proved  more  formidable 
than  the  suavity  of  the  State  Auditor  and 
the  intercession  of  his  interested  friends. 

The  Democrats  were  peculiarly  fortu- 
nate in  their  selection  of  Colonel  Norman 
Eddy  to  head  the  ticket  for  Secretary  of 
State.  He  was  a  man  of  high  character 
and  superior  ability.  His  war  record  was 
excellent.  As  a  member  of  Congress  he 
stood  deservedly  high.  President  Johnson 
appointed  him  collector  of  internal  reve- 
nue. Colonel  Eddy's  death  before  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  as  Secretary  of  State 
created  profound  sorrow  throughout  the 
State. 

In  the  election  of  members  of  Congress 
the  Democrats  fared  far  better  than  they 
did  in  preceding  elections.  William  E. 
Niblack,  Michael  C.  Kerr,  Wm.  S.  Hol- 
man  and  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  were  re- 
elected by  decisive  majorities.  They  were 
reinforced  by  General  Mahlon  D.  Hanson, 
who  came  with  flying  colors  out  of  the 


contest  in  the  Crawfordsville  district.  It 
was  a  great  victory  for  the  gallant  vet- 
eran and  caused  genuine  elation  through- 
out the  State.  The  Republicans  re-elected 
General  John  Coburn,  James  N.  Tyner, 
John  Peter  Cleaver  Shanks,  Major  William 
Williams  and  General  Jasper  Packard, 
and  substituted  Jeremiah  M.  Wilson  for 
George  W.  Julian.  Wilson  "enjoyed"  the 
distinction  of  having  slipped  into  Congress 
by  a  majority  of  four.  Judge  David 
Sanders  Gooding  gave  him  a  close  chase. 
The  friends  of  George  W.  Julian  found  it 
diflScult  to  become  reconciled  to  his  forced 
retirement. 

OFFICIAL  VOTE,  1870. 
SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Norman  Eddy,  Democrat 160,009     2,508 

M.  P.  A.  Hoffman,  Republican 157,501 

AUDITOR. 

J.  C.  Shoemaker,  Democrat 159,181     1,867 

.John  D.  Evans,  Republican 157,314 

TREASURER. 

James  B.  Ryan,  Democrat 158,697     3,223 

Robert  H.  Milroy,  Republican 155,474 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

Bayless  W.  Hanna,  Democrat 160,025     2,560 

Nelson  Trusler,  Republican 157,465 

SUPERINTENDENT  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

Milton  B.  Hopkins,  Democrat 159,063     1,994 

Barnabee  C.  Hobbs,  Republican 157,069 

JUDGES  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT. 

James  L.  Worden,  Democrat 160,002     3,734 

Andrew  L.  Osborn,  Republican 156,268 

Alexander  0.  Downey,  Democrat.  .  .159,887     3,798 

John  T.  Elliott,  Republican 156,089 

Samuel  H.  Buskirk,  Democrat 159,853     3,118 

Charles  A.  Ray,  Republican 156,735 

John  Pettit,  Democrat 159,763     3,077 

Robert  C.  Gregory,  Republican 156,686 


(246) 


[Chapter  XXXIII.] 

LIBERAL  REPUBLICAN  MOVEMENT 

IN  1872 


DISSATISFIED  REPUBLICANS  AND  DEMOCRATS  FORM  A  FOR- 
MIDABLE COMBINATION 


URING  the  civil  war  Clement  L. 
Vallandigham  of  Dayton,  Ohio, 
attained  national  prominence 
by  his  outspoken  opposition  to 
the  war  policies  of  the  Lincoln 
administration.  He  had  been  a 
member  of  Congress  from  the 
Dayton  district,  and  on  account  of  some 
of  his  radical  utterances  in  public  speeches 
was  exiled  to  Canada.  During  this  exile 
his  ardent  friends  and  supporters  insisted 
on  his  making  the  race  for  Governor.  He 
was  nominated  and  a  vigorous  campaign 
was  conducted  in  his  behalf.  War  Dem- 
ocrats and  Republicans  united  on  John 
Brough,  a  life-long  Democrat,  and  elected 
him  by  something  more  than  101,000  ma- 
jority. After  the  war  Mr.  Vallandigham 
modified  his  views  to  such  an  extent  that 
in  1868  he  looked  with  favor  upon  the 
proposition  to  make  Chief  Justice  Salmon 
P.  Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  un- 
der Lincoln,  the  Democratic  nominee  for 
the  Presidency.  He  progressed  so  rap- 
idly in  his  political  modernism  that  on  the 
20th  of  May,  1871,  he  sprung  what  be- 
came famous  as  the  "New  Departure"  at 
the  convention  of  the  Montgomery  county 
Democracy,  held  in  the  city  of  Dayton. 
This  "New  Departure"  meant  the  ac- 
ceptance without  further  opposition  of  the 
several  amendments  to  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution and  the  measures  incident  to  the 
prosecution  of  the  war.  It  was  his  con- 
tention that  a  recession  therefrom  could 
not  be  hoped  for  until  the  pa.ssions  en- 
gendered by  the  rebellion  had  subsided 
and  after  the  people's  attention  had  been 
diverted  in  other  directions.  The  falla- 
ciousness  of   this   expectation   has   since 


become  apparent,  but  Mr.  Vallandigham 
supported  his  theory  with  such  earnest- 
ness that  he  not  only  succeeded  in  having 
his  program  approved  by  his  home  county, 
but  formally  endorsed  by  the  Democratic 
State  convention  at  Columbus,  June  1, 
1871.  Vigorous  opposition  was  put  forth 
by  Congressman  Frank  H.  Hurd  and 
others,  but  Vallandigham  carried  the  con- 
vention with  him  by  the  decisive  vote  of 
365  yeas  to  129  nays.  This  was  followed 
by  the  nomination  of  two  distinguished 
Union  soldiers  for  Governor  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor— the  famous  General  George 
W.  McCook  and  General  Samuel  F.  Hunt. 
Another  stanch  supporter  of  the  Union 
cause  was  nominated  for  Supreme  Judge 
in  the  person  of  George  W.  Geddes.  There 
was  no  half-way  course  for  Vallandigham. 
His  "New  Departure"  was  such  not  only 
in  name  but  in  fact.  And  there  isn't  the 
slightest  doubt  about  the  man's  sincerity. 
A  new  light  unfolded  itself  to  his  vision 
and  it  served  as  his  guidance  to  the  end  of 
his  earthly  career,  so  tragically  termi- 
nated while  engaged  in  an  important  law 
suit  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  re- 
volver in  his  own  hand.  He  was  a  very 
able  man,  and  men  of  rare  ability  at  times 
take  queer  turns  in  political  as  well  as  in 
other  affairs.  Vallandigham  was  not  alone 
among  Ohio's  distinguished  politicians  to 
change  front  suddenly. 

A  conspicuous  example  was  that  of 
George  H.  Pendleton's  flop  from  hard 
money  to  greenbackism.  As  a  member  of 
Congress  during  the  early  period  of  the 
war  he  vigorously  opposed  the  issue  of 
greenbacks  as  legal  tender  currency.  In 
assuming  this   attitude  he   had   the   dis- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


linguished  fellowship  of  Roscoe  Conkling 
of  New  York.  In  1868  the  same  George 
H.  Pendleton  became  a  candidate  for  the 
presidential  nomination  as  a  distinctive 
champion  of  the  proposition  to  pay  off 
with  greenbacks  all  the  obligations  of  the 
United  States  not  specifically  provided  to 
be  paid  in  coin. 

The  first  movement  in  the  direction  of 
organized  opposition  to  the  re-election  of 
General  Grant  to  the  presidency  was 
originated  in  Missouri  in  1870  under  the 
leadership  of  Senator  Carl  Schurz,  aided 
by  others  of  considerable  prominence  in 
the  Republican  party.  A  ticket  headed  by 
B.  Gratz  Brown  for  Governor  was  placed 
in  nomination  and  triumphantly  elected 
in  the  fall.  In  response  to  the  Missouri 
movement  the  Democracy  of  Ohio  came 
to  the  front  with  the  "New  Departure"  in 
1871,  and  at  the  State  convention  held  in 
Cleveland,  June  27,  1872,  acquiesced  in 
the  program  set  forth  at  a  mass  meeting 
held  in  Cincinnati  May  1st  of  the  same 
year  by  the  Liberal  Republicans.  The  new 
movement  had  by  this  time  gained  large 
accessions  and  gave  high  promise  of  prov- 
ing a  success.  So  many  Republicans  of 
prominence  had  enlisted  in  it  that  it  as- 
sumed the  character  of  a  political  revo- 
lution. Carl  Schurz,  Horace  Greeley,  Reu- 
ben E.  Fenton,  Governor  Andrew  G.  Cur- 
tin,  Governor  Austin  Blair,  Lyman  Trum- 
bull, James  R.  Doolittle,  George  W.  Julian, 
B.  Gratz  Brown,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  John  D. 
Defrees,  Stanley  Matthews,  Col.  A.  K. 
McCIure  and  hundreds  of  others  of  almost 
equal  prominence  and  distinction  had 
identified  themselves  with  the  new  organi- 
zation and  gave  it  their  earnest  and  en- 
thusiastic support.  Abuses  had  sprung 
up  under  the  Grant  administration  that 
afforded  ample  ground  and  justification  for 
revolt.  The  whisky  frauds  in  the  West 
and  other  transgressions  had  become  na- 
tional scandals.  While  Grant's  personal 
integrity  was  not  questioned,  thousands  of 
those  who  had  voted  for  him  in  1868  ex- 


pressed emphatic  refusal  to  do  so  again. 
His  administration  was  adjudged  a  stu- 
pendous failure  and  a  grievous  disappoint- 
ment. Its  defeat  was  confidently  expected 
and  as  confidently  predicted  until  the  elec- 
tion in  North  Carolina  in  the  month  of 
August  suddenly  put  a  damper  on  the 
hopes  and  expectations  of  the  leaders  of 
the  new  party. 

The  nomination  of  Horace  Greeley  for 
the  Presidency  had  a  depressing  effect  on 
the  real  leader  of  the  Liberal  Republican 
movement.  Senator  Carl  Schurz.  Not  that 
he  in  any  sense  disliked  or  distrusted 
Greeley,  but  that  he  had  serious  doubts 
as  to  his  being  a  real  representative  of 
the  spirit  that  caused  this  upheaval.  The 
convention  that  nominated  Greeley  and 
Brown  was  held  in  Cincinnati.  Senator 
Schurz  was  the  guest  of  his  friend  and 
admirer.  Judge  John  B.  Stallo,  one  of  Cin- 
cinnati's most  highly  esteemed  citizens. 
Upon  Greeley's  nomination  by  the  close 
vote  of  332  to  324  for  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  Senator  Schurz  repaired  to  the 
Stallo  mansion.  Seating  himself  at  the 
grand  piano,  Schurz,  an  accomplished 
manipulator  of  the  ivory  keys,  rendered 
from  "The  Bohemian  Girl"  the  melancholy 
strains  of  "The  Heart  Bowed  Down." 
More  pathetically  than  spoken  words  these 
plaintive  strains  revealed  the  mournful 
feelings  of  the  chagrined  and  sorely  dis- 
appointed chairman  of  the  first  and  last 
national  convention  of  the  newly-born 
Liberal  Republican  party. 

Schurz's  heart  had  been  set  on  the  nom- 
ination of  the  scholarly  but  austere 
Charles  Francis  Adams,  of  Massachusetts. 
The  delegates  who  inclined  to  the  ideal- 
istic in  politics  heartily  seconded  Senator 
Schurz's  efforts  to  secure  Mr.  Adams's 
nomination.  The  "practical  politicians" 
and  political  manipulators  strangely  co- 
operated with  General  Frank  P.  Blair  of 
Misi^ouri,  in  a  carefully-planned  move- 
ment to  make  the  ticket  consist  of  Horace 
Greeley  and  B.  Gratz  Brown.  The  men 
who  had  most  accurately  sized  up  the  sit- 


HISTORY 


NDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


uation  in  the  country  at  large  had  fully 
satisfied  themselves  that  the  proper,  the 
wise,  thing  to  do  was  to  nominate  Judge 
David  Davis,  of  Illinois,  Lincoln's  executor 
and  devoted  friend.  Davis  had  already 
been  nominated  by  a  sort  of  Labor  Con- 
vention, with  Governor  Joel  Parker  of 
New  Jersey  as  his  running  mate.  It  was 
an  excellent  combination.  Both  were  men 
of  unblemished  character  and  the  business 
element  had  entire  confidence  in  them. 
Had  this  ticket  been  accepted  by  the  Cin- 
cinnati convention  and  subsequently  ap- 
proved by  the  Baltimore  convention,  there 
is  but  little  doubt  that  it  would  have  been 
triumphantly  elected.  The  country  was 
genuinely  tired  of  the  manner  in  which  af- 
fairs were  being  conducted  by  the  Grant 
administration,  but  it  was  not  prepared  or 
inclined  to  place  in  the  presidential  chair 
a  brainy  man  eminently  qualified  to  edit 
a  great  newspaper  but  temperamentally 
and  otherwise  manifestly  unfitted  to  run 
the  governmental  machinery  of  a  great  in- 
dustrial country  like  ours.  There  never 
could  be  any  question  as  to  Greeley's  hon- 
esty and  integrity,  nor  the  excellence  and 
purity  of  his  intentions  and  purposes.  But 
his  nearest  and  dearest  friends  could  not 
divest  themselves  of  apprehension  that  his 
occupancy  of  the  presidential  office  would 
have  resulted  in  humiliation  to  himself 
and  chagrin  to  his  friends.  Great  in  some 
things.  Grant  was  a  dismal  failure  in 
these  respects,  but  he  had  elements  of 
strengtl;  that  were  conspicuously  wanting 
in  America's  foremost  journalist — the  re- 
vered sage  of  Chappauqua. 

The  Democracy  of  Indiana  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  final  acceptance  of 
the  Greeley  and  Brown  Liberal  Republican 
ticket.  Up  to  the  time  that  Indiana  for- 
mally declared  itself  there  was  lingering 
in  the  Democratic  mind  considerable 
doubt  as  to  the  advisability  of  forming  a 
coalition  -with  the  Liberal  Republicans. 
There  were  many  who  believed  that  a 
presidential  ticket  headed  by  Thomas  A. 


Hendricks  could  and  would  be  elected. 
With  a  view  to  simplifying  matters  the 
State  Central  Committee  was  convened  at 
Indianapolis,  January  9,  1872,  to  discuss 
the  situation  and  agree  upon  some  plan  of 
action.  Representative  Democrats  from  all 
parts  of  the  State  were  invited  to  attend 
this  meeting  and  give  the  committee  the 
benefit  of  their  views.  Among  those  who 
responded  to  this  invitation  were  S.  W. 
Holmes,  J.  B.  Edmunds,  Joseph  E.  Mc- 
Donald, John  S.  Williams,  W.  S.  Shirely, 
Colonel  Taylor,  Wm.  Mack,  Bayless  W. 
Hanna,  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks  and  Captain  John  Kirk.  In 
their  talks  these  gentlemen  referred  with 
mai'ked  satisfaction  to  the  prevailing 
spirit  of  harmony  and  unity  of  purpose. 
The  sentiment  expressed  was  unequivoc- 
ally in  favor  of  maintaining  the  organi- 
zation and  nominating  a  presidential  can- 
didate who  had  the  confidence  of  the  party 
and  whose  fitness  would  be  so  evident  that 
he  could  command  the  respect  of  political 
opponents  and  the  support  of  all  who  de- 
sired the  restoration  of  honesty  and  purity 
in  the  administration  of  the  Government. 
The  proposal  of  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee that  the  State  convention  be  post- 
poned until  June  met  with  genei-al  favor 
and  final  approval. 

The  convention  met  at  Indianapolis, 
June  12,  after  both  the  Liberal  and  the 
regular  Republican  presidential  conven- 
tions had  been  held.  Sixteen  hundred  dele- 
gates and  a  goodly  number  of  specators 
were  in  attendance.  State  Chairman 
Elijah  S.  Alvord  called  the  convention  to 
order.  John  R.  Coffroth  was  chosen  per- 
manent chairman.  By  far  the  most  im- 
portant business  for  the  transaction  of 
which  the  convention  had  been  called  was 
practically  though  not  formally  di.sposed 
of  the  night  before.  Up  to  the  last  moment 
Mr.  Hendricks  had  w^ithheld  his  consent 
to  make  another  race  for  the  Governor- 
ship. He  had  already  made  two  such  races 
and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  he  had  fully 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

discharged   his   duty    in   that   particular.  Mr.    DePauw    declined   the   nomination 

Mrs.  Hendricks  was  very  much  averse  to  for  Lieutenant-Governor.  ■  The  State  Com- 

her  distinguished  husband  making  a  third  mittee  selected  John  R.  Cravens,  a  Liberal 

race  for  that  office.    It  was  an  open  secret  Republican,  of  Madison,  and  a  gentleman 

that   she   expected   Mr.   Hendricks   to   be  of  high  character,  to  fill  the  vacancy, 

nominated  for  the  Presidency.     When  it  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  was  intensely  hos- 

had  been  made  apparent  that  Indiana  was  tile  to  the  adoption  by  the  Democrats  of 

inseparably     linked     with     the     Greeley  the  Greeley  nomination.      It    was    feared 

movement  Mrs.  Hendricks  finally  relented,  that  if  he  could  not  be  restrained  from 

A     decided     majority     of     the     district  addressing  the  convention  a  row  could  not 

caucuses  held  the  night  before  the  conven-  have  been  averted.     But  the  "Tall  Syca- 

tion  settled  the  party's  attitude  as  to  the  more"  finally  permitted  himself  to  be  pla- 

Presidential  nomination.  In  the  event  that  cated  to  forego  a  forensic  onslaught  on 

Mr.   Hendricks  had  been  entered  in  the  the  amalgamation  scheme.     He  predicted, 

Presidential  race  it  is  altogether  probable  however,     that    nothing    but    disastrous 

that  Washington  C.  DePauw,  of  New  Al-  defeat  could  and  would  result  from  this 

bany,  would  have  been  made  the  nominee  unnatural  alliance.    And  so  it  turned  out 

for  Governor.     There  was   a  very   pro-  when  in  the  melancholy  days  of  November 

nounced  sentiment  in  his  favor.    This  was  the  popular  verdict  was  rendered.     After 

made  manifest  by  the  enthusiastic  man-  the  adoption  of  the  report    of    the    com- 

ner  in  which  he  was  named  for  second  mittee    on    resolutions    the    Presidential 

place  on  the  ticket.     The  fight  over  the  Question  virtually  was  settled.    Joseph  E. 

auditorship  was  kept  up  nearly  all  night.  McDonald,  H.  W.  Harrington,  and  Judge 

Strong  efi^orts  were  made  to  induce  Mr.  ^^bert  Lowry  were  the  principal  spokes- 

Stoll  to  accept  a  place  on  the  ticket  either  "?^^  ^^^  the  Greeley  cause  m  the  conven- 

for  Secretary  of  State  or  Congressman-  tion  proper. 

at-large,  so  that  Mr.  Shoemaker  might  be  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS, 
renominated   with    the    other    gentlemen 

chosen  in   1870.     The  feeling  had,  how-  The  electoral  ticket  was  made  up  one- 

ever,  grown  so  intense  that  an  adjustment  half  of  Democrats  and  one-half  Liberal 

had  ceased  to  be  within  the  range  of  pos-  Republicans: 

sibilities.     The  ballot  resulted  in  817  votes  lor   the    State    at    Larg^George    W.    Julian, 

being  cast  for  John  B.  Stoll  and  773  for  J"''"    ^-    Coffroth,  Cyrus  M.  Allen  and  James 

John  C.  Shoemaker.     The  ticket  in  its  en-  ^  ^ktrict  Electors-John  G.  Shanklin,  James  A. 

tirety     was     composed     of     the     following  Cravens,  John  S.  Scobey,  James  T.  Hockman,  Wil- 

named  gentlemen:  liam   R.   Harrison,   William   R.   McLean, '  Thomas 

Governor— Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Indianapolis.  H.  Harrison,  Jolin  W.  Evans,  James  Brown,  Mile 

Lieutenant-Governor— Washin^on  C.  DePauw,  S.  Hascall  and  William  W.  Higgins. 

New  Albany.                                                    ^  ,    t  v,  DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

Congressmen  for  the  State  at  Large — Col.  John 

S.  Williams  of  Lafayette  and  Michael  C.  Kerr  of  At  Large — Martin.  M.  Ray,  Marion;  James  D. 

New  Albany.  Williams,   Knox;    Robert   Lowry,   Allen;    Bayless 

Secretary  of  State— O.  M.   Eddy,   South  Bend.  W.    Hanna,    Vigo.      Contingents— Judge     D.     D. 

State  Auditor— John  B.  Stoll,  Ligonier.  Dykeman,  Cass;   Dr.  G.  W.  McConnell,  Steuben; 

State  Treasurer— James  B.  Ryan,  Indianapolis.  Levi  Sparks,  Clark;  Horace  Corbin,  Marshall. 

Superintendent    Public    Instruction— Milton    B.  nrcTPTrT  mrr  irr  atfq 

Hopkins,  Kokomo.  DISTRICT  DELEGATES. 

Attorney-General— B.  W.  Hanna,  Terra  Haute.      A.  T.  Whittlesey Vanderburg 

Clerk  Supreme  Court— Edward  Price,  Sullivan.      Michael  Murphy Daviess 

Reporter    Supreme    Court — John    C.    Robinson,      August  Bradley Floyd 

Spencer.  Clement  Doane Crawford 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


H.   W.   Hairincton Jefferson 

R.  D.  Sinter,  Jr Dearborn 

Alonzo  Blair Shelby 

W.  H.  Beck Fayette 

Benjamin   C.   Shaw Marion 

Thomas  W.  Woollen Johnson 

Thomas   Dowlinp: Vig-o 

James  W.  Cookerly Monroe 

John  B.  Pvuser Tippecanoe 

Leander  McClurg- Clinton 

George  D.  Tate Howard 

William  Steele,  Sr Wabash 

William  Taiishinhaufrh Blackford 

Samuel  Thanhauser  Allen 

J.  A.  S.  Mitchell Elkhart 

J.  R.  Lanning: DeKalb 

Dr.  L.  J.  Ham St.  Joseph 

Dr.  F.  B.  Thomas Pulaski 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE,  1872. 

1.  E.  S.  Alvord,  Indianapolis,  Chairman. 

2.  John  H.  O'Neal,  Daviess  county. 

3.  John  S.  Davis,  Floyd. 

4.  Thomas  J.  Riley.  Jennings. 

5.  Finley  Bigger,  Rush. 

6.  Eb.  Henderson,  Morgan. 

7.  Colonel  Thomas  Dowling,  Vigo. 

8.  A.  D.  Lemon,  Lawrence. 

9.  F.  E.  D.  McGinley,  Tippecanoe. 

10.  James  M.  Sweetzer,  Grant. 

11.  William  Fleming,  Allen. 

12.  Eli  W.  Brown,  Whitley. 

13.  Piatt  McDonald,  Marshall. 

THE   MERGER  COMPLETED. 

After  Indiana's  Democracy  had  de- 
clared in  convention  that  Greeley  and 
Brown  should  also  be  made  the  nominees 
of  the  National  Democracy,  all  doubt  van- 
ished as  to  the  outcome  of  the  Baltimore 
convention,  fixed  to  be  held  July  9.  Sen- 
ator James  R.  Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  was 
made  permanent  chairman.  The  platform 
adopted  at  Cincinnati  by  the  Liberal  Re- 
publicans was  accepted  without  change, 
alteration  or  modification,  although  Sen- 
ator Thomas  Francis  Bayard,  of  Dela- 
ware, opposed  it  vigorously.  The  vote 
stood  670  for,  62  against  its  adoption.  The 
vote  for  Presidential  candidates  was : 
Horace  Greeley,  686;  Jeremiah  S.  Black, 
Pennsylvania,  21 ;  Thomas  Francis  Bay- 
ard, Delaware,  16;  William  S.  Groesbeck, 
Ohio,  2 ;  blank,  7. 


B.  Gratz  Brown  was  nominated  for 
Vice-President  by  an  almost  unanimous 
vote. 

A  so-called  straight-out  Democratic 
ticket  was  subsequently  nominated,  com- 
posed of  Charles  O'Conor,  of  New  York, 
for  President  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts,  for  Vice-President.  The 
ticket  was  made  up  of  two  eminent  men, 
but  it  cut  very  little  figure  in  the  cam- 
paign or  at  the  election.  The  State  ticket, 
however,  served  its  purpose  in  Indiana  by 
way  of  diverting  just  about  enough  votes 
from  the  regular  Democratic  nominees  to 
insure  the  election  of  most  of  the  Republi- 
can candidates.  The  so-called  straight-out 
Democratic  ticket  polled  altogether  from 
131  to  221  votes  in  the  entire  State.  The 
result  of  the  October  election  was  so  close 
that  the  exact  outcome  as  to  Secretary 
and  Auditor  of  State  was  not  finally  set- 
tled until  a  week  after  the  election. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  James  B.  Ryan 
made  his  fourth  race  for  State  Treasurer 
in  this  campaign.  He  was  first  nominated 
in  186G,  then  in  1868,  1870,  1872.  Three 
of  his  races  were  unsuccessful ;  the  one 
made  in  1870  was  crowned  with  success. 
Mr.  Ryan  was  one  of  the  cleverest  of  men 
in  the  State.  Everybody  who  knew  him 
liked  Jim  Ryan.  He  was  an  honored  resi- 
dent of  Indianapolis  and  engaged  in  the 
wholesale  liquor  business,  which  in  those 
days  was  not  under  the  ban  as  it  is  today. 

LIBERAL  REPUBLICAN  AND  DEMO- 
CRATIC   NATIONAL   PLAT- 
FORM, 1872. 

"We,  the  Democratic  electors  of  the 
United  States,  in  convention  a.s.sembled, 
do  pre.'^ent  the  following  principles,  al- 
ready adopted  at  Cincinnati  (by  the  Lib- 
eral Republicans),  as  essential  to  just  gov- 
ernment. 

"We,  the  Liberal  Republicans pro- 
claim the  following  principles  as  essentia] 

to  just  government The  equality  of 

all  men  before  the  law The  union 

of  the  States,  emancipation  and  enfran- 
chisement, and  to  oppose  any  re-opening 


(251) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


of  the  questions  settled  by  the  13th,  14th, 
and  15th  Amendments The  im- 
mediate and  absolute  removal  of  all  dis- 
abilities imposed  on  account  of  the  Rebel- 
lion       Local    self-government,    with 

.impartial  suffrage,  will  guard  the  rights 
of  all  citizens  more  securely  than  any  cen- 
tralized power The  supremacy  of 

the  civil  power The  civil  service..  . 

a  mere  instrument  of  partisan  tyranny.  . 
is  a  scandal  and  reproach  upon  free  insti- 
tutions       No   President  shall  be  a 

candidate  for  re-election A  system 

of  Federal  taxation  which  shall  not  un- 
necessarily interfere  with  the  industry  of 
the  people We  denounce  repudia- 
tion in  every  form  and  guise Speedy 

return  to  specie  payment  is  demanded. .  .  . 
We  remember  with  gratitude  the  heroism 
and  sacrifices  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors. .  . 
We  are  opposed  to  all  further  grants  of 
lands  to  railroads  or  other  corporations..  . 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  Government,  in  its 
intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  to  culti- 
vate the  friendships  of  peace .  .  .  . " 


OFFICIAL  VOTE,  1872. 
GOVERNOR. 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Democrat.  .189,424 
Thomas  ivi.  Browne,  Republican . .  .  188,276 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 


1,148 


John  R.  Cravens,  Democrat. 
Leonidas  Sexton,  Republican 


188,722 
SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Owen  M.  Eddy,  Democrat 188,668 

W.  W.  Curry,  Republican 188,852 


John  B.  Stoll,  Democrat 188,546 

James  F.  Wildman,  Republican 188,821 


TREASURER. 


James  B.  Ryan,  Democrat.  . 
John  B.  Glover,  Republican. 


.188,250 
.189,032 


ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

Bayless  W.  Hanna,  Democrat 188  360 

James  C.  Denny,  Republican 189,004         644 

SUPERINTENDENT  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

Milton  B.  Hopkins,  Democrat 189,194        957 

Smith,  Republican 188,237 


CLERK  SUPREME  COURT. 


Edward  F.  Price,  Democrat. 
Chas.  Scholl.  Republican 


.187,854 
.189,357     1,503 


REPORTER  SUPREME  COURT. 

John  C.  Robinson,  Democrat 188,464 

James  B.  Black,  Republican 188,891        427 

CONGRESSMEN-AT-LARGE. 

Michael  C.  Kerr,  Democrat 188,502 

John  S.  Williams,  Democrat 188,227 

Godlove  S.  Orth,  Republican 188.664        162 

William    Williams,    Republican 188,760        258 

In  the  election  of  members  of  Congress 
the  Democrats  fared  badly.  Thirteen  rep- 
resentatives were  chosen,  two  of  them  by 
the  State  at  large.  These  were  Godlove 
S.  Orth,  of  LaFayette,  and  William  Wil- 
liams, of  Warsaw.  The  three  Democrats 
chosen  were  William  E.  Niblack,  Simeon 
K.  Wolf,  and  William  S.  Holman,  respect- 
ively, from  the  first,  second  and  third  dis- 
tricts. The  re-elected  Republicans  were 
Jeremiah  M.  Wilson,  John  Cobum,  James 
N.  Tyner,  John  Peter  Cleaver  Shanks,  and 
Jasper  Packard.  Morton  C.  Hunter  de- 
feated Daniel  W.  Voorhees  in  the  Terre 
Haute  district  and  Thomas  J.  Cason  "got 
away"  with  General  Mahlon  D.  Manson  in 
the  Crawfordsville  district.  Huntington 
county  having  been  gerrymandered  into 
the  tenth  district,  Henry  B.  Sayler,  a 
Huntington  lawyer  and  glib  stump 
speaker,  was  nominated  and  elected  by  the 
Republicans.  The  next  Legislature  took 
Huntington  out  of  the  tenth,  and  Sayler 
was  put  off  with  a  single  term.  Later 
on  he  was  made  a  circuit  judge,  serving  a 
number  of  years. 

It  will  be  observed  by  scanning  the  fore- 
going tabular  statement  that  of  the  can- 
didates on  the  Democratic  ticket  Mr. 
Hendricks  and  Mr.  Hopkins  alone  were 
elected  and  the  remainder  defeated  by 
majorities  ranging  from  184  to  1503. 
When  genial  Thomas  M.  Browne  was  by 
the  Republicans  nominated  for  Governor 
he  pledged  himself  in  his  acceptance 
speech  that  he  would  thenceforth  cease  to 
offend  his  brother  by  eating  meat — that 
is  to  say,  he  would  no  longer  indulge  in 
strong  drink.  Tom  Browne  seemingly  for- 
got this  promise  during  the  progress  of 


(252) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


the  campaign,  so  several  hundred  pro- 
nounced temperance  Republicans  rebuked 
his  transgression  on  election  day  by  voting 
for  Mr.  Hendricks.  "Bishop"  Hopkins  was 
re-elected  partly  by  the  favor  of  Repub- 
lican school  teachers  and  partly  by  being 
made  the  beneficiary  of  the  favor  of  the 
Christian  (Campbellite)  church  of  w^hich 
he  was  a  conspicuous  and  deservedly  hon- 
ored elder. 

The  campaign  of  1872  was  in  several  re- 
spects one  of  the  most  unique  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Republic.  For  years  Horace 
Greeley  lambasted  the  Democrats  as  no 
other  journalist  ventured  or  thought  of 
doing.  Big-brained  and  big-hearted  as  he 
was,  he  criticised  and  denounced  them  in 
unmeasured  terms  when  campaigns 
reached  fever  heat.  He  was  an  ultra  pro- 
tectionist, an  uncompromising  foe  o£ 
slavery,  a  faddist  in  some  particulars,  and 
vehemently  opposed  to  the  use  of  alcoholic 
liquors  as  a  beverage.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  war  he  blandly  told  the  Southern 
States  that  wanted  to  secede :  "Wayward 
sisters,  depart  in  peace."  In  some  of  his 
vehement  anti-slavery  outbursts  he  was 
not  much  at  variance  with  those  extrem- 
ists who  referred  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
as  a  "flaunting  lie."  Angered  at  General 
George  B.  McClellan's  slowness  in  driving 
the  rebels  southward,  he  greatly  annoyed 
President  Lincoln  by  printing  from  day 
to  day  in  his  Netv  York  Tribune,  in  black 
type  the  imperious  command.  "On  to  Rich- 
mond !"  After  the  collapse  of  the  rebellion 
he  startled  and  embittered  many  of  his 
Republican  brethren  by  joining  Gerritt 
Smith,  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  and  a  num- 
ber of  others  in  going  on  Jeff  Davis's  bail 
bond,  guaranteeing  the  rebel  chieftain's 
appearance  before  a  proper  tribunal  when 
he  was  to  be  tried  for  treason — which,  by 
the  way,  never  happened,  for  reasons  that 
no  one  better  comprehended  than  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  Naturally  these  incidents 
and  episodes  in  the  career  of  the  foremost 
American    journalist    were   used    for    all 


there  was  in  them,  and  more  too.  Repub- 
licans who  favored  Greeley  were  not  dis- 
turbed by  any  of  the  attacks  made  upon 
the  white-coated  philosopher  by  the  sup- 
porters of  Grant.  Hence  more  attention 
was  bestowed  upon  disaff'ected  Democrats 
than  upon  Liberal  Republicans.  When 
the  Grantites  couldn't  think  of  anything 
else  wherewith  to  excite  Democratic  in- 
dignation they  would  resort  to  the  rasping 
taunt:  "Of  course  you'll  vote,  work  and 
shout  for  Greeley  if  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  he  once  upon  a  time  declared 
that  while  it  doubtless  was  true  that  not 
all  Democrats  are  horse-thieves,  it  was 
equally  true  that  all  horse-thieves  are 
Democrats."  This  biting  obsers'ation  was 
one  day  made  to  an  ardent  Democrat  of 
Irish  extraction.  Instead  of  boiling  over 
with  rage  and  indignation  the  level-headed 
Irishman  complacently  replied:  "Begorra, 
we  Democrats  said  some  mighty  mean 
things  about  old  Horace.  If  he  said  meaner 
things  about  us  than  we  said  about  him, 
he  is  welcome  to  it." 

Democrats  took  delight  in  reminding 
Republican  newspaper  men  who  were  es- 
pecially severe  in  belaboring  Greeley  that 
they  were  stung  by  the  sage  and  philoso- 
pher when  he  referred  to  his  critics  as 
"little  creatures  whom  kind  Providence 
for  some  inscrutable  purpose  permits  to 
edit  the  county  printing."  That  usually 
put  a  quietus  on  the  ofl'ending  county 
editor. 

It  stood  very  much  to  the  credit  of  the 
Democrats  that  taunts  and  jibes  did  not 
swerve  them  from  the  path  of  duty.  While 
Horace  Greeley  had  attained  the  height  of 
intellectual  greatness  he  was  by  no  means 
free  of  human  frailty.  He  had  his  .short- 
comings, foibles  and  frills;  he  was 
irascible  and  on  occasion  swore  like  a 
trooper.  But  he  was  as  honest  and  sincere 
as  the  days  were  long.  He  was  pre-emi- 
nently a  humanitarian.  His  desire  and 
longing  ran  unswervingly  in  the  direction 
of  human  happiness — not  for  the  favored 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


few  but  for  all  really  deserving  of  such 
beneficence  and  capable  of  appreciating 
the  same.  Pronounced  and  ultra  in  his 
views  on  some  questions,  he  was  prone  to 
indulge  in  severity  of  phraseology.  That, 
of  course,  gave  his  writings  wider  circu- 
lation and  made  him  the  subject  of  cor- 
responding criticism. 

When  the  rebellion  was  crushed  and  the 
war  ended  Greeley  wanted  peace,  fra- 
ternity, pacification  and  restoration.  He 
was  too  big  a  man,  too  large-hearted  to 
countenance  petty  tyranny  or  the  inflic- 
tion of  widespread  punishment  upon 
those  who  for  one  reason  or  another 
joined  in  ill-advised  rebellion  against  the 
authority  of  the  Government.  Eager  that 
the  wounds  inflicted  by  four  years  of 
carnage  be  healed  as  speedily  as  possible, 
Mr.  Greeley  went  to  Richmond,  Va.,  to 
stand  good  for  Jeff  Davis's  appearance  to 
answer  to  the  charge  of  high  treason.  The 
popular  interpretation  of  this  generous 
and  patriotic  action  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Greeley  was  that  he  went  to  Richmond  to 
release  from  imprisonment  and  set  free 
the  fallen  chief  of  the  collapsed  Southern 
Confederacy.  The  fact  that  Gerritt  Smith, 
a  life-long  champion  of  the  anti-slavery 
cause,  was  associated  with  Mr.  Greeley 
and  others  in  this  pacificatory  mission  was 
conveniently  ignored  and  all  the  censure 
heaped  upon  the  head  of  the  famous 
Tribune  editor.  The  Union  League  Club 
of  New  York,  of  which  Mr.  Greeley  was 
a  prominent  member,  took  it  upon  itself 
to  cite  that  gentleman  to  appear  before 
it  and  explain  and  defend  his  signing  of 
the  Jeff  Davis  bail  bond.  In  a  letter  such 
as  Horace  Greeley  alone  could  write  he 
flatly  refused  to  put  in  the  requested  ap- 
pearance and  so  blistered  the  officials  of 
the  club  with  his  scathing  denunciation  of 
their  narrowness  of  vision  that  on  the 
heels  of  the  receipt  of  the  Greeley  philip- 
pic a  resolution  was  introduced  and 
adopted  that  there  had  been  nothing  "in 
the  action  of  Horace  Greeley,  relative  to 


the  bailing  of  Jeft'erson  Davis,  calling  for 
proceedings  in  this  club."  The  latter  part 
of  Mr.  Greeley's  reply  to  the  Union  League 
Club's  ill-advised  summons  is  such  a  vig- 
orous assertion  of  manly  independence 
and  such  a  stinging  rebuke  to  organized 
affrontery  and  arrogance  that  it  richly 
merits  a  place  in  the  pages  of  this  work. 
It  is  therefore  herewith  reproduced  for 
thoughtful  perusal: 

"Gentlemen,  I  shall  not  attend  your 
meeting  this  evening.  I  have  an  engage- 
ment out  of  town,  and  shall  keep  it.  I  do 
not  recognize  you  as  capable  of  judging, 
or  even  fully  apprehending  me.  You  evi- 
dently regard  me  as  a  weak  sentimental- 
ist, misled  by  a  maudlin  philosophy.  I  ar- 
raign you  as  narrow-minded  blockheads, 
who  wouJd  like  to  be  useful  to  a  great  and 
good  cause,  but  don't  know  how.  Your  at- 
tempt to  base  a  great,  enduring  party  on 
the  hate  and  wrath  necessarily  engendered 
by  a  bloody  civil  war,  is  as  though  you 
should  plant  a  colony  on  an  iceberg  which 
had  somehow  drifted  into  a  tropical  ocean. 
I  tell  you  here,  that,  out  of  a  life  earn- 
estly devoted  to  the  good  of  human  kind, 
your  children  will  select  my  going  to  Rich- 
mond and  signing  that  bail-bond  as  the 
wisest  act,  and  will  feel  that  it  did  more 
for  freedom  and  humanity  than  all  of  you 
were  competent  to  do,  though  you  had 
lived  to  the  age  of  Methuselah. 

"I  ask  nothing  of  you,  then,  but  that 
you  proceed  to  your  end  by  a  direct,  frank, 
manly  way.  Don't  sidle  off  into  a  mild 
resolution  of  censure,  but  move  the  expul- 
sion which  you  proposed,  and  which  I  de- 
serve, if  I  deserve  any  reproach  whatever. 
All  I  care  for  is,  that  you  make  a  square, 
stand-up  fight,  and  record  your  judgment 
by  yeas  and  nays.  I  care  not  how  few 
vote  with  me,  nor  how  many  vote  against 
me ;  for  I  know  that  the  latter  will  repent 
it  in  dust  and  ashes  before  three 
years  have  passed.  Understand,  once  for 
all,  that  T  dare  you  and  defy  you,  and 
that  I  propose  to  fight  it  out  on  the  line 
that  I  have  held  from  the  day  of  Lee's  sur- 
render. So  long  as  any  man  was  seeking 
to  overthrow  our  Government,  he  was  my 
enemy;  from  the  hour  in  which  he  laid 
down  his  arms,  he  was  my  formerly  er- 
ring countryman.  So  long  as  any  is  at 
heart  opposed  to  the  national  unity,  the 
Federal  authority,  or  to  that  assertion  of 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


the  equal  i-ights  of  all  men  which  has  be- 
come practically  identified  with  loyalty 
and  nationalitj',  I  shall  do  my  best  to  de- 
prive him  of  power;  but,  whenever  he 
ceases  to  be  thus,  I  demand  his  restoration 
to  all  the  privileges  of  American  citizen- 
ship. I  give  you  fair  notice,  that  I  shall 
urge  the  re-enfranchisement  of  those  now 
proscribed  for  rebellion  so  soon  as  I  shall 
feel  confident  that  this  course  is  consistent 
with  the  freedom  of  the  blacks  and  the 
unity  of  the  Republic,  and  that  I  shall  de- 
mand a  recall  of  all  now  in  exile  only  for 
participating  in  the  Rebellion,  whenever 
the  country  shall  have  been  so  thoroughly 
pacified  that  its  safety  will  not  thereby 
be  endangered.  And  so,  gentlemen,  hoping 
that  yon  will  henceforth  comprehend  me 
somewhat  better  than  you  have  done,  I 
remain,  yours, 

"HORACE  GREELEY. 
"New  York,  May  23,  1867." 

It  was  the  patient  and  earnest  study  of 
Mr.  Greeley's  voluminous  editorials  on  the 
subject  of  establishing  on  a  firm  basis  gen- 
uinely amicable  relations  between  North 
and  South  that  so  warmed  the  Democratic 
heart  in  all  parts  of  the  Union  to  the  "Sage 
of  Chappauqua,"  the  illustrious  Tribune 
journalist  and  philosopher.  These  edito- 
rials breathed  a  spirit  of  such  lofty  patri- 
otism, such  nobility  of  thought  and  pur- 
pose, that  animosity  and  vindictive  recol- 
lection of  attack,  criticism  and  virulence 
in  former  years  were  efl'ectually  banished, 
extingui.«hed  and  obliterated.  This  is  the 
real  solution  of  the  problem  how  the  great 
Democratic  heart  became  attached  to 
Horace  Greeley  and  why  he  was  so  earn- 
estly supported  in  his  candidacy  for  the 
Presidency  under  circumstances  that  gave 
so  little  assurance  of  success  at  the  final 
wind-up. 

Of  the  popular  vote  Grant  polled  3,597,- 
070,  Greeley  2,834,079,  O'Conor  29,408  out 
of  a  total  of  6,466,165.  Indiana  gave  Grant 
186,147,  Greeley  163,632,  O'Conor  1,417. 
Mr.  Greeley  died  soon  after  the  election 
of  a  broken  heart  and  before  the  meeting 
of  the  electoral  college.  The  minority 
electors  who  had  been  chosen  for  Greeley 


and  Brown  were  entirely  at  sea  as  to  who 
should  receive  their  votes.  As  McClure 
says,  "There  were  many  quibbles  raised  in 
the  joint  convention  of  the  two  houses  in 
counting  and  declaring  the  vote.  Senator 
Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  objected  to  the 
Georgia  votes  cast  for  Greeley  because  he 
was  dead  at  the  time,  and  various  other 
technical  objections  were  made,"  but  as 
the  vote  was  accepted  it  shows  286  for 
Grant,  42  for  Hendricks,  18  for  B.  Gratz 
Brown,  2  for  Charles  J.  Jenkins,  and  1 
for  David  Davis.  For  Vice-President 
Henry  Wilson  is  credited  with  286,  B. 
Gratz  Brown  with  47;  scattering,  19. 

CARL  SCHURZ'S  CAMPAIGN  IN 

INDIANA. 

Upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  convention  in  1872  great  con- 
fidence was  felt  in  the  outcome  of  the  cam- 
paign. Politicians  of  large  and  varied  ex- 
perience thought  that  with  Greeley  at  the 
head  of  the  National  ticket  and  Hendricks 
at  the  head  of  the  State  ticket  Indiana 
would  be  carried  by  at  least  25,000  ma- 
jority. That  buoyant  feeling  prevailed  un- 
til after  the  unexpected  and  unlooked  for 
result  of  the  North  Carolina  election  in 
the  month  of  August.  The  sagacious 
leaders  began  to  realize  that  they  had  a 
job  on  their  hands.  Able  speakers  were 
brought  into  the  State;  genuine  activity 
became  apparent  at  headquarters.  Re- 
newed energv^  was  injected  into  the  cam- 
paign. The  managers  were  elated  over  the 
announcem.ent  that  Carl  Schurz  had  con- 
sented to  come  into  the  State  and  deliver 
a  series  of  speeches.  I  first  met  Senator 
Schurz  at  Indianapolis.  He  made  earne.'^t 
inquiry  as  to  the  condition  of  affairs,  the 
pro-spects,  points  of  weakness,  etc.  He  was 
very  much  put  out  over  the  disarranging 
of  his  plans  at  Terre  Haute,  where  he 
intended  to  speak  in  German.  Simply  be- 
cause the  campaign  managers  were  de- 
sirous of  hearing  him  in  their  own  lan- 
guage he  was  finally  induced  to  speak  in 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


English.  The  meeting  was  a  great  suc- 
cess as  to  attendance  and  enthusiasm.  But 
Mr.  Schurz  felt  that  if  he  had  been  per- 
mitted to  speak  in  German  he  could  have 
made  at  least  two  votes  where  he  pos- 
sibly made  one.  Similar  experiences  were 
had  in  other  localities.  It  was  quite  natural 
that  those  actively  enlisted  in  the  cause 
were  eager  to  listen  to  Mr.  Schurz  in  the 
language  they  could  understand.  His  rep- 
utation as  a  public  speaker  and  philosoph- 
ical reasoner  heightened  this  eagerness. 
He  was  a  wonderfully  forceful,  logical  and 
convincing  speaker.  It  was  a  rare  treat, 
a  genuine  pleasure,  to  listen  to  him.  There 
was  no  rant,  no  demagogy,  no  sophistry  in 
his  addresses.  Loftiness  of  sentiment  and 
richness  of  thought  permeated  his  utter- 
ances, fairly  charming  those  who  closely 
followed  his  argumentation.  In  company 
with  Judge  J.  A.  S.  Mitchell,  of  Goshen, 
I  attended  one  of  the  Schurz  meetings,  at 
Laportc.  It  was  held  in  Patton's  grove 
and  presided  over  by  one  of  Greeley's 
stanchest  Republican  supporters.  Judge 
John  B.  Niles,  a  Quaker  and  a  highly  es- 
teemed citizen  of  the  old  school.  I  was 
at  that  time  part  owner  and  publisher  of 
the  Laporte  Argus,  though  a  resident  of 
Ligonier.  By  request  of  both  Liberal  Re- 
publicans and  Democrats  I  formally  in- 
vited Judge  Niles  to  officiate  as  presiding 
officer  of  the  meeting.  He  was  asked  to 
go  to  the  grove  in  a  conveyance  with  the 
committee,  but  said  he  preferred  to  walk 
and  thus  be  afforded  opportunity  to  for- 
mulate mentally  some  remarks  he  wanted 
to  make  in  introducing  Senator  Schurz. 
And  what  a  gem  the  venerable  jurist  had 
formulated  for  the  occasion !  That  it  was 
extraordinary  in  point  of  literary  and  ora- 
torical excellence  was  the  general  com- 
ment of  those  best  qualified  to  pass  judg- 
ment on  such  matters.  Judge  Mitchell  said 
he  never  heard  anything  quite  equal  to 
it.  Mr.  Schurz  told  me  that  in  all  his  cam- 
paigning he  had  nowhere  been  so  happily 
and  felicitously   introduced  to   a  popular 


audience  as  he  was  on  this  occasion. 
Schurz's  speech  was  a  masterpiece.  It 
made  a  wonderful  impression  upon  the 
large,  intelligent  and  deeply  interested 
audience.  The  German  element  was 
largely  represented.  At  the  close  of  the 
address  an  urgent  appeal  was  made  that 
Mr.  Schurz  make  a  few  remarks  in  Ger- 
man. He  was  reluctant  about  doing  this, 
having  already  spoken  an  hour  and  a  half. 
I  begged  of  him  to  gratify  these  insistent 
pleaders,  and  he  finally  did.  The  effect 
was  marvelous.  Joy  united  with  pride; 
supreme  happiness  was  depicted  upon 
every  Germanic  countenance.  His  well- 
chosen  sentences  seemed  to  reach  the  in- 
nermost recesses  of  every  German  soul  in 
that  beautiful  grove.  This  incident  illus- 
trated more  strikingly  than  words  could 
have  done  the  force  of  Mr.  Schurz's 
grievance  over  the  Terre  Haute  affair.  I 
fully  comprehended  the  importance  Mr. 
Schurz  attached  to  addressing  people  in 
their  native  tongue.  And  what  was  the 
effect  of  this  little  diversion  at  Laporte? 
Well,  if  one-half  of  the  counties  in  the 
State  had  done  as  well  as  Laporte  did 
there  would  have  been  no  question  about 
Indiana  rolling  up  much  more  than  the 
conjectured  and  predicted  25,000  ma- 
jority. 

A  few  years  later  I  again  met  Senator 
Schurz — this  time  at  Goshen,  where  he 
delivered  a  lecture  to  a  delighted  audience. 
It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  with  him 
the  greater  part  of  his  stay  at  Goshen. 
That  was  during  the  winter  of  1875-6.  I 
was  anxious  to  know  how  he  felt  with 
reference  to  the  next  Presidential  contest. 
He  was  reluctant  about  committing  him- 
self, but  said  if  he  had  his  way  he  would 
make  the  1876  campaign  a  centennial  af- 
fair. Delicately  I  alluded  to  Samuel  J. 
Tilden  as  being  worthy  of  that  distinc- 
tion. To  this  there  was  neither  assent  nor 
dissent. 

I  feel  that  most  if  not  all  of  the  readers 
of  this  book  will  feel  deeply  interested  in 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


the  incident  hereinafter  related.  It  per- 
tains to  an  experience  in  the  life  of  Gen- 
eral Schurz  that  I  wouldn't  undertake  to 
explain  even  if  I  deemed  myself  compe- 
tent so  to  do,  which  assuredly  is  not  the 
case.  If  the  statement  that  follows  em- 
anated from  any  other  source  I  would  be 
reluctant  about  giving  it  credence.  Com- 
ing, as  it  does,  from  General  Schurz  him- 
self, I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  as  to 
its  absolute  truthfulness  and  accuracy. 

GENERAL  SCHURZ  AT  THE  SEANCE 
President  Johnson's  proclamation  con- 
cerning the  reconstruction  of  North  Caro- 
lina so  interested  General  Schurz  that  he 
wrote  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  the 
President.  The  latter  in  reply  summoned 
General  Schurz  by  telegraph  to  Washing- 
ton for  conference.  Impressed  with  the 
importance  of  his  mission,  but  entirely 
ignorant  of  President  Johnson's  plans  with 
regard  to  the  matter,  he  resolved  to  re- 
spond immediately  and  left  his  temporary 
home  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  on  the  next  day, 
intending  to  take  the  midnight  train  from 
Philadelphia  for  Washington.  He  stopped 
for  the  evening  at  the  home  of  Dr.  Tiede- 
mann  of  Philadelphia.  This  gentleman  was 
a  friend  to  whom  he  was  bound  by  ties  of 
friendship  and  close  association  during 
the  revolutionary  period  of  "storm  and 
stress"  in  Germany.  Dr.  Tiedemann  was 
the  son  of  a  Heidelberg  professor.  Mrs. 
Tiedemann  was  a  sister  of  Colonel  Fried- 
rich  Hecker,  the  well-known  revolutionist 
from  Germany,  who  served  with  distinc- 
tion as  an  officer  of  the  Union  forces.  Dr. 
Tiedemann  and  his  wife  had  lost  two  ex- 
ceptionally bright  and  promising  sons  in 
the  war,  and  the  wife,  a  woman  of  superior 
intellect  and  good  judgment,  had  through 
some  spiritualistic  friends  been  led  to  seek 
communication  with  her  sons  in  the  spirit 
land.  So  satisfactory  had  been  this  at- 
tempt for  herself  that  Dr.  Tiedemann, 
himself  a  profound  thinker  and  a  man  well 
versed  in  sound  world  philosophy,  began 
to    take    a    sentimental    interest    in    the 


seances  by  which  Mrs.  Tiedemann  was 
receiving  such  comforting  messages  from 
her  departed  sons.  Dr.  Tiedemann  had 
indulgently  permitted  such  seances  at  his 
own  home,  and  it  happened  that  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  for  such  a  meeting 
which  was  to  be  held  on  the  very  night 
that  brought  General  Schurz  as  a  guest. 

The  medium  on  this  occasion  was  a 
fifteen-year-old  daughter  of  the  Tiede- 
mann's,  described  by  General  Schurz  as  an 
"uncommonly  beautiful,  intelligent  and 
high-spirited  girl  of  fifteen,"  who  had 
shown  remarkable  qualities  as  a  writing 
medium.  On  this  evening  the  usual  pro- 
gram followed  at  these  seances  was  car- 
ried through  with  satisfactory  results  to 
all  concerned,  when  General  Schurz  was 
urged  to  call  for  some  spirit  and  receive 
a  message  for  himself.  He  called  for  the 
spirit  of  Schiller.  After  a  minute  or  two 
of  waiting  the  girl  wrote  that  the  spirit 
of  the  poet  had  come  and  was  ready  to 
answer  questions.  General  Schurz  replied 
that  for  the  purpose  of  identification  he 
would  like  some  quotation  from  Schiller's 
works.  The  girl  then  wrote  in  German : 
"Ich  hoere  rauschende  Musik.  Das  Schloss 

ist 
Von  Lichtern  hell.     Wir  sind  die  Froehli- 
chen." 

Which,  translated,  is : 
"Gay  music  strikes  my  ear.    The  castle  is 
Aglow  with  lights.    We  are  the  revelers." 

All  present  heard  with  astonishment, 
for  the  words  had  a  familiar  ring.  It  was  a 
characteristic  Schiller  vei'se,  although  no 
one  could  identify  the  lines.  Finally  it 
occurred  to  General  Schurz  that  the  quo- 
tation must  be  from  Wallenstein's  Death. 
He  wondered,  doubting  whether  the  young 
girl  could  possibly  have  read  these  lines. 
Meanwhile  some  one  brought  out  a  volume 
of  Schiller.  The  lines  were  found  as 
quoted.  This  remarkable  experience  could 
not  be  explained  and  the  young  girl  told 
General  Schurz  at  the  end  of  the  seance 
that  she  had  never  read  a  line  of  "Wallen- 
stein's Tod." 


(257) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


After  this  strange  attempt  to  communi- 
cate with  spirits,  General  Schurz  called 
for  the  spirit  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  The 
spirit  was  summoned,  and  when  Mr. 
Schurz  inquired  why  President  Johnson 
had  called  him  to  Washington,  the  answer 
came:  "He  wants  you  to  make  an  im- 
portant journey  for  him."  Naturally  de- 
sirous of  knowing  where  he  was  to  go, 
General  Schurz  received  the  answer :  "He 
will  tell  you  tomorrow."  Asking  whether 
he  should  undertake  the  journey,  he  was 
told:  "Yes,  do  not  fail."  General  Schurz 
here  states  positively  that  he  was  at  this 
time  ignorant  of  the  President's  plans, 
which  strangely  enough  had  to  do  with 
General  Schurz's  important  journey  of 
observation  through  the  South  that  was 
undertaken  very  shortly  after  this  Wash- 
ington conference.  General  Schurz  ven- 
tured one  more  question  to  the  spirit  of 
Lincoln,  and  that  was  simply  whether  the 
latter  had  anything  more  to  say.  Then 
came  the  answer:  "Yes:  You  will  be  a 
Senator  of  the  United  States." 


General  Schurz,  strongly  tempted  to 
laugh,  asked  from  what  State? 

Distinctly  came  the  answer:  "From 
Missouri."  This  ended  the  interview, 
leaving  General  Schurz  much  surprised,  as 
he  had  no  political  aspirations  and  no  sort 
of  business,  professional  or  residential  con- 
nection whatever  with  Missouri.  His  legal 
place  of  residence  was  in  Wisconsin.  Two 
years  later  a  business  transaction  took 
him  unexpectedly  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
became  interested  in  the  Westliche  Post. 

In  January,  1869,  he  was  elected  by  the 
Legislature  of  Missouri  as  a  Senator  of 
the  United  States  to  succeed  John  B.  Hen- 
derson. He  then  recalled  the  seance  at 
the  house  of  Dr.  Tiedemann,  as  did  also 
the  friends  who  had  been  present  when 
the  message  came. 

In  the  third  volume  of  his  memoirs  Carl 
Schurz  relates  this  episode  at  aforemen- 
tioned seance.  He  makes  no  comment  on 
the  value  or  reliability  of  such  demonstra- 
tions, but  submits  the  account  of  his  own 
experience  as  a  proof  of  the  existence  of 
occult  forces  whose  power  and  scope  we  do 
not  yet  understand  and  never  may  fathom. 


[Chapter  XXXIV.] 

RECUPERATION  ENSUED  SPEEDILY 

THE  GRANT  AND  WILSON  VICTORY  IN  1872   FOLLOWED  BY 
DEMOCRATIC  REVIVAL  IN  1874 


F,  during  the  melancholy  days 
of  November,  in  1872,  any  one 
imagined  that  the  disastrous 
ending  of  the  Greeley  campaign 
meant  the  utter  annihilation 
of   Democratic   hopes   and   ex- 

pectations,   such   delusion   was 

easily  dispelled  two  years  later. 

Grant's  triumphant  re-election  was  not 
at  all  gratifying  to  a  majority  of  the 
American  people.  It  was  an  accident  due 
to  a  number  of  circumstances  fully  eluci- 
dated in  preceding  pages. 

Political  reaction  soon  set  in.  It  was 
caused  partly  by  the  so-called  uprising  of 
the  farmers  against  monopoly  and  partly 
by  the  salary  grab.  The  farmers  believed 
themselves  grievously  wronged,  especial- 
ly by  the  railroad  corporations.  The 
Grange  became  quite  active  in  the  anti- 
monopoly  movement  and  made  its  hostility 
felt  effectively  in  a  number  of  Western 
States.  Wisconsin  and  Kansas  led  in  this 
movement. 

Popular  indignation  was  aroused  by 
Congress  increasing  the  salary  of  its  mem- 
bers 50  per  cent.  This  was  considered 
an  ine.xcusable  and  indefensible  raid  upon 
the  public  treasury.  Especially  odious  was 
the  "back-pay"  feature  of  the  act.  The 
Republicans  being  at  the  time  in  absolute 
control,  were  properly  held  responsible  for 
helping  themselves  too  freely  to  the  public 
money. 

In  Indiana  considerable  ill  feeling  was 
aroused  by  the  Republican  Legislature 
enacting  into  law  the  so-called  Baxter  bill, 
at  which  the  so-called  "liberal  element" 
took  high  umbrage.  The  purpose  of  the 
Baxter  law  was  to  restrict  the  sale  of  in- 
toxicating liquor.  Under  its  provisions 
the  applicant  for  a  license  to  operate  a 


saloon  had  to  present  to  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners  a  petition  signed 
by  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  locality 
before  being  granted  a  permit.  All  saloons 
were  required  to  be  closed  at  9  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  This  was  by  some  considered 
an  inconvenient  early  hour.  The  "liberal 
element"  considered  the  Baxter  law  an  un- 
warranted interference  with  personal  lib- 
erty. It  was  fathered  by  a  Wayne  county 
Quaker  named  Baxter.  When  passed  by 
both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly, 
strong  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
Governor  Hendricks  to  veto  the  bill,  but 
he,  emulating  a  Democratic  predecessor. 
Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright,  refused  to 
yield  to  this  pressure  and  appended  his 
signature  thereto.  While  the  "liberal  ele- 
ment" did  not  take  kindly  to  Governor 
Hendricks'  action  in  the  premises,  it  in- 
flicted punishment  upon  the  Republican 
party  for  putting  the  bill  through  the  legis- 
lative department  of  the  commonwealth. 

The  Greenback  movement  also  made 
itself  felt  quite  strongly  during  the  early 
seventies. 

The  campaign  of  1874  did  not  start  out 
under  very  auspicious  circumstances. 
March  11  the  Democratic  State  Committee 
met  at  Indianapolis.  Something  had  hap- 
pened that  displeased  the  State  Chairman, 
a  most  estimable  gentleman  named  Elijah 
S.  Alvord.  He  tendered  his  resignation 
and  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  E.  McDonald. 
The  State  convention  met  July  15  and  was 
called  to  order  by  Chairman  McDonald. 
Governor  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  made 
permanent  chairman.  He  delivered  one  of 
his  characteristically  conciliatory  and  cap- 
tivating speeches,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  gave  his  reasons  for  not  vetoing  the 
muchly    discussed    and    fiercely    assailed 


(259) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


Baxter  bill.  The  main  reason  assigned  was 
that  the  Legislature  doubtless  was  clothed 
with  power  to  regulate  the  liquor  traffic 
in  such  manner  as  to  protect  society  from 
the  evils  of  intemperance  in  so  far  as  legis- 
lative restriction  might  accomplish  that 
purpose.  In  the  main  Governor  Hendricks 
succeeded  in  satisfying  the  majority  of  his 
hearers  that  the  course  he  pursued  in  this 
matter  was  prompted  by  high  purposes, 
and  that  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  contended 
that  the  bill  was  unconstitutional,  no  real 
justification  was  at  hand  to  veto  a  meas- 
ure intended  to  lessen  the  evils  of  intem- 
perance and  to  promote  public  morals. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  Thomas  B.  Byrnes,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  C.  F.  Taylor,  Sullivan. 

3.  John  D.  Lyle,  Bartholomew. 

4.  B.  F.  Smith,  Rush. 

5.  I.  P.  Gray,  Randolph. 

6.  D.  S.  Gooding,  Hancock. 

7.  J.  J.  Bingham,  Marion. 

8.  John  T.  Scott,  Vigo. 

9.  General  M.  D.  Manson,  Montgomery. 

10.  H.  E.  Wadsworth,  Laporte. 

11.  Rufus  Magee,  Cass. 

12.  William  Craig,  Wells. 

13.  Laporte  Heefner,  Elkhart. 

STATE  TICKET— NEW  BLOOD. 

There  was  a  sharp  contest  for  several 
of  the  State  offices,  notably  for  the  Au- 
ditorship.  Young  men  were  very  much  in 
evidence.  It  was  that  element  which 
brought  about  the  nomination  of  John 
Enos  Neff,  one  of  the  bright  young  Demo- 
crats of  central  eastern  Indiana.  The 
nomination  of  Colonel  Shaw  for  State 
Treasurer  was  an  appreciated  compliment 
to  the  soldier  element,  and  the  selection 
of  Horace  P.  Biddle  for  Supreme  Judge  did 
much  to  bring  into  the  Democratic  fold  a 
goodly  number  of  voters  then  strongly  in- 
clined to  detach  themselves  from  the 
Republican  organization.  The  ticket  as 
nominated  was  thus  constituted : 

Secretary  of  State — John  E.  Neff,  Randolph. 

Auditor — Ebenezer   Henderson,   Morgan. 

Treasurer — Colonel  B.  C.  Shaw,  Marion. 


Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — Prof. 
James  H.  Smart,  Allen. 

Attorney-General — Clarence  A.  Buskirk,  Gib- 
son. 

Judge  Supreme  Court — Horace  P.  Biddle,  Cass. 

The  campaign  of  1874  was  not  a  very 
lively  affair.  It  took  care  of  itself.  Re- 
publican disaffection  was  very  much  in  evi- 
dence. The  "liberal  element"  was  bent  on 
rebuking  the  enactment  of  the  Baxter  law. 
The  Granger  movement  shook  the  faith  of 
many  hide-bound  Republicans  who  for 
years  had  been  voting  the  party  ticket. 
This  combination  of  circumstances  proved 
very  helpful  to  Democracy.  The  October 
election  resulted  in  a  sweeping  Democratic 
victory.  The  vote  for  Secretary  of  State 
stood:  Neff,  182,053;  W.  W.  Curry, 
164,955.  The  majorities  for  the  Demo- 
cratic nominees  were:  Neff,  17,099;  Hen- 
derson, 16,059;  Shaw,  16,409;  Buskirk, 
12,796;  Smart,  15,944;  Biddle,  32,364.  All 
of  the  Republican  two-year  State  officers 
elected  in  1872  were  renominated  in  con- 
vention and  defeated  at  the  polls.  James 
F.  Wildman  had  his  political  wounds 
healed  by  subsequently  being  made  post- 
master of  Indianapolis,  and  the  Rev. 
W.  W.  Curry,  an  exceptionally  bright  and 
able  man,  was  given  a  position  in  one  of 
the  departments  at  Washington.  He  is 
still  in  office  there,  though  past  ninety 
years.  His  attendance  at  the  meetings  of 
the  Indiana  society  at  the  national  capital 
is  said  to  be  remarkably  regular.  In 
former  years  Mr.  Curry  was  considered  an 
able  and  eloquent  champion  of  universal- 
ism. 

The  election  of  thirteen  Congressmen 
from  the  reconstructed  districts — the 
number  having  been  increased  from  eleven 
to  thirteen — brought  to  the  surface  some 
new  favorite  sons.  Among  these  may  be 
mentioned:  Benoni  S.  Fuller,  James  D. 
Williams,  Jeptha  D.  New,  Milton  S. 
Robinson,  Franklin  Landers,  William  S. 
Raymond,  James  L.  Evans,  Andrew  H. 
Hamilton  and  John  H.  Baker.  Politically 
the  delegation  stood,  eight  Democrats  to 


(260) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


five  Republicans.  The  re-elected  Congress- 
men were  Michael  C.  Kerr,  William  S.  Hol- 
man,  Morton  C.  Hunter,  Thomas  J.  Cason. 
In  the  First  district  Benoni  S.  Fuller  suc- 
ceeded William  E.  Niblack;  the  Second 
district  sent  "Blue  Jeans"  Williams  to 
Congress;  the  reconstructed  Fourth  dis- 
trict named  Jeptha  D.  New,  and  Judge 
Holman  was  gerrymandered  into  the  Fifth 
district.  Upon  his  nomination  to  the 
Governorship  in  1876  Williams  resigned 
his  seat  in  Congress  and  was  succeeded  by 
Andrew  Humphreys  to  fill  the  unexpired 
term.  Michael  C.  Kerr  was  made  Speaker 
of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  but  died 
not  many  months  after  his  selection  for 
that  exalted  position.  Nathan  T.  Carr  of 
Bartholomew  county  was  chosen  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term. 

JOSEPH  E.  Mcdonald  chosen 

UNITED  states  SENATOR. 

In  addition  to  electing  all  the  candidates 
for  the  various  State  offices  by  decisive 
majorities  and  the  handsome  gains  made 
in  the  choice  of  members  of  Congress,  the 
Democrats  obtained  a  good  working  ma- 
jority in  the  General  Assembly.  This  part 
of  the  result  made  it  possible  to  replace 
Hon.  Daniel  D.  Pratt  with  a  Democrat 
in  the  United  States  Senate.  But  for  the 
fact  that  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  had  unfortu- 
nately and  unwisely  voted  for  the  "salary 
grab"  that  so  strongly  aroused  popular  in- 
dignation, the  "Tall  Sycamore  of  the  Wa- 
bash" would  undoubtedly  have  been  made 
the  recipient  of  that  honor.  There  were  a 
number  of  candidates  in  the  race,  chief 
among  them  being  Joseph  E.  McDonald, 
Daniel  W.  Voorhees  and  William  S.  Hol- 
man. Up  to  that  time  my  acquaintance 
with  Mr.  Voorhees  had  not  ripened  into 
intimacy,  but  it  was  quite  pleasant.  When 
the  contest  was  on  I  thought  I  would  take 
a  hand  in  it  by  giving  my  cherished  old 
friend  Holman  a  little  boost.  Accordingly 
I  went  to  Indianapolis.  At  the  Bates 
House  was  being  fought  the  preliminary 
battle  for  the  Senatorial   prize.      I   joined 


the  throng.  Pretty  soon  Mr.  Voorhees 
espied  me  in  the  crowd.  Greeting  me  very 
cordially,  he  inquired  what  had  brought  me 
to  Indianapolis.  With  the  utmost  frank- 
ness and  candor  I  told  him  that  I  had  come 
to  the  State  capital  to  do  my  part  toward 
defeating  his  aspirations  to  the  Senator- 
ship.  At  first  he  seemed  utterly  dum- 
founded  over  this  icy  declaration.  Quickly 
recovering  from  a  plainly  visible  surprise, 
he  said  in  his  inimitable  way :  "And  would 
you  mind  telling  me  upon  what  ground  you 
are  opposing  me  ?"  My  answer  was :  "You 
know  very  well  how  wrought  up  public 
sentiment  is  over  that  unfortunate  salary 
grab  episode.  To  nominate  and  elect  you 
now  to  the  important  office  you  are  seek- 
ing would  amount  to  and  could  easily  be 
construed  as  a  deliberate  endorsement  of 
your  vote  for  that  ill-advised  appropriation 
of  public  funds.  From  a  party  point  of 
view  such  a  course  would  be  absolutely 
ruinous.  Had  you  taken  the  proper  course 
in  voting  on  that  ill-timed  and  questionable 
proposition  no  power  on  earth  could  have 
prevented  your  election  to  the  Senatorship 
from  Indiana.  Instead  of  opposing  you,  I 
would  be  here  advocating  with  all  my 
might  your  elevation  to  this  high  office. 
It  is  painful  to  me  to  say  this  to  one  whom 
so  many  of  the  people  idolize  as  they 
idolize  no  other  public  man  in  Indiana,  but 
truth  is  truth,  and  I  believe  in  looking  at 
things  from  that  point  of  view."  He 
listened  attentively.  A  saddened  expres- 
sion came  upon  his  superb  physiognomy. 
At  last  he  said:  "You  may  be  right." 
With  that  he  walked  away.  In  a  half -hour 
after  this  conversation  came  the  announce- 
ment from  his  headquarters  that  Mr.  Voor- 
hees had  retired  from  the  Senatorial  race 
and  desired  his  friends  to  rally  to  the  sup- 
port of  Joseph  E.  McDonald. 

The  money  question  was  uppermost  in 
the  public  mind  at  that  time.  Voorhees 
was  a  pronounced  champion  of  the  green- 
back cause;  McDonald  was  just  as  pro- 
nounced in  favor  of  sound  (hard)  money, 
while   Holman   was   delightfully   conserv- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


ative  in  his  views  on  the  money  question. 
McDonald  attested  the  courage  of  his  con- 
victions by  going  to  Greencastle  during  the 
1874  campaign  and  delivering  to  the  Put- 
nam county  Democracy  a  forceful  and 
very  able  argument  in  opposition  to  green- 
backism  and  in  support  of  the  old-time 
Democratic  doctrine  of  hard  money  (gold 
and  silver)  being  maintained  in  our  mone- 
tary system.  It  was  a  bitter  pill  for  some 
of  the  Greenback  Democrats  to  swallow, 
but  they  had  to  come  to  it.  Voorhees 
wanted  McDonald  to  step  into  the  Sena- 
torial shoes  of  Dan  Pratt  and  he  did  not 
want  Holman  to  slip  into  them  under  any 
circumstance.  McDonald  and  Voorhees 
were  warm  personal  and  political  friends, 
though  differing  on  the  money  question. 
It  can  hardly  be  said  that  there  existed 
ties  of  imperishable  friendship  between 
Holman  and  Voorhees. 

As  an  indication  of  the  broad-minded- 
ness and  big-heartedness  of  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  it  is  in  order  to  state  in  this  con- 
nection that  instead  of  harboring  a  spirit 
of  resentment  or  enmity  toward  me  for  my 
frank  avowal  of  hostility  to  his  Senatorial 
aspirations  in  1875,  he  ever  afterward 
made  me  the  beneficiary  of  his  most  cor- 
dial friendship.  Whenever  and  wherever 
it  was  within  his  power  to  render  me  a 
kindness  or  do  me  a  favor  it  was  done  un- 
grudgingly and  unstintedly.  He  was  more 
than  cordial.  When  opportunity  presented 
itself  to  render  me  a  service  he  did  it  un- 
hesitatingly and  unreservedly.  These 
relations  were  maintained  to  the  end  of 
this  great  and  good  man's  earthly  career. 
When  assailed  within  the  camp  he  usually 
availed  himself  of  the  columns  of  my 
paper  to  defend  himself  and  his  course. 
On  some  questions  we  differed,  but  such 
differences  never  were  permitted  in  the 
slightest  degree  to  diminish  our  friend- 
ship. 

In  the  legislative  caucus  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  a  candidate  for  Senator  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald was  an  easy  winner.  The  Voor- 
hees forces,  all  or  nearly  all  advocates  of 


the  greenback  idea,  supported  him  with 
avidity.  The  hard  money  element  were, 
of  course,  glad  to  see  one  of  their  number 
chosen  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate.  The  Hol- 
man forces,  as  usual,  lacked  organization 
and  cohesiveness.  Mr.  McDonald  became 
the  successor  of  Daniel  D.  Pratt ;  as  such  he 
distinguished  himself  by  the  development 
of  legislative  capabilities  that  soon  marked 
him  as  one  of  the  foremost  members  of 
that  august  body.  His  colleague  was 
Oliver  P.  Morton.  Thus  it  was  that  both 
of  the  two  leading  parties  of  Indiana  were 
represented  in  the  Senate  at  Washington 
by  two  of  their  ablest  and  most  conspicu- 
ous champions.  In  1864  they  were  pitted 
against  one  another  in  the  memorable  con- 
test for  the  Governorship.  In  less  than  a 
dozen  years  afterward  they  were  fellow- 
members  of  the  highest  legislative  body 
in  the  world.  Both  were  men  of  distin- 
guished ability;  both  did  their  utmost  to 
give  force  and  validity  to  the  ideas  that 
guided  their  political  and  legislative  activ- 
ities. 

Under  date  of  April  30,  1911,  former 
Congressman  John  E.  Lamb  wrote  me 
from  Terre  Haute  in  regard  to  the  Sena- 
torial contest  of  1875:  "Voorhees  went 
out  of  Congress  in  1873,  having  been  beat- 
en in  the  Greeley  campaign  of  1872,  and  he 
was  not  a  candidate  even  for  the  nomina- 
tion, but  had  retired  to  private  life.  He 
was  dragged  into  the  contest  in  1875  by 
over-zealous  friends.  I  know  he  was  very 
loath  to  go  into  it  and  never  had  any  heart- 
burnings because  he  was  beaten." 

As  a  young  man,  John  E.  Lamb  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  Mr.  Voorhees  and 
was  induced  to  study  law  in  Voorhees' 
office.  Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar 
young  Lamb  made  rapid  progress  in  his 
chosen  profession.  In  course  of  time  he 
built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  practice. 
Professional  duties  never  deterred  him 
from  active  participation  in  politics.  In 
1882  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Terre  Haute  district.  Repeatedly  he  rep- 
resented his  district  or  the  State  in  Na- 


(262) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


tional  conventions.  He  delighted  in  polit- 
ical contests.  No  event  in  his  life  caused 
him  greater  delight  than  the  election  of 
Mr.  Voorhees  to  the  Senate.     In  1909  he 


aspired  to  a  seat  in  the  upper  branch  of 
Congress,  but  was  defeated  by  Benjamin 
F.  Shively.  Five  years  later  he  died,  after 
a  lingering  illness. 


(263) 


[Chapter  XXXV.] 

1876  DEMOCRACY'S  GREAT  YEAR 

PARTY  REJUVENATED  NATIONALLY;  VICTORIOUS  ALL 
ALONG  THE  LINE 


1  HE  Indiana  Democracy,  buoyant 

and  jubilant  over  its  signal  vic- 
tory in  1874,  met  in  State  con- 
vention at  Indianapolis  on 
I  Wednesday,  April  19,  1876. 
The  attendance  was  large;  the 
delegates  were  imbued  with 
fervent  spirit;  harmony  set  in  after  a 
lively  tilt  had  been  had  over  the  Governor- 
ship. A  ticket  was  placed  in  nomination 
that  all  felt  assured  would  be  triumphant- 
ly elected  in  October. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  by 
General  Mahlon  D.  Manson,  who  served  as 
temporary  chairman  in  order  to  save  time 
and  expedite  business. 

Judge  Thomas  R.  Cobb,  of  Vincennes, 
was  chosen  president  of  the  convention 
and  John  W.  Kern  served  as  principal  sec- 
retary. 

John  B.  Handy,  Henry  A.  Peed,  Stephen 
J.  Barrett,  Cyrus  B.  Bentley,  George  T.  B. 
Carr,  Dr.  Rice,  John  Lee,  Milton  Bell,  Eli 
W.  Brown  and  Judge  E.  Van  Long  were 
named  as  vice-presidents. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

For  the  State  at  Large — Daniel  W.  Voorhees, 
of  Terra  Haute;  John  S.  Scobey,  of  Greensburg. 

1.  G.  V.  Menzies,  Posey  county. 

2.  William  D.  Bynum,  Daviess. 

3.  Jonas  G.  Howard,  Clark. 

4.  Edward  P.  Ferris,  Ripley. 

5.  General  N.  S.  Given,  Dearborn. 

6.  Charles  G.  Offut,  Hancock. 

7.  Thomas  Cottrell,  Marion. 

8.  S.  D.  Puitt,  Parke. 

9.  T.  J.  Harrison,  Boone. 

10.  George  Burson,  Pulaski. 

11.  Dr.  J.  A.  Adrian,  Cass. 

12.  Isaiah  B.  McDonald,  Whitley. 

13.  Woodson  S.  Marshall,  Kosciusko. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION 

At  Large — Senator  Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Con- 
gressman Michael  C.  Kerr,  General  Mahlon  D. 
Manson,  Bayless  W.  Hanna. 


Contingents — Colonel  Charles  Denby,  Captain 
J.  A.  S.  Mitchell,  William  Fleming,  Dr.  George  W. 
McConnell. 

1.  Thomas  E.  Garvin,  Vanderburg  county. 
O.  M.  Welborn,  Gibson. 

2.  Samuel  H.  Taylor,  Daviess. 
Thomas  R.  Cobb,  Knox. 

3.  Samuel  B.  Voyles,  Washington. 
Francis  T.  Hord,  Bartholomew. 

4.  Cortez  Ewing,  Decatur. 
Thomas  Armstrong,  Switzerland. 

5.  O.  H.  Roberts,  Dearborn. 
James  Elder,  Wayne. 

6.  James  W.  Sansbury,  Madison. 
J.  F.  McDowell,  Grant. 

7.  G.  W.  Neff,  Putnam. 
J.  B.  Ryan,  Marion. 

8.  D.  W.  Voorhees,  Vigo. 
Elijah  Newland,  Lawrence. 

9.  John  S.  Williams,  Tippecanoe. 
David  P.  Barnard,  Clinton. 

10.  John  H.  Winterbotham,   Laporte. 
B.  B.  Dailey,  Carroll. 

11.  John  Mitchell,  Miami. 

A.  F.  Armstrong,  Howard. 

12.  Samuel  McGaughney,  Huntington. 
M.  V.  B.  Spencer,  Allen. 

13.  John  B.  Stoll,  Noble. 
Daniel  McDonald,  Marshall. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  Thomas  Byrnes,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  Calvin  Taylor,  Sullivan. 

3.  John  D.  Lyle,  Bartholomew. 

4.  Charles  L.  Jewett,  Scott. 

5.  S.  S.  Harrell,  Franklin. 

6.  Alonzo  Blair,  Shelby. 

7.  R.  J.  Bright,  Marion. 

8.  Judge  John  T.  Scott,  Vigo. 

9.  M.  D.  Manson,  Montgomery. 

10.  H.  E.  Wadsworth,  Laporte. 

11.  D.  D.  Dykeman,  Cass. 

12.  W.  J.  Craig,  Wells. 

13.  Laporte  Heefner,  Elkhart. 

STATE  TICKET  NOMINATED. 
The  names  of  Congres.sman  William  S. 
Holman  of  Dearborn,  and  of  Congressman 
Franklin  Landers  were  presented  as  can- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


didates  for  Governor.  Judge  Holman  was 
not  at  the  convention ;  Landers  was.  Hol- 
man's  candidacy  was  spontaneous.  No  one 
in  particular  was  in  charge  of  it;  no  one 
seems  to  have  had  authority  to  speak  for 
him.  His  nomination  was  urged  with 
vigor  and  enthusiasm  by  the  Ligonier 
Banner,  and  its  editor  was  active  and  en- 
ergetic in  espousing  the  cause  of  the 
famous  "Watchdog  of  the  Treasury." 
There  had  been  no  correspondence  on  the 
subject.  The  editor  of  the  Banner  felt 
assured  that  Samuel  J.  Tilden  would  be 
the  Democratic  standard-bearer  in  the 
national  campaign,  and  that  therefore  a 
man  of  Judge  Holman's  fame  as  a  cham- 
pion of  retrenchment  and  reform  ought  to 
head  the  State  ticket.  The  balloting  indi- 
cated that  the  race  between  Holman  and 
Landers  would  be  close.  Just  as  the  last 
county  had  been  called,  Mr.  Landers,  sit- 
ting with  the  Marion  county  delegation, 
arose  and  asked  permission  to  make  a 
statement.  Meanwhile  the  tabulation  was 
completed.  The  Holman  forces  had  been 
accorded  especially  favorable  seating  fa- 
cilities in  the  convention  hall,  while  the 
Marion  delegation  had  been  assigned  to 
the  gallery.  Being  in  close  proximity  to 
the  secretary's  desk,  the  leaders  of  the 
Holman  forces  were  given  a  tip  that  Hol- 
man had  received  a  majority  of  all  the 
votes  cast  and  therefore  nominated.  Re- 
quest was  sent  to  the  secretary  not  to  hand 
the  result  of  the  ballot  to  the  chair,  but 
to  await  developments. 

Apprehension  was  felt  thiat  something 
was  going  to  happen.  Mr.  Landers  had 
some  difficulty  in  getting  a  hearing.  Bed- 
lam broke  loose  when  it  became  known 
that  Landers  had  something  to  say  about 
Holman.  The  yelling  was  terrific.  Lan- 
ders was  shouted  at  to  sit  down,  but  he 
didn't.  High  up  in  the  gallery  he  stood, 
complacently  looking  down  upon  the  mad- 
dened delegates  who  wanted  Holman  and 
not  Landers  for  Governor.  It  was  a  crit- 
ical   situation.      The    Holman    men    had 


learned  all  of  a  sudden  that  it  was  the 
determination  of  the  Landers  following  to 
break  up  the  convention  in  a  row  if  Hol- 
man were  made  the  nominee.  Physical 
exhaustion  caused  a  lull  in  the  yelling. 
At  last  Landers  was  permitted  to  speak. 
He  said  before  announcing  himself  a  can- 
didate for  Governor  he  had  a  conference 
with  Judge  Holman,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  (Landers)  went  fully  over  the  situation 
and  then  said  to  Holman  that  if  he  had 
any  desire  or  intention  to  enter  the  race, 
he  (Landers)  would  not  be  a  candidate. 
Landers  declared  with  vehemence  and  the 
utmost  positiveness  that  Holman  assured 
him  he  would  not  be  a  candidate;  that 
upon  this  assurance  he  (Landers)  became 
an  avowed,  active  candidate  for  the 
Gubernatorial  nomination.  Dramatically 
he  averred  that  if  there  was  any  one  in 
the  convention  authorized  to  speak  for 
Judge  Holman  he  wanted  that  individual 
to  rise  in  his  seat  and  state  just  what 
Judge  Holm.an's  attitude  was.  No  one  re- 
sponded to  this  challenge.  Then  Landers 
resumed  his  speech,  saying  that  in  view 
of  what  had  taken  place  between  himself 
and  Judge  Holman  there  could  be  no  con- 
test between  the  parties  to  that  compact. 
Em.phasizing  his  determination  not  to  let 
the  contest  proceed  he  announced  his 
withdrawal  from  the  race.  While  these  ve- 
hement utterances  came  thundering  down 
the  gallerj.',  the  Holman  leaders  hurriedly 
held  a  conference  to  determine  what 
course  to  pursue.  The  writer  of  this,  upon 
whom  primarily  rested  responsibility  for 
the  Holman  movement,  said  it  had  become 
apparent  that  if  the  result  of  the  ballot, 
showing  Holman  to  have  a  majority  of  all 
votes  cast  and  making  him  the  nominee 
were  announced,  the  convention  would  un- 
doubtedly break  up  in  a  row.  "This,"  he 
added,  "we  can't  afford  to  have  done,  how- 
ever unpleasant  it  may  be  to  surrender 
after  having  won  the  battle."  There  was 
some  objection  to  the  proposition  to  with- 
draw Holman's  name  after  he  had  been 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


nominated;  though  the  result  of  the  ballot 
was  knowTi  to  only  a  few.  Finally  in  the 
interest  of  peace  it  was  agreed  that  Hol- 
me n's  name  should  be  withdrawn,  and 
that  of  "Blue  Jeans"  Williams,  also  then  a 
member  of  Congress,  substituted.  These 
announcements  restored  order  as  well  as 
harmony  in  the  convention  and  the  nom- 
ination of  James  D.  Williams,  of  Vin- 
cennes,  was  thereupon,  on  motion  of 
Austin  H.  Brown,  of  Indianapolis,  made 
by  acclamation  amidst  vociferous  shouting 
of  approval  and  unrestrained  manifesta- 
tion of  relief. 

Two  names  were  proposed  for  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor— Isaac  P.  Gray,  of  Ran- 
dolph county,  and  David  Turpie,  of  Indi- 
anapolis. The  name  of  Turpie  was  im- 
mediately withdrawn  and  Gray  nominated 
by  acclamation. 

The  gentlemen  nominated  and  trium- 
phantly elected  in  1874  were  honored  with 
renominations  by  acclamation  and  the 
ticket  in  its  entirety  consisted  of  James 
D.  Williams  for  Governor,  Isaac  P.  Gray 
for  Lieutenant-Governor,  John  Enos  Neff 
for  Secretary  of  State,  Ebenezer  Hender- 
son for  Auditor,  Colonel  Benjamin  C. 
Shaw  for  Treasurer,  Clarence  A.  Buskirk 
for  Attorney-General,  James  H.  Smart  for 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  For 
Suprem.e  Judges  the  convention  named 
Samuel  H.  Buskirk,  of  Monroe;  Alexander 
C.  Downey,  of  Ohio;  John  Pettit,  of 
Lafayette,  and  James  L.  Worden,  of  Fort 
Wayne.  At  the  October  election  Williams' 
majority  for  Governor  over  General  Ben- 
jamin Harrison  was  5,139.  Other  major- 
ities were:  Gray's,  5,43.5;  Neff's,  6,035; 
Henderson's,  5,817 ;  Shaw's,  5,801. 

By  resolution  Thomas  A.  Hendricks 
was  declared  to  be  the  choice  of  the 
Indiana  Democracy  for  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States  and  the  delegates  to  the 
St.  Louis  convention  were  instructed  to 
vote  accordingly  as  a  unit. 


STATE  DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM,  1876 

"The  Democracy  of  Indiana  declare  their 
fidelity  to  all  the  provisions  of  the  Federal 
Constitution,  to  a  perpetual  union  of  the 
States,  to  local  self-government  in  every 
section,  to  all  public  trusts  and  obligations, 
to  the  honest  payment  of  the  public  debt, 
to  the  preservation  of  the  public  faith,  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  free  schools,  and 
to  the  pure  and  economical  administration 
of  the  Federal,  State  and  municipal  gov- 
ernments. They  contemplate  with  alarm 
the  distress  that  prevails,  the  widespread 
financial  ruin  that  impends  over  the  people 
and  the  corruption  that  pervades  the  pub- 
lic service,  and  they  charge  that  these  evils 
are  the  direct  results  of  the  personal  gov- 
ernment, unwise  legislation,  vicious  finan- 
cial policy,  extravagance,  the  great  con- 
traction of  the  currency  and  selfishness  of 
the  party  and  its  officials  who  have  so  long 
held  unchecked  control.  Inviting  all  who 
believe  in  and  earnestly  desire  official  pur- 
ity and  fidelity,  the  adjustment  of  financial 
questions  upon  a  sound  basis,  having  a  re- 
gard for  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the 
whole  people,  and  not  a  class,  and  the 
recognition  of  a  final  settlement  of  all 
questions  submitted  to  the  arbitrament  of 
the  sword  to  unite  with  them,  they  de- 
clare : 

"For  the  eflRciency,  correction  and  puri- 
fication of  the  civil  service;  for  retrench- 
ment and  economy  in  the  public  service; 
for  gold  and  silver  as  the  true  and  safe 
basis  for  a  circulating  medium;  for  the 
gradual  retirement  of  national  bank  cur- 
rency and  the  substitution  of  circulating 
notes  issued  direct  by  the  Government; 
for  a  natural  (not  forced)  return  to  specie 
payments ;  for  a  legal  tender  currency  and 
against  its  proposed  retirement;  for  the 
repeal  of  the  partisan  act  to  force  specie 
resumption,  to  the  detriment  of  the  debtor 
class;  for  the  protection  and  furtherance 
of  our  common  school  system ;  for  a  duly 
safeguarded  liquor  license  system;  for  the 
proper  care  and  welfare  of  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  who  defended  the  Union ;  against 
the  payment  of  any  part  of  the  rebel  debt, 
claims  for  emancipated  slaves  or  de.stroyed 
property  in  the  rebel  States." 

Upon  the  adjournment  of  the  conven- 
tion the  appointed  delegates  to  the 
National  convention  were  invited  to  a  con- 
ference   to   make    arrangements    for    the 


(  267  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  1 


19  16 


gathering  at  St.  Louis.  Senator  McDon- 
ald, fresh  from  Washington,  gave  a  de- 
tailed statement  of  prospects,  promises, 
assurances,  etc.  According  to  his  version 
the  prospects  were  exceedingly  bright  for 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Hendricks.  The 
Senator  named  State  upon  State  from 
which  he  had  assurances  of  support.  His 
statements  were  exceedingly  rosy;  so 
much  so  that  those  who  did  not  closely  fol- 
low the  trend  of  developments  in  the  po- 
litical arena  might  well  have  assumed  that 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Hendricks  had  be- 
come a  foregone  conclusion.  While  all  the 
delegates  were  earnest  supporters  and 
stanch  friends  of  Indiana's  favorite  son, 
some  of  them  shared  the  opinion  of  keen, 
unbiased  observers  that  indications 
pointed  unerringly  to  the  selection  of  Mr. 
Tilden.  It  was  in  the  air;  it  appeared  to 
be  foreordained;  destiny  would  seem  to 
have  so  decreed. 

TILDEN  AND  HENDRICKS. 
The  Presidential  convention  was  held  at 
St.  Louis  on  the  28th  of  June.  It  was 
a  gathering  of  men  who  had  in  view  the 
accomplishment  of  a  patriotic  purpose — 
the  nomination  of  a  ticket  that  would  com- 
mend itself  to  the  patriotism  of  the  nation. 
The  regular  New  York  delegation  was 
composed  of  perhaps  the  most  accom- 
plished gentlemen  that  ever  attended  a 
national  convention.  The  presence  of  a 
contesting  delegation,  embracing  the  rem- 
nants of  the  old  Tweed  ring  and  the  dis- 
credited canal  ring,  only  tended  to  in- 
tensify the  feeling  in  favor  of  Tilden. 
Tammany  was  demonstrative  but  not  com- 
manding. In  visiting  the  various  State 
delegations  to  give  reasons  why  Tilden 
ought  not  to  be  nominated  it  soon  became 
apparent  that  the  more  vindictive  the  talk 
against  Tilden  the  stronger  sentiment 
grew  in  his  favor.  The  famous  prize 
fighter,  John  Morrissey,  was  among  those 
who  did  most  effective  work  by  way  of 
counteracting  the  doings  of  the  Tweed  and 
canal  rings.    Morrissey  was  very  much  in 


demand  wherever  Presidential  candidates 
were  under  discussion.  In  his  blunt  yet 
singularly  effective  way  he  started  out  to 
say  that  every  mother's  son  on  the  ground 
to  fight  Tilden  had  a  grievance  based  on 
some  happening,  some  injury  inflicted  by 
Tilden's  unsparing  warfare  against  cor- 
ruption and  thievery.  "If  I  were  actuated 
by  personal  grievance,"  he  averred,  "I 
would  be  with  them  in  opposing  Tilden's 
nomination.  I  have  a  genuine  grievance, 
a  personal  and  political  grievance.  He 
caused  me  to  be  fired  out  of  the  Saratoga 
convention,  although  fully  persuaded  at 
the  time  that  I  was  entitled  to  a  seat.  But 
when  I  cast  about  me,  and  contemplate 
the  havoc  that  has  been  wrought  in  the 
South  by  carpet-bag  rule ;  when  I  take  into 
account  the  degradation  of  the  public 
service,  and  when  I  contemplate  how 
greatly  this  country  stands  in  need  of  a 
master  mind  at  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  correct  abuses  and  bring  order 
out  of  chaos,  I  forget  all  about  the  per- 
sonal indignity  offered  me  and  determine 
to  roll  up  my  sleeves  and  do  my  utmost 
to  place  in  the  White  House  a  man  who 
will  do  for  the  country  at  large  what  he 
did  when  he  cleaned  out  the  Tweed  ring 
in  the  city  of  New  York  and  the  canal 
ring  in  the  State.  For  these  reasons  I 
am  here  to  contribute  my  mite  to  the  nom- 
ination of  Samuel  J.  Tilden  and  to  coun- 
teract the  efforts  of  Tammany  and  kin- 
dred organizations."  The  oratorical  ef- 
forts of  John  Morrissey,  the  prize  fighter, 
counted  for  much  more  than  did  the  com- 
bined efforts  of  the  five  hundred  "braves" 
who  ostentatiously  paraded  the  streets  of 
St.  Louis  to  make  a  showing  against  Til- 
den. 

The  political  wisdom  of  the  managers 
of  the  Tilden  forces  was  made  manifest 
by  the  selection  of  Henry  Watterson  as 
tem.porary  chairman  and  of  General  John 
A.  McClernand,  of  Illinois,  for  president 
of  the  convention.  It  was  furthermore 
made  manifest  when  John  Kelly,  the  fa- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


mous  Tammany  chief,  endeavored  to  tell 
the  convention  why  that  organization  was 
arrayed  against  Tilden.  The  convention, 
overwhelmingly  for  the  Sage  of  Gramercy, 
did  not  want  to  listen  to  a  tirade  against 
their  favorite.  L'or  minutes  Kelly  stood 
defiantly  upon  an  elevation  to  be  seen  and 
heard.  The  protests  against  his  being 
given  a  hearing  were  loud  and  menacing. 
The  more  he  tried  to  talk  the  louder 
sounded  the  voices  of  protest.  Finally 
Senator  Francis  Kernan,  one  of  Tilden's 
New  York  supporters,  gained  the  atten- 
tion of  the  chair.  In  well  chosen  words 
the  New  York  Senator  said  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Tilden  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
anything  Mr.  Kelly  might  wish  to  say. 
"Accord  to  him  a  respectful  hearing,  and 
then  vote  as  your  judgment  may  dictate." 
The  request  was  complied  with.  The  con- 
vention listened  patiently  and  attentively, 
and  then  deliberately  proceeded  to  render 
judgment  by  nominating  Tilden  with  a 
whoop. 

Seven  names  were  submitted  for  consid- 
eration— Governor  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  of 
New  York;  Governor  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks, of  Indiana ;  General  Winfield  Scott 
Hancock,  of  Pennsylvania ;  Governor  Wil- 
liam Allen,  of  Ohio;  Senator  Thomas  F. 
Bayard,  of  Delaware;  Governor  Joel 
Parker,  of  New  Jersey,  and  Senator  Allen 
G.  Thurman,  of  Ohio.  All  of  these  emi- 
nent Democrats  were  men  of  high  charac- 
ter and  all  had  rendered  distinguished 
service  to  their  country.  An  informal  bal- 
lot plainly  foreshadowed  Mr.  Tilden's 
nomination  on  a  formal  ballot.  Total  num- 
ber of  votes,  744 ;  necessary  to  a  choice, 
496.  Mr.  Tilden  received  535  votes,  Hen- 
dricks 60,  Hancock  59,  Allen  54,  Bayard 
11,  Parker  18,  Thurman  7.  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks was  named  for  the  Vice-Presidency 
by  acclamation.  Some  difficulty  was  ex- 
perienced in  inducing  him  to  accept.  John 
Kelly  and  some  of  his  lieutenants  .stopped 
off  at  Indianapolis  on  their  homeward 
journey  to  impress  upon  Mr.  Hendricks' 
mind  that  he  could  not  afford  to  turn  down 


a  nomination  tendered  by  such  a  conven- 
tion as  had  met  in  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Kelly 
had  7,ealously  advocated  the  nomination  of 
Mr.  Hendricks  for  President. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  bitterness 
among  the  Ohio  delegates.  The  feud  be- 
tween Governor  Allen  and  Senator  Thur- 
man was  not  easily  held  in  subjection. 
Some  of  the  Allenites  at  one  time  talked 
of  a  bolt,  but  wiser  counsels  prevailed.  At- 
tempts were  made  to  enlist  the  Indiana 
delegation  in  such  a  movement.  Now, 
while  the  entire  delegation  was  heartily 
for  Mr.  Hendricks,  not  all  the  delegates 
were  hostile  to  Mr.  Tilden.  When  a  bolt 
was  suggested  some  of  the  Indiana  dele- 
gates spoke  their  minds  quite  freely  j  nd 
emphatically.  John  H.  Winterbotham,  of 
Michigan  City,  was  especially  outspoken 
in  expressing  his  disapproval  of  the  sense- 
less fight  that  had  been  made  on  Mr.  Til- 
den by  Indiana  men.  He  said  that  while 
he  had  steadfastly  supported  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks he  wanted  it  distinctly  understood 
that  he  was  utterly  disgusted  at  the  ora- 
torical "rot"  to  which  he  had  listened  for 
several  days,  and  that  it  was  high  time  for 
some  of  the  Indiana  men  to  show  that  they 
were  not  a  pack  of  numskulls.  A  goodly 
number  of  Indianians  heartily  applauded 
Mr.  Winterbotham's  plain  and  emphatic 
talk. 

One  of  the  most  level-headed  Indianians 
in  attend-^nce  at  the  St.  Louis  convention 
was  William  Fleming,  of  Fort  Wayne.  For 
years  he  had  been  a  leader  in  Northern 
Indiana.  In  his  own  county,  Allen,  he  was 
ci  power.  His  political  wisdom  had  often 
helped  to  adjust  difficulties  and  ward  off 
disaster.  It  did  not  take  him  long  to  see 
the  handwriting  on  the  wall.  Ju.st  before 
the  nomination  of  Tilden  was  effected  he 
said  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  Mr. 
Tilden  proving  a  very  formidable  candi- 
date before  the  people,  but  he  feared  that 
the  bitter  fight  waged  against  him  by  the 
Cincitivat'  Enquirer  and  nearly  the  entire 
Democratic  press  of  Indiana  would  make 
it   impossible  to  carry  the  State.     When 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


the  writer  replied  to  this  by  saying  that 
in  less  than  six  weeks  enthusiasm  for 
Tilden  and  Hendricks  would  run  so  high 
as  to  remove  all  doubt  about  Indiana  going 
Democratic,  Mr.  Fleming  expressed  utter 
amazement  that  such  expectancy  could 
possibly  lurk  in  any  one's  mind.  Before 
six  weeks  had  rolled  around  Mr.  Fleming 
freely  admitted  that  he  had  ceased  to  be 
a  doubting  Thomas. 

The  platform  adopted  by  the  St.  Louis 
convention  was  the  most  comprehensive 
and  specific  declaration  of  political  pur- 
pose ever  promulgated  by  any  party.  It 
set  forth  in  plain  terms  what  Mr.  Tilden 
intended  to  bring  about,  purification  of 
the  public  service  and  correction  of  long- 
existing  abuses  being  the  chief  object 
sought  to  be  accomplished.  It  is  generally 
understood  that  Mr.  Tilden  himself  wrote 
the  platform.  At  any  rate,  such  was  the 
understanding  at  St.  Louis.  For  that 
reason  all  suggestions  of  change  or  modi- 
fication were  discountenanced.  It  is  too 
lengthy  to  be  here  reproduced;  it  is  so 
terse  in  its  wording  that  no  mere  epitome 
or  synopsis  could  possibly  do  it  ample 
justice.  Every  student  of  politics  ought 
to  make  it  a  point  to  read  and  study  this 
platform  declaration — and  profit  by  it. 
Wide  circulation  was  given  it  during  the 
progress  of  the  campaign.  Public  speakers 
utilized  it  to  fullest  extent  by  way  of  tell- 
ing the  American  people  what  might  be 
expected  to  be  done  in  the  event  of  Tilden 
and  Hendricks's  election. 

The  campaign  was  masterfully  con- 
ducted under  Mr.  Tilden's  personal  direc- 
tion. He  sent  several  experienced  cam- 
paign managers  to  Indiana — one  from 
New  York  and  one  from  Pennsylvania — 
to  aid  the  Democratic  State  Committee 
and  to  keep  him  fully  advised  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  campaign.  His  trusted  lieu- 
tenant, Wm.  Dorsheimer,  then  serving 
with  Mr.  Tilden  as  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  Empire  State,  a  man  of  superior 
ability  and  high  accomplishments  as  a 
platform  speaker,  was  sent  into  Indiana  to 


deliver  two  speeches — one  in  Indianapolis, 
the  other  at  Ligonier.  Much  surprise  was 
expressed  that  so  small  a  place  as  Ligonier 
should  have  been  selected  when  larger 
places  were  clamoring  for  a  man  so  close 
to  Mr.  Tilden  as  was  Mr.  Dorsheimer.  The 
explanation  was  given  that  this  compli- 
ment was  bestowed  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  the  cause  of  Tilden  had  been  so  earn- 
estly and  persistently  espoused  there  by 
Mr.  Stoll's  paper  when  in  most  other  lo- 
calities abuse  of  Mr.  Tilden  seemed  to  be 
regarded  a  Democratic  duty.  Before 
reaching  Ligonier  Mr.  Dorsheimer  had 
held  several  conferences  in  Ohio  with 
Democratic  leaders  of  that  State.  He  had 
become  profoundly  impressed  with  the 
assurances  given  him  that  by  devoting 
some  attention  to  Ohio  that  State  could 
be  cai-ried  for  Tilden  and  Hendricks. 
When  urged  by  the  writer  to  present  this 
aspect  of  the  campaign  to  Mr.  Tilden,  Mr.  ■ 
Dorsheimer  stated  that  he  had  already 
done  so,  but  had  received  no  encourage- 
ment. Mr.  Tilden,  he  said,  had  mapped 
out  his  program  and  could  not  be  swerved 
from  it.  He  did  hot  believe  in  scattering ; 
that  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Connecticut 
and  Indiana  had  been  chosen  as  the  bat- 
tleground and  that  the  electoral  votes  of 
these  four  Northern  States,  coupled  with 
those  of  the  South,  would  answer  every 
purpose.  Having  received  no  attention 
from  the  Democratic  National  Committee, 
Ohio  was  lost  to  Tilden  by  the  paltry  plu- 
rality of  7,506.  There  isn't  the  slightest 
doubt  that  if  Ohio  had  been  given  half  the 
attention  bestowed  upon  Indiana,  Tilden 
and  Hendricks  would  have  become  the 
beneficiaries  .of  that  State's  twenty-two 
votes  in  the  electoral  college. 

Approximately  similar  conditions  ex- 
isted in  Pennsylvania.  Hayes  carried  that 
State  by  less  than  18,000.  With  anything 
like  an  effort  the  Keystone  State  could 
easily  have  been  wrested  from  the  Repub- 
licans. Hayes  himself  had  neither  mag- 
netism nor  reputation  to  render  his  candi- 
dacy attractive  or  formidable.     His  nomi- 


(  270) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  181G-1916 


nation  was  an  accident,  the  result  of  a 
plot  on  the  part  of  Grant,  Conkling,  Mor- 
ton and  Cameron  to  prevent  the  nomi- 
nation of  James  G.  Blaine,  who  from  the 
beginning  to  the  close  of  the  Cincinnati 
convention  had  a  clear  majority  of  the 
delegates.  Tied  up  by  cunningly  devised 
instruction,  the  votes  of  Blaine  delegates 
were  withheld  until  plans  had  been  ma- 
tured to  stampede  the  convention  to  a 
nominal  candidate,  who  turned  out  to  be 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  that  Til- 
den  and  Hendricks  had  to  their  credit  on 
the  popular  vote  4,284,757;  Hayes  and 
Wheeler,  4,033,950;  Cooper  and  Gary, 
81,740 ;  Green  Clay  Smith,  9,522.  Of  the 
electors  chosen  by  the  people,  Tilden  and 
Hendricks  had  203;  Hayes  and  Wheeler, 
166.  After  Hayes  had  acknowledged  de- 
feat Zachariah  Chandler,  W.  E.  Chandler 
and  other  Republican  marplots  conceived 
the  idea  of  laying  claim  to  the  electors  of 
Florida,  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana — 
nineteen  in  all— just  enough  to  elect.  Im- 
mediately they  proceeded  to  carry  their 
plans  into  execution.  By  devious  methods 
they  manipulated  the  returning  boards  of 
these  three  States  so  as  to  figure  out  a 
majority  for  Hayes,  though  Tilden  was 
judicially  shown  to  have  carried  all  three 
by  small  majorities.  The  manipulation  of 
the  returning  boards  of  these  three  States 
had  been  intrusted  to  the  most  cunning 
political  tricksters  in  the  North.  To  com- 
pensate, in  a  measure,  the  bona  fide  cit- 
izenship of  Florida,  South  Carolina  and 
Louisiana  for  the  perversion  of  the  Presi- 
dential vote  of  these  States,  all  three  un- 
der carpet-bag  rule,  it  was  arranged  to 
withdraw  support  from  the  Governors  and 
their  cohorts  and  "permit"  the  installation 
of  Democratic  administration  without  in- 
terference on  the  part  of  Federal  author- 
ity. So  deeply  interested  were  the  white 
people  of  South  Carolina,  Florida  and 
Louisiana  in  being  relieved  from  the  car- 
pet-bag incubus  that  the  loss  of  Presi- 
dential  electors   could    be    endured    more 


easily  than  continuance  of  the  corrupt  car- 
pet-bag "governments"  that  had  been  in- 
stituted in  these  three  unfortunate  States 
under  the  operation  of  the  iniquitous  fif- 
teenth amendment  conferring  upon  dense 
ignorance  the  right  to  vote. 

The  countiy  became  greatly  excited 
over  this  daring  attempt  to  annul  the  pop- 
ular verdict  and  to  steal  the  Presidency 
of  the  United  States.  Fear  of  civil  war 
finally  led  to  the  creation  by  Congress  of 
what  is  known  as  the  Electoral  Commis- 
sion. 

This  commission  was  made  to  consist 
of  five  Supreme  Judges,  five  Senators  and 
five  Representatives.  David  Davis,  of 
Illinois,  was  to  be  one  of  the  Supreme 
Judges.  There  is  but  little  doubt  that  he 
would  have  decided  in  favor  of  Tilden,  for 
he  was  a  fair-minded  man.  But  before 
the  commission  met  Davis  was  elected  a 
United  States  Senator  from  Illinois,  so  he 
resigned  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Senate. 
Judge  Bradley,  of  New  Jersey,  was  thei-e- 
upon  selected.  Bradley  had  no  conscien- 
tious scruples  about  such  matters  and 
readily  allied  himself  with  the  conspira- 
tors. The  upshot  of  this  treason-like  con- 
spiracy against  the  majesty  of  the  ballot 
was  the  seating  of  Hayes  by  crediting  him 
with  185  electors  and  Tilden  with  184. 

Great  as  Tilden  proved  himself  as  an 
organizer  and  leader,  he  seemed  to  be  un- 
able to  come  to  a  definite  conclusion  as 
to  what  attitude  should  be  assumed  by  the 
Democrats  in  Congress  with  reference  to 
the  electoral  count.  Some  friction  grew 
out  of  this.  The  leaders  in  both  houses 
manifested  an  entire  readiness  to  do  what- 
ever Mr.  Tilden  might  have  wished  to 
have  done.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  a.s- 
serted  that  Mr.  Tilden  had  indicated  that 
there  was  but  one  course  to  pursue,  and 
that  was  for  the  Democratic  House  to  de- 
clare the  result  and  throw  upon  the  Re- 
publican Senate  the  responsibility  of  dis- 
regarding such  declaration.  Be  that  as  it 
may.  the  perfidy  was  consummated.     The 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1 


will  of  the  people  was  set  aside  and  that 
of  the  conspirators  made  supreme. 

Some  peculiar  incidents  are  to  be 
coupled  with  this  national  tragedy.  Colo- 
rado was  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1876. 
It  was  Republican  territory.  Foxily  the 
Republicans  "permitted"  a  former  Indi- 
ana Democratic  politician,  Thomas  M. 
Patterson,  to  be  elected  as  delegate  to  Con- 
gress in  1874,  for  the  special  purpose  of 
utilizing  his  political  influence  to  secure 
that  territory's  admission  into  the  Union. 
As  soon  as  this  was  done  an  election  was 
held,  a  Republican  Legislature  was  chosen, 
and  that  body  immediately  proceeded  to 
elect  two  Republican  United  States  Sen- 
ators and  three  Presidential  Electors.  One 
of  these  Senators,  Henry  M.  Teller,  be- 
came very  active  in  shaping  affairs  so  as 
to  make  certain  of  Hayes  and  Wheeler  be- 
ing counted  in. 

Another  peculiar  circumstance  was 
this:  Senator  Roscoe  Conkling  never 
took  any  stock  in  the  claim  that  Hayes 
was  entitled  to  the  electoral  votes  of  Flor- 
ida, South  Carolina  and  Louisiana.  He 
permitted  the  impression  to  go  out  that 
he  would  not  vote  with  the  marplots  who 
had  determined  to  seat  Hayes.  Kate  Chase, 
an  exceedingly  attractive  leader  in  Wash- 
ington society,  was  known  to  have  a  great 
deal  of  influence  over  Conkling.  Kate 
Chase  never  foi-gave  Samuel  J.  Tilden  for 
having  prevented  her  father.  Chief  Justice 
Salmon  P.  Chase,  from  securing  the  Dem- 
ocratic Presidential  nomination  in  1868. 
Several  other  Republican  Senators  had  in- 
dicated a  purpose  to  join  Conkling  in 
voting  against  seating  Hayes.  When  the 
time  came  for  action,  Conkling  was  con- 
veniently absent,  the  Republican  Senators 
who  had  indicated  their  purpose  to  follow 
Conkling  were  minus  their  leader,  and 
thereupon  concluded  to  maintain  their 
party  standing  by  voting  with  the  ma- 
jority. Kate  Chase  had  gotten  in  her 
work.     She  was  avenged. 

Colonel   McClure   is   authority   for   the 


statement  that  at  a  certain  stage  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Louisiana  Returning 
Board  a  single  word  from  Tilden  would 
have  secured  the  electoral  vote  of  that 
State  for  him. 

Don  Cameron  was  Grant's  Secretary  of 
War  while  all  this  was  going  on.  Cam- 
eron was  a  determined  sort  of  fellow.  He 
let  it  become  distinctly  known  that  a  de- 
cision in  favor  of  Hayes  and  Wheeler 
would  be  enforced  with  all  the  power  at 
his  command.  This  had  much  to  do  with 
creating  apprehension  in  the  public  mind 
that  civil  war  might  result  from  the  con- 
troversy over  the  electoral  count.  Presi- 
dent Grant  would  doubtless  have  con- 
curred in  such  procedure,  although  he 
made  but  slight  concealment  of  his  belief 
that  the  eight  electoral  votes  of  Louisiana 
belonged  to  Tilden,  conceding  Florida  and 
South  Carolina  to  Hayes. 

The  enormity  of  this  political  crime  is 
thus  characterized  by  A.  M.  Gibson  in  the 
"History  of  the  Great  Fraud  of  1876-7": 

"On  Tuesday,  November  7,  1876,  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  by  their 
suffrages,  selected  for  President  and  Vice- 
President,  Samuel  J.  Tilden  and  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks,  and  were  deprived  of  their 
choice  by  illegal  methods,  bolstered  by 
frauds,  perjuries  and  forgeries. 

"Sectional  prejudices,  engendered  by 
years  of  violent  political  agitation,  and 
intensified  by  civil  war,  the  excitement  of 
a  fiercely  contested  Presidential  campaign, 
and  vast  and  widely  ramifying  financial 
interests,  warped  the  judgment  of  many 
good  men  and  constrained  them  then  to 
countenance  and  acquiesce  in  the  acts  of 
politicians  bent  on  self-aggrandizement, 
intent  upon  the  gratification  of  their  am- 
bition, and  determined,  at  all  hazards,  to 
perpetuate  their  power.  Calm  reflection, 
sober  reasoning,  deliberate  consideration 
in  the  midst  of  the  wild  excitement  of  that 
hour,  was  perhaps  more  than  ought  to  have 
been  expected.     .     .     . 

"What  a  monstrous  crime  it  was !  And 
what  dire  disasters  and  innumerable  woes 
it  would  inevitably  have  led  to,  if  the  man 
who  represented  the  cause  of  liberty  and 
law,  justice  and  right  had  not  been  a  true 
patriot,  a  great  statesman,  a  wise  political 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


philosopher!  Humanity  would  have  had 
cause  to  mourn  had  not  Samuel  J.  Tilden 
possessed  a  well-poised,  evenly-balanced, 
serene  mind,  and  had  not  those  he  repre- 
sented been  consistent  and  stanch  friends 
of  law  and  order.  Had  he  been  an  aspir- 
ing demagogue,  a  selfishly  ambitious  poli- 
tician, instead  of  a  broad-minded,  far-see- 
ing leader  of  men,  civil  war,  in  all  human 
probability,  could  not  have  been  averted. 
But  he  possessed  that  rare  quality  of  look- 
ing beyond  the  present  turmoil  and  divin- 
ing the  evolutions  of  the  public  conscience. 
He  reposed  implicit  confidence  in  the  peo- 
ple. Had  his  advice  been  heeded  by  those 
who  aspired  to  the  leadership  of  their 
party  in  Congress  there  would  have  been 
no  resort  to  an  extra  constitutional 
tribunal  to  decide  the  electoral  dispute. 
He  would  have  had  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives plant  itself  firmly  on  its  consti- 
tutional rights  and  calmly  awaited  the 
result.  The  position  would  have  been  im- 
pregnable. Desperate  as  were  the  men 
who  were  seeking  to  set  aside  the  constitu- 
tionally-expressed will  of  the  people,  they 
would  not  have  dared  to  assume  the  fear- 
ful responsibility  of  unsettling  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Government.  The  timid  Dem- 
ocratic leaders  in  Congress  disregarded 
Mr.  Tilden's  advice  and  accepted  the  arbit- 
rament of  a  tribunal  so  constituted  as  to 
leave  to  the  determination  by  chance  the 
deciding  vote. 

"How  dignified,  manly  and  self-respect- 
ing was  the  bearing  and  conduct  of  Mr. 
Tilden  during  the  eventful  months  inter- 
vening between  the  7th  of  November,  1876, 
and  the  4th  of  March,  1877  !  Personally  it 
was  not  a  deprivation  to  lose  the  Presi- 
dency. Predisposed  to  the  life  of  a  stu- 
dent, weary  of  the  strife  of  the  forum,  pos- 
sessing ample  fortune,  caring  not  for  the 
pomp  and  circumstance  of  official  life,  Mr. 
Tilden,  at  sixty-three  years  of  age,  with 
health  enfeebled  by  unremitting  attention 
to  his  clients,  private  and  public,  and  by 
unselfish  labor  in  the  cause  of  Democratic 
institutions  and  good  government,  would 
have  greatly  preferred  the  unalloyed  pleas- 
ure of  private  life,  the  communion  with 
books,  the  recreation  of  travel,  and  the  so- 
ciety of  congenial  friends,  to  the  vast,  the 
more  than  herculean  labor  of  'working  out 
a  reform  of  systems  and  policies,'  and  ex- 
tirpating 'the  cancerous  growths  of  false 
constructions  and  corrupt  practices'  during 
'years    of    continuous    maladministration. 


under  the  demoralizing  influence  of 
internecine  war,  and  of  bad  finance.'  He 
would  not  have  been  content  with  'gliding 
through  an  official  routine.'  He  had  'never 
accepted  official  service  except  for  a  brief 
period,  for  a  special  service,  and  only  when 
the  occasion  seemed  to  require  .... 
that  sacrifice  of  private  preferences  to  the 
public  welfare.'  For  forty  years,  without 
thought  of  an  official  career,  he  had  'de- 
voted at  least  as  much  thought  and  effort 
to  the  duty  of  influencing  aright  the  action 
of  the  governmental  institutions'  of  his 
'country,  as  to  all  other  objects.'  He  had 
acted  upon  the  belief  that  "there  is  no  in- 
strumentality in  human  society  so  poten- 
tial in  its  influence  upon  mankind  for  good 
or  evil  as  the  governmental  machinery  for 
administering  justice  and  for  making  and 
executing  laws.  Not  all  the  eleemosynary 
institutions  of  private  benevolence  to 
which  philanthropists  may  devote  their 
lives,  are  so  fruitful  in  benefits  as  the 
rescue  and  preservation  of  this  machinery 
from  the  perversions  that  make  it  the  in- 
strument of  conspiracy,  fraud  and  crime 
against  the  most  sacred  rights  and  inter- 
ests of  the  people.'  " 

CONDEMNED  BY  INDIANA  DEMOC- 
RACY. 

In  State  convention  assembled,  on  the 
19th  day  of  June,  1878,  the  Democrats  of 
Indiana  condemned  the  infamy  of  1876-7 
in  these  emphatic  terms: 

"That  we  abhor  and  hold  up  to  public 
detestation  the  leaders  in  the  Republican 
party  who  secretly  connived,  and  with 
barefaced  efi'rontery  carried  out  the 
scheme,  by  and  through  venal  returning 
boards,  whereby  Samuel  J.  Tilden  and 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  the  people's  choice 
for  President  and  Vice-President,  were 
wrongfully  kept  out  of  the  positions  to 
which  a  free  people  had  called  them.  We 
hold  it  up  as  the  monster  crime  of  the  age, 
a  crime  against  free  government,  a  crime 
against  the  elective  franchise  and  a  crime 
that  can  only  be  condoned  when  the  male- 
factors who  seated  a  fraud  in  the  Presi- 
dential chair  are  driven  from  power  and 
consigned  to  everlasting  infamy  by  the 
people  whom  they  have  outraged.  And  we 
denounce  the  act  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  in  appointing  to  high  and 
lucrative  positions  the  corrupt  members  of 
the  returning  boards,  and  condemn  the  acts 


(273) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


of  Federal  officers  in  attempting  to  inter- 
fere with  the  rights  and  powers  of  the 
State  courts  in  the  prosecution  of  these 
criminals." 

INDIANA  VOTE,  1876. 
For  Governor — October  Election. 

James  D.  Williams,  Democrat 213,219 

Benjamin    Harrison,    Republican..   208,080 

Henry  W.  Harrington,  Greenbacker     12,710 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Isaac  P.  Gray,  Democrat 212,076 

Robert  S.  Robertson,  Republican..   206,641 

Richard   Gregg,   Greenbacker 15,388 

For  President — November   Election. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Democrat 213,526 

•     Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  Republican.    208,011 

Peter  Cooper,  Greenbacker 9,533 

Congressman  Godlove  S.  Orth,  of  La- 
fayette, was  the  original  nominee  of  the 
Republicans  for  Governor.  Soon  after  his 
nomination  developments  at  Washington 
connected  Orth  with  some  guano  deals  in 
Venezuela  that  were  very  annoying  to  the 
Republican  leaders.  Discussion  of  the  af- 
fair intensified  popular  feeling  and  finally 
led  to  Mr.  Orth's  withdrawal  from  the 
ticket.  Genera]  Benjamin  Harrison,  who 
was  Orth's  chief  competitor  for  the  nom- 
ination, was  induced  to  accept  the  tender 
by  the  State  central  committee  to  fill  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  Mr.  Orth's  with- 
drawal. General  Harrison  at  once  entered 
upon  a  vigorous  campaign  and  did  his 
utmost  to  avert  defeat  at  the  polls.  But 
the  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  sturdy  Vin- 
cenne?  farmer,  "Blue  Jeans"  Williams, 
was  so  pronounced  that  all  of  General 
Harrison's  eloquence  and  extraordinary 
ability  as  a  lawyer  proved  unavailing.  The 
bull's  eye  was  "sot."  Among  the  common 
people  "Blue  Jeans"  had  a  decided  prefer- 
ence over  "kid  gloves." 

CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION. 

New  men  were  chosen — in  the  Second 
District,  Thomas  R.  Cobb,  Democrat,  in 
place  of  James  D.  Williams,  resigned,  and 
Andrew  Humphreys,  chosen  to  fill  vacancy 
caused  by  resignation;  in  the  Third  Dis- 
trict, Geo.  A.  Bicknell,  Democrat,  in  lieu 


of  Speaker  Michael  C.  Kerr,  who  died,  and 
Nathan  T.  Carr,  chosen  to  fill  vacancy ;  in 
the  Fourth  District,  Leonidas  Sexton,  Re- 
publican, to  succeed  Jeptha  D.  New,  Dem- 
ocrat; in  the  Fifth  District,  General 
Thomas  M.  Browne,  Republican,  to  suc- 
ceed Wm.  S.  Holman,  Democrat;  in  the 
Seventh  District,  John  Hanna,  Republican, 
to  succeed  Franklin  Landers,  Democrat; 
in  the  Ninth  District,  Michael  D.  White, 
Republican,  to  succeed  Thomas  J.  Cason, 
Republican ;  in  the  Tenth  District,  Major 
William  H.  Calkins,  Republican,  to  succeed 
William  S.  Haymond,  Democrat.  The 
Congressmen  who  succeeded  themselves 
were:  Benoni  S.  Fuller,  Democrat,  in  the 
First  District;  Milton  S.  Robinson,  Re- 
publican, in  the  Sixth  District;  Morton  C. 
Hunter,  Republican,  in  the  Eighth  Dis- 
trict; Jam.es  L.  Evans,  Republican,  in  the 
Eleventh  District;  Andrew  H.  Hamilton, 
Democrat,  in  the  Twelfth  District,  and 
John  H.  Baker,  Republican,  in  the  Thir- 
teenth District.  Thus  the  delegation  stood 
four  Democrats  to  nine  Republicans.  In 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  State  voted  Dem- 
ocratic by  over  5,000  at  both  the  October 
and  the  November  election,  this  dispropor- 
tion was  chiefly  attributable  to  the  ad- 
vantage enjoyed  by  the  Republicans  in 
gerrymandering  the  State  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  1873. 

DEATH  OF  SPEAKER  KERR  AND 
SENATOR  MORTON. 
Two  distinguished  members  of  Con- 
gress, from  Indiana,  died  in  1876  and 
1877.  Michael  C.  Kerr,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  five  times  chosen  a 
member  of  that  body,  passed  away  after 
a  lingering  illness,  August  19,  1876,  at 
Rockbridge  Alum  Springs,  in  the  State 
of  Virginia,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years, 
five  months  and  four  days.  He  was  sur- 
vived by  a  devoted  wife  and  an  only  son. 
Prior  to  his  distinguished  service  in  Con- 
gress he  practiced  law  at  New  Albany, 
officiated    as    city    attorney,    represented 


(274) 


HISIORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


Floyd  county  in  the  General  Assembly, 
and  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  he  served  the 
State  with  marked  ability  as  Reporter  of 
Supreme  Court.  He  was  a  man  of  extra- 
ordinary intellectuality.  His  knowledge  was 
varied  and  luminous.  His  devotion  to 
principle  was  intiexible.  Expediency  sel- 
dom swerved  him  therefrom.  For  honesty 
and  integrity  his  record  was  unsullied. 
The  accumulation  of  riches  gave  him  no 
concern.  The  welfare  of  his  country  was 
uppermost  in  his  mind  and  uniformly 
guided  his  public  career. 

Senator  Oliver  P.  Morton  died  after  a 
lingering  illnes."?,  November  1,  1877.  Orig- 
inally a  Democrat,  he  severed  his  connec- 
tion with  that  party  in  1854  on  account 
of  Ihe  slavery  question.  Two  years  later 
he  was  made  the  nominee  of  the  newly 
formed  Republican  party  for  Governor 
and  defeated  by  Ashbel  P.  Willard.  In 
1860  Morton  accepted  second  place  on  the 
Republican  State  ticket  and  was  elected. 
By  a  previous  understanding  Henry  S. 
Lane  resigned  as  Governor,  having  about 
the  same  time  been  chosen  United  States 
Senator.  In  1864  Morton  was  nominated 
for  Governor  and  in  the  fall  elected  over 
Joseph  E.  McDonald.  In  the  winter  of 
1867  Governor  Morton  was  elected  United 
States  Senator,  to  succeed  Mr.  Lane,  who 
failed  to  meet  popular  expectation  and  had 
therefore  ceased  to  be  a  factor  in  Indiana 
politics.  From  1861  to  the  end  of  his 
earthly  career  Oliver  P.  Morton  was  the 
undisputed  leader  of  his  party  in  Indiana, 
though  not  without  enemies  within  the 
organization.  It  is  generally  understood 
that  it  was  Morton's  influence,  silently  ex- 
erted, that  humiliated  Schuyler  Colfax  in 
1872  by  being  denied  a  renomination,  with 
Grant,  to  the  Vice-Presidency.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  however,  it  is  due  to  state  that 
Mr.  Colfax  invited  his  own  defeat  by  mak- 
ing it  known  that  he  did  not  desire  a 
renomination  to  that  office  and  that  in  a 
quiet  way  he  sought  to  succeed  Grant  in 
1872  as  the  Republican  nominee  for  the 
Presidency.     Upon  discovering  that  this 


could  not  be  accomplished  he  became  an 
avowed  candidate  for  renomination  to  the 
office  he  then  held.  Opposition  in  unex- 
pected quarters  rendered  such  renomina- 
tion impossible.  Thus  Colfax's  long  pub- 
lic career  ended  when  he  retired  from 
the  vice-presidential  chair  in  1871^,  being 
succeeded  by  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Senator  Morton  was  a  candidate  for  the 
Presidential  nomination  in  1876,  but 
failed  to  develop  the  strength  his  friends 
had  confidently  counted  on.  The  real 
choice  of  that  convention  was  James  G. 
Blaine.  By  the  bull-dog  tenacity  and  po- 
litical cunning  of  the  Grant-Conkling- 
Cameron  forces  the  defeat  of  Blaine  was 
accomplished  by  these  factions  concentrat- 
ing their  support  on  Governor  Rutherford 
B.  Hayes,  who.se  nomination  was  accom- 
plished on  the  seventh  ballot. 

Senator  Morton,  intense  partisan  that 
he  was,  may  be  said  to  have  been  quite 
chary  about  bestowing  compliments  on 
political  opponents ;  yet  he  felt  impelled  to 
3peak  thus  eulogistically  in  his  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  the  departed  Speaker  of 
the  National  House  of  Representatives: 

"His  name  will  be  remembered  with 
pride  and  with  affection  in  Indiana.  He 
was  one  of  her  most  highly  favoi-ed  and 
gifted  sons,  and  it  gives  me  satisfaction  to 
bear  testimony  to  his  patriotism.  I  believe 
he  was  a  devout  lover  of  his  country,  and 
went  for  that  which  he  believed  was  for 
the  best.  I  have  always  given  him  credit 
for  his  integrity,  for  his  patriotism  and 
for  love  of  his  country,  and  the  strongest 
testimony  which  I  can  bear  to  the  char- 
acter of  Mr.  Kerr  is  to  say  that  he  was  re- 
garded by  men  of  all  parties  in  Indiana  as 
an  honest  man,  an  able  man,  a  patriotic 
man,  and  that  his  death  was  mourned  by 
all  his  neighbors  and  by  all  who  knew  him 
without  distinction  of  party." 

Neither  Kerr  nor  Morton  accumulated 
wealth,  although  both  could  have  done  so 
had  they  felt  thus  inclined.  Public  .ser- 
vice had  greater  attraction  for  them  than 
the  pursuit  of  riches.  Morton  had  a  larger 
share  of  the  world's  goods  than  Kerr.    As 


(275) 


HISTORl'      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


a  matter  of  fact  the  latter  lived  and  died 
a  poor  man.  With  opportunities  to  make 
money,  possessed  by  few,  he  chose  to  do 
that  which  was  right,  preferring  a  good 
name  to  great  riches.  When  on  his  death 
bed  he  said  to  his  son  and  only  child :  "I 
have  nothing  to  leave  you,  my  son,  except 
my  good  nam.e.  Guard  it  and  your 
mother's  honor,  and  live  as  I  have  lived. 
Pay  all  my  debts,  if  my  estate  will  war- 
rant it  without  leaving  your  mother  pen- 
niless. Otherwise  pay  what  you  can,  and 
then  go  to  my  creditors  and  tell  them  the 
truth,  and  pledge  your  honor  to  wipe  out 
the  indebtedness."  In  1862,  when  Mr. 
Kerr  went  into  politics  he  had  a  fine  law 
practice,  which  his  entrance  into  public 
life  measurably  destroyed.  At  a  bar  which 
contained  an  Otto,  a  Crawford,  a  Smith,  a 
Browne,  a  Howk,  a  Stotsenburg,  and  other 
leading  men,  he  ranked  with  the  best. 

Mr.  Kerr,  unlike  a  goodly  number  of 
other  Indiana  politicians,  emphatically  de- 
murred to  being  a  trimmer.  He  had  con- 
victions, strong  ones  at  that,  on  all  ques- 
tions of  public  policy.  He  disdained  to 
trim  his  sails  to  catch  the  popular  breeze. 
What  he  held  to  be  right  he  manfully  and 
courageously  maintained.  Naturally  this 
led  to  the  development  of  factional  hos- 
tility. In  several  campaigns  he  not  only 
had  the  common  enemy  to  fight  but  also 
members  of  his  own  party  who  were  mis- 
led into  embracing  and  championing  false 
governmental  doctrines.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  being  elected  by  large  majorities. 
In  1864  he  defeated  Rev.  W.  W.  Curry 
by  a  majority  of  1,793.  In  1866  he  had 
pitted  against  him  a  strong  man  like  Gen- 
eral Walter  Q.  Gresham,  whom  he  de- 
feated by  1,743  votes.  Two  years  later  he 
beat  Gresham  a  second  time,  by  6,436  ma- 
jority. In  1870  he  defeated  a  popular 
opponent  by  5,834  votes.  During  one  of 
these  campaigns  Mr.  Kerr  encountered 
some  opposition  within  his  own  party.  I 
was  very  partial  to  Mr.  Kerr,  both  on  ac- 
count of  his  sturdy  fidelity  to  principle  and 


by  reason  of  his  superior  ability.  I  learned 
to  admire  and  honor  him  because  he  was 
so  sincere  in  his  convictions  and  so  free 
of  demagogy.  So,  when  he  communicated 
an  earnest  desire  that  I  come  down  into 
his  district  and  deliver  some  speeches  in 
his  behalf  I  cheerfully  responded.  The 
greater  part  of  a  week  was  thus  spent. 
By  special  request  I  made  the  Kerr  home 
my  stopping  place.  And  a  most  delightful 
home  it  was.  The  family  consisted  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kerr  and  her  mother.  Amia- 
bility, aff'ection  and  mutuality  reigned  su- 
preme in  that  happy  household.  Sam,  the 
only  child,  was  away  at  school.  Mr.  Kerr 
and  myself  had  separate  meetings — that 
is  to  say,  we  did  not  go  to  the  same  places 
to  speak,  the  conclusion  having  been 
reached  that  each  of  us  should  have  a 
monopoly  of  the  speaking  in  the  afternoon 
or  night,  as  the  case  might  be.  But  we 
managed  somehow  to  "turn  in"  about  the 
same  time,  usually  a  little  after  midnight. 
Whosoever  came  in  first  would  await  the 
arrival  of  the  other  before  retiring.  Sit- 
ting before  the  open  fire  grate,  admiring 
the  playful,  blue  flames  as  they  ascended 
from  and  circled  around  the  chunks  of  soft 
coal;  luxuriating  in  a  fragrant  cigar; 
guardedly  quaffing  occasional  draughts 
from  the  seasoned  product  of  the  Rhenish 
vineyards ;  discussing  politics,  religion,  in- 
dustry, etc.,  the  hours  passed  only  too 
swiftly.  What  a  delightful  entertainer 
and  conversationalist  Michael  C.  Kerr 
proved  himself  during  those  ever  memor- 
able hours!  What  a  pity  that  a  man  of 
his  sturdy  qualities  should  have  died  so 
young,  so  short  a  time  after  his  elevation 
to  the  Speakership  of  the  American  House 
of  Representatives ! 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  never  met  or 
talked  with  Senator  Oliver  P.  Morton.  I 
heard  him  speak  once  or  twice,  but  never 
had  an  introduction  to  him.  And  yet  he 
seems  to  have  taken  quite  an  interest  in 
me.  After  C._  L.  Vallandigham  had  pro- 
mulgated  his    "new    departure"    doctrine 


(  276) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCTvACY 


1   8   1    (>  -  1   9   1   « 


and  its  general  acceptance  by  Democrats 
Morton  sent  his  trusted  lieutenant,  Cap- 
tain Hiram  Iddings,  then  pension  agent 
I'or  the  State  of  Indiana,  to  me  with  a 
message  that  the  opportune  time  had  come 
for  a  young  man  like  myself  to  get  into 
the  Republican  fold.  Captain  Iddings  told 
me  how  painstakingly  Senator  Morton 
had  kept  tab  on  my  political  activity,  how 
greatly  he  admired  my  fighting  qualities, 
etc.,  etc.  It  so  happened  that  Captain  Id- 
dings  and  I  had  been  wann  friends  ever 
since  I  had  come  into  the  State,  and  I 
was  very  fond  of  him.  Giving  close  atten- 
tion to  what  he  communicated  in  behalf  of 
Senator  Morton,  I  said  to  him : 

"Captain,  doubtless  you  remember  the 
conference  into  which  I  was  cunningly  in- 
veigled by  George  A.  Mitchell  in  1868, 
when  twenty-three  of  the  most  prominent 
Republicans  of  Noble  county  tried  to  make 
me  believe  that  I  ought  to  become  editor 
of  the  KendaUvlUc  Standard,  which  con- 
cern its  owner  valued  at  $6,000  and  which 
these  twenty-three  Republicans  volun- 
teered to  buy  and  present  to  me  with  their 
compliments.  You  also  recall  the  fact  that 
in  these  overtures  was  included  the 
promise  of  a  pledge  signed  by  all  the  lead- 
ing Republicans  of  the  district  that  I 
should  be  sent  to  Congress  within  four 
years.  Doubtless  you  remember  also  how 
disconcerted  and  amazed  those  twenty- 
three  prominent  Republicans  were  when 
in  reply  I  said  to  them  that  whenever 
political  affairs  of  this  country  so  shaped 
themselves  as  to  make  it  apparent  that 
the  welfare  of  the  Republic  demanded  the 
Republican  party  to  be  put  and  kept  in 
power,  I  would  come  within  the  fold  with- 
out any  seductive  inducements  being  held 
out  to  me.  You  remember  distinctly,  do 
you  not,  how  chopfallen  these  men  were 
over  my  disappointing  answer,  and  yet 
how,  afterward,  a  number  of  them  ex- 
pressed their  admiration  for  the  steadfast- 
ness then  and  there  exhibited?  Refusal 
to  accept  so  alluring  an  offer  was  a  revela- 
tion and  an  unprecedented  surprise  to 
them.  Though  Vallandigham  has  accepted 
the  amendments  to  the  constitution  as 
final  and  binding,  I  am  not  going  to  give 
approval  to  any  such  high  handed  abuse  of 
power  as  resorted  to  by  carpet-baggers  in 


the  South  and  by  the  fraudulent  ratifica- 
tion of  the  fifteenth  amendment,  making 
wholly  unprepared  voters  of  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  ignorant  negroes.  Say 
to  Senator  Morton  that  I  appreciate  his 
partiality  for  me,  but,  reiterating  and  re- 
affirming what  I  said  at  the  conference  in 
the  back  room  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Kendallville  in  1868,  I  must  respectfully 
but  firmly  decline  his  generous  offer  to 
turn  over  to  me  an  up-to-date  newspaper 
plant  at  P'ort  Wayne  with  a  $4,000  sinecure 
attachment." 

That  these  overtures  must  have  had  the 
benefit  of  Senator  Morton's  earnest  con- 
sideration was  subsequently  confirmed  by 
Morton's  brother-in-law.  Colonel  Wm.  R. 
Holloway,  when  upon  meeting  me  at  the 
State  House,  years  after  the  Senator  had 
passed  away,  he  told  me  how  grievously 
disappointed  and  chagrined  Mr.  Morton 
was  over  the  failure  to  bring  me  into  po- 
litical fellowship  with  himself.  Smilingly 
I  said  in  reply  that  I  was  too  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Morton's  great 
speech  at  Richmond,  Ind.,  in  1865  even 
tacitly  to  approve  what  he  in  that  mas- 
terly argument  had  shown  to  be  so  per- 
nicious; so  destructive  in  its  effect  and  .so 
menacing  to  the  Republic  itself. 

A  recital  in  detail  of  all  that  was  said 
at  the  two  conferences  briefly  narrated 
above  would  make  thrillingly  interesting 
political  history.  For  obvious  reasons  this 
is  the  first  time  any  publicity  has  ever 
been  given  to  these  episodes  in  political 
life,  though  Captain  Iddings  himself  came 
near  letting  the  cat  out  of  the  bag  in  1880. 
The  rank  and  file  of  the  Republican  party 
in  Noble  and  adjoining  counties  who  dur- 
ing the  Sixties  had  become  accustomed  to 
hearing  and  seeing  me  unmei'cifully  lam- 
basted on  account  of  politics  would  have 
been  amazed  had  they  known  that  their 
leaders  were  planning  and  conniving  to 
place  me  at  the  head  of  the  Republican 
county  organ  and  to  send  me  to  Congress. 

The  ease  with  which  Senator  Morton,  in 
the  early  70's,  succeeded  in  demonstrating 
to  Jason  B.  Brown  that  under  the  opera- 


(  277  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


tion  of  Vallandigham's  "New  Departure" 
alluring  avenues  were  afforded  to  migrate 
from  the  barren  fields  of  Democracy  into 
the  green  pastures  of  Republicanism,  and 
the  celerity  with  which  that  fiery  Demo- 
crat was  made  territorial  secretary  of 
Montana,  must  have  led  Indiana's  Repub- 
lican chieftain  to  believe  that  transforma- 
tions of  this  sort  might  be  effected  as 
easily  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  as 
they  were  in  the  southern. 

WISE  COUNSELOR  FOR  MANY 
YEARS. 

Colonel  Thomas  Dowling  (1806-1876) 
was  born  in  Ireland,  came  to  America  in 
1814,  and  worked  for  Gales  and  Seaton 
on  the  National  Intelligencer,  and  while 
a  newspaper  man  in  Washington  acquired 
the  friendship  of  many  notable  persons  of 
much  value  to  him  in  later  life.  He  came 
to  Terre  Haute  in  1832  and  established 
the  Wahash  Courier,  which  he  sold  in 
1842.  He  then  became  proprietor  and  ed- 
itor of  the  Wabash  Express.  His  papers 
were  very  influential  in  Indiana  life.  He 
served  eight  years  in  the  Legislature,  was 
trustee  of  the  Wabash   and   Erie   Canal 


from  1850  till  his  death,  a  member  of  the 
City  Council  1867-1871,  and  County  Com- 
missioner in  1873,  and  also  an  officer  in 
the  Savings  Bank  from  1869  to  1876. 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  Whig  party 
he  identified  himself  with  the  Democratic 
party  and  continued  to  act  in  that  line 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  In  State  and 
county  politics  he  was  always  considered, 
and  his  advice  had  much  to  do  in  mould- 
ing the  course  of  his  party.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  a  member  of  the 
National  Democratic  Committee.  During 
quite  an  extended  period  he  was  always 
a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  State  Con- 
vention, a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions,  and  generally  took  with  him 
a  complete  platform.  For  the  most  part 
these  platforms  of  his  in  whole  or  in  great 
part  were  adopted. 

He  was  a  contemporary  of  Governor 
Joseph  A.  Wright,  Senator  Edward  A. 
Hannegan,  D.  W.  Voorhees,  of  his  own 
party,  and  a  personal  friend  though  po- 
litical adversary  of  John  P.  Usher,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  in  the  cabinet  of 
President  Lincoln,  and  of  Colonel  R.  W. 
Thompson. 


(  278) 


[Chapter  XXXVI.] 

DEMOCRATIC  BUOYANCY  RETURNS 

IN  1878 

POPULAR  INDIGNATION   OVER   ELECTORAL  FRAUD  IMPELS 
DEMOCRATIC  LANDSLIDE 


HEN  the  Indiana  Democracy 
TiTj  met  in  State  convention  at  In- 
lA/l  dianapolis,  February  20,  1878, 
f  f  I  there  were  few,  if  any,  among 
the  delegates  who  had  any 
doubt  about  the  outcome  of  the 
fall  election.  The  shameful  an- 
nulment of  the  popular  verdict  in  the 
Presidential  contest  of  1876  by  returning 
board  methods  proved  very  unpalatable 
political  pabulum  to  a  good  many  Repub- 
licans who  were  uneducated  to  the  per- 
nicious doctrine  of  might  making  right. 
Then  there  came  to  the  surface  other  mat- 
ters that  had  a  tendency  to  cool  Republican 
ardor  and  abate  Republican  zeal.  The 
masterful  leadership  of  the  Republican 
forces  ceased  when  the  spirit  of  Oliver  P. 
Morton  fled  into  the  unfathomable  be- 
yond; the  economical  administration  of 
the  farmer  Governor,  James  D.  Williams, 
gave  unbounded  satisfaction,  and  the  Dem- 
ocratic heart  throbbed  with  gratification 
over  the  assignment  of  Daniel  W.  Voorhees 
to  a  seat  in  the  upper  branch  of  Congress 
as  the  colleague  of  Senator  McDonald. 

When  official  responsibility  imposed 
upon  Governor  Williams  the  duty  of  tem- 
porarily naming  a  successor  to  Senator 
Morton,  there  was  no  diversity  of  opinion 
among  Democrats  as  to  who  should  be  the 
man.  It  was  on  the  12th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1877,  that  Voorhees  was  sworn  in  as 
one  of  Indiana's  Senators  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States.  This  appointment 
held  good  until  the  Legislature  of  1879 
convened  in  January.  Thus  the  people 
were  afforded  opportunity  to  pass  judg- 
ment on  Governor  Williams's  action  in 
selecting,  temporarily,  a  successor  to  Sen- 


ator Morton.  The  judgment  rendered  at 
the  polls  in  1878  was  peculiarly  gratifying 
to  Senator  Voorhees  in  this,  that  the  ag- 
gregate majority  for  members  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  who  voted  for  him  both  for 
the  short  and  the  long  term  was  the  larg- 
est in  the  history  of  the  State.  His  sub- 
sequent re-elections,  in  1885  and  1891, 
gave  him  three  full  terms  and  a  fraction 
of  Morton's,  and  afforded  him  splendid 
opportunity  to  apply  his  master  mind  to 
the  solution  of  many  problems  that  pre- 
sented themselves  during  the  most  impor- 
tant years  of  his  eventful  official  life. 

The  committee  on  permanent  organiza- 
tion consisted  of  Colonel  A.  T.  Whittlesey, 
M.  S.  Mavity,  S.  B.  Difenderfer,  Daniel 
Blocher,  C.  B.  Bentley,  C.  S.  Burr,  James 
J.  Smiley,  Eli  K.  Miller,  Leander  McClurg, 
Richard  Huncheon,  George  D.  Tate,  Ben- 
jamin F.  Ibach,  Dr.  G.  W.  McConnell.  For 
Permanent  Chairman  it  had  under  consid- 
eration Governor  Hendricks  and  Congress- 
man William  S.  Holman.  The  friends  of 
the  latter  gracefully  yielded  to  the  naming 
of  Mr.  Hendricks  for  this  post  of  honor. 

At  promptly  10  o'clock  State  Chairman 
Mahlon  D.  Manson  rapped  the  convention 
to  order.  The  choice  of  the  committee  on 
permanent  organization  was  unanimously 
and  enthusiastically  approved.  Upon  as- 
suming the  gavel.  Governor  Hendricks  de- 
livered one  of  those  inspiring  speeches  for 
which  he  had  become  justly  noted  locally 
as  well  as  nationally.  John  W.  Kern  of 
Kokomo  was  made  secretary  of  the  con- 
vention. His  thirteen  assistants  were 
nearly  all  newspaper  men:  H.  J.  May,  J. 
R.  Simpson,  Josiah  Gwin,  John  L.  Bracken, 
John  M.  Higgs,  R.  F.  Stewart,  N.  E.  Alex- 


(279  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 1 


-  1 


ander,  Lycurgus  Dalton,  Isaac  H.  Ferris, 
A.  J.  Hoover,  T.  P.  Davis,  E.  A.  K.  Hackett 
and  D.  W.  Sweet. 

Unusual  interest  was  bestowed  upon  the 
selection  of  members  of  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions.  This  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  the  money  question  had  become  one 
of  the  most  important  issues  before  the 
country.  The  committee  consisted  of  these 
widely-known  gentlemen,  quite  a  number 
of  whom  had  received  nominations  for 
Congress:  E.  R.  Hatfield,  W.  D.  Bynum, 
Jason  B.  Brown,  Charles  Korbly,  W.  S. 
Holman,  Dr.  William  Glenn,  Franklin 
Landers,  George  A.  Knight,  John  R.  Coff- 
roth,  Morgan  H.  Weir,  D.  D.  Dykeman,  Eli 
W.  Brown,  John  B.  StoU. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  Thomas  Collins,  Posey  county. 

2.  H.  V.  Norvell,  Greene. 

3.  S.  B.  Voyles,  Washington. 

4.  Alonzo  Green  Smith,  Jennings. 

5.  John  D.  Smith,  Randolph. 

6.  William  Mitchell,  Hancock. 

7.  Colonel  C.  C.  Matson,  Putnam. 

8.  Wiley  E.  Dittemore,  Owen. 

9.  John  Lee,  Montgomery. 

10.  H.  E.  Wadsworth,  Laporte. 

11.  H.  M.  Kidd,  Wabash. 

12.  Harry  B.  Smith,  Blackford. 

13.  C.  A.  O.  McClellan,  DeKalb. 

The  feeling  that  a  nomination  by  this 
convention  was  equivalent  to  an  election 
had  the  effect  of  bringing  into  the  race  an 
unusual  number  of  aspirants.  No  less  than 
six  contestants  for  the  nomination  for 
Secretary  of  State  were  striving  for  mas- 
tery. They  were:  August  Bradley  of 
Floyd,  Henry  A.  Peed  of  Martin,  Will  A. 
Peelle  of  Randolph,  David  S.  Gooding  of 
Hancock,  John  R.  Cravens  of  Jefferson  and 
John  Gilbert  Shanklin  of  Vanderburg. 

Three  ballots  were  required  to  effect  a 
nomination.  The  winner  in  the  exciting 
race  proved  to  be  John  Gilbert  Shanklin, 
editor  of  the  Evansville  Courier,  a  giant 
physically,  a  writer  of  unusual  ability,  and 
an  orator  of  high  order.  He  made  a  bril- 
liant campaign  and  contributed  no  little  to 
the  triumph  of  the  party  at  the  October 
election. 


For  the  office  of  Auditor  of  State  there 
was  an  equally  lively  contest.  Those  seek- 
ing the  nomination  were:  A.  F.  Arm- 
strong of  Howard,  M.  D.  Manson  of  Mont- 
gomery, L.  B.  Fullwiler  of  Miami,  John 
Nester  of  Warrick,  R.  D.  Slater  of  Dear- 
born and  J.  M.  Haskins  of  Clay. 

After  the  second  ballot  Mr.  Armstrong 
moved  that  the  old  Democratic  warhorse, 
General  Mahlon  D.  Manson,  be  declared 
the  unanimous  choice  of  the  convention. 
This  was  responded  to  with  a  thunderous 
"aye,"  and  General  Manson  was  so  de- 
clared. 

Hot  as  were  the  contests  over  the  two 
preceding  nominations,  they  were  tame 
affairs  as  compared  with  the  fight  over  the 
State  Treasurership.  That  was  a  battle 
royal.  Nine  contestants  had  entered  the 
race.  These  were  the  entries:  William 
Fleming  of  Allen  county,  W.  0.  Foley  of 
Decatur,  Joseph  Henderson  of  St.  Joseph, 
J.  S.  Williams  of  Tippecanoe,  Edgar  Hen- 
derson of  Madison,  John  J.  Cooper  of 
Marion,  Henry  Kramer  of  Spencer,  E. 
Stephenson  of  Dubois  and  Patrick  Shan- 
non of  Vigo. 

In  the  beginning  it  seemed  to  be  an  even 
race  between  Fleming,  Cooper  and  Shan- 
non. The  second  ballot  made  it  a  gallop- 
ing race  between  Fleming  and  Cooper.  The 
third  ballot  made  Fleming  the  winner  by 
602 1/2  to  447  for  Cooper  and  21  scattering. 
It  was  a  remarkable  contest  and  served  as 
a  sharp  reminder  of  the  hot  fight  over  the 
Auditorship  in  1872. 

Don't  imagine,  however,  that  these  three 
contests  ended  the  wild  scramble  for  nomi- 
nations. Eight  lawyers  of  note  and  dis- 
tinction aspired  to  the  office  of  Attorney- 
General.  The  names  of  most  of  them  were 
familiar  to  the  people  of  Indiana.  They 
have  a  familiar  sound  even  to  the  present 
generation:  T.  W.  Woollen  of  Johnson 
county,  Frank  M.  Trissal  of  Marion,  Jo- 
seph Ristine  of  Fountain,  R.  W.  Miers  of 
Monroe,  J.  S.  Scobey  of  Decatur,  Hugh  D. 
McMullin  of  Dearborn,  W.  R.  Harrison  of 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


Morgan,  W.  C.  Forrey  of  Fayette.  On  the 
final  ballot  Thomas  W.  Woollen  was  de- 
clared winner.  His  vote  was  545;  that  of 
his  next  highest  competitor  462;  scatter- 
ing. 25. 

An  exceedingly  interesting  race  was 
that  over  the  Superintendency  of  Public 
Instruction.  James  H.  Smart  of  Fort 
Wayne  was  a  prime  favorite,  but  the  fact 
of  Allen  county  already  having  been 
honored  by  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Flem- 
ing for  Treasurer  of  State,  it  was  argued 
that  it  would  be  manifestly  unjust  to  let 
"Allen  hog  it  all."  However,  this  argument 
failed  to  impress  delegates  to  any  consid- 
erable extent,  and  a  tabulation  of  the  final 
ballot  accorded  to  Mr.  Smart  the  bestowal 
of  a  merited  renomination.  The  various 
candidates  for  this  oflice  were:  A.  C. 
Goodwin  of  Clark  county,  T.  H.  Harrison 
of  Boone,  James  H.  Smart  of  Allen,  B.  M. 
Blount  of  Tipton,  William  R.  Norris  of 
Shelby,  W.  W.  Hibben  of  Marion  and  Alex. 
C.  Hopkins  of  Howard. 

THE  PLATFORM. 

The  main  planks  of  the  platform  of  1878 
as  unanimously  adopted  by  the  convention 
are  herewith  reproduced: 

"That  national  bank  notes  shall  be  re- 
tired, and  in  lieu  thereof  there  shall  be 
issued  by  the  Government  an  equal 
amount  of  treasury  notes  with  full  legal 
tender  quality. 

"That  we  are  in  favor  of  making  the 
United  States  notes,  commonly  called 
greenbacks,  a  full  legal  tender  in  payment 
of  all  debts,  public  and  private,  except  such 
obligations  only  as  are  by  the  terms  of  the 
original  contracts  under  which  they  were 
issued,  expressly  payable  in  coin. 

"That  the  right  to  issue  paper  money  as 
well  as  coin  is  the  exclusive  prerogative  of 
the  Government,  and  such  money  should 
be  issued  in  such  amounts  as  the  sound 
business  interests  of  the  country  may  from 
time  to  time  require. 

"We  are  in  favor  of  such  legislation  by 
Congress  as  will  authorize  the  taxation  by 
the  States  of  the  United  States  notes  in 
common  with  all  other  money. 

"That  we  are  in  favor  of  such  legislation 


as  shall  fix  the  legal  rate  of  interest  at  not 
e.xceeding  6  per  centum  per  annum. 

"We  demand  the  i-estoration  of  the  sil- 
ver dollar  of  4121/2  grains  to  the  coin  of  the 
country,  and  with"  full  legal  tender  quality 
in  the  payment  of  all  debts,  both  public  and 
private ;  and  that  the  coinage  thereof  shall 
be  unlimited,  and  upon  the  same  terms  and 
conditions  as  may  be  provided  for  the  coin- 
age of  gold. 

"The  Democratic  party  is  the  friend  of 
the  common  school  system,  and  will  in 
every  legitimate  way  labor  for  its  success, 
and  will  oppose  any  attempt  to  divert  any 
portion  of  the  common  school  fund  to  any 
sectarian  purpose." 

LEGISLATURE  POLITICALLY  MIXED. 
The  General  Assembly  of  1879,  chosen 
in  1878,  was  thus  constituted  politically: 
Senate — Democrats,  24;  Republicans,  23; 
Greenbackers,  3.  House — Democrats,  50; 
Republicans,  39;  Greenbackers,  11. 
CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION. 
Re-elected  to  Congress  in  1878  were 
Thomas  R.  Cobb,  Democrat,  in  the  Second 
district;  George  A.  Bicknell,  Democrat,  in 
the  Third;  Thomas  M.  Browne,  Republi- 
can, in  the  Fifth;  William  H.  Calkins, 
Republican,  in  the  Tenth;  John  H.  Baker, 
Republican,  in  the  Thirteenth.  New  mem- 
bers injected  into  the  delegation  were 
William  Heilman,  Republican,  in  the  First; 
Jeptha  D.  New,  Democrat,  in  the  Fourth ; 
Captain  William  R.  Myers,  Democrat,  in 
the  Sixth;  R-verend  Dr.  Gilbert  Dela- 
matyr.  Greenback  and  Democratic  nom- 
inee, in  the  Seventh ;  Andrew  J.  Hostetler, 
Democrat,  in  the  Eighth ;  Godlove  S.  Orth, 
Republican,  in  the  Ninth;  Calvin  Cowgill, 
Republican,  in  the  Eleventh;  Walpole  G. 
Colerick,  Democrat,  in  the  Twelfth.  This 
made  the  delegation  stand:  Democrats, 
6;  Republicans,  6;  Greenbacker,  1. 

DEMOCRATIC  MAJORITY,  ABOUT  14,000. 
Secretary  of  State — 

John  G.  Shanklin,  Democrat...    194,770 

I.  S.  Moore,  Republican 180,657 

Auditor  of  State— 

Mahlon  D.  Manson,  Democrat.    194,834 

A.  O.  Miller,  Republican 180,718 

Treasurer  of  State — 

William   Fleming,  Democrat...    194,143 
George  F.  Herriott,  Republican   180,574 


(281) 


[Chapter  XXXVIL] 


FAILURE  TO 


NOMINATE  THE  ''OLD 
TICKET" 


HAD  A  DEPRESSING  EFFECT  ON  THE  DEMOCRACY  THROUGH 
OUT  THE  LAND 


ROM  the  moment  the  Electoral 

.,  Commission  rendered  its  par- 
tisan decision  of  eight  to  seven 
in  favor  of  seating  Hayes  and 

Wheeler    in    the    Presidential 

and  Vice-Presidential  chairs 
an  earnest  hope  developed  in 
Democratic  minds  and  hearts  that  oppor- 
tunity might  be  presented  in  1880  to  ren- 
der popular  judgment  against  that  in- 
iquitous onslaught  on  the  majesty  of  the 
ballot.  Everywhere  public  sentiment  de- 
manded that  the  conspiracy  of  1876-7  be 
subjected  to  review  and  rebuke  by  the 
highest  tribunal — the  sovereign  voters  of 
the  land. 

In  course  of  time,  however,  the  una- 
nimity for  this  opportunity  to  rebuke  the 
crime  of  '77  was  somewhat  diminished  by 
discordant  notes.  Here  and  there  it  was 
declared  that  Mr.  Tilden  ought  to  have 
asserted  his  rights  more  vigorously  and 
determinedly;  that  he  ought  to  have  dealt 
more  candidly  with  the  leaders  in  Congress 
as  to  what  he  expected  or  desired  them  to 
do ;  that  he  failed  to  counsel  properly  with 
his  colleague  on  the  ticket,  Mr.  Hendricks ; 
that  at  the  supreme  moment  he  proved 
himself  unequal  to  the  emergency ;  that  ill- 
health  and  the  infirmity  of  age  might 
prove  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  rigors  of 
an  exciting  campaign,  and  that  under  all 
the  circumstances  it  might  perhaps  be 
better  to  go  before  the  country  with  new 
candidates  and  present-day  issues. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  over- 
whelming sentiment  of  the  Democracy 
continued  to  insist  upon  the  renomination 
of  the  ticket  of  1876.  State  upon  State  so 
declared  in  convention  up  to  1880,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  both  Mr.  Tilden 


and  Mr.  Hendricks  had  declared  that  they 
would  not  countenance  a  renomination  of 
themselves  to  these  respective  positions. 

With  a  view  to  settling  this  matter  once 
for  all,  the  A^e»'  York  World ,  in  the  latter 
part  of  1879,  sent  a  commissioner  to  In- 
diana to  obtain  from  Mr.  Hendricks  a 
definite  and  final  declaration  as  to  his  in- 
tentions. This  envoy,  upon  reaching  In- 
dianapolis, learned  that  Mr.  Hendricks  had 
gone  to  Foi't  Wayne  to  attend  an  im- 
portant case  pending  in  the  P'ederal  Court. 
Thereupon  the  envoy  proceeded  to  Fort 
Wayne  and,  making  an  appointment  with 
Mr.  Hendricks,  succeeded  in  getting  what 
he  had  been  sent  out  for  to  obtain — a  posi- 
tive declaration.  It  was  .stated  in  influen- 
tial circles  at  the  time  that  Mr.  Tilden  had 
tacitly  but  reluctantly  consented  to  make 
the  race  over,  provided,  of  course,  that  Mr. 
Hendricks  would  do  likewise.  No  separate 
action  was  admissible.  It  was  both  or  none. 
Mr.  Hendricks  declared  positively  that  he 
would  not  consent  to  again  going  on  the 
ticket  for  second  place.  That  settled  it  so 
far  as  Mr.  Tilden  was  concerned,  and 
settled  it  forever.  From  that  time  on  he 
dismissed  all  thought  of  again  entering 
upon  a  Presidential  race. 

In  the  "Life  of  Hendricks,"  by  Holcombe 
and  Skinner,  on  page  343,  is  to  be  found 
this  statement: 

"As  the  year  1880  approached  public  at- 
tention was  fixed  upon  Mr.  Hendricks.  The 
demand  for  the  old  ticket  was  very  strong, 
and  it  would  unquestionably  have  been 
nominated  but  for  two  reasons :  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks absolutely  declined  to  accept  an- 
other nomination  for  the  Vice-Presidency, 
and  Mr.  Tilden  decided  not  to  let  his  name 
go  before  the  convention.  The  letter  of 
the  latter  to  the  delegates  at  Cincinnati, 


(283) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


declining,  on  the  score  of  ill  health,  to 
accept  the  nomination  if  tendered  to  him, 
made  it  evident  that  the  old  ticket  was 
out  of  the  question." 

In  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel  of  Novem- 
ber 22,  1879,  was  reproduced  from  the 
Indianapolis  correspondence  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati  Enquirer  this  explanation  of  Mr. 
Hendricks'  attitude: 

"Hendricks  answered  an  inquiry  in  re- 
gard to  his  having  denounced  Tilden  in  the 
following  words:  .  .  .  "I  have  never 
denounced  Mr.  Tilden,  nor  have  I  censured 
him,  even.  I  did  not  attempt  to  advise  Mr. 
Tilden  as  to  his  course  after  the  election  in 
1876.  He  decided  his  course  without  sug- 
gestions from  me,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he 
thought  he  was  doing  that  which  would 
result  the  best  for  the  country.  As  to  my- 
self, I  have  always  thought  it  fortunate 
for  me  that  I  did  not  fill  the  Vice-Presi- 
dential office.  I  did  not  want  it,  because  it 
would  not  add  to  the  honors  I  have  had 
conferred  Upon  me  by  my  countrymen,  and 
in  a  financial  way  I  think  my  profession 
quite  as  profitable.'  " 

In  an  interview  published  in  the  Indian- 
apolis Journal  of  December  1,  1879,  Mr. 
Hendricks  is  quoted  on  the  first  page  as 
saying,  among  other  things: 

"My  reluctance  to  accept  the  second 
on  the  Presidential  ticket  has  never 
been  on  account  of  the  men  who  were  men- 
tioned for  the  first  place,  but  it  is  because 
I  do  not  want  the  place." 

Henry  Watterson,  who  was  very  near  to 
Mr.  Tilden  up  to  the  close  of  his  earthly 
career,  in  a  letter  dated  October  2,  1914, 
makes  this  statement: 

"In  1880  Mr.  Hendricks  was  himself  a 
candidate  for  President  and  would  listen 
to  nothing  else.  From  the  first  he  arrayed 
himself  against  the  renomination  of  the 
'old  ticket.'  I  was  not  at  any  time  in  his 
confidence ;  but  this  is  the  historic  fact." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  Mr.  Watterson 
makes  his  statements  far  more  emphatic. 
He  says  the  antagonism  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hendricks  to  Mr.  Tilden  was  very  pro- 
nounced and  that  no  cordial  feelings  ex- 
isted between  these  persons  from  the  time 
that  Mr.  Hendricks  failed  to  secure  the 
Presidential  nomination  at  St.  Louis. 


William  H.  English  conceived  the  idea 
that  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Hendricks  had  made 
himself  an  impossibility  for  the  Presi- 
dential nomination  in  1880  by  refusing  to 
give  his  consent  to  the  renomination  of  the 
"old  ticket,"  there  would  be  an  opening  for 
some  other  Indianian  to  secure  the  coveted 
prize.  He  subscribed  liberally  for  a  num- 
ber of  Democratic  papers  in  various  parts 
of  the  State  and  for  a  while  enjoyed  quite 
a  newspaper  boost  of  his  aspirations. 
When,  however,  the  State  convention  met 
in  June,  short  work  was  made  of  this 
boomlet.  The  delegates  to  the  Cincinnati 
convention  were,  as  four  years  before,  in- 
structed to  vote  as  a  unit  in  favor  of  the 
nomination  of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  for 
President. 

STATE  CONVENTION,  JUNE  9,  1880. 

The  Democracy  of  Indiana  met  in  State 
convention  on  the  9th  day  of  June.  Called 
to  order  by  State  Chairman  Benjamin  C. 
Shaw,  Hon.  Francis  T.  Hord  of  Columbus 
was  unanimously  selected  as  temporary 
chairman.  Upon  assuming  the  gavel  he 
delivered  a  ringing  speech,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  fittingly  characterized  the  elec- 
toral fraud  of  1876  as  the  foulest  political 
crime  of  the  century. 

Charles  A.  Munson  of  Fort  Wayne  was 
appointed  chief  sergeant-at-arms  with 
power  to  choose  assistants. 

The  committee  on  permanent  organiza- 
tion, headed  by  Colonel  Charles  Denby, 
reported  for  oflScers  of  the  convention 
Governor  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  for  Presi- 
dent and  John  W.  Kern  of  Kokomo  for 
secretary.  The  recommendations  of  the 
committee  were  unanimously  and  enthusi- 
astically approved  by  the  convention,  fol- 
lowed with  an  incisive  and  inspiring  ad- 
dress by  Indiana's  favorite  son. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  Dr.  J.  S.  Bemis,  Perry  county. 

2.  Dr.  H.  V.  Norvil,  Greene. 

3.  O.  O.  Stealey,  Clark. 

4.  William  H.  D.  Hunter,  Dearborn. 

5.  Richard  Coffee,  Brown. 


(  284  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  6  -  I  9  1  G 


6.  William  C.  Forrey,  Fayette. 

7.  James  M.  Cropsey,  Marion. 

8.  Joshua  Jump,  Vermilion. 

9.  A.  B.  Pitzer,  Tipton. 

10.  A.  B.  Crampton,  Carroll. 

11.  W.  J.  Hilligoss,  Huntington. 

12.  Charles  A.  Munson,  Allen. 

13.  H.  H.  Francis,  Laporte. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 


At 
John 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 


Large — David    S.    Gooding    of    Greenfield. 
R.  CoflFroth  of  Lafayette. 
Harry  C.  Pitcher,  Posey  county. 
John  C.  Briggs,  Sullivan. 
Bert  H.  Burrell,  Jackson. 
Green  Durbin,  Ripley. 
Francis  T.  Hord,  Bartholomew. 

6.  David  U.  Chambers,  Henry. 

7.  O.  J.  Glessner,  Shelby. 

8.  John  E.  Lamb,  Vigo. 

9.  Francis  Johnson,  Tippecanoe. 

10.  D.  D.  Dykeman,  Cass. 

11.  James  F.  McDowell,  Grant. 

12.  Andrew  Ellison,  Lagrange. 

13.  Woodson  S.  Marshall,  Kosciusko. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS 

At  Large — Senator  Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Sen- 
ator Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Judge  William  E.  Ni- 
black.  General  James  R.  Slack. 

1.  John  Nester,  Warrick  county. 
Dr.  W.  G.  Kidd,  Gibson. 

2.  William  A.  Traylor,  Dubois. 
A.  J.  Hostetler,  Lawrence. 

3.  James  A.  Cravens,  Washington. 
John  H.  Stotsenburg,  Floyd. 

4.  John  R.  Cravens,  Jefferson. 
Joseph  H.  Barkam. 

5.  D.  G.  Vawter,  Johnson. 
Eb.  Henderson,  Morgan. 

6.  William  Thistlewaite,  Wayne. 
Milton  James,  Delaware. 

7.  Oscar  B.  Hord,  Marion. 
W.  Scott  Ray,  Shelby. 

8.  George  A.  Knight,  Clay. 
William  Mack,  Vigo. 

9.  John  R.  Coffroth,  Tippecanoe. 
Theodore  Davis,  Madison. 

10.  Rufus  Magee,  Cass. 
D.  F.  Skinner,  Porter. 

11.  David  Studabaker,  Adams. 
Charles  H.  Brownell,  Miami. 

12.  Allen  Zollars,  Allen. 
O.  D.  Willett,  Noble. 

13.  Edward  Hawkins,  Laporte. 
A.  F.  Wilden,  Elkhart. 

There  was  a  sharp  contest  over  the  nom- 
ination  for   Governor.      Six   names   were 


presented  for  consideration:  Franklin 
Landers  of  Indianapolis,  Colonel  Isaac  P. 
Gray  of  Randolph  county,  Colonel  C.  C. 
Matson  of  Greencastle,  Judge  Alexander  C. 
Downey  of  Ohio  county,  Robert  C.  Bell  of 
Fort  Wayne  and  William  S.  Holman  of 
Aurora.  The  contest  from  the  beginning 
was  between  Landers  and  Gray.  But  for 
the  fact  that  the  latter  had,  while  a  Re- 
publican member  of  the  State  Senate  in 
1869,  taken  a  con.spicuous  part  in  forcing 
ratification  of  the  fifteenth  amendment, 
he  would  undoubtedly  have  received  the 
nomination  over  Mr.  Landers.  As  poli- 
ticians or  public  speakers  there  was  no 
comparison  between  the  two  men.  Lan- 
ders was  awkward ;  Gray,  dexterous. 
Suavity  did  not  enter  into  Landers's  make- 
up, but  there  was  no  question  about  his 
earnestness  of  purpose,  his  business  quali- 
fications and  his  understanding  of  public 
wants.  He  was  an  ardent  Greenbacker, 
but  not  an  impracticable  fiatist.  Gray  was 
about  as  adroit  a  politician  as  could  those 
days  be  found  in  the  arena.  On  the  final 
ballot  there  was  a  difi'erence  of  only  about 
a  dozen  votes.  Then  a  motion  made  by 
Mr.  Bell  and  seconded  by  Judge  Holman 
to  make  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Landers 
unanimous  prevailed.  Landers  appeared 
on  the  platform  and  accepted  the  nomina- 
tion in  a  characteristic  speech.  Then  there 
were  loud  calls  for  Gray,  but  before  the  gal- 
lant Colonel  could  make  his  way  to  the 
platfrom  Austin  H.  Brown  arose  and  said : 
"Before  Colonel  Gray  addresses  this  con- 
vention, I  wish  to  interpo.se  a  motion, 
which  is  that  Isaac  P.  Gray  be  declared  the 
unanimous  nominee  of  this  convention  as 
Lieutenant-Governor."  There  were  about 
a  half  dozen  a.spirants  for  the  place.  One 
after  another  seconded  the  motion,  with- 
drawing from  the  field  and  thus  eff'ecting 
Colonel  Gray's  nomination  by  acclamation, 
amidst  such  cheering  as  only  a  popular 
movement  can  evoke.  The  demonstration 
over  Colonel  Gray  left  no  doubt  as  to  his 
popularity  with  the  multitude. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


With  practical  unanimity  the  remainder 
of  the  ticket  was  made  up  of  the  follow- 
ing nominees : 

Secretary  of  State — John  G.  Shanklin  of 
Evansville. 

Auditor — General  Mahlon  D.  Hansen  of  Craw- 
fordsville. 

Treasurer — William  Fleming  of  Fort  Wayne. 

Attorney-General — Thomas  W.  Woollen  of 
Franklin. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — W.  C. 
Goodwin. 

The  spirit  of  the  convention  was  ex- 
cellent, yet  the  certainty  of  victory,  so  pos- 
itively asserted  two  years  before,  was  not 
at  this  time  foreshadowed  by  the  discern- 
ing ones  among  the  delegates. 

The  platform  adopted  by  the  convention 
was  well  worded,  vigorous  in  expression 
and  comprehensive  in  its  scope.  The  main 
planks  read  thus: 

"We,  the  Democracy  of  Indiana,  in  dele- 
gate convention  assembled,  congratulate 
the  Democracy  of  the  country  upon  the 
harmony  prevailing  within  its  organiza- 
tion, and  upon  its  unanimity  in  the  pur- 
posps  to  cast  behind  it  every  occasion  and 
sentiment  of  discord,  and  to  stand  as  one 
man  for  success  in  1880 ;  and  we  give  as- 
surance to  the  Democracy  of  the  country 
that,  accepting  the  declaration  of  princi- 
ples and  purposes  that  may  be  made  at 
Cincinnati,  and  the  candidates  who  may  be 
there  chosen,  we  will  give  to  them  our 
earnest  and  undivided  support. 

"The  coin  and  paper  money  of  the  coun- 
try should  be  of  uniform  value,  and  readily 
convertible,  and  should  have  as  great  pur- 
chasing power  as  the  money  of  other  first- 
class  commercial  countries  of  the  world, 
and  the  paper  money,  like  the  coin,  should 
be  furnished  by  the  United  States  and 
should  not  be  in  excess  of  such  quantity  as 
will  be,  and  remain  always,  at  par  with 
coin. 

"Inasmuch  as  the  outstanding  treasury 
notes  are  no  longer  necessary  to  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  use  of  its  credit,  and  are 
useful  only  as  money,  they  should  be  made 
subject  to  taxation,  the  same  as  other 
money. 

"We  congratulate  the  people  of  the  State 
that  by  the  action  of  the  Democrats  of  the 
last  legislature  in  basing  representation 
upon  population  and  contiguity  of  terri- 


tory only,  the  shame  and  taint  of  fraud 
have  been  removed  from  the  apportion- 
ment of  representation,  and  that  now  the 
people  will  be  equally  and  fairly  repre- 
sented. 

"We  hold  up  to  the  public  detestation 
the  conduct  of  the  leaders  in  the  Repub- 
lican party  in  placing  Hayes  and  Wheeler, 
by  criminal  practices  shocking  to  every 
honest  sentiment  and  damaging  to  our  in- 
stitutions, in  oftlces  to  which  they  were  not 
elected.  It  was  an  outrage  on  free  gov- 
ernment, and  a  crime  against  the  elective 
franchise  that  cannot  be  forgiven,  and 
must  not  be  repeated,  and  for  which  the 
guilty  parties  must  be  driven  from  power 
and  consigned  to  infamy.  And  we  hold  up 
to  public  detestation  the  conduct  of  the 
President  in  rewarding  the  guilty  parties 
by  conferring  upon  them  high  and  lucra- 
tive offices.  To  reward  crime  is  itself 
criminal." 

HANCOCK  AND  ENGLISH. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention 
was  held  in  Cincinnati  on  the  22nd  of  June. 
John  W.  Stevenson,  of  Kentucky,  was 
made  permanent  chairman.  Of  the  In- 
diana delegates  Senator  McDonald  served 
as  member  of  the  Committee  on  Perma- 
nent Organization;  W.  E.  Niblack  on  Cre- 
dentials, and  John  R.  Coffroth  on  Resolu- 
tions. 

Massachusetts  and  New  York  appeared 
with  contesting  delegations.  A  good  deal 
of  bitterness  was  injected  into  these  fac- 
tional contentions.  Tammany  was  on  hand 
with  a  contesting  delegation.  John  Kelly 
was  exceptionally  bitter  in  his  denuncia- 
tion of  Tilden  and  the  regular  organiza- 
tion. These  denunciations  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Tilden  might,  after  all,  have 
been  induced  to  make  the  race.  His  letter 
of  final  declination  was  not  made  public 
until  the  second  day,  and  then  only  after 
Tammany  had  emphasized  its  attitude  of 
hostility,  going  to  the  extreme  of  declaring 
that  it  would  not  support  Tilden  if  nom- 
inated. It  is  significant  that  in  the  resolu- 
tions denunciatory  of  the  electoral  fraud  of 
1876-7  Mr.  Tilden's  name  only  is  men- 
tioned, that  of  his    running    mate    being 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


ignored.  All  this  gives  color  to  the  belief, 
then  freely  expressed,  that  had  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks given  his  consent  to  the  renomina- 
tion  of  the  old  ticket,  the  convention  would 
undoubtedly  have  named  Tilden  and  Hen- 
dricks. 

Two  ballots  indicated  that  the  conven- 
tion's choice  lay  between  General  Winfield 
Scott  Hancock  and  Samuel  J.  Randall,  al- 
though Thomas  F.  Bayard,  Henry  B. 
Payne,  Allen  G.  Thurman,  Stephen  J. 
Field,  William  R.  Morrison  and  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks  had  some  strength.  After  a 
good  deal  of  shifting  the  final  ballot  gave 
Hancock  705,  Bayard  2,  Hendricks  30,  Til- 
den 1. 

Hendricks  started  out  with  501/2 ;  on  the 
second  ballot  dropped  to  31,  and  on  the 
final  ballot  to  30 — that  of  the  Indiana  dele- 
gation. 

The  Alabama  delegation  proposed  Wil- 
liam H.  English  of  Indiana  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent. Colonel  W.  F.  Vilas  of  Wisconsin 
took  the  platform,  and  on  his  motion  Mr. 
English  was  nominated  by  acclamation. 

The  two  great  nominating  speeches  de- 
livered at  this  convention  were  those  of 
Daniel  W.  Voorhees  in  naming  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks  and  of  Daniel  Dougherty  in 
presenting  the  name  of  General  Winfield 
Scott  Hancock.  Both  were  pronounced 
masterpieces  of  oratory. 

Some  interesting  incidents  are  connected 
with  the  Cincinnati  convention.  The  In- 
diana delegation,  as  already  stated,  had 
been  instructed  to  vote  as  a  unit  for  Hen- 
dricks for  President.  Oscar  B.  Hord,  Mr. 
Hendricks'  law  partner,  was  chairman  of 
the  delegation.  He  had  an  abiding  faith 
that  Mr.  Hendricks  could  be  nominated, 
and  nothing  could  shake  that  faith.  It  was 
clearly  demonstrated  that  a  majority  of 
the  convention  was  composed  of  friends  of 
Tilden.  This  in  itself  precluded  the  possi- 
bility of  Hendricks'  nomination  for  first 
place.  In  view  of  all  this,  some  of  the  In- 
diana delegates  felt  that  they  ought  to  be 
released  from  the  binding  force  of  the  in- 
struction.    Two  of  them,  Rufus  Magee  of 


Logansport  and  DeFos  Skinner  of  Val- 
paraiso, asked  to  be  so  released.  This 
pi-ovoked  a  heated  discussion  and  their  re- 
quest was  denied.  Senator  James  B.  Beck, 
John  G.  Carlisle  and  a  number  of  other 
equally  prominent  delegates  served  notice 
on  Senator  McDonald  that  they  had  de- 
cided to  place  him  in  nomination  for  the 
Presidency.  To  this  McDonald  replied: 
"You  must  not  try  to  do  that.  But  one 
man  can  put  me  in  nomination,  and  that 
is  Governor  Hendricks.  Without  his  con- 
sent I  cannot  be  a  candidate."  That  con- 
sent never  was  given,  although  General  M. 
E.  Ingalls,  president  of  the  "Big  Four" 
railway,  spent  nearly  an  entire  night  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hendricks  at  their  residence 
in  Indianapolis  to  procure  such  consent. 
General  Ingalls  was  induced  to  enter  upon 
this  mission  after  a  number  of  the  dele- 
gates had  been  apprised  of  the  situation. 
As  one  of  the  foremost  Democrats  of  Ohio 
he  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  outcome  of 
the  convention.  There  was  a  sharp  divi- 
sion of  sentiment  among  Ohio  Democrats, 
caused  by  the  entry  of  two  distinguished 
Buckeye  statesmen  for  the  Presidential 
nomination — Henry  B.  Payne  and  Allen  G. 
Thurman. 

In  a  special  train  General  Ingalls  sped  on 
to  Indianapolis.  Eagerly  the  Indiana  and 
Kentucky  delegations  awaited  his  return, 
some  of  the  delegates  staying  up  all  night 
to  hear  early  what  Ingalls  had  accom- 
plished. At  last  he  returned  and  sub- 
mitted his  report.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  conference  lasted  the  greater  part 
of  the  night.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  told  just 
how  matters  stood  at  Cincinnati ;  that  a 
strong  sentiment  in  favor  of  Senator  Mc- 
Donald's nomination  had  developed,  and 
that  McDonald  positively  forbade  the  use 
of  his  name  except  upon  approval  by  Mr. 
Hendricks.  At  times,  General  Ingalls  re- 
ported, Governor  Hendricks  seemed  in- 
clined to  yield,  but  when  he  wavered  Mrs. 
Hendricks  would  take  part  in  the  discus- 
sion. Finally  she  retired,  and  as  General 
Ingalls  was  compelled  to  return,  he  got  up 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


with  Governor  Hendricks,  who  walked 
with  the  General  to  the  door.  Ingalls 
again  urged  Hendricks  to  yield.  He  hesi- 
tated, finally,  bidding  Ingalls  adieu  with 
the  remark,  "I  will  think  it  over  and  talk 
with  Mrs.  Hendricks  in  the  morning,  and 
if  I  conclude  to  do  as  you  suggest,  I  will 
telegraph  you."  On  receiving  this  report, 
the  friends  of  McDonald  quickly  reached 
the  conclusion  that  no  telegram  would 
come,  and  none  came.  The  nomination  of 
General  Hancock  brought  that  matter  to  a 
finality. 

Up  to  this  time  the  relations  between 
Hendricks  and  McDonald  had  been  popu- 
larly regarded  as  unquestionably  cordial. 
Assuredly  they  had  been  such  for  at  least 
two  decades.  What  makes  the  disruption 
of  a  life-time  friendship  between  two  great 
men  peculiarly  lamentable  is  that  the 
trouble  in  this  instance  was  not  theirs,  but 
that  of  their  wives.  Out  of  this  estrange- 
ment grew  factional  disagreements  and 
contests  within  the  party  that  left  deplor- 
able results.  At  this  writing  only  two  or 
three  of  the  Indiana  delegation  to  the  Cin- 
cinnati convention  of  1880  are  living,  by 
far  the  greater  number  of  them  having 
gone  to  the  grave.  There  were  giants  in 
those  days.  The  great  triumvirate — Hen- 
dricks, McDonald  and  Voorhees — were 
necessary  to  one  another  and  each  wrought 
ably  when  they  picked  up  the  scattered 
threads  of  the  Democratic  party  after  the 
war  and  knitted  them  into  a  compact, 
militant  and  victorious  party.  Two  ambi- 
tious women  destroyed  the  friendship  that 
had  existed  between  these  trusted  and 
honored  leaders  of  men.  Though  but  little 
publicity  was  given  these  affairs  at  the 
time,  it  remains  a  deplorable  fact  that 
there  never  was  brought  about  any  real 
reconciliation  between  Hendricks  and  Mc- 
Donald. But  for  the  enmity  engendered 
by  ambitious  women  McDonald  would  have 
been  made  a  member  of  Cleveland's  first 
Cabinet.  He  would  have  proved  an  em- 
inently capable  Attorney-General.  Read- 
ers of  this  volume  who  may  feel  interested 


in  knowing  something  of  the  inner  feelings 
of  these  two  men  are  advised  to  read  Mc- 
Donald's formal  tribute  to  Hendricks  when 
the  Grim  Reaper  had  done  its  work,  and 
then  turn  to  Hendricks's  guarded  speech 
placing  McDonald  in  nomination  for  the 
Presidency  in  1884. 

PLANKS    IN   THE    NATIONAL   PLAT- 
FORM. 

The  planks  in  the  Cincinnati  platform  to 
which  especial  importance  was  attached 
are  herewith  reproduced  in  unabbreviated 
form: 

"Opposition  to  centralizationism  and  to 
that  dangerous  spirit  of  encroachment 
which  tends  to  consolidate  the  powers  of 
all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus  to  cre- 
ate, whatever  be  the  form  of  government, 
a  real  despotism.  No  sumptuary  laws; 
separation  of  Church  and  State  for  the 
good  of  each ;  common  schools  fostered  and 
protected. 

"Home  rule;  honest  money,  consisting  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  paper  convertible  into 
coin  on  demand;  the  strict  maintenance  of 
the  public  faith,  State  and  National;  and 
a  tariff"  for  revenue  only. 

'The  right  to  a  free  ballot  is  the  right 
preservative  of  all  rights,  and  must  and 
shall  be  maintained  in  every  part  of  the 
United  States. 

"The  existing  administration  is  the  rep- 
resentative of  conspiracy  only,  and  its 
claim  of  right  to  surround  the  ballot  boxes 
with  troops  and  deputy  marshals,  to  intim- 
idate and  obstruct  the  electors,  and  the  un- 
precedented use  of  the  veto  to  maintain  its 
corrupt  and  despotic  power,  insult  the  peo- 
ple and  imperil  their  institutions. 

"The  grand  fraud  of  1876-77,  by  which, 
upon  a  false  count  of  the  electoral  votes  of 
two  States,  the  candidate  defeated  at  the 
polls  was  declared  to  be  President,  and, 
for  the  first  time  in  American  history,  the 
will  of  the  people  was  set  aside  under  a 
threat  of  military  violence,  struck  a  deadly 
blow  at  our  system  of  representative  gov- 
ernment; the  Democratic  party,  to  pre- 
serve the  country  from  a  civil  war,  sub- 
mitted for  a  time  in  firm  and  patriotic 
faith  that  the  people  would  punish  this 
crime  in  1880;  this  issue  precedes  and 
dwarfs  every  other;  it  imposes  a  more  sa- 
cred duty  upon  the  people  of  the  Union 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

than  ever  addressed  the  conscience  of  a  the  Vice-Presidency.     Mainly  with  a  view 

nation  of  freemen.  to  malving  the  campaign  exceptionally  in- 

"We  execrate  the  course  of  this  admin-  teresting  to  Mr.  English,  the  Republicans 

istration  in  makmg  places  m  the  civil  serv-  „^„„„..„  ,  „  „„,^„i„f„  i:„4.  ^c  +u„  rv,^^f^,„„o 

ice  a  reward  for  political  crime,  and  de-  f  ?,""/'^,.^  complete  list  of  the  mortgages 

mand   a   reform   by   statute   which   shall  held  by  him  in  Marion  county,  as  recorded 

make  it  foi'ever  impossible  for  the  defeat-  in  the  courthouse.    The  list  of  these  mort- 

ed  candidate  to  bribe  his  way  to  the  seat  gages  covered  two  pages  of  a  newspaper, 

of  a  usurper  by  billeting  villains  upon  the  ^  made  "mighty  interesting  reading"  for 

^^?.Sif'  ,  X-        J- o  1  T  m-ij  i.  cynics,  but  was  far  from  edifying  to  Dem- 

"The  resolution  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden  not  ,        t^     ,  ,,        .,  .         , ,.     ,.  ,,    , 

again  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  exalted  "^^^t^-     Doubtless  this  publication  added 

place  to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  somewhat  to  the  depression  of  the  cam- 

of  his  countrymen,  and  from  which  he  was  paign. 

excluded  by  the  leaders  of  the  Republican         Unwisely  a  series   of   joint   discussions 

party,  is  received  by  the  Democrats  ot'  the  between  the  rival  candidates  for  Governor, 
United  S  ates  with  sensibility,  and  they  ^,j^^^^    ^     ^ 

declare   their   conndence   in    his   wisdom,  ,  .  „    ^  j,    ,, 

patriotism,  and  integrity,  unshaken  by  the  was  made  a  conspicuous    feature    of    the 

assaults  of  a  common  enemy,  and  they  fur-  campaign.    Landers  had  become  consider- 

ther  assure  him  that  he  is  followed  into  the  ably  elated  over  the  success  that  attended 

retirement  he  has  chosen  for  himself  by  his   campaigning   in    1874   for   a   seat   in 

the  sympathy  and  respect  of  his  f ellow-cit-  Congress.    He  doubtless  imagined  that  he 
izens,  who  regard  him  as  one  who,  by  ele-  °,  ^  ,,  ,,  .         •■,,,. 

vating  the  standards  of  public  morality,  would  fare  equally  well  in  a  joint  debate 

merits  the  lasting  gratitude  of  his  country  with  Mr.  Porter.     The  difference  between 

and  his  party.  a   school   district   campaign   and   a   State 

"The  Democratic  party  is  the  friend  of  canvass  became  apparent  to  Mr.  Landers 

labor  and  the  laboring  man,  and  pledges  ^^f^gj,  ^g  had  had  a  few  rounds  with  his 

rL^^'n^the'o'rre.'?^""^'  '"=  ""■  ^^versary    a  sM.led  debater  and  a  cap.i- 

vatmg  public  speaker. 
THE  CAMPAIGN.  Despite  the  heroic  efforts  of  Democratic 

workers,  the  tide  turned  in  favor  of  the 

General  Winfield  Scott  Hancock  was  a  Republicans.  Issues  were  presented  that 
grand  character.  Much,  very  much,  could  proved  enticing  to  that  class  of  voters  who 
be  said  in  his  favor.  Popular  audiences  f^^dly  connect  business  prosperity  with 
could  easily  be  brought  to  a  pitch  of  en-  election  returns.  Inability  to  center  the 
thusiasm  by  dwelling  on  his  admirable  ^^^^  jsg^g  ^^  t^e  majesty  of  the  ballot 
qualities  as  man,  citizen,  administrator  ^^^  ^he  inevitable  result  of  the  failure  to 
and  warrior.  In  course  of  time  consider-  renominate  the  old  ticket  by  the  Cincinnati 
able  enthusiasm  was  injected  into  the  convention.  The  golden  opportunity  un- 
campaign.  This  had  the  effect  of  inspir-  failingly  to  win  a  certain  and  glorious  vic- 
ing a  goodly  number  of  doubting  ones  with  t^j-y  had  been  foolishly  frittered  away, 
confidence  in  the  final  outcome  of  the  con-  r^^ie  penalty  followed  with  unerring  cer- 
test.  As  in  former  years,  Indiana  was  the  ^^inty  and  painful  severity.  Here  is  the 
real  battleground.  Its  State  election  in  story  of  the  verdict  of  the  ballot : 
October — the  last  one,  by  the  way — was 

depended  upon  as  a  trustworthy  indicator  STATE    AND    NATIONAL    ELECTION, 
of  what  was  to  be  expected  in  November.  1880. 

William  H.  English  became  chairman  of  Pqj^  GOVERNOR 

the  Democratic  State  Committee  and  as  ^^^^^.^  ^   p^,.^^^_  Republican.;...  231,405 

such  personally  managed    the    1880    cam-  Franklin   Landers,   Democrat 224,452 

paign,  notwithstanding  his  nomination  to  Richard   Gregg,   Greenbacker 14,881 


10— History 


(289) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY— 181 


FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Thomas  Hanna,   Republican 229,642 

Isaac  P.  Gray,  Democrat 224,872 

Thomas  F.  DeBruler,  Greenbacker     16,202 

The  votes  cast  for  other  State  candi- 
dates did  not  vary  largely.  Emmanuel  R. 
Hawn  defeated  John  G.  Shanklin  in  the 
race  for  Secretary  of  State  by  a  plurality 
of  5,134;  Edwin  H.  Wolfe's  plurality  over 
General  Mahlon  D.  Manson  for  Auditor  of 
State  was  4,774;  that  of  Roswell  S.  Hill 
over  William  Fleming  for  State  Treasurer 
was  5,852. 

FOR  PRESIDENT. 

James  A.  Garfield,  Republican 232,164 

Winfield  S.  Hancock,  Democrat.  .  .   225,522 
James  B.  Weaver,  Greenbacker .  .  .      12,986 

In  the  General  Assembly  of  1881  there 
were  in  the  Senate  twenty-four  Repub- 
licans, twenty-four  Democrats,  two  Green- 
backers.  In  the  House,  fifty-eight  Repub- 
licans, forty-one  Democrats,  one  Green- 
backer. .  This  preponderance  enabled  the 
Republicans  to  elect  their  able  champion, 


General  Benjamin  Harrison,  to  the  United 
States  Senate  to  succeed  Joseph  E.  Mc- 
Donald. 

CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION. 

Eight  Republicans  and  five  Democrats 
were  elected  to  Congress.  The  Democrats 
thus  chosen  were  Thomas  R.  Cobb  in  the 
Second  district,  Strother  M.  Stockslager  in 
the  Third,  William  S.  Holman  in  the 
Fourth,  Cortland  C.  Matson  in  the  Fifth, 
Walpole  G.  Colerick  in  the  Twelfth.  Of 
these  Stockslager  and  Matson  were  new 
members. 

The  Republicans  chosen  were  William 
Heilman  from  the  First,  Thomas  M. 
Browne  from  the  Sixth,  Stanton  J.  Peelle 
from  the  Seventh,  Robert  B.  F.  Pierce  from 
the  Eighth,  Godlove  S.  Orth  from  the 
Ninth,  Mark  L.  DeMotte  from  the  Tenth, 
George  W.  Steele  from  the  Eleventh,  Wil- 
liam H.  Calkins  from  the  Thirteenth. 
Peelle,  Pierce  and  Steele  were  new.  Orth 
died  during  his  term  and' was  succeeded 
by  Charles  T.  Doxey. 


[Chapter  XXXVIII.] 


BY  THE  DEATH  OF  GOVERNOR  WILLIAMS 

NOVEMBER  20, 1880,  ISAAC  P.  GRAY  BECAME  ACTING  GOVERNOR 
—SERVED  NEARLY  TWO  MONTHS 


HE  irony  of  fate  denied  to  Isaac 
P.  Gray  the  coveted  nomination 
for  Governor  and  later  on  a  re- 
election to  the  office  to  which 
he  had  been  chosen  in  1876,  yet 
decreed  that  he  serve  as  Gov- 
ernor for  nearly  two  months. 
Governor  James  D.  Williams  died  after  a 
lingering  illness,  at  Indianapolis,  Novem- 
ber 20,  1880.  So  excellent  had  proved  his 
administration,  so  strongly  had  he  in- 
trenched himself  in  popular  affection,  that 
the  announcement  of  his  death  caused 
genuine  grief  throughout  the  Common- 
wealth. 

James  Douglas  Williams  was  born  in 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  January  16,  1808 ; 
moved  to  Indiana  and  located  at  what  is 
known  as  Wheatland,  in  Knox  county,  in 
1818 ;  engaged  in  farming ;  was  first  elected 
a  member  of  the  Indiana  Legislature  in 
1843,  and  thereafter  served  almost  con- 
tinuously for  nearly  thirty  years  in  one  or 
the  other  branches  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly. In  1874  he  was  elected  to  Congress. 
During  his  term  he  was  nominated  and 
elected  Governor.  December  1,  1876,  he 
resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  thus  afford- 
ing him  a  few  weeks  of  time  within  which 
to  prepare  for  the  inauguration  in  the 
early  part  of  January. 

During  the  1876  campaign  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  was  Mr.  Williams's  constant 
companion  on  the  stump.  Not  being  an 
orator,  Mr.  Williams  modestly  confined 
himself  to  a  brief  discussion  of  State  mat- 
ters. More  elaborate  discussion  of  State 
and  National  issues  was  wisely  delegated 
to  Mr.  Voorhees.  The  relations  between 
these  two  men  naturally  became  close  and 
cordial.  It  is  fitting,  therefore,  that  a 
richly  merited  tribute  to  Governor  Wil- 
liams by  Senator  Voorhees  be  incorporated 


into  this  volume.  Upon  the  unveiling  of  a 
monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  Gov- 
ernor Williams  at  Wheatland,  Ind.,  July 
4,  1883,  Senator  Voorhees  reviewed  the 
career  of  the  departed  in  a  manner  that 
will  make  it  possible  for  the  present  gen- 
eration to  gain  a  fair  conception  of  the 
chief  characteristics  of  the  plain  farmer 
who  in  1876  was  elected  Governor  over  the 
distinguished  and  accomplished  lawyer, 
Benjamin  Harrison,  afterward  chosen 
United  States  Senator  and  later  on  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  In  the  course  of 
his  eloquent  address  Senator  Voorhees 
said: 

"In  looking  at  the  career  of  Governor 
Williams  and  in  studying  the  influences 
under  which  his  character  was  developed, 
a  long  and  most  striking  retrospective 
view  is  presented  to  the  mind.  Born  in 
1808,  he  came  to  Knox  county  in  1818. 
Here,  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  he  began  his 
life  work  on  the  farm,  and  here,  at  the 
close  of  more  than  three-score  years  and 
ten,  he  rests  in  the  soil  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  people  he  loved  so  well.  He  lived 
in  Indiana  and  in  this  county  sixty-two 
years,  beholding  with  intelligent  observa- 
tion the  growth  and  development,  step  by 
step,  of  his  own  State,  and  of  all  the  North- 
western States,  until  from  a  nominal  be- 
ginning he  witnessed  the  glory  of  their  civ- 
ilization and  power  fill  the  whole  earth. 
His  life  embraced  almost  three-quarters  of 
the  present  marvelous  century,  and  cov- 
ered such  a  period  of  human  progress  as 
the  eye  of  man  had  not  rested  on  until 
then,  in  all  the  wide  and  varied  annals  of 
human  effort. 

"His  first  reading  was  on  grave  and  seri- 
ous matters.  His  youthful  mind  knew 
nothing  of  fiction.  His  thoughts  and  life 
were  real.  He  read  the  messages  of  the 
early  Governors  —  Jennings,  Hendricks 
and  others,  in  which  there  glowed  a  fer- 
vent love  of  country  and  a  firm  faith  in  the 
people. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


1  6 


"The  glorious  traditions  and  the  high 
American  flavor  of  the  Revolution  were 
also  fresh,  and  everywhere  prevalent,  and 
as  a  boy  Governor  Williams  often  listened 
in  silent  wonder  to  men  not  much  past 
middle  life  who  had  been  under  fire  with 
Washington  and  in  council  with  Jefferson, 
Madison  and  Monroe.  It  has  been  said 
that  from  lack  of  education  and  travel  he 
had  a  certain  narrowness  of  view  in  public 
affairs.  On  the  contrary,  Governor  Wil- 
liams was  developed  and  instructed  from 
youth  to  robust  manhood  in  a  school  of 
thought  and  action  which  never  yet  failed 
to  make  broader,  stronger  and  more  useful 
men  than  the  Greek  lexicon  or  a  tourist's 
guide-book.  He  formed  his  earliest  ideas 
of  government  and  of  public  duty  from  the 
purest  and  best  sources,  and  there  was  not 
a  proscriptive,  intolerant  or  narrow  senti- 
ment in  his  nature.  His  love  of  country 
was  of  the  old-fashioned  kind,  inspired  by 
the  spirit  of  1776,  and  it  was  broad  enough 
to  embrace  every  star  of  the  flag,  and 
every  foot  of  American  soil  beneath  its 
folds.  But  there  was  still  another  power- 
ful reason  why  Governor  Williams  carried 
into  the  discharge  of  his  duties  a  sound 
judgment  and  a  stanch  heart.  He  lived 
and  died  a  practical  farmer.  He  knew  the 
laboring  people  better  than  any  public  man 
Indiana  ever  produced.  He  was  born  in 
their  ranks  and  remained  there  to  the  end. 
He  was  at  home  in  the  broad  and  whole- 
some field,  and  he  was  familiar  with  the 
wants  and  ways,  the  hardships,  and  the 
hopes  of  those  who  eat  their  bread  in  the 
sweat  of  their  faces. 

"From  the  days  of  Cincinnatus  to  the 
present  time,  men  seeking  popular  favor 
have  been  paraded  and  eulogized  as  farm- 
ers, who  could  not  tell  a  field  of  wheat 
from  a  field  of  oats,  but  the  farmer  in 
whose  memory  we  are  here  today  drove  his 
team  and  held  the  plow ;  planted  the  corn, 
attended  its  growth  and  gathered  it  in; 
sowed  his  small  grain,  and  reaped  his  har- 
vests ;  raised  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs, 
and  fed  them  with  his  own  hands.  He 
made  more  than  two  blades  of  grass  to 
grow  where  none  had  grown  before,  and 
thus  advanced  the  general  welfare.  In 
the  pursuit  of  these  labors  he  became  deep- 
ly imbued  with  sympathy  for  the  agricul- 
tural classes,  and  with  an  earnest  desire 
for  their  improvement.  At  an  early  pe- 
riod of  his  life  he  became  actively  identi- 
fied with  agricultural  associations,  and  for 


more  than  thirty  years  was  a  controlling 
member  of  the  Indiana  State  Fair  organi- 
zation. This  tribute,  so  long  continued, 
and  coming  as  it  did  from  the  tillers  of  the 
soil,  was  peculiarly  grateful,  and  I  doubt 
if  any  political  honor  was  ever  as  pleasant 
to  him  or  as  highly  prized  as  his  promi- 
nent connection  with  the  county  and  State 
fairs  of  Indiana.  He  delighted  to  inter- 
view a  herd  of  blooded  cattle  as  keenly  as 
a  reporter  delights  to  interview  a  string 
of  candidates  for  the  Presidency.  His  en- 
joyment over  a  bunch  of  fine  sheep,  or  a 
lot  of  cultivated  hogs,  looking  comfortable 
from  high  living  and  handsome  from  high 
breeding,  was  very  great  and  very  genu- 
ine. In  his  admiration  of  the  horses  he 
had,  without  reading  Bacon,  adopted  the 
Baconian  philosophy.  He  looked  to  utility 
rather  than  to  style  and  speed.  His  pride 
was  in  the  farmer's  horse  rather  than  in 
the  flying  courser  of  the  race  track.  Grow- 
ing grain,  the  tall,  dark  corn,  the  rich, 
golden  wheat,  the  clover  fields  and  broad 
meadow  lands  were  to  him  a  source  of  un- 
failing interest  and  continuous  comment. 

"While  traversing  every  part  of  the 
State  a  few  years  ago,  and  as  the  bright 
and  beautiful  farms  seemed  to  glideby 
like  a  painted  panorama  on  exhibition, 
how  often  have  I  heard  his  exclamations 
of  delight  and  listened  to  his  comments  on 
the  m.ore  than  magical  changes  he  had  wit- 
nessed. He  had,  indeed,  in  his  own  day 
and  generation  seen  the  wilderness  put  off 
its  savage  garb  and  array  its  waste  places 
in  the  richest  robes  of  progress,  culture 
and  refinement.  I  have  heard  him 
recall  the  fact  that  within  his  recol- 
lection not  a  tree  of  the  primeval 
forest  had  been  disturbed  by  the  white 
man's  ax  where  now  stands  the  splendid 
capital  of  our  State.  George  Pogue,  the 
first  settler  of  Indianapolis,  was  massacred 
by  a  squad  of  Shawnee  Indians  at  a  point 
not  far  from  the  Governor's  Circle,  in 
April,  1821,  and  Governor  Williams,  then 
an  intelligent  boy  thirteen  years  old,  could 
easily  remember  the  painful  excitement  as 
the  nev/s  traveled  from  settlement  to  set- 
tlement along  the  banks  of  White  river 
and  down  here  to  his  own  home.  It  is  not 
any  wonder,  .therefore,  that  he  looked  with 
peculiar  emotions  on  the  present  condition 
of  Indiana,  the  happy  home  of  two  million 
healthy,  prosperous  people,  her  fields  yield- 
ing more  agricultural  .wealth  in  proportion 
to  area  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union ; 


(292) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


her  coal,  timber,  stone  and  fine  clays  giv- 
ing employment  at  good  wages  to  nearly 
one  hundred  thousand  laborers,  the  prod- 
ucts of  her  manufactories  reaching  the  an- 
nual value  of  $200,000,000;  and  all  these 
elements  of  wealth  and  diversified  indus- 
tries in  no  necessaiy  conflict,  but  capable, 
under  wise  legislation,  of  being  made  to 
promote,  foster  and  encourage  each  other. 

"He  also  saw  the  cause  of  education 
move  forward  with  a  force  and  rapidity 
unknown  in  any  other  Commonwealth ;  he 
beheld  the  whole  face  of  the  State  adorned 
and  lit  up  with  commodious  free  schools, 
with  colleges,  seminaries,  high  schools  and 
universities ;  he  exulted  in  the  fact  that  ris- 
ing generations  had  abundant  access  to 
pathways  of  learning  and  science,  and  that 
there  were  so  few  left  in  Indiana  who  were 
unable  to  read  and  write  their  mother 
tongue. 

"in  all  these  stupendous  developments 
Governor  Williams,  whether  in  private  or 
public  life,  always  bore  an  active  and  hon- 
orable part.  In  1843,  then  being  thirty- 
five  year?  of  age,  he  was  first  elected  to  the 
Indiana  Legislature  as  a  member  of  the 
House,  and  from  that  time  to  the  day  of 
his  death  he  was  rarely,  if  ever,  out  of 
public  employment.  During  a  period  of 
thirty  years  he  was  almost  continuously 
elected  and  re-elected  to  the  Legislature, 
either  as  a  member  of  the  House  or  the 
Senate.  Such  long  and  unbroken  confi- 
dence on  the  part  of  those  who  knew  him 
best  is  a  far  more  eloquent  eulogy  than  can 
be  uttered  over  his  grave  on  this  occasion. 
He  who  in  State  or  Nation  has  legislated 
faithfully  and  wisely  for  the  homes  and 
the  fireside  happiness  of  his  people,  needs 
not  the  aid  of  the  orator  or  sculptor  to  be 
remembered  by  his  own  and  by  future  gen- 
erations. Governor  Williams  took  a  prom- 
inent part  in  all  important  legislation  in 
Indiana  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, and  he  was  the  best  informed  man 
in  the  legislative  history  of  the  State  I 
have  ever  had  the  good  fortune  to  know. 


The  grasp  of  his  memory  was  strong  and 
reliable,  and  he  was  an  authority  on  dis- 
puted points  in  reference  to  the  action  of 
different  legislatures. 

"The  administration  of  Governor  Wil- 
liams as  Chief  Magistrate  of  Indiana  is 
too  recent  and  fresh  in  the  public  mind  to 
call  for  discussion  or  extended  notice  at 
this  time.  It  is  an  honorable  part  of  the 
history  of  a  magnificent  State;  a  State 
whose  career  in  all  the  elements  of  great- 
ness has  been  with  the  speed  and  strength 
of  the  eagle's  wing  in  his  flight  toward  the 
sun.  Governor  Williams  loved  Indiana  and 
has  left  no  blot  on  her  name.  He  was  her 
thirteenth  executive  elected  by  the  people, 
and  in  the  noble  fraternity  of  his  prede- 
cessors in  that  high  oflice  he  stands  a  peer. 
Others  were  more  learned  in  books,  but 
none  were  wiser  in  the  principles  of  self- 
government,  nor  purer  in  administering 
them  for  the  welfare  of  the  laboring,  pro- 
ducing, business  interests  of  the  State. 
Others  fifled  the  public  ear  with  higher 
notes  of  eloquence,  but  no  one,  as  Governor 
of  Indiana,  ever  filled  the  hearts  of  the 
people  with  more  approbation  for  his  offi- 
cial conduct  or  greater  love  for  his  personal 
character.  But  two  of  those  who  preceded 
him  in  the  executive  chair  are  amongst  the 
living,  one  of  whom  is  here  to  join  in  honor 
to  the  dead.  Long,  long  may  their  useful 
and  honorable  lives  be  spared,  and  at  last, 
when  the  final  hour  of  rest  shall  come  to 
them,  as  it  will  to  all  of  .us,  may  the  mem- 
ories which  cluster  around  their  names  in 
the  hearts  of  all  their  fellow-countrymen, 
without  respect  to  creed  or  party,  be  as 
kind,  as  free  from  reproach  and  as  gentle 
in  their  judgment  as  those  which  now 
gather  around  the  name  of  James  D.  Wil- 
liams and  hallow  the  spot  where  he  sleeps !" 

Among  the  distinguished  persons  in  at- 
tendance at  the  unveiling  of  the  Williams 
monument  were  Governor  Conrad  Baker 
and  Senator  Benjamin  Harrison. 


(293) 


[Chapter  XXXIX. ] 


OBLIGING  AND  ACCOMMODATING 

THE  REPUBLICANS  OF  INDIANA  UNWITTINGLY  PROVED 
THEMSELVES  IN  1882 


^^  HE  temperance  question  again 
'  I  ^  I  bobbed  up  serenely  in  the  Gen- 
I  IP  eral  Assembly  of  1881.  Re- 
J[_  I  membering  the  experience  of 
1873  and  1874,  the  Republicans 
thought  they  would  play  a  cun- 
ning game  by  making  the  sop 
to  be  thrown  to  the  temperance  folk  an 
exceedingly  plausible  and  attractive  meas- 
ure. The  devise  was  this:  Proposed 
amendment  to  the  constitution  prohibit- 
ing the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicat- 
ing liquors  in  Indiana.  Cunningly  it  was 
called  the  "submission  plan."  No  responsi- 
bility attached  to  it.  A  legislator  could 
vote  for  this  submission  plan  regardless  of 
his  individual  attitude  on  the  liquor  ques- 
tion— whether  for  or  against  prohibition. 
The  Republicans  chuckled  over  their  cun- 
ning. It  was  just  a  little  bit  the  shrewdest 
game  that  had  been  played  in  Indiana  pol- 
itics for  years.  This  was  the  idea  when 
the  proposed  amendment  was  introduced 
and  voted  on  in  the  General  Assembly.  A 
change  came  over  their  dreams  later  on. 

The  "liberal  element"  did  not  regard 
this  "harmless,  inoffensive"  prescription 
with  the  complacency  of  the  average  po- 
litical trimmer.  It  was  up  in  arms.  It  or- 
ganized; it  agitated;  it  worked  like 
beavers.  The  submission  plan  was  utilized 
as  a  campaign  issue  in  the  election  of  a 
trustee  of  the  township  in  which  Indian- 
apolis is  located.  A  similar  issue  was 
made  at  Shelbyville.  Both  elections  turned 
out  to  the  gratification  of  the  "liberal 
element."  Adolph  Seidensticker,  then  ed- 
itor of  the  Indianapolis  Telegraph,  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  a  State  organization 
to  fight  the  submission  scheme.  At  his 
earnest  solicitation  the  matter  was 
brought  before  the  summer  meeting  of  the 
newly  organized  Indiana  Democratic  Edi- 


torial Association  held  at  Michigan  City 
the  latter  part  of  June.  The  question  was 
debated  at  great  length  and  with  much 
earnestness  and  no  little  ill  feeling.  A  sur- 
prisingly large  number  of  Democratic  ed- 
itors, tutored  by  John  C.  Shoemaker,  of 
the  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  had  come  up 
from  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the 
State  and  they  protested  vehemently 
against  any  organization  declaration  in 
opposition  to  the  submission  proposition. 

Mr.  Seidensticker  was  amazed  to  learn 
that  if  a  vote  had  been  insisted  on  the 
result  would  have  been  "nip  and  tuck." 
Under  these  circumstances  it  was  deemed 
the  part  of  wisdom  not  to  press  the  issue 
to  a  vote.  But  the  revelations  then  and 
there  made  served  as  an  eye-opener. 

The  attitude  of  so  large  a  number  of 
Democratic  papers  naturally  had  the  effect 
of  gi'eatly  strengthening  the  submission 
sentiment.  In  the  rural  districts  public 
opinion  ran  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of 
this  alluring  scheme.  Tab  was  kept  on 
the  attitude  of  delegates  chosen  to  the 
State  convention.  The  facts  thus  gathered 
admit  of  no  doubt  that  a  majority  of  the 
delegates  regarded  the  submission  scheme 
with  more  or  less  favor. 

A  few  days  before  the  State  convention 
a  conference  was  held  at  the  office  of  Wil- 
liam H.  English  for  the  purpose  of  agree- 
ing upon  a  plank  to  be  incorporated  into 
the  State  platform.  In  attendance  at  this 
conference  were  Thomas  A.  Hendricks, 
Joseph  E.  McDonald,  William  H.  English, 
John  B.  Stoll,  Adolph  Seidensticker  and 
Peter  Lieber.  Mr.  Hendricks  had  prepared 
a  plank,  so  had  Mr.  McDonald.  Both  were 
read.  Mr.  Hendricks  at  once  pronounced 
the  McDonald  plank  by  far  the  preferable. 
It  was  then  agreed  that  every  effort  be 
put  forth  to  secure  the  adoption  of  this 


(295) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


declaration  by  the  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions. That,  as  developed  later  on,  wasn't 
as  easy  a  task  as  some  had  imagined.  But 
for  one  or  two  changes  made  in  the  selec- 
tion of  members  of  the  Platform  Com- 
mittee the  submissionists  would  have  had 
a  clear  majority.  As  it  was,  neither  side 
was  in  absolute  control  of  the  situation. 
Admirable  as  it  was  in  its  original  con- 
struction, the  McDonald  resolution  under- 
went considerable  trimming  before  it  be- 
came acceptable  to  a  majority  of  the  com- 
mittee. The  committee  was  in  session  until 
early  in  the  morning  before  an  agreement 
could  be  reached. 

The  State  convention  met  on  Wednes- 
day, August  1,  1882.  It  was  called  to 
order  by  State  Chairman  William  H.  Eng- 
lish. The  committee  on  permanent  or- 
ganization recommended  for  Chairman 
John  R.  Coffroth,  of  Lafayette;  for  Sec- 
retary, John  R.  Simpson,  of  Paoli ;  Assist- 
ant Secretaries,  John  H.  Poole,  Newton; 
Charles  E.  Barrett,  Hancock;  Scott  Ray 
Williams,  Tipton.  Their  report  was  unani- 
mously agreed  to. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  John  Nester,  Warrick  county. 

2.  H.  V.  Norvell,  Green. 

3.  Joseph  L.  Riley,  Jennings. 

4.  H.  B.  Armington,  Decatur. 

5.  John  W.  Buskirk,  Monroe. 

6.  John  Enos  Neff,  Randolph. 

7.  James  M.  Cropsey,  Marion. 

8.  Dr.  W.  H.  Gillum,  Parke. 

9.  Thomas  H.  Harrison,  Boone. 

10.  A.  B.  Crampton,  Carroll. 

11.  D.  B.  Sweetser,  Grant. 

12.  John  B.  Stoll,  Noble. 

13.  Sorden  Lister,  St.  Joseph. 

COMMITTEE    ON    RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  James  E.  McCullough,  Gibson  county. 

2.  Senator  F.  W.  Viehe,  Knox. 

3.  Samuel  B.  Voyles,  Washington. 

4.  Hugh  D.  McMullen,  Dearborn. 

5.  John  C.  Robinson,  Owen. 

6.  Isaac  P.  Gray,  Randolph. 

7.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Marion. 

8.  William   Mack,  Vigo. 

9.  Leander  McClurg,  Clinton. 

10.  D.  D.  Dykeman,  Cass. 

11.  Major  H.  M.  Kidd,  Wabash. 

12.  Robert  C.  Bell,  Allen. 

13.  Judge  E.  Van  Long,  Kosciusko. 


Three  candidates  for  Secretary  of  State 
were  presented:  Captain  William  R. 
Myers,  of  Anderson;  William  Wesley 
Woollen,  of  Indianapolis;  William  A. 
Peelle,  Jr.,  of  Indianapolis.  After  the  iirst 
ballot  Peelle  withdrew  in  favor  of  Myers. 
The  trend  being  unquestionably  in  favor 
of  that  gentleman,  Mr.  Woollen  also  with- 
drew, and  the  nomination  of  Captain 
Myers  was  made  unanimous  by  acclama- 
tion. 

For  Auditor  of  State  three  aspirants  en- 
tered the  race.  They  were:  James  H. 
Rice,  of  New  Albany;  Daniel  McDonald, 
of  Plymouth;  A.  B.  Pitzer,  of  Tipton.  Rice 
had  the  lead.  After  the  second  ballot  Mr. 
Pitzer  moved  that  the  genial  gentleman 
from  New  Albany  be  declared  the  unani- 
mous choice  of  the  convention.  Agreed  to, 
amidst  manifestations  of  unalloyed  joy. 

Thare  v/ere  five  entries  for  State 
Treasurer:  John  J.  Cooper,  of  Indian- 
apolis; Thomas  B.  Byrnes,  of  Evansville; 
Thomas  B.  Hunt,  of  Henry  county;  Bern- 
hard  Schweitzer,  of  Owen  county,  and 
William  M.  McPheeters,  of  Washington 
county.  The  race  was  between  Cooper 
and  Byrnes.  After  the  second  ballot  the 
latter  moved  that  Mr.  Cooper  be  declared 
duly  nominated  by  acclamation.  This  was 
done  with  a  hearty  good  will  and  unre- 
stricted jubilation. 

For  the  office  of  Attorney-General  four 
distinguished  lawyers  were  proposed: 
David  Turpie,  of  Indianapolis;  Joel  Wil- 
liamson, of  Fayette  county;  Francis  T. 
Hord,  of  Columbus,  and  William  C.  For- 
rey,  of  Connersville.  The  contest  was  a 
sharp  one,  but  Mr.  Hord  had  such  a  strong 
lead  that  after  the  second  ballot  Mr.  For- 
rey  considerately  moved  that  a  unanimous 
nomination  be  accorded  that  gentleman. 
This  was  done  with  vociferous  acclaim. 

Three  candidates  for  the  Supreme  Court 
were  to  be  nominated — for  the  first,  sec- 
ond and  third  districts.  For  the  first  dis- 
trict William  E.  Niblack  was  renominated 
by  acclamation.     For  the  second  district 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 1 


19  16 


former  Judge  A.  C.  Downey  was  pitted 
against  George  V.  Howk,  who  desired  a  re- 
nomination.  On  the  first  ballot  Howk  was 
so  honored  by  a  close  vote — 566  for  Howk, 
555  for  Downey;  a  majority  of  11.  For 
the  fourth  district  there  were  three  can- 
didates— Allen  Zollars  of  Allen  county,  W. 
A.  Bickle  of  Wayne,  and  J.  T.  Brown  of 
Henry.  The  first  ballot  resulted  in  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Zollars,  who  received 
656  votes  as  against  252  for  Bickle  and 
213  for  Brown. 

With  the  nomination  of  John  W.  Hol- 
comb,  of  Valparaiso,  for  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction,  and  of  Simon  P. 
Sheerin,  of  Logansport,  for  Clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  ticket  was  completed. 
Notwithstanding  the  strained  feeling  en- 
gendered by  the  seductive  yet  delusive 
"submission  scheme,"  those  who  fully  un- 
derstood the  situation  freely  predicted  the 
triumphant  election  of  the  ticket  in  the 
fall.  This  prediction  was  amply  verified 
by  the  verdict  of  the  ballot. 

THE  PLATFORM. 

In  seventeen  paragraphs  expression  is 
given  to  party  sentiment  and  feeling.  Most 
of  these  constitute  arraignments  of  the 
Republican  party  for  the  abuse  of  power 
and  the  disregard  of  right  and  justice. 
The  submission  question  was  disposed  of 
in  this  manner: 

"The  Democratic  party  is  now,  as  it  has 
always  been,  opposed  to  all  sumptuary 
legislation,  and  it  is  especially  opposed  to 
the  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Indiana,  known  as  the  prohibitory 
amendment,  and  we  are  in  favor  of  the 
submission  of  said  proposed  amendment, 
as  well  as  other  proposed  amendments,  to 
the  people,  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  Constitution  for  its  own  amendment, 
and  the  people  have  the  right  to  oppose  or 
favor  the  adoption  of  any  or  all  the  amend- 
ments at  all  stages  of  their  consideration, 
and  any  submission  of  constitutional 
amendments  to  a  vote  of  the  people  should 
be  at  a  time  and  under  circumstances  most 
favorable  to  a  full  vote,  and  therefore 
should  be  at  a  general  election." 


The  last  paragraph  appreciatively  re- 
members Senator  Voorhees  with  this  mer- 
ited endorsement : 

"We  esteem  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  as  an 
able  and  faithful  representative  of  our 
State  in  the  Senate,  and  especially  com- 
mend him  for  his  active  sympathy  in  be- 
half of  the  soldier." 

Though  the  Committee  on  Resolutions 
strained  a  point  to  make  the  plank  relating 
to  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution palatable  to  the  submissioni,sts,  the 
reading  of  that  particular  declaration  by 
Governor  Hendricks  was  loudly  hissed. 
This  was  a  new  experience  for  that  gen- 
tleman. A  counter  demonstration  fol- 
lowed with  three  cheers  for  Hendricks. 
This,  to  some  extent  at  least,  neutralized 
the  offensive  manifestation  of  displeasure 
and  hostility.  When,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  reading  of  the  report  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Resolutions,  Mr.  Hendricks  de- 
manded the  previous  question,  another 
outburst  of  indignation  startled  timid  on- 
lookers and  frightened  party  leaders.  For- 
tunately a  gentleman  was  in  the  chair  who 
knew  a  good  deal  about  convention  tu- 
mults. He  handled  the  gavel  judiciously 
and  effectively.  John  R.  East,  of  Bloom- 
ington,  a  tall  member  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession, with  striking  physiognomy  and  of 
commanding  presence,  was  the  leader  of 
the  submissionists.  He  had  a  larger  fol- 
lowing than  he  seemed  to  be  aware  of.  It 
is  well  that  he  didn't  know  this.  Had  it 
been  otherwise,  the  fight  might  have  been 
prolonged  and  made  far  more  bitter.  The 
demand  for  the  previous  question  was 
made  effective  and  the  platform  as  re- 
ported by  Mr.  Hendricks  was  finally 
adopted.  It  is  due  to  Mr.  East  to  say 
that  later  on  he  "saw  the  light"  and  took 
the  stump  for  the  ticket  and  the  cause. 

The  outcome  of  the  election  demon- 
strated very  clearly  what  can  be  accom- 
plished by  a  judiciously  directed  campaign 
of  education.  The  work  of  enlightening 
the  people  as  to  the  real  issue  involved  was 
begun  by  the  publication  of  a  series  of 


(297) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


letters  written  by  prominent  Democrats 
throughout  the  State.  These  were  origin- 
ally published  in  the  Ligoiiier  Banner  and 
subsequently  printed  in  pamphlet  form 
and  extensively  circulated.  In  these  let- 
ters it  was  made  clear  that  the  real  object 
of  the  Republicans  in  putting  forth  the 
submission  proposition  was  to  evade  a 
square  issue  on  prohibition.  It  was  held 
that  when  an  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution is  proposed,  those  contend- 
ing for  its  submission  to  popular 
vote  should  favor  the  adoption  there- 
of and  not  disown  or  repudiate  its 
purpose.  No  member  of  the  General  As- 
sembly should  vote  for  the  submission  of 
a  proposed  amendment  unless  he  favors 
the  same.  Responsibility  must  accompany 
such  action,  otherwise  the  State  would  be 
kept  in  a  constant  turmoil  over  amend- 
ments to  the  basic  law.  Amending  the 
Constitution  was  purposely  and  inten- 
tionally rendered  difficult  by  the  framers 
of  that  document,  so  that  no  change  in  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  State  should  be 
made  unless  the  General  Assembly  be- 
lieved such  change  to  be  necessary  and  de- 
sirable. During  the  progress  of  the  cam- 
paign the  Republicans  discovered  that 
what  they  at  first  regarded  a  sure  winner 
had  turned  into  a  boomerang.  Judge 
Turpie  was  especially  forceful  in  the  pre- 
sentation and  discussion  of  these  points. 
For  that  reason  he  was  very  much  in  de- 
mand in  all  parts  of  the  State.  After  the 
votes  had  been  counted  the  Republican 
ascendancy  gained  in  1880  was  reversed 
by  the  election  of  a  Democratic  Legis- 
lature and  the  triumph  of  the  entire  Dem- 
ocratic State  ticket  by  more  than  10,000 
majority.  Republican  leaders  were  dum- 
founded.  They  wondered  who  had  struck 
"Billy  Patterson."  A  study  of  the  election 
returns  enlightened  them. 

CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION. 

In  the  election  of  members  of  Congress 
the  Republicans  fared  unusually  badly. 
They  pulled  through  only  four  of  their 


candidates,  and  of  these  one  (Stanton  J. 
Peelle,  of  the  Indianapolis  district)  was 
unseated  in  a  contest  instituted  by  Will 

E.  English,  then  a  stanch  Democrat.  The 
four  successful  Republicans  were  Thomas 
M.  Browne,  Stanton  J.  Peelle,  George  W. 
Steele  and  William  H.  Calkins.  The  latter 
was  nominated  for  Governor  in  1884  and 
resigned  his  seat  in  Congress.    Benjamin 

F.  Shively,  Greenback  and  Democratic 
nominee,  was  chosen  Calkins's  successor. 
Of  the  nine  Democrats  chosen  five  were 
new  men:  John  J.  Kleiner  of  the  First, 
John  E.  Lamb  of  the  Eighth,  Thomas  B. 
Ward  of  the  Ninth,  Thomas  J.  Wood  of 
the  Tenth,  and  Robert  Lowry  of  the 
Twelfth.  Four  Democrats  were  re-elected : 
Cobb,  Stockslager,  Holman  and  Matson. 
At  the  wind-up  of  the  Forty-eighth  Con- 
gress only  two  Republicans — Browne  and 
Steele — were  in  the  Indiana  delegation. 
The  "submission"  dodge  played  havoc 
with  Republican  plans  and  calculations. 
The  rebuke  to  cunning  and  duplicity  was 
stunning. 

STATE   EDITORIAL  ASSOCIATION. 

The  wisdom  of  organizing  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Editorial  Association  after 
the  Hancock-English  disaster  became 
strikingly  apparent  during  the  1882  cam- 
paign. A  spirit  of  co-operation  set  in, 
more  vigor  was  injected  into  the  columns 
of  Democratic  papers,  tolerance  was  cul- 
tivated, and  the  importance  of  mutuality 
received  due  attention.  The  idea  of  or- 
ganizing a  Democratic  State  Editorial 
Association  had  its  inception  in  Northern 
Indiana.  A  preliminary  meeting  was  held 
at  Fort  Wayne  shortly  after  the  Novem- 
ber disaster  of  1880.  On  historic  Jackson 
Day,  1881,  the  association  was  formally 
organized  at  Indianapolis.  In  his  admir- 
able early  history  of  this  association  the 
Hon.  Luther  Short,  of  Franklin,  furnishes 
this  authentic  information: 

"A  constitution  for  the  new  organiza- 
tion was  drafted  by  a  committee  consist- 
ing of  John  M.  Goar,  John  B.  Stoll,  W.  J. 


(298) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Hilligoss,  L.  C.  Jones  and  George  W. 
Shanklin.  Editors  in  attendance  and  sign- 
ing  the    constitution    thereupon    adopted 


Ad.  Arnold,  Columhns  Democrat. 

M.  A.  Barnett,  Danville  Democrat. 

George  W.  Easier,  Sullivan  True  Deviocracy. 

W.  R.  Brownlee,  Anderson  Democrat. 

Jerry  Collins,  l.ogansport  Pharos. 

J.  C.  Dobelbcwer,  Lafayette  Dispatch. 

W.  A.  Donnell,  Decatur  News. 

T.  J.  Foster,  Ft.  Wayiie  Journal. 

Harry  H.  Francis,  Michigan  City  Dispatch. 

John  M.  Goar,  New  Castle  Democrat. 

Josiah  Gwin,  New  Albany  Ledger-Standard. 

H.  E.  Henderson,  Kokomo  Dispatch. 

W.  J.  Hilligoss,  Huntington  Democrat. 

William  D.  H.  Hunter,  Lairrenceburg  Register. 

Lin  C.  Jones,  Madison  Herald. 

William  Mitchell,  Hancock  Democrat. 

G.  W.  Shanklin,  Evansville  Courier. 

Luther  Short.  Franklin  Democrat. 

George  F.  Shutt,  Elkhart  Democrat. 

John  C.  Shoemaker,  Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

John  B.  Stoll,  Ligonier  Banner. 

"The  officers  elected  for  the  first  year 


President— John  B.  Stoll,  Ligonier  Banner. 

First  Vice-President — William  D.  H.  Hunter, 
Lawrenceburg  Register. 

Second  Vice-President — George  W.  Shanklin, 
Evansville  Courier. 

Recording  Secretary— G.  F.  Shutt,  Elkhart 
Democrat. 

Corresponding  Secretary — Howard  E.  Hender- 
son, Kokomo  Dispatch. 

Treasurer — Josiah  Gwin,  New  Albany  Ledger- 
Standard. 

Executive  Committee — H.  H.  Francis,  L.  C. 
Jones,  W.  J.  Hilligoss,  M.  A.  Barnett  and  J.  C. 
Shoemaker. 

"A  committee  of  one  from  each  Congres- 
sional district,  with  John  B.  Stoll  as  chair- 
man, was  appointed  to  prepare  a  suitable 
address  embracing  the  opinion  of  the  as- 
sociation upon  the  political  issues  of  the 
day.  Before  adjournment  a  letter  from 
Hon.  Jeremiah  S.  Black  of  Pennsylvania 
was  read,  in  which  he  most  forcibly  de- 
nounced the  Republican  frauds  on  the 
ballot  box,  and  in  unmeasured  terms  con- 
demned that  party  for  rewarding  the  cor- 
ruptors  with  office. 

"Of  the  twenty-one  editors  who  took 
part  in  the  organization  only  three  besides 
the  writer  are  members  at  the  present 
time.  They  are  Howard  E.  Henderson, 
Josiah  Gwin  and  John  B.  Stoll.  Of  the 
other  seventeen  all  are  dead  except  John 
C.  Shoemaker,  Ad.  Arnold,  L.  C.  Jones, 
John  M.  Goar,  George  F.  Shutt,  W.  R. 
Brownlee  and  Jerry  Collins,  none  of  whom 
are  now  engaged  in  the  newspaper  busi- 


ness. To  the  Hon.  John  B.  Stoll  more  than 
any  other  one  person  belongs  the  credit  of 
originating  this  organization,  and  as  its 
first  president  he  did  much  to  insure  its 
permanent  character." 

Since  the  publication  of  Mr.  Short's  his- 
tory death  has  called  of  those  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  paragraph  Howard  E. 
Henderson,  Josiah  Gwin,  John  C.  Shoe- 
maker, and  John  M.  Goar. 

OCTOBER  ELECTION  ABOLISHED. 

Under  the  constitution  of  1851,  election 
of  State  officers  was  fixed  upon  the  first 
Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  Oc- 
tober. In  presidential  years,  therefore, 
two  elections  became  necessary.  This  in- 
volved a  great  deal  of  expense.  That  the 
system  was  so  long  maintained  is  among 
things  difficult  to  understand.  But  need- 
less expensiveness  did  not  constitute  the 
sole  nor  even  the  most  serious  objection. 
The  October  election  was  more  objection- 
able on  account  of  its  corrupting  tendency. 
Many  years  ago  Pennsylvania  was  an  Oc- 
tober State.  It  quit  being  such  when  a 
new  constitution  was  adopted  during  the 
Seventies.  For  years  the  "October  States" 
were  made  the  battleground  in  presiden- 
tial years.  The  result  in  these  States 
would  serve  as  a  forecast  of  how  the  po- 
litical wind  was  blowing.  Naturally  this 
served  as  an  incentive  for  contesting  po- 
litical parties  to  throw  their  entire  force 
into  these  States.  Indiana  was  especially 
inviting  on  account  of  the  nearly  equal 
division  of  its  electorate.  Money  to  cor- 
rupt venal  voters  was  poured  into  the  cof- 
fers of  committees  with  a  lavishness  that 
was  appalling  to  all  who  had  a  decent  re- 
gard for  legitimate  campaigning  and  the 
purity  of  the  ballot. 

As  the  result  of  persistent  agitation  a 
movement  was  inaugurated  to  amend  the 
constitution  so  as  to  abolish  October  elec- 
tions. An  amendment  to  that  effect  was 
adopted  by  two  successive  legislatures — 
those  of  1877  and  1879,  and  submitted  to 
the  people  the  latter  year  for  adoption  or 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


rejection.  It  commanded  a  majority  of 
the  vote  on  that  proposition,  but  not  a 
constitutional  majority  as  interpreted  by 
the  supreme  court.     The  amendment  was 


again  submitted  to  popular  vote  at  a  spe- 
cial election  held  March  4,  1881,  duly  rat- 
ified and  authoritatively  declared  part  of 
the  constitution  March  24,  1881. 


[Chapter  XL.] 

ISAAC  P.  GRAY  IN  THE  SADDLE 

NOMINATED  FOR  GOVERNOR  —  JOSEPH   E.  McDONALD 
ENDORSED  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY 


|„ u[  HORTLY  after  the  opening  of 

I  V  i  ^^^  morning  session  of  the  Jan- 
I  ^^  I  uary  meeting  of  the  Indiana 
|CJ  I  Democratic  Editorial  Associa- 
tion  at  Indianapolis,  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Henderson,  a  relative  of 
Thos.  A.  Hendricks  and  promi- 
nent citizen  of  the  State  capital,  ap- 
peared in  the  hall  where  the  meeting  was 
being  held  and  somewhat  excitedly  told 
me  that  a  movement  was  on  foot  to  in- 
troduce a  resolution  at  this  meeting  of 
Democratic  editors  to  formally  declare 
Joseph  E.  McDonald  to  be  the  choice  of 
the  Indiana  Democracy  for  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  United  States.  Besides  ques- 
tioning the  right  of  an  editorial  associa- 
tion to  speak  for  the  party  in  a  matter 
of  such  importance,  he  declared  that  to 
adopt  a  resolution  of  this  character  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  Mr.  Hendricks  in  Eu- 
rope— Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hendricks  then  being 
on  an  extended  tour  of  the  Old  World — 
would  be  manifestly  a  gross  injustice  if 
not  an  indignity  to  the  man  who  for  so 
many  years  had  been  the  recognized  and 
undisputed  leader  of  the  Indiana  Democ- 
racy. He  expatiated  with  a  good  deal  of 
feeling  on  what  he  declared  to  be  an  in- 
creasing awakening  of  Democratic  senti- 
ment throughout  the  country  in  favor  of 
the  renomination  of  the  1876  ticket  and 
the  importance  of  avoiding  any  friction 
that  might  be  caused  by  precipitating  the 
launching  of  rival  candidacies.  I  listened 
attentively  to  what  Mr.  Henderson  had  to 
present,  then  proceeded  to  say  that  while 
1  would  gladly  once  more  be  enlisted  in 
waging  political  battle  for  "Tilden,  Hen- 
dricks and  Reform,"  I  feared  that  the 
opportunity  for  avenging  the  wrong  of 
1876-7  had  been  frittered  away;  that  the 


bringing  of  a  new  Richmond  into  the  field 
seemed  to  me  inevitable;  that  I  doubted 
the  policy  of  antagonizing  Mr.  McDon- 
ald's aspirations  in  view  of  his  steadfast 
support  of  Mr.  Hendricks'  candidacies  in 
the  past,  and  that  I  deemed  it  of  the  ut- 
most importance  to  maintain  harmony 
within  the  party  ranks  in  this  State. 
However,  I  would  see  what  could  be  done 
to  guard  against  "snap  judgment"  being 
taken  in  the  premises  while  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hendricks  were  abroad  and  if  possible 
keep  the  field  open  until  their  return.  By 
the  application  of  some  diplomacy  presi- 
dential preferences  were  happily  held  in 
abeyance  so  far  as  the  editorial  associa- 
tion was  concerned.  For  this  Mr.  Hen- 
derson expressed  high  appreciation  after 
the  association  had  completed  its  work 
without  taking  any  action  with  reference 
to  the  Presidential  nomination  in  1884. 

Immediately  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hen- 
dricks' return  from  their  European  tour 
I  received  a  telegram  announcing  that 
Mr.  Hendricks  desired  to  see  me  at  Indi- 
anapolis. I  hastened  to  the  State  capital 
and  had  a  two  hours'  conference  with  Mr. 
Hendricks  in  his  private  oflice.  The  presi- 
dential situation  was  the  sole  subject  of 
our  conversation.  Cautiously  and  diplo- 
matically Mr.  Hendricks  reviewed  the 
events  of  the  past  eight  years.  In  regard 
to  his  refusal  to  stand  for  renomination 
in  1880  he  seemed  somewhat  evasive. 
What  little  he  said  on  that  subject  led 
me  to  believe  that  he  did  have  some  feel- 
ing in  regard  to  being  ignored  as  to  the 
course  that  should  have  been  pursued  in 
the  electoral  contest  of  1877,  but  this  was 
adroitly  smoothed  over  by  the  declaration 
that  he  then  did  not  know  or  understand 
Mr.  Tilden  as  well  as  he  had  since  learned 


(301) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


to  know  and  understand  him;  that  he 
(Tilden)  was  a  much  greater  man  than 
he  appeared  to  him  (Hendricks)  in 
former  years ;  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  he 
(Hendricks)  regarded  Mr.  Tilden,  next  to 
Bismarck,  the  greatest  statesman  in  the 
world,  "and  when  I  say  that,"  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks added,  significantly  and  im- 
pressively, "I  think  I  am  paying  him  the 
highest  compliment  one  man  can  pay  an- 
other." In  substance  I  reiterated  with 
reference  to  the  presidential  situation 
what  I  had  previously  said  to  Mr.  Hen- 
derson— that  even  if  inclined  belatedly  to 
go  before  the  American  people  for  the 
vindication  of  the  majesty  of  the  ballot, 
Mr.  Tilden's  impaired  health  would  for- 
bid the  making  of  another  race  with  all 
the  exactions,  trials  and  tribulations  in- 
cident thereto.  Yet,  if  the  party  should 
decide  to  press  Mr.  Tilden  into  service, 
despite  his  protests,  nothing  could  or 
would  afford  me  greater  pleasure  than 
to  devote  myself  to  the  advocacy  of  the 
"old  ticket"  with  all  the  energy  and  en- 
thusiasm at  my  command. 

STATE  CONVENTION,  JUNE  25,  1884. 
The  convention  was  called  to  order  by 
State  Chairman  Joseph  E.  McDonald.  The 
committee  on  permanent  organization 
recommended  that  Senator  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  be  chosen  president  of  the  con- 
vention, and  Lincoln  Dixon  of  Jennings 
county,  serve  as  secretary.  The  recom- 
mendation was  unanimously  and  enthusi- 
astically concurred  in.  A  ringing  keynote 
speech  was  delivered  by  Senator  Voorhees 
on  taking  the  chair.  He  was,  as  always, 
accorded  a  demonstrative  greeting. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  Eb.  Henderson,  Chairman,  Morgan  county. 

2.  M.  B.  McDonald,  Gibson. 

3.  H.  V.  Norvell,  Green. 

4.  Joseph  L.  Riley,  Jennings. 

5.  A.  B.  Armington,  Decatur. 

6.  W.  C.  Forey,  Fayette. 

7.  Jackson  Landers,  Marion. 

8.  Dr.  W.  H.  Gillum,  Parke. 

9.  Elwood  Avery,  Clinton. 


10.  A.  B.  Crampton,  Carroll. 

11.  D.  B.  Sweetser,  Grant. 

12.  Colonel  C.  A.  Zollinger,  Allen. 

13.  Edward  Hawkins,  Laporte. 

GRAY  HAD  THINGS  HIS  OWN  WAY. 

It  had  become  plainly  apparent  that 
Isaac  P.  Gray  was  the  undoubted  choice 
of  a  majority  of  the  delegates  for  the 
Gubernatorial  nomination.  This,  how- 
ever, does  not  warrant  the  inference  that 
all  the  delegates  favored  his  nomination. 
A  goodly  number  would  gladly  have  seen 
General  Mahlon  D.  Manson,  Judge  David 
Turpie  or  Senator  D.  W.  Voorhees  select- 
ed. Strong  pressure  was,  especially, 
brought  upon  the  latter  to  enter  the  race. 
Men  of  commanding  influence  in  the  or- 
ganization pleaded  with  him  to  make  the 
race  for  the  sake  of  the  party.  Most  of 
these  gentlemen  believed  Colonel  Gray  had 
not  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party 
long  enough  to  be  made  its  chosen  State 
leader.  The  part  he  had  in  securing  the 
ratification  of  the  fifteenth  amendment  to 
the  Constitution  in  1869  was  especially 
held  against  him.  The  Indianapolis  Sen- 
tinel thus  referred  to  the  pressure  brought 
on  Senator  Voorhees : 

"Early  in  the  morning  it  was  announced 
that  Senator  Voorhees  was  giving  way  to 
the  arguments  of  his  friends  and  had  con- 
cluded to  be  a  candidate  for  Governor.  A 
reporter  asked  Senator  Voorhees  about 
thi.s  and  he  neither  affirmed  or  denied,  but 
said:  T  was  opposed  to  this  thing  from 
the  first  and  do  not  care  to  talk  about  it. 
If  I  had  known  what  I  do  now,  I  would  not 
have  come  here.  I  do  not  care  to  discuss 
the  matter  in  the  newspapers.' 

"Leaving  Senator  Voorhees'  room,  the 
reporter  met  Eb.  Henderson  and  asked 
him  about  the  matter.  Mr.  Henderson 
said:  'Mr.  Voorhees  did  not  come  here 
as  a  candidate  against  any  of  the  gentle- 
men in  the  field,  and  when  his  friends  so- 
licited him  to  be  a  candidate  he  positively 
refused.  When  asked  if  he  would  accept 
the  nomination  if  it  were  tendered  him  he 
replied  that  he  owed  all  he  was  to  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  and  he  would  not  refuse  any 
position  that  the  voice  of  that  party 


(302) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


him  to  take.'  Mr.  Henderson  did  not  be- 
lieve that  the  Senator's  name  would  be  pre- 
sented." 

When  the  convention  settled  down  to 
the  nomination  of  a  State  ticket  Judge  J. 
H.  Stotsenburg,  of  New  Albany,  moved 
the  nomination  of  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  for 
Governor.  Promptly  that  gentleman 
cleared  the  situation  with  this  terse  and 
explicit  statement: 

"Gentlemen  of  the  convention,  under  no 
possible  circumstances  that  now  exist  can 
my  name  be  presented  to  this  convention 
for  any  other  position  than  the  one  I  now 
enjoy  as  your  representative  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  thanking  the  delegate 
who  has  paid  me  the  compliment,  being 
authorized  to  control  my  own  name,  I  with- 
draw it  from  the  convention." 

Judge  Bickle  presented  the  name  of 
Isaac  P.  Gray,  of  Randolph  county,  for 
Governor.  Bayless  W.  Hanna,  of  Craw- 
fordsville,  put  in  nomination  General 
Mahlon  D.  Manson,  which  nomination 
was  enthusiastically  seconded  by  the  Cass 
county  delegation.  The  Tenth  Congres- 
sional District  presented  the  name  of 
Judge  David  Turpie,  of  Indianapolis.  So 
evident  was  the  trend  to  Colonel  Gray 
that  before  roll  call  General  Manson 
moved  that  his  nomination  be  made  by 
acclamation,  which  motion,  upon  being 
seconded  by  Judge  Turpie,  was  adopted 
with  tumultuous  applause. 

For  Lieutenant-Governor  there  were 
put  in  nomination  James  E.  McCullough, 
of  Gibson  county ;  Judge  Louis  Jordan,  of 
Indianapolis;  General  Mahlon  D.  Manson, 
of  Crawf ordsville ;  James  H.  Willard,  of 
Lawrence  county;  Colonel  Isaiah  B.  Mc- 
Donald, of  Whitley  county.  As  the  roll 
was  called  and  county  upon  county  voted 
for  General  Manson,  the  names  of  the 
other  gentlemen  were  withdrawn  one  af- 
ter another  and  the  nomination  of  that 
veteran  made  unanimous. 

For  Supreme  Judge,  Captain  Joseph  A. 
S.  Mitchell,  of  Goshen,  was  nominated  by 
acclamation. 


All  the  State  officers  nominated  and 
elected  two  years  prior  were  honored 
with  unanimous  renominations,  as  fol- 
lows: 

Secretary  of  State — Captain  Wm.  R.  Myers. 

Auditor  of  State — James  H.  Rice. 

Treasurer  of  State — John  J.  Cooper. 

Attorney-General — Francis  T.  Hord. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — John  W. 
Holcombe. 

PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTORS. 

At  Large — Bayless  W.  Hanna,  of  Crawfords- 
ville;  Dr.  W.  D.  H.  Hunter,  of  Lawrenceburg. 

Contingents — Woodson  S.  Marshall,  of  War- 
saw; Andrew  Humphrey,  of  Greene  county. 

1.  W.  F.  Townsend,  Pike  county. 

2.  Henry  S.  Cauthorn,  Knox. 

3.  Aaron  Cravens,  Washington. 

4.  F.  E.  Gavin,  Decatur. 

5.  Willis  Hickan,  Owen. 

6.  N.  R.  Elliott,  Henry. 

7.  James  A.  New,  Hancock. 

8.  James  M.  Sellers,  Montgomery. 

9.  William  R.  Oglesby,  Tipton. 

10.  Johann  Kopelke,  Lake. 

11.  W.  H.  Haskins,  Jay. 

12.  William  H.  Dills,  DeKalb. 

13.  Mortimer  Nye,  Laporte. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  Haber  J.  May,  Perry  county. 

2.  W.  Q.  Traylor,  Dubois. 

3.  James  V.  Kelso,  Floyd. 

4.  Hugh  D.  McMullen,  Dearborn. 

5.  John  C.  Robinson,  Owen. 

6.  William  Cassady,  Rush. 

7.  William  H.  English,  Marion. 

8.  John  G.  Williams,  Vigo. 

9.  DeWitt  Bryant,  Clinton. 

10.  Dr.  F.  B.  Thomas,  Pulaski. 

11.  James  S.  Dailey,  Wells. 

12.  Thomas  R.  Marshall,  Whitley. 

13.  Charles  H.  Reeve,  Marshall. 

The  platform  reported  by  this  commit- 
tee and  adopted  by  the  convention — 

"Favors  tariff  duty  on  the  luxuries  of 
life  and  its  removal  from  the  necessities, 
with  the  stipulation  that  the  surplus  rev- 
enue be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  pub- 
lic debt. 

"Favors  the  reduction  of  labor  to  eight 
hours;  establishment  of  bureaus  of  labor 
statistics,  both  State  and  National;  use  of 
prison  labor  not  to  compete  with  outside 
labor;  prohibition  of  children  under  four- 


HISTORY   INDIANA  DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


teen  employed  in  factories  and  mines  and 
workshops;  enforcement  of  the  laws 
against  Chinese  immigration. 

"Favors  the  prohibition  by  law  of  the 
right  of  private  corporations  to  water 
their  corporate  stock. 

"Favors  granting  of  pensions  to  Mexi- 
can war  veterans,  and  to  all  soldiers  suf- 
fering from  disability  incurred  during 
service  in  the  army. 

"Favors  the  protection  by  our  Govern- 
ment of  all  United  States  citizens  in  every 
part  of  the  world,  including  those  who 
have  declared  their  intention  to  become 
such  under  our  laws. 

"Demands  reforms  in  the  civil  service 
which  will  result  in  the  employment  of 
only  those  who  are  honest  and  capable,  and 
that  that  shall  be  one  of  the  conditions  of 
public  employment. 

"Sectarianism  shall  and  must  be  kept 
out  of  public  schools. 

"Approves  the  action  of  the  late  Demo- 
cratic Legislature  in  preventing  a  partisan 
Governor  from  revolutionizing  politically 
the  benevolent  institutions  of  the  State  by 
appointment  of  political  friends  to  vacan- 
cies. 

"Approves  the  passage  of  a  Metropolitan 
Police  Bill  which  provides  for  mixed  polit- 
ical incumbents  instead  of  partisan  police. 

"Resolved,  That  we  are  opposed  to  the 
calling  of  a  convention  to  amend  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  State ;  that  we  demand  the 
repeal  of  the  laws  passed  by  the  Republic- 
ans designed  to  place  the  elections  under 
Federal  control  in  direct  violation  of  State 
rights." 

Joseph  E.  McDonald  was  presented  as 
Indiana's  choice  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States  and  the  delegation  was  in- 
structed to  support  him  as  a  unit. 

DELEGATES    TO    NATIONAL    CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees,  Robert  C.  Bell  and  Colonel  Charles 
Denby. 

Contingents — General  James  A.  Cravens,  Wil- 
liam H.  English,  Colonel  Patrick  Keefe  and 
Colonel  John  Lee. 

1.  Major  G.  V.  Menzies,  Posey  county. 
F.  Lauenstein,  Vanderburg. 

2.  J.  Breen,  Martin. 

C.  T.  Aiken,  Sullivan. 

3.  C.  W.  Grusen,  Scott. 

D.  F.  Lemon,  Harrison. 


4.  Colonel  E.  D.  Bannister,  Dearborn. 
J.  H.  Woolford,  Jefferson. 

5.  Thomas  W.  Woollen,  Johnson. 

P.  H.  McCormack,  Bartholomew. 

6.  W.  A.  Bickle,  Wayne. 
Henry  Wiger,  Delaware. 

7.  Peter  Lieber,  Marion. 
Oscar  B.  Hord,  Marion. 

8.  T.  F.  Davidson,  Fountain. 
C.  F.  McNutt,  Vigo. 

9.  J.  A.  Brunt,  Madison. 
S.  S.  Dailey,  Boone. 

10.  Chester  Chamberlain,  Fulton. 
A.  L.  Jones,  Porter. 

11.  Dr.  D.  Yingling,  Huntington. 
Hugh  Daugherty,  Wells. 

12.  Herman  Freygang,  Steuben. 
Henry  Colerick,  Allen. 

13.  Hudson  Beck,  Kosciusko. 
Daniel  McDonald,  Marshall. 

The  notable  features  of  the  convention 
were  the  graceful  manner  in  which  Gen- 
eral Manson  and  Judge  Turpie  took  them- 
selves out  of  the  Gubernatorial  race,  thus 
making  the  nomination  of  Colonel  Gray 
the  unanimous  action  of  the  convention, 
and  the  acquiescence  of  General  Manson 
in  having  the  nomination  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor  thrust  upon  him  when  that 
wasn't  at  all  what  he  wanted. 

VOORHEES  ON  HENDRICKS' 
ATTITUDE. 

Under  date  of  July  18,  1883,  Senator 
Voorhees  wrote  to  me  from  his  home, 
Terre  Haute: 

"I  note  what  you  say  about  Hendricks. 
I  think  he  will  finally  come  out  all  right, 
but  I  confess  his  present  attitude  gives  me 
pain.  He  may  not  perhaps  hurt  McDon- 
ald, but  I  fear  that  he  will  injure  and  be- 
little himself.  I  am  strongly  attached  to 
him,  and  don't  want  him  to  exhibit  the 
small  side  of  human  nature,  as  a  man  al- 
ways does  when  he  shows  jealousy  or  envy. 
I  do  not  know  that  Hendricks  has  any  feel- 
ings of  that  kind,  but  the  public  will  be 
swift  to  draw  such  a  conclusion. 

"There  is  nothing  in  the  old  ticket  move- 
ment. I  have  seen  Mr.  Tilden  within  the 
last  year.  He  is  a  broken-down,  trem- 
bling, palsied  old  man,  all  the  fabricating 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  If  he 
had  not  force  enough  in  him  to  assert  his 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


rights  in  1876-7,  still  less  has  he  now.  He 
is  out  of  the  question.  Since  the  adjourn- 
ment of  Congress  I  have  been  in  eleven 
different  States,  and  I  have  no  doubt  of 
McDonald's  nomination  unless  some  great 
change  takes  place.  The  movement  for 
him  did  not  originate  in  Indiana ;  it  is 
evei-ywhere  else  as  well." 

CLEVELAND    AND    HENDRICKS 
NOMINATED  AT  CHICAGO. 

Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York;  Sen- 
ator Thomas  Francis  Bayard,  of  Dela- 
ware; Allen  G.  Thurman,  of  Ohio;  Sam- 
uel J.  Randall,  of  Pennsylvania;  Joseph 
E.  McDonald,  of  Indiana,  and  John  G. 
Carlisle,  of  Kentucky,  had  earnest,  active 
support  at  the  Democratic  National  Con- 
vention, convened  in  Chicago,  July  8.  Til- 
den  put  a  quietus  on  the  further  use  of 
his  name  in  connection  with  the  Presi- 
dential nomination.  Most  of  his  lieuten- 
ants in  the  Empire  State  united  with 
Daniel  Manning  in  the  support  of  Grover 
Cleveland.  Manning  proved  himself  a 
very  capable  manager.  Tilden  himself 
was  not  partial  to  Cleveland ;  his  personal 
preference  was  Samuel  J.  Randall,  but  the 
latter's  pronounced  views  on  protective 
tariff  made  the  distinguished  Pennsyl- 
vanian  an  impossibility.  Randall  himself 
fully  understood  this  aspect  of  the  case. 
Tammany  fought  Cleveland  as  viciously 
as  it  fought  Tilden  at  St.  Louis  and  four 
years  later  at  Cincinnati.  It  was  this  hos- 
tility to  Cleveland  that  led  General  Ed- 
ward S.  Bragg,  a  Wisconsin  Congre.ss- 
man,  to  exclaim  in  a  fiery  speech:  "We 
love  him  (Cleveland)  for  the  enemies  he 
has  made."  At  one  time  there  seemed  to 
be  a  prospect  of  forming  a  combination 
to  defeat  Cleveland  by  uniting  all  the 
elements  of  opposition  on  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks.  A  mighty  demonstration  had 
been  arranged  and  was  carried  into  effect 
in  the  convention  hall,  but  owing  to  the 
defection  of  the  Illinois  delegation, 
largely  controlled  by  Mayor  Carter  H. 
Harrison,  the  scheme  miscarried.     Ran- 


dall advised  his  friends  to  support  Cleve- 
land.    That  made  the  latter  invincible. 

Richard  D.  Hubbard,  of  Texas,  sei'ved 
as  temporary  and  Colonel  William  F. 
Vilas,  of  Wisconsin,  as  permanent  chair- 
man of  the  convention.  It  was  a  great 
assemblage.  Ben  Butler  cut  some  figure 
in  it.  He  had  a  following  that  was  clam- 
orous for  his  nomination  to  the  Presi- 
dency, but  when  it  came  to  voting  there 
was  but  little  Butler  sentiment  visible  to 
the  naked  eye. 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  placed  in  nomi- 
nation for  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States  his  fellow-townsman,  Joseph  E. 
McDonald,  in  a  speech  of  which  the  fol- 
lov/ing  is  a  verbatim  report,  as  delivered 
on  the  9th  day  of  July,  1884: 

"Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the 
Convention — This  is  my  first  experience 
as  a  delegate  in  a  National  Convention, 
and  as  I  rise  to  present  the  name  of  a  dis- 
tinguished citizen  of  Indiana  in  connection 
with  the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States.  I  feel  the  delicacy  and  great  re- 
sponsibility of  the  duty  I  have  undertaken. 
The  people  now  demand  a  change  in  the 
management  of  Federal  affairs ;  and  if  this 
convention  will  give  them  half  an  oppor- 
tunity they  will  execute  that  purpose  in 
the  election  of  a  President  in  the  coming 
fall. 

"I  believe  the  nominee  of  this  conven- 
tion will  soon  become  the  chosen  President 
of  the  United  States.  (Cheers.)  He  will 
be  the  first  inaugurated  President  for 
twenty-four  years.  (Cheers.)  He  will 
come  "in  burdened  with  all  the  duties  that 
usually  belong  to  high  office,  and  in  addi- 
tion such  duties  and  delicate  responsibili- 
ties as  belong  to  the  transfer  of  public  af- 
fairs from  the  representatives  of  one  party 
to  the  representatives  of  another,  after 
long  control  by  the  latter. 

"Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,  I  have  to 
suggest  for  your  consideration  a  citizen  of 
the  State  of  Indiana,  the  Hon.  Joseph  E. 
McDonald.  (Loud  and  long-continued  ap- 
plause.) I  thank  you  for  the  reception  you 
have  given  to  his  name.  Bom  in  an  ad- 
joining State,  Indiana  became  his  home 
when  but  a  boy.  He  learned  a  trade,  and 
that  made  him  self-dependent  and  very  re- 
spectable   (applause),   and  after  that   he 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


pursued  his  studies  with  such  opportuni- 
ties as  he  had,  and  finally  prepared  him- 
self for  the  profession  of  law;  and  from 
the  time  that  he  took  his  stand  in  the  court 
house  of  his  county  until  the  present  time, 
when  he  stands,  it  may  be,  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  he  has  been  the 
peer  of  the  best  of  that  profession  in  the 
West.  (Loud  applause.)  First,  he  was 
solicited  by  the  district  in  which  he  lived 
to  prosecute  the  pleas  of  the  State ;  after- 
ward chosen  by  the  State  to  represent  her 
as  the  Attorney-General;  next — not  next 
to  that,  but  before  that — he  went  from  his 
own  district  in  which  he  was  raised  from 
boyhood  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  afterward  the  people  of  the 
whole  State  sent  him  as  a  Senator  to  Wash- 
ington. Faithfully,  diligently,  ably,  for 
six  years  he  represented  Indiana  in  the 
Senate.  He  was  welcomed  by  the  ablest 
of  the  Senators  as  his  peer.  Mr.  McDon- 
ald has  been  a  student  of  the  learning  that 
has  made  the  Democracy  of  the  United 
States  what  it  is  today.  (Loud  applause.) 
He  is  familiar  with  the  writings  of  the 
fathers,  and  his  opinions  are  based  upon 
the  sentiments  that  came  to  him  from  their 
pages.  He  is  of  clear  perception,  of  strong 
judgment,  of  earnest  convictions,  fair- 
minded  and  just.  If  you  shall  honor  him 
with  your  nomination,  no  man  will  have 
occasion  to  find  fault  with  the  candid  and 
frank  manner  of  his  reception  when  he 
may  go  to  the  White  House. 

"Gentlemen  of  the  convention,  I  do  not 
speak  for  Mr.  McDonald  alone.  I  do  not 
speak  for  myself  alone.  I  do  not  speak 
for  those  thirty  gentlemen  who  directed 
me  to  stand  here  and  speak  for  them — I 
speak  for  a  mighty  State.  (Continued  ap- 
plause.) But  ten  days  ago  a  Democracy 
that  never  steps  backward,  a  Democracy 
that  meets  the  contest  when  and  where  it 
may  (applause)  instructed  those  thirty 
gentlemen  and  myself  to  say  to  you  that 
Joseph  E.  McDonald  is  worthy  of  your  con- 
sideration as  the  candidate  for  President 
of  the  United  States.  (Loud  applause.) 
What  is  Indiana,  and  what  is  the  Democ- 
racy of  Indiana?  This  mighty  State,  that 
is  neither  of  the  East  nor  of  the  West,  rest- 
ing upon  Ohio,  associating  in  commerce,  in 
trade,  in  good  neighborship  with  adjoining 
States,  this  great  State  has  said  to  me, 
'Present  the  name  of  Mr.  McDonald  to  the 
greatest   convention   the  world   has   ever 


seen'  (applause),  and  for  Indiana  I  make 
my  appeal  to  you  today.  What  heed  will 
you  give  to  Indiana?  For  twenty-five 
years,  during  which  I  have  had  some  re- 
sponsible connection  with  this  great  party, 
she  has  been  without  strife  or  discord  in 
her  ranks.  (Applause.)  She  acted  always 
as  one  man,  and  when  the  election  days 
have  come,  the  tread  of  her  Democracy  has 
been  as  the  tread  of  one  regiment  when 
the  hour  of  battle  is  at  hand.  (Applause.) 
You  know  very  well,  gentlemen,  that  In- 
diana makes  no  question  whether  your 
candidate  shall  live  in  New  York,  Dela- 
ware or  Kentucky.  You  know  very  well 
that  when  the  crisis  comes  Indiana  will 
give  him  her  vote.  Are  you  going  to  make 
it  against  Indiana  because  she  is  so  faith- 
ful, because  she  will  not  hesitate?  Are 
you  going  to  say  from  election  to  election, 
from  convention  to  convention,  'We  need 
not  trouble  about  that  solid  State.  She  is 
all  right.  Her  votes  will  go  well  at  elec- 
tion. We  must  take  care — oh,  just  by  way 
of  illustration — we  must  take  care  of  New 
York.'  (Great  laughter  and  applause.) 
Is  that  where,  as  a  representative  of  the 
Democracy  of  Indiana,  these  thirty  gentle- 
men and  myself  have  to  stand  in  your  pres- 
ence? We  ask  not  a  favor  because  Indiana 
is  true  always,  but  we  ask  that  you  shall 
not  come  in  judgment  against  her.  (Ap- 
plause.) When  many  of  your  States  hesi- 
tated when  M^ar  had  passed,  when  the 
smoke  of  battle  had  blown  away,  and  the 
sound  of  guns  upon  the  plains  and  among 
the  mountains  had  ceased,  and  you  strug- 
gled and  we  struggled,  Indiana  was  the 
first  State  to  carry  the  banner  of  Democ- 
racy to  the  front. 

"And  now,  gentlemen,  a  man  of  good  at- 
tainments, of  high  character,  endorsed  by 
my  State — I  present  his  name  to  you — and 
all  I  ask  is  justice.  The  humblest  of  us 
may  ask  that  much ;  and  when  it  shall  come 
to  be  that  in  a  Democratic  convention  jus- 
tice may  not  be  asked,  then  perhaps  I 
would  better  review  the  practices  of  the 
past  and  not  come  to  convention  at  all.  I 
thank  you,  brother  Democrats,  I  thank 
you,  Mr.  Chairman,  for  the  attention  you 
have  given  me  while  I  have  spoken  for  a 
friend."  (Great  and  continued  applause, 
a  great  number  of  the  delegates  rising  to 
their  feet  and  swinging  their  hats,  etc.) 

The    first    ballot   resulted:      Cleveland, 


(306) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

392;  Bayard,  170;  Thurman,  88;  Randall,  tinel   refused    to   follow    the   custom    ob- 

78;  McDonald,  56;  Carlisle,  27;  scatter-  served    for   years    of    publishing   gratui- 

ing,  8.  tously  from  day  to  day  the  party  ticket — 

On    the    second    ballot    Cleveland    was  National,  State,  county,  etc.    Eb.  Hender- 

nominated  by  the  decisive  vote  of  683  to  son  was  Chairman  of  the  State  commit- 

81  Vo  for  Bayard,  1451/^  for  Hendricks,  4  tee  and  came  in  for  a  share  of  Mr.  Shoe- 

for  Thurman,   4  for  Randall  and  2   for  maker's   displeasure.     The   result  of  the 

McDonald.      Thomas    A.    Hendi'icks    was  election    in    Indiana    is    told    by    these 

unanimously    nominated    for    Vice-Presi-  figures: 

dent.     On  a  motion  to  make  the  nomina-  FOR  PRESIDENT. 

tion     of     Cleveland     unanimous,     vigorous      Grover  Cleveland,   Democrat 244,990 

"TinP5"     pamp     nn     frnm     the     Tammanv      James  G.  Blaine,  Republican 238,463 

noes        came     up     irom     tne      lammany      genj.  F.  Butler,   Greenbacker 8,293 

crowd,  but  the  nomination  of  Hendricks  ^     ^„„^„.,^„ 

i.   J       -i-u               i.u       u     e       4.U      ■  FOR  GOVERNOR, 
was  greeted  with  an  outburst  ot  enthusi- 

iu    J.     J     -i-i   J     -f  ^      uj-  ^f  u;     „„„        Isaac  P.  Gray,  Democrat 245,140 

asm  that  admitted  of  no  doubt  of  his  pop-     ^jju^^  ^   Caj^i„^_  Republican 237,748 

ularity    with    the    great    crowd    that    wit-      Hiram  Z.  Leonard,  Greenbacker 8,338 

nessed  the  nomination  of  the  Democratic     Robert  S.  D.  Wiggins,  Prohibitionist 3,868 

Presidential  ticket  in  1884.  FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

„     „    „         „. ^    ^^^    ,^,^^  .  ^r  .  Mahlon   D.   Manson,   Democrat 245,476 

THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    INDIANA.  Eugene  H.   Bundy,  Republican 237,538 

.  .  ■         j-i,         iu    J-      John  B.   Milroy,   Greenbacker 8,384 

A   more   vigorous    campaign    than   that      Elwood  C.  Silver,  Prohibitionist 3,689 

fought  by  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  in  ^^e  pluralities  were:  Cleveland  for 
1884  could  hardly  be  imagined.  Every  president,  6,537;  Gray  for  Governor, 
Democrat  in  the  State  seemed  to  have  yg^g;  Manson  for  Lieutenant-Governor, 
designated  himself  a  committee  of  one  ^  cjsg ;  Captain  William  R.  Myers  for  See- 
to  win  a  great  and  glorious  victory.  ^^^^^^  ^f  3^^,.^^  7  097 ;  James  H.  Rice  for 
Some  bitterness  was  occasioned  by  the  Auditor  of  State,  7,261;  John  J.  Cooper 
publication  in  the  columns  of  the  Indian-  ^^^  Treasurer  of  State  9  903. 
apolis  Sentinel  of  an  ancient  story  reflect-  ^he  General  Assembly  chosen  at  this 
ing  upon  the  moral  character  of  James  G.  election  was  politically  divided  as  follows: 
Blaine,  the  idol  of  his  party  and  head  of  Senate— 36  Democrats,  14  Republicans, 
the  Republican  National  ticket.  The  Sen-  House— 63  Democrats,  36  Republicans,  1 
tinel' s  plea  of  justification  was  that  the  Greenbacker. 
Republicans  had  mercilessly  and  scandal- 

ously  utilized  the  Maria  Halpin  story  to  NINE  DEMOCRATS,  FOUR  REPUB- 
render  Grover  Cleveland  unpopular  with  LICANS  SENT  TO  CONGRESS, 
voters  of  a  high  moral  standard  and  that  There  is  a  remarkable  similarity  be- 
Republicans,  therefore,  had  no  right  to  tween  the  result  of  the  election  for  mem- 
complain  upon  having  a  dose  of  their  own  bers  of  Congress  in  1882  and  1884.  On 
medicine  administered  to  them.  Libel  suit  the  Democratic  side  Kleiner,  Cobb,  Hol- 
w^as  instituted  against  the  Sentinel  for  man,  Matson,  Ward  and  Lowry  were  re- 
defamation  of  character.  In  view  of  the  elected.  Jonas  G.  Howard,  Democrat, 
politics  involved  in  this  case  the  proprie-  succeeded  Strother  M.  Stockslager,  Dem- 
tor  of  the  Sentinel,  Mr.  John  C.  Shoe-  ocrat,  in  the  Third  District;  William  D. 
maker,  contended  that  the  Democratic  Bynum  succeeded  Will  E.  English,  both 
State  Committee  ought  to  pay  the  attor-  Democrats,  in  the  Indianapolis  District; 
ney's  fee  in  defense  of  the  case,  but  the  James  T.  Johnson,  Republican,  succeeded 
chairman  of  the  committee  was  unable  to  John  E.  Lamb,  Democrat,  in  the  Terre 
concur  in  this  view,  whereupon  the  Sen-  Haute  District.  Two  Republicans,  Brown 


(307) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


and  Steele,  were  re-elected.  George  Ford 
was  elected  for  the  full  term  in  the  Thir- 
teenth, and  Benjamin  F.  Shively  for  the 
unexpired  term  of  Major  Calkins. 

FOR  FIVE  YEARS  DEATH  HOVERED 
OVER  MR.  HENDRICKS. 

The  active  part  taken  by  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks in  the  1884  campaign  left  every- 
body under  the  impression  that  he  was 
in  prime  physical  condition.  Not  a  hint 
to  the  contrary  was  given  from  the 
opening  to  the  close  of  the  campaign.  The 
real  facts  in  the  case  became  known  only 
after  his  death,  and  then  but  vaguely.  It 
devolved  upon  Senator  Voorhees  to  reveal 
the  well-kept  secret.  He  did  this  in  his 
masterly,  eloquent  and  touching  tribute 
to  the  departed  statesman  delivered  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  January  26, 
1886: 

"Five  years  ago  the  unremitting  labors 
and  the  incessant  strain  of  more  than  a 
third  of  a  century  caused  the  powerful  and 
compact  physical  constitution  of  Governor 
Hendricks  to  put  forth  its  first  signals  of 
distress,  and  to  reel  for  a  time  like  a  dis- 
abled ship  in  the  breakers.  In  the  autumn 
of  1880,  seeking  for  rest  and  surcease  of 
toil,  he  visited  that  famous  canyon  of  the 
Ozark  mountains,  in  Arkansas,  where 
magical  springs  pour  forth  their  hot  and 
healing  waters.  While  there  in  repose  and 
apparent  security  the  icy  finger  of  paraly- 
sis, sure  precursor  of  skeleton  death, 
touched  him  with  its  fatal  premonition. 

"The  extent  of  his  danger  at  that  time 
was  never  known,  except  to  her  whose  life 
was  as  his  own,  and  to  his  physicians,  who 
did  not  conceive  it  their  duty  to  publish 
their  patient's  ailments  in  the  newspapers. 
He  came  home,  however,  to  his  beloved 
State,  and  again  took  up  his  public  and 
private  duties  with  serenity  and  compo- 
sure, but  he  knew  from  that  time  forward 
that  he  walked  in  the  constant  shadow  of 
an  impending  blow.  Not  a  word  ever 
escaped  him  on  the  subject  outside  of  his 
domestic  circle.  No  wail,  nor  murmur, 
nor  lament  ever  shook  his  lofty  fortitude 
or  passed  his  lips.  When,  two  years  later, 
he  was  stricken  with  lameness  in  his  foot, 
and  informed  that  he  could  rise  no  more  to 
take  part  in  the  affairs  of  life,  he  was  the 
only  party  to  the  scene  unmoved  by  the 


great  change  then  apparently  so  near.  He 
spoke  of  his  work  as  finished,  and  quietly 
waited  for  the  curtains  which  divide  time 
from  eternity  to  be  drawn  aside.  But 
medical  opinion  had  erred,  and  it  was  re- 
served for  him  to  receive  one  more  promo- 
tion at  the  hands  of  his  countrymen,  to  be 
crowned  with  another  and  higher  honor, 
and  to  fall  at  last,  when  his  hour  did  come, 
within  a  single  step  of  the  summit  of  hu- 
man greatness. 

"At  the  Chicago  convention,  in  1884, 
Governor  Hendricks  made  the  only  appear- 
ance of  his  life  in  such  a  body.  The  old 
familiar  light  was  in  his  face,  and  his  men- 
tal vision  was  as  clear  and  penetrating  as 
ever,  but  he  was  physically  not  strong,  and 
the  prompt  alert  movement  and  elastic 
tread  which  his  friends  knew  so  well  were 
wanting.  His  presence  in  that  convention 
was  contagious,  and  the  vast  multitude 
shouted  themselves  hoarse  and  shook  the 
mighty  am.phitheater  with  his  name  when- 
ever he  appeared,  but  no  exultation  came 
for  a  moment  into  his  look  or  manner.  To 
those  near  him  he  simply  appeared  to  en- 
joy in  a  quiet,  silent  way  the  popular  ap- 
proval of  his  long  and  faithful  services, 
under  the  weight  of  which  he  was  then 
wearily  walking  in  the  rich  and  glowing 
sunset  of  a  great  and  well-spent  life.  When 
he  was  nominated  for  Vice-President  he 
was  seeking  repose  and  sleep  on  his  bed  at 
the  hotel  at  the  close  of  an  exciting  day. 
He  did  not  hear  the  tender  words  and 
strains  of  'Auld  Lang  Syne'  break  forth 
from  ten  thousand  voices  at  the  mention  of 
his  name,  exclaiming: 

Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 
And  never  brought  to  mind  ? 

"The  effect  of  the  nomination  on  Gov- 
ernor Hendricks  himself  was  immediate 
and  remarkable.  The  position  of  Vice- 
President  was  one  to  which  he  had  never 
aspired,  nor  were  its  duties  congenial  to 
his  talents  or  tastes.  He  knew  and  accept- 
ed the  fact  that  a  dread  specter  was  hover- 
ing near  him  and  liable  to  cast  its  fatal 
dart  at  any  moment,  and  more  especially 
in  the  midst  of  labor  and  excitement.  He 
had  so  often,  however,  led  his  party,  and 
had  always  so  fully  met  the  expectations 
of  his  devoted  friends  in  Indiana,  that  his 
iron  vrill  at  once  determined  not  to  disap- 
point them  on  the  last  field  where  he  was 
to  appear.  His  resolution  seemed  to  sum- 
mon up  all  the  vigor  of  the  best  years  of 
his  manhood. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


"The  energy  and  activity  he  displayed 
Avere  never  surpassed  in  a  political  contest. 
He  declared  himself  ready  to  answer  for 
his  State,  as  he  did  in  1876,  and  the  re- 
sponse of  the  people  justified  his  promise 
and  his  claim.  The  brilliant  and  gifted 
leader  of  the  Republican  party,  known  in 
the  lists  of  the  political  tournament  as  the 
Plumed  Knight,  cros.sed  the  borders  of  In- 
diana, was  welcomed  with  all  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  of  a  great  party  long  ac- 
customed to  national  victories,  made  a  tour 
of  the  State  Avith  his  banner  full  high  ad- 
vanced, inspiring  the  confidence  and  kind- 
ling into  a  flame  the  zeal  and  devotion  of 
those  who  believed  in  his  destiny  and  fol- 
lowed his  star.  As  Mr.  Blaine  closed  his 
engagements  in  Indiana  and  drew  off  to 
other  fields,  it  was  determined  that  his 
dramatic  and  dazzling  expedition  into  the 
West  should  have  its  bold  and  effective 
counterpart. 

"Governor  Hendricks,  upon  brief  an- 
nouncement, passed  rapidly  from  point  to 
point,  and  the  people  rose  up  to  do  him 
honor  until  the  whole  State  seemed  one 
vast  continuous  assemblage.  It  was  his 
farewell  engagement  on  the  hustings,  and 
he  filled  it  like  a  master.  Such  an  ovation 
was  rarely  ever  given  to  hero  or  statesman 
in  ancient  or  modern  times,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  this  generation  will  recall  its 
scenes  when  they  are  old  men  and  women 
in  the  distant  future. 

"But  while  he  moved  in  the  midst  of 
these  pageants,  honors  and  allurements, 
it  was  known  to  a  chosen  and  silent  few 
that  his  mind  and  heart  dwelt  apart  from 
them,  and  w^ere  engaged  with  matters  of 
higher  import  than  those  of  earth.  Dur- 
ing the  last  two  years  of  his  life  he  se- 
lected and  prepared  the  beautiful  spot 
where  he  now  reposes.  He  gave  his  close 
personal  attention  to  the  finish  and  erec- 
tion of  the  stately  marble  shaft  which 
bears  his  name  and  marks  his  final  abode. 
His  only  child  died  when  but  three  years 
old,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  had 
rested  at  the  old  home  at  Shelbyville.  As 
he  felt  the  evening  shadows  coming  on, 
the  strong  man,  the  able  lawyer,  the  dis- 
tinguished senator,  and  governor,  and 
vice-president,  wished  his  long-lost  little 
boy  to  sleep  by  his  side.  He  tenderly 
transferred  the  sacred  dust  from  Shelby- 
ville, and  when  he  himself  was  by  loving 
hands  laid  to  rest,  the  grave  of  a  child 
was    observed    close    by    covered    with 


flowers.  At  times  he  visited  this  hal- 
lowed spot  and  lingered  there  while  his 
own  name  was  ringing  with  applause  or 
provoking  fierce  controversy.  His 
thoughts  were  then  far  away,  and  with 
deep  emotion  he  gathered  up  the  broken 
links  of  the  past,  and  by  a  faith  that 
never  faltered  nor  grew  dim,  reunited 
them  in  that  high  world  beyond  the  sun 
and  beyond  the  stars. 

"Governor  Hendricks  was  a  believing 
and  practical  Christian  all  the  days  of  his 
life.  His  duties  to  the  church  were  no 
more  neglected  nor  evaded  than  his  duties 
to  the  State.  He  held  oflficial  relations  with 
both,  but  never  mingled  them.  He  bore 
open  and  public  testimony  on  all  proper 
occasions  to  his  reliance  upon  the  teach- 
ings of  Christianity  for  the  advancement 
of  civilization  and  for  the  happiness  of 
mankind.  In  his  private  life  he  exempli- 
fied the  beautiful  virtues  of  his  religion. 
He  was  much  given  to  charity,  not  merely 
in  the  bestowal  of  alms  to  the  poor,  but 
in  the  kindness  of  his  heart  and  the  tol- 
erance of  his  spirit  toward  all.  He  obeyed 
the  apostolic  injunction,  and  lived  in 
peace  with  all  men  as  far  as  it  lay  in  his 
power  to  do  so.  He  never  gave  the  first 
blow  in  a  personal  controversy,  and  often 
forbore  to  return  those  he  received.  He 
loved  his  neighbors,  and  was  by  them  be- 
loved. 

"Sir,  we  shall  see  Thomas  A.  Hendricks 
no  more  with  our  mortal  eyes.  He  is  gone 
from  the  high  place  of  earth  to  the  higher 
realms  of  immortality.  He  is  lost  to  the 
senate  chamber,  to  the  forum,  and  to 
home  and  friends.  We  will  follow  him; 
he  will  return  no  more  to  us.  As  long, 
however,  as  American  history  treasures 
up  pure  lives  and  faithful  public  services; 
as  long  as  public  and  private  virtue,  stain- 
less and  without  blemish,  is  revered,  so 
long  will  his  name  be  cherished  by  the 
American  people  as  an  example  worthy 
the  highest  emulation.  Monuments  of 
brass  and  marble  will  lift  their  heads  to- 
ward heaven  in  honor  of  his  fame,  but  a 
monument  more  precious  to  his  memory 
and  more  valuable  to  the  world  has  al- 
ready been  founded  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people  whom  he  served  so  long,  so  faith- 
fully, and  \vith  such  signal  ability.  In 
the  busy  harvest  time  of  death,  in  the 
year  1885,  there  was  gathered  into  eter- 
nity no  nobler  spirit,  no  higher  intelli- 
gence, no  fairer  soul." 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 1 


19  1 


(Mr.  Hendricks  died  at  his  home  in 
Indianapolis,  November  25,  1885.  He  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Muskingum  county, 
Ohio,  September  7,  1819.) 

At  the  memorial  services  of  the  Indian- 
apolis Bar  Joseph  E.  McDonald  spoke 
thus  of  Mr.  Hendricks: 

"The  national  flag  at  half-mast,  the  city 
draped  in  mourning,  and  the  many  sad 
faces  that  throng  our  streets,  all  attest 
the  fact  that  one  who  has  enshrined  him- 
self in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  this 
State  and  had  inscribed  his  name  high  up 
in  the  roll  of  the  distinguished  men  of  our 
country  has  closed  his  earthly  career;  and 
while  we,  his  brothers  of  the  bar,  have 
met  to  pay  to  his  memory  that  honor  to 
which  it  is  entitled,  on  account  of  the 
high  rank  he  held  in  our  profession,  a 
nation  bows  its  head  in  sorrow.  Monu- 
ments may  be  erected  to  perpetuate  his 
name,  but  none  will  be  more  enduring 
than  the  memorial  you  will  this  day  en- 
roll upon  the  records  of  the  courts.  It  is 
the  lawyers'  monument,  and  will  remain 
when  monuments  of  brass  or  stone  have 
crumbled,  and  fallen,  and  mingled  with  the 
dust.  The  memorial  and  resolutions  you 
are  about  to  adopt  speak  of  him,  his  char- 
acter and  career,  and  render  it  unneces- 
sary for  me  to  more  than  briefly  allude 
to  them.." 

MR.    HENDRICKS'    DEATH    SUDDEN 
AND  UNEXPECTED. 

As  stated  in  his  eloquent  tribute  to  the 
departed,  the  Hon.  William  D.  Bynum 
says  on  the  evening  prior  to  his  death  Mr. 
Hendricks 

"Attended  a  reception  at  the  residence 
of  State  Treasurer  Cooper,  and,  though 
slightly  complaining,  was  the  recipient  of 
many  congratulations  upon  his  healthful 
and  robust  appearance.  On  this  occasion 
he  was  exceptionally  aff"able,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  pleasures  of  the  evening  with 
rare  grace  and  extreme  joy.  Upon  his  re- 
turn home  he  did  not  rest  well,  and  the 
next  morning  the  family  physician  was 
summoned,  who,  finding  nothing  serious 
the  matter,  administered  an  anodyne  to  re- 
lieve the  pain  of  which  he  complained.  No 
one  but  himself  entertained  any  thoughts 
of  approaching  danger,  and  the  only  man- 
ifestation of  fear  upon  his  part  was  the 
gloom,  of  doubt  which  seemed  to  be  hover- 


ing around  his  mind,  causing  him  to  crave 
the  continued  presence  of  Mrs.  Hendricks 
by  his  side.  She  was  constantly  with  him 
on  the  day  of  his  death  until  late  in  the 
afternoon,  when  she  left  him  alone,  rest- 
ing comfortably  and  apparently  safely,  to 
receive  some  friends.  She  was  absent  only 
a  few  minutes,  but  when  she  returned  his 
great  spirit  was  gone. 

"The  news  of  his  death  flew  fast  and 
far,  and  'ere  the  noon  of  night  had  passed 
a  feeling  of  sorrow  was  in  every  heart 
and  a  shade  of  sadness  upon  every  brow. 
Death  had  not  stricken  the  first-born,  yet 
there  was  mourning  in  every  household. 
When  the  startling  news  of  his  death  was 
first  communicated  to  me  I  was  reminded 
of  the  time  when  Burke  was  making  a 
speech  at  the  hustings  in  a  race  for  the 
House  of  Commons  news  was  brought 
him  of  the  death  of  his  competitor. 
Dropping  the  subject  of  his  speech,  he 
exclaimed,  'This  teaches  us  what  shadows 
we  are  and  what  shadows  we  pursue.' " 

HENDRICKS'      BROADMINDEDNESS. 

A  remark  that  Mr.  Hendricks  made  in 
1880  illustrates  his  conscientiousness  and 
sincerity.  He  was  walking  toward  the 
Wigwam  one  evening  with  his  friend, 
William  Wesley  Woollen,  to  hear  Hon. 
George  W.  Julian  speak.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  Mr.  Julian  had  been  an 
Abolitionist  before  and  during  the  war, 
noted  on  the  stump  and  in  Congress  for 
the  force  of  his  argumentation  and  bit- 
terness of  his  invective.  He  came  over 
to  the  Democrats  with  the  Greeley  move- 
ment and  had  been  an  able  assailant  of 
the  Republican  administration.  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks fell  to  commenting  on  Mr.  Julian 
as  a  speaker  and  feared  that  his  sharp- 
ness and  vigor  would  not  prove  so  ef- 
fective as  a  more  winning  and  persuasive 
style.  "But,"  he  said,  "what  a  fine  cour- 
age Julian  has  shown  throughout;  and. 
Woollen,  he  was  right  in  his  abolition 
views  and  we  were  wrong."  Then,  after 
a  moment's  thought,  he  continued:  "But 
if  I  had  my  life  to  go  over,  I  could  not 
do  otherwise  than  I  did.  At  each  step  I 
did  what  I  thought  right  by  the  light  I 
then  had." 


[Chapter  XLI.] 

POLITICAL  SEE-SAWING  CONTINUES 

FOUR  YEARS  OF  DEMOCRATIC  ASCENDENCY  FOLLOWED  BY 
FOUR  YEARS  OF  REPUBLICAN  SUPREMACY 


OR  the  first  time  after  the  Civil 
War  the  Democrats  of  Indiana 
scored  a  signal  triumph  in 
1870.  A  Democratic  Governor 
and  a  Democratic  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction 
were  chosen  in  1872,  but  the 
remainder  of  the  Republican  State  ticket 
squeezed  in  at  the  October  election  of  that 
year.  The  country  at  large  was  swept  by 
the  Republicans  under  the  leadership  of 
Grant,  owing  to  the  adversities  engendered 
by  the  ill-fated  Greeley  movement.  Two 
years  later  victory  was  again  inscribed  on 
the  Democratic  banner.  This  was  repeated 
in  1878.  In  1880,  Democracy  discouraged 
and  for  a  time  dismayed,  the  Republicans 
emerged  out  of  the  contest  victoriously, 
both  State  and  Nation.  A  hocus-pocus 
game  sought  to  be  shrewdly  played  by  the 
Republicans  in  1882  was  rebuked  by  a 
Democratic  victory  exceeding  10,000  votes. 
Nearly  equally  decisive  was  the  Demo- 
cratic triumph  in  1884.  Democratic  dis- 
content and  apathy  in  1886  caused  the 
political  pendulum  again  to  swing  in  the 
Republican  direction.  Democratic  apathy 
in  that  campaign  was  due  to  the  reluctance 
with  which  the  Cleveland  administration 
recognized  the  just  claims  of  the  Demo- 
cratic "boys  in  the  trenches."  After  hav- 
ing been  out  in  the  cold  for  so  many  years, 
"the  boys  in  the  trenches,"  who  had  bat- 
tled for  so  long  a  time  to  place  the  country 
under  Democratic  control,  had  become  im- 
bued with  the  idea  that  some  considera- 
tion should  be  shown  them  at  the  "pie 
counter,"  so  greedily  monopolized  by  Re- 
publican workers  and  partisans.  Sore  dis- 
appointment thus  occasioned  cropped  out 
everywhere  and  had  a  depressing  effect  on 
both  campaign  and  election. 


By  dint  of  persistent  hammering  away 
some  recognition  was  accorded  about  a 
half-dozen  more  or  less  prominent  Indiana 
Democrats.  Colonel  John  S.  Williams  of 
Lafayette  was  made  Third  Auditor;  S.  M. 
Stockslager  of  Corydon  became  Assistant 
Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office,  and  Eb. 
Henderson  landed  a  fairly  good  job  in  one 
of  the  numerous  bureaus  at  Washington. 

In  the  diplomatic  service  Indiana  fared 
better.  Two  important  positions  were 
awarded  to  distinguished  and  deserving 
Indiana  Democrats:  Colonel  Charles 
Denby  of  Evansville  was  made  Ambassador 
to  China  and  the  Hon.  Rufus  Magee  of 
Logansport  was  named  as  Minister  to  Nor- 
way and  Sweden.  Both  were  excellent 
selections.  Both  were  credited  to  Joseph 
E.  McDonald.  Mr.  Magee  sustained  very 
close  relations  to  that  gentleman.  During 
the  earlier  part  of  Mr.  Magee's  career  he 
was  a  member  of  the  McDonald  family. 
For  some  years  Mr.  Magee  was  connected 
v/ith  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel  and  served 
several  terms  as  Secretary  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Committee.  In  these  positions 
he  developed  unusual  ability,  that  con- 
tributed largely  to  his  subsequent  advance- 
ment and  well-deserved  prominence  in 
State  affairs.  As  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Logansport  Pharos,  he  wielded  com- 
manding influence  in  State  politics,  and  as 
State  Senator  he  achieved  fame  and  dis- 
tinction by  virtue  of  the  excellence  of  his 
legislative  work.  As  Minister  to  Norway 
and  Sweden  he  made  a  record  to  which  his 
friends  may  well  point  with  satisfaction 
and  pride.  That  the  appointment  of 
Colonel  Denby  to  the  Chinese  ambassador- 
ship was  a  wise  one  is  attested  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  retained  by  the  Harrison  ad- 
ministration and  that  twelve  years  of  the 


(311) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Colonel's  life  were  devoted  to  straightening 
out  the  innumerable  complications  that 
arose  during  his  long  and  useful  diplomatic 
service. 

Indiana  having  failed  to  gain  recogni- 
tion in  the  formation  of  the  Cleveland 
Cabinet — influences  having  been  set  at 
work  to  prevent  Joseph  E.  McDonald  from 
being  made  Attorney-General — intima- 
tions were  thrown  out  that  Indiana  might 
be  favored  with  the  award  of  the  public 
printership.  Vice-President  Hendricks 
and  the  solid  Indiana  delegation  in  Con- 
gress held  a  meeting  and  unanimously 
formally  presented  the  name  of  John  B. 
Stoll  for  that  position.  In  course  of  time 
it  leaked  out  that  strong  influences  were 
at  work  to  retain  the  then  "present  incum- 
bent," S.  P.  Rounds  of  Chicago.  When- 
ever urged  to  come  to  some  decision  in  the 
premises,  President  Cleveland  bemoaned 
the  tremendous  pressure  brought  upon 
him  from  all  directions  and  pleaded  that 
more  time  be  given  him  to  reach  a  conclu- 
sion. Repeated  month  after  month,  this 
plea  became  monotonous,  and  about  the 
middle  of  the  Cleveland  administration 
Mr.  Stoll  went  to  Washington  to  have  a 
personal  interview  with  the  President  on 
the  subject. 

With  utmost  frankness  President  Cleve- 
land was  told  that  so  much  time  having 
been  consumed  in  determining  the  public 
printership,  an  appointment  now  would  no 
longer  serve  as  a  gratification  of  ambition ; 
that  public  office  had  lost  its  charms  so 
far  as  this  applicant  was  concerned,  and 
that  rather  than  be  further  held  in  sus- 
pense he  (Mr.  Stoll)  would  prefer  to  with- 
draw his  papers  and  forget  all  about 
having  been  a  candidate  for  the  position. 
The  President  earnestly  objected  to  this 
being  done,  promising  that  in  the  near 
future  he  would  take  up  this  particular 
case  and  come  to  a  decision.  Shortly  after 
this  interview  Stilson  Hutchins,  a  former 
newspaper  publisher  at  St.  Louis  and  then 
in  control  of  an  administration  organ  at 


Washington,  sent  word  to  Mr.  Stoll  by  a 
trustworthy  envoy  that  if  he  (Hutchins) 
were  permitted  to  name  the  chief  clerk  of 
the  Government  Printing  Office  the  ap- 
pointment of  Mr.  Stoll  would  soon  be  an- 
nounced. The  reply  to  this  overture  was 
that  Mr.  Stoll  would  not  place  himself 
under  any  such  obligation  to  any  human 
being.  Interest  in  the  public  printership 
had  by  this  time  been  eliminated  from 
Mr.  Stoll's  mind,  he  having  reached  the 
conclusion  that  henceforth  his  time  and 
attention  would  be  centered  on  his  news- 
paper work.  The  effect  of  banishing 
political  ambition  and  giving  unre- 
mitting attention  to  business  was 
marvelous  and  .  resulted  in  such  ad- 
vancement along  material  lines  that 
the  denial  of  an  appointment  at  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Cleveland  partook  of  the  na- 
ture of  a  blessing  in  disguise.  Stilson 
Hutchins  became  a  multi-millionaire.  How 
much  satisfaction  and  pleasure  this 
afforded  him  is  not  a  matter  of  record.  It 
is  a  matter  of  record,  however,  that  after 
having  devoted  a  lifetime  to  the  accumu- 
lation of  millions  he  became  involved  in  a 
legal  squabble  with  his  family  and  that  he 
ended  his  career  a  mental  as  well  as  a 
physical  wreck. 

In  an  interview  that  the  Hon.  Eli  W. 
Brown,  for  many  years  a  prominent  Demo- 
crat of  Whitley  county  and  at  the  time 
editor  of  the  Frankfort  Crescent,  had  with 
Senator  McDonald,  at  the  latter's  law  office 
in  Indianapolis,  soon  after  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  Cleveland  administration,  Mr. 
McDonald  expressed  himself  quite  freely 
with  reference  to  his  attitude  toward  Mr. 
Hendricks.  "The  time  has  come,"  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald said  to  Mr.  Brown,  "when  lines 
must  be  drawn  sharply  in  this  State.  We 
have  come  to  the  crossing  of  the  roads. 
The  adherents  of  Mr.  Hendricks  will  choose 
one;  my  friends  will  travel  in  the  other 
direction."  When  the  substance  of  this 
conversation  was  repeated  to  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks he  showed    no    signs    of    surprise, 


(312) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


anger  or  fear.  He  simply  listened,  medi- 
tated and  then  maintained  an  ominous 
silence. 

An  unexpected  complication  arose  in 
Indiana  politics  as  a  result  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  Lieutenant-Governor  Mahlon  D. 
Manson  to  the  collectorship  of  internal 
revenue,  headquarters  at  Terre  Haute.  By 
the  acceptance  of  a  Federal  appointment 
General  Manson  vacated  the  office  to 
which  the  people  of  Indiana  had  elected 
him  in  1884.  Being  a  man  of  wealth,  his 
acceptance  of  an  office  such  as  the  collector- 
ship  created  considerable  surprise.  After 
he  had  filed  his  letter  of  resignation  as 
Lieutenant-Governor,  the  question  as  to 
filling  the  vacancy  at  the  ensuing  election 
was  by  Governor  Gi-ay  officially  referred 
to  Attorney-General  Francis  T.  Hord. 
Upon  giving  due  consideration  to  the  sub- 
ject the  Attorney-General  held  that  the 
vacancy  must  be  filled  by  popular  election. 
Governor  Gray  accepted  this  view  of  the 
case  and  in  his  official  capacity  announced 
that  it  would  be  in  order  for  all  political 
parties  in  the  State  to  nominate  a  candi- 
date for  the  office  of  Lieutenant-Governor. 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  STATE  TICKET 
HEADED  BY  CAPTAIN  JOHN  C. 
NELSON. 

When  the  Democratic  State  Convention 
assembled  at  Indianapolis,  August  11, 
1886,  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Or- 
ganization, through  its  Chairman,  W. 
Scott  Ray,  named  Senator  Voorhees  for 
presiding  officer  and  W.  J.  Craig  as  prin- 
cipal secretary.  The  convention  ratified 
these  nominations  unanimously  and  en- 
thusiastically. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  E.  P.  Richardson,  Pike  county. 

2.  Thomas  B.  Buskirk,  Orange. 

3.  S.  H.  Mitchell,  Washington. 

4.  Judge  F.  S.  Swift,  Franklin. 

5.  Eb.  Henderson,  Morgan. 

6.  D.  W.  Chambers,  Henry. 

7.  Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Marion. 

8.  J.  C.  Sawyer,  Vermilion. 

9.  Israel  Curry,  Boone. 


10.  J.  C.  Odeil,  Carroll. 

11.  W.  H.  Hawkins,  Jay. 

12.  Judge  Edward  O'Rourke,  Allen. 

13.  Daniel  McDonald,  Marshall. 

THE  PLATFORM  OF  1886. 

As  compared  with  some  other  platform 
declarations  that  of  1886  may  be  pro- 
nounced a  model  of  terseness.  Its  main 
planks  read  thus: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Democracy  of  In- 
diana, in  convention  assembled,  cordially 
approves  the  administration  of  President 
Cleveland,  for  its  ability,  integrity  and 
economy  in  the  management  of  national 
affairs,  and  recognize  in  the  President  and 
members  of  his  Cabinet  faithful  and  pa- 
triotic servants. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Democrats  of  In- 
diana sincerely  lament  the  loss  of  their 
honored  and  •  trusted  leader,  the  late 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks.  By  his  wise  coun- 
sel and  superb  leadership  the  Democracy 
of  Indiana  gained  and  enjoyed  an  enviable 
reputation  for  heroic  and  unselfish  devo- 
tion to  the  principles  of  just  government. 
The  memory  of  our  late  beloved  leader  can 
not  be  better  perpetuated  than  by  a  stead- 
fast observance  of  his  conciliatory  counsel 
and  patriotic  teachings,  to  the  end  that  the 
efforts  of  all  true  Democratic  citizens  may 
be  directed  to  the  faithful  application  of 
those  grand  and  ennobling  principles  that 
conduce  to  the  welfare  and  happines-j  of  a 
liberty-loving  people. 

"We  also  profoundly  deplore  that  during 
a  brief  period  of  time  the  Nation,  and  par- 
ticularly the  Democratic  party,  has  suf- 
fered the  loss  of  four  other  eminent 
citizens  in  the  person  of  the  gallant 
leader,  George  B.  McClellan;  the  superb 
hero,  Winfield  Scott  Hancock;  the  pure 
and  wise  statesman,  Horatio  Seymour; 
and  more  recently  the  demise  of  that  dis- 
cerning statesman,  sagacious  counselor 
and  profound  political  philosopher,  Samuel 
J.  Tilden.  The  career  of  these  illustrious 
men  may  well  serve  as  examples  for  those 
upon  whom  shall  devolve  the  responsibility 
of  leadership. 

"Resolved,  That  taxation  of  the  people 
for  other  purposes  than  raising  revenue 
for  the  expenses  of  the  Government,  eco- 
nomically administered,  is  robbery  under 
the  forms  of  law.  We  are,  therefore,  in 
favor  of  a  reduction  of  the  present  unjust 
tariff  to  a  revenue  basis,  and  we  hereby 


(313) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


reaffirm  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
Chicago  platform  on  that  subject  and 
heartily  indorse  the  action  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Representatives  in  Congress  from 
this  State  for  their  fidelity  to  the  cause  of 
tariff  reform. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party 
of  Indiana  is  now,  as  it  has  always  been, 
opposed  in  principle  to  all  sumptuary  laws 
and  prohibitory  legislation,  but  it  is  in 
favor  of  just  and  proper  measures  for 
regulating  traffic  in  spirituous  and  intoxi- 
cating liquors  under  a  license  system 
designed  to  repress  the  evils  of  intem- 
perance, and  it  favors  a  reasonable  increase 
of  the  license  tax,  discriminating  between 
malt  liquor  and  wines  and  distilled  spirits 
so  as  to  place  the  highest  license  on  dis- 
tilled spirits.  The  proceeds  of  such  tax  to 
be  applied  to  the  support  of  the  common 
schools. 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  enactment  of  all 
laws  a  strict  regard  should  be  had  for  the 
rights  of  the  laboring  masses;  that  taxa- 
tion should  be  restricted  to  the  lowest 
amounts  required  by  an  economical  ad- 
ministration of  public  affairs;  that  wage- 
workers  should  be  protected  by  legislation 
from  the  oppressive  power  of  monopolies 
and  corporations ;  and  that  all  laws  not  in 
harmony  with  the  foregoing  purposes 
should  be  repealed." 

The  remainder  of  the  platform  is  de- 
voted to  a  declaration  approving  the 
forfeiture  of  about  one  hundred  million 
acres  of  railroad  grant  lands ;  condemning 
alien  ownership  of  land  in  Indiana ;  favor- 
ing gold  and  silver  and  convertible  paper 
money  as  a  circulating  medium;  bestow- 
ing praise  on  Democratic  officials  then  in 
power  for  their  efficiency  and  fidelity;  de- 
manding the  repeal  of  all  laws  that  do  not 
bear  equally  on  capital  and  labor;  paying 
tribute  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  who 
saved  the  Union ;  favoring  a  revision  of  the 
tax  law  so  as  to  bring  about  equitable 
valuation  of  property;  approving  a  pend- 
ing amendment  to  the  Constitution  mak- 
ing the  term  of  all  county  officers  four 
years;  felicitating  Ireland  on  the  pros- 
pective establishment  of  home  rule;  ap- 
proving increased  pensions  to  the  widows 


and  dependent  parents  of  deceased  soldiers 
and  to  soldiers  who  were  disabled  in  the 
Union  army. 

Nominations  having  been  declared  in 
order.  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Harrison  of  Leb- 
anon presented  the  name  of  James  McCabe 
of  Warren  for  Lieutenant-Governor. 
Alonzo  Green  Smith  was  also  placed  before 
the  convention,  but  he  immediately  arose 
and  declared  that  he  could  not  be  a  candi- 
date. Dr.  Harrison  withdrew  the  name  of 
Mr.  McCabe.  Thereupon  Michael  L.  Fansler 
presented  the  name  of  Captain  John  C. 
Nelson  of  Logansport,  whose  nomination 
was  effected  by  acclamation. 

For  Secretary  of  State,  Robert  W.  Miers 
of  Bloomington;  Lewis  Jordan  of  Indiana- 
polis; Samuel  R.  Downey  of  Ohio  county, 
and  Myron  D.  King  were  proposed  by  their 
respective  friends.  After  the  second  bal- 
lot Mr.  King  made  a  motion,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Jordan,  that  Robert  W.  Miers  be  de- 
clared the  unanimous  choice  of  the  con- 
vention for  Secretary  of  State.  It  was  so 
decreed. 

Charles  A.  Munson  of  Fort  Wayne, 
Gerard  Reiter  of  Vincennes  and  A.  B. 
Pitzer  of  Tipton  were  named  for  Auditor 
of  State.  On  the  first  ballot  Mr.  Munson 
received  6I8I/2  votes,  Reiter  3371/2.  Pitzer 
275.  Mr.  Munson,  having  received  a  ma- 
jority of  all  the  votes  cast,  was  declared 
duly  nominated. 

No  one  ventured  to  contest  with  popular 
Thomas  B.  Byrnes  of  Evansville  the 
nomination  for  State  Treasurer,  and  he 
was  accordingly  made  the  nominee  by 
acclamation. 

For  Attorney-General  James  V.  Kent  of 
Frankfort  and  Hugh  D.  McMullen  entered 
the  race.  McMullen  was  nominated  on  the 
first  ballot  by  receiving  704 1/2  votes,  Kent 
5151/2-  On  motion  of  Mr.  Kent  the  Mc- 
Mullen nomination  was  declared  to  be  the 
unanimous  action  of  the  convention. 

Four  candidates  for  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  were  placed  before  the 
convention:  Andrew  M.  Sweeney  of 
Dubois  county,  John  W.  Holcombe  of  Por- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


-19  1 


ter  county,  Frederick  S.  Caldwell  of  Ran- 
dolph county  and  Benjamin  F.  Morgan  of 
Wayne  county.  After  the  second  ballot 
Mr.  Holcombe  moved  that  Mr.  Sweeney's 
nomination  be  made  unanimous.  It  was  so 
declared. 

The  business  of  the  convention  having 
been  completed,  adjournment  was  ordered. 
There  was  in  the  minds  of  the  assembled 
delegation  an  abundance  of  hopefulness, 
but  positiveness  as  to  victory  seemed  to 
be  lacking. 

The  ticket  as  nominated  was  composed 
of  strong  men,  all  of  them  possessing  a 
high  degree  of  personal  popularity.  A 
combination  of  greater  cleverness  could 
hardly  have  been  formed.  A  more  admir- 
able selection  for  the  head  of  the  ticket 
could  not  have  been  conceived.  Captain 
John  C.  Nelson,  as  man,  soldier  and  law- 
yer, had  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all 
who  enjoyed  the  pleasure  and  good  fortune 
of  his  acquaintance.  But  this  did  not  save 
him  from  defeat  at  the  November  election. 
Democratic  disaffection,  attributable  to 
Cleveland's  ostentatious  flirtation  with 
mugwumpery,  rendered  Democratic  defeat 
at  the  polls  inevitable.  The  result  of  the 
election  for  Lieutenant-Governor  is  thus 
officially  recorded:  Colonel  R.  S.  Robert- 
son, Republican,  231,922 ;  Captain  John  C. 
Nelson,  Democrat,  228,598.  The  figures 
as  to  the  other  candidates  on  the  two  State 
tickets  did  not  vary  much  from  those 
credited  to  the  candidates  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor. 

The  election  of  members  of  the  General 
Assembly  proved  unfortunate  in  this,  that 
on  account  of  its  closeness  on  joint  ballot 
complications  arose  that  are  not  credit- 
able to  the  State.  What  these  complica- 
tions were  will  be  found  narrated  at  length 
later  on. 

In  the  election  of  Representatives  in 
Congress,  the  Democrats  met  with  several 
deplorable  losses.  They  lost  out  in  the 
Evansville  and  the  Fort  Wayne  districts. 
In  the  latter  district  there  were  so  many 
hungry  and  inferentially  thirsty  patriots 


whose  appetite  Judge-Robert  Lowry  could 
not  appease  that  he  was  defeated  in  his 
third  race  for  continuous  Congressional 
service.  No  man  ever  so  little  deserved 
defeat  as  did  Judge  Lowry.  He  had  made 
many  sacrifices  for  his  party,  had  rendered 
it  much  valuable  service,  was  a  man  of 
superior  ability,  and  ought  to  have  been 
kept  in  Congress  as  long  as  his  party  could 
retain  its  ascendancy.  But  because  he  was 
unable  to  meet  the  voracious  demand  for 
oflScial  loaves  and  fishes  he  was  ruthlessly 
slaughtered  at  the  polls  and  mercilessly 
relegated  to  private  life. 

Alvin  P.  Hovey,  Republican,  was  elected 
in  the  First  district.  Upon  his  election  to 
the  Governorship  in  1888  he  resigned  his 
seat  in  Congress  and  was  succeeded  by 
Frank  B.  Posey,  also  a  Republican.  John 
H.  O'Neall,  Democrat,  succeeded  Thomas 
R.  Cobb,  Democrat,  in  the  Second. 
Howard,  Holman,  Matson  and  Bynum,  all 
Democrats,  were  triumphantly  re-elected, 
as  were  Browne,  Johnson,  Owen  and 
Steele  on  the  Republican  side  of  the  House. 
Joseph  B.  Cheadle  of  Frankfort,  a  Repub- 
lican, succeeded  Tom  Ward  in  the  Lafay- 
ette district.  James  B.  White,  a  popular 
Fort  Wayne  grocer,  defeated  Judge  Lowry 
in  the  Twelfth.  One  term  satisfied  George 
Ford,  of  the  South  Bend  district,  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  F.  Shively. 

By  reason  of  the  commotion  created  by 
the  refusal  of  the  State  Senate  to  permit 
the  newly-elected  Lieutenant-Governor  to 
take  his  seat  and  preside  over  the  State 
Senate,  I  desired  to  obtain  the  version  of  a 
gentleman  who  not  only  participated  in 
what  was  done  during  that  exciting  period, 
but  who  also  had  the  ability  and  the  in- 
clination to  state  the  facts  in  the  case 
fully  and  reliably.  What  he  says  on  this 
subject  in  the  following  pages  contains 
historic  information  of  high  value.  I 
doubt  if  any  other  Indianian  now  living 
could  equal  in  comprehensive  complete- 
ness the  story  of  the  legislative  imbroglio 
of  1887  as  written  by  Judge  Timothy  E. 
Howard.     Fortunately  there  has  been  no 


(315) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


recurrence    of    any  .such    outbreak    since 
those  unhappy  days  of  partisan  frenzy. 

THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  1887. 

(Written  upon  special  request  by  Hon.  Timothy  E. 

Howard,  representing  St.  Joseph  county 

in  the  State  Senate  of  1887.) 

The  Indiana  Legislature  of  1887  was  in 
many  respects  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
that  ever  assembled  at  the  State  Capitol. 
The  Senate,  as  organized,  consisted  of 
thirty-one  Democrats  and  nineteen  Repub- 
licans. The  House,  as  organized,  consisted 
of  fifty-two  Republicans,  forty-four  Demo- 
crats and  four  members  of  the  Greenback 
Labor  party.  A  United  States  Senator  was 
to  be  elected  at  that  session  to  succeed  the 
Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison,  whose  term 
would  expire  on  the  fourth  day  of  March, 
following.  No  party  had  a  majority  of 
both  Houses  and  the  outcome  was  exceed- 
ingly uncertain.  The  Greenback  Labor 
vote  seemed  to  be  able  to  control  the  elec- 
tion. As  the  Houses  were  organized,  the 
Democrats  had  a  majority  in  the  Senate 
and  the  Republicans  in  the  House.  The 
vote  in  joint  convention  would  be :  Demo- 
crats 75,  Republicans  71,  and  the  third 
party  4.  It  was  known  that  three  mem- 
bers of  the  Greenback  Labor  party  would 
probably  favor  the  Republican  candidate 
rather  than  the  Democrat,  while  the 
fourth  member  had  strong  Democratic 
affiliations.  Seventy-six  would  be  a  major- 
ity on  joint  ballot,  and  it  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  Democrats  should 
maintain  their  plurality  of  75  and  also  gain 
the  vote  of  one  of  the  third  party  in  order 
to  succeed  in  the  election  of  a  United 
States  Senator.  The  Republicans  having 
a  majority  in  the  House,  their  plan  seemed 
to  be  to  unseat  enough  Democrats  in  that 
body  to  secure  the  needed  majority  of  76 
on  joint  ballot.  They  appeared  to  forget 
that  the  Democrats  controlled  the  Senate 
and  might  retaliate  by  unseating  such 
Republican  Senators  as  might  be  found  to 
have  defective  titles  to  their  places. 

On  January  14  the  Republicans  unseated 


Cornelius  Meagher  in  the  House  and 
seated  a  Republican  in  his  place.  On  Janu- 
ary 17  the  Senate  unseated  Senator  Mc- 
Donald, a  Republican,  and  seated  a  Demo- 
crat in  his  place,  thus  restoring  the  rel- 
ative strength  of  the  parties  as  it  stood 
before  the  unseating  of  Meagher.  Both 
parties  then  concluded  that  this  suicidal 
procedure  had  gone  far  enough.  Senator 
Kennedy,  a  Republican  farmer,  whose  own 
seat  was  not  free  from  danger,  gave  his 
colleagues  the  safe  advice  that  it  was  very 
poor  policy  to  trade  four-year-olds  for  two- 
year-olds — Republican  Senators  for  Demo- 
cratic Representatives.  Accordingly  a 
modus  Vivendi  was  '"proposed  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Republican  Caucus  to  the 
Democratic  members  of  the  Fifty-first 
General  Assembly,"  which  was  accepted 
by  the  latter  and  thereafter  acted  upon  by 
both  parties.  One  provision  of  this  agree- 
ment was,  "That  the  roll  of  each  House  is 
to  stand  and  be  called  as  it  existed  on  Tues- 
day, January  18,  1887."  The  Democrats 
thus  secured  their  seventy-five  votes  on 
joint  ballot,  as  the  same  had  been  elected 
by  the  people. 

But  to  secure  the  additional  vote  neces- 
sary to  make  up  the  seventy-six  believed 
to  constitute  a  majority  on  joint  ballot, 
care  must  be  taken  in  nominating  a  candi- 
date for  United  States  Senator  who  should 
be  acceptable  to  at  least  one  of  the  third 
party  members. 

Isaac  P.  Gray  was  at  the  time  Governor 
of  the  State.  General  Mahlon  D.  Manson, 
a  distinguished  veteran  of  the  civil  war, 
was  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  with 
Governor  Gray.  It  was  Governor  Gray's 
ambition  to  be  elected  United  States  Sen- 
ator from  Indiana.  As  General  Manson 
was  desirous  of  becoming  Governor  of  In- 
diana, it  seemed  that  two  laudable  ambi- 
tions were  to  be  satisfied.  Governor  Gray 
going  to  the  Senate  and  General  Manson 
succeeding  to  the  Governorship.  How- 
ever, certain  influential  Democrats  were 
unwilling  that  the  Governor's  ambition 
should  be  gratified,   and  they   sought  to 


(316) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


have  the  brave  old  General  resign  his 
office  of  Lieutenant-Governor  and  accept 
a  petty  Federal  office  in  its  place.  In  a 
weak  moment  the  General  consented,  and 
Governor  Gray  was  too  good  a  Democrat 
to  seek  the  Senatorial  toga  without  leav- 
ing the  office  of  Governor  in  the  hands  of 
a  man  chosen  by  the  people. 

In  this  dilemma  the  Governor  conceived 
the  idea  of  seeking  the  election  of  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor in  the  place  of  General  Man- 
son.  The  Attorney-General  advised  that 
such  an  election  would  be  constitutional, 
and  both  parties  nominated  candidates  for 
the  office  of  Lieutenant-Governor,  to  fill 
the  vacancy  left  by  the  resignation  of 
General  Manson.  But  here  again  Governor 
Gray  was  disappointed.  The  Democratic 
candidate,  Captain  John  C.  Nelson,  another 
civil  war  veteran  and  a  most  competent 
gentleman,  was  defeated  by  the  Republican 
candidate.  Colonel  Robert  S.  Robertson. 

The  House  of  Representatives  recog- 
nized the  election  of  Colonel  Robertson  as 
Lieutenant-Governor,  but  the  Senate  de- 
clined to  do  so,  claiming,  by  resolution 
duly  passed,  that  there  could  be  no  election 
of  Lieutenant-Governor  "except  at  times 
prescribed  in  the  Constitution,"  that  is, 
"at  the  time  and  place  of  electing  members 
of  the  General  Assembly  in  the  year  1852, 
and  every  four  years  thereafter."  Hold- 
ing, therefore,  that  there  was  no  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor elected,  the  Senate  refused 
to  allow  Colonel  Robertson  to  preside  over 
its  deliberations,  but  continued  to  recog- 
nize Senator  Alonzo  G.  Smith  as  the  only 
chosen  President  of  the  Senate.  The  case 
was  to  be  taken  to  the  courts,  and  in  the 
Marion  Circuit  Court  a  temporary  restrain- 
ing order  was  issued  forbidding  Colonel 
Robertson  from  attempting  to  preside  over' 
the  Senate.  An  appeal  was  taken  from  this 
order  to  the  Supreme  Court,  where  the 
injunction  was  dissolved,  the  Supreme 
Court  holding  that  the  question  raised  was 
one  for  the  decision  of  the  Legislature  and 
that  the  courts  had  no  jurisdiction  over  it. 
The  case  was  very  elaborately  considered 


in  the  Supreme  Court,  all  the  judges  writ- 
ing separate  opinions,  and  the  record 
extending  over  eighty  pages  of  the  reports. 
(See  109  Ind.  Reports,  page  79  to  page 
159.) 

According  to  the  famous  agreement 
heretofore  referred  to,  "proposed  by  the 
Committee  of  the  Republican  Caucus  to 
the  Democratic  members  of  the  Fifty-fifth 
General  Assembly,"  and  assented  to  by  the 
Democrats,  the  position  taken  by  the  Sen- 
ate, including  the  rights  claimed  for 
Alonzo  G.  Smith  as  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate, was  acknowledged,  in  so  far  as  per- 
taining to  the  joint  convention  of  the 
House  and  Senate  for  the  election  of 
United  States  Senator,  and  in  conformity 
with  that  agreement  the  election  finally 
took  place. 

The  Republican  candidate  was  Benjamin 
Harrison,  then  filling  the  office  and  candi- 
date for  re-election.  The  Democratic 
candidate  was  long  in  doubt.  Under  the 
circumstances,  Governor  Gray  refused  to 
be  a  candidate.  It  was  understood  that 
he  desired  his  friends  to  vote  for  William 
E.  Niblack,  then  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  Joseph  E.  McDonald, 
formerly  a  United  States  Senator,  was 
also  a  candidate,  and  it  seemed  at  first  that 
either  of  these  would  be  selected.  How- 
ever, when  the  first  vote  in  the  Democratic 
caucus  was  announced  it  was  found  that 
five  ballots  had  been  cast  for  David  Turpie, 
also  a  former  United  States  Senator  from 
Indiana.  There  was  no  concert  of  action 
on  the  part  of  those  casting  these  five 
votes.  It  was  afterward  discovered  that 
the  two  Representatives  and  the  Senator 
from  St.  Joseph  county,  in  deference  to  the 
sentiments  of  their  constituents,  had  cast 
three  of  the  Turpie  votes.  The  venerable 
Dr.  Thompson,  Senator  from  Marion  coun- 
ty, cast  the  fourth  vote,  but  whose  was 
the  fifth  is  unknown  to  the  writer.  After 
several  ballots  the  friends  of  Senator  Mc- 
Donald, preferring  Mr.  Turpie  to  Judge 
Niblack,  voted  solidly  for  the  former,  and 
he  was  declared  the  candidate.     The  nom- 


(317) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


ination  of  David  Turpie  proved  to  be  a 
happy  one,  in  view  of  the  strong  labor 
sentiment  in  the  Legislature.  His  selec- 
tion vi^as  at  the  same  time  received  vt^ith 
favor  by  the  friends  of  the  Governor,  as 
well  as  by  those  of  Judge  Niblack  and  ex- 
Senator  McDonald. 

On  January  18  the  candidates  for  United 
States  Senator  were  formally  placed  in 
nomination  in  each  House  and  a  vote  was 
taken.  The  vote  in  the  Senate  showed  32 
for  David  Turpie  and  18  for  Benjamin 
Harrison.  In  the  House  the  vote  stood: 
Harrison  53,  Turpie  43  and  Jackson  H. 
Allen  4.  On  the  next  day  the  two  Houses 
met  in  joint  convention.  The  party  agree- 
ment heretofore  referred  to  was  presented 
by  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  as  presiding 
officer,  and  "was  read  for  the  information 
of  the  joint  convention."  By  the  terms  of 
this  agreement  the  duties  of  the  presiding 
officer  were,  in  a  manner,  divided  between 
the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speak- 
er of  the  House.  President  Smith  was  to 
call  the  convention  to  order,  while  Speaker 
Warren  G.  Sayre  was  to  conduct  the  sub- 
sequent proceedings,  "no  legal  right  of  the 
said  Smith  to  be  thereby  waived  or 
affected."  The  President  of  the  Senate 
was  to  order  the  calling  of  the  Senate  roll, 
and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  the  roll  of 
the  House.  A  very  important  provision 
was  that  "The  result  of  the  balloting  by 
said  joint  convention  shall  be  announced 
by  the  said  Smith,  and  the  Speaker  shall 
thereupon  adjourn  the  joint  convention." 
An  express  provision  was  added  that 
Colonel  Robertson  was  "to  take  no  part  in 
the  holding  of  said  joint  convention,  or  in 
anywise  to  attempt  to  participate  therein." 

The  first  joint  ballot  showed  the  vote  to 
be  as  in  the  separate  vote  of  the  Houses 
on  the  previous  day,  namely:  Senators — 
Turpie  32,  Harrison  18.  Representatives 
— Turpie  43,  Harrison  53  and  Allen  4-, 
total  on  joint  ballot,  Turpie  75,  Harrison 
71  and  Allen  4;  necessary  to  choice,  76. 
A  motion  was  then  made  to  adjourn,  which 
was  lost,  74  for  and  76  against.     On  this 


vote  the  four  third  party  votes  were  di- 
vided, three  voting  with  the  Republicans 
and  one  with  the  Democrats.  This  vote 
foreshadowed  the  final  result,  namely,  that 
one  of  the  third  party  men,  Mr.  Robinson, 
would,  in  the  end,  vote  for  the  Democratic 
candidate,  Mr.  Turpie,  and  so  it  proved. 
A  second  ballot  for  Senator  showed  no 
change.  Thereafter,  until  the  second  day 
of  February,  the  two  Houses  met  in  joint 
convention  at  12  o'clock  each  day,  taking 
fifteen  ballots  in  all,  without  change  of 
result.  On  February  2,  on  the  sixteenth 
ballot,  the  four  third  party  men,  as  antici- 
pated, voted  one  for  Turpie  and  three 
for  Harrison,  giving  Mr.  Turpie  76  votes 
and  General  Harrison  74  votes.  The  elec- 
tion of  David  Turpie  was  thereupon  de- 
clared and  the  joint  convention  adjourned 
in  a  storm  of  excitement  and  protest. 

The  peace  agreement,  under  the  terms 
of  which  David  Turpie  was  elected  United 
States  Senator,  having  come  to  an  end  on 
his  election,  and  the  Supreme  Court  hav- 
ing decided  that  the  courts  had  no  juris- 
diction to  decide  whether  Mr.  Robertson 
had  been  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  or 
not,  the  old  quarrel  between  the  House 
and  Senate  on  this  subject  was  reopened 
with  more  virulence  than  ever.  The  court 
had  held  that  the  question  was  one  to  be 
decided  by  the  Legislature  and  not  by  the 
courts.  But  the  Legislature  was  itself 
divided  on  the  question.  The  House  main- 
tained that  Mr.  Robertson  was  elected  in 
one  form  by  vote  of  the  people,  while  the 
Senate  contended  that,  by  the  terms  of 
the 'Constitution,  there  could  be  no  valid 
election  of  Lieutenant-Governor  except  at 
the  four-year  periods  provided  in  that  in- 
strument for  the  election  of  Governor  and 
Lieutenant-Governor. 

Accordingly,  on  February  24,  1887, 
when  Mr.  Robertson  proceeded  to  take  his 
place  as  President  of  the  Senate,  by  virtue 
of  his  office  of  Lieutenant-Governor,  the 
Senate  refused  to  allow  him  to  take  the 
seat,  and  on  his  persisting  in  his  effort,  he 
was  led  out  of  the  chamber  by  the  door- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


keeper  of  the  Senate.  The  result  of  this 
action  was  that  the  House  refused  to  have 
any  further  intercourse  with  the  Senate. 
More  than  this,  the  eighteen  Republican 
Senators,  while  retaining  their  seats  in  the 
Senate  chamber,  refused  any  longer  to  an- 
swer to  their  names  on  roll-call  or  to  take 
any  further  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Senate. 

Here  arose,  it  is  believed  for  the  first 
time  in  an  American  legislative  body,  the 
practice  of  counting  those  present  and  not 
voting  as  a  part  of  the  quorum  necessary 
to  transact  business.  Ordinarily,  the  prac- 
tice had  been,  in  order  to  determine 
whether  a  quorum  was  present  or  not,  to 
call  the  roll,  and  only  those  answering  to 
their  names  on  the  roll-call  were  counted 
as  making  up  the  quorum.  President 
Smith,  however,  directed  the  clerk  to  mark 
as  present  those  actually  in  their  seats  and 
not  answering  to  their  names,  quite  the 
same  as  if  they  answered  when  their 
names  were  called.  This  practice  of 
"counting  a  quorum"  was  at  the  time 
stigmatized  as  arbitrary  and  even  tyran- 
nical, but  Speaker  Reed,  of  the  United 
States  House  of  Representatives,  after- 
ward resorted  to  the  same  practice,  and 
though  his  action  was  also  criticised,  yet 
the  reasonableness  of  the  practice  con- 
tinued to  gain  favor  with  deliberative 
bodies,  and  Vice-President  Marshall  has 
recently  "counted  a  quorum"  in  the  United 
States  Senate  by  noting  the  presence  in 
their  seats  of  Senators  "present  and  not 
voting,"  even  as  President  Smith  did  in 
the  Indiana  Senate  in  1887. 

Since,  however,  the  House  refused  to 
receive  any  communication  from  the  Sen- 
ate after  February  24,  the  usefulness  of 
the  Legislature  was  practically  at  an  end 
from  that  date.  Still  some  very  necessary 
legislation  was  enacted  in  a  peculiar  and 
unusual  manner.  Though  the  two  Houses 
did  not  communicate  with  one  another,  yet 
each  was  in  communication  with  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  a  few  bills  were  so  passed  from 
House  to  House  through  the  hands  of  the 


Governor  and  thus  became  laws.  The 
volume  of  the  session  laws  of  1887  is 
accordingly  a  very  thin  publication,  con- 
sisting, with  tables  of  contents  and  in- 
dexes, altogether  of  only  seventy-seven 
pages.  It  was  for  a  time  called,  in  derision, 
"Green  Smith's  primer."  It  is  remark- 
able, however,  that  this  little  volume  con- 
tains some  of  the  most  important  laws  of 
the  State  of  Indiana,  among  them  "An  Act 
to  Authorize  the  Ei-ection  on  the  State 
Grounds  at  Indianapolis,  of  Monuments  to 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  and  Schuyler  Col- 
fax," both  of  which  have  since  been 
erected ;  "An  Act  to  Regulate  the  Practice 
of  Dentistry;"  "An  Act  to  Establish  at 
Fort  Wayne  a  School  for  the  Feeble- 
Minded ;"  "An  Act  to  Establish  at  Knights- 
town  the  Indiana  Soldiers  and  Sailors' 
Orphans'  Home;"  and  "An  Act  to  Provide 
for  the  Erection  of  a  State  Soldiers  and 
Sailors'  Monument  in  the  Circle  Park  at 
Indianapolis."  These  patriotic  laws  will 
always  I'eflect  honor  upon  the  Legislature 
of  1887,  as  indeed  they  do  upon  the  great 
State  of  Indiana.  Notwithstanding  the  un- 
happy disagreement  between  the  two 
Houses,  it  may  confidently  be  asserted  that 
no  Legislature  of  the  State  ever  contained 
more  eminent  men  or  men  whose  acts 
proved  in  the  end  of  greater  benefit  to  the 
commonwealth  than  the  wise  and  brave 
men  of  the  Legislature  of  1887. 

The  real  character  of  the  victory  of  the 
Democrats  in  the  Legislature  of  1887  has 
been  somewhat  obscured  by  the  spectacu- 
lar nature  of  some  of  the  circumstances 
connected  with  it.  The  victory  did  not 
consist  in  maintaining  Alonzo  Greene 
Smith  as  President  of  the  Senate.  That 
was  an  incident,  a  means  to  the  end  to  be 
secured.  Neither  did  the  victory  consist 
in  the  election  of  David  Turpie  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  That  was  the  most 
notable  result  of  Democratic  success,  but 
the  victory  itself  was  something  greater. 

The  people  had  elected  a  Democratic 
plurality  of  the  Legislature.  The  mem- 
bership of  that  body  consisted  of  seventy- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


five  Democrats,  seventy-one  Republicans 
and  four  Greenback-Labor  men.  The 
Democratic  victory  consisted  in  maintain- 
ing the  plurality  given  to  the  party  by  the 
vote  of  the  people.  The  Republicans,  by 
their  control  of  the  House,  proposed  to  un- 
seat Democrats  in  that  body  and  thus 
upset  the  verdict  of  the  people.  No  secret 
was  made  of  this  purpose.  The  determina- 
tion to  elect  General  Harrison  could  not  be 
more  emphatically  asserted  than  it  was  if 
the  Republicans  themselves  had  the 
plurality,  or  even  the  majority,  in  the 
Legislature.  Nor  did  they  conceal  the 
means  by  which  this  result  was  to  be  ac- 
complished. They  would  unseat  Demo- 
cratic Representatives  enough  for  the 
purpose.  A  large  number  of  Democrats  in 
the  House  were  notified  that  their  seats 
were  to  be  contested.  The  causes  alleged 
were  generally  of  the  flimsiest  character. 
For  example,  Representatives  William  H. 
Stull  and  Edward  A.  Metzger,  of  St.  Joseph 
county,  were  to  be  unseated,  although  one 
had  received  over  80  majority  and  the 
other  over  100.  The  reason  for  this  ex- 
traordinary proposition  was  based  on  an 
accident  in  transmitting  a  telegraphic  dis- 
patch from  South  Bend.  In  answer  to  an 
inquiry  from  Indianapolis,  this  reply,  in 
substance,  was  sent:  "Stull  and  Metzger 
have  been  elected  by  a  fair  majority."  The 
telegram  as  received  at  Indianapolis  read, 
"Stull  and  Metzger  have  been  elected  by 
four  majority."  It  was  accordingly  con- 
cluded that,  in  a  contest,  these  four  votes 
could  be  thrown  out  and  the  two  Democrats 
could  be  unseated.  Under  such  circum- 
stances the  Democrats  in  the  Senate 
proposed  to  use  their  power  in  that  body 
to  fight  fire  with  fire  and  so  preserve  the 
plurality  given  them  by  the  people.  The 
Republicans  evidently  did  not  think  the 
Democrats  would  attempt  to  go  so  far. 
Besides,  the  Republicans  would  have  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  to  preside  over  the 
Senate,  and  through  his  power  the  Senate 
majority  would  be  unable  to  carry  out  its 
plans.     That  boast  sealed  the  fate  of  the 


Lieutenant-Governor.  He  would  not  be 
allowed  to  preside  over  the  Senate.  The 
Senate  would  retain  its  own  presiding 
officer  and  so  carry  out  the  will  of  the 
majority  in  preserving  the  Democratic 
plurality  of  seventy-five  votes  on  joint 
ballot.  Whether  the  Democrats  would 
secure  the  additional  vote  necessary  to 
elect  a  United  States  Senator  might  be  un- 
certain, but  they  would  at  all  events  retain 
their  plurality  of  seventy-five  as  given  to 
them  by  the  people.  This  was  the  grim 
resolution  reached  by  the  Democratic  cau- 
cus, and  this  resolution  was  carried  out. 
The  true  victory  of  the  Democrats  of  the 
Legislature  of  1887  was  the  vindication  of 
popular  elections  by  the  people.  That 
Colonel  Robertson  was  not  allowed  to  pre- 
side over  the  Senate  was  a  mere  incident ; 
that  David  Turpie  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  was  a  result  of  the 
Democratic  victory — not  the  victory  itself. 
Another  result  of  this  victory  was  the 
enthusiasm  aroused  in  the  Democratic 
masses  of  the  State.  They  felt  that  they 
were  represented  in  the  General  Assembly 
by  courageous  men,  that  their  votes  at  the 
ballot  box  were  made  to  count.  Time  had 
been  when  Democratic  officials  were  cowed, 
were  made  to  be  subservient.  That  day 
was  passed.  Democrats  were  thenceforth 
manly  men,  ready  to  stand  by  their  prin- 
ciples, to  carry  out  the  will  of  their  con- 
stituents by  all  lawful  means.  The  victory 
of  the  Democrats  of  1887  was  a  vindica- 
tion of  popular  representative  government. 
The  spirit  then  aroused  has  since  continued 
to  animate  the  Democracy  of  Indiana. 

THE   SUPREME   COURT'S  ACTION  IN 
THE  PREMISES. 

When  this  "celebrated  case"  was  taken 
into  the  Supreme  Court,  that  tribunal  was 
composed  of  Judges  William  E.  Niblack, 
George  V.  Howk,  Byron  K.  Elliott,  Allen 
Zollars  and  Joseph  A.  S.  Mitchell — all 
Democrats  except  Elliott.  The  court 
seemed  inclined  to  make  short  work  of  it 
by  declaring  that  the  points  involved  were 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


for  legislative,  not  for  judicial  procedure. 
This  conclusion  greatly  incensed  extreme 
partisans  on  both  sides  of  the  political 
fence.  Among  those  coming  within  this 
category  was  William  J.  Craig,  then  in  con- 
trol of  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel.  The 
readers  of  that  paper  were  shocked  to  find 
in  the  Sentinel  of  the  day  after  the  court 
had  made  known  its  conclusions  an  edito- 
rial headed:  "Damn  Their  Cowardly 
Souls."  This  outburst  of  vehemence  and 
profanity  caused  a  sensation  throughout 
the  State,  eliciting  much  unfavorable  com- 
ment and  in  some  instances  severe  criti- 
cism. Naturally  of  conservative  trend  of 
mind,  the  bitterness  engendered  over  this 
issue  was  deeply  deplored  in  my  discussion 
of  the  various  aspects  of  the  case.  The 
articles  emanating  from  my  pen,  relating 
to  this  subject,  were  extensively  repro- 
duced with  generous  recognition  of  their 
fairness.    Judge  Mitchell  himself  felt  im- 


pelled to  send  me  this  note  of  appreciation 
and  approval: 

"Indianapolis,  January  10,  1887. 

"My  Dear  Friend — That  you  have  the 
right  view  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
question  is,  I  think,  beyond  all  question. 
For  purely  personal  ends  the  question  has 
been  forced  upon  the  party,  and  my  own 
opinion  is  that  the  party  will  inevitably 
suffer.  If  the  consequences  could  be  con- 
fined to  the  disappointment  of  the  schem- 
ers who  involved  us  (the  party)  in  the 
complications,  it  would  not  be  a  matter  of 
much  regret,  but,  as  usual,  men  who  have 
worked  unselfishly  all  their  lives  for  the 
success  and  elevation  of  the  party  suffer 
the  consequences  of  the  stupidity,  and 
worse,  of  those  who  are  always  ready 
when  anything  is  to  be  had.  I  thank  you 
for  sustaining  the  court.  I  have  all  my 
life  abhorred  decisions  made  for  partisan 
purposes  and  cannot  now,  at  any  cost,  give 
the  lie  to  my  professions. 

"Your  friend, 

"J.  A.  S.  MITCHELL. 

"Hon.  J.  B.  Stoll,  South  Bend." 


■^^^^^fnp 


V         ( 


1— History 


[Chapter  XLII.] 

COL.  COURTLAND  C.  MATSON  NAMED 
FOR  GOVERNOR 

CAPT.  WM.  R.  MYERS  HIS  RUNNING  MATE— CLEVELAND  AND 
THURMAN  IN  THE  NATIONAL  RACE 


mjIHE  Senatorial  fight  in  Indiana  in 
1887  attracted  a  great  deal  of 
attention  throughout  the  coun- 
try. It  gave  much  prominence 
to  General  Benjamin  Harrison, 
not  only  because  his  own  re- 
election was  involved  in  the 
coiitest,  but  because  he  delivered  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana  an  argument 
in  support  of  the  contention  that  the 
people  having  elected  Colonel  Robert  S. 
Robertson  of  Fort  Wayne  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  his  exclusion  from  that  office 
was  an  act  of  usurpation  of  power  inde- 
fensible from  any  standpoint  it  might  be 
viewed.  This  speech,  it  was  generally  con- 
tended, constituted  Harrison's  masterpiece 
and  doubtless  contributed  largely  to  his 
nomination  to  the  Presidency  by  the  Re- 
publicans in  1888. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  for 
1888  was  held  on  April  26.  It  was  presided 
over  by  Charles  L.  Jewett,  of  New  Albany, 
who  soon  demonstrated  his  ability  to  pre- 
side acceptably  and  capably  over  a  largely- 
attended  political  assemblage. 

STATE   CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  E.  B.  Richardson,  Pike  county. 

2.  M.  J.  Niblack,  Knox. 

3.  George  W.  Baxter,  Washington. 

4.  Judge  Ferd  S.  Swift,  Franklin. 

5.  P.  H.  McCormick,  Bartholomew. 

6.  D.  W.  Chambers,  Henry. 

7.  Ephraim  Marsh,  Hancock. 

8.  J.  C.  Sawyer,  Vermilion. 

9.  Israel  Curry,  Boone. 

10.  J.  W.  Stewart,  Newton. 

11.  John  J.  Young,  Huntington. 

12.  George  W.  Long,  Allen. 

13.  Daniel  McDonald,  Marshall. 


At 
John 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 
Large— Thomas  R.  Cobb  of  Vincennes  and 
E.  Lamb  of  Terre  Haute. 

1.  Samuel  B.  Vance,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  Cutler  S.  Dobbins,  Martin. 

3.  Charles  L.  Jewett,  Floyd. 

4.  Nicholas  Connett,   Ripley. 

5.  John  R.  East,  Monroe. 

().  Thomas  J.  Study,  Wayne. 

7.  David  S.  Gooding,  Hancock. 

8.  J.  D.  Pruett,  Parke. 

i).  J.  F.  McHugh,  Tippecanoe. 

10.  D.  D.  Dykeman,  Cass. 

11.  J.  M.  Turner,  Grant. 

12.  John  H.  Bass,  Allen. 

13.  M.  A.  O.  Packard,  Marshall. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 
At  Large — Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  David  Turpie, 
John  G.  Shanklin  and  John  H.  Bass.  Alternates 
—John  H.  Stotsenburg,  K.  M.  Hord,  A.  C. 
Downey  and  David  J.  Hefron. 

1.  J.  E.  McCullough,  Gibson  county. 
William  Rahm,  Vanderburg. 

2.  J.   W.   Ogden,   Daviess. 
L.  P.  Mullinix,  Greene. 

3.  O.  O.  Stealey,  Clark. 
Wayne  Cook,  Harrison. 

4.  Frank  R.  Dorman,  Dearborn. 
James  K.  Ewing,  Decatur. 

5.  J.  C.  Robinson,  Owen. 

John  W.  Ragsdale,  Putnam. 

6.  Thomas  J.  Newkirk,  Rush. 
William  M.   Harris,  Randolph. 

7.  Charles  G.  Offutt,  Hancock. 
Allen  W.  Conduit,  Marion. 

8.  Maurice  Thompson,  Montgomery. 
Perry  H.  Blue,  Sullivan. 

9.  J.  O.  Henderson,  Howard. 
Charles  B.  Stuart,  Tippecanoe. 

10.  M.  L.  Fansler,  Cass. 
DeFoe  Skinner,   Porter. 

11.  L.  B.  Fullwiler,  Miami. 
C.  B.  Cole,  Jay. 

12.  Andrew  Baxter,  DeKalb. 
Charles  McCulloch,  Allen. 

13.  Garland  E.  Rose,  St.  Joseph. 
W.  C.  Wilson,  Laporte. 


(323) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


PLATFORM  DECLARATIONS. 

"We  congratulate  the  people  of  the 
whole  country  upon  the  eminently  success- 
ful administration  of  President  Cleveland. 

"Coming  into  power  under  circum- 
stances peculiarly  difficult  and  embarrass- 
ing, after  a  long  period  of  Republican  rule, 
he  has  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  execu- 
tive department  with  such  prudence  and 
ability  as  to  challenge  the  approval  of  all 
unprejudiced  people. 

"That  he  has  earnestly  labored  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  his  great  office  in  the 
interest  of  all  the  people  there  can  be  no 
question.  That  he  has  succeeded  so  well 
is  a  source  of  pride  and  gratification  to 
those  who  elected  him,  as  it  should  be  to 
all  his  countrymen.  Not  even  party  malice 
dares  to  assail  his  honesty  or  integrity, 
and  all  his  acts  have  not  only  been  clean, 
but  above  suspicion. 

"The  country  is  at  peace  with  all  the 
world,  the  laws  are  faithfully  administered, 
good  order  and  economy  prevail  wherever 
the  executive  has  control,  and  the  whole 
country  is  enjoying  remarkable  prosperity 
under  his  wise  and  beneficent  administra- 
tion ;  therefore  the  Democracy  of  Indiana 
feels  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  risk  the 
hazard  of  a  change  and  declare  themselves 
emphatically  in  favor  of  his  re-election. 

"The  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  favors 
such  rules  and  regulations  for  the  civil 
service,  both  national  and  State,  as  will 
secure  honest,  capable  and  deserving  pub- 
lic officers,  but,  where  honesty,  ability  and 
merit  are  equal,  we  believe  there  would  be 
both  wisdom  and  justice  in  giving  prefer- 
ence to  those  who  would  harmonize  in 
principle  and  policy  with  the  party  having 
the  responsibility  of  administration. 

"We  recognize  the  right  of  all  men  to 
organize  for  social  or  material  advance- 
ment ;  the  right  of  wage-workers  to  use  all 
lawful  means  to  protect  themselves  against 
the  encroachments  of  moneyed  monopolists 
and  the  right  to  fix  a  price  for  their  labor 
commensurate  with  the  work  required  of 
them,  and  we  hold  that  every  man  has  the 
right  to  dispose  of  his  own  labor  upon  such 
terms  as  he  may  think  will  best  promote 
his  interests.  In  relations  between  capital 
and  labor  the  Democratic  party  favors 
such  measures  and  policies  as  will  promote 
harmony  between  them  and  will  adequate- 
ly protect  the  interests  of  both. 

"It  is  provided  by  the  constitution  of 


this  State  that  the  liberty  of  the  people 
should  be  protected  and  that  their  private 
property  should  not  be  taken  without  just 
compensation,  and  we  are  opposed  to  any 
change  in  the  constitution  tending  to  weak- 
en these  safeguards,  or  to  any  legislation 
which  asserts  the  power  to  take  or  destroy 
the  private  property  of  any  portion  of  the 
people  of  this  State  without  compensation, 
or  which  unjustly  interferes  with  their 
personal  liberty  as  to  what  they  shall  eat 
or  drink  or  as  to  the  kind  of  clothing  they 
shall  wear,  believing  that  the  government 
should  be  administered  in  that  way  best 
calculated  to  confer  the  greatest  good  upon 
the  greatest  number  without  sacrificing 
the  rights  of  persons  or  property,  and  leav- 
ing the  innocent  creeds,  habits,  customs 
and  business  of  the  people  unfettered  by 
sumptuary  laws,  class  legislation  or  ex- 
tortionate monopolies.  While  standing 
faithfully  by  the  rights  of  property  and 
personal  liberty  guaranteed  to  the  people 
by  the  constitution,  we  distinctly  declare 
that  we  are  in  favor  of  sobriety  and  tem- 
perance, and  all  proper  means  for  the  pro- 
motion of  these  virtues,  but  we  believe 
that  a  well  regulated  license  system,  and 
reasonable  and  just  laws  upon  that  subject, 
faithfully  enforced,  would  be  better  than 
extreme  measures  which,  being  subversive 
of  personal  liberty  and  in  conflict  with 
public  sentiment,  would  never  be  efi'ective- 
ly  executed,  thus  bringing  law  into  disre- 
pute and  tending  to  make  sneaks  and 
hypocrites  of  our  people. 

"We  unqualifiedly  condemn  the  action  of 
the  Republican  party  in  the  last  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana  in  their 
revolutionary  scheme  to  unseat  Democratic 
members,  and  thus  obstruct  needful  legis- 
lation and  subvert  the  will  of  the  people  as 
expressed  at  the  ballot  box,  and  we  heartily 
commend  and  endorse  the  action  of  the 
Democratic  members  thereof  in  their  suc- 
cessful effort  to  preserve  that  majority. 

"The  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  be- 
lieves in  fair  elections  and  an  honest  count, 
and  deplores  and  holds  up  for  the  detesta- 
tion of  the  people  the  supreme  fraud  of 
1876-7  by  which  the  will  of  the  people  was 
set  aside  and  men  not  elected  were  placed 
in  two  of  the  most  important  offices  of  the 
country ;  also  for  the  use  of  vast  sums  of 
money  in  controlling  and  corrupting  the 
elections  in  1880,  which  leading  men  of 
that  party  have  admitted  reached  the  enor- 
mous sum  of  $400,000  in  this  State  alone ; 


(324) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


also  for  setting  the  bad  example  in  various 
other  ways  of  carrying  elections  by  unfair 
and  unlawful  methods,  both  in  this  State 
and  elsewhere. 

"Resolved,  That  our  confidence  and 
esteem  for  the  Hon.  Daniel  W.  Voorhees 
and  the  Hon.  David  Turpie,  our  great  rep- 
resentatives in  the  United  States  Senate, 
continues  unabated,  and  we  cheerfully 
greet  them  and  their  Democratic  associates 
from  Indiana  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives with  the  plaudit,  'Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  public  servants.' 

"We  heartily  indorse  the  pure  and  able 
administration  of  Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray, 
and  commend  him  to  the  Democratic  Na- 
tional Convention  as  the  choice  of  the  De- 
mocracy of  Indiana  for  Vice-President,  and 
hereby  instruct  our  delegates  to  present 
his  name  to  the  convention  for  that  high 
office,  and  to  cast  their  votes  for  him  as  a 
unit  while  his  name  is  before  the  National 
Convention  as  a  candidate." 

STATE  TICKET  PUT  IN  NOMINATION. 

There  was  a  spirited  yet  entirely  fx-iend- 
ly  contest  over  the  nomination  for  Gov- 
ernor. The  contestants  were  Colonel 
Courtland  C.  Matson  of  Greencastle  and 
Captain  W.  R.  Myers  of  Anderson.  The 
former  had  been  sent  to  Congress  four 
times;  the  latter  once.  Matson  was  nom- 
inated on  the  first  ballot,  the  vote  standing 
7621/2  for  Matson,  4581/2  for  Myers.  Mat- 
son's  nomination  was  made  unanimous. 

For  Lieutenant-Governor,  Captain  Wil- 
liam R.  Myers  was,  on  motion  of  Judge 
David  S.  Gooding,  nominated  by  acclama- 
tion. In  like  manner  Robert  W.  Miers  of 
Bloomington  was  nominated  for  Secretary 
of  State. 

Three  candidates  were  entered  for  the 
State  Auditorship:  Charles  A.  Munson  of 
Fort  Wayne,  Hugh  Dougherty  of  Bluflfton 
and  Eli  W.  Brown  of  Columbia  City.  On 
the  first  ballot  Munson  had  624  votes, 
Dougherty  4421/2,  Brown  118,  James  461/2. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  Dougherty,  the  nomina- 
tion of  Charles  A.  Munson  was  made  unan- 
imous. 

For  State  Treasurer,  Thomas  B.  Byrnes 
of  Evansville  was  nominated  by  acclama- 
tion. 


The  race  for  the  Attorney-Generalship 
was  quite  spirited.  There  were  four  en- 
tries: John  R.  Wilson  of  Indianapolis, 
Senator  Alonzo  Greene  Smith  of  North 
Vernon,  Judge  0.  J.  Glessner  of  Shelby- 
ville  and  Judge  James  McCabe  of  Warren 
county.  After  the  second  ballot  Senator 
Smith  moved  that  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Wilson  be  made  by  acclamation.  This  was 
seconded  by  Judge  McCabe  and  the  conven- 
tion so  declared  without  dissent. 

As  in  1882,  Judge  William  E.  Niblack 
was  again  honored  with  a  renomination 
for  the  supreme  bench  for  the  First  dis- 
trict. For  the  Second  district  Judge 
George  V.  Howk  was  renominated  by  the 
decisive  vote  of  922  as  against  309  for 
Hugh  D.  McMullen  of  Dearborn  county. 
For  the  Fourth  district  Judge  Allen  Zollars 
was  also  renominated  on  the  first  ballot,  he 
receiving  1,029  votes  as  against  202  votes 
cast  for  William  H.  Carroll  of  Grant 
county. 

In  the  main  the  convention  was  harmo- 
nious and  fairly  but  not  boisterously  en- 
thusiastic. 

CLEVELAND    AND    THURMAN    NOM- 
INATED AT  ST.  LOUIS. 

There  is  substantial  agreement  among 
those  who  attended  the  Democratic  Na- 
tional Convention  at  St.  Louis  that  it  was 
a  decidedly  tame  affair.  Everybody  took 
it  for  granted  that  Grover  Cleveland  would 
be  renominated  by  acclamation,  and  that 
whomsoever  his  campaign  managers  might 
name  as  his  running  mate  would  be  chosen. 
How  and  in  what  spirit  this  was  done  is 
thus  told  by  Colonel  A.  K.  McClure,  who 
was  there: 

"The  Democratic  National  Convention 
of  1888  met  at  St.  Louis  on  June  5,  and  it 
was  the  most  perfunctory  body  of  the  kind 
I  have  ever  witnessed.  I  never  saw  a 
national  political  body  so  entirely  devoid 
of  enthusiasm,  yet  it  was  entirely  fixed  in 
its  purpose  to  renominate  President  Cleve- 
land. He  appealed  strongly  to  the  convic- 
tions and  judgment  of  the  party,  but  not 
to  its  aflfection   or   enthusiasm.     He   was 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 

nominated  by  a   unanimous   vote   without  FOR  PRESIDENT. 

the  formality  of  a  ballot,  and  it  had  been      Benjamin    Harrison,    Republican 263,361 

settled  long  before  the  convention  met  that      Qrover  Cleveland,  Democrat 261,013 

the  sturdy  old  Roman  of  Ohio,  ex-Senator     ciinton  B.  Fisk,  Prohibitionist 9,881 

Thurman,  should  be  the  candidate  for  the      Alson  J.  Streeter,  Union  Labor 2,694 

second  place,  as  Vice-President  Hendricks  ^^^  GOVERNOR, 
had  died  m  office. 

"Patrick    A.    Collins    of    Massachusetts     Alvin  P.  Hovey,  Republican 263,194 

was  permanent  president  of  the  body,  and     Courtland  C.  Matson,  Democrat 260,994 

there  were  no  questions  of  rules  or  party     Jasper  S.  Hughes,  Prohibitionist 9,920 

policy   to   excite    discussion.       Cleveland's     J°hn  B.  Mihoy,  Labor  Union 2,702 

nomination    was    unanimous,    and   on    the  poR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR, 

single  ballot  for  Vice-President,  Allen  G.  ...                                ofioifiR 

Thfrman  of  Ohio  had  690  votes  to  105  for  ^^i^^^i^:^:^-  y::::::  ^S^ 

Isaac  P.  Gray  of  Indiana,  and  25  for  John     ^^^^  ^   ^^J     Prohibitionist 10,066 

C.  Black  of  Illinois.  j^. ^.^^  ^^.^^^  U^.^„  Labor 2,737 

In  regard  to  the  campaign  of  1888,  I  am  rpj^^  pluralities  were :  Hovey  over  Mat- 
also  going  to  let  Colonel  McClure  tell  the  go,^^  2,200;  Chase  over  Myers,  2,155; 
story.  He  does  it  fairly  in  these  words:  Charles  F.  Griffin  over  Robert  W.  Miers 
"The  contest  of  1888  differed  from  the  for  Secretary  of  State,  2,319;  Julius  A. 
Cleveland  contest  of  1884  in  its  freedom  Lemcke  ov.^r  Thomas  B.  Byrnes  for  Treas- 
from  vituperation  and  bitterness.  It  was  .jj-gr  of  State,  2.374;  Bruce  Carr  over 
conducted  with  earnestness  and  dignity  on  claries  A.  Munson  for  State  Auditor, 
both  sides.     Neither    of    the    candidates  ^  „  .„ 

greatly  enthused  the  rank  and  file  of  their  ''  ,^.  j,  ,  j,^ 
party, as  didBlaine  and  Hancock  in  former  ^  I"  the  election  of  members  of  Congress 
national  conflicts,  but  they  commanded  not  the  Republicans  fared  badly  this  year, 
only  the  entire  confidence  and  respect  of  They  succeeded  in  electing  only  three  of 
their  parties,  but  also  of  the  whole  country,  their  thirteen  nominees.  These  three  were 
Cleveland  took  little  personal  part  in  the  Thomas  M.  Browne  in  the  Sixth,  Joseph  B. 
conflict,  but  Harrison  made  a  most  vigor-  Cheadle  in  the  Ninth,  William  D.  Owen  in 
ous  and  telling  campaign  by  his  almost  ^^e  Tenth.  New  men  chosen  by  the  Demo- 
daily  speeches  delivered  to  visiting  delega-  ^^.^^.^  ^,^^^  William  F.  Barrett  in  the  First, 
tions  at  Indianapolis,  in  which  he  discussed  ^  ^  ^  .^  ^^^  ^.^^^  Elijah  V. 
everv  phase  of  the  public  questions  ot  the  „  ...  .  ,,  t^-  ,  ,,  »  j.  -m 
day.^  These  addresses  were  doubtless  care-  ?/°°^^-'.'^"  Wf '  .urt'  f^^fn  m 
fully  prepared  and  given  to  the  Associated  Martin  m  the  Eleventh,  Charles  A.  O.  Mc- 
Press,  but  they  were  not  only  very  able,  but  Clellan  in  the  Twelfth.  Democrats  re- 
they  were  singularly  versatile  and  adroit,  elected  were  O'Neall,  Holman,  Bynum  and 
and  presented  Harrison  to  the  public  in  an  Shively. 

entirely  new  light.    I  cannot  recall  another  The  1888  campaign  in  Indiana  was  not 

Presidential  contest  that  was  conducted  on  .-^,^  overly  exciting  one.     A  good  deal  of 

both  sides  with  greater  dignity  and  de-  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^  j^j^            ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^oj.  ^he 

cency  than  that  between    Cleveland    and  .^        ^            ^^^.^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^ 

Harrison  in  1888.     Nearly   equal   respect  ,     -j.,       t,      ■  ■,     .■  ,          ■     ^.-       ■ 

was  shown  to  both  candidates  in  the  Gar-  honored  with  a  Presidential  nomination  in 

field-Hancock   contest  of    1880,    but    the  the  person  of  Benjamin  Harrison.     State 

famous  forgery  of  the  Morey  letter  to  con-  pride  was  strongly  appealed  to,  but  .iudging 

trol  the  vote  of  the  Pacific  States  against  from  the  slight  difference  in  the  votes  cast 

Garfield  and  the   Credit   Mobilier   scandal  for  General  Harrison   for   President   and 

marred  the  dignity  of  that  conflict."  General  Hovey  for  Governor  this  appeal  to 

The  vote  of  Indiana  for  President  and  State  pride  did  not  sway  many  voters. 

Governor  is  here  given :  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  General  Alvin 


(326) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


Peterson  Hovey,  the  Republican  nominee 
for  Governor,  was  in  former  years  a  Demo- 
crat of  considerable  prominence.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1842,  commissioned 
first  lieutenant  in  1846  for  service  in  the 
war  with  Mexico,  elected  a  delegate  to  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  Indiana,  1850; 
Circuit  Judge,  1851-1854 ;  was  defeated  as 
Democratic  nominee  for  Supreme  Judge  in 
1854,  but  by  Governor  Wright  appointed  to 
fill  a  vacancy  in  that  tribunal;  appointed 
United  States  District  Attorney  by  Presi- 
dent Pierce  in  1856  and  removed  by  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  in  1858;  served  with  dis- 
tinction in  the  Union  army  until  1865 ; 
commissioned  as  United  States  Minister  to 
the  Republic  of  Peru  in  1865;  resigned  in 
1870 ;  elected  to  Congress  in  1886,  serving 
until  January  17,  1889,  when  he  resigned 
to  be  inaugurated  as  Governor  of  Indiana, 
to  which  position  he  had  been  elected  a  few 
months  before.  He  served  as  Governor 
until  his  death  in  Indianapolis,  November 
23,  1891,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Ira  J.  Chase,  who  became  Act- 
ing-Governor for  the  remainder  of  the 
term  and  was  succeeded  by  Claude  Mat- 
thews, Democrat,  in  January,  1893. 

Hovey's  unsuccessful  competitor  in  the 


gubernatorial  race  of  1888,  Courtland  C. 
Matson,  was  born  at  Brookville,  Ind.,  April 
25,  1841 ;  the  son  of  John  A.  Matson,  who, 
during  the  forties,  as  nominee  of  the  Whig 
party,  made  an  unsuccessful  race  for  the 
Governorship  of  Indiana.  Young  Matson 
graduated  from  Asbury  University  (now 
De  Pauw)  in  1862 ;  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
the  Sixteenth  Indiana  Volunteers,  and 
after  one  year's  service  entered  the  In- 
diana Sixth  Cavalry,  served  until  October, 
1865,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel. 
After  the  war  he  qualified  himself  for  the 
law;  was  three  times  elected  Prosecuting 
Attorney;  served  as  Chairman  of  the 
Democratic  State  Committee  in  1878,  and 
was  for  four  successive  terms  elected  to 
Congress.  Upon  his  retirement  from  Con- 
gressional service  he  resumed  the  practice 
of  law.  Governor  Marshall  appointed  him 
a  State  Tax  Commissioner,  which  position 
he  filled  most  acceptably  for  a  term  of  four 
years.  At  this  writing  (August,  1915,) 
he  is  a  resident  of  Chicago.  He  is  highly 
esteemed  as  a  man  of  pure  character  and 
inflexible  integrity. 

Col.  Matson  died  in  Chicago  from  the 
eff'ects  of  an  operation,  September  4,  1915. 
Burial  at  Greencastle. 


(327) 


[Chapter  XLIII.] 

POLITICAL  PENDULUM  AGAIN  SWINGS 

IN  THE  DIRECTION  OF  IRREPRESSIBLE  DEMOCRACY— 
A  SWEEPING  VICTORY  IN  1890 


ELEGATED  as  one  of  the  trus- 
iTXiJ  tees  of  the  Institute  for  the 
I  11  Education  of  the  Blind  in  part 
^^  I  to  represent  Indiana  at  the  Na- 
tional Conference  of  Correction 
and  Charities  for  1889,  at  Bal- 
timore, I  concluded,  at  the  close 
of  the  deliberations  of  that  gathering,  to 
run  over  to  the  National  Capital  with  a 
view  to  mingling  with  the  statesmen  and 
absorbing  some  of  the  political  wisdom 
that  permeates  the  atmosphere  in  that 
locality.  The  famous  Kentucky  journalist, 
George  D.  Prentice,  used  to  say  in  his  in- 
imitable style  that  he  never  got  in  sight 
of  the  National  Capital  but  that  he  experi- 
enced an  irresistible  longing  to  steal  some- 
thing. Though  making,  in  my  younger 
days,  frequent  pilgrimages  to  the  Capital 
of  the  Nation,  I  never  experienced  any 
such  longing  as  Prentice  facetiously  as- 
cribed to  himself.  On  the  contrary,  I  al- 
ways congratulated  myself  on  carefully 
guarding  my  usually  scant  yet  adequate 
supply  of  legal  tender  to  meet  my  modest 
requirements. 

Upon  meeting  Senator  Voorhees,  that 
whole-souled,  big-hearted  statesman  in- 
vited me  to  take  a  ride  with  him  on  the 
following  morning.  He  said  that  while 
out  riding,  away  from  the  haunts  and  im- 
mune from  being  importuned  for  this  or 
that,  afforded  the  best  of  opportunities  for 
quietly  and  uninterruptedly  talking  mat- 
ters over,  comparing  notes,  etc.  At  the 
appointed  hour  we  started  out  on  our  jour- 
ney. It  did  not  take  long  for  the  Senator 
to  unburden  his  mind  and  to  pour  out  his 
soul.  He  started  out  by  inquiring  whether 
I  had  given  any  thought  to  the  make-up 
of  the  Democratic  State  ticket  for  next 
year.    In  answer  I  told  him  that  some  very 


excellent  men  had  announced  their  readi- 
ness to  go  on  the  ticket,  among  them  Cap- 
tain W.  J.  Hilligoss,  formerly  editor  of  the 
Huntington  Democrat  and  later  on  in 
charge  of  the  Citizens  street  railroad  at 
Muncie,  who  would  consider  himself  hon- 
ored by  being  nominated  for  Secretary  of 
State.  "That's  the  very  position  about 
which  I  feel  deeply  concerned,"  the  Sen- 
ator replied.  "I  have  given  the  political 
situation  in  Indiana  much  earnest  thought 
and  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
welfare  of  our  party  demands  the  nomina- 
tion of  some  intelligent  farmer  to  head  the 
ticket.  I  have  such  a  man  in  mind.  He 
lives  in  my  part  of  the  State,  in  an  adjoin- 
ing county.  You  must  have  met  him  at 
our  State  convention  in  1880,  when  he  was 
persuaded  to  offer  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  Lieutenant-Governor.  Political  condi- 
tions then  made  his  nomination  impossi- 
ble. As  you  know,  the  nomination  for  that 
office  was  thrust  upon  Colonel  Isaac  P. 
Gray.  The  man  who,  in  my  judgment, ought 
to  head  our  ticket  for  1890  is  Claude  Mat- 
thews, a  progressive  farmer  in  Vermilion 
county,  and  in  all  respects  qualified  for  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  State  and  capable  of 
conducting  a  campaign  creditably  and 
effectively.  He  is  a  native  of  Kentucky ; 
his  wife  is  a  daughter  of  former  Governor 
and  United  States  Senator  Whitcomb,  in 
his  day  the  idol  of  Indiana  Democracy.  I 
appreciate  fully  your  relations  to  Captain 
Hilligoss  as  a  fellow-new.spaper  man,  but 
on  the  other  hand  you  must  admit  that  in 
politics  we  cannot  always  be  governed  by 
personal  relations  or  personal  feeling.  An 
emergency  exists  that  points  unerringly 
to  duty  to  nominate  a  man  like  Claude 
Matthews  to  head  our  ticket  in  1890.  I 
don't  like  to  ask  you  to  sacrifice  personal 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


friendship;  I  wouldn't  urge  this  matter 
upon  you  with  so  much  earnestness;  but 
you  and  I  have  been  in  political  life  long 
enough  to  know  that  there  are  times  when 
the  strongest  personal  friendships  must 
be  subordinated  to  political  emergency  and 
party  necessity.  That  is  the  situation  now 
with  us  in  Indiana,  and  I  am  making  this 
appeal  to  you  because  I  regard  it  a  duty  so 
to  do.  On  your  return  home  think  this 
matter  over.  If  at  all  compatible  with 
your  ideas  of  party  expediency,  publish  a 
ringing  editorial  in  your  paper  setting 
forth  the  reasons  why  Mr.  Matthews 
should  be  nominated.  I  feel  assured  such 
an  article  from  your  pen  will  accomplish 
the  purpose  I  have  so  much  at  heart." 

Any  one  having  for  any  length  of  time 
sustained  close  relations  to  big-hearted, 
large-brained,  ever  generous  Dan  Voor- 
hees  can  readily  understand  that  such  an 
appeal  could  not  be  withstood.  I  wilted; 
I  acquiesced.  Without  even  opening  any 
correspondence  with  Mr.  Matthews,  I 
vigorously  espoused  his  cause  personally 
and  through  the  columns  of  my  paper.  The 
support  he  received  from  the  northern 
counties,  in  which  he  was  wholly  unknown, 
secured  his  nomination  on  the  second  bal- 
lot. It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  my  good 
friend,  Captain  Hilligoss,  long  since  gath- 
ered to  his  fathers,  to  say  that  upon  ex- 
plaining to  him  the  reasons  that  impelled 
me  to  champion  the  nomination  of  Claude 
Matthews  he  gave  the  gratifying  assur- 
ance that  he  bore  me  no  ill-feeling,  and  I 
believe  he  meant  what  he  said,  although 
I  thought  there  was  just  a  tinge  of  poign- 
ancy in  his  remark:  "If  you  had  kept 
out  of  this  fight  I  would  easily  have  secured 
the  nomination." 

August  28  was  the  date  fixed  for  the 
holding  of  the  convention.  The  permanent 
organization  was  made  to  consist  of  ex- 
Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray,  chairman;  Cap- 
tain John  C.  Nelson  of  Logansport,  princi- 
pal secretary. 

Vice-Presidents — W.  N.  Underwood, 
Perry    county;    Elijah     Sanford,    Knox; 


James  A.  Cravens,  Washington;  E.  G. 
Nicholson,  Jefferson ;  J.  J.  Smiley,  Putnam ; 
George  W.  Goodwin,  Henry;  Charles  A. 
Henderson,  Madison ;  C.  W.  Ward,  Vermil- 
lion; Henry  C.  Harris,  Benton;  Charles  R. 
Pollard,  Carroll ;  James  C.  Branhan,  Hunt- 
ington; W.  F.  McNagny,  Whitley;  A.  G. 
Wood,  Kosciusko. 

Assistant  Secretaries — L.  M.  Wade, 
Posey  county;  John  Johnson,  Jr.,  Law- 
rence; Josiah  Gwin,  Floyd;  M.  W.  Fish, 
Ohio;  J.  W.  Cravens,  Monroe;  D.  W.  Mc- 
Kee,  Fayette;  A.  L.  Major,  Shelby;  George 
W.  Tipton,  Fountain ;  J.  M.  Whistler,  Ham- 
ilton ;  J.  A.  Rothrock,  White ;  W.  J.  Houck, 
Grant;  Wright  Rockhill,  Allen;  James  C. 
Fletcher,  Knox. 

THE  PLATFORM. 

The  platform  adopted  by  this  conven- 
tion was  a  hummer.  It  contained  twenty- 
eight  paragraphs  or  planks.  There  is  snap 
and  ginger  in  every  sentence.  This  vigor- 
ous pronunciamento  is  herewith  in  part 
reproduced  verbatim,  the  remainder  being 
given  in  epitomized  form: 

"We,  the  Democracy  of  Indiana,  in  con- 
vention assembled  for  the  first  time  since 
the  memorable  contest  of  1888,  when  we 
went  down  in  defeat  but  not  in  dishonor, 
overcome  by  the  shameless  methods  of 
Dudleyism  and  the  blocks-of-five,  do 
solemnly  declare: 

"That  the  electoral  vote  of  Indiana  was 
obtained  for  Harrison  and  Morton  by  the 
most  flagrant  crimes  against  the  ballot 
box  ever  perpetrated  in  an  American  com- 
monwealth ;  that  these  crimes  were  com- 
mitted under  the  direct  auspices  of  Wil- 
liam Wade  Dudley,  then  and  now  Treasurer 
of  the  National  Republican  Committee,  and 
by  the  procurement  and  connivance  of  Re- 
publican leaders  in  this  State  and  in  the 
Nation;  that  the  administration  of  Benja- 
min Harrison  has  made  itself  an  accessory 
after  the  fact  to  these  crimes  by  shielding 
the  criminals  from  punishment,  and  even 
by  rewarding  them  for  their  knavery ;  and 
that  the  brazen  prostitution  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  Federal  court  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Indiana,  by  its  judges  and  attor- 
ney, to  the  protection  of  these  conspirators 
against  the  suffrage,  constitutes  the  most 
infamous  chapter  in  the  judicial  annals  of 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


the  Republic.  The  Federal  court  of  In- 
diana has  decided  that  advising  and 
organizing  bribery  is  not  a  crime.  We  ap- 
peal from  the  decision  to  the  people  of 
Indiana,  and  we  demand  a  verdict  against 
William  A.  Woods,  and  the  miscreants 
whom  he  saved  from  legal  punishment. 

"We  denounce  the  administration  of 
Benjamin  Harrison  for  its  deliberate 
abandonment  of  civil  service  reform ;  for 
its  use  of  Cabinet  positions  and  other  high 
stations  in  payment  of  financial  campaign 
debts;  for  treating  the  public  patronage 
as  a  family  appendage  instead  of  a  public 
trust,  and  quartering  a  host  of  relatives, 
by  blood  and  by  marriage,  upon  the 
national  treasury ;  for  dismissing  honest 
and  competent  public  sei'vants  in  violation 
of  solemn  pledges,  because  of  their  political 
opinions,  and  filling  their  places  with  men 
devoid  of  character  or  capacity  and  whose 
only  title  to  preferment  rested  upon  dis- 
reputable partisan  work;  for  its  dalliance 
with  questionable  gift  enterprises;  for  its 
complete  subservience  to  Wall  street  and 
the  money  power,  and  its  undisguised  hos- 
tility or  indift'erence  to  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  producing  and  laboring 
masses. 

"We  denounce  the  tariff  monopolists  for 
their  eflforts  to  perpetuate  themselves  in 
power  by  measures  inconsistent  with  free 
institutions  and  contrary  to  good  morals. 
We  find  in  the  force  election  bill,  the  bills 
creating  rotten  borough  States  and  the 
McKinley  tariff  bill,  the  open  manifesta- 
tions of  a  gigantic  conspiracy  of  the 
minority  to  oppress  a  groaning  people 
with  additional  burdens  of  taxation  for 
private  benefit  and  to  fasten  it  onto  the 
country  in  such  a  way  that  the  people  can- 
not free  themselves  from  the  galling  load. 

"We  condemn  the  Republican  party  for 
the  deliberate  theft  of  two  seats  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  from  the 
people  of  Montana;  for  degrading  the 
House  of  Representatives  from  a  deliberate 
body  into  a  one-man  despotism  under  the 
false  and  hypocritical  pretense  of  expedit- 
ing the  public  business ;  for  unseating 
legally  elected  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple in  order  to  strengthen  a  partisan 
majority,  which  was  originally  the  product 
of  fraud ;  for  trampling  upon  the  rights  of 
the  minority  in  disregard  as  well  as  justice 
and  decency  as  of  parliamentary  usage  and 
the  plain  requirements  of  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  and  for  reckless  prodigality  in  appro- 


priations, which  has  converted  the  surplus 
accumulated  under  the  wise,  frugal  and 
statesmanlike  administration  of  Grover 
Cleveland  into  a  deficit  of  alarming  dimen- 
sions, involving  in  the  near  future  a 
further  heavy  increase  of  the  people's 
burden. 

"We  denounce  the  McKinley  tariff  bill 
as  the  most  outrageous  measure  of  taxa- 
tion ever  proposed  in  the  American  Con- 
gress. It  will  increase  taxes  upon  the 
necessities  of  life  and  reduce  taxes  upon 
the  luxuries.  It  will  make  life  harder  for 
every  farmer  and  wage-earner  in  the  land 
in  order  that  the  profits  of  the  monopolies 
and  trusts  may  be  swelled.  It  affords  no 
relief  whatever  to  the  agricultural  inter- 
ests of  the  country,  already  staggering 
under  the  heavy  burdens  of  protection ;  in 
the  words  of  James  G.  Blaine,  'It  will  not 
open  a  market  for  a  single  bushel  of  wheat 
or  a  single  barrel  of  pork.'  We  are 
oppo.sed  to  legislation  which  compels  In- 
diana farmers  to  pay  bounties  to  the  sugar 
planters  and  silk  growers  of  other  States. 
We  are  opposed  to  class  legislation  of 
every  kind;  to  subsidies  and  bounties  of 
every  description  and  in  every  disguise. 
We  are  in  favor  of  that  wide  measure  of 
commercial  freedom  proposed  by  Grover 
Cleveland  which  would  benefit  the  farmers 
and  laborers  of  the  entire  country,  instead 
of  that  limited  measure  of  so-called  reci- 
procity oflfered  by  Mr.  Blaine,  which  would 
benefit  only  a  few  Eastern  manufacturers. 
So  long  as  the  Government  depends  for 
support  in  any  degree  upon  a  tariff,  we 
demand  that  it  be  levied  for  revenue  only, 
and  so  far  as  possible  upon  the  luxuries  of 
the  classes,  instead  of  the  necessities  of 
the  masses. 

"We  are  rejoiced  at  the  evidences  of  an 
awakening  of  the  farmers  of  the  country 
to  the  necessity  for  organized  eftorts  to 
better  their  own  condition  and  protect 
themselves  against  unjust  legislation  and 
oppressive  administration.  We  invite  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  farmers  are  de- 
manding, in  substance,  the  same  measures 
of  relief  which  the  Democratic  party  has 
been  advocating  for  years,  but  has  not  had 
the  power  to  enact,  and  that  the  surest 
and  speediest  way  of  obtaining  this  relief 
is  to  restore  the  Democracy  to  power  in 
every  department  of  the  Government. 

"We  favor  the  election  of  United  States 
Senators  by  the  people. 

"We  endorse  most  heartily  the  legisla- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


tion  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1889.  We 
applaud  the  election  reform  laws  and 
pledge  ourselves  to  their  support  and  full 
enforcement.  We  applaud  the  school  text- 
book laws  by  which  the  people  are  given 
school  books  at  one-half  their  former  price. 
We  favor  such  additional  legislation  as  will 
give  full  effect  to  the  objects  of  this  act, 
and  will  extend  its  scope  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, and  pledge  ourselves  to  resist 
every  attempt  of  the  school  book  trust  to 
regain  its  old  control  over  our  public 
schools.  We  favor  such  simplification  of 
the  school  laws  affecting  township  trustees 
and  county  superintendents,  and  their 
duties  as  will  increase  their  efficiency  and 
decrease  expenses. 

"We  applaud  the  State  Board  of  Char- 
ities law,  and  commend  the  excellent  work 
done  by  that  board  in  improving  the  con- 
ditions and  methods  of  our  benevolent  and 
reformatory  institutions.  The  creation  of 
our  splendid  system  of  public  charities, 
and  their  honest  and  efficient  management, 
constitutes  one  of  the  strongest  titles  of 
the  Indiana  Democracy  to  popular  confi- 
dence and  support. 

"The  State  debt  obligations  should  not 
be  hawked  over  the  country,  but  should  be 
made  a  popular  domestic  security,  issued 
direct  to  the  people  of  the  State  in  bonds 
of  small  denomination,  drawing  a  low  rate 
of  interest,  and  non-taxable,  that  the  in- 
terest paid  may  remain  at  home,  and  the 
securities  may  be  made  a  safe  investment 
for  trust  funds  and  the  people's  savings. 

"We  demand  the  adoption  of  a  system  of 
equalizing  the  appraisement  of  real  and 
personal  property  in  this  State,  to  the  end 
that  an  equal  and  proper  uniformity  in 
such  assessments  shall  be  secured,  for  the 
reason  that  under  existing  regulations 
many  counties  are  compelled  to  pay  an  un- 
just proportion  of  the  State's  expenses, 
which  others  as  unjustly  escape. 

"Judges  Coffey,  Berkshire  and  Olds,  Re- 
publican members  of  the  supreme  bench, 
deserve  the  contempt  of  the  people  of  In- 
diana for  their  action  in  overturning  the 
settled  construction  of  the  Constitution, 
reversing  all  legal  precedents  and  contra- 
dicting their  own  rulings  for  the  sake  of 
a  few  petty  offices  and  at  the  dictation  of 
unscrupulous  political  tricksters. 

"Resolved,  "That  it  is  the  sense  of  this 
convention  that  hereafter  the  members  of 
the  State  Central  Committee  shall  be 
chosen  on  the  8th  of  January  of  each  alter- 


nate year  (commencing  in  the  year  1892) 
by  the  voters  of  the  respective  congres- 
sional districts  represented  by  delegates 
appointed  by  the  respective  counties,  and 
such  delegates  shall  assemble  at  the  call 
of  the  chairman  of  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee. The  members  of  the  State  Central 
Committee  thus  chosen  shall  hold  their 
position  for  two  years  and  until  their  suc- 
cessors are  respectively  elected." 

The  platform  in  vigorous  terms  con- 
demns a  lot  of  things  charged  against  the 
Republican  party.  So  numerous  and  so 
grave  are  the  offenses  alleged  against  the 
party  then  in  power  that  it  must  be  as- 
sumed to  have  reached  the  acme  of  rhiscon- 
duct.  Condemnation  is  pronounced  upon 
force  election  bills  as  destructive  of  home 
rule  and  local  self-government;  upon  sec- 
tionalism and  bayonet  rule;  upon  partisan 
returning  boards ;  upon  violation  of  the 
Andrews  election  law.  Then  comes  de- 
nunciation of  the  then  recently  enacted 
silver  bill  and  demand  for  the  free  and 
unrestricted  coinage  of  silver  upon  the 
basis  existing  prior  to  1873.  Still  more 
liberal  pension  laws  are  demanded.  De- 
mand for  legislation  to  prohibit  alien  own- 
ership is  reiterated.  Farmers'  institutes 
praised  and  commended.  Funding  of 
school  debt  is  lauded.  Republican  officials 
and  newspapers  are  charged  with  conspir- 
acy to  destroy  the  State's  credit  for  parti- 
san purposes.  The  eight-hour  labor  law  is 
applauded  and  the  importation  of  Pinker- 
ton  detectives  denounced.  Fees  and  perqui- 
sites for  officers  are  condemned  and  fair 
salaries  for  all  public  officials  favored. 
Interference  with  parochial  schools  depre- 
cated and  denounced.  Township  libraries 
strongly  approved.  The  course  of  Senators 
Voorhees  and  Turpie  most  heartily  ap- 
proved and  commended. 

The  committee  that  drafted  and  re- 
ported these  resolutions  was  composed  of 
John  G.  Shanklin,  Lycurgus  Dalton,  Jason 
B.  Brown,  Charles  E.  Korbly,  Eb.  Hender- 
son, Robert  Dora,  Samuel  E.  Morss,  John 
E.  Lamb,  T.  J.  Terhune,  Milton  L.  Hump- 
ston,  J.  M.  Smith,  D.  C.  Fawcett  and  David 


(332) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


R.  Leeper.  Three  of  them  were  newspaper 
men,  one  an  author  and  one  a  member  of 
Congress.  They  certainly  knew  how  to 
construct  a  platform  with  plenty  of  bark 
on  it. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  Anthony  Stevenson,  Spencer  county. 

2.  James  M.   Andrew,  Orange. 

3.  Alvin  P.  Smith,  Harrison. 

4.  William  H.  O'Brien,  Dearborn. 

5.  John  W.  Ragsdale,  Franklin. 

6.  Thomas  J.  Study,  Wayne. 

7.  D.  W.  Berg,  Madison. 

8.  James  M.  Haskins.  Clay. 

9.  David  F.  Allen,  Clinton. 

10.  Benjamin  F.  Louthain,  Cass. 

11.  Jerome  HerfF,  Miami. 

12.  Herman  Freygang,  Steuben. 

13.  Martin  T.  Krueger,  Laporte. 

Nominations  being  declared  next  in 
order,  George  W.  Shanklin  of  Evansville 
placed  in  nomination  for  the  office  of  Sec- 
retary of  State  Claude  Matthews  of  Ver- 
milion county-  Judge  Lotz  proposed  Cap- 
tain W.  J.  Hilligoss  of  Muncie;  John  R. 
East  named  James  B.  Clark,  and  Thomas 
F.  Wilson  put  in  nomination  Colonel  John 
Lee  of  Crawford-sville.  The  trend  ran  un- 
mistakably in  favor  of  Farmer  Matthews, 
who  was  duly  nominated  on  the  second  bal- 
lot. On  motion  of  Captain  Hilligoss  the 
nomination  was  made  unanimous. 

For  Auditor  of  State,  Paul  Hyatt  named 
George  S.  Green  of  Vincennes;  Cyrus  E. 
Davis  presented  the  name  of  James  C. 
Lavelle  of  Daviess  county,  and  Newton  B. 
Smith  put  in  nomination  the  winner,  John 
Oscar  Henderson  of  Kokomo.  The  vote 
stood:  Henderson,  675;  Lavelle,  375; 
Green,  253.  Henderson's  nomination  was 
made  unanimous. 

The  race  for  State  Treasurer  was  a  very 
spirited  one.  Placed  before  the  convention 
were:  Albert  Gall  of  Indianapolis,  Henry 
C.  Berghoff  of  Fort  Wayne,  Thomas  B. 
Byrnes  of  Evansville  and  James  R.  Slack, 
Jr.,  of  Huntington.  The  contest  from  be- 
ginning to  end  was  between  Gall  and  Berg- 
hoff.    Four  ballots  were  required  to  pro- 


duce a  nomination.  Gall  proved  a  winner 
and  was  on  motion  of  Mr.  Berghoff  de- 
clared the  unanimous  choice  of  the  conven- 
tion. 

For  Attorney-General,  Alonzo  Green 
Smith  was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot, 
the  vote  standing  in  his  favor  7871,4  to 
51514  for  James  McCabe  of  Warren. 

For  the  Supreme  Judgeship  there  was 
no  contest.  The  unanimous  sentiment  of 
the  party  ran  in  favor  of  the  renomination 
of  Judge  Joseph  A.  S.  Mitchell.  And  it 
was  so  decreed  by  the  convention.  At  the 
same  time  there  existed  a  strong  feeling 
throughout  the  State  in  favor  of  paving 
the  way  for  his  nomination,  in  the  near 
future,  for  the  Governorship.  Having  for 
years  sustained  very  close  relations  to 
Judge  Mitchell,  I  touched  upon  this  sub- 
ject in  one  of  my  communications  as  well 
as  in  some  editorial  references  to  the  prob- 
abilities of  future  political  action.  This 
elicited  the  following  unequivocal  declar,a- 
tions  as  to  his  inclinations  in  private  and 
public  life: 

"Indianapolis,  February  20,  1890. 
"My  Dear  Friend:  I  cannot  but  express 
to  you  the  obligations  I  am  under  for  your 
uniform  courtesy  and  kindness  to  me  cov- 
ering a  period  of  twenty  years  and  more, 
and  especially  for  the  generous  mention 
you  have  recently  made  of  my  name  in 
connection  with  the  Gubernatorial  office. 
I  assure  you  I  am  not  insensible  to  expre.s- 
sions  of  confidence  coming  from  one  in 
whom  the  Democracy  of  the  State  repose 
well  merited  confidence,  and  whose  course 
I  have  watched  with  pride  and  pleasure 
almost  from  boyhood.  I  do  not  want  to  be 
a  candidate  for  Governor.  My  tastes  are 
waning  more  and  more  from  old  time  polit- 
ical strife,  and  while  my  preference  would 
be  to  go  back  to  my  private  business,  I  can 
only  say  if  my  friends  wish  me  to  accept 
a  renomination  for  the  office  I  am  now 
occupying  I  would  very  much  prefer  that 
to  any  other  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people 
of  the  State.  It  is  in  the  line  of  work  to 
which  I  have  devoted  my  life,  and  if  my 
friends  think  I  have  discharged  the  duties 
acceptably  I  would  gratefully  accept  a  re- 
nomination. ■  This  letter  is  of  course  for 
your  eye  alone,  but  you  may  say  in  your 


(  333  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


paper  what  you  think  appropriate  with  the 
assurance  of  the  continuance  of  the  per- 
sonal esteem  and  regard  of  your  friend, 
"J.  A.  S.  MITCHELL. 

"P.  S. — I  have  written  this  in  great 
haste,  hoping  soon  to  see  you." 

Triumphantly  re-elected  to  the  exalted 
position  to  which  he  was  originally  as- 
signed by  the  people  of  Indiana  in  1884, 
that  insidious  foe  of  mankind,  gallstone, 
had  so  undermined  his  otherwise  superb 
physical  condition  that  before  the  expira- 
tion of  his  first  term  the  Grim  Reaper  cut 
short  his  useful  earthly  career.  Death 
relieved  him  of  intense  suffering  in  the 
month  of  December,  1890. 

Joseph  A.  S.  Mitchell  was  born  at  Mer- 
cersburg,  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania, 
December  2,  1837.  Upon  attaining  boy- 
hood he  worked  on  a  farm,  had  the  benefit 
of  a  common  school  education,  taught 
school  for  a  time  and  later  on  acquired 
higher  educational  knowledge  at  Blands- 
ville,  111.,  and  Chambersburg,  Pa.  In  the 
latter  institution  he  fitted  himself  for  the 
law.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar  he 
practiced  for  a  short  time,  traveled  for  a 
few  months  in  the  South  and  then  located 
at  Goshen,  Ind.  In  response  to  the  call  of 
President  Lincoln  he  enlisted  in  the  Second 
Indiana  Cavalry,  serving  two  full  years. 
For  meritorious  and  gallant  conduct  he 
was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  and  later  on 
assigned  to  duty  on  the  staff  of  General 
McCook,  which  position  he  held  to  the  close 
of  the  civil  war.  Returning  from  the  seat 
of  war,  he  resumed  his  residence  at  Goshen 
to  again  take  up  the  practice  of  law  in 
partnership  with  John  H.  Baker.  He 
served  as  deputy  prosecuting  attorney 
and  was  elected  mayor  in  1872  and  re- 
elected in  1874.  In  conjunction  with 
Benjamin  Harrison  and  Aaron  Dyer  he 
represented  the  Indiana  Bar  Association 
at  Saratoga  in  1879.  Recognition  of  his 
eminent  fitness  for  the  place  led  to  his 
nomination  for  Supreme  Judge  in  1880. 
With  the  rest  of  the  ticket  that  year  he 
was  defeated.  Four  years  later  he  was 
again  nominated  for  the  Supreme  Judge- 


ship and  triumphantly  elected.  In  the  dis- 
charge of  his  judicial  duties  he  gained  the 
reputation  of  a  "most  righteous  judge" 
and  an  exceptionally  able  expounder  of  the 
law.  For  a  number  of  years  he  filled  most 
acceptably  the  position  of  trustee  of  De 
Pauw  University. 

The  mutations  of  politics  worked  some 
notable  results  daring  the  1880-1890  dec- 
ade in  the  make-up  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
William  E.  Niblack  and  George  V.  Howk 
were  elected  in  the  Tilden  campaign  of 
1876  and  re-elected  in  1882.  This  extended 
their  tenure  to  1889 — twelve  years.  The 
Garfield  triumph  in  1880  brought  on  the 
bench  William  A.  Woods  and  Byron  K. 
Elliott.  Woods  was  transferred  to  the 
Federal  bench,  resigning  May  8,  1883. 
Edwin  P.  Hammond  was  appointed  in 
Woods'  place.  Allen  Zollars  was  elected 
in  1882  and  served  one  full  term  of  six 
years.  Joseph  A.  S.  Mitchell  was  elected 
in  1884,  re-elected  in  1900,  and  died  in  De- 
cember of  that  year.  The  Harrison  victory 
in  1888  resulted  in  the  election  of  three 
Republican  judges — John  G.  Berkshire, 
Silas  D.  Coffey  and  Walter  Olds.  Berk- 
shire died  after  being  on  the  bench  two 
years  and  Olds  resigned  about  the  same 
time  to  become  a  corporation  attorney. 

WHAT    WAS    WORRYING     SENATOR 
VOORHEES. 

Some  time  before  the  meeting  of  the 
State  convention  I  received  a  letter  written 
by  Senator  Voorhees  in  his  own  hand,  in- 
stead of  being  dictated  and  type-written 
as  had  become  the  custom  and  practice 
with  members  of  Congress.  It  may  be  ob- 
served that  Senator  Voorhees  at  times  be- 
came very  gloomy  and  despondent.  In  all 
probability  he  was  in  that  frame  of  mind 
when  he  penned  the  letter  herewith  repro- 
duced. It  hadn't  been  so  very  long  since 
we  had  been  out  riding  in  and  about  Wash- 
ington discussing  State  politics  and  I  be- 
ing an  attentive  listener  to  the  Senator's 
irresistible  plea  for  the  nomination  of 
Claude  Matthews  for  Secretary  of  State, 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

yet  he  seemed  to  have  regarded  that  a  long  but  it  will  have  to  be  a  vigilant,  active, 
interval.  But  here  is  the  letter;  it  affords  hardworking  year  on  our  part.  Write  to 
,.,,.,  ,.  ,.  1  -n  4.  4-  me  and  believe  me,  always, 
highly  interesting  reading  and  illustrates  "Your  faithful  friend, 
anew  how  appearances  and  conjectures  "D.  W.  VOORHEES. 
may  bow  down  the  heart  and  fill  it  with  "Hon.  John  B.  Stoll,  South  Bend,  Ind." 
dire  forebodings  of  impending  disaster:  The  drastic  partisan  legislation  which 
"My  Dear  Mr.  Stoll:  The  sight  of  your  he  apprehended  failed  to  become  a  reality; 
familiar  handwriting  is  good  for  my  weary  the  onslaught  on  his  official  life  failed  to 
eyes  and  jaded  spirits.  I  am  sore  at  heart  materialize.  Instead  of  these  things  hap- 
that  I  have  not  seen  you  for  so  long  a  time,  pening,  a  Legislature  was  elected  in  1890 
The  truth  is  that  for  a  year  after  the  elec-  that  accorded  to  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  a 
tion  of  1888  I  carried  the  effects  of  that  ^hird  full  Senatorial  term,  which  clothed 
hard  campaign  in  my  continued  ill  health  ^.^  ^.^^^  authority  to  participate  in  the 
but  I  have  now  rounded  the  danger  point  ^  ^  j-  ,  /^  ,;,  ,  .,  ,o«r, 
and  feel  that  I  am  my  old  self  again,  enactment  of  laws  up  to  March  3.  1897. 
I  am  working  hard  and  shall  try  to  make  The  General  Assembly  of  1891  was  over- 
a  good  record  this  .session.  At  the  same  whelmingly  Democratic.  In  the  Senate 
time  the  outlook  here  as  to  national  poll-  there  were  thirty-five  Democrats  to  fifteen 
tics  is  very  dark  to  my  mind.  Under  the  Republicans ;  the  House  was  composed  of 
ruling  in  the  House  there  is  nothing  to  seventy-three  Democrats  and  twenty-seven 
stop  this  Republican  Congress  from  enact-  Republicans.  Such  an  endorsement  surelv 
ing  laws  with  which  to  control  the  results  ^nust  have  dispelled  whatever  gloom  mav 

'"  r'l7iT^^^''u'  -^^fu^-  ^""^  *^^'^  \\T-^  have  possessed  itself  of  Senator  Voorhees 

a  doubt  that  such  is  their  purpose  at  this  ^^  ^.^^^  ^^^^   j^^              ^.^^^^^ 

time.      The    conspiracv    is    fai'-reaching,  ,  ,        .,   ^.     ^      ,...,,. 
looking  to  the  perpetuation  of  the  Repub-  mournful  cogitation  of  political,  disaster, 
lican  party  in  power  and  the  overthrow  of  VOTE  FOR  STATE  TICKET,  1890. 
our  svstem  of  State  governments.     Noth- 
ing so  grave  and  perilous  to  my  mind  has  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

occurred    since   the   war   as   the    issue   pre-      Claude   Matthews,   Democrat 233,881     19,579 

sented    here    now.      I   wish    I    could    talk    it      ^''^O"   Trusler,    Republican 214,302 

over  with  VOU.     Can't  VOU  run  on  here  for  ^razillai  M.  Blount.  Prohibitionist  12,006 

a  few  davs?     I  would  be  glad  to  have  you     ^^'''''"  ^-  ^'"^^'^-  P°P"''^' ^'^•^''' 

as  my  guest.  AUDITOR  OF  STATE. 

"With  all  my  heart  I  thank  you  for  your      John  O.  Henderson,  Democrat 232,409     20,610 

good,     kind     words     about     the     Senatorial      Ivan  N.  Walker,  Republican 211,799 

matter.      I  think  there  will  be  no  want  of  Abraham   Huntsinger,   Prohibition  12,134 

harmony  on  that  subject,  and  that  is  the     James  M.  Johnson,  Populist 17.427 

great  point  in  the  success  and  welfare  of  TREASURER  OF  STATE. 

the  party.      It   is  a  mistake  to  suppose  we      Albert    Gall,    Democrat 232,394     20,501 

are  to  have  an  easy  fight  in  Indiana  this  George  W.  Pixley,  Republican. .  .211,893 

year.     I  have  it  from  the  inside  that  a  de-     Eli  J.  Robb,  Prohibitionist 11,698 

termined  and  moneyed  campaign  is  to  be     Isaiah  N.  Miller,  Populist 17,447 

made  to  carry  the  State  and  to  retire  me  JUDGE  SUPREME  COURT. 

so  that  I  may  never  trouble  them  again  j^^^p^,  a.  S.  Mitchell,  Democrat.  .232.725    21,252 

with  another    Blocks-of-five    speech  in  the  R^^ert  W.  McBride,  Republican.  .211,473 

Senate.     In  all  my  life  I  was  never  as  ob-  j^^,,  ^    j,^^^       Prohibitioni.st. .  ii,6io 

noxious  to  the  Republican  leaders  as  I  am     j^^n  S.  Bender,  Populist 17.410 

now,  and  all  on  account  of  that  speech. 

Benny  and  his  people  are  bitter,  and  like-  ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

wise   Quay,   who   carries   the   money   bags.      Alonzo  G.  Smith,  Democrat 232,128     20,226 

Dudley  also  is  openly  threatening  that  he     John  W.  Lovett,  Republican 211,902 

can   encompass  my  defeat.      I   feel   COmpli-  Sumner  W.  Haynes,  Prohibitionist  11,771 

mented  by  this  opposition  of  the  rogues,     William  Patterson,  Populist 17,45() 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D 

CLERK  SUPREME  COURT. 
Andrew  M.  Sweeney,  Democrat.  .232,154     20,969 

William  T.  Noble,  Republican 211,815 

Charles  L.  Jessup,  Prohibitionist. .    11,711 

Benjamin   F.  Street,  Populist 17,517 

SUPERINTENDENT  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

Hervey   D.   Vories,   Democrat 232,480     20,814 

James  H.  Henry,  Republican 211,666 

Leander  M.  Crist,  Prohibitionist..    11,587 
William  P.  Whitney,  Populist....    17,466 

CHIEF  BUREAU  OF  STATISTICS. 
William  A.  Peelle,  Jr.,  Democrat. 232,282     20,873 

John   Worrell,    Republican 211,409 

Frank  DuSouchet,  Prohibitionist.  .11,840 

John  W.  Shockley,  Populist 17,268 

GEOLOGIST. 

Sylvester  S.  Gorby,  Democrat 232.118     20,748 

John  M.  Coulter,  Republican 211,370 

Joseph  Moore,  Prohibitionist 11,762 

Edward  S.  Pope  (629),  Populist.  .    17,456       ' 
VOTE   FOR   CANDIDATES   FOR   CONGRESS. 
— First  District — 

William  F.  Parrett,  Democrat 17,730        855 

James  S.  Wright,  Republican 16,875 

— Second  District — 

John  L.  Bretz,  Democrat 14,697     2,701 

William  N.  Darnell,  Republican...    11,996 

—Third  District- 
Jason   B.  Brown,  Democrat 16,369     3,939 

William  J.  Dunham,  Republican'. .  .    12,430 

— Fourth  District — 

William  S.   Holman,  Democrat 15,639     1,772 

John  T.  Rankin,  Republican 13,867 

— Fifth  District- 
George  W.  Cooper,  Democrat 17,070     1,704 

John  G.  Dunbar,  Republican 15,355 

— Si.xth  District- 
Henry  U.  Johnson,  Republican 18,786     5,736 

David  S.  Trowbridge,  Democrat...    12,807 
— Seventh  District — 

William  D.  Bynum,  Democrat 27,401     5,315 

John  J.  W.  Billingsley,  Republican.   22,086 
—Eighth  District— 

E.   V.   Brookshire.   Democrat 21,391     3,058 

James   A.   Mount,   Republican 18,333 

—Ninth  District- 
Daniel    Waugh,    Republican 20,752     1,258 

Leroy   Templeton,   Democrat 19,453 

—Tenth  District- 
David    H.   Palton,    Democrat 17,262     1,162 

William  D.  Owen,  Republican 16,100 


EMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

—Eleventh  District — 

Augustus  N.   Martin 20,813     2,813 

Cyrus   E.   Bryant    18,000 

—Twelfth  District- 
Charles  A.  O.  McClellan,  Democrat  17,970     4,050 

Jason  N.  Babcock,  Republican 13,920 

—Thirteenth  District- 
Benjamin  F.  Shively,  Democrat...   20,318     2,704 

Henry  D.  Wilson,  Republican 17,614 

The  Democratic  platform  of  1892  espe- 
cially commends  the  enactment  of  a  new, 
just  and  equitable  tax  law  by  the  Demo- 
cratic Legislature.  The  author  of  this  law 
being  a  townsman  of  mine,  I  asked  him  to 
furnish  me  a  statement  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  enactment  was  procured.  In 
compliance  with  this  request  Judge 
Howard  kindly  furnished  this  comprehen- 
sive information  bearing  upon  that  im- 
portant subject: 

THE  INDIANA  TAX  LAW. 
(By  Hon.  Timothy  E.  Howard.) 

"Professor  John  R.  Commons,  the  noted 
political  economist  and  secretary  of  the  tax 
department  of  the  National  Civic  Federa- 
tion, has  stated,  as  said  in  the  Indianapolis 
News  of  February  21,  1903,  that  the  tax 
law  of  Indiana  is  nearer  perfect  than  that 
of  any  other  State  in  the  union.  Like 
opinions  have  been  given  by  many  other 
persons  competent  to  judge  of  the  subject, 
and  several  of  our  sister  States,  in  revising 
their  systems  of  taxation,  have  drawn 
heavily  upon  the  provisions  of  the  Indiana 
law. 

"This  law,  as  has  often  happened  in  the 
case  of  other  beneficent  measures,  owed  its 
origin  to  dire  necessity.  The  benevolent, 
reformatory  and  other  institutions  of  the 
State  had  been  extending  and  improving 
for  years  until  the  revenues  had  become 
inadequate  for  their  support,  after  meet- 
ing the  other  expenses  of  the  State  govern- 
ment. The  result  was  that  the  State  had 
been  compelled  to  resort  to  the  borrowing 
of  money  from  time  to  time  to  meet  these 
expenses.  The  margin  between  the  annual 
revenues  and  the  necessary  expenditures, 
instead  of  being  closer,  continued  to  widen 
from  year  to  year.  It  became  necessary 
even  to  borrow  money  to  pay  the  interest 
on  the  obligations  already  incurred,  the 
State  thus  paying  interest  on  interest.  In 
this  way  the  outstanding  debt  of  the  State 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191G 


had  gone  on  increasing  from  year  to  year 
until  it  amounted  to  more  than  eight  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  with  no  prospects  of  relief 
in  sight.  It  seemed  suicidal  to  continue 
borrowing  money,  and  so  putting  off  the 
day  of  reckoning.  The  Legislature  was 
equally  reluctant  to  raise  the  tax  levy. 
That  is  always  an  unpopular  measure.  But 
what  was  to  be  done  ?  How  save  the  credit 
of  the  State  ? 

"This  was  the  grave  financial  situation 
which  confronted  the  Legislature  of  1891. 
The  writer  had  been  a  member  of  the  Sen- 
ate in  each  of  the  two  preceding  sessions 
and  had  been  impressed  with  the  serious 
condition  of  the  State's  finances.  He  was 
satisfied  that  something  must  be  done  to 
save  the  good  name  of  the  State,  and  that 
without  delay.  A  i-emedy  must  be  found 
at  this  session  of  the  Legislature.  Borrow- 
ing money  must  cease,  while  an  increased 
levy  could  not  be  thought  of.  An  increased 
levy,  to  be  adequate,  must  be  so  great  as 
to  incur  a  storm  of  opposition  on  the  part 
of  the  people,  and  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  could  never  be  induced  to  listen 
to  the  suggestion.  Besides,  such  an  in- 
crease in  the  levy  would  but  add  to  the 
injustice  of  the  existing  system  of  taxa- 
tion. The  evil  was  in  the  unequal  valuation 
of  property,  and  a  simple  increase  of  the 
tax  levy  would  but  increase  the  burdens 
of  those  who  were  already  paying  more 
than  their  just  share  of  taxes. 

"Between  the  time  of  his  re-election  to 
the  Senate  and  the  convening  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  the  writer  had  devoted 
much  thought  to  the  grave  pi'oblem  now 
before  that  body.  During  this  interval  he 
had  visited  and  consulted  with  a  relative 
who  was  then  a  local  assessor  at  Ann 
Arbor,  Mich.  From  this  visit  he  brought 
home  with  him  at  least  two  ideas — one  was 
the  necessity  of  assessing  all  property  at 
its  true  cash  value.  If  this  standard  of 
valuation  should  be  fixed  and  adhered  to 
by  the  taxing  officers  the  great  inequality 
between  the  assessment  of  large  proper- 
ties, particularly  corporate  property,  and 
the  ordinary  pi'operties  of  the  people  would 
be  done  away  with.  The  other  idea  that 
came  from  that  conference  at  Ann  Arbor 
was  the  creation  of  a  County  Board  of 
Review.  The  then  existing  County  Board 
of  Equalization  was  but  a  feeble  organiza- 
tion, with  little  power  to  revise  the  work 
of  the  local  assessors  and  to  correct  errors 
and  inequalities. 


"On  the  organization  of  the  Legislature 
and  the  appointment  of  committees,  one  of 
the  first  steps  taken  was  the  calling  of  a 
joint  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Finance 
of  the  Senate  and  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  of  the  House.  Senator  Rufus 
Magee,  formerly  Minister  of  the  United 
States  to  Sweden  and  Norway,  was  chair- 
man of  the  Senate  Committee  and  he  was 
called  upon  to  preside  over  the  joint  con- 
ference. 

"As  said  in  a  late  interview  by  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson H.  Claypool,  then  a  Republican 
member  of  the  House  Committee,  'It  was 
evident  to  all  that  radical  tax  legislation 
was  needed,  but  some  of  the  members  of 
the  joint  committee  did  not  have  a  clearly 
defined  idea  of  how  to  proceed.'  This 
statement  very  well  expresses  the  earnest 
but  vague  and  indefinite  character  of  the 
various  remarks  and  suggestions  made  by 
the  several  members  of  the  Senate  aijd 
House  Committees  in  that  joint  conference. 
Finally  the  writer,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  Senate  Committee,  gave  expression  to 
some  thoughts  of  his  own  on  the  subject, 
referring  particularly  to  ideas  that  had 
been  suggested  to  his  mind  on  his  visit  to 
Michigan.  To  his  utter  astonishment,  no 
sooner  had  he  taken  his  seat  than  the 
chairman  announced  that  he  would  appoint 
the  writer  to  prepare  a  bill  for  a  general 
revision  of  the  tax  laws  of  the  State,  to  be 
submitted  to  a  future  meeting  of  the  joint 
committee.  Protest  was  of  no  avail. 
Chairman  Magee  simply  saying  that  the 
writer  seemed  to  have  some  practical  ideas 
on  the  subject  of  taxation,  and  as  no  one 
else  had  anything  better  to  propose,  there 
was  nothing  to  be  done  but  await  the 
preparation  of  the  new  bill  on  the  lines  in- 
dicated in  the  writer's  remai'ks.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  two  committees  agreed  with 
the  chairman,  and  the  matter  was  so  de- 
termined. 

"Daily  duties  in  the  Senate  chamber  and 
on  other  committees  made  it  necessary 
that  the  tax  bill  should  be  prepared  at 
night.  It  was  three  weeks  before  the  first 
draft  could  be  reported  to  the  joint  com- 
mittee. As  this  draft  contained  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-two  sections,  the  committee 
waived  the  reading,  doing  the  writer  the 
honor  of  accepting  his  word  that  the  bill 
had  been  prepared  with  the  provisions  in- 
dicated at  the  former  meeting  of  the  joint 
conference.  He  was  only  requested  to 
state    whether    any    new    provisions    had 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


been  incorporated.  In  answer  he  said  that, 
to  secure  the  assessment  of  mortgage 
loans,  bonds,  moneys  and  other  concealed 
property  he  had  thought  it  necessary  to 
provide  for  the  creation  of  the  office  of 
county  assessor  and  prescribe  his  duties. 
A  vote  was  taken  in  the  committee  on  this 
provision,  and  the  creation  of  the  office  of 
county  assessor  was  sanctioned.  Repre- 
sentative Claypool,  in  the  interview  already 
referred  to,  speaking  of  the  writer's 
preparation  of  the  bill,  says:  'He  worked 
at  it  three  weeks,  until  midnight  every 
night.  He  had  little  in  the  way  of  sugges- 
tions from  other  members,  for  we  felt 
that  he  was  doing  the  work  acceptably. 
At  the  end  of  three  weeks  he  presented  his 
measure.  He  said  to  me,  "What  do  you 
think  of  it?"  I  said  it  would  raise  the 
taxes  without  a  doubt,  for  while  it  did  not 
increase  the  tax  rate,  it  did  increase  the 
valuation.  I  thought  it  so  radical  that  the 
people  would  almost  rebel  against  it.  But 
the  committee  seemed'  to  think  that  the 
bill  was  along  right  lines,  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  introduce  it.'  On  February  5  the 
bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate,  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Finance  and  three 
hundred  copies  ordered  printed. 

"As  the  bill  was  one  for  'raising  rev- 
enue,' it  was  necessary,  by  a  requirement 
of  the  Constitution,  that  it  should  'orig- 
inate in  the  House  of  Representatives.'  A 
printed  copy  was  accordingly  introduced 
in  the  House,  taking  the  place  of  three 
bills  already  introduced  in  that  body — one 
by  Mr.  John  T.  Beasley,  for  the  creation 
of  a  State  Board  of  Tax  Commissioners ; 
one  by  Mr.  William  A.  Cullop,  for  the  taxa- 
tion of  franchises ;  and  one  by  Mr.  William 
S.  Oppenheim,  for  paying  all  railroad  taxes 
into  the  State  treasury.  All  these  pro- 
visions of  the  House  bills  were,  however, 
incorporated  in  the  Senate  bill.  The  first 
two  became  a  part  of  the  law  as  finally 
enacted,  but  the  third  provision,  that  for 
paying  all  railroad  taxes  into  the  State 
treasury,  proved  to  be  exceedingly  un- 
popular and  came  near  defeating  the  whole 
measure.  The  bill  was  retained  also  in  the 
Senate  in  order  to  protect  the  measure  and 
make  necessary  amendments.  This  proved 
a  wise  precaution.  When  on  February  25 
the  bill  came  to  a  final  vote  in  the  House, 
it  was,  by  reason  of  the  railroad  tax  pro- 
vision, defeated  by  the  decisive  vote  of 
53  to  40.  This  was  due  chiefly  to  the  un- 
willingness of  taxpayers  to  be  deprived  of 


the  benefit  of  their  share  of  railroad  taxes 
for  local  purposes.  In  many  counties  the 
railroad  tax  amounted  to  a  very  large  part 
of  the  local  revenues.  On  the  same  day, 
when  this  adverse  vote  was  announced  in 
the  House,,  the  bill  was  in  committee  of  the 
whole  in  the  Senate,  and  as  soon  as  the 
news  of  the  House  vote  came  over  the 
author  of  the  bill  arose  in  his  place  and 
moved  to  strike  out  the  obnoxious  provi- 
sions. This  was  at  once  agreed  to  and  the 
bill  thus  saved.  As  soon  as  this  action  of 
the  Senate  was  known  in  the  House,  the 
vote  on  the  passage  of  the  bill  in  that  body 
was  reconsidered,  the  objectionable  rail- 
road clauses  stricken  out  and  the  bill  again 
placed  upon  its  passage  and  passed  by  the 
vote  of  sixty-eight  to  seven. 

"This  vote  showed  the  favor  with  which 
all  parties  in  the  House  regarded  the  bill, 
as  was  the  case  also  in  the  Senate,  and 
that  it  was  the  railroad  provisions  alone 
that  caused  the  opposition  in  both  bodies. 
On  this  point  Representative  Claypool 
says:  'Both  branches  of  the  Legislature 
that  session  were  overwhelmingly  Demo- 
cratic. They  favored  some  such  measure, 
and  though  the  matter  was  much  debated, 
its  passage  was  never  in  doubt  after  the 
elimination  of  the  railroad  tax  feature.' 

"On  its  passage  in  the  House  the  bill 
went  at  once  to  the  Senate,  where,  on  Feb- 
ruary 26,  it  passed  with  the  amendments 
as  made  by  the  Senate  in  committee  of  the 
whole.  The  vote  here  was  thirty-six  to 
nine.  A  conference  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  report  on  the  Senate  amend- 
ments. The  report  of  this  committee  was 
adopted  in  the  House,  without  division,  on 
February  28  and  in  the  Senate  by  a  vote 
of  thirty-seven  to  four  on  March  2.  The 
bill  became  a  law  on  March  6,  1891,  by  the 
signature  of  Governor  Alvin  P.  Hovey,  who 
at  all  stages  had  favored  the  legislation. 

"Although  the  law  had  the  approval  and 
support  of  the  Republican  Governor,  and, 
as  the  record  shows,  at  every  stage  in  its 
passage  was  supported  by  a  goodly  number 
of  Republican  votes;  yet  no  sooner  had 
the  Legislature  adjourned  than  an  active 
and  persistent  war  was  waged  against  it 
in  every  part  of  the  State.  While  the  oppo- 
sition was  chiefly  of  a  political  character, 
still  the  Democrats  themselves  seemed 
rather  lukewarm  in  the  defense.  In  truth 
the  very  bulk  and  extent  of  the  law  made 
it  difficult  to  grasp  all  its  provisions  and 
the  Democratic  press    seemed    indisposed 


(33S) 


HISTOK\   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181  ()-191G 


to  take  up  the  vindication  of  a  statute 
which  took  up  over  ninety  pages  of  the 
session  laws.  The  first  Democrat  outside 
the  membership  of  the  late  Legislature 
who  seemed  to  grasp  and  understand  the 
provisions  of  the  law  was  the  Hon.  Thomas 
Duncan,  now  the  brilliant  and  eflficient 
president  of  the  Public  Service  Commis- 
sion. Until  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Dun- 
can's comprehensive  and  illuminating 
article  it  would  seem  that  the  Democrats 
were  almost  willing  to  confess  judgment  in 
favor  of  the  determined  attacks  of  the 
opponents  of  the  law.  Some  good  Demo- 
cratic editors  seemed  to  fear  that  the 
Democratic  Legislature  had  committed  a 
huge  blunder  and  that  the  party  would  be 
ruined  in  consequence.  Mr.  Duncan's  arti- 
cle came  when  the  law  was  in  the  depths. 
That  article  marked  the  turning  point  in 
favor  of  the  legislation.  Democratic  writ- 
ers and  speakers  took  heart,  though  in  a 
sort  of  desperate  mood,  and  tried  to  make 
the  best  of  what  they  still  feared  was  an 
inconsiderate  piece  of  legislation. 

"But  it  was  the  real  enemies  of  the  law, 
those  who  had  thoroughly  studied  its  pro- 
visions and  understood  and  feared  them — 
it  was  these  men  who  brought  home  to  the 
people  the  true  nature  of  this  daring  and 
radical  revision  of  our  tax  laws.  The  law 
had  been  attacked  as  favoring  corpora- 
tions. The  corporations  themselves  knew 
this  to  be  untrue,  and  they  at  once  went 
into  the  courts  to  overthrow  the  new  act. 
Not  until  then  did  the  people  open  their 
eyes.  If  the  railroads,  telegraph  and  ex- 
press companies  went  into  the  courts  to 
overthrow  the  law,  well,  then,  said  the 
people,  surely  the  law  must  not  be  in  favor 
of  the  corporations.  Democrats  now  took 
renewed  courage,  studied  the  law  and  de- 
fended its  provisions.  A  great  light  shone 
and  the  tax  law  was  out  of  the  depths.  The 
decisions  of  the  courts  followed,  sustain- 
ing the  enactment  at  every  point,  even  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  and  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  It 
was  a  great  triumph.  At  last  the  corpora- 
tions must  bear  their  just  share  of  the 
public  burdens.  The  valuation  of  railroad 
property  alone  rose  from  sixty-nine  mil- 
lions in  the  State  to  a  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  millions,  and  other  corporate  property 
in  proportion.  It  was  seen  that  assess- 
ment of  all  property  at  its  true  valuation 
meant  something.  The  new  county  as- 
sessors, all  over  the  State,  found  concealed 


millions  of  mortgages,  bonds  and  other 
securities  and  moneys  that  had  never  paid 
taxes.  The  huge  State  debt  would  come 
down.  And  it  did  come  down,  from  eight 
millions  and  over,  down  it  came,  million 
by  million,  until  finally  the  State  debt  of 
Indiana  has  become  merely  nominal,  while 
her  great  public  institutions  have  been  con- 
stantly enlarged  and  improved  and  their 
inmates  properly  cared  for. 

"But  it  is  said  that  the  law  has  not  been 
properly  enforced.  That  is  true.  If  the 
law  were  enforced  according  to  its  terms 
the  condition  would  be  ideal.  The  taxing 
officers,  township  assessors,  county  as- 
sessors, County  Boards  of  Review  and  the 
State  Board  of  Tax  Commissioners  are  but 
human.  Many  of  these  have  been  admi- 
rable officials  and  have  done  their  duties 
under  the  law  in  manly  fashion,  showing 
themselves  conscientious,  wise  and  cour- 
ageous men.  The  State  Board  of  Tax  Com- 
missioners and  many  county  assessors, 
particularly,  have,  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases,  done  their  full  duty.  If  all  had 
done  so  the  judgment  of  Professor  John 
R.  Commons,  that  the  Indiana  tax  law  is 
nearer  perfect  than  that  of  any  other 
State,  would  be  a  simple  truism.  The  law- 
is  exceedingly  democratic  in  its  provisions. 
Perhaps  there  is  a  fault  in  this.  The  ad- 
ministration and  enforcement  of  the  act 
has  been  left,  so  far  as  possible,  in  the 
hands  of  the  people  themselves.  It  may  be 
that  if  the  county  assessors,  for  example, 
were  given  larger  powers  in  revising  the 
work  of  the  township  assessors,  and  if  the 
State  Board  were  given  larger  powers  in 
revising  the  work  of  all  the  assessors  and 
of  the  Boards  of  Review,  a  more  just  and 
equal  assessment  and  appraisement  of  all 
the  property  of  the  State  should  be 
secured.  Some  level-headed,  zealous  advo- 
cate of  more  perfect  administration  of  the 
law,  such  a  one  perhaps  as  the  Hon.  Dan 
Link,  pre.sent  Tax  Commissioner,  may  yet 
prepare  such  improvement  of  the  law  and 
show  the  Legislature  the  wisdom  of  adopt- 
ing it.  But,  even  as  it  is,  when  we  com- 
pare the  work  done  under  the  present  with 
that  under  the  former  law,  we  cannot  fail 
to  recognize  the  immense  improvement. 
This  improvement  is  seen  particularly  in 
the  work  of  the  county  assessors  and  in 
that  of  the  State  Board  of  Tax  Commis- 
sioners. Property  does  not  escape  taxation 
now  as  it  did  formerly,  and  the  large 
properties  are  more  adequately  taxed. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


"It  has  been  said  that  while  the  Indiana 
law  may  be  the  best  general  property  tax 
law  in  the  country,  yet  that  a  general 
property  tax  law  is  itself  not  so  satisfac- 
tory as  other  systems  of  taxation.  There 
may  be  truth  in  this.  If  the  State  were 
new  and  we  were  about  to  lay  down  the 
first  system  of  taxation,  it  may  be  that 
the  single  tax  on  land,  as  in  New  Zealand, 
might  be  satisfactory.  But  our  general 
property  tax  system  has  been  in  operation 
for  over  a  century  and  so  radical  a  change 
of  method  would  be  detrimental  to  all  our 
long-established  methods  of  business.  It 
is  evident  that  we  must  be  content  to  im- 
prove the  general  property  system  of  tax- 
ation which  we  have  so  long  followed. 
New  methods,  ideal  systems,  even  though 
better  from  an  abstract  point  of  view,  are 
yet  undesirable  when  the  people  have 
grown  familiar  with  other  and  perhaps  in- 
ferior systems  and  methods.     Wise  taxa- 


tion, as  is  indeed  the  case  with  all  laws,  is 
rather  practical  than  scientific.  That  is 
best  which  is  best  for  us. 

"But  many  supplementary  schemes  of 
raising  revenues,  not  antagonistic  in  any 
way  with  present  systems  of  taxation,  are 
reasonable,  practical  and  altogether  desir- 
able. Such  are  license  taxes,  franchise 
taxes,  income  taxes,  inheritance  taxes  and 
others  of  similar  kind.  All  such  taxes 
bear  immediately  upon  the  business  and 
the  persons  benefited  by  the  tax,  are  best 
able  to  bear  the  burdens  of  supporting  the 
Government  and  its  varied  needs  and  in- 
stitutions. The  principal  source  of  public 
revenues,  however,  must  continue  to  be 
the  general  property  tax.  Of  this  method 
of  taxation  the  Indiana  tax  law  of  1891, 
with  its  wise  amendments  and  improve- 
ments as  suggested  from  year  to  year,  will 
grow  to  be  as  near  perfect  as  human  in- 
stitutions can  ever  become." 


(340) 


[Chapter  XLIV.] 

DEMOCRATIC  LANDSLIDE  IN  1892 

WHAT  AT  FIRST  SEEMED  A  HOPELESS  FIGHT  TURNED  INTO 
SWEEPING  VICTORY 

didate  for  renomination  as  Secretary  of 
State.  As  time  passed  Mr.  Matthews  be- 
came more  and  more  impressed  with  the 
idea  that  this  was  the  only  assuring  pro- 
gram for  him  to  adopt.  "With  the  single 
exception  of  yourself,  all  my  friends  are 
agreed  as  to  this  being  the  only  safe  course 
for  me  to  pursue,"  he  told  me  one  day.  He 
mentioned  the  names  of  many  of  his 
friends  as  among  those  who  had  thus  ex- 
pressed themselves.  I  told  him  that  these 
friends  of  his  might  be  entirely  honest  and 
sincere  in  their  views,  but  that  they  were 
exceedingly  short-sighted  and  laboring 
under  a  grievous  delusion.  "From  the 
moment  your  candidacy  for  Governor  is 
announced  there  will  be  in  the  field  as- 
pirants to  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State," 
I  said  to  him.  "Those  opposed  to  you  will 
ridicule  your  double-geared  candidacy  and 
form  combinations  against  you.  It  is 
ruinous  to  entertain  a  scheme  so  utterly 
unfeasible  and  impracticable.  ■  Abandon  it 
and  proclaim  yourself  a  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor and  nothing  else."  Tractable  and 
deferential  as  he  had  usually  shown  him- 
self in  other  matters,  he  seemed  to  be 
inseparably  wedded  to  the  double-geared 
proposition.  In  order  to  settle  the  matter 
once  for  all,  I  arranged  for  a  final  confer- 
ence, at  which  I  secured  the  earnest  co- 
operation and  support  of  ex-Governor 
Gray.  Nearly  two  hours  were  spent  before 
Mr.  Matthews  consented  to  accept  our  view 
of  the  case.  He  finally  did  so,  but  appar- 
ently not  without  misgivings.  The  formal 
announcement  of  his  candidacy  for  Gov- 
ernor was  received  with  marked  favor.  A 
stifi"  fight  was  put  up  in  his  behalf  and  he 
won  the  coveted  prize. 

The  convention  met  in  Tomlinson  Hall  on 
Thursday,  April  21,  1892.  Senator  David 
Turpie  was  chosen    to    preside;    Captain 


HERE  was  sharp  division  in  the 

'  I  ^    :,   Democratic  camp  of  Indiana  in 
I  1892.        Hostility     to     Grover 

_f_  Cleveland  was  intense;  idoliza- 
tion, on  the  other  hand,  just  as 
pronounced.  The  anti-Cleve- 
land forces  did  not  center  on 
any  one  of  the  several  avowed  or  assumed 
aspirants.  Some  favored  the  nomination 
of  ex-Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray,  others  were 
enthusiastic  in  their  support  of  Senator 
David  B.  Hill,  and  some  thought  the 
strongest  man  to  nominate  was  Senator 
Arthur  P.  Gorman  of  Maryland.  These 
forces  were  also  divided  as  to  the  nomina- 
tion of  a  candidate  for  Governor.  As  a 
rule  the  supporters  of  Grover  Cleveland 
favored  the  nomination  of  John  G.  Shank- 
lin,  former  Secretary  of  State  and  editor 
of  the  Evansville  Courier,  while  the  anti- 
Cleveland  men  wanted  Secretary  of  State 
Claude  Matthews  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
ticket.  For  various  reasons  I  was  intense- 
ly interested  in  making  Claude  Matthews 
Governor  of  Indiana.  He  made  an  enviable 
record  as  Secretary  of  State,  displayed 
sound  judgrhent  in  matters  that  came  be- 
fore him  for  adjustment  and  had  developed 
many  of  the  traits  of  a  most  excellent  pub- 
lic official.  Besides,  I  was  partial  to  having 
a  farmer  at  the  head  of  the  State  Govern- 
ment. When  I  first  talked  to  him  about 
the  Governorship  it  was  plainly  apparent 
that  the  suggestion  struck  him  quite  favor- 
ably. But  soon  it  became  manifest  that 
complications  were  in  the  way.  In  talking 
the  matter  over  with  intimate  friends  in 
various  parts  of  the  State  the  notion  was 
hammered  into  Mr.  Matthews'  head  that 
in  view  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  Guberna- 
torial contest  he  must  have  it  understood 
that  if  he  should  happen  to  be  defeated  for 
that  position  he  should  be  a  receptive  can- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


John  C.  Nelson  was  again  honored  with 
the  principal  secretaryship  of  the  conven- 
tion. 

The  contest  over  the  nomination  for 
Governor  was  spirited  and  exciting.  The 
situation  was  somewhat  complicated  by 
the  entry  of  several  gentlemen  who  had  not 
been  considered  as  seriously  in  the  race. 
The  first  ballot  had  hardly  been  completed 
when  a  number  of  delegations  changed 
their  vote,  mostly  in  favor  of  Mr.  Mat- 
thews. Much  enthusiasm  was  aroused  by 
the  announcement  of  these  changes.  The 
vote  showed  this  result:  Claude  Matthews, 
6521/4. ;  John  G.  Shanklin,  36014 ;  Mason  J. 
Niblack,  1653/^.;  Mortimer  Nye,  124%. 
The  contest  ended  by  the  adoption  of  a 
motion  that  the  nomination  of  Claude 
Matthews  for  Governor  be  made  by  accla- 
mation. Mortimer  Nye,  who  was  fourth 
in  the  race  for  the  Gubernatorial  nomina- 
tion, became  the  convention's  choice  for 
Lieutenant-Governor.  The  ticket  in  its 
entirety  was  composed  of  the  following- 
named  gentlemen: 

Governor — Claude  Matthews,  Vermilion  county. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Mortimer   Nye,   Laporte. 

Secretary  of  State — Captain  William  R.  Myers, 
Anderson. 

Auditor  of  State — J.  O.  Henderson,  Kokomo. 

Treasurer  of  State — Albert  Gall,  Indianapolis. 

Attorney-General — Alonzo  G.   Smith,  Jennings. 

Reporter  of  Supreme  Court — Sidney  R.  Moon, 
Rochestei-. 

Supt.  Public  Instruction — Harvey  D.  Vories. 

Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics— William  A.  Peelle, 
Jr..  Indianapolis. 

Judges  of  Supreme  Court — Leonard  J.  Hack- 
ney of  Shelb.vville,  James  McCabe  of  Warren, 
Timothy  E.  Howard  of  South  Bend. 

Appellate  Court  Judges — George  L.  Reinhard, 
Frank  E.  Gavin,  Theodore  P.  Davis,  George  E. 
Ross. 

SHANKLIN  -  CLEVELAND  DEMON- 
STRATION. 
A  remarkable  demonstration  of  popular 
enthusiasm  vv'as  made  the  night  before  the 
convention.  The  Cleveland  Club  of  In- 
dianapolis marched  to  the  Grand  Hotel, 
Democratic  headquarters,  to  pay  homage 


to  John  G.  Shanklin,  the  Cleveland  candi- 
date for  Governor.  In  response  to  vocifer- 
ous calls  Mr.  Shanklin  made  his  appear- 
ance on  the  balcony  and  delivered  this  re- 
markable speech: 

"Fellow-countrymen:  I  can  hardly  ex- 
press the  gratification  I  feel  at  being 
honored  by  this  call.  I  do  not  take  it  to 
myself  altogether,  for  you  know  that  in 
a  recent  utterance  I  said  that  90  per  cent, 
of  the  party  in  Indiana  is  in  favor  of 
Cleveland  for  President  of  the  United 
States.  I  stand  here  upon  the  eve  of  the 
convention,  before  which  my  name  is  to 
be  presented  for  Governor,  and  reiterate 
the  statement.  If  my  defeat  is  the  price 
I  must  pay  for  this  expression,  I  wish  to 
say  that  I  court  the  sacrifice.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  small  moment,  where  the  gentlemen 
who  are  my  opponents  are  men  of  so  much 
capacity  and  honor,  which  of  us  is  selected 
as  the  standard  bearer,  but  it  is  of  vital 
consequence  of  everlasting  importance 
that  Cleveland  be  nominated  for  President 
at  Chicago.  We  have  all  heard  of  a  con- 
ference of  gentlemen  to  devise  a  compro- 
mise as  to  the  claims  of  the  friends  of 
Cleveland  and  the  friends  of  ex-Governor 
Gray.  Now,  with  all  due  respect  to  the 
gentlemen,  all  of  whom  are  personal  and 
political  friends  of  mine,  they  do  not  all 
believe,  perhaps,  that  I  am  the  best  one  to 
lead  on  the  State  ticket,  though  the  Lord 
may,  perhaps,  .show  them  better  in  a  dream 
tonight — the  plan  was  not  needed.  There 
is  no  factional  spirit  in  the  Democratic 
party  of  Indiana.  When  90  per  cent,  of 
the  party  is  behind  one  name,  one  prin- 
cipal, there  is  not  enough  left  to  make  a 
faction  out  of  it.  No  Democrat  wishes  to 
humiliate  or  reflect  upon  our  gallant  lead- 
er, Hon.  Isaac  Pusey  Gray — there  is  no 
man  in  this  vast  audience  or  in  the  State 
to  whom  I  yield  in  respect  to  Mr.  Gray. 
If  word  of  ours  would  make  him  President, 
we  would  sound  it  with  loud  hurrah.  But 
what  sense  is  there  in  trying  to  hide  or 
misrepresent  the  real  sentiment  of  the 
party  ?  I  say  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  is 
not  for  him,  but  for  Grover  Cleveland.  Let 
me  be  understood  as  respecting  the  opinion 
of  every  Democrat.  There  may  come  up 
some  conditions  which  might  be  more 
favorable  to  Governor  Gray. 

"I  have  never  been  charged  with  at- 
tempting the  role  of  boss.     Down  in  In- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8   1  6  -  1  9   1   G 


diana,  on  the  banks  of  the  classic  Ohio, 
where  I  make  my  home  and  where  every- 
body knows  me,  I  don't  believe  any  one  will 
accuse  me  of  trying  to  be  a  boss.  I  have 
the  reputation,  on  the  contrary,  of  being 
rather  modest  in  my  social  and  political 
relations.  But  has  it  ever  occurred  to  our 
friends  in  that  conference  for  compact 
and  compromise,  those  self-appointed 
guardians  who  promulgated  as  essence  of 
— well,  I  won't  characterize — did  it  ever 
occur  to  them  that  perhaps  they  might  be 
laying  themselves  liable  to  the  faintest 
shadow  of  a  suspicion  of  the  charge  of 
bossism?  Why,  they  have  themselves 
actually  selected  four  delegates  who  shall 
represent  the  party  at  large.  Now,  if  the 
whole  of  the  party's  interests  and  the  ex- 
pression of  the  party  sentiment  is  to  be 
committed  to  a  half-dozen  of  our  party 
leaders,  no  matter  how  much  is  involved, 
why  shall  the  convention  assemble  at  all? 
I  belie\-e  that  tomorrow,  when  the  Demo- 
cratic hosts  are  in  convention  assembled, 
they  should  be  allowed  to  express  their 
true  sentiment  and  opinion,  "rhey  should 
be  given  the  opportunity  frankly  and  can- 
didly to  express  their  real  attitude  toward 
Cleveland.  He  is  the  man  who  gave  us  the 
issue  which  led  us  to  victory.  He  it  was 
who  found  our  banner  trailing  in  the  dust 
and  raised  its  proud  folds  aloft.  He  it  was 
that  took  our  ship,  stormbeaten  and  rud- 
derless, and  set  it  safely  upon  its  course. 
He  it  is  who  stands  for  the  great  principles 
of  Jefferson,  equal  rights  to  all  and  class 
privileges  to  none.  It  is  to  this  feast  of 
great  principles  that  you  are  now  invited, 
and  at  the  head  of  the  table  is  where  Mc- 
Dougal  sits.  I  wish  again  to  say  that  if 
the  sentiment  of  this  convention  is  opposed 
to  instructing  our  delegates  for  Cleveland, 
let  us  have  no  instructions.  If  the  senti- 
ment is  for  instructions  for  Gray,  then  let 
us  have  instructions  for  him.  If  there 
should  be  instructions,  the  .sentiment 
should  be  bravely  expre.ssed.  But  I  am 
sure  the  sentiment  is  for  Cleveland.  When 
the  name  of  Cleveland  is  received  with  so 
loud  acclaim,  it  is  evidence  to  me  that  the 
party  will  not  be  satisfied  with  any  other 
candidate.  I  undertake  to  say  that  not 
since  Lincoln's  second  nomination  has 
there  been  such  a  popular  demand  for  the 
nomination  of  any  one  man  as  there  is  for 
Cleveland.  I  look  upon  the  voice  of  the 
people  as  the  voice  of  heaven,  which  should 
be  respected.    The  minority  should  not  be 


allowed  to  dictate  the  choice  of  the  major- 
ity. There  is,  therefore,  no  such  thing  as 
compromise. 

"The  assumption  of  the  compact  re- 
minds me  of  a  story  of  Mark  Twain.  He 
said  whenever  he  and  his  wife  had  a  dif- 
ference and  she  had  her  way,  which  she 
always  did,  she  would  call  it  a  compromise. 
If  we  just  let  the  conference  and  its  com- 
pact in  favor  of  the  small  per  cent,  who 
favor  Gray,  then  that's  what  they  call  a 
compromise.  I  .stand  for  the  Democracy 
of  Indiana.  Our  friends  in  the  conference 
say  in  the  written  suggestion  that  it  is  un- 
questionably true  that  a  large  majority  of 
the  party  favors  Cleveland,  and  that  he  is 
therefore  the  logical  candidate,  therefore 
they  resolve  to  cast  their  vote  of  Indiana 
for — Gray.  This  is  trifling  with  the  peo- 
ple. I  make  no  charges  personally.  I 
believe  these  friends  were  doing  what  they 
thought  for  the  best  interests  of  the  party, 
but  we  cannot  afl'ord  to  stultify  ourselves. 
If  the  compact  does  not  mean  what  I  say, 
I  do  not  understand  it.  I  do  not  want  to 
misrepresent  it.  What  we  are  all  striving 
for  is  success.  It  is  not  the  personality  of 
Cleveland:  it  is  not  Cleveland  as  an  indi- 
vidual that  we  are  so  heartily  in  favor  of 
him.  It  is  because  he  is  the  incarnation  of 
the  Democratic  theory  of  government. 
There  is  no  one  else  who  embodies  so  com- 
pletely the  Democratic  ideas.  Now,  in 
conclusion,  let  me  ask  for  three  cheers  for 
Cleveland,  the  next  President  of  the 
United  States." 

Two  years  later  he  who  delivered  this 
fulsome  laudation  of  Grover  Cleveland  de- 
nounced in  unmeasured  terms  the  subserv- 
iency of  Grover  Cleveland  to  the  money 
power.  The  idol  of  1892  became  an  object 
of  fiercest  arraignment  on  the  charge  of 
having  proved  recreant  to  pure  and  unde- 
filed  Democracy.  Verily,  times  change  and 
politicians  change  with  them. 

In  the  contest  for  places  on  the  supreme 
bench.  Jeptha  D.  New  was  nominated  on 
the  first  ballot  over  William  R.  Johnson  for 
the  Second  district.  Cyrus  F.  McNutt  was 
pitted  against  .James  McCabe  and  defeated 
by  57;^i/o  to  729y2-  For  the  Fifth  district 
there  were  three  contestant.s — Timothy  E. 
Howard  of  South  Bend,  Thomas  J.  Wood 
of   Crown   Point   and   George   Burson   of 


(343) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


Winamac.  Howard  was  declared  duly 
nominated  on  the  first  ballot,  the  vote  be- 
ing: Howard,  870;  Wood,  145;  Burson, 
287. 

At  the  time  Jeptha  D.  New  was  nom- 
inated for  the  supreme  bench  he  held,  by 
appointment  of  the  Governor,  the  posi- 
tion of  Appellate  Judge.  This  court  was 
created  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1891, 
which  was  overwhelmingly  Democratic. 
The  Governor,  in  making  the  appoint- 
ments, named  three  Republicans  and  two 
Democrats.  They  were :  James  B.  Black, 
Milton  S.  Robinson  and  Edgar  S.  Crum- 
packer  (Republicans),  and  Jeptha  D.  New 
and  George  L.  Reinhard  (Democrats).  At 
the  1892  election  all  the  five  Democratic 
nominees  for  the  Appellate  Court  were 
chosen  to  serve  six  years  from  January  1, 
1893.  Judge  New,  honored  citizen  and  in- 
tellectual giant  that  he  was,  terminated  his 
useful  career  on  earth  July  9,  1892,  and 
Leonard  J.  Hackney  of  Shelbyville  was  by 
the  State  Central  Committee  named  to  fill 
the  vacancy  on  the  ticket.  Like  the  rest  of 
his  associates  in  that  campaign,  he  was 
triumphantly  elected. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 
(Elected  at  District  Conventions  in  January.) 

1.  August  Brentano,  Evansville. 

2.  William  M.   Moss,  Bloomfield. 

3.  M.  Z.  Stannard,  Jeffersonville. 

4.  William  H.  O'Brien,  Lawrenceburg. 

5.  William  Hickam,  Spencer. 

6.  Charles  W.  Buchanan,  Union  City. 

7.  Thomas  Taggart,  Indianapolis. 

8.  James  M.  Hoskins,  Brazil. 

9.  David  F.   Allen,  Frankfort. 

10.  Henry  A.  Barnhart,  Rochester. 

11.  Jerome  Herff,  Peru. 

12.  Wright  W.  Rockhill,  Fort  Wayne. 

13.  Ed.   F.  Marshall,   South  Bend. 
DELEGATES    TO    NATIONAL    CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Samuel  E. 
Morss,  Hugh  Dougherty,  Charles  L.  Jewett.  Al- 
ternates— Crawford  Fairbanks,  Lewis  Fox, 
Charles  Korbly,  David  F.  Allen. 

1.  E.  P.  Richardson,  Pike  county. 
Philip  Zoercher,  Perry. 

2.  R.  C.  Huston,  Lawrence. 
W.  A.  Cullop,  Knox. 


3.  E.  J.  Nikalaus,  Clark. 

D.  A.  Jennings,  Washington. 

4.  Herman  Frickler,  Franklin. 
John  Beggs,   Shelby. 

5.  W.  S.  Shirley,  Morgan. 

O.  B.  Johnson,  Hendricks. 

6.  Joshua  Chitwood,  Fayette. 
J.  H.  Smith,  Delaware. 

7.  Will  E.  English,  Marion. 
Judge  Alex.  Ayres,  Marion. 

8.  John  E.  Lamb,  Vigo. 
Thomas  Catlin,  Parke. 

9.  Richard  Tyre,  Boone. 
Jas.  Murdock,  Tippecanoe. 

10.  C.  R.  Pollard,  Carroll. 
J.  E.  Cass,  Porter. 

11.  Herman  Witte. 

E.  E.  Megriff,  Jay. 

12.  Samuel  M.  Foster,  Allen. 
N.  B.  Newnam,  Noble. 

13.  Harry  S.  Chester,  Elkhart. 
Orlando  M.  Packard,  Marshall. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 
At   Large — William   H.   Bracken   of  Brookville, 
John  C.  Robinson  of  Spencer. 

1.  Thomas  Duncan,  Gibson. 

2.  Ephraim  Inman,  Martin. 

3.  George   H.  Voight,  Clark. 

4.  Carroll  Tandy,  Switzerland. 

5.  Luther  Short,  Johnson. 

6.  Thomas    Baggott,   Henry. 

7.  Albert  Lieber,  Marion. 

8.  A.  W.  Knight,  Clay. 

9.  Theodore  T.  Davis,  Hamilton. 

10.  H.  D.  Hattery,  Cass. 

11.  D.  W.  Krisher,  Wabash. 

12.  O.  L.  Ballou,  Lagrange. 

13.  Preston  F.  Miles,  Kosciusko. 

DUAL  CANDIDACY  ABANDONED  BY 
CLAUDE  MATTHEWS. 
Considerable  time  was  required  before 
Secretary  of  State  Claude  Matthews  suc- 
ceeded in  persuading  himself  to  publicly 
avow  his  candidacy  for  the  governorship. 
It  was  less  than  two  weeks  before  the 
holding  of  the  State  convention  that  he 
finally  came  to  a  decisive  conclusion.  The 
following  letter,  written  in  longhand,  in 
a  measure  reveals  the  state  of  his  mind 
with  reference  to  letting  go  of  a  sure  thing 
and  taking  chances  on  securing  something 
higher: 


(344) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


"Indianapolis,  Ind.,  April  9,  1892. 

"Dear  Mr.  Stoll : — Herein  I  enclose  you 
a  letter  announcing  my  candidacy  for  the 
nomination  for  Governor.  It  will  be  pub- 
lished in  Monday's  papers  as  it  will  be 
sent  out  through  the  Associated  Press.  I 
addressed  it  to  Colonel  Matson  in  reply 
to  one  just  received  from  him,  in  which 
he  urges  that  I  owe  it  to  my  friends  and 
party  to  no  longer  hesitate  or  decline. 

"Well,  the  die  is  cast  and  the  rubicon 
crossed,  and  I  can  only  ti'ust  it  is  for  the 
best.  With  the  assistance  of  my  friends, 
and  I  know  they  will  cheerfully  give  it,  I 
cannot  but  hope  to  succeed.  Whatever  the 
result  may  be,  I  am  content  if  I  have  even 
in  such  small  way  discharged  any  of  the 
obligations  I  am  under  to  my  party. 

"About  thirteen  gentlemen,  representa- 
tive men  (I  wish  you  could  have  been  with 
us),  met  hei-e  last  Thursday  night  and  all 
were  of  the  opinion  that  I  should  boldly 
enter  the  race. 

"I  did  not  want  to  publish  the  letter  un- 
til after  the  convention  in  this  county  to- 
day, and  was  so  advised  by  all.  I  hope 
the  letter  will  meet  your  approval,  as  I 
tried  to  make  it  brief,  frank,  and  to  the 
point.  I  am  no  longer  in  the  equivocal 
position  of  holding  on  to  one  office  and 
desiring  another.  Others  will  announce 
for  Secretary  of  State.  Among  them,  I  be- 
lieve, will  be  Captain  Hilligoss  and  Hon. 
W.  R.  Myers.  These  have  both  been  talked 
of. 

"I  shall  ever  bear  in  grateful  remem- 
brance the  kind  words  spoken  of  me  by 
.yourself,  and  the  generous  acts  and  assist- 
ance to  me. 

"Should  it  ever  be  in  my  power  to  be  of 
service  to  you,  you  will  only  have  to  com- 
mand me. 

"With  sincerest  regards,  I  remain, 
"Most  truly  your  friend, 

"CLAUDE  MATTHEWS." 

MAIN  PLANKS  OF  1892  PLATFORM. 
"We,  the  Democracy  of  Indiana,  in  dele- 
gate convention  assembled,  reaffirm  our 
devotion  to  the  time-honored  principles  of 
our  historic  party.  We  believe  that  the 
powers  delegated  by  the  people  should  be 
strictly  construed;  that  the  autonomy  of 
the  States  and  the  rights  of  local  self-gov- 
ernment and  home  rule  should  be  jealously 
guarded;  that  no  money  should  be  taken 
from  the  people  under    any    pretext    for 


other  than  public  purposes ;  that  the  strict- 
est economy  should  be  exerci.sed  in  all 
Government  expenditures,  whether  local. 
State  or  national;  that  legislation  should 
be  confined  to  the  legitimate  objects  of 
government;  that  public  office  is  a  solemn 
public  trust.  We  are  uncompromisingly 
opposed  to  the  enlargement  and  concentra- 
tion of  Federal  powers;  to  the  usurpation 
by  the  central  Government  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  States ;  to  bounties  and  sub- 
sidies in  every  form ;  to  every  species  of 
class  legislation  and  Government  partner- 
ship with  private  enterprises ;  to  the  whole 
theory  and  practice  of  paternalism. 

"We  believe  that  in  a  'free  country  the 
curtailment  of  the  absolute  rights  of  the 
individual  should  only  be  such  as  is  e.ssen- 
tial  to  the  peace  and  good  order  of  the 
community,'  and  we  regard  all  legislation 
looking  to  the  infringement  of  liberty  of 
person  or  conscience,  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  the  maintenance  of  public  order,  as 
vicious  in  principle  and  demoralizing  in 
practice. 

"We  arraign  the  administration  of 
Benjamin  Harrison  for  its  subserviency  to 
the  interests  of  the  money  power,  which 
created  it,  and  its  indifference  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  people ;  for  its  brazen  violation 
of  its  solemn  pledges  to  the  country,  to 
elevate  and  purify  the  public  service;  for 
its  shameless  prostitution  of  the  public 
patronage  to  the  vilest  partisan  purposes, 
as  illustrated  by  the  sale  of  a  Cabinet 
office  to  -John  Wanamaker ;  by  the  employ- 
ment of  the  Pension  Bureau  as  a  party 
machine,  and  by  the  promotion  of  William 
A.  Woods  to  a  higher  post  in  the  Federal 
judiciary  as  a  rew'ard  for  his  services  in 
saving  the  "blocks-of-five"  conspirators 
from  the  penitentiary;  for  its  contempt- 
uous repudiation  of  its  promises  to  the 
veteran  soldiers  of  the  Union ;  for  its 
wicked  attem.pt  to  fasten  upon  this  coun- 
try the  odious  and  un-American  force  bill, 
intended  to  deprive  the  people  of  the  right 
to  regulate  their  own  elections. 

"We  believe  that  there  should  be  kept 
in  constant  circulation  a  full  and  sufficient 
volum.e  of  money,  consisting  of  gold,  silver 
and  legal  tender  paper  currency  at  par 
with  each  other. 

"We  favor  the  election  of  United  States 
Senators  directly  by  the  people  and  com- 
mend Senator  Turpie  for  his  efforts  in 
Congress  to  secure  this  great  reform.  We 
indorse  the  course    of   our    distinguished 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


Senators  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  and  David 
Turpie. 

"We  most  heartily  applaud  the  action  of 
our  two  last  Legislatures  in  passing  the 
school  book  laws,  thereby  giving  the  people 
of  Indiana  a  complete  series  of  school  text- 
books equal  to  those  formerly  used  at  one- 
half  of  the  old  trust  prices.  We  pledge 
ourselves  to  resist  every  attempt  of  the 
school  book  combine  to  regain  their  control 
of  Indiana  and  by  that  means  bring  about 
the  frequent  expensive  changes  in  books, 
of  which  the  people  justly  complained  in 
former  years. 

"We  heartily  endorse  the  new  tax  law  as 
a  wise  and  beneficent  act,  by  which  the 
increased  revenues  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  State  government  are  raised 
entirely  from  the  corporations  of  the  State 
that  had  heretofore  unjustly  escaped  their 
fair  proportion  of  taxation.  We  commend 
the  Legislature  for  refusing  to  adopt  Gov- 
ernor Hovey's  recom.mendation  to  increase 
the  State  levy  ffom  12  cents  to  25  cents  on 
the  $100.00,  and  for  meeting  the  necessary 
expenses  of  the  State's  benevolent  institu- 
tions by  a  levy  of  6  cents  on  the  $100.00. 

"For  twenty  years  the  Republican  party 
has  legislated  for  the  rich  and  powerful 
and  in  the  interest  of  corporate  wealth. 
The  Democratic  party  pledges  itself  to 
remedy  the  costs  growing  out  of  such  class 
legislation  and  in  all  future  contests  to 
stand  by  the  great  producing  masses 
whose  toil  and  self-sacrificing  are  at  the 
foundation  of  all  natural  wealth. 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention  indorse 
the  wise  and  patriotic  administration  of 
Grover  Cleveland;  that  the  Presidential 
campaign  of  1892  should  be  conducted  on 
the  issue  of  tariff  reform  as  defined  in  the 
Presidential  message  of  1887;  that  upon 
this  issue  Mr.  Cleveland  is  the  logical  can- 
didate of  the  Democratic  party. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party 
of  Indiana  expresses  its  unalterable  con- 
fidence in  and  attachment  to  its  gallant 
leader,  Isaac  P.  Gray;  that  it  holds  him 
worthy  of  any  honor  in  the  gift  of  the 
American  people,  and  that  his  name  be 
presented  to  the  convention  by  the  delega- 
tion this  day  appointed,  and  in  the  event 
that  the  national  convention  deems  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Cleveland  inexpedient, 
the  delegation  is  instructed  to  use  every 
honorable  effort  to  secure  the  nomination 
of  Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray  for  the  Presi- 
dency." 


Patching  up  an  agreement  as  to  how  the 
delegation  to  the  national  convention 
should  vote  was  no  easy  task.  Various 
constructions  were  placed  on  the  resolu- 
tions bearing  on  this  subject.  The  final 
outcome  was  that  Cleveland  got  the  benefit 
of  Indiana's  entire  vote.  This  was  brought 
about  by  a  positive  pledge  of  the  Cleveland 
management  to  secure  Governor  Isaac  P. 
Gray's  nomination  for  Vice-President. 
Much  bitterness  came  to  the  surface. 
Senator  Voorhees,  afflicted  with  gout,  was 
in  a  very  despondent  mood  over  the  situa- 
tion. He  was  bitter  in  his  denunciations 
and  declared  that  nothing  but  disaster 
could  come  out  of  the  chaotic  conditions 
that  had  been  created  by  the  discordant 
elements  that  had  been  fighting  so  vicious- 
ly from  the  moment  they  had  reached  Chi- 
cago. How  Cleveland's  nomination  was 
effected  is  thus  narrated  by  Colonel  Mc- 
Clure: 

"The  Democratic  National  Convention 
met  at  Chicago  on  June  21,  and  Cleveland 
was  nominated  for  a  third  time  after  the 
most  desperate  and  acrimonious  strife  I 
have  ever  witnessed  in  a  national  conven- 
tion. It  was  on  that  occasion  that  Bourke 
Cockran  made  a  speech  against  Cleveland 
that  gave  him  national  fame,  and  it  was 
one  of  extraordinary  ability  and  power. 
The  convention  was  really  adverse  to 
Cleveland's  nomination.  Had  a  majority 
of  the  delegates  followed  their  own  per- 
sonal inclinations  he  would  have  been  de- 
feated, and  he  was  nominated  solely  by 
the  matchless  leadership  of  William  C. 
Whitney.  But  for  him  and  his  wonderful 
skill  and  energy  the  convention  would  have 
run  away  from  Cleveland  at  the  outset. 
Never  in  the  history  of  American  politics 
was  there  such  an  achievement  as  the 
nomination  of  Cleveland  over  the  solid  and 
aggressively  hostile  vote  of  his  own  State 
of  New  York,  that  was  regarded  as  the 
pivotal  State  of  the  battle.  Tammany  had 
always  opposed  Cleveland  in  national  con- 
ventions, but  never  before  had  control  of 
the  delegation  against  him,  and  a  protest 
was  published  to  the  convention  signed  by 
every  delegate  from  the  State,  demanding 
his  defeat. 

"Cleveland  was  strong  with  the  people 


(346) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1  9   1  (5 


but  weak  with  the  political  leaders,  and  it 
was  only  Whitney's  masterful  manage- 
ment of  the  convention  that  held  it  to 
Cleveland.  The  platform  was  made  by  the 
enemies  of  Cleveland ;  the  nomination  for 
Vice-President  was  made  over  his  friends, 
and  the  hostility  to  him  was  so  pronounced 
that  the  opposing  leaders  were  confident 
of  his  defeat  at  the  polls.  The  convention 
sat  at  night  and  far  on  in  the  morning 
hours,  when  Cleveland  received  617  votes, 
just  ten  more  than  were  necessary  to 
nominate  him.  Had  he  not  been  nominated 
on  that  ballot  his  defeat  would  have  been 
certain. 

"The  strength  of  Cleveland's  position 
before  the  people  was  pointedly  illustrated 
by  his  nomination  in  a  convention  that  was 
not  specially  friendly,  but  that  was  forced 
to  make  him  the  candidate  because  of  the 
overwhelming  popular  Democratic  senti- 
ment that  demanded  it.  A  year  or  so  be- 
fore the  convention  met  he  had  written  a 
brief  and  positive  letter  against  the  free 
coinage  of  silver,  and  the  Democrats  of  the 
South  and  West  almost  with  one  voice  de- 
clared against  him  at  the  time,  but  when 
the  Democratic  people  faced  the  conditions 
presented  by  the  battle  of  1892,  the  masses 
came  to  the  support  of  Cleveland  and  the 
leaders  were  compelled  to  follow.  The 
cheap-money  craze  had  made  serious  in- 
roads in  both  of  the  great  parties,  and  the 
Republican  platform  was  a  weak  and  awk- 
ward straddle  of  the  whole  issue,  while  the 
Democratic  convention  had  an  honest 
money  plank  declaring  for  bi-metallism 
and  the  free  use  of  gold  and  silver  with  the 
intrinsic  value  of  the  dollar  to  be  main- 
tained. 

"The  Democratic  convention  at  Chicago 
was  presided  over  by  William  C.  Owens  of 
Kentucky  as  temporary  president,  and 
William  L.  Wilson  of  West  Virginia  as 
permanent  president.  After  a  protracted 
and  acrimonious  discussion  that  extended 
the  session  of  the  convention  of  the  second 
day  until  long  after  midnight,  the  ballot 
for  President  was  finally  reached,  result- 
ing as  follows : 

Grover  Cleveland,  New  York...617A 

David  B.  Hill,  New  York 114 

Horace    Boies,    Iowa 103 

Arthur  P.  Gorman,  Maryland..   361 

Adlai   E.   Stevenson,   Illinois 168 

Scattering     22 

"There  was  an  animated  contest  for 
Vice-President  and  the  special  friends  of 


Cleveland  were  united  in  favor  of  Isaac 
P.  Gray  of  Indiana,  but  they  were  defeated 
in  their  choice,  as  they  were  on  several 
vital  points  of  the  platform.  Only  one  bal- 
lot was  had  for  Vice-President,  resulting 
as  follows: 

Adlai   E.  Stevenson,  Illinois 402 

Isaac  P.  Gray,  Indiana 344 

Allen  B.  Morse,  Michigan 86 

John    L.   Mitchell,   Wisconsin....   4.5 
Scattering    33 

"Stevenson  had  not  received  the  requi- 
site two-thirds,  but  he  so  far  outstripped 
the  candidate  of  the  Cleveland  leaders  that 
they  coi'dially  acquiesced,  and  the  nomina- 
tion of  Stevenson  was  made  unanimous." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  no  Democratic 
victories  were  .scored  in  Indiana  at  any  of 
the  elections  after  1892  up  to  1908,  it  is 
fitting  that  unusual  prominence  be  given 
to  the  returns  of  the  two  elections  that 
stand  out  in  bold  relief  as  among  the  most 
decisive  ballot  verdicts  recorded  up  to  that 
period  in  the  histoi'y  of  the  State. 

OFFICIAL  VOTE  IN  1892. 
FOR  PRESIDENT. 

Grover    Cleveland,    Democrat 262,740     7,125 

Benjamin    Harrison,    Republican.  .  .2.5.5,61.5 

.John    Bidwell,   Prohibition 13,050 

.James  B.  Weaver,  People's 22,208 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

Claude    Matthews,    Democrat 260,601     6,976 

Ira  J.  Chase,  Republican 2.53,625 

Aaron    Worth.    Prohibition 12,960 

I.croy  Templeton,   People's 22,017. 

FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Mortimer   Nye,   Democrat 260,364     6,770 

Theodore  Shockney,  Republican.  .  .  .253,594 

FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

William  R.  Myers,  Democrat 260,338     6,715 

Aaron    Jones,    Republican 253,623 

FOR  AUDITOR  OF  STATE. 

J.   Oscar  Henderson,   Democrat 260,340     6,772 

John   W.   Coons,  Republican 2.53,.56S 

FOR  TREASURER  OF  STATE. 

Albert    Gall,    Democrat 260,347     6,79V 

Fredeiick  J.  S-hoh,  Republican.  . .  .2.53,5.50 

FOR  ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

Alonzo  G.  Smith,  Democrat 260,156     6,510 

Joseph   D.   Ferrall,  Republican 253,646 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


FOR  REPORTER  SUPREME  COURT. 

Sidney  R.  Moon,  Democrat 260,367     6,758 

George  P.  Haywood,  Republican.  .  .253,609 

FOR     SUPERINTENDENT     OF     PUBLIC     IN- 
STRUCTION. 

Harvey  D.  Vories,  Democrat 260,431     6,830 

James  H.  Henry,  Republican 253,595 

FOR  CHIEF  OF  BUREAU  OF  STATISTICS. 
William  A.  Peelle,  Jr.,  Democrat.  .260,390  6,795 
Simeon  J.  Thompson,  Republican.  .253,595 

FOR    JUDGE     SUPREME     COURT,      SECOND 
DISTRICT. 

Leonard  J.  Hackney,  Democrat 260,403     6,687 

John  D.  Miller,  Republican 253,716 

FOR  JUDGE   SUPREME  COURT,  THIRD   DIS- 
TRICT. 

James    McCabe,    Democrat 260,295     6,460 

Byron  K.  Elliott,  Republican 253,835 

FOR  JUDGE   SUPREME   COURT,  FIFTH   DIS- 
TRICT. 

Timothy  E.  Howard,  Democrat 260,377     6,616 

Robert  W.  McBride,  Republican.  .  .253,761 

FOR  APPELLATE  COURT  JUDGES. 

George  L.  Reinhard,  Democrat,  6,812  plurality 
over  Aden  G.  Cavens,  Republican. 

Frank  E.  Gavin,  Democrat,  6,688  plurality  over 
Charles  B.  Baker,  Republican. 

Theodore  P.  Davis,  Democrat,  6,558  plurality 
over  James  B.  Black,  Republican. 

Orlando  J.  Lotz,  Democrat,  6,672  plurality  over 
Henry  C.  Fox,  Republican. 

George  E.  Ross,  Democrat,  6,666  plurality  over 
Edward  E.  Crumpacker,  Republican. 

MEMBERS  OF  CONGRESS,  1892. 

—First  District — 

Arthur  H.  Taylor,  Democrat 19,720        454 

A.  P.  Twineham,  Republican 19,266 

— Second  District — 
John  L.   Bretz,   Democrat 17,700     1,969 

B.  M.  Willoughby,  Republican 15,731 

—Third  District- 
Jason  B.  Brown,  Democrat .20,928     2,971 

William   H.   Borden,   Republican 17,957 

— Fourth  District — 

William  S.  Holman,  Democrat 19,008     3,081 

Samuel   M.  Jones,   Republican 15,927 

—Fifth  District- 
George  W.  Cooper,  Democrat 17,698     1,058 

John  Worrell,  Republican 16,640 


— Sixth  District — 

H.  U.  Johnson,  Republican 20,444     8,724 

L.   M.   Mering,   Democrat    11,720 

— Seventh  District — 

William  D.  Bynum,  Democrat 28,267     1,316 

Charles  L.  Henry,  Republican 26,951 

—Eighth  District— 

E.  V.  Brookshire,  Democrat 22,949     1,622 

W.  S.  Carpenter,  Republican 21,327 

—Ninth  District- 
Daniel  Waugh,  Republican   23,416     4,125 

Eli  W.  Brown,  Democrat 19,291 

—Tenth  District- 
Thomas  Hammond,  Democrat 18,298  42 

William  Johnston,  Republican   18,256 

— Eleventh  District- 
August   N.   Martin,   Democrat 21,893        753 

William  T.   Daley,  Republican 21,140 

—Twelfth  District- 
William  F.  McNagny,  Democrat 19,991     3,065 

Adolph  J.  You,  Republican 16,926 

—Thirteenth  District- 
Charles  G.   Conn,  Democrat 21,627     1,940 

James  S.   Dodge,  Republican 19,687 

THE  INDIANA  MUNICIPAL  CODE. 

(By  Hon.  Timothy  E.  Howard.) 

On  January  12,  1891,  Representative 
James  E.  McCullough  of  Marion  county, 
Indiana,  introduced  into  the  lower  House 
of  the  Legislature  "a  bill  for  an  act  con- 
cerning the  incorporation  and  government 
of  cities  having  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  population."  This  was  the  first 
step  taken  in  the  General  Assembly  for  the 
reform  of  the  laws  relating  to  the  govern- 
ment of  cities  in  this  State.  The  bill  had 
been  for  two  years  or  over  under  consid- 
eration and  in  preparation  by  a  committee 
of  citizens  of  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Commercial  Club  of  that 
city. 

The  draft  of  the  bill  as  introduced  by 
Mr.  McCullough  was  prepared  almost  en- 
tirely by  Mr.  Augustus  L.  Mason  of  In- 
dianapolis, under  direction  of  the  com- 
mittee. As  stated  by  W.  W.  Thornton,  in 
the  preface  to  his  work  on  the  municipal 
law  of  Indiana,  the  bill  so  prepared  "was 
the    result    of    careful    and    painstaking 


(348) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


examination  of  all  then  recently  advanced 
legislation  concerning  the  government  of 
municipalities."  Or,  as  said  by  Senator 
Rufus  Magee  when  the  bill  came  before 
the  Senate,  "It  was  the  result  of  the  best 
thought  of  the  best  minds  of  the  city  of 
Indianapolis." 

Indiana  cities  up  to  this  time  were  gov- 
erned by  what  has  been  called  the  "coun- 
cilmanic  system."  The  city  was  under  the 
control  of  a  Common  Council,  or  of  a  Com- 
mon Council  and  Board  of  Aldermen. 
These  bodies  were  chosen  by  the  voters  of 
the  several  wards  into  which  the  city  was 
divided ;  they  enacted  ordinances  for  the 
government  of  the  municipality  and 
elected  all  officers  not  elected  by  the  people. 
The  office  of  Mayor  was  rather  ornamental 
than  responsible.  He  was,  ex  officio,  pres- 
ident of  the  Common  Council  and  held  a 
city  court,  in  which  he  exercised  the  pow- 
ers of  a  justice  of  the  peace.  This  sys- 
tem had  served  very  well  in  the  early 
history  of  the  State  and  while  the  cities 
were  small,  but  when  a  city  grew  large 
the  councilmen  represented  the  wants  of 
their  several  wards  rather  than  the  needs 
of  the  city  at  large.  The  creation  of  a 
Board  of  Aldermen,  who  shared  with  the 
Council  the  government  of  the  city,  served 
in  some  degree  to  check  the  loose  govern- 
ment exercised  by  the  Council.  But  the 
aldermen  were  also  elected  by  the  union 
of  wards  and  also  represented  their  wards 
rather  than  the  city. 

The  chief  object  of  the  new  legislation 
was  to  separate  the  powers  of  government 
into  their  constituent  parts — legislative, 
executive  and  judicial;  to  confine  the 
duties  of  the  Council  to  the  enactment  of 
ordinances  and  the  control  of  the  rev- 
enues: to  make  the  Mayor  the  executive 
officer  of  the  city,  and  to  assign  judicial 
functions  to  a  city  judge. 

There  was  little  opposition  to  the  Mc- 
Cullough  bill  in  the  House,  and  it  passed 
that  body  on  February  16  by  a  vote  of  six- 
ty-five to  thirteen.     In  the  Senate,  how- 


ever, an  active  spirit  of  opposition  at  once 
manifested  itself.  On  February  28  the 
Committee  on  the  Affairs  of  the  City  of 
Indianapolis,  to  which  the  bill  had  been  re- 
ferred, brought  in  a  majority  report,  by 
the  Democratic  members,  and  a  minority 
report  signed  by  the  two  Republican  mem- 
bers. Several  amendments  were  proposed 
in  the  majority  report  and  three  in  the 
minority.  The  members  of  the  citizens' 
committee  who  had  prepared  the  bill  were 
decidedly  opposed  to  the  majority  report 
and  in  favor  of  the  minority.  The  voice  of 
the  majority  report  was  substantially  that 
it  favored  the  retention  of  many  of  the 
features  of  the  old  councilmanic  form  of 
city  government;  it  would  leave  the  con- 
trol of  the  executive  department  still  in 
the  Council.  The  bill,  as  presented,  placed 
the  appointment  of  all  executive  officers 
and  boards  in  the  hands  of  the  Mayor  and 
made  him  solely  responsible  for  their  acts, 
thus  centering  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  city  in  the  hands  of  the  chief 
executive  and  making  him  directly  respon- 
sible to  the  people.  An  amendment  in- 
sisted upon  in  the  majority  report  would 
give  only  a  very  limited  power  of  appoint- 
ment to  the  Mayor,  namely :  "To  appoint 
the  heads  of  departments,  by  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  Common  Council."  The 
Citizens'  Committee  were  of  opinion  that 
this  amendment  alone  would  defeat  the 
real  purpose  of  the  new  legislation,  and 
they  preferred  that  the  bill  should  be  de- 
feated rather  than  that  the  amendments 
proposed  in  the  majority  report  should  be 
adopted. 

There  was,  however,  a  practical  diffi- 
culty in  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  the 
friends  of  the  reform  legislation.  The 
Democrats  in  the  Senate  were  in  a  large 
majority,  and  this  majority  appeared  to 
be  represented  by  the  majority  report  of 
the  com.mittee  which  was  so  decidedly  in 
opposition  to  the  reform.  Besides,  every 
Senator  from  Indianapolis  was  against  the 
bill,  unless  it  should  be  amended  as  indi- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


cated  in  the  majority  report.  Would  it 
do  to  attempt  the  passage  of  a  measure 
which  was  opposed  by  the  majority  of  the 
comm.ittee  to  which  it  was  referred,  and 
opposed  also  by  every  senator  of  the  city 
for  the  government  of  which  the  bill  was 
intended ;  while  it  was  favored  only  in  the 
minority  report  signed  by  the  two  Repub- 
licans on  the  committee?  But  the  Citi- 
zens' Committee,  composed  of  members  of 
all  political  parties,  contended  that  in  the 
other  legislation  of  the  Senate  at  this  ses- 
sion— the  Suburban  Street  Railway  bill, 
the  far-reaching  Tax  law,  the  Appellate 
Court  act,  the  amended  School  Text-Book 
law,  the  amended  act  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Board  of  Children's  Guardians, 
and  other  like  liberal  legislation — this 
Democratic  body  had  shown  itself  devoted 
to  the  most  decided  reform  legislation,  and 
ihey  were  therefore  of  opinion  that  if  an 
appeal  could  be  made  to  the  patriotism  of 
a  majority  of  the  Senate  this  act  for  the 
reform  of  the  law  of  city  government 
would  also  be  carried  by  a  decided  vote  of 
the  Senate.  The  Citizens'  Committee,  as 
was  necessary,  exercised  much  tact  in  this 
crisis.  They  selected  two  of  their  num- 
ber, both  Democrats  of  high  standing,  to 
look  after  the  bill,  with  directions  to  select 
a  Democratic  Senator  to  take  charge  of  it 
in  the  Senate.  The  writer  had  recently, 
under  some  difficulties,  succeeded  in  secur- 
ing the  passage  of  a  suburban  street  rail- 
way bill  in  vv'hich  the  city  of  Indianapolis 
was  greatly  interested.  He  was  therefore 
selected  now  for  this  delicate  task  of  se- 
curing the  passage  through  the  Senate  of 
this  reform  city  legislation  in  the  face  of 
the  majority  report  against  it,  and  with 
all  the  Senators  of  the  city  also  opposed  to 
it.  The  event  justified  this  confidence. 
When  the  questions  involved  were  fairly 
and  candidly  presented,  those  great  Sen- 
ators of  1891  were  quick  to  see  that  the 
proposed  reform  legislation  was  in  the  line 
of  good  government;  and  on  March  3  the 
bill,  with  the  amendments  favored  in  the 


minority  report,  passed  the  Senate  by  a 
vote  of  forty-two  to  three.  On  March  6 
the  bill  was  signed  by  the  Governor  and 
became  th^"  law. 

The  Indianapolis  Charter,  as  it  was 
called,  was  thought  by  many  to  give  too 
large  powers  to  the  Mayor,  and  at  first  had 
some  honest  opposition,  even  after  it  be- 
came a  law.  In  time,  however,  those  fears 
were  found  to  be  groundless.  The  direct 
responsibility  of  the  executive  to  the  peo- 
ple saved  the  city  from  any  danger  of  un- 
due exercise  of  power  by  that  officer,  and 
the  people  had  good  cause  to  rejoice  that 
the  councilmanic  form  of  government  was 
done  away  with,  and  that  hereafter  the 
administration  of  city  aff'airs  would  be  for 
the  welfare  of  the  whole  city  and  not  for 
that  of  any  particular  ward  or  section. 
The  Council  itself  was  liberalized  by  the 
election  of  some  of  its  members  by  the  city 
at  large.  The  separation  of  executive 
from  legislative  functions  was  the  central 
idea  of  the  new  system;  while  the  direct 
responsibility  of  the  Mayor  was  a  grateful 
change  from  the  uncertain  and  irresponsi- 
ble government  of  a  Common  Council 
elected  from  the  several  wards.  The  lat- 
ter body  was  relegated  to  its  proper  func- 
tion of  making  laws  for  the  city  and  keep- 
ing watch  over  the  funds  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

By  degrees,  this  form  of  city  govern- 
ment became  popular  in  the  larger  cities ; 
and  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1893, 
Evansville  and  Fort  Wayne  procured  so- 
called  "charters,"  which  were,  in  sub- 
stance, copies  of  the  Indianapolis  law. 
Terre  Haute  received  a  like  charter  in 
1899;  South  Bend,  in  1901;  and  Muncie, 
in  1903  (rejected  by  popular  vote).  These 
charters  consisted  of  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  sections  each,  and  were  prac- 
tically repetitions  of  the  same  provisions. 
There  began  to  be  some  fault-finding  that 
the  statutes  of  the  State  were  encumbered 
by  these  repetitions  of  the  same  or  similar 
enactments,  and  people  raised  the  question 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


as  to  how  far  this  multiplication  of  city 
charters  was  to  extend.  There  seemed, 
indeed,  to  be  no  reason  why  each  city 
should  not  have  its  own  special  charter, 
one  city  being  as  much  entitled  to  its  char- 
ter as  another. 

This  was  the  condition  of  city  govern- 
ment in  Indiana  in  1908,  when  the  same 
Legislature  that  granted  the  last  of  the 
foregoing  charters,  that  of  Muncie,  pro- 
vided also  for  the  creation  of  a  commission 
for  the  revision  and  codification  of  the 
laws  relating  to  public  and  private  cor- 
porations, "and  such  other  statute  laws  of 
the  State  of  Indiana  as  such  commission 
shall  deem  proper."  Through  the  favor  of 
Governor  Winfield  T.  Durbin  the  writer 
was  appointed  the  minority  member  of 
this  commission.  The  other  members 
were  the  Hon.  Marcellus  A.  Chipman, 
Chairman,  and  the  Hon.  Daniel  E.  Storms, 
the  Secretary  of  State.  The  Hon.  George 
Shirts  was  selected  as  clerk  of  the  commis- 
sion. 

One  of  the  first  matters  that  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  commission  was  the 
confusion  that  existed  in  the  laws  relating 
to  city  government.  The  "charters,"  al- 
ready referred  to,  provided,  by  separate 
enactments,  for  the  government  of  cities 
of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants ;  for  those  of  more  than  fifty  and 
less  than  one  hundred  thousand;  of  more 
than  forty-three  and  less  than  forty-nine 
thousand;  cf  more  than  thirty-six  thou- 
sand five  hundred,  and  less  than  forty- 
three  thousand ;  of  more  than  thirty  thou- 
sand and  less  than  thirty-six  thousand  five 
hundred;  and  of  more  than  twenty  thou- 
sand nine  hundred,  and  less  than  thirty 
thousand.  There  was,  besides,  the  "gen- 
eral iaw"  for  cities ;  also  special  laws  for 
various  cities ;  For  those  of  seventy  thou- 
sand or  over;  seventy  thousand  or  less; 
fifty  thousand ;  forty-five  thousand ;  twen- 
ty-nine thousand;  between  twenty  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
nine  hundred ;  seventeen  to  eighteen  thou- 


sand ;  fifteen  thousand ;  ten  thousand ;  be- 
tween six  thousand  and  seven  thousand ; 
between  fifty-three  and  fifty-eight  hun- 
dred ;  between  forty-five  hundred  and  f oi-- 
ty  and  forty-five  hundred  and  forty-five; 
between  four  thousand  and  twenty-five 
and  four  thousand  and  fifty;  between 
seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seven 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty;  be- 
tween thirty-four  hundred  and  ten  and 
thirty-four  hundred  and  twenty,  and  many 
others.  There  were  corresponding  varia- 
tions in  the  laws  for  the  government  of 
towns. 

On  the  organization  of  the  commission 
the  minority  member  was  assigned  the 
task  of  bringing  into  some  order  or  system 
these  various  enactments.  The  task  at 
first  seemed  a  hopeless  one.  After  some 
days'  study  he  suggested  to  the  commis- 
sion that  it  might  be  possible  to  frame  a 
single  code  for  all  cities  and  towns.  To 
do  this  it  would  be  necessary  to  classify 
the  cities  according  to  population  and 
modify  provisions  in  many  cases  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  classifications.  In  an- 
sM^er  to  the  suggestion  the  other  members 
of  the  commission,  while  of  opinion  that  a 
single  code,  adapted  to  all  the  cities  and 
towns  of  the  Stale,  was  greatly  to  be  de- 
sired, yet  believed  that  it  would  be  most 
difficult  of  accomplishment.  However,  the 
plan  proposed  was  approved  and  the  work 
authorized. 

The  town  being  the  primary  municipal 
corporation,  the  law  in  regard  to  towns 
was  first  developed,  beginning  with  the 
survey  of  the  proposed  corporate  territory, 
the  census  of  its  inhabitants  and  the  cor- 
porate election  necessary  to  create  the 
body  corporate.  The  form  of  government 
provided  was  in  effect  a  simplification  of 
the  city  government  which  was  to  follow. 
This  was  supplemented  by  regulations  ac- 
cording to  which  the  town  might  become 
a  city. 

The  cities  of  the  State  were  divided  into 
five  classes:    Those  having  one  hundred 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


thousand  population  or  over ;  those  having 
forty-five  thousand  or  over  and  less  than 
one  hundred  thousand ;  those  having  twen- 
ty thousand  or  over  and  less  than  forty- 
five  thousand;  those  having  ten  thousand 
or  over  and  less  than  twenty  thousand; 
and  those  having  less  than  ten  thousand. 
The  general  plan  of  government  already 
adopted  in  the  various  charters  was  taken 
as  the  basis  of  the  new  code.  The  separa- 
tion of  authority  into  the  legislative,  ex- 
ecutive and  judicial  branches  was  strictly 
adhered  to.  But  the  difl'erent  provisions, 
wherever  it  seemed  necessary,  were  modi- 
fied in  their  application  to  the  five  differ- 
ent classes  into  which  the  cities  were  di- 
vided. These  modifications  had  to  do 
chiefly  with  the  number  of  officers;  their 
salaries;  the  amount  of  the  tax  levy;  the 
union  of  the  functions  of  two  or  more 
offices  in  the  hands  of  one  official ;  the  num- 
ber of  deputies;  the  assignment  to  com- 
mittees of  the  Council,  in  small  cities  and 
in  towns,  of  the  work  of  boards  in  larger 
cities ;  the  requirement  that  the  duties  of 
city  treasurer,  in  certain  cities,  should,  be 
performed  by  the  county  treasurer ;  the  re- 
quirements as  to  parks,  playgrounds, 
boulevards,  levees  and  harbors;  provisions 
for  fire  and  police  pension  funds.  In  re- 
gard to  these  matters,  and  in  other  cases 
also,  when  deemed  necessary,  the  require- 
ments were  varied  to  suit  the  class  to 
which  the  city  was  assigned.  But  the  un- 
derlying principles  of  government  were 
made  uniform  for  all  cities  throughout  the 
State.  This  was  also  the  case  as  to  towns 
so  far  as  possible. 

In  many  important  details  there  was  a 
wide  departure  from  the  procedure  fol- 
lowed in  the  charters.  The  terms  of  offi- 
cers and  the  periods  and  dates  of  elections 
were  radically  changed.  The  elections 
were  fixed  for  "the  first  Tuesday  after  the 
first  Monday  in  November,  in  the  year 
1905,  and  on  the  same  day  every  four 
years  thereafter."  In  this  provision  city 
elections  would  be  held  in  the  "off'  year," 


and  so  not  come  in  the  year  of  general  po- 
litical campaigns  and  elections.  The  aim 
in  this  was  to  enable  voters  to  look  out  for 
the  welfare  of  the  city,  and,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, without  being  swayed  by  political 
considerations.  The  elections  were  fixed 
for  every  four  years  instead  of  every  two 
years,  thus  saving  the  expense  of  one  elec- 
tion in  each  four  years,  and  also  giving  the 
officials  time  and  experience  to  carry  out 
any  policy  which  might  be  for  the  good 
of  the  city.  To  counteract  any  evil  that 
might  result  from  so  long  a  term,  it  was 
provided  that  no  city  officer  should  be  eli- 
gible to  succeed  himself  in  office.  As  city 
elections  had  previously  occurred  at  difi'er- 
ent  dates,  so  the  terms  of  officials  had  be- 
gun at  difl'erent  times.  The  bill  fixed  the 
first  Monday  of  January,  every  fourth 
year,  as  the  date  when  the  new  officers 
should  begin  their  terms.  This  gave  them 
time,  from  their  election  in  November  to 
the  first  of  January,  to  acquaint  them- 
selves with  their  duties.  Many  other  im- 
provements on  the  former  laws  were  in- 
troduced into  the  code.  The  numerous 
statutes  on  the  books  in  relation  to  city 
and  town  government  had  consisted  of 
nearly  eighteen  hundred  sections.  The 
code,  as  it  was  finally  adopted  by  the  Leg- 
islature, contained  but  two  hundred  and 
seventy-two  sections. 

The  essential  principle  of  the  Indiana 
Municipal  Code  is  the  fixing  of  responsi- 
bility. The  Council  is  restricted  to  the  en- 
actment of  ordinances  and  the  fixing  of 
annual  appropriations  and  tax  levies.  The 
executive  duties,  the  administrative  func- 
tions, are  fixed  in  the  Mayor,  who  appoints 
all  boards  and  officers  who  are  charged 
with  the  actual  duties  of  city  government. 
The  aff'airs  of  the  city,  the  care  of  the 
finances,  the  public  works  of  all  kinds,  the 
peace  and  good  order  of  the  city,  all  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  one  man,  the  Mayor  him- 
self. To  him  the  people  look  for  good  gov- 
ernment ;  in  his  hands  they  have  placed 


(352) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


the  welfare  of  the  community.  If  he  fails 
them,  if  he  is  untrue  to  his  responsibili- 
ties, they  have  the  remedy  in  their  own 
hands. 

It  is  said  that  the  code  forms  a  strong 
central  government — not  by  the  people,  as 
in  a  democracy,  not  by  their  representa- 
tives, as  in  a  republic.  This  argument 
was  strongly  presented  in  the  Legislature 
and  in  the  press,  during  the  whole  period 
from  the  time  when  the  first  reform  was 
proposed  and  inaugurated  in  our  munici- 
pal affairs,  until  the  culmination  was 
reached  in  this  code.  But  the  sufficient 
answer  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  that  our 
cities  can  no  longer  be  well  governed  by 
the  simple  old  plan,  which  served  so  well 
when  the  communities  were  small  and  the 
population  of  the  country  sparse.  "Safety 
first"  is  a  maxim  not  confined  to  the  use  of 
machinery  or  the  various  modes  of  public 
travel.     It  applies  also  to  our  dense  cen- 


ters of  population,  to  modern  city  govern- 
ment. The  Indiana  Municipal  Code  se- 
cures safety  first,  but  it  secures  this  end 
with  the  least  possible  yielding  to  arbi- 
trary government.  The  "checks  and  bal- 
ances" which  for  over  a  century  and  a 
quarter  have  proved  so  serviceable  in  our 
national  and  State  governments  is  here 
happily  adapted  to  our  city  government. 
We  have  set  up  no  irresponsible  dictator, 
but  one  charged  with  the  administration 
of  the  law  and  subject  to  its  control,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  is  set  up  in  the  sunlight, 
in  the  presence  of  all  the  people  who  can 
thus  hold  him  responsible  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law,  the  good  order  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  public  welfare.  Liberty 
within  the  law  must  be  his  motto  and  it 
must  be  theirs.  This  end,  sought  in  every 
good  form  of  government,  is  in  none  more 
safely  and  sanely  attained  than  in  the  In- 
diana Municipal  Code. 


12— History 


[Chapter  XLV.] 

DEFEAT  STARED  THEM  IN  THE  FACE 

UNDER  SUCH  CIRCUMSTANCES  THE  1894  CONVENTION  WAS 
A  TAME  AFFAIR 


HE  date  fixed  for  holding  the 
Democratic  State  Convention, 
August  14,  happened  to  be  in 
the  midst  of  the  heated  term. 
There  surely  were  hot  days  in 
the  month  of  August  that  year, 
and  the  assembled  delegates 
felt  it.  They  felt  something  else,  and  that 
wasn't  to  their  liking,  either.  The  signs 
of  the  times  were  ominous.  They  pointed 
unerringly  to  Democratic  defeat  in  the 
melancholy  days  of  November.  But  with 
admirable  courage  they  faced  the  music 
and  made  their  nominations  just  as  if  they 
thought  the  nominees  had  a  fair  chance 
for  election.  No  other  course  was  open  to 
them.  It  is  always  good  policy  to  present 
a  bold  front  when  engaged  in  any  sort  of 
a  political  fight. 

Governor  Claude  Matthews  was  unani- 
mously chosen  to  preside  over  the  conven- 
tion. It  was  a  wise  selection.  His  man- 
ner of  conducting  the  proceedings  of  the 
convention  proved  that  he  had  had  previ- 
ous experience  in  handling  the  gavel.  Be- 
sides, upon  taking  the  chair  he  delivered  a 
spirited  address  that  greatly  enlivened  the 
appreciative  audience  before  him. 

Senator  S.  M.  Briscoe  of  Hartford  City 
served  as  principal  secretary.  He  had  as 
assistants  Joseph  Blase,  Samuel  B.  Boyd, 
J.  H.  Matlock,  Nicholas  Cornet,  Thomas 
E.  Coyle,  W.  H.  Hamilton,  Leon  0.  Bailey, 
Charles  McCuUoch,  .Jasper  P.  Davis,  John 
Rothrock,  H.  B.  Bannister,  A.  A.  Adams, 
and  Daniel  Ford. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 
(Elected  at  District  Conventions  in  January.) 

1.  John  G.  Shanklin,  Evansville. 

2.  Thomas  B.  Buskirk,  Paoli. 

3.  Isaac  N.  Leydon,  New  Albany. 

4.  William  H.  O'Brien,  Lawrenceburg. 


5.  W.  C.  Duncan,  Columbus. 

6.  John  M.  Lontz,  Richmond. 

7.  Thomas  Taggart,  Indianapolis. 

8.  Thomas  J.  Mann,  Sullivan. 

9.  William  M.  Blackstock,  Lafayette. 

10.  M.  M.  Hathaway,  Winamac. 

11.  Jere  A.  M.  Kintz,  Huntington. 

12.  Judge  Allen  Zollars,  Fort  Wayne. 

13.  William  Conrad,  Warsaw. 

There  were  no  contests  for  any  of  the 
positions  on  the  ticket,  hence  all  the  nomi- 
nations were  made  by  acclamation,  as  fol- 
lows: 

For  Secretary  of  State— Captain  William  R. 
Myers  of  Anderson. 

For  Auditor  of  State — Joseph  T.  Fanning  of 
Indianapolis. 

For  Treasurer  of  State — Morgan  Chandler  of 
Hancock  county. 

For  Attorney-General — Francis  M.  Griffith  of 
Switzerland  county. 

For  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — 
Charles  W.  Thomas. 

For  Clerk  Supreme  Court— Charles  W.  Well- 
man  of  Sullivan. 

For  Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics— Eli  T.  J.  Jor- 
dan. 

For  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court— George  L. 
Reinhard  of  Rockport  and  Joseph  S.  Dailey  of 
Bluffton. 

Judge  Robert  Lowry  of  Fort  Wayne, 
who  had  attended  every  Democratic  State 
Convention  held  since  1852,  was  dum- 
founded  in  sizing  up  this  gathering. 
"Appalling!  appalling!"  he  exclaimed.  "It 
portends  but  one  thing — overwhelming 
defeat." 

And  such  it  proved,  although  untiring 
efforts  were  put  forth  by  the  Democratic 
State  Committee,  under  the  inspiring  lead- 
ership of  Thomas  Taggart,  to  put  ginger 
into  the  campaign  and  to  impress  upon 
members  of  the  party  the  importance  of 
exerting  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  keep 
afloat  the  banner  of  Democracy.  A  day 
was  fixed  on  which  to  open  the  campaign 


(355) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


simultaneously  in  every  county  of  the 
State.  Some  of  these  meetings  were  well 
attended  and  awakened  hope  of  a  fair 
showing  being  made  at  the  polls  in  No- 
vember. But  as  the  day  of  election  came, 
and  the  yeomanry  exercised  the  preroga- 
tive of  citizenship,  it  became  painfully  ap- 
parent that  Judge  Lowry's  forebodings 
were  well  founded.  When  the  smoke  of 
battle  had  cleared  away  it  was  found  that 
the  Republicans  had  elected  their  entire 
State  ticket  by  the  then  unprecedented 
majority  of  46,000 ;  that  every  successful 
candidate  for  Congress  was  a  Republican, 
and  that  the  Republicans  were  overwhelm- 
ingly in  the  ascendency  in  both  houses  of 
the  Legislature.  Nothing  anywhere  ap- 
proximate to  this  landslide  had  ever  before 
occurred  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  It  ex- 
ceeded by  far  the  most  extravagant  fore- 
casts of  the  Republican  party  leaders  and 
campaign  managers. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  G.  V.  Menzies,  Posey  county. 

2.  M.  J.  Niblack,  Knox. 

3.  Georg-e  H.  Voight,  Clark. 

4.  K.  M.  Hord,  Shelby. 

5.  Willis  Hicam,  Owen. 

6.  J.  W.  Henderson,  Wayne. 

7.  J.  J.  Netterville,  Madison. 

8.  J.  E.  Lamb,  Vigo. 

9.  Samuel  M.  Ralston,  Boone. 

10.  John  C.  Nelson,  Cass. 

11.  S.  E.  Cook,  Huntington. 

12.  R.  C.  Bell,  Allen. 

13.  George  Ford,  St.  Joseph. 

PLATFORM  DECLARATIONS. 

The  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  takes 
just  pride  in  the  strength  of  the  record  it 
has  made  in  the  legislative  and  executive 
departments  of  this  commonwealth  by  the 
enactment  and  enforcement  of  wise  and 
beneficent  laws  in  the  interest  of  the  peo- 
ple and  in  the  fulfillment  of  its  pledges. 

It  passed  the  mechanic  lien  laws  and  the 
law  giving  laborers  a  lien  upon  the  prod- 
uct of  their  labor  for  wages  and  materials 
furnished,  the  law  protecting  labor  or- 
ganizations, the  law  providing  for  the 
safety  of  miners  and  proper  ventilation  of 
mines,  constituting  eight  hours  a  day's 
labor  in   public   employment,   prohibiting 


the  blacklisting  of  employes,  prohibiting 
"pluck-me"  stores,  the  employes'  liability 
law,  forbidding  the  employment  and  im- 
portation of  Pinkerton  detectives,  against 
the  importation  of  alien  or  foreign  labor. 
It  enacted  the  school  book  law,  saving 
large  sums  to  the  people,  breaking  down 
an  oppressive  monopoly  and  placing  the 
instruments  of  education  within  the  reach 
of  the  poorest  and  humblest  citizens;  it 
enacted  our  existing  laws  purifying  elec- 
tions, giving  an  unti^ammeled  ballot  to  the 
voter,  and  by  the  Australian  ballot  suc- 
cessfully preventing  fraud  and  intimida- 
tion of  employes  and  others  at  the  polls. 
It  framed  and  passed  our  present  tax  law, 
thus  adding  millions  of  property  to  our 
tax  duplicates;  it  passed  the  present  fee 
and  salary  law ;  it  enacted  the  Barrett  im- 
provement law,  which  has  proven  a  bless- 
ing wherever  used ;  it  also  passed  the  state 
board  of  charities  law,  which  has  insured 
honest,  humane  and  intelligent  adminis- 
tration of  our  public  institutions. 

All  this  has  been  accomplished  in  al- 
most every  instance,  in  spite  of  the  deter- 
mined objection  and  opposition  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  By  this  course  of  legis- 
lation in  fulfillment  of  pledges  to  the  peo- 
ple, Indiana  has  been  placed  at  the  fore- 
front of  all  States  in  matters  of  this  kind 
and  kindred  reform  legislation,  and  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  the  maintenance  and 
enforcement  of  these  measures,  while  the 
Republican  party  stands  pledged,  at  the 
first  opportunity,  to  destroy,  either  by  re- 
peal or  amendment,  the  most  important 
of  these  wise  laws. 

We  congratulate  the  people  of  Indiana 
upon  the  upholding  of  the  tax  law  of  1891, 
under  which  more  than  a  hundred  millions 
of  dollars  of  coi-porate  property  has  been 
added  to  the  tax  duplicate.  And  we  espe- 
cially commend  the  action  of  the  State  offi- 
cers in  chai'ge  in  prosecuting  and  enforc- 
ing to  a  successful  conclusion  the  provi- 
sions of  said  laws. 

The  other  planks  denounce  in  vigorous 
terms  all  forms  of  class  legislation,  includ- 
ing m.iscalled  protection;  the  McKinley 
tariff  enacted  by  the  Fifty-first  Congress ; 
approve  the  course  of  Senators  Voorhees 
and  Turpie;  especially  condemn  "a  small 
coterie  of  Senators  who,  masquerading  as 
Democrats,  by  threats  to  defeat  all  tariff 
legislation  have  temporarily  prevented  the 


(  356) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  9  1   G 


Democratic  party  from  carrying  out  all  of 
its  pledges  to  the  people  for  tariff  reform, 
as  announced  in  the  Democratic  national 
platform  of  1892."  (This  was  intended 
as  a  slap  at  Senatoi's  Arthur  P.  Gorman 
of  Maryland,  David  B.  Hill  of  New  York, 
James  Smith  of  New  Jersey  and  Calvin  S. 
Brice  of  Ohio.) 

The  platform  further  commends  the  ac- 
tion of  Congress  in  placing  on  the  free  list 
raw  materials ;  in  reducing  duties  on  iron 
ore  and  coal  and  on  woolens  and  on  the 
necessities  of  life.  The  income  tax  is  ap- 
proved as  a  wise  and  equitable  measure, 
designed  to  place  a  fair  share  of  the  bui'- 
dens  of  government  upon  the  property  of 
the  country,  for  the  benefit  of  which  the 
expenses  of  Government  are  so  largely 
incurred.  Further  commended  is  the  tax- 
ation of  greenbacks  and  the  repeal  of 
odious  election  laws.  An  oath-bound  or- 
ganization then  known  as  the  American 
Protective  Association  comes  in  for  em- 
phatic denunciation.  The  importation  of 
pauper  labor  is  sharply  condemned.  Re- 
sponsibility for  the  hard  times  caused  by 
panic  is  placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
Republican  party.  Arbitration  for  the 
adjustment  of  labor  troubles  is  recom- 
mended. Declaration  against  the  enact- 
ment of  sumptuary  laws.  Repeal  of  the 
Sherman  silver  purchasing  act  is  highly 
praised  as  a  step  in  the  right  direction. 
Bi-metallism  is  specifically  approved.  The 
administrations  of  President  Cleveland 
and  Governor  Matthews  are  heartily  com- 
mended. Praise  for  the  saviors  of  the 
Union,  our  gallant  soldiers  and  sailors,  is 
unstintedly  bestowed. 

REPUBLICAN  PLURALITIES  IN  1894. 

The  vote  for  the  head  of  the  ticket,  Sec- 
retary of  State,  was:  William  D.  Owen, 
Republican,  283,405 ;  Captain  Wm.  R.  My- 
ers, Democrat,  238,732 ;  Charles  A.  Robin- 
son, Populist,  29,388 ;  Winford  M.  Taylor, 
Prohibitionist,  11,157.  Owen's  plurality, 
44,673. 


ILURALITIES      FOR      REMAINDER      OF      THE 
TICKET. 

— Auditor  of  State — 

Americus  C.  Dailey 46,931 

— Treasurer  of  State — 

Frederick  J.  Scholz 4(i,134 

— Attorney-General — 

William    A.    Ketcham 46,464 

— Clerk  Supreme  Court — 

Alexander   Hess    46,018 

— Superintendent  Public  Instruction — 

David  M.  Geeting    46,453 

— Chief   Indiana   Bureau   of   Statistics — 

Simeon  J.  Thompson 46,517 

— State  Geologist — 

Willis  S.  Blatehley    46,313 

— Judge   Supreme   Court — First   District — 

James  H.  Jordan    45,742 

— Judge    Supreme    Court — Fourth    District — 
Leander  J.  Monks   46,064 

All  the  Republican  candidates  for  Con- 
gress were  successful.  Their  pluralities 
in  the  thirteen  districts  were : 

1.  James  A.  Hemenway 2,290 

2.  Alexander  M.  Hardy 1,728 

3.  Robert  J.  Tracewell 556 

4.  James  E.  Watson   434 

5.  Jesse    Overstreet 1,870 

6.  Henry  U.  Johnson    12,017 

7.  Charles  L.  Henry 4,343 

8.  George  W.  Faris 2,569 

9.  J.    Frank   Hanly 5,835 

10.  Jethro  A.  Hatch   3,935 

11.  George  W.  Steele    3,929 

12.  Jacob  D.  Leighty 2,513 

13.  Lemuel  W.  Royse   4,147 

The  Democratic  congressional  nominees 
were : 

1.  Arthur  H.  Taylor. 

2.  John  L.  Bretz. 

3.  Strother  M.  Stockslager. 

4.  William  S.  Holman. 

5.  George  W.  Cooper. 

6.  Nimrod  R.  Elliott. 

7.  William  D.  Bynum. 

8.  Elijah  V.  Brookshire. 

9.  A.  G.  Burkhart. 

10.  Valentine  Zimmerman. 

11.  Augustus  N.  Martin. 

12.  William   F.  McNagny. 

13.  Levvellyn   Wanner. 


(  357  ) 


[Chapter  XLVI.] 

THE  FREE  SILVER  PROPAGANDA 


BROUGHT  ABOUT  NEW  ALIGNMENTS  AND  A  TREMENDOUS 
POLITICAL  UPHEAVAL 


HE  panic  of  1893  came  about 
very  much  as  preceding  panics 
had  come  upon  the  country.  In 
its  effect  it  was  appallingly  dis- 
astrous. Factories  closed,  banks 
suspended,  business  was  pros- 
trated, bankruptcies  became 
frightfully  numerous,  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  workmen  were  thrown  out 
of  employment,  the  cry  of  distress  came 
from  every  direction. 

Although  it  is  a  matter  of  general 
knowledge  that  a  panicky  feeling  was  dis- 
cernible in  industrial  and  commercial  cir- 
cles during  the  latter  part  of  the  Harrison 
administration,  responsibility  for  its 
bursting  upon  the  country  in  all  its  feroc- 
ity was  laid  at  the  door  of  the  Cleveland 
administration,  which  came  into  power 
March  4,  1893.  The  situation  is  thus 
brought  to  view  by  that  distinguished  Ohio 
publicist.  Gen.  Thomas  E.  Powell: 

"The  year  189.3  will  always  be  remem- 
bered as  the  date  of  one  of  the  great  com- 
mercial panics  in  this  country.  It  was 
caused  directly  by  the  calamity  campaign 
of  the  Republican  newspapers  of  the  coun- 
try, and  indirectly  by  vicious  legislation 
of  the  Republican  party.  Cleveland  found 
a  depleted  treasury  caused  by  the  extrav- 
agance of  a  Republican  Congress — the 
first  billion  dollar  Congress  of  which  the 
country  can  boast.  Silver  legislation  en- 
acted by  the  Republican  party  in  Congress 
had  started  the  agitation  of  that  question, 
which  finally  became  a  campaign  issue  in 
1896.  Also  nearly  six  hundred  millions 
of  fiat  money  had  been  put  in  circulation 
by  the  Republicans  and  this  along  with 
three  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  legal 
tender  notes  issued  during  the  Civil  War 
had  given  the  countiy  a  tremendously  in- 
flated currency.  Great  inflation  is  as  bad, 
if  not  worse,  than  too  much  contraction 
of  the  circulating  medium.  The  balloon 
that  bursts    is    more  dangerous  than  an 


empty  one.  It  was  the  unreasonable  ex- 
pansion of  credit  which  had  no  foundation 
of  business  basis,  accelerated  by  nearly  a 
billion  dollars  of  fiat  money  with  nothing 
in  the  treasury  back  of  it,  which  placed 
President  Cleveland  in  a  difficult  position 
immediately  after  his  inauguration.  The 
bursting  of  the  credit  balloon  was  inevit- 
able and  could  not  be  avoided  by  Cleveland 
or  the  Democratic  party. 

"The  hard  times  had  commenced  before 
the  election  of  Cleveland  and  as  it  was  well 
known  into  what  position  the  Republicans 
forced  the  country  through  an  unwise 
financial  policy  and  the  depletion  of  the 
treasury,  the  Republican  press  of  the  coun- 
try began  to  prophesy  disaster  and  to 
preach  ruin  with  an  energy  that  has  never 
been  equaled  since  the  days  of  Habakuk. 
They  based  their  attack  upon  the  ground 
that  Cleveland  and  the  Democratic  party 
were  in  favor  of  a  low  tariff,  completely 
ignoring  the  true  condition  of  affairs.  The 
assault  was  kept  up  against  Cleveland  and 
the  Democratic  party  until  the  desired 
result,  namely,  the  undermining  of  public 
confidence,  was  accomplished.  They  sowed 
the  wind  and  the  whole  country  reaped  the 
whirlwind.  Five  hundi'ed  national  banks 
closed  their  doors  and  the  money  strin- 
gency was  felt  all  over  the  land.  It  should 
be  added  that  failure  of  crops  and  labor 
troubles  further  aggravated  the  situation. 

"On  the  30th  Grover  Cleveland  called  a 
special  session  of  the  Fifty-third  Congress 
to  convene  on  August  7th.  His  reason  for 
issuing  this  call  was  set  forth  as  follows: 

The  distrust  and  apprehension  concerning  the 
financial  situation  which  pervade  all  business 
circles  have  already  caused  great  loss  and  dam- 
age to  our  people  and  threatened  to  cripple  our 
merchants,  stop  the  wheels  of  manufacture,  bring 
distress  and  privation  to  our  farmers  and  with- 
hold from  our  workingmen  the  wages  of  labor. 

The  present  perilous  condition  is  largely  the 
result  of  a  financial  policy  which  the  executive 
branch  of  the  Government  finds  embodied  in  un- 
wise laws  which  must  be  executed  until  repealed 
by  Congress. 

"At  the  special  session  of  Congress,  Wil- 
son of  West  Virginia  introduced  a  bill  to 
repeal  the  silver  purcha.se  act,  known  as 


(859) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


the  Bland-Allison  bill.  Bland  of  Missouri 
offered  a  provision  to  authorize  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  16  to  1,  which 
was  defeated.  Other  proposals  for  the 
coinage  of  silver  at  ratios  ranging  from 
17  to  1  to  20  to  1  were  also  made,  but  all 
were  rejected.  The  Wilson  bill  finally 
passed. 

"The  silver  question  was  injected  into 
the  national  campaign  of  1892,  and  as  it 
became  the  paramount  issue  in  1896,  a 
brief  history  of  the  white  metal  in  Amer- 
ica is  appropriate  here.  Previous  to  1834 
the  ratio  of  gold  to  silver  at  the  mints  of 
the  United  States  had  been  1  to  15,  while 
the  ratio  in  the  principal  European  coun- 
tries was  1  to  151/2-  This  made  it  possible 
for  Europeans  to  exchange  fifteen  and  one- 
half  parts  of  silver  for  one  part  of  gold, 
retain  the  half  part,  send  the  fifteen  parts 
to  America  and  receive  one  part  of  gold 
therefor,  thus  having  the  half  part  for  a 
profit.  This  was  done  extensively  and  gold 
flowed  from  the  United  States  to  Europe. 
To  remedy  this  the  ratio  was  changed  by 
the  act  of  1834,  making  the  ratio  almost, 
but  not  quite,  16  to  1.  Then  gold  did  not 
leave  the  United  States  at  all,  but  began 
to  return  to  it,  while  silver  flowed  out 
rapidly  because  under  the  new  arrange- 
ment banks  in  France,  for  instance,  could 
exchange  silver  for  gold  and  re-exchange 
gold  for  silver  in  America,  making  a  profit. 
In  order  to  keep  this  country  with  sufficient 
small  coin  for  the  needs  of  business,  an  act 
was  passed  in  1853  reducing  the  weight  of 
fractional  silver  coins.  In  1873  the  coin- 
age of  silver  dollars  was  stopped.  This 
brought  a  great  deal  of  criticism  upon 
Congress  and  the  Government,  and  in  1878 
the  Bland-Allison  bill  was  passed,  which 
revived  the  coinage  of  the  silver  dollar  of 
4121/2  grains  and  required  the  purchase  of 
not  less  than  two  million  dollars  and  not 
more  than  four  million  dollars'  worth  of 
silver  bullion  per  month  and  its  coinage 
into  dollars.  This  did  not  establish  free 
coinage,  for  under  free  coinage  any  one 
taking  bullion  to  the  United  States  mint 
could  have  it  coined  into  dollars.  By  the 
common  practice  and  consent  of  the  nations 
gold  has  always  been  recognized  as  the 
standard  of  values  and  the  objection  to 
the  free  coinage  of  silver  is  that  it  would 
introduce  bi-metallism.  Every  nation  has 
free  coinage  of  gold.  The  objection  to  the 
free  coinage  of  silver  is  that  fluctuations  in 
the  market  price  of  the  white  metal  might 


cause  sudden  and  excessive  exports  of  the 
metal  that  happened,  for  the  time  being,  to 
be  the  more  valuable  in  the  markets  of 
other  countries.  A  double  standard  of  gold 
and  silver  could  be  made  possible  only  by 
the  joint  action  of  all  the  principal  coun- 
tries in  establishing  the  same  fixed  ratio. 
If  the  bullion  in  the  silver  dollar  were  equal 
to  the  face  value  of  the  coin  no  harm  would 
come  from  free  coinage,  but  the  market 
value  of  silver  fluctuates  like  that  of  any 
other  commodity.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  pointed  out 
in  1887  that  free  coinage  would  lead  either 
to  the  export  of  the  silver  dollar  or  to  its 
depreciation.  In  1893  the  Bland-Allison 
bill  of  1878  was  repealed,  an  act  which  the 
advocates  of  silver  resented  and  con- 
demned. From  1873  to  1896  the  people 
of  the  South  and  West  demanded  with  an 
ever-increasing  clamor  that  silver  be  placed 
upon  a  parity  with  gold  at  some  fixed 
ratio.  It  was  called  the  poor  man's  dollar 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  rich  man's  dol- 
lar,- which  the  gold  dollar  was  called.  They 
claimed  also  that  there  was  not  enough 
gold  coin  in  the  country  to  answer  the 
needs  of  business.  After  the  panic  of  1893 
the  Government  was  unable  to  keep  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  gold  in  the  Treasury  to 
secure  the  redemption  of  notes  and  United 
States  securities  in  that  metal.  President 
Cleveland  and  his  Cabinet  believed  that  if 
the  gold  reserve  should  get  so  low  that 
silver  was  used  for  such  purposes  there 
would  at  once  be  great  financial  distress; 
that  the  country  would  practically  be  upon 
a  silver  basis  and  that  our  credit  would  be 
ruined  both  at  home  and  abroad.  To  secure 
gold  the  Government  resorted  to  the  sale 
of  bonds,  increasing  the  national  debt  by 
over  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars 
and  subjecting  the  Democratic  President 
and  his  Cabinet  to  widespread  condemna- 
tion. The  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  became  so  widespread 
and  intense  that  it  became  a  plank  in  the 
national  platform  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  1896  and  six  and  one-half  million  citi- 
zens voted  for  it.  It  might  be  added  here 
that  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Alaska  pro- 
duced the  conditions  which  the  silver 
advocates  demanded  and  the  question  has 
now  been  out  of  politics  for  some  years." 
In  Indiana  the  silver  question  became 
the  all-absorbing  topic  of  discussion.  In 
1893  the  Evansville  Courier  in  the  south- 


(  360) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18   16-1916 


ern  part  of  the  State  and  the  Huntington 
Democrat  in  the  northern  part,  two  news- 
papers that  had  strongly  supported  the 
renomination  of  Mr.  Cleveland  the  year 
before,  broke  openly  with  the  administra- 
tion upon  its  policy  relating  to  the  money 
question.  John  G.  and  George  W.  Shank- 
lin  were  then  editing  the  Courier,  while 
Fred  T.  Loftin  performed  a  like  service  on 
the  Huntington  paper.  The  Mount  Vernon 
Democrat,  under  the  editorship  of  Mr. 
Sparks,  adopted  a  similar  policy.  The 
Logansport  Pharos  and  the  South  Bend 
Times  championed  moderation,  concilia- 
tion and  harmony.  The  Pharos  presented 
its  views  in  this  form: 

"The  Illinois  Democrats  are  going  to 
have  a  red-hot  fight  over  the  silver  ques- 
tion. A  convention  has  been  called  to  take 
action  on  the  question  of  free  coinage.  The 
action  is  ill-advised.  It  will  be  time  to  meet 
the  issue  a  year  hence  at  the  State  con- 
vention. The  party  should  not  be  pledged 
to  free  silver  at  the  present  time.  There 
are  a  great  many  Democrats  who  are  un- 
willing to  be  bound  to  free  silver.  They 
are  not  willing  to  follow  party  leaders  into 
by-ways  that  may  lead  to  disaster.  The 
silver  question  is  one  that  should  be  studied 
carefully,  and  after  studying  it  men  should 
be  actuated  by  conviction.  If  a  man  is 
convinced  after  study  that  the  free  coin- 
age of  silver  will  benefit  his  country,  he 
should  favor  it.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
is  convinced  that  free  coinage  means  ruin 
and  disaster  to  the  commercial  interests  of 
his  country,  he  should  oppose  it." 

The  Indianapolis  Sentinel  and  the  La- 
port  e  Argus  vigorously  upheld  the  Cleve- 
land attitude  on  the  money  question,  as 
did  the  Terre  Haute  Gazette,  then  ably 
edited  by  W.  C.  Ball,  who  is  still  among  the 
living,  though  no  longer  devoting  his 
talents  to  newspaper  work.  The  argu- 
ments advanced  in  opposition  to  the  free 
silver  movement,  in  epitomized  form,  ran 
thus:  "Free  silver  coinage  means  grant- 
ing the  privilege  to  every  holder  of  silver 
bullion,  resident  and  non-resident,  to  take 
his  bullion  to  the  United  States  mint 
and  have  it  coined  into  standard  dol- 
lars free  of  cost,*  as  the   holder  of  gold 


bullion  does.  Anyone  can  go  into  the 
market  today  and  buy  silver  bullion  at  less 
than  70  cents  an  ounce.  That  ounce  con- 
verted into  coin  would  have  a  face  value 
of  $1.29.  But  the  holder  of  gold  bullion, 
when  he  takes  100  cents'  worth  of  his 
bullion  to  the  mint  to  coin,  can  only  get 
100  cents'  worth  of  coin.  The  gold  bullion 
man  makes  nothing  by  the  transaction, 
but  the  silver  bullion  man  would  make  59 
cents  on  every  ounce  of  silver.  There  are 
a  good  many  people  who  would  look  upon 
such  a  procedure  on  the  part  of  Uncle  Sam 
as  rather  too  partial.  When  the  two  metals 
in  bullion  form  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  1  are 
of  equal  value,  all  would  rejoice  to  see  them 
coined  on  exactly  the  same  terms." 

A  Democratic  bi-metallist  organization 
was  formed  at  Washington.  Senator 
Harris  of  Tennessee  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  this  organization.  Fred  T.  Loftin, 
secretary  to  Senator  Turpie,  was  commis- 
sioned to  form  silver  leagues  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  especially  in  Indiana. 
When  the  Indiana  Democratic  Editorial 
Association  met  at  Maxinkuckee  in  1895 
eff'orts  were  made  to  secure  the  adoption 
of  a  silver  resolution.  The  proposition  was 
debated  at  considerable  length  and  with 
much  earnestness.  The  principal  speech 
in  opposition  was  delivered  by  Jacob  P. 
Dunn,  of  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel.  It  was 
a  forceful  argument  and  made  a  strong 
impression.  Quietly  a  canvass  was  made 
to  ascertain  how  a  vote  on  the  proposed 
resolution  would  probably  result.  This 
"feeler"  revealed  the  probability  of  a  tie. 
Therefore  no  action  was  advised.  Imme- 
diately upon  the  adjournment  of  the  edi- 
torial convention  the  Indiana  Silver  League 
was  organized,  with  Allen  W.  Clark  of  the 
Greensburg  Neu-  Era  as  president.  He 
served  in  that  capacity  throughout  the 
campaign.  This  league  developed  a  good 
deal  of  energy  by  way  of  securing  control 
of  the  organization  of  the  Democratic  State 
Convention  of  1896.  It  was  originally  in- 
tended to  make  Senator  Turpie  the  presid- 
ing oflicer  of  the  convention,  but  on  account 


(361  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


of  the  impaired  condition  of  his  health  it 
was  deemed  advisable  to  abandon  this  pur- 
pose. Thereupon  Senator  Robert  C.  Bell 
of  Fort  Wayne  was  agreed  upon.  This 
program  was  subsequently  carried  into 
effect.  Senator  Bell  proved  himself  a  very 
capable  presiding  officer.  The  convention, 
at  the  outset,  was  a  stormy  affair,  but 
after  the  several  speakers  had  relieved 
themselves  of  the  belligerence  that  dwelt 
within  their  bosoms  comparative  quiet 
was  restored.  Not  all  ill-feeling  had  van- 
ished; that  was  hardly  to  have  been 
expected.  But  when  the  gold  standard 
champions  found  themselves  outnumbered 
and  outvoted,  they  made  a  virtue  of  neces- 
sity in  so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  them 
to  do.  They  predicted  humiliation  and 
defeat,  and  left  the  convention  hall  with 
the  consciousness  of  at  least  having  done 
their  utmost  to  prevent  committal  to  what 
they  declared  to  be  a  colossal  political 
blunder. 

In  view  of  his  prominent  connection  with 
the  free  silver  movement  in  the  'nineties, 
the  information  contained  in  a  memoran- 
dum kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Loftin  will  be 
found  quite  interesting  and  instructive : 

"In  the  midst  of  that  campaign  and 
later  while  I  was  handling  politics  on  the 
Sentinel,  both  Mr.  Bryan  and  Mr.  Morss 
admitted  to  me  that  some  safeguard  in  the 
platform  against  possible  silver  deprecia- 
tion would  have  strengthened  us.  But  in 
those  warm  times  it  was  difficult  to  get 
consideration  of  anything  that  looked  like 
compromise.  I  suggested  this:  Inde- 
pendent 16  to  1.  But  if  silver  failed  to  rise 
to  $1.29  plus  under  it,  then  the  bullion 
owner  pay  to  the  Treasury  the  difference, 
this  fund  to  be  used  to  pay  any  holders  of^ 
depreciated  money  if  any  such  there  should 
be.  Mr.  Morss  was  not  in  position  to  advo- 
cate this  as  effectually  as  he  would  have 
liked.  In  the  convention  of  1898  Mr. 
Ralston  was  chairman  of  the  resolutions 
committee.  We  all  felt  that  the  Western 
people  who  had  means  were  overconfident 
in  1896  and  had  failed  to  support  us.  This 
was  true.  Had  not  William  P.  St.  John, 
New  York  banker,  put  up  $17,500  sixty 
days  before  election  of  '96,  the  National 
Committee  would  have  closed  its  doors.    I 


think  the  Huntington  Democrat,  under  my 
management,  was  the  only  paper  advocat- 
ing Mr.  Bryan's  nomination  in  1896.  I  was 
cut  off  from  being  a  delegate  by  reason  of 
it.  But,  having  been  editor  of  the  Macon 
(Ga.)  News,  briefly,  in  '94,  I  got  the 
Georgia  delegation  and  others  to  work  with 
me  to  get  Mr.  Bryan  on  the  resolutions' 
committee,  in  such  manner  that  he  replied 
to  Senator  Hill.  But  in  1900  we  were  tired 
of  the  fact  that  the  West,  the  mining 
States,  had  allowed  us  to  'hold  the  bag.' 
Hence  I  suggested  to  Mr.  Ralston  that 
Virginia  had  shown  the  way  for  an  honor- 
able retreat  and  we  followed  Senator 
Daniels's  declaration  in  1900.  I  was  then 
on  politics  on  the  Sentinel." 

VEHEMENT  DEMAND  FOR  FREE 
COINAGE. 

Under  date  of  June  25,  1895,  the  follow- 
ing unequivocal  demand  for  a  free  and  un- 
limited silver  coinage  declaration  came  to 
me  from  that  dauntless  hero  of  innumer- 
able political  battles.  Judge  David  Sanders 
Gooding,  long  since  gathered  to  his  fathers. 
He  maintained  a  law  office  at  Indianapolis, 
but  his  place  of  residence  was  Greenfield, 
Hancock  county.  With  characteristic 
frankness  he  gave  utterance  to  his  feelings 
in  these  unequivocal  terms : 

"Excuse  me  for  saying  that  I  most  sin- 
cerely hope  that  the  Democratic  Editorial 
Association  will  not  be  coaxed,  seduced  or 
bulldozed  into  showing  'the  white  feather' 
on  the  money  question.  The  fight  is  on 
and  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  dodged  by 
any  equivocal  resolution.  It  is  better  to 
speak  out  noic  in  unequivocal  language.  If 
the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  has  been 
sold,  conveyed  and  delivered  over  to  the 
Goldbugs  by  Grover  Cleveland,  the  sooner 
we  know  it  the  better.  Be  sure  the  De- 
mocracy of  Indiana  will  never  again  be 
deceived  by  the  word  'parity,'  nor  will  they 
understandingly  worship  the  golden  calf. 
Nothing  can  save  Indiana,  in  the  next  elec- 
tion, to  the  Democratic  party  but  an  un- 
mistakable and  bold  advocacy  of  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  money." 

Well,  my  good  old  friend  Gooding  had 
the  promptings  of  his  yearning  soul  grati- 
fied by  the  adoption  of  a  free  silver  coinage 
platform,  both  State  and  Nation,  but  when 


(  362) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-19  16 


the  verdict  of  the  ballot  was  announced 
Indiana  had  given  18,001  against  the  free 
silver  candidate  and  platform.  Such  is  the 
irony  of  political  miscalculation! 

Pages  upon  pages  might  be  filled  with 
the  reproduction  of  letters  that  came  to  me 
from  all  parts  of  Indiana,  pro  and  con. 
But  what  good  would  their  repi'oduction 
do?  The  writers  of  these  letters  were  en- 
tirely sincere  and  honest  in  their  beliefs, 
but  how  prone  men  are  to  reach  erroneous 
conclusions  and  make  false  deductions  from 
superficial  observation ! 

Among  my  collection  of  old  letters  I  ran 
across  one  that  came  to  me  from  an  excited 
politician  in  the  State  of  Maryland.  He 
animadverted  with  a  good  deal  of  vehem- 
ence on  the  instability  and  unreliableness 
of  the  Baltimore  press  as  to  political  con- 
ditions in  the  West  and  asked  me  to  give 
him  "inside  information"  as  to  just  how 
Indiana  was  likely  to  vote  at  the  Presiden- 
tial election — "not  for  publication,  only  for 
myself  and  friends'  satisfaction."  As  to 
Maryland,  he  assured  me,  Bryan  would 
carry  the  State  by  "not  less  than  10,000 
majority,  matters  not  what  the  goldbug 
papers  say."  But  I  found  later  on  after 
the  votes  had  been  counted  that  Maryland 
"went  hell-bent"  for  McKinley  by  32,224 
over  Bryan,  besides  throwing  in  2,507 
votes  for  Buckner  and  Palmer  I 

Democrats  who  refused  to  accept  Bryan 
as  their  leader  and  free  coinage  as  theii 
creed  evidenced  no  disposition  to  apologize 
for  their  course.  A  fair  idea  of  their  feel- 
ings may  be  formed  by  perusal  of  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  the  pen  of  Hon.  Rufus 
Magee,  who,  upon  the  nomination  of  Bryan 
to  the  Presidency  and  the  committal  of  the 
party  to  16  to  1,  tendered  his  resignation 
as  a  member  of  the  Democratic  State  Com- 
mittee, of  which  he  had  been  made  a  mem- 
ber by  his  district  in  .January  of  that  year. 
Mr.  Magee  had  been  active  in  Democi-atic 


politics  from  early  manhood.  For  years 
he  was  connected  with  the  Democratic 
press  of  Indiana  and  during  part  of  that 
time  served  as  secretary  of  the  Democratic 
State  Committee.  He  officiated  as  Minis- 
ter to  Norway  and  Sweden  under  Cleve- 
land. This  is  how  he  felt  and  how  he  ex- 
pressed himself  after  the  smoke  of  battle 
had  cleared  away  in  1896: 

"Logansport,  Ind.,  November  13,  1896. 

"My  Dear  Mr.  Stoll :  .  .  .  This  whole 
business  resulted  as  it  should  have  re- 
sulted. The  nomination  of  Bryan  was  a 
fatal  mistake,  and  his  canvass  on  the  idea 
of  free  coinage  an  error  that  the  people 
could  not  be  brought  to  accept.  Had  the 
party  at  Chicago  adhered  to  its  principles 
as  expressed  in  1892  and  nominated  a  rep- 
resentative man,  we  would  have  been  de- 
feated, but  with  defeat  we  would  have 
preserved  our  honor  as  a  party,  and  in 
1900  would  have  destroyed  that  last 
stronghold  of  protection  and  founded  a 
financial  system  acceptable  to  all  the  peo- 
ple. Can  we  gather  up  the  remnants,  or 
has  this  whole  miserable  business  left  us 
not  only  defeated,  but  irretrievably  broken 
into  fragments,  disorganized  and  dis- 
honored as  a  party?  I  wish  I  could  sit 
down  with  you  for  a  while  and  take  an 
inventory  of  the  remains.  It  would  be  a 
melancholy  office,  and  perhaps  on  our 
separation  we  would  be  as  uncertain  of  the 
future  of  the  party  as  we  are  now.  One 
thing  this  campaign  settled,  viz..  Populism 
is  not  popular.  It  was  embraced  with  the 
zeal  of  a  harlot  and  abandoned  with  the 
effrontery  of  a  prude.  I  hope  it  is  done  for 
and  that  all  such  coalitions  and  fusions  are 
forever  ended.  From  the  beginning  I 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  yet 
it  was  hard  to  divorce  myself  from  my 
political  associations.  To  you,  my  old  and 
honored  friend,  I  talked  more  freely  than 
to  any  living  man,  and  I  believe  I  had  your 
sympathy  and  respect.  It  is  over  now  and 
I  am  content.  A  thousand  good  wishes  for 
yourself  and  your  household,  and  I  am, 
"Sincerely  your  friend, 

"RUFUS  MAGEE." 


(  363  ) 


[Chapter  XLVIL] 


THE  MEMORABLE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1896 

PARTY  ALIGNMENTS  SWIFTLY  CHANGED— STRANGE 
BEDFELLOWSHIP  NATURAL  SEQUENCE. 


filURING  the  greater  part  of 
Claude  Matthews's  official  life, 
first  as  Secretary  of  State,  then 
as  Governor,  I  happened  to  be 
a  member  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees for  the  Institute  for  the 
Education  of  the  Blind.  To  this 
position  I  was  twice  elected  by  the  General 
Assembly.  It  devolved  upon  me,  in  the 
performance  of  official  duty,  to  make 
monthly  pilgrimages  to  the  State  Capital. 
Invariably  on  such  occasions  I  made  it  a 
point  to  call  on  and  enjoy  a  more  or  less 
protracted  visit  with  Mr.  Matthews.  I  re- 
call these  visits  with  unalloyed  pleasure. 
To  me  the  delight  thereof  was  heightened 
by  the  pleasing  personality  not  only  of 
himself,  but  also  that  of  his  efficient  staff, 
his  affable  and  accomplished  niece,  Miss 
Callie  McMechen,  and  the  genial,  widely- 
known  and  ever  obliging  Myron  D.  King. 
About  the  time  Presidential  possibilities 
in  1896  came  under  consideration  I  made 
one  of  my  customary  calls  at  Governor 
Matthews's  office.  The  papers  were  at  that 
time  eager  to  discover  and  to  exploit 
candidacies,  real  or  fancied.  The  main 
object  of  the  Democratic  gold  standard 
organs  seems  to  have  been  that  of  bring- 
ing as  many  "favorite  sons"  into  the  race 
as  possible — the  more  the  merrier.  Aspir- 
ations were  aroused  and  encouraged  with 
undisguised  gusto.  John  R.  Walsh's 
Chicago  Chronicle  appeared  one  day  with 
a  picture  of  Governor  Matthews  perched 
on  a  heavily  loaded  hay  wagon,  rake  in 
hand,  and  a  captivating  smile  on  his  hand- 
some face.  It  didn't  take  long  to  discover 
that  the  Presidential  bee  had  been  set  to 
buzzing  in  the  Governor's  bonnet.  Deli- 
cately, at  first,  I  expatiated  on  the  cunning 
and  duplicity  of   scheming   politicians    in 


pretending  to  boost  Presidential  candi- 
dates. I  cited  the  experiences  of  Hen- 
dricks, McDonald  and  Gray.  Observing 
that  a  recital  of  these  e.xperiences  seemed 
to  have  no  effect  upon  the  Governor,  I  be- 
came more  positive  and  emphatic  in  the 
denunciation  of  time-servers,  sycophants, 
marplots  and  place-seekers  in  professing 
undying  friendship  for  and  devotion  to 
men  in  office  and  in  position  to  dole  out 
favors  of  one  sort  or  another.  I  knew  of 
some  of  these  gentry,  these  vipers,  and  I 
felt  like  expressing  my  contempt  for  them 
right  then  and  there.  In  course  of  the 
conversation  Governor  Matthews  told  me 
what  had  been  going  on  at  the  State  Cap- 
ital and  what  was  in  contemplation.  The 
program  as  mapped  out  then  provided  for 
a  meeting  of  the  State  Central  Committee 
and  of  prominent  Democrats  throughout 
the  State  for  the  purpose  of  formally  pro- 
claiming Governor  Matthews  the  choice  of 
the  Indiana  Democracy  for  the  Presidential 
nomination  in  1896.  The  tempters  and 
boosters  had  told  the  Governor  that  such 
action  would  entitle  him  to  name  the  dele- 
gates to  the  national  convention.  The  par- 
ty's choice  for  the  Presidency,  these 
seductive  flatterers  assured  him,  had  al- 
ways been  privileged  to  e.xercise  such  au- 
thority. This  was  news  to  me.  In  reply 
I  told  him  no  such  authority  had  ever  been 
accorded  to  or  wielded  by  any  Presidential 
aspirant  since  I  had  any  part  in  Indiana 
politics,  and  that  dated  back  to  1866. 
Furthermore,  I  said,  no  State  committee 
in  Indiana  has  ever  presumed  to  declare 
anybody  the  party's  choice  for  the  Presi- 
dential nomination.  That  is  the  sole  and 
exclusive  prerogative  of  the  State  conven- 
tion. "That  there  may  be  no  sort  of  mis- 
understanding in  regard  to  these  matters. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


I  want  to  say,  tested  and  proved  friend 
that  you  have  repeatedly  declared  me  to 
be,  I  shall  oppose  vi'ith  all  the  power  at  my 
command  the  carrying  out  of  any  such 
program.  If  a  meeting  of  the  sort  men- 
tioned is  attempted  to  be  held,  I  shall  be 
there  and  make  myself  heard  and  under- 
stood— not  that  I  am  opposed  to  you,  but 
that  I  don't  propose  to  be  a  silent  or 
acquiescent  witness  to  any  performance 
that  can  result  in  one  thing  only :  your  dis- 
comfiture and  humiliation."  The  proposed 
meeting  was  never  held,  but  the  State  Cen- 
tral Committee  later  on  adopted  resolu- 
tions commendatory  of  Governor  Matthews 
as  a  Presidential  quantity.  The  Governor 
persisted  to  the  very  last  that  "his  friends" 
insisted  that  precedent  gave  him  the  right 
to  name  the  delegates  to  the  national  con- 
vention. 

Under  date  of  January  10,  1896,  Gov- 
ernor Matthews  favored  me  with  this  in- 
formation: "The  reports  are  now  in  from 
the  district  meetings  and  altogether  went 
off  well  and  with  a  good  committee  se- 
lected. On  account  of  the  resolutions 
adopted  here  last  month  at  the  meeting 
of  Democrats  I  am  gratified  that  so 
many  of  the  conventions  on  the  8th  en- 
dorsed the  resolutions  of  the  State 
Committee,  all  but  three  of  the  dis- 
tricts giving  me  a  good  send-off.  These 
did  not  do  so,  ruling  against  the  in- 
troduction of  all  resolutions.  All  that 
passed  any  resolutions,  except  your  own 
district,  gave  me  a  very  generous  endorse- 
ment. I  was  just  a  little  surprised  at  your 
district,  owing  to  the  .chairman  of  the  con- 
vention and  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  resolutions.  I  am  glad  all  passed  off  so 
smoothly.  We  will  soon  know  both  place 
and  the  date  of  our  national  convention. 
For  several  reasons  I  am  inclined  to  favor 
Cincinnati,  but  any  place  rather  than  New 
York.  If  the  convention  should  be  held  in 
that  city,  no  matter  who  the  nominee  or 
what  the  platform,  they  would  be  received 
with  a  certain  suspicion  in  the  South  and 
West." 


On  the  day  before  the  State  convention 
I  called  on  him  to  ascertain  whether  he 
still  believed  that  precedent  gave  him  the 
right  to  name  the  delegates.  Replying  in 
the  affirmative,  I  said  to  him :  "Now,  Gov- 
ernor, a  seat  in  a  national  convention  has 
no  longer  any  especial  attraction  for  me, 
but  since  you  have  seen  fit  to  give  credence 
to  the  false  assertions  of  your  pretended 
boosters,  I  have  decided  to  become  a  can- 
didate for  delegate  from  my  district  at  to- 
night's caucus.  You  scan  the  papers  in 
the  morning  and  see  who  is  elected.  I'll 
not  call  here  tomorrow.  If  you  read  that 
I  am  chosen,  you  will  probably  want  to  see 
me.  You'll  find  me  at  the  Grand  Hotel." 
He  found  me  where  indicated.  The  vote 
for  delegate  stood  a  little  better  than  three 
to  one  in  my  favor.  We  had  a  pleasant  lit- 
tle chat,  in  the  course  of  which  I  indicated 
unreservedly  that  as  Indiana  Democracy's 
choice  he  would  have  my  unqualified  sup- 
port, but  at  no  time  during  the  conversa- 
tion did  I  delude  him  with  any  expression 
or  statement  that  could  have  made  him 
believe  that  I  regarded  his  nomination  at 
Chicago  as  at  all  probable. 

A  careful  study  of  the  situation  made 
it  entirely  clear  to  my  mind  that  Indiana 
would  not  furnish  the  Democratic  nominee 
for  the  Presidency  in  1896.  Events  amply 
vindicated  this  conclusion.  At  no  time 
during  the  balloting  did  he  receive  more 
than  seven  over  and  above  Indiana's  thir- 
ty instructed  votes.  After  it  was  all  over 
we  met  and  had  a  heart  to  heart  talk.  With 
tears  in  his  eyes  and  quivering  voice  he 
told  me  how  humiliated  he  felt  that  he  had 
permitted  himself  to  be  belied,  deceived 
and  bamboozled  by  a  lot  of  designing  poli- 
ticians whose  sinister  purposes  had  by 
passing  events  been  made  entirely  clear 
to  him.  Over  and  over  he  expressed  the 
hope  that  I  had  forgiven  him  for  whatever 
unpleasantness  might  have  been  associated 
with  this  affair.  Said  he,  "You  are  the  one 
man  in  the  entire  State  who  has  been  ab- 
solutely truthful,  outspoken  and  candid 
with  me  throughout  this  contest.    I  want 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


to  feel  assured  of  your  unstinted  friend- 
ship. How  I  do  wish  I  had  listened  to  you 
instead  of  those  who  in  moments  of  weak- 
ness overwhelmed  me  with  their  deceptive 
representations  and  assurances  and  their 
hypocritical  professions."  In  subsequent 
letters  he  left  no  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to 
the  genuineness  and  sincerity  of  this 
utterance. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  for 
1896  was  called  to  order  in  Tomlinson  Hall, 
Indianapolis,  June  24,  by  Chairman  Ster- 
ling R.  Holt.  The  Committee  on  Perma- 
nent Organization,  through  its  chairman, 
Captain  W.  J.  Hilligoss  of  Muncie,  recom- 
mended as  presiding  officer  for  the  day 
Senator  Robert  C.  Bell  of  Fort  Wayne,  and 
as  principal  secretary,  Lincoln  Dixon  of 
North  Vernon.  The  recommendations  of 
the  committee  were  unanimously  concurred 
in  with  applause. 

Vice-Presidents — John  C.  Gorman,  H.  J. 
Feltus,  John  Hieb,  Chester  H.  Faulkner, 
James  J.  Smiley,  William  Merrill,  W.  J. 
Buckingham,  Dr.  E.  J.  Puckett,  Michael  A. 
Ryan,  Elwood  Gray,  Milo  W.  Barnes,  J.  W. 
Nusbaum,  Judge  George  Burson. 

Assistant  Secretaries — George  B.  Ash- 
by,  John  Johnson,  J.  T.  Wurshing,  George 
B.  Tebbs,  H.  B.  Martin,  Walter  S.  Cham- 
bers, John  Paskens,  E.  E.  Cox,  J.  0. 
Behymer,  James  P.  Simon,  Emmett  Mul- 
holland,  James  A.  Barnes,  Samuel  Gorrell. 

Committee  on  Resolutions — William  M. 
Blakely,  J.  H.  Fowler,  Samuel  B.  Voyles, 
William  S.  Holman,  Cyrus  F.  McNutt, 
James  W.  Henderson,  William  D.  Bynum, 
John  P.  France,  C.  F.  S.  Neal,  J.  F.  Gal- 
laher,  D.  A.  Wood,  Edward  O'Rourke, 
Daniel  McDonald. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

At   Large — Jason    B.    Brown   of    Seymour   and 

John    B.    Stoll    of    South    Bend.     Contingents — 

David  S.  Gooding-  of  Greenfield  and  W.  C.  Dur- 

borow  of  Cass  county. 

1.  James  Huron,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  William  L.  Slinkard,  Greene. 

3.  George  B.  Mclntyre,  Floyd. 

4.  Nicholas  Cornet,  Ripley. 

."5.  Delano  E.  Williamson,  Putnam. 


G.  George  W.  Pigman,  Clinton. 

7.  C.  A.  N.  Crearalt,  Marion. 

8.  B.  H.  Campbell,  Madison. 

9.  William  C.  Smith,  Carroll. 
10.  Daniel  E.  Kelly,  Porter. 
IL  Meredith  E.  Kidd,  Wabash. 

12.  Frank  B.  Van  Auken,  Steuben. 

13.  Henry  A.  Barnhart,  Fulton. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  David  Turpie, 
James  McCabe,  G.  V.  Menzies. 

Alternates— John  E.  Lamb,  D.  F.  Utter,  Cap- 
tain John  C.  Nelson,  C.  K.  Thorpe. 

1.  J.  R.  Goodwin,  Evansville. 
W.  B.  McCormick,  Newburg. 

2.  John  H.  O'Neil,  Washington. 
W.  A.  Cullop,  Vincennes. 

3.  George  H.  Voight,  Jeffersonville. 
Albert  P.  Fenn,  Tell  City. 

4.  John  Overmyer,  North  Vernon. 
Joel  H.  Matlock,  Brownstown. 

5.  Ebenezer  Henderson,  Martinsville. 
Samuel  L.  McGregor,  Brazil. 

6.  D.  W.  Andre,  Connersville. 
U.  S.  Jackson,  Greenfield. 

7.  John   P.    Frenzel,   Indianapolis. 
Will  E.  English,  Indianapolis. 

8.  William   A.    Humphrey,    Portland. 
R.  S.  Gregory,  Muncie. 

9.  D.  W.  Simons,  Covington. 
Eli  Marvin,  Frankfort. 

10.  James  Murdock,  Lafayette. 
Jonas  M.  Loutman,  Hammond. 

11.  Samuel  E.  Cook,  Huntington. 
John  T.  Strange,  Marion. 

12.  Henry  Colerick,  Fort  Wayne. 
James  Washburne,  Columbia  City. 

13.  John  B.  Stoll,  South  Bend. 
Preston  F.  Miles,  Milford. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  reading  of 
the  committee's  report  on  the  selection  of 
delegates  at  large  to  the  national  conven- 
tion. Judge  J.  C.  Branyan  of  Huntington 
mounted  a  chair  and  asked  that  the  name 
of  John  G.  Shanklin  be  substituted  for 
that  of  Major  Menzies,  as  the  Major  was 
an  advocate  of  the  gold  standard.  Mr. 
Shanklin  advanced  to  the  platform  and 
stated  that  he  believed  the  substitution 
should  not  be  made,  as  Major  Menzies  had 
agreed  to  stand  by  the  dictates  of  the  con- 
vention and  begged  leave  to  withdraw. 
This  was  met  with  cries  of  disapproval 
and  Major  Winfrey  of  the  First  district 


(367) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


asked  that  Major  Menzies  give  the  conven- 
tion an  idea  as  to  how  he  stood  on  the  16 
to  1  proposition.  The  roll-call  for  substitu- 
tion began  and  it  was  evident  that  the 
Evansville  man  would  be  substituted  when 
Judge  Richardson  of  Pike  county  appeared 
on  the  stage  and  demanded  as  Mr.  Shank- 
lin's  friend  and  personal  representative 
that  the  roll-call  be  stopped,  saying  that 
Mr.  Shanklin's  name  was  not  before  the 
convention.  There  were  protests,  but 
Chairman  Holt  said:  "There  being  but 
one  name  before  the  convention  now,  the 
question  is  on  the  adoption  of  the  report." 
The  report  was  adopted  by  a  close  vote. 

When  it  had  been  ascertained  that  the 
committee  on  permanent  organization  had 
selected  John  B.  Stoll  as  one  of  the  electors 
at  large,  he  at  once  proceeded  to  make  an 
earnest  effort  to  have  the  name  of  his 
friend,  Judge  David  S.  Gooding,  substi- 
tuted. Reason  assigned  was  that  he  (Stoll) 
had  been  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  national 
convention  and  that,  believing  in  a  fair 
division  of  honors,  it  was  but  simple  justice 
that  the  veteran  campaigner.  Judge  Good- 
ing, be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  electoral 
ticket.  The  chairman  refused  to  re-con- 
vene the  committee  and  so  the  desired 
change  was  not  made,  much  to  the  regret 
of  Mr.  Stoll. 

PLATFORM  DECLARATIONS. 

The  main  planks  of  the  platform  as  re- 
ported by  the  committee  and  adopted 'by 
the  convention  read  thus: 

"Resolved,  That  we  reaffirm  our  adher- 
ence to  and  faith  in  the  Democratic  doc- 
trine of  bi-metallism  by  the  free  and  unre- 
stricted coinage  of  both  silver  and  gold,  as 
primary  money,  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  1, 
without  waiting  the  co-operation  of  Great 
Britain  or  any  other  foreign  power,  all 
such  coinage  to  be  full  legal  tender  in  the 
paypnent  of  all  debts,  private  and  public. 

"We  are  opposed  to  the  redemption  and 
final  cancellation  of  United  States  notes 
(greenbacks)  or  any  other  notes  or  cer- 
tificates issued  by  the  United  States  to 
circulate  as  money,  such  redemption  and 


cancellation  necessarily  involving  an  in- 
crease of  the  public  debt  by  the  issue  of 
bonds  and  the  reduction- of  currency. 

"We  demand  a  sufficient,  stable  volume 
of  money — gold,  silver  and  paper — to  meet 
the  requirements  of  our  ever-growing 
population  and  the  constant  increase  of  our 
productive  interests. 

•  "We  demand  that  obligations  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, of  every  form,  be  paid  and  re- 
deemed, in  conformity  with  the  laws  under 
which  they  were  issued,  in  coin,  gold  and 
silver,  at  the  option  of  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  not  at  the  option  of 
the  creditor. 

"To  the  gallant  survivors  of  the  army  of 
the  Union,  to  the  widows  and  children  of 
those  deceased,  we  tender  our  steadfast 
regard  and  gratitude.  We  favor  the 
prompt  adjustment,  the  punctual  and  regu- 
lar payment  of  all  pensions  as  the  same 
accrue.  We  believe  that  the  pension  is  a 
vested  right.  We  heartily  indorse  the  rule 
of  Commissioner  Murphy  that  no  name 
shall  be  arbitrarily  dropped  from  the  rolls, 
and  the  fact  of  enlistment  and  service 
should  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence 
against  prior  disease  or  disability. 

"That  we  do  most  earnestly  sympathize 
with  the  people  of  the  island  of  Cuba  in 
their  gallant  struggle  against  the  Spanish 
monarchy,  for  freedom  and  independence. 
We  believe  that  public  war  exists  in  Cuba 
and  that  the  parties  thereto  ought  to  be 
accorded  all  the  rights  of  belligerents. 

"The  Democratic  party  is  the  faithful 
and  consistent  adherent  of  that  great  prin- 
ciple of  popular  government  known  as  per- 
sonal liberty  of  the  .  citizen  and  oppose 
intolerance  of  whatever  character,  and 
especially  oppose  any  attempt  to  control 
the  habits  of  the  people  where  such  habits 
are  consistent  with  the  public  order  and 
general  welfare. 

"The  comfort  and  convenience  of  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  State  require  good 
roads.  We  are,  therefore,  in  favor  of  such 
legislation  as  will  serve  to  stimulate  the 
enterprise  of  the  people  to  the  end  that 
such  roads  may  be  constructed. 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention  fully 
and  cordially  indorses  the  course  and  action 
of  Senator  Voorhees  and  Senator  Turpie  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  as  having 
been  at  all  times  true  and  loyal  to  the  in- 
terests of  our  State  and  country,  and  as 
having  been  distinguished  by  signal  ability 
and  success  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties 


(  368  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


of  their  high  position,  and  we  tender  the 
Hon.  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  the  faithful  and 
long-tried  friend  of  the  people,  our  sincere 
sympathies  in  the  severe  illness  from 
which  he  has  suffered,  with  our  heartfelt 
wishes  for  his  early  and  complete  recovery. 

"Resolved,  That  we  indorse  the  admin- 
istration of  Hon.  Claude  Matthews,  Gov- 
ernor of  Indiana,  as  having  been  wise, 
prudent  and  patriotic,  and  that  his  prac- 
tical ability,  his  executive  genius  and  ca- 
pacity for  public  affairs,  as  well  as  his  high 
personal  integrity  and  character  and  his 
popularity  with  the  people  all  show  him  to 
be  well  worthy  of  higher  honors. 

"We  therefore  earnestly  commend  him, 
in  full  confidence  of  success  at  the  election, 
to  the  Democracy  of  the  United  States  as 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  And  the 
delegates  from  Indiana  to  the  national 
convention  are  hereby  instructed  to  cast 
their  votes  in  his  favor  for  President,  first, 
last  and  all  the  time,  and  to  use  all  honor- 
able efforts  to  secure  his  nomination. 

"The  thirty  delegates  selected  to  repre- 
sent the  Democracy  of  Indiana  in  the 
Chicago  national  convention  are  instructed 
to  vote  as  a  unit  upon  all  questions  involv- 
ing platform  or  candidates  in  that  conven- 
tion." 

THE  TICKET  NOMINATED. 
When  nominations  for  Governor  were 
announced  to  be  in  order,  the  Ninth  district 
presented  the  name  of  James  M.  Sellers  of 
Montgomery.  The  Thirteenth  district  put 
in  nomination  Benjamin  F.  Shively  of 
South  Bend.  The  Seventh  district  named 
ex-Congressman  George  W.  Cooper  of 
Columbus.  The  Second  district  proposed 
John  G.  Shanklin  of  Evansville,  who 
promptly  withdrew  his  name  and  in  a  few 
eloquently  worded  sentences  seconded  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Shively.  Before  the  roll- 
call  had  brought  forth  responses  from 
four  counties,  Mr.  Sellers  withdrew  his 
name.  The  roll-call  showed  the  nomina- 
tion of  Mr.  Shively  by  a  large  majority, 
and  before  the  result  of  the  ballot  could 
be  announced  Mr.  Cooper,  who  was  the 
choice  of  the  gold  standard  delegates, 
withdrew  his  name,  and  in  a  singularly 
happy  speech  moved  that  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Shively  be  declared  the  unanimous 


action  of  the  convention.  It  was  so 
ordered.  Loud  and  persistent  calls  brought 
Mr.  Shively  upon  the  platform.  He  was 
accorded  a  most  enthusiastic  ovation,  to 
which  he  responded  in  a  speech  of  rare 
felicity  and  choice  diction. 

For  Lieutenant-Governor,  Captain  John 
C.  Lawler  of  Washington  county,  Michael 
Sweeney  of  Dubois  county,  General  F.  E. 
McGinley  of  Lafayette,  and  ex-Congress- 
man George  W.  Cooper  of  Columbus  were 
proposed.  The  latter  at  once  forbade  the 
use  of  his  name  in  that  connection.  On 
the  first  ballot  Captain  Lawler  was  shown 
to  have  come  within  six  votes  of  the  nom- 
ination. After  a  number  of  counties  had 
been  called  on  the  second  ballot,  Mr. 
Sweeney  and  General  McGinley  withdrew 
their  names  and  Captain  Lawler  was  nom- 
inated by  acclamation. 

Three  names  were  proposed  for  Secre- 
tary of  State:  Samuel  M.  Ralston  of 
Lebanon,  Charles  W.  Welman  of  Sullivan 
and  John  G.  Offut  of  Trafalgar.  Ralston 
was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot  by  the 
decisive  vote  of  1,020  1-3.  to  473  1-3  for 
Welman  and  245  1-3  for  Oflfut.  Ralston's 
nomination  was  made  unanimous. 

Joseph  T.  Fanning  of  Indianapolis,  W.  H. 
Ernst  of  Bluffton,  Jerome  Herflf  of  Peru 
and  Alvin  H.  Allen  of  Madison  were  put 
in  nomination  for  State  Auditor.  Fanning 
was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot.  He  re- 
ceived 974i/_,  votes,  Ernst  3611/2.  Herff 
2611/2.  Allen  144. 

Allen  W.  Clark  of  Greensburg  and  C.  W. 
Bridges  of  Indianapolis  were  proposed  for 
State  Treasurer,  but  before  balloting  began 
their  names  were  withdrawn  and,  on  mo- 
tion of  Judge  David  S.  Gooding,  Morgan 
Chandler  of  Greenfield  was  nominated  by 
acclamation. 

For  Attorney-General,  J.  G.  McNutt  of 
Terre  Haute  was  nominated  on  the  first 
ballot.  He  received  1,222  votes  to  405  for 
C.  J.  Kollmeyer  of  Columbus  and  119  for 
C.  H.  Hartford. 

Henry  Warrum  of  Indianapolis  was 
nominated  for  Supreme  Court  Reporter  on 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


the  second  ballot  over  Sidney  R.  Moon  of 
Rochester  and  H.  G.  Yergen  of  Henry 
county. 

FOR  JUDGES  OF  THE  APPELLATE  COURT. 
Edwin  A.  Taylor,  First  district. 
Theodore  P.  Davis,  Second  district. 
Frank  E.  Gavin,  Third  district. 
Orlando  J.  Lotz,  Fourth  district. 
George  E.  Ross,  Fifth  district. 

STATE   CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 
(Elected  at  District  Conventions  in  January.) 

1.  John  W.  Spencer,  Evansville. 

2.  Parks  M.  Martin,  Spencer. 

3.  Richard  H.  Willett,  Leavenworth. 

4.  Joel  Matlock,  Brownstown. 

5.  Frank  A.  Horner,  Brazil. 

6.  K.  M.  Hord,  Shelbyville. 

7.  Thomas  Taggart,  Indianapolis. 

8.  J.  J.  Netterville,  Anderson. 

9.  W.  H.  Johnson,  Crawfordsville. 

10.  William  H.  Blackstock,  Lafayette. 

11.  Rufus  Magee,   Logansport. 

12.  Thomas  R.  Marshall,  Columbia  City. 

13.  Peter  J.  Kruyer,  Plymouth. 
Sterling  R.  Holt,  chairman,  Indianapolis. 

The  campaign  in  Indiana  was  vigorous- 
ly conducted  on  both  sides.  In  the  earlier 
part  the  enthusiasm  ran  higher  on  the 
Democratic  side  of  the  house  than  on  the 
Republican.  By  and  by  it  became  apparent 
that  the  possession  of  abundant  campaign 
funds  was  helping  the  Republicans  amaz- 
ingly. The  Democrats  had  very  little 
money  at  their  command.  Democratic 
disaffection  on  account  of  the  money  ques- 
tion was  felt  quite  keenly,  especially  in  the 
cities  and  larger  towns.  The  situation  was 
greatly  aggravated  by  the  resignation  of 
Sterling  R.  Holt  as  chairman  of  the  State 
committee.  Like  many  other  Democrats 
at  Indianapolis,  he  identified  himself  with 
the  gold  standard  forces.  Parks  M.  Mar- 
tin of  the  Second  district  was  substituted. 
It  was  a  good  selection.  He  had  very 
much  to  do  to  make  up  for  time  lost  while 
Mr.  Holt  was  hesitating  as  to  whether  he 
should  hold  on  or  step  down  and  out.  When 
he  found  he  couldn't  be  in  sympathy  with 
the  party  on  what  was  made  the  par- 
amount issue,  he  did  the  proper  thing  by 
resigning  the  chairmanship.     As  a  matter 


of  course  he  came  in  for  a  good  deal  of 
censure  and  some  abuse,  but  that  was  to 
be  expected.  So  many  people  labor  under 
the  delusion  that  politics  has  nothing  in 
common  with  conscience. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  campaign 
the  Populists  favorable  to  the  election  of 
Mr.  Bryan  made  overtures  to  the  Demo- 
crats to  unite  on  the  support  of  one 
electoral  ticket.  In  view  of  their  developed 
strength  they  were  neither  backward  nor 
overly  modest  in  naming  conditions  under 
which  they  would  withdraw  their  electoral 
ticket  and  support  a  fusion  ticket.  They 
wanted  five  Democrats  taken  off  and  five 
Populists  substituted.  Some  Democrats 
objected  to  this  rather  vehemently.  I  was 
unable  to  see  anything  particularly  objec- 
tionable to  such  an  arrangement.  Thirty 
thousand  votes  were  worth  considering  in 
an  emergency  like  this,  and  I  made  haste 
to  announce  my  willingness  to  step  down 
and  out  and  let  some  Populist  take  my 
place.  But  for  some  reason  that  never  was 
explained  to  me  insistence  was  made  that 
I  should  stay  on  and  Jason  B.  Brown,  my 
associate  elector  at  large,  get  off.  When 
the  time  for  consummating  the  deal  came 
I  proceeded  to  Indianapolis  to  sacrifice 
myself.  Upon  arriving  at  the  Grand  Hotel 
I  found  there  my  associate  elector  at  large, 
ex-Congressman  Jason  B.  Brown.  He 
was  furious  and  swore  like  a  trooper.  He 
didn't  want  to  get  off  and  I  couldn't  see 
any  reason  why  he  should  be  made  to  get 
off  when  I  was  more  than  willing  to  make 
room  for  a  Populist.  I  did  my  utmost  to 
pacify  him,  but  he  was  not  to  be  reconciled. 
I  felt  quite  confident  that  in  the  end  Jason 
would  have  his  way.  My  plan  was  to  make 
a  speech  to  the  State  Central  Committee 
that  would  satisfy  the  members  thereof 
that  Jason  was  much  better  suited  to  head 
a  Demo-Populist  electoral  ticket  than 
myself.  He  was  an  out-and-out  champion 
of  16  to  1,  while  I  ^yas  simply  a  conserva- 
tive bi-metallist.  Well,  I  delivered  my 
speech,  anything  but  populistic  in  tone  or 
sentiment.    To  my  amazement  the  decision 


(370) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D 

to  take  Jason  off  and  keep  me  on  was  de- 
clared to  be  irrevocable.  So  on  I  stayed, 
and  in  November  meekly  and  complacently 
marched  up  to  the  political  slaughter- 
house, as  Henry  Watterson  was  wont  to 
say. 

THE  FUSION  ELECTORAL  TICKET. 

As  agreed  upon  by  the  Democratic  and 
Populist  State  Committees,  the  Bryan 
electoral  ticket  was  composed  of  ten  Demo- 
crats and  five  Populists.  This  is  the  amal- 
gamated list: 

At  Large— John  B.  Stoll,  Parda  D.  Drain. 

1.  James  W.  Henson. 

2.  Elisha  A.  Riggins. 

3.  George  B.  Mclntyre. 

4.  Townsend  Cope. 

5.  Delano  E.  Williamson. 

6.  George  W.  Pigman. 

7.  Maurice  Donnelly. 

8.  Bartlett  H.  Campbell. 

9.  William  C.  Smith. 

10.  James  W.  Pierce. 

11.  Meredith  H.  Kidd. 

12.  Frank  P.  Van  Auken. 

13.  John  S.  Bender. 

Bryan  came  into  the  State  and  aroused 
unbounded  enthusiasm.  He  drew  immense 
crowds  wherever  he  engaged  to  speak.  Mr. 
Shively,  the  nominee  for  Governor,  a  very 
effective  campaigner,  also  had  large  and 
enthusiastic  meetings  throughout  the 
State.  For  some  unexplained  reason  the 
middle-of-the-road  Populists  persisted  in 
keeping  their  State  ticket  in  the  field.  This 
explains  the  difference  between  the  vote 
for  Bryan  and  the  vote  for  Shively  and  the 
other  candidates  on  the  State  ticket. 

The  figures  here  given  tell  the  story  of 
the  political  battle  of  1896  in  Indiana: 
FOR  PRESIDENT. 

William    McKinley,    Republican 323,754 

William  J.  Bryan,  Democrat  and  Populist. 305,753 

Joshua  Levering,  Prohibitionist 3,056 

Charles  E.  Bentley,  National  Prohibitionist     2,268 

Charles  H.  Matchett,  Social  Labor 329 

John  M.  Palmer,  Gold  Democrat 2,145 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

James  A.  Mount,  Republican 320,932 

Benjamin  F.  Shively,  Democrat 294,855 

Leander  M.  Crist,  Prohibitionist 2,997 

Thomas   Wadsworth,    Populist 8,626 

James  H.  Kingsbury,  Nat.  Prohibitionist.  2,500 
Philip  H.  Moore,  Socialist   283 


EMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

William  S.  Haggard,  Republican 320,887 

John  C.  Lawler,  Democrat 294,717 

William  Edgerton,  Phohibitionist 3,065 

Adam  P.  Hanna,  Populist   8,636 

Sampson  J.  North,  National  Prohibitionist     2,485 
Harry  S.  Sharp 296 

The  entire  Republican  State  ticket  was 
elected  by  something  over  26,000  plurality. 

To  the  General  As.sembly  the  Repub- 
licans did  not  elect  as  many  of  their  can- 
didates as  they  had  hoped.  The  Senate 
stood  33  Republicans,  14  Democrats,  3 
Populists.  The  House:  52  Republicans, 
39  Democrats,  9  Populists.  This  resulted 
in  the  election  of  Charles  W.  Fairbanks  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  to  succeed  Daniel 
W.  Voorhees — the  first  Republican  Senator 
chosen  since  1881,  sixteen  years. 

The  Democrats  recovered  four  of  the 
seats  they  had  lost  two  years  before.  In- 
stead of  a  solid  Republican  delegation  rep- 
resenting Indiana  in  the  lower  House  of 
Congress,  nine  of  that  persuasion  were 
chosen  and  four  Democrats  given  creden- 
tials. In  the  Second  district  Robert  W. 
Miers  displaced  Alexander  M.  Harvey,  in 
the  Third  William  T.  Zenor  got  the  better 
of  Robert  J.  Tracewell,  in  the  Fourth  the 
faithful  and  ever-alert  "watchdog  of  the 
Treasury,"  William  S.  Holman,  came  to  his 
own  again,  and  in  the  Twelfth  (Fort 
Wayne)  district  James  M.  Robinson  scored 
a  victory  over  his  Republican  competitor. 
The  Nation  and  State  sustained  an  irrep- 
arable loss  through  the  death  of  Judge 
Holman  during  the  term.  The  vacancy  was 
filled  by  the  election  of  Francis  M.  Griffith, 
a  very  excellent  representative  of  the 
younger  element  of  the  party. 

THE  NATIONAL  CAMPAIGN  AS  DE- 
PICTED BY  GENERAL  T.  E. 
POWELL. 

In  1894  President  Cleveland  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Congress  which  dwelt  particularly 
upon  the  tariff  question.  He  believed  that 
the  election  of  1892  was  an  endorsement 
of  the  Democratic  ideas  on  the  tariff,  and 
he  urged  immediate  action  in  the  direction 
of  a  reduction.     In  accordance   with   his 


(371  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


idea,  Wilson  of  West  Virginia  introduced 
a  tariff  bill  which  provoked  a  long  contest, 
but  after  much  tinkering,  changing  and 
substitution,  a  bill  denominated  the  Brice- 
Gorman-Wilson  bill  was  finally  passed. 
This  general  tariff  bill  became  a  law  on 
August  27,  1894,  without  the  President's 
signature.  It  did  not  suit  him,  but  he 
would  not  veto  it. 

The  campaign  of  1896  brought  forth  the 
most  remarkable  Democratic  leader  the 
country  has  seen  since  Andrew  Jackson. 
Like  Jackson,  he  first  attracted  attention 
by  unstable  vagaries ;  like  Jackson,  he  is 
guided  more  by  animosities  and  prejudices 
than  by  patriotism,  yet  like  "Old  Hickory," 
he  is  not  without  statesmanlike  qualities, 
and,  moreover,  he  is  so  highly  gifted  as  an 
orator  that  since  he  has  ripened  he  is  able 
to  present  his  political  beliefs  in  the  most 
attractive  form  and  even  to  garb  revenge 
in  the  mantle  of  justice. 

Ihe  Republican  party  began  the  Presi- 
dential campaign  in  1895.  The  party  was 
rich  in  Presidential  timber  and  a  full  year 
before  the  national  convention  could  be 
held  the  friends  of  several  aspirants  were 
busy  in  their  behalf.  The  most  prominent 
candidates  were  William  McKinley  of 
Ohio,  Thomas  B.  Reed  of  Maine,  Levi  P. 
Morton  of  New  York  and  William  B.  Alli- 
son of  Iowa.  There  seemed  to  be  but  one 
issue,  the  tariff,  and  toward  that  the  minds 
of  the  people  were  constantly  directed  by 
the  politicians. 

The  panic  of  1893,  for  which  there  had 
been  no  political  cause,  having  been  pro- 
duced mainly  through  the  disturbance  of 
public  confidence  by  the  wanton  clamor  of 
the  Republican  press,  had  left  the  country 
with  an  impression  that  the  Democratic 
party  was  responsible  for  the  money  strin- 
gency and  the  hard  times.  Cleveland's 
fair  trade  policy  had  been  pictured  like  the 
seven  lean  kine  of  Egypt  which  followed 
and  devoured  the  seven  fat  kine,  and  still 
remained  lean.  The  protective  tariff  was 
lauded  as  the  cure-all  for  every  commercial 
and  financial  trouble.  The  Democrats 
attributed  the  hard  times  to  the  scarcity  of 
gold,  which,  being  the  single  and  only 
standard  of  values  for  all  other  com- 
modities, paralyzed  business  because  of  its 
scarcity.  To  this  they  added  the  further 
arguments  that  Republican  spell-binders 
disturbed  the  people  and  that  the  high 
tariff  was  oppressive  to  the  workingman 
and  the  farmer.    Because  of  Republican  as- 


saults the  Democracy  of  the  country 
allowed  the  Republicans  to  hold  their  na- 
tional conventions  first  and  outline  their 
policy  to  the  country. 

The  Republican  National  Convention 
met  at  St.  Louis  June  16,  1896,  and  nom- 
inated William  McKinley  for  President  by 
acclamation  amid  a  scene  of  wild  enthusi- 
asm. The  nomination  was  announced  to 
the  world  by  a  Presidential  salute  from  a 
battery  stationed  outside  the  convention 
hall. 

The  Republican  platform  pledged  the 
party  to  a  gold  standard,  a  high  protective 
tariif  and  opposition  to  the  free  coinage  of 
silver,  except  by  international  agreement 
with  the  leading  commercial  nations  of  the 
world.  The  platform  assailed  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  the  following  language : 

For  the  first  time  since  the  Civil  War  the 
American  people  have  witnessed  the  calamitous 
consequences  of  full  and  unrestricted  Democratic 
control  of  the  Government.  It  has  been  a  record 
of  unparalleled  incapacity,  dishonor  and  disaster. 
In  administrative  management  it  has  ruthlessly 
sacrificed  indispensable  revenue,  entailed  an  un- 
ceasing deficit,  eked  out  ordinary  current  expenses 
with  borrowed  money,  piled  up  the  public  debt 
by  $262,000,000  in  time  of  peace,  forced  an  ad- 
verse balance  of  trade,  kept  a  perpetual  menace 
hanging  over  the  redemption  fund,  pawned  Amer- 
ican credit  to  alien  syndicates  and  reversed  all 
the  measures  and  results  of  successful  Republican 
rule. 

This  quotation  illustrates  the  lamentable 
disregard  of  truth  which  politicians  too 
often  evince.  Congress  at  the  time  that 
platform  was  written  was  constituted  as 
follows :  In  the  Senate  there  were  45  Re- 
publicans, 39  Democrats  and  6  Populists; 
in  the  House  246  Republicans,  against  104 
Democrats,  a  Republican  majority  of  147. 
Whatever  that  Congress  had  done  could 
not  be  charged  against  the  Democrats,  and 
President  Cleveland  was  one  of  the  strong- 
est gold  standard  advocates  in  the  country. 
Congress  had  been  Democratic  under  the 
last  half  of  President  Harrison's  regime, 
but  he  had  the  power  of  veto  in  his  hands 
and  was  equally  culpable  with  Congress 
for  any  unwise  legislation.  The  truth  is 
that  neither  Congress  deserved  reproba- 
tion. Also  the  repeal  of  the  Bland-Allison 
bill  had  ended  the  coinage  of  silver  and  the 
gold  standard  was  perfectly  safe  with 
Cleveland  in  the  President's  chair.  The 
hard  times  and  discontent  were  the  result 
of  wild  assertions  like  the  above  made  by 
the  Republican  party.  To  disturb  public 
confidence  is  to  disturb  business. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


Garret  A.  Hobart  of  New  Jersey  was 
nominated  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket 
headed  by  Wilham  McKinley. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention 
met  at  Chicago,  June  7,  1896.  It  was  called 
to  order  by  Chairman  Harrity  of  the  Na- 
tional Committee,  who  pronounced  the 
selection  of  David  B.  Hill  of  New  York  for 
temporary  chairman.  The  Silverites  ob- 
jected to  Hill,  believing  him  to  be  a  rigid 
gold  standard  man,  and  this  brought  on  a 
contest  in  which  the  silver  forces  put  for- 
ward John  ^^'.  Daniel  of  Virginia  for  tem- 
porary chairman,  and  he  was  elected.  The 
Silverites  also  selected  the  permanent 
chairman,  choosing  Stephen  M.  White  of 
California. 

Almost  as  soon  as  the  convention  met  it 
became  apparent  that  the  delegates  favor- 
ing the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver 
at  the  ratio  of  16  to  1  were  largely  in  the 
majority  and  they  continued  to  increase 
in  strength  by  the  accession  of  gold  stand- 
ard men  who  surrendered  to  them,  think- 
ing it  the  only  cour.se  to  pursue.  At  first 
the  Silverites  had  a  majority,  but  not  two- 
thirds  of  the  convention.  The  defection  of 
the  sound  money  men  increased  the  major- 
ity to  more  than  two-thirds.  Had  it  not 
been  for  this  the  two-thirds  rule,  which 
had  been  in  force  in  Democratic  National 
Conventions  since  the  nomination  of  James 
K.  Polk  in  1844,  would  have  prevented  the 
nomination  of  an  extreme  advocate  of  the 
free  coinage  of  silver.  When  the  platform 
came  up  for  consideration  strong  speeches 
were  made  against  the  adoption  of  the  free 
coinage  plank,  but  it  was  adopted  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.  The  resolutions 
were  read  by  James  K.  Jones  of  Arkansas, 
and  a  minority  report  was  presented  by 
David  B.  Hill  of  New  York,  William  F. 
Vilas  of  Wisconsin  and  fourteen  others. 
Hill,  Vilas  and  Governor  Russell  of  Massa- 
chusetts led  in  speeches  in  favor  of  the 
minority  resolutions,  while  Benjamin  R. 
Tillman  of  South  Carolina  and  William 
Jennings  Bryan  of  Nebraska  spoke  in  favor 
of  the  silver  plank.  Bi-yan  closed  the  de- 
bate in  a  speech  which  not  only  brought 
him  the  nomination  for  President,  but 
made  him  the  dictator  of  the  Democratic 
party  from  that  time  to  this.  In  his 
peroration  he  uttered  that  wonderful 
sentence  which  must  always  remain  one 
of  the  gems  of  English  metaphor:  "You 
shall  not  press  down  upon  the  brow  of  la- 
bor this  crown  of  thorns;  you  shall  not 


crucify  mankind  upon  a  cross  of  gold." 
The  money  plank  in  the  platform  read: 

Recognizing  that  the  money  question  is  para- 
mount to  all  others  at  this  time,  we  invite  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  Constitution  names  silver 
and  gold  together  as  the  money  metals  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  the  first  coinage  law 
passed  by  Congress  under  the  Constitution  made 
the  silver  dollar  the  unit  and  admitted  gold  to 
free  coinage  at  a  ratio  based  upon  the  silver  dol- 
lar unit. 

We  declare  that  the  act  of  1873  demonetizing 
silver  wathout  the  knowledge  or  approval  of  the 
American  people  has  resulted  in  the  appreciation 
of  gold,  and  a  corresponding  fall  in  the  price  of 
commodities  produced  by  the  people;  a  heavy  in- 
crease in  the  burden  of  ta.xation  and  of  all  debts, 
public  and  private;  the  enrichment  of  the  money- 
lending  class  at  home  and  abroad;  prostration  of 
industry   and  the  impoverishment  of  the  people. 

We  demand  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
both  silver  and  gold  at  the  present  legal  ratio  of 
16  to  1,  without  waiting  for  the  aid  or  consent 
of  any  other  nation.  We  demand  that  the  stand- 
ard silver  dollar  shall  be  a  full  legal  tender,  equal- 
ly with  gold,  for  all  debts,  public  and  private, 
and  we  favor  such  legislation  as  will  prevent  for 
the  future  the  demonetization  of  any  kind  of  legal 
tender  money  by  private  contract. 

A  resolution  was  presented  to  the  con- 
vention endorsing  the  administration  of 
President  Cleveland  in  these  words:  "We 
commend  the  honesty,  economy,  courage 
and  fidelity  of  the  present  Democratic  na- 
tional administration."  The  report  as  a 
whole  was  rejected  by  628  to  301,  where- 
upon David  B.  Hill  demanded  a  separate 
vote  on  the  resolution  of  endorsement  of 
the  President.  It  was  rejected  by  a  vote 
of  .564  to  357. 

The  candidates  nominated  for  President 
were  Richard  P.  Bland  of  Missouri,  William 
Jennings  Bryan  of  Nebraska,  Claude 
Matthews  of  Indiana,  Horace  Boies  of 
Iowa,  Joseph  C.  S.  Blackburn  of  Kentucky 
and  John  R.  McLean  of  Ohio.  Besides 
the.se  the  following  were  also  voted  for: 
Robert  E.  Pattison  of  Pennsylvania,  Benja- 
min R.  Tillman  of  South  Carolina,  Syl- 
vester Pennoyer  of  Oregon,  Henry  M. 
Teller  of  Colorado,  Adlai  E.  Stevenson  of 
Illinois,  William  E.  Russell  of  Massachu- 
setts, David  B.  Hill  of  New  York  and 
James  E.  Campbell  of  Ohio.  Delegations 
from  several  of  the  States  either  wholly 
or  in  part  refused  to  vote  on  the  first  ballot, 
and  even  on  the  last  ballot  there  were  162 
who  refused  to  vote.  The  result  of  the 
first  ballot  was:  Bland,  235;  Bryan,  119; 
Pattison,  95;  Matthews,  37;  Boies,  85; 
Stevenson,  7  ;  Blackburn,  83 ;  McLean.  54  ; 
Pennoyer,  8;  Teller,  8;  Rus.sell,  2;  Hill,  1; 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


Campbell,  1.  Not  voting,  178.  Bryan 
showed  a  steady  gain,  and  on  the  fifth 
ballot,  when  his  vote  had  reached  500, 
delegations  began  to  change  their  votes 
and  turn  to  him,  and  he  speedily  passed  the 
512  required  to  nominate.  Among  the 
delegations  which  broke  to  him  on  the  fifth 
ballot  was  that  of  Ohio,  which  had  cast  46 
votes  for  McLean  on  every  ballot  up  to 
that  time. 

There  were  five  ballots  for  a  candidate 
for  Vice-President,  with  the  result  that  on 
the  fifth  ballot,  of  which  no  record  was 
made,  Arthur  Sewall  of  Maine  was  unan- 
imously declared  the  nominee  of  those  who 
still  took  part  in  the  convention.  John  R. 
McLean  of  Ohio  led  on  the  fourth  ballot 
with  296  votes,  while  Sewall  had  262, 
Daniels  of  Virginia  54,  Clark  of  North 
Carolina  46,  Williams  of  Massachusetts 
19,  Harrity  of  Pennsylvania  11  and  Patti- 
son  of  Pennsylvania  1. 

On  May  28th  the  Prohibitionists  opened 
their  national  convention  at  Pittsburgh. 
Like  the  Democrats,  they  were  divided  into 
two  sections.  The  majority  declared  for 
Prohibition  as  the  sole  issue  in  the  cam- 
paign, while  the  minority,  headed  by  John 
P.  St.  John  of  Kansas,  demanded  a  free 
silver  plank  in  the  platform.  The  "Narrow 
.  Gauge,"  or  strict  Prohibitionists,  controlled 
the  convention  and  nominated  Joshua 
Levering  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  for  President 
and  Hale  Johnson  of  Illinois  for  Vice- 
President.  The  minority  then  seceded, 
organized  the  National  party  and  nom- 
inated Charles  E.  Bentley  of  Nebraska  for 
President  and  James  H.  Southgate  of 
North  Carolina  for  Vice-President. 

The  Socialist  Labor  party  held  a  national 
convention  in  New  York  City  on  July  9, 
1896,  and  nominated  Charles  H.  Matchett 
of  New  York  and  Matthew  Maguire  of 
New  Jersey  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent. 

On  July  22  the  Populists  met  in  their 
national  convention  at  St.  Louis  and  de- 
cided by  a  vote  of  785  to  615  to  nominate 
their  Vice-Presidential  candidate,  before 
considering  a  President.  Accordingly  they 
nomniated  Thomas  E.  Watson  of  Georgia, 
over  Arthur  Sewall,  after  which  they 
placed  William  Jennings  Bryan  at  the  head 
of  their  ticket.  The  Silver  party  also  held 
a  national  convention  at  St.  Louis  on  July 
22  and  endorsed  Bryan  and  Sewall. 

When  all  the  nominations  had  been  made 
by  the  conventions  of  the  various  parties 


and  the  candidates  squared  away  for  the 
race  it  became  apparent  that  the  "silver 
question"  was  to  be  the  main  issue  of  the 
campaign.  The  Republicans  had  started 
out  with  tariff  as  their  battle-cry,  but  they 
speedily  discovered  that  the  free  coinage 
of  silver  was  occupying  the  public  mind 
to  a  great  extent  and  they  were  compelled 
to  substitute  the  slogan  of  sound  money 
for  that  of  high  protection.  After  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Wilson  bill  in  1893  a  quiet  cam- 
paign of  education  had  been  carried  on 
throughout  the  South  and  West  by  the 
Silverites,  vast  amounts  of  literature  being 
distributed  advocating  the  free  and  un- 
limited coinage  of  silver.  This  phase  of 
the  campaign  was  accentuated  when  the 
Democrats  of  the  country  who  were 
opposed  to  free  silver  formed  an  organi- 
zation called  National  Democrats.  They 
were  known  at  the  time  as  Gold  Democrats. 
They  held  a  national  convention  at  Indiana- 
polis on  September  2  and  3,  "at  which 
there  were  888  delegates  present,  repre- 
senting forty-one  States.  In  their  plat- 
form they  said  we  "insist  upon  the  main- 
tenance of  the  gold  standard  and  the 
parity  therewith  of  every  dollar  issued  by 
the  Government,  and  are  firmly  opposed  to 
the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver 
and  to  the  compulsory  purchase  of  silver 
bullion." 

The  convention  nominated  John  M. 
Palmer  of  Illinois  for  President  and  Simon 
B.  Buckner  of  Kentucky  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent. 

Until  about  the  end  of  September  indi- 
cations pointed  to  a  Democratic  victory, 
but  during  the  month  of  October  sentiment 
veered  rapidly  in  favor  of  the  Republican 
party.  Mark  Hanna,  probably  the  greatest 
campaign  manager  the  country  has  ever 
seen,  was  made  chairman  of  the  Republican 
Committee,  and  under  his  direction  a 
vigorous  educational  campaign  was  carried 
on  to  offset  the  popular  sentiment  for  free 
silver.  Bryan  made  a  tremendous  canvass, 
making  speeches  all  over  the  country,  win- 
ning laurels  as  an  orator  and  exciting  ad- 
miration by  his  wonderful  physical  endur- 
ance. McKinley,  on  the  other  hand, 
remained  at  home  in  Canton,  Ohio,  where 
he  received  delegation  after  delegation 
throughout  the  campaign  and  made 
speeches  from  the  front  porch  of  his  home. 
In  this  way  he  must  have  made  hundreds 
of  speeches  during  the  campaign,  and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  people  visited  Can- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191G 


ton  to  see  him  and  hear  his  views  on  the 
money  and  tariff  questions.  The  Demo- 
cratic press  of  the  country  turned  against 
Bryan  and  the  newspapers  of  Ohio,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  followed  the  general  trend. 
Political  conditions  throughout  the  coun- 
try were  in  a  peculiar  condition.  Cleve- 
land's administration  had  been  condemned 
and  repudiated  by  a  majority  of  his  own 
party.  It  was  a  common  saying  that  if  his 
last  term  had  been  his  first  he  never  would 
have  had  his  last.  The  Democratic  party 
was  making  a  fight  for  one  idea  and  one 
great  advocate  of  that  idea.  If  Bryan  had 
lost  the  support  of  the  Gold  Democrats  he 
had  the  endorsement  and  practical  support 
of  the  Populists  and  Prohibitionists  with 
the  addition  of  Silver  Republicans,  whose 
number  it  seemed  would  offset  the  Gold 


Democrats  who  had  broken  away  from  the 
party.  But  as  the  day  of  election  drew 
nearer  and  nearer  the  people  of  the  East 
and  North  grew  more  and  more  fearful  of 
placing  the  finances  of  the  country  upon  a 
silver  basis.  They  were  told  that  Bryan 
was  trying  to  Mexicanize  the  country  and 
that  if  the  free  silver  theory  were  endorsed 
in  the  United  States  the  country  would  be 
dishonored  and  discredited  with  all  Euro- 
pean nations. 

The  total  vote  of  the  United  States  at 
the  Presidential  election  in  1896  was  13,- 
926,757,  of  which  McKinley  and  Hobart 
received  7,104,779  and  Bryan  and  Sewall 
6,502,92.5.  Palmer  and  Buckner  received 
133,148.  In  the  electoral  college  McKinley 
had  271  votes  and  Bryan  176. 


[Chapter  XLVIII.] 

SPIRITED  CONVENTION  IN  1898 

DEFEATS   IN    1894   AND    1896   LEFT  NO  DEPRESSING  EFFECTS 


ffl 


HOSE  who  were  in  attendance 
at  the  State  Convention  of  the 
Indiana  Democracy  for  1898, 
held  June  22,  were  unable  to 
espy  any  signs  of  dismay,  dis- 
couragement or  depression  on 
the  countenances  of  either  dele- 
gates or  spectators.  A  feeling  of  buoy- 
ancy and  cheer  was  everywhere  in  evi- 
dence. And  the  eagerness  with  which 
nominations  were  sought  afforded  war- 
rant for  the  belief  that  hope,  if  not  abso- 
lute confidence,  dwelt  within  the  bosoms 
of  the  various  contestants  for  the  honor 
implied  in  such  recognition. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  by 
State  Chairman  Parks  M.  Martin.  The 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Permanent 
Organization  designated  Senator  David 
Turpie  as  president  and  S.  M.  Briscoe  of 
Blackford  county  as  secretary.  Report  of 
committee  unanimously  adopted,  followed 
by  a  characteristically  incisive  speech  by 
the  chosen  presiding  officer.  Frequent  ap- 
plause punctuated  Senator  Turpie's  able 
and  eloquent  address. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

1.  James  R.  Wilson,  Warrick  county. 

2.  Judge  W.  H.  DeWolf,  Knox. 

3.  John  Benz,  Crawford. 

4.  S.  Weber  Smith,  Bartholomew. 

5.  S.  B.  McFadden,  Parke. 

6.  John  S.  Martin,  Franklin. 

7.  Luther  Short.  Johnson. 

8.  Harry  B.  Smith,  Blackford. 

9.  Michael  E.  Foley,  Montgomery. 

10.  Mortimer  Nye,  Laporte. 

11.  M.  W.  Barnes,  Howard. 

12.  Dr.  W.  H.  Nusbaum,  DeKalb. 

13.  A.  P.  Perly,  St.  Joseph. 

ASSISTANT    SECRETARIES. 

1.  W.  W.  Kellams,  Spencer  county. 

2.  John  Johnson,  Lawrence. 

3.  J.  R.  Simpson,  Orange. 

4.  E.  W.  Kinney,  Ohio. 


.5.  W.  A.  King,  Hendricks. 

6.  George  L.  Gray,  Fayette. 

7.  S.  V.  Perrott,  Marion. 

8.  Frank  D.  Haimbaugh,  Delaware. 

9.  William  Hatfield,  Clinton. 

10.  Thomas  E.  Scanlin,  Tippecanoe. 

11.  Peter  Wallrath,  Cass. 

12.  F.  D.  Dunten.  Lagrange. 

13.  J.  A.  Beane,  Elkhart. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  J.  G.  Shanklin,  Vanderburg  county. 

2.  C.  K.  Thorpe,  Daviess. 

3.  M.  Z.  Stannard,  Clark. 

4.  John  Overmeyer,  Jennings. 

5.  Claude  Matthews,  Vermilion. 

6.  Chas.  D.  Morgan,  Henry. 

7.  Samuel  E.  Morss,  Marion. 

8.  Richard  K.  Irvin,  Adams. 

9.  G.  H.  Gifford,  Tipton. 

10.  John  S.  Williams,  Tippecanoe. 

11.  W.  J.  Houck,  Grant. 

12.  A.  J.  Moynihan,  Allen. 

13.  Daniel  McDonald,  Marshall. 

THE  TICKET  AS  NOMINATED. 

Secretary  of  State— Samuel  M.  Ralston,  Leb- 
anon. 

Auditor — John  W.  Minor,  Indianapolis. 

Treasurer— Hugh  Dougherty,  Bluffton. 

Attorney-General— John  G.  McNutt,  Terre 
Haute. 

Clerk  Supreme  Court— Henry  Warrum,  Indian- 
apolis. 

Supt.  of  Public  Instruction — W.  B.  Sinclair, 
Starke  county. 

Judges  Supreme  Coui-t — Leonard  J.  Hackney  of 
Shelbyville;  James  McCabe  of  Warren  county, 
and  Timothy  E.  Howard  of  South  Bend. 

Appellate  Judges  (.5)— Edwin  Taylor,  Carl  J. 
Kollmeyer,  Edgar  A.  Brown,  William  S.  Diven, 
Johannes  Kopelke. 

Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics — James   S.   Guthrie. 

State  Geologist— Edward  Barrett. 
In  recognition  of  the  great  service  ren- 
dered the  party  from  beginning  to  close  of 
the  'PG  campaign,  Samuel  M.  Ralston  was 
re-nominated  for  Secretary  of  State  by 
acclamation. 

A  spirited  fight  was  put  up  for  the  nom- 


(  377) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  — 181 


ination  to  the  office  of  Auditor  of  State. 
Indianapolis  presented  two  candidates, 
both  strong,  popular  men:  John  W. 
Minor  and  Joseph  T.  Fanning.  Three 
other  aspirants  contested  for  the  nomina- 
tion: Winfield  Scott  Johnson  of  Owen 
county,  Jerome  Herff  of  Peru  and  William 
H.  Ernst  of  Bluffton. 

On  the  fifth  ballot  the  contest  had  nar- 
rowed down  to  Minor  and  Fanning.  When 
the  final  ballot  showed  Minor  to  have  re- 
ceived 807  votes  to  721  for  Fanning,  the 
latter  moved  the  nomination  be  made 
unanimous,  which  was  done  with  a  hearty 
good  will. 

Five  candidates  for  State  Treasurer 
sought  the  convention's  favor.  They  were : 
Henry  Stockfleth  from  the  First  district, 
Adam  Heimberger  from  the  Second,  Wil- 
liam C.  Wulber  from  the  Fourth,  John  A. 
M.  Adair  from  the  Seventh,  and  Hugh 
Dougherty  from  the  Eighth. 

Mr.  Dougherty  having  received  821 
votes  on  the  second  ballot,  a  motion  was 
off'ered  by  Mr.  Adair,  seconded  by  all  the 
other  aspirants,  that  the  nomination  be 
declared  the  unanimous  action  of  the  con- 
vention.    It  was  so  ordered. 

On  motion  of  ex-Congressman  Court- 
land  C.  Matson  a  unanimous  renomination 
for  Attorney-General  was  accorded  John 
G.  McNutt  of  Terre  Haute. 

When  nominations  for  Supreme  Judges 
were  announced  to  be  in  order  it  became 
apparent  that  the  extreme  free  silverites 
who  objected  to  the  renomination  of  Judge 
Hackney  because  he  was  unable  to  accept 
16  to  1  as  a  tenet  of  Democracy  could  not 
be  reconciled  to  his  renomination  without 
first  putting  up  a  stiff  fight.  They  brought 
out  that  widely  known  and  justly  popular 
wheelhorse  of  Democracy  in  Eastern  In- 
diana, Hugh  D.  McMullen  of  Aurora,  and 
backed  him  with  all  their  might.  But  a 
large  majority  of  the  delegates  reasoned 
that  it  would  be  bad  party  policy  to  dis- 
criminate against  Judge  Hackney  for  be- 
ing unable  to  view  the  financial  question 


from  the  same  standpoint  Mr.  Bryan  and 
others  viewed  it.  So  the  convention  voted 
by  1,269  to  297  that  he  merited  a  renomi- 
nation and  thus  accorded  the  same  by 
overwhelming  majority.  The  bitterest 
fight  waged  against  the  renomination  of 
Judge  Hackney  was  by  the  free  coinage 
advocates  in  his  own  county,  Shelby.  Cir- 
culars were  printed  and  scattered  broad- 
cast in  v/hich  Judge  Hackney  was  accused 
of  and  denounced  for  having  said  some 
very  ugly  things  about  champions  of  the 
16  to  1  idea.  Thus  the  contest  became  one 
of  intense  bitterness,  largely  personal  and 
freely  interspersed  with  vindictiveness. 
Animosities  thus  engendered  do  not  usual- 
ly pass  out  of  memory  quickly.  They  lin- 
ger. Such  must  have  been  the  case  in  this 
particular  instance.  Whatever  may  have 
led  to  that  step,  Judge  Hackney  decided 
not  to  stay  on  the  ticket  for  re-election.  A 
short  time  after  his  triumphant  renomina- 
tion he  tendered  his  resignation  to  the 
State  Central  Committee,  which  filled  the 
vacancy  by  substituting  the  name  of 
Mechert  Z.  Stannard  of  Jeffersonville  for 
that  of  Judge  Hackney. 

To  save  time  and  expedite  proceedings, 
former  U.  S.  District  Attorney  Frank  B. 
Burke  moved  that  the  rules  governing  the 
convention  be  suspended  and  that  Judges 
James  McCabe  and  Timothy  E.  Howard  be 
renominated  by  acclamation.  The  motion 
prevailed  unanimously. 

FOR  JUDGES   OF  THE   APPELLATE   COURT. 
Edwin  A.  Taylor,  First  District. 
C.  J.  Kollmeyer,  Second  District. 
Edgar  A.  Brown,  Tliird  District. 
William  S.  Diven,  Fourth  District. 
Johannes  Kopelke,  Fifth  District. 

RINGING  PLATFORM  ADOPTED. 

As  customary,  the  platform  committee 
immediately  upon  its  selection  by  the  sev- 
eral districts,  met  the  night  before  the 
convention  to  perform  the  task  assigned 
to  it.  Samuel  E.  Morss,  editor  of  the  In- 
dianapolis Sentinel,  was  made  chairman, 
and  Daniel  McDonald,  editor  of  the  Plym- 


(  378  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

onth  Democrat,  secretary.     The  platform  commended.    There  is  also  a  personal  lib- 

as  formulated  and  adopted  subsequently  erty  resolution,  a  strong  endorsement  of 

by  the  convention  with  spirited  unanimity  Senator  Turpie's  course  in  the  Senate  and 

declared    that   the   cause    for   which    the  a  richly-merited  tribute  to  the  memory  of 

United    States    is    engaged    in   war   with  the  late  Senator  Voorhees. 

Spain  is  righteous   will  demand  the  most  ^^^^^  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE, 

vigorous    prosecution    of    the    war,    the  . 

...        ,                                        .J.  (Elected    by    District    Conventions    in    January.) 

prompt  recognition  by  our  government  of  ^   j^j^„  ^   Sp^„^3^.^  Evansville. 

the    independence   of   the   Cuban    republic,  2.  Parks   M.   Martin,   Spencer   (Chairman), 

and  the  relinquishment  by  Spain  of  all  her  3.  W.  E.  Cox,  Jasper, 

possessions  in  this  hemisphere.     A  perma-  4.  Lincoln  Dixon,   North  Vernon, 

nent  strengthening  of  the  navy  and  the  ^-  ^''^"'^  ^-  Corner,  Brazil. 

,      J.                     i    J   i?              •      _i  6.  U.  S.  Jackson,  Greenfield, 

improvement  of  our  coast  defenses  is  de-  „   n,,           r„         i.   t  j-          i- 

'  7.  Thomas  Taggart,  Indianapolis, 

manded  and  a  liberal  pension  policy  as  re-  g   vernon  Davis,  Muncie. 

gards  both  the  victims  of  the  Civil  war  g.  willard  H.  Morris,  Frankfort, 

and  the  present  war  favored.  10.  Edwin  J.  Forrest,  Crown  Point. 

The  platform  also  contains  a  resolution  j^"  ^^  "^^''i^^-  f;/*!^',  ^t"°r-. 
*^        ,     ,                            .               ,                 ,12.  Thomas  R.  Marshall,  Columbia  City. 

m  tavor  ot  the  construction  and  control  ^g   p^^^^  j  Kruyer,  Plymouth. 
by    the    government    of    the    Nicaraguan 

canal,  and  a  declaration  that  all  questions  THE  CAMPAIGN, 

growing  out  of  the  present  war  may  be  Samuel    M.   Ralston   easily   maintained 

left  to  be  settled  by  the  good  sense  and  his  reputation  as  an  energetic,  aggressive 

patriotismofthepeopleastheymayari.se.  and   effective    campaigner    that    he    had 

The  platform  declared  for  the  election  of  proved  himself  to  be  during  the  preceding 

United  States  Senators  by  the  people.  contest.     Undismayed  by  defeat  in  1896, 

On  the  financial  question  there  is  pre-  ^e  buckled  on  the  armor  and  put  up  such 

scribed  a  fiat-footed,  free  and  independent  ""  ^^^t  as  had  never  before  been  made  by 

silver  coinage-16  to  1-resolution ;  also  ^  candidate  tor  Secretary  of  State.     He 

a   declaration   against  the   gold   standard  "^^  ^"^-^  ^P^"*  his  time  in  stumping  the 

and  the  announced  policy  of  the  Secretary  State,  but  drew  heavily  on  his  professional 

of  the  Treasurv.     The  inheritance  tax  is  ^^^rnings,  so  much  so  that  several  years  ot 

endorsed  and  Congress  asked  to  give  the  ^\^  ^^^""^  P^f  ^ice  had  afterward  to  be  ap- 

Supreme    Court    another    opportunitv    to  plied  to  making  good  what  he  had  sacn- 

pass  upon  an  income  tax.  ^^^^^^  during  his  arduous  campaigning  as 

„,               .    ,         .  .X.       ^  ^^          -J  nominee  for  Secretary  of  State. 

The  remainder  of  the  platform  is  de-  a     1      l.  i.  j-j  i.i             i.-         ^  ^u 

,    ,        •   1     .     oi  J.    •              mu              J  And  what  did  the  counting  of  the  votes 

voted  mainly  to  State  issues.    The  records  ,    ,,      ,„„„     ,     ,.                 ,,,     „,    ,  ,.,,, 

t  .-.     T^             .■         J  T>       ui-         1-1  at  the  1898  election  reveal.^     That  little, 

of  the  Democratic  and  Republican  legisla-  ,.,,,       ,            ,     ,  ,   , 

,        ,        ^      ,.    1      ^  very  little,  change  had  taken  place  in  pub- 

tures  are  compared  and  contrasted.    Con-  ,■         ^.     '         ,^,       ,       ,-x     ^^.u    t>       u 

.,      ,,      ,,      ..       -J       .   J  .     .  L.    T-w  lie  sentiment.    The  plurality  of  the  Repub- 

siderable  attention  is  devoted  to  the  Demo-  ,.                ,.  ,  ,     ^      o        ^           ^  c^^  T   ■ 

,.    ,       ,                   ,           Ti       UI-  lican  candidate  for  Secretary  of  State  in 

cratic  tax  law,  passed  over  Republican  op-  .,„„„         •    ,  u  x.  1-4.^1     j-         ^u     -mi  t^-   1 

...           u-  uu           J            -ui    i.1.  1898  varied  but  little  from  the  McKinley 

position,  which  has  made  possible  the  cur-  ,       ,.^      .      .„._      t    ^  ^^i      ^            1 

i       1     i.-         J-  iu     oi  i.     J  Ui      rni-  pluralitv    in    1896.     Let  the  ngures  here- 
rent  reduction  of  the  State  debt.     There  .^,       •        ^    ,  ^  „  ^u  •              I 

,   ,.         .J,            J,  .          ,.          ,  with  presented  tell  their  own  story: 
are  resolutions  m  tavor  of  township  and 

county  government  reform,  primary  elec-  VOTE  FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

tion  reform  and  amendment  of  the  tru-  Union  B.  Hunt,  Republican 286,643 

ancy  law.     Much  attention  is  devoted  to  S^'""'^'  ^^-  R^'^ton    Democrat 269.125 

,,                    ^.               .,,.      .                                    ,  .\aron  Worth,  Prohibitionist 9,961 

labor    questions.       Various    measures    de-  Henry  H.  Morrison,  Populist 5,867 

manded   by    the   labor   organizations    are  William  Yochum,  Socialist 1,795 


(379) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


It  will  be  observed  that  Hunt's  plurality 
is  17,518.  He  lacked  105  votes  of  having 
a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  at  this  elec- 
tion. Both  Hunt  and  Ralston  received 
several  thousand  votes  more  than  their  as- 
sociates lower  down  on  their  respective 
tickets.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  when 
the  Australian  ballot  system  was  first  in- 
troduced in  Indiana  voters  were  educated 
to  mark  "the  head"  of  the  ticket  if  they 
wanted  to  cast  their  ballot  so  as  to  make  it 
count  for  all  the  candidates  on  the  ticket 
except  when  the  square  in  front  of  the 
name  on  some  other  ticket  is  marked  with 
a  cross,  which  would  mean  a  vote  for  the 
candidate  on  that  particular  ticket.  If  no 
such  mark  appeared  on  any  of  the  other 
tickets,  the  marking  of  a  cross  in  the 
party  emblem  circle  heading  each  ticket 
would  carry  with  it  all  the  other  can- 
didates. It  was  a  most  excellent  provision 
to  expedite  'Or  render  easy  the  voting  of  a 
split  ticket.  The  people  had  been  thorough- 
ly educated  to  voting  in  this  manner — 
independently  if  so  inclined,  "straight" 
if  a  strict  partisan.  Despite  all  the  edu- 
cating done  since  the  law  was  changed, 
the  first  name  method  of  marking  a  bal- 
lot still  governs  from  six  to  nine  thousand 
voters  at  recurring  elections.  Politicians 
who  believe  in  the  old  slogan,  "For  the 
ticket,  the  whole  ticket,  and  nothing  but 
the  ticket,"  were  dissatisfied  with  the 
facility  for  voting  a  "scratched  ticket,"  or 
voting  as  the  sovereign  felt  inclined,  and 
induced  the  legislature  to  change  the  law 
so  as  to  render  independent  voting  more 
difficult.  In  obedience  to  this  ultra  parti- 
san demand  the  legislature  so  amended  the 
law  that  to  vote  a  straight  ticket  a  cross 
must  be  made  in  one  of  the  party  emblem 
circles  heading  the  various  party  tickets. 
To  vote  a  "scratched  ticket"  a  mark  must 
be  made  in  front  of  the  name  of  every  can- 
didate preferred  or  favored  by  the  voter. 
To  illustrate  how  persistent  or  thought- 
less adherence  to  the  original  method  of 
voting  works  it  may  be  stated  that  while 
the  total  vote  for  Secretary  of  State  at 


this  election  was  57-3,391,  the  vote  for  Au- 
ditor of  State  was  564,995,  or  8,396  less 
than  that  for  Secretary  of  State.  In  a 
close  election  such  as  we  have  repeatedly 
had  in  Indiana,  such  discrepancies  might 
have  quite  a  bearing  on  the  interests  and 
rights  of  the  candidates  lower  down  in  the 
list  of  candidates.  Usually  the  difference 
between  the  votes  cast  for  the  head  of  the 
ticket  and  the  candidates  lower  down  is 
greater  in  the  Democratic  than  in  the  Re- 
publican vote.  The  difference  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic vote  for  Secretary  of  State  and 
Auditor  of  State  is  4,653,  while  the  differ- 
ence in  the  Republican  vote  for  these  offi- 
cers is  only  3,078.  Where  voting  is  done 
by  machine  these  differences  do  not  ap- 
pear, but  where  paper  balloting  is  still  in 
vogue,  which  is  the  case  in  a  majority  of 
the  counties  of  the  State,  the  propensity 
to  mark  the  first  name  on  the  ticket  seems 
ineradicable. 

THE   REPUBLICAN   PLURALITIES. 

Secretary  of  State,  Samuel  B.  Hunt 17,578 

Auditor  of  State,  William  H.  Hart 19,093 

Treasurer  of  State,  Leopold  Levy 17,308 

Attorney-General,   William   L.   Taylor 19,481 

Clerk  Supreme  Court,  Robert  A.  Brown.  .  .19,337 
Supt.  Public  Instruction,  Frank  L.  Jones.  .  19,351 

Supreme  Judge,  Alexander  Dowling   .' 19,624 

Supreme  Judge,  John  V.  Hadley 19,686 

Supreme  Judge,  Francis   E.   Baker 19,461 

Appellate  Judge,  Woodfin   D.   Robinson.  ...  18,614 

Appellate  Judge,  Wm.    J.    Henley 18,897 

Appellate  Judge,  James  B.  Black 18,745 

Appellate  Judge,  Daniel  W.  Comstock 19,127 

Appellate  Judge,  Ulrich  Z.  Wiley 19,124 

Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics,  John  B.  Conner.  19,517 

State  Geologist,  Willis  S.  Blatchley 19,771 

The  General  Assembly  for  1899  was 
composed  of  30  Republican  and  20  Demo- 
cratic senators,  and  of  57  Republican  and 
43  Democratic  representatives. 

CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION. 

1.  James  A.  Hemenway,  Republican 20,383 

Thomas  Duncan,  Democrat 19,337 

2.  Robert  W.  Miers,  Democrat 20,245 

William  R.   Gardiner,  Republican 18,656 

3.  William  T.  Zenor,  Democrat 21,111 

Isaac  F.  Whitesides,  Republican 16,791 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  G  -  1  9  1  (J 


4.  Francis   M.  GriflRth,  Democrat 21,751 

Charles  W.  Lee.  Republican 19,733 

5.  Georpc  W.  Faris,  Republican 22,557 

Samuel  R.  Hamill,  Democrat 22,305 

6.  James  E.  Watson,  Republican 21,048 

Charles   A.   Robinson,   Democrat 18,844 

7.  Jesse   Overstreet.  Republican 25,868 

Leon  O.  Bailey,  Democrat 23,269 

8.  George  W.  Cromer,  Republican 25,388 

Orlando  J.  Lotz,   Democrat 24,021 

9.  Charles  B.  Landis.  Republican 22,447 

Joseph  B.  Cheadle,   Democrat  and  Free 

Silver   21,357 

10.  Edgar  D.  Crumpacker,  Republican 24,650 

John  Ross,  Democrat 20,206 


11.  George  W.   Steele,  Republican 24,367 

George  W.  Michael,  Democrat 20,281 

12.  James   M.   Robinson,   Democrat 19,484 

Dr.  Christ  B.  Stemen,  Republican 18,044 

13.  Abraham  L.   Brick.   Republican 23,368 

Medary  M.  Hathaway,   Democrat 20,886 

Thus  the  delegation  was  composed  of 
four  Democrats  and  nine  Republicans. 
The  highest  pluralities  were  those  of 
Zenor,  Crumpacker  and  Steele,  all  three 
exceeding  4,000  each.  The  lowest  plural- 
ity was  that  of  Faris  in  the  Terre  Haute 
district— 252. 


*=7f>i7rriiT;?rp^:=:^  v^r^^T 


saLi^'^'L*'^'!!^! 


[Chapter  XLIX.] 

NO  RAYS  OF  SUNSHINE  VISIBLE 

ON  THE  POLITICAL  HORIZON  IN  1900— REPUBLICANS 
CONTINUE  TO  HOLD  THE  FORT 


N  1896  William  McKinley  was 
extensively  advertised  as  the 
"advance  agent  of  prosperity." 
Through  the  columns  of  the 
press  and  from  the  stump  the 
people  were  told  that  as  soon 
as  the  triumphant  election  of 
McKinley  and  Hobart  to  the  presidency 
and  vice-presidency  were  announced  there 
would  be  noticeable  an  immediate  change 
for  the  better  in  the  industrial  and 
commercial  affairs  of  this  country.  That 
much  credence  was  given  these  assurances 
is  evidenced  by  the  result  of  the  1896  elec- 
tion. That  there  was  much  disappoint- 
ment over  the  non-fulfillment  of  these 
promises  and  predictions  is  a  matter  of 
history.  Panic?  and  business  stagnations 
are  not  easily  overcome.  With  dogged 
tenacity  they  take  their  course.  They  are 
more  than  tenacious.  They  can't  be  driven 
or  chased  into  precipitous  flight.  Confi- 
dence is  much  more  easily  destroyed  than 
restored  or  revived.  Too  many  wounds 
were  .struck  during  the  rage  of  the  '93 
panic  to  bring  their  healing  in  a  few  years 
within  the  range  of  possibilities.  Signs 
of  recovery  from  the  havoc  of  the  1893 
panic  became  clearly  visible  only  five  or 
six  years  afterwards.  While  it  is  true 
that  a  slight  easing  up  became  noticeable 
in  1897,  it  is  equally  true  that  we  were 
near  to  the  close  of  the  decade  before  gen- 
eral business  activity  fully  dispelled  the 
gloom  that  had  saddened  the  hearts  of  mil- 
lions of  men,  women  and  children  in  this 
land  of  plenty. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  for 
1900  was  held  at  Indianapolis,  June  6.  It 
was  ably  presided  over  by  Samuel  M.  Ral- 
ston, who  delivered  the  keynote  speech  of 
that  memorable  campaign.    John  Johnson, 


Jr.,  of  Versailles,  officiated  as  secretary. 
For  vice-presidents  the  following  named 
gentlemen  were  designated : 

1.  Sidney  Hatfield,  Warrick. 

2.  J.  O.  Giles,  Lawrence. 

3.  John  Benz,  Crawford. 

4.  J.  F.  Cox,  Bartholomew. 

5.  J.  B.  Oliver,  Clay. 

6.  David  S.  Gooding,  Hancock. 

7.  John  Blue,  Marion. 

8.  Abr.  Simmons,  Wells. 

9.  F.  W.  Macoughtry,  Fountain. 

10.  Jas.  McCabe,  Warren. 

11.  Samuel  E.  Cook,  Huntington. 

12.  John  Kimmel,  Lagrange. 

13.  Adam  Vinnage,  Marshall. 
DELEGATES    TO    NATIONAL    CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Hugh  Dougherty,  BluflFton;  Major 
G.  V.  Menzies,  Mount  Vernon;  James  Murdoek, 
Lafayette;  Samuel  E.  Morss,  Indianapolis.  Con- 
tingents— Robert  C.  Bell,  Fort  Wayne;  John  Over- 
myer,  North  Vernon;  James  McCabe,  Williams- 
port;  Judge  D.  D.  Dykeman,  Logansport. 

1.  Chas.  W.  Halbredge,  Spencer. 
Henry  Stockfleth,  Vanderburg. 

2.  John  H.  Spencer,  Daviess. 
Wm.  W.  Moffit,  Greene. 

3.  Jos.  H.  Shea,  Scott. 
John  L.  Britz,  Dubois. 

4.  Wm.  H.  O'Brien,  Dearborn. 
E.  J.  Nickerson,  Jefferson. 

5.  Geo.  M.  Crane,  Vigo. 
Marion  Bailey,  Lizton. 

6.  Geo.  M.  Ray,  Shelby. 
Wm.  Merrill,  Fayette. 

7.  Jas.  E.  McCuUough,  Marion. 
W.  E.  DuPrez,  Marion. 

8.  L.  G.  Ellingham,  Adam.s. 

A.  M.  Walty,  Hartford  City. 

9.  M.  A.  Ryan,  Carroll. 

Cornelius  Cunningham,  Montgomery. 

10.  Daniel  W.  Sims,  Tippecanoe. 
Martin  T.  Krueger,  Laporte. 

11.  F.  M.  Ki-stler,  Cass. 
R.   C.  Houston,  Grant. 

12.  Henrv  Colerick,  Allen. 
W.  H.  Nusbaum,  DeKalb. 

13.  M.  M.  Hathaway,  Pulaski. 
Benj.  F.  Deahl,  Goshen. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

At   Large — Judge   Allen   Zollars,   Fort  Wayne; 

Nicholas  Cornet,  Versailles.     Contingents — Judge 

O.  J.  Lotz,  Muncie;  Samuel  B.  Boyd,  Washington. 

1.  Thos.  W.  Lindsay,  Warrick. 

2.  W.  A.  Cullop,  Knox. 

3.  John  R.  Guffin,  Crawford. 

4.  Carl  E.  Wood,  Jackson. 

5.  D.  0.  Newton,  Vermilioii. 

6.  Chas.  D.  Morgan,  Henry. 

7.  Alexander  C.  Ayres,  Marion. 

8.  Wm.  Boland,  Madison. 

9.  Geo.  H.  GifTord,  Tipton. 

10.  Patrick  Keefe,  Newton. 

11.  Mile  W.  Barnes,  Howard. 

12.  Frank  Van  Auken,  Steuben. 

13.  Wm.  P.  O'Neill,  St.  Joseph. 

COMMITTEE   ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  G.  V.  Menzies,  Posey. 

2.  J.  H.  O'Neal,  Daviess. 

3.  M.  Z.  Stannard,  Clark. 

4.  W.  H.  Glidewell,  Decatur. 

5.  Samuel  R.  Hamill.  Vigo. 

6.  B.  F.  Wissler,  Wayne.     ' 

7.  John  W.  Holtzman,  Marion. 

8.  Judge  O.  J.  Lotz,  Delaware. 

9.  C.  F.  S.  Neal,  Boone. 

10.  Chas.  C.  Spencer,  White. 

11.  W.  J.  Houck,  Grant. 

12.  Frank  Dunton,  Lagrange. 

13.  Daniel  McDonald.  Marshall. 

THE  PLATFORM. 

The  main  features  of  the  platform  con- 
structed by  this  committee  are  embraced 
within  the  following  paragraphs : 

"We,  the  Democrats  of  Indiana,  in  con- 
vention assembled,  reaffirm  our  allegiance 
to  the  principles  of  liberty  and  justice 
which  the  Democratic  party  has  advocated 
from  the  time  of  Jefferson. 

"We  reaffirm  and  pledge  our  allegiance 
to  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, and  acknowledge  our  debt  of 
gratitude  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  author 
of  that  charter  of  human  rights. 

"We  reaffirm  our  allegiance  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  declare  our  veneration  for  the 
wise  and  far-sighted  patriots  who  insti- 
tuted its  beneficent  provisions,  not  only 
for  themselves,  but  for  the  welfare  of  the 
people  for  all  time. 

"We  reaffirm  and  pledge  our  allegiance 
to  the  principles  of  the  Chicago  platform 


of  1896,  and  commend  its  distinguished  ex- 
ponent, William.  Jennings  Bryan,  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States  as  an  able 
statesman,  a  sincere  patriot  and  an  honest 
man,  who  can  safely  be  trusted  to  stand 
at  all  times  for  the  people  and  against 
their  foes  at  home  and  abroad. 

"And  we  instruct  the  delegates  selected 
by  this  convention  to  cast  their  votes  for 
him  at  the  Democratic  national  convention 
to  be  held  at  Kansas  City. 

"We  call  attention  to  the  reform  legisla- 
tion which  the  Democratic  party  has  given 
the  people  of  this  State,  the  school  book 
lav/,  the  tax  laws,  the  Australian  ballot, 
the  fee  and  salary  reform  and  the  many 
statutes  for  the  protection  of  labor. 

"The  Republican  party  is  now  hypo- 
critically claiming  credit  for  the  reduction 
in  our  State  debt,  made  possible  by  the 
Democratic  tax  law,  the  enactment  of 
which  it  opposed. 

"It  has  mutilated  the  Australian  ballot 
law  and  repealed  the  statute  making  the 
bribery  of  voters  a  penal  offense.  In  four 
years  of  absolute  control  of  State  affairs 
it  has  failed  to  pass  any  effectual  legisla- 
tion against  monopolies  or  trusts,  but  has 
uniformly  defeated  all  effort  to  enact  anti- 
trust laws. 

"We  call  attention  to  the  extraordinary 
concentration  of  wealth  and  the  alarming 
growth  of  monopoly  during  the  McKinley 
administration;  the  arbitrary  regulation 
of  markets;  the  increased  cost  of  living; 
the  loss  of  industrial  independence;  the 
despotic  power  of  employment  and  dis- 
charge of  American  labor,  now  concen- 
trating in  a  few  hands;  the  activity  of 
these  monopolies  in  politics ;  their  increas- 
ing influence  in  the  enactment  and  en- 
forcement of  the  laws,  and  the  unconcern 
or  real  favors  with  these  things  are  re- 
garded by  the  Republican  leaders.  Relief 
can  not  be  expected  so  long  as  the  friends 
of  trusts  remain  in  office.  The  Democratic 
party,  free  from  their  influence,  and  not 
embarrassed  by  their  favors,  pledges  its 
representatives  in  office  to  the  positive  en- 
actment and  enforcement  of  anti-trust 
legislation." 

STATE  TICKET  NOMINATED. 
Upon  the  completion  of  the  preliminary 
proceedings  the  convention  settled  down  to 
the  nomination  of  a  State  ticket,  with  this 
result : 


(384) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Governor — John  W.  Kern,  Indianapolis. 

Lieutenant-Governor — John  C.  Lawler,  Salem. 

Secretary  of  State — Adam  Heimberger,  New 
Albany. 

Auditor  of  State — John  W.  Minor,  Indianapolis. 

Treasurer  of  State — Jerome  Herff,  Peru. 

Attorney-General — Charles  P.  Drummond.  Ply- 
mouth. 

Reporter  Supreme  Court— Horace  G.  Yergin, 
Newcastle. 

Supt.  Public  Instruction— Charles  A.  Great- 
house,  Mount  Vernon. 

Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics— Edward  Horuff. 

Judge  Supreme  Court — George  L.  Reinhard, 
Spencer. 

Judge  Supreme  Court — Joseph  W.  Adair,  Co- 
lumbia City. 

Most  of  the  foregoing  nominations  were 
made  by  acclamation. 

There  was  considerable  confusion  with 
reference  to  the  nomination  of  candidates 
for  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor.  A 
goodly  number  of  delegates  favored  the  re- 
nomination  of  both  Shively  and  Lawler, 
the  nominees  in  1896.  A  great  deal  of  un- 
certainty prevailed  as  to  whether  Mr. 
Shively  desired  a  renomination.  The  can- 
didacy of  John  W.  Kern  was  pushed  with 
much  aggressiveness.  The  situation  was 
greatly  relieved  when  announcement  was 
finally  made  that  Mr.  Shively  had  defi- 
nitely determined  not  to  be  a  candidate. 

John  W.  Kern  was  put  in  nomination 
for  Governor  by  John  H.  Spencer  of  Da- 
viess county.  The  Third  district  formally 
presented  the  name  of  Frank  B.  Burke  of 
Jeffersonville,  and  the  Tenth  district  of- 
fered Nelson  J.  Bozarth  of  Valparaiso  as 
its  choice. 

The  first  and  only  ballot  resulted :  Kern, 
8I91/2:  Burke,  369'',  ;  Shively,  292-%;  Bo- 
zarth, 41;  Charles  G.  Conn,  2;  Samuel  M. 
RaLstnn,  1.  The  usual  motion  to  make  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Kern  unanimous  pre- 
vailed. 

The  contest  for  Lieutenant-Governor  be- 
came quite  animated.  Four  candidates 
were  placed  before  the  convention:  Cap- 
tain John  C.  Lawler,  Salem;  Major  John 
R.  Simpson,  Paoli ;  Johannes  Kopelke, 
Crown    Point;    Mason    J.    Niblack,    Vin- 


cennes.  On  the  first  ballot  Lawler  had 
540,  Kopelke,  401;  Simpson,  383;  Niblack, 
141.  The  second  ballot  gave  Lawler  7011/. ; 
Kopelke,  4831/.,  Simpson,  248;  Niblack,  71. 
Lawler  had  1,024  on  the  final  (third)  bal- 
lot to  513  for  Kopelke.  The  names  of  Simp- 
son and  Niblack  were  withdrawn  after  the 
second  ballot.  Upon  the  announcement  of 
the  third  ballot  Mr.  Kopelke  moved  that 
the  nomination  of  Captain  Lawler  be  de- 
clared unanimous.  This  was  done,  accom- 
panied with  lively  cheering. 

The  nominations  of  Adam  Heimberger 
for  Secretary  of  State,  John  W.  Minor  for 
Auditor,  and  Jerome  Herfl"  for  Treasurer 
were  made  by  acclamation  as  a  compliment 
to  the  vigor  of  their  campaign  two  years 
before. 

For  Attorney-General,  Charles  P. 
Drummond  of  Plymouth,  Carl  J.  Koll- 
meyer  of  Columbus,  and  J.  Frank  Mann 
of  Muncie  were  put  in  nomination.  The 
first  ballot  gave  Drummond  727,  Koll- 
meyer,  549 ;  Mann,  243.  Drummond  lacked 
21  votes  of  being  nominated  on  the  first 
ballot.  He  had  a  surplus  on  the  second 
ballot,  which  gave  him  840;  Kollmeyer, 
501;  Mann,  153.  Drummond's  nomina- 
tion was  then  made  unanimous. 

There  were  no  contests  over  the  other 
places  on  the  ticket,  which  was  generally 
adjudged  a  strong  one,  entitled  to  the  un- 
divided support  of  the  party,  and  deemed 
eminently  worthy  of  the  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  the  electorate. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 


(Appointed  in  January  by  Districts.) 
Clinton  F.  Rose,  Evansville. 
Parke  M.  Martin,  Spencer  (Chairman). 
W.  E.  Cox,  Jasper. 
Lincoln  Dixon,  North  Vernon. 
Frank  A.  Horner,  Brazil. 
U.  S.  Jackson,  Greenfield. 
Thomas  Taggart,  Indianapolis. 

B.  H.  Campbell,  Anderson. 

C.  F.  S.  Neal,  Lebanon. 
Edwin  J.  Forrest,  Crown  Point. 
Dr.  M.  T.  Shively,  Marion. 
William  Kaough,  Fort  Wayne. 
Peter  J.  Kruyer,  Plymouth. 


13— History 


(  385) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


FREE-SILVER  AND  ANTI-IMPERIAL- 
ISM THE  MAIN  ISSUES. 

The  activities  of  the  free-silver  element 
were  so  marked  that  two  or  three  separate 
conventions  of  its  advocates  were  held  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  with  a  view 
to  determining  whether  to  enter  the  cam- 
paign as  distinct  organizations  or  amalga- 
mate with  the  Democrats  in  case  that  par- 
ty reaffirmed  its  adherence  to  that  cause. 
The  extremists,  Populists,  unwilling  to 
take  chances,  nominated  a  ticket  of  their 
own,  composed  of  Wharton  Barker  of 
Pennsylvania  for  president,  and  Ignatius 
Donnelly  of  Minnesota  for  vice-president. 
The  Fusion  Populists  also  held  a  conven- 
tion, attended  by  1,000  delegates.  They 
were  willing  to  accept  Bryan  as  the  head 
of  the  ticket,  but  also  quite  insistent  that 
the  Democrats  name  Charles  A.  Towne  of 
Minnesota  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  This 
caused  the  Democrats  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  at  their  convention,  held  at  Kan- 
sas City,  July  4.  The  Fusionists,  mostly 
Free-Silver  Republicans,  met  at  the  same 
place  and  time.  The  outcome  of  the  con- 
test, so  far  as  the  Democrats  were  con- 
cerned, was  the  nomination  of  former 
Vice-President  Adlai  E.  Stevenson  of  Illi- 
nois, as  Brj-^an's  running  mate.  Colonel 
McClure  tells  the  story  in  this  compact 
form: 

"Two  conventions  were  called  to  meet 
at  Kansas  City  July  4,  1900,  viz.:  the 
Democratic  and  the  Free-Silver  Republi- 
can. The  conventions  were  called  to  meet 
at  the  same  place  and  time  because  it  was 
well  understood  that  they  would  harmo- 
nize at  least  on  the  candidate  for  President 
and  probably  upon  the  entire  national 
ticket.  As  the  Silver  Republicans  are  a 
mere  appendage  of  the  Bryan  party,  their 
convention  took  no  important  action  until 
the  Democrats  had  finished  their  work. 
The  Democratic  convention  was  verj' 
largely  attended,  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory being  represented,  including  Hawaii, 
and  it  was  little  more  than  an  enthusiastic 
mass  meeting  to  make  William  Jennings 
Bryan  President.  Governor  Thomas  of 
Colorado  was  made  temporary  chairman, 


and  Representative  J.  D.  Richardson  of 
Tennessee  was  permanent  president.  Mr. 
Bryan  was  at  his  home  in  Lincoln,  Neb., 
but  was  in  constant  communication  with 
his  Democratic  leaders  at  Kansas  City, 
and  was  visited  by  a  number  of  individuals 
and  delegations  who  desired  to  impress 
upon  him  the  necessity  of  some  particular 
action  relating  to  the  Vice-Presidency  or 
to  the  platform. 

"There  were  two  vital  points  of  dispute 
between  the  Democratic  leaders.  The  most 
important  related  to  the  distinct  reitera- 
tion of  the  free-silver  policy  to  be  main- 
tained at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one,  and 
the  other  involved  the  question  of  accept- 
ing Ex-Representative  Towne  as  the  can- 
didate for  Vice-President,  who  had  al- 
ready been  nominated  by  the  Fusion  Popu- 
lists at  Sioux  Falls,  and  who  was  specially 
desired  as  the  candidate  by  the  Free-Silver 
Republicans.  The  discussion  on  the  ques- 
tion of  simply  approving  the  Chicago  plat- 
form in  a  general  and  perfunctory  way 
and  making  trusts  and  imperialism  the 
great  issues  of  the  contest,  was  very 
earnest  and  developed  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  bitterness.  The  Democratic  lead- 
ers of  the  Ea.stern  States  were  nearly  or 
quite  unanimous  in  favor  of  relegating  the 
Free-Silver  issue  to  the  rear  by  the  simply 
affirmation  of  the  Chicago  platform,  and 
elaborating  the  issues  of  trusts  and  im- 
perialism in  the  new  platform.  It  was 
evident  that  a  majority  of  the  delegates  be- 
lieved that  to  be  the  wiser  policy  for  the 
party,  but  Mr.  Bryan,  who  was  freely  con- 
sulted on  the  subject,  was  very  emphatic 
in  demanding  that  there  should  be  a  dis- 
tinct reiteration  of  the  Free-Silver  plank 
of  the  Chicago  platform. 

"Notwithstanding  the  earnest  expres- 
sions of  Mr.  Bryan  there  was  a  very  ani- 
mated contest  in  the  platform  committee, 
and  the  free-silver  plank  was  admitted  by 
a  vote  of  twenty-six  to  twenty-four,  and 
five  of  the  twenty-six  votes  cast  in  favor  of 
the  free-silver  plank  were  given  by  the 
Territories  of  Arizona,  Oklahoma,  New 
Mexico,  Hawaii  and  Indian  Territory. 
After  the  committee  had  decided  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Bryan's  views  as  to  the  plank  on 
the  silver  question,  the  friends  of  the  more 
conservative  policy  decided  not  to  make  a 
battle  in  open  convention,  and  the  plat- 
form was  adopted  practically  without  op- 
po.-Mtion.     The  following  table  gives  the 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


votes  bv  States  in  the  platform  committee 
by  which  the  distinct  free-silver  plank  was 
embodied  in  the  platform: 


Alabama, 

New  Hampshire, 

Arkansas, 

North   Dakota, 

Colorado, 

Oregon, 

Delaware, 

South   Carolina, 

Idaho, 

Tennessee, 

Iowa, 

Vermont, 

Kansas, 

Washington, 

Kentucky, 

Wyoming, 

Maine, 

Arizona, 

Massachusetts, 

Oklahoma, 

Missouri. 

Indian  Territory, 

Nebraska, 

New  Mexico, 

Nevada, 

Hawaii— 26. 

—Nays- 

California, 

New  York, 

Connecticut, 

North  Carolina, 

Florida, 

Ohio, 

Georgia, 

Pennsylvania, 

Illinois, 

Rhode  Island. 

Indiana, 

South  Dakota, 

Louisiana, 

Texas, 

Maryland, 

Utah, 

Michigan, 

Virginia, 

Minnesota, 

West  Virginia, 

Mississippi, 

Wisconsin, 

New  Jersey, 

Alaska— 24. 

Mr.  Towne  was  formally  nominated  for 
Vice-President  by  the  Silver  Republicans, 
but  later  on  yielded  to  pressure  by  with- 
dra\\ing  and  agreeing  to  support  Mr.  Ste- 
venson as  Bryan's  running  mate. 

THE  INDIANA  CAMPAIGN. 

With  John  W.  Kern  at  the  head  of  the 
Indiana  State  ticket,  a  vigorous  campaign 
was  conducted  in  this  commonwealth.  Mr. 
Bryan  devoted  considerable  attention  to 
Indiana,  delivering  an  unusually  large 
number  of  speeches  within  its  borders.  In 
most  of  his  speeches  he  presented  anti-im- 
perialism as  the  paramount  issue,  without, 
however,  evading  or  ignoring  free-silver 
as  a  live  question.  The  result  of  the  elec- 
tion in  November  was  about  what  had 
been  generally  foreseen  by  shrewd  observ- 
ers. Both  McKinley  and  Bryan  polled  a 
larger  vote  than  they  had  received  in  1896. 
The  total  vote  of  Indiana  in  1900  was  664,- 


094.  Of  this,  McKinley  had  836,068; 
Bryan,  ::;09,ri84  ;  John  G.  Wooley  (Prohibi- 
tioni.st),  13,718;  Debs  (Socialist),  2,374; 
Barker  (Populist),  1,438;  Mahoney  (La- 
bor Socialist) ,  663 ;  Ellis  (Union  Reform) . 
254. 

In  1896  Indiana's  total  vote  was  637,305. 
Of  this  McKinley  had  323,754;  Bryan, 
305,753.  Four  other  candidates  received, 
respectively,  3,056,  2,268,  329,  2,145,  the 
latter  being  John  M.  Palmer's  Democratic 
gold  standard  vote. 

In  the  electoral  college  in  1896,  McKin- 
ley had  271  votes  to  Bryan's  176.  In  1900 
McKinley's  electoral  vote  was  increased  to 
292,  while  Bryan's  was  reduced  to  155. 
How  this  came  about  is  thus  told  by  Col. 
McClure : 

"Bryan  knew  that  it  would  cost  him 
many  votes  thus  to  force  the  distinct  af- 
firmation of  the  silver  policy,  but  he  na- 
turally asumed  that  his  chief  loss  would 
be  in  States  which  were  hopeless  under 
any  circumstances,  and  that  he  would  gain 
largely  by  the  Free-Silver  Republican  vote 
in  the  Western  States,  which  had  formerly 
been  Republican,  but  were  apparently  de- 
voted to  free  silver.  The  result  proves 
that  this  was  an  error  on  the  part  of 
Bryan,  as  it  saved  none  of  the  Western 
States  which  he  would  not  have  carried 
under  any  circumstances,  and  lost  him 
some  of  the  strong  Republican  States 
which  he  had  carried  in  1896.  He  under- 
estimated the  general  revulsion  against 
the  cheap  money  (16  to  1)  policy,  but  he 
hoped  by  his  active  campaign  to  hold  the 
Western  debatable  States.  In  this  he  cal- 
culated erroneously.  He  saved  Colorado 
by  less  than  30.000  that  he  had  carried  by 
135,000  four  years  before ;  he  lost  Kansas 
by  over  23,000  that  he  had  formerly  car- 
ried by  over  12,000;  he  lost  Nebraska,  his 
own  State,  by  nearly  8,000,  that  he  had 
formerly  carried  by  13,500 ;  he  lost  South 
Dakota  by  15,000  that  he  had  carried  be- 
fore by  183;  he  lost  Wa.shington  by  nearly 
13,000  that  he  had  formerly  carried  by 
about  the  same  majority ;  he  lost  Wyoming 
by  4,200  which  he  had  formerly  carried 
by  600,  and  he  lost  Utah  by  over  2,000 
that  he  had  carried  by  over  50,000  in  his 
first  battle.  The  only  State  he  gained  in 
his  second  battle  was  Kentucky,  that  gave 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


an  average  majority  of  280  for  the  Re- 
publican electors  in  1896,  with  the  single 
exception  of  one  Democratic  elector,  who 
was  chosen  and  voted  for  Bryan,  and  gave 
8,000  for  Bryan  in  the  last  contest." 

VOTE  ON   STATE  TICKET. 
— For   Governor — 

Winfield  T.   Durbin,  Republican 331,531 

John  W.  Kern,  Democrat 306,368 

— For  Lieutenant  Governor — 

Newton  W.  Gilbert,  Republican 331,774 

John  C.  Lawler,  Democrat 305,934 

The  pluralities  by  which  the  other  can- 
didates on  the  Republican  State  ticket 
were  elected  are  as  here  indicated : 

Secretary  of  State,  Union  B.  Hunt 25,913 

Auditor  of  State,  William  H.  Hart 26,110 

Treasurer  of  State,  Leopold  Levy 25,971 

Attorney  General,  William  L.  Taylor 26,223 

Reporter  Supreme  Court,  Charles  F.  Remy. 26,316 
Supt.  Public  Instruction,  Fi-ank  L.  Jones.  .26,257 
Chief  of  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Benj.  F.  John- 
son    25,903 

Judge  Supreme  Court — First  District, 

James   H.  Jordan 26,106 

Judge     Supreme     Court — Fourth     District, 

Leander   J.    Monks 26,027 

CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENTS. 
No.  1— For— 314,710.  Against— 178,960. 
No.  2— For— 240,031.     Against— 144,072. 


MEMBERS   OF  CONGRESS. 

1.  James   A.   Hemenway,   Republican 22,262 

Alfred  Dale  Owen,  Democrat 22,060 

2.  Robert  W.  Miers,  Democrat 22,420 

Peter  R.  Wadsworth,  Republican 21,799 

3.  William  T.  Zenor,  Democrat 24,049 

Hugh  T.  O'Connor,  Republican 19,440 

4.  Francis  M.  Griffith,  Democrat 24,249 

Nathan  Powell,  Republican 22,641 

5.  Elias   S.   Holliday,  Republican 25,932 

Frank  A.   Horner,   Democrat 24,244 

6.  James  E.  Watson,  Republican 24,203 

David  W.  McKee,  Democrat 21,320 

7.  Jesse    Overstreet,    Republican 31,021 

Frank  B.  Burke,  Democrat 27,012 

8.  George   W.   Cromer,   Republican 31,949 

Joseph  T.  Day,  Democrat 28,180 

9.  Charles   B.   Landis,   Republican 24,138 

David  F.  Allen,  Democrat 22,624 

10.  Edgar   D.   Crumpacker,   Republican 29,537 

John  Ross,  Democrat 23,045 

11.  George  W.  Steele,  Republican 29,177 

William  J.  Houck,  Democrat.  . .' 23,688 

12.  James   M.   Robinson,   Democrat 22,750 

Robert  B.   Hanna,   Republican 22,122 

13.  Abraham  L.  Brick,  Republican 26,592 

Dr.  Clement  C.  Bower,  Democrat 24,376 

This  made  the  Indiana  delegation  stand 
nine  Republicans  to  four  Democrats. 

The  political  complexion  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  1901  was:  Senate — 33  Re- 
publicans, 17  Democrats;  House — 61  Re- 
publicans, 39  Democrats. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


JUDGE  DANIEL  P.  BALDWIN'S    CRITIQUE  OF  THE 
SUPREME  COURT  OF  INDIANA 

(From  the  Indiana  Law  Journal,  Volume  III,  No.  3.) 


It  is  never  fair  to  measure  a  single  judge 
or  a  court  composed  of  several  judges  by 
their  occasional  lapses.  The  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  has  made  some 
unpardonable  mistakes — for  example,  the 
Dred  Scott  decision,  the  Legal  Tender 
cases  and  the  Income  tax  case;  still  he 
would  be  a  very  unjust  critic  who  would 
on  this  account  ignore  its  century  of 
splendid  work  in  and  by  which  it  has 
proven  itself  our  greatest  constitutional 
and  social  bulwark. 

Chief  Justice  Taney  was  a  very  great 
judge,  notwithstanding  the  Dred  Scott  de- 
cision. There  never  has  been  a  time  when 
that  great  tribunal  has  been  without  a 
great  judge,  beginning  a  century  ago  with 
John  Marshall,  and  ending  today  with  Mr. 
Justice  Harlan.  And  it  is  so  in  a  less  de- 
gree with  our  Indiana  Supreme  Court. 
While  it  occasionally,  as  I  have  pointed  out, 
makes  a  line  of  erroneous  decisions,  still 
upon  the  whole  it  has  produced  some  emi- 
nent judges,  and  its  work  for  the  last 
thirty-five  years  has  been  an  honor  both 
to  it  and  to  the  State.  If  it  has  had  no 
great  judges  we  must  remember  it  takes  a 
vast  deal  more  to  make  a  great  judge  now 
than  it  did  seventy-five  years  ago. 

The  history  of  our  Supreme  Court  em- 
braces two  periods ;  one  under  the  Consti- 
tution of  1816,  and  the  other  under  that  of 
1851.  During  the  first  period,  when  In- 
diana was  in  its  formative  state,  it  did 
excellent  work,  and  was  graced  by  such 
jurists  as  Blackford,  Sullivan,  Dewey  and 
Stevens.  Its  last  years  were  its  poorest, 
and  when  it  closed  its  work  in  1851  the 
name  of  Blackford  alone  redeemed  it  from 
obscurity.  When  it  was  reconstructed  in 
1852  its  first  bench  elected  that  year  were 
fair  average  men;  unfortunately  its  work 
deteriorated;  so  much  so  that  in  1860  it 
became  almost  a  disgrace  to  our  State.    It 


is  doubtful  if  in  the  whole  Union  there 
are  ten  more  trashy  volumes  of  reports 
than  from  the  tenth  to  the  twentieth  In- 
diana, each  inclusive.  Some  of  the  opinions 
are  not  even  grammatically  expressed.  The 
Court's  principal  aim  seems  to  have  been 
to  dodge  as  many  questions  as  possible. 
The  word  "slipshod"  is  none  too  severe  to 
apply  to  its  work  from  1857  to  1862.  And 
yet,  even  in  those  days  when  it  was  at  its 
lowest  judicial  ebb,  it  had  one  very  su- 
perior judge — James  L.  Worden — who  held 
this  position  for  over  eighteen  years,  and 
who  often  wrote,  when  the  spirit  moved 
him,  a  very  able  opinion.  In  1864  the  long- 
wished-for  change  came.  Under  the 
leadership  of  James  S.  Frazer  our  Supreme 
Court  abandoned  its  former  disreputable 
practice  of  dodging,  and  met  difficult  ques- 
tions fairly  and  squarely.  Any  one  who 
will  com,pare  the  reports  from  the  twenty- 
first  to  the  thirty-first  with  those  from  the 
tenth  to  the  twentieth  will  fully  bear  me 
out  in  this  statement. 

James  S.  Frazer  was  in  many  i-espects  a 
great  judge.  It  is  currently  reported  that 
he  came  very  near  being  appointed  under 
Grant  the  successor  of  Chief  Justice  Chase 
at  Washington.  Had  this  occurred  he 
would  have  proven  himself  as  conspicuous 
and  able  a  man  as  Chief  Justice  Waite.  The 
bench  of  1864  was  succeeded  in  1870  by 
four  Democrats,  who  kept  up  the  standard 
set  by  their  immediate  Republican  prede- 
cessors. Later  on  a  fifth  judge  was  ap- 
pointed —  Andrew  L.  Osborn  —  a  very 
competent  man,  who  only  served  about 
eighteen  months,  not  long  enough  to  bring 
before  the  public  his  great  ability.  In  1876, 
owing  to  a  scandal  that  arose,  three  of  the 
four  judges  elected  in  1870  were  compelled 
to  retire,  and  two  new  men  came  in  and 
served  for  twelve  years  thereafter  who 
added  great  credit  to  the  bench.     These 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


were  Justices  George  V.  Howk  and  William 
E.  Niblack,  both  of  them  very  sound  law- 
yers and  eminent  judges.  In  1880  they 
were  reinforced  by  two  other  men  of  equal 
ability — William  A.  Woods  and  Byron  K. 
Elliott.  The  Court  reached  its  highest 
point  in  1881,  when  these  four  gentlemen, 
with  James  L.  Worden,  constituted  the 
bench.  It  was  then  that  its  best  record 
was  made,  and  it  is  entirely  safe  to  say 
that  no  State  court  in  the  Union  presented 
better  opinions  to  the  profession  than  then 
did  the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana.  Each 
judge  was  a  host  in  himself.  Unfortunate- 
ly, about  this  time  a  side  court  was  organ- 
ized, called  the  "Commissioners,"  whose 
work,  owing  to  the  frequent  changes  in 
their  personnel,  whose  appointment  was 
influenced  more  or  less  by  political  con- 
siderations, was  somewhat  inferior  and  de- 
tracted from  the  reputation  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  proper,  which  had  to  assume 
the  burden  of  some  very  weak  decisions. 
In  1884  Joseph  A.  S.  Mitchell  was  elected, 
who  proved  a  very  superior  judge.  His 
lamented  death  cut  short  a  growing  repu- 
tation. From  1882  the  changes  were  pain- 
fully frequent,  but  the  Court  was  never 
without  one  or  more  especially  strong  men, 
of  whom  Silas  D.  Coffey  and  Timothy  E. 
Howard  are  examples.  The  State  has 
never  had  better  judges  than  these  two 
last-named  gentlemen,  and  it  is  very  un- 
fortunate that  the  exigencies  of  party 
politics  defeated  their  re-eletion. 

Let  me  pause  a  moment  here  and  recall 
the  names  of  the  eminent  members  of  the 
Supreme  Court  for  the  last  forty  years: 
James  L.  Worden,  James  S.  Frazer,  George 
V.  Howk,  William  E.  Niblack,  William  A. 
Woods,  Byron  K.  Elliott,  Joseph  A.  S. 
Mitchell,  Silas  D.  Coffey  and  Timothy  E. 
Howard.  If  they  had  had  a  wider  sphere 
they  would  have  all  made  national  reputa- 
tions. I  say  "wider  sphere,"  for  we  must 
remember  that  we  have  five  and  forty 
States,  each  with  a  highly  organized  court 
of  last  resort;  each  with  local  jurispru- 
dence  upon   which   the   best   energies   of 


their  respective  judges  must  be  exhausted, 
so  that  it  is  seldom,  indeed,  that  such 
judges  acquire  reputations  beyond  State 
lines. 

The  court  which  has  just  been  broken 
up,  and  which  served  from  1893  to  1899, 
fully  maintained  the  high  standard  of  its 
predecessors.  Leonard  J.  Hackney  and 
James  McCabe  were  both  very  hard  work- 
ing, conscientious,  able  men,  and,  barring 
an  occasional  mistake,  deserve  the  highest 
commendation.  And  so  with  the  two  pres- 
ent hold-over  judges — Leander  I.  Monks 
and  James  H.  Jordan,  and  while  the  three 
new  men  elected  last  fall  have  yet  their 
spurs  to  win,  their  high  reputations  as 
lawyers  make  it  a  certainty  that  in  the 
very  near  future  they  will  win  them. 

In  1891  the  Appellate  Court  was  organ- 
ized. Unfortunately,  the  terms  were  too 
short  and  the  election  too  uncertain  to  give 
its  members  a  fair  chance.  In  less  than 
eight  years  sixteen  different  men  have 
been  appointed  or  elected,  and  only  one  of 
them — George  L.  Reinhard — held  his  office 
six  years.  But  he  made  a  reputation  upon 
the  Appellate  Bench  which  places  him  in 
the  front  rank  of  Indiana  judges. 

Concerning  the  reports  and  revisions,  in 
1860  we  had  twenty  volumes — eight  of 
Blackford  and  twelve  of  Indiana — with  a 
wretched  slipshod  digest  and  a  work  on 
practice  quite  as  bad.  Now  we  have  one 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  volumes  of  re- 
ports, with  digests,  indexes  and  well-writ- 
ten text-books  by  Indiana  authors,  of 
whom  we  have  just  reason  to  be  proud. 
The  revision  of  our  statutes  in  1881  by 
Frazer,  Stotsenburg  and  Turpie  was  a  mas- 
terpiece, and  had  the  merit  of  being  con- 
densed into  a  single,  easily  handled,  inex- 
pensive volume,  instead  of  the  four  bulky, 
high-priced  books,  largely  built  for 
revenue,  commonly  called  "Burns's  Re- 
vision." 

Since  1860  our  reports  have  appeared  at 
the  rate  of  four  volumes  every  year,  but 
the  price  is  so  low  that  no  one  complains. 
It  is  seldom  that  a  volume  issues  which 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


does  not  contain  a  dozen  or  more  opinions 
of  very  great  research  and  ability,  but 
which,  so  great  is  the  pressure  of  legal 
business  upon  the  ordinary  practicing  law- 
yer, and  so  high  is  the  standard  of  judicial 
opinions,  attract  no  special  attention ; 
whereas,  had  these  same  opinions  appeared 
sixty  years  ago  they  would  have  made  the 
judges  who  wrote  them  famous  all  through 
the  United  States. 

One  must  needs  learn  to  read  between 
the  lines  of  our  reports  to  see  and  enjoy 
the  kaleidoscopic  views  of  life  of  which 
they  are  the  outcome.  Almost  every  case 
is  a  tragedy,  at  least  for  the  losing  party. 
Here  are  mingled  the  record  of  crimes  of 
the  blackest  dye,  temptations  yielded  to  by 
inexperience,  marriage  hopes  blasted,  rosy 
speculations  nipped  in  the  bud,  frauds  un- 
covered, labor's  grievances,  the  poor  man's 
sorrows  and  the  proud  rich  man's  triumphs 
— each  representing  a  life  and  death  per- 
sonal struggle.  It  is  amazing  if  we  only 
stop  to  reflect  what  enormous  power  these 


five  quiet,  unpretending  gentlemen  wield, 
and  comforting  to  know  how  conscientious 
and  considerate  they  are  of  the  rights  of 
three  million  people  which  constitute  their 
bailiwick.  Every  precaution  is  taken  to 
get  on  the  right  side  of  a  case,  and  it  is 
the  verdict  of  even  the  defeated  lawyers, 
of  whom  there  must  be  one  or  more  in 
every  decision,  after  the  disappointment 
and  smart  is  over,  that  upon  the  whole  a 
large  majority  of  all  the  cases  submitted 
are  correctly  decided.  So  long  as  judges 
are  men  and  the  personal  equation  exists, 
it  is  impossible  but  that  there  should  be 
mistakes  made  in  our  courts  of  last  resort. 

"Justice  freely  administered  and  with- 
out purchase;  completely  and  without  de- 
nial; speedily  and  without  delay,"  is  a  con- 
stitutional ideal,  a  "glittering  generality" 
only  approximately  true ;  while  justice  ulti- 
mately and  expensively  attained  and  often 
defeated  through  senseless  technicalities  is 
the  reality. 

Logansport,  Ind.,  Feb.  10,  1899. 


[Chapter  L.] 


HARMONY  PREVAILED  IN  1902 

MOST  OF  THE  NOMINATIONS  WERE  MADE  BY  ACCLAMATION 


HE  State  convention  of  1902, 
which  met  in  Tomhnson  Hall, 
Indianapolis,  June  4,  was  pre- 
eminently harmonious  from 
opening  to  close.  There  were 
few  contests  for  any  of  the 
places  on  the  ticket,  and  the 
best  of  feeling  prevailed  over  the  selec- 
tions m.ade. 

John  W.  Kern  of  Indianapolis  presided 
over  the  convention  and  Dr.  John  W.  Nus- 
baum  of  Auburn  served  as  principal  sec- 
retary. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

G.  V.  Menzies,  Mt.  Vernon. 

Royal  E.  Purcell,  Vincennes. 

John  H.  Stotsenburg,  New  Albany. 

David  Emig,  Columbus. 

Isaac  R.  Strouse,  Rockville. 

George  W.   Pigman,  Liberty. 

Frank  B.  Burke,  Indianapolis. 

Hugh  Dougherty,  Bluffton. 

Samuel  M.  Ralston.  Lebanon. 

Edward  P.  Honjn,  Jasper  county. 

Dr.  M.  T.  Shively,  Marion. 

James  M.  Barrett,   Fort  Wayne. 

Benjamin  F.  Shively,  South  Bend. 

This  committee  submitted  its  report,  in 
which  the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana 
was  committed  to  these  declarations  and 
recomm.endations : 

Denounces  the  Republican  party  for  its 
surrender  to  an  alliance  with  the  trusts; 
favors  suppression  and  destruction  of 
trusts. 

Denounces  the  Dingley  Tariff;  favors 
tariff  for  revenue  only. 

Condemns  the  Republican  party  for  re- 
fusing to  give  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Comm.ission  power  to  enforce  its  decisions 
against  discriminations  in  railroad  rates. 

Favors  the  restoration  and  expansion 
of  the  United  States  merchant  marine. 
Denounces  .«hip  subsidy  bill. 

Opposes  Fowler  Bank  Bill.  Condemns 
its  proposal  of  bank  concentration  and 
formation  of  a  great  banking  trust. 


Recognizes  as  an  economic  fact  the  in- 
crease of  standard  money  arising  from  the 
vast  increased  production  of  gold,  and 
points  to  the  result  consetjuent  upon  this 
increase  of  circulating  medium  as  a  dem- 
onstration of  the  truth  of  the  quantitative 
theory  of  money. 

Condemns  and  denounces  the  Philip- 
pine policy  of  the  present  administration. 

Favors  liberal  pensions  to  soldiers  and 
sailors  of  the  republic  and  their  depen- 
dents. 

Deplores  the  cruel  and  wanton  destruc- 
tion of  the  republics  of  South  Africa. 

Favors  construction  and  control  of  an 
Isthmian  canal  by  the  United  States. 

Favors  the  election  of  United  States 
Senators  by  popular  vote. 

Favors  freedom  of  debate  in  the  legis- 
lative bodies  of  the  State  and  nation. 

Deplores  the  death  of  President  Mc- 
Kinley ;  denounces  anarchy. 

Indorses  the  course  of  Democratic  Rep- 
resentatives in  Congress. 

Favors  the  enactment  of  legislation  in 
the  interest  of  labor. 

Denounces  the  hypocri.sy  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  in  assuming  to  itself  credit  for 
the  reduction  of  the  State  debt. 

Favor  the  principles  of  local  self-gov- 
ernment. 

Opposes  granting  to  the  corporations 
of  any  other  State  or  States  the  power  to 
acquire  any  railroad  organized  and  oper- 
ating under  the  laws  of  the  State. 

Favors  the  re.storation  to  the  citizens 
of  the  State  the  right  to  appeal  to  the  Su- 
preme and  Appellate  Courts  in  any  civil 
case  within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  where  the  amount  in  contro- 
versy, exclusive  of  interest  and  costs,  ex- 
ceeds fifty  dollars. 

Condemns  the  vicious  and  cruel  prosti- 
tution of  the  State  penal  and  benevolent 
institutions  by  the  Republican  party  to 
partisan  ends. 

Condemns  the  late  Republican  Legisla- 
ture of  Indiana  for  its  reckless  and  dan- 
gerous abuse  of  legislative  power. 

Condemns  the  Republican  Governor  of 
Indiana    for    his    refusal    to    honor    the 


(393) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


requisition  of  the  Governor  of  Kentucky 
upon  regularly  returned  indictments  for 
murder  against  fugitives  from  justice. 

The  resolutions  as  submitted  were  ap- 
proved with  a  whoop  and  a  hurrah. 

THE  TICKET  NOMINATED. 

Evidently  the  convention  was  actuated 
by  a  desire  to  proceed  expeditiously  in 
naming  candidates  for  the  various  offices 
to  be  filled  at  the  following  election.  The 
Twelfth  district  presented  the  name  of 
Otis  L.  Ballou  of  Lagrange  for  Secretary 
of  State.  This  was  quickly  followed  by 
Senator  Stephen  B.  Fleming  of  Fort 
Wayne  proposing  the  name  of  Albert 
Schoonover  of  Attica.  The  latter  was 
nominated  by  a  vote  of  828  to  719  for  Bal- 
lou. On  motion  of  the  latter  Schoonover's 
nomination  was  made  unanimous. 

After  Mr.  Schoonover  had  delivered  his 
speech  of  acceptance,  Benjamin  F.  Shively 
made  formal  announcement  that  the  com- 
mittee on  resolutions  had  a  supplemental 
report.  This  report  recommended  and 
urged  the  appointment  of  the  Hon. 
Thomas  Taggart  as  chairman  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic National  Committee.  Unanimous 
and  enthusiastic  approval  of  the  recom- 
mendation was  the  convention's  response. 

Thereupon  the  following  nominations 
were  made  by  acclamation : 

For  Auditor  of  State — James  R.  Riggs 
of  Sullivan. 

For  State  Treasurer — Jerome  Herff  of 
Peru. 

For  Attorney-General — Senator  Wm.  E. 
Stillwell  of  Sullivan. 

For  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court — Adam 
Heimberger  of  New  Albany. 

For  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion Samuel  L.  Scott  of  Jeffersonville 
and  James  L.  Glasscock  of  Lafayette  were 
placed  in  nomination.  The  vote  stood: 
Scott,  829 ;  Glasscock,  718.  On  motion  of 
the  latter  Scott's  nomination  was  made 
unanimous. 

For  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Fifth 


district,    Timothy    E.    Howard    of    South 
Bend  was  nominated  by  acclamation. 

For  Appellate  Judges,  John  R.  East, 
Wm.  H.  Bracken  and  John  D.  Megee  were 
nominated  by  acclamation  for  the  South- 
ern division.  For  the  Northern  division 
four  candidates  were  entered.  The  three 
nominated  and  the  vote  received  by  each 
were:  Richard  H.  Hartford,  1,493  votes; 
James  T.  Saunderson,  1,312;  Henry  G. 
Zimmerman,  1,404.  N.  G.  Bozarth  of  Val- 
paraiso, received  424  votes. 

DEMOCRATIC   STATE   COMMITTEE. 

1.  John  J.  Nolan,  Evansville. 

2.  Gilbert  H.  Hendren,  Bloomfield. 
.3.  James  R.  Duffin,  New  Albany. 

4.  Lincoln  Dixon.  North  Vernon. 

5.  John  G.  McNutt,  Terre  Haute. 

6.  John  D.  Meg:ee,  Rushville. 

7.  Joseph  T.  Fanning-,  Indianapolis. 

8.  John  A.  M.  Adair,  Portland. 

9.  A.  T.  Livengood,  Covington. 

10.  Daniel  W.  Simms.  Lafayette. 

11.  J.  Fred  France,  Huntington. 

12.  Stephen  B.  Fleming,  Fort  Wayne. 

13.  James  C.  Fletcher,  Knox. 

William  H.  O'Brien,  Lawrenceburg,  Chairman. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
John  C.  Haines,  Rockport. 
John  A.  Gunn,  Lawrence  county. 
John  Benz,  Crawford  county. 
L.  E.  Black,  Franklin. 
George  W.  Brill,  Danville. 
U.  S.  Jackson,  Greenfield. 
James  L    Keach,  Indianapolis. 
John  J.  Netterville,  Madison  county. 
Walter  N.  Evans,  Hamilton  county. 
James  T.  McCabe,  Warren  county. 
John  P.  Spurgeon,  Peru. 
Harry  Stone,  Albion. 
Frank  E.  Hering,  South  Bend. 

ASSISTANT  SECRETARIES. 
Isham  Taylor,  Boonville. 
William  M.  Moss,  Greene  county. 
J.  R.  Simpson,  Paoli. 
Frank  M.  Law,  Versailles. 
John  Redmond,  Dana. 
W.  S.  Chambers,  Newcastle. 
Elliott  Hooten,  Indianapolis. 
Lew  G.  Ellingham,  Decatur. 
A.  B.  Crampton,  Delphi. 
J.  B.  Faulknor,  Michigan  City. 
George  Guyer,  Wabash. 
C.  H.  Ramsey,  Angola. 
William  P.  O'Neil,  Mishawaka. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1 


TAGGART'S  ADVENT  INTO  NA- 
TIONAL POLITICS. 

The  action  of  the  State  convention  of 
1902,  proposing  and  urging  the  selection 
of  Thomas  Taggart  as  Chairman  of  the 
Democratic  National  Committee,  renders 
fitting  and  appropriate  the  reproduction  of 
the  following  sketch  of  his  life.  It  is  from 
the  pen  of  the  widely  known  publicist, 
Jacob  P.  Dunn,  of  Indianapolis. 

"It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  very  few,  if 
any,  men  to  e.xercise  as  much  influence 
over  Indianapolis  as  Thomas  Taggart  has 
exercised,  though  he  is  not  of  one  of  the 
old  families  of  the  place.  He  was  born  in 
County  Monaghan,  Ireland,  November  17, 
1856,  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Martha 
(Kingsbury)  Taggart.  The  family  came 
to  America  and  located  at  Xenia,  Ohio,  in 
1861.  Here  young  Thomas  received  his 
common  school  education,  and,  as  a  boy, 
began  his  business  career  as  clerk  in  a  rail- 
way hotel  and  restaurant.  His  affable 
manners  and  good  sense  made  him  valu- 
able to  his  employers,  and  he  was  sent  to 
Garrett,  Indiana,  in  1874,  and  to  Indian- 
apolis in  1877.  Here  he  had  charge  of  the 
Union  Depot  eating  room,  and  after  a  few 
years  bought  his  employers  (the  Ohmei's) 
out  and  conducted  it  himself.  It  became 
famous  among  railroad  and  traveling  men. 
Dozens  of  Indianapolis  people  went  there 
for  Sunday  dinners,  and  nobody  went 
habitually  who  did  not  become  a  personal 
friond  of  Mr.  Taggart. 

"Thomas  Taggart's  popularity  brought 
him  the  Democratic  nomination  for  countv 
auditor  in  1886,  with  little  effort  on  his 
part,  but  in  the  campaign  he  showed  him- 
self a  phenomenon  as  a  political  organizer 
and  worker.  His  administration  of  the 
ofUce  was  satisfactory  to  everybody,  and 
although  the  custom  was  to  give  only  one 
term  in  a  four-year  oiTice,  no  one  came  out 
for  it  in  1890,  and  he  was  nominated  with- 
out opposition  and  elected.  He  had  been 
made  Democratic  chairman  in  1888  and 
was  made  State  chairman  in  1892  and 
again  in  1894.  In  1895  he  was  elected 
mayor,  and  re-elected  in  1897  and  1899. 
During  all  this  time  he  continued  his  pri- 
vate business,  and  in  the  meantime  left  the 
depot  eating  room  to  conduct  the  Grand 
Hotel.  He  later  took  on  the  management 
of  the   New   Denison   and   the   extensive 


French  Lick  establishment.  His  business 
capacity  is  extraordinary,  with  a  remark- 
ably accurate  judgment  of  men,  and  a  fac- 
ulty for  dispatching  work  rapidly,  he  un- 
doubtedly has  disposed  of  more  work,  pub- 
lic, private  and  political,  in  the  last  thirty 
years  than  any  other  man  in  Indianapolis. 

"And  he  d'd  his  work  well.  Mistakes 
were  made,  of  course,  but  not  from  lack  of 
attention.  Mr.  Taggart  never  pretended  to 
be  a  'statesman,'  but  he  always  heard  what 
the  'statesman'  had  to  say,  and  made  his 
judgment  on  the  case  presented  with  the 
addition  of  such  practical  information  as 
he  saw  advisable  to  secure;  and  his  judg- 
ment was  usually  good.  Such  has  been  the 
opinion  of  his  as.sociates,  and  there  have 
been  plenty  of  them  who  were  competent 
judges.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Democratic  National  Committee  in  1900, 
and  chairman  of  that  body  in  1904  for  a 
term  of  four  years.  He  has  been  contin- 
ued as  committeeman  from  Indiana  to  the 
present. 

"Like  all  men  of  such  political  promi- 
nence, Mr.  Taggart  has  his  own  warm  ad- 
mirers and  bitter  enemies,  with  all  shades 
of  opinion  between  them,  and  the  truth 
well  at  the  center.  He  has  been  the  object 
of  numerous  assaults  from  newspapers, 
notably  the  Hearst  papers  after  his  op- 
position to  Hearst's  nomination  for  the 
presidency.  He  is  charged  with  being  a 
'machine  politician,'  which  is  true  enough 
— there  are  few  of  any  other  kind — but 
his  adherents  have  always  called  him  'the 
easy  boss.'  He  has  always  stuck  to  his 
friends,  even  at  times  when  it  would  have 
been  more  judicious  to  crucify  some  of 
them;  and  probably  more  of  the  hostility 
to  him  is  on  account  of  his  friends  than  on 
account  of  himself.  Friends  and  foes 
alike  concede  his  amiability.  He  has  a 
good  disposition.  He  does  not  treasure 
malice,  and  there  is  nothing  mean  re- 
corded against  him.  Political  emergencies 
have  at  times  required  him  to  .spear  .some 
aspiring  countryman,  but  he  always  used 
an  anesthetic  when  possible;  and  he  has 
always  carved  the  tragedy  on  his  con- 
science and  made  reparation  afterwards 
when  in  his  power. 

"Mr.  Taggart  was  married  on  June  16, 
1877,  to  Miss  Eva  D.  Bryant.  He  is  now 
understood  to  be  quite  wealthy,  and  it  may 
be  noted  that  his  money  was  not  made 
from  politics.  In  addition  to  a  profitable 
hotel  business,  he  was  one  of  a  number  of 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D 

Indianapolis  men  who  secured  control  of 
a  bonanza  copper  mine  in  Mexico  which 
brought  them  all  handsome  fortunes." 

ELECTION  RESULT  SAME  AS 
HITHERTO. 

The  result  of  the  1902  election  was  in 
effect  a  continuation  of  what  had  occurred 
in  Indiana  since  1894.  The  figures  below 
tell  the  whole  story: 

FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Daniel  E.  Storms,  Republican 298,819 

Albert  Schoonover,  Democrat 263,555 

James  M.   Dungan,  Prohibition 17,765 

William  B.  Gill,  Peoples 1,3-50 

Edward  H.   Meyer,   Socialist 7,111 

Gustave  A.  Dreyer,  Labor  Socialist 1,756 

The  pluralities  by  which  the  other  can- 
didates on  the  Republican  State  ticket 
were  elected  are  as  here  indicated : 

Auditor  of  State,  David  E.  Sherrick 35,599 

Treasurer  of  State,  Nathaniel  U.  Hill 35,785 

Attorney-General,   Charles  W.  Miller 35,874 

Clerk  Supreme  Court,  Robert  A.  Brown 35,477 

Supt.  Public  Instruction,  Fassett  A.  Cotton. 35,308 
Chief  Bureau  Statistics,  Benj.  F.  Johnson.  .35,474 

State   Geologist,   Willis   L.   Blatchley 35,875 

Judge  Supreme  Court,  Fifth  District,  John 

H.    Gillette    35,726 

The  majorities  of  the  Republican  can- 
didates for  Appellate  Judge  are  substan- 
tially the  same  as  those  of  the  other  can- 
didates on  the  Republican  ticket.  The 
names  of  those  elected  are:  Woodfin  R. 
Robinson,  William  J.  Henley,  James  B. 
Black.  Daniel  W.  Comstock,  Ulrich  Z. 
Wiley,  Frank  S.  Roby. 


EMOCRACY  —  1816-1916  J 

MEMBERS   OF   CONGRESS. 

1.  James  A.  Hemenway,  Republican 21,524 

John   W.   Spencer,   Democrat 17,833 

2.  Robert  W.  Miers,  Democrat 21,162 

John  C.  Chaney    Republican 20,423 

3.  William  T.   Zenor,  Democrat 20,740 

Edmund  A.  Maginness,   Republican.  ..  .16,784 

4.  Francis    M.    Griffith,    Democrat 21,751 

Joshua  M.  Spencer,  Republican 18,894 

5.  Elias   S.   Holliday,  Republican 23,795 

John  A.  Wiltermood,  Democrat 21,562 

6.  James  E.  Watson,  Republican 23,641 

James  T.  Arbuckle,  Democrat 19,535 

7.  Jesse  Overstreet,  Republican 25,191 

Jacob  P.  Dunn,  Democrat 20,933 

8.  George   W.   Cromer,   Republican 25,842 

James  Edward  Truesdale,  Democrat. .  .21.474 

9.  Charles   B.   Landis,   Republican 25,824   . 

Lex  J.  Kirkpatrick,  Democrat 23,317 

10.  Edgar   D.   Crumpacker,   Republican 26,016 

William   Guthrie,    Democrat 19,428 

11.  Fred  K.  Landis,  Republican 24,390 

John   C.  Nelson,  Democrat 19,596 

12.  James   M.   Robinson,   Democrat 19,320 

Clarence  C.   Gilhams,   Republican 19,035 

13.  Abraham  L.  Brick,  Republican 24,206 

Frank  E.  Hering,  Democrat 22,289 

This  made  the  delegation  stand  nine  Re- 
publicans, four  Democrats. 

The  Prohibitionists  and  Socialists  also 
had  congressional  tickets  in  the  field. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1903  consisted 
of  thirty-five  Republicans  and  fifteen  Dem- 
ocrats in  the  Senate,  and  sixty-six  Repub- 
licans and  thirty-four  Democrats  in  the 
House. 


(  396) 


[Chapter  LI.] 

TWO  STATE  CONVENTIONS  IN  1904 

FIRST  DEALT  WITH  PRESIDENTIAL  CHOICE,  SECOND  NAMED 
STATE  TICKET 


WING  to  uncertainties  and  com- 
plications that  threateningly 
stared  party  managers  in  the 
face  in  1904  it  was  wisely  de- 
creed that  two  conventions  be 
held — one  to  secure  proper  rep- 
resentation in  the  National 
Convention,  which  had  been  called  to  be 
held  in  St.  Louis,  July  9,  1904.  The  sec- 
ond convention  of  the  Indiana  Democracy 
was  fixed  for  August  2,  1904.  Upon  it 
devolved  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  se- 
lecting a  State  ticket. 

The  first  convention,  held  at  Indianapo- 
lis, 1904,  was  called  to  order  by  State 
Chairman  Wm.  H.  O'Brien.  Divine  oless- 
ing  was  invoked  by  the  Rev.  G.  Mcintosh 
of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  church,  who 
prayed  thai  nothing  might  be  done  of 
which  the  people  of  Indiana  should  ever 
have  cause  to  feel  ashamed.  In  conformity 
with  the  recom.mendation  of  the  commit- 
tee on  permanent  organization,  Alonzo 
Green  Smith  presided  over  the  convention. 
Lew  G.  Ellingham  of  the  Decatur  Demo- 
crat was  made  principal  secretary,  and 
Elliot  R.  Hooton  officiated  as  sergeant-at- 
arms. 

ASSISTANT    SECRETARIES. 

Homer  G.  Hazen,  Warrick  county. 

A.  C.  Hacker,  Martin. 

John  R.  Simpson,  Orange. 

Charles   H.   Warrier,  Jennings. 

Isaac  R.  Strouse,  Parke. 

Charles  Chambers,  Henry. 

John  H.  Kingsburj',  Marion. 

E.  A.  McKee,  Jay. 

Bayard  Gray,  Clinton. 

A.  F.  Zimmerman,  Porter. 

John   Isenbarger,  Wabash. 

A.  S.  Parker,  Noble. 

T.  A.  Bitters,  Fulton. 

A  somewhat  protracted  and  at  times  de- 
cidedly  anim.ated    debate   took   place   be- 


tween some  of  those  who  favored  the  nom- 
ination of  Alton  B.  Parker  to  the  presi- 
dency and  the  supporters  of  William  Ra.'i- 
dolph  Hearst.  The  sentiment  of  the  con- 
vention ran  overwhelmingly  in  opposition 
to  the  latter.  This  was  emphasized  in  the 
selection  of  William  H.  O'Brien,  G.  V. 
Menzies,  Benjamin  F.  Shively  and  John  W. 
Kern  as  delegates  at  large  to  the  National 
Convention,  with  Ora  F.  Creigmile,  Willis 
Hickman,  A.  E.  Melching  and  Benjamin 
F.  Deahl  as  alternates. 

DISTRICT  DELEGATES. 

1.  John  W.  Spencer,  Vanderburg  county. 
A.  H.  Taylor,  Pike. 

2.  William  N.  Matthews,  Lawrence. 
W.  H.  Vollmer,  Knox. 

3.  George  B.  Parks,  Clark. 
Lewis   P.   Benau,  Washington. 

4.  Joseph  M.  Cravens,  Jefferson. 
James  F.  Cox,  Bartholomew. 

5.  A.  W.  Knight,  Clay. 

John  E.  Lamb,  Vigo.  ] 

6.  Morgan  L.  Meyers,  Decatur. 
U.  S.  Jackson,  Hancock. 

7.  W.  W.  Spencer,  Marion. 
Joseph  E.  Bell,  Marion. 

8.  George  T.  Beebe,  Madison.  '-. 
Abe  Simmons,  Wells. 

9.  Samuel  M.  Ralston,  Boone. 
William  E.  Longley,  Hamilton. 

10.  Daniel  W.  Sims,  Tippecanoe. 

M.  T.   Krueger,  Laporte. 
IL  B.  F.  Louthain,  Cass. 

Jerome  Herff,  Miami. 

12.  J.  Hines,  DeKalb. 
Henry  Colerick,  Allen. 

13.  Omar  F.  Neff,  Kosciusko. 
Frank  E.  Hering,  St.  Joseph. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 
Electors  at  Large — Hugh   Dougherty,  Indiana- 
polls;  Warden  W.  Stevens,  Salem. 

Contingents — W.  H.  Kelly  and  Thomas  Duncan. 

1.  Dan.  0.  Barker,  Posey  county. 

2.  John  W.  McCarty,  Daviess. 

3.  M.  C.  Thornton,  Floyd. 


(  397  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


4.  Henry  Maley,  Johnson. 

5.  William  Kreigh,  Putnam. 

6.  F.  A.  Balser,  Henry. 

7.  Theodore  P.  Davis,  Marion. 

8.  Samuel  Simison,  Adams. 

9.  D.  F.  Allen,  Clinton. 

10.  Pat.  Keefe,  Newton. 

11.  David  Marks,  Huntington. 

12.  J.  B.  Mager,  DeKalb. 

13.  B.  F.  Deahl,  Elkhart. 

COMMITTEE   ON   RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  W.  E.  Stilwell.  8.  John  M.  Smith. 

2.  William  A.  Cullop.       9.  W.  R.  Oglesby. 

3.  E.  B.  Stotsenburg.     10.  E.  P.  Honan. 

4.  Willard  B.  New.         11.  S.  E.  Cook. 

5.  John  W.  Redmond.     12.  Frank  VanAuken. 

6.  F.  M.  Alexander.        13.  J.  B.  Stoll. 

7.  A.  G.  Smith. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  E.  P.  Richardson,  Petersburg. 

2.  Gilbert  H.  Hendren,  Bloomfield. 

3.  Thomas  J.  Hanlon,  New  Albany. 

4.  Lincoln  Dixon,  North  Vernon. 

5.  John  G.  McNutt,  Terre  Haute. 

6.  John  D.  Mesi-ee,  Rushville. 

7.  Joseph  T.  Fanning,  Indianapolis. 

8.  John  A.  M.  Adair,  Portland. 

9.  A.  T.  Livengood,  Covington. 

10.  J.  B.  Faulknor,  Michigan  City. 

11.  J.  Fred  France,  Huntington. 

12.  A.  A.  Adams,  Columbia  City. 

13.  James  C.  Fletcher,  Knox. 
William  H.  O'Brien,  Chairman. 
Joseph  T.  Fanning,  Vice-Chairman. 

The  second  Indiana  State  Convention  of 
1904  met  at  Indianapolis  Wednesday,  Au- 
gust ?>.  The  officers  of  the  former  conven- 
tion served  in  same  capacity.  The  follow- 
ing named  gentlemen  had  been  designated 
as  vice-presidents : 

J.  C.  Haines,  Spencer  county. 

C.  Davis,  Greene. 

Thomas  B.  Buskirk,  Orange. 

James  Cutlem,  Brown. 

Henry  Steeg,  Vigo. 

James  A.  Smith,  Union. 

Henry  Friedman,  Indianapolis. 

Richard  Erwin,  Adams. 

Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  Howard. 

Fletcher  Smith,  Benton. 

George  W.  Tompson,  Grant. 

O.  L.  Ballou,  Lagrange. 

E.  L.  Glasebrook,  Starke. 

The  State  ticket  was  nominated  with 
practical  unanimity.  There  was  a  contest 
over  the  Lieutenant-Governorship  between 


Warder  W.  Stevens  of  Salem  and  Frank  E. 
Hering  of  South  Bend.  Mr.  Hering  was 
placed  in  nomination  by  the  First  district. 
The  ballot  gave  Hering  5221/2  votes,  Ste- 
vens l,024V-i-  Before  the  result  was  an- 
nounced Mr.  Hering  gracefully  moved  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Stevens  to  be  recorded 
as  having  been  made  unanimous.  This 
was  done  heartily  and  enthusiastically. 
The  ticket  as  nominated  consisted  of  the 
following  named  gentlemen. 

For  Governor — John  W.  Kern. 

For  Lieutenant-Governor — Warder  W.  Stevens. 

For  Secretary  of  State — Edward  J.  Fogarty. 

For  Auditor — James  R.  Riggs. 

For  Attorney-General — Joseph  H.  Shea. 

For  Treasurer— Major  David  F.  Allen. 

For  Reporter  of  Supreme  Court — Walter  S. 
Chambers. 

For  State  Statistician — Jesse  D.  Smith. 

For  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — Levi 
H.  Scott. 

For  Judges  of  Supreme  Court — George  E. 
Downey  and  Frank  E.  Gavin. 

THE    INDIANA   STATE    DEMOCRATIC 
PLATFORM  FOR  1904 

Approves  and  indorses  the  wise  and 
conservative  declaration  of  principles  by 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  at 
St.  Louis,  and  the  selection  of  Alton  B. 
Parker  and  Henry  G.  Davis  as  candidates 
for  President  and  Vice-President. 

Condemns  apportionment  laws  of  1903, 
and  instead  favors  a  fair  and  just  oppor- 
tionment  law  based  upon  the  Constitution, 
guaranteeing  to  every  voter  in  the  State 
the  equal  right  with  every  other  in  the  se- 
lection of  those  who  make  our  laws. 

Condemns  the  administration  of  Gov- 
ernor Winfield  T.  Durbin. 

Condemns  the  placing  of  the  State 
benevolent  and  penal  institutions  on  a 
partisan  basis,  and  disapproves  of  the  in- 
iquitous Ripper  Bill. 

Opposes  the  creation  of  a  Prison  Re- 
form Board. 

Denounces  as  false  in  statement  and 
implication  the  declaration  of  the  State 
Republican  Platform  that  'During  the  last 
ten  years  of  Republican  control  of  State 
affairs  the  State  debt  has  been  reduced 
from  $7,520,615.12  to  $2,162,215.12,  and 
the  State  tax  levy  has  been  reduced  from 
32  cents  to  ?,0%.  cents  on  each  $100  of  tax- 
able property. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


Commends  the  Democratic  members  of 
the  last  Legislature  for  their  courageous, 
open  and  manly  stand  for  the  rights  of 
the  people  on  all  questions  that  came  be- 
fore them. 

Opposes  all  efforts  to  debauch  the  suf- 
frage: all  efforts  to  merge  the  ownership 
of  the  railroads  of  the  State  in  foreign 
corporations ;  all  efforts  to  make  political 
spoils  of  the  State  benevolent  and  penal 
institutions;  all  efforts  to  needlessly  mul- 
tiply offices  and  increase  the  burden  of  the 
taxpayers. 

Pledges  protective  legislation  to  the 
shippers  of  the  State;  labor  legislation 
recognizing  the  just  rights  of  both  em- 
ployer and  employe;  protective  legislation 
to  depositors  in  banking  institutions  and 
also  to  banks;  legislation  which  will  pre- 
vent unnecessary  public  expenditures  and 
reduce  the  burdens  of  taxation  now  op- 
pressing the  people  of  Indiana. 

Favors  the  repeal  of  the  Metropolitan 
Police  law  and  recommends  restoring 
local  self-government. 

The  outcome  of  the  1904  campaign, 
State  and  national,  proved  a  woeful  disap- 
pointment to  Democrats  who  had  built 
strong  hopes  upon  favorable  results. 
Judge  Parker's  nomination  did  not  devel- 
op the  strength  that  had  been  fondly 
hoped  for,  neither  East  nor  West.  Never 
before  in  the  history  of  Indiana  was  there 
experienced  such  a  slump  as  occurred  at 
the  polls  in  November.  A  plurality  close 
up  toward  one  hundred  thousand  was 
something,  up  to  that  time,  unheard  of  in 
this  State.  But  let  the  returns  do  their 
own  talking. 

INDIANA'S   VOTE    FOR   PRESIDENT. 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  Republican 368.289 

Alton    B.    Parker,    Democrat 274,.345 

Prohibition    Elector    2.3,496 

Socialist    Elector    ' 12,01.3 

Populist   Elector    2,444 

Socialist-Labor  Elector    1,598 

FOR  GOVERNOR. 

J.   Frank   Hanly,  Republican 3.59,362 

John  W.  Kern,  Democrat 274,998 

Felix  T.   McWhirter,  Prohibition 22,690 

Matthew   Hallenberger,    Socialist 10,991 

Leroy   Templeton,    Populist 2,06.5 

E.  J.   Dillon,  Socialist-Labor 1,437 


FOR    LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

HuRh   Th.   Miller,   Republican 360,442 

Warder  W.  Stevens,  Democrat 273,443 

Howard   C.   Ramsey,   Prohibition 22,775 

Harry  Holmes  Hart,  Socialist 11,014 

William  B.  Gill,  Populist 2,079 

Ernest   Viewegh,   Socialist-Labor 1,434 

FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Daniel  E.  Storms,  Republican 360,433 

Edward  J.  Fogarty,   Democrat 273,319 

Alva  H.  Swain,  Prohibition 22,827 

Elliott  Tutt  Anderson,  Socialist 11,020 

Adam   P.   Hanna,   Populist 2,107 

Theodore  Bernine,  Socialist-Labor 1,45.5 

The  pluralities  by  which  the  other  can- 
didates on  the  Republican  State  ticket 
were  elected  are  as  here  indicated: 

Auditor  of  State,  David  E.  Sherrick 87,895 

Treasurer  of  State,  Nathaniel  U.  Hill 87,389 

Attorney-General,  Charles  W.   Miller 87,535 

Reporter  Supreme  Court,  George  W.  Self.  .87,365 
Supt.  Public  Instruction,  Fassett  A.  Cotton. 87,523 
Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics,  J.  H.  Stubbs. .  .87,398 
Judge     Supreme     Court,     Second     District, 

Oscar  H.  Montgomery 87,063 

Judge  Supreme  Court,  Third  District,  John 

V.    Hadley    86,970 

Judge     Appellate     Court,     First     District. 

David   A.  Myers    86,370 

MEMBERS   OF   CONGRESS. 

1.  James  A.  Hemenway,  Republican 23,158 

Albert  G.  Holcomb,  Democrat 19,399 

2.  John   C.   Chaney,   Republican 25,143 

Robert   W.    Miers,    Democrat 23,670 

3.  William  T.  Zenor,  Democrat 22,708 

John  E.  Dillon,  Republican 19,129 

4.  Lincoln    Dixon,    Dem.ocrat 23,451 

Anderson    Percifield,   Republican 21,516 

5.  Elias  S.   HoUiday,  Republican 28,192 

Claud  G.  Bowers,  Democrat 23,101 

6.  James  E.  Watson.  Republican 29,089 

Uriah   S.   Jackson,   Democrat 22,046 

7.  Jesse  Overstreet,  Republican 34,178 

Levi   P.   Harlan,   Democrat 23,334 

8.  George  W.  Cromer,  Republican 29,462 

Edward  C.  Dehority,  Democrat 22,097 

9.  Charles   B.   Landis,   Republican 29,492 

Clyde   H.   Jones,    Democrat 23,267 

10.  Edgar  D.   Crumpacker,  Republican 31,583 

Worth  W.  Pepple,  Democrat 21,451 

11.  Frederick    Landis,    Republican 29,591 

Clement    M.    Holderman,    Democrat 21,406 

12.  Newton  W.  Gilbert,  Republican 23,203 

James   M.   Robinson,   Democrat 21,322 

13.  Abraham  L.  Brick,  Republican 29,361 

Frank    E.    Hering,    Democrat 22,454 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


Prohibition,  Peoples,  Social  and  Social- 
Labor  congressional  tickets  were  also  in 
the  field.  Only  two  of  the  thirteen  Demo- 
cratic nominees  were  successful. 

The  General  Assembly  for  1905  had  in 
the  Senate  thirty-six  Republicans  and  four- 
teen Democrats;  in  the  House,  seventy- 
nine  Republicans  and  twenty-one  Demo- 
crats. 

In  company  with  quite  a  number  of 
Democratic  newspaper  men  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  I  attended,  during  the  early 
part  of  September,  a  banquet  at  the  Wal- 
dorf-Astoria in  the  city  of  New  York 
and  greatly  enjoyed  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
delightful  country  residence  of  Judge  Al- 
ton B.  Parker,  popularly  known  as  "Eso- 
pus,"  located  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful 


Hudson.  The  presidential  nominee  deliv- 
ered a  well-considered  address  to  the  visit- 
ing delegation.  It  was  a  thoughtful  talk 
by  a  thoughtful  man,  but  it  failed  to  make 
a  deep  impression  or  to  awaken  any  degree 
of  enthusiasm.  We  returned  to  New  York 
by  boat.  It  was  a  delightful  trip.  At  the 
Waldorf-Astoria  it  was  my  good  fortune 
to  meet  John  R.  McLean,  owner  of  the 
Cincinnati  Enquirer,  and  later  on  our  own 
James  Murdock  of  Lafayette.  In  going 
over  the  situation,  and  taking  cognizance 
of  the  authentic  and  verified  expressions 
by  the  business  element  of  New  York,  all 
three  of  us  soon  became  convinced  that 
Judge  Parker,  admirable  man  that  he  was, 
had  no  chance  of  an  election  and  was 
doomed  to  inevitable  defeat. 


(  400  ) 


[Chapter  LII.] 

ENTHUSIASM  FOR  WM.  J.  BRYAN 

WAS  THE  DISTINGUISHING   FEATURE  OF   THE   1906 
CONVENTION 


EMARKABLE    and    extraordi- 

RIL  nary  was  the  1906  convention 
I  of  the  Indiana  Democracy  in 
I  this,  that  every  nomination 
was  made  by  acclamation  and 
without  contest,  and  that  a 
resolution  extending  greetings 
to  William  Jennings  Bryan  and  pledging 
the  State  to  him  in  1908,  elicited  such  an 
outburst  of  applause  and  spontaneous  en- 
thusiasm as  has  rarely  been  heard  at  any 
gathering  of  America  f  i-eemen.  The  dem- 
onstration that  punctuated  the  reading  of 
the  resolution  by  Samuel  M.  Ralston  was 
simply  wonderful. 

The  convention  was  held  on  the  7th  day 
of  June,  and  was  called  to  order  by  State 
Chairman  Wm.  H.  O'Brien.  Benjamin  F. 
Shively  of  South  Bend  was  made  perma- 
nent chairman,  and  M.  A.  Sweeney  of  Jas- 
per, principal  secretary.  By  reason  of  an 
engagement  elsewhere  that  compelled  him 
to  leave  the  city,  Mr.  Shively  turned  the 
convention  over  to  Charles  A.  Cole  of 
Peru. 

The  +icket  nominated  with  unprece- 
dented unanimity  was  composed  of  these 
stanch  Democrats: 

Secretary  of  State — James  F.  Cox  of  Columbus. 

Auditor  of  State — Marion  Bailey  of  Lizton, 
Hendricks  county. 

Treasurer  of  State — John  Isenbarger  of  North 
Manchester. 

Attorney-General — Walter   J.    Lotz   of   Muncie. 

Supt.  of  Public  Instruction — Prof.  Robert  J. 
Aley  of  State  University  at  Bloomington. 

Clerk  of  Supreme  Court — Bert  New  of  North 
Vernon. 

Judges  of  Supreme  Court — Richard  E.  Erwin 
and  Eugene  A.  Eby. 

Judg-es  of  the  Appellate  Court — Milton  B.  Hot- 
tel,  Edward  W.  Felt,  Richard  H.  Hartford,  Henry 
G.  Zimmerman,  Henry  A.  ^teis. 

Chief  of  Bureau  of  Statistics — David  N.  Curry. 

State  Geologist — Edward  Barrett. 


COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

John  W.  Boehne,  Evansville. 
Royal  E.  Purcell,  Vincennes. 
Charles  L.  Jewett,  New  Albany. 
Joseph  M.  Cravens,  Madison. 
J.  S.  McFaddin,  Rockville. 
B.  B.  Johnson,  Richmond. 
Theodore  P.  Davis,  Indianapolis. 
Abe  Simmons,  Bluffton. 
Samuel  M.  Ralston,  Lebanon. 
James  McCabe,  Williamsport. 
Benjamin  F.  Louthain,  Logansport. 
Stephen  B.  Fleming,  Fort  Wayne. 
Henry  A.  Barnhart,  Rochester. 

THE  INDIANA  STATE  DEMOCRATIC 
PLATFORM  FOR  1906 

Sends  greetings  and  pledges  support  to 
William  Jennings  Bi-yan. 

Denounces  the  Republican  party  for 
not  having  pa.ssed  legislation  against  un- 
just conditions  and  for  not  having  made 
greater  effort  to  rectify  prevailing  evils. 

Condemns  so-called  protective  tariff  and 
favors  tariff'  for  revenue  only. 

Favors  passage  of  restrictive  legisla- 
tion against  trusts  and  any  centralization 
of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  chosen  few. 

Favors  enactment  of  a  service  pension 
law. 

Affirms  the  right  of  the  people  to  local 
and  self-government. 

Pledges  that  a  Democratic  legislature 
will  pass  a  maximum  two-cent  railroad 
fare. 

Demands  a  just  restriction  of  the  pow- 
er of  all  public  service  corporations  so  that 
they  may  be  kept  strictly  within  their  le- 
gitimate rights,  and  further  so  as  to 
give  the  public  adequate  and  efficient  serv- 
ice. 

Pledges  a  law  providing  depositories 
for  public  funds. 

Pledges  enactment  of  laws  fully  insur- 
ing fair  nominations,  clean  campaigns  and 
hone.st  elections. 

Denounces  system  of  corruption  where- 
by insurance  companies  use  money  en- 
trusted to  them  for  the  benefit  of  widows 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


and  orphans  for  the  enrichment  of  favored 
individuals  and  for  the  campaign  fund  of 
the  Republican  party. 

Favors  the  election  of  United  States 
Senators  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people. 

Condemns  the  practice  of  railroads  giv- 
ing passes  to  public  officials. 

Favors  the  repeal  of  the  present  un- 
just ditch  law. 

Favors  the  amendment  to  the  cities 
and  towns  act  so  as  to  eliminate  unneces- 
sary officers  and  expenses. 

Pledges  to  pass  such  laws  as  will  regu- 
late the  business  of  private  banks  and  pro- 
tect depositors  therein. 

Favors  appointment  by  the  Governor 
of  the  State  Inspector  of  Mines  on  the  rec- 
ommendation of  the  joint  conference  be- 
tween the  operators  and  miners  each  year. 

Recommends  that  the  rooster  in  the  act 
of  crowing  be  adopted  as  the  emblem  of 
the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  E.  P.  Richardson.         8.  John  A.  M.  Adair. 

2.  Alvin  Padgett.  9.  Michael  E.  Foley. 

3.  Mark  L.  Storen.  10.  J.  Kirby  Risk. 

4.  George  S.  Pleasants.  11.  Peter  J.  Coyle. 

5.  John  G.  McNutt.  12.   Harry  C.  Gandy. 

6.  Sylvester  Meeks.          13.  S.  N.  Stevens. 

7.  Joseph  T.  Fanning. 
William  H.  O'Brien,  Chairman. 
John  G.  McNutt,  Vice-Chairman. 

ADVERSITY  STILL  REIGNED. 

Notwithstanding  the  excellence  of  the 
ticket  presented  to  the  electorate  by  the 
Democracy  of  Indiana,  and  in  the  face  of 
the  unanimity  that  marked  its  nomination, 
the  outcome  of  the  1906  election  was  ap- 
proximately as  unfavorable  and  adverse 
as  were  the  six  preceding  ones.  It  is  true, 
the  stupendous  figures  of  1894  and  of 
1904  were  not  reached,  but  majorities  or 
pluralities  veering  around  the  30,000 
mark  mu.st  be  considered  abnormal  in  a 
State  that  for  more  than  a  half  century 
rarely  recorded  a  victory  in  excess  of  five 
or  six  thousand.  For  the  seventh  time  in 
unimpeded  succession  Democracy  went 
down  in  defeat. 

That  such  should  have  been  the  fate  of 
the  party  at  a  time  when  unexampled 
unanimity    characterized    its    convention 


proceedings  serves  as  a  verification  of  an 
old-timer's  observation  that  there  may  be 
such  a  thing  as  too  much  harmony  in 
framing  a  ticket,  and  that  nominations 
made  in  a  good  stiff  fight  are  usually  more 
productive  of  success  than  unsought  and 
uncontested  nominations.  Ben  Butler, 
while  yet  steeped  in  orthodox  Democracy, 
before  having  become  contaminated  by 
Jacobinism  and  Greenbackism,  used  to 
gloat  over  the  fiercest  of  fights  in  Demo- 
cratic conventions.  With  cock-eyed 
twinkle,  he  said  uproars  in  a  Democratic 
convention  invariably  reminded  him  of 
the  effect  of  the  famous  Kilkenny  cat  fight 
— the  fiercer  the  fight,  the  greater  the 
multiplicity  of  cats !  In  the  chapter  to 
follow  this  may  be  found  a  verification  of 
gruff  old  Ben's  quaint  philosophy. 

It  was  Colonel  Wm.  R.  Morrison,  of 
blessed  memory,  who  was  wont  to  remark 
after  a  disappointing  ending  of  an 
especially  brilliant  campaign,  during 
which  enthusiasm  reigned  supreme,  that 
he  had  become  thoroughly  convinced  that 
the  tossing  up  of  a  hat  into  the  air  did 
not  always  mean  a  vote.  Colonel  Morri- 
son had  an  active  participation  in  numer- 
ous campaigns  in  his  own  dear  Illinois. 

STORY  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE 
BALLOT  IN  1906. 

Here  it  is  in  words  and  figures — the 
tabulated  official  vote  for  Secretary  of 
State,  followed  by  the  cabalistic  figures  of 
decisive  pluralities  that  gave  prestige  and 
emolument  to  numerous  ambitious,  and 
presumably  deserving,  Hoosiers  of  the  Re- 
publican faith : 

SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Fred   A.    Sims,   Republican 294,351 

James  F.  Cox,  Democrat 263,526 

Absalom  L.  Grim,  Prohibition 20,985 

Leroy   B.   Sweetland,   Socialist 7,824 

Theodore   Bernine,   Socialist-Labor 1,586 

John  W.  Clark,  Peoples 972 

The  pluralities  by  which  the  other  can- 
didates on  the  Republican  ticket  were 
elected  are  as  here  indicated: 


(402) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Auditor  of  State,  John  C.  Billheimer 31,576 

Treasurer  of  State,  Oscar  Hadley 31,643 

Attorney-General,  James  Bingham 31,274 

Clerk  of  Supreme  Court,  Edward  V.   Fitz- 

patrick    31,389 

Superintendent  of  Public   Instruction,  Fas- 
sett  A.  Cotton   30,692 

Chief   of   Bureau    of    Statistics,   Joseph    H. 

Stubbs    32,106 

State  Geologist,  Willis  S.  Blatchley 31,822 

Judges  Supreme  Court — 

First  District,  James  H.  Jordan 31,674 

Second  District,  Leander  J.  Monks 30,800 

Judges    Appellate    Court — Cassius    C.    Hadley, 

Ward   H.   Watson,   Daniel    W.    Comstock,   Joseph 

M.  Rabb,  Frank  S.  Roby. 

MEMBERS  OF  CONGRESS  CHOSEN. 

1.  John  H.  Foster,  Republican 20,278 

Gustavus  V.  Menzies,  Democrat 18,959 

2.  John  C.  Chaney,  Republican 22,299 

Cyrus  E.  Davis,  Democrat 21,889 

3.  William  E.  Cox,  Democrat 18,606 

George  H.  Hester,  Republican 18,151 

4.  Lincoln   Dixon,   Democrat 20,049 

John  H.  Kamman,  Republican 18,1S1 

5.  Elias  S.  HoUiday,  Republican 22,532 

Claude  G.  Bowers,  Democrat 21,579 


6.  James  E.  Watson,  Republican 22,135 

Thomas  H.   Kuhn,  Democrat 20,629 

7.  Jesse  Overstreet,  Republican 28,020 

Frank   E.   Gavin,  Democrat 23.234 

8.  John  A.  M.  Adair,  Democrat 24,027 

George  W.  Cromer,  Republican 19,783 

9.  Charles  B.  Landis,  Republican 23,865 

Marion  E.  Clodfelter,  Democrat 21,633 

10.  Edgar  D.  Crumpacker,   Republican 24,695 

William  Darroch,  Democrat 20,072 

11.  George  W.  Rauch,  Democrat 22,988 

Frederick  Landis,  Republican 19,833 

12.  Clarence  C.  Gilhams,  Republican 19,345 

John  W.  Morr,  Democrat 16,695 

13.  Abraham  L.  Brick,  Republican 23,360 

Benjamin  F.  Shively,  Democrat; 23,153 

Thus  the  Indiana  delegation  was  made 
to  stand  nine  Republicans  to  four  Demo- 
crats. 

The  Prohibitionists  and  Socialists  also 
had  congressional  candidates. 

The  Republicans  maintained  their  lead 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  1907.  There 
were  in  the  Senate  37  Republicans  to  13 
Democrats.  In  the  House  54  Republicans 
to  45  Democrats. 


(  403 


[Chapter  LIII.] 

GOVERNOR  HANLY  PAVED  THE  WAY 


FOR  A  DEMOCRATIC  JUBILEE  IN  INDIANA  IN  1908 


OLITICAL  favors  at  times  are 
extended  strangely  and  under 
peculiar  circumstances.  Oc- 
casionally they  come  from 
sources  least  expected  or  sus- 
pected. Such  an  experience 
was  had  by  the  Democracy  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  eight.  And  the  favor  came 
from  a  man  who  has  yet  to  utter  a  single 
sentence  favorable  to  or  kindly  of  the 
Democratic  party.  For  years  and  years 
he  took  infinite  delight  in  hurling  fiery 
anathemas  at  the  party  in  which  he  abso- 
lutely could  see  no  good  and  which  he  af- 
fected to  regard  as  wholly  and  hopelessly 
bad.  By  forcing  his  party  to  take  a  step 
it  did  not  want  to  take  at  that  unpropitious 
time,  and  by  making  most  vicious  attacks 
upon  public  officials  chosen  by  the  same 
ballots  that  made  him  Governor  of  this 
commonwealth,  he  so  completely  de- 
moralized, disorganized  and  disrupted  the 
Republican  party  of  Indiana  that  the  most 
important  part  of  its  State  ticket  was  de- 
feated outright  and  the  remainder  thereof 
saved  by  a  scratch. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  for 
1908  was  held  at  Indianapolis,  March  26, 
1908.  It  was  called  to  order  by  Chairman 
U.  S.  Jackson.  Former  Congressman 
Robert  W.  Miers  of  Bloomington,  presided 
and  A.  D.  Moffat  of  Hartford  City,  offici- 
ated as  secretary. 

DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

At  Large— John  W.  Kern,  Indianpolis;  Edward 
J.  Foorarty,  South  Bend;  Abraham  Simmons, 
Bluffton;  John  E.  Lamb,  Terre  Haute. 

Alternates — Stephen  B.  P'leming-,  Fort  Wayne; 
H.  W.  Moore,  Bloomfield;  O.  H.  Downey,  Nobles- 
ville;  J.  H.  Shea,  Seymour. 

DISTRICT  DELEGATES. 

1.  John  W.  Boehne,  Archibald  Stevenson. 

2.  Joseph  Aiken,  William  B.  Robinson. 


3.  Thomas  Hanlon,  Perry  McCart. 

4.  C.  B    A.  Barnes,  W.  A.  Everroad. 

.5.  Clement  C.  Hurst,  Claude  G.  Bowers. 
G.  Ed.  Smith,  James  S.  Petro. 

7.  W.  W.  Spencer,  Jerry  Mahoney. 

8.  Charles  C.  DeHority,  Alden  Baker. 

9.  F.  W.  Maeoughtry,  J.  O.  Behymer. 

10.  Frederick  Henoch,  Charles  Murphy. 

11.  J.  Fred.  France,  Frank  M.  Kistler. 

12.  S.  W.  Kann,  John  W.  Engemann. 

13.  George  R.  Ogden,  James  C.  Fletcher. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

At    Large — Adam    Heimberger,    New    Albany, 

and  John  W.  Spencer,  Evansville.     Contingent — 

John    B.    Faulkner,    Michigan    City,    and     E.     P. 

Shockley,  Ripley  county. 


1.  John  R.  Brill. 

2.  Frank  Wampler. 

3.  E.  A.  Gladden. 

4.  R.  A.  Craigmire. 
.5.  Eb.  Henderson. 

6.  D.  W.  Andre. 

7.  T.  L.  Sullivan. 


8.  W.  H.  Harkins. 

9.  A.  B.  Crampton. 

10.  W.  F.  Howat. 

11.  Wm.  J.  Houck. 

12.  Dan.  M.  Link. 

13.  Dan.  McDonald. 


THE  PLATFORM. 

The  Committee  on  Resolutions  was  com- 
posed of  Thomas  Duncan,  Royal  E.  Pur- 
cell,  Charles  D.  Kelso,  F.  M.  Griffith,  John 
S.  McFaddin,  John  D.  Deprez,  Charles  E. 
Cox,  David  E.  Smith,  Robert  C.  Houston, 
Lawrence  Becker,  F.  D.  Butler,  Edward  G. 
Hoffman  and  William  A.  Mclnerny.  Its 
report  was,  as  is  quite  usual,  accepted  and 
ratified.  Comprehensively  epitomized,  it 
starts  out  with  a  most  cordial  endorsement 
of  the  nomination  of  William  Jennings 
Bryan  for  the  presidency.  Then  it  de- 
nounces the  Republican  party  for  its 
failure  to  legislate  against  trust  evils. 

Condemns  the  protective  tariff  and 
favors  a  tariff  for  revenue  only. 

Favors  the  passage  of  restrictive  laws 
against  trusts  and  combinations  of  capital. 

Condemns  both  paternalism  and  com- 
munism, but  endorses  the  giving  of  equal 
opportunities  to  all  and  special  privileges 
to  none. 


(405) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


Condemns  the  Republican  party  for  cen- 
tralizing all  of  the  powers  of  government 
at  Washington. 

Affirms  an  income  tax  as  a  part  of  our 
revenue  system. 

Favors  a  postal  savings  bank. 

Condemns  favoritism  in  the  deposit  of 
treasury  funds. 

Favors  the  election  of  United  States 
Senators  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people. 

Affirms  Panama  Canal  project. 

Favors  liberal  appropriations  for  the 
improvement  and  development  of  the  in- 
terior waterways. 

Opposes  both  the  Aldrich  and  Fowler 
bills. 

Favors  the  conciliation  of  capital  and 
labor. 

Opposes  the  present  ship  subsidy  bill. 

Condemns  the  indiscriminate  use  of  the 
power  of  injunction  by  the  federal  courts 
without  notice  to  defendants  and  without 
a  hearing. 

Disapproves  of  the  efforts  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  dictate  the 
nomination  of  his  successor. 

Condemns  extravagance  and  misman- 
agement of  the  Republican  party. 

Condemns  the  selling  of  interest-bear- 
ing bonds  in  a  time  of  peace. 

Favors  pure  food  and  drug  legislation. 

Opposes  the  creation  of  useless  offices, 
boards  and  commissions. 

Favors  law  providing  for  the  weekly 
payment  of  employes  of  manufacturing 
and  mining  companies. 

Favors  honesty  in  public  office. 

Advocates  the  enactment  of  a  law 
guaranteeing  to  depositors  the  immediate 
payment  of  their  deposits  in  any  bank  or 
trust  company  of  the  State.  Demands 
competent  and  qualified  bank  examiners 
and  officials. 

Favors  local  option  law  with  regard  to 
temperance — city,  ward  and  township. 

Favors  such  legislation  as  will  justly 
and  adequately  protect  labor — liability 
laws,  boards  of  arbitration. 

Favors  a  general  primary  election  law 
applicable  to  the  selection  of  all  candidates, 
both  State  and  local. 

Favors  the  appointment,  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, of  the  State  Inspector  of  Mines  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  joint  confer- 
ence between  operators  and  miners  each 
year. 

Favors  home  rule  and  the  repeal  of  the 
metropolitan  police  law. 


Endorses  John  W.  Kern  for  the  office  of 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

THE   STATE   TICKET   NOMINATED. 

Governor — Thomas  R.  Marshall,  Columbia  City. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Frank  J.  Hall,  Rushville. 

Secretary  of  State — James  F.  Cox,  Columbus. 

Auditor — Marion  Bailey,  Lizton,  Hendricks 
county. 

Treasurer — John  Isenbarger,  North  Manches- 
ter. 

Attorney-General — Walter  J.  Lotz,  Muncie. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction— Robert 
J.  Aley,  Bloomingrton. 

Reporter  Supreme  Court — Burt  New,  North 
Vernon. 

Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics— Patrick  J.  Kelleher. 

Judge  of  Supreme  Court — Moses  B.  Lairy,  Lo- 
gansport. 

Judge  of  Appellate  Court-^Edward  W.  Felt, 
Greenfield. 

The  only  contests  were  over  the  Gov- 
ernorship and  Lieutenant-Governorship. 
Both  were  sharply  and  vigorously  con- 
ducted. For  the  Governorship  there  were 
five  entries:  L.  Ert  Slack,  proposed  by 
Congressman  Lincoln  Dixon ;  Rev.  Thomas 
H.  Kuhn,  presented  by  the  Sixth  district; 
Carroll  K.  McCullough,  by  the  Eighth; 
Samuel  M.  Ralston,  presented  by  the 
Ninth;  Thomas  R.  Marshall,  presented  by 
the  Twelfth,  and  Colonel  Charles  Girard 
Conn,  presented  by  the  Thirteenth  district. 

A  newspaper  report  stated  that  between 
the  second  and  third  ballot  Mr.  McCullough 
released  his  delegates  and  it  was  believed 
that  they  would  declare  for  Ralston,  "the 
Taggart  man."  However,  Marshall  and 
Slack  began  to  get  many  of  them.  After 
the  third,  Kuhn  withdrew.  Slack's  friends 
tried  to  get  Kuhn's  votes,  and  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  fourth  it  looked  as  though  they 
would  succeed.  The  fourth  ballot  stood: 
Slack,  580 ;  Ralston,  453 ;  Marshall,  3123 ; 
Conn,  24i.  The  Slack  delegation  went 
wild,  and  then  something  happened  to  jar 
them.  Ralston  was  on  his  feet,  gesturing 
for  silence.  The  applause  stopped  sud- 
denly. Ralston  was  as  white  as  a  sheet 
of  paper,  and  his  hands  trembled  visibly 
as  he  said :  "There  seems  to  be  consider- 
able doubt  as  to  the  desirability  of  my 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

nomination.    In  that  case  I  have  something  might  have  won  him  the  nomination  had 

to  say  to  you.    I  do  not  wish  the  nomina-  they  listened  cost  him  the  prize.     On  the 

tion  if  ail  do  not  thini<  it  would  help  the  third  ballot   Hall   had  the  majority,   and 

party,  and  therefore  I  ask  that  I  be  al-  the  nomination  was  made  unanimous  be- 

lowed  to  withdraw."    Marshall  was  nomi-  fore  the  roll  call  on  the  fourth  ballot  had 

nated  on  the  fifth  ballot.  begun. 

The  Iudia>,a,>olis  News  thus  noted  this  ^^^^^  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE, 
stirring  episode  in  political  strategy  and 

maneuvering:  l-  T-  D.  Scales,  Boonville. 

_,    ,                 ,                                            ,.              ,  2.  Alvin  Padgett,  Washington. 

Ralston  followed  Taggart  s  bidding  and  3   ^1^,^  l.  storen,  Scottsburg. 

w  ithdrew.       The    delegates    controlled    by  4,  George  S.  Pleasants,  Vevay. 

Taggart  were  switched  to  Marshall.   Slack  5   p^jg,.  ^  p^igy  jgj.j.g  Haute 

made  gains,  but  not  enough  to  overcome  ,.;  j^^n  Osborn,  Greensburg. 

the    Taggart    support    thrown    to    his    op-  7    Bernard  Korbly,   Indianapolis. 

ponent.     Marshall   was   nominated.     The  «   Lew  G.  Ellingham,  Decatur, 
convention  went  wild.     Never  before  had  9   Michael  E.  Folev,  Crawfordsville. 
Taggart   men   and    anti-Taggart   men   so  ^o.  J.  Kirby  Risk,  Lafayette, 
joined  m  a  jollification.     Both  sides  were  ^   John  P."  Emshwiller,  Montpelier. 
claiming  Marshall  for  their  own.     A  com-  12.  Edward  G.  Hoffman,  Fort  Wayne, 
promise  candidate  had  been  found  with-  13   s  N  Stevens,  Plymouth, 
out  either  side  looking  for  him.    A  man  on  y.  Stokes  Jac'kson,  Greenfield,  Chairman, 
whom  all  Democrats  might  unite  had  sud-  cnbert    H.    Hendren,    Bloomfield,    Vice- 
denly  advanced  to  the  front.  None  doubted  chairman, 
his  ability,  all  knew  his  strength  of  char- 
acter and  niind.    -Tom'  Marshall-lawyer  ^HE  CAMPAIGN, 
one  of  the  best  thinkers,  best  talkers,  best 

campaigner.-j^  in  the  Democratic  party;  The  campaign  in  Indiana  was  a  hotly- 
one  of  the  ablest  and  best  attorneys  in  In-  ,  ,  ,  r-  ,  ■  ■  ^.  j 
diana;  a  man  whose  reputation  is  regarded  contested  one  from  beginning  to  end. 
as  unquestioned;  a  Democrat  who  had  Popular  enthusiasm  for  Bryan  showed  no 
never  taken  part  in  factional  quarrels,  and  signs  of  abatement.  If  anything,  it  had 
a  man  who  represented  no  interest  and  had  grown  stronger.  John  W.  Kern,  having 
no  striiig  tied  to  him— had  been  nominated  ^een  made  his  running  mate,   intensified 

by  the  Democrats  tor  Governor.  i    ^u  •   ^        ^  •         j           1            t--        ,-  f 

both  interest  m  and  popular  sentiment  for 

THE  BALLOTING.  the  ticket.    Then,  Thomas  R.  Marshall  had 
1st       2nd       3rd       4th       5th  gained  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  high- 
Ballot.  Ballot.  Ballot.  Ballot.  Ballot,  minded  citizen,  an   effective  campaigner, 

Slack   278      342      4831       5801      6301  ^^^  pre-eminently  a  man  of  the  people. 

SKh:ir::.-.;;So      S      SLs    S.      vi^i  There  were  no  faction  troubles  to  disturb 

Kuhn                 198      177       40.8  the  Democratic  camp;  .so  everything  was 

McCullouqh   ...208      150       propitious  and  prospects  for  victory  in  In- 

Conn  133  85  .591  24;  211  diana  had  become  quite  assuring.  Condi- 
Total  number  of  delegates,  1,371;  neces-  tions  on  the  Republican  side  of  the  fence 
sary  to  a  choice,  686.  were  the  very  opposite.  Distrust,  divi- 
For  Lieutenant-Governor  were  proposed  sion  and  discontent  were  in  evidence  all 
Frank  J.  Hall  of  Rushville,  Frank  E.  Her-  over  the  State.  Hanly's  perfonnances 
ing  of  South  Bend,  and  William  P.  O'Neill  were  such  as  to  create  grave  apprehension 
of  Mishawaka.  Hering  led  at  the  start,  of  disaster  in  the  minds  of  thoughtful 
but  he  was  opposed  by  his  home  delega-  party  managers  in  inner  and  outer  circles, 
tion — St.  Joseph — and  at  the  start  he  rose  These  shrewd,  sagacious  managers  knew 
to  tell  why  they  were  against  him.  The  that  the  head  of  the  State  ticket,  James 
convention  would  not  hear  him,  and  what  Eli  Watson,  was  in  bad  odor  with  formid- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


able  elements  of  the  party.  Weeks  before 
the  verdict  of  the  ballot  had  been  actually 
rendered  these  keen,  observing  individuals 
understood  full  well  what  was  in  store  for 
the  party  that  for  fourteen  years  had  been 
singularly  free  from  trials  and  tribula- 
tions. While  there  was  felt  the  utmost 
confidence  in  the  triumph  of  the  national 
ticket,  discerning  Republican  leaders  were 
quite  prepared  for  the  defeat  of  Watson 
and  some  of  the  other  candidates  on  the 
State  ticket,  the  loss  of  the  legislature  and 
with  it  the  loss  of  a  United  States  Senator. 
While  William  Howard  Taft  carried  the 
State  by  10,809  over  Bryan,  Tom  Marshall 
defeated  James  Eli  Watson  for  Governor 
by  14,809 ;  Frank  J.  Hall  defeated  his  Re- 
publican competitor  for  the  lieutenant- 
governorship  by  1,672,  and  the  learned 
educator,  Robert  J.  Aley,  was  chosen  to 
the  important  office  of  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  over  Lawrence  McTur- 
nan,  Republican.  Eleven  Democratic  con- 
gressmen were  chosen,  as  against  two  Re- 
publicans. The  legislature  was  made 
Democratic  on  joint  ballot,  insuring  the 
election  of  a  Democratic  United  States 
Senator  to  succeed  James  A.  Hemenway. 
The  full  significance  of  the  verdict  of 
the  ballot  is  made  apparent  by  the  sub- 
joined tabular  statement: 

THE  VOTE  FOR  PRESIDENT. 

William  H.  Taft,  Republican 348,993 

William  J.  Bryan,  Democrat 338,262 

Prohibition   Elector   18,045 

Socialist  Elector 13,476 

Populist   Elector    1,193 

Socialist-Labor  Elector 643 

Independent    398 

THE  VOTE  FOR  GOVERNOR. 

Thomas  R.  Marshall,  Democrat 348,849 

James  E.  Watson,  Republican 334,040 

Sumner  W.  Haynes,  Prohibition 15,926 

Frank  S.  Goodman,  Socialist 11,948 

Fred  J.  S.  Robinson,  Populist 986 

Oliver  P.  Stoner,  Socialist-Labor 573 

James  M.  Zion,  Independent 383 

VOTE   FOR   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Frank  J.  Hall,  Democrat 340,577 

Fremont  Goodwine,  Republican 338,905 


Abraham  Huntsing:er,  Prohibition 16,740 

Matthew  Hollenberger,   Socialist 12,003 

Orlando  L.  Ross,  Populist 1,186 

Gustave  A.  Dryer,  Socialist-Labor 601 

William  F.  Keats,  Independent 398 

VOTE  FOR  SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Fred  A.  Sims,  Republican 339,499 

James  F.  Cox,  Democrat.' 339,007 

William  H.  Hill,  Prohibition 17,029 

Frederick  Guv  Strickland,  Socialist '.    12,138 

Richard    Bonewitz,    Populist 1,188 

Allen  B.  Cobbs,  Socialist-Labor 599 

John  W.  Close,  Independent 410 

The  pluralities  by  which  the  other  can- 
didates on  the  ticket  were  elected  are  as 
here  indicated : 

—Auditor  of  State- 
John  C.  Billheimer,  Republican 236 

— Treasurer  of  State — 

Oscar  Hadley,  Republican 837 

— Attorney-General — 

James  Bingham,  Republican 788 

— Reporter  Supreme  Court — 

George  W.  Self,  Republican 171 

— Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — 

Robert  J.  Aley,  Democrat 762 

— Chief  of  Bureau  of  Statistics — 

John  L.  Peetz,  Republican 710 

— Judge  Supreme  Court — 

Quincy  A.   Myers,   Republican 1,044 

— Judge  Appellate  Court — 
David   A.  Mj  ers.   Republican 1,099 

MEMBERS  OF  CONGRESS  CHOSEN. 

1.  John  W.  Boehne,  Democrat 23,054 

John  H.  Foster,  Republican 22,965 

2.  William  A.  Cullop,  Democrat 27,172 

John   S.   Chaney,  Republican 24,609 

3.  William  E.  Cox,  Democrat 24,139 

John  W.  Lewis,  Republican 18,966 

4.  Lincoln   Dixon,  Democrat 25,231 

James  A.  Cox,  Republican 20,726 

5.  Ralph  W.  Moss,  Democrat 28,844 

Howard  Maxwell,  Republican 27,361 

6.  William  O.   Barnard,  Republican 27,053 

Thomas  H.  Kuhn,  Democrat 25,905 

7.  Charles  A.  Korbly,  Democrat 34,686 

Jesse  Overstreet,  Republican 34,003 

8.  John  A.  M.  Adair,  Democrat 29,259 

Nathan  B.  Hawkins,  Republican 23,890 

9.  Martin  A.  Morrison,  Democrat 27,540 

Charles  B.  Landis,  Republican 26,449 

10.  Edgar  D.  Crumpacker,  Republican 32,954 

William  Darroch,  Democrat 26,742 

11.  George  W.  Ranch,  Democrat 25,526 

Charles  H.  Good,  Republican 24,313 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


12.  Cyrus  Cline,  Democrat 25,051 

Clarence  L.  Gilhams,  Republican 22,706 

13.  Henry  A.  Barnhart,  Democrat 28,509 

Charles  W.  Miller,  Republican 28,229 

13.  Short  Term- 
Henry  A.  Barnhart,  Democrat 28,131 

Charles  W.   Miller,  Republican 27,708 

The  General  Assembly  for  1909  con- 
sisted of  27  Republicans  and  23  Democrats 
in  the  Senate,  and  60  Democrats  and  40 
Republicans  in  the  House. 

BEN.JAMIN  F.  SHIVELY  CHOSEN 
UNITED  STATES  SENATOR. 

As  soon  as  the  fact  had  become  known 
that  the  Democrats  had  gained  control  of 
the  Legislature,  a  sharp  canvass  for  the 
United  States  Senatorship  began.  Benja- 
min F.  Shively  had  previously  been  twice 
honored  with  the  Democratic  legislative 
caucus  nominations  when  successors  were 
to  be  chosen  to  Senators  Fairbanks  and 
Beveridge.  While  these  caucus  expres- 
sions were  purely  complimentary,  they 
were  effectively  interpreted  as  reflecting 
Democratic  sentiment  and  preference. 
In  addition  to  this,  it  was  argued  that 
Mr.  Shively  had  been  at  the  service  of 
the  party  for  a  quarter  of  a  centuiy, 
had  represented  his  district  in  Congress 
with  marked  ability  for  three  terms  and 
a  fraction  of  Major  Calkins'  term,  made 
a  notable  though  unsuccessful  race  for  the 
Governorship  in  1896,  and  that  his  thor- 
ough understanding  of  the  tariff  issue  ren- 
dered it  especially  desirable  that  he  be 
made  a  member  of  the  upper  branch  of 
the  national  legislative  body.  In  behalf 
of  the  other  contestants  for  this  exalted 
position  varying  pleas  were  made.  It  was 
freely  conceded  that  all  of  the  aspirants 
had  claims  to  merit  entitling  them  to 
favorable  consideration.  Yet  only  one 
could  be  chosen  at  this  time,  and  the  final 


conclusion  of  the  memorable  legislative 
caucus  of  1909  was  that  the  coveted  honor 
be  conferred  upon  Mr.  Shively.  Twenty 
ballots  were  required  to  effect  a  nomina- 
tion. How  these  ballots  stood  is  revealed 
by  the  appended  tabular  statement. 

The  gentlemen  whose  names  were  pre- 
sented for  caucus  consideration  were: 
G.  V.  Menzies,  of  Mount  Vernon ;  Edward 
G.  Hoffman,  of  Fort  Wayne;  John  E. 
Lamb,  of  Terre  Haute;  L.  Ert  Slack,  of 
Franklin;  Benjamin  F.  Shively,  of  South 
Bend;  John  W.  Kern,  of  Indianapolis;  Ma- 
son J.  Niblack,  of  Vincennes;  Robert  W. 
Miers,  of  Bloomington ;  Albert  Zearing,  of 
Indianapolis. 


Ballots.  £        .>        "I         S         te         g 

W        w       M       J        K       S 

First    25  14  12  12  11  5 

Second    23  15  14  13  10  4 

Third    34  15  14  3  11  5 

Fourth    28  22  15  3  12  3 

Fifth   27  20  19  3  11  3 

Sixth   16  22  18  15  9  3 

Seventh    23  17  17  10  12  4 

Eijjhth    23  17  17  10  12  4 

Ninth    26  25  11  9  8  4 

Tenth    14  22  11  23  9  4 

Eleventh    26  25  8  9  11  4 

Twelfth    26  25  9  9  10  4 

Thirteenth   29  23  10  7  10  4 

Fourteenth    29  31  4  7  5  4 

Fifteenth    31  32  4  10  3  3 

Sixteenth    31  36  3  7  2  4 

Seventeenth    31  37  3  7  1  4 

Eighteenth    31  37  3  7  1  4 

Nineteenth 31  37  3  7  1  4 

Twentieth    35  42 ^ 4. .. 1 

On  the  first  and  second  ballots  Mason  J. 
Niblack  received  three  votes  and  Robert 
W.  Miers  one.  On  the  third  ballot  Miers 
received  one  vote.  On  the  fourteenth  bal- 
lot Niblack  received  one  and  a  half  votes 
and  Albert  Zearing  one  vote. 

Mr.  Shively's  formal  election  by  the 
General  Assembly,  in  joint  session,  fol- 
lowed the  action  of  the  caucus. 


[Chapter  LIV.] 

NOMINATION  OF  UNITED  STATES 
SENATORS 

BY  STATE  CONVENTION  MADE  MAIN  ISSUE  AT  DEMOCRATIC 
GATHERING  IN  1910 


pR  years  Democratic  State  plat- 
forms contained  planks  de- 
manding that  constitutional 
provision  be  made  for  the  elec- 
tion of  United  States  Senators 
i|;&>i^^^  I  by  direct  vote  of  the  people, 
U  <  ji<.'b^ J  instead  of  by  action  of  the  vari- 
ous State  Legislatures.  The  original 
proposition  to  amend  the  federal  consti- 
tution to  that  end  in  view  is  in  history 
credited  to  Andrew  Johnson  of  Tennes- 
see, who,  during  the  early  fifties,  pre- 
sented a  strong  argument  in  support  of 
that  proposition.  A  partial  beginning  in 
that  direction  was  made  in  Illinois,  in 
1858,  when  by  action  of  the  Democratic 
and  Republican  conventions  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  and  Abraham  Lincoln  were  made 
opposing  candidates  for  the  United  States 
Senate.  In  conformity  with  such  proce- 
dure a  series  of  joint  discussions  was  ar- 
ranged for  by  the  distinguished  contest- 
ants. These  discussions,  or  joint  debates, 
as  they  were  popularly  named,  attracted 
widespread  attention,  not  so  much  on  ac- 
count of  the  novelty  of  the  new  departure 
as  by  reason  of  the  extraordinary-  charac- 
ter of  the  arguments  adduced  by  the  rival 
candidates. 

Douglas  was  champion  of  what  was  then 
popularly  known  as  and  perhaps  derisively 
termed  Squatter  Sovereignty.  Senator 
Douglas  himself  designated  it  Popular 
Sovereignty.  The  idea  embodied  in  it  was 
that  the  people  of  a  territory  should  have 
the  right  before  admission  into  the  Union 
to  determine  to  their  own  satisfaction 
whether  or  not  slavery  should  legally  ex- 
ist within  its  borders.  In  one  of  his  mas- 
terly speeches  Douglas  unguardedly  made 


the  declaration  that  so  far  as  he  was  con- 
cerned it  mattered  not  whether  slavery 
was  voted  up  or  down — that  was  a  matter 
the  disposition  of  which  rested  wholly 
with  the  people  of  such  territory.  Lin- 
coln had  planted  himself  upon  higher 
ground.  While  by  no  means  a  fanatic  on 
the  slavery  question,  he  had  fully  per- 
suaded himself  to  look  upon  slavery  as  an 
evil — tolerated  in  States  where  it  had  legal 
existence,  but  not  to  be  wantonly  extended 
into  free  territory.  With  terrific  efl'ect  he 
arraigned  Douglas  for  being  instrumental 
in  bringing  about  the  repeal  of  the  Mis- 
souri compromise,  under  which  slavery 
was  specifically  excluded  from  territory 
then  seeking  admission  into  the  Union. 

Lincoln  startled  some  of  his  conserva- 
tive supporters  by  boldly  exclaiming  in 
one  of  his  earnest  pleas  for  humanity  and 
justice  that  as  the  Bible  set  forth  the  in- 
disputable truth  that  a  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand,  it  was  equally 
true  that  this  country  could  not  always  be 
one-half  free  and  one-half  slave. 

All  in  all  it  was  a  wonderful  debate.  If 
senators  could  at  that  time  have  been 
cho.sen  by  popular  vote  it  is  difficult,  even 
now,  to  make  a  good  guess  as  to  which  one 
of  these  gladiators  would  have  been  the 
popular  choice.  Under  the  then  existing 
apportionment  Douglas  secured  a  major- 
ity of  the  members  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, and  was  by  it  triumphantly  re-elected ; 
but  it  has  all  along  been  claimed  and  not 
denied  that  the  aggregate  vote  for  those 
members  of  the  legislature  who  voted  for 
Lincoln  was  about  4,000  in  exce.ss  of  the 
vote   cast    for    membei;s    who    voted    for 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  1 


Douglas.  However  that  may  be,  both 
Douglas  and  Lincoln  were  nominated  for 
the  presidency  in  1860. 

The  Democratic  party  being  split  in  two 
on  the  slavery  question,  the  election  of 
Lincoln  to  the  presidency  was  a  foregone 
conclusion.  What  followed  is  a  matter  of 
history,  known  to  all.  There  is  no  doubt 
about  the  great  debate  having  proved  an 
inestimable  benefit  to  both  Douglas  and 
Lincoln.  It  had  a  broadening  effect  on 
both,  and  in  course  of  time  brought  them 
into  close  fellowship.  Chiefly  with  a  view 
to  letting  the  South  know  that  Lincoln 
could  count  on  being  supported  and  upheld 
by  Douglas  and  his  followers,  the  "Little 
Giant"  hastened  to  the  side  of  Lincoln  on 
the  occasion  of  his  inauguration  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Republic  and  held  his  hat  while 
with  uplifted  hand  was  registered  a  sol- 
emn oath  to  protect  and  defend  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  under  any 
and  all  circumstances. 

There  is  something  about  the  Douglas- 
Lincoln  debate  that  renders  it  to  many  a 
very  attractive  political  episode.  Narra- 
tives thereof,  popularly  and  fascinatingly 
presented,  doubtless  had  much  to  do  with 
popularizing  senatorial  election  by  direct 
vote  of  the  people.  The  ablest  argument 
ever  adduced  in  advocacy  of  its  adoption 
was  that  of  Judge  Jeremiah  S.  Black  of 
Pennsylvania  in  a  letter  written  to  the 
author  of  this  book  and  formally  promul- 
gated by  the  newly  organized  Democratic 
State  Editorial  Association  at  its  first 
meeting  on  the  8th  of  January,  1881.  And 
by  far  the  ablest  argument  against  the 
direct  election  scheme  was  that  formu- 
lated by  Senator  Hoar  of  Massachusetts. 
His  objections  were  never  brushed  aside 
by  any  one  who  ventured  to  discuss  the 
merits  or  demerits  of  the  proposition. 
Generally  they  were  regarded  as  unan- 
swerable, hence  they  remain  unanswered 
to  this  very  day.  Whether  for  or 
against  the  change,  since  fully  consum- 
mated, it  may  be  stated  with  utmost  posi- 


tiveness  that  no  conspicuous  or  even 
notable  improvement  is  anywhere  visible 
in  changing  from  legislative  to  popular 
election  of  United  States  Senators.  Where 
there  is  an  alert  electorate,  good  men  are 
chosen.  Where  sluggishness  and  indiffer- 
ence prevail,  senators  of  that  type  are  in- 
variably the  product. 

So  many  pronouncements  in  favor  of 
more  direct  methods  of  choosing  United 
States  Senators  having  been  put  forth  in 
conventions  and  other  assemblies,  and  re- 
echoed by  the  press.  Governor  Marshall 
reached  the  conclusion  that  some  step  in 
that  direction  ought  to  be  taken  by  In- 
diana. Accordingly,  one  day,  he  fulmi- 
nated a  proposition  that  at  the  next  Demo- 
cratic State  convention  a  candidate  for 
United  States  Senator  be  put  in  nomina- 
tion, such  action  to  be  considered  binding 
on  the  General  Assembly.  The  suggestion 
stirred  up  quite  a  feeling  throughout  the 
State  and  elicited  much  spirited  comment, 
favorable  and  unfavorable.  At  Indian- 
apolis the  evident  purpose  of  at  least  one 
conspicuous  newspaper  was  to  create  sen- 
timent of  irreconcilable  hostility.  The 
Governor  was  unctuously  patted  on  the 
back,  while  Thomas  Taggart  was  merci- 
lessly lambasted  as  the  chief  opponent  of 
the  Marshall  proposition.  Some  friction 
caused  by  the  legislative  caucus  of  1909 
in  coming  to  a  conclusion  as  to  who  de- 
served to  be  chosen  Senator  was  vividly 
brought  to  mind.  An  interview  by  John 
W.  Kern,  animadverting  with  some  asper- 
ity on  the  "perfidy"  of  Marion  county  leg- 
islators who  underhandedly  contributed  to 
Mr.  Kern's  defeat,  was  industriously  util- 
ized to  discredit  the  old  caucus  system  and 
to  popularize  the  proposed  new  departure. 
Had  the  discussion  been  confined  to  the 
merits  of  the  issue  itself  there  would  have 
been  absolutely  no  cause  for  acrimonious 
discussion  or  engendering  a  spirit  of  bit- 
terness. It  was  assumed  that  because 
Thomas  Taggart  opposed  the  new  method 
he  was  intent  on  capturing  the  next  sena- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


torship  by  the  active  operation  of  his  ma- 
chine, the  remnants  of  which,  according 
to  his  subsequent  pronouncement  in  the 
convention,  had  been  unceremoniously 
dumped  upon  the  scrap  heap.  Disagree- 
ments and  animosities  thus  created  are  the 
direct  result  of  the  pernicious  personality 
so  often  maliciously  injected  into  political 
activities.  Mr.  Taggart  had  as  clear  a 
right  to  oppose  the  innovation  as  Governor 
Marshall  had  to  champion  it.  Both  may 
justly  be  credited  with  having  simply  fol- 
lowed their  convictions  without  being  gov- 
erned by  selfish  or  unworthy  motives. 

A  hue  and  cry  was  raised  over  the  action 
of  the  State  Central  Committee  in  arrang- 
ing that  this  vexatious  question  be  dis- 
posed of  before  the  convention  proceeded 
to  the  performance  of  the  functions  for 
which  it  had  been  convened.  Instead  of 
having  been  an  unscrupulous  device  of  a 
"desperate  political  boss,"  it  turned  out  to 
be  a  wise  procedure  and  resulted  in  benefi- 
cently simplifying  matters. 

So  much  by  way  of  preface  to  the  re- 
cording of  the  doings  of  one  of  the  most 
interesting  State  conventions  ever  held  in 
Indiana.  The  convention  was  held  in 
Tomlinson  Hall,  Indianapolis,  April  28, 
1910.  What  occurred  then  and  there  was 
ihus  reported  in  the  Indianapolis  Neivs  of 
that  date : 

"After  a  dramatic  debate  and  intense 
excitement,  the  Democratic  State  conven- 
tion adopted  this  morning  the  Governor's 
plan  for  the  nomination  of  a  United  States 
Senator.  The  fight  was  close  and  uncer- 
tain to  the  last,  the  final  vote  standing 
8881/0  to  8581/2,  a  majority  of  thirty  votes. 

"The  Senatorship  fight  was  so  intense 
that  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  read- 
ing of  the  platform,  which  was  adopted 
without  debate,  and  the  business  moved 
quickly  to  the  nomination  of  Senator. 

"Governor  Marshall  called  the  conven- 
tion to  order  at  9 :35.  After  the  invoca- 
tion, Charles  L.  Jewett  of  New  Albany 
was  asked  to  preside.  It  was  nearly  10 
o'clock  before  the  chairman  announced 
that  the  question  was,  'Shall  the  conven- 
tion nominate  a  United  States  Senator?' 


The  chairman  announced  that  they  would 
have  forty-five  minutes,  and  then  only  a 
roll  call  would  be  in  order  and  that  no  dele- 
gate would  be  recognized.  James  E.  Mc- 
Cullough  spoke  in  the  affirmative.  He  re- 
ferred to  the  fact  that  Bryan  had  endorsed 
the  plan.  Samuel  M.  Ralston  of  Lebanon 
took  the  stand  to  oppose  the  plan,  claim- 
ing that  the  nomination  of  Senator  by  the 
convention  was  a  usurpation  of  authority, 
and  he  was  against  it.  Al.'^o  said  that  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  provided 
a  method  by  which  United  States  Senators 
should  be  elected.  He  declared  that  only 
a  few  Democrats  vote  for  convention  dele- 
gates, while  practically  all  voted  for  the 
members  of  the  Legislature. 

"Senator  Shively  spoke  next:  'Let  no 
mistakes  be  made  at  this  time.  The  Demo- 
cratic party  has  for  years  declared  for  the 
election  of  United  States  Senators  by  di- 
rect vote,  but  up  to  this  hour  there  is  no 
official  call  for  the  nomination  of  a  United 
States  Senator  by  this  convention.  There 
is  no  authority  for  issuing  such  a  call.  Let 
the  candidates  go  before  the  people  of  this 
State,  let  them  assist  in  the  battle.' 

"Mr.  John  E.  Lamb  next  took  the  .stand : 
'There  is  no  dissension  among  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  Democratic  party.  There 
will  be  none  when  this  convention  has  done 
its  duty.  There  is  no  personal  feeling  in 
the  great  issue  which  has  been  raised  by 
the  "Little  Giant  of  Indiana"  (pointing  to 
the  Governor),  but  I  am  opposed  everlast- 
ingly to  Taggartism  in  Indiana.'  His  fur- 
ther reference  to  Tom  Taggart  and  Craw- 
ford Fairbanks  met  with  a  pandemonium 
of  hisses  from  the  Taggart  men  and  a 
jumble  of  cries  for  Taggart.  The  chair- 
man rapped  for  order,  but  his  request  was 
unavailing.  The  hissing  lasted  four  and 
one-half  minutes.  Mr.  Lamb  finally  pro- 
ceeded, and  referred  to  any  hold-over  sen- 
ators who  would  not  abide  by  the  decision 
of  the  party  as  Judases  of  the  party.  Mr. 
Lamb  said  that  whatever  the  result  he 
would  fight  in  the  ranks,  but  no  one  could 
take  from  him  the  pride  of  following  the 
Governor. 

"The  roll  was  then  called,  and  the  result 
showed  a  majority  of  thirty  for  the  Gov- 
ernor's plan.  Governor  Marshall  then  was 
introduced,  and  he  in  turn  introduced  Sen- 
ator Shively  as  permanent  chairman." 

The  secretary  of  the  convention  was 
chosen  without  a  dissenting  vote. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  AND  PERMANENT 
ORGANIZATION. 

1.  E.  P.  Richardson,  Petersburg. 

2.  Wm.  H.  Bridwell,  Sullivan. 

3.  John  H.  Luckett,  English. 

4.  George  E.  Downey,  Aurora. 

5.  John  E.  Lamb,  Terre  Haute. 

6.  J.  E.  McCullough,  Greenfield. 

7.  M.  A.  Ryan,  Indianapolis. 

8.  Joseph  O'Day,  Muncie. 

9.  John  E.  Frederick,  Kokomo. 

10.  Lemuel  Darrow,  Laporte. 

11.  Dr.  M.  T.  Shively,  Marion. 

12.  W.  H.  Mclntyre,  Auburn. 

13.  E.  C.  Martindale,  Plymouth. 

On  account  of  the  senatorial  controversy 
this  committee  was  possessed  of  unusual 
importance. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  Fred  Lauenstein,  Evansville. 

2.  John  H.  Spencer,  Washington. 

3.  Evan  B.  Stotsenburg,  New  Albany. 

4.  Frank  Branaman,  Brownsburg. 

5.  J.  S.  McFadden,  Rockville. 

6.  A.  S.  Tremain,  Greensburg. 

7.  Jos.  E.  Bell,  Indianapolis. 

8.  John  M.  Smith,  Portland. 

9.  John  C.  O'Connor,  Delphi. 

10.  Lawrence  Becker,  Hammond. 

11.  Frank  D.  Butler,  Peru. 

12.  Chas.  M.  Niezer,  Fort  Wavne. 

13.  Robert  E.  Proctor,  Elkhart. 

The  platform  as  reported  by  the  com- 
mittee and  approved  by  the  convention  de- 
nounces the  Payne-Aldrich  tariff  act. 

Denounces  the  Republican  party  for  its 
support  of  the  tariff  and  other  partisan 
measures. 

Favors  the  enactment  of  a  law  provid- 
ing for  a  pension  of  not  less  than  one  dol- 
lar a  day  for  all  Union  veterans  of  the  civil 
war. 

Ratifies  the  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  authorizing  Con- 
gress to  levy  an  income  tax. 

Opposes  all  government  subsidies  and 
condemns  present  ship  subsidy  bill. 

Opposes  the  indiscriminate  use  of  the 
power  of  injunction  by  the  courts  without 
notice  to  the  defendants  and  without  a 
hearing;  and  further  demands  the  right  of 
trial  by  jury. 

Condemns  extravagance  of  the  Repub- 
lican party. 

Favors  the  conservation  of  our  natural 
resources  and  the  improvement  of  interior 
waterways. 

Commends  and  endorses  Senator  Benja- 
min F.  Shively. 

Commends  Governor  Thomas  R.  Mar- 
shall. 


Favors  public  accounting  law. 

Favors  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as 
will  provide  for  the  construction  and  main- 
tenance of  our  free  turnpikes  in  a  more 
economical  manner. 

Favors  a  general  registration  law. 

Favors  child  labor  legislation  and  laws 
dealing  with  the  sanitary  condition  of 
workshops. 

Favors  laws  fully  protecting  labor,  in- 
cluding employers'  liability,  industrial 
arbitration,  shorter  hours,  prevention  of 
competition  between  free  and  convict 
labor. 

Affirms  local  option — incorporated  cities 
and  townships  as  units  of  election. 

Favors  the  election  of  United  States 
Senators  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people. 

Opposes  the  creation  and  continuance  of 
useless  and  unnecessary  offices  and  boards ; 
favors  consolidation  of  labor  commission 
and  factory  inspector. 

Resolved,  That  the  rooster  shall  be 
adopted  as  the  emblem  of  the  Democratic 
party  of  Indiana. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  T.  D.  Scales,  Boonville. 

2.  Fabius  Gwin,  Shoals. 

3.  Mark  L.  Storen,  Scottsburg. 

4.  Francis  M.  Griffith,  Vevay. 

5.  Peter  M.  Foley,  Terre  Haute. 

6.  John  Osborn,  Greensburg. 

7.  Bernard  Korbly,  Indianapolis. 

8.  George  T.  Beebe,  Anderson. 

9.  William  E.  Longley,  Noblesville. 

10.  Charles  J.  Murphy,  Brookston. 

11.  E.  E.  Cox,  Hartford  City. 

12.  Edward  G.  Hoffman,  Fort  Wavne. 

13.  Peter  J.  Kruyer,  Plymouth. 

U.  Stokes  Jackson,  Greenfield,  Chairman. 
Fabius  Gwin,  Shoals,  Vice-Chairman. 

THE  TICKET  NOMINATED. 

Four  of  the  fifteen  candidates  placed  on 
the  State  ticket  were  nominated  by  accla- 
mation. They  were  Lew  G.  Ellingham, 
William  H.  O'Brien,  Robert  J.  Aley,  and 
Thomas  W.  Brolley. 

The  first  contest  was  for  Treasurer. 
The  contestants  were :  W.  H.  Vollmer  of 
Vincennes,  Charles  M.  Cooper  of  Indian- 
apolis and  B.  T.  Merrell  of  Crawfordsville. 
On  the  third  ballot  Vollmer  was  nomi- 
nated with  881  votes;  Cooper,  491;  Mer- 
rell, 375. 

The  race  for  the  Attorney-Generalship 
brought   out   three   candidates:     Thomas 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


M.  Honan  of  Seymour,  Richard  M.  Mil- 
burn  of  Jasper  and  Adam  Wise  of  Plym- 
outh. Honan  was  nominated  on  the  sec- 
ond ballot,  the  vote  standing:  Honan, 
1,008;  Milburn,  647;  Wise,  95. 

The  entire  ticket  was  constituted  as  fol- 
lows : 

Secretary  of  State — Lew  G.  Ellinpham,  Decatur. 
Auditor    of   State — Wm.    H.    O'Brien,    Lawrence- 
burp. 
Treasurer — W.  H.  Vollmer,  Vineennes. 
Attorney-General — Thomas   M.   Honan,   Seymour. 
Clerk  Supreme  Court — J.  Fred  France,  Hunting- 
ton. 
Superintendent  Public  Instruction — Robt.  J.  Aley, 

Indianapolis. 
State  Geolop:ist — Edward  Barrett. 
State    Statistician— Thomas    W.    Brolley,    North 

Vernon. 
Judges  of   Supreme   Court — Douglas   Morris   and 

Chas.  E.  Cox. 
Judges   of   Appellate   Court — Jos.    G.    Ibach,   An- 
drew A.   Adams.  Moses   B.   Lairy,   Edward   W. 
Felt  and  M.  B.  Hottel. 

JOHN  W.  KERN  NAMED  FOR  UNITED 
STATES  SENATOR. 

John  W.  Kern  was  nominated  for 
United  States  Senator  despite  the  fact  that 
he  insisted  he  was  not  a  candidate.  The 
nomination  followed  the  withdrawal  of 
Lamb.  Slack  and  other  candidates.  The 
First  district  presented  the  name  of  G.  V. 
Menzies,  of  Mt.  Vernon;  the  Second  dis- 
trict, former  Congressman  Robert  W. 
Miers ;  the  Third  district,  Joseph  H.  Shea, 
of  Seymour;  the  Fourth  district,  L.  Ert 
Slack;  the  Fifth  district,  John  E.  Lamb. 
When  Thomas  Taggart  and  John  W.  Kern 
were  nominated  by  the  Seventh  district 
there  was  an  outburst  for  Kern.  The 
Ninth  district  seconded  the  nomination  of 
Kern.  The  Tenth  district  proposed  Law- 
rence Becker  of  Hammond,  also  D.  W. 
Sims  of  Lafayette.  The  Twelfth  district 
named  E.  G.  Hoffman  of  Fort  Wayne. 

It  was  evident,  as  the  roll  call  proceed- 
ed, that  Kern  would  develop  considerable 
strength  all  over  the  State.  There  were 
cheers  from  the  audience  as  one  after  an- 
other of  the  counties  cast  part  of  its  vote 
for  him.     Howard,  his  old  home  county, 


cast  its  entire  vote  for  Kern.  Taggart  got 
few  votes  on  the  roll  call.  When  half-way 
through  it  looked  as  though  Kern  and 
Slack  would  lead  and  Lamb  would  take 
third  place.  On  the  first  ballot  Marion 
county  cast  6  votes  for  Kern  and  177 
for  Taggart.  About  this  time  the  word 
went  out  that  on  the  next  ballot  the 
county  would  switch  to  Kern.  As  the  bal- 
lot was  being  completed,  John  W.  Kern, 
who  was  a  delegate,  mounted  a  chair.  "I 
have  ju.st  now  entered  this  hall,"  he  said. 
"My  name  was  presented  against  my  or- 
ders and  my  will.  No  man  has  authority 
to  present  my  name,  and  I  am  in  no  sense 
a  candidate."  They  continued  to  yell  for 
him,  however,  and  also  to  vote. 

First  ballot:  Menzies,  154;  Miers,  57; 
Shea,  138;  Slack,  174;  Lamb,  226;  Tag- 
gart, 228;  Kern,  303;  Becker,  51;  Sims, 
100;  Hoffman,  166;  Adair,  133;  Ral- 
.ston,  9.  These  were  given  Mr.  RaLston 
upon  the  call  of  his  county,  Boone,  though 
he  had  not  been  a  candidate. 

On  the  second  ballot  Kern  made  steady 
gains.  When  Marion  county  was  reached 
the  convention  became  quiet  for  the  first 
time  during  the  session.  Thomas  Taggart 
mounted  a  chair  and  said,  "Marion  county 
ca.sts  183  votes  for  the  Hon.  John  W. 
Kern."  Kern  did  not  have  enough  votes 
to  nominate  him  on  the  second  ballot,  but 
it  was  evident  that  he  would  win  on  the 
third.  Kern  then  rose  to  his  feet  and  said 
he  positively  was  not  a  candidate  and 
would  not  accept  the  nomination.  He 
said  it  was  charged  that  he  was  masquer- 
ading and  that  at  the  proper  time  he 
would  come  in  and  stampede  the  nomina- 
tion. The  convention  refused  to  accept 
Kern's  declination.  Taggart  then  mount- 
ed a  chair  and  .said,  "I  believe  it  is  the  will 
of  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  that  John  W. 
Kern  be  the  next  United  States  Senator 
from  Indiana,  and  I  believe  he  should  ac- 
quiesce." This  was  loudly  cheered,  and  it 
was  plain  that  the  delegates  would  not  per- 
mit Kern  to  decline  the  nomination. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


The  third  ballot  resulted :  Kern,  7721/2 
Adair,  147;  Menzies,  144;  Miers,  56V2 
Shea,  901/0;  Slack,  210;  Taggart,  1 
Becker,  4 ;  Sims,  93 ;  Hoffman,  5. 

Lamb  made  a  brief  speech,  withdraw- 
ing, and  asked  permission  to  cast  the  sixty 
Vigo  county  votes  for  Kern.  Shea,  Slack, 
Hoffman  and  Adair  followed  in  the  with- 
drawing rush,  and  amidst  tumultuous 
cheering  John  W.  Kern  was  declared  to  be 
the  convention's  unanimous  choice  for 
Senator,  with  the  implied  understanding 
that  he  be  formally  elected  by  the  General 
Assembly. 

DEMOCRACY'S  COMPLETE  TRIUMPH 
—FIRST  SINCE  1892. 

No  uncertainty  as  to  the  outcome  of  the 
election  the  following  November  was  felt. 
Victory  was  in  sight  when  the  ticket  was 
nominated,  and  was  held  in  sight  until  the 
returns  attested  it  beyond  cavil.  And  the 
pluralities  by  which  the  ticket  was  elected 
were  nearly  up  to  the  Marshall  figures  of 
two  years  before.  The  vote  for  the  vari- 
ous candidates  for  Secretary  of  State  is 
given  in  full ;  for  the  rest  of  the  ticket  the 
pluralities  will  suffice: 

— Secretary  of  State — 

Lewis  G.  Ellingham,  Democrat 299,935 

Otis  E.  Gulley,  Republican 287,568 

Sherman  G.  Jones,  Socialist 19,632 

George  Hitz,  Prohibition 17,024 

Oliver  P.   Stoner,   Socialist-Labor 2,974 

— Auditor  of  State — 

William  H.   O'Brien    12,259 

— Treasurer  of  State — 

William  H.  Vollmer   11,954 

— Attorney-General — 

Thomas  M.  Honan    12,866 

— Clerk  of  Supreme  Court — 

James  Frederick  France   12,183 

— Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — 

Charles  A.  Greathouse 12,629 

— Chief  of  Bureau  of  Statistics — 
Thomas  W.  BroUey 11,449 

— State  Geologist — 
Edward  Barrett 11,569 


— Judges   of   Supreme   Court — 

Douglas  Morris  and  Charles  E.  Cox,  by  about 

the  same  pluralities  as  the  foregoing. 

— Judges  of  Appellate   Court — 

Milton  B.  Hottel,  Edward  W.  Felt,  Andrew  A. 

Adams,   Moses   B.   Lairy  and  Joseph   G.   Ibach — 

pluralities  substantially  same  as  those  for  others 

on  the  ticket. 

MEMBERS  OP  CONGRESS  CHOSEN. 

1.  John  W.  Boehne,  Democrat   22,420 

Francis  B.  Posey,  Republican    18,606 

2.  William   A.   Cullop,   Democrat 22,960 

Osciir  E.  Bland,  Republican 21,419 

3.  William  E.  Cox,  Democrat 21,670 

Harry  C.   Poindexter,  Republican 14,969 

4.  Lincoln  Dixon,  Democrat 22,001 

John  H.  Kemman,  Republican 17,921 

5.  Ralph  W.   Moss,  Democrat 25,917 

Frank  Tilley,  Republican 21,267 

6.  Finley  P.  Gray,  Democrat 23,740 

William  O.  Barnard,  Republican 22,242 

7.  Charles  A.   Korbly,   Democrat 30,330 

Linton  A.  Cox,  Republican 26,968 

8.  John  A.  M.  Adair,  Democrat 25,455 

Rollin  Warner,  Republican 19,309 

9.  Martin  A.  Morrison,  Democrat 24,434 

Everett  E.  Neal,  Republican 23,841 

10.  Edgar  D.  Crumpacker,  Republican 27,722 

John  B.  Peterson,  Democrat 25,692 

U.  George  W.  Ranch,  Democrat 22,528 

John  L.  Thompson,  Republican 21,282 

12.  Cyrus  Cline,  Democrat 19,754 

Owen  N.  Heaton,  Republican 17,937 

13.  Henry  A.  Barnhart,  Democrat 25,253 

John  L.  Moorman,  Republican 24,153 

For  the  first  time  in  years  a  nearly  solid 
Democratic  delegation  was  sent  to  Con- 
gress by  pluralities  that  compared  favor- 
ably with  those  by  which  a  solid  Repub- 
lican delegation  was  produced  by  the  land- 
slide of  1894. 

The  General  Assembly  for  1911  became 
Democratic  in  both  Houses.  The  Senate 
had  30  Democrats  to  20  Republicans;  the 
House  60  Democrats  to  40  Republicans. 
This  insured  the  election  of  John  W.  Kern 
to  the  United  States  Senate  at  the  time 
fixed  by  law.  By  a  strict  party  vote  he 
was  elected  over  Albert  J.  Beveridge.  The 
nomination  that  he  spurned  in  April  af- 
forded him  the  greatest  victory  he  ever 
won  during  the  many  years  of  his  political 
battling. 


(416) 


[Chapter  LV.] 

PATIENCE  SPLENDIDLY  REWARDED 
IN  1912 

BY  THE  UNANIMOUS  NOMINATION  OF  SAMUEL  M.  RALSTON 
FOR  GOVERNOR 


SPIRITED  fight  was  made  in 

All  the  convention  of  1908  to  se- 
i;  cure  the  nomination  of  Samuel 
I  AI.  Ralston  of  Lebanon  for  Gov- 
ernor. He  had  strong  support, 
a  devoted  following,  and  excel- 
lent leadership.  For  one  rea- 
son or  another  there  was  manifested  on 
the  part  of  a  half  dozen  Democrats  of 
prominence  an  irresistible  longing  to  head 
the  ticket,  in  the  hope  and  expectation  that 
the  fortunes  of  political  war  might  place 
the  choice  of  the  convention  in  the  chair 
in  years  gone  by  graced  by  some  of  In- 
diana's most  illustrious  sons.  There  were 
not  just  then  clearly  visible  to  the  naked 
eye  signs  of  irreparable  Republican  dis- 
ruption, yet  there  was  prevalent  a  feeling 
in  some  quarters  that  .something  was  liable 
to  happen  that  would  put  an  end  to  the 
domination  that  dated  from  the  year  1894 
and  proved  impregnable  up  to  that  time — 
the  Hanly  episode  in  1908.  Samuel  M. 
Ralston  was  among  these  aspirants.  His 
chief  competitor  was  L.  Ert  Slack,  who 
had  gained  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  use- 
ful, progressive  legislator  and  a  resolute 
champion  of  certain  much-needed  reforms. 
On  these  pi'opositions  Ralston  and  Slack 
had  much  in  common.  Both  were  and  .still 
are  pronounced  opponents  of  intemperance 
and  kindred  evils  and  vices.  Both  are 
firm  believers  in  and  advocates  of  public 
and  private  morality,  and  both  insist  upon 
law  observance  and  obedience.  Yet,  in 
1908,  they  were  in  battle  array,  both  in  hot 
pursuit  of  the  coveted  prize,  and  both 
seemingly  determined  that  the  "other  fel- 
low" should  not  be  the  winner.  Conditions 
of  this  character  arise  once  in  a  while  and 


are  difiicuit  to  modify  or  control.  To  this 
very  day  some  of  Ral.ston's  zealous  sup- 
porters contend  that  had  he  "stuck"  and 
not  withdrawn  he  would  in  the  end  have 
captured  the  nomination.  But  those  who 
were  in  charge  of  his  campaign  were  of 
ditt'erent  opinion.  They  believed  the  only 
way  to  prevent  the  norhination  of  Slack 
was  by  withdrawing  Ralston  and  throwing 
his  support  to  Marshall.  This  was  done, 
and  Marshall  not  only  won  the  nomination, 
but  also  the  election  in  November.  Though 
sorely  disappointed,  Ralston  in  due  course 
of  time  became  reconciled,  sensibly  turned 
his  back  upon  the  dead  past  and  hopefully 
looked  to  the  future.  He  had  learned  that 
there  is  truth  and  philosophy  in  the  old 
saying,  "All  things  come  to  those  who  have 
patience  to  wait."  He  abided  his  time,  and 
when  in  1912  his  party  met  in  convention 
to  name  a  successor  to  Governor  Marshall, 
the  field  had  been  cleared  for  him,  and  he 
had  the  proud  distinction  of  being  nomi- 
nated by  acclamation  and  to  be  elected  in 
November  by  the  largest  plurality  accord- 
ed to  any  gubernatorial  candidate  in  the 
hi.story  of  Indiana. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  for 
1912  assembled  at  Tomlinson  Hall,  Indian- 
apolis, March  21.  The  committee  on  per- 
manent organization,  through  its  chair- 
man, George  E.  Downey,  announced  that 
it  had  chosen  Governor  Thomas  R.  Mar- 
shall for  temporary  chairman  and  Senator 
John  W.  Kern  for  permanent  chairman  of 
the  convention.  These  selections  were 
ratified  by  the  delegates.  J.  H.  Heller  of 
ihe  Decatur  Democrat  was  named  as  prin- 
cipal secretary. 


14 — History 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS. 

At  Large — John  B.  Stoll  of  South  Bend,  and 
George  H.  Voigt  of  Jeffersonville. 

Contingents — Benjamin  F.  Deahl  of  Goshen  and 
Wm.  Everroad  of  Columbus. 

1.  Robert  M.  Gray,  Otwell. 

2.  John  W.  Cravens,  Bloomington. 

3.  E.  A.  Gladden,  Scottsburg. 

4.  George   P.   Shoemaker,   Greensburg. 

5.  M.  C.  Hamill,  Terre  Haute. 

6.  Wm.  Merrill,  Connersville. 

7.  Joseph  A.  Rink,   Indianapolis. 

8.  E.  S.  Edgar,  Winchester. 

9.  Frank  W.  MacCoughtry,  Attica. 

10.  M.  A.  Duffy,  Fowler. 

11.  Charles  E.  Edwards,  Huntington. 

12.  Simon  J.  Straus,  Ligonier. 

13.  J.  P.  Rumley,  Laporte. 

CONTINGENT  ELECTORS. 

1.  George  Wandel,  Grandview. 

2.  W.  F.  Cassady,  Spencer. 

3.  Miles  Roland,  French  Lick. 

4.  M.  F.  Bolen,  Batesville. 

5.  T.  E.  Hamrick,  Clayton. 

6.  Herman  Trichler,  Brookville. 

7.  Oscar  Hendricks,  Indianapolis. 

8.  Phanhel  Mclntire,  Bluffton. 

9.  D.  E.  Murphy,  Kokomo. 

10.  James   P.   Simons,   Monticello. 

11.  Aaron  Walsh,  Hartford  City. 

12.  Louis  N.  Kocher,  Whitley  county. 

13.  Capt.  A.  G.  Wood,  Warsaw. 
DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

At  Large — Benjamin  F.  Shively  of  South  Bend, 
John  W.  Kern  of  Indianapolis,  Thomas  Taggart 
of  Indianapolis,  Major  G.  V.  Menzies  of  Mount 
Vernon. 

Contingents  —  EIrner  Gandy  of  Churubusco, 
John  B.  Patterson  of  Crown  Point,  John  Ullrich 
of  Aurora,  Joseph  E.  Keller  of  Indianapolis. 

1.  John  R.  Brill,  Evansville;  Dr.  R.  A.  Cushman, 

Princeton. 

2.  John  W.  McCarty,  Washington;  Jas.  R.  Riggs, 

Sullivan. 

3.  Charles   D.    Kelso,   New   Albany;    William   E. 

Clark,  Bedford. 

4.  John    M.    Thompson,    Columbus;    Joseph    M. 

Cravens,  Madiion. 

5.  Crawford  Fairbanks,  Terre  Haute;  J.  S.  Mc- 

Faddin,  Rockville. 
3.  H.  L.  Ashley,  Richmond;  Francis  M.  Alexan- 
der, Brookville. 

7.  Joseph    E.    Bell,    Indianapolis;    W.    F.    Moore, 

Indianapolis. 

8.  Daniel    L.    Boland,    Anderson;    Mat   H.    Hart, 

Dunkirk. 


9.  George  H.   Gifford,  Tipton;   Charles  L.   Good- 
bar,  Crawfordsville. 

10.  Lawrence  Becker,  Hammond;  George  R.  Dur- 

gan,  Lafayette. 

11.  Dr.  M.  T.  Shively,  Marion;  Frank  D.  Butler, 

Peru. 

12.  Andrew  A.   Adams,   Columbia   City;    Maurice 

Niezer,   Fort  Wayne. 

13.  Mayor  Charles  L.  Goetz,  South  Bend;   Mayor 

S.  F.   Spohn,  Goshen. 

ALTERNATES  TO  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

1.  M.  McStoops,  Petersburg;  Dr.  D.  V.  McClary 

Dole,  Spencer. 

2.  W.   P.   Dill,   Bloomington;   J.   H.   Humphreys, 

Linton. 

3.  John  Read  Voigt,  Jeffersonville;  Bomar  Tray- 

lor,  Jasper. 

4.  Francis    I.    Gailbraith,    Sunman;    Samuel    A. 

Wilson,  Franklin. 

5.  Charles    S.   Batt,   Terre   Haute;    B.   C.   Craig, 

Brazil. 

6.  Horace  G.  Yeargan,  New  Castle;  J.  W.  Trip- 

pito,  Fortville. 

7.  Romus  F.  Stuart,  Acton;  James  Riley,  Indian- 

apolis. 

8.  W.    H.    Finan,    Muncie;    John    H.   Heller,    De- 

catur. 

9.  Daniel  Reed,  Attica;  T.  A.  Morrison,   Frank- 

fort. 

10.  William     Spooner,    Valparaiso;     Thomas     W. 

O'Connor,  Monticello. 

11.  W.    H.    Sharp,    Wabash;    James    T.    Strange, 

Marion. 

12.  Fred  L.  Feick,  Garrett;  E.  A.  Metz,  Lagrange. 

13.  H.  F.  Schricker,  Starke;  Enoch  Meyers,  Ful- 

ton. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  John  J.  Nolan,  Evansville. 

2.  Willis  Hickman,  Spencer. 

3.  Richard  M.  Milburn,  Jasper. 

4.  Allen  Swope,  Seymour. 

5.  Harry  Wallace,  Terre  Haute. 

6.  S.  L.  Trabue,  Rushville. 

7.  Michael  A.  Ryan,  Indianapolis. 

8.  Frank  C.  Dailey,  Bluffton. 

9.  W.  H.  Johnson,  Crawfordsville. 

10.  Hume  S.  Sammons,  Kentland. 

11.  Frank  M.  Kistler,  Logansport. 

12.  James  E.  McDonald,  Ligonier. 

13.  Harry  R.  Wair,  South  Bend. 

The  Indiana  State  Democratic  Platform 
for  1912  adheres  to  the  just  doctrine  of 
equal  opportunity  for  all  and  special  priv- 
ileges to  none. 

Condemns  the  Payne- Aldrich  act.  Fa- 
vors tariff  for  revenue  only. 


(418) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191  C 


Endorses  and  approves  the  record  of  the 
last  Democratic  Legislature  of  Indiana  for 
rational,  progressive  legislation. 

Endorses  the  income  tax  amendment 
and  the  Sherwood  pension  bill. 

Favors  the  enactment  of  such  laws  as 
will  provide  for  the  better  and  more  eco- 
nomical construction,  maintenance  and 
control  of  our  public  highways. 

Aftinns  a  semi-monthly  payment  of 
wages. 

Favors  the  establishment  of  a  mine 
rescue  .'station. 

Favors  the  celebration  of  the  centennial 
of  the  admission  of  Indiana  into  the  Union 
by  permanent  building. 

Favors  legislation  requiring  full  public- 
ity of  all  proposed  franchise  ordinances 
before  the  same  are  enacted. 

Endorses  the  record  of  Governor  Thos. 
R.  Marshall. 

Resolved,  That  the  rooster  shall  be 
adopted  as  the  emblem  of  the  State  Demo- 
cratic party. 

STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

1.  Benjamin  Bosse,  Evansville. 

2.  Fabius  Gwin,  Shoals. 

3.  Mai-k  L.  Storen,  Scottsburg-. 

4.  Francis  M.  Griffith,  Vevay. 

5.  James  L.  Randel,  Greencastle. 

6.  Charles  B.  Beck,  Richmond. 

7.  Bernard  Korbly,  Indianapolis. 

8.  Wm.  A.  Kunkel,  Bluffton. 

9.  Wm.  E.  Longley,  Noblesville. 

10.  Charles  J.  Murphy,  Brook.ston. 

11.  E.  E.  Cox,  Hartford  City. 

12.  Edward  G.  Hoffman,  Fort  Wayne. 

13.  Peter  J.  Kruyei-,  South  Bend. 
Bernard  Korbly,  Chairman. 
William  E.  Longley,  Vice-chairman. 

THE  TICKET. 

Governor — Samuel  M.  Ralston,  Lebanon. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Wm.  P.  O'Neill,  Misha- 
waka. 

Secretary  of  State — Lew  G.  Ellingham,  Decatur. 

Auditor  of  State — Wm.  H.  O'Brien,  Lawrence- 
burg. 

Treasurer  of  State — Wm.  H.  VoUmer,  Vincennes. 

Attorney-General — Thos.  M.  Honan,  Seymour. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — Chas.  A. 
Greathouse,  Indianapolis. 

State  Statistician— Thos.  W.  BroUey,  North  Ver- 

Reporter    Supreme    Court — Philip    Zoercher,    Tell 

City. 
Judges    of    Supreme    Court — John    W.    Spencer, 

Evansville;  Richard  K.  Erwin,  Fort  Wayne. 
Judge  Appellate  Court — Jos.  H.  Shea,  Seymour. 


Mr.  Ralston,  in  his  speech  of  acceptance, 
said:  "I  want  no  man  to  support  me  in 
my  candidacy  under  the  impression  that 
when  I  am  Governor  I  will  stand  for  Ioo.se 
morals  or  non-enforcement  of  the  law. 
When  I  become  Governor  I  will  take  an 
oath  to  support  and  enforce  the  laws,  and 
that  obligation  I  shall  keep."  This  courage- 
ous utterance  was  enthusiastically  ap- 
plauded. And  the  promise  then  and  there 
made  has  been  nobly  kept.  Lawlessness 
has  ever  been  held  in  abhorrence  by  Sam- 
uel M.  Ralston,  both  as  citizen  and  as  Gov- 
ernor. Samuel  M.  Ralston  was  presented 
for  Governor  by  Benjamin  Bosse  of  Evans- 
ville, who  until  recently  had  been  actively 
enlisted  in  the  support  of  ex-Congressman 
John  W.  Boehne,  the  _  so-called  anti-ma- 
chine favorite  for  Governor,  who  withdrew 
a  few  days  before  the  convention.  Mr. 
Ralston's  nomination  was  made  by  accla- 
mation, there  being  but  one  other  can- 
didate presented,  Lieutenant-Governor 
Frank  J.  Hall  of  Rushville,  who  withdrew 
before  the  voting  began. 

The  candidates  for  Lieutenant-Governor 
who  were  placed  in  nomination  were :  Dr. 
T.  D.  Scales  of  Boonville,  James  W.  For- 
tune of  Jeffersonville,  Leonard  B.  Clore  of 
Franklin,  Jacob  F.  Denny  of  Portland, 
Clay  W.  Metsker  of  Plymouth,  and  Wil- 
liam P.  O'Neill  of  Mishawaka.  The  fourth 
was  the  deciding  ballot,  and  the  vote  stood 
as  follows :  Scales,  1441/; ;  Fortune,  2341/2  ; 
Clore,  257 ;  O'Neill,  1,111.  The  latter  was 
declared  duly  nominated  and  his  nomina- 
tion made  unanimous. 

Secretary  of  State,  Auditor,  Treasurer, 
Attorney-General,  Superintendent  of  Pub- 
lic Instruction,  and  Statistician  were  all 
renominated  by  acclamation. 

As  candidates  for  Reporter  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  were  presented:  Philip 
Zoercher  of  Tell  City,  Harry  G.  Strickland 
of  Greenfield,  E.  E.  Cox  of  Hartford  City, 
and  C.  J.  McCullough  of  Brazil.  On  the 
third  ballot  McCullough  withdrew,  and 
most  of  his  support  went  to  Zoercher,  giv- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


ing  this  result  on  the  third  ballot:     Cox, 
545;  Strickland,  179;  Zoercher,  1,001. 

Candidates  for  First  District  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  Judgeship  were:  John  W. 
Spencer,  Evansville;  John  C.  McNutt, 
Martinsville;  O.  B.  Harris,  Terre  Haute; 
Edwin  Corr,  Bloomington.  Before  the 
entire  first  ballot  was  finished  Harris  with- 
drew. Spencer  was  nominated  on  the 
third  with  the  vote  as  here  recorded :  Spen- 
cer, 910;  McNutt,  585;  Corr,  239.  For 
Judge  of  the  Fourth  District  only  two  can- 
didates were  presented — Richard  K.  Er- 
win  of  Fort  Wayne  and  Fred  S.  Caldwell 


of  Winchester.  J.  W.  McClellan  of  Mat- 
thews, who  had  been  a  candidate  a  few 
days  before,  was  not  formally  put  in  nomi- 
nation. Erwin  was  nominated  on  the  only 
ballot  taken,  and  thereupon  Caldwell,  see- 
ing that  he  had  been  beaten,  moved  that 
the  nomination  be  made  unanimous.  Vote 
was:    Erwin,  1,151;  Caldwell,  599. 

The  nomination  of  Joseph  H.  Shea  of 
Seymour  for  Judge  of  Appellate  Court, 
First  District,  was  accomplished  with  a 
single  ballot.  The  only  other  candidate 
was  Albert  F.  Wray  of  Shelbyville.  The 
vote  stood:     Shea,  1,2911/2;  Wray,  4671/2- 


[Chapter  LVI.] 


DISRUPTION  OF  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 


MADE  DEMOCRATIC  VICTORY  IN  1912  EASY  AND  OVER- 
WHELMING 


i"^ y'|]|HE  split  in  the  Republican  par- 
I  Tn  ty,  the  nomination  of  separate 
I    I  tickets  and  the  bitterness  en- 

i  J_  gendered  by  the  fiery  contests 
tCZTj?  in  State  and  national  conven- 
1^^  tions,  rendered  it  absolutely 
II  ^~— in  certain  that  the  results  of  the 
November  election  would  record  over- 
whelming Democratic  victories.  The  real 
fight  was  not  between  Democrats  and  Re- 
publicans, but  between  the  standpat  and 
the  progressive  factions  of  the  Republican 
party.  The  only  duty  that  devolved  upon 
the  Democrats  was  to  steadfastly  keep 
their  forces  together  and  to  gather  in  the 
usufruct.  This  they  did  to  perfection,  and 
likewise  to  their  infinite  delight. 

POPULAR  VOTE  FOR  PRESIDENT,  1912. 

Total.  Pet. 

Wilson,  Democrat 6,286,214  41.82 

Roosevelt,  Progressive 4,126,020  27.45 

Taft,  Republican 3,483,922  23.17 

Debs,  Socialist 897,011  5.97 

Chafin,  Prohibition 208,923  1.39 

Reimer,   Socialist-Labor    29,079  .20 

In  the  electoral  college  Wilson  had  435, 
Roosevelt  88,  Taft  8.  Taft  carried  only 
two  Sates — Vei*mont  and  Utah.  Roosevelt 
got  California  (in  part) ,  Michigan,  Minne- 
sota, Pennsylvania,  South  Dakota  and 
Washington.  Two  of  the  thirteen  Cali- 
fornia electors  went  to  Wilson.  The  com- 
bined popular  vote  for  Roosevelt  and  Taft 
exceeded  that  of  Wilson  by  1,323,728.  In 
the  electoral  college  Wilson  had  339  more 
votes  than  Roosevelt  and  Taft  put  to- 
gether. 

Not  only  did  the  Republicans  lose  the 
Presidency  and  most  of  the  State  govern- 
ments, but  they  also  lost  control  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  in  which  they  were 
in  the  ascendancy  for  so  long  a  time.    The 


Democratic  majority  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives was  so  large  over  both  Repub- 
licans and  Progressives  that  Democratic 
leaders  felt  disinclined  to  jubilate  over 
their  numerical  preponderance.  Wise, 
sagacious  party  leaders  have  never  re- 
garded with  favor  an  abnormal  prepondei-- 
ance  in  a  legislative  as.sembly.  A  working 
majority  of  say  twenty-five  in  the  House  is 
deemed  vastly  preferable  to  an  excess  of 
125. 

THE   RESULT   IN  INDIANA. 

— President — 

Woodrow  Wilson,  Democrat 281,890 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  Progressive 162,007 

William  H.  Taft,  Republican 151,267 

Socialist  Elector 36,931 

Prohibition   Elector    19,249 

Socialist-Labor  Elector 3,130 

— Governor — 

Samuel  M.  Ralston,  Democrat 

Albert  J.  Beveridge,  Progressive .  . 
Winfield  T.  Durbin,  Republican... 
Stephen  N.  Reynolds,  Socialist.  .  .  . 


.  .275,357 
..166,124 
..142,850 
.  .   35,464 

William  H.  Hickman,  Prohibition 18,465 

James  Matthews,  Socialist-Labor 2,861 

— Lieutenant-Governor — 

William  P.  O'Neill,  Democrat 275,666 

Frederick  Landis.  Progressive.  , 156,798 

Thomas  T.  Moore,  Republican 147,481 

Samuel  S.  Cando,  Socialist 35,796 

Albert  N.  Jackman,  Prohibition 18,579 

Ira  J.  Baker.  Socialist-Labor 2,881 

— Secretary  of  State — 

Lew  G.  Ellingham,  Democrat 276,759 

Lawson  N.  Mace,  Progressive 157,309 

Fred  I.  King,  Republican 148,475 

Reece  C.  Townsend,  Socialist 35,816 

Isaac  S.  Wade,  Prohibition 18,4.53 

Ernest  Viewegh,  Socialist-Labor 2,850 

The  pluralities  by  which  the  other  can- 
didates on  the  Democratic  ticket  were 
elected  are  as  here  indicated : 


(  421 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


Auditor  of  State,  Wni.  H.  O'Brien 119,662 

Treasurer  of  State,  Wm.  H.  Vollmer 119,717 

Attorney-General,  Thomas  M.  Honan 118,262 

Reporter  of  Supreme  Court,  Philip  Zoer- 

cher   119,230 

Superintendent      of     Public      Instruction, 

Charles  A.  Greathouse 119,951 

Bureau  of  Statistics,  Thomas  W.  Brolley.  .119,262 
Supreme   Court,    First   District,   John   W. 

Spencer   119,988 

Supreme   Court,  Fourth   District,  Richard 

K.  Erwin   120,330 

Appel'ate  Court,  Joseph  H.  Shea 119,754 

SOLID   DEMOCRATIC    DELEGATION   IN 

CONGRESS. 

Plur. 

1.  Charles  Lieb 6,856 

2.  William  A.  Cullop 8,224 

3.  William  E.  Cox 13,101 

4.  Lincoln  Dixon 11,814 

5.  Ralph  W.  Moss 8,639 

6.  Finley  H.  Gray 8,745 

7.  Charles  A.  Korbly 10,499 

8.  J.  A.  M.  Adair 10,373 

9.  M.  A.  Morrison 7,673 

10.  John   B.   Peterson 1,107 

11.  George  W.  Rauch 9,681 

12.  Cyrus  Cline 8,756 

13.  Henry  A.  Barnhart 11,144 

It  will  be  observed  upon  scanning  the 
foregoing  tabular  statement  that  Albert  J. 
Beveridge  polled  several  thousand  more 
votes  than  were  cast  for  Roosevelt  or  any 
of  the  other  candidates  on  the  Progressive 
ticket.  Seemingly  he  drew  some  votes 
from  both  Democrats  and  Republicans. 
The  first  name  on  the  electoral  tickets  al- 
ways, since  the  introduction  of  the  Austra- 
lian ballot  system,  has  been  credited  with 
more  votes  than  the  other  fourteen  elec- 
toral nominees.  This  for  the  reason  that 
between  eight  and  ten  thousand  voters  for 
years  persisted  in  marking  only  the  first 
name,  laboring  under  the  delusion  that  a 
mark  in  the  first  square  counted  a  vote  for 
the  entire  ticket.  They  were  educated  that 
way  when  the  Australian  ballot  first  came 
in  vogue,  and  they  have  not  been  re-edu- 
cated in  spite  of  all  efforts  in  that  direc- 
tion. 


The  combined  vote  of  Roosevelt  and 
Taft  in  Indiana  was  313,274,  as  against 
281,890  for  Wilson— a  difference  of  31,384. 
The  combined  vote  of  Beveridge  and  Dur- 
bin  was  308,974,  as  against  275,357  for 
Ralston— a  difference  of  33,617.  Studying 
these  illuminating  figures  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  the  average  Republican,  both 
standpat  and  progressive,  is  clamorous  for 
the  elements  getting  together.  At  several 
elections  between  1896  and  1904  the  Re- 
publican plurality  was  in  that  neighbor- 
hood. A  restoration  of  that  mark  of 
ascendancy  is,  as  a  matter  of  course,  a 
cherished  thought  of  those  having  a  han- 
kering after  political  power  and  (inciden- 
tally) the  loaves  and  fishes. 

THE  LEGISLATURE  ALMOST  SOLID- 
LY DEMOCRATIC. 

With  holdovers  the  Republican  strength 
was  reduced  to  eight  in  the  Senate.  Two 
Progressives  had  gained  seats  in  that 
body.  In  the  House  there  were  only  four 
Republicans  to  ninety-five  Democrats  and 
one  Progressive.  For  all  practical  pur- 
poses the  General  Assembly  of  1913  might 
as  well  have  been  a  political  unit.  No  ap- 
proach to  such  a  shake-up  ever  before  oc- 
curred in  Indiana  since  its  admission  into 
the  Union. 

The  campaign  conducted  by  the  nomi- 
nee for  Governor,  Samuel  M.  Ralston,  was 
characterized  by  earnestness,  fairness  and 
intelligence.  In  his  speeches  he  told  the 
people  frankly  and  candidly  what  he  stood 
for  and  what  he  would  do  if  chosen  to  the 
high  office  to  which  he  aspired.  And  he 
has  kept  the  faith.  Governor  Marshall 
contributed  his  full  share  to  the  enlighten- 
ment of  the  electorate.  Every  man  on  the 
ticket  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  and 
helped  to  bring  about  the  result  that  stands 
singly  and  alone  in  the  annals  of  Hoosier 
politics. 


[Chapter  LVIL] 


NOMINATIONS  WERE  EAGERLY  SOUGHT 
IN  1914 

BY  AMBITIOUS  DEMOCRATS  WHO  VIEWED  THE  LANDSCAPE 
O'ER  WITH  UTMOST  COMPLACENCY 


HE  political  situation  in  Indiana 

continued  to  be  looked  upon  as 
being  favorable  to  a  prolonga- 
tion of  Democratic  ascendancy 

when  the  delegates  to  the  Dem- 
ocratic State  convention  assem- 
bled at  Indianapolis  on  the  19th 

day  of  March,  1914.  The  chasm  that  in 
1912  separated  the  nearly  equally  divided 
factions  of  the  Republican  party  was  far 
from  being  closed,  although  signs  of  a 
steady  drifting  away  from  Rooseveltian 
allegiance  were  clearly  visible  to  discern- 
ing observers.  Studied  efforts  had  been 
made  in  certain  quarters  to  create  the  im- 
pression that  internal  dissensions  threat- 
ened to  play  havoc  with  Democratic  soli- 
darity and  thai  an  explosion  of  destructive 
force  was  by  no  means  improbable.  Hack- 
neyed phrases  about  political  machine  and 
bossism  were  dished  up  with  such  lavish- 
ness,  persistence  and  mendacity  as  to  make 
it  appear  that  there  really  had  been  cre- 
ated in  Indiana  a  longing  for  periodical 
exhibitions  of  hobgoblins  whose  antics  af- 
forded pleasure,  amusement  and  diversion 
for  innocents  from  the  remote  counties, 
biennially  attracted  to  the  State  capital  to 
witness  and  perhaps  participate  in  what- 
ever might  have  been  conceived  and  con- 
trived by  that  wonderful  magician,  Tom 
Taggart.  For  this  special  occasion  there 
was  forecasted  an  exciting  side-show  per- 
formance by  Senator  Kern,  who  was  im- 
aginarily  dispatched  from  the  national 
capital  to  exhibit  some  novelties  that 
would  be  sure  to  be  gazed  upon  with  irre- 
pressible joy.  To  reach  such  vapory  fore- 
shadowings  in  a  newspaper  feeble  in 
veracity    but    strong    in    circulation    and 


afterward  to  compare  them  with  the  ac- 
tual proceedings  of  the  convention,  dem- 
onstrates how  accurately  the  late  P.  T. 
Barnum  understood  human  frailty  when 
he  felicitously  expatiated  upon  popular 
fondness  for  being  artistically  or  clumsily 
humbugged. 

In  face  of  the  fact  that  for  days  and 
weeks  publicity  had  been  given  to  state- 
ments that  a  long-to-be-remembered  snub 
would  be  administered  to  Senator  Kern, 
that  gentleman  was  by  unanimous  action 
made  permanent  chairman  of  the  conven- 
tion. John  H.  Heller  of  Decatur  was 
elected  as  principal  secretary. 

United  States  Senator  Benjamin  F. 
Shively  was  honored  with  an  unopposed 
nomination  for  re-election  to  the  high 
office  to  which  he  was  chosen  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1909. 

For  Secretary  of  State,  Samuel  G.  Wells 
of  Scottsburg,  James  F.  Cox  of  Columbus 
and  Homer  L.  Cook  of  Indianapolis  were 
proposed.  The  latter  was  nominated  on 
the  first  ballot,  the  vote  being:  Cook, 
9761/2;  Cox,  647i/2;  Wells,  212.  Cook's 
nomination  was  made  unanimous. 

Senator  Kern  having  an  engagement 
elsewhere,  turned  the  chair  over  to  Con- 
gressman W.  E.  Cox,  who  presided  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  session,  and  gave 
excellent  satisfaction. 

Three  widely  known  and  deserving 
gentlemen  were  placed  in  nomination  for 
the  office  of  Auditor  of  State.  They  were : 
Dale  J.  Crittenberger  of  Anderson,  Myron 
D.  King  of  Indianapolis  and  William  B. 
Gray  of  Crawfordsville.  But  one  ballot 
was  needed  to  settle  the  nomination  in 
favor    of    Crittenberger,  who  had  to  his 


(423) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


credit  l,262i/)  votes,  to  311  for  Gray  and 
2621/2  for  King.  Gray  and  King  joined  in 
a  motion  to  make  the  winner's  selection 
unanimous. 

The  contest  for  the  State  treasurership 
was  a  lively  one.  Seven  entries  were  made : 
Fred  W.  Lauenstein,  publisher  of  the 
Eransville  Demokrat;  George  Macomber 
of  Danville,  Thomas  W.  O'Connor  of  Mon- 
ticello,  George  A.  Bittler  of  Fort  Wayne, 
John  Isenbarger  of  North  Manchester,  W. 
A.  Morris  of  Frankfort  and  Lon  W.  Ber- 
netha  of  North  Judson.  Several  ballots 
were  required  before  a  nomination  was 
effected.  One  after  another  of  the  aspir- 
ants withdrew  as  their  chances  waned. 
The  race  eventually  narrowed  down  to 
Bittler  and  O'Connor,  the  final  count  show- 
ing Bittler  to  be  the  winner  by  a  small  but 
adequate  margin.  The  greater  part  of  the 
Lauenstein  vote  was  thrown  to  Bittler 
after  the  Evansville  newspaper  man  had 
abandoned  the  race. 

In  addition  to  Senator  Shively,  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  Charles  A. 
Greathouse  and  Appellate  Judges  Hottel, 
Ibach,  Caldwell  and  Felt  were  honored 
with  renominations  by  acclamation.  Frank 
M.  Powers  of  Angola  was  nominated  for 
Judge  of  Appellate  Court  after  one  ballot, 
his  opponent  being  James  F.  Moran.  Pow- 
ers had  9661/2 ;  Moran  869  votes.  Judge 
Moses  B.  Lairy  of"  the  Appellate  Court  was 
nominated  for  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  Arrayed  against  him  were  James 
F.  Gallaher  of  Michigan  City  and  Charles 
P.  Drummond  of  South  Bend.  Lairy  had 
948;  Drummond,  470;  Gallaher,  416. 

The  Attorney-Generalship  was  awarded 
to  Richard  M.  Milburn  of  Jasper  by  a  vote 
of  1,022  to  423  for  Edwin  M.  Corr  of 
Bloomington,  and  389  for  George  William 
Curtis  of  Mount  Vernon. 

J.  Fred  France's  only  opponent  for 
Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  Senator 
Harry  Grube  of  Plymouth.  The  vote 
stood:     France,  9421/2;  Grube,  8711/2. 


THE  TICKET  AS  FINALLY  CONSTITUTED. 

United  States  Senator — Benjamin  F.  Shively  of 
South  Bend. 

Secretary  of  State — Homer  L.  Cook,  Indianapolis. 

Auditor  of  State — Dale  J.  Crittenberger,  Ander- 
son. 

Treasurer  of  State — George  A.  Bittler,  Fort 
Wayne. 

Attorney-General — Richard  M.  Milburn,  Jasper. 

Clerk  Supreme  Court — J.  Fred  France,  Hunting- 
ton. 

State  Geolog-isL — Edward  Barrett,  Indianapolis. 

Superintendent  Public  Instruction — Charles  A. 
Greathouse,  Indianapolis. 

Judge  Supreme  Court — Moses  B.  Lairy,  Logans- 
port. 

Judges  Appellate  Court — Joseph  G.  Ibach,  Freder- 
ick S.  Caldwell,  Milton  B.  Hottel,  Edward  W. 
Felt  and  Frank  M.  Powers. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

Dr.  T.  D.  Scales,  Boonville. 

J.  A.  Riddle,  Linton. 

George  H.  Voigt,  Jeffersonville. 

John  F.  Russell.  Greensburg. 

John  M.  Rawley,  Brazil. 

Albert  F.  Wray,  Shelbyville. 

Joseph  E.  Bell,  Indianapolis. 

James  R.  Fleming,  Jay  county. 

Emery  Sellers,  Monticello. 

William  H.  Johnston,  Crawfordsville. 

F.  D.  Butler,  Peru. 

Charles  M.  Niezer,  Fort  Wayne. 

W.  A.  Mclnerny,  South  Bend. 

The  Indiana  State  Democratic  Platform 
for  1914  endorses  the  records  of  President 
Wilson,  Vice-President  Marshall,  and  the 
Democratic  members  of  both  the  National 
and  State  Legislatures. 

Condemns  the  financial  legislation  and 
mismanagement  of  the  past  Republican 
administration. 

Favors  an  act  creating  a  board  which 
will  provide  for  mediation,  conciliation, 
and  arbitration  in  controversies  between 
employers  and  employes. 

Pledges  a  rigid  enforcement  of  the  laws 
that  have  been  enacted  in  the  interest  and 
for  the  protection  of  railroad  employes  and 
all  other  emnloyes  and  wage  earners  of  the 
State. 

Favors  a  statewide  primary  election  law. 

Commends  the  last  General  Assembly 
for  ifs  prompt  response  to  the  demands  of 
the  people  for  beneficial  and  up-to-date 
legislation. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191   (5 


Especially  commends  the  Legislature  for 
the  enactment  of  the  Public  Service  Com- 
mission Act. 

Favors  the  enactment  of  a  workmen's 
compensation  law. 

Approves  the  action  of  the  last  General 
Assembly  in  making  provision  that  the 
people  may  declare  whether  they  desire  a 
convention  to  frame  a  new  constitution  for 
Indiana. 

Approves  the  enactment  of  a  law  pro- 
viding for  a  stricter  regulation  of  the 
liquor  traffic. 

Favors  the  passage  of  laws  enabling  the 
State  to  join  with  local  authorities  in  the 
improvement  of  waterways,  the  construc- 
tion of  levees,  and  such  other  means  as 
will  prevent  flood  disasters. 

Favors  the  enactment  of  laws  providing 
for  the  better  construction,  supervision, 
and  maintenance  of  the  State  public  high- 
ways. 

Adopts  the  rooster  as  the  emblem  of  the 
State  Democratic  party. 


STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE. 

Benjamin  Bosse,  Evansville. 
John  B.  Archer,  Spencer. 
Mark  L.  Storen,  Scottsburg. 
Francis  M.  Griffith,  Rising  Sun. 
James  L.  Randel.  Greencastle. 
Walter  S.  Chambers,  Newcastle. 
Bernard  Korbly,  Indianapolis. 
William  A.  Kunkel,  Bluffton. 
William  E.  Lonpley,  Noblesville. 
Charles  J.  Murphy,  Brookston. 
E.  E.  Cox,  Hartford  City. 
Edward  G.  Hoflfman,  Fort  Wayne. 
Daniel  M.  Bechtel,  Goshen. 
Bernard  Korbly,  Chairman. 
William  A.  Kunkel,  Vice-Chairman. 


RESULT  OF  ELECTION  A  SWEEPING 
DEMOCRATIC  VICTORY. 

The  vote  for  the  various  candidates  for 
United  States  Senator  is  indicated  as  fol- 
lows : 

Benjamin  F.  Shively,  Democrat 272,249 

Hujrh  Th.  Miller,  Republican 226,766 

Albert  J.  Beveridae.  Progressive 108,581 


Stephen  M.  Reynolds,  Socialist 21,719 

Sumner  W.  Haynes,  Prohibition 13,860 

James   IMathews,   Socialist-Labor 2,884 

For  the  other  candidates  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  the  pluralities  only  are  here 
given : 

Secretary  of  State,  Homer  L.  Cook 29,490 

Auditor  of  State,  Dale  J.  Crittenberger 35,098 

Treasurer  of  State,  George  A.  Bittler 37,304 

Attorney-General,  Richard  M.  Milburn 36,367 

Clerk  of  Supreme  Court,  J.  Fred  France. .  .35,327 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Chas. 

A.  Greathouse 37,606 

State  Geologist,  Edward  Barrett 35,954 

Judge  of  Supreme  Court,  Moses  B.  Lairy.  .33,611 
Judges  of  Appellate  Court — 

Fir.st  District,  Edward  W.  Felt 35,653 

Milton  B.  Hottel 33,643 

Second  District,  Frederick  S.  Caldwell 35,974 

Joseph  G.  Ibach 34,776 

Frank  M.  Powers   36,423 

VOTE  ON  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION. 

Yes   235,140 

No    338,947 

VOTE   ON   CENTENNIAL   MEMORIAL. 

Yes 97,718 

No    466,700 

CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION  ELEVEN 
TO  TWO.  piu,.. 

1.  Charles  Lieb 2,827 

2.  W.  A.  Cullop   2,306 

3.  William.  E.  Cox 11,419 

4.  Lincoln   Dixon    5,939 

5.  Ralph  W.  Moss 4,233 

6.  Finley  H.  Gray 3,491 

7.  Merrill   Moores,  Republican 5,108 

8.  J.  A.   M.   Adair 8,681 

9.  I\I.  A.  Morrison 957 

10.  Will   R.  Wood,  Republican 4,.583 

11.  George  W.  Rauch 3,667 

12.  Cyrus   Cline    3,560 

13.  Henry  A.   Barnhart 5,363 

The  political  complexion  of  the  General 
A.ssembly  for  1915  was:  Senate — 41  Dem- 
ocrats, 8  Republicans,  1  Progressive. 
House — Democrats  60,  Republicans  39, 
Progressive  1. 


[Chapter  LVIII.] 


FROM  COUNTRY  LAW  OFFICE  TO 
GOVERNORSHIP 

THENCE   TO   VICE-PRESIDENCY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES 


POMAS  RILEY  MARSHALL 
was  born  in  North  Manches- 
ter, Wabash  County,  Indiana, 
March  14,  1854,  the  son  of  Dr. 
Daniel  M.  and  Martha  A.  (Pat- 
terson) Marshall;  was  grad- 
uated from  Wabash  College  in 
1873,  which  college,  as  well  as  Notre  Dame 
University,  the  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
the  University  of  Maine,  has  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.D. ;  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  Columbia  City,  Indiana, 
on  his  twenty-first  birthday  and  continued 
without  interruption  the  practice  of  law 
there  until  1908,  when  he  was  elected  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Indiana;  was  mar- 
ried November  2,  1895,  to  Miss  Lois  I. 
Kimsey  of  Angola,  Ind. ;  was  elected  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  in  1912. 
He  is  a  Presbyterian,  a  Scottish  Rite  Ma- 
son, a  Phi  Beta  Kappa  and  a  Ti'ustee  of 
Wabash  College. 

Though  repeatedly  urged  to  seek  or  ac- 
cept nomination  to  public  office,  Mr.  Mar- 
shall resolutely  set  himself  against  all 
such  overtures  and  entreaties,  with  the 
single  exception  of  doing  service  for  some 
years  on  the  school  board  of  Columbia 
City.  Repeatedly  he  was  urged  to  become 
an  aspirant  to  congressional  honors,  but 
he  was  too  strongly  wedded  to  his  profes- 
sion to  entertain  such  propositions  or  re- 
quests. During  the  administration  of 
Governor  Claude  Matthews,  in  the  nine- 
ties, a  vacancy  occurred  on  the  Supreme 
Bench.  For  appointment  to  this  exalted 
position  several  eminent  northern  Indiana 
lawyers  were  by  partial  friends  urged 
upon  the  Governor.  Among  these  were 
Judge  Robert  Lowry  of  Fort  Wayne,  Mr. 


Marshall,  and  Joseph  S.  Dailey  of  Bluff- 
ton.  The  selection  of  the  latter  was  the 
final  outcome  of  a  somewhat  protracted 
and  vigorous  contest.  A  little  later  on  Mr. 
Marshall  served  as  member  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Committee. 

Mr.  Marshall's  nomination  and  election 
to  the  oflice  of  Governor  not  only  marked 
a  distinctive  era  in  Indiana  politics,  but 
developed  into  a  realization  of  highest 
hope  or  expectation  as  to  himself.  His 
campaign  attracted  to  him  a  formidable 
support  outside  of  his  own  party,  and 
upon  his  formal  induction  into  oilice  and 
throughout  his  administration  he  enjoyed 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  people 
of  Indiana  without  reference  to  party.  It 
was  the  feeling  thus  engendered  and  the 
sentiment  then  created  that  made  him  the 
formally  proclaimed  choice  of  the  Indiana 
Democracy  for  the  highest  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  nation,  and  upon  the  selection 
thereto  of  Woodrow  Wilson  brought  about 
the  nomination  of  Governor  Marshall  to 
the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

To  promote  human  welfare  and  to  in- 
crease human  happiness  were  the  chief  ob- 
jects of  Thomas  R.  Marshall  during  his 
term  as  Governor  of  his  native  State. 
These  objects  are  revealed  in  practically 
all  the  legislative  enactments  of  his  ad- 
ministration. He  was  not  merely  sympa- 
thetic, but  enthusiastic,  in  his  support  of 
the  work  of  the  Health,  Charities  and  Ed- 
ucational Departments.  A  glance  at  the 
legislative  record  of  his  administration 
will  suffice.     Measures  were  enacted: 

To  curtail  child  labor; 

To  establish  playgrounds; 

To  provide  a  weekly  wage; 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


To  regulate  the  sale  of  cold  storage 
products ; 

To  require  hygienic  school  houses  and 
to  permit  medical  examination  of  school 
children ; 

To  prevent  blindness  at  birth ; 

To  regulate  the  sale  of  cocaine  and  other 
drugs ; 

To  provide  treatment  for  hydrophobia 
through  the  State  Health  Board ; 

To  strengthen  the  pure  food  laws ; 

To  protect  against  loan  sharks ; 

To  provide  police  court  matrons ; 

To  prevent  traffic  in  white  slaves ; 

To  establish  night  schools  in  cities; 

To  establish  free  employment  agencies; 

To  prevent  corrupt  practices  at  elec- 
tions ; 

To  create  a  "Bureau  of  Inspection  for 
Factories,  Workshops,  Mines  and  Boil- 
ers ;" 

To  require  full  train  crews ; 

To  require  block  systems  on  railroads 
and  electric  railways; 


To  require  safety  devices  on  switch  en- 
gines ; 

To  require  medical  supplies  as  part  of 
a  train  equipment ; 

To  require  efficient  headlights  on  loco- 
motives ; 

To  require  standard  cabooses  and  to  re- 
quire full  switching  crews. 

Prominent  among  the  laws  enacted 
upon  the  recommendation  of  Governor 
Marshall  was  the  one  known  as  the  "Pub- 
lic Accounting  Law,"  the  general  purpose 
of  which  was  to  secure  a  uniformity  of 
accounting  and  reporting  in  all  public 
offices  and  institutions  of  the  State;  the 
correction  and  prevention  of  errors  in 
public  accounts,  their  examination  and  in- 
spection, and  avoidance  of  the  dissipation 
of  public  revenues  by  means  of  supervi- 
sion of  expenditures  and  inventories  of 
public  property;  and  to  give  the  public 
periodic  statements  of  the  fiscal  condition 
of  all  public  offices. 


-^ 


[Chapter  LIX.] 


DEATH  ENDS  EVENTFUL  CAREER 


OF  UNITED  STATES  SENATOR  BENJAMIN  F.  SHIVELY 


™»=™|"|LOOM   was  cast  over  the   fire- 

I  /^       sides  of  thousands  of  his  con- 

I I  stituents  by  the  announcement 
I  ^Ji  that  on  the  afternoon  of  March 
^ "     14,  1916,  the  Grim  Reaper  had 

made  inexorable  demand  upon 
Indiana's  senior  United  States 
Senator,  Benjamin  F.  Shively.  For  weeks 
disquieting  reports  from  Providence  Hos- 
pital at  Washington  had  caused  fear  and 
apprehension  in  the  minds  of  friends  and 
admirers  who  eagerly  grasped  at  even  the 
faintest  hope  that  the  hour  of  dissolution 
might  yet  be  far  in  the  distance.  Those 
who  had  known  him  from  early  manhood 
could  hardly  persuade  themselves  to  be- 
lieve that  the  insidious  foe,  diabetic  cancer 
of  the  throat,  had  made  such  inroads  upon 
his  vitality  as  to  lay  low  so  fine  a  type  of 
physical  and  intellectual  development. 
The  heralding  of  Death  caused  countless 
hearts  to  be  cast  down  with  deep-felt  sor- 
row and  poignant  grief. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  Shively  was  the  son 
of  sturdy  Amish  parents.  He  was  a  native- 
born  Indianian,  having  seen  the  light  of 
day  first  in  St.  Joseph  county,  March  20, 
1857.  He  entered  the  country  schools  of 
St.  -Joseph  county  when  he  reached  the 
schoolboy  age,  and  when  he  had  sufficient- 
ly mastered  the  elements  of  an  education 
he  became  a  student  of  the  Northern  In- 
diana Normal  School  at  Valparaiso.  He 
engaged  in  school  teaching  in  the  winter 
time  and  followed  the  furrows  and  did  the 
work  of  the  farm  during  the  years  from 
1874  to  1880.  From  1880  to  1883,  a  stren- 
uous three  years  or  more,  he  was  engaged 
in  the  publication  of  a  weekly  newspaper 
at  South  Bend,  called  The  New  Era.  In 
this  periodical  he  expounded  the  views  he 
had  formulated  as  an  anti-monopolist  with 
the  vim  of  a  youthful  enthusiast.  He  iden- 


tified him.self  with  the  Anti-Monopoly 
movement  of  that  period  and  became  sec- 
retary of  the  national  organization  having 
that  object  in  view.  He  gained  quite  a 
reputation  as  an  eff'ective  stump  speaker 
while  making  a  campaign  in  1882  for  Con- 
gress in  the  Thirteenth  di-strict  as  the 
nominee  of  the  Greenback  party.  He  polled 
sevei-al  thousand  votes  that  looked  very 
attractive  to  both  Democratic  and  Repub- 
lican politicians.  When  Major  William 
H.  Calkins,  after  his  nomination  by  the 
Republicans  for  the  office  of  Governor  de- 
cided to  resign  his  seat  in  Congress,  over- 
tures were  made  by  both  Democrats  and 
Republicans  to  nominate  Mr.  Shively  for 
the  remainder  of  the  Calkins  term.  Be- 
ing more  in  accord  with  Democrats  than 
Republicans,  Mr.  Shively  accepted  a  place 
on  the  Democratic  ticket  and  was  trium- 
phantly elected.  George  Ford  was  at  the 
same  time  elected  for  the  full  two-year 
term.  After  serving  three  months  in  Con- 
gress Mr.  Shively  entered  the  law  school 
of  Michigan  University  at  Ann  Arbor, 
graduating  therefrom  in  1886.  Mr.  Ford 
being  indiff'erent  about  continuing  con- 
gressional service  made  it  possible  for  Mr. 
Shively  to  secure  the  Democratic  nomina- 
tion that  year.  His  Republican  competi- 
tor was  former  Congressman  Jasper  Pack- 
ard. A  joint  discussion  and  a  vigorous 
campaign  resulted  in  Mr.  Shively's  elec- 
tion by  a  decisive  plurality.  In  two  sub- 
sequent campaigns  Mr.  Shively  again 
came  out  of  the  final  contest  with  flying 
colors.  The  political  situation  in  1892 
was  not  to  his  liking,  and  he  announced  his 
determination  not  to  stand  for  re-election. 
At  the  conclusion  of  his  third  full  term  in 
Congress  he  took  up  the  practice  of  law  at 
South  Bend.  This  was  doubtless  in  defer- 
ence to  the  wishes  of  his  father-in-law,  the 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  9  1 


Hon.  George  A.  Jenks  of  Pennsylvania,  to 
whose  daughter,  Laura  Emma,  Mr.  Shive- 
ly  was  married  June  19,  1889. 

When  the  silver  question  became  a 
"paramount  issue"  Mr.  Shively  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  to  resume  active  par- 
ticipation in  political  affairs.  The  silver 
element  made  him  the  Democratic  nomi- 
nee for  Governor  in  1896.  He  conducted 
a  brilliant  campaign,  but  went  down  in 
defeat.  The  same  year  he  was  appointed 
a  trustee  of  Indiana  University  and  con- 
tinued in  that  capacity  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  took  a  lively  interest  in  that 
justly  famed  institution  of  learning.  For 
several  years  he  served  as  city  attorney  of 
South  Bend,  under  Mayor  Fogarty,  and 
later  on  as  attorney  for  the  school  board. 
During  the  first  decade  of  the  new  century 
he  was  induced  to  make  the  race  for  Con- 
gress against  Abraham  L.  Brick,  and  came 
within  300  votes  of  being  elected.  In  1903 
and  1905,  in  the  Indiana  Legislature,  he 
received  the  complimentary  vote  of  his 
party  for  United  States  Senator.  He  was 
elected  by  the  Indiana  Legislature  to  the 
office  of  United  States  Senator  in  1909  and 
took  his  seat  in  March  of  that  year.  He 
was  re-elected  by  the  popular  vote  of  the 
State  in  1914  for  a  term  of  six  years.  His 
death  is  recorded  March  14,  1916. 

Under  the  stress  of  illness  and  a  heroic 
struggle  to  resist  its  encroachment  upon 
his  vital  forces  he  aged  perceptibly,  and 
rapidly.  Much  of  his  senatorial  work  was 
done  amidst  adverse  circumstances  and 
under  conditions  that  only  those  can  fully 
comprehend  who  know  what  it  is  to  at- 
tempt to  ward  off  the  approach  of  the 
Grim  Reaper. 

Senator  Shively  was  an  omniverous 
reader.  His  capacious  and  receptive  mind 
absorbed  information  with  an  avidity  that 
made  it  a  veritable  storehouse  of  varied 
knowledge.  The  theory  of  government 
was  to  him  an  ever-pleasing  study.  In  his 
later  years  he  broadened  wonderfully.  His 
philosophy  underwent  steady  expansion. 


Richly  merited  are  the  tributes  be- 
stowed upon  the  departed  Senator  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Governor  of  Indiana,  hereunto  appended. 

PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  MESSAGE  TO 
MRS.  SHIVELY. 

On  the  night  of  March  14  President  Wil- 
son sent  this  letter  of  condolence  to  Mrs. 
Shively : 

"My  Dear  Mrs.  Shively — I  have  just 
learned  with  the  deepest  sorrow  of  the 
death  of  your  husband.  Your  own  loss  is 
tragical,  and  my  heart  goes  out  to  you  in 
deep  and  sincere  sympathy ;  the  loss  of  the 
country  is  very  great,  for  he  was  moved 
as  a  public  servant  by  high  motives  of 
duty  to  his  State  and  the  Nation,  and  I 
join  with  his  colleagues  in  deploring  hia 
death  as  creating  a  vacancy  in  the  highest 
councils  of  the  country  which  cannot  easily 
be  filled.  May  God  sustain  you  in  this 
moment  of  your  supreme  sorrow. 

"With  great  respect,  your  friend, 

"WOODROW  WILSON." 

TRIBUTE  BY  GOVERNOR  RALSTON. 

"I  very  much  regret  the  death  of  Sen- 
ator Shively.  I  became  intiinately  ac- 
quainted with  him  in  1896,  when  he  was 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  of 
Indiana  and  I  was  on  the  ticket  with  him 
as  a  candidate  for  Secretary  of  State.  We 
opened  our  campaign  together  on  the 
night  of  the  17th  of  July  at  Anderson. 
That  was  the  first  time  we  had  ever  spoken 
together,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  fine 
impression  he  made  upon  me.  From  that 
time  on  he  and  I  were  very  warm  friends. 

"Senator  Shively  was  beyond  doubt  one 
of  the  very  ablest  statesmen  Indiana  has 
produced.  He  was  exceptionally  well 
versed  on  the  subject  of  taxation  and  his 
discussions  on  the  tariff  question,  and  in 
fact  any  phase  of  taxation,  never  fell  short 
of  being  masterful.  His  fine  mental  poise 
and  comprehensive  grasp,  coupled  with  his 
strong  oratorical  and  physical  powers, 
made  him  almost  invincible  on  any  of  the 
great  questions  of  free  government.  His 
attitude  was  that  of  the  statesman  rather 
than  that  of  the  politician  when  he  came 
to  the  consideration  of  public  questions. 

"Since  he  went  to  the  Senate  the  people 
of  Indiana  have  watched  with  keen  inter- 
est his  course  on  legislative  matters.     His 


(  430) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  9  1  G 


whole  State  rejoiced  over  the  prominence 
to  wliich  he  attained  on  the  Foreign  Rela- 
tions Committee,  which  position  gave  him 
the  opportunity  to  serve  as  one  of  the 
closest  coiaiselors  of  the  President.  It  is 
generally  understood  that  President  Wil- 
son rarely  hesitated  to  rely  upon  his  judg- 
ment upon  any  question  which  he  had  in- 
vestigated. This  is  an  honor  that  comes 
to  but  few  men.  It  is  an  exceptional  hon- 
or, when  it  is  considered  that  President 
Wilson  himself  is  a  man  of  unusual  attain- 
ments, and  as  a  rule  does  not  act  until  he 
has  investigated  a  question  himself. 

"Senator  Shively  was  recognized  by  the 
countrv  as  one  of  the  strongest  men  of 
this  State,  as  he  had  been  for  years  by  the 
people  of  Indiana.  It  is  a  fact  that  he 
never  asked  his  party  to  confer  upon  him 
an  honor  that  it  didn't  attempt  to  gratify 
his  desire.  He  has  made  losing  campaigns, 
of  course,  but  he  was  always  in  the  lead  of 
those  with  whom  he  was  associated  on  the 
ticket  when  he  lost. 

"He  brought  conspicuous  honor  to  the 
people  of  the  State  which  had  honored  him 
with  the  position  of  United  States  Senator. 
His  wise  counsel  will  be  missed  by  the 
President ;  and  his  forceful  and  eloquent 
leadership  will  be  greatly  missed  by  his 
party  in  the  State. 

"He  was  a  devoted  husband  and  father, 
a  loyal  friend,  and  a  tireless  worker  for 
the  public  welfare.  Indiana  mourns  his 
loss,  and  the  sympathies  of  her  people  go 
out  in  generous  measure  to  the  wife  and 
dear  ones  who  remain." 

THOMAS  TAGGART'S  TRIBUTE. 

"The  State  of  Indiana  has  lost  one  of 
the  gi'eatest  men  and  statesmen  she  has 
ever  produced.  Benjamin  F.  Shively  was 
a  great  man  and  a  leader  among  the  great- 
est men  of  the  nation.  The  Wilson  admin- 
istration has  lost  one  of  its  strongest  sup- 
porters and  wisest  counselors.  While  he 
represented  Indiana  in  the  United  States 


Senate  as  the  choice  of  the  Democratic 
party,  he  was  loved  by  the  people  of  all 
parties  and  honored  by  all  of  us  for  his 
true  greatness. 

"Those  who  knew  him  best  loved  and 
appreciated  him  most,  which  is  the  highest 
praise  that  can  be  given  any  man.  He  was 
true  and  loyal  to  his  friends.  He  believed 
in  the  principles  of  Democracy  and  in  fair 
or  stormy  weather  was  ready  to  serve  the 
party  in  any  capacity." 

BURIED  AT  SOUTH  BEND. 

The  remains  of  the  departed  Senator, 
under  congressional  escort  requiring  three 
coaches,  were  conveyed  to  his  South  Bend 
home  and  interred  in  Riverview  Cemetery 
Saturday  afternoon,  March  18,  1916.  The 
utmost  simplicity  marked  the  obsequies, 
by  special  request  of  Mrs.  Shively.  Thou- 
sands thronged  the  streets  of  South  Bend 
to  witness  the  consignment  to  eternal  rest 
of  Indiana's  distinguished  and  honored 
Senator.  Their  heartfelt  sympathy  went 
out  silently  and  unostentatiously  to  the 
sorely  bereaved  widow  and  her  two  sons, 
George  J.  and  John  J.,  and  daughter  Mary. 

Senator  Shively  had  been  gradually  fail- 
ing for  more  than  two  years.  His  condi- 
tion became  acute  a  little  more  than  a  year 
before  his  death.  He  was  unable  to  at- 
tend the  close  of  the  Sixty-third  Congress 
on  March  4,  1915,  and  from  that  time 
dated  the  final  and  fatal  stage  of  an  illness 
that  already  had  taken  hold  of  him  before 
he  was  sworn  in  as  a  United  States  Sen- 
ator seven  years  before.  The  immediate 
cause  of  death  was  diabetic  cancer  of  the 
throat.  The  cancer  was  a  manifestation 
of  the  diabetes  from  which  he  had  long 
been  a  silent,  patient,  and  ever-hopeful 
sufferer. 


(431) 


[Chapter  LX.] 

DEATH  OF  EX-SENATOR  JOHN  WORTH 
KERN 

"HAVING  SERVED  HIS  GENERATION,  BY  THE  WILL  OF  GOD 
HE  FELL  ON  SLEEP" 


HE     middle    of    March,     1916, 

TU  United  States  Senator  John  W. 
Kern  attended  the  funeral  of 
I  his  distinguished  colleague, 
Benjamin  Franklin  Shively,  at 
South  Bend.  Seventeen  months 
later  he  himself  passed  into 
glory  and  the  tomb.  In  such  manner  is 
made  apparent  that  life  at  best  is  but  as 
a  vapor  that  passeth  away.  "The  glories 
of  our  birth  and  state  are  shadows,  not 
substantial  things." 

The  mournful  tidings  of  the  passing  of 
John  W.  Kern  were  flashed  over  the  wires 
August  18,  1917.  His  death  occurred  at 
Asheville,  N.  C,  from  an  attack  of  uraemic 
poisoning.  His  devoted  wife  was  at  his 
bedside  when  dissolution  ensued.  He  went 
to  Asheville  about  a  week  before  his  death, 
in  the  hope  and  expectation  of  recuperat- 
ing. Failing  health  impelled  him  to  notify 
his  friends  to  cease  efl^orts  in  his  behalf 
for  an  important  appointment  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson.  He  understood  fully  the 
precariousness  of  his  physical  condition. 

Up  to  the  time  of  his  retirement  from 
the  U.  S.  Senate,  on  the  4th  day  of  March, 
1917,  Mr.  Kern  was  majority  floor  leader 
and  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  confer- 
ence committee.  He  was  one  of  Indiana's 
favorite  Democratic  sons  for  many  years. 
As  a  typical  Hoosier  attorney  and  orator 
he  was  known  probably  more  widely 
throughout  the  State  than  any  other  man 
of  his  time.  For  many  years  he  partici- 
pated in  nearly  every  political  campaign. 
His  remains  were  interred  at  Hollins, 
Va.,  the  summer  home  of  the  Kern  family. 
John  W.  Kern  was  born  at  Alto,  near 
Kokomo,  December  20,  1849.  While  he  was 


still  young  his  parents  moved  to  Warren 
county,  Iowa,  where  they  lived  on  a  farm. 
He  started  to  attend  school  in  Iowa  and 
lived  there  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old, 
when  the  Kern  family  moved  back  to  Alto. 
When  he  was  fifteen  years  old  he  began 
teaching  school  in  his  home  town. 

Entering  the  University  of  Michigan  in 
1867,  he  studied  law  and  graduated  in 
1869.  He  began  practicing  in  Kokomo 
when  he  was  but  twenty  years  old.  His 
reputation  grew  until  he  was  known  as  one 
of  the  ablest  criminal  lawyers  in  Indiana. 
At  one  time  he  was  city  attorney  of  Ko- 
komo and  ran  for  several  other  local  oflfices 
on  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  was  mar- 
ried twice.  His  first  wife  was  Annie  Haz- 
zard,  who  died  in  1884.  One  of  his  two 
children  by  his  first  marriage  survives  him. 
His  second  wife,  who  survives  him,  was 
Araminta  Cooper,  Kokomo. 

Mr.  Kern  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Kokomo  in  1869,  where  he  practiced  law 
for  some  time.  However,  Mr.  Kei-n  en- 
tered politics  almost  as  soon  as  he  was  of 
age.  He  became  a  candidate  for  member 
of  the  Legislature  in  1870.  He  was  city 
attorney  at  Kokomo  for  five  terms  before 
moving  to  Indianapolis  in  1885. 

He  was  elected  Reporter  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  1882,  serving  four  years.  He 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  in  1892, 
serving  four  years. 

He  became  a  member  of  Thomas  Tag- 
gart's  Indianapolis  political  organization 
soon  after  it  was  formed,  and  for  many 
years  was  closely  associated  with  Mr.  Tag- 
gart,  who  availed  himself  of  every  oppor- 
tunity to  advance  his  friend's  personal, 
professional  and    political    interests.     Mr. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 1816 


Kern  was  City  Attorney  of  Indianapolis 
during  the  administration  of  Thomas 
Taggart  as  Mayor. 

He  ran  for  the  office  of  Governor  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  in  1900  and  1904,  being 
defeated  each  time.  He  was  running  mate 
of  William  Jennings  Bryan  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  in  1908,  being 
defeated  again.  Opposing  the  late  Senator 
Benjamin  F.  Shively,  he  was  a  candidate 
for  United  States  Senator  before  the  leg- 
islative caucus  in  1909.  In  1910  the  Dem- 
ocratic State  convention  indicated  against 
his  wishes  that  he  was  its  choice  for 
United  States  Senator  and  the  Legislature 
of  1911,  which  was  Democratic,  elected 
him  to  that  position.  He  ran  for  re-elec- 
tion in  the  first  popular  election  in  No- 
vember, 1916,  and  was  defeated  by  Sena- 
tor Harry  S.  New. 

On  entering  the  Senate  Mr.  Kern  imme- 
diately sprang  into  the  limelight  because 
of  his  friendship  with  William  Jennings 
Bryan  and  after  the  Democrats  gained 
control  of  the  Senate  he  was  made  major- 
ity leader.  He  was  very  close  to  the  Wil- 
son administration. 

During  the  week  following  the  burial  of 
Senator  Kern  a  largely  attended  meeting 
was  held  in  the  State  House  to  pay  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  the  departed  statesman. 
The  meeting  was  arranged  by  the  Indiana 
Democratic  Club  and  was  presided  over 
by  Secretary  of  State  Ed.  Jackson,  a  Re- 
publican, who  presented  former  Governor 
Samuel  M.  Ralston  as  the  first  speaker  of 
the  evening. 

"I  am  glad  to  join  in  paying  a  word  of 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  John  Worth 
Kern,"  said  Mr.  Ralston,  "for  it  was  my 
good  fortune  to  know  him  most  intimately 
for  more  than  thirty  years.  Personally, 
we  were  the  warmest  friends.  Politically 
we  were  of  the  same  faith  and  as  a  rule  we 
stood  side  by  side  on  the  issues  of  the  day. 

"While  I  do  not  desire  to  dwell  upon 
him  as  a  partisan,  it  is  perfectly  proper 
for  me  to  say  that  he  was  a  most  loyal 


party  man  and  an  honest  antagonist.  He 
fought  his  battles  in  the  open  and  never 
condescended  to  strike  a  blow  below  the 
belt.  The  result  was  that  when  he  took 
his  departure  he  counted  among  his 
friends  men  whom  he  had  often  opposed 
most  strenuously  in  the  political  arena. 

"As  a  lawyer  he  displayed  very  unusual 
ability.  He  hated  shams  and  was  at  times 
unmerciful  in  his  excoriation  of  those  who 
perpetrated  frauds.  He  had  a  strong  sense 
of  equity  and  he  loved  justice  above  every- 
thing else.  These  characteristics  always 
held  for  him  the  affection  of  the  people  of 
this  State  and  ultimately  secured  for  him 
the  confidence  of  the  people  of  this  nation." 

Ex-Governor  Ralston  was  followed  by 
William  Jennings  Bryan  who,  in  terms  of 
rare  eloquence,  pronounced  the  late  Sena- 
tor Kern  a  friend,  a  sympathetic  adviser 
and  loyal  companion  who  held  men  to  him 
with  a  threefold  tie.  "He  was  easily  ap- 
proached," continued  Mr.  Bryan,  "unaf- 
fected in  his  way  and  unsurrounded  by 
any  walls  of  false  pride,  a  man  about 
whom  there  was  no  atmosphere  of  con- 
densation or  in  whom  there  was  a  particle 
of  tinseled  dignity. 

"No  man  had  deeper  convictions  than 
did  John  Worth  Kern  and  if  anyone  tried 
to  swerve  him  in  them  he  soon  found  to 
his  sorrow  the  depth  of  feeling  this  great 
Hoosier  possessed.  He  had  a  sense  of  hu- 
mor that  put  him  in  a  class  with  Abraham 
Lincoln.  He  liked  stories  that  made  the 
point  he  wanted  to  carry  home.  He  ra- 
diated sunshine  and  his  heart  was  big 
enough  to  take  in  the  woes  of  everyone. 
Kern  was  a  partisan.  He  was  a  Demo- 
crat. He  never  concealed  the  fact  that  he 
always  let  everyone  know  that  he  was 
proud  of  it." 

Judge  W.  W.  Thornton  of  the  Marion 
county  Superior  Court  also  extolled  the 
life  of  the  departed  as  that  of  a  noble, 
companionable  and  lovable  man  whose 
loss  is  keenly  felt  wherever  he  was  best 
and  most  intimately  known. 


[Chapter  LXI.] 


UNDER  CHANGED  AUSPICES 

STATE    NOMINATIONS   WERE   MADE   IN   THE    CENTENNIAL 
YEAR  1916 


NDER  the  operation  of  the  pri- 
T  T  I  mary  election  system  estab- 
I  I  lished  by  the  General  Assembly 
\^  of  1915,  nominations  for  the 
two  most  important  offices — 
United  States  Senator  and  Gov- 
ernor— were  made  by  popular 
vote  on  the  day  fixed  by  law,  in  the  month 
of  March.  The  only  thing  that  remained 
for  the  convention  to  do  regarding  these 
nominations  was  perfunctorily  to  endorse 
or  approve  the  result  of  the  primaries. 
The  other  nominations  were  made  in  the 
usual  m.anner. 

An  important  incident  of  the  convention 
was  its  action  with  reference  to  the  nomi- 
nation of  a  candidate  for  United  States 
Senator  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  Shively,  whose  death  occurred 
after  the  primary  election  had  been  held 
in  the  month  of  March.  Governor  RaF- 
ston  had  appointed  Thomas  Taggart  to  fill 
the  then  existing  vacancy.  Mr.  Taggart, 
both  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  and 
several  times  subsequent  thereto,  declared 
in  clear  and  unmistakable  terms  that  he 
did  not  desire  to  hold  the  office  longer  than 
until  a  successor  could  be  chosen  at  the 
November  election.  His  earnest  desire 
was  that  Governor  Ralston  be  made  the 
short-term  senatorial  nominee  by  the  con- 
vention. But  the  sentiment  in  favor  of 
Mr.  Taggart  being  placed  on  the  ticket 
was  so  marked,  so  pronounced,  and  so  de- 
termined, that  nothing  remained  for  him 
as  a  loyal  partisan  to  do  but  to  acquiesce 
in  the  popular  clamor  and  to  take  the  place 
assigned  to  him  on  the  ticket.  There  is 
no  doubt,  however,  that  he  would  greatly 
have  preferred  the  nomination  of  Gov- 
ernor Ralston. 


The  convention  met  at  Tomlinson  Hall, 
Indianapolis.  April  24,  and  was  called  to 
order  by  State  Chairman  Bernard  Korbly. 
Governor  Samuel  M.  Ralston  was  intro- 
duced as  temporary  chairman,  in  which 
capacity  he  delivered  an  incisive  speech, 
reviewing  at  length  the  achievements  of 
the  Democracy  since  its  intrustment  with 
power.  As  a  keynote  for  the  campaign  it 
ranks  among  the  most  forceful  deliver- 
ances of  the  present  century.  Upon  the 
completion  of  the  Governor's  address, 
which  was  liberally  punctuated  by  enthu- 
siastic applause,  Congressman  Lincoln 
Dixon  of  the  Fourth  district  was  made 
permanent  chairman.  He  assumed  the 
gavel  and  proved  himself  a  capable  presid- 
ing officer  throughout  the  session. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

1.  Jacob  M.  Harlem,  Ml.  Vernon. 

2.  Hamlet  Allen,  Washington. 

3.  William  Ridley,  Corydon. 

4.  Thomas  Honan,  Seymour. 

5.  T.  C.  Grooms,  Newcastle. 

6.  Benton  Wilson,  Cambridge  City. 

7.  Anthony  J.  Lauck,  Indianapolis. 

8.  Thomas  Bulger,  Bluffton. 

9.  Meade  Vestal,  Noblesville. 

10.  Daniel  Kelly.  Valparaiso. 

11.  .John  C.  Nelson,  Logansport. 

12.  William  F.  McNagny,  Whitley. 

13.  George  Ford,  South  Bend. 

A.  C.  Sallee  officiated  as  principal  secre- 
tary. 

ASSISTANT    SECRETARIES. 

1.  Philip  Lutz,  Jr.,  Boonville. 

2.  George  Griffin    Spencer. 

3.  Charles  T.  Brown,  English. 

4.  Minor  Williamson,  Vevay. 

•5.  Charles  J.  Arnold,  Greencastle. 

6.  Jesse  E.  Stevens,  Liberty. 

7.  Albert  F.  Zearing,  Indianapolis. 

8.  D.  W.  Callihan,  Winchester. 

9.  B.  F.  McKee,  Lebanon. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  1 


10.  Ed.  .J.  Steinbaugh,  Kentland. 

11.  Homer  Ormsby,  Hunting-ton. 

12.  CliflF  Lipkey,  Allen  county. 

13.  Chester  A.  McCormick,  North  Judson. 

DELEGATES    TO    NATIONAL    CONVENTION. 

Delegates-at-Large — Benjamin  F.  Bosse,  Evans- 
ville;  W.  H.  O'Brien,  Lawrenceburg;  John  W. 
Kern,  Indianapolis;  Stephen  B.  Fleming,  Ft. 
Wayne. 

Alternate  Delegates-at-Large — Alvin  Padgett, 
Washington;  George  W.  Brill,  Danville;  Judge  Al- 
onzo  Blair,  Shelbyville;  Estil  A.  Gast,  Warsaw. 

First  District — Delegates,  Charles  Lieb,  Rock- 
port;  A.  C.  Thomas,  New  Harmony. 

Alternate  delegates,  A.  J.  Hearing,  Winslow; 
P.  W.  Armstrong,  Owensville. 

Second  District — Delegates,  Fabius  Gwin, 
Shoals;  Wm.  M.  Alsop,  Vincennes. 

Alternate  delegates,  Chilton  R.  Pleasants, 
Bloomington;   James  M.   Hudson,  Bloomfield. 

Third  District — Delegates,  James  W.  Fortune, 
Jeffsrsonville;  Max  Abrams,  Campbellsburg. 

Alternate  delegates,  Kelse  Bottorff,  Mitchell; 
Thomas  B.  Buskirk,  Paoli. 

Fourth  District — Delegates,  John  H.  Suverkrup, 
Columbus;  John  F.  Russell,  Greensburg. 

Alternate  delegates,  Fred  Whitcomb,  Hayden; 
Frank  P.  Smith,  Franklin. 

Fifth  District— Delegates,  Peter  M.  Foley,  Ter- 
re  Haute;  Morgan  Tucker,  Clinton. 

Alternate  delegates.  Dr.  A.  B.  Bridge,  Danville; 
Charles  J.  McCullough,  Brazil. 

Sixth  District— Delegates,  J.  W.  Trittipo,  Fort- 
ville;   Clem  Thistlewaite,   Richmond. 

Alternate  delegates,  E.  C.  Morgan,  Knights- 
town;  C.  B.  Collins,  Shelbyville. 

Seventh  District — Delegates,  Joseph  E.  Bell, 
Indianapolis;  Bowman  Elder,  Indianapolis. 

Alternate  delegates,  Cortez  Blue,  Indianapolis; 
George  Hardin,  Indianapolis. 

Eighth  District— Delegates,  W.  A.  Kunkel, 
Bluffton;  J.  H.   Heller,  Decatur. 

'Alternate  delegates,  Alfred  Davis,  Muncie;  J.  L. 
Hoppes,  Farmland. 

Ninth  District— Delegates,  Van  C.  Blue,  Flora; 
J.  W.  Johnson,  Kokomo. 

Alternate  delegates,  E.  Scott  Blue,  Kingman; 
S.  E.  Voris,  Crawfordsville. 

Tenth  District — Delegates,  Frank  Welsh,  Rens- 
selaer;  William  Darroch,  Kentland. 

Alternate  delegates,  Fred  Dahling,  Reynolds; 
Charles  Lawson,  Chase. 

Eleventh  District — Delegates,  William  J.  Houck, 
Marion;    Zachariah   T.   Dungan,   Huntington. 

Alternate  delegates,  Edward  E.  Eickenberry, 
Wabash;   Erasmus   M.   Howard,  Logansport. 


Twelfth  District— William  P.  Breen,  Allen  coun- 
ty; Elmer  E.  Gandy,  Whitley  county. 

Alternate  delegates,  William  A.  Thomas,  De- 
kalb county;  Frank  Dunten,  Lagrange  county. 

Thirteenth  District — William  A.  Mclnerny, 
South  Bend;  Charles  M.  Walker,  Plymouth. 

Alternate  delegates.  Arthur  Deniston,  Roches- 
ter; Arthur  W.  Taylor,  Laporte. 

PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTORS. 

Electors-at-Large — Evans  Woollen,  Indianapo- 
lis; Meredith  Nicholson,  Indianapolis. 

Contingent  Electors-at-Large — S.  M.  Foster,  Ft. 
Wayne;   Lew  O'Bannon,  Corydon. 

First  District— Elector,  Sydney  B.  Hatfield, 
Boonville;  contingent  elector,  Newett  Bass,  Sten- 
dal. 

Second  District— Elector,  Inman  H.  Fowler, 
Spencer;  contingent  elector.  Homer  L.  McGinnis, 
Martinsville. 

Third  District — Elector,  George  Borgerding, 
New  Albany;  contingent  elector,  Albert  P.  Finn, 
Tell  City. 

Fourth  District— Elector,  Curtis  Marshall,  Mad- 
ison; contingent  elector,  George  Long,  Nashville. 

Fifth  District— Elector,  Finley  A.  McNutt,  Ter- 
re  Haute;  contingent  elector,  J.  M.  Bratton,  Rock- 
ville. 

Sixth  District — Elector,  J.  V.  Beavers,  Mt.  Sum- 
mit; contingent  elector,  Samuel  Trabue,  Rush- 
ville. 

Seventh  District — Elector,  Charles  Remster,  In- 
dianapolis; contingent  elector,  D.  F.  Williams,  In- 
dianapolis. 

Eighth  District — Elector,  H.  J.  Wysor,  Muncie; 
contingent  elector,  J.  W.  Vizard,  Pleasant  Mills. 

Ninth  District— Elector,  George  H.  Gifford,  Tip- 
ton; contingent  elector,  Bailey  Hawkins,  Carmel. 

Tenth  District— Elector,  Beaumont  Parks,  Whit- 
ing; contingent  elector,  William  Spooner,  Valpa- 
raiso. 

Eleventh  District— Elector,  Aaron  M.  Waltz, 
Hartford  City;  contingent  elector,  Samuel  F.  Rob- 
bins,  Peru.    . 

Twelfth  District— Elector,  Eph  K.  Strong,  Whit- 
ley county;  contingent  elector,  Charles  A.  Yatter, 
Steuben  county. 

Thirteenth  District— Elector,  Henry  F.  Schrick- 
er,  Knox;  contingent  elector,  Lee  Lauer,  Plymouth. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

1.  John  J.  Nolan,  Evansville. 

2.  Charles  H.  Bedwell,  Sullivan. 

3.  E.  W.  Pickart,  Huntingburg. 

4.  George  M.  Hillenbrand,  Batesville. 

5.  J.  S.  McFadden,  Rockville. 

6.  Louis  Federmann,  Brookville. 

7.  Michael  A.  Ryan,  Indianapolis. 


(436) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


S.  J.  J.  Netterville,  Anderson. 

9.  William  B.  Gray,  Covington. 

10.  E.  F.  McCabe,  Williamsport. 

11.  Frank  M.  Kistler,  Logansport. 

12.  Charles  Niezer,  Allen  county. 

13.  Lemuel  Darrow,  Laporte. 

PLATFORM  ADOPTED  COVERS 
MUCH  GROUND. 

The  preamble  of  the  platform  declares 
the  inauguration  of  President  Wilson,  in 
1913,  had  ended  a  long  period  of  Repub- 
lican ascendency,  marked  by  the  domi- 
nance of  .special  privilege,  panic  and  social 
unrest. 

The  Payne-Aldrich  tariff  act,  written  by 
its  sordid  beneficiaries  and  passed  over  the 
protest  of  an  outraged  people,  and  in 
which  progressive  Republican  leaders 
joined,  was  replaced  with  a  revenue  law 
just  and  equitable.  Under  this  law  the 
country's  balance  of  trade  reached  a  high- 
er mark  than  ever  before  attained  in  the 
world's  history,  by  this  or  any  other 
country. 

The  reserve  banking  act  is  credited  with 
having  contributed  more  to  the  prosperity 
and  business  .stability  of  the  country  than 
all  the  laws  passed  by  the  Republican 
party  put  together.  Under  this  act  the 
United  States  has  the  greatest  wealth  of 
gold  ever  accumulated  by  any  countiy  at 
one  time,  and  the  last  twelve  months  have 
witnessed  an  increase  of  money  deposits  in 
national  banks  surpassing  the  entire 
amount  of  like  deposits  exi.stant  twenty 
years  ago.  Agriculture,  commerce  and 
manufactures  are  declared  as  daily  setting 
new  high  records  in  industrial  achieve- 
ment. 

As  justification  for  a  continuance  of 
Democratic  rule  the  following  reforms  are 
enumerated:  Popular  election  of  United 
States  Senators ;  most  liberal  pension  leg- 
islation enacted  in  a  quarter  of  a  century; 
extension  of  the  parcel  post ;  perfection  of 
the  postal  savings  bank  system ;  reduction 
of  tariff  taxation  and  repeal  of  the  Payne- 
Aldrich  law :  the  income  tax ;  expose  and 
driving  out  of  Washington  the  lobby 
which  had  become  firmly  established  un- 
der Republican  administration;  strength- 
ening the  Sherman  anti-trust  law  in  the 
interest  of  legitimate  business;  prompt 
action  in  meeting  all  just  demands  of  la- 
bor; enactment  of  the  federal  trade  com- 
mission law. 

Unqualified  endorsement  of  the  pending 


legislative  program  in  Congress  and  the 
measures  recommended  by  President  Wil- 
son is  given. 

The  loss  of  a  great  leader  in  Indiana 
Democracy  by  the  death  of  Senator  Ben- 
jamin F.  Shively  is  lamented  and  deplored. 

The  leadership  and  service  of  John  W. 
Kern  and  the  fidelity  of  the  Indiana  Demo- 
cratic Congressmen  are  highly  com- 
mended. 

The  appointment  by  the  Governor  of 
Thomas  Taggart  to  fill  the  senatorial  va- 
cancy is  also  heartily  commended. 

Approval  is  given  the  Democratic  policy 
of  liberal  pensions  for  soldiers,  soldiers' 
widows  and  their  dependent  children. 

President  Wilson  is  praised  for  his 
courageous  conduct  of  affairs  in  the  com- 
plications arising  from  the  European  war 
and  the  troubles  of  Mexico. 

The  record  made  by  Thomas  R.  Mar- 
.shall  as  Vice-President  received  recogni- 
tion of  a  highly  complimentary  character. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Samuel 
M.  Ralston  is  pronounced  as  wise,  patri- 
otic and  democratic.  He  is  credited  with 
securing  the  enactment  of  numerous  re- 
form measures.  His  administration  of 
State  institutions  in  the  way  of  economy 
and  honesty,  and  his  fair  and  just  rela- 
tions to  both  capital  and  labor  are  set  forth 
as  evidence  of  his  faithfulness  and  loyalty 
to  the  people. 

The  record  of  Governor  Ralston  and  his 
associates  in  office  in  the  management  of 
the  finances  of  the  State  are  especially 
commended.  Under  their  administration 
the  State  debt  has  been  paid,  and,  for  the 
first  time  in  over  three-quarters  of  a  cen- 
tury, Indiana  is  without  a  single  dollar  of 
indebtedness,  while  having  a  cash  balance 
in  its  treasury. 

The  forethought  shown  in  making  the 
tax  levy  for  the  benevolent,  penal  and  ed- 
ucational institutions  of  the  State  is  com- 
mended, while  Democratic  control  of  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature  since  1911  is 
declared  to  have  been  marked  by  more  con- 
structive, .statesmanlike  and  progressive 
legislation  than  is  traceable  to  any  like 
period  of  Indiana's  legislative  history. 

While  congratulating  the  people  of  the 
State  on  the  marked  improvement  of  pub- 
lic highways,  as  made  under  Democratic 
administrations  and  laws,  the  party  is 
placed  on  record  as  favoring  legislation 
that  will  result  in  more  permanently  con- 
structed  highways   which    can    be    more 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


economically  and  efficiently  kept  in  repair. 

Legislation  is  pledged  in  the  direction 
of  more  equalizing  the  burden  of  taxation 
and  lowering  the  rate.  Abolishment  of 
the  State  sinking  fund  levy  is  declared  pos- 
sible from  having  paid  off  the  State  debt. 

Endorsement  is  given  the  present  laws 
governing  the  liquor  traffic  in  the  State, 
with  a  declaration  in  favor  of  their  strict 
enforcement.  The  Republicans  are  charged 
with  cowardice  in  evading  mention  of  the 
subject  in  their  platform. 

Additional  labor  legislation,  wise  and 
just,  keeping  in  mind  the  interests  of  both 
employer  and  employes,  is  pledged.  The 
last  Legislature  is  commended  for  enact- 
ing the  law  providing  for  arbitration  of 
labor  disputes. 

Legislation  regulating  the  general  de- 
murrer to  pleadings  in  legal  proceedings, 
thereby  preventing  undue  delays,  is  ap- 
proved, with  declaration  for  honest  and 
economical  government,  home  rule  for 
municipalities,  approval  of  the  congres- 
sional record  of  John  A.  M.  Adair,  the  par- 
ty's nominee  for  Governor,  and  laws  for 
the  betterment  of  country  life  are  other 
features  of  this  exceedingly  elaborate 
State  platform. 

MOST  OF  THE  NOMINATIONS  MADE 
BY  ACCLAMATION. 

The  distinctive  feature  of  the  conven- 
tion was  the  nomination  of  Thomas  Tag- 
gart  for  United  States  Senator,  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term  of  Benjamin  F.  Shively. 
The  demonstration  in  honor  of  Mr.  Tag- 
gart  admitted  of  no  doubt  as  to  the  senti- 
ment of  the  convention.  There  was  no 
question  about  most  of  the  nominations 
being  made  by  acclamation,  because  many 
of  the  candidates  were  unopposed.  The 
convention  quickly  ratified  the  nomination 
of  Senator  John  W.  Kern  and  of  John  A. 
M.  Adair  for  Governor,  both  of  which 
were  made  by  popular  vote  at  the  March 
primaries.  Then  the  convention  as  quick- 
ly renominated  Homer  L.  Cook  for  Secre- 
tary of  State,  Dale  J.  Crittenberger  for 
Auditor  of  State,  George  A.  Bittler  for 
State  Treasurer,  and  Phil  Zoercher  for  Re- 
porter of  the  Supreme  Court.  They  had 
no  opposition.     The  convention,  with  like 


speed,  nominated  E.  B.  Stotsenburg  for 
Attorney-General,  Douglas  Morris  and 
Charles  E.  Cox  for  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  James  A.  Moran  for  Judge  of 
the  Appellate  Court,  because  there  was  no 
opposition. 

A  genuine  contest  ensued  over  the  nomi- 
nation of  a  candidate  for  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor. The  Second  district  presented  Ma- 
son J.  Niblack,  Vincennes ;  the  Fourth  dis- 
trict, John  C.  Branaman,  Brownstown; 
the  Sixth  district,  Will  A.  Yarling,  Shelby- 
ville,  and  when  the  Seventh  district  was 
called  Charles  B.  Clarke,  State  Senator 
from  Marion  county,  placed  Fred  Van 
Nuys  of  Indianapolis  in  nomination. 

The  ballot  resulted  as  follows :  Niblack, 
461;  Branaman,  217;  Yarling,  288;  Van 
Nuys.  397.  There  were  1,363  votes  in  the 
convention,  making  682  necessary  to  a 
choice.  No  nomination  resulting  from  the 
first  ballot,  the  second  was  promptly  or- 
dered. 

The  second  ballot  for  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor resulted  as  follows :  Niblack,  5221/0  ; 
Van  Nuys,  451 V2;  Yarling,  253;  Brana- 
man, 136.  There  was  no  nomination  and 
the  third  ballot  M'as  started.  John  B. 
Peterson  of  Crown  Point  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  convention  while  the  third  bal- 
lot for  Lieutenant-Governor  was  in  prog- 
ress. 

The  name  of  Leonard  B.  Clore  was  in- 
jected into  the  contest  by  Switzerland 
county,  which  cast  seven  votes  for  him. 
Tippecanoe  county  followed  with  one  for 
Clore.  Somebody  raised  the  question  that 
Clore  could  not  be  voted  for,  but  the  ques- 
tion was  not  pressed.  Several  other  cour.- 
ties  followed  with  votes  for  Clore  and 
every  time  such  an  announcement  was 
made  there  was  a  shout  from  Clore  enthu- 
siasts, who  evidently  sought  to  start  a 
Clore  band  wagon  rush. 

Mr.  Clore  arose  and  made  a  speech. 
"When  I  made  my  race  for  the  nomination 
for  Governor  at  the  primaries  I  said  I 
would  not  run  for  Lieutenant-Governor.   I 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  181G-1916 


am  in  the  habit  of  doing  what  I  say  I  will 
do.  I  believe  the  men  who  have  made  this 
race  are  entitled  to  your  support.  I  ap- 
preciate your  votes,  but  I  want  to  support 
one  of  the  other  candidates."  There  was 
wild  disorder  when  Clore  finished  his 
speech.  It  was  noticed  that  he  did  not  say 
he  would  refuse  to  accept  the  nomination. 
"Clore!  Clore!  Clore!"  came  from  all  over 
the  hall  with  a  prolonged  roar. 

The  third  ballot  resulted  as  follows: 
Niblack,  558  19-20 ;  Van  Nuys,  444  19-20 ; 
Yarling.  201  19-20;  Branaman,  98  19-20; 
Clore.  581  a.  There  was  no  nomination. 
Branaman  announced  his  withdrawal 
from  the  race,  and  this  started  another 
Clore  demonstration. 

When  the  fourth  ballot  was  started  it 
looked  as  if  the  Clore  band  wagon  might 
rush  straight  down  the  center  aisle. 
Nearly  all  of  the  counties  gave  him  some 
votes. 

The  fourth  ballot  resulted  as  follows : 
Niblack,  576  6-15;  Van  Nuys,  298  11-15; 
Yarling,  142  11-15;  Clore,  331  6-15.  There 
was  no  nomination.  Yarling  announced 
his  withdrawal,  and  the  fifth  ballot  started. 

Niblack  was  nominated  on  the  fifth  bal- 
lot, the  vote  being  as  follows:  Niblack, 
8941/2  ;  Van  Nuys,  I6OI/0  ;  Clore,  352. 

Samuel  L.  Scott  of  Jefi'ersonville  had  no 
difficulty  in  winning  the  nomination  for 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion. The  other  candidate  was  Daniel  C. 
Mcintosh  of  Worthington.  The  total  vote 
was:    Scott,  9011/, ;  Mcintosh,  4611/,. 

S.  W.  Kann  was  nominated  on  the  third 
ballot  for  State  Statistician.  This  race 
started  w'th  six  candidates.  They  were: 
Kann,  George  D.  Franklin,  Lafayette; 
Thomas  W.  Brolley,  the  present  .statisti- 
cian ;  Richard  Beer,  Osgood ;  William 
Black,  Rushville,  and  Joseph  P.  Hemphill, 
Rising  Sun.  It  was  urged  against  Brolley 
that  he  had  had  enough.  He  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  Statistician  and  then  the 
Legislature  of  1915  extended  his  term  two 
years,  thus  giving  him  a  six-year  incum- 


bency. Evidently  this  argument  carried 
some  weight.  His  name  finally  was  with- 
drawn. Kann  was  a  strong  contender  for 
the  nomination  from  the  start.  He  had 
the  solid  support  of  the  Twelfth  district, 
besides  whal:  he  picked  up  elsewhere  and 
what  was  given  him  by  the  Marion  county 
delegation — 106  votes. 

THE  TICKET  AS  FINALLY  NOMINATED. 

Governor— John  A.  M.  Adair,  Portland. 

Lieutenant-Governor — Mason  J.  Niblack,  Vin- 
cennes. 

Senator,  Long  Term— John  W.  Kern,  Indianap- 
olis. 

Senator,  Short  Term — Thomas  Taggart,  French 
Lick. 

Secretary  of  State — Homer  L.  Cook,  Indianap- 
olis. 

Auditor  of  State — Dale  J.  Crittenherjier,  Ander- 
son. 

Treasurer  of  State— Georse  A.  Bittler,  Ft. 
Wayne. 

Attorney-General — Evan  B.  Stotsenburg,  New 
Albany. 

Supreme  Court,  Second  District — Douglas  Mor- 
ris, Rushville. 

Supreme  Court,  Third  District — Charles  E.  Cox, 
Indianapolis. 

Appellate  Court,  Northern  Division — James  J. 
Moran,  Portland. 

Reporter  of  Supreme  Court — Philip  Zoercher, 
Tell  City. 

Judge  Appellate  Court,  First  District— John  C. 
McNutt,  Martinsville. 

State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — 
Samuel  L.  Scott,  New  Albany. 

State  Statistician— S.  W.  Kann,  Ligonier. 

DEMOCRATIC  STATE  CENTRAL  COMMITTEE 
—1916. 

1.  Benjamin  Bosse,  Evansville. 

2.  John  W.  Cravens,  Bloomington. 
■J.  Bomar   Traylor,   Jasper. 

4.  Charles  H.  Wagner,  Columbus. 

5.  A.  J.  Hamrick,  Greencastle. 

G.  Walter  S.  Chambers,  Newcastle. 

7.  Bernard  Korbly,  Indianapolis. 

8.  William   A.   Kunkel,   Bluffton. 

9.  W.  Riley  Dunham,  Kempton. 

10.  Henry  J.  Lehman,  Crown  Point. 

11.  Frank  D.  Butler,  Peru. 

12.  E.  G.  Hoffman,  Fort  Wayne. 
1:5.  Estil  A.  Cast,  Warsaw. 

Bernard  Korbly,  Chairman. 

Upon  his  election  as  national  committee- 


(  439  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  18  16-191 


man  Mr.  Hoffman  of  the  Twelfth  district 
resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  M.  H.  L. 
Luecke  of  Fort  Wayne. 

Election  for  members  of  State  Commit- 
tee was  held  April  4.  Under  the  primary 
election  law  members  of  this  committee 
are  chosen  by  the  chairmen  of  the  county 
committees  of  the  various  congressional 
districts. 
EX-AUDITOR  WILLIAM  H.   O'BRIEN. 

For  quite  a  while  it  seemed  to  have  been 
taken  for  granted  that  former  State  Audi- 
tor William  H.  O'Brien  would  be  the  Dem- 
ocratic nominee  for  Governor  in  1916.  He 
had  devoted  and  enthusiastic  friends  in 
all  parts  of  the  State  who  would  have  glad- 
ly given  him  earnest  support.  His  record 
as  State  Auditor  was  without  flaw  and  de- 
noted sincerest  devotion  to  conscientious 
performance  of  public  duty.  He  is  of  his- 
toric Democratic  stock,  his  honored  father, 
Cornelius  O'Brien,  having  for  years  been 
a  leader  of  the  Dearborn  county  Democ- 
racy. Was  born  at  Lawrenceburg,  Au- 
gust 22.  1855.  William  H.  O'Brien  served 
fourteen  years  as  Mayor  of  Lawrenceburg, 
and  gave  such  thorough  satisfaction  as  to 
make  re-election  a  certainty  as  long  as  he 
could  be  induced  to  serve  in  that  capacity. 
He  received  his  largest  majority  upon  his 
fifth  and  last  election.  In  a  business  way 
he  was  associated  with  his  father-in-law, 
Dr.  W.  H.  D.  Hunter,  in  the  publication  of 
the  Lmvrenceburg  Register  and  in  the 
management  of  the  Citizens'  National 
Bank.  Later  on  Mr.  O'Brien  consolidated 
the  Citizens'  National  Bank  and  the  Peo- 
ple's National  Bank,  and  is  now  President 
of  the  People's  National  Bank  of  Law- 
renceburg. It  was  rare,  indeed,  that  a 
Democratic  country  newspaper  and  a  na- 
tional bank  were  thus  allied  and  conducted 
in  the  same  building — the  bank  below  and 
the  print  shop  above. 

For  six  years  (1902  to  1908)  he  served 
ably  and  most  acceptably  as  chairman  of 
the  Democratic  State  Committee.  After 
Mr.  O'Brien  concluded  that  he  had  been 


in  municipal  service  long  enough  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  in 
which  capacity  he  represented  his  constit- 
uency and  the  people  of  the  State  in  gen- 
eral in  a  way  that  amply  attested  his 
worth  as  an  efficient,  painstaking  and  con- 
scientious legislator.  In  1910  he  was  nomi- 
nated and  elected  to  the  office  of  State  Au- 
ditor, and  triumphantly  re-elected  in  1912. 
During  his  four  years  of  public  service  he 
gave  the  State  the  full  benefit  of  his  supe- 
rior business  qualifications  and  his  keen 
financial  judgment.  Persons  familiar  with 
his  administration  freely  accord  to  him  the 
praise  of  having  taken  high  rank  among 
the  most  capable  custodians  of  important 
State  offices.  He  has  ever  regarded  pub- 
lic office  as  a  public  trust,  and  acted  ac- 
cordingly. In  view  of  the  superb  record 
to  which  he  can  point  with  pardonable 
pride  it  will  hardly  be  wondered  that  a 
strong  sentiment  developed  throughout 
the  State  to  make  him  its  chief  executive, 
and  that  keen  disappointment  was  felt 
when  announcement  came  that,  for  pri- 
vate and  business  reasons,  he  could  not 
persuade  himself  to  become  a  candidate 
for  that  high  office. 

His  family  consists  of  a  devoted  wife, 
three  daughters,  and  three  sons.  They 
are  the  joy  of  his  life.  The  family  man- 
ages to  have  frequent  reunions.  One  son, 
Robert  Emmett,  graduated  from  the 
United  States  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  is  now  first  lieutenant  in  the  Fifth 
Infantry  and  is  stationed  at  Panama  Canal 
Zone.  The  youngest  son  (Wm.  H.,  Jr.) 
graduated  from  the  United  States  Navy  at 
Annapolis  and  is  now  lieutenant  in  the 
navy.  At  this  writing  he  is  in  command 
of  the  Alaskan  Radio  expedition,  and  mas- 
ter of  a  5,000-ton  ship. 

Mr.  O'Brien  is  very  happily  situated, 
carefree  and  contented.  This  he  could 
hardly  expect  to  be  were  he  engaged  in  an 
exciting  and  exacting  political  campaign. 
His  time  amply  occupied  in  the  supervi- 
sion of  extensive  business  interests,  there 


(  440  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


is  no  likelihood  of  his  becoming  rusty. 
With  the  experience  he  has  had  in  public 
life  it  is  easy  for  him  to  realize  that  polit- 
ical honors  are  fleeting;  that  they  fade 
like  the  flowers,  and  that  the  beauty  of 
each  is  soon  forgotten.  Real  home  life  is 
comforting  and  enduring.  Mr.  O'Brien 
has  every  reason  to  congratulate  himself 
on  being  situated  as  he  is  and  on  having 
decided  to  serve  his  party  in  the  ranks  in- 
stead of  seeking  leadership.  His  official 
service  extends  over  a  goodly  number  of 
years.  It  must  be  a  source  of  unbounded 
satisfaction  to  him  to  be  enabled  to  say 
truthfully  that  at  no  time  was  his  record 
ever  tarnished  in  the  slightest  degree. 

CHARLES  A.  GREATHOUSE. 

Another  gentleman  who  gained  an  en- 
viable reputation  as  a  State  official  was 
quite  generally  discussed  in  Democratic 
circles  as  a  suitable  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor. This  is  Charles  A.  Greathouse, 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  for 
three  temis.  He  had  earnest  supporters 
in  various  parts  of  the  State,  and  would 
doubtless  have  had  enthusia.stic  backing  at 
the  primaries  had  he  not  positively  declared 
that  under  no  circumstances  would  he  con- 
sent to  the  use  of  his  name  in  connection 
with  the  gubernatorial  nomination.  He 
felt  that  close  application  to  the  diligent 
discharge  of  his  duties  as  Superintendent 
of  the  Public  Schools,  and  the  exactions 
incident  thereto,  entitled  him  to  a  respite 
from  the  cares  and  responsibilities  of  pub- 
lic oftice.  Besides,  he  recognized  the  fact 
that  increasing  business  interests  demand- 
ed some  attention  that  would  not  admit  of 
being  neglected  or  ignored  about  the  time 
when  he  would  be  relieved  of  official  duty. 

Charles  A.  Greathouse  was  born  July 
17,  1869,  on  a  farm  in  Posey  county,  and 
reared  thereon.  In  the  days  of  his  youth 
he  had  practical  experience  with  all  kinds 
of  farm  work.  He  attended  the  district 
school  in  Posey  county  and  later  was  grad- 
uated from  both  the  common  schools  and 


the  high  school  of  Mt.  Vernon.  Attended 
the  Central  Normal  College  at  Danville, 
Ind.,  from  1886  to  1888,  and  Indiana  Uni- 
versity from  1890  to  1893.  Duly  equipped 
for  educational  work,  he  taught  one  year 
in  the  district  school  in  Posey  county,  in 
the  farthest  school  house  in  the  southwest 
part  of  Indiana,  just  two  miles  from  where 
the-  Wabash  river  empties  into  the  Ohio 
river.  Subsequently  he  taught  six  months 
in  Hendricks  county  in  a  log  school  house 
familiarly  known  as  "Sixty  Cents,"  and 
located  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Brown 
township.  Was  Superintendent  of  the 
Boys'  School  at  Plainfield  for  two  years, 
resigning  this  position  to  enter  Indiana 
University.  Taught  in  the  elementary 
and  high  schools  of  Mt.  Vernon  from  1894 
to  1895,  resigning  his  position  there  to  ac- 
cept the  county  superintendency,  to  which 
office  he  was  elected  in  1895.  Served  as 
county  superintendent  of  Posey  county  for 
ten  years,  resigning  in  1905  to  accept  the 
presidency  of  the  People's  Bank  and  Trust 
Company.  He  moved  to  Indianapolis  in 
1908  and  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Thomas  R.  Marshall  on  the  10th  of  No- 
vember, 1910,  to  fill  out  the  unexpired 
term  of  Robert  J.  Aley,  State  Superintend- 
ent of  Public  In.struction.  Was  elected  to 
oflice  of  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  in  the  fall  of  1910,  re-elected 
in  the  fall  of  1912,  and  for  a  third  term  re- 
elected in  the  fall  of  1914.  He  made  an 
unsuccessful  race  for  this  office  in  1900, 
at  a  time  when  Democratic  nominations 
were  regarded  as  purely  complimentary 
afl'airs. 

Important  legislative  enactments  se- 
cured during  Mr.  Greathouse's  adminis- 
tration as  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  may  be  thus  enumerated: 

(1)  Provision  for  Uniform  High  School 
text  books. 

(2)  Provision  for  State  High  School  In- 
spector. 

(3)  Vocational  Education  Law,  carry- 
ing with  it  an  amendment  to  the  Compul- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


sory  Education  Law,  raising  the  age  limit 
from  fourteen  to  sixteen  years. 

(4)  Amendment  to  the  Minimum  Wage 
Law,  whereby  provision  is  made  for  high- 
er wages  for  teachers  with  longer  experi- 
ence. 

(5)  Pension  Law  for  teachers. 

(6)  Modification  of  License  Law. 

Mr.  Greathouse  was  married  in  1903  to 
Erma  Stanhope  Ribeyre  of  New  Harmony. 
He  is  the  father  of  two  children,  Charles 
and  Harriet,  aged  respectively  eleven  and . 
nine.  Whether  Mr.  Greathouse  shall  de- 
vote the  remainder  of  his  life  to  business 
pursuits  or,  in  deference  to  public  demand, 
again  take  upon  himself  the  performance 
of  official  duties,  in  truth  it  may  be  said 
an  enviable  record  has  been  made  by  him 
in  the  promotion  of  educational  interests 
to  which  he  and  those  near  and  dear  to 
him  may  ever  point  with  pride.  The  in- 
terests of  the  school  children  of  Indiana 
were  jealously  guarded  during  all  the 
years  of  Mr.  Greathouse's  efficient  admin- 
istration. 

JOHN  A.  M.  ADAIR,  NOMINEE  FOR 
GOVERNOR. 
Remarkable  indeed  is  the  political  rec- 
ord of  John  Alfred  McDowell  Adair,  whom 
the  Democrats  of  Indiana  at  primary  elec- 
tion designated  by  overwhelming  majority 
as  their  choice  for  Governor,  and  which 
action  the  convention  ratified  by  vocifer- 
ous acclaim.  He  was  born  in  Jay  county, 
Indiana,  December  22,  1863;  removed  to 
Portland  in  1880 ;  attended  the  high  school 
there,  engaged  in  business ;  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  city  of  Portland  in  1888 ;  pro- 
moted to  clerk  of  Jay  county  in  1890; 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1895 ;  elected  representative  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assemlaly  of  Indiana  in  1902 ;  engaged 
in  the  banking  business  and  made  a  suc- 
cess thereof.  In  1906  he  was  nominated 
for  Congress  by  the  Democracy  of  the 
Eighth  district — up  to  that  time  one  of  the 
Republican  strongholds  in  the  State.  Dis- 
sension in  the  Republican  ranks  helped  to 


break  the  ice.  Mr.  Adair  was  triumphant- 
ly elected.  His  manner  of  campaigning 
was  an  eye-opener  to  the  old  stagers  who, 
up  to  this  day,  cannot  understand  how  Mr. 
Adair  managed  not  only  to  be  elected  and 
four  times  re-elected  in  a  Republican  dis- 
trict, but  that  his  majority  became  more 
decisive  at  each  try-out.  His  marvelous 
achievements  in  this  particular  amply  jus- 
tified all  the  claim^s  set  up  in  his  behalf  by 
those  who  championed  his  nomination  for 
the  governorship.  While  not  at  all  pre- 
tentious as  to  the  possession  of  superior 
oratorical  powers,  it  is  but  presenting  sim- 
ple truth  when  the  statement  is  made  that 
Mr.  Adair  takes  rank  among  the  most  ef- 
fective campaigners  in  the  State.  His 
simplicity  of  argumentation  commends  it- 
self to  thoughtful  voters,  and  in  a  measure 
accounts  for  the  remarkable  successes  that 
crowned  his  eft'orts  in  five  consecutive  con- 
gressional contests. 

Upon  being  presented  to  the  convention 
as  Indiana  Democracy's  selection  for  the 
gubernatorial  chair  he  was  given  an  ova- 
tion that  could  not  have  been  otherwise 
than  gratifying.  Thereupon  he  delivered 
a  necessarily  brief  address,  the  character 
of  which  may  be  judged  by  the  vigor  of 
these  introductory  paragraphs : 

"In  accepting  this  honor  I  promise  you 
now,  that  if  God  will  give  me  the  health 
and  the  strength,  I  will  go  into  all  parts 
of  every  county  in  this  State,  preaching 
the  gospel  of  Democracy  and  presenting  to 
the  people  the  splendid  work  of  both  our 
State  and  national  administrations,  con- 
fidently believing  that  when  the  ides  of 
November  come,  when  the  smoke  of  battle 
shall  have  cleared  away  and  the  ballots 
have  been  counted,  Woodrow  Wilson  will 
continue  to  rule  in  the  White  House,  John 
Kern  and  Tom  Taggart  will  occupy  seats 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  our  splendid 
State  officials  will  continue  in  their  present 
positions,  and,  if  you  want  to  see  me,  come 
to  the  Governor's  office  of  Indiana. 

"When  inaugurated  as  your  Governor^ 
I  shall  give  to  that  office  the  best  there  is 
in  me.  The  highest  ambition  I  will  have 
will  be  to  render  a  service  that  will  merit 
for  me   the  endorsement,   the   confidence 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


and  the  respect  of  all  the  people  of  In- 
diana, regardless  of  party.  The  laws  of 
the  State  shall  be  and  will  be  enforced  to 
the  letter.  I  shall  insist  on  the  strictest 
economy  in  the  administration  of  the  af- 
fair's of  the  State,  and  will  see  to  it  that 
not  a  dollar  of  the  people's  money  is 
wasted.  I  shall  give  the  subject  of  taxa- 
tion special  study  and  consideration,  to  the 
end  that  taxes  may  be  equalized  and  the 
burden  of  taxation  reduced  to  the  lowest 
possible  limit. 

"I  shall  see  that  our  charitable,  benevo- 
lent and  correctional  institutions  are  prop- 
erly managed,  and  that  the  unfortunate 
inmates  are  cared  for  in  a  way  that  will 
be  creditable  to  our  State.  Having  in 
mind  the  welfare  of  those  who  earn  their 
bread  by  daily  toil,  I  shall  urge  legislation 
that  will  do  justice  to  both  capital  and 
labor,  to  the  end  that  the  strong  may  not 
trample  on  the  rights  of  the  weak,  but  that 
every  man  may  have  a  square  deal  and  an 
equal  opportunity  under  the  law.  I  shall 
oppose  special  privilege  in  every  form,  and 
insist  on  such  progressive  legislation  as 
the  people  will  demand.  I  shall  stand  for 
clean  government  and  the  advancement  of 
civic  righteousness  in  all  parts  of  the 
State.  I  will  strive  to  make  Indiana  the 
model  State  of  the  Union,  in  which  our 
boys  and  girls  can  be  reared  to  manhood 
and  womanhood  and  sent  out  in  life  to 
bless  the  world  and  mankind." 

Mr.  Adair's  running  mate  is  Mason  J. 
Niblack  of  Vincennes.  He  has  an  exten- 
sive acquaintance  throughout  the  State, 
most  of  which  was  gained  during  the 
years  of  his  connection  with  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture.  As  a  member  of 
that  body  he  rendered  service  that  will 
long  be  appreciably  remembei'ed  by  per- 
sons interested  in  making  State  Fairs  en- 
joyable, educational,  and  progressively  in- 
structive from  an  agricultural  point  of 
vieW'.  He  served  several  terms  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  by  reason  of  his  supe- 
rior knowledge  of  parliamentary  law  and 
his  capacity  for  legislative  work  was  made 
Speaker  of  the  House  several  decades  ago. 
Professionally  he  is  a  lawyer.  He  is  a  son 
of  the  late  William  E.  Niblack,  who  was 
for  years  the  close  associate  of  Hendricks, 
McDonald,  Turpie,  Voorhees,  Holman  and 


Kerr  in  the  leadership  of  the  party  and 
rounded  out  his  eventful  career  by  distin- 
guished service  on  the  Supreme  Bench  of 
the  State. 

The  entire  State  ticket  is  made  up  of 
men  of  established  reputation  as  to  fitness, 
qualification  and  worthiness.  As  to  what 
the  popular  response  to  the  action  of  the 
party  is  likely  to  be  was  forecasted  by  Sen- 
ator Thomas  Taggart  when  he  uttered 
these  in.spiring  words  to  his  enthusiastic 
co-workers : 

"Our  Republican  friends  have  neither 
an  issue  nor  a  candidate  to  take  before  the 
people  with  any  hope  of  winning  in  the 
coming  campaign.  On  no  imagined  issue 
can  they  assail  with  success  any  act  of  the 
administration  of  Woodrow  Wilson.  On 
no  issue  can  they  successfully  attack  the 
wonderfully  progressive  and  constructive 
work  of  the  administration  of  Governor 
Samuel  M.  Ralston,  which  stands  by  itself 
in  the  splendid  record  of  accomplishments 
among  all  the  administrations  in  the  first 
100  years  of  the  State's  history.  As  Dem- 
ocrats we  go  before  the  people  in  1916 
proud  of  all  we  have  done  in  Nation  and 
State,  and  confident  of  victory  with  the 
greatest  majority  ever  achieved  in  polit- 
ical contest  or  by  any  party." 

RECORD  TO  WHICH  PARTY  POINTS 
WITH  PRIDE. 

As  already  stated,  the  keynote  of  the 
campaign  for  1916  was  sounded  by  Gov- 
ernor Samuel  M.  Ralston,  whose  record  is 
such  as  to  give  unusual  weight  to  anything 
he  may  say  with  reference  to  promises  and 
the  redemption  thereof.  Among  the  many 
reasons  set  forth  in  his  incisive  keynote 
speech  why  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  had 
a  right  to  ask  of  the  electorate  a  continu- 
ance of  Democratic  ascendancy,  Governor 
Ralston  instanced  these: 

"A  few  years  ago  the  Republican  party 
and  the  Progressive  party  sought  to  outdo 
each  other  in  extreme  platform  declara- 
tions— which  they  both  labeled  Progress- 
iveism.  They  threw  conservatism  to  the 
wind  and  entered  upon  a  campaign  of  rad- 
ical and  doubtful  declamation.  Their  thun- 
dering  throughout   the    State    .shook    the 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


very  foundations  of  free  government,  and 
the  people  stood  aghast  at  the  assaults 
these  parties  were  making  upon  the  faith 
of  the  fathers. 

"But  the  Democratic  party  was  true  to 
the  traditions  of  the  Republic  and  the  peo- 
ple supported  us.  My  word  for  it,  there 
was  not  a  sane  and  conservative  measure 
found  in  either  of  those  platforms  that  has 
not  since  been  enacted  into  law  by  the 
Democratic  party,  and  in  addition  many 
other  helpful  laws  have  been  passed  by 
our  party.  Our  party  is  conservatively 
progressive  and  progressively  conserva- 
tive. It  knows  enough  about  government 
to  know  that  the  American  people  are  op- 
posed to  extremes  and  to  emotionalism  in 
governmental  enactments  and  policies,  and 
for  this  reason  it  opposes  with  equal  ear- 
nestness the  platform  that  seeks  to  over- 
throw the  well-settled  principles  of  our 
government  and  the  platform  that  abounds 
in  colorless  platitudes. 


"The  Democratic  party  of  this  State  has 
given  the  people  wisely  constructed  legis- 
lation in  a  new  highway  law,  a  Statewide 
primary  election  law,  a  flood  prevention 
law,  a  law  regulating  child  labor,  a  tene- 
ment housing  law,  an  arbitration  law,  an 
anti-lobby  law,  a  teachers'  pension  law,  a 
rural  loan  association  law,  an  anti-loan 
shark  law,  a  law  regulating  the  sale  of  nar- 
cotics, a  uniform  negotiable  instrument 
law,  a  law  simplifying  methods  of  legal 
procedure,  a  public  service  law,  a  work- 
man's compensation  law,  a  vocational  ed- 
ucation law,  a  law  making  provision  for 
the  proper  maintenance  of  our  educational, 
penal,  reformatory  and  benevolent  institu- 
tions, and  many  other  statutory  enact- 
ments as  instrumentalities  of  good  gov- 
ernment for  the  people.  And  it  is  the  high- 
est praise  of  the  administrative  and  states- 
manlike ability  of  the  Democratic  party  of 
Indiana  that  no  political  party  or  body  of 
citizens  condemns  any  of  these  wise  and 
just  laws." 


(  444  ) 


[Chapter  LXIL] 

GOV.  RALSTON'S  ADMINISTRATION 

NOTED   FOR   ITS   PROGRESSIVE  SPIRIT  AND   HIGH   REGARD 
FOR  THE  PUBLIC  WELFARE 


N  administration  cannot  be  re- 
viewed completely  until  its 
term  shall  have  been  ended. 
But  after  a  public  functionary 
has  served  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  his  term,  a  fair  esti- 
..  mate  of  his  achievements  and 
accomplishments  may  be  ventured  without 
apprehension  of  serious  impairment  by 
what  is  yet  to  follow. 

It  may  be  said  with  strict  adherence  to 
truth  and  justice  that  Governor  Ralston 
has  fully  met  the  expectations  of  those 
who  were  instrumental  in  placing  him  at 
the  head  of  the  State  government.  As  an 
honest,  upright  man,  as  a  modest  Chris- 
tian gentleman,  he  has  ever  been  mindful 
of  his  oath  of  office  and  untiring  in  his  ef- 
forts to  serve  the  State  to  the  best  of  his 
understanding  and  ability.  At  the  very 
outset  of  his  administration  his  courage 
was  put  to  severe  test.  A  strike  disturbed 
the  peace  of  the  capital  city  and  threatened 
to  paralyze  its  commerce.  Ever  a  sincere 
friend  of  wage  workers,  Governor  Ralston 
dealt  with  the  difficult  situation  then  pre- 
sented in  such  manner  as  to  admit  of  no 
doubt  that,  while  eager  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  in  making  the  lot  of  the  working  peo- 
ple easier  and  more  remunerative,  he  must 
first  see  to  the  maintenance  of  order  and 
the  observance  of  law.  By  the  wisdom, 
discretion,  and  sincerity  of  his  course,  and 
the  superb  courage  displayed  by  him  at 
the  critical  moment,  he  succeeded  magni- 
ficently in  allaying  passion,  subduing  vio- 
lence, and  eventually  restoring  normal 
conditions.  A  less  discreet  and  less 
courageous  chief  executive  might  easily 
have  involved  the  capital  city  in  riot  and 
bloodshed. 

On  all  moral  questions  that  presented 


themselves  from  time  to  time  there  has 
under  no  condition  or  circumstances  been 
any  question  as  to  the  Governor's  attitude. 
Not  content  with  the  exercise  of  whatever 
official  power  might  be  applied  to  the  fur- 
therance of  public  morality.  Governor 
Ralston  has  in  a  number  of  public  ad- 
dresses, in  various  parts  of  the  State,  ap- 
pealed strongly  for  popular  support  of 
every  measure  or  proposition  that  gave 
promise  of  betterment  of  society.  In  these 
particulars  he  has  earned  the  lasting  grati- 
tude of  all  the  good  men  and  women  who 
have  consecrated  themselves  to  the  uplift 
of  humanity  and  the  advancement  of  true 
happiness. 

Without  the  slightest  intention  of  in- 
dulging in  invidious  distinction  it  may  be 
said  that  Indiana  never  had  a  Governor 
who  was  so  constantly  "on  the  job"  as  has 
been  Governor  Ralston.  Perhaps  former 
administrations  did  not  demand  the  seri- 
ous attention  that  has  been  exacted  by  the 
affairs  of  this  administration.  The  insti- 
tutions of  the  State  have  been  constantly 
increasing,  so  that  at  this  time  we  have 
seventeen  benevolent  and  correctional  in- 
stitutions maintained  at  public  expense. 
Because  of  his  sympathetic  nature  Gov- 
ernor Ralston  has  always  manifested  a 
keen  personal  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
the  unfortunates  of  the  State  confined  in 
these  institutions.  In  his  selection  of 
trustees  thereof  he  has  exercised  rare  dis- 
cretion in  choosing  men  of  recognized  abil- 
ity and  character.  It  has  been  his  aim  to 
select  men  and  women  of  business  acumen 
and  a  kindly  and  .sympathetic  feeling  for 
those  with  whom  they  have  to  deal.  In  ad- 
dition to  selecting  capable  governing  bod- 
ies for  the  several  institutions  he  has 
given  his  attention  to  the  manner  in  which 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  16 


each  of  them  has  been  conducted.  •  He  has 
been  steadfastly  devoted  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  each  and  all.  Indiana's  benevolent 
and  correctional  institutions  are  now  rec- 
ognized throughout  the  Union  as  being  ex- 
ceptionally well  managed  and  efficiently 
conducted,  and  are  patterned  after  by  a 
number  of  other  States. 

For  ages  the  abolition  of  the  jail  system 
has  been  the  dream  of  the  social  workers, 
but  it  remained  for  Indiana  to  lead  out  in 
the  movement  of  establishing  a  penal 
farm.  As  in  similar  progressive  and  re- 
formatory movements,  the  Governor  was 
active  in  bringing  about  the  passage  of  the 
law  providing  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  laudable  purpose. 

One  of  the  most  creditable  acts  of  the 
Ralston  administration  was  the  vigor  with 
which  a  well-directed  fight  was  made  for 
the  enactment  of  the  much-needed,  far- 
reaching  anti-lobby  bill.  The  effect  of  this 
wise  and  heroic  onslaught  on  artful  and 
corrupting  agencies  cannot  well  be  over- 
estimated. A  single  quotation  from  his 
masterly  argument  in  support  of  this 
measure  will  enable  the  reader  to  form  an 
intelligent  opinion  of  the  weight  of  the 
Governor's  argument: 

"In  a  free  republic  a  public  official  is  not 
a  master.  He  is  not  even  his  own  master ; 
he  is  a  servant — a  servant  in  the  noblest 
sense  of  that  term.  As  a  legislator  he  is 
called  by  his  countrymen  from  the  private 
walks  of  life  and  endowed  with  their  com- 
mission to  do  a  public  work  for  his  State 
and  country.  Vested  with  this  authority, 
he  is  exalted  before  the  public  eye  until 
it  is  said  of  him,  as  it  was  said  of  the  hus- 
band of  the  virtuous  woman,  he  'is  known 
in  the  gates  when  he  sitteth  among  the 
elders  of  the  land.'  Being  thus  distin- 
guished, because  in  him  centers  the  power 
of  the  people  to  do  their  work,  he  must  be 
the  soul  of  candor  with  the  people." 

Governor  Ralston,  during  his  adminis- 
tration, has  also  interested  himself  in  the 
preservation  of  the  natural  resources  and 
beauty  spots  of  the  State.  Quite  recently 
he  appointed  a  commission,  serving  with- 


out pay,  to  look  after  the  preservation  of 
the  natural  beauty  of  Turkey  Run,  a  beau- 
tiful tract  of  hills  and  valleys  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  State.  Those  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  this  spot  declare  it  to  be  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  Central  West. 
The  Governor  is  a  strong  believer  in  the 
value  of  sentiment  in  connection  with  our 
daily  life.  In  a  message  to  the  last  Legis- 
lature he  favored  the  creation  of  a  non- 
political  and  non-salaried  centennial  com- 
mission of  nine  members.  The  purpose  of 
this  commission  was  to  provide  for  the 
celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  admission  of  the  State  into  the 
Union.  He  also  advised  that  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  appropriation  made  for 
that  celebration  be  used  in  historical  re- 
search and  in  collecting  and  compiling  his- 
torical documents,  which  shall  be  a  perma- 
nent contribution  to  the  State's  history. 
In  connection  with  his  advocacy  of  an  ap- 
propriation for  that  pui'pose  he  said: 

"I  know  that  the  people  of  Indiana  love 
their  State.  They  have  every  reason  for 
being  proud  of  her  achievements  along 
every  line  that  causes  a  people  to  be. recog- 
nized as  great — great  in  material  prog- 
ress, and  greater  still  in  moral  and  intel- 
lectual development.  I  would  feel  that  as 
Governor  I  was  lacking  in  patriotism  if  I 
did  not  favor  the  celebration  by  our  people 
of  their  State's  hundredth  anniversary. 
The  fine  spirit  such  an  event  would  kindle 
and  rekindle  among  the  people  would  be 
worth  many  times  more  than  it  would  cost. 

"And,  after  all,  the  real  character  of  the 
State,  representing  though  it  does  equality 
and  brotherhood,  depends  upon  the  ideals 
of  the  people  and  their  equipment  for  life. 
No  matter  how  strongly  the  ship  at  sea  be 
constructed,  sooner  or  later  she  will,  be 
dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  in  her  voy- 
age if  her  crew  be  not  qualified  for  their 
duty  and  alert  in  guiding  her  course. 
Would  not  such  a  celebration  move  our  cit- 
izenship to  take  a  keener  interest  in  our 
State's  development  and  a  deeper  pride  in 
her  destiny?" 

The  Governor  realized  the  important 
part  good  roads  play  in  our  civilization. 
In  1914  he  appointed  a  non-partisan  high- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


way  commission,  composed  of  five  distin- 
guished citizens  of  the  State.  The  pur- 
pose of  this  commission  was  to  investigate 
and  study  the  building  and  maintenance 
of  public  highways,  with  the  view  of  de- 
vising some  uniform  scheme  of  construc- 
tion and  maintenance  of  roads  and  the  de- 
velopment of  a  system  of  management 
thereof. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1915  he  called  a 
meeting  of  the  Governors  of  seven  States 
to  be  held  in  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  construction  of 
a  national  highway  from  Chicago,  111.,  to 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  to  be  known  as  the 
Dixie  Highway.  In  April,  1915,  a  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Chattanooga,  pursuant  to 
the  call  of  Governor  Ralston,  and  was  at- 
tended by  a  number  of  the  Governors  and 
a  great  many  citizens.  That  meeting  has 
generally  been  regarded  as  the  greatest 
highway  meeting  ever  held,  both  in  the 
point  of  attendance  and  in  the  importance 
of  the  scheme  under  consideration.  From 
that  meeting  developed  the  Dixie  Highway 
Commission,  which  is  now  at  work  upon 
the  Di-xie  Highway  project,  and  all  signs 
indicate  that  the  Dixie  Highway  will 
shortly  become  a  reality.  The  beneficial 
effects  of  that  movement  are  not  confined 
to  the  actual  construction  of  a  proposed 
highway,  but  the  scheme  has  been  an  in- 
spiration to  other  communities  through 
which  the  road  does  not  pass,  and  there 
is  a  general  awakening  of  interest  in  good 
roads. 

While  the  Governor  was  reared  upon  a 
farm,  he  was  never  engaged  in  farming 
after  he  began  the  practice  of  law  until 
shortly  before  he  became  Governor.  At 
this  time  he  owns  a  farm  in  Boone  county 
and  is  greatly  interested  in  farm  life  and 
farm  subjects.  His  chief  recreation  is  vis- 
iting his  farm.  All  movements  looking  to 
the  development  of  live  stock  and  farming 
industries  have  received  his  active  sup- 
port.- It  is  largely  due  to  his  action  in 
pledging  the  credit  of  the  State  to  the  pay- 


ment of  the  claims  for  stock  killed  by  quar- 
antine agents  that  Indiana  so  effectively 
stamped  out  the  dreaded  foot  and  mouth 
disease.  Delay  in  dealing  with  this  dis- 
ease would  have  resulted  in  immense  loss 
to  the  live  stock  owners  of  the  State.  The 
Governor  is  also  interested  in  all  phases 
of  industrial  and  social  life  of  the  State. 

A  fair  index  to  the  general  policy  of  the 
Ralston  administration  is  furnished  by 
himself  in  an  address  delivered  at  Swarth- 
more  College,  near  Philadelphia,  June  12, 
1916.  In  this  address  he  urged  a  greater 
centralization  of  authority  in  the  hands  of 
governors  and  mayors.  Governor  Ralston 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  lawlessness  is 
on  the  increase,  and  declared  that  greater 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  executives  will 
do  much  to  assist  in  improving  conditions. 
In  support  of  these  views  Governor  Ral- 
ston presented  these  points : 

"Disguise  the  truth  as  we  may,  the  law- 
less element  is  on  the  increase,  and  it  tends 
to  have  a  paralyzing  influence  on  local  offi- 
cials. To  deal  with  the  law  violating  class 
effectively,  greater  power  must  be  central- 
ized in  the  mayors  of  cities  or  the  form  of 
city  government  changed.  Impeachment 
statutes  must  be  strengthened  and  more 
power  be  given  to  the  Governor.  Educa- 
tion will,  of  course,  be  depended  on  to  sup- 
port and  insure  permanent  reforms. 

"Federal  laws  are  more  strictly  en- 
forced than  State  and  local  laws.  There 
is  a  rea.son  for  this.  With  the  exception 
of  the  President  all  federal  officials 
charged  with  law  enforcement  are  ap- 
pointive officers,  and  the  power  that  ap- 
points them  can  retire  them  to  private  life 
upon  their  failure  strictly  to  enforce  the 
law. 

"If  the  law  afforded  a  more  effective 
method  for  the  removal  of  officials  who  re- 
fuse to  do  their  duty,  the  people  would 
have  less  cause  for  complaint  of  law  vio- 
lations ;  and  if  the  Governor  had  the  power 
to  supersede  the  prosecuting  attorney  who 
fails  to  prosecute  the  law  violator  with  a 
lawyer  who  would  prosecute  him,  it  would 
be  an  important  factor  in  law  enforcement 
and  would  tend  to  prevent  the  commission 
of  crimes. 

"In  marking  out  his  duty  the  citizen 
mu.st  take  account  of  many  things.     He 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


cannot  close  his  eyes  to  conditions  con- 
fronting him.  The  commercialism  that 
has  had  full  sway  in  this  country  during 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century  challenges  the 
best  thought  of  our  day.  Commerce  is 
most  helpful  in  the  development  of  a  coun- 
try where  it  is  not  permitted  to  sweep  on 
without  the  curbing  influence  of  civic 
sanity. 

"Blind  commercialism  carries  with  it  at 
least  two  evils  that  are  very  hurtful.  It 
has  resulted  in  centering  too  much  luxury 
and  power  in  the  extremely  wealthy  and 
in  fixing  a  false  notion  of  life  in  the  minds 
of  those  without  riches,  but  who  are  ambi- 
tious to  imitate  the  rich.  These  two  evils 
must  and  will  be  ultimately  eliminated 
from  our  national  life." 

During  his  occupancy  of  the  gubernato- 
rial chair  Governor  Ralston  delivered 
quite  a  number  of  speeches  on  current  top- 
ics in  various  parts  of  the  State.  In  all 
of  these  addresses  Governor  Ralston  un- 
failingly and  invariably  sought  to  arouse 
in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  hearers  a 
sentiment  in  favor  of  civic  righteousness, 
patriotic  citizenship,  individual  and  offi- 
cial integrity,  exemplary  conduct  in  all  the 
walks  of  life,  promotion  of  educational  and 


religious  interests,  co-operation  and  gen- 
erous helpfulness ;  in  short,  a  living  exem- 
plification of  the  Golden  Rule  and  the  un- 
qualified acceptance  of  the  sublime  teach- 
ings contained  in  the  imperishable  Sermon 
on  the  Mount.  So  genuinely  excellent  are 
the  sentiments  enunciated  by  Governor 
Ralston  that  a  distinctively  appreciable 
service  would  be  rendered  the  people  of 
Indiana  if  all  of  his  addresses  along  these 
lines  were  collected  and  printed  in  book 
form.  In  sentiment  they  are  conducive  to 
the  cultivation  of  those  lofty  ideals  that 
enter  into  the  best  type  of  American  citi- 
zenship. They  express  the  feelings  and 
emotions  of  as  high-minded  and  conscien- 
tious a  chief  executive  as  ever  filled  In- 
diana's gubernatorial  chair.  Samuel  M. 
Ralston  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  teachings 
of  the  founders  of  the  American  Republic, 
and  in  early  life  consecrated  himself  to  the 
advocacy  and  championship  of  doctrines 
and  principles  that  in  the  experience  of  the 
world  have  been  found  essential  to  the  en- 
joyment of  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness. 


(448  ) 


[Chapter  LXIII.] 

UNITED  STATES  SENATORS 

CHOSEN  BY  THE  INDIANA  LEGISLATURE  FROM  1861  TO  1911 


HE  Senate  of  Indiana  for  1861 

Twas  composed  of  28  Republi- 
cans and  22  Democrats.  In  the 
House  there  were  62  Republic- 
ans and  38  Democrats.  Henry 
S.  Lane,  Republican,  was  elect- 
ed United  States  Senator,  re- 
ceiving the  solid  vote  of  the  Republicans. 
The  Democrats  voted  for  former  Gov- 
ernor Joseph  A.  Wright,  who  afterwards 
affiliated  with  the  Republicans. 

In  1863  the  Senate  was  made  up  of  27 
Democrats,  21  Republicans,  and  2  Inde- 
pendents. In  the  House  there  were  62 
Democrats  and  38  Republicans.  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  for  the  six-year  term,  while 
David  Turpie  was  given  the  short  term, 
expiring  March  3,  1863.  The  Republicans 
voted  for  Joseph  A.  Wright  for  the  long 
term  and  Daniel  D.  Pratt  for  the  short 
term.  Wright  at  the  time  filled  the  office 
by  appointment  of  Governor  Morton. 

In  1867  the  Senate  contained  30  Repub- 
licans and  20  Democrats.  The  House:  61 
Republicans,  39  Democrats.  Governor 
Oliver  P.  Morton  was  elected  United 
States  Senator  by  the  solid  vote  of  his  par- 
ty, to  succeed  Henry  S.  Lane,  who  proved 
a  disappointment  to  his  friends  and  had 
no  support  for  re-election.  The  Demo- 
cratic vote  was  cast  for  Daniel  W.  Voor- 
hees. 

In  1869  the  Republicans  had  on  joint 
ballot  86  votes ;  the  Democrats  62.  There 
were  two  vacancies.  The  Democrats  voted 
solidly  for  the  re-election  of  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  while  the  bulk  of  the  Repub- 
lican vote  went  to  Daniel  D.  Pratt,  of  Lo- 
gansport,  who  was  finally  elected  after  a 
red-hot  Republican  bolt  on  account  of  Will 
Gumback,  who  was  the  original  caucus 
nominee.     Godlove  S.  Orth  and  Cumback 


at  the  final  balloting  had  complimentary 
votes,  but  not  enough  to  prevent  Pratt's 
election  by  a  safe  majority. 

In  1873  Oliver  P.  Morton  was  re-elected 
to  the  Senate  by  the  Republicans,  who  had 
a  total  vote  of  80,  as  against  70  Democrats 
and  Liberal  Republicans. 

In  1875  Joseph  E.  McDonald  got  the 
benefit  of  the  Democratic  vote — 23  in  the 
Senate  and  60  in  the  House.  There  were 
22  Republicans  and  5  Independents  in  the 
Senate,  and  32  Republicans  and  8  Inde- 
pendents in  the  House.  The  opposition 
divided  their  votes  between  Daniel  D. 
Pratt,  Richard  W.  Thompson  and  James 
Buchanan — the  latter  an  ardent  Green- 
backer  residing  at  Indianapolis.  McDon- 
ald was  a  pronounced  hard-money  Demo- 
crat. 

In  1879  there  were  in  the  Senate  24 
Democrats,  23  Republicans  and  3  Green- 
backers.  In  the  House :  50  Democrats,  39 
Republicans  and  11  Greenbackers.  Oliver 
P.  Morton  had  died  November  1,  1877. 
To  fill  the  vacancy  Governor  James  D. 
Williams  appointed  Daniel  W.  Voorhees, 
who  took  his  seat  November  12,  1877,  and 
was  elected  to  the  full  term  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  1879.  The  Republican  vote  was 
cast  for  Godlove  S.  Orth,  while  James 
Buchanan  got  the  votes  of  the  more  rad- 
ical Greenbackers  who  did  not  join  the 
Democrats  in  electing  Voorhees. 

In  1881  the  Republicans  had  a  repre- 
sentation of  24  in  the  Senate  and  58  in  the 
House.  They  voted  for  General  Benjamin 
Harri.son  for  Senator,  and  elected  him  to 
succeed  Joseph  E.  McDonald.  The  latter 
was  humiliated  by  the  Democratic  vote 
(24  in  the  Senate  and  41  in  the  House) 
being  cast  for  Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray, 
who  became  acting  Governor  for  a  few 
months  upon  the  death  of  Governor  Wil- 


(449) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


liams.  The  Greenbackers  voted  for  Rev. 
Dr.  Gilbert  De  La  Matyr. 

In  1885  there  were  only  14  Republicans 
in  the  Senate  and  36  in  the  House.  They 
voted  for  Governor  Albert  G.  Porter  for 
Senator.  The  Democrats  had  36  Senators 
and  63  Representatives,  all  of  whom  voted 
for  the  re-election  of  Daniel  W.  Voorhees. 
The  election  in  1884  produced  great  re- 
sults for  the  Democrats.  They  got  Grover 
Cleveland  for  President,  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks for  Vice-President,  Isaac  P.  Gray 
for  Governor,  a  Democratic  Legislature, 
and  the  re-election  of  Voorhees  to  the 
United  States  Senate  by  an  exceptionally 
large  majority. 

In  the  Legislature  of  1887  there  were 
19  Republican  Senators  and  55  Represen- 
tatives. Of  Democrats  there  were  31  in 
the  Senate  and  42  in  the  House.  The  bal- 
ance of  power  on  joint  ballot  was  lodged 
in  3  Greenbackers.  The  Republicans  in 
the  House  unseated  a  Democrat  from  Vigo 
county,  whereupon  the  Democrats  in  the 
Senate  unseated  a  Republican.  This  sort 
of  thing  did  not  commend  itself  to  thought- 
ful Democrats  and  Republicans,  so  a  halt 
was  commanded,  after  some  very  exciting 
episodes.  The  fracas  ended  in  the  election 
of  David  Turpie  to  the  Senate  over  Gen- 
eral Harrison;  but  the  latter  was  more 
than  compensated  for  this  loss  by  being 
nominated  and  elected  to  the  Presidency 
in  1888. 

In  1891  the  Legislature  was  overwhelm- 
ingly Democratic — 35  in  the  Senate  and 
73  in  the  House.  All  of  them  voted  for 
the  re-election  of  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  the 
42  Republicans  casting  their  votes  for 
Governor  Alvin  P.  Hovey. 

In  1893  there  were  35  Democrats  in  the 
Senate  and  63  in  the  House.  Their  vote 
was  cast  solidly  for  the  re-election  of  Da- 
vid Turpie  to  the  United  States  Senate. 
The  Republican  minority  voted  for 
Charles  Warren  Fairbanks. 

The  landslide  of  1894  played  havoc  with 
Democratic  ascendancy.     In  the  Legisla- 


ture of  1897  there  were  33  Republicans  in 
the  Senate  and  52  in  the  House.  Their 
votes  were  cast  for  Charles  W.  Fairbanks, 
who  succeeded  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  whose 
term  expired  March  3,  1897.  Of  Demo- 
crats there  were  14  in  the  Senate  and  39 
in  the  House.  They  voted  for  the  re-elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Voorhees.  There  were  3  Pop- 
ulists in  the  Senate  and  9  in  the  House. 
They  cast  their  votes  for  Leroy  Templeton. 

The  United  States  senatorial  election  of 
1899  still  found  the  Republican  party  in 
power.  The  Democrats  had  lost  six  addi- 
tional Senate  seats,  having  but  14  mem- 
bers, with  33  credited  to  the  Republicans 
and  3  to  the  Populists.  The  House  divi- 
sion was:  52  Republicans,  39  Democrats 
and  9  Populists.  The  younger  element 
of  the  Republican  party  were  in  the  sad- 
dle, and  after  a  prolonged  caucus  struggle 
the  nomination  was  given  Albert  J.  Bever- 
idge,  an  Indianapolis  lawyer  noted  for  his 
eloquence,  and  he  was  subsequently  elected 
over  the  veteran  Turpie  and  Alonzo  G. 
Burkhart,  who  received  the  support  of  the 
Populists. 

Charles  W.  Fairbanks  was  re-elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate  in  1903,  when 
the  Indiana  Senate  was  divided — 35  Re- 
publicans and  15  Democrats;  the  House, 
66  Republicans  and  34  Democrats.  Ben- 
jamin F.  Shively  was  the  Democratic  and 
only  opposing  candidate. 

With  the  Legislature  of  1905  very  near- 
ly as  one-sided  as  the  Republicans  had  it 
ten  years  previous,  being  constituted — in 
the  Senate  36  Republicans  and  14  Demo- 
crats; in  the  House,  79  Republicans  and 
21  Democrats;  and  Beveridge  as  yet  in 
high  favor  with  his  party,  there  was  no 
question  as  to  his  re-election.  Mr.  Shive- 
ly was  again  the  unsuccessful  Democratic 
candidate.  The  election  of  Senator  Fair- 
banks as  Vice-President  with  Theodore 
Roosevelt  left,  by  reason  of  his  resigna- 
tion, a  four-year  vacancy,  which  was  filled 
by  the  election  of  James  A.  Hemenway 
over  John  W.  Kern. 


(450) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


In  1909  the  Democrats  had  regained  the 
Governorship,  Lieutenant-Governorship, 
State  Superintendency  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, with  joint  control  of  the  Legislature 
after  fifteen  years'  wandering  in  the  polit- 
ical wilderness.  The  Senate  remained  Re- 
publican by  reason  of  their  having  27 
members  to  23  Democrats.  The  Demo- 
crats controlled  the  House  by  60  to  40  Re- 
publican members,  and  thus  had  the  power 
of  naming  Benjamin  F.  Shively  to  suc- 
ceed Mr.  Hemenway  after  a  memorable 
caucus  fight  had  eliminated  several  aspir- 
ants for  the  toga. 


Two  years  later  the  Legislature  division 
being:  Senate — Democrats  30,  Repub- 
licans 20;  House — Democrats  60,  Repub- 
licans, 40,  John  W.  Kern,  who  had  failed 
to  secure  the  Democratic  caucus  nomina- 
tion in  1909,  was  chosen  to  succeed  Bever- 
idge,  who  had  broken  with  his  party  and 
in  the  following  national  election  was  the 
Progressive  nominee  for  Governor  of  In- 
diana. This  election  was  noteworthy  by 
being  the  last  held  in  the  State  under  the 
original  constitutional  provision — by  the 
Legislature. 


(451) 


[Chapter  LXIV.] 


EYES  CLOSED  IN  ETERNAL  SLEEP 

THE   GRIM   REAPER'S  WORK  MADE  HEAVY  INROADS   ON 
DEMOCRATIC  LEADERSHIP 


In  the  democracy  of  the  dead  all  men  at  last 
are  equal.  There  is  neither  rank  nor  station  nor 
prerogative  in  the  republic  of  the  grave.  At  this 
fatal  threshold,  the  philosopher  ceases  to  be  wise, 
and  the  song  of  the  poet  is  silent.  Dives  relin- 
quishes his  millions  and  Lazarus  his  rags.  The 
poor  man  is  as  rich  as  the  richest,  and  the  rich 
man  is  as  poor  as  the  pauper.  The  creditor  loses 
his  usury,  and  the  debtor  is  acquitted  of  his  obli- 
gation. There  the  proud  man  surrenders  his  dig- 
nities, the  politician  his  honors,  the  worldling  his 
pleasures;  the  invalid  needs  no  physician,  and  the 
laborer  rests  from  unrequited  toil. 

Here,  at  last,  is  nature's  final  decree  in  equity. 
The  wrongs  of  time  are  redressed.  Injustice  is 
expiated;  the  irony  of  fate  is  refuted;  the  unequal 
distribution  of  wealth,  honor,  capacity,  pleasure 
and  opportunity,  which  makes  life  such  a  cruel 
and  inexplicable  tragedy,  ceases  in  the  realm  of 
death.  The  strongest  there  has  no  supremacy, 
and  the  weakest  needs  no  defense.  The  might- 
iest captain  succumbs  to  that  invincible  adver- 
sary, who  disarms  alike  the  victor  and  the  van- 
quished.— From  John  J.  Ingalls'  Eulogy  on  Con- 
gressman Burnes. 


m  im  EW  States  in  the  Union  had  a 

I  I  ''  ^  stronger  Democratic  leadership 
I  p  from  the  year  1868  to  the  close 
f_£  of  the  nineteenth  century  than 

^ ""■■^    Indiana.     For  a  quarter  of  a 

century  there  was  no  time  when 
the  State  could  not  have  sup- 
plied the  nation  with  an  acceptable  and 
capable  chief  executive.  All  the  while, 
however,  Death  enforced  heavy  exactions. 
One  after  another  the  falling  of  mighty 
oaks  was  noted  through  the  columns  of  the 
public  press.  The  passing  of  sturdy  men 
conspicuous  in  public  life  followed  in  quick 
succession — so  much  so  that  expressions 
of  grief  and  sorrow  over  the  loss  of  this 
or  that  favorite  son  cast  a  gloom  over 
many  localities  in  this  justly  famed  com- 
monwealth. 

In  preceding  chapters  may  be  found  re- 
corded biographical  sketches  and  merited 
tributes  to  a  number  of  the  State's  distin- 
guished sons  who  entered  upon  the  jour- 
ney to  the  spirit  land  before  the  close  of 


the  eighties.  Among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned the  distinguished  men  upon  whom 
devolved  leadership  in  a  new  political  era 
dating  from  1860,  and  in  which  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks  was  knighted  as  the  undis- 
puted chieftain  of  the  Indiana  Democracy. 
Of  presidential  stature  was  Michael  C. 
Kerr,  who  died  shortly  after  his  election 
to  the  speakership  of  the  National  House 
of  Representatives,  in  1876.  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks himself  passed  away  twenty-five 
years  after  he  had  been  proclaimed  the 
leader  of  his  party  in  Indiana.  He  was 
preceded  by  Governor  James  D.  Williams 
at  a  ripe  age,  and  after  having  rendered 
the  State  valued  service  in  various  ways. 
Suitable  and  deser\'ed  tributes  by  the  mas- 
terly pen  and  the  eloquent  voice  of  the 
matchless  orator,  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  will 
be  found  printed  on  preceding  pages. 
What  follows  these  explanatory  lines  re- 
lates to  men  who  entered  the  Palace  of 
Eternity  at  subsequent  periods. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


JOSEPH  E.  Mcdonald  was  of  presi- 
dential stature.  He  was  a  great  lawyer. 
During  his  earlier  years  he  served  one 
term  in  Congress  and  before  the  civil  war 
he  was  twice  elected  Attorney-General  of 
Indiana.  In  the  spirited  contest  for  the 
Governorship  in  1864  he  was  defeated  by 
Governor  Oliver  P.  Morton,  but  in  1875 
he  became  Morton's  colleague  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  He  was  the  choice 
of  many  influential  Democrats  throughout 
the  country  for  the  Presidency  in  1880, 
but  refused  to  consent  to  the  use  of  his 
name  unless  Mr.  Hendricks  assented  there- 
to. This  could  not  be  brought  about,  and 
the  nomination  went  to  the  gallant  Gen- 
eral Winfield  Scott  Hancock.  Four  years 
later  Indiana  formally  presented  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald as  Democracy's  choice  for  the 
Presidency.  Mr.  Hendricks  put  him  in 
nomination,  but  Grover  Cleveland  had  the 
call  that  year,  and  McDonald's  name  was 
withdrawn  after  it  had  become  apparent 
that  he  could  not  secure  the  nomination 
and  that  Mr.  Hendricks  might.  As  in 
1876,  the  nomination  for  Vice-President 
was  thrust  upon  Mr.  Hendricks.  He  did 
not  want  it,  but  was  compelled  to  subordi- 
nate his  personal  wishes  to  the  behest  of 
the  party.  Mr.  McDonald,  after  these  ex- 
periences, devoted  himself  more  assiduous- 
ly than  ever  before  to  the  practice  of  law, 
which  in  time  became  quite  lucrative.  But 
for  certain  regrettable  jealousies  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald would  have  become  President 
Cleveland's  Attorney-General  in  1885.  Mc- 
Donald was  born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
August  29,  1819,  moved  with  his  mother  to 
,  Indiana  in  1826,  and  died  at  Indianapolis 
June  21,  1891.  He  was  twice  married, 
and  his  second  wife  died  twenty-five  years 
later.  One  of  the  former  Senator's  sons 
is  a  leading  stock  farmer  in  the  northwest- 
ern part  of  Indiana. 

DANIEL  WOLSEY  VOORHEES  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in  the 
State.  Born  September  26,  1827,  in  the 
same  county  in  which  his  life-long  friend, 


Joseph  E.  McDonald,  first  espied  the  light 
of  the  world,  the  county  of  Butler,  Ohio. 
Daniel's  parents  soon  after  moved  upon  a 
farm  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  on 
which  the  gifted  son  was  reared.  Was 
graduated  from  the  Indiana  Asbury  Uni- 
versity in  1849 ;  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  commenced  practice  in 
1851 ;  United  States  District  Attorney  for 
Indiana  1858-1861 ;  elected  as  a  Democrat 
to  the  Thirty-seventh  and  Thirty-eighth 
Congresses  (March  4,  1861-March  3, 
1865)  ;  presented  credentials  as  a  member- 
elect  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress,  and 
served  from  March  4,  1865,  to  February 
23,  1866,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Henry 
D.  Washburn,  who  contested  his  election; 
re-elected  to  the  Forty-first  and  Forty-sec- 
ond Congresses  (March  4,  1869,  to  March 
3,  1873)  ;  defeated  as  a  Democratic  candi- 
date for  the  Forty-fifth  Congress ;  appoint- 
ed, and  subsequently  elected,  as  a  Demo- 
crat to  the  United  States  Senate  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Oliver  P. 
Morton;  re-elected  in  1885  and  1891,  and 
served  from  November  6,  1877,  until 
March  3,  1897 ;  died  in  Washington,  D.  C, 
April  9,  1897.  A  more  generous-hearted 
man  than  Daniel  Voorhees  never  breathed ; 
a  more  eloquent  orator  never  swayed 
juries  or  political  gatherings.  Politically 
he  was  frank,  courageous,  aggressive.  Fi- 
delity to  his  friends  was  with  him  both  a 
duty  and  a  pleasure,  from  which  no  exi- 
gencies ever  caused  him  to  swerve.  Devo- 
tion characterized  his  following,  the  bond 
which  held  them  being  profound  aff'ec- 
tion — a  bond  which  rarely  parted  save  in 
death.  From  his  first  nomination  to  Con- 
gress, in  1856,  he  never,  in  any  of  the 
many  conventions  in  which  his  name  was 
presented  as  a  candidate  for  the  House  or 
Senate,  had  opposition  in  his  own  party. 
During  the  nineties  he  was  freely  talked 
of  as  a  presidential  possibility,  but  he 
promptly  squelched  all  suggestions  of  that 
nature.  "I  have  too  many  angles  to  be- 
come a  presidential  aspirant,"  he  said  to  a 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  9  1 


small  circle  of  devoted  friends  and  admir- 
ers. He  died  poor  in  purse,  but  rich  in 
the  esteem,  love  and  confidence  of  millions 
of  his  fellow-men. 

DAVID  TURPIE,  who,  like  his  col- 
league Voorhees,  served  a  long  time  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  was  born  in 
Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  July  8,  1829 ;  was 
graduated  from  Kenyon  College  in  1848; 
studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1849,  and  practiced  in  Logansport,  Ind. ; 
appointed  by  Governor  Wright  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  1854-1856 ; 
Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  in  1856;  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  of  Indiana  in  1852 
and  1858 ;  elected  to  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate in  1863  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  Senate  expelling  Jesse  D.  Bright,  and 
served  from  January  14,  1863,  to  March 
3,  1863;  member  of  the  State  House  of 
Representatives  and  served  as  Speaker 
1874-1875  ;  one  of  the  three  commissioners 
to  revise  the  laws  of  Indiana  in  1878-1881 ; 
appointed  United  States  District  Attorney 
for  Indiana  in  August,  1886,  and  served 
until  March  3,  1887;  delegate-at-large  to 
the  Democratic  national  convention  in 
1888,  and  again  in  1896;  elected  as  a  Dem- 
ocrat to  the  United  States  Senate  Febru- 
ary 2,  1887 ;  re-elected  in  1893  and  served 
from  March  4,  1887,  until  March  3,  1899; 
died  in  Indianapolis,  April  21,  1909.  He 
was  one  of  the  State's  most  scholarly  men, 
a  profound  thinker  and  a  forceful,  logical 
speaker.  By  the  practice  of  law  he  ac- 
quired an  adequate  competence. 

WILLIAM  E.  NIBLACK  was  born  in 
Dubois  county,  Indiana,  May  19,  1822 ;  at- 
tended Indiana  University,  but  did  not 
graduate;  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar;  practiced  in  Vincennes;  elected 
to  the  State  House  of  Representative,  1849 
and  1853;  member  of  the  State  Senate, 
18.50-1852;  Circuit  Judge  from  January, 
1854,  to  October,  1857;  elected  as  a  Demo- 
crat to  the  Thirty-fifth  Congress  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  James 
Lockhart ;   re-elected   to   the   Thirty-sixth 


Congress  and  served  from  December  7, 
1857.  to  March  3,  1861;  delegate  to  the 
Democratic  national  conventions  in  1864, 
1868  and  1876;  re-elected  to  the  Thirty- 
ninth  and  to  the  four  succeeding  Con- 
gresses (March  4,  1865,  to  March  3, 
1875)  ;  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  In- 
diana, 1877-1889;  died  in  Indianapolis, 
May  7,  1893.  Personally  he  was  a  lovable 
character.  He  would  have  been  delighted 
to  have  rounded  out  his  long  and  useful 
career  as  Governor  of  his  native  State,  but 
the  younger  element  set  up  claims  to  which 
Judge  Niblack  did  not  care  to  interpose 
objection.  During  his  entire  political 
career  he  sustained  very  close  relations  to 
Mr.  Hendricks. 

WILLIAM  STEELE  HOLMAN,  who 
had  the  proud  distinction  of  serving  a 
longer  time  in  Congress  than  any  other 
Indianian,  was  born  in  Dearborn  county, 
Indiana,  September  6,  1822;  attended  the 
common  schools,  and  Franklin  College,  In- 
diana, for  two  years;  studied  and  prac- 
ticed law;  Judge  of  Probate  Court,  1843- 
1846;  prosecuting  attorney,  1847-1849; 
member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
of  Indiana  in  1850 ;  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature in  1851-1852;  Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas,  1852-1856 ;  elected  as  a 
Democrat  to  the  Thirty-sixth,  Thirty-sev- 
enth and  Thirty-eighth  Congresses  (March 
4,  1859,  to  March  3,  1865)  ;  re-elected  to 
the  Fortieth,  Forty-first,  Forty-second, 
Forty-third  and  Forty-fourth  Congresses 
(March  4,  1867-March  3,  1877')  ;  re-elected 
to  the  Forty-seventh,  Forty-eighth,  Forty- 
ninth,  Fiftieth,  Fifty-fir.st,  Fifty-second, 
and  Fifty-third  Congresses  (March  4, 
1881-March  3,  1895)  ;  again  elected  to  the 
Fifty-fifth  Congress  and  served  from 
March  4,  1897,  until  his  death  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  April  22,  1897.  Judge  Holman 
was  for  years  the  ever-vigilant  and  faith- 
ful "Watchdog  of  the  Treasury."  As  such 
he  was  to  the  nation  worth  his  weight  in 
gold  several  times  over.  He  was  plain, 
unpretentious,  able,  diligent,  vigilant,  pa- 


HISTORY 


NDIANA     DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


triotic,  level-headed,  and  scrupulously  hon- 
est. Fads  and  frills  never  commended 
themselves  to  this  faithful  and  incorrupt- 
ible servant  of  the  people. 

ISAAC  P.  GRAY,  for  fifteen  years  a 
power  in  the  Democratic  party  of  Indiana, 
was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 
October  18,  1828;  removed  to  Montgom- 
ery county,  Ohio,  in  1839;  in  1855  settled 
in  Union  City,  Ind.,  and  practiced  law. 
Became  Colonel  of  the  Fourth  Indiana 
Cavalry;  recruited  and  organized  the  One 
Hundred  and  Forty-seventh  Infantry.  Was 
nominated  in  1866  by  the  anti-Julian  party 
of  the  Sixth  District  for  Congress,  but  was 
defeated  by  George  W.  Julian.  Was  elect- 
ed State  Senator  in  1868  as  a  Republican, 
and  served  four  years.  He  was  largely 
instrumental  in  securing  the  ratification 
of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  by  the  Indiana  Legisla- 
ture. In  1872  he  Greeleyized,  and  from 
that  time  on  until  his  death  he  affiliated 
with  the  Democracy.  In  1876  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  for 
Lieutenant-Governor  and  elected.  He  be- 
came acting  Governor  on  the  death  of 
James  D.  Williams,  November  20,  1880, 
during  the  remainder  of  the  term.  In 
1880  he  sought  the  Democratic  nomination 
for  Governor,  was  defeated  by  Franklin 
Landers,  but  again  nominated  for  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor. With  the  rest  of  the 
ticket  he  was  defeated  at  that  year's  elec- 
tion. In  1881  he  was  made  the  caucus 
nominee  of  the  Democratic  members  of  the 
General  Assembly  for  United  States  Sena- 
tor, but  in  the  election  was  defeated  by 
General  Benjamin  Harrison.  In  1884  he 
was  easily  nominated  for  Governor  and 
triumphantly  elected.  In  1893  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Cleveland  as  Minis- 
ter to  Mexico,  which  position  he  held  until 
his  death,  February  14,  1895.  After 
Colonel  Gray  had  become  fairly  fixed  in 
the  Democratic  saddle  he  was  a  power  in 
the  party,  notwithstanding  his  former  ob- 
noxious  political   affiliation   and   activity. 


He  was  very  much  chagrined  over  his  de- 
feat for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  in 
1880,  when  he  was  beaten  by  Franklin 
Landers  by  about  a  dozen  votes.  In  1884 
there  was  still  some  hostility  to  him  among 
prominent  and  influential  Democrats,  but 
he  snapped  his  finger  at  them  and  told 
them  to  do  their  utmost.  He  secured  the 
nomination  without  much  effort,  and  was 
triumphantly  elected.  He  had  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  the  friends  of  Joseph  E. 
McDonald  by  depriving  the  latter  of  the 
caucus  nomination  for  United  States  Sen- 
ator in  1881.  Notwithstanding  this  fric- 
tion. Governor  Gray  was  made  Indiana's 
choice  for  the  Vice-Presidency  in  1888,  but 
the  nomination  went  to  Senator  Allen  G. 
Thurman  of  Ohio.  In  1892  Gray  was  put 
forward  for  the  presidential  nomination, 
but  the  Cleveland  sentiment  in  Indiana 
was  made  to  appear  to  be  so  formidable 
that  the  State's  entire  vote  was  by  some 
strange  manipulation  turned  over  to 
Grover  Cleveland,  with  the  understanding 
that  Gray  was  to  be  nominated  for  Vice- 
President.  There  was  a  hitch  in  this,  and 
the  nomination  went  to  Adlai  E.  Steven- 
son of  Illinois.  Gray,  though  not  a  schol- 
arly man,  was  a  graceful,  effective,  logical 
speaker.  He  counted  his  ardent  friends 
by  the  thousands.  He  had  two  promising 
sons,  both  of  whom  died  in  comparatively 
early  manhood. 

Governor  CLAUDE  MATTHEWS  was 
a  native  of  Kentucky.  Both  branches  of 
the  family  were  farmers.  The  maternal 
grandfather  served  as  one  of  Kentucky's 
representatives  in  Congress.  Claude  was 
born  in  Bath  county,  December  14,  1845. 
He  attended  such  schools  as  the  county 
afforded  until  fifteen  years  of  age,  when 
his  father  purchased  a  farm  near  Mays- 
ville  and  located  there.  Young  Matthews 
availed  himself  of  the  superior  school 
facilities  of  that  locality,  graduated  in  due 
time,  and  in  1863  entered  Center  College, 
Danville,  Ky.,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
June,  1867.     On  the  first  of  January,  1868, 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Martha  R. 
VVhitcomb,  only  child  of  the  late  James 
Whitcomb,  in  his  day  Governor  and  later 
on  United  States  Senator.  The  same  year 
the  young  couple  moved  onto  a  big  farm 
near  Clinton,  Vermilion  county,  Indiana, 
where  they  lived  continuously  except  dur- 
ing the  time  that  he  served  as  Secretary 
of  State  and  Governor  at  Indianapolis — a 
period  of  six  years.  Governor  Matthews 
was  extensively  engaged  in  grain  and 
stock  farming.  In  1876  he  was  persuaded 
to  enter  the  race  for  the  Legislature,  and 
was  elected  by  nearly  300  majority,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  county  had 
almost  uniformly  been  largely  Republican. 
After  giving  six  years  of  his  life  to  the 
public  service  he  resumed  farming  opera- 
tions in  Vermilion  county.  Death  sudden- 
ly terminated  his  useful  career  while  away 
from  home.  After  having  concluded  an 
address  at  an  old  settlers'  meeting  at  Me- 
harry's  Grove,  near  Wingate,  Montgomery 
county,  August  25,  1898,  he  was  stricken 
with  paralysis  and  was  taken  to  the  home 
of  Mr.  Isaac  Meharry,  where  the  former 
State  executive  died  at  6  o'clock  the  morn- 
ing of  the  28th  of  August.  He  was  con- 
scious, but  never  spoke  after  leaving  the 
speaker's  stand.  Just  as  he  had  finished 
his  address  he  said:  "I  feel  so  very 
queer,"  and  would  have  fallen  but  for  the 
fact  that  friends  came  to  his  assistance. 

General  JAMES  R.  SLACK  was  one  of 
the  most  popular  men  in  the  State  of  In- 
diana. He  was  born  in  Bucks  county, 
Pennsylvania,  September  28,  1818,  and 
died  suddenly  at  Chicago,  July  28,  1881. 
He  received  an  academic  education,  and 
when  nineteen  years  of  age  came  to  In- 
diana with  his  parents,  who  settled  in 
Delaware  county.  He  taught  .school  and 
read  law  until  he  was  of  age,  when  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  Soon  after  this  he 
chose  Huntington  county  as  his  field  of 
activity,  locating  in  the  town  (now  city) 
of  Huntington,  where  he  held  citizenship 
the  remainder  of  his  life.     He  taught  in 


the  public  schools  in  that  city,  served  as 
deputy  clerk,  and  was  auditor  of  the  coun- 
ty for  eight  years.  In  1851  he  was  elected 
as  a  Democrat  to  the  State  Senate,  in 
which  body  he  served  two  terms.  He  had 
previously  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Mexican  war  and  for  a  time  officiated  as 
Military  Governor  of  New  Mexico.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  in  1861  he 
assisted  in  raising  the  Forty-seventh  Regi- 
ment of  Indiana  Volunteers,  he  being  se- 
lected as  colonel  of  the  regiment.  Besides 
other  impoi'tant  service,  his  regiment  was 
engaged  in  the  battle  of  Champion  Hills 
and  lost  143  in  killed  and  wounded.  It 
took  part  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  which 
followed,  and  was  almost  constantly  on  the 
firing  line.  On  December  31,  1864,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general, 
and  in  March,  1865,  was  brevetted  major- 
general,  and  performed  conspicuous  serv- 
ice until  the  close  of  the  civil  war.  After 
the  collapse  of  the  rebellion  he  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  in  Huntington,  and 
continued  until  appointed  judge  by  Gov- 
ernor Hendiicks,  in  1873,  for  the  judicial 
circuit  composed  of  Huntington,  Grant 
and  Blackford  counties.  He  was  elected 
judge  of  that  circuit  at  a  special  election 
held  in  October,  1873,  and  re-elected  at 
the  regular  election  in  November,  1878. 
He  served  until  his  death  in  1881.  Mean- 
while he  had  made  an  unsuccessful  race 
for  Congress.  He  was  a  brave  officer,  and 
an  hone.st  and  upright  judge.  General 
Slack  had  the  good  will  of  every  soldier 
under  his  command,  and  his  comrades 
never  tire  of  repeating  his  many  kind  acts 
to  them  and  the  sacrifices  he  made  and 
dangers  encountered  for  their  comfort  and 
safety!  As  a  judge  he  made  a  lasting  im- 
pression. He  had  an  unusual  quantity  of 
practical  common  sense,  which  enabled 
him  to  brush  aside  the  moss  of  legal  tech- 
nicalities with  which  a  question  is  some- 
times surrounded  and  reach  a  conclusion 
that  was  generally  satisfactory  to  those 
concerned.     He  had  great  executive  abil- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


ity,  and  this  enabled  him  to  push  the  busi- 
ness with  such  dispatch  that  litigants  were 
pleased.  Wherever  one  may  go  in  his  cir- 
cuit, even  after  the  lapse  of  thirty-five 
years,  there  will  still  be  heard  the  people 
and  lawyers  mentioning  something  that 
Judge  Slack  had  said  or  done  while  holding 
court  and  trying  cases  in  their  counties. 
His  mortal  remains  are  interred  in  Mount 
Hope  Cemetery,  near  the  city  of  Hunting- 
ton. One  daughter,  Mrs.  Dr.  B.  H.  B. 
Grayston,  resides  in  Huntington,  and  a 
son,  James  R.,  and  daughter,  Mrs.  Al- 
pough,  reside  in  California. 

WASHINGTON  C.  DePAUW  stood 
among  the  foremost  men  of  Indiana.  He 
was  born  at  Salem,  January  4,  1822.  As 
a  young  man  he  saved  his  money  and  soon 
bought  and  operated  flour  mills  and  saw- 
mills. He  established  banks  at  Salem  and 
New  Albany.  DePauw  was  the  first  man- 
ufacturer of  plate  glass  in  the  United 
States  and  broke  the  monopoly  enjoyed  by 
France,  England  and  Belgium.  Every- 
thing he  touched  in  a  business  way  pros- 
pered. He  was  uncommonly  liberal  and 
helpful  to  his  less  fortunate  and  less  suc- 
cessful fellowmen.  Decidedly  public-spir- 
ited, he  developed  numerous  enterprises  in 
various  parts  of  the  State.  Before  he  had 
become  of  age  he  was  made  deputy  clerk 
of  Washington  county.  In  1872  many  in- 
fluential Democrats  favored  and  urged  his 
nomination  to  the  office  of  Governor.  Had 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  adhered  to  his  reso- 
lution not  to  make  a  third  race  for  the  gov- 
ernorship, DePauw  would  in  all  probabil- 
ity have  been  nominated  to  that  position. 
As  it  was,  the  convention  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority  named  him  for  the  lieuten- 
ant-governorship, which,  however,  he  de- 
clined. As  a  pronounced  protectionist 
and  temperance  man,  and  much  more  in- 
clined to  the  cause  of  education  and  re- 
ligion than  to  practical  politics,  he  respect- 
fully but  firmly  declined  the  nomination 
tendered  him  by  the  convention.  The  va- 
cancy was  happily  filled  by  the  selection  of 


John  R.  Cravens  of  Madison,  a  Liberal  Re- 
publican and  most  estimable  gentleman. 
The  father  of  W.  C.  DePauw  was  a  man  of 
high  repute.  He  was  widely  and  favor- 
ably known  as  a  leader  in  the  Territory  of 
Indiana.  The  son  was  one  of  the  wealth- 
iest men  of  the  State.  He  endowed  As- 
bury  University  at  Greencastle  with  a  gift 
of  half  a  million,  and  the  trustees  changed 
the  name  of  the  university  to  DePauw  Uni- 
versity. He  died  in  1887  of  apoplexy  while 
away  from  home  on  a  business  trip  to  Chi- 
cago. 

JAMES  F.  Mcdowell  was  for  many 
years  a  Democratic  leader  in  Grant  coun- 
ty. He  was  born  in  Mifflin  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, December  3,  1825;  moved  to 
Ohio  in  1835 ;  attended  the  public  schools ; 
worked  in  a  printing  office;  studied  law, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  commenced 
practice  in  1846;  elected  district  attorney 
of  Darke  county,  Ohio,  in  1848;  estab- 
lished the  Marion  Jouryial  in  Indiana; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Thirty-eighth 
Congress  (March  4,  1863-March  3,  1865)  ; 
unsuccessful  candidate  for  re-election  to 
the  Thirty-ninth  Congress;  resumed  the 
practice  of  law;  died  in  Marion  April  18, 
1887. 

SIMEON  K.  WOLFE  was  quite  a  factor 
in  Democratic  politics  of  the  old  Second 
(New  Albany)  district.  He  was  born  in 
Floyd  county,  Indiana,  February  14,  1824 ; 
attended  Floyd  county  schools  and  was 
graduated  from  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  Indiana,  at  Bloomington,  in 
1850,  and  practiced  in  New  Albany,  Ind. ; 
presidential-elector  in  1856;  State  Sena- 
tor, 1860-1864 ;  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
national  convention  in  1860;  engaged  in 
newspaper  work;  elected  as  a  Democrat 
to  the  Forty-third  Congress  (March  4, 
1873-March  3,  1875)  ;  circuit  judge  of  the 
Floyd  and  Clark  circuit,  1880 ;  died  in  New 
Albany  November  18,  1888. 

WILLIAM  FLEMING,  one  of  the 
State's  most  sagacious  and  successful  busi- 
ness  men,    wise   counsellor,    and   trusted 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


leader,  though  a  native  of  the  Emerald 
Isle,  was  in  sentiment  and  action  a  typical 
American.  Born  near  Dublin,  Ireland, 
June  17,  1828,  he  was  made  the  beneficiary 
of  an  excellent  practical  education.  The 
Fleming  family  was  blessed  with  ten  chil- 
dren. When  William  had  reached  the  age 
of  eighteen  the  father  decided  to  take  his 
family  to  America,  via  Quebec.  While  de- 
tained in  the  harbor  at  that  quaint  old 
Canadian  port  to\\Ti  the  father  and  four 
of  the  children  died.  This  calamitous  mis- 
fortune imposed  upon  William  a  task  that 
tested  as  well  as  developed  the  mettle  in 
his  makeup.  Heroically  and  determinedly 
he  met  every  requirement  incident  to  a 
struggle  for  existence.  He  soon  gained  a 
firm  foothold  in  Fort  Wayne.  Steady 
progress  crowned  his  efforts.  His  first  oc- 
cupation was  that  of  a  stone  cutter  for  the 
late  James  Humphrey.  His  first  political 
office  was  that  of  high  constable,  long  ago 
abolished.  Then  he  became  a  deputy  un- 
der Sheriff  McMullen,  later  serving  two 
terms  in  that  office  as  sheriff,  then  being 
elected  to  two  terms  as  county  clerk.  Dur- 
ing the  seventies  he  owned  and  conducted 
the  Fo)-t  Wayne  Sentinel,  giving  that  pub- 
lication exceptional  prestige,  politically 
and  commercially.  In  1878  he  was  elected 
State  Treasurer  of  Indiana,  was  renomi- 
nated in  1880,  but  went  down  in  defeat 
with  the  rest  of  the  Democratic  State 
ticket.  In  politics  he  was  always  a  stanch 
Democrat  and  was  one  of  the  most  influen- 
tial leaders  of  the  party  in  the  State  and 
to  some  extent  in  the  nation.  He  was  a 
man  of  prodigious  abilities  and  amassed  a 
snug  fortune  in  business.  For  years  he 
had  suffered  from  asthma.  Assuming  an 
acute  form,  that  disease  caused  his  death 
on  the  13th  of  January,  1890.  He  closed 
his  eyes  in  eternal  sleep  at  his  ideal  home 
on  West  Berry  street,  surrounded  by  his 
grief-stricken  wife  and  children  and  a 
group  of  sorrowing  friends.  The  funeral 
was  one  of  the  most  largely  attended  in 
the  annals  of  the  Summit  City.    Sincerely 


beloved  as  he  was  by  thousands,  his  pass- 
ing occasioned  deep-felt  sorrow  and  grief, 
not  only  at  Fort  Wayne  and  in  Allen 
county,  but  throughout  the  commonwealth. 

GEORGE  A.  BICKNELL  spent  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  his  useful  life  in  the 
public  service.  He  was  bom  in  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  February  6,  1815;  was  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia in  1831 :  attended  Yale  law  school  one 
year;  completed  law  studies  and  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  New  York  City  in  1836; 
moved  to  Lexington,  Scott  county,  Indiana, 
in  1846;  elected  county  prosecutor  in  1848, 
circuit  prosecutor  in  1850,  and  judge  of 
the  second  judicial  circuit  in  1852,  hold- 
ing the  last-named  place  twenty-four 
years;  professor  of  law  in  the  University 
of  Indiana,  1861-1870;  elected  as  a  Demo- 
crat to  the  Forty-fifth  and  Forty-sixth 
Congresses  (March  4,  1877-March  3, 
1881)  ;  in  1881  he  was  appointed  commis- 
sioner of  appeals  in  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Indiana,  which  oflice  he  held  until  the  com- 
pletion of  its  work  in  1885;  judge  of  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Indiana  in  1889,  and  held 
that  office  until  his  death,  in  New  Albany, 
April  11,  1891. 

THOMAS  R.  COBB  had  for  years  a 
strong  hold  upon  the  Democracy  of  south- 
western Indiana.  He  was  born  near 
Fayette,  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  July 
2,  1828;  attended  Bloomington  Univer- 
sity ;  studied  and  practiced  law  in  Bedford, 
Ind.,  from  1853  until  1867,  when  he  moved 
to  Vincennes ;  elected  to  the  State  Senate 
from  1858  to  1866;  Democratic  candidate 
for  elector  in  1868;  President  of  the  In- 
diana State  convention  in  1876;  delegate 
to  the  Democratic  national  convention  at 
St.  Louis,  which  nominated  Tilden  and 
Hendricks  in  1876;  elected  as  a  Democrat 
to  the  Forty-fifth,  Forty-sixth,  Forty-sev- 
enth, Forty-eighth  and  Forty-ninth  Con- 
gresses (March  4,  1877-March  3,  1887)  ; 
died  in  Vincennes  June  23,  1892. 

GENERAL  JAMES  A.  CRAVENS  had 
in   several   respects   a   marvelous   career. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


For  nearly  a  half  century  he  was  in  one 
way  or  another  associated  with  public  life. 
Born  in  Rockingham  county,  Virginia,  No- 
vember 4,  1818,  he  moved  with  his  father 
to  Indiana  in  1820;  attended  the  public 
schools;  engaged  in  farming  and  stock 
raising;  served  in  the  war  with  Mexico  as 
major  of  the  Second  Indiana  Volunteers 
from  June,  1846,  to  1847 ;  member  of  the 
State  House  of  Representatives  from  1848 
to  1849,  and  of  the  State  Senate  from  1850 
to  1853;  commissioned  brigadier-general 
of  militia  in  1854;  elected  as  a  Democrat 
to  the  Thirty-seventh  and  Thirty-eighth 
Congresses  (March  4,  1861-March  3, 
1865)  ;  delegate  to  the  Union  national  con- 
vention in  Philadelphia  in  1866,  and  to  the 
Democratic  national  convention  in  New 
York  in  1868;  died  in  Hardinsburg,  Ind., 
June  20, 1893. 

JOSEPH  K.  EDGERTON  was  one  of 
the  most  accomplished  gentlemen  that 
ever  graced  a  seat  in  a  legislative  assem- 
bly. He  was  born  in  Vergennes,  Vt.,  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1818;  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Clinton  county.  New  York; 
studied  law  in  Plattsburg  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  New  York  City  in  1839 ; 
moved  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  in  1854;  be- 
came president  of  the  Fort  Wayne  &  Chi- 
cago railroad;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to 
the  Thirty-eighth  Congress  (March  4, 
1863-March  3,  1865)  ;  defeated  for  re-elec- 
tion; died  in  Boston,  Mass.,  August  25, 
1893. 

ANDREW  H.  HAMILTON  bore  the 
name  of  a  historic  family  highly  esteemed 
throughout  northeastern  Indiana.  He  was 
born  in  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  June  7,  1834; 
attended  the  common  schools  and  was 
graduated  from  Wabash  College;  studied 
law  at  the  Harvard  law  school,  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  and  commenced  practice  in 
Fort  Wayne;  elected  to  the  Forty-fourth 
and  Forty-fifth  Congresses  (March  4, 
1875-March  3,  1879)  ;  died  in  Fort  Wayne, 
May  9,  1895. 


GENERAL  MAHLON  D.  MANSON 
was  for  a  third  of  a  century  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  the  affairs  of  Indiana.  He  was 
born  in  Piqua,  Ohio,  February  20,  1820; 
attended  the  common  schools;  became  a 
druggist  in  Crawfordsville,  Ind.;  member 
of  the  State  House  of  Representatives, 
1851-1852  ;  served  as  captain  of  volunteers 
in  the  Mexican  war,  October  8,  1847-July 
28,  1848;  served  in  the  civil  war;  commis- 
sioned captain  of  the  Tenth  Indiana  infan- 
try, April  17,  1861 ;  major,  April  25,  1861 ; 
colonel,  May  10,  1861 ;  honorably  mustered 
out  August  6,  1861;  recommissioned 
colonel  of  the  same  regiment,  September 
18,  1861 ;  brigadier-general  of  volunteers, 
March  24,  1862;  resigned  December  21, 
1864;  unsuccessful  Democratic  candidate 
for  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Indiana  in 
1864 ;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Forty- 
second  Congress  (March  4,  1871-March  3, 
1873)  ;  unsuccessful  candidate  for  re-elec- 
tion to  the  Forty-third  Congress;  nomi- 
nated and  elected  Auditor  of  State  in  1878 ; 
defeated  for  re-election  in  1880;  running 
mate  of  Governor  Gray  in  1884,  triumph- 
antly elected,  but  resigned  the  Lieutenant- 
Governorship  to  accept  the  oflSce  of  Col- 
lector of  Internal  Revenue  under  Cleve- 
land's first  administration;  died  at  Craw- 
fordsville February  4,  1895. 

WILLIAM  F.  PARRETT  was  for  years 
a  Democratic  idol  down  in  the  "Pocket" 
of  Indiana.  He  was  born  near  Blairs'ville, 
Posey  county,  Indiana,  August  10,  1825; 
attended  public  schools  and  Asbury  (now 
DePauw)  University,  in  Greencastle; 
studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
practiced  in  Evansville  until  1852;  moved 
to  Oregon,  where  he  practiced  law  for  two 
years  and  a  half;  returned  to  Evansville 
in  1854  and  moved  to  Boonville  in  1855; 
Democratic  presidential-elector  in  1856; 
member  of  the  Legislature  in  1858;  ap- 
pointed and  subsequently  elected  judge  of 
the  fifteenth  circuit  and  served  from  1859- 
1865;  returned  to  Evansville;  re-elected 
circuit  judge  for  a  term  of  six  years,  in 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


1865;  resigned  and  was  appointed  judge 
of  the  first  circuit  and  three  times  elected, 
1873-1884;  resigned  in  December,  1888; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Fifty-first 
and  Fifty-second  Congresses  (March  4, 
1889-March  3,  1893)  ;  died  in  Evansville 
June  30,  1895. 

ALFRED  P.  EDGERTON  was  born  at 
Plattsburg,  N.  Y.,  in  1813.  After  his 
graduation  from  Plattsburg  academy  he 
was  connected  with  newspaper  work  for 
a  brief  period  before  removing  to  New 
York  City  to  engage  in  commercial  pur- 
suits. In  1837  he  located  as  an  attorney 
at  Hicksville,  Ohio,  to  represent  the  landed 
interests  of  the  American  Land  Company, 
and  the  Messrs.  Hicks.  Through  his  agency 
over  100,000  acres  of  land  were  sold.  Mr. 
Edgerton  became  himself  the  owner  of 
40,000  acres  of  valuable  land  in  northwest- 
ern Ohio.  As  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Sen- 
ate in  1845  he  became  the  Democratic 
leader  of  that  body,  and  in  1850  he  was 
elected  a  representative  to  Congress ;  a  re- 
election followed  in  1852.  In  1853  he  was 
chosen  by  the  Board  of  State  Fund  Com- 
missioners of  Ohio  as  financial  agent  to  re- 
side in  New  York.  In  1857  Mr.  Edgerton 
removed  to  Fort  Wayne,  and  two  years 
later,  with  Judge  Samuel  Hanna  and  Pliny 
Hoagland,  he  leased  the  Wabash  and  Erie 
canal,  which  he  controlled  as  general  man- 
ager until  1868.  In  the  latter  year  he  was 
a  candidate  for  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
Indiana,  and  four  years  later  declined  to 
become  a  candidate  for  Governor  on  the 
ticket  of  the  O'Conor  Democrats.  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  appointed  Mr.  Edgerton  a 
member  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission. In  his  later  years  Mr.  Edgerton 
served  in  many  important  positions,  in- 
cluding that  of  member  of  the  Fort  Wayne 
school  board  for  an  extended  period.  He 
died  at  Hicksville,  Ohio,  May  14,  1897. 

JASON  B.  BROWN,  an  able  lawyer  and 
for  years  a  political  leader  in  southern  In- 
diana, was  born  in  Dillsboro,  Ind.,  Feb- 
ruary   26,    1839;    attended    the    common 


schools;  studied  law  in  Indianapolis  in 
1858-1859,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1860 ;  located  in  Jackson  county,  Indiana, 
in  1860 ;  elected  to  the  State  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives in  1862  and  1864;  elected  to 
the  State  Senate  in  1870 ;  on  recommenda- 
tion of  Senator  Morton,  appointed  in  1873 
to  serve  as  secretary  of  Montana  Terri- 
tory; in  1880  again  elected  to  the  State 
Senate  as  a  Democrat ;  elected  as  a  Demo- 
crat to  the  Fifty-first,  Fifty-second  and 
Fifty-third  Congresses  (March  4,  1889- 
March  3,  1895)  ;  died  in  Seymour,  Ind., 
March  10,  1898. 

CHARLES  A.  O.  McCLELLAN  made  a 
success  of  all  his  ventures — whether  in 
law,  banking  or  manufacture.  He  was 
born  in  Ashland,  Ohio,  May  25,  1835; 
moved  to  Auburn,  Ind.,  in  1856;  attended 
the  public  schools;  studied  law  in  Auburn; 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1860  and  began 
practice  in  Auburn;  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Waterloo  in  1867  ;  there  engaged 
in  the  banking  business  in  1868 ;  appointed 
judge  of  the  fortieth  circuit  of  Indiana  by 
Governor  Williams  in  1879  and  served  for 
two  years ;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the 
Fifty-first  and  Fifty-second  Congresses 
(March  4,  1889-March  3,  1893)  ;  died  in 
Auburn  January  31,  1898. 

GEORGE  W.  COOPER  was  a  fine  type 
of  Hoosier  Democrat.  He  was  born  in 
Bartholomew  county,  Indiana,  May  21, 
1851 ;  attended  the  public  schools  and  was 
graduated  from  the  Indiana  State  Univer- 
sity, literary  and  law  courses,  in  1872 
elected  prosecuting  attorney  in  1872 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Columbus  in  1877 
city  attorney  of  Columbus  for  four  years 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Fifty-first, 
Fifty-second  and  Fifty-third  Congres.ses 
(March  4,  1889-March  3,  1895)  ;  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  in  Columbus,  Ind.;  died 
in  Chicago,  111.,  November  27,  1899. 

SAMUEL  E.  MORSS,  a  son  of  former 
Mayor  Samuel  S.  Morss,  was  a  native  of 
Fort  Wayne,  born  in  1852.     Early  in  life 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


he  engaged  in  newspaper  work  as  the  city 
editor  of  the  Fort  Wayne  Gazette,  and  in 
partnership  with  William  R.  Nelson,  pur- 
chased the  Fort  Wayne  Sentinel  in  1879. 
The  following  year  the  paper  was  sold  to 
E.  A.  K.  Hackett,  and  Messrs.  Morss  and 
Nelson  established  the  Kansas  City  (Mo.) 
Star.  Failing  health  soon  caused  a  change 
in  the  work  of  Mr.  Morss  and  he  spent 
some  time  abroad.  Returning,  he  engaged 
in  newspaper  work  in  Chicago,  and  in  1888 
he  organized  a  company  for  the  purchase 
of  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  the  policies 
of  which  paper  he  controlled.  Shortly 
after  his  second  inauguration,  President 
Cleveland  appointed  Mr.  Morss  to  the  im- 
portant post  of  Consul-General  at  Paris, 
an  honor  which  came  unsolicited.  The 
tragic  death  of  Mr.  Morss  occurred  at  In- 
dianapolis in  1899.  He  fell  out  of  a  third- 
story  window  of  the  Sentinel  building  on 
Illinois  street  and  died  almost  instantly 
from  the  effects  of  the  fall. 

JAMES  H.  SMART,  after  serving  nine 
years  as  superintendent  of  the  Fort  Wayne 
public  schools,  was  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
four  elected  Indiana's  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction.  He  was  born  in  New 
Hampshire,  June  30,  1841.  Graduating 
from  Dartmouth,  he  began  teaching  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  years.  In  1863  he  came 
West  and  was  employed  in  the  Toledo, 
Ohio,  schools.  While  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction,  which  office  he  held  for 
three  successive  terms,  Professor  Smart 
prepared  an  exhibit  for  the  Centennial  Ex- 
position at  Philadelphia  which  attracted 
wide  attention.  Two  years  later  at  the 
Paris  Exposition  the  exhibit  sent  by  Pro- 
fessor Smart  received  the  grand  gold 
medal,  the  highest  award.  He  was  now  a 
national  figure  in  the  educational  world. 
In  1880  Smart  was  selected  by  the  Na- 
tional Educational  Association  to  outline 
an  ideal  State  school  system,  which  was 
the  model  for  many  years.  In  1883  he  be- 
came the  President  of  Purdue  University, 


located  at  Lafayette,  Ind.,  and  filled  this 
position  until  removed  by  death,  February 
21,  1900. 

FRANKLIN  LANDERS  was  for  many 
years  prominent  in  business  as  well  as  in 
politics.  During  the  seventies  he  became 
an  exponent  of  the  Greenback  idea.  On 
that  issue  he  was  elected  to  Congress  in 
1874.  He  sought  the  nomination  for  Gov- 
ernor in  "Tilden  year,"  1876.  In  this 
aspiration  he  failed,  but  succeeded  in  pre- 
venting the  nomination  of  the  "Watchdog 
of  the  Treasury,"  William  S.  Holman.  The 
nomination  of  "Blue  Jeans"  James  D.  Wil- 
liams was  the  final  outcome  of  this  re- 
markable contest.  Landers,  however,  se- 
cured the  gubernatorial  nomination  in 
1880,  but  was  defeated  at  the  election  by 
Albert  G.  Porter.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  in  Morgan  county,  In- 
diana, March  22,  1825 ;  attended  the  com- 
mon schools;  engaged  in  farming  and  in 
1850  entered  the  dry  goods  trade;  moved 
to  Indianapolis  in  1865 ;  entered  the  pork- 
packing  business  in  1873;  member  of  the 
State  Senate,  1860-1864;  elected  as  a  Dem- 
ocrat to  the  Forty-fourth  Congress 
(March  4,  1875-March  3,  1877)  ;  died  in 
Indianapolis  September  12,  1901. 

AUGUSTUS  N.  MARTIN  had  a  re- 
markably successful  political  career.  He 
was  born  near  Whitestown,  Butler  county, 
Pennsylvania,  March  23,  1847;  attended 
the  common  schools  and  Witherspoon  In- 
stitute, Butler,  Pa.,  and  was  graduated 
from  Eastman  College,  Poughkeepsie, 
N.  Y.,  in  February,  1867 ;  enlisted  July  3, 
1863,  in  Company  I,  Fifty-eighth  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteer  Militia,  which  assisted  in 
the  capture  of  General  John  Morgan's 
command;  enlisted  again  February  22, 
1865,  in  Company  E,  Seventy-eighth  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  and  served  until  dis- 
charged for  disability,  August  30,  1865; 
taught  school;  read  law  in  Bluffton  in 
1869;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1870; 
member  of  the  Indiana  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives  in   1875;   elected   Reporter   of 


(462) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  1 


19  1 


the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana  in  1876  and 
served  four  years ;  unsuccessful  candidate 
for  re-election  in  1880 ;  resided  in  Austin, 
Texas,  1881-1883;  returned  to  Bluffton, 
Ind.,  in  1883 ;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the 
Fifty-first,  Fifty-second  and  Fifty-third 
Congresses  (March  4,  1889-March  3, 
1895)  ;  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in 
Bluffton  until  his  death,  in  the  Soldiers' 
Home  Hospital,  Marion,  July  11,  1901. 

BENONI  S.  FULLER  was  for  many 
years  a  safe  and  discreet  leader  in  south- 
ern Indiana.  He  was  born  in  Warrick 
county,  Indiana,  November  13,  1825;  at- 
tended the  common  schools  and  taught 
school;  sheriff  in  1856  and  1858;  member 
of  the  State  House  of  Representatives, 
1866-1868;  served  in  the  State  Senate, 
1862,  1870  and  1872;  elected  as  a  Demo- 
crat to  the  Forty-fourth  and  Forty-fifth 
Congresses  (March  4,  1875-March  3, 
1879).  He  died  in  Boonville,  Ind.,  April 
14,  1903. 

ROBERT  LOWRY,  for  more  than  a 
half  century  an  influential,  active,  ener- 
getic and  sagacious  leader  of  Democratic 
forces  in  Indiana,  was  born  in  Killeleigh, 
county  Down,  Ireland,  in  1822;  moved  to 
Rochester,  N.  Y. ;  instructed  in  private 
schools  and  had  partial  academic  course; 
librarian  of  Rochester  athenaeum  and 
Young  Men's  association;  studied  law; 
moved  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  in  1843;  city 
recorder;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
commenced  practice  in  Goshen,  Ind.,  in 
1846;  appointed  circuit  judge  in  1852; 
president  of  the  Democratic  State  conven- 
tion and  delegate  to  the  Democratic  na- 
tional convention  of  1860;  elected  circuit 
judge  for  six  years  in  1864;  re-elected  in 
1870 ;  delegate  to  the  Democratic  national 
convention  of  1872;  resigned  the  circuit 
judgeship  in  January,  1875;  judge  of  the 
superior  court;  elected  the  first  president 
of  the  Indiana  State  Bar  Association  in 
July,  1879;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the 
Forty-eighth  and  Forty-ninth  Congresses 
(March  4,  1883-March  3,  1887)  ;  defeated 


for  re-election  in  1886 ;  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law;  died  in  Fort  Wayne,  January 
27,  1904. 

CAPT.  WILLIAM  R.  MYERS  was  for 
years  a  con.spicuous  figure  in  Indiana  poli- 
tics. He  attracted  attention  by  his  re- 
markable race  for  Congress  in  1878,  re- 
sulting in  his  triumphant  election.  By 
reason  of  his  eloquence  of  speech  he  was 
repeatedly  placed  on  the  State  ticket — 
once  for  Lieutenant-Governor  and  four 
times  for  Secretary  of  State.  He  experi- 
enced both  the  sweets  of  success  and  the 
bitter  of  defeat.  All  in  all  he  had  an  ex- 
ceptional career — one  denoting  unusual 
energy  and  perseverance.  He  was  born  in 
Clinton  county,  Ohio,  June  12,  1836; 
moved  with  his  parents  to  Madison  coun- 
ty, Indiana,  October,  1848;  attended  the 
common  schools;  learned  the  painter's 
trade;  taught  in  the  common  schools;  en- 
listed in  Company  G,  Forty-seventh  In- 
diana Volunteers  as  a  private;  was  pro- 
moted to  orderly  sergeant,  second  lieuten- 
ant, first  lieutenant,  and  captain;  served 
four  years  and  three  months;  elected 
county  surveyor  of  Madison  county  in 
1858;  after  returning  from  the  army, 
taught  school ;  studied  law  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1871 ;  superintendent  of 
the  public  schools  of  Anderson  from  1868 
to  1869 ;  served  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board  of  Anderson ;  elected  three  times  as 
Secretary-  of  State— 1882,  1884,  1892; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Forty-sixth 
Congress  (March  4,  1879-March  3,  1881)  ; 
died  at  Anderson  April  18,  1907. 

JOHN  H.  O'NEALL  had  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  a  dyed-in-the-wool  Hoosier 
Democrat — earnest,  ardent,  enthusiastic. 
He  was  born  in  Newberry,  S.  C,  October 
30,  1837;  attended  country  schools  and 
was  graduated  from  the  Indiana  State 
University  in  1862;  read  law  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar ;  was  graduated  from  the 
law  department  of  Michigan  University  in 
1864;  located  in  Washington,  Ind.,  the 
same  year;  represented  Daviess  county  in 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRAC  Y 


1  9  1 


the  State  Legislature  in  1866;  appointed 
prosecuting  attorney  for  the  eleventh  ju- 
dicial circuit  in  1873 ;  elected  to  the  office 
in  1874,  but  resigned  before  his  term  was 
completed;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the 
Fiftieth  and  Fifty-first  Congresses 
(March  4,  1887-March  3,  1891)  ;  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  in  Washington,  Ind. ; 
died  there  July  15,  1907. 

JAMES  MURDOCK,  unassuming  and 
unpretentious,  had  in  his  make-up  the  ele- 
ments of  genuine  greatness.  He  had  brain 
power  of  extraordinary  strength  and 
vigor.  His  grasp  of  business  affairs  bor- 
dered on  the  marvelous.  In  an  instant  he 
was  able  to  distinguish  the  feasible  from 
the  impracticable.  It  is  these  qualities, 
this  rare  gift,  that  made  him  a  factor  in 
the  commonwealth  of  his  adoption.  Men 
of  note  and  distinction,  men  high  in  State 
affairs,  in  trade  and  industry,  in  politics 
and  in  finance,  sought  not  alone  his  advice, 
but  engaged  him  to  do  that  which  they 
were  not  certain  of  being  able  to  do  them- 
selves. It  is  this  that  gave  him  prestige; 
it  was  the  reward  of  native  talent  and 
genius  that  lifted  him  into  well-earned 
affluence.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  ease 
or  rest  for  him  while  a  task  was  to  be  per- 
formed, a  work  to  be  done.  The  greater 
part  of  his  life  was  spent  at  Lafayette. 
The  people  had  confidence  in  him ;  the  elec- 
torate of  Tippecanoe  county  made  him 
sheriff  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  major- 
ity was  politically  hostile  to  him.  When 
business  capacity  entered  first  into  consid- 
eration in  providing  for  the  filling  of  the 
office  of  warden  of  the  Northern  prison, 
James  Murdock  was  intuitively  chosen. 
He  might  have  had  other  official  positions, 
but  he  did  not  crave  them.  His  steadily 
growing  business  interests  required  his 
attention,  and  they  were  given  it.  As  a 
result  he  acquired  land,  built  up  financial 
institutions,  constructed  railways,  sup- 
plied progressive  towns  and  cities  with 
gas  and  electricity,  and  in  various  ways 
contributed   to   the   development,,  growth 


and  prosperity  of  his  beloved  Indiana. 
Physically  robust,  the  strain  upon  his 
energies  made  gradual  but  steady  inroads 
on  his  vitality.  His  health  gradually  gave 
way.  He  died  at  his  hospitable  home  in 
Lafayette,  November  28,  1908.  The  an- 
nouncement of  his  passing  cast  a  gloom 
over  innumerable  households  throughout 
the  State.  For  fully  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury he  wielded  powerful  influence  in  po- 
litical, commercial,  industrial  and  finan- 
cial circles.  The  accumulation  of  wealth 
made  him  neither  arrogant  nor  sordidly 
selfish.  He  found  pleasure  and  satisfac- 
tion in  being  helpful  to  others.  Starting 
life  in  America  with  little  more  than  will- 
power and  determination,  he  demonstrated 
that  this  is  indeed  a  land  of  opportunity 
and  that  accident  of  birth  has  but  little  to 
do  with  the  utilization  thereof.  It  is  the 
man's  capability  and  energy  that  count 
and  determine.  The  secret  of  James  Mur- 
dock's  success  in  life  was  that  he  under- 
stood the  direction  of  forces. 

THOMAS  HAMMOND  had  much  to  do 
with  the  commercial  and  industrial  devel- 
opment of  northwestern  Indiana.  He  was 
born  February  27,  1843,  in  Fitchburg, 
Mass.;  attended  the  common  schools;  a 
carpenter  and  contractor  until  twenty-one 
years  of  age;  moved  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  and 
engaged  in  the  packing-house  business; 
twelve  years  later  moved  to  Hammond, 
Ind.,  and  assisted  in  the  establishment  of 
the  dressed-beef  industry  for  which  that 
city  is  noted;  elected  mayor  of  Hammond 
in  the  spring  of  1888,  and  twice  re-elected ; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Fifty-third 
Congress  (March  4,  1893-March  3,  1895)  ; 
died  in  Hammond  September  21,  1909. 

WALPOLE  G.  COLERICK  was  of  a  dis- 
tinguished family,  every  male  member  of 
which  had  actively  enlisted  in  political 
engagements  and  contests.  Walpole  was 
born  in  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  August  1,  1845 ; 
lawyer  by  profession ;  elected  as  a  Demo- 
crat to  the  Forty-sixth  and  Forty-seventh 


(464) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


Congresses  (March  4,  1879-March  3, 
1883)  ;  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in 
Fort  Wayne  until  his  death,  January  11, 
1911. 

JONAS  G.  HOWARD  had  a  successful 
career,  politically  and  professionally.  He 
was  born  in  Floyd  county,  Indiana,  May 
22,  1825;  attended  Asbury  College,  Green- 
castle,  Ind. ;  was  graduated  in  law  from 
the  State  University  in  Bloomington,  Ind., 
in  1851  ;  practiced  in  Clark  county;  elected 
to  the  State  Legislature  in  1862  and  1864 ; 
presidential-elector  on  the  Seymour  and 
Blair  ticket  in  1868 ;  again  elector  in  the 
Tilden  and  Hendricks  campaign  in  1876; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Forty-ninth 
and  Fiftieth  Congresses  (March  4,  1885- 
March  3,  1889)  ;  returned  to  Jeffersonville, 
Ind.,  where  he  resumed  the  practice  of 
law;  died  ot  that  place  October  5,  1911. 

JOHN  JAY  KLEINER,  for  a  number  of 
years  was  very  much  in  evidence  in  south- 
ern Indiana.  He  was  born  in  West  Han- 
over, Pa.,  February  8,  1845  ;  manufacturer 
and  dealer  in  hardwood  lumber;  enlisted 
in  Company  G,  Eighty-sixth  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry  from  June  20,  1863,  to  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1864 ;  resided  in  Woodworth, 
Ohio,  1864-1867;  moved  to  Evansville, 
Ind.,  in  1867;  member  of  the  city  council 
of  Evansville  in  1873;  mayor  1874-1880; 
elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  Forty-eighth 
and  Forty-ninth  Congresses  (March  4, 
1883-March  3,  1887);  died  in  Takoma 
Park,  Md..  April  8,  1911. 

JAMES  W.  FRENCH,  for  several  years 
publisher  of  the  Lafayette  Morning  Jour- 
nal, then  Democratic,  became  the  victim 
of  a  sad  ending  of  a  once  bright  career,  in 
Archer  City,  Texas,  in  the  month  of 
March,  1915.  Meager  reports  of  the  dis- 
tressing event  furnished  this  information  : 
An  aged  man  who  gave  his  name  as  J.  W. 
French  applied  at  a  ranch  near  Archer 
City  a  few  weeks  ago  for  work.  He  said 
he  was  in  destitute  circumstances  and  was 
willing  to  work  for  his  board.     He  was 


given  employment.  He  was  thrown  from 
a  wagon  March  17  and  killed.  From 
papers  in  his  pocket  it  was  learned  that 
his  former  home  was  Mt.  Vernon,  Posey 
county,  Indiana;  that  he  had  been  promi- 
nent in  politics  in  that  State,  having  rep- 
resented his  district  in  the  State  Senate, 
and  was  for  two  years  warden  of  the  State 
penitentiary  at  Michigan  City,  and  later 
warden  of  federal  prison  at  Leavenworth, 
Kan.  Among  the  papers  were  letters 
from  Secretary  of  State  Bryan,  written 
many  years  ago,  which  showed  that  the 
two  men  were  college  classmates. 

JOHN  E.  LAMB  was  professionally  and 
politically  a  product  of  the  law  office  of 
Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  easily  the  kindliest 
and  most  big-hearted  politician  of  his  day 
and  generation.  He  was  born  in  Terre 
Haute,  December  26,  1852;  attended  the 
common  schools  and  was  graduated  from 
the  Terre  Haute  high  school;  studied  law, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1873  and  com- 
menced practice  in  Terre  Haute ;  prosecut- 
ing attorney  uf  the  fourteenth  judicial 
circuit;  candidate  for  presidential  elector 
on  the  Democratic  ticket;  elected  as  a 
Democrat  to  the  Forty-eighth  Congress 
(March  4,  1883-March  3,  1885)  ;  delegate 
to  the  Democratic  national  conventions  of 
1892,  1896,  1904  and  1908;  a  practicing 
attorney  in  Terre  Haute;  died  there  in 
1915. 

COL.  COURTLAND  C.  MATSON, 
Democratic  nominee  for  Governor  of  In- 
diana in  1888,  former  member  of  Congress 
from  the  Fifth  Indiana  District  and  later 
on  State  Tax  Commissioner  by  appoint- 
ment of  Governor  Marshall,  died  in  Chi- 
cago September  4,  1915.  Burial  at  his 
former  home,  Greencastle,  Ind.  Colonel 
Matson  died  at  the  home  of  his  son,  Rees 
Matson,  with  whom  he  had  lived  for  one 
year.  His  right  arm  was  amputated  be- 
low the  elbow  in  February  because  of 
tubercular  infection,  and  his  health  had 
been  failing  from  that  time  on.  Besides 
the  son,  Rees,  he  is  survived  by  a  daugh- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRAC  Y 


ter,  Mrs.  Charles  Walter  Brown  of  Chi- 
cago, and  another  son,  Smith  C.  Matson 
of  Ardmore,  Okla.  Colonel  Matson  was 
born  April  25,  1841,  at  Brookville,  Ind. 
His  study  at  Asbury  College  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  civil  war,  when  he  enlisted 
with  the  Asbury  Guards.  When  Lee  sur- 
rendered Matson  was  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Seventy-first  Regiment,  Indiana  Vol- 
unteers, and  when  the  war  ended  he  was  a 
colonel.  Many  years  ago  Colonel  Matson' 
was  a  law  partner  of  his  father,  John  A. 
Matson,  and  Solomon  Claypool,  in  Green- 
castle.  In  1888  he  was  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  Governor,  but  was  defeated 
by  Alvin  P.  Hovey.  He  was  a  representa- 
tive in  Congress  for  four  consecutive 
terms  and  in  1909  was  appointed  to  the 
State  Tax  Commission  by  Governor  Mar- 
shall. 

MAJOR  GEORGE  E.  FINNEY,  eighty- 
three  years  old,  editor  and  owner  of  the 
Democrat,  published  at  Martinsville,  died 
at  his  home  in  that  place  on  the  night  of 
April  13,  1916,  following  an  illness  of  sev- 
eral weeks.  In  all  he  had  been  in  the  news- 
paper business  for  sixty-seven  years.  He 
was  editor  of  the  Martinsville  Democrat 
for  twenty-one  years  and  directed  the 
paper  until  he  was  stricken.  Before  locat- 
ing in  Martinsville,  Major  Finney  lived  at 
Columbus,  Ind.,  where  he  published  a 
newspaper  and,  under  the  Cleveland  ad- 
ministration, was  postmaster.  He  served 
four  years  in  the  civil  war  as  a  member 
of  the  Nineteenth  Indiana  Volunteers,  be- 
ing adjutant  of  the  regiment.  At  the 
time  of  his  passing  he  was  survived  by  the 
widow  and  four  children — Mrs.  H.  C. 
Piehl  of  Inkster,  N.  D.,  and  Miss  Dena, 
Frank  and  Fred  Finney  of  Martinsville. 
Major  Finney  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old 
school.  Faddism  had  in  him  a  vigorous, 
unrelenting,  but  always  manly  foe;  gen- 
uine Democracy  a  steadfast,  able  and 
undaunted  champion. 

JUDGE  TIMOTHY  E.  HOWARD,  sol- 
dier, professor,  legislator,  jurist  and  au- 


thor, was  a  native  of  Michigan.  He  served 
creditably  in  the  Union  army;  located  in 
South  Bend  after  the  war  and  resided 
there  until  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was 
elected  clerk  of  St.  Joseph  county,  served 
repeatedly  as  a  member  of  the  Common 
Council  of  South  Bend,  became  that  body's 
attorney,  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate 
in  1886,  and  in  1892  chosen  a  member  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  All  of 
these  positions  he  filled  ably  and  conscien- 
tiously. In  recognition  of  his  literary  abil- 
ity he  was  honored  with  a  Laetare  medal 
by  Notre  Dame  University,  of  which  he 
was  one  of  the  instructors  for  many  years. 
He  was  a  man  of  profound  learning,  a 
clear  thinker,  and  an  accomplished  writer. 
Much  exceedingly  valuable  literature 
emanated  from  his  gifted  pen.  Politically 
he  always  was  an  ardent  Democrat.  A 
political  revolution  prevented  his  re-elec- 
tion to  the  supreme  bench  in  1898.  In 
addition  to  political  and  judicial  offices  he 
was  for  many  years  connected  with  the 
Northern  Indiana  Historical  Society  and 
with  Auten  Post,  No.  8,  G.  A.  R.  His 
death  resulted  from  ursemic  poisoning  and 
occurred  July  9,  1916.  He  was  seventy- 
nine  years  of  age  January  27,  and  is  sur- 
vived by  his  widow,  four  daughters,  two 
sons,  and  a  brother. 

JUDGE  RICHARD  K.  ERWIN,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Indiana  Supreme  Court,  died 
early  on  the  5th  day  of  October,  1917,  at  a 
hospital  in  the  city  of  Fort  Wayne,  follow- 
ing an  illness  of  several  weeks.  Judge  Er- 
win  was  fifty-seven  years  of  age.  He  was 
born  in  Adams  county,  Indiana,  the  son  of 
David  Erwin,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
section,  July  11,  1860.  His  first  law  part- 
ner was  J.  Fred  France,  later  Clerk  of  the 
State  Supreme  Court.  He  served  as  a 
member  of  the  State  Legislature,  as  Prose- 
cutor of  Adams  county,  as  Judge  of  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Adams  county  and  was 
elected  to  the  State  Supreme  Court  in  1910 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  Chief  Jus- 
tice, by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  he  was  the 


(466) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


senior  member  of  the  court.  While  Prose- 
cutor he  lost  two  cases,  which  were  carried 
to  the  State  Supreme  Court  and  Avhile  Cir- 
cuit Judge  only  two  of  his  decisions  were 
reversed  by  the  Appellate  Court  and  none 
by  the  Supreme  Court.  Judge  Erwin  was 
married  to  Miss  Luella  A.  Wass  of  Mon- 
roeville  in  1883.  He  became  a  resident  of 
Fort  Wayne  in  1908,  where  he  resided  at 
the  time  of  his  death. 

In  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  the 
past  half  century  the  names  of  many  Dem- 
ocrats, in  their  day  prominent  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  party,  are  brought  to  mind.  All 
of  these,  as  I  understand  the  matter,  are 
to  have  due  attention  in  the  county  his- 
tories, supplementary  to  this  volume. 
Having  been  personally  acquainted  with 
many  of  these,  I  wish  it  were  possible  for 
me  to  pay  them  deserved  tribute.  They 
richly  deserve  being  thus  remembered. 
Coming  within  this  category  I  recall  at 
the  moment  the  names  of  such  steadfast 
disciples  of  Jefferson,  founder  of  Ameri- 
can Democracy,  as  Judge  Solomon  Clay- 
pool,  J.  J.  Bingham,  John  J.  Cooper,  J.  M. 
Cropsey,  Adolph  Seidensticker,  Elijah  S. 
Alvord,  John  C.  Shoemaker,  James  H. 
Rice,  Colonel  J.  B.  Maynard,  Colonel  B.  C. 
Shaw  and  Albert  Gall  of  Indianapolis ;  the 
knightly  Major  David  F.  Allen  and  Eli  W. 
Brown  of  Frankfort;  John  R.  Coffroth, 
John  F.  McHugh,  John  B.  Ruger,  John  C. 
Dobelbower  and  Francis  Johnson  of  Lafa- 
yette ;  Judge  George  V.  Howk,  Judge  John 
H.  Stotsenburg,  James  P.  Applegate,  John 
S.  Davis,  Josiah  Gwin  and  Adam  Heim- 
berger  of  New  Albany;  General  Levi 
Sparks  and  Dr.  W.  F.  Sherrod  of  Jeffer- 
sonville;  Patrick  Shannon,  William  Mack, 
Samuel  R.  Hamil  and  John  Beggs  of  Terre 
Haute;  Bayless  W.  Hanna,  J.  M.  Sellers 
and  John  Lee  of  Crawfordsville;  Dr.  T. 
Davenport,  F.  J.  Zimmerman  and  John 
W.  Nusbaum  of  Warsaw;  Colonel  Isaiah 
B.  McDonald,  S.  P.  Kaler  and  A.  J.  Doug- 
las of  Columbia  City;  Judge  James  L. 
Worden,    Judge    Allen    Zollars,     Colonel 


Charles  A.  Zollinger,  Martin  V.  B.  Spen- 
cer, I.  D.  G.  Nelson,  P.  S.  O'Rourke,  John 
D.  Sarnighausen,  Captain  Chris  Hettler, 
Ochmig  Bird,  Robert  C.  Bell,  Charles  A. 
Munson  and  Perry  A.  Randall  of  Fort 
Wayne;  Mayor  H.  H.  Walker  and  Harry 
Francis  of  Michigan  City;  Judge  Daniel 
Noyes,  H.  E.  Wadsworth,  J.  W.  Broeffle, 
Judge  Bradley,  David  Patton,  John  P. 
Early  and  Simon  Wile  of  Laporte;  Charles 
H.  Reeve,  Judge  Horace  Corbin,  A.  B. 
Capron,  M.  A.  0.  Packard  and  Daniel  Mc- 
Donald of  Plymouth;  David  Hough,  Eli  B. 
Gerber  and  James  E.  McDonald  of  Ligo- 
nier;  Valentine  Zimmerman  and  Judge 
Isaiah  Conner  of  Rochester;  Thomas  J. 
Wood  of  Crown  Point;  ex-Mayor  David  R. 
Deeper  and  Charles  L.  Goetz  of  South 
Bend,  both  of  whom  were  of  the  salt  of 
the  earth;  Colonel  Charles  Denby,  Fred 
Lauenstein,  John  G.  and  George  W.  Shank- 
lin,  Dr.  Muehlhausen  and  Colonel  A.  T. 
Whittlesey  of  Evansville;  Henry  S.  Cau- 
thorn,  George  E.  Greene  and  F.  W.  Viehe 
of  Vincennes ;  Murray  T.  Briggs  and  Fer- 
dinand Bassler  of  Sullivan ;  Dr.  A.  S.  Par- 
ker, Charles  G.  Aichele,  Herman  Krueger, 
N.  B.  Newnam  and  John  Gappinger  of 
Kendallville;  Thomas  C.  Mays,  William  H. 
Dills  and  Major  S.  W.  Sprott  of  Auburn ; 
Miles  Waterman,  Freeman  Kelley  and 
General  Lew  J.  Blair  of  Waterloo;  Dr. 
George  W.  McConnell  and  Harman  Frey- 
gang  of  Angola;  Francis  Henry  and  An- 
drew Ellison  of  Lagrange;  Colonel  M.  B. 
Hascall,  W.  W.  McVitty,  W.  A.  Beane,  the 
Gortners,  John  W.  Egbert,  Conrad  Land- 
graver,  Charles  Fink  and  Joseph  C.  Beck 
of  Goshen;  0.  H.  Main,  Colonel  R.  M. 
Johnson,  Judge  George  T.  Barney,  0.  D. 
Thompson,  Captain  William  M.  Barney 
and  Harry  Chester  of  Elkhart;  Preston  F. 
Miles  of  Milford;  George  W.  Miles  of 
Syracuse ;  Simon  P.  Sheerin,  S.  F.  McFad- 
den,  D.  D.  Dykeman  and  Benjamin  F.  Lou- 
thain  of  Logansport;  Harry  Smith  and 
Thomas  S.  Briscoe  of  Hartford  City;  Dr. 
W.  D.  H.  Hunter  of  Lawrenceburg;  Hugh 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


D.  McMullen  of  Aurora;  Judge  D.  S. 
Gooding,  William  Mitchell,  Judge  Charles 
G.  Offut  and  Ephraim  Marsh  of  Green- 
field; Ernst  H.  Faut  of  New  Palestine; 
Judge  Alonzo  Blair,  Sr.,  Judge  Glessner 
and  W.  Scott  Ray  of  Shelbyville;  Judge 
Wm.  A.  Bickle,  Thomas  J.  Study  and 
James  Elder  of  Richmond;  Samuel  I.  An- 
thony, Thomas  J.  Merrifield,  DeFos  Skin- 
ner, John  Brodie,  G.  Bloch  and  Engelbert 
Zimmerman  of  Valparaiso.  These  sturdy 
Indiana  Democrats  constitute  but  a  small 
fraction  of  the  political  forces  with 
which  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  asso- 
ciated during  the  past  fifty  years.  In 
thinking  of  these  men  and  bringing  to 
mind  their  sturdy  qualities  I  aim  to  find 
comfort  in  the  contemplation  of  the  prom- 
ise, hope  and  anticipation  awakened  by  the 
outpouring  of  a  brilliant  American  au- 
thor's soul.  "It  cannot  be,"  the  brilliant 
George  D.  Prentice  wrote  in  his  palmiest 
days,  "that  earth  is  man's  only  abiding 
place.  It  cannot  be  that  our  life  is  a  bub- 
ble cast  by  eternity  to  float  a  moment  upon 


its  waves  and  sink  into  nothingness.  Else 
why  is  it  that  the  high  and  glorious  aspira- 
tions which  leap  like  angels  from  the  tem- 
ple of  our  hearts  are  forever  wandering 
unsatisfied?  Why  is  it  that  the  rainbow 
and  cloud  come  over  us  with  a  beauty  that 
is  not  of  earth,  and  then  pass  off  to  leave 
us  to  muse  on  their  loveliness?  Why  is  it 
that  the  stars  which  hold  their  festival 
around  the  midnight  throne  are  set  above 
the  grasp  of  our  limited  faculties,  forever 
mocking  us  with  their  unapproachable 
glory?  And  finally,  why  is  it  that  bright 
forms  of  human  beauty  are  presented  to 
our  view  and  then  taken  from  us,  leaving 
the  thousand  streams  of  our  affections  to 
flow  back  in  an  Alpine  torrent  upon  our 
hearts?  There  is  a  realm  where  the  rain- 
bow never  fades;  where  the  stars  will  be 
spread  out  before  us  like  the  islands  that 
slumber  on  the  ocean,  and  where  the  beau- 
tiful beings  which  pass  before  us  like 
shadows   will   stay   forever   in   our  pres- 


I  have  fought  a  good  fight.  I  have  often  fal- 
tered, but  I  have  kept  up  the  race.  I  have  been 
besieged  all  my  life  with  doubts,  but  I  have  kept 
my  faith.  I  look  forward  to  the  Great  Adven- 
ture which  cannot  now  be  far  off,  with  awe,  but 
not  with  apprehension.  I  enjoy  my  work,  my 
home,  my  friends,  my  life — I  shall  be  sorry  to 
part  with  them.  But  always  I  have  stood  in  the 
bow  looking  forward  with  hopeful  anticipation 
to  the  life  before  me.  When  the  time  comes  for 
my  emlDarkation  and  I  put  out  to  sea,  I  think  I 
shall  still  be  standing  in  the  bow  looking  forward 
with  eager  curiosity  and  glad  hopefulness  to  the 
new  world  to  which  the  unknown  voyage  will 
bring  me. — Dr.  Lyman  Abbott. 


[Chapter  LXV.] 

HISTORIC  NAMES  OF  INDIANA  COUNTIES 

INDICATIVE  OF  APPRECIATION  OF  PATRIOTIC  DEEDS  OR 
EPOCH-MAKING  EVENTS 

(Bi/  Carl  Schurz  Loivden,  in  Indianapolis  Star.) 


uiiiiTi u  OLDIERS  are  early  risers,  not 

I  ^  I  so  much  by  their  own  nature 
I  ^k  I  as  by  the  character  of  their 
I  ^J  I    trade   or   occupation ;   but   the 

" "I    little  army  of  William  Henry 

Harrison  all  arose  at  4  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  seventh 
day  of  November,  1811.  Tecumseh  and 
his  Indian  warriors,  whose  number  is  esti- 
mated at  one  thousand,  descended  upon 
the  seven  hundred  pioneers,  who  were  sur- 
prised by  but  not  unready  for  the  sudden 
ffnd  terrific  onslaught. 

William  Henry  Harrison  was  a  wily 
commander,  accustomed  to  the  exigencies 
of  Indian  warfare.  For  a  night  attack  the 
order  of  his  encampment  was  the  order 
of  strategic  defense.  Each  man  slept  im- 
mediately opposite  to  his  post.  Single  file 
was  adopted  in  the  formation  of  the  troops 
in  order  to  get  as  great  an  extension  of 
the  lines  as  possible. 

Though  taken  by  surprise  and  having 
sustained  a  severe  loss  in  the  first  on- 
slaught of  the  enemy,  Harrison  rallied  his 
soldiers  and  maintained  a  steady  resist- 
ance until  daylight  came.  At  this  time  he 
ordered  a  charge,  and  his  troops  thereupon 
drove  Tecumseh's  warriors  into  the 
swamps  and  broke  up  the  attack  of  the 
enemy.  The  battle  was  won,  with  a  loss 
of  thirty-seven  killed  on  the  field,  twenty- 
five  mortally  wounded  and  126  wounded. 
Forty  of  the  tribesmen  met  death  in  the 
conflict,  and  the  number  of  their  wounded 
has  never  been  determined. 

The  next  day  the  troops  finished  their 
task  of  destroying  all  that  remained  of 
Prophet's  Town.  The  Indian  warriors  re- 
turned to  their  own  tribes,  as  they  had  lost 


faith  in  their  prophet  and  leader,  the  val- 
orous Tecumseh.  During  the  battle  he  had 
stood  on  a  small  piece  of  elevated  ground 
and  urged  his  warriors  with  a  favorite 
war  song.  He  assured  them  the  victory 
would  be  easy  and  that  the  bullets  of  the 
white  men  would  be  made  harmless  by  the 
Great  Spirit. 

From  the  date  of  the  historic  battle  on 
the  Tippecanoe  and  thenceforth  the  power 
of  the  Indian  resistance  in  this  State  was 
definitely  broken.  Harrison's  triumph 
figured  in  his  ascendancy  to  the  presidency 
of  the  United  States.  The  county  of  Har- 
rison in  this  State  was  named  after  the 
doughty  commander  and  the  county  of 
Gibson  drew  its  name  from  the  man  who 
was  acting  Governor  during  Harrison's 
absence  in  his  campaigns  against  the  In- 
dian enemy. 

The  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  far-reach- 
ing. It  was  of  an  epochal  nature  with  ref- 
erence to  the  formation  of  this  State,  and 
when  the  question  of  a  name  was  consid- 
ered the  influence  of  the  Indian  resistance 
to  the  occupation  of  his  country  by  the 
white  man  was  so  vivid  that  they  com- 
memorated it  in  the  name  of  the  State, 
which  was  christened  Indiana. 

A  large  number  of  officers  were  killed 
in  the  battle.  Seven  of  these  are  remem- 
bered in  the  names  of  seven  of  the  coun- 
ties :  White,  Randolph,  Owens,  Daviess, 
Spencer,  Warrick  and  Floyd.  The  man 
who  had  charge  of  the  guides  and  spies 
in  the  Tippecanoe  campaign  was  Touissant 
Dubois,  a  Frenchman,  and  the  county  of 
Dubois  honors  him  with  its  name. 

Other  Indian  warfare  is  responsible  for 
the  christening  of  six  counties.     Captain 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


William  Wells  was  a  victim  of  the  Fort 
Dearborn  massacre.  Samuel  and  Moses 
Grant  of  Kentucky  gave  up  their  lives  in 
resisting  the  tribesmen.  Major  Fountain 
of  Kentucky  succumbed  in  the  battle  of 
the  Maumee  in  1790.  Daniel  Sullivan,  a 
messenger  of  Captain  Clark,  who  captured 
Vincennes,  was  killed  while  serving  his 
captain  in  that  capacity.  Captain  William 
Crawford  was  captured  and  burned  at  the 
stake  in  Ohio  in  1782.  Clark  county  was 
named  in  honor  of  the  Captain  Clark  pre- 
viously mentioned,  who  was  a  famous 
fighter  and  explorer. 

Four  counties  received  their  christening 
from  four  Indian  words.  Miami  is  the 
name  of  an  Indian  tribe,  and  Tippecanoe  is 
an  Indian  word,  which  means  "at  the  great 
clearing."  Delaware  was  also  a  tribal 
name.  Ohio  is  an  Iroquois  word,  mean- 
ing "beautiful  river."  Rivers  and  lakes 
figure  in  the  naming  of  five  counties.  Lake 
gets  its  title  from  Lake  Michigan,  and  the 
following  four  from  rivers:  St.  Joseph, 
Elkhart,  Vermilion  and  Wabash.  The  lat- 
ter is  a  term  of  the  red  man  for  "white 
water." 

In  the  names  of  its  counties  the  State  of 
Indiana  honors  twenty  soldiers.  Prac- 
tically the  whole  of  these  had  fought  at  one 
time  or  another  against  the  tribesmen  and 
had  also  participated  actively  in  the  war 
of  the  revolution.  The  remembered  heroes 
of  the  struggle  for  independence  are :  Gen- 
eral John  Starke,  Sergeant  John  Newton, 
Sergeant  William  Jasper,  killed  in  the  Sa- 
vannah siege;  General  Francis  Warren, 
General  Israel  Putnam,  General  Francis 
Marion.  General  "Mad  Anthony"  Wayne, 
General  Daniel  Morgan,  General  Nathaniel 
Greene  and  General  Henry  Knox. 

Daniel  Boone,  the  famous  Kentucky 
pioneer  and  Indian  fighter,  gave  his  name 
to  Boone  county.  General  Zebulon  M. 
Pike,  the  great  explorer  who  discovered 
Pike's  Peak,  gave  his  name  to  Pike  county. 
Other  soldiers  who  figured  in  the  christen- 
ing of  Indiana's  counties  are :  Colonel  Wil- 


liam Whitley,  Colonel  William  Allen  of 
Kentucky,  General  T.  A.  Howard  of  In- 
diana, General  Richard  Montgomery, 
killed  in  the  assault  upon  Quebec ;  Colonel 
Francis  Vigo,  General  Jacob  Brown,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  United  States  army 
from  1821  to  1828 ;  General  Eleazor  Rip- 
ley and  Colonel  John  P.  Martin. 

Naval  commanders  are  commemorated 
as  follows:  Commodore  David  Porter, 
who  served  in  the  civil  war;  Commodore 
Stephen  Decatur;  Captain  James  Law- 
rence, who  fought  on  Lake  Erie  in  1812, 
and  Commodore  Hazard  Perry.  The  names 
of  four  judges  are  in  the  list  of  Indiana 
counties:  John  Marshall,  chief  justice  of 
the  United  States;  Isaac  Blackford,  judge 
of  the  Indiana  Supreme  Court ;  John  John- 
son, judge  of  the  Indiana  Supreme  Court, 
and  Henry  Vanderburg,  who  was  judge 
of  the  first  State  court.  Three  signers  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  (not 
named  elsewhere,  but  who  figured  in  the 
christening  of  the  counties)  are  Samuel 
Huntington  of  Connecticut,  Charles  Car- 
roll of  Maryland  and  John  Hancock,  whose 
signature  was  so  bold  that  he  said  the 
King  would  have  no  need  for  spectacles  in 
deciphering  it. 

Early  Governor  of  Indiana  and  the  Gov- 
ernors of  States  which  were  admitted  to 
the  Union  before  our  own  State  contrib- 
uted ten  names  to  the  Hoosier  counties. 
These  are  as  follows:  Noah  Noble  (In- 
diana), General  Lewis  Cass  (Michigan), 
DeWitt  Clinton  (New  York),  John  Jay 
(New  York),  WiUiam  Hendricks  (In- 
diana), General  Isaac  Shelby  (Kentucky), 
Jonathan  Jennings  (Indiana),  John  Gib- 
son (acting  Governor  of  Indiana  Terri- 
tory), General  Charles  Scott  (Kentucky) 
and  General  Thomas  Posey  (Indiana). 

The  roll  of  Presidents  whose  names 
honor  Indiana  counties  numbers  seven: 
John  Quincy  Adams,  James  Madison, 
James  Monroe,  George  Washington,  An- 
drew Jackson,  Thomas  Jefl'erson  and  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison.    Nine  counties  bear 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


1  9  1 


the  names  of  senators  and  statesmen: 
Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton  (Missouri), 
Senator  John  Tipton  (Indiana),  Alexan- 
der Hamilton,  and  Benjamin  Parke  (In- 
diana). Patrick  Henry  (Virginia),  Henry 
Clay  (Kentucky),  Senator  Joseph  Barthol- 
omew (Indiana),  Benjamin  Franklin,  and 
General  Henry  Dearborn,  President  Jef- 
ferson's Secretary  of  War. 

Rush  county  honors  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush 
of  Philadelphia,  and  Fulton  county  pays 
homage  to  the  inventor  of  the  steamboat, 
Robert  Fulton.  Switzerland  county  was 
named  in  honor  of  the  old  country,  and 
Orange  got  its  title  from  a  North  Carolina 
county  which  commemorated  William  IV, 
.  prince  of  Orange.  Union  county  was  so 
called  because  it  was  made  by  a  combina- 
tion of  sections  of  Fayette  and  Wayne 
counties. 

The  influence  of  foreign  notables,  some 
of  whom  took  a  residence  in  this  country 
and  became  American  citizens,  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  seven  of  the  State  districts 


obtained  their  names  from  this  and  simi- 
lar sources.  Lagrange  was  the  home  of 
the  Marquis  de  Lafayette.  Baron  von 
Steuben  fought  in  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion and  Baron  De  Kalb  sacrificed  his  life 
for  American  liberty  in  the  same  conflict. 
Kosciusko  was  a  Polish  patriot — likewise 
Count  Casimir  Pulaski.  Fayette  county 
obtained  its  title  from  the  name  of  the 
French  marquis  previously  mentioned. 
Laporte  is  a  combination  of  two  French 
words,  meaning  "the  door"  and  signifying 
a  plain  bounded  by  mountains  or  forests. 
And  so  it  is  that  the  names  of  our  coun- 
ties embrace  the  many  years  of  Indian 
warfare,  the  struggle  of  the  colonies  for 
independence,  and  the  war  of  1812  against 
Great  Britain.  The  name  of  each  county 
connotes  certain  events  in  which  the  citi- 
zens should  have  a  just  pride  and  which 
should  become,  either  indirectly  or  direct- 
ly, a  part  of  the  county's  tradition  and  his- 
tory. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 
WHEN  STATES  WERE  ADMITTED  INTO  THE  UNION 


THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL  STATES  RATIFIED 
THE  CONSTITUTION 


Delaware    1787 December    7 

Pennsylvania 1787 December    12 

New  Jersey   1787 December    18 

Georgia     1788 January  2 

Connecticut    1788 January  9 

Massachusetts     1788 February  6 

Maryland   1788 April  28 


South  Carolina   . 
New  Hampshire 

Virginia    

New  York    

North  Carolina  . 
Rhode  Island  .  .  . 


788 May  23 

788 June  21 

788 June  26 

788 July  26 

789 November  21 

790 May  29 


STATES  ADMITTED  TO  THE  UNION 


Vermont   1791 March 

Kentucky    1792 June 

Tennessee     1796 .June 

Ohio 1803 February 

Louisiana   1812 April 

Indiana   1816 December 

Mississippi     1817 December 

Illinois     1818 December 

Alabama     1819 December 

Maine    1820 March 

Missouri    1821 August 

Arkansas    1836 June 

Michigan    1837 January 

Florida   1845 March 

Texas    1845 December 

Iowa    1846 December 

Wisconsin     1848 May 

California 1850 September 


Minnesota    .  .  . 

Oregon    

Kansas    

West  Virginia 

Nevada   

Nebraska   .  . .  . 


.1858 May  11 

.1859 February  14 

.1861 January  29 

.1863 June   19 

.1864 October  31 

.1867 March   1 

August  1 

.  .November  2 
,  .November  2 
.  .November  8 
.November  11 
July    3 


Colorado 1876. 

North  Dakota   1889. 

South  Dakota   1889. 

Montana   1889. 

Washington   1889. 

Idaho     1890. 

Wyoming    1890 July  11 

Utah    1896 January  4 

Oklahoma 1907 November   16 

New   Mexico    1912 January  6 

1912 February  14 


[Chapter  LXVI.] 


AFTER  EIGHT  YEARS  OF  ADVERSITY 


REPUBLICAN  SUPREMACY  IS  RESTORED  IN  INDIANA 


HE  service  rendered  the  Indiana 
Democracy  by  Governor  Hanly, 
resulting  in  the  election  of 
three  of  the  Democratic  nomi- 
nees on  the  State  ticket  of  1908, 
and  the  much  larger  service 
rendered  by  Theodore  Roose- 
plitting  the  Republican  party  in 
two  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1912,  ceased 
to  be  operative  in  1916.  By  dint  of  per- 
sistent and  well-directed  effort  on  the  part 
of  sagacious  leaders,  the  process  of  elimi- 
nating the  Progressive  party  met  with  (to 
them)  a  pleasing  reward  in  the  State  of  In- 
diana. The  chief  credit  from  a  party 
point  of  view  for  bringing  about  this  state 
of  affairs  belongs  to  James  P.  Goodrich, 
William  H.  Hays  and  Charles  W.  Fair- 
banks. In  good  season  these  leaders  ex- 
erted themselves  to  the  utmost  to  conciliate 
the  warring  elements.  And  they  kept  at 
it  as  long  as  the  task  in  hand  required  such 
application  of  conciliatory  effort.  No- 
where in  the  Union  was  there  done  more 
effective  work  in  this  particular  than  in 
the  State  of  Indiana. 

Both  the  Democratic  and  the  Republican 
State  tickets  were  headed  by  experienced 
political  leaders  and  adroit  mixers.  Good- 
rich had  the  advantage  of  a  wider  experi- 
ence in  political  activity  than  that  enjoyed 
by  his  Democratic  competitor,  Congress- 
man J.  A.  M.  Adair.  The  latter  had  for 
more  than  a  decade  devoted  his  time  and 
attention  mainly  to  his  own  district,  while 
Goodrich  had  opportunity  of  taking  in  the 
entire  State  by  serving  several  terms  as 
State  chairman  and  later  on  as  a  member 
of  the  Republican  national  committee. 
Both  candidates  enjoyed  excellent  reputa- 
tions as  men  of  affairs,  both  being  inter- 
ested in  banking  and  real  estate.  Good- 
rich, at  the  time  of  making  the  guberna- 
torial race,  probably  had  a  more  exten- 


sive personal  acquaintance  throughout  the 
State  than  any  other  prominent  figure  in 
Indiana  politics.  It  is  the  consensus  of 
opinion  that  no  State  in  the  Union  had  a 
better-working  party  machinery  than  that 
operated  for  more  than  four  years  by  its 
resourceful,  alert  and  sagacious  chairman, 
W.  H.  Hays.  Had  he  been  at  the  head  of 
the  Republican  national  committee,  in- 
stead of  a  provincial  New  Yorker,  some 
very  serious  blunders  would  surely  have 
been  avoided. 

The  net  outcome  of  the  1916  contest  in 
Indiana  was  the  election  of  fifteen  Hughes 
and  Fairbanks  electors,  the  gain  of  two 
United  States  Senators,  the  election  of 
nine  of  the  thirteen  members  of  Congress, 
the  election  of  the  entire  State  ticket, 
headed  by  James  P.  Goodrich,  and  secur- 
ing a  decisive  majority  in  the  lower  house 
of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Senate  be- 
ing made  a  tie.  The  figures  in  detail 
make  this  illuminating  showing: 

PRESIDENTIAL  VOTE. 

Hughes  and  Fairbanks   341,005 

Wilson  and   Marshall 334,063 

Socialistic    Elector     21,855 

Prohibition  Elector    16,368 

Progressive  Elector 3,898 

Social  Labor  Elector 1,659 


Total 


.718,1 


VOTE  FOR  GOVERNOR. 

James  P.  Goodrich,  Republican 337,831 

John  A.  M.  Adair,  Democrat 325,060 

William  W.  Farmer,  Socialist 22,156 

Alfred  L.  Moudy,  Prohibitionist 15,454 

Thomas  A.  Dailey,  Progressive 4,573 

Joe  B.  Trunko,  Social  Labor 1,553 


Total   706,627 

VOTE  FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

Edgar  D.  Bush,  Republican 337,308 

Mason  J.   Niblack,   Democrat 324,174 

Samuel  S.  Condo,  Socialist 21,623 

Albert  Stanley,  Prohibition 15,479 

Milo  J.  Bowman,  Jr.,  Progressive 4,507 

William  Holmes,  Social  Labor 1,573 

Total 704,664 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D  E  M  0  C  R  A  C  Y  —  1  8  1  6  -  1 


It  will  be  observed  that  the  vote  for 
presidential  electors  is  12,221  larger  than 
that  for  Governor,  and  14,184  larger  than 
that  for  Lieutenant-Governor.  Much  of 
this  difference  is  due  to  the  persistence 
with  which  some  thousands  of  voters,  edu- 
cated under  the  original  Australian  ballot 
law,  adhere  to  the  practice  of  marking  the 
head  of  the  ticket,  under  the  delusion  that 
by  so  doing  they  are  giving  their  vote  to 
the  entire  ticket.  In  the  figures  indicat- 
ing the  vote  for  the  several  presidential 
nominees  the  votes  cast  for  the  respective 
heads  of  the  tickets  are  invariably  given. 
On  all  presidential  tickets  the  electors  be- 
low the  one  first  named  invariably  polled 
fewer  votes  than  the  "head  of  the  ticket." 
Of  course,  there  are  some  voters  who  are 
content  with  voting  for  President  only. 
Happily  there  are  not  many  of  these. 

Though  Hughes  received  3,174  more 
votes  than  Goodrich,  the  Hughes  plurality 
is  only  6,942,  while  Goodrich's  lead  over 
Adair  is  12,771.  Adair  ran  9,003  votes 
behind  the  first  man  on  the  Wilson  and 
Marshall  electoral  ticket.  There  was  quite 
a  diflference  in  the  number  of  votes  cast 
for  the  candidates  on  the  various  electoral 
tickets.  If  all  voters  understood  the  real 
purpose  of  the  electoral  system  they  would 
quit  such  foolishness  and  cast  their  ballots 
for  the  entire  electoral  ticket,  regardless 
of  the  individuals  named  thereon.  The 
voter  who  favored  Wilson  or  Hughes  at 
the  1916  election  ought  to  have  voted  for 
all  of  the  fifteen  electors  on  the  respective 
tickets.  That  would  have  been  in  full 
accord  with  the  aim  and  purpose  of  the 
electoral  system. 

OTHER  REPUBLICAN  STATE  PLURALITIES. 

Ed  Jackson,  Secretary  of  State 14,175 

Otto  L.  Klauss,  Auditor  of  State 13,432 

Uz  McMurtie,  Treasurer  of  State 12,194 

Ele    Stansbury,   Attorney-General 12,871 

Horace  Ellis,  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction      13,240 

Henry  A.  Roberts,  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Sta- 
tistics       13,508 

David  A.  Myers,  Judge  Supreme  Court 13,616 

Lawson  M.  Harvey,  Judge  Supreme  Court.  13,292 


Will  H.  Adams,  Reporter  Supreme  Court. .  13,758 
Ira  C.  Batesman,  Judge  Appellate  Court.  .  12,273 
Ethan    Allen    Dausman,    Judge    Appellate 

Court    13,563 

The  result  of  the  1916  election  renders 
the  political  complexion  of  the  Supreme 
Court  three  Democrats  to  two  Republic- 
ans. J.  Fred  France,  Democrat,  has  two 
years  longer  to  serve  as  Reporter  of  the 
Supreme  Court. 

VOTE  FOR  UNITED  STATES  SENATOR. 
— Long  Term — 

Harry   S.   New,   Republican 337,089 

John  W.  Kern,  Democrat 325,588 

Joseph  Zimmerman,  Socialist 21,558 

Elwood  Haynes,  Prohibitionist 15,598 

John  Napir'  Dyer,  Progressive 4,272 

Ira  J.  Baker,  Social  Labor 1,562 

—Short  Term- 
James  E.  Watson,  Republican 335,193 

Thomas  Taggart,  Democrat 325,577 

Edward   Henry,   Socialist 21,626 

Rev.  William  H.  Hickman,  Prohibitionist.  .   16,095 

John  F.  Clifford,  Progressive 4,798 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  a  differ- 
ence of  only  eleven  in  the  vote  for  the  two 
Democratic  nominees  for  United  States 
Senator — John  W.  Kern  and  Thomas  Tag- 
gart. The  difference  in  the  votes  for  New 
and  Watson  is  1,896  in  favor  of  New. 

CONGRESSIONAL  DELEGATION. 

The  effect  of  inducing  the  Republicans 
and  the  Progressives  to  get  together  is 
made  strikingly  apparent  by  the  vastly 
changed  make-up  of  the  Indiana  delega- 
tion in  Congress.  Instead  of  electing  only 
two,  as  in  1914,  they  succeeded  in  electing 
nine  of  the  thirteen.  The  Republicans 
chosen  at  this  election  are : 

District.  Plurality. 

Second— Oscar  E.  Bland 1,005 

Fifth— Everett   Sanders 692 

Sixth— Daniel  W.  Comstock 978 

Seventh— Merrill  Moores 6,130 

Eighth— Albert  H.  Vestal 2,281 

Ninth— Fred  S.  Purnell 3,165 

Tenth— Will  R.  Wood 8,818 

Eleventh— Milton    Kraus 428 

Twelfth— Louis  Wm.  Fairfield 3,170 

Total  pluralities 26,467 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 

On  the  vote  for  members  of  Congress  Twelfth;    1,476   in   the   Thirteenth.     The 

in   the  thirteen   districts   the   Republican  Prohibitionists    did   not   have   candidates 

net  plurality  is  20,774.  for  Congress  in  all  the  districts. 

The  four  Democrats  and  their  plurali-  The  Socialists  made  a  pretty  fair  show- 
ties  are:  '"S  >"  most  of  the  congressional  districts. 

In  the  Fifth   (Terre  Haute)   district  they 

S-wS/e  "cr": : :::::::::;::::  2.S?  f ™  ^/ff.\-  °*=  '■'^'^  «>'-■  ■"  *-= 

Fourth-Lincoln  Dixon 2,172  Second  district  their  vote  reached  2,800. 

Thirteenth— Henry  A.  Barnhart 291  Only  in  one  other  district  their  vote  ex- 

ceeded  2,000.    In  several  districts  they  had 

Total  pluralities 5,693  an  excess  of  1,000. 

The  unsuccessful  Democratic  candidates  In  the  General  Assembly  of  1917  there 

were:    William  A.  Cullop  in  the  Second;  were,  in  the  Senate,  25  Democrats  and  25 

Ralph  W.  Moss  in  the  Fifth;  Finley  H.  Republicans;  in  the  House,  36  Democrats 

Gray  in  the  Sixth ;  Chalmer  Schlosser  in  to  64  Republicans. 

the    Seventh     (Indianapolis)  ;    Jacob    F.  Among  those  who  "suffered  defeat"  at 

Denny  in  the  Eighth;  David  F.  Maish  in  ^his  election  was  one  who  surely  lost  no 

the  Ninth;  George  E.   Hershman  in  the  «'^^P  ^"^  ^^^^  "«  tears  over  the  result  in 

Tenth;  George  W.  Rauch  in  the  Eleventh;  ^«  ^^^  ^^  '^  ^^^'^t^^  h™  personally.     He 

Cyrus  Cline  in  the  Twelfth.    Of  these  nine  ^^^.^  ^^^^f  ^o  niaking  the  race.     His  ap- 

Cullop,  Moss,  Gray,  Rauch  and  Cline  were  Pointn^ent    by    Governor    Ralston    amply 

candidates  for  re-election.  gratified  his  ambition      Down  at  French 

_,        _,              .  Lick  he  has  an  establishment,  a  recreation 

The     Progressives     had     congressional  and  health  resort,  that  stands  as  a  monu- 

nommees    in    all    the    thirteen   districts,  ^nent  to  his  foresight,  constructive  ability. 

Their  vote  was  285  in  the  First;  304  in  genius,  perseverance  and  tact.     No  more 

the  Second;  134  in  the  Third;  677  in  the  clever,     genial     or     versatile     individual 

Fourth;   1,536   in   the   Fifth;   344   in  the  breathes  the  atmosphere  of  Indiana.    His 

Sixth;   229   in   the   Seventh;   332    in   the  name  is  Thomas  Taggart  and  his  chief  aim 

Eighth ;   1,425  in  the  Ninth ;  471   in  the  in  life  has  been  to  be  a  benefactor  of  his 

Tenth ;  2,350  in  the  Eleventh ;  942  in  the  fellow-men. 


■^k:^ 


[Chapter  LXVII.] 


RE-ELECTION  OF  WOODROW  WILSON 
IN  1916 

REMARKABLE   CAMPAIGN  AND  RESULT  IN   THE   POLITICAL 
HISTORY  OF  THE  COUNTRY 


mN  several  respects  the  presiden- 
tial campaign  of  1916  was  the 
most  bewildering  in  the  annals 
of  American  politics.     With  a 
view  to  creating  the  impression 

that  the  Republicans,  notwith- 
standing the  reverse  of  1912, 
still  considered  themselves  the  leading 
party  and  therefore  expected  to  take  the 
lead  in  making  nominations,  they  held 
their  convention  in  the  month  of  June  in 
the  city  of  Chicago.  For  reasons  that  do 
not  require  analysis  or  explanation  the 
Democrats  did  not  demur  to  this  presump- 
tion, but  graciously  acquiesced  in  this  bold 
assertion  of  their  privilege  to  precede.  So 
they  fixed  the  time  for  holding  their  con- 
vention in  the  month  of  July,  selecting  St. 
Louis  as  their  place  for  coming  together 
and  doing  business.  The  Democrats  knew 
weeks  and  months  before  the  convention 
was  held  as  to  who  their  nominee  would  be. 
It  was  foreordained  that  in  defiance  of  the 
one-term  plank,  caused  by  Mr.  Bryan  to 
be  inserted  in  the  platform  adopted  at  Bal- 
timore in  1912,  the  St.  Louis  ticket  would 
consist  of  Woodrow  Wilson  and  Thomas 
R.  Marshall  as  certain  as  was  the  final  de- 
cision at  the  wind-up  four  years  prior. 
There  was  a  possibility  of  some  squabbling 
in  committee  over  the  wording  of  the  plat- 
form, but  that  disturbed  no  one's  equanim- 
ity. It  was  quite  different  with  the  Re- 
publicans. In  their  ranks  it  was  all  uncer- 
tainty, doubt  and — fear.  The  shaping  of 
the  platform  required  considerable  skill, 
but  the  task  of  nominating  a  presidential 
ticket  that  would  command  the  support  of 
both  Republicans  and  Progressives  was 
properly  adjudged  a  task  that  would  test  to 
the  utmost  the  highest  skill  lodged  in  the 


craniums  of  the  party's  shrewdest  man- 
agers and  leaders.  To  tame  the  wild 
horses  prancing  in  the  Roosevelt  conven- 
tion hall  required  all  the  ingenuity  pos- 
sessed by  the  resourceful  George  W.  Per- 
kins. To  keep  in  subjection  the  unruly 
tongue  of  T.  R.  himself  must  have  required 
no  little  precaution  and  alertness  down 
East.  So  all  in  all  the  Republican  situa- 
tion was  critical  from  start  to  finish.  And 
the  problem  was  far  from  being  solved  by 
the  nomination  of  Charles  Evans  Hughes 
and  Charles  Warren  Fairbanks.  The  best 
thinking  caps  to  be  had  for  love  or  money 
were  needed  all  the  time.  How  to  prevent 
T.  R.  from  kicking  the  bucket  over  re- 
mained a  constant  source  of  deep  concern 
to  the  very  last.  Never  before  in  the  his- 
tory of  all  political  parties  was  there  a  sit- 
uation so  critical  as  that  hovering  over  the 
heads  of  the  Republican  campaign  man- 
agers of  1916. 

Judge  Hughes  himself  managed  to  wig- 
gle through  the  campaign  without  making 
more  than  two  or  three  mistakes  that  ac- 
tually deprived  him  of  any  considerable 
number  of  votes.  The  most  serious  of 
these  blunders  was  made  in  California, 
from  which  danger-ground  he  should  have 
stayed  away  entirely.  That  he  did  not  ex- 
ert himself  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  a  band 
of  ambitious  and  overly  zealous  New  York 
women  to  start  out  on  their  millionaire 
wild  goose  chase  in  an  aristocratic  palace 
car  train  disclosed  a  shortcoming  that  at 
the  time  cau.sed  in  the  minds  of  his  real 
friends  grave  apprehension.  This  appre- 
hension was  more  than  confirmed  as  time 
passed  and  reports  came  to  headquarters. 

On  the  night  of  the  election  the  country 
labored  under  the  impression  that  Wood- 


(477) 


HISTORY      INDIANA     DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


row  Wilson  had  been  defeated  and  Charles 
E.  Hughes  triumphantly  elected.  The 
eastern  strongholds,  with  their  enormous 
strength  in  the  electoral  college,  had  so  de- 
creed. In  "extras"  issued  after  the  count- 
ing of  millions  of  ballots  Democratic  pa- 
pers vied  with  their  Republican  contem- 
poraries in  proclaiming  the  triumphant 
election  of  Judge  Hughes  and  editorially 
reciting  the  causes  that  brought  about 
such  a  decision.  Later  returns  from  other 
parts  of  the  Union  upset  this  previousness 
and  cast  a  doubt  over  the  actual  result. 
Not  until  the  close  vote  of  California  was 
fully  determined,  two  weeks  after  election, 
did  it  become  certain  as  to  who  was  really 
elected.  That  the  victors  were  Woodrow 
Wilson  and  Thomas  R.  Marshall  is  incon- 
testably  established  by  this  tabular  ex- 
hibit: 

FOR  WILSON  AND  MARSHALL. 
States.  Electors.  Plurality. 

1  Alabama     12 70,600 

2  Arizona     3 12,646 

3  Arkansas    9 64,809 

4  California     13 3,773 

5  Colorado     6 76,508 

6  Florida    6 41,373 

7  Georgia     14 111,680 

8  Idaho     4 13,686 

9  Kansas    10 26,930 

10  Kentucky    13 28,136 

11  Louisiana    10 73,409 

12  Maryland    8 21,012 

13  Mississippi     10 76,169 

14  Missouri    18 28,569 

15  Montana     4 34,195 

16  Nebraska    8 41,056 

17  Nevada     3 5,639 

18  New  Hampshire  ...     4 56 

19  New  Mexico    3 2,530 

20  North  Carolina   ....    12 47,493 

21  North  Dakota 5 1,735 

22  Ohio     24 89,408 

23  Oklahoma     10 50,880 

24  South  Carolina 9 60,296 

25  Tennessee     12 35,325 

26  Texas    20 220,960 

27  Utah    4 29,889 

28  Virginia    12 53,466 

West  Virginia 1 

29  Washington    7 16,549 

30  Wyoming    3 6,618 


FOR  HUGHES  AND  FAIRBANKS. 


States. 

Electors. 

Plurality. 

....     7 

6,728 

2     Delaware   

3 

1,260 

3     Illinois     

....   29 

202,320 

4     Indiana   

....   15 

6,942 

5     Iowa    

....   13 

58,750 

6     Maine 

6 

25  388 

7     Massachusetts 

18 

20,899 

8     Michigan    

....   15 

53,959 

9     Minnesota    

12 

392 

10     New  Jersey   .  .  . 

14 

57,964 

11     New  York    .  . .  . 

45 

118,630 

12     Oregon    

....     5 

6,726 

13  Pennsylvania     . 

14  Rhode    Island    . 

38 

.     181,950 

....     5 

6,813 

15     South  Dakota   . 

....     5 

5,070 

17,542 

17*  West   Virginia 

....     7 

2,721 

18     Wisconsin     

13 

254 

28,281 

Totals 

782,335 

.277. 


.1,355,440 


*Wilson  got  one  of  West  Virginia's  eight  elec- 
toral votes. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Wilson  carried 
thirty  and  Hughes  eighteen  of  the  forty- 
eight  States. 

Total  vote  in  United  States 18,495,901 

Wilson   and   Marshall 9,116,473 

Hughes  and  Fairbanks 8,543,368 

Benson,   Socialist   576,974 

Hanly,   Prohibitionist    213,970 

Reimer,  Social  Laborite 12,860 

The  Prohibitionists  had  counted  on  at 
least  a  million  votes.  Their  ticket  polled 
less  than  half  as  many  votes  as  were  cast 
for  the  Socialist  ticket.  In  the  election  of 
members  of  Congress  the  Republicans 
gained  largely.  In  the  present  Congress 
their  strength  in  the  House  is  216  as 
against  210  Democrats  and  9  Independ- 
ents. Notwithstanding  this,  the  Demo- 
crats were  enabled  at  the  opening  of  the 
special  session  to  organize  the  House  by 
re-electing  Champ  Clark  to  the  speaker- 
ship with  the  aid  of  Independents  and 
some  Republicans.  In  the  preceding  House 
the  Democrats  had  231  members,  the  Re- 
publicans 193,  and  the  Independents  19. 
In  the  Senate  there  were  39  Republicans 
to  56  Democrats  in  1915  to  1917.  In  the 
present  Senate  there  are  42  Republicans 
and  53  Democrats. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 1 


19  1 


Analysis  of  these  tabular  exhibits  reveal 
some  remarkable  variations  in  the  exercise 
of  the  elective  franchise  by  the  sovereigns 
of  the  realm.  These  variations  unerrin,'!^- 
ly  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  Judge 
Hughes  was  either  an  exceedingly  poor 
vote-getter  or  that  Woodrow  Wilson's  re- 
election was  deemed  a  national  necessity. 
Not  a  single  State  normally  or  dependably 
Democratic  gave  its  electoral  vote  to  Judge 
Hughes,  although  politically  changeable 
commonwealths  like  Delaware,  Indiana 
and  New  York  placed  themselves  decisive- 
ly in  the  Hughes  column.  New  Jersey,  in 
years  gone  by  up  to  1896,  was  reliably 
Democratic,  but  ceased  to  be  such  when 
free  silver  was  made  the  "paramount  is- 
sue." There  isn't  any  question  as  to  Cali- 
fornia, Idaho,  Kansas,  New  Hampshire, 
North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Utah,.  Washington 
and  Wyoming  being  normally  Republican 
States,  yet  all  of  them,  with  their  74  elec- 
toral votes,  declared  themselves  in  favor 
of  Wilson  and  Marshall.  Subtracting  these 
74  from  Wilson's  277  votes  in  the  electoral 
college  and  adding  them  to  the  Hughes 
total  would  have  made  the  electoral  vote 
stand  thus :  Hughes  and  Fairbanks,  328 ; 
Wilson  and  Marshall,  203.  As  compared 
with  the  votes  cast  for  heads  of  Repub- 
lican State  tickets  the  Hughes  vote  was, 
using  round  numbers  only,  2,000  less  in 
Connecticut,  6,000  less  in  Indiana,  39,000 
less  in  Iowa,  5,000  less  in  Maine,  55,000 
less  in  Michigan,  67,000  less  in  Minnesota, 
17,000  less  in  New  Jersey,  101,000  less  in 
New  York,  20,000  less  in  Oregon,  49,000 
less  in  Pennsylvania,  18,000  less  in  South 
Dakota,  15,000  less  in  Vermont,  3,000  less 
in  West  Virginia,  88,000  less  in  Wisconsin. 
While  Wilson  led  Hughes  by  3,733  votes  in 
California,  the  Republican  plurality 
reached  296,816.  Rhode  Island  elected  a 
Democratic  United  States  Senator  by  7,837, 
mainly  on  account  of  the  unpopularity  of 
the  Republican  nominee  with  the  labor  ele- 
ment. While  Colorado  gave  Wilson  over 
76,000,  the  Democratic  State  nominee 
averaged    only    17,000.     Wilson    carried 


Maryland  by  over  21,000,  yet  the  Repub- 
licans on  State  nominees  had  a  lead  of 
3,922.  A  complete  analysis  of  the  voting 
in  all  the  States  reveals  the  astounding 
fact  that  while  Wilson  stands  credited 
with  a  plurality  of  573,105,  the  plurality 
of  Republican  State  candidates  is  573,391. 
To  this  the  two  States  of  California  and 
Kansas  alone  contributed  nearly  a  half 
million.  No  such  difference,  or  discrep- 
ancy, can  be  found  in  the  returns  of  any 
preceding  presidential  contest.  It  shows 
plainly  and  unmistakably  that  the  inde- 
pendent voter  in  this  country  is  very  much 
in  evidence  and  that  party  managers  will 
do  well  to  take  notice  of  the  importance 
and  significance  thereof. 

Upon  the  outcome  in  California  depend- 
ed the  final  settlement  as  to  whether  Wil- 
son or  Hughes  had  carried  the  day.  The 
suspense  caused  by  the  fluctuations  in  the 
returns,  as  slowly  gathered  and  tabulated, 
caused  no  little  apprehension  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  had  some  knowledge  of  the 
Tilden-Hayes  controversy  in  1876-7.  That 
"celebrated  case"  furnished  a  subject  for 
numerous  historical  reviews  and  varying 
comment  upon  the  final  unique  decision. 
As  Tilden  himself  was  largely  responsible 
for  popular  acquiescence  in  a  most  un- 
righteous and  iniquitous  decision  by  the 
electoral  commission,  that  there  might  be 
no  civil  conflict  so  shortly  after  the  final 
suppres.^ion  of  the  rebellion  in  1865,  so 
thoughtful  citizens  of  all  parties  earnestly 
hoped  and  prayed  that  there  might  be  no 
menacing  controversy  over  the  exceeding- 
ly close  vote  in  the  States  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, Minne.sota  and  California.  The  coun- 
try was  in  no  condition  to  undergo  such  a 
strain.  Hence  the  sincere  general  rejoic- 
ing when  announcement  of  the  undisputed 
settlement  of  the  election  of  1916  quieted 
the  nerves  of  millions  of  order-loving 
American  sovereigns. 

So  far  as  campaign  management  was 
concerned  there  is  but  little  doubt  that  the 
Democrats  in  this  respect  had  a  decided 
advantage  over  the  Republicans.     At  Re- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


publican  headquarters  there  was  more  or 
less  friction  throughout  the  campaign. 
Any  political  organization  subjectively 
dominated  by  New  York  influences  is  cer- 
tain to  be  grievously  hampered  by  narrow- 
ness, littleness,  imbecility  and  insuff'erable 
arrogance.  The  main  thought  of  the  aver- 
age New  York  "politician,"  irremediably 
inoculated  with  every  form  of  sordidness, 
instinctively  places  a  money  consideration 
on  pretty  near  everything  connected  with 
a  political  campaign.  A  striking  illustra- 
tion of  this  characteristic  was  furnished 
way  back  in  the  '60's,  when  the  New  York 
delegation  to  the  Republican  presidential 
convention  sought  to  secure  the  nomina- 
tion of  William  H.  Seward  to  the  highest 
office  in  the  gift  of  the  nation.  The  leader 
of  this  delegation  was  Thurlow  Weed,  an 
adroit  but  thoroughly  unscrupulous  polit- 
ical manipulator.  Carl  Schurz,  a  delegate- 
at-large  from  Wisconsin,  was  an  ardent 
supporter  of  Seward  on  account  of  his  pro- 
nounced views  on  the  slavery  question.  In 
the  course  of  a  conference  held  in  the  in- 
terest of  Seward,  his  spokesman,  Thurlow 
Weed,  gave  especial  emphasis  to  the  allur- 
ing certainty  of  a  huge  campaign  fund  be- 
ing raised  in  the  East  to  conduct  the  cam- 
paign in  case  Seward  were  made  the  stand- 
ard-bearer of  the  young  party.  Those  who 
have  ever  been  close  to  Carl  Schurz  can 
readily  imagine  what  sort  of  impression 
this  talk  made  upon  the  sensitive  mind  of 
that  fervent  champion  of  high  political 
ideals  and  of  human  emancipation.  In- 
stead of  exalting  the  glorious  cause  of 
freedom.  Weed  thought  and  talked  wholly 
of  a  prospective  huge  corruption  fund 
wherewith  to  influence  the  action  of  Amer- 
ican freemen.  Little  wonder  that  Carl 
Schurz,  burning  with  ardor  to  curb  the 
slave  power  and  to  instill  love  of  freedom 
into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  electorate, 
left  this  conference  with  strange  feelings 
as  to  the  sentiments  that  guided  leading 
spirits  of  the  young  party  that  four  years 
prior  had  made  its  first  entry  in  the  polit- 
ical arena  under  the  inspiring  battle  cry  of 


Fremont  and  Freedom.  Needless  to  say 
that,  ardent  Sewardite  that  he  had  been 
up  to  that  time,  the  eloquent  delegate  from 
Wisconsin  became  easily  reconciled  to  the 
nomination  of  that  uncontaminated  child 
of  Nature,  that  lofty  exemplification  of 
unadulterated  American  simplicity  and  un- 
alloyed patriotism,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

About  the  first  thing  that  engaged  the 
attention  of  those  who  made  their  influ- 
ence felt  at  Republican  national  headquar- 
ters was  to  raise  a  huge  fund  to  determine 
the  trend  of  the  betting  on  Wall  street — 
in  other  words,  to  "fix"  the  gambling  on 
the  prospective  outcome  of  the  contest  for 
the  election  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
American  republic.  Stupendous  sums 
were  raised  for  this  demoralizing  and  cor- 
rupting purpose.  "Money  talks,"  these  as- 
suming custodians  of  political  wisdom  and 
civic  righteousness  argued  to  themselves. 
It  does,  it  does — unfortunately  too  volubly 
and  too  vociferously  for  the  safeguarding 
of  republican  institutions.  There  is  rea- 
son to  believe  that  this  flagrant  and  osten- 
tatious flourishing  of  "filthy  lucre"  had 
much  to  do  with  creating  the  conviction  in 
the  minds  of  unpolluted  voters  in  the 
Western  States  that  if  Wall  street  were  so 
intent  on  the  election  of  Hughes  it  would 
be  the  part  of  political  wisdom  and  patriot- 
ism to  vote  for  Woodrow  Wilson.  And,  as 
the  election  figures  show,  this  was  done, 
very  extensively  at  that.  Western  voters 
have  a  very  poor  opinion  of  Eastern  mon- 
eybags, many  of  whom  married  off  their 
vain  daughters  to  sillipated,  decrepit 
bearers  of  royal  titles.  These  money- 
bags are  mighty  unsafe  disseminators  of 
cherished  democratic  ideas  and  still  less 
dependable  combatants  of  hated  autocracy. 
Besides,  the  well-known  fact  that  greedy, 
grasping  cormorants  were  intent  on  plung- 
ing this  country  into  the  bloody  war  raging 
in  Europe  in  order  to  make  more  secure 
their  big  loans  to  some  of  the  belligerent 
powers  served  as  a  mighty  incentive  to 
Western  freemen  to  vote  for  keeping  in 
the  White  House  for  four  years  longer  the 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


man  who  up  to  that  time  had  so  success- 
fully and  so  beneficently  kept  us  out  of 
war. 

Chairman  Vance  C.  McCormick  dis- 
played excellent  judgment  in  the  selection 
of  campaign  managers  for  the  Western 
department,  headquarters  in  Chicago.  The 
men  chosen  to  conduct  the  campaign  in 
the  Western  States  understood  the  aims 
and  purposes  of  the  inhabitants  of  those 
parts  of  the  Union  and  governed  them- 
selves accordingly.  There  were  no  Bur- 
chards  among  the  speakers  sent  out  into 
those  regions,  hence  no  votes  were  made 
for  the  other  side.  To  Colonel  Bryan  had 
very  wisely  been  assigned  nearly  the  entire 
debatable  ground  of  the  West.  With  his 
masterful  oratory  and  the  unbounded 
faith  of  the  masses  in  the  justice  of  the 
cause  espoused  by  him — "Peace  on  earth, 
good  will  toward  men" — a  sentiment  was 
aroused  throughout  the  West  that  com- 
pletely upset  the  plans  and  calculations  of 
the  plutocracy  of  the  East.  Colonel  Bry- 
an's appeals  to  the  fathers  and  mothers  in 
these  Western  States  did  not  fall  upon  deaf 
ears,  but  sunk  deep  into  the  hearts  of  the 
good  people,  who  in  due  course  of  time 
transformed  the  wild  lands  of  the  frontier 
into  blooming  gardens  and  prosperous 
farms.  Colonel  Bryan's  speeches  dove- 
tailed so  nicely  and  so  fittingly  into  the 
masterly  convention  speech  of  former 
Governor  Martin  H.  Glynn  of  New  York, 
that  Democratic  newspapers  and  speakers 
were  at  no  time  under  the  necessity  of  ex- 
plaining anything  away. 

By  far  the  ablest,  soundest  and  most 
convincing  speeches  delivered  on  the  Re- 


publican side  of  the  House  were  those  of 
former  U.  S.  Senator  Albert  J.  Beveridge. 
They  were  masterpieces  of  political  ora- 
tory, well  calculated  to  reach  the  under- 
standing of  voters  who  really  were  in 
quest  of  enlightenment  as  to  the  path  of 
duty  to  be  chosen  in  the  final  contest.  Mr. 
Beveridge  was  enabled  to  present  a  strong 
case  for  the  reason  that  he  is  splendidly 
equipped  with  a  strong  mind  and  a  heart 
that  beats  tenderly  for  struggling  human- 
ity. Of  all  the  .speeches  delivered  by  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt  in  favor  of  Hughes  only  the 
one  made  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  seems  to 
have  proved  effective  as  a  vote  maker. 
Every  appearance  of  the  ex-President  on 
the  rostrum  caused  the  utmost  nervous- 
ness at  Republican  headquarters. 

PARTY  LINES  IN  CONGRESS  SINCE  1881. 


Congress. 

Years. 

Rep. 

Dem. 

Ind. 

Rep. 

Tm. 

Ind. 

47th 

.1881-1883.. 

..37. 

.38. 

.    1.. 

.146. 

.138. 

.10 

48th 

.1883-1885.. 

..40. 

.36. 

.    0.  . 

.124. 

.198. 

.    1 

49th 

.1885-1887.. 

..42. 

.34. 

.    0.. 

.120. 

.204. 

.    1 

50th 

.1887-1889.. 

..39. 

.37. 

.    0.. 

.153. 

.168. 

.   4 

51st 

.1889-1891.. 

..39. 

.37. 

.   0.. 

.166. 

.159. 

.   0 

52d    . 

.1891-1893.. 

..47. 

.39. 

2.  . 

.   88. 

.236. 

.   8 

53d    . 

.1893-1895.. 

..38. 

.44. 

.   3.  . 

.126. 

.220. 

.   8 

54th 

.1895-1897.. 

..42. 

.39. 

.   5.. 

.246. 

.104. 

.   7 

55th 

.1897-1899.. 

..46. 

.34. 

.10.. 

.206. 

.134. 

.16 

56th 

.1899-1901.. 

..53. 

.26. 

.11.. 

.185. 

.163. 

.   9 

57th 

.1901-1903.. 

..56. 

.29. 

.   3.. 

.198. 

.153. 

.   5 

58th 

.1903-1905.. 

..58. 

.32. 

.   0.. 

.206. 

.174. 

.   2 

59th 

.1905-1907.. 

...58. 

.32. 

.   0.. 

.250. 

.136. 

.   0 

60th 

.1907-1909.. 

.  .61. 

.31. 

.   0.. 

.222. 

.164. 

.   0 

61st 

.1909-1911.. 

..60. 

.32. 

.   0.. 

.219. 

.172. 

.   0 

62d    . 

.1911-1913.. 

..51. 

.41. 

.   0.. 

.162. 

.228. 

.*1 

6.3d    . 

.191.3-1915.. 

..51. 

.44. 

.tl.. 

.127. 

.290. 

US 

64th 

.1915-1917.. 

..39. 

..56. 

.fl.. 

.193. 

.231. 

.-8 

G5lh 

.1917-1919.. 

..42. 

.53. 

.tl.  ■ 

.216. 

.210. 

.   9 

•Soiialist.  tProKres.slvc.  tluclmli-s  9  Progressives.  7 
Progressive  Republicans.  1  ImU-penilent  and  1  vacauc.v. 
"includes  Progressives.  Socialists  and  vacancies.  Fig- 
nres  in  table  are  for  beginning  of  cacli  Congress. 


16— History 


(481) 


[Chapter  LXVIII.] 


THIS  BLESSED  LAND  OF  OURS 

ITS  GOVERNMENT  WAS  FOUNDED  BY  THE  WISEST,  NOBLEST, 
BRAVEST  PATRIOTS  KNOWN  IN  THE  WORLD'S  HIS- 
TORY—LET THEIR  WORK  BE  PERPETUATED 


mHIS  is  a  great  country.  With- 
out indulging  in  bombast  or 
braggadocio  it  may  be  asserted 
that,  everything  taken  into  ac- 
<    count,  it  is  the  greatest  country 

in  the  world.  As  to  territory 
and  population  it  is  surpassed 
by  Russia.  In  ai-ea  it  may  be  surpassed 
by  Africa,  Brazil  and  even  Canada,  but 
in  point  of  extent,  scope  and  adaptation 
to  the  subserving  of  human  wants  and  re- 
quirements it  stands  unequalled  and  un- 
surpassed. Its  natural  resources  are  un- 
bounded. Its  climatic  variations  are  un- 
surpassed. The  fertility  of  its  soil  is 
prodigious.  Its  location  affords  in  itself 
a  mighty  fortress  for  the  protection  of  its 
millions  of  inhabitants.  Its  constitution 
is  everywhere  conceded  to  be  a  master- 
piece of  wise,  far-seeing  statesmanship. 
Its  government  has  in  every  instance 
proved  itself  a  safeguard  against  attacks 
from  without  or  within.  Its  flag  has  come 
out  of  every  onslaught  unsullied  and  tri- 
umphant. 

The  manner  in  which  the  American  re- 
public was  founded  is  comprehensively  set 
forth  in  the  opening  chapter  of  this  work. 
Therein  may  be  found  succinctly  recited 
the  many  ups  and  downs  of  those  engaged 
in  the  constructive  work  of  the  formative 
period  and  the  innumerable  obstacles  en- 
countered and  overcome  by  the  noble 
patriots  who  unselfishly  consecrated  them- 
selves to  the  establishment  in  this  part  of 
the  world  of  a  government  of,  for  and  by 
the  people. 

Would  that  it  might  be  said,  truthfully, 
that  all  the  people  inhabiting  the  original 
colonies  and  later  on  the  States  of  the 
newly-formed  Union  were  honorable,  up- 


right, manly,  patriotic.  That,  perhaps, 
would  border  closely  on  the  seemingly  im- 
possible. Then,  as  now,  there  were  sneaks, 
hypocrites  and  liars  —  vipers  in  human 
disguise — -who  did  everything  in  their 
power  to  render  more  difficult  the  task  of 
liberating  the  colonies  from  the  British 
yoke  of  oppression.  So  bitter  was  life 
made  for  Washington,  the  father  of  his 
country,  that  he  seriously  contemplated 
resigning  the  chief  magistracy  of  the 
young  nation.  The  vile  tongue  of  slander 
wagged  so  assiduously  and  viciously  in  de- 
nunciation of  Jefferson,  author  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  that  he  often 
found  his  rich  vocabulary  inadequate  for 
the  expression  of  his  contempt  for  the  vile 
slanderers  and  maligners  who  vindictive- 
ly pursued  him  throughout  his  useful,  hon- 
orable and  productive  career. 

But,  nevertheless  and  notwithstanding, 
the  young  nation  grew  and  prospered.  Its 
growth  was  slow,  but  sound  and  steady. 
New  territory  was  added  and  new  States 
were  formed  and  admitted  into  the  Union 
from  time  to  time.  With  this  growth  and 
development  came  wealth.  And  with  the 
advent  of  this  thitherto  scarcely  known 
element  in  American  life  came  verification 
of  the  fears  expressed  by  the  Massachu- 
setts statesman,  sage  and  patriot,  Samuel 
Adams,  who,  in  1789,  said:  "We  have 
achieved  a  great  liberty ;  we  have  wrought 
out  a  great  constitution ;  but  my  only  fear 
is  that  our  people,  who  are  now  poor  and 
simple  and  love  liberty  because  they  have 
made  sacrifices  for  it,  will  after  a  while 
grow  rich  and  will  prefer  their  riches  to 
their  liberty."  Corroborative  of  this  are 
the  words  of  Thomas  Jefferson  who,  more 
than  one  hundred  years  ago,  prophetically 


(483) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEM -OCRACY  —  1816-1 


pictured  large  cities  as  being  "pestilential 
to  the  morals,  the  health,  and  the  liberties 
of  men." 

Wealth  founded  partly  on  landed 
estates  and  partly  on  the  ownership  of 
human  flesh  became  arrogant  and  defiant. 
Like  Oliver  Twist,  it  constantly  cried  for 
more.  Refusal  to  comply  with  these  de- 
mands resulted  in  the  country  becoming 
involved  in  a  gigantic  war  upon  the  election 
and  inauguration  as  president  of  the 
United  States  of  the  kindliest  and  most 
fair-minded  American  known  in  history — 
Abraham  Lincoln.  The  struggle  was  a 
fierce  one.  It  lasted  more  than  four  long, 
weary  years.  But  it  terminated  in  the  tri- 
umph of  the  supremacy  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  the  vindication  of  the  doctrine  of 
an  indissoluble  Union  of  indestructible 
States. 

That  was  a  great,  a  glorious  achieve- 
ment. With  the  return  to  the  avenues  of 
industry  and  trade  of  the  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  sturdy  veterans  who  had 
fought  the  battles  of  the  war  on  both  sides 
there  was  awakened  a  spirit  of  enterprise 
and  thrift  that  was  nowhere  visible  prior 
to  and  during  the  war.  Industrial  and 
commercial  development  made  marvelous 
progress.  Venturesomeness  came  alarm- 
ingly in  sight.  As  a  natural  sequence  a 
destructive  panic  broke  forth  in  1873.  It 
smashed  supposedly  firm  and  sound  insti- 
tutions right  and  left.  Indescribable  dis- 
tress prevailed  throughout  the  land.  Not 
until  toward  1879-'80  did  its  destructive 
eff'ects  wholly  disappear,  but  again  mani- 
festing themselves  keenly  in  1883.  Ten 
years  later  the  country's  commercial, 
financial  and  industrial  foundations  were 
shaken  even  more  violently  and  disastrous- 
ly than  in  1873,  for  the  reason  that  there 
was  then  so  much  more  to  be  swept  away 
by  the  irresistible  force  of  the  most  de- 
structive panic  known  in  American  his- 
tory. Recovery  did  not  ensue  until  the 
latter  part  of  the  past  century.  Still  an- 
other visitation  of  a  similar  character 
came  upon  the  country  in  1907,  commonly 


known  as  the  Bankers'  Panic.  Its  rav- 
ages swept  away  ruthlessly  and  pitilessly 
an  undeterminable  number  of  private  for- 
tunes, leaving  wholly  out  of  consideration 
the  misery  caused  in  the  humbler  walks 
of  life. 

Within  the  period  of  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury the  American  people  underwent  the 
trials  and  tribulations  of  four  panics,  each 
of  them  shaking  the  foundation  of  our  in- 
dustrial, financial  and  commercial  system. 
Each  of  these  could  have  been  avoided  had 
moderation  in  the  pursuit  of  Mammon 
prevailed  and  had  common  sense  and  com- 
mon prudence  been  permitted  to  command 
sway.  As  if  experiences  of  this  sort  cut 
no  figure  whatsoever  and  made  no  impres- 
sion upon  the  nation,  there  was  introduced 
a  feature  of  exploitation  that  in  point  of 
greed  and  avarice  vastly  eclipsed  all  the  in- 
genuity that  had  previously  brought  about 
four  paralyzing  panics.  This  method  for 
piling  up  colossal  fortunes  on  the  one 
hand  and  curtailing  opportunity  for  legiti- 
mate accumulation  on  the  other  is  known 
as  the  Trust  system.  Its  immediate  eff'ect 
has  been  the  creation  of  thousands  of  mil- 
lionaires and  the  concentration  of  incalcu- 
lable wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  very  small 
per  cent,  of  the  aggregate  population. 
What  such  a  state  of  affairs  begets  does 
not  call  for  particularization.  Those  in 
pursuit  of  knoAvledge  and  enlightenment 
with  reference  to  such  matters  can  enrich 
their  minds  with  explicit  information  by 
studying  the  cause  and  effect  of  the  rise 
and  fall  of  ancient  republics  and  empires 
and  by  familiarizing  themselves  with  the 
horrors  incident  to  the  French  Revolution. 

Let  these  facts  be  brought  under  earnest 
contemplation  and  serious  meditation. 
No  country  can  long  endure  when  the  rich 
are  constantly  growing  richer  and  the 
poor  poorer  and  more  numerous.  Abnor- 
mally acquired  riches  invariably  lead  to 
profligacy,  and  profligacy  leads  to  vice, 
and  vice  to  crime.  Experience  has  amply 
demonstrated  that  advances  in  wages  are 
invariably  followed  by  exaction  from  the 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


earnings  of  wage  workers  that  effectually 
neutralize  whatever  gain  may  have  been 
made  in  dollars  and  cents.  Higher 
rents,  higher  taxes,  higher  foodstuffs  and 
higher  commodities  inexorably  swallow  up 
w  hatever  advance  in  wages  may  have  been 
granted  or  forced.  This  truism  is  strik- 
ingly illustrated  at  the  national  capital 
where,  when  members  of  Congress  voted 
themselves  an  increase  of  50  per  cent,  in 
their  salaries,  the  hotels,  restaurants, 
landlords,  etc.,  immediately  put  up  prices 
until  the  additional  $2,500  were  almost,  if 
not  entirely,  absorbed. 

Everybody  understands  nowadays  that 
a  spirit  of  discontent  and  unrest  per- 
meates every  industrial  center  in  the  land, 
big  or  little.  Strikes,  somewhere,  are  of 
almost  daily  occurrence.  Robberies  have 
become  so  frequent  as  to  have  ceased  to 
attract  the  attention  of  newspaper  read- 
ers. Bankers  and  other  custodians  of  de- 
posited funds  are  in  constant  dread  of  be- 
ing held  up  at  the  point  of  a  revolver. 
Cold-blooded  murders  are  of  more  fre- 
quent occurrence  in  the  United  States 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  civilized 
world.  Our  asylums  for  the  insane,  fee- 
ble-minded and  other  defectives  are  every- 
where filled  to  overflowing.  Imbecility  is 
painfully  in  evidence  even  in  localities 
where  better  conditions  might  reasonably 
be  expected  to  prevail. 

And  yet  the  portrayal  of  these  defects, 
deficiencies  and  evils  ought  not  to  wholly 
dishearten,  discourage  and  unnerve  those 
of  stout  heart  and  sound  mind.  Assuming 
such  still  to  be  in  the  ascendancy,  taking 
the  country  in  its  entirety,  the  mere  point- 
ing out  of  these  shortcomings  and  evils 
ought  to  arouse  a  spirit  of  determination 
and  resoluteness  to  buckle  on  the  armor 
and  fight  for  betterment  everywhere.  Don't 
permit  the  fallacious  notion  to  find  lodg- 
ment in  the  public  mind  that  salvation  can 
be  attained  only  under  the  leadership  of 
some  one  of  strong  national  character  to 
whose  bugle  blast  there  is  to  be  spontane- 
ous response  from  every  quarter  in  the 


republic.  That  sort  of  thing  was  tried  on 
in  1912,  when  Theodore  Roosevelt  e.ssayed 
to  lead  the  nation  from  political  demorali- 
zation and  degeneracy  into  the  realm  of 
civic  righteousness.  A  glorious  opportu- 
nity was  presented  him  to  render  the  coun- 
try an  inestimable  service.  But  he  failed 
ignominiously  to  meet  intelligent  popular 
expectation.  Instead  of  proving  himself 
a  trustworthy  leader  discreetly  to  guide 
the  people  out  of  the  wilderness  he  by  easy 
degrees  degenerated  into  much  more  of  a 
ranter  than  an  effective  champion  of  right 
and  justice.  His  coarse,  vindictive  and 
brutal  attacks  upon  men  in  public  and  pri- 
vate life,  in  various  instances  incompara- 
bly his  superiors  in  point  of  rectitude  of 
conduct  and  integrity  of  purpose,  have 
lowered  him  immeasurably  in  the  estimate 
of  thousands  upon  thousands  who  unstint- 
edly sounded  his  praise  when  and  while 
engaged  in  commendable  work  for  govern- 
mental and  political  reform  and  who 
would  gladly  have  continued  their  support 
and  unstinted  praise  had  he  deported  him- 
self in  a  manner  worthy  of  being  recog- 
nized as  a  fit  leader  of  men  and  women 
who  have  a  decent  i-egard  for  the  proprie- 
ties and  civilities  of  orderly  society. 

What  this  country  needs  in  order  to 
place  it  in  proper  condition  for  effectively 
meeting  every  emergency  is  organized 
effort  in  every  village  and  hamlet,  town 
and  city  to  create  a  spirit  of  civic  right- 
eousness and  erect  higher  standards  of 
political  activity.  In  various  particulars 
political  campaigns  have  been  abomina- 
tions rather  than  means  and  methods  of 
enlightenment  of  our  voting  element. 
Tirades  of  boorish  abuse  of  "the  other 
side"  have  in  entirely  too  many  instances 
been  much  more  in  vogue  than  calm  dis- 
cussion of  pending  issues  to  be  decided  by 
appeal  to  rational  popular  judgment.  Re- 
form of  the  public  press  is  just  now  per- 
haps the  most  urgent  necessity  to  which 
attention  should  be  directed.  We  have  in 
this  country  entirely  too  many  publica- 
tions controlled  and  conducted  by  individ- 


(485) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


uals  who  have  no  sort  of  conception  of  the 
science  of  government,  the  needs  of  the 
people,  equitable  taxation,  and  civic  right- 
eousness. There  are  too  many  persons 
connected  w^ith  the  public  press  who  look 
upon  Truth,  Fairness  and  Justice  as  whol- 
ly unnecessary,  if  not  undesirable,  ele- 
ments in  the  conduct  of  a  newspaper.  No 
real  reform  in  this  particular  need  be 
looked  for  until  the  people  in  every  local- 
ity where  such  publications  exist  muster 
up  sufficient  courage  to  insist  on  manage- 
ment that  will  insure  the  community  that 
to  which  it  is  rightfully  and  beneficently 
entitled.  What  is  commonly  known  as  the 
metropolitan  press  in  the  main  stands 
thoroughly  discredited.  With  some  hon- 
orable exceptions  these  papers  have  no  re- 
gard whatever  for  truth,  justice  or  honor. 
To  create  a  sensation,  to  have  their  prod- 
uct made  the  subject  of  vehement  com- 
ment or  boisterous  discussion,  is  appar- 
ently their  chief  aim  and  object.  This 
prostitution  of  the  press  has  to  some  ex- 
tent been  going  on  for  years  and  years. 
During  the  earlier  part  of  my  newspaper 
career  I  was  for  a  time  local  correspond- 
ent for  some  of  these  metropolitan  papers. 
As  a  chronicler  of  current  events  I  sent  in 
reports  of  actual  occurrences  only.  In  the 
course  of  some  correspondence  with  the 
management  I  was  given  to  understand 
that  rigid  adherence  to  actual  facts  was 
not  in  conformity  with  the  prevailing  pol- 
icy of  these  publications.  "We  want  some- 
thing that  excites  and  causes  talk,"  was 
the  sly  hint.  In  reply  I  stated  that  I  had 
neither  the  time  nor  the  inclination  to  pan- 
der to  sensationalism,  therefore  asked  to 
be  relieved  of  further  service  as  corre- 
spondent. Of  the  utter  lack  of  integrity 
of  some  of  these  metropolitan  oracles  there 
is  abundance  of  proof.  A  conspicuous 
case  in  point  is  this:  A  New  York  paper 
persistently  insisted  on  having  Judge  Al- 
ton B.  Parker  made  the  Democratic  presi- 
dential nominee  in  1904.  Its  editorial  col- 
umns fairly  teemed  with  arguments 
and     pleas     for     Parker's     selection     by 


the  St.  Louis  convention.  As  soon  as 
this  nomination  had  been  actually  ef- 
fected, imperative  demand  was  made 
upon  the  national  committee  that  all 
Democratic  papers  in  the  United  States 
be  supplied  with  a  colored  picture  of  the 
Parker  family  for  each  and  every  one  of 
their  readers.  This  picture,  supplied  by 
the  million,  was  furnished  by  the  very 
paper  that  for  months  and  months  had  so 
persistently  urged  upon  the  party  Judge 
Parker's  nomination.  How  big  a  profit 
accrued  to  that  mercenary  publication  I 
am  not  in  position  to  state.  That  it  was  not 
inconsiderable  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  when  the  head  of  this  dictatorial 
sheet  passed  away  his  estate  was  ap- 
praised at  $20,000,000.  For  years,  by  this 
or  that  cunning  process,  Democratic  pa- 
pers throughout  the  country  were  adroitly 
utilized  to  boost  by  gratuitous  advertising 
the  circulation  of  that  unscrupulous  polit- 
ical oracle. 

Painstaking  readers  of  metropolitan 
papers  will  have  observed  that  about  one- 
third  of  the  alleged  news  printed  in  their 
columns  is  fiction,  pure  and  simple.  If 
these  fabrications  were  confined  to  alleged 
ordinary  occurrences  not  much  harm 
might  result  from  such  professional  lying, 
but  in  many  instances  impressions  are 
created  that  even  subsequent  refutation 
cannot  undo.  The  poison  thus  scattered 
from  day  to  day  cannot  be  neutralized  or 
made  harmless  by  subsequent  retraction, 
refutation  or  denial. 

Any  well-directed  eff'ort  to  safeguard 
and  perpetuate  free  American  institutions 
must  be  preceded  by  placing  control  of  the 
press  in  the  hands  of  men  of  sense,  hon- 
esty and  integrity,  known  as  such  to  the 
community  in  which  the  paper  is  pub- 
lished. It  ought  and  can  be  made  the  de- 
termination of  all  localities  having  the 
right  sort  of  people  for  its  inhabitants  to 
patronize,  tolerate  and  maintain  only  a 
class  of  papers  that  deal  fairly  and  honor- 
ably with  their  readers  by  being  truthful, 
fair  and  just  in  recording  the  events  of 


(486) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  6 


the  day  and  commenting  thereon.  De- 
pendence for  editorial  enlightenment  can 
not  safely  be  confided  in  the  metropolitan 
press.  John  Bigelow,  able  journalist  that 
he  was,  said  at  a  memorable  press  ban- 
quet held  in  the  city  of  New  York  years 
ago,  that  telling  the  truth  through  the  col- 
umns of  New  York  newspapers  would  not 
be  tolerated  by  those  in  control;  that  if 
he,  Bigelow,  were  to  undertake  to  tell  the 
plain,  unvarnished  truth  in  his  editorial 
writing  he  would  instantly  lose  his  $150 
a  week  job  on  the  New  York  Sun.  And 
the  Suyi,  was  not  then  and  is  not  now 
among  the  worst  of  the  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  wicked  Gotham. 

Political  reform,  genuine  and  real  in 
character,  need  not  be  expected  without  a 
thorough  elimination  of  the  objectionable 
features  that  have  from  time  to  time  crept 
into  our  political  system.  So-called  re- 
forms, engendered  by  the  Roosevelt 
splurge,  have  in  the  main  proved  delusions 
and  shams.  Primary  elections  have  not 
only  proved  a  sore  disappointment  to  their 
advocates  and  champions,  but  they  have 
contributed  immensely  to  political  demor- 
alization and  debauchery.  Observation  and 
experience  teach  that  of  all  the  systems 
for  making  nominations  the  delegate  con- 
vention system  has  proved  the  best  and 
most  .satisfactory  of  all  methods  yet  con- 
ceived, devised,  tried  and  tested.  It  is  not 
without  defect,  but  in  a  measure  such  de- 
fect can  be  cured  by  safeguarding  the  elec- 
tion of  delegates  by  rigid  legal  regulation. 
The  convention  system  deteriorated  when 
it  was  perverted  to  mass  meetings  in  lieu 
of  deliberative  delegate  assemblies.  Al- 
ways bear  in  mind,  however,  that  perfec- 
tion in  political  methods  is  not  attainable 
through  legislation  alone.  Unless  a  com- 
munity be  blessed  with  the  presence  of  an 
alert,  conscientious  and  patriotic  electo- 
rate, civic  righteousness  need  not  be  looked 
for  in  that  locality.  The  creation  of  a 
wholesome  public  sentiment  should  be 
made  the  aim  and  object  of  every  right- 
minded  and  justice-loving  citizen. 


As  a  result  of  more  than  a  decade's 
stimulated  immigration  we  have  had  an 
injection  annually  of  a  million  of  aliens 
into  the  body  politic.  This  stimulating 
was  the  cunning  work  of  the  soulless 
trusts  that  grew  into  maturity  in  defiance 
of  both  law  and  public  sentiment.  Where 
these  aliens  came  from  and  what  they 
were  composed  of  made  no  difference  to 
these  selfish  interests.  If  slavery  were 
still  tolerated  in  this  country  and  legalized 
slave  trade  were  yet  carried  on,  as  it  was 
in  the  early  days  of  the  republic,  the  jun- 
gles of  Africa  would  doubtless  have  been 
invaded  in  search  of  working  material  for 
the  stupendous  mills  and  factories  oper- 
ated in  this  country.  As  it  is  the  atten- 
tion of  the  disguised  recruiting  agents  was 
mainly  directed  to  southern  Europe,  where 
all  sorts  of  human  beings  somehow  eke 
out  an  existence.  In  former  years  the 
bulk  of  immigration  consisted  of  a  stock 
of  people  whose  presence  was  justly  re- 
garded a  direct  gain  and  a  positive  benefit 
to  any  community  thus  favored.  These 
immigrants  in  the  early  days  came  chiefly 
from  Germany,  Ireland,  Holland  and  the 
Norwegian  regions.  They  dug  our  canals, 
built  our  railways,  tilled  our  soil,  gave 
towns  and  cities  the  benefit  of  their  me- 
chanical skill,  and  in  various  ways  contrib- 
uted to  the  upbuilding  of  municipalities 
and  States.  A  political  blessing  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  republic  when,  after  the 
failure  of  the  1848  revolution  in  Germany, 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  young,  vig- 
orous, bright,  intelligent  and  stalwart  Ger- 
mans sought  refuge  in  the  land  of  the  free 
and  the  home  of  the  brave.  Among  them 
were  such  men  as  August  Willich,  Louis 
Blenker,  Gustav  Struve,  Otto  Reventlow, 
Carl  Schurz,  Franz  Sigel,  Friedrich 
Hecker,  Gustav  Koerner,  Carl  Heinzen, 
Emil  Pretorius,  Carl  Daenzer,  Dr.  G. 
Kellner,  Peter  Meyer,  Dr.  Morwitz,  Emil 
Rothe  and  others  of  similar  high  type  of 
manhood.  Their  coming  here  and  locating 
in  various  parts  of  the  Union  proved  a 
gain  of  incalculable  value  to  this  country. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


This  gain  was  further  augmented  during 
the  Civil  war  when  vast  numbers  of  young 
Germans  came  across  the  ocean  to  replen- 
ish the  decimated  ranks  of  the  Union  army 
and  to  put  the  finishing  touches  on  organ- 
ized rebellion.  There  was  no  difficulty 
about  assimilating  these  elements.  Natives 
and  adopted  citizens  co-operated  and 
worked  together  to  do  the  things  that 
needed  to  be  done  for  the  development  of 
American  industries.  In  Wisconsin  Carl 
Schurz  was  nominated  by  admiring  and 
appreciative  natives  for  the  office  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor before  he  had  quite  com- 
pleted his  fifth  year  of  probationary  resi- 
dence in  the  United  States.  I  know  of  a 
young  German  who  at  the  age  of  ten  came 
to  this  country  with  his  widowed  mother 
and  who  traveled  156  miles  to  be  made  a 
full-fledged  American  citizen  by  obtaining 
his  naturalization  papers  as  soon  as  he  be- 
came twenty-one  years  of  age.  These  and 
kindred  instances  of  Americanization  lend 
force  and  emphasis  to  the  declaration 
occasionally  adduced  in  discussing  nat- 
uralization problems :  The  only  real  dif- 
ference between  an  upright  American  citi- 
zen and  an  adopted  one  of  the  same  type  is 
that  one  came  here  naked  and  the  other 
with  clothes  on. 

In  marked  contrast  with  this  longing 
for  becoming  clothed  in  the  habiliments  of 
American  citizenship  stands  out  the  re- 
cent revelation  in  Chicago  and  elsewhere 
occasioned  by  the  operation  of  the  draft. 
Men  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and 
thirty-one,  for  years  engaged  in  commer- 
cial and  industrial  pursuits,  complacently 
claimed  exemption  from  military  service 
on  the  plea  of  being  aliens  and  never  hav- 
ing thought  of  declaring  intention  to  be- 
come naturalized  citizens.  During  the 
memorable  campaign  of  1896  the  discov- 
ery was  made  -that  there  resided  within 
the  city  of  Chicago  upward  of  30,000 
Canadians  engaged  in  various  branches  of 
business  but  not  naturalized.  Party  zeal 
and  business  interests  led  to  an  organized 
effort  to   make  citizens   of  these  British 


subjects.  The  outcome  of  this  organized 
effort  in  the  interest  of  "sound  money" 
was  an  astounding  increase  in  the  "Mc- 
Kinley  and  Prosperity  vote"  and  a  protest 
against  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver  at  a  ratio  of  16  to  1. 

Clearly  and  plainly  the  alien  who  en- 
joys the  benefits  of  a  prosperous  free  coun- 
try ought  to  be  made  to  understand  by  the 
force  of  law  that  if  averse  to  becoming  a 
citizen  of  the  American  republic  he  should 
be  directed  to  return  to  the  land  from 
whence  he  came  and  remain  there. 

Twenty  years  were  consumed  before 
there  was  enacted  an  immigration  restric- 
tion law.  It  was  a  case  of  locking  the  sta- 
ble after  the  horse  had  been  stolen.  For 
a  decade  immigration,  mainly  from  south- 
ern Europe,  came  in  at  the  rate  of  a  mil- 
lion a  year.  In  the  entire  history  of  the 
world  no  nation  besides  our  own  ever  ex- 
perienced such  an  infusion  of  alien  blood. 
Three  presidents — Cleveland,  Taft  and 
Wilson — interposed  four  vetoes  to  the 
enactment  of  an  immigration  restriction 
law,  allegedly  on  the  ground  that  it  con- 
tained an  objectionable  literacy  clause. 
Judging  from  the  weakness  of  each  of  these 
vetoes  the  inference  is  warranted  that  the 
veto  was  inspired  not  so  much  on  account 
of  injustice  being  done  to  illiterates  knock- 
ing for  admission  as  by  reason  of  appre- 
hension that  the  big  mills  and  factories 
might  fall  short  of  the  sort  of  unskilled 
labor  they  were  in  need  of  and  seeking  to 
obtain.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  mischief 
done  by  way  of  excessive  and  unassimila- 
ble  raw  material  is  an  accomplished  fact 
that  calls  for  treatment  from  a  common 
sense  and  not  a  lamentation  point  of  view. 
This  task  of  applying  relief  is  by  no  means 
an  easy  one.  Had  there  been  made  pro- 
vision that  these  thousands  and  millions 
of  aliens  could  gain  admission  within  our 
gates  only  on  condition  that  they  locate 
permanently  in  the  agricultural  regions  of 
the  West  and  South,  instead  of  squatting 
down  in  the  slums  of  New  York,  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Chicago,  etc.,  al- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


ready  overcrowded  with  the  same  class  of 
beings,  the  situation  would  be  vastly  differ- 
ent and  very  much  better.  Now  that  they 
are  there,  their  utilization  for  political  or 
voting  purposes  should  be  rendered  nuga- 
tory, in  so  far  as  possible,  by  curtailing  the 
power  of  large  cities  in  legislative  assem- 
blies. The  State  of  New  York  provided  for 
something  like  this  by  incorporating  into 
her  constitution  a  provision  rendering  it 
impossible  for  the  city  of  New  York  to 
gain  numerical  control  of  the  General  As- 
sembly no  matter  how  much  larger  its  pop- 
ulation over  that  of  the  remainder  of  the 
State  might  be.  Connecticut  and  some 
other  New  England  States  steadfastly  ad- 
here to  the  originally  adopted  system  of 
limiting  or  curtailing  representation  of  the 
larger  towns  and  cities  in  the  legislative 
departments  of  their  respective  state  gov- 
ernments. Indiana  should  avail  herself  of 
the  earliest  opportunity  to  safeguard  her- 
self in  like  manner.  Governor  Marshall  had 
something  of  this  sort  in  mind  when  he 
sought  to  reconstruct  the  State  Constitu- 
tion by  a  shorter  process  than  that  thith- 
erto applied.  His  purpose  was  to  assure  to 
each  county  a  representative  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  General  Assembly  and  appor- 
tion to  the  more  populous  counties  25  rep- 
resentatives according  to  a  prescribed  ratio 
for  excess  population  representation.  That, 
or  something  of  a  similar  character,  would 
answer  the  purpose.  No  one  who  believes 
in  the  American  plan  of  government  could 
properly  or  rightfully  object  to  such  an  ar- 
rangement— a  modification  of  the  plan  of 
representation  in  the  United  States  Senate. 
There  is  no  good  reason  to  believe  or  to  con- 
jecture that  the  welfare  of  the  State  would 
be  jeopardized  by  judiciously  limiting  the 
power  of  populous  cities  like  Indianapolis, 
Evansville,  Gary,  Fort  Wayne,  Terre  Haute 
and  South  Bend  in  the  General  Assembly. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  the  abomi- 
nation of  allowing  an  alien  to  vote  upon  a 
one  year's  residence  in  the  United  States 
and  declaring  his  intention  to  become  a  cit- 


izen ought  to  be  gotten  rid  of  at  the  earli- 
est possible  moment.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  step  taken  to  provide  for  a  re- 
vision of  the  constitution  and  the  certain 
elimination  of  this  senselessly  premature 
enfranchisement  was  defeated  by  a  re- 
markable decision  of  the  State's  Supreme 
Court.  There  is  no  denial  of  the  inherent 
right  of  the  people  of  the  State  to  revise 
or  remake  their  constitution  whenever  it 
suits  their  pleasure  so  to  do.  But  four  of 
the  five  supreme  judges  concur  in  the  opin- 
ion that  in  the  absence  of  specific  declara- 
tion as  to  the  manner  in  which  a  new  con- 
stitution may  or  shall  be  framed,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  acting  for  and  in  behalf  of 
the  people,  has  no  right  to  make  it  possible 
for  the  people  to  exercise  the  right  inher- 
ent in  them  by  naming  a  time  and  place  for 
giving  force  and  effect  to  this  prerogative. 
The  court's  conclusion  is  astounding  and 
bewildering.  The  only  comfort  it  affords 
is  that  neither  of  the  two  leading  political 
parties  can  be  held  accountable  for  the 
amazing  discovery  how  not  to  do  it.  Two 
of  the  judges  are  Democrats  and  two  Re- 
publicans. It  is  very  much  to  the  credit 
of  Judge  Moses  B.  Lairy  that  he  dissented 
from  his  colleagues'  opinion  that  the  peo- 
ple can't  elect  delegates  to  a  constitutional 
convention  without  first  having  counted 
noses  as  to  whether  they  want  such  an 
election  and  such  a  convention  to  be  held. 
For  a  job  of  artistic  hairsplitting  this 
latest  exhibition  of  refined  skill  in  that  line 
surpasses  all  previous  efforts. 

By  crowding  a  century  into  a  decade  we 
have  brought  upon  the  country  conditions 
that  will  tax  the  skill,  ability  and  genius 
of  the  very  ablest  among  us  to  solve  the 
numerous  problems  calling  for  solution. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  the  war  spirit 
which  by  almost  superhuman  effort  has 
been  aroused,  at  least  in  some  localities, 
may  result  in  a  general  realignment  before 
and  at  the  next  election.  Just  in  which 
direction  the  heaviest  blows  may  fall  can- 
not even  be  conjectured,  much  less  fore- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 

told,  at  this  time.  So  much  may,  however,  and  nation  so  as  to  insure  to  the  inhab- 
be  safely  asserted  at  this  writing:  There  itants  of  this  singularly  blessed  land  all 
will  be  a  momentous  rattling  of  dry  bones  that  is  implied  in  the  assurance  of  life,  lib- 
after  the  ballots  shall  have  been  tabulated,  erty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  Eternal 
Let  us  indulge  in  the  earnest  hope  that  vigilance  being  the  price  of  liberty,  there 
henceforth  every  voter  may  put  on  his  can  be  no  excuse  for  any  one  being  remiss 
thinking  cap  and  give  himself  over  to  pa-  in  the  faithful  and  conscientious  perform- 
tient,  persistent  study  as  to  the  part  he  ance  of  any  duty  resting  upon  an  American 
should  take  in  shaping  the  affairs  of  State  citizen,  native  or  adopted. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


SOME  OF  THE  VITAL  QUESTIONS 


Faith  in  American  invincibility  is  thus 
tersely  set  forth  in  this  paragraph,  emanat- 
ing from  the  pen  of  a  well-poised  Indiana 
editor:  "With  a  country  made  up  of  peo- 
ple like  this,  no  foreign  enemy  can  conquer 
the  United  States.  When  America's  power 
wanes  it  will  be  because  of  weakness  with- 
in. Internal  weakness  can  come  only  from 
a  decadence  of  individuals — a  loss  of  indi- 
vidual initiative,  individual  efficiency,  indi- 
vidual integrity  or  individual  courage.  Our 
future  depends  upon  the  encouragement 
of  enterprise,  ability,  honesty  and  fearless- 
ness. Nothing  in  governmental  activity 
should  be  permitted  to  discourage  the  de- 
velopment of  any  of  these  essentials  of  a 
high  standard  of  citizenship." 
*     *     * 

A  well-edited  Nebraska  paper  sizes  up 
the  present  situation  in  this  pithy  para- 
graph: "The  grave  problem  before  the 
American  people  today  is  that  of  complet- 
ing the  process  of  nation-building.  It  is 
the  problem  of  setting  our  house  in  order. 
It  is  the  problem  of  integrating  America. 
It  is  the  problem  of  subordinating  every 
personal  ambition,  every  class  interest  and 
policy,  every  race  attachment,  to  the  one 
dominant  idea  of  an  America  free,  just, 
powerful,  forward-facing,  that  shall  stand 
out  in  the  history  of  nations  as  the  name 
of  a  people  who  conceive  their  mission  and 
their  true  greatness  to  live  in  service  to 
mankind."  *     *     * 

The  National  Morals  Committee  of  the 
Federation  of  Catholic  Societies  of  Amer- 
ica, at  the  annual  meeting  held  in  Kansas 
City,  gave  expression  to  this  deprecation 
of  a  deplorable  lack  of  moral  probity  and 
stability :  "It  is  the  American  boast  today 
that  we  have  progressed  in  all  directions 
to  a  place  of  first  and  highest  development. 
In  spite  of  the  claim  right  no  longer  rules ; 
justice  is  fast  declining,  order  is  upset,  the 
family  is  endangered,  the  home  is  dis- 
rupted; virtue,  public  and  private,  is  de- 


cadent; materialism  is  in  the  ascendancy, 
vicious  propaganda  runs  riot  and  religious 
indifference  dominates.  It  may  be  a  start- 
ling statement,  yet  it  nevertheless  is  a  f^ct 
that  the  rapid  drift  of  this  country  is  to- 
ward paganism.  What  can  be  its  cause 
other  than  a  system  of  education  which  has 
totally  eliminated  God?" 

Dr.  Frank  Crane,  an  eminent  publicist, 
has  this  to  offer  in  connection  with  the 
laudation  of  patriotism :  "The  cause  of  pa- 
triotism has  things  to  be  said  both  for  and 
against  it.  It  has  inspired  many  deeds  of 
heroism,  has  had  its  martyrs  and  prophets. 
Scott  pours  his  scorn  upon  the  'man  who 
never  to  himself  has  said,  "This  is  my  own, 
my  native  land,"  '  and  assures  us  that  the 
'wretch'  shall  die  'unwept,  unhonored  and 
unsung.'  But  the  sentiment  of  love  for 
one's  country  has  its  seamy  side.  If  no 
other  charge  could  be  brought  against  it  it 
would  be  serious  enough  to  adduce  the  fact 
that  most  wars  are  due  to  race  feeling,  na- 
tional or  local  pride.  Fine  as  patriotism 
may  be,  there  is  never  going  to  be  a  reign 
of  'peace  on  earth  and  good  will  toward 
men'  until  it  is  replaced  by  a  finer  ideal,  the 
enthusiasm  for  humanity.  Pride  in  coun- 
try is  but  a  survival  of  the  old  pride  in 
family,  clan  and  tribe.  It  is  still  tainted 
with  immaturity.    It  is  a  bud. 

'The  bud  may  have  a  bitter  taste, 
But  sweet  will  be  the  flower.' 

And  the  bud  is  patriotism,  the  flower  is 
world-citizenship." 

In  a  book  from  the  masterly  pen  and 
brain  of  Cardinal  Gibbons,  printed  about 
the  time  the  war  clouds  were  gathering, 
utterance  is  given  to  these  comforting 
thoughts:  "I  have  lived  a  long  time,  and 
I  have  lived  through  a  very  critical  time. 
Not  only  have  I  held  office  many  years,  but 
I  have  held  office  during  a  time  of  transi- 
tion, when  the  old  order  was  changed. 
There  are  few  Americans  living  now  who 


(491) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


can  remember  the  things  which  I  can.  I 
followed  Mr.  Lincoln's  dead  body  in  proces- 
sion when  it  was  brought  to  this  city  (Bal- 
timore) ;  I  have  seen  every  President  since 
his  death,  and  I  have  known  most  of  them 
personally ;  I  was  a  grown  man  and  a  priest 
during  the  civil  war,  when  it  seemed  as  if 
our  country  were  to  be  permanently  di- 
vided. Very  few  people  now  living  have 
seen  the  country  in  such  distress  as  I  have 
seen  it.  But  I  have  lived,  thank  God,  to  see 
it  in  wonderful  prosperity  and  to  behold  it 
grown  into  one  of  the  great  powers  of  the 
earth.  Younger  men  may  tremble  for  the 
future  of  this  country,  but  I  can  have  noth- 
ing but  hope  when  I  think  what  we  have 
already  passed  through,  for  I  can  see  no 
troubles  in  the  future  which  could  equal, 
much  less  surpass,  those  which  have  af- 
flicted us  in  bygone  days.  If  only  the 
American  people  will  hold  fast  to  that  in- 
strument which  has  been  bequeathed  to 
them  as  the  palladium  of  their  liberties — 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States — and 
fear  and  distrust  the  man  who  would  touch 
that  ark  with  profane  hands,  the  perma- 
nence of  our  institutions  is  assured." 


In  the  course  of  a  heart-to-heart  talk  to 
New  York  business  men  ex-President  Wil- 
liam Howard  Taft  gave  expression  to  these 
thoughts:  "The  business  of  legislation  is 
an  expert  matter.  It  is  something  that  re- 
quires a  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  legal 
terms.  It  is  just  as  absurd  to  propose  to 
build  a  bridge  without  engineers,  to  build 
a  house  without  an  architect  or  a  compe- 
tent contractor  as  to  propose  detailed  legis- 
lation by  votes  at  a  popular  election.  The 
pure  democracy  attempted  in  Athens 
proved  to  be  a  failure  and  the  government 
in  those  days  was  so  much  simpler  than  in 
our  cities  and  States  that  even  a  temporary 
success  in  such  a  community  would  not 
justify  a  resort  to  the  same  method  now. 
If  an  executive  officer  is  dishonest  he  can 
in  effect  be  recalled  by  impeachment  or  by 
criminal  trial  and  conviction  and  sentenced 


to  the  penitentiary.  Under  the  new  sys- 
tem of  recall  an  honest  official,  before  he 
has  had  time  to  work  out  and  vindicate  his 
policies,  may  be  ousted  by  an  ambitious 
rival  through  misrepresentation  in  the 
press  and  the  hasty  judgment  of  the  mi- 
nority of  the  electorate  who  go  to  the  polls. 
Under  such  a  system  Lincoln  would  have 
been  recalled.  What  is  true  with  respect 
to  the  State  is  true  with  respect  to  the 
party.  Parties  are  essential  to  popular 
government.  In  no  other  way  practically 
can  the  will  of  all  the  electorate  be  inter- 
preted and  embodied  in  affirmative  action, 
legislative  and  executive.  Under  the  sys- 
tem of  the  general  primary  if  the  initial 
letter  of  the  candidate's  name  comes  early 
in  the  alphabet,  and  he  is  first  in  the  list  of 
candidates,  he  may  receive  thousands  of 
votes  more  than  the  man  whose  name  be- 
gins with  W." 

*     *     * 

That  classes  disappear  when  men  work 
together  is  the  contention  of  John  D. 
Rockefeller,  Jr.  He  says:  "The  inactive 
army  of  Christian  men  will  be  drawn  into 
service  the  more  quickly  when  they  have 
come  to  recognize  the  brotherhood  of  man 
as  a  necessary  corollary  to  the  fatherhood 
of  God.  An  interesting  and  unique  argu- 
ment recently  advanced  for  compulsory 
military  service  in  this  country  is  that  the 
sons  of  the  well-to-do  might  thereby  be 
thrown  into  close  contact  with  the  sons  of 
the  working  people,  so  that  the  great  gap 
which  too  often  exists  might  be  bridged 
and  as  a  result  of  daily  association  in  com- 
mon tasks  these  two  classes  of  men  brought 
to  see  that  the  difference  between  them  is 
superficial  rather  than  inherent.  When 
men  of  widely  separated  stations  are 
thrown  together,  come  to  know  each  other, 
when  they  are  working  side  by  side  for  the 
advancement  of  a  common  interest,  then 
and  then  only  do  personal  distrust,  hatred 
and  misunderstanding  give  way  to  a  spirit 
of  fair  play,  justice  and  a  desire  for  the 
common  good." 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


Discussing  the  subject  of  leading  na- 
tions combining  to  prevent  war  by  force, 
President  A.  Lawrence  Lowell  of  Harvard 
University  puts  himself  on  record  as  say- 
ing: "It  is  almost  inconceivable  that  any 
nation  would  attack  another  if  convinced 
that  to  do  so  would  involve  war  with  all  the 
leading  powers  of  the  world.  If,  therefore, 
such  a  league  as  is  proposed  were  formed 
by  a  sufficient  number  of  great  countries 
it  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that 
the  agreement  to  take  up  arms  would  ever 
need  to  be  put  into  execution,  for,  although 
there  may  be  issues  on  which  a  nation 
would  rather  perish  than  yield,  there  are 
none  on  which  it  would  not  prefer  a  public 
hearing  before  fighting  its  adversary  to 
fighting  a  whole  array  of  powerful  states 
without  such  a  hearing." 
*     *     * 

The  State  of  Michigan  feels  justly  proud 
of  having  within  its  borders  a  churchman 
who  is  in  the  habit  of  "speaking  right  out 
in  meeting"  just  as  he  feels  and  thinks. 
In  a  sermon  delivered  at  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  John  the  Divine,  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  David  Williams, 
Protestant  Episcopal  bishop  of  Michigan, 
declared  that  the  spirit  of  German  organi- 
zation will  triumph,  no  matter  which  side 
wins  the  war.  Bishop  Williams  said  he  re- 
ferred to  the  German  system  of  co-opera- 
tion as  distinguished  from  individualism 
in  the  United  States.  He  condemned  Ger- 
man imperialism  and  militarism  and  her 
ruthlessness  "which  violates  every  princi- 
ple of  civilization,  Christianity  and  human- 
ity." Germany,  Bishop  Williams  declared, 
has  welded  her  people  into  solidarity 
through  social  legislation,  while  individual- 
ism reigns  in  the  United  States  and  Amer- 
ican property  is  in  a  great  measure  lop- 
sided, congesting  wealth  into  the  hands  of 
a  few.  "Why  should  many  of  our  toiling 
masses  fight  for  our  country?"  the  bishop 
added.  "What  has  the  country  done  for 
them?  Are  they  not  struggling  against 
practically  the  same  financial  oppression 


as  they  struggled  against  in  their  own 
countries,  a  few  holding  the  key  to  the  en- 
tire situation?  If  the  Government  can 
draft  the  poor  man,  if  the  Government  can 
take  his  body,  leaving  him  with  barely 
enough  to  support  his  family,  even  in  pov- 
erty, why  can  not  the  Government  com- 
mandeer the  wealth  of  the  rich  man  and 
leave  him  with  just  enough  to  keep  his 
business  going?    The  equation  is  lopsided." 

In  complete  harmony  with  what  the 
Michigan  bishop  thundered  into  the  ears 
of  his  New  York  audience  is  the  declara- 
tion of  an  eminent  educator  that  "in  the 
days  that  are  coming  the  mere  accumulator 
will  get  precious  little  praise.  He  will  not 
be  allowed  to  preach  to  graduating  classes 
or  to  tell  young  men  just  starting  in  busi- 
ness by  what  methods  they  are  to  succeed. 
To  be  considered  successful  a  man  will  have 
to  be  more  of  a  giver  than  a  taker.  If  he 
has  taken  a  million  dollars  he  will  have  to 
prove  that  he  gave  ten  million  dollars' 
worth  of  service  in  return  for  it.  He  won't 
be  canonized,  as  men  have  been  in  America, 
simply  because  he  beat  other  men  into  a 
foot  race  to  sources  of  wealth  which 
any  person  of  normal  intelligence  could 
pick  up."  *     *     * 

At  a  meeting  of  state  superintendents  of 
instruction,  college  professors,  school  prin- 
cipals and  business  men,  held  under  the 
auspices  o_f  the  National  Council  of  Educa- 
tion, the  topic  of  discussion  was  "Thrift." 
S.  W.  Straus,  Chicago  banker,  who  is  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Society  for  Thrift, 
dealt  with  the  problem  in  a  general  sen.se. 
while  more  than  half  a  dozen  other  speak- 
ers discussed  various  angles  of  the  same 
subject.  "The  most  vital  question  in 
America  today  is  individual  preparedness," 
Mr.  Straus  said.  "Not  individual  prepared- 
ness for  war,  but  individual  preparedness 
for  anything  that  may  come — individual 
preparedness  to  live  useful,  steadfast  lives 
for  the  benefit  of  humanity  and  posterity." 
Mr.    Straus    declared    that    although    the 


(  49.3  ) 


HISTORY 


NDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


United  States  is  a  prosperous  nation,  "we 
are  not  a  prosperous  people,"  and  backed 
up  his  assertion  with  the  declaration  that 
one  person  out  of  every  ten  who  dies  in  any 
of  the  large  cities  is  buried  in  a  potter's 
field.  "Statistics  show  that  in  the  United 
States  there  are  only  108  who  save  money 
out  of  every  one  thousand  population,"  he 
added.  "This  compares  with  554  in  Swit- 
zerland. The  only  way  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  the  future  thrift  of  the  nation  is 
begin  today  teaching  thrift  in  our  schools," 
he  said  in  conclusion. 

*     *     * 

Frederic  W.  Keough,  editor  of  American 
Industries,  boldly  declares  that  reckless 
waste  of  resources  is  undermining  our  na- 
tional strength.  He  says :  "In  looking  over 
prospective  reasons  for  national  inefficiency 
let  us  not  minimize  the  effect  of  our  indif- 
ference to  waste  in  every  department  of  in- 
dustrial and  personal  interest.  Wasteful- 
ness is  undermining  our  national  strength 
— waste  of  our  natural  resources,  our  for- 
ests, our  stores  of  fuel,  our  edifices,  our 
human  wealth.  We  waste  more  life  and 
limb  through  accidents,  fatal  and  other- 
wise, yearly  than  are  destroyed  in  war. 
The  cost  of  our  accidents,  if  they  could  be 
measured  in  money,  would  more  than  pay 
for  our  army  and  navy  and  practically  any 
increase  in  these  arms  of  the  national  de- 
fense that  has  been  urged.  We  waste  un- 
told sums  in  log-rolling  projects  for  useless 
army  posts,  unnecessary  public  buildings 
and  the  improvement  of  two-by-four  rivers 
and  harbors.  No  new  taxes  are  needed  to 
meet  the  requirements  in  national  defense 
if  the  money  thrown  away  in  selfish  con- 
gressional bickerings  is  saved  and  applied. 
President  Wilson's  idea  that  national  de- 
fense can  be  amply  provided  by  economy  in 
expenditures  elsewhere  is  thoroughly 
sound."  *     *     * 

Judge  Harry  B.  Tuthill,  in  an  address  to 
the  Presbyterian  Men's  Class,  Laporte, 
Ind.,  said:  "During  this  whole  time  that 
Europe  has  been  arming,  America  has  been 


busily  engaged  in  increasing  its  wealth  and 
population.  Any  man,  no  matter  whom  he 
might  be,  for  a  long  time,  no  matter  if  he 
was  a  red-handed  murderer  across  the  seas, 
was  admitted  to  the  bosom  of  our  body 
politic  and  no  questions  asked.  Numbers 
were  what  we  desired,  increased  wealth 
and  commercial  power  no  matter  how  ob- 
tained, was  what  we  demanded.  We  have 
grown  rich  in  material  things;  we  have 
grown  weak  in  man  power  and  in  what 
might  be  called  the  red  blood  of  ambition. 
Our  standing  army  in  most  of  the  years  of 
peace  has  not  been  sufficient  to  quell  a  mob 
much  less  to  protect  us  from  the  incursions 
of  any  enemy,  no  matter  how  weak." 

James  M.  Cox,  publisher  of  two  pros- 
perous newspapers  in  Ohio,  served  several 
terms  in  Congress  as  representative  of  the 
Dayton  district.  During  the  political  up- 
heaval of  1912  he  was  elected  Governor  as 
a  Democrat,  defeated  as  a  candidate  for  re- 
election in  1914,  but  triumphantly  elected 
to  a  second  term  in  his  third  gubernatorial 
race.  He  is  likely  to  be  a  candidate  for  re- 
election in  1918.  If  successful  he  will  in 
all  probability  become  a  candidate  for  the 
presidential  nomination  in  1920.  Governor 
Cox  holds  pronounced  views  on  all  im- 
portant questions  affecting  the  welfare  of 
the  country.  The  general  trend  of  his  mind 
is  disclosed  by  what  he  had  to  say  a  short 
time  since  on  "The  Man  Before  the  Dol- 
lar": 

"It  is  no  secret  to  those  who  are  familiar 
with  legislation  in  this  country  that  too 
much  attention  in  the  past  has  been  given 
to  the  almighty  dollar  and  not  enough  to 
mankind.  That  is  to  say,  our  legislative 
bodies,  it  seems,  have  been  all  along  imbued 
with  the  idea  that  only  wealth  needed  pro- 
tection, that  man  was  able  to  protect  him- 
self. But  I  am  pleased  to  note  that  of  late 
years  the  trend  of  thought  has  been  in  the 
opposite  direction — that  every  year  more 
and  more  people  are  coming  to  understand 
that  government  is  for  the  protection  of 
the  individual  rather  than  for  the  protec- 
tion of  material  wealth.     At  the  present 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


time  the  leading  thinkers  of  the  country 
are  devoting  their  best  energies  to  provid- 
ing measures  that  will  in  one  way  or  an- 
other tend  to  promote  human  happiness. 
Such  persons  are  not  unmindful  of  the  fact 
that  a  man's  goods  and  chattels,  as  well  as 
his  person,  must  be  protected,  but  they  do 
believe  that  of  first  importance  to  society 
is  the  welfare  of  the  human  being." 


During  the  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  ad- 
ministrations there  was  published  in  the 
city  of  Washington  a  magazine  called  The 
Democratic  Review.  It  was  a  decidedly 
outspoken  publication,  as  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following  extract  from  one  of  its 
editorials  in  the  year  1838: 

"We  are  aware  of  the  blind  veneration 
which  has  heretofore  sealed  the  eyes  of  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  public  when- 
ever their  looks  have  been  directed  towards 
that  sacrosanct  tribunal  (the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States)  in  prostrate 
submission  of  its  presumed  infallibility, 
and  in  discussing  our  subject  with  the  free- 
dom which  it  demands  many  a  reader  may 
perhaps  hold  up  his  hands  in  holy  horror 
at  the  impious  temerity.  But  this  abject 
mental  submission  to  authority  and  as- 
sumption is  unworthy  equally  of  our  coun- 
try and  age.  We  despise  that  timid  prud- 
ery in  politics  which  has  become  too  much 
in  vogue.  It  is  high  time  to  print  what  has 
been  often  and  earnestly  spoken,  and  what 
everyone  ought  to  know.  Freedom  of  dis- 
cussion, of  all  subjects  within  the  range  of 
human  ken,  from  highest  to  lowest,  is  the 
vital  principle  of  American  liberty.  The 
noblest  and  best  of  institutions  can  be  pre- 
served in  their  purity  only  by  the  perpetual 
vigilance  of  public  opinion." 
*     *     * 

Thoroughly  convinced  that  the  salvation 
of  this  country  is  dependent  on  the  fur- 
therance of  the  nation's  agricultural  inter- 
ests, it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  this  view 
is  firmly  held  by  the  most  thoughtful  stu- 
dents of  government,  statesmen,  jurists, 
legislators,  etc.  Among  those  especially 
outspoken  in  the  expression  of  their  views 
may  be  mentioned  A.  0.  Eberhart,  former 
Governor  of  Minnesota.  In  a  talk  on  this 
subject  Governor  Eberhart  declared  that 


Minnesota  is  in  the  forefront  in  the  solu- 
tion of  the  rural  question.  The  teaching 
of  scientific  farming  in  the  country  schools 
and  the  making  of  rural  life  more  attrac- 
tive by  motion  picture  entertainments  and 
other  forms  of  amusement  are  the  means 
of  keeping  a  large  number  of  boys  and  girls 
in  the  country  who  otherwise  would  go  to 
the  cities  to  live,  the  Governor  asserted. 
"If  we  are  going  to  reduce  crime  and  pov- 
erty we  will  have  to  relieve  the  congested 
cities  and  get  more  people  into  the  coun- 
try," said  Governor  Eberhart.  "Our  con- 
solidated school  system  in  Minnesota,  un- 
der which  several  school  districts  are  com- 
bined into  one  large  district,  with  a  mod- 
ern school  building,  has  aided  us  in  this 
work.  Our  rural  school  districts  have 
grown  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  difficult 
to  get  teachers.  We  are  endeavoring  to 
make  our  country  life  attractive,  too,  as 
another  means  of  keeping  young  men  and 
women  on  the  farms.  Motion  picture  en- 
tertainments are  given  frequently,  and  the 
films  are  distributed  among  the  several 
schools.  We  are  also  giving  our  attention 
to  making  the  rural  schools  social  centers. 
The  State  of  Minnesota  has  room  for  a  vast 
number  of  persons  to  cultivate  the  land." 
*  *  * 
Defects  in  our  general  educational  sys- 
tem are  freely  acknowledged  and  lamented 
by  the  foremost  educators  throughout  the 
land.  What  is  lucidly  and  forcefully  set 
forth  in  the  following  by  Silas  Evans,  pres- 
ident of  Ripen  College,  is,  to  say  the  least, 
worthy  of  earnest  consideration  and 
thoughtful  meditation.    He  says: 

"The  great  bane  of  all  secondary  school 
training  is  the  multiplicity  of  subjects  and 
the  painlessness  of  methods.  We  need  more 
tonic  of  astringency  for  the  brain.  The 
psychology  of  interest  has  been  over- 
worked. The  education  of  the  will  is  the 
prime  essential.  I  would  have  the  high 
school  take  fewer  studies  and  compel  thor- 
oughness. The  social  life  is  too  precocious 
also.  There  is  too  much  of  the  moving  pic- 
ture and  tango  mind  connected  with  educa- 
tion.   In  point  of  studies  pursued,  I  believe. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


this  is  entirely  secondary  to  the  point  of 
the  pursuit  of  study.  It  has  been  fairly 
well  demonstrated  that  it  makes  very  little 
difference  in  the  first  stages  of  education 
what  one  studies  if  he  only  study  it  thor- 
oughly and  scientifically.  By  all  this  I  do 
not  mean  to  encourage  mental  strain  or  the 
early  strenuous  life.  There  should  be 
wholesome  fun  and  plenty  of  physical  edu- 
cation. I  do  not  approve  of  military  train- 
ing in  any  of  its  forms.  There  is  an  ele- 
ment of  artificiality  in  it,  and  it  is  a  very 
poor  substitute  for  games." 


At  a  teachers'  institute  meeting  held  in 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  during  the  latter  part  of 
August,  1917,  Prof.  John  A.  H.  Keith,  prin- 
cipal of  the  Indiana  State  Normal  School, 
threw  some  light  on  the  cause  of  so  much 
parrotism  among  the  products  of  our 
faulty  educational  methods.  On  the  sub- 
ject of  "Four  Standards  for  Judgment  of 
the  Public  Schools"  he  spoke  of  the  differ- 
ence between  understanding  and  mere  edu- 
cation, and  suggested  a  system  whereby 
the  years  of  a  student  in  school  could  be 
shortened  materially.    Upon  this  he  said: 

"If  the  instructors  would  find  the  points 
of  interest  to  the  girls  and  boys  much 
fewer  years  of  schooling  would  be  neces- 
sary. There  should  be  a  reason  for  learn- 
ing. We  see  daily  so  many  cases  where 
children  merely  learn  what  is  in  the  book, 
but  they  have  no  insight.  Books  are  great 
inventions  and  yet  they  can  become  the 
greatest  curses.  A  child  should  be  inter- 
ested in  what  he  studies ;  without  this  in- 
terest the  study  does  him  no  good.  For 
instance,  there  is  a  stage  in  the  life  of  most 
boys  when  they  are  interested  in  chickens. 
They  ought  to  be  taught  everything  in 
this  branch  of  learning  at  that  time.  So 
it  is  with  other  things." 

The  standards  of  judgment  of  schools, 
he  said,  are  the  progress  made  by  the 
pupils,  the  increment  of  good  will  and  self- 
control  in  conduct  engendered  by  the 
schools,  the  prevalence  of  community  in- 
terest in  the  work  of  the  school  and  the 
higher  individual  and  social  life  the  school 
inculcates. 


In  "Defense  of  Property"  the  Century 
Magazine  some  time  ago  presented  these 
views : 

"When  Bismarck  supported  the  Socialist 
program  for  the  protection  of  the  laboring 
classes  in  Germany,  it  was  not  because  he 
was  a  Socialist,  but  because  he  did  not  wish 
the  laborer  to  be  exploited  to  a  point  of 
physical  degradation  that  should  leave  him 
unfit  to  endure  the  hardships  of  war. 

"Property  has  no  hands  with  which  to 
defend  itself,  and  in  the  wiser  states  of 
Europe,  for  the  last  generation,  the  leaders 
of  the  propertied  classes  have  seen  to  it 
that  the  laborer  was  fit  and  willing  to  de- 
fend them.  That  seems  to  be  at  once  the 
explanation  of  German  state  Socialism,  of 
German  military  efficiency,  and  of  the  Ger- 
man's patriotic  willingness  to  fight. 

"In  this  country  property  has  no  foreign 
invasion  to  fear,  and  we  are  a  century  be- 
hind Germany  in  the  protection  of  the  un- 
propertied  classes.  We  suffer  with  all  the 
worst  abuses  of  unemployment,  of  child 
labor,  of  commercial  monopolies,  of  unin- 
sured accident  and  death  in  dangerous  oc- 
cupations, of  pauperized  old  age,  and  crimi- 
nal vagabondage.  We  suffer  with  the  gen- 
eral failure  of  our  civilization  to  be  any- 
thing but  a  business  administration  for 
business  ends.  Property,  opposing  reform, 
has  become  the  great  enemy  of  social  prog- 
ress. We  are  told  that  we  are  the  most 
untidy,  the  worst  governed,  the  least  de- 
fensible country  in  the  world. 

"History  digs  up,  in  the  deposits  of 
archaeology,  the  fossil  remains  of  such 
civilizations,  now  extinct,  as  if  the  human 
race,  in  its  struggle  to  protect  itself  from 
the  forces  of  Nature,  had  accumulated 
property  as  lower  orders  of  life  in  evolu- 
tion formed  their  protective  shells,  only  to 
find  that  the  shell  itself  at  last  becomes 
the  curse  of  the  life  it  shelters,  and  the 
propertied  organism  is  devoured,  in  the 
progress  of  evolution,  by  a  freer  form." 

Attributing  the  chief  cause  of  insanity 
to  alcohol,  Dr.  T.  D.  Alderman,  of  New 
York,  a  specialist  in  nervous  and  mental 
diseases,  asserted  before  the  convention  of 
the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 
at  Indianapolis,  that  the  United  States  is 
progressing  toward  the  stage  where  it  will 
be  one  large  insane  asylum. 


(496) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181  (5-191  G 


"We  have  practically  become  known  as  a 
nervous  nation,"  said  Dr.  Alderman.  "We 
rush  and  we  hurry,  and  we  turn  night  into 
day,  and  hurry  the  body  to  decay  with  to- 
bacco, alcohol,  drugs,  sexual  excesses  and 
abuses.  We  must  stop  this  di.sastrous 
rush  and  headlong  hurry. 

"Alcohol  does  more  than  all  other 
causes  combined.  Where  it  is  not  the  in- 
itial cause,  it  is  the  developing  cause,  be- 
cause we  find  the  use  of  alcohol  invariably 
accompanied  by  one  or  more  of  the  social 
diseases. 

"In  the  United  States  today  there  are 
250,000  insane  and  250,000  feeble-minded. 
This  exceeds  the  population  of  Indianap- 
olis. I  do  not  believe  that  my  statement 
is  wild  or  not  supported  by  facts.  We  are 
literally  and  truthfully  threatened  with  a 
spread  of  mental  degeneracy  that  is  over- 
whelming and  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
increase  of  the  population. 

"There  is  an  answer  to  this  condition 
and  it  is  in  safe  and  sane  eugenics.  The 
world  must  see  to  it  that  there  is  a  great 
evolution  of  character  in  men  and  women. 
There  should  be  laws  to  prevent  the  prop- 
agation of  the  defectives,  to  prevent  mar- 
riage between  feeble-minded  and  insane. 
There  is  nothing  for  us  doctors  to  do  but 
to  become  strong  and  ardent  advocates  of 
eugenics." 

*     *     * 

That  the  liquor  traffic  has  for  years 
been  working  its  own  destruction  is  freely 
admitted  by  candid  men  connected  with 
the  same,  directly  or  indirectly.  Com- 
menting upon  the  nation-wide  demand  for 
prohibition,  the  National  Liquor  Dealerfi' 
Journal  recently  made  this  truthful  ad- 
mission: 

"To  us  there  is  the  handwriting  on  the 
wall,  and  its  interpretation  spells  doom. 
The  liquor  business  is  to  blame.  It  seems 
incapable  of  learning  any  lesson  of  ad- 
vancement or  any  motive  but  profit.  To 
perpetuate  itself  it  has  formed  alliances 
with  the  slums  that  repel  all  conscientious 
and  patriotic  citizens.  It  deliberately 
aids  the  most  corrupt  political  powers  and 


backs  with  all  its  resources  the  mo.st  un- 
worthy men,  the  most  corrupt  and  rec- 
reant officials.  It  does  not  aid  in  the  puri- 
fication of  municipal,  state  or  national  ad- 
ministrations. 

"  'One  of  the  reasons  why  prohibition 
is  spreading  so  rapidly  in  this  country,' 
comments  the  Chattanooga  News,  'is  that 
the  liquor  intere.sts  aligned  themselves 
with  a  certain  type  of  official  who  is  pow- 
erless when  the  people  awaken  to  his 
evils.'  " 

Liquor  dealers  of  this  type  referred  to 
have  not  only  been  the  enemies  of  human- 
ity, but  their  own  enemies  as  well,  and 
they  have  not  only  been  principally  re- 
sponsible for  the  demand  for  the  abolition 
of  the  manufacturing  and  sale  of  intoxi- 
cants in  the  United  States,  but  for  the  de- 
mand that  sweeps  the  civilized  world  as 
well. 

*      *      * 

The  Hon.  Thomas  Taggart  did  not  serve 
long  as  a  member  of  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, to  which  position  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Ralston  upon  the  death  of  Sen- 
ator Benjamin  F.  Shively.  But  during  the 
eight  months  that  he  did  serve  as  senator 
he  made  a  record  to  which  he  and  his 
friends  can  well  point  with  pardonable 
pride.  His  incisive  speech  in  denunciation 
of  the  pernicious  practice  of  squandering 
public  funds  by  the  millions  for  the  pro- 
motion of  visionary  projects  met  with  un- 
stinted commendation  throughout  the  Re- 
public. The  Indianapolis  Star,  a  Republi- 
can paper,  made  this  editorial  reference 
to  Senator  Taggart's  well-directed  on- 
slaught on  the  pork  barrel  abomination: 

"A  report  from  Washington  explains 
that  pork-grabbing  is  in  disfavor.  The  re- 
cent election  was  disastrous  to  many  of 
the  nation's  most  notorious  'pork'  congress- 
men. They  fell  by  the  wayside  in  .spite  of 
the  plunder  they  had  taken  home  to  their 
districts.  The  public  showed  that  it  does 
not  endorse  looting  the  treasury  for  any 
purpose. 

"Too  much  credit  can  not  be  given  to  for- 
mer Senator  Taggart  for  the  stand  he  took 
against  the  'pork'  abuses.  Extravagance 
had  been  accepted  in  Congre.ss  as  illogical 
and  wasteful,  but  a  traditional  if  not  neces- 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


sary  evil.  Many  saw  the  truth,  no  doubt, 
but  Senator  Taggart  had  the  courage  of 
his  convictions. 

"The  denunciation  of  'pork'  and  waste, 
delivered  by  Senator  Taggart,  uncovered 
the  utter  defenselessness  of  the  system.  He 
turned  on  the  light  and  showed  the  petti- 
ness of  the  whole  business,  and  how  it  has 
been  utilized  to  strengthen  political  fences 
at  the  expense  of  the  public  treasury. 

"It  took  courage  to  do  what  Senator  Tag- 
gart did,  in  the  face  of  records  of  many  col- 
leagues in  Congress.  But  he  had  the  nerve 
and  he  made  such  a  thorough  job  of  the  ex- 
posure that  he  probably  has  crippled  the 
'pork'  grabber  for  all  time.  The  people 
never  again  will  applaud  a  member  whose 
claim  to  recognition  is  based  on  the  waste- 
ful appropriations  he  has  been  able  to  put 
through  for  his  district  or  State." 
*     *     * 

Now  that  an  organized  effort  is  to  be 
made  to  Americanize  the  millions  of  aliens 
in  this  country,  it  is  in  order  to  inquire 
why  efforts  in  that  direction  were  not  be- 
gun long  ago,  during  the  years  that  im- 
migration by  the  million  was  at  its  height. 
All  political  parties  are  censurable  for 
neglect  of  duty  in  this  particular.  For 
years  and  years  the  chief,  if  not  sole,  ob- 
ject of  party  leaders  has  been  to  secure 
votes  instead  of  Americanizing  aliens. 
The  indifference  regarding  this  matter 
has  been  sharply  condemned  by  men  who 
have  given  it  close  attention  and  earnest 
thought.  Chief  among  these  is  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Norman  Guthrie,  New  York  divine 
and  educator.  In  an  address  delivered  at 
the  convention  of  the  Ohio  Federation  of 
Woman's  Clubs  this  gentleman  vigorously 
assailed  the  educational  and  social  system 
of  the  United  States  as  the  cause  of  hy- 
phenism.  "If  you  would  make  a  good 
American  of  the  immigrant,  and  especial- 
ly of  the  immigrant's  children,  you  should 
teach  him  in  the  schools  the  traditions  and 
the  history  of  his  own  country  in  his  own 
language,  and  at  the  same  time  teach  him 
American  history  in  the  language  of  this 
country."  This,  he  asserted,  was,  in  his 
opinion,   the  best  plan  for  bringing  the 


foreigner   to    realize    the    advantages    of 
citizenship  on  this  side  of  the  water. 

"When  you  teach  the  immigrant  that  to 
be  a  good  citizen  of  the  United  States  he 
must  at  once  become  a  traitor  to  his  native 
country,  you  are  teaching  him  to  have  but 
little  respect  for  the  country  of  his  adop- 
tion," declared  Dr.  Guthrie.  "The  cus- 
toms, the  habits,  the  traditions  of 
the  immigrant  must  be  assimilated  with 
those  of  the  United  States,  if  the  immi- 
grant is  to  become  a  real  American,"  said 
the  speaker.  "If  he  must  be  a  Polish- 
American,  a  French-American,  a  German- 
American,  or  any  other  kind  of  an  Ameri- 
ican,  let  him  with  love  for  the  folk-nature 
of  his  own  land  be,  above  all  other  things, 
a  real  American  in  his  citizenship  here. 
These  things  can  be  taught  not  by  making 
him  desert  the  ideals — the  customs  of  the 
land  of  his  nativity,  but  by  assisting  him 
to  preserve  them  and  at  the  same  time 
teaching  him  love  for  the  ideals  of  this 
country."  Dr.  Guthrie's  address  undoubt- 
edly was  one  of  the  strongest  heard  during 
the  convention.  It  was  absolutely  free 
from  partisanship  or  reflection  on  the  peo- 
ples of  any  country.  He  has  given  special 
study  to  his  subject,  that  of  "Americani- 
zation." At  the  present  time  he  is  located 
in  New  York  in  charge  of  the  church  of  St. 
Mark's-in-the-Bowerie,  where  he  conducts 
classes  for  children  of  foreign  parentage 
along  the  lines  suggested  in  his  address 
here.  He  is  well  known  in  Ohio  and  was 
for  nine  years  located  in  Cincinnati.  "Ques- 
tions of  the  nature  covered  in  my  address," 
declared  Dr.  Guthrie  when  interviewed, 
"are  not  solved  because  of  the  very  simple 
fact  we  never  really  face  the  issue.  There 
are  no  real  Americans  in  this  country,  but 
there  are  all  sorts  of  citizens  who  have 
sprung  from  different  nationalities  and 
who  have  never  known  the  traditions  of 
the  land  of  their  parents.  If  there  is  a 
man  in  this  country  three  generations  re- 
moved from  the  land  of  his  parents,  who 
would  take  up  arms  against  the  United 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


States  in  behalf  of  the  ruler  of  that  forei^ 
power,  it  is  because  that  man's  antecedents 
have  not  been  aided  in  assimilating  the 
folk  nature  of  the  foreign  country,  taught 
in  its  own  language,  and  at  the  same  time 
given  lessons  in  American  history  in  the 
language  of  this  country.  Assimilation 
through  thorough  education  is  the  only 
means  by  which  good  Americans  may  be 
made  of  the  foreign  elements.  Your  teach- 
ers, your  neighbor  or  yourself  can  not  turn 
up  your  noses  at  the  custom  of  a  Pole  or 
of  any  other  man  of  foreign  birth  and  then 
expect  to  gain  that  man's  respect  for 
America.  Our  best  citizens  do  not  come 
from  the  cultured  classes  of  Europe  for 
they  will  not  assimilate  with  American  cus- 
toms. They  must  come  from  those  of  the 
humble  walks  of  life  and  who  can  be  taught 
through  assimilation.  America  was  made 
by  the  Almighty  for  the  assimilation  of 
the  races  of  the  old  world.  Its  location,  its 
mountain  ranges  and  its  climate  surely 
seem  to  make  it  so.  Every  foreigner  ex- 
cept those  from  the  British  Isles  comes  to 
the  United  States  at  a  disadvantage  and 
that  one  disadvantage  the  one  of  language. 
He  is  shunted  off  to  himself,  he  is  not  given 
his  chance ;  he  retains  the  love  of  his  own 
country,  its  customs  and  even  its  citizen- 
ship if  it  has  any." 

*     *     * 

"America  is  not  given  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  the  enemy  alien  until  she  solves  the 
problem  of  the  friendly  alien."  This  was 
the  statement  made  by  Miss  Frances  A. 
Kellor,  assistant  to  the  chairman  of  the  na- 
tional Americanization  committee  and  for- 
merly chief  of  the  division  of  aliens  of  the 
resource  mobilization  bureau  of  the  New 
York  state  adjutant-general's  office.  Miss 
Kellor  was  positive  in  her  declaration  that 
if  the  United  States  wanted  to  avoid  a  re- 
currence of  the  East  St.  Louis  riots,  or  the 
labor  troubles  which  resulted  in  the  de- 
portation of  the  I.  W.  W.  sympathizers 
from  Bisbee,  Ariz.,  then  the  nation  would 
have  to  make  a  great  effort  to  bring  the 
friendly    aliens    into    closer    touch    with 


America's  standard  of  living.  The  alien, 
she  said,  was  always  the  lowest  paid,  did 
the  dirtiest  work,  and  was  the  worst 
treated  of  all  laboring  classes,  and  hence 
was  always  ready  to  listen  to  the  seduc- 
tive call  of  any  person  who  wished  to  make 
trouble.  She  related  several  experiences 
which  came  under  her  notice  personally 
while  she  was  in  the  state  adjutant  gener- 
al's office,  a  position  she  accepted  at  the 
request  of  Governor  Whitman,  showing  the 
great  risk  incurred  from  a  manufacturer's 
going  blithely  along  with  no  thought  as  to 
what  his  alien  workmen  were  doing  or 
what  they  were  thinking.  What  the  coun- 
try needs,  according  to  Miss  Kellor,  is  a 
central  bureau  of  aliens  in  Washington  to 
handle  the  whole  question.  "The  most  ef- 
fective tool  in  the  hands  of  the  hostile  resi- 
dent of  America  is  industrial  unrest,"  said 
Miss  Kellor.  "The  basis  of  this  unrest  is 
the  maladjustment  of  the  friendly  immi- 
grant to  conditions  of  life  in  America.  Take 
the  recent  labor  troubles  in  this  country, 
the  race  riots  in  East  St.  Louis,  where 
strikes  on  the  part  of  alien  workmen  were 
followed  by  the  importation  of  Negroes  to 
take  their  places.  In  the  zinc  and  lead 
mines  of  Missouri  note  the  attacks  by 
Americans  on  alien  laborers.  Look  at  the 
disturbances  in  the  Arizona  copper  mines. 
It  will  be  remarked  that  in  practically  all 
instances  the  leaders  have  been  the  I.  W. 
W.,  and  the  I.  W.  W.  are  mostly  aliens." 
*     *     * 

Whether  Patriotism  in  the  United  States 
is  decaying  is  dispassionately  discussed  in 
Harper's  Magazine  for  June  by  William 
Roscoe  Thayer : 

"There  are,  of  course,  radicals  who,  in 
this  age  of  dissolution,  hold  that  patriot- 
ism, like  religion  and  like  the  rest  of  the 
most  sacred  family  ties,  is  a  worn-out  ideal, 
a  pretty  but  fatuous  survival  of  a  supersti- 
tious stage  in  human  development.  They 
argue,  too,  that  because  morals  vary  in 
different  lands,  morality  is  'a  mere  ques- 
tion of  latitude,'  and  therefore,  that  it  may 
be  disregarded.  They  had  no  part  in  shap- 
ing the  laws,  religious  or  social,  which  have 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


been  handed  down  and  still  govern  public 
affairs  and  private  conduct;  why,  then, 
should  they  heed  them?  With  these  and 
similar  pleas  they  justify  their  egotism.  In 
truth,  however,  the  man  or  woman  who 
reasons  thus  is  the  most  pitiable  of  human 
beings.  Not  to  feel  that  you  are  part  of 
a  community  is  really  to  be  unhuman ;  for 
the  animals  have  this  feeling  by  instinct, 
and  in  ants  and  bees  it  produces  results 
which  rival  those  of  the  highest  type  of 
men.  To  be  shut  up  in  the  prison  of  your 
own  self,  without  even  a  peephole  through 
which  you  can  look  out  upon  others  or 
communicate  with  them ;  to  pass  your  time 
in  such  solitary  confinement,  unsustained 
by  any  fellow  feeling,  unstirred  by  any 
motive  except  the  gratification  of  selfish 
desires,  is  a  form  of  punishment  more  cruel 
than  any  devised  by  medieval  tortures.  In 
general,  persons  who  announce,  often 
somewhat  boastfully,  that  they  have  dis- 
carded patriotism — as  if  by  so  doing  they 
proved  their  superior  intelligence — do  not 
philosophize.  They  pursue  their  own  ease 
and  comfort.  Most  of  their  days,  until  an 
emergency  comes,  they  give  little  thought 
to  the  country,  which  remains  an  abstrac- 
tion for  them  except  when  it  calls  on  them 
to  pay  taxes.  They  grumble  if  the  local 
government  allows  the  streets,  or  the  water 
supply,  or  the  policing,  to  run  down ; 
but  even  then  they  do  not  take  the 
trouble  to  go  to  the  polls  and  vote 
for  a  better  mayor.  If  they  are  in 
business  they  probably  regard  the  national 
government  as  a  vast  purveyor  of  benefits 
for  those  citizens  who  know  how  to  get 
them.  They  usually  take  no  more  thought 
of  what  the  country  does  for  them  than 
little  children  take  of  the  means  by  which 
their  parents  supply  them  with  food  and 
clothes.  Children  pay  back  in  affection, 
but  the  unpatriotic  egotists  feel  neither 
gratitude  nor  affection ;  instead  of  being 
thankful  for  what  they  have,  they  complain 
that  it  is  so  little." 


On  the  Negro  question  a  good  deal  is  pre- 
sented on  preceding  pages  of  this  volume, 
all  of  which  will  be  adjudged  germane  to 
a  clear  understanding  of  the  problem  with 
which  the  nation  was  obliged  to  wrestle  at 
various  stages  of  our  country's  history.  We 
are  far  from  being  through  with  certain 
phases  of  these  problems.    What  is  of  spe- 


cial interest  regarding  the  same  is  suc- 
cinctly and  clearly  set  forth  by  one  of 
Ohio's  foremost  journalists,  George  F. 
Burba,  for  many  years  chief  editorial  writ- 
er for  the  Dayton  News,  and  now  officiat- 
ing in  a  similar  capacity  on  the  Columbus 
Evening  Dispatch.  Mr.  Burba  served  as 
secretary  to  Governor  James  M.  Cox  dur- 
ing the  latter's  first  term  as  chief  execu- 
tive of  the  Buckeye  commonwealth.  The 
present  situation  is  thus  discussed  by  Mr. 
Burba: 

"There  isn't  going  to  be  another  war 
between  the  North  and  the  South  on  ac- 
count of  the  Negro.  There  will  be  no 
more  armies  of  the  blue  and  the  gray  op- 
posing each  other  because  of  the  colored 
man.  But  there  is  'bad  blood'  brewing  on 
his  account,  just  the  same,  and  the  South- 
ern newspapers  are  saying  'harsh  things' 
about  us  on  account  of  the  same  fellow 
that  caused  the  argument  in  1861 — which 
argument  continued  through  four  bloody 
years  and  disagreeable  ones. 

"The  trouble  is  simple  enough.  North- 
ern men  have  lately  invaded  the  South  and 
induced  thousands  of  Negroes  to  come 
North — to  work.  The  Southerners  have 
just  awakened  to  the  fact  that  the  South 
needs  these  same  colored  laborers,  and  the 
papers  have  set  up  a  howl  about  it.  They 
are  claiming  that  it  isn't  fair  to  have  these 
Northern  men  invading  the  South  inducing 
the  colored  folks  to  go  North. 

"But  it  is  a  business  proposition.  It  is 
never  pleasant  to  have  your  'help'  leave 
you.  All  of  us  have  experienced  that  un- 
pleasantness. But  the  fellow  who  has  a 
day's  labor  to  sell  is  in  the  same  condition 
as  the  fellow  who  has  a  bale  of  cotton  to 
sell,  and  we  note  that  our  Southern  friends 
who  have  cotton  to  sell  try  to  find  the  best 
market  for  it.  So  they  ought  not  to  blame 
the  colored  man  who  has  a  day's  labor  to 
sell  for  also  seeking  the  best  market  for 
the  labor. 

"We  shall  not  argue  whether  it  is  better 
for  the  colored  man  to  leave  the  South. 
There  is  a  good  deal  to  be  said  on  both 
sides  of  that  question.  But  the  fact  is  that 
the  citizens  of  this  country  are  free  to 
seek  the  best  market  for  their  labor,  and 
to  go  to  those  communities  where  they  be- 
lieve they  can  secure  the  best  wages  or  the 
best  working  conditions.    So  the  only  thing 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


the  South  can  consistently  do  to  meet  the 
competition  of  the  North  in  the  matter  of 
inducements  to  the  Negro  is  to  pay  as  good 
wages  and  to  furnish  as  good  working  con- 
ditions as  the  Northern  employer.  That 
would  settle  the  whole  question." 

Thoroughly  sound  are  the  views  ex- 
pressed by  E.  E.  Rittenhouse,  president  of 
the  Life  Extension  Institute,  i-elative  to 
American  Responsibility  for  Alien  Igno- 
rance of  Our  Ideals : 

"During  the  fourteen  years  preceding 
the  outbreak  of  the  present  war  the  flight 
of  Europeans  to  the  United  States  num- 
bered 13,255,207.  For  any  lack  of  knowl- 
edge among  these  newcomers  of  our  insti- 
tutions and  ideals  and  the  higher  purposes 
of  our  government  the  American  people  are 
largely  responsible.  We  made  no  effort  to 
instruct  them  as  to  their  obligations  and 
duties  as  residents  or  citizens  of  our  coun- 
try. We  turned  them  loose  to  learn  the 
meaning  of  Americanism  in  the  hard 
school  of  experience.  We  choked  the  'melt- 
ing pot.'  Large  numbers  of  them  have 
failed  to  fuse. 

"The  public  schools  will  take  care  of  the 
children,  but  we  need  an  educational  plan, 
a  special  school  of  citizenship,  for  foreign 
adults. 

"The  duty  of  teaching  these  newcomers 
what  their  public  responsibilities  are  seems 
imperative.  Loyalty  to  the  law  in  time  of 
peace  and  to  the  nation  in  time  of  war 
can  be  expected  from  the  majority  of  our 
foreign  population,  but  the  unfused  and 
disloyal  few  need  attention  before  damage 
is  done  and  discredit  brought  upon  the 
worthy."  *     *     * 

Commenting  on  the  thoughtless  accusa- 
tions and  strictures  of  a  contemporary  on 
the  East  St.  Louis  bloody  conflict  between 
whites  and  blacks,  Charles  G.  Sefrit,  the 
foremost  Republican  journalist  of  South- 
ern Indiana,  gave  forceful  expression  to 
his  views  on  the  race  problem  in  these  im- 
pressive sentences : 

"The  Germans,  of  course,  had  no  more 
to  do  with  the  East  St.  Louis  uprising  than 
they  had  with  the  lynching  of  members 
of  the  Mafia  at  New  Orleans  years  ago,  or 
the  riots  at  Homestead,  the  sanguinary 
battles  at  Paterson,    the    great    railroad 


strike  in  Chicago  and  the  bloody  duels  be- 
tween the  striking  miners  and  the  constab- 
ulary of  Colorado  and  Idaho. 

"Deplorable  as  it  is,  all  the  theorizing 
in  the  world  will  not  adjust  the  condition 
in  this  country  which  arises  from  racial 
antagonisms  that  exist  between  the  whites 
of  the  population  and  the  blacks.  We  may 
argue  until  we  are  black  in  the  face  and 
preach  the  beauties  of  the  universal  broth- 
erhood of  man,  regardless  of  color,  until 
our  tongues  are  paralyzed  in  the  effort,  but 
the  plain,  bare,  unmistakable  fact  remains 
that  the  bias  among  the  white  men  is  so 
firmly  fixed  that  the  intermingling  of  the 
whites  and  the  blacks  in  industrial  equality 
is  an  impossible  accomplishment. 

"The  United  States  has  no  moi-e  serious 
internal  problem  than  this  racial  an- 
tagonism. The  solution  of  it  is  one  of  the 
political  mysteries  that  time  alone  can  un- 
veil. There  may  be  found  a  way.  Who 
points  this  out  will  take  rank  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Republic  with  Washington  and 
Lincoln.  The  solution  may  come  from  the 
Negroes  themselves,  from  one  of  their  race, 
great  and  strong  enough  to  take  up  the 
work  begun  by  Booker  T.  Washington ; 
some  Negro  power,  foresight  and  influence, 
who  can  induce  his  people  to  confine  their 
energies  to  that  sure  salvation  for  them, 
the  tilling  of  the  soil,  in  which  honorable 
and  thrifty  pursuit  they  would  be  unmo- 
lested in  their  quest  of  independence." 

*  *     * 

Here  is  a  thought  that  is  well  worth  be- 
ing taken  into  account  when  the  forms  of 
government  are  under  consideration  :  "Un- 
limited power  is  the  ideal  thing  when  it 
is  in  safe  hands.  The  despotism  of  heaven 
is  the  one  absolutely  perfect  government. 
An  earthly  despotism  would  be  the  abso- 
lutely perfect  earthly  government,  if  the 
conditions  were  the  same,  namely,  the 
despot  the  most  perfect  individual  of  the 
human  race,  and  his  lease  of  life  perpetual. 
But  as  a  peri.shable  perfect  man  mu.st  die, 
and  leave  his  despotism  in  the  hands  of  an 
imperfect  successor,  an  earthly  despotism 
is  not  merely  a  bad  form  of  government, 
it  is  the  worst  possible." — Mark  Twain. 

*  *     * 

About  as  valuable  a  contribution  to  cur- 
rent comment  as  to  "What  Shall  We  Do 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1916 


With  the  Negro?"  is  the  following  from  the 
pen  of  that  sturdy  champion  of  humani- 
tarianism,  the  Rev.  Charles  Stelzle : 

"Movement  of  negroes  from  the  South 
to  take  the  places  of  white  men  in  big  in- 
dustrial enterprises  has  already  borne 
fruit  in  the  East  St.  Louis  race  riot. 

"With  the  departure  of  the  immigrant 
population  to  the  seat  of  war  in  Europe, 
there  remained  only  the  Negro  to  exploit 
and  he  has  been  coming  in  a  steady  stream 
to  Northern  cities. 

"By  bringing  the  black  man  into  compe- 
tition with  the  white  man,  employers  of 
labor  have  raised  a  social  problem  as  diffi- 
cult to  meet  as  any  by  which  our  country  is 
confronted. 

"Booker  T.  Washington  once  said,  'I  can 
not  hold  any  man  in  the  gutter  without 
staying  in  the  gutter  myself.' 

"And  Washington  was  right.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  self-protection,  it  behooves  us  to  care 
for  the  Negro.  If  we  keep  the  Negro  in  the 
gutter,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  stay  there 
with  him. 

"Without  discussing  the  race  question 
in  any  way,  let  us  look  at  a  few  outstand- 
ing facts  in  regard  to  our  treatment  of 
the  Negro. 

"We  compel  him  to  live  in  the  worst  sec- 
tions of  our  towns  and  cities,  often  without 
drainage  or  sewerage  or  garbage  service, 
with  scarcely  any  of  the  sanitary  condi- 
tions in  house  or  yard  or  street  which 
whites  consider  an  absolute  necessity. 

"We  drive  the  worst  forms  of  immor- 
ality into  the  Negro  quarters  and  then 
curse  the  Negro  because  of  his  moral  weak- 
ness. If  there  is  to  be  a  red  light  district 
in  town,  it  is  dumped  into  the  area  into 
which  we  also  dump  the  Negro  popula- 
tion. 

"It  would  be  a  comparatively  easy  mat- 
ter to  produce  statistics  which  indicate  that 
the  Negro  is  the  worst  criminal  in  the 
world,  but  how  can  he  help  becoming  such  ? 
We  subject  him  to  the  severest  tests  of  our 
city  life — physical,  moral  and  political — 
and  then  cynically  declare  the  'nigger'  is 
no  good  anyway. 

"But  there  is  another  side  to  this  ques- 
tion. The  negroes  who  live  under  these 
unsanitary  conditions  are  our  laundresses, 
nurses  and  cooks.  If  there  is  contagious 
disease  in  their  own  homes — and  there  is 
much  of  it — they  are  sure  to  bring  it  to  our 


homes,  either  personally  or  through  the 
laundry  which  we  send  to  them. 

"There  is  one  big  fact  we  have  got  to 
reckon  with — the  Negro  came  to  the  United 
States  against  his  will  and  he  is  going  to 
stay  here.  He  will  not  return  to  Africa 
to  establish  a  Liberian  republic,  as  some 
people  have  fondly  wished. 

"After  bringing  the  Negro  to  this  coun- 
try, for  250  years  we  systematically  ex- 
punged from  the  Negro  race  the  best  quali- 
ties which  fit  a  man  for  citizenship  in  a 
democracy. 

"It  is  now  simply  a  question  as  to  wheth- 
er he  is  to  be  a  'good'  Negro  or  a  'bad' 
Negro,  and  the  answer  to  this  question  de- 
pends as  much  upon  the  whites  as  it  does 
upon  the  blacks. 

"Let  us  give  the  Negro  a  square  deal. 
Neither  race  hatred  nor  mawkish  senti- 
mentality will  settle  this  delicate  question. 
The  South  can  not  settle  it  alone  and  the 
North  can  not  do  the  work  of  the  South. 
The  North  and  the  South,  the  city  and  the 
country,  must  attack  the  situation  together, 
for  this  is  a  national  problem." 
*     *     * 

Substantial  reasons  why  the  people  of  all 
Europe,  outside  the  realm  of  ambitious 
war  lords  and  incorrigible  militarists,  are 
yearning  for  peace  and  prayerfully  look- 
ing forward  to  a  cessation  of  carnage  and 
devastation,  may  be  found  in  this  sugges- 
tive summing  up  of  the  results  of  bloody 
war  by  the  Berliner  Tagehlatt: 

"War  loans  of  $87,000,000,000;  loss  in 
dead  and  wounded,  24,000,000  men ;  killed, 
7,000,000  men;  crippled  for  life,  5,000,000 
men ;  loss  through  decrease  of  birth  rate 
in  all  belligerent  countries,  9,000,000  men. 

"The  gold  production  of  the  world  dur- 
ing the  last  five  hundred  years  amounted  to 
$15,000,000,000,  or  less  than  one-fifth  of 
the  cost  of  the  awful  world  war.  In  $5 
gold  pieces  the  $87,000,000,000  raised  in 
war  loans  would  form  a  belt  that  could  be 
wound  around  the  earth  nine  times. 

"The  funeral  cortege  of  the  7,000,000 
men  killed  would  reach  from  Paris  to 
Vladivostok,  if  one  hearse  followed  the 
other. 

"When  the  war  began,  the  combined  pub- 
lic debt  of  all  European  States  was  a  little 
over  $25,000,000,000,  and  now  it  is  $112,- 
000,000,000.  The  British  merchant  fleet 
in  1914  represented  a  value  of  about  $950,- 


(502) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


19  16 


000,000.  That  is  less  than  the  annual  in- 
terest England  now  has  to  pay  for  her  war 
debt.  Before  the  war  Germany  exported 
goods  to  the  amount  of  $113,000,000  per 
year  to  the  British  colonies.  By  cutting  off 
this  export  England  can  eventually  reim- 
burse herself  for  her  losses,  but  this  will 
take  more  than  two  hundred  years. 

"Germany,  with  the  amount  spent  by  her 
for  the  war,  could  have  bought  all  the  cot- 
ton fields,  the  copper  mines  and  the  whole 
petroleum  industry  of  the  United  States 
and  still  would  have  had  several  billion  dol- 
lars left  over. 

"Russia,  with  her  war  expenses,  might 
have  covered  her  immense  territories  with 
a  net  of  railways  as  close  as  that  of  Bel- 
gium; and  France,  whose  losses  in  men 
are  larger  than  the  entire  male  population 
of  Alsace-Lorraine,  could  have  bought  all 
the  Portugese  and  Dutch  colonies  with  the 
money  she  sacrificed  for  the  war. 

"With  the  enormous  wealth  destroyed 
by  the  war,  Europe  might  have  been  made 
a  paradise  on  earth  instead  of  a  howling 
wilderness.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  aw- 
ful struggle  would  have  been  avoided  if 
the  nations  had  any  idea  of  its  enormity 
when  it  started." 

*     *     * 

Among  students  of  government  there  is 
substantial  agreement  that  the  more  elec- 
tive officers  there  are  in  municipalities  and 
states,  the  less  real  democracy  exists.  This 
statement,  evoked  by  the  huge  number  of 
candidates  to  be  voted  on  at  our  biennial 
election,  is  made  on  the  highest  Democratic 
authority.  In  his  "Constitutional  Govern- 
ment in  the  United  States,"  Woodrow  Wil- 
son writes: 

"All  the  peculiarities  of  party  govern- 
ment in  the  United  States  are  due  to  the 
infinite  multiplication  of  elective  oflSces. 
*  *  *  The  people  have,  under  our  con- 
stitution and  statutes,  been  assigned  the 
power  of  filling  innumerable  elective  of- 
fices; they  are  incapable  of  wielding  that 
power  because  they  have  neither  the  time 
nor  the  necessary  means  of  co-operative 
action ;  the  power  has  therefore  been  taken 
away  from  them,  not  by  law,  but  by  cir- 
cumstances, and  handed  over  to  those  who 
have  the  time  and  the  inclination  to  supply 
the  necessary  organization  ;  and  the  system 
of  election  has  been  transformed  into  a 
system    of    practically    irresponsible    ap- 


pointment to  oflfice  by  private  party  man- 
agers. *  *  *  We  must  decrease  the 
number  and  complexity  of  the  things  the 
voter  has  to  do;  concentrate  his  attention 
upon  a  few  men  whom  he  can  make  respon- 
sible, a  few  objects  upon  which  he  can 
easily  center  his  purpose;  make  parties  his 
instruments  and  not  his  masters  by  an  ut- 
ter simplification  of  the  things  he  is  ex- 
pected to  look  to." 

That  is  evidently  good  common  sense. 
Woodrow  Wilson,  in  addition  to  being 
President  of  the  United  States,  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Short  Ballot  League,  the  aim 
of  which  is  to  reduce  tlie  amazing  multi- 
plicity of  elective  officers.  The  framers 
of  Indiana's  first  constitution  had  this 
point  in  mind  when  they  provided  that  the 
people  should  vote  for  only  two  State  offi- 
cers— Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor. 
For  thirty-five  years  the  people  of  Indi- 
ana were  entirely  content  with  this  ar- 
rangement. When,  under  the  new  consti- 
tution, the  list  of  elective  State  officers  was 
enlarged  by  adding  a  few  more,  it  was  not 
done  in  response  to  popular  clamor,  but 
rather  to  conform  to  the  notion  that  the 
Legislature  should  be  absolved  from  the 
task  of  choosing  Secretary,  Auditor  and 
Treasurer  of  State. 

Some  of  these  days  the  people  of  Indiana 
will  find  ways  and  means  to  enable  them 
to  vote  on  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  a 
new  constitution  framed  by  a  convention 
especially  elected  for  that  purpose.  In 
view  of  the  objection  commonly  interposed 
to  the  proposition  of  such  a  procedure,  it 
will  not  be  amiss  to  direct  attention  to  the 
views  held  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  father  of 
American  Democracy,  as  expressed  by  him 
in  a  letter  addressed  to  Major  John  Cart- 
wright,  dated  at  Monticello,  June  5,  1824 : 

"But  can  they  be  made  unchangeable? 
Can  one  generation  bind  another,  and  all 
others,  in  succession  forever?  I  think 
not.  The  Creator  has  made  the  earth  for 
the  living,  not  the  dead.  Rights  and  pow- 
ers can  only  belong  to  persons,  not  to 
things,  not  to  mere  matter,  unendowed 
with  will.      The  dead  are  not  even  things. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


The  particles  of  matter  which  composed 
their  bodies  make  part  now  of  the  bodies 
of  other  animals,  vegetables  or  minerals, 
of  a  thousand  forms.  To  what,  then,  are 
attached  the  rights  and  powers  they  held 
while  in  the  form  of  men?  A  generation 
may  bind  itself  as  long  as  its  majority  con- 
tinues in  life ;  when  that  has  disappeared, 
another  majority  is  in  place,  holds  all  the 
rights  and  powers  their  predecessors  once 
held,  and  may  change  their  laws  and  in- 
stitutions to  suit  themselves.  Nothing, 
then,  is  unchangeable  but  the  inherent  and 
unalienable  rights  of  man." 

Elsewhere  he  says  no  constitution  should 
last  more  than  twenty  years.  That's  the 
limit  fixed  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Every 
twenty  years  the  responsibility  of  framing 
a  new  or  revised  constitution  is  imposed 
upon  the  electorate  of  the  Empire  State  of 
the  Union.  A  change  may  or  may  not  be 
effected  at  such  stated  periods. 
*     *     * 

Generous  space  is  accorded  the  forego- 
ing citations  in  the  hope  and  expectation 
that  they  may  serve  as  an  incentive  to 
earnest  study  of  the  various  problems  call- 
ing for  solution  in  the  near  or  remote  fu- 
ture. With  the  illuminating  products  of 
some  of  the  ablest  minds  of  the  Republic 
placed  before  the  studious  reader,  and  con- 
spicuously brought  to  public  attention, 
these  citations  ought  to  prove  helpful  in 
forming  sound  conclusions  and  reaching 
righteous  decisions.  The  voice  of  states- 
manship ought  to  be  listened  to  eagerly 
and  the  siren  song  of  demogogy  shunned 
determinedly.  The  line  of  distinction  be- 
tween the  statesman  and  the  demagogue 
ought  to  be  sharply  drawn.  With  this 
end  in  view  there  is  herewith  presented  a 
comprehensive  delineation  from  the  mas- 
terful pen  of  a  former  New  York  editor, 
Charles  H.  Betts,  whose  keen  analysis  is 
unreservedly  commended  to  the  thought- 
ful consideration  of  every  studious  reader 
of  these  pages : 

"In  this  noisy  and  sensational  age  we 
are  told  by  the  false  political  prophets  that 
we  should  blow  out  the  light  of  reason  and 
rely  upon  the  impulses  of  emotion ;  that  we 


should  disregard  the  lessons  of  history  and 
experience  and  be  guided  by  the  noise  and 
confusion  of  the  hour ;  that  we  should  cease 
to  reverence  the  wisdom  of  the  fathers 
and  that  in  order  to  become  progressive 
we  must  stand  trembling  and  awe-stricken 
in  the  shadow  of  the  babes  unborn.  I  care 
not  what  course  others  may  take;  but,  as 
for  me,  I  hold  that  the  wisdom  of  the  fath- 
ers who  founded  this  republic  is  a  better 
and  safer  guide  than  the  noise  of  their 
hysterical,  office-seeking  sons. 

"In  the  Revolutionary  period  character, 
stability,  brains  and  statesmanship  were 
necessary  to  fit  a  man  for  leadership.  To- 
day all  that  is  required  to  be  a  popular  idol 
is  to  become  a  poise-making,  leather-lunged 
demagogue — a  political  jumping  jack. 

"I  can  tell  you  what  is  the  matter  with 
this  country.  It  is  being  conducted  by  10 
per  cent,  of  cranks  and  15  per  cent,  of  cow- 
ards. The  10  per  cent,  of  cranks  create  the 
noise.  The  15  per  cent,  of  cowards,  who 
are  politicians,  become  frightened,  lie  down 
and  accept  noise  as  their  guide.  The  other 
75  per  cent,  of  normal,  decent,  intelligent 
people  are  absorbed  in  their  own  business 
affairs  and  give  no  time  to  politics  or  pub- 
lic questions  and  neglect  their  civic  duties. 

"Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  machinery  of 
our  representative  government  is  being 
clogged  by  ignorance  and  incompetency? 

"We  are  told  that  the  cure  for  the  'evils 
of  democracy'  is  'more  democracy,'  which 
is  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  cure  for  a 
lack  of  brains  is  more  lungs.  What  we 
want  is  not  more  democracy,  but  better  de- 
mocracy. What  we  want,  what  we  need, 
is  fewer  talkers  and  more  thinkers,  fewer 
word  brokers  and  more  dealers  in  common 
sense,  fewer  curbstone  orators  selling  the 
people  'balloon  common'  and  more  sages 
and  philosophers  to  mark  out  the  proper 
ends  of  government. 

"We  have  in  this  country  too  many  Pla- 
tos  in  politics.  They  have  been  correctly 
characterized  by  the  Hon.  Andrew  D. 
White  as  'political  dreamers  and  schemers.' 
They  soar  around  in  the  rarefied  atmos- 
phere of  the  intellectual  Himalayas,  and 
they  are  out  of  touch  with  the  earth  and 
with  humanity.  They  are  mental  aero- 
planes. Their  chief  accomplishment  is  the 
creation  of  theories  that  will  not  work. 
They  are  the  creators  of  tragedy.  It  was 
Professor  Huxley  who  defined  a  tragedy  as 
'a  theory  busted  by  a  fact.' 

"These   political   sophists   are   so   busy 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


these  days  ci-eating  political  theories  that  it 
is  keeping  sane  and  intelligent  people 
working  overtime  to  find  facts  to  bust  their 
fool  theories.  It  is  becoming  so  tiresome 
that  it  is  making  life  itself  almost  a  trage- 
dy. But  I  do  not  mind  this,  for  I  am  fond 
of  tragedy.  I  am  never  quite  so  happy  as 
when  I  am  sticking  the  pins  of  truths  into 
the  frauds  of  politics. 

"I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  vast  difference  between 
a  demagogue  and  a  statesman.  The  dema- 
gogue aims  at  temporary  success.  The 
statesman  aims  to  be  eternally  right.  The 
demagogue  aims  to  stand  on  the  quicksand 
of  expediency.  The  statesman  aims  to 
stand  on  the  rock  of  truth.  The  statesman 
in  defying  the  uninformed  sentiment  of  the 
hour  may  be  and  he  often  is  sacrificed,  but 
his  name  lives  in  history.  The  path  of 
progress  is  paved  with  the  bones  of  mar- 
tyrs, but  as  Bruno  has  well  said,  'Truth  is 
the  food  of  heroic  souls.' 

"On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  cheap,  tem- 
porary idols' of  the  hours  who  cowardly 
abandon  truth  and  principle  in  order  to 
win  a  temporary  success,  who  in  all  his- 
tory have  furnished  the  permanent  pave- 
ment for  the  bottom  of  oblivion. 

"There  has  never  been  a  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  country  when  we  could  study 
the  lessons  of  history  and  experience  with 
such  profit  as  in  the  present,  and  there  has 
never  been  a  time  in  all  our  history  when 
we  were  in  greater  need  of  the  guidance  of 
the  sane  wisdom  and  statesmanship  that 
gave  birth  to  the  American  republic." 

There  is  much  force  to  what  Professor 
Harold  C.  Goddard,  of  Swarthmore  Col- 
lege, says  with  reference  to  the  necessity  of 
the  United  States  awakening  from  compla- 
cency if  it  would  bring  about  lasting  peace : 

"To  awaken  from  complacency,  indeed, 
is  the  first  step  the  United  States  must 
take  if  it  desires  peace  for  itself  and  to  help 
bring  peace  to  the  world.  That  step  taken, 
it  must  cease  squandering  its  inheritance 
and  set  about  the  task  of  mobilizing  its  dis- 
integrated forces  of  super-resistance — so- 
cial, industrial,  political,  educational,  and 
religious.    It  must  wipe  out  the  stigma  of 


dollar  worship  by  fashioning  a  creative  na- 
tional purpose.  It  must  focus  on  itself  the 
admiration  of  the  world  by  making  an 
America  where  men  are  free  in  fact  as 
well  as  in  name.  The  program  for  that 
work  must  be  bold  and  imaginative.  No 
half  measures  will  suffice  at  this  crisis  of 
world  history.  And  the  working  relation 
that  the  political  part  of  that  program 
should  bear  to  the  question  of  military  pre- 
paredness is  this:  No  increase  in  armament 
that  is  not  coupled  with  some  social  ameli- 
oration, some  enhancement  of  genuine  de- 
mocracy, is  entitled  to  a  moment's  consid- 
eration from  the  American  people." 

So  long  as  the  American  spirit  survives 
the  gi-eatest  Republic  that  the  world  has 
ever  looked  upon  will  move  forward  to  new 
problems,  solved  in  human  uplift,  new  tri- 
umphs won  in  the  extension  of  the  bless- 
ings of  liberty  and  peace  and  plenty  not 
only  to  a  few,  but  to  all  capable  of  utilizing 
the  same.  What  is  this  American  spirit? 
It  is  the  golden  key  that  opens  the  door  for 
humanity  into  an  ever  richer  future.  It  is 
the  spirit  of  independence  and  the  spirit  of 
love  for  the  common  humanity  around  us. 

One  of  the  Republic's  truly  eloquent 
presidents  declared  once  upon  a  time  that 
"It  behooves  the  jealousy  of  a  free  people 
to  be  constantly  awake."  In  Proverbs  we 
are  told,  truly :  "Where  there  is  no  vision 
the  people  perish."  Ruskin  was  eternally 
right  when  he  declared :  "Every  duty  we 
omit  obscures  some  truth  we  should  have 
known."  And  I  fully  concur  in  the 
thought  expressed  by  Lyman  Abbott  not 
long  since:  "No  man  has  a  right  to  take 
part  in  governing  others  who  has  not  the 
intellectual  and  moral  capacity  to  govern 
himself."  But,  alas!  That  implies  an  ideal 
hardly  attainable  under  any  sort  or  sys- 
tem of  government  known  to  mankind.  The 
best  we  may  hope  for  and  strive  to  estab- 
lish in  the  main  is  an  alert  intelligence  and 
patriotic  electorate. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1 


GEMS  OF  THOUGHT 


I  hold  this  to  be  the  rule  of  life — too 
much  of  anything  is  bad. — Terence. 

What  a  man  knows  should  find  expres- 
sion in  what  he  does.  The  value  of  supe- 
rior knowledge  is  that  it  leads  to  a  per- 
forming manhood. — Bovee. 

*  *     * 

Liberty  does  not  consist,  my  fellow  citi- 
zens, in  mere  general  declarations  of  the 
rights  of  men.  It  consists  in  the  transla- 
tion of  those  declarations  into  definite  ac- 
tion.— Woodrow  Wilson. 

*  *     * 

It  is  a  source  of  unbounded  gratification 
for  me  to  be  enabled  to  say,  truthfully, 
that  I  have  not  knowingly  thrust  a  thorn 
in  the  side  of  my  fellowman. — Abraham 
Lincoln.  *     *     * 

The  only  way  to  love  the  forest  is  to  stay 
in  it  until  you  have  learned  its  pathless 
travel,  growth  and  inhabitants  as  you 
know  the  fields.  You  must  begin  at  the 
gate  and  find  your  way  slowly,  else  you 
will  not  hear  the  great  secret  and  see  the 
compelling  vision.  There  are  trees  you 
never  before  have  seen,  flowers  and  vines 
the  botanists  fail  to  mention,  and  such  mu- 
sic as  your  ears  can  not  hear  elsewhere. — 
Gene  Stratton  Porter. 

*  *     * 

Might  we  not  all  resolve  that  every  day 
we  will  do  at  least  one  act  of  kindness? 
Let  us  write  a  letter  in  such  terms  that 
the  post  will  bring  pleasure  next  day  to 
some  house ;  make  a  call  just  to  let  a  friend 
know  that  he  has  been  in  our  heart ;  send 
a  gift  on  someone's  birthday,  marriage  day 
or  any  day  we  can  invent.  Let  us  make 
children  glad  with  things  which  they  long 
for  and  can  not  obtain.  And  a  thousand 
other  things  which  we  could  do  within  a 
year,  if  we  had  eyes  to  see  and  a  heart  to 
feel  and  had  the  will  to  take  some  trouble. 
— Ian  Maclaren. 


Be  not  afraid  of  life.  Believe  that  life 
is  worth  living  and  your  belief  will  help 
to  create  the  fact. — William  James. 

*  *     * 

The  eyes  of  other  people  are  the  eyes 
that  ruin  us.  If  all  but  myself  were  blind 
I  should  want  neither  fine  clothes,  fine 
houses  nor  fine  furniture.  —  Benjamin 
Franklin.  *     *     * 

Prosperity  doth  best  discover  vice,  but 
adversity  doth  best  discover  virtue. — 
Francis  Bacon. 

I  believe  that  today  is  better  than  yes- 
terday, and  that  tomorrow  will  be  better 
than  today. — George  F.  Hoar. 

*  *     * 

The  longer  I  live  the  more  I  am  per- 
suaded that  the  gifts  of  Providence  are 
more  equally  distributed  than  we  are  apt 
to  think.  Among  the  poor  so  little  is  en- 
joyed so  much,  and  among  the  rich  so 
much  is  enjoyed  so  little. — Margaret  Bot- 
tome.  *     *     * 

Sanctified  work  is  a  blessing.  The  com- 
mand to  labor  for  six  days  is  as  binding  as 
the  command  to  rest  on  the  seventh.  Work 
that  is  a  blessing  is  work  that  creates. 
When  creation  ceases  slavery  begins. 
There  must  be  human  interest  in  work  or 
it  deadens  both  mind  and  muscles.  The 
shoemaker  of  the  old  school  used  to  see  a 
shoe  grow  under  his  skill.  Love  is  an- 
other element  in  making  a  life.  Love  is 
not  passion ;  it  sanctifies  passion.  Love  is 
as  broad  as  humanity. — Dr.  Emil  G. 
Hirsch.  *     *     * 

The  heart  that  is  soonest  awake  to  the 
flowers  is  always  first  to  be  touched  by  the 
thorns. — Moore. 

*  *     * 

The  weakest  spot  in  every  man  is  where 
he  thinks  himself  to  be  the  wisest. — Na- 
thaniel Emmons. 

Is  it  not  a  thing  divine  to  have  a  smile 


(  506) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 181 


1  9  1 


which,  none  know  how,  has  the  power  to 
lighten  the  weight  of  that  enormous  chain 
which  all  the  living  in  common  drag  be- 
hind them? — Victor  Hugo. 
*  *  * 
Let  me  gather  to  myself  the  secret  and 
meaning  of  the  earth,  the  golden  sun,  the 
light,  the  foam-flecked  sea.     Let  my  soul 


become  enlarged ;  I  am  not  enough ;  I  am 
little  and  contemptible.  I  desire  a  great- 
ness of  soul,  an  irradiance  of  mind,  a  deep- 
er insight,  a  broader  hope. — Richard  Jeff- 
ries. *     *     * 

In  a  sound  sleep  the  soul  goes  home  to 
recruit  her  strength,  which  could  not  else 
endure  the  wear  and  tear  of  life. — Rahel. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


PATRIOTISM 


The  way  to  be  patriotic  in  America  is 
not  only  to  love  America,  but  to  love  the 
duty  that  lies  nearest  to  our  hand  and 
know  that  in  performing  it  we  are  serving 
our  country.  It  is  patriotic  to  learn  what 
the  facts  of  our  national  life  are  and  to 
face  them  with  candor.  We  set  this  na- 
tion up — at  any  rate,  we  professed  to  set 
it  up — to  vindicate  the  rights  of  men.  I 
would  be  ashamed  of  this  flag  (stars  and 
stripes)  if  it  ever  did  anything  outside 
America  that  we  would  not  permit  it  to  do 
Inside  of  America.  When  I  have  made  a 
promise  I  try  to  keep  it,  and  I  know  of  no 
other  rule  permissible  to  a  nation. — Presi- 
dent Woodrow  Wilson. 

*  *     * 

The  test  of  an  American  is  not  where  he 
was  born,  but  what  he  is  doing  and  will  do 
for  the  republic.  If  with  resolute  heart 
and  clear  mind  he  says,  "I  am  an  Ameri- 
can. This  country  is  mine.  I  am  for  it 
first  and  always,"  he  is  a  good  enough 
American  to  maintain  our  prestige,  defend 
our  honor  and  promote  our  welfare.  He 
is  a  desirable. — Martin  G.  Brumbaugh, 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

*  *     * 

America  holds  out  an  example  a  thou- 
sand times  more  encouraging  than  was 
ever  presented  before  to  those  nine-tenths 
of  the  human  race  who  are  born  without 
hereditary  fortune  or  hereditary  rank. — 
Daniel  Webster  at  Bunker  Hill  Monument, 
June  17,  1843. 

*  *     * 

Is  life  so  dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to 
be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and 
slavery?  Forbid  it,  Almighty  God!  I 
know  not  what  course  others  may  take; 
but  as  for  me,  give  me  liberty  or  give  me 
death  ! — Patrick  Henry. 

*  *     * 

Love  of  country  is  one  of  the  loftiest 
virtues  which  the  Almighty  has  planted  in 
the  human  heart,  and  so  treason  against 


it  has  been  considered  the  most  damning 
of  sins. — Emory  A.  Storrs. 

God  grants  liberty  only  to  those  who 
love  it,  and  are  always  ready  to  guard  and 
defend  it. — Justice  Story. 
*     *     * 

Patriotism,  pure  and  undefiled,  is  the 
handmaid  of  religion.  Love  of  country  is 
twin  to  the  love  of  God.  The  instinct  of 
love  of  country,  of  patriotism,  dwelling  in 
every  human  breast,  is  the  abiding  and 
unchangeable  source  of  every  nation's 
strength  and  safety  and  the  inspiration  of 
the  most  enlightened  civilization  has  been 
the  inspiration  of  all  the  people  of  the 
earth  through  all  the  ages:  "Dulce  et  dec- 
orum est  pro  patria  mori."  Strong  as  love 
of  country  is  instinctively,  it  can,  by  cul- 
tivation, be  made  stronger  in  each  individ- 
ual and  thus  become  a  source  of  greater 
national  strength.  It  is  a  part  of  the  edu- 
cation and  experience  of  a  true  man  and 
of  the  real  business  of  life  that  he  should 
be  a  patriot.  The  instinct  of  the  love  of 
country  is  as  natural  as  the  parental  or 
filial  love  or  as  the  attachment  for  home. 
As  the  bird  returns  to  the  nest,  so  every 
fiber  of  a  well-educated  and  well-developed 
man  swells  in  sympathy  with  associations 
of  family,  home,  community.  State  or  Na- 
tion. No  man  liveth  to  himself  and  no 
man  dieth  to  himself.  There  can  be  no 
well-rounded  character  in  selfish  individ- 
uaHsm. — Chief  Justice  Hay  Brown  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court. 

To  my  eye  the  path  of  our  duty  is  as 
clear  as  the  milky  way.  It  is  the  path  of 
active  preparation,  of  dignified  energy.  It 
consists  not  in  abandoning  our  rights,  but 
in  supporting  them,  as  they  exist  and 
where  they  exist — on  the  ocean  as  well  as 
on  the  land. — Josiah  Quincy,  Jr. 

Be  loyal  to  the  United  States,  your  fam- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


ily  and  your  employer.  Beware  of  snakes. 
Unanimous  United  States  would  bring 
peace  quicker  than  discordant  talking  ma- 
chines. Now  is  no  time  for  wrist-watch 
patriots.  Make  cabinet  changes  early. 
Lincoln  did.  Allies  did  after  they  made 
serious  mistakes.  Wilson  should.  Pres- 
ent cabinet  was  organized  for  peace.  War 
is  on.  We  must  prepare  quickly  and  wise- 
ly. Get  the  best.  Forget  partisan  poli- 
tics.— Frank  I.  King,  Toledo,  Ohio. 
*  *  * 
I  believe  that  I  am  not  mistaken  in  see- 
ing these  new  purposes  come  into  the 
hearts  of  men  who  have  not  permitted 
themselves  hitherto  to  see  what  they  now 
look  upon.  For  the  Nation  cannot  move 
successfully  by  anything  except  concert  of 
purpose  and  of  judgment.  You  cannot 
whip  a  nation  into  line.  You  cannot 
drive  your  leaders  before  you.  You  have 
got  to  have  a  spirit  that  thrills  the  whole 
body,  and  I  believe  that  that  spirit  is  now 
beginning  to  thrill  the  whole  body.  Men 
are  finding  that  they  will  be  bigger  busi- 
ness men  as  they  will  spend  some  of  their 
brains  on  something  that  has  nothing  to 
do  with  themselves,  and  that  the  more  you 
extend  the  use  of  your  energy  the  more 
energy  you  have  got  to  spend  even  upon 
your  own  affairs — that  enrichment  comes 
with  the  enlargement,  and  that  with  the 
enrichment  comes  the  increase  of  power. — 
Governor  Woodrow  Wilson  at  Trenton, 
January  13,  1913. 

It  is  my  duty  as  an  educated  American 
citizen ;  your  duty,  young  gentlemen,  is  to 
see  to  it  that  the  sun  of  opportunity  shall 
not  drop  below  the  horizon  and  guild  the 
few  mountain  peaks  of  education  and 
wealth  and  refinement,  while  the  great 
masses  of  the  people,  like  the  great  val- 
leys, are  shrouded  in  the  gloom  and  priva- 
tions of  poverty  and  ignorance,  but  that 
this  glorious  sun  that  is  enlightening  you 
and  me  shall  rise  to  the  meridian  splendor 
in  the  firmament  of  American  life,   and 


bathe  the  lowliest  home  in  its  clFulgent 
glory.— U.  S.  Senator  Ellison  D.  Smith  to 
Students  of  South  Carolina  University. 

The  very  colors  (of  our  flag)  have  a  lan- 
guage which  was  officially  recognized  by 
our  fathers.  White  is  for  purity,  red  for 
valor,  blue  for  justice;  and  all  together — 
stripes,  stars  and  colors,  blazing  in  the 
sky — make  the  flag  of  our  country,  to  be 
cherished  by  all  our  hearts,  to  be  upheld 
by  all  our  hands. — Charles  Sumner. 

:;:  *  * 

Great  and  worthy  of  all  gratitude  and 
fame  were  those  men  who  have  devoted 
their  best  faculties,  poured  out  their  best 
blood,  for  the  land  they  called  their  own; 
but  greater  far,  and  more  worthy  of  grati- 
tude, and  of  purer  and  more  enduring 
fame,  are  the  very  few  who  lived  not  for 
an  age,  a  country,  but  for  all  ages,  for  all 
mankind;  who  did  not  live  to  preach  up 
this  or  that  theory,  to  insist  on  this  or  that 
truth,  to  sustain  this  or  that  sect  or  party, 
but  who  lived  to  work  out  the  intellectual 
and  spiritual  good,  and  to  promote  the 
progress  of  the  whole  human  race,  to  kin- 
dle within  the  individual  mind  the  light 
which  is  true  freedom,  or  leads  to  it.  Such 
was  the  example  left  by  Jesus  Christ,  such 
a  man  was  Shakespeare,  such  a  man  was 
Goethe. — Mrs.  Jame.son. 

Democracy  is  the  grand  adventure  in 
the  growth  of  civilization.  Whenever  men 
have  struggled  to  be  free  the  world  has 
progressed ;  but,  after  all.  popular  govern- 
ment is  still  an  experiment  measured  in 
terms  of  world  history.  Above  all.  the 
struggle  is  not  a  political  one.  You  and  I 
and  all  men  live  lives  that  are  more  indus- 
trial and  commercial  and  economic  than 
political.  And  so  political  freedom  is  only 
a  part  of  democracy — a  part  that  has  long 
since  been  won.  What  the  people  want  is 
not  only  political  freedom — it  is  industrial 
freedom  and  the  equality  of  opportunity. 
Industrial  monopoly  is  simply  industrial 
monarchy. — Jo.seph  E.  Davies. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-1 


This  is  the  best  government  on  earth — 
the  one  most  responsive  to  the  will  of  the 
people,  but  it  is  a  government  of  the  peo- 
ple— not  of  one  or  a  few  men.  If  a  few 
are  permitted  to  resist  a  law — any  law — 
because  they  do  not  like  it,  government 
becomes  a  farce.  The  law  must  be  en- 
forced— resistance  is  anarchy. — W.  J. 
Bryan.  *     *     * 

The  foundations  of  our  national  policy 
will  be  laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable 
principles  of  private  morality.  There  ex- 
ists in  the  course  of  nature  an  indissoluble 
union  of  virtue  and  happiness,  between 
duty  and  advantage,  between  honest  policy 
and  public  felicity.  The  smiles  of  heaven 
can  never  be  expected  on  a  government 
that  disregards  the  eternal  rules  of  order 
and  right,  which  heaven  itself  has  or- 
dained.— George  Washington,  President  of 
the  United  States.    April,  1789. 


We  are  at  the  beginning  of  an  age  in 
which  it  will  be  insisted  that  the  same 
standards  of  conduct  and  of  responsibility 
for  wrongs  done  shall  be  observed  among 
nations  and  their  governments  that  are  ob- 
served among  the  individual  citizens  of 
civilized  States. — Woodrow  Wilson,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.    April,  1917. 

=f:  *  * 

It  is  a  question  of  loyalty,  not  of  nativ- 
ity. Those  Americans,  of  German  birth 
or  lineage,  who  have  plighted  their  vows 
and  adopted  America  as  their  home  and 
their  hope,  establishing  themselves  among 
us,  as  one  of  us,  and  making  common  cause 
with  us,  are  as  good  Americans  as  the  rest 
of  us,  and  are  to  be  congratulated  and  en- 
couraged rather  than  discouraged  and 
condemned  merely  from  a  nationality. — 
President  Woodrow  Wilson. 


(510) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


WORDS  OF  WISDOM  AND  TRUTH 


In  maintaining  that  play  is  an  essential 
element  in  making  a  life  there  must  be 
spoken  a  word  of  caution  about  amuse- 
ments. Whatever  wastes  the  strength  of 
body  or  mind  and  destroys  the  purity  of 
the  soul  is  not  legitimate  play.  Dancing  is 
not  essentially  irreligious.  David  danced 
before  the  ark.  But  those  dances  which 
weaken  the  moral  sense  and  give  offense 
to  purity  are  irreligious  and  are  damaging 
to  character.  The  final  element  in  making 
a  life  is  worship.  Worship  is  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  our  limitations.  To  refuse  to 
worship  is  to  manifest  selfishness.  Self- 
sufficient  men  cannot  worship.  We  are  all 
compelled  to  make  a  living,  but  for  com- 
pleteness of  living  we  must  all  make  a  life. 
— Dr.  Emil  G.  Hirsch,  Chicago. 


Phobism  is  an  addition  to  fear  (another 
name  for  worry).  If  smugness  be  unlove- 
ly from  a  social  point  of  view,  phobism  is 
fatal  to  its  victim.  Did  it  ever  occur  to 
you  that  fear  can  become  a  habit  and  a 
luxury,  just  as  smoking  is?  But  phobism 
is  the  more  hazardous.  We  fear  poverty, 
we  fear  disease,  we  fear  death,  we  fear 
that  we  shall  be  snubbed  socially.  And 
each  separate  fear  impairs  our  capacity 
for  work  in  a  definite,  measurable  way.  I 
know  many  people  addicted  to  the  use  of 
fear.  Some  of  them  use  it  to  excess.  To 
the  psychologist  fear  is  the  most  expen- 
sive of  all  habits  that  people  indulge.  Nine- 
ty-nine and  forty-four  one  hundredths  per 
cent,  of  fear  is  as  useless  as  a  deckhand 
on  a  submarine. — Elliott  Park  Frost. 


The  man  who  succeeds  above  his  fellows 
is  the  one  who,  early  in  life,  clearly  dis- 
cerns his  object,  and  toward  that  object 
habitually  directs  his  powers.  Thus,  in- 
deed, even  genius  itself  is  but  fine  observa- 
tion strengthened  by  fixity  of  purpose. 
Every  man  who  observes  vigilantly  and  re- 
solves steadfastly  grows  unconsciously 
into  genius. — Bulwer-Lytton. 

Many  a  man  defers  his  happiness  until 
he  gets  rich.  Then  he  is  surprised  to  find 
that  his  manna  is  spoiled,  that  he  should 
have  eaten  it  when  first  given.  Deferred 
happiness  and  the  deferred  good  deed  do 
not  keep. — The  Christian  Herald. 

Of  permanent  mourning  there  is  none; 
no  cloud  remains  fixed.  The  sun  will  shine 
tomorrow. — Richter. 

It  has  been  a  thousand  times  observed, 
and  I  must  observe  it  once  more,  that  the 
hours  we  pass  with  happy  prospects  in 
view  are  more  pleasing  than  those  crowned 
with  fruition. — Goldsmith. 


I  believe  that  the  country,  which  God 
made,  is  more  beautiful  than  the  city, 
which  man  made;  that  life  out  of  doors 
and  in  touch  with  the  earth  is  the  natural 
life  of  man.  I  believe  that  work  is  work 
wherever  we  find  it,  but  that  work  with 
nature  is  more  inspiring  than  work  with 
the  most  intricate  machinery.  I  believe 
that  the  dignity  of  labor  depends  not  on 
what  you  do,  but  how  you  do  it;  that  op- 
portunity comes  to  a  boy  on  the  farm  as 
often  as  to  a  boy  in  the  city ;  that  life  is 
larger  and  freer  and  happier  on  the  farm 
than  in  the  town  ;  that  my  success  depends 
not  upon  my  location,  but  upon  myself — 
not  upon  my  dreams,  but  upon  what  I 
actually  do — not  upon  luck,  but  upon 
pluck.  I  believe  in  working  when  you 
work,  and  in  playing  when  you  play,  and 
in  giving  and  demanding  a  square  deal  in 
every  act  of  life. — Edwin  Osgood  Grover. 

The  helmet  of  salvation  is  worn  on  the 
head.  For  1900  years  it  has  proven  itself 
the  best  head  protection  known  to  man. 
Millions  of  people  are  getting  all  sorts  of 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  — 1816-191 


crazy  fads  and  isms  in  their  heads  nowa- 
days. But  I  have  never  known  a  really 
saved  man  to  take  up  with  any  of  the 
quack  nostrums  of  man's  devising.  The 
power  of  salvation  experienced  in  the  soul 
is  the  best  safeguard  against  false  doc- 
trine.— Rev.  Henry  B.  Hostetter. 

The  block  of  granite  which  was  an  ob- 
stacle in  the  pathway  of  the  weak  becomes 
a  stepping  stone  in  the  pathway  of  the 
strong. — Carlyle. 

*     *     * 

The  rose-tinted  hour  invariably  comes 
sooner  or  later  to  the  man  of  patience  and 
persistent  action. — Willis  George  Emer- 
son. *     *     * 

With  us  law  is  nothing  unless  close  be- 
hind it  stands  a  warm,  living,  public  opin- 
ion.— Wendell  Phillips. 

It  is  prodigious  the  quantity  of  good 
that  may  be  done  by  one  man  if  he  will 
make  a  business  of  it. — Benjamin  Frank- 
lin. *     *     * 

0  toiling  hands  of  mortals !  0  unwearied 
feet,  traveling  ye  know  not  whither !  Lit- 
tle do  ye  know  your  own  blessedness;  for 
to  travel  hopefully  is  a  better  thing  than 
to  arrive,  and  true  success  is  labor. — Ste- 
venson. *     *     * 

If  there  is  anything  the  American  peo- 
ple need  to  learn  it  is  the  value  of  thrift. 
We  are  the  most  wasteful  of  all  nations. 
We  have  wasted  almost  everything  on 
which  we  could  lay  our  hands.  The  time 
to  begin  to  reform  has  long  since  passed. — 
David  Hough.       *     *     * 

It  is  a  fair,  even-handed,  noble  adjust- 
ment of  things  that  while  there  is  infec- 
tion in  disease,  and  sorrow,  there  is  noth- 
ing in  the  world  so  irresistibly  contagious 
as  laughter  and  good  humor.- — Charles 
Dickens.  *     *     * 

A  little  philosophy  inclineth  man's  mind 
to  atheism,  but  depth  in  philosophy  bring- 
eth  men's  minds  about  to  religion. — Frar- 
ics  Bacon. 


I  am  sick  and  tired  of  war.  Its  glory  is 
all  moonshine.  It  is  only  those  who  have 
neither  fired  a  shot  nor  heard  the  shrieks 
and  groans  of  the  wounded  who  cry  aloud 
for  more  blood,  more  vengeance,  more  des- 
olation. War  is  hell. — General  William 
Tecumseh  Sherman. 

*  *     * 

Just  try,  by  taking  a  few  minutes  a  day 
— if  you  cannot  take  more — to  live  upon 
the  heights  to  give  heed  to  that  noble  and 
beautiful  thing  within  you  which  is  the 
real  you,  which  wants  to  grow  and  de- 
velop. Give  it  a  chance.  Dwell  with  in- 
finite things  for  a  little  while  every  twen- 
ty-four hours.  And  "soon  the  cares  that 
infest  the  days  will  fold  their  tents  like 
Arabs  and  silently  steal  away,"  and  life 
will  become  very  happy,  very  beautiful. 
Try  it. — Barbara  Boyd,  in  Chicago  Post. 

*  *     * 

To  maintain  one's  self  on  this  earth  is 
not  a  hardship,  but  a  pastime,  if  only  one 
will  live  simply  and  wisely. — Thoreau. 

*  *     * 

Man  is  an  animal  that  cannot  long  be 
left  in  safety  without  occupation;  the 
growth  of  his  fallow  nature  is  apt  to  run 
into  weeds. — Hillard. 

*  *     * 

The  habit  of  viewing  things  cheerfully, 
and  of  thinking  about  life  hopefully,  may 
be  made  to  grow  up  in  us  like  any  other 
habit. — Samuel  Smiles. 

*  *     * 

Do  not  be  afraid  because  the  community 
teems  with  excitement.  Silence  and  death 
are  dreadful.  The  rush  of  life,  the  vigor 
of  earnest  men,  the  conflict  of  realities,  in- 
vigorate, cleanse  and  establish  the  truth. 
— Henry  Ward  Beecher. 

*  *     * 

There  is  nothing  so  powerful  as  truth — 
and  often  nothing  so  strange. — Justice 
Story.  ^     ,     ^ 

Let  the  farmer  forevermore  be  honored 
in  his  calling;  for  they  who  labor  in  the 
earth  are  the  chosen  people  of  God. — 
Thomas  Jefferson. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


He  will  always  be  a  slave  who  does  not 
know  how  to  live  upon  a  little. — Horace. 

*  *     * 

The  distance  between  capital  and  labor 
is  not  a  great  gulf  over  which  is  swung  a 
Niagara  suspension  bridge;  it  is  only  a 
step,  and  the  laborers  here  will  cross  over 
and  become  capitalists  and  the  capitalists 
will  cross  over  and  become  laborers.  Would 
to  God  they  would  shake  hands  while  they 
are  crossing,  these  from  one  side,  and 
those  from  the  other  side.— T.  DeWitt  Tal- 
mage.  *     *     * 

The  most  infamous  traitors  in  this  coun- 
try are  the  speculators,  who  are  plunging 
bayonets  into  the  stomachs  of  the  loyal 
ones  at  home. — Ex-Governor  Gilchrist  of 
Florida.  *     *     * 

"Friends,"  said  he,  "the  taxes  are  very 
heavy,  and  if  those  laid  on  by  the  govern- 
ment were  the  only  ones  we  had  to  pay,  we 
might  more  easily  discharge  them ;  but  we 
have  many  others,  and  much  more  griev- 
ous to  some  of  us.  We  are  taxed  twice  as 
much  by  our  idleness,  three  times  as  much 
by  our  pride,  and  four  times  as  much  by 
our  folly;  and  from  these  taxes  the  com- 
missioners cannot  ease  or  deliver  us  by  al- 
lowing an  abatement." — Franklin. 

*  *     * 

Do  not  quarrel,  therefore,  with  your  lot 
in  life.  Do  not  complain  of  its  never  ceas- 
ing cares,  its  petty  environment,  the  vexa- 
tions you  have  to  stand,  the  small  and  sor- 
did souls  you  have  to  live  and  work  with. 
Above  all,  do  not  resent  temptation,  do  not 
be  perplexed  because  it  seems  to  thicken 
'round  you  more  and  more,  and  ceases 
neither  for  effort  nor  for  agony  nor  prayer. 
That  is  your  practice.  That  is  the  practice 
which  God  appoints  you.  And  it  is  having 
its  work  in  making  you  patient,  and  hum- 
ble, and  generous,  and  unselfish,  and  kind, 
and  courteous. — Henry  Drummond. 

This  is  the  time  for  America  to  correct 
her  unpardonable  fault  of  wastefulness 
and  extravagance.     Let   every   man   and 


every  woman  assume  the  duty  of  careful, 
provident  use  and  expenditure  as  a  public 
duty,  as  a  dictate  of  patriotism  which  no 
one  can  now  expect  ever  to  be  excused  or 
forgiven  for  ignoring. — President  Wilson. 

*  *     * 

It  is  seldom  that  the  great  or  the  wise 
suspect  they  are  despised  or  cheated. — Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson. 

*  *     * 

To  have  a  respect  for  ourselves  guides 
our  morals;  and  to  have  a  deference  for 
others  governs  our  manners. — Sterne. 

*  *     * 

You  reap  what  you  sow,  not  something 
else,  but  that.  An  act  of  love  makes  the 
soul  more  loving.  A  deed  of  humbleness 
deepens  humbleness.  The  thing  reaped  is 
the  very  thing  sown,  multiplied  a  hundred 
fold.  You  have  sown  the  seed  of  life, 
you  reap  life  everlasting. — P.  W.  Robert- 
son. *     *     * 

To  Live  Long  Live  Simply. — From  the 
days  of  Cornaro  down  to  the  present  those 
who  have  experimented  in  prolonging  life 
are  united  upon  one  point:  Live  simply 
and  eat  very  moderately;  if  the  body  is 
choked  with  waste  its  organs  can  not  func- 
tion properly.  It  is  an  almost  universal  cus- 
tom to  eat  more  than  is  needed  to  sustain 
the  body  in  health.  We  eat  for  pleasure 
long  after  the  needs  of  the  body  are 
met.  And  by  overeating  we  shorten  life. 
Louis  Cornaro  was  born  with  a  weak 
constitution.  At  forty  he  was  subject 
to  severe  illnesses  and  was  in  appear- 
ance and  feeling  an  old  man.  At  this 
time  he  took  himself  strictly  in  hand 
and  began  to  eat  only  what  he  could 
readily  assimilate.  He  made  it  a  rule  to 
rise  from  the  table  while  he  still  felt  a  dis- 
position to  eat  and  drink  more.  As  he  ad- 
vanced in  years  he  became  still  more  ab- 
stemious. As  a  result  he  reached  the  cen- 
tury mark  in  good  health,  with  a  mind 
clear  and  bodily  organs  well  preserved. — 
John  R.  Matthews. 


17— History 


(513) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


ODD   FACTS  ABOUT  PRESIDENTS  AND 
VICE-PRESIDENTS 


Possibly  you  have  forgotten  some  of 
these  incidents  relating  to  Presidents  and 
Vice-Presidents  of  the  United  States : 

Washington  was  the  one  President  to  be 
elected  unanimously. 

The  only  Vice-President  to  resign  was 
John  C.  Calhoun,  who  gave  up  the  Vice- 
Presidency  to  become  a  United  States  Sen- 
ator. 

William  Henry  Harrison  served  the 
shortest  time  as  President,  having  caught 
a  fatal  cold  the  day  he  was  inaugurated 
and  died  exactly  one  month  later. 

Impeachment  was  tried  against  but  one 
President  and  failed  by  one  vote,  in  the 
case  of  Andrew  Johnson. 

Johnson  was  a  tailor  and  could  not  read 
until  his  wife  taught  him  how. 

Five  Vice-Presidents  became  President 
by  the  death  of  the  President— Tyler,  Fill- 
more, Johnson,  Arthur  and  Roosevelt. 

No  physician,  preacher  or  journalist  has 
become  President. 

Cleveland  was  the  only  President  to  have 
someone  else  sandwiched  between  his  two 
terms,  Benjamin  Harrison  being  the  sand- 
wich. 

John  Adams  was  not  only  the  oldest 
of  ex-Presidents  when  he  died,  being  more 
than  90,  but  lived  the  longest  after  leaving 
office,  about  twenty-five  years. 

Relatively,  Washington  was  the  richest 
President,  but  his  private  income  was 
hardly  equal  to  that  of  Roosevelt. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  was  the  only  Vice- 
President  to  attain  the  presidency  by  an- 
other's death  and  then  be  honored  by  a  re- 
election. 

Buchanan  went  through  his  term  a 
bachelor. 

Woodrow  Wilson  and  James  A.  Garfield 
were  college  presidents  and  Jefferson 
founded  the  University  of  Virginia  after 
he  retired  from  the  White  House. 


The  following  were  Master  Masons: 
George  Washington,  Andrew  Jackson, 
James  K.  Polk,  James  Buchanan,  Andrew 
Johnson,  James  A.  Garfield,  William  Mc- 
Kinley,  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  William  H. 
Taft. 

Washington,  Monroe,  Jackson,  the  two 
Harrisons,  Taylor,  Lincoln,  Grant,  Gar- 
field, Hayes,  McKinley  and  Roosevelt  were 
soldiers. 

Lincoln's  Gettysburg  speech  and  Wash- 
ington's farewell  address  are  quoted  far 
more  frequently  than  any  other  presiden- 
tial utterances. 

Cleveland's  "Public  office  is  a  public 
Trust,"  Grant's  "Let  us  have  peace,"  Jack- 
son's "By  the  eternal,"  and  Roosevelt's 
"Malefactors  of  great  wealth"  became  uni- 
versal catchwords.  So  did  Rutherford  B. 
Hayes's  saying,  "He  serves  his  party  best 
who  serves  his  country  best." 

One  President  was  inaugurated  in  New 
York,  two  in  Philadelphia,  and  allthe  oth- 
ers in  Washington. 

The  official  salute  for  the  President  is 
twenty-one  guns.  A  salute  of  101  guns 
was  fired  for  King  Edward  when  the 
proclamation  was  read.  When  the  body 
of  Napoleon  was  brought  back  from  St. 
Helena  and  arrived  in  the  River  Seine  a 
salute  of  one  thousand  guns  was  fired. 

At  the  seventeenth  presidential  election, 
1852,  thirty-one  States  took  part  with  296 
electoral  votes.  Forty-nine  ballots  were 
necessary  in  the  Democratic  convention  be- 
fore Franklin  Pierce  was  nominated,  a 
veritable  "dark  horse."  Only  three  can- 
didates were  before  the  Whig  convention — 
General  Winfield  Scott,  Millard  Fillmore 
and  Daniel  Webster.  Scott  was  nominated 
on  the  fifty-third  ballot,  but  obtained  only 
forty-two  electoral  votes  as  compared  with 
254  for  Pierce.  It  was  the  last  campaign 
of  the  Whig  party. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


CHARACTER  OF  WASHINGTON 


By  Thomas  Jefferson 


His  mind  was  great  and  powerful,  with- 
out being  of  the  very  first  order;  his  pene- 
tration strong,  though  not  so  acute  as  that 
of  Newton,  Bacon  or  Locke;  and  as  far  as 
he  saw,  no  judgment  was  ever  sounder. 

It  was  slow  in  operation,  being  little 
aided  by  invention  or  imagination,  but  sure 
in  conclusion.  Hence  the  common  remark 
of  his  officers,  of  the  advantage  he  derived 
from  councils  of  war,  where  hearing  all 
suggestions,  he  selected  whatever  was  best ; 
and  certainly  no  General  ever  planned  his 
battles  more  judiciously.  But  if  deranged 
during  the  course  of  the  action,  if  any 
member  of  his  plan  was  dislocated  by  sud- 
den circumstances,  he  was  slow  in  a  read- 
justment. 

The  consequence  was,  that  he  often 
failed  in  the  field,  and  rarely  against  an 
enemy  in  station,  as  at  Boston  and  New 
York.  He  was  incapable  of  fear,  meeting 
personal  dangers  with  calm  unconcern. 

Perhaps  the  strongest  feature  in  his 
character  was  prudence,  never  acting  un- 
til every  circumstance,  every  consideration 
was  maturely  weighed;  refraining  if  he 
saw  a  doubt,  but  when  once  decided,  going 
through  with  his  purpose,  whatever  ob- 
stacles opposed.  His  integrity  was  most 
pure,  his  justice  the  most  flexible  I  have 
ever  known,  no  motives  of  interest  or  con- 
sanguinity, of  friendship  or  hatred,  being 
able  to  bias  his  decision.  He  was,  indeed, 
in  every  sense  of  the  words,  a  wise,  a  good, 
and  a  great  man. 

If  ever,  however,  it  broke  its  bonds,  he 
was  most  tremendous  in  his  wrath.  In  his 
expenses  he  was  honorable,  but  exact ;  lib- 
eral in  contributions  to  whatever  promised 
utility,  but  frowning  and  unyielding  on  all 
visionary  projects  and  all  unworthy  calls 
on  his  charity.  His  heart  was  not  warm  in 
its  affections,  but  he  exactly  calculated 
every  man's  value  and  gave  him  a  solid  es- 
teem proportioned  to  it.    His  person,  you 


know,  was  fine,  his  stature  exactly  what 
one  would  wish ;  his  deportment  easy,  erect 
and  noble;  the  best  horseman  of  his  age, 
and  the  most  graceful  figure  that  could  be 
seen  on  horseback. 

Although  in  the  circle  of  his  friends, 
where  he  might  be  unreserved  with  safety, 
he  took  a  free  share  in  conversation,  his 
colloquial  talents  were  not  above  medi- 
ocrity, possessing  neither  copiousness  of 
ideas  nor  fluency  of  words.  In  public,  when 
called  on  for  a  sudden  opinion,  he  was  un- 
ready, short  and  embarrassed.  Yet  he 
wrote  readily,  rather  diffusely,  in  an  easy 
and  correct  style.  This  he  had  acquired  by 
conversation  with  the  world,  for  his  edu- 
cation was  merely  reading,  writing  and 
common  arithmetic,  to  which  he  added 
surveying  at  a  later  day.  His  time  was 
employed  in  action  chiefly,  reading  little, 
and  that  only  in  agriculture  and  English 
history.  His  correspondence  became  nec- 
essarily extensive,  and,  with  journalizing 
his  agricultural  proceedings,  occupied  most 
of  his  leisure  hours  within  doors. 

On  the  whole,  his  character  was,  in  its 
mass  perfect,  in  nothing  bad,  in  few  points 
indifferent;  and  it  may  truly  be  said  that 
never  did  nature  and  fortune  combine  more 
completely  to  make  a  man  great  and  to 
place  him  in  the  same  constellation  with 
whatever  worthies  have  merited  from  man 
and  everlasting  remembrance.  For  his 
was  the  singular  destiny  and  merit  of  lead- 
ing the  armies  of  his  country  suc- 
cessfully through  an  arduous  war  for  the 
establishment  of  its  independence ;  of  con- 
ducting its  country  through  the  birth  of  a 
government,  new  in  its  foiTns  and  princi- 
ples, until  it  had  settled  down  into  a  quiet 
and  orderly  train;  and  of  .scrupulously 
obeying  the  laws  through  the  whole  of  his 
career,  civil  and  military,  of  which  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  furnishes  no  other  ex- 
ample. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

MEN  IN  HIGH  OFFICE  SHORT-LIVED 

To  be  a  President,  Vice-President,  Sena-  sonal  hygiene  is  impossible,  and  in  conse- 

tor,  or  Congressman  is  to  die  before  one's  quence  they  suffer  an  average  loss  of  7 

time  is  the  opinion  of  Professor  Irving  per  cent,  of  the  years  to  which  they  are 

Fisher  of  Yale.     He  is  the  author  of  the  entitled  according  to  the  law  of  averages, 

following  table :  The  tendency    to    curtailment    of    life 

Age  when     Years  from    Expcctaiion    Pet.  of  among  the  Vicc-Presidents  is  cven  more 

inaugurated    inaug. to deatli      of  life      exptcylive  -i      ii            j            i.             i            i         j 

Washington             57          11          16            69  marked.    While  they  do  not  work  so  hard, 

J.Adams  61           29           13           223  worry  SO  much.  or  carry  SO  much  responsi- 

Jefferson    58           25           15           167  bility,  they  must  feast  and  wine  and  ban- 

JJ«d'^°"   58           27           15           180  quet  and  discharge  social  duties. 

rS'ldams ::::■.:: 58           23           \l           ill  By  contrast  professor  nsher  shows  that 

Jackson    62           16           13           123  »  man  gams  37  per  cent,  over  his  expect- 

Van  Buren  54          25          18          139  ancy  of  life  by  being  a  president  of  Yale 

Harrison    68       1-12            9              1  University. 

Ty'er    57          21          20          105  Averaging  the  Congressmen  in  thirty 

Polk     49               4             22               18  „                         .,              -          ,  .  i     .    . , 

rpg  i^j.                     64            1          12             8  Congi-esses,  it  was  found  that  the  average 

Fillmore  51           24           20           120  Congressman  only  lives  out  82  per  cent. 

Pierce  48           16           22            73  of  his  expectancy.    Going  to  Congress  on 

Buchanan  66           11           11           100  the  average  shortens  a  man's  life  18  per 

Lincoln    52               4             19               21  ^^^^^ 

Johnson    56             10             17               59  „'    .,      ,,          ,                     ,.„     .                      ... 

Qj.g^^.                      47          -^g          23            70  While  the  strenuous  life  is  responsible 

Hayes   54           10           18            89  for  some  of  the  shortening  of  the  lives  of 

Garfield    49            I           22              2  Presidents,  Vice-Presidents,  Senators  and 

Arthur   51            5           20            25  Congressmen,  bad    hygiene    is    a    larger 

C^^l^^^nd  48           23           22           105  f^^^^^.      The  chief  causes  emphasized  by 

B.  Harrison   56             12             17               71  _      .              ^.   ,                      t    j                j        j 

McKinley                 54            4           18            22  Prof essor  Fisher  are :    Indoor  and  seden- 

Roosevelt  43    Living.    Living.    Living,  tary  living;   a  crouching,   cramping  pos- 

Taft    51    Living.    Living.    Living,  ture ;  late  dinners,  overeating  especially  of 

Wilson    56    Living.    Living.    Living,  meats,  eggs  and  rich  foods ;  overconcen- 

Omitting  the  President  and  the  ex-Presi-  tration,  or  lack  of  bulk  in  diet,  hasty  eat- 

dents  now  living  and  those  that  were  as-  ing,  constipation,  irregular  hours,  lack  of 

sassinated,  we  find  that  Presidents  only  sleep,  woiTy  and  the  use  of  drugs,  espe- 

live  out  93  per  cent,  of  their  "expected"  cially  narcotics,  like  alcohol  and  tobacco, 

lives.     They  started  as  men  of  unusual  These    errors    in    personal    hygiene.    Dr. 

vitality,  but  the  duties  of  the  office  are  so  Evans  says,  also  shorten  the  lives  of  those 

strenuous  that  a  proper  regard  for  per-  in  humbler  walks  of  life. 


(  516 


SHORT  HISTORIES 


of  the 


Counties  of  Indiana 


ARRANGED  ALPHABETICALLY 


1816-1918 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
ADAMS  COUNTY 


THE  history  of  the  Democracy  of  Adams 
county  is  the  story  of  nearly  eighty  years 
of  continuous  and  unbroken  victories  for 
the  party  of  the  people — four-score  years,  during 
which  time  only  Democrats  have  filled  the  vari- 
ous places  of  trust  in  one  of  the  best  agricultural 
communities  on  God's  footstool.  It  is  the  proud 
boast  of  the  still  "unterrified"  leaders  of  Democ- 
racy in  this  county  that  a  Republican  has  never 
been  elected  to  a  county  office  here,  and  the  fact 
that  this  county  now  has  more  than  five  hundred 
miles  of  macadam  roads,  farms  unequaled  in  the 
State,  beautiful  homes,  splendid  towns  and  cities, 
modern  public  buildings  and  no  public  debt,  tell 
the  story  of  how  well  and  faithfully  these  offi- 
cials have  performed  their  duties. 

Here  as  elsewhere,  no  doubt,  the  early  history 
is  to  a  large  extent  blurred  because  of  the  lack  of 
records  and  because  those  men  who  made  it  have 
long  since  passed  to  their  reward,  but  from  one 
source  and  another  many  facts  of  interest  which, 
linked  together,  give  a  fairly  good  impression  of 
work  well  performed  have  been  obtained. 

Adams  county  began  its  existence  by  an  enact- 
ment of  the  Indiana  General  Assembly  in  1836, 
and  the  first  election  was  held  on  the  first  Monday 
of  April  in  that  year.  At  that  time  the  Demo- 
cratic county  chairman  was  James  B.  Simcoke 
and  the  first  officials  elected  in  the  county  were 
John  S.  Rhea,  Samuel  Smith  and  William  Heath, 
commissioners,  their  duty  being  to  select  the 
county  seat  and  to  divide  the  county  into  town- 
ships; Samuel  L.  Rugg,  clerk;  David  McKnight, 
sheriff  and  assessor,  and  John  K.  Evans,  collector 
of  state  and  county  revenues.  The  first  state  rep- 
resentative was  Col.  William  Vance,  elected  in 
1839  by  a  majority  of  but  three  votes. 

In  1840  the  first  township  elections  were  held 
and  many  interesting  stories  are  told  by  the  old- 
timers  of  the  fights  at  the  ballot-box  in  those 
days.  Usually,  however,  the  trouble  seemed  to 
be  in  securing  enough  candidates.  It  is  told  that 
in  Monroe  township  in  1840  the  election  was  held 
at  the  home  of  Henry  Martz,  who  was  also  the 
inspector.  Seven  votes  were  cast  and  every  man 
secured  an  office. 

A  complete  list  of  county  chairmen  is  impos- 
sible, but  among  those  who  have  served  during 
the  past  third  of  a  century  are:  J.  T.  France,  C. 
J.  Lutz,  J.  W.  Tyndall,  J.  W.  McKean,  John  C. 
Moran,  R.  K.  Erwin,  D.  N.  Erwin,  J.  F.  Snow,  L. 
G.  Ellingham,  J.  W.  Bosse  and  T.  J.  Gallogly.  The 
present  chairman  is  Henry  B.  Heller. 


The  most  prominent  Democrat  in  the  old  days 
of  this  county  was  Samuel  L.  Rugg,  who  donated 
the  ground  for  all  the  public  buildings  and  many 
churches  in  the  city  of  Decatur.  He  served  as 
county  clerk  and  recorder,  was  a  state  senator  in 
1854  and  in  1858  was  elected  State  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction,  being  the  third  man  to  fill 
that  position  in  Indiana.  He  was  defeated  in  1860 
for  the  same  office,  but  again  elected  a  year  later 
when  Mr.  Miles  Fletcher,  who  had  defeated  him, 
died  and  a  special  election  was  ordered. 

Among  the  Democrats  who  were  successful  in 
local  affairs  and  received  considerable  notice  from 
over  the  state  were  Judge  David  Studabaker,  who 
served  as  state  senator;  Judge  James  R.  Hobo, 
also  a  state  senator,  and  Judge  D.  D.  Heller,  all 
of  whom  served  upon  the  circuit  court  bench.  For 
many  years  this  county,  though  known  as  a  safe 
Democratic  stronghold,  did  not  produce  any  am- 
bitious men  for  state  or  national  positions,  or 
perhaps  because  of  the  Democratic  majority 
here  it  was  deemed  better  politics  to  select  can- 
didates from  other  counties;  at  any  rate,  for  half 
a  century  or  more  this  county  did  not  have  a  can- 
didate for  a  state  position.  However,  during  the 
past  few  years  we  have  come  in  for  a  goodly 
share.  Lewis  G.  Ellingham,  who  retired  in  1914 
after  four  years  as  Secretary  of  State,  is  a  resi- 
dent of  this  county;  Judge  Richard  K.  Erwin,  late 
chief  justice  of  the  Indiana  Supreme  Court,  and 
J.  Frederick  France,  now  serving  his  second  term 
as  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court,  were  natives  of 
this  county  and  a  quarter-century  ago  were  law 
partners  in  Decatur.  Herman  L.  Conter,  former 
Deputy  Secretary  of  State,  and  now  a  candidate 
for  Secretary  of  State,  is  also  a  resident  here. 

The  first  Democratic  newspaper  in  Adams 
county  was  published  in  1852  and  was  known  as 
the  Adams  County  Democrat,  J.  B.  Simcoke  being 
its  editor,  and  the  paper  continued  until  1863, 
when  it  was  swallowed  by  the  Decatur  Eagle, 
which  had  been  established  in  1857,  the  first  edi- 
tion being  on  February  13  of  that  year.  In  1874 
The  Eagle  changed  its  name  to  The  Decatur  Dem- 
ocrat and  continued  so  until  two  years  ago,  when 
it  ceased  to  live,  having  lost  out  in  the  rush  of 
progress  and  its  place  was  taken  by  The  Daily 
Democrat,  a  four,  six  and  eight-page  paper  with 
3,000  circulation,  published  each  evening.  Editors 
of  The  Eagle  were  H.  L.  Phillips,  W.  G.  Spencer, 
A.  J.  Hill,  Charles  Schirmeyer,  Callen  &  Hudgel, 
J.  R.  Bobo,  T.  Addlesperger,  and  of  The  Democrat 
have  been  Joseph  McGonagle,  S.  Ray  Williams, 
A.  J.  Hill,  Roth  <fe   Cummons,  Norval   Blackburn, 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Lew  G.  Ellingham  and  John  H.  Heller.     Mr.  El-  1876-1877,    W.    W.    Timmons;     The    Democratic 

lingham   purchased    The   Democrat   in   1896   and  Press,  1894-1896,  L.  G.  Ellingham. 

was   the  owner  of  the  controlling   interest   until  The    present    officers    of    Adams    county    are: 

1916,   when   he   sold   his   holdings   to   Mr.    Heller.  Judge,  David  E.  Smith;  prosecuting  attorney,  J. 

The   Daily  Democrat   started   in    1903,   with    Mr.  Fred    Fruchte;    clerk,    Will    Hammell;     auditor, 

Ellingham    as    editor    and    Mr.    Heller    as    man-  John  Mosure;  treasurer,  George  Kinzel;  recorder, 

ager.     Its  growth  has  been  remarkable,  and  it  is  A.  C.  Augsburger;  sheriff,  Ed.  Green;  surveyor, 

now  a  substantial  and  going  business  institution.  Orval  Harruff;  coroner,  D.  D.  Clark;  commission- 

From  time   to  time  during  the  years   opposition  ers,  William   Reppert,  David   Dilling  and   Robert 

Democratic  papers  have  been  established  to  The  Schwartz;  county  superintendent,  Ed.  S.  Christen; 

Z>emoc?-at,  but  always  these  have  been  short-lived.  superintendent    county    farm,    Martin    Laughlin; 

Among    these    have    been    The    Decatur    Herald,  road  superintendent,  J.  A.  Hendricks;  representa- 

1873-1874,  Worden  &  Bobo;  Adams  County  Times,  tive,  Joseph  Walker. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
ALLEN  COUNTY 


By  Louis  S.  C.  Schroeder 


ORGANIZATION. 

THE  territory  now  comprised  within  the 
bounds  of  Allen  county  was  carved,  almost 
wholly,  out  of  the  county  of  Randolph,  al- 
though the  act  creating-  the  county  was  entitled, 
"An  Act  for  the  formation  of  a  new  county  out 
of  the  counties  of  Randolph  and  Delaware."  That 
act  was  approved  on  the  17th  day  of  December, 
1823,  at  the  suggestion  of  General  John  Tipton. 
The  new  county,  whose  legal  existence  was  to  be- 
gin in  April  following  the  passage  of  the  act,  was 
named  Allen,  in  memory  of  Colonel  John  Allen 
of  Kentucky,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  the 
River  Raisin  on  the  22d  day  of  January,  1813. 

By  the  third  section  of  the  act.  Lot  Bloomfield 
and  Caleb  Lewis  of  Wayne  county,  William  Con- 
ner of  Hamilton  county  and  James  M.  Ray  of 
Marion  county  were  appointed  commissioners  to 
determine  and  locate  the  seat  of  justice  for  the 
new  county.  It  further  provided  that  said  com- 
missioners should  convene  at  the  house  of  Alex- 
ander Ewing,  at  Fort  Wayne,  on  the  fourth  Mon- 
day thereafter  and  proceed  immediately  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  assigned.  Fort  Wayne  was  de- 
termined upon  and  fixed  as  the  seat  of  justice. 

It  is  the  largest  county  in  the  State,  having  an 
area  of  650  square  miles.  The  principal  towns 
outside  of  Fort  Wayne  are  Areola,  Grabill,  Hoag- 
land,  Monroeville.  Maysville  (Harlan  P.  O.),  New 
Haven  and  Shirley  City  (Woodburn  P.  O.).  Pop- 
ulation in  1915  estimated  at  110,000.  The  county 
is  divided  into  twenty  townships,  as  follows: 
Adams.  Aboite,  Cedar  Creek,  Eel  River,  Jackson, 
Jefferson,  Lafayette,  Lake,  Madison,  Marion, 
Maumee.  Milan,  Monroe,  Perry,  Pleasant,  Scipio, 
Springfield,   Saint  Joe,   Wayne   and   Washington. 

Pursuant  to  the  first  section  of  the  act  "for 
carrying  the  laws  into  effect  in  the  new  county," 
William  Hendricks,  Governor  of  the  State  by 
commission  dated  April  2,  1824,  appointed  Allen 
Hamilton  Sheriff  of  Allen  county  until  the  next 
general  election  and  until  his  successor  should  be 
elected  and  qualified — should  he  so  long  behave 
well.  Under  that  appointment,  and  in  compli- 
ance with  a  further  provision  of  the  said  section, 
Mr.  Hamilton,  as  such  Sheriff,  gave  notice  to  the 
qualified  voters  of  Allen  county  authorizing  and 
directing  them  to  hold  an  election  on  the  22d  day 
of  May,  1824,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  two 
Associate  Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court,  one  Clerk 
of  the  Circr.it  Court,  one  Recorder  and  the  Com- 
missioners  of   the    county.      Samuel    Hanna    and 


Benjamin  Cushman  were  elected  Associate 
Judges;  Anthony  L.  Davis,  Clerk  and  Recorder; 
William  Rockhill,  Commissioner  for  a  term  of 
three  years,  from  the  22d  day  of  May,  1824; 
James  Wynan  for  two  years,  and  Francis  Com- 
paret  for  one  year  from  said  date. 

As  late  as  1842  the  Democrats  of  Allen  county 
had  never  effected  an  organization.  A  few  of 
the  more  active  members  of  the  party  in  the  city 
usually,  but  quietly,  named  the  candidates.  This, 
however,  did  not  suit  the  farmers  and  the  result 
was  that  a  meeting  of  several  prominent  men 
from  the  townships  was  held  at  Peter  Riser's 
l)lace  of  business,  who  sent  for  Judge  James  W. 
Borden  and  requested  him  to  draw  up  a  plan  of 
organization.  When  he  presented  the  Berks 
county  (Pennsylvania)  plan,  which  called  for  a 
delegate  convention,  the  convention  was  called 
and  the  plan,  through  Colonel  Woodard,  a  farmer 
from  Aboite  township,  was  adopted  and  controlled 
the  action  of  the  party  until  1906,  when  Eugene 
B.  Smith  was  chairman  of  the  Allen  county  cen- 
tral committee.  An  agitation  for  a  primary  nom- 
ination prevailed  and  the  county  central  commit- 
tee decided  upon  a  primary  nomination,  which 
was  held  in  June.  1906.  All  the  Democratic 
county  officers  were  nominated  by  the  people  and 
with  two  exceptions  were  elected  in  November 
that  year.  The  expense  of  said  primai-y  election 
was  borne  by  the  several  candidates  and  amount- 
ed to  a  little  over  two  thousand  dollars.  A  larger 
amount  was  collected  than  was  found  necessary, 
so  the  balance  was  prorated  and  returned  to  the 
candidates.  The  people  continued  to  agitate  for 
primary  nominations  and  in  1907  the  State  Leg- 
islature passed  the  primary  law  for  the  political 
parties  of  the  State,  which  was  approved  March 
12,  1907,  and  up  to  the  present  time  controls  the 
action  of  the  Democratic  party  of  the  county. 

Five  court  houses  have  been  erected  in  Allen 
county.  The  first  court  house  was  finished  in 
1832  at  a  cost  of  $3,322.  This  was  demolished  in 
1841  and  a  one-story  building  erected  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  square  in  1843.  Small 
structures  to  house  the  various  county  oflncers 
were  built  on  the  other  corners  of  the  square 
while  the  court  house  was  used  for  eoui-t  sessions. 
A  two-story  edifice  of  brick  standing  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  square  was  built  in  1847.  This  was 
used  until  1862,  in  which  year  a  fourth  building 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $74,271.  It  was  a  hand- 
some  brick    structure,   surrounded     by     a     broad 


(  523  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


lawn.  This,  however,  save  way  to  the  present 
magnificent  court  house  completed  October  3, 
1900.  The  total  cost  of  the  building  and  ground 
was  $817,600. 

THE  COURTS. 

Circuit  Cou)t — Prior  to  1875  Allen  county  was 
joined  with  several  other  counties  in  a  judicial 
circuit.  By  an  act  approved  March  9,  1875,  Allen 
county  was  constituted  the  Thirty-eighth  Judicial 
Circuit  and  so  remains  (1915).  Judge  Robert 
Lowry  remained  the  Judge  of  the  several  circuits 
of  which  Allen  county  was  a  part,  when  he  re- 
signed to  resume  the  practice  of  law  at  Fort 
Wayne.  Upon  his  resignation  the  Hon.  William 
W.  Carson  was  appointed  by  Governor  Hendricks 
to  serve  as  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  until  the 
succeeding  election  in  1876.  At  the  general  elec- 
tion referred  to  Hon.  Edward  O'Rourke  was  elect- 
ed Judge  of  the  Allen  Circuit  Court.  He  contin- 
ued to  serve  as  Judge  for  thirty-six  years,  when 
at  the  general  election  of  1912  John  W.  Eggeman 
was  elected  and  is  serving  his  first  term  of  six 
years. 

Criminal  Court — By  an  act  approved  on  the 
11th  day  of  May,  1867,  a  Criminal  Court  was 
established  in  Allen  county,  with  exclusive  crim- 
inal jurisdiction.  The  act  provided  for  a  Judge 
to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  to  serve  un- 
til the  ensuing  general  election.  At  the  October 
election  in  1867  Judge  James  W.  Borden  was 
elected  Judge  of  the  court  for  a  term  of  four 
years.  His  term  extended  until  1871,  but  by  rea- 
son of  the  annual  election  having  been  dispensed 
with  by  the  act  of  1869,  it  became  necessary  to 
elect  a  Judge  of  the  Crim.inal  Court  at  the  gen- 
eral election  in  1870,  whose  term  should  com- 
mence in  October,  1871.  At  that  election  Hon. 
Joseph  Brackenridge  was  elected  Judge  and  held 
the  office  until  October,  1875.  At  the  general 
election  in  1874  Judge  Borden  was  again  elected 
Judge  and  was  re-elected  in  1878  for  a  term  of 
four  years.  He  died  in  office  on  the  26th  day  of 
April,  1882.  At  the  November  election  in  1882 
Samuel  M.  Hench  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Crim- 
inal Court  and  held  the  office  until  the  31st  day 
of  October,  1884,  at  which  time  the  court  ceased 
to  exist  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  the  Legislature, 
approved   February  27,  1883. 

Probate  Court— An  act  of  the  Legislature,  ap- 
proved on  the  29th  day  of  January,  1829,  pro- 
vided for  the  establishment  of  a  Probate  Court 
in  each  county  of  the  State,  the  Judge  of  which 
was  to  be  elected  by  the  people  of  the  county.  It 
was  not  required  that  the  Judge  should  be  a  "pro- 
fessional character,"  but  in  order  to  receive  a 
commission  from  the  Governor  he  was  required 
to  produce  a  certificate  by  a  judge  of  a   Circuit 


Court,  or  of  the  Supreme  Court,  that  he  was 
qualified  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office.  The 
only  Democrat  serving  as  Judge  of  this  court 
was  Reuben  J.  Dawson,  who  was  appointed  in 
February,  1840,  and  served  until  the  9th  day  of 
November.  1840. 

Courts  of  Common  Pleas — By  a  general  act 
approved  on  the  14t,h  day  of  May,  1852,  courts  of 
common  pleas  were  created  in  all  counties  of  the 
State,  and  the  counties  of  Allen,  Adams,  Hunt- 
ington and  Wells  were  constituted  as  a  district. 
The  act  provided  for  the  election  of  a  Judge  at 
the  October  election  in  1852  and  fixed  the  term 
of  office  at  four  years.  The  act  also  gave  the 
court  exclusive  probate  jurisdiction.  At  the  Oc- 
tober election  in  1852  Hon.  James  W.  Borden  was 
elected  Common  Pleas  Judge  of  the  district  of 
which  Allen  county  was  a  part,  as  above  stated, 
and  he  opened  the  court  in  Allen  county  on  the 
3d  day  of  January,  1853.  He  was  re-elected  in 
1856  and  held  the  office  until  1857,  when  he  re- 
signed. Upon  the  resignation  of  Judge  Borden 
in  1857,  Hon.  Joseph  Brackenridge  was  appointed 
Judge  to  serve  until  the  succeeding  election.  At 
the  general  election  in  October,  1858,  he  was 
elected  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  for  which 
Judge  Borden  had  been  elected  in  1856.  Under 
that  election  he  held  the  office  until  1860,  when 
he  was  elected  for  a  full  term  of  four  years  and 
held  the  office  until  1864,  when  Judge  Borden  was 
again  elected  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  Court 
and  held  the  office  until  the  29th  day  of  October, 
1867,  when  he  resigned.  In  1870  Hon.  William 
W.  Carson  was  elected  to  fill  out  the  term  which 
expired  with  the  October  election,  1872.  At  that 
election  Samuel  E.  Sinclair  was  elected  for  a  term 
of  four  years.  He  held  that  position  until  March, 
1873,  when  the  court  was  abolished  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature. 

Superior  Court  of  Allen  County — The  Superior 
Court  of  Allen  county  was  established  by  an  act 
of  the  Legislature  approved  on  the  5th  day  of 
March,  1877.  Soon  after  the  passage  of  the  act 
Governor  Williams  appointed  Allen  Zollars  Judge 
of  the  court,  but  as  the  act  was  not  to  take  effect 
until  the  following  August,  the  commission  was 
not  issued  until  the  7th  day  of  that  month.*  Un- 
der that  commission  Mr.  Zollars  would  have  been 
entitled  to  hold  the  office  until  the  October  elec- 
tion, 1878.  After  hearing  some  habeas  corpus 
cases  in  vacation,  he  formally  opened  the  court 
on  the  10th  day  of  September,  1877,  and  presided 
until  about  the  20th  day  of  the  month,  when  he 
resigned  and  resumed  his  practice.  Upon  his 
resignstion  Hon.  Robert  Lowry  was  appointed 
Judge  of  the  court  and  held  the  office  until  the 
general  election  in  October,  1878.  At  that  time 
he  was  elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of  four 


(  524 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY— 1 


years  and  held  the  office  until  after  the  general 
election  in  November,  1882.  At  that  election 
Hon.  James  L.  Worden  was  elected  Judge  for  the 
term  of  four  years.  He  died  on  the  2d  day  of 
June,  1884.  At  the  general  election  in  Novem- 
ber, 1884,  Hon.  Samuel  M.  Hench  was  elected 
Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  and  served  until 
the  general  election  in  1886.  At  the  general  elec- 
tions in  1886,  1890,  1894  and  1898  Hon.  C.  M. 
Dawson  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court, 
who  died  during  his  last  term  of  office.  In  1900 
John  H.  Aiken  was  elected.  In  1910  and  1914 
Carl  Yaple  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  and  is  now  serving  his  second  term. 

Juvenile  Court — By  a  general  act  approved 
March  10,  1903,  a  Juvenile  Court  in  all  counties 
of  the  State  was  created.  The  act  provided  that 
in  the  counties  that  do  not  contain  100,000  in- 
habitants the  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  shall  be 
the  Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court.  It  further  pro- 
vided that  there  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Judge 
of  the  Circuit  Court  having  jurisdiction  one  dis- 
creet person  of  good  moral  character  who  shall 
be  known  as  Probation  Officer;  provided,  that 
said  Judge,  if  in  his  opinion  the  circumstances 
require,  may  appoint  a  second  person  as  proba- 
tion officer.  Since  establishing  tha  court  in  Al- 
len county  the  following  officers  have  served  the 
court:  Special  Prosecuting  Attorneys,  H.  I. 
Smith,  Frank  Dulin  and  William  Freuchtenicht, 
who  is  serving  at  the  present  time;  Probation 
Officers,  Jesse  Patten,  who  sei-ved  for  thirteen 
years,  and  Wesley  I.  Work,  who  is  the  present 
Probation  Officer,  h.Tving  been  appointed  in  1912. 
The  Assistant  Probation  Officer  is  Miss  Fannie 
Winch,  who  is  also  Police  Matron  of  the  city  of 
Fort  Wayne. 

ROSTER  OF  COUNTY  OFFICERS. 
— Prosecuting  Attorneys,  Circuit  Court — 
J.  R.  Bittinger,  James  F.  Morrison,  Charles  M. 
Dawson,  James  M.  Robinson,  Philemon  B.  Coler- 
ick,  Newton  B.  Doughman,  E.  V.  Emerick,  Ron- 
ald Dawson,  Albert  E.  Thomas,  Harry  H.  Hilge- 
man  and  Frank  A.  Emerick. 

— Prosecuting  Attorneys,  Common  Pleas  Court — 
This  office  was  created  in  1856  and  the  follow- 
ing Democrats  served  in  the  order  named:  Joseph 
Brackenridge,  William   R.   Smuth,  John  Colerick, 
Joseph   A.  France,   D.  T.   Smith,   David   Colerick, 
Joseph   S.   Dailey.   Benjamin   F.   Ibach  and  J.   R. 
Bittinger,  the  court  being  abolished  in  1873. 
— Prosecuting  Attorneys,  Criminal  Court — 
This  office  was  created  in   1867,  during  a  part 
of  which  year  a  Republican  discharged  the  duties 
of     the     office,     his     successor     being     Edward 
O'Rourke,  following  whom,  in  order  named,  were 


Joseph  S.  France,  Samuel  M.  Hench  and  William 
S.  O'Rourke. 

—Clerks  of  the  Circuit  Court- 
Anthony  L.  Davis,  1824-1829;  Allen  Hamilton, 
1831-1838;  Philip  G.  Jones,  1839-1843;  Robert  E. 
Fleming,  1844-18.52;  Joseph  Sinclair,  1853  and 
part  of  1854;  I.  D.  G.  Nelson  succeeding  to  the 
office  in  the  latter  year  and  serving  until  1862, 
inclusive;  William  Fleming,  1863-1870;  William 
Edsall,  1871-1874;  Frank  H.  Wolke,  1875-1878; 
M.  V.  B.  Spencer,  1879-1881;  Willis  D.  Maier, 
1882-1885;  George  W.  Loag,  1886,  died  in  office, 
and  was  succeeded  by  J.  J.  Kern,  who  filled  out 
the  unexpired  term ;  D.  W.  Souder  served  from 
1890  until  1894,  inclusive,  being  succeeded  by  H. 
M.  Metzgar,  whose  term  expired  in  1898 ;  Frank 
J.  Belot,  1902;  W.  A.  Johnson,  1906;  Joseph  N. 
M.ason,  1910;  William  E.  Gerding,  1914;  David 
C.  Stout,  the  present  incumbent. 

— Auditors — 

Anthony  L.  Davis,  1824-1829;  Allen  Hamilton, 
1831-1838;  Philip  G.  Jones,  1839-1840;  John  B. 
Blue,  elected  in  1857,  served  only  part  of  the 
.\ear,  being  succeeded  by  Francis  L.  Furst,  who 
held  the  office  from  1857-1860;  G.  F.  Stinchcomb, 
1861-1864;  William  T.  Abbott,  1873-1876;  Mar- 
tin E.  Argo,  1877-1881;  A.  L.  Griebel,  1882-1885; 
John  B.  Niezor,  1886-1890;  Andrew  F.  Glutting, 
1890-1894;  Clarence  Edsall,  1894,  who  died  in 
office,  and  L.  J.  Bobilya  being  appointed  to  fill 
the  unexpired  term,  1898;  William  Meyer,  1898, 
who  resigned,  and  G.  A.  C.  Ortlieb  appointed, 
serving  until  1902;  Dr.  J.  L.  Smith,  1902-1906; 
George  W.  Lindemuth,  1906-1910;  Calvin  H. 
Brown,  1910-1914;  Will  Johnson,  1914,  the  pres- 
ent incumbent. 

—Treasurers— 

L.  G.  Thompson,  1829;  Benjamin  Cushman, 
1832;  Joseph  Holman,  1833;  Theodore  K.  Breck- 
enridge,  1841;  S.  M.  Black,  1847;  Thomas  D.  De- 
kay,  1850;  Ochmig  Bird,  1852;  Alexander  Wiley, 
1856;  Alexander  Wiley,  1862;  Henry  Monning, 
1866;  John  Ring,  1870;  Michael  F.  Schmetzer, 
1874;  John  M.  Taylor,  1879;  John  Dalman,  1883; 
Isaac  Mowrer,  1887;  Edward  Beckman,  1890; 
L.  C.  Hunter,  1894;  John  M.  Rohan,  1898;  Wil- 
liam F.  Scheiman,  1906;  J.  Herman  Bueter,  1910; 
William  F.  Ranke,  1914,  present  incumbent,  elect- 
ed in  1916  for  second  term  of  two  >ears. 
— Recorders — 

Anthony  L.  Davis,  1824;  Allen  Hamilton,  1831; 
Robert  Fleming.  1837;  Edward  Colerick,  1844; 
Plat  J.  Wise,  1855;  Clement  Reckers,  1863;  John 
M.  Koch,  1871;  Joseph  Mommer,  Jr.,  1874; 
Thomas  S.  Heller,  1882;  Milton  W.  Thompson, 
1888;  George  W.  Fickle,  1890;  W.  A.  Reichelder- 


HISTORY  INDIANA  DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


fer,   1894;    Robert   E.   Kelly,   1908;   Allen  Hursh, 
1912;  Christ  Vonderan  appointed  1916. 

—Sheriffs- 
Allen  Hamilton,  1824;  Cyrus  Taber,  1826;  Ab- 
ner  Gerrard,  1827;  David  Pickering,  1831;  John 
P.  Hedges,  1837;  Joseph  Berkley,  1838;  Brad  B. 
Stevens,  1842;  William  H.  McDonald,  1850;  Wil- 
liam Fleming.  18.55;  William  T.  Pratt,  1862; 
John  McCartney,  1866;  Joseph  D.  Hance,  1873; 
Plat  J.  Wise,  1876;  Charles  A.  Munson,  1878; 
Franklin  D.  Cosgrove,  1880;  DeGroff  Nelson, 
1884,  died  May  27,  1887,  succeeded  by  George  H. 
Viberg.  who  served  two  terms  until  1892;  Ed- 
ward Clausmeier,  1892;  Albert  Melching,  1896; 
George  W.  Stout,  1900;  Aaron  Reichelderfer, 
1908;  Amiel  C.  Gladieux,  1912,  1914. 
— Surveyors — 
The  first  Surveyor  in  Allen  county  was  Reuben 
J.  Dawson,  who  took  the  office  in  1835  and  served 
two  years;  S.  M.  Black,  1837;  William  Jackson, 
1855;  William  McLaughlin,  1857;  J.  W.  Mc Ar- 
thur, 1861;  Nathan  Butler,  1865;  J.  S.  Goshorn, 
1867;  William  H.  Goshorn,  1870;  D.  M.  Allen, 
1882;  O.  B.  Wiley,  1884;  Henry  E.  Fisher,  1888; 
Charles  Branstrater,  1892;  John  A.  Bushman, 
1898;  David  D.  Spindler,  1904;  Ralph  W.  Guen- 
ther,  1910,  1912,  1914. 

— County  Superintendents  of  Public  Schools — 
This  office  was  created  in  1861  and  the  first 
Superintendent  was  R.  D.  Robinson;  James  H. 
Smart,  1867;  Jerry  Hillegass,  1873;  Flavius  J. 
Young,  1885;  Henry  G.  Felger,  1904;  David  O. 
McComb,  1912,  the  present  incumbent. 
— Coroners — 
The  first  man  elected  to  this  office  in  Allen 
county  was  C.  E.  Goodrich,  who  entered  upon  his 
duties  in  1852;  John  Johnson,  1854;  W.  H.  Mc- 
Donald, 1856;  John  P.  Waters,  1858;  Augustus 
M.  Webb,  1874;  William  Gaffney,  1876;  Kent  K. 
Wheelock,  1882;  H.  F.  C.  Stellhorn,  1887;  A.  J. 
Kessler,  1889;  Morse  Harrod,  1893;  J.  K.  Kappel, 
1907;  W.  W.  Barnett,  1909;  A.  J.  Kessler,  1907; 
Edward  H.  Kruse,  1911;  J.  E.  McArdle,  1915,  the 
present  incumbent. 

— County  Commissioners — 
First  District — The  first  County  Commissioner 
was  William  Rockhill,  elected  in  1824;  since  that 
time  Nathan  Coleman,  Francis  Alexander,  Chris- 
tian Parker,  David  McQuiston,  Robert  Briggs, 
Nelson  McLain,  •  Rufus  McDonald,  William  M. 
Parker,  Noah  Clem,  Simeon  Biggs,  Henry  Dick- 
erson,  John  Shaffer,  William  Lenz,  John  Begue, 
Frank  Gladio,  Henry  Hartman,  Jasper  W.  Jones, 
S.  F.  Baker,  A.  R.  Schnitker,  F.  William  Franke. 
Second    District — The    first    Commissioner    of 


this  district  was  Jam.es  Wyman,  elected  in  1824; 
since  that  time  William  Caswell,  Abner  Gerard, 
Joseph  Burkey,  L.  S.  Bayless,  R.  Starkweather, 
F.  D.  Lasselle,  James  S.  Hamilton,  William  Rob- 
inson, F.  D.  Lasselle  (a  second  time),  Michael 
Crow,  Byi-on  D.  Minor,  John  A.  Robinson,  Jacob 
Hillegass,  Jacob  Goeglein,  Jerome  D.  Gloyd,  H. 
F.  Bullerman,  M.  A.  Ferguson,  Martin  Moudy, 
Joseph  Tonkel,  James  D.  Butt. 

Third  District — The  first  Commissioner  of  this 
district  was  Francis  M.  Comparet,  elected  in 
1824;  since  that  time  James  Holman,  Nathan 
Coleman,  Joseph  Townsend,  Horace  B.  Taylor, 
Joseph  Hall,  Zerue  Pattee,  Peter  Parker,  William 
T.  Daly,  T.  M.  Andrews,  Isaac  Hall,  David  H. 
Lipes,  John  C.  Davis,  Timothy  Hogan,  John  H. 
Brannan,  J.  H.  Stellhorn,  C.  E.  Oi-ff,  Charles  G. 
Greibel,  John  B.  Wyss. 

The  Board  of  Commissioners  for  the  year  1915 
consists  of  William  C.  Schwier,  Albert  L.  Black 
and  Henry  A.  Wetzel. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 
— Senators — 
The  senatorial  district  of  which  Allen  county 
foimed  a  part  was  composed  of  the  counties  of 
Allen,  Wabash,  Huntington,  Elkhart,  St.  Joseph 
and  Laporte.  The  first  Democratic  Senator 
elected  from  the  district  was  David  H.  Colerick, 
who  was  elected  in  1835  and  served  till  1838,  dur- 
ing whose  second  term  the  district  was  reduced 
to  Alien,  Wells  and  Adams.  In  1841  Hunting- 
ton county  was  added  and  was  represented  by 
Joseph  Sinclair  and  by  William  Rockhill,  1844 
to  1847.  The  district  of  Allen,  Adams  and  Wells 
being  renewed,  Franklin  P.  Randall  was  elected 
in  1847  and  continued  to  represent  it  till  1850, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  S.  Mikle,  who 
served  till  1853.  From  1853  to  1855  the  same 
district  was  represented  by  Samuel  Edsall.  At 
the  election  in  1858  Allen  county  was  created  a 
senatorial  district  by  itself  and  Allen  Hamilton 
was  elected;  1862,  Pliny  Hoagland;  1864,  W.  W. 
Carson.  He  was  succeeded  by  Oehmig  Bird,  who 
represented  the  counties  of  Allen,  Adams  and 
Wells,  again  joined  in  a  district,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  D.  Sarnighausen,  1872  to  1879. 
Allen  county  being  again  made  an  independent 
district,  was  i-epresented  from  1873-75  by  Oehmig 
Bird;  1875-78  by  Robert  C.  Bell;  1878-82  by 
Thomas  J.  Foster.  In  1880  Robert  C.  Bell  was 
elected  for  the  joint  district  of  Allen  and  Whitley 
counties;  1882,  Lycurgus  S.  Null  from  Allen  and 
Foster  being  re-elected  for  the  joint  district  of 
Allen  and  Whitley  counties;  1884,  Null  re-elect- 
ed; 1886,  James  M.  Barrett;  1888,  Barrett  re- 
elected, joint   Fred  J.   Hayden;    1890,  Joseph   D. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Morgan,  joint  OehniiR  Bird;  1894,  Thomas  Em- 
met Ellison,  Bird  re-elected;  189(5,  Ellison  re- 
elected, joint  Louis  J.  Bobilya;  1898,  George  V. 
Kell,  joint  William  Ryan.  For  the  district  com- 
posed of  Allen  and  Adams:  1900,  Kell  re-elected, 
joint  Stephen  B.  Fleming:  for  Allen  and  Adams; 
19(12.  Lew  V.  Ulery,  Fleming:  re-elected  for  joint 
district;  1906,  William  T.  Ranke;  1908.  Stephen 
B.  Fleming-,  joint  Allen  and  Adams;  1910,  Frank 
Green  well;  1912,  Stephen  B.  Fleming,  joint  Allen 
and  Adams:  1914,  Oehmig:  Bird. 

— Representatives — 
From  1824  to  1835  Allen  county  was  joined 
with  other  counties  in  a  representative  district. 
The  first  Democrat  elected  from  Allen  county  in 
1832  was  David  H.  Colerick;  1833,  William  Rock- 
hill;  1834-3.5,  Lewis  G.  Thompson,  since  which 
time  Allen  county  has  had  one  or  more  represent- 
atives independently  and  the  following  Demo- 
crats: 1835,  William  Rockhill;  1836-39,  Lewis 
G.  Thompson;  1841-42,  Lewis  G.  Thompson; 
1844-46.  Christian  Parker;  1846-48,  Peter  Riser; 
1848-50.  Oehmig  Bird;  1850-53,  L  D.  G.  Nelson; 
1853-55,  Francis  D.  Lasselle;  1855-57,  Charles 
E.  Sturgis;  1857-58,  Pliny  Hoagland;  1858-61, 
Nelson  McLain  and  Schuyler  Wheeler;  1861-63, 
Moses  Jenkinson  and  Conrad  Trier;  1863-67,  Oeh- 
mig Bird  and  John  P.  Shoaflf;  1867-68,  John  P. 
Shoaff  and  Peter  Riser;  1868-71,  Allen  ZoUars 
and  B.  D.  Miner;  1871-72,  Robert  Taylor  and 
Jacob  S.  Shutt;  1872-75,  Jefferson  Bowser  and 
Mahlon  Heller;  1875-77,  Mahlon  Heller  and  Pat- 
rick Horn;  1877-79,  Thomas  J.  Foster  and 
Charles  B.  Austin;  1879-81,  Elihu  Reichelderfer 
and  Oliver  E.  Fleming;  1881,  Lycurgus  S.  Null, 
Hiram  C.  McDonald  and  Samuel  E.  Sinclair; 
1883,  Albert  W.  Brooks,  Joseph  D.  McHenry  and 
Erastus  L.  Chittenden;  1885,  Albert  W.  Brooks, 
Joseph  D.  McHenry  and  Fred  J.  Hayden;  1887, 
William  H.  Shambaugh  and  Austin  M.  Darrach; 
1889.  William  H.  Shambaugh  and  Francis  Gladio; 
joint,  Allen  and  Huntington  counties,  William 
A.  Oppenheim;  1890,  Samuel  M.  Hench  and  John 
Biegler;  joint.  William  S.  Oppenheim;  1892, 
Charles  Dalman,  Samuel  M.  Hench  and  John  F. 
Rodabaugh;  1891,  Louis  J.  Bobilya,  Charles  Dal- 
man and  George  V.  Rell;  1896,  George  V.  Kell, 
H.  L  Smith  and  William  C.  Ryan;  joint,  Allen 
and  Huntington;  1898.  George  B.  Lawrence  and 
Robert  B.  Shirley;  1900,  Charles  L.  Drummond, 
George  B.  Lawrence  and  George  W.  Louttit; 
1902,  Michael  Sheridan,  Herbert  L.  Sommers  and 
William  S.  Wells;  1906,  William  S.  Wells,  Albert 
R.  Parker  and  William  Fruechtenicht;  1908,  Wil- 
liam S.  Wells,  Robert  B.  Shirley  and  Adolph  Rog- 
gen;  1910,  William  H.  F.  Moellering,  Clifford  J. 
Moran     and     Adolph    Roggen;    1912,    Clifford    J. 


Moran,  William  H.  F.  Moellering  and  Charles  W. 
Roenig;  1914,  Michael  Kinder,  John  B.  W.\  .ss  and 
Joseph  Tonkel. 

MISCELLANEOUS  OFFICIALS,  RESIDENTS 
OF  ALLEN  COUNTY. 

The  following  residents  of  Allen  county  have 
at  difleient  times  represented  this  district  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States:  1847,  William 
Rockhill;  1862.  J.  R.  Edgerton;  1874-76,  Allen 
H.  Hamilton;  1878-80,  Walpole  G.  Colerick; 
1882-84,  Robert  B.  Lowry;  1896,  1898,  1900  and 
1902,  James  M.  Robinson. 

Receivers  of  the  Land  Offices — 1823-29,  Joseph 
Holman;  John  Spencer,  date  not  recorded; 
1834-41,  Daniel  Reid;  1841,  I.  D.  G.  Nelson. 

Register  of  Land  Offices— 1829,  Robert  Brack- 
enridge,  Sr.;  1834-41,  James  W.  Borden;  1841, 
William  Polk;  W.  S.  Edsall,  some  time  in  the 
'40's. 

Hon.  James  W.  Borden  was  appointed  resident 
minister  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands  in  1857  and 
served  as  senatorial  delegate  to  the  State  con- 
stitutional convention   in   1851. 

Hon.  Allen  Hamilton  was  representative  dele- 
gate to  the  State  constitutional  convention  in 
1851. 

Hon.  A.  P.  Edgerton  was  appointed  member 
of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  in  1885. 

M.  V.  B.  Spencer  was  appointed  Pension  Agent 
in  1893. 

Colonel  Charles  A.  Zollinger  was  appointed 
Pension  Agent  in  1885. 

William  Fleming  was  elected  State  Treasurer 
in  1878. 

George  A.  Bitier  was  elected  State  Treasurer 
in   1914. 

Allen  Zollars  was  elected  Supreme  Judge  in 
1882. 

Richard  R.  Erwin  was  elected  Supreme  Judge 
in  1912. 

— Democratic  Postmasters  at  Fort  Wayne — 

John  G.  Maier,  March  22,  1853;  William 
Raough,  July  6,  1885;  Wright  W.  Rockhill,  June 
28,  1893;   Ed.  C.  Miller,  appointed  in  1915. 

—Political  Statistics— 

The  records  of  the  earliest  election  in  Allen 
county  are  not  available.  The  total  vote  in  1831 
was  208;  in  1832.  224,  and  in  the  presidential 
election  of  1836,  358.  In  1844  the  Democratic 
vote  had  begun  to  show  a  rapid  increase  toward 
that  great  preponderance  which  subsequently 
characterized  the  political  history  of  the  county. 
The  total   vote   in    1844   was:     For   Henry   Clay, 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


861;  James  K.  Polk,  849;  in  1848,  Cass  and  But- 
ler 1,059,  Taylor  and  Filmore  891,  Van  Buren 
and  Adams  receiving  13  votes;  1852,  Pierce  and 
King  1,964,  Scott  and  Graham  1,225;  1856, 
Buchanan  and  Breckinridge  3,211,  Fremont  and 
Dayton  1,593;  1860,  Douglas  and  Johnson  3,224, 
Lincoln  and  Graham  1,225,  Bell  and  Breckin- 
ridge 4;  1864,  McClellan  and  Pendleton  4,932, 
Lincoln  and  Johnson  2,244;  1868,  Seymour  and 
Blair  5,604,  Grant  and  Colfax  3,047;  1872,  Gree- 
ley and  Brown  5,176,  Grant  and  Wilson  3,541, 
O'Connor  (Independent  Democrat)  received  119 
votes;  1876,  Tilden  and  Hendricks  7,732,  Hayes 
and  Wheeler  4,013,  scattering  17;  1880,  Hancock 
and  English  7,791,  Garfield  and  Arthur  4,815, 
Weaver  and  Chambers  84;  1884,  Cleveland  and 
Hendricks  8,904,  Blaine  and  Logan  4,932,  Butler 
and  West  104,  St.  John  and  Daniel  85;  1888, 
Cleveland  and  Thurman  9,692,  Harrison  and  Mor- 
ton 5,456  (the  total  Prohibition  vote  was  162, 
United  Labor  95)  ;  1892,  Cleveland  and  Steven- 
son 10,010,  Harrison  and  Reid  5,486,  Prohibition 
176,  Peoples  449;  1896,  Bryan  and  Sewell  9,853, 
McKinley  and  Hobart  8,467,  Prohibition  57,  Peo- 
ples 56,  Gold  Standard  149,  National  13,  Social 
Labor  37;  1900,  Bryan  and  Stevenson  10,764,  Mc- 
Kinley and  Roosevelt  8,250,  Prohibition  102,  Peo- 
ples 5,  Social  Labor  7,  Social  Democrat  163, 
United  Reform  11 ;  1904,  Parker  and  Davis  9,250, 
Roosevelt  and  Fairbanks  10,261,  Prohibition  276, 
Peoples  44,  Socialist  470,  Social  Labor  66;  1908, 
Bryan  and  Kern  11,975,  Taft  and  Sherman  9,468, 
Prohibition  340,  Socialist  494,  Peoples  party  11, 
Social  Labor  14,  Independent  party  41;  1912, 
Wilson  and  Marshall  8,659,  Roosevelt  and  John- 
son 4,246,  Taft  and  Hadley  3,423,  Debs  and  Sei- 
del  1,512,  Social  Labor  127;  1916,  Wilson  and 
Marshal!  9,470,  Hughes  and  Fairbanks  10,169,  So- 
cialist (Benson  and  Kirkpatrick)  1,003,  Prohibi- 
tion (Hanly  and  Landrith)  421,  Socialist  Labor 
(Reiraer  and  Harrison)  91. 

— Democratic  County  Chairmen — 


The  early  Democratic  County  Chairmen  are  not 
available,  as  no  record  has  been  kept  of  them. 
The  following  have  served:  1876,  Frank  H. 
Wolke;  1878,  Charles  A.  Zollinger;  1880,  M.  V. 
B.  Spencer;  1882,  Charles  A.  Zollinger,  who  re- 
signed and  George  W.  Hand  was  elected;  1884, 
William  Kaough,  who  resigned  and  John  Wilkin- 
son was  elected;  1886,  Charles  McCulloch;  1888, 
Montgomery  Hamilton;  1890,  Allen  Zollars;  1892, 
Charles  A.  Zollinger,  who  resigned  and  John  Wil- 
kinson was  elected;  1894,  James  M.  Barrett;  1896 
and  1898,  William  Kaough;  1900,  Henry  C.  Berg- 
hoff;  1902,  Henry  P.  Scherer;  1904,  Eugene  B. 
Smith;  1906,  Edward  G.  Hoffman;  1908-10-12-14, 
W.  A.  Johnson;  1916,  Calvin  H.  Brown. 


— Allen    County   Democratic   Central   Committee, 
1914— 
W.  A.  Johnson,   Chairman;   George  W.   Linde- 
muth,    Vice-Chairman;    Otto    W.    Koenig,    Secre- 
tary; William  E.  Gerding,  Treasurer. 

— Committeemen — 
William  Ringwalt,  Dennis  Gorman,  J.  Lanti- 
nier,  Marshall  Comincavish,  Albert  Melching,  Ed- 
ward Bresnahan,  Charles  O.  Lepper,  Christ 
Hahn,  John  J.  Bauer,  Andrew  J.  Fox,  Daniel 
Falvy,  Sr.,  Frank  Kleekamp,  Henry  Miller, 
Charles  Bandt,  George  Schacker,  J.  Hausbach, 
Adolph  Bieberick,  John  Koch,  Steve  Callahan, 
Fred  Bandt,  John  Ryan,  William  Menze,  Benja- 
min Richter,  Benjamin  Johnson,  Louis  C.  Schroe- 
der,  Allen  Martin,  Henry  W.  Felger,  William 
Quinn,  Gust  Obei-witte,  Dr.  E.  F.  Devaux,  Fred 
Schnitker,  Walter  Scott,  William  Dailey,  P.  C. 
Sible,  Henry  Rockhill,  Jacob  Dennis,  William  G. 
Grotian,  Ernst  Witte,  Jesse  Lindemuth,  Howard 
Hobbs,  Jacob  Schlemmer,  J.  S.  Wyatt,  J.  B.  Em- 
erick.  Joseph  Moore,  Henry  Young,  Hiram  Fos- 
nite,  Raymond  W.  Mowrey,  Frank  Lamont,  John 
H.  Miller,  William  H.  Johnston,  Herman  Meyer, 
Henry  Pranger,  W.  C.  Miner  and  Leonard  Stolte. 

— Newspapers — 

Allen  county  is  well  supplied  with  Democratic 
newspapers,  which  fulfill  the  obligation  to  give 
their  patrons  the  news  and  to  advertise  Allen 
county  •  to  the  outside  world.  The  list  includes 
one  English  morning  daily,  one  English  evening 
daily,  one  German  evening  daily  and  four  weekly 
newspapers : 

The  Fort  Wayne  Journal-Gazette,  established. 
Gazette.  1853;  Journal,  1863.  Journal-Gazette 
Co.,  publishers. 

The  Fort  Wayne  Weekly  Journal-Gazette. 

Fort  Wo.ynk  Sentinel,  established  1833.  Estate 
of  E.  A.  K.  Hackett,  publishers. 

Fort  Wayne  Weekly  Sentinel. 

Fort  Wayne  Freie  -  Pre^sse  -  Staats  Zeitung. 
Staats  Zeitung  established  in  1858;  Freie  Presse 
established  in  1888;  consolidated  in  1908.  Fort 
Wayne  Freie  Press  Publishing  Co.,  publishers; 
Herman  W.  Mackwitz,  editor. 

Monroeville  Democrat  (weekly),  established  in 
1869;  .-hanged  to  Monroeville  Breeze  in  1884. 
John  D.  Alleger,  publisher  and  editor. 

New  Haoeii  Register  (weekly),  established  in 
1908.     Stanley  B.  Dustman,  publisher  and  editor. 

—City  Government,  1914,  City  of  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana — 
Mayor,  William  J.  Hosey;  City  Judge,  H. 
Waveland  Kerr;  City  Clerk,  Gustav  W.  Boerger; 
City  Controller,  William  C.  Baade;  City  Attor- 
ney, Guy  Colcrick. 


(528) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


— Common  Council — 

William  A.  Bayer,  president;  Eugene  B.  Smith, 
vice-president;  Gustav  A.  Boerger,  clerk. 

— Councilmen-at-Large — 
William    A.    Bayer,    Jacob    Hartman,    Paul    P. 
Kinder,  Gustav  F.  Rogge  and  Charles  E.  Welch. 

— Councilmen — 

First  ward,  Jacob  Agne;  Second  ward,  Frank 
J.  Schlebecker;  Third  ward,  Charles  O.  Lepper; 
Fourth  ward,  Eugene  B.  Smith;  Fifth  ward, 
*Robert  John;  Sixth  ward,  John  B.  Mills;  Sev- 
enth ward,  Peter  A.  Offenloch;  Eighth  ward,  Al- 
bert H.  Keller;  Ninth  ward,  Peter  A.  Deitchel; 
Tenth  ward,  Herman  J.  Korte. 

— Department  of  Public  Works — 
Frank  E.  Singrey,  Robert  E.  Kelly,  chairman ; 
*Henry  Hilgeman;  Henry  W.  Becker,  clerk; 
John  Wessel.  Jr.,  secretary  Fort  Wayne  city 
electric  light  works;  Charles  A.  Beuret,  clerk 
water  works;  Frank  M.  Randall,  civil  engineer; 
Herman  Strodel,  superintendent  of  streets;  John 
Harkenrider,  superintendent  of  the  garbage 
crematory;  *Jei-ry  O'Connor,  chief  engineer  of 
water  works;  Henry  Zauner,  chief  engineer  of 
electric  light  works;  Frank  J.  Dix,  electrician  of 
electric  light  works;  Philip  Wyss,  building  in- 
spector. 

—Department  of  Public  Safety- 
George    Herman,    chairman;    James     J.     Hays, 
*Calvin   K.   Reiman,  Dennis   E.   IMcCarthy,  clerk. 

♦Republican. 


—  Police   Department — 
Charles    Lenz,    chief;    Richard    Kelly,    captain; 
Harry  Grimme,  lieutenant. 

— Fire  Department — 

Henry  Hilbrecht,  chief;  George  Jasper,  assist- 
ant chief;  Robert  Gaskill,  electrician;  Fred 
Schroeder,  captain  Company  No.  1;  Michael  Con- 
ners,  captain  Company  No.  2;  John  Stahlhut,  cap- 
tain Company  No.  3;  Peter  Lauer,  captain  Com- 
pany No.  4;  George  Troutman,  captain  Company 
No.  5;  Christian  Rohyans,  captain  Company  No. 
G;  John  Baker,  captain  Company  No.  7;  John 
F.  Huber.  captain  Company  No.  8. 

*C.  Barry  Tolan,  inspector  of  weights  and 
measures;  Benjamin  W.  Skelton,  weighmaster  of 
city  scales;  Charles  M.  Gillett,  market  master; 
Henry  Kiel,-  poundmaster. 

—Department  of  Public  Health— 

Dr.  John  H.  Gilpin,  secretary;  Dr.  H.  O.  Brug- 

geman,   president;    *Dr.   H.   H.   Duemling;    Anne 

E.   Sullivan,  clerk;   Eugene  A.   Schott,  meat  and 

dairy  inspector. 

— Board  of  Park  Commissioners — 
*  David  N.  Foster,  president;   Louis  Fox,  vice- 
president;     Abe     Ackerman,     *Louis     W.     Dorn, 
Charges   J.   Steiss,   secretary;    August   Goers,   su- 
perintendent of  parks. 

— Trustees  of  Public  Schools — 

William  H.  Shamhaugh,  Jesse  Macbeth,  *Ernest 

W.  Cook,  *Justin  Study,  superintendent  of  public 

schools.     Alfred    L.    Randall   elected   in   place  of 

Jesse  Macbeth  in  191.5. 


'Republican. 


&jt-"^'" 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
BARTHOLOMEW  COUNTY 


BARTHOLOMEW  COUNTY  was  organized 
under  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  ap- 
proved January  9,  1821.  Subsequently  and 
incident  to  the  foiTnation  of  new  counties  and  the 
consequent  shifting-  of  boundary  lines,  some 
changes  have  been  made  in  the  geographical  out- 
line of  the  county.  In  the  early  history  of  the 
State  the  territory  comprised  in  Bartholomew 
county  was  a  part  of  Delaware  county  and  in- 
cluded the  greater  part  of  Brown  county.  The 
present  area  of  Bartholomew  county  is  about  four 
hundred  square  miles,  approximating  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-six  thousand  acres. 

From  its  organization  to  the  present  time  Bar- 
tholomew county  has  been  safely  Democratic, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  years,  when  the  Re- 
publican party  was  in  control.  Until  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Republican  party  the  Whig  party 
was  the  dominant  opposition  party  in  the  county, 
but  in  the  early  history  of  the  county  political 
lines  were  not  tightly  drawn,  and  from  time  to 
time  there  were  political  fusions.  The  first  com- 
missioners of  the  county  wei'e  William  Ruddick, 
Jesse  Ruddick  and  Solomon  Stout,  all  of  whom 
were  Democrats.  With  the  exception  of  the  oc- 
casional election  of  a  Republican  county  official 
the  Democrats  held  Bartholomew  county  from  the 
Civil  War  until  1896,  when  the  Democratic  party 
of  the  county  struck  on  the  rock  of  free  silver 
and  was  thrown  off  its  course.  From  that  time 
the  Republican  party  controlled  the  county  until 
1908,  when  the  Democratic  party  again  righted 
itself  and  regained  complete  control  of  the  coun- 
ty, which  it  still  holds.  The  present  officials  of 
the  county,  all  of  whom  are  Democrats,  are : 
State  Senator,  E.  A.  Norman;  Representative, 
John  M.  Thompson ;  Prosecuting  Attorney,  Lewis 
A.  Harding;  Auditor,  William  H.  Scott;  Clerk, 
Leon  J.  Cox;  Treasurer,  John  W.  Scheldt;  Sheriff, 
Matt  Shaw;  Recorder,  Ed.  Horton;  Assessor,  Wil- 
liam C.  Smith;  Coroner,  Dr.  L.  E.  Bracken;  Sur- 
veyor, Lloyd  Rogers;  Commissioners,  Jacob 
Stucker,  Charles  F.  Boyer  and  John  Seele. 

Columbus,  a  city  of  12,000  souls,  is  the  county 
seat  of  Bartholomew  county  and,  like  the  county, 
has  been  under  Democratic  control  almost  from 
its  organization.  Since  1870  the  Republicans 
have  had  but  eight  years  of  complete  control  of 
the  city  administrations. 

Bartholomew  county  has  been  carried  by  Dem- 
ocratic presidential  candidates  as  follows:  1828 
and  1832,  Andrew  Jackson;  1844,  James  K.  Polk; 
1848,  Zachary  Taylor;  1852,  Franklin  Pierce; 
1856,  James  Buchanan;   1860,   Stephen  A.  Doug- 


las; 1864,  George  B.  McClellan;  1868,  Horatio 
Seymour;  1876,  S.  J.  Tilden;  1880,  Winfield  Scott 
Hancock;  1884,  Grover  Cleveland;  1888,  Grover 
Cleveland;  1892,  Grover  Cleveland;  1896,  William 
J.  Bryan;  1900,  William  J.  Bryan;  1908,  William 
J.  Bryan,  and  in  1912,  Woodrow  Wilson. 

Bartholomew  county  has  been  represented  in 
the  General  Assembly  by  the  following  Demo- 
cratic Senators  and  Representatives:  Senators, 
Zachariah  Tannehill,  Smith  Jones,  Francis  T. 
Hord,  Thomas  Greenlee,  Oliver  J.  Glessner,  Dr. 
J.  B.  Grove.  R.  L.  Coffee,  W.  C.  Duncan,  Richard 
A.  Fulk,  Emanuel  Trautmann  and  E.  A.  Nor- 
man. Representatives:  John  Lindsay,  Jesse  A. 
Ruddick.  Jacob  Cook,  Thomas  G.  Lee,  John  Mc- 
Kinney.  Z.  Tannehill,  W.  P.  Arnold,  Eliakim 
Hamblen,  Aquilla  Jones,  Ephraim  Arnold, 
Charles  Jones,  Thomas  Essex,  Colin  McKinney, 
Joseph  Struble,  Francis  P.  Smith,  0.  H.  P.  Ab- 
bett,  Stinson  J.  Barrett,  Dr.  E.  K.  Hawley,  John 
M.  Kline,  Alfred  Williams,  Dr.  J.  M.  Cook,  Ar- 
thur D.  Galbraith,  P.  H.  McCormack,  Louis  Don- 
host,  D.  W.  Heagy,  Joseph  F.  Ghent,  Benjamin 
F.  Kobbe,  James  F.  Cox,  John  Hill,  V.  D.  Ault 
and  John  M.  Thompson. 

While  Bartholomew  county  was  not  frequently 
or  numerously  represented  in  the  State  or  na- 
tional councils  of  the  Democratic  party  it  was 
ably  represented.  Nathan  T.  Carr  was  elected 
to  Congress  in  1876  to  succeed  Michael  C.  Kerr, 
who  died  in  office.  Mr.  Carr  was  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  when  the  debate 
was  on  over  the  historic  electoral  commission  fol- 
lowing the  Tilden-Hayes  campaign  and  which 
commission  seated  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  in  the 
White  House  and  he  spoke  and  voted  against  the 
commission.  After  the  action  of  the  commission 
was  announced  Mr.  Carr  delivered  a  scathing  ad- 
dress in  the  House  in  denunciation  of  his  col- 
leagues, who  had  favored  the  commission,  which 
gained  for  him  a  nation-wide  reputation  as  an 
orator,  a  wit  and  satirist.  While  Mr.  Carr  was 
a  brilliant  lawyer  and  gifted  statesman,  he  was 
eccentric  and  while  practicing  law  he  carried  the 
following  advertisement  in  the  newspapers: 
"Nathan  T.  Carr,  Lawyer,  practices  in  all  courts 
of  the  State.  Special  attention  given  to  divorce 
cases  and  all  other  cases  in  which  innocent  per- 
sons are  charged  with  crime." 

George  W.  Cooper  was  elected  to  Congress  in 
1888  and  served  three  terms.  He  introduced  in 
the  House  the  bill  which,  when  it  became  a  law, 
provided  a  tax  on  all  greenbacks.  While  in  Con- 
gress Mr.  Cooper  brought  about  an  investigation 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


of  the  pension  department  by  which  much  good 
was  accomplished  not  alone  for  the  department, 
but  for  the  nation  as  well.  When  the  govern- 
ment decided  to  establish  free  rural  mail  deliv- 
ery Mr.  Cooper  succeeded  in  fretting  Bartholomew 
county  chosen  as  one  of  three  experimental  sta- 
tions in  which  to  try  out  the  new  system.  It  was 
while  Mr.  Cooper  was  a  member  of  Congress  that 
he  chanced  to  save  a  rustic  of  his  county  from 
being  illegally  sent  to  a  penitentiary.  He  was 
at  the  depot  awaiting  a  train  for  Washington 
whep  a  constable  from  an  out  township  arrived 
with  a  prisoner.  The  congressman  engaged  the 
constable  in  conversation  and  learned  that  the 
prisoner  had  been  convicted  before  a  justice  of 
the  peace  of  the  theft  of  a  hog  and  had  been 
sentenced  to  State  prison.  Mr.  Cooper  volun- 
tarily took  the  case  up  for  the  prisoner  and  pre- 
vented his  commitment  to  the  State  prison. 

Francis  T.  Hord  was  elected  Attorney-General 
of  Indiana  in  1882  and  served  two  years.  While 
in  office  Attorney-General  Hord  won  the  case  of 
the  State  of  Indiana  vs.  the  Portsmouth  Bank, 
brought  to  recover  Beaver  Lake  to  the  State,  and 
by  this  action  the  right  of  the  State  to  the  lake 
beds  of  Indiana  was  settled  for  all  time. 

In  1894  W.  C.  Duncan  was  appointed  to  the 
position  of  State  Statistician  of  Indiana,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  held  for  twenty  years,  and  in  1914 
Charles  S.  Talkington  was  appointed  to  the  posi- 
tion of  Superintendent  of  the  Indiana  State  penal 
farm,  which  was  established  the  previous  year. 

The  first  Democratic  newspaper  of  consequence 
published  in  Bartholomew  county  was  founded  in 
1848  by  .John  R.  Tinkle,  who  published  it  until 
18.50,  when  he  sold  it  to  Aquilla  Jones  and  W.  F. 
Pidgeon.  In  18.52  W.  C.  Stateler  became  pro- 
prietor of  the  paper  and  changed  its  name  to  the 
Indiana  Democrat.  In  1861  the  paper  was 
bought  by  Rev.  William  Howe,  who  sold  it  in 
1888  to  Judge  Nathan  T.  Carr,  who  changed  the 
name  to  the  Columbus  Bulletin.  In  1872  Carr  sold 
the  paper  to  John  D.  Lyle,  who  changed  the  name 
to  the  Bartholomew  County  Democrat.  George  E. 
Finney  was  employed  as  editor  and  later  obtained 
an  interest,  when  the  name  of  the  paper  was 
changed  to  the  Columbus  Democrat.  In  1878  the 
pape)-  was  bought  by  J.  N.  Jlarsh,  who  continued 
its  publication  until  1880,  when  he  sold  it  to  J.  A. 
Arnold  and  under  whose  ownership  publication 
was  suspended  in  1885.  In  1881  the  Columbus 
Herald,  which  is  still  in  existence,  and  which  is 
now  the  only  Democratic  newspaper  in  Bartholo- 
mew county,  was  founded  by  George  E.  Finney 
and  Charles  H.  Lacy.  Within  a  year  after  the 
paper  was  founded  the  publication  of  a  daily  edi- 
tion, the  Columbus  Evening  Herald,  was  begun. 
In  1892  the  paper  was  bought  by  A.  J.  Dipboye 


and  M.  A.  Locke,  but  a  few  years  later  Locke 
bought  Dipboye's  interest  and  still  retains  the 
sole  ownership  of  the  paper,  together  with  three 
other  papers  which  he  has  bought  and  merged 
with  the  Herald.  These  three  papers  were  the 
Times,  started  in  the  early  90's  and  owned  by  J. 
N.  Marsh;  the  Driftwood  Democrat,  started  by 
Dr.  E.  K.  Hawley  and  Samuel  Denison  and  later 
as  the  Democrat,  bought  by  Walter  C.  Galbraith; 
the  Star,  started  by  E.  H.  Kinney  and  published 
foi-  a  time  as  a  Republican  paper,  but  later 
changed  by  him  to  a  Democratic  paper. 

.•\mong  the  leading  Democratic  workers  of  the 
couniy  in  the  early  days,  men  who  ever  stood  by 
their  guns,  men  who  helped  to  hold  their  party 
to  the  fore  and  roll  up  majorities  ranging  from 
800  to  1,000,  but  who  have  gone  to  their  spiritual 
reward,  might  be  mentioned :  Thomas  Essex, 
Minas  Lowe,  William  R.  Spurgeon,  James  W. 
Wells,  David  Stobo,  John  Stobo,  Thomas  May, 
Miles  Thompson,  Joseph  Andrews,  Jabel  Smith, 
John  D.  Lyle,  Dr.  J.  W.  Allen,  Jesse  Walker,  Eli 
Marqueth,  Louis  Donhost,  Christopher  Martin, 
Adam  Fishel,  Solomon  Lambert,  Isaac  Lucas, 
Samuel  Stuckey,  Allen  Hull,  Webber  Smith,  Nel- 
son Keyes,  W.  W.  Mooney.  Patrick  Sweeney, 
Frank  Everroad,  Frank  Whittington,  Peter 
Holtz,  Archie  Thompson,  Thomas  Kennedy, 
Archie  McEwen  and  Peter  Johnson. 

James  W.  Wells,  a  former  Auditor  of  the  coun- 
ty, but  long  since  dead,  and  W.  C.  Smith  were 
longer  in  the  court  house  in  official  positions  than 
any  other  Democrats  in  the  county.  Wells  was 
Auditor  or  Deputy  Auditor  of  the  county  for 
twenty-five  years,  and  Smith,  who  is  the  present 
County  Assessor,  took  an  old  violin  forty-five 
.\ears  ago  and  with  it  "fiddled"  himself  into  the 
court  house  as  Sheriff^,  whei-e  he  has  since  re- 
mained almost  continuously  in  one  official  posi- 
tion or  another. 

In  the  earlv  history  of  the  county  the  game  of 
politics  was  evidently  played  along  pretty  much 
the  same  lines  as  at  present,  for  in  the  early  for- 
ties a  legislator  from  Bartholomew  county  who 
was  in  the  Legislature  when  the  internal  improve- 
ment bill,  which  eventually  cost  the  State  four- 
teen million  dollars,  is  quoted  as  reporting  to  his 
constituency  that  "There  are  so  many  of  them 
lobsters  in  the  Legislature  working  for  the  in- 
fernal improvement  bill  that  there  is  no  room 
for  the  members." 

Among  the  chairmen  of  the  Democratic  County 
Central  Committees  of  Bartholomew  county  who 
have  made  good  records  for  themselves  and  for 
their  party  are:  Irvin  A.  Cox,  W.  W.  Adams, 
Charles  H.  Wagner,  James  F.  Cox,  Z.  H.  Hau.ser, 
David  Emig,  W.  C.  Duncan,  Joseph  Ghent  and 
David  Stobo. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
BENTON  COUNTY 


By  Elmore  Barce 


BENTON  COUNTY  is  one  of  the  new  coun- 
ties of  the  State,  the  first  court  house  at 
Oxford  being  built  about  the  year  1852.  At 
that  time  practically  the  only  settlements  in  the 
county  were  in  the  small  groves  in  and  about 
Oxford  and  along  Pine  creek.  The  early  settlers 
had  built  cabins  in  these  groves  and  cleared  away 
part  of  the  wilderness  and  were  tillers  of  the  soil. 

A  great  many  of  the  first  inhabitants  were  of 
the  old  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian  stock  and  most- 
ly of  the  Jacksonian  type  of  Democracy.  Prior 
to  the  Civil  War.  the  county  being  poor,  the  offices 
were  not  lucrative  and  there  were  few  applicants 
for  public  position. 

There  is  no  record  or  tradition  of  any  certain 
leaders  of  the  Democratic  ranks  in  those  days. 
Among  the  first  settlers  were  the  McConnell's, 
whose  descendants  are  still  residents  of  the  coun- 
ty, Ralph  W.  McCcnnell  being  the  present  post- 
master at  Oxford.  The  Wattles  family  were  all 
stanch  Democrats,  as  was  the  family  of  Dr.  Stem- 
bel.  Later  came  the  Perigos,  the  Emersons,  the 
Menefees,  the  Griffins  and  the  large  Smith  fam- 
ily, who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Mud  Pine. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  many  of 
the  so-called  Douglas  Democrats  joined  the  Re- 
publican ranks  and  for  many  years  after  that 
struggle  the  Republican  party  was  in  the 
ascendency,  and  has  always  had  a  majority  rang- 
ing from  350  to  500  votes. 

"The  first  political  speech  in  Benton  county  was 
delivered  during  the  William  Henry  Harrison 
campaign  of  1840  at  the  house  of  Hugh  and  Sam- 
uel McConnell,  '.n  McConnell's  Grove,  five  miles 
southwest  of  Oxford.  Here  several  of  the  settlers 
had  gathered  at  a  wool  picking  and  while  the 
women  worked  with  the  wool  a  Democratic  orator 
made  a  strong  speech  on  the  lee  side  of  the  barn. 
The  campaign  of  1844  was  a  stirring  one,  but  it 
had  little  effect  upon  Benton  county  politics,  as 
the  few  voteis  were  mostly  Democrats  and  no 
demonstrations  were  necessary  to  hold  them  to 
their  party  faith. 

One  of  the  interesting  stories  relating  to  the 
early  political  history  of  the  county  is  an  account 
of  a  joint  debate  in  1852  between  Joseph  A. 
Wright,  then  Governor,  and  Nicholas  McCarty, 
Whig  candidate  for  Governor,  in  which  a  joint 
debate  was  held  in  true  western  style  in  what  is 
known  as  White  Oak  Grove,  west  of  the  town  of 
Oxford.     The    following    interesting    account    of 


that  occurrence  is  thus  related  by  an  old  settler 
of  that  day: 

"Ample  provision  was  made  for  the  convenience 
of  these  dignit.-.ries.  An  old  rattle-bang  of  a 
wagon  had  been  run  in  the  shade  of  the  bushes 
to  keep  it  from  falling  down.  This  was  pulled 
out  to  give  a  more  conspicuous  position,  for  both 
spoke  from  this  improvised  rostrum,  Wright 
making  the  opening  speech  portraying  the  blessed 
usufruct  of  the  never-dying  Democracy,  while 
McCarty  spoke  in  defense  of  the  Whig  party.  The 
audience  was  small.  There  was  not  to  exceed 
sixty  persons  present,  and  those  were  mostly 
Democrats.  I  remember  distinctly  the  appear- 
ance and  manner  of  these  distinguished  gentle- 
men. Mr.  Wright  was  tall,  bony,  long-armed, 
long-fingered,  straight  black  hair,  complexion 
slightly  swarthy  and  clerical  attire;  forceful  in 
speech  and  one  calculated  to  tickle  the  pride  of 
the  old  moss-back.  Mr.  McCarthy  was  the  re- 
verse of  Wright;  he  was  pudgy,  rotund,  inclined 
to  corpulency  and  pot-gutted,  his  clothes  fitting 
tightly,  wore  a  gray  suit,  slightly  bald,  face  in- 
dicating that  he  loved  a  good  dinner,  but  his 
speech — oh,  my !  it  was  superlatively  bad.  His 
defense  of  the  Whig  party,  as  I  remember  it,  was 
that  it  favored  public  improvements." 

After  the  formation  of  the  present  townships 
the  following  constituted  the  stronghold  of  Dem- 
ocracy: York,  Richmond,  Parish  Grove,  with 
Pine  township  always  close  and  Hickory  Grove 
inclined  to  go  into  the  Democratic  camp.  Center, 
Grant  and  Union  townships  have  always  been 
strongly  Republican  and  Oak  Grove  township  has 
been  inclined  to  follow  the  Republican  lead. 

In  the  last  few  years,  however,  the  Democrats 
of  Benton  county  have  made  a  very  creditable 
showing.  The  old  Republican  regime  had  worn 
threadbare  and  some  of  the  generals  in  the  Re- 
publican party  had  been  guilty  of  the  practice  of 
nepotism  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  there  was 
even  some  talk  of  others  being  rather  liberal  with 
the  public  funds.  About  this  time  George  L. 
Robey,  a  brother  of  Judge  Robey  of  the  Appel- 
late Court,  became  editor  of  the  Benton  Review, 
which  has  always  been  the  leading  Democratic 
newspaper  of  Benton  county.  His  forceful  pre- 
sentation of  existing  conditions  satisfied  the 
voters  that  some  change  would  have  to  be  made 
in  political  affairs.  The  voters  placed  Lemuel 
Shipman,  at  present  president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional   Rank   at    Fowler,   in   the   Auditor's   office, 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


which  position  he  held  for  eisfht  years.  His  ad- 
ministration of  that  office  was  honest,  impartial 
and  thoroughly  efficient. 

At  the  same  time  Ray  Gillespie  became  Re- 
corder of  the  county,  Henry  Norloh,  Sheriff,  and 
Thomas  F'tzgerald.  Commissioner,  and  later 
Frank  Shackleton  and  Robert  Hamilton  succeeded 
each  other  in  the  Sheriff's  office. 

Beine  in  the  minority,  the  Democrats  were  care- 
ful to  select  thoroughly  competent  men  and  their 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  county  was 
such  that  the  old-time  Republican  custom  of  vot- 
ing a  "straight  ticket"  became  a  thing  of  the 
past. 

The  first  judicial  officer  that  the  Democrats 
ever  elected  in  Benton  county  was  the  Hon.  James 
T.  Saunderson,  who  became  Judge  of  the  Twenty- 
first  Judicial  Circuit  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  com- 
prising the  counties  of  Warren  and  Benton. 
Judge  Saunderson  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil 
War,  having  fought  in  the  Union  cavalry,  and 
was  a  man  of  the  utmost  integrity  and  his  candi- 
dacy was  very  popular  with  the  voters.  He  held 
the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  for  one 
term  of  six  years. 

The  latter-day  chairmen  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  Benton  county  have  adopted  the  plan  of 
appealing  to  the  voters  on  the  strength  of  the 
ticket  presented  to  the  people.  Aggressive  tac- 
tics and  the  old  idea  of  a  red-fire  campaign  have 


been  abandoned.  Among  others  who  have  been 
chairman  of  the  county  are  George  L.  Robey, 
Theodore  Hoss,  the  present  postmaster  of  Fow- 
ler; Charles  Lawson,  a  large  farmer  and  stock 
raiser  near  Chase;  Mead  S.  Hayes,  lawyer,  now 
practicing  at  Marion,  Ind.,  and  Elmore  Barce,  an 
attorney  at  Fowler.  The  last  chairman,  Patrick 
J.  Kennedy,  is  a  stock  raiser  and  farmer  near 
Templeton,  Ind. 

The  present  Democratic  postmasters  in  Benton 
county  are  Ralph  W.  McConrell  at  Oxford,  Theo- 
dore Hoss  at  Fowler,  Edward  Mclntyre  at  Ambia. 
Emmett  Scanlon  at  Boswell,  Thomas  Grogan  at 
Freeland  Park.  Charles  Leisure  at  Earl  Park  and- 
J.  W.  Carroll  at  Otlerbein. 

At  the  last  general  election  the  Democrats 
again  succeeded  in  filling  the  Auditor's  and  Sher- 
iff's offices,  Wan  en  Mankey  being  elected  to  suc- 
ceed himself  as  Auditor  and  George  Duffy,  son 
of  Michael  Duffy,  a  prominent  Benton  county 
Democrat,  being  elected  to  the  office  of  Sheriff. 

The  present  Superintendent  of  Schools,  M.  F. 
O'Rear,  is  also  a  Democrat. 

In  recent  years  the  fact  that  Democracy  has 
been  in  the  ascendency  has  had  an  inspiring  effect 
upon  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party,  and  many 
young  men  have  taken  hold  of  the  helm.  The  con- 
ventions and  caucuses  of  the  party  have  been  at- 
tended by  increasing  numbers  of  earnest  party 
workers,  who  feel  at  last  that  they  are  com.ng 
into  their  own. 


^^ 


(  53.3  ) 


HISTORY   OF   THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY   OF 
BLACKFORD  COUNTY 


By  M.  C.  Townsend 


A  LARGE  majority  of  the  pioneers  of  Black- 
ford county  were  Democrats.  In  local 
matters,  however,  political  lines  were  not 
always  closely  drawn  and  men  were  frequently 
candidates  for  office  without  the  formality  of  a 
nomination  by  a  convention.  In  fact,  as  a  general 
rule  the  Democrats,  during  the  first  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  of  the  county's  existence,  could  have 
two  or  three  candidates  for  the  same  office  and  be 
reasonably  sure  of  the  election  of  one  of  them. 

John  J.  Cook,  a  Whig,  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court  on  his  personal  popularity,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, and  in  1851  Joseph  W.  Holliday,  who  was 
a  Whig  and  a  soldier  of  the  Mexican  war,  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature.  In  1852  Josiah  Twi- 
bell  and  George  S.  Howell,  both  Democrats,  were 
candidates  for  representative,  and  John  C.  Bald- 
win, of  Montpelier,  ran  as  a  Whig  and  came  out 
third  in  the  race.  Howell  was  elected  by  a  very 
small  plurality.  In  1854  Josiah  Twibell  and 
James  Rhine,  both  life-long  Democrats  up  to  that 
time,  were  candidates  for  representative  as  Anti- 
Nebraska,  or  Anti-Slavery  Extension  Democrats, 
while  Joseph  P.  VanCleve,  an  old-time  Whig,  ran 
as  an  independent  candidate,  ignoring  the  issues 
growing  out  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill.  Wil- 
liam T.  Shull  was  the  regular  Democratic  candi- 
date and  was  easily  elected. 

In  1856  partisan  lines  were  closely  drawn  be- 
tween the  Democrats  and  Republicans.  For  repre- 
sentative the  Democrats  nominated  Andrew  J. 
Neff,  and  the  Republicans  nominated  James  Rhine. 
Neff  was  elected  by  a  good  majority.  Harrison 
township  went  Republican  by  eighty  majority, 
while  the  other  three  townships  were  heavily 
Democratic.  The  Republicans  were  not  entirely 
scooped,  however,  as  their  candidates,  William 
H.  Campbell  for  treasurer  and  Isaac  Goodwin  for 
sheriff,  were  both  elected  and  were  each  re-elected 
in  1858.  Their  personal  popularity  carried  them 
through. 

In  1865  there  was  an  exciting  contest  for  county 
auditor.  The  Democratic  candidate  was  Henry 
D.  Wirtz.  He  had  been  a  resident  of  the  county 
but  a  short  time;  had  been  a  lieutenant  in  the 
rebel  army  and  was  captured  and  paroled,  and  not 
wishing  to  return  to  the  army  he  came  to  Hart- 
ford City.  The  Republicans  nominated  Ezra  M. 
Stahl,  who  had  just  returned  from  an  honorable 
term  of  service  as  a  soldier  in  the  Eighty-fourth 
Indiana  regiment.     Mr.  Stahl  received  a  slender 


majority,  but  his  election  was  contested  and  was 
tried  before  the  board  of  commissioners,  and 
then  on  appeal  in  the  circuit  court,  and  the  office 
was  awarded  to  Mr.  Stahl.  Except  in  this  case 
the  Democrats  were  uniformly  successful  in  the 
contest  for  county  offices  in  1860  to  1872.  The  lat- 
ter year  was  an  off-year  for  the  Democrats.  The 
nomination  of  Greeley  for  President  was  very  un- 
satisfactory to  large  numbers  of  them,  and  they 
manifested  their  disappointment  by  sulking  in 
their  tents.  Both  parties  placed  county  tickets 
in  nomination.  In  the  spring  an  election  had 
been  held  on  the  question  of  aiding  by  taxation 
a  proposed  railroad  through  the  county  east  and 
west.  The  proposal  to  tax  had  been  carried  in 
Licking  township  by  a  small  majority,  but  the 
feeling  against  it  in  the  county  outside  of  Hart- 
ford City  was  very  bitter,  and  it  crystallized  in 
an  independent  political  movement  and  a  county 
convention  was  called  and  a  ticket  nominated.  The 
Republicans,  knowing  that  they  had  no  show  of 
success,  withdrew  their  ticket  and  gave  their  sup- 
port generally  to  the  independent  ticket,  which 
became  knovirn  as  the  Dolly  Varden  ticket,  and 
which  was  elected  with  the  exception  of  the  can- 
didate for  clerk. 

In  1874  the  Independent  or  Greenback  party 
was  in  the  field  with  state,  district  and  local  tick- 
ets. The  Republicans  supported  the  county  ticket 
of  the  new  party  and  it  was  successful. 

In  1876  the  Republicans  and  Greenbackers 
again  fused,  but  only  succeeded  in  electing  the 
treasurer.  The  Democrats  now  held  the  ascend- 
ency for  ten  years.  After  1878  the  Republicans 
made  steady  gains  until,  in  1886,  they  elected  the 
auditor,  treasurer  and  one  commissioner. 

In  1894  the  Republicans  had  the  best  of  it, 
electing  the  auditor,  treasurer,  sheriff,  surveyor 
and  two  commissioners.  In  1896  they  elected  only 
the  clerk.  In  1898  the  Democrats  again  made  a 
clean  sweep. 

In  the  various  political  campaigns  the  people  of 
this  county  have  been  favored  with  visits  from  a 
number  of  the  ablest  orators  of  the  state  and  na- 
tion. On  the  Democratic  side  there  have  been 
Governors  Wright,  Hendricks  and  Gray  and  Sen- 
ators Voorhees  and  Turpie,  General  Manson,  W. 
D.  Bynum,  Governor  R.  B.  Hubbard,  of  Texas; 
James  R.  Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  and  William  J. 
Bryan,  in  October,  1900. 

We  close  this  chapter  with  a  list  of  Blackford 
county  officials. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


The  following  have  represented  the  county  in 
the  senate  branch  of  the  State  legislature:  1839- 
41,  John  Foster;  1841-43,  Michael  Aker.  of  Ran- 
dolph; 1843-46,  I.  P.  Wood,  Randolph;  1846-49, 
Dixon  Milligan,  Jay;  1849-52,  Jacob  Brugh,  Black- 
ford; 1852-56,  Isaac  Vandevanter,  Grant;  1856-64, 
Walter  March,  Delaware;  1864-68,  William  A. 
Bonham,  Blackford;  1868-70,  Robert  Huey,  Jay; 
1870-74,  Asbury  Steele,  Grant;  1874-78,  Isaac  Un- 
derwood, Jay;  1878-82,  Thomas  S.  Briscoe,  Demo- 
crat, Blackford;  1882-86,  John  M.  Smith,  Demo- 
crat, Jay;  1886-90,  Silas  W.  Hale.  Democrat, 
Adams;  1890-94,  Henry  B.  Smith,  Democrat, 
Blackford;  1894-98,  J.  J.  M.  LaFollette,  Republi- 
can, Jay;  1898,  George  A.  Osborne,  Republican, 
Grant;  1902,  Burtney  Schaefer,  Democrat,  Grant; 
1910,  B.  B.  Shiveley,  Democrat,  Grant;  1914,  Elias 
Rinear,  Democrat,  Wells. 

The  first  man  who  represented  Blackford  county 
in  the  lower  house  of  representatives  was  Lewis 
W.  Purviance,  Democrat.  He  was  elected  in  1839. 
Blackford  county  has  been  represented  in  the  low- 
er house  about  three-fourths  of  the  time  by  Dem- 
ocrats. The  following  have  represented  Blackford 
county:  1878,  James  T.  Arnold,  Blackford; 
1880,  Benjamin  F.  Cummins,  Wells;  1882-84, 
Henry  B.  Smith,  Democrat,  Blackford;  1886-90, 
Elisha  Pierce,  Democrat,  Blackford;  1890,  John 
Branstetter,  Democrat,  Jay;  1892,  William  H. 
Harkins,  Democrat,  Jay;  1894-96,  John  P.  Mc- 
Geath,  Democrat,  Blackford;  1898,  John  A.  Bon- 
ham. Republican,  Blackford;  1900,  J.  A.  Bonham, 
Repul)lican;  1902,  Sidney  Cantwell,  Republican; 
1904,  Sidney  Cantwell,  Blackford,  Republican,  and 
speaker  session  1905,  1906;  1910  and  1912,  Chas. 
Carroll,  Democrat,  Blackford;  1914,  John  Strange, 
Democrat,  Grant;  1911,  J.  M.  Bonham,  Democrat. 

Present  (1915)  county  officials  are:  Judge,  W. 
H.  Eichhorn,  Democrat;  L.  F.  Sprague,  Prosecu- 
tor, Democrat;  Geo.  H.  Newbauer,  Treasurer, 
Democrat;  Samuel  Farrell,  clerk.  Bull  Moose; 
John  L.  McGeath,  auditor,  Democrat;  John  Phile- 
baum,  recorder.  Democrat;  M.  C.  Townsend,  coun- 
ty superintendent  of  schools.  Democrat;  Frank  P. 
Wallace,  surveyor,  Democrat;  Chas.  F.  Rutledge, 
coroner.  Democrat;  John  Gadbury,  county  road 
superintendent.  Democrat;  John  A.  Nelson,  com- 
missioner, Democrat;  Riley  R.  Gadbury,  commis- 
sioner. Democrat,  and  Frank  JoJnes,  commis- 
sioner. Democrat;  Mason  Palmer,  assessor,  Dem- 
ocrat. 

DEMOCRATIC  COUNTY  CHAIRMEN  FROM 
1892  TO  1915. 

1892    A.  M.  Waltz.    All  Democrats  elected. 

1894  Milton  McGeath.     All  Republicans  elected. 

1896  A.  M.  Waltz.  Elected  all  Democrats  ex- 
cept the  clerk. 


1898   D.  C.  Caldwell.     Elected  all  Democrats. 

1900  William  Harley.    Elected  all  Democrats. 

1902  E.  E.  Cox.    Elected  mostly  Democrats. 

1904  John   Burns.    Elected  mostly  Democrats. 

1906  D.  C.  Caldwell.   Elected  mostly  Democrats. 

1908  E.  W.  Secrest.    Elected  all  Democrats. 

1910  E.  W.  Secrest.    Elected  all  Democrats. 

1912  A.  N.  Pursley.  Elected  half  of  ticket,  lost 
clerk,  sheriff  and  one  commissioner  to  the  Bull 
Moose. 

1914  A.  N.  Pursley.  Elected  all  Democrats  ex- 
cept sheriff,  who  lost  to  the  Bull  Moose. 

DEMOCRATIC  NEWSPAPERS  OF  BLACK- 
FORD COUNTY. 

The  Evening  News  is  the  only  Democratic  news- 
paper in  Blackford  county  at  this  time  and  is 
owned  and  edited  by  Mr.  Edward  E.  Cox, 
of  Hartford  City.  Mr.  Cox  bought  this 
newspaper  in  1891.  It  was  then  known 
as  the  Telegram.  The  Telegram  was  a 
weekly  paper.  It  was  an  eight-column  folio 
with  a  patent  outside,  printed  on  a  Washington 
hand  press.  The  other  equipment  of  the  paper 
was  correspondingly  crude.  It  took  an  entire  day 
to  get  out  a  weekly  issue,  although  the  circula- 
tion was  very  small.  Mr.  Cox  was  but  twenty-two 
years  of  age  when  he  purchased  this  paper.  His 
home  up  to  this  time  had  been  at  Peru,  Ind.,  where 
he  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
by  actual  work  in  the  newspaper  offices  of  that 
city. 

In  the  course  of  one  year  after  Mr.  Cox  took 
charge  of  the  Telegram  he  had  changed  the  en- 
tire equipment  and  had  put  in  a  cylinder  press, 
and  in  three  years  was  printing  the  paper  with  a 
steam  engine  and  a  power  press.  In  1893  the 
Evening  News,  a  daily  paper,  was  established. 
It  has  had  such  a  prosperous  growth  that  it  now 
goes  into  the  majority  of  the  homes  of  Hartford 
City  and  Blackford  county.  So  much  did  the 
Evening  Neivs  encroach  on  the  Telegram  that  the 
latter  was  abandoned  in  1914,  the  morning  rural 
edition  of  the  Ncivs  going  in  the  homes  of  farmers 
formerly  taking  the  Telegram. 

Both  the  Telegram  and  the  News  have  always 
been  consistently  Democratic,  using  their  able  in- 
fluence for  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  in  county,  state  and  national  politics. 

The  News  has  grown  far  ahead  of  the  commu- 
nity in  which  it  is  printed..  It  is  issued  from  its 
own  building,  erected  especially  for  the  newspa- 
per business,  and  is  filled  with  the  latest  equip- 
ment, including  perfecting  presses,  color  presses, 
linotype  machines  and  other  up-to-date  machinery 


(  .535  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


1  6 


to  be  found  only  in  the  larger  cities.  The  print- 
ing in  its  job  department  goes  all  over  the  United 
States  and  even  to  Europe,  label  printing  being 
a  specialty. 

Mr.  Cox,  the  founder  of  the  News,  has  always 
taken  a  great  interest  in  the  success  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  both  through  the  columns  of  his  pa- 
per and  through  his  ability  as  an  organizer.     He 


has  served  as  county  chairman  of  Blackford  coun- 
ty two  years  and  as  district  chairman  of  the  Elev- 
enth congressional  district  six  years.  He  takes 
a  great  deal  of  interest  in  the  progress  of  his 
community,  especially  in  promoting  the  cause  of 
education.  He  has  served  on  the  school  board  of 
Hartford  City  for  the  past  six  years.  He  is  at 
present  postmaster  of  Hartford  City. 


(  536) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
BOONE  COUNTY 


BOONE  COUNTY,  as  an  organization,  was 
brought  forth  under  the  banner  of  De- 
mocracy. She  was  named  in  honor  of  that 
courageous  Kentucky  pioneer,  Daniel  Boone,  and 
peopled  chiefly  by  miErration  from  Nicholas  coun- 
ty, that  state.  The  instruments  conveying  to  her 
early  settlers  the  lands  within  her  boundaries 
bear  the  name  of  Democracy's  patron  saint, 
Andrew  Jackson,  and  she  was  steadfast  in  the 
support  of  the  principles  enunciated  by  Jefferson 
and  Jackson  until  the  party  went  to  pieces  on  the 
issues  brought  forth  in  the  campaigns  immedi- 
ately preceding  the  Civil  war. 

The  solidarity  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
Boone  county  was  seriously  threatened  in  the 
campaign  of  1854,  but  with  strong  and  de- 
termined leadership  the  evil  day  was  staved  off 
until  1858.  In  1856  the  campaign  was  waged 
against  "Knownothingism,"  "Abolition,"  and  the 
"Maine  Law,"  and  Boone  was  the  only  county  in 
the  old  Eighth  district — Boone,  Clinton,  Carroll, 
Fountain,  Montgomery  and  Warren — that  with- 
stood succesfully  the  rising  tide  of  opposition  to 
the  Democratic  party.  She  came  out  of  the  fight 
with  a  Democratic  majority  of  about  one  hundred, 
and  the  following  year,  in  a  purely  local  election, 
carried  the  county  by  299.  In  the  campaign  of 
1858,  with  national  issues  paramount,  the  Demo- 
cratic sun  in  Boone  county  set  to  rise  no  more 
for  ten  years,  when,  in  1868,  one  candidate  on 
the  local  ticket  was  elected,  the  Republicans 
carrying  the  county  on  the  state  and  national 
tickets.  During  these  ten  years  the  party  locally 
was  without  efficient  leadership,  and  without 
hope.  The  Pioneer,  the  party  paper,  had  been 
forced  to  suspend  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  and 
its  voice  was  as  silent  as  the  tomb  until  in  the 
campaign  of  1868,  when  W.  J.  Turpin,  known 
throughout  Indiana  as  the  "Tipton  Slasher," 
resurrected  the  corpse  and  breathed  into  it  the 
breath  of  life  and  the  unconquered  and  uncon- 
querable spirit  of  the  illustrious  fathers  of  De- 
mocracy. 

The  first  Democrat  elected  to  office  in  Boone 
county  after  the  Civil  war  was  Israel  Curry,  of 
Sugar  Creek  township,  who  defeated  Col.  Abram 
O.  Miller  for  clerk.  Colonel  Miller  contested 
Curry's  election,  and  was  declared  by  the  court 
to  have  been  elected.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  restoration  of  the  Democratic  party  to  power 
and  leadership  in  Boone  county,  and  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1870  the  Democratic  nominees  for  audit- 
or, treasurer  and  sheriff  were  elected.  In  the 
biennial  general  elections  since  1868,  the   Demo- 


crats have  carried  Boone  county  fifteen  times, 
the  Republicans  eight  times  and  in  three  elec- 
tions mi.\ed  tickets  were  the  result.  The  rise  of 
the  Greenback  party  in  the  '70s,  drawing  its  ad- 
herents chiefly  from  the  Democratic  ranks,  was 
the  chief  cause  of  the  political  pendulum  swing- 
ing back  to  the  Republican  party  in  the  cam- 
paigns of  1874  and  1876.  With  the  waning  of 
Greenbackism  the  Democratic  party  in  Boone  has 
become  more  and  more  secure  in  her  moorings, 
and  today  every  officer  in  the  county  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  ten  of  the  twelve  townships  have  Demo- 
cratic trustees.  The  county  has  never  lost  a 
dollar  through  the  incompetence  or  dishonesty  of 
a  Democratic  official,  the  affairs  of  the  county 
are  economically  and  faithfully  administered, 
and  the  party  is  destined  to  a  long  lease  of  life 
in  old  Boone. 

With  a  long  and  consistent  record  to  her  credit 
in  the  support  of  Democratic  policies  and  nom- 
inees, Boone  county  Democracy  has  in  Governor 
Samuel  M.  Ralston  her  first  representative  in  the 
official  family  of  the  state  of  Indiana.  No  Boone 
county  Democrat  has  ever  represented  the  district 
in  the  halls  of  the  national  congress,  and  but  few 
have  been  appointed  to  positions  of  honor  in  state 
or  national  administrations.  In  1856  Dr.  James 
McWorkman,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Dem- 
ocrats of  the  county,  was  appointed  superintend- 
ent of  the  Indiana  School  for  the  Education  of 
the  Blind,  and  in  the  '80s,  while  Dr.  Thos.  H. 
Harrison,  another  Boone  county  Democrat,  was 
serving  as  president  of  the  board  of  the  state 
benevolent  institutions,  Eli  P.  Baker,  of  Lebanon, 
was  elected  as  superintendent  of  the  Indiana 
School  for  the  Education  of  the  Blind.  With 
these  exceptions  the  Democracy  of  Boone  county 
has  not  participated  in  the  distribution  of  the 
loaves  and  fishes  when  the  party  has  been  in 
power  in  state  or  nation. 

Since  the  Civil  war  Boone  county  has  four 
times  given  the  Democratic  nominee  for  the  Pres- 
idency a  plurality  of  the  votes  cast,  as  follows: 
In  1896,  Mr.  Bryan  carried  the  county  by  270; 
in  1900,  by  358;  in  1908,  by  74,  Woodrow  Wilson, 
in  1912,  was  given  a  plurality  of  1,26(3.  In  1916, 
with  the  opposition  united,  Wilson  carried  the 
county  by  a  plurality  of  180. 

The  present  Democratic  officers  of  Boone 
county  are  as  follows:  Judge,  Willett  H.  Parr; 
clerk,  Leonard  Titus;  auditor,  Cleve  Goodwin;  re- 
corder, John  T.  Brown;  treasurer,  John  L.  Thom- 
as; surveyor,  Alva  H.  Wynkoop;  assessor,  Wil- 
lard   Stephenson;   coroner.   Dr.   Onis   E.   Brendel ; 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


commissioners,  John  T.  Jones  and  Frank  O. 
Staton.  The  Democrats  lost  sheriff,  prosecutor 
and  one  commissioner  in  the  election  of  1916.  The 
county  superintendent  of  schools,  chosen  by  the 
township  trustees,  is  Ed.  M.  Servies. 

The  almost  complete  destruction  of  the  records 
of  Boone  county  in  1856  and  the  death  of  the 
men  whose  lives  had  been  identified  with  the  po- 
litical history  of  the  county  previous  to  that 
time  makes  it  impossible  to  secure  data  concern- 
ing the  organization  of  the  Democratic  party 
previous  to  the  war.  Bound  files  of  the  county 
papers  show  that  in  1858  Geo.  W.  Buckingham, 
one  of  the  early  editors  of  the  Pioneer;  was  the 
chairman,  and  from  1860  to  1861  John  M.  Scott 
served  in  that  position.  Beginning  with  1868  the 
chairman  and  the  result  of  the  campaign  in  Boone 
county  follows: 
1868 — Dr.   James    McWorkman,    Chairman.      One 

Democrat  on  county  ticket  elected. 
1869 — Dr.  James  Evans,   Chairman. 
1870 — Robert  C.  McCann,  Chairman.     Democrats 

carried  county. 
1872 — James  Nealis,  Chairman.     Republicans  car- 
ried county. 
1874 — Eli    P.    Baker,    Chairman.      Mixed    ticket 

elected. 
1876 — Thos.    H.    Harrison,    Chairman.      Republi- 
cans carried  county. 
1878— Eli   P.   Baker,   Chairman.     Democrats   and 

Greenbackers    (fused)    carried   county. 
1880— John    M.    Ball,    Chairman.       Mixed    ticket 

elected. 
1882— Thos.     H.     Harrison,     Chairman.       Mixed 

ticket  elected. 
1884 — Barton  S.  Higgins,  Chairman.     Democratic 

ticket  elected. 
1886 — Israel   Curry,   Chairman.     Republican. 
1888 — Israel   Curry,   Chairman.     Republican. 
1890 — James  R.  Tyre,  Chairman.     Democratic. 
1892 — James   R.   Tyre,   Chairman,  Republican. 


1894 — Calvin    H.   Graves,    Chairman,   Republican. 
1896 — James    A.    White,    Chairman,    Democratic. 
1898 — William     A.     Buntin,     Chairman.       Demo- 
cratic. 
1900 — John   H.   Hoy,   Chairman.     Democratic. 
1902— James  A.  White,  Chairman.     Mixed. 
1904— Thos.  O.  Beck,  Chairman.     Republican. 
1906— Thos.  0.  Beck,  Chairman.     Democratic. 
1908 — Chas.  J.   Stewart,  Chairman.     Democratic. 
1910— Thos.    O.   Beck,   Chairman.      Democratic. 
1912— Thos.    0.   Beck,   Chairman.     Democratic. 
1914 — M.  C.  Long,  Chairman.     Democratic. 
1916— M.  C.  Long.     Mixed  ticket. 
1918 — George  M.  Mangus. 

The  Lebanon  Pioneer,  founded  in  1852  by 
Henry  Hill,  has,  since  January  1,  1890,  been 
owned  and  published  by  Ben  F.  McKey,  who,  in 
June,  1873,  entered  the  office  as  an  apprentice. 
Hill  published  the  paper  for  four  years,  when  he 
sold  it  to  Col.  W.  C.  Kise  and  James  McWorkman; 
Geo.  W.  Buckingham,  of  Newark,  0.,  took  charge 
of  the  Pioneer  in  1856,  and  conducted  it  with  un- 
usual ability  until  1860,  when  James  Gogen  suc- 
ceeded him.  When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  for 
lack  of  financial  support,  the  Pioneer  was  sus- 
pended, and  was  not  resurrected  until  1868.  Its 
first  publisher  then  was  W.  J.  Turpin,  who,  after 
a  few  weeks,  was  succeeded  by  Lafe  Woodard. 
In  1869  Henry  S.  Evans  became  its  editor  and 
publisher,  and  in  1872  Ben  A.  Smith,  of  Brook- 
ville,  assumed  the  ownership.  Smith  published 
the  paper  until  June,  1874,  when  he  sold  out  to 
the  late  Dr.  Thos.  H.  Harrison,  the  immediate 
predecessor  of  the  present  publisher.  On  April 
1,  1914,  Mr.  McKey  took  into  partnership  his  son 
Claude  D.  McKey,  and  his  son-in-law,  T.  O. 
Edwards,  both  experienced  newspaper  men,  and 
the  Pioneer  today  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being 
one  of  the  best  strictly  county  papers  not  only  in 
Indiana,  but  in  the  United  States.  It  is  the  only 
Democratic  paper  published  in  Boone   county. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
BROWN   COUNTY 


By  William  L.  Coffey 


BROWN  COUNTY,  the  Switzerland  of  Indi- 
ana, famed  for  its  beauty  of  natural 
scenery,  has  attracted  and  won  the  admira- 
tion of  artists  from  every  quarter  of  the  Ameri- 
can continent.  Their  sketches  upon  the  canvas 
depicting  its  broad  stretches  of  forest  studded  by 
gigantic  green  hills,  its  dashing  streams  o'erhung 
by  vines  and  wild  flowers,  its  beautiful  sunset  be- 
hind a  cloudland  most  gorgeously  tinted,  be- 
speak the  story  of  its  sturdy  Hoosier  citizens. 

From  this  natural  environment  seems  to  issue 
such  a  wonderful  spirit  of  freedom  that  man,  so 
enamored  by  its  enchanting  influence,  is  caught  in 
its  meshes,  from  which  he  finds  it  a  most  diffi- 
cult problem  to  extricate  himself.  Thus  is  born 
that  spirit  of  freedom  which  makes  for  independ- 
ent character — independent  thought  and  action 
conducive  to  the  development  and  nurture  of  true 
Democratic  principles  of  the  stamp  and  ring  of 
the  Jeff^ersonian  kind. 

At  its  very  beginning,  in  1836,  the  county  was 
unmistakably  Democratic  and  ever  since  has  re- 
mained true  to  its  standards — "simon-pure."  But 
few  times  in  the  history  of  the  county  have  county 
and  township  officials  misused  the  trust  reposed 
in  them,  and  there  are  but  few  instances  in  which 
it  has  suffered  defeat  locally,  and  then  only  in 
township  affairs.  Such  explicit  confidence  have 
the  people  manifested  in  this  party's  administra- 
tion of  their  affairs  that  the  opposition  never  could 
rally  sufficient  strength  to  overthrow  it. 

The  county  originally  was  a  part  of  Bartholo- 
mew, Jackson  and  Monroe  counties.  In  1835  a 
sufficient  number  of  settlers  had  arrived  and  per- 
manently located  in  the  hills  to  warrant  the 
formation  of  a  separate  county  and,  accordingly, 
the  Legislature  was  asked  to  introduce  a  bill, 
.which  was  done,  and  the  new  county  of  Brown 
established  in  February,  1836. 

In  compliance  with  this  act  the  first  election  in 
the  county  was  held  the  first  Monday  in  June, 
1836.  The  governor  commissioned  one  James 
Dawson  sheriff  to  order  an  election  of  a  clerk  and 
recorder,  two  associate  judges  of  the  circuit  court 
and  three  county  commissioners. 

As  a  result  of  this  first  election  John  Floyd  was 
chosen  clerk  and  recorder,  James  Taggart  and 
Lewis  Raper  associate  judges  and  Daniel  Hed- 
rick,  William  Jackson  and  James  Davidson  county 
commissioners.  At  the  following  election,  held  in 
August  of  the  same  year,  James  Taggart  became 


sheriflf,  William  Followell  coroner  and  James 
Mclntire  probate  judge. 

On  the  25th  day  of  July,  1836,  the  county  com- 
missioners met  and  subdivided  the  county  into 
four  townships — Jackson,  Hamblen,  Van  Buren 
and  Johnson,  which  was  later  changed  to  five  by 
making  the  fifth,  Washington,  from  the  original 
four.  The  naming  of  these  corporations  indicates 
the  fealty  of  these  early  settlers  to  their  political 
faith.  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  were  political 
characters  fresh  in  their  minds  at  this  time. 

The  first  circuit  court  was  convened  April  20, 
1837,  before  Elisha  M.  Huntington,  presiding 
judge,  with  the  two  associates  previously  men- 
tioned. 

The  first  probate  court  of  the  county  was  held 
on  the  8th  day  of  May,  1837,  in  the  new  log  court 
house,  a  structure  18x24  feet,  two  stories  high. 
Judge  James  Mclntire,  who  held  a  commission 
from  Governor  Noah  Noble,  presided. 

The  first  common  pleas  court  was  held  at  the 
county  seat  on  the  31st  day  of  January,  1853,  by 
Judge  William  G.  Quick  (Democrat).  Several  at- 
torneys were  sworn  in  during  this  term,  among 
whom  were  P.  C.  Dunning,  Daniel  McClure,  Fred 
T.  Butler,  George  A.  Buskirk  and  Shadrack 
Chandler.  Sometime  in  1868  Governor  Baker 
appointed  Richard  L.  Coffey  (D.)  to  fill  the  va- 
cancy occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Judge 
Woolen.  At  the  general  election  in  1870  Mr.  Cof- 
fey was  elected  to  the  office,  which  position  he 
filled  till  it  was  abolished  by  the  Legislature. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  appointive  posi- 
tions, the  very  earliest  officials  of  the  county  were 
known  to  be  strong  Democrats.  The  political 
complexion  of  the  institutions  handed  down  by 
them  has  never  been  changed.  Some  of  these 
early  politicians  lived  long  lives,  to  be  known  by 
the  present  generation,  many  of  whom  stand 
ready  to  vouch  for  their  sterling  Democratic  qual- 
ities. 

The  results  of  the  earlier  elections — prior  to 
1856 — cannot  be  given.  However,  during  this 
year,  with  the  war  fever  on,  Oliver  P.  Morton, 
candidate  for  governor,  received  220  votes,  while 
the  Democratic  ticket  polled  773,  more  than  three 
and  one-half  times  as  many. 

Then  followed  the  campaign  of  1860,  a  truly 
warm  one.  The  fight  was  waged  most  bitterly. 
Every  township  had  its  organization  of  "wide- 
awakes." a  Republican  institution.     Political  ora- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


tors  were  plentiful  and  scarcely  a  night  passed 
without  a  public  speaking.  Enthusiastic  demon- 
strations, martial  music  and  long  processions 
were  the  order  of  the  times.  The  Democratic 
clubs  uniformed  themselves  with  hickory  suits, 
erected  poles  and  flung  the  names  of  Douglas  and 
Johnson  to  the  breeze.  The  few  Republicans, 
nevertheless,  were  confident  of  success.  Their 
emblems  of  the  campaign  were  rails  or  mauls  and 
wedges. 

The  following  songs  used  by  the  two  parties 
(taken  from  a  military  history  of  the  county) 
are  here  set  out: 

"Oh,  see  the  Douglas  platform  falling, 

Falling,  falling,  down  it  must  go. 

And  in  its  place  shall  firmly  stand 

Abe  Lincoln,  the  true,  and  Hamlin,  too; 

Abe  Lincoln,  the  true,  and  Hamlin,  too; 

And  with  them  we'll  beat  Little  Dug,  Dug,  Dug; 

Old  Abe  has  cracked  his  mug." 

The  Democrats  used  the  following  lament  of 
Lincoln,  sung  to  the  air  of  "Susannah": 

"Oh,  Hamlin,  dear,  my  'fairest'  one, 

Oh,  don't  you  cry  for  me; 
I  fear  that  house  in  Washington 

I'll  never,  never  see. 
I  love  the  Black  Republicans, 

And  for  the  darkies  sigh ; 
But  all,   I  fear,  will   do   no  good. 

But,  Hamlin,  don't  you  cry. 

Chorus : 
"Oh,  my  dear  Hannibal, 

Don't  you  cry  for  me, 
I'm  going  up  Salt  River 

With  a  darky  on  each  knee." 

Or  the  following: 

"No,  Lincoln  can't  come  in,  I  say. 

Then  ho  for  Douglas,  ho! 
The  Democrats  have  Stephen  A., 

Then  ho  for  Douglas,  ho! 
Republicans  may  bite  their  nails. 
May  rave  about  their  Lincoln  rails. 
But  can't  come  up  to  Steve's  coattails, 
Then  ho  for  Douglas,  ho!" 
While  the  problems  of  this  campaign  were  so 
perplexing  and  the  fight  so  bitter,  causing  many 
Democratic  counties  in  the  state  to  go  down  in  de- 
feat, the  Democracy  of  Brown  county  presented 
a  solid  phalanx,  perfectly  united,  and  maintained 
their  usual  majority.     As  a  result  of  this  election 
the  vote  for  governor  was :     Thomas  A.  Hendricks 
(Democrat),  744;   Henry  S.   Lane    (Republican), 
296;    representative    in    Congress,    W.    M.    Daily 
(D.),  702;  W.  M.  Dunn  (R.),  319;  representative 


in  the  Legislature  (all  local  men)  :  Lewis 
Prosser  (D.),  575;  J.  W.  Mcllvain  (R.),  306; 
John  Beck  (Social  Democrat),  118. 

In  1862  the  result  for  secretary  of  state,  by  a 
strict  party  vote,  was:  William  A.  Peelle  (R.), 
213;  James  S.  Athon  (D.),  840.  A  majority  of 
627  in  a  total  vote  of  1,053  was  enough  for  all 
practical  purposes.  Having  reduced  the  Repub- 
lican vote  to  such  a  small  figure,  one  cannot  help 
wondering  why  the  Democracy  did  not  wipe  it 
wholly  out. 

In  1864  Morton  (R.)  received  364  votes  for  gov- 
ernor; McDonald  (D.)  received  823;  representa- 
tive in  the  Legislature:  John  Richards  (D.),  814; 
W.  W.  Browning  (R.),  288. 

In  1866  the  vote  for  secretary  of  state  was: 
M.  D.  Morrison  (D.),  1,025;  Nelson  Trusler  (R.), 
423. 

In  1868  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  received  1,084 
votes  for  governor,  while  Conrad  Baker  (R.)  re- 
ceived but  427. 

In  1872  the  candidates  for  governor  received 
the  following  votes:  T.  A.  Hendricks,  1,166;  T. 
M.  Brown  (R.),  467. 

In  1876  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was  as 
follows:  Tilden  and  Hendricks  (D.),  1,254;  Hayes 
and  Wheeler  (R.),  488;  Cooper  and  Cary  (Inde- 
pendent), 109. 

For  secretary  of  state  in  1878  J.  G.  Shanklin 
(D.)  received  1,166  votes;  Isaac  S.  Moore  (R.). 
378. 

For  state  senator  in  1878  Richard  L.  Coffey 
(D.)  received  1,168  votes;  William  Gilmore  (R.), 
338. 

In  1880  the  following  vote  for  presidential 
electors  was  cast:  Hancock  and  English  (D.), 
1,576;  Garfield  and  Arthur  (R.),  599;  Weaver 
and  Chambers   (Ind.),  42. 

In  1882  the  vote  for  secretary  of  state  was: 
William  R.  Myers  (D.),  1,217;  E.  R.  Hawn  (R.), 
555;  Hiram  T.  Leonard  (Ind.),  91;  for  senator 
of  Brown,  Monroe  and  Bartholomew  counties:  W. 
C. Duncan  (D.),  941.  The  issues  that  dominated 
in  this  senatorial  contest  were  temperance  reform 
and  personal  liberty.  The  Republican  party 
polled  708  votes  in  this  contest  and  the  Independ- 
ent candidate  received  186. 

In  1884  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was 
as  follows:  Cleveland  and  Hendricks  (D.), 
1,541;  Blaine  and  Logan  (R.),627;  National  party, 
21 ;  Prohibition  party,  27.  For  governor  Isaac  P. 
Gray  (D.),  1,540;  W.  H.  Calkins  (R.),  613.  For 
joint  representative,  W.  W.  Browning  (D.), 
1,458;  William  D.  Clark  (R.),  693. 

In  1886  Robert  W.  Miers,  the  Democratic  can- 
didate for  secretary  of  state,  received  1,368  votes; 
Charles  F.  Griffin  (R.),  562  votes.  For  prose- 
cutor   9th    judicial    circuit,    Anderson    Percifield 


(540) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


(D.),  1.314;  William  J.  Beck  (R.),  578.  For 
joint  senator  Brown,  Monroe  and  Bartholomew 
counties,  W.  C.  Duncan  (D.)  received  1,3(54  votes; 
the  three  other  candidates  together  received  only 
32  votes. 

In  1888  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was 
as  follows:  Cleveland  and  Thurman  (D.),  1,538; 
Harrison  and  Morton  (R.),  661;  the  Prohibition 
candidates  received  63  votes  and  the  Union  Labor 
11  votes.  The  state  and  congressional  tickets 
maintained  about  the  same  ratio. 

In  1890  the  vote  for  secretary  of  state  was: 
Claude  Matthews  (D.),  1,327;  Milton  Trusler 
(R.),  522.  For  Congress,  George  W.  Cooper  (D.) 
received  1,338  votes;  Dunbar  (Farmer  and  La- 
bor), 523;  the  Prohibition  candidate,  Shelt,  re- 
ceived 30  votes.  For  joint  representative,  Wil- 
liam G.  Watson  (D.),  1,302;  Harry  Barnett  (F. 
and  L.),  523. 

The  Republicans  had  no  local  ticket  in  the  field 
this  year.  They  amalgamated  their  interest  with 
a  dissatisfied  element  of  the  Democratic  party 
and  a  few  "Grange"  enthusiasts  with  a  view  of 
defeating  the  county  ticket.  They  formed  an  or- 
ganization which  was  called  the  "Farmer  and  La- 
bor" party.  They  petitioned  the  board  of  election 
commissioners  October  15  to  place  their  candi- 
dates on  the  ballot  under  the  name  above  men- 
tioned, using  as  their  device  a  pruning-hook. 
Most  of  the  Democrats  on  the  new  ticket  had  been 
defeated  at  the  preceding  primary  election  and 
were  very  much  chagrined.  They  put  on  the  war 
paint  and  it  seemed  for  a  time  that  their  influence 
would  very  materially  reduce  the  Democratic  ma- 
jority. As  the  time  for  holding  the  election  ap- 
proached, however,  the  disaffection  gradually  dis- 
appeared and  the  normal  political  situation  pre- 
vailed. 

Ben  P.  Smith,  the  candidate  for  county  auditor, 
was  the  hardest  fought  on  the  regular  Democratic 
ticket.  He  received  1,239  votes,  while  his  op- 
ponent, Isaac  Chafin,  on  the  Blackberry  ticket,  as 
it  was  dubbed,  received  but  545  votes,  only  23 
more  than  that  received  by  the  Republican  candi- 
date for  secretary  of  state.  Happily,  this  dissatis- 
faction vanished  and  the  next  campaign  settled 
the  fact  that  any  attempt  to  disrupt  the  party  by 
internal  dissensions  was  a  failure. 

In  1892  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was 
as  follows:  Cleveland  and  Thurman  (D.),  1,378; 
Harrison  and  Reid  (R.),  656;  Prohibition  party, 
38;  People's  party,  92.  The  vote  for  state  offi- 
cers was  practically  the  same.  John  S.  Williams 
(D.),  local  candidate  for  joint  representative,  re- 
ceived 1,385  votes;  his  opponent,  Allen  W. 
Grissom   (R.),  received  659. 

In  1894  Wm.  R.  Myers,  Democratic  candidate 


for  secretary  of  state,  received  1,158  votes;  Wm. 

D.  Owen  (R.),  685.  The  Prohibition  party  polled 
35  votes  and  the  People's  ticket  received  101. 

In  the  campaign  of  1896  every  inch  of  the 
ground  was  vigorously  contested.  Both  parties 
were  well  organized.  Public  speakings  were  held 
in  every  school  house.  The  hammering  cam- 
paign on  trusts,  protection  and  the  gold  standard 
brought  every  Democrat  to  the  front.  Bryan  was 
truly  their  idol.  The  lesser  parties,  for  the  time 
being,  lost  sight  of  their  cause  and  joined  the  old 
parties.  The  vote  for  presidential  electors  was: 
Bryan  and  Sewall  (D.),  1,470;  McKinley  and  Ho- 
bart  (R.),  726;  Prohibitionists,  16;  People'.^, 
10;  Gold  Standard,  1;  National  party,  3;  Social 
Labor,  2. 

In  1898  the  vote  for  secretary  of  state  was: 
Samuel  Ralston  (D.),  1,227;  Union  B.  Hunt  (R.), 
615.  During  this  campaign  James  S.  Guthrie 
was  the  first  and  only  Democrat  in  the  county 
that  ever  received  a  place  upon  the  Democratic 
state  ticket.  He  was  a  candidate  for  state  statis- 
tician. 

In  1900  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was: 
Bryan  and  Stevenson  (D.),  1,452;  McKinley  and 
Roosevelt  (R.),  704;  Prohibition  party,  36;  Peo- 
ple's party,  11. 

In  1902  the  vote  for  secretary  of  state  was  as 
follows:     Albert  Schoonover   (D.),  1,051;   Daniel 

E.  Storms  (R.),  590;  Prohibition  ticket,  63;  Peo- 
ple's ticket,  4.  Fremont  Miller  (D.)  was  elected 
for  a  second  term  as  prosecutor  of  Brown  and 
Johnson  counties.  Willoughby  Wellons  (D.)  was 
elected  joint  representative  of  Brown  and  Monroe 
counties. 

In  1904  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was 
as  follows:  Bryan  (D.),  1,157;  Roosevelt  (R.), 
760.  The  Prohibitionists  cast  93  votes;  the  Peo- 
ple's party,  13;  the  Socialists,  7;  Socialist  La- 
bor, 4.  In  the  congressional  race,  Lincoln  Dixon 
(D.)  received  1,073  votes,  while  his  opponent,  An- 
derson Percifield  (R.),  received  830.  Mr.  Perci- 
field  was  a  Brown  county  product,  an  attorney 
and  formerly  a  Democrat. 

In  1906  James  F.  Cox  (D.),  candidate  for  sec- 
retary of  state,  received  899  votes;  Fred  A.  Sims 
(R.),  573.  The  Prohibition  ticket  polled  74  votes; 
People's,  5;  Socialists,  5;  Social  Labor,  3. 

In  1908  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was: 
Bryan  (D.),  1,177;  Taft  (R.),  658;  Prohibition 
ticket,  68;  People's  party  ticket,  1;  Socialists,  5. 
For  joint  senator.  Brown,  Jackson  and  Washing- 
ton counties,  George  W.  Long  (D.)  received  1,090 
votes;  H.  C.  Dannettell   (R.),  639. 

In  1910  the  vote  for  secretary  of  state  was: 
Lewis  Ellingham  (D.),  888;  Otis  F.  Culley  (R.), 
556.     The  Prohibition  ticket  polled  55  votes;   So- 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


cialists,  9;  Social  Labor,  2.  The  congressional 
and  local  tickets  "received  practically  the  same 
vote. 

In  1912  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was 
as  follows:  Wilson  and  Marshall  (D.),  909; 
Taft  (R.),  293;  the  Prohibitionists,  52;  Progres- 
sives, 235;  Socialists,  11.  John  P.  Wright  (D.) 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  Eighth 
judicial  circuit;  Charles  Genolin  (D.)  was  elected 
joint  representative  of  Brown  and  Monroe  coun- 
ties. 

In  1914,  Benj.  F.  Shively,  Democratic  candidate 
for  U.  S.  Senator,  received  885  votes.  His  op- 
ponent; Hugh  T.  H.  Miller  (R.),  received  411 
votes.  The  Progressives  polled  98,  this  being 
the  number  received  by  Albert  J.  Beveridge,  their 
candidate  for  U.  S.  Senator. 

The  Prohibitionists  polled  37  votes,  and  the 
Socialists,  8. 

The  vote  for  Secretary  of  State  was:  Homer 
L.  Cook  (D.),  809;  Ed  Jackson,  411.  For  Con- 
gress, Lincoln  Dixon  (D.),  902;  Manley  D.  Wil- 
son, 443.  For  Joint  Representative  of  Brown  and 
Monroe  counties,  Thomas  Sare  (D.),  received  826 
votes;  Ernest  Darby  (R.),  436.  The  local  tickets 
received  practically  the  same  vote. 

The  campaign  of  1916  was  very  interesting  for 
the  reason  that  the  Progressives  being  deserted  by 
their  leader  were  looking  for  some  place  to  "land." 
Their  organization  had  collapsed.  Many  avowed 
they  never  would  return  to  the  G.  O.  P.  How- 
ever, as  time  went  on,  the  big  majority  permitted 
their  partisan  spirit  instead  of  principle  to  domi- 
nate and  skulked  back  into  the  fold.  Some,  true 
to  their  convictions,  joined  the  Democratic  ranks 
and  enthusiastically  supported  the  ticket  from 
Wilson  down  to  the  last  man. 

In  this  election,  the  Democratic  electors  received 
1,046  votes;  Republicans,  506;  Progressives,  none; 
Prohibitionists,  31;  Socialists,  10;  and  Social  La- 
bor, 2. 

For  United  States  Senator,  (long  term)  Jno.  W. 
Kern  (D.),  received  999  votes;  Harry  S.  New 
(R.),  490;  (short  term)  Thomas  Taggart  (D.), 
received  990  votes;  James  E.  Watson   (R.),  492. 

The  candidates  for  state  offices  received  prac- 
tically the  same  vote  as  did  the  candidates  for  U. 
S.  Senator. 

For  Congress,  Lincoln  Dixon  (D.),  1,017;  Manly 
D.  Wilson  (R.),  519.  For  Joint  Senator,  Thos. 
Dorrell  (D.),  964;  Wm.  Graham  (R.),  511.  For 
Joint  Representative,  Wm.  L.  Coffey  (D.),  1,015; 
Frank  Gentry   (R.),  498. 

The  leaders  of  both  the  old  parties  were  untir- 
ing in  their  efforts  during  this  campaign  and  both 
equally  confident  of  success  in  the  state  and  na- 
tion. 

The  Democrats  were  proud  of  their  achievements 


in  legislation  and  were  confident  their  work  would 
not  be  repudiated.  Nevertheless,  the  State  fell 
to  the  Republicans.  Many  Democratic  counties 
were  overthrown  entirely.  Monroe  county,  to 
which  this  county  is  attached  for  Representative 
and  Senatorial  purposes,  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  Republicans. 

Dorrell,  candidate  for  State  Senator,  was  saved 
by  the  counties  of  Johnson  and  Brown;   but  the 
writer,    candidate    for    Representative    of    Brown 
and  Monroe  counties,  was  defeated  by  92  votes. 
THE  COUNTY  PRESS. 

Sometime  in  the  year  1854  the  first  newspaper 
venture  was  made  by  S.  A.  Armour.  This  paper, 
a  Democratic  organ,  continued  with  fair  success 
till  December,  1856,  when  it  was  sold  to  James 
S.  Hester,  J.  S.  Arwine  et  al.  This  firm  changed 
the  name  of  the  paper  to  Hickory  Withe. 

The  editor,  Mr.  Hester,  was  an  unusually  bright 
man  with  very  pronounced  Democratic  views.  His 
paper  bore  the  distinction  of  being  a  true  expo- 
nent of  the  Democratic  principles.  The  Hickory 
Withe  flourished  for  about  a  year,  when  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  United  Brethren  church, 
with  Jesse  Brandon  as  its  publisher.  This  ven- 
ture was  not  very  successful.  The  demand  for  a 
political  paper  led  Mr.  Brandon  to  purchase  the 
plant,  which  he  did  in  1861,  naming  the  new  pub- 
lication the  Nashville  Union,  which  was  of  Demo- 
cratic proclivity.  Mr.  Brandon  conducted  his 
paper,  which  was  well  patronized,  through  the 
fiery  years  of  the  Civil  war  and  until  his  death 
in  1866,  when  it  was  purchased  by  Watts  Adams, 
who  changed  the  name  to  the  Nashville  Star. 
This  was  a  Democratic  publication  also.  It  lived 
about  eight  months,  and  passed  away. 

The  following  three  years  bore  evidence  of 
much  struggle  for  the  press  to  live.  The  Star 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Summers  and  Gaston,  who 
changed  its  name  to  the  Democrat,  and  after  an 
existence  of  six  months  it  passed  into  the  hands 
of  a  man  named  Winters,  of  whom  it  is  said 
"only  three  publications  got  out  of  his  press." 

In  December,  1867,  George  Sleeth  secured  the 
office  and  issued  the  Nashville  Democrat  until 
September,  1868,  and  then  sold  out  to  L.  H.  Mil- 
ler, who  started  the  Index,  another  Democratic 
organ.  This  was  issued  until  about  the  month 
of  March,  1869,  when  it  became  defunct.  In 
1870  Yates  and  Allison  started  the  Jacksonian. 
After  a  few  months  Yates  sold  out  to  Allison. 
This  publication  was  continued  by  Rlr.  Allison 
until  March,  1883. 

In  February,  1883,  Wm.  M.  Waltman  and 
Isaac  Chafin  founded  the  Democrat,  and  in 
March,  1883,  bought  the  Jacksonian.  The  new 
paper  issued  bore  the  name  of  Jacksonian  Demo- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  181G-1916 


In  May,  1883,  John  C.  Hester  and  W.  W. 
Browning  became  owners  of  this  paper.  In  June, 
1883,  Hester  became  sole  owner.  The  paper  was 
operated  but  a  short  time  when  Mr.  Hester  de- 
cided to  move  his  plant  to  Spencer,  Ind.  A  por- 
tion of  this  equipment  was  purchased  by  Brown- 
ing and  Metheny,  who  started  a  new  paper  which 
they  called  the  Brown  County  Democrat  and 
which  they  published  till  December  14,  1884, 
when  it  was  sold  to  the  present  editor  and 
publisher,  Alonzo  Allison.  For  thirty  uninter- 
rupted years  Mr.  Allison  has  enjoyed  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  proprietor  and  publisher  of  this 
paper  and  has  through  that  Ion'?  period  of  time 
faithfully  expounded  and  promulgated  Demo- 
cratic doctrine. 

COUNTY  OFFICERS. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  names  of  Democratic 
county  officials  from  1836,  the  date  of  the  organi- 
zation of  the  county,  to  the  present  time: 
COUNTY  CLERKS. 

John  Floyd,  July  9,  1836;  Thomas  M.  Adams, 
1839;  Shadrach  Chandler,  1842;  Wm.  M.  Mason, 
1848;  Thomas  M.  Adams,  1859;  James  S.  Hester, 
1863;  James  Ralphy.  1864;  Wm.  H.  Bainbridge, 
1865;  W.  L.  Co.x,  1867;  Eliakim  Hamblen,  1874; 
Joshua  Metheney,  1882;  Com.  P.  Hanna,  1890; 
William  H.  Pittman,  1898;  Charles  Genolin,  1906; 
John  F.  Bond,  1910;  Christopher  Brummett,  1914. 
COUNTY  AUDITORS. 

Thomas  M.  Adams,  1841;  Shadrach  Chandler, 
1848;  Lewis  Prosser,  1842;  Sylvanus  Manville, 
1858;  Eugene  Culley,  1862;  Wm.  G.  Watson,  1870; 
George  W.  Allison,  1874;  John  S.  Williams,  1882; 
Ben.  P.  Smith,  1890;  John  C.  Ross,  1898;  John 
B.  Seitz,  1902;  John  McGee,  1910;  Omer  Morrison, 
1914. 

COUNTY  RECORDERS. 

John  Floyd,  July  9,  1836;  Thomas  M.  Adams, 
1839;  Shadrach  Chandler,  1848;  Wm.  M.  Mason, 
1848;  Fountain  Southerland,  1858;  John  Carson, 
1862;  Daniel  Marcellus,  1864;  F.  D.  Wood,  1872; 
Isaac  Chafin,  1876;  Joel  R.  Carter,  1884;  Frank 
J.  Griner,  1892;  Thomas  W.  Durnal,  1900;  Alonzo 
W.  Anderson,  1904;  Wm.  H.  Newmister,  1908; 
Frank  P.  Taggart,  1918;  Elijah  Lucas,  1916. 
COUNTY  TREASURERS. 

Thomas  Hinkson,  July  26,  1836;  John  S.  Wil- 
liams, Nov.  7,  1836;  Isaac  Bott,  1844;  W.  W. 
Baker,  1849;  Lewis  F.  Raper,  1852;  Charles  C. 
Hanna,  1856;  Alfred  Williams,  1860;  J.  A.  McKin- 
ney,  1864;  W.  H.  Taggart,  1868;  Eli  T.  Moore, 
1872;  Thomas  Milnes,  1876;  Joseph  M.  Cook,  1880; 
Wm.  H.  Beatty,  1884;  James  L.  Tilton,  1888; 
Samuel  Walker,  1892;  Isaac  Tabor,  1906;  H.  B. 
Miller,  1900;  Joseph  A.  Lucas,  1904;  J.  H.  Barkes, 
1908;  Can  Clark,  1912;  Thomas  Ayers,  1916. 


COUNTY  SHERIFFS. 
James  Dawson,  April  20,  1836;  James  Tag- 
gart, Aug.  16,  1836;  Littleton  Mathews,  1839; 
R.  S.  Brummet,  1S39;  William  S.  Roberts,  1846; 
R.  S.  Brummet,  1848;  Benjamin  R.  Kelley,  1852; 
Stephen  A.  Kennedy,  1S56;  David  Crouch,  1860; 
Wm.  G.  Watson,  1864;  R.  S.  Brummet,  1868;  F. 
G.  Metheney,  1870;  A.  F.  Sipes,  1872;  S.  A.  Ken- 
nedy, 1876;  John  Watson,  1880;  Thomas  J.  Tag- 
gart, 1882;  Rufus  W.  Reddick,  1886;  Samson 
David,  1890;  George  I.  King,  1894;  George  A. 
McDonald,  1898;  Samuel  Parks,  1902;  George  M. 
Roberts,  1906;  Dennis  Calvin,  1910;  James  W. 
Kennedy,  1914. 

COUNTY  SURVEYORS. 

James  Dawson,  1836;  Allen  S.  Anderson,  1839 
John  W.  Chaver,  1842;  A.  S.  Anderson,  1852 
John  P.  Wright,  1854;  Alfred  Williams,  1856 
William  H.  McCarty,  1860;  John  P.  Wright.  1862 
L.  S.  Alder,  1865;  John  P.  Wright,  1867;  Alfred 
Williams,  1869;  John  T.  Brock,  1870;  W.  T.  Car- 
michael,  1871;  L.  S.  Alder,  1872;  Alfred  T.  Gee, 
1882;  James  P.  Prosser,  1896;  Miles  Williams, 
1900;  Alfred  T.  Gee,  1902;  John  Voland,  1908. 
COUNTY  CORONERS. 

William  Followell,  August  16,  1836;  James  S. 
Woods,  1838;  Joseph  Kelley,  1841;  Otha  Wolf, 
1845;  Hiram  Reynolds,  1848;  William  Taylor, 
1849;  R.  P.  Manville,  1854;  Thompson  H.  Larkin, 
1856;  Daniel  Marsh,  1858;  James  Jackson,  1859; 
John  Henry,  1864;  James  Hampton,  1865;  Asa 
Reeves,  1866;  W.  G.  Watson,  1868;  S.  C.  Wilson, 
1870;  Dr.  M.  E.  Phillips,  1872;  Dr.  A.  S.  Griffitt 
( R.) ,  1874 ;  W.  T.  Grattan,  1876 ;  W.  J.  Long,  1878 ; 
Dr.  A.  J.  Ralphy,  1880;  Dr.  C.  T.  Taggart,  1884; 
Samuel  C.  Wilson,  1886;  William  L.  Coffey.  1888; 
Samuel  C.  Wilson,  1890;  A.  J.  Ralphy,  1894;  Wm. 
E.   Prather,  1900. 

SCHOOL       COMMISSIONERS,       EXAMINERS 
AND   COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENTS. 

D.  D.  Weddle,  1837,  Com.;  Alfred  Smith,  1844; 
same;  Thomas  M.  Adams,  1854,  Examiner;  Isaac 
N.  Prosser,  1856;  David  S.  Story,  1857;  James 
S.  Hester,  1858;  S.  E.  McHhaney,  1860;  W.  W. 
Browning,  1861;  W.  S.  Olmstead,  1862;  William 
L.  Cox,  1864;  L.  S.  Alder,  1867;  Fletcher  D. 
Wood,  1871;  Wm.  D.  Roberts,  1872;  John  S.  Wil- 
liams, two  months,  1873;  John  McGee,  first  Coun- 
ty Superintendent,  June,  1873;  David  M.  Beck, 
1877;  Simon  P.  Neidigh,  1881;  Chas.  W.  Snyder, 
1885;  C.  S.  Campbell,  1897;  A.  A.  Manuel,  1899; 
Wm.  L.  Coffey,  1903;  Sylvester  Barnes,  G.  G. 
Brown,  1917. 

COUNTY   COMMISSIONERS. 

In  November,  1836,  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 

assumed  the  control  of  the  county  business.     This 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-19  1 


power  was  vested  in  these  officers  till  June,  1845, 
when  the  county  was  divided  into  three  Commis- 
sioners' Districts.  After  the  fall  election  in  this 
year,  three  county  commissioners  took  charge  of 
the  county  affairs.  Joseph  Kelley,  William  Tag- 
gart  and  William  Bender  constituted  the  first 
and  served  the  first  one,  two  and  three  years  re- 
spectively. John  S.  Arwine  was  elected  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  position  in  1846;  Preston  Goforth, 
1847;  Joseph  Kelley,  1848;  John  S.  Arwine,  1849; 
Preston  Goforth,  1850;  J.  A.  McKinney,  1851; 
Milton  Fleener,  1852;  George  Butcher,  1853; 
James  Arwine,  1854;  Preston  Goforth,  1854;  J.  A. 
McKinney,  1855;  A.  A.  Anderson,  1855;  Preston 
Goforth,  1856;  Eli  T.  Moore,  1857;  A.  S.  Ander- 
son, 1858;  N.  N.  Maris,  1859;  Wiley  Spurgeon, 
1860;  John  Richards,  1861;  Louis  J.  Tull,  1862; 
John  Wadsworth,  1863;  John  Breedlove,  1864; 
Hannibal  I.  Mead,  1865;  Thomas  S.  Lucas,  1866; 
John  Richards,  1867;  H.  L  Mead,  1868;  A.  R. 
Moser,  1869;  Robert  Henderson,  1870;  John  Stila- 
bower,  1871;  A.  S.  Anderson,  1872;  Robert  Hen- 
derson, 1873;  H.  L  Mead,  1874;  B.  V.  Lockman, 
1875;  Thomas  Waltman,  1876;  Samuel  Webber, 
1876;  John  Deist,  1877;  Bartholomew  V.  Lock- 
man,  1878;  Thomas  Waltman,  1879;  John  Deist, 
1880;  Thomas  Madgett,  1881;  James  Flint,  1882; 
William  Walker,  1883;  Thomas  Madgett,  1884; 
Thomas  Waltman,  1885;  William  Walker,  1886; 
Thomas  Madgett,  1887;  John  Snider,  1888;  John 
Milnes,  1889;  Elisha  Brown,  1890;  John  Snider, 
1892;  John  G.  Milnes,  1893;  James  Deckard,  1894; 
S.  A.  Richards,  1895;  John  C.  Milnes,  1896;  James 
Deckard,  1897;  S.  A.  Richards,  1898;  John 
Petro,  1899;  Elisha  Browrn,  1900;  Thomas 
Floyd,  1901;  Wm.  G.  Wray,  1902;  Elisha 
Brown,  1903;  Thomas  Floyd,  1904;  John  Petro, 
1905;  John  Newmister,  1906;  Martin  Kleindorfer, 
1907;  Wm.  G.  Wray,  1908;  Otto  K.  Carmichael, 
1909;  Peter  Cullen,  1910;  S.  L.  Taggart,  1911; 
Otto  K.  Carmichael,  1912;  Peter  Cullen,  1913; 
Wm.  G.  Wray,  1914;  Clint  Moore,  1915;  Jacob  Joy, 
1916;  John   B.  West,   1917;   Jno.   S.  Lutes,   1918. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  STATE  LEGISLATURE. 
REPRESENTATIVES. 
Throughout  its  existence,  the  county  has  had 
but  few  representatives  in  the  state  legislature. 
The  following  story  is  told  of  a  reverend  gentle- 
man by  the  name  of  Eli  P.  Farmer,  who  repre- 
sented the  county  in  the  lower  house  some  time 
in  the  early  "fifties."  This  gentleman  proceeded 
to  lawmaking  somewhat  in  the  manner  in  which 
he  carried  on  the  ministry  in  those  pioneer  days. 
It  is  said  that,  upon  one  occasion  when  he  ad- 
dressed the  speaker  of  the  house,  he  failed  to  get 
recognition.  He  addressed  the  chair  again  with 
the   same    result.      Being   somewhat   angered    at 


this  disregard,  he  walked  up  the  aisle  where  the 
speaker  stood  and  dealt  him  such  a  severe  blow 
with  his  fist  that  he  felled  him  upon  the  spot. 
The  secretaries  near  at  hand  aided  him  to  his  feet. 
Mr.  Farmer  coolly  returned  to  his  seat  and  again 
addressed  the  chair:  "Mr.  Speaker,  Mr.  Speaker." 
It  is  said  that  he  was  duly  recognized.  The 
county  has  been  represented  in  the  lower  house 
by  the  following  Democrats:  John  Richards, 
1864;  W.  W.  Browning,  1884;  Wm.  G.  Watson, 
1890;  John  S.  Williams,  1892;  Willoughby 
Wellons,   1902;   and   Charles   Genolin,   1912. 

STATE  SENATORS. 

Judge  Richard  L.  Coffey  was  elected  state  sen- 
ator of  Brovm,  Monroe  and  Bartholomew  coun- 
ties in  1878.  He  was  a  staunch  Democrat  and 
the  first  to  serve  his  county  in  this  capacity.  His 
very  pronounced  views  on  all  moral  questions 
were  well  known  throughout  the  district.  Dur- 
ing the  two  sessions,  1879  and  1881,  he  cham- 
pioned temperance  reform  legislation.  His  at- 
titude on  this  question  defeated  him  for  re-nomi- 
nation in  1882. 

W.  C.  Duncan  (D.)  succeeded  Mr.  Coffey  in 
1882  and  was  re-elected  in  1886. 

After  a  period  of  twenty-two  years  George  W. 
Long,  a  prominent  Democrat  and  attorney  of 
the  Nashville  bar  was  elected  to  represent  the 
counties  of  Brown,  Jackson  and  Washington.  Mr. 
Long  served  during  the  sessions  of  1909  and  1911, 
and  ably  filled  many  responsible  positions  on  com- 
mittees of  that  body. 

COUNTY  CHAIRMEN. 

It  has  been  found  impossible  to  obtain  a  per- 
fect list  of  names  of  Democrats  who  have  served 
the  party  in  the  capacity  of  county  chairman  in 
this  county.  From  the  best  information  obtain- 
able, beginning  with  the  year  1886  and  continu- 
ing, up  to  and  including  the  present  year,  1916, 
the  following  served  in  that  position  in  the  order 
named  as  nearly  as   can  be  ascertained: 

Eugene  Cully,  Wm.  L.  Cox,  Green  Watson,  R. 
L.  Coffey,  Joshua  Metheney,  Anderson  Percifield, 
Thomas  J.  Taggart,  John  Cravens,  John  W. 
Harden,  H.  B.  Miller,  George  W.  Long,  Sylvester 
Barnes,  John   McGee  and   Omer   Morrison. 

It  is  a  notable  fact  that  no  Democrat  of  this 
county  has  ever  been  elected  to  a  state  office,  to 
Congress,  or  succeeded  to  any  national  position  of 
consequence  by  appointment. 

The  older  Democrats  of  the  county  did  not 
interest  themselves  in  the  larger  responsibilities 
and  seemed  content  in  the  management  of  local 
affairs.  However,  the  younger  men  are  more  am- 
bitious and  are  contending  for  recognition  more 
commensurate   with   their   political   services. 


HISTORY    OF  THE    DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
CARROLL  COUNTY 


THE  history  of  the  Democratic  party  of 
Carroll  county  dates  back  to  the  year  1828, 
when  at  the  presidential  election  of  1828, 
Andrew  Jackson  received  112  votes  and  John 
Adams  73  votes.  At  the  election  of  1832,  Jackson 
received  258  votes  and  Clay  received  173  votes;  in 
1836  Van  Buren  received  565  votes  and  Harrison 
received  375  votes;  in  1840  Van  Buren  received 
765  votes  and  Harrison  received  699  votes;  in 
1844  Polk  received  865  votes  and  Clay  received  712 
votes;  in  1848  Cass  received  1,008  votes  and  Tay- 
lor received  822  votes;  in  1852  Pierce  received 
1,265  votes  and  Scott  1,075  votes;  in  1856  Buch- 
anan received  1,344  votes  and  Fremont  1,261 
votes;  in  1860  Douglas  received  1,446  votes  and 
Lincoln  1,590  votes.  From  the  first  presidential 
election  up  to  1860  the  Democratic  party  was  in 
the  majority. 

The  campaign  of  1840  was  the  most  exciting 
campaign  prior  to  1860.  It  was  spectacular.  It 
is  remembered  as  the  "Log  Cabin,  Hard  Cider" 
Campaign.  The  rallying  cry  was,  "Tippecanoe 
and  Tyler,  Too."  Long  processions  moved 
through  the  unbroken  forests,  big  wagons  and 
horseback  companies.  A  log  cabin  on  wheels 
with  a  coon  at  the  window,  and  hard  cider  for 
the  thirsty.  In  campaigns  following  both  politi- 
cal parties  employed  big  wagons,  drawn  by  four 
to  sixteen  horses,  filled  with  voters,  women  and 
children,  upon  occasions  of  big  meetings,  where 
big  men  were  present  to  discuss  the  great  issues  of 
the  times. 

Every  school  house  in  the  land  resounded  with 
the  eloquence  of  local  orators. 

When  the  old  Whig  party  disbanded,  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  was  confronted  with  grave  issues, 
upon  which  the  party  was  not  a  unit.  The  time 
was  ripe  for  the  formation  of  a  new  National  po- 
litical party,  and  all  factional  elements  united  in 
1856,  and  at  Philadelphia  the  Republican  party 
was  born.  Although  the  new  party  was  defeated 
in  that  year,  the  Democratic  party  saw  fit  to  split 
at  Charleston  in  1860  and  for  the  first  time  in  its 
history  went  before  the  country  in  1860  in  two  dis- 
tinct factions. 

The  defeat  which  followed  brought  upon  the 
country  conditions  that  repose  now  too  deep  for 
resurrection;  it  is  well  it  is  so.  Carroll  county 
Democrats  stood  pat,  adhering  to  the  old  princi- 
ples they  learned  from  Jefferson. 

They  stood  at  the  polls  demanding  the  right  for 


the  men  of  their  choice,  and  to  see  that  no  fraud 
was  practiced  to  defeat  them. 

They  passed  through  years  when  the  ballot  was 
regarded  as  purchasable.  Money  was  used  to  de- 
bauch the  electorate,  illegal  voters  sent  from  poll 
to  poll  to  defeat  the  party.  Men  led  men  in 
"Blocks  of  Five"  those  days,  intimidation  was 
used,  and  for  many  campaigns  the  voice  of  the 
people  was  crushed. 

The  reaction  came  as  it  was  bound  to  without 
resorting  to  revolutionary  measures.  The  cam- 
paign of  education  went  on  and  on,  and  by  de- 
grees reforms  were  accomplished,  and  the  up- 
heaval of  1908,  1910  and  1912  rolled  back  op- 
pression and  corruption,  and,  as  an  evidence  of  the 
capability  of  the  people  to  rule,  the  Republican 
party  became  disrupted  and  hopelessly  divided. 

The  election  of  1912  set  on  foot  policies  that 
are  being  enforced,  and  to  their  accomplishment 
the  Democratic  party  in  Carroll  county  has  done 
its  full  part,  giving  a  larger  majority  than  ever 
before  in  its  history. 

The  Democrats,  now  living,  who  have  con- 
tributed to  the  success  of  the  party,  look  back  upon 
the  past  history  of  the  party  in  this  county,  and 
cherish  the  memory  of  the  leaders  who  preceded 
them;  and  can  call  up  such  men  as  General  Samuel 
Milroy,  J.  B.  Milroy,  James  Odell,  Anthony  Gar- 
rett, J.  T.  Richardson,  B.  F.  Schermerhorn,  B.  B. 
Daily,  E.  Walker,  J.  D.  Wilson  and  many  others 
who  were  active  in  party  councils. 

Of  those  now  found  leading  we  mention  a 
very  few;  J.  A.  Cartwright,  A.  B.  Crampton,  C. 
R.  Pollard,  John  F.  McCormick,  Harry  Reed, 
James  Reeder,  William  Lesh,  Mart  Popejoy,  Gro- 
ver  Long,  Emory  Flora,  John  C.  O'Connor,  W.  C. 
Smith,  J.  H.  Cartwright,  W.  P.  Thompson,  James 
P.  Wason,  W.  B.  Wason,  William  Margowski,  Sell 
Doty,  T.  J.  Ryan,  Guy  A.  Hall  and  John  L.  Hanna. 
Many  of  the  above  named  have  held  offices  of 
trust  and  profit  to  their  honor  and  credit. 

In  the  year  1893  one  of  the  finest  monuments 
in  the  State,  in  memory  of  the  soldiers  of  Carroll 
county,  was  erected  in  the  court  house  square  by 
a  board  of  Democratic  commissioners  at  a  cost  of 
$12,000. 

The  present  Democratic  officers  in  1918  are: 
James  P.  Wasson,  judge  of  the  Carroll  circuit 
court;  Henry  Good,  county  auditor;  James  H. 
Hinkle.  county  assessor,  and  Walter  G.  Million, 
county 


18- History 


(545) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
CASS  COUNTY 


CASS  COUNTY  is,  always  has  been  and  al- 
ways will  be  a  bulwark  of  Democracy  in 
Indiana.  To  use  a  muchly  advertised 
phrase,  "there's  a  reason." 

Cass  county's  Democracy  is  a  militant  Democ- 
racy. The  Democrats  of  Cass  county  are  fighters, 
and  if  there  is  anything  that  they  like  better  than 
a  big,  rousing  political  fight,  it  has  not  yet  dawned 
on  them.  The  stiffer  the  opposition,  the  better 
they  fight.  They  are  restless,  dispirited,  unless 
engulfed  in  the  throes  of  a  strenuous  campaign. 
They  gumshoe  around,  eyeing  the  enemy  with  sus- 
picion and  distrust.  They  cannot  understand  the 
lull  in  activities.  They  feel  uncomfortable,  fear 
trouble  and,  though  they  cannot  fight,  they  con- 
tinually keep  their  ear  to  the  ground. 

Democratic  victories  in  Cass  county  have  not 
been  attained  without  fighting.  Back  in  the  days 
when  the  Whigs  composed  the  opposition  the  De- 
mocracy had  to  battle  valiantly  for  every  victory 
which  it  obtained,  because  numbered  among  Cass 
county  Whigs  were  men  who  knew  how  to  fight 
and  who  loved  to  fight.  And  following  the  birth 
of  the  Republican  party,  the  opposition  did  not 
become  less  militant.  If  anything  it  became  more 
aggressive,  and  every  campaign  in  Cass  county 
has  been  a  whirlwind  of  oratory,  red  fire  and  con- 
tagious enthusiasm.  Whigs  and  Democrats,  Re- 
publicans and  Democrats,  have  been  engaged  in 
continual  battle  from  the  county's  organization 
until  the  present  day.  Campaigns  have  been  hard 
fought  and  victories  have  been  won  by  close  mar- 
gins. 

Much  of  the  spectacularness  of  the  campaign 
dwindled  twenty  or  so  years  ago,  when  the  old 
torch-lights,  which  characterized  every  political 
parade,  went  out  of  fashion.  And  while  per- 
haps the  masses  do  not  show  the  enthusiasm  which 
was  manifested  during  the  good  old  days,  yet  Cass 
county's  Democracy  has  not  lost  any  of  its  mili- 
tancy. Its  fighting,  planning  and  scheming  is 
now  done  by  an  aggressive  county  committee. 
Just  as  business  has  been  organized,  so  has  poli- 
tics, and  the  Democrats  of  Cass  county  have  not 
been  slow  in  perfecting  an  organization  which 
knows  how  to  and  does  get  results.  Records  of 
past  campaigns  show  this. 

Some  counties  of  Indiana  which  invariably  re- 
turn a  Democratic  majority  do  so  because  Democ- 
racy is  overwhelmingly  in  the  majority.  It  would 
be  as  unnatural  for  the  Republicans  to  win  as  it 
would  be  for  the  State  of  Texas  to  go  Repub- 
lican. But  this  is  not  and  never  has  been  the  case 
in  Cass  county.     The  strength  of  both  the  Demo- 


cratic party  and  the  opposition  has  been  about 
equal,  with  perhaps  possibly  a  very  slight  advan- 
tage to  the  Democrats.  As  the  result  of  this  the 
Democrats  have  always  had  to  be  alert  and  ag- 
gressive. The  opposition  has  never  been  known 
to  lay  down.  It  battles  until  the  last  vote  is 
counted,  and  then  looks  about  for  a  chance  to  con- 
test the  result. 

Cass  county  was  created  by  an  act  of  Legisla- 
ture, approved  December  18,  1828,  and  on  Janu- 
ary 19,  1829,  a  supplemental  act  was  passed 
changing  and  increasing  its  territory,  until  its 
northern  boundary  extended  to  the  Michigan  line. 
Other  changes  were  made  from  time  to  time  by 
acts  of  the  Legislature  and  new  counties  were 
formed  from  the  original  territory  of  Cass  county, 
until  1847,  when  the  present  boundaries  were 
fixed. 

The  act  of  Legislature  which  created  Cass 
county  named  Henry  Ristine  of  Montgomery 
county,  Erasmus  Towell  of  Shelby  county,  Wil- 
liam Purdy  of  Sullivan  county,  Harrison  Tyner 
of  Marion  county  and  Samuel  George  of  Tippeca- 
noe county  as  commissioners  to  select  a  county 
seat.  Cass  county  had  been  named  in  honor  of 
General  Lewis  Cass,  a  resident  of  Michigan,  who 
was  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  various 
treaties  with  the  Indians  which  opened  up  the 
lands  in  Cass  and  surrounding  counties  to  white 
settlers.  These  commissioners  met  in  the  log 
cabin  of  Gillis  McBean  and  selected  Logansport  as 
the  county  seat  of  Cass  county. 

The  first  election  was  held  April  13,  1829,  and 
the  following  officers  were  elected:  Chauncey 
Carter,  James  Smith  and  Moses  Thorp  commis- 
sioners and  William  Scott  sheriff.  Cyrus  Taber 
was  appointed  county  treasurer.  Carter  and 
Taber  were  Democrats  who  played  a  prominent 
part  in  the  party's  success  in  those  early  days. 

Party  lines  were  not  closely  dravioi  during  local 
elections  in  the  early  days  of  Cass  county.  Fit- 
ness for  office  and  personal  popularity  had  more 
weight  with  the  voters  than  party  affiliation.  But, 
whether  through  aggressive  campaigning  or 
greater  personality.  Democratic  candidates  se- 
cured more  than  an  even  share  of  the  offices. 

But  as  time  passed  personality  and  the  fitness 
of  a  man  for  office  became  less  potent.  Finally 
came  the  period  when  men  "voted  'er  straight." 
Political  strife  was  the  result.  Men  hewed  to 
party  lines  and  red  fire  and  the  torch-lights  came 
into  their  own.  Lifelong  friendships  were  severed 
on  the  rocks  of  party  politics.  Bitterness  was  en- 
gendered,  fist  fights  were  not  uncommon.     This 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


was  the  heyday  of  the  politician.  Stump  speakers 
were  on  every  corner  and  Cass  county  was  deluged 
by  a  flood  of  political  oratory.  The  zenith  of  this 
period  was  reached  during  the  Bryan  campaign 
in  189(3.  The  torch-light  was  supplemented  by  the 
"full"  dinner  pail,  but  even  this  political  trick  did 
not  awe  or  undermine  the  Democracy  of  Cass 
county.  When  the  votes  were  counted  it  was  dis- 
covered that  William  J.  Bryan,  Democrat,  had  re- 
ceived 4,814  votes  and  William  McKinley  only 
4,392. 

Democrats  of  Cass  county  have  not  been  easily 
swayed  on  national  issues.  Abraham  Lincoln  car- 
ried the  county  in  1860  by  a  slight  plurality,  but 
this  in  a  measure  might  possibly  have  resulted 
from  the  opposition  which  developed  here  against 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Democratic  opponent.  Dr. 
G.  N.  Fitch.  Democrat,  elected  from  Cass  county 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  18.58-1861,  bitterly 
opposed  Douglas.  While  in  the  Senate  Dr.  Fitch 
and  Douglas  got  into  an  altercation  which  nearly 
resulted  in  a  duel,  and  when  Douglas  ran  for 
President  Dr.  Fitch  worked  mightily  against  him. 

The  second  time  that  Lincoln  ran  Cass  county 
went  overwhelmingly  for  George  B.  McClellan, 
his  Democratic  opponent.  Nor  was  Benjamin 
Harrison,  Indiana's  favorite  son,  in  his  two  cam- 
paigns against  Grover  Cleveland,  able  to  win  over 
the  Democrats  of  this  county.  Each  time  they 
gave  Cleveland  a  big  plurality  over  Harrison. 
Roosevelt  captured  the  Democracy  of  Cass  county 
in  1904,  but  this  was  because  local  Democrats  re- 
sented the  lukewarm  support  which  Alton  B. 
Parker,  his  opponent,  had  given  William  J.  Bryan 
in  1900.  Woodrow  Wilson  carried  the  county  in 
1912  and  also  in  1916,  although  at  the  latter  elec- 
tion the  State  went  Republican. 

Following  is  the  vote  of  Cass  county  for  Presi- 
dent since  its  organization  to  1916: 

1828 — Andrew  Jackson,  Democrat,  66  votes; 
John  Quincy  Adams,  Whig,  31  votes. 

1832 — Andrew  Jackson,  Democrat,  162  votes; 
Henry  Clay,  Whig,  1.53  votes. 

1836— Martin  Van  Buren,  Democrat,  286  votes; 
William  H.  Harrison,  Whig,  313  votes. 

1840 — Martin  Van  Buren,  Democrat,  372  votes; 
William  H.  Harrison,  Whig,  640  votes. 

1844 — James  K.  Polk,  Democrat,  671  votes; 
Henry  Clay,  Whig,  764  votes. 

1848 — Lewis  Cass,  Democrat,  829  votes;  Zach- 
ary  Taylor,  Whig,  881  votes. 

1852 — Franklin  Pierce,  Democrat,  1,190  votes; 
Winfield  S.  Scott,  Whig,  1,176  votes. 

1856 — James  Buchanan,  Democrat,  1,.539  votes; 
John  C.  Fremont.  Republican,  1,504  votes. 

1860 — Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Northern  Democrat, 
1,727  votes;  Abraham  Lincoln,  Republican,  1.874 


votes;  John  C.  Breckinridge,  Southern  Democrat, 
34  votes. 

1864— George  B.  McClellan,  Democrat,  2,087; 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Republican,  1,836  votes. 

1868 — Horatio  Seymour,  Democrat,  2,673  votes; 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Republican,  2,370  votes. 

1872 — Horace  Greeley,  Democrat,  2,225  votes; 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Republican,  2,616  votes. 

1876— Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Democrat,  3,586  votes; 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  Republican,  3,040  votes. 

1880— Winfield  S.  Hancock,  Democrat,  3,579 
votes;  James  A.  Garfield,  Republican,  3,387  votes. 

1884— Grover  Cleveland,  Democrat,  4,070  votes; 
James  G.  Blaine,  Republican,  3,583  votes. 

1888— Grover  Cleveland,  Democrat,  4,221  votes; 
Benjamin  Harrison,  Republican,  3.822  votes. 

1892 — Grover  Cleveland,  Democrat,  4,006  votes; 
Benjamin  Harrison,  Republican,  3,501  votes. 

1896— William  J.  Bryan,  Democrat,  4,814  votes; 
William  McKinley,  Republican,  4,392  votes. 

1900— William  J.  Bryan,  Democrat,  4,672  votes; 
William  McKinley,  Republican,  4,308  votes. 

1904— Alton  B.  Parker,  Democrat,  4,357  votes; 
T.  R.  Roosevelt,  5,282  votes. 

1908— William  J.  Bryan,  Democrat,  5,205  votes; 
William  H.  Taft,  Republican,  4,700  votes. 

1912 — Woodrow  Wilson,  Democrat,  4,421  votes; 
William  H.  Taft,  Republican,  1,573  votes;  T.  R. 
Roosevelt,  Progressive,  3,094  votes. 

1916 — Woodrow  Wilson,  Democrat,    votes; 

Charles  Hughes,  Republican,  votes. 

An  incident  which  occurred  on  election  day  in 
1848  shows  how  Cass  county  Democrats  worked 
to  elect  their  candidate.  There  lived  in  one  of  the 
northern  townships  a  man  named  Siedenbender, 
who  was  a  Democrat  of  the  rock-ribbed  order. 
His  son  was  twenty-one  years  old  that  day  and 
proudly  announced  that  he  was  going  to  vote  for 
Zachary  Taylor.  The  father  paused,  eyed  his  son 
steadily  for  a  moment  and  then  declared  that  he 
could  not  vote,  as  he  would  not  be  twenty-one 
years  old  until  after  the  polls  closed,  having  been 
born  in  the  evening.  The  son  was  obdurate  and 
declared  that  he  was  going  to  vote  anyway.  The 
father,  not  a  bit  nonplused,  stated  that  if  he  at- 
tempted to  vote  he  would  challenge  his  right. 

But  at  this  moment  Mrs.  Siedenbender,  a  large, 
powerful-framed  woman,  who  would  be  a  power 
in  woman  suffrage  affairs  if  she  now  lived,  inter- 
rupted. She  brushed  her  husband  aside,  ordered 
the  son  to  hitch  up  the  old  mule  and  she  would 
drive  to  the  polls  with  him.  She  declared  that  if 
her  husband  challenged  the  son's  vote  she  would 
swear  him  in,  and  she  guessed  that  the  election 
board  would  believe  her,  as  "she  was  present  at 
her  son's  horning."     The  father  surrendered. 

And  with  all  the  bitterness  and  strife  which 
characterized   the   campaigns   of   the   early   days, 


(547) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


many  humorous  incidents  occurred.  One  especially 
was  during  the  strenuous  campaign  of  "Blue 
Jeans"  Williams,  Democrat,  for  governor.  The 
election  in  those  days  came  in  October,  and,  natu- 
rally, everyone  was  interested  in  the  outcome,  the 
result  being  sort  of  a  forecast  of  what  could  be 
expected  at  the  national  election  in  the  following 
month.  The  result  was  very  close  and  hundreds 
crowded  before  the  bulletin  boards  of  the  news- 
paper offices.  Interest  was  at  fever  heat,  and 
when  word  was  finally  received  stating  that  "Blue 
Jeans"  Williams  had  been  elected  governor,  the 
editor  of  the  Logansport  Journal,  Republican, 
hung  a  pair  of  blue  jeans  out  of  the  window.  The 
crowd  instantly  understood.  The  Democrats  broke 
forth  in  jubilant  cheers,  but  the  Republicans  slunk 
away. 

The  Logansport  Pharos  has  been  the  organ  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  Cass  county  since  July 
24,  1844,  and  much  of  the  party's  success  has  been 
due  to  the  various  men  who  controlled  its  editorial 
policy.  There  have  been  other  Democratic  news- 
papers in  the  county,  but  they  have  been  of  the 
mushroom  variety  and  none  have  had  the  power 
and  the  prestige  of  the  Daily  Pharos,  which  was  so 
long  and  so  ably  edited  by  the  late  Benjamin  F. 
Louthain. 

The  Logansport  Pharos  was  first  published  as  a 
weekly  July  24,  1844,  by  Samuel  A.  Hall,  a  native 
of  Ohio,  who  came  here  and  purchased  the  press 
and  fixtures  of  the  defunct  Wabash  Gazette.  Mr. 
Hall,  though  a  young  man,  was  an  ardent  Demo- 
crat and  he  soon  made  his  paper  a  power  in  local 
politics.  January  6,  1869,  he  sold  the  paper  to 
Rufus  Magee,  who  later  became  state  senator  and 
United  States  minister  to  Norway  and  Sweden. 
Mr.  Magee,  always  aggressive  in  politics,  made 
the  paper  more  of  a  power  in  the  community. 
August  10,  1874,  he  changed  the  Pharos  into  a 
daily  and  it  has  since  continued  as  such.  July  1, 
1875,  Mr.  Magee  sold  the  paper  to  a  company  com- 
posed of  local  men,  and  Simon  P.  Sheerin,  Demo- 
crat, who  later  became  clerk  of  the  supreme  court, 
became  editor.  Some  time  later  Jerry  Collins  of 
Crawfordsville  assumed  management.  November 
28,  1877,  Benjamin  F.  Louthain  and  M.  Y.  Todis- 
man  secured  control.  John  W.  Barnes,  March  20, 
1885,  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Todisman,  and 
from  that  date  until  a  few  years  ago  the  Logans- 
port Pharos  was  successfully  managed  by  Louth- 
ain and  Barnes.  The  paper  was  then  consolidated 
with  the  Logansport  Daily  Reporter  under  the 
name  of  the  Pharos-Reporter,  with  Mr.  Louthain 
as  editor. 

Many  other  Democratic  papers  were  started  in 
Cass  county.  The  Logansport  Banner,  a  German 
paper,  had  short  life  during  1872-73.  The 
Deutsche    Zeitung,    German    paper,    was    started 


October  7,  1882,  by  John  Day.  In  1892  Mr.  Day 
sold  this  paper  to  Peter  Walrath,  who  changed 
the  name  to  Sternenbanner.  Mr.  Walrath  con- 
tinued the  publication  until  1899,  when  he  removed 
to  Evansville.  In  1896  he  represented  Cass  and 
Miami  counties  in  the  lower  house  of  the  Legis- 
lature. 

Soon  after  Peter  Walrath  left  John  Day  again 
embarked  in  the  newspaper  business  and  started 
the  publication  of  the  Freie  Pi-esse,  which  is  still 
being  published  weekly.  It  has  a  large  circula- 
tion among  the  German  people  of  Logansport  and 
Cass  county  and  is  strongly  Democratic. 

The  Logansport  Daily  Star,  which  first  came 
into  existence  as  an  advertising  sheet  February 
27,  1873,  was  purchased  by  J.  Harris  Hall,  son  of 
Samuel  A.  Hall,  founder  of  the  Pharos.  The  Star 
was  supposed  to  be  independent  in  politics,  but 
represented  the  Dr.  Fitch  faction  in  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  which  was  opposed  to  Rufus  Magee, 
publisher  of  the  Pha^-os.  It  ceased  publication  in 
1876. 

The  Galveston  Times,  established  in  Galveston, 
Ind.,  March,  1886,  by  Isom  N.  Bell,  had  short  life 
as  a  weekly  Democratic  paper.  He  removed  the 
paper  to  Logansport,  and  September  10  of  the 
same  year  it  was  changed  into  a  Prohibition 
weekly. 

The  Logansport  Sun,  under  the  management  of 
the  Democratic  Publishing  Company,  was  started 
January  4,  1872,  and  continued  to  be  issued  for 
49  weeks,  when  it  suspended  publication.  It  was 
revived  November  18,  1873,  and  appeared  weekly 
until  the  spring  of  1875,  when  it  died.  The  Sun 
was  practically  owned  and  controlled  by  John  T. 
Musselman  with  George  W.  Fender  as  editor.  Mr. 
Musselman  was  a  radical  Democrat  and  sometimes 
got  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  fence,  especially 
when  party  politics  were  not  run  according  to  his 
own  personal  views. 

At  one  time  during  the  short  life  of  this  paper 
William  C.  Mareau  was  employed  as  an  editorial 
writer.  A  vitriolic  criticism  of  David  D.  Dyke- 
man  caused  the  latter  to  go  gunning  for  the 
writer.  Mr.  Dykeman  met  Mareau  at  the  corner 
of  Pearl  and  Broadway,  pulled  a  revolver  and 
started  shooting  at  the  editor.  One  bullet  took 
effect,  but  the  wound  was  not  serious.  Mareau 
immediately  left  the  city. 

Reaso7i  was  the  name  of  a  weekly  which  was 
published  during  the  1904  campaign  by  Charles 
E.  Carter  in  an  endeavor  to  show  the  inconsist- 
ency of  the  Gold  Democrats  in  opposing  the  elec- 
tion of  William  J.  Bryan.  It  died  shortly  after 
the  end  of  the  campaign. 

The  Logansport  Daily  Democrat  was  the  last 
Democratic  paper  launched  on  the  sea  of  journal- 
ism  in   Cass  county.     It  was   started  by  Austin 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


Fansler,  former  Democratic  city  clerk,  David 
Loftus  and  Amos  Palmer.  It  first  saw  the  light 
in  July.  1904.  There  was  not  much  capital  behind 
the  venture  and  it  died  after  a  few  months. 

Cass  county  has  been  ably  represented  by  Dem- 
ocrats in  both  branches  of  the  United  States  Con- 
gress, as  well  as  in  the  Legislature  of  Indiana. 
General  John  Tipton,  who  probably  did  more  for 
the  upbuilding  of  Logansport  and  Cass  county  in 
the  early  days  than  any  other  man,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  States  Senate  from  1831  to 
1839.  He  first  came  to  Logansport  as  an  Indian 
agent  and  participated  in  many  of  the  treaties 
which  were  drawn  up  between  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment and  the  Indians.  When  the  Pottawat- 
tomie  Indians  were  removed  from  this  section  in 
1838  they  first  objected  to  leaving,  but  Captain 
Tipton  raised  a  company  of  sixty  Cass  county 
men  and  started  them  on  their  way  west.  By  his 
prompt  action  he  checked  what  might  have  been 
an  insurrection. 

Dr.  G.  N.  Fitch  was  also  a  member  of  the  United 
States  Senate.  He  was  born  in  New  York  in  1809 
and  with  his  father  came  to  Cass  county  in  1834. 
He  represented  Cass  county  in  the  lower  House  of 
Representatives  in  1851  and  1852  and  was  United 
States  senator  1858-1861.  He  was  a  presidential 
elector  in  1856. 

David  Turpie,  who  also  represented  Indiana  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  was  a  resident  of  Lo- 
gansport for  a  number  of  years.  He  studied  law 
here  with  D.  D.  Pratt  in  1849  and  practiced  law 
here  from  1867  to  1872. 

Judge  William  Z.  Stuart,  one  of  the  pioneer 
Democrats,  was  a  member  of  the  state  supreme 
court,  1853-1857,  and  Judge  Horace  P.  Biddle,  who 
in  early  life  had  been  a  Whig,  but  who  later  be- 
came an  ardent  Democrat,  was  a  member  of  the 
supreme  court,  1874-1880.  Judge  Moses  B.  Lairy 
became  a  member  of  the  appellate  court  in  1911 
and  in  1912  was  elected  a  member  of  the  supreme 
court.  Judge  George  E.  Ross,  who  is  practicing 
at  the  Cass  county  bar  at  the  present  time,  was  a 
member  of  the  appellate  court,  1893-1897. 

Rufus  Magee,  former  editor  of  the  Logansport 
Pharos,  and  at  present  a  member  of  the  Cass 
county  bar,  was  United  States  minister  to  Nor- 
way and  Sweden,  1885-1889.  Mr.  Magee,  during 
his  life,  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  poli- 
tics. Although  now  well  advanced  in  years,  he 
still  does  his  part  in  every  campaign,  making 
speeches  throughout  the  county  and  assisting  in 
other  ways  in  perfecting  the  Democratic  organi- 
zation. 

William  H.  Jacks,  who  died  a  few  years  ago, 
was  United  States  consul  at  London,  Ont.,  during 
Cleveland's  first  administration.     Later  he  became 


docket   clerk   in   the   Cass   circuit   court   and   held 
this  position  until  the  time  of  his  death. 

Following  are  the  Democrats  who  have  held 
county  offices: 

CIRCUIT  COURT  JUDGE. 

Robert  H.  Milroy,  1852;  Horace  P.  Biddle,  1861; 
Maurice  Winfield,  1885;  Moses  B.  Lairy,  1895; 
John  S.  Lairy,  1903,  and  re-elected  for  two  suc- 
cessive terms. 

PROBATE  JUDGE. 

Chauncey  Carter,  1833;  Robert  M.  Graves, 
1848;  Alvin  M.  Higgins,  1851;  Henry  M.  Eidson, 
1862;  Robert  F.  Groves,  1853;  Samuel  L.  McFad- 
din,  1857;  D.  D.  Dykeman,  1863;  John  Mitchell, 
1873,  when  court  was  abolished. 

COUNTY  CLERK. 

Noah  S.  LaRose,  1856;  Horace  P.  Bliss,  1865; 
Noah  S.  LaRose,  1873;  Samuel  L.  McFaddin, 
1877;  Charles  W.  Fisk,  1884-1886;  John  M.  Bliss, 
1890;  Andrew  T.  Flinn,  1896;  Julius  F.  Liene- 
mann,  1898;  Edward  Hankee,  1908;  Charles  O. 
Brown,  1912. 

AUDITOR. 

W.  G.  Nash,  1866;  George  W.  Blakemore,  1875; 
Samuel  S.  Helvie,  1890;  George  W.  Cann,  1906; 
John  E.  Wallace,  1910;  Adelbert  P.  Flynn,  1914. 

RECORDER. 

Horace  M.  Bliss,  1860;  J.  C.  Kloenne,  1864; 
Nelson  A.  Howard,  1868;  Samuel  P.  Sheerin, 
1872;  Jacob  J.  Rothermel,  1882;  Henry  Hubler, 
1886-1890;  George  F.  Felker,  1898;  James  W. 
Shinn,  1906;  Harry  E.  Burkit,  1910;  Cleo  Tousley, 
1914. 

TREASURER. 

Cyrus  Taber,  1829;  A.  M,  Higgins,  1860; 
Chauncey  Carter,  1862;  George  E.  Adams,  1866; 
Thomas  Pierce,  1880;  A.  Grusenmeyer,  1884; 
Charles  L.  Woll,  1888;  John  Fox,  1892;  I.  N. 
Cash,  1896;  C.  F.  Obenchain,  1900;  Matthew  Ma- 
rcney,  1906;  M.  M.  Minnick,  1910;  D.  A.  Hyman, 
1914. 

SHERIFF. 

Abi'ah  Van  Ness,  1844;  James  Spear,  1848; 
Willard  G.  Nash,  1862;  John  Davis,  1866;  James 
Stanley,  1870;  W.  P.  Louthain,  1876;  Henry  Sny- 
der, 1882;  James  Stanley,  1884-1886;  John  Don- 
aldson, 1888-1890;  N.  A.  Beck,  1890;  Charles 
Homburg,  1892-1896;  N.  B.  Richardson,  1898- 
1900;  Lewis  E.  Beekley,  1902-1904;  Warren  J. 
Butler,  1908-1910;  James  B.  Stanley,  1912-1914; 
Charles  Grant,  1916. 

PROSECUTING   ATTORNEY. 
E.     A.     Hannegan,    1830;    William    Z.    Stuart, 


1844;    Charle 


LaSalle,    1848;    M.    H.    Kidd, 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1861;  Charles  B.  Pollard,  1874;  Simon  Weynand, 
1878;  E.  S.  Daniels,  1880;  M.  D.  Fansler,  1884; 
John  W.  McGreevy,  1888;  Frank  M.  Kistler, 
1892;  George  S.  Kistler,  1896;  Willard  C.  Fitzer, 
1900;  George  A.  Custer,  1906;  Michael  L.  Fans- 
ler, 1910;  Walter  W.  Foskett,  1914. 
STATE   SENATOR. 

Cyrus  Taber,  1846;  John  Davis,  1862;  Charles 
B.  LaSalle,  1868;  Rufus  Magee,  1882  and  1890; 
Maurice  Winfleld,  1898;  Frank  M.  Kistler,  1906- 
1910. 

STATE   REPRESENTATIVE. 

Gillis  McBean,  1833;  Chauncey  Carter,  1834; 
Gillis  McBean,  1835;  G.  N.  Fitch,  1836-1839; 
Chauncey   Carter,   1842;    George   W.    Blakemore, 


1843;  Cyrus  Taber,  1845;  George  W.  Blakemore, 
1848;  William  Z.  Stuart,  1851;  William  G.  Cullen, 
1856;  Charles  B.  Knowlton,  1858;  Charles  B. 
LaSalle,  1862;  Samuel  L.  McFaddin,  1866; 
Charles  W.  Anderson,  1872;  John  W.  Cantley, 
1874  and  1880;  James  Thomas,  1882;  J.  C.  Loop, 
1884;  L.  B.  Custer,  1886-1888;  Joseph  Gray,  1890; 
Joseph  Guthrie,  1892;  Frank  Sense,  1896;  George 
W.  Burkhart,  1898-1900;  Charles  W.  Kleckner, 
1906-1908;  William  C.  Fitzer,  1910-1912;  Louis 
P.  Erny,  1914. 

JOINT    REPRESENTATIVE. 
Peter  Walrath,  Cass  and  Miami,  1896;  James 
A.  Cotner,  Cass  and  Miami,  1898-1900;  Harry  M. 
Gardner,  Cass  and  Fulton,  1912. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
CLARK  COUNTY 


THE  county  of  Clark,  bein^  named  in  honor 
of  George  Rogers  Clark,  was  the  second 
county  in  the  territory  of  Indiana  and  was 
organized  on  the  third  of  February,  1801,  fifteen 
years  before  the  state  was  admitted  to  the  Union. 

The  original  organization  of  the  county  was 
under  proclamation  by  General  William  Henry 
Harrison,  the  first  territorial  governor.  The  ter- 
ritory included  was  a  part  of  Knox  county  which 
had  been  organized  in  the  '90s  and  had  embraced 
most  of  the  territory  now  included  in  the  state  of 
Indiana. 

The  new  county  of  Clark  included  what  is  now 
incorporated  in  Harrison,  Floyd,  Clark,  Washing- 
ton, Jackson,  Scott,  Jefferson,  Ripley,  Decatur, 
Franklin,  Bartholomew,  Shelby,  Rush,  Fayette, 
Union,  Henry,  Randolph,  Wayne,  Jay  and  Switzer- 
land. This  embraces  about  one-fifth  of  the  terri- 
tory in  the  present  State  of  Indiana  and  was  a 
part  of  the  grant  of  land  given  to  General  Clark 
and  his  men  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  January  2, 
1881. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  county 
only  one  family  resided  at  Charleston  and  a  few 
more  scattered  families  about  six  miles  east. 
Jonathan  Jennings,  afterwards  to  become  the  first 
governor  of  Indiana,  lived  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Springville,  which  was  the  first  county  seat. 
The  seat  of  government  was  removed  from 
Springville   to   Jeffersonville   in    1802. 

The  first  court  in  the  county  was  held  at 
Springville,  April  7,  1801.  The  judges  compos- 
ing that  court  were  Marston  Green  Clark,  Abra- 
ham Huff",  James  Noble  Wood,  Thomas  Downs, 
William  Goodwin,  John  Gibson,  Charles  Tuley, 
and  William  Harwood.  They  were  the  head  men 
of  the  county  and  selected  regardless  of  politics, 
although  at  the  time  there  were  none  but  Demo- 
crats living  anywhere  in  the  territory. 

Oflficers  for  the  county  were  named  as  follows: 
Samuel  Gwathemey  clerk  for  the  several  courts, 
Jesse  Roland  judge  of  probate,  Davis  Floyd  re- 
corder, Thomas  Downs  treasurer,  Marston  Green 
Clark  surveyor,  Samuel  Hay  sheriff,  Peter  Mc- 
Donald coroner.  These  family  names  were  all 
very  conspicuous  in  the  history  of  the  county  for 
many  years. 

When  the  seat  of  government  was  transferred 
to  Jeffersonville,  Isaac  Bowman,  on  June  23,  1802, 
transferred  1.50  acres  to  the  county  commission- 
ers, and  John  Gwathemey  was  appointed  to  plat 
the  land.  The  plan  for  the  town  was  devised  by 
Thomas  Jefferson,  for  whom  the  place  was  named. 
Later  on,  in  1817,  as  the  town  grew,  the  plan  was 


entirely  changed,  in  order  to  utilize  for  building 
purposes  many  tracts  which  were  set  aside  for 
parks   and   breathing  spaces. 

In  the  election  of  1842  Thomas  J.  Henly,  Demo- 
crat, was  elected  to  represent  the  third  district 
of  Indiana  in  the  congress,  defeating  Joseph  L. 
White,  the   Whig  nominee. 

Clark  county  had  the  distinction  of  being  the 
home  of  the  first  two  candidates  for  governor  of 
the  state,  Jonathan  Jennings  and  Thomas  Posey. 

Jeffersonville  lost  the  county  seat  to  Charles- 
town  in  1812  and  the  local  seat  of  government 
remained  fixed  until  1878,  when  it  was  removed 
permanently  to  Jeffersonville. 

In  181.3  Jeffersonville  became  temporarily  the 
seat  of  government  of  Indiana.  Governor  Posey 
did  not  like  Corydon  and  moved  his  office,  as  he 
explained  to  the  legislature,  so  he  could  be  nearer 
to  his  doctor,  who  lived  in  Louisville.  The  legis- 
lature criticised  him  very  severely  for  this  act, 
but  he  remained  there  until  November  7,  1816. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  county  and  to  the 
present  time,  more  than  one  hundred  years  since 
the  state  was  admitted  to  the  union,  it  requires  a 
very  close  searching  of  the  records  to  find  where 
any  Whig  or  Republican  has  ever  held  office. 

While  in  the  earlier  days  there  were  no  party 
divisions  at  the  polls  because  there  were  not 
enough  people  outside  the  Democratic  party  to 
form  a  political  organization,  later  the  lines  were 
very  tightly  drawn  and  there  has  been  very  little 
variation  in  the  vote. 

In  1846,  for  instance,  James  Whitcomb,  the 
Democratic  candidate,  received  1,113  votes, 
against  883  for  his  Republican  opponent.  In  the 
election  of  1856  the  vote  of  the  county  was  di- 
vided more  than  had  been  usual.  Buchanan,  Dem- 
ocratic nominee,  received  1,950  votes;  Fillmore,  of 
the  American  party,  1,074,  and  Fremont,  Republi- 
can nominee,  492. 

In  the  October  election,  the  same  year,  Oliver 
P.  Morton  received  1,485  votes  against  his  Demo- 
cratic opponent,  who  had  1,799. 

Taking  a  jump  of  twenty  years,  during  which 
time  the  vote  remained  about  in  the  same  propor- 
tion, in  1874  the  Democratic  candidate  for  secre- 
tary of  state  polled  3,407  against  his  Republican 
opponent,  who  had  2,129. 

In  the  interesting  campaign  of  1876,  when 
James  D.  Williams,  the  Democratic  nominee,  op- 
posed Benjamin  Harrison  for  governor,  the  Demo- 
cratic vote  in  Clark  county  was  3,235,  the  Republi- 
cans polling  2,446. 

Samuel  Tilden.  who  polled  the  popular  vote  of 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


the    country,    received    in    Clark    county    3,369, 
against  2,399  for  Hayes. 

In  the  presidential  year  of  1880,  with  Garfield 
opposing  Hancock,  Clark  county  gave  to  Hancock 
3,659,  and  to  Garfield  2,899,  while  Fi-anklin 
Landers,  Democratic  candidate  for  governor,  re- 
ceived 3,617,  against  Porter's  2,902. 

In  1888  the  presidential  vote  stood  Democratic 
3,789,  Republican  3,207.  In  1892  Democratic  4,013, 
Republican  3,280.  For  governor,  that  same  year, 
Claude  Matthews,  Democratic  nominee,  received 
3,999  votes,  against  3,259  for  Ira  J.  Chase,  Re- 
publican nominee.  In  1890,  two  years  preceding 
this  same  presidential  election,  Matthews  received 
in  Clark  county  3,393  votes  against  Milton  Trus- 
ler,  his  Republican  opponent,  who  had  2,485. 

In  1896  was  one  of  the  bad  spots  in  the  Demo- 
cratic record.  In  that  year  William  J.  Bryan 
made  his  first  race  for  president  and  Benjamin  F. 
Shively  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  governor 
against  James  A.  Mount.  Bryan  received  3,785, 
McKinley  3,897,  Shively  3,763,  and  Mount  3,846. 

The  year  following  the  Democratic  majority  re- 
turned, but  in  1900,  when  John  W.  Kern  became 
a  candidate  for  governor  and  Bryan  was  nom- 
inated for  his  second  race,  Bryan  received  only 
4,134.  aeainst  4,087  for  McKinley;  Kern  had  4,097, 
while  W.  T.  Durbin  had  3,816. 

In  1904  the  switch  to  the  Republican  presiden- 
tial ticket  was  suflScient  to  give  Hanly  a  lead  over 
Kern  for  governor.  On  the  presidential  ticket 
Parker  received  3,587,  while  Roosevelt  had  3,644. 
Hanly  received  3,590  votes,  against  3,573  for 
Kern. 

In  1908,  when  Thomas  R.  Marshall  redeemed 
the  state  from  a  succession  of  Republican  govern- 
ors, he  carried  Clark  county  with  4,097  votes, 
against  3,648  for  James  Eli  Watson.  The  same 
year  Bryan  and  Kern  carried  the  county  by  4,085 
against  Taft,  who  received  3,706. 

In  1912  very  little  of  the  Republican  party  re- 
mained in  Clark  county,  Wilson  and  Marshall  re- 
ceiving 3,315,  Taft  805,  and  Roosevelt  2,453  as 
the  leader  of  the  Progressives. 

In  1914,  in  the  state  election,  the  Democratic 
vote  was  completely  restored,  the  senatorial  vote 
standing  Democratic  2,727,  Republican  1,150,  and 
to  Albert  J.  Beveridge,  the  Progressive  candidate, 
1,701. 

In  1916  only  seven  of  the  original  Progressive 
voters  remained,  and  Wilson  was  given  3,572 
votes,  and  Hughes  3,173,  and  Clark  county  has  the 
appearance  of  being  safely  and  securely  Demo- 
cratic for  a  good  many  years  to  come. 

There  are  many  interesting  stories  told  of  the 
early  days,  and  of  even  more  recent  date,  in  the 
political  doings  of  Clark  county.  Major  William 
Lewis  was  one  of  the  early-day  Democrats  who 


was  such  a  strong  partisan  and  so  set  in  his  be- 
lief in  the  soundness  of  Democratic  doctrines  and 
principles  that  nothing  but  good  Democrats  have 
appeared  in  his  family  line  for  a  hundred  years. 
He  was  the  great-grandfather  of  Frank  Payne, 
who  was  appointed  by  Governor  Thomas  R. 
Marshall  a  member  of  the  Indiana  railroad  com- 
mission, and  later  became  a  member,  under 
Governor  Samuel  M.  Ralston,  of  the  first  public 
service  commission. 

Major  Lewis  came  to  Clark  county  from  Ohio 
in  1826,  and  at  once  became  a  leading  political 
figure  in  the  county  and  state.  He  was  well-to-do 
in  those  days,  being  possessed  of  both  finances 
and  property.  President  Andrew  Jackson  named 
him  receiver  of  the  local  land  ofl^ce,  and  stories 
have  passed  down  of  the  method  of  handling  the 
business  that  are  at  least  interesting.  Most  of 
the  money  paid  into  the  land  office  was  in  small 
denominations,  both  scrip  and  smallest  of  coins. 
As  the  story  goes,  the  money  was  counted  when 
received  and  was  thrown  into  a  large  box,  where 
it  was  kept  until  time  to  ship  it;  that  then  it  was 
shoveled  or  dumped  into  sacks  and  sent  on  the 
river  to  Washington,  without  second  counting,  and 
"there  was  never  a  cent  missing  "  This  is  always 
told  by  latter-day  Democrats  of  Clark  county  as 
a  testimonial  to  the  thorough  honesty  of  a  Demo- 
cratic community  and  is  considered  worth  a  whole 
lot  as  an  answer  to  the  many  unkind  things  said 
of  the  party  in  Indiana  by  the  opposition  press 
"from  everlasting  to  everlasting."  For  the  Demo- 
cratic party  and  leaders  of  Indiana,  ever  since  the 
days  when  the  first  ballot  was  cast  to  the  present 
time,  have  certainly  been  subject  of  language  ti- 
rades from  the  publicity  organs  of  the  opposition. 
Democrats  have  thrived  on  the  abuse  and  grown 
a  sturdy  fighting  stock. 

Major  Lewis  had  one  son  named  William  Jack- 
son. When  Jackson  was  traveling  from  the  cap- 
itol  at  the  end  of  his  administration,  he  visited 
Jeffersonville  and  made  the  home  of  Major  Lewis 
his  stopping-place.  He  presented  the  boy  with  a 
book  and  a  silver  fifty-cent  piece.  They  have 
since  been  preserved  by  the  family.  The  son, 
William  Jackson  Lewis,  died  and  another  son  was 
given  the  same  name. 

One  son  of  Major  Lewis,  Felix  R.  Lewis,  was 
even  more  active  in  politics  than  his  father  had 
been.  During  the  tempestuous  times  of  Know- 
Nothingism  he  was  an  opponent  of  fanaticisms. 
He  never  was  anything  but  a  Democrat  in  princi- 
ple as  well  as  in  the  practical  application  of  the 
principles  at  the  ballot-box.  During  the  cam- 
paign he  invited  Ashbel  P.  Willard  to  speak  at 
Jeff^ersonville.  Armed  with  a  couple  of  horse  pis- 
tols Lewis  mounted  the  stage  and  introduced  the 
speaker,  announcing  that  he  was  prepared  to  take 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


care  of  anyone  who  dared  interpose  any  inter- 
ruptions. 

When  election  day  came  most  of  the  rough  ele- 
ment went  across  the  river  to  Louisville  to  en- 
gage in  the  historically  bloody  elections.  Lewis 
stayed  at  home,  and  with  the  same  horse  pistols 
he  stood  at  the  polls  and  declared  his  intention  of 
seeing  that  no  man  who  was  entitled  to  vote 
was  denied  the  right.  The  result  was  that  every- 
body who  claimed  the  right  exercised  it. 

Probably  the  most  interesting  family  in  the 
politics  of  Clark  county  was  that  of  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson Howard.  The  sons  were  George  Washing- 
ton Howard,  John  Wesley  Howard,  Martin  Van 
Buren  Howard  and  Andrew  Jackson  Howard.  It 
was  in  1868  that  George  Washington  and  his 
father  agreed  that  George  should  become  the 
candidate  for  sheriff,  and  they  entered  the  cam- 
paign. Martin  Van  Buren  Howard  decided  some 
weeks  later  that  he  would  like  the  same  job  for 
himself,  so  he  entered  the  race  against  his  brother 
George.  Much  to  the  chagrin  of  his  father  and 
brother  George,  he  won. 

"Leave  my  house  and  never  return,"  were  the 
orders  of  the  father  to  the  successful  Martin  Van 
Buren.  "All  right,  father,"  answered  Martin; 
"but  when  I  go,  Samson-like,  I  take  the  chief 
pillar  of  the  temple  with  me." 

Martin  Van  Buren's  term  of  office  expired  in 
1871.  The  family  feud  was  patched  up  by  Martin 
resigning  in  the  last  year  of  his  term  and  allow- 
ing George  to  be  appointed  and  become  the  new 
candidate.  But  when  election  time  rolled  around 
George  Washington  Baxter  opposed  the  Howard 
family  ambitions  and  was  elected. 

In  1874,  George  Washington  Howard  had  his 
ambitions  gratified  when  he  was  elected  to  serve 
as  sheriff  till  1877. 

"Jack"  Howard,  who  served  a  number  of  years 
as  superintendent  of  the  state  reformatory,  was 
Andrew  Jackson   Howard. 

Beginning  with  1824  the  records  to  1916  show 
the  following  Democrats  to  have  held  important 
offices  in  Clark  county,  and  the  year  in  which 
they  were  elected: 

ASSOCIATE  JUDGE  CIRCUIT  COURT. 
Benjamin    Ferguson    (resigned    Aug.    15, 

1829)    1824 

Willis  W.  Goodwin 1824 

John  Carr  (vice  Ferguson) 1830 

John    Carr    1831-38 

Samuel  Prather   1832 

Joseph  Work  (resigned  May  14,  1842) ...  1837-45 

Lemuel  Ford  (resigned  Dec.  10,  1841) 1837-45 

Hezekiah  Robertson   1842 

Hezekiah  Robertson    1844-52 

William  Dunar   1851-58 

Andrew  J.  Huckelberry   1851-58 


CLERK. 

John  Carr 1824 

John  Carr   (resigned)    1831 

Henry  Herrod  (succeeded  Carr)   1831 

Henry  Herrod    1837 

Eli  McCalley   1841-45 

Eli  McCalley   1844-52 

Charles  P.  Ferguson 1851-58 

Andrew  J.   Hay 1859-63 

Campbell  Hay  1863-67 

William  James    1867-72 

John  L.  Ingram 1870-76 

Pleasant   James    1874-80 

Richard  C.  McGill 1882-88 

Eugene  V.  Stealey 1886-92 

John   C.  Lewman    1890-96 

Frank   W.   Carr    1898-1904 

George   W.   Badger    1902-08 

Curtis    W.    Ballard    1906-16 

Ernest  E.  Jacobs  1914-20 

RECORDER. 

John  Douthett 1824-38 

Thomas  Wilson  1840 

Isaac  Cox  (recorded  for  town  of  Jefferson- 

ville  for  3  years  from  date) 1841 

John  McCoy  (recorded  for  town  of  Jeffer- 

sonville  for  3  years  from  date) 1844 

John  Bower   1844-52 

James  Halstead  (recorded  for  town  of  Jef- 

fersonville  for  3  years  from  date) 1846 

Joseph  Bower   1851-58 

William  A.   Ingram 1855 

James  P.  Applegate   1863-72 

John  Carney  (died)   1870-76 

Pleasant  James   (to  fill  vacancy  by  death 

of  John  Carney)   1872 

Samuel  H.  McGonnigal 1872-80 

Evan  Shelby   1880-88 

Christopher   Peaceley    1886-94 

William  T.  Armstrong 1898-1902 

George  W.  Stoner   1902-10 

Clifford  Allhands   1910-18 

SHERIFF. 

John  S.  Simonson   1824 

Thomas  Carr 1826-28 

David  W.   Daily   1830-32 

Thomas      Carr      (succeeded      Daily,      re- 
signed)     1833-35 

Joseph   E.  Moon   1837 

Thomas  Carr   1839 

George   Green    1843 

John  C.  Huckleberry   1845 

Andrew  J.   Work    1852 

William  A.  Ingram   1849-53 

Andrew  J.  Work 1852 

John  M.  Pound 1854 

Hannibal  H.  Coombs   1856 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181G-191G 


Warren  Horr   1858-62 

Thomas  S.  Bellows   1862-67 

Warren  Horr 1866-69 

Martin  Van  Buren  Howard  (resigned) 1868-71 

George  Washington  Howard   (vice  Martin 

Van  Buren  Howard)    1871 

George  Washington  Baxter 1871-74 

George  Washington  Howard 1874-77 

Thomas   Dillon    1876-81 

James  W.  Davis 1880-85 

Charles  S.  Hay 1884-89 

Patrick  C.  Donovan 1888-93 

William  A.  Davis  1892-95 

Herman  Rave    1898-1903 

John  S.  Pernett 1902-06 

Herman  Rave  (appointed  to  Jan.  1,  1904) .       1902 

John  S.  Pernett 1904-08 

John  B.  Carr 1908-14 

Isaac  G.  Phipps  1912-14 

William  Long   1914-16 

CORONER. 

Thomas  Montague   1824-30 

Asa  Glover 1832 

Lorenzo  D.  Warren   1834 

Asa  Glover 1836 

William  H.  Sylvester  1838 

Asa   Glover    1840-48 

Marston  G.  C.  Pyle : 1850-52 

Rosalvo  R.  Glover 1852 

Hugh  Gibson   1858 

Marston  G.  C.  Pyle 1860-66 

George  W.  Lewman   1865-72 

John   J.   Roos    1872-76 

George  Kleespies 1876-78 

John   J.   Roos    1878-84 

Edwin  M.  Coots   1884-90 

John   J.   Roos    1890-94 

Frank  R.  M.  Gilbert  (vice  Roos,  deceased) .      1893 

Edwin  M.  Coots  1894-1905 

Froman  M.   Coots   1904-18 

SURVEYOR. 

Joseph  C.  Bowen  1831-36 

Daniel  H.  McDonald   1852-54 

William  W.   Farris    1856-1874 

Jonathan  J.  Bottorff   1874-78 

Victor  W.  Lyon    1880-94 

L.  Early  Keith   1898-1902 

Charles  W.  Kelly  1902-07 

Paris    Spurgeon    1906-19 

PROBATE  JUDGE. 

Willis  W.  Goodwin 1832-39 

Lemuel  Ford   1846 

Willis  W.  Goodwin 1847-54 

PROSECUTING  ATTORNEY. 

Amos  Levering  (resigned)    1848-51 

Charles  Moore    1849-51 


TREASURER. 

Thomas  J.  Nixon   1852-54 

Avery  Long   1856-57 

Andrew  J.  Carr   1860-65 

Christian  C.  Badger 1868-71 

David   S.   Koons    1870-75 

Henry  H.  Ferguson 1878-83 

Jacob  S.  Fry  1882-87 

Alexander  W.  Smitha 1886-91 

John  A.  Jenkins 1890-95 

Thomas  B.  Rader  (vice  Jenkins,  resigned) .      1893 

LeRoy  A.  Canter   1894-96 

Bernard  A.  Coll   1900-05 

Isaac  G.  Phipps   1904-09 

George  A.  Scheer 1908-13 

John  R.  Scott   1912-17 

J.   E.   Gray    1916-18 

AUDITOR. 

Campbell  Hay   1855 

Christian  G.  Badger 1859-67 

Michael  V.  McCann   1867-79 

John  L.  Delahunt  1882-91 

Samuel  D.  Oglesby  1890-95 

George  W.  Badger 1898-1903 

George  B.  Parks 1902-08 

Peter  Nachand    1906-12 

George  W.  Stoner   1910-20 

REAL  ESTATE  APPRAISER. 

William    Davis    1863-68 

SENATORS. 
— Clark   County — 
1816-20^ames  Beggs. 

—Clark,  Scott  and  Floyd  Counties— 
1821 — Joseph  Bartholomew. 

— Clark  and  Floyd  Counties — 
1822 — Joseph   Bartholomew. 
1823-25— John  H.  Thompson. 
1826— John  K.  Graham. 
1827-29— John  S.  Simonson. 
1830-33 — John  M.  Lemon. 
1834-38— David  W.  Daily. 
1839-41— William  G.  Armstrong. 
1842-50— James  G.  Reed. 
1852— James  S.  Athon. 
1853— Thomas  W.  Gibson. 
1855-57— Le  Roy  Woods. 

— Clark  and  Scott  Counties — 
1859— David  McClure. 
1861-63— Charles  P.  Ferguson. 
1865-67— Elisha  G.  English. 

— Clark  and  Floyd  Counties — 
1869— George  V.  Howk. 

— Clark,  Martin  and  Floyd  Counties — 
1871 — James  Keigwin. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


— Clark  and  Floyd  Counties — 

1873— A.  W.  Hall. 

1875-77— F.  C.  Johnson. 

— Clark  and  Scott  Counties — 

1883-85— David  McClure 

— Clark,  Scott  and  Jennings  Counties — 

1887— A.  G.  Smith. 

— Clark  and  Jefferson  Counties — 

1887-89— David   McCIure. 

— Clark,  Scott  and  Jennings  Counties — 

1889-91— Frank  B.  Burke. 

— Clark  and  Jeflferson  Counties — 

1891-93— John  McGregor. 

— Clark,  Jennings  and  Scott  Counties — 

1893-95— Willis  L.  Barnes. 

1897-99— Joseph  H.  Shea. 

— Clark  and  Jennings  Counties — 

1901-03— James  W.  Fortune. 

— Clark,  Scott  and  Jennings  Counties — 

1907-17— Floyd  Park,  Sr. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

1816 — Benjamin  Ferguson,  Thomas  Carr,  John 
K.  Graham. 

1818 — Benjamin  Ferguson,  Thomas  Carr. 

1819 — John   H.   Thompson,   Charles   Boggs,  Jo- 
seph Bartholomew. 

1820 — John   F.   Ross,  John   H.   Thompson,   An- 
drew P.  Hay. 

1821 — John   F.   Ross,   Andrew   P.   Hay,  Joseph 
Gibson. 

1822 — John   Miller,   John   H.   Thompson. 

1823— Isaac  Howk,  William  G.  Armstrong. 

1824-25— Reuben    W.    Nelson,    Wm.    G.   Arm- 
strong. 

1826 — Isaac  Howk,  John  M.  Lemon. 

1827-29 — Isaac  Howk,  John  M.  Lemon,  Joseph 
Work. 

1830 — Isaac  Howk,  Alexander  F.  Morrison,  An- 
drew  Fite. 

1831 — Isaac    Howk,    Joseph    Work,    Joseph    E. 
Roe. 

1832 — Benjamin  Ferguson,  Thomas  J.  Henley. 

1833 — Benjamin  Ferguson,  Thomas  J.  Henley, 
John  C.  Parker. 

1834 — John  H.  Thompson,  Samuel  J.  Stewart. 


1S35— William  G.  Armstrong,  Eli  McCalley, 
Daniel  Bower. 

1836— William  G.  Armstrong,  John  C.  Huckle- 
berry. 

1837 — William  G.  Armstrong,  Benjamin  Fergu- 
son. 

1838 — Benjamin  Ferguson,  Thomas  J.  Henley, 
Henry  Hurst. 

1839— Henry  Hurst. 

1840-41— James  G.  Read,  Thomas  J.  Henley. 

1842-43— Thomas  J.  Henley,  John  S.  Simonson. 

1844 — John  S.  Simonson,  James  S.  Athon. 

1845 — John  S.  Simonson,  Thomas  J.  Howard. 

1846 — John  S.  Simonson,  John  Ferguson. 

1847 — John  Ferguson,  Thomas  Carr. 

1848— Thomas   Carr,  John   H.   Sullivan. 

1849 — James  G.  Caldwell,  John  C.  Huckleberry. 

1850— James  H.  Athon,  James  G.  Caldwell. 

1851 — Thomas  Carr,  George  Schwartz. 

1852— Thomas  Ware  Gibson. 

1853— John  F.  Reed. 

1855 — Thomas   D.   Fouts. 

1857^ames  L.  Wallace. 

1859— A.  J.  Carr. 

1861— Thomas  J.  Howard. 

1863-65— Jonas  G.  Howard. 

1867— Frederick  H.  C.  Honneus. 

1869— Charles  R.  McBride. 

1871— Henry  S.  Barnaby. 

1873 — Joseph  Baker  and  Daniel  Blocher. 

1875 — Thomas  S.  Bellows. 

1877 — James  K.   Marsh. 

1879— William  B.  Carter. 

1881— George  H.  Gibson,  James  E.  Walker  and 
David   McClure. 

1883— George  H.  Gibson,  Charles  L.  Jewett. 

1885— Willis  L.  Barnes,  Charles  L.  Jewett. 

1887— Willis  L.  Barnes,  John  R.  Cushman. 

1889— James  P.  Applegate,  Henry  F.  Work. 

1891— Henry  F.  Work,  George  H.  Voigt. 

1893— Seba  A.  Barnes,  Reuben  Dailey. 

1897— Thomas  A.  Graham. 

1899— A.  A.  Cravens,  Thomas  A.  Graham. 

1901-03— Z.  M.   Scifres,  Charles  K.  Zollman. 

1905— Curtis  W.  Ballard,  Zach.  M.  Scifres. 

1907— Burdette  C.  Lutz,  Robert  C.  Brown. 

1909— Emmett  C.  Mitchell,  W.  E.  Wagner. 

1911— Emmett  C.  Mitchell,  Wm.  E.  Wagner. 

1913— Earl  K.  Friend,  Emmett  C.  Mitchell. 

1915— Earl  K.  Friend,  John  Ryan. 


(  555) 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
CLAY  COUNTY 


DANIEL  HARRIS,  resident  of  Spencer, 
Owen  county,  Indiana,  member  of  the 
State  General  Assembly  in  December,  1824, 
introduced  the  bill  for  an  act  authorizing  the  or- 
ganization of  Clay  county.  By  his  bill  the  terri- 
tory that  was  to  form  the  new  county  was  sliced 
from  Vigo  and  Owen  counties,  these  having  been 
organized  in  1818. 

Harris  was  an  enthusiastic  member  of  the  Whig 
party.  He  was  a  worshiper  of  Henry  Clay. 
Probably  one  of  the  motives  which  caused  him  to 
introduce  the  Clay  county  bill  was  the  opportunity 
it;  gave  him  to  attach  the  name  of  his  political  idol 
to  something  where  it  would  not  wash  off  in  the 
years  to  follow.  Because  of  his  performance  in 
making  the  new  county  a  reality,  for  the  remain- 
der of  his  years  he  was  known  as  "Old  Clay"  and 
as  the  "Father  of  Clay  County." 

As  a  Whig  he  surely  could  take  small  comfort 
from  the  political  performances  of  his  new  baby, 
even  from  the  very  start.  Right  off  the  reel,  at 
the  first  election  called  in  1825,  everything  went 
tumbling  pell-mell,  helter-skelter  for  Democracy. 
It  has  grown  stronger  in  the  same  way  each  year 
since.  About  the  only  show  any  Whig  or  Repub- 
lican ever  had  to  hold  an  office  was  to  move  out 
and  not  let  his  new  neighbors  know  he  had  lived 
at  one  time  in  Clay  county. 

The  fact  that  the  county  was  named  for  Henry 
Clay,  also  one  of  the  uncompromising  Whigs, 
never  helped  in  the  least  to  save  it,  for  the  Demo- 
crats have  not  shown  the  least  bit  of  sentiment  or 
reverence  for  the  name.  Maybe  if  Clay  had  lived 
there  for  a  few  months  he  might  have  seen  the 
error  of  his  political  behavior  and  become  a  Demo- 
crat with  far  more  personal  accomplishments  than 
ever  came  to  his  performances  as  a  Whig. 

Some  of  the  Democrats  who  helped  make  the 
county  Democratic  in  the  early  days,  and  to  keep 
it  so  ever  since,  are  still  living  and  rejoicing  in 
their  good  work.  One  of  these  is  Clinton  M. 
Thompson,  who  served  as  county  clerk  from  1864 
to  1868,  and  who  is  still  living  in  1918  at  the  age 
of  ninety  years. 

Another  is  John  Frump,  who  was  county  treas- 
urer from  1864  to  1868,  and  who  has  always  been 
conspicuous  in  the  politics  of  Clay  county  and  the 
State.  He  is  still,  at  the  age  of  ninety-six  in  1918, 
an  active  and  effective  worker  for  the  party  inter- 
ests. In  explaining  how  a  Whig  or  a  Republican 
happened  once  in  a  long  while  to  get  into  some 
public  office  he  says:  "You  know  we  just  spilled 
a  little  gasoline  in  the  road  occasionally  and  the 
Republicans  touched  a  match  to  it  and  started  a 


little  fire.  But  it  never  burned  very  long  or  large 
enough  to  do  any  particular  damage.  It  never 
started  in  the  same  place  a  second  time." 

Peter  T.  Luther  is  also  one  of  the  old-time  fight- 
ers and  in  the  later  years  a  Democratic  state  con- 
vention would  hardly  be  complete  without  him. 
Anyhow,  he  is  always  there  representing  Clay 
county  and  enthused  with  the  old-time  Democratic 
spirit.  He  has  served  in  various  capacities  in  his 
county,  among  others  being  county  recorder  from 
1868  to  1872  and  county  surveyor  from  1866  to 
1868. 

While  the  county  was  organized  in  1825,  the 
plat  of  the  "seat  of  justice"  was  not  placed  on  rec- 
ord until  1828,  and  it  was  in  1829,  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  Andrew  Jackson,  that  the  patents 
for  the  town  site  were  issued  and  recorded. 

Being  so  overwhelmingly  Democratic  in  politics 
that  there  was  little  chance  for  any  political  quar- 
rels outside  the  family,  the  residents  did  not  delay 
long  in  starting  county-seat  fights.  Bowling  Green 
had  been  made  the  county  seat,  and  all  over  the 
territory  within  the  county  limits  ambitious  citi- 
zens had  town  sites  that  were  "much  better,"  and 
they  were  freely  offered.  Then  as  now  there  were 
lots  of  people  ready  to  serve  the  public  by  turning 
over  their  tovra  sites.  This  started  in  1830  and 
it  continued  until  1877,  when  the  move  was  finally 
made  to  Brazil. 

While  the  fight  was  going  on  before  the  Legisla- 
ture and  by  petition  to  the  county  commissioners 
to  have  the  county  seat  changed,  and  while  the 
fight  was  won  at  least  on  two  separate  occasions 
before  these  bodies,  the  courts  were  appealed  to 
and  the  decisions  upset  what  the  legislative  bod- 
ies had  tried  to  do.  When  the  fire  came  in  1851 
and  burned  the  court  house  at  Bowling  Green  the 
Legislature  sought  to  prevent  the  rebuilding  until 
such  time  as  the  voters  of  the  county  might  decide 
what  to  do,  but  the  commissioners  went  ahead  with 
the  rebuilding  just  the  same,  and,  as  already 
stated,  the  move  from  Bowling  Green  to  Brazil 
did  not  come  until  January,  1877. 

The  order  for  removal  was  made  in  1871,  but 
court  and  other  delays  prevented  the  order  being 
carried  out  for  six  years. 

An  effort  is  made  in  the  lists  that  follow  to  men- 
tion all  the  Democrats  who  have  held  office  since 
the  county  was  organized.  The  list  has  been 
checked  over  with  a  great  deal  of  care  and  com- 
pared with  other  histories,  with  the  public  records, 
with  the  newspaper  files  and  by  the  men  who  have 
been  active  in  politics  all  their  lives  and  who  were 
personally  acquainted  with  many  of  these  officials. 


(556^ 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


It  is  the  first  purely  political  list  any  writers  have 
attempted  and  because  of  this  and  its  accuracy  it 
is  the  more  valuable. 

Another  peculiar  interest  that  attaches  to  the 
names  is  the  fact  that  many  of  the  men  were  after- 
wards conspicuous  in  the  political  life  of  other 
counties  of  Indiana,  and  are  still  so.  All  save 
names  of  Democrats  have  been  eliminated  from 
these  lists: 

SHERIFFS. 
1825-29 — Jesse  Mclntyre. 
1829-31^John  Rizley. 
1831-35 — Lawi-ence  Leonard. 
1835-37— Bluford  H.  Bolin. 
1837-39 — Lawrence  Leonard. 
1843-45 — George  Pinckley. 
1845-47 — Elias  Cooprider. 
1847-51— Charles  W.  Moss. 
1851-55— Lot  Loving. 
1855-58— William  F.  McCullough. 
1858-60 — Jeptha  M.  Ellington. 
1860-62— Calvin  Reed. 
1862-64— John  H.  Davis. 
1864-68— John  Cullen. 
1868-72— John  Weber. 
1874-77— Jesse  B.  Yocum. 
1877-78 — Alexander  Haggart. 
1878-80 — Jacob  Baumunk. 
1882-86— George  Stierly. 
1888-92— John  Murphy. 
1892-94 — Morgan  H.  Ringo. 
1896-98— John  A.  Hyde. 
1898-1902— John  G.  H.  Klingler. 
1902-06— John  Bray. 
1906-10 — William  A.  Prince. 
1912-16— William  M.  Garrigues. 

CLERKS. 
1825-31— Elijah  Rawley. 
1831-42 — Jesse  Mclntire. 
1842-47— Charles  C.  Modesitt. 
1848-60 — George  Pinckley. 
1860 — John  C.  Major. 
1860-64 — Dillon  W.  Bridges. 
1864-68 — Clinton  M.  Thompson. 
1868-72— Charles  H.  Knight. 
1876-80— Elias  C.  Kilmer. 
1884-88— Abraham  W.  Turner. 
1892-95— John  M.  Wehrle. 
1895— Ira  Holland. 
1896-1900— Charles  L.  Mace. 
1900-04 — Michael  J.  Murphy. 
1904-08 — Peter  L.  Everhart. 
1912-16— William  M.  Stobel. 
For  the  first  years  of  the  county  organization 
the  clerk  also  performed  the  duties  of  recorder 
and  auditor.     The  first  auditor  and  the  first  re- 
corder were  elected  in  1845. 


RECORDERS. 

1845-52— John  S.  Beam. 
1852-60— Thomas  Riddell. 
I860— Job  Riddell. 
1860-64— Clinton  M.  Thompson. 
1864-68— Charles  H.  Knight. 
1868-72— Peter  T.  Luther. 
1876-80— Lucius  J.  Bowman. 
1884-88— Owen  T.  Stark. 
1888-92— Dennis  C.  Gilfillan. 
1892-96— George  J.  Kayser. 
1896-1900— Thomas  J.  Keegan. 
1900-04— Bence  L.  Casteel. 
1908— Fred  C.  Witt. 
1912-16— Reuben  E.  Smith. 

AUDITORS. 
1845-50— Jesse  Fuller. 
1850-59 — John  Osborn. 
1863-67— George  W.  Wiltse. 
1867-75 — James  M.  Hoskins. 
1875-77 — James  Shaw. 
1877-78 — Jefferson  McAnelly. 
1878-86— James  T.  Casteel. 
1890-94— Matthew  R.  Yocum. 
1894-98 — Thomas  Phillips. 
1898-1902— Samuel  M.  Stigler. 
1902-06— J.  Frank  Smith. 
1906-10— James  L.  Burns. 
1910-14— Edgar  A.  Staggs. 
1914-19 — William  O.  Graeser. 

TREASURERS. 
The  first  treasurers  of  the  county  were  named 
by  the  county  commissioners,  the  law  providing 
for  their  election  by  the  people  being  first  oper- 
ative in  the  election  of  1841. 

Democrats  who  have  served  in  the  office  since 
that  date  are  these: 

1841-44 — Allen   T.   Rose. 
1844-50^ohn   Williams. 
1850-52— John  Picard. 
1852-54— Hale  C.  Conaway. 
1854-56— Athel  Staggs. 
1856-60— Elias   Helton. 
1860-64 — John  G.  Ackelmire. 
1864-68— John  Frump. 
1868-72— Alexander  Brighton. 
1874-78— F.  W.  Schromyer. 
1878-80— Leason  B.  Pruner. 
1882-86— John  W.  White. 
1888-92— Ernst   Muehler. 
1882-94 — Christopher   H.   Kattman. 
1894-96 — Furtney  L.  Brown. 
1900-02— Simon  L.  Row. 
1902-06— E.   G.   Bush. 
1906-12— Melbourne  C.   Lanning. 
1912-16— McClain   Johnson. 
1916-18— Thomas  W.  Swinehart. 


(557) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


SURVEYORS. 

After  the  organization  of  the  county  and  prior 
to  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1852,  among 
the  men  who  served  as  county  surveyors  were 
William  Maxwell,  who  was  appointed  in  1825, 
with  John   D.   Christie  and  William  Herron. 

Under  the  new  constitution  these  Democrats 
have  held  the  office: 

1852-54-^ohn  J.  Payton. 

1856-58 — John   Sharp. 

1858-62 — John  H.  Davis. 

1862-64 — Samuel  Terrell. 

1864-66— George  V.   Goshorn. 

1866-68— Peter  T.  Luther. 

1868-72— Marvin  B.  Crist. 

1876-80— D.  S.  Maurer. 

1882-84— Thomas  B.  Robertson. 

1884-90 — John  J.  Hayden. 

1890-92— James  L.   Burnes. 

1894-1900— Robert  J.  Hill. 

1900-02 — Lawrence  W.  Winn. 

1904-10— Frank  A.  Kattman. 

1910-16— George  A.   Sheehan. 

1917-18— William  C.  Kohler. 

CORONERS. 
1825-27— John  Wheeler. 
1827-29— Peter  Barnett. 
1831-33— Abraham  F.  Baughman. 
1835-37— Eli  Deal. 
1837-39— William  Tulley. 
1841-43— William  W.  Ferguson. 
1843 — John  Wheeler. 
1843-45 — Hiram  Anderson. 
1845-47— Amos  W.  Laycock. 
1847-49— John  Wheeler. 
1849-51 — John  Stewart. 
1851-55 — Hiram  Alexander. 
1857-59 — James  demons.     ■ 
1859-61— William  R.  Moore. 
1861-63— Broxton  Cox,  Jr. 
1863-65— Peter  Eppert. 
1865-67— John  C.  Phillips. 
1867-71— John  E.  Slack. 
1876-78— James  McDonald. 
1878-80— Samuel  M.  Stewart. 
1882-84— Daniel  W.  Bennett. 
1884-86— William  H.  Lowry. 
1886-88— Samuel   Slaven. 
1888-90— John  L.  Sullivan. 
1890-92— Newton  B.   Bartholomew. 
1892-94— William  R.  Mershon. 
1896-98— James  K.  Moss. 
1898-1902- William    R.    Mershon. 
1904-08— George  F.  Levids. 
1908-14— John  G.  Smith. 
1914-16— Harlan  A.  Miller. 


COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 

First  District  (1852-1912)— James  W.  Modesitt, 
Martin  Bowles,  James  M.  Halbert,  George  Ringo, 
George  Eskert,  William  Allen,  John  J.  Lynch, 
Reuben  S.  Thomson,  William  H.  Sentshall,  John 
W.  Works,  Robert  W.  Casteel. 

Second  District — Samuel  Rizley,  Esau  Presnell, 
Joseph  Dial,  Oliver  B.  Johnson,  Oliver  B.  Johnson, 
Peter  Kohler,  Adam  B.  Moon,  John  J.  Huffman, 
John  Stwalley,  George  Siegelin,  John  G.  Kattman, 
Christian  Koehler. 

Third  District— David  Puckett,  Calvin  Reed,  L. 
L.  Osburn,  T.  J.  Liston,  William  H.  Rector,  Wil- 
liam H.  Rector,  William  L.  Buckallew,  Enoch  M. 
Rector,  David  W.  Keller,  Jacob  Luther,  William 
T.  Modesitt,  Martin  R.  Goshorn. 

ASSOCIATE  CIRCUIT  JUDGES. 
1825— William  Maxwell  and  David  Walker. 
1826— Philip  Hedges. 
1831— Daniel  Wools  and  Samuel  Rizley. 
1839— William  Yocum. 
1841 — John  T.  Alexander. 
1845— Owen   Thorpe. 

PROBATE  JUDGES. 
1831— Daniel  Chance. 
1832— Jesse  J.  Burton. 
1833— Robert  W.  Crooke. 
1835— Jared  Peyton. 

PRESIDING  CIRCUIT  JUDGES. 
John  Ewing,  W.  Johnson,  Amory  Kinney,  Wil- 
liam Bryant,  John  Law,  Delaney  R.  Eckles,  James 
Hughes,  James  M.  Hanna,  Solomon  Claypool, 
William  M.  Franklin,  Solon  Turman,  Samuel  M. 
McGregor,  Presley  0.  Colliver,  John  M.  Rawley, 
James  M.  Hanna. 

LEGISLATIVE  REPRESENTATIVES. 

Prior  to  1830  Clay  county  was  not  an  independ- 
ent or  separate  legislative  district.  In  1821  it 
was  joined  by  Green,  Owen  and  Morgan  and  was 
represented  at  that  time  by  John  Sims.  In  1826 
Putnam  and  Clay  constituted  one  district,  and  so 
continued  to  1830.  In  these  years,  an  election  be- 
ing held  each  year,  these  were  the  representatives : 
George  Pearcy,  1826-27;  Joseph  Orr,  1828;  John 
McNary,  1829-30. 

Democrats  who  have  served  as  legislators  from 
Clay  county  since  1830  are  these:  1830-31,  Jared 
Peyton;  1832,  William  Yocum;  1835,  Jesse  J.  Bur- 
ton; 1836-37,  Samuel  H.  Smydth;  1838,  John  Os- 
born;  1839,  Jesse  J.  Burton;  1840,  Francis  B. 
Yocum;  1841-42,  John  B.  Nees;  1843,  Allen  T. 
Rose;  1844;  Francis  B.  Yocum;  1845,  John  Lewis; 
1846,  Elias  Bolin;  1847,  John  T.  Alexander;  1848, 
Francis  B.  Yocum;  1849,  Delaney  Williamson; 
1850,    George    Donham;    1852,    Daniel    Dunlavy; 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


1856,  Georg:e  W.  Duncan  and  James  W.  Modesitt; 
1858,  Lewis  Row;  1860,  Elias  Cooprider;  1862-64, 
Adam  C.  Veach;  1866,  John  Hungate;  1868,  John 
C.  McGregor;  1870,  John  D.  Walker;  1874, 
George  W.  Bence;  1876-78,  Isaac  M.  Compton; 
1880,  George  D.  Teter;  1882,  James  M.  Price; 
1884,  Charles  W.  Bailey;  1886,  William  A.  Con- 
nely;  1890,  James  T.  Moss;  1892,  Felix  G.  Thorn- 
ton; 1896,  Felix  G.  Thomson;  1898,  Edward 
Cutty;  1900,  John  A.  Trout;  1906,  M.  Beecher 
Frump;  1908,  George  J.  Kayser;  1910,  Albert 
Diel;  1912,  Patrick  H.  Veach;  1914,  Richard  H. 
Griffith. 

JOINT   REPRESENTATIVES. 
Montgomery,   Putnam   and   Clay   Counties. 

1882-88— Fred  J.  R.  Robinson. 

1888-92— Michael  J.  Carroll. 

1892-94— Frank  D.  Ader. 

1896-98— George  J.   Kayser. 

Clay  and  Owen  Counties. 

1898-1900— Luther  B.  Downey. 

1900-1902— Joshua  R.  Horsfield. 

1904-08— Temple  G.  Pierson. 

1908-10— B.  F.  Mugg. 

1910-14 — John  Mason  Duncan. 

1914-16 — Hubert  Hickman. 

SENATORS. 

Vigo,    Sullivan,    Parke,    Montgomery,    Vermilion, 

Owen,    Putnam,    Greene,    Hendricks, 

Morgan  and  Clay  Counties. 

1825-27— John  M.  Coleman.  '     • 


Vigo,  Sullivan  and  Clay  Counties. 
1828— William  C.  Linton. 
1834 — George  Boone. 
184;i— Ransom  W.  Aiken. 
1846— James  H.  Henry. 
1849— James  M.  Hanna. 
1852— Michael  Combs. 
1856— William  E.  McLean. 

Putnam  and  Clay  Counties. 
1860— Archibald  Johnson. 
1864— Athel  Staggs. 

Sullivan  and  Clay  Counties. 
1868— James  M.  Hanna. 
1870 — Joshua  Alsop. 
1872— Morgan  B.  Ringo. 

Clay  and  Owen  Counties. 
1876— Inman  H.  Fowler. 
1880— Isaac  M.  Compton. 
1884— Inman  H.  Fowler. 
1888— George  A.  Byrd. 
1892— Samuel  R.  McKelvay. 
1896— Frank  A.  Horner. 
1900— Ashbel  H.  Wampler. 
1904— Ralph   W.    Moss. 

Clay    and    Vigo    Counties. 
1908— Samuel    D.    Royse. 
1910— Samuel  D.  Royse. 
1914— Frank   A.    Kattman. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
CLINTON  COUNTY 

By  Joseph  Combs 


CLINTON  COUNTY  is  located  in  the  north- 
central  portion  of  the  State,  in  the  north 
part  of  the  Ninth  Congressional  District, 
and  in  a  fine  agricultural  region.  The  county  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Carroll  and  Howard,  on 
the  east  by  Howard,  Tipton  and  Hamilton,  on  the 
south  by  Boone,  and  on  the  west  by  Montgomery 
and  Tippecanoe. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  white  men  it  was  a 
portion  of  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Miami 
tribe  of  Indians,  but  so  far  as  known  there  was  no 
permanent  Indian  settlement  in  the  county.  The 
first  white  settler  was  David  Killgore,  who  located 
just  north  of  where  the  village  of  Jefferson  was 
afterward  settled,  in  the  year  of  1826.  Other 
settlers  followed  in  rapid  succession,  and  a  year 
later  the  town  of  Jefferson,  the  first  in  the  county, 
was  occupied  by  several  newcomers.  This  was  the 
first  town  laid  out  in  the  county  and  it  was  named 
after  the  illustrious  founder  of  the  Democratic 
party. 

The  first  step  taken  to  establish  local  govern- 
ment was  the  act  of  the  State  Legislature  of  Jan- 
uary 24,  1828,  by  which  the  territory  embraced  in 
the  county  was  added  to  Tippecanoe  County  under 
the  name  of  Washington  Township.  The  territory 
had  been  open  to  settlement  for  ten  years  prior  to 
that  time,  but  the  southern  part  of  the  State  and 
in  and  near  Indianapolis  as  well  as  along  the 
Wabash  river  offered  greater  attractions  to  the 
settler,  and  so  emigration  came  slowly  at  first. 

The  first  action  taken  by  the  authorities  of  Tip- 
pecanoe county  to  govern  this  new  territory  was 
by  what  was  then  called  the  Board  of  Justices  of 
the  county,  which  then  acted  as  County  Commis- 
sioners. This  was  in  March,  1829,  and  the  Board 
ordered  that  the  new  territory  attached  to  their 
county  be  named  "Washington  Township;"  that  all 
elections  be  held  at  the  house  of  David  Killgore, 
and  John  Ross  was  appointed  inspector  of  all  elec- 
tions in  the  township  for  a  period  of  one  year. 
Also  John  Ross  and  Nathan  Kirk  were  appointed 
supervisors  of  the  State  road  leading  from  Lafay- 
ette to  Newcastle  in  Henry  county,  which  passed 
through  the  new  township.  Also  Elijah  Ferguson 
was  appointed  assessor  of  the  township  for  the 
year  of  1829.  At  the  May  session,  1829,  of  the 
Board,  the  place  of  election  was  changed  to  the 
house  of  John  Ross,  and  an  election  was  ordered 
to  be  held  at  his  house  on  the  first  Monday  of  June 
following,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  two  Justices 
of  the  Peace,  for  said  township,  and  all  elections 


thereafter  to  be  held  in  the  township  were  ordered 
to  be  held  at  the  house  of  the  said  John  Ross.  The 
assessor,  Elijah  Ferguson,  was  allowed  $40.00 
for  assessing  the  township  that  year.  In  July  of 
that  year  the  board  licensed  J.  K.  Leming  to  vend 
foreign  merchandise  in  the  town  of  Jefferson,  for 
the  term  of  four  months,  the  license  fee  being 
fixed  at  $3.33.  At  the  same  term  the  Board  also 
appointed  Joseph  Hill  constable  for  the  township 
during  the  remainder  of  that  year.  At  the  Sep- 
tember session  of  the  Board,  Abner  Baker  and 
Aaron  H.  Southard  were  granted  licenses  to  re- 
tail merchandise  for  the  term  of  six  months  on 
the  payment  of  a  $5.00  fee.  This  was  the  last 
session  of  the  Board  of  Justices,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1829,  they  were  superseded  by  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners.  The  only  business  affect- 
ing the  new  territory  by  this  Board  of  County 
Commissioners,  was  the  appointment  of  Isaac 
Cook,  Thomas  Canby,  and  Mordecai  McKinsey  as 
road  viewers,  to  view  two  "cartways"  which  were 
petitioned  for  by  Nathan  Kirk  and  Samuel  Allen, 
which  services  they  performed  and  made  report 
thereof  at  the  March  session,  1830.  While  the  new 
territory  thus  added  to  Tippecanoe  county  was 
named  Washington  township,  the  people  began 
calling  it  "Washington  Territory."  By  1830  the 
population  had  increased  to  1,423,  and  a  petition 
was  prepared  and  presented  to  the  State  Legis- 
lature for  a  separate  county  government.  This 
petition  was  favorably  acted  upon,  and  the  new 
county  was  ordered  established.  The  question  of 
building  canals  for  transportation  was  then  a  live 
issue  in  this  part  of  the  State  and  so  the  new 
county  was  named  "Clinton"  in  honor  of  Dewdtt 
Clinton,  the  canal-building  Governor  of  New 
York.  The  act  establishing  the  new  county  was 
approved  January  29,  1830.  The  first  section  of 
which  fixed  the  boundary  as  given  above  and  the 
name,  the  second  section  designated  March  1, 
when  the  act  should  take  effect,  and  the  third  sec- 
tion named  Robert  Taylor  of  Montgomery  county, 
Henry  Ristine  of  Tippecanoe  county,  Hugh  B.  Mc- 
Keen  of  Cass  county,  John  Cary  of  Carroll  county 
and  Jeremiah  Corbaly  of  Marion  county,  commis- 
sioners, to  fix  the  county  seat  of  the  new  county. 
Provision  was  also  made  for  the  election  of  three 
County  Commissioners  for  the  new  county,  who 
were,  when  elected,  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Mat- 
thew Bunnell  on  the  first  Monday  in  May  for  the 
transaction  of  all  of  the  business  of  the  county. 
The   Circuit   Court  was   to   be  held   at  Jefferson 


(  560  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


and  was  attached  to  the  first  judicial  circuit  for 
that  purpose.  Provision  was  also  made  for  the 
establishment  of  a  public  library  for  the  county. 

The  Commissioners  above  named  met  in  Jeffer- 
son on  the  first  Monday  in  May  as  directed,  and, 
after  considerable  time  being  taken  in  consider- 
ing the  question  of  the  location  of  the  new  county 
seat,  some  of  the  people  strongly  favoring  Jeffer- 
son, while  others  opposed  this  place  as  not  being 
centrally  located,  John  Pence  came  forward  and 
offered  to  donate  sixty  acres  of  ground  and 
$100.00  if  the  county  seat  should  be  located  on  his 
farm.  This  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  new  town 
was  later  laid  out  and  established,  named  Frank- 
fort, which  has  always  remained  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  county. 

The  first  election  was  held  May  3,  1830,  at  the 
cabin  of  Matthew  Bunnell,  just  south  and  a  little 
west  of  where  the  "Farmer's  Chappie"  church  now 
stands,  in  Bunnell's  cemetery.  There  was  no  poli- 
tics in  this  election.  The  two  opposing  parties  in 
those  days  were  the  Jackson  Democrats  and  the 
old  Whig  party,  the  latter  afterward  merged  into 
the  Republican.  Jackson  had  been  President  a 
little  over  a  year  and  was  immensely  popular; 
nearly  every  man  elected  at  this  first  election  was 
a  Jackson  Democrat. 

John  Douglass,  Joseph  Hall  and  Mordecai  Mc- 
Kinsey  were  elected  County  Commissioners.  John 
Pence  was  elected  County  Treasurer;  Beal  Dor- 
sey.  Recorder;  Samuel  D.  Maxwell,  Clerk  of  the 
Circuit  Court  and  County  Auditor.  The  office  of 
Clerk  and  Auditor  were  held  by  the  same  officer 
till  1841.  William  Douglass  was  elected  Probate 
Judge,  and  Samuel  Mitchell  and  John  Ross,  Asso- 
ciate Judges.  Isaac  D.  Armstrong,  one  of  our 
most  prominent  of  the  old-time  Democrats,  was 
appointed  the  first  County  Surveyor  by  Governor 
James  B.  Ray,  shortly  after  the  county  was  or- 
ganized. Solomon  Young  was  the  first  Sheriff  of 
the  county. 

From  1830  to  1840  there  is  little  of  political  his- 
tory, either  of  the  Democrats  or  of  any  other 
party,  to  be  recorded  in  Clinton  county.  There 
was  nothing  then  in  existence  to  which  we  can 
compare  our  present  party  organization.  No  such 
thing  as  a  county  chairman  and  secretary  and 
precinct  committeemen  was  then  known.  While 
candidates  usually  professed  to  be  Jackson  Demo- 
crats, or  Whig  Republicans,  the  elections  usually 
turned  and  was  decided  on  purely  local  or  per- 
sonal considerations.  The  population  was  sparse 
and  much  scattered,  and  the  number  of  voters 
but  few.  What  few  roads  there  were,  were  bad 
about  half  of  the  year  or  more,  and  so  means  of 
communication  was  difficult,  and  not  much  cam- 
paigning could  be  done,  if  it  had  been  desired, 
which   it   was   not.     Electing   candidates   for   the 


few  offices  was  a  simple  and  informal  matter  as 
compared  with  more  modern  and  present-day  po- 
litical methods. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  county,  when  poli- 
tics became  more  prominent,  the  county  usually 
went  Democratic,  and  was  so  classed.  Whenever 
partisanship  was  aroused  and  party  lines  were 
tightly  drawn  between  the  old  Whig  party  and 
the  Democratic  party  prior  to  the  time  of  the  Civil 
War,  the  majority  was  generally  Democratic.  At 
times  the  majorHy  was  slender,  ranging  from  one 
hundred  up  to  three  hundred,  but  the  laSt  figure 
was  unusual  and  rarely  reached.  When  the  slav- 
ery question  became  foremost,  as  it  did  about  1850 
and  after,  the  Democratic  majority  in  the  county 
was  reduced.  Occasionally  a  Whig  was  elected 
to  a  county  office,  but  rarely;  after  the  Republican 
party  came  into  existence  majorities  changed,  the 
Democratic  majority  was  reduced  and  from  1860 
to  1872,  at  presidential  elections,  the  county  went 
Republican.  Generally  at  State  elections  the 
county  was  reliably  Democratic  and  the  county 
officers  were  Democrats  with  occasionally  an  ex- 
ception. 

The  first  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  was  Samuel 
D.  Maxwell,  an  old-time  Whig.  He  held  the  office 
for  fourteen  years,  eleven  of  which  he  served  also 
as  County  Auditor.  He  was  succeeded  as  clerk  by 
John  Bamer,  a  Democrat,  who  filled  this  ofliice  for 
fifteen  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  David 
P.  Earner,  also  a  Democrat,  who  performed  the 
duties  of  this  office  for  two  terms  of  four  years 
each.  David  P.  Bamer  is  still  living  (1917)  and 
one  of  the  oldest  Democrats  in  the  county.  His 
father,  John  Earner  was  also  County  Treasurer 
for  three  years.  The  first  County  Auditor  was 
John  P.  Crothers,  who  served  fourteen  years.  As 
County  Recorder,  Beal  Dorsey  served  nine  years 
and  died  in  office  and  J.  G.  Smith  served  out  his 
unexpired  term.  I.  D.  Armstrong,  before  men- 
tioned, who  served  six  years  as  County  Sur- 
veyor, was  elected  County  Recorder  and  served  in 
that  office  for  fourteen  years.  After  the  Civil 
War  Mr.  Armstrong  also  served  Clinton  county 
four  years  as  County  Treasurer,  and,  altogether, 
served  the  county  in  some  oflicial  capacity  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

During  this  early  period  the  Judges'  oflices  were 
filled  by  the  following  persons:  Circuit  Court 
Judges — President  Judges,  John  R.  Porter  of 
Vermillion  County,  1830-37;  Isaac  Naylor  of 
Montgomery  county,  1838-51.  Associate  Judges, 
Samuel  Mitchell,  1830-36;  John  Ross.  1830-33; 
Joseph  Wood,  1834-36;  John  Brown,  1837-43;  J. 
F.  Aughe,  1837-43;  Thomas  Kenard,  1844-46;  C. 
B.  Pence,  1844-52;  James  Purdum.  1847-52.  The 
early  districts  or  circuits  included  a  number  of 
counties  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  which 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


1  6 


were  "traveled"  by  the  President  Judges,  the  As- 
sociate Judges  being  local  residents.  At  the  April 
term,  1852,  the  Associate  Judges  were  discon- 
tinued under  the  new  constitution  and  the  Circuit 
Court,  with  a  single  judge,  was  inaugurated. 

Probate  Judges — Mr.  William  Douglass,  1830- 
July,  1831;  Nathan  Kirk,  Aug.  1831-39;  N.  T. 
Catterlin  (Dem.),  1851;  E.  Winship,  1851-2.  The 
Probate  Court  was  abolished  by  the  Constitution 
of  1851  and  the  business  was  transferred  to  the 
Common  Pleas  Court. 

The  judges  of  the  Clinton  Circuit  Court,  from 
the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  in  1852,  to  the 
present  time  are  as  follows:  William  P.  Bryant 
(Parke  county),  1852-1858;  John  M.  Cowan,  1858- 
1870;  Thomas  F.  Davidson,  1870-1873;  Truman  H. 
Palmer  (Dem.),  1873-1878;  Thomas  J.  Terhune 
(Dem.),  1878-1883;  Joseph  C.  Suit  (Rep.,  1883- 
1884;  Allen  E.  Paige  (Dem),  1884-1890;  Samuel 
H.  Doyal  (Rep.),  1890-1896;  James  V.  Kent 
(Dem.),  1896-1902;  Joseph  Claybaugh  (Rep.), 
1902-1908;  Joseph  Combs  (Dem),  1908-1920 
(present  judge). 

From  the  time  the  county  was  organized  in  1830 
to  the  present  time  (1916),  the  offices  of  County 
Clerk,  County  Auditor,  County  Recorder,  County 
Treasurer,  County  Sheriff  and  the  Representa- 
tives and  Senators  in  the  General  Assembly  have 
been  held  by  the  following  persons,  with  dates  of 
their  terms  and  their  politics  so  far  as  it  could 
be  given: 

Clerks— Samuel  D.  Maxwell  (Whig),  1830- 
1844;  John  Earner  (Dem.),  1844-1859;  David  P. 
Earner  (Dem.),  1859-1867;  DeWitt  C.  Bryant 
(Dem.),  1868-1874;  Samuel  P.  Fisher  (Dem.), 
1874-1878;  Elwood  Avery  (Dem.),  1878-1886; 
Oliver  Card  (Rep.),  1887-1893;  Lawson  C.  Mer- 
ritt  (Rep.),  1894-1902;  George  Smith  (Dem.), 
1903-1907;  Isaiah  M.  Cue  (Dem.),  1911-1915; 
William  N.  Berryman   (Dem.),  present  clerk. 

Auditors — J.  P.  Crothers,  1841-54;  Joshua 
Armentrout  (Dem.),  1855-1863;  John  W.  Ulm, 
1864-1867;  James  V.  Knight  (Dem.),  1867-1870; 
William  H.  Ghere  (Rep.),  1871-1873;  Cyrus  Clark 
(Dem.),  1873-1878;  Newton  J.  Gaskill  (Dem.), 
1878-1886;  William  T.  Cooper  (Rep.),  1887-1891; 
Martin  P.  Davis  (Dem.),  1891-1895;  Emanuel 
Burgett  (Rep.),  1895-1899;  Hezekiah  M.  Cohee 
(Rep.),  1899-1903;  Orville  E.  Burgett  (Rep), 
1903-1907;  Charles  F.  Cromwell  (Dem.),  1907- 
1915;  Edward  Spray  (Rep.),  1915-  (present 
Auditor. 

Recorders— Beal  Dorsey,  1830-39;  Jeremiah  G. 
Smith  (appointed  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  death 
of  Bea!  Dorsey),  1839-39;  I.  D.  Armstrong 
(Dem.),  1839-1852;  C.  J.  Miller,  185S-1860;  J.  Q. 
A.  Youkey  (Rep.),  1861-1864;  J.  D.  Cornelison 
(Dem.),     1864-1868;     David    B.     Carter     (Rep.), 


1868-1872;  John  P.  Dearth  (Dem.),  1873-1878;  I 
J.  A.  Hedgecock  (Dem.),  1880-1888;  William  M.  1  ' 
Wood  (Rep.),  1889-1895;  George  M.  Good  (Dem.), 
1896-1900;  Charles  A.  Davis  (Dem.),  1900-1904; 
Thomas  P.  Blinn  (Rep.),  1904-1908;  Sylvester  H. 
Harshman  (Dem.),  1909-1917;  Harry  Bryan 
(Rep.).  1918-1922. 

Treasurers— John  Pence,  1830-1837;  John  Ear- 
ner (Dem.),  1837-1840;  William  Seawright 
(Dem.),  1840-1844;  Samuel  Maxwell,  1844-1844 
(filled  vacancy  caused  by  death  of  William  Sea- 
wright) ;  James  Scroggy,  1845-1848;  James  G. 
Frazier  (Dem.),  1849-1855;  Henry  Y.  Morrison 
(Dem.),  1855-18.58;  Samuel  Ayres,  1859-1860; 
Isaac  D.  Armstrong  (Dem.),  1862-1865;  John  G. 
Clark  (Rep.),  1866-1869;  Stephen  Shanks 
(Dem.),  1869-1873;  John  Fleming  (Dem.),  1873- 
1878;  Thomas  R.  Engert  (Dem.),  1882-1884; 
Alexander  B.  Given  (Rep.),  1884-1886;  William 
J.  Barnett  (Rep.),  1886-1890;  Willard  P.  Maish 
(Dem.),  1890-1892;  John  G.  McKinney  (Rep.), 
1892-1896;  John  P.  Bond  (Rep.),  1896-1898;  John 
F.  Fall  (Dem.),  1898-1900;  Alexander  B.  Given 
(Rep.),  1900-1902;  Nathaniel  Carter  (Rep.), 
1902-1904;  Frank  P.  Barnett  (Rep.),  1906-1908; 
Robert  McDonald  (Dem.),  1908-1910;  Elmer  M. 
Caldwell  (Dem.),  1910-1914;  Earl  McDonald 
(Dem.),  1914-1916;  O.  M.  Roush  (Rep.),  1917- 
1919   (present  Treasurer). 

Sheriffs— Charles  J.  Hand,  1830-30  (appoint- 
ment before  organization  of  county)  ;  Solomon 
Young,  1830-1833;  Noah  T.  Catterlin  (Dem.), 
1834-1836;  J.  W.  Harland  (Dem.),  1836-1838;  W. 
M.  Parcel,  1839-1840;  James  F.  Suit,  1840  (ap- 
pointed to  fill  vacancy);  R.  Babb,  1840-1844; 
James  Caster  (Dem.),  1844-1847;  William  V. 
Johnson,  1847-1851;  Isaac  Cook  (Dem.),  1852-_ 
1854;  E.  Armentrout  (Dem.),  1854-1856;  Frank 
D.  Caldwell  (Dem.),  1857-1859;  Samuel  Merritt 
(Rep.),  1860-1862;  Leonidas  Mitchell  (Dem.), 
1862-1866;  M.  T.  Campbell  (Dem.),  1866-1868; 
N.  Franklin,  1869-1871;  Fred  Tiee  (Dem.),  1871- 
1875;  William  A.  McCray  (Dem.),  1875-1877;  W. 
A.  Brandon,  1877—;  T.  P.  Holmes  (Dem.),  1878- 
1880;  John  A.  Petty  (Dem.),  1884-1886;  William 
D.  Clark  (Rep.)  1886-1890;  Levi  Wratten 
(Dem.),  1890-1892;  William  T.  Hill  (Rep.)  1892- 
1896;  Jerome  Clark  (Dem.),  1896-1900;  Frank 
P.  Corns  (Rep.),  1900-1904;  John  W.  Haggard 
(Dem.),  1904-1908;  John  H.  Mattix  (Dem.), 
1908-1912;  John  D.  Miller  (Dem.),  1912-1916; 
Joseph  W.  Pence  (Dem.),  1917-1919  (present 
Sheriff). 

Representatives  in  General  Assembly — Jacob 
Angle  and  John  Nelson,  1830-1832;  John  H.  Good- 
bar  and  Jesse  Carter,  1832-1833;  David  Vance 
and  Jacob  Angle,  1833-1834;  Jacob  Angle  and 
Thomas  M.  Curry,  1834-1835;  Henry  Ristine  and 


(  562  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


Heniy  Lee,  1835-183(3;  Edwin  Winship,  1836- 
1837;  Andrew  Major,  1837-1839;  Samuel  C. 
Dunn,  1839-1840;  Martin  Z.  Say  lor,  1840-1842; 
Andrew  Major,  1842-1843;  Ephraim  Byers,  1843- 
1844;  James  Hill,  1844-1845;  Wilson  Seawright 
(Dem.),  1845-1846;  James  F.  Suit,  1846-1847; 
Thomas  Kenard,  1847-1848;  James  Hill  and 
Alexander  W.  Young,  1848-1849;  Ephraim  Byers, 
1849-1850;  James  S.  McLeland  and  Newton  I. 
Jackson.  1850-1851;  James  F.  Suit,  1851-1852; 
Wilson  Seawright  (Dem.),  1852-1854;  James  W. 
Wilson,  1854-1856;  John  W.  Blake  (Dem.),  1856- 
18.58;  James  B.  Newton,  1858-1860;  Leander  Mc- 
Clurg  (Dem.),  1860-1862;  Cornelius  J.  Miller, 
1862-1866;  Henry  Y.  Morrison  (Dem.),  1866- 
1868;  Truman  H.  Palmer  (Dem.),  1868-1870; 
Franklin  D.  Caldwell  (Dem.),  1870-1872;  Mar- 
quis L.  Martin  and  William  Strange,  1872-1874; 
Franklin  D.  Caldwell  (Dem.),  1874-1876;  Allen 
E.  Paige  (Dem.),  1876-1878;  Franklin  D.  Cald- 
well (Dem.),  1878-1880;  Dewitt  C.  Bryant 
(Dem.),  1880-1882;  Dewitt  C.  Bryant  (Dem.), 
1882-1884;  Erastus  H.  Staley  (Dem.),  1884-1886; 
Newton  A.  Logan  (Rep.),  1888-1890;  James  Kel- 
leher  (Dem.).  1890-1892;  William  Stephenson 
(Rep.),  1892-1894;  Edward  R.  Floyd  (Rep.), 
1894-1896;  James  A.  Hedgecock  (Dem.),  1896- 
1898;  Braden  Clark  (Rep.),  1898-1900;  Arthur 
L.  Cooper  (Rep.),  1900-1902;  Asa  H.  Boulden 
(Rep.),  1902-1904;  Frank  B.  Long  (Rep.),  1904- 
1906;  Jefferson  P.  Holloway  (Rep.),  1906-1908; 
David  F.  Maish  (Dem),  1908-1910;  Hez.  M.  Co- 
hee  (Rep.),  1910-1912;  Nathan  B.  Combs  (Dem.), 
1912-1914;  William  W.  Rose  (Rep.,  1914-1916; 
Russell  P.  Harkis  (Rep.),  1917-1919  (present 
Representative) . 

Senators  in  General  Assembly — Joseph  Orr 
(Dem.).  1830-1831;  John  Beard  (Dem.),  1831- 
1836;  Samuel  Milroy  (Dem.),  1836-1837;  Aaron 
Finch,  1837-1840;  Horatio  J.  Harris,  1840-1843; 
Andrew  Major,  1843-1846;  Philip  Waters,  1846- 
1849;  Thomas  Kenard,  1849-1852;  Washington  F. 
Black,  1852-1855;  James  F.  Suit,  1855-1858; 
James  Odell.  1858-1863;  Leander  McClurg 
(Dem.).  1863-1867;  F.  G.  Armstrong  (Dem.), 
1867-1871;  Thomas  M.  Hamilton,  1871-1873;  A. 
J.  Boone  (Dem.),  1873-1876;  James  V.  Kent 
(Dem.),  1876-1880;  Henry  M.  Marvin  (Dem.), 
1880-1884;  Dewitt  C.  Bryant  (Dem.),  1884-1888; 
George   H.    Gilford    (Dem.),    1892-1896;    William 

B.  Gill  (Dem.),  and  James  A.  Campbell  (Dem.), 
1896-1900;   Oliver  Card   (Rep.),  1900-1904;  John 

C.  Farber  (Rep.).  1904-1908;  Milton  T.  McCarty 
(Dem.),  1908-1912;  Fred  H.  Engel  (Dem.),  1912- 
1916;  Robert  Bracken  (Dem.),  1917-1921  (pres- 
ent Senator) . 

The  other  county  officers  holding  office  at  this 
date    (January,    1916)    are   as   follows:     Charles 


G.  Guenther  (Dem.),  Prosecuting  Attorney;  Wil- 
liam A.  Clark  (Dem.),  County  Assessor;  Dr. 
James  B.'Wise  (Dem.),  County  Coroner;  Guy  D. 
Brewer  (Dem.),  County  Surveyor;  Robert  W. 
Gable  (Dem.),  James  P.  Bond  (Rep.),  John 
Shanks  (Dem.),  County  Commissioners;  William 
D.  Thomas  (Dem.),  Horace  F.  Campbell  (Rep.), 
James  D.  Lipp  (Dem.),  Joseph- L.  Goldsberry 
(Dem.).  John  S.  Orr  (Dem.),  George  Mundell 
(Dem.),  Stephen  A.  Bryan  (Dem.),  County 
Council. 

In  addition  to  the  Democrats  above  mentioned 
who  have  held  office  in  the  county,  or  in  the  State 
Legislature  the  following  have  been  prominent 
in  local  or  State  politics:  William  G.  Morris, 
postmaster  under  President  Cleveland's  first  ad- 
ministration, from  1884  to  1888;  Willard  H.  Mor- 
ris, brother  of  William  G.  Morris.  He  never  held 
office,  but  was  a  shrewd  politician;  Major  David 
F.  Allen,  State  Tax  Commissioner  under  Gov- 
ernor Claude  Matthews,  candidate  for  Secretary 
of  State  in  1904,  and  District  Chairman  and  mem- 
ber of  the  State  central  committee  for  several 
years;  Eli  Marvin,  a  financier  of  local  promi- 
nence; Jesse  B.  Marvin,  local  business  man; 
James  W.  Morrison  and  John  C.  Morrison,  attor- 
neys, and  brothers  of  Congressman  Martin  A. 
Morrison;  John  W.  Hedgecock,  Deputy  Oil  In- 
spector under  the  administration  of  Governor 
Ralston :  Jerome  Clark,  probation  officer,  former 
Sheriff  two  terms  and  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Frank- 
fort fi'om  1902  to  1906,  when  the  city  was  strong- 
ly Republican;  Charles  E.  McQuinn  of  Forest 
township.  County  Commissioner  from  1911  to 
1915;  James  R.  Brown,  County  Surveyor  for 
many  years  and  an  expert  in  his  profession;  John 
Pruitt  of  Johnson  township.  County  Commission- 
er prior  to  1886;  John  Enright  of  Ross  township, 
also  County  Commissioner,  who  served  along  with 
John  Pruitt;  Samuel  M.  Stough,  private  secre- 
tary under  Congressman  Morrison,  and  Deputy 
Internal  Revenue  Collector  at  present  of  the 
Terre  Haute  district;  Robert  C.  Houston,  State 
Bank  Examiner  under  the  admini.strations  of 
Governors  Marshall  and  Ralston,  and  former 
editoi-  of  the  Frankfort  Crescent;  Milton  T.  Mc- 
Carty, State  Senator  from  1908  to  1912,  physi- 
cian; Ralph  T.  Cheadle,  local  merchant,  and  Dem- 
ocratic candidate  for  Mayor  in  1909;  John  A. 
Devitt,  local  agent  for  the  Clover  Leaf  railroad, 
City  Councilman  from  1909  to  1913,  and  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  Mayor  in  1913;  Joseph  P. 
Gray,  attorney,  now  a  resident  of  Omaha,  Neb. ; 
William  F.  Palmer,  attorney.  Prosecuting  Attor- 
ney from  1896  to  1898,  now  a  resident  of  Los  An- 
geles, Cal.;  William  A.  Staley,  Prosecuting  Attor- 
ney from  1884  to  1886,  now  a  resident  of  Okla- 
homa City,  Okla.;  William  R.  Moore,  Prosecuting 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


Attorney  from  1878  to  1882;  Colonel  John  B. 
Green,  former  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Frankfort; 
Harvey  H.  Flora,  present  postmaster  under  the 
administration  of  President  Wilson;  James  V. 
Kent,  former  State  Senator  and  ex-Judge  of  the 
Clinton  Circuit  Court;  Dallas  S.  Holman,  Prose- 
cuting- Attorney  from  1910  to  1912;  Joseph  W. 
Pence.  Deputy  Sheriff  under  John  D.  Miller; 
Frank  Burroughs,  Deputy  Clerk  under  Isaiah  M. 
Cue,  and  now  city  mail  carrier;  Carl  Cue,  Deputy 
County  Clerk;  Ralph  Smith,  cashier  American 
National  Bank;  Thomas  J.  Smith,  postmaster  un- 
der the  second  administration  of  President  Cleve- 
land, from  1892  to  1896;  Walter  M.  Troxel  of 
Mulberry,  County  Commissioner  from  1908  to 
1911;  Isaac  C.  Micahel,  County  Commissioner 
from  Michigan  township;  Perry  T.  Gorham  of 
Kirklin  township.  County  Commissioner  from 
1890  to  1893 ;  Willard  Salmon  of  Union  township. 
County  Superintendent  of  Schools  for  sevei'al 
years  past;  Oscar  S.  Baird,  former  County  Su- 
perintendent of  Schools;  Henry  C.  Walter  of  For- 
est township,  former  probation  officer  and  truant 
officer;  Dr.  W.  H.  McGuire,  former  Mayor  of  city 
of  Frankfort;  Arthur  McGuire,  former  Prosecut- 
ing Attorney,  now  a  resident  of  the  State  of 
Washington. 

Also  the  following  are  prominent  Democrats  in 
local  and  State  affairs:  M.  Epstein,  merchant, 
and  one  of  the  trustees  appointed  by  Governor 
Ralston  of  the  hospital  for  the  insane  at  Long- 
cliff,  Logansport,  Ind.;  William  A.  Morris,  local 
business  man  and  well  known  over  the  State  in 
Masonic  and  other  orders,  and  was  a  candidate 
for  Treasurer  of  State  at  the  Democratic  State 
convention  of  1914;  William  B.  Walsh,  real  estate 
business,  and  well  known  in  State  politics; 
Thomas  A.  Morrison,  grain  dealer  and  elevator 
business;  William  B.  Kramer,  retired  lumber  mer- 
chant; Jacob  Miller,  Democratic  Township  Trus- 
tee of  Center  township;  John  Wharry,  Trustee  of 
Union  township;  Henry  Cook,  Trustee  of  Madi- 
son township;  John  Birden,  Trustee  of  Sugar 
Creek  township;  Jesse  Beydler,  Trustee  of  Ross 
township;  Charles  Swazee,  Trustee  of  Forest 
township;  James  O.  Gregg,  Trustee  of  Johnson 
township. 

Among  the  old-time  Democrats  who  served  the 
party  in  years  past  as  leaders  and  advisers,  but 
who  are  not  now  living,  may  be  mentioned  the 
following:  Henry  Y.  Morrison,  who,  while  a 
member  of  the  State  Legislature  in  the  session 
of  1869,  introduced  and  secured  the  passage  of 
the  first  law  for  the  drainage  of  wet  lands  in  the 
State,  and  thus  became  the  father  of  the  Indiana 
Drainage  Law  which  has  done  so  much  to  reclaim 
wet  lands;  David  F.  Clark  of  Madison  township, 
a  farmer  and  an  able  speaker  at  Democratic  meet- 


ings; Nathan  B.  Combs,  Sr.,  of  Washington  town- 
ship, father  of  Judge  Combs,  and  one  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic pioneers,  coming  from  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
m  1856;  James  S.  McNutt  of  Washington  town- 
ship and  Trustee  of  that  township  from  1882  to 
1886;  Arthur  J.  Clendening,  County  Commis- 
sioner for  two  terms  (yet  living)  ;  David  Slipher 
of  Madison  township,  former  County  Commission- 
er; Philip  P.  Bailey  of  Perry  township,  foi-mer 
County  Commissioner;  Dr.  Fisher  of  Rossville, 
Dr.  Hiram  Coon  of  Colfax,  John  Q.  Garratt  of 
Hillisburg  and  John  Fleming  of  Warren  town- 
ship, former  County  Treasurer. 

The  date  of  the  first  Democratic  county  organi- 
zation cannot  be  definitely  fixed,  but  it  was  prob- 
ably just  prior  to  1860.  The  earliest  Democratic 
County  Chairman  known  was  Franklin  D.  Cald- 
well, who  served  for  three  campaigns — 1864,  1866 
and  1868.  From  the  year  1886  those  who  have 
served  as  county  chairmen  for  the  party  are  as 
follows;  Elwood  Avery,  1886;  Dewitt  C.  Bryant, 
1888;  David  F.  Allen,  1890;  William  G.  Morris, 
1892;  John  W.  Lydy,  1894;  Benjamin  P.  Martin, 
1S96;  Benjamin  P.  Martin,  1898;  Benjamin  P. 
Martin,  1900;  John  W.  Hedgecock,  1902  and  1904; 
George  Smith,  1906,  1908  and  1910;  Paul  Pence, 
1912;  John  W.  Hedgecock,  1914;  John  Mattix, 
1916,  and  present  County  Chairman. 

Two  men  while  residents  of  Clinton  county 
have  been  elected  as  representatives  in  the  Na- 
tional Congress — Joseph  B.  Cheadle,  elected  as 
Republican  in  1886  and  1888,  and  Martin  A.  Mor- 
rison, Democrat.  Mr.  Cheadle  served  in  Con- 
gress for  four  years  and  was  an  honest  and  con- 
scientious official.  He  was  a  member  of  the  G. 
A.  R.  and  had  a  large  personal  following.  About 
1895,  when  the  coinage  question  became  promi- 
nent, he  strongly  espoused  the  doctrine  of  the 
free  coinage  of  silver,  and  when  Bryan  was  nomi- 
nated by  the  Democrats  he  became  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  Nebraskan  in  1896,  and  in  that 
campaign  and  again  in  1898  he  was  the  candidate 
of  the  Democrats  for  Congress  in  the  Ninth  con- 
gressional district,  and  in  1896  was  defeated  by 
a  very  narrow  margin.  He  remained  a  loyal  sup- 
porter of  the  Democratic  party  till  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1904. 

Martin  A.  Morrison,  the  only  Democrat  elected 
to  Congress  from  this  county,  was  born  April  15, 
1862,  and  the  son  of  Henry  Y.  Morrison.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  the  Frankfort  high  school,  and 
al.'io  of  Butler  College  and  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia Law  School,  and  admitted  to  practice  at 
the  bar  of  the  Clinton  Circuit  Court  in  1886.  He 
early  became  prominent  as  a  lawyer  and  was  well 
known  as  a  democratic  speaker  throughout  the 
State.  He  defeated  Charles  B.  Landis,  Repub- 
lican, for  Congress  in  the  Ninth  district  in  1908 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


and  was  the  first  Democrat  elected  in  the  district 
for  many  jears.  He  was  re-elected  in  1910,  1912 
and  1914,  and  has  served  with  distinction  in  those 
sessions.  He  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re- 
election in  the  191(5  campaign.  He  is  a  strong 
character,  a  man  of  marked  ability,  and  his  rec- 
ord ill  Congress  is  of  the  best. 

The  first  Democratic  newspaper  was  published 
in  Clinton  county  by  Colonel  Noah  T.  Catterlin, 
in  1839,  and  named  the  Frankfort  Argus.  Mr. 
Catterlin  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  en- 
terprising of  the  old-time  Democrats.  It  was  dis- 
continued in  1842.  In  184.3  G.  Weaver  Snyder 
established  another  Democratic  paper,  named  the 
Frankfort  Observer.  It  was  discontinued  during 
the  summer  of  1844.  Three  years  later  another 
Democratic  paper  was  begun  under  the  name  of 
the  CUntonian,  by  T.  J.  Taylor,  but  this  lasted 
only  a  year.  In  June,  1849,  Joseph  R.  Horsley 
began  the  publication  of  a  Democratic  paper 
called  the  Clinton  News.  This  was  the  first  per- 
manent newspaper  established  in  the  county,  for 
though  the  name  and  editors  have  been  changed, 
the  paper  s^i\\\  exists.  In  the  fall  of  1850  the 
paper  was  purchased  by  John  Gamble  and  Hugh 
B.  McCain  and  the  name  was  changed  to  the 
Compiler.  In  18.51  Mr.  Gamble  purchased  the 
entire  interest,  greatly  enlarged  and  improved  the 
paper  and  changed  the  name  to  the  Frankfort 
Weekly  Ci-escent.  For  the  past  sixty-five  years 
the  paper  has  still  retained  the  name  Crescent, 
although  changed  to  a  daily  later  and  still  later 
combined  with  another  paper.  In  1854  Mr.  Gam- 
ble sold  tho  paper  to  Leander  McClurg  and  Jo- 
seph T.  Pressly.  The  new  owners  were  attor- 
neys-at-law  and  still  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
their  profession,  but  also  edited  and  published  the 
paper.  They  continued  to  publish  the  paper  till 
June,  1855,  when  Pressly  sold  his  interest  to  J.  B. 
Newton  of  Delphi,  Ind.  In  1857  McClurg  sold 
his  interest  to  William  H.  Ghere  and  a  year  later 
Ghere  sold  his  interest  to  Newton,  who  thereby 
became  the  entire  owner.  A  year  later  Leander 
McClurg  again  bought  a  half  interest  and  Mc- 
Clurg and  Newton  conducted  the  paper  for  four 
years,  when,  in  1862,  they  sold  it  to  Franklin  D. 
Caldwell  of  Killmore.  Caldwell  published  the 
paper  till  March,  1863,  when  he  sold  it  to  Joshua 
N.  -Armentrout,  and  he  conducted  it  till  April, 
1867,  when  he  sold  it  to  Allen  E.  Paige.  Paige 
controlled  the  paper  till  October,  1869,  when  he 
sold  a  half  interest  to  Jabez  T.  Cox,  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1870,  Cox  bought  the  remaining  interest  of 
Paige.  Cox  continued  the  paper  till  February, 
1872,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  joint 
stock  company  and  under  the  new  company  it 
was  conducted  by  W.  H.  Ghere  and  T.  H.  Palmer 
until  June,   1872,   when    Erastus   H.    Staley   was 


employed  as  editor.  A  few  months  later  Mr. 
Staley  purchased  a'controlling  interest  in  the  pa- 
per and  continued  to  be  owner  and  editor  for 
nineteen  jears.  Mr.  Staley  is  the  veteran  editor 
and  newspaper  publisher  of  our  county  and  in 
local  newspaper  circles  is  styled  "father  of  the 
chapter."  He  is  now  nearly  eighty-five  years  of 
age,  but  still  active  and  contributes  to  our  local 
papers. 

In  1885  the  Crcscent^was  changed  to  a  daily 
paper.  Mr.  Staley  sold  the  Crescent  to  Eli  W. 
Brown  in  1891,  an  able  newspaper  man  from 
Northern  Indiana,  who  conducted  it  till  his  death 
in  1895,  when  it  was  purchased  by  B.  H.  Dorner 
and  Charles  Fennell.  In  November,  1896,  Fennell 
sold  his  interest  to  Bayard  Gray,  a  son  of  Gov- 
ernor Isaac  P.  GraV;  and  Dorner  and  Gray  pub- 
lished the  paper  till  the  death  of  Dorner  in  July, 
1901.  Gray  continued  to  publish  the  paper  till 
January,  19(16,  when  it  was  taken  over  by  a  joint 
stock  company  with  Jerome  Clark,  president,  and 
J.  A.  Hedgecock,  manager.  Mr.  Hedgecock  died 
in  the  spring  of  1907,  and  in  June  of  that  year 
Mr.  Robert  C.  Houston,  an  experienced  news- 
paper man  of  Marion,  Ind.,  became  editor  and 
manager.  This  publication  and  management  of 
the  Crescent  was  continued  till  January,  1913, 
when  the  stockholders  of  this  paper  and  the  own- 
er of  the  \eivs,  the  local  Republican  paper,  Mr. 
William  G.  Hendricks,  combined  the  two  papers 
into  one,  under  the  name  of  Crescent-News,  of 
which  company  Markwood  Slipher  is  president 
and  William  G.  Hendricks,  business  manager.  It 
has  the  united  press  telegraph  service  and  is  a 
splendid   nev/spaper  enjoying  a  large  circulation. 

Prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1860 
tne  county  was  normally  Democratic,  but  the  war 
brought  about  some  change,  and  for  a  few  years 
following  that  time  the  county  was  slightly  Re- 
publican, but  the  margin  was  always  narrow 
either  way.  Since  about  1865  to  1885  the  county 
was  generally  Democratic,  with  an  occasional  Re- 
publican elected  on  the  county  ticket,  but  the 
State  and  Presidential  election  showing  a  Demo- 
cratic majority.  President  Cleveland  carried  the 
county  in  1884  by  about  250,  the  majority  for 
Tilden  in  1876  being  still  larger.  But  in  1886  the 
county  went  Republican  on  both  the  State  and 
county  tickets,  and  this  occurred  again  in  1888 
when  President  Harrison  carried  the  county  by 
about  250  and  the  Republicans  electing  all  of  their 
county  ticket.  But  in  1890  it  changed  again,  the 
State  ticket  being  almost  a  tie  vote,  and  the  Dem- 
ocrats electing  all  of  the  county  ticket  but  three 
men.  In  1892  it  changed  back  to  Republican, 
Harrison  again  carrying  the  county  by  about  220, 
and  the  Republicans  electing  all  of  their  county 


(  565  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


ticket.  In  1894  there  was  a  Republican  landslide 
and  the  county  went  Republican  by  600  on  the 
State  ticket,  also  electing  all  of  the  county  ticket. 
In  1896  there  was  another  change  to  the  Demo- 
crats, Bryan  carried  the  county  by  about  135,  and 
the  Democrats  elected  all  of  the  county  ticket  but 
treasurer.  In  1898  there  was  a  slight  change 
back  to  the  Republican  party,  on  the  State  ticket 
the  county  giving  about  100  majority  for  the 
Republicans,  but  the  Democrats  secured  nearly 
all  of  the  important  county  offices,  on  account  of 
having  a  strong  local  ticket. 

In  1900  it  was  again  a  very  close  race  on  the 
State  ticket  with  a  divided  county  ticket.  In 
1902  there  was  a  decided  change  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  the  Republican  State  ticket  having 
about  420  majority,  and  they  also  elected  their 
entire  county  ticket,  but  some  by  very  narrow 
margin.  In  1904  there  was  an  overwhelming  Re- 
publican majority,  Roosevelt  carrying  the  county 
against  Parker  for  President  by  over  900  majori- 
ty, but  the  Democrats  succeeded  in  pulling  their 
candidate  for  sheriff  through,  electing  John  W. 
Haggard  for  sheriff  by  about  60  majority.  This 
was  the  high  tide  of  Republican  victories  in  the 
county,  and  from  then  on  their  majorities  all 
along,  from  that  of  President  down  to  all  local 
tickets,  gradually  fell  off,  till  the  county  became 
strongly  Democratic.  The  first  change  came  in 
1906,  when  Charles  F.  Cromwell  for  Auditor 
broke  the  hitherto  strong  Republican  machine  in 
both  Center  and  Kirklin  townships,  he  carrying 
every  precinct  in  both  of  these  Republican  strong- 
holds, and  was  elected  by  over  300  majority,  and 
carried  three  others  of  the  county  ticket  with  him. 
Two  years  later,  in   1908,  the  Democrats  carried 


their  State  and  Presidential  tickets  in  the  county 
by  a  little  less  than  100,  gave  Morrison  for  Con- 
gress nearly  800  and  carried  all  of  their  county 
ticket  but  two  men. 

In  1910  the  tendency  was  still  strong  toward 
the  Democrats,  they  electing  nearly  all  of  tire 
county  ticket  and  showing  a  majority  on  the 
State  ticket.  In  1912  there  was  a  complete  land- 
slide, Wilson  for  President  and  Ralston  for  Gov- 
ernor having  about  1,000  plurality,  and  the  Demo- 
cratic county  ticket  all  elected  by  majorities  rang- 
ing from  500  to  1,200,  and  the  first  time  since 
1882  when  the  Democrats  had  carried  all  of  the 
county  ticket.  In  1914  there  was  a  heavy  falling 
off  in  the  Democratic  plurality,  the  State  ticket 
dropping  down  to  250  plurality,  and  the  Repub- 
licans succeeded  in  electing  three  men  on  their 
county  ticket.  There  was  an  unprecedented 
amount  of  "scratching"  on  the  local  ticket,  the 
Republicans  electing  one  man  by  150  plurality, 
and  the  Democrats  having  more  than  900  plurali- 
ty on  some  of  their  ticket.  An  analysis  of  the 
votes  cast  during  the  last  ten  years  shows  that 
there  is  getting  to  be  a  very  large  independent 
vote,  especially  in  all  local  contests.  Twenty 
years  ago  this  was  not  so,  and  a  man  to  be  elect- 
ed, no  matter  how  worthy  or  popular,  must  be  on 
the  ticket  having  a  majority  for  the  State  and 
National  offices,  or  else  he  was  defeated.  But  this 
is  no  longer  the  case.  The  independent  vote  is  in- 
creasing every  year  and  it  is  becoming  more  and 
more  apparent  at  every  election  that  if  a  party 
wants  to  be  successful  it  must  put  forth  can- 
didates who  are  in  every  way  well  qualified,  and 
who  will  meet  with  popular  approval. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
CRAWFORD  COUNTY 


CRAWFORD  COUNTY  is  one  of  the  smallest 
•n  the  State.  It  lies  midway  from  east  to 
West  and  where  the  "Le  Belle  Riviere" 
make,  that  grand  sweeping  circle  called  Horse- 
shoe Bend,  eiving  the  county  twenty-four  miles 
of  river  border.  Its  verdure-clad  hills  afford  as 
grand  scenery  as  can  be  found  in  the  State,  and 
its  great  undeisround  caverns  have  been  visited 
by  people  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Perhaps  its  people  are  not  as  cultured  as  those 
who  live  nearer  to  the  great  centers  of  art,  and 
science  and  commerce,  but  nowhere  can  there  be 
found  more  hospitable  people,  truer  friends, 
warmer  hearts,  more  sterling,  rugged,  honest 
men  and  splendid  women,  than  in  this  old  river 
county  where  they  are  born,  and  live,  and  grow, 
close  to  Nature. 

The  county  was  formed  from  parts  of  Harrison, 
Orange  and  Perry  counties  by  an  Act  of  the 
Legislature  of  1817-18,  and  was  named  in  honor 
of  William  H.  Crawford  of  Georgia,  who  had 
many  admirers  in  that  session.  The  Legislature 
appointed  a  Board  of  Commissioners  who  or- 
ganized the  county  early  in  the  spring  of  1818 
and  selected  Mt.  Sterling,  then  the  only  village 
in  the  county,  as  the  county  seat.  Governor 
Jennings  appointed  the  following  officers  to  start 
the  governmental  machinery  of  the  new  county: 
William  Samuels,  Clerk  and  Recorder;  Daniel 
Weathers,  Sheriff  and  Treasurer;  Cornelius  Hall 
and  John  Samuels,  County  Commissioners;  Hon. 
Davis  Floyd,  Presiding  Judge,  and  Henry  Green 
and  James  Glenn,  Associate  Justices.  The  first 
term  of  court  was  held  at  Mt.  Sterling  in  Do- 
cember,  1818. 

Almost  all  of  the  early  settlers  came  from  the 
Carolir,as,  Virginia,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky. 
They  were  strong  anti-federalists  and  were  great 
admirers  of  Jefferson,  Monroe  and  Jackson.  They 
were  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  then  Far 
West,  and  upon  the  formation  of  the  Democratic 
party  the  county  cast  its  vote  for  Jackson.  Ever 
since  that  time  it  has  remained  reliably  Demo- 
cratic upon  State  and  National  issues,  and  but 
few  times  in  its  history  has  it  defeated  Demo- 
cratic candidates  on  the  local  ticket.  The  county 
has  had  eleven  auditors,  three  of  whom  have  been 
Republicans;  nineteen  treasurers,  four  of  whom 
have  been  Republicans;  fourteen  recorders,  three 
of  whom  have  been  Republicans;  fourteen  clerks, 
four  of  whom  have  been  Republicans;  seventeen 
sheriffs,  four  of  whom  have  been  Republicans. 
Only  one  Republican  has  been  elected  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  from  the  county. 


The  following  incident  of  the  pre-election  days 
of  18:i2  showed  Jackson's  popularity  in  the  county 
at  that  time  and  also  illustrated  the  almost  pro- 
verbial ignorance  of  the  early  Hoosier. 

An  early  circuit  rider  spent  a  week  in  a  certain 
community  preaching  at  the  different  homes.  On 
Satuiday  night  he  closed  his  week's  work  with  a 
very  earnest  and  urgent  invitation  to  those  pres- 
ent to  affiliate  themselves  with  the  followers  of 
Wesley,  but  no  one  responded  to  his  appeal.  Be- 
ing somewhat  disappointed  and  discouraged  by 
the  indifferent  attitude  of  his  congregation 
towards  things  spiritual,  he  said: 

"Brothers  and  sisters,  I  have  labored  among 
you  for  a  whole  week  trying  to  show  you  the  way 
unto  salvation,  and  now,  when  you  have  an  op- 
portunity to  accept  Christ  as  your  Savior,  you 
refuse;  and  it  seems  that  all  my  labor  in  your 
behalf  has  been  in  vain.  Is  there  one  present  who 
believes  in  Jesus  Christ?  If  so,  let  him  arise!" 
No  one  arose.  Not  entirely  discouraged,  he  made 
another  appeal:  "Is  there  one,  JUST  ONE,  in 
this  congiegation  who  believes  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  teachings?  If  there  is,  let  him  stand!" 
His  appeal  was  not  in  vain  this  time.  A  great, 
rough  fellow  from  the  hills  for  which  the  county 
is  famous,  being  evidently  aroused  by  the  rebuke 
that  had  been  administered  because  of  their  indif- 
ference, arose  and  addressed  the  man  of  God 
thus:  "Stranger,  we  all  have  enjoyed  your 
speeches  and  we  feel  that  you  have  done  us  a 
whole  lot  of  good;  and  we  all  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  all  right,  but  so  far  as  principles  and 
teachings  are  concerned  we  want  you  to  under- 
stand that,  by  the  eternal,  we  are  going  to  stay 
with  Old  Hickory  this  time." 

The  first  party  organization  dates  back  almost 
to  the  formation  of  the  party,  but  the  names  of 
the  members  who  composed  it  can  not  be  obtained. 
The  following  have  served,  in  the  order  named, 
as  chairman  of  the  county  central  committee,  or 
as  head  of  the  county  organization:  John  H. 
McMickle,  John  Benz,  W.  S.  Ross,  Martin  J.  Miller, 
J.  R.  Duffmg,  S.  A.  Beals,  C.  A.  Rober.son,  J.  E. 
Jones,  Charles  Rogers,  T.  B.  Sonner,  B.  T.  Mc- 
Farland  and  G.  B.  Hammond.  The  first  named 
served  uninterruptedly  for  more  than  twenty-five 
years.  Under  their  leadership  the  county  has 
given  Democratic  candidates  a  majority,  except 
in  two  or  three  instances,  of  from  fifty  to  five 
hundred.  The  last  named  is  the  present  chairman 
of  the  county  central  committee. 

The  following  residents  of  the  county  have  been 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


19  16 


elected  to  the  General  Assembly:  Jesse  E.  Cre- 
celius,  John  K.  Landis,  Henry  Jenkins,  John  L. 
Bates,  W.  M.  Ellsworth,  Houston  Miller,  Edmund 
Hostetter,  Hamilton  C.  Hammond,  David  T.  Ste- 
phenson, Clark  F.  Crecelius,  Charles  T.  Myler, 
John  Benz  and  Sam  Benz.  While  none  of  them 
attained  national  prominence,  yet  they  all  served 
the  State  with  much  honor  and  their  constituents 
with  great  fidelity.  Not  one  of  them  was  the  au- 
thor of  any  great  act  of  constructive  legislation, 
but  every  one  was  always  at  his  post  of  duty  and 
always  voted,  as  he  thought,  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  State  and  his  community. 

John  Benz  served  as  coroner  and  school  trustee 
previous  to  his  election  to  the  General  Assembly 
in  1874,  1878  and  1906.  While  the  State  capital 
was  at  Corydon  the  early  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature had  not  far  to  go  to  attend  the  sessions, 
but  for  some  years  after  it  was  removed  to 
Indianapolis  the  trip  was  a  difficult  one.  The 
southern  counties  were  an  almost  unbroken  forest 
and  John  K.  Landis  and  other  early  members  rode 
horseback  to  the  capital. 

Clark  F.  Crecelius  was  Recorder  of  the  county 
from  1870  to  1878  and  Treasurer  from  1878  to 
1882.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture in  the  general  and  special  sessions  of  1885 
and  was  appointed  as  postmaster  at  Marengo, 
Indiana,  in  1886,  which  position  he  held  for  four 
years.  He  served  as  Clerk  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  of  the  Legislature  of  1891  and  was 
appointed  Deputy  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue 
for  the  seventh  district  July  22,  1885,  but  declined 
the  appointment.  Later  he  removed  to  Floyd 
county  and  was  elected  as  Representative  from 
that  county  at  the  November  election,  1914.  His 
son,  C.  F.  Crecelius,  Jr.,  is  Secretary  of  State  of 
Kentucky. 

Following  the  names  of  some  old-time  Demo- 
crats who  for  many  years  marshalled  the  Demo- 
cratic hosts  of  the  county  and  led  them  to  victory: 
James  M.  Mansfield,  John  B.  Pankey,  Esau  Mc- 
Fall,  Samuel  E.  McFall,  Edmund  Hostetter,  John 
K.  Landis,  Elijah  Roberson,  Thomas  Myler, 
Thomas  Fleming,  W.  T.  Carr,  W.  T.  Beasley, 
Caleb  Longest,  John  Gregory,  J.  A.  Hughes, 
Jacob  Tucker,  George  W.  Cuzzort,  John  Benz, 
W.  M.  Ellsworth.  James  C.  McClain,  Harrison 
Scott,  Martin  Scott,  Dr.  H.  H.  Setser,  Dr.  G.  W. 
Bayler,  William  Merrilees,  Wilson  Gregory,  W. 
C.  Froman,  M.  C.  Froman,  Samuel  P.  Batman, 
H.  K.  Jenkins,  D.  T.  Stephenson,  C.  F.  Crecelius, 
Jesse  E.  Crecelius,  W.  S.  Ross,  John  H.  McMickle, 
Thomas  P.  Ellsworth,  C.  D.  Luckett,  Burton  J. 
Brown,    Joshua    Hollen,    Ellas    Romaine,    Jacob 


Partenheimer,  William  L.  Temple,  Peter  Gottfried, 
John  L.  Bates,  and  Houston  Miller. 

John  H.  McMickle  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  more  than  forty  years  and  as  has  been  stated, 
the  chairman  of  the  central  committee  for  twenty- 
five  years. 

Thomas  P.  Ellsworth  was  appointed  and  served 
as  Clerk  in  the  Weather  Bureau  at  Washington, 
D.   C,  during   Cleveland's   second   administration. 

"Senator"  Benz,  as  he  was  familiarly  called, 
was  for  years  a  noted  figure  in  Indiana  politics. 
It  was  one  of  his  proud  boasts  that  from  the  time 
he  became  a  voter  until  the  time  of  his  death  he 
had  not  absented  himself  from  a  Democratic  State 
convention.  After  his  death  in  1908,  his  son, 
Samuel  Benz,  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  at  a 
special  election  held  September  17,  of  the  same 
year. 

Martin  Scott  was  foreman  of  the  first  grand 
jury  impanelled  in  the  county. 

The  Crawford  Democrat,  the  first  Democratic 
newspaper  in  the  county,  was  established  at 
Leavenworth  by  John  P.  Cozine  in  1869.  It  was 
owned  and  published  by  Robert  L.  Peed,  Thomas 
K.  Van  Sant,  John  T.  Crecelius  and  M.  M.  Monk, 
successively,  until  1879,  when  it  was  purchased  by 
W.  M.  Ellsworth  and  son,  who  established  the 
Crawford  County  Democrat  and  continued  as  its 
owners  and  publishers  until  1905.  In  that  year 
it  was  purchased  by  D.  W.  Flanigan,  the  present 
owner.  It  is  one  of  the  best  local  papers  in  the 
State. 

The  Mareyigo  Observer,  owned  by  Elmo  Wilson, 
is  also  a  splendid  local  Democratic  newspaper. 

Other  Democratic  newspapers  were  established 
at  English  at  various  times  and  in  succession  by 
Claude  D.  Douglass,  W.  J.  McDermott,  John  Benz, 
Jr.,  Benjamin  Baker  and  J.  R.  Pro,  but  none  of 
them  survived. 

The  present  Democratic  officials  are  Hon.  Sam 
Benz,  Joint  Representative  for  the  counties  of 
Crav/ford  and  PeiTy;  Charles  T.  Brown,  Prosecut- 
ing Attorney  for  the  counties  of  Harrison,  Craw- 
ford and  Perry;  Henry  W.  Mock,  Clerk  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court;  A.  H.  Fiannigan,  County  Treasurer; 
Iny  Dooley,  County  Recorder;  Jesse  C.  Ewing, 
Sheriff;  S.  A.  Beals,  County  Superintendent  of 
Schools;  Thomas  Cunningham,  Surveyor;  W.  J. 
Trusty,  Coroner,  and  Jerry  Batman,  C.  J.  Tucker 
and  James  P.  Culver,  County  Commissioners. 

The  Democracy  of  the  county  has  never  been 
favored  with  a  federal  appointment  except  such 
as  have  been  made  on  the  basis  of  a  civil  service 
examination. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
DAVIESS  COUNTY 


By  A.  O.  Fulkerson,  Washington 


DAVIESS  COUNTY  came  into  existence  on 
February  15,  1817,  by  an  act  of  the  Legis- 
lature, approved  on  December  24,  1816,  by 
Jonathan  Jennings.  Previous  to  this  time  it  had 
been  a  part  of  Knox  county.  Its  boundaries  then 
included  al'  of  the  county  as  now  constituted  and 
all  of  Martin  county  north  of  Lick  creek,  all  of 
Greene  county  east  of  the  west  fork  of  White 
river,  and  all  of  Owen  county  east  of  the  west 
fork  of  White  river.  The  formation  of  Martin 
county  in  1820  and  of  Greene  county  in  1821  cut 
Daviess  county  down  to  its  present  boundaries. 

Probably  a  majority  of  the  early  inhabitants  of 
the  county  were  of  southern  extraction.  These, 
in  the  main,  were  Democrats.  The  majority  of 
the  early  settlers  who  came  from  the  East  were 
Whigs  and  later  Republicans.  Later  a  number 
of  Irish  and  Germans  settled  in  the  county.  They 
and  their  descendants,  to  a  large  extent,  have  sup- 
ported the  Democratic  ticket.  The  later  settlers 
in  the  main  were  Whigs  or  Republicans.  These 
different  elements  composing  the  voting  popula- 
tion of  the  county  have  made  it  rather  close  po- 
litically. 

When  the  Democrats  of  the  county  formed 
their  first  political  organization  is  not  a  matter 
of  record,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  organization  of  the  county.  James 
G.  Reed,  a  Democrat  of  state-wide  reputation, 
was  one  of  the  first  judicial  officers  of  the  county 
and  represented  the  county  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture in  1821,  1823,  1825  and  1831  and  was  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  in  1832  and 
again  in  1834. 

From  the  organization  of  the  county  until  the 
80's  the  Democrats,  in  a  very  great  majority  of 
cases,  elected  their  county  ticket,  although  the 
Whigs  carried  the  county  for  Clay  by  43  in  1844, 
for  Taylor  in  1848  by  27,  and  for  Scott  in  1852 
by  106.  The  Republicans  carried  the  county  for 
Lincoln  in  1860  by  185  and  for  Grant  in  1872  by 
296.  The  Democrats  carried  the  county  for  Bu- 
chanan by  176,  for  McClellan  by  72,  for  Seymour 
by  50,  for  Tilden  by  324,  for  Hancock  by  67,  for 
Cleveland  in  1884  by  202.  The  shops  of  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  Southwestern  Railway,  which  were 
built  at  Washington,  the  county  seat  of  the  coun- 
ty, in  the  80's,  brought  men  to  Washington,  a  ma- 
jority of  whom  were  Republicans.  After  this  the 
Republicans  succeeded  more  frequently.  The 
Democrats  carried  the  county  for  Bryan  in  1896 


by  258  and  in  1900  by  126,  and  for  Wilson  in  1912 
by  754. 

A  long  line  of  Democrats  has  represented  the 
county  in  the  State  Legislature.  Richard  A. 
Clements  was  State  Senator  in  1847.  In  1853, 
Gaylord  G.  Barton,  a  Democrat  of  more  than 
local  prominence,  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate. 
He  was  a  vice-chairman  at  the  State  convention 
in  1870.  William  S.  Turner,  a  Democrat  from 
Daviess  county,  represented  the  senatorial  district 
from  1867  to  1869.  Later  Turner  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  Democratic  nomination  for  State 
Auditor.  David  J.  Hefron,  prominent  in  Demo- 
cratic politics  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, was  elected  State  Senator  in  1877.  The  sena- 
torial district  of  which  Daviess  county  was  a 
part  was  represented  by  William  Kennedy  of 
Daviess  county  from  1891  to  1895.  This  district 
was  again  represented  in  the  State  Senate  by  a 
Daviess  county  Democrat  from  1899  to  1903  by 
Ephraim  Inman,  now  of  Indianapolis.  Henry 
Gers,  a  prominent  German  Democrat  of  Daviess 
county,  was  elected  State  Senator  for  the  term 
beginning  in  1911. 

The  State  representatives  from  Daviess  county 
have  been  in  most  instances,  men  of  more  than 
average  ability.  Some  of  them  were  farmers, 
some  teachers,  some  lawyers,  some  doctors  and 
some  mechanics.  The  following  were  Democrats: 
James  G.  Reed  was  Representative  for  four  terms, 
as  stated  above.  Patrick  M.  Brett  was  representa- 
tive in  1833,  Richard  A.  Clements  in  1841  and 
1845,  Benjamin  Goodwin  in  1849,  John  Scudder 
in  1851,  T.  A.  Slicer  in  1857,  R.  A.  Clement.-;,  Jr., 
in  1859;  M.  L.  Brett  in  1861,  Noah  E.  Given  in 
1863.  John  H.  O'Neall  in  1867,  John  Hyatt  in 
1869,  Robert  Haynes  in  1871,  M.  L.  Brett  in  1873. 
Harvey  Taylor  in  1875,  P.  H.  McCarty  in  1877, 
Samuel  H.  Taylor  in  1879,  Clement  Lee  in  1881, 
Haman  Woodling  in  1883,  Samuel  H.  Taylor  in 
1885,  Oliver  H.  McKittrick  in  1889,  Sanford  Pat- 
terson in  1S97,  James  F.  Parks  in  1901,  and  John 
Hoddinot  in   1913. 

Some  of  the  Democrats  of  the  county  have  made 
their  influence  felt  not  only  in  local  affairs  of 
State  but  in  district.  State  and  nation.  As 
stated  above,  James  G.  Reed,  a  Daviess  county 
Democrat,  was  twice  the  candidate  of  his  party 
for  Governor  of  Indiana.  Later  he  was  ap- 
pointed the  Registrar  of  the  Land  OflFice  at  Jeffer- 
sonville.  He  became  a  resident  of  Jeffersonville 
and  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  conven- 


(569) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


1  9  1 


tion  of  1850  from  Clark  county.  Matthew  L. 
Brett,  who  was  for  a  long  period  prominent  in 
the  business  and  political  life  of  the  county,  was 
State  Treasurer  from  1863  to  1865.  John  R. 
Phillips,  who  was  one  of  the  early  School  Exam- 
iners of  the  county,  was  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  State  Superintendent  in  1868.  Samuel 
H.  Taylor,  School  Examiner,  County  Chairman, 
Prosecuting  Attorney,  State  Representative  and 
candidate  for  Congress,  was  a  delegate  to  the 
national  conventions  which  nomniated  Greeley, 
Tilden  and  Cleveland  in  1884.  For  nearly  half  a 
century  John  Henry  O'Neall  was  a  force  in 
Daviess  county  politics.  He  was  State  Repre- 
sentative in  1867,  County  Chairman  in  1870,  1878, 
1896  and  1898,  and  member  of  Congress  for  two 
terms — 1886  and  1888 — and  a  delegate  to  the  na- 
tional convention  in  1896.  William  D.  Bynum, 
who  later  was  Congressman  from  the  Indianap- 
olis district,  was  elected  City  Clerk  of  Wash- 
ington in  1870  and  Mayor  of  Washington  in  1877. 
David  J.  Hefron  was  county  chairman  in  1872, 
and  elected  Mayor  of  Washington  the  same  year, 
and  was  State  Senator  from  1877  to  1883.  After- 
ward he  was  judge  of  the  Forty-ninth  Judicial 
Circuit.  James  W.  Ogdon,  the  present  judge  of 
the  circuit  composed  of  Daviess  and  Martin 
counties,  has  been  prominent  in  county,  district 
and  State  politics  for  a  number  of  years.  He  has 
served  his  city  as  mayor  and  was  a  delegate  to 
the  national  convention  in  1888.  John  W.  Mc- 
Carty,  the  present  Mayor  of  Washington,  County 
Chairman  for  three  terms,  postmaster  for  one 
term,  one  of  Indiana's  representatives  in  the 
Cleveland  inaugural  parade,  candidate  for  Presi- 
dential Elector  in  1904,  was  one  of  Indiana's  dele- 
gates to  the  Baltimore  convention  which  nomi- 
nated Woodrow  Wilson.  John  H.  Spencer  has 
been  prominent  in  the  councils  of  his  party  for 
a  number  of  years.  He  has  served  as  Mayor  of 
Washington  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  national 
convention  of  1900.  Mr.  Spencer  is  now  an  in- 
come tax  collector.  J.  Alvin  Padgett  is  one  of 
the  younger  Democrats  of  the  county  who  is 
influential  in  State  politics.  He  is  now  one  of 
the  trustees  of  the  Jeffersonville  reformatory. 

Much  of  the  success  of  a  political  party  de- 
pends upon  the  manner  in  which  its  campaigns 
are  directed.  This  is  especially  true  in  a  county 
which  is  close  politically.  A  large  majority  of  the 
Democratic  county  chairmen  of  Daviess  county 
have  been  men  of  political  experience  and  sa- 
gacity. No  records  of  the  party's  early  organi- 
zations are  to  be  found.  In  1868  Samuel  H. 
Taylor  was  the  county  chairman.  He  conducted 
a  winning  campaign.  John  H.  O'Neall  directed 
the  campaign  of  1870  with  success  for  his  party. 
The  county  chairman  in  1872  was  David  J.  Hef- 


ron. Grant  carried  the  county  but  the  Democrats 
elected  their  county  ticket.  The  veteran  editor 
of  the  Daviess  County  Democrat,  Stephen  Beld- 
ing,  managed  the  campaign  for  the  Democrats  in 
1874  and  succeeded  in  electing  their  entire  ticket. 
For  the  centennial  year  John  A.  Geeting  was  the 
county  chairman.  Tilden  carried  the  county  by  a 
majority  of  324,  the  largest  majority  any  presi- 
dential candidate  had  been  given  by  the  county 
up  to  that  time.  John  H.  O'Neall,  in  1878,  for  the 
second  time,  conducted  a  successful  campaign  for 
his  party.  In  1880,  Nathan  G.  Read  was  the 
county  chairman.  The  Democrats  carried  the 
county  for  their  county.  State  and  national 
tickets.  W.  H.  H.  Strouse  successfully  directed 
the  campaign  in  1882.  Under  the  management  of 
Arnold  J.  Padgett,  the  Democratic  county,  State 
and  national  tickets  of  1884  received  substantial 
majorities.  The  campaign  of  1886  was  under 
the  direction  of  W.  H.  H.  Strouse.  The  Democrats 
were  again  successful.  Strouse  was  again  man- 
ager in  1888.  Hovey,  the  Republican  candidate 
for  Governor,  carried  the  county  by  3.  O'Neall, 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress,  carried 
the  county  by  4  and  McKittrick,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  State  Representative,  was  elected 
by  46.  John  W.  McCarty  was  the  county  chair- 
man for  the  campaigns  of  1890,  1892  and  1894. 
The  Republicans  were  successful  in  each  of  these 
campaigns.  The  Populists  polled  a  large  vote  in 
each  of  these  elections  and  a  large  part  of  their 
votes  came  from  the  Democratic  party.  After  a 
period  of  twenty-six  years,  John  H.  O'Neall  was 
again  called  upon  to  manage  the  campaign  for 
his  party.  This  was  the  Bryan  campaign  of  1896. 
A  large  number  of  the  Populists  voted  with  the 
Democrats  this  year.  The  Democrats  carried  the 
county  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  O'Neall  was 
again  at  the  helm  in  1898.  The  Democrats  were 
not  successful  this  year.  The  campaign  of  1900 
was  directed  by  John  H.  Spencer.  The  county 
again  voted  for  Bryan  and  the  Democratic  county 
ticket.  A.  O.  Fulkerson  was  the  County  Chairman 
in  1902.  The  Republicans  were  successful  this 
year.  In  1904,  John  W.  McCarty,  for  the  third 
time,  was  the  manager  of  the  campaign  for  the 
Democrats.  The  Republicans  were  again  the 
winners.  In  1906,  George  B.  McWilliams  was  the 
County  Chairman  and  in  1908  Philander  McHenry 
was  the  manager.  The  Republicans  were  success- 
ful in  both  campaigns.  E.  E.  Forsythe  was 
chosen  to  direct  the  campaign  for  the  Democrats 
in  1910.  They  elected  the  Auditor,  Clerk  and 
Sheriff.  Forsythe  managed  the  Democratic  cam- 
paign again  in  1912.  The  Democrats  carried  the 
county  by  a  large  majority.  This  year  the  Pro- 
gressives polled  a  larger  vote  in  the  county  than 
did  the  Republicans.   In  1914,  Ora  McKittrick  was 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181G-191G 


the    County    Chairman.      The    Republicans    won. 

The  newspapers  are  molders  of  public  opinion 
in  all  lines  of  thought.  The  political  party  that 
has  a  newspaper  or  newspapers  edited  by  men  of 
ability  to  champion  its  cause  is  in  a  position  to  do 
far  more  eflfective  work  than  if  it  were  not  so 
supported.  The  Democratic  party  of  Daviess 
county  has  been  unusually  fortunate  in  this  re- 
gard. Men  of  exceptional  ability  have  been  the 
editors  of  its  Democratic  newspapers.  The  Jack- 
sonian  was  probably  the  first  Democratic  news- 
paper of  the  county.  During  its  short  life  its 
editor,  Jeremiah  Young,  made  a  valiant  fight  for 
the  cause  of  Democracy.  The  Sun,  edited  by 
Rev.  Hamilton  Robb,  was  the  next  Democratic 
organ  in  the  county.  It  soon  changed  hands  and 
with  this  change  it  changed  its  name  to  the  Wash- 
ington Bee.  James  Wilkins  was  the  editor  of  the 
Bee.  Wilkins  did  not  hesitate  to  use  the  strongest, 
vitriolic  language  in  speaking  of  his  political  op- 
ponents. In  1867,  the  Dariess  County  Democrat 
was  first  published.  From  that  time  until  the 
present  it  has  been  one  of  the  strong  county 
papers  of  the  State.  For  about  thirty  years 
Stephen  Belding  was  its  editor.  Belding  always 
suppoi-ted  the  Democratic  ticket  in  a  forceful  and 
effective  manner.  The  local  victories  of  the 
Democrats  during  the  60's,  the  70's  and  the  80's 
were  in  no  small  part  due  to  the  efforts  of  Beld- 
ing through  the  Democrat.  It  was  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  80's  that  Samuel  B.  Boyd  became 
its  editor.  The  Democrat,  under  the  editorship  of 
Boyd,  has  been  and  is  the  same  conservative, 
forceful  and  influential  paper  it  was  under  Beld- 
ing. It  is  the  biggest  asset  of  the  Democrats  of 
Daviess  county.  Henry  Backes  is  now  a  half- 
owner  of  the  Democrat.  He  is  its  business  mana- 
ger. 

Daviess  county  has  been  the  scene  of  many 
hard-fought  political  battles.  Two  fights  for  the 
congres.sional  delegates  of  the  county  are  among 
the  most  noted.  In  1884  Andrew  Humphreys  of 
Greene  county  sought  the  Democratic  nomination 
for  Congress  in  the  Second  Congressional  Dis- 
trict. Thomas  R.  Cobb  of  Knox  county,  who  had 
served  two  terms  in  Congress,  was  again  a  can- 
didate. The  contest  had  reached  the  stage  that 
he  who  won  the  Daviess  county  delegation  was 
almost  certain  to  be  nominated.  A  mass  conven- 
tion of  the  Democrats  of  the  county  was  called 
to  meet  at  Washington  on  March  28,  1884.  Dem- 
ocrats from  all  parts  of  the  county  gathered  at 
the  court  house  on  that  day.  Many  Republicans 
were  there  as  spectators.  There  was  no  contest 
in  selecting  a  chairman  for  the  meeting.  The 
trouble  came  in  choosing  the  delegates.  Some 
wanted   the    chairman    to   appoint   the   delegates, 


some  wanted  the  Democrats  from  each  township 
to  get  together  and  select  their  delegates,  and 
.some  wanted  the  candidate  who  had  the  most 
supporters  present  to  name  the  delegates.  After 
much  heated  discussion  it  was  decided  that  all 
the  Democrats  present  should  assemble  in  the 
yard  at  tho  east  entrance  of  the  court  house  and 
the  Cobb  supporters  gather  on  one  side  of  the 
walk  and  the  Humphreys  supporters  on  the  other. 
-After  many  charges  and  counter-charges  of  dis- 
honesty and  unfair  methods  were  hurled  back 
and  forth  it  was  decided  that  Cobb  had  the  ma- 
jority. 

A  somewhat  similar  fight  took  place  in  1902. 
Congressman  Robert  W.  Myers  was  seeking  an- 
other nomination.  Cyrus  E.  Davis  of  Greene 
county  and  Charles  W.  Wellman  of  Sullivan 
county  were  also  aspirants.  Again  it  appeared 
that  he  who  would  get  the  support  of  Daviess 
county  would  be  nominated.  A  mass  convention 
met  at  Washington  on  March  1."),  1902,  to  select 
delegates.  The  fight  over  the  chairman  of  the 
convention  decided  the  matter.  The  following  is 
taken  from  the  account  of  the  Washington  Dem- 
ocrat: "John  H.  Spencer  placed  A.  O.  Fulkerson 
in  nomination  and  Hamlet  Allen  suggested  the 
name  of  Hon.  John  H.  O'Neall.  Robert  P.  Shir- 
ley was  called  to  the  chair  to  decide  the  voice  of 
the  convention.  Mr.  Shirley  decided  in  favor  of 
Mr.  Fulkerson.  A.  J.  Padgett  and  J.  W.  Ogdon 
appealed  from  the  chair,  but  there  was  such  an 
uproar  that  they  could  not  make  their  voices 
heard  in  all  parts  of  the  house.  A.  J.  Dant  ap- 
peared on  the  stage  at  this  juncture  and  asked 
that  the  immense  crowd  remain  quiet.  The  three 
candidates  for  Congress,  Messrs.  Myers,  Davis 
and  Wellman,  were  then  called  upon  and  spoke 
briefly.  The  Ihiee  congressional  candidates  then 
agreed  upon  a  method  of  selecting  a  chairman 
to  preside  over  the  convention — the  agreement 
that  the  opera  house  be  cleared  and  that  three 
men,  each  representing  a  congressional  candidate, 
be  stationed  at  the  door  and  count  those  favoring 
O'Neall  and  those  favoring  F'ulkerson.  This  plan 
of  deciding  the  choice  of  the  convention  resulted 
in  favor  of  Mr.  O'Neall."  O'Neall  was  a  sup- 
porter of  Davis  and  appointed  delegates  favoring 
Davis. 

On  December  .31,  191.5,  Lew  S.  Core,  Auditor; 
John  L.  Clark,  Treasurer,  and  George  W.  Har- 
mon, Sheriff,  all  Democrats,  retired  from  office. 
They  had  made  splendid  officials.  They  were  suc- 
ceeded by  Republicans.  James  W.  Ogdon,  Judge; 
William  H.  Kiefer,  Clerk;  James  Sause,  County 
Commissioner,  and  A.  O.  Fulkerson,  County  Su- 
perintendent, are  at  this  writing  the  only  county 
officials  who  are  Democrats. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
DEARBORN  COUNTY 


WHEN  General  William  Henry  Harrison, 
then  governor  of  Indiana  Territory,  on 
the  7th  of  March,  1803,  issued  his  procla- 
mation authorizing  the  organization  of  Dearborn 
county,  he  created  and  set  aside  a  political  unit 
which  seems  to  have  been  destined  to  be  eternally 
and  overwhelmingly  Democratic. 

The  new  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Major- 
General  Henry  Dearborn,  at  that  time  Secretary 
of  War  under  President  Thomas  Jefferson. 

So  far  as  known,  and  so  far  as  any  records 
can  be  found,  and  these  records  by  the  way  are 
pretty  complete.  Dearborn  county  has  never  in 
her  history  of  considerably  over  one  hundred 
years  cast  a  majority  for  any  ticket  other  than 
Democratic.  These  majorities  have  also  been 
very  substantial. 

From  1790  to  1798  Dearborn  was  a  part  of 
Knox  county,  and  associated  in  good  Democratic 
company.  In  1798  and  until  1802,  at  which  latter 
date  the  western  boundary  of  the  state  of  Ohio 
was  described  by  the  congress,  Dearborn  became 
a  part  of  Hamilton  county,  Ohio.  For  one  year 
following  its  disconnection  from  the  Ohio  county, 
the  territory  was  unattached,  becoming  a  part  of 
Clark  county,  Indiana,  only  a  few  months  before 
the  legislature  passed  an  act  organizing  Dear- 
born as  an  independent  county,  with  the  seat 
of  justice  at  Lawrenceburg. 

From  the  time  when  Dearborn  county  was  first 
organized  Rising  Sun  was  ambitious  to  be  named 
as  the  seat  of  justice.  The  people  of  Rising  Sun 
and  in  the  territory  surrounding  were  demanding 
that  a  new  county  be  created  in  order  that  they 
might  select  their  own  officials.  They  were  un- 
able to  accomplish  anything  until  in  1836,  when 
they  joined  with  the  people  of  Wilmington  and 
succeeded  in  removing  the  county  seat  from 
Lawrenceburg  to  Wilmington.  The  only  way  in 
which  Lawrenceburg  could  have  the  court  house 
brought  home  with  the  prospect  of  retaining  it 
permanently  was  to  accede  to  the  demands  of 
the  Rising  Sun  sentiment  for  a  new  county. 

An  act  of  the  legislature  in  1843  provided  for 
and  created  the  county  of  Ohio,  with  Rising  Sun 
as  the  seat  of  government,  at  the  same  time  pro- 
vided for  removing  the  Dearborn  county  seat 
from  Wilmington  to  Lawrenceburg.  This  di- 
vision of  territory  in  no  way  changed  the  politi- 
cal complexion  of  Dearborn  county,  but  it  did 
set  off  to  themselves  a  small  number  of  voters 
who  have  been  rather  persistent  about  electing 
Republican  officials;  this,  however,  by  very  nar- 
row majorities. 


On  the  same  day  that  Dearborn  county  was  or- 
ganized General  William  Henry  Harrison  ap- 
pointed justices  who  should  constitute  the  court 
of  common  pleas,  the  court  of  general  quarter 
sessions  of  the  peace,  and  the  orphans'  court.  The 
men  appointed  were  Benjamin  Chambers,  Jabez 
Percival,  Barnet  Hulick,  John  Brownson,  Jere- 
miah Hunt,  Richard  Stevens,  William  Major  and 
James  McCarty.  Samuel  C.  Vance  was  named 
clerk  of  courts  and  James  Dill  recorder. 

The  first  session  of  the  court  of  general  quarter 
sessions  was  held  in  one  room  of  the  residence 
of  Dr.  Jabez  Percival  at  Lawrenceburg.  This  was 
on  the  first  Monday  in  September,  1803. 

At  this  session  of  the  court  there  were  some 
interesting  arguments  of  a  nature  that  do  not 
prevail  in  more  modern  times.  An  altercation 
arose  between  the  judge  and  one  of  the  witness- 
es who  was  rather  slow  in  responding  to  ques- 
tions. The  witness  concluded  the  argument  with 
an  old-fashioned  oak  clapboard.  The  judge  suc- 
ceeded in  protecting  his  head  by  throwing  up  his 
arm  to  meet  the  blow.  This  resulted  in  breaking 
both  the  clapboard  and  the  judge's  arm.  After 
the  judges  had  conferred  on  the  matter  they  de- 
cided the  vdtness  was  guilty  of  contempt  of  court 
and  sentenced  him  to  jail.  There  being  no  jail, 
his  hands  and  feet  were  tied  and  he  was  placed  in 
a  fence  corner,  protected  by  a  few  extra  rails  to 
prevent  his  rolling  out.  This  constituted  his 
prison  until  such  time  as  he  was  willing  to  admit 
that  he  was  at  least  sorry  that  he  had  assailed 
the  court.  No  political  significance  attached  to 
the  incident,  nor  is  there  any  record  that  it  was 
held  against  either  of  the  participants  in  any 
future  campaign. 

In  the  appointment  of  territorial  judges,  from 
March  7,  1803,  when  the  county  was  organized, 
and  until  1816,  when  the  state  was  admitted  to 
the  Union,  if  politics  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  selection,  the  people  of  the  county  were  in 
no  way  responsible.  They  had  nothing  to  say 
about  the  matter.  No  doubt  the  men  were  se- 
lected more  for  their  ability  and  capacity  to  fill 
the  position  than  from  any  political  alliance, 
persons  qualified  for  that  position  at  that  time 
not  being  so  numerous  as  at  the  present  day. 

As  illustrating  the  stanch  Democracy  of  the 
people  of  Dearborn  county,  it  is  interesting  to  no- 
tice the  few  instances  in  which  Republicans  have 
been  permitted  to  hold  local  offices.  In  the  long 
list  of  circuit  judges,  who  always  have  and  do 
today  represent  Dearborn,  in  alliance  with  one  or 
more  of  her  neighboring  counties,  the  Dearborn 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18   16-1916 


Democratic  majority  has  been  sufficient  to  over- 
come any  Whip:  or  Republican  voting  on  the  part 
of  her  neighbors  and  political  associates. 

In  only  two  instances  in  the  election  of  circuit 
judges  has  any  Republican  succeeded  in  getting 
into  office.  Jeremiah  M.  Wilson,  of  Fayette 
county,  was  the  first  of  these,  serving  from  1865 
to  1869.  Robert  N.  Lamb  was  the  second  and  last 
Republican  who  succeeded  in  any  such  perform- 
ance. He  was  from  Switzerland  county,  and 
served  from  '69  to  '71.  Judge  Lamb's  one  term 
as  circuit  judge  followed  his  service  on  the  com- 
mon pleas  bench  from  1865  to  1869.  The  other 
Republican  judge,  who  also  came  from  Switzer- 
land county,  sat  in  the  common  pleas  court  from 
1861  to  1865.  He  was  Judge  Francis  M.  Adkin- 
son.  These  were  the  only  Republicans  who 
served  Dearborn  county  in  a  judicial  capacity  in 
the  first  one  hundred  years  of  the  state's  history. 

As  already  stated,  the  Democratic  majorities 
have  been  very  large  and  always  safe.  Only  once 
did  the  Republicans  succeed  in  leading  on  a  pres- 
idential candidate.  That  was  when  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  elected  in  1860  and  the  opposition 
was  divided  into  three  factions,  Douglas,  Demo- 
crat, receiving  787  votes,  Breckenridge,  South- 
ern Democrat,  525  votes,  Bell,  Union  party,  208 
votes.  Lincoln  was  given  1,158  votes.  In  1864, 
on  the  state  election,  the  county  came  nearer  go- 
ing Republican  than  ever  before  or  since.  At 
that  time  the  vote  stood  2,354  Democratic  and 
2,451  Republican.  The  presidential  votes  of  the 
county  since  1852,  previous  to  which  time  every- 
thing was  overwhelmingly  Democratic,  stood  as 
follows: 


Dem. 
1852 .     1,113 


1856. 
1860. 


1872. 
1876. 


1900. 
1904. 


1,126 
787 
2,420 
2,921 
2,792 
3,379 
3,615 
3,531 
3,397 
3,313 
3,371 
3,264 


1912 2,957 

1916 3,010 


Rep. 
1,054 
480 
1,158 
2,117 
2,255 
1,990 
2,093 
2,547 
2,648 
2,274 
2,714 
2,533 
2,588 
2,520 
1,366 
2,318 


South. 
Amer.  Dem.  Union 


Pro. 


701 


The  vote  for  state  officers  since  1856  has  been 
as  follows: 

Dem.     Rep.     Prog. 

1856— Governor 2,636     1,867     

1858— Secretary 2,363     1,486     .... 


Dem.  Rep.  I'rog. 

I860— Governor 2,548  2,077     

1862— Secretary 2,687  1,540     

1864— Governor 2,354  2,151     

1866— Secretary 2,905  2,251     

1868— Governor 3,072  2,183     

1870— Secretary 2,892  1,658  .... 

1872— Governor 3,122  2,014     

1874— Secretary 3,311  1,614     

1876— Governor 3,438  2,104     

1878— Secretary 3,267  1,834     

1880— Governor 3,640  2,519     

1882— Secretary 3,417  1,649     

1884— Governor 3,569  2,512  .... 

1886— Secretary 3,254  2,386  .... 

1888— Governor 3,534  2,645     

1890— Secretary 2,976  2,093     

1892— Governor 3,376  2,260     

1894— Secretary 2,966  2,544     

1896— Governor 3,283  2,681     

1898— Secretary 2,875  2,139     

1900— Governor 3,315  2,509     

1902— Secretary 2,920  2,083     

1904— Governor 3,215  2,541     

1908— Governor 3,401  2,445     

1910— Secretary 2,826  1,915     

1912— Governor 2,866  1,302  732 

1914— Senator 2,722  1,924  61 

1916— Governor 2,934  2,299     

A  good  many  distinguished  citizens  and  other- 
wise have  held  the  office  of  county  commissioner  in 
Dearborn  county  in  the  period  of  one  hun;lred 
years.  In  the  whole  list  there  are  only  two  re- 
corded in  any  history,  or  remembered  by  any  one, 
who  were  Republicans.  These  were  Benjamin  P. 
Walser,  elected  in  1895,  and  Frederick  Wolber, 
elected  in  1896. 

In  the  choosing  of  auditors  the  Republicans 
were  more  fortunate.  They  actually  succeeded 
in  electing  five  auditors,  the  first  being  Alex- 
ander Pattison,  who  was  elected  in  1879,  the  next 
Edward  D.  Moore,  who  came  in  by  a  small  ma- 
jority in  1887;  then  Ambrose  E.  Nolin,  elected  in 
1895,  Charles  L.  Walser,  elected  in  1897,  and 
Harry   Lauterbeck,   who   was   elected   in    1914. 

The  offices  of  county  treasurer,  county  record- 
er, county  sheriff,  prosecuting  attorney,  county 
coroner  and  county  surveyor  have  never  been  in- 
vaded by  any  but  Democrats.  In  only  one  in- 
stance has  any  Republican  got  into  the  office  of 
county  clerk.  This  was  David  Lesteitter,  who 
was  elected   in   1894   and   served   for  four   years. 

Members  of  the  State  Legislature,  both  sena- 
tors and  representatives,  have  all  been  Demo- 
cratic. 

These  served  as  territorial  judges  for  the  four- 
teen years  preceding  the  admission  of  the  State: 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


Benjamin  Chambers — March  7,  1803,  to  Dec.  14, 
1810. 

Jabez  Percival — March  8,  1803,  to  Jan.  6,  1814. 

Barnet  Hulick— March  7,  1803,  to  Dec.  14,  1809. 

John  Brownson — March  7,  1803,  to  Jan.  6,  1814. 

Jeremiah  Hunt— March  7,  1803. 

Richard  Stevens — March  7,  1803. 

William  Major— March  7,  1803,  to  Jan.  6,  1814. 

James  McCarty — March  7,  1803. 

Isaac  Dunn— March  17,  1812,  to  Feb.  14,  1817. 

Elijah  Sparks— Jan.  16, 1814;  died  May,  1815. 

James  Noble — Appointed  vacancy;  served  till 
1816. 

Jesse  L.  Holman — Judge  at  time  State  was  ad- 
mitted in  1816. 

Since  the  State  became  a  part  of  the  Union  and 
the  county  of  Dearborn  began  electing  its  own 
officials,  these  Democrats  have  been  elected  to  of- 
fice: 

CIRCUIT  JUDGES 

John  Test— Franklin  county,  1818-19. 

John  Watts — Dearborn  county,  1819-20. 

Miles  C.  Eggleston— Jefferson  county,  1820-45. 

Courtland   Gushing — Jefferson  county,   1845-47. 

George  H.  Dunn — Jefferson  county,  1847-50. 

William  M.  McCarty — Jefferson  county,  1850-53. 

Reuben  D.  Logan — Jefferson  county,  1853-65. 

Henry  C.  Hanna — Jefferson  county,  1871-73. 

Omar  F.  Roberts — Dearborn  county,  1873-79. 

Noah  S.  Givan — Dearborn  county,  1879-85. 

W.   H.   Bainbridge — Dearborn  county,   1885-91. 

Alexander  C.  Downey — Ohio  county,  1891-97. 

Noah  S.  Givan — Dearborn  county,  1897-1903. 

George  F.  Downey — Dearborn  county,  1903-09. 

George  F.  Downey — Dearborn  county,  1909-13. 
(Resigned  to  accept  place  as  comptroller  of 
United  States  Treasury.) 

Warren  N.  Hauck — Dearborn  county,   1913-15. 
(For  unexpired  term.) 

Warren    N.    Hauck — Dearborn    county,    elected 
in  1915. 

COMMON  PLEAS  JUDGES 

William  S.  Holman — Dearborn  county,  1853-56. 

Charles  N.  Shook— Ripley  county,  1856-61. 

Scott  Carter — Switzerland  county,  1869-72. 

ASSOCIATE  JUDGES 
Solomon  Manwarring — 1816-30. 
John  Livingston,  Isaac  Dunn — 1830-38. 
John  McPike — 1830-35. 
Samuel  H.  Dowden— 1835-38. 
John  Livingston — 1838-45. 
Alfred  J.   Cotton — 1838-45. 
David  Conger— 1845-51. 
John  A.  Emrie. 

PROBATE  JUDGES 
George  H.  Dunn— 1829-31. 
John  Livingston — 1831-37. 


John  McPike— 1837. 
John  Palmer— 1837-43. 
Theodore  Gazlay — 1843. 
William  S.  Holman— 1843-47. 
Alfred  I.  Cotton— 1847-52. 

TERRITORIAL  LEGISLATURE 


'At  Vincennes,  July  29,  1805;  Benj 
bers,  of  Dearborn,  presiding;  Jesse 
of  Dearborn,  speaker  of  the  house. 

Second  session,  September  26,  180 
Thomas,  speaker  of  the  house. 

Third  session,  November  10,  1810. 

Fourth  session,  February  1,  1813; 
Dearborn,  speaker,  and  Isaac  Dunn, 
seven  days  of  session. 

Fifth  session,  Corydon,  August  14, 
L.  Holman,  Dearborn,  president 
council. 

Constitutional    convention,    1816: 
James  Dill,  Solomon  Manwarring  and 

Constitutional    convention,    1851: 
William    S.    Holman,   John    D.   Johns 
Watts. 


imin  Cham- 
B.   Thomas, 


James  Dill, 
speaker  last 

1814;  Jesse 
legislative 

Dearborn — 
Ezra  Ferris. 

Dearborn — • 
on,   Johnson 


STATE   LEGISLATURE— SENATORS 
1816-18— Ezra  Ferris. 
1821-22— John  Gray. 
1825-30 — John  Watts. 
1831-32- James  T.  Pollock. 
1833— D.  V.  Culley. 
1834-35— Daniel  Plummer. 
1838-43 — Johnson  Watts. 
1844-45— George  P.  Buell. 

1849-51 — James  H.  Lane  (president  of  senate). 
1846-51— James  P.  Milliken. 
1852-57— Richard  D.  Slater. 
1859-61— Cornelius  O'Brien. 
1863-65— James  W.  Graff. 
1867-69— Elijah  Huffman. 
1871-73— Richard  Gregg. 
1875-78— Noah  S.  Givan. 
1878-82— A.  J.  Bowers. 
1882-86— Columbus  Johnson. 
1886-90— Francis  M.  Griffith. 
1890-93 — Columbus  Johnson. 
1898-1902— George  H.  Keeney. 
1902-06— William  H.  O'Brien. 
1906-10— Evan  L.  Patterson. 
1910-14— Warren  N.  Houck. 
1914 — Joseph  P.  Hemphill. 

STATE    LEGISLATURE— HOUSE    MEMBERS 

1816 — Amos  Lane,  Erasmus  Powell. 

1817 — Amos  Lane. 

1818— Erasmus  Powell,  John  Watts. 

1820— Ezra  Ferris,  Erasmus  Powell. 

1822 — Pinckney  James,  Horace  Bassett,  Ezekiel 
Jackson. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  9  1  G 


1823— Samuel  Jelley,  Benjamin  J.  Blythe,  Da- 
vid Bowers. 

1824— Abel  C.  Pepper,  Horace  Bassett.  Ezekiel 
Jackson. 

1825— Ezekiel  Jackson,  Abel  C.  Pepper,  Thomas 
Given. 

1826 — Ezra  Ferris,  Ezekiel  Jackson,  Horace 
Bassett. 

1827 — Horace  Bassett,  James  T.  Pollock,  Ezekiel 
Jackson,  Joel  De  Coursey. 

1828— Horace  Bassett,  James  T.  Pollock,  Arthur 
St.  Clair,  George  H.  Dunn. 

1829-30— Horace  Bassett,  James  T.  Pollock, 
Thomas  Given,  Walter  Armstrong. 

1830— James  T.  Pollock,  Walter  Armstrong, 
Ezra  Ferris,  Samuel  H.  Dowden. 

1831— David  V.  CuUey,  William  Fleke,  Warren 
Tebbs. 

1832 — George  H.  Dunn,  David  V.  CuUey,  Oliver 
Heustis. 

1833 — George  H.  Dunn,  Thomas  Given,  David 
Guard. 

1834— Nelson  H.  Horbet,  James  Walker,  Thom- 
as Howard. 

1835 — Henry  Walker,  Thomas  Howard,  Milton 
Gregg. 

1836 — David  Guard,  Pinckney  James,  John  P. 
Dunn,  Abel  C.  Pepper. 

1837— George  Arnold,  Abram  Ferris,  Enoch  W. 
Jackson,  Alexander  E.  Glenn. 

1838-39— George  Arnold,  Jacob  W.  Eggleston, 
William  Conaway.  Ebenezer  Dumont. 

1839-40— Amos  Lane,  William  Lanius,  William 
Conaway,  William  Perry. 

1840-41— Abijah  North.  John  B.  Clark.  Isaac 
Dunn,  William  R.  Cole. 

1841— Ethan  A.  Brown,  James  P.  Milliken, 
James  Rand. 

1842-43— Ethan  A.  Brown,  John  Lewis,  James 
P.  Milliken. 

1843-44 — Pinckney  James,  David  Macy. 

1844 — Oliver  Heustis,  John  Lewis,  William  Lan- 
ius. 

1845-46— George  Cornelius,  Richard  D.  Slater. 

1846-47— A.  G.  Tebbs,  John  D.  Johnson. 

1847— George  W.  Lane,  Richard  D.  Slater. 

1848 — John  D.  Johnson,  Alvin  J.  Alden,  George 
M.  Lozier. 

1849-50— Daniel  Conaway,  Joseph  A.  Watkins. 

1850 — Ebenezer  Dumont  (speaker  of  house), 
John  B.  Clark. 

1850— (Special  session)  Oliver  B.  Torbett,  Wil- 
liam S.  Holman. 

1853— Oliver  B.  Torbett  (speaker  of  house), 
Noah  C.  Durham. 

1855 — Alvin  J.  Alden,  John  Crozier. 

1857 — John  Levris,  George  W.  Lane. 

1858— Noah  C.  Durham,  Warren  Tebbs. 


1859— Warren  Tebbs,  Noah  C.  Durham. 

18G1— Omer  F.  Roberts,  Charles  Lods. 

1863— Omer  F.  Roberts,  Alfred  Brogan. 

1865 — John  C.  Stonger,  Richard  Gregg. 

1867— Edward  H.  Green,  Warren  Tebbs,  Jr. 

1869-71— Warren  Tebbs,  Jr. 

1872-73 — (Special  session)  Noah  S.  Givan. 

1875 — Columbus  Johnston. 

1876-78— Columbus  Johnston. 

1878-80— A.  J.  Alden. 

1880-82— Edward  Jackson. 

1882-84— Hugh  D.  McMullen. 

1884-86— Hugh  D.  McMullen. 

1886-88— Hugh  D.  McMullen. 

1888-90— Joseph  Vandolah. 

1890-94— John  W.  Johnson. 

1894-98— John  Feist. 

1898-1902— Omer  F.  Roberts. 

1900-04— Charles  H.  Conaway. 

1904-08— Victor  Obertine. 

1909-10— Warren  N.  Hauck. 

1910-12— Cassius  W.  McMullen. 

1912-14— Edgar  Sale. 

1914-16— Edgar  Sale. 

BOARD  OF  MAGISTRATES 

(Justices  of  peace  sitting  as  board  now  corre- 
sponding to  county  commissioners.  Records  prior 
to  1826  destroyed  in  court  house  fire  of  that  year.) 

1826 — Mark  McCracken,  president;  John  Por- 
ter, James  Lewis,  William  Brundye,  Loban  Bram- 
ble. 

1826— Mark  McCracken,  Cornelius  S.  Folkner, 
Job  A.  Beach. 

1828— Philip  Eastman,  James  Murry,  Delia  El- 
der, Isaac  Colwell,  John  Godley,  James  W.  Hunter, 
Martin  Stewart,  William  Flake. 

1829— David  Bowers,  John  Glass,  Israel  W. 
Bonham. 

1830 — Joseph  Wood,  Ulysses  Cook,  John  Colum- 
bia, John  Neal. 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS 

1831 — First  election  under  new  law  creating  of- 
fice: Joseph  Wood,  one  year;  Mark  McCracken, 
two  years;  George  Arnold,  three  years. 

1832— William  Conway. 

1833— Charles  Dashiell. 

1834— George  Arnold. 

1835— John  Neal. 

1836— Benjamin  Sylvester. 

1837— David  Nevitt  and  William  Conway. 

1838— David  Walser. 

1839— Aaron  B.  Henry. 

1840— William  S.  Ward. 

1841— Charles  Dashiell. 

1842 — John  Columbia. 

1843— William  S.  Ward. 

1844— David  Walser. 


(575) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


1845 — James  Grubbs. 

1846— Daniel  Taylor. 

1847— Martin  Treater. 

1848 — Jonathan  Hollowell. 

1849— William  S.  Ward. 

1850 — Zera  Vinson. 

1851 — Jonathan  Hollowell. 

1852 — John  Heinberger. 

1853 — Benjamin  Burlingame. 

1854— Mason  J.  McCloud. 

1855— Asabel  Tyrrel. 

1856 — Benjamin  Burlingame. 

1857 — John  Anderagg. 

1858— Asabel  Tyrrel. 

1859— Francis  Buffington. 

1860— John  Anderagg. 

1861— Charles  Briggs. 

1862 — Francis  Buffington. 

1863— Charles  Briggs. 

1864 — John  Anderagg. 

1865 — Francis  Buffington. 

1866— Frederick  Souders. 

1867— Smith  Piatt. 

1868 — Asabel  Tyrrel. 

1869— Frederick  Souders. 

1870— John  C.  Stenger. 

1871— Asabel  Tyrrel. 

1872 — Frederick  Souders. 

1873— James  Grubbs,  Smith  Piatt. 

1874 — Frederick  Slater. 

1876— Michael  Hoff,  Abraham  Briggs. 

1877— Frederick  Slater. 

1879 — Abraham  Briggs,  Michael  Hoff. 

1880— Garrett  Bosse. 

1882— Charles  Lods  (to  fill  vacancy  death  of 
Hoff),  Henry  Bulthaup  (to  fill  vacancy  death  of 
Bosse)  ;  T.  T.  Annis,  John  Buchert,  Henry  Bult- 
haup elected. 

1883 — Charles  Fisk,  John  Feist  (fill  vacancy 
death  of  Buchert). 

1885 — Nicholas  Vogelsang,  George  A.  Swales. 

1886 — George  W.  Johnston. 

1887 — Nicholas  Vogelsang. 

1888— George  A.  Swales. 

1889— George  W.  Johnston. 

1890— Joseph  Buchert. 

1891— John  Axby. 

1892— Eben  T.  Heaton. 

1897— Frederick  Albers. 

1898 — John  Reuck,  three  years;  Rufus  Abbott, 
two  years. 

1899 — Fred  Albers,  three  years. 

1901— John  Reuck. 

1903— John  E.  Heustis. 

1904 — George  W.  Brown. 

1905— Henry  J.  Meyer. 

1906 — John  E.  Heustis. 

1907 — Ralph  Conaway. 


1908 — Henry  J.  Meyer. 
1909— Edward  Baker. 
1910— Ralph  Conaway. 
1911— George  T.  Wolf. 
1912— Edward  Barker. 
1913— John  Nolte. 
1914— George  T.  Wolf. 
1915— Frank  Bittner. 

COUNTY  TREASURERS 
1829 — Daniel  Hagerman  (died  1829). 
1829-31— Thomas  Palmer. 
1831-36 — Walter  Armstrong. 
1836-38— Robert  Moore. 
1838-40— William  G.  Monroe. 
1840-45 — Ebenezer  Dumont. 
1845-47— Nelson  S.  Torbet. 
1847-50 — Cornelius  O'Brien. 
1850-53— Noble  Hamilton. 
1853-55— Strange  S.  Dunn. 
1855-57— Thomas  Johnson. 
1857-61— Francis  M.  Jackson. 
1861-63— Marcus  Levy. 
1863-65— William  F.  Crocker. 
1865-70— Thomas  Kilner. 
1870-74— Francis  Lang. 
1874-78— Charles  Lods. 
1878-82— William  H.  Kyle. 
1882-86 — James  D.  Gatch. 
1886-90 — John  Probst. 
1890-94 — Michael  Maloney. 
1894-98— William  Wulber. 
1898-1902— Henry  Fangman. 
1902 — C.  William  Fangman   (unexpired  term). 
1903-06— Enoch  McElfresh. 
1906-10— C.  William  Fangman. 
1910-14 — Andrew  Burk. 
1914— John  A.  Bobrink. 

COUNTY  AUDITORS 
1841-46 — George  W.  Lane. 
1846-55— Reuben  Rodgers. 
1855-64— Elias  T.  Crosby. 
1864-68— Richard  D.  Slater,  Sr. 
1868-75 — Richard  D.  Slater,  Jr. 
1875-79 — Myron  Maynes. 
1883-87 — Julius  Severin. 
1891-95 — Frank  R.  Dorman. 
1898-1906— Charles  M.  Beinkamp. 
1906-14— William  S.  Fagaly. 

COUNTY  CLERKS 

March  7,  1803,  to  September  6,  1813 — Samuel 
C.  Vance. 

September  6,  1813,  to  death  in  1838  (when  his 
son,  Alexander  Dill,  was  appointed  pro  tern,  to  va- 
cancy)— James  Dill. 

1839-51— William  V.  Cheek. 

1851-56 — Cornelius  O'Brien. 

1856-61 — Samuel  L.  Jones. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


1864-68— John  F.  Cheek. 
1868-78 — John  A.  Conwell. 
1878-86— Warren  Tebbs. 
1886-94— John  H.  Russe. 
1898-1906— John  Uhlrich. 
1906-14— George  Fahlbush. 
1914 — James  G.  McKinney. 

COUNTY  RECORDERS 
March  7,  1803,  to  August  30,  1803 — James  Dill. 
August  30,  1803,  to  February  14,  1817— James 
Hamilton. 

1817-31— James  Dill. 
1831-34— Thomas  Porter. 
1834— Asa  Smith. 
1835-55— Thomas  Palmer. 
1855— Tobias  Finkbine. 
1855-63— John  Heinberger. 
1863-67— Alvin  J.  Alden. 
1867-71— Alfred  Brogan. 
1871-79— Francis  M.  Johnson. 
1879-85 — George  C.  Columbia. 
1885-95— John  S.  Prichard. 
1895-1903— George  W.  Turner. 
1903-11— Edward  C.  Fox. 
1911— Clifford  Haynes. 

SUPERINTENDENTS  OF  SCHOOLS 
1873-75— George  C.  Columbia. 
1875-87— Harvey  B.  Hill. 
1887-93— Samuel  J.  Houston. 
1893-1908— Sol  K.  Gold. 
1908-14— George  C.  Cole. 

COUNTY  ASSESSORS 
1891-1900 — Francis  M.  Johnson. 
1900-14— William  H.  Nead. 
1914— William  Westcott. 

COUNTY  SHERIFFS 


1804 
1816 
1818 
1818 
1822 
1826 
1828 
1832 
1832. 
1837- 
1841- 
1845. 
1849 
1853- 
1858- 
I860- 
1864- 


■04 — David  Lamphere. 

•16 — James  Hamilton. 

■18 — John  Hamilton. 

-William  Hamilton. 

■22 — Thomas  Longley. 

■26 — John  Spencer. 

■28 — Thomas  Longley. 

■32 — John  Spencer. 

—William  Gregg. 

.37_William  Dils. 

41 — John  Weaver. 

45 — Samuel  Osgood. 

49— Thomas  Roberts. 

53— Frank   M.   Riddle. 

58 — John   Brumblay. 

60— John  Boyd. 

64— Edward  A.   Conger. 

68— Richard  Charles  Arnold. 

72 — Frank  R.  Dorman. 


1872-76— Lewis  Weitzel. 
1876-80— Elijah  Christopher. 
1880-84— John  C.  Sims. 
1884-88— Daniel  M.  Guard. 
1888-92— Hezron   Haynes. 
1892-96— Henry  Buethaup. 
1896-98- Wm.  E.  Teke. 
1898— Ira   Miller. 
1898-1902— Marion  Laws. 
1902-06— John  Axby. 
1906-10— Richard  White. 
1910-14— Ora   N.  Slater. 
1914-18— Daniel  McKinzie. 

PROSECUTING  ATTORNEYS 
1850-54— Strange  S.  Dunn. 
1854-58— William  Patterson. 
1864-68— Hugh  D.  McMullen. 
1868-78— George  R.  Brumblay. 
1878-80— Addison  Williams. 
1880-86— Robert  E.  Slater. 
1886-88— Edward  H.  Green. 
1888-96— Redman  L.  Davis. 
1896-1902— Harry  R.  McMullen. 
1902-04 — Theodore  Wulber. 
1904-06— Frank  D.  Johnston. 
1906-14— John  H.  Russe. 
1914-18— Willard    Dean. 

COUNTY  CORONERS 
1845-58— Daniel    Edwards. 
1848-52-James  D.  English. 
1852-56— William  R.  Green. 
1856-60— Major  R.  Slater. 
1860-66— William  Green. 
1866-68— Frederick  Rectanus. 
1868-76— Daniel  M.  Skinner. 
1876-80— Robert  H.  Davis. 
1880-84— C.  J.  B.  Ratjen. 
1884-9.5— Albert    D.   Jackson. 
1895-96— Hanson  G.  Freeman. 
1896-98 — Frederick  Mauntel. 
1898-1900— F.  H.  Sale,  Jr. 
1900-02— F.  H.  Sale,  Jr. 
1902-04— F.  H.  Sale,  Jr. 
1904-06— George   F.   Smith. 
190.5-10— Wilson  H.  Swales. 
1910-1.5— G.  Johnston. 

COUNTY  SURVEYORS 
1846-52— George  Moore. 
1850-56 — Samuel   M.   Kennedy. 
1856-57— Jesse  L.  Holman. 
1857-62— Samuel   M.  Kennedy. 
1862-64— Hugh   D.   McMullen. 
1864-66— Samuel  Allen. 
1866-74— Samuel   M.   Kennedy. 
1874-78— Samuel  Allen. 
1878-80— Samuel   M.   Kennedy. 


19- History 


(577) 


HISTORY.    INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


1880-82— Emanuel  Allen. 

1882-1902— Albert  T.  Gridley. 

1902-12— Charles  H.  Gore. 

1912-15— Albert  Karstetter. 

Of  Dearborn  county  men  in  United  States  offi- 
ces, may   be  mentioned: 

Jesse  L.  Holman,  Judge  United  States  District 
Court  of  Indiana. 

Horace  Bassett,  Clerk  United  States  District 
Court  of  Indiana. 

Abel  C.  Pepper,  United  States  Marshal,  State 
of  Indiana. 

Thomas  Porter,  Receiver  United  States  Land 
Office,  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana. 

Arthur  St.  Clair,  Register  United  States  Land 
Office,  Indianapolis. 

John  Spencer,  Receiver  United  States  Land 
Office,  Ft.  Wayne. 

Abel  C.  Pepper,  Indian  Agent. 

David  V.  Culley,  Register  United  States  Land 
Office,  Indianapolis. 

B.  T.  W.  S.  Anderson,  United  States  Mail  Agent. 

D.  M.   Skinner,   United   States   Mail   Agent. 

Servetus  Tufts,  Assistant  Doorkeeper,  United 
States  Congress. 

Samuel  J.  Johnson,  Assistant  Doorkeeper, 
United  States  Congress. 


R.  D.  Slater,  Sr.,  Assistant  Doorkeeper,  United 
States  Congress. 

George  W.  Lane,  Superintendent  United  States 
Mint,  Denver,  Colorado. 

Benjamin  F.  Spooner,  United  States  Marshal, 
State  of  Indiana. 

R.  DeLoss  Brown,  Assistant  Doorkeeper, 
United  States  Congress. 

James  J.  McConnell,  Assistant  Doorkeeper, 
United  States  Congress. 

Jason  D.  Brown,  Secretary  of  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory. 

Henry  W.  Blasdal,  Governor  of  Nevada  Terri- 
tory. 

Benjamin  F.  Spooner,  James  I.  McConnell, 
Henry  W.  Blasdal  and  B.  T.  W.  S.  Anderson  were 
the  only  Republicans  in  this  list. 

Dearborn  county  citizens  in  state  offices: 

Jesse  L.  Holman,  Judge  State  Supreme  Court. 

George  H.  Dunn,  Treasurer  of  State. 

John  P.  Dunn,  Auditor  of  State. 

James  H.  Lane,  Lieutenant  Governor. 

R.  DeLoss  Brown,  Librarian. 

E.  G.  Collins,  Secretary  of  State. 

James  De  Sano,  Librarian. 

Ebenezer  Dumont,  President  of  State  Bank. 

William  H.  O'Brien,  Auditor  of  State. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
DECATUR   COUNTY 

By  John  F.  Russell 


THE  time  of  the  birth  of  Democracy  in  Deca- 
tur county  is  obscured  in  a  maze  of  tradi- 
tion. Historical  Democracy  began  at  a 
time  when  the  foundations  of  the  present  splendid 
civilization  was  being  laid,  but  its  principles  lived 
in  the  thoughts  and  deeds  of  men  long  before 
they  were  grouped  and  classified  under  a  conven- 
tional party  name. 

When  Whig  and  Union  party  were  aligning 
themselves  upon  the  issues  in  the  beginning  of 
Decatur  county  political  history,  Democracy  in  its 
plasmic  state  was  ready  to  be  evolved  from  the 
lives  of  such  men  as  Doddridge  Alley  and  Joseph 
V.  Bemusdaffer.  Alley  was  the  pioneer  Democrat 
of  Decatur  county.  He  was  temperamentally  just 
such  a  man  as  would  espouse  the  cause  of  Jeffer- 
son without  pressure  or  persuasion,  because  he 
was  spontaneously  and  by  nature  a  Democrat. 

He  was  elevated  to  office  before  the  Democratic 
party  had  fully  matured  at  the  first  regular  elec- 
tion after  the  organization  of  the  county  in  1822, 
defeating  his  opponent  for  Sheriff  by  twelve  votes. 
He  served  four  years  as  Sheriff  and  was  then  in 
1826  elected  State  Representative.  The  next  year 
he  was  defeated  by  Thomas  Hendricks,  but  in  1831 
he  was  returned  to  the  Legislature  and  remained 
one  year. 

In  those  days  of  imperfect  transportation  fa- 
cilities and  impossible  highways,  Alley  was 
obliged  to  ride  horseback  to  Indianapolis,  a  dis- 
tance 01  approximately  fifty  miles.  When  he 
reached  the  State  House  it  occurred  to  him  that 
he  had  forgotten  his  credentials.  In  the  excite- 
ment incident  to  his  departure  on  his  first  mission 
of  State  he  had  neglected  to  include  this  docu- 
ment in  his  baggage.  So  he  rode  back  to  Greens- 
burg  that  night  and  returned  to  the  Capital  the 
following  morning.  The  long  and  tortuous  ride 
over  indifferent  roads  left  him  in  a  condition  which 
only  those  who  have  remained  hours  in  the  saddle 
are  in  a  position  to  apjireciate.  But  the  unwritten 
annals  of  Decatur  county  record  that  he  stood 
during  the  first  day  of  the  session. 

Alley  is  credited  with  being  the  author  of  a 
law  empowering  Sheriffs  to  perform  marriages. 
The  reason  assigned  for  this  law  was  that  while 
ministers  of  the  gospel  were  scarce  in  eastern 
Indiana  there  were  Sheriffs  in  every  county.  Al- 
ley introduced  a  bill  providing  for  the  annexation 
of  eighteen  sections  of  Shelby  county.  He  pointed 
out   artlessly   that    Shelby   county   was   very    un- 


hcallhful  and  for  that  reason  the  people  living 
within  the  territory  comprised  in  the  eighteen 
sections  wished  to  "get  out  of  it"  and  become 
citizens  of  Decatur  county. 

Since  183.5  Democracy  has  intermittently  found 
expression  in  a  partisan  press.  William  Vallette 
Coleman  of  Brookville  started  the  Grcoisbiirg 
Courier  in  that  year  and  remained  here  until  the 
spring  of  the  following  year  when  he  moved  his 
printing  plant  to  Shelbyville.  For  a  period  of 
five  years  thereafter  local  Democracy  was  with- 
out an  "organ,"  but  in  1841  Peter  J.  Bartholomew 
began  the  publication  of  the  Chrotiicle  of  the 
Times,  which  had  a  brief  career.  Upon  the  death 
of  Bartholomew,  Philander  Hamilton  and  James 
M.  Talbot  changed  the  name  of  this  paper  to  the 
Decatur  Sentinel,  but  a  year  later  the  name  was 
again  changed  to  the  Decatur  Phoenix,  with  Israel 
T.  Gibson  editor.  In  1843  it  was  merged  with  the 
Repository,  a  paper  of  opposite  political  views. 

In  the  same  year  Oscar  B.  Hord  and  Charles 
R.  Hobbs  started  the  Greetisbtirg  Gazette.  Two 
years  later  the  Gazette  was  succeeded  by  the 
Democratic  Rifle,  which  shot  bullets  of  invective 
into  the  enemy  as  accurately  and  deadly  as  the 
old  flint-lock  after  which  it  was  named.  Bernard 
Mullen  was  editor  of  the  Rifle.  Following  the 
death  of  Mullen's  paper,  John  B.  Covington  in 
1856  started  a  Democratic  paper  which  history 
has  failed  to  name.  It  survived  three  years  and 
was  sold  by  the  Sheriff  for  $25.25.  The  Decatur 
Democrat,  Dr.  W.  H.  Van  Horn,  editor,  was  in 
existence  in  1858.  •  It  was  opposed  to  slavery,  but 
beyond  that  little  is  known  of  its  history.  In  1863 
the  Greensburg  Fact  was  launched  by  Burnham 
&  Howell.  It  had  a  brief  and  apparently  unevent- 
ful career.  In  1869  Martin  Zorgcr  and  Martin 
Blair  started  the  Xew  Era,  which  later  passed  to 
James  E.  Mendenhall.  In  1892  Allen  W.  Clark, 
the  son  of  a  Baptist  clergyman,  bought  the  New 
Era  of  Mr.  Mendenhall  and  remained  as  its  editor 
until  1897,  when  the  paper  was  disposed  of  to  W. 
H.  Glidewell,  who  finally  sold  it  to  J.  W.  Rucker 
&  Company. 

Early  in  April,  1910,  Walter  A.  Kaler  launched 
the  Weekly  Democrat  and  Evening  Times,  and  a 
year  later  sold  these  papers  to  the  Greensburg 
Democrat  Company,  Alex.  Porter,  president;  John 
F.  Russell,  vice-president,  and  Charles  H.  Ewing, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  The /)cmorrfi(  and  Times 
survive  as  the  recognized  exponents  of  Democracy 
in  the  county. 


(  579  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


It  is  interesting  to  note,  in  contemplating  the 
rapid  growth  of  population  during  the  interven- 
ing years,  that  only  144  votes  were  cast  in  this 
county  at  the  first  Presidential  election  held  No- 
vember 6,  1824.  Of  this  number  Andrew  Jackson 
received  55,  John  Quincy  Adams  17,  and  Henry 
Clay  72.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  sum  of  the  votes 
cast  for  Jackson  and  Adams  equaled  that  cast  for 
Clay. 

At  subsequent  Presidential  elections  Decatur 
county  voted  as  follows: 

1828 — John  Quincy  Adams,  346;  Andrew  Jack- 
son, 292. 

1832 — Henry  Clay,  539;  Andrew  Jackson,  405. 

1836— Wm.  H.  Harrison,  950;  Martin  Van 
Buren,  513. 

1840— Wm.  H.  Harrison,  1,294;  Martin  Van 
Buren,  759. 

1844— Henry  Clay,  1,275;  James  K.  Polk,  1,091. 

One  of  the  early  statesmen  who  has  left  his 
impress  upon  the  political  life  of  the  county 
was  Colonel  James  B.  Foley,  1807-1886.  Mr.  Foley 
was  elected  to  Congress  in  1856,  defeating  the 
brilliant  Will  Cumback,  who  was  then  in  Con- 
gress. He  was  a  farmer  statesman  and  a  man  of 
peculiar  natural  gifts.  Prior  to  his  election  to 
Congress,  Foley  was  made  brigadier-general  of 
militia  by  Governor  Wright.  In  1874  he  was 
again  importuned  to  run  for  Congress,  but  de- 
clined. 

A  feature  of  the  Foley  campaign  was  a  barbe- 
cue which  has  found  its  way  into  history.  Strange- 
ly enough  this  big  Democratic  demonstration  was 
mai-red  by  none  of  the  outbreaks  of  hoodlumism 
which  were  of  frequent  occurrence  in  those  days 
of  bitter  political  strife.  Democrats  are  now  liv- 
ing who  recall  this  feast  in  a  grove  in  the  heart 
of  the  city  as  it  now  stands.  This  grove  later 
became  the  site  of  an  orphans'  home,  which  a  few 
years  ago  was  dismantled  to  make  way  for  the 
handsome  new  high  school  building. 

Royal  B.  Cobb  was  the  candidate  for  Judge  and 
Jack  De  Armond  was  an  aspirant  for  the  Legis- 
lature. Joseph  V.  Bemusdaffer,  a  pioneer  Demo- 
crat, was  one  of  the  speakers.  The  slogan  of  this 
meeting  was  "Buchanan,  Cobwebb  and  De  Ar- 
mond." 

Conspicuous  among  the  men  who  have  contrib- 
uted to  Democratic  history  in  county  and  State 
are  James  Gavin,  elected  to  Congress  in  1863; 
Oscar  B.  Hord,  elected  Attorney-General  in  1862 
and  author  of  Gavin  &  Hord's  Indiana  Statutes; 
Joseph  V.  Bemusdaffer,  elected  to  the  State  Leg- 
islature in  1863,  defeating  the  spectacular  D.  R. 
Van  Buskirk  by  142  votes  in  a  campaign  which 
has  become  memorable;  Alex.  L.  Underwood, 
elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1853;  John  W.  Shaw, 
elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1875;  Oscar  L.  Pulse, 


who  served  in  the  Legislature,  1883-4;  Colonel  B. 
C.  Shaw,  who  was  elected  Treasurer  of  State  at 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War;  Judge  Andrew  Davi- 
son, brilliant  lawyer,  who  was  elected  to  the  Su- 
prem.f^  Bench  in  1852  and  again  in  1858,  retiring 
in  1864;  John  S.  Scobey,  who  served  in  the  State 
Senate  and  was  a  Presidential  elector  in  1872  and 
again  in  1876;  Robert  W.  Miers,  who  was  a  can- 
didate for  Secretary  of  State  in  1886.  Mr.  Miers 
later  moved  to  Bloomington,  Ind.,  where  he  was 
thrice  elected  to  Congress  and  is  now  on  the  Cir- 
cuit bench. 

Democracy  has  been  tirelessly  championed  by 
the  Reilly,  Ewing,  Denniston,  Sefton,  Foley,  De 
Armond,  Kincaid,  Miers,  Barnes  and  Bracken 
families,  whose  descendants  have  adhered  closely 
to  the  traditions  and  defended  the  fundamental 
principles  which  have  made  the  party  a  vital 
force  in  the  economy  of  present-day  society. 

Cortez  Ewing,  1837-1882,  was  one  of  the  many 
Democrats  who  became  a  national  figure.  He 
served  in  the  general  land  office  in  Washington 
under  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  who  was  then  com- 
missioner, and  from  1874  to  1878  was  a  trustee 
for  the  State  institution  for  the  blind.  James  K. 
Ewing,  a  lawyer  in  actual  practice  for  fifty  years, 
represented  this  district  in  the  national  Demo- 
cratic convention  in  St.  Louis  in  1888.  He  was 
also  on  the  bench  in  this  judicial  circuit  from  1893 
to  1895.  Morgan  L.  Miers  was  a  delegate  to  the 
national  convention  in  St.  Louis  in  1904. 

John  E.  Osborn  was  chairman  of  the  old  sixth 
district,  of  which  this  county  was  a  part,  from 
1908  to  1911. 

George  P.  Shoemaker  was  elected  in  1912  to 
represent  the  Fourth  Congressional  District  in  the 
electoral  college.  Mr.  Shoemaker  had  the  peculiar 
honor  of  being  a  member  of  the  electoral  college 
which  made  Woodrow  Wilson  President.  This 
was  the  first  time  since  1876  that  Decatur  county 
gave  a  Democratic  Presidential  candidate  a  ma- 
jority. Tilden  carried  the  county  by  sixteen  votes. 
The  Democrats  received  a  majority  in  the  county 
at  the  Presidential  election  in  1856. 

Men  who  have  served  the  party  as  county  chair- 
men are  legion.  Prominent  among  them  are  John 
L.  Bracken,  who  served  from  1876  to  1878.  Then 
follow  John  H.  Bobbitt,  Samuel  H.  Logan,  Rus- 
sell Sawyer,  Cortez  Ewing,  James  E.  Mendenhall, 
Alex  Porter,  Will  Ryan,  W.  J.  Kincaid,  George  E. 
Erdmann,  Cicero  Northern,  Edward  Kessing  and 
George  Menzie.  James  E.  Mendenhall  also  served 
as  Clerk  of  the  committee  on  public  lands  in  the 
fiftieth  Congress  and  later  was  named  without  so- 
licitation by  Congressman  Holman  as  secretary  of 
the  committee  on  Indian  affairs  and  served 
throughout  the   fifty-third   Congress. 

W.  J.  Kincaid  was  elected  State  Representative 


(  580  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


in  1912  and  apain  in  1914.  Georfre  E.  Erdmann 
was  appointed  Postmaster  at  Greensburp,  and 
Cicero  Northern,  before  his  term  as  county  chair- 
man expired,  accepted  an  appointment  in  the  in- 
ternal revenue  sei"\'ice.  Edward  Kessinsr,  follow- 
ing: the  election  of  1914,  became  a  travelinK  rep- 
resentative of  the  federal  census  bureau. 

The   writer,   who   has    been   a    member   of   the 
county  organization  for  years,  has  been  fittingly 


recoen'zed  by  the  State  administration.  On 
August  1,  1914,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor' 
Ralston  on  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Southeast- 
em  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Madison,  and  on 
August  1.  1918,  was  re-appointed  by  Governor 
Goodrich   for  another  four  years. 

In  ]91()  he  had  the  honor  of  representing  the 
Fourth  Congressional  District  as  a  delegate  to  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  at  St.  Louis. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
DEKALB  COUNTY 


THE  good  people  of  Dekalb  county  saw  to  it 
in  the  beginning  that  this  particular  por- 
tion of  the  earth  was  made  safe  for  democ- 
racy. It  has  remained  more  than  reasonably  so 
ever  since.  In  state  campaigns  all  political  par- 
ties look  to  Dekalb  county  as  sure  to  return  a 
big  Democratic  majority. 

The  county  was  organized  under  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  passed  in  the  winter  of  1836-7,  and 
named  in  honor  of  Baron  DeKalb,  who  enlisted 
in  the  American  army  of  the  revolution  and  was 
commissioned  a  general,  losing  his  life  fighting 
for  American  independence  at  the  battle  of  Cam- 
den in  August,  1780. 

Immediately  upon  the  organization  of  the 
county  a  lively  scrap  was  precipitated  for  the 
location  of  the  county  seat.  On  this,  as  on  all 
other  matters  political,  the  final  struggle  demon- 
strated that  the  people  were  almost  unanimous, 
and  they  selected  Auburn.  This  has  remained 
the  seat  of  the  county  government  ever  since. 

The  first  regular  election  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county  was  held  on  the  6th  of  August, 
1838,  a  board  of  commissioners  having  been 
rather  informally  chosen  in  1837.  The  1838  elec- 
tion named  Luther  Keep  for  commissioner,  Wes- 
ley Park  for  sheriff,  Lott  Herrick  for  school 
commissioner  and  Robert  Work  for  coroner.  Da- 
vid B.  Herriman  was  given  a  majority  of  14  for 
representative. 

The  first  presidential  election  in  which  this 
county  participated  as  an  individual  unit  was  in 
1840,  when  the  Western  States  were  arrayed 
against  the  East  in  proposing  the  election  of  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison.  This  is  one  of  the  rare 
occasions  when  this  county  did  not  return  a  big 
Democratic  majority.  Of  334  votes  cast  177 
were  for  Harrison  and  167  for  Van  Buren. 

It  must  be  noted  that  while  state  pride  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  majority  of  10  for  Harrison 
at  the  election  in  November,  1840,  the  vote  on 
state  and  county  officers  on  the  3d  of  August  the 
same  year  showed  a  large  majority  for  all  the 
Democratic  candidates,  in  some  instances  there 
being  no  opposition  whatever.  Tightman  A. 
Howard,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  governor, 
defeated  Samuel  Bigger,  the  Whig  candidate. 

In  the  county  election  of  1841  out  of  a  total  of 
245  votes  cast  the  Democratic  candidates  re- 
ceived 240  to  244.  In  August,  1842,  the  Demo- 
cratic majority  was  about  the  same.  Samuel  W. 
Sprott,  Democratic  candidate  for  clerk,  received 
273  votes  without  opposition,  while  Aaron  Hague 


received  243  votes  and  John  Rose,  the  Whig  can- 
didate, received  1  vote. 

In  the  election  of  August,  1843,  when  a  govern- 
or was  to  be  chosen,  with  all  state  officers,  the 
vote  was  more  evenly  divided,  but  at  the  same 
time  it  was  safely  Democratic.  James  Whit- 
comb,  Democratic  nominee  for  governor,  received 
290  votes,  while  Samuel  Bigger,  his  Whig  op- 
ponent, was  given  212.  The  returns  on  all  the 
offices  show  that  in  those  days  there  was  not 
much  "scratching."  The  straight  party  ticket 
seemed  to  have  been  the  rule. 

The  vote  seemed  to  grow  quite  rapidly  from 
year  to  year,  and  in  August,  1844,  Jacob  Helwig, 
the  Democratic  nominee  for  representative,  re- 
ceived 304  votes,  while  his  Whig  opponent,  Ariel 
Walden,  was  given  254.  Always  a  safe  major- 
ity for  Democracy. 

The  national  election  of  1844  was  one  very  bit- 
terly fought.  Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky  was  nom- 
inated in  that  year  as  the  Whig  candidate 
against  James  K.  Polk.  The  number  of  votes 
cast  was  about  double  that  of  1840,  Polk  receiv- 
ing 327  and  Clay  269,  a  Democratic  majority 
of  58. 

Congressmen  and  county  officers  were  again  to 
be  elected  in  August,  1845.  Andrew  Kennedy, 
the  Democratic  nominee  for  congress,  received 
316  votes  against  237  cast  for  his  Whig  op- 
ponent, L.  G.  Thompson.  Clark  Powers  was 
chosen  representative,  John  W.  Dawson  prose- 
cutor, Amzi  Seely  commissioner.  Miles  Water- 
man auditor,  William  P.  Means  assessor,  I.  C. 
George  school  commissioner  and  David  Weaver 
coroner. 

In  August,  1846,  James  Whitcomb,  being  nomi- 
nated by  the  Democrats  to  succeed  himself  as 
governor,  was  this  time  opposed  by  Joseph  G. 
Marshall.  Dekalb  county  contributed  her  portion 
of  the  state  majority  by  giving  to  Whitcomb  366 
votes  against  219  for  Marshall.  Whitcomb's  ma- 
jority was  147.  The  largest  endorsement  given 
any  Democrat  in  the  county  was  to  David 
Weaver  for  coroner,  he  receiving  all  the  votes  cast 
for  that  office— 306. 

In  the  August  election  of  1847  William  Rock- 
hill,  Democratic  nominee  for  .congressman,  re- 
ceived 406  votes  against  341  votes  cast  for  his 
opponent,  William  G.  Ewing.  In  this  election  the 
Democrats  named  for  prosecutor  Reuben  J.  Daw- 
son, he  receiving  446  votes  against  10  for  the  op- 
position. 

In  August  of  1848  the  local  election  for  repre- 
sentative    gave     Reuben     J.     Dawson     586     votes 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


against  343  for  his  opponent,  C.  Luce,  the  Demo- 
cratic majority  being  243.  Some  of  the  county 
offices  in  this  same  election  were  also  almost  unani- 
mous. 

Two  months  later  in  the  November  presidential 
election  of  1848,  party  divisions  were  again  close- 
ly drawn.  Cass  and  Butler,  the  Democratic  nom- 
inees, received  968  votes,  Taylor  and  Filmore,  the 
Whig  candidates,  577,  while  Van  Buren  and 
Adams,  representing  the  Free  Soil  movement, 
which  in  this  part  of  the  country  had  received  con- 
siderable support,  were  accorded  347  votes.  Cass 
and  Butler's  plurality  was  391. 

Lack'ng  the  excitement  of  a  presidential  cam- 
paign, the  contest  for  election  of  governor,  con- 
gressmen, state  and  county  officers,  showed  con- 
siderable falling  off  in  the  total  vote  in  August, 
1849,  when  Joseph  A.  Wright,  the  Democratic 
nominee,  was  given  568  votes  in  Dekalb,  his  op- 
ponent, John  A.  Matson,  the  Whig  nominee,  re- 
ceiving 298.  The  Wright  majority  in  Dekalb 
county  was  270,  while  in  the  state  his  majority 
was  9,768. 

The  Democratic  majority  from  August,  1849,  to 
August,  1850,  grew  quite  materially.  In  the 
election  on  the  latter  date  Robert  Work,  Demo- 
cratic nominee  for  senator  from  Dekalb,  received 
665  votes,  while  Ephraim  Walters,  his  Whig  op- 
ponent, was  given  104,  Work's  majority  being  561. 
The  Democratic  majorities  in  this  election  showed 
no  lower  than  200,  the  highest  being  997.  For 
representative  Edward  R.  May  was  chosen.  For 
associate  judges  Oilman  C.  Mudget  and  Abraham 
Cope  were  elected.  Commissioner  from  the  first 
district  was  Oliver  B.  Keep;  from  the  second  dis- 
trict William  Showers,  who  received  a  majority  of 
997.  For  sheriff  William  K.  Straight  received  the 
smallest  Democratic  majority  on  the  ticket,  200. 
Albert  B.  Mott  was  elected  prosecutor,  Miles 
Waterman  auditor,  Samuel  W.  Ralston  treasurer, 
and  John  McCune  recorder. 

One  year  later  Samuel  W.  Brenton,  Democratic 
nominee  for  congress,  was  given  a  very  close 
race  by  James  W.  Boardman.  Brenton  receiced 
485  votes,  while  Boardman  received  474,  the  Dem- 
ocratic majority  being  11.  The  rest  of  the  county 
ticket  was  elected  without  serious  opposition,  in 
several  instances  the  Whig  party  making  no  nom- 
inations. 

The  next  year  brought  elections  both  for  pres- 
ident and  governor,  the  state  election  having  been 
changed  from  August  to  October,  where  it  re- 
mained for  a  number  of  years.  In  October  of 
1852,  Joseph  A.  Wright  was  the  Democratic  nom- 
inee to  succeed  himself  as  governor.  Dekalb 
again  contributed  her  share  by  giving  Wright  684 
votes    against    Nicholas    McCarty,    who    received 


•'!86.     Wright's  Democratic  majority  was  298.  His 
mnjoiity  in  the  state  was  8,935. 

On  the  Democratic  ticket  at  the  same  election 
A.  P.  Willard,  candidate  for  lieutenant-governor, 
received  a  majority  of  295  in  Dekalb.  For  con- 
gressman E.  M.  Chamberlain,  Democrat,  had  a 
majority  of  220.  E.  A.  McMahan,  candidate  for 
circuit  judge,  had  no  opposition  and  received  692 
voles.  J.  M.  McConnell  for  prosecutor  had  a  ma- 
jority of  592.  George  W.  McConnell  for  senator 
showed  a  lead  of  212.  For  representative  E.  F. 
Hammond  led  by  263,  Robert  Work  with  127. 
For  judge  of  the  common  pleas  court  John  Morris 
led  by  192.  For  common  pleas  prosecutor  W.  W. 
Griswold  had  a  lead  of  432.  For  commissioners 
Solomon  D.  Long  led  by  266,  Joseph  Walter  by 
221,  Jeremiah  Hemstreet  by  135.  William  K. 
Straight  was  elected  sheriff  without  opposition, 
receiving  708  votes.  For  treasurer  Joel  E.  Hen- 
dricks led  by  55  only,  while  Joseph  Nodine  had 
no  opposition,  and  for  coroner  Lyman  Chidsey  was 
elected  by  289. 

Only  three  weeks  after  the  state  election  of 
1852  came  the  presidential  election  on  November 
2.  Pierce  and  King,  Democratic  nominees,  who 
carried  27  of  the  then  31  states,  received  780 
votes  in  Dekalb  county.  General  Scott,  the  Whig 
candidate,  received  391,  showing  a  Democratic  ma- 
jority of  389.  In  the  electoral  college  Pierce  in 
that  campaign  had  254  votes  against  41  for  Scott. 

In  1853  and  1854  the  Democrats  again  elected 
all  their  candidates,  majorities  being  very  large, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  race  for  treasurer,  where 
Edward  Fosdick  led  John  Ralston  by  only  27 
votes. 

In  1852  the  new  state  constitution  was  adopted, 
and  with  the  defeat  of  the  Whig  party  in  that 
same  year  that  political  organization  retired 
from  the  field.  In  its  stead  came  the  Republican 
party. 

In  1856  the  new  organization  named  Oliver  P. 
Morton  for  governor  of  Indiana  in  the  October 
election,  while  the  Democrats  put  forward  Ashbell 
P.  Willard.  Dekalb  county  gave  Morton  1,111 
votes  and  to  Willard  1,191,  a  majority  of  80  for 
the  Democratic  nominee.  In  the  state  Willard  re- 
ceived 117,981  votes,  while  Morton  received  112,- 
139. 

With  a  variation  of  no  more  than  a  dozen  votes  in 
any  instance,  these  were  given  Democratic  major- 
ities in  Dekalb  county  in  the  same  election: 
Robert  Lowry,  congressman;  Sanford  J.  Stough- 
ton,  circuit  prosecutor;  Miles  Waterman,  senator; 
Bushrod  Catlin  and  W.  I.  Howard,  representa- 
tives; Theron  Storrs,  judge  of  common  pleas; 
Deland  H.  Stocker,  common  pleas  prosecutor; 
Jeremiah    Hemstreet,    commissioner;    Samuel    W. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


Ralston,  sheriff;  Daniel  W.  Altenburg,  surveyor; 
and  Jeremiah  Plum,  coroner. 

The  first  presidential  election  in  which  the  new 
Republican  party  appeared  was  three  weeks  after 
the  state  election  in  1856,  when  James  Buchanan 
was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  with  John  C. 
Breckinridge  of  Kentucky  as  his  runnini?  mate. 
John  C.  Fremont  of  California  and  William  L. 
Dayton  of  New  Jersey  were  the  first  Republican 
candidates.  Dekalb  county,  not  varying  from  its 
adherence  to  Democratic  principles,  gave  Buchan- 
an 1,247  votes  and  Fremont  1,097,  a  Democratic 
majority  of  150. 

In  1857,  while  the  Democrats  were  successful, 
they  had  mighty  little  to  brag  about  in  the  way  of 
majorities.  James  S.  Warden,  candidate  for  con- 
gressman, received  975  votes,  while  Charles  Case, 
his  opponent,  received  972,  the  majority  being  but 
3.  Amzi  Seely,  candidate  for  commissioner,  re- 
ceived 983  votes  against  963  for  his  opponent, 
John  Helwig,  the  majority  being  but  15.  Jacob 
Helwig,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  treasurer, 
led  his  ticket  so  far  as  plurality  is  concerned,  re- 
ceiving 954,  to  875  for  his  chief  opponent,  Edward 
H.  Taylor.  Helwig's  larger  lead  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  there  was  a  third  candidate  who  re- 
ceived but  128  votes. 

In  1858  the  October  election,  except  in  one  in- 
stance, restored  healthy  Democratic  leads.  Reuben 
W.  Dawson  for  congress  had  a  lead  of  110  over 
Charles  Case,  his  opponent,  while  for  commis- 
sioner Christian  Sheets  and  Thomas  F.  Daily 
tied,  each  receiving  1,087  votes. 

In  the  October  election  of  1859  there  was  some 
more  close  voting,  Milton  J.  Pierce  and  Albert 
J.  Hunt  each  receiving  1,136  votes  for  auditor, 
while  John  Ralston  received  1,142  votes,  and 
Edward  H.  Taylor,  the  Republican  candidate  for 
clerk,  received  1,137  votes,  giving  a  Democratic 
majority  of  only  5. 

The  campaigns  of  1860  were  productive  of  ab- 
normal results  politically  all  over  the  country. 
Dekalb  county  being  no  exception.  The  slavery 
and  anti-slavery  parties  divided  the  people,  rather 
than  old  political  lines  and  arguments.  For  gov- 
ernor Henry  S.  Lane,  Republican,  in  Dekalb 
county  received  1,517  votes  as  against  1,372  for 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 

Oliver  P.  Morton  was  elected  lieutenant-govern- 
or over  David  Turpie,  the  Democratic  nominee. 
Ordinarily  in  Indiana,  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  and 
David  Turpie  could  scarcely  have  been  defeated  by 
any  candidate  on  any  ticket,  but  even  Dekalb 
county  returned  a  majority  in  favor  of  their  op- 
ponents. In  that  same  October  election  there 
was  very  slight  change  in  any  of  the  votes  for 
any  of  the  offlces.     The  number  of  votes  cast  for 


the  county  candidates  was  very  little  different 
from  those  heading  the  ticket. 

In  the  November  election  which  followed  just 
one  month  later,  Abraham  Lincoln  received  1,500 
votes,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  1,399  votes,  while 
John  C.  Breckinridge,  the  southern  Democratic 
candidate,  received  but  two  votes.  Lincoln  led 
in  Dekalb,  as  he  did  in  the  state  and  nation. 

In  the  election  of  October,  1862,  Joseph  K. 
Edgerton  defeated  William  Mitchell,  their  re- 
spective votes  being  1,450  and  1,178.  William 
H.  Dills  was  elected  senator,  and  Miles  Water- 
man  representative   over  Joshua   W.   Winslow. 

In  1863  the  election  was  especially  closely  con- 
tested. It  was  one  of  the  closest  in  the  history  of 
the  county.  Amzi  Seely  for  commissioner  re- 
ceived 18  majority  over  William  Mathews.  John 
Ralston,  who  had  been  a  candidate  for  office  a 
number  of  times,  always  leading  by  a  good  ma- 
jority, on  this  occasion  led  his  opponent,  William 
M.  Mercer,  by  only  28.  That  was  the  largest  ma- 
jority accorded  any  candidate  in  this  election. 
For  treasurer  George  Barney  had  a  majority  of  2. 
Moses  Gonser  for  real  estate  appraiser  also  had  a 
majority  of  2,  while  for  recorder  John  Butt  and 
George  R.  Huffman  ran  an  even  race  with  1,391 
votes  each.  For  surveyor  David  Eberly  led  Spen- 
cer Mills,  his  Republican  opponent,  by  only  9 
votes. 

In  the  election  for  governor  in  October,  1864, 
Oliver  P.  Morton  received  1,503  votes  in  Dekalb 
county  against  Joseph  E.  McDonald,  who  was 
given  1,405.  Every  Republican  on  the  ticket  was 
elected.  The  lowest  majority  was  23  and  the 
largest,  excepting  that  given  to  Morton,  was  48. 

One  month  later  Abraham  Lincoln  in  Dekalb 
county  received  1,484  votes  against  George  B.  Mc- 
Clellan,  who  had  1,472,  Lincoln's  majority  being 
but  12  in  the  county. 

In  1865  and  1866  in  the  state  election  the  major- 
ities were  very  small,  the  Republican  lead  in  1866 
in  Dekalb  county  being  about  60  votes. 

In  1868  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Democratic  nom- 
inee for  governor,  led  in  Dekalb  county  over  Con- 
rad Baker  by  55  votes,  but  Baker  won  in  the  State 
by  a  majority  of  961  votes.  Will  Cumback  as 
Baker's  running  mate  was  elected  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor. In  Dekalb  county  this  year  by  compara- 
tively small  majorities  the  Democratic  ticket  was 
entirely  elected.  For  congressman,  Andrew  Elli- 
son; senator,  George  Milnes;  representative, 
Lewis  D.  Britton;  judge  of  common  pleas,  Alexan- 
der J.  Douglas;  common  pleas  prosecutor,  Wil- 
liam G.  Croxton;  commissioner,  Daniel  Gonser; 
sheriff,  Jeremiah  Plum;  recorder,  Daniel  C.  Hoff- 
man; land  appraiser,  John  G.  Dancer;  coroner, 
George  Metcalf.  In  the  same  year,  three  weeks 
later,  U.  S.  Grant  as  the  Republican  nominee  for 


(584) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1  9  16 


President  received  1,750  votes;  Horatio  Seymour, 
the  Democratic  nominee,  having  1,726  votes;  Re- 
publican majority,  24. 

The  Democrats  won  again  in  1870,  but,  except- 
ing in  three  or  four  instances,  the  majorities  were 
less  than  100. 

In  1872  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  again  the 
Democratic  nominee  for  governor  and  was 
elected.  In  Dekalb  county  the  records  show  that 
he  received  1,918  votes  against  1,886  for  his  op- 
ponent, Thomas  M.  Browne.  John  B.  Cravens 
was  his  running  mate,  receiving  6  more  votes  in 
Dekalb  than  Hendricks.  In  the  same  election  De- 
kalb elected  these  Democrats:  E.  Van  Long,  con- 
gressman; James  I.  Best,  circuit  judge;  Leigh  H. 
Haymond,  circuit  prosecutor;  L.  H.  Goodwin, 
judge  of  common  pleas;  Daniel  Y.  Kusselman, 
common  pleas  prosecutor;  William  G.  Croxton, 
senator;  Samuel  S.  Shutt,  representative;  Charles 
R.  Wanemaker  and  Nelson  Griffith,  commission- 
ers; William  L.  Meese,  sheriff;  Nicholas  Ensley, 
treasurer;  Daniel  C.  Hoffman,  recorder;  Samuel 
Learned,  real  estate  appraiser;  Chauncy  C.  Clark, 
surveyor;  James  J.  Latson,  coroner. 

One  month  later,  after  Hendricks  and  the  entire 
Democratic  ticket  had  carried  the  county,  Dekalb 
gave  U.  S.  Grant  1,861  votes  against  Horace 
Greeley,  Democratic  candidate,  who  received  1,544, 
Grant's  majority  being  317. 

In  1874  the  Democrats  again  carried  the  county, 
Miles  Waterman  for  representative  receiving  a 
majority  of  one  vote,  and  William  L.  Meese  re- 
ceiving a  majority  of  671  for  sheriff.  The  other 
majorities  were  safe,  but  not  as  extravagant  as 
the  prevailing  party  might  wish. 

In  1876  Dekalb  came  into  its  own  on  majorities 
for  the  Democratic  ticket  when  James  D.  Wil- 
liams led  Benjamin  Harrison  by  188  majority  for 
governor,  and  Samuel  J.  Tilden  led  Rutherford  B. 
Hayes  for  president  by  172.  Strong  Democratic 
leads  prevailed  in  the  state  election  again  in  1878 
when  John  B.  Stoll  for  congressman  defeated 
John  Baker  by  281,  and  John  G.  Shankland  for 
secretary  of  state  beat  Isaac   S.   Moore  by   240. 

In  1880  Franklin  Landers,  the  Democratic  can- 
didate for  governor,  led  Albert  G.  Porter  in  De- 
kalb county  by  79,  although  Porter  received  a  safe 
majority  of  about  6,500  in  the  state. 

Isaac  P.  Gray,  who  was  elected  governor  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  in  1884,  was  the  running  mate 
of  Landers  in  the  1880  election.  Winfield  Scott 
Hancock  in  the  same  year  received  2,582  votes 
for  president  in  Dekalb  county  against  2,441  for 
James  A.  Garfield,  who  was  elected  president  ih 
that  year. 

In  1882  there  was  considerable  change  in  the 
Democratic  majorities,  being  largely  increased 
in  this  state  election.     William  R.  Myers  for  sec- 


retary of  state  received  2,559  votes  as  the  head 
of  the  Democratic  ticket,  against  2,291  for  Eman- 
uel R.  Hawn,  head  of  the  Republican  ticket.  For 
congressman  Robert  Lowry  had  the  same  ad- 
vantage over  Wesley  C.  Glasgow.  In  some  in- 
stances the  majorities  ranged  as  high  as  800,  and 
no  majority  was  less  than  100.  Daniel  D.  Moody 
for  representative  and  D.  Y.  Husselman  for  clerk 
received  the  lowest  majorities,  each  having  104 
lead.  The  highest  Democratic  majority  was  to  L. 
J.  Miller  for  treasurer,  being  793. 

In  1884  came  the  interesting  election  in  which 
Grover  Cleveland  met  James  G.  Blaine  as  his  op- 
posing candidate  for  the  presidency.  This  year 
the  presidential  and  state  elections  were  both  held 
in  November,  the  October  election  being  eliminat- 
ed. Cleveland  received  2,799  in  Dekalb  county, 
and  Isaac  P.  Gray,  the  Democratic  nominee  for 
governor,  received  2,798.  Cleveland's  majority 
was  348,  while  that  of  Gray  was  355  in  Dekalb 
county.  Moody  for  representative  received  exact- 
ly the  same  majority  as  in  1882,  leading  his  op- 
ponent by  104.  All  other  Democratic  majorities 
in  this  election  were  from  250  to  very  nearly  500. 

Following  the  election  of  1884,  the  presidential 
vote  each  four  years  will  give  a  pretty  general 
idea  of  the  trend  of  politics  in  Dekalb  county. 

In  1888,  when  Grover  Cleveland  was  defeated 
for  president  by  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  Cleve- 
land vote  in  Dekalb  county  was  3,160,  and  the 
vote  for  Benjamin   Harrison,   2,179. 

Again,  in  1892,  when  the  Democrats  nominated 
Grover  Cleveland  for  the  third  time,  and  when 
he  for  the  second  time  became  president  of  the 
United  States,  Dekalb  county  gave  him  2,801 
votes,  and  gave  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  Republi- 
can nominee,  2,499  votes.  The  Prohibition  can- 
didate in  the  same  year  received  198  votes  and 
the  Peoples'  party  ticket,  a  new  element  in  na- 
tional politics,  received  746. 

William  J.  Bryan  was  first  nominated  by  the 
Democrats  in  1896,  William  McKinley  being  his 
Republican  opponent.  While  the  Gold  Demo- 
crats in  some  parts  of  Indiana  and  in  states 
farther  east  had  some  influence  upon  general  re- 
sults, they  were  not  sufficiently  strong  in  De- 
kalb county  to  make  an  impression.  Bryan  re- 
ceived 3,678,  while  McKinley  was  given  3,137; 
Palmer,  the  Gold  Democrat,  received  but  25  votes. 

In  his  second  race  against  McKinley  in  1900 
Bryan  received  in  Dekalb  county  3,488,  McKinley 
getting  3,218.  The  People's  party  on  this  oc- 
casion was  reduced  to  7  votes. 

Alton  B.  Parker,  Democratic  nominee,  opposed 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  Republican  candidate,  in 
1904,  and  on  this  occasion  Dekalb  county  cut 
loose  from  its  Democratic  moorings  and  gave 
Roosevelt  3,416,  and  to  Parker  only  2,827. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


William  J.  Bryan  came  back  in  1908  as  the 
Democratic  nominee,  and  his  running  mate  was 
John  Worth  Kern  of  Indiana.  Bryan  and  Kern 
in  Dekalb  county  received  3,624,  while  William 
H.  Taft,  the  Republican  nominee,  received  2,991. 

In  1912  came  the  great  Progressive  movement, 
which  for  the  time  being  completely  demolished 
the  Republican  party  as  a  national  consideration, 
and  elected  Woodrow  Wilson  and  Thomas  R. 
Marshall  as  president  and  vice  president.  In  that 
year  Wilson  and  Marshall  received  2,766  votes 
in  Dekalb  county,  William  H.  Taft,  1,125,  and 
Theodore  Roosevelt  1,623. 

In  the  1912  election  the  following  Democratic 
officers  representing  Dekalb  county  were  elected 
along  with   the   Woodrow   Wilson   ticket:      State 


senator,  Glenn  Van  Auken;  state  representative, 
Edward  M.  McKennan,  who  had  been  the  repre- 
sentative beginning  with  the  session  of  1909; 
county  sheriff,  John  P.  Hoff;  clerk,  John  Hebel; 
auditor,  A.  W.  Madden;  recorder,  Harvey  O. 
Williams,  appointed  to  succeed  William  McNabb, 
who  was  elected  in  1912,  and  died;  treasurer,  John 
J.  Oberlin;  surveyor,  A.  L.  Link;  coroner,  E. 
Treesh;  prosecutor,  James  R.  Nyce. 

In  the  campaign  of  1916,  for  Woodrow  Wilson, 
Democratic  nominee,  Dekalb  county  cast  2,372 
votes,  and  for  Charles  E.  Hughes,  Republican 
nominee,  2,898. 

For  John  A.  M.  Adair,  Democratic  nominee  for 
governor,  the  Dekalb  vote  was  3,232,  and  for 
James    P.    Goodrich,    Republican   nominee,    2,857. 


(  586  ) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEiMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
DELAWARE  COUNTY 


By  Frank  D.  Haimbaugh 


IF  one  were  to  follow  closely  the  definition  of 
History,  as  set  out  in  the  dictionary,  it  is 
very  doubtful  if  there  would  be  very  much 
of  a  positive  character  to  chronicle  about  the 
Democratic  party  in  Delaware  county  during:  the 
past  sixty  years.  In  fact,  until  recent  years, 
years  so  near  at  hand  that  the  reader  has  per- 
sonal knowledg-e,  the  doings  of  the  party  in  the 
county  would  be  the  chronicling  of  battles  lost 
to  an  active  and  arrogant  enemy.  In  fact,  there 
were  times  when  the  contest  between  the  contend- 
ing political  parties  could  not  be  dignified,  even 
by  the  wildest  stretch  of  the  imagination,  as  bat- 
tles of  the  ballot.  For  a  long  series  of  years 
elections  in  this  county,  so  far  as  results  were 
concerned,  were  merely  a  matter  of  form  and 
held  simply  in  conformity  with  the  general  laws 
on  the  subject.  Thus  it  can  readily  be  seen  that 
to  one  to  whom  is  assigned  the  task  of  viriting 
a  history  of  the  Democratic  party  of  Delaware 
county  there  is  spread  before  him  a  list  of  dreary 
years  of  constant  defeat  at  the  polls. 

The  history  of  the  Democratic  party  of  Dela- 
ware county  during  the  pioneer  days  is  one  large- 
ly of  tradition.  No  records  are  obtainable  that 
can  throw  any  light  on  the  pathway  of  the  his- 
torian. There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  docu- 
ments that  contain  anything  authentic  touching 
upon  the  political  parties  of  those  years  of  long 
ago.  But  the  character  of  the  early  settlers  and 
the  points  in  the  East  from  which  they  came 
lead  one  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Whigs  were 
the  dominant  political  organization  of  the  county 
in  the  early  days.  But  that  there  were  Demo- 
crats in  the  county  in  those  days  is  evidenced  by 
the  names  of  some  of  those  pioneers  whose  de- 
scendants pre  even  to  this  day  identified  with  the 
good  old  party.  But  as  to  the  specific  instances 
concerning  the  doings  of  the  party  as  a  concrete 
organization  there  are  no  records  that  could  fur- 
nish any  information  of  value.  During  the  dec- 
ade from  1840  to  18.50  there  evidently  was  some 
tangible  activity  among  the  Democrats  of  the 
county.  The  reason  for  the  conclusion  grows  out 
of  the  fact  that  at  least  for  a  portion  of  that 
period  a  Democratic  newspaper  was  published  in 
the  county.  But  there  could  not  have  been  any 
great  number,  since  the  paper  had  but  a  precari- 
ous life  and  then  passed  out  of  existence.  The 
Whigs  were  in  control  of  the  county  until  1856, 
when  the  Republican  party  came  into  existence, 
at  which  time  the  Whigs  abandoned  the  old  party 


and  affiliated  with  the  new  organization.  With 
the  coming  ot  the  Republican  party  and  the  new 
alignment  of  partisan  sentiment  the  Democracy 
of  the  county  was  more  deeply  submerged  than 
ever  before.  This  submergence  continued  for  a 
long  series  of  years.  Delaware  county  was  re- 
garded as  an  impregnable  stronghold  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  This  county  for  many  years  was 
an  integral  part  of  the  old  "Burnt  District," 
which  was  a  synonym  for  the  most  radical  and 
rampant  political  enmity  against  those  who  held 
to  the  faith  as  exemplified  in  the  Democratic 
party.  The  old  "Burnt  District"  dictated  the 
politics  of  eastern  Indiana  and  made  this  county 
a  de.sert  waste  of  political  prejudice.  In  those 
days  political  civilization  seemed  to  have  depart- 
ed and  Democrats  were  ostracised  both  socially 
and  in  p.  business  way.  In  that  day  it  required 
both  physical  and  moral  courage  to  claim  adher- 
ence to  the  party  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson.  It 
was  no  uncommon  thing  for  known  Democrats  to 
be  driven  from  the  polls  on  election  day  and  thus 
be  deprived  of  political  liberty  and  suffer  mental 
humiliation  and  physical  hurt.  These  outrages 
were  perpetrated  by  men  who  claimed  that  they 
believed  in  political  liberty.  Those  were  the  days 
that  could  be  rightfully  called  the  "Dark  Ages'' 
for  the  Democracy  of  Delaware  county.  It  really 
seemed  that  the  dawn  of  a  better  day  would  never 
come.  In  1884,  when  the  Democracy  of  the  coun- 
try was  triumphant  in  the  nation,  with  the  elec- 
tion of  a  Democratic  President,  even  into  benight- 
ed old  Delaware  a  ray  of  sunshine  penetrated 
which  gave  promise  that  perhaps  sometime  those 
who  had  withstood  the  enemy's  jeers  and  taunts 
would  see  the  dawn  of  a  better  political  day. 

The  Legislature,  at  the  session  of  188'),  sep- 
arated the  judicial  circuit  composed  of  Delaware 
and  Randolph  counties  and  made  Delaware  coun- 
ty a  separate  judicial  circuit  and  Governor  Gray 
appointed  Hon.  O.  J.  Lotz  to  the  position  of  Judge 
in  the  new  judicial  circuit.  In  1886  the  Demo- 
crats of  the  county  nominated  Judge  Lotz  to  the 
position  to  which  he  had  been  appointed.  The 
popularity  of  Judge  Lotz  and  the  division  in  the 
ranks  of  the  enemy  resulted  in  his  election.  The 
election  of  Judge  Lotz  was  the  first  time  in  a 
half  century  that  a  Democrat  was  on  the  "bench" 
in  this  countv.  At  this  same  election  Thomas 
Marshall  of  Perry  township  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners. 
Although   his  election   was  contested   by   his   Re- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


publican  opponent,  he  retained  his  place  on  the 
Board.  The  success  of  two  Democrats  at  the 
polls  in  Delaware  county  was  such  an  innovation 
that  it  produced  a  profound  impression  on  the 
opposition  party  and  the  leaders  of  the  party  de- 
creed that  such  "a  disaster"  should  not  be  repeat- 
ed. How  effective  this  decree  proved  will  be  ob- 
served inasmuch  as  no  Democrat  was  again  elect- 
ed to  a  county  office  until  1910. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  potent  factors  which  led  to 
the  ultimate  success  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
this  county  was  the  establishment  of  a  Demo- 
crEtic  daily  newspaper  in  1886  by  Thomas  Mc- 
Killip  and  W.  L.  Davis.  This  combination  held 
until  Mr.  Davis  .<=old  his  interests  to  Captain  W.  J. 
Hilligoss.  In  1891  F.  D.  Haimbaugh  purchased  the 
interest  of  Mr.  Hilligoss  and  continued  the  publi- 
cation 01  the  Daily  and  Weekly  Herald  until  1904, 
when  Mr.  McKillip  retired  because  of  failing 
health  and  Mr.  Haimbaugh  became  sole  owner, 
having  been  in  editorial  charge  during  the  entire 
time  he  was  connected  with  the  paper.  In  1905  Mr. 
Haimbaugh  succeeded  in  merging  the  Muncie 
Evening  Times,  a  Republican  paper,  and  the 
Muncie  Evening  Herald.  The  result  of  this 
merger  was  the  Muncie  Evening  Press,  an  inde- 
pendent paper.  The  new  paper  advocated  with 
much  success  independence  in  voting.  This  doc- 
trine proved  not  only  popular  in  theory,  but  like- 
wise in  practice.  This  line  of  attack  on  the 
prejudices  of  the  voters  met  with  such  a  marked 
degree  of  success  that  eventually  the  people  were 
led  to  believe  that  the  best  interests  of  the  tax- 
payers could  be  served  by  a  change  in  the  polit- 
ical complexion  of  the  men  who  hold  the  offices 
of  the  county.  This  was  the  leaven  that  eventu- 
ally was  to  leaven  the  whole  loaf  and  make  pos- 
sible the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the 
"rock-bound  stronghold"  of  Republicanism. 

The  nomination  and  election  of  Hon.  John  A. 
M.  Adair  to  Congress  from  the  Eighth  district 
in  1906  had  a  direct  bearing  on  the  politics  of 
Delaware  county.  A  large  number  of  thoughtful 
Republicans  of  this  county  voted  for  Mr.  Adair. 
When  these  same  Republicans  discovered  that  the 
success  of  a  Democrat  at  the  polls  did  not  cause 
a  hiatus  in  the  economy  of  nature,  when  they 
learned  that  their  act  of  voting  for  a  Democrat 
did  not  prove  disastrous,  they  were  willing  to  try 
the  experiment  on  the  county  offices. 

In  1910  the  Democrats  presented  to  the  voters 
of  the  county  a  ticket  of  unusual  strength.  The 
men  named  on  that  ticket  were  men  worthy  of 
confidence.  The  result  was  seen  in  the  election 
of  Democrats  to  the  offices  of  County  Auditor, 
Recorder,  Sheriff'  and  one  member  of  the  Board 
of  County  Commissioners. 

It  was  with  unusual  confidence  that  the  party 


entered  the  campaign  of  1912.  The  ticket  was  a 
good  one  and  the  result  was  the  election  of  Coun- 
ty Treasurer,  Coroner  and  Surveyor;  re-election  of 
the  Sheriff',  State  Senator  and  two  Representa- 
tives and  Prosecuting  Attorney. 

At  the  election  in  1914  the  party  was  again 
successful  in  a  marked  degree,  though  not  all  of 
the  candidates  on  the  ticket  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  be  elected.  But  in  the  main  the  victory 
was  pronounced,  the  party  having  secured  the 
election  of  the  County  Auditor,  Treasurer,  Clerk, 
Recorder,  Prosecuting  Attorney,  Surveyor,  Coun- 
ty Assessor,  two  members  of  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners,  making  that  body  entirely  Demo- 
cratic, the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  county 
that  such  condition  existed,  elected  one  Repre- 
sentative, losing  only  the  Sheriff,  Coroner  and 
one  Representative. 

The  historian  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  hence 
will  not  need  depend  on  legends  for  his  facts  re- 
garding the  Democratic  party  in  old  Delaware 
county.  The  records  will  show  that  there  were 
Democrats  in  office  and  that  the  dawn  of  a  better 
dav  had  fully  come. 

It  may  prove  of  interest  to  the  future  voters 
of  the  county  to  know  the  names  of  the  men  who 
were  the  successful  candidates  of  the  Democratic 
party  at  the  elections  above  mentioned.  In  1910 
F.  M.  Williams  secured  the  office  of  County  Au- 
ditor. Jesse  G.  White,  Sheriff,  came  near  losing 
the  office  due  to  a  mistake  in  setting  the  voting 
machine  in  one  of  the  precincts,  but  the  case 
was  taken  into  court,  where  a  decision  was 
handed  down  in  favor  of  Mr.  White.  Charles 
W.  Fletcher  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Recorder 
and  William  Sunderland  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  County  Commissioners. 

The  election  of  1912  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Mr.  G.  G.  Williamson  to  the  office  of  County 
Treasurer,  perhaps  the  first  Democrat  to  hold 
that  office;  Jesse  G.  White,  re-elected  to  the  office 
of  Sheriff  by  a  majority  of  more  than  two  thou- 
sand votes;  George  Celts,  State  Senator;  John  W. 
Schafer  and  Charles  Barnhart,  Representatives; 
J.  Frank  Mann,  Prosecuting  Attorney;  Dr.  Fred 
Bunch,  Coroner;  Horace  Weber,  Surveyor,  and 
William  Sunderland  and  S.  A.  Clark  as  members 
of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  election  of  1914 
the  Democrats  were  ready  for  the  fray  and  suc- 
ceeded in  electing  the  following  to  the  oflices  in- 
dicated: F.  M.  Williams,  to  be  his  own  suc- 
cessor in  the  office  of  County  Auditor;  G.  G.  Wil- 
liamson, who  was  re-elected  to  the  office  of  Coun- 
ty Treasurer;  Charles  Bowden,  Clerk  of  the 
Court;  Ross  Dowden,  County  Recorder;  J.  Frank 
Mann,  to  succeed  himself  as  Prosecuting  Attor- 
ney; Horace  Weber,  re-elected  County  Surveyor; 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


John  W.  Schafei-,  re-elected  Representative;  Da- 
vid Hays  and  S.  A.  Clark,  re-elected  to  the  Board 
of  County  Commissioners. 

At  the  election  in  1916,  the  Republicans  were 
successful  at  the  polls  in  this  county,  electing 
their  entire  ticket,  thus  displacing  Democrats 
whose  term  of  office  had  expired.  While  the  ma- 
jorities obtained  were  not  large,  they  were 
ample  to  yield  practical  results. 

Again  in  1918  the  Democrats  of  this  county 
met  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  ancient  enemy  and 
the  following  offices  passed  to  the  control  of  the 
Republicans:  Auditor,  Clerk  of  the  Court,  Re- 
corder and  the  remaining  member  of  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners.  Thus  the  county  is  once 
more  held  in  the  bondage  of  the  Republican  party 
after  a  respite  of  some  eight  years.  True  the 
old  time  majorities  that  once  marked  the  success 
of  the  G.  0.  P.  when  it  was  in  the  heydey  of 
success  are  absent.  But  this  fact  does  not  lessen 
the  concern  of  those  who  believe  in  an  efficient 
management  of  the  business  affairs  of  the  coun- 
ty. 

The  reverses  that  came  to  the  Democratic  party 
in  this  county,  and  for  that  matter,  throughout 
the  Nation,  were  not  due  to  lack  of  party  fealty, 
but  were  due  to  the  pro-German  sentiment,  which 
was  unalterably  opposed  to  the  administration  of 
President  Wilson.  The  vote  of  the  pro-Germans 
was  cast  for  Republican  candidates  from  Con- 
gressman to  road  supervisor  as  an  expression  of 
disloyalty  to  the  Government  that  has  all  these 
years  fostered  and  protected  them.  It  was  a  vote 
against  the  great  institutions  of  this  land  of  free- 
dom. Certainly  the  Republican  party  should  feel 
greatly  elated  and  highly  complimented  to  have 
associated  with  this  band  of  unpatriotic  people. 
No  man  with  a  drop  of  red  blood  coursing  through 
his  veins  but  must  feel  outraged  when  he  realizes 
that  the  men  who  voted  against  the  administration 
in  this  time  of  war  were  stabbing  the  boys  in  the 
back  while  they  were  facing  the  uncivilized  Hun 
on  the  field  of  carnage.  The  vote  at  the  election 
of  1918  in  this  county  and  in  the  state  places  the 
Republican  party  in  the  position  of  disloyalty  to 
free  institutions.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the 
rank  and  file  of  that  party  are  just  as  loyal  as  the 
men  of  other  parties,  yet  the  managers  of  the  Re- 
publican party  were  willing  to  encourage  the 
traitors  and  solicited  their  votes  and  thus  brought 
odium  to  the  party  that  all  time  can  not  erase. 

In  this  county  there  was  not  a  large  pro-Ger- 
man vote,  but  it  was  ample  to  turn  the  tide  at  the 
polls.  Certainly  the  Republican  party  is  we'come 
to  whatever  glory  it  can  obtain  from  the  results 
of  the  election  of  1918.  The  fact  stands  out  clear 
and  distinct  that  the  Democratic  party,  in  county, 


state  and  nation,  is  alone  today  the  embodiment  of 
all  that  means  genuine  Americanism. 

This  is  the  record  of  Democratic  tri- 
umphs in  the  county  in  recent  years.  The 
change  in  political  sentiment  was  almost  in 
the  nature  of  a  revolution,  but  this  change 
was  only  the  sequence  of  partisan  poli- 
tics, intoxicated  with  long  years  of  uninterrupted 
success  at  the  polls.  The  change  was  the  logical 
result  of  bossism,  grown  arrogant  through  long 
years  of  control.  It  fully  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  the  people  will  eventually  revolt  against  the 
politician  and  insist  on  having  things  change  to 
meet  their  ideas  of  honest  politics.  The  change 
in  the  political  sentiment  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  a  political  party  can  hope  to  remain  in  con- 
trol only  so  long  as  it  serves  the  best  interests 
of  all  the  people.  Whenever  a  party  attempts 
to  go  counter  to  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the 
party  its  days  of  success  at  the  polls  are  num- 
bered. Put  in  epigrammatic  form,  that  party 
serves  itself  best  which  serves  the  public  best  at 
all  times. 

An  illustration  of  how  the  shuttlecock  of  poli- 
tics may  vary  with  the  political  breezes  of  the 
day  is  seen  in  the  city  of  Muncie.  For  years 
the  city  had  a  large  Republican  majority,  though 
occasionally  a  Democrat  secured  a  municipal 
office.  In  1891  A.  W.  Brady  sei-ved  as  Mayor 
and  Arthur  Shideler  as  City  Clerk  and  James 
Williams  as  City  Treasurer,  each  serving  a  term. 
In  1898  Edward  Tuhey,  Democrat,  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  Mayor,  but  all  the  remainder  of 
the  city  officials  were  of  the  Republican  faith. 

The  most  remarkable  instance  of  transfer  of 
municipal  political  fealty  came  in  1909  when  Ed- 
ward Tuhey  was  elected  Mayor,  John  R.  Kelly, 
City  Clerk,  and  the  entire  membership  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  all  Democrats,  were  elected.  This 
was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  city  of 
Muncie  that  every  one  of  the  municipal  officers 
was  a  Democrat,  placing  the  control  of  the  city  in 
the  hands  of  the  Democratic  party,  the  party  that 
within  the  memory  of  men  yet  living  was  ostra- 
cized ar^d  its  members  driven  from  the  polls. 

At  the  election  in  191.3  the  Democratic  ticket 
was  airain  successful  at  the  municipal  election, 
the  Mayor,  R.  H.  Bunch,  City  Clerk  John  R.  Kel- 
ly, and  eleven  of  the  twelve  members  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  being  elected.  The  Progressives 
elected  one  member  to  the  Council. 

There  yet  remains  one  oasis  in  the  Delaware 
county  desert  of  Republicanism — the  city  of  Mun- 
cie continues  Democratic.  At  the  election  for 
Mayor  and  other  city  officials  in  1917,  Mayor  Rol- 
lin  H.  Bunch  was  re-elected  by  an  unprecedented 
majority   and   with   him   were   elected    ten   of   the 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


twelve  members  of  the  City  Council,  as  was  the 
City  Clerk,  Dennis  Cleary.  This  much  remains  of 
the  work  accomplished  by  the  faithful  followers  of 
the  stanch  old  party,  and  the  spirit  of  determina- 
tion to  win  future  contests  has  not  been  quenched 
— the  workers  will  "carry  on." 

Delaware  county  Democrats  never  received  any 
recognition  from  the  hands  of  the  State  Conven- 
tions of  the  party  by  having  any  one  from  this 
county  placed  as  a  candidate  on  the  State  ticket. 
This  order  of  procedure  was  broken  in  1892  when 
Hon.  O.  J.  Lotz,  who  had  served  on  the  Delaware 
Circuit  Court  bench,  was  nominated  by  the  con- 
vention as  a  member  of  the  Appellate  Court.  He 
was  elected  at  the  November  election  and  served 
with  credit  to  himself  by  making:  an  enviable  rec- 
ord in  the  Appellate  Court  by  his  keen  analysis 
of  the  cases  set  down,  upon  which  he  was  selected 
to  write  the  opinion. 

It  may  be  a  bit  of  digression  to  make  mention 
of  the  fact  that  during  the  days  when  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  this  county  was  very  much  sub- 
merged, there  was  enough  virility  in  and  fealty 
to  the  fundamental  party  principles  of  the  fathers 
to  organize  and  successfully  conduct  a  Demo- 
cratic Club.  In  1891  a  number  of  the  stanch 
party  men  organized  the  Delaware  County  Gray 
Club  with  a  very  substantial  membership.  The 
first  president  of  the  club  was  Frank  Gribben 
and  the  first  secretary  was  F.  D.  Haimbaugh.  The 
first  political  dinner  given  by  any  party  in  the 
county  was  tendered  by  the  Gray  Club  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1892.  A  number  of  the  prominent  party 
workers  of  the  State  were  present,  as  was  a  large 
and  faithful  contingent  of  the  adherents  of  the 
party  in  this  county.  The  Gray  Club  had  per- 
manent club  rooms  and  flourished  for  a  number  of 
years  and  exerted  a  wholesome  influence  on  the 
party  politics  of  the  county.  It  finally  ceased  to 
exist  and  the  party  was  without  club  organiza- 
tion until  1909,  when  the  Delaware  County  Demo- 
cratic Club  was  called  into  existence.  This  result 
was  accomplished  through  the  efforts  of  a  num- 
ber of  the  earnest  party  workers.  This  club  is 
in  vigorous  existence  today  and  wields  a  sub- 
stantial influence  in  all  the  things  that  look  for 
party  success.  The  club  since  its  inception  has 
given  a  dinner  each  year  that  is  conceded  to  be 
among  the  best  of  such  functions  provided  any- 
where in  the  State.  The  advantages  of  political 
clubs  grow  out  of  the  fact  that  they  are  perennial 
in  their  influences  in  disseminating  the  doctrines 
of  the  party  and  stand  guard  over  the  destinies 
of  the  organization  the  whole  year  through. 

During  all  the  years  of  benighted  political  ex- 
istence in  Delaware  county,  when  to  be  a  Demo- 
crat was  to  be  a  martyr  for  political  belief,  theie 


were  a  number  of  stalwart,  earnest,  sturdy  Demo- 
crats, v,'ho  ever  had  the  courage  of  their  convic- 
tions. These  patriots  of  principle  kept  faithful 
watch  at  the  hearth-stone  of  the  house  that  Jef- 
ferson built.  They  kindled  the  fires  of  party  pa- 
triotism on  that  hearth-stone  and  kept  them 
burning;  they  made  bright  the  windows  of  the 
home  in  order  that  when  the  dawn  of  a  better 
day  should  herald  the  coming  of  political  civiliza- 
tion in  Delaware  county,  a  hospitable  welcome 
would  be  found  by  those  seeking  deliverance  from 
the  thralldom  of  an  intolerant  political  dynasty, 
such  as  the  Republican  party  for  long  years  main- 
tained. 

It  would  be  a  distinct  pleasure  to  here  record 
the  names  of  all  those  faithful  adherents  of  party 
principles,  but  the  absence  of  a  roster  of  the 
names  precludes  a  complete  list  and  memory  on 
the  part  of  one  who  lived  in  those  strenuous  days 
supplies  a  partial  list: 

There  was  Dr.  M.  James,  who  was  a  host  with- 
in himself,  ever  ready  to  serve  the  party  that  he 
had  loved  so  long  and  well;  Henry  Wysor,  in  the 
dark  days  of  Democracy  in  Delaware  county 
stood  almost  alone  as  an  advocate  of  the  teach- 
ings of  Jeff'erson  and  Jackson;  Adam  Wolf,  al- 
ways ready  to  help  the  party  work  with  wise 
counsel  and  in  more  substantial  ways;  Martin 
Galliher,  a  pioneer  in  party  service;  Arthur  Pat- 
terson, stanch  and  sturdy  for  party;  Phil  Ken- 
nedy, a  keeper  of  the  faith  at  all  times;  "Uncle" 
George  Elliott,  always  ready  with  wit  and  satire 
in  defense  of  his  party;  Dr.  H.  M.  Mitchell  could 
be  found  at  his  post  as  a  defender  of  Democratic 
principles;  Lew  Sears,  ready  at  a  moment's  notice 
to  help  in  party  work;  H.  Silverburg,  father  of 
two  Democratic  sons,  Victor,  deceased,  and  A.  C; 
Samuel  Williamson,  constant  and  faithful 
worker;  H.  M.  Winans,  father  and  son  of  the 
same  name  and  political  fealty;  L.  A.  Kirk- 
wood,  who  waged  an  unequal  warfare  through 
the  columns  of  his  newspaper  back  in  the  seven- 
ties and  early  eighties;  Thomas  McKillip,  earnest 
in  his  Dem.ocracy  and  founder  of  the  Muncie 
Herald,  the  first  Democratic  daily  paper  in  the 
county.  Then  there  were  the  Thomas  boys,  James 
and  William,  ever  ready  to  fight  for  the  principles 
of  the  party;  Dr.  E.  J.  Puckett,  stalwart  in  phys- 
ical makeup  and  of  equal  stature  in  party  adher- 
ence; Hiram  Messersmith,  happiest  when  plead- 
ing the  cause  of  real  Democracy;  Samuel  Mar- 
tin, always  on  the  defense  of  party;  Eph  Smell, 
faithful  through  many  years  of  defeat;  James 
Moffett,  a  wheel  horse  in  party  work  and  an  ad- 
vocate of  party  principles  at  all  times;  Dr.  Mun- 
sey  of  Washington  township,  who  never  deserted 
the  citadel  of  his  party;  Thomas  Marshall  of  Per- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


ry  township,  first  Democrat  to  be  elected  to  be 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners, 
elected  in  1886;  Judge  O.  J.  Lotz,  who  served 
faithfully  and  with  distinction  on  the  "bench"  in 
this  county  and  as  a  member  of  the  Appellate 
Court;  Daniel  Kelly,  always  at  the  bat  for  his 
party. 

There  were  plants  in  those  days,  and  the  names 
above  mentioned  are  at  best  but  a  few  of  those 
who  kept  watch  and  ward  over  the  citadel  of  the 
party  in  this  county.  Just  a  few  of  those  who 
kept  the  faith.  The  roll  of  honor,  were  it  written 
in  full,  would  chronicle  distinguished  service  ren- 
dered by  those  unselfish  patriots  of  party.  In 
those  days  the  contest  was  hopeless,  but  the  fact 
that  by  force  of  circumstances  the  battle  was  one- 
sided did  not  deter  those  men  from  being  found 
at  their  post  of  duty. 

In  those  days  it  was  no  unusual  occurrence  for 


half  a  dozen  of  the  faithful  to  meet  in  "mass  con- 
\ention"  and  select  a  ticket  to  be  placed  as  a 
sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  the  party.  There  was 
no  hope  of  success,  but  only  by  such  means  was  it 
possible  to  maintain  party  organization  and  keep 
it  intact  and  make  success  at  the  polls  possible 
in  the  future.  Many  of  those  who  served  the 
paity  thus  are  yet  living  and  to  all  such  the  party 
in  the  county  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  that  can 
never  be  paid.  Even  as  late  as  the  period  cov- 
ered by  tlie  years  from  1890  to  1910  the  work  of 
keeping  the  party  organized  was  done  by  a  few 
faithful  workers,  who,  at  the  cost  of  personal 
comfort  and  even  business  and  social  standing, 
stood  at  their  post  and  directed  the  party  in  the 
channels  of  modern  political  thought  and  action. 
Had  it  not  been  for  these  men  there  would  have 
been  no  Democratic  victories  in  1910,  1912  and 
1914. 


(591) 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
DUBOIS  COUNTY 

By  William   Melchior 


DUBOIS  COUNTY,  once  a  part  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, later  a  part  of  Gibson,  then  a  part  of 
Pike  county,  was  organized  as  a  distinct 
county  in  December,  1817,  when  an  area  of  480 
square  miles  was  cut  from  the  eastern  part  of 
Pike  county. 

John  Niblack,  a  former  Kentuckian,  was  ap- 
pointed county  agent,  and  his  duties  were  to  lo- 
cate and  build  the  new  court  house  and  jail.  He 
virutally  built  these  in  the  forest,  and  later  served 
with  credit  as  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court.  He 
was  a  man  of  ability,  that  left  his  name  indelibly 
stamped  on  the  pioneer  history  of  the  county. 
Later  his  son,  Hon.  William  E.  Niblack,  served  in 
the  county  as  Circuit  Judge  for  four  years,  Con- 
gressman for  fourteen  years  (1859-61,  1863-75), 
and  later  as  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  In- 
diana for  twelve  years.  He  was  the  Democratic 
idol  of  Dubois  county  for  a  period  of  thirty  years, 
and  the  people  today  feel  that  their  confidence  in 
him  was  well  bestowed. 

The  census  of  1820  gave  Dubois  county  a  popu- 
lation of  1,168,  all  white  but  eight.  Most  of  the 
early  settler  read  the  Western  Sim,  a  pioneer 
Democratic  newspaper  published  at  Vincennes  by 
Elihu  Stout,  and  thus  absorbed  Democratic  doc- 
trine. 

The  Amei-ican  Eagle,  published  by  Henry 
Comingore,  at  Jasper,  was  the  first  paper  pub- 
lished in  the  county.  It  was  Democratic  and  ap- 
peared from  1846  to  1848. 

The  Jasper  Courier,  established  at  Jasper  in 
1858,  is  the  oldest  newspaper  in  the  county.  It 
was  edited  by  Clement  Doane,  who  belched  forth 
undefiled  doctrines  of  Democracy  for  a  period  of 
forty-six  years,  when  the  editorial  robe  descended 
upon  his  son,  Benjamin  Ed,  who  fearlessly  con- 
tinues the  task  of  pushing  his  pen  for  Democracy. 

In  1867  the  Huntingburg  Signal  appeared,  print- 
ed in  the  German  language,  Ernst  Pickhardb  be- 
ing the  editor.  For  thirty-seven  years  it  was  a 
vi'elcome  visitor  in  many  homes,  and  proved  its 
worth  as  a  missionary,  spreading  the  gospel  of 
Democracy  among  the  German-American  citizens 
of  the  county.  Hon.  E.  W.  Pickhardt,  son  of  the 
former  propietor,  is  now  the  editor,  and  changed 
the  language  of  the  Signal  from  German  to  Eng- 
lish in  1914,  while  its  other  policies  remain  as 
heretofore. 

The  Jasper  Herald  was  established  by  William 
C.  Binckley  in  1895.  The  Herald  prospered  from 
the  beginning.     The  editor,  William  C.  Binckley, 


fearlessly  espoused  the  cause  of  Democracy  for 
fifteen  years,  when  he  sold  the  paper  to  Louis 
Zoercher,  a  journalist  of  Perry  county.  Mr.  Syl- 
vester Smith  is  now  manager  and  the  Herald  en- 
joys a  very  large  and  growing  subscription  list. 

The  Ferdinand  Neivs,  published  at  Ferdinand, 
entered  the  field  in  1906.  Henry  Haake  is  the 
manager  and  editor.  The  News  is  able  and  always 
clean,  and  merits  the  large  support  it  receives. 

From  its  organization,  Dubois  county  was  Dem- 
ocratic. Colonel  B.  B.  Edmonston,  a  pioneer  and 
politician  who  was  very  popular  with  immigrants 
and  native-born  alike,  is  entitled  to  much  credit 
for  moulding  the  political  opinions  of  the  early 
days.  For  a  period  of  twenty-five  years  he  faith- 
fully served  the  people  as  a  county  official. 

The  rise  of  Professor  Andrew  M.  Sweeney  of 
Jasper  reads  like  a  romance.  By  pluck  and  en- 
ergy he  rose  from  the  railroad  camp  to  the  po- 
sition of  teacher,  then  county  superintendent, 
1881-89,  then  nominated  for  State  Superintendent 
of  Schools,  and  in  1890  he  was  elected  Clerk  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  In  1894  he 
founded  the  State  Life  Insurance  Company  of 
Indianapolis,  and  served  fourteen  years  as  first 
president  of  the  company. 

Hon.  John  L.  Bretz  of  Jasper  likewise  has  had 
a  meteoric  career.  A  farmer's  plow-boy  first, 
then  a  teacher,  then  a  lawyer,  then  Prosecuting 
Attorney,  then  two  terms  in  Congress,  1891-95. 
and  at  the  present  time  he  is  Judge  of  the  Fifty- 
seventh  Judicial  Circuit  Court. 

Another,  whose  political  rise  has  been  phe- 
nomenal, is  Hon.  William  E.  Cox  of  Jasper.  He 
was  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  a  teacher.  Prosecuting 
Attorney,  and  at  present  serving  his  fourth  term 
in  Congress,  1907-1915. 

Since  1842  the  county  officials  have  been  Demo- 
crats, with  four  exceptions — one  recorder,  one 
school  superintendent,  and  two  county  commis- 
sioners. A  Republican  was  also  elected  as  county 
surveyor,  but  declined  to  accept  the  position. 
Party  lines  were  not  closely  drawn.  Many  of  the 
victories  achieved  by  the  Democratic  party,  were 
in  large  part  due  to  the  quality  of  the  men  seek- 
ing official  positions  and  the  splendid  work  of  a 
long  list  of  hustling-  county  chairman,  comprising 
Hon.  Bomar  Traylor,  Senator  M.  A.  Sweeney, 
Ex-County  Superintendent  George  R.  Wilson,  Ex- 
Auditor  August  H.  Koerner,  and  other  leaders 
such  as  Hon.  William  A.  Traylor,  John  Gramel- 
spacher,    George    Friedman,    Gerhart    Eversman, 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


William  Heitman,  Frank  Zimmer,  Joseph  Buchart 
and  many  others,  who  pushed  the  issues  with 
vigor. 

Our  State  Senators  since  1840  have  been:  John 
Hargrave,  Smith  Miller,  Benjamin  Edmonston, 
Benjamin  Goodman,  W.  Hawthorne,  Colonel 
Thomas  Shoulders,  Allen  Fleming,  James  Barker, 
William  Montgomery,  Leroy  Cave,  Henry  Peed. 
William  A.  Traylor,  James  Willard,  Oscar  Trippet, 
John  Sweeney,  M.  A.  Sweeney,  Ephraim  Inman, 
R.  M.  Milburn,  John  Benz,  Samuel  Benz,  and 
Bomar  Traylor. 

Our  State  Representatives  for  the  same  time 
include  the  following  list  of  names:  Dr.  A.  B 
McCrillus,  Dr.  John  Poison,  B.  R.  Edmonston,  Si- 
las Davis,  George  Lemonds,  Benjamin  Goodman, 
Henry  Barker,  General  John  Able,  John  Martin, 
Colonel  Thomas  Shoulders,  Dr.  M.  Kempf, 
Ephraim  Inman,  A.  W.  Porter,  S.  H.  Stewart, 
Perry   McCart,   Frank   Pinnick,   Captain   S.   Sulli- 


van, Dr.  P.  L.  Coble,  David  Corn,  Horace  M.  Kean 
and  Robert  Kemp. 

To  name  a  complete  list  of  Democratic  leaders 
in  this  county  would  be  a  task  indeed,  for  the 
county  is  filled  with  them.  Suffice  to  say,  that 
when  voters  elsewhere  vacillated  and  followed 
strange  gods,  the  Democracy  of  Dubois  county 
continued  to  be  as  constant  as  the  north  star. 

Since  1856,  the  Democratic  majorities  have  in- 
creased from  1,000  to  2,000.  Here  is  an  example 
of  continuous  party  service.  Nowhere  has  the 
idea  of  graft  been  allowed  to  enter  and  nowhere 
has  political  service  been  rendered  with  greater 
efficiency. 

"Men  may  come  and  men  may  go,"  but  the  un- 
tei rifled  Democracy  of  Dubois  county  remains 
forever. 

The  cardinal  principles  of  Democracy  are  en- 
shrined in  the  hearts  of  our  people,  and  when 
these  are  assailed,  the  Democracy  of  Dubois  coun- 
ty will  be  found  rock-ribbed  and  true. 


(  593) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
ELKHART  COUNTY 

By  H.  S.  K.  Bartholomew 


FROM  the  organization  of  the  county  in  1830 
to  the  present  time  the  rank  and  file  of  Elk- 
hart county  Democracy  has  been  composed 
of  as  true,  as  loyal  and  patriotic  men  as  can  be 
found  in  any  portion  of  the  good  old  Hoosier 
State. 

During  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  the 
county's  history  it  was  in  the  ascendancy  and 
during  that  period,  too,  the  men  whom  it  elected 
to  public  positions  gave  a  good  account  of  them- 
selves as  custodians  of  the  county's  business. 
Since  1860  Democracy  has  been  in  the  minority 
and  only  at  occasional  intervals  has  it  been  able 
to  elect  its  candidates  to  office. 

During  the  more  than  four-score  years  that  it 
has  participated  in  political  contests  its  nominees 
for  public  office  have  been,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, among  the  best  representatives  of  the  coun- 
ty's manhood  and  men  eminently  worthy  of  public 
trust.  At  no  time  has  it  been  held  together  by 
the  "cohesive  power  of  public  plunder,"  but  it  has 
been  inspired  by  worthy  ideals  and  has  waged 
its  campaigns  in  behalf  of  the  principles  to  which 
it  subscribes. 

The  most  eminent  representative  of  the  party 
in  the  early  days  of  the  county's  history  was 
Colonel  John  Jackson,  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
of  Elkhart  prairie.  Colonel  Jackson  first  came 
to  the  county  in  1812  with  a  detachment  of  Gen- 
eral Anthony  Wayne's  army  in  pursuit  of  hostile 
Indians.  Being  favorably  impressed  with  the 
beautiful  Elkhart  prairie,  he  then  selected  the 
tract  of  land  which  he  wished  for  his  future 
home.  He  settled  there  in  1829  and  at  once  be- 
came a  prominent  factor  in  the  county's  develop- 
ment. He  secured  the  establishment  of  the  first 
postoffice  and  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  justices  during 
the  time  when  that  body  had  charge  of  the  coun- 
ty's business,  and  when  the  board  of  commission- 
ers was  established  he  was  chosen  the  first  Com- 
missioner for  the  Southern  district  of  the  county. 
While  serving  on  the  board  of  justices  he  took 
an  active  part  in  locating  the  county  seat  at 
Goshen.  In  1832  he  was  elected  representative 
in  the  Legislature  and  filled  that  responsible  posi- 
tion with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  his  constituency.  For  forty  years  he  was  one 
of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  county  and  doubt- 
less did  more  for  its  upbuilding  than  any  other 
one  man  of  his  day  and  generation.     During  all 


those  years  he  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem 
of  the  people  for  whose  welfare  he  labored  so 
long  and  for  whom  he  made  sacrifices  innumer- 
able. He  died  in  1873,  full  of  years  and  honors 
and  his  remains  repose  in  the  little  city  of  the 
dead  which  bears  his  name.  Two  of  his  sons, 
Ira  and  Dr.  A.  C.  Jackson,  were  prominently  iden- 
tified with  Elkhart  county  during  their  long  lives, 
both  remaining  steadfast  in  the  political  faith 
of  their  illustrious  father.  One  of  his  daughters 
is  still  living.  She  is  the  widow  of  Hon.  John  E. 
Thompson,  who  for  many  years  was  a  Repub- 
lican wheel  horse,  but  who  in  1896  left  that  party 
and  became  a  Democrat. 

Contemporaneous  with  Colonel  Jackson  was 
Matthew  Rippey,  who  came  to  the  county  three 
years  later,  settling  in  the  same  township  and 
survived  him  ten  years,  dying  in  1882.  Both  were 
farmers,  living  only  a  few  miles  apart;  both 
were  engaged  in  the  breeding  of  improved  stock 
and  both  gave  their  support  to  every  movement 
for  the  improvement  of  agriculture  in  their  day. 
Mr.  Rippey  served  in  both  branches  of  the  State 
Legislature.  His  last  public  service  was  in  the 
State  Senate,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  1862,  in 
the  second  year  of  the  Civil  War.  Though  in  no 
sense  a  brilliant  man,  he  was  a  man  of  sterling 
worth  and  for  a  half  century  was  one  of  the 
county's  substantial  citizens.  His  son,  Joseph 
Rippey,  was  also  a  prominent  farmer  and  a 
.staunch  Democrat. 

Some  of  the  other  Democrats  of  the  county's 
early  da>  s  were  John  D.  Elsea,  who  served  a  term 
as  County  Commsisioner;  Ebenezer  Brown,  who 
was  Sheriff  in  the  latter  30's  and  who  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Goshen  Democrat;  Elias 
Carpenter,  the  first  man  elected  as  County  Treas- 
urer and  whose  son,  John  Carpenter,  is  still  liv- 
ing- at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years;  Albert  Banta, 
Jonathan  Wyland,  Joseph  Cowan,  Dr.  E.  W.  H. 
Ellis,  Captain  Henry  Beane,  John  Longacre  and 
Michael  C.  Dougherty. 

From  1840  to  1850  Dr.  E.  W.  H.  Ellis  was  ed- 
itor of  the  Goshen  Democrat  and  in  that  capacity 
he  served  his  party  with  signal  ability.  He  also 
edited  and  published  the  Kinderhook  Dutchman 
during  the  exciting  campaign  of  1840.  This  jour- 
nal was  published  solely  in  the  interest  of  the 
Democratic  party  and  sometimes  was  exceedingly 
bitter  in  its  attacks  on  the  Whigs.  Dr.  Ellis  was 
a  versatile  and  graceful  writer,  but  sometimes 
became  very  caustic,  as  did  most  of  the  editors 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  181(5-1  9  16 


of  those  days.  In  1841  he  was  elected  Auditor 
of  Elkhart  county,  filling;  that  office  eifrht  years, 
after  which  he  was  elected  Auditor  of  State  for 
two  terms  of  two  years  each.  His  race  for 
County  Auditor  was  an  excitinp  one  and  he  after- 
ward wrote  a  humorous  account  of  it  for  the 
columns  of  the  Democrat  under  the  title  of  "The 
Pony  Race."  His  Whip  opponent  in  the  contest 
was  Charles  L.  Murray,  also  a  journalist,  and 
for  more  than  th'rty  years  one  of  the  prominent 
men  of  the  county.  It  is  a  rather  strange  coin- 
cidence that  Dr.  Ellis  afterward  became  a  Re- 
publican and  Mr.  Murray  became  a  Democrat, 
and  for  several  years  was  associate  editor  of  the 
Goshen  Democrat,  serving  the  party  as  ably  as 
did  his  distinguished  rival  in  the  40's. 

Judge  Ebenezer  M.  Chamberlain  was  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  Goshen,  locating  in  what  was  then 
a  small  village  in  1833.  From  that  time  until  his 
death  in  1861  he  was  one  of  the  most  influential 
men  in  the  county.  The  city  of  Goshen  is  in- 
aebted  to  him  for  two  things  which  contributed 
larg-ely  toward  making  it  the  beautiful  city  that 
it  is — its  wide  streets  and  magrnificent  shade 
trees.  He  was  a  public-spirited  man  and  took  a 
special  interest  in  educational  matters,  but  was 
always  ready  to  give  his  aid  to  any  movement 
which  had  for  its  purpose  the  improvement  of 
his  community,  or  the  welfare  of  its  people.  Sev- 
eral years  before  he  died  he  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  on  the  north  side,  in  Goshen,  and  believ- 
ing that  it  would  be  a  good  site  for  a  school  build- 
ing, he  donated  two  and  one-half  acres  for  school 
purposes.  The  Chamberlain  school  stands  on 
this  ground,  and  with  its  splendid  grove  is  one 
of  the  finest  school  grounds  in  the  city.  He  also 
was  instrumental  in  securing  the  erection  of 
Goshen's  first  high  school.  In  1837  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster,  serving  until  1841.  He  also 
served  in  the  State  Legislature,  was  Circuit 
Judge  for  nine  years  and  for  two  terms  repre- 
sented his  district  in  Congress.  In  all  of  these 
positions  he  acquitted  himself  well  and  earned 
the  esteem  which  he  enjoyed  for  so  many  years. 

Another  conspicuous  figure  of  this  period,  and 
for  many  years  after,  was  Philip  M.  Henkel.  Mr. 
Henkel  came  to  Goshen  in  the  early  40's  and  for 
a  short  time  clerked  in  the  store  of  DeFrees  & 
Barns.  Dr.  Ellis  soon  afterward  appointed  him 
Deputy  Auditor,  a  position  which  he  filled  so 
capably  that  he  was  elected  County  Auditor  for 
two  terms.  He  was  an  excellent  penman  and  an 
accurate  accountant.  In  the  entire  history  of  the 
county  there  has  probably  been  no  man  in  its 
public  service  who  was  more  capable  of  filling 
clerical  positions  than  he.  In  1860  he  was  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  Congress.  From  187.5 
to   1883,   while   his   son,   Charles   D.   Henkel,  was 


County  -■Auditor,  he  again  served  as  Deputy. 
Later  he  served  tour  years  as  postmaster  at  Eau 
Claire,  Mich.  He  died  only  a  little  over  a  jear 
ago  at  Clinton,  Iowa,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-six  years. 

Foi  a  number  of  years  Robert  Lowry  was  ac- 
tive in  the  politics  of  Elkhart  county.  For  a 
short  time  he  owned  the  Gonheti  Democrat,  dis- 
posing of  it  in  IS.').').  He  also  served  a  term  as 
Circuit  Judge,  and  in  1866  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Congress  from  the  old  Tenth  dis- 
trict, but  was  defeated  by  "Billy"  Williams  of 
Warsaw.  About  1870  he  removed  to  Fort  Wayne, 
where  he  engaged  actively  in  the  practice  of  law 
and  for  two  terms  represented  the  Twelfth  dis- 
trict in  Congress.  He  received  a  third  nomina- 
tion, but  the  party  had  two  candidates  that  year, 
the  o*:her  being  H.  C.  Stanley  of  Noble  county, 
.md  both  were  defeated.  In  1860  he  was  chosen 
to  preside  ovei   the  Democratic  State  convention. 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century,  from  1863  to  1888. 
James  D.  Osborne  was  prominently  identified 
with  the  Elkhart  county  bar  and  during  a  good 
portion  of  this  time  he  also  took  an  active  part 
in  politics.  He  first  served  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace  and  when  the  new  Thirty-fourth  judicial 
circuit  was  erected  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Hendricks  the  first  judge  of  the  circuit.  At  the 
subsequent  election  he  was  defeated  by  William 
A.  Woods.  In  1878  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
Legislature,  where  he  distinguished  himself  par- 
ticularly by  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  a  measure 
for  the  reduction  of  official  salaries.  In  1880  he 
was  a  candidate  for  the  Democratic  nomination 
for  Congress  in  the  new  Thirteenth  district,  but 
was  defeated  by  Hon.  Daniel  McDonald  of  Plym- 
outh. However,  he  participated  actively  in  the 
campaign  which  followed  and  was  in  great  de- 
mand as  a  speaker.  In  1880,  when  Judge  Wil- 
liam A.  Woods  resigned  to  take  a  seat  on  the  In- 
diana Supieme  Court,  Governor  Gray  appointed 
Judge  Osborne  as  his  successor  on  the  circuit 
bench.  In  1882  he  was  elected  for  a  full  term 
of  six  years,  his  Republican  opponent  being  John 
M.  Van  Fleet  of  Elkhart.  After  the  expiration 
of  his  term  in  1888  he  never  aspired  to  public 
office.  He  spent  several  years  in  California,  then 
he  returned  to  locate  in  Elkhart  and  engage  again 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  died  at 
Marcellus,  Mich.,  November  30,  1916,  aged 
eighty-six  years. 

Mention  of  the  Goshen 
been  made  in  this  article, 
lished  in  1837  with  Thoma 
editor.  Subsequent  editor 
Robert  Lowry,  J.  T.  Bennett,  James  D.  Osborne, 
H.  S.  Fassett,  Laporte  Heefner,  M.  B.  Hascall 
and  C.  L.  Murray.     One  man,  however,  was  iden- 


Dcmocrat  has  already 
That  paper  was  estab- 
s  H.  Bassett  as  its  first 
s  were  E.  W.  H.  Ellis, 


(595) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


tified  with  the  paper  longer  than  all  of  these  to- 
gether, and  his  name  is  more  widely  known  in 
that  connection  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 
This  was  William  A.  Beane,  familiarly  known  to 
the  people  of  his  generation  as  Billy  Beane.  Mr. 
Beane's  connection  with  the  Democrat  began  in 
1844,  when  he  entered  the  office  as  "devil."  With 
the  exception  of  about  five  years  he  was  connected 
with  the  office  in  one  capacity  or  another  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of 
1893.  For  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  he 
served  as  editor,  and  at  the  time  he  died  he  was 
one  of  the  most  widely  known  editors  in  the  north 
half  of  Indiana.  He  served  his  party  in  many 
campaigns,  occasionally  to  win,  but  far  more 
often  to  find  himself  on  the  losing  side. 

During  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury Llewellyn  Wanner  was  a  prominent  figure 
in  Elkhart  county  politics.  Mr.  Wanner  came  to 
the  county  in  1875  from  Reading,  Pa.  He  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law,  in  which  he  contin- 
ued until  his  death  in  December,  1900.  In  every 
campaign,  beginning  with  1876,  he  was  in  demand 
as  a  speaker  and  he  rendered  his  party  valuable 
service.  In  1876  he  was  nominated  for  Prosecut- 
ing Attorney,  but  was  defeated  by  James  S. 
Drake.  In  1888  he  was  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Judge  of  the  Thirty-fourth  judicial  cir- 
cuit, his  successful  competitor  being  J.  M.  Van 
Fleet.  In  1894  he  made  the  race  for  Congress, 
but  only  to  face  defeat  as  before,  this  time  by 
Lemuel  W.  Royse  of  Warsaw.  For  several 
years  he  served  as  City  Attorney  of  Goshen. 

Among  the  younger  men  who  were  prominent 
for  a  time  in  the  politics  of  the  county  was  Otis 
D.  Thompson.  Mr.  Thompson  was  a  talented 
man,  an  eloquent  speaker  and  a  good  campaigner. 
In  1880  he  was  appointed  City  Judge  of  Elkhart. 
In  1882  he  was  elected  County  Clerk,  serving  ac- 
ceptably in  that  office  for  four  years,  but  in  the 
Republican  landslide  of  1886  he  was  defeated  for 
re-election.  In  1890  he  was  elected  Mayor  of  Elk- 
hart, serving  one  term.  Upon  reaching  manhood 
he  took  up  the  study  of  law,  but  owing  to  his 
dislike  of  that  profession  he  practiced  only  a 
short  time.  After  retiring  from  the  office  of 
County  Clerk  he  engaged  in  manufacturing,  a 
business  which  was  more  congenial  to  his  tastes. 
He  died  in  1895  at  the  age  of  forty  years. 

Another  citizen  of  Elkhart,  who  figured  in 
public  aff'airs  at  the  same  time  and  a  little  later 
than  Mr.  Thompson,  was  Harry  S.  Chester,  who 
was  elected  Clerk  of  the  city  of  Elkhart  in  1886 
and  1888,  and  County  Clerk  in  1890.  Mr.  Ches- 
ter was  a  capable,  obliging  and  popular  official 
and  left  behind  him  an  excellent  record.  He  was 
also  an  accomplished  musician  and  an  amateur 
poet  and  wrote  a  number  of  poems  which  would 


have  done  credit  to  poets  of  greater  celebrity. 
After  retiring  from  office  he  seemed  to  drift  from 
one  occupation  to  another  and  was  very  unfor- 
tunate in  some  of  his  business  ventures.  He  died 
in  1906,  aged  forty-four  years.  His  brother,  El- 
lis Chester,  served  a  term  as  Mayor  of  Elkhart 
and  died  the  day  before  his  term  expired. 

There  is  one  commanding  figure  who  towers 
above  all  of  his  contemporaries  of  the  period  im- 
mediately following  the  Civil  War  and  mention 
of  whom  has  purposely  been  reserved  for  the  last. 
This  is  Judge  Joseph  A.  S.  Mitchell  of  the  In- 
diana Supreme  Court,  better  known  to  Elkhart 
county  people  as  Captain  Mitchell.  For  more 
than  twenty  years  Captain  Mitchell  was  the  ac- 
knowledged leader  of  the  county's  Democracy  and 
he  was  also  conspicuous  in  the  councils  of  the 
party  in  the  State.  He  came  here  in  1859  and 
began  the  practice  of  law.  When  the  Civil  War 
broke  out  he  enlisted  and  served  throughout  that 
bloody  conflict.  When  the  war  closed  he  returned 
to  Goshen  and  took  up  the  work  of  his  chosen  pro- 
fession. Almost  immediately  the  veterans  of  the 
far  recognized  in  him  a  coming  leader  and  his 
leadership  did  not  wait  far  in  the  future.  The 
twenty  years  from  1865  until  his  entrance  upon 
the  Supreme  Court  in  1885  were  exceedingly  busy 
ones  for  him.  There  were  few  important  cases 
in  which  he  was  not  engaged  and  the  more  diffi- 
cult the  case  the  more  eagerly  were  his  services 
sought.  When  Goshen  organized  its  city  govern- 
ment in  1868  he  became  its  first  City  Attorney, 
a  position  in  which  he  rendered  valuable  service 
in  framing  its  first  ordinances.  In  1870  he  was 
elected  Mayor,  serving  one  term.  He  was  re- 
peatedly urged  to  become  a  candidate  for  impor- 
tant positions,  but  he  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  these 
importunities,  choosing  to  devote  his  talents  to 
the  pursuit  of  his  profession.  In  1880  he  accept- 
ed the  nomination  for  Supreme  Judge,  but  suf- 
fered defeat  with  his  party,  his  successful  oppo- 
nent being  his  friend  and  fellow-townsman,  Wil- 
liam A.  Woods.  In  1882  he  was  chosen  by  the 
Board  of  County  Commissioners  as  County  At- 
torney. In  this  capacity  he  was  employed  in 
some  of  the  most  important  litigation  in  which 
the  county  was  ever  engaged.  An  attempt  had 
been  made  by  a  former  Board  of  Commissioners 
to  fasten  upon  the  county  a  tract  of  almost  worth- 
less marsh  land  at  an  enormous  price  for  a  coun- 
ty farm.  This  attempted  steal  had  resulted  in 
a  political  upheaval,  three  Democratic  commis- 
sioners, John  A.  Smith,  William  W.  McVitty  and 
Brice  Larimer  being  elected.  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Larimer  both  took  their  seats  at  once  and  one  of 
their  first  official  acts  was  to  set  aside  this  in- 
famous deal.  A  stubbornly  contested  lawsuit 
followed  in  which  Captain  Mitchell's  splendid  tal- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1   8   1   G  -  1   9   1   6 


cnts  were  zealously  employed  in  behalf  of  his 
client,  the  county,  and  with  the  result  that  the 
case  was  finally  won.  For  this  arduous  service 
Captain  Mitchell  leccived  a  salary  of  $200  a  year. 
In  1884  he  was  again  nominated  for  a  place  on 
the  Supreme  bench,  and  this  time,  in  spite  of  a 
campaig'n  of  misrepresentation  and  vituperation 
waged  ag'ainst  him,  he  was  elected,  taking  his 
seat  in  January,  188.5.  He  found  his  new  duties 
congenial  to  him  and  himself  admirably  fitted  for 
the  work  which  lay  before  him.  His  judicial  de- 
cisions are  regarded  as  models  and  stand  as  mon- 
uments of  his  incessant  industry  and  his  great 
legal  knowledge.  He  was  renominated  in  1890 
and  trii'mphantly  re-elected,  but  did  not  live  to 
begin  his  second  term.  He  died  December  12, 
1890,  after  a  brief  illness.  No  death  ever  cast 
the  little  city  of  Goshen  into  a  deeper  gloom.  Nor 
was  the  sorrow  confined  to  his  own  city,  but  it 
was  felt  throughout  the  State.  Had  he  lived  to 
serve  another  six  years  on  the  bench,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  he  would  have  risen  to  still  high- 
er eminence,  but  with  his  single  term  of  service 
he  ranks  among  Indiana's  greatest  jurists. 

There  are  many  others,  both  living  and  dead, 
whose  names  deserve  honorable  mention,  but  the 
allotted  space  has  been  exhausted.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  in  no  county  in  this  State  can  be  found 
a  better  citizenry  than  those  who  make  up  the 
Democracy  of  Elkhart  county.  As  the  party  has 
been  in  power  but  little  of  the  time  during  the 
past   sixty-five   years,    there   has    been   but   little 


opportunity  for  achievement.  Its  history,  there- 
fore, is  a  history  of  men  and  the  men  here 
sketched  are  among  its  most  conspicuous  repre- 
sentatives in  their  respective  periods. 

Note.— When  I  was  writing  the  above  article  I 
did  not  intend  to  mention  any  persons  now  liv- 
ing, as  there  are  so  many  sterling  Democrats  in 
this  county  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  give 
each  one  even  a  half  dozen  lines.  Following  are 
a  number  who  deserve  notice  and  there  are  many 
others  who  do  not  now  come  to  mind:  Mayor  S. 
F.  Spohn,  Dr.  C.  C.  Bower,  Colonel  C.  G.  Conn, 
Dr.  D.  L.  Miller,  Hon.  M.  M.  Galentine,  Piebe 
Swact,  Anthony  and  B.  F.  Deahl,  J.  W.  Replogle, 
George  B.  Slate,  Haines  Egbert,  Charles  E.  Free- 
land,  J.  .1.  Zollinger,  Edson  C.  Bartholomew,  W. 
H.  Winship,  John  N.  Swart,  James  Dunmire, 
George  H.  Rimpler,  A.  R.  Bemenderfer,  W.  J. 
Beasecker,  A.  E.  Weaver,  I).  M.  Bechtel,  W.  R. 
Coverstore,  Charles  Swart,  W.  W.  Showalter,  W. 
E.  Girner,  E.  E.  Fisher,  Ben  Wise,  C.  C.  Raymer, 
O.  M.  Con'ey,  J.  F.  Hauenstein,  B.  F.  Kindig, 
Frank  Leader,  Charles  A.  Aitken,  Dr.  G.  W. 
Spohn,  Judge  J.  L.  Harman,  John  W.  Brown, 
Elias  Fisher,  Charles  Kohler,  J.  A.  Beane  and 
Aaron  Work. 

The  following  who  are  no  longer  living  also 
ought  not  to  be  omitted:  Dr.  P.  D.  Harding, 
George  Milburn,  Joseph  Zollinger,  Edwin  M.  Win- 
gar,  W.  W.  Wise,  Dr.  F.  L.  Putt,  Brice  Larimer, 
Henry  Bemenderfer,  David  Logan,  Colonel  R.  M. 
Johnson,  John  A.  Smith  and  Samuel  R.  Miller. 


(597) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
FAYETTE  COUNTY 


IN  writing  the  history  of  Fayette  county  one 
hundred  years  from  the  date  of  the  act  of 
the  legislature  authorizing  the  organization, 
it  is  interesting  to  quote  from  the  writings  of 
some  of  the  earlier  historians,  which  writings  are 
repeated  by  some  of  the  later  guessers  in  the 
same  line.  For  instance,  here  is  a  short  para- 
graph in  a  recent  publication  which  fairly  sum- 
marizes all  of  those  who  tried  to  analyze : 

"The  first  mention  of  Fayette  county  by  name 
is  to  be  found  in  the  legislative  act  of  Decem- 
ber 28,  1818,  which  defined  its  limits  and  pro- 
vided for  its  formal  organization  on  the  first 
day  of  the  following  month — that  is,  four  days 
later.  The  fact  that  such  a  short  time  was  to 
elapse  between  the  passage  of  the  act  creating  the 
county  and  the  time  for  its  actual  organization 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  politicians  of  the 
proposed  county  had  their  plans  well  in  hand  for 
the  disposal  of  the  few  offices  which  would  be 
necessary  in  order  to  get  the  county  started.  Most 
of  the  officials  named  had  had  some  connection 
with  Franklin  county  affairs  and  some  of  them 
had  held  offices  in  that  county.  Jonathan  Mc- 
Carty  and  John  Conner  were  undoubtedly  the 
men  most  responsible  for  the  creation  of  the  new 
county,  Conner  being  a  member  of  the  state  sen- 
ate at  the  time  the  act  was  passed." 

If  all  these  historians  are  right  in  their  con- 
clusions the  politicians  of  those  early  days  builded 
well  and  did  the  work  on  hand  at  the  start  most 
excellently.  Jonathan  McCarty  was  one  of  the 
Whig  leaders  who  is  constantly  mentioned  among 
those  present  when  the  offices  were  being  dis- 
tributed, and  the  praises  which  were  sounded  of 
him  by  the  Indianapolis  Journal  in  the  early  days 
were  such  that  no  doubt  could  be  entertained  of 
his  party  loyalty. 

Jonathan  McCarty  was  the  first  county  clerk 
and  Newton  Claypool  was  the  first  county  treas- 
urer, both  "Whigs  forever."  In  mentioning  these 
two  offices  at  this  time,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  in  the  first  one  hundred  years  of  Fayette 
county  history  only  two  Democrats  have  ever  held 
the  office  of  county  clerk,  and  only  two  Democrats 
have  ever  been  given  the  chance  to  count  the 
money  in  the  treasury. 

The  two  Democrats  who  held  the  office  of  coun- 
ty clerk  were  John  G.  T.  Veach,  elected  in  1874, 
and  William  Reeder,  who  was  accidentally  elected 
in  1915.  Reeder  had  to  have  several  counts  to 
determine  that  he  was  really  elected,  and  then  he 
had  but  three  votes  ahead  of  his  Republican  op- 
ponent. 


The  two  county  treasurers  admitting  Democ- 
racy as  their  political  belief  were  W.  H.  Beck, 
elected  in  1853,  and  Ben  W.  Cole,  who  "nosed-in" 
and  defeated  his  Republican  opponent  in  1915. 
In  1915  it  will  also  be  remembered  that  Finley 
Gray  was  serving  in  the  congress,  by  the  aid  of 
some  other  counties  in  the  district. 

In  looking  through  the  early  history,  in  1819, 
in  the  long  list  of  Whigs  holding  office  appears 
the  name  of  William  W.  Wick,  one  of  the  early- 
day  Democrats  who  was  conspicious  later  in 
Marion  county  politics  and  served  in  congress. 
He  was  subjected  to  much  abuse  from  the 
Indianapolis  Journal  in  all  his  political  activities, 
the  chief  complaint  of  the  editor  being  that  Wick 
sometimes  made  his  campaign  appealing  to  voters 
of  all  political  parties,  as  he  did  when  a  candidate 
for  Congress,  and  when  it  was  claimed  that  party 
lines  should  rule,  the  editor  declaring  it  an  "im- 
moral act"  for  a  Democrat  to  ask  Whigs  to  vote 
for  him.  However,  Wick  was  elected  whenever  he 
chose  to  run.  He  was  the  first  prosecutor  in  Fay- 
ette and  about  the  only  man  in  office  outside  the 
Whig  party  who  can  be  clearly  recognized  as  a 
Democrat  at  that  time  or  later. 

In  the  city  of  Connersville  the  Democrats  have 
been  more  fortunate  than  in  the  county.  They 
have  maintained  a  good  working  organization  and 
while  they  have  been  winning  occasionally  in  the 
city  they  have  kept  the  county  Republican  ma- 
jority so  small  that  it  appears  peculiar  that  they 
have  not  often  turned  the  tide  and  changed  gen- 
eral results.  There  are  many  counties  in  the 
state  which  are  just  as  reliably  Democratic  on 
election  days  as  Fayette  is  Republican,  and  on 
even  smaller  majorities  which  are  never  over- 
come by  the  opposition. 

W.  C.  Forrey  was  for  a  number  of  years  mayor 
of.  Connersville  and  always  a  strong  Democrat 
politically.  He  was  elected  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  for  several  terms,  but  his  personal  popu- 
larity was  sufficient  to  wipe  out  much  political 
prejudice.  Charles  J.  Murray,  another  "all  the 
time"  Democrat,  also  served  as  mayor,  being 
elected  in  1872. 

Frank  M.  Edwards,  the  county  chairman  in 
1918,  is  one  of  the  Democrats  of  the  fighting  sort 
who  have  forced  the  Republicans  to  watch  all 
corners  of  their  organization  in  order  to  pre- 
serve their  small  margin,  which  is  sufficiently 
narrow  that  it  would  be  designated  in  many 
counties   of  the   state   as   decidedly   "unsafe." 


(  598  ) 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY   OF 
FLOYD  COUNTY 

By  Herman  Rave 


BROADLY  speaking,  the  earlier  history  of 
Floyd  county  is  that  of  the  counties  of 
Clark  and  Harrison,  out  of  parts  of  which 
it  was  created  in  1819  through  the  efforts  of  the 
Scribner  family,  the  founders  of  the  city  of  New 
Albany.  In  those  early  days  the  lines  between  the 
two  parties  then  in  existence  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  so  sharply  drawn  as  they  were  later,  the 
greater  interests  of  the  community  of  settlers 
centering  in  their  local  affairs  and  on  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery.  The  latter  seems  to  have  been 
the  main  dividing  line  and  the  Democracy  of  the 
river  counties  of  Indiana  followed  its  first  great 
Governor  in  this  matter  and  opposed  the  making 
of  Indiana  a  slave  State  and  defeated  its  oppon- 
ents at  every  step.  In  this  matter  what  is  now 
Floyd  county  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the 
majority. 

After  the  establishment  of  the  county  its  first 
years  were  devoted  to  a  fight  for  the  location  of 
the  court  house,  in  which  the  town  of  Greenville 
competed  with  New  Albany,  and  in  which  the  lat- 
ter won.  As  usual  in  such  fights  party  lines  were 
mostly  obliterated.  When  the  court  house  was 
at  last  permanently  located  in  New  Albany  Floyd 
became  more  and  more  what  may  be  termed  a 
city-county  and  its  politics  and  papers  centered 
there,  although  the  city  itself  is  Republican  nor- 
mally by  some  300  majority,  while  the  outside 
townships  are  Democratic  with  one  exception, 
Franklin. 

It  was  quite  natural  that  Floyd  as  a  separate 
county  should  not  have  had  any  great  and  promi- 
nent representatives  of  Democracy  until  a  more 
recent  period.  Harrison  and  Clark,  with  the 
older  towns  of  Corydon,  Charlestown  and  Jeffer- 
sonville,  monopolized  the  honors  and  distinctions, 
but  when  once  Floyd  and  its  capital  got  into  the 
stride  a  series  of  notable  men  in  Indiana  history 
and  Democracy  succeeded  one  another  rapidly  and 
held  the  attention  of  not  only  the  State,  but  the 
nation. 

The  first  of  these  men  to  appear  was  Ashbel 
P.  Willard,  native  of  Oneida,  N.  Y.,  who  came 
campaigning  into  the  river  counties  and  liked  New 
Albany  so  well  that  he  settled  here  and  at  the  age 
of  36  became  Governor  of  Indiana. 

Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  also  a  native  of  New  York, 
was  another  great  leader  of  the  Indiana  Democ- 
racy, and  like  Willard,  fought  the  wave  of  Know- 
Nothingism  which  swept  the  country. 

There  were  other  prominent  and  efficient  men 


who  led  the  party  locally  and  made  a  reputation 
for  themselves,  but  the  greatest  of  the  Democratic 
leaders  to  be  credited  to  Floyd  county  is  undoubt- 
edly Michael  C.  Kerr,  who  came  from  Titusville, 
Pa.,  in  1852,  filled  the  prosecutor's  office  and  rose 
to  Congress,  where  he  was  one  of  the  most  noted 
speakers  of  that  great  body. 

Astute  politicians  Floyd  county  has  never 
lacked  since  she  came  into  the  running  politically, 
and  the  adjoining  counties  have  contributed  quite 
a  number  of  those  who  must  be  credited  to  Floyd, 
which  became  their  home  with  their  entrance  into 
politics. 

While  sper.king  of  the  political  history  of  Floyd 
county  from  a  Democratic  standpoint,  it  may  as 
well  be  understood  that  the  newspapers  have  al- 
ways had  an  important  part  in  it,  especially  the 
New  Albany  Ledger,  which  early  came  to  be  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  Democratic  leaders  of  New  Al- 
bany and  the  county,  and  was  frequently  owned 
by  the  men  who  not  only  edited  the  paper,  but 
directed  the  internal  policies  of  their  locality  and 
even  of  the  congressional  district  and  much  of 
southern  Indiana.  Sometimes  its  owners  and  ed- 
itors even  influenced  State  and  national  politics. 
The  Ledger  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Argus, 
the  first  Democratic  paper  published  in  Floyd 
county,  founded  in  the  autumn  of  1836  by  Denni- 
son  &  Hineline.  It  went  through  a  number  of  ups 
and  downs  and  first  changed  its  name  to  the 
Democrat,  under  a  new  ownership,  but  in  1841  it 
was  again  sold  and  became  the  Register  under 
J.  C.  Jocelyn.  In  1843  the  outfit  was  purchased  by 
Phineas  M.  Kent  and  the  name  changed  to  Soiitli- 
xvestern  Demoerat.  Another  sale  or  two  finally 
brought  the  paper  into  the  possession  of  Bradley 
&  Lucas,  who,  after  a  year,  sold  out  to  Norman 
&  Bosworth  in  1849.  The  latter  firm  changed  the 
name  to  the  Neic  Albany  Ledger  and  it  at  once 
took  prominent  standing  as  a  political  paper. 
Norman  was  a  strong  writer,  a  man  of  great  lit- 
erary ability  and  tht  peer  of  Prentice  in  some 
ways.  Bosworth  soon  retired  from  the  Ledger 
and  Mr.  Kent  again  became  one  of  the  owners  and 
put  it  upon  its  financial  feet.  He  was  a  man  of 
means,  owned  a  large  mill,  and  was  first  presi- 
dent of  the  St.  Louis  Air  Line,  now  part  of  the 
Southern  system.  Norman's  political  influence 
pervaded  this  particular  section  of  Indiana  and  he 
was  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  ablest  of  Indiana 
editors.  He  died  October  30,  1869.  His  interest 
was  transferred  to  Lucius  G.  Matthews,  who  in 


(  599) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


1872  sold  to  Merrill  &  Meter,  when  a  stock  com- 
pany was  formed  and  the  paper  was  consolidated 
with  the  Standard,  the  company  consisting  of  C. 
E.  Merrill,  C.  R.  Moter,  Josiah  Gwin,  J.  V.  Kelso, 
Charles  E.  Johnson.  Shortly  after  the  consolida- 
tion all  but  Mr.  Gwin  retired  from  the  ownership 
and  James  P.  Applegate,  Jonathan  Peters,  Josiah 
Gwin  and  Adam  H'lmer  became  the  owners. 

The  Standard,  which  had  come  into  the  com- 
bination, was  born  in  1871  and  was  ably  edited. 
Mr.  Kelso,  one  of  its  owners,  was  an  able  lawyer, 
a  shrewd  politician  and  a  strong  fighter  for  his 
own  and  the  opinions  of  his  party.  All  these  men 
have  gone  to  their  last  rest,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  the  Ledger  was  the  sole  property  of  Miss 
Ada  Peters,  who  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best 
newspaper  women  of  the  State,  and  has  the  es- 
teem of  her  community.  She  sold  the  paper  in 
the  fall  of  1916  to  Evan  B.  Stotsenberg,  who  this 
year  (1918)  sold  to  Bruce  Ulster,  his  manager. 

The  editors  of  the  Ledger  at  all  times  played 
quite  an  important  part  in  district  politics,  and  its 
late  owner  is  a  well-known  figure,  not  only  in 
district  but  in  State  politics  as  well,  having  served 
the  unexpired  term  of  the  late  Attorney-General 
Milburn  and  having  been  a  candidate  for  the  office 
in  the  late  campaign.  His  father  before  him,  Judge 
John  H.  Stotsenberg,  was  also  prominent  in  Indi- 
ana politics  and  was  a  most  polished  and  culti- 
vated gentleman.  Major  Kelso,  who  was  con- 
nected with  the  Ledger,  is  also  succeeded  by  a 
son,  C.  B.  Kelso,  equally  as  able  as  his  father  and 
an  equally  stanch  Democrat  and  successful  attor- 
ney and  business  man. 

In  1881  Josiah  Gwin  began  the  publication  of 
the  Public  Press,  also  Democratic,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Josiah  Gwin  &  Sons.  Mr.  Gwin  has  since 
passed  away,  but  his  son,  Frank  Gwin,  continued 
the  publication  of  the  paper,  which,  as  a  weekly, 
had  a  good  circulation,  until  his  death  early  in 
1918,  and  is  now  conducted  by  his  widow. 

In  1850  a  German  Democratic  paper  was  estab- 
lished, but  soon  expired,  to  be  succeeded  by  others, 
but  their  existence  was  ephemeral,  although  there 
were  at  that  time  some  5,000  German-Americans 
in  the  county,  all  of  whom,  probably,  could  read  the 
German  language.  The  late  Otto  Palmer  was  the 
last  German  editor  to  publish  a  Democratic  paper 
in  Floyd  county.  This  fact  goes  to  show  how  rap- 
idly the  population  of  German  ancestry  becomes 
thoroughly  Americanized. 

Among  other  notable  Floyd  county  Democratic 
politicians  was  Thomas  L.  Smith,  who  came  to 
New  Albany  in  1836  and  served  one  term  as  judge 
of  the  Indiana  Supreme  Court.  He  was  the  only 
lawyer  of  the  Democratic  faith  for  quite  a  time  to 
reside  in  Floyd  county.  This  fact  was  seized  upon 
by  the  Floyd   Democrats,  and  they  ran  him  for 


office  whenever  possible.  He  must  have  been  pop- 
ular, for  he  was  frequently  elected. 

Judge  George  A.  Bicknell  was  another  attorney 
of  great  ability,  who  served  this  county  politically 
and  judicially,  being  first  elected  judge,  then  to 
CongTess  for  two  terms,  and  in  1881  serving  on  a 
commission  which  brought  up  the  arrears  of  cases 
before  the  Indiana  Supreme  Court.  He  was  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  the  Mid- 
dle West. 

In  Floyd,  as  in  other  counties,  the  profession  of 
law  has  always  figured  most  prominently  in  poli- 
tics, and  the  present  bar  may  justly  be  termed 
the  leading  political  body  in  the  county.  A  roster 
of  the  names  of  the  attorneys  means  a  roster  of 
leaders.  Evan  B.  Stotsenberg  has  served  as  At- 
torney-General ;  C.  W.  Schindler  as  county  attor- 
ney; C.  D.  Kelso,  while  holding  no  office,  is  a 
power;  Charles  Turner,  an  energetic  and  entirely 
self-made  man,  is  at  present  representative  in  the 
Legislature;  J.  W.  Ewing  is  a  power  not  only  in 
Floyd,  but  in  all  the  river  counties;  Col.  Charles 
Jewett,  who  held  the  highest  judicial  office  in  the 
Philippines  for  a  time,  is  not  only  brilliant  in  his 
profession,  but  strong  in  politics  when  he  chooses 
to  take  a  hand,  and  associated  with  him  is  Walter 
V.  Bulleit,  who  served  as  prosecutor  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Herbert  Kenney,  another  young  Demo- 
crat. 

Outside  of  the  legal  circle  there  is  M.  C.  Thorn- 
ton, who  has  served  the  county  as  representative 
for  two  terms  and  is  now  serving  as  joint  senator 
of  Floyd  and  Harrison.  Mr.  Thornton  is  a  strik- 
ing figure  and  promises  to  go  farther.  He  is  an- 
other example  of  sturdy  American  Democracy, 
having  risen  from  a  boyhood  of  poverty  and  toil. 

The  veteran  in  the  Democratic  ranks  and  per- 
haps the  hardest  fighter,  a  unique  figure,  is  Capt. 
Tom  Hanlon,  who  has  held  office  as  auditor  of  the 
county  and  various  other  offices.  Everybody  in 
this  section  knows  him.  He  is  at  once  picturesque 
and  lovable  and  decidedly  a  "good  scrapper." 

Among  the  officials  of  the  county  at  present 
are  Judge  John  M.  Paris,  quiet,  mild-mannered, 
just  and  a  fine  politician;  Dr.  A.  V.  Johnson,  serv- 
ing as  clerk,  who  could  be  elected  in  several  coun- 
ties at  once,  if  the  law  allowed;  Emile  DuPaquier, 
auditor,  whom  everybody  likes;  Claude  Sittason, 
who  has  held  the  office  of  sheriff  and  treasurer, 
and  made  the  race  for  the  mayoralty,  capable, 
strong  and  trusted  by  the  public;  Sheriff  Charles 
Long,  who  has  been  re-elected  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  he  could  not  make  a  canvass  on  account  of 
illness;  Recorder  Williams,  who  stepped  into  poli- 
tics out  of  the  schoolroom,  and  Victor  Herb, 
county  assessor,  all  of  them  doing  their  share  to 
further  the  interests  of  the  party. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
FOUNTAIN   COUNTY 

By  A.  T.  Livengood 


THE  location  of  Fountain  county  has  much 
to  do  with  its  politics,  as  it  is  surrounded 
on  two  sides  with  the  waters  of  the  Wabash 
river,  which  are  pure  and  contributes  much  to  the 
health  of  its  citizenship,  and  the  life  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party. 

It  is  located  in  the  "Bend"  of  the  Wabash  where 
it  turns  southward  from  its  long  sweep  across 
the  State  from  the  State  of  Ohio,  where  it  rises, 
so  that  its  northern  and  western  boundary  line 
is  the  Wabash. 

The  county  was  organized  December  31,  1825, 
and  Covington  was  established  as  its  county  seat 
on  July  25,  1826,  but  it  being  on  the  western  side 
of  the  county,  frequent  county  seat  removals  have 
arisen,  first  to  transfer  the  seat  of  justice  to  a 
little  town  near  the  center  of  the  county,  called 
Chambersburg,  and  afterward  to  Veedersburg, 
which  is  located  near  the  county's  center,  but 
all  the  past  efforts  have  failed  to  take  it  away 
from  Covington,  so  that  city  has  the  court  house, 
which  was  erected  in  the  sixties,  but  which  is  in 
a  good  state  of  preservation. 

The  old  court  house  has  been  the  scene  of  many 
a  legal  battle  and  many  a  prominent  lawyer  has 
appeared  in  the  courts  of  this  county,  including 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Daniel 
W.  Voorhees,  Edward  A.  Hannegan,  Joseph  E. 
McDonald,  Lew  Wallace,  and  many  others  that 
could  be  mentioned. 

Fountain  county  is  not  a  large  county,  but  it 
contains  about  four  hundred  square  miles  and  its 
surface  is  mostly  level,  which  well  adapts  it  to 
agriculture  and  stock  raising.  Coal  is  mined  in 
various  parts  of  the  county  and  it  has  many 
beauty  spots,  such  as  "The  Arch,"  at  Fountain; 
"The  Glens,"  near  Covington;  "Ravine  Park,"  at 
Attica;  "Hub  Park,"  at  Veedersburg,  and  the 
"Fair  Grounds,"  at  Covington.  The  county  was 
given  its  name  in  memory  of  Major  Fountain  of 
Kentucky,  who  was  killed  in  a  battle  on  the 
Maumee  river,  near  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  in  the  year 
1790.  Its  population  has  remained  about  the 
same  since  1890,  being  a  little  over  20,000,  and  al- 
though it  has  three  thriving  cities  in  Attica,  Cov- 
ington and  Veedersburg,  and  many  small  towns, 
yet  none  of  them  has  grown  to  any  great  propor- 
tions in  the  last  twenty  years,  but  they  are  all 
active  and  are  not  losing  in  population. 

The  county  has  a  sturdy  manhood  and  woman- 
hood, as  the  early  settlers  came  from  the  Caro- 
linas,  Kentucky  and  the  Virginias,  and  are  prin- 


cipally of  German  extraction,  and  having  been 
followers  of  Jefferson,  Monroe  and  Jackson  in  the 
early  days,  naturally  its  early  citizenship  affil- 
iated with  the  Democratic  party,  and  for  many 
years  no  one  but  Democrats  were  permitted  to  fill 
the  oflSces  in  the  county,  and  while  the  Democratic 
party  has  a  small  majority  of  the  voters  in  the 
county,  yet  a  few  Republicans  are  elected  occa- 
sionally. 

Prior  to  1890  Jackson  township,  in  this  county, 
named  in  honor  of  the  great  President,  had  only 
some  twenty  odd  Republican  voters  therein  out 
of  a  voting  population  of  250,  and  it  has  always 
remained  steadfast  to  the  Democratic  party,  as 
has  Troy  and  Wabash  townships. 

The  Democratic  party  of  this  county  points 
with  pride  to  its  early  leadership,  because  it  was 
here  that  lived  that  great  Democrat,  the  Honor- 
able Edward  A.  Hannegan  when  he  was  United 
States  Senator  from  Indiana;  also  the  Honorable 
Daniel  W.  Voorhees  was  raised  in  this  county 
and  grew  to  manhood  here  and  his  voice  electrified 
the  multitudes  in  law  and  in  politics  and  he  was 
the  idol  of  Fountain  county  Democracy  until  his 
death. 

Here  lived  the  Honorable  Joseph  E.  McDonald 
at  one  time,  and  the  Honorable  Lew  Wallace,  the 
far-famed  author  of  "Ben-Hur,"  was  a  Democrat 
before  the  war  days,  and  he  lived  here  also. 

The  Honorable  David  Wallace,  once  Governor 
of  Indiana  during  the  years  from  1837  to  1840, 
is  said  to  lie  boi'ied  in  the  old  graveyard  in  the 
city  of  Covington  with  his  grave  unmarked. 

The  Democratic  party  had  always  been  in  the 
majority  until  the  coming  in  of  the  Greenback 
party,  when  many  Democrats  joined  that  party 
and  weakened  the  ranks  of  the  Democrats,  and 
from  that  day  to  this  the  party  majority  has  been 
around  the  one  hundred  mark. 

The  Democratic  newspapers  of  the  county  have 
been  noted  for  their  conservatism  and  have  not 
been  so  aggressive  in  pushing  the  cause  of  the 
great  Democratic  party  as  it  appears  they  should 
have  been,  but  their  laxness  in  that  respect  is  ac- 
counted for,  because  of  the  fact  that  there  are 
only  two  out-and-out  Democratic  papers  in  the 
county,  one  the  Covington  Friend,  the  party  or- 
gan at  Covington,  Ind.,  edited  now  by  John  B. 
Schwin,  and  established  in  1840,  and  the  other 
the  Fotnitain-Warren  Democrat,  edited  by  G.  M. 
Williams,  at  Attica.     A  long  line  of  independent 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


newspapers  are  strung  all  over  the  county,  the 
most  prominent  of  all  of  them  being  the  Veeders- 
burg  Neiv's,  which  was  for  a  number  of  years 
edited  by  Charles  M.  Berry,  who  was  probably 
the  most  popular  newspaper  man  in  the  county, 
and  the  Democratic  party  lost  a  brave  defender 
when  he  died,  some  six  years  ago.  Other  inde- 
pendent Democratic  newspapers  in  the  county  are 
the  Attica  Daily  Tribune,  edited  by  R.  E.  Ray; 
the  HiUsboro  Times,  edited  by  J.  W.  Small,  and 
the  Kingman  Star,  edited  by  R.  A.  Booe. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  some  of  the 
Democrats  in  this  county  who  served  the  State  in 
the  Legislature:  Daniel  W.  Cunningham,  Elliott 
N.  Bowman,  Bayless  Carter,  E.  Scott  Booe,  J. 
Shannon  Nave,  Thomas  N.  Lief,  Dan  R.  Young, 
D.  C.  Reed,  Joe  H.  Stahl,  H.  R.  Claypool  and  oth- 
ers could  be  named. 

Among  the  workers  in  the  ranks  of  Democracy, 
many  of  whom  have  held  important  places  in  pub- 
lic office  and  leadership,  we  name  the  following: 


Harris  Reynolds,  Judge  Ristine,  David  Webb, 
Horace  Hetfield,  Stephen  Voorhees,  Colonel  James 
McMannomy,  James  A.  Sanders,  James  G.  Mof- 
fett,  Samuel  Clark,  William  H.  Miles,  Thomas  M. 
Rinn,  Joel  Watts,  H.  C.  Yount,  Alex  Hetfield,  A. 
M.  Booe,  George  Glascock,  Robert  J.  Miller,  W. 
W.  Luke,  and  of  a  later  date  F.  W.  Macoughtry, 
Judge  Charles  Remster,  Judge  L  E.  Schoonover, 
Lewis  Tinder,  D.  S.  Ferguson,  W.  A.  Wright,  A. 
T.  Livengood,  Jas.  A.  Copeland,  General  William 
B.  Gray,  John  B.  Martin,  W.  W.  Finfrock,  J.  A. 
Wilt,  Leroy  Sanders,  Thomas  J.  Dotson,  C.  G. 
Wildt,  J.  G.  B.  Short,  W.  N.  White,  C.  W.  Dice. 
T.  H.  McGeorge,  M.  F.  Livengood,  C.  B.  Philpott, 
W.  R.  Massey,  W.  T.  Willett,  Hiram  Allen,  Wil- 
liam H.  Young,  O.  S.  Clark,  Burton  VanHook,  D. 
H.  Wallace,  H.  J.  Sullivan,  G.  P.  Schwin,  W.  L 
Boggs,  Judd  Cory,  J.  B.  Thomas  and  W.  B.  Myers. 
Very  few  federal  appointments  have  come  to 
the  Democrats  of  this  county,  other  than  the 
offices  filled  by  those  mentioned  above. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
FRANKLIN  COUNTY 

By  Louis  Federmann 


FRANKLIN  COUNTY  is  located  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Indiana,  bordering  on 
Ohio,  and  was  the  gateway  through  which 
the  pioneers  of  the  East  and  the  South  entered 
into  the  wilderness  of  the  territory  of  Indiana. 
The  first  entry  of  lands  was  made  in  1803  and 
active  settlement  began  in  1804.  Two  miles  to 
the  west  of  where  Brookville  is  now  located  was 
the  old  Indian  boundary  line,  established  at 
Greenville,  Ohio,  in  1795,  which  halted  their  on- 
ward western  march ;  so  they  settled  and  builded 
their  homes  among  the  hills  and  valleys  of  the 
beautiful  White  Water  river  and  here  they  made 
ready  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  development 
and  advancement  of  Indiana.  Here  came  the 
Butlers,  the  McCartys,  the  Nobles,  the  Hannas, 
the  Eads,  the  Wallaces,  the  Rays,  the  Templetons, 
the  Stoopes,  and  many  others,  several  of  whom 
became  noted  in  the  official  and  institutional  life 
of  Indiana. 

Franklin  county  was  organized  February  1, 
1811,  and  was  the  sixth  county  organized  in  In- 
diana. At  the  time  of  its  organization  it  is  esti- 
mated that  the  county  had  a  population  of  about 
five  thousand  people;  the  census  of  1815  showed 
a  population  of  7,370,  being  second  only  to  the 
population  of  Knox  county.  Franklin  county  had 
been  in  existence  only  five  years  when  Indiana 
was  admitted  to  statehood  and  had  had  members 
in  the  territorial  legislature  of  the  five  previous 
sessions.  When  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1816  met  at  Corydon,  Franklin  county  had  five 
of  the  ablest  men  who  sat  in  that  body,  viz.:  Wil- 
liam H.  Eads,  Robert  Hanna,  Jr.,  James  Noble, 
James  Brownlee  and  Enoch  McCarty.  Two  of 
these  men,  James  Noble  and  Robert  Hanna,  later 
became  United  States  Senators  from  Indiana, 
Noble  serving  from  1816  to  1831,  dying  in  the 
middle  of  his  third  term,  when  his  friend,  Robert 
Hanna,  was  appointed  to  serve  his  unexpired 
term. 

Franklin  county  was  represented  in  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1851  by  Dr.  George 
Berry.  Whether  the  county  will  be  represented  in 
the  constitutional  convention  of  1918  is  too  early 
to  foretell. 

Franklin  county  has  been  the  birthplace  or 
home  of  many  men  who  won  distinction  in  public 
and  professional  life  in  the  earlier  history  of  our 
State  and  Nation,  and  those  worthy  of  mention 
are  as  follows,  viz.: 


James  Noble  ar.d  Robert  Hanna,  U.  S.  Senators 
from  Indiana. 

John  Henderson,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Missis- 
sippi. 

Jesse  B.  Thomas,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Illinois. 

John  H.  Farquhar,  member  of  Congress,  1864. 

James  B.  Ray,  Noah  Noble,  David  Wallace  and 
Abram  Hammond,  Governors  of  Indiana;  John  P. 
St.  John.  Governor  of  Kansas;  Stephen  Harding, 
Territorial  Governor  of  Utah;  Lew  Wallace,  Ter- 
ritorial Governor  of  New  Mexico,  Minister  to 
Turkey  and  author  of  "Ben-Hur." 

John  A.  Matson,  candidate  for  Whig  nomina- 
tion for  Governor  of  Indiana,  1844,  but  failed  to 
receive  the  nomination. 

Courtland  C.  Matson,  son  of  John  A.  Matson, 
Democratic  nominee  for  Governor  of  Indiana, 
1888,  but  failed  of  election. 

Isaac  Blackford,  Stephen  C.  Stephens  and  W. 
F.  McKinney,  Judges  of  the  Indiana  Supreme 
Court. 

R.  B.  Abbott,  President  of  Albert  Lea  Univer- 
sity, Minnesota. 

John  P.  D.  John,  President  of  DePauw  Univer- 
sity. 

Charles  W.  Lewis,  President  of  Moores  Hill 
College. 

Charles  N.  Sims,  Chancellor  of  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity. 

E.  D.  Barbour,  President  of  Kansas  University. 

James  B.  Eads,  son  of  William  H.  Eads,  engi- 
reer,  builder  of  St.  Louis  bridge,  and  jetties  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

James  N.  Tyner,  Postmaster-General. 

P.  A.  Hackelman,  General  U.  S.  Army. 

Oliver  S.  Glisson,  Rear  Admiral  U.  S.  Navy. 

Proud  as  the  county  is  of  its  early  pioneer  his- 
tory and  of  its  noted  men  and  women ;  proud  as 
the  county  is  of  the  scenic  beauty  of  its  rivers, 
hills  and  valleys,  prouder  still  is  the  county  of 
its  loyalty  and  steadfastness  to  the  Democratic 
party.  Since  1844,  without  exception  and  under 
all  circumstances,  it  has  given  large  and  substan- 
tial Democratic  majorities  for  the  National  and 
State  ticket  and  in  all  this  time  of  seventy-three 
years  but  four  of  the  local  Democratic  candidates 
have  failed  to  carry  the  county.  While  Franklin 
county  is  the  recognized  Gibraltar  of  Democracy 
in  the  State  of  Indiana,  it  rarely  ever  has  sought 
favor  or  scarcely  ever  received  preferment  at  the 
hands  of  the  Democratic  party.  It  has  had  only 
one  candidate  for  State  office,  viz.:   in   1902  Cap- 


(  603  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


tain  William  H.  Bracken  was  nominated  for 
Judge  of  the  Appellate  Court.  It  has  never  had 
a  Democratic  State  officer  and  but  once  has  it  had 
a  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress,  Dr.  George 
Berry,  in  1864,  who  was  undoubtedly  elected,  but 
owing  to  the  throwing  out  of  a  Democratic  town- 
ship in  Decatur  county,  failed  to  receive  the  cer- 
tificate of  election.  Captain  William  H.  Bracken 
was  appointed  as  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue 
in  1893  and  served  four  years,  and  this  is  the 
only  appointment  of  note  ever  given  a  Democrat 
in  this  county,  and  yet  we  have  always  proved 
faithful,  loyal  and  true  to  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party. 

The  medical  profession  has  always  wielded  a 
potential  influence  in  maintaining  the  high 
standards  of  Democracy  in  Franklin  county.  One 
of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  profession 
was  Dr.  George  Berry,  State  Senator  in  1849, 
member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1850, 
Democratic  candidate  for  Congress  in  1864  and 
County  Auditor  from  1870  to  1878.  It  is  safe  to  say 
no  other  man  in  Franklin  county  was  so  well 
known  or  wielded  a  greater  influence  than  Dr. 
George  Berry.  His  son,  William  H.  Berry,  while 
never  holding  office  except  that  of  School  Trustee, 
always  took  an  active  part  in  political  aff'airs  and 
was  an  enthusiastic  worker  for  the  good  of  the 
party.  Dr.  John  H.  Quick  was  County  Auditor 
from  1857  to  1864. 

Dr.  Thomas  Giff'ord  of  Laurel,  Ind.,  another 
sturdy  Democrat,  was  elected  as  a  representative 
in  1858,  1860  and  1862.  In  1866  he  was  elected 
to  the  State  Senate.  As  a  member  of  the  General 
Assembly  he  was  distinguished  for  his  untiring 
eff'orts  in  working  for  the  welfai-e  of  the  county 
and  State.  His  son.  Dr.  Samuel  A.  GiflFord,  was 
elected  Representative  in  1908  and  1910.  Dr. 
Evan  L.  Patterson  was  elected  to  the  lower  house 
of  the  Indiana  General  Assembly  in  1896  and 
1898,  and  was  elected  as  State  Senator  in  1906. 
He  is  now  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  Brook- 
ville.  Among  those  members  of  the  profession 
■.vho  have  always  worked  untiringly  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Franklin  county  Democracy,  but  who  have 
held  only  minor  positions,  are  the  following,  viz.: 
Dr.  Wallace  of  Springfield  township,  Dr.  T.  F. 
Bertenshaw  of  Whitewater  township.  Dr.  Hinkley 
of  Springfield  township.  Dr.  Averdick  of  Ray 
township,  Dr.  Schum  of  Highland  township.  Dr. 
McGuire  of  Metamora  township.  Dr.  George  B. 
Buckingham,  Dr.  George  E.  Squier,  Dr.  F.  E. 
Seal,  Dr.  James  F.  West,  Dr.  E.  M.  Glaser  and 
Dr.  John  W.  Lucas  of  Brookville. 

The  legal  profession  has  always  been  active  in 
promoting  and  developing  the  Democratic  majori- 
ties. Henry  Berry,  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court 
from  1860  to  1868,  and  Fielding  Berry,  a  promi- 


nent attorney,  were  brothers  of  Dr.  George  Berry. 
Henry  C.  Hanna  was  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court 
from  1870  to  1881.  Ferdinand  S.  Swift  was  Clerk 
of  the  Circuit  Court  from  1876  to  1880  and  Judge 
of  the  Circuit  Court  from  1881  to  1905.  Samuel 
S.  Harrell  was  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  from 
1868  to  1876,  served  in  the  Legislature  four  con- 
secutive terms,  served  as  a  member  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  central  committee  and  chairman  for 
a  number  of  years  of  the  county  committee.  He 
was  always  active  in  Democratic  circles  and  un- 
compromising in  his  fidelity  to  the  Democratic 
principles.  William  H.  Bracken,  who,  with  Sam- 
uel S.  Harrell,  were  the  most  active  Democrats  in 
the  county,  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court 
in  1878-1882.  In  1892  he  was  Democratic  presi- 
dential-elector-at-large  and,  being  an  orator  of 
note,  made  an  extensive  canvass  of  the  State.  In 
1893  he  was  appointed  by  President  Cleveland  as 
Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  of  the  Sixth  Dis- 
trict of  Indiana,  in  which  capacity  he  served  four 
years.  For  more  than  twelve  years  Mr.  Bracken 
was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  central  commit- 
tee and  under  his  guidance  the  county  rolled  up 
its  largest  Democratic  majorities.  His  son,  Leon- 
idas  L.  Bracken,  is  now  the  Secretary  of  the  Fed- 
eral Trades  Commission.  Stephen  E.  Urmston 
served  as  Prosecuting  Attorney  from  1874  to  1878 
and  was  elected  State  Senator  1878  to  1886,  and 
was  a  very  prominent  member  of  that  body. 
Francis  M.  Alexander  was  elected  State  Senator 
in  1894  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  con- 
vention at  Baltimore  in  1912  and  helped  nomi- 
nate Woodrow  Wilson.  Mr.  Alexander  was  al- 
ways influential  and  a  zealous  Democrat.  James 
B.  Kidney  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court 
in  1886  and  1890.  He  served  on  the  school  board 
rnd  was  always  an  active  and  earnest  worker  for 
the  cause.  I.  N.  McCarty  is  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  and,  while  never  elected  to  office, 
has  been  very  active  in  party  politics.  Foremost 
among  the  non-professional  men  was  Hon.  John 
S.  Martin,  a  progressive  farmer  and  prominent 
citizen,  who  for  more  than  fifty  years  was  a  tire- 
less worker,  an  inspiration  for  the  cause  of  De- 
mocracy, and  no  man  in  our  county  wielded  a 
greater  influence  or  gave  so  liberally  of  his  time 
and  means  for  the  success  of  his  party. 

Other  prominent  Democrats  who  have  been  ac- 
tive and  loyal  in  maintaining  the  substantial 
Democratic  majorities  are:  Aaron  B.  Line, 
Israel  Gobel,  Caspar  Fogel,  Thomas  Appleton, 
George  F.  Maxwell,  J.  M.  Vawter,  Cyrus  B.  Bent- 
lev,  John  S.  Martin,  John  B.  Moorman,  Levi  W. 
Buckingham,  M.  M.  Moore,  J.  T.  Meyncke,  Ed- 
ward Goff,  Ebenezer  Cooley,  James  Dare,  Samuel 
P.  Whitman,  John  N.  Smith,  Herman  Trichler, 
Peter  Schaf,  C.  R.  Cory,  A.  J.  Heason,  William 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


M.  McCleeiy,  John  P.  Schiltz,  G.  Ray  King,  Louis 
Federmann,  Richard  S.  Taylor,  John  W.  Brock- 
man,  William  H.  Senour,  A.  J.  Reifel,  T.  J.  Mc- 
Carty,  William  M.  McCarty,  Edward  Stenger, 
William  J.  Zacharias,  A.  J.  Shriner  (postmaster), 
Louis  A.  Jonas,  Georg-e  Loper,  George  Miller, 
Charles  A.  Miller,  Louis  W.  Koerner,  Albert 
Pierce,  Henry  Schmidt,  W.  E.  Ensminger,  Dr.  M. 
C.  Armstrong,  Frank  J.  Baker  and  William  A. 
Younts.  To  name  all  who  take  more  than  a  pas- 
sive interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  party  would  re- 
quire a  list  of  at  least  one  thousand  more  names. 
It  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  names  of  the 
chairmen  of  county  central  committees  back  to  the 
organization  of  the  party.  The  names  of  the  fol- 
lowing persons  obtainable  who  have  served  as 
chairmen  of  the  county  central  committee  are 
John  B.  Moorman,  Ferdinand  S.  Swift,  William 
H.  Bracken,  Samuel  S.  Harrell,  G.  Ray  King, 
John  P.  Schiltz,  Herman  Trichler,  Edward  Sten- 
ger,  A.  J.  Shriner,  William  D.  Moore  and  F.  X. 
Siebert.  For  more  than  ten  years  William  M. 
Baker,  the  present  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court, 
has  been  the  valuable  and  efficient  secretary  of 
the  county  central  committee,  having  been  suc- 
ceeded in  1916  by  A.  N.  Logan,  the  present  secre- 
tary. The  dominant  force  that  has  backed  the 
work  of  the  county  central  committee  and  has 
done  much  to  sustain  the  Democracy  of  the  coun- 
ty has  bean  the  Frankliv  Democrat,  which  was 
established  December  7,  1838,  and  has  continued 
uninterruptedly  until  January  17,  1885,  when  it 
was  changed  from  the  Franklin  Democrat  to  the 


Brookville  Democrat,  owing  to  the  confusion  from 
another  Franklin  Democrat  being  published  at 
Franklin,  Johnson  county.  The  editors  of  the 
Democrat  from  November,  1843,  to  1848  were 
Henry  Berry  and  Benjamin  West;  from  1848  to 
1852.  Nelson  Abbott;  from  1852  to  1863,  Cyrus 
B.  Bentley;  from  1863  to  1866,  Nathan  T.  Carr; 
from  1866  to  1869,  C.vrus  B.  Bentley;  from  1869 
to  1873,  William  B.  Maddock;  from  1873  to  1882, 
Cyrus  B.  Bentley;  from  1882  to  1889,  George 
Downey  and  Edgar  R.  Quick;  from  1889  to  1891, 
A.  N.  Crecraft;  from  1891  to  the  present  time, 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  M.  H.  Irwin, 
and  is  today  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  news- 
paper properties  in  the  Hoosier  State. 

The  present  Democratic  officials  are  William 
M.  Baker,  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court;  Charles  G. 
Reifel,  County  Auditor;  Charles  E.  Winscott, 
County  Treasurer;  Charles  Marlin,  County 
Sheriff;  John  A.  Schum,  County  Recorder;  A.  N. 
Logan,  County  Assessor;  John  L.  Stewart,  Coun- 
ty Surveyor;  Dr.  F.  E.  Seals,  County  Coroner, 
and  Perry  Appleton  and  Clifford  Jones,  County 
Commissioners. 

Owing  to  the  extreme  modesty  of  the  Democ- 
racy of  Franklin  county  we  have  received  very 
little  recognition  from  national  or  State  Demo- 
cratic councils,  yet  we  are  proud  of  the  fact  that 
we  have  always  proved  true  and  loyal  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  Democracy  as  instilled  into  us  by  our 
fathers  and  glorify  in  the  unbroken  Democratic 
victories  of  three-quarters  of  a  century. 


i-^^^is^j 


(605  ) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
FULTON  COUNTY 


IT  was  in  1834  when  what  is  now  known  as 
Pulton  county  was  portions  of  Cass,  Miami 
and  Kosciusko  counties,  mainly  Cass.  By  rea- 
son of  the  distance  and  inconvenience  of  the  citi- 
zens living  within  the  district  in  reaching  the 
county  seat  at  Logansport,  a  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Legislature  of  1834-5  praying  for 
the  organization  of  Fulton  county  out  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  counties  named. 

The  petition  was  favorably  considered  and  the 
county's  boundary  lines  were  established  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners.  This 
was  but  a  preparatory  act.  At  the  subsequent 
session  of  the  Legislature,  held  1835-36,  an  act 
to  organize  the  county  of  Fulton  was  passed  de- 
claring "that  from  and  after  the  first  day  of 
April  next  the  county  of  Fulton  shall  enjoy  all 
the  rights  and  jurisdiction  which  to  separate  and 
individual  counties  do  or  (may)  properly  belong." 
In  March,  1844,  the  county  was  enlarged  by  the 
addition  of  twelve  sections  on  the  east  boundary 
line,  taken  from  Miami  county. 

PERSONAL  PREFERMENTS. 

This  county  never  had  many  claimants  for  po- 
litical honors  either  by  election  or  appointment, 
although  it  has  had,  and  still  has,  many  persons 
who  were  well  qualified  for  official  positions  of  a 
high  character,  yet  their  modesty  or  ambition  for 
preferment  has  not  inclined  them  to  seek  that 
which  they  might  have  obtained.  Only  two  per- 
sons have  ever  aspired  to  a  seat  in  the  National 
Congress  from  this  county.  One,  after  two  or 
more  futile  attempts  to  obtain  that  honor,  gave 
up  in  despair;  the  other,  Hon.  Henry  A.  Barn- 
hart,  a  Democrat  and  citizen  of  Rochester,  was 
more  successful.  He  was  elected  in  1908  as  a 
Representative  in  Congress  for  the  Thirteenth 
Congressional  District  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by 
the  death  of  Hon.  A.  L.  Brick,  a  Republican, 
whose  residence  was  at  South  Bend.  Mr.  Barn- 
hart  was  a  continuous  member  of  Congress  to 
March  4,  1919. 

In  1892  Hon.  Sidney  R.  Moon  of  Rochester,  who 
had  been  Sheriff'  of  the  county  for  two  terms  and 
subsequently  represented  this  county  in  the  lower 
branch  of  the  State  Legislature  for  one  term, 
asked  for  and  received  the  nomination  for  Re- 
porter of  the  Supreme  Court  and  was  elected. 

These  are  the  only  two  instances  that  this 
county  has  ever  been  favored  for  congressional 
or  State  representation,  but  the  county,  however, 
has  been  highly  favored  in  the  election  of  many 


Democrats  as  State  Senators  and  members  of  the 
Lower  House  of  Representatives. 

Under  the  Benjamin  Harrison  administration 
Hon.  George  W.  Holman  of  Rochester  was  ap- 
pointed National  Bank  Examiner  for  Indiana  and 
was  subsequently  appointed  by  Judge  Woods  as 
United  States  Commissioner,  both  of  which  posi- 
tions he  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  the 
public. 

POLITICAL. 

When  Fulton  county  was  born  it  was  christened 
a  Democrat,  and  in  all  presidential  contests  since 
1840  it  has  generally  cast  its  vote  in  favor  of  the 
Democratic  candidate. 

From  the  organization  of  the  county  in  1836, 
with  very  rare  exceptions,  the  Democrats  were 
successful  in  electing  their  county  officials  at  each 
election  until  1860,  when  the  oncoming  Civil  War 
and  an  enlarged  population  changed  its  political 
complexion  from  a  normal  Democratic  majority 
of  one  hundred  to  a  Republican  plurality  of  a 
like  number.  Notwithstanding  this  change  of  po- 
litical strength  the  Democratic  party  was  by  no 
means  vanquished.  It  redoubled  its  energies  and 
in  a  majority  of  the  many  hotly  contested  political 
battles  since  that  time  it  has  been  the  victor  in 
the  choice  of  national.  State  and  county  officials. 
This  political  condition  still  exists  and  it  is  only 
at  times  when  Democrats  are  most  hopeful  for 
success  that  it  is  usually  swept  from  local  power. 

The  birth  of  the  Progressive  party  in  1912 
brought  about  in  that  year  the  almost  complete 
overthrow  of  the  local  Republicans,  and  although 
that  party  was  a  prominent  factor  in  the  election 
in  1914,  yet  by  reason  of  local  dissensions  among 
Democrats  the  Republicans  elected  all  of  their 
county  ticket  except  Sheriff,  Recorder,  Prosecutor, 
State  Representative  and  one  Commissioner.  Four 
of  the  eight  townships  elected  Democratic  Trus- 
tees, This  local  success  by  the  Republicans,  how- 
ever, is  more  than  balanced  by  the  encouraging 
vote  received  by  Hon.  B.  F.  Shively  for  United 
States  Senator  and  the  entire  Democratic  State 
ticket,  the  pluralities  for  these  Democratic  candi- 
dates ranging  from  82  to  106. 

At  the  "off  year''  election  in  1918,  by  a  combina- 
tion of  elements  very  unusual,  the  Republicans 
were  entirely  successful  in  the  choice  of  their  local 
candidates. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

From  the  organization  of  the  county  until  1851 
the  county  was  without  a  newspaper  of  any  kind. 
On  January  12,  1851,  Dr.  John  Q.  Howell  estab- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


lished  a  Democratic  paper  in  Rochester  and  named 
it  the  Rochester  ]Vvekly  RcpHblicati.  It  continued 
a  brief  time,  when  it  was  removed  to  Plymouth. 
Subsequently  Dr.  Howell  returned  to  Rochester 
and  established  the  Rochester  Flag,  but  its  exist- 
ence was  of  but  short  duration.  The  county  was 
then  without  a  paper  until  1856,  when  the  Repub- 
licans established  a  paper  in  Rochester,  named 
the  Gazette,  with  Charles  Shyrock  and  William 
Trimble  as  its  publishers.  The  Gazette  is  now 
known  as  the  Rcpi(blicaii.  T.  Major  Bitters  was 
twice  the  owner  of  the  Republican  party  organ. 
His  first  purchase  was  made  in  1873  and  again 
in  1884,  when  his  son,  Albert  W.  Bitters,  was 
made  a  co-partner.  On  February  .5,  1886,  they 
established  the  Rochester  Daily  Republican.  The 
co-partnership  between  father  and  son  continued 
until  April  5,  1902,  on  which  date  the  demise  of 
the  senior  member  occurred,  since  which  time  Al- 
bert W.  Bitters  has  been  its  sole  editor  and  pub- 
lisher and  fully  maintained  the  former  high  char- 
acter and  excellence  of  the  paper. 

In  the  year  1857  a  stock  company  composed  of 
Democrats  founded  the  Rochester  Sentinel  with 
David  R.  Pershing  as  its  first  editor.  Since  the 
introduction  of  the  two  papers  last  named,  each 
have  had  a  multiplicity  of  changes  in  names  of 
papers  as  well  as  of  publishers  too  numerous  to 
make  mention  of  all,  but  both  papers  are  yet 
maintained.  It  wrs  not  until  1872  that  the  Sen- 
tinel secured  any  great  degree  of  permanency  in 
its  publishing  or  editorial  work.  In  April  of  that 
year  Andrew  T.  Bitters  purchased  the  Sentinel 
of  the  McDonald  brothers  of  Plymouth  and  took 
ownership  and  editorial  control.  He  continued 
in  that  capacity  with  marked  political  success  un- 
til May  5,  1886,  when  he  sold  the  Sentinel  to  Hon. 


Henry  A.  Barnhart,  the  present  Representative 
in  Congress  for  the  Thirteenth  district.  He 
launched  the  Daily  Keening  Sentinel  January  1, 
1896,  and  is  yet  the  owner  of  the  plant,  with  Dean 
L.  Barnhart,  his  son,  as  the  publisher  and  editor. 

It  may  be  here  remarked  as  a  singular  coinci- 
dence that  two  brothers,  A.  T.  and  T.  Major  Bit- 
ters, of  opposite  political  opinions,  should  have 
published  political  competitive  papers  in  the  same 
city  and  county  for  a  period  of  nine  years. 

The  Akron  Globe  was  the  pioneer  newspaper 
at  Akron.  It  was  established  in  1866  by  William 
T.  Cutshall  and  Andrew  T.  Bitters.  It  under- 
went several  suspensions,  changes  in  name  and 
publishers  and  obtained  no  great  degree  of  per- 
manency until  November  20,  1891,  when  S.  N. 
Shesler  became  the  owner  and  publisher  and 
named  the  paper  the  Akron  News.  In  the  past 
twenty-seven  years  he  has  built  up  a  paper 
worthy  of  his  labor  and  the  pride  of  the  town  and 
community  he  served. 

In  November,  1918,  Mr.  Shesler  sold  the  plant 
to  Bernard  Clayton,  who  will  become  its  publisher 
on  January  1,  1919. 

On  April  7,  1870,  the  initial  number  of  the 
Kewanna  Times,  published  by  John  C.  Phillips, 
appeared.  It  also  experienced  many  failures  and 
reverses  and  is  now  published  by  Frank  P.  Gould. 

The  Fiillon  Leader  was  established  by  David 
O.  Hoffman,  May  16,  1901.  He  was  succeeded  by 
James  H.  Moore,  the  present  publisher,  January 
22,  1908. 

The  Fulton  Coimfy  Sun  is  a  new  candidate  for 
public  favor,  having  been  established  at  Roches- 
ter, January  9,  1913.  by  the  Van  Trump  Com- 
pany. It  is  independent  in  politics  and  is  edited 
by  Harold  Van  Trump. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
GIBSON  COUNTY 


THE  Democratic  party  in  Gibson  county  in 
the  last  sixty  years  cast  the  majority  vote 
for  the  following  candidates  for  the  presi- 
dency: Franklin  Pierce,  James  Buchanan, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  George  B.  McClellan, 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Woodrow  Wilson.  William  J. 
Bryan  received  more  votes  than  McKinley  in 
1896.  However,  346  of  these  votes  were  cast  by 
the  Populists.  John  C.  Breckinridge  received  but 
29  votes  and  John  M.  Palmer,  Gold-Democrat,  re- 
ceived but  11.  Blaine  defeated  Cleveland  by  fewer 
than  200  votes.  Roosevelt  won  over  Parker  by 
650.  This  was  the  largest  majority  ever  cast  in 
Gibson  county  against  a  Democratic  candidate 
for  the  presidency. 

There  have  been  many  sturdy  Democratic  fam- 
ilies in  Gibson  county:  The  Montgomerys,  Robbs, 
Hargroves,  Millers,  Maucks,  Trippetts,  Holcombs, 
Stillwells,  Welborns,  and  others.  Smith  Miller 
was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
1835,  and  served  through  a  number  of  sessions. 
He  was  afterwards  elected  to  the  state  senate 
and  subsequently  served  two  terms  in  Congress. 
This  man  won  greater  political  honor  than  any 
other  Democrat  in  the  history  of  the  county.  He 
was  a  strong-minded,  clear-headed,  honest  man 
and  served  his  people  long  and  faithfully. 

The  Hargroves  were  frequently  represented  in 
the  state  legislature,  in  the  state  senate,  and  in 
various  county  offices.  Silas  M.  Holcomb,  a  man 
of  distinguished  ability,  served  in  the  lower  house 
of  the  legislature  and  his  son,  Albert  G.  Holcomb, 
served  with  distinction  in  the  state  senate.  John 
C.  Holcomb  was  for  eight  years  auditor  of  the 
county. 

Caleb  Trippett  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  1857,  and  filled  va- 
rious offices  in  the  county.  This  family  has  for 
more  than  fifty  years  been  prominent  in  political 
life  of  the  county.  The  last  to  win  preferment 
was  Sanford  Trippett,  an  attorney  at  law  at 
Princeton,  who   was   twice   prosecuting  attorney. 

S.  P.  Welborn  was  treasurer  of  the  county.  Dr. 
W.  P.  Welborn  was  for  eight  years  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court.  The  strongest  representative  of 
this  family,  however,  was  the  Honorable  Oscar 
M.  Welborn,  who  from  1873  until  1909  was  judge 
of  the  circuit  court  of  the  county.  During  this 
long  continuous  service  he  presided  with  dignity, 
decorum  and  marked  ability.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  there  is  in  the  life  of  the  judiciary  of  the 
state  a  more  extended  service  and  certainly  there 
has  been  no  judge  who  had  a  more  exalted  con- 
ception of  his  judicial  duty  and  a  greater  ability 


to  serve  his  people  than  this  man.  He  is  still 
living  and  at  the  age  of  nearly  eighty  is  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  the  law  at  Princeton.  Various 
other  members  of  this  family  have  been  chosen 
by  the  people  of  the  county  to  official  position  and 
on  every  occasion  the  duties  intrusted  to  them 
have  been  well  performed. 

The  Maucks  have  added  much  to  the  intelli- 
gence and  high  standing  of  Gibson  county. 
Whether  in  or  out  of  office  the  representatives  of 
this  family  have  been  earnest,  faithful  citizens. 
Perhaps  the  highest  representative  of  this  family 
was  Alfred  Mauck,  who  was  born  in  1827  and  died 
recently.  He  was  a  man  of  splendid  natural  abil- 
ity, fairly  well  educated  in  the  schools  and  well 
educated  by  private  study.  He  was  proud  of  his 
Democracy.  He  left  to  his  children  a  very  sub- 
stantial fortune  and,  what  is  worth  still  more,  a 
splendid  name.  His  son,  Edgar  Mauck,  but  a  few 
years  since  retired  after  four  years'  service  as 
treasurer  of  the  county. 

William  H.  Evans  was  for  nearly  a  half  cen- 
tury connected  with  the  publication  of  the  Demo- 
cratic organ  in  the  county.  He  was  an  earnest, 
aggressive,  open  advocate  of  his  views.  His  po- 
litical adversaries  always  had  for  him  the  highest 
respect  because  they  knew  exactly  where  to 
find  him.  The  only  political  reward  he  received 
for  his  long  service  was  a  term  as  postmaster  at 
Princeton  during  Mr.  Cleveland's  first  administra- 
tion. 

Quite  as  interesting  a  character  is  John  C.  Gor- 
man, who  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  has 
had  charge  of  the  Princeton  Democrat  and  who  is 
at  the  present  time .  postmaster  in  the  city  of 
Princeton.  He  comes  from  a  long  line  of  Demo- 
cratic ancestors.  In  a  brief  article  specific  men- 
tion can  be  made  of  but  a  few  individuals. 

If  in  the  last  half-century  there  has  been  exert- 
ed a  more  marked  influence  in  the  community  in 
any  one  department  of  its  government  than  in  an- 
other by  the  Democrats  of  Gibson  county,  it  is 
in  the  judiciary.  This  has  been  continuously  in 
Democratic  hands  since  long  prior  to  1873.  The 
circuit  court  sitting  in  Princeton  has  been  pre- 
sided over  by  the  Honorable  O.  M.  Welborn  above 
mentioned,  by  the  Honorable  Herdis  F.  Clemmins 
of  Mt.  Vernon,  and  the  Honorable  Simon  L.  Van- 
deveer,  who  is  at  present  judge  of  the  circuit. 
Judge  Mallott  of  Vincennes  for  a  series  of  years 
presided  over  the  court  prior  to  the  establishment 
of  the  present  circuit  court.  The  high  character 
of  the  court  has  won  the  praise  of  adjoining 
counties.     These  different  judges  have  exerted  a 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


splendid  influence  not  only  over  the  attorneys  at 
the  bar,  but  over  the  citizens  of  the  county.  Po- 
litical bias  has  never  dared  to  impugn  the  motives 
of  any  one  of  these  distinguished  judges.  The 
judicial  ermine  has  been  handed  from  one  to  an- 
other absolutely  unspotted. 

The  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  has  been 
practically  at  all  times  in  the  care  and  keeping 
of  the  Democrats.  The  influence  of  these  Demo- 
cratic officials  has  been  such  that  Gibson  county 
is  pointed  to  by  the  citizens  of  adjoining  counties 
as  one  where  the  laws  are  fearlessly  and  justly 
enforced. 

The  Gibson  county  bar  has  always  had  Demo- 
cratic representatives  of  marked  ability.  From 
about  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  until  1910  Clar- 
ence A.  Buskirk  was  the  acknowledged  leader  of 
the  Princeton  bar.  He  had  a  keen  instinctive 
sense  of  justice,  a  resourceful  mind,  great  learn- 
ing and  a  classic  eloquence.  When  but  a  young 
man  he  was  twice  elected  attorney-general  of  the 
State  of  Indiana.  He  is  still  living.  James  E. 
McCullough,  now  of  Greenfield,  Indiana,  practiced 
law  for  many  years  at  the  city  of  Princeton.  He 
was  a  remarkable  advocate;  fearless,  forceful 
and  tireless.  While  a  resident  of  Gibson  county 
he  served  four  years  in  the  state  senate  with 
marked  distinction.  For  about  fifteen  years  Wil- 
liam E.  Stillwell  was  one  of  the  leading  lawyers 
of  the  Princeton  bar,  and,  prior  to  his  location  at 
Evansville,  served  with  ability  as  state  senator. 
Harvey  Harmon,  who  is  now  practicing  his  pro- 
fession in  Princeton,  served  with  ability  in  the 
last  legislature.  He,  Sanford  Trippett  and  Henry 
Kister  and  others  are  splendid  representatives  of 
Democratic   citizens   in   Gibson  county. 

For  a  great  many  years  the  public  schools  in 
Gibson  county  have  been  presided  over  practical- 
ly all  of  the  time  by  Democratic  superintendents. 
William  T.  Stillwell,  father  of  the  senator  before 
referred  to,  was  superintendent  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Henry  A. 
Yeager,  who  was  known  as  one  of  the  greatest 
school  teachers  of  the  county,  and  one  of  its  dis- 
tinguished attorneys.  Thomas  W.  CuUen,  1918 
a  candidate  for  prosecuting  attorney,  John  T. 
Ballard,  and  John  L.  Fulling,  later  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  Leland  Cunningham,  the  1916  to  1918 
incumbent,  each  added  something  of  real  worth 
to  the  splendid  system  of  public  schools  of  the 
county. 

The  Democracy  of  Gibson  county  was  not  very 
fortunate  in  electing  representatives  to  congress. 
Its  sons  have  been  honored  with  a  number  of  nom- 
inations, but  none  of  them  except  Smith  Miller 
was  elected  prior  to  1920. 

The  representatives  of  many  other  families  in 
the  county  have  served  in  public  office  and  have 


been  honored  with  nominations  by  the  party. 
Frequently  the  Husseys,  Ziliaks,  DePriests, 
O'Neals  and  many  other  earnest,  enterprising  rep- 
resentatives of  Democratic  families  have  been 
honored  with  nominations  for  public  offices.  Those 
that  were  elected  and  those  that  were  nominated 
were  but  representative  citizens  of  the  great 
party  to  which  they  belong. 

The  Democracy  of  Gibson  county  is  noted  for 
the  high  class  of  its  membership.  Its  intelligence, 
sobriety,  and  wealth  are  known  to  every  one  who  is 
familiar  with  the  life  and  history  of  that  county. 

Gibson  county  has  been  very  well  governed  by 
officials  of  all  political  parties.  There  have  been 
few  officers  that  have  been  guilty  of  malfeasance 
in  office. 

The  Republican  strongholds  are  and  always 
have  been  Princeton,  Oakland  City  and  Ft.  Branch 
and  communities  immediately  surrounding  each 
one  of  these.  Elsewhere  the  Democrats  have  been 
rather  continuously  in  the  majority.  In  the  south 
part  of  the  county  and  in  the  north  and  west  the 
Democracy  has  been  in  control  of  the  township 
governments.  This  was  true  even  of  the  days 
when  the  large  negro  population  of  Princeton  and 
the  region  immediately  west  thereof  enabled  our 
Republican  friends  to  prevail.  The  town  of 
Owensville,  in  Montgomery  township,  has  pre- 
sented a  phenomenal  changeableness.  At  first 
heavily  Democratic,  the  Grangers  assimilated  a 
large  number  of  Democrats.  A  few  years  after 
the  Granger  wave  subsided  the  entire  movement 
in  that  township  practically  went  over  to  the  De- 
.mocracy.  Again  the  same  community  was  large- 
ly engulfed  in  the  wave  of  Populism  that  spread 
over  the  county  in  1894  to  1900.  The  body  of 
that  movement  at  its  inception  was  composed  of 
prominent  Democrats.  In  the  end,  when  the 
Populistic  wave  subsided,  practically  the  whole 
body  became  Democratic  and  joined  the  Democ- 
racy. In  that  community,  one  of  the  richest  and 
most  intelligent  in  the  state,  it  appears  that  the 
people  have  been  unusually  susceptible  to  politi- 
cal vagaries.  Since  Populism  has  run  its  course 
that  great  prosperous  community  has  presented  a 
very  large  Democratic  majority. 

In  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  the  Democrats 
of  Gibson  county  furnished  a  large  body  of  men 
to  the  Union  army.  Among  the  leaders  of  these 
were  Capt.  W.  T.  Stillwell,  John  Turnage,  James 
H.  Paul,  Hugh  Hussey  and  many  others.  Many 
of  those  who  came  as  pioneers  to  the  hills  and 
valleys  of  Gibson  county  were  adherents  of  the 
Democratic  party.  Their  sons  and  grandsons 
have  been  reared  in  the  same  faith.  The  tolerant 
spirit  of  the  Democratic  party  invited  to  its  folds 
a  large  number  of  immigrants  who  came  to  this 
country  from  the  nations   of  Europe — Germany, 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


England  and  Ireland.  The  great  mass  of  foreign- 
born  citizens  and  descendants  of  the  same  hav? 
been  members  of  the  Democratic  party.  While 
teaching  at  all  times  sobriety,  sound  morality  and 
industry,  the  spirit  of  Democracy  has  been  rather 
generous.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  world's  conflict 
in  Europe,  and  even  when  this  nation  entered  in- 
to the  struggle,  so  kindly  did  our  foreign-bom 
citizens  feel  toward  the  Democratic  party  and 
toward  their  country  as  a  whole  that  the  percent- 
age of  foreign-born   citizens  and  their  descend- 


ants who  were  sympathizers  of  the  German  em- 
pire was  perhaps  smaller  than  the  percentage 
of  any  such  citizens  in  any  adjoining  communi- 
ties. 

Looking  backward  over  the  life  of  the  county 
for  a  period  of  three-quarters  of  a  century  or 
more  it  is  manifest  that  the  work  and  the  rec- 
ord of  the  Democratic  party  both  through  its 
citizenship  and  its  public  officials  has  not  only 
been  a  vast  influence  in  the  community,  but  that 
the  influence  of  the  party  has  been  helpful. 


(610) 


HISTORY  OF   THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY   OF 
GRANT  COUNTY 


THE  student  of  political  history  and  events, 
especially  if  that  student  be  of  the  Jeffer- 
sonian  school,  might  conclude,  after  an- 
alyzing the  election  returns  of  Grant  county  for 
the  past  sixty  years,  that  this  is  one  political 
community  long  gone  past  redemption.  That  it 
has  driven  headlong  to  the  demnition  bow-bows 
with  nary  a  chance  to  help  in  making  the  country 
safe  for  Democracy. 

Democrats  of  Grant  county  will  be  the  last  to 
ever  concede  such  a  thing  as  even  being  near  the 
truth,  although  they  do  admit,  once  in  a  while, 
when  considering  fresh  returns,  that  outsiders 
may  have  some  basis  for  their  suspicions. 

There  is,  in  fact,  no  place  in  the  state  of  In- 
diana where  the  Democrats,  the  trench  boys,  the 
fellows  who  love  a  good  scrap,  are  better  organ- 
ized than  in  Grant. 

The  party  organization  centers  in  the  Jefferson 
club,  one  of  the  livest  political  bodies  in  the 
state,  and  it  has  at  least  kept  the  Republicans 
busy  as  bird  dogs  holding  on  to  what  lead  they 
possess. 

The  county  was  not  organized  until  1831,  but 
away  back  yonder  when  the  Democratic  party 
was  young,  when  the  followers  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son were  full  of  that  enthusiasm  which  makes 
any  organization  flourish  (and  which  gingery 
characteristics,  by  the  way,  still  make  Demo- 
crats conspicuous  and  different  from  ordinary 
men  in  politics),  men  who  came  west  and  landed 
in  the  territory  later  known  as  Grant  county 
brought  their  Democracy  with  them.  It  stuck 
with  them  and  with  their  boys  through  many 
campaigns    that  are   historic. 

The  "pep"  and  the  sincere  belief  of  these 
sturdy  pioneers  in  the  righteousness  of  their  po- 
litical belief  impelled  them  to  an  enthusiasm 
which  convinced  a  substantial  majority  of  their 
neighbors  and  fellow  citizens.  At  least,  if  results 
are  any  indication  and  good  enough  to  be  accept- 
ed in  the  early  days,  as  they  are  forced  to  accept- 
ance in  more  recent  times,  this  must  be  conceded 
as  true. 

While  participating  in  the  politics  of  Delaware 
county,  of  which  the  Grant  territory  was  original- 
ly a  part,  this  Democratic  tendency  and  influence 
was  decidedly  a  factor  in  determining  results.  Be- 
coming a  county  to  themselves,  they  were  ready 
for  self-government  on  Democratic  lines. 

An  election  of  any  sort  in  the  thirties  and 
forties  was  just  about  as  sure,  or  a  little  more 
certain  to  return  a  Democratic  majority  than  it 
was  later  to  sustain  the  Republican  party. 


Among  the  pioneer  Democrats  it  is  interesting 
in  history  to  preserve  the  names  of  a  few,  the 
influence  of  their  families  still  being  felt  here 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  state.  Among  them 
were  James  Sweetser,  Dr.  James  Shivcly,  Ja;nes 
F.  McDowell,  Andrew  J.  Harlan,  Col.  Asbury 
Steele,  Wiley  Wood,  George  Strange,  Samuel  R. 
Thompson,  Frank  and  James  Thompson,  and 
Henley  James. 

When  the  slavery  agitation  became  so  intense 
that  the  Civil  war  appeared  a  thing  that  could 
not  be  avoided,  and  during  the  war  and  since, 
some  of  these  left  the  Democratic  party,  as  must 
have  been  the  case  in  order  to  show  the  changed 
results,  and  became  Republicans.  They  had  never 
belonged  to  the  Whig  party. 

In  the  1840  campaign,  when  Harrison  and 
Taylor  were  being  accorded  most  of  the  votes  of 
the  West,  regardless  of  political  lines,  it  being 
a  contest  of  the  East  against  the  West,  Van 
Buren  and  Johnson  lost  Grant  county,  receiving 
391  votes,  against  470  for  Harrison  and  Tyler, 
the  general  Whig  favorites. 

In  1844,  Polk,  the  Democratic  nominee,  restored 
the  party  to  the  Democrats,  receiving  423  votes, 
while  Clay,  the  Whig  candidate,  was  given  353. 
The  third  party  that  year,  known  under  the  title 
of  "Liberty,"  received  197  votes.  The  voters  of 
Grant  county  have  always  been  an  independent 
lot  when  it  came  to  third  party  movements  or  in 
their  local  campaigns. 

In  1848  the  Democratic  candidate  for  president 
received  623  votes,  against  the  Republican  nom- 
inee, who  had  325.  Van  Buren,  the  Free  Soil 
candidate  in  that  year,  was  given  359,  leading  the 
Whigs. 

Four  years  later,  in  1852,  Pierce,  the  Demo- 
cratic nominee,  had  811  votes,  against  Scott,  his 
Whig  opponent,  who  had  620. 

Then  came  the  change,  in  1856.  About  the  only 
thing  in  the  campaign  following  that  to  attract 
special  attention  has  been  the  growth  in  the 
Republican  majorities.  That  was  the  first  cam- 
paign of  the  Republican  party.  Buchanan  and 
Breckinridge  headed  the  Democratic  ticket  with 
1,035  votes,  while  Fremont  and  Dayton,  the  Re- 
publicans,  had   1,395. 

In  1860,  with  the  country  on  the  verge  of  war, 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  given  1,668  votes,  against 
1,223  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 

In  1864  the  Republican  majority  was  not  so 
large,  but  was  perfectly  safe,  Lincoln  receiving 
1,547,  against  1,238  for  McClellan,  the  Democratic 
nominee. 


(611) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  1 


-19  1 


From  that  time  forward,  with  the  population  of 
the  county  growing,  a  larger  portion  of  the  in- 
crease has  been  counted  in  the  Republican  column, 
both  in  the  presidential  elections  and  in  the  selec- 
tion of  governors  and  other  state  officials. 

The  independence  of  Grant  county  voters  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  local  county  campaign  and  in 
the  city  of  Marion  in  1913. 

In  the  presidential  election  in  1912  Woodrow 
Wilson,  Democratic  nominee,  received  4,390  votes; 
W.  H.  Taft,  Republican,  3,939;  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, Progressive,  2,185.  In  the  county  election 
the  same  year,  although  there  was  no  county  Pro- 
gressive ticket,  "Uz"  McMurtrie,  nominee  for 
treasurer,   was  the   only  Republican   elected. 

In  the  Marion  city  election  in  1913  there  were 
five  candidates  for  mayor.  James  O.  Batchelor 
was  the  Progressive  candidate,  receiving  1,722 
votes,  and  having  a  plurality  of  466;  W.  A.  Mc- 
Kown  was  the  Socialist  candidate  with  1,256 
votes;  the  Democrats  came  third  with  A.  E.  Gib- 
son as  their  candidate,  receiving  1,202  votes;  Re- 
publicans were  fourth  with  John  O.  Wilson,  carry- 
ing 1,032  votes;  James  Rowan,  on  a  ticket  all  by 
himself  and  designated  as  Independent,  had  162 
votes.  The  name  of  the  Progressive  party  in  that 
campaign  was  simply  a  convenience  for  indicating 
independence,  and  the  dominant  party  was  forced 


into  fourth  place.  It  was  only  on  occasions  of 
this  kind,  and  where  Republicans  had  made  noto- 
riously bad  nominations,  that  the  Democratic 
party  in  county  and  city  campaigns  was  able  to 
achieve  any  general  victory  since  the  great 
change  came  in  the  campaign  of  1856. 

The  Jefferson  club,  however,  long  continued 
one  of  the  thriving  political  organizations  of  the 
state.  Similar  organizations  of  the  sort  in  other 
counties  would  mean  an  eternal  recording  of 
Democratic  victories.  Its  efficient  work,  however, 
has  resulted,  naturally,  in  compelling  a  strong 
opposition  from  both  Republicans  and  Socialists, 
the  latter  being  for  several  years  a  quantity  that 
must  be  reckoned  with  in  all  Grant  county  cam- 
paigns. 

In  the  campaign  of  1916,  with  Wilson  and 
Marshall  candidates  for  president  and  vice-presi- 
dent, and  with  John  A.  M.  Adair  candidate  for 
governor,  the  party  fared  better  than  in  almost 
any  year  since  1860.  In  the  years  preceding, 
when  the  Republican  majorities  were  averaging 
from  1,000  to  4,000,  and  even  more,  the  Demo- 
cratic presidential  ticket  received  5,827  votes, 
against  6,059  for  the  Republicans.  Adair,  the 
Democratic  candidate,  had  5,626  votes,  against 
6,049  for  James  P.  Goodrich,  the  Republican 
nominee. 


HISTORY  OF   THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
GREENE  COUNTY 


GREENE  COUNTY  was  organized  January 
3,  1821,  and  named  for  General  Nathaniel 
Greene  of  Revolutionary  fame. 

The  county  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Clay  and 
Owen;  on  the  east  by  Monroe  and  La\VTence;  on 
the  south  by  Martin,  Daviess  and  Knox  counties; 
the  west  by  Sullivan.  The  county  is  a  parallelo- 
gram, being  thirty  miles  east  and  west,  and 
eighteen  north  and  south.  It  is  crossed  from 
north  to  south  by  the  west  fork  of  White  river,  di- 
viding the  county  into  two  nearly  equal  parts. 

The  western  half  is  mostly  rolling  prairie  and 
drained  marsh  land  of  great  fertility.  There  are 
extensive  coal  fields  in  this  region  underlying  the 
entire  western  part  of  the  county.  The  veins  are 
four  in  number,  and  vary  in  thickness  from  three 
and  one-half  to  eight  feet.  The  eastern  half  of 
the  county  is  very  rolling,  and  contains  much 
coal,  iron  ore  and  minerals.  The  land  is  excellent 
for  grazing  purposes,  and  noted  for  its  fine  fruits 
of  all  varieties,  there  having  been  more  than  25,- 
000  barrels  of  apples  shipped  from  various  points 
during  the  year  of  1915. 

The  county  has  a  population  of  36,873  and  has 
many  thriving  cities  and  towns,  of  which  Linton 
is  the  largest,  having  a  population  of  about  7,000, 
and  located  in  the  heart  of  the  Greene  county 
coal  fields.  Jasonville  is  situated  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  county,  with  a  population 
of  4,000,  and  also  has  extensive  fields  of  coal, 
which  here  reaches  its  greatest  thickness. 

Worthington  has  a  population  of  2,000,  and 
is  situated  in  the  White  river  valley,  in  the  cen- 
ter of  a  fine  agricultural  and  stock-raising  com- 
munity. 

Lyons  is  situated  in  the  marsh  land  region  with 
a  population  of  about  1,500.  Here  the  land  reach- 
es its  greatest  fertility. 

Bloomfield,  the  county  seat,  has  a  population 
of  about  3,000,  and  is  located  one  mile  east  of 
White  river,  and  is  the  manufacturing  center 
of  the  county. 

There  are  three  railroads  crossing  the  county 
from  north  to  south  and  two  from  east  to  west, 
with  branch  lines  radiating  to  the  various  mines 
and  other  industries.  The  county  is  entirely  out 
of  debt  and  had  on  deposit  in  the  various  banks 
on  December  31,  1915,  $151,406.22.  The  receipts 
for  the  year  were  $816,462.12. 

POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

The  political  history  of  the  county  dates  from 
its  organization,  January  3,  1821;  hov.-ever,  i..uch 
of  it  is  obscure,  as  no  complete  records  were  kept 


of  the  early  actors.  The  records  show  that  on 
January  5,  1821,  commissions  were  issued  to  the 
following  officers:  Thomas  Bradford,  sheriflf; 
Eli  Dixon,  coroner;  John  Stockley,  surveyor;  Cor- 
nelius Westfall,  seminary  trustee — all  of  whom 
were  Democrats  appointed  by  the  governor.  At 
an  election  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Brad- 
ford, one  mile  south  of  Bloomfield,  the  following 
officers  were  elected  and  sworn  in  March  6: 
Norman  W.  Pearce  and  John  L.  Buskirk,  associ- 
ate judges;  Thomas  Warnick,  clerk;  George 
Shroyer,  recorder.  Shroyer  did  not  qualify.  The 
duties  of  his  office  were  performed  by  Mr.  War- 
nick,  who  was  commissioned  as  clerk  for  seven 
years.  Each  officer  swore  he  had  in  no  way 
been  concerned  in  dueling.  These  were  also 
Democrats,  and  the  county  remained  solidly  Dem- 
ocratic until  1868  when  Grant  defeated  Seymour 
by  73  votes,  making  a  gain  over  the  Democrats 
since  the  election  of  1864  of  376  votes,  McClellan 
having  defeated  Lincoln  by  303  votes.  In  1872 
Grant  defeated  Greeley  by  363  votes.  In  1876 
Tilden  defeated  Hayes  by  96  votes.  In  1880  the 
county  fell  back  into  the  Republican  ranks. 

STATE  SENATORS. 
After  the  organization  of  Greene  county  it  was 
placed  in  a  senatorial  district  with  Sullivan,  Vigo, 
Owen  and  Parke  counties,  Thomas  H.  Blake  be- 
ing its  first  senator,  who  served  until  1822.  He 
was  succeeded  by  John  Jencks,  1822-25.  Then 
Putnam  county  was  added  to  the  district,  which 
was  represented  by  John  M.  Coleman  from  1825 
to  1826.  During  his  term  Hendricks,  Morgan, 
Owen,  Montgomery,  Vermilion  and  Clay  counties 
were  added.  David  H.  Maxwell  was  chosen  sen- 
ator, 1826-30.  During  his  term  all  the  counties 
were  dropped  from  the  district  except  Greene, 
Owen  and  Monroe.  James  Whitcomb  was  chosen 
senator  1830-36;  David  M.  Dobson,  1836-44; 
Monroe  now  being  dropped,  John  F.  Allison, 
1844-47;  Lovell  H.  Rousseau,  1847-50;  Jesse  J. 
Alexander,  18.50-58;  Jason  N.  Connelly,  1858-63; 
George  W.  Moore,  1863-67;  John  Humphreys, 
1867-71;  Wiley  E.  Dittemore,  1871-75;  Andrew 
Humphreys,  1875-77;  Owen  now  being  droj.ped 
and  Daviess  added,  David  J.  Hefron,  1877-83; 
Jacob  F.  Mcintosh,  1883-86;  Daviess  now  being 
dropped  and  Sullivan  added  to  Greene,  L.  P.  Mul- 
linix,  1886-90;  Chas.  T.  Akin,  1890-94;  Andrew 
Humphreys,  1894-98;  Sullivan  now  being  dropped 
and  Monroe  and  Brown  added,  Edwin  Con,  1898- 
1902;  Cyrus  E.  Davis,  1902-06;  Brown  now  being 
dropped  and  Owen  added,  Oscar  E.  Bland,   1906- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


10;    Joseph    Moss,    1910-14;    Henry    Humphreys, 
1914. 

STATE  REPRESENTATIVES. 
Hugh  Barnes,  1822,  was  the  first  representative 
of  the  district  composed  of  Greene,  Owen  and 
Morgan  counties;  Eli  Dixon,  1823;  David  Harris, 
1824;  John  Sims,  1825;  (Clay  was  now  added)  Eli 
Dixon,  1826;  (Clay  was  now  dropped  and  Owen 
added)  Thomas  F.  G.  Adams,  1827;  John  M. 
Young,  1828;  Eli  Dixon,  1829;  James  Galletly, 
1830;  (Owen  now  dropped)  George  Baber,  1831; 
Drury  B.  Boyd,  1832;  John  P.  Storm,  1834;  Drury 
B.  Boyd,  1837;  John  F.  Allison,  1838;  James  S. 
Freeman,  1840;  John  F.  O'Neall,  1841;  Lovell  H. 
Rousseau,  1844;  John  Jones,  1846;  Stephen  Lock- 
wood,  1847;  Richard  H.  Rousseau,  1848;  Andrew 
Humphreys,  1849;  A.  Ham,  1851;  John  W.  Fer- 
guson, 1853;  Andrew  Humphreys,  1857;  E.  H.  C. 
Gavins,  1858;  William  G.  Moss,  1861;  John  M. 
Humphreys,  1863;  Thomas  Mason,  1867;  James  A. 
Minniek,  1871;  John  R.  Isinhower,  1872;  M.  C. 
Fulk,  1875;  James  R.  Baxter,  1877;  Jacob  P.  Mc- 
intosh, 1881;  A.  S.  Helm,  1882;  John  D.  Alexan- 
der, 1887;  William  N.  Darnell,  1889;  Richard 
Huffman,  1891;  Thomas  Van  Buskirk.  1893;  How- 
ard Bucher,  1895;  Charles  E.  Henderson,  1897; 
Wilbur  A.  Hays,  1899;  Cyrus  E.  Davis,  1901;  Wil- 
liam J.  Hamilton,  1903;  C.  C.  Ballard,  1905;  Wil- 
bur A.  Hays,  1907;  C.  F.  Myers,  1909;  Jesse  Wcis- 
man,  1911;  Clyde  Yoho,  1913. 

TREASURERS. 

John  Owen April  6,  1821 

Hallett  B.  Dean February,  1824 

Norman  W.  Peirce January,  1827 

Moses  Ritter 1832 

Samuel  D.  Chipman   1834 

E.  P.  Cushman 1835 

John  Hill 1841 

William  Mason 1843 

Joseph  Lyons 1852 

James  Harrah 1856 

J.  B.  Stropes   1858 

D.  A.  Bynum   1862 

Henry  C.  Owen   1866 

David  Butcher   1870 

H.  V.  Norvell 1874 

H.  T.  Neal 1878 

E.  R.  Stropes 1882 

J.  E.  Bull 1886 

John  French 1890 

Noah  Brown 1892 

C.  C.  Ballard   1896 

Joseph  Moss 1902 

B.  B.  Mitten 1906 

Elmer  Shirtz  (died  May  8) 1908 

John  Shirtz 1908 


J.  S.  James 1909 

John  W.  Johnson 1912 

John  W.  Johnson 1914 

CLERKS. 

Thomas  Warnick April  27,  1821-35 

Samuel  R.  Gavins 1835-55 

John  M.  Humphreys 1855-59 

John  L.  Milam   1859-65 

John  T.  Smith 1865-70 

David  S.  Whittaker 1870-78 

John  F.  Slinkard   1878-82 

Henry  Gastineau   1882-86 

Frank  Ramsey 1886-94 

John  W.  Graham 1894-98 

Joseph  W.  Yakey 1898-1907 

Clyde  Yoho 1907-15 

Kerby  Ashcraft   1915- 

AUDITORS. 

Thomas  Warnick   (ex  officio) 1821-35 

Samuel  R.  Gavins  (ex  officio) 1835-41 

Thomas  Carson  (elected) 1841-46 

Samuel  R.  Gavins  (ex  officio) 1846-53 

John  Jones   (elected) 1853-59 

Joseph  Lyons 1859-67 

0.  T.  Barker 1867-71 

J.  N.  Connelly 1871-74 

William  P.  Stropes   1874-78 

John  L.  Harrell   1878-86 

James  Harrell 1886- 

Andrew  J.  Cox 1886-90 

Thomas  C.  Owen   1890-94 

Harvey  L.  Doney 1894-1902 

William  H.  Deckard   1902-08 

Peter  M.  Cook 1908-12 

Caswell  Jennings 1912-16 

George  E.  Kidd   1916- 

RECORDERS. 
George  E.  Shroyer  was  elected  in  1821,  but  did 
not  qualify;    duties   were  performed   by   Thomas 
Warnick  till  1835. 

Samuel  R.  Cavins 1835-55 

E.  P.  Cushman 1855-58 

John  B.  Cushman 1858-59 

Hugeo  East 1859-67 

J.  T.  Oliphant 1867-70 

D.  B.  Hatfield 1870-78 

John  A.  Pate 1878-86 

Joseph  G.  Smith 1886-90 

Charles  B.  Kemp 1890-94 

James  H.  Persons 1894-1903 

Edgar  H.  Sherwood 1903-08 

Newton  Vaughn 1908-12 

Charles  E.   Fuller 1912-16 

Charles  E.   Fuller 1916- 


(614) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


CORONERS. 

Eli    Dixon    January   5,  1821 

Cornelius    Bogard    August,  1821 

J.  B.  Landers 1824 

Vincent   Lester   1825 

Stephen  Stalcup  1828 

John  A.  Pegg 1830 

Samuel  Steel 1834 

W.  T.  Wright 1836 

W.  C.  Hicks 1837 

Henry  Kelsey   1838 

W.  C.   Hicks 1839 

Samuel  C.  Green   1843 

John   Cole    1845 

Jacob  Bland 1848 

Eli  Sparks  1850 

Edward  West   1852 

W.  W.  Gainey 1854 

John  W.  Osborn • 1856 

Wm.  Flynn  1857 

John  Bledsoe 1860 

J.  G.  Warnick  1861 

Dr.  Holt 1862 

Geo.  Steele 1864 

Robert  Baker   1866 

Richard  Hardesty 1870 

Robert  Baker    1872 

David  Armstrong 1876 

Newton  Heaton    1878 

J.   0.    Burbank 1879 

Wm.  Ax   1884 

Phillip  Franklin  1888 

James  P.  Denton 1890 

John  H.  Ghun 1892 

Wm.  Ax   1896 

Peter  Oliphant   1900  ' 

Geo.  B.   Gray    1902 

Chas.   L.   Bonham    1906 

C.  H,  Jennings 1908 

Ben  McLaughlin 1910 

John  E.  Talbot 1912 

C.  B.  Collins   1914 

SURVEYORS. 

John  Stockeley   1821 

Mark    O'Neal    1821 

Hans   Stalcup    1831 

Philander  Burr 1853 

Alexander  Plummer 1855 

C.  M.  Moss   1861 

James  D.  Knapp 1865 

Alexander  Plummer   1870 

W.  W.  Clogston   1876 

Frank  Shepherd  1878 

F.  M.  Parker   1879 

F.  M.  Parker    1884 

W.   W.   Clogston    1886 

E.  Fide  Cox 1890 


W.  W.  Clogston   1896 

Samuel  N.  Yeoman 1900 

Roland    H.    Blacklidge 1902 

Chas.  C.  Parker  1904 

Frank  A.  Gagby 1908 

W.  W.  Clogston 1910 

Thorn   Robertson    1912 

Elmer  O'Neal   1914 

SCHOOL  COMMISSIONERS. 

Carpus   Shaw    1835 

Wm.  Mason   1842 

W.  D.  Lester 1843 

A.  S.  Rhodes  1847 

John  B.  Stropes  1847 

W.  D.  Lester 1848 

E.  P.  Cushman 1850-53 

This  ended  the  school  commissioners.  In  1851 
the  county  voted  free  schools  by  a  majority  of 
623,  having  voted  the  proposition  down  on  three 
previous  elections. 

SCHOOL  EXAMINERS. 

John  R.  Hudson   June,  1853 

E.   H.  C.  Cavins    December,  1853 

Wm.  Mack March,  1854 

S.  L.  Stoddard   1856 

A.  P.  A.xtell    1856 

William  Mack  1856 

The  last  named  three  constituted  the  board  for 
1857. 

David  L.  Osborn 1858 

Wm.  Mack 1858 

A.  J.  Axtell  1858 

A.  C.  Hill 1861 

A.  J.  Axtell 1861 

James  A.  Dagley   1861 

John  T.  Smith  June,  1861 

Under  the  new  law  of  March,  1861: 

Henry  C.  Hill   1861 

in  place  of  John  T.  Smith,  resigned. 

John  R.  Isenhower 1864 

Lewis  B.  Edwards   1867 

R.  C.  Hilburn 1871-73 

This  was  the  end  of  examiners  and  the  begin- 
ning of 

COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENTS. 

Reason  C.  Hilburn   June,  1873 

S.  W.  Axtell   1876 

Sherman  Ogg 1885 

John  T.  Lamb 1886 

Wm.    M.   Moss    1889 

John  L.  Cravens 1893 

Harvey  L.  Cushman 1895 

Newton  V.  Meredith   1903 

Christian    Danielson    1907 

Daniel   Mcintosh    1909 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 

Thomas  Plummer March,  1821 

David   Deem    1821 

Peter  Herrington   1821 

Jonathan    Lindley    1822 

Hiram  Haywood 1823 

The    county    Justices    transacted    business    till 
Nov.,  1827. 

Jonathan  Lindley   Nov.  27,  1827 

Benson   Jones    Nov.  27,  1827 

John  Crooks Nov.  27,  1827 

Stephen  Stone 1828 

James  Warnick 1829 

Samuel  Simons 1830 

Benson  Jones 1830 

Joel  Sexson   1832 

Benson  Jones 1833 

Samuel  Simons 1833 

The  county  Justices  in  September  again  trans- 
acted the  business  until  1837. 

Samuel  Simons 1837 

Wm.  O'Neal 1837 

Jesse  Rainbolt 1837 

Wm.  O'Neal 1838 

Jesse  Rainbolt 1839 

Samuel  Simons  1840 

Wm.  O'Neal 1841 

Fred  Slinkard   1842 

James   Fuller    1842 

Samuel  Simons 1843 

Alfred  Kutch 1844 

James  Fuller 1845 

Samuel  Simons 1846 

Alfred  Kutch 1847 

Jesse  Rainbolt    1847 

Adam  Stropes 1847 

Jeremiah   Stone    1848 

Samuel  Simons 1849 

Alfred  Kutch 1850 

Jeremiah  Stone 1850 

Samuel  Simons 1852 

Aaron  Hagaman 1853 

Abraham  Spainhower 1853 

Jeremiah   Stone    1853 

Aaron  Hagaman 1854 

Adam   Stropes    1856 

Andrew  Raper   1857 

Aaron  Hagaman 1857 

Aaron  Bland   1858 

Abraham  Spainhower 1858 

Aaron  Hagaman 1859 

J.  F.  Jamison 1860 

Abraham  Spainhower  1861 

John   Jones    1861 

G.  C.  Morgan 1862 

J.  F.  Jamison   1863 

John  Jones 1864 

G.  C.  Morgan 1865 


Wm.   Hert    1866 

John  G.  Owen 1866 

David  Bonham 1867 

John  R.  Hudson   1869 

Wilson  Humphreys   1870 

J.  M.  Cravens  1870 

Jacob  Nellinger   1872 

Wm.  C.  Winters 1872 

Frank  Stalcup 1873 

J.  M.  Cravens 1873 

Elijah   Robbitt    1875 

Carpus  N.  Shaw 1876 

Frank   Stalcup    1876 

John  R.  Hudson 1878 

Abraham    Spainhower    1879 

Wilson  Humphreys 1879 

Moses  Crockett 1881 

John   Miller,   Jr 1382 

Robert  T.  McKee 1882 

Moses  Crockett 1882 

Wilbur  A.  Hayes 1884 

David  L.  Osborne 1885 

John  T.  Breeden 1887 

Simon    Bland    1890 

Wm.  A.  McCland  1891 

Henry  C.  Owen 1892 

Stephen  Anderson   1893 

Wm.  Exline 1894 

Lafayette  Jessup   1895 

Andrew  Bucher 1898 

Geo.   W.   Marshall    1899 

James  D.  Haseman 1900 

David  L.  Squires   1904 

Horatio  Hunt   1905 

Theo.  Carmichael 1906 

James  T.  Roach   1907 

George  Davidson    1908 

A.  M.  Bucher   1909 

Theo.  Carmichael  1910 

Thom  Henry   1911 

John  A.  Poe   1912 

Vincent  Hoke    1914 

Alonzo  Miller   1916 

COUNTY  ASSESSORS 

James  L.  Harrell  1892 

John  F.  Freeland 1896 

Andrew  O'Donald    1900 

Wm.  0.  Titus   1906 

James  Anderson 1910 

Lilburn  Jackson   1914 

JUDICIARY. 
In  September,  1821,  J.  Doty,  as  presiding  judge 
and  John  L.  Buskirk,  associate  judge,  held  the 
first  session  of  the  Greene  circuit  court  at  the 
house  of  Thomas  Bradford,  one  mile  south  of 
where  Bloomfield  now  stands.  Henry  Merrick  was 
appointed  prosecuting  attorney.    There  were  two 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-19   16 


cases  on  the  docket,  both  of  which  were  dismissed. 
John  L.  Buskirk  was  allowed  two  dollars  ($2.00) 
salary  for  one  year's  service.  In  February,  1822, 
the  next  term  was  held  at  the  same  place  by 
Thomas  Bradford  and  John  L.  Buskirk,  associate 
judges.  Addison  Smith  was  prosecuting  attorney. 
At  this  term  Robert  Anderson  was  naturalized, 
he  being  the  first  in  Greene  county.  The  August 
term  was  held  by  William  Wick,  as  presiding 
judge,  and  Thomas  Bradford,  associate  judge, 
at  the  court  house  in  Burlington,  the  county  seat 
at  that  time.  The  March  term,  1823,  was  held 
by  William  Wick,  presiding  judge,  and  Martin 
Wines,  associate  judge.  Smith  Elkins  was  prose- 
cutor. At  this  term  Richard  Huffman  was  fined 
thirty-seven  and  one-half  cents  for  fighting.  The 
May  term,  1824,  was  held  by  Jacob  Call,  presiding 
judge,  and  Bradford  and  Wines,  associates.  At 
the  October  term  John  R.  Porter  was  presiding 
judge  with  the  same  associates.  The  May  term, 
1825,  was  held  at  Bloomfield,  Judge  Call  presid- 
ing, with  John  Law  prosecuting  attorney,  which 
place  he  held  until  1830.  Judge  Porter  was  pre- 
siding judge  of  the  October  term,  which  place  he 
held  until  1830.  This  year,  Wm.  B.  Morris  ap- 
peared as  associate  judge. 

In  the  year  1826  Levi  Fellows  and  Robert  Smith 
appeared  as  associate  judges.  There  was  no  change 
in  the  officers  for  two  years.  At  the  June  term, 
1829,  Samuel  R.  Cavins  appeared  as  associate 
Judge.  Probate  Court. 

Willis  D.  Lester  was  the  first  probate  judge 
and  held  the  office  until  1843;  was  elected  again 
in  1849  and  held  the  office  until  the  court  va^ 
abolished,   in   1853. 

Circuit  Court. 

In  1830  John  Law  was  elected  by  the  legislature 
judge  of  circuit  court,  E.  M.  Huntington  prose- 
cutor, each  for  a  term  of  seven  years.  At  the 
October  term  G.  W.  Johnson  acted  as  presiding 
judge  (Judge  Law  having  legislated  out  of  the 
circuit).  Norman  W.  Pierce  appeared  as  associate 
judge,  succeeding  Judge  Fellows.  In  1832  Emory 
Kinney  appeared  as  presiding  judge  and  held  the 
office  for  five  years.  John  Robison  succeeded 
Judge  Pierce  as  associate  judge. 

In  1834  William  S.  Cole  succeeded  Judge  Robi- 
son and  Judge  Bradford  again  appeared  as  asso- 
ciate judge.  David  McDonald  appeared  as  prose- 
cuting attorney  at  one  term  and  John  Cowgill  at 
the  other.  In  1837  E.  M.  Huntington  appeared 
as  presiding  judge  and  remained  for  two  years. 
In  1838  Judge  Fellows  appeared  as  associate 
judge  to  take  the  place  of  Judge  Cole,  whose  term 
of  office  had  expired.  During  this  period  David 
McDonald  seems  to  appear  more  frequently  as 
prosecuting  attorney;  however,  the  record  seems 


somewhat  confused  and  shows  that  C.  P.  Hester 
and  D.  R.  Eckles  sometime  appear  as  prosecuting 

attorney. 

In  1839  David  McDonald  appeared  as  judge  and 
John  S.  Watts  as  prosecuting  attorney,  McDon- 
ald remaining  in  office  until  1852.  In  1841  L.  B. 
Edwards  and  Joel  B.  Sexson  were  associate 
judges.  In  1843  John  R.  Stone  was  probate  judge 
and  William  G.  Quick  was  prosecuting  attorney 
for  the  two  years  following.  In  1845  Craven  B. 
Hester  was  made  prosecutor  and  served  until 
1849.  This  year  Augustus  L.  Rhodes  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  and  Jesse  Rainbolt  asso- 
ciate judge,  and  continued  in  office  until  it  was 
abolished.  Judge  William  D.  Lester  was  elected 
probate  judge  this  same  year. 

At  the  September  term,  1851,  William  M. 
Fi-anklin  appeared  as  prosecuting  attorney  and 
held  that  office  until  1853.  This  year  James 
Hughes  appeared  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court — 
the  first  judge  elected  by  popular  vote  in  this  cir- 
cuit. 

Judge  Prosecuting    Attorney 

James  Hughes 1853 Wm.  E.   McLean 

James  Hughes 1854 A.    B.    Carlton 

James  Hughes 1855 Francis    L.    Neflf 

Jas.  M.  Hanna 1856 M.    A.    Osborn 

Solomon  Claypool 1858 G.   W.   Pierce 

Solomon  Claypool 1860 W.  G.  Neff 

D.  R.  Eckles 1864 Michael  Malott 

D.  R.  Eckles 1866 John  S.  Brodwell 

D.  R.  Eckles 1868 John   C.  Robison 

W.M.Franklin 1870 John   C.  Robison 

W.  M.  Franklin 1872 C.  C.   Matson 

W.  M.  Franklin 1873 A.  M.  Cunning 

W.  M.  Franklin 1874 A.M.  Cunning 

John  C.  Robison 1876 S.  O.  Pickens 

John  C.  Robison 1880 John  D.  Alexander 

A.  M.  Cunning 1882 John  D.  Ale.\ander 

Geo.  W.  Buff 1883 John  D.  Alexander 

Geo.  W.  Buff 1886 Sam  W.  Axtell 

John  C.  Briggs 1888 Wm.   C.   Hultz 

John  C.  Briggs 1892 W.  L.  Slinkard 

W.  W.  Moffett 1894 Chas.  D.  Hunt 

O.B.Harris 1900 E.    W.    Mcintosh 

O.  B.  Harris 1902 John  A.  Riddle 

0.  B.  Harris 1804 John  W.  Lindley 

C.  E.  Henderson 1906 J.  B.  Philbert 

C.  E.  Henderson 1908 Walter  F.  Wood 

C.  E.  Henderson 1910 James  M.  Hudson 

Theo.  Slinkard 1912 W.   Ray  Collins 

Common    Pleas   Court. 
Judge  District  Attorney 

Wm.  M.  Franklin 1853 Fred  Brown 

Wm.  M.  Franklin....  1854 Oliver  Ash 

F.  T.  Brown 1856 Michael   Malott 

F.  T.  Brown 1858 Geo.  W.  Throop 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Judge  District  Attorney 

F.  T.  Brown 1860 Harry  Burns 

F.  T.  Brown 1862 S.  W.  Curtis 

Wm.  M.  Franklin 1864 Patrick  Haney 

Wm.  M.  Franklin 1866 John  C.  Robison 

Harry  Burns 1868 C.  C.  Matson 

Harry  Burns 1872 Samuel  McGregor 

(Court  abolished.) 

There  have  been  in  the  history  of  Greene 
county  only  two  Republican  judges  and  two  Re- 
publican prosecuting  attorneys.  At  the  present 
time — every  officer  in  Greene  county,  both  elec- 
tive and  appointive,  with  the  exception  of  repre- 
sentative,  is   a    Democrat. 

Some   Eminent   Members   of  Bar. 

James  Whitcomb  was  admitted  in  1822;  after- 
ward was  governor  of  the  state  of  Indiana. 

John  Law,  admitted  1823;  afterward  judge  of 
circuit  court  and  served  several  terms  in  Con- 
gress. 

Tilghman  A.  Howard,  admitted  1831;  after- 
ward went  to  Congress  and  was  Democratic  can- 
didate for  governor. 

In  1833  Paris  C.  Dunning  and  Delana  R.  Eckles 
were  admitted.  Dunning  later  was  governor  of 
state  and  Eckles  judge  of  same  court.  This  year 
David  McDonald  also  was  admitted.  He  also  be- 
came judge  of  the  same  court  and  later  judge  of 
the  district  court  of  the  United  States  and  author 
of  "McDonald's  Treatises."  In  1836  William  A. 
Gorman  was  admitted;  afterward  colonel  in  the 
Mexican  war,  general  in  the  Civil  war,  member  of 
Congress  and  governor  of  Minnesota. 

Wm.  Huntington  was  admitted  in  1837;  after- 
ward appointed  judge  of  the  district  court  of 
the  United  Sta'es. 

In  1839  Richard  W.  Thomson,  George  G.  Dunn 
and  John  S.  Watts  were  admitted.  R.  W.  Thom- 
son afterwards  was  member  of  Congress  and 
Secretary  of  Navy.  George  G.  Dunn  served  sev- 
eral terms  in  Congress.  John  Watts  was  appoint- 
ed federal  judge  of  New  Mexico,  where  he  re- 
mained during  his  I'fe. 

In  1841  Lovell  H.  Rousseau  located  at  Bloomfield 
and  was  admitted  to  practice;  was  captain  of  a 
company  of  soldiers  in  the  Mexican  war;  was  pro- 
moted to  major  general  in  the  Civil  war;  served 
one  term  in  Congress,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  brigadier  general  in  the  regular  army.  In 
1844  S.  H.  Buskirk  was  admitted  and  afterward 
was  one  of  the  ablest  judges  of  the  supreme  court. 

In  1849  Wm.  M.  Franklin  was  admitted.  He 
afterward  was  prosecuting  attorney,  judge  of 
common  pleas  and  circuit  courts,  and  commissioner 
of  supreme  court.  Augustus  L.  Rhodes  also  was 
admitted  this  year;  afterward  was  judge  of  the 
supreme  court  of  California  for  sixteen  years. 


In  1851  W.  P.  Hammond  was  admitted,  and 
afterward  was  governor  of  the  state;  also  Daniel 
McClure,  who  later  became  secretary  of  state 
and  afterward  assistant  paymaster-general  in 
the  army. 

J.  B.  Usher  was  admitted  1852;  later  became 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  President  Lincoln's 
Cabinet. 

James  Hughes  was  elected  judge  of  the  circuit 
court  in  1853.  He  was  the  first  judge  elected  by 
popular  vote.  Afterward  was  elected  to  Congress; 
was  appointed  judge  of  court  of  claims  by  Presi- 
dent Buchanan.  In  this  year  Andrew  Humphreys, 
the  "Dean  of  Democracy"  in  Greene  county,  was 
admitted.  He  served  in  both  branches  of  the 
Legislature  and  was  elected  to  Congress.  In  1858 
J.  M.  Hanna  resigned  as  judge  of  circuit  court, 
having  been  elected  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 

BLOOMFIELD  DEMOCRAT. 
The  Bloomfield  Democrat  dates  its  origin  from 

1860.  However,  it  was  known  as  the  Greene 
County  Times  until  1864,  when  its  name  was 
changed  to  the  Southern  Indianian,  with  the  motto: 
"The  Constitution  as  it  is.     The  Union  as  it  was." 

In  1867  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Bloomfield 
Democrat,  which  name  it  still  bears.  The  first  ed- 
itor was  E.  E.  Rose,  who  edited  the  paper  until 

1861.  James  E.  Riley  was  editor  from  1861  till 
November,  1862,  when  Henry  B.  Woolls  took 
charge  of  the  paper  with  success  till  November, 
1863.  E.  B.  Barnard  and  James  C.  Nabb  jointly 
edited  the  paper  till  1864.  Then  Mr.  Barnard  be- 
came sole  editor  and  manager,  and  continued  the 
publication  until  January,  1866,  when  Clark  B. 
Humphreys  became  editor  until  March,  1867, 
when  James  E.  Riley  again  became  editor  and 
changed  the  name  to  Bloomfield  Democrat.  In 
1868  J.  R.  Isenhower  became  editor  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  November,  1868,  by  Ogle  &  Leek,  who 
continued  to  edit  the  paper  till  1873,  when  the 
management  was  secured  by  W.  P.  Stropes,  who 
conducted  the  paper  with  considerable  success  till 
July,  1880.  William  M.  Moss  took  charge  until 
1882,  when  he  leased  the  paper  to  W.  L.  Slinkard 
and  G.  H.  Hendren,  who  conducted  it  till  1895, 
when  it  was  taken  charge  of  by  C.  E.  Davis  and 
W.  V.  Moffett,  who  edited  same  till  1897.     Then 

the  paper  was  sold  to Barron,  who  in  turn 

sold  to  R.  McNeil,  he  selling  the  same  to  G.  H. 
Hendren  in  1909.  Mr.  Hendren  managed  the  pa- 
per till  1910,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  H.  W. 
Moore,  who  edited  the  same  till  1911,  when  W.  L. 
Slinkard  became  sole  editor  and  proprietor. 

The  Democrat  has  been  a  power  in  politics  since 
its  advent,  always  being  true  to  the  party  prin- 
ciples, as  well  as  being  the  newsiest  paper  ever 
edited  in  the  county. 


\ 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
HAMILTON  COUNTY 

By  Hugh  Anthony  Maker 


WRITING  the  history  of  the  Democratic 
party  of  Hamilton  county  is  a  task  sim- 
ilar to  the  one  that  devolved  upon  St. 
Paul  when  he  was  called  upon  to  define  "Faith." 
St.  Paul  defined  "Faith"  as  "The  substance  of 
things  hoped  for;  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 

The  history  of  the  Hamilton  county  Democracy 
for  the  last  60  years  is  but  the  annal  of  a  suc- 
cession of  defeats  of  as  noble  and  self-sacrificing 
an  aggregation  of  men  as  ever  labored  for  the 
enforcement  of  what  they  thought  to  be  right  and 
best  for  the  commonwealth  in  which  they  lived. 

The  Democratic  history  of  Hamilton  county 
naturally  divides  itself  into  two  distinct  periods, 
namely,  "the  ante-bellum"  and  the  "post-bellum" 
periods. 

It  is  a  tradition  that  the  time  was  when  the 
Democrats  of  Hamilton  county  outnumbered  their 
opponents  four  to  one,  but  it  is  only  tradition,  as 
the  oldest  men  and  women  now  living  cannot  re- 
call the  time. 

The  history  of  the  ante-bellum  period  is  in  a 
large  measure  legendary;  nevertheless  there  are 
several  characters  that  loom  up  bright  and  clear. 
The  foremost  of  them  all  is  William  Conner,  the 
"Father  of  Central*  Indiana,"  who  was  brought,  a 
captive  by  the  Indians,  to  where  Hamilton  county 
now  is  about  the  year  1806.  He  began  his  politi- 
cal career  as  treasurer  of  the  county  at  its  or- 
ganization in  1823,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
for  about  a  year.  He,  with  Elisha  Long,  repre- 
sented a  district  composed  of  the  counties  of 
Henry,  Madison,  Hamilton  and  Hancock,  and 
all  of  the  territory  north  of  those  coun- 
ties, from  1829  to  1831.  He  represented 
Hamilton  and  Boone  counties  and  all  of 
the  territory  north  of  Hamilton  to  the  Miami 
Reserve  (Tipton  county  was  not  then  organized, 
and  the  territory  referred  to  is  what  now  forms 
the  three  southern  townships  of  Tipton  county), 
from  1831  to  1832.  He  again  represented  Hamil- 
ton county  in  the  lower  house  of  the  Legislature 
for  the  years  of  1831  and  1832;  also  represented 
Hamilton  county  in  the  same  branch  of  the  Legis- 
lature for  the  years  of  1836  and  1837,  and  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  delegated  by  the  Legis- 
lature to  locate  the  county  seat  of  Allen  county 
and  was  instrumental  in  the  selection  of  Ft. 
Wayne  as  the  place. 

Another  figure  of  those  far-off  times  was  Gen- 
eral John  D.  Stevenson,  father  of  the  late  Judge 
R.  R.  Stevenson,  who  probably  held  more  offices 


at  the  same  time  than  any  other  man  who  ever 
lived  in  the  county.  He  was  clerk  of  the  court 
from  1823  to  1836;  recorder  from  1823  to  1838, 
and  auditor  from  1823  to  1840.  He  received  his 
title  of  general  from  being  general  of  the  militia, 
an  honor  he  received  at  the  hands  of  the  governor 
of  the  State.  During  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years 
of  his  life  he  affiliated  with  the  Republican  party, 
having  broken  with  his  party  at  the  beginning, 
or  shortly  prior  to  the  opening  of,  the  Civil  war. 

William  Conner's  brother,  John,  who  was  made 
captive  by  the  Indians  at  the  same  time  that  he 
was,  and  was  treated  in  a  similar  manner  to  Wil- 
liam, was  the  founder  of  Connersville,  Ind.  He 
was  the  father  of  William  W.  Conner  and  grand- 
father of  the  late  Hon.  John  C.  Conner,  M.  C,  of 
the  State  of  Texas,  and  represented  Hamilton 
county  in  the  Legislature  of  1824,  but  did  not  long 
survive  that  period. 

Another  ante-bellum  character  was  Dr.  Griffith 
M.  Shaw,  sire  of  Dr.  Albert  Shaw,  the  present 
editor  of  the  A^nerican  Review  of  Reviews,  at 
New  York  City,  who  represented  the  county  in 
the  lower  house  for  the  years  of  1848  and  1849, 
but  moved  from  Noblesville  to  Hamilton,  Ohio, 
where  he  died  in  1863  while  lending  aid  to  the 
Union  cause.  Dr.  Griffith  M.  Shaw  was  always  a 
Democrat,  yet  a  strong  Union  man,  and  could  go 
among  the  "Butternuts"  of  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
where  no  other  Union  man  dared  to  go.  Over- 
work for  the  cause  threw  him  into  a  fever,  of 
which  he  died. 

Another  ante-bellum  Democrat  was  William 
Garver,  whose  first  wife  was  the  first  white  child 
born  in  Noblesville.  His  second  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  James  Brown  Ray,  governor  of  Indi- 
ana from  about  1824  to  1830.  He  practiced  law 
at  the  Hamilton  county  bar  for  more  than  fifty 
years;  he  was  prosecutor  for  one  term  and  state 
senator  for  the  counties  of  Hamilton,  Boone  and 
Tipton  from  1848  to  1852;  made  a  Democratic 
race  for  Congress  in  1856,  but  was  defeated.  The 
Buchanan  administration  cared  for  him  as  a  "lame 
duck"  and  made  him  a  special  inspector  of  mails 
for  the  States  of  Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wis- 
consin, Iowa  and  Minnesota  at  a  salary  of  $5,000 
a  year.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  na- 
tional convention  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1860, 
that  nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge  for  Presi- 
dent, also  the  "rump"  convention  that  met  at  Bal- 
timore the  same  year  and  nominated  Stephen  A. 
Douglas.      He   enlisted    in    the    Union    army   and 


(619) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


went  to  the  front  as  colonel  of  the  101st  Indiana 
Volunteer  Infantry.  Upon  his  return  from  the 
war  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas  as  a  Republican  and  served  in  that  capacity 
until  the  abolition  of  that  court.  He  was  elected 
to  the  Legislature  in  1876,  and  was  a  candidate 
for  the  office  of  representative  in  1890,  but  was 
defeated  for  the  nomination.  He  died  in  the  year 
1895. 

William  W.  Conner  was  a  son  of  John  Conner, 
the  founder  of  Connersville,  Ind.  He  was  born 
at  that  village  and  was  elected  to  the  Legislature 
as  soon  as  he  reached  his  majority.  He  was  of 
such  youthful  appearance  that  a  doorkeeper,  on 
seeing  him  in  his  seat  in  the  House,  went  to  him 
and  politely  informed  him  that  "boys  were  not  al- 
lowed in  that  place."  Later,  in  bellum  days,  he 
was  a  Republican  and  was  clerk  of  the  court  from  ' 
1859  to  1863,  as  well  as  a  captain  of  "Home 
Guards"  during  that  period.  In  1874  he  made  a 
race  for  clerk  upon  a  fusion  ticket,  a  combination 
of  Greenbackers  and  Democrats,  and  came  within 
83  votes  of  being  elected,  and  then  Governor 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  appointed  him  adjutant- 
general  of  the  State  of  Indiana;  he  served  in  that 
capacity  from  1874  to  1877.  In  1880  he  was  again 
a  Republican.  One  veteran  in  Hamilton  county 
politics  said  of  him  at  that  time:  "God  don't 
know  what  Bill  Conner  will  do  in  politics,"  and  in 
that  year  he  made  the  canvass  for  Robert  Gra- 
ham, now  a  member  of  Congress  from  Colorado, 
for  state  senator  from  the  district  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Hamilton  and  Tipton,  in  which 
Mr.  Graham  was  successful.  In  1882  he  supported 
Walter  N.  Evans,  Democratic  candidate  for  clerk 
that  year,  and  was  one  of  his  deputies;  was  a  can- 
didate for  the  nomination  of  clerk  upon  the  Re- 
publican ticket  in  the  year  1886  and  made  a  splen- 
did race.  It  might  be  observed  that,  as  much  as 
he  changed  his  politics,  he  never  lost  the  confi- 
dence of  the  public  during  his  entire  life,  and  was 
always  regarded  as  being  honest  in  his  opinions. 
After  his  race  for  clerk  in  1886  he  became  con- 
nected with  the  Noblesville  Gas  Company  and  re- 
mained with  that  company  until  his  death. 

During  the  Civil  war  there  were  probably  1.000 
Democrats  in  Hamilton  county,  and  at  that  time 
it  was  worth  a  man's  life  to  proclaim  himself  as 
such;  in  short,  they  were  so  persecuted  that  no 
one  would  own  to  the  fact. 

When  William  H.  Boswell  began  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Noblesville  Independent  in  1874  he 
told  me  with  his  own  lips  that  there  were  about 
1,200  Democrats  in  the  county,  yet  no  man  would 
own  up  to  it;  they  were  merely  opposed  to  the 
Republicans. 

In  ante-bellum  days  the  Dales  were  prominent 
in  Democratic  politics  in  the  county.    Samuel  Dale 


served  in  the  Legislature  in  the  early  fifties.  His 
sister  was  grandmother  of  the  late  Judge  Theo- 
dore P.  Davis  and  his  son,  Colonel  Douglass  Dale, 
was  colonel  of  a  Missouri  regiment  during  the 
Civil  war  and  later  held  a  prominent  government 
position  at  Washington,  D.  C.  — 

One  of  the  prominent  Democratic  families  of 
Hamilton  county  was  that  of  Aaron  Cox,  who 
lived  in  the  county  from  an  early  date.  Most  of 
his  sons  were  born  in  the  county.  He  was  post- 
master of  Noblesville  during  the  administration 
of  President  Johnson.  His  son,  Jabez  S.  Cox,  was 
judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Miami  county;  his 
son,  Millard  F.,  was  judge  of  the  criminal  court 
of  Marion  county,  while  another  son,  Charles  E., 
was  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  Indiana  for  a 
term  of  six  years,  retiring  January  1,  1917. 

Milton  B.  Hopkins,  a  preacher  in  the  Christian 
church,  who  took  part  in  one  of  the  bitterest 
churdi  quarrels  ever  staged  in  Noblesville,  lived 
there  during  the  fifties ;  was  known  to  be  a  Demo- 
crat, but  not  a  politician  in  any  sense;  was  elected 
state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  in  1872 
over  B.  Wilson  Smith,  Republican,  Mr.  Hopkins 
and  Governor  Hendricks  being  the  only  Demo- 
crats elected  upon  the  state  ticket  that  year. 

Joseph  Messick  was  a  prominent  Democrat  in 
Hamilton  county  before  the  Civil  war;  was  post- 
master of  Noblesville  just  prior  to  and  up  to  that 
period.  One  son,  Benton  Messick,  emigrated  to 
Minnesota  and  became  colonel  of  the  First  Min- 
nesota regiment  during  the  Civil  war  and  lost  his 
life  leading  his  regiment  in  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg, Pa.  Another  son,  George  Messick,  was  con- 
stable of  Noblesville  township  for  more  than 
forty  years;  throughout  all  the  while  he  was  a 
Democrat  and  the  township  was  overwhelmingly 
Republican,  yet  he  continued  to  hold  the  office. 

Silas  Hare  was  born  in  Hamilton  county  and 
emigrated  to  the  state  of  Texas  when  quite  a 
young  man;  was  colonel  of  a  Confederate  regi- 
ment during  the  Civil  war;  was  judge  of  the  cir- 
cui"  court  of  his  d'strict  for  one  or  two  terms,  and 
has  served  several  terms  as  member  of  Congress 
from  the  Second  Texas  district.  After  he  ceased 
to  be  Congressman  he  located  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  was  legal  counsel  for  the  state  of  Mon- 
tana. His  brother,  Wesley  Hare,  always  lived  in 
Noblesville,  throughout  his  lifetime  a  Democrat, 
and  at  his  death  had  been  in  business  longer  than 
any  one  else  in  the  city — something  over  fifty 
years.  His  son,  Elbert  M.  Hare,  made  a  race  for 
the  office  of  clerk  of  the  court  in  1886  upon  the 
Democratic  ticket,  but  was  defeated;  in  1896  he 
separated  with  his  party  upon  the  financial  ques- 
tions of  that  period  and  became  a  Republican  and 
acted  two  or  three  campaigns  as  their  county 
chairman,  but  later  affiliated  with  the  Progressive 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


party;   his   present   political   attitude   is   probably 
unknown. 

The  true  status  of  the  conditions  confronting 
the  Democrats  of  Hamilton  county  since  the  close 
of  the  Civil  war  is  best  described  in  an  excerpt 
Irom  an  oration  prepared  for  the  ratification  of 
the  re-election  of  President  Wilson  in  1916,  anJ 
never  delivered,  which  runs  like  this: 

"Sixty  years  have  not  yet  passed  away  since 
Hamilton  county  boasted  of  the  banner  Repub- 
lican township  of  the  United  States — a  township 
in  which  every  vote,  save  one,  was  Republican. 
Nor  has  five  and  forty  years  sneaked  into  th,i 
past  since  white  Republicans  voted  twice,  and  ne- 
groes roamed  from  polls  to  polls  and  voted  as 
many  times  as  they  pleased,  and  Hamilton  county 
rolled  up  her  3,600  Republican  majority,  while  the 
Democrats  were  unable  to  get  their  ballots  in 
the  box. 

"  'But  time,  the  beautifier  of  the  dead, 
Adorner  of  the  ruin,  sole  comforter, 
And  only  healer  when  the  heart  hath  bled,' 
hath  wrought  its  miracle.  Thanks  to  the  spar- 
ing grace  of  God  and  the  saving  grave  of  Jesus 
Christ  there  are  today,  lingering  upon  the  shores 
of  time,  or  thrumming  harps  at  the  throne  of 
grace,  some  forty  old  Democrats  who  are  the 
proud  rivals  for  the  distinguished  honor  of  hav- 
ing cast  the  one  vote;  and  the  township  to  which 
we  referred  has  had  a  Prohibition  trustee,  and 
Hamilton  county  cast  a  plurality  of  her  popular 
vote  for  the  presidential  electors  in  the  glorious 
year  of  1912,  when,  for  the  first  time  in  over  sixty 
years,  the  Democrats  elected  their  entire  county 
ticket;  and  but  for  the  machinations  of  a  small 
coterie  seeking  to  monopolize  the  patronage, 
would  have  repeated  the  performance  in  1914." 

Lucius  H.  Emmons,  a  practical  printer  of  East- 
ern birth,  came  to  Noblesville  in  183.5,  and  imme- 
diately began  the  publication  of  a  newspaper 
called  The  Xewsi>aper.  This  paper  was  neutral 
in  politics,  the  patronage  was  not  large,  and  as 
an  enterprise  did  not  pay.  He  discontinued  the 
publication  in  1838  and  left  Noblesville,  but  re- 
turned in  1842  and  began  the  publication  of  a 
weekly,  called  the  Little  ]yesteni,  which  was  Dem- 
ocratic in  politics.  Its  file,  still  in  existence,  be- 
gan with  the  issue  of  June  4,  1842,  and  ended 
with  the  issue  of  January  25,  1845,  and  as  a 
paper  did  duty  for  the  Democratic  party  during 
the  strenuous  campaign  of  1844.  The  influence 
that  he  and  his  paper  wielded  must  have  done 
yeoman  service  for  the  party,  as  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  during  the  James  K.  Polk  administra- 
tion Mr.  Emmons  received  a  clerkship  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  resided  there  until  1850,  when 
he  returned  to  Noblesville.  A  few  days  after  the 
arrival  of  himself  and   family  in   Noblesville  he 


was  stricken  and  died  of  .•\siatic  cholera.  His 
willow  later  married  a  Mr.  Longley  and  became 
the  mother  of  the  first  fire  marshal  of  Indiana, 
W.  E.  Longley,  who  was  district  chairman  of  the 
9th  Congressional  district  during  the  campaigns 
of  1910,  1912,  1914,  and  in  1912  was  political 
manager  for  Samuel  M.  Ralston,  successful  candi- 
date for  governor,  and  his  son,  Lucius  H.  Em- 
mons, Jr.,  has  held  a  place  in  the  government 
printing  office  at  Washington  for  about  forty 
years. 

Notwithstanding  that  for  a  few  years  after  the 
Civil  war  the  stuffing  of  ballot-boxes  and  "beat- 
ing up''  of  unoffending  Democrats  were  consid- 
ered to  be  prima  facie  evidence  of  a  Republican's 
fitness  for  county  office,  and  the  persecution  every- 
where beset  the  Democrats,  yet  the  Democracy  of 
Hamilton  county  has  not  been  without  her  tri- 
umphs. When  Republicans  began  cheating  each 
other  at  primaries,  ballot-box  stuffing  ceased; 
when  the  Prohibition  party  grew  strong  enough 
to  have  representatives  upon  the  election  board, 
things  changed.  For  instance,  at  Westfield  in 
1884,  the  first  time  the  Prohibitionists  had  repre- 
sentatives on  the  board  at  that  place,  there  were 
about  fifty  Democratic  votes  polled,  when  prior  to 
that  time  for  many  years  but  one  vote  had  been 
reported.  It  may  be  observed  at  this  time  that 
Westfield  in  slavery  days  was  an  ideal  station 
upon  the  "underground  railroad,"  whose  opera- 
tions (notwithstanding  the  repugnance  of  slav- 
ery) were  contrary  to  law,  and  the  youth  of  that 
place  grew  up  entertaining  the  idea  that  mere 
caprice  was  superior  to  law.  As  a  consequence 
three  county  officers  and  one  state  auditor — all 
Republicans — who  were  reared  at  that  place 
"have  'went'  wrong." 

In  1876,  with  the  assistance  of  the  "Greenback- 
ers,"  Peter  Cardwell  was  elected  to  the  state  sen- 
ate from  the  counties  of  Hamilton  and  Tipton, 
and  his  vote  was  very  material  to  the  election  of 
Joseph  E.  McDonald  to  the  United  States  Senate. 

In  1878,  William  W.  Rooker  was  elected  as  joint 
representative  from  Hamilton  and  Tipton  coun- 
ties. Mr.  Rooker  has  a  somewhat  interesting  per- 
sonal history.  He  was  born  about  one  mile  east  of 
the  Indiana  state  fairground,  where  from  his 
eighth  to  tenth  year  he  had  General  Lew  Wallace 
as  a  boyhood  playmate.  It  was  his  boast  that  "I 
could  lick  him  when  I  was  a  boy,"  but  he  added 
further  that  "General  Lew  Wallace  is  now  a 
great  man  and  I  am  nothing."' 

In  1882  Mr.  Rooker  made  a  race  in  the  Ninth 
Indiana  District  for  Congress  against  Thomas  B. 
Ward  of  Lafayette,  he  receiving  81J  votes  in  the 
convention  to  Mr.  Ward's  82J  votes,  and  a  ma- 
jority was  required  to  nominate.  He  told  me 
once,   confidently,   that   he   was    told    by   political 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


workers  of  his  county  that  there  were  two  dele- 
gates for  sale  and  their  price  was  $100  each,  and 
he  turned  down  the  proposition  with  the  remark, 
"If  I  cannot  win  fair  I  do  not  wish  to  win  at  all," 
and  added,  "I  believe  that  my  opponent  must  have 
purchased  those  votes." 

The  last  act  of  his  life  was  to  go  to  the  polls 
in  1896  and  cast  his  vote  for  William  J.  Bryan 
for  the  presidency. 

Another  character  of  importance  was  Francis 
M.  Householder.  He  was  elected  prosecutor  of 
the  district  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Judicial  Circuit 
when  it  consisted  of  Madison  and  Hamilton  coun- 
ties, and  he  served  one  term.  In  June,  1881,  he 
was  elected  county  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction of  Hamilton  county,  for  the  reason  that 
Rev.  A.  H.  Morris,  upon  whom  it  was  desired  to 
bestow  the  honor,  had  not  been  a  resident  of  Ham- 
ilton county  for  the  year  required  by  law  to  qual- 
ify a  person  to  election  to  that  position.  When 
Mr.  Morris'  disability  was  removed,  Mr.  House- 
holder resigned  and  Mr.  Morris  was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  Under  the  first  administration  of 
Grover  Cleveland,  Mr.  Householder  became  post- 
master of  Noblesville.  His  health  failing,  he  re- 
signed this  position,  and,  after  lingering  some 
years  as  an  invalid,  passed  away. 

Another  great  character  of  that  age  was  Judge 
David  Moss.  He  was  an  attorney  at  the  Hamil- 
ton county  bar  for  over  forty  years;  represented 
Hamilton  county  in  the  Legislature  from  1853  to 
1855.  Once  or  twice  he  was  a  candidate  for  the 
Democratic  nomination  of  attorney-general  of  the 
state.  In  1884  he  was  nominated  and  elected 
Judge  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Judicial  Circuit,  con- 
sisting of  Hamilton  and  Madison  counties.  He 
served  his  term  of  six  years  and  died  soon  after 
his  retirement. 

Probably  the  greatest  political  character  of 
which  the  Democracy  of  Hamilton  county  can 
boast  was  the  late  Walter  N.  Evans,  who  was 
originally  a  Whig,  later  a  Republican,  and  in  1874 
began  to  affiliate  with  the  Democratic  party.  In 
1882,  when  the  majority  of  Hamilton  county  was 
somewhere  near  fifteen  hundred  Republican,  he 
was  nominated  as  a  Democrat,  and  elected  clerk 
of  the  court  of  Hamilton  county.  Aside  from 
holding  the  position  of  clerk,  he  held  no  other 
office,  and  yet  he  had  a  great  influence  in  the 
Democratic  councils  of  the  state  and  county. 

Another  character  was  Francis  M.  Trissal. 
Commonly  known  as  Frank  Trissal,  he  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  on  the  30th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1847,  and  came  to  Miami  county,  Indiana, 
with  his  parents  in  1850,  where,  under  the  in- 
struction of  his  father,  who  was  a  Hoosier  school- 
master, he  received  a  common  school  education. 
In  1865  he  became  a  deputy  clerk  in  the  Hamil- 


ton circuit  court  in  the  office  of  his  uncle,  John 
Trissal,  who  was  a  Republican,  and  with  whom  he 
disagreed  politically.  At  that  time  there  were 
less  than  a  thousand  Democrats  in  the  county, 
and  they  were  unorganized;  in  fact,  they  were 
treated  with  a  most  brutal  intolerance  and  had 
to  keep  quiet.  Using  Mr.  Trissal's  own  words,  "I 
do  not  think  they  had  any  organization  during 
the  war,  but  Judge  David  Moss  and  Judge  Earl 
S.  Stone  were  classed  as  leaders  and  (falsely,  per- 
haps) accused  of  being  'Copperheads.'  "  In  1866, 
when  ex-President  Johnston  "swung  around  the 
circle"  in  a  speaking  campaign  defending  his  re- 
construction policies,  which  resulted  in  his  at- 
tempted impeachment,  Mr.  Trissal  became  one  of 
his  followers  and  a  pronounced  Democrat,  and  a 
few  years  later  became  chairman  of  the  Democrat- 
ic party.  In  1873  the  old  court  of  common  pleas 
was  abolished  by  the  Legislature  and  new  judicial 
circuits  were  created,  the  counties  of  Hamilton 
and  Madison  forming  a  circuit,  and,  being  the 
only  Democratic  attorney  in  the  county,  except 
David  Moss,  he  was  honored  by  Governor  Hen- 
dricks by  the  appointment  of  prosecuting  attor- 
ney; he  was  a  candidate  for  election  to  the  same 
position  the  next  campaign,  but  was  defeated. 
These  are  the  words  Mr.  Trissal  used:  "It  was 
my  privilege  to  do  about  as  I  pleased  in  manag- 
ing campaigns,  and  I  was  classed  as  being  a 
'boss.'  I  attended  all  state  conventions  as  a  self- 
appointed  delegate  and  voted  the  county  about  as 
I  pleased,  and  it  is  among  my  pleasant  recollec- 
tions that  I  first  met  John  B.  Stoll  in  the  conven- 
tion of  1870,  and  was  an  active  supporter  of  his 
when  he  was  nominated  auditor  of  state  in  1872. 
The  party  gained  some  in  respectability  from 
about  that  time  on,  because  it  got  some  good  life- 
blood  from  former  Republicans.  Our  number 
gradually  grew  until  finally,  in  1882,  we  were  able 
to  elect  Walter  N.  Evans  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court."  Mr.  Trissal  was  Democratic  chairman 
until  1886;  in  1888  he  was  active  in  politics,  but 
it  was  the  last  year  in  which  he  participated  in 
Hamilton  county  affairs,  he  having  moved  from 
the  county  to  Chicago,  where  he  became  principal 
attorney  for  a  railroad  entering  Chicago.  Mr. 
Trissal  now  lives  in  Chicago,  but  has  a  large 
farm  near  Laporte,  Ind.,  and  also  maintains  a 
partnership  in  the  law  office  of  Darrah,  Roley  & 
Trissal  at  that  place. 

Another  post-bellum  character  was  Judge  Theo- 
dore P.  Davis,  who  was  born  near  Westfield,  in 
Hamilton  county,  in  1855.  He  began  life  as  a 
school  teacher;  later  he  studied  law  with  Moss 
&  Trissal,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1876; 
was  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  and 
incidentally  in  politics,  until  1890,  when  he  was 
nominated  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  making  so 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


creditable  a  race  that  in  1892  he  was  brought  out 
on  the  evening  of  the  day  before  the  state  con- 
vention for  judge  of  the  appellate  court,  nominat- 
ed and  elected  that  year,  serving  a  term  of  four 
years  upon  that  bench.  After  he  left  the  appellate 
bench  he  moved  to  Indianapolis  and  formed  a 
partnership  with  Frank  E.  Gavin,  and  conducted 
the  practice  of  law  there  until  his  death,  in  1907. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  Democratic  chair- 
man of  Marion  county. 

The  newspaper  representing  the  Democratic 
party  of  Hamilton  county  was  the  paper  referred 
to  in  the  reference  to  Mr.  Emmons;  and  later,  in 
about  1874,  William  H.  Boswell  started  a  paper 
purporting  to  be  independent,  and  called  the  No- 
blesrille  Independent.  It  was  in  reality  a  "Green- 
back," and  anti-Republican  paper.  He  continued 
fo  publish  it  as  an  independent  paper  until  1880, 
when  it  became  a  Democratic  paper,  and  he  later 
changed  its  name  to  the  Xoblesville  Democrat, 
and  so  conducted  it  until  1900,  when  he  sold  the 
good  will  of  the  paper  to  R.  M.  Isherwood,  who 
conducted  it  during  the  campaign  of  1900,  and 
later  on  sold  it  to  some  parties  from  Michigan, 
who  published  it  for  some  months  and  then  aban- 
doned it,  when  Mr.  Isherwood  returned  and  di- 
rected it  for  some  time.  The  paper  was  then  sold 
to  James  M.  Fippen,  commonly  known  as  "Calam- 
ity Jim,"  who  conducted  the  paper  for  about  a 
year,  and  just  prior  to  the  campaign  of  1904  sold 
it  to  Dawilla  Spaneth,  who  made  its  policy  inde- 
pendent. It  was  later  sold  to  a  syndicate  and 
became  the  Xoblesville  Enterprise,  and  went  into 
the  hands  of  a  receiver,  later  being  sold  to  E.  E. 
and  C.  F.  Neal,  and  was  finally  merged  into  the 
Xoblesville  Ledger,  the  leading  Republican  paper 
of  the  county. 

Just  prior  to  the  campaign  of  1904  W.  H.  Roney 
purchased  the  Atlanta  Times,  at  Atlanta,  Ind., 
and  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  Colonel  D.  K.  Tay- 
lor, the  veteran  editor  and  newspaper  man,  who 
was  a  somewhat  peculiar  character.  He  was  a 
Virginian  by  birth  and  was  related  by  blood  to 
Zachary  Taylor,  twelfth  President  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  also  related  to  Mrs.  Jefferson 
Davis,  the  wife  of  the  President  of  the  Confed- 
eracy; also  the  late  Robert  L.  Taylor,  United 
States  Senator  from  Tennessee.  He  was  for  sev- 
eral years  telegraph  editor  of  the  o\d  Indianapolis 
Sentinel  and  as  a  compositor,  worked  for  some 
time  on  the  Louisville  Courier-Journal,  being  one 
of  the  first  to  operate  a  Mergenthaler  linotype, 
the  Courier-Journal  being  the  second  newspaper 
in  the  country  to  install  the  linotype.  As  a  jour- 
neyman newspaper  man  he  had  charge  of  Colonel 
Keller's  printing  office  at  Tuscumbia,  Ala.,  when 
the  Colonel  celebrated  his  nuptials,  incident  to  his 
marriage  to  the  mother  of  the   renowned   Helen 


Keller,  the  celebrated  deaf,  dumb  and  blind  giil. 

Colonel  Taylor  for  a  while  conducted  the  Timcx 
at  Atlanta,  but  in  the  spring  of  1904  he  moved 
the  paper  to  Noblesville,  where  he  controlled  it 
for  some  two  or  three  years,  until  Mr.  Koney, 
becoming  involved  in  financial  difficulties,  was 
compelled  to  sell  the  paper.  It  was  then  pur- 
chased by  O.  H.  Downey  of  Churubusco,  Ind.,  who 
was  a  candidate  for  statistician  upon  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  of  189(i,  who,  after  conducting  the 
paper  for  something  over  a  year,  sold  it  to  R. 
Philip  Carpenter,  who  later  became  postmaster 
of  Noblesville  under  the  first  administration  of 
Woodrow  Wilson,  he  in  turn  selling  the  paper  to 
a  company  of  which  Mr.  N.  K.  Harris  was  the 
representative;  later  the  paper  changed  hands 
again  and  Mr.  Harris'  brother  assumed  control 
of  the  paper  and  is  still  publishing  it. 

The  Democratic  chairmen  of  Hamilton  county 
since  the  Civil  war  are  as  follows:  From  the 
war  to  1886,  Francis  M.  Trissal;  in  1888,  John 
Durflinger;  1890  and  1892,  George  W.  Ingerman; 
in  1894,  Julius  Joseph,  and  Daniel  Gascho,  who 
near  the  middle  of  the  campaign  succeeded  Jo- 
seph; in  1896,  J.  W.  Klotz;  in  1898,  George  W. 
Ingerman,  again;  from  1900  to  1908,  inclusive, 
Meade  Vestal;  in  1908,  Fred  H.  Tesher;  1910  to 
1914,  inclusive,  Phil  J.  Fariss;  in  191(5,  M.  L. 
Cardwell,  who  still  has  the  honor. 

The  following  from  time  to  time  have  served 
as  secretary:  T.  P.  Davis,  F.  M.  Householder, 
Charles  D.  Pottor,  William  A.  Long,  John  M. 
Hays,  A.  W.  Henderson,  Irve  Bowman  and  Dan- 
iel Presser. 

The  rise  of  the  Hamilton  county  Democracy 
which  culminated  in  the  election  of  Meade  Vestal 
judge  of  the  Hamilton  circuit  court,  in  1908,  and 
the  election  of  the  entire  local  ticket  in  1912,  be 
gan  in  the  contest  for  the  office  of  trustee  in  Dela 
ware  township  in  1900,  when,  out  of  a  vote  o 
about  400,  President  McKinley  carried  the  town 
ship  by  97  votes  and  Richard  J.  Moffitt,  Demo 
cratic  candidate  for  trustee,  won  by  46  votes. 

Factions  arising  and  various  elements  combin 
ing  in  the  Republican  party,  resulting  in  the  for 
mation  of  the  Progressive  party,  gave  the  Demo 
cratic  party  a  "walk-over"  in  1912.  But,  because 
of  the  return  of  the  Progressives  to  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  the  dissatisfaction  arising  among 
Democrats  from  the  disposition  of  the  patronage 
after  the  election  of  1912,  in  1916  the  opposition 
had  returned  to  an  old-time  majority  of  about 
1,.500.  In  short,  to  be  a  Democrat  in  Hamilton 
county  required  some  nerve  and  self-abnegation 
in  days  past,  and  it  is  the  boast  of  the  author  of 
this  sketch  that  men  of  Hamilton  county  are 
"Democrats  from  principle  and  not  for  revenue 
only." 


(623) 


HISTORY  OF   THE  DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
HANCOCK  COUNTY 


HANCOCK  COUNTY  is  located  in  the  cen- 
tral part  of  Indiana.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
west  by  Marion  county.  Greenfield,  the 
county  seat,  is  on  the  National  Road,  about 
twenty  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Indianapolis.  In 
size  it  is  an  average  county  of  the  State,  beinK 
composed  of  307  square  miles  and  containing 
196,480  acres.  It  was  originally  a  part  of  Madi- 
son county,  and  was  organized  as  a  separate 
county  in  1828  and  named  in  honor  of  John  Han- 
cock, signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  industrial  pursuits  of  the  people  are  pre- 
eminently agricultural.  The  land  is  level  or  gently 
rolling.  The  soil  is  fertile  and  will  produce  in 
abundance  any  crop  adapted  to  this  climate.  In 
fact,  Hancock  county  is  regarded  by  its  people  as 
the  garden  spot  of  the  earth,  and  the  sentiment 
prevails  that  whoever  cannot  "make  it"  on  a  farm 
here  need  not  attempt  farming  elsewhere. 

The  county  has  a  population  of  a  little  over 
19,000.  Greenfield,  the  only  city,  has  a  popula- 
tion of  about  5,000.  New  Palestine,  Wilkinson, 
Fortville  and  Shirley  are  incorporated  towns  with 
from  450  to  1,500  inhabitants,  respectively,  ac- 
cording to  the  census  of  1910. 

Politically,  the  county  has  for  more  than  a  half 
century  had  a  strong  Democratic  majority.  The 
county  offices  during  this  time  have  practically 
always  been  occupied  by  Democrats.  In  one  elec- 
tion, 1886,  the  offices  of  auditor,  clerk  and  re- 
corder were  lost  by  the  Democrats,  but  with  this 
exception  the  administration  of  the  county  affairs 
has  been  entrusted  to  Democratic  officers.  In  only 
one  township,  Blue  River,  have  the  Democrats  al- 
ways been  in  the  minority,  and  only  twice  has  this 
township  elected  Democratic  township  trustees — 
James  New  in  1863  and  Harry  L.  Fletcher  in 
1914.  In  each  instance  the  opposing  party  was 
divided  into  two  camps,  thereby  enabling  the  Dem- 
ocrats to  elect  their  candidate.  In  Jackson  town- 
ship the  Democrats  have  generally  been  consid- 
ered the  minority  party,  but  the  margin  has  al- 
ways been  so  narrow  that  it  has  frequently  been 
overcome  by  a  careful  selection  of  men  in  mak- 
ing up  the  Democratic  ticket.  The  following  Dem- 
ocratic township  trustees  have  been  elected  in 
Jackson  township: 

Burd  Lacy    1859 

Philip  Stinger   1867 

James  B.  Clark 1871 

A.   V.   B.    Sample 1874 

James  F.  McClarnon   1880 

A.  V.  B.  Sample 1882 

George  C.  Burnett   1904 


In  Brandywine  tovsmship  the  history  of  Democ- 
racy has  been  unbroken  in  local  affairs.  All  of 
the  township  trustees  have  been  Democrats.  In 
BroviTi,  Buck  Creek,  Center,  Green,  Sugar  Creek 
and  Vernon  townships  the  administration  of  local 
affairs  has  been  under  the  control  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  with  but  very  few  interruptions, 
since  the  organization  of  the  county. 

DEMOCRATIC    MASS    CONVENTION,    1843 

In  an  old  copy  of  the  Greenfield  Reveille,  pub- 
lished in  April,  1845,  we  have  possibly  the  oldest 
report  of  a  political  mass  convention  in  the  county. 
It  was  a  Democratic  convention,  but  the  Reveille 
was  a  Whig  newspaper,  and,  of  course,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  convention  are  made  to  appear  as 
ridiculous  as  possible.  It  is  worthy  of  notice, 
however,  that  even  at  that  early  date  there  was 
opposition  within  Democratic  ranks  to  local  dele- 
gate conventions.     Following  is  the  report: 

"In  accordance  with  a  previous  notice  a  mass 
convention  was  held  on  the  26th  inst.,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  which  would  no  doubt  be  interesting 
to  our  friends  generally  and  edifying  to  our 
readers. 

"About  10  o'clock  a.  m.  the  untiring  Democ- 
racy were  seen  emerging  from  the  beech  woods 
which  surround  our  peaceful  village.  True,  the 
woods  were  not  entirely  darkened  by  their  num- 
bers, yet  every  avenue  leading  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Esquire  Franklin's  restaurant  was  not 
unbroken. 

"On  the  arrival  of  a  number  from  the  country 
we  heard  an  eternal  warfare  sworn  against  the 
proposal  for  a  convention  to  nominate  county  of- 
ficers— dissensions  that  at  first  view  seemed  in- 
curable presented  themselves  from  different 
points.  Independence  of  opinion  and  action  was 
asserted,  and  how  well  maintained  will  appear  in 
the  sequel.  Against  2  o'clock  the  refractory  por- 
tion, being  whipped  into  the  traces,  the  Democ- 
racy retired  to  the  court  house.  General  Milroy 
being  called  to  the  chair,  he  endeavored  to  explain 
the  object  of  the  meeting,  which  he,  however, 
failed  to  do  to  the  satisfaction  of  some  of  his 
friends. 

"On  motion  a  committee  of  three  were  ap- 
pointed, but  their  duties  not  explained.  After 
some  misunderstandings  had  been  explained,  the 
said  committee  was  increased  to  five;  again  after 
another  consultation  it  was  thought  best  to  have 
a  committee  from  each  township  in  the  county. 
When  the  townships  were  called  four  were  un- 
represented.     (Afterwards  one  or  two  were  rep- 


(624) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


resented.)  The  committee  were  then  ordered  to 
retire,  consult  and  report  to  the  meeting.  But 
when  about  retiring  one  of  the  committee,  more 
thoughtful  than  the  rest,  called  on  the  chair  to 
Ivnow  what  they  should  report,  as  he  had  yet  to 
learn  what  duties  were  assigned  to  the  committee. 
The  chair  endeavored  to  explain  by  informing  the 
committee  that  'the  enemy  was  abroad  in  the 
land,'  that  'those  levelers,  the  Whigs,  were  on  the 
alert  and  must  be  kicked  sky  high!'  (He  did  not 
call  them  public  defaulters,  as  we  awfully  feared 
he  would  do  in  the  warmth  of  his  feelings.)  He 
said  he  was  a  Democrat,  commencing  with  the 
days  of  Jefferson,  and  was  still  a  Democrat,  and 
the  committee  could  retire. 

"The  committee,  although  their  duties  did  not 
seem  explained  by  the  chairman,  retired  to  guess 
at  them,  we  suppose. 

"Whereupon  Dr.  Hervey  moved,  'Dr.  Cook 
make  a  remark.'  Dr.  Cook  was  excused  for  the 
time,   and   Dr.   Hervey   proceeded   in   effusing  the 

most .     He  is  a  whole  menagerie,  and  kicks, 

pushes,  strikes  and  everything  else  manfully.  He 
brings  to  our  mind  that  beautiful  line  of  the  poet: 
'Bulls  aim  their  horns  and  asses  lift  their  heels.' 

"He  said  that  'before  the  presidential  election 
the  Whigs  were  opposed  to  annexation,'  but  asks 
with  an  air  of  triumph,  'Where  is  now  one  found 
to  oppose  the  admission  of  the  State  of  Texas? 
If  such  an  one  could  be  found  he  could  be  laughed 
at  till  he  put  comic  almanacs  out  of  fashion.'  We 
leave  others  to  judge  of  his  political  discoveries. 
But  he  proceeded:  'No,  Democracy,  like  the  roll- 
ing stream'  (casting  up  its  filthy  sediments)  'has 
an  onward  (progressive)  course,  and  in  fifty 
years  there  will  be  fifty  united  states.' 

"The  doctor  is  evidently  a  man  of  deep  research. 
He  spoke  of  Caesar  crossing  the  'Rubico,'  and  of 
the  'navigable  ocean,'  asked  where  is  the  man  in 
Indianner  that  would  say  he  was  a  'reprudreater'? 
(We  thought  of  his  friend  Chapman,  an  avowed 
repudiator,  but  no  difference,  all  discordant  ele- 
ments harmonize  in  the  general  name  of  Democ- 
racy ! ) 

"W.  H.  Anderson,  a  gentleman  particularly  dis- 
tinguished for  advocating  the  sentiment  'that  God 
is  a  Democrat,'  and  therefore  wants  his  friends 
'to  be  on  the  Lord's  side,'  was  called  on  to  address 
the  meeting,  but  declined  doing  so. 

"R.  A.  Riley  was  then  called  and  responded  in 
a  short  address,  endeavoring  to  justify  the  acts 
of  violence  done  to  the  people's  will  and  a  total 
disregard  of  their  rights  by  the  State  Senate  in 
staving  off  the  U.  S.  senatorial  election. 

"A  series  of  resolutions  were  introduced  by 
Esquire  Riley,  proposing  to  hold  a  convention  on 
the  first  Saturday  in  June  to  nominate  county  offi- 
cers, which  were  adopted. 


"We,  however,  discovered  some  of  the  old  and 
anti-progressive  Democrats  whose  arms  and 
voices  were  raised  in  opposition  to  this  proceed- 
ing. One  of  them  explained  the  'Almighty  made 
everything  else,  but  never  made  a  convention'  to 
dictate.  They  were  opposed  to  it  because  it  was 
anti-Democratic  because  it  was  dictating  to  and 
whipping  Democrats  into  the  traces  contrary  to 
their  better  judgment.  They  were  opposed  to  it 
because  two  individuals  assumed  to  control  the 
whole  matter,  made  every  motion  of  importance, 
and  that  with  an  eye  to  their  own  particular  in- 
terests— because  the  county  was  not  represented; 
whole  townships  being  without  a  voice  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  at  no  time  more  than  sixty  persons  pres- 
ent, including  Whigs,  Abolitionists  and  little  boys; 
because  two  individuals  acting  in  concert  for  their 
mutual  interest,  should  not  dictate  to,  control  and 
rule  at  pleasure  seven  hundred  freemen! 

"But  our  opinion  is  that  the  Democracy  will 
hold  a  secret  caucus  and  back  out  from  this  one- 
sided convention.  It  matters  not,  however,  as  the 
Whigs  will  make  a  clean  sweep  this  year  in  Han- 
cock. Chapman  will  crow  no  longer,  although  in 
his  concluding  remarks  he  offered  the  olive  branch 
to  the  Whigs!  We  know  how  to  meet  that  old 
arch-intriguer.  We  have  not  time  for  a  further 
account  this  week.     More  anon." 

Among  the  men  who  were  active  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Democracy  in  the  very  early  days  of  the 
county  Joseph  Chapman  should  probably  be  named 
first.  Joseph  Chapman  came  to  this  county  from 
Ohio  in  1829.  In  183'2  he  was  elected  county 
clerk  and  served  his  county  as  representative  in 
the  Lower  House  of  the  Legislature  in  1837,  1839, 
1840,  1842  and  1843.  He  was  an  astute  politi- 
cian, of  magnetic  personality,  and  a  gifted 
speaker.  He  not  only  stumped  this  county  in  cam- 
paign after  campaign,  but  with  his  oratorical 
power  he  rendered  his  party  invaluable  service  in 
all  parts  of  the  State.  The  Democracy  of  Han- 
cock county  found  efficient  leadership  in  him,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  estimate  now  how  much  the  con- 
tinued loyalty  of  the  county  to  Democratic  stand- 
ards is  due  to  his  early  enthusiasm  and  his  untir- 
ing efforts  in  behalf  of  his  party. 

To  Chapman  belongs  the  honor  of  having  given 
to  the  party  its  national  emblem,  the  rooster.  It 
was  in  the  campaign  of  1840,  after  the  financial 
panic  in  Van  Buren's  administration,  when  things 
looked  gloomy  for  the  Democracy  of  the  country, 
that  George  Pattison,  editor  of  The  Cotuititiition, 
a  Democratic  newspaper  of  Indianapolis,  heard  of 
a  serious  defection  from  the  Democratic  ranks  of 
Hancock  county.  He  wrote  William  Sebastian, 
postmaster  at  Greenfield,  and  one  of  the  Demo- 
cratic leaders  of  the  county,  the  following  letter: 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


"Indianapolis,  June  12,  1840. 
"Mr.  Sebastian: 

"Dear  Sir — I  have  been  informed  by  a  Demo- 
crat that  in  one  part  of  your  county  thirty 
Van  Buren  men  have  turned  for  Harrison. 
Please  let  me  know  if  such  be  the  fact.  Hand 
this  letter  to  General  Milroy.  I  think  such  a 
deplorable  state  of  facts  can  not  exist.  If  so,  I 
will  visit  Hancock  county  and  address  the  peo- 
ple relative  to  the  policy  of  the  Democratic 
party.  I  have  no  time  to  spare,  but  I  will  refuse 
to  eat  or  sleep  or  rest  so  long  as  anything  can 
be  done.  Do,  for  heaven's  sake,  stir  up  the  De- 
mocracy. See  Chapman;  tell  him  not  to  do  as 
he  did  heretofore.  He  used  to  create  unneces- 
sary alarms;  he  must  crow;  we  have  much  to 
crow  over.  I  will  insure  this  county  to  give  a 
Democratic  majority  of  200  votes.  Spare  no 
pains.     Write  instanter. 

"GEORGE  PATTISON." 
This  letter  accidentally  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Whigs,  who  published  it  on  June  16,  1840,  in 
the  Indianapolis  Semi-Weekly  Journal,  the  lead- 
ing Whig  newspaper  in  the  State,  for  the  purpose 
of  ridiculing  the  Democrats.  In  this  it  failed  ut- 
terly. "Crow,  Chapman,  crow!"  became  the 
slogan  of  the  local  Democracy  in  that  campaign. 
It  soon  spread  over  the  State,  and  when  the  Indi- 
ana State  Sentinel,  a  Democratic  State  newspaper, 
was  launched  on  July  21,  1841,  it  contained  at  the 
top  of  the  front  page  the  picture  of  a  proud 
rooster  and  under  the  picture  the  words,  "Crow, 
Chapman,  crow!"  The  phrase  caught  the  popu- 
lar ear,  and  the  rooster  was  soon  adopted  as  the 
emblem  of  our  great  Democratic  party.  The  story 
of  our  national  emblem  is  full  of  interest  and 
should  be  read  by  every  loyal  Democrat.  Its  fuller 
history,  together  with  letters,  photographs  and 
newspaper  clippings  of  the  time,  has  been  written 
and  published  in  very  artistic  form  by  John 
Mitchell,  Jr.,  of  the  William  Mitchell  Printing 
Company,  of  Greenfield,  Ind.  It  is  only  fair  to 
say  of  that  loyal  Democrat,  Joseph  Chapman, 
however,  that  he  was  just  as  patriotic  and  loyal 
to  his  country  as  he  was  to  his  party.  For  many 
years  now  he  has  rested  in  an  unmarked  grave 
on  one  of  the  battlefields  of  the  Mexican  war. 

Among  the  wheel-horses  of  the  Democracy  of 
that  time  should  be  mentioned  John  Addison  of 
Jackson  township;  Joseph  Wright  of  Buck  Creek 
township;  William  New  of  Blue  River  township; 
Benjamin  F.  Reeves  of  Brovvrn  township;  Welling- 
ton Collyer  of  Brandywine  township,  and  John 
Dye  of  Sugar  Creek  township.  All  of  these  men, 
and  many  others,  were  active  in  the  interest  of 
Democracy  in  that  early  day,  and  up  until  the 
time  of  the  Civil  war.  True,  party  lines  were  not 
as  closely  drawn  in  the  thirties  and  forties  as  they 


are  now,  and  men  who  were  well  known  over  the 
county  were  elected  to  office  regardless  of  party 
affiliations.  In  1856,  however,  the  county  went 
solidly  Democratic  and  remained  Democratic  un- 
til during  the  Civil  war.  With  the  Civil  war  came 
a  new  alignment  of  parties.  The  leadership  of 
the  old  alignment  of  the  Democratic  party  was 
left  in  the  hands  of  such  men  as  Thomas  D.  Wal- 
pole,  George  Atkison,  Morgan  Chandler,  Berry  W. 
Cooper,  John  C.  Atkison,  William  New,  James  L. 
Mason  and  their  co-workers,  while  a  wing  of  the 
Democracy  of  the  county,  known  as  the  War  Dem- 
ocrats, or  Union  men,  was  led  by  David  S.  Good- 
ing, Henry  Swope,  Lysander  Sparks  and  others. 
The  War  Democrats  allied  themselves  with  others 
of  their  own  political  convictions  and  formed  the 
Union  party.  In  1863  the  Union  party  put  a  ticket 
into  the  field  made  up  as  follows : 

For  Auditor — Lysander  Sparks,  Democrat. 

For  Clerk — Henry  Swope,  Democrat. 

For  Treasurer — Nelson  Bradley,  Republican. 

For  Recorder — Amos  C.  Beeson,  Republican. 

For  Sheriff — William  Caldwell,  Republican. 

This  ticket  was  elected.  But  with  the  close  of 
the  war  all  party  factions  disappeared.  War 
Democrats  and  Democrats  were  again  amalga- 
mated into  one  Democracy,  whose  strength  has 
always  been  such  in  this  county  that  the  nomina- 
tion of  its  candidates  has  been  equivalent  to  elec- 
tion. In  1896  the  party  aligned  itself  with  much 
enthusiasm  under  the  banner  of  William  J.  Bryan 
and  ever  since  that  time  has  given  the  principles 
enunciated  by  him  the  most  ardent  and  loyal  sup- 
port. 

During  the  Civil  war  period,  and  for  many 
years  prior  thereto,  David  S.  Gooding  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  party  leaders  of  the  county. 
He  was  portly,  of  strong  personality,  an  able  law- 
yer and  a  powerful  speaker.  He  was  chairman  of 
the  County  Democratic  Central  Committee  from 
1856  until  1863.  As  an  orator  he  was  in  demand 
in  all  campaigns  from  Maine  to  California.  As 
early  as  1847  he  represented  his  county  in  the 
lower  branch  of  the  State  Legislature.  In  1848 
he  was  elected  county  prosecuting  attorney.  In 
1852  he  was  elected  common  pleas  judge,  in  1856 
state  senator,  and  in  1861  was  again  elected  com- 
mon pleas  judge.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  United 
States  marshal  for  the  District  of  Columbia, 
which  position  he  held  until  1869.  Upon  return- 
ing to  his  home  at  Greenfield  he  again  became  an 
active  worker  in  the  interests  of  Democracy  and 
stumped  the  State  in  every  campaign  for  another 
quarter  of  a  century.  Among  the  co-workers  of 
Gooding  in  county  politics  during  and  immediately 
after  the  Civil  war  mention  should  be  made  of 
Henry  Swope,  who  was  the  Democratic  county 
chairman  for  a  period  of  eight  or  ten  years,  who 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


was  also  clerk  of  the  common  pleas  court,  and  who 
was  prominent  as  a  Democrat  and  a  citizen  of 
this  county  for  many  years.  Among  others  were 
Dr.  Noble  P.  Howard,  Sr. ;  Noble  Warrum,  Adams 
L.  Ogg,  Dr.  S.  A.  Troy.  E.  H.  Faut,  Alex  K.  Bran- 
ham  and  Jesse  Allen. 

Among  the  younger  men  who  grew  into  promi- 
nence in  the  councils  of  the  party  after  the  Civil 
war  Charles  G.  Offutt  served  his  county  with  dis- 
tinction in  the  Lower  House  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture in  1872  and  as  judge  of  the  Hancock  circuit 
court,  1894-1900;  Ephraim  Marsh  served  as  clerk 
of  the  Hancock  circuit  court.  1874-1882,  was  the 
Democratic  county  chairman  for  several  years 
and  was  later  secretary  of  the  Democratic  State 
Central  Committee;  Stokes  Jackson,  one  of  the 
most  untiring  Democratic  workers  in  the  county, 
was  the  Democratic  county  chairman  for  several 
years,  was  chairman  of  the  State  Democratic  Cen- 
tral Committee  and  was  sergeant-at-arms  of  the 
Lower  House  of  Congress  at  the  time  of  his  death 
in  July,  1912. 

Among  the  Democrats  now  living  who  have  been 
elected  or  appointed  to  positions  of  honor  and 
trust  are  Edward  W.  Felt,  on  the  appellate  bench, 
and  Omer  S.  Jackson,  a  deputy  in  the  office  of  the 
Attorney-General,  both  of  the  State  of  Indiana. 
At  present  Mr.  Jackson  is  chairman  of  the  State 
Democratic  Speakers'  Bureau. 

For  more  than  a  half  century  the  party  has  had 
the  advantage  of  a  strong  local  press.  During 
the  fifties  The  Hancock  Democrat  was  founded  by 
a  stock  company  with  David  S.  Gooding  as  its 
editor.  In  1859  William  Mitchell,  master  printer 
and  publisher,  bought  out  all  the  stockholders  and 
took  full  charge  of  the  paper.  Since  that  time  the 
Dcmooat  has  remained  in  the  family  of  the  Mitch- 
ells. In  1876  John  F.  Mitchell,  an  elder  son,  after 
a  long  apprenticeship,  assumed  the  management 
of  the  plant.  In  1907  John  F.  Mitchell,  Jr.,  en- 
tered the  firm  with  his  father,  and  they  now  own 
and  publish  the  paper. 

From  the  day  that  William  Mitchell  bought  the 
establishment  to  the  present  its  columns  have  been 
full  of  bristling  Democracy.  Under  the  efficient 
management  of  the  Mitchells  the  Democrat  is 
much  quoted  by  other  papers  and  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  leading  Democratic  papers  of  the  State. 

Another  Democratic  newspaper  that  was  pub- 
lished in  the  county  was  Tlie  Jcffersonian.  The 
first  issue  of  The  Jeffersonian  was  printed  in 
June,  1878,  by  R.  G.  Strickland.  The  policy  of 
the  paper  was  well  expressed  in  its  name.  Mr. 
Strickland  remained  its  editor  and  proprietor  un- 
til 1890,  when  he  sold  his  interest  to  Eugene 
Lewis.  Later  the  paper  changed  hands  several 
times,  and  after  1897  it  was  published  as  The 
Herald.    Its  publication  was  discontinued  in  1907. 


Among  the  men  who  have  directed  the  local  pol- 
icies of  the  party  as  chairman  of  the  County  Dem- 
ocratic Central  Committee  since  1860  are  the  fol- 
lowing: 

I860— J.  A.  Hall. 

1861 — Benjamin  F.  Caldwell. 

1866— John  W.  Ryon. 

1867— Alfred  Potts. 

1868— M.  L.  Paullus. 

1868— Jacob  Slifer. 

1870— William  Frost. 

1870— Jacob  Slifer. 

1872— George   Barnett. 

1874— George  Barnett. 

1876— George  Barnett. 

1878— Morgan  Chandler. 

1880— Ephraim  Marsh. 

1882 — Ephraim  Marsh. 

1884 — Andrew  Hagan, 

1886 — Andrew  Hagan. 

1888— U.  S.  Jackson. 

1890— U.  S.  Jackson. 

1892—1.  A.  Curry. 

1894— E.  W.  Felt. 

1896— George  W.  Ham. 

1898— E.  W.  Felt. 

1900— Charles  J.  Richman. 

1902— George  Crider. 

1904— H.  D.  Barrett, 

1906 — Lawrence  Wood. 

1908 — Lawrence  Wood, 

1910— Richard  Hagans. 

1911— Clint  Parker. 

1912— William  Service. 

1914 — Thomas  Seaman. 

1916— R.  L.  Ogg. 

1918— Plutarch  Montrose. 

The  following  are  the  men  now  entrusted  with 
the  administration  of  county  aflfairs: 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 

Roland  Jessup,  Eastern  district. 

John  Burk,  Middle  District. 

Pleasant  T.  Paush,  Western  district. 

Representative — George  H.  Cooper. 

Judge  of  Hancock  Circuit  Court — Earl  Sample. 

Court  Bailiff— Ed.  Hope. 

Court  Reporter— Charles  Walker. 

Prosecuting  Attorney — George  L.  Tindall. 

County  Attorney — John  Hinchman. 

Auditor — Harvey  J.  Rhue. 

Clerk— Horace  E.  Wilson. 

Treasurer — Thomas  A.  Seaman. 

Recorder — John  T.  Rush. 

Sheriff— John  MulvihiU. 

County  Assessor — Eli  A.  Parish. 

County  Surveyor — Charles  Boone. 

Coroner — J.  B.  Ellingwood. 


(627) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


County  Health  Commissioner — Dr.  William  H. 
Larrabee. 

County  Road  Superintendent — Charles  N.  War- 
ren. 

County  Superintendent  of  Schools — George  J. 
Richman. 

The  following  are  the  Township  Trustees,  who 
by  virtue  of  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
1911,  have  continued  in  office  for  a  term  of  six 
years : 

Blue  River  Township,  O.  J.  Coffin. 

Brandywine  Township,  William  A.  Scott. 

Brown  Township,  Ord  Kuhn. 

Buck  Creek,  John  F.  Wallace. 

Center,  Abram  W.  Frost. 

Green,  Daniel  J.  Warrum. 

Jackson,  William  T.  Orr. 

Sugar  Creek,  John  Burkhart. 

Vernon,  R.  C.  M.  Smith. 

All  of  the  men  named  above  except  the  Trus- 
tees of  Blue  River  and  Jackson  Townships  are 
Democrats.  John  F.  Shelby  and  Clarence  Luse 
have  both  resigned  from  the  office  in  Buck  Creek 
Township,  and  John  F.  Wallace  finished  the  term. 

The  following  men  were  elected  to  the  office  of 
Township  Trustee  and  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
office  on  January  1,  1915: 

Blue  River,  Harry  L.  Fletcher. 

Brandywine,  Orlen  F.  Thomas. 

Brown,  James   A.   VanDuyn. 

Buck  Creek,  William  Humfleet. 

Center,  Rufus  Temple. 

Green,  Walter  A.  Jackson. 

Jackson,  Marshall  N.  Hittle. 

Sugar  Creek,  Scott  Brandenburg. 

Vernon,  William  C.  Vanlaningham. 

All  are  Democrats  except  the  Trustee  of  Jack- 
son Township,  who  is  a  Republican.  Though  the 
county  is  strongly  Democratic  and  the  Republican 
Trustees  are  in  the  minority,  the  County  Board 
of  Education,  composed  of  the  Township  Trustees 
and  others,  in  the  management  of  school  matters 
and  in  the  general  execution  of  its  duties  is  non- 
partisan. The  Board  considers  all  matters  on  their 
merits,  and  acts  as  a  unit,  without  thought  or 
consideration  of  politics,  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  schools. 

BRYAN  AND  FREE  SILVER. 

Following  the  nomination  of  Bryan  at  Chicago 
in  1896  the  Democracy  of  the  county  rallied  en- 
thusiastically to  his  support.  Stokes  Jackson  was 
delegate  to  the  national  Democratic  convention 
and  was  also  a  member  of  the  "notification  com- 
mittee" that  brought  to  Mr.  Bryan  the  news  that 
he  had  been  nominated  for  the  presidency  by  the 
Democratic  party.  No  party  in  the  county  has 
ever  given  any  candidate  a  more  enthusiastic  and 


more  loyal  support  than  the  Democracy  of  the 
county  has  given  to  Mr.  Bryan  in  each  of  his 
campaigns. 

The  Democrats  of  the  county  were  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  idea  of  free  silver,  and  on  June 
6,  1896,  just  a  few  days  prior  to  the  Center  Town- 
ship Democratic  convention,  copies  of  the  follow- 
ing notice  were  sent  to  practically  all  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic voters  of  the  township: 

"Greenfield,  Ind.,  May  30,  1896. 

"Dear  Sir — The  township  Democratic  conven- 
tion for  the  selection  of  delegates  to  the  state, 
congressional,  senatorial  and  joint  representative 
conventions  will  be  held  at  the  court  room  in  the 
city  of  Greenfield,  on  Saturday,  June  6,  1896,  at 
2  o'clock  p.  m.  You  are  earnestly  requested  to 
see  your  friends  and  neighbors  and  urge  them  to 
be  present,  as  it  is  important  on  account  of  the 
action  which  is  desired  to  be  taken,  instructing 
all  delegates  to  vote  for  platform  and  candidates 
who  are  in  favor  of  the  restoration  of  silver  to 
the  position  it  occupied  before  its  demonetization 
in  1873  by  the  Republican  party.  Free  and  un- 
limited coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  1  is 
the  battle-cry  of  the  Democracy  for  1896.  There 
is  likely  to  be  an  effort  made  to  carry  the  conven- 
tion for  a  gold  standard,  but  if  all  of  the  friends 
of  silver  attend  this  convention  and  do  their  duty 
silver  will  win  the  day. 

"FRIENDS  OF  SILVER." 

All  the  Democratic  township  conventions 
adopted  resolutions  during  the  summer  of  1896  in 
favor  of  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver, 
and  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Bryan  at  the  polls  did  not 
shake  the  faith  of  the  county.  "Sixteen  to  One" 
was  affectionately  remembered  for  many  years 
and  the  "peerless  leader"  remained  the  idol  of  the 
party.  Through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Jackson  Mr. 
Bryan  was  brought  to  Greenfield  on  July  27,  1899. 
Great  preparations  were  made  for  his  reception. 
The  city  was  decorated,  a  large  cannon  was  pro- 
cured and  it  seemed  that  the  entire  county  turned 
out  en  masse  to  hear  him.  He  spoke  at  the  fair- 
ground, and  it  was  estimated  that  20,000  people 
were  present  to  hear  the  address.  On  June  22, 
1903,  Mr.  Bryan  again  made  two  addresses  at 
Greenfield,  one  on  the  east  side  of  the  court  house 
and  another  at  the  opera  house.  On  October  3, 
1906,  he  spoke  at  Fortville,  and  then  with  a  party 
came  to  Greenfield  by  automobile.  The  city  was 
again  decorated  and  an  immense  throng  filled  the 
streets  on  the  east  side  of  the  court  house  to  hear 
him.  It  is  most  likely  true  that  Mr.  Bryan  has 
not  had  a  more  loyal  county  in  the  United  States 
than  Hancock. 

A  few  Democrats  in  the  county,  including  Eph- 
raim  Marsh,  Judge  Offutt  and  E.  H.  Faut,  were 


(  628 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  181G-1916 


opposed  to  Mr.  Bryan's  theory  of  "free  silver" 
and  supported  the  National  Gold  Democratic 
ticket.  This  ticket,  however,  polled  only  15  votes 
in  the  county,  of  which  1  was  in  Brandywine,  8  in 
Center,  4  in  Sugar  Creek  and  2  in  Vernon. 

In  the  ranks  of  the  Democracy  of  the  county 
today  are  many  men  whose  faces  have  been  fa- 
miliar in  the  party's  councils,  and  whose  judg- 
ments have  directed  the  local  policies  of  the  party 
through  many  years  and  through  many  battles. 
We  cannot  mention  all  of  them,  but  no  picture  of 
a  general  Democratic  meeting  of  this  day  at  the 
county  seat  would  be  complete  without  the  faces 
of  Elbert  Tyner.  John  Hayes  Duncan,  Michael 
Quigley,  George  W.  Ham,  William  Elsbury,  Isom 
Wright,  Horace  Wickard,  John  Manche,  George 
Crider,  Charles  Barr,  William  H.  Thompson,  Mat- 
thew L.  Frank,  William  A.  Wood  and  others. 

With  these  men  who  have  labored  unceasingly 
through  the  years  and  who  have  borne  the  burden 
and  the  heat  of  the  day,  stand  also  the  men  of 
middle  age  and  the  younger  men,  enthusiastic  and 
loyal  to  their  party,  and  willing  to  give  of  their 
time  and  energy  that  its  banner  may  not  trail  in 
the  dust.  Among  the  faces  that  are  very  familiar 
we  see  our  honored  judge.  Earl  Sample,  whose 
eloquence,  and  whose  finished  and  forceful  periods, 
have  carried  conviction  to  many  a  jury,  and  hav? 
charmed  audiences  throughout  the  State.  During 
the  present  war  the  Judge  has  been  making  pa- 
triotic    speeches     throughout      the     length      and 


breadth  of  Indiana.  Harry  Strickland  has  served 
his  county  for  six  years  in  the  Lower  House  of 
the  Legislature,  and  is  now  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Congress  in  the  Sixth  Congressional  Dis- 
trict; John  F.  Eagan,  John  B.  Hinchman,  William 
A.  Service.  Samuel  J.  Offutt,  Edward  W.  Pratt, 
Jonas  Walker,  Charles  L.  Tindall,  Robert  L.  Ma- 
son, Edwin  T.  Glascock,  Charles  Cook,  Arthur  C. 
Van  Duyn,  John  A.  Anderson,  Sherman  Smith, 
Lemuel  Moore,  George  Matlock,  Thomas  Hope, 
Charles  Scott,  Louis  H.  Merlau,  William  G.  Lantz, 
John  F.  Shelby,  F.  M.  Sanfonl,  Clint  Cauldwell, 
John  Mooney,  Quincy  A.  Wright  and  many  others. 

But  no  picture  of  any  general  or  business  meet- 
ing at  the  county  seat  within  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  would  be  complete  if  it  omitted  from  the 
foreground  the  likeness  of  the  genial  secretary 
who  is  practically  always  called  to  the  table — El- 
mer T.  Swope. 

Yes,  we  have  our  differences  of  opinion  in  these 
days,  but  our  Democracy  of  today  has  this  mes- 
sage for  posterity:  that,  though  we  have  differ- 
ences of  opinion,  we  settle  our  difficulties  in  coun- 
cil; when  our  principles  have  been  adopted,  and 
our  candidates  named,  we  present  to  our  oppo- 
nents the  solid  front  of  one  united,  organic  De- 
mocracy. During  the  great  world  war  the  party 
has  given  its  undivided  support  of  the  policy  of 
President  Wilson  to  prosecute  the  war  with  all 
the  strength  at  our  command  until  an  honorabli 
peace  can  be  obtained  and  the  world  made  safe  for 
democracy. 


•'?  ■." 


.&f 


-i 


(629) 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
HARRISON  COUNTY 


HARRISON  COUNTY  was  the  fourth  county 
formed  in  the  State,  Knox,  Clark  and 
Dearborn  being  earlier.  It  was  organized 
and  carved  out  of  a  portion  of  the  ter- 
ritory theretofore  included  in  Knox  county  in  1809. 
It  was  named  after  General  William  Henry  Har- 
rison, who  was  the  first  territorial  governor  of 
Indiana,  and  who  afterwards  became  President 
of  the  United  States.  General  Harrison  owned  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  the  county  and  operated  a 
grist  mill  on  Blue  river. 

Among  the  earlier  prominent  Democrats  was 
William  M.  Saffer,  who  was  a  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor in  1856,  when  he  was  defeated  by  A.  P. 
Willard,  and  Peter  N.  Zenor,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  state  constitutional  convention  in  1850.  Mr. 
Saffer  and  Mr.  Zenor  both  served  several  terms  in 
the  state  legislature. 

The  following  residents  of  Harrison  county 
served  in  the  lower  house  of  congress :  Hon.  Sim- 
eon K.  Wolfe,  43d  session;  Hon.  S.  M.  Stock- 
slager,  1880-1884,  and  Hon.  William  T.  Zenor, 
1896-1906.  Captain  Stockslager  was  also  land 
commissioner  during  the  first  term  of  President 
Cleveland. 

In  recent  years  Harrison  county  has  had  two 
resident  state  senators  who  were  Democrats — 
Iverson  Lynn,  who  served  from  1890  to  1894,  and 
Smith  Askren,  who  served  from  1902  to  1906. 

The  following  Democrats  from  Harrison  county 
served  as  members  of  the  state  legislature  in  the 
lower  house  in  recent  years:  Daniel  A.  Cunning- 
ham, elected  in  1878;  Jonathan  Hottell,  1880;  Wil- 
liam D.  Mauck,  1882  to  1884;  Smith  Askren.  1886. 
1888,  1908  and  1910,  and  also  joint  representative 
in  1892;  Jacob  F.  Wright,  1890  and  1892;  Jacob  L. 
O'Bannon,  1896  and  1898;  Andrew  J.  Lopp,  1900 
and  1902;  Thomas  Conlee,  1904;  Remy  Bierley, 
1912,  and  William  Habermel,  1914. 

Harrison  county  is  now  and  has  usually  been 
regarded  as  a  Democratic  county,  although  at 
times  the  Republicans  elected  all  or  a  part  of  their 
ticket.  Along  in  the  eighties  and  nineties  the 
usual  majorities  were  about  500,  although  there 
were  exceptions  to  this  majority  in  1886,  when  the 
Republicans  elected  their  ticket;  and  again  in 
1894,  the  year  of  the  Republican  landslide,  the  lat- 
ter party  was  successful.  From  that  time  until 
1906  the  Democrats  won,  but  at  the  election  in 
that  year  the  Republicans  again  defeated  them, 
and  were  fortunate  enough  to  retain  several  offices 
again  in  1908. 

It  was  noticeable  that  upon  the  adoption  of  the 


Australian  ballot  the  Democrats  made  remark- 
able gains  in  nearly  every  precinct  of  the  county 
at  the  following  election  in  1890.  The  following 
newspapers  have  been  published  in  the  county, 
two  of  which,  the  Corydon  Republican,  now  edited 
by  Frank  Self,  and  the  Corydon  Democrat,  now 
edited  by  Lew  M.  O'Bannon,  are  being  regularly 
published  at  this  time ;  the  Corydon  Democrat  hav- 
ing a  circulation  of  over  3,500  and  being  one  of 
the  leading  weekly  newspapers  in  the  State. 
The  Indiana  Gazette,  established  November,  1818. 
The  Corydon  Press,  September,  1829,  Dr.   D.   G. 

Mitchell,  editor. 
The  Corydon  Investigator,  1835. 
The  Corydon  Whig,   1840,   Dr.  A.   M.  Jones   and 

George  Robertson,  editors. 
The  Harrison  Gazette,  1843,  Ignatius  Mattingiy, 

editor. 
The  Southern  Indianian,  1847. 
The  Western  Argus,  March  11,  1851,  T.  C.  Slaugh- 
ter, editor. 
The   Corydon  Democrat,  established   1856,   S.   K. 
Wolfe,  editor.     Followed  by  A.  W.   Brewster, 
Askren  and  Stockslager,  G.  K.  Gwartney,  C.  W. 
Thomas  and  C.  B.  Ellis  and  the  present  owner 
and  editor,  Lew  M.  O'Bannon. 
The  Corydon  Argus,  1861,  George  W.  Beard,  ed- 
itor. 
The  Corydon  Weekly  Union,  1863,  Andrew  Broad- 

dus,  editor. 
The  Farmers'  Advocate,  W.  H.  Hudson,  editor. 
The  Old  Capitol,  Lemmon  and  Askren,  editors. 
The  Comet,  C.  L.  Dick,  editor. 
The    Corydon    Republican,    established     August, 
1868;  editors,  Henry  Jordan  and  W.  T.  Jones, 
followed   by   Self   and   Adams   and   George   W. 
Self,  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Frank  Self, 
the  present  owner  and  publisher. 
The  Harrison  County  Democrat,   1886,  by  D.  J. 
Murr  and.C.  W.  Thomas,  editors. 
Corydon,  the  first  state  capital,  is  the  county 
seat  of  Harrison  county.     The  territorial  govern- 
ment was  located  there  from  1812  until  the  adop- 
tion of  the  first  constitution  and  the  admission  of 
the  State  into  the  Union  in  1816.     It  continued  to 
be  the  capital  until  1825,  when  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment was  removed  to  Indianapolis. 

The  old  capitol  building  still  stands.  It  is  owned 
by  Harrison  county  and  is  used  for  a  court  house. 
There  is  a  growing  sentiment  that  the  State 
should  buy  and  preserve  this  old  building  in  order 
that  future  generations  may  view  its  simple 
grandeur.     A  bill  to  that  effect  passed  the  senate 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1  9  1  (! 


during  the  1915  session  and  was  defeated  in  the 
house  by  but  a  few  votes;  a  similar  bill  will  prob- 
ably be  presented  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 
It  would  be  a  fitting  memorial  of  the  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  adoption  of  the  consti- 


tution and  the  admission  of  the  State  to  the  Union 
for  the  State  to  purchase  this  ancient  building,  the 
construction  of  which  was  begun  in  1810.  In  the 
same  town  is  the  "Constitutional  Elm,"  where  the 
first  constitution  was  drafted  and  adopted. 


(631) 


HISTORY  OF  THE    DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
HENDRICKS  COUNTY 


HENDRICKS  COUNTY  was  organized  in 
1823,  and  at  the  first  general  election 
thereafter,  in  1824,  returned  a  Whig  ma- 
jority of  twenty-four  votes  for  Henry  Clay  over 
Andrew  Jackson,  they  receiving  thirty  and  six 
votes,  respectively. 

The  stand  the  county  then  took  in  recording 
its  political  favoritism  as  opposed  to  the  Democ- 
racy has  been  consistently  maintained  down  to 
the  present  time,  the  only  exception  being  in  1828 
and  1832,  when  Jackson  had  a  plurality  over  Clay 
of  forty  votes  in  the  former  year  and  of  109  in 
the  latter,  and  in  1912,  when  the  split  in  the  Re- 
publican party  enabled  Woodrow  Wilson  to  re- 
ceive a  plurality  of  842  over  Roosevelt,  the  latter 
running  second  in  this  county. 

The  Democratic  vote  of  the  county  since  its 
organization,  as  recorded  at  presidential  elections 
has  been  as  follows:  1824,  6;  1828,  204;  1832 
483;  1836,  389;  1840,  651;  1844,  844;  1848,  775; 
1852,  980;  1856,  1,378;  1860,  1,083;  1864,  832 
1868,  1,462;  1872,  1,626;  1876,  1,912;  1880,  1,994 
1884,  2,069;  1888,  2,081;  1892,  2,028;  1896,  2,365 
1900,  2,359;  1904,  2,174;  1908,  2,546;  1912,  2,337 
1916,  2,453. 

The  Republican  pluralities  in  the  county  since 
the  war  have  ranged  from  935  to  1,511  at  the 
various  presidential  elections. 

From  1860  to  1908— almost  a  half  century- 
there  was  not  a  Democrat  elected  to  a  county 
office,  and  during  this  period  only  one  Democrat 
carried  the  county.  Judge  Jacob  B.  Julian  receiv- 
ing a  majority  of  twenty-nine  votes  in  1878  over 
his  Republican  opponent,  who  was  elected  Cir- 
cuit Court  Judge  through  his  plurality  in  Marion 
county,  which,  with  this  county,  comprised  the 
judicial  circuit. 

In  1908  the  Democrats  were  able  to  place  the 
first  member  of  their  party  in  the  court  house  in 
over  fifty  years,  when  John  W.  Ader  was  elected 
Sheriff.  He  was  re-elected  in  1910  and  at  the 
same  election  Democrats  were  elected  as  Auditor 
and  Treasurer  in  the  persons  of  Lewis  W.  Bor- 
ders and  George  Macomber.  In  1912  the  entire 
Democratic  county  ticket  was  elected,  John  Dugan 
of  Middle  township  being  the  first  and  only  Dem- 
ocrat ever  sent  to  the  Legislature  from  Hendricks 
county.  George  W.  Brill  was  elected  as  Circuit 
Judge,  James  P.  Snodgrass  Prosecutor,  George 
Macomber  Treasurer,  James  W.  Gentry  Sheriff, 
and  John  Moran  and  Henry  S.  Cox  as  Commis- 
sioners. The  1914  election  resulted  in  the  defeat 
of  the  Democratic  candidates  for  Auditor  and 
Commissioners,  but  added  two  more  Democrats  to 


the  list  of  county  officers,  A.  P.  W.  Bridges  be- 
ing elected  as  Clerk  and  John  A.  Flynn  Recorder. 

The  twelve  townships  of  Hendricks  county  are 
practically  evenly  divided  as  to  politics,  but  not 
until  1908  were  the  Democrats  able  to  obtain  a 
majority  of  the  township  trustees,  and  with  it 
the  privilege  of  naming  the  county  superintend- 
ent of  schools.  This  choice  fell  upon  Theodore 
T.  Martin,  who  proved  such  an  efficient  officer 
and  capable  school  man  that  he  has  been  re- 
elected for  a  term  of  four  years,  receiving  every 
vote  of  the  County  Board  of  Education  regardless 
of  politics. 

This,  in  brief,  records  the  results  attained  by 
the  Democracy  in  the  county  since  its  organiza- 
tion. Meager  they  are,  it  is  true;  but  the  spirit 
of  political  devotion  that  has  maintained  organi- 
zations and  made  sacrifices  in  the  face  of 
predetermined  defeat  has  been  of  much  benefit  to 
the  party  throughout  the  State.  A  Hendricks 
county  Democrat  has  been  one  who  is  always 
ready  to  serve,  even  if  the  fruits  of  victory  are 
not  in  sight.  Today  the  Democratic  State  Com- 
mittee of  thirteen  members  has  on  its  roster  of 
membership  two  native  Hendricks  county  Demo- 
crats, both  of  whom  (meaning  John  W.  Cravens 
of  the  Second  district  and  Arthur  Hamrick  of 
the  Fifth)  are  of  Hendicks  county  Democratic 
ancestral  stock  and  both  of  whom  received  the 
impulse  to  play  in  the  game  of  politics  through 
family  traditions  and  associations  of  young  man- 
hood in  this  county.  Dr.  O.  B.  Johnson  and  Ma- 
rion Bailey,  both  of  Union  township,  were  dele- 
gates to  the  Democratic  national  conventions  of 
1896  and  1904,  respectively.  During  the  sixteen 
years  of  defeat  that  was  visited  upon  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  Indiana  from  1894  to  1910,  Ed- 
ward Barrett  was  his  party's  candidate  for  State 
Geologist,  going  down  to  defeat  with  his  party  in 
each  instance  during  that  period  and  winning 
with  it  in  1910  and  1914.  In  1906  and  1908  Hen- 
dricks county  furnished  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  Auditor  of  State  in  the  person  of  Marion 
Bailey.  It  was  in  Hendricks  county  that  Charles 
Greathouse,  State  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction, got  his  first  lesson  in  profitable  politics 
when  he  landed  his  first  position  as  a  school 
teacher  in  Brown  tovioiship,  the  banner  Demo- 
cratic township  of  the  county.  Governor  Ralston, 
Philip  Zoercher,  Judges  Webb  Felt  and  John 
Spencer,  George  Crane  and  numerous  others  who 
have  served  the  party  through  weather  fair  and 
foul,  have  been  identified  at  various  p.eriods,  while 
students  of  the  Central  Normal  College  at  Dan- 


(632) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18   16-1916 


ville,  with  the  Hendricks  county  Democracy — an 
association  that  was  undoubtedly  of  value  to  all. 

The  first  Democratic  paper  published  in  Hen- 
dricks county  was  the  Butcher  Knife,  established 
at  Danville  in  185G,  with  George  Gregg  as  editor, 
which  existed  some  four  or  five  years,  being 
snufi'ed  out  by  the  strong  war  feeling  that  pre- 
vailed in  the  community.  The  Indianian  was 
established  in  1870  and  survived  until  the  fall  of 
1875,  being  under  the  control  during  that  period 
of  Dr.  Haggart,  the  Ray  brothers  and  C.  N. 
Walls.  The  latter  was  an  editor  of  the  fire-eating 
variety  and  made  things  so  warm  for  his  political 
opponents  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  use 
shooting-stick  and  mallet  as  weapons  of  self- 
defense  as  well  as  in  locking  up  his  newspaper 
forms.  The  Democrat  was  established  by  E.  D. 
King  in  February,  1878,  and  sold  in  August,  1879, 
to  M.  A.  Barnett,  who  in  October,  1881,  disposed 
of  the  property  to  the  owner  of  the  Republican 
paper.  The  Dcmrille  Gazette  was  established  by 
E.  D.  King  in  1880,  who  retired  from  the  paper 
in  1885  to  accept  a  government  position  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  The  paper  then  passed  to  the  con- 
trol of  W.  A.  King,  who  continued  as  its  pub- 
lisher until  December  1,  1914,  when  it  was  leased 
to  Alvin  Hall,  the  present  publisher,  W.  A.  King 
having  been  appointed  as  postmaster  at  Danville. 

To  no  one  is  the  party  more  indebted  than  to 
the  men  who  have  served  it  as  chairmen  of  the 
County  Central  Committee.  This  position  in  a 
county  like  Hendricks  calls  for  an  amount  of  per- 
sonal labor  and  sacrifice  of  time  and  money  that 
those  in  a  county  where  there  is  a  possibility  of 
victory  do  not  have  to  meet.  The  following  per- 
sons have  filled  this  position  in  Hendricks  county 
during  the  past  forty  years:  1876,  Nathan  J. 
Scearce;  1878,  John  Mesler;  1880-2,  H.  B.  Lin- 
genfelter:   1884,  James  A.  Wilson;  1886,  Levi  A. 


Barnett;  1888,  Dr.  John  L.  Marsh;  1890,  John  M. 
Hays;  1892,  James  R.  Williams;  1894,  Joseph  G. 
Bowen;  1896,  W.  A.  King;  1898,  Henry  Under- 
wood; 1890-4,  Marion  Bailey;  1906-14,  David  A. 
Higgins;  1916,  Dr.  A.  P.  W.  Bridges. 

Hendricks  county  Democracy  suffered  its  sever- 
est blow  through  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question  and  the  Civil  war  that  followed.  Many 
leading  men  who  formerly  had  been  Democrats 
joined  the  new  Republican  party,  which  grew  so 
strong  that  it  dominated  the  political  affairs  of 
the  county  without  question,  practically,  until 
1908. 

This  condition  of  affairs  precluded  the  possi- 
bility of  a  Hendricks  county  Democrat  becoming 
prominently  identified  with  public  life,  but  that 
the  material  was  here  and  failed  to  develop  solely 
because  of  untoward  political  conditions  is  proven 
by  Hendricks  county  Democrats  who  have  made 
their  mark  in  public  life  elsewhere.  Congress- 
man Bailey  of  the  Johnstown  (Pa.)  district  was 
a  product  of  this  county.  John  R.  Brill,  a  lead- 
ing lawyer,  and  one  of  the  live  wires  of  the  Demo- 
cratic organization  at  Evansville,  is  proud  of  the 
fact  that  he  is  a  Hendricks  county  boy  and  never 
loses  an  opportunity  to  speak  of  the  kind  of  Dem- 
ocrats the  county  produces.  Portland  Chase 
Hunt,  a  student  under  Dan  Voorhees,  was  one  of 
the  leading  Democratic  orators  of  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

But  with  President  Wilson  and  the  new  era  for 
the  Democratic  party  that  his  administration  has 
ushered  in,  the  party  in  Hendricks  county  has 
been  strengthened  and  it  now  faces  the  future 
with  a  firmer  belief  in  the  principles  of  Jefferson 
and  Jackson,  and  the  knowledge  that  the  Repub- 
lican party  even  in  Hendricks  county  is  not  in- 
vulnerable to  defeat. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
HENRY  COUNTY 

By  Walter  S.Chambers 


THE  second  term  of  James  Monroe,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  extending  from 
March  4,  1821,  to  March  4,  1825,  was  then 
known  and  is  to  this  day  referred  to  as  the  "Era 
of  Good  Feeling,"  there  being,  so  far  as  surface 
indications  were  concerned,  but  one  political  party 
in  the  United  States. 

It  was  during  this  era  of  good  feeling,  in  1822, 
that  Henry  county  was  organized,  so  that  there 
were  no  political  divisions  in  the  county.  This 
condition  continued,  at  least  on  the  surface,  until 
1832,  when  the  first  national  convention  to  nomi- 
nate candidates  for  the  presidency  was  held  in 
Baltimore,  Md.  The  followers  of  Henry  Clay  were 
known  as  "National  Republicans"  and  those  of 
Andrew  Jackson  as  "Democratic  Republicans." 
The  vote  in  Henry  county  was  767  for  Clay  and 
580  for  Jackson. 

With  the  campaign  of  1836  political  divisions 
became  complete  in  Henry  county.  The  two  lead- 
ing parties  were  known  as  "Whigs"  and  "Demo- 
crats." The  vote  of  the  county  for  President  was: 
Harrison,  "Whig,"  1,394;  Van  Buren,  "Democrat," 
712.  The  Whigs  continued  largely  in  the  ascend- 
ency in  the  county  until  1850. 

With  but  two  exceptions  during  that  period  all 
county  officials  elected  were  Whigs.  In  1837  Col. 
Miles  Murphy,  then  a  Democrat  and  a  leading  and 
popular  citizen,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  lower 
house  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  in  1839 
Thomas  Ginn,  a  Moderate  Democrat,  was  elected 
county  sheriff.  In  1850  there  were  to  be  elected 
three  delegates  to  the  proposed  convention  to  form 
a  new  constitution  of  the  State.  The  Whigs  nomi- 
nated as  delegates  to  the  convention  Daniel  Mason 
of  Wayne  township,  Isaac  Parker  of  Franklin 
township.  Dr.  George  H.  Ballingall  of  Fall  Creek 
township;  for  senator,  William  A.  Rifner  of 
Prairie  tovsmship;  for  representative,  William  W. 
Williams  of  Spiceland  township;  for  sheriff,  Sam- 
uel Hazzard  of  Henry  township.  In  opposition 
there  was  a  union  of  Democrats,  Free-Soil  Whigs, 
Prohibitionists  and  Abolitionists,  who  nominated 
as  delegates  Isaac  Kinley  and  Daniel  Mowrer  of 
Henry  township  and  John  F.  Johnston  of  Prairie 
township;  for  senator,  Ezekiel  T.  Hickman  of 
Prairie  township;  for  representative,  Isaac  H. 
Morris  of  Wayne  township;  for  sheriff,  Joshua 
Johnson  of  Henry  township.  Every  candidate  on 
the  Democratic  fusion  ticket  was  elected  except 
John  F.  Johnston.  The  Democrats  in  this  fusion 
took  the  lion's  share,  for  every  candidate  on  the 


ticket  was  a  straight,  out-and-out  Democrat  ex- 
cept Isaac  Kinley,  who  stood  as  the  lone  repre- 
sentative of  the  Abolitionists,  the  Free-Soil  Whigs 
and  the  Prohibitionists. 

In  1856,  when  the  Whig  party  became  the  Re- 
publican party,  the  vote  of  Henry  county  for 
President  was:  Fremont,  Republican,  2,741; 
Buchanan,  Democrat,  1,229.  The  population  of 
the  county  was  then  approximately  18,500;  total 
vote,  4,019.  The  Republican  plurality  that  year 
was  1,512.  The  highest  plurality  given  a  Repub- 
lican candidate  for  President  in  the  intervening 
campaigns  was  in  1868,  when  it  reached  2,020. 
There  was  a  gradual  slump  in  Republican  plurali- 
ties from  that  time  on  and  in  1908  the  plurality 
was  1,067.  In  1912,  owing  to  the  vote  of  the  Pro- 
gressives, the  plurality  was  in  favor  of  Wilson, 
Democrat,  by  208,  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
the  county  that  a  Democratic  candidate  for  Presi- 
dent received  a  plurality  of  the  votes,  a  period  em- 
bracing elections  for  ninety-four  years.  The  pres- 
idential election  of  1916  resulted  in  a  plurality  for 
the  Republican  candidate  of  826,  party  lines  in 
this  year  having  assumed  normal  proportions. 
The  Republican  vote  for  President  was  4,386  and 
the  Democratic  vote  3,560,  both  parties  casting 
the  largest  vote  in  their  history.  The  population 
of  the  county  at  this  time  was  about  32,000. 

From  1850  to  1912  not  a  single  man  other  than 
a  Whig  or  Republican  succeeded  in  being  elected 
to  office  from  Henry  county  alone  and  only  in  four 
instances  was  any  one  other  than  a  Republican 
elected  from  any  district  in  which  Henry  county 
formed  a  part,  the  exceptions  being  in  the  elec- 
tion of  A.  R.  A.  Thompson  and  Exum  Saint,  on 
fusion  tickets,  in  1874  and  1878,  respectively,  to 
the  lower  house  of  the  General  Assembly;  and 
Charles  M.  Butler  of  Knightstown,  elected  prose- 
cuting attorney  and  Calvin  W.  Thompson  of  An- 
derson, elected  district  attorney  for  the  common 
pleas  court.  In  1876  Hon.  D.  W.  Chambers  of 
Henry  county  was  the  nominee  for  representative 
in  Congress  from  the  Sixth  Congressional  District 
and  was  defeated  by  only  216  votes.  He  was  the 
Sixth  district  member  of  the  Democratic  state 
committee  in  1886  and  1888. 

In  1912,  when  the  Republican  party  was  badly 
demoralized  on  account  of  defection  to  the  Pro- 
gressives, or  "Bull  Moose"  party,  the  Democrats 
succeeded  in  electing  a  representative  to  the  lower 

house  of  the  State  Legislature, of 

Knightstown;   James  Wallace,  county  treasurer; 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  G  -  1  9  1  0 


James  Bouslog,  county  sheriff,  and  John  H.  Myers 
and  Al  W.  Fatic,  members  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners.  Finley  H.  Gray,  Democratic  nom- 
inee for  Congress  from  the  Sixth  Congressional 
District,  also  carried  the  county  by  a  small  plural- 
ity. In  1914  Walter  S.  Chambers,  editor  of  the 
Newcastle  Daily  Timeif,  and  son  of  the  Hon.  D. 
W.  Chambers  mentioned  above,  was  elected  joint 
senator  from  Henry  and  Madison  counties. 

In  the  above  is  set  out  only  the  successes  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Henry  county  since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  county  ninety-five  years  ago.  It 
does  not  convey  in  full  the  energy,  love  of  party 
and  militant  spirit  of  Henry  county  Democrats. 
Although  largely  in  the  minority  from  the  begin- 
ning they  have  entered  each  succeeding  political 
campaign  with  vim  and  determination  to  win.  De- 
feat did  not  dampen  their  ardor  nor  cause  them 
to  lessen  their  efforts,  and  such  has  been  the  re- 
ward of  their  zeal  that  although  they  still  have  a 
plurality  of  about  800  against  them,  they  have 
faith  that  the  near  future  will  place  them  at  least 
on  an  equality  with  their  long-time  antagonists. 

In  the  past  fifty  years  several  Democratic  news- 
papers have  had  existence  at  the  county  seat  and 
each  labored  zealously  during  its  brief  lifetime  for 
the  Democratic  cause;  but  the  patronage  was  lim- 
ited and  emoluments  sparse,  so  that  they  did  not 
long  survive.  About  1895  Walter  S.  Chambers 
purchased  the  Newcastle  Democrat  and  after  a 
few  years'  struggle  had  it  firmly  established  in 
the  homes  and  hearts  of  Henry  county  Democrats. 


In  1909  he  began  publication  of  the  Ncwcaatte 
Daily  Times,  which  has  had  a  successful  career, 
and  both  publications  have  greatly  helped  in 
spreading  the  doctrine  of  Democracy  and  have 
been  largely  instrumental  in  reducing  the  Repub- 
lican pluralities.  Mr.  Chambers  is  the  Democratic 
chairman  of  the  Sixth  Congressional  District  and 
as  such  is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  state  cen- 
tral committee.  He  is  also  joint  senator  from 
Henry  and  Madison  counties. 

The  history  of  the  Democratic  party  of  Henry 
county  would  not  be  complete  without  mentioning 
Dr.  F.  A.  Bolser,  who  for  twenty-five  years  has 
been  one  of  the  active  and  effective  workers  and 
organizers.  He  has  served  as  county  chairman 
and  in  all  other  positions  in  the  party.  Under 
Governor  Matthews  he  was  appointed  state  vet- 
erinarian and  held  the  position  for  five  years. 
Under  Governor  Ralston  he  was  the  first  assistant 
to  the  state  veterinarian,  serving  four  years. 

Edward  Smith,  the  present  postmaster  and  for- 
mer county  chairman,  has  been  an  active  factor  in 
the  county  Democracy  for  thirty  years,  being  an 
alternate  delegate  to  the  national  convention  at 
St.  Louis  in  191G.  Other  men  who  have  done  much 
for  the  party  in  years  past  were  James  Brown, 
who  was  once  a  candidate  for  supreme  judge; 
Thomas  B.  Hunt,  who  was  a  candidate  for  the 
nomination  of  treasurer  of  state;  Loring  Bundy, 
Horace  G.  Yergin,  Frank  A.  Wisehart,  Charles 
D.  Morgan  of  Knightstown  and  George  W.  Good- 
win. 


(  635) 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
HOWARD  COUNTY 

By  C.  H.  Havens 


"Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity, 
Which,  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous, 
Wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  its  head." 

FROM  1840,  when  that  district  which  now 
comprises  two  townships  (Ervin  and  Mon- 
roe) of  Howard  county  cast  twelve  votes  for 
Martin  Van  Buren,  Democrat,  and  twelve  votes 
for  William  Henry  Harrison,  Whig-,  for  Presi- 
dent, to  1912,  when  the  Democratic  party  of  How- 
ard county  felt  that  it  had  at  last  come  into  its 
own,  is  a  far  cry. 

Yet  in  all  these  years,  more  than  the  allotted 
three  score  and  ten  of  man's  life,  through  the  or- 
ganization of  the  county  as  the  county  of  Rich- 
ardville  in  1844  and  its  reorganization  as  the 
county  of  Howard  in  1846,  to  the  year  of  grace 
before  mentioned,  but  two  Democrats  had  suc- 
ceeded to  county  office,  though  both  of  these  were 
twice  elected. 

But  from  the  memorable  campaign  of  "Tippe- 
canoe and  Tyler,  too,"  marking  the  temporary 
overthrow  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  nation 
after  a  continuous  rule  of  forty  years,  a  militant 
Democratic  organization  has  been  maintained  in 
the  county.  It  had  been  unfed  even  by  the  crumbs 
of  official  pottage.  It  had  been  led  by  men  firm- 
grounded  in  the  imperishable  principles  of  De- 
mocracy, who  hoped  on,  fought  on,  if  not  to  win, 
to  feel  more  worthy  winning. 

For  all  that  the  prophet  was  not  without  honor 
save  in  his  own  country.  Men  from  the  ranks  of 
the  party  in  the  county  had  been  successful  as 
candidates  for  State,  legislative  and  judicial  office. 
Notable  among  them  were  Milton  B.  Hopkins, 
twice  elected  (1870-1872)  State  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction;  Addison  F.  Armstrong, 
elected  (1870)  State  Senator  for  the  district  then 
comprising  Howard,  Miami  and  Carroll  counties; 
John  W.  Kern,  Democratic  majority  leader  in  the 
United  States  Senate  from  1911  to  1917,  and 
once,  a  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  elected 
(1884)  Reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court;  Judge 
C.  N.  Pollard  and  Judge  Lex  J.  Kirkpatrick,  elect- 
ed (1873  and  1890,  respectively)  Judge  of  the 
Thirty-second  Judicial  Circuit,  comprising  the 
counties  of  Howard  and  Tipton,  and  J.  O.  Hender- 
son, twice  elected    (1890-1892)    Auditor  of  State. 

It  is  a  fact  of  frequent  comment  that  in  all 
these  seventy-nine  years  no  other  political  organi- 
zation in  Howard  county — Whig,  Free  Soiler, 
"Barnburner,"  "Know-Nothing"  or  Republican — 
had  been  honored  by  a  nominee  for  State  or  con- 


gressional office,  save  in  a  single  instance.  In 
1874  James  A.  Wildman  was  nominated  by  the 
Republican   party  and   elected   Auditor  of   State. 

And  in  all  these  years  there  was  never  a  cam- 
paign in  which  the  Democrats  did  not  put  up  a 
valiant  fight.  Times  there  were  when  they  all 
but  drove  the  wedge  of  battle  through  the  im- 
pregnable lines  of  Whig  or  Republican  in  an  ef- 
fort to  "reach  the  court  house"  or  a  coveted  seat 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State. 

In  1847  Dr.  Jacob  H.  Kern,  father  of  former 
Senator  John  W.  Kern,  contended  with  Dr.  Cory- 
don  Richmond,  the  former  a  Democrat  and  the 
latter  a  Whig,  for  the  seat  in  the  Legislature. 
Dr.  Kern  was  defeated  by  but  seventeen  votes. 
Again,  in  1870,  John  W.  Kern,  who  did  not  reach 
his  majority  until  after  the  convening  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  the  winter  following,  was  a 
candidate  for  the  same  office  against  Captain 
Thomas  M.  Kirkpatrick,  a  popular  soldier  idol 
and  a  strong  man  in  every  way  with  the  elec- 
torate. Mr.  Kern  was  defeated  by  less  than  250 
votes,  though  the  normal  Republican  majority  in 
the  county  at  that  time  was  approximately  1,200. 

Delving  again  into  the  mighty  past,  in  1858 
certain  territory,,  now  in  the  main  Honeycreek 
township,  formerly  attached  to  Clinton  county, 
was  annexed  to  Howard  county.  In  the  October 
election  which  followed  the  result  in  the  contest 
for  County  Auditor  between  Peter  B.  Hersleb 
(Democrat)  and  James  A.  Wildman  (Republican) 
hinged  on  whether  the  votes  in  the  recently  an- 
nexed territory  should  be  counted.  With  these 
votes  eliminated,  the  Democratic  candidate  would 
have  won.  They  were  counted,  however,  and  Mr. 
Wildman,  twelve  years  later  elected  Auditor  of 
State,  succeeded  to  the  office. 

The  second  clerk  of  the  court  in  Howard  coun- 
ty was  Adam  Clark,  a  Democrat.  He  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  County  Commissioners  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term  of  Franklin  S.  Price  (Whig), 
elected  in  1844  and  re-elected  in  1848,  and  who 
died  in  office.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  in  1854 
and  succeeded  himself  in  1858.  Jackson  Morrow, 
a  Democrat,  was  elected  County  Surveyor  in  1890 
and  was  re-elected  in  1892.  These  two  men  rep- 
resent the  full  extent  of  county  office  holding  by 
Democrats  until  1912,  when  the  entire  Demo- 
cratic county  ticket  was  elected  by  pluralities 
ranging  from  16  to  1,044. 

The  campaign  of  1860  marked  the  alignment 
of  political  parties  in  the  county  much  as  they 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8   1   G  -  1  9   1   6 


would  stand  at  this  time  by  substituting  the 
Republicans  for  Whips.  The  Whigrs  and  Demo- 
crats had,  of  course,  constituted  the  leading:  par- 
ties, and  with  this  campaign  the  Free  Soilers, 
hardly  more  than  a  negrligible  political  quantity, 
were  wholly  absorbed.  There  were  some  pro- 
slavery  men,  an  inconsiderable  number.  Early 
in  the  canvass  the  Democrats  were  willing  to  con- 
cede that  the  Republicans  would  carry  the  county 
for  the  national  ticket.  Wagers  were  made,  how- 
ever, that  the  plurality  for  Abraham  Lincoln  over 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  would  not  exceed  300.  Not 
a  little  surprise  attended  the  announcement  of 
the  result,  the  plurality  for  the  Republican  candi- 
date for  President  being  over  600.  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  the  pro-slavery  candidate,  received 
less  than  a  score  of  votes.  The  exact  figures  for 
the  vote  in  the  county  in  this  election  are  not 
available  from  records  preserved  at  the  court 
Jiouse. 

The  election  of  Judge  Lex  J.  Kirkpatrick  as 
Circuit  Judge  in  1890,  the  unusual  manner  in 
which  his  nomination  was  made  and  the  surpris- 
ingly successful  result  of  his  industrious  personal 
canvass,  are  to  this  day  the  basis  of  stories  re- 
hearsed at  almost  every  gathering  of  Howard 
county  Democrats.  The  Republicans  in  a  large 
and  exceptionally  imposing  convention  held  in 
Tipton  had  nominated  J.  C.  Blacklidge,  one  of  the 
oldest  and  ablest  members  of  the  Howard  county 
bar.  The  norma!  Republican  majority  in  the  dis- 
trict was  over  one  thousand  and  the  nomination 
was  regarded  as  equivalent  to  an  election.  The 
"convention"  which  nominated  Judge  Kirkpatrick, 
comparatively  a  young  man,  who  had  been  in  the 
practice  but  a  limited  number  of  years,  comprised 
exactly  nine  persons.  They  met  in  the  lumber 
room  under  the  stage  of  the  old  opera  house  build- 
ing. In  the  absence  of  Judge  Kirkpatrick,  and 
without  his  knowledge  or  consent,  he  was  declared 
the  Democratic  candidate  in  opposition  to  the 
older  and  more  experienced  barrister,  of  whose 
success  at  the  polls  no  one  had  the  shadow  of  a 
doubt.  Then,  as  now,  Judge  Kirkpatrick  was 
thorough  m  everything  he  attempted.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  in  the  beginning  he  had  the  re- 
motest hope  of  election,  but  this  did  not  give  him 
pause  in  his  determination  to  make  the  best  show- 
ing possible.  Judge  Kirkpatrick  had  his  own 
method  of  campaigning.  Among  other  things 
"community  meetings"  were  held,  usually  at  the 
home  of  some  Democrat,  throughout  the  district, 
and  the  candidate  was  brought  in  personal  con- 
tact with  almost  every  voter.  It  was  late  in  the 
canvass  before  the  formidable  character  of  Judge 
Kirkpatrick's  candidacy  began  to  be  realized.  He 
was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  221. 

It  was  not  until  1870  that  the  Democracy  was 


represented  by  a  newspaper  in  the  county,  the 
Republicans  having  the  advantage  of  the  able 
assistance  of  the  Kokomn  Tribune  from  1850. 

-As  early  as  18-18.  however,  the  Pioneer,  How- 
aid  county's  first  newspaper,  was  published  at 
the  village  of  New  London,  which  had  aspired  to 
be  the  law  seat  of  the  county.  Originally  it  was 
published  as  a  Free  Soil  advocate  by  Dr.  Moses 
R.  Wickersham.  .-X  .\ear  later  arrangements 
were  made  with  the  publisher  by  which  the  Whig 
and  Democratic  parties  had  representation  in  its 
meager  columns.  The  late  Colonel  Charles  D. 
Murray  championed  the  cause  of  the  Whigs  and 
Dr.  J.  F.  Henderson  and  Dr.  James  Barrett  took 
up  cudgels  for  the  Democrats.  Later  the  plant 
was  moved  to  Kokomo,  it  being  purachased  by 
John  Bohan  and  Harless  Ashley.  Colonel  Mur- 
ray was  made  its  editor  and  it  supported  only  the 
Whig  contentions.  In  1857  T.  C.  Phillips,  one 
of  the  most  forceful  political  writers  the  press  of 
Indiana  has  known,  became  its  publisher  and  ed- 
itor. From  that  day  it  has  been  an  able  and 
strictly  partisan  Republican  newspaper. 

In  1870  William  J.  ("Jap")  Turpin  came  to 
Kokomo  from  Tipton,  where  he  had  for  sometime 
published  a  Democratic  paper,  the  Tipton  Times. 
He  was  known  as  "the  Tipton  Slasher,"  and  for 
other  reasons  than  that  he  hailed  from  the 
"slashes"  of  Tipton  county.  As  a  political  writer 
he  had  developed  a  style  to  which  the  term  "slash- 
ing" aptly  applies.  He  was  without  means.  He 
began  the  publication  of  the  Radical  Democrat  on 
"the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence 
of  things  unseen."  The  paper  was  printed  at  the 
Tribune  oflnce.  The  writer  hereof  recalls  that  he 
carried  the  entire  initial  edition  from  the  Tribune 
office  to  a  room  rented  by  Turpin  a  short  distance 
up  the  street,  where  he  folded  the  papers  for  mail- 
ing and  distributed  the  "carriers'  list"  about  the 
court  house  square.  Senator  John  W.  Kern  was 
a  frequent  and  a  virile  contributor  to  the  Radical 
Democrat,  which,  after  the  second  issue,  dropped 
the  prefix  "Radical,"  as  was  John  M.  Goar,  who 
afterward  became  its  editor. 

In  that  year  Dr.  J.  F.  Henderson  had  the  Dem- 
ocratic nomination  for  Congress  "wished  on  him." 
It  fell  to  his  part  to  keep  the  Democrat  financial- 
ly afloat.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  campaign  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  had  made 
a  most  creditable  though  an  unsuccessful  race,  the 
honor  of  having  fought  a  good  fight — and  a  news- 
paper. A  man  of  rather  large  affairs,  he  contin- 
ued the  publication  of  the  Democrat,  becoming  its 
editor,  much  as  a  diversion.  For  all  that  there 
have  been  few  more  strikingly  original  and  in 
many  ways  more  forceful  publications  in  the  his- 
tory of  Indiana  newspapers  than  was  the  Demo- 
crat under  his  administration. 


HISTORY       INDIAN 


DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


In  1874  the  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  two 
sons  of  Dr.  Henderson,  John  O.  and  Howard  E. 
Henderson,    who    continued    its    publication    until 
the  death  of  the  latter  in  June  of  1914.     In  1876 
the  name  was  chang-ed  to  the  Kokovio  Dispatch. 
It  had  an  excellent  mechanical  equipment  for  that 
day.     Under  the  editorship  of  J.  O.  Henderson  it 
had  become  a  recognized  force  in  the  Democratic 
party  not  only  in  the  county,  but  in  the  congres- 
sional   district    and    the    State.     The    party   was 
neither  unmindful  nor  unappreciative  of  this  fact. 
In  1884,  upon  the  election  of  President  Cleveland, 
J.  O.  Henderson  was  appointed  internal  revenue 
collector  for  the  district  comprising  the  northern 
counties  of  the   State,  with  practically  the  undi- 
vided support  of  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  these 
counties.     In  jj  few  months,  however,  in  the  con- 
solidation of  internal  revenue  districts,  Mr.  Hen- 
derson was  "consolidated"  out  of  office.     In  1890, 
when  the  publication  of  the  Dispatch  as  a  daily 
newspaper  was  begun,  Mr.  Henderson  was  a  can- 
didate  for  nomination   as   Auditor  of   State   and 
was    honored    by    the    Democratic    convention    of 
that  year  with  this  nomination  on  the  first  ballot. 
He  was  again  nominated  and  elected  in  1892.    C. 
H.   Havens,  who  had  been  with  the  Dispatch  in 
one  capacity  or  another  since  his  childhood,  and 
who  had  relieved  Mr.  Henderson  of  some  of  the 
editorial   work   during    Mr.     Henderson's   incum- 
bency in  the  office  of  Internal  Revenue  Collector, 
was  made  managing  editor  of  the  paper.     He  con- 
tinued in  this  position   until  his  appointment  as 
postmaster  for  Kokomo,  in  March  of  1914.     The 
Dispatch  is  now  owned  by  a  stock  company,  in 
which   George   W.   Charles   and   A.   G.    Seiberling 
are   leading  spirits.     Victor  J.   Obenauer   is   the 
managing  editor.     It  has  recently  been  housed  in 
a  magnificent  new  building  and  its  plant  is  one 
of  the  finest  in  Indiana. 

In  the  election  of  1914  the  candidates  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  in  Howard  county  "fell  outside 
the  breastworks,"  as  they  did  in  many  other  coun- 
ties of  Indiana  where  they  had  been  successful 
two  years  before.  But  there  is  no  failing  in  the 
militant  spirit  of  the  party  of  Howard.  A  com- 
pact and  energetic  organization,  with  James  R. 
McReynolds  as  county  chairman,  John  R.  Mcin- 
tosh as  secretary  and  A.  B.  Armstrong  as  treas- 
urer, is  maintained. 

Unfortunately  there  is  no  existing  record  of 
the  earlier  officers  of  the  Democratic  county  cen- 
tral committee.  Dr.  J.  P.  Henderson,  H.  B. 
Havens,  James  Davis,  James  Haggard,  T.  L. 
Paulkener  and  Captain  George  D.  Tate  were 
among  the  earlier  chairmen.     In  later  years  John 


M.  Leach,  John  W.  Kern,  George  W.  Duke,  Milo 
W.  Barnes,  Charles  J.  Hammil  and  G.  W.  John- 
son have  served  in  this  capacity.  B.  C.  Moon, 
Charles  Humerickhouse  and  C.  H.  Havens  served 
as  secretary  of  the  committee  through  a  long  se- 
ries of  years. 

To  no  man  does  the  Democratic  organization 
of  Howard  county  owe  more  than  to  Orin  Simp- 
son, the  county  chairman  in  the  successful  cam- 
paigns of  1908  and  1912,  when  a  magnificent 
showing  in  voting  strength  was  made,  the  Demo- 
crats carrying  the  county  by  a  substantial  plu- 
rality in  the  last  named  year,  electing  the  entire 
county  ticket. 

J.    R.    ("Jim    Bob")     McReynolds    was    elected 
County  Chairman  in  March  of  1914.     In  the  gen- 
eral election  that  followed  in  November  the  coun- 
ty  was   lost   to   the    Democrats   by   very   narrow 
pluralities.  The  genius  for  organization  of  Chair- 
man McReynolds  was  notably  in  evidence  in  the. 
campaign    and    election    of   1916,   however,    when 
the  Democrats  of  the  county  made  a  net  gain  of 
1,158   over  the   combined   Republican-Progressive 
vote  of  1914.     Had  this  gain  been  uniform  in  the 
several  counties  of  the  State,  Indiana  would  have    . 
been  carried  for  the  Democracy  by  over  100,000. 
John  R.  Mcintosh  has  served  as  secretary  of  the 
county  committee  since   1908  and  has  won  well- 
merited  praise  not  only  as  a  good  organizer,  but 
as  an  eff'ective  campaigner  in  an  oratorical  way. 
In  the  city  of  Kokomo  the  Democrats  have  been 
far  more  frequently  successful  than  in  the  coun- 
ty.    When  Kokomo  was  incorporated  as  a  city  in 
1865  Judge  C.  N.  Pollard  was  made  City  Attorney 
and  Milton   Bell  succeeded  him  in  this  office.     It 
was  subsequently  filled  by  John  W.  Kern    (1871- 
1876     and     1883-1884).      The     first     Democratic 
Mayor  of  the  city.  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Cole,  was  elect- 
ed in  1881,  his  tragic  death  following  a  year  later. 
He  was  succeeded  by  W.  S.  Armstrong,  Democrat, 
who  was   re-elected   in   1883,  serving  until   1885. 
Dr.  J.  B.  Kirkpatrick,  Democrat,  was  elected  in 
1889,  Dr.  J.  B.   Puckett  in   1910  and   George  W. 
Stidger    in     1913.      George  W.   Duke,   Democrat, 
served  as  City  Clerk  from  1877  to  1882;  Joseph 
Kelly,    Democrat,   served   as   City   Marshal   from 
1875  until  1879,  and  Albert  Burns,  Democrat,  was 
elected  to  this  office,  serving  from  1882  to  1884. 

When  there  was  not  a  Democratic  majority  in 
the  city  council,  as  there  was  following  a  few  elec- 
tions, there  was  an  energetic  Democratic  minor- 
ity, and  as  a  whole  Democrats  have  had  a  large 
share  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the 
city  from  the  day  of  its  organization. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
HUNTINGTON  COUNTY 


HUNTINGTON  COUNTY,  located  in  the 
Wabash  valley,  not  only  has  been  a  liberal 
contributor  '  to  historical  events,  but  has 
taken  active  and  prominent  part  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Democratic  party. 

Prominent  among  the  party  workers  in  Hunt^ 
ington  country  prior  to  and  immediately  follow- 
ing the  war  were  L.  P.  Milligan,  James  R.  Slack 
and  John  R.  Cofroth.  These  men  were  each  law- 
yers of  more  than  local  reputation.  James  R. 
Slack  represented  the  district  in  congress,  and  L. 
P.  Milligan  at  one  time  was  a  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor. Samuel  Winters  at  that  time  was  pub- 
lisher of  a  local  Democratic  newspaper  and  was 
regarded  as  spokesman  for  the  party.  He  is  now 
located  in  the  city  of  Peru,  conducting  the  Peru 
Chronicle.  W.  J.  Hilligas  was  also  a  newspaper 
man,  a  tireless  party  worker,  whose  influence  ex- 
tended beyond  the  confines  of  the  county. 

In  later  days  Judge  J.  C.  Branyan,  Judge  0.  W. 
Whitelock,  Judge  S.  E.  Cook.  J.  Fred  France,  D. 
D.  Yingling  and  L.  G.  Trixler  have  each  been 
active  in  party  affairs.  J.  Fred  France  is  now 
serving  his  second  term  as  clerk  of  the  supreme 


court.  L.  G.  Trixler  for  four  years  served  as 
deputy  clerk  of  the  supreme  court  under  Mr. 
France,  and  is  today  postmaster  of  the  city  of 
Huntington. 

The  county  has  always  been  close  politically, 
shifting  from  one  control  to  another.  Although 
the  county  is  regarded  as  normally  Republican, 
the  militant  Democracy  of  the  county  has  been 
successful  in  capturing  either  a  part  or  all  of  the 
county  offices  at  each  election.  The  city  of  Hunt- 
ington, also  normally  Republican,  has  had  as  ita 
head  a  Democratic  mayor  for  the  last  seven 
years. 

Congressman  George  W.  Rauch,  now  serving 
his  tenth  year  in  congress  as  representative  of 
the  Eleventh  congressional  district,  is  a  native  of 
Huntington  county,  having  been  born  and  raised 
at  Warren,  Huntington  county. 

There  are  published  in  Huntington  county  six 
newspapers,  four  weeklies  and  two  dailies.  The 
Huntington  Press,  morning  daily,  established 
February  11,  1912,  by  M.  H.  Ormsby,  is  the  only 
paper  in  the  county  of  the  Democratic  faith. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
JACKSON  COUNTY 

By  Cornelius  S.  Mercer 


JACKSON  COUNTY  has  always  been  loyal  to 
the  Democratic  party.  Only  for  a  brief  in- 
terval in  the  fifties  was  there  any  serious  in- 
terruption of  Democratic  supremacy,  when  the 
Whigs  elected  their  ticket  and  controlled  county 
affairs  for  a  few  years.  The  Democrats  returned 
to  power  before  the  breaking  of  the  Civil  war, 
remained  loyal  throughout  that  trying  period, 
and  with  very  few  exceptions  have  elected  Demo- 
cratic local  tickets  ever  since.  No  Republican 
presidential  candidate  ever  carried  the  county. 

This  unfailing  loyalty  may  be  largely  attrib- 
uted to  a  few  early  settlers  of  prominence  who 
were  largely  interested  in  local  and  national  af- 
fairs. First  among  these  deserving  of  special 
mention  is  Colonel  George  W.  Carr,  who  was  born 
in  Clark  county,  Indiana,  October  7,  1807,  and 
came  with  his  father's  family  to  Vallonia  in  1811, 
where  the  family  resided  for  several  years,  part 
of  which  time  was  spent  in  the  old  fort  at  that 
place  because  of  Indian  hostilities.  In  1818  he 
moved  to  Pea  Ridge,  in  Carr  township,  where  he 
married  and  reared  a  family.  He  served  in  the 
Indiana  Legislature  through  several  sessions  in 
the  forties  and  fifties.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention  which  met  at  Indian- 
apolis in  1850-51,  and  was  elected  to  the  presi- 
dency of  that  body  of  men,  and  as  such  exercised 
a  great  influence  in  shaping  the  present  constitu- 
tion of  the  State.  With  the  breaking  of  war  in 
1862,  he  joined  the  Ninety-third  Indiana  Regi- 
ment Volunteers  and  served  as  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
afterward  returning  to  private  life  on  his  farm 
near  Medora.  He  died  at  Crawfordsville  on  May 
27,  1892,  and  was  buried  at  the  family  cemetery 
near  his  old  home.  Colonel  Carr  was  an  ardent 
Democrat  from  principle,  having  formed  his  con- 
nections at  a  day  when  Democracy  was  on  trial, 
and  throughout  his  long  career  was  faithful  to 
the  cause  he  espoused.  There  were  times  when 
he  felt  that  the  Democratic  party  was  not  faith- 
ful to  the  cause  it  represented,  and  when  he  so 
believed  he  found  himself  in  opposition  to  it.  His 
impress  was  strongest  in  the  western  part  of  the 
county  where  he  resided  and  where  his  neighbors 
and  friends  looked  to  him  directly  for  counsel  and 
advice. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  Meedy  W. 
Shields  towered  above  all  other  political  charac- 
ters in  Jackson  county  from  the  beginning  of  the 
third  decade  until  his  active  life  came  to  a  close 
in   1866.     He  was  a  business  man  of  wonderful 


resource  and  ability,  but  amidst  his  many  business 
affairs  he  had  time  to  devote  to  the  public  inter- 
est and  did  more  to  build  up  the  great  Democratic 
majority  in  Jackson  county  than  any  other  man 
of  his  day.  He  was  born  at  Sevierville,  Sevier 
county,  Tennessee,  July  8,  1805,  of  Cavalier  stock. 
He  came  to  Indiana  with  his  parents  and  settled 
at  Corydon.  In  1816  they  moved  to  Jackson  coun- 
ty, in  the  virgin  wilderness,  where  now  stands 
the  city  of  Seymour.  In  1820  to  1832  he  was 
variously  employed  as  a  farm  hand  and  then  pro- 
prietor of  a  small  fleet  of  flat  boats  from  the  vil- 
lage of  Rockford  to  New  Orleans.  In  1832  he 
volunteered  service  in  the  army  that  suppressed 
the  Indian  depredations  knowTi  as  the  Black  Hawk 
wars,  and  became  the  Captain  of  a  company.  In 
1833  he  was  married  to  Eliza  P.  Ewing.  It  was 
at  this  period  of  his  life  that  he  became  active 
in  public  affairs.  Being  deprived  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  obtain  an  academic  education  in  his 
youth,  he  acquired  it  in  his  mature  years.  He 
soon  became  proficient  in  histoi-y,  science,  polit- 
ical economy  and  government  politics.  With  a 
keen  analytical  mind  he  was  quick  to  detect  soph- 
istry and  his  sound  mode  of  reasoning  established 
him  as  a  safe  counselor;  his  sterling  integrity 
established  him  as  a  safe  friend.  These  were  the 
fundamental  factors  upon  which  he  predicated  his 
political  career.  He  was  never  ambitious  for 
office,  but  served  his  county  in  the  Legislature, 
where  he  devoted  his  great  abilities  wholly  to  con- 
structive measures,  giving  little  heed  to  strictly 
party  affairs.  His  counsel  crystallized  into  drain- 
age laws,  educational  developnxent,  equal  taxa- 
tion of  property,  safety  in  railroad  travel,  stabil- 
ity of  State  and  national  credit  and  the  control 
of  public  utilities.  He  introduced  and  secured 
the  enactment  of  the  first  law  of  the  State  re- 
quiring all  railroad  trains  to  come  to  a  full  stop 
before  crossing  another  railroad. 

While  Jackson  county  was  yet  but  partly  set- 
tled, and  with  its  now  fertile  valleys  covered  with 
virgin  timber.  Colonel  Cyrus  L.  Dunham  emi- 
grated from  Cortland,  N.  Y.,  and  cast  his  for- 
tunes with  her  people,  locating  in  Hamilton  town- 
ship, where  he  bought  a  large  tract  of  timber 
land  and  established  his  primitive  home.  He  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law  in  Brownstown,  and 
also  maintained  a  law  oJRce  in  Salem  and  was  the 
foremost  member  of  the  bar  in  both  places.  He 
was  a  scholar  and  a  student  with  greater  devo- 
tion to  intellectual  matters  than  to  the  more  sor- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1'.)! 


did  things  that  engrossed  the  minds  of  men.  As 
a  lawyer  he  never  had  a  superior  during  his  long 
legal  career  in  Jackson  and  surrounding  coun- 
ties, and  as  an  orator  but  few  in  the  councils  of 
the  nation  were  greater  than  he.  He  espoused 
the  cause  of  Democracy  and  was  loyal  to  his  party 
throughout  a  long  and  honored  career.     He  was 

elected  to  Congress  in    where  he  very  soon 

took  rank  with  the  ablest  men  in  the  councils  of 
the  nation.  No  Democrat  in  Congress  was  more 
quoted  in  the  public  press  of  his  day  than  was 
Cyrus  L.  Dunham.  He  saw  the  evils  that  honey- 
combed the  political  structure  of  the  time,  and 
with  unerring  prophecy  sought  to  avert  the  great 
cataclysm  that  soon  followed.  As  a  bulwark 
against  the  forces  of  privilege,  then  rapacious  and 
bold,  he  stood  towering  above  many  of  the  giants 
of  his  day  and  to  him  belongs  much  of  the  credit 
for  the  success  of  Democratic  principles  which 
are  now  crystallizing  into  law.  Like  many  a 
patriot  before  him,  it  was  not  Cyrus  L.  Dunham's 
privilege  to  live  to  see  the  flower  of  his  philosophy. 
The  seed  which  he  planted  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation  was  doomed  to  lie  dormant  throughout  a 
long  period  when  war  and  reconstruction  shoved 
higher  ideals  aside  for  a  season.  But  in  later 
years  that  seed  brought  forth  a  Cleveland,  who 
stood  for  national  integrity;  a  Bryan,  who  stands 
for  national  morals,  and  a  Woodrow  Wilson,  who 
stands  for  national  wisdom.  For  these  things, 
and  all  of  them,  Cyrus  L.  Dunham  battled  in  Con- 
gress, in  political  convention,  in  private  council, 
and  the  files  of  newspapers  all  over  the  Union 
contain  extracts  from  his  speeches,  fervent  with 
eloquence  and  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  rights  of  man. 
Local  histories  are  strangely  silent  concerning 
this  great  man.  They  reveal  to  us  a  portion  of 
his  war  record  only.  From  that  source  we  learn 
that  in  1861  he  was  commissioned  a  Colonel  to 
organize  the  Fiftieth  regiment.  Although  he  was 
then  a  resident  of  New  Albany,  the  regiment  con- 
sisted largely  of  Jackson  county  people.  Early 
in  the  war  it  saw  service  in  the  South,  and  be- 
cause of  improper  recognition  at  Washington, 
Colonel  Dunham  resigned  his  command  and  re- 
tired to  private  life.  While  the  written  pages  of 
history  do  not  disclose  the  fact,  the  larger  book 
of  national  political  life  is  brightened  by  his 
genius.  He  was  never  married  and  left  no  fam- 
ily name  to  care  for  his  memory.  That  duty  has 
fallen  to  the  hands  of  .strangers  and  this  tribute 
to  his  memory  is  written  by  one  who  was  yet 
unborn  when  he  passed  into  the  great  beyond. 

Among  the  powerful  factors  making  for  Demo- 
cratic supremacy  in  Jackson  county  in  an  early 
day  was  Major  Samuel  P.  Mooney,  who  came  to 
the  county  from  the  South  at  the  close  of  the 
Mexican   war,   where   he    served   and   gained    his 


military  title.  There  is  no  written  record  of  him 
and  the  place  of  his  origin  is  unknown  at  the  pres- 
ent day.  He  married  a  Spanish  girl  in  New  Or- 
leans, brought  her  here  and  set  up  in  plantation 
style.  He  was  tall,  rough-featured  and  bold.  He 
did  not  domineer,  but  led  men  by  a  power  that 
could  not  be  defied.  He  was  a  political  boss,  who 
ruled  the  affairs  of  the  county  for  a  decade,  or 
from  the  closing  of  the  Mexican  war  until  the 
Civil  war  period.  He  was  a  farmer  and  lived 
from  the  products  of  his  farm,  never  acquiring 
wealth,  but  well-to-do.  He  belonged  to  no  pro- 
fession, but  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  politics, 
which  he  enjoyed  for  the  excitement  of  it.  Being 
a  Southerner,  he  was  a  hereditary  Democrat  and 
stood  with  the  Breckinridge  element.  Although 
never  an  office  seeker,  he  served  one  year  in  the 
Legislature  and  was  twice  elected  County  Treas- 
urer. He  was  strong  with  the  politicians  and 
his  influence  penetrated  the  ranks  of  the  Whigs 
to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  impossible  to  defeat 
his  nominees  at  the  polls.  Nominations  were 
then  made  by  mass  convention,  the  opposition  di- 
viding into  groups  to  be  counted.  Major  Mooney 
was  always  the  center  of  the  biggest  group.  Po- 
litical bossism  may  be  more  sinister  in  modern 
times,  but  certainly  it  is  not  more  positive  in  re- 
sults than  it  was  then,  and  Major  Mooney  will 
always  be  remembered  most  for  the  political 
"machine"  which  he  built  up  and  controlled  with 
perfect  precision  for  many  years. 

No  history  of  Jackson  county  would  be  true  to 
political  facts  which  omitted  mention  of  Hon. 
Jason  B.  Brown,  whose  career,  both  professional 
and  political,  was  largely  confined  to  Jackson 
county.  Born  in  1839  in  Dearborn  county,  he 
grew  to  manhood  there.  He  went  to  Indianapolis 
before  he  was  of  legal  age,  where  he  studied  law 
under  Hon.  Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  who  was  then  Sec- 
retary of  State.  In  1860  he  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Brownstown,  and  soon  became 
prominent  at  that  bar.  Six  years  later  he  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  In  1862  and  1864  he  was  elected 
to  the  Legislature.  In  1870  he  represented  his 
district  in  the  State  Senate.  He  was  appointed 
by  President  Grant  on  March  26,  1873,  Secretary 
of  the  Territory  of  Wyoming,  which  position  he 
held  until  his  resignation.  In  1875  Mr.  Brown 
became  a  resident  of  Seymour,  where  he  made  his 
home  until  he  died,  in  1899.  Mr.  Brown  was  elect- 
ed to  Congress  in  1888,  1890  and  1892,  where  his 
abilities  received  recognition  by  his  appointment 
as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  elections.  He 
was  a  candidate  for  re-election  in  the  primaries 
in  1894,  but  was  defeated  by  Mr.  Stockslager, 
who   was   defeated    in    the   election.     Mr.    Brown 


21— History 


(641) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


was  always  a  Democrat,  but  did  not  support  Hor- 
ace Greeley  because  he  did  not  consider  that  nom- 
ination as  consistent  with  his  views  as  a  Demo- 
crat. 

Influential  in  local  political  history  of  Jackson 
county  we  name  the  following  men  and  regret 
that  space  forbids  more  extended  notice.  Browns- 
town  was  the  home  of  Judge  Ralph  Applewhite, 
a  native  of  Mississippi,  who  spent  a  long  and  ac- 
tive life  in  the  political  affairs  of  Jackson  county, 
contributing  to  Democratic  policies  at  all  times, 
but  never  a  self-seeking  politician. 

John  H.  Burrell,  a  soldier  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war  and  in  the  Civil  war,  was  long  prominent 
in  the  councils  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Jack- 
son county  and  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  upon  his 
farm  near  Brownstown. 

Others  who  were  equally  prominent  were  James 
F.  Carr  of  Carr  township,  Judge  Frank  Emerson, 
Colonel  John  J.  Cummins,  James  K.  Hamilton, 
Hon.  John  R.  Hamilton  and  several  members  of 


the  Robertson  family,  all  of  Brownstown  and 
Hamilton  townships. 

Of  the  earlier  Democratic  politicians  of  Jack- 
son county  none  are  now  living.  Hon.  Alexander 
A.  Davidson  is  perhaps  the  oldest  and  his  mem- 
ory goes  back  over  the  greatest  range  of  political 
activity.  From  him  much  of  this  material  is 
gathered.  He  has  been  active  in  politics  of  Jack- 
son county  for  more  than  fifty  years  and  is  now 
living,  sound,  hale  and  hearty,  honored  by  many 
citizens  for  his  manifold  talents  and  hearty  good 
nature. 

If  space  would  permit  extended  notice  would 
be  given  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Honan,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  later  Attorney- 
General  of  the  State;  Hon.  Joseph  H.  Shea,  un- 
til recently  Judge  of  the  Appellate  Court  and 
now  U.  S.  Ambassador  to  Santiago,  Chile;  Sen- 
ator Edward  P.  Eisner,  Hon.  O.  O.  Swails,  now 
Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court,  and  Hon.  S.  A. 
Barnes,  all  of  whom  are  now  living  in  Seymour. 


(642) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
JASPER  COUNTY 

By  William   R.  Nowels 


DURING  the  session  of  the  Legislature  of 
1834-35,  the  question  of  the  disposition  of 
the  unorganized  area  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  came  up  and  after  some  discussion  and 
investigation  an  act  was  passed  forming  the 
counties  of  Jasper,  Newton,  Pulaski,  Starke,  Mar- 
shall, Fulton,  Adams,  Wells,  Whitley,  DeKalb, 
Noble,  Kosciusko,  Steuben  and  Jay,  of  which  the 
following  is  in  relation  to  Jasper  and  Newton: 

Section  12.  That  all  the  territory  within  the 
following  boundary  shall  constitute  a  county  to 
be  known  by  the  name  of  Jasper.  Beginning  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  Section  33,  Township  24 
north,  Range  6  west,  thence  west  to  the  line  of 
the  State  of  Illinois,  thence  north  with  the  State 
line  thirty  miles,  thence  east  with  the  line  divid- 
ing Townships  28  and  29  north  to  the  north- 
east comer  of  Section  4,  Township  28  north, 
Range  6  west,  thence  south  with  the  section  line 
thirty  miles  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

By  these  boundaries  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
original  county  of  Jasper  included  the  whole  of 
Benton  county,  the  present  townships  of  Carpen- 
ter, Jordan  and  so  much  of  Marion  and  Newton 
townships  south  of  the  line  dividing  Townships  28 
and  29  north,  together  with  the  townships  of 
Grant,  Iroquois,  Jefferson  and  Washington  in  the 
present  limits  of  Newton  county. 

In  1836  Porter  county  was  organized  and  in  the 
year  following  Lake  county,  each  of  which  took 
all  the  territory  north  of  the  Kankakee  river. 

In  1838  Jasper,  which  had  been  attached  to 
White  county,  was  organized  as  an  independent 
county,  Newton  county  being  attached  for  some 
purposes  and  for  others  subject  to  White.  In  the 
following  year,  however,  the  Legislature  passed 
"an  act  relative  to  the  location  of  the  county  seat 
of  Jasper,  and  for  other  purposes." 

It  was  made  the  duty  of  the  commissioners,  in 
addition  to  the  duties  assigned  them,  to  examine 
the  survey  of  Jasper  and  Newton,  with  a  view 
to  their  being  consolidated,  and  if.  after  examina- 
tion the  commissioners  are  satisfied  that  the  in- 
terests of  the  two  counties  would  be  promoted  by 
the  union  of  the  same,  they  are  hereby  authorized 
to  fix  the  seat  of  justice  in  said  enlarged  territory, 
taking  into  view  the  peculiar  situation  of  said 
territory  in  regard  to  prairie,  timber,  water  privi- 
leges, and  the  known  wishes  of  the  citizens  of  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Jasper  county  being  attached  to 
other  counties,  and  the  seat  of  justice  if  consoli- 


dated shall  be  called  Newton.     This  act  was  ap- 
proved January  29,  1839. 

The  commissioners  thus  appointed  found  the 
plan  of  consolidating  the  two  counties  feasible,  and 
accordingly  located  the  county  seat  at  the  Falls 
of  the  Iroquois  river  with  the  name  of  Newton, 
thus  striking  the  county  of  that  name  from  the 
map  of  the  State.  In  1840  the  county  of  Benton 
was  formed,  taking  its  territory  from  Jasper,  the 
latter  receiving  by  way  of  compensation  thirty 
sections  adjoining  the  southeast  angle  and  now 
principally  contained  in  Milroy  township.  In  1859, 
however,  Newton  county  was  revived,  though 
shorn  of  much  of  its  early  dimensions,  leaving 
Jasper  in  its  present  shape,  and  having  a  dimen- 
sion of  975  square  miles. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The  chief  products  are  corn,  barley,  wheat  and 
the  usual  varieties  of  vegetables  found  in  this 
range  of  climate.  Wheat  was  in  early  years  sown 
upon  the  first  plowing  of  the  sod  and  bore  good 
crops,  but  of  late  years  this  practice  has  not  been 
successful.  Wheat  is  not  found  so  well  adapted 
to  the  soil  as  to  form  a  staple  crop  in  recent  years, 
and  while  it  is  still  sown  to  a  considerable  extent, 
it  is  not  the  crop  upon  which  the  farmers  place 
the  most  dependence.  The  county  is  especially 
adapted  to  the  raising  of  stock.  As  a  grazing 
county  it  has  scarcely  an  equal.  Grass  grows  here 
in  abundance  and  truly  cattle  "lie  dowTi  in  green 
pastures." 

SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  COUNTY. 

The  first  actual  settler  within  the  present  lim- 
its of  Jasper  county  was  William  Donahue.  At- 
tracted by  the  fur-bearing  game  to  be  found  here 
in  great  abundance  and  the  prospect  of  trading 
with  the  Indians  who  possessed  the  land  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  he  came  to  what  is  now  Gillam 
township  as  early  as  1832.  The  next  settlement 
was  made  at  the  falls  of  the  Iroquois  (now  Rens- 
selaer) in  1834  by  Jos.  Yeoman,  John  and  David 
Nowels,  and  m  the  latter  part  of  the  year  a  settle- 
ment was  formed  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  coun- 
ty by  Thomas  Randle  and  George  Culp.  Owing 
to  a  confusion  of  dates  it  is  difficult  to  name  all 
who  might  be  considered  pioneers. 

Owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  records  it  is 
impossible  to  give  a  full  and  correct  list  of  those 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


who  have  occupied  official  positions  in  the  county. 
George  W.  Spitler  (Democrat)  was  Clerk  from 
1838  to  1856  and  was  Recorder  until  1856,  serving 
as  Clerk,  Auditor  and  Recorder  at  the  same  time. 
Those  who  were  elected  as  Democrats  were 
Charles  Price  and  John  F.  Majors.  For  Auditor 
since  George  W.  Spitler  have  been  Ira  W.  Yeo- 
man, Henry  Barkley  and  Ezra  C.  Nowels,  all 
Democrats.  As  Recorder  since  George  W.  Spit- 
ler is  Judson  Hunt  (Democrat).  Two  Democrats 
have  served  as  Treasurer,  Jacob  Merkle  and  Wil- 
liam Hoover,  Sr.  For  Sheriff  the  present  incum- 
bent is  William  I.  Hoover,  Jr. 

Two  Democrats  have  been  Surveyors,  Wesley 
Spitler  and  Daniel  B.  Miller.  Four  Democrats 
have  held  the  office  of  county  commissioners: 
George  H.  Brown,  George  Major,  Charles  F. 
Stackhouse  and Hershman. 


THE  PRESS. 
Up  to  1853  political  lines  had  not  been  closely 
drawn.  At  this  date  the  Jasper  Banner  was  es- 
tablished as  a  Democratic  journal.  In  the  cam- 
paign of  1856  the  lines  between  Democrats  and 
Republicans  were  sharply  drawn  and  the  Banner 
strongly  espoused  the  cause  of  Democracy.  The 
Jasper  Banner  ceased  publication  in  1861,  and 
from  this  date  until  1877  the  county  was  without 
a  Democratic  organ.  In  1877  the  Democratic 
Sentinel  was  started  by  James  W.  McEwen,  who 
continued  its  publication  until  the  infirmities  of 
old  age  compelled  its  suspension.  In  April,  1898, 
the  Jasper  County  Democrat  was  established  by 
Frank  Babcock  and  is  now  the  recognized  organ 
of  the  party.  The  Wheat  field  Review  is  published 
in  Wheatfleld,  Ind.,  by  John  Buoey.  Its  politics 
is  Democratic  and  the  paper  is  ably  edited. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
JAY  COUNTY 


THE  history  of  a  nation  is  ordinarily  writ- 
ten around  the  lives  of  a  few  frreat  men,  and 
so  it  is  with  the  history  of  Jay  county  De- 
mocracy. A  few  strong:,  rupped  men,  puided  by 
Ihe  ideals  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson,  have  left  an 
indelible  imprint  upon  the  political  life  of  their 
county. 

Probably  the  strongest  individual  force  in  the 
building:  of  Jay  county  Democracy  was  Robert 
Huey.  He  came  to  Jay  county  in  the  early  thir- 
ties, built  his  cabin  in  the  clearing,  where  only 
the  howl  of  the  wolf  or  the  scream  of  the  panther 
broke  the  silence  of  the  trackless  forest.  His  was 
the  spirit  of  the  pioneer.  Meeting  every  obstacle, 
enduring  every  hardship  with  indomitable  cour- 
age, he  assisted  in  the  building  of  a  civilization 
which  is  the  greatest  heritage  ever  bequeathed 
to  the  human  race. 

He  was  a  physical  giant  and  his  defeat  of 
"Wabash  Jones,"  the  then  undefeated  champion  of 
eastern  Indiana,  is  as  famous  in  the  annals  of 
Jay  county  as  was  the  overthrow  of  the  giant 
Goliath  by  the  youth  David  in  the  annals  of 
biblical  lore. 

Bob  Huey,  as  he  was  commonly  known,  sur- 
rounded himself  with  a  group  of  men,  strong  both 
mentally  and  physically,  who  earnestly  believed 
in  the  principles  of  Democracy  as  understood  by 
Jefferson  and  Jackson,  and  who,  during  those 
early  days,  unselfishly  and  courageously  main- 
tained and  defended  those  principles,  by  physical 
force  if  need  be.  He  was  elected  sheriff  of  Jay 
county  in  1843,  served  three  sessions  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  general  assembly,  one  term  in  the 
state  senate,  and  in  1868,  when  criticized  upon 
his  opposition  to  the  granting  of  the  franchise 
to  the  negro,  he  resigned  from  the  senate,  went 
back  to  the  people  upon  that  issue  and  was  tri- 
umphantly re-elected.  His  life  was  unselfishly 
devoted  to  upbuilding  his  county  and  advancing 
the  cause  of  Democracy,  and  has  been  a  splendid 
inspiration  to  succeeding  generations.  Among  his 
contemporaries  who  were  most  prominently  as- 
sociated with  him  were:  Samuel  O.  Shoaff, 
George  W.  Templer,  Joseph  J.  McKinney,  John 
Coulson,  Lott  Coulson,  John  J.  Adair,  Daniel  At- 
kinson and  Jason  Whipple. 

Mr.  Huey  was  also  actively  identified  with  all 
movements  beneficial  to  his  county,  was  trustee 
of  Liber  college  and  built  the  first  court  house 
for  Jay  county,  for  which  he  received  the  mag- 
nificent sum  of  $125. 

With  such  a  rugged  character  as  Bob  Huey  as 
an  example,  it   is  only  natural  that  Jay  county 


should  develop  a  host  of  strong,  capable  Demo- 
cratic leaders,  and  Mr.  Huey  lived  to  see  such 
men  as  John  M.  Smith,  William  Harkins,  William 
Humphries,  John  Hayes,  Palmer  J.  Smith,  Joseph 
B.  Wilson,  John  T.  Hani  in,  and  many  others  take 
up  the  work  which  ho  had  laid  down.  Probably 
the  strongest  character  during  this  period  was 
John  M.  Smith,  who  was  elected  to  the  state  sen- 
ate in  1880  and  served  in  the  sessions  of  1881 
and  1883.  He  was  later  elected  to  the  circuit 
bench,  where  he  served  with  distinction,  and  later 
was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  general  as- 
sembly, where  he  served  during  the  session  of 
1909. 

Jay  county  democracy  during  her  entire  history 
has  only  had  three  representatives  in  the  state 
senate,  those  being  Bob  Huey,  John  M.  Smith 
and  James  R.  Fleming,  but  all  of  these  men  have 
splendidly  upheld  the  traditions  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  have  been  recognized  as  leaders  in 
their  county  and  state. 

Probably  Jay  county's  most  picturesque  char- 
acter at  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  was 
Jacob  F.  Denney,  whose  independent  spirit  has 
been  a  source  of  joy  and  sorrow  to  his  many 
friends.  As  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Con- 
gress in  1916,  he  set  an  entirely  new  precedent 
by  advocating  the  things  he  believed,  instead  of 
the  doctrines  which  seemed  to  be  the  most  popu- 
lar. This  was  such  a  radical  departure  that  it 
encompassed  his  defeat;  but,  "Too  fond  of  the 
right  to  pursue  the  expedient,"  he  went  down  with 
colors  flying  and  opinions  unchanged.  Possessing 
a  rare  degree  of  literary  genius,  he  wrote  a  series 
of  political  articles  for  the  city  campaign  of  1913, 
which  displayed  all  the  genius  of  a  Swift  or  a 
Pope,  and  assisted  materially  in  the  election  of 
the  ticket.  He  believes,  with  Izaak  Walton,  that 
"Those  who  have  eaten,  and  drank,  and  laughei, 
and  angled,  and  sung,  and  slept  securely,  and 
rose  next  morn,  and  cast  away  care,  and  sung, 
and  laughed,  and  angled"  are  those  who  enjoy 
the  richest  blessings  which  God,  or  this  old  earth, 
can  bestow. 

Probably  no  county  in  Indiana  has  produced 
a  more  virile  and  unselfish  Democracy  than  Jay 
county.  This  may  result  from  the  fact  that  the 
party  has  never  attracted  to  her  ranks  any  men 
of  great  wealth.  Thus  the  dominant  control- 
ing  factor  has  been  the  maintaining  and  advanc- 
ing of  the  principles  of  Democracy  as  understood 
by  our  forefathers.  We  have  believed  that  the 
Democratic  party  could  better  serve  our  country 
than  the  Republican  party,  that  a  public  office  was 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


a  public  trust;  and  have  insisted  that  honesty  and 
efficiency  should  be  the  standard  by  which  the 
acts  of  all  Democratic  candidates  should  be  meas- 
ured. As  a  consequence,  no  Democratic  offi- 
cial of  Jay  county  has  ever  borne  the  stain  of 
a  dishonest  official  act.  Thus  the  history  of  Jay 
county  Democracy  is  a  history  of  achievement, 
and,  although  Jay  county  dovra  through  the  years 
has  been  normally  Republican,  the  Democrats 
have  elected  a  majority  of  their  county  candi- 
dates. In  1904,  in  common  with  almost  every 
other  county  in  the  state.  Jay  county  went  Re- 
publican by  a  large  majority,  but  in  1906,  through 
the  magnificent  efforts  of  the  county  ticket,  led 
by  John  A.  M.  Adair,  as  a  candidate  for  Congress, 
Jay  county  went  Democratic  by  a  large  majority; 
and  since  that  time  the  Republicans  have  elected 
only  a  very  few  men  to  office.  When  the  Demo- 
crats took  charge  of  affairs  on  January  1,  1907, 
Jay  county  was  deeply  in  debt,  the  tax  rate  was 
high  and  many  public  improvements  were  needed. 
Under  Democratic  management,  all  the  indebted- 
ness was  paid,  many  improvements  were  con- 
structed, the  tax  rate  was  materially  lowered,  and 
by  the  end  of  1913  a  surplus  of  more  than  $130,- 
000  had  accumulated  in  the  treasury.  By  this 
time  Jay  county  was  feeling  the  need  of  a  new 
court  house,  and  a  movement  was  started  to  pro- 
cure the  same.  Public  opinion  favored  it,  archi- 
tects were  employed,  plans  were  adopted,  and  in 
1916  the  contract  was  let  to  the  Dawson  Con- 
struction Company  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  This  mag- 
nificent structure  is  now  almost  completed  and  is 
generally  conceded  to  be  the  finest  court  house  in 
Indiana.  However,  the  thing  most  pleasing  to 
Jay  county  Democrats  is,  that  this  splendid  struc- 
ture was  honestly  built  by  Democratic  officials 
without  having  to  borrow  a  dollar,  and  for  every 
dollar  that  was  expended  a  dollar  in  value  was  re- 
ceived. 

This  same  spirit  has  been  manifest  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  the  city  of  Port- 
land. In  1908,  although  the  city  is  normally  about 
300  Republican,  the  Democrats  carried  the  city  by 
a  majority  of  approximately  500,  electing  Dr.  C. 
A.  Paddock  mayor.  When  the  Democrats  took 
control,  the  city  was  in  debt  approximately  $100,- 
000;  the  electric  light  and  water  works,  which 
was  municipally  owned,  was  losing  money;  thou- 
sands of  dollars  of  city  warrants  were  held  by 
banks,  marked  unpaid  for  want  of  funds;  and  the 
financial  future  of  the  city  seemed  almost  hope- 
less. During  Mayor  Paddock's  first  administra- 
tion, the  electric  light  plant  was  rebuilt;  many 
needed  public  improvements  were  made;  the  tax 
rate  was  materially  reduced;  more  than  half 
the  city  debt  was  paid;  and  the  electric  light  and 
water  plant  from  being  a  money  loser  had  become 


the  best  money  earner  in  the  city.  At  the  close 
of  the  first  term  Mayor  Paddock  and  the  entire 
Democratic  ticket  were  triumphantly  re-elected, 
and  at  the  end  of  their  second  term  the  Demo- 
cratic administration  turned  over  the  city  to  their 
successors  with  every  penny  of  indebtedness  paid 
and  with  $14,000  in  cash  in  the  treasury  and  a 
record  of  public  achievement  probably  unexcelled 
by  any  administration   in   Indiana   or   elsewhere. 

In  recent  years  Jay  county  has  developed  a 
host  of  capable  Democrats,  the  most  prominent 
of  which  is  John  A.  M.  Adair.  Elected  many 
years  ago  as  city  clerk  of  the  city  of  Portland, 
later  as  clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  then  a  member 
of  the  general  assembly  of  Indiana,  and  advanced 
to  service  in  Congress,  where  he  served  for  five 
successive  terms,  then  as  the  nominee  of  his  party 
for  Governor  of  Indiana,  his  record  has  been  one 
of  brilliant  achievements. 

Another  of  our  most  prominent  citizens  is 
Judge  James  J.  Moran,  who  has  served  as  judge 
of  the  circuit  bench,  was  appointed  to  the  appel- 
late bench  by  Governor  Ralston,  and  is  now  the 
nominee  of  his  party  for  the  supreme  bench  of 
Indiana.  He  is  a  jurist  of  recognized  ability  and 
a  tower  of  strength  to  his  party. 

One  of  the  most  active  figures  in  Jay  county, 
since  his  nomination  and  election  as  prosecuting 
attorney  in  1906,  is  Senator  James  R.  Fleming. 
Re-elected  to  that  office  in  1908,  he  was  elected 
to  the  lower  house  of  the  general  assembly  in 
1912  and  in  1914  was  advanced  to  the  state  sen- 
ate, serving  with  distinction  in  the  lower  house 
in  1913  and  in  the  sessions  of  1915  and  1917  as 
state  senator,  in  which  capacity  he  was  a  recog- 
nized leader. 

One  of  the  strongest  characters  developed  dur- 
ing this  period  was  Matthew  H.  Hart  of  Dunkirk, 
whose  chief  ambition  was  not  to  serve  himself,  but 
to  serve  his  country,  his  party  and  his  friends. 
He  was  not  politically  ambitious,  and  the  only  po- 
litical office  held  by  him  was  as  mayor  of  Dunkirk, 
in  which  position  he  made  the  best  mayor  Dunkirk 
ever  had.  As  a  delegate  to  the  national  conven- 
tion at  Baltimore  he  assisted  in  the  nomination  of 
Woodrow  Wilson.  He  was  intensely  loyal  to  his 
party  and  to  his  friends.  His  heart  was  as  big 
as  the  whole  outdoors.  He  possessed  that  spirit 
of  charity,  kindness  and  sympathy  which  sweeps 
the  existence  of  time  and  opens  the  gates  to  ever- 
lasting and  eternal  happiness.  When  he  died,  in 
September,  1917,  Jay  county  Democracy  lost  a 
son  whose  kindness  found  an  outlet  in  noble 
deeds. 

Jay  county  for  many  years  has  had  probably 
the  most  active  Democratic  party  organization  of 
any  county  in  Indiana.  As  soon  as  one  campaign 
is  over,  it  begins  to  prepare  for  the  next;  as  a  con- 


(  646) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


sequence  the  county  has  been  organized  down  to 
the  grass  roots  and  possesses  more  active  fightinR 
Democrats  per  capita  than,  probably,  any  other 
county  in  the  state.  This  makes  it  impossible  to 
mention  all  of  our  prominent  Democrats  in  this 
limited  space,  because  Jay  county  has  developed 
not  only  one,  but  a  thousand  "village  Hampdens 
who  with  dauntless  breast"  withstood  the  shock  of 
the  Republican  columns  and  earned  undying  fame. 
During  the  past  decade,  the  men  who  have  been 
largely  responsible  for  the  achievements  and  suc- 
cess of  the  Democratic  party  in  Jay  county  are 
the  following:  Malcomb  V.  Skinner,  now  dis- 
trict chairman  of  the  eighth  district,  and  former- 
ly prosecuting  attorney  for  two  terms  and  city 
attorney  under  the  last  administration;  Frank 
Gillespie,  now  county  chairman  and  a  member  of 
the  law  firm  of  Moran  and  Gillespie,  and  former- 
ly clerk  of  the  circuit  court  for  eight  years; 
Judge  E.  E.  McGriff,  who  now  occupies  the  cir- 
cuit bench;  O.  A.  Rawlings,  ex-county  chairman 
and  postmaster;  E.  A.  McKee,  the  genial  editor 
of  the  Portland  Sun;  Grover  Bishop,  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court;  John  Bonifas,  county  auditor;  Al- 
pheus  A.  Adair,  ex-county  chairman;  W.  Lea 
Smith,  ex-county  auditor;  Samuel  J.  King,  ex- 
county  sheriff;  Joseph  B.  Wilson,  ex-county  re- 
corder; Lawrence  Hayes,  ex-treasurer;  R.  H. 
Hartford,  county  attorney;  Thomas  Fleming,  the 
present  sheriff;  John  W.  M.  Cunningham,  ex- 
sheriff,  C.  E.  Schwarts;  Dr.  Schwarts;  Dr.  Mark 
M.  Moran;  Dr.  J.  E.  Nixon;  Clem  Wilson,  deputy 
auditor;  John  E.  Adair,  oil  inspector;  and  many 
others.  Jay  county  during  this  period  has  given 
to  her  county  many  of  her  favorite  sons,  and  Cap- 
tain Ralph  Ewry,  Lieutenant  John  J.  O'Neill  (ex- 
prosecuting  attorney)  and  aviators  Fred  Bech- 
dolt  and  Tod  Whipple  have  enlisted  in  the  hosts 
of  freedom  and  soon 

"Will  strike  for  liberty  blow  on  blow 
Where  the  battling  war  gods  ride." 
It  is  only  natural  that  Jay  county  should  have 
given  birth  to  such  a  sterling  Democracy,  for  in 
the  early  day  Jay  county  was  covered  with  track- 
less forests  and  impassable  swamps,  over  which 
for  years  the  hostile  savage  held  undisputed  sway. 
In  those  days,  one  of  the  most  famous  Indian  bat- 
tles was  fought  near  the  eastern  borders  of  the 


county,  the  Battle  of  Old  Ft.  Recovery,  the  In- 
dians under  Little  Turtle  and  Tecumseh  marching 
through  Jay  county  to  reach  the  battle-ground. 
The  overcoming  of  these  hardships,  the  build- 
ing of  those  frontier  homes,  each  of  which  was 
a  milestone  that  marked  the  pathway  of  human 
progress  and  advancement,  made  certain  the  de- 
velopment of  a  sturdy  manhood  and  womanhood 
the  like  of  which  had  never  before  been  known. 
Realism  or  romance  furnishes  no  more  striking 
and  picturesque  figure  than  the  early  pioneer  who 
builded  those  frontier  homes. 

It  was  due  to  their  wisdom  and  courage,  their 
faith  and  their  virtue,  that  the  spirit  of  liberty, 
equality  and  opportunity  which  had  been  planted 
in  the  virgin  soil  of  the  American  wilderness  was 
preserved  to  bear  richer  and  riper  fruit. 

Those  forests  have  now  been  cleared  away. 
Those  swamps  have  been  drained.  Where  once 
the  savage  red  man  pursued  his  prey  are  golden 
fields  covered  with  the  ripening  grain  of  a  bump- 
er crop.  On  the  site  of  those  frontier  homes, 
modern  dwellings  have  arisen,  containing  all  the 
conveniences  of  city  life.  The  old  prairie  schoon- 
er has  given  way  to  the  ubiquitous  Ford  or  the 
six-cylinder  touring  car.  The  blazed  trail  through 
the  wilderness  was  only  a  forerunner  of  the  hun- 
dreds of  miles  of  "ribbon-smooth"  highways.  The 
poetic  Salamonia  and  Limberlost,  which  have  been 
made  historic  in  song  and  story,  no  longer  wind 
and  ripple  through  the  overhanging  elms  and 
sycam»ores,  but  on  either  side,  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach,  stretches  forth  the  green  and  fertile 
fields  of  as  rich  and  as  happy  a  countryside  as 
can  be  found  under  God's  footstool.  Those  thou- 
sands of  liberty-loving  homes  which  dot  this  coun- 
tryside, many  of  them  with  a  service  flag  in  the 
window,  bear  silent  promise  to  the  fact  that  this 
nation,  under  God,  and  with  the  leadership  of 
Woodrow  Wilson,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  free- 
dom, and  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from 
the  earth. 

In  closing  it  is  fitting  to  paraphrase  the  words 
of  Dr.  Boteler  and  say  that 

"Doubtless  God  could  have  made  a  better  county 
than  Jay  county,  or  a  more  sterling  Democracy 
than  that  of  Jay  county,  but  doubtless  God  never 
did." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY    OF 
JEFFERSON  COUiNTY 


JEFFERSON  COUNTY  was  originally  a  part 
of  Clark  county — it  was  organized  as  a  sep- 
arate county  by  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the 
Territory  of  Indiana  in  1811 — this  new  county 
then  embraced  the  territory  now  composing  the 
counties  of  Jefferson,  Scott,  Jennings,  Ripley  and 
Switzerland.  In  a  few  years  these  counties  were 
set  apart  from  Jefferson  and  made  into  separate 
county  organizations,  the  last  being  Ripley 
county,  which  was  organized  in  1818.  Since  that 
time  Jefferson  county  has  not  been  changed  in 
boundary.  The  town  (now  city)  of  Madison  has 
always  been  the  county  seat  of  this  county.  It 
was  laid  out  and  platted  by  John  Paul,  a  revo- 
lutionary soldier,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  but 
coming  to  Madison  from  Hardin  county,  Ken- 
tucky. 

The  early  politics  of  Jefferson  county,  especial- 
ly as  to  local  matters,  was  personal  rather  than 
partisan.  Colonel  Paul  filled  every  office  in  the 
county  at  some  time,  and  was  never  opposed  by 
anyone  for  election  to  such  offices.  Colonel  R.  C. 
Talbott  was  Clerk  of  the  Court  for  many  years 
and  never  had  an  opponent  for  that  position.  The 
Meeks,  Alexander  A.  and  Noble,  Williamson  Dunn, 
George  Logan  and  perhaps  others  filled  the  most 
important  and  responsible  offices  in  the  county 
from  time  to  time,  and  were  elected  without  oppo- 
sition. Some  of  these  men  were  Democrats  and 
some  were  Federalists  originally,  and  afterward 
Whigs,  but  none  of  them  ran  for  office  upon  a 
party  ticket.  In  National  and  State  elections 
Jefferson  county  at  the  first  showed  a  decided 
predilection  toward  the  Federalist  party,  and 
afterward  toward  the  Whig  party,  and  latterly 
toward  the  Republican  party.  Never  until  1910 
did  the  Democratic  party,  as  a  party,  elect  a 
majority  of  the  candidates  upon  their  county 
ticket  in  this  county. 

About  1828  party  lines,  in  local  affairs,  began 
to  be  drawn.  The  Whigs,  having  the  majority  in 
the  county,  elected  practically  all  the  county  offi- 
cers— once  in  a  while  a  popular  Democrat  would 
be  elected,  or  an  unpopular  Whig  would  be  de- 
feated. The  Democratic  leadership  at  this  time 
was  centered  in  United  States  Senator  William 
Hendricks.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  a  son-in-law  of 
John  Paul,  the  founder  of  the  city  of  Madison, 
and  the  most  wealthy  and  influential  citizen  of 
the  county.  He  came  to  Madison  in  1814  and 
entered  at  once  actively  into  the  practice  of  the 
law,  and  also  edited  and  published  the  first  news- 
paper issued  in  Jefferson  county,  the  Eagle.  This 
paper  was  a  Democratic  party  organ  in  name,  but 


in  fact  it  was  more  Mr.  Hendricks'  personal  organ. 
William  Hendricks  was  a  man  of  good  ability, 
and  at  once  became  a  political  leader  with  a  large 
following  and  great  influence,  not  only  in  the 
county  but  in  the  State  as  well.  He  was  an  uncle 
of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  who  in  later  years  was 
the  undisputed  leader  of  Indiana  Democracy.  Mr. 
Hendricks  was  first  elected  to  the  Territorial  Leg- 
islature in  1814 — he  also  held,  either  by  election 
or  appointment,  two  or  three  county  offices.  In 
1816  he  was  the  secretary  of  the  convention  called 
to  frame  a  constitution  for  the  new  State,  and 
from  1817  to  1823  was  the  Representative  of  the 
State  in  Congress.  From  1823  to  1825  he  was 
Governor,  and  from  1825  to  1837  United  States 
Senator.  When  he  retired  from  the  United 
States  Senate  he  also  retired  from  politics,  and 
thereafter  the  Democratic  party  in  Jefferson 
county  followed  a  new  leadership.  Jesse  D. 
Bright,  a  young  lawyer,  who  came  to  Madison 
from  the  State  of  New  York  with  his  father, 
David  J.  Bright,  and  his  brothers,  Michael  G.  and 
George  M.,  about  this  time,  forged  to  the  front 
as  the  Democratic  leader  in  the  county.  It  is  too 
much,  perhaps,  to  say  that  he  was  the  leader  in 
1837,  for  he  was  then  a  very  young  man,  but 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  but  he  was  even  then 
one  of  the  most  active  and  aggressive  among  the 
Democratic  politicians  of  the  county.  Hon.  David 
Hillis  was  generally  looked  upon  as  the  Demo- 
cratic leader  during  the  five  or  six  years  imme- 
diately succeeding  the  retirement  of  Senator  Hen- 
dricks. Mr.  Hillis  was  a  farmer  living  near  the 
city  of  Madison — he  had  been  an  officer  in  the 
militia  and  was  personally  the  most  popular  Dem- 
ocrat that  Jefferson  county  produced  before  the 
Civil  War.  He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature 
first  in  1828,  and  in  the  '30's  served  two  full 
terms  in  the  State  Senate.  In  1837  he  became 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State.  Gathered 
around  him  was  a  coterie  of  active  and  popular 
men,  such  as  Michael  G.  Bright,  an  elder  brother 
of  Jesse  D.,  a  man  of  fine  legal  attainment  and  a 
shrewd  politician  withal,  and  it  was  he  who 
pushed  the  younger  brother  to  the  front. 

The  Whig  party  during  this  period,  viz.,  from 
1828  to  1840,  was  led  by  a  number  of  very  able 
and  influential  men,  chief  among  whom  were  Wil- 
liamson Dunn,  a  farmer  living  near  Hanover,  and 
the  father  of  William  McKee  Dunn,  who  later  rep- 
resented the  district  of  which  Jefferson  county 
was  a  part  in  Congress,  and  then  became  Judge 
Advocate-General  of  the  United  States  Army. 
General    Milton    Stapp,    a    lawyer    and    business 


(  648  ) 


HISTORY 


NDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


man  of  Madison,  a;i(l  Joseph  G.  Marshall,  a  law- 
yer, who  located  at  Madison  in  1828,  were  also 
conspicuous  in  the  leadership  and  control  of  the 
Whig-  party. 

Besinninp  with  the  year  1840  Joseph  G.  Mar- 
shall had  succeeded  to  the  acknowledged  leader- 
ship of  the  Whigs  in  Jeffersoa  county,  and  it  was 
only  a  few  years  until  he  was  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  Whigs  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  He 
soon  drew  to  him  a  number  of  very  active  work- 
ers, who  afterward  became  celebrated  locally  as 
leaders  of  the  new  Republican  party.  Among 
these  young  men  were  John  R.  Cravens,  who  rep- 
resented Jefferson  county  in  the  State  Senate  for 
many  years,  first  as  a  Whig  and  then  as  a  Re- 
publican; William  McKee  Dunn,  who  represented 
Jefferson  and  the  adjoining  counties  in  Congress 
in  1861  to  1863,  and  again  from  1865  to  1867; 
David  C.  Branham  of  North  Madison,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  Indiana  House  of  Representatives 
for  many  years,  and  sometimes  Speaker  of  that 
body.  Cravens  and  Dunn  were  lawyers  and  Bran- 
ham  was  a  business  man.  In  1843  Jesse  D. 
Bright  was  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  of  In- 
diana. He  had  now  become  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, although  he  was  but  thirty  years  of  age.  In 
1845  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
and  re-elected  in  1851,  and  again  in  1857.  In 
1861  he  was  expelled  by  that  body,  it  having  been 
shown  that  he  wrote  a  letter  of  introduction  for 
a  friend  who  desired  to  see  Jefferson  Davis,  the 
President  of  the  Confederate  States,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  introducing  an  improvement  in  firearms. 
Jesse  D.  Bright  was  a  most  virile  and  energetic 
leader,  and  up  until  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  his 
word  was  law  and  his  acts  were  gospel  with  the 
Democrats  of  Jefferson  county.  Rolla  Doolittle, 
John  Kii-k,  John  Marsh,  Robert  Right  Rea  and 
a  dozen  other  local  politicians  executed  his  com- 
mands without  questioning,  and  they  maintained 
a  good  organization  at  all  times  and  gave  the 
Whig  party  determined  battle  at  every  election. 
Once  in  a  great  while  they  succeeded  in  electing 
a  county  officer,  or  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
but  not  often.  In  1844  Nathan  B.  Palmer,  a 
farmer  and  business  man  of  the  county,  was 
elected  State  Treasurer.  In  1846  Joseph  L. 
White,  a  lawyer  practicing  in  the  city  of  Madison, 
was  elected  to  Con.gress.  He  was  not  re-elected, 
and  was  afterward  appointed  a  Minister  to  one 
of  the  Central  American  countries,  and  died  there. 
He  was  a  man  of  fair  ability,  but  was  not  an 
organizer  and  made  no  special  impress  upon  the 
politics  of  Jefferson  county.  Senator  Bright,  as 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the 
State,  antagonized  Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright, 
and  the  rivalry  between  them  became  very  bitter. 


In  1852  Michael  C.  Garber,  editor  of  the  Mudixon 
Courier,  which  was  at  the  time  the  Democratic 
party  organ  of  Jefferson  county,  referred  to  Gov- 
ernor Wright  in  a  very  complimentary  manner. 
This  favorable  notice  of  his  rival  irritated  Sen- 
ator Bright,  and  he  wrote  a  letter  from  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  where  he  was  in  attendance  upon 
the  sessions  of  the  U.  S.  Senate,  to  Judge  Wil- 
liam M.  Taylor,  a  lawyer  at  Madison,  in  which  he 
excoriated  Garber  and  declared  he  woulil  drive 
him  out  of  the  Democratic  party.  There  were 
two  men  named  William  M.  Taylor  living  at  Mad- 
ison, and  the  letter  was  not  delivered  to  the  man 
of  that  name  for  whom  it  was  intended,  but  to 
the  other  Taylor,  who  gave  it  to  Mr.  Garber.  Mr. 
Garber  at  once  came  out  in  his  paper  for  Gov- 
ernor Wright  and  against  Senator  Bright.  Short- 
ly afterward  Senator  Bright  came  home  and 
called  a  meeting  of  the  Democrats  of  the  county. 
At  this  meeting  the  Senator  delivered  a  two-hour 
speech,  denouncing  Garber  as  a  pretended  and 
not  a  real  Democrat  and  demanding  that 
he  be  publicly  read  out  of  the  party,  and 
at  the  conclusion  of  his  speech  he  offered 
a  series  of  resolutions  to  that  effect.  Mr. 
Garber  was  present  and  spoke  in  defense  of  his 
actions.  He  declared  that  he  was  as  good  a  Dem- 
ocrat as  Senator  Bright,  but  boldly  stated  that 
he  would  not  submit  to  the  dictation  of  the  Sen- 
ator. He  read  a  letter  from  Governor  Wright 
attesting:  to  his  democracy,  but  the  Democratic 
party  leaders  there  assembled  had  followed  Sen- 
ator Bright  in  a  number  of  hard-fought  cam- 
pai.gns  and  they  refused  to  leave  his  leadership, 
and  the  assembly  adopted  the  resolutions  offered, 
only  three  votes  being  cast  against  them.  Mr. 
Garber  continued  to  support  the  Democratic  na- 
tional and  State  tickets,  however,  but  openeil  up 
a  vigorous  warfare  upon  Senator  Bright  and  the 
local  organization.  In  1854  Mr,  Garber  took  the 
Courier  into  the  newly-formed  People's  party, 
and  from  there,  in  the  next  campaign,  into  the 
Republican  party,  and  that  paper,  under  his  man- 
agement, and  under  the  management  of  his  son, 
Michael  C.  Garber,  Jr.,  who  succeeded  to  its  con- 
trol in  the  70's,  has  continued  to  this  day  to  be  a 
tower  of  strength  to  the  Republican  party  of 
Jefferson  county.  It  is  probable  that  if  the  un- 
fortunate rupture  between  Senator  Bright  and 
Michael  C.  Garber  had  not  occurred  in  1852, 
Jefferson  county  would  have  been  placed  in  the 
Democratic  column  before  186(1,  as  Senator 
Bright  was  an  alert  and  vigorous  leader  and  had 
formed  an  organization  constituted  of  active  and 
shrewd  party  workers— a  much  better  organiza- 
tion than  the  Whig  party  ever  had  in  the  county 
and  a  better  organization  than  the  Republicans 
were  able  to  perfect  until  after  the  Civil  War,  but 


(  649  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


the  open  breach  in  the  party,  led  by  Mr.  Garber, 
was  a  serious  handicap  to  the  party's  success.  The 
Courier  was  the  second  Democratic  paper  estab- 
lished in  the  county.  The  Eagle,  edited  by  Wil- 
liam Hendricks,  had  ceased  publication  in  the 
county  in  the  20's.  In  the  30's  the  Courier  was 
established  and  it  had  done  good  and  valiant  work 
for  the  cause  of  democracy.  Rolla  Doolittle,  one 
of  Senator  Bright's  stanchest  henchmen,  was  the 
editor  for  a  while,  then  Samuel  F.  and  John  I. 
Covington  had  charge  of  the  paper  and  main- 
tained it  as  a  Democratic  organ.  In  1849  Mr. 
Garber  took  control,  and  soon  thereafter  occurred 
the  trouble  between  him  and  Senator  Bright.  To 
replace  the  Courier  a  new  paper  was  established 
in  1852  and  named  the  Madisonian.  This  paper 
lasted  less  than  a  year,  but  while  in  existence 
proved  to  be  a  snappy  and  spirited  advocate  of 
Democratic  policies  and  principles.  Its  editor 
was  a  bright  youn?  Irishman,  named  Robert  S. 
Sproule.  Despite  the  fact  that  Jefferson  county 
was  normally  Whig  and  then  Republican  by  a 
safe  majority,  and  further  that  the  Democracy 
had  no  strong  and  reliable  newspaper  organ,  still 
the  organization  led  by  Bright,  and  counseled  by 
his  brother,  Michael  G.  Bright,  and  sustained  by 
Kirk,  Doolittle,  Marsh,  Rea  and  others,  was  en- 
abled to  hold  the  opposition  dovm  to  a  narrow 
margin  of  a  majority  in  national  and  State  elec- 
tions, and  sometimes  it  succeeded  in  electing  a 
Democrat  to  local  office.  Joseph  W.  Chapman, 
quite  an  able  lawyer  of  Madison,  was  elected  to 
the  bench.  Tyree  A.  Pogue,  a  well-known  busi- 
ness man,  was  elected  County  Treasurer,  Robert 
Right  Rea  was  Sheriff  for  several  years,  and  John 
Kirk  was  elected  Commissioner  twice,  and  there 
were  other  Democrats  elected  to  office  in  the  coun- 
ty besides  these  men,  but  generally  as  the  result 
of  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  opposition  with  their 
candidates. 

In  1851,  when  Senator  Bright  was  a  candi- 
date for  re-election  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
he  was  opposed  for  this  office  by  Joseph  G.  Mar- 
shall, who  had  been  his  opponent  when  he  was  a 
candidate  six  years  before.  Marshall  was  the 
leader  of  the  Whig  party,  not  only  in  Jefferson 
county,  but  in  the  State  as  well.  He  had  been  the 
candidate  of  his  party  for  United  States  Senator 
in  1843,  when  the  Legislature  was  Whig  on  joint 
ballot,  that  party  having  a  majority  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  that  overcame  the  Democratic 
majority  in  the  Senate  by  two  votes.  The  Senate 
had  refused  to  go  into  joint  session  with  the 
House  for  the  election  of  a  Senator,  and  in  this 
manner  prevented  the  election  of  anyone  to  the 
United  States  Senate  by  that  Legislature.  The 
next  Legislature  was  Democratic,  and  it  elected 
Mr.  Bright  to  the  Senate.     From  that  time  on  the 


personal  relations  between  Bright  and  Marshall 
were  not  cordial,  so,  during  the  campaign  of  1851, 
Senator  Bright  took  exceptions  to  some  remarks 
made  by  Mr.  Marshall  in  the  course  of  a  speech  de- 
livered at  Ritchie's  Mill,  some  miles  out  in  the 
country  from  Madison.  Mr.  Marshall,  in  effect, 
charged  Senator  Bright  with  bad  faith  upon  a 
public  matter  then  under  discussion.  Bright  re- 
sented this  charge,  Marshall  reiterated  it,  and 
Bright  wrote  him  a  letter  that  was  regarded  by 
Marshall  as  insulting.  Marshall  replied  in 
a  letter  that  was,  in  effect,  a  challenge 
to  fight  a  duel.  The  two  gentlemen,  ac- 
companied by  some  friends,  went  to  Louisville, 
Ky.,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  a  meeting  place 
and  time  for  the  duel,  but  their  friends  intervened. 
The  matter  was  amicably  adjusted,  and  they  re- 
turned home  without  coming  together  upon  the 
field  of  honor,  but  they  never  spoke  to  each  other 
afterward. 

The  Whig  party  and  its  great  leader  in  Jeffer- 
son county  died  about  the  same  time,  as  Joseph  G. 
Marshall  passed  away  in  1855.  The  new-formed 
Republican  party  succeeded  to  the  full  strength 
of  the  Whigs  in  the  county  and  at  once  became 
the  leading  party.  The  four  men  who  were  recog- 
nized as  the  all-powerful  leaders  of  this  party, 
from  1855  until  the  Greeley  campaign  in  1872, 
were  John  R.  Cravens,  William  McKee  Dunn,  Da- 
vid C.  Branham  and  M.  C.  Garber.  They  were  all 
men  of  unusual  ability  and  good  standing,  and 
aided  by  the  patriotic  feeling  developed  by  the 
Civil  war,  which  they  exploited  to  the  full,  they 
built  up  a  very  powerful  political  organization  and 
absolutely  controlled  both  nominations  and  elec- 
tions in  the  county  during  the  period  named. 
Cravens  served  nearly  all  that  time  in  the  State 
Senate,  and  was  the  President  of  the  Senate  and 
ex-officio  Lieutenant-Governor  from  1861  to  '65. 
Branham  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives during  the  greater  part  of  that  period 
and  Speaker  of  the  House  a  portion  of  the  time. 
Dunn  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1860,  defeated 
for  re-election  in  1862  and  elected  again  in  1864. 
At  the  expiration  of  this  last  term  he  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  judge  advocate-general  of  the 
United  States  army,  later  becoming  advocate-gen- 
eral, which  caused  his  removal  to  Washington 
City  and  permanent  retirement  from  the  politics 
of  the  county  in  the  late  sixties. 

Mr.  Garber  held  the  very  responsible  position 
of  paymaster  with  the  United  States  army  during 
the  war,  but  continued  to  edit  and  publish  the 
Courier,  and  through  its  columns  dealt  the  Democ- 
racy of  Jefferson  county  many  a  savage  blow. 

During  the  first  part  of  this  period,  that  is,  from 
1855  to  1861,  Senator  Bright  remained  in  the  sad- 
dle as  the  leader  of  the  local  Democracy,  but  when 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


he  was  expelled  from  the  United  States  Senate  he 
left  Madison  and  some  time  thereafter  went  to  re- 
side in  the  State  of  Kentucky.  Henry  W.  Har- 
rington, a  very  able  lawyer,  who  had  come  to  Mad- 
ison from  the  State  of  New  York  a  few  years  be- 
fore, was  put  forward  as  the  titular  leader  of  the 
party  in  place  of  BriRht,  but  the  real  control  of 
party  affairs,  for  twenty  years,  remained  in  the 
hands  of  Senator  Bright's  cabinet,  as  his  faithful 
henchmen,  Doolittle,  Kirk  and  Marsh,  were 
termed.  Of  this  trio  Mr.  Kirk,  commonly  known 
as  Captain  Kirk,  was  easily  the  leader  and  the 
more  influential  and  resourceful  in  political  mat- 
ters. Kirk  was  a  buildinp  contractor  and  a  good 
business  man.  He  was  uneducated,  being  barely 
able  to  read  and  write,  but  he  was  a  man  of  fine 
presence,  cool  and  deliberate  judgment,  sterling 
honesty  and  worth  and  a  born  leader  of  men.  As 
the  years  went  on  he  became  the  one  and  control- 
ling master  mind  of  the  Democratic  organization. 
Harrington  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1862,  de- 
feating Dunn.  In  1864  Dunn  defeated  him  for  re- 
election, and  in  1866  Harrington  was  again  elected, 
but  was  defeated  in  1868  by  General  Morton  C. 
Hunter.  Shortly  thereafter  he  left  the  State,  go- 
ing first  to  St.  Louis,  thence  to  Indianapolis,  where 
he  died  in  1879.  Among  Captain  Kirk's  most  val- 
uable lieutenants  and  party  workers  in  the  Demo- 
cratic organization,  from  1861  to  the  early 
eighties,  were  M.  A.  Gavitt,  an  auctioneer;  Isaac 
C.  Earhart,  a  farmer  and  business  man  of  Kent; 
Horace  Byfield,  a  farmer  and  miller  of  Lancaster; 
Hiram  Francisco,  Sr.,  a  farmer  and  business  man 
of  Wirt;  Charles  A.  Korbly  (father  of  ex-Con- 
gressman C.  A.  Korbly  and  Hon.  Bernard  Korbly 
of  Indianapolis),  a  lawyer  of  ripe  attainments 
and  the  son-in-law  of  Michael  G.  Bright,  and  Wil- 
liam Howard,  who  was  the  city  treasurer  of  Madi- 
son during  nearly  all  the  seventies.  Howard  was 
short  in  his  accounts  and  was  made  the  butt  of 
vicious  attacks  in  the  columns  of  the  Star,  a  Re- 
publican newspaper  published  in  Madison  during 
the  late  seventies  and  early  eighties  by  John  D. 
Simpson.  Howard  resented  these  attacks  and  got 
into  an  altercation  with  Simpson  in  1879,  which 
resulted  in  Simpson  shooting  him  to  death.  In 
1872  John  K.  Cravens,  who  had  come  to  be  recog- 
nized as  the  most  influential  among  the  Repub- 
lican leaders  of  the  county,  followed  Greeley  into 
the  Liberal  Republican  party,  and  after  that  cam- 
paign affiliated  with  the  Democrats  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1899.  At  this  time  the  removal 
of  Mr.  Dunn  to  Washington,  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Garber  as  postmaster  of  Madison  and  his  re- 
tirement from  active  party  control,  to  an  extent, 
and  the  impairment  of  Mr.  Branham's  activities 
by  reason  of  approaching  age  and  ill  health  (he 
died  in  1876)  left  the  Republican  party  of  Jeffer- 


son county  practically  leaderless  for  a  short  time. 
As  a  result  the  well-disciplined  Democratic  organ- 
ization, under  Captain  Kirk,  scored  a  partial  vic- 
tory in  the  election  of  1874  by  electing  M.  A. 
Gavitt  sheriff,  Charles  W.  Allfrey  recorder  and 
Messrs.  Fred  Harper,  J.  W.  Shadday  and  James 
Jackson  commissioners.  F'our  years  previous 
Hiram  Francisco,  Sr.,  had  been  elected  senator 
and  two  years  later  James  J.  Sering,  the  only 
Democratic  member  of  a  large  and  powerful  Re- 
publican family,  was  elected  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court,  so  at  this  time  there  were  more  Democrats 
holding  office  in  the  court  house  at  Madison  than 
at  any  period  in  the  history  of  the  county  before 
that  time,  and  more  than  at  any  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  county  after  that  time  until  1910.  In 
1876  the  Republicans  got  together  and  elected  all 
their  county  ticket  except  treasurer,  the  Demo- 
crats succeeding  in  electing  John  W.  Scott,  who 
was  the  last  Democrat  to  hold  oflice  in  the  county 
until  1902.  In  1878  the  Democrats  nominated  a 
popular  ticket,  and  there  was  considerable  dis- 
satisfaction among  the  Republicans  on  account  of 
some  of  their  nominees,  and  Captain  Kirk  and  hi.s 
aides  worked  unceasingly  to  wrest  the  county 
from  the  control  of  their  opponents.  In  this  they 
were  very  effectively  aided  by  the  Hon.  Charles 
L.  Jewett,  who  was  then  a  young  lawyer  practic- 
ing at  Scottsburg.  Jefferson  and  Scott  counties 
had  composed  the  Fifth  Judicial  Circuit  for  some 
years  and  Mr.  Jewett,  supported  by  the  large 
Democratic  majority  of  Scott  county,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  being  elected  prosecuting  attorney 
from  1873  to  1877,  and  in  this  year,  1878,  he  was 
the  Democratic  nominee  for  judge  of  the  circuit. 
Vincent  P.  Kirk,  a  young  attorney,  and  the  son  of 
Captain  Kirk,  was  the  nominee  for  prosecutor  with 
Mr.  Jewett.  William  H.  Rogers,  druggist,  of  Mad- 
ison, and  a  very  popular  man,  was  the  candidate 
for  representative,  and  the  old  wheel-horse,  Isaac 
C.  Earhart,  of  Kent,  for  sheriff;  Mr.  Scott  being 
the  candidate  for  re-election  to  the  ofl[ice  of  treas- 
urer and  Mr.  Allfrey  for  re-election  to  the  office  of 
recorder.  The  Republicans  did  not  have  a  strong 
organization,  but  they  had  some  shrewd  and  not 
overly  scrupulous  politicians  in  charge  of  their  or- 
ganization, conspicuous  among  whom  were  Dr.  W. 
A.  Collins,  James  Y.  Allison,  judge  of  the  court 
and  candidate  for  re-election,  and  John  W.  Linck, 
a  prominent  attorney.  The  Democrats  at  the 
spring  election  had  elected  James  Brennan,  a  shoe- 
maker, trustee  of  Madison  township,  the  township 
in  which  the  city  of  Madison  was  located.  This 
was  before  the  day  of  the  Australian  ballot,  and 
there  were  but  two  precincts  in  the  whole  town- 
ship, including  the  city,  and  Brennan,  by  virtue  of 
his  oflfice,  was  the  inspector  at  one  of  these  pre- 
cincts.    Nearly  1,500  votes  were  cast  in  this  pre- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-  1 


cinct  and  Brennan  was  bribed  to  take  out  of  the 
box  200  Democratic  tickets  and  substitute  there- 
for 200  Republican  ballots.  This  he  was  enabled 
to  do  by  the  inefficiency  of  the  other  Democratic 
members  of  the  board,  and  in  this  manner  the 
Democratic  candidates  for  judge,  prosecutor,  rep- 
lesentative,  sheriff,  treasurer  and  recorder  were 
counted  out  and  their  Republican  opponents 
counted  in.  The  fraud  was  suspected  at  once,  and 
an  investigation  ordered,  but  Brennan  denied  the 
facts,  and  nothing  came  of  it.  Brennan  rapidly 
went  to  the  bad,  resigned  his  office  in  disgrace  and 
before  his  death  acknowledged  his  guilt,  and  gave 
full  details  of  the  matter.  In  1880  the  Republic- 
ans of  the  county  perfected  an  organization  that 
had  been  growing  for  some  time.  It  was  com- 
posed of  a  group  of  exceedingly  shrewd  and  act- 
ive men,  foremost  among  whom  were  the  Graham 
brothers,  Thomas,  William  P.  and  James,  the  two 
former  business  men  and  the  latter  just  a  plain 
politician  and  officeholder,  but  the  keenest  and 
shrewdest  organizer,  perhaps,  that  the  county  has 
ever  known  in  all  its  political  history.  A.  D.  Van- 
osdol,  lawyer;  M.  C.  Garber,  Jr.,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  management  of  the  Courier,  and 
James  H.  Crozier,  a  business  man,  were  the  other 
most  prominent  members  of  this  organization. 
These  gentlemen,  in  addition  to  their  political  tact, 
were  men  of  high  standing  in  the  community  and, 
as  a  result,  they  built  up  an  organization  that  in- 
creased the  Republican  majority,  in  fact,  practi- 
cally doubled  it,  as  compared  with  the  majority 
given  to  that  party  in  the  seventies.  As  this  ef- 
fective Republican  organization  grew  up  the  Dem- 
ocratic organization  weakened  and  fell  to  pieces. 
Captain  Kirk  was  getting  old,  and  he  soon  died. 
His  faithful  lieutenants  mentioned  herein  were 
likewise  getting  old,  and  they  all  dropped  out  of 
the  political  game  within  a  few  years,  excepting 
Mr.  Korbly.  In  the  place  of  leadership  there 
was  chaos.  By  this  time  John  R.  Cravens,  famil- 
iarly known  as  Judge  Cravens,  had  come  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  Democrat  of  standing.  His  schol- 
arly attainments  and  high  character  naturally 
drew  many  to  follow  his  lead,  but  he  was  now  get- 
ting to  be  an  old  man,  and  while  he  took  part  in 
the  councils  of  the  Democracy  for  many  years,  in- 
deed until  his  death,  he  did  not  exhibit  that  virility 
and  power  that  marked  his  career  as  a  Repub- 
lican leader.  Joseph  T.  Brashear,  for  many  years 
mayor  of  Madison,  was  another  leader  of  some 
prominence.  He  was  a  mechanic  and  a  man  of 
considerable  natural  force,  but  his  political  influ- 
ence was  confined  to  the  city  of  Madison.  Joseph 
C.  Abbott,  owner  of  the  Madison  &  Milton  Ferry, 
who  had  immigrated  to  Madison  from  Kentucky 
in  the  late  seventies,  now  began  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  party  affairs,  and  in  1882  was  elected 


chairman  of  the  Democratic  county  central  com- 
mittee. Abbott  was  a  shrewd  and  forceful  char- 
acter, but  he  was  not  an  organizer — in  fact,  he 
was  just  the  reverse,  and  in  a  short  time  he  in- 
curred antagonisms  that  rent  the  party  into  war- 
ring factions.  The  first  great  mistake  made  was 
the  abandonment  of  a  party  ticket  in  1882  and  the 
putting  forth  of  an  independent  ticket  in  the 
county,  composed  in  part  of  Republicans  and  in 
part  of  Democrats,  endorsed  and  supported  by  the 
Democratic  organization.  This  was  commonly 
known  as  the  Kickapoo  ticket,  and  it  was  inglor- 
iously  defeated  by  the  regular  Republican  ticket 
at  the  election,  excepting  only  the  candidate  for 
state  senator,  James  Hill,  a  wealthy  farmer  of 
Brooksburg,  and  a  Republican,  who  defeated  Rev. 
James  W.  Lanham  of  Manville,  the  Republican 
candidate.  This  was  caused  by  the  temperance 
issue,  which  was  injected  into  the  campaign,  Mr. 
Hill  being  supported  by  the  liberal  element,  as 
Rev.  Mr.  Lanham  was  avowedly  for  the  prohibi- 
tion amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  State, 
which  was  then  pending  in  the  Legislature.  An- 
other element  in  local  politics  now  appeared  in  the 
person  of  Martin  A.  Barnett.  Mr.  Barnett,  in 
1881,  came  from  Danville,  Ind.,  and  purchased  the 
Madison  Herald,  the  local  organ  of  the  Democracy, 
from  Lin  C.  Jones.  The  Herald  had  grown  out  of 
the  Progress,  a  paper  started  early  in  the  seven- 
ties by  Nicholas  Manville,  and  which  was  the  first 
pronounced  Democratic  paper  in  the  county  since 
the  Courier  had  deserted  to  the  opposition  and  the 
Madisonian  had  suspended  publication  in  the  early 
fifties.  Upon  Mr.  Manville's  death,  in  1876,  Mr. 
Jones  had  taken  over  his  outfit  and  changed  the 
name  of  the  paper  to  the  Herald  and  continued  to 
publish  it  as  a  Democratic  paper  until  1881,  when 
Mr.  Barnett  purchased  it.  The  Herald  was  then 
a  weekly  paper,  but  soon  afterward  Mr.  Barnett 
added  a  daily  edition  to  it.  Barnett,  in  1885,  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Madison  by  President 
Cleveland,  and  this  made  more  trouble.  Captain 
Kirk,  the  old  Democratic  wheel-horse,  who  had 
practically  retired  from  politics,  and  who  was 
nearing  the  end  of  his  life,  was  an  applicant  for 
the  office,  and  he  and  his  friends  took  the  failure 
of  the  President  to  appoint  him  very  much  to 
heart,  and  there  were  charges  and  counter- 
charges of  double-crossing  by  the  local  leaders 
made  by  Kirk's  friends  and  hurled  back  by  Bar- 
nett's.  In  1887  Barnett  sold  the  Herald  to  one  J. 
C.  Bartlett,  from  southwestern  Indiana,  and  he  to 
Lin  C.  Jones,  the  former  proprietor.  In  1889  these 
parties  and  Mr.  Barnett  himself  all  became  in- 
volved in  a  lawsuit  over  the  ownership  of  the 
paper,  and  pending  its  settlement  John  Adams,  a 
stove  and  tin  merchant  of  Madison,  and  a  stanch 
Democrat,  purchased  a  new  printing  outfit  and  in- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


stalled  Mr.  Jones  as  editor,  and  the  latter  issued 
the  paper  therefrom,  leaving  the  old  out- 
fit in  litigation — it  finally  going  to  Mr.  Barnett, 
who  died  the  next  year  at  Vevay,  Ind.  By  this 
time  the  local  political  situation,  as  far  as  the 
Democracy  was  concerned,  had  gotten  into  a  fear- 
ful snarl.  The  Republicans  had  increased  their 
majority  until  it  registered  from  600  to  1,100  at 
every  election  and  the  Democrats  were  divided 
into  hostile  camps,  Mr.  Korbly  leading  one  consid- 
erable faction  and  Joseph  C.  Abbott  the  other. 
Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Jones  brought  the  Herald  to 
the  support  of  Mr.  Korbly"s  faction.  This  an- 
gered Abbott  and  his  friends,  conspicuous  among 
whom  were  John  McGregor,  a  young  lawyer  of 
Madison,  and  Joseph  M.  Cravens,  son  of  Judge 
John  R.  Cravens,  and  destined  to  be  the  future  and 
most  successful  leader  the  party  in  Jefferson 
county  ever  had;  so  they  induced  Alonzo  S.  Chap- 
man, who  was  publishing  a  trade  paper  called 
the  Sorghum  Growers'  Guide,  at  Madison,  to 
launch  a  new  daily  and  weekly  Democratic  paper 
in  opposition  to  the  Herald.  This  Mr.  Chapman 
did,  and  the  new  paper  was  styled  the  Madison 
Democrat,  and  it  made  its  initial  appearance  in 
the  autumn  of  1889,  and  for  years  thereafter  the 
Herald  and  the  Democrat  continued  to  represent 
two  unfriendly  forces  in  the  party. 

In  1892  the  party  again  abandoned  the  custom 
of  putting  out  a  local  ticket,  and  a  hybrid  Inde- 
pendent aggregation,  representing  both  Re- 
publicans and  Democrats,  endorsed  and  sup- 
ported by  the  Democratic  organization,  was  put 
forth,  only  to  meet  defeat  more  decisive  and  over- 
whelming than  ever  before,  or  since  for  that  mat- 
ter, administered  to  a  regular  Democratic  ticket. 
In  1894,  the  year  of  great  Democratic  defeat 
everywhere,  the  Republicans  maintained  their 
lead  in  Jefferson  county  by  some  800  votes.  In 
1896  a  somewhat  new  alignment  appeared  in  Jef- 
ferson county.  Of  the  old  Republican  organiza- 
tion, Messrs.  William  P.  and  James  Graham  were 
dead,  Thos.  Graham  and  A.  D.  Vanosdol  prac- 
tically retired  from  political  management,  and 
only  M.  C.  Garber  (the  junior  Garber)  active, 
but  a  new  power  had  been  growing  up  in  the 
county,  Marcus  R.  Sulzer  and  Perry  E.  Bear,  law- 
yers located  at  Madison,  and  Thomas  McNutt,  a 
farmer  of  Saluda  township,  who  had  been  elected 
County  Recorder  two  years  before — these  three 
latter  gentlemen  worked  together  and  practically 
filled  the  court  house  with  their  henchmen. 
Messrs.  Sulzer  and  Bear  both  had  been  Prosecut- 
ing Attorney  for  two  terms  and  Sulzer  had  been 
a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  this  year  Bear 
was  elected  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court.  Mc- 
Nutt was  county  chairman  and  two  and  four 
years  later  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  State 


Central  Committee.  In  the  Democratic  party 
there  were  changes,  too.  Mr.  Korbly  had  gone  to 
Indianapolis  and  Joseph  C.  Abbott  had  died,  and 
the  fierce  warfare  that  had  existed  within  the 
ranks  of  the  party  was  abating,  but  the  party 
was  practically  leaderless,  and  continued  leader- 
less,  and  therefore  ineffective,  for  several  years. 
In  addition  to  this  condition  the  free  silver  cam- 
paign of  Mr.  Bryan  brought  its  defections,  far 
outnumbering  its  accessions,  in  this  county,  as 
well  as  elsewhere,  and  so  the  Republicans  were 
again  successful,  electing  their  entire  county 
ticket  by  majorities  running  from  600  to  1,000 
votes.  This  was  practically  repeated  in  1898  and 
1900. 

In  1897  John  B.  Niesse  and  Moses  H.  Cochrane 
purchased  the  Herald  from  John  .Adams,  and  Lin 
C.  Jones  retired  from  newspaper  writing  and 
from  politics  for  all  time,  and  the  new  manage- 
ment ceased  all  factional  warfare,  as  against  the 
Democrat,  and  that  part  of  the  party  supporting 
it — they  made  the  Herald  consistently  and  mildly, 
but  not  aggressively,  Democratic,  and  they  have 
maintained  the  paper  in  that  attitude  ever  since 
and  until  this  day.  Mr.  Chapman  continued  the 
Democrat  as  a  nominal  Democratic  paper  for  some 
years,  all  the  time  becoming  more  and  more  inde- 
pendent in  its  political  action,  and  finally,  in  1912, 
he  turned  it  into  a  Bull  Moose  organ  and  it  sup- 
ported the  policies  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  party  again 
in  1914. 

In  1902  came  the  Democratic  revival  in  Jeffer- 
son county.  It  was  not  a  favorable  year  for  Dem- 
ocrats in  the  State  and  Nation,  but  it  was  a  great 
year  for  the  Democracy  of  Jefferson  county.  Un- 
der the  leadership  of  Messrs.  Garber,  Sulzer  and 
Bear,  for  six  years  the  Republican  party  had  con- 
tinued its  invincible  hold  upon  the  county  affairs, 
but  the  jealousy  and  uni-est  that  always  follows 
close  upon  the  heels  of  success  was  at  work  with- 
in the  ranks  of  that  party.  Bear  was  seeking 
re-election  as  Judge  and  Sulzer  was  asking  for 
another  term  in  the  Legislature,  and  the  ham- 
mers of  the  disappointed  ones  in  their  party  were 
making  music  like  an  anvil  chorus.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  Democratic  party,  for  the  first  time 
in  many  years,  perfected  an  excellent  organiza- 
tion. Factional  feeling  had  died  out  and  new 
leaders  came  to  the  front.  Joseph  M.  Cravens 
was  nominated  for  Representative  and  made  an 
active  and  thorough  canvass  of  the  county  and 
brought  all  his  personal  popularity,  which  was 
very  great  and  very  widely  diffused  with  the  vot- 
ers, to  the  support  of  the  entire  ticket.  Curtis 
Marshall,  a  young  lawyer  of  Madison,  was  the 
County  Chairman,  and  John  B.  Lawler,  a  business 
man  of  the  same  place,  was  one  of  his  most  val- 
ued aids  in  organization  work.     This  trio — Cra- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1 


vens,  Marshall  and  Lawler — in  this  campaign 
established  the  reputation  as  political  leaders  and 
ingratiated  themselves  in  the  affections  of  the 
Democratic  workers  of  the  county,  that  made 
them  the  controlling  force  in  the  party  from  that 
day  until  the  present  time.  At  the  election  Cra- 
vens w^as  elected  over  Sulzer  by  more  than  500 
majority;  Hiram  Francisco,  a  son  of  the  elder 
Hiram  Francisco  who  was  elected  State  Senator 
in  1870,  defeated  Perry  E.  Bear  for  Judge,  carry- 
ing the  county  as  well  as  the  circuit;  a  Democrat 
was  elected  County  Treasurer,  and  one  Commis- 
sioner was  also  successful.  The'  remaining  can- 
didates on  the  county  ticket  were  defeated  by 
their  Republican  opponents  by  less  than  one  hun- 
dred votes.  The  next  campaign,  1904,  was  a  hard- 
fought  contest.  Cravens  running  a  tie  with  his 
Republican  opponent  and  winning  out  in  a  special 
election  for  Representative,  the  rest  of  the  Repub- 
lican ticket  being  successful  but  all  having  less 
than  200  majority  and  Jefferson  county  being  one 
of  only  three  counties  in  the  State  that  increased 
the  Democratic  vote  over  the  returns  shown  in 
1900. 

The  ■  campaigns  of  1906  and  1908  were  hard 
fought  and  closely  contested.  Mr.  Garber  had 
practically  dropped  out  of  the  management  upon 
the  Republican  side,  and  Mr.  Sulzer,  now  post- 
master at  Madison,  was  the  nominal  leader  of  the 
party,  but  factionalism  had  weakened  his  organi- 
zation until  it  was  no  longer  an  effective  force. 
The  naturally  large  Republican  majority  enabled 
that  party  to  elect  most  of  the  county  officers,  but 
by  very  small  majorities,  and  the  alert  and  mili- 
tant Democracy,  well  organized  and  well  disci- 
plined, elected  Cravens  to  the  Legislature  again  in 
1906  and  Francisco  Judge  in  1908. 

In  1910  Mr.  Sulzer,  wearied  of  the  fight  he  was 
making  almost  alone  and  unaided,  and  perhaps 
disgusted  at  the  petty  jealousy  and  ingratitude  of 
many  of  his  partisans,  withdrew  practically  from 
the  leading  part  in  Republican  politics  in  the 
county  and  the  party  drifted  here  and  there  and 
at  the  election  went  down  before  the  well-drilled 
forces  of  Democracy,  headed  by  Cravens  and  Mar- 
shall and  Lawler.  All  the  county  offices  voted  for, 
except  Treasurer,  were  captured  by  the  Demo- 
crats and  Cravens  was  elected  again  to  the 
Legislature  by  more  than  700  majority. 

In  1912  it  was  the  same  story,  and  in  this  year 
all  the  Democratic  candidates  were  elected  by 
good  majorities,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  Jefferson  county  every  office  in  the  court 
house  was  filled  by  a  Democrat  and  never  in  all 
the  history  of  the  county  were  the  officials  more 
competent  or  accommodating.  The  Auditor  was 
A.  M.  Taff;  the  Recorder,  Wm.  J.  McBride;  the 
Assessor,  B.  W.  Noell;  the  Sheriff,  Frank  McKay; 


the  Coroner,  Dr.  Robt.  W.  Cochran,  and  Commis- 
sioners, Edw.  J.  Wolf  and  L.  G.  Rodgers,  all  elect- 
ed in  1910,  the  Sheriff,  Coroner  and  Commissioner 
Wolf  being  re-elected  in  1912.  The  Clerk,  Edw. 
M.  Prenatt;  the  Treasurer,  Edward  Jeffries;  Sur- 
veyor, Edw.  J.  Gasaway,  and  Commissioner  Clar- 
ence T.  Custer  elected  in  1912.  Besides  these 
court  house  officials  Joseph  H.  Hanna  was  the 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  Joseph  M.  Cravens 
Representative  in  the  Legislature  for  the  fifth 
term,  and  in  the  judicial  circuit  composed  of  Jef- 
ferson and  Switzerland  counties,  Hiram  Fran- 
cisco, Judge,  and  Curtis  Marshall,  Prosecutor, 
both  in  their  second  terms.  It  was  indeed  a  Dem- 
ocratic atmosphere  that  enveloped  the  county. 
When  the  early  days  of  1914  came — in  fact,  late 
in  1913 — mutterings  of  discontent  were  heard.  In 
1912  the  nation,  the  State  and  the  county  all  elect- 
ed Democratic  officers  and  what  patronage  was 
left  to  be  distributed,  after  considering  the  bar 
of  civil  service,  was  to  go  to  the  Democratic  work- 
ers. Never  before  had  the  boys  in  Jefferson  had 
such  an  opportunity  and  many  of  them  came  for- 
ward seeking  the  pie  counter — postmasterships, 
internal  revenue  collectors  or  agents,  rural  route 
carriers,  etc.,  were  sought  from  the  national  ad- 
ministration— places  in  the  militia  and  pure  food 
inspection  department  from  the  State — road  su- 
perintendents, high  and  low,  poor  farm,  court 
house  janitor  and  other  appointments  in  the  coun- 
ty— of  course,  all  could  not  be  appointed,  not  one 
in  six  could  be  appointed,  and  there  was  much  dis- 
appointment, and  the  leaders  of  the  local  organi- 
zation were  blamed.  (As  the  disappointed  Repub- 
licans had  done  years  before,  the  disappointed 
Democrats  now  began  doing,  knocking  against 
their  organization  and  leaders  and  seeking  to  de- 
feat their  candidates — an  illustration  of  the  old 
story  of  the  dog  in  the  manger — they  could  not 
get  the  offices  themselves  and  they  did  not  want 
any  other  Democrat  to  have  them.  Added 
to  this  state  of  dissatisfaction  and  encour- 
aged and  prompted  by  it.  Judge  Hiram  Fran- 
cisco, who  had  been  elected  twice  by  the  Dem- 
ocrats, announced  himself  for  re-election  to  that 
oflice  as  an  independent  candidate.  Curtis  Mar- 
shall had  been  nominated  by  the  convention,  but 
perceiving  that  some  discontent  existed,  a  part  of 
which  was  directed  toward  him  personally, 
he  declined  the  nomination,  and  then  the 
convention  unanimously  turned  to  Hon.  F. 
M.  Griffith  of  Vevay  and  nominated  him. 
Mr.  Griffith  was  an  ex-Congressman  and  a 
Democrat  of  national  as  well  as  State  repu- 
tation and,  living  outside  of  the  county,  it  was 
believed  he  would  be  acceptable  to  everybody. 
But  the  disappointed  ones  would  not  be  appeased, 
and  they  got  behind  Judge  Francisco's  candidacy 


(654) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


1  9  1 


and  under  this  cover  foupht  the  whole  ticket,  and 
I'ad  the  Republicans  been  well  organized  and  un- 
der capable  leadership,  they  would  have  easily  tri- 
umphed, but  they  were  not — they  were  fairly  har- 
monious and  hopeful,  but  weak  in  organization 
and  leadership,  while  the  Democrats  were 
never  more  effective  in  their  organization 
and  leadership — the  party  workers  from  all  over 
the  county  responded  nobly  to  the  call  to  arms, 
and  the  hardest-fought  battle  in  all  the  years  was 
waged — and  when  election  day  came  and  passed 
away  it  was  shown  that  the  Democracy  generally 
had  won  a  victory.  Mr.  Griffith  was  elected  judge, 
defeating  Mr.  Sulzer,  the  Republican  candidate,  by 
a  comfortable  plurality  in  the  circuit,  although 
the  latter  carried  Jefferson  county  by  a  small 
plurality.  Francisco  ran  a  very  poor  third.  The 
prosecutor,  recorder,  assessor,  treasurer,  sheriff 
and  surveyor  were  elected  by  the  Democrats,  while 
the  Republicans  elected  the  representative,  auditor, 
coroner  and  two  commissioners  by  small  majori- 
ties, defeating  Joseph  M.  Cravens  for  representa- 
tive and  A.  M.  Taff  for  auditor,  the  two  men  that 


the  disaffected  ones  among  the  Democracy  had 
especially  fought,  but  on  the  whole  it  was  re- 
garded as  a  decided  Democratic  victory. 

When  the  191()  campaign  came  about  political 
matters  in  Jefferson  county  had  resumed  their 
normal  condition.  The  Maditioti  Democrat  had 
sold  its  good  will  and  subscription  to  the  Herald, 
and  there  were  now  but  the  two  papers,  the  Her- 
ald and  the  Courier.  It  was  a  hard-fought  cam- 
paign between  the  parties,  with  little  factional 
trouble  in  either  party.  As  in  former  campaigns, 
the  Democrats  had  the  better  organization  and  the 
Republicans  had  the  larger  number  of  voters,  and 
the  election  resulted  in  a  draw,  the  Democrats 
electing  Joseph  M.  Cravens  Representative  (with 
Scott  county,  which  had  been  added  to  the  dis- 
trict), Edward  M.  Prenall  clerk  and  George  A. 
Monroe  sheriff,  the  two  latter  re-elected.  The  Re- 
publicans elected  the  Treasurer,  Surveyor,  Coro- 
ner and  two  Commissioners. 

What  the  outcome  of  the  1918  campaign  will  be 
no  one  knows. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY    OF 
JENNINGS  COUNTY 

By  Fred  C.  Lockwood 


JENNINGS  COUNTY,  named  in  honor  of  In- 
diana's first  Governor,  Jonathan  Jennings,  is 
situated  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State 
and  comprises  an  area  of  240,000  acres  of  land. 
The  county  was  organized  under  an  act  of  the 
legislature  approved  at  Corydon  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  December,  1816,  and  a  year  later  the  county 
seat  sent  its  first  representative  to  the  Legisla- 
ture in  the  person  of  Zenas  Kimberlan.  Almost 
the  whole  of  Jennings  county  was  obtained  from 
the  Indians  by  what  was  known  as  the  "Grouse- 
land  Purchase"  in  the  year  1811,  while  eight  years 
later,  which  is  to  say  1819,  the  Indians,  including 
the  Delawares,  Potawatomies,  Miamis  and  Weas 
extinguished  their  sole  right  of  ownership  by  what 
was  known  as  the  "New  Purchase,"  which  made 
all  land  in  the  county  subject  to  entry. 

The  early  settlers  were  their  own  manufac- 
turers and  the  loom  and  grist  mill  were  brought 
into  requisition,  supplying  their  own  wants  and 
demands  the  best  they  could.  Generosity  and 
kindness  were  paramount  features  with  the  early 
settlers,  which  had  a  tendency  to  mitigate  much 
of  the  hardships  experienced.  The  work  of  clear- 
ing the  heavily  timbered  lands  and  building:  log 
houses  required  assistance  and  often  the  settlers 
lent  a  hand  at  house-raisings,  log-rollings  and 
wood-choppings,  which  was  invariably  the  occa- 
sion for  much  good  feeling. 

About  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  inhabitants 
were  within  the  bounds  of  Jennings  county  at  the 
time  of  its  organization.  The  first  county  officers 
were:  James  Scott,  clerk  and  recorder;  John 
Vawter,  treasurer  and  marshal  of  the  State; 
Maurice  Baker,  sheriff;  Frederick  Bonons,  coro- 
ner; Samuel  S.  Graham,  Samuel  Campbell  and 
James  Shepherd,  commissioners;  John  Test, 
judge  of  the  circuit  court;  William  Prather  and 
Chapman  Denton,  associate  judges;  Jeremiah  Sul- 
livan, prosecuting  attorney. 

The  early  settlers  did  not  concern  themselves 
with  national  and  local  politics.  They  were  busy 
in  their  forest  privacy  in  a  desire  to  clear  their 
lands.  The  presidential  election  of  1824  was  a 
contest  with  a  personal  color.  The  candidates 
were  Adams,  Crawford,  Clay  and  Jackson,  and 
there  was  a  mixture  of  adherents  on  account  of 
personal  preferences.  After  the  organization  of 
the  Whig  party  Jennings  was  a  Whig  county, 
though  not  by  a  very  large  majority.  Then,  after 
the  organization  of  the  Republican  party,  the 
coun'.y  had  been  mainly  Republican,  but  is  now 


solidly    Democratic    with    the    exception    of    one 
county  official — the  recorder. 

The  present  county  officials  are:  James  Tolen, 
treasurer;  Lloyd  G.  Hudson,  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court;  G.  J.  Bernhart,  auditor;  William  Riley,  re- 
corder; J.  Dudley  Stemm,  surveyor;  M.  B.  Hud- 
son, coroner;  John  W.  Morrison,  assessor;  Clem 
V.  Bridges,  sheriff;  Joseph  W.  Verbarg,  prosecut- 
ing attorney;  Robert  A.  Creigmile,  judge;  Shep- 
herd Whitcomb,  superintendent  of  schools. 

Jennings  county  residents  who  have  held  im- 
portant positions  in  the  public  services  of  the 
State  and  nation  were:  Jeptha  D.  New,  elected 
twice  to  Congress,  first  in  1874,  second  in  1878; 
and  Lincoln  Dixon,  the  present  Congressman  from 
the  Fourth  Congressional  District,  elected  in 
1894 ;  Alonzo  G.  Smith,  attorney-general  of  Indi- 
ana, 1890-1892;  Thomas  W.  Brolley,  state  statis- 
tician; Thomas  J.  Reilly,  appointed  collector  of 
internal  revenue  under  the  Johnson  administra- 
tion, and  John  Overmyer,  speaker  of  the  Indiana 
House  of  Representatives  at  the  regular  and  spe- 
cial sessions  of  1877. 

The  newspapers  of  Jennings  county  since  its  or- 
ganization have  been  The  Vernon  Visitor,  estab- 
lished by  Willoughby  Conner  and  Richard  Ran- 
dall in  1836;  Jennings  Democrat,  established  by 
Samuel  McKeehan  and  E.  H.  Ransom  in  1856; 
Anti-Bolter,  established  by  M.  H.  Andrews  in 
1858;  Jennings  County  Times,  established  by 
John  Vawter  in  1840;  Vernon  Banner,  established 
by  William  Steinback  in  1850;  Little  Jewel,  estab- 
lished by  W.  S.  Prather  and  Peter  Thienes,  Jr..  in 
1875;  Die  Post  (German  publication),  established 
by  Peter  Thienes,  Jr.,  in  1875;  Republican,  estab- 
lished by  Lincoln  Harrington  in  1892;  The  Daily 
Tribune,  established  by  J.  E.  Allison  in  1899;  The 
Vernon  Journal,  established  by  Edward  Wagner 
in  1892;  The  Vernon  News,  established  by  N.  C. 
Euler  in  1906;  Th^  Vernon  Herald,  established  by 
E.  A.  Grimes  in  1909;  The  Butlerville  News,  es- 
tablished by  Butlerville  News  Publishing  Com- 
pany in  1909. 

The  present  newspapers  of  the  county  are  The 
North  Vernon  Su7i,  established  by  Samuel  W. 
Holmes  in  1872;  present  editor,  Fred  C.  Lock- 
wood;  owners,  James  N.  Culp  and  Ernest  Kling- 
ner;  The  Plain  Dealer,  established  by  A.  S.  Con- 
ner and  James  M.  Mayfield;  present  editor  and 
owner,  C.  C.  Klingner;  Ths  Vernon  Times,  estab- 
lished by  a  stock  company  in  1913;  present  editor, 
J.  R.  Carney. 


(  656) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC 
JOHNSON  COUNTY 


PARTY   OF 


THE  State  Legislature  in  session  at  Corydon 
in  December,  1822,  passed  an  act  enabling 
and  providing  for  the  organization  of  the 
county  of  Johnson.  Most  of  the  territory  included 
in  this  new  county  had  been  a  part  of  Delaware 
county.  Opponents  of  the  move  charged  that  the 
signatures  secured  to  the  legislative  petition  by 
George  King  were  fictitious  or  the  names  of  per- 
sons long  dead.  However  that  may  have  been,  the 
Legislature  passed  the  act  and  the  county  was 
organized  with  the  county  seat  at  Franklin,  being 
named  in  honor  of  Benjamin  Franklin  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Samuel  Herriott,  who  was  the  first 
clerk  of  the  county. 

At  the  first  election,  held  on  the  8th  of  March, 
1823,  Israel  Watts  and  Daniel  Boaz  were  chosen 
judges,  Samuel  Herriott  clerk,  William  Schaffer 
recorder.  William  Freeman,  John  S.  Miller  and 
James  Ritchey  commissioners. 

George  King,  leader  in  the  movement  for  a  new 
county,  had  secured  the  site  for  a  county  seat  in 
advance,  and  this  was  selected  by  the  commission- 
ers and  named  Franklin.  Necessary  property  was 
donated  to  the  county  by  King. 

When  Johnson  county  was  organized  Jonathan 
Jennings,  the  first  governor,  was  still  in  office, 
and  the  population  of  the  state  was  147,178.  James 
Monroe  was  president  of  the  United  States,  hav- 
ing received  five  electoral  votes  from  this  state 
for  his  second  term.  James  Noble  and  Walter 
Taylor  were  serving  as  United  States  senators. 
Governor  Jennings,  who  resigned  as  governor  to 
becom.e  a  member  of  the  congress,  was  the  first 
to  receive  the  vote  of  Johnson  county  for  that  po- 
sition, in  1824. 

While  partisan  politics  played  very  little  part 
in  the  election  of  the  local  tickets  in  Johnson 
county  prior  to  18.30,  up  to  that  time  there  being 
none  but  Democrats  in  the  county,  from  the  elec- 
tion of  Andrew  Jackson,  in  1828,  there  has  been 
no  occasion  when  Johnson  county  has  not  come 
to  the  front  with  a  rousing  Democratic  majority. 
Party  lines  have  been  pretty  closely  drawn,  and 
no  issue  to  a  large  majority  of  the  residents  of 
Johnson  county  has  been  suflicient  to  change  the 
political  complexion  of  the  returns.  Even  in 
the  most  exciting  elections  preceding,  during  and 
following  the  Civil  war,  when  hero  worship  was 
an  important  element  in  determining  many  ques- 
tions, Johnson  county  has  never  swerved  from  its 
Democratic  majorities.  In  1828,  for  instance, 
when  Andrew  Jackson  and  John  C.  Calhoun  were 
the  Democratic  nominees  against  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  Rusk,  Jackson  received  221  votes  and 


Adams  118  outside  of  Blue  River  township,  of 
which  returns  were  not  preserved. 

In  1832  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  received  203 
votes  against  120  for  Clay  and  Sergeant,  not  in- 
cluding Franklin  township,  of  which  the  returns 
in  this   instance  were  lost. 

In  the  next  presidential  election  in  1836  Van 
Buren  and  Johnson  opposed  William  Henry  Har- 
rison and  Granger,  his  running  mate.  Even  the 
popularity  of  Harrison  in  his  home  state  was  not 
sufficient  to  change  anything  in  Johnson  county, 
for  Van  Buren  received  559  votes  to  Harrison's 
438,  not  including  Union  township,  from  which 
there  are  no  returns  preserved. 

In  1840  Harrison  again  opposed  Van  Buren,  his 
running  mate  this  time  being  Tyler,  and  John- 
son again  accompanying  Van  Buren.  This  time, 
while  Harrison  was  elected  president,  in  Johnson 
county  he  received  only  631  votes,  as  against  998 
for  Van  Buren.  The  Democratic  vote  was  growing 
stronger  all  the  time. 

When  the  election  of  1844  came  around.  Clay 
and  Freylinghuysen,  the  Whig  nominees,  oppos- 
ing Polk  and  Dallas,  the  Democrats,  all  the  town- 
ships are  reported  save  Nineveh,  where  202  votes 
were  cast  for  all  the  candidates,  but  the  tally 
sheet  was  lost.  The  vote  in  the  other  town- 
ships was  992  for  Polk,  and  581  for  Clay. 

In  1848,  while  the  aggregate  vote  of  the  coun- 
ty continued  to  increase  very  materially,  most  of 
the  increase  was  on  the  Democratic  side,  and  in 
that  year  Cass  and  Butler,  the  Democratic  nom- 
inees, received  1,114  votes  against  675  for  Taylor 
and  Fillmore,  the  Whig  nominees. 

Pierce  and  King,  Democratic  nominees  in  1852, 
defeated  Scott  and  Graham,  the  Whig  combina- 
tion, 1,3.33  to  896. 

In  1856  those  issues  which  culminated  in  the 
great  Civil  war  began  to  assert  themselves 
throughout  the  country,  the  reflection  of  senti- 
ment being  shown  in  the  election  returns  from 
everywhere,  the  slavery  question  agitating  the 
people  in  all  the  states.  Buchanan  and  Breckin- 
ridge were  elected  president  and  vice-president 
in  that  year  over  Fremont  and  Dayton,  the  first 
nominees  of  the  new  Republican  party,  which  was 
the  successor  of  the  Whig  organization,  deceased. 
The  vote  in  Johnson  county  was  1,608  for  Buchan- 
an, and  1,095  for  Fremont. 

In  1860,  owing  to  a  division  in  the  Democratic 
party,  the  voters  dividing  on  the  question  of 
whether  or  not  slavery  should  be  permitted,  and 
separating  the  voting  strength  between  north 
and  south  Democrats,  Johnson  county  came  near- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


er  going  to  the  Republicans  than  at  any  time 
since  in  its  existence.  Douglas  and  Johnson,  rep- 
resenting the  Democrats,  received  1,392  votes, 
vifhile  Lincoln  and  Hamlin,  Republicans,  received 
1,303.  Breckinridge  and  Lane,  representing  the 
southern  Democratic  sentiment,  received  306 
votes,  these  all  being  drawn  from  the  regular 
Democratic  party. 

In  1864,  while  the  state  of  Indiana  was  voting 
about  21,000  Republican  majority  for  Oliver  P. 
Morton  for  governor,  Johnson  county  was  con- 
tributing no  part  of  that.  It  was  still  voting  the 
Democratic  ticket.  In  that  same  year  McClellan 
and  Pendleton,  the  Democratic  nominees,  beat 
Lincoln  and  Johnson  in  Johnson  county,  1,713  to 
1,532. 

Even  the  popularity  of  U.  S.  Grant  as  the  great 
war  hero,  while  nominated  by  the  Republicans  in 
1868,  received  1,697  votes  in  Johnson  county 
against  2,149  for  Seymour  and  Blair,  the  Demo- 
cratic nominees.  Even  the  candidacy  of  Greeley 
and  Brown,  fathered  as  liberal  Republicans  and 
by  Democratic  endorsement,  was  sufficiently  pop- 
ular to  attract  2,109  votes,  as  against  1,700  for 
Grant  and  Wilson  for  the  second  term. 

In  November,  1876,  the  Democrats  carried  the 
state  of  Indiana  for  James  D.  Williams  for  gov- 
ernor by  over  5,000  votes.  Johnson  county  at  the 
same  election  gave  Tilden  and  Hendricks  2,363 
votes,  and  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  Republicans,  1,860. 

Pour  years  later,  Hancock  and  English,  as 
Democratic  nominees,  received  2,461,  as  against 
2,020  for  Garfield  and  Arthur,  the  Republicans. 

In  1884,  when  Isaac  P.  Gray  was  elected  the 
Democratic  governor  of  Indiana  by  a  majority  of 
nearly  8,000,  and  Grover  Cleveland  was  first 
elected  president  of  the  United  States,  Johnson 
county  gave  to  Cleveland  2,515  votes,  while  Blaine 
and  Logan  received  exactly  the  same  vote  as  that 
given  Garfield  and  Arthur  four  years  before,  2,020. 

The  Democrats  who  have  served  the  county  of 
Johnson  in  the  principal  offices  from  the  date  of 
the  organization  of  the  county,  or  from  the  date 
when  the  office  was  created,  are  as  follows: 

COUNTY  AUDITOR. 

Jacob  Sibert   1841-46 

Jonathan   H.   Williams    1851-55 

George  W.  Allison   1855-59 

Elijah    Banta    1859-63 

William  H.  Barnett  1863-71 

E.   Newt.   Woollen    1871-75 

William   B.   Jennings    1879-87 

Thomas  C.  M.  Perry 1887-91 

Thomas  J.   Coyle    1891-95 

David  A.   Forsythe    1895-99 

Ben   P.   Brown    1899-1904 

Oscar  V.  Nay   1904-08 


Herbert  L.  Knox   1912-14 

John  C.  Gregg  1914-20 

COUNTY  TREASURER. 

Joseph    Young    1823-27 

John   Adams    1827-36 

Robert   Gillcrees    1836-41 

Madison    Vandivier    1841-42 

William  C.  Jones   1842-44 

William  J.  John   1844-45 

William    Bridges    1845-50 

Henry  Fox   1850-53 

William   H.   Jennings    1853-56 

Jacob  F.  McClellan   1856-61 

John    Herriott    1861-63 

Hascall  N.  Pinney   1863-65 

William  S.  Ragsdale  1865-69 

George    Cutsinger    1869-74 

John  W.  Ragsdale   1874-78 

George  W.  Gilchrist   1878-82 

David  Swift 1882-86 

James    Jacob    1886-90 

Thomas  E.  Valentine    1890-94 

William   H.   Breeding    1894-96 

William  B.  Jennings   1896-1901 

William  A.  Bridges  1901-05 

Geo.  W.  Wyrick   1905-09 

Thomas  J.  Forsyth   1909-13 

Harry  Bridges    1913-17 

Edward   G.   Brewer    1917-19 

CLERK. 

Samuel    Herriott    1823-39 

David  Allen    1839-44 

Isaac  Jones    1844-47 

Royal  S.  Hicks   1847-50 

Jacob   Sibert    1850-55 

William  H.  Barnett  1855-63 

John  W.  Wilson   1863-71 

Isaac  M.  Thompson   1871-79 

Thomas    Hardin    1879-83 

Samuel   Harris    1883-87 

David  Fitzgibbon   1887-91 

Charles    Byfield    1891-99 

Daulton   Wilson    1899-1903 

Gilbert  Van  Vleet   1903-07 

Joseph  A.  Schmith  1907-11 

James  T.  Gilmore    1911-16 

John  J.  Beatty   1916-20 

SHERIFF. 

John   Smiley    1823-27 

Joab  Woodruff    1827-31 

John  S.  Thompson  1831-35 

David    Allen .1835-39 

Isaac  Jones    1839-43 

Austin  Jacobs   1843-44 

Wylie  Jones 1844 

Samuel   Hall    1844-45 

David  Allen    1845-47 


(  658  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


Robert  Johnson    1847-49 

William  H.  Jennings   1849-53 

H.  L.  McClellan    1853-57 

Noah  Perry   1857-59 

Eli   Butler    1859-63 

John  W.  Higgins   1863-67 

William  A.  Owens   1867-71 

Robert   Gillaspy    1871-75 

James   H.   Pudney    1875-79 

William    Neal    1879-83 

Geo.   C.   Stuart    1883-87 

Jacob    Hazlett    1887-89 

Creston    Maiden    1889-90 

James  Curry   1890 

Joseph  K.  P.  Musselman   1890-94 

John  C.  Webble   1894-98 

James  G.  Brown   1898-1903 

James  W.   Baldwin    1903-07 

Hal.   F.  Musselman    1907-11 

Ozias  E.  Vandivier   1911-15 

John  E.  Shipp    1915-19 

COUNTY  RECORDER. 

William   Shaffer    1823-36 

Pierson  Murphy   1836-43 

Thomas  Alexander   1843-44 

Jacob   Peggs    ; 1844-59 

William  S.  Ragsdale   1859-63 

Willett    Tyler    1863-67 

Jacob   Peggs    1867-75 

George  W.   Demaree   1875-79 

Jefferson  R.  Clemmer  1879-85 

James   T.  Trout    1885-87 

William  H.  Barnett  1887-91 

George  W.  Clemmer   1891-95 

John    Belk    1895-99 

Silas  W.  Trout   1899-1903 

Lewis  T.  Deer 1903-07 

William   H.   Burgett    1907-11 

Chauncey  J.  Powell   1911-15 

George  W.  Clemmer,  elected  to  serve  until 
1919.  Died  in  office  and  succeeded  by  ap- 
pointment of  Hubert  I.  Clemmer,  who 
filled  the  unexpired  term. 

CORONER. 

Absolom  Lowe    1824 

Gavin    Mitchell    1827 

William   G.   Springer    1829 

James  R.  Alexander   1831 

James  R.  Alexander  ( resigned )    1833 

William   Carr    1833 

William   E.   Clark    1836 

William   H.   Hunt    1839 

Tilghman  Lovelace 1840 

Samuel    Burget    1841 

James  Gillaspey  (refused  to  qualify)    1843 

Hiram  Calvin 1843-44 

John   Ritchey    1845 


Simon  Henry  (refused  to  qualify)   1846 

Nixon  Hughes  (successor  to  Henry) 1847 

Jefferson  D.  Jones 1847 

Reuben    Davis    1849 

Jefferson  D.  Jones 1851 

James    Fletcher    1854 

Henry  Whitesides    1855 

John  E.  Strecher 1858 

Henry   Whitesides    1859-63 

Lemuel    Tilson    1863-68 

Wm.   H.   Jennings    1868-69 

Hume   Sturgeon    1869-72 

J.    Henry    Fuller    1872-73 

William  S.  Ragsdale   1873-74 

John   D.  Van   Nuys   1874-75 

William  S.  Ragsdale  1875-76 

Hume   Sturgeon    1876-78 

John  F.  McClellan   1878-82 

Howard   Thompson    1882-85 

John  F.  McClellan   1885-86 

James  T.  Jones    1886-90 

L.   L.   Whitesides    1890-93 

James  T.  Jones    1893-98 

Rufus  W.  Terhune   1898-1907 

Daniel  W.   Sheek    1907-15 

Chester    Demaree    1915-17 

Eph.  B.  Chenoweth   1917-19 

COUNTY  SURVEYOR. 

Franklin    Hardin    1852-54 

John   Shougham    1854-56 

Peterson  K.  Parr  1856-58 

John  E.  Strecher   1858-61 

W.  W.  Hubbard   1861-65 

Joseph  J.  Moore ' 1865-67 

Peterson  K.  Parr   1867-70 

W.  M.  Elliott    1870-72 

Wilson  T.  Hougham   1872-74 

Peterson  K.  Parr   1874-78 

David  A.  Leach    1878-82 

Wilson  T.  Hougham    1882-86 

Ben   R.   Ransdell    1886-90 

Floyd  S.  Owens    1890-92 

Ben  R.  Ransdell   1892-93 

Thomas   Hardin    1893-94 

Wilson   T.   Hougham    1894-96 

Elba  L.  Branigin   1896-98 

John   E.  Jolliffe    1898-1904 

John    B.    Duckworth    1904-14 

John  B.  Duckworth   1914-19 

COUNTY  ASSESSOR. 

William    C.   Jones    1840-41 

James    Hughes    1841-43 

Daniel   McCain    1843-44 

David  R.  McGaughey  1844 

John    Ritchey    1844-46 

Jeremiah  M.  Woodruff   1846-48 


(659) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


Malcolm  M.  Crow   1848-50 

Hume   Sturgeon    1850-51 

Peterson  K.  Parr 1891-96 

Harvey  M.   Kephart    1896-1900 

Francis    P.    Clark    1900-06 

Augustus  T.  Sullivan   1906 

COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT. 

B.  F.  Kennedy    1873-75 

John   H.  Martin    1875-81 

David   A.   Owen    1881-83 

M.    F.    RickoflF    1883-85 

Hervey  D.  Vories  1885-91 

Charles   F.   Patterson    1891-94 

Eldo  L.  Hendricks   1894-98 

John  W.  Terman   1898-1903 

Jesse  C.  Webb   1903 

PROSECUTING  ATTORNEYS. 

David  B.  Wick   1823 

Harvey   Gregg    1824 

Calvin   Fletcher    1825 

James   Whitcomb    1826 

William  W.  Wick   1829 

Hiram    Brown    1831 

James   Gregg    1832 

William  Herrodd   1834 

William   Quarles    1838 

William  J.  Peaslee   1840 

Hugh  O'Niel   1841 


H.   H.   Barbour    1843 

Abram   Hammond    1844 

Edward  Lander    1848 

John  Teacham    1848 

David  Wallace   1848 

G.  M.  Overstreet  1849-51 

David   S.   Gooding    1851-53 

Reuben  A.  Riley 1853-55 

D.   W.   Chipman    1855-57 

Peter   S.   Kennedy    1857-63 

William   P.   Fishback    1863-65 

William  W.   Leathers    1865-67 

Joseph  S.  Miller  1867-69 

Daniel  W.  Howe  1869-70 

Nathaniel  T.  Carr   1870-71 

John    Morgan    1871-72 

K.  M.  Hord   1872-74 

W.  Scott  Ray  1874-78 

Leonard  J.  Hackney   1878-80 

Jacob  L.  White  1880-82 

Fred    Staff    1882-86 

Peter  M.   Dill    1886-88 

John    C.   McNutt    1888-92 

Thomas  H.   Campbell    1892-96 

Alonzo    Blair 1896-1900 

Fremont    Miller    1900-05 

Thomas    Williams    1905-07 

Henry  E.  White    1907-14 

John  P.  Wright 1914 


(  660) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
KNOX  COUNTY 

By  Shuler  McCormick 


FOREWORD. 

THE  history  of  Knox  county  necessarily  in- 
cludes the  early  history  of  the  Northwest 
territory.  The  most  important  events  of  the 
early  development  of  the  country  west  of  the  Al- 
lejrhanies  occurred  in  and  around  Old  Vincennes. 
Here  were  sown  the  first  seeds  of  the  develop- 
ment of  five  States — Indiana,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Il- 
linois and  Wisconsin.  Here  was  the  first  seat  of 
government  of  Indiana,  here  the  first  courts,  the 
first  land  office,  the  first  permanent  church,  the 
first  university  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  the  first 
newspaper  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  now 
known  as  the  Western  Sun. 

A  complete  history  of  Vincennes  and  Knox 
county,  from  the  earliest  settlement  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  would  fill  volumes.  In  a  history  such 
as  this  many  important  events  must  be  left  out,  and 
such  as  are  mentioned  must  be  but  briefly.  The 
account  of  the  discovery  and  exploration,  if  only 
half  stated,  is  so  replete  with  romance  and  ad- 
venture as  to  resemble  veriest  fiction.  It  is  the 
story  of  transformation  from  the  untrammeled 
verdure  of  the  wild  to  the  clockwork  development 
of  civilization.  It  would  begin  with  the  track- 
less forest  habited  by  savage  men  hunting  with 
the  bow  and  arrow  and  fishing  in  the  back  waters 
to  sustain  life  in  order  that  they  might  be  able 
to  do  the  same  tomorrow,  and  still  more  savage 
beasts,  stalking  and  snapping  and  snarling  in  or- 
der to  eat  and  to  keep  from  being  eaten,  with  war- 
bling songsters,  the  finch,  the  mocking  bird,  the 
heron,  the  hawk,  and  the  eagle.  It  would  recall 
the  time  when  the  tentacles  of  commerce  first 
reached  out  to  virgin  wealth  and  the  courier  des 
bois  gave  a  few  paltry  and  shining  trinkets  to  the 
red  man  in  return  for  valuable  furs.  It  would 
picture  the  huts  of  Chippe  Kokee,  describe  the 
fickle  Creole,  tell  the  tales  of  scars  and  starving, 
of  torture,  blood  and  crime,  of  slavery,  the  under- 
ground railroad,  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle, 
and  finally  the  age  of  commercialism  passed  by 
all  too  briefly  by  the  modern  historian  because  the 
changes  are  so  gradual  that  the  tranquil  times 
are  unaffected  by  jarring  shocks  like  war. 

But  the  early  history  of  Knox  county  is  not 
fiction.  It  can  all  be  proven  by  records  and  docu- 
ments still  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  State. 
Records  of  the  pioneer  churches,  some  in  France, 
some  in  this  city,  are  unquestionable  evidence  of 
the  events  that  transpired  long  before  even  a  sem- 
blance  of  a   civil   government   of   any   kind   was 


foimed  in  what  was  later  known  as  the  North- 
west Territory.  Many  of  the  valuable  old  docu- 
ments, now  yellow  with  age,  are  in  the  French 
and  Latin  languages  and  bear  the  dates  showing 
when  the  records  were  made  and  when  the  events 
transpired. 

INDIANS,   EXPLORATION,    FORTS   AND 
SETTLEMENT. 

When  Columbus  came  he  found  the  Indian.  The 
aborigines  kept  no  records,  and  tradition  is  their 
only  history.  Their  origin  is  shrouded  in  mys- 
tery. The  mounds  scattered  about  the  city  of 
Vincennes  tells  of  a  race  centuries  before  the 
white  man  settled  the  continent.  The  Indians, 
as  known  by  the  white  man,  were  divided  into 
tribes,  differing  in  some  particulars,  speaking 
various  dialects.  These  separate  tribes  were 
often  united  into  confederacies  for  their  own  mu- 
tual protection  against  other  hostile  tribes.  The 
Algonquins,  a  mighty  confederacy,  occupied  about 
half  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
and  among  its  component  tribes  numbered  the 
Miamis.  Of  these  a  lesser  tribe  was  the  Pian- 
kashaws,  who  occupied  the  part  of  the  territory 
where  Knox  and  the  surrounding  counties  are 
now  situated. 

Just  when  the  region  destined  to  be  known  as 
the  Northwest  Territory  was  discovered  is  not 
now  clearly  understood.  We  know  that  explora- 
tions were  made  along  the  Mississippi,  Ohio  and 
Wabash  rivers  as  early  as  1660  and  what  is  now 
Indiana  about  1664. 

The  splendid  natural  advantages  of  the  vast 
and  fertile  valleys  and  mighty  and  beautiful  riv- 
ers soon  attracted  numerous  explorers.  The  dates 
of  these  explorations  are  not  certain.  However, 
it  is  known  that  as  early  as  1683  explorers,  hunt- 
ers and  traders  began  to  descend  the  Wabash. 
These  forerunners  of  civilization  were  soon  fol- 
lowed by  others,  accompanied  by  French  Catho- 
lic missionaries.  They  pushed  their  way  through 
the  Great  Lakes  and  then  descended  the  rivers  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Wabash  soon  became  a 
recognized  part  of  the  waterway  from  North  to 
South  which  the  brave  courier  des  bois  (runner 
of  the  woods)  and  the  Catholic  missionaries  had 
to  navigate.  The  missionaries  went  out  to  plant 
the  cross  along  the  route  and  the  fur  traders 
went  out  to  establish  trading  posts  and  to  barter 
with  the  Indians.  The  object  of  one  was  spirit- 
ual,  the   other   temporal.     Both    were    successful 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


and  their  actions  were  of  providential  direction. 
In  this  we  see,  as  has  so  often  been  shown,  before 
and  since,  that  Christianity  and  civilization  go 
hand  in  hand. 

The  first  trading  post  established  in  the  North- 
west Territory  was  at  Detroit,  in  1701,  and  the 
second,  in  1702,  at  Vincennes,  by  Francis  Mor- 
gan, Sieur  de  Vincenne.  This  was  the  first  set- 
tlement and  permanent  habitation  by  white  men 
in  what  is  now  known  as  Indiana. 

The  company  of  settlers,  consisting  of  eight 
men,  led  by  the  gallant  and  distinguished  French 
officer,  had  orders  to  establish  three  forts,  one  at 
a  point  where  the  St.  .loseph  and  St.  Marys  riv- 
ers unite  to  form  the  Maumee,  not  far  from  where 
the  city  of  Ft.  Wayne  now  stands,  one  "Outenon" 
near  where  the  city  of  Lafayette  is  now  located, 
and  the  other  at  Chippe  Kokee,  on  the  "Colline 
Gravois,"  or  gravel  banks  on  the  Wabash  river 
where  the  city  of  Vincennes  now  stands.  Of 
these  the  last  was  the  only  one  destined  to  sur- 
vive. The  old  fort  erected  by  Sieur  de  Vincenne 
and  his  little  band,  cheered  on  and  assisted  by 
numbers  of  wondering  Indians,  stood  for  about 
a  century  and  played  an  important  part  in  the 
nation's  history.  The  original  fort,  of  course, 
was  of  necessity,  only  a  temporary  affair,  but  was 
replaced  a  few  years  later  by  a  more  substantial 
fortification. 

This  fort  consisted  of  a  palisade  formed  of  posts 
or  logs  set  on  end  in  the  ground,  leaning  outward. 
The  enclosure  was  rectangrular  in  form,  and  ex- 
tended from  what  is  now  First  street  to  the  river 
and  from  Vigo  street  to  Barnet.  In  the  center 
of  this  fortification  was  a  house,  built  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  palisades,  used  as  a  store  room, 
and  underneath  it  a  log-walled  excavation  used  as 
a  magazine,  buried  in  the  earth.  Surmounting 
the  store  room  was  a  large  tower,  while  a  smaller 
tower  was  erected  at  each  of  the  four  corners  of 
the  palisades.  In  each  of  these  towers  sentinels 
were  posted  and  from  each  muzzles  of  guns  could 
be  pointed  when  in  action. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  church  was 
erected  at  about  the  time  de  Vincenne  settled  at 
the  Old  Post.  A  Jesuit  missionary  was  sent  with 
him  by  Father  James  Marquette.  It  is  a  matter 
of  regret  that  his  name  is  at  this  time  unknown 
by  anyone  living.  In  1707  he  was  succeeded  by 
Father  John  Mermet.  Father  Pierre  Gibault  was 
the  most  illustrious  of  a  long  line  of  priests  that 
succeeded  after  the  founding  of  the  mission  of  St. 
Xavier's.  Judge  John  Law,  who  possessed  an  ex- 
tensive knowledge  of  the  early  history  of  Vin- 
cennes, said  of  him:  "Next  to  Clark  and  Vigo 
the  United  States  is  indebted  more  to  Father 
Gibault  for  the  accession  of  the  States  comprised 


in  what  was  the  original  Northwest  Territory 
than  any  other  man." 

For  more  than  three-score  years  and  ten  the 
pioneer  settlement  remained  a  mere  trading  post, 
a  town  in  the  wilderness.  Its  growth  was  very 
slow  for  a  century.  Yet  from  the  first  it  was  a 
place  of  note  and  was  recognized  as  the  principal 
town  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.  Being 
the  oldest  settlement  in  Indiana,  it  early  acquired 
the  name  of  the  "Old  Post."  In  fact,  it  did  not 
take  the  name  of  Vincennes  until  several  years 
later.  Francis  Morgan,  although  he  held  a  com- 
mission as  ensign  under  Louis  XIV,  did  not  in- 
herit the  title  of  Sieur  de  Vincenne  until  the  death 
of  his  uncle  in  1717.  Then  the  post  began  to  be 
"Post  Vincennes." 

In  1720  Vincenne  mounted  the  first  cannon  at 
the  fort.  In  1736  he  led  his  command  down  the 
river  to  assist  in  a  war  with  the  Chickasaw  In- 
dians. The  promised  reinforcements  from  the 
South  did  not  arrive  and  he  was  captured  and 
burned  at  the  stake. 

The  effects  of  civilization  was  already  felt  in 
the  little  town  of  ninety  families,  and  people  of 
influence  and  good  character  had  become  perma- 
nent residents  of  the  town.  They  began  to  till 
the  soil  and  establish  trade,  and  the  settlement 
grew.  The  manners  and  customs  of  the  people 
were  peculiar.  Their  wants  were  few,  yet  they 
enjoyed  life.  Dances  were  frequent  and  they 
were  always  well  attended.  Everybody  kept  open 
house  on  New  Year's  and  the  citizens  went  from 
house  to  house  attending  these  receptions.  Vis- 
itors were  met  by  a  kiss  from  the  hostess,  who 
served  a  glass  of  wine  as  a  relish  to  the  feast 
spread  in  every  home.  After  the  Lenten  season, 
which  was  well  observed,  a  big  "Fat  Ball"  was 
given  at  which  was  served  roast  pig  and  the 
dancers  stayed  until  the  sun  began  to  peep  over 
the  eastern  hills.  There  were  no  schools,  no  news- 
papers. Few  could  read  or  write,  and  the  tran- 
sient trader  with  his  news  was  the  lion  of  the 
hour. 

•  The  Northwest  Territory  belonged  to  the 
French,  by  whom  it  had  been  explored  and  set- 
tled, until  1763,  when  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  it 
was  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  and  as  a  result  the 
Lilies  of  France  were  succeeded  by  the  British 
Cross  of  St.  George.  But  the  people  remained 
French  and  clung  to  their  old  manners  and  cus- 
toms and  spoke  their  own  language.  They  only 
waited  for  the  time  when  the  yoke  of  the  British 
could  be  thrown  off,  for  secretly  they  hated  Eng- 
land. This  was  a  righteous  hatred,  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  British  bribed  the  Indians 
with  gold  to  make  war  on  the  white  citizens  of 
the  territory.  For  some  reason  it  was  three  years 
after  England  secured  control  before  she  sent  a 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1  9   IG 


commandant  to  the  fort  on  the  Wabash.  But  in 
April,  1776,  Lieutenant  Ramsey  arrived  with  a 
company  of  British  soldiers  and  took  command 
The  flag  of  France  was  hauled  down  and  the  flag 
of  England  took  its  place.  The  name  was  changed 
to  Fort  Sackville,  which  name  it  retained  until  it 
was  captured  by  George  Rogers  Clark. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  VINCENNES. 

The  Revolution  came  on  and  the  thirteen  States 
were  fighting  for  liberty.  The  poor  struggling 
American  troops  were  battling  against  odds,  not 
the  least  of  which  were  the  Indians.  Border  set- 
tlements that  had  just  been  established  by  Dan- 
iel Boone  and  others  were  being  raided  and  men 
and  women  were  being  scalped  by  savages.  It 
soon  became  known  that  the  Indian  raids  were 
being  instigated  by  the  British.  Governor  Ham- 
ilton, who  was  in  command  at  Vincennes,  was  not 
only  inciting  the  savages  to  make  war  on  the 
Americans,  but  he  was  actually  paying  them  for 
the  scalps  taken.  He  thereby  became  known  as 
the  "Hair  Buyer"  general.  The  Continental 
troops  were  hard  pressed  and  could  not  send  aid 
to  the  settlers  of  the  Northwest  Territory  and 
Kentucky. 

A  backwoods  surveyor  by  the  name  of  George 
Rogers  Clark  hastened  from  Kentucky  to  Gov- 
ernor Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia.  He  rushed  to 
the  Governor  and  said:  "The  settlers  are  being 
murdered  by  the  Indians  at  the  instigation  of  the 
British.  Capture  Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia  and 
>ou  have  quelled  the  Indians.  *  *  *  Drive 
the  British  out  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  and  the 
Indian  massacres  will  cease."  But  there  were  no 
troops,  this  Governor  Henry  told  the  young  sur- 
veyor. Then  Clark  offered  to  raise  an  army  him- 
self if  Virginia  or  the  United  States  government 
would  furnish  the  powder  and  means  to  equip  the 
men.  But  the  Governor  only  advised  that  the 
white  settlers  be  brought  to  the  eastern  side  of 
the  mountains.  But  Clark  pleaded  so  earnestly 
that  he  was  finally  given  a  colonel's  commission 
and  $50,000  of  depreciated  Continental  money  and 
500  pounds  of  powder. 

He  started  at  once  down  the  Ohio  with  a  single 
companion  and  his  money  and  powder.  He  was 
pursued  by  lurking  Indians,  but  he  eluded  them 
and  reached  Booneville,  Ky.,  where  he  succeeded  in 
enlisting  140  men.  On  June  28,  1778,  they  start- 
ed down  the  Ohio  on  flat  boats.  No  one  knew 
their  destination  but  Clark.  His  captains  were 
Leonard  Helm,  John  Montgomery,  William  Her- 
rod  and  Joseph  Bowman.  The  sun  was  in  the 
eclipse  as  the  boats  passed  over  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio  below  "Corn  Island."  Clark's  original  in- 
tention was  to  proceed  at  once  to  take  Vincennes, 
but  after  he  had  proceeded  four  days  from  the 


falls  down  the  Ohio  he  met  a  party  of  friendly 
hunters  who  informed  him  that  the  opportunity 
of  capturing  Kaskaskia  was  favorable.  He  de- 
cided to  take  their  advice  and  on  July  4,  1778,  he 
arrived  at  Kaskaskia  and  captured  the  place  with- 
out firing  a  gun.  The  timely  arrival  of  Father 
Gibault  helped  to  quell  the  natives,  and  when 
they  were  informed  that  they  no  longer  owed  al- 
legiance to  Great  Britain,  but  to  the  United 
States,  they  went  into  transports  of  joy.  Clark 
sent  Simon  Kenton  to  spy  on  Vincennes  and  to 
send  word  back  to  Kaskaskia.  Preparations  were 
made  to  proceed  to  Vincennes,  but  Father  Gibault 
offered  to  proceed  in  advance  and  apprise  the  peo- 
ple and  to  advise  them  to  espouse  the  American 
cause.  A  small  party  accompanied  him  and  on 
their  arrival  at  Vincennes,  Father  Gibault  ex- 
plained the  situation  to  the  citizens.  A  meeting 
was  then  held  in  the  little  church— the  "Cradle 
of  Liberty"  of  the  Northwest  Territory — where 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  was 
taken.  An  officer  was  elected  and  the  American 
flag  was  hoisted  over  the  old  fort  and  the  British 
flag  taken  down.  This  was  done  without  resist- 
ance, as  the  British  commandant  had  gone  to  De- 
troit, not  suspecting  any  such  actions  on  the  part 
of  the  people  and  fearing  no  danger  of  attack. 
The  name  was  changed  to  Ft.  Vincennes.  Word 
was  sent  to  Clark  at  Kaskaskia  and  he  sent  Cap- 
tain Helm  with  a  few  men  to  take  charge. 

Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  learned  what  had  hap- 
pened at  Vincennes  and  on  December  17,  1778,  he 
arrived  by  water  at  Vincennes  with  eighty-four 
men  and  about  one  hundred  Indians.  Helm,  see- 
ing that  resistance  was  useless,  surrendered,  but 
not  without  the  honors  of  war.  Clark  saw  that 
the  situation  was  desperate.  It  was  midwinter 
and  he  knew  that  Hamilton  would  attack  Kaskas- 
kia in  the  spring.  Colonel  Clark  decided  to  cap- 
ture Vincennes. 

He  sent  Colonel  Vigo,  a  wealthy  merchant, 
whose  friendship  he  had  acquired,  to  Vincennes 
to  spy  out  the  situation,  who,  on  his  arrival,  was 
promptly  taken  prisoner  by  Hamilton.  But 
through  the  good  oflices  of  Father  Gibault  he  was 
released  and  returned  to  Kaskaskia,  where  he 
made  report. 

The  1st  of  February  men  were  working  on  a 
flat  boat,  the  "Willing."  to  convey  supplies  down 
the  Mississippi  and  up  the  Ohio  and  Wabash. 
Under  Captain  John  Rogers  the  boat  left  on  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1779,  with  forty-six  men  on  board.  The 
next  day  Colonel  Clark  started  by  land  with  IfiO 
men  on  the  memorable  march — 240  miles — from 
Kaskaskia  to  Vincennes.  In  all  the  annals  of  his- 
tory there  is  nowhere  else  recorded  a  march  so 
full  of  hardship,  perils  and  privations.  At  that 
season    the    streams    had    overflowed    and    many 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


times  the  men  were  marching-  in  water  to  their 
waists  and  sometimes  to  their  armpits.  Their 
rations  were  soon  exhausted  and  they  were  forced 
to  forage  for  their  supplies.  Finally,  under  the 
indomitable  courage  of  their  leader,  they  reached 
the  Indiana  side  of  the  Wabash  after  ferrying  it 
at  a  point  where  it  was  five  miles  wide. 

Fortunately  they  captured  a  couple  of  Indian 
squaws,  who  had  a  boat  in  which  was  half  of  a 
buffalo.  This  was  meat  to  the  hungry  soldiers. 
After  a  repast  they  crossed  a  pond  to  "Warrior's 
Island,"  six  miles  below  town.  Proceeding  along 
the  high  land  a  duck  hunter  was  captured,  by 
whom  Clark  sent  a  letter  to  the  inhabitants  tell- 
ing them  to  remain  indoors.  Then,  just  at  sun- 
down, the  fearless  little  army  approached  the 
town.  The  "Willing"  had  not  yet  arrived.  The 
fort  was  approached  by  three  detachments  from 
three  sides.  At  nightfall  the  attacking  party  be- 
gan to  throw  up  entrenchments  by  the  light  of 
the  moon.  Then  the  firing  commenced.  The 
British  in  the  fort  had  not  yet  learned  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Americans  and  thought  the  firing 
was  from  drunken  Indians  on  a  revel. 

"Silence  those  drunken  Indians,"  roared  Ham- 
ilton. But  Captain  Helm,  who  was  a  prisoner  of 
war,  no  doubt  recognized  the  crack  of  the  rifles 
he  had  so  often  heard  before  and  exclaimed, 
"That's  Clark."  All  night  long  the  firing  contin- 
ued and  the  attacking  party  only  stopped  for 
breakfast  the  next  morning.  A  returning  party 
of  British  duck  hunters  was  almost  annihilated. 
Every  time  a  British  head  appeared  at  a  loophole 
he  was  picked  off  by  the  unerring  aim  of  the 
backwoodsmen.  About  9  o'clock  Clark  sent  a  flag 
of  truce  and  an  order  to  Hamilton  to  surrender. 
Hamilton  refused  and  the  firing  continued  with 
increased  vigor  for  the  balance  of  the  day.  Clark 
was  preparing  to  take  the  fort  by  storm  that 
night,  but  late  in  the  afternoon  Hamilton  sent 
out  a  flag  of  truce  and  a  note  requesting  a  truce 
for  three  days  and  asking  for  a  conference  and 
offering  to  meet  Clark  at  the  gate. 

Clark  replied  that  he  would  not  accept  any 
terms  but  immediate  surrender,  and  that  if  Ham- 
ilton wanted  a  conference  with  Colonel  Clark  he 
would  meet  him  at  the  church  with  Captain  Helm. 
The  note  resulted  in  Hamilton  coming  and  sur- 
rendering the  fort  and  the  soldiers  as  prisoners 
of  war. 

And  this  ended  the  British  rule  in  Vincennes. 

Soon  after  the  surrender  it  was  learned  that 
a  British  detachment  was  on  its  way  down  the 
river  with  supplies  for  the  fort.  This  was  sur- 
prised and  captured  by  Captain  Bowman  and  it 
was  found  to  contain  stores  to  the  value  of  $250,- 
000.00. 

Old  Vincennes  has  successively  been  under  the 


French,  British  and  American  flags  since  Fran- 
cis Morgan  de  Vincenne  founded  the  post  more 
than  two  hundred  years  ago.  Old  Glory  has  come 
to  stay  forever. 

MILITARY  CONTROL. 

After  the  capture  of  Vincennes  on  February 
25,  1779,  Colonel  John  Todd  was  made  military 
governor  of  the  territory.  He  organized  local 
governments  suitable  to  the  requirements  of  the 
citizens. 

The  fame  of  Vincennes  now  became  greater 
than  ever.  Immigrants  began  to  flock  to  the  set- 
tlement. Speculators  began  to  seize  the  choice 
lands.  Colonel  Todd  saw  their  designs  and  at 
once  took  steps  to  forestall  them.  His  first  act 
was  to  prohibit  the  location  of  claims  in  the  rich 
lands  in  the  river  valleys,  or  within  a  league's 
distance  of  them.  This  proclamation  required 
the  opening  of  land  offices,  which  regulated  the 
acquiring  of  title  to  land.  He  organized  a  court, 
the  members  of  which  arrogated  to  themselves 
legislative  powers  and  became  involved  in  a  land 
grab  scandal  which  resulted  in  the  setting  aside 
of  the  land  grants  and  the  abolishment  of  the 
court.  Then,  in  1790,  Secretary  Winthrop  Sar- 
gent established  a  court. 

About  this  time  a  public  stock  was  erected  near 
the  old  Cathedral,  where  offenders  were  punished 
for  misdemeanors. 

Trouble  between  the  Indians  and  whites  over 
land  grants  resulted  in  bloodshed.  Clark  attempt- 
ed to  subdue  the  Indians  after  several  minor  ex- 
peditions had  failed.  But  it  appears  that  he  had 
lost  his  influence  with  both  his  own  people  and 
the  savages,  and  his  efforts  met  with  little  suc- 
cess. 

VINCENNES  THE  CAPITAL 

By  act  of  Congress,  passed  May  7,  1800,  the 
Territory  of  Indiana  was  formed  and  the  capital 
established  at  Vincennes.  William  Henry  Harri- 
son of  Virginia  was  appointed  first  Governor. 

The  old  court  established  under  military  rule 
was  aboli.shed  and  Henry  Vanderburgh,  William 
Clark  and  John  Griflin  appointed  judges.  On  the 
12th  day  of  January,  1801,  they  met  and  pub- 
lished seven  wise  laws  and  three  resolutions. 
Court  was  held  for  a  few  years  In  a  house  rented 
for  that  purpose  at  Second  and  Broadway  streets. 
In  1809  a  court  house  was  erected  at  Fourth  and 
Buntin  streets,  where  court  was  held  until  1832. 
A  new  court  house  was  then  erected  on  the  square 
where  now  stands  the  present  fine  stone  "Temple 
of  Justice,"  erected  in  1873  at  a  cost  of  half  a 
million  dollars.  The  first  Revised  Statutes  of  In- 
diana were  published  at  Vincennes  in  1807.  These 
laws  were  revised  by  John  Rice  Jones  and  John 
Johnson. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181G 


1   5)  1  G 


Governor  Harrison,  on  becominp:  a  resident  of 
Vincennes,  bepan  to  provide  himself  with  a  home. 
A  splendid  brick  mansion  was  erected  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city  in  1804.  It  was  for 
many  years  the  finest  residence  west  of  the  Alle- 
prhenies.  It  was  soon  surrounded  with  other  fine 
residences  and  Vincennes  became  a  place  of  im- 
portance. The  old  Harrison  house  is  still  stand- 
ing. 

In  1S06  the  Territorial  Legislature,  in  pursuance 
of  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  a  law  ineorporatinj: 
the  Vincennes  University.  Congress  had  donated 
a  township  of  land  for  the  benefit  of  such  an  in- 
stitution and  the  university  was  located  at  Vin- 
cennes with  William  Henry  Harrison  as  first  pres- 
ident of  the  board  of  trustees.  Later  the  State 
unlawfully  seized  the  lands  of  the  university  and 
appropriated  them  to  its  own  use.  The  Legisla- 
ture of  1917,  however,  made  final  restitution  of 
$120,000.00  in  final  settlement  of  the  university's 
claim,  which  had  been  fought  out  in  the  highest 
court  of  the  land  and  successively  presented  to 
several  Legislatures. 

During  these  years  when  the  Territory  was  be- 
ing established  emigrants  had  been  arriving  in 
great  number^.  The  Indians  became  so  angry  with 
the  encroachments  that  in  1810  there  were  many 
outbreaks  and  many  people  were  massacred.  A 
meeting  was  held  at  Vincennes  to  try  to  placate 
the  chiefs,  but  they  were  obdurate  and  they  were 
in  an  e.xcellent  mood  to  assist  the  British  in  the 
war  of  1812.  Harrison  met  them  under  Tecumseh 
at  Tippecanoe  and  defeated  them  before  war  was 
declared,  but  after  peace  was  made  with  England 
the  Indians  gave  little  trouble  in  Indiana. 

In  February  the  Legislature,  which  had  previ- 
ously met  in  a  frame  house  on  Main  street  be- 
tween Second  and  Third  and  which  is  still  stand- 
ing on  North  Third  street,  met  at  Corydon  and 
declared  Corydon  as  the  new  Capital.  The  last 
Territorial  Legislature  met  at  Corydon  in  1815 
and  adopted  a  memorial  to  Congress  praying  for 
Statehood.  In  June.  1916,  the  first  Constitutional 
Convention  met  at  Corydon  and  adopted  the  first 
Constitution  for  the  State  of  Indiana. 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  KNOX  COUNTY. 
Knox  county,  which  has  been  appropriately 
called  the  "Mother  of  Counties,"  was  established 
in  1790  by  Secretary  Winthrop  Sargent.  The 
name  of  Knox  was  given  in  honor  of  General 
Henry  Knox,  then  Secretary  of  War.  The  terri- 
tory of  the  county  at  this  time  included  all  of  the 
States  of  Indiana  and  Michigan  and  a  part  of 
Illinois.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  1798,  Wayne 
county  was  formed  with  Detroit  as  the  county 
seat,  and  comprised  a  greater  part  of  Michigan 
and  a  part  of  Indiana.     By  act   of  Congress   in 


1800  the  territory  embraced  in  these  two  States 
was  divided  into  two  separate  and  distinct  terri- 
tories with  Vincennes  as  the  seat  of  one  and  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison  as  its  governor.  In  the  year 
1802  Clark  and  Randolph  counties  were  formed, 
and  in  180:")  Dearborn  county  was  created.  At  a 
still  later  date  in  the  same  year  Michigan  and 
Illinois  were  made  separate  territories.  At  that 
date  there  were  only  four  counties  in  Indiana 
Territory — Knox,  Clark,  Dearborn  and  Harrison. 
Knox  county  embraced  nearly  half  the  territory 
now  constituting  Indiana.  During  the  year  1810 
Jefferson  and  Franklin  counties  were  established 
and  in  1813  Gibson  and  Warrick  were  established. 
Sullivan  was  added  in  1817  and  Greene  in  1820, 
which  reduced  Knox  county  to  its  present  limits. 

LATER    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    COUNTY. 

After  the  removal  of  the  capital  of  the  State 
from  Vincennes  to  Corydon,  the  old  post  began 
to  lose  some  of  her  glamour  as  the  first  city  of 
Indiana.  The  most  valuable  lands  adjacent  there- 
to had  been  entered  and  this  attraction  was  fast 
being  removed  from  prospective  settlers.  The 
State  university  was  established  at  Bloomington 
and  the  lands  of  Vincennes  University  were  seized 
by  the  State  and  sold.  Many  of  her  most  enter- 
prising citizens  left  for  more  adventurous  fields. 
Among  these  were  William  Prince,  General  Gib- 
son and  General  Evans.  The  whole  State  under- 
went many  physical  changes.  Forests  were  cleared 
away  and  roads  were  built.  New  towns  sprang 
up  everywhere  as  the  population  rapidly  increased. 

Among  the  foremost  men  of  the  county  at  thai 
time  were  Nathaniel  Ewing,  Francis  Vigo,  Ben- 
jamin Parke,  Henry  Vanderburgh  and  John  Law. 
The  latter  was  the  first  historian  of  note  of  In- 
diana. To  him  we  are  indebted  for  many  of  the 
facts  of  Revolutionary  times.  Through  his  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  Colonel  Vigo  he  was  en- 
abled to  write  a  vivid  story  of  the  capture  of 
Vincennes  by  Clark.  He  served  with  distinction 
as  Prosecuting  Attorney.  Legislator,  Judge  and 
Congressman.     He  died  in  1873. 

General  Zachary  Taylor  was  among  the  noted 
men  who  resided  at  Vincennes  in  the  early  days. 
His  daughter  born  at  this  place  afterwards  be- 
came the  wife  of  Jefferson  Davis.  A  large  boul- 
der in  the  woods  served  as  a  trysting  place  for  the 
youthful  lovers  when  Miss  Taylor  was  visiting 
friends  at  the  old  post.  Mr.  Jeremiah  Donovan, 
a  friend  of  the  lovers,  afterward  removed  the 
boulder  to  the  yard  of  his  l)ome  at  Sixth  and 
Busseron  streets.  Afterwards  the  place  was  pur- 
chased by  the  late  John  H.  Rabb  and  is  now  the 
home  of  the  Hon.  James  Wade  Emison,  and  the 
old  boulder  still  remains  in  the  same  place  where 
it  was  placed  by  Mr.  Donovan  years  ago. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D  E  M  0  C  R  A  C  Y  —  1  8  1  6  -  1 


The  first  city  charter  for  Vincennes  was  grant- 
ed by  the  Legislature  in  1831.  The  old  charter 
remained  in  effect  until  1856  when  the  city  of 
Vincennes  was  incorporated  under  the  State  laws. 
John  Moore  was  elected  the  first  mayor.  The 
first  bank  was  incorporated  in  1834.  Subsequent- 
ly it  became  the  old  "State  Bank  of  Indiana," 
with  four  branches  in  different  parts  of  Indiana. 
It  was  soon  wrecked  by  bad  management.  As 
early  as  1807  a  theater  was  opened  in  Vincennes 
by  John  R.  Jones.  _  The  first  play  presented  was 
entitled  "Drowning  Men  Catch  at  Straws."  A 
singular  and  sad  coincidence  in  connection  with  the 
event  was  the  fact  that  a  man  was  drowned  in 
the  Wabash  on  the  day  of  the  initial  performance. 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  distinguished  Gen- 
eral W.  Johnson  the  first  Masonic  lodge  of  the 
State  was  organized  at  Vincennes  in  1806.  The 
first  business  was  transacted  when  John  Gibson, 
F.  C,  was  raised  to  the  degree  of  a  Master  Mason. 
A  galaxy  of  great  names  might  be  mentioned  in 
connection  with  its  organization.  Henry  Dubois, 
John  Decker,  Elihu  Stout,  the  founder  of  the 
Vmcennes  Sun,  Colonel  Joseph  H.  Davies,  Thomas 
Randolph,  Colonel  Isaac  White,  Colonel  Thomas 
H.  Blake  and  Alexander  Buckner,  both  later  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  and  Walter  Taylor,  elected  by 
the  first  session  of  the  Legislature  as  United 
States  Senator,  are  only  a  few. 

The  old  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad  was  built 
in  1859.  For  many  years  it  had  its  principal 
offices  at  Vincennes.  The  Wabash  was  extensive- 
ly navigated  by  flat  boats  and  this  was  a  conve- 
nient point  for  exchange  of  cargoes. 

Vincennes  being  the  oldest  city  in  the  State 
and  for  many  years  the  most  important  settle- 
ment in  the  Northwest  Territory,  many  impor- 
tant events  of  history  have  been  passed  over  in 
this  short  sketch.  Perhaps  no  western  settlement 
abounds  with  more  tales  of  romance  and  adven- 
ture than  Old  Vincennes.  No  early  settlement 
portrays  more  vividly  the  joys  and  hardships  of 
pioneer  life.  This  has  made  her  famous  in  song  and 
story.  The  later  history  of  the  city  is  one  of  com- 
mercialism and  politics.  It  has  grown  to  a  thriv- 
ing city  of  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  surround- 
ed by  rich  farming  lands  under  which  are  found 
coal  and  oil.  Factories  have  sprung  up  to  increase 
the  industry  of  the  city.  The  history  of  the  last 
fifty  years  would  mostly  disclose  facts  common  to 
nearly  every  county  of  the  State,  so  with  our 
limited  space  we  will  pass  it  by. 

POLITICAL  RETROSPECT. 

Knox  county  has  always  been  Democratic.  From 

the  time  Vincennes  became   a  city  in   1856   until 

the  last  city  election  of  1913  she  has  not  had  any 

but  a  Democratic  mayor.     The  year  previous  the 


whole  Democratic  county  ticket  went  down  in  de- 
feat in  a  fight  against  a  coalition  between  the 
Republicans  and  Progressives,  and  in  1913  a  Re- 
publican mayor  was  elected  by  a  small  margin. 
The  Democrats  came  back  in  1914,  however,  and 
elected  the  full  county  ticket  by  a  good  majority, 
and  we  are  proud  to  write  in  the  beginning  that 
Knox  county  is  still  Democratic. 

There  seems  to  be  no  record  from  which  can 
be  obtained  the  exact  date  of  the  first  organiza- 
tion of  the  party  in  the  county.  From  the  files 
of  the  Western  Sun  it  appears  that  a  committee 
met  in  1832  and  elected  Daniel  Langdon  as  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic-Republican  party.  A 
ticket  was  placed  in  the  field  and  elected.  There 
seems  to  have  been  little  political  activity  from 
that  time  until  the  campaign  of  1840  when  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison  was  a  candidate  on  the 
Whig  ticket.  The  only  organization  then  main- 
tained was  township  Democratic  associations,  and 
these  existed  for  the  benefit  of  the  National  or- 
ganization. There  seems  to  have  been  some  con- 
nection between  these  several  organizations,  but 
if  they  had  a  head  it  does  not  appear  by  the  files 
of  the  Sun.  The  probabilities  are,  however,  that 
there  was  a  central  organization,  but  that  its  do- 
ings were  not  published.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  Sun  advertised  printed  ballots  at  $3.00 
per  thousand  to  be  had  by  the  workers  for  use 
in  the  coming  election.  The  result  of  that  elec- 
tion was  also  printed  and  it  showed  that  in  nearly 
every  township  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler,  too,"  got 
two-thirds  of  the  votes  polled. 

But  in  the  next  campaign  under  the  leadership 
of  John  Rice  Jones  and  later  James  J.  Mayes  and 
others  the  party  came  back  and  was  organized 
on  a  firmer  basis.  In  1856  George  E.  Greene,  Sr., 
purchased  the  Courant  and  Patriot,  a  newspaper, 
the  outgrowth  of  the  old  Western  Sun  and  Ad- 
vertiser and  renewed  its  publication  under  the 
name  of  the  Western  Sun.  Those  were  stirring 
days.  The  public  conscience  was  seething  with 
slavery  and  abolitionism.  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
and  Lincoln  soon  after  met  in  their  series  of  fa- 
mous debates.  Party  spirit  ran  high.  Greene 
himself  assumed  control  of  the  organization.  The 
Democrats  had  in  a  way  been  successful,  having 
since  the  successful  campaign  of  Franklin  Pierce 
elected  most  of  the  candidates  of  their  political 
faith.  But  politics  had  up  to  that  time  been  large- 
ly personal  and  some  Whigs  were  successful.  In 
I860  Greene  and  his  friends  organized  the  party 
and  made  a  party  fight.  Greene  himself  was 
elected  chairman.  The  Democrats  succeeded  in 
electing  almost  their  entire  ticket.  A  notable  ex- 
ception was  Cyrus  M.  Allen  for  Representative. 
But  James  Reynolds  was  elected  sheriff  and  this 
meant  much  to  the  Democrats  of  Knox  county. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  G  -  1  9  1  6 


James  Raynolds  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
men  of  his  time.  He  was  elected  four  times  as 
sheriff  and  twice  as  treasurer  of  the  county.  He 
did  much  to  hold  the  party  together  from  the  pe- 
riod of  about  1860  to  1880  and  to  keep  it  in  the 
van  of  success. 

The  following:  is  a  list  of  the  successive  county 
chairmen  since  1860:  George  E.  Greene,  Sr., 
1860-64;  John  Baker,  1864-68,  A.  T.  Whittlesby, 
1868-72;  A.  J.  Thomas,  1872-76;  W.  B.  Robinson, 
1876-80,  James  M.  Shouse.  1880-84;  P.  R.  Mc- 
Carthy, 1884-88;  James  EniiSon,  1888-90;  R.  E. 
Purcell,  1890-94;  Gerard  Reiter,  1894-96;  A.  M. 
Yelton,  1896-1900;  William  Pennington,  1900-04; 
W.  H.  Vollmer,  1904-10;  R.  M.  Robinson,  1910-14; 
Thomas  Robertson,  present  incumbent.  Jasper 
McCormick  is  at  present  vice-chairman;  Edward 
Acker,  secretary,  and  Henry  Yunghans,  treasurer. 

From  1860  until  1912,  when  the  Republicans 
made  a  clean  sweep  and  elected  every  candidate 
to  office,  the  only  Republicans  elected  were,  in 
1886,  clerk,  sheriff,  recorder,  treasurer,  surveyor, 
coroner,  two  commissioners;  in  1890,  auditor;  in 
1894,  treasurer,  representative,  one  commissioner: 
in  1898,  sheriff;  in  1904,  representative  and  two 
commissioners.  The  circuit  bench  was  never  oc- 
cupied by  a  Republican  until  after  the  election  of 
1912,  except  for  one  short  term  of  a  few  weeks 
when  James  C.  Denney  was  appointed  in  1864. 

Among  the  great  Democrats  who  have  served 
in  the  capacity  of  judge  in  this  county  might  be 
named  Isaac  Blackford,  who  afterward  became 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  and  reported  its  first 
decisions,  March,  1815,  to  March,  1816;  William 
Prince,  February,  1817,  to  April,  1818;  John  Law, 
1830-31  and  1844-50;  General  W.  Johnson,  1831- 
32;  William  E.  Niblack.  1854-57;  Newton  F.  Mal- 
lott,  1871-88;  George  W.  Shaw,  1888-1900;  0.  H. 
Cobb,  1900  to  1912.  John  Baker  also  was  judge 
from  1865  to  1870. 

In  the  State  Legislature  Knox  county  Demo- 
crats have  always  been  prominent.  Among  the 
early  Democratic  speakers  of  the  House  were 
Isaac  Blackford,  first  session;  General  W.  John- 
son, seventh  session;  Robert  M.  Evans,  tenth  ses- 
sion. Recently  Mason  J.  Niblack  served  three 
consecutive  terms  as  speaker.  The  first  session 
of  the  Legislature  elected  Walter  Taylor,  a  Vin- 
cennes  man,  as  one  of  the  first  United  States 
Senators  from  Indiana.  Knox  county  has  fur- 
nished to  the  supreme  bench  the  following  Demo- 
crats: John  Johnston,  1816-17;  Isaac  Blackford, 
1817-53;  Charles  Dewey,  1836-47;  William  E.  Ni- 
black, 1876-88. 

Five  citizens  of  Knox  county  have  been  elected 
to  Congress  from  this  district.  Their  name  is 
legion  who  have  been  elected  from  other  districts 


who  once  lived  here.  John  Ewing  ser\'ed  in  the 
Lower  House  from  1833-35  and  from  1837  to  1839. 
From  1857  to  1861  Judge  William  E.  Niblack  was 
a  member  of  Congress  from  this  district,  and 
again  from  1865  to  1875.  Judge  Niblack  was  bom 
in  Dubois  county  in  1823,  but  when  quite  a  young 
man  moved  to  Dover  Hill  in  Martin  county.  For 
several  terms  he  represented  Martin  county  in  the 
Legislature,  both  in  the  House  and  Senate.  In  1854 
he  was  appointed  judge  of  this  Judicial  Circuit; 
and  in  1858  while  still  on  thebench  he  was  elected 
to  Congress  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of 
James  Lockhart.  He  took  up  his  residence  at 
Vincennes  about  1859  and  for  seven  terms  he  rep- 
resented this  district  in  Congress.  He  was  elect- 
ed as  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana 
in  1876  and  again  in  1882,  and  wore  the  judicial 
ermine  with  becoming  grace  and  dignity,  his  de- 
cisions always  being  sound  and  logical. 

James  D.  Williams  was  probably  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  men  ever  produced  by  Knox 
county.  He  always  wore  blue  homespun  and  from 
this  was  nicknamed  "Blue  Jeans."  Even  when  he 
was  elected  to  Congress  he  persisted  in  wearing 
them  at  all  times.  Less  than  one  term  in  Con- 
gress won  for  him  the  Governorship  of  Indiana, 
and  it  came  about  in  a  singular  way.  He  made  an 
attack  on  an  appropriation  bill  on  the  floor  of  the 
House  because  it  carried  with  it  quite  a  large 
sum  for  cloak  room  expenses,  including  lemonade 
and  porters  and  numerous  pages  and  many  things 
which  are  supposed  to  be  necessary  to  the  rich, 
but  luxuries  for  the  poor.  Representative  Foster 
of  Ohio  replied  to  his  remarks  in  a  scathing  speech 
referring  to  his  blue  jeans  in  a  derisive  manner. 
The  boys  back  home  took  up  the  fight  and  nom- 
inated "Blue  Jeans"  Williams  for  Governor.  He 
was  overwhelmingly  elected.  Strange  to  relate. 
Representative  Foster  that  same  year  ran  for 
Governor  of  Ohio  and  that  very  speech  deriding 
the  Indiana  Congressman  and  his  blue  jeans  de- 
feated him  at  the  election.  James  D.  Williams 
served  five  terms  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  two  in  the  State  Senate.  He  resigned  his 
first  term  in  the  National  Congress  to  run  for 
Governor.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Democratic  Convention  at  Baltimore  in  1872.  He 
died  in  1880. 

Thomas  R.  Cobb  was  elected  to  the  State  Sen- 
ate in  1858.  He  was  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  elector  in  1868.  He  was  president  of  the  In- 
diana State  Convention  in  1876.  He  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  National  Convention  at  St.  Louis  which 
nominated  Tilden  and  Hendricks  in  1876.  He  was 
elected  as  a  member  of  Congress  in  1877  and 
served  until  1887.  He  was  born  in  Lawrence 
county  in  1828  and  took  up  the  practice  of  law  in 


(  667  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  1 


Vincennes  in  1867  and  died  at  the  same  place  in 
1892. 

William  Allen  Cullop,  a  resident  of  Vincennes, 
is  the  present  representative  in  Congress  from 
the  Second  Congressional  District.  He  was  bom 
in  Knox  county  March  28,  1853.  Graduate  of 
Hanover  College,  1878.  He  was  elected  prose- 
cuting attorney  in  1883  and  served  two  terms. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Legislature  in 
1891-93.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
National  Conventions  in  1892,  1896  and  1900.  In 
1900  he  was  a  candidate  for  elector  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket.  He  was  elected  to  the  61st,  62d,  63d 
and  64th  Congresses.  He  is  a  lawyer  and  a  leg- 
islator of  signal  ability  and  the  rank  and  file  of 
Knox  county  are  proud  of  his  Democracy. 

The  following  have  been  elected  to  the  State 
House  of  Representatives  since  1858:  Isaac  N. 
Eastham,  1858-60;  W.  E.  Niblack,  1860-64;  John 
B.  Patterson,  1864-66;  O.  F.  Baker,  1866-68; 
James  D.  Williams,  1868-70,  who  had  previously 
been  elected  in  1843,  1847,  1851  and  1856;  H.  S. 
Cauthom,  1870-74;  Charles  E.  Crane,  1874-76;  F. 
W.  Veihe,  1876-78;  H.  S.  Cauthom,  1878-82;  S.  W. 
Williams,  1882-84;  James  D.  Williams,  1884-86; 
Mason  J.  Niblack,  1886-92;  William  A.  Cullop, 
1892-94;  Basil  Gaither,  Republican,  1894-96;  Mait- 
land  Claycomb,  1896-1900;  Dr.  J.  L.  Reeve,  1900- 
04;  Basil  Gaither,  Republican,  1904-06;  James 
Garrard,  1906-10,  who  was  floor  leader  during  his 
second  term;  W.  S.  Racy,  1910-12;  E.  I.  Gilmore, 
Republican,  1912-14;  A.  J.  Westfall,  1914. 

Senators— James  D.  Williams,  1859-66;  William 
Turner,  1866-70;  James  D.  Williams,  1870-74; 
Henry  K.  Wilson,  1874-78;  Frederick  W.  Veihe, 
1878-82;  J.  Ernest,  1882-86;  W.  W.  Berry,  1886- 
90;  Royal  E.  Purcell,  1898-02;  M.  M.  McDowell, 
1906-10;  D.  Prank  Culbertson,  1914. 

In  the  election  of  1912  the  Republicans  swept 
the  county.  But  in  1914  the  Democrats  came  back 
with  almost  their  old-time  majority  and  elected 
D.  Frank  Culbertson  State  Senator;  A.  J.  Westfall 
Representative;  M.  J.  Niblack,  Joint  Representa- 
tive; J.  W.  Kimmel,  Prosecuting  Attorney;  John 
Wolfe,  Sheriff;  Walter  Kensler,  Clerk;  Joseph  I. 
Meuntzer,  Auditor;  Louis  Langdon,  Recorder; 
George  Buckalew,  Assessor;  Dr.  S.  L.  Carson, 
Coroner;  Win  Reel,  Surveyor,  and  Leslie  Morgan 
and  Alf.  Brocksmith,  County  Commissioners. 
Harmony  is  the  watchword  and  every  Democrat 
feels  that  he  has  a  say  in  the  policies  of  his  party. 
They  feel  sure  that  their  old  majority  can  be  main- 
tained. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

In  war,  civil  government,  politics,  law,  educa- 
tion and  letters,  Vincennes  was  not  a  lesser  pio- 
neer than  in  journalism.     The  first  newspaper  in 


the  Northwest  Territory  was  the  Western  Sun, 
established  one  hundred  and  ten  years  ago.  Its 
founder  was  Elihu  Stout,  grandfather  of  Henry 
S.  Cauthorn,  previously  mentioned.  He  came  here 
in  1803  from  Frankfort,  Ky.,  where  he  had  been 
working  on  the  Kentucky  Gazette  as  a  practical 
printer.  The  first  issue  was  printed  on  the  Fourth 
of  July,  1804,  nearly  a  year  having  been  required 
in  which  to  transport  on  pack  horses  the  material 
necessary  for  the  publication.  From  its  first  is- 
sue the  paper  was  published  regularly  every  week 
for  nearly  two  years,  when  a  destructive  fire 
swept  away  every  vestige  of  the  office.  A  new 
outfit  was  procured  and  the  resurrected  paper 
was  again  published  on  July  4,  1807.  The  name, 
which  was  originally  the  Indiana  Gazette,  was 
changed  to  the  Western  Sun.  George  C.  Smoot 
became  a  partner  in  the  concern  on  August  1,  1807, 
but  retired  on  November  17  of  the  same  year,  his 
interest  being  purchased  by  James  Jennings,  who 
retired  on  December  23,  1808.  In  1817  the  name  of 
the  paper  was  changed  to  Western  Sun  and  Gen- 
eral Advertiser.  In  October,  1819,  John  Washbum 
became  a  partner,  and  retired  September  20,  1820. 
On  January  19,  1839,  Henry  Stout  became  a  part- 
ner and  the  paper  was  published  under  the  name 
of  E.  Stout  &  Son.  Elihu  Stout  remained  at  the 
head  of  the  enterprise  until  November,  1845,  when 
he  was  appointed  postmaster,  and  sold  the  paper 
to  John  Rice  Jones.  Mr.  Jones  sold  a  half  interest 
to  his  brother  and  the  firm  continued  its  publica- 
tion until  1848  or  1849  when  it  failed  for  want  of 
support  and  John  Rice  Jones  went  to  Washington 
to  accept  a  government  position.  On  his  return 
from  the  National  Capital  he  started  Jones'  Vin- 
cennes Sentinel.  This  paper  after  a  brief  and  un- 
profitable career  suspended  and  was  followed  by 
the  Vincennes  Indiana  Patriot,  published  by  James 
J.  Mayes.  The  Patriot  was  established  in  1853, 
shortly  before  L.  &  M.  A.  McClaughrety  had 
launched  the  Courant,  and  in  October  of  the  same 
year  both  papers  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  last 
named  firm,  and  were  consolidated  as  the  Cou- 
rant and  Patriot.  The  paper  bitterly  opposed  the 
doctrine  of  Know-Nothingism  and  strongly  advo- 
cated Buchanan's  candidacy  for  the  presidency. 
In  1856  this  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  George 
E.  Greene,  Sr.,  who  renewed  the  old  name  of 
Western  Sun  and  continued  its  publication  until 
his  death  in  1870.  Reuben  C.  Kise  then  took 
charge  arid  in  1871  took  into  partnership  Andrew 
J.  Thomas.  Mr.  Kise  died  in  1873  and  Alfred 
Patton  acquired  his  half  from  the  heirs  and  the 
firm  became  known  as  A.  J.  Thomas  &  Co.  Royal 
E.  Purcell,  the  present  owner,  bought  the  paper 
on  November  1,  1876,  when  it  was  a  semi-weekly 
and  began  its  publication  as  a  daily.  The  paper 
is  the  Democratic  organ  of  the  county  and  is  ably 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191G 


edited.  The  old  files  of  the  Western  Siitt,  printed 
while  Elihu  Stout  was  editor,  were  sold  by  the 
late  Henry  Cauthorn  several  years  ago  to  the 
State  for  $1,000  per  volume,  and  today  are  an 
important  part  of  the  historical  collections  to  be 
found  in  th"  Indiana  Library  at  Indianapolis. 

Other  publications  were  "The  Sews  of  the  Day" 
established  in  1854  and  successively  edited  by 
William  H.  Jackson  and  James  G.  Huchinson.  It 
was  a  Know-Nothing  paper  and  was  in  three 
years  supplanted  by  the  Gazette,  founded  by  R.  Y. 
Caddington  which  was  later  published  by  G.  R. 
Harvey,  James  A.  Mason  and  Milton  P.  Ghee.  In 
1859  it  became  the  property  of  H.  M.  Smith  and 
M.  P.  Ghee,  who  ably  conducted  it  until  1861  when 
William  N.  Denney  became  its  owner  and  con- 
tinued its  publication  until  1862.  Dr.  H.  M.  Smith 
and  Colonel  C.  M.  Allen  became  its  owners,  but 
soon  disposed  of  it  to  Charles  I.  Williams  who  re- 
tained Colonel  Allen  as  editor.  It  later  came  into 
the  hands  of  John  M.  Griffin  whose  editorial  ca- 
reer was  so  stormy  that  he  seldom  went  on  the 
street  but  that  some  one  wanted  to  "lick  the 
editor." 

In  1862  the  Old  Post  Union  was  founded  by 
J.  G.  Caddington,  but  it  survived  only  a  few  years 
when  it  was  absorbed  by  the  Vincewies  Times, 
a  Republican  paper.  In  1873  General  Laz.  Noble 
became  associated  with  its  management,  and 
wrought  a  decided  improvement  in  the  editorial 
page.  It  was  later  sold  to  James  J.  Mayes,  John 
Mallet  and  Alfred  Crotts.  The  paper  was  in  a 
few  years  suspended  and  Mr.  Crotts  bought  in 
the  material  and  still  conducts  a  job  printing 
office  at  the  old  stand. 

The  Vincennes  Commercial,  the  leading  Repub- 
lican paper,  was  established  in  1877  by  Spillard 
Fletcher  Horrall,  Albion  Horrall  and  Nelson  Hor- 
rall  under  the  name  of  S.  F.  Horrall  &  Sons.  In 
1881  the  paper  was  sold  to  a  stock  company  of 
which  John  C.  Adams  was  the  manager.  In  1882 
he  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  H.  Adams  who  had 
procured  a  majority  of  the  stock  and  who  still 
edits  the  paper. 

Two  German  newspapers  have  been  published 
in  Vincennes,  both  Democratic.     The  first  was  es- 


tablished in  1S76  by  Louis  and  Henry  Rosenthal 
(the  latter  now  editor  of  the  Evniinville  Demo- 
krat)  and  was  called  the  Volksblatt.  Several 
years  later  L.  A.  Meyer  established  the  \'i)ircniieg 
Post.  Two  years  after  its  beginning  the  type  was 
changed  to  English  instead  of  German  and  Wil- 
liam Pennington  was  made  its  editor.  It  proved 
a  losing  investment  and  Mr.  Meyer  sold  it  to 
George  M.  Cook,  who  changed  its  name  to  the 
Vincemies  Capital.  In  1902  he  sold  it  to  Frank 
W.  Curtis,  Perry  G.  Greene  and  J.  Ralph  DuKate, 
the  present  owners.  It  has  been  a  Republican 
paper  since   George   M.   Cook   became   it-s   owner. 

The  K>io.r  County  Democrat  was  established  in 
1890  by  Allen  Campbell.  Frank  G.  Signor  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Campbell  in  1893  and  sold  it  to  James 
Garrard  and  Ed.  Quittle.  In  1894  Mr.  Quittle 
withdrew  and  Mr.  Garrard  continued  its  publi- 
cation until  1909  when  he  sold  it  to  A.  R.  Cochran 
who  sold  it  March,  1910,  to  J.  Kimmel,  the  pres- 
ent owner.  Two  years  ago  he  changed  the  name 
to  the  Vincennes  News  under  which  name  it  is 
now  published  weekly.  Its  editorial  policy  is 
Democratic. 

Knox  county  has  furnished  many  great  names 
in  the  history  of  Indiana,  but  in  a  history  as  limit- 
ed as  this  it  is  impossible  to  mention  them  all. 
Even  a  short  history  would  not  be  complete  with- 
out some  mention  of  William  H.  Vollmer,  Treas- 
urer of  State  from  1910  to  1914.  He  was  perhaps 
the  best  political  organizer  Knox  county  ever 
had.  He  always  met  everyone  with  a  smile  and 
the  glad  hand  and  was  more  than  a  success 
more  than  once  in  getting  the  boys  together.  He 
filled  the  office  of  county  treasurer  twice  with 
distinction  to  himself  and  honor  to  his  party  and 
the  Democracy  of  Knox  county  was  more  than 
nleased  when  he  was  nominated  as  State  Treas- 
urer. Other  Vincennes  men  who  have  recently 
filled  positions  of  importance  under  the  State  gov- 
ernment are  H.  Thornton  Willis,  Deputy  State 
Treasurer;  General  George  W.  McCoy,  Adjutant 
under  Governor  Marshall,  and  Will  E.  Tuite,  Dep- 
uty in  the  State  Statistician's  office. 

Knox  county  is  proud  of  her  fathers,  of  her 
sons  and  her  future. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
KOSCIUSKO   COUNTY 

By  M.  L.  Gochenour 


THADDEUSKOSCIUZKO.the  young  Polish 
noble  who  tendered  his  services  to  the  cause 
of  American  freedom  and  was  early  made 
aid-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  General  George  Wash- 
ington, and  who  later  became  immortal  in  Polish 
memory  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  ill-fated 
rebellion  in  Poland  in  1794,  died  in  1817.  He  left 
unaltered  a  will  which  had  been  drawn  by  Thomas 
Jefferson  upon  the  occasion  of  Kosciuzko's  last 
visit  to  America  in  1798.     The  will  reads: 

"I,  Thaddeus  Kosciuzko,  being  just  in  my  de- 
parture from  America,  do  hereby  declare  and  di- 
rect that,  should  I  make  no  other  testamentary 
disposition  of  my  property  in  the  United  States, 
I  hereby  authorize  my  friend,  Thomas  Jefferson, 
to  employ  the  whole  thereof  in  purchasing  negroes 
from  among  his  own,  or  any  others,  and  giving 
them  their  liberty  in  my  name;  in  giving  them 
an  education  in  trades  or  otherwise,  and  in  hav- 
ing them  instructed  for  their  new  condition  in  the 
duties  of  morality  which  may  make  them  good 
neighbors,  good  fathers  or  mothers,  and  in  their 
duties  as  citizens,  teaching  them  to  be  defenders 
of  their  liberty  and  country,  and  of  the  good  or- 
der of  society,  and  in  whatsoever  may  make  them 
happy  and  useful.  And  I  make  the  said  Thomas 
Jefferson  my  executor  of  this. 
"5th  day  of  May,  1798.  T.  KOSCIUZKO." 

According  to  tradition,  Kosciusko  county  was 
named  by  John  B.  Chapman,  one  of  the  pioneer 
leaders  of  the  county,  after  Thaddeus  Kosciuzko. 
The  town,  later  city  of  Warsaw,  was  christened 
by  the  same  godfather  after  the  capital  of  Kos- 
ciuzko's native  land.  Chapman  was  an  admirer 
of  Kosciuzko's  character.  Chapman's  widely  scat- 
tered neighbors  must  have  subscribed  to  the  sen- 
timent of  Kosciuzko's  will,  for  the  political  par- 
ties which  advocated  the  freedom  and  citizenship 
for  the  negro  predominated  in  Kosciusko  county 
from  its  organization  to  the  end  of  the  Recon- 
struction period.  By  that  time  the  habit  of  vot- 
ing the  straight  Republican  ticket  had  become  an 
affliction  for  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
sovereigns  of  the  county  which  they  have  seldom 
been  able  to  shake  off. 

The  lands  lying  within  the  present  limits  of 
Kosciusko  county  were  ceded  to  the  United  States 
on  October  27,  1832,  by  a  treaty  concluded  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tippecanoe  river,  about  three  miles 
from  Rochester,  Fulton  county,  Indiana,  by 
Chiefs  Benack,  Mary  Ann  Benack,  Checose,  Flat- 
belly,    Mota    Monoquet,    Musquawbuck    and    Wa- 


wasee.  In  the  cession  each  of  the  chiefs  retained 
reservations  consisting  of  three  to  eight  sections, 
according  to  the  importance  of  the  respective 
tribes.  This  treaty  was  ratified  the  following 
year.  On  February  7,  1835,  the  present  county 
boundaries  were  established  and  the  county  was 
organized  in  April,  1836.  For  judicial  purposes 
the  county  had  previously  been  attached  to  Elk- 
hart county  and  known  as  Turkey  Creek  town- 
ship. 

"New  York  Yankees,"  New  Englanders,  "Penn- 
sylvania Dutch,"  some  dissatisfied  settlers  from 
Ohio,  with  a  sprinkling  from  Virginia  and  the 
Carolinas,  chiefly  comprised  the  pioneer  stock  of 
the  county.  They  found  lakes,  rivers  and 
streams  in  abundance,  but  very  little  prairie  land 
except  the  Leesburg  and  Turkey  Creek  prairies. 
The  remainder  of  the  county  was  covered  with 
hardwood  timber,  lakes  and  marshes.  The  Tip- 
pecanoe river  has  its  source  in  the  beautiful  Tip- 
pecanoe lake,  in  this  county,  and  is  the  outlet  for 
all  of  the  principal  lakes  of  the  county  except 
four.  This  historic  river  is  fed  by  Webster  lake. 
Pike  lake,  Winona  lake,  Huffman's  lake.  Crystal 
lake,  Palestine  lake,  Yellowcreek  lake  and  many 
smaller  lakes.  The  Eel  river  drains  the  extreme 
south  part  of  the  county  and  is  fed  by  Silver  lake 
and  Rock  lake,  while  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water  shed,  the  largest  lake  in  the  State,  various- 
ly called  Nine-JIile,  Turkey  Creek  and  Wawasee 
lake,  empties  the  water  from  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  county  into  the  Great  Lakes.  In  area  the 
county  is  second  only  to  Allen  in  the  State  and 
now  has  a  population  of  over  35,000.  In  fertility 
of  the  soil  it  is  second  to  none,  and  the  rich  marl 
deposits  in  many  of  the  lakes  constitutes  the  most 
valuable  natural  resource;  but  this  is  a  political 
review. 

Ostensibly  Kosciusko  county  has  been  Repub- 
lican since  the  organization  of  that  party  and 
Whig — rather  anti-slave — before  that  time,  with 
only  enough  exceptions  to  prove  the  rule.  The 
spirit  expressed  in  the  will  of  the  patriot  for 
whom  the  county  was  named  became  the  political 
creed  of  the  first  settlers  and  the  parties  espous- 
ing the  anti-slavery  cause  claimed  consistent  ma- 
jorities until  long  after  that  issue  had  become  a 
memory  only.  When  the  Republican  party  had 
nothing  but  its  reputation  to  commend  it,  a  big 
majority  of  the  county's  electorate  continued  to 
"trod  in  the  paths  that  their  fathers  had  trod." 

Prior   to    1873   Kosciusko   county   had   but  one 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


Democrat  in  the  county  otfice.  He  was  David  Rip- 
pey,  who  was  commissioner  of  the  middle  district 
from  1836  to  1844.  During-  the  year  1873  E.  Van 
Long  of  Warsaw  was  appointed  Judpe  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  by  Governor  Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 
The  circuit  was  then  Fulton,  Kosciusko  and  Mar- 
.'hall  counties.  The  following  year  Judge  Long 
was  elected  for  a  si.\-year  term.  In  order  to  dis- 
place Long  the  Republicans  "gerrymandered"  the 
circuit  in  1880,  placing  Kosciusko  and  Whitley 
counties  upon  the  same  circuit,  but  Long  was 
elected  in  that  year  as  Judge  of  the  new  circuit, 
although  in  neither  election  did  he  receive  a  ma- 
jority in  this  county.  Vice-President  Thomas  R. 
Marshall  of  Columbia  City  was  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  the  circuit 
in  this  campaign,  but  was  defeated.  No  Demo- 
crat tasted  public  office  in  Kosciusko  county  after 
that  year  until  the  miracle  year  of  190ti. 

Complete  official  statistics  of  the  vote  prior  to 
1890  are  not  available.  We  must  be  content  with 
the  observation  that  prior  to  1890  the  Democratic 
county,  State  and  national  tickets  were  the  losers 
by  consistently  wide  margins,  with  the  sole  ex- 
ception of  David  Rippey.  which  has  been  noted. 
Claude  Matthews  lost  the  county  to  Milton  Truss- 
ler  for  Secretary  of  State  in  1890  by  a  margin  of 
6.56  votes,  the  smallest  Republican  majority  since 
the  Civil  war.  Since  that  date  the  vote  on  State 
and  national  tickets;  has  been  as  follows: 


Den 


Ma 


prat 

Ucan.    iiresslve. 

.1"rlty. 

1892. 

Highest  elector. 

3,064 

3,823 

759 

1894. 

Secy,    of    State. 

2,767 

4,094 

1,224 

1896. 

Highest  elector. 

3,354 

4,342 

988 

1898. 

Secy,   of    State. 

2,795 

3,911 

1,116 

1900. 

Highest  elector. 

3,265 

4,422 

1,157 

1902. 

Secy,    of    State. 

2.843 

3,803 

960 

1904. 

Highest  elector. 

2,913 

4,550 

1,437 

1906. 

Secy,    of    State. 

3,042 

3,646 

604 

1908. 

Highest  elector. 

3,362 

4,377 

1,015 

1910. 

Sec'y   of    State. 

2,970 

3,860 

890 

1912. 

Highest  elector. 

2,817 

1,767     2,096 

1,050 

1914.  Secy,   of    State.    2,770     3.090        867        320 
1916.  Highest  elector.   3,447     4,025  15        578 

From  these  figures  it  is  seen  that  until  very 
recent  years  the  Republican  margin  has  been 
wide,  reaching  its  height  in  1904,  falling  to  low 
water  mark  in  1906,  and  for  the  only  time  in  the 
county's  history  it  was  wiped  out  in  the  three- 
cornered  fights  of  1912  and  1914. 

Consequent  carelessness  and  inefficiency  result- 
ing from  too  long  unbroken  tenure  in  control  of 
the  county  upon  the  part  of  the  local  Republican 
party  led  to  the  revolution  of  1906,  when  every 
Democrat  on  the  county  ticket  was  elected  except- 
ing the  nominee  for  Representative,  who  lost  by 
six  votes.  In  that  campaign  Benjamin  F.  Shive- 
ly  carried  the  county  for  Congress  against  A.  L. 


Brick  by  a  majority  of  eighty-one,  Shively  being 
the  only  Democrat  ever  to  have  carried  the  county 
for  Congress.  T.  Wayne  Anglin  was  elected 
Prosecuting  Attorney;  C.  Edwin  Stout,  Clerk; 
John  C.  Beagle,  Auditor;  George  W.  Irvine, 
Treasurer;  John  C.  Pinkerton,  Recorder;  Edward 
Haas,  Sheriff;  William  S.  Kiplinger,  Coroner;  S. 
Linsey  Blue,  Surveyor;  William  H.  Thomas,  As- 
sessor; Samuel  P.  Giant,  Commissioner  of  the 
Northern  district,  and  Peter  Clemer,  Commission- 
er of  the  Southern  district,  by  majorities  ranging 
from  113  to  337.  Two  years  later  Francis  E. 
Bowser,  Democrat,  defeated  Lemuel  W.  Royse, 
his  Republican  opponent,  for  Judge  of  the  Kos- 
ciusko Circuit  Court  by  178  votes,  and  George  W. 
Irvine  was  re-elected  Treasurer,  Edward  Haas 
re-elected  Sheriff  and  Peter  Clemer  re-elected 
Commissioner  of  the  Southern  district. 

The  first  Democrat  to  represent  Kosciusko 
county  in  the  State  Legislature  was  elected  in 
1912,  when  Carlin  Myers  was  chosen  Joint  Rep- 
resentative for  Kosciusko,  Whitley  and  Hunt- 
ington counties.  T.  Wayne  Anglin  was  again 
elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  that  year.  In  1914 
Judge  Bowser  was  re-elected  by  a  majority  of 
166  votes  over  the  same  opponent,  the  remain- 
der of  the  county  ticket  being  defeated,  although 
in  fairness  it  must  be  said  that  the  Progressives 
had  a  full  county  ticket  with  one  exception.  They 
made  no  nomination  for  Judge.  The  entire  Dem- 
ocratic county  ticket  was  defeated  in  1916  by 
small  majorities,  but  the  result  had  one  unusual 
feature.  For  the  first  time  the  Democratic  na- 
tional ticket  led  both  the  State  and  county  nomi- 
nees. 

The  intensity  of  the  contests  cannot  be  de- 
scribed here.  Odd  and  interesting  incidents  char- 
acterized each  campaign.  The  party  leaders  in 
these  "game,"  but  too  often  losing  contests,  have 
mostly  passed  into  the  limbo  of  forgotten  dreams. 
Memories  of  two  of  these  will  doubtless  endure 
for  generations.  They  are  William  Conrad  and 
Andrew  G.  Wood. 

William  Conrad  came  to  Kosciusko  county  in 
1840.  After  serving  a  period  of  apprenticeship 
in  the  Studebnker  Wagon  Works  at  South  Bend, 
in  1860  he  founded  the  Conrad  Wagon  and  Buggy 
Works  in  Warsaw.  In  1868  he  was  chosen  coun- 
ty chairman  and  served  as  head  of  the  county 
organization  until  1888.  In  1892  he  was  made 
chairman  of  the  Thirteenth  congressional  district 
and  in  1894  was  re-elected.  He  was  a  man  of 
means  and  he  gave  unsparingly  to  the  pai'ty  in 
both  time  and  money.  It  is  said  the  organiza- 
tion never  quit  a  campaign  in  debt  during  his 
leadership.  One  of  Conrad's  contemporaries, 
General  Reuben  H.  Williams,  who  for  years  ed- 
ited the  Republican  organ,  the  Xorthern  Indian- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


lan,  once  paid  this  tribute:  "If  it  were  not  for 
Conrad  there  would  not  be  a  Democratic  party 
in  Kosciusko  county."  He  was  succeeded  by 
Francis  E.  Bowser  as  county  chairman  in   1888. 

In  the  campaign  of  1880,  when  Vice-President 
Thomas  R.  Marshall  was  on  the  ticket  as  the 
nominee  for  Prosecuting  Attorney  for  this  and 
Whitley  counties,  Marshall  made  his  first  polit- 
ical speech  in  the  county  at  Palestine.  He  came 
over  to  Warsaw  by  rail  and  was  taken  to  Pales- 
tine by  Conrad  in  a  buggy.  Conrad  says  Mar- 
shall came  dressed  immaculately  with  a  large 
bouquet  of  flowers  in  his  coat  lapel.  As  they 
Reared  the  little  village  Conrad  gently,  but  firm- 
ly, advised  the  now  Vice-President  that  his  audi- 
ence would  be  chiefly  men,  and  farmers  at  that, 
and,  in  Conrad's  opinion,  the  bouquet  had  better 
be  taken  off.  Conrad's  version  of  the  incident  is 
that  Marshall  threw  the  flowers  away. 

The  State  committee  often  embarrassed  Conrad 
by  sending  speakers  of  slight  ability  to  the  coun- 
ty. During  the  campaign  of  1884  Conrad  re- 
ceived notice  that  the  committee  had  billed  the 
nominee  for  Supreme  Court  Reporter  for  three 
speeches  in  the  county.  The  nominee  was  John 
W.  Kern,  and  Conrad,  with  characteristic  con- 
servatism, billed  the  then  unknown  quantity  for 
Atwood,  Milford  and  Silver  Lake,  sending  Cap- 
tain Andrew  G.  Wood  to  Atwood  to  introduce  the 
speaker  and  talk  after  Kern  had  finished  for  the 
purpose  of  patching  up  Kern's  expected  indiscre- 
tions. Wood  introduced  Kern,  but  did  not  speak 
after  Kern  had  finished.  His  report  to  Coni-ad 
was  that  Kern  left  nothing  unsaid,  and  that  Con- 
rad had  made  the  mistake  of  his  life  in  not  billing 
Kern  for  Warsaw.  William  Conrad  is  now 
eighty-three  years  old  and  Andrew  G.  Wood  is 
but  one  year  his  junior. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  Captain  Wood 
came  to  the  county  and  entered  the  practice  of 
law,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged.  From  his  ear- 
liest residence  Mr.  Wood  has  been  prominently 
identified  with  his  party  organization  and  has 
sacrificed  unflinchingly  in  every  campaign,  city, 
county.  State  and  national.  In  1904  he  was  elect- 
ed Mayor  of  Warsaw,  serving  three  years,  and 
enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of  having  been  the 
city's  only  Mayor  who  was  a  Democrat.  For 
many  campaigns  the  burden  of  stumping  the 
county  was  upon  him  and  he  threw  himself  en- 
thusiastically into  fight  after  fight  without 
thought  of  reward.  At  the  ripe  maturity  of 
eighty-two  Mr.  Wood  yet  constitutes  the  back- 
bone of  the  party  leadership  in  his  county. 

The  Warsaiv  Union  has  been  the  organ  of  the 
Democratic  party  of  Kosciusko  county.  It  was 
started  in  1859  by  A.  G.  Mugg  as  the  Warsaw 
Experiment.     The  next  year   it   passed   into  the 


hands  of  E.  Van  Long  and  Dr.  Theodore  Daven- 
port, who  changed  the  name  to  the  Union.  Long 
edited  the  paper  until  1864,  when  he  sold  it  to 
Frank  J.  Zimmerman,  who  in  turn  sold  it  to  An- 
drew G.  Wood  in  1886.  The  next  year  S.  L. 
Baker  and  M.  L.  Crawford  became  the  publishers, 
Wood  continuing  as  editor  until  April,  1868,  when 
the  paper  was  again  purchased  by  Zimmerman, 
who  continued  as  editor  and  publisher  until  1896, 
when  it  was  purchased  by  J.  V.  Bowersox.  In 
1901  H.  S.  K.  Bartholomew  purchased  the  paper 
of  Bowersox  and  acted  as  editor  and  publisher 
until  1904,  when  he  sold  it  to  C.  William  Smith. 
Mr.  Smith,  in  addition  to  continuing  the  publica- 
tion of  the  weekly  paper,  started  the  Daily  Union. 
Under  Smith's  management  the  Daily  Union  at- 
tained the  largest  circulation  of  any  daily  paper 
in  the  county.  Smith  sold  the  paper  in  1915  to 
Andrew  A.  Gast  and  his  son,  Estil  A.  Gast,  of 
Akron.  Mr.  Estil  A.  Gast  became  editor  and  as- 
sumed full  charge  of  the  paper  on  January  1, 
1916,  and  has  just  closed  the  most  successful  year 
in  the  paper's  history.  During  the  year  he 
changed  the  name  of  the  daily  to  the  Warsaw 
Union  and  that  of  the  weekly  to  the  Kosciusko 
Union.  Early  in  the  year  1916  Mr.  Estil  A. 
Gast  was  chosen  Democratic  chairman  of  the 
Thirteenth  congressional  district.  The  unusual 
ability  and  unlimited  energy  which  he  put  into 
the  campaign  not  only  resulted  in  the  re-election 
of  Henry  H.  Barnhart  to  Congress,  but  added 
prestige  and  strength  to  the  local  Democratic  pa- 
per which  it  had  not  enjoyed  before.  The  Gasts 
have  obtained  Associated  Press  service  and  made 
the  paper  one  of  the  best  county  dailies  in  the 
State. 

Kosciusko  county  has  a  long  list  of  prominent 
Democratic  educators.  We  can  mention  only  the 
most  prominent.  Joseph  P.  Dolan,  for  years  su- 
perintendent of  the  public  schools  at  Syracuse, 
rightly  leads  the  list  from  the  standpoint  of  party 
service.  He  is  the  most  influential  Democrat  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  county  and  deserves  bet- 
ter reward  than  he  has  received.  His  worthy 
successor  as  superintendent  at  Syracuse,  Charles 
0.  Baughman,  made  a  good  race  as  the  party's 
nominee  for  County  Auditor  in  1914.  The  city 
of  Warsaw  now  has  an  energetic,  progressive 
Democrat  as  superintendent  of  the  city  schools 
in  the  person  of  H.  S.  Kaufman.  Richard  Van- 
derveer,  who  is  now  a  member  of  the  local  bar, 
for  many  years  was  superintendent  of  the  Mil- 
ford  schools.  Perhaps  the  best  rewarded  of  our 
Democratic  school  teachers  is  Edson  B.  Sarber, 
who  was  chosen  as  County  Superintendent  of 
Schools  in  1904  and  was  twice  re-elected,  resign- 
ing in  1916  to  become  Assistant  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181G-1916 


Of  the  medical  fraternity  of  the  county  Dr. 
Theodore  Davenport,  of  whom  we  have  already 
spoken,  was  the  foremost  Democrat,  being  re- 
warded by  Governor  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  with 
the  appointment  as  superintendent  of  the  North- 
ern prison  at  Michigan  City.  Other  prominent 
Democrats  of  the  profession  have  been  Dr.  W.  F. 
Seymour  of  Leesburg,  Drs.  A.  C.  McDonald  and 
W.  L.  Hines  of  Warsaw  and  Dr.  W.  C.  Landis  of 
Claypool. 

The  lawyers  of  the  county  who  have  rendered 
service  to  the  party  named  in  the  order  of  their 
admission  to  the  bar  are  as  follows:  Messrs.  J. 
Long,  E.  Van  Long,  Woodson  S.  Marshall,  An- 
drew G.  Wood,  Samson  J.  North,  William  A. 
IMarlow,  Commodore   Clemens,   Samuel   S.   Baker, 


Isaac  L.  Ayers,  Samuel  W.  Cosond,  Orange  O. 
Felkner,  James  V.  Van  Guilder,  Isaac  H.  Hall, 
Jesse  D.  Chaplin,  John  D.  McClaren,  Francis  E. 
Bowser,  Richard  Vanderveer,  John  H.  Aiken,  Rex 
S.  Emerick,  Merl  L.  Gochenour,  George  Landers 
and  Cecil  Whitehead. 

Since  1906  the  Kosciusko  county  Democracy 
has  taken  a  new  lease  on  life.  The  enduring  serv- 
ice of  Woodrow  Wilson's  administration  has 
meant  much  to  us.  Our  path  has  not  been  strewn 
with  roses  and  our  triumphs  have  been  few.  We 
simply  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  Indiana  Democ- 
i-acy  to  have  even  more  patience  and  let  us  try 
again;  if  necessary,  even  again,  for  it  is  no  small 
task  we  have  been  given. 


22— History 


(673) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
LAGRANGE  COUNTY 

By  J.  Frank  Snyder 


IN  parceling  out  the  territory  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  counties  of  the  northeast  part  of 
the  State,  Lagrange  county  was  made  up  of 
what  was  left  when  the  surveyors  reached  the 
Michigan  line,  hence  it  had  scarcely  three  full 
squares  of  congressional  townships.  It  was  con- 
sidered a  victory  when  the  territory  that  had  been 
set  apart  was  retained,  when,  in  1834,  our  neigh- 
bor to  the  north — Michigan — demanded  a  "rec- 
tification" of  her  frontier.  The  escape  was  nar- 
row when  Michigan  asked  a  strip  ten  miles  wide 
off  northern  Indiana,  but  her  craving  was  not 
satisfied  with  a  cession  of  a  territory  of  Lake  Su- 
perior region  which  she  hoped  to  gain.  Had  she 
been  successful  there  would  have  been  nothing  of 
this  historical  record.  The  southern  and  middle 
tier  of  townships  received  the  United  States  sur- 
vey approved  for  congressional  townships,  and 
the  other  townships  were  filled  out  as  best  suited 
the  distance  to  the  boundary  line,  so  that  the 
upper  tier  of  townships  were  cut  down  to  a  width 
of  only  four  miles  and  two-thirds,  there  being  but 
three  hundred  and  eighty-four  miles  of  territory 
to  be  divided  into  eleven  townships. 

The  county  takes  its  name  from  the  country 
residence  of  Lafayette,  the  noted  Frenchman,  who 
yet  lives  in  the  esteem  of  all  Americans.  With 
but  one  county  separating  it  from  the  Buckeye 
influence  on  the  east,  and  scarcely  knowing  when 
it  ceases  to  be  a  Hoosier  and  begins  to  be  a  Wol- 
verine at  its  northern  boundary,  it  partakes  of 
a  genial  character  that  makes  the  Lagrange  coun- 
ty citizen  a  "long  distance  attachment"  to  gov- 
ernmental affairs  at  the  State  capital,  the  center 
of  political  orders  and  State  House  ambition.  His 
only  advantage  has  been  in  the  opportunity  of 
drawing  a  heavy  mileage  fee  when  called  upon 
to  do  service  at  the  seat  of  the  State  government. 
The  Lagrange  county  citizen  is  grown  in  a  pure 
atmosphere — the  altitude  is  about  an  average  of 
950  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Thirty-five  or  more 
lakes  add  to  the  charm  of  its  scenery  and  purity 
of  its  atmosphere.  The  only  river  of  any  size  is 
Pigeon,  which  flows  through  the  county  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  and  receives  most  of  the  lake 
and  creek  overflow.  In  this  territory  originates 
many  startling  fish  stories. 

Prior  to  1833  the  territory  where  Democrats 
have  been  so  sparingly  grown,  which  afterward 
became  Lagrange  county,  was  attached  to  Elk- 
hart county,  and  known  as  the  township  of  Mon- 
goquinong,  with  Goshen  as  the  county  seat  of  the 


unit.  The  county  was  organized  sixteen  years 
after  Indiana  entered  statehood.  Governor  Noah 
Noble  approving  the  act  for  the  organization  of 
the   county   on   February   2    (Ground   Hog   day), 

1832.  The  first  election  for  county  officers  was 
held  in  the  spring  of  1832,  when  Joshua  T.  Hobbs 
was  elected  Clerk;  Daniel  Harding,  Sheriff; 
Thomas  Gale,  Treasurer;  David  St.  Clair,  Re- 
corder; Jacob  Vandevanter,  Edmund  Littlefield 
and  Arthur  Barrows,  Commissioners.  Politics  had 
little  or  nothing  to  do  with  the  selection. 

The  first  court  house  was  erected  at  Lima  in 

1833,  the  center  of  population  then  being  at  that 
point,  but  it  was  soon  discovered  that  the  county 
seat  must  be  more  central,  and  Lagrange  Cen- 
ter— as  it  was  for  years  known — was  hit  upon, 
and  the  State  Legislature  of  1843  mapped  out  the 
new  town,  public  buildings  were  erected  and  the 
county  seat  established  at  this  place. 

The  very  early  days  of  the  county  found  some 
Democrats  in  official  position,  but  the  foothold 
was  dislodged  and  for  more  than  half  a  century — 
up  until  the  breaking  away  from  "boss  rule"  in 
1912 — there  had  not  been  a  Democrat  elected  to 
fill  any  county  office  since  1853,  when  John  Kro- 
mer,  a  pronounced  Democrat,  left  the  office  of 
county  recorder,  having  been  elected  in  1843.  He 
was  one  of  the  best-posted  men  on  historical  af- 
fairs of  the  county,  having  moved  in  the  vicinity 
of  Lima  as  early  as  1830.  He  assisted  for  years 
in  the  business  of  the  county  in  various  offices  in 
the  court  house. 

Andrew  Ellison,  another  unique  Democratic 
personage,  whose  life  history  in  northern  Indiana 
politics  would  make  an  interesting  volume  of  it- 
self, was  county  commissioner,  leaving  the  office 
in  1853.  Mr.  Ellison  was  born  in  Ireland  in  the 
early  days  of  1817  and  came  to  this  county  from 
New  York  in  1835,  entering  the  practice  of  law 
in  Lagrange  county  in  1842.  He  walked  all  the 
way  to  Indianapolis  to  be  admitted  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  practice  the  following  year.  He  was 
a  candidate  for  Congress  in  the  memorable  can- 
vass of  1868  against  "Billy"  Williams,  the  early 
day  congressman  from  Kosciusko  county,  and 
noted  Republican  politician,  but  was  defeated. 
Later  he  was  a  candidate  in  the  triangular  fight 
when  General  Milo  S.  Hascal  of  Goshen  was  nom- 
inated as  a  candidate,  expecting  to  lead  the  liberal 
Republicans  and  his  Democratic  friends  to  vic- 
tory against  the  regular  Republican  nominee. 
Mr.  Ellison  championed  the  cause  of  the  "non- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


mixable"  Democrats  and  Hascal  was  defeated. 
He  was  also  a  candidate  for  Jud^e  of  the  Circuit 
Court  two  or  three  times,  and  made  the  fijrht  as 
presidential-elector  as  many  times,  stumping 
northern  Indiana  with  a  vijijor  that  gave  him 
prominence  as  a  political  speaker.  With  it  all, 
however,  he  closed  his  life  havinp  fought  the  bat- 
tles without  havir.p  won  any  official  position  of 
distinction  as  a  reward  for  his  sacrifices. 

The  first  vote  in  the  county  in  1836  pave  Van 
Buren,  Democrat,  13(5  votes,  and  Harrison,  Whijr, 
128— Democratic  majority  of  22.  In  1848,  with 
Cass  as  the  regular  Democrat,  Van  Buren  on  the 
Free  Soil  and  Taylor  on.  the  Whig  ticket,  the 
Democrats  had  a  plurality  of  7.  In  1852,  with 
Scott  as  the  Whig  candidate.  Pierce,  Democrat, 
and  Hall,  Free  Soil,  the  principal  parties  tied.  This 
was  the  last  near-to-victory  experience  the  party 
had  until  1912.  At  this  time  Judge  Otis  L.  Bal- 
lou  was  elected  Joint  Senator  to  represent  La- 
grange and  Noble  counties  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture and  proved  a  Senator  of  large  influence  in 
both  the  sessions  of  1913  and  1915,  he  being  a 
holdover  member.  Mr.  Ballou  is  an  able  lawyer, 
a  forceful  orator,  and  lives  close  to  the  interests 
of  his  home  folk.  He  began  the  practice  of  law 
in  the  county  in  1875,  has  been  Circuit  Judge  by 
appointment  of  the  Governor,  and  filled  other  im- 
portant positions  of  trust.  Senator  Ballou  has 
filled  the  position  of  county  chairman  several 
times  and  been  active  in  politics  for  a  number  of 
years. 

The  other  successful  candidates  were  George 
W.  Choler,  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court;  Victor 
Camp,  County  Treasurer;  Cioyd  Lupoid,  County 
Recorder;  George  E.  Henderson,  Sheriff;  Carl  C. 
Mishler,  Sui-veyor;  Joseph  F.  Kimmel  and  David 
J.  Norris,  Commissioners.  These  men  have  all 
made  excellent  records  as  public  officials.  The 
sheriff  and  surveyor  have  been  succeeded  by  Re- 
publican officials.  Mr.  Choler  was  re-elected  and 
is  midway  in  his  second  term. 

Lewis  Price,  a  prominent  young  farmer  of  La- 
grange county,  and  a  sterling  Democrat,  was  the 
party's  candidate  for  Joint  Representative  of  the 
counties  of  Lagrange  and  Steuben  in  the  State 
Legislature  in  the  campaign  of  1912.  Though 
both  counties  are  strongly  Republican,  Mr.  Price 
was  elected  by  a  good,  safe  majority  and  repre- 
sented the  counties  in  the  Legislature  of  1913, 
making  a  splendid  record.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  re-election  in  the  campaign  of  1914,  but  was 
defeated  by  a  narrow  margin.  Mr.  Price  was 
born  and  educated  in  the  county  and,  taking  a 
thorough  agricultural  course  at  Purdue  Univer- 
sity, he  has  become  one  of  the  much-sought-after 
Farmers'  Institute  lecturers  of  the  State. 

Newspaper  matters  had  much  to  do  with   the 


strong  foothold  which  the  Democratic  opponents 
gained  in  the  county,  and  which  was  held  through- 
out the  years.  The  Republicans  maintained  a 
strong  party  organ  that  played  well  the  "tune" 
of  the  organization,  which  handed  it  out  liberal 
patronage  and  support.  The  Democrats,  much  of 
the  time  discouraged,  engaged  in  the  enterprise 
of  trying  to  reform  the  Democratic  politics  of  the 
other  counties  'round  about  who  wanted  to  place 
a  man  to  the  front  and,  thus  divided  on  trivial 
local  issues,  played  into  the  hands  of  the  opposi- 
tion party  who  were  for  the  offices,  first,  last  and 
all  the  time. 

The  party  was  without  a  representative  news- 
paper much  of  the  time  up  to  1879,  while  the  Re- 
publicans maintained  a  newspaper,  the  Lagrange 
Staytdard,  from  the  year  1856,  which  grew  into 
prominence  on  public  patronage  and  remained 
steadfastly  Republican  until  1912,  when  it  es- 
poused the  Progressive  cause. 

In  October,  1845,  Jewett,  Owen  and  Bennett 
established  the  Lagrange  Democrat  in  the  then 
county  seat,  Lima.  This  continued  for  four  or 
five  years  and  was  suspended.  The  editor,  Mr. 
Owen,  it  is  .«aid,  was  a  relative  of  that  noted  poli- 
tician and  statesman,  Robert  Dale  Owen,  and  be- 
cause of  his  tall  bony  physique  was  known  as 
"Old  Bones."  Following  this  effort,  J.  S.  Castle 
started  a  Democratic  paper  at  Lagrange  called 
the  Democrat,  and  after  a  brief  time  moved  the 
paper  to  Lima  and  discontinued  the  publication 
in  1862.  This  was  succeeded  by  another  Democratic 
paper  in  1868,  with  Francis  Henry  and  Howard 
M.  Coe  as  editors.  The  plant  was  consumed  by 
fire  in  1869.  The  brave  Democratic  stockholders 
renewed  their  stock,  a  new  outfit  was  purchased 
and  placed  under  the  control  of  Mr.  Henry,  but 
it  was  only  a  short  time  when  the  plant  was  sold 
and  moved  to  Sturgis,  Michigan. 

The  county  was  then  without  a  Democratic  rep- 
resentative until  1879,  when  the  Lagrange  County 
Democrat  was  established  by  J.  Frank  Snyder, 
who  conducted  the  paper  for  eleven  years  until 
his  appointment  as  postmaster  of  Lagrange  by 
President  Cleveland,  during  his  first  administra- 
tion. A  few  months  after  entering  the  postoffice 
Mr.  Snyder  tran.-^ferred  his  interest  in  the  paper 
to  his  associate  editor  D.  A.  Fawcett,  and  since 
that  time  the  paper  has  changed  hands  many 
times,  but  has  always  stood  true  to  the  cause  of 
Democracy.  In  the  fall  of  1913  the  publication 
was  consolidated  with  the  Saturday  Call,  and  was 
for  a  time  published  semi-weekly  as  the  Demo- 
cvnt-Cnll.  Mr.  Snyder  being  one  of  its  editors. 

Though  Lagrange  county  has  not  produced  any 
large  number  of  men  who  have  held  official  posi- 
tions it  has  been  the  home  of  some  worthy  Demo- 
crats who  have  proven   helpful  and  loyal   to  the 


(675) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


Democratic  cause.  Among  these  are  the  attor- 
neys of  Lagrange — aside  from  Senator  Otis  L. 
Ballou,  mentioned  elsewhere — John  W.  Hanan  and 
Frank  J.  Dunton,  sterling  JefFersonian  Democrats 
who  have  also  taken  an  active  part  in  party  af- 
fairs. 

Judge  John  W.  Hanan  is  head  of  the  law  firm 
of  Hanan,  Watson  and  Hanan.  He  began  his  law 
practice  in  1886  in  Lagrange  with  Judge  Robert 
Lowry,  former  Congressman  of  the  Twelfth  Dis- 
trict, as  his  law  partner.  He  is  frequently  called 
in  service  as  special  judge  and  has  a  large  legal 
practice,  maintaining  offices  in  Lagrange  and  In- 
dianapolis. He  has  been  three  times  appointed 
by  different  Governors  of  the  State  as  trustee  of 
the  Eastern  Indiana  Asylum  for  the  Insane  at 
Richmond,  and  for  several  years  has  been  presi- 
dent of  the  board.  In  1892  he  was  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  joint  Senator  between  the  counties  of 
Lagrange  and  Steuben  and  greatly  reduced  the 
Republican  majorities  in  these  strongholds  of  Re- 
publicanism. He  has  well  served  the  city  and 
county  for  several  years  as  city  and  county  at- 
torney, and  filled  other  local  offices  of  trust.  He 
is  now  fifty-five  years  of  age. 

Frank  J.  Dunton,  prominent  attorney  of  La- 
grange county  began  the  practice  of  law  in  La- 
grange in  1889,  and  has  had  much  to  do  with  the 
Democratic  organization  of  the  county.  Though 
but  fifty  years  old  he  has  been  chairman  of  the 
county  organization  of  the  party — save  two  years 
— continuously,  since  1889.  He  was  named  by 
Congressman  Cyrus  Cline,  at  the  commencement 
of  the   Wilson  administration,  for  postmaster  of 


Lagrange  on  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  Mr. 
McDonald,  but  during  the  early  part  of  1915  he 
accepted  the  appointment  of  Deputy  Oil  Inspector 
under  the  State  department.  Mr.  Dunton  has  been 
county  attoJTiey  for  two  years  past  and  is  closely 
identified  with  many  of  the  business  interests  of 
Lagrange  and  the  community. 

Among  the  Democrats  of  the  county,  aside  from 
those  already  mentioned — many  of  them  passed  to 
their  reward — who  have  served  as  chairmen  of  the 
organization  and  done  effective  service  for  the  par- 
ty in  the  various  townships  are  enrolled  the  names 
of  such  worthies  as  Andrew  Emminger,  Cyrus 
Fillmore — brother  of  former  President  Fillmore — 
Charles  B.  Holmes,  James  Clugston,  Zopher  Case, 
Minott  Goodsell,  John  Sherman,  Charles  Cochran. 
N.  B.  and  I.  B.  Newman,  Josiah  Rowe,  Samuel 
Beaty,  J.  F.  Clugston,  John  Will,  Abram  Bender, 
William  and  John  Craig,  Thomas  and  Albert 
Skeer,  Thomas  VanKirk,  Dr.  John  H.  Dancer, 
Peter  Prough,  William  Woodard,  Daniel  Boyer, 
William  Gardner,  Dr.  J.  N.  Denny,  John  Kimmell, 
James  Kennedy,  William  Roderick,  Albert  H. 
Price,  Charles  A.  Brant,  D.  N.  Stough,  Henry  M. 
Kromer,  Robert  M.  Wigton,  Charles  L.  Atwater, 
Phillip  Wilkins,  Isaac  and  Washington  Norris, 
Isaac  and  Benjamin  Zimmerman,  Frank  M.  Ste- 
venson, John  Price,  L.  M.  Rowe  (postmaster  un- 
der Cleveland's  administration,  second  term), 
James  H.  Roy  (present  postmaster  at  Topeka),  A. 
A.  Metz  (present  postmaster  at  Wolcottville), 
Clarence  E.  Schaeffer  (present  postmaster  at 
Howe). 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
LAKE  COUNTY 


IT  WAS  on  January  18,  1837,  that  the  Indiana 
Lep:islature  passed  the  act  creating  Lake 
county  from  the  territory  in  the  extreme 
northwest  corner  of  the  state,  and  just  one  month 
later  the  present  county  of  Lake  took  its  corpo- 
rate existence.  It  comprises  508  sections  of  land, 
and  of  these  but  about  400  were  considered  till- 
able. The  Kankakee  marsh  land  alone  was  esti- 
mated to  have  60,000  acres  of  waste  land,  while 
thousands  of  acres  adjoining  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
Lake  Michigan  were  a  vast  area  of  waste  land 
composed  of  sand  dunes,  sloughs,  swamps  and 
sand  hills.  Progress  has  changed  all  this.  Instead 
of  Kankakee  marsh  lands  untillable  and  over- 
flowing, we  now  have  the  Kankakee  valley,  with 
its  thousands  of  acres  of  as  valuable  farm  land 
as  can  be  found  in  all  Hoosierdom.  And  the 
north  end:  That  is  the  marvel  of  the  world  to- 
day, for  here  is  now  Indiana's  greatest  industrial 
center,  destined  to  be  the  greatest  beehive  of 
industry  in  the  world,  and  having  three  cities- 
Gary,  East  Chicago,  Hammond  and  Whiting — 
with  a  combined  population  of  more  than  125,000. 
The  county  has  an  area  of  465  square  miles,  lies 
between  Porter  county  and  the  Illinois  state  line 
and  stretches  from  the  Kankakee  river  on  the 
south  to  Lake  Michigan  on  the  north. 

When  the  county  was  organized  in  1837  its 
territory  was  but  sparsely  settled  by  white  men, 
and  these  were  mostly  Yankees,  Yorkers  and 
Germans.  But  this  was  a  great  hunting  and  fish- 
ing "ground"  for  the  Indians,  with  at  least  six  In- 
dian villages  within  its  confines.  These  were  at 
various  points,  some  along  the  Kankakee,  some 
near  the  center  of  the  county  and  some  along  the 
Calumet  river,  that  queer  stream  which  then  had 
two  mouths,  the  west  one  being  at  what  is  now 
South  Chicago,  and  the  east  mouth  (long  since 
filled  up  to  within  less  than  a  half-mile  of  Lake 
Michigan,  where  it  ends  in  a  tiny  branch)  at  a 
point  which  is  the  beginning  of  the  sand  dunes 
which  it  is  now  proposed  to  preserve  as  nature's 
natural  park.  As  late  as  1847  there  were  said  to 
be  but  52  residences,  five  churches,  five  stores  and 
two  office  buildings  in  all  Lake  county. 

In  the  earlier  history  of  the  county  the  Demo- 
cratic party  predominated  and  kept  the  lead  until 
the  passing  of  the  Whig  party,  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Republican  party.  It  then  became 
strongly  Republican  and  has  so  remained  ever 
since.  Occasionally  a  Democrat  has  broken  into 
office  through  his  individual  merits  and  the  com- 
parative weakness  of  his  opponent,  but  these 
cases  have   been   rare   indeed.     Under  these  cir- 


cumstances it  has  required  courage  and  firm 
loyalty  to  party  principles  to  keep  a  party  organi- 
zation intact.  Leaders  have  always  arisen,  how- 
ever, to  keep  up  the  fight.  This  task  has  been 
more  arduous,  too,  because  of  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  north  end,  bringing  in  new  men  and  new 
problems.  Having  so  many  cities  and  towns  the 
leaders  have  necessarily  been  more  numerous  than 
in  many  other  counties,  and  to  name  all  would 
scarcely  be  permissible  in  this  brief  resume.  Some 
of  these  leaders  for  their  great  service  in  holding 
the  party  together  are  worthy  of  more  than  a 
passing  mention.  Chief  of  these  was  M.  F.  Pierce, 
of  Merrillville.  For  years  he  was  county  chair- 
man and  the  dominating  figure  in  county  politics. 
Untiring  in  his  work  and  vigilance  he  worked  with 
little  reward,  holding  only  a  township  office,  and 
in  Cleveland's  second  term  being  given  the  place 
of  deputy  revenue  collector  at  the  "munificent" 
salary  of  $1,200  per  year.  A  number  of  times  draft- 
ed to  be  his  party's  candidate  in  a  hopeless  race 
for  county  office,  he  made  notable  races  with  all 
the  vigor  of  a  candidate  who  is  assured  of  win- 
ning.    He  is  numbered  with  the  dead. 

Nicholas  Scherer,  founder  of  Schererville,  was 
a  leader  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
When  David  Turpie  was  the  party  nominee  for 
Congr??;;  Mr.  Scherer  was  a  valued  lieutenant  and 
a  warm  friendship  sprang  up  between  the  two. 
This  remained  firm  until  death  separated  them. 
It  was  not  uncommon  for  David  Turpie  to  sum- 
mon his  friend  Nick  to  Indianapolis  to  be  a  guest 
at  his  home.  Even  when  occupying  the  senato- 
rial seat  at  Washington  he  sent  for  Mr.  Scherer, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  joys  of  the  old  man  to  the 
day  of  his  death  was  to  tell  how  "Dave"  made 
his  humble  German  friend  share  his  quarters  and 
his  bed. 

Of  the  present-day  leaders  Edward  Simon  has 
proven  the  county's  greatest  "born"  leader. 
Twice  county  chairman,  he  organized  Lake  as  it 
had  never  been  organized  before,  and  his  work 
received  such  attention  from  the  outside  that  he 
has  several  times  refused  the  party's  tender  of 
district  chairman.  He  was  elected  to  the  lower 
house  of  the  Legislature  and  served  a  term  as 
county  auditor,  and  even  by  his  political  opponents 
is  conceded  to  have  given  Lake  county  the  best  ad- 
ministration of  that  office  it  has  ever  had. 

Among  others  holding  county  office  have  been: 
Samuel  A.  Barr,  Crown  Point,  county  auditor; 
John  P.  Merrill,  Crown  Point,  county  treasurer; 
Chas.  H.  Friedrich,  Hammond,  sheriff;  Fred  S. 
Carter,  Hammond,  sheriff;  Thos.  Hammond,  Ham- 


(677) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


mond,  congressman;  John  B.  Peterson,  Crown 
Point,  prosecuting  attorney  and  congressman; 
Thos.  J.  Wood,  Crown  Point,  congressman; 
Thos.  McCay,  Crown  Point,  county  treasurer;  A. 
C.  Thompson,  Ainsworth,  county  assessor.  Hold- 
ing the  office  of  a  county  commissioner  were 
George  S.  Clark,  Lowell;  Barney  G.  Scheidt,  St. 
John,  and  Spencer  L.  Beach,  Leroy.  Johannes  Kop- 
elke,  Crown  Point,  served  a  term  in  the  state 
senate,  and  Adam  R.  Ebert,  Hammond,  a  term 
in  the  house. 

Dr.  P.  P.  Gordon,  Hobart,  and  Dr.  A.  A.  Seid- 
ler.  Dyer,  each  served  as  coroner. 

Other  men  whose  energies  have  directed  party 
affairs  have  been: 

Hammond — Lawrence  Becker,  Thomas  Ham- 
mond, Patrick  Reilley,  Jacob  Schloer,  L.  T.  Meyer, 
S.  F.  Fogg,  Henry  Huehn,  W.  H.  Verrill,  J.  L. 
Rohde,  J.  G.  Ibach,  David  Fenton,  Samuel  Griffin, 
Robert  Gregory,  John  A.  Gavit,  F.  J.  O'Rourke, 
O.  H.  Duelke,  W.  W.  McMahon,  J.  H.  Conroy,  G. 
B.  Sheerer,  E.  E.  Beck,  Mayor  J.  D.  Smalley,  Dr. 
W.  F.  Howat,  J.  F.  Kuhlman,  Jacob  Hartman  and 
S.  E.  Swaim. 

Gary— Thomas  E.  Knotts,  Patrick  Finerty,  Har- 
vey J.  Curtis,  George  F.  Cummerow,  Ora  Wilder- 
muth,  H.  A.  McCracken. 

Crown  Point — Henry  Aulwurm,  Otto  Hilde- 
brandt,  P.  F.  Hein,  Frank  Seberger,  F.  K.  Sig- 
mund,  R.  G.  Bielefeldt,  J.  W.  Thomas,  George  E. 
Hershman,  J.  P.  Griesel,  E.  J.  Forrest  (serving 
term  as  district  chairman),  H.  J.  Lehman  (pres- 
ent district  chairman),  George  Keiser,  George 
Sauermann,  E.  H.  Westbay. 

East  Chicago— Col.  R.  D.  Walsh,  W.  L.  Funk- 
houser,  J.  S.  Rieland,  Charles  Donovan,  Edward 
DeBraie,  Allen  P.  Twyman,  J.  W.  Dunsing,  W.  J. 
Murray,  Mayor  Frank  Callahan,  D.  B.  L.  Glaze- 


brook,  P.  A.  Parks,  John  McGouan,  M.  H.  Silver- 
man. 

Whiting — Beaumont  Parks,  U.  G.  Swartz,  Mat 
Kieran,  James  West,  Fred  Fischrupp,  J.  J.  Kelly, 
Fred  J.  Smith,  George  W.  Jones,  Robert  Klose. 

Tolleston — August  Conrad,  Henry  Siegers  and 
Edward  Bohnke. 

Hobart — John  Gordon,  J.  H.  Roper,  J.  Fiester, 
Walter  Fiester,  John  Fransen,  George  Warchus, 
Fred  Klassen,  E.  H.  Guyer,  H.  E.  Keilman,  E.  C. 
Scheidt,  William  Kostbade. 

Hanover — John  H.  Meyer,  Stephen  Meyer,  John 
A.  Schillo,  M.  J.  Schillo,  Frank  Massoth  and  Nic 
Geisen. 

Merrillville— F.  M.  Pierce,  John  N.  Smith,  J.  F. 
Dorman. 

Griffith— P.  J.  Beiriger,  M.  J.  Beiriger,  John 
Miller,  Jacob  Miller. 

Dyer— A.  E.  Kaiser,  John  J.  Klein,  H.  L.  Keil- 
man. 

St.  John — Joseph  Portz,  John  Miller,  Andrew 
Kammer,  William  Keilman  and  William  Koehle. 

Lowell — Mortimer  Castle,  Merriam  Castle,  Louis 
Berg,  W.  E.  Belshaw,  George  Kimmit,  William 
Pixley,  Chester  Pixley,  J.  A.  Clark. 

In  the  matter  of  Democratic  press  Lake  county 
has  been  backward.  Until  1890  all  attempts  to 
establish  a  Democratic  organ  had  failed.  In  that 
year  S.  E.  Swaim  established  the  Lake  County 
News,  now  suspended,  and  from  1891  to  1915 
a  daily  edition  was  published.  For  some 
time  the  Freie  Presse,  published  by  John  Lehman 
at  Crown  Point,  was  a  Democratic  paper  pub- 
lished in  German.  After  the  founding  of  Gary 
two  vain  efforts  were  made  to  publish  a  party  pa- 
per in  that  city,  both  failing.  Later  the  Gary  Post 
was  established  and  is  covering  the  field  in  that 
city  successfully. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY    OF 
LAPORTE  COUNTY 


THERE  is  a  legend  prevalent  that  during 
Jackson's  second  term  as  President  a  man 
named  Smith,  resident  in  Laporte  county, 
rode  the  trails  to  Washington  to  protest  against 
certain  rulings  of  the  land  office  which  bore 
hardly  on  the  settlers.  Arriving  at  an  early  hour, 
the  messenger  went  to  the  White  House  and  sat 
down  on  the  steps  to  wait  for  business  hours.  A 
colored  attendant  asked  him  why  he  waited,  and 
was  directed  to  inform  President  Jackson  that 
Mr.  Smith  had  come  from  Laporte  county,  Indi- 
ana, to  see  him  on  land  matters.  Jackson  di- 
rected the  attendant  to  "tell  Mr.  Smith  of  La- 
porte county,  Indiana,  to  come  in  and  have  his 
breakfast."  So  Andrew  Smith  of  Indiana  ate 
ham  and  eggs  with  Andrew  Jackson  of  Tennes- 
see, and  explained  at  large  the  troubles  of  the 
settlers  and  the  land  office,  and  Jackson  said  the 
settlers  were  right  and  the  land  office  was  wrong, 
and  he  smote  the  table  with  his  fist  and  said  he 
would  fix  it,  and  he  did  fix  it.  This  incident  faith- 
fully reported  by  Smith,  and  losing  nothing  by 
repetition,  made  Laporte  county  steadily  Demo- 
cratic up  to  the  Civil  war. 

The  changes  in  political  organizations  and  in 
public  opinion  between  18(i0  and  18(54  turned  the 
county  over  to  the  Republicans,  but  easy  triumphs 
and  personal  ambitions  caused  such  internal  strife 
that  the  adherents  of  the  old  party  were  encour- 
aged to  continue  the  fight.  The  struggle  to  re- 
gain the  county  for  Democracy  was  long  and  stub- 
born. It  was  made  on  sound  Democratic  princi- 
ples, and  in  the  end  was  successful. 

The  inspiring  mind  was  Henry  E.  Wadsworth, 
whose  faith  found  expression  in  the  Laporte  Ar- 
gus, founded  by  him  in  18(58,  and  still  published  as 
a  daily.  The  keynote  of  Wadsworth's  editorial 
page  was  that  the  government  should  treat  all 
citizens  alike,  and  favor  none.  He  had  a  keen  eye 
for  fallacies  and  specialized  on  the  fallacies  of  a 
high  protective  tariff.  For  thirty  years  his  edi- 
torials furnished  the  Democracy  of  the  county 
with  doctrine  and  ammunition. 

Associated  with  him  were  Lieutenant-Governor 
Mortimer  Nye,  Judge  Daniel  Noyes,  Edward 
Hawkins,  afterwards  United  States  marshal;  E. 
H.  Scott,  Ellis  Michael,  Eugene  Davis  and  others. 
These  men  took  up  the  long  struggle  of  regaining 
the  county  for  the  party. 

In  the  seventies  Michigan  City,  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  county,  began  to  exhibit  Democratic 
tendencies.  Harry  H.  Francis  founded  the  Dis- 
patch, and  his  delightful  wit  and  daring  ridicule 


of  his  opponents  were  given  to  the  support  of 
Democracy's  cause.  Other  leaders  in  the  fight  in 
Michigan  City  were  John  H.  Winterbotham,  Wil- 
liam B.  Hutchinson,  Henry  H.  Walker  and  Martin 
T.  Krueger.  In  1879  James  Murdock  of  Lafay- 
ette came  to  Michigan  City  as  warden  of  the  State 
penitentiary  and  immediately  became  a  leader  in 
party  circles. 

These  men  in  Laporte  and  Michigan  City  worked 
harmoniously  for  party  success  for  more  than  ten 
years.  Their  opponents  called  their  unity  a  ma- 
chine. Perhaps  the  term  was  deserved.  In  any 
event,  their  work  was  successful.  Gradually  they 
gained  the  county.  In  1884  Laporte  county  gave 
Cleveland  and  Hendricks  more  than  a  thousand 
majority,  and  for  years  afterwards  the  majori- 
ties for  the  Democratic  ticket  from  top  to  bottom 
were  sure  and  substantial. 

The  older  leaders  passed  away  and  the  younger 
men,  who  had  known  little  of  defeat,  fell  into  dis- 
sension and  failed  to  maintain  the  solid  front  and 
unity  of  action  which  the  veterans  had  learned 
was  essential  to  power. 

The  free  silver  campaign  of  1896  and  the  con- 
sequent divisions  among  old  political  associates 
weakened  the  organization.  Wherever  Demo- 
crats were  prosperous  that  campaign  was  disas- 
trous. 

The  Democratic  majority  in  the  county  was 
lost,  and  since  then  the  contest  has  been  more 
even,  a  schism  in  either  party  giving  the  victory  to 
their  opponents,  but  generally  the  county  offices 
have  been  divided,  the  strong  candidates  on  each 
ticket  prevailing.  The  campaigns  have  been  bit- 
terly contested,  and  a  new  coterie  of  able  workers 
has  developed.  In  Laporte  Daniel  Grover  remains 
of  the  old  guard,  still  vigorous  and  defiant.  Oth- 
ers prominent  in  these  years  of  strife  have  been 
M.  R.  Sutherland,  H.  W.  Sallwasscr.  R.  N.  Smith, 
Lemuel  Darrow,  Arthur  W.  Taylor,  Norman  F. 
Wolfe,  Fred  Hennoch,  A.  J.  Miller,  W.  C.  Rans- 
burg,  H.  W.  Worden  and  Frank  J.  Tilden. 

In  Michigan  City,  where  Democratic  majori- 
ties are  still  dependable,  they  are  won  by  John  B. 
Faulknor,  editor  of  the  Dispatch;  C.  E.  Meyer, 
Daniel  Hutton,  Fred  C.  Miller,  J.  F.  Gallaher,  Dr. 
W.  B.  Flynn  and  W.  W.  Pepple. 

At  the  date  of  this  writing,  November  9,  1917, 
both  the  cities  of  the  county  have  just  elected 
Democratic  mayors — Herman  W.  Sallwasser  in 
Laporte  by  189  and  Fred  C.  Miller  in  Michigan 
City  by  767. 


(679) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
LAWRENCE  COUNTY 


WHILE  there  is  very  scant  record  of  po- 
litical elections  in  Lawrence  county  from 
the  date  of  its  organization  in  1818  to 
the  presidential  election  in  1852,  the  facts  as  as- 
certained through  various  sources  that  are  reliable 
show  that  the  county  up  to  that  time  was  very 
strongly  Democratic.  It  was  very  seldom  that  a 
Whig  succeeded  in  getting  into  public  office  when 
he  had  to  depend  for  that  preferment  upon  the 
voters  of  Lawrence  county.  If  a  Whig  ever  did 
get  into  office  it  was  evidence  of  immense  personal 
popularity.  He  must  be  a  good  man  to  be  able  to 
beat  any  one  whom  the  Democrats  might  choose 
to  nominate.  Very  little  support  was  accorded 
any  of  the  parties  which  came  up  as  side  issues  or 
advocating  certain  things  which  the  promoters  be- 
lieved could  not  be  obtained  through  either  the 
Republican  or  Democratic  parties.  Lawrence 
county  was  usually  pretty  well  aligned  with  one 
or  the  other  of  these  two  political  organizations. 

In  the  early  50's,  however,  a  change  came  in 
the  voting  complexion.  In  the  presidential  elec- 
tion of  1852  the  county  gave  Pierce  and  King,  the 
Democratic  nominees,  1,113  votes  and  to  Scott  and 
Graham,  the  Whig  nominees,  1,054  votes. 

Four  years  later,  when  political  feeling  was 
running  very  strong  throughout  the  country  owing 
to  the  agitation  brought  about  by  the  discussion 
of  slavery  between  the  North  and  South,  Buchan- 
an and  Breckinridge  were  the  Democratic  nomi- 
nees and  Fremont  and  Dayton  the  Republican 
nominees,  this  being  the  first  appearance  of  the 
Republican  party  in  a  national  election.  The 
American  party  championed  the  candidacy  of  Fill- 
more and  Donelson.  The  votes  stood  in  Lawrence 
county:  For  Buchanan,  1,126;  Fremont,  480; 
Fillmore,  660.  In  that  same  year  in  the  state  elec- 
tion Oliver  P.  Morton,  the  Republican  nominee  for 
governor,  received  1,061  votes  against  1,079  for 
A.  P.  Willard,  the  Democratic  nominee. 

In  1858  in  the  state  election  McClure,  the  Dem- 
ocratic nominee,  received  1,065  votes  in  Lawrence 
county  for  secretai-y  of  state  and  Peelle,  the  Re- 
publican nominee,  received  1,057.  This  was  grow- 
ing very  close  for  a  county  which  had  been  very 
strongly  Democratic,  and  in  1860  the  change  came 
when  H.  S.  Lane,  the  Republican  nominee,  de- 
feated Thomas  A.  Hendricks  for  governor  in  this 


county  by  1,272  to  1,143.  The  same  year  Lincoln 
carried  the  county,  receiving  1,158  votes,  against 
787  for  Douglas  and  Johnson  and  525  for  Breck- 
inridge and  Lane. 

In  1862  the  Democratic  candidate  for  secretary 
of  state,  J.  S.  Athon,  led  W.  A.  Peelle,  the  Repub- 
lican candidate,  by  1,208  to  1,154. 

However,  in  1864  Oliver  P.  Morton  received 
1,462  votes  to  1,183  for  J.  E.  McDonald,  the  Dem- 
ocratic nominee  for  governor.  Lincoln  the  same 
year  carried  Lawrence  county  with  1,423  votes, 
against  1,087  for  McClellan  and  Pendleton. 

Since  that  time  in  no  presidential  election  and 
in  very  few  local  elections  have  the  Democrats  re- 
ceived any  consideration  in  the  nature  of  majori- 
ties or  pluralities  in  this  county  until  the  election 
of  1912,  when  the  county  gave  Wilson  and  Mar- 
shall 2,572  votes,  against  1,631  for  Taft  and  2,106 
for  Roosevelt.  The  results  in  the  county  since  the 
change  came  first  in  1860  have  shown  a  pretty 
steady  Republican  majority  or  plurality,  ranging 
from  300  to  700  or  800. 

Beginning  vdth  1868  to  1916  presidential  elec- 
tions have  resulted  as  follows: 

1868— Grant  and  Colfax,  1,781;  Seymour  and 
Blair,  1,468. 

1872— Grant  and  Wilson,  1,833;  Greeley  and 
Brown,  1,503. 

1876— Hayes  and  Wheeler,  1,941;  Tilden  and 
Hendricks,  1,669. 

1880— Garfield  and  Arthur,  2,057;  Hancock  and 
English,  1,701. 

1884— Blaine  and  Logan,  2,336;  Cleveland  and 
Hendricks,  1,716. 

1888— Harrison  and  Morton,  2,256;  Cleveland 
and  Thurman,  1,814. 

1892— Harrison  and  Reid,  2,529;  Cleveland  and 
Stevenson,  2,134. 

1896— McKinley  and  Hobart,  3,103;  Bryan  and 
Sewall,  2,421. 

1900 — McKinley  and  Roosevelt,  3,535;  Bryan 
and  Stevenson,  2,558. 

1904 — Roosevelt  and  Fairbanks,  3,924;  Parker 
and  Davis,  2,672. 

1908— Taft  and  Sherman,  3,834;  Bryan  and 
Kern,  3,118. 

1912 — Taft  and  Sherman,  1,631;  Wilson  and 
Marshall,  2,579;  Roosevelt  and  Johnson,  2,106. 


HISTORY    OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OV 
MADISON  COUNTY 


THE  county  of  Madison  was  created  by  an 
Act  of  the  General  Assembly,  passed  in  De- 
cember, 1822,  and  signed  by  the  Governor, 
January  4,  1823.  Its  territory  is  a  part  of  that 
known  as  the  "New  Purchase"  obtained  from  the 
Delaware  Indians  by  commissioners  of  the  United 
States  government  in  treaty  with  them  at  St. 
Marys,  Ohio,  October  3,  1818.  It  has  for  its 
boundary  on  the  north.  Grant  county;  on  the  west, 
Tipton  and  Hamilton;  on  the  south,  Hancock; 
and  on  the  east,  Henry  and  Delaware. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

A  Democratic  newspaper  was  first  printed  at 
Anderson,  the  county  seat,  in  1848.  It  was  called 
the  True  Democrat,  and  was  owned  and  edited  by 
two  brothers,  John  Q.  and  William  L.  Howell.  In 
1849  the  paper  passed  to  the  control  of  Peter  H. 
Lemon  and  Townsend  Ryan,  and  by  whom  its 
name  was  changed  to  the  Weekly  Democrat.  It 
was  issued  regularly  by  them  until  some  time  in 
1850,  when  its  publication  was  suspended.  Five 
years  later  the  Democratic  Standard  appeared  as 
the  oracle  of  Madison  county  Democracy,  under 
the  editorship  of  Thomas  W.  and  Ira  H.  Cook,  who 
disposed  of  the  property  in  1858  to  Charles  I. 
Barker  who  continued  its  publication  until  1863, 
when  it  was  purchased  and  its  policies  directed 
from  time  to  time  by  the  following  named  gentle- 
men in  succession  from  that  date  down  to  1873: 
Calvin  C.  Moricle,  O.  C.  Willetts,  F.  M.  Randall, 
E.  V.  Long,  W.  E.  Cook,  A.  S.  McCallister,  Flem- 
ing T.  Luse. 

In  the  meantime  another  Democratic  sheet — 
the  Atiderson  Plain  Dealer — was  launched  in  1867, 
and  was  issued  weekly  from  that  date  until  1872 
by  the  following  editors,  successively:  Edwin  P. 
Schlater,  William  Cook,  Thompson  and  Myers,  G. 
D.  Farrar,  William  C.  Fleming.  But  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Fleming  the  name  of  the  paper  was 
changed  to  the  Anderson  Democrat  sometime  dur- 
ing the  year  1872.  It  was  sold  in  a  few  months 
afterward  to  Charles  L.  Zahm.  Then  in  1873,  M. 
Y.  Todisman  became  the  owner  of  both  the  Dcwo- 
cratie  Standard  and  the  Aiiderson  Democrat, 
united  their  plants  and  their  subscription  lists, 
dropped  the  title  of  the  first  named  rival  and  con- 
tinued to  publish  the  Anderson  Democrat  up  to 
1877,  when  he  disposed  of  a  one-half  interest  in 
the  same  to  William  M.  Croan  and  the  other  half 
a  few  months  later  to  William  R.  Brownlee.  The 
paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  Robert  C.  and 
Sumner   Glassco   in    1884,   and   remained    in   their 


charge  for  two  years,  at  which  period  Captain  W. 
J.  Hilligoss  became  the  owner  and  editor  to  be 
succeeded  as  such  the  following  year  by  Captain 
William  R.  Myers  who  soon  thereafter  associated 
with  himself  in  the  enterprise  Dale  J.  Crittenberg- 
er,  ex-Auditor  of  State,  and  James  J.  Net- 
terville.  Captain  Myers  retired  from  the  part- 
nership in  1888.  while  the  remaining  members  of 
the  firm  pushed  the  publication  on,  and  in  1889 
founded  a  daily  edition  called  the  Anderson  Daily 
Democrat.  Messrs.  Crittenberger  and  Netter- 
ville  sold  the  plant,  including  both  daily  and  week- 
ly, in  1893,  to  a  stock  company  composed  of  J.  P. 
Campbell,  Scott  C.  Pone  and  H.  R.  Bone,  who  con- 
ducted the  same  for  two  years  and  then  resold  to 
Messrs.  Crittenberger  and  Netterville.  Shortly 
after  this  the  daily  was  printed  as  the  Anderson 
Daily  Neu's.  John  C.  Williams  then  purcha.sed  an 
interest  in  the  paper  and  took  an  active  and  bril- 
liant part  in  the  production  of  its  news  and  edi- 
torial features.  Both  weekly  and  daily  were  is- 
sued under  the  management  of  these  gentlemen 
until  1907,  when  Mr.  Netterville  and  Mr.  Williams 
withdrew  from  the  company.  Mr.  Crittenbergc- 
then  stopped  the  publication  of  the  News,  but  co» 
tinued  that  of  the  Weekly  Democrat,  which  is 
still  the  party  organ  under  his  direction  in  this 
county. 

PARTY  MAJORITIES. 
The  voters  of  the  county  showed  decided  prefer- 
ence for  the  Democratic  party  from  the  first.  And 
ihey  returned  a  majority  in  favor  of  each  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  President  from  1824  to  1892. 
The  majorities  rose  steadily  from  that  of  a  few 
votes  when  population  was  sparse  until  it  reached 
the  decided  lead  of  1,010  for  Hancock  in  1880. 
But  following  that,  and  owing  to  a  bitter  factional 
party  fight  and  some  other  shortcomings  in  local 
party  management,  but  more  than  all  to  the  large 
influx  into  the  county  during  several  succeeding 
years  of  iron  and  glass  workers  then  strongly 
disposed  to  support  the  high  tariff  policies,  the 
size  of  the  Democratic  majority  was  rapidly  re- 
duced as  the  succeeding  elections  recurred  until 
1894  when  it  was  entirely  wiped  out  and  shifted 
to  the  Republican  side  by  a  decided  figure,  and 
to  be  yet  enlarged  to  nearly  2,000  for  McKinley 
in  the  campaign  of  1896.  After  that,  partiality 
for  the  Republican  candidates  manifested  itself  in 
1900,  1904  and  1908.  The  preference  was  ar- 
re.<-ted  in  1912  when  Wilson  led  his  strongest  op- 
ponent by  a  plurality  of  1.576  votes  in  the  county. 


(681) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


CHAIRMEN  OP  THE  COUNTY  CENTRAL 
COMMITTEE. 

Upon  the  advent  in  1844  of  a  Central  Committee 
as  a  factor  of  party  machinery  in  the  county, 
Nineveh  Berry,  a  veritable  patriarch,  and  subse- 
quently a  veteran  of  the  Mexican  and  Civil  Wars, 
became  its  Chairman  and  continued  to  act  as  such 
until  1855.  While  from  that  time  to  this  the 
duties  of  Chairman  of  the  Madison  county  De- 
mocracy have  devolved  in  turn  upon  the  follow- 
ing named  gentlemen: 

Andrew  Jackson 1856 

Peter  H.  Lemon 1857 

Thomas   Brunt 1858 

James  M.  Dixon 1859 

Richard  Lake 1860—1861 

O.  P.  Stone 1862—1863 

William  C.  Fleming- 1864—1865—1866 

James  W.  Sansberry 1867—1874—1876 

Eleazer  Malcne,  first  half 1868 

Edwin  P.  Schlater,  second  half 1868—1869 

John  Allen 1870—1872 

Howell  D,  Thompson 1872—1874 

Howell  D.  Thompson 1878—1880 

Thomas  J.  Fleming 1876—1878 

Robert  I.  Hamilton 1880—1882 

Joseph  Pugh,  Sr 1882—1884 

John   L.   Forkner : 1884—1886 

Charles  A.  Henderson 1886—1888 

Thomas  B.  Orr 1888—1890 

James  J.  Netterville 1890—1892 

James  J.  Netterville 1894—1896 

George  T.  Beebe 1892—1894 

Willis  S.  Ellis 1896—1898 

Bartlett  H.  Campbell 1898—1900 

Isaac  E.  May 1900—1902 

Charles   C.   Dehority 1902—1904 

Sparks  L.  Brooks 1904—1906 

William  F.  Edwards 1906—1908 

Robert  Mcl.ain 1908—1910 

Frank  E.  Dehority 1910—1912 

Luther  F.  Pence 1912—1914 

Frederick  K.  Van  Nuys 1914 

STATE  SENATORS. 
The  following  residents  of  Madison  county  have 
served  as  Democrats  in  the  State  Senate: 

Thomas    Bell 1835—1841 

Andrew  Jackson 1845—1847,   1853—1855 

John   Hunt 1851—1853 

Robert  H.  Cree,  Republican,  elected  on  the 
Grange  ticket,  but  voted  in  favor  of  Joseph 
E.  McDonald  for  United  States  Sena- 
tor     1875—1877 

Carrol  K.  McCullough  (died  in  office) 1909 

James  M.  Farlow 1911—1913 

James  J.  Netterville 1911—1915 


Frederick  K.  Van  Nuys 1913—1917 

Austin  Retherford 1917—1921 

REPRESENTATIVES. 
And  the  resident  Democratic  Representatives  in 
the  different  sessions  have  been: 

Thomas    Bell 1831 

Henry    Wyman 1837 

Thomas  McCallister 1841, 1843,  1844,  1851 

Evan   Ellis 1845, 1849 

William  Young 1847 

Townsend    Ryan 1848 

William    Crim 1851 

V/illiam  C.  Fleming 1853 

Thomas  N.  Stilwell 1855 

William  A.  Thompson 1859 

John   Hayes 1861 

Richard    Lake 1863 

David   E.   Croan 1865 

Frederick   Black 1867 

J.  F.  Mock 1869 

James  W.  Sansberry 1871 

Thomas  M.  Jones 1873 

George  W.  Harris 1875 

Edgar  Henderson 1877 

Stanley  W.  Edwins 1879, 1881 

H.   P.    Shafler 1883 

Charles  N.  Branch 1885 

Frank  P.  Foster 1887, 1889 

Andrew  J.  Beehimer 1889 

James  M.  Farlow 1891 

Carrol  K.  McCullough 1907 

Lewis  A.  Stephens     1 

William  Cohran  I  j^qqq 

and  j 

Andrew  J.  Beehimer  ] 

Charles  E.  Smith  ] 

Charles  Biddle         ^^^^  ^g-^^ 

and 
Edward  Osborne   J 
Linfield  Myers  1 

George  H.  Nichols  I  -^g-j^g 

and  f 

Austin  H.  Brumbaugh  J 

A  LIST  OF  DEMOCRATS. 

Among  the  many  citizens  of  Madison  county 
who  have  given  allegiance  and  rendered  faithful 
service  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  picking  out 
only  one  here  and  there  from  head  to  foot  of  the 
long  and  noble  roster — 1824-1915 — these  names 
come  to  mind  just  now: 

John  Berry,  Nineveh  Berry,  Andrew  Jackson, 
Enoch  M.  Jackson,  Burkett  Eads,  Levi  Brewer, 
John  Sabin,  Charles  N.  Branch,  Richard  Lake, 
Eleazer  Malone,  Hiram  Malone,  Henry  Bronnen- 
berg,  Sr.,  Carroll  Bronnenberg,  David  E.  Croan, 
James  W.  Sansberry,  Eli  B.  Goodykoontz,  Wil- 
burn  R.  Pierce,  Howell  D.  Thompson,  William  C. 
Fleming,  Thomas  J.   Fleming,  William  A.   Hunt, 


(682  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       D  E  JI  0  C  R  A  C  Y 


1  8  1  6  -  1  I)  1  6 


John  Hunt,  Andrew  J.  Hunt,  Benjamin  B.  Camp- 
bell, John  W.  Pence,  Benjamin  F.  Spann,  William 
Roach,  Benjamin  F.  Ainien,  Joseph  Howard,  Jo- 
seph Pugh,  Sr.,  William  Crim,  Benjamin  Sebrell, 
James  M.  Dehority,  Andrew  J.  Applefrate,  Elias 
Seward,  James  Etchison,  Ed.  Peters,  Edwin  P. 
Schlater,  Thomas  J.  McMahan,  Thomas  R.  Moore, 
Wallace  W.  Van  Dyke,  John  E.  Canaday,  Charles 
A.  Henderson,  Georpe  Ross,  Nathan  T.  Call,  John 
R.  Pape,  Daniel  F.  Mustard,  James  J.  Netterville, 
Carroll  K.  MeCulloufrh,  William  M.  Croan,  Calvin 
H.  Allen,  Byron  H.  Dyson,  Jacob  L.  Crouse, 
Thomas  B.  Orr,  Charles  E.  Diven.  William  S.  Di- 
ven,  John  W.  Cook,  William  A.  Dehority,  Dale  J. 
Crittenbererer,  Alfred  Ellison,  Charles  K.  Bapot, 
Luther  Pence,  Willis  S.  Ellis,  Isaac  E.  May,  Otis 
P.  Crim,  Samuel  D.  Montgomery,  George  T.  Beebe, 
Lewis  T.  Stephens,  James  W.  Frazier,  Philip  B. 
O'Neill,  Frederick  K.  Van  Nuys,  Charles  T.  Sans- 
berry. 

Incidents  in  the  career  of  some  of  them  hold  a 
lively  local  interest  and  compel  even  State-wide 
attention.  Yet  space  cannot  be  given  here  for  the 
slightest  account  of  all.  And  a  brief  reference  to 
the  records  of  two  or  three  only  must  serve  to 
show  as  best  it  may  the  political  fiber  of  their 
party  associates  as  well  as  that  of  themselves. 

AUGUST  S.  McCALLISTER. 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  Augustus 
S.  McCallister  was  born  in  Madison  county.  He 
availed  himself  of  a  liberal  education  and  took  the 
course  in  law  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.  While  there 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  returned  to  Chicago  on  a 
visit  from  Washington,  and  a  number  of  the  stu- 
dents at  the  Michigan  University  concluded  to 
journey  to  the  Windy  City  and  in  a  body  pay  their 
respects  to  the  illustrious  statesman.  Accordingly 
they  did  so,  and  young  McCallister  was  selected  by 
them  as  their  spokesman.  His  speech  highly  grati- 
fied all.  And  Douglas  was  pronounced  in  his 
praise  of  its  appropriate  thought  and  beauty. 

The  eloquence  of  McCallister  was  of  a  magnetic, 
soulful  sort  and  flowing  from  his  sincere  and 
generous  heart,  and  set  in  the  simple  yet  selected 
language  of  the  scholar,  enchained  at  once  and 
always  every  hearer. 

He  was  yet  young  when  he  had  fallen  a  victim 
to  the  habit  of  excessive  drink.  But  he  resolved 
to  reform,  promising  the  electors  when  he  made 
the  race  for  Prosecuting  Attorney  in  1874  that 
if  chosen  he  would  resign  his  office  if  he  failed  to 
remain  sober  during  his  term.  He  was  elected, 
but  had  not  served  a  great  while  when  the  fatal 
cup  touched  his  lips  again.  But  his  courage  and 
his  promise  were  still  as  true  as  gold.  And  then 
he  gathered  up  his  credentials  of  office,  took  the 


train  for  Indianapolis  and  returned  his  commis- 
sion into  the  hands  of  Governor  Hendricks.  The 
Governor  afterward  spoke  of  it  as  the  saddest  in- 
cident of  his  official  career. 

WILLIAM  R.  MYERS. 

The  oratory  of  Captain  William  R.  Myers  can- 
not be  omitted  from  any  faithful  account  of  stump 
speakers  in  this  State.  He  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress in  1878,  the  only  Democrat  who  has  gone 
to  the  National  House  of  Representatives  from 
the  county.  He  was  elected  Secretary  of  State 
for  Indiana  three  times— 1882,  1884,  and  1892— a 
tenure  of  that  office  which  no  other  incumbent 
has  enjoyed.  His  power  on  the  hustings  first 
gained  general  notice  in  his  campaign  for  Con- 
gress. And  in  the  contests  of  every  general  elec- 
tion after  that  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1907,  there  were  insistent  calls  from 
every  section  of  the  State  for  his  services  on  the 
stump. 

He  was  not  reckoned  among  the  closest  de- 
baters where  issues  were  to  be  tersely  stated  and 
argued  out  at  length.  But  in  the  common  party 
appeals  of  the  hustings  few  tongues  were  gifted 
beyond  his.  And  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  son  of 
Indiana,  at  any  period  of  her  history,  could  more 
keenly  arouse  or  more  certainly  sway  to  depths 
or  heights  of  feeling  and  of  favor,  the  assembled 
hosts  of  the  open  political  gatherings  than  could 
William  R.  Myers. 

JOHN  L.  FORKNER. 

John  L.  Forkner  is  another  man  who  has  done 
much  to  honor  and  perpetuate  Democracy  in  this 
county.  His  chief  work  has  been  done  in  quite 
another  way  from  that  of  the  characters  above 
referred  to.  He  is  of  a  quiet  nature,  teeming  al- 
ways, however,  with  good-fellowship  and  with  a 
ready  wit  as  harmless  as  it  is  convulsing.  Mr. 
Forkner  lays  no  pretention  to  being  an  orator  and 
yet  no  local  gathering  of  Democrats  which  he  has 
attended  in  the  last  thirty  years,  and  he  has 
graced  nearly  ail  of  them,  has  ever  let  him  off 
without  a  speech. 

He  served  two  terms  of  four  years  each  as 
Auditor  of  the  county  while  yet  a  young  man. 
And  later,  as  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Anderson  for 
six  years,  he  demonstrated  executive  ability  of  a 
high  order,  during  that  time  placing  the  municipal 
water  and  electric  light  and  power  plants  on  the 
practical  and  permanent  bases  where  they  have 
since  yielded  the  most  wonderful  and  gratifying 
service  to  the  city  and  its  people. 

But  it  is  perhaps  as  a  historian  that  his  fame 
will  live  longest  and  grow  brightest  as  it  goes 
down  to  future  generations.  With  the  assistance 
of   Byron    H.    Dyson   he   wrote   and   published   in 


HISTORY      INDIANA      D  E  M  O  C  R  A  C  Y  —  1  8  1 


19  16 


1897  "Historical  Sketches  and  Reminiscences  of 
Madison  County,"  the  best  county  history,  we  dare 
say,  yet  produced  in  the  State.  It  is  not  made  up 
for  the  most  part  of  the  dry  details  of  official  and 
institutional  life  and  of  the  commonplace,  paid- 
for  biographies  which  generally  fill  the  pages  of 
such  books.  It  is  a  living,  faithful  panorama  of 
events  making  up  the  story  of  the  county  and  its 
people,  a  record  in  attractive  recital  of  many  in- 
cidents, political  and  otherwise,  which  while  thor- 
oughly  fascinating,   embody   the   true   spirit   and 


color  of  their  time.  He  there  tells,  for  instance, 
of  the  "White  Boys  in  Blue" — Madison  county's 
Democratic  marching  club  of  1868.  Their  uni- 
forms were  white  caps,  blue  waists  and  red 
zouave  trousers.  They  were  a  thousand  strong. 
And  one  cannot  wonder  that  they  made  up  an 
attractive  body,  nor  that,  led  by  Captain  B.  B. 
Campbell,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  in  the  great 
State  rally  of  that  year  at  Indianapolis,  they  car- 
lied  off  the  prize  offered  for  the  largest,  finest 
uniform.ed  marching  club. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
MARION  COUNTY 


MARION  COUNTY  was  by  no  means  one  of 
the  earliest  to  be  organized,  although  by 
reason  of  its  geographical  position,  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  the  central  distributing  point  for 
the  rest  of  the  state,  and  also  early  in  its  history 
having  been  selected  as  the  site  of  the  state  cap- 
ital, in  population  and  business  development  it 
was  soon  the  leader. 

During  the  administration  of  General  William 
Henry  Harrison  as  territorial  governor,  the  cap- 
ital had  been  held  at  Vincennes  from  1801  to  1812. 
It  was  removed  to  Corydon  on  May  1,  1813,  by  an 
act  of  the  territorial  legislature,  and  it  remained 
there  until  it  was  permanently  removed  to  the 
city  of  Indianapolis,  in  Marion  county. 

It  was  on  the  eleventh  of  January,  1820,  that  the 
state  general  assembly  appointed  ten  commission- 
ers, their  business  being  to  select  a  permanent  site 
for  the  capital.  Two  of  these  commissioners  were 
John  Tipton  and  John  Conner,  who  with  his 
brother  William  founded  the  city  of  Connersville, 
and  which  city,  by  the  way,  was  for  several  years 
included  in  Marion  county.  The  other  eight  com- 
missioners were  George  Hunt,  John  Gilliland, 
Stephen  Ludlow,  Frederick  Rapp,  Joseph  Bartholo- 
mew, Jesse  B.Durham,  William  Prince  and  Thomas 
Emerson. 

In  so  important  an  undertaking  as  the  selec- 
tion of  a  state  capital  location  it  would  be  natural 
to  suppose  that  there  would  be  a  lively  scramble 
and  pulling  of  all  sorts  of  political  wires  to  win. 
But  the  contest  was  not  sufficiently  exciting  to  in- 
duce a  full  attendance  of  the  commission.  Only 
five  of  the  members  were  present  when  the  final 
vote  was  taken,  and  only  three  of  the  five  voted 
for  locating  at  Indianapolis.  The  meeting  was 
called  at  Vincennes  in  the  middle  of  May,  1820,  and 
they  came  up  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Fall  Creek. 
Being  almost  exactly  in  the  center  of  the  state, 
and  the  lay  of  the  land  being  attractive  for  a  city, 
the  selection  was  made. 

The  final  vote  was  not  taken  until  the  seventh 
of  June,  and  on  the  sixth  day  of  January  following 
the  legislature  voted  to  approve  the  selection.  By 
the  same  act  by  which  the  selection  was  approved 
the  legislature  also  named  the  capital  city  In- 
dianapolis. The  name  had  been  selected  by  the 
commissioners. 

President  Taylor,  by  the  way,  reported  that  on 
his  trip  from  Louisville  to  the  Wabash,  to  build 
Fort  Harrison,  later  the  city  of  Terre  Haute,  he 
had  crossed  the  river  at  the  mouth  of  Fall  Creek, 
his  description  of  the  location  fitting  that  par- 
ticular spot. 


In  platting  the  city,  a  plot  of  one  mile  square 
was  set  in  the  middle,  and  directly  in  the  cen- 
ter of  this  mile  square  a  circle  was  placed,  the 
original  intention  being  that  in  the  circle  should 
be  the  residence  of  the  governor.  A  large  house 
was  erected  in  1827  in  carrying  out  this  idea, 
but  it  was  never  used  for  this  purpose,  being 
occupied  by  state  offices.  The  house  originally 
cost  $G,500  and  in  1857,  thirty  years  after  its 
erection,  the  state  sold  it  for  old  material  for 
$665.  It  was  torn  down  and  moved  away  and 
the  soldiers'  and  sailors'  monument,  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  sort  anywhere,  shortly  after- 
ward took  its   place. 

The  mile  square  is  still  outlined  and  always 
will  be  so  designated,  being  marked  by  what  are 
known  as  North,  South,  East  and  West  streets. 
The  actual  removal  of  the  capital  and  all  effects 
from  Corydon  was  not  completed  until  tl-.e  fall 
of  1824.  In  1820,  the  year  when  tlie  site  was 
selected,  the  settlement  covered  only  a  very  small 
area  surrounding  the  circle. 

If  one  is  to  judge  from  the  newspapers  of  tliose 
early  days,  polities  was  an  interesting  subject 
among  the  people  even  in  the  earliest  times.  A 
glance  through  those  same  newspapers  published 
at  Indianapolis  shortly  after  the  capital  was  locat- 
ed impresses  one  most  forcibly  with  the  fact  that 
these  publications  for  one  hundred  years  and 
without  cessation  proclaimed  that  it  was  most 
disreputable  to  be  a  Democrat.  In  fact  the 
earlier  newspapers,  the  Journal  in  particular, 
made  it  plain  that  no  man  with  any  standard 
of  morals  could  possibly  be  a  Democrat.  The 
assertion  seemed  to  be  sufficient;  no  proof  was 
produced.  In  those  early  days  the  principal 
mark  for  the  vicious  attacks  was  William  W. 
Wick.  He  was  most  conspicuous  in  the  politi- 
cal   contests. 

Like  many  other  distinguished  Democrats  who 
were  conspicuous  as  great  men  of  the  nation, 
and  who  were  abused  each  in  his  turn  by  these 
same  journals.  Wicks  never  stopped  attending 
to  his  own  business  long  enough  to  answer  any 
of  the  attacks.  And  his  majorities  usually  were 
the  best  evidence  that  what  was  said  of  him  in 
the  Whig  newspapers  was  neither  true  nor  yet 
believed,  the  same  condition  that  applied  in  later 
years  to  the  record  of  Thomas  Taggart,  who  in- 
herited and  held  for  years  the  leadership  of  the 
party  and  took  the  abuse  with   it. 

Party  lines  were  not  so  closely  drawn  in  the 
earlier  days,  the  individual  candidates  gaining 
their  strength  through  personal  standing  and  ac- 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


quaintance  by  contact  with  the  voters.  An  ex- 
ample of  this  was  in  the  election  of  1825,  where- 
in Gregory,  Democrat,  was  the  candidate  for 
state  senator  against  Bryson.  Gregory  received 
429  votes  in  Marian  county,  and  Bryson,  the 
Whig,  received  but  20.  In  Madison,  Hamilton 
and  Henry  counties,  which  were  included  in  the 
same  district,  Gregory  received  every  vote  cast, 
Bryson  not  scoring  one. 

Eight  years  later,  in  the  election  of  1833,  A. 
F.  Morrison  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
state  senator  in  the  district  formed  of  Marion 
and  Hamilton,  and  A.  W.  Morris  was  the  Whig. 
Morrison  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  one  vote. 

For  the  first  one  hundred  years  the  changes 
in  political  complexion  of  the  county  and  city 
government  were  frequent,  with  the  successes 
favoring  the  Whigs  and  Republicans.  The  suc- 
cess of  the  Democratic  party  during  the  years 
when  Thomas  Taggart  was  most  active  was  most 
marked.  Mr.  Taggart  was  first  elected  county 
auditor  in  1886,  beginning  his  term  of  office  in 
1887.  Austin  H.  Brown  had  been  auditor  from 
1855  to  1859  as  a  Democrat.  The  next  Democrat 
in  the  office  was  William  K.  Sproule,  from  1875 
to  1879.  Then  came  Taggart  from  1887  to  1895, 
resigning  in  the  latter  year  to  become  mayor  of 
Indianapolis,  in  which  office  he  served  for  three 
terms  also,  retiring  when  he  refused  a  fourth 
nomination  with  every  assurance  of  election  in 
1901.  The  only  other  Democrats  to  hold  the 
office  of  auditor  prior  to  1920  were  Albert  Sahm 
from  1908  to  1912,  and  William  T.  Patten  from 
1912   to   1916. 

The  strength  of  Taggart  grew  with  each  suc- 
ceeding election,  and  the  more  abuse  was  heaped 
upon  him  by  a  viciously  disposed  political  press. 
He  kept  up  the  Democratic  strength  when  the  re- 
sults might  otherwise  have  been   adverse. 

When  the  population  grew  and  many  colored 
voters  came  to  Indianapolis  to  live,  the  Republi- 
can strength  increased  materially.  With  the 
elimination  of  the  colored  vote  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  Democrats  to  lose,  so  safe 
was  the  white  majority. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  the  list  of  men  who 
have  served  the  city  of  Indianapolis  as  mayor, 
and  their  politics.  The  first  were  the  presidents 
of  the  town  trustees,  which  preceded  the  mayors 
of  the  incorporated  city.  The  presidents  were 
these : 

Samuel  Henderson,  Whig,  1832-33;  James  Ed- 
gar, Whig,  1833,  resigned;  Benjamin  I.  Blythe, 
Democrat,  1834-35;  Alexander  F.  Morrison,  Dem- 
ocrat, 1835,  resigned ;  Nathan  B.  Palmer,  Demo- 
crat, 1835-36;  George  Lockerbie,  Whig,  1836-37; 
Joshua  Soule,  Jr.,  Whig,  1837-38;  D.  V.  Culley, 
Democrat,    1838-44;    L.    B.    Wilson,    Whig,    1844- 


46;  Joseph  A.  Levy,  Whig,  1846  till  office  abolish- 
ed. 

The  first  mayor  of  Indianapolis  was  also  a 
Whig,  Samuel  Henderson,  who  served  from  1847 
to  1849.  Those  who  followed,  with  their  politics 
were  these: 

1849-51— Horatio  C.  Newcomb,  Whig  (re- 
signed). 

1851-54— Caleb  Scudder,  Whig. 

1854-56 — James  McCready,  Democrat. 

1856— Henry  F.  West,  Democrat  (died). 

1856 — Charles  Coulin,  Democrat  (appointed  till 
election. 

1856-58 — William    John    Wallace,    Republican 
(elected  and  resigned). 
.  1858-63— Samuel  D.  Maxwell,  Republican. 

1863-67 — John  Caven,  Republican. 

1867-73— Daniel  Macauley,  Republican. 

1873-75— John  L.  Mitchell,  Democrat. 

1875-81 — John  Caven,  Republican. 

1881-83— Daniel  W.  Grubbs,  Republican. 

1883-85 — John  L.  McMaster,  Republican. 

1885-89 — Caleb  S.  Denny,  Republican. 

1889-93— Thomas  L.  Sullivan,  Democrat. 

1893-95 — Caleb  S.  Denny,  Republican. 

1895-1901— Thomas  Taggart,  Democrat. 

1901-03— Charles  A.  Bookwalter,  Republican. 

1903-05 — John  W.  Holtzman,  Democrat. 

1905-09— Charles  A.  Bookwalter,  Republican. 

1909-13 — Samuel  Lewis  Shank,  Republican  (re- 
signed). 

1913 — Harry  Wallace,  Republican  (comptroller, 
became  mayor). 

1913-17 — Joseph  E.  Bell,  Democrat. 

1917-21— Charles  W.  Jewett,  Republican. 

As  historical  facts  it  is  to  the  credit  of  the 
Democratic  party  that  two  men  who  served  as 
mayor  of  Indianapolis  in  the  first  one  hundred 
years  of  the  history  of  the  city  did  more  in  the 
way  of  public  improvements  and  at  low  cost  to 
the  people  than  all  the  others  combined.  These 
were  Thomas  Taggart  and  Joseph  E.  Bell.  Mayor 
Taggart  was  especially  interested  in  public  parks 
for  the  good  that  they  will  always  be  to  the  poorer 
people.  In  face  of  most  violent  abuse  he  bought 
the  only  parks  which  the  city  possessed.  News- 
papers abused  him  for  political  capital  and  be- 
cause "he  paid  too  much  for  the  land."  Only  a 
few  years  afterward  the  whole  community  recog- 
nized that  he  had  saved  millions  of  dollars  to  the 
city  in  this  one  direction  alone.  But  of  course  he 
never  received  newspaper  credit. 

Besides  this  he  gave  his  personal  attention  to 
all  the  city  business  just  as  he  always  did  to  his 
personal  properties.  This  made  all  departments 
of  the  city  business  most  efficient. 

Following  Mayor  Taggart  others  came  on  who 
talked   about  elevating  railroad   tracks.     Mayor 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181G-1 


Bell  elevated  them,  after  groing  into  court  to  set 
aside  contracts  which  his  Republican  predecessor 
in  office  had  rushed  through  in  an  abortive  at- 
tempt to  claim  credit  for  starting  the  things  which 
the  Bell  campaign  had  promised  to  do.  Mayor 
Bell  also  saved  the  people  large  sums  by  making 
careful  contracts  in  substitution  of  the  Republican 
makeshift-s. 

Others  had  talked  about  a  great  and  adequate 
sewer  system.  Mayor  Bell  accomplished  it.  Oth- 
ers had  talked  about  the  need  for  flood  protection 
by  building  great  protecting  walls.  Bell  promised 
to  build  for  a  certain  price  if  elected.  His  op- 
ponents charged  he  could  not  come  within  three 
times  his  estimate.  He  saved  nearly  a  million 
on  his  promise  and  did  the  work.  Others  talked 
about  boulevards  and  more  improved  parks.  Mayor 
Bell  did  it.  He  did  scores  of  other  things,  and  not 
a  newspaper  in  the  city  credited  him  with  any  good 
work. 

Democrats  who  have  served  the  county  in  other 
offices  are: 

STATE  SENATORS. 


1825-26- 
1833-34- 
1834-40- 
1841-43- 
1846-49- 
1853-55- 
1865-67- 
1873-75- 
1883-85- 
1885-91- 
1885-87- 
1887-91- 
1887-91- 
1891-93- 
1893-97- 
1893-95- 
1893-97- 
1909-11- 
1909-15- 
1909-15- 
1911-13- 
1913-15- 
1913-15- 
1913-15- 


-James  Gregory. 
-Ale.\ander  F.  Morrison. 
-Henry  Brady. 
-Nathaniel  West. 
-William  Stewart. 
-Percy  Hosbrook. 
-William  C.  Thompson. 
-William  C.  Thompson. 
-William  B.  Fletcher. 
-William  C.  Thompson. 
-Leon  0.  Bailey. 
-Daniel  Foley. 
-Cortez  Ewing. 
-Henry  T.  Hudson. 
-.Tohn  Worth  Kern. 
-James  F.  McHugh. 
-Romus  F.  Stuart. 
-Salem  D.  Clark. 
-Levi  P.  Harlan. 
-Francis  C.  Tilden. 
-Reginald  H.  Sullivan. 
-Charles  B.  Clarke. 
-Henry  A.  Harmon. 
-Albert  F.  Zearing. 


STATE  REPRESENTATIVES. 
1826-27— Morris  Morris. 
1830-31— Alexander  W.  Russell. 
1831-32- Henry  Brady. 
1833-34— Henry  Brady. 
1838-39— Alexander  F.  Morrison. 
1839-40 — James  Johnson. 
1842-43— William  J.  Brown. 
1842-43— Thomas  Johnson. 
1848-49— Henry  Brady. 


1848-49— James  P.  Drake. 
1849-50— Isaac  W.  Hunter. 
1849-50— William  Robson. 
1850-51— Percy  Hosbrook. 
1851-52— Henry  Brady. 
1851-52— Isaac  Smith. 
1853— John  Price. 
1853— George  P.  Buell. 

1855 Stewart 

1855 Brown. 

1855 —  Logan. 

1857— Robert  N.  Todd. 
1875— E.  C.  Kennedy. 
1875 — James  Hopkins. 
1875 — James  L.  Thompson. 
1875— David  Turpie. 
1879— William  E.  English. 
1883— William  D.  Bynum. 
1883— John  C.  Ferriter. 
1883— Elisha  J.  Howland. 
1883— Bellamy  S.  Sutton. 
1883— Jesse  Whitsit. 
1883— John  R.  Wilson. 
1885— Edward  Schmidt. 
1885— Michael  Farrell. 
1885— R.  C.  J.  Pendleton. 
1885 — John  Schley. 
1885-87— Lewis  Donhorst. 
1887— Daniel  Foley. 
1889— Hayden  S.  Bingham. 
1889— Eli  Heiney. 
1889— William  A.  Hughes. 
1889— William  Langstaff. 
1889— Gabriel  Schmuck. 
1891-9:?-  James  B.  Curtis,  speake 
1891— John  C.  McCloskey. 
1891— James  E.  McCullough. 
1891— Frederick  J.  Mack. 
1891— Harvey  R.  Matthews. 
1891— Henry  Thienes. 
1893— James  H.  Deery. 
1893— Fred  C.  Grossart. 
1893— Henry  A.  Harmon. 
1893— Francis  T.  Hord. 
1893 — Manson  U.  Johnson. 
1893— Frank  Wilson. 
1909— Harry  W.  Bas.sett. 
1909— John  M.  Beaver. 
1909 — Jacob  W.  Buennagel. 
1909— Charles  A.  Gauss. 
1909— Charles  F.  Maas. 
1909— Joseph  H.  Pierson. 
1909 — Adolph  Seidensticker. 
1909 — Albert  F.  Zearing. 
1911— Jacob  W.  Buennagel. 
1911— Homer  L.  Cook. 
1911 — John  J.  Keegan. 
1911— Charles  F.  Maas. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRAC 


19  16 


1911 — Adolph  Seidensticker. 

1911— William  W.  Spencer. 

1911— Walter  J.  Tingle. 

1911— Andrew  H.  Wahl. 

1913 — Herman  P.  Adam. 

1913— Robert  T.  Hughes. 

1913— John  J.  Keegan. 

1913 — John  P.  Leyendecker. 

1913— Samuel  J.  Miller. 

1913— William  Wallace  Spencer. 

1913— Walter  J.  Tingle. 

1913 — Homer  L.  Cook  (speaker). 
SHERIFFS. 

1842-44— Banner  Lawhead. 

1848-52— Charles  C.  Campbell. 

1852-54— Isaac  W.  Hunter. 

1854-58 — John  E.  Foudray   (resigned). 
1859-60 — John  F.  Gulick  (resigned). 
1874-76— Albert  Reisner. 
1886-90— Isaac  King. 
1890-92— Henry  W.  Langenberg. 
1892-94— Robert  F.  Emmett. 
1894-96— Albert  A.  Womack. 
1909-13— Jacob  Woessner. 
1913-15— Theodore  Portteus. 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 
1839-41- Thomas  Johnson. 
1839-40— Asa  B.  Strong. 
1842-45— John  McPall. 
1845-48— John  McFall. 
1848-51- Aaron  Aldridge. 
1849-52— Thomas  F.  Stout. 
1850-53— Matthew  R.  Hunter. 
1851-54— Powell  Howland. 
1852-55— Henry  P.  Todd. 
1853-56— Matthew  R.  Hunter. 
1854-56— Powell  Howland. 
1855-58 — James  Blake. 
1855-56 — Abraham  C.  Logan  (died). 
1856— Henry  P.  Todd  (to  fill  vacancy). 
1856-58— Thomas  W.  Council. 
1857-60— Thomas  Johnson. 
1860-63 — George  Bruce. 
1862-63 — Levi  A.  Hardesty  (resigned). 
1863-66 — George  Bruce. 
1874-77— Samuel  Cory. 

1882-85 — Joseph  Loftin   (died  April  6,  1884) 
1885-87— Albert  Sahm. 
1885-89— William  O.  Reveal. 
1886-88— James  L.  Thompson. 
1887-89— Jacob  A.  Emrich. 
1888-95-Joseph  L.  Hunter. 
1890-93— Michael  H.  Farrell. 
1889-93— Furman  Stout. 
1893-95— Julius  F.  Reinecke. 
1908— Carl  Von  Hake. 
1910-16— James  Kervan. 


1910-16— John  Kitley. 
1912-14— Charles  IVIaguire. 

COUNTY   CORONERS. 

-42 — Thomas   N.   Thomas. 

-50— Peter   F.    Newland. 

-55 — George  Newland. 

-57— Thomas  N.  Thomas. 

-72— James  H.  Hedges. 

-76— James  H.  Fuller. 

86— Isaac  W.   Stratford    (died). 

■88— Frank    A.    Morrison. 

1-92- Frank  E.  Manker. 

-94— William  S.  Beck. 

-11— John  J.  Blackwell. 

-15 — Charles  O.  Durham. 

COUNTY  RECORDERS. 

■55— Charles   Stephens. 

■63 — Alexander   G.   Wallace. 

■76— Edward  M.  Wilmington. 

■92— Christian  Brink. 

•96 — Peter  Carson    (died  in   1893) 
I — Maurice  Donnelly. 

-15 — Joseph  P.  Turk. 

COUNTY  CLERKS. 

-56 — William    Stewart    (died). 

■78— Austin  H.  Brown. 

■90— John  E.  Sullivan. 

•94— John   R.   Wilson. 

15 — John  Rauch. 


1838 
1848 
1853 
1855. 
1870^ 
1874^ 


1890^ 
1892 
1909 
1911 

1848 
1855 
1875 
1888. 
1892. 
1893 
1911 

1850 
1874 
1886 
1890 
1911. 


COUNTY  TREASURERS. 
1832-38— Thomas  B.  Johnson. 
1838— John   B.   E.   Reed. 
1838-41— Charles    Stephens. 
1847-50— John  M.  Talbott. 
1855-59 — Jesse  Jones. 
1875-77 — Jackson   Landers. 
1879-81— Sample   Loftin. 
1885-87— Hiram   W.   Miller. 
1887-89— Sample  Loftin. 
1891-93— Victor  M.   Backus. 
1893-95— Sterling  R.   Holt. 
1910-12— Frank   S.   Fishback. 
1912-16— Carl  Von  Hake. 

COUNTY  AUDITORS. 
1855-59 — Austin   H.   Brown. 
1875-79— William   K.    Sproule. 
1887-95- Thomas  Taggart       (resigned  October 
10,  1895,  to  become  mayor  of  Indian- 
apolis.     William    A.    Hughes    became 
his    successor    until    date   of   regular 
election). 
1908-12— Albert  Sahm. 
1912-16— William  T.  Patten. 
COUNTY  COLLECTORS  OF  REVENUES. 
1831-32— Andrew   Wilson. 
1835-36 — Corson  Vickers. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEJIOCRACY  —  181 


1836-37— Israel    Phillips. 

1837-41— Corson  Vickers  (office  abolished). 

COUNTY  SURVEYORS. 
1827-31— Isaac  Kinder. 
1835 — Isaac  Kinder  (resigned). 
1843-47 — Isaac  Kinder  (resigned). 
1847-48 — Lazarus  B.  Wilson  (resigned). 
1848-50— Percy  Hosbrook. 
1850-54— Daniel  B.  Hosbrook. 
1854-5(3— William  A.  Curran. 
1856-58— William  P.  Case  (resigned). 
1884-86— Daniel  B.  Hosbrook. 
1886-88- William  C.  Smith. 
1888-94— Paul  Julian. 
1909-15— Paul  Julian. 

JUDGES  OF  PROBATE  COURT. 
1836-50— Robert  Patterson. 
1851-52 — Samuel  Cory  (court  abolished). 

PRESENT  JUDGES  OF  CIRCUIT  COURT. 

1822-25— William  W.  Wick  (resigned). 

1834-39— William  W.  Wick  (resigned). 

1842 — William  Quarles  (commissioned  and  de- 
clined). 

1842 — Stephen  Major  (commissioned  and  de- 
clined). 

1842-49 — William  J.   Peaslee   (resigned). 

1849-52— William  W.  Wick  (office  abolished  by 
new  constitution). 

ASSOCIATE  JUDGES  OF  CIRCUIT  COURT. 
1829-36— Joshua  Stevens. 
1836-43— Thomas  O'Neal. 

1843 — Daniel  R.  Smith  and  Samuel  Cory  (to 
office  abolished,  1851). 

JUDGES  OF  CIRCUIT  COURT. 
1852-54— William  W.  Wick  (resigned). 
1853-59 — Stephen  Major  (resigned). 
1859— William  W.  Wick  (resigned). 
1884-88 — Alexander  C.  Ayres. 
1888— Thomas  L.  Sullivan  (appointment). 
1890-96— Edgar  A.  Brown. 
1908-14— Charles   Remster. 
JUDGES  COURT   OF  COMMON   PLEAS. 
1850-52 — Edward  Lander. 
1852-56— Levi  L.  Todd. 

JUDGES  OF  CRIMINAL  COURT. 
1874-78— Edward  C.  Buskirk. 
1882-86 — Pierce  Norton. 
1886-87— Albert  F.  Ayres. 


1890-94— Millard  T.  Cox. 
1910-15— Joseph  T.  Markey. 

JUDGES  OF  SUPERIOR  COURT. 

— Room  One — 
1871-72 — Frederick  Rand  (resigned). 
1872-77 — Samuel  E.  Perkins  (resigned)  . 
1877-82— John  A.  Holman. 
1882-93— Napoleon  B.  Taylor. 
1910-14— Charles  J.  Orbison. 

—Room  Two— 
1890-94— James  W.  Harper. 
1910-14^Ioseph  Collier. 

— Room  Three — 
1892-96— Pliny  W.  Bartholomew. 
1912-19-^ohn  J.  Rochford. 

— Room  Four — 
1877-78— Myron  B.  Williams. 
1908-14— Clarence  E.  Weir. 

— Room  Five — 
1908-14— Pliny  W.  Bartholomew. 

PROSECUTING  ATTORNEYS. 
— Circuit  Court — 
1826-29 — James  Whitcomb. 
1829-31— William  W.  Wick. 
1839-41— William  J.  Peaslee. 
1841-43— Hugh  O'Neal. 
1847-48— Edward   Lander. 
1850-5':— David   S.   Gooding. 
18,52-54— Reuben  A.  Riley. 
1854-56— De  Witt  C.  Chipman. 
18,56-58- Peter  S.  Kennedy. 
(Prosecuting  attorney  for  circuit  court  abolish- 
ed from  1865  to  1874.) 
1874-76 — John   Denton. 

— Criminal  Court — 
1874-76 — James  M.  Cropsey. 

—Criminal   and   Circuit   Courts— 
1886-90— James    L.    Mitchell. 
1890-94 — John  W.  Holtzman. 
1907.11_Elliott  R.  Hooton. 
1911-15— Frank  P.  Baker. 

— Court  of  Common  Pleas — 
1856— Richard  J.  Ryan  (appointed  to  vacancy). 

JUDGE   OF   PROBATE   COURT. 
1909-1.5— Frank  B.  Ross. 

JUDGE  OF  JUVENILE  COURT. 
Newton   M.  Taylor. 


HISTORY  OF   THE  DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
MARSHALL  COUNTY 

By  Harry  L.  Unger,  LL.  B. 


MARSHALL  COUNTY,  named  after  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  with  an  area  of  441 
square  miles  and  a  population  of  600,  was 
organized  on  the  20th  day  of  July,  1836,  at  which 
time  the  seat  of  justice  was  established  at  Plym- 
outh. Two  years  later  General  John  Tipton  re- 
moved the  Potawatomie  Indians  from  the  vicin- 
ity of  Twin  Lakes. 

This  county  lies  mostly  in  the  Yellow  River 
Valley,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State.  The 
soil  is  very  productive  and  the  people  of  the  coun- 
ty are  mostly  home  owners.  The  population  is 
and  always  has  been  composed  of  good,  loyal, 
American  citizens,  all  interested  in  political  ques- 
tions, locally  and  nationally. 

The  first  court  house  in  Marshall  county  was 
erected  by  the  proprietors  of  the  Townsite  of 
Plymouth  at  a  cost  of  $300  as  a  consideration  for 
the  location  of  the  county  seat  at  Plymouth.  The 
second  court  house  was  erected  in  1850  at  a  cost 
of  about  $.5,000,  and  the  third  and  present  court 
house  was  completed  June  11,  1872,  at  a  cost  of 
$10-5,000.  It  is  a  very  good  and  substantial  build- 
ing, the  interior  having  been  remodeled  and  beau- 
tified in  recent  years. 

The  county  is  Democratic.  With  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, from  its  organization  to  the  present 
time,  the  elections  of  the  county  have  been  carried 
by  the  Democrats.  The  first  election  in  Marshall 
county  was  held  August  5,  1836,  at  which  election 
135  votes  were  cast. 

At  the  first  election  Whigs  and  Democrats  were 
on  opposing  tickets,  but  party  lines  were  mostly 
ignored  on  account  of  local  interests.  This  pacific 
state  of  political  affairs  did  not  last  long — the 
political  leaders  lined  up  their  forces  and  con- 
ducted aggressive  campaigns.  Election  day  was 
set  apart  for  a  big  time  in  those  days.  One  could 
cast  his  ballot  at  any  polling  place  in  the  county 
and  the  newly-settled  population  took  advantage 
of  this  occasion  by  visiting  the  county  seat,  where 
they  could  talk  over  the  future  prospects  of  the 
new  country,  become  better  acquainted,  deposit 
their  ballots  and  have  a  good  time.  Society  was 
not  so  refined  then  as  today.  Churches  and 
schools  were  few.  Fist  fights  were  frequent  and 
always  expected  on  election  days  as  a  source  of 
entertainment  for  the  whole  population. 

There  were  few  speeches,  but  often  at  the  close 
of  the  campaign  a  rally  was  held  at  the  county 
seat.  Later  the  "barbecue"  was  added  and  the 
menu  was  frequently  wild  deer,  well  roasted,  with 


plenty  of  seasoning  and  an  abundance  of  "corn 
dodgers." 

Prior  to  the  campaign  of  1852  there,  had  never 
been  a  great  amount  of  political  excitement  in 
Marshall  county.  The  county  was  new  and  the 
people  were  very  busy  with  their  personal  wel- 
fare. In  1852  the  population  of  the  county  was 
about  six  thousand,  with  only  879  votes  cast.  The 
presidential  candidates  were  Franklin  Pierce, 
Democrat,  and  General  Winfield  Scott,  Whig. 
Few  newspapers  reached  Marshall  county  in  those 
days  and  many  people  were  very  ignorant  regard- 
ing political  aflfairs.  They  knew  enough  about 
it,  though,  to  know  whether  they  were  Democrats 
or  Whigs,  and  that  was  enough  for  them.  This 
was  a  warm  campaign  and  much  ill  feeling  grew 
out  of  the  contest. 

The  campaign  of  1856  was  one  which  stands 
out  as  a  landmark  in  the  political  history  of  Mar- 
shall county.  The  Republican  party  had  just 
come  into  existence  and  the  "Know-Nothing" 
party  had  been  fully  organized.  They  joined 
forces  on  the  presidential  ticket.  The  bitterness 
of  this  campaign  found  its  way  into  all  phases  of 
society.  During  this  campaign  a  joint  debate  was 
held  at  Bourbon,  which  broke  up  in  a  political 
riot.  Colfax  and  Stewart  were  the  speakers  and 
opposing  candidates  for  Congress.  Both  parties 
prepared  for  a  grand  rally.  Large  delegations 
attended  from  all  parts  of  the  county  with  fioats, 
flags  and  banners.  The  wagons  were  drawn  by 
horses  and  oxen.  Many  rode  horses  and  others 
were  on  foot.  Bands  and  fife  and  drum  corps 
participated  in  the  parade,  which  was  nearly  two 
miles  long,  each  party  doing  its  best  to  outdo  the 
other.  When  the  procession  reached  the  town  of 
Bourbon  anvils  were  fired  in  welcome  and  the 
bands  played.  Bourbon  was  a  small  town  of  two 
or  three  hundred.  The  joint  discussion  was  held 
in  a  beautiful  grove  of  forest  trees.  The  crowd 
was  immense  and  anxious  to  hear  the  political 
battle  about  to  take  place. 

The  debate  was  opened  by  Mr.  Colfax,  who  was 
a  great  campaigner.  Mr.  Stewart  was  a  man  of 
much  ability  and  learning,  but  not  a  great  cam- 
paigner. The  Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chi- 
cago railroad  was  being  graded  through  the  town 
and  a  large  number  of  railroad  laborers,  mostly 
foreigners,  were  at  the  debate.  On  the  platform 
was  a  banner  with  an  inscription  which  these  for- 
eigners took  as  a  reflection  upon  them.  In  his 
speech   Judge    Stewart   referred     to     the   banner 


(690) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  G  -  1  9  1 


which  had  been  placed  on  the  platform  by  the  op- 
position and  denounced  the  party  offering:  such 
an  insult  to  their  fellow  citizens.  Excitement 
was  at  its  highest  pitch.  Some  one  in  the  audi- 
ence fired  a  pistol  near  the  speaker's  stand  and 
a  general  riot  started.  It  seemed  that  everybody 
was  in  the  fracas.  Black  eyes  and  skinned  faces 
were  numerous.  Several  were  severely  cut  with 
knives  and  beaten  with  clubs.  An  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  made  to  restore  order  and  continue 
the  debate,  but  the  meeting  broke  up  and  the  pro- 
cessions returned  to  their  homes,  broken  and 
bruised.  This  was  a  death  blow  to  debates  at  ral- 
lies in  Marshall  county  and  few  have  since  been 
held. 

Strange  to  say  that  at  the  same  town  of  Bour- 
bon, during  the  early  part  of  the  year  1916,  cer- 
tain foreigners  who  were  working  on  the  same 
railroad  referred  to  in  the  riot  of  1856,  just  sixty 
years  later,  and  housed  in  box  cars  on  a  side 
track,  registered  to  vote  and  long  before  election 
day  the  railroad  company  had  use  for  them  else- 
where, so  moved  them  away  in  their  houses  on 
wheels  to  Kosciusko  county. 

The  opposition  to  Democracy  in  Marshall  coun- 
ty has  always  laid  claim  to  the  foreign  vote  and 
with  few  exceptions  have  succeeded  in  getting  it, 
and,  of  course,  could  not  bear  the  thought  of 
losing  this  opportunity  to  bolster  up  their  divided 
and  weakened  condition  in  Marshall  county  and 
at  the  same  time  deliver  a  blow  to  the  friend  of 
the  people,  Woodrow  Wilson.  And  so  this  gang 
of  monarchial  subjects  were  marched  back  from 
Kosciusko  county  to  the  town  of  Bourbon  and 
there  demanded  the  great  privilege  of  American 
citizens.  These  foreigners  were  courteously  de- 
nied the  privilege.  It  seems  that  a  certain  news- 
paper editor  of  Plymouth,  who  was  an  oil  in- 
spector under  Hanly,  a  follower  of  a  "Big  Stick" 
in  1912,  and  again  a  regular,  old-time,  stand-pat 
in  the  campaign  of  ^loney.  Railroads,  Plutocracy 
and  Knockers  vs.  the  People  in  1916,  was  imme- 
diately sent  for.  He  burned  eleven  miles  of 
John  D.  Rockefeller's  fluid  and  projected  his  an- 
atomy into  the  presence  of  the  Democrats  who 
had  been  so  unkind  as  to  deny  foreigners  the  priv- 
ilege of  illegally  assisting  American  citizens  in 
naming  their  officers.  His  interpretation  of  the 
law  and  demands  were  courteously  listened  to  and 
then  a  good  Democrat,  who  had  pity  for  him,  do- 
nated to  him  a  little  friendly  advice,  pointed  out 
to  him  a  'arge  assemblage  of  American  citizens 
gathered  there  with  the  purity  and  honesty  of 
the  American  ballot  at  heart.  The  editor  re- 
turned to  Plymouth.  The  subjects  of  royalty  re- 
turned to  their  labors  in  Kosciusko  county.  The 
ballot  was  not  corrupted  and  by  the  timely  hand 
taken  in  the  affair  by  the  friendly  Democrat,  a 


repetition  of  the  demonstration  of  1856  was  pre- 
vented. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  county  the  major- 
ities for  President  have  been  in  favor  of  the  Dem- 
ocrats with  the  exception  of  the  campaigns  of 
1860  and  190-1.  In  1860,  on  account  of  the  divi- 
sion of  sentiment  in  the  Democratic  ranks,  the 
Republicans  had  no  trouble  in  carrying  the  coun- 
ty for  Lincoln,  and  in  1872,  the  Democrats  hav- 
ing endorsed  Greeley,  and  he  having  been  prior 
thereto  a  strong  opponent  of  the  high  principles 
and  standards  as  adhered  to  and  believed  in  by 
the  Democracy  of  Marshall  county,  great  num- 
bers of  Democrats  of  the  county  refused  to  vote 
for  him  and  the  Democratic  majority  was  greatly 
reduced. 

Nineteen  hundred  and  four  was  the  year  of 
darkness  for  Democracy  in  Marshall  county,  with 
a  majority  of  123  for  Theodore  Roosevelt,  then  a 
Republican.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
Democrats  of  Marshall  county  greatly  admired 
William  Randolph  Hearst,  an  owner  and  pub- 
lisher of  newspapers  in  different  large  cities  of 
the  United  States,  who  was  a  candidate  for  the 
nomination  for  President  against  Judge  Alton  B. 
Parker.  Hearst  clubs  were  formed  over  the 
county  and  a  strong  organization  perfected.  Wil- 
liam Jennings  Bryan,  beginning  with  his  nomi- 
nation for  President  in  the  year  1896,  has  been 
and  still  remains  the  idol  of  Democracy  in  Mar- 
shall county.  The  element  which  nominated  Al- 
ton B.  Parker  for  President  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  was  opposed  to  William  Jennings  Bryan  in 
his  campaigns  of  1896  and  1900.  At  the  Indiana 
State  convention  in  1904  this  element  opposed  to 
Br.\an  took  control  and  after  making  a  few  un- 
complimentary remarks  the  Marshall  county  dele- 
gates to  the  State  convention,  who  were  "dyed-in- 
the-wool"  Bryan  Democrats,  came  back  home  in 
mourning,  prepared  to  swallow  their  medicine  like 
good  Democrats  as  they  were.  But  all  Democrats 
of  Marshall  county  could  not  drink  what  they  felt 
to  be  so  bitter  a  cup.  About  five  hundred  of  them 
who  had  voted  for  Bryan  in  previous  years  re- 
mained at  home  on  election  day,  the  result  being 
a  majority  of  12.3  for  Roosevelt  and  a  defeat  of 
every  candidate  for  county  office,  except  Joel  An- 
glin,  Democratic  candidate  for  County  Commis- 
sioner, and  that  good  old,  stanch  and  stalwart 
Democrat.  Hon.  Daniel  McDonald,  candidate  for 
State  Representative,  the  only  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Representative  north  of  the  Wabash 
river,  who  was  elected. 

Nineteen  hundred  and  eight  found  the  Democ- 
racy of  Marshall  county  in  working  order  again 
and  she  has  ever  since  held  her  place. 

At  one  other  time  in  the  memory  of  the  writer 
the  opposition  made  the  campaign  cry,  "Put  the 


(691) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


Democrats  out  and  show  up  the  books."  A  good 
number  of  the  Democratic  candidates  for  county 
office  on  that  occasion  were  put  out,  but  the  books 
were  found  true,  and  this  manner  of  running  elec- 
tions has  since  been  abandoned  by  the  opposition 
in  the  county. 

Personal  differences  of  men  are  never  permit- 
ted to  have  anything-  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  the 
party.  It  has  been  the  purpose  of  the  party  at 
all  times  to  select  men  for  office  who  will  conduct 
themselves  as  true  and  loyal  servants  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  they  are  never  selected  arbitrarily  by 
any  set  or  ring,  but  all  candidates  for  office  in  the 
county  have  for  years  been  selected  by  the  mem- 
bership of  the  whole  party.  The  primary  is  a 
tried  institution  in  Marshall  county  and  was  used 
by  the  party  in  the  county  long  before  the  Legis- 
lature provided  for  it. 

The  first  newspaper  i-egularly  established  in 
Marshall  county  was  the  Plymouth  Pilot,  the  first 
number  appearing  April  16,  1851,  by  John  Q. 
Howell,  editor  and  proprietor,  who  was  a  Jeffer- 
sonian  and  Jackson  Democrat.  The  Plymouth 
Pilot  was  a  Democratic  paper.  The  first  issue 
contained  the  following: 

"The  Plymouth  Pilot  is  before  you.  How  do 
you  like  it?  It  comes  to  you  not  on  mammoth 
wings,  like  some  of  its  contemporaries,  but  brings 
you,  we  trust,  although  not  so  much,  at  least  a 
history  of  passing  events  as  welcome  to  your  taste 
as  those  furnished  you  by  its  longer  brethren. 
But,  says  one  stranger,  what's  your  politics?  We 
reply:  They  are  Democratic,  of  the  Jeffersonian 
and  Jackson  school.  Our  Democracy  is  not  to  be 
appealed,  corrupted  or  compromised.  It  knows  no 
baseness;  it  cowers  to  no  danger;  it  oppresses  no 
weakness;  destructive  only  of  despotism;  it  is  the 
sole  conservator  of  liberty,  labor  and  property. 
It  is  the  sentiment  of  freedom,  of  equal  rights,  of 
equal  obligations — the  law  of  nature  pervading 
the  law  of  the  land." 

In  the  declining  years  of  Mr.  Howell,  the 
writer,  when  a  candidate  for  Prosecuting  Attor- 
ney of  the  Forty-first  Judicial  Circuit  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  met  and  became  acquainted  with  him 
and,  although  the  ravages  of  time  had  told  upon 
him,  he  was  yet  the  Jeffersonian  and  Jackson 
Democrat,  and  so  remained  until  he  passed  away 
a  few  years  ago  at  the  village  of  Delong,  in  Ful- 
ton county,  Indiana.  His  son,  Henry  D.  Howell, 
a  banker  and  very  prominent  citizen  living  at  Ke- 
wanna,  Fulton  county,  bears  the  political  faith  of 
his  father.  No  doubt  the  sincerity  and  honesty 
of  purpose  and  the  high  ideals  of  this  man,  who 
first  began  publishing  on  paper  the  fundamental 
principles  and  doctrines  of  Democracy  in  Mar- 
shall county,  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  con- 


stancy  of   the    predominating   political    faith    of 
the  county. 

Mr.  Howell  sold  the  Plymouth  Pilot  March  1, 
1852,  and  the  purchaser  changed  its  name  and  pol- 
itics. 

The  first  issue  of  the  Marshall  County  Demo- 
crat appeared  November  16,  1855,  established  by 
Thomas  McDonald  with  his  two  sons,  Daniel  and 
Piatt  McDonald.  Thomas  McDonald  retired  from 
the  editorial  chair  on  November  20,  1857,  and  said : 
"With  an  entire  Democratic  government;  with  the 
wounds  of  'bleeding  Kansas'  healed  and  the  peo- 
ple about  to  make  their  own  government;  with 
success  everywhere  of  the  principles  we  have  ad- 
vocated; with  the  worst  of  financial  crashes  past 
and  the  current  of  trade  setting  in  our  favor;  with 
universal  peace  and  unbounded  prosperity  around 
us,  we  shall  leave  our  patrons  and  readers  to  the 
care  of  younger  heads  and  more  ready  hands,  and 
hope  their  bairns'  bairn  may  see  no  check  to  our 
nation's  onward  movement,  nor  clouds  overshadow 
the  brightness  around  us." 

On  January  26,  1860,  the  paper  became  the 
property  of  A.  C.  Thompson,  who  changed  its 
name  to  the  Plymouth  Weekly  Democrat.  On 
April  11,  1861,  Mr.  Thompson  sold  the  paper  to 
Thomas  and  Piatt  McDonald  and  published  the 
following  in  his  paper:  "Coming  events  are  cast- 
ing their  shadows  before,  and  the  country  stands 
amazed,  confounded  and  paralyzed.  God  only 
knows  what  is  in  store  for  us,  but  whatever  it 
may  be,  it  is  certainly  of  such  a  nature  that  it 
will  puzzle  the  brain  and  grieve  the  heart  of  all 
philanthropists  and  patriots  May  the  God  of 
our  fathers  save  us  from  the  horrors  of  civil  war." 
Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  the  next  day  and 
the  war  came  with  all  its  horrors. 

During  the  Civil  War,  when  Indiana  was  prac- 
tically under  military  law.  General  Milo  B.  Has- 
call  of  Goshen  issued  an  order  which  virtually 
took  away  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  subjected 
the  people  to  military  rule.  At  this  time  the  edi- 
tor of  the  Plymouth  Weekly  Democrat  was  D.  E. 
VanValkenburgh  and  he  gave  the  order  space  in 
his  paper  and  commented  as  follows: 

"Brigadier-General  Hascall  is  a  donkey — an  un- 
mitigated, unqualified  donkey,  and  his  bray  is 
loud,  long  and  harmless;  merely  offensive  to  the 
ear;  merely  tends  to  create  a  temporary  irrita- 
tion!" 

The  editor  was  arrested  by  a  squad  of  soldiers 
and  taken  to  Indianapolis  and  from  there  he  was 
taken  before  General  Bumside  at  Cincinnati,  who 
soon  decided  that  the  offense  was  not  very  serious 
and  discharged  him  with  the  admonition  never  to 
call  General  Hascall  a  donkey  again. 

October  1,  1877,  the  Hon.  Daniel  McDonald  pur- 
chased the  paper  again,  and  guided  by  this  grand 


(692) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


old  Democrat,  this  paper  became  powerful  in  its 
influence  for  irood  in  the  community  and  for  the 
maintenance,  upbuildinjj  and  progression  of  De- 
mocracy in  Marshall  county.  He  was  loved  and 
respected  by  all.  He  never  failed  to  commend 
the  virtues  of  the  citizens  of  his  community. 

When  the  fifteenth  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  came  before  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  Indiana,  Hon.  Daniel  Mc- 
Donald was  the  Representative  from  Marshall 
county,  and  he,  with  others,  was  absent,  and  final- 
ly to  prevent  a  quorum  he  resigned  as  Repre- 
sentative and  at  a  special  election  called  he  was 
again  elected  to  fill  the  seat  made  vacant  by  his 
resignation. 

He  wrote  two  histories  of  Marshall  county,  the 
only  history  of  Masonry  in  Indiana,  and  a  history 
of  Maxinkuckee  lake.  He  was  a  boy  when  the 
Potawatomie  Indians  were  removed  from  the 
county  and  was  touched  by  the  sad  occurrence.  On 
account  of  his  persistent  efforts,  he,  while  a  State 
Representative  from  Marshall  county,  secured  the 
passage  of  a  law  providing  for  the  erection  of  a 
monument  to  the  ni'imory  of  these  Indians.  The 
monument  was  erected  near  Twin  Lakes,  a  small 
tribute  and  recompense  to  these  peaceful  Indians 
for  the  miseries  and  wrongs  placed  upon  them. 

Mr.  McDonald  continued  as  proprietor  and  edi- 
tor until  March  20,  1902.  at  which  time  he  sold  the 
paper  to  Hon.  Clay  W.  Metsker,  who  has  since 
owned  and  edited  the  paper  as  the  organ  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Marshall  county. 

Other  Democratic  papers  of  the  county  were 
the  Bourbon  Democrat,  published  at  Bourbon  from 
1882  to  1884  by  Homer  Melick  and  W.  W.  Mikels, 
for  a  time  by  Hillis  and  Langdon,  and  finally  by 
Peter  Hahn,  who  was  later  elected  to  the  office  of 
Auditor  of  Marshall  county  on  the  Democratic 
ticket;  also  the  Bre)«eK  Ga^c/^e,  published  at  Bre- 
men by  Charles  W.  Sweeney  in  the  interests  of 
the  Democratic  party. 

Representatives  and  Senators  from  Marshall 
county,  with  few  exceptions,  have  been  Democrats. 

Our  last  Senator  was  Hon.  Harry  E.  Grube,  a 
life-long  Democrat,  having  been  elected  to  the 
office  of  joint  Senator  for  Marshall  and  Kosciusko 
counties  for  two  terms.  He  resigned  after  the 
close  of  the  session  of  1915  to  accept  the  appoint- 
ment as  State  Bank  Examiner,  which  position  he 
still  retains. 

Our  last  State  Representative  was  Hon.  John 
R.  Jones,  who  served  for  two  terms.  He  is  a  be- 
liever of  "practicing  what  you  preach,"  and  as 
soon  as  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  State  Rep- 
resentative he  prepared  a  bill  providing  for  a 
State- wide  primary  for  the  selection  of  candidates. 
He  knew  that  Democracy  in  Marshall  county  had 
flourished  under  a  primary  system  of  its  own  and 


believed  that  what  was  good  for  Marshall  county 
was  good  for  Indiana.  Duiing  the  session  of  1913, 
the  bill  which  he  introduced  failed  to  become  a 
law,  so  he  continued  his  fight  for  this  law,  until, 
with  some  modifications,  it  became  a  law  at  the 
session  of  191,5.  Under  this  law  all  political  par- 
ties select  all  of  their  candidates  for  office  under 
the  Australian  system,  except  State  officers,  and 
under  most  circumstances  the  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor is  selected  in  the  same  way.  Mr.  Jones  gave 
much  time  and  hard  work  to  bring  about  the  pas- 
sage of  this  law. 

The  selection  of  candidates  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  in  Marshall  county,  prior  to  1878,  was  on 
the  delegate  plan,  but  in  that  year  the  Hon.  Daniel 
McDonald  formulated  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  introduced  at  the  county  convention 
and  its  passage  secured  by  the  late  Judge  A.  C. 
Capron,  a  delegate  to  that  convention: 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  conven- 
tion that  future  nominations  for  county  officers 
shall  be  made  by  the  primary  election  system,  and 
that  the  person  having  the  highest  number  of 
voles  shall  be  declared  the  nominee  for  the  office 
for  which  he  is  a  candidate,  and  the  County  Cen- 
tral Committee  is  hereby  authorized  and  required 
to  arrange  the  details  necessary  to  successfully 
carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  resolution." 

At  the  first  primary  election  held  in  the  county, 
nearly  the  whole  Democratic  vote  was  cast.  After 
a  number  of  years  the  delegate  convention  was 
again  used,  then  again  the  primary,  until  the 
present  primal  y  law  went  into  effect. 

Our  Representative-elect  is  Hon.  Ralph  W.  Ja- 
coby,  who  is  a  member  of  a  family  of  Democrats 
and  a  believer  in  a  government  for  and  by  the 
people. 

Marshall  county  has  been  honored  twice  with 
candidates  for  Congress  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 
They  were  Hon.  Charles  Kellison  and  Hon.  Daniel 
McDonald.  Marshall  county  Democracy  has  also 
been  honored  by  the  selection  of  Hon.  Charles  H. 
Reeve,  delegate  to  the  Democratic  National  Con- 
vention in  New  York,  18C8;  Hon.  Horace  Corbin, 
delegate  to  the  Democratic  National  Convention, 
Baltimore,  1872;  Hon.  Daniel  McDonald,  delegate 
to  Democratic  National  Convention,  St.  Louis, 
1876,  and  to  Chicago,  1884;  Hon.  M.  A.  0.  Pack- 
ard, Democratic  candidate  for  Reporter  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  1868;  Hon.  Charles  P.  Drummond, 
Democratic  candidate  for  Attorney-General  of  In- 
diana; Hon.  Charles  M.  Walker,  delegate  to  Dem- 
ocratic National  Convention  at  St.  Louis,  1916, 
and  Hon.  Peter  J.  Kruyer,  appointed  Internal 
Revenue  Collector  for  Indiana  by  President  Wil- 
son. 

Marshall  county  Democracy  claims  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  first  to  put  into  practice  the  turn- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


ing  into  the  Treasury  of  all  interest  on  public 
funds.  When  William  O'Keefe,  a  Democrat  of 
Marshall  county,  was  elected  Treasurer  of  the 
county,  upon  entering  his  office,  he  said:  "In  en- 
tering upon  the  office  of  County  Treasurer,  it  is 
my  purpose  to  discharge  all  the  duties  connected 
therewith  to  the  best  of  my  ability  and  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  law.  I  believe  that  a  public 
office  is  a  public  trust,  and  that  it  should  be  ad- 
ministered in  the  interests  of  the  people  and  not 
for  the  benefit  of  the  incumbent  of  the  office.  So 
believing,  I  shall  deposit  in  safe  banking  institu- 
tions all  funds  received  by  me  as  such  Treasurer 
where  the  same  will  be  kept  until  paid  out  to  the 
parties  authorized  to  receive  the  same;  and  all 
interest  received  by  me  from  said  banks  on  all 
county  funds  so  deposited  will  be  paid  into  the 
County  Treasury  for  the  benefit  of  the  tax  payers. 

"I  will  not  use  any  of  the  money  in  the  transac- 
tion of  my  private  business,  nor  will  I  loan  any  of 
the  funds  of  the  county  to  private  individuals  or 
others,  as  the  money  is  not  mine  to  use  in  that 
way."  The  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  on  January  18, 
1902,  commented  as  follows: 

"Mr.  O'Keefe  has  the  right  conception  of  the 
sacredness  of  a  public  trust.  One  of  the  greatest 
evils  in  the  transaction  of  public  business  is  the 
use  of  public  moneys  for  the  private  benefit  of  the 
custodians  thereof.  It  is,  however,  an  abuse  so 
universal  that  it  has  come  to  be  taken  as  a  matter 
of  course  and  entirely  compatible  with  perfect 
integrity.  *  *  *  Mr.  O'Keefe  has  taken  an  unas- 
sailable position  and  one  which  cannot  be  too  high- 
ly commended  without  reflecting  upon  the  integ- 
rity of  others  occupying  similar  positions,  who 
take  the  ground  that,  having  given  an  adequate 
bond  for  the  same,  they  are  entitled  equitably,  if 
not  in  law,  to  the  profits  arising  therefrom  while 
in  their  possession." 

At  the  close  of  his  term  of  office,  Mr.  O'Keefe 
turned  into  the  Treasury  about  $5,000  of  interest 


earned  on  the  money  belonging  to  the  people  of 
Marshall  county.  This  interest  belonged  to  the 
public,  and  no  one  would  now  say  that  interest 
on  public  funds  of  any  part  of  our  government 
should  belong  to  anyone  but  the  public.  Thanks 
to  Mr.  O'Keefe  for  his  strength  of  character  and 
honesty  of  purpose.  Thus  the  Democracy  of  Mar- 
shall county  gave  to  the  nation  the  lesson  and  the 
whole  nation  hastened  to  make  it  law. 

The  writer  would  like  to  name  all  the  Demo- 
crats who  are  responsible  for  the  good  record  of 
Democracy  in  Marshall  county,  but  it  would  be  a 
task  indeed.  Hundreds  of  them  have  gone  the 
way  from  whence  no  traveler  returns.  We  have 
over  3,000  of  them  today,  all  deserving  equal  rec- 
ognition in  this  history.  Each  has  shouldered  his 
share  of  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  De- 
mocracy. They  are  all  leaders;  they  think  for 
themselves;  they  vote  their  sentiments;  they  be- 
lieve in  the  principles  of  Democracy.  To  be  their 
candidate  you  must  pass  their  close  scrutiny  in 
the  primary — you  must  be  a  man  who  will  serve 
the  people  as  a  public  servant  should. 

In  Marshall  county  the  Democratic  primary  is 
really  the  election  and  the  election  is  a  legal  for- 
mality. The  Democracy  of  Marshall  county  is 
patriotic.  They  greatly  admire  and  love  Presi- 
dent Wilson  and  its  patriotism  is  so  great  that 
should  the  time  ever  come  when  the  President  of 
our  Nation  be  other  than  a  Democrat  with  such 
serious  foreign  complications  arising  as  have  con- 
fronted our  greatest  President,  Woodrow  Wilson, 
the  Democracy  of  Marshall  county  will  stand  true 
American  citizens  and  confirm  his  acts  whether 
right  or  wrong,  but  will  never  admit  that  any  ac- 
tion taken  by  the  President  of  the  greatest  and 
best  nation,  on  subjects  of  foreign  relations,  is 
anything  but  right. 

The  Democracy  of  Marshall  county  is  for  peace 
and  composed  of  loyal  American  citizens. 


HISTORY    OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY    OF 
MARTIN  COUNTY 


BY  an  act  of  the  state  legislature  in  session  at 
Corydon  in  1820  Martin  county  was  created, 
the  act  becoming  effective  January  17  of  the 
same  year.  The  county  was  named  Martin  in 
honor  of  Major  Martin  of  Newport,  Kentucky,  to 
whom  the  principles  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy 
were  a  religion. 

The  county  as  created  at  this  time  was  taken 
from  Daviess  county,  all  of  which  territory  was 
formerly  taken  from  Knox  county.  The  bound- 
aries of  the  county  of  Martin  did  not  include  at 
this  time  the  north  congressional  townships  now 
embraced  in  the  county,  but  by  act  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  1828,  approved  January  24,  1828,  the 
congressional  townships  numbered  5  north,  range 
3  and  4  west  of  the  second  principal  meridian,  as 
attached  until  otherwise  directed  by  law  to  Daviess 
county  by  the  act  relative  to  county  boundaries, 
approved  January  31,  1824,  were  attached  to  the 
county  of  Martin  to  remain  a  part  of  said  county 
for  all  civil  and  judicial  and  other  purposes  what- 
soever. So  by  this  act  of  the  legislature  two  civil 
townships  known  as  Baker  and  McCameron  to\vTi- 
ships  were  added  to  Martin  county  and  the  bound- 
aries of  the  county  at  present  remain  as  estab- 
lished at  that  time.  This  act  of  the  Legislature 
is  entitled,  "An  Act  to  provide  for  the  relocation 
of  the  seat  of  justice  of  Martin  county  and  extend- 
ing of  the  boundaries  thereof."  By  this  act  John 
Murphy  and  Friend  Spears  of  Daviess  county, 
William  Hoggat  of  Orange  county,  Simon  Morgan 
of  Dubois  county  and  Robert  M.  Corlton  of  Law- 
rence county  were  appointed  commissioners  to 
relocate  the  seat  of  justice  of  Martin  county.  The 
seat  of  justice  of  the  county  had  heretofore  been 
located  at  Hindostan.  The  act  provided  that  if 
a  donation  could  be  procured  which,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  commissioners,  would,  together  with 
the  probable  amount  of  the  sales  of  lots  which 
may  belong  to  the  county  as  such  new  county  seat, 
be  sufficient  to  erect  public  buildings  for  said 
county;  and  if,  in  their  opinion,  it  would  be  more 
to  the  interest  of  the  people  of  said  county,  they 
should  procure  said  donation  to  be  made  and 
should  proceed  to  relocate  the  seat  of  justice  of 
said  county;  and  if  they  should  relocate  the  said 
seat  of  justice,  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the  agent 
of  the  county  to  lay  out  the  said  town  on  a  plan  as 
nearly  similar  as  may  be  with  the  town  of  Hin- 
dostan and  with  a  corresponding  number  of  lots, 
and  any  and  every  person  who  had  purchased  and 
paid  for  lot  or  lots  in  Hindostan  should  have  the 
privilege  of  exchanging  the  same  for  other  lot  or 
lots  correspondingly  situated  and  numbered  in  the 


new  town  that  might  be  laid  out  by  said  commis- 
sioners; and  it  is  further  provided  that  the  agent 
of  said  county  should  reserve  10  per  cent,  out  of 
the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  said  lots  for  the  use 
of  a  county  library  which  should  be  paid  over  in 
the  same  manner  as  is  now  provided  for  by  law. 

The  first  lands  of  Martin  county  entered  of  the 
government  were  entered  on  June  2,  1807,  by  Gen. 
Washington  Johnson,  which  lands  are  located  on 
the  east  side  of  White  River  near  the  Houghton 
farm  at  the  point  where  the  Houghton  bridge 
crosses  the  river.  These  lands  were  occupied  by 
a  man  by  the  name  of  McGowan  in  1811,  and  the 
next  year,  1812,  he  was  killed  on  said  lands  by  the 
Indians. 

The  first  county  seat  of  Martin  county  was  lo- 
cated at  Hindostan,  Hindostan  being  located  on 
the  east  side  of  White  River  at  the  place  now 
known  as  Hindostan  Falls.  There  is  no  record 
of  the  date  of  the  platting  of  Hindostan,  but  it 
was  platted  prior  to  May  29,  1820.  The  lands  on 
which  it  was  situated  were  entered  from  the  gov- 
ernment in  the  years  of  1814  and  1815.  About  the 
time  of  the  platting  of  Hindostan  there  was  plat- 
ted on  the  west  side  of  White  River  at  Hindostan 
Falls  a  town  known  as  Greenwich.  The  west  side 
of  White  River  at  the  falls  being  bottom  lands, 
this  plat  was  vacated  May  13,  1823.  The  settle- 
ment at  and  near  Hindostan  was  one  of  the  set- 
tlements made  in  southern  Indiana  along  about  the 
same  time  as  the  settlement  at  Vallonia  in  Jack- 
son county  and  of  Clarksville  near  the  falls  on  the 
Ohio  River.  The  earliest  history  we  have  of 
Hindostan  is  a  notice  taken  from  the  diary  of  W. 
Fox,  who  passed  through  the  place  in  1819  on  his 
way  to  the  Burkebeck  settlement  in  southern  Illi- 
nois.    It  is  as  follows: 

"October  29,  1819— Breakfasted  at  infant  villa, 
Hindostan,  on  the  falls  of  White  River,  a  beauti- 
ful stream  running  navigable  to  the  Ohio  over 
a  floor  of  sand  and  stone,  smooth  and  white  as 
marble.  The  villa  is  flourishing  and  much  build- 
ing is  in  progress  and  it  promises  to  be  a  pleasant 
and  prosperous  town  before  many  years.  The 
land,  too,  is  rich  and  inviting.  I  now  cross  White 
River  in  my  chariot." 

At  the  time  of  the  making  of  the  settlement  by 
Frederick  Sholtz  at  Hindostan  thert  were  two 
other  settlements  made  in  this  county  and  they, 
like  the  one  at  Hindostan,  were  made  on  the  high 
land  along  the  river.  One  was  at  Mt.  Pleasant, 
made  by  Philip,  Davis,  Peek,  Summers  and  Hunt 
families;  and  one  at  the  present  site  of  Shoals  was 
made  by  Clement  Horsey.    James  Piles,  John  Cox, 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


1  6 


and  other  families  were  also  located  near  the 
Clement  Horsey  settlement.  In  1816  Daviess 
county  embraced  this  settlement  along  with  all 
that  is  now  known  as  Martin  county. 

In  1816,  it  is  said  by  citizens  who  claim  to  have 
known  the  oldest  citizens  that  a  bunch  of  In- 
diana Democrats  got  together  and  decided  to 
frame  a  county  of  their  own  which  they  planned 
should  be  eternally  and  everlastingly  Democratic. 
They  wanted  to  make  it  a  sort  of  a  Democratic 
reservation  as  it  were.  History  shows  that  since 
the  date  of  that  political  conspiracy  of  more  than 
100  years  ago  the  successful  carrying  out  of  their 
designs  has  been  most  remarkable.  This  was  true, 
at  least,  for  more  than  80  years  or  until  the  Mar- 
tin county  Democrats  allowed  themselves  to  be 
divided  by  the  Populists  in  1898,  when  the  Republi- 
cans gained  a  majority  of  54.  This  was  the  first 
time  in  78  years  that  the  Republicans  had  had  a 
majority  in  Martin  county. 

In  1900,  when  the  Democrats  expected  to  return 
to  their  own,  they  lost  in  the  governor's  race  by  a 
majority  of  52  and  while  in  an  off  year  in  1902 
they  succeeded  in  reducing  this  Republican  major- 
ity to  26. 

The  Republicans  beat  them  in  1904,  presidential 
year,  by  211  votes  for  governor.  In  the  same  year 
for  presidential  electors,  Parker  being  the  Demo- 
cratic nominee,  the  Republicans  led  in  Martin 
county  by  235. 

In  1906,  the  off  year,  the  Democrats  were  suc- 
cessful in  carrying  the  county  by  a  small  major- 
ity, and  in  1908  they  were  able  to  win  by  a  major- 
ity of  83  votes.  Since  1908  they  have  more  than 
held  their  own,  although  in  1916  the  vote  showed 
a  Democratic  lead  of  only  9,  Wilson  and  Marshall 
leading  by  15.  However,  during  the  time  since 
the  creation  of  the  county  the  local  offices  have 
been  filled  in  the  main  by  Democrats. 

At  the  time  of  the  creation  of  the  county  and 
for  many  years  thereafter  the  citizenship  of  the 
county  being  good  Democrats  and  having  no  op- 
posing party  with  which  to  quarrel  and  argue  at 
election  times  and  being  all  practically  of  one  mind 
on  the  question  of  how  to  vote,  the  only  thing  left 
for  the  Democrats  to  do  to  keep  up  excitement 
was  to  change  the  county  seat  every  few  days. 
They  broke  all  records  in  the  State  in  the  number 
of  county  seats  occupied  in  their  early  days,  and  it 
is  pretty  well  said  that  the  song  entitled  "Where 
Do  We  Go  from  Here,  Boys?"  really  originated  in 
Martin  county. 

The  first  county  seat  at  Hindostan  was  estab- 
lished in  1820  and  the  first  circuit  court  of  Martin 
county  met  at  the  house  of  Joseph  E.  Clements  in 
the  town  of  Hindostan  on  Friday,  the  17th  day  of 
March  (St.  Patrick's  Day),  1820.  Those  who 
wore  the  judicial  ermine  at  this  session  of  court 


were  John  Doty,  presiding  judge,  and  the  associ- 
ate judges,  Ezekiel  Porter  and  Frederick  Sholtz. 
The  probate  court  of  Martin  county  met  at  the 
same  house  one  month  later.  This  was  the  first 
judicial  court  of  Martin  county,  and  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  presiding  judge  as  well  as  the  asso- 
ciate judges  were  Democrats.  The  first  commis- 
sioners, all  Democrats,  of  course,  met  at  the  same 
house,  which  was  designated  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  Martin  county  on  March  27  of  the  same 
year.  These  commissioners  were  Mathew  Sholtz, 
John  Merriman  and  John  Mitchelltree. 

The  first  court  house  in  Martin  county  was  be- 
gun at  Hindostan  in  1820,  the  contract  being  let 
on  the  5th  day  of  June  to  Benjamin  Adams.  This 
building  was  to  cost  $4,185.80  and  was  one  of  the 
finest  court  houses  of  the  State  contracted  for  at 
that  time;  and  on  the  following  day,  June  6,  1820, 
Mathew  Sholtz  was  awarded  the  contract  to  erect 
the  jail  for  the  county  at  Hindostan  for  the  sum 
of  $1,368.79.  These  contracts  were  awarded  by 
the  board  of  commissioners  mentioned  above. 

In  connection  with  the  awarding  of  these  con- 
tracts it  is  interesting  to  note  the  method  of  doing 
county  business  in  those  times.  One  of  the  mat- 
ters determined  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  was 
tavern-keepers'  rates.  On  March  29,  1820,  the 
board  determined  that  the  rates  should  be  as  fol- 
lows: Keeping  one  horse  one  night,  62*  cents;  one 
horse  feed,  12J  cents;  one  lodging,  I2h  cents;  one 
meal,  37*  cents;  each  half-pint  of  whisky,  12* 
cents;  each  half-pint  of  French  brandy  or  other 
foreign  distilled  spirits,  62^  cents;  for  distilled 
spirits  of  domestic  manufacture,  12^  cents.  Just 
think  what  an  immigration  there  would  be  to 
Martin  county  if  during  these  dry  days  in  Indi- 
ana the  board  of  commissioners  would  offer  whisky 
at  12h  cents  per  half-pint.  The  board  of  com- 
missioners also  fixed  the  tax  rates  for  the  year  as 
follows:  A  gold  watch,  50  cents;  a  silver  watch, 
37J  cents;  oxen,  25  cents  per  head;  horses,  37 J 
cents  per  head;  first-class  land,  50  cents  per  100 
acres;  second-class  land,  43i  cents  per  100  acres; 
third-class  land,  31J  cents  per  100  acres.  Poll  tax 
was  50  cents.  Many  of  our  Republican  friends  of 
Martin  county  would  like  to  return  to  the  good  old 
tax  rate  when  they  go  to  the  court  house  to  the 
treasurer's  office  to  pay  their  taxes. 

When  the  circuit  court  met  on  March  17,  1820, 
the  first  business  transacted  by  them  was  to  issue 
a  writ  to  ascertain  what  damage  would  occur  by 
the  erection  of  a  water  mill  on  Beaver  creek  west 
of  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  Huron.  The 
petitioner  was  Charles  R.  Brown.  The  county 
officers  were:  Thomas  G.  Printess,  clerk  and  re- 
corder; Julius  Johnson,  sheriff,  and  John  P.  Por- 
ter, prosecuting  attorney — all  Democrats. 

About   1826   and   1827    (the   exact   date   is   un- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  1 


-19  16 


known)  the  hand  of  fate  smote  down  upon  the 
town  of  Hindostan,  the  streets  echoed  with  the 
wail  of  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children.  The 
death  angel  stalked  abroad.  The  cemetery  on  the 
hillside  grew  faster  than  the  town  in  the  valley. 
There  was  no  resident  physician,  hence  we  have 
no  positive  account  as  to  the  character  of  the  mal- 
ady which  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth  the 
town  of  Hindostan.  We  do  know,  from  tradition 
and  from  the  fragmentary  records,  that  the  toll  of 
death  was  heavy.  It  is  said  that  there  were  more 
dead  than  living  \vithin  the  town  at  times.  And 
the  forefathers  of  the  town  were  gathered  to  their 
Father  and  they  all  slept  together  in  the  bosom 
of  Mother  Earth.  Entire  families  died  of  this 
malady;  others  deserted  their  homes  and  fled  to 
other  sections,  and  there  is  not  one  building  or 
one  stone  left  to  mark  the  place  where  Hindostan 
once  thrived,  only  the  roar  of  the  waters  pouring 
over  the  falls  remains  as  in  those  days  of  long 
ago. 

On  March  14,  1828,  the  county  commissioners 
ordered  the  county  oflices  moved  from  Hindostan 
to  Mt.  Pleasant;  and  on  September  1,  1829,  the 
county  commissioners  held  their  first  session  at 
Mt.  Pleasant.  On  March  8,  1844,  the  board  of 
commissioners  met  and  ordered  the  county  seat  to 
be  changed  to  Halbert's  Bluffs  and  appointed 
Mason  J.  Sherman  commissioner  to  plat  a  county- 
seat  town.  The  lands  for  the  platting  of  said 
town  were  donated  by  Stephen  Horsey  on  what 
was  known  at  that  time  as  Halbert's  Bluffs  and 
now  the  present  site  of  Shoals,  the  present  county 
seat.  The  town  was  platted  as  Memphis.  Before 
the  county  seat  was  located  at  the  newly  platted 
to\vTi  of  Memphis,  in  1845,  it  was  ordered  by  the 
board  of  commissioners  to  be  located  at  Hillsboro, 
later  called  Dover  Hill;  and  the  first  meeting  of 
the  board  of  county  commissioners  was  held  at 
Dover  Hill,  September  7,  1846.  Dover  Hill  con- 
tinued to  be  the  county  seat  from  that  time  on 
until  the  Civil  war,  at  which  time  an  effort  was 
made  to  again  move  the  county  seat,  and  a  long 
and  bitter  fight  was  had  between  the  towns  of 
Shoals  and  Loogootee  for  the  county  seat.  Finally 
this  fight  culminated  by  a  compromise,  and  on 
December  11,  1871,  the  county  seat  was  located  at 
what  is  now  West  Shoals,  an  addition  of  Shoals. 
The  records  were  moved  from  Dover  Hill  to  West 
Shoals  July  4,  1871.  The  court  house  in  the  town 
of  West  Shoals  burned  in  1876,  but  was  immedi- 
ately rebuilt  on  the  same  foundation,  and  the 
same  is  now  the  county  court  house.  The  court 
house  buildings  at  these  respective  county  seats 
were  all  handsome,  up-to-date  buildings  for  their 
time. 

From  the  time  Martin  county  was  organized 
until  the  Civil  war  the  county  was  controlled  in 


its  entirety  by  Democrats.  They  having  an  over- 
whelming majority,  the  only  fight  or  political  con- 
test arising  was  for  the  nominations.  The  county 
political  organization  was  of  little  consequence  and 
no  records  have  been  preserved  that  give  any  in- 
formation as  to  the  county  chairmen  for  many 
years.  However,  in  the  later  days  Martin  county 
has  maintained  a  very  close  fighting  organization. 
Among  the  early  leaders  of  the  party  were  Abner 
Davis,  Richard  A.  Clements,  Chris  O'Brien, 
Henry  A.  Peed,  Granvel  Gates,  Argyle  H.  Inman, 
Leroy  Cave,  John  P.  Davis,  John  Riley,  Lewis 
Jones,  and  later  Captain  C.  S.  Dobbins,  Thomas 
Clark,  Ephraim  Moser,  Thomas  Hart,  Philip  Mc- 
Govren,  George  W.  Gates,  George  W.  Freeman, 
Fabius  Gwin,  Elijah  McFarland,  followed  by  Lo- 
renzo D.  Haga,  the  present  county  chairman. 

The  Democratic  newspapers  of  the  county  were 
papers  edited  by  such  able  writers  and  stauncli 
Democrats  as  Alexander  I\L  Chomel,  Henry  A. 
Peed,  Albert  C.  Hacker,  William  C.  Gruber,  Wil- 
liam D.  Sherfick,  J.  Will  Jackman  and  Harry  G. 
Strange.  All  of  these  editors,  running  back  for 
more  than  fifty  years,  have  been  forceful  with 
their  pens  and  have  been  a  power  in  maintaining 
Martin  county  in  the  Democratic  column. 

Martin  county  has  never  had  a  sufficient  pop- 
ulation to  entitle  it  to  a  representative  in  the 
state  legislature  or  a  senator  in  the  state  senate, 
but  at  all  times  had  been  connected  with  various 
other  counties  at  various  times  with  a  joint  rep- 
resentative and  joint  senator.  Among  the  Demo- 
cratic senators  who  have  represented  Martin 
county  in  the  various  sessions  of  the  state 
legislature  since  1822  are:  1822-24,  Frederick 
Sholtz;  1825-.3.3,  John  Ewing;  1834-35,  William 
Wallace;  1836,  Henry  M.  Shaw;  1837-40,  Thomas 
C.  Moore;  1840-41,  Robert  N.  Carnam;  1842-44, 
Abner  Davis;  1845-46;  Elijah  Chapman;  1847, 
Richard  A.  Clements;  1853,  Gaines  H.  Roberts; 
1855-57,  J.  T.  Freeland;  1859-65,  Thomas  R. 
Cobb;  1871-73,  Leroy  Cave;  1875-77,  Henry  A. 
Peed;  1879-81,  William  A.  Traylor;  1883-85,  James 
H.  Willard;  1887,  C.  K.  Tharp;  1889,  George  Wal- 
ford;  1891-93,  William  Kennedy;  1903-05,  William 
N.  Matthews. 

The  representatives  who  have  repi-esented 
Martin  county  in  the  various  sessions  of  the 
state  legislature  since  1822  are  as  follows:  1822, 
James  G.  Reed;  1823,  William  H.  Routt;  1825-26, 
William  Wallace;  1832,  William  Wallace;  1834, 
David  McDonald;  1835,  Josiah  Culbertson  and 
Patrick  M.  Brett;  1836,  Lewis  Jones;  1837.  John 
Riley;  1838,  Abner  Davis;  1839,  John  Finley; 
1840,  John  Flint;  1844,  Silas  L.  Halhert;  1846, 
Richard  A.  Clements;  1847,  Z.  Walker;  1848, 
John  P.  Davis;  1849,  Benjamin  Goodwin;  1850, 
William     E.     Niblack;     1853,     Thomas     Gootee; 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


1857-59,  Cutler  S.  Dobbins;  1865,  Thomas  Clark; 
1863-65,  John  O'Brien;  1867,  Argyle  H.  Inman; 
1869,  Leroy  Cave;  1873,  Henry  A.  Peed;  1875- 
77,  Andrew  J.  Gossman;  1879-81,  Thomas  Hart; 
1883,  Brazil  L.  Greene;  1887,  Thomas  M.  Clark; 
1889,  Ernest  W.  Pickhard;  1891,  Ephraim  In- 
man; 1893,  William  A.  Wilson;  1897,  Perry  Mc- 
Cart;  1911,  Benjamin  Johnson;  1913,  Miles  Ro- 
land. 

The  Democratic  judges  who  have  occupied  the 
bench  in  the  judicial  circuit  in  which  Martin 
county  is  or  has  been  a  part  are  Judge  Niblack, 
who    obtained    national    distinction    as    a    judge; 


Judge  Cobb,  Judge  Wilson,  Judge  Heffron,  and 
Judge  Ogdon,  the  present  judge.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  some  twelve  years  the  judiciary  of 
Martin  county  has  been  Democratic  since  its 
organization. 

At  all  times  since  the  organization  of  the 
county  the  county  offices  have  been,  in  the  main, 
Democratic.  Occasionally  since  1865  a  Repub- 
lican has  been  elected  to  a  county  office. 

The  Democratic  organization  of  Martin  county 
for  the  past  fifty  years  has  been  one  of  the  best 
of  the  state  and  has  been  so  recognized  by  all 
southern  Indiana  counties. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
MIAMI  COUNTY 


By  Joseph  A.  Faust 


IN  writing  a  history  of  Miami  county,  Indiana, 
Democracy,  covering  a  century  of  time,  a  writ- 
er as  a  matter  of  course  must  collect  his  facts 
and  information  from  various  sources,  such  as  his- 
tories previously  written,  conversations  with  par- 
ticipants, and  from  personal  knowledge.  For 
more  than  forty-five  years  last  past  the  writer  has 
been  a  laborer  in  the  Democratic  vineyard  of  Mi- 
ami county,  and  that  part  of  this  history  is  per- 
sonal knowledge.  Credit  for  more  ancient  data  is 
given  to  Francis  S.  McCabe,  who  wrote  a  short 
historical  sketch  of  Miami  county  in  1865,  to  John 
A.  Graham  (1887),  known  as  the  historian  of  Mi- 
ami county,  and  others. 

Miami  county  was  named  after  the  Miami  tribe 
of  Indians,  a  branch  of  the  Algonquin  family,  who 
were  the  aboriginal  residents  of  this  locality.  Mi- 
ami county  was  a  part  of  Cass  county,  and  was  es- 
tablished by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  January 
22,  18.34.  Alexander  Jameson,  John  W.  Miller  and 
John  Cruidson  were  appointed  commissioners. 
October  23,  1826,  Joseph  Holman  had  purchased  a 
section  of  land  from  John  D.  Richardville,  a  Miami 
Indian,  who  had  obtained  the  same  from  the 
United  States  by  treaty,  paying  for  the  same  the 
sum  of  five  hundred  dollars.  Holman  laid  off  the 
town  of  Miamisport  March  12,  1829,  and  here 
the  above  named  commissioners  met  June  3,  1834, 
and  transacted  the  first  business  of  the  county  as 
such  commissioners.  June  9,  1834,  at  a  special 
session,  these  commissioners  provided  for  a  state 
and  county  election,  which  was  held  on  the  first 
Monday  of  August,  1834.  Benjamin  H.  Scott,  a 
Democrat,  was  elected  clerk;  Jacob  Linzee,  sheriff; 
John  W.  Miller,  Alexander  Jameson  and  John 
Cruidson,  county  commissioners;  Jacob  Wilkinson 
and  Stephen  G.  Shanks,  associate  judges;  Abner 
Overman,  treasurer.  Daniel  R.  Bearss  was  ap- 
pointed school  commissioner  and  Joseph  Holman, 
probate  judge.  At  this  election  but  sixty  votes 
were  cast. 

January  7,  1829,  Holman  sold  to  William  N. 
Hood  210  acres  off  the  east  end  of  the  section  of 
land  purchased  from  Richardville  for  the  sum  of 
$500,  a  sum  equal  to  the  purchase  price  of  the 
whole  section.  Here  Holman  laid  off  the  town  of 
Peru.  Sessions  of  the  county  commissioners  were 
held  at  Miamisport  until  May,  1835.  On  June  9, 
1841,  the  plat  of  Miamisport  was  vacated  by  the 
county  commissioners,  and  thereafter  Peru  be- 
came the  county  seat.  On  the  night  of  March  16, 
1843,  the  court  house  was  completely  destroyed  by 


fire,  together  with  all  the  records;  consequently 
no  official  data  of  the  election  returns  or  politi- 
cal aflnliations  of  the  candidates  can  be  obtained, 
if  such  records  were  kept. 

No  files  of  the  Miami  County  Sentinel  or  other 
Democratic  newspapers  are  obtainable  antedat- 
ing 1872,  hence  the  names  of  the  Democratic 
chairmen  of  the  central  committee  previous  to 
that  time  are  not  obtainable.  Following  is  a  list 
of  the  Democratic  county  chairmen  from  that 
time  to  the  present: 

1872,  1874,  Henry  Dutton;  1876,  John  M.  Jack- 
son; 1878,  George  H.  Geves;  1880,  Ed  Wile;  1882, 
David  H.  Armantrout,  who  resigned,  and  Orson 
Durand;  1884,  John  R.  Porter;  1886,  Joseph  A. 
Faust;  1888,  Moses  Rosenthal;  1890.  1892,  1906. 
1908,  Frank  K.  McElheny;  1894,  Charles  A.  Cole; 
1896,  Andrew  J.  Parks;  1898,  1900,  Joseph  N. 
Tillitt;  1902,  Philip  S.  Sullivan;  1904,  Charles  S. 
Dunn;  1910,  1912,  1914,  William  H.  Auger.  Mr. 
Auger,  having  been  appointed  postmaster,  re- 
signed as  chairman  and  thereafter  Homer  Jenkins 
became  chairman.  In  1916  Albert  H.  Cole  served 
as  chairman  and  was  again  chosen  in  1918,  but  re- 
signed, enlisting  in  the  navy,  Vites  E.  Kagy  now 
serving  in  that  capacity. 

Following  is  the  presidential  vote  of  Miami 
county  from  1844  to  the  present  time: 

1844,  Polk,  Dem.,  517;  Clay,  Whig,  569. 

1848,  Cass,  Dem.,  770;  Taylor,  Whig,  730. 

1852,  Pierce,  Dem.,  1,196;  Scott,  Whig,  968. 

1856,  Buchanan,    Dem.,    1,513;    Fremont,    Rep., 
1,390. 

1860,  Breckinridge,    Dem.,    26;     Douglas,    Ind. 
Dem.,  1,608;  Lincoln,  Rep.,  1,835. 

1864,  McClellan,    Dem.,    1,717;    Lincoln,    Rep., 
1,831. 

1868,  Seymour,  Dem.,  2,271;  Grant,  Rep.,  2,193. 

1872,  O'Connor,   Dem.,   50;    Greeley,   Dem.   and 
Lib.  Rep.,  2,119;  Grant,  Rep.,  2,535. 

1876,  Tilden,  Dem.,  2,785;  Hayes.  Rep.,  2,724. 

1880,  Hancock,     Dem.,     3,006;     Garfield,     Rep., 
3,016. 

1884,  Cleveland,  Dem.,  3,310;  Blaine,  Rep.,  2,996. 

1888,  Cleveland,    Dem.,   3,491;    Harrison,    Rep., 
3,042. 

1892,  Cleveland,    Dem.,    3,433;    Harrison,    Rep., 
2,974. 

1896,  Bryan,  Dem.,  3,602;  McKinley,  Rep.,  3,293. 

1900,  Bryan,  Dem.,  3,849;  McKinley,  Rep.,  3,812. 

1904,  Parker,     Dem.,     3,605;     Roosevelt,     Rep., 
4,124. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


1908,  Bryan,  Dem.,  4,176;  Taft,  Rep.,  3,821. 

1912,  Wilson,  Dem.,  3,366;  Taft,  Rep.,  1,426; 
Roosevelt,  Pro.,  1,995. 

1916,  Wilson,  Dem.,  3,854;  Hughes,  Rep.,  3,380. 

Other  parties.  Liberty,  Free  Soil,  National,  Pro- 
hibition, People's,  Socialist  and  Socialist  Labor, 
received  scattering  votes,  ranging  from  one  vote 
for  the  Liberty  party  in  1844,  the  lowest,  to  423 
for  the  Socialist  party  in  1912,  the  highest. 

A  perusal  of  the  presidential  elections  1844  to 
1916,  inclusive,  shows  that  Miami  county  gave  a 
Democratic  majority  in  fourteen  elections  out  of 
eighteen.  The  vote  for  state  officers  was  in  the 
same  proportion.  In  1916  the  entire  Democratic 
county  ticket  was  elected  with  the  exception  of 
representative. 

Miami  county  has  been  represented  in  the  State 
Legislature  by  the  following  named  Democrats: 
1845,  Benjamin  Henton;  1848,  1866,  Nathan  O. 
Ross;  1850,  1862,  Richard  F.  Donaldson;  1856, 
Reuben  C.  Harrison;  1868,  1870,  Jonathan  D.  Cox; 
1876,  William  Zehring;  1880,  Charles  A.  Cole; 
1884,  1892,  1900,  Henry  V.  Passage;  1886,  Jabez 
T.  Cox;  1888,  1890,  William  W.  Robbins;  1896, 
David  Haifley;  1898,  John  Cunningham;  1906, 
Burton  Green;  1910,  William  A.  Hammond;  1912, 
1914,  Jacob  A.  Cunningham. 

Miami  county  has  never  had  a  representative 
in  Congress,  nor  has  any  Democrat  from  the  coun- 
ty been  elected  to  any  state  office  or  held  any 
prominent  position  in  the  public  service,  either 
domestic  or  diplomatic,  with  the  single  exception 
of  Charles  R.  Hughes,  who  was  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Industrial  Board  by  Governor  Ralston 
on  March  16,  1915. 

Benjamin  Henton,  James  B.  Fulwiler,  John  A. 
Graham,  Henry  Dutton,  Richard  B.  Runyan, 
Richard  F.  Donaldson,  Jonathan  D.  Cox,  John 
Mitchell,  Darius  C.  Darrow,  William  S.  Todd,  Wil- 
liam Zehring,  Eli  J.  Jameson,  Henry  V.  Passage, 
John  L.  Farrar,  Josiah  Farrar,  John  R.  Porter 
and  Michael  Horan,  all  deceased,  are  a  few  of  the 
old-time  Democrats  who  never  wavered  in  their 
allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  who  at  all 
times  contributed  their  time  and  energies  for  the 
success  of  the  same. 

Other  states  have  had  barbecues  in  their  politi- 
cal campaigns,  but  no  city  in  any  state  ever  had 
barbecues  of  such  magnitude  as  the  city  of  Peru, 
aided  by  the  loyal  Democrats  of  Miami  county.  A 
barbecue  is  defined  as  "An  open-air  social  or  po- 
litical feast,  of  which  the  chief  feature  is  a  barbe- 
cued animal,"  generally  a  beef,  hog  or  sheep, 
dressed  and  roasted  whole.  These  were  donated 
by  the  farmers  in  each  township,  all  striving  to  do 
the  most.  The  committee  in  charge  attended  to 
the  roasting,  which  was  superintended  by  an  ex- 
pert, with  able  assistants,  over  trenches  filled  with 


a  bed  of  live  coals  from  hard  wood.  Buns,  pickles, 
etc.,  with  the  barbecued  meat,  were  served  on 
long  rows  of  tables,  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  the 
thousands  of  visitors  which  thronged  the  city.  Pa- 
rades of  big  wagons  from  the  county,  filled  with 
pretty  girls,  industrial  floats,  brass  and  martial 
bands,  were  features  of  these  barbecues.  The  first 
barbecue  was  on  the  23d  day  of  October,  1884,  at 
which  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Joseph  E.  McDon- 
ald, Judge  Thurman,  Jason  D.  Brown,  Durbin 
Ward  and  other  distinguished  Democratic  ora- 
tors spoke.  The  barbecue  day  of  1888  was  a  dis- 
mal, rainy  day,  converting  the  streets  into  mud, 
and  the  indications  were  that  there  would  be  only 
a  small  crowd,  but  notwithstanding  the  dismal 
weather  trainloads  upon  trainloads  of  people  ar- 
rived from  within  a  radius  of  two  hundred  miles, 
bringing  enthusiastic  delegations,  which  marched 
behind  their  bands  through  the  slush  and  mud, 
presenting  a  mass  of  drenched  humanity.  Um- 
brellas, raincoats,  oil  cloth  and  anything  that 
would  shed  water  were  eagerly  purchased  by  the 
wet  throngs  from  the  merchants,  and  soon  noth- 
ing of  the  kind  was  obtainable  anywhere.  As  the 
rain  poured  down  incessantly  until  far  into  the 
night,  open-air  speaking  was  an  impossibility, 
necessitating  the  use  of  the  court  house  and  all 
other  public  halls,  which  were  crowded  to  over- 
flowing. The  old  Roman,  Allen  G.  Thurman, 
vice-presidential  candidate;  Daniel  W.  Voorhees, 
Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Isaac  P.  Gray,  C.  C.  Matson, 
David  Turpie,  Robert  Miers,  A.  N.  Martin  and 
other  speakers  were  here  on  this  occasion. 

In  1892  another  mammoth  barbecue  was  held, 
but  in  1896  a  Democratic  clam-bake  and  fish-fry 
took  the  place  of  the  barbecue.  Lack  of  money  and 
the  fact  that  the  "Gold  Bugs"  withheld  their  sup- 
port was  the  cause  of  the  clam-bake  not  being 
the  success  of  previous  efforts,  but  the  barbecue 
of  1904  brought  its  thousands  of  enthusiastic 
Democrats  to  the  city,  together  with  the  "Gold 
Bugs,"  who  had  returned  to  camp.  William  Jen- 
nings Bryan,  Judge  Gannon  of  Chicago,  Doctor 
Sebring  of  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  Congressman  Burgess 
of  Texas  and  Major  Menzies  were  the  speakers  on 
this  occasion.  In  1912  it  was  not  deemed  neces- 
sary to  have  a  barbecue  as  the  Republican  party 
was  hopelessly  divided,  and  the  Democrats  a  solid 
unit.  Presidential  candidate  Wilson,  William  Jen- 
nings Bryan  and  other  prominent  men  spoke  here 
during  that  campaign. 

The  first  Democratic  paper  published  in  Miami 
county  was  published  by  James  B.  and  John  H. 
Scott,  brothers,  known  as  the  Pei-u  Gazette-Pei-u 
Democrat,  one-half  sheet  Whig,  the  other  half 
Democratic.  Six  months,  lacking  one  day,  was 
the  life  of  this  venture — April  14,  1842,  to  Octo- 
ber 15,  1842.    The  Peru  Herald  was  the  next  Dem- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


ocratic  paper,  November  28,  1846,  to  May  20,  1848, 
edited  by  John  H.  Scott. 

June  28,  1848,  John  A.  Graham  commenced  the 
publication  of  the  Miami  County  Sentinel  and 
published  the  same  for  a  period  of  thirteen  years, 
until  1861.  W.  B.  Lockridge  was  the  next  owner 
of  the  Sentinel,  followed  by  Thomas  J.  McDowell, 
Lockridge  &  Foley,  Foley,  Jameson  &  Conner,  J. 
A.  Miller,  Foley  &  Miller,  J.  C.  Maxey,  Miller  & 
Maxey.  In  1874  the  daily  and  weekly  Times,  T.  J. 
McDowell  &  Sons,  was  consolidated  with  the  Sen- 
tinel  under  the  name  of  Times-Sentinel,  which 
continued  for  a  year,  when  the  firm  dissolved, 
each  party  retaining  his  paper  and  its  name.  The 
Sentinel  was  then  conducted  by  Ewing  &  Maxey, 
later  by  Samuel  F.  Winter  until  1879,  Fulwiler  & 
Cole  until  1889,  C.  N.  Kenton,  April  to  November, 
1889,  followed  by  F.  D.  and  F.  A.  Haimbaugh; 
then  F.  D.  Haimbaugh  sold  his  interest  to  T.  J. 
Finch.  The  Sentinel  up  to  this  time  had  been 
Democratic,  but  in  1896  supported  and  advocated 
the  election  of  Palmer  and  Buckner.  This  action 
resulted  in  a  loss  of  patronage,  and  after  the  cam- 


paign a  company  was  incorporated  for  its  publi- 
cation by  W.  H.  Zimmerman,  and  it  was  pub- 
lished under  his  management  until  his  death,  No- 
vember 22,  1913,  from  injuries  received  in  an 
automobile  accident.  Frank  K.  McElheny,  his  as- 
sociate for  years  on  the  paper,  and  now  county 
auditor,  and  Claude  Riser  are  the  publishers  at 
present.  It  is  a  bi-weekly  and  under  the  name  of 
Miami  Coiintij  Sentinel  is  in  its  seventy-first  year. 

The  Peru  Daily  Chronicle,  now  in  its  twenty- 
sixth  year,  ably  edited  by  Samuel  F.  Winter,  a 
veteran  journalist  of  the  Wabash  valley,  and  his 
son  Charles,  is  recognized  for  its  stanch  support 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  its  principles  at  all 
times. 

Persons  holding  public  ofl[ice  are  liable  to  criti- 
cism, and  especially  so  if  they  faithfully  and  con- 
scientiously perform  their  duties.  Miami  county 
has  been  fortunate  in  its  Democratic  officeholders, 
as  no  grave  charges  have  ever  been  filed  against 
any  Democratic  official.  One  and  all  have  been 
and  are  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all  of  their 
fellow  citizens. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
MONROE  COUNTY 


MONROE  COUNTY  was  organized  under 
legislative  act  approved  January  14,  1819. 
The  first  election  was  held  in  that  year 
under  the  supervision  of  John  W.  Lee,  appointed 
sheriff  for  that  purpose  by  Governor  Jennings. 
Bartlett  Woodward,  Michael  Buskirk  and  James 
Parks,  all  founders  of  distinguished  Monroe  coun- 
ty families,  were  the  first  commissioners.  Wil- 
liam Lowe,  who  had  represented  the  county,  then 
a  part  of  Lawrence,  in  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion of  1816,  was  clerk  and  auditor.  The  two  offices 
were  held  in  common  at  that  time.  The  first  meet- 
ing of  the  county  commissioners  was  held  at  the 
home  of  Abner  Blair,  April  10,  1918.  Monroe 
county  has  thus  had  a  full  century  of  political 
struggles. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  history  of  the  county, 
at  least  down  to  1828,  there  were  no  sharp  divi- 
sions in  politics.  All  the  voters  were  Jeffersonian 
Republicans,  or,  as  we  generally  know  them  now, 
"Democrats."  It  would  have  been  worth  almost 
as  much  as  one's  life  at  that  time  to  have  avowed 
himself  a  Federalist.  In  fact,  Federalists,  horse 
thieves  and  counterfeiters  were  all  classed  to- 
gether on  the  lowest  level.  It  is  not  to  be  under- 
stood from  this,  however,  that  there  were  no  po- 
litical fights  in  the  early  days.  Baynard  Hall  has 
left  us  a  picture  of  local  politics  unexcelled  in 
literature,  a  picture  that  will  answer  just  as  well 
for  any  other  county  in  the  state  of  Indiana. 

There  were  two  sections  in  local  politics  as 
early  as  1820.  One  of  these  was  led  by  William 
Lowe,  assisted  by  Jacob  Lowe;  the  other  by  Dr. 
David  Maxwell.  Maxwell  is  charged  with  being 
the  leader  of  the  aristocrats — a  charge,  perhaps, 
originating  from  the  fact  that  he  brought  some 
colored  servants  with  him  from  Kentucky.  The 
Lowes  were  the  leaders  of  "the  common  people." 
When  the  division  came  between  Clay  and  Jack- 
son, in  1824  and  1828,  the  party  led  by  Maxwell 
became  "Whigs"  and  that  led  by  Lowe  became 
"Jacksonian  Democrats." 

Practically  all  of  the  settlers  of  Monroe  county 
came  from  the  South,  and  a  substantial  majority 
of  the  voters  up  until  1856  were  followers  of  Jack- 
son. This,  however,  does  not  mean  that  the  county 
always  went  Democratic.  About  as  many  state 
representatives  and  senators  were  Whigs  as  Dem- 
ocrats during  this  period. 

The  fight  between  the  Clay  and  Jackson  men 
was  always  won  by  the  followers  of  "Old  Hick- 
ory." On  the  other  hand  Maxwell,  when  a  candi- 
date, was  invincible,  serving  a  large  part  of  the 
time  from  1818  until  his  death  as  a  member  of 


the  legislature.  During  this  time  he  was  the  best 
known  man  in  Monroe  county.  Following  the 
Lowes  were  Parris  C.  Dunning  and  James  Hughes 
as  county  leaders  of  the  Democracy.  Dunning, 
from  1835  to  the  time  he  became  governor,  1848, 
was  the  best  known  Democrat  in  the  county  and 
was  everywhere  recognized  as  the  party  leader. 
He  was  known  likewise  as  the  leading  Democrat 
of  the  state,  serving  most  of  the  time  in  the  legis- 
lature. With  him  were  David  McDonald,  a  cir- 
cuit judge,  and  Delana  Eccles,  well  known 
throughout  the  state  and  later  a  United  States 
judge. 

James  Whitcomb,  ninth  governor  of  the  state, 
serving  from  1843  to  1848,  also  began  his  career 
in  Monroe  county.  It  is  probable  that  in  Monroe 
county  he  learned  to  be,  as  he  later  was,  one  of 
the  best  campaigners  the  state  has  ever  produced. 

Monroe  county  was  forty  years  old  before  a 
Monroe  congressman  was  elected  to  represent  it. 
In  earlier  years  it  had  been  represented  by  such 
men  as  John  Carr  from  Clark  county,  John  W. 
Davis  of  Sullivan  county,  once  speaker  of  the 
house  of  representatives,  and  George  G.  Dunn  of 
Lawrence  county.  It  was  not  until  the  convention 
of  1848  that  Willis  A.  Gorman,  a  lawyer  of  Bloom- 
ington,  and  colonel  in  the  Mexican  war,  was  elect- 
ed from  Monroe  county  to  represent  the  sixth  In- 
diana district.  He  served  two  terms  and  then  be- 
came territorial  governor  of  Minnesota  under 
President  Franklin  Pierce. 

Until  this  time  the  county  had  always  been 
represented  by  Democrats,  except  the  one  term, 
1847  to  1849,  when  George  G.  Dunn  was  repre- 
sentative. He  was  elected  as  the  result  of  a  bitter 
three-cornered  fight  in  the  Democratic  convention 
between  George  W.  Carr,  Dr.  John  W.  Davis  and 
James  Hughes.  The  next  representative  to  be 
elected  from  Monroe  county  was  Judge  James 
Hughes,  also  a  lawyer  from  Bloomington;  Hughes 
was  a  very  strong  man  but  a  bitter  partisan,  and 
would  not  take  kindly  to  political  advice.  More 
than  to  any  other  person,  it  is  due  to  him  that 
the  Democratic  party  lost  its  grip  on  Monroe 
county.  In  the  anti-slavery  fights  then  going  on 
in  Congress  he  acted  with  the  administration  and 
in  opposition  to  the  counsels  of  his  party  at  home. 

One  one  occasion  in  congress,  when  discussing 
the  Lee-Compton  constitution  bill,  he  declared  that 
if  every  Whig  in  Monroe  county  were  to  scourge 
the  slave  to  his  daily  toil  he  would  still  support 
the  Lee-Compton  measure.  Most  of  his  Presby- 
terian constituents  resented  his  extreme  stand  on 
the    slavery    question    and    when    the    Republican 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


party  was  organized  he  united  with  it.  Hughes, 
hence,  was  defeated  in  1858,  and  became  a  Repub- 
lican, or  at  least  said  he  would,  and  stood  for 
the  United  States  senatorship,  on  that  ticket. 

In  later  years  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  represent- 
ed the  county,  though,  of  course,  he  was  not  a 
native  of  Monroe.  Some  of  the  most  interesting 
political  combats  ever  staged  in  Monroe  county 
were  between  Voorhees  and  Judge  Morton  C. 
Hunter  of  Bloomington.  In  1896  Monroe  county 
again  broke  into  the  Republican  lists  when  con- 
gressman Robert  W.  Miers  of  Bloomington  was 
elected  to  represent  the  2nd  district,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  held  for  four  successive  terms,  1897 
to  1905. 

A  few  statistics  from  this  period  will  show  the 
political  alignment  of  this  county.  In  1840  Van 
Buren  received  715  votes,  Harrison  951.  Four 
years  later  Polk  received  1,118  votes.  Clay  721.  In 
1856  Buchanan  received  1,191,  Fremont  on  a  Re- 
publican ticket  498,  and  Fillmore  on  the  Ameri- 
can ticket  392.  Here  is  where  the  break  came.  In 
1860  Douglas  received  716,  Breckinridge  395,  and 
Lincoln  1,198,  the  last  receiving  87  more  votes 
than  both  the  Democratic  tickets  and  carrying  the 
county  over  all  by  a  majority  of  33.  Since  that 
time  usually  the  county  has  gone  Republican  under 
the  national  ticket.  However,  in  1864  the  Demo- 
crats carried  it  by  eight  majority  out  of  a  total 
vote  of  2,412. 

During  the  Civil  war  and  down  until  his  death 
the  local  leader  of  the  party  was  Judge  Samuel 
H.  Buskirk.  He  learned  politics  in  the  office  of 
Parris  C.  Dunning;  served  in  the  legislature 
almost  continuously  from  1848  until  1863,  becom- 
ing speaker  during  the  latter  year.  In  1870  he  was 
elected  to  the  supreme  bench  where  he  served  six 
years.  He  was  recognized  throughout  the  state 
as  one  of  the  most  effectual  stump  speakers,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  lawyers  in  the 


state.  Since  the  death  of  Judge  Buskirk,  the  most 
prominent  Democratic  leader  has  been  congress- 
man Robert  W.  Miers,  who  served  four  terms  in 
congress;  was  a  member  of  the  state  house  of 
representatives  in  1879,  and  later  served  as 
prosecuting  attorney,  circuit  judge,  and  made  a 
number  of  races  for  state  offices  in  which  he  was 
unsuccessful. 

John  R.  East,  who  was  a  member  of  the  In- 
diana house  of  representatives  in  1897,  was  one 
of  the  leading  orators  of  the  state.  In  his  early 
manhood  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Monroe  coun- 
ty circuit  court.  As  a  "spellbinder"  he  had  few 
superiors  in  the  state.  Richard  A.  Fulk,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  senate,  1890-95,  was  prominent 
as  a  campaigner.  Edwin  Corr  was  assistant  dis- 
trict attorney;  deputy  attorney-general;  a  mem- 
ber of  the  senate,  1899-1901;  a  member  of  the 
house  in  1911;  later  a  member  of  the  public  serv- 
ice commission;  and  for  more  than  twenty-five 
years  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Indi- 
ana University. 

John  W.  Cravens  was  superintendent  of  the 
Monroe  county  schools,  1887-90;  clerk  of  the  cir- 
cuit court,  1890-94;  county  chairman,  1890-96; 
member  of  the  house  of  representatives,  1889-91; 
district  chairman,  1916-18.  Thomas  J.  Sare  was 
active  in  Democratic  circles,  was  chairman  of  the 
city  central  committee  in  1915,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  Indiana  house  of  representatives,  where  he 
was  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee.  Others 
who  have  been  prominent  in  the  party  affairs  of 
Monroe  county,  are:  Oscar  H.  Cravens,  editor  of 
the  Bloo-mington  World,  postmaster  from  1914; 
John  G.  Harris,  a  member  of  the  legislature  of 
1907.  and  mayor  of  the  city  1910  to  1918;  Rufus 
H.  East,  postmaster  from  1904  to  1908;  Walter  E. 
Hottel,  member  of  the  legislature  in  1907;  and 
John  C.  Dolan,  member  of  the  legislature  in  1889. 


(  703  ) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
MONTGOMERY  COUNTY 

By  Justin  J.  Molony 


MONTGOMERY  COUNTY  was  organized 
March  1,  1823,  and  consists  of  a  rectangu- 
lar area  of  land.  Originally  it  measured 
twenty-four  miles  wide  by  twenty-four  miles  long, 
but  the  Legislature  of  1826  reduced  it  by  allotting 
to  Fountain  county  a  strip  of  land  three  miles 
wide  by  twenty-four  miles  long.  Montgomery  has 
an  area  of  504  square  miles. 

The  year  of  the  founding  of  the  county  saw 
the  planning  of  the  town  (now  city)  of  Craw- 
fordsville,  which  was  laid  out  by  Major  Whitlock 
and  which  became  the  county  seat. 

The  early  history  of  the  boundary  lines  of  the 
territory  which  comprises  the  present  limits  of 
Montgomery  county  is  uncertain,  but  duly  authen- 
ticated history  shows  that  in  1790  this  territory 
was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Knox  county.  In 
the  year  1817  Sullivan  county  was  designed  and 
the  area  of  Montgomery  passed  under  its  con- 
trol. In  1818  Vigo  county  became  a  separate 
entity  and  this  county  came  within  its  limits.     In 

1821  Parke  was  set  off,  including  the  northern 
territory  to  the  Michigan-Indiana  State  line.     In 

1822  Putnam  was  set  off  and  its  limits  ran  to  the 
lake.  The  following  year  Montgomery  was  desig- 
nated and  thus  came  into  being  as  a  governmental 
subdivision. 

Montgomery  county  occupies  a  central  position 
on  the  west  side  of  the  State.  The  general  eleva- 
tion of  the  surface  above  sea  level  is  between 
735  feet  in  Wayne  township  and  838  feet  in  Wal- 
nut township.  The  county  is  well  drained  nat- 
urally and  is  chiefly  an  agricultural  district. 

The  origin  of  the  Democratic  party  as  an  organ- 
ization has  long  ago  passed  into  history.  Stories 
of  its  birth  form  the  mythology  for  this  genera- 
tion. That  it  was  built  upon  a  substantial  foun- 
dation is  attested  by  the  fact  that  the  continuing 
fight  against  unequal  odds  has  svmng  Montgom- 
ery county  into  the  Democratic  column  and  at 
the  present  time  boasts  that  it  has  placed  into 
every  county  offlce  substantial,  reliable  and  effi- 
cient business  and  professional  men  of  its  polit- 
ical faith. 

We,  who  are  today  in  the  majority  in  this 
county,  find  it  extremely  easy  to  enter  the  polit- 
ical fray  for  an  election  battle,  but  the  pleasure 
of  doing  so  is  attributed  to  those  (many  of  whom 
have  passed  away)  who  fought  against  ridicule, 
sarcasm  and  on  the  minority  side  of  the  battle  in 
days  gone  by. 

Statistics  of  early  county  organization  have  not 


been  compiled  and  memory  is  too  uncertain  for 
historical   data.     But  of  this  we  are   sure:     this 
party  began   an   aggressive   Campaign    in     1888, 
with    Charles    Johnston    at    its    helm    as    county 
chairman.     It  was  through  the  efficiency  of  his 
labors  as  well  as  the  following  who  took  up  where 
he  left  off  that  the  present  success  can  be  cred- 
ited.    Following  him  in  their  order  came: 
1890     .lames  M.  Seller. 
1892     Will  H.  Johnston. 
1894     Jeff  J.  Mills. 
1896     Taylor  Thompson. 
1896     Will  H.  Johnston  (district  chairman). 
1898     H.  D.  Vancleave. 
1900     A.  W.  Henry. 
1902     Clyde  H.  Jones. 
1904     J.  S.  Zuck. 
1906     J.  Harvey  Canine. 
1908     J.  Harvey  Canine. 
1910     Basil  T.  Merrell. 
1912     Basil  T.  Merrell. 
1914     Q.  E.  Bundy. 

The    following   tabulation    shows    the    vote    of 
Montgomery   county   for  and   in   support   of   the 
national  head  of  the  ticket: 
Year.         Democrat.       Republican. 
1892  3834  3832 

1896  4124  4342 

1900  4082  4493 

1904  3726  4620 

1908  4227  4426 

1912  3821  2747 

1914  3722  3314  (vote  for  Senator) 

Montgomery  has  sent  as  Democrats  to  the 
State  Legislature  men  who  have  by  their  activity 
and  vote  brought  honor  to  the  party  as  well  as 
those  whom  they  represented.  Among  that  list 
and  the  years  they  served  can  be  found  the  fol- 
lowing: 

1841        Philip  Engle. 

1843-44  James  Seller. 

1846        S.  Hostetter. 

1849-50  James  F.  Harney. 

1850-51  R.  W.  McMakin. 

1851        Mahlon  D.  Manson. 

1869        James  G.  Johnson. 

187.'5        Jesse  Y.  Durham. 

1877         Henry  Hulett. 

1879        Maurice  Thompson. 

1891        Alfred  N.  Higgins. 

1893        D.  V.  McCallister. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


1909        M.  J.  Murphy. 

1911-13  S.  E.  Voris. 

The  Democracy  of  Montgomery  county  has  been 
especially  fortunate  in  having  within  its  ranks 
men  as  party  workers  and  former  officials  whose 
activities  and  earnest  participation  in  the  affairs 
of  the  organization  have  been  the  cause  of  the  suc- 
cess which  Democracy  has  obtained  here.  Among 
the  list,  too  numerous  to  mention,  can  be  found 
many  on  the  honor  roll,  who,  when  called  upon  for 
support,  it  made  but  little  difference  whether  day 
or  night  the  task  assigned  was  carried  to  comple- 
tion, the  following: 

Allen  Byers,  Waynetown. 

Stout  Zook,  Waynetown. 

Vern  Livengood,  Waynetown. 

William  Mullen,  Wayne  township. 

Lennie  Osborn,  Wayne  township. 

Richard  Cording,  Wingate. 

Melvin  Hatton,  Wingate. 

Etna  Curtis,  Wingate. 

Ora  Mason,  New  Richmond. 

T.  J.  Jones,  New  Richmond. 

Charles  Foley,  Coal  Creek  township. 

James  Parlon,  Coal  Creek  township. 

Dan  Harrigan,  Madison  township. 

John  Harrigan,  Madison  tovmship. 

Fred  Shanklin,  Madison  township. 

Otis  Thompson,  Madison  township. 

Henry  Shobe,  Madison  township. 

Lewis  Kirk,  Sugar  Creek  township. 

William  Bundy,  Sugar  Creek  township. 

Charles  Clouser,  Sugar  Creek  township. 

George  Deck,  Sugar  Creek  township. 

John  Graham,  Sugar  Creek  township. 

V.  Craig,  Franklin  township. 

Wallace  Buchanan,  Franklin  township. 

Joseph  Ragsdale,  Franklin  township. 

Wallace  Cashmer,  Franklin  township. 

Charles  Shannon,  Franklin  township. 

Sam  Shaver,  Franklin  township. 

John  Lane,  Scott  township. 

Thomas  Foster,  Scott  township. 

Alonzo  McLain,  Scott  township. 

George  McLain,  Scott  township. 

Charles  Buser,  Scott  township. 

Dr.  Batman,  Clark  township. 

Will  N.  Goodbar,  Clark  township. 

Wallace  Foster,  Clark  township. 

Cliff  Hill,  Clark  township. 

Ben  Clark,  Clark  township. 

Dave  Sparks,  Walnut  township. 

Harvey  Morris,  Walnut  township. 

Robert  Galloway,  Walnut  township. 

Will  Loop,  Walnut  township. 

O.  N.  Eddingfield,  Walnut  township. 

Ed.  Laurence,  Brown  township. 

Charles  Johnson,  Brown  township. 


Tom  O'Connor,  Brown  township. 

Bruce  Pope,  Brown  township. 

Irwin  Deer,  Brown  township. 

Charles  Canine,  Brown  township. 

James  Roberson,  Brown  township. 

Ed.  Etter,  Ripley  township. 

John   Hopping,  Ripley  township. 

James  Elmore,  Ripley  township. 

George  Snyder,  Ripley  township. 

Dr.  Howard,  Ripley  township. 

The  city  of  Crawfordsville  has  so  many  that 
have  been  fighting  in  the  trenches  that  it  would 
be  an  exhausting  task  to  name  them  all,  but  brief 
mention  should  be  given  to  Clyde  H.  Jones,  can- 
didate for  Congress;  ex-State  Senator  Will  H. 
Johnston,  Mayor  Murphy,  Councilmen  Frank  Mc- 
Geath,  Mart  Burroughs,  Henry  Schenck,  Carl 
Snyder  and  John  Vanausdall,  and  the  members- 
elect  to  the  county  offices. 

The  Democracy  of  Montgomery  county  is  at 
present  ably  represented  in  news  circles  by  the 
Crawfordsville  Review.  This  paper  has  an  hon- 
orable history  in  its  fight  for  Democratic  princi- 
ples that  dates  back  to  1841.  The  starting  of  a 
paper  came  as  a  necessity  in  the  days  of  pro- 
mulgating the  doctrines  of  Van  Buren  and  Jack- 
son. Bennett  Engle,  father  of  the  present  County 
Auditor,  was  the  capitalist  for  the  first  newspaper 
venture  in  behalf  of  Democracy  and  Charles 
Bowen  was  the  editor  and  mechanical  chieftain 
of  the  sturdy  little  journal. 

In  1862  the  paper  was  purchased  from  these 
men  and  finally  came  into  the  hands  of  E.  C. 
Voris  and  was  successively  owned  in  whole  or  m 
part  by  T.  B.  Collins,  J.  M.  Miller,  State  Senator; 
James  M.  Seller,  Hon.  Bayless  W.  Hanna,  later 
minister  to  the  Argentine;  John  E.  Hanna,  A.  B. 
Cunningham  and  W.  E.  Henkel. 

In  March,  1900,  the  paper  was  sold  to  Samuel 
M.  Coffman,  then  the  proprietor  of  the  Argus- 
Neivs,  a  rival  Democratic  paper.  The  combined 
sheet  was  called  the  News-Review,  but  later  as- 
sumed the  name  of  the  senior  paper,  the  Review. 

The  paper  was  sold  by  Mr.  Coffman  to  R.  P. 
Carpenter,  the  present  proprietor  of  the  Nobles- 
ville  Times,  and  postmaster  at  that  place.  Mr. 
Westlake  purchased  the  plant  and  in  turn  sold  it 
to  G.  H.  D.  Sutherlin  and  his  partners,  who  incor- 
porated the  company. 

In  1913  George  Harney  assumed  the  editorial 
management  of  the  paper  and  assisted  materially 
in  the  splendid  fight  made  by  the  Democrats  of 
the  city  of  Crawfordsville  in  the  election  held  in 
the  fall  of  1913,  at  which  time  the  Democrats  won. 

Under  the  present  management  the  Review  is 
a  power  for  good  in  western  Indiana.  Its  in- 
creased and  growing  circulation  is  confined  to 
this    and    neighboring    counties    and     circulates 


(705) 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


among  all  classes  of  people.  While  not  radical, 
it  has  constant  and  present  opportunities  to  pro- 
mulgate party  doctrines  among  the  large  class  of 
intelligent  people. 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  officeholders 
in  Montgomery  county,  showing  to  what  party 
they  belong: 

Judge  Circuit  Court  (Twenty-second  judicial 
district) — Jerre  West,  Democrat. 

Clerk  Circuit  Court— Thomas  E.  Matthews, 
Democrat. 

Assessor — George  Welty,  Democrat. 

Auditor — Bennett  Engle,  Democrat. 

Treasurer — O.  P.  Everson,  Democrat. 

Recorder — Henry  D.  Servies,  Democrat. 

Sheriff — James  F.  Wren,  Democrat. 


Prosecuting  Attorney — Ira  Clouser,  Democrat. 

Coroner — Dr.  Chester  Howard,  Democrat. 

Superintendent  of  Schools — Karl  C.  James, 
Democrat. 

Health  Commissioner — Dr.  H.  W.  Sigmond, 
Democrat. 

Surveyor — M.  L.  Nees,  Democrat. 

County  Physician — Dr.  F.  O.  Schenck,  Demo- 
crat. 

County  Road  Superintendent — H.  A.  Chadwick, 
Democrat. 

County  Commissioners — First  district,  Q.  E. 
Bundy,  Democrat;  Second  district,  L.  R.  Long, 
Democrat;  Third  district,  M.  W.  Hatton,  Demo- 
crat. 


(706) 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
MORGAN  COUNTY 


THE  county  of  Morgan  is  in  many  respects 
one  of  the  most  favorably  located  tracts  of 
country  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  The  rich 
and  fertile  valley  of  the  West  Fork  of  White 
river  enters  the  county  at  its  northeast  corner,  at 
a  point  known  as  the  Waverly  Bluffs  (which  is 
said  to  be  the  geographical  center  of  the  State). 
The  capitol  was  once  located  at  this  point  and  a 
few  buildings  erected,  but  later  was  removed 
twelve  miles  north  to  Indianapolis,  the  county 
seat  of  Marion  county.  At  that  time  Indianap- 
olis was  a  small  village,  but  better  located  for  a 
great  inland  city  than  the  Waverly  Bluffs. 

The  county  was  organized  by  an  Act  of  the 
Legislature  in  1821-22.  This  county,  before  the 
admission  of  the  State  in  1816,  was  the  undis- 
puted home  of  the  Miami  tribe  of  Indians.  After 
the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  in  1811  the  power  of  the 
Indians  was  completely  crushed,  which  led  to 
numerous  treaties,  whereby  the  Indians  ceded  to 
the  government  the  land  occupied  by  Morgan 
county,  and  it  gradually  became  settled  up  from 
Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  the  Carolinas. 

POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  COUNTY. 

Unfortunately  on  account  of  a  fire  in  the  court 
house  in  the  early  sixties,  the  tally  sheets  of  pre- 
vious elections  were  destroyed,  and  the  writer, 
who  was  born  in  the  county  in  1833,  can  only  give 
the  political  result  of  elections  from  boyhood 
memory  and  conversation  with  pioneer  settlers, 
all  of  whom  are  long  since  dead.  His  father  was 
an  ardent  and  leading  Henry  Clay  Whig  up  to 
the  death  of  the  Whig  party  in  1854.  The  writer 
became  of  age  in  1854  and  cast  his  first  vote  for 
the  Democratic  party  against  Knownothingism, 
but  was  completely  snowed  under  in  his  first  vote 
in  the  county  by  the  secret,  oath-bound  Know- 
nothing  party  that  had  swallowed  up  the  Whig 
party.  The  county  from  1824  to  1840  was  slight- 
ly Democratic  in  national  elections,  but  mixed  in 
the  selection  of  local  officers. 

The  campaign  of  1840,  the  most  memorable  in 
the  history  of  politics  to  that  date,  between  the 
Whigs  and  Democrats  in  this  county,  was  known 
as  the  "Log-cabin  and  Hard-cider  campaign"  be- 
tween William  Henry  Harrison  and  Martin  Van 
Buren.  It  was  a  singing,  shouting  and  pole-rais- 
ing campaign.  It  has  been  said  that  the  Whigs 
sung  and  shouted  General  Harrison  into  the  pres- 
idential chair.  The  tidal  wave  for  "Tip  and  Ty- 
ler" gave  the  Whig  party  complete  control  of  the 
local  government  of  the  county  by  small  majori- 
ties, which  they  again  lost  in  1844.     This  was  an 


exciting  political  battle  nationally  between  James 
K.  Polk  and  Henry  Clay.  Many  fights  occurred 
that  became  the  conversation  at  musters  and  ral- 
lies for  years  afterward.  One  worthy  of  men- 
tion, spoken  of  today  by  old  people,  of  the  cam- 
paign of  1840  follows: 

Men  were  measured  in  those  days  more  by  their 
muscular  strength  than  by  their  power  to  grasp 
fundamental  issues  of  national  questions.  A 
quadruple  of  Whigs,  on  returning  to  their  homes 
in  the  evening  (all  slightly  tee-ed  up)  met  in  the 
road  a  man  and  his  wife  in  a  covered  wagon 
moving  from  Indiana  back  to  Ohio.  The  horse- 
back Whigs  hollered  "Huzzah  for  Harrison,"  the 
mover  and  his  brave  wife  hollered  for  Van  Buren. 
The  horseback  Whigs  faced  their  horses  around 
to  the  wagon,  and  the  spokesman,  who  prided 
himself  on  his  fighting  qualities,  said,  "Then  you 
are  a  Democrat?"  "I  am  a  Jackson  Democrat." 
"Well,  we  have  got  some  Whig  whisky  here  and 
you'll  have  to  take  a  drink  of  Harrison  whisky." 
"No,"  he  said,  "I  have  a  bottle  of  Van  Buren 
liquor;  you  must  drink  Democratic  whisky  with 
me."  "No,  you  have  to  drink  Harrison  whisky 
or  take  a  licking."  "Well,"  said  the  mover,  "a 
licking  is  something  I  have  never  yet  taken."    "If 

you'll  get  out  I'll  d d  quick  give  you  one,"  the 

other  replied.  He  passed  the  lines  to  his  wife 
and  commenced  getting  out.  She  threw  the  lines 
down,  picked  up  a  revolver  and  got  out  herself. 
All  dismounted  and  tied  their  horses  to  the  bushes 
by  the  roadside.  When  all  was  ready  for  the  fight 
she  cocked  her  revolver  and  said :  "Gentlemen, 
this  has  got  to  be  a  fair  fight.  I  will  shoot  dead 
the  first  one  who  interferes  until  one  of  these 
men  hollers  'enough.'  "  "Oh,  madam,  we  are  all 
gentlemen;  have  no  fears  of  foul  play."  "All 
right.  Jack,  remember  I  am  here."  Everything 
being  ready,  the  combatants  faced  each  other  and 
began  knocking.  Newton,  the  Whig  bully,  was 
six  feet  four,  with  long  arms.  Jack,  the  Demo- 
crat, was  five  ten,  built  from  the  ground  up  and 
as  active  as  a  wild-cat.  Newton  was  placing  his 
blows  scientifically  and  out  of  reach  of  Jack.  His 
wife  saw  his  disadvantage  and  cried  out,  "Jack, 
clinch  him."  Jack  sprang  at  least  ten  feet,  dodg- 
ing a  terrible  blow,  clinched  Newton,  and  with  a 
dexterous  trip  threw  him  on  his  back  in  the  road, 
falling  on  top  of  him  and  pounding  him  right  and 
left,  with  blow  after  blow  well  placed.  His 
friends  said,  "Let's  separate  them."  "No,"  said 
Jack's  wife;  "not  unless  you  gentlemen  acknowl- 
edge he  is  whipped."  "We  confess  it,  madam." 
"Then  separate  them."     After  they  had  washed 


(707) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  1 


19  16 


the  blood  off  in  a  ditch  by  the  roadside  they  all 
took  a  drink  from  the  Democratic  bottle  and  the 
Whig  bottle  and  shook  hands  as  friends.  Mr. 
Newton  then  said :  "I  live  but  half  a  mile  back, 
have  a  good  barn  and  comfortable  house,  plenty 
to  eat,  and  as  the  weather  is  bad  and  the  river 
rising  rapidly,  turn  your  wagon  around  and  go 
back  with  me  and  remain  until  the  weather 
changes  and  the  river  falls  so  it  will  be  safe  to 
cross."  The  mover  begged  to  be  excused,  but 
Newton  would  accept  no  excuse,  as  it  would  be 
unsafe  to  cross  the  river.  He  turned  around  and 
went  back  with  his  Whig  friend  and  remained  for 
several  days,  until  a  change  in  the  weather  came. 
These  two  men  corresponded  by  letter  and  were 
warm  friends  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 
Mr.  Newton  told  the  writer  years  afterward  that 
he  was  whipped,  but  would  have  died  in  the  road 
before  he  would  have  cried  "enough."  He  said 
the  sweetest  music  he  ever  heard  was  when  his 
brave  wife  said :  "If  you  gentlemen  acknowledge 
he  is  whipped,  then  you  may  part  them." 

In  1844,  under  the  leadership  of  James  K.  Polk, 
the  Democrats  gained  control  of  the  local 
government  of  the  county,  but  by  small  majorities 
up  to  1854,  the  date  of  the  death  of  the  Whig 
party  and  the  organization  of  the  Knownothing 
party,  who  succeeded  through  a  secret  oath-bound 
organization  in  an  off  presidential  year  in  sweep- 
ing the  county  as  they  did  many  counties  of  In- 


diana, but  that  party  was  short-lived,  as  the 
Democracy  again  came  back  into  power  in  1856. 

In  1860  there  was  a  very  exciting  campaign  be- 
tween the  Democrats  and  the  Republicans,  Lincoln 
and  Douglas  being  the  standard-bearers.  Lincoln 
carried  the  county  by  162  votes  that  swept  into  of- 
fice the  entire  local  ticket,  except  the  writer,  who 
was  elected  County  Treasurer  by  twenty-five  ma- 
jority, the  real  beginning  of  his  long  and  eventful 
political  career. 

The  Civil  war  came  on  after  the  inauguration 
of  President  Lincoln  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury the  Republicans  controlled  almost  unbroken- 
ly  the  local  government  of  the  county. 

In  1884,  in  the  Cleveland  and  Blaine  campaign, 
this  county  became  Democratic  locally.  Since  then 
it  has  been  an  uncertain  county  politically,  but 
principally  Republican  up  to  1910.  In  the  middle 
of  President  Taft's  administration  the  disaffection 
began  to  show  itself  in  the  ranks  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  which  culminated  in  1912  in  the  local 
government  of  the  county  falling  entirely  into 
the  hands  of  the  Democracy.  In  this  county,  like 
many  others  in  Indiana,  the  party  robes  rest 
loosely  on  the  voter;  much  criticism  can  be  heard 
of  "boss  rule,"  "machine  politics,"  "public  extrav- 
agance," "failure  to  carry  out  platform  prom- 
ises," etc.,  etc.  The  safe  thing  is  to  make  no 
written  predictions  of  the  future  standing  of  the 
politics  of  Morgan  county. 


(70S) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
NEWTON  COUNTY 


NEWTON  COUNTY  is  the  youngest  in  its 
political  organization  and  probably  the 
latest  in  settlement  of  all  the  counties  in 
the  State.  Geographically,  it  comprises  ranges 
eight,  nine  and  fractional  range  ten,  bordering 
the  Illinois  State  line,  and  extends  north  through 
townships  twenty-seven,  twenty-eight,  twenty- 
nine,  thirty,  thirty-one  and  at  its  northeast  ex- 
tremity into  township  thirty-two;  the  north 
boundary  line  being  irregular  and  limited  to  the 
sinuous  course  of  the  Kankakee  river.  It  com- 
prises about  420  square  miles  in  area  and  is  di- 
vided into  three  natural  subdivisions,  the  valley 
of  the  Iroquois,  the  Beaver  Creek  valley  and  lake 
basin,  and  the  Kankakee  valley. 

Prior  to  its  organization  this  territory  was  a 
part  of  Jasper  county,  and  in  1857  the  inhabitants 
thereof  presented  a  petition  to  the  board  of  com- 
missioners of  Jasper  county,  asking  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  new  county,  and  on  December  7, . 
1857,  this  petition  was  granted.  Zachariah  Spit- 
ler,  John  Darroch  and  David  Creek  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  establish  the  boundaries  of 
the  proposed  new  county.  In  March,  1860,  Gov- 
ernor Willard  appointed  Thomas  R.  Barker  or- 
ganizing sheriff,  who  called  an  election  early  in 
April  for  the  purpose  of  electing  county  officers. 
The  men  chosen  at  this  election  met  on  April  21, 
1860,  at  the  town  of  Kent,  now  Kentland,  were 
installed  in  their  respective  offices  and  thereupon 
the  county  of  Newton  was  declared  to  be  estab- 
lished and  organized. 

Of  those  participating  in  the  establishment  and 
organization  of  the  county,  Thomas  R.  Barker, 
Zachariah  Spitler  and  John  Darroch  were  Demo- 
crats and  for  many  years  afterwards  were  recog- 
nized leaders  in  the  councils  of  the  party.  Thomas 
R.  Barker  is  deserving  particular  mention.  He 
was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  came  into  this  terri- 
tory when  a  mere  boy  and  lived  among  the  Indians 
and  acquired  his  knowledge  of  life  from  the  In- 
dians; was  otherwise  uneducated  and  yet  pos- 
sessed of  such  a  powerful  intellect  and  forceful 
character  that  he  was  recognized  by  all  who  knew 
him  as  a  leader  of  men,  and  accepted  as  a  loyal 
companion  and  entertainer  for  the  most  talented 
and  highly  educated.  I  remember  to  have  heard 
him  tell  of  being  at  Danville,  111.,  in  1832,  where 
he  met  a  Mr.  Forbes,  collector  of  tax  for  the  dis- 
trict extending  north  to  the  north  boundary  of  the 
State,  and  that  Forbes  paid  the  tax  on  the  city 
of  Chicago  because  it  was  less  than  the  expense 
to  him  of  making  the  trip  there  to  collect  it.  It 
was  Barker  who  named  this  county  "Newton"  to 


further  perpetuate  the  historical  friendship  of 
Jasper  and  Newton. 

The  first  Democratic  convention  was  held  at  the 
Darioch  school  house,  then  located  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  section  28,  Beaver  township,  and 
as  I  now  recall  there  was  present  at  this  mass 
convention  not  to  exceed  twenty-five  men.  The 
candidates  were  selected  by  ballots,  hats  were 
used  for  receiving  the  votes.  The  nominees  o: 
that  convention  were  as  follows:  For  clerk  of 
the  circuit  court,  Zachariah  Spitler;  for  treas- 
urer, Samuel  McCullough ;  for  recorder,  John 
Darroch;  for  sheriff,  Elijah  I.  Shriver;  for 
auditor,  Alexander  Sharp;  for  surveyor,  Adam 
Shideler,  and  for  county  commissioners,  Thomas 
R.  Barker,  William  Russel  and  Michael  CoflFelt. 
These  candidates  were  all  elected  but  one.  John 
Ade,  Republican  candidate  for  recorder,  was 
elected. 

The  total  population  of  the  county  at  the  time 
was  about  2,300.  Close  upon  the  political  organi- 
zation of  the  county  came  a  change  in  the  national 
administration.  Then  came  the  Civil  war,  and  the 
cause  of  Democracy  in  this,  as  in  all  other  locali- 
ties of  the  North,  suffered.  Some  there  were  who 
trailed  then,  as  they  always  trail,  with  the  domi- 
nant party.  Others  there  were  who  confounded 
a  principle  with  a  name  and  went  off  after  false 
policies  of  government  on  account  of  prejudice 
acquired  against  the  word  "Democrat." 

The  first  Democratic  paper,  the  Newton  County 
Democrat,  was  established  in  August,  1862,  by 
William  C.  Rose,  a  young  lawyer  of  much  promi- 
nence and  ability,  but  of  very  poor  health,  and  by 
reason  of  which,  in  the  following  spring,  John 
McCarthy  became  the  editor  for  a  time.  In  1867 
John  B.  Spotswood  became  the  editor  of  this  paper 
and.  with  some  interruptions  in  name  and  pro- 
prietorship of  short  duration,  Mr.  Spotswood  con- 
tinued as  the  editor  of  this  political  organ  until 
his  demise  in  1893.  It  was  then  known  as  the 
Ken'land  Democrat  and  under  that  title  is  now 
edited  by  Edward  Steinbaugh.  Mr.  Spotswood 
was  a  bachelor,  a  descendant  of  the  noted  Spots- 
wood  family  of  Virginia,  a-  man  well  educated, 
versatile  and  of  marked  ability  as  an  editoria' 
writer. 

Until  about  the  campaign  of  1884  the  political 
organization  of  the  county  was  nominal  rather 
than  practical  and  effective  and  not  until  later 
years,  when  the  practice  of  recognizing  young 
men  as  the  working  force  and  casting  upon  them 
the   burden   of   campaign,   putting   them   forward 


(  709  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


19  1 


not  only  as  members  of  the  organization  with  par- 
ticular duties  to  be  performed,  but  as  delegates  to 
the  various  conventions  and  as  candidates  for  the 
various  oflBces,  did  the  party  begin  to  realize  sub- 
stantial gains. 

In  1908  the  Republican  majorities  on  the  state 
and  national  tickets  ranged  from  232  on  the  gov- 
ernor to  455  on  Republican  electors,  and  in  1908, 
the  Republican  boom  campaign,  the  majorities  ran 
from  804  to  852  in  a  total  vote  as  between  the 
two  parties  of  about  2,700,  while  in  1912,  on  ac- 
count of  the  better  organization  of  the  Democrats 
and  the  defection  in  the  Republican  party  through 
the  progressive  movement,  the  Democrats  carried 
the  county  by  majorities  from  89  to  174,  and  in 
1916,  with  the  progressives  and  stand-patters 
practically  reunited,  their  majorities  on  state  and 
national  delegates  fell  below  200,  while  the  Demo- 
crats elected  the  auditor,  treasurer  and  sheriff  by 
substantial  majorities. 

The  political  party  in  the  minority  locally  is  not 
usually  productive  of  local  politicians,  and  more 
especially  is  this  true  where  the  volume  of  the 
vote  is  small,  and  no  doubt  but  that,  politically, 


Newton  county  "has  its  mute,  inglorious  Miltons" 
and  guiltless  Cromwells. 

Of  all  our  Democrats  Patrick  Keefe  came  near- 
est, perhaps,  to  the  attainment  of  some  distinction 
as  a  politician.  He  was  born  in  Ireland,  educated 
at  Thurles,  and  came  to  America  in  1865.  Always 
active  in  local  politics,  in  1896  he  came  to  be  rec- 
ognized as  a  campaign  orator.  In  1904  he  was  a 
candidate  for  presidential  elector  for  the  Tenth 
Indiana  District,  but  unfortunately  on  July  4  of 
that  year,  while  on  his  way  to  the  national  Demo- 
cratic convention  at  St.  Louis,  lost  his  life  in  a 
train  wreck  at  Litchfield,  111.  Mr.  Keefe  was 
quite  popular  among  the  Democrats  in  Indiana 
and  Illinois  and  was  recognized  in  the  councils  of 
the  party,  state  and  nation. 

A  becoming  modesty,  as  well  as  a  proper  sense 
of  personal  security  forbids  that  any  living  active 
member  of  the  party  should  be  made  the  subject 
of  special  mention  in  this  article,  and  the  purpose 
of  it  forbids  that  the  entire  roll  of  honor  be  here 
recorded.  Let  it  be  sufficient,  therefore,  to  say 
that  Newton  county  Democracy  is  organized,  act- 
ive and  efficient  and  its  history  is  yet  to  be  made 
as  well  as  yet  to  be  written. 


(710) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
NOBLE  COUNTY 

By   Joseph    C.    Kimmill 


NOBLE  COUNTY  was  organized  in  1836.  It 
was  included  in  Allen  county  from  1824 
to  1836.  The  Democratic  central  commit- 
tee was  organized  in  1868  with  Hon.  J.  B.  StoU 
as  county  chairman.  The  following  gentlemen 
have  served  as  county  chairman  since  that  time: 
H.  Wakeman.  Owen  Black,  E.  B.  Gerber,  James 
M.  Denny,  David  Hough,  Charles  K.  Greene,  Wil- 
liam N.  Showalter,  Dr.  John  W.  Morr,  J.  Frank 
Stanley,  George  D.  Gaby  and  John  C.  Cleland. 

Noble  county  has  always  been  evenly  divided 
politically  and  neither  party  has  elected  the  entire 
ticket  save  in  two  or  three  instances. 

The  following  Democrats  have  served  in  the 
Indiana  legislature:  David  B.  Harriman,  Henry 
C.  Stanley,  Eli  B.  Gerber,  Norman  Teal,  James 
Roscoe,  James  E.  McDonald,  J.  C.  Kimmell,  Joseph 
T.  Stahl  and  Marion  Franks.  In  1906  Dr.  John 
W.  Morr  of  Albion  was  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  Congress,  but  he  was  defeated  by  a  small  ma- 
jority by  Clarence  Gilhams  of  LaGrange.  J.  B. 
Stoll  was  candidate  for  State  Auditor  in  1872  and 
was  the  party's  nominee  for  Congress  in  1878  but 
unfortunately  he  met  defeat  upon  both  occasions. 
O.  H.  Downey  was  a  candidate  for  State  Statis- 
tician and  Henry  G.  Zimmerman  was  nominated 
for  Appellate  Judge  but  these  gentlemen  both  met 
defeat  with  the  balance  of  the  State  ticket.  David 
B.  Harriman  of  Northport  represented  Noble 
county  in  the  State  Legislature  for  a  number  of 
years  and  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention in  1851. 

Among  the  prominent  Noble  county  Democrats 
the  name  of  Hon.  J.  B.  Stoll,  editor  of  the  His- 
tory of  Indiana  Democracy,  stands  at  the  head. 
As  founder  and  publisher  of  the  National  Banner 
he  contributed  more  to  the  Democratic  part^  than 
perhaps  any  one  man.  His  fearless  editorials  did 
more  to  mold  public  opinion  than  any  other 
medium.  I  would  place  the  late  James  E.  Mc- 
Donald, his  successor  as  editor  of  the  Banner, 
ne.xt  in  the  list.  No  one  ever  doubted  where  Jim 
McDonald  stood  on  any  public  question.  No  one 
ever  doubted  his  sincerity.  He  was,  like  his  pred- 
ecessor, an  able  writer  and  he  enjoyed  a  wide 
acquaintance.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Indiana 
State  Senate  and  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  that 
body.  He  served  as  Postmaster  at  Ligonier  dur- 
ing Cleveland's  first  term  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture  for  near- 
ly twenty  years.  Henry  C.  Stanley  of  Green 
township,   David   Hough,   Eli   B.   Gerber,  Charles 


V.  Inks,  Dr.  A.  S.  Parker,  William  S.  Riser, 
Charles  K.  Greene,  George  Keehn,  James  Sweet, 
David  Law,  M.  M.  Merriam,  N.  P.  Eagles,  Henry 
G.  Zimmerman,  Michael  Beck,  Samuel  E.  Alvord, 
James  M.  Denny  and  many  others  have  served 
their  party  in  various  capacities  and  have  held 
prominent  positions  in  the  official  life  of  Noble 
county. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  feats  in  Noble 
county  politics  was  pulled  off  in  1870  when  James 
Stewart  of  Noble  township  was  defeated  for  the 
nomination  for  County  Auditor  by  the  Repub- 
licans and  a  week  later  he  was  nominated  for  the 
same  office  by  the  Democrats  and  triumphantly 
elected  at  the  ensuing  election.  He  served  two 
terms  and  remained  a  Democrat  until  his  death. 
His  son,  Virgil,  is  a  resident  of  Albion  and  is  at 
present  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  Albion  township. 

There  are  two  Democratic  newspapers  in  the 
county,  the  Ligonier  Banner,  published  by  W.  C. 
B.  Harrison,  and  the  Albion  Democrat,  edited  by 
W.  H.  McEwen.  The  Banner  was  founded  by  the 
Hon.  John  B.  Stoll  of  South  Bend  and  was  for  a 
number  of  years  called  the  National  Banner.  He 
sold  the  Banner  to  ex-Senator  James  E.  McDon- 
ald, who  published  it  until  his  death.  This  paper 
can  boast  of  having  had  two  of  the  ablest  editors 
in  the  State  of  Indiana.  The  Albion  Democrat 
had  a  stormy  career  until  the  present  manage- 
ment purchased  it  and  it  is  now  one  of  the  best 
county  newspapers  in  Northern  Indiana.  The 
Kendallville  News,  published  for  several  years  by 
the  late  A.  S.  Parker,  was  merged  into  the  Stand- 
ard-News and  is  run  as  an  independent  paper. 
Noble  county  Democracy  owes  much  of  its  success 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  press. 

The  Noble  county  court  house  is  practically 
filled  with  Democrats  at  the  present  time,  there 
being  but  one  Republican  on  the  county  pay-roll. 

Hon.  Luke  H.  Wrigley  was  re-elected  Judge  of 
the  Thirty-third  Judicial  Circuit  at  the  last  elec- 
tion. George  A.  Young,  the  efficient  Auditor,  as- 
sumed the  duties  of  his  office  January  1  of  this 
year;  William  H.  Favinger  is  Clerk  of  the  Noble 
Circuit  Court,  Wilbert  T.  Hines  is  County  Treas- 
urer; John  C.  Cleland,  the  genial  County  Sheriff, 
is  completing  his  second  term.  Jacob  C.  Lindsey 
divides  his  time  between  the  duties  of  the  County 
Assessor's  office  and  his  favorite  pastime — fishing. 
Edwin  Smith,  one  of  the  stiffest  Democrats  in  the 
county,  is  the  Recorder,  while  Cecil  V.  Kilgore  is 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


1816-1916 


filling  the  office  of  County  Superintendent  of 
Schools.  Noble  county  never  had  a  more  efficient 
Board  of  County  Commissioners  than  William 
Peiper,  Amon  Spurgeon  and  Daniel  D.  Stump.  As 
a  fitting  recognition  of  their  services  the  voters  of 
the  county  have  elected  each  of  them  to  a  third 
term,  a  new  precedent  in  Noble  county  politics. 
The  excellent  services  rendered  by  the  Democratic 
office-holders  has  been  in  a  large  measure  the 
means  of  keeping  Noble  county  in  the  Democratic 
column. 

The  Democrats  of  Noble  county  are  firm  be- 


lievers in  the  doctrine  that  a  public  office  is  a 
public  trust  and  it  may  be  said  to  their  credit 
that  no  Democratic  official  ever  betrayed  the  trust 
imposed  upon  him.  When  the  party  went  down 
in  defeat  the  unfortunate  candidates  accepted 
their  defeat  gracefully  and  when  victory  perched 
on  their  banner  they  accepted  their  official  posi- 
tions as  a  sacred  trust,  believing  that  he  who 
serves  the  people  best,  serves  his  party  best.  Noble 
county  can  boast  of  clean  politics  and  honest  elec- 
tions and  the  Democrats  have  done  their  share 
toward  bringing  these  conditions  about. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
OHIO  COUNTY 


FNVIRONMENT  and  association  may  have 
a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  shaping  of  one's 
political  ideas  and  acts,  as  well  as  in  other 
things  of  life.  For  instance,  in  her  earlier  days, 
in  fact  from  1803  to  1844,  Ohio  county  was  a  part 
of  good  old  Democratic  Dearborn.  It  was  almost 
impossible  even  to  think  in  terms  other  than  Dem- 
ocratic. While  the  Republican  minority  kept  on 
voting,  they  never  showed  any  accomplishments 
for  all  their  labors.  They  merely  voted  as  a  mat- 
ter of  form  and  "sort  of"  to  preserve  an  organi- 
zation, never  having  enough  of  a  chance  of  suc- 
cess to  make  them  even  hope  for  such  a  thing. 

Once  separated  from  good  political  associations, 
the  Republican  sentiment  and  votes  began  increas- 
ing at  about  the  same  time,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
first  twenty  years,  in  1864,  both  presidential  and 
state  ticket  majorities  commenced  going  the  other 
way.  From  that  time  on  there  was  a  steady  re- 
cording of  Republican  successes  in  Ohio  county, 
the  majorities  being  from  small  to  safe,  until  the 
campaign  of  1908,  when  the  tide  turned  to  De- 
mocracy by  a  very  small  margin.  It  has  since 
then  been  maintained  only  by  most  efficient  or- 
ganization. 

In  the  election  of  1908  Thomas  R.  Marshall  led 
his  Republican  opponent  by  14  votes,  while  the 
Democratic  presidential  candidate,  William  J. 
Bryan,  and  his  running  mate,  John  Worth  Kern, 
led  by  only  3  votes. 

The  records  of  the  state  elections  since  1856  are 
sufficiently    interesting    to    bear    publication    as 
showing  the  political  complexion  of  the  county : 
Dem.       Rep.  Pr 

1856 — Governor   505         465 

1858— Secretary 476         425 

I860— Governor    503         464 

1862— Secretary 483         459 

1864— Governor   402 

1866— Secretary 481 

1868— Governor   492 


1870— Secretary 491 

1872— Governor   574 

1874— Secretary  543 

1876— Governor   558 

1878 — Secretary 582 

1880— Governor    615 

1882— Secretary 552 

1884 — Governor   588 

1886— Secretary 537 

1888 — Governor   588 

1890— Secretary 567 

1892— Governor   598 

1894— Secretary 563 


605 
628 
599 
570 
638 
554 
610 
671 
722 
653 
683 
682 
725 
649 


og. 


Dem. 

1896— Governor   626 

1898— Secretary 597 

1900 — Governor   622 

1902— Secretary 607 

1904— Governor   576 

1908— Governor   623 

1910— Secretary 681 

1912— Governor   545 

1914— Senator 560 

1916— Governor   614 


Rep.  Prog. 
696 
705 
726 
640 
655 
609 
628 

400         118 
516  39 

588 
The  presidential  elections  since  1864,  the  time 


when  the  Republicans  began 
jorities,  resulted  as  follows: 
1864 


Drding  their  ma- 


1872. 
1876. 


1892. 
1896. 
1900. 
1904. 
1908. 
1912. 


465 
456 
579 


584 
622 
553 
632 


592 
586 
591 
629 
727 
727 
662 
705 
730 
662 
619 
406 
597 


These  Democrats  have  held  office  in  Ohio  county 
since  1844,  when  the  territory  was  separated  from 
Dearborn,  with  Rising  Sun  as  the  county  seat: 
CIRCUIT  JUDGES. 

1844— Miles  C.  Eggleston. 

1845-50— Courtland  Gushing. 

1850-58— Alexander  C.  Downey. 

1858-64— Joseph  W.  Chapman. 

1870-73— Henry  C.  Hanna. 

1873-79— Omar  F.  Robert. 

1879-85— Noah  S.  Givan. 

1885-91— W.  H.  Bainbridge. 

1891-97— Alexander  C.  Downey. 

1897-1903— Noah  S.  Givan. 

1903-09— George  E.  Downey. 

1909-13 — Georg-e  E.  Downey  (resigned  to  accept 
place  as  comptroller  of  United  States  Treasury, 
and  later  named  on  court  of  claims). 

1913-15— Warren  N.  Hauck. 

1915— Warren  N.  Hauck. 

COMMON  PLEAS  JUDGES. 
1852-58— Robert  Drummond. 
1858-60 — John  J.  Hayden. 
1860-64 — Francis  Adkinson. 
1864-68— Robert  N.  Lamb. 
1868-72— Scott  Carter. 


(713) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


ASSOCIATE  JUDGES. 

1844-47— Samuel  Fulton. 
1844-47— Thomas  H.  Gilmore. 
1847-51— John  Hall. 

1847-51— Martin  Stewart. 

SHERIFFS. 
1844 — William  Lanius  (appointed). 
1844-46— James  B.  Smith. 
1846-51— William  T.  Pate. 
1851-55 — Thomas  H.  Gilmore. 
1859-61— Thomas  H.  Gilmore. 
1877-79— David  H.  Durbin. 
1886-88— Daniel  P.  Truitt. 
1902-07— Harry  Rump. 
1906-11— David  H.  Durbin. 
1910-15— Oliver  B.  Mitchell. 

RECORDERS. 
1844-50— William  T.  Lambdin. 
1850-51— John  R.  Ross. 
1855-63— William  Elliott. 
1875-79— John  W.  Facemire. 
1902-07— Wyman  G.  Sink. 
1906-15— John  T.  Dugle. 
1914-19 — Oliver  B.  Mitchell. 

CLERKS. 
1844 — James  H.  Pepper. 
1850— John  R.  Ross. 
1904-12— William  D.  Ricketts. 
1910-20 — Thomas  A.  Cooper. 

AUDITORS. 
1845 — Joseph  M.  Vance. 
1879 — Joseph  P.  Hemphill. 
1886-91— Ira  Powell. 
1890-95— Malvin  W.  Fisk. 
1902-08— James  Corson. 
1906-16— Joseph  P.  Hemphill  (resigns). 
1914-16 — James  B.  Hemphill   (appointed). 
1914-20— James  R.  Elder,  Sr. 

TREASURERS. 
1859— Robert  W.  Jones. 
1883— John  W.  Facemire. 
1892-95— Richard  A.  Steele. 
1896-99— William  H.  Elliott. 
1906-12— Harry  Rump. 
1910-14— David  H.  Durbin. 
1912-18— William  D.  Ricketts. 
1916-20— H.  Earl  Williams. 

COMMISSIONERS. 
1844— William  H.  Powell,  Morris  Merrill. 
1845— George  Pate. 
1846 — James  M.  Shepherd. 
•1847 — George  Pate  (3  years). 
1848 — Thomas  Summers. 


1849— Marshall  Elliott. 

1851— George  Pate   (died  1852)   and  John  Hall 
(appointed  to  vacancy). 

1852 — Charles  E.  Hamilton  and  James  W.  Gib- 
bens. 

1853 — Benjamin  Hall. 

1854 — George  Buchanan. 

1855— Joseph  L.  Pate. 

1857— Calvin  Marble. 

1858 — Hiram  Barricklow. 

1859 — Hugh  Anderson. 

1861— William  Wooden. 

1862— Hugh  Anderson. 

1867 — Ezra  Lampkin. 

1876— John  Hanna,  John  W.  Cofield. 

1886— Hugh  Anderson. 

1891— Henry  B.  Steele. 

1902— George  A.  Woods. 

1904 — George  A.  Woods,  William  P.  Selmeyer. 

1906— Lawrence    V.    Turner,    William    F.    Sel- 
meyer. 

1908 — Lawrence  Turner,  Robert  Hastings. 

1910 — Robert    Hastings,    Elijah    Turner,    Law- 
rence V.  Turner. 

1912— Elijah  Turner. 

1914 — Henry    Kaiser,     Lucien     Lotton,     Henry 
Bushman. 

CORONERS. 

1904-17— William  H.  Dugle. 

1916-19— William   Dilts,   Jr.    (appointed   Janu- 
ary 1,  1917). 

SURVEYORS. 

1884-86 — George  H.  Keeney. 

1904-09 — Cornelius  R.  Harris. 

1908-11— George  H.  Keeney. 

1910-13— Joseph  Beckett. 

1912-17— George  H.  Keeney. 

1916-19— William  L.  Hartford. 

MEMBERS  LEGISLATURE  FROM  OHIO  AND 
SWITZERLAND— JOINT  SENATORS. 

1846-47-48— Martin  R.  Green. 
1849-50-51— John  Woods. 
1852-53— William  Powell. 
1855-57 — Philander  S.  Page. 
1859-61 — Benjamin  L.  Robinson. 
1862-65— Alexander  C.  Downey. 
1867-69— Flavius  J.  Bellaney. 

— Ohio  and  Dearborn  Counties — 
1871-73— R.  Gregg. 

— Ohio,  Switzerland  and  Ripley  Counties — 
1875-77— W.  Culbertson. 
1879 — Lavin  J.  Woollen. 

— Ohio  and  Dearborn  Counties — 
1881— Lavin  J.  Woollen. 


(714) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  1 


— Ohio,  Dearborn  and  Switzerland  Counties — 
1883-85 — Columbus  Johnson. 
1887-93 — F.  Marion  Griffith. 
1895-97 — Columbus  Johnson. 

— Ohio,  Dearborn  and  Franklin  Counties — 
1899-1901— George  H.  Keeney. 
1903-05— William  H.  O'Brien. 
1907-09— Evan  L.  Patterson. 
1911-13— Warren  N.  Hauck. 
1915-17-Joseph  P.  Hemphill. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 
— Ohio  and  Switzerland  Counties — 
1853— Oliver  Dufour,  Hazlett  E.  Dodd. 
1865— David  Cain. 


1875— William  T.  Pate. 

1885— George  S.  Pleasants. 

— Switzerland,  Ohio  and  Dearborn  Counties — 

1887— George  S.  Pleasants. 

1889— George  S.  Pleasants. 

1891— Thomas  M.  Kyle. 

1893— H.  D.  McMulIen. 

1897— A.  J.  Bowers. 

— Switzerland  and  Ohio  Counties — 
1899— William  M.  Green. 
1903— William  M.  Green. 
1905— Benjamin  S.  Potter. 
1907— Henry  B.  Steele. 
1909— D.  E.  Douglass. 
1911 — George  H.  Keeney. 
1913— Stephen  J.  Dibble. 


(715) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY   OF 
ORANGE  COUNTY 


THE  present  county  of  Orange  originally 
comprised  portions  of  Knox  and  Clark — 
Knox  west  of  the  meridian  line  and  Clark 
east.  March  9,  1813,  all  of  Orange  county  west 
of  the  meridian  line  and  south  of  the  line  dividing 
Sections  20  and  29,  township  1  north,  became  part 
of  Gibson  county.  December  21,  1813,  all  of 
Orange  county  east  of  the  meridian  line  except 
the  southern  half  of  township  1  south  and  the 
small  tract  north  of  Orleans  and  north  of  the 
junction  of  the  Indian  boundary  lines  of  1803  and 
1805  became  part  of  Washington  county,  and  Sep- 
tember 1,  1814,  the  last  mentioned  tract  was 
added  to  Washington  county.  The  southern  half 
of  township  1  south,  east  of  the  meridian,  re- 
mained part  of  Harrison  county. 

Zachariah  Lindley  was  the  sheriff  appointed  by 
the  Governor  to  organize  the  new  county,  which 
was  done  early  in  1816,  the  first  meeting  of  the 
newly  elected  officers  being  held  at  the  residence 
of  William  Lindley,  Jr.  The  county  seat  was 
named  Paoli  after  a  town  in  North  Carolina 
whence  the  Lindleys,  who  donated  the  ground  for 
the  town,  had  come.  Jonathan  Lindley  was  ap- 
pointed county  agent  and  was  directed  to  lay  out 
the  county  seat  into  lots,  which  was  done  in  April, 
1816,  and  lots  were  sold  to  the  amount  of  $8,294.40. 
Many  of  the  descendants  of  these  pioneer  Lind- 
leys reside  in  and  about  Oi-ange  county  and  have 
been  very  influential  in  the  early  history  and  up- 
building of  the  county. 

Among  the  early  inhabitants  of  this  county 
were  many  tribes  of  Indians,  chief  of  which  were 
the  Piankeshaws,  Wyandottes,  Shawnees  and 
Delawares.  Many  Indian  forts  were  scattered 
throughout  the  county  and  blockhouses  for  pro- 
jection of  the  settlers  were  much  in  evidence.  That 
prehistoric  race,  the  Mound  Builders,  has  also 
left  abundant  and  convincing  evidence  of  their 
habitation  here  long  ago. 

The  political  phase  of  Orange  county  has  been 
such  that  each  party  has  for  a  time  been  success- 
ful and  then  gone  down  in  defeat.  In  August, 
1816,  the  county  gave  Thomas  Posey  for  Governor 
419  votes  and  Jonathan  Jennings,  his  opponent, 
64.  Many  of  the  subsequent  results  at  guberna- 
torial elections  cannot  be  given,  but  records  are 
at  hand  of  about  all  the  presidential  elections. 
The  campaign  of  1840  was  the  first  of  note  in 
Orange  county.  In  May  of  that  year  at  the  Dem- 
ocratic county  convention  Joel  Vandever  presided 
and  many  representative  Democrats  were  pres- 
ent.   Dr.  W.  A.  Bowls,  then  the  leading  Democrat 


of  the  county,  a  man  of  unusual  talent,  magnet- 
ism and  personality,  and  a  representative  of  the 
county,  delivered  a  masterly  address  on  the  issues 
of  the  day.  In  August  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Bowls 
was  re-elected  representative  and  served  his  con- 
stituents with  credit. 

In  1844  the  Democrats  held  an  enormous  bar- 
becue at  Orleans,  fully  5,000  people  being  there. 
A  large  hickory  pole  was  raised,  and  Messrs. 
Down,  Smith,  Sherritt  and  Albertson  addressed 
the  assemblage.  Late  in  the  40's  Dr.  W.  F.  Sher- 
rod  became  prominent  in  Democratic  politics.  He 
was  one  of  the  State  electors  in  1848  and  was 
chosen  to  take  the  returns  to  Washington  City. 
In  1849  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Whigs  and  Democrats  had 
made  up  the  leading  parties  of  the  county,  but  in 
1851  a  movement  for  the  exclusion  of  the  negroes 
arose  and  at  the  election  in  August,  1851,  the 
question  of  the  exclusion  or  colonization  of  the 
negroes  or  mulattoes  was  submitted  to  the  county 
with  the  following  result:  For  exclusion,  1,347; 
aQ;ainst  exclusion,  24. 

In  1856  politics  in  the  county  was  in  such  a 
chaotic  condition  that  almost  the  entire  Whig 
vote  went  to  Fillmore,  the  "American"  candidate, 
only  49  votes  being  polled  for  Fremont,  while 
Buchanan,  the  Democratic  candidate,  received 
1,207.  In  1860  again  all  the  political  parties  re- 
ceived respectable  support.  In  1865,  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  county,  almost  the  en- 
tire Republican  ticket  was  elected.  In  1868  the 
Democratic  majority  was  109  and  in  1872  only 
76.  The  result  of  the  presidential  elections  for 
the  past  seventy  years  are  shown  in  the  following 
table: 


Free 

Dem. 

Whig. 

Liberty. 

Soil. 

1836... 

...     564 

483 

1840... 

...     879 

707 

1844... 

..  .1,036 

707 

4 

1848... 

.  .  .     961 

760 

6 

1852... 

...1,022 

747 
Rep. 

Amer- 
ican. 

1856... 

...1.207 

49 

595 
Ind. 
Rep. 

Union 

1860... 

.  .  .     186 

848 

1,114 

85 

1864... 

..1,020 

804 

1868... 

...1,370 

1,261 

1872... 

...1,251 

1,175 

1876... 
1880. .. 

. .  .1,603 
.  .  .1,521 

1,269 
1,421 

1884... 

...1,538 

1,575 

1888... 

...1,654 

1,779 

<716) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


Dem.        Rep.       Prohi.    People's. 

1892 1,628       1.653  30  212 

Gold 
St'dard. 

1896 1,742   2,044     10     55      14 

1900 1,851   2,247     45     31 

Soc. 

1904 1,888   2,458     80      3      19 

1908 1,934   2,433     70      2     44 

Prog. 

1912 1,830       1,521  55  849  53 

1916 2,091       2,481  42  16  53 

The  following  Democrats  of  Orange  county 
have  served  on  the  bench  as  Circuit  Court  and 
Common  Pleas  Judges :  Common  Pleas  Judges, 
William  Moran  1853  and  Milton  S.  Mavity  1870; 
Circuit  Court  Judges,  Francis  Wilson  1879  and 
Thomas  B.  Buskirk  1900  to  1912. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Democrats  of  the 
county  who  have  served  in  the  State  Senate: 
Ezekiel  Riley,  1838;  Isaac  Sands,  1841;  D.  S. 
Huffstetter,  1848;  Quinton  Lomax,  1858;  William 
F.  Sherrod,  1866,  and  James  M.  Andrew,  1886. 

The  following  Orange  county  Democrats  have 
filled  the  office  of  State  Representative  in  the 
Legislature:  William  A.  Bowles,  1838;  Henry 
Lingle,  1841;  W.  A.  Bowles,  1843;  Joel  Vande- 
veer,  1844;  David  F.  Huffstetler,  1846,  1851  and 
1854;  William  F.  Sherrod,  1849  and  1856;  Theo- 
dore Stackhouse,  1852  and  1866;  David  Lewis, 
1858;  Asa  M.  Black,  1860;  Thomas  Hunt,  1864; 
Luke  B.  Cogswell,  1870;  John  L.  Meginity,  1874, 
1884,  1892  and  1896;  James  F.  Stucker,  1878  to 
1882;  Thomas  B.  Buskirk,  1886;  Volney  Trimble, 
1890;  Perry  McCart,  1896;  Henry  T.  Allen,  1902, 
and  Miles  Roland,  1912. 

Democrats  have  been  elected  and  served  as 
county  oflicers  of  Orange  county  as  follows: 

Clerk— Jeremiah  Wilson,  1844  to  1852;  Asa  M. 
Black,  18.52  to  1860  and  1863  to  1864;  Hugh  C. 
Wible,  1860  to  1863;  John  L.  Meginity,  1864  to 
1864  to  1872  and  1873  to  1874;  John  R.  Simpson, 
1874  to  1882;  Elijah  S.  Scott,  1898  to  1903. 

County  Auditor— John  Baker,  1841  to  1845; 
Henry  Comingore,  1852  to  1860;  Luke  B.  Cogs- 
well, 1860  to  1868;  Abraham  Noblitt,  1868  to 
1876;  David  F.  Stucker,  1876  to  1879;  John  D. 
Carter,  1879  to  1880;  George  A.  Buskirk,  1880  to 
1884;  Henry  T.  Allen,  1892  to  1896;  Ed.  A.  Pal- 
mer, 1913  to  1917. 

County  Treasurer — Josiah  Hazlewood,  1822  to 
1828;  Ephraim  Doan,  1828  to  1838;  A.  J.  Simp- 
son, 1838  to  1840;  Alexander  Morris,  1841  to  1847; 
Benjamin  Poison,  1847  to  1850;  W.  H.  Rigney, 
1850  to  1852;  John  C.  Albert,  1854  to  1858;  Thom- 
as Hunt,  1858  to  1863;  James  Worrell,  1863  to 
1865;  H.  H.  Poison,  1867  to  1872;  John  Maxedon, 
1872  to  1874;  Henry  Reed,  1874  to  1876;  George 
W.  Thomas,  1880  to  1882;  John  M.  Felknor,  1EP9 
to  1901,  and  J.  W.  McCuUough,  1913  to  1915. 


County  Recorder — Josiah  Hazlewood,  1836  to 
1860;  Green  Hazlewood,  1860  to  1863;  M.  S.  Mav- 
ity, 1863  to  1865;  T.  B.  Buskirk,  1865;  F.  M.  Gib- 
ner,  1869  to  1874;  J.  F.  Purkiser,  1874  to  1876; 
John  B.  Buskirk,  1876;  Edward  Cornwell,  1884  to 
1S92;  W.  W.  Stout,  1913  to  1917. 

County  Sheriff' — Josiah  Hazlewood,  1828  to 
1832;  Abraham  Morris,  1834  to  1838;  Jeremiah 
Wilson,  1838  to  1842;  John  HoUowell,  1844  to  1846; 
W.  H.  Rigney,  1846  to  1850;  David  F.  Porter,  1850 
to  1852;  S.  W.  Rigney,  1852  to  1856;  Alexander 
Morris,  1856  to  1858;  James  Worrell,  1858  to  1862; 
William  Holiday,  1862  to  1863;  Davis  Jones,  1863 
to  1865;  J.  P.  McCart,  1867  to  1869;  J.  F.  Stucker, 
1869  to  1870;  T.  L.  Brown,  1870  to  1874;  W.  P. 
Shively,  1874  to  1877;  Samuel  A.  Davis,  1877  to 
1878;  Elisha  Braxton,  1884  to  1886;  William  T. 
Kimbrel,  1890  to  1892;  T.  P.  Riester,  1911  to  1915. 

In  the  list  of  Democrats  named  herein  the  name 
of  Judge  Thomas  B.  Buskirk  is  perhaps  more 
familiar  to  the  Democrats  of  Orange  county  than 
any  other.  As  an  attorney  in  the  famous  Moody- 
Jones-Lowery  murder  case  he  distinguished  him- 
.self  in  the  prosecution  of  the  murderers  of 
Thomas  Moody  and  gained  popularity  with  the 
people  which  has  continuued  with  increasing 
strength  to  the  present.  He  served  as  judge  of 
the  42d  Judicial  Circuit  for  twelve  years,  1904  to 
1916.  Prior  to  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Tax  Commissioners  and  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  and  has  held  other  responsible  posi- 
tions. 

Among  prominent  Democrats  of  the  county  be- 
fore and  immediately  following  the  Civil  war  were 
Arthur  J.  Simpson,  a  prominent  attorney;  Wil- 
liam A.  Bowles,  for  many  years  owner  of  French 
Lick  Springs;  William  F.  Sherrod,  David  S.  Huff- 
stetler, Thomas  Hunt  and  Henry  Comingore. 

In  the  seventies  M.  S.  Mavity,  Abraham  Nob- 
litt, J.  L.  Meginity,  Luke  B.  Cogswell,  Aaron 
Speer  and  Dr.  James  Sherrod;  in  later  years 
Judge  T.  B.  Buskirk,  Capt.  James  F.  Stucker, 
John  R.  Simpson,  James  Andrew,  G.  W.  Thomas, 
Dr.  U.  S.  Hon,  Dr.  L.  S.  Bowles,  Dr.  James  W. 
Montgomery,  James  L.  Noblitt,  Perry  McCart  and 
John  J.  Lingle. 

DEMOCRATIC  NEWSPAPERS. 

The  first  Democratic  newspaper  was  issued  in 
the  county  on  May  5,  1832,  and  was  called  the 
PnoH  Times.  It  was  edited  by  William  A. 
Bowles.  This  paper  was  published  only  for  a  few 
years. 

On  May  27,  1839,  Henry  Comingore  .started  the 
True  Atney-ican.  This  paper  was  continued  un- 
til January,  1846.  On  the  29th  day  of  September, 
1848,  Henry  Comingore  issued  the  first  copy  of  the 
American   Eagle.      It    was    a    six-column     folio 


(717) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


weekly  paper  and  was  Democratic  in  politics.  Mr. 
Comingore  continued  to  publish  this  paper  until 
1874,  when  it  was  abandoned.  Its  veteran  editor 
had  published  this  paper  twenty-six  years  and 
the  T7-ue  American  for  a  period  of  about  thirty- 
five  years. 

Judge  T.  B.  Buskirk  purchased  a  newspaper  out- 
fit and  on  July  31,  1872,  began  publishing  the 
Paoli  News,  which  he  continued  to  publish  until 
1879.  In  that  year  he  sold  the  paper  to  John  L. 
Meginity,  who  published  it  for  about  ten  years. 
After  that  the  paper  was  edited  for  a  few  years 


by  David  J.  Murr  and  later  by  James  M.  Compton. 
About  1895  Major  John  R.  Simpson  purchased  the 
paper  and  published  it  until  April,  1906,  when  he 
sold  the  plant  to  the  present  owners,  L.  0.  Miller 
and  Bayless  Harvey,  who  have  since  and  are  at 
this  time  publishing  it.  The  Paoli  News  since 
its  beginning  in  1872  has  been  the  Democratic 
crgan  of  the  county.  It  is  at  present  a  seven-col- 
umn folio  and  is  published  weekly. 

For  the  past  few  years  a  Democratic  paper,  the 
Springs  Valley  Herald,  has  been  published  by  W. 
C.  Gruber.     It  is  a  six-column  weekly  paper. 


(718) 


HISTORY   OF  THE    DEMOCRATIC   PARTY   OF 
OWEN  COUNTY 


OWEN  COUNTY  is  one  of  the  oldest  coun- 
ties in  the  State,  having  been  organized  by 
an  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved 
December  the  21st,  1818,  and  was  in  force  from 
the  date  of  its  passage. 

The  county  was  originally  a  part  of  Knox 
county  and  in  that  jurisdiction.  The  first  mar- 
riage license  issued  in  this  county  was  from 
Vincennes,  and  in  the  division  of  territory  into 
counties  it  was  so  divided  that  Greene  county 
came  between  Knox  and  Owen. 

Owen  county  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  Morgan 
and  Monroe  counties,  south  by  Greene,  west  by 
Clay  and  north  by  Putnam. 

That  the  White  river  valley  had  been  a  favorite 
place  of  abode  for  men  in  pre-historic  times  is  in 
evidence  by  the  existence  of  numerous  mounds  in 
the  valley  and  along  White  river,  along  the  other 
streams  of  the  county  and  in  close  proximity  to 
large  springs,  and  wherever  a  sufficient  supply  of 
water  could  be  reached  are  found  these  mounds, 
with  other  unmistakable  evidences  of  a  large  pop- 
ulation, whose  character  and  kindred  is  shrouded 
in  impenetrable  darkness.  Quite  a  number  of 
large  mounds  and  a  great  many  small  ones  have 
been  discovered  in  close  proximity  to  White  river. 
Most  of  the  smaller  ones,  owing  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  land  upon  which  they  stood,  have  been  lev- 
eled with  the  plowshare  and  other  implements  of 
farm  husbandry,  so  that  their  existence  is  no 
longer  in  evidence.  Many  others  still  exist  which 
bear  testimony  of  a  race  extinct  many  centuries 
ago,  but  have  left  evidence  of  their  intelligence  in 
the  manufacturing  of  stone  implements,  pottery 
and  polished  flints  found  in  these  rude  monu- 
ments of  their  toil  and  handiwork.  In  many  other 
of  these  mounds  have  been  found  large  deposits  of 
human  bones  and  ornaments  to  adorn  and  embel- 
lish the  person,  indicating  clearly  that  some  of 
these  structures  were  erected  for  the  resting 
places  of  their  dead.  In  others  the  evidence  of 
fire  is  found,  charred  and  burnt  bones  having  been 
found  in  great  quantities  in  some  of  the  larger 
mounds,  indicating  that  these  were  religious  or 
sacrificial  mounds.  In  most  instances  these 
mounds  were  scattered  over  a  wide  stretch  of 
country,  without  any  reference  to  proximity  to 
each  other.  In  other  instances  they  were  built  to- 
gether, something  like  the  houses  in  a  village,  but 
irregularly  located,  but  having  the  appearance  of 
human  habitations  and  constructed  for  defense  in 
case  of  an  attack.  In  some  parts  of  this  county 
flint  arrow  and  spear  points  and  battle  axes  of 
stone,  all  highly  polished,  have  been  found  in  great 


quantities,  indicating  a  bloody  conflict  between 
contending  races,  but  of  which  we  know  nothing, 
only  as  we  have  learned  from  the  evidence  which 
they  left  on  their  fields  of  strife  and  carnage. 
Many  burial  places  of  these  pre-historic  people 
have  been  uncovered.  The  bones  differ  in  shape. 
Of  what  apparently  appears  to  be  the  oldest  re- 
mains the  bones  of  the  extremities  are  somewhat 
curved,  indicating  that  they  were  an  agricultural 
people  and  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  labor  of 
.=ome  character — a  people  who  worked  with  heavy 
tools  of  some  character,  who  bore  heavy  burdens, 
as  is  shown  by  the  heavy  stones  transported  a 
considerable  distance,  of  which  are  constructed 
vaults  and  other  receptacles  for  the  burial  of  their 
dead.  This  first  people  seem  to  have  gathered 
the  bones  of  their  dead,  most  likely  on  particular 
occasions  to  celebrate  some  past  event,  carefully 
cleaned  the  remains  and  then  securely  deposited 
them  in  large  quantities  together  in  some  vaults 
covered  with  stone  and  the  stone  covered  with 
large  quantities  of  dirt.  Some  of  these  stones 
must  have  been  transported  from  the  hill  country, 
as  none  of  their  kind  is  found  in  the  vicinity  where 
these  vaults  were  constructed.  This  people  seem 
to  have  been  peaceful  and  inured  to  labor.  A  sec- 
ond class  and  different  race  of  people  succeeded 
this  first.  The  bones  of  the  second  race  are 
straight,  thus  indicating  a  race  of  hunters  and 
warriors,  and  most  likely  this  second  class  con- 
quered the  first,  as  these  subsequent  inhabitants 
occupied  these  mounds  and  with  different  habits 
in  the  burial  of  the  dead.  The  skeletons  of  this 
second  people  are  found  whole,  sometimes  two  or 
three  buried  together,  sometimes  twenty  or  thirty, 
or  even  a  larger  number  buried  together  in  a  cir- 
cle, with  the  feet  toward  the  center  and  their 
heads  outward,  and  covered  with  earth. 

The  Indians,  our  immediate  predecessors,  came 
next  as  occupants  of  this  country,  but  they  have 
no  knowledge  or  traditions  with  reference  to  the 
people  who  preceded  them.  They  knew  no  more 
of  them  than  we,  who  only  read  their  history  in 
the  mounds,  bones  and  implements  of  flint,  stone 
and  rude  pottery.  So  perish  men  and  nations  from 
the  face  of  the  earth.  And  who  can  say  that,  with 
all  our  boasted  civilization,  we,  too,  may  not  pass 
into  oblivion,  as  the  ages  progress,  as  generations 
come  and  go  on  the  waves  of  time  and  as  the  in- 
tellect and  the  inventive  genius  and  power  of  man 
develops,  that  a  thousand  years  or  more  hence  a 
race  *of  people  may  possess  these  lands  who,  upon 
unearthing  some  of  our  implements  and  habita- 
tions we  think  so  complete  and  so  admirable,  will 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


wonder  how  a  people  so  ignorant  and  barbarous 
could  have  lived.  As  the  Mound  Builder  walked 
and  carried  his  heavy  burdens  on  his  flattened 
head  and  on  his  bended  back,  as  the  later  Indian 
enjoyed  his  pony  and  paddled  his  own  canoe,  as 
we  of  the  present  age  have  our  various  kinds  of 
steam  machinery,  our  railroads,  our  steamships, 
telegraphs,  wire  and  wireless  telephones  and 
many  other  conveniences  and  comforts,  so  the 
coming  generations  may  surpass  us — but  in  what, 
and  what  shall  their  achievements  be,  who  shall 
say? 

The  inhabitants  of  Owen  county  are  noted  for 
intelligence,  sobriety  (not  a  saloon  in  the  county), 
hospitality  and  high  intellectual  and  social  attain- 
ments. Some  of  the  finest  church  buildings  in  the 
State  are  found  in  this  county.  School  houses 
are  ample  and  sufficient  in  every  tovioiship,  and 
education  is  one  of  special  care,  and  of  which  the 
citizens  have  an  eye  single.  It  is  a  notable  fact, 
that  Owen  county,  in  proportion  to  its  population, 
will  compare  favorably  with  any  other  county  in 
the  State  for  a  high  class  of  teachers  educated  in 
this  county  and  gone  into  diff'erent  parts  of  the 
country  to  practice  their  profession.  The  people 
are  home-loving  and  law-abiding;  we  have  less  liti- 
gation than  in  any  of  our  neighboring  counties, 
and  if  it  were  not  for  the  cases  coming  here  on 
change  of  venue  from  other  counties  around,  our 
courts  would  have  much  more  leisure  and  the 
legal  fraternity  would  find  it  much  to  their  inter- 
est to  find  some  other  pursuits  in  life.  Go  into  any 
part  of  Owen  county  where  you  will,  and  you 
will  find  an  industrious,  thriving,  generous,  hos- 
pitable people  who  will  open  their  doors  and  give 
you  of  the  best  they  have  with  a  pleasant  wel- 
come, which  cheers  the  heart  and  sweetens  the 
homeliest  fare.  Owen  county  can  show  as  many 
handsome,  intelligent  girls  to  the  square  mile  as 
any  other  county  in  Indiana,  who  can  get  up  a 
"square  meal''  in  first-class  style  at  short  notice, 
and  then  entertain  their  company  in  the  parlor 
with  music  and  intellectual  and  cultured  conver- 
sation. And  the  boys  are  not  behind  their  fair 
sisters.  They  can  plow  a  straight  furrow,  plant, 
cultivate  and  harvest  the  crops,  make  rails  and 
build  fences,  and  then  analyze  the  soil  they  till,  tell 
you  the  chemical  constituents  of  the  grains  and 
grasses  they  grow,  write  you  an  intelligent  article 
on  almost  any  subject  and  if  asked,  solve  you  a 
problem  in  algebra. 

The  territory  of  which  Owen  county  is  a  part 
originally  belonged  to  the  Miami,  Potawatomie, 
Delaware  and  Eel  River  tribes  of  Indians  and  was 
ceded  to  the  whites  by  the  chiefs  of  these  tribes 
by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne,  September  30,  1809. 
Owen  county  was  settled  first  by  the  whites  in 
1816,  and  for  a  number  of  years  subsequent  to  that 


time  large  numbers  of  Indians  gained  their  sub- 
sistence by  hunting  and  fishing — a  veritable  para- 
dise for  the  hunter.  With  very  little  trouble  and 
in  a  very  short  time,  the  early  settler  could  supply 
the  inmates  of  his  cabin  with  an  abundance  of  the 
finest  bear  meat,  venison,  wild  turkey,  and  his  gig 
or  fish  spear,  as  true  to  his  aim  as  the  needle  to 
the  pole,  as  sure  in  the  water  as  his  unerring 
rifle  on  land ;  he  could  quickly  take  all  the  fish  he 
wanted,  taking  his  choice  as  to  size  and  kind. 
Philip  Hart  with  his  family  was  the  first  white 
settler  in  Owen  county.  Came  in  October,  1816, 
and  built  his  cabin  where  Spencer  is  located.  Other 
families  followed  in  quick  succession  and  settled 
in  and  around  Spencer,  and  ere  long  a  very  con- 
siderable settlement  located  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Philip  Hart.  And  this  was  the  beginning  of 
civilization  in  Owen  county. 

The  next  most  important  matter  for  these 
newcomers  to  consider  was  the  organization  of 
the  county  and  the  location  of  the  seat  of  justice  or 
the  county  seat.  There  was  considerable  contro- 
versy over  this  question,  but  the  Hart  neighbor- 
hood being  the  largest,  their  voice  prevailed  and 
the  name  Spencer  was  adopted. 

Spencer  is  a  thriving  little  city,  situated  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  west  fork  of  White  river,  fifty- 
three  miles  southwest  of  Indianapolis.  The 
United  States  census  of  1910  shows  it  to  have  a 
population  of  2,150.  The  Indianapolis  and  Vin- 
cennes  division  of  the  Vandalia  railroad  passes 
through  the  city,  which  gives  first-class  accommo- 
dations to  the  traveling  public.  Spencer  is  sit- 
uated in  a  valley,  beautifully  located,  and  has 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  prettiest  cities 
in  the  State.  It  is  surrounded  with  majestic  hills 
on  all  sides,  with  scenery  and  a  combination  of 
natural  views  not  often  seen,  and  the  "Narrows" 
above  and  below  the  city  are  fine  resorts  for  boat- 
ing. Boon's  Cave,  McCormick's  Creek,  the  Falls 
of  Cataract  and  many  other  places  are  popular  re- 
sorts for  many  pleasure  seekers  and  the  weary  in 
search  of  rest. 
"Lovely  village  of  the  plain. 
Where  smiling  spring  its  earliest  visit  paid. 
And  parting  summer's  lingering  blooms  delayed." 
The  county  was  named  Owen,  in  memory  of 
Major  Abraham  Owen,  a  gallant  Kentucky  officer 
who  fell  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  and  the  county 
seat  was  named  Spencer  in  honor  of  Captain  Spire 
Spencer,  another  gallant  Kentucky  officer,  who  was 
killed  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

EARLY  EVENTS. 

The    first    wedding   rec6rded    in    Owen    county, 

marriage  record  No.  1,  P  1,  was  Pitman  Chance 

to  Nancy  Hicks,  October  4,  1819.     The  first  white 

child  born  in  Owen  County  was  John  R.  K.  Dunn, 


(720) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  181 


1  9  1 


December  12,  1817.  The  first  court  was  held  in  the 
,  county  March  1,  1818,  at  the  house  of  John  Dunn, 
Honorable  Amory  Kinney,  President  Judge;  Hugh 
Barnes  and  Joseph  Freeland,  Associate  Judges; 
John  R.  Freeland.  Clerk;  Andrew  Evans,  Sheriff; 
John  F.  Ross,  Prosecutor  for  the  State.  John 
Mitchell,  Thomas  McNaught  and  John  Milner  were 
the  first  county  commissioners.  John  Bartholo- 
mew was  the  first  county  treasurer.  There  were 
but  three  townships  at  the  time  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county,  and  the  western  boundary  line 
of  Owen  was  the  eastern  boundary  of  Vigo  county. 
The  first  taxes  levied  were  in  1819,  as  follows: 

FOR  STATE  PURPOSES. 

On  first  rate  lands  $1.00  on  each  100  acres. 

On  second  rate  lands  87J  cents  on  each  100 
acres. 

On  third  rate  lands  62i  cents  on  each  100  acres. 

And  on  bond  servants  $3.00. 

FOR  COUNTY  PURPOSES. 

On  first  rate  lands  50  cents  on  each  100  acres. 

On  second  rate  lands  43i  cents  on  each  100 
acres. 

On  third  rate  lands  315  cents  on  each  100  acres. 

And  on  horses  37i  cents  per  head. 

The  salaries  for  the  following  county  officers 
for  the  year  1819  were  allowed  by  the  board  of 
commissioners  as  follows: 

John  R.  Freeland,  County  Clerk $25.00 

Andrew  Evans,  Sheriff 22.00 

William  Alexander,  Lister  (Assessor) 20.00 

COURT  HOUSE  ERECTED. 
The  board  of  commissioners  at  its  September 
term,  1819,  made  an  order  for  the  erection  of  a 
temple  of  justice,  and  the  specifications  as  they 
appear  on  the  ancient  record  of  these  worthy  offi- 
cials are  as  follows :  "A  double  log  house,  one 
room  to  be  20  feet  square,  the  other  16x20,  with  a 
passage  between  12  feet  wide,  all  to  be  covered  un- 
der one  roof,  the  logs  to  face  8x12  inches,  the 
story  10  feet  high,  foundation  to  be  raised  6  inches 
above  the  ground,  on  rock,  to  be  covered  with  a  good 
clapboard  roof,  a  puncheon  floor  to  be  laid  in  each, 
each  room  to  be  chinked  and  daubed  on  the  outside, 
one  door  and  one  window  in  each  room,  the  shut- 
ters to  be  made  of  plank  and  hung  on  iron  hinges." 
Here  was  the  beginning  of  reckless  extravagance 
and  a  waste  of  the  people's  money.  No  such  thing 
had  ever  been  heard  of  in  this  county  as  doors  on 
iron  hinges.  The  hinges  of  these  sturdy  pioneers 
upon  which  the  doors  were  hung  were  hinges 
made  of  wood,  and  a  wooden  latch  with  a  wooden 
catch  fastened  to  the  door  case  into  which  the 
latch  dropped,  and  this  locked  the  door,  which 
could  only  be  unlocked  by  a  member  of  the  family 
on  the  inside  of  the  cabin.     But  in  order  that  the 


door  might  be  unlocked  from  the  outside,  a  gimlet 
hole  was  bored  through  the  door  about  5  or  6 
inches  above  the  latch,  a  string  was  then  attached 
to  the  latch  and  pushed  through  the  gimlet  hole 
and  hung  down  on  the  outside,  and  by  pulling  the 
string,  the  latch  raised  and  the  door  opened.  At 
night  when  the  inmates  retired,  the  string  was 
pulled  in  and  the  door  was  locked.  Many  who 
wished  to  make  themselves  more  secure,  bored 
an  auger  hole  at  a  proper  angle  into  the  door  cas- 
ing which  was  most  usually  a  hewed  log  or  punch- 
eon, and  then  a  wooden  pin  inserted,  which 
clamped  the  edge  of  the  door  to  the  puncheon  or 
door  casing.  This  was  thought  to  be  ample  secur- 
ity by  the  inmates  as  against  intruders;  the  pin 
serving  as  a  kind  of  time  lock  to  the  latch,  and 
was  regarded  a  burglar-proof  protection.  The 
court  house  was  to  be  finished  in  the  following 
May,  1820.  It  was  the  first  house  built  where  the 
town  of  Spencer  now  stands.  That  unique  and 
primeval  structure  still  stands  where  it  was  built, 
on  lot  98  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  public 
square.  The  logs  have  been  weatherboarded  on 
the  outside,  and  the  building  has  been  used  for 
a  residence  for  many  years. 

At  the  May  term  of  the  commissioners'  court, 
among  the  orders  and  allowances  made  by  the 
board  at  said  term  was  an  allowance  made  to 
John  Dunn,  for  $9.87J  for  whisky,  furnished  the 
county  on  the  day  of  the  sale  of  town  lots  in  the 
town  of  Spencer.  At  the  special  session  of  the 
board,  held  August  the  11th,  1820,  it  was  ordered 
that  a  jail  be  built  on  the  public  square,  of  the 
following  dimensions:  To  be  18x36  feet,  the  tim- 
ber to  be  of  oak,  black  walnut,  locust  or  coffee-nut; 
the  logs  to  be  hewn  one  foot  square  for  walls, 
floors  and  ceiling.  At  the  November  term,  1820, 
Lewis  Noel  was  allowed  $338.60  for  building  the 
jail,  and  as  the  vdnter  was  near  by  and  the 
weather  was  getting  cold,  Daniel  Harris  was  ap- 
pointed to  build  a  chimney  to  the  new  court  house. 
The  specifications  provided  that  it  should  be  built 
of  "cat  and  clay,"  the  fireplace  to  be  eight  feet 
wide,  back  and  jambs  to  be  of  rock  as  high  as 
the  mantel.  Thomas  Allen  was  allowed  $7.50  for 
whisky  furnished  the  county  at  the  second  sale 
of  lots  in  the  town  of  Spencer.  Whisky  seems  to 
have  been  a  necessity  for  the  sale  of  lots.  The  new 
brick  court  house,  and  the  one  that  supplanted 
the  temple  of  1819,  was  built  in  1825.  This  build- 
ing accommodated  the  courts  and  county  officers 
until  1910,  when  on  May  4,  1910,  Governor  Thomas 
R.  Marshall  delivered  the  address  at  the  laying  of 
the  corner  stone  of  the  new  court  house.  This  is 
one  of  the  handsomest  and  most  gracefully  ar- 
ranged court  houses  in  Indiana.  Built  out  of  Bed- 
ford limestone,  it  is  a  model  of  perfectior  and  a 
temple  of  beauty. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


At  said  November  term,  1820,  the  board  of  com- 
missioners ordered  a  public  well  dug  in  the  court 
house  square  of  sufficient  depth  to  afford  plenty 
of  water,  to  be  well  walled  with  stone,  to  be  pro- 
vided with  a  sweep  and  a  bucket  with  iron  bands. 
At  this  session  it  was  ordered  that  the  timber 
on  the  public  square  in  Spencer  be  cleared  off; 
all  trees  under  six  inches  in  diameter  to  be  grubbed 
up,  and  all  six  inches  and  over  to  be  cut  not  more 
than  six  inches  above'  the  ground;  brush,  chips 
and  chunks,  with  the  timber  brush  and  rubbish  to 
be  taken  off  and  the  square  made  clear  of  all  ob- 
structions. Philip  Hodges  was  awarded  the  con- 
tract for  $25.00.  Owen  county,  in  its  primeval 
state,  was  one  of  the  finest  timbered  counties  in 
Indiana.  Black  walnut,  yellow  poplar,  white  oak, 
bur  oak,  sugar,  ash  and  other  timber,  had  grown 
to  an  enormous  size,  and  to  clear  the  land  was  no 
small  task,  and  by  the  time  the  farms  were  cleared 
and  made  ready  for  cultivation  most  of  the  pio- 
neers had  served  their  day  and  generation  and 
their  children  had  taken  their  places. 

The  roads  were  irregular,  commenced  any- 
where and  ran  nowhere.  The  road  leading  toward 
Terre  Haute  was  ordered  opened,  all  brush  to  be 
cleared  away,  and  the  road  made  ten  feet  wide. 
Now  the  timber  of  the  county  is  practically  gone, 
the  highways  are  constructed  from  thirty  to  forty 
feet  wide,  and  every  road  in  the  county  of  any 
consequence  is  macadamized  with  gravel  or 
crushed  stone  nine  to  twelve  inches  deep. 

At  the  August  session  of  1820,  of  the  board  of 
commissioners  the  first  road  tax  was  levied  and 
it  is  as  follows: 

On  first  rate  land  $1.50  on  each  100  acres. 

On  second  rate  land  $1.30  on  each  100  acres. 

On  third  rate  land  933  cents  on  each  100  acres. 

In  a  sparsely  settled  county  such  as  Owen 
the  road  tax  was  a  mere  bagatelle,  and  these 
hardy  yeomen  had  to  rely  on  their  individual  ef- 
forts for  the  construction  of  these  primitive  high- 
ways. Church  service  and  the  education  of  the 
children  were  matters  of  too  much  importance  to 
be  overlooked.  The  first  "meeting  house"  in  Spen- 
cer was  built  in  1824.  This  church  house  was 
built  of  logs  with  clapboard  roof,  puncheon  floor, 
and  hewed  puncheons  for  seats.  Hugh  Barnes  was 
the  first  preacher.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling 
qualities  of  head  and  heart  and  well  suited  to 
minister  to  his  frontier  congregation.  This  church 
house  was  also  used  for  a  school  house,  in  which 
the  children  were  taught  the  rudiments  of  an  edu- 
cation. 

By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  approved  February  1,  1834,  to  "Regu- 
late the  mode  of  doing  county  business  in  this 
State,"  it  was  provided  "that  in  each  of  the  coun- 
ties  of   Harrison,   Orange,    Monroe,    Parke,    Hen- 


dricks, Johnson,  Putnam,  Owen,  Clay,  Spencer 
and  Greene,  the  qualified  justices  of  the  peace 
of  said  counties  shall  constitute  a  board  of  com- 
missioners in  their  respective  counties."  Under 
this  act,  Delana  R.  Eckels  became  a  member  of  the 
board  of  commissioners  of  Owen  county.  In  after 
years  he  became  one  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers 
in  Indiana.  He  was  possessed  of  an  analytical 
mind  and  a  keen  and  powerful  intellect.  He  was 
circuit  judge  from  1864  to  1870  in  a  judicial  dis- 
trict of  eight  counties  of  which  Owen  was  one. 
President  Buchanan  appointed  him  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Territory  of  Utah,  and  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  that  high  office  during  that  administra- 
tion with  distinguished  ability. 

OWEN  COUNTY  BAR. 

The  names  of  the  attorneys  living  in  Owen 
county  in  active  practice  are  as  follows: 

Spencer — Innian  H.  Fowler,  David  E.  Beem, 
Willis  Hickam,  John  L.  Duncan,  Thomas  G. 
Spangler,  Homer  Elliott,  James  R.  Miller,  Her- 
bert A.  Rundell  and  Hubert  Hickam. 

Gosport — J.  C.  Henderickson. 

Coal  City — Henry  J.  Hochstetler. 

The  attorneys'  roster  in  this  county  contains  the 
names  of  attorneys  who  practiced  law  here,  and 
for  ability  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
bars  in  Indiana.  We  copy  from  the  record  the 
following: 

Isaac  Blackford,  Terre  Haute;  Elisha  M.  Hunt- 
ington, Terre  Haute;  Joseph  A.  Wright,  Bloom- 
ington;  John  Cowgill,  Spencer;  George  B.  Tingle, 
Spencer;  John  H.  Ross,  Vincennes;  Samuel  P.  Ju- 
dah,  Vincennes;  Randall  Crawford,  New  Albany; 
James  M.  Hanna,  Sullivan;  Cyrus  M.  Allen,  Vin- 
cennes; Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Indianapolis;  John 
A.  Matson,  Greencastle;  Moses  Huett,  Greencas- 
tle;  John  A.  Watts,  Bloomington;  William  T.  Otto, 
New  Albany;  Tilghman  A.  Howard,  Rockville; 
Daniel  McClure,  Martinsville;  William  D.  Fairly, 
Spencer;  Thomas  F.  G.  Adams,  Spencer;  Willis 
A.  Gorman,  Bloomington;  Isaac  N.  Pierce,  Terre 
Haute;  David  McDonald,  Bloomington;  John  T. 
Gunn,  Sullivan;  Delana  E.  Williamson,  Greencas- 
tle; Delana  R.  Eckels,  Spencer;  Craven  P.  Hester, 
Bloomington;  George  G.  Dunn,  Bedford;  James 
Hughes,  Bloomington;  James  S.  Hester,  Bloom- 
ington; Samuel  H.  Buskirk,  Bloomington;  George 
A.  Buskirk,  Bloomington;  Edward  C.  Buskirk, 
Bloomington;  John  P.  Usher,  Terre  Haute;  Hugh 
L.  Livingston,  Bloomfield;  Hugh  O'Neal,  Indian- 
apolis; Henry  Secrest,  Spencer;  Basil  Champer, 
Spencer;  Richard  W.  Thompson,  Terre  Haute; 
Paris  C.  Dunning,  Bloomington;  Allen  T.  Rose, 
Spencer;  Solomon  Claypool,  Greencastle;  George 
W.  Wiltse,  Bowling  Green;  Daniel  W.  Voorhees, 
Terre  Haute;   Moses  F.  Dunn,  Bedford;  Aden  G. 


(  722) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


Cavins,  Bloomfield;  Elijah  H.  C.  Cavins,  Bloom- 
field;  Thomas  R.  Cobb,  Vincennes;  Newton  F.  Ma- 
lott,  Vincennes;  C>tus  F.  McNutt,  Martinsville; 
George  W.  Grubbs,  Martinsville;  Courtland  C. 
Matson,  Greencastle;  William  R.  Harrison,  Mar- 
tinsville; James  H.  Jordan,  Martinsville;  Milton 
H.  Parks,  Martinsville;  William  S.  Shirley,  Mar- 
tinsville; William  W.  Carter,  Brazil;  Silas  E.  Cof- 
fey, Brazil;  Samuel  W.  Curtis,  Brazil;  George  A. 
Knight,  Brazil;  Willis  G.  Neff,  Sullivan;  James  B. 
Smiley,  Greencastle;  William  Mack,  Bloomfield; 
Albert  G.  Porter,  Indianapolis;  Alfred  Ennis,  Mar- 
tinsville; George  W.  Teter,  Bowling  Green;  Wil- 
liam E.  Taylor,  Spencer;  John  H.  Martin,  Spencer; 
Wiley  E.  Dittemore,  Spencer;  Alfred  Dyar,  Spen- 
cer; Basil  Meek,  Spencer;  Robert  W.  Miers, 
Bloomington;  James  B.  Wilson,  Blooniington; 
John  R.  East,  Bloomington;  Rufus  East,  Bloom- 
ington; Joseph  E.  Henley,  Bloomington;  John  F. 
Rejester,  Bloomington;  Cyi-us  E.  Davis,  Bloom- 
field; William  M.  Franklin,  Spencer;  John  W.  Bus- 
kirk,  Bloomington;  Eli  K.  Millen,  Bloomington; 
George  Munson,  Bedford;  Addison  L.  Daggy, 
Greencastle;  George  W.  Friedley,  Bedford;  Har- 
mon Friedley,  Bloomington;  James  B.  Mulky, 
Bloomington;  Addison  C.  Harris,  Indianapolis; 
Morton  C.  Hunter,  Bloomington ;  Samuel  O.  Pick- 
ens, Spencer:  William  A.  Pickens,  Spencer,  and 
John  C.  Robinson,  Spencer.  Many  of  these  attor- 
neys became  eminent  in  their  profession,  in  the 
halls  of  legislation,  on  the  bench  and  in  the  coun- 
sels of  the  nation.  It  is  questionable  whether  a 
greater  array  of  legal  ability  could  be  found  at 
the  bar  in  any  other  county  in  Indiana. 

JUDICIARY. 
James  Hughes  was  elected  circuit  judge  and 
served  until  1856,  when  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress. The  judicial  district  was  a  large  one,  be- 
ing composed  of  eight  counties,  as  follows:  Mor- 
gan, Putnam,  Clay,  Vigo,  Sullivan,  Greene,  Mon- 
roe and  Owen.  The  district  for  many  years  was 
known  as  the  15th.  James  M.  Hanna,  of  Sullivan 
county,  was  elected  in  1856  to  fill  the  judgeship 
made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Judge  Hughes. 
Judge  Hanna  occupied  the  circuit  court  bench  un- 
til 1858,  when  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Willard  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  the  supreme  bench, 
caused  by  the  resignation  of  Judge  Samuel  B. 
Gookins,  of  Terre  Haute.  The  Governor  then  ap- 
pointed Solomon  Claypool,  of  Terre  Haute,  judge 
to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
Judge  Hanna.  Judge  Claypool  served  under  his 
appointment  until  the  election  in  1858,  when  he 
was  elected.  He  served  until  1864,  at  which  time 
Delana  R.  Eckels,  of  Putnam  county,  was  elected 
and  served  until  1870,  when  William  M.  Frank- 
lin, of  Owen  county,  was  elected,  and  served  un- 


til 1876,  at  which  election  John  C.  Robinson  was 
elected  and  served  until  1882,  when  Ambrose  M. 
Cunning,  of  Morgan,  was  elected  and  served  until 
1888.  George  W.  Grubbs,  of  Morgan,  was  then 
elected  and  served  until  1902,  at  which  time  Mil- 
ton H.  Parks,  of  Morgan,  was  elected.  He  served 
about  four  years  and  died,  and  Governor  Durbin 
appointed  Joseph  W.  Williams,  of  Owen,  to  fill  the 
vacancy.  He  held  the  court  under  his  appoint- 
ment from  April,  1904,  until  the  election  in  1906, 
at  which  election  he  was  elected. 

The  old  15th  district  had  been  divided  and 
subdivided  until  all  that  was  left  of  it  was  Mor- 
gan and  Owen,  and  in  1911  the  General  Assembly 
again  subdivided  the  district,  creating  a  circuit 
in  Morgan  and  creating  the  10th  Judicial  Circuit 
out  of  Owen  and  Monroe.  Judge  James  B.  Wil- 
son was  the  presiding  judge  in  Monroe  when  it 
was  united  with  Owen  and  he  took  the  bench  here 
September  4,  1911,  and  held  the  court  until  No- 
vember, 1914,  when  Judge  Robert  W.  Miers. 
judge-elect,  took  the  bench  and  is  now  judge  of 
the  10th  Judicial  Circuit.  Many  of  these  gentle- 
men are  among  the  most  eminent  lawyers  in  the 
State.  Judge  Hanna  made  a  fine  reputation  as  a 
jurist  while  on  the  supreme  bench;  Judge  Clay- 
pool was  one  of  the  able  attomeys  at  the  Indian- 
apolis bar;  Judge  Eckels  distinguished  himself  as 
chief  justice  of  Utah;  Judge  Franklin  was  on  the 
Supreme  Court  Commission  for  a  number  of  years 
and  proved  himself  eminent  as  a  jurist;  Judge 
John  C.  Robinson  was  one  of  the  brightest  law- 
yers in  the  State,  and  his  reputation  as  a  jurist 
was  statewide,  and  he  probably  had  no  superior  on 
the  bench  in  Indiana  at  the  time  he  occupied  the 
bench.  All  these  judges  who  were  elected  by  a 
vote  in  Owen  were  Democrats,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Judge  Grubbs  and  Judge  Williams.  Judge 
Wilson  is  a  Republican,  but  he  was  elected  in  the 
judicial  district  of  Lawrence  and  Monroe.  But 
they  all  discharged  the  duties  of  the  high  office 
which  they  held  faithfully,  honestly  and  honor- 
ably, and  no  taint,  spot  or  blemish  ever  attached 
to  their  judicial  ermine. 

THE  COUNTY  PRESS. 
The  first  newspaper  published  in  Owen  county 
was  about  1842  or  1843,  called  the  Go.iport  Chron- 
otyps.  John  R.  Kerr  was  the  editor.  It  was 
devoted  to  foreign.  State  and  home  news,  and  was 
a  four-column  folio.  About  the  year  1846  Joseph 
Reed  established  an  oflnce  and  began  the  publica- 
tion of  a  newspaper,  neutral  in  politics,  which  he 
named  the  Western  Chronicle.  He  did  not  succeed 
very  well,  and  some  time  in  the  year  1847  or  1848 
the  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  William  M. 
Franklin  and  William  E.  Taylor,  both  rising 
young    lawyers    and     stanch     Democrats.     They 


(723) 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  the  Republican 
and  made  it  a  Democratic  newspaper  and  the 
organ  of  the  county  Democracy.  They  sold  the 
paper  to  a  Greene  county  party  after  they  had  pub- 
lished it  for  about  a  year,  and  the  office  was  moved 
to  Greene  county.  About  1850  Madison  H.  White 
commenced  the  publication  of  a  newspaper  at 
Spencer,  called  the  Busy  World.  This  paper  sus- 
pended after  a  publication  of  about  two  years  for 
lack  of  patronage.  Its  politics  leaned  to  the  Whig 
party.  The  National  Weekly  Guard  was  pub- 
lished about  1853  or  1854— David  L.  Lusk  editor 
and  proprietor,  and  was  Democratic  in  politics. 
This  paper  was  published  at  Spencer  for  about 
two  years,  when  he  removed  his  press  and  mate- 
rial to  Shawneetown,  111.  John  F.  Harner  came 
to  Spencer  in  September,  1858,  and  began  the 
publication  of  the  Owen  County  Journal.  Mr. 
Harner  was  a  practical  printer  as  well  as  an  ex- 
pert engraver  in  wood.  He  was  a  man  of  fine 
intelligence,  a  good  writer,  and  had  worked  in 
the  Louisville  Journal  office  for  many  years.  The 
paper  was  well  conducted  and  was  well  received 
and  well  patronized  by  the  reading  public.  In 
fact,  it  was  the  first  real  newspaper  the  county 
had  ever  had.  The  Democrats  at  Spencer  formed 
a  stock  company  and  bought  the  Journal  from  Mr. 
Harner,  and  it  became  a  Democratic  newspaper 
and  the  organ  of  the  Owen  County  Democracy, 
with  James  W.  Archer  installed  editor,  and  he 
edited  and  conducted  the  Journal  through  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1860  and  advocated  the 
election  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  to  the  presidency. 
Jacob  V.  Wolf  and  John  C.  Robinson  afterward 
occupied  the  editorial  chair,  and  it  was  finally 
sold  to  Mr.  Harner,  the  first  owner.  He  contin- 
ued it  as  the  organ  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
Owen  county  until  the  fall  of  1874,  when  he  sold 
and  transferred  the  office  to  Mr.  John  Wayland 
of  Batavia,  Ohio.  He  was  thoroughly  saturated 
with  Democratic  principles,  and  the  Journal  con- 
tinued the  organ  of  the  Owen  County  Democracy 
and  was  more  successful,  financially  and  other- 
wise, than  it  had  ever  been  before.  Mr.  Wayland 
was  a  good  editor  and  his  wife  was  a  brilliant 
writer,  and  during  his  ownership  the  Owen  Coun- 
ty Journal  was  deservedly  popular.  Mr.  Way- 
land  sold  the  Journal  to  Messrs.  Walker  Schell 
and  Luther  H.  Smith.  This  partnership  was  of 
short  duration.  Smith  purchased  the  Schell  in- 
terest. Luther  H.  Smith  was  not  a  printer  and 
put  his  brother,  George  E.  Smith,  in  the  office  in 
charge  of  the  Journal.  It  was  finally  sold  by 
Smith  and  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Republic- 
ans, and  has  ever  since  and  now  is  the  organ  of 
the  Republican  party  in  Owen  county. 

In  the  fall  of  1874  John  W.  Cooper  &  Co.  com- 
menced  the  publication   of  the   Gosport  Tribiine, 


neutral  in  politics.  This  newspaper  in  Owen 
county  had  a  brief  existence,  for  in  January,  1875, 
the  press  with  all  its  material  was  moved  to 
Bloomfield,  Ind. 

In  the  year  1879  James  K.  Smith  started  a  lit- 
tle paper  in  Spencer  which  he  called  the  Free 
Press.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  brother  of  Luther  H. 
and  George  E.,  eccentric  and  radical  in  his  opin- 
ions and  having  no  qualifications  for  the  news- 
paper business,  he  soon  merged  his  Free  Press 
into  his  brother's  paper,  the  Owen  County  Jour- 
nal, and  the  two  passed  together  into  the  hands 
of  the  Republicans. 

In  1865  Clarence  Williams  came  to  Spencer 
with  a  press  and  some  material  and  started  the 
publication  of  a  newspaper  and  called  it  the  Oiven 
County  Union.  In  a  short  time  he  sold  out  to 
Joel  A.  Coffey  and  David  E.  Beem,  who  continued 
its  publication.  It  was  Republican.  In  1867  they 
sold  the  press,  material  and  paper  to  S.  H.  Mathes 
and  in  1868  he  sold  a  half  interest  to  Henry  C. 
Painter.  They  removed  the  office  to  Gosport  and 
started  the  Gosport  Independent.  Mathes  shortly 
after  sold  his  interest  to  Charles  L.  Yockey  and 
the  office  was  soon  sold  and  moved  to  Blooming- 
ton.  In  politics  the  paper  was  Republican  as  long 
as  it  remained  in  this  county. 

In  1872  Walter  Connelly  and  Charles  L.  Yockey 
brought  an  office  from  Bedford,  Ind.,  and  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  Owen  County  News, 
independent  in  politics.  This  paper  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  politics  during  the  Grange  movement 
in  Owen  county  in  1874.  A  part  of  the  Grange 
movement  made  up  a  ticket  for  county  officers, 
which  they  called  the  Grange  ticket,  composed  of 
candidates  from  all  the  political  parties,  which 
was  run  in  opposition  to  the  regular  Democratic 
ticket.  The  Oiven  County  Neivs  was  a  supporter 
of  the  Grange  ticket,  which  was  badly  defeated, 
and  the  introduction  of  this  political  movement 
killed  the  Grange  organization  in  Owen  county. 
These  owners  sold  the  paper  to  O.  M.  Howard,  who 
continued  the  publication  as  an  independent  local 
newspaper  until  some  time  during  the  year  1875, 
when  he  sold  out  to  S.  H.  H.  Mathes.  He  changed 
the  politics  of  the  paper  to  a  straightout  Repub- 
lican paper  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  presi- 
dential canvass  of  1876.  His  experiment  was  a 
financial  disaster  and  he  sold  out  to  O.  M.  How- 
ard, who  immediately  changed  the  name  of  the 
paper  to  the  Democrat,  and  the  name  of  the  paper 
was  a  true  index  of  its  politics.  The  paper  has 
been  sold  and  bought  several  times,  but  ever  since 
1876,  and  now  is,  the  standard-bearer  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  in  "Sweet  Owen." 

In  September,  1879,  William  B.  Harris  brought 
an  office  to  Spencer  and  commenced  the  publica- 
tion  of  a  newspaper  which  he  called   the  Owen 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


County  People,  Republican  in  politics.  In  1881 
he  sold  out  to  M.  M.  Havens,  who  changed  the 
name  to  Spencer  Republican.  In  1882  the  paper 
was  enlarged  and  leased  to  S.  H.  H.  Mathes,  who 
in  1883  bought  it  and  continued  the  publication 
as  the  Republican  organ  in  Owen  county.  This 
paper  went  out  of  existence  some  years  ago. 

On  December  1.3,  1913,  the  Owen  Leader  made 
its  appearance.  It  is  a  progressive  newspaper 
and  advocates  the  principles  of  the  Progressive 
party  in  this  county.  It  is  published  in  Spencer. 
Carl  Anderson  is  the  proprietor  and  editor.  The 
mechanical  execution  is  good,  it  is  well  patronized 
and  the  editorial  department  is  well  conducted. 

The  Gosporf  Reporter,  published  at  Gosport, 
has  been  in  existence  for  a  number  of  years.  It 
has  had  a  diversity  of  owners  and  editors.  It 
wa5  started  as  a  Republican  paper;  in  1912  it 
became  Progressive,  and  in  1914  it  was  Repub- 
lican. It  recently  changed  ownership  and  will 
probably  be  independent.  Charles  A.  Wampler  is 
the  present  owner  and  editor. 

There  are  then  four  political  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  the  county — three  published  at  Spencer, 
the  Democrat,  the  Owen  County  Journal  and  the 
Oxvcn  Leader;  one  at  Gosport,  the  Gosport  Re- 
porter. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  first  schools  in  Spencer  were  held  in  the 
log  church  and  in  the  log  court  house.  The  first 
teachers  were  James  Galletly  and  Isaac  Heaton. 
Mr.  Galletly  taught  a  school  in  Spertcer  about  the 
year  1821  and  Mr.  Heaton  about  182.5.  The 
schools  in  Owen  county,  as  in  nearly  all  the  coun- 
ties in  the  State,  were  primitive.  But  the  schools 
in  this  county  would  compare  favorably  with  the 
schools  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  all  bein?:  con- 
ducted alike  and  with  the  same  meager  course  of 
study.  The  methods  of  teaching  then  were  en- 
tirely at  variance  with  the  scientific  system 
adopted  now.  Teachers  then  were  not  educated 
to  teach  as  now.  The  normal  schools  have  done 
a  wonderful  work  in  preparing  the  teacher  for 
the  school  room.  Owen  county  has  always  taken 
a  lively  interest  in  her  schools.  The  curriculum 
of  former  years  consisted  of  reading,  writing, 
geography,  grammar  and  arithmetic.  In  many 
instances  grammar  was  condemned  as  being  use- 
less and  a  waste  of  time  of  the  pupil.  But  we 
have  Ion;?  since  passed  that  period  of  crude  no- 
tions as  to  what  constitutes  education,  and  the 
hoy  or  girl  who  passes  through  the  high  school 
in  Owen  county,  if  he  or  she  has  been  diligent  and 
faithful,  is  well  educated  and  well  prepared  for 
the  duties  of  life.  Owen  county  is  justly  proud 
of  her  common  school  systems;  her  school  houses 
and  their  comfort  and  conveniences;  her  six  high 
school  buildings,  five  of  which  have  been  erected 


in  the  last  three  or  four  years.  An  additional 
high  school  building  was  erected  in  Spencer  dur- 
ing the  year  1914  at  a  cost  of  $4(),ono.  This  is  a 
modern  building  in  every  respect  and  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  buildings  in  the  State. 

COUNTY  OFFICERS. 
CLERKS  CIRCUIT  COURT. 
John  R.  Freeland,  first  clerk. 
Basil  Meek,  Democrat,  1854  to  1862. 
Inman  H.  Fowler,  Democrat,  1862  to  1870. 
James  S.  Meek,  Democrat,  1870  to  1878. 
Noel  W.  Williams,  Democrat,  1878  to  1882. 
James  King,  Democrat,  1882  to  1886. 
Winfield  S.  Johnson,  Democrat,  1890  to  1894. 
Parks  M.  Martin,  Democrat,  1894  to  1898. 
George  W.  Wark,  Democrat,  1898  to  1902. 
Eph  W.  Cassady,  Democrat,  1906  to  1910. 
Louis  Schmidt,  Democrat,  1910  to  1914. 

Joseph  C.  Clark,  Democrat,  1914  to . 

AUDITORS. 
Andrew  J.  Hays,  Democrat,  1862  to  1866. 
George  D.  Phillips,  Democrat,  1867  to  1871. 
William  H.  Troth,  Democrat,  1871  to  1875. 
Frank  H.  Freeland,  Democrat,  1875  to  1879. 
Nathaniel  D.  Cox,  Democrat,  1879  to  1883. 
Thurston  Dickerson,  Democrat,  1883  to  1887. 
Samuel  L.  Wallace,  Democrat,  1887  to  1891. 
Wilfred  Hickam,  Democrat,  1891  to  1895. 
Joseph  B.  Workman,  Democrat,  1895  to  1899. 
William  M.  Free,  Democrat,  1899  to  1903. 
George  W.  Stwalley,  Democrat,  1911  to  1915. 
Samuel  M.  Royer,  Democrat,  1915  to . 

RECORDERS. 
David  Harris,  Democrat.  1855  to  1863. 
Adam  B.  Conder,  Democrat,  1863  to  1867. 
David  N.  Horn,  Democrat,  1867  to  1871. 
Emanuel  Fulk.  Democrat,  1871  to  1875. 
George  W.  Keller,  Democrat,  1875  to  1879. 
Jacob  Kiphart,  Democrat,  1879  to  1883. 
Frank  M.  Staley,  Democrat,  1883  to  1887. 
Rankin  McClaren,  Democrat.  1887  to  1891. 
Lorenzo  D.  Coats,  Democrat,  1891  to  1893. 
Isaac  N.  Noel,  Democrat,  appointment,  1893  to 
1894. 

Sylvester  E.  Atkins,  Democrat,  1894  to  1898. 
Henry  V.  Dunkin,  Democrat,  1898  to  1902. 
George  W.  Parish,  Democrat,  1906  to  1910. 
Charles  E.  Carpenter.  Democrat,  1910  to  1914. 
Charles  P.  Surber,  Democrat,  1914  to  . 

TREASURERS. 

John  Bartholomew,  first  treasurer, to  1819. 

Philip  Hart, to  1821. 

George  W.  Moore,  Democrat, to  1833. 

George  Parke,  Democrat,  1847  to   1856. 
George  Dittemore,  Democrat,  1856  to  1858. 


(725) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1 


James  W.  Dobson,  Democrat,  1862  to  1864. 

Jacob  V.  Wolf,  Democrat,  1864  to  1868. 

Vincent  E.  Williams,  Democrat,  1868  to  1872. 

Daniel  Harbaugh,  Democrat,  1872  to  1876. 

George  W.  Ellis,  Democrat,  1876  to  1880. 

William  F.  Megenhardt,  Democrat,  1880  to  1884. 
.     William  B.  Halton,  Democrat,  1885  to  1889. 

William  F.  Cassady,  Democrat,  1889  to  1893. 

Robert  W.  Martin,  Democrat,  1893  to  1897. 

Benjamin  T.  Fisher,  Democrat,  1897  to  1901. 

William  Gallimore,  Democrat,  1901  to  1903. 

William  Gallimore,  Democrat,  1905  to  1907. 

Harry  B.  Williams,  Democrat,  1911  to  1915. 

Charles  E.  Shultz,  Democrat,  1915  to . 

SHERIFFS. 

Andrew  Evans,  1819  to  1822. 

Thomas  Allen,  1822  to  1826. 

Samuel  Scott,  Democrat,  1833  to  1834. 

Thomas  Allen,  1835  to  1836. 

Martin  Snoddy,  1837  to  1839. 

Lindsey  C.  Abrell,  Democrat,  1843  to  1845. 

George  Dittemore,  Democrat,  1845  to  1846. 

John  M.  Coleman,  Democrat,  1857  to  1861. 

Thomas  I.  Wells,  Democrat,  1861  (died). 

Albert  Childress,  Democrat,  1861  to  1862. 

Richard  T.  Abrell,  Democrat,  1862  to  1865. 

Isaac  S.  Lucas,  Democrat,  1865  to  1869. 

Richard  T.  Abrell,  Democrat,  1869  to  1874. 

Hamilton  Moffett,  Democrat,  1874  to  1878. 

Lycurgus  H.  Wood,  Democrat,  1878  to  1882. 

Samuel  N.  Chambers,  Democrat,  1882  to  1886. 

Alex  Brice,  Democrat,  1886  to  1890. 

Benjamin  H.  Johnson,  Democrat,  1890  to  1894. 

Stephen  D.  Phillips,  Democrat,  1896  to  1900. 

Stephen  G.  Summers,  Democrat,  1900  to  1902. 

William  P.  Slinkard,  Democrat,  1904  to  1908. 

Tecumseh    S.    McNaught,    Democrat,    1908    to 
1912. 

William  C.  Robertson,  Democrat,  1912  to  1916. 

Alex.   Fulk,  Democrat,  1916  to . 

SURVEYORS. 

John  Getty,  1847  to  1851. 

William  McCormick,  1851  to  1854. 

William  H.  Troth,  Democrat,  1858  to  1860. 

William  M.  Kinnerman,  Democrat,  1860  to  18G6. 

William  H.  Troth,  Democrat,  1866  to  1868. 

James  King,  Democrat,  1868  to  1877. 

George  D.  Phillips,  Democrat,  1877  to  1880. 

Joseph  F.  Rogers,  Democrat,  1880  to  1882. 

George  D.  Phillips,  Democrat,  1882  to  1890. 

Parks  M.  Martin,  Democrat,  1890  to  1894. 

Louis  L.  Drescher,  Democrat,  1894  to  1896. 

Clarence  L.  Day,  Democrat,  1896  to  1898. 

Louis  L.  Drescher,  Democrat,  1898  to  1900. 

Clarence  L.  Day,  Democrat,  1900  to  1902. 

Temple  G.  Pierson,  Democrat,  1902  to  1904. 

Emanuel  Fulk,  Democrat,  1904  to  1906. 


Sylvester  Atkins,  Democrat,  1906  to  1908. 
Emanuel  Fulk,  Democrat,  1908  to  1910. 
Jason  Stucky,  Democrat,  1910  to  1912. 
Louis  L.  Drescher,  Democrat,  1912  to  1914. 
Louis  L.  Drescher,  Democrat,  1914  to  1916. 
Frank  Hester,  Democrat,  1916  to . 

CORONERS. 

George  J.  Grimes,  Democrat,  1840  to  1851. 

Anderson  B.  Mills,  Democrat,  1851  to  1856. 

William  E.  Franklin,  Democrat,  1856  to  1858. 

Anderson  B.  Mills,  Democrat,  1858  to  1874. 

George  W.  Edwards,  Greenback,  1874  to  1876. 

Nathaniel  D.  Cox,  Democrat,  1876  to  1878. 

Samuel  N.  Chambers,  Democrat,  1878  to  1880. 

Elisha  N.  Mullinix,  Democrat,  1880  to  1884. 

Walker  Schell,  Democrat,  1884  to  1888. 

Caleb  A.  Pritchard,  Democrat,  1888  to  1890. 

Fred  V.  Stucky,  Democrat,  1890  to  1892. 

John  J.  Livingston,  Democrat,  1892  to  1894. 

William  H.  Hixon,  Democrat,  1894  to  1898. 

Boaz  Yocum,  Democrat,  1898  to  1900. 

Samuel  N.  Quillen,  Democrat,  1900  to  1902. 

Ephraim   Chenoweth,   Democrat,  1906  to  1908. 

FYed  V.  Stucky,  Democrat,  1908  to  1912. 

Francis  E.  Drescher,  Democrat,  1912  to  1915. 

John  W.  Pryor,  Democrat,  1915  to  1917. 

J.  Fred  Blair,  Democrat,  1917  to  . 

We  here  give  a  full  list  of  the  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives from  an  early  date  in  Indiana  legisla- 
tion to  the  present  time,  and  if  there  are  any  other 
names  of  members  of  either  branch  of  the  General 
Assembly,  they  do  no  appear  of  record. 

DEMOCRATIC  SENATORS  FROM  OWEN 
COUNTY. 

Knox,  Sullivan,  Daviess,  Vigo  and  Owen — Wil- 
liam Polke,  1819-20,  1820-21. 

Sullivan,  Vigo,  Greene,  Owen  and  Pike — 
Thomas  H.  Blake,  1821-22. 

Sullivan,  Vigo,  Greene,  Owen,  Parke  and  Put- 
nam— John  Jenckes,  1822-23. 

Vigo,  Sullivan,  Parke,  Putnam,  Owen,  Greene, 
Wabash,  Montgomery  and  Morgan — John  Jenckes, 
1823-24. 

Vigo,  Sullivan,  Parke,  Putnam,  Owen,  Greene, 
Wabash,  Montgomery  and  Morgan — No  Senator's 
name  recorded.     1825   (Jan.). 

Sullivan,  Vigo,  Parke,  Montgomery,  Vermilion, 
Clay,  Owen,  Putnam,  Greene,  Hendricks  and  Mor- 
gan—John M.  Coleman,  1825  (Dec). 

Monroe,  Owen  and  Greene — James  Whitcomb, 
Democrat,  1830-31,  1831-32,  1832-33,  1833-34, 
1834-35,  1835-36. 

Owen  and  Greene — David  M.  Dobson,  Democrat, 
1836-37. 

Owen  and  Greene  and  part  of  Jasper — Simon 
Terman,    1837-38. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


Owen  and  Greene — David  M.  Dobson,  Demo- 
crat,  1843-44. 

Greene  and  Owen — Jesse  I.  Alexander,  Demo- 
crat, 1850-51.  1851-52. 

Greene  and  Owen — Andrew  Humphreys,  Demo- 
crat,   1853. 

Greene  and  Owen — J.  I.  Alexander,  Democrat, 
1855  to  1857. 

Greene  and  Owen — Jason  N.  Conley,  Democrat, 
1859  to   1863. 

Greene  and  Owen — George  W.  Moore,  Demo- 
crat, 18(33  to  1867. 

Greene  and  Owen — John  Humphreys,  Demo- 
crat, 1867  to  1871. 

Greene  and  Owen — Wiley  E.  Dittemore,  Demo- 
crat, 1871  to  1875. 

Owen  and  Clay — Morgan  Bryan  Ringo,  Demo- 
crat, 1875  to  1877. 

Owen  and  Clay — Inman  H.  Fowler,  Democrat, 
1877  to  1881. 

Owen  and  Clay — Isaac  M.  Compton,  Democrat, 
1S81  to  18S5. 

Owen  and  Clay — Inman  H.  Fowler,  Democrat, 
1885  to  1889. 

Owen  and  Clay — George  A.  Byrd,  Democrat, 
1889  to  1893. 

Owen  and  Clay — Samuel  R.  McKelvey,  Demo- 
crat, 1893  to  1897. 

Owen  and  Clay — Frank  A.  Horner,  Democrat, 
1J97  to  1901. 

Owen  and  Clay — A.  H.  Wampler,  Democrat, 
1901  to  1905. 

Owen  and  Clay — Ralph  W.  Moss,  Democrat, 
1905   to   1909. 

Greene,  Owen  and  Monroe — James  H.  Humph- 
reys, Democrat,  1915  to  1917. 

Morgan,  Owen  and  Sullivan — Thomas  J.  Hud- 
glns,  1917  to  — . 

REPRESENTATIVES  FROM  OWEN 
COUNTY. 
Combs,  William,  Democrat,  1861. 
Dittemore,  Wiley  E.,  Democrat,  1869  to  1885. 
Dobson,  David  M.,  Democrat,  1848-49. 


Dobson,  James  W.,  Democrat,  1846-47,  1847-48, 
1851-52. 

Downey,  Luther  U.,  Democrat,  1897. 

Duncan,  John  L.,  Democrat,  1893  to  1895. 

Eckels,  Delana  R.,  Democrat,   1836-37. 

Franklin,  William   M.,   Democrat,   1850-51. 

Guthrie,  Walker  D.,  Democrat,   1871. 

Hauser,  Frederick  (?),  1844-45. 

Hays,  Benjamin  F.,  Democrat,  1867. 

McKelvey,  Samuel  R.,  Democrat,  1889. 

Montgomery,  John  D.,  Democrat,  1855. 

Montgomery,  John  S.,  Democrat,  1883  to  1887. 

Moore,  George  W.,  Democrat,  1833-34,  1834-35, 
1835-36,  1839-40,  1842-43,  1843-44,  1845-46,  1857. 

Reno,  Jesse  H.,  Democrat,  1873,  1875,  1877. 

Schweitzer,  Bernard,  Democrat,  1879  to  1881. 

Smith,  James  L.,  Democrat,  1891. 

Snoddy,  Martin  (?),  1841-42. 

Stuckey,  John  M.,  Democrat,  1865. 

Wolfe,  Jacob  V.,  Democrat,  1863. 

Wooden,  Robert  M.   (?),  1831-32,  1832-33. 

JOINT  REPRESENTATIVES. 
Clay  and  Owen  Counties: 

Downey,  Luther  U.,  Democrat,  1899. 

Duncan,  John  Mason,  Democrat,  1911-13. 

Horsfield,  J.  R.,  Democrat,  1901. 

Hickam,  Hubert,  Democrat,  1915. 

Lewis,  Tenney  P.,  Democrat,  1903. 

Mugg,  Benjamin  F.,  Democrat,  1909. 

Pierson,  Temple  G.,  Democrat,  1905-07. 
Greene  and  Owen  Counties: 

Adams,  Thomas  F.  G.,  Democrat,  1827-28. 

Dixon,  Eli  (?),  1826-27,  1829-30. 

Young,  John  M.  (?),  1828-29. 
Greene,  Owen  and  Morgan  Counties: 

Dixon,  Eli  (?),  1821-22,  1823-24. 

Harris,  Daniel  (?),  1825  (Jan.). 
Greene,  Owen  and  Monroe: 

Dixon,  Eli  (?),  1822-23  (unseated  Hugh  Barnes 
Dec.  5,  1822). 
Greene,  Owen,  Morgan  and  Clay: 

Sims,  John   (?),  1825   (Dec). 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
PARKE  COUNTY 

From  the  Parke  County  Centennial  Memorial,  1916 


PARKE  COUNTY  at  the  time  of  its  organi- 
zation included  most  of  its  present  440  square 
miles  and  all  of  Vermilion  county,  west  of  it. 
In  common  with  other  portions  of  the  Hoosier 
State,  Parke  county  had  her  pioneers,  giants  in 
stature  and  muscle,  lions  in  courage  to  do  and 
dare,  and  possessed  of  sublime  patience  to  endure 
the  hardships  and  privations  of  the  early  settlers 
of  a  forest  frontier.  On  the  last  day  of  the  leg- 
islative session  of  1820-21,  January  9,  1821,  an 
act  was  passed  for  the  foundation  of  a  new  coun- 
ty north  of  Vigo,  and  Parke  county  thus  came 
into  existence.  The  county  was  named  in  honor 
of  Benjamin  Parke,  major  in  the  Tippecanoe 
campaign,  first  Territorial  Representative  in  Con- 
gress and  U.  S.  District  Judge. 

Governor  Jonathan  Jennings  appointed  James 
Barnes  of  Owen  county,  Richard  Palmer  of  Da- 
viess, George  Ewing  of  Knox,  Andrew  Wilkins 
of  Sullivan  and  John  M.  Coleman  of  Vigo  com- 
missioners to  "convene  at  the  home  of  Samuel 
Blair,  in  the  said  county  of  Parke,  on  the  third 
Monday  of  February,  1822,  to  fix  a  seat  of  jus- 
tice, to  be  moved  as  the  court  may  direct,  until  a 
permanent  seat  of  justice  is  established."  The 
first  court  was  held  at  Roseville,  which  town  did 
not  long  hold  the  county  seat,  for  that  distinction 
was  enjoyed  by  both  Armiesburg  and  Montezuma 
before  the  location  of  the  permanent  seat  at  Rock- 
ville.  As  this  was  in  1822,  none  of  these  other 
places  could  have  held  the  honor  very  long.  The 
history  of  the  location  of  the  county  seat  at  Rock- 
ville  brings  to  mind  some  picturesque  scenes  in 
our  early  history.  General  Joseph  Orr,  General 
Arthur  Patterson  and  Colonel  Thomas  Smith  had 
been  appointed  commissioners  to  locate  a  perma- 
nent county  seat.  They  came  to  the  county  in 
1824  and  began  to  view  eligible  sites  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  settlers  at  Ray's  Tavern,  as  Rockville 
was  then  known,  invited  them  to  come  before 
making  their  decision.  "On  a  gloomy  day,  about 
the  1st  of  February,"  said  Beadle,  "the  commis- 
sioners, wet  and  muddy,  reached  the  hospitable 
tavern  of  Andrew  Ray  and  were  royally  enter- 
tained for  those  times.  What  personal  induce- 
ment was  offered  we  cannot  guess,  but  by  break- 
fast time  this  spot  was  chosen.  The  three  offi- 
cials and  five  male  citizens  emptied  a  bottle  of  old 
whisky,  broke  the  bottle  on  the  big  rock  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  site,  and  baptized  the  town  of 
Rockville,  county  seat." 

Parke   county   started  its   career  with  the  pic- 


turesque election  of  1821.  The  Jackson  men,  or 
Democrats,  won  the  first  election,  and  they  re- 
tainea  their  majority  with  the  exception  of  an 
oflSce  here  and  there,  for  about  fifteen  years  after 
the  organization  of  the  county.  By  that  time  im- 
migration had  brought  a  large  Whig  element, 
principally  Quakers,  into  the  politics  and  from 
1836  to  1856  the  county  was  sometimes  Whig  and 
sometimes  Democratic  in  the  various  elections. 
It  is  probable  that  the  infiuence  of  Tilghman  A. 
Howard  and  Joseph  A.  Wright  as  leaders  of  the 
Democratic  party,  not  only  in  Parke  county,  but 
in  the  State,  served  to  offset  a  Whig  immigration 
that  otherwise  would  have  controlled  the  county 
at  all  times.  Here,  as  everywhere  in  the  State, 
the  Democrats  took  pride  in  every  honor  that 
came  to  these  two  men.  Howard  was  elected  to 
Congress,  was  appointed  by  President  Jackson  to 
settle  the  claims  to  Indian  lands  now  embracing 
the  city  of  Chicago,  was  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Senator  in  1839,  being  defeated  by  only 
one  vote.  The  next  year  he  twice  headed  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket:  as  candidate  for  Governor  in  Au- 
gust and  elector-at-large  in  November.  He  died 
as  minister  to  negotiate  with  the  republic  of 
Texas  for  its  admission  into  the  Union.  Joseph 
A.  Wright,  after  being  repeatedly  elected  to  Con- 
gress, was  elected  Governor  in  1849.  He  was  re- 
elected to  this  high  office,  being  the  last  man  in 
Indiana  elected  for  two  terms;  was  appointed 
minister  to  Berlin,  and  upon  his  return  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  Senator.  Judge  William 
P.  Bryant  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Oregon. 
John  G.  Davis,  after  serving  twenty  years  as 
County  Clerk,  was  elected  and  re-elected  to  Con- 
gress, and  William  Nofsinger  was  elected  Treas- 
urer of  State. 

In  1855  came  the  complete  overthrow  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Parke  county.  The  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  passage  of  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  Act  brought  the  new  Repub- 
lican party  to  the  front  and  they  made  a  clean 
sweep  of  all  county  offices,  except  Treasurer,  to 
which  John  R.  Miller  (John  R.  Miller  was  Dick 
Miller's  uncle)  was  elected,  and  then  re-elected, 
the  last  Democrat  to  carry  the  county  until  twen- 
ty years  afterward,  when  John  T.  Collings  and 
O.  P.  Brown  were  elected  Commissioners.  For 
forty  years,  from  1856  to  1896,  no  Democrat  rep- 
resented Parke  county  in  the  Legislature.  "Sil- 
ver Dick"  Miller  broke  the  record  in  1896  and  ■ 
George  W.   Spencer  was  elected  in  1912,  so  that 


(  728  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


during  a  period  of  sixty  years  only  two  Demo- 
crats had  the  honor  of  representing  their  county. 

The  politics  of  Parke  county  since  the  war  pre- 
sents many  interesting  features,  many  incidents 
worthy  of  note,  and  would  make  a  volume  if 
everything  connected  with  that  period  was  duly 
considered.  It  should  be  remembered  that  during 
the  war  the  Republican  party  was  known  as  the 
Union  party  and  as  such  embraced  hundreds  of 
"War  Democrats,"  not  to  mention  the  many  Dem- 
ocrats who  became  Republicans  on  the  issues  aris- 
ing immediately  before  and  during  the  war.  The 
Union  majority,  therefore,  was  overwhelming. 

It  was  not  until  1870  that  the  first  break  in  the 
Republican  lines  came,  although  as  early  as  1868 
such  Republicans  as  Samuel  T.  Catlin,  Joseph  L. 
Boyd,  Captain  John  T.  Campbell  and  others  be- 
gan to  distrust  their  party  on  the  money  question. 
The  Republican  State  platform  that  year  declared 
in  favor  of  the  greenback,  but  there  was  an  ele- 
ment opposed  to  the  platform  declaration.  By 
1870  there  was  a  decided  deflection  from  the  Re- 
publicans. That  year  John  S.  Dare,  who  had  been 
a  Republican,  and  George  W.  Collins  established 
the  Parke  County  Neivs,  which  was  an  advocate 
of  greenback  currency.  Captain  John  T.  Camp- 
bell, who  had  been  County  Treasurer,  led  the  re- 
volt by  becoming  a  candidate  for  the  State  Sen- 
ate. He  was  defeated,  but  Moses  T.  Dunn,  the 
Republican  candidate  for  Congress,  was  defeated 
by  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  the  loss  of  Greenback  Re- 
publicans being  the  principal  cause. 

In  the  Greeley  campaign  of  1872  the  Republic- 
ans had  a  walkaway,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
Democratic  candidate  had  for  years  been  the  idol 
of  the  radical  Republicans  of  the  county:  The 
campaign  was  a  hot  one.  The  Republicans  had 
one  or  two  enormous  torchlight  processions  and 
the  Democrats  one  rousing  rally  when  Voorhees 
spoke  in  the  court  house  yard.  Many  of  the 
Greenbackers  voted  for  Greeley,  but  many  more 
Democrats  did  not. 

By  1874  the  Greenback  party  had  grown  con- 
siderably. That  year  nominations  were  made  for 
county  offices  and  on  some  of  the  candidates  the 
Democrats  and  Greenbackers  united.  Dr.  Har- 
rison J.  Rice  of  Rockville  was  Democratic  candi- 
date for  Congress,  but  was  defeated.  The  Green- 
backers were  mostly  recruited  from  the  Republic- 
ans, the  defection  from  the  Democrats  being 
slight  in  comparison. 

In  the  meantime  the  mines  had  been  opened  at 
Sand  Creek,  and  a  large  increase  in  the  vote  re- 
sulted. While  the  miners  were  not  all  Republic- 
ans, that  party  gained  almost  as  many  from  the 
influx  of  miners  as  it  lost  to  the  Greenbackers, 
but  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  after  the  war 
Parke  county  was,  on   a  basis  of  its   citizenship 


as  it  existed  before  and  during  the  war,  probably 
Democratic,  for  at  that  time  on  the  issues  of  the 
tariff'  and  currency  many  of  the  Democrats  had 
returned  to  their  party  and  the  prohibition  move- 
ment had  taken  from  the  Democrats  many  of  their 
Quaker  voters,  who  ultimately  became  Democrats, 
and  during  the  transition  period  exerted  a  great 
influence  on  the  young  men  of  the  county,  who 
from  independent  voters  became  Democrats.  But 
new  mining  fields  were  developed,  and  at  onetime 
there  were  over  two  hundred  negro  voters  in  the 
county,  all  Republicans.  From  the  miners  and 
the  enfranchisement  of  the  negroes  the  Republic- 
ans recruited  enough  to  hold  the  county  most  of 
the  time,  in  spite  of  the  losses  mentioned. 

The  memorable  campaign  of  1876  has  no  paral- 
lel in  our  political  history  save  the  equally  spec- 
tacular campaign  twenty  years  later.  It  was 
called  the  "Bloody  Shirt  Campaign."  Thomas  N. 
Rice  was  a  candidate  for  the  Republican  congres- 
sional nomination,  but  lost  to  Morton  C.  Hunter. 
Noval  W.  Cummings  was  a  candidate  for  Treas- 
urer of  State,  and  likewise  lost.  Although  the 
State  went  Democratic,  Parke's  Republican  ticket 
was  elected. 

In  1878  the  Republicans  suffered  their  first  set- 
back after  the  Civil  War  period.  The  contest 
started  in  a  three-cornered  fight,  but  a  fusion  was 
afterward  partially  effected.  Morton  C.  Hunter, 
Republican;  A.  J.  Hostetler,  Democrat,  and  Hen- 
ry A.  White,  Greenbacker,  were  candidates  for 
Congress  and  Hostetler  won  in  spite  of  the  third 
party  candidate.  0.  P.  Brown  and  John  D.  Col- 
lings,  Democrats,  were  elected  Commissioners, 
and  George  W.  Collings,  Democrat,  defeated  John 
H.  Burford  of  Montgomery  county  for  Prosecut- 
ing Attorney.  It  was  known  that  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees  would  be  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
United  States  Senator,  as  he  had  already  been 
appointed  to  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of 
Senator  Morton,  so  the  loss  of  both  Senator  and 
Representative  in  Parke  county  was  a  serious  one, 
indeed,  for  the  Republicans.  The  campaign  was 
wholly  devoid  of  pyrotechnics,  and  few  speeches 
were  made  by  prominent  men  of  either  party. 

In  1880  Republican  enthusiasm  was  somewhat 
revived,  but  compared  with  1876  it  was  very  mild. 
This  was  the  last  year  the  State  voted  in  October. 
In  Parke  county  the  campaign  was  livened  up 
somewhat  by  a  new  Democratic  paper,  The  Sig- 
nal, edited  bv  A.  J.  Cunningham,  who  came  from 
Crawfordsville,  where  he  was  known  by  the  name 
of  "the  raw  beef  editor."  He  dealt  largely  in 
personal  attacks  on  the  Republican  candidates, 
hurting  Democracy,  and  the  entire  Republican 
ticket  was  elected  bv  a  greatly  increased  vote. 

The  campaign  of  1882  was  known  as  the  "Lamb 
Campaign"  owing  to  the  advent  of  John  E.  Lamb 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


of  Terre  Haute,  the  brilliant  young  protege  of 
Senator  Voorhees.  Mr.  Lamb  was  nominated  for 
Congress  at  Rockville  where  the  convention  was 
held  in  Parke  county's  beautiful  new  court  house, 
Mr.  Lamb  being  elected  in  spite  of  his  youth.  R. 
C.  McWilliams  was  nominated  for  Senator  and 
John  H.  Beadle  for  Representative.  The  former 
withdrew  in  favor  of  Claude  Matthews  of  Ver- 
milion county  and  the  latter  withdrew  in  favor 
of  Samuel  T.  Catlin,  but  at  the  election  Mr.  Cat- 
lin  was  defeated  by  William  Knowles,  but  by 
eight  votes  only! 

In  the  campaign  of  1884  Mr.  Lamb  was  defeated 
by  a  small  margin,  while  the  State  went  Demo- 
cratic. 

In  1886  the  State  was  re-districted  and  Sullivan 
county  was  put  with  Parke  and  Warren  taken 
out,  making,  as  was  supposed,  a  safely  Democratic 
district.  However,  John  E.  Lamb  had  wobbled 
somewhat  on  the  tariff  question.  The  "John  E. 
Lamb  Protective  Tariff  Club"  had  been  organized 
in  Terre  Haute,  which  did  not  look  at  all  good  to 
the  more  than  one  thousand  Free  Traders  who 
had  supported  him,  and  he  was  defeated.  The 
Democrats,  however,  elected  Samuel  T.  Catlin 
Auditor,  a  defeat  which  utterly  demoralized  the 
Republicans. 

In  1888  Dr.  W.  H.  Gillum  of  Parke  was  a  candi- 
date for  Congress,  his  opponent  being  Judge  Mc- 
Nutt  of  Tei-re  Haute.  The  contest  deadlocked  the 
convention  until  the  Parke  county  delegation,  en- 
raged by  the  unjust  treatment  accorded  Dr.  Gil- 
lum by  the  friends  of  Judge  McNutt,  threw  their 
votes  to  E.  V.  Brookshire  of  Montgomery  county, 
who  was  elected  over  James  T.  Johnson  by  a  very 
close  majority.  The  Democrats  might  have  car- 
ried their  whole  ticket  in  1890  had  it  not  been  for 
the  fact  that  their  apparent  strength  brought 
many  rival  candidates.  The  inevitable  soreness 
followed,  which  lost  the  county  ticket  enough  votes 
to  defeat  every  candidate  vrith  the  exception  of 
Samuel  T.  Catlin,  who  received  a  majority  of 
one  hundred  and  eleven. 

In  1892  the  entire  Republican  county  ticket  was 
elected,  but  by  small  pluralities.  The  election  of 
1894  was  not  a  landslide,  but  an  avalanche.  Many 
of  the  Democrats  in  Parke  county  were  disgusted 
with  the  financial  policy  of  the  Cleveland  adminis- 
tration, and  never  before  were  there  so  many  on 
the  poll  books  marked  "D"  who  failed  to  vote. 

The  campaign  in  Parke  county  in  1896  was  the 
most  remarkable  in  the  history  of  the  county. 
This  was  the  time  of  the  first  silver  movement  and 
the  silver  men  dominated  the  campaign.  Five 
Democrats  or  silver  men  were  elected — "Silver" 
Dick  Miller,  for  Representative;  William  Raw- 
lings,  Treasurer;  C.  R.  Hanger,  Sheriff;  John 
Huxford  and  Henry  A.  Myers,  Commissioners.  The 


Democratic   vote    was     increased    1,014   over   the 
previous  two  years. 

Previous  to  the  beginning  of  1898  it  looked  as 
if  the  Democrats  might  carry  the  election.  The 
gold  discoveries  in  the  Klondike  had  not  yet  in- 
creased the  volume  of  money  to  any  great  extent, 
and  things  were  hardly  better  than  in  1896,  but 
the  Spanish  war  came,  and  with  it  the  Republican 
appeal  to  stand  by  the  administration,  which,  with 
the  impetus  given  business,  made  for  Republican 


In  1900  the  Republicans  were  very  active  and 
the  entire  ticket  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  508. 
This  was  also  the  case  in  1902  and  1904.  At  this 
election,  in  spite  of  large  Republican  pluralities, 
Mr.  John  S.  McFaddin's  vote  for  Judge  was  2,804, 
800  more  than  Parker's,  while  his  opponent  de- 
feated him  by  but  a  single  vote. 

July  28,  1906,  the  Democratic  county  convention 
was  held  and  the  following  ticket  was  nominated : 
Representative,  Thomas  Trueman;  Auditor,  James 
E.  Elder;  Treasurer,  Marion  Martin;  Recorder, 
A.  S.  Russell;  Sheriff,  Alfred  S.  Boyd;  Coroner, 
C.  W.  Overpeck.  In  this  campaign  the  Repub- 
licans electioneered  Democrats  and  thus  the  elec- 
tion was  carried  by  them. 

For  the  first  time  in  eight  years  the  Democrats 
evinced  great  enthusiasm  in  1908.  It  was  evident 
that  the  national  convention  would  consider  no 
other  candidate  but  Bryan,  which  was  very  pleas- 
ing to  the  Parke  county  Democrats.  At  their 
county  convention  the  nominations  were  as  fol- 
lows: Walter  Fink,  Representative;  George  L. 
Laney,  Clerk;  George  W.  Spencer,  Treasurer; 
Guy  Alden,  Sheriff;  Dr.  C.  W.  Overpeck,  Coroner, 
of  which  they  elected  the  Clerk,  Treasurer  and 
Coroner.  Both  parties  increased  their  vote  over 
two  years  before,  but  the  Republicans  lost  in 
relative  strength. 

The  year  1910  brought  the  first  real  general 
success  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  State  since 
1892,  a  period  of  18  years.  The  Parke  county 
Democrats  held  their  convention  September  10, 
naming  the  following  candidates:  Representative, 
Fred  W.  Leatherman;  Auditor,  James  E.  Elder; 
Treasurer,  George  W.  Spencer;  Sheriff,  Guy 
Alden;  Recorder,  Hugh  Banta,  which  was  de- 
feated with  the  exception  of  Auditor  and  Treas- 
urer. 

In  1912  the  Democrats  nominated  the  follow- 
ing ticket:  Geo.  W.  Spencer  for  Representative; 
Wm.  E.  Hawkins  for  Clerk;  Harvey  Rush  for 
Treasurer;  Charles  Smith  for  Sheriff.  Of  these 
George  W.  Spencer  and  Harvey  Rush  were  elected. 

In  1914  the  following  were  nominated : 

Representative — Fred  Clark. 
Auditor — James  E.  Elder. 
Treasurer — J.  Harvey  Rush. 


(730) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Sheriff— R.  A.  Connerly. 

Recorder — Hugh  Banta. 

Of  these  only  the  Treasurer  was  elected. 

Amonp:  the  early  Uemocrats  who  played  a  prom- 
inent part  in  the  county  affairs  were:  Austin  M. 
Puett  resided  in  the  county  from  its  earliest  days 
to  the  Civil  War,  when  he  moved  to  Putnam  coun- 
ty. Mr.  Puett  married  a  sister  of  Jos.  A.  Wright, 
and  he  was  not  only  active  but  most  aggressive 
in  politics  and  threw  all  of  his  energy  and  en- 
thusiasm into  every  fight  waged  by  either  Gen- 
eral Howard  or  Governor  Wright,  who  regarded 
him  as  the  faithful  and  efficient  follower  he  was. 
He  was  a  leader  in  the  practical  work  of  every 
campaign,  always  fighting  for  the  Democratic 
party,  and  also  filled  various  public  offices — Sher- 
iff, Treasurer,  Canal  Trustee  and   State   Senator. 

When  it  comes  to  considering  the  men  who  in- 
fluenced the  public  mind  of  Parke  county  in  favor 
of  the  Democratic  party  after  the  war  it  is  prob- 
able that  John  H.  Beadle  ranks  first.  As  a  jour- 
nalist he  had  made  a  name  for  himself  before  re- 
turning to  his  old  home  at  Rockville  in  1879  when 
he  became  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Rockville 
Tribune.  As  western  correspondent  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Commercial  he  traveled  over  all  the  terri- 
tories from  the  Missouri  to  the  Pacific;  later 
as  southen  correspondent  of  the  Cincinnati  Ga- 
zette he  made  three  tours  of  the  South.  From 
1870  to  1880  he  wrote  three  books  on  the  West— 
"Life  in  Utah,"  "The  Undeveloped  West,"  and 
"Western  Wilds."  Until  the  tariff  became  the 
leading  issue  he  was  a  Republican,  but  being  a 
Free  Trader  he  could  not  honestly  advocate  a  pro- 
tective tariff.  At  first  he  attempted  to  convert 
his  fellow  Republicans,  but  only  met  with  bitter 
opposition  from  the  politicians  of  that  party.  His 
paper,  the  Rockville  Tribune,  howewer,  was  quoted 
widely,  and  its  influence  among  young  Republic- 
ans and  men  open  to  conviction  in  Parke  county 
caused  a  break  which  ultimately  brought  to  the 
Democratic  party  a  type  of  men  who  greatly 
strengthened  it.  Among  the  young  men  influenced 
by  Mr.  Beadle  was  Isaac  R.  Strouse,  who  as  local 
editor  under  Mr.  Beadle  and  subsequently  his 
partner,  joined  in  the  free  trade  propaganda,  and 
finally  made  the  Tribune  a  Democratic  paper — 
the  only  paper  of  that  faith  which  has  survived 
in  the  county. 

Mr.  Beadle  had  no  intellectual  superior  in  all 
Indiana.  He  was  an  authority  on  a  wide  range 
of  topics.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  University 
of  Michigan,  from  which  school  he  enlisted  in  the 
31st  Indiana  Regiment.  He  was  a  fine  Greek  and 
Latin  scholar  and  spoke  several  languages  fluent- 
ly. His  wonderful  memory  enabled  him  to  retain 
everything  within  the  scope  of  his  wide  reading, 
and  he   was   familiar   with   the   history  of   every 


country  in  the  world.  It  was  fortunate,  indeed, 
that  the  Democratic  party  in  Parke  county  had 
such  an  advocate  during  the  years  when  it  was 
in  a  hopeless  minority  after  the  Civil  War. 

Dr.  Harrison  J.  Rice  was  one  of  the  leading 
Democrats  of  the  county,  being  associated  with 
Wright,  Hendricks,  Voorhees  and  McDonald.  In 
1874  he  was  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress, 
but  was  defeated,  although  he  made  a  splendid 
canvass. 

Samuel  D.  Puett,  Duncan  Puett,  as  he  was 
known  to  every  man.  woman  and  child  in  Parke 
county,  was  a  striking  figure  in  its  annals.  Upon 
his  graduation  from  Asbury  College  in  1872  he 
entered  the  law  office  of  Judge  S.  F.  Maxwell  and 
at  once  plunged  into  a  legal  and  political  career 
that  made  him  famous.  There  being  a  hot  cam- 
paign in  progress  and  being  the  only  lawyer  in 
Parke  county  who  was  a  Democrat  he  at  once  be- 
came the  idol  of  his  fellow  Democrats,  as  well  as 
their  champion.  He  became  the  partner  of  Judge 
Maxwell  and  was  associated  with  him  until  his 
death  in  1877.  For  thirty  years  Duncan  Puett 
was  an  active  participant  in  the  politics  of  Parke 
county,  always  attending  the  public  meetings, 
caucuses  of  the  party  and  making  speeches,  yet 
never  holding  any  remunerative  office.  His  death 
occun-ed  in  May,  1907. 

Samuel  T.  Catlin  was  another  well-known  citi- 
zen. In  what  is  known  as  "practical  politics"  he 
was  regarded  as  a  wise  and  far-sighted  manager, 
both  in  county  and  State  affairs.  Acting  with  the 
Republican  party  on  the  issue  of  preserving  the 
Union,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  abandon  that 
party  when,  in  his  opinion,  it  failed  to  fulfill  its 
declared  purposes.  From  1868  to  1886  he  acted 
with  the  independent  faction  called  the  "Green- 
backers"  and  his  popularity  prompted  his  fre- 
quent nomination  for  office.  In  1882  he  was  de- 
feated for  Legislature  by  the  bare  margin  of  eight 
votes.  Four  years  later  he  was  elected  Auditor 
of  the  county  in  one  of  the  most  remarkable  cam- 
paigns, and  was  re-elected  on  the  Democratic 
ticket.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  was 
chosen  President  of  the  Rockville  National  Bank, 
which  position  he  held  until  his  death,  December 
7,  1908. 

The  Democracy  of  Parke  county  can  surely  take 
pride  in  the  record  it  has  made  in  both  State  and 
county  politics.  In  the  days  of  Howard,  Wright, 
Davis  and  Bryant  it  was  unquestionably  the  fore- 
most county  in  the  State.  As  has  been  said,  it 
furnished  the  leaders  who  fought  the  political  bat- 
tles of  those  days,  and  for  thirty  years  when  it 
was  in  a  minority  its  faithful  followers  never  fal- 
tered in  their  work  of  maintaining  their  organi- 
zation and  doing  all  they  could,  with  no  hope  of 
reward  in  the  way  of  office  holding. 


HISTORY  OF   THE    DEMOCRATIC  PARTY    OF 
PERRY  COUNTY 


PERRY  COUNTY  is  one  of  the  thirteen  orig- 
inal counties  which  existed  as  the  Territory 
of  Indiana  when  admitted  to  Statehood,  De- 
cember 11,  1816,  having  been  organized  Septem- 
ber 4,  1814,  by  an  Act  of  the  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture forming  two  new  counties  (Perry  and 
Posey)  out  of  Warrick  and  a  part  of  Gibson. 
Official  returns  certified  to  by  the  clerks  of  all' 
thirteen  counties,  and  forwarded  to  the  Legisla- 
ture at  their  session  beginning  December  4,  1815, 
showed  Indiana's  population  to  be  63,897,  of  which 
Perry  county  contained  1,720,  including  350  white 
males  of  twenty-one  years  and  upward.  Just 
how  many  of  these,  however,  were  adherents  to 
that  Democracy  whose  living  representative  was 
then  Thomas  Jefferson  himself,  there  is  no  means 
of  knowing  after  a  century's  lapse,  and  the  or- 
ganization of  Spencer  county  in  1818  soon 
abridged  the  limits  of  Perry  county  to  the  space 
it  now  occupies,  with  a  consequent  reduction  in 
its  population  and  voters. 

Most  of  the  pioneer  settlers  were  representa- 
tives of  Southern  blood,  having  come  across  the 
mountains  from  the  Old  Dominion  along  Daniel 
Boone's  trail  across  the  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground, 
or  else  down  the  Ohio  river  by  keel  boat,  or 
"broad-horn"  flat-boat.  Others  had  journeyed 
from  those  colonial  States  lying  still  further  to 
the  South.  Some  few  of  the  more  prosperous 
immigrants  had  brought  their  slaves,  along  with 
other  goods  and  chattels,  as  is  recorded  by  the  tax 
list  of  June,  1815,  which  shows  that  two  negroes 
were  then  held  in  slavery. 

To  this  early  influx  of  Virginian  and  Carolinian 
stock  may  be  traced  three  generations  of  political 
affiliation  with  Southern  principles,  ultimately 
asserting  itself  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  be- 
tween the  States,  although  Perry  county  boasted 
many  "Union  Democrats,"  and  was  one  of  the 
few  counties  to  supply  her  full  quota  of  soldiers 
called  for  by  the  State  as  volunteers. 

Passing  over  those  first  few  decades  when 
county  politics  felt  the  sway  of  personal  influence 
more  strongly  than  partisan  bias  in  either  direc- 
tion, it  may  be  noted  that  the  material  develop- 
ment of  natural  resources  toward  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century  brought  into  the  county 
an  immigration  of  New  England  settlers,  capital- 
ists and  men  of  means,  no  less  than  the  indus- 
trial workers,  and  among  these  was  a  proportion 
of  Democrats,  so  that  the  balance  of  political 
power  underwent  no  change. 

From  Connecticut  came  a  man  to  whom  first 
mention  is  due,  since  he  held  the  highest  ranking 


national  office  ever  filled  by  a  resident  of  Perry 
county.  Hon.  Elisha  M.  Huntington,  grandson  of 
Samuel  Huntington,  that  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  for  whom  Huntington  coun- 
ty is  named,  came  about  1847  to  Cannelton,  set- 
tling upon  an  extensive  estate,  "Mistletoe  Lodge," 
which  was  his  home  when  appointed  in  18..  by 
President  as  Judge  of  the  In- 
diana District  Federal  Court,  a  position  which 
he  held  until  his  death. 

Perry  county's  first  citizen  elected  to  a  State 
office  was  John  P.  Dunn  of  Troy,  chosen  as  Audi- 
tor of  State  (then  termed  Auditor  of  Public  Ac- 
counts) in  1852  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  headed 
by  Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright.  He  had  been 
Perry  county's  representative  in  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1851,  and  to  his  influence 
contemporary  authorities  attribute  the  provision 
therein  contained  for  forming  a  new  county  out 
of  Perry  and  Spencer,  if  desired.  It  was  hoped, 
of  course,  that  Troy  would  become  the  county 
seat  of  the  new  organization,  but  when  submit- 
ted to  popular  vote  at  the  general  State  election 
in  1852,  the  proposition  was  defeated  by  1,041 
to  311. 

In  1855  Perry  county's  representative  was  Bal- 
lard Smith,  a  New  Hampshire  Democrat,  who  had 
settled  in  Cannelton  with  two  of  his  brothers. 
Deserved  recognition  of  his  ability  was  extended 
by  the  choice  of  him  as  speaker  of  the  lower 
House  for  the  Thirty-ninth  legislative  session. 
Two  years  later  Governor  Willard  appointed  him 
Circuit  Judge,  and  he  was  called  the  most  polished 
man — with  the  exception  of  Governor  Hovey — 
who  ever  occupied  the  bench  of  the  Third  judicial 
district.  After  two  years  of  service  he  moved  to 
Vigo  county,  where  Judge  Huntington  went 
about  the  same  time,  both  spending  the  remain- 
der of  their  lives  in  Terre  Haute. 

Perry  county's  first  strictly  Democratic  news- 
paper was  the  Cannelton  Mercury,  the  first  of 
whose  seven  issues  appeared  on  January  13,  1855, 
with  J.  B.  Archer  as  editor  and  proprietor.  This 
sheet  was  in  lineal  succession  from  the  Econo- 
mist, a  notably  high-class  weekly  journal,  founded 
at  Cannelton,  April  26,  1849.  It  was  of  independ- 
ent politics,  as  were  the  Indiana  Weekly  Express 
and  the  Cannelton  Reporter,  under  which  names 
it  had  variously  appeared  with  brief  intervals  of 
suspension.  The  defunct  Mercury  was  revived  in 
a  few  weeks,  as  the  Reporter,  again  independent, 
and  two  further  changes  of  ownership  and  name 
(Independent  Republican  and  Republican  Ban- 
ner)   were  undergone  before   George   G.   Leming 


(732) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


and  Henry  Koetter  bought  out  the  plant.  They 
took  back  the  name  Reporter,  printing,  on  Decem- 
ber 8,  1856,  their  first  issue  as  a  Democratic 
paper,  under  which  allegiance  it  remained  for 
twenty  years.  Koetter  sold  his  interest  March 
14,  1857,  to  Jacob  B.  Maynard.  who  took  over 
Leming's  interest  on  January  30,  1858.  Colonel 
Maynard  was  a  born  editor,  gifted  with  a  com- 
mand of  language  both  forcible  and  beautiful. 
His  writings  from  the  first  attracted  wide  atten- 
tion, as  the  nation-at-large  was  in  a  period  of 
simmering  discontent  soon  to  boil  over,  and  among 
the  border  States  the  sentiment  on  both  sides  was 
of  deep  intensity.  This  journalistic  skill  found  a 
more  extended  field  later  on  the  old  hidiavapolis 
Sentinel,  of  whose  editorial  staff  he  became  a 
member  during  the  sixties.  He  had  sold  the  Re- 
porter on  December  25,  1858,  to  James  M.  Moflfett 
and  George  G.  Leming,  who  very  soon  sold  out  to 
J.  C.  and  J.  H.  Wade,  the  former  being  editor. 
January  7,  1860,  Colonel  Maynard  again  took  the 
paper  and  edited  it  during:  the  critical  Buchanan- 
Lincoln  campaign.  In  its  columns  during  Jan- 
uary, 1861,  are  detailed  the  series  of  resolutions 
proposed  and  in  part  adopted  by  public  meetings 
of  citizens  held  at  various  points  in  Perry  county. 
Cannelton  rejected  the  last  paragraph  in  the 
series,  although  the  Reporter  openly  favored  its 
sentiment  that  the  Ohio  river  should  not  be  the 
dividing  line  if  the  Union  and  the  Confederacy 
became  separate  nations,  the  final  clause  of  the 
resolution  reading  that  "we  earnestly  desire,  if 
a  line  is  to  be  drawn  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  that  line  shall  be  found  north  of  us."  De- 
cember 6,  1861,  Colonel  Maynard  sold  a  one-half 
interest  to  Mr.  W.  L.  Moffett,  and  December  5, 
1863,  sold  his  remaining  half  to  Henry  N.  Wales, 
who  became  editor.  He  bought  out  Moffett  on 
April  2,  1864,  but  sold  in  turn  to  Joseph  W.  Snow, 
October  1,  1864.  April  12,  1866,  the  paper  was 
sold  to  Major  Thomas  James  de  la  Hunt,  in  whose 
family  it  remained  until  the  spring  of  1876,  when 
it  became  the  property  of  Hiram  P.  Brazee  and 
H.  Marcus  Huff,  who  conducted  it  a  little  over  a 
year  as  a  Republican  journal. 

The  Cannelton  Enquirer  had  been  founded  June 
1,  1870,  as  a  Democratic  paper  by  Edwin  R.  Hat- 
field, Sydney  B.  Hatfield  and  Elisha  E.  Drumb, 
the  last  two  being  editors.  Will  N.  Underwood 
bought  a  one-third  interest  and  became  publisher 
in  June,  1873.  Drumb  and  E.  R.  Hatfield  retired 
in  June,  1874,  and  S.  B.  Hatfield  in  June,  1876, 
leaving  Underwood  sole  proprietor. 

The  Tell  City  Commercial  had  been  founded 
May  3,  1873,  as  an  independent  sheet  by  A.  P. 
Mastin,  but  he  sold  it  December  3,  1873,  to  Heber 
J.  May,  who  made  it  Democratic  and  continued 
the  publication  until  January   1,   1876,  when   he 


sold  it  to  W.  P.  Knight,  by  whom  it  was  printed 
several  months  longer,  or  until  discontinued  and 
removed. 

In  1877  William  E.  Knights,  who  had  been  pub- 
lishing the  Grandvieu'  Monitor,  came  to  Cannel- 
ton and  associated  himself  with  Underwood 
through  purchase  of  the  Reporter  and  its  con- 
solidation with  the  Enquirer  under  the  style  of 
Ca7inelton  Enquirer  and  Reporter  under  the  joint 
proprietorship  of  Underwood  &  Knights.  The 
first  number  appeared  June  21,  1877,  as  a  Demo- 
cratic issue.  Knights  remaining  only  until  Jan- 
uary 31,  1878,  when  he  returned  to  Grandview, 
leaving  Underwood  as  sole  editor  and  publisher 
of  the  only  Democratic  organ  in  Perry  county. 
The  name  of  Reporter  was  dropped  from  the  title 
after  some  years,  and  October  12,  1892,  Under- 
wood sold  out  to  Huston  and  Miller,  who  reversed 
the  politics  to  Republicanism. 

Edward  H.  Schuetz  and  Joseph  Sanderson  com- 
menced publication  of  the  Cannelton  Telephone 
October  25,  1891,  as  a  Democratic  paper.  The 
Troy  Times,  also  Democratic,  was  started  about 
a  year  later  by  John  B.  Bacon,  its  outfit  being 
owned  by  Louis  J.  Early,  then  residing  in  Louis- 
ville. The  Times,  however,  was  a  losing  venture, 
and  Bacon  soon  suspended  publication.  Mr.  Ear- 
ly then  came  to  Indiana  and,  removing  his  plant 
to  Cannelton,  consolidated  with  Schuetz  on  No- 
vember 28,  1892,  under  the  name  of  Cannelton 
Times-Telephone.  In  May,  1894,  he  became  ex- 
clusive owner,  and  dropping  the  name  of  Times, 
has  been  ever  since  the  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Telephone. 

The  Tell  City  News  was  established  as  a  Demo- 
cratic paper  on  Saturday,  April  11,  1891,  by 
Philip  Zoercher  and  its  history  is  perhaps  the 
briefest  of  any  here  told,  as  there  has  been  no 
change  of  name,  politics  or  day  of  issue  since  its 
founding,  and  its  ownership  was  transferred 
after  some  years  to  Louis  Zoercher  (a  brother  of 
Philip  Zoercher),  by  whom  it  is  still  edited  and 
published. 

Reverting  to  two-score  years  ago,  it  must  be 
noted  that  John  C.  Shoemaker  of  Tobin  township, 
who  had  been  Auditor  of  Perry  county  from  1853 
to  1857,  Joint  Senator  from  1858  to  1863  and 
Representative  from  1869  to  1871,  was  elected 
Auditor  of  State  in  1870,  after  his  retirement 
therefrom  becoming  principal  owner  of  the  In- 
dianapolis Sentinel. 

On  the  State  Democratic  ticket  of  1876  the 
Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  chosen  was  Gabriel 
Schmuck  of  Cannelton,  who  had  previously  served 
in  Perry  county  as  Recorder  from  1859  to  1864, 
Clerk  from  1864  to  1870  and  Representative  from 
1872  to  1874. 

Heber   J.    May    of    Cannelton,    who    had    been 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


elected  Joint  Senator  in  1882,  was  appointed  by 
President  Cleveland  in  1885  as  Assistant  Attor- 
ney-General to  Augustus  H.  Garland  of  Arkan- 
sas, who  was  Attorney-General  in  the  first  Cleve- 
land cabinet.  Mr.  May  then  made  his  home  in 
Washington  until  his  death,  in  1915. 

Philip  Zoercher,  the  founder  of  the  Tell  City 
News,  who  was  elected  Representative  in  1892, 
was  nominated  in  1912  for  Reporter  of  the  Su- 
preme   Court   and    was   elected,   with    the    entire 


ticket,  to  the  office  which  he  holds  at  this  writing, 
having  removed  his  home  to  Indianapolis  and 
established  himself  as  a  citizen  of  Marion  county. 

Oscar  C.  Minor  represented  the  county  in  the 
Indiana  State  Senate  from  1899  to  1901,  and  the 
present  State  Senator  from  Perry  county  is  Jo- 
seph M.  Hirsh. 

All  the  present  county  officials  are  Democrats — 
not  a  single  Republican  has  occupied  a  county 
office  for  fifteen  years. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
PIKE  COUNTY 

By  Philip  D.  Abell 


PREVIOUS  to  1817  the  territory  now  com- 
prising- the  county  of  Pike  was  included  in 
Gibson  county.  By  the  act  for  its  forma- 
tion, December  21,  1816,  Pike  county  included  a 
much  larger  area  than  it  now  does.  Examination 
of  a  map  will  show  that  Pike  county  at  that  time 
included  all  of  its  present  territory,  except  a  part 
of  Chiy  township,  and  in  addition  took  in  all  of 
what  is  now  Columbia  township  and  a  large  part 
of  Barton  township,  Gibson  county,  a  small  part 
of  Warrick  and  Perry  counties,  all  of  Dubois 
county  and  that  part  of  Martin  county  south  of 
Lick  creek.  By  acts  of  the  Legislature  in  re- 
gard to  the  formation  of  Dubois  county,  passed 
during  the  session  of  1817-1818,  the  present  east- 
ern boundary  of  Pike  was  established  and  the 
General  Assembly  of  182.3  and  1824  fixed  the  pres- 
ent western  limits.  Later,  at  indefinite  periods, 
parts  on  the  north  and  south  were  taken  off  and 
formed  into  the  present  territory  comprising  the 
counties  of  Knox,  Warrick  and  Gibson,  respective- 
ly. Previous  to  1824  the  territory  now  included 
in  Clay  township,  except  the  eastern  row  of  sec- 
tions which  were  added  in  182.5,  belonged  to  Gib- 
son county.  In  that  ^ear  it  was  annexed  to  Pike 
county  and  organized  as  a  separate  township.  In 
September,  1838,  Patoka  township,  comprising  its 
present  territory  and  what  was  afterward  formed 
into  Marion  township,  was  organized.  The  others 
organized  were  Logan  in  1846,  Lockhart  in  1852 
and  Marion  in  1857.  So  that  not  until  1857  was 
the  county  completely  organized  into  its  present 
form  and  size. 

The  first  Board  of  Commissioners  was  elected 
in  1817. 

The  first  Democratic  county  chairman  that  we 
have  any  record  of  was  Dr.  Alexander  Leslie  and 
next  was  William  DeBruler.  These  two  men 
served  the  county  before  the  war.  During  the 
war  William  Barr  was  chairman.  The  following 
is  the  list  since  1872: 

1872.  Daniel  C.  Ashby. 

1876.  Ansel  J.  Patterson. 

1878  and  1880.  E.  P.  Richardson. 

1882.  Mart  Fleener. 

1884.  E.  P.  Richardson. 

1886.  Henry  W.  Wiggs. 

1888.  Daniel  C.  Ashby. 

1890.  T.  K.  Fleming. 

1892.  Geo.  C.  Ashby. 

1894.  M.  L.  Heathman. 


1896  and  1898.  W.  J.  Richardson. 

1900.  John  Gary. 

1902.  W.  A.  Battles. 

1904.  David  D.  Corn. 

1906.   Frank  Ely. 

1908-1910  and  1912.  Geo.  D.  Hollon. 

1914.  W.  H.  Scales. 

Democratic  Sheriffs  of  Pike  county: 

1840.  Meredith  Howard    (two  terms). 

1844.  M.  L.  Withers  (Dem.)  and  J.  C.  Graham 
(Rep.)  received  the  same  number  of 
votes.  The  latter  became  Sheriff  (two 
terms). 

1848.  David  Miley   (one  term). 

1850.  Marquis  L.  Withers   (two  terms). 

1854.   F.  M.  Whight   (two  terms). 

1858.  H.  Gladish. 

1863.  H.  Gladish. 

1870.  J.  W.  Humphrey  (one  term). 

1874.  Wm.  C.  Miller  (one  term). 

1878.  Thos.  J.  Scales   (two  terms). 

1884.  W.  J.  Shrode   (one  term). 

1890.  J.  W.  Stilwell   (one  term). 

1896  and  1898.  Wm.  Ridgeway   (two  terms). 

1900.  Richard  Bass   (one  term). 

1910.  Marion  Nance  (two  terms),  present 
Sheriff.  He  was  succeeded  in  1914 
election  by  Peter  R.  Miller  (Dem.), 
who  will  take  oflice  Jan.  1914. 

Democratic  Treasurers  of  Pike  County  since 
1847  to  1914: 

1847.  Alexander  Leslie. 

1857.  James  Crow. 

McCrillus  Gray  appointed  1860.  Crow  having 
resigned. 

1864.  Alexander  Leslie. 
1870.  McCrillus  Gray. 

1877.  Jefferson  W.  Richardson. 
1880.  Perry  W.  Chappell. 
1884.   Fred  H.  Poetker  (one  term). 
1886.    (Rep.). 
1888.    (Rep.). 

1890.  Owen  O.  Smith   (one  term). 
1892.    (Rep.). 
1894.    (Rep.). 

1896  and  1898.  O.  O.  Smith. 
1900-1902  and  1904.    (Rep.). 
1906.  O.  D.  Harris   (one  term). 
1908.  W.  H.  Scales   (two  terms). 
1912.  Christian  D.  Henke.     Present  Treasurer 
and  succeeds  himself  in  1914. 


(735) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


Clerks  of  Pike  county: 
1855.  John  B.  Hannah. 
1863.  Albert  H.  Logan. 

1865.  Wm.  Barr  was  appointed,  Logan  having 

resigned. 

1871.  J.  W.  Richardson. 

1874.    (Rep.). 

1878.  Dan  C.  Ashby. 

1882.  Dan  C.  Ashby. 

In  1886  a  Republican  was  elected  to  the  Clerk's 
office  and  continued  to  serve  in  that  office  until 
1914,  when  Edward  Scales,  a  Democrat,  was 
elected.     He  will  take  his  office  in  Jan.  1915. 

Recorders  of  Pike  county: 

1851.  David  Miley. 

1858.  John  Mclntire. 

1863.    (Rep.). 

1868.  Dan  C.  Ashby. 

1876.  Mark  Powers. 

1884.  Joseph  C.  Ridge. 

1888.    (Rep.). 

1892.    (Rep.). 

1896.  Nathaniel  Corn. 

1900.  William  A.  Battles. 

1904  and  1908.    (Rep.). 

1912.  Philip  D.  Abell,  present  Recorder. 

Pike  county's  Democratic  Auditors: 

1855.  W.  H.  DeBruler. 

1858.  David  H.  Miley. 

1862.  Wm.  C.  Davenport. 

1866.  (Rep.). 

1874.  Ansel  J.  Patterson. 

1878.  Frank  R.  Bilderback. 

1882.  W.  J.  Bethel. 

1890.  F.  R.  Bilderback. 

1894.    (Rep.). 

1898.  Harrison  Scales. 

1902.    (Rep.). 

1906.  F.  R.  Bilderback. 

1910.  John  D.  Gray,  present  Auditor  and  suc- 
ceeds himself  in  the  1914  election. 

The  County  Commissioners  at  present  are 
Charles  Robertson,  James  Bottoms  and  Frank  R. 
Bilderback,  all  Democrats. 

The  strength  of  the  two  parties  at  the  presiden- 
tial elections  has  been  very  close.  The  Democrats 
have  had  a  small  majority  in  most  of  the  presi- 
dential elections  since  1840.  Woodrow  Wilson  re- 
ceived the  best  majority  of  any  President. 

Among  the  men  who  were  elected  Representa 
tives  from  Pike  r.nd  of  which  Pike  was  a  part  of 
the  district  were  Alvin  T.  Whight,  in  1841;  Rob 
ert  Logan,  1843;  A.  T.  Whight,  1844;  James  R 
Withers,  1849;  G.  Masey,  1857;  W.  H.  DeBruler 
1863;  J.  W.  Richardson,  1865;  Robert  Logan 
1869;  James  D.  Barker,  1873;  James  W.  Arnold 
1875;    L.    W.    Stewart,    1877;   Joseph    D.   Barker 


1879;  Samuel  Hargrove,  1881;  Morman  Fisher, 
1883;  L.  Hargrove,  1885;  M.  L.  Heathman,  1891; 
Sasser  Sullivan,  1897;  D.  D.  Corn,  1903. 

Among  the  men  who  were  elected  Senators  were 
John  Hargrave,  1838-40;  Benjamin  R.  Edmund- 
son,  1844-47;  Smith  Miller,  1847-50;  William 
Hawthorn,  1852-56;  James  D.  Barker,  1864-68; 
James  B.  Hendricks,  1875;  E.  P.  Richardson, 
1883-87;  Henry  Wiggs,  1891-95. 

Hon.  A.  H.  Taylor  was  elected  Representative 
to  Congress  from  Pike  county  in  1893  and  served 
one  term. 

Hon.  E.  P.  Richardson  served  as  District  Chair- 
man in  1886,  1888,  1904  and  1906. 

Petersburg,  the  county  seat,  has  been  the  resi- 
dence of  several  men  of  prominence  in  State  and 
national  affairs.  Among  the  earlier  may  be  men- 
tioned Major  John  Mclntire,  who  served  with  dis- 
tinction during  the  war  of  1812  in  Colonel  R.  M. 
Johnson's  regiment.  Soon  after  the  organization 
of  the  county  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Peters- 
burg and  from  that  time  for  many  years  filled 
the  offices  of  County  Clerk  and  Recorder.  John 
Johnson  and  Thomas  C.  Stewart  were  both  men 
of  ability.  The  former  organized  the  county  and 
represented  it  in  the  State  Legislature  for  the 
first  eight  years.  Stewart  was  agent  of  the 
county  for  several  years  and  was  a  member  of 
the  State  Senate  from  1835  to  1838.  During  the 
"twenties"  George  H.  Proffitt  came  to  Petersburg 
and  engaged  in  merchandising.  He  later  turned 
his  attention  to  law  and  politics,  especially  the 
latter.  He  was  a  shrewd  politician  and  an  orator 
of  great  brilliancy.  He  served  two  terms  in  the 
State  Legislature  and  two  terms  as  Representa- 
tive in  Congress.  Upon  the  ascension  of  Tyler  to 
the  presidency,  he  championed  the  President's 
cause  and  was  made  minister  to  Brazil.  He  died 
in  the  prime  of  life  and  was  buried  in  the  old 
cemetery.  Hon.  John  W.  Foster,  United  States 
Minister  to  Spain,  is  the  son  of  Judge  Mathew 
Foster,  and  it  was  here  that  he  was  born  and 
spent  his  early  years. 

Some  of  the  leading  Democrats  of  Pike  county 
are  the  following:  J.  W.  Richardson,  who  at- 
tended his  first  convention  in  1848  when  he  was 
twenty  years  old  and  for  fifty  years  never  missed 
a  convention;  John  Mclntire  was  for  a  number 
of  years  Clerk  and  Recorder  at  the  same  time. 
Among  others  are  James  N.  Weathers,  John  Cape- 
hart,  Marcellus  Chew,  Frank  White,  Jack  Davis, 
John  J.  Robling,  J.  J.  Bowman,  Joseph  Morgan, 
Joseph  Banning,  Simeon  LeMasters,  A.  J.  Pati- 
son.  Uncle  Rote  Nelson,  George  W.  Masey,  Wil- 
liam J.  DeBruler,  John  Thompson,  James  and 
Dan  Crow,  Lewis  Beck,  George  Fettinger,  James 
and  Joseph  D.  Barker,  Daniel  Davidson,  Peter 
Burkhart,  Rev.  Samuel  Thompson,  Frank  Bilder- 


(736) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


back,  Dan  C.  Ashby,  Samuel  Hargrove,  J.  P.  Rum- 
ble, E.  J.  Whitelock,  John  E.  Cox,  A.  H.  Taylor, 
C.  D.  Henke,  A.  J.  Heuring,  Henry  J.  Wiggs  and 
Charles  Robertson. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  Pike  county 
was  called  the  Patriot,  a  small  five-column  folio 
and  the  subscription  price  was  $1.50  per  annum. 
It  purported  to  be  independent  in  politics  and  was 
owned  by  a  few  of  the  leading  men.  J.  N.  Evans 
was  the  editor  and  Henry  Stoutt  was  the  printer. 
It  was  discontinued  after  running  six  months. 
During  the  campaign  in  1856  Samuel  Upton  be- 
gan the  publication  of  the  first  Pike  County  Dem- 
ocrat. It  was  printed  in  Washington,  Ind.,  but 
was  ostensibly  published  in  Petersburg.  It  was 
discontinued  after  a  few  months.  In  1865  one 
McGinnis  established  a  paper  called  the  Messen- 
ger. It  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Democracy. 
In  1867  the  Messenger  was  bought  by  S.  T.  Pal- 
mer, who  changed  the  name  to  Tribune,  and  con- 
tinued the  publication  until  June,  1869,  when  he 
sold  out  to  Malachi  Krebbs.  During  the  cam- 
paign of  1868  James  E.  Huckeby  published  the 
Democratic  Press.  He  was  a  stanch  Democrat 
and  a  firm  believer  in  a  "white  man's  govern- 
ment." 

In  the  fall  of  1870  George  M.  Emack  trans- 
ferred the  Otwell  Herald,  which  he  had  published 
about  six  months,  to  Petersburg.  It  was  a  five- 
column  paper,  devoted  to  the  interest  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  He  sold  a  one-half  interest  to 
Alexander  Leslie,  Jr.,  and  the  paper,  under  the 
name  of  the  Pike  County  Democrat,  was  enlarged 
to  a  six-column  folio.  Emack  became  involved  in 
some  difficulty  and  left  the  town.  Leslie  contin- 
ued the  publication  until  after  the  campaign  of 
1872,  when  B.  F.  Wright  became  the  editor.  Un- 
der his  management  the  paper  was  not  a  finan- 
cial success,  and  after  two  months,  not  being  able 
to  pay  some  of  his  bills,  he  gave  up  the  work. 
Leslie  then  leased  the  office  to  Oscar  McDonald 
and  Monroe  Crow,  who  found  that  there  were  not 
"millions"  in  it,  and  in  six  weeks  it  reverted  back 
to   Leslie.     Publication  was  suspended  until   No- 


vember, 1872,  when  the  office  was  sold  to  M.  S. 
Evans  &  Co.  The  paper  was  enlarged  to  a  seven- 
column  folio  and  H.  S.  Evans  became  editor.  In 
June,  1873,  the  office  again  changed  hands  and 
William  P.  Knight  and  M.  L.  DeMotte  became  the 
owners.  The  following  year  DeMotte  sold  his  in- 
terest to  L.  C.  Campbell  and  during  the  campaign 
of  1874  the  paper  was  conducted  under  the  firm 
name  of  Knight  &  Campbell.  In  December  of 
that  year  Leslie  foreclosed  a  mortgage  on  the 
office.  The  publishers  went  to  Vincennes,  pur- 
chased the  material  in  the  Times  office  and,  with- 
out missing  a  single  issue,  continued  the  Demo- 
crat. In  February,  1875,  Campbell  sold  his  in- 
terest to  Knight  and  the  following  November 
Knight  transferred  the  office  to  Charles  Mitch- 
ener.  He  then  went  to  Tell  City,  Ind.,  but  in 
February,  1877,  he  returned  to  Petersburg  and 
again  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Democrat. 
He  had  with  him  at  various  times  in  the  editorial 
management  J.  M.  Doyle,  W.  D.  McSwane,  W.  F. 
Townsend  and  Fremont  Arford.  At  some  time 
between  1877  and  1885  William  P.  Knight  sold 
the  paper  to  J.  L.  Mount.  M.  McStoops,  the  pres- 
ent owner,  bought  it  from  the  Mount  heirs  in 
1892. 

The  Pike  County  Democrat  is  well  managed, 
enjoys  a  liberal  advertising  and  job  patronage, 
and  is  one  of  the  leading  organs  of  the  county 
Democracy.  The  office  has  been  twice  totally  de- 
stroyed by  fire — first  on  December  2,  1882,  and 
again  on  May  15,  1884. 

The  Wi7islow  Dispatch  was  established  by  Al- 
den  J.  Heuring  in  Winslow,  Pike  county,  March 
10,  1896.  Up  to  that  time  there  had  not  been 
anything  much  done  toward  managing  a  regular 
newspaper  in  that  town.  Mr.  Heuring  has  been 
a  wideawake,  untiring  editor,  and  has,  since  the 
time  the  paper  started,  built  up  a  circulation  of 
2,100.  This  is  remarkable  when  we  consider  that 
there  are  only  932  inhabitants  in  the  town.  The 
office  is  equipped  with  all  new  and  strictly  up-to- 
date  outfit  with  machinery  to  supply  a  much 
larger  circulation. 


24— History 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
PORTER  COUNTY 

By  Alfred  R.  Hardesty 


THE  foundations  of  Porter  county  were  of 
glacial  origin,  laid  in  the  Devonian  Age. 
Its  surface  is  interspersed  with  hills  and 
vales,  woods  and  prairies,  springs  and  streams, 
and  dotted  with  fine  homes  and  beautiful  lakes, 
being  one  of  the  most  progressive  counties  in  the 
great  State  of  Indiana. 

This  territory,  over  which  four  flags,  those  of 
Prance,  Spain,  England  and  our  own  Stars  and 
Stripes,  have  floated,  was  the  scene  of  a  number 
of  battles  in  the  days  when  the  Indians  inhabited 
it.  However,  the  first  inhabitants  of  this  terri- 
tory are  supposed  to  have  been  the  Mound  Build- 
ers. 

It  is  not  known  when  white  men  first  visited 
the  country  out"  of  which  Porter  county  was 
formed,  but  the  first  white  settler,  Joseph  Bailly, 
settled  here  in  1822.  He  was  the  only  white  in- 
habitant for  a  period  of  eleven  years.  The  place 
where  he  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Calumet 
river  has  always  been  known  as  Bailly  Town  and 
his  old  homestead  there  was  owned  and  occupied 
by  his  granddaughter,  Miss  Frances  Howe,  until 
her  death  in  1917.  She  was  a  very  cultured  and 
wealthy  lady  and  an  author  of  considerable  note, 
both  in  this  country  and  abroad.  The  years  1833 
and  1834  were  memorable  on  account  of  the  large 
number  of  white  inhabitants  settling  here.  Rea- 
son Bell,  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  county, 
first  saw  the  light  of  day  January  11,  1834.  He 
afterward  held  the  enviable  record  of  having  been 
four  times  elected  county  auditor. 

The  first  public  sale  of  Porter  county  lands  was 
held  at  Laporte  in  1835.  This  was  the  home  of 
the  Potawatomies  and  among  the  first  land  own- 
ers were  the  following: 

Joseph  Bailly,  Old-Man-Macito,  Chop-i-tuck, 
Kessis-shadonah,  Lemis-shadonah,  Mis-sink-quo- 
quak,  Mas-eoh,  Pa-peer-kah,  Nas-wau-bees,  We- 
saw,  Mis-no-quis,  Che-apo-tuckey,  and  James,  Ira 
and  Joseph  Morgan. 

The  county  was  first  organized  in  1835  by  the 
commissioners  of  Laporte  county,  who  had  charge 
of  all  the  territory  in  Indiana  west  of  the  western 
line  of  Laporte  county  and  lying  between  the 
Kankakee  river  on  the  south  and  Lake  Michigan 
on  the  north.  They  simply  divided  it  into  dis- 
tricts or  townships  for  election  purposes.  But  it 
was  not  until  January,  1836,  that  the  real  organ- 
ization by  the  State  Legislature  took  place.  The 
first  term  of  the  Porter  Circuit  Court  was  held 
by  Judge  Sample  at  the  home  of  John  Saylor  in 


October,  1836.  The  first  court  house  was  built 
in  1837,  at  a  cost  of  $1,250,  which  amount  was 
raised  by  popular  subscription  among  the  resi- 
dents of  the  county. 

Porter  county  has  been  the  home  of  numerous 
authors  and  writers  of  note  and  educational  in- 
fluence and  the  seat  of  various  educational  insti- 
tutions, including  Valparaiso  University,  one  of 
the  largest  universities  in  America.  It  had  for 
its  founder  and,  for  more  than  forty  years,  its 
president,  that  prince  of  Democrats,  Henry  Baker 
Brown.  Another  of  our  educational  institutions 
of  note  is  the  Dodge  Institute  of  Telegraphy,  in- 
cluding wireless  telegraphy  and  railway  service 
and  accountancy.  It  is  perhaps  the  largest  school 
of  the  kind  in  the  world  and  had  for  its  founder 
and  president  that  noble  young  Democrat,  George 
M.  Dodge. 

The  first  newspaper,  the  Republican,  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  county  was  established  in  1842  by 
James  Castle.  It  was  a  weekly  and  claimed  to  be 
independent  in  politics.  In  1844  the  name  of  this 
sheet  was  changed  to  the  Western  Ranger  and  its 
politics  to  Democratic.  In  1849,  under  the  editor- 
ship of  William  C.  Talcott,  the  name  was  changed 
to  the  Practical  Observer.  In  1853  Mr.  Talcott 
changed  his  publication  to  the  Republican  faith 
and  name,  as  he  was  a  believer  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  new  party  of  that  day;  and  it  was  largely 
through  his  ability,  eff^orts,  zeal  and  influence  that 
Porter  county  has  ever  remained  one  of  the  strong 
Republican  counties  of  the  State. 

In  1859  R.  A.  Cameron,  having  become  the  own- 
er and  publisher  of  the  paper,  and  the  last  two 
letters  of  the  name  having  been  lost  or  destroyed 
in  a  fire,  the  publication  continued  as  the  Republic. 
Mr.  Cameron  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in 
i860,  and  went  to  the  war  in  1862  and  his  wife 
continued  the  publication  of  the  paper  for  a  time, 
but  soon  discontinued  it,  until  1866,  after  Mr. 
Cameron's  return,  when  he  again  began  its  pub- 
lication, but  the  plant  was  soon  sold  to  the  man- 
agement of  the  Vidette,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished about  this  time  as  a  Republican  paper  by 
Aaron  Gurney.  The  well-known  B.  Wilson  Smith 
became  its  educational  editor.  With  some  slight 
changes  in  name  and  ownership,  from  time  to 
time,  the  Vidette  is  still  being  published  as  a 
daily  and  weekly,  and  as  the  leading  Republican 
paper  of  the  county,  under  the  able  management 
of  its  owner  and  editor,  John  M.  Mavity. 

A  Democratic  publication,  known  as  the  Porter 


(  738) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


1  9  1 


Democrat,  and,  later,  as  the  Potter  Gazette,  was 
published  with  some  degree  of  success,  from  185<i 
to  18(50.  But,  m  1871,  Englebert  Zimmerman, 
postmaster  of  Valparaiso,  under  President  Cleve- 
land's first  administration,  launched  the  Messen- 
ger as  a  Democratic  journal,  and  it  continues  as 
such  at  the  present  time  and  remained  under  the 
manasrement  of  ihe  Zimmerman  family  until  1915. 
During:  all  these  years  it  has  been  the  only  Demo- 
ciatic  paper  published  in  the  county.  Both  daily 
and  weekly  editions  are  published. 

Other  papers  temporarily  published  in  Valpa- 
raiso have  been  the  Valjiaraiso  Herald,  an  inde- 
pendent publication;  the  Musieal  Ideal,  the  Nor- 
mal Mirror,  the  \orthern  hidiana  School  Journal, 
the  Nor»ial  InsfrKctor,  and  the  College  Current, 
all  of  them  being  literary  and  educational  publica- 
tions. 

Other  papers  now  published  in  the  county  are 
the  Hebron  \eics.  the  Kouts  Tribune,  and  the 
Chesterton  Tribune,  the  latter  of  which  was  es- 
tablished in  1884,  by  Arthur  J.  Bowser,  since 
State  Senator,  first  as  an  independent  in  politics, 
but  later  changed  to  a  Republican  publication.  It 
is  still  owned,  edited  and  published  by  its  founder 
and  has  exerted  considerable  influence  in  the  po- 
litical, social  and  business  affairs  of  the  county 
for  many  years. 

Politically  the  new  county  was  quite  evenly 
divided  between  the  various  parties  of  those  days; 
but,  since  the  advent  of  the  present  Republican 
party  into  the  political  arena,  that  party  has  al- 
ways been  largely  in  the  majority  in  the  county. 
In  the  last  two  general  elections,  however,  their 
majority  has  been  materially  reduced  and  the 
present  Democratic  hope  is  that  this  majority 
may  be  still  further  reduced  in  the  future. 

Although  the  county  has  always  been  strongly 
Republican,  a  few  Democrats  who  have  been  espe- 
cially strong  and  populai-  have  been  elected  to 
county  oflices.  James  R.  Malone,  an  untiring 
Democratic  worker,  was  twice  elected  Sheriff. 
John  M.  Felton  was  once  elected  Clerk  and  twice 
elected  Treasurer.  Cyrus  Axe  and  A.  W.  Rey- 
nolds were  each  twice  elected  Treasurer.  Ed.  C. 
O'Neil  was  elected  Clerk  once  and  Jos.  Sego  was 
elected  Sheriflf  once.  Dr.  G.  H.  Stoner  was  elected 
Coroner  one  term  and  Joseph  Quinn  is  serving  as 
County  Commissioner  at  the  present  time. 

Although  Valparaiso  is  a  Republican  city,  sev- 
eral prominent  Democrats  have  been  elected 
Mayor  in  times  past.  Among  these  were  John 
N.  Skinner,  twice  the  nominee  of  his  party  for 
Representative  in  Congress,  who  served  as  Mayor 
for  ten  years,  and  until  his  death  in  1882;  then 
came  Frank  Jones,  a  promising  young  man,  whose 
career  was  cut  short  by  the  inevitable  sickle;  also. 


A.  D.  Bartholomew,  afterward  Judge  of  the  Porter 
Circuit  Court,  and  William  F.  Spooner,  who  was 
elected  to  this  office  three  times  and  served  eight 
years,  besides  serving  as  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic county  central  committee  at  the  same  time. 

Among  other  prominent  Democrats  of  the  coun- 
ty at  the  present  time  are  W.  E.  Pinney,  James 
H.  McGill,  John  T.  Scott,  present  chairman  of  the 
county  central  committee;  Walter  Fabing,  former 
Prosecuting  Attorney;  William  Daly,  former  City 
Attorney;  Joseph  Doyle,  D.  E.  Kelly,  Chas.  L. 
Jeffrey,  C.  L.  Haslett,  Gordon  Reynolds,  Allen 
Baum,  Geo.  Gidley,  Peter  Lyon,  Isaac  Hodsden, 
Bert  Hodsden,  Frank  Beach,  Vernon  Beach,  B.  F. 
Jones,  John  W.  Freer,  William  T.  Brown,  Edward 
Isbey,  Fred  Wittenburg.  Wallace  Wilson,  Geo.  R. 
Jones,  J.  E.  Roessler,  Englebert  Zimmerman,  Abe 
Hermance,  A.  L.  LaBrecque,  William  Malone, 
David  Fickle,  W.  K.  Mulnix,  A.  N.  Fehrman,  R.  D. 
Ross,  Alfred  Banister,  J.  D.  Stoner,  Charles  01- 
fest,  John  Van  Trees,  Harve  Carey,  Newton  An- 
derson, Robert  Boone,  W.  H.  Goodwin,  Fred  Pope, 
Irvin  Talbot,  Loren  Cornell,  Charles  Casbon,  Cash 
Brown,  John  Lawrence,  Herman  Dye,  Ira  Mc- 
Conkey,  Henry  Pahl,  W.  0.  McGinley,  J.  G.  Ben- 
kie,  A.  L.  Arnold,  Edwin  V.  Jones,  James  R. 
Smiley,  H.  H.  Willing,  and  E.  A.  Greene,  secre- 
tary to  Congressman  John  B.  Peterson. 

Worthy  of  notice  also  are  DeFoe  Skinner,  de- 
ceased, a  wealthy  banker,  and  twice  elected  State 
Senator;  and  Hubert  M.  Skinner,  a  native  of  this 
county,  a  noted  scholar,  linguist  and  author,  who 
was  Deputy  State  Superintendent  of  Schools  when 
John  W.  Holcomb,  who  was  also  a  citizen  of  thi,-< 
county,  and  a  Democrat,  was  State  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction;  and  John  Brody,  former 
County  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  central  com- 
mittee and  Postmaster  under  President  Cleve- 
land's second  administration. 

Among  past  and  present  Republican  citizens  of 
the  county  are  many  of  more  than  local  political 
note,  among  whom  may  be  named  the  following: 
Gilbert  Pierce,  once  State  Representaiive.  after- 
ward editor  of  the  Chicago  Inter  Ocean,  and  later 
Governor  of  Dakota  and  United  States  Senator 
for  North  Dakota.  William  H.  Calkins,  State 
Representative,  Congressman,  and  candidate  for 
Governor  of  Indiana;  Nelson  Barnard,  State  Rep- 
resentative and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  in  the  county;  Marquis  L.  McCleland, 
a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  private 
secretary  to  Vice-President  Schuyler  Colfax, 
when  that  gentleman  was  a  member  of  Congress; 
Theophilus  Crumpacker,  once  State  Representa- 
tive. Edgar  D.  Crumpacker,  son  of  Theophilus, 
is  a  brainy  man  and  shrewd  and  successful  poli- 
tician and  represented  the  Tenth  Indiana  Con- 
gressional District  in  Congress  eight  consecutive 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


terms,  being  defeated  for  re-election  in  1912  by 
that  sterling  Democrat,  John  B.  Peterson.  Mark 
L.  DeMotte  was  another  Porter  county  Republican 
who  represented  this  district  in  Congress.  S.  S. 
Skinner  and  Newton  Patton  were  members  of  the 
Legislature  and  held  various  local  offices.  John 
W.  Elam  was  another  leading  Republican  poli- 
tician and  had  been  postmaster  at  Valparaiso 
nearly  two  terms  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Fred- 
erick Burstrom  was  a  Swedish  worker  and  holder 
of  various  local  offices.  Among  other  prominent 
present  day  workers  in  the  county  might  be  named 
Charles  S.  Peirce,  former  Clerk;  L.  H.  Coplin, 
former  Treasurer;  G.  A.  Bornholt,  present  Clerk; 


George  C.  Gregg,  twice  elected  to  the  Legislature; 
E.  W.  Agar,  former  City  Attorney;  M.  L.  Stinch- 
field,  Postmaster  at  Valparaiso;  H.  H.  Loring, 
Judge  of  the  Porter  Circuit  Court;  C.  A.  Blachley, 
Byron  Kinne,  Edward  Freund,  A.  O.  J.  Krieger 
and  L.  G.  Furness,  former  State  Representative. 
We  could  go  on  ad  infinitum  naming  those  who 
are  perhaps  just  as  worthy  of  being  named  in 
both  of  the  parties,  but  time  and  space  forbids, 
and  we  end  a  worthy  list  of  honored  citizens  here, 
hoping  that  the  future  of  both  parties,  in  Porter 
county,  may  be  full  of  honor  and  that  each  may 
strive  for  the  upbuilding  and  betterment  of  her 
people. 


(740) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY 
POSEY  COUNTY 

By  Joel  Willis   Hiatt,  A.  M. 


OF 


POSEY  COUNTY  lies  in  the  extreme  south- 
west co;ner  of  the  State.  In  1814,  by  an  Act 
of  the  Legislature,  it  was  formed  from  parts 
of  Gibson  and  Warrick  counties.  In  1818  a  por- 
tion of  it  was  taken  to  form  a  part  of  Vander- 
burg  county  and  it  was  reduced  to  420  square 
miles,  its  present  area.  The  population  in  1910 
was  21,670  and  the  county  seat  is  Mount  Vernon, 
on  the  Ohio  river. 

Since  and  including  1836,  it  has  invariably  given 
its  majority  support  to  the  Democratic  National 
ticket.  It  has  only  occasionally  deviated  from 
this  record  in  State,  district  and  county  elections. 

The  vigor  and  success  of  the  party  in  the  coun- 
ty has  been  largely  maintained  by  the  ability  and 
high  character  of  its  leaders.  In  the  earlier  times 
they  embraced  Robert  Dale  Owen,  Alvin  P.  Hovey, 
Dan  Lynn,  Magnus  T.  Carnahan  and  Judge  Wil- 
liam Edson;  in  later  times,  Gustavus  V.  Menzies, 
to  whose  unselfish,  unstinted  labors  the  success 
of  the  party  in  this  county  has  been  due  more 
than  to  any  other  man,  Milton  Pearse,  James  W. 
French,  Judge  Herdis  F.  Clements  and  George 
William  Curtis. 

Credit  should  also  be  given  to  the  Democratic 
press  of  our  county.  Without  exception  it  has 
been  honorable  and  high  toned  and  able  in  its 
advocacy   of    Democratic    policies    and   principles. 

Only  papers  whose  editors  have  been  Democrats 
will  be  mentioned  in  this  sketch. 

The  first  paper  published  in  the  county  was 
the  Neiv  Harmony  Gazette.  It  was  edited  in  part 
by  Robert  Dale  Owen  and  William  Owen.  It  was 
begun  October  1,  1825,  and  continued  to  October 
28,  1828.  Its  immediate  successors  were  not  of 
political  character.  In  1842  the  Indiana  States- 
man, edited  by  Alexander  Burns,  a  relative  of 
Robert  Bums  the  poet,  was  started  in  New  Har- 
mony and  continued  until  184.5.  In  1846  James 
Bennett  started  the  irfs?f)-/(  Star,  which  he  pub- 
lished at  New  Harmony  for  a  year  and  then  the 
Gleaner,  which  he  discontinued  after  a  year.  In 
1858  the  Register  was  started  in  New  Harmony 
by  Charles  Slater  and  continued  until  1861,  when 
its  editor  enlisted  in  the  army.  In  1867  he  and 
J.  P.  Bennett  resumed  the  publication  of  the  paper 
and  it  has  been  continued  by  Charles  W.  Slater 
and,  on  his  death,  by  Harry  T.  Slater,  until  the 
present  time.  The  Xcw  Harmony  Times  was  es- 
tablished in  1892  by  Clarence  P.  Wolfe  and  con- 
tinues to  be  published  by  him.  He  is  now  the 
Democratic  postmaster  at  New   Harmony. 


In  Mount  Vernon  the  Democrat  was  founded  in 
1861  by  James  Huckeby  and  continued  under  dif- 
ferent publishers  until  1864.  In  1867  Thomas 
Collins  established  the  present  Mount  Vernon 
Democrat  and  it  has  continued  until  the  present 
time  under  the  successive  ownerships  of  Albert 
A.  Sparks,  Peter  W.  and  John  Roach  and  its  pres- 
ent pioprietor,  Peter  W.  Roach.  It  is  issued  in 
daily  form.  John  Roach  died  April  1,  1918.  The 
Wochenblatt,  the  first  and  only  German  paper  in 
the  county,  was  established  by  John  C.  LeflFel  in 
1875  and  continued  until  1881.  In  1877  Mr.  Leffel 
founded  the  Western  Star,  which  he  continues  to 
publish.  It  is  equipped  with  a  Mergenthaler  lino- 
type machine. 

In  1882  the  Poseyville  News  was  established  at 
Poseyville  by  Joseph  A.  Leonard  and  George  J. 
Waters.  In  1884  this  paper  passed  under  the 
control  of  James  I.  Brydon  and  became  Demo- 
ciatic  in  politics,  and  later  John  S.  Williams 
bought  an  interest  in  it.  In  1888  Joseph  R. 
Ha'nes,  who  creditably  served  the  county  two 
terms  as  Representative  in  the  Legislature  and  is 
at  present  the  Democratic  County  Auditor,  bought 
the  paper  and  is  at  present  publishing  it. 

No  comparisons  can  be  made  between  the  pres- 
ent members  of  the  Democratic  press  in  the  coun- 
ty. Each  member  is  a  credit  to  its  publisher  and 
a  tower  of  strength  to  the  party. 

The  State  and  even  the  nation  owe  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  the  Democracy  of  Posey  county  by 
reason  of  the  character,  ability  and  achievements 
of  some  of  its  sons  whom  it  has  placed  in  public 
positions. 

One  of  the  first  to  be  mentioned  is  Robert  Dale 
Owen.  He  served  in  the  Indiana  House  of  Rep- 
resentetives  three  terms.  He  was  first  elected 
in  1835  and  served  two  successive  terms  and  was 
again  elected  in  1851.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Education  and  devoted  his  ener- 
gies to  the  building  up  of  the  State  Library,  the 
firm  establishment  and  endowment  of  the  com- 
mon school  system  and  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  women  under  the  law.  For  his  serv- 
ices in  this  latter  direction  he  has  been  twice 
publicly  honored  by  the  women  of  Indiana.  In 
1851  he  was  presented  with  a  handsome  silver 
pitcher  by  the  women  of  the  State  and  recently 
a  bronze  bust  of  him,  on  a  handsome  pedestal, 
was  erected  to  his  memory  in  the  State  House 
grounds.  The  money  for  both  testimonials  was 
voluntaiily  contributed  by  the  women  of  Indiana. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


He  was  one  of  the  most  active  members  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1850.  He  was  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Rights  and  Privileges 
of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  State  and  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revision,  Arrangement  and  Phrase- 
ology. He  endeavored  to  have  incorporated  in 
the  constitution  a  provision  guaranteeing  to  mar- 
ried women  the  right  to  own  and  control  proper- 
ty, independent  of  their  husbands.  The  measure 
was  passed,  but  reconsidered  and  defeated. 

He  served  the  people  of  our  district  two  terms 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  (1843-47).  He  contributed  materially  to 
the  settlement  of  the  dispute  between  our  govern- 
ment and  Great  Britain  in  reference  to  the  Ore- 
gon boundary.  His  speech  on  that  subject  in  the 
House  was  one  of  great  force  and  erudition. 

He  introduced  and  secured  the  passage  of  a 
bill  to  organize  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  The 
bill  which  he  introduced  provided  for  an  agricul- 
tural experiment  station,  a  national  normal  school 
and  an  experiment  school  for  "Improvements  in 
agriculture,  in  manufactures,  in  trades,  and  in 
domestic  economy."  We  have  here  our  modern 
agricultural  experiment  stations,  vocational 
schools,  domestic  science  instruction,  with  the  fur- 
ther idea  of  an  advanced  school  for  the  perfecting 
of  our  manufactures.  The  Germans  have  suc- 
cessfully employed  this  latter  idea  and  thereby 
achieved  a  world  wide  fame  as  manufacturers. 
This  was  in  1845.  Robert  Dale  Owen  was  in  ad- 
vance of  his  time.  These  beneficent  and  far-sight- 
ed provisions  were  stricken  out  of  the  bill  in  the 
House  and  the  amended  bill,  which  is  now  a  law, 
was  passed  by  a  vote  of  85  to  76.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  this  Congress  a  special  committee  was 
created  on  Organization  of  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution. Mr.  Owen  was  made  its  chairman  and 
had  for  his  colleagues  John  Quincy  Adams,  Timo- 
thy Jenkins,  G.  P.  Marsh,  Alexander  D.  Sims, 
Jefferson  Davis  and  David  Wilmot.  Andrew 
.  Johnson  was  one  of  the  bitterest  opponents  of 
the  measure. 

Mr.  Owen  served  as  Minister  to  Naples  under 
Presidents  Pierce  and  Buchanan.  His  subsequent 
career,  so  full  of  active  usefulness,  cannot  be 
even  touched  upon  here.     . 

William  Owen  was  a  director  in  the  State  Bank 
of  Indiana  and  a  profound  student  of  economic 
science.  He  exercised  an  important  influence  on 
National  legislation  in  financial  matters  and  his 
thoroughness  and  clearness  of  statement  were  fa- 
vorably commented  on  by  Senator  James  Bu- 
chanan. 

David  Dale  Owen  was  State  Geologist  of  In- 
diana, Kentucky  and  Arkansas,  successively,  and 
was  the  fir.st  United  States  Geologist.  The  head- 
quarters of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 


were  located  in  New  Harmony  for  six  years.  His 
work  was  thorough  and  eminently  practical.  He 
is  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  the  geologists 
of  today.  He  first  analyzed  the  waters  of  French 
Lick  Springs,  Indiana,  and  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas, 
and  called  the  attention  of  the  world  to  their  re- 
markable curative  properties. 

Richard  Owen  was  State  Geologist  of  Indiana 
from  1S59  to  1861.  For  many  years  he  was  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Science  in  Indiana  State  Uni- 
versity. 

This  great  family  of  Posey  county  was  greatly 
honored  by  the  Democratic  party  and,  in  turn, 
reflected  great  credit  upon  it. 

Edward  T.  Cox  of  New  Harmony  was  State 
Geologist  of  Indiana  from  1869  to  1879  and  did 
more  than  any  other  man  to  bring  our  coal  de- 
posits into  prominence  before  the  world.  He  was 
a  life-long  Democrat. 

Alvin  P.  Hovey  served  as  Circuit  Judge,  Su- 
preme Court  Judge  and  United  States  District 
Attorney.  He  was  appointed  to  the  latter  place 
by  President  Pierce  in  1856,  and  continued  in  the 
position  under  President  Buchanan  until  his  ac- 
tivity in  behalf  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  caused  his 
removal.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1850  and  served  on  the  Committees 
on  Finance  and  Taxation.  In  1855  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  circuit  court  of  Posey  county  as 
administrator  of  the  estate  and  executor  of  the 
will  of  Wiiram  Maclure  of  New  Harmony,  Posey 
county.  In  1839  Mr.  Maclure  made  a  will  in  which 
he  provided  that  all  of  his  property  in  and  around 
New  Harmony  should  "be  applied  for  the  diffusion 
of  useful  knowledge  and  instruction  among  the 
institutes,  libraries,  clubs  and  meetings  of  the 
working  classes."  Its  operation  was  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  United  States.  Judge  Hovey  distri- 
buted $150,000  throughout  the  west,  thus  becom- 
ing the  executive  agent  of  the  first  Andrew  Car- 
negie. Alvin  P.  Hovey  became  a  major-general 
during  the  civil  war,  was  sent  as  Minister  to  Peru 
by  President  Lincoln  and,  as  a  Republican,  repre- 
sented our  district  in  Congress  part  of  one  term, 
when  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Indiana. 

Judge  John  Pitchei,  who  was  a  Whig  in  his 
early  life,  became  a  Democrat  towards  its  close. 
He  was  a  man  of  superb  intellect  and  a  splendidly 
equipped  lawyer.  While  living  in  Spencer  county, 
he  loaned  to  Abraham  Lincoln  his  first  law  books. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  activity  of  Hon.  Gustavus 
V.  Menzies  in  the  service  of  the  party.  He  is  the 
leader  of  the  bar  in  the  county,  learned  in  the 
law,  eloquent  and  forceful  as  a  speaker  and  of 
incorruptible  integrity.  He  was  educated  for  and 
was  a  lieutenant-commander  in  the  navy.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Esther  Hovey, 
the   only   daughter   of   General   Alvin   P.   Hovey, 


(  742) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


with  whom,  after  resigning  his  commission  in  the 
navy,  he  studied  law.  He  was  chosen  a  delegate 
to  the  Democratic  National  Convention  in  1876 
and  has  been  a  delegate  to  every  convention  since. 
He  has  been  Delegate-at-Large  to  the  last  four 
Nat.'onal  conventions.  On  his  motion,  in  1884, 
the  nomination  of  Grover  Cleveland  was  made 
unanimous.  In  1904  he  was  chairman  of  the 
State  delegation  and  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Credentials.  In  1878  he  represented  the  coun- 
ties of  Gibson  and  Posey  in  the  Senate  of  Indiana. 
He  served  on  the  Judiciary  Committee  during  the 
first  session  and  was  chairman  of  the  Committee 
Oil  Insurance.  In  the  second  session  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Committee  on  Revision  and  Codi- 
fication of  the  Laws,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Board  of  Revision,  consisting  of  Judge  James 
Fiazer,  Hon.  David  Turpie  and  Mr.  Stotsenburg, 
codifiad  and  revised  the  laws  of  Indiana.  It  was 
?.  laboiious  task  and  one  that  is  appreciated  by 
the  lawyers  of  the  State.  He  has  twice  been 
nominated  by  his  party  for  Congress,  but,  the  dis- 
trict being  largely  Republican  at  that  time,  he 
was  defeated  on  both  occasions.  Mr.  Menzies  died 
December  15,  1917. 

Hon.  James  W.  French  represented  the  county 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  in 
1885.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Education.  He  was  chosen  to  the  State  Senate 
in  1887,  where  he  served  on  the  Committee  on 
Education  and  was  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Public  Buildings  and  State  Library,  and  of 
Finance.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  warden 
of  the  prison  at  Michigan  City  and,  because  of 
the  e.xcellent  record  which  he  made  in  that  po- 
sition. President  Cleveland  appointed  him  warden 
of  the  federal  prison  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

Judge  Herdis  F.  Clements  was  a  representative 
in  the  Legislature  for  one  term  (1899-1901).  He 
was  a  professor  in  the  law  department  of  the 
Indiana  State  University  during  the  years  1901- 
2-3.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  he  served 
on  the  following  committees:  Education,  Judici- 
ary, Phraseology  of  Bills  and  Engrossed  Bills.  He 
was  elected  Judge  of  the  Posey  Circuit  Court  and 
commenced  his  first  term  in  October,  1909.  He 
is  the  nom'nee  of  his  party  to  succeed  himself 
and  no  one  has  been  nominated  in  opposition  to 
him. 

Hon.  George  William  Curtis,  age  thirty-six, 
represented  the  counties  of  Gibson  and  Posey  in 
the  Indiana  State  Senate  (1911-1913).  He  was 
chaiiman  of  the  Committee  on  Education  in  both 
sessions.  He  wielded  a  potent  influence  in  se- 
curing the  advanced  legislation  on  education  that 
characterized  those  sessions  of  the  legislature. 
In  collaboration  with  the  leading  educators  of 
the  State,  he  prepared  and  secured  the  passage  of 


a  bill  pioviding  for  uniform  text  books  in  the 
high  schools  of  the  State.  He  was  instrumental 
in  flaming  a  child  labor  bill  which  became  a  law 
and  has  taken  its  place  among  the  best  that  have 
been  passed  in  the  United  States.  In  the  session 
of  1913,  he  was  Piesident  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate 
and,  as  such,  was  leader  on  the  floor.  He  devoted 
much  time  to  the  consideration  of  the  Public 
Servica  U'ilities,  Vocational  Education  and  other 
educational  measures,  and  his  activities  were  in 
line  with  those  of  the  best  representatives  of  the 
county  in  the  past.  He  was  distinguished  for  his 
public  duties.     Mr.  Curtis  died  October  25,  1917. 

Hon.  Charles  A.  Greathouse,  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  for  Indiana,  was  born  in  Posey 
county  in  1869.  He  was  educated  at  Indiana  Uni- 
versity. He  was  County  School  Superintendent 
of  Posey  county  fiom  1895  to  1905.  He  was  first 
nominated  for  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion in  1900.  He  was  nominated  by  the  Indiana 
Democratic  convention  for  the  position  in  1910 
and  elected  and  re-elected  in  1914. 

Theie  is  a  peculiar  fitness  in  selecting  the  head 
of  the  education  system  of  the  State  from  a  coun- 
ty that  has  done  so  much  for  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation in  the  State.  The  first  manual  training 
school  in  the  West  was  located  in  this  county; 
the  Pestalozzian  system  of  instruction  was  first 
employed  here;  its  legislatois,  from  Robert  Dale 
Owen  to  the  present  time,  have  been  watchful 
and  earnest  in  their  efforts  in  behalf  of  education; 
one  of  its  sons  was  for  many  years  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  faculty  of  Indiana  University;  oth- 
sr  sons  aie  scattered  throughout  our  country, 
occupying  high  positions  in  the  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning.  After  ninety  years  of  advanced 
and  notable  effort  in  the  cause  of  education  Posey 
county  places  one  of  her  sons  at  the  head  of  the 
educational  system  of  the  State. 

Some  of  the  things  that  have  been  accomplished 
dur'ng  Mr.  Greathouse's  first  teim  of  office  may 
be  briefly  stated,  as  follows: 

(a)  The  office  of  high  school  inspector  wa? 
created,  for  the  better  supervision,  organization 
and  equipment  of  the  high  schools  of  the  Slate, 
that  they  may  be  made  more  profitable  to  a  larger 
number  of  young  people.  By  means  of  this  office 
uniform  inspection  of  high  schools  will  be  brought 
about  through  the  services  of  one  man,  with  a 
salary  of  -$2,500,  instead  of  ten,  who  were  allowed 
five  dollars  per  diem  and  five  cents  per  mile  for 
tiaveling  expenses. 

(b)  Uniform  text  books  for  tlie  high  schools 
were  adopted,  to  lessen  the  cost  of  text  books  and 
piovide  against  an  expenditure  for  new  books 
every  time  a  family  moved  from  one  corpoiation 
tc  another. 

(c)  Amendment   to   the   compulsory   education 


(  743  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


law,  raising  the  age  limit  to  sixteen  years,  un- 
less children  have  passed  the  fifth  grade  in  school 
work  and  are  employed  in  gainful  occupation. 

(d)  The  vocational  law  was  enacted  to  provide 
for  the  very  large  per  cent,  of  young  people  who 
are  not  reached  by  our  present  curriculum  of 
study  and  drop  out  of  school  unprepared  to  be- 
come useful  members  of  society. 

(e)  Amendment  of  the  minimum  wage  law  to 
provide  more  amply  for  the  teachers  of  longer 
experience. 

(f)  Providing  a  definite  income  for  the  higher 
institutions  of  learning,  which  does  not  mean  an 
increased  expenditure  for  those  institutions,  but 
provision  for  a  regular  yearly  income  that  will 
allow  plans  for  their  improvements  and  enlarge- 
ments in  advance  and  in  accord  with  a  known 
income. 

President  Wilson  has  appointed  Mr.  Charles  A. 
Greathouse  a  member  of  the  Federal  Board  of  Vo- 
cational Education.  The  board  consists  of  three 
members.  Their  duty  is  to  give  form  and  effect  to 
the  federal  law  extending  financial   aid  to  voca- 


tional education  in  the  States.  This  law  was 
passed  by  a  Democratic  Congress,  signed  by  a 
Democratic  President  and  a  Posey  county  Demo- 
crat, whose  early  life  was  given  wholly  to  pro- 
moting the  educational  interests  of  his  county,  is 
chosen  as  one  of  the  executive  agents  to  effect  the 
operation  of  the  law. 

After  the  lapse  of  more  than  seventy  years  the 
idea  which  Robert  Dale  Owen  of  this  county  un- 
successfully sought  to  make  one  of  the  features  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  his  bill  in  Congress 
establishing  that  corporate  body,  has  come  into 
fruition,  and  a  member  of  his  own  party,  from  his 
own  county,  is  chosen  to  give  substance  and  effect 
to  the  federal  act. 

This  is  the  crowning  achievement  in  the  efforts 
of  Posey  county  Democrats  to  further  the  cause 
of  education. 

With  a  record  of  undeviating  loyalty  to  the  Na- 
tional ticket  for  over  three-quarters  of  a  century, 
Posey  county  sends  greeting  to  the  Democracy 
of  the  State. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
PULASKI  COUNTY 


PULASKI  COUNTY  is  located  in  ranges  1,  2, 
3  and  4  west,  and  townships  29,  30  and  31 
north.  It  is  eighteen  miles  by  twenty-four 
miles,  including  432  square  miles,  in  twelve  town- 
ships.    The  population  in   1910  was  13,312. 

The  political  features  of  the  county  may  be 
summed  up  in  a  few  words.  It  has  been  stated 
frequently,  and  is  so  understood  and  maintained  in 
the  county,  that  at  no  time  in  the  past  has  the 
opposition  to  Democracy  succeeded  in  carrying  an 
election;  but  when  the  tally-sheets,  which  are  yet 
in  existence,  though  yellow  and  faded  by  the  pas- 
sage of  time,  are  examined  a  different  tale  is 
told.  That  the  county,  even  from  its  organization 
in  1839,  when  out  in  full  strength,  may  have  been 
Democratic,  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  at  two 
general  elections  the  Democratic  candidates  have 
been  retired  by  small  majorities.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  known  that  the  full  Democratic 
strength  was  not  out.  Still,  owing  to  the  small 
majority  which  the  successful  candidates  received 
there  is  serious  doubt  whether  the  Whigs,  in  view 
of  the  superior  numerical  strength,  were  justly  en- 
titled to  their  victory. 

At  the  gubernatorial  election  in  August,  1840, 
when  the  polls  were  opened  in  but  two  townships 
in  the  county,  and  when  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Whigs  over  the  approaching  presidential  cam- 
paign! was  deep  and  universal,  the  county  went 
Whig  by  the  following  small  majority:  For  Gov- 
ernor, T.  A.  Howard,  Democrat,  58;  Samuel  Big- 
ger, Whig,  59.  In  1843,  at  the  August  election, 
the  following  votes  were  cast:  Samuel  Bigger, 
Whig,  99;  James  Whitcomb,  Democrat,  95.  In  the 
presidential  election  of  1840  we  find  that  60  votes 
were  cast  for  Van  Buren,  Democrat,  and  51  for 
Harrison,  Whig.  In  the  election  of  1860  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  Democrat,  received  632  votes;  Lin- 
coln, 488.  In  1864  McClellan  received  718,  while 
Lincoln  received  only  488.  In  the  election  of  1868 
Seymour  received  928  and  Grant,  Republican,  648. 
In  the  election  of  1880  Hancock  received  1,004 
votes;  Garfield,  Republican,  897.  Since  that  time 
Pulaski  county  has  always  been  placed  in  the 
Democratic  lists,  the  majorities  running  from  150 
to  700. 

This  county  has  never  produced  a  national  nor 
a  state  officer.  Medary  M.  Hathaway  was  at  one 
time  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Congress  against 
A.  L.  Brick  from  the  Thirteenth  Congressional 
District,  but  on  account  of  the  overwhelming  Re- 
publican majority  in  St.  Joseph  county,  was  de- 
feated. 

Former   Superintendent  of   Schools  J.   H.   Red- 


dick  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  of  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  but  was  de- 
feated in  convention. 

Judge  George  L.  Burson  was  an  elector  when 
Tilden  was  a  candidate  for  President. 

The  following  men  were  considered  as  leaders 
for  the  party  from  1880  to  1900:  M.  M.  Hatha- 
way, Joseph  Steis  and  Henry  Steis.  J.  H.  Reddick, 
T.  B.  Hedges,  John  L.  Burton,  Judge  Burson,  J.  J. 
Gorrell,  Drs.  G.  W.  and  H.  W.  Thompson,  and 
many  others  from  various  parts  of  the  county 
whose  names  cannot  be  recalled. 

The  recent  leaders  of  the  party  were  M.  M. 
Hathaway,  Joseph  Steis  and  Henry  Steis,  all  of 
whom  are  deceased,  and  the  present  leaders  are 
Ellis  Rees,  W.  B.  Henry,  T.  B.  Hedges.  William 
Wendt,  H.  L.  Rogers,  Peter  Follmar,  J.  J.  Blas- 
sar,  J.  D.  Gettinger,  Burt  Burson,  Clarence  Paul, 
E.  C.  and  J.  J.  Gorrell,  A.  C.  James,  Frank  Dukes, 
William  March,  D.  E.  Skillen,  E.  S.  Deck,  John 
Burton  and  John  C.  Reidelbach,  together  with 
many  others,  whose  loyalty  to  the  party  has 
never  been  questioned. 

Among  the  Democratic  legislators  of  this  county 
we  find  the  following  enrolled  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives: E.  P.  Washburn,  Peter  Follmar, 
George  L.  Burson  and  Felix  Thomas,  and  in  the 
Senate  Dr.  H.  W.  Thompson,  William  C.  Barnett 
and  John  C.  Reidelbach. 

The  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  county,  state  and 
nation  has  always  been  shown  by  the  Democracy 
of  Pulaski  county.  As  long  as  the  party  lasts  that 
same  spirit  will  be  shown.  She  has  faced  defeat 
with  that  unflinching  courage  that  made  her  pre- 
pare for  the  next  contest;  her  victories  have  al- 
ways been  celebrated  with  that  manner  that  made 
her  friends  rather  than  enemies. 

Homer  L.  Rogers  was  born  September  30,  1885, 
on  a  farm  in  Starke  county,  where  he  was  reared, 
attending  the  county  schools  and  graduating  from 
the  Knox  High  School  in  1904.  He  became  a  stu- 
dent at  Valparaiso  University  and  the  Indiana 
State  Normal  School,  after  which  he  taught  for 
five  years  and  was  elected  county  superintendent 
of  schools  of  Pulaski  county  December  26,  1908, 
which  position  he  held  until  August,  1917,  when 
he  voluntarily  retired  and  moved  to  his  farm. 

Mr.  Rogers  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
state  convention  in  1912  and  1914. 

He  is  married  and  has  one  child. 

Mr.  Rogers  is  affiliated  with  the  Masons  and 
Odd  P'ellows  and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church. 


(745) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
PUTNAM  COUNTY 

Bv   Courtland  P.  Gillen 


IT  seems  that  the  teiritcry  now  comprising 
Putnam  county  was  originally  a  part  of  Knox 
county,  which  in  the  early  history  of  Indiana, 
extended  as  far  north  a,  the  northern  boundary 
of  what  is  now  Putnam  and  Parke  counties.  In 
1816  the  counties  of  Daviess  and  Sullivan  were 
formed  out  cf  the  northern  part  of  Knox  county. 
Later,  on  January  21,  1818,  Vigo  county  was 
foimed  out  of  territory  cut  off  from  Sullivan  coun- 
ty, and  on  December  21  of  the  same  year  Owen 
county  was  cut  out  of  territory  then  comprising 
the  counties  of  Daviess  and  Sullivan.  Before  the 
close  of  the  year  1821,  Putnam  county  was  formed 
out  of  a  part  of  Vigo  and  Owen.  On  December 
21,  1822,  the  boundary  Vnes  of  Putnam  county 
were  changed  to  the  present  lines,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Mill  Creek  township,  which  lies  north- 
west of  Eel  river  in  Townships  13  and  14  north, 
in  Range  2  west  of  the  second  prime  meridian, 
which  was  annexed  from  Morgan  county  in  March, 
1861. 

Putnam  county  was,  frcm  its  organization  in 
1822,  inclined  to  the  support  of  the  Demociatic 
party.  The  voting  population  crystallized  on  par- 
ty lines  quite  early  in  the  forties.  While  the  ma- 
jority of  the  voters  were  Democrats  a  Whig  was 
occasionally  elected.  The  first  Clerk,  Arthur  Mc- 
Gaughey,  was  a  Whig,  but  since  his  day  there  has 
been  an  unbroken  line  of  Democratic  Clerks,  ex- 
cept in  1850  to  18.55  the  office  was  held  by  a  Whig. 
In  the  early  -It'-,  the  Sheriff's  and  Treasurer's 
offices  were  occasionally  captured  by  the  Whigs, 
and  s'nce  1860  the  Treasurer's  office  has  been  oc- 
cupied four  terms  by  Republicans.  With  these 
and  a  few  minor  exceptions  Putnam  county  offices 
have  always  been  occupied  by  Democrats,  and  it 
is  to  be  said  to  the  credit  of  Putnam  county  that 
she  has  never  failed  since  1852  to  return  a  Demo- 
cratic plurality  or  majority  for  a  Democratic  can- 
didate for  Governor  of  the  State  or  President  of 
the  United  States. 

Unfortunately,  no  records  have  been  kept  of 
the  various  Democratic  county  organizations  in 
the  early  days;  not  as  much  importance  attached 
to  the  county  chairman  and  his  executive  com- 
mittee as  at  present.  The  voting  population  was 
much  less  and  each  voter  was  wide  awake  and 
made  himself  a  committee  of  one  to  further  the 
principles  in  which  he  believed  and  for  which  he 
so  zealously  fought. 

The  Democrats  who  have  served  as  county 
chairmen    of   the    Democratic    party   for   Putnam 


county  since  1860,  and  within  the  memory  of  some 
of  the  old-time  Demociats  now  living,  are  as  fol- 
lows, in  the  order  named:  Clmton  Wails,  Melvin 
McKee.  Henrv  B.  Mr.rtin,  Moses  Lewman,  M.  D. 
Bridges,  Willis  G.  Neff,  James  J.  Smiley,  Harri- 
son M.  Randel,  Pressly  0.  Colliver,  Jacob  C.  Rat- 
cliff,  John  R.  Gordon,  Frank  D.  Ader,  William  B. 
Vestal,  John  F.  Cooper,  Alec  A.  Lane,  Arthur  J. 
Hamrick  and  Wm.  M.  Sutherlin,  who  is  the  pres- 
ent county  chairman. 

Among  many  prom'nent  Demociats  of  Putnam 
county  there  stands  the  name  of  Courtland  C. 
Matson,  without  special' mention  of  whom  the 
history  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Putnam  county 
would  not  be  complete.  Colonel  Matson,  as  he  is 
more  familiarly  known,  was  chairman  of  the  Dem- 
ociatic Stato  Committee  in  1878  and  as  such  did 
great  work  for  his  party.  In  1881,  1883,  1885  and 
]887  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the  Fifth 
Congressional  District  of  Indiana,  and  served  his 
constituents  with  much  credit.  He  took  a  great 
interest  in  pensioning  the  old  soldier,  and  while 
in  Congress  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
invalid  pensions.  In  the  forty-ninth  session  he 
introduced  a  bill  and  had  it  passed  under  a  sus- 
pension of  the  rules,  known  as  the  "Dependent 
Pension"  bill.  In  1888  he  received  the  nomination 
for  Governor  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  but  was  de- 
feated in  the  election.  He  served  on  the  Board 
of  State  Tax  Commissioners  from  1908  to  1912 
under  appointment  of  Governor  Thomas  R.  Mar- 
shall. 

The  Democracy  of  Putnam  county  has  not  been 
so  fortunate  in  electing  Democrats  to  the  State 
Senate  as  it  has  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
This  has  been  due  to  the  fact  that  Putnam  county 
has  nearly  always  been  joined  with  an  adjoining- 
county  whos?  Republican  majority  was  always 
large  enough  to  offset  the  Democratic  majority 
in  Putnam,  consequently  the  joint  Senators  have 
been  mostly  Republican.  Just  two  Democrats 
have  been  elected  to  the  State  Senate  from  Put- 
nam county:  Archibald  Johnson,  who  served  from 
1857  to  1871,  and  Francis  C.  Tilden,  who  served 
from  1908  to  1912. 

That  Putnam  county  is  a  banner  Democratic 
county  will  be  seen  from  the  long  list  of  members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  As- 
sembly elected  from,  that  county.  The  names  of 
the  Demociatic  Representatives  and  the  order  in 
which  they  served  are  as  follows: 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


1831-32.  Henry  Secrest. 

1832-33.  John  McNary. 

1835-36.   Daniel  Harrah. 

1838-39.  Joseph  F.  Farley  and  John  McNary. 

1840-41.  Daniel  Harrah. 

1842-43.  William  D.  Allen,  John  Reel. 

1848-49.  William  D.  Allen,  Archibald  Johnson. 

1845-47.  Henry  Secrest. 

1850-51.  Bradford  Glazebrook,  Archibald  John- 
son. 

1857.        William  F.  McGinnis. 

1863.        Austin  M.  Puett. 

1865-67.  Austin  M.  Puett,  Samuel  Colliver. 

1869-71.  Willis  G.   Neff. 

1873.         Weller  B.  Smith. 

1875.        James  G.  Edwards. 

1877.        George  W.  Priest. 

1879.        Russell  Allen. 

1881-83.  Willis  G.  NeflF. 

1883-87.  John  R.  Gordon. 

1889-91.  Frank  D.  Ader. 

1893.         John  Q.  Vermillion. 

1897-01.  John  H.  James. 

1903-05.  Jackson  Boyd. 

1907-09.  David  B.  Hostetter. 

1911-13.  John  B.  McCabe. 

1915-17.  Andrew  E.  Durham. 

There  has  been  no  elective  State  office  filled  by 
a  Democrat  from  Putnam  county. 

James  Athey,  the  first  white  person  to  settle  ir. 
the  county,  1818,  was  a  Democrat.  He,  together 
with  many  more  of  the  early  settlers,  were  Demo- 
crats, and  it  was  from  these  that  most  of  the 
Democrats  of  today  in  Putnam  county  have  de- 
.=cended.  Among  the  old-time  Democrats  may  be 
mentioned  the  following:  Edward  Silvey,  George 
and  Harvey  Jeffries,  Jacob  Crosby,  William  Mil- 
ler, Thomas  Batman,  Joseph  Lafollett,  Jesse 
Hymer,  Philip  Carpenter,  William  Sutherlin,  John 
Fosher,  Edward  Newgent,  Eli  Brackney,  Andrew 
Sigler,  John  Sigler,  Thomas  Heady,  William  Ran- 
dall, William  Todd,  Samuel  Shinn,  Thomas  Jack- 
son, James  Grooms,  John  Matson,  Henry  Secrest, 
Samuel  Wright,  John  Reel,  Thomas  McCullough, 
Daniel  Hepler,  George  Hurst,  Absalom  Hurst, 
Thomas  Broadstreet,  Melville  McHaffie,  Judge  De- 
lano R.  Eckles,  Judge  Solon  Turman,  James  J. 
Smiley,  Willis  G.  Nefl',  Tarvin  C.  Grooms,  H.  M. 
Randel,  Elijah  Grantham,  Lewis  H.  Stewart,  Solo- 


mon Mar.^hall  and  many  others  just  as  prominent 
in  party  affairs,  but  who  cannot  be  named  hero 
for  lack  of  space. 

The  first  Democratic  newspaper  was  the 
I'rcsi,  published  at  Greencastle,  the  county  seat, 
which  was  established  in  18.'i8  by  Howard  Briggs. 
He  continued  its  publication  until  1887  when  it 
was  purchased  by  Frank  A.  Arnold  who  was  then 
publishing  the  Star,  and  who  merged  the  two 
under  the  name  of  the  Star-Press.  The  Star 
had  originally  been  founded  by  Mr.  Arnold  and 
Henry  J.  Feltus  in  May,  1874,  as  an  independent 
paper.  When  the  Star  and  Press  were  united  it 
was  announced  that  the  paper  would  support  the 
principles  oi  the  Democratic  party.  In  1903  it 
was  consolidated  with  the  Democrat,  a  weekly 
established  by  H.  B.  Martin  about  1893,  and  sub- 
sequently owned  by  F.  D.  Ader  and  R.  P.  Car- 
penter in  succession,  after  which  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  Star  and  Democrat.  A  short 
time  after  Mr.  Carpenter  disposed  of  his  holdings 
in  the  paper  to  Charles  J.  Arnold,  who  is  now  sole 
owner  and  editor  and  publishes  the  paper  weekly 
under  the  title  of  Herald-Democrat.  Mr.  Arnold 
also  publishes  a  daily  called  the  Herald.  It  is 
said  that  Putnam  county  has  never  failed  to  re- 
turn a  plurality  for  a  Democratic  candidate  for 
President.  At  least  this  is  true  since  the  election 
of  James  Buchanan  to  the  Presidency,  for  whom 
a  plurality  of  5.37  was  given.  Other  Democratic 
Presidents,  of  whom  we  have  any  record,  gave 
Grover  Cleveland,  in  1888,  445  plurality,  and  in 
1892,  465  plurality.  In  1912  she  gave  a  plurality 
to  Woodrow  Wilson  of  1,568  votes. 

The  present  office  holders  are  all  Democrats 
and  arc  as  follows:  James  P.  Hughes,  Judge; 
Courtlpnd  C.  Giilen,  Prosecuting  Attorney;  An- 
drew E.  Durham,  Representative;  Harry  W. 
Moore,  Clerk  Putnam  Circuit  Court;  Joe  M.  Al- 
len, Auditor;  Howard  M.  Harris,  Sheriff;  Henry 
H.  Runyan,  Treasurer;  John  W.  Shannon,  Record- 
er; Sylvan  A.  Vermilion,  Assessor;  L.  G.  Wright, 
Superintendent  of  Schools;  Arthur  Plummer, 
Surveyor;  J.  C.  McCurry,  Coroner;  Charles  W. 
Daggy,  H.  Witt  Sutherlin  and  Reason  E.  Larkin, 
Board  of  Commissioners;  John  H.  James,  County 
Attorney;  Dr.  Jerome  M.  King,  County  Health 
Officer;  Frank  Davis,  Clay  Bridges,  John  Sinclair, 
E.  McG.  Walls,  David  Skelton,  J.  B.  Burris  and 
Ora  Day,  members  County  Council. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
RANDOLPH  COUNTY 

]Jy  J.  L.  Smith 


THE  county  of  Randolph  was  organized  Jan- 
uary 12,  1818,  thirteen  months  after  the  ad- 
mission of  the  State  of  Indiana  into  the 
Federal  union.  Prior  to  this  date,  the  land  com- 
prising- this  county  and  a  vast  deal  more  to  the 
northward  and  westward  had  been  a  part  of  the 
county  of  Wayne.  After  the  organization  was 
effected,  the  northern  point  extended  as  far  as 
the  present  city  of  Fort  Wayne.  Indeed,  the  in- 
corporation papers  of  that  prosperous  city  are  to 
be  found  in  the  records  at  Winchester.  The  early 
comers  were  settlers  from  the  Carolinas,  Mary- 
land and  Virginia.  The  name  of  the  county  was 
bestowed  upon  it  by  some  of  the  pioneers  in  honor 
of  Randolph  county,  North  Carolina,  their  old 
home. 

A  glance  backward  through  the  vistas  of  one 
hundred  jears  gives  one  a  thrill  of  inspiration — 
of  fspiration.  James  Monroe  was  then  Presi- 
dent. The  "era  of  good  feeling"  had  broken 
down  all  partisan  barriers.  The  party  of  Jeffer- 
son, Madison  and  Monroe  was  supreme.  They 
called  themselves  Republicans  throughout  the  first 
two  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century.  During 
Monroe's  second  term  the  party  was  called  Dem- 
ocratic-Republican, and  a  little  later  the  party 
name  of  Democrat  became  firmly  established. 

Men  of  fine  mettle,  rugged  in  physique,  great 
in  intellect,  forceful  in  character,  were  dominat- 
ing factors  in  ih^  young  republic.  President 
Monroe  surrounded  himself  with  men  of  unques- 
tioned greatness.  John  Quincy  Adams,  past 
master  of  diplomacy,  who  had  been  called  "Wash- 
higton's  Boy  Minister,"  was  made  Secretary  of 
State,  having  renounced  Hamiltonian  ideas.  Wil- 
liam H.  Crawford,  a  man  of  sterling  patriotism 
and  fluent  tongue,  was  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury. John  C.  Calhoun,  the  master  logician,  was 
Secretary  of  War.  William  Wirt,  brilliant  in 
oratory  and  the  author  of  the  "Life  of  Patrick 
Henry,"  was  Attorney-General. 

Henry  Clay  was  speaker  of  the  House  and  was 
acting  in  harmony  with  the  party  in  power.  Our 
great  Chief  Justice,  John  Marshall,  famed  also  as 
author  of  an  extended  "Life  of  Washington,"  was 
at  the  head  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  although 
a  former  Federalist,  was  now  in  concord  with 
Democratic  principles.  Daniel  Webster  had  been 
four  years  in  Congress,  and  at  this  period  was 
making  learned  addresses,  setting  forth  the  dire 
evils  resulting  to  the  people  frorn  such  class  of 


legislation  as  was  embodied  in  the  doctrine  of 
the  protective  tariff. 

These  great  men  were  all  imbued  with  an  un- 
wavering zeal  to  make  good  the  declarations  of 
the  preamble  to  the  Constitution.  The  star  of 
each  man  was  not  yet  midway  to  its  zenith.  An- 
drew Jackson  was  the  idol  of  heroism — the  soldier 
behind  the  cotton  bales  at  New  Orleans,  who 
brought  low  the  banner  of  the  haughty  Packen- 
ham,  and  at  th's  particular  time  was  driving  the 
Seminoles  into  the  Everglades  of  Florida. 

In  1818  a  new  flag  was  authorized  by  Congress, 
providing  for  thirteen  bars  and  a  star  for  each 
State.  Indiana's  star  was  there.  William  Hen- 
dricks was  our  sole  representative  in  the  lower 
House,  and  James  Noble  and  Waller  Taylor  were 
the  United  S'ates  Senators.  All  were  Democrats. 
The  county  remained  under  Democratic  control 
until  the  rise  of  the  Whig  party  in  1840. 

Dur'ng  those  years  party  spirit  was  but  little 
in  evidence  among  the  pioneers  of  Randolph  coun- 
ty. They  thought  much  more  of  carving  out 
habitable  homes  for  their  families  than  they  did 
of  political  affairs.  There  was  little  to  divide 
the  voters.  Hamilton's  concentration  idea  and 
Jefferson's  "rule  of  the  people"  were  practically 
the  only  antagonisms  in  the  young  Republic.  The 
slavery  question  was  just  beginning  to  effervesce. 
When  Monroe  was  re-elected  in  1820  there  was 
only  one  electoral  vote  cast  against  him,  and  that 
was  cast  by  an  elector  from  New  Hampshire,  who 
sad  that  he  so  voted  to  keep  any  other  candidate 
for  President  from  rivaling  Washington. 

Men  were  usually  elected  to  county  offices  with- 
out references  to  party  fealty,  although  the  great- 
er number  of  them,  if  pressed  for  their  views, 
would  have  proclaimed  themselves  disciples  of 
Jefferson. 

Charles  Conway,  an  avowed  Democrat,  was  the 
first  clerk  of  the  court  elected  in  1818.  He  was 
regularly  re-elected  and  served  until  1839,  per- 
forming not  only  the  duties  of  that  office,  but  the 
duties  that  now  belong  to  the  auditor's  office,  and 
also  of  the  recorder's  office  as  well.  The  same 
rule  of  service  was  frequent  with  other  county 
offices,  particularly  the  county  commissioners. 

Ephraim  Overman  was  the  first  representative 
to  the  General  Assembly,  serving  jointly  for 
Wayne  county,  with  Joseph  Holman  and  John 
Scott.  In  1827  Daniel  Worth  was  the  sole  mem- 
ber from  Randolph,  but  also  representing  Allen 
county  and   the   territory  north   of  Madison   and 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


Hamilton  counties  not  attached  elsewhere.  An- 
drew Aker,  in  1831,  was  the  first  to  represent 
Randolph  county  in  the  Legislature.  In  1834 
Andrew  Aker  represented  Randolph,  Delaware 
and  Grant  counties  in  the  State  Senate.  In  1840 
his  brother,  Michael  Aker,  was  State  Senator. 
The  Aker  families  were  uncompromising:  Jack- 
sonians  in  that  day. 

In  1842  Edward  Edger,  another  of  the  dyed-in- 
the-wool  type  of  Democrats,  was  chosen  repre- 
sentative from  Randolph  county,  and  that  sturdy 
yeoman  started  from  Deerfield  early  in  Decem- 
ber and  walked  all  the  way  to  Indianapolis  to 
attend  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly.  He 
was  the  father  of  Edward  Shields  Edger,  present 
postmaster  of  Winchester,  the  latter  having  been 
born  while  the  father  was  serving  the  State,  and 
the  babe  was  almost  three  months  old  before  the 
father  saw  him.  In  passing  let  us  be  reminded 
that  the  present  Governor  of  Indiana,  the  Hon. 
James  P.  Goodrich,  is  a  grandson  of  that  noble 
old  Democrat. 

Among  the  ablest  men  of  affairs  in  the  twenties 
and  thirties  were  the  judges  of  the  courts,  who 
made  their  e.xtended  circuits  on  horseback.  No 
more  renowned  members  of  the  Judiciary  could 
have  been  found  in  the  entire  Northwest  Terri- 
tory than  the  men  who  held  courts  in  Wayne  and 
Randolph  countie.s  in  those  days.  A  few  of  them 
may  be  named  here:  John  Watts,  Miles  C.  Eg- 
gleston,  Samuel  Bigger,  Isaac  Blackford,  John 
Sample,  Charles  H.  Test,  Oliver  H.  Smith,  Caleb 
B.  Smith  and  Jeremiah  Smith.  All  of  these  men 
were  admitted  to  the  Randolph  county  bar,  and 
practiced  and  served  as  either  prosecuting  attor- 
ney or  judge.  Few  of  the  foregoing  were  resi- 
dents of  the  county.  Jeremiah  Smith  was  an  ex- 
ception, but  they  all  exerted  a  marked  influence 
on  public  affairs  in  the  county. 

Oliver  Hampton  Smith  was  admitted  to  the 
Randolph  county  bar  in  1825.  He  served  as  pros- 
ecuting attorney  and  also  as  judge  for  several 
years.  He  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  in 
1794,  and  came  to  Wayne  county  with  his  parents 
in  1817.  He  served  in  the  State  Legislature  in 
1827;  was  elected  to  Congress  as  a  Jackson  Demo- 
crat. In  1836,  however,  he  united  with  the  Whig 
party  and  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate. After  his  term  expired  he  removed  to  In- 
dianapolis and  engaged  largely  in  railroad  enter- 
piises.  He  was  ono  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the 
Indianapolis  and  Bellefontaine  railroad,  the  old 
Bee  Line,  now  a  branch  of  the  New  York  Central 
from  Cleveland  to  Indianapolis.  In  1834  he  pub- 
lished "Recollections  of  a  Congressional  Life," 
and  in  18.57  his  "Early  Indiana  Trials,  Sketches 
and  Reminiscences"  was  published  after  first  ap- 


pearing in  the  columns  of  the  hididnai/o'.i.'i  .Jom- 
nal.  This  volume  contains  many  interesting  his- 
torical facts  about  Randolph  county,  men  and 
measures  paramount  in  those  pioneer  days.  Sen- 
ator Smith  died  in  Indianapolis  in  1859. 

Charles  H.  Test  was  admitted  to  the  Randolph 
county  bar  in  1827.  He  was  also  prosecuting  at- 
torney by  judicial  appointment.  His  home  was 
in  Centerville,  Wayne  county,  while  serving  in 
this  district.  He  was  a  circuit  judge  from  1830 
to  1838.  Later  he  moved  to  White  county.  He 
served  several  different  counties  in  the  State  Leg- 
islature, was  also  a  judge  of  the  Lafayette  Cir- 
cuit Court.  He  was  Secretary  of  State  from  1849 
to  1853.  He  finally  removed  to  Indianapolis,  and 
practiced  law  successfully  many  years. 

Caleb  B.  Smith  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  this 
county  in  1829.  He  was  also  a  prosecuting  at- 
torney for  this  circuit.  His  home  was  at  Con- 
nersville.  In  1832  he  established  the  Connersville 
Sentinel.  In  1834  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  General  Assembly,  and  served  five  terms. 
From  1843  to  1849  he  served  in  Congress  as  a 
Whig.  Later  removing  to  Indianapolis  he  was 
chosen  Secretary  of  the  Interior  by  President 
Lincoln.  He  resigned  this  position  in  December, 
1862,  to  become  circuit  judge  for  Indiana.  He 
died  at  Indianapolis  in  January,  1864. 

Jeremiah  Smith,  familiarly  called  "Jere,"  was 
conspicuous  as  a  man  of  affairs  as  well  as  a  fine 
lawyer.  He  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  but 
in  early  youth  came  with  his  parents  and  settled 
in  Randolph  county  in  1817,  which,  by  the  way, 
was  a  year  before  the  county  was  organized.  He 
held  various  public  oifices  and  filled  all  of  them 
with  efficient  service.  He  was  by  turns  county 
surveyor,  county  treasurer,  prosecuting  attorney, 
school  exar.iiner  and  circuit  judge  two  separate 
terms,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  was  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer.  He  was  associated  with  Oliver 
H.  Smith  in  the  building  of  the  Indianapolis  and 
Bellefontaine  Railroad,  later  known  as  Indianapolis 
and  Cleveland  Straight  Line  Railroad.  He  became 
president  of  this  road  and  also  president  of  the 
Cincinnati,  Union  and  Fort  Wayne  road.  He  was 
owner  of  the  land  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Union 
City,  Indiana.  Most  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Win- 
chester. He  died  in  1874,  leaving  six  sons  and 
two  daughters.  The  sons  have  always  been  active 
in  promoting  the  cause  of  Democracy. 

Beattie  McClelland,  a  native  of  the  Emerald 
Isle,  came  to  Randolph  county  in  early  manhood. 
Ho  was  admitted  to  the  Randolph  county  bar  in 
1839.  He  was  made  probate  judge  in  1842,  serv- 
ing with  credit  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  In 
1851  he  was  chosen  as  Randolph's  member  of  the 
State    Constitutional     Convention.       In     1861     he 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


moved  to  Columbus,  Indiana,  and  later  served  as 
judge  of  Bartholomew  county.  He  was  a  forceful 
speaker  and  entertaining  because  of  his  Irish  wit. 

Smith  Elkins  was  another  of  the  prominent 
judges  of  the  period,  who  had  great  force  of  char- 
acter, as  well  as  judicial  poise.  He  served  one 
term  as  probate  judge. 

Edmund  B.  Goodrich,  grandfather  of  Governor 
James  P.  Goodrich  on  the  paternal  side,  was  also 
a  sterling  Democrat,  who  came  from  Virginia  in 
1831,  and  settled  in  Randolph  county.  He  was 
prominent  as  an  attorney  and  was  elected  probate 
judge  in  1836,  serving  six  years.  He  was  active 
in  business  affairs,  as  well  as  in  matters  legal 
and  political. 

Randolph  county  wa.';  always  anti-slavery  and 
the  Friends  Church,  strong  in  the  same  regard, 
was  one  of  the  foremost  factors  in  molding  pub- 
lic sentiment  against  slavery.  With  the  rise  of 
the  Whig  party,  and  later  the  Republican  party, 
Democrats  of  prominence  became  few  and  far 
between.  Indeed,  many  Democrats  in  this  part 
of  the  country  became  strong  Union  men,  and  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War  and  afterward,  many  were  al- 
lied with  the  party  of  Lincoln.  Some  became 
Free-Soilers,  and  among  the  stanchest  remained 
Democratic  followers  of  Douglas,  who  also  stood 
for  the  piescrvation  of  the  Union. 

After  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War — from 
1860  to  1912 — no  Democrat  was  elected  to  a  coun- 
ty office.  Consequently,  Democrats  who  had  as- 
pii-ations  to  enter  public  life  sought  more  eon- 
genial  climates,  if  their  political  principles  were 
not  reversible.  Republican  majorities  kept  mount- 
ing ever  higher  until  they  attained  the  ratio  of 
about  three  to  one.  The  Republican  party  of  the 
county  waxed  mighty,  and  eventually  became  a 
dominant  factor  in  State  politics,  and  many  promi- 
nent characters  went  forward  to  State  and  Na- 
tional positions.  With  political  power  came  dom- 
ineering arrogance  toward  the  minority.  With- 
out hope  of  any  victory  whatever,  the  Democracy 
of  Randolph  always  put  up  its  ticket  for  every 
contest.  The  party  in  the  county  is  nothing,  if 
not  militant.  The  fathers  and  sons  of  such  fami- 
lies as  the  Smiths,  the  Akers,  the  Summers,  the 
Davis',  the  Lasleys,  the  Shockneys,  Arbogasts, 
Hindsleys,  Fields,  Sipes  and  Walls,  not  to  mention 
others,  have  always  gone  into  the  tournament 
with  banners  flying. 

Isaac  Pusey  Gray  came  to  Randolph  county  in 
1855,  and  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Union 
City  in  1858.  He  served  in  the  Civil  War  as  a 
colonel  of  the  4th  Indiana  cavalry.  He  was  first 
affiliated  with  the  Republican  party,  served  in  the 
State  Senate  from  1868  to  1872,  and  the  latter 
year  became  an  active  member  of  the  Democratic 
party.     In   1876  he   was   elected   Lieutenant-Gov- 


ernor with  James  D.  Williams.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  year  1880,  Governor  Williams  died  and  Mr. 
Gray  became  acting  Governor  to  the  end  of  the 
term.  In  1884  Governor  Gray  was  elected,  serv- 
ing the  full  term.  He  died  while  minister  to 
Mexico,  in  1S95,  and  his  body  was  brought  back 
to  Randolph  county  and  reposes  within  a  beauti- 
ful mausoleum  at  Union  City.  This  history  else- 
where has  a  full  report  of  his  career. 

Governor  Gray's  two  sons,  Pierre  and  Bayard, 
were  men  of  character  and  lived  the  Democratic 
principles  in  which  they  believed.  Bayard  was 
the  owner  and  publisher  of  a  Democratic  paper 
at  Frankfort,  Indiana,  for  several  years.  Pierre 
becam.e  a  successful  attorney  at  Indianapolis. 

John  Enos  Neff'  studied  law  with  Thomas  M. 
Browne.  In  1874  he  was  elected  Secretary  of 
State  and  re-elected  in  1876.  After  his  term  of 
office  he  returned  to  Winchester  and  took  up  the 
practice  of  law  again,  with  Martin  B.  Miller,  but 
death  cut  short  what  promised  to  be  a  brilliant 
career  soon  afterward.  His  Democracy  was  of  the 
irrefragable  brand;  and  he  doffed  his  hat  to  no 
Republican  Gesler. 

Martin  B.  Miller  was  admitted  to  the  bar  here 
in  1859,  practicing  with  Jeremiah  Smith.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he  went  forth  to  fight 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  a  Douglas 
Democrat,  ever  remaining  loyal  to  his  convictions. 
At  the  conclusion  of  that  fratricidal  conflict  he 
was  mustered  out  with  the  rank  of  brevet  colonel. 
He  practiced  law  in  Winchester  for  many  years 
with  splendid  success.  In  1893  President  Cleve- 
land appointed  him  to  a  responsible  position  in 
the  Pension  Bureau  at  Washington,  which  place 
he  retained  until  his  death  in  1910. 

Levi  W.  Study  was  another  Democratic  lawyer 
who  fought  for  his  party  most  zealously  and  in- 
defatigably,  but  never  held  a  public  office.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1872,  and  achieved 
marked  success.  But  in  1886  he  died,  cutting  off 
what  promised  to  be  a  splendid  legal  career.  Ralph 
Study,  a  son,  is  now  a  prominent  member  of  the 
legal  fraternity  in  New  York  City. 

Garland  D.  Williamson,  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  came  to 
Winchester  and  began  the  practice  of  the  lav/  in 
1880.  In  1894  he  was  appointed  circuit  judge  by 
Governor  Claude  Matthews,  to  fill  a  vacancy  oc- 
casioned by  the  election  of  Judge  Leander  J. 
Monks  to  the  supreme  bench  of  the  State.  In 
1895  he  bought  the  Winchester  Democrat,  and 
conducted  it  several  months,  selling  out  to  J.  L. 
Smith  in  October  of  that  year.  Judge  William- 
son was  always  active  in  party  service  and  a  ju- 
dicious counselor.  The  arrogance  of  the  oppo- 
sition always  bumped  up  against  an  immovable 
obstruction   when   an   attempt  was   made  to   ride 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


over  him.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  at 
Ridgeville  by  President  Wilson  in  1913,  still  serv- 
ing with  commendable  faithfulness. 

Emerson  E.  McGriff,  now  judge  of  the  Jay  coun- 
ty Circuit  Court,  is  a  native  of  Randolph  county, 
and  began  the  practice  of  law  here  in  1885.  In 
the  same  year  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Isaac  P.  Gray  to  the  office  of  Prosecuting  Attor- 
ney, serving  until  the  election  in  1886.  In  1895 
Mr.  McGriff  moved  to  Portland,  Indiana,  where 
he  pursued  his  profession  with  honor  and  the 
confidence  of  his  clients  until  he  was  exalted  to 
the  bench  by  the  Democrats  of  Jay  county  in 
1916. 

Frederick  S.  Caldwell  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1890,  having  served  as  principal  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  Winchester  schools  prior  to  that 
time.  He  has  been  credited  as  being  one  of  the 
foremost  lawyers  of  Indiana,  and  for  many  years 
has  been  a  loyal  mainstay  of  his  party  in  the 
Democratic  county  organization.  He  was  appoint- 
ed to  the  Appellate  Court  in  1913,  by  Governor 
Samuel  M.  Ralston,  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term 
of  Judge  A.  A.  Adams;  and  was  nominated  and 
elected  by  the  Democratic  party  in  1914,  still 
serving  in  that  tribunal. 

At  intervals  during  the  period  of  the  Civil  War. 
the  Democrats  of  Randolph  county  established 
newspapers  in  Winchester  and  Union  City,  but 
the  tenure  of  the'r  existence  was  of  brief  dura- 
tion. It  was  not  until  1885  that  a  newspaper 
was  founded  that  has  enjoyed  continued  existence 
up  to  the  present  time.  This  was  the  Winchester 
Democrat,  now  at  its  greatest  height  in  worth 
and  influence.  The  paper  was  established  by  J. 
R.  Polk.  In  the  same  year  the  Ridgeville  Banner 
was  purchased  by  Mr.  Polk  and  consolidated  with 
the  Democrat.  A  few  jears  later  the  Democrat 
was  sold  to  Joseph  Goirell,  who  successfully 
edited  it  until  1893  when  he  sold  it  to  Lew  G. 
Ellingham.  Mr.  Gorrell  went  from  here  to  Wina- 
mac,  Ind.,  and  bought  the  Winamac  Democrat, 
which  he  still  publishes.  Mr.  Ellingham  published 
the  Democrat  here  until  the  latter  part  of  1894, 
when  he  removed  to  Adams  county  and  started 
the  Decatur  Democrat.  In  1910  and  1912  Mr. 
Ellingham  was  elected  Secretary  of  State,  and 
after  his  retirement  in  1915,  he  bought  a  half  in- 
terest in  the  Fort  Wayne  .Journal-Gazette,  which 
is  one  of  the  acknowledged  leaders  in  moulding 
public  op'nion  in  harmony  with  Democratic  ideal.=i. 

The  Fawcett  brothers  in  1894  brought  to  the 
county  another  plant  and  continued  the  Democrat, 
publishing  it  for  a  few  months,  later  selling  it  to 
Garland  D.  Williamson.  The  latter  pub'ished  it 
until  October,  1895,  when  it  was  sold  to  J.  L. 
Smith,  former  owner  of  the  Vermilion  County 
Democrat.    Mr.  Smith  put  in  an  entire  new  plant, 


and  conducted  the  paper  until  March,  1897,  when 
he  removed  to  Richmond,  Indiana,  and  became 
half  owner  of  the  Richmond  Sun.  Meanwhile,  the 
Democrat  was  conducted  by  three  of  four  pub- 
lishers in  1897  and  1898,  in  the  latter  yenr  becom- 
ing the  property  of  Alva  C.  Hindsley,  who  later 
served  as  deputy  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  office, 
under  Mi.  Ellingham.  Mr.  Hindsley  sold  the 
papei  tc  L.  C.  Rockwell  in  1911,  and  in  July  the 
same  year,  D.  W.  Callahan,  the  present  owner, 
purchased  the  plant.  For  many  years  the  Demo- 
crat was  the  only  paper  in  the  county  advocating 
JefFersonian  principles. 

In  1872  a  Democratic  paper  called  the  Inde- 
pendent was  started  at  Union  City  by  W.  R. 
Hedgepath,  and  advocated  the  election  of  Horace 
Greeley.  It  suspended  soon  after  the  election  of 
that  year. 

The  Union  City  Eagle  was  founded  in  1863  by 
L.  G.  Dines.  The  paper  was  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, undergoing  the  common  lot  of  most  county 
newspapers,  that  of  frequent  changes  of  owner- 
ship, passing  through  the  hands  of  half  a  dozen 
owner,,  until  1914,  when  its  politics  were  changed 
and  it  became  a  full-fledged  Democratic  papei 
under  the  control  of  Don  C.  Ward.  In  1915  Mr. 
Ward  became  postmaster  at  Union  City,  and  a 
stock  company  was  organized  to  conduct  the  pa- 
per, which  issues  both  a  daily  and  weekly  edi- 
tion. The  paper  was  instrumental  in  making 
Union  City  a  Democratic  municipality,  and  hold- 
ing control  now  for  more  than  six  years. 

Another  Democratic  paper  published  at  Union 
City,  called  the  Plaindealer,  was  established  by 
Stephen  M.  Wentworth  in  1877.  It  was  published 
for  about  six  years,  when  it  was  sold  and  consoli- 
dated with  another  local  plant,  and  Democracy 
was  left  without  an  organ.  At  the  present  time 
the  Winchester  Democrat  and  the  Union  City 
Eagle  are  stanch  defenders  of  the  faith  of  De- 
mocracy— ardent  backers  of  Woodrow  Wilson. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  no  Democratic  news- 
papers, prior  to  1885,  have  enjoyed  continuous 
existence,  it  is  impossible  to  get  any  correct  data 
as  to  the  organization  of  the  party  in  Randolph 
county  earlier  than  that  year.  Many  times  a  man 
was  chosen  for  chairman  who  served  merely  dur- 
ing the  campaign,  and  the  organization  was  only 
temporary.  With  a  Republican  opposition  three 
to  four  times  greater,  there  was  but  little  incen- 
tive to  maintain  an  organization.  In  1888  Sol  C. 
Brown  of  Ward  township  was  elected  county 
chairman.  Two  years  later  Frederick  S.  Cald- 
well was  chosen  and  served  two  years.  He  was 
followed  by  Erastus  C.  Lollar;  G.  D.  Williamson 
served  from  1892  to  1894;  Charles  C.  Smith 
served  in  1896  to  1898;  Clifton  M.  Kelley  from 
1898  to  1900;   Edward  M.  Semans  from  1900  to 


(  751  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


-19  16 


1904;  Alva  C.  Hindsley  from  1904  to  1910;  E.  S. 
Edger  from  1910  to  1915,  and  D.  W.  Callahan 
from  that  date  to  the  present  time. 

On  account  of  the  division  in  the  Republican 
party  brought  about  by  the  uprising  of  the  Pro- 
gressive party  in  1912,  the  Democrats  elected 
nearly  all  of  their  county  ticket  that  year,  the 
first  time  that  party  had  elected  a  candidate  since 
the  Civil  War.  The  Hon.  Clarence  S.  Pierce  of 
Union  City  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General 
Assembly  and  served  with  distinction  in  the 
session  of  1915.  Bert.  E.  Woodbury  was  elected 
Prosecuting  Attorney  for  the  25th  judicial  dis- 
trict, the  only  Democrat  ever  chosen  in  the  county 
to  that  office.  Joseph  C.  Gard  was  elected  county 
clerk,  and  is  still  faithfully  performing  the  duties 
of  the  office.  John  C.  Henning  has  served  two 
terms  as  sheriff  and  won  deserved  popularity  by 
his  ability  and  generous  impulses  of  heart  and 
hand.  William  W.  Smullen  and  Clarence  Mullen 
were  elected  as  county  commissioners,  serving 
out  their  terms  honorably  and  retiring  with  the 
esteem  of  all  the  people.  The  county  coroner, 
David  C.  Roney,  also  a  Democrat,  was  elected, 
but  on  account  of  ill  health  resigned  in  1913  and 
Dr.  Sater  Nixon  filled  out  the  term.  In  1914  the 
Democrats  elected  seven  of  the  twelve  township 
trustees  of  Randolph  county.  By  the  aid  of  the 
Democratic  votes,  also.  Judge  Theodore  Shockney, 
nominated  on  the  Progressive  ticket,  was  exalted 
to  the  circuit  court  bench,  where  he  is  serving 
the  people  of  the  county  with  marked  distinction, 
and  with  a  just  sense  of  equity  and  clearness  of 
judicial  vision. 

Contingent  upon  the  election  of  a  Democratic 
board  of  county  commissioners,  came  the  privilege 
of  appointing  numerous  other  men  to  office.  Dr. 
J.  H.  Moroney  was  appointed  as  secretary  of  the 
county  board  of  health.  Henry  Judy  was  appoint- 
ed superintendent  of  the  County  Infirmary.  Both 
of  these  officers  serve  four  years.  Robert  A. 
Jellison  was  appointed  road  superintendent.  Ab- 
ner  Davis  was  made  custodian  of  the  court  house. 
John  A.  Shockney  became  county  attorney  and 
Dr.  Clifton  M.  Kelley  physician  to  the  poor. 

Two  townships,  namely  Jackson  and  Ward, 
have  for  two  generations  been  strongly  Demo- 
cratic. In  these  the  Democrats  have  always 
elected  their  township  officers.     In  municipal  af- 


fairs Union  City  has  been  Democratic  for  ten  or 
twelve  years,  electing  mayors  and  a  majority  of 
the  members  of  the  city  council. 

Again  we  repeat  that  among  the  faithful  none 
are  more  faithful  than  those  who  stanchly  defend 
their  principles  against  tyrannical  majorities. 
They  have  met  the  bristling  phalanxes  of  Repub- 
lican opposition  and  have  gone  down  in  defeat 
"with  heads  bloody  but  unbowed."  With  the 
heroism  of  an  Arnold  Wilkenreid  they  have 
breasted  the  spears  of  the  serried  ranks  of  the 
army  of  special  privilege  and  came  back  to  the 
arena  again  to  battle. 

Jeffersonian  democracy  is  the  fruit  of  liberty. 
Its  creed  is  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Its 
pivotal  idea  is  equal  rights  to  all  men.  Govern- 
ment must  come  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned. Democracy  means  unimpeded  progress 
along  the  broadway  to  "life,  liberty  and  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness."  No  hereditary  bondsman  can 
be  a  Democrat.  No  sycophant,  no  mendicant,  no 
truckler,  no  hypocrite  can  utter  the  language  of 
Democracy.  It  is  not  spoken  by  autocrat  or  des- 
pot except  for  intrigue  and  chicanery.  Democracy 
is  made  counterfeit  when  the  self-seeker  feigns 
to  speak  for  "the  people."  By  treachery  he  at- 
tains tyranny.  The  golden  rule  embodies  the 
gospel  of  Democracy.  Every  man  must  be  grant- 
ed that  degree  of  equality  that  shall  enable  him 
to  be  what  God  intended  he  should  be.  These  are 
some  of  the  fundamental  ideals  that  actuate  the 
Democratic  sons  of  old  Randolph.  Talk  not  of 
Spartan  fortitude  when  courage  would  be  em- 
blazoned on  the  escutcheon  of  political  integrity 
— turn  to  Randolph's  Democratic  sons.  Leonidas 
at  Thermopylae  stood  for  savagery  to  the  death. 
Democrats  of  Randolph  stand  for  eternal  verities 
in  life  as  well  as  death. 

"They  never  fail  who  die 
In  a  great  cause;  the  block  may  soak  their  gore, 
Their  heads  may  sodden  in  the  sun;  their  limbs 
Be  strong  to  city  gates  and  castle  walls — 
But  still  their  spirits  walk  abroad.    Though  years 
Elapse,  and  others  share  as  dark  a  doom. 
They     but     augment     the     deep     and     sweeping 

thoughts. 
Which  overpower  all  others,  and  conduct 
The  world  at  last  to  freedom." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY 
RIPLEY  COUNTY 

By  Peter  Holzer 


OF 


THE  territory  of  Ripley  county  belongs  to 
the  Grouseland  purchase,  and  with  Dear- 
born, Ohio,  Switzerland,  Jennings  and  Jef- 
ferson counties,  was  in  the  possession  of  the 
whites  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  pres- 
ent century.  The  first  white  person  known  to 
have  been  in  the  county  was  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Ross.  He  wandered  up  Laughery  creek,  and 
after  reaching  the  mouth  of  a  little  branch  at  a 
point  on  this  stream  one  mile  east  of  the  present 
location  of  Versailles,  he  was  discovered  by  the 
Indians.  To  make  his  escape  he  ran  up  that  little 
creek,  which,  in  memory  of  this  occurrence,  has 
always  been  called  "Ross'  Run."  It  is  supposed 
by  some  of  the  old  citizens  that  this  man  Ross 
was  one  of  the  Archibald  Laughery  party  that 
were  attacked  by  Indians  in  1781  at  the  mouth  of 
Laughery  creek,  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio  river, 
within  the  boundary  of  the  present  Ohio  county. 
The  first  settlements  in  the  county  were  made 
in  Shelby  township  by  Daniel  and  Henry  Wooley, 
in  1814.  Daniel  entered  his  land  in  this  town- 
ship, near  Versailles,  but  he  did  not  come  and 
settle  on  it  until  1817.  Soon  after  Daniel  Wooley 
came  and  settled  in  Shelby  township,  followed 
shortly  after  by  Henry  Yater,  Jesse  Cole,  the 
Bartlett  and  Brown  families,  James  King,  P. 
Young,  John  Kirby,  James  McKaskey,  George 
Wagner,  John  McDowell  and  William  McLuser. 
These  all  came  before  the  close  of  the  year  1818. 
John  Snodgrass  was  the  first  settler  in  Franklin 
township.  He  came  in  1815,  before  the  close  of 
the  year.  Sanfred  Hawley,  Robertson  Gookins, 
Esquire  Robertson,  Philip  Newfarth,  Samuel 
Montgomery  and  John  Chamberland  had  settled 
here.  In  the  spring  of  1816  the  Wallace,  Shanes 
and  Delay  families  became  citizens  of  the  present 
Franklin  township.  A  settlement  was  made  in 
1815  in  Adams  township  by  Richard  Workman, 
Thomas  Sunman  and  several  families  of  McKees. 
At  a  later  date  George  Clark  and  Thomas  Sum- 
merville  also  settled  in  this  township.  Another 
settlement  was  made  about  the  same  time  in 
Laughery  township  by  a  man  named  Ball.  It  is 
supposed  that  he  came  in  the  spring  of  1815. 
Walter  Thackery  and  Robert  Birchfield  located 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year. 

The  first  settlement  in  Brown  township  was 
made  by  John  Herson  in  1815.  Before  the  close 
of  the  year  1818  the  following  early  settlers  were 
living  in  Brown  township:  Richard  Galaband, 
Moses   Roberts,    James    Curry,    A.    Young,    Ira 


Young,  Isaac  Paugh,  David  Runner,  Lewis  Mey- 
ers, Jacob  Hewit,  Frederick  Buba,  James  Ben- 
ham,  Thomas  Spencer,  John  Holgarth  and  Zebu- 
Ion  Brason.  The  latter  was  a  famous  hunter  and 
claimed  the  honor  of  killing  108  wolves  in  Ripley 
county. 

The  first  settler  in  Johnson  township,  about 
Versailles,  was  John  Hunter,  who  located  in  1816. 
Before  the  close  of  the  next  year  the  following 
persons  were  living  in  the  township:  Benjamin 
Purcell,  Thomas  Davis,  Thomas  Kern,  afterward 
Probate  Judge;  Charles  Lewis,  James  Muir, 
Thomas  Logiston,  Thomas  Goodrich  and  Garri- 
son Bossal.  In  1818  Henry  Yater,  Silas  Reed, 
James  Dickerson,  William  Holman,  Joseph  Mc- 
Cluska,  John  Rea — afterward  Sheriff  of  the  coun- 
ty; William  Holland,  Jacob  Kiser,  Colonel  Smith 
and  Presley  Gray  settled. 

Ripley  county  was  organized  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  of  1817-18  and  named  in  honor  of 
General  E.  W.  Ripley,  an  officer  of  the  war  of 
1812.  The  first  Circuit  Court  met  at  the  house 
of  Benjamin  Brown  at  New  Marion  on  the  23d 
of  July,  1818.  John  Test,  presiding  Judge  of 
the  Third  Judicial  Circuit,  and  John  Richey  and 
Thom.as  Currie,  Associate  Judges,  were  present. 
The  only  business  transacted  at  this  session  was 
the  adoption  of  a  county  seal. 

The  March  term,  1819,  of  the  Circuit  Court  was 
held  at  Versailles,  according  to  the  orders  made 
at  New  Marion,  at  the  July  session,  in  1818.  At 
this  term  John  Watts  appeared  and  presented  his 
commission  as  presiding  Judge  and  the  oath  of 
office  was  administered  to  him  by  Jesse  L.  Hol- 
man. The  first  case  in  this  court  was  presented 
in  assumpsit,  Jeremiah  Burchfield  against  Cyrus 
Webster  This  case  resulted  in  a  personal  en- 
counter, in  which  Burchfield  received  a  severe 
drubbing.  Webster  was  indicted  for  assault  and 
battery,  and  at  the  October  term,  1819,  pleading 
guilty,  was  fined  one  dollar  and  cost. 

The  first  term  of  the  Probate  Court  was  held 
at  New  Marion,  in  the  house  of  Benjamin  Brown, 
November  9,  1818,  the  associate  judges  presiding. 
The  court  simply  met,  organized  and  adjourned, 
to  meet  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Bently,  in  Ver- 
sailles, on  the  15th  day  of  March,  1819.  The  first 
business  of  this  court  was  the  appointment  of 
John  Johnson,  guardian  of  Richson  Blair,  orphan 
of  James  Blair,  deceased. 

The  Board  of  County  Commissioners  met  on 
the   nth   day  of  May,   1818.     Present,   the   Com- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


missioners:  James  Wooley,  William  Buchanan 
and  Freeburn  Hall.  They  divided  the  county  at 
this  meeting  into  three  townships — Graham, 
Perry  and  Laughery.  They  ordered  an  election  in 
each  township  to  elect  justices  of  the  peace,  and 
appointed  David  Wooley  inspector  of  election  in 
Graham  township,  William  Buchanan  in  Perry, 
and  Samue!  Hodes  in  Laughery. 

The  county  officers  then  elected  were:  Clerk 
and  Recorder,  Conrad  Overturf;  Treasurer,  Ros- 
well  Johnson;  Sheriff,  Benjamin  Kirby;  Prosecut- 
ing Attorney,  Nathaniel  French. 

The  first  grand  jurors  of  the  county  were  Hen- 
ry Banta,  Jerry  Salvers,  Samuel  Overturf,  James 
Whitham,  Wilson  Buchanan.  William  Buchanan, 
Charles  Divan,  Jacob  Roberts,  Henry  O'Neil, 
Jerry  Talbot,  Mathew  H.  Patton,  Daniel  Wooley, 
Jacob  Kirby,  John  McDowell,  Joseph  Clark,  Bfrt- 
less  Brown,  Carney  Goodrich  and  James  Steel. 
This  grand  jury  met,  and  having  no  business, 
they  reported  to  the  court  and  were  discharged. 

The  first  attorneys  admitted  to  practice  law  in 
the  courts  of  Ripley  county  were  Nathaniel 
French  and  William  Hendricks. 

Before  1876  politics  in  Ripley  county  was  large- 
ly personal.  Political  campaigns  were  not  con- 
ducted as  they  are  today.  County  chairmen  were 
not  looked  upon  as  of  much  importance,  except  to 
call  the  county  convention,  at  which  the  ticket 
was  named.  After  the  ticket  was  in  the  field  the 
candidates  usually  organized  the  campaign  them- 
selves and  worked  in  groups  of  twos  and  threes. 
For  instance,  the  candidate  for  Sheriff  and  Treas- 
urer would  work  one  end  of  the  county,  while  the 
candidate  for  Auditor  and  Representative  would 
be  working  some  other  part  of  the  county.  The 
plan  was  to  work  for  the  whole  ticket  as  they 
went  along.  But  if  they  found  a  voter  who  was 
di.=;pleased  with  any  portion  of  the  ticket  they 
usually  made  a  note  of  him  and  notified  the  can- 
didate who  seemed  to  displease  him.  He  in  turn 
then  called  upon  him  and  often  succeeded  in  ad- 
justing matters.  This  method  of  campaigning 
was  kept  up  to  greater  or  less  extent  until  pos- 
sibly 1880.  when  the  county  chairman  and  county 
organization  became  a  more  important  factor,  and 
the  county  began  to  be  organized  along  lines  in 
which  politics  is  worked  today. 

No  record  was  kept  of  the  early  county  chair- 
men, but  the  following  names  have  been  preserved 
as  chairmen  of  Ripley  county,  beginning  back 
with  1882:  George  R.  Griffin,  T.  L.  Hughes, 
James  B.  Lloyd,  John  Spencer,  James  Lemon, 
James  M.  Singer,  Nicholas  Cornet,  James  E. 
Wright,  O.  R.  Jenkins  and  W.  P.  Castner,  the 
present  County  Chairman.  During  that  time  the 
Democrats  won  twelve  complete  victories  out  of 
seventeen  campaigns.     They  elected  the  majority 


of  the  county  officers  in  1886  and  in  1888,  when 
the  State  went  Republican. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  vote  for  President  in 
Ripley  county  prior  to  1876,  but  it  is  safe  to  as- 
sume that  it  gave  a  Republican  majority.  In 
1876  Mr.  Tilden  carried  the  county  by  215  votes, 
Mr.  Hancock  also  carrying  the  county  by  seventy- 
one  votes,  Cleveland  in  1884  by  127  votes,  Cleve- 
land in  1892  by  192  votes,  Bryan  in  1896  by  19 
votes,  and  Bryan  again  in  1908  by  89  votes,  and 
Wilson  in  1912  by  939  votes. 

Ripley  county  has  been  represented  in  the  State 
Legislature  by  the  following  Democrats:  Thomas 
Sunman,  Adam  G.  Hoyer,  John  B.  Kennedy, 
James  B.  Lioyd,  Davidson  Ray,  Chester  R.  Faulk- 
ner, Robert  Creigmile,  L.  C.  Tucker,  Madison  Hol- 
man,  Frank  Galbraith,  George  C.  Bos,  William 
Holland,  F.  M.  Alexander,  James  M.  Singer  and 
Rowland  Jackson.  While  none  of  these  men  have 
ever  achieved  any  national  prominence,  they  all 
served  in  the  State  Legislature  with  credit  to 
themselves  and  honor  to  the  party.  Nor  is  it  on 
record  that  any  of  them  is  the  author  of  any 
great  constructive  piece  of  legislation.  All  of 
them  were  either  farmers,  lawyers  or  business 
men  and  returned  to  their  former  occupation 
after  leaving  the  halls  of  the  Legislature.  To 
this  general  rule  there  was  one  exception,  Ches- 
ter R.  Faulkner,  who  became  the  private  secre- 
tary of  Hon.  Daniel  W.  E.  Voorhees,  and  also 
held  a  position  as  Chief  of  the  Recording  Division 
of  the  Pension  Department,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  superintendent  of  one  of  the  public 
buildings  at  Washington,  D.  C.  Mr.  Faulkner 
came  into  prominence  in  1878  when  Riplev,  Dear- 
born and  Rush  counties  were  joined  together, 
forming  a  representative  district  with  a  normal 
Republican  majority  of  1,000.  The  republicans 
had  nominated  Colonel  Wolfe  of  Rushville,  and 
it  seemed  almost  a  forlorn  hope  to  take  the  nomi- 
nation against  him.  Mr.  Faulkner  volunteered  to 
accept  the  nomination  and  make  the  fight.  Of 
course,  it  was  tendered  him  by  acclamation.  He 
set  to  work  at  once  to  make  a  personal  canvass 
in  the  three  counties,  and  imagine  Colonel  Wolfe's 
surprise,  as  well  as  the  surprise  of  everyone  else 
when  Mr.  Faulkner  was  elected.  Nicholas  Cor- 
net, one  of  the  county  chairmen  of  Riplev  county, 
also  served  as  Auditor  of  Ripley  county  for  one 
1erm  and  is  at  present  a  member  of  the  Joint 
Land  Commission  of  Panama.  One  other  Ripley 
county  Democrat  has  also  been  successful  in 
working  his  way  up  to  a  position  in  the  national 
government,  Kennie  F.  Rea,  son  of  Davidson  Rea, 
who  was  appointed  a  page  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives through  the  influence  of  Hon.  W.  S. 
Holman  and  is  today  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Appropriations. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


The  people  of  Ripley  county  are  practically  an 
agricultural  people,  and  there  are  no  larg^e  cities. 
The  early  settlers  were  kept  busy  clearing  away 
the  forests  and  draining  the  "flats,"  as  were  also 
their  immediate  descendants,  and  but  very  little 
attention  was  paid  to  otlice  holding.  However, 
they  were  not  indifferent  to  the  great  political 
questions  of  the  day  and  kept  themselves  fully  in- 
formed on  them  and  the  names  of  her  citizens 
that  appear  en  the  roster  of  the  countr.v's  de- 
fenders attest  their  patriotism.  Ripley  county 
has  always  kept  pace  with  the  other  parts  of  the 
State  in  the  development  of  her  schools  and  her 
farming  industries.  Being  a  people  devoted 
largely  to  agriculture  probably  accounts  for  the 
fact  that  none  of  her  citizens  have  aspired  to 
high  political  honors,  and  not  because  they  lacked 
ability,  but  because  their  training  and  business 
interests  led  in  -^ther  directions.  The  result  of 
their  labors  are  seen  today  in  the  splendid  farms 
and  farm  buildings,  of  which  none  better  can  be 
found  anywhere  in  this  section  of  our  great  State. 

Ripley  county  has  two  Democratic  newspapers. 
The  Osgood  Journal,  at  Osgood,  which  is  the  older 
of  the  two,  was  founded  in  1868  by  Adam  Stock- 
inger  and  has  been  owned  and  edited  by  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  :  Samuel  Pappet,  John  B.  Day, 
Nick  R.  Pappet,  George  R.  Griffin,  Charles  Gray, 
Everett  and  Clarence  Shockley,  Shockley  &  Anger 
and  bv  Richard  J.  Beer,  who  is  the  present  owner 


and  editor.  Charles  Gray,  one  of  the  editors  of 
the  Journal,  was  a  perfect  double  of  William  J. 
Bryan  and  was  often  mistaken  for  Mr.  Bryan. 
The  Democratic  Herald,  at  Batesville,  was  estab- 
lished in  October,  1892,  and  was  owned  by  a  stock 
company.  Its  first  issue  appeared  on  October  13 
of  that  year.  It.<!  first  editor  was  Robert  Bragg. 
It  was  then  edited  successively  by  B.  F.  Jackson, 
Charles  Johnson,  Charles  Ebel,  Charles  L.  John- 
f'on,  A.  G.  Nusbaumer,  Peter  Holzer  and  Peter 
Holzer  and  Charles  V.  Hirt,  who  are  the  pre.sent 
owners.  Both  newspapers  enjoy  wide  popularity 
and  are  in  excellent  financial  condition. 

The  present  county  officers  are  all  Democrats. 
They  are:  State  Senator,  Rowland  Jackson,  rep- 
resenting the  counties  of  Ripley,  Switzerland  and 
Jefferson;  Representative,  George  Bos;  Judge  of 
ihe  Circuit  Court,  Robert  A.  Creigmil,  for  Ripley, 
Jennings  and  Scott;  Auditor,  J.  Francis  Lochard; 
Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court,  Josiah  P.  Day;  Treas- 
urer, John  N.  Hess;  Recorder,  Howard  L.  Akers; 
Sheriff,  Henry  Bultman;  Surveyor,  James  E. 
Wright;  County  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
Charles  R.  Hertenstein;  County  Assessor,  Frank 
Talbott;  County  Attorney,  William  Huntington; 
County  Commissioners,  Charles  Mehrle,  Henry 
Lemon  and  A.  J.  Chance;  County  Coroner,  M.  L. 
Samms.  Ten  of  the  eleven  Township  Tnistees  are 
Democrats. 


^^ 


'."(•.^' -)'<> 


HISTORY    OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY    OF 
RUSH  COUNTY 

^  By  Howard  E.  Barrett,  Esq. 


RUSH  COUNTY  lies  just  a  little  southeast 
from  our  capitol  city.  Rushville,  the  coun- 
■  ty  seat,  located  near  the  center  of  the 
county,  is  forty  miles  by  rail.  By  the  treaty  of 
St.  Marys,  Ohio,  October  2-6,  1818,  the  Delaware 
Indians  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their  claims 
to  land  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  Prior  to  that 
treaty  the  region  now  comprising  eastern  and 
central  Indiana,  from  the  Ohio  northwest  to  White 
river,  lay  in  the  shadow  of  an  unbroken  forest, 
through  which  roamed  bands  of  Indian  hunters 
and  warriors  and  the  wild  beasts  native  to  it. 
The  old  boundary  of  this  purchase  was  about  half 
way  between  Connersville  and  the  present  east 
line  of  Rush  county,  which  is  a  part  of  the  terri- 
tory thus  acquired. 

The  Legislature  of  1821  passed  an  act  for  the 
formation  of  a  new  county  west  of  Franklin  and 
Fayette  counties  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr. 
William  B.  Laughlin,  who  was  then  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  the  name  of  the  new  county  was 
called  Rush,  in  honor  of  his  old  preceptor,  the  dis- 
tinguished Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  of  Philadelphia. 

Jonathan  Jennings,  the  first  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Indiana,  approved  the  act  for  the  forma- 
tion of  the  new  county  December  31,  1821,  and 
the  act  became  effective  April  1,  1822,  at  which 
time  Amaziah  Morgan,  Jehu  Perkins  and  John 
Julian,  county  commissioners,  John  Hays,  sheriff, 
and  Robert  Thompson,  clerk,  met  at  Perkins' 
house  five  miles  southeast  of  the  present  city  of 
Rushville  and  proceeded  to  organize  the  new 
county  of  Rush  and  ordered  an  election  to  be  held 
on  the  27th  of  the  same  month. 

At  the  second  meeting  of  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners,  held  on  the  10th  day  of  May,  1822, 
tavern  rates  were  fixed  as  follows:  Whisky,  per 
half  pint,  12 J  cents;  all  foreign  spirits,  50  cents 
per  half  pint;  peach  and  apple  brandy,  25  cents 
per  half  pint;  gin,  25  cents  per  half  pint;  every 
meal,  25  cents;  bed,  61  cents;  corn  or  oats,  12^ 
cents  per  gallon;  horse  standing  at  hay  over 
night,  185  cents.  To  provide  revenue  for  public 
expenses  personal  property  was  assessed  as  fol- 
lows: Every  horse,  mare,  mule  or  ass  over  three 
years  old,  37h  cents;  every  yoke  of  oxen  over 
three  years  old,  25  cents  per  head;  every  four- 
wheeled  pleasure  carriage,  etc.,  $1.25;  every  two- 
wheeled  carriage,  $1.00;  every  gold  watch,  50 
cents;  every  silver  watch,  20  cents;  on  each  male 
person  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  50  cents. 
The  first  allowance  made  out  of  the  county  funds 


was  $25.00  to  Benjamin  Sailors  for  listing  the 
property  of  the  county.  The  assessed  valuation 
of  the  real  estate  in  Rush  county  for  the  year 
1916  was  $14,769,125.00  and  the  personal  property 
$5,947,810.00.  The  total  amount  of  taxes  collected 
for  the  last  year  was  $616,050.99. 

The  early  pioneers  of  Rush  county  came  largely 
from  the  South,  especially  Kentucky  and  Caro- 
lina, and  were  from  Democratic  stock.  At  the 
first  presidential  election  held  in  the  county,  in 
1824,  Andrew  Jackson  received  119  votes  and 
Henry  Clay  received  108  votes.  Fifteen  votes 
were  cast  for  Adams.  During  a  period  of  sixteen 
years  following,  the  total  vote  increased  to  1,914 
and  the  Democratic  majority  to  420.  But  the 
memorable  campaign  of  1840  carried  the  county 
into  the  Whig  column,  Harrison  receiving  a  ma- 
jority of  356  over  Van  Buren  out  of  a  total  vote 
of  2,696.  It  remained  there  till  1856,  the  birth 
year  of  the  Republican  party,  when  Buchanan  had 
forty-one  plurality  over  Fremont  out  of  a  total 
vote  of  3,414.  The  fact  that  a  majority  of  the 
men  of  Rush  county  had  southern  blood  in  their 
veins  adds  interest  to  the  vote  which  reflected 
their  political  sentiments.  In  1860  Breckinridge 
and  Johnson,  ultra  southern  candidates,  received 
only  476  votes;  Douglas  and  Johnson,  1,119; 
Lincoln  and  Hamlin,  1,757,  and  Bell  and  Everett, 
35.  With  a  few  exceptions  the  county  has  con- 
tinued to  be  Republican  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  since  the  war,  with  varying  majorities.  The 
Democrats  elected  their  county  ticket  in  1876,  al- 
though Hayes  received  a  majority  of  266  over 
Tilden.  In  1912  the  Democrats  elected  their  ticket 
and  a  part  of  it  in  1914. 

NEWSPAPERS. 
It  is  no  longer  possible  to  make  an  accurate 
list  of  Rush  county's  newspapers  and  their  own- 
ers and  editors  in  their  proper  order.  William  D. 
M.  Wickham,  the  pioneer  printer,  printed  the  first 
paper,  a  small  sheet,  about  ten  by  twelve  inches, 
called  the  Dog  Fennel  Gazette.  He  printed  it 
on  a  sycamore  stump,  using  a  pole  lever  to  make 
the  impression.  Later  he  built  a  better  one  of 
timbers.  In  September,  1831,  heissued  the  first 
number  of  the  American,  its  neat  appearance  in- 
dicating better  facilities.  It  had  four  four-column 
pages  and  lasted  about  two  years.  He  soon  made 
a  third  venture  with  a  paper  called  the  Gazette, 
of  about  the  same  size  but  not  so  attractive  in 
appearance.     His  papers  followed  the  policies  of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


Andrew  Jackson.  Following  him  Samuel  Davis 
and  Thomas  Wallace  started  the  Herald,  a  Whig- 
paper.  About  1840  Donovan  and  Tizzard  bought 
it,  changed  the  name  to  the  Hoosier  and  Demo- 
cratic Archive  and  switched  it  over  to  the  Democ- 
racy. Samuel  Bratton  bought  them  out  and  re- 
named it  the  Jacksonian.  In  1873  George  H. 
Puntenney  and  William  E.  Wallace  bought  the 
paper  and  successfully  managed  it,  most  of  the 
time  in  partnership,  for  thirty-four  years,  Mr. 
Puntenney  retiring  in  1900.  In  July,  1907,  Mr. 
Wallace  sold  the  paper  to  a  new  company,  the 
Democrat  Publishing  Company.  The  paper  is 
row  owned  and  published  by  R.  W.  Noyer  and 
is  run  as  a  daily. 

Surely  the  Democrats  have  good  reason  to  be 
proud  of  the  part  played  by  members  of  their 
party  in  the  history  and  development  of  this 
county.  Among  those  who  have  taken  a  promi- 
nent part  in  this  work  the  writer  would  mention 
the  following: 

Amaziah  Morgan,  of  whom  the  late  Dr.  Arnold, 
in  writing  a  history  of  Rush  county,  said:  "I 
must  notice  a  few  of  our  early  political  leaders. 
Amaziah  Morgan  was  the  most  able  and  distin- 
guished of  these.  He  was  one  of  the  first  county 
commissioners,  and  by  his  energy  and  executive 
ability  did  much  to  organize  and  put  in  motion 
the  machinery  of  county  business.  He  was  really 
a  great  man,  fully  meeting  the  requirements  of 
those  days,  and  representing  the  wishes,  wants 
and  feelings  of  his  constituents.  He  had  a  strong, 
practical  m-'nd,  with  all  the  qualities  necessary  for 
a  leader  in  pioneer  life.  Brave,  hospitable,  gen- 
erous and  public-spirited,  he  possessed  a  rough, 
earnest  eloquence  that  produced  a  powerful  in- 
fluence on  his  auditors,  and  gave  him  a  wonderful 
popularity  and  influence.  He  served  about  one 
year  as  county  commissioner  and  then  resigned, 
and  was  elected  the  first  representative  of  Rush 
county.  He  served  in  this  office  two  years  and 
was  then  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  serving 
about  nine  or  ten  years.  During  this  time  he  was 
unquestionably  the  most  able  and  popular  politi- 
cian of  our  county.  He  was  one  of  the  leading 
spirits  of  the  Senate,  and  his  influence  was  felt 
all  over  the  State.  Nature  had  been  generous  to 
him  both  physically  and  mentally.  Tall  and  erect, 
with  well-cut  and  strongly-marked  features,  a 
full  and  clear  black  eye,  alike  capable  of  express- 
ing the  fiercest  passion  or  the  most  tender  emo- 
tion. A  strong,  clear  voice,  an  earnest  delivery 
and  an  imposing  presence  gave  additional  force 
to  his  impassioned  utterances.  At  home  he  was 
careless  in  his  attire,  generally  wearing  linsey 
pantaloons,  a  buckskin  hunting-shirt,  with  a  belt 
around  the  waist,  a  soft  hat  or  coon-skin  cap,  no 
boots  or  shoes  on  his  feet;  with  his  long  rifle  on 


his  shoulder,  he  looked  the  genuine  backwoods- 
man, ever  ready  to  help  to  laise  a  house  or  roll 
the  logs  for  his  neighbors  and  to  bear  his  part 
in  the  shooting  matches,  then  so  popular." 

William  S.  Hall  .was  elected  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  Washington  township  in  1839  and 
served  until  1847.  In  1853  he  was  elected  trustee 
of  the  same  township  and  held  the  office  until 
1862,  when  he  resigned  and  accepted  the  nomina- 
tion for  representative  in  the  State  Legislature 
upon  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  was  elected  by 
a  good  majority  and  served  during  the  exciting 
session  of  1863.  At  the  close  of  his  term  as 
legislator  he  was  once  more  elected  trustee  of 
his  home  township  and  served  continuously  until 
1878.  He  was  indeed  a  "forward  looking  Demo- 
crat." His  heart  was  set  upon  the  common  schools 
as  the  best  means  of  giving  the  boys  and  girls  a 
good  start  in  life.  His  interest  in  the  country 
schools  and  the  study  of  how  to  better  them 
amounted  to  almost  a  passion  with  him.  Feeling 
that  the  country  child,  even  up  to  a  few  years 
back,  was  yet  hampered  as  he  had  been  in  his 
chance  for  a  good  education,  with  prophetic  fore- 
sight he  early  dreamed  of  creating  a  township 
central  school  that  would,  without  private  outlay, 
give  an  education  the  equal  of  any  academy  or 
high  school  in  the  city.  He  was  the  pioneer  of 
the  centralized  county  school  system,  and  held 
the  honor  of  having  established  the  first  school 
of  the  kind  in  the  United  States,  and  in  the  little 
town  of  Raleigh,  Rush  county,  Indiana.  He  was 
the  father  of  a  large  and  influential  family,  among 
v/hom  is  Hon.  Frank  J.  Hall,  Lieutenant-Governor 
(1909-1913).  Mr.  Hall  died  May  5,  1905,  at  the 
age  of  ninety-one  years. 

One  of  the  most  positive  and  forceful  char- 
acters among  the  Democrats  of  Rush  county  was 
George  H.  Puntenney,  lawyer  and  editor  of  the 
Rushville  Jacksonian  from  1873  to  1900.  He  was 
known  as  a  lawyer  of  much  originality  and 
marked  ability.  The  Rushville  Jacksonian  while 
he  was  its  editor  was  a  power  for  democracy  in 
this  section  of  the  State.  His  early  training  was 
according  to  the  Republican  faith,  but  after  the 
Civil  War,  in  which  he  served  for  three  years, 
ranking  as  Sergeant  Major,  he  espoused  the  cause 
of  democracy  and  the  fearlessness  of  his  tongue 
and  pen  were  recognized  by  all  who  came  within 
the  circle  of  his  acquaintance.  He  was  a  close 
student  of  public  questions  and  had  the  courage 
of  his  convictions.  He  was  the  first  mayor  of  the 
city  of  Rushville. 

So  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  learn,  Mr, 
Puntenney  was  the  first  to  offer  proof,  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1896,  that  gold  and  silver  were  coined 
at  the  ratio  of  16  to  1  in  the  days  of  Abraham. 
From  an  article  on  this  subject,  published  in  his 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


paper  in  the  issue  of  September  10  of  that  year, 
I  quote  the  following: 

"Now,  the  silver  shekel  weighed  about  one-half 
ounce.  It  was  twice  the  weight  of  the  golden 
shekel  and  worth  50  to  622  cents.  Now,  since  the 
golden  shekel  was  worth  $4.00  and  was  only  half 
as  heavy  as  the  silver  shekel  was,  then  two  golden 
shekels  were  worth  $8.00 — sixteen  times  as  much 
as  the  silver  shekel  and  about  its  weight.  That 
is  sixteen  to  one.  So  the  Hebrews  came  as  near 
having  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one  as  we  had  before 
silver  was  demonetized." 

Ml.  Puntenny  died  on  June  1,  1910,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-two  years. 

Ben  L.  Smith  was  another  of  the  sturdy  Demo- 
crats that  have  done  much  to  make  Rush  county 
democracy  what  it  is.  A  lifelong  Democrat,  born 
and  reared  in  the  county,  educated  in  its  common 
schools  and  at  Asbury  University,  a  soldier  in  the 
Civil  Wai  for  three  years,  ranking  as  captain, 
prominent  and  successful  as  a  lawyer  for  over 
forty-five  J  ears,  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Orphans  Home 
near  Knightstown,  in  this  county,  for  a  number 
of  years,  where  he  served  with  honor  and  credit 
to  himself  and  his  party.  He  retired  from  the  ac- 
tive practice  of  the  law  January  1,  1915,  and  died 
at  his  home  here  in  Rushville  on  the  25th  day  of 
December,  1915,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

John  L.  Robinson  was  another  of  the  prominent 
men  in  the  early  history  of  Rush  county.  He  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  in  1843  and  was 
afterwards  elected  to  Congress  from  the  fourth 
district  when  Rush  county  was  in  that  district. 
He  was  United  States  Marshal  for  the  district 
of  Indiana  from  1856  to  1860.  During  all  of  his 
long  and  useful  career  he  was  ever  ready  with 
voice  and  pen  to  advocate  the  cause  of  Democ- 
racy. 

David  S.  Morgan  of  this  county  was  one  of  the 
very  truest  and  most  consistent  Democrats  among 
the  many  that  fought  the  battles  of  Democracy 
in  this  section.  He  was  a  prominent  attorney  at 
the  bar  of  the  Rush  Circuit  Court  for  many  years 
and  stood  at  the  front  rank  among  the  lawyers. 

To  mention  all  those  who  are  at  present  tak- 
ing an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  Democratic 
party  would  be  to  practically  make  a  list  of  the 
Democratic  voters  of  the  county,  for  Democrats 
here  are  awake  and  are  as  well  organized  as  any 
other  county  in  the  State.  Among  those  who  have 
occupied  positions  in  the  party  that  gave  to  them 
more  prominence,  perhaps,  than  others,  the  writer 
would  mention  the  following: 

Hon.  Douglas  Morris,  judge  of  the  Circuit  Court 
from  1898  to  1904,  and  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  from  1910  to  1916.     Ever  ready  and  willing 


to  do  his  part  to  further  the  interests  of  the  party 
in  any  capacity  he  might  be  called  to  work. 

Frank  J.  Hall,  lifelong  enthusiastic  worker  for 
democracy,  Lieutenant-Governor  from  1909  to 
1913,  a  fearless  and  consistent  Democrat,  son  of 
William  S.  Hall. 

Cary  Jackson,  representative  from  this  county 
in  the  State  Legislature  during  the  sixty-fifth 
session  and  trustee  of  Washington  township  from 
August,  1890,  to  August,  1895.  Elected  to  repre- 
sent the  district  composed  of  the  counties  of  Han- 
cock, Rush  and  Fayette,  in  the  State  Senate  dur- 
ing the  session  of  1913. 

Leonidas  H.  Mull,  lifelong  consistent  Democrat, 
always  ready  with  his  money  and  his  time  to  as- 
sist the  Democrats  of  the  county  and  the  State 
to  hold  up  the  banner  of  Democracy.  He  was 
e'.ected  representative  from  this  county  to  the 
State  Legislature  by  a  handsome  majority  when 
all  the  remainder  of  the  county  ticket  was  de- 
feated. 

Will  M.  McBride,  a  Democratic  descendant 
from  the  old  stock.  Made  an  enviable  record  as 
trustee  of  our  Rushville  city  schools  and  was 
twice  elected  treasurer  of  this  county,  serving 
fiom  1910  to  1914. 

John  D.  Megee,  for  many  years  past  one  of 
the  most  prominent  lawyers  of  the  county  and  at 
all  times  a  Democratic  worker.  State  committee- 
man from  the  sixth  district  for  a  number  of  years, 
appointed  judge  of  the  Rush  Circuit  Court  by 
Governor  Ralston  and  served  for  about  two  years, 
his  term  expiring  the  first  of  January,  1915. 

Allen  R.  Holden,  for  three  yeais  a  trustee  of 
our  city  schools  and  auditor  of  Rush  county  from 
1912  to  1916,  and  an  enthusiastic  Democrat  at  all 
times  and  under  all  circum.stances. 

Arie  M.  Taylor,  a  royal  Democrat,  one  of  the 
leading  educators  of  the  county  for  a  number  of 
years  and  elected  clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court,  serv- 
ing from  December,  1912,  to  December,  1916,  with 
much  credit  to  himself,  as  well  as  his  party. 

Voorhees  Cavit,  county  chairman  for  the  last 
campaign,  twice  elected  sheriff  of  this  county  and 
serving  his  second  term  at  this  time.  Popular 
with  all  classes  and  a  Democrat  without  apology. 

James  T.  Arbucklc,  Democrat  of  the  old  school, 
always  a  loyal  and  enthusiastic  worker.  Promi- 
nen";  lawyer  for  many  years.  Deputy  prosecutor 
from  1900  to  1904,  member  of  the  city  school 
board  from  1910  to  1913  when  he  resigned  to  ac- 
cept an  appointment  as  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Pardons,  tendered  him  by  Governor 
Ralston.  Grand  Master  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  1914-1915. 

Benjam-n  A.  Black,  prominent  business  man  for 
many    years.      Served   as   mayor   of   the   city   of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18   16-1916 


Rushville  for  four  years,  1910  to  1914.  Always 
an  enthusiastic  workei. 

Adolphus  Cameron,  a  young  and  enthusiastic 
Democrat.  Twice  elected  county  surveyor  and 
served  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  all  his 
friends. 

Oliver  C.  Norris,  a  Silver  Republican  Democrat 
since  the  memorable  campaign  of  1896,  a  loyal 
and  enthusiastic  worker.  Elected  to  the  State 
Legislature  and  served  during  the  session  of  1915. 
Great  Sachem  of  the  Imp.  O.  R.  M..  1910  to  1911. 

George  W.  Campbell,  another  Silver  Repub- 
lican Democrat,  and  one  of  the  prominent  law- 
yers of  this  county  for  many  years.  One  time 
prosecutor  of  the  district  composed  of  Rush  and 
Decatur  counties.  An  able  and  forceful  advocate 
of  Democratic  policies. 

Wallace  Morgan,  son  of  the  late  David  S.  Mor- 
gan, prominent  lawyer  at  this  time.  Served  as 
county  chairman  for  two  terms,  city  attorney  for 
two  years  and  county  attorney  for  two  years.  Al- 
ways an  enthusiastic  worker  for  the  Democracy. 

Samuel  L.  Trabue,  county  chairman  for  two 
terms  preceding  the  U'st  campaign.  A  consistent, 
loyal  and  enthusiastic  worker  for  the  Democratic 
party  at  all  times. 

Samuel  L.  Innis.  an  able  attorney  and  for  three 
years  a  member  of  the  Rushville  city  school  board, 
and  at  all  times  a  Democrat. 

Donald  L.  Smith,  an  attorney,  son  of  the  late 
Ken  L.  Smith  and  prosecuting  attorney  fur  Rush 
county,  1913-191.5,  by  appointment  by  Governor 
Ralston. 

W.  L.  Newbold,  lawyer,  Democratic  county 
chaiiman  for  two  terms,  deputy  prosecuting  at- 
torney for  one  term,  and  afterwards  editor  and 
one  of  the  publishers  of  the  Riixhville  Jacksonwn 
for  several  years. 

John  E.  Gantner,  present  secretary  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic county  committee  and  for  three  sessions 
of  the  Legislature  chief  engrossing  clerk  for  the 
Senate.  John  Kelley,  Sr.,  chief  doorkeeper  for 
the  State  Senate,  session  of  1913. 

Gesten  P.  Hunt,  always  an  ardent  Democrat 
and  at  present  postmaster  of  Rushville.  Will  S. 
Meredith,  postmaster  oi  Rushville  during  one  of 
the  Cleveland  administrations.  Mark  Purcell, 
deputy    postmaster    under    Postmaster    Meredith 


and  for  two  years  Democratic  county  chairman 
of  Rush  county. 

Will  Leach,  a  stanch  Democrat  and  the  present 
city  chairman  of  Rushville.  Rush  G.  Budd.  an 
old-line  Democrat  and  is  at  this  time  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  epileptic  village  at  Newcastle, 
having  been  appointed  to  that  position  by  Gov- 
einoi   Ralston  in  1915. 

In  view  of  the  long,  tardy  recognition  of  the 
rights  of  the  women  of  our  country — now  about 
to  be  shown  by  all  the  States — the  writer  feels 
that  no  more  fitting  close  to  this  article  could  be 
made  than  a  few  lines  from  a  historical  sketch  of 
Rush  county,  written  by  the  late  John  F.  Moses, 
entitled,  "The   Pioneer   Woman." 

"Men  write  histories  and  figure  most  in  them. 
Up  to  this  point  little  has  been  said  about  woman's 
part  in  this  wilderness  life.  The  hardships  were 
by  no  means  all  man's,  nor  the  toil.  She  cooked 
at  the  open  fireplace,  stooping  at  most  of  this 
work,  with  her  head  exposed  to  the  heat.  Her 
equipment  of  kitchen  furniture  was  meager.  There 
were  a  few  iron  pots,  a  skillet  or  two,  a  'Dutch 
oven'  for  the  baking,  a  crane  in  the  chimney  for 
the  mush  and  hominy  pot,  a  few  gourd  dippers 
and  a  few  dishes  and  knives.  She  made  the  soap, 
hackled  the  flax,  carded  the  wool,  spun  and  dyed 
the  yarn,  wove  the  cloth,  cut  and  made  the  family 
clothing;  and  blankets,  sheets  and  towels  were  the 
product  of  her  industry  and  skill.  She  gathered 
herbs  and  was  the  family  doctor.  She  bore  and 
raised  the  children.  With  all  these  manifold 
duties  she  found  time  to  help  out  with  the  corn 
planting  or  hoeing.  Her  willing  hands  were  ever 
busy  with  acts  of  neighborly  kindness.  She  sat 
by  the  sick  bed  and  comforted  the  troubled.  Her 
womanly  virtues  and  graces  gave  the  hard  life 
of  that  time  such  refinement  as  it  had.  She  was 
the  best  part  of  the  church  and  she  taught  her 
daughters  to  be  modest  and  homekeepers  and  her 
sons  to  be  good  men.  With  brave  heart  she  toiled 
through  her  allotted  years,  then  slipped  away  into 
some  little  graveyard  to  rest.  It  may  be  that  its 
fences  have  long  since  rotted  down  and  the  cattle 
trample  upon  her  grave  or  the  plow  goes  over  it 
today,  but  on  that  last  day  when  the  Book  of  Re- 
membrance is  opened,  she  will  come  forth  to  her 
reward." 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
ST  JOSEPH  COUNTY 


THE  county  of  St.  Joseph  is  in  the  middle 
of  the  northernmost  tier  of  counties  of  In- 
diana. To  the  east  are  the  counties  of 
Elkhart,  LaGrange  and  Steuben;  to  the  west, 
those  of  LaPorte,  Porter  and  Lake.  On  the  south 
are  the  counties  of  Marshall  and  Starke,  and  on 
the  North  is  the  county  of  Berrien,  in  the  State 
of  Michigan.  The  northern  part  of  the  county  is 
in  the  St.  Joseph  Valley,  and  the  southern  part 
in  the  Kankakee  region.  A  goodly  number  of 
lakes  were  once  within  the  territorial  limits  of  the 
county.  Of  these  most  have  become  extinct  through 
various  causes,  but  those  remaining  constitute  a 
source  of  joy  to  thousands  who  have  a  fondness 
for  healthful  outings,  for  invigorating  boating, 
and  for  exhilarating  fishing.  The  most  impor- 
tant of  the  remaining  lakes  are  the  Notre  Dame, 
the  Chain  and  Bass  Lakes  in  Warren  township, 
west  of  South  Bend,  and  Hudson  Lake  near  New 
Carlisle. 

St.  Joseph  county's  organization  was  effected 
under  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved 
January  29,  1830.  The  first  election  in  conformity 
with  this  act  was  held  on  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  1830.  At  this  election  Lathrop  M.  Tay- 
lor was  chosen  Clerk  and  Recorder,  and  Lambert 
McCombs,  Adam  Smith  and  Levi  F.  Arnold  were 
chosen  as  justices  of  the  peace.  The  board  of 
justices  held  its  first  meeting  at  the  house  of 
Alexis  Coquillard,  August  27,  1830.  At  this 
meeting  John  D.  Lasly  was  appointed  Treasurer. 
His  bond  was  fixed  at  $1,000.  Assessors  and  col- 
lectors were  also  appointed  at  this  meeting.  Li- 
censes were  granted  the  American  Fur  Company 
(Alexis  Coquillard,  agent),  and  to  Samuel  Hanna 
&  Co.,  of  Fort  Wayne  (Lathrop  M.  Taylor,  agent), 
to  vend  foreign  merchandise  within  the  county  of 
St.  Joseph  for  the  term  of  one  year.  The  fee  for 
this  privilege  was  $10  each. 

The  last  (fourth)  meeting  of  the  board  of  jus- 
tices was  held  November  12,  1830.  By  an  act 
of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  January  19, 
1831,  a  board  of  county  commissioners  was  sub- 
stituted for  the  board  of  justices.  Under  this  act 
a  county  government  was  provided  for  and  the 
various  officers  serving  thereunder  were  required 
to  be  chosen  by  popular  election.  The  first  board 
of  commissioners  chosen  was  composed  of  Aaron 
Stanton,  David  Miller  and  Joseph  Rohrer.  South 
Bend  was  in  1831  made  the  seat  of  justice  for  the 
newly-organized  county.  Lathrop  M.  Taylor 
served  seven  years  as  clerk  and  recorder.  This 
office  combined  the  duties  of  clerk,  auditor  and 
recorder.  Taylor  was  succeeded  by  Tyra  W.  Bray, 


who  also  held  the  office  for  seven  years.  John 
F.  Lindsay,  the  last  clerk  under  the  constitu- 
tion of  1816,  was  in  office  from  1844  to  1851.  Un- 
der the  constitution  of  1851  the  tenure  of  the 
county  clerk's  office  was  reduced  to  four  years 
with  the  right  to  one  re-election.  Samuel  M. 
Chord  was  elected  in  1851  and  re-elected  four 
years  later.  Elias  V.  Clark  held  the  office  from 
1859  to  1867;  George  W.  Matthews,  to  1875;  Cap- 
tain Edwin  Nicar,  to  1879;  Timothy  E.  Howard, 
to  1883 ;  George  H.  Alward  succeeded  Howard, 
but  died  November  11,  1885,  and  by  appointment 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  George  H.,  who  served 
until  1887.  In  1886  William  C.  McMichael  was 
elected  clerk,  being  succeeded  by  George  M.  Foun- 
tain in  1895.  In  1903,  George  H.  Alward  became 
clerk  by  election,  and  in  1907  he  was  succeeded 
by  Frank  P.  Christoph.  The  present  incumbent 
of  this  office  is  George  M.  Raab.  Fourteen  differ- 
ent individuals  have  filled  this  important  office 
since  the  organization  of  the  county.  Edwin  Nicar 
was  elected  by  a  combination  of  Independents  and 
Democrats.  Timothy  E.  Howard  was  the  first 
Democrat  to  be  chosen  county  clerk.  William 
C.  McMichael,  Frank  P.  Christoph  and  George  M. 
Raab  also  were  later  on  elected  as  Democrats. 
These  three  were  residents  of  Mishawaka. 

As  county  auditor,  L.  M.  Taylor  served  from 
1830  to  1837;  Tyra  W.  Bray  from  1837  to  1845; 
George  W.  Matthews  from  1845  to  1849; 
Aaron  B.  Ellsworth  from  1849  to  1859;  W.  J. 
Holloway  from  1859  to  1867;  Alfred  Wheeler  from 
1867  to  1875;  William  D.  Smith  from  1875  to  1883; 
Aaron  Jones  from  1883  to  1891;  Robert  Myler 
from  1891  to  1895;  Geo.  W.  Loughman  from  1895 
to  1899;  John  M.  Brown,  from  1899  to  1903;  John 
W.  Harbou  from  1903  to  1911;  Clarence  Sedgwick 
from  1912  to  1915;  Arthur  F.  Wolf  from  1915  to 
1919. 

Samuel  L.  Cottrell  was  the  first  sheriff  of  the 
county.  Those  succeeding  him  in  that  office  were : 
Benjamin  McCarty,  1831;  Scott  West,  1832;  Dan- 
iel A.  Fullerton,  1832  to  1833 ;  Samuel  L.  Cottrell, 
1833  to  1838;  Charles  M.  Tutt,  1838  to  1842;  Lott 
Day,  Sr.,  1842  to  1846;  Lott  Day,  Jr.,  1846  to 
1850;  Ralph  Staples,  1850  to  1852;  Benjamin  F. 
Miller,  1852  to  1856;  Evan  C.  Johnson,  1856  to 
1860;  Nelson  Ferris,  1860  to  1864;  Solomon  W. 
Palmer,  1864  to  1868;  Geo.  V.  Glover,  1868  to 
1872;  Joseph  Turnock,  1872  to  1876;  Robert 
Hardy,  1876  to  1878;  James  Dougherty,  1878  to 
1880;  Zachariah  M.  Johnson,  1880  to  1884;  George 
Rockstroh,  1884  to  1886;  John  Finch,  1886  to 
1890;  Andrew  J.  Ward,  1890  to  1894;  James  C. 


(760) 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


Eberhart,  1894  to  1898;  Charles  E.  McCarty,  1898 
to  1903;  Schuyler  C.  Robinson,  1903  to  1905; 
David  B.  J.  Schafer,  1905  to  1909;  Millard  F. 
Kerr,  1909  to  1913;  Edward  S.  Swanson,  1913  to 
1915;  Charles  E.  Bailey,  1915  to  1919.  Of  these 
Staples,  Dougherty,  Rockstroh,  Ward  and  Bailey 
were  elected  as  Democrats. 

As  first  treasurer  of  the  county  John  D.  Lasly 
was  appointed  by  the  board  of  justices  for  the 
year  1830.  September  7,  1831,  Aaron  Miller  was 
appointed  treasurer  by  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners to  hold  until  his  successor  was  duly  ap- 
pointed and  qualified.  He  was  required  to  give 
bond  in  the  sum  of  $2,000.  By  an  act  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  approved  February  12,  1841,  the 
office  of  county  treasurer  was  made  elective.  From 
the  time  when  the  office  was  made  elective  the 
county  treasurers  have  been:  Albert  Monson, 
1841;  John  K.  Wright,  1850;  Robert  B.  Nicar, 
1851;  Solomon  Miller,  1856;  John  H.  Harper,  1860; 
Ezekiel  Greene,  1864;  Hiram  Miller,  1868;  David 
B.  Creviston,  1872;  C.  Henry  Scheerer,  1876;  John 
Hay,  1878;  Frederick  Lang,  1880;  Emanuel  R. 
Wills,  1884;  George  H.  Stover,  1888;  Simon  Yenn, 
1892;  William  H.  Oren,  1894;  John  W.  Zigler, 
1898;  Adam  Hunsberger,  1903;  William  C.  Stover, 
1907;  Marshal  Hughes,  1909;  Fred  W.  Martin, 
1913;  Ed.  F.  Keller,  1917.  Of  these  Hay,  Wills, 
George  H.  Stover,  Yenn,  W.  C.  Stover,  Martin 
and  Keller  were  elected  as  Democrats. 

During  the  existence  of  the  Whig  party  the 
county  remained  steadfastly  of  that  faith.  A  pro- 
nounced Freesoil  sentiment  was  developed  during 
the  forties.  In  1848  there  was  quite  a  sentiment 
in  favor  of  the  Van  Buren  and  Adams  ticket, 
stanchly  supported  by  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  but  the 
bulk  of  the  Democratic  vote  was  cast  for  the  regu- 
lar ticket,  Cass  and  Butler.  When  the  Republican 
party  was  formed  nearly  the  entire  Whig  element 
joined  that  party,  together  with  some  of  the  Free- 
soil  Democrats.  Know-Nothingism  never  gained 
much  of  a  foothold  in  St.  Joseph  county,  though 
the  People's  party,  preceding  the  Republican  or- 
ganization, developed  much  strength  during  the 
fifties.  In  the  memorable  campaign  of  1860  the 
Democrats  stood  unflinchingly  by  Stephen  A. 
Douglas.  This  was  largely  due  to  the  attitude  of 
e-x-Congressman  Norman  Eddy,  though  his  defeat 
as  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  Congress  was  di- 
rectly attributable  to  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  in  the  main  brought  about  through 
the  persistent  efforts  of  the  "Little  Giant,"  in  the 
sincere  but  vain  hope  of  appeasing  the  South  and 
averting  a  sectional  conflict.  John  Brownfield, 
who  for  many  years  presided  over  the  conventions 
of  the  St.  Joseph  county  Democracy  before,  dur- 
ing and  after  the  Civil  war,  maintained  a  con- 
servative attitude  regarding  the  presidential  con- 


test of  1860.  A  native  of  Pennsylvania,  by  na- 
ture and  inclination  a  conservative,  he  favored 
the  nomination  of  James  Guthrie  of  Kentucky  as 
a  compromise  candidate.  But  compromise  was 
out  of  the  question,  and  the  great  split  in  the 
Democratic  party  of  1860  made  it  easy  for  the 
young,  vigorous  and  enthusiastic  Republican  party 
to  elect  its  honored  standard-bearer  to  the  presi- 
dency. 

The  first  rupture  in  the  Republican  party  fol- 
lowed the  Greeley  or  Liberal  revolt  in  1872  and 
the  enactment  of  the  Baxter  law  by  the  Indiana 
Legislature  of  1873.  This  break  in  the  solidity  of 
the  Republicans  was  largely  due  to  the  influence 
exerted  by  David  R.  Leeper,  who  up  to  that  time 
had  been  a  stanch  Republican.  He  was  nomi- 
nated for  the  Legislature  by  a  coalition  of  Demo- 
crats and  Liberal  (or  Greeley)  Republicans,  but 
declined  the  nomination.  In  1874  he  was  again 
nominated  for  the  Legislature  and  triumphantly 
elected,  and  re-elected  in  1876.  By  that  time  he 
had  become  a  full-fledged  Democrat.  In  1878  he 
was  elected  state  senator  for  St.  Joseph  and 
Starke  counties  by  the  phenomenal  majority  of 
nearly  800.  He  made  a  splendid  record  in  both 
houses  of  the  General  Assembly.  As  senator  he 
served  with  marked  ability  as  member  of  the  com- 
mittees on  finance,  on  railroads,  on  education,  on 
public  buildings,  on  banks,  on  several  committees 
of  conference  on  appropriation  bills  and  on  other 
impor'ant  special  committees.  He  had  much  to  do 
with  shaping  legislation  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
state  house  at  Indianapolis  and  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  facilities  for  caring  for  the  insane  of 
the  State.  By  reason  of  his  achievements  at  In- 
dianapolis he  was  strongly  urged  by  party  leaders 
to  accept  a  nomination  for  Congress  by  the  Demo- 
crats of  the  Thirteenth  District  in  1882,  but  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  do  so.  Instead,  however,  he 
consented  to  make  the  race  for  county  auditor,  in 
the  hope  of  retrieving  to  some  extent  the  financial 
loss  sustained  by  having  gone  on  the  bail  bond  of 
a  defaulting  city  treasurer.  As  a  result  of  tac- 
tics first  applied  during  the  Hancock-Garfield 
campaign,  the  bulldozing  of  factory  employes,  the 
entire  Democratic  ticket  of  1882  was  defeated. 
Mr.  Leeper,  however,  had  the  proud  satisfaction 
of  receiving  the  largest  vote  cast  for  any  candidate 
on  his  ticket.  With  these  experiences  in  public 
life  he  felt  that  he  had  enough  of  politics.  Ac- 
cordingly he  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  atten- 
tion to  travel,  literature  and  music.  He  wrote  a 
great  deal  for  the  public  press,  and  finally  turned 
his  attention  to  formulating  a  masterpiece  in  the 
literary  line.  This  he  entitled  "The  American 
Idea."  The  manuscript  was  submitted  to  a  num- 
ber of  competent  critics,  all  of  whom  spoke  of  it 
as    a    production    of    unusual    and    extraordinary 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


merit.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons  proposed  to  produce 
it  in  their  series  of  "Questions  of  the  Day,"  but 
no  conclusion  was  reached  regarding  the  matter. 
Quite  recently  his  brother  Samuel,  president  of 
the  American  Trust  Company  at  South  Bend,  de- 
cided to  perpetuate  the  author's  memory  by  caus- 
ing- "The  American  Idea"  to  be  printed  in  book 
form  and  placed  within  reach  of  appreciative  stu- 
dents of  government.  The  appearance  of  this  ex- 
ceedingly interesting  volume  has  been  greeted 
with  marked  favor  by  some  of  the  leading  papers 
of  the  country,  among  them  the  New  York  World, 
San  Francisco  Chronicle  and  numerous  other  ex- 
tensively circulating  periodicals. 

In  the  spring  of  1892  the  Sou'h  Bend  Democ- 
racy found  itself  in  straits  for  an  available  candi- 
date for  the  mayoralty.  Factional  troubles  had 
rendered  the  prospect  of  success  at  the  polls  any- 
thing but  assuring,  so  aspirants  for  the  nomina- 
tion any  way  desirable  were  not  conspicuously  in 
sight.  Leaders  put  their  heads  together  and  finally 
decided  to  bring  the  strongest  possible  pressure  to 
bear  on  David  R.  Leeper  to  induce  him  to  make 
the  race.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  bring  him  around. 
Argument  upon  argument  was  adduced  why  he 
should  make  the  race  for  this  important  office. 
Still  he  held  out.  Final  pressure  was  brought  to 
bear  on  him  during  the  afternoon  preceding  the 
nominaMng  convention,  which  was  held  in  what 
was  then  known  as  Price's  Theater,  on  North 
Michigan  street.  He  tenaciously  held  out  against 
it  until  it  was  nearly  time  for  the  convention  to 
assemble,  and  as  he  lived  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  the  person  commissioned  to  extract  from  him 
the  promise  to  accept  had  to  make  all  possible 
haste  to  reach  the  convention  hall.  No  time  was 
lost  in  placing  Mr.  Leeper  in  nomination.  Mani- 
festations of  genuine  joy  greeted  the  announce- 
ment and  the  nomination  was  acclaimed  with  vo- 
ciferous shouting.  By  a  narrow  margin  h'S  elec- 
tion at  the  polls  was  accomplished,  only  one  of  his 
associates  on  the  ticket  being  fortunate  enough  to 
"pull  through."  The  Republicans  succeeded  in 
electing  the  greater  part  of  their  nominees.  Two 
years  later  the  party  insisted  on  nominating  him 
for  re-election.  Determinedly  he  resisted  all  ef- 
forts in  that  direction.  While  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  on  him  to  yield,  the  convention 
proceeded  deliberately  with  the  preliminaries,  the 
managers  all  the  while  eagerly  looking  toward 
the  door  for  the  "pressure  committee"  to  put  in 
an  appearance.  Definite  action  could  no  longer  be 
deferred.  Nominations  were  made.  Leeper's  con- 
sent, wrought  from  him  amidst  the  shedding  of 
tears,  could  not  be  obtained  until  the  convention 
had  just  about  finished  its  work.  A  clever  young 
Democrat  named  George  A.  McComber  headed 
the  ticket.     The  joy  depicted  upon  Leeper's  coun- 


tenance upon  learning  that  he  would  not  have  to 
pass  through  the  ordeal  of  a  campaign  revealed 
I  he  true  inwardness  of  his  innermost  feelings  and 
his  deep-seated  aversion  to  making  a  distasteful 
race.  The  election  resulted  in  a  sweeping  Repub- 
lican victory — David  B.  J.  Schafer  heading  the 
ticket  of  that  party.  The  panic  of  1893  eflFectually 
destroyed  every  prospect  of  Democratic  success 
at  the  polls  in  those  perilous  days.  The  only  of- 
fice Mr.  Leeper  thereafter  accepted  was  that  of 
police  commissioner,  by  appointment  of  Governor 
Matthews.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  every  nomi- 
nation conferred  upon  Mr.  Leeper  was  by  unani- 
mous vote  and  that  in  every  instance  he  polled 
more  votes  than  any  of  his  associates  on  the 
ticket.  Had  his  ambition  been  equal  to  his  ability 
and  his  sterling  worth,  he  would  in  all  probability 
have  occupied  conspicuous  places  in  State  and 
national  councils. 

By  virtue  of  legislative  authorization,  dated 
January  15,  1844,  South  Bend  became  an  incor- 
porated town  that  year,  with  Benjamin  F.  Price, 
William  H.  Patteson,  John  BroviTifield,  Abraham 
Wilson  and  Ricketson  Burroughs  as  trustees. 
John  Brownfield  was  made  president  and  William 
H.  Patteson  clerk  of  this  board.  The  first  elec- 
tion for  town  trustee  was  held  March  3,  1845, 
and  resulted  in  the  election  of  John  Brownfield, 
Benjamin  F.  Price,  William  A.  Patteson,  Ricket- 
son Burroughs  and  Joseph  Andre.  This  board 
selected  John  Brownfield  as  president,  Charles  M. 
Heaton  as  clerk,  Schuyler  Colfax  as  assessor, 
Albert  Monson  as  treasurer,  and  William  Snave- 
ly  as  marshal.  The  presidents  of  subsequent 
town  boards  were:  1846,  John  Brownfield;  1848, 
John  A.  Henricks;  1850,  Solomon  W.  Palmer; 
1851,  Mathias  Stover;  1858,  Henry  Carleton; 
1859  and  1860,  Benjamin  F.  Price;  1861,  Edmund 
Pitts  Taylor,-  1863  and  1864,  John  A.  Henricks; 

1865,  Henry  Carleton. 

South  Bend  became  a  city  in  1865  when,  on 
June  5,  William  G.  George  was  elected  mayor; 
George  H.  Alward,  clerk;  George  W.  Matthews, 
tieasurer;  Daniel  Roof,  marshal;  Washington 
Saunders,  civil  engineer;  Elisha  Sumption,  as- 
sessor.    Subsequent   mayors   were   installed :     In 

1866,  William  G.  George;  1868,  Louis  Humphreys, 
serving  four  years;  1872,  William  Miller;  1876, 
A.  N.  Thomas;  1878,  Lucius  G.  Tong;  188 
Levi  J.  Ham;  1884,  George  W.  Loughman; 
William  H.  Longley;  1892,  David  R.  Leeper; 
David  B.  J.  Schafer;  1898,  Schuyler  Colfax; 
Edward  J.  Fogarty;  1909,  Charles  L.  Goetz;  1913, 
Fred  W.  Keller.  Dr.  Ham  was  the  first  Democrat 
to  be  elected  mayor  of  South  Bend.  Other  Demo- 
cratic mayors  were  Longley,  Leeper,  Fogarty  and 
Goetz.  Keller,  though  politically  a  Progressive 
and   Republican,  was  elected  over  Pat.  A.  Joyce 


Dr. 


1894, 
1902, 


(  762) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  ;)  1  0 


as  the  nominee  of  a  "conglomeration  of  incongru- 
ous elements"  styling  itself  "Citizens'  party."  No 
man  in  the  city  was  better  equipped  for  the  may- 
oralty than  Mr.  Joyce.  His  record  as  Councilman 
for  the  fourth  ward  stamped  him  a  highly  saga- 
cious and  ruggedly  honest  municipal  legislator. 
He  was  the  one  man  who  courageously  and  con- 
scientiously stood  out  against  the  granting  of 
franchises  that  in  subsequent  years  were  utilized 
to  be  bartered  away  to  corporations  at  enormous 
profits.  He  repeatedly  demonstrated  his  ability 
and  adaptability  to  intelligent  and  efficient  munici- 
pal service  while  filling  the  important  office  of 
City  Controller  during  the  Goetz  administration. 
Yet  he  was  defeated,  partly  through  duplicity  and 
treachery,  partly  through  hypocrisy  and  cant,  and 
not  inconsiderably  at  the  expense  of  truth,  justice 
and  righteous  citizenship.  Undeceived  and  base- 
ly betrayed,  the  electorate  of  South  Bend  would, 
if  it  could,  gladly  undo  the  foolishness  of  1913. 

The  office  of  postmaster  of  South  Bend,  under 
Democratic  administration,  was  filled  by  Sorden 
Lister  and  Walter  Harrigan.  The  present  incum- 
bent is  George  W.  Zinky.  Lister  was  for  many 
years  the  recognized  leader  of  Democratic  forces 
in  city  and  county.  He  served  a  number  of  years 
in  the  city  council  and  had  an  ambition  to  be- 
come mayor.  Factional  troubles  rendered  impos- 
sible the  gratification  of  this  ambition.  Mr.  Long- 
ley  had  the  honor  of  defeating  one  of  the  strong- 
est and  most  resourceful  Republicans  of  the  city, 
viz.:  "Buffalo"  Miller.  To  Mr.  Fogarty  belongs 
the  honor  of  having  served  longer  than  any 
other  individual  chosen  as  mayor  of  this  city  since 
its  organization.  The  honor  of  having  been  elected 
by  the  largest  majority  ever  accorded  to  an  as- 
pirant to  the  South  Bend  mayoralty  belongs  to 
Charles  L.  Goetz.  He  was  very  reluctant  about 
entering  the  race,  and  held  out  against  making 
it  until  only  a  few  days  before  the  assembling 
of  the  convention.  Senator  Shively  presided.  The 
nominating  speeches  by  Harry  Wair,  George  Ford 
and  F.  E.  Hering  were  of  a  high  order.  Un- 
bounded enthusiasm  prevailed.  The  ticket  placed 
in  nomination  was  exceptionally  strong.  Charles 
L.  Goetz  for  mayor,  G.  A.  Farabaugh  for  city 
judge,  and  Timothy  E.  Howard  for  councilman-at- 
large,  appealed  strongly  to  the  electorate.  On 
election  day  this  combination  swept  everything 
before  it.  The  majority  reached  2,500.  Goetz  car- 
ried every  ward  and  every  precinct  except  one. 
The  campaign  was  conducted  upon  a  high  plane 
and  elicited  unstinted  commendation.  Charley 
Goetz  was  a  prime  favorite  with  the  people.  He 
was  a  true-hearted  man  and  a  superb  mixer.  The 
defeat  of  his  friend  Joyce  in  1913  grieved  him 
sorely.  There  are  those  who  believe  it  con- 
tributed to  his  premature  death,  June  23,   1915, 


when  only  56  years  of  age.  For  a  quarter  of  a 
century  he  was  among  the  most  efficient  party 
workers  and  managers  in  the  State.  His  passing 
entailed  an  irreparable  loss. 

In  the  General  Assembly  St.  Joseph  county  was 
represented,  beginning  in  the  seventies,  by  Repre- 
sentatives David  R.  Leeper,  Wm.  C.  McMichael, 
Henry  Ginz,  Thomas  J.  Garoutte,  William  H. 
Stull,  Edward  A.  Metzger,  George  H.  Stover, 
George  V.  Byrkett,  Joseph  F.  Suchanek,  Charles 
Weidler,  George  W.  Sands,  Charles  A.  Hagerty, 
George  Y.  Hepler,  Marion  Gorsky  and  G.  A.  Has- 
langer,  and  by  Senators  Joseph  Henderson,  David 
R.  Leeper,  Timothy  E.  Howard,  E.  Volney  Bing- 
ham and  Charles  A.  Hagerty. 

St.  Joseph  county  Democrats  elected  to  Con- 
gress were  Norman  Eddy,  George  Ford  and  Ben- 
jamin F.  Shively.  Eddy  and  Ford  served  each 
one  term;  Shively,  three  and  a  fraction;  later  on 
he  was  twice  elected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate — first 
by  the  Legislature  and  six  years  later  by  popular 
vote.  In  1896  he  was  the  Democratic  nominee 
for  governor  and  was  defeated  by  James  A. 
Mount  by  about  25,000  majority.  Schuyler  Col- 
fax and  Abraham  L.  Brick  were  the  only  Repub- 
licans elected  to  Congress  from  St.  Joseph  county. 
Colfax  was  first  chosen  in  1854  to  succeed  Colonel 
Eddy  and  was  re-elected  to  six  consecutive  terms. 
Three  of  his  races  were  made  against  that  force- 
ful debater,  David  Turpie.  In  1868  Colfax  was 
made  vice-president  of  the  United  States.  That 
was  his  last  public  office.  He  died  at  Mankato, 
Minn.,  January  13,  1885,  while  on  a  lecture  tour. 
Brick  was  first  elected  in  1898  and  re-elected  to 
four  consecutive  terms.  He  died  at  Indianapolis, 
April  7,  1908. 

In  1870  Colonel  Norman  Eddy  was  nominated 
by  the  Democrats  for  secretary  of  state  and 
triumphantly  elected  by  about  two  thousand  ma- 
jority over  Dr.  Max  F.  A.  Hoffmann  of  Logans- 
port.  Colonel  Eddy  died  during  his  term.  His 
son,  Owen  M.,  was  graciously  and  generously  per- 
mitted to  serve  the  remainder  of  the  term,  al- 
though John  F.  Farquhar  was  by  the  governor 
named  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Timothy  E.  Howard 
was  elected  to  the  supreme  bench  in  1892  and 
William  P.  O'Neill  was  chosen  to  the  office  of 
lieutenant-governor  in  1912.  In  1904  Edward 
J.  Fogarty  received  the  Democratic  nomination 
for  secretary  of  state,  but  with  the  rest  of  the 
ill-fated  Alton  B.  Parker  ticket  experienced  over- 
whelming defeat. 

Upon  the  death  of  James  D.  Reid,  warden  of 
the  Indiana  state  prison  seven  or  eight  years 
ago,  former  Mayor  Edward  J.  Fogarty  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy.  He  holds  the  posi- 
tion at  this  time.  By  general  concurrence  that 
institution  has  been  pronounced  the  model  state 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


prison  in  the  United  States.  Several  years  ago 
Warden  Fogarty  installed  an  extensive  binder 
twine  manufacturing  plant  within  the  prison 
walls.  This  has  been  operated  to  marked  ad- 
vantage. Operations  therein  have  been  impeded 
of  late  on  account  of  the  exorbitant  advance  in 
the  price  of  sisal,  caused  by  the  war  in  Mexico. 
In  lieu  of  binder  twine  production,  Warden  Fo- 
garty has  turned  his  attention  to  extensive  farm- 
ing operations  in  the  western  part  of  St.  Joseph 
county.  He  leased  from  the  Reynolds  estate 
2,200  acres  of  choice  land  in  Olive  township  and 
the  Hubbard  farm  of  600  acres,  near  by.  Vast 
quantities  of  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  peas,  beans, 
etc.,  have  resulted  from  the  first  year's  experi- 
ment. Much  greater  results  are  calculated  on 
next  year. 

At  the  urgent  request  of  Governor  Marshall 
seven  years  ago  John  B.  Stoll  accepted  the  ten- 
der of  a  position  as  trustee  on  the  Indiana  prison 
and  parole  board.  He  was  made  president  of 
the  board  immediately  upon  becoming  a  member 
thereof,  and  is  now  serving  his  seventh  year  in 
that  capacity.  His  commission  runs  to  January, 
1921. 

At  the  election  of  1912  two  South  Benders 
headed  the  electoral  tickets  of  their  respective 
parties — Aaron  Jones,  Sr.,  that  of  the  Roosevelt 
and  Parker  ticket,  John  B.  Stoll  that  of  the  Wilson 
and  Marshall  ticket.  Owing  to  the  Republican 
split  the  Wilson  ticket  was  elected  by  an  unprece- 
dented plurality— 119,883.  Mr.  Stoll  was  dele- 
gated to  convey  the  result  of  the  Indiana  election 
to  the  secretary  of  the  Senate  at  Washington.  In 
1896  Mr.  Stoll  headed  the  Bryan  and  Sewall  elec- 
toral ticket,  which  was  defeated  by  about  18,000. 

St.  Joseph  county  has  two  cities — South  Bend 
with  a  population  of  between  60,000  and  70,000, 
and  Mishawaka  with  about  15,000  inhabitants. 
There  is  but  little  difference  between  the  ages  of 
the  two  places.  In  1835  a  town  organization  un- 
der the  name  of  the  St.  Joseph  Iron  Works  was 
authorized.  In  1838  a  reorganization  was  ef- 
fected by  combining  the  four  different  organiza- 
tions into  one.  The  name  Mishawaka  was  given 
the  merged  corporations.  For  over  sixty  years 
this  sort  of  local  government  was  maintained. 
Early  in  1899  a  movement  was  inaugurated  to 
convert  the  town  into  a  city.  There  was  strong 
opposition  to  this  movement,  but  an  election  or- 
dered to  determine  for  or  against  the  change  re- 
sulted thus:  For  city  government,  702;  against, 
336.  This  test  of  public  sentiment  was  made  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1899.  An  election  for  city  officers  was 
thereupon  ordered  to  be  held  May  2,  1899.  It  re- 
sulted in  the  election  of  Manuel  M.  Fisher  as 
mayor,  Henry  C.  Eggleston  as  clerk,  William  M. 
Clark  as  treasurer,  Charles  H.  Doolittle  as  street 


commissioner  and  Grant  Needham  as  marshal. 
After  this  election  the  board  of  town  trustees  met 
for  the  last  time  on  May  8,  1899,  to  close  up  town 
affairs  and  turn  over  the  government  to  the  city 
officers.  A  cash  balance  of  $10,746.75  was  turned 
over  to  the  newly  installed  city  treasurer.  There- 
upon the  board  of  trustees  of  the  town  of  Misha- 
waka, after  a  government  extending  from  Janu- 
.  ary  31,  1835,  to  May  8,  1899,  adjourned  sine  die, 
and  Mishawaka  auspiciously  entered  upon  its  ca- 
reer as  a  city. 

May,  1902,  Mayor  Fisher  was  succeeded  by  Mel- 
ville W.  Mix,  who  subsequently  was  re-elected  in 
1904.  In  November,  1905,  Charles  Frank  suc- 
ceeded to  the  mayoralty,  and  he  in  turn  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  A.  Herzog,  now  postmaster  of 
Mishawaka.  In  1913  Ralph  W.  Gaylor,  running 
as  the  nominee  of  a  citizens'  combination,  was 
elected  over  Melville  W.  Mix,  the  Democratic  nom- 
inee. Fisher,  Frank  and  Gaylor  were  aflnliated 
with  the  Republican  party;  Mix  and  Herzog  are 
Democrats.  For  many  years  E.  Volney  Bingham 
served  efficiently  as  member  of  the  school  board. 
Before  his  election  to  the  state  senate  he  held  the 
position  of  town  attorney.  Frank  P.  Christoph, 
now  generally  considered  the  Democratic  wheel- 
horse  of  Mishawaka,  was  in  the  fall  of  1917  the 
nominee  of  his  party  for  mayor,  with  the  present 
incumbent  as  his  successful  competitor. 

Besides  the  two  cities  of  South  Bend  and  Misha- 
waka there  are  five  incorporated  towns  in  St.  Jo- 
seph county,  viz:  Walkerton,  New  Carlisle,  North 
Liberty,  Lakeville,  Wyatt. 

The  newspaper  field  has  been  well  filled  from  an 
early  period  of  the  county's  existence.  As  fi'- 
tingly  observed  by  Judge  Timothy  E.  Howard, 
"The  history  of  our  newspapers  is  co-eval  with 
that  of  South  Bend  itself.  The  editors,  in  the 
main,  have  been  intelligent  and  broad-minded,  and 
have  acted  on  the  assumption  that  their  readers 
were  all  people  of  refinement  and  intelligence. 
Appeals  to  passion  and  prejudice  have  been  the 
exception.  The  appeal  has  been  rather  to  reason, 
morals,  patriotism  and  good  citizenship  and  the 
general  welfare  of  the  country." 

The  first  paper  ventured  in  the  county  was 
called  the  Northwestern  Pioneer.  It  was  estab- 
lished November  16,  1831,  by  John  D.  and  Joseph 
H.  Defrees.  There  was  at  that  time  no  paper  pub- 
lished north  of  Indianapolis  or  west  of  Detroit. 
Even  Chicago  was  without  a  newspaper.  Six 
months  later  the  name  was  changed  to  the  St. 
Joseph  Beacon.  In  1833  Joseph  H.  Defrees  sold 
his  interest  to  his  brother  and  moved  to  Goshen, 
where  he  engaged  and  prospered  in  the  mercan- 
tile business,  was  repeatedly  elected  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Indiana,  and  in  1864  was  made  a 
member  of  Congress  for  the  Fort  Wayne  district. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


serving  one  term.  John  D.  Defrees  abandoned  the 
South  Bend  field  and  moved  the  Beacon  to  White 
Pigeon,  Mich.,  where  he  disposed  of  the  plant  to 
a  Mr.  Gilbert.  Returning  to  South  Bend  a  short 
time  afterward,  Defrees  equipped  himself  for  the 
practice  of  law,  acquired  a  lucrative  practice, 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  became  editor  of 
the  Indianapolis  Journal  and  was  by  President 
Lincoln  appointed  public  printer  at  Washington. 
Several  years  after  the  war  Mr.  Defrees  modi- 
fied his  political  views  and  in  1872  vigorously  sup- 
ported Horace  Greeley  for  the  presidency  as 
against  Grant. 

South  Bend  was  not  to  be  without  a  newspaper 
any  length  of  time.  In  1836  William  Milligan 
established  the  Free  Press.  This  paper  was 
fairly  well  supported,  but  in  1845  the  plant  was 
transferred  to  Albert  W.  West  and  Schuyler  Col- 
fax. These  gentlemen  established  the  St.  Joseph 
Valley  Register,  the  first  number  of  which  made 
its  appearance  September  12,  1845.  It  grew  rap- 
idly in  popular  favor.  On  the  slavery  question  it 
opposed  both  abolition  and  slavery  extension.  The 
conservative  middle  ground  on  that  "burning  is- 
sue" was  chosen  and  steadfastly  maintained, 
though  the  editor  was  uncompromisingly  opposed 
to  every  scheme  for  the  extension  of  human  slav- 
ery into  any  new  territory.  After  seven  months 
Mr.  Colfax  became  sole  proprietor.  In  1851  he  re- 
ceived his  first  nomination  for  Congress,  but  was 
defeated  at  the  election.  He  fared  better  later  on, 
being  first  elected  in  1854  and  thereafter  re- 
elected for  seven  consecutive  terms.  In  1869  he 
became  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  Dur- 
ing his  first  congressional  campaign  a  bright  law- 
yer and  vigorous  writer  named  James  Davis  occu- 
pied the  Registe7-'s  editorial  chair.  During  his 
second  race  Alfred  Wheeler  wielded  the  editorial 
pen.  In  April,  1857,  Mr.  Wheeler  became  a  part- 
ner, and  later  on  sole  owner.  In  November,  1865, 
Archibald  Beal,  who  for  eight  years  had  been  the 
publisher  of  the  Mishaivaka  Enterprise,  pur- 
chased the  Register  in  partnership  with  C.  E. 
Fuller.  Two  years  afterwards  Alfred  B.  Miller 
and  Elmer  Crockett,  who  had  been  engaged  on  the 
paper,  purchased  Mr.  Fuller's  interest,  and  the 
firm  became  Beal,  Miller  &  Co.  In  January,  1872, 
Mr.  Beal  purchased  the  Miller  and  Crockett  in- 
terests, and  in  1873  Daniel  S.  Marsh  became  as- 
sociate editor.  In  February,  1874,  D.  J.  Benner 
acquired  a  half  interest  in  the  Register  and  be- 
came one  of  the  editors,  Mr.  Marsh  remaining  but 
a  short  time  longer  in  that  capacity.  In  August, 
1875,  The  Register  Company  was  formed  with  Mr. 
Beal  as  president.  Several  changes  in  manage- 
ment occurred  thereafter,  but  the  establishment 
in  1872  of  the  Tribune  by  Alfred  B.  Miller,  Elmer 
Crockett,  James  H.  Banning  and  Elias  W.  Hoover 


had  so  undermined  the  old  Register  that  in  1887 
it  finally  yielded  to  the  inevitable  and  was  merged 
into  its  more  successful  and  prosperous  rival.  The 
Tribune  was  established  March  9,  1872.  May  28. 
1873,  a  daily  issue  was  added.  The  publication 
of  the  weekly  was  abandoned  after  it  had  been 
demonstrated  that  the  people  in  the  "rural  dis- 
tricts" were  desirous  of  being  served  daily  in- 
stead of  weekly.  The  Tribune  experienced  its 
greatest  "Mift"  during  the  McKinley  campaign  in 
1896.  Mr.  Crockett  was  a  member  of  the  Repub- 
lican state  committee  and  was  made  chairman  of 
the  publicity  bureau.  There  being  no  limit  to 
Republican  campaign  funds  that  year,  it  was  an 
easy  matter  to  "introduce"  the  Tribune  into  prac- 
tically every  household  in  the  county  for  mission- 
ary purposes.  Besides  this  very  substantial  finan- 
cial reinforcement,  Mr.  Crockett  had  for  four 
years  been  enjoying  the  emoluments  of  the  South 
Bend  postoflice.  All  in  all,  the  Tribune  fared  ex- 
ceedingly well  during  these  years  of  Democratic 
tribulation. 

Upon  the  death  of  Alfred  B.  Miller,  in  the  fall 
of  1892,  his  son,  Fred  A.,  became  editor-in-chief. 
The  paper  is  still  owned  by  Miller  and  the  two 
Crocketts.     Its  business  is  quite  prosperous. 

During  the  campaign  of  1840  Dr.  E.  W.  H.  Ellis, 
publisher  of  the  Goshen  Democrat,  conducted  a 
paper  at  Mishawaka  in  the  interest  of  Martin 
Van  Buren.  The  venture  failed  to  prove  remuner- 
ative. 

In  1841  Wilbur  F.  Storey,  who  in  later  years 
gained  national  fame  as  an  editor,  established  the 
Mishawaka  Tocsin.  A  short  time  thereafter 
Storey  sold  the  paper  to  George  Merrifield,  who 
in  1845  unloaded  it  on  Thomas  Jernegan.  The 
Tocsin  was  moved  to  South  Bend,  where  it  peace- 
fully passed  away.  Storey,  upon  leaving  Misha- 
waka, located  in  Laporte,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  drug  business  and  acquired  an  interest  in  the 
Herald,  of  which  he  became  editor.  He  did  not 
cut  much  of  a  figure  in  the  newspaper  field  at 
Laporte,  but  later  on  gained  quite  a  reputation  as 
editor  and  publisher  of  the  Detroit  Free  Prc.ts. 
Shortly  before  the  Civil  war  he  got  hold  of  the 
Chicago  Times  and  made  quite  a  paper  out  of  it. 
On  account  of  some  disloyal  utterances  in  1863 
the  Times  was  temporarily  suppressed  by  order 
of  General  Burnside.  This  gave  that  paper  much 
notoriety,  just  what  Storey  wanted.  About  the 
time  Vallandigham  proclaimed  his  New  Depart- 
ure, early  in  the  seventies.  Storey  renounced  his 
fealty  to  Democracy  and  made  the  Times  ram- 
pagiously  independent.  He  branded  the  Demo- 
cratic party  "a  putrid  reminiscence"  and  viciously 
opposed  Greeley's  candidacy  in  1872.  The  Chi- 
cago Tribune,  then  edited  by  Horace  White,  on  the 
other  hand,  earnestly  supported  Greeley.     These 


(  765  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


departures  in  newspaper  attitudes  proved  highly 
beneficial  financially  to  Storey.  He  became  a  very 
rich  man — and  correspondingly  foolish.  A  gro- 
tesque matrimonial  venture  unbalanced  his  mind. 
At  enormous  expense  he  built  a  castle  on  a  fash- 
ionable boulevard  of  Chicago.  It  was  never  en- 
tirely finished.  A  few  years  later  it  was  torn 
dov^Ti.  Some  of  the  stone  and  marble  of  which 
the  palace  had  been  built  was  brought  to  South 
Bend  by  heirs  of  the  Storey  estate. 

In  the  year  1853  Ariel  Euclid  Drapier  and  his 
son,  William  H.,  established  the  St.  Joseph 
County  Foi-iim  in  South  Bend.  This  was  the  first 
attempt  at  conducting  a  regular  Democratic 
newspaper  in  St.  Joseph  county.  Under  the  lead- 
ership of  Schuyler  Co'fax  the  Whig  and  later  the 
Republican  party  were  so  strongly  intrenched  in 
popular  favor  as  to  render  the  Drapier  venture  ex- 
ceedingly hazardous.  The  Drapiers  were  forceful 
writers,  but  their  path  was  strewn  with  so  many 
obstacles  that  success  proved  to  be  unattainable. 
On  account  of  some  indiscreet  utterances  regard- 
ing the  Civil  war  the  Forum  was  for  a  time  sup- 
pressed by  order  of  Gen.  Milo  S.  Hascall  of 
Goshen.  Some  time  afterward  the  plant  was  sold 
to  Edward  Molloy,  who  had  rerjdered  gallant 
service  in  the  Union  army,  and  who  gave  the  new 
enterprise  the  suggestive  name.  The  National 
Union.  The  paper  prospered  fairly  well.  It  was 
ably  edited  under  the  wise  guidance  of  Col.  Nor- 
man Eddy,  who  at  that  time  held  the  office  of 
collector  of  internal  revenue  by  appointment  of 
President  Andrew  Johnson.  In  1870  the  Union 
passed  under  the  control  and  ownership  of  Judge 
James  D.  Osborn,  an  able  Democratic  lawyer  of 
Goshen,  and  an  exceedingly  forceful  political 
vn-iter.  He  associated  with  himself  Herbert  S. 
Passett,  up  to  that  time  foreman  of  the  Ligonier 
Banner,  owned  by  John  B.  Stoll,  and  who  "stood 
good"  for  a  Campbell  power  press  stipulated  to 
be  installed  as  Passett's  interest  in  the  establish- 
ment. About  two  years  later  Judge  Osborn,  hav- 
ing tired  of  unremunerative  newspaper  life,  sold 
his  interest  in  the  Union  to  John  Brownfield, 
Jr.,  and  returned  to  Goshen.  In  compliance  with 
persistent  clamor  for  a  German  newspaper  in 
South  Bend,  Brownfield  and  Passett,  in  1873,  es- 
tablished Der  Indiana  Courier,  with  John  B. 
Stoll  as  editor-in-chief  and  Gustav  Pikentscher  as 
local  editor.  For  six  months  Mr.  Stoll  came  from 
his  Ligonier  home  to  South  Bend  the  middle  of 
each  week  to  supervise  the  issuing  of  the  new 
candidate  for  popular  favor.  In  course  of  time 
Der  Courier  was  transferred  to  Pikentscher  & 
Troeger.  In  later  years  various  forced  changes 
took  place  in  the  management  of  Der  Courier, 
which   finally   was   gently   put   to   sleep   by   Otto 


Sandmayr  some  time  during  the  first  decade  of 
the  present  century. 

About  a  year  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  dis- 
astrous panic  of  1873  the  Union  was  purchased 
by  Charles  L.  Murray  of  Goshen,  who  placed  the 
establishment  in  charge  of  his  son,  Charles  T.,  an 
exceedingly  vigorous  and  versatile  writer.  The 
name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Herald. 
So  vigorously  did  young  Murray  wield  his  pen 
that  he  was  shot  in  the  abdomen  by  a  man  named 
Palmer,  but  luckily  not  killed.  In  1876  the  senior 
Murray  moved  to  South  Bend  and  took  personal 
charge  of  the  Herald.  He  made  it  an  exceed- 
ingly interesting  publication,  but  early  in  the 
eighties  sold  the  plant  to  Henry  A.  Peed,  who 
came  very  near  playing  havoc  with  the  staid  old 
Plymouth  Democrat.  Before  locating  at  Ply- 
mouth Peed  had  been  a  state  senator  from  the 
southern  part  of  Indiana  and  had  acquired  some 
distinction  by  ostentatiously  attempting  to  imi- 
tate the  maJ3Stic  tread  of  Daniel  W.  Voorhees. 
Peed  had  but  little  money  and  bought  the  Union 
mainly  on  credit,  pledging  the  plant  as  security. 
Unable  to  meet  his  obligations,  foreclosure  of 
the  mortgage  became  inevitable.  The  well-worn 
type  and  presses  were  turned  over  to  Murray,  who 
used  the  same  to  publish  a  prohibition  paper 
called  the  Sun,  which  a  few  years  later  was  moved 
to  Indianapolis  and  issued  under  the  name  of  The 
Indiana  Phalan.x. 

Peed  retained  the  Herald  subscription  list, 
which  incautiously  had  not  been  covered  by  the 
mortgage.  Meanwhile  Peed  had  organized  a  stock 
company  to  purchase  a  new  outfit  wherewith  to 
publish  a  new  paper.  He  named  the  paper  South 
Dend  Times.  Every  particle  of  stutf  in  the  shop 
was  mortgaged  to  Marder,  Luse  &  Co.,  in  Chi- 
cago. Poorly  conducted  as  it  was,  the  Times 
failed  utterly  to  ingratiate  itself  in  popular  favor. 
Peed  made  a  desperate  effort  to  find  a  purchaser. 
For  months  he  bombarded  John  B.  Stoll  to  take 
the  concern  off  his  hands.  Besides  the  Ligonier 
Banner  Mr.  Stoll  had  a  newspaper  on  his  hands  in 
the  city  of  Elkhart.  Notwithstanding  the  ample- 
ness  of  these  burdens,  Mr.  Stoll  finally  consented 
to  take  the  bankrupt  publication  off  Feed's  heavily 
burdened  shoulders.  Peed  said  all  he  asked  was 
that  he  be  paid  for  the  stock  that  he  personally 
held  in  the  concern  and  that  in  turn  he  would  see 
to  it  that  all  the  other  stockholders  turned  their 
valueless  certificates  over  to  the  purchaser  of  the 
plant.  In  accordance  with  this  proposition  Mr. 
Stoll  went  to  Chicago  and  had  the  mortgage  held 
by  Marder,  Luse  &  Co.  assigned  to  him,  paying 
spot  cash  for  the  entire  claim.  Included  in  this 
deal  was  Feed's  stock  which  he  represented  to 
hold  in  his  possession.  Stopping  off  at  South  Bend 
on  his  return  trip,  Mr.  Stoll,  by  appointment,  met 


(766) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Peed  and  told  him  he  was  ready  to  close  the  deal 
upon  Feed's  turning  over  his  certificates  of  stock. 
Going  to  the  Times  office,  Peed  went  to  the  little 
unlocked  safe  and  for  quite  a  while  fumbled 
around,  ostensibly  to  find  "his"  certificates.  Hav- 
ing completed  his  aimless  and  fruitless  search,  he 
turned  around  and  blandly  remarked  to  Mr.  StoU: 
"I  just  happened  to  remember  that  I  hypothe- 
cated this  stock  to  Marder,  Luse  &  Co.  for  addi- 
tional security."  To  this  Mr.  Stoll  replied  that  he 
was  fully  aware  of  all  this.  He  then  drew  the 
certificates  out  of  an  envelope  in  his  coat  pocket 
and  showed  them  to  Peed.  Unabashed  by  this  dis- 
closure. Peed  complacently  urged  that  the  deal  be 
closed,  nevertheless,  as  he  had  proposed.  Mr. 
Stoll  replied  that  in  point  of  fact  Peed  had  no 
claim  whatever  on  the  concern.  "Notwithstand- 
ing all  that,"  Mr.  Stoll  said,  "I  am  going  to  pay 
you  dollar  for  dollar  for  the  stock  bearing  your 
name,  although  as  a  matter  of  fact  I  have  already 
bought  it  from  Marder,  Luse  &  Co.  and  paid  them 
for  it."  This  was  done,  and  early  in  April  of 
1883  Mr.  Stoll  took  possession  of  the  shop,  placing 
Charles  A.  McDonald  in  charge  until  removal  to 
South  Bend  could  be  effected.  In  order  to  give  the 
institution  some  standing  and  prestige,  many 
debts  owed  by  Peed  were  liquidated  by  Mr.  Stoll, 
although  the  latter  was  under  neither  legal  nor 
moral  obligations  so  to  do.  These  and  other  acts 
of  kindness  were  rewarded  later  by  Peed  institut- 
ing suit  against  his  fellow  stockholders  in  the  sum 
of  $1,300  for  editorial  service.  Needless  to  say 
that  Judge  pro  tem.  Lucius  Hubbard  uncere- 
moniously kicked  this  absurd  case  out  of  court  as 
soon  as  the  facts  in  the  premises  had  been  laid 
bare.  A  daily  edition  of  the  Times  was  launched 
December  3,  1883. 

Of  the  Times  under  Mr.  Stoll's  management 
Judge  Timothy  E.  Howard  in  his  St.  Joseph 
County  History  speaks  thus  on  page  469: 

"In  the  spring  of  1883  the  controlling  stock  in 
this  corporation  was  transferred  to  the  Hon.  John 
B.  Stoll,  the  brilliant  editor  of  the  Ligonier  Ban- 
ner, which  Mr.  Stoll  had  made  'the  ablest  Demo- 
cratic paper  in  Indiana,'  as  William  S.  Holman 
declared  to  the  writer  years  afterwards.  Of  the 
succeeding  history  of  the  Times  it  is  perhaps  suf- 
ficient to  say  that  the  Democrats  of  the  city  and 
county  soon  became  satisfied  that  they  had  in  that 
paper  one  of  the  very  best  in  the  country  and  in 
its  editor-in-chief  one  of  the  ablest  and  wisest 
editorial  writers  in  the  United  States.  Closely  as- 
sociated with  Mr.  Stoll,  from  1883  until  his  la- 
mented death,  December  1.5,  1906,  was  Charles 
Albert  McDonald.  But  better  than  mere  party 
service,  however  desirable  that  may  be,  the  Times 
and  its  accomplished  editors  had  and  still  have  a 
constituency  far  beyond  all  partisan  lines.  The 
paper  has  been  in  the  best  sense  independent  in 
politics  and  in  all  other  matters  affecting  the 
public  welfare.  The  independence  of  the  press  is 
one  of  the  chief  safeguards  of  the  liberties  of  the 


people;  and  this  truth  the  people  themselves  are 
quick  to  recognize.  It  does  not  follow  that  the 
independent  paper  does  not  sometimes  make  mis- 
takes, grievous  mistakes  occasionally;  does  not  at 
times  do  violence  to  the  feelings  and  convictions 
of  its  readers  and  particularly  its  party  support- 
ers. This,  however,  is  far  better  in  the  end  than 
to  take  a  cowardly  part  in  the  discussion  of  public 
questions.  Party  principles,  as  in  the  case  of  all 
other  principles,  must  of  course  control  in  large 
degree  the  sentiments  of  a  party  newspaper;  any 
other  course  would  be  dishonest  with  its  readers. 
But  within  the  lines  there  is  ample  room  for  a  free 
and  manly  course,  as  was  e.xemplified  in  the  career 
of  Peter  Stirling.  In  this  best  sense  the  Times 
has  been  an  independent  party  paper;  and  the 
people,  without  respect  to  party,  have  appreci- 
ated the  strong,  manly  course  pursued  by  the 
Times  and  have  accorded  to  it  a  most  generous 
support.  There  is  indeed  no  town  in  the  State, 
perhaps  in  the  whole  country,  that  has  two  better 
newspapers  than  the  South  Bend  Times  and  the 
South  Bend  Tribune." 

The  most  trying  period  through  which  the 
Times  passed  was  during  the  free  silver  agitation 
in  1896.  Nearly  the  entire  local  business  element 
of  the  Democratic  party  arrayed  itself  against  the 
16-to-l  propaganda  and  the  candidacy  of  Mr. 
Bryan. 

The  Sunday  News  was  established  in  April, 
1887,  by  Chauncey  N.  Fassett,  who  had  previously 
been  editor  of  the  old  Register.  In  course  of  time, 
late  in  the  nineties,  a  morning  paper  called  the 
News  was  launched  in  connection.  This  venture 
was  largely  engineered  by  William  A.  Mclnerny 
and  one  other  member  of  the  Fogarty  administra- 
tion. Failing  to  make  it  a  financial  success,  Mc- 
lnerny in  the  summer  of  1911  induced  Gabriel 
R.  Summers,  a  wealthy  patent  medicine  man,  at 
present  a  state  senator,  to  acquire  the  South  Bend 
Times  and  merge  the  two  plants  into  one.  Sum- 
mers was  already  principal  owner  of  the  News. 
The  morning  and  evening  editions  of  the  News- 
Times  are  issued  from  the  Times  building  on  Col- 
fax avenue.  Under  the  present  management  and 
the  editorship  of  John  Henry  Zuver,  these  papers 
espouse  the  cause  of  prohibition,  woman  suffrage 
and  mildly  the  initiative  and  referendum,  govern- 
ment ownership  of  public  utilities  and  kindred 
"progressive"  doctrines.  The  war  policy  of  Pres- 
ident Wilson  has  from  the  beginning  had  this  pa- 
per's unstinted  support.  Mclnerny  and  his  im- 
mediate followers  eliminated  themselves  from 
the  News-Times  nearly  two  years  ago.  Then  Fas- 
sett  also  severed  his  connection  with  the  Netvs- 
Times  and  is  now  a  feature  writer  on  the  Tri- 
bune. 

About  two  years  ago  there  was  established  in 
South  Bend  a  new  German  paper  called  Germa- 
nia.  Its  publisher  is  J.  Baumbach.  He  came 
from  Milwaukee,  but  had  previously  had  some 
newspaper  experience  in  Iowa. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


The  New  Era  was  originally  established  in 
South  Bend  by  Ralph  E.  Hoyt.  March  27,  1880, 
it  fell  into  the  hands  of  Benjamin  F.  Shively,  who 
devoted  its  columns  to  a  vigorous  advocacy  of  the 
principles  of  the  Greenback  party.  Shively  ran 
as  the  Greenback  nominee  for  Congress  in  1882, 
and  turned  the  paper  over  to  D.  M.  Eveland,  in 
whose  hands  it  gave  up  the  ghost  in  1883.  Its 
subscription  list  was  transferred  to  the  Times. 

Early  in  the  nineties  a  Michigander  named 
Brown  started  a  morning  paper  in  South  Bend 
that  was  called  the  Post.  He  held  out  about  a 
year,  when  he  unloaded  in  order  to  go  South  for 
the  benefit  of  his  wife's  health.  The  paper  passed 
through  several  changes  and  finally  gave  up  the 
ghost  while  in  the  keeping  of  John  W.  O'Bannon. 
The  material  of  this  plant  was  sold  to  the  Times 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  century. 

The  Mishawaka  Enterprise  was  established  in 
1853,  first  under  the  name  Free  Press.  Connected 
with  its  publication  at  various  times  were  D.  C. 
Ireland,  L.  A.  Elliott,  Archibald  Beal,  S.  T.  Mont- 
gomery and  Norman  V.  Brower.  In  1872  the  En- 
terprise became  the  property  of  its  present  owner, 
Edward  A.  Jernegan.  He  has  proved  himself  a 
capable  newspaper  man. 

A  second  paper  called  the  Democrat  was  estab- 
lished in  Mishawaka  '  in  1891  by  William  P. 
O'Neill,  who  later  on  was  elected  Lieutenant- 
Governor  in  1912.  The  paper  at  no  time  became 
remunerative  or  profitable. 

Weekly  papers  are  published  at  Walkerton  and 
North  Liberty.  They  have  been  in  existence  for 
quite  a  number  of  years  and  seem  to  be  doing 
fairly  well — as  well  as  can  reasonably  be  expected 
in  limited  fields. 

THE  JUDICIARY. 

St.  Joseph  county  has  been  singularly  for- 
tunate in  the  quality  and  caliber  of  its  judicial 
officers.  The  first  presiding  judge  was  John  R. 
Porter,  1832.  His  successors  on  the  bench  were 
Gustavus  A.  Evarts,  Samuel  C.  Sample,  Ebenezer 
M.  Chamberlain,  Albert  G.  Deavitt,  Thomas  S. 
Stanfield,  John  B.  Niles,  Andrew  S.  Osbom,  Dan- 
iel Noyes,  Lucius  Hubbard,  Walter  A.  Funk. 
Niles,  Osbom  and  Noyes  were  residents  of  La- 
porte. 

The  Superior  Court,  established  in  1907,  was 
first  presided  over  by  Vernon  W.  VanFleet,  who 


was  succeeded  by  the  present  incumbent,  George 

Ford. 

PRESIDENTIAL  VOTE  IN  EARLIER  YEAR^. 

In  1832  Henry  Clay,  Whig,  was  credited  with 
having  received  123  votes,  as  against  121  cast  for 
Andrew  Jackson,  Democratic  Republican.  No 
record  has  been  found  of  the  vote  cast  in  1836, 
when  Martin  Van  Buren  and  William  Henry  Har- 
rison were  rival  candidates  for  the  presidency. 
Subsequent  votes  of  the  county  follow: 

1840— Martin  Van  Buren,  Dem.  Rep.,  444;  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison,  Whig,  809. 

1844— James  K.  Polk,  Dem.,  683;  Henry  Clay, 
Whig,  863 ;  James  G.  Bimey,  Abolitionist,  33. 

1848— Lewis  Cass,  Dem.,  667;  Zachary  Taylor, 
Whig,  817;  Martin  Van  Buren,  Freesoil,  332. 

18.52— Franklin  Pierce,  Dem.,  1,052;  Winfield 
Scott,  Whig,  998;  John  P.  Hale,  Freesoil,  174. 

1856 — James  Buchanan,  Dem.,  1,509;  John  C. 
Fremont,  Rep.,  1,812;  Millard  Fillmore,  Ameri- 
can, 6. 

1860 — Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Dem.,  1,489;  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  Rep.,  2,363;  John  C.  Breckinridge, 
Secessionist,  23;  John  Bell,  Constitutional 
Union,  5. 

1864 — George  B.  McClellan,  Bern.,  1,558;  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  Rep.,  2,188. 

1868— Horatio  Seymour,  Dem.,  2,249;  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  Rep.,  3,075. 

1872 — Horace  Greeley,  Liberal  Rep.  and  Dem., 
2,402;  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Rep.,  3,426;  Charles 
O'Connor,  Bourbon  Dem.,  13. 

THE  BEST-MANAGED  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE 
HISTORY  OF  THE  COUNTY. 
It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  those  quali- 
fied to  judge  of  such  matters  that  the  best-man- 
aged campaign  on  the  Democratic  side  of  the 
house  was  made  in  1884.  Four  years  before  the 
Republicans  had  carried  the  county  for  General 
Garfield  over  the  gallant  Hancock  by  498  major- 
ity. By  compact  organization  and  by  painstak- 
ing supervision  of  public  speaking,  together  with 
vigorous  yet  judicious  newspaper  support,  the 
county  was  carried  for  Cleveland,  Hendricks  and 
Gray  by  almost  identically  the  same  majority. 
No  speaker  from  abroad  was  permitted  to  be  as- 
signed to  St.  Joseph  county  until  pronounced 
"sane  and  safe"  by  the  local  management.  By 
superb  generalship  the  St.  Joseph  county  Democ- 
racy achieved  a  signal  victory  in  1884. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
SCOTT  COUNTY 


SCOTT  COUNTY  was  formerly  a  part  of  Jef- 
ferson, until  1820,  it  was  made  a  separate 
county,  and  the  county  seat  was  located  at 
Lexington,  which  was  founded  in  1800.  Lexington 
contmued  to  be  the  seat  of  justice  until  1873, 
when  the  county  seat  was  removed  to  Scottsburg. 

The  first  court  held  in  the  county  was,  July  3, 
1820,  and  the  county  was  in  the  second  judicial 
circuit. 

The  first  Sheriff  of  the  county  was  Major 
Elisha  G.  English,  father  of  the  late  William  H. 
English,  and  grandfather  of  Hon.  W.  E.  English, 
of  Indianapolis. 

Michael  G.  Bright  and  his  brother,  Jesse  D. 
Bright,  were  naturalized  in  the  court  of  Scott 
county.  The  latter  was  United  States  Senator 
and  was  noted  as  one  of  the  great  men  of  Indiana, 
as  well  as  a  national  figure.  He  was  an  uncle  of 
Hon.  Bernard  Korbly,  Democratic  State  Chair- 
man, and  ex-Congressman  Charles  Korbly  of  In- 
dianapolis. 

The  Democrats  were  a  minority  party  in  Scott 
county  until  the  advent  of  the  Free  Soil  and  Re- 
publican parties  in  1856  and  1860.  But  when  the 
Whig  party  went  on  the  rocks  a  large  number  of 
them  came  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  from 
that  time  until  the  present  the  Democrats  never 
lost  the  county  on  the  State  and  National  tickets. 
But  six  Republicans  have  ever  been  elected  to  a 
county  office  in  the  county. 

Scott  county  produced  two  Congressmen,  father 
and  son.  William  H.  English  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress four  times,  viz.,  1852,  1854,  1856,  and  1858, 
from  this  district,  while  a  resident  of  Lexington. 
He  was  a  Democrat,  and  in  1880  was  nominated 
for  Vice-President  with  Winfield  Scott  Hancock. 
His  son,  Hon.  W.  E.  English,  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress from  the  Seventh  District  in  1882,  as  a  Dem- 
ocrat, but  in  1896  left  the  party  on  the  free  silver 
issue.  William  H.  English  was  given  credit  for 
being  the  main  force  who  secured  the  admission 
of  Texas  to  the  union. 

Daniel  Blocher  was  a  noted  Democrat  in  his 
day  in  Scott  county,  and  served  as  a  member  of 
the  lower  House  of  the  Indiana  Legislature  in  the 
year  1873.  He  had  the  distinction  of  having 
shaken  hands  with  every  Governor,  except  Gov- 
ernor Jennings,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in 
1903. 

Colonel  Charles  L.  Jewett,  now  of  New  Albany, 
was  born  and  reared  in  Scott  county,  and  while 


a  resident  was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and 
was  twice  Speaker  of  the  House.  C.  W.  Cruson, 
S.  B.  Wells  and  Mark  Storen,  now  United  States 
Marshal  of  Indiana,  all  Democrats,  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature.  A  strange  coincidence 
is  the  fact  that  the  first  and  last  United  States 
Marshals  were  from  Scott  county,  Major  Elisha 
G.  English  being  the  first. 

Judge  Joseph  H.  Shea  of  the  Appellate  Court, 
a  Democrat,  is  a  native  of  Scott  county,  and  was 
State  Senator,  representing  Clark,  Scott  and  Jen- 
nings counties  in  the  Senate. 

Elijah  A.  Gladden,  now  Secretary  of  the  State 
Board  of  Forestry;  Charles  W.  Cruson,  who  died 
in  Indianapolis,  March  17,  1914;  W.  L.  Morrison. 
Superintendent  of  the  Scottsburg  High  School; 
Noble  J.  Hays,  now  in  the  Internal  Revenue  sei-v- 
ice  under  Hon.  Isaac  Strouse;  Hon.  Mark  Storen 
and  Hon.  Frank  Gardner,  an  attorney  of  Scotts- 
burg, have  been  the  Democratic  county  chairmen 
of  Scott  county  in  the  last  twenty-five  years. 

The  first  Democratic  newspaper  was  the  Cortiu- 
copia,  published  in  Lexington  while  Governor 
Jennings  was  Territorial  Governor  of  Indiana. 

The  Scott  County  Democrat  was  started  in 
1873  by  John  H.  J.  Seirp. 

The  Scott  County  Journal  was  founded  by 
Mark  Storen  and  C.  C.  Foster  at  Lexington  in 
1885,  and  was  purchased  and  moved  to  Scottsburg 
by  James  F.  Ervin  in  1886.  S.  B.  Wells  purchased 
the  Scott  County  Journal  in  1909,  and  in  1912 
purchased  the  Scott  County  Democrat  and  consoli- 
dated the  two.  and  since  that  time  the  Scott  Coun- 
ty Journal  is  the  only  Democratic  newspaper  in 
the  county. 

The  largest  Democratic  majority  cast  in  the 
county  for  a  Presidential  candidate  was  for  W.  J. 
Bryan  in  1896,  400.  In  1900,  358,  and  in  1908 
Bryan  carried  the  county  over  Taft  by  but  267 
majority. 

The  majority  of  Woodrow  Wilson  over  Roose- 
velt was  502,  and  over  Taft  706,  and  he  had  a 
plurality  over  both  of  275. 

Every  county  office  is  filled  by  a  Democrat. 
N.  V.  Howell  is  Clerk;  Hugh  Colvin,  Treasurer; 
Robert  Blunt,  Auditor;  Joseph  N.  Keith,  Recorder; 
Walter  Sarver,  Assessor;  Allen  Maggard,  Sur- 
veyor; Dr.  J.  P.  Wilson,  Coroner;  Charles  M. 
Montgomery,  Allen  Clark  and  Solon  O.  Payne, 
County  Commissioners,  and  Frank  Gardner,  Coun- 
ty Attorney. 


25 — History 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
SHELBY  COUNTY 

By  Charles  A.  Hack 


THE  history  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
Shelby  county  properly  begins  with  the  for- 
mation of  the  county  in  the  year  1821.  The 
county  is  located  south  and  east  of  the  county 
of  Marion,  contains  408  square  miles,  or  261,120 
acres  of  valuable  farm  land.  Shelby  county 
was  named  after  the  Hon.  Isaac  Shelby,  the  first 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Kentucky.  Shelbyville, 
a  city  of  more  than  10,000  inhabitants,  is  located 
on  the  main  line  of  the  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Chi- 
cago &  St.  Louis  railroad,  about  twenty-seven 
miles  southeast  of  the  city  of  Indianapolis.  The 
county  is  devoted  largely  to  agriculture  and  stock 
raising. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  county  as  an 
organization  Democrats  have  been  prominent  in 
all  public  affairs;  in  fact,  Shelby  county  is  recog- 
nized by  politicians  throughout  the  State  as  one 
of  the  "strongholds''  of  Democracy.  Shelby  coun- 
ty is  noted  for  its  barbecues  and  pole  raisings. 
In  the  past  pole  raisings,  barbecues,  big  tent  gath- 
erings and  rallies  have  been  conducted  by  the 
Democratic  organization  at  almost  every  cam- 
paign, much  to  the  discomfort  of  the  Republicans. 
The  Democrats  of  the  county  have  always  main- 
tained a  permanent  organization  and  are  so 
strongly  intrenched  that  a  nomination  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  for  a  county  office  is  looked 
upon  as  equivalent  to  an  election. 

Beginning  with  the  year  1832,  the  Democrats 
carried  the  county  by  a  plurality,  for  President, 
of  248  votes;  in  1836  the  county  was  carried  by 
the  Whigs  by  13  votes;  in  1840  the  Democrats 
again  carried  the  county  for  President  by  233 
votes;  in  1848  by  292  votes;  in  1852  by  441  votes; 
in  1856  by  565  votes;  in  1860  by  147  votes;  in 
1864  by  386  votes;  in  1868  by  523  votes;  in  1872 
by  443  votes;  in  1876  by.  436  votes;  in  1880  by 
907  votes;  in  1884  by  565  votes;  in  1888  by  532 
votes;  in  1892  by  828  votes;  in  1896  by  660  votes; 
in  1900  by  555  votes;  in  the  presidential  election 
of  1904  the  county  was  carried  by  Theodore 
Roosevelt  by  110  votes;  in  the  election  of  1908  the 
Democrats  carried  the  county  by  506  votes;  in 
1912,  with  both  Republican  and  Progressives  in 
the  field,  by  a  plurality  of  1,463  votes;  and  in 
the  election  of  1916,  with  the  Republicans  and 
Progressives  united,  the  Democrats  again  carried 
the  county  for  President  by  699  votes. 

Among  many  of  the  prominent  Democrats  who 
have  represented  the  county  in  the  Legislature 
are:    The  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Jacob  Mutz, 


Isaac  Odell,  Albert  F.  Wray,  James  G.  Curtis, 
Oliver  J.  Glessner,  Squire  VanPelt,  Charles 
Major,  the  well-known  author;  Adam  F.  May, 
Everet  E.  Stroup,  Robert  Harrison,  Harry  S. 
Downey,  David  Poer,  Robert  Tomlinson,  George 
Billman.  Will  A.  Yarling,  Bellamy  S.  Sutton,  Wil- 
liam J.  Lowe,  and  the  present  incumbent,  Maurice 
Douglas. 

The  county  at  this  time  has  a  complete  set  of 
Democratic  officials  in  the  persons  of:  Alonzo 
Blair,  Judge;  Claude  R.  Henry,  Prosecuting  At- 
torney; Frank  Fagel,  Auditor;  Gordon  Thurston, 
Clerk;  Thomas  Fox,  Recorder;  Scott  A.  Brown, 
Treasurer;  Alviri  O.  Baker,  Sheriff;  George  E. 
Oltman,  Surveyor;  Dr.  G.  I.  Inlow,  Coroner; 
Frank  Mohr,  County  Assessor;  William  Everson, 
County  Superintendent  of  Schools,  and  William 
J.  Lowe,  William  Robertson  and  John  Dobbins, 
County  Commissioners.  Lee  B.  Hoop  is  the  pres- 
ent Mayor  of  the  city  of  Shelbyville  and  one 
of  the  prominent  Democrats  of  the  county. 

Among  the  names  of  many  of  the  Democrats 
who  have  served  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
county  central  committee  are:  Judge  Kendall  M. 
Hord,  Tilghman  A.  H.  Lee,  E.  T.  Carson,  Bellamy 
S.  Sutton,  Thomas  A.  Hawkins,  P.  P.  Fettig,  J. 
H.  Deitzer,  Thomas  H.  Campbell,  Otto  L.  Coyle, 
and  Charles  A.  Hack,  the  present  incumbent. 

Some  of  the  different  newspapers  that  have 
been  printed  and  edited  in  opposition  to  Democ- 
racy in  the  county  were  the  Lancet,  the  Hawkeye, 
the  Independent,  the  Scissors  and  Quill,  the  Ban- 
ner, the  Shelby  Union  and  the  present  Shelby  Re- 
publican. 

The  newspapers  printed  and  published  in  the 
county  at  this  time  are  the  Morning  News,  the 
Shelby  Republican  and  the  Daily  and  Weekly 
Democrat.  The  Shelby  Democrat,  as  known  to"- 
day,  is  not  the  successor  of  any  other  Shelby 
county  newspaper.  It  was  established  in  June, 
1878,  by  Bellamy  S.  Sutton  and  W.  Scott  Ray. 
In  November  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Sutton  sold 
his  interest  to  Albert  McCorkle,  the  Sheriff  of 
the  county,  after  which  the  paper  was  published 
under  the  name  of  Ray  &  McCorkle  until  1880. 
The  Daily  Democrat  was  established  by  W.  Scott 
Ray  on  May  4,  1880.  On  June  1,  1904,  the  Shelby 
Democrat  Publishing  Company  was  organized, 
the  stockholders  of  the  company  being  among  the 
leading  Democrats  of  the  county.  The  officers  of 
the  company  during  the  time  of  its  existence 
were:     W.  W.  Ford,  President;  Peter  G.  Kemp, 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


Vice-President,  and  John  D.  DePrez,  Secretary- 
Treasurer.  After  its  organization  the  company 
purchased  the  Weekly  and  Daily  Democrat.  On 
December  1,  1915,  the  Democrat  Publishing  Com- 
pany was  organized  with  a  capital  stock  of  $15,- 
000.  After  its  organization  the  new  company 
purchased  the  old  company  and  continued  the 
publication  of  both  the  ]Veelily  and  Daily  Deiiio- 
cfct,  each  of  which  has  a  large  circulation  in 
Shelby  and  adjoining  counties.  The  present  offi- 
cers of  the  new  company  are:  Gordon  Thurston, 
President;  Pleas  Greenlee,  Vice-President,  and 
John  D.  DePrez,  Secretary-Treasurer.  Mr.  De- 
Prez, the  editor  of  the  publications,  is  one  of  the 
Democratic  leaders  of  the  county  and  well  known 
throughout  the  State. 

The  Democracy  of  Shelby  county  has  furnished 
its  quota  of  men  who  have  achieved  distinction 
as  statesmen,  lawyers  and  writers  of  both  poetry 
and  prose. 

Alonzo  Leora  Rice,  a  prominent  Democrat  of 
Union  township  of  the  county,  is  widely  known 
throughout  the  literary  world  as  a  writer  of 
poetry.  Several  volumes  of  his  poems  have  been 
published.  His  productions  appear  in  many  of 
the  leading  journals  and  magazines  of  the 
country. 

The  name  of  Leonard  J.  Hackney  is  well  known 
to  every  leadmg  Democrat  and  every  lawyer  in 
Indiana.  Mr.  Hackney  was  one  of  the  Demo- 
cratic leaders  of  the  county  during  the  eighties. 
His  rise  as  a  lawyer  and  political  leader  was 
rapid.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Prosecuting 
Attorney  for  Johnson  and  Shelby  counties  in  the 
fall  of  1878,  and  in  the  year  1888  was  nominated 
and  elected  Judge  by  the  Democrats  of  the  same 
counties.  In  1892  he  was  placed  on  the  Demo- 
cratic State  ticket  for  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Indiana,  and  elected.  At  the  close  of 
his  career  as  Supreme  Judge  he  became  connected 
with  what  was  at  that  time  known  as  the  "Big 
Four"  Railroad  Company.  His  rise  as  a  railroad 
attorney  was  rapid.  At  this  time  he  occupies 
a  position  as  general  counsel  for  the  western 
division  of  the  New  Yorkj  Central  railway  lines. 
Mr.  Hackney  is  now  a  resident  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio. 

Among  writers  of  fiction  none  stand  higher  in 
our  State  than  Charles  Major.  Mr.  Major  was 
a  resident  of  the  county  from  the  time  he  was 
fourteen  years  of  age  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
By  profession  he  was  a  lawyer.  He  was  admit- 
ted to  practice  law  at  the  Shelby  county  bar  in 
1877  and  practiced  his  profession  until  the  later 
years  of  his  life,  which  were  devoted  almost  whol- 
ly to  literary  work.  He  was  nominated  and  elect- 
ed by  the  Democrats  of  the  county  as  Representa- 


tive to  the  Legislature  and  served  during  the  ses- 
sions of  1886  and  1887  with  credit  to  himself  and 
the  party.  Among  some  of  his  literary  produc- 
tions are:  "When  Knighthood  Was  in  Flower," 
"The  Bears  of  Blue  River,"  a  story  for  boys;  "A 
F"orest  Hearth,"  "Yolanda"  and  "A  Gentle  Knight 
of  Old  Brandenburg."  His  book,  "When  Knight- 
hood Was  in  Flower,"  was  dramatized  for  the 
famous  actress,  Julia  Marlowe,  and  became  one 
of  the  most  popular  plays  of  the  day. 

The  rise  of  Alonzo  Blair,  the  present  Judge  of 
the  Sixteenth  Judicial  Circuit,  and  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  county, 
was  rapid.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  law  at 
the  Shelby  county  bar  in  the  year  1890.  In  the 
>ear  1896  he  was  nominated  and  elected  by  the 
Democrats  of  Shelby  and  Johnson  counties  as 
Prosecuting  Attorney,  which  office  he  held  for 
two  consecutive  terms,  at  the  close  of  which  he 
was  again  nominated  and  elected  by  the  Demo- 
crats of  Shelby  and  Rush  counties  to  fill  the  same 
position  for  an  additional  term  of  two  years.  At 
the  close  of  his  career  as  Prosecuting  Attorney 
he  practiced  law  in  the  county  and  soon  became 
one  of  the  leading  attorneys.  In  the  summer  of 
1910  he  was  nominated,  without  opposition,  by 
the  Democrats  of  Shelby  and  Rush  counties  as 
their  candidate  for  Judge  of  the  Sixteenth  Judi- 
cial Circuit  and  elected  in  the  fall  of  that  year. 
In  1913  Shelby  county  was  made  a  separate  judi- 
cial circuit.  At  the  primary  held  in  the  spring 
of  1916  Judge  Blair  was  again  nominated  with- 
out opposition  by  the  Democrats  as  their  candi- 
date for  Judge  of  the  Shelby  Circuit  Court,  was 
elected  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  Judge  for  a  second  term  on 
the  first  day  of  January,  1917.  Judge  Blair  is 
well  known  among  the  leading  Democrats  of  the 
State. 

The  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  one  of  the 
greatest  Democratic  leaders,  and  one  of  the  most 
profound  and  eminent  statesmen  of  his  time,  was 
a  resident  of  Shelby  county  from  the  time  he  was 
scarcely  three  years  old  until  the  year  1860,  a 
period  of  more  than  thirty-eight  years.  The 
rapid  rise  of  this  great  character  was  phenom- 
enal. He  began  the  practice  of  law  at  the  Shelby 
county  bar  in  the  year  1843.  From  the  very  be- 
ginning his  career  as  a  lawyer  and  public  man 
was  assured.  He  soon  became  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  the  county,  as  well  as  one  of  its  most 
successful  lawyers.  Following  his  admission  to 
the  bar,  he  soon  became  the  recognized  leader  of 
the  Democratic  party  of  the  county.  In  the  year 
1848  he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the  Legis- 
lature by  the  Democrats,  and  here  proved  himself 
a  forcible  speaker  and  sound  reasoner.  Later  he 
served  with  distinction  as  the  county's  represent- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


ative  in  the  constitutional  convention  which  con- 
vened in  1850.  At  the  Democratic  congressional 
convention  of  the  Fifth  district,  held  in  the  city 
of  Indianapolis  in  1851,  he  was  nominated  on  the 
thirty-third  ballot  as  the  Democratic  nominee  for 
Congress  and  afterward  elected  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year.  In  the  National  Congress  he  rapidly 
won  the  respect  and  admiration  of  his  colleagues 
and  soon  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  His  career  as  United  States  Sen- 
ator, as  Governor  of  the  State  of  Indiana  and  as 
Vice-President  of  the  nation  is  familiar  to  all  and 


need  not  here  be  repeated.  He  continued  to  re- 
side in  Shelbyville  until  1860,  when  he  removed 
to  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  where  he  afterward 
resided  until  the  time  of  his  death. 

The  Democrats  of  Shelby  county  point  with 
pride  to  the  name  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks, once  the  humblest  among  them,  then  their 
leader,  then  the  State  took  him  from  them  and 
placed  upon  him  the  mantle  of  her  highest  hon- 
ors— then  the  Nation  took  him  from  the  State 
and  recognized  him  as  one  of  the  most  eminent 
and  profound  statesmen  of  his  time. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
SPENCER  COUNTY 


SPENCER  COUNTY  was  organized  under  an 
act  of  the  legislature  in  1818,  just  two  years 
after  the  state  was  admitted  to  the  Union. 
Since  that  time  her  political  favoritism  has  not 
been  all  shown  to  one  party  by  any  manner  of 
means.  Her  majorities  either  way,  Democratic, 
Whig  or  Republican,  have  never  been  anything 
for  either  party  to  brag  about.  Even  in  presiden- 
tial elections  Spencer  county  has  been  held  rather 
uncertain  and  results  have  been  sufSciently  close 
to  make  party  organization  a  very  important 
factor  in  determining  results.  In  state  and  county 
elections  not  only  efficient  political  organization, 
but  the  comparative  worth  of  candidates  has  been 
a  large  determining  factor.  Such  a  condition 
usually  contributes  to  and  accomplishes  good  gov- 
ernment by  retaining  men  above  the  average  in 
public  offices. 

Although  the  early  election  returns,  those  prior 
to  the  election  of  1832,  were  all  destroyed  in  the 
court  house  fire  which  occurred  in  1833,  most  of 
what  happened  during  these  first  fourteen  years 
of  the  county  history  was  brought  about  through 
Democratic  officials. 

It  was  from  1832  to  1840  that  things  began  to 
grow  more  uncertain,  and  in  the  years  following 
this  condition  has  grown  decidedly  more  pro- 
nounced. For  instance,  in  the  presidential  election 
of  November,  1832,  Jackson,  the  Democratic  can- 
didate, received  191  votes  to  106  for  Clay,  the  op- 
posing Whig  candidate.  Just  two  years  later,  in 
1834,  Noah  Noble,  the  Whig  candidate  for  govern- 
or, was  given  240  votes  against  163  for  James  G. 
Reed,  the  Democratic  nominee. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1836  came  one  of 
those  pecul'ar  things  that  happen  in  politics,  de- 
scribed as  a  "landslide."  In  the  contest  for  gov- 
ernor John  Dumont,  the  Democratic  nominee,  re- 
ceived almost  the  entire  vote,  having  544  against 
David  Wallace,  the  opposing  Whig  candidate,  who 
received  only  40  votes,  showing  absolute  inde- 
pendence of  party  lines. 

In  th"  November  election  of  1840,  wherein  Har- 
rison and  Van  Buren  were  the  contending  candi- 
dates, Harrison  received  589  votes,  and  Van  Buren 
but  316.  Thus  the  Democrats  were  defeated  by 
a  substantial  majority — in  fact,  receiving  almost 
two  to  one  in  the  vote  cast,  while  but  three  years 
before  the  Whigs  received  no  consideration  what- 
ever. 

The  population  of  the  county  was  increasing 
considerably,  making  the  larger  vote,  and  the 
Democrats  gained  something  from  this  in  the  four 
years  preceding  1844.     Clay,  the  Whig  candidate. 


in  this  year  received  three  less  votes  than  Harri- 
son in  1840. 

Polk,  the  Democratic  nominee,  added  180  to  the 
vote  accorded  Van  Buren  in  1840.  The  vote  stood 
586  for  Clay,  and  496  for  Polk. 

In  the  election  for  governor  in  1846  Joseph  G. 
Mnr^hall.  Whig  candidate,  received  513,  to  490 
given  James  Whitcomb,  the  Democratic  nominee. 
The  Whigs  further  improved  conditions  for  them- 
selves in  1848,  the  voters  of  Spencer  county  giv- 
ing to  Taylor,  the  Whig  candidate  for  president, 
681,  and  to  Cass,  the  Democratic  nominee,  but  471, 
showing  a  majority  of  210  in  the  county  for  the 
Whig  nominee. 

Joseph  A.  Wright,  candidate  for  governor  in 
1849  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  improved  condi- 
tions for  his  party  both  at  this  election  and  in  that 
following  in  1852.  In  the  first  election  he  received 
534  votes,  to  591  cast  for  James  A.  Matson,  the 
Whig  candidate,  and  in  1852,  when  Wright  op- 
posed Nicholas  McCarty,  Wright  received  757 
votes,  to  570  given  McCarty. 

The  1852  election  having  also  been  presidential 
year,  Pierce,  the  Democratic  nominee,  carried 
Spencer  county  with  709  votes,  against  685  ac- 
corded to  Scott,  the  Whig  candidate.  That  was 
the  last  campaign  for  the  Whig  party.  The  name 
of  the  political  organization  was  changed  to  "Re- 
publican," and  in  the  first  election  held  under  the 
new  name  the  adherents  in  Spencer  county  cer- 
tainly had  much  to  discourage  them.  Buchanan, 
the  Democratic  nominee,  received  1,259  votes,  the 
Republicans  only  225  under  Fremont,  while  Fill- 
more, heading  the  ticket  of  the  American  party, 
received  808. 

In  that  same  year  Oliver  P.  Morton,  who  was 
the  Republican  candidate  for  governor,  fared  much 
better  than  the  presidential  part  of  the  ticket,  al- 
though the  state  election  was  held  earlier  in  the 
year  than  the  presidential,  and  personal  popular- 
ity of  the  candidates  had  greater  chance  for  con- 
sideration. Morton  had  1,083  votes  as  the  head  of 
1he  Republican  ticket,  while  A.  P.  Willard  received 
1,295. 

November,  1860,  brought  the  famous  Lincoln 
and  Douglas  campaign  to  a  close,  and  in  Spencer 
county,  as  in  most  of  the  counties  of  Indiana, 
Abraham  Lincoln  led.  Even  had  the  Breckin- 
ridge vote  of  175  been  given  to  Douglas,  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket  would  still  have  been  shy  of  enough 
to  carry  the  county.  Lincoln  received  1,296  votes, 
against  1,105  for  Douglas. 

In  the  state  election  of  1860  Spencer  county 
gave  Thomas  A.   Hendricks   1,367  votes,  against 


(773) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


1,265  for  Henry  S.  Lane,  and  two  years  later, 
in  1862,  James  S.  Athon,  Democratic  nominee  for 
secretary  of  state,  had  1,159  votes,  to  1,003  given 
his  Republican  opponent,  W.  A.  Peelle. 

Democratic  sentiment  and  organization  con- 
tinued strong  during  the  war,  and  when  Lincoln 
appeared  for  his  second  election,  in  1864,  he  re- 
ceived 1,558  votes,  against  1,417  for  P/IcClellan, 
the  Democratic  nominee. 

In  that  same  year  for  governor,  two  men  of 
recognized  ability  being  candidates,  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  Republican,  received  1,577  votes,  to  1,468 
for  Joseph  E.  McDonald,  Democratic  nominee. 

In  1866  and  1868  the  county  continued  to  give 
Republican  majorities,  although  in  the  latter  year 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  the  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor. He  received  only  1,872  votes,  against  1,943 
given  to  Conrad  Baker,  Republican  nominee. 

In  the  presidential  election  Grant  received  1,982 
Spencer  county  votes,  while  Seymour,  the  Demo- 
cratic nominee,  had  only  1,849. 

Democratic  organization  succeeded  in  1870  in 
reducing  the  Republican  lead  to  13  votes.  In  fact, 
in  some  portions  of  the  ticket  the  Democrats  won, 
and  in  1872  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  in  a  splendid 
state  campaign  was  given  2,245  votes  in  Spencer 
county,  to  2,177  received  by  Brown. 

That  was  presidential  year,  and  from  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  presidential  vote  it  is  easy  to  de- 
termine that  the  lead  accorded  Hendricks  was 
brought  about  by  his  individual  popularity.  Grant 
for  president  received  2,131  votes,  against  Greeley 
with  1,974. 

As  a  result  of  the  Hendricks  campaign  and  suc- 
cess in  1872,  two  years  later  the  Democrats  again 
carried  Spencer  county  by  good  majorities;  and  in 
1876,  the  presidential  year,  the  vote  was  decidedly 
Democratic,  Hendricks  at  that  time  being  candi- 
date for  vice-president  on  the  ticket  with  Tilden. 
The  Democratic  vote  was  2,455,  against  2,040  for 
Hayes. 

In  that  same  year  Spencer  contributed  her  por- 
tion to  the  success  of  James  D.  Williams,  candi- 
date for  governor,  against  Benjamin  Harrison. 
Williams  was  accorded  2,475,  while  Harrison  re- 
ceived 2,123,  and  other  candidates  on  the  two 
tickets  ran  in  about  the  same  proportion. 

Indiana  had  another  vice-presidential  candidate 
in  1S80,  when  Hancock  and  English  were  the  re- 
spective nominees  for  president  and  vice-presi- 
dent. They  carried  Spencer  county  with  2,475 
votes,  to  2,363  for  Garfield  and  Arthur.  While 
Franklin  Landers,  Democratic  nominee  for  gov- 
ernor, in  that  year  was  given  a  good  lead  in  Spen- 
cer county,  H.  E.  Porter,  the  Republican  nominee, 
defeated  him  in  the  state. 

Democratic  leads  in  1882  were  rather  narrow, 
and  in  the  presidential  election  and  that  for  gov- 


ernor two  years  later,  in  1884,  there  was  very  little 
difference  in  the  vote  given  the  national  and  state 
nominees.  Cleveland  had  Hendricks  for  his  run- 
ning mate  in  that  campaign,  and  received  in  Spen- 
cer county  2,530  votes,  to  2,408  given  Blaine  and 
Logan. 

Prom  this  time  forward  and  until  the  Progress- 
ives broke  their  lead  in  1912,  the  Republicans  did 
most  of  the  winning — in  fact,  carrying  all  of  the 
presidential  campaigns,  usually  by  very  close  ma- 
jorities. The  state  elections  were  a  little  more 
fortunate  for  the  Democrats,  but  even  there  they 
encountered  a  long  losing  streak. 

In  the  presidential  elections,  for  instance,  be- 
ginning with  1888  and  to  1908,  the  Spencer  county 
results  were  these:  In  1888,  Democratic,  2,685, 
Republican  2,732;  in  1892  only  one  Democratic 
elector  received  a  majority  over  his  Republican 
opponent.  This  was  William  H.  Bracken,  elector- 
at-large,  who  received  2,496,  against  Robert  B.  F. 
Pierce,  who  had  2,478  votes.  The  other  Demo- 
cratic electors  received  2,458  votes  and  the  Repub- 
licans 2,464,  a  majority  of  only  6,  but  sufficient  to 
carry  the  county. 

In  1896,  Democrats  2,745,  Republicans  3,047; 
in  1900,  Democrats  2,816,  Republicans  2,979;  in 
1904,  Democrats  2,495,  Republicans  3,017;  in  1908, 
Democrats  2,662,  Republicans  2,920. 

In  1912  came  the  Progressive  campaign.  This 
year  the  Republicans  usually  ran  third,  but  in  this 
instance  they  managed  to  be  second.  Spencer 
county  gave  the  Democrats  2,448,  the  Republicans 
1,268  and  the  Progressives  1,142  for  the  presi- 
dential electors. 

In  1916,  the  Progressives  not  being  sufficiently 
strong  to  make  any  impression,  the  Democrats  re- 
ceived 2,335,  Republicans  2,560. 

In  the  state  elections  following  1884  the  results 
show,  as  stated,  more  favorable  for  Democracy, 
although  the  Democratic  party  since  that  time 
has  had  nothing  to  brag  about  in  victories.  The 
results  have  been  these: 

In  1884,  for  governor.  Democrats  2,533,  Re- 
publicans 2,409. 

In  1886,  for  secretary.  Democrats  2,555,  Re- 
publicans, 2,467. 

In  1888,  for  governor.  Democrats  2,684,  Re- 
publicans 2,736 — a  Republican  victory. 

In  1890  there  was  a  material  falling  off  in  the 
vote:  Democrats  2,256,  Republicans  1,855,  for 
secretary  of  state. 

In  1892,  for  governor,  the  Republicans  had  a 
majority  of  two  in  the  county:  Democrats  2,458, 
Republicans  2,460. 

In  1894,  for  secretary  of  state,  Democratic 
2,420,  Republican  2,735. 

In  1896,  another  presidential  year,  the  vote  for 
governor    was:       Democratic    2,697,    Republican 


(  774  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


3,014.  That  was  Bryan's  first  campaign,  and  he 
lost  the  county  in  about  the  same  proportion  as  the 
state  ticket  suffered. 

In  1898,  for  secretary  of  state.  Democratic  2,543, 
Republican  2,744. 

In  1900,  for  governor,  in  Bryan's  second  race, 
the  vote  was  2,778  Democratic  to  2,930  Republican. 

In  1902,  for  secretary  of  state,  Democratic 
2,499.  Republican  2,764. 

In  1904,  when  Parker  was  a  candidate  for  the 
presidency,  Spencer  gave  to  the  Democratic  candi- 
date 2,472  and  to  the  Republican  candidate  2,973. 

In  190S,  Democratic  2,635,  Republican  2,876. 


In  1910,  for  secretary  of  state,  Democratic  2,673, 
Republican  2,659. 

In  1912,  for  governor,  this  being  the  year  when 
the  Progressives  predominated,  Spencer  county 
cast  2,387  for  the  Democrats,  and  1,244  for  the 
Republicans,  giving  to  the  Progressives  1,128. 

In  1914  the  Progressive  campaign  was  less  seri- 
ous to  the  Republicans,  the  vote  being  Democratic 
2,26S,  Republican  1.878,  Progressive  723,  these  be- 
ing the  votes  on  United  States  senator. 

In  1910  John  A.  M.  Adair,  Democratic  nominee 
for  governor,  received  2,341  votes,  to  2,492  given 
to  James  P.  Goodrich,  his  Republican  opponent. 


(775) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY   OF 
STARKE  COUNTY 


IN  1838  the  territory  of  northern  Indiana, 
though  sparsely  settled,  was  divided  by  an  act 
of  the  Legislature  into  districts  or  counties 
and  the  county  boundary  lines  were  established. 
Starke  county  was  one  of  these  counties  thus 
formed  and  because  of  it  being  so  thinly  settled 
it  was  joined  with  Marshall  county  for  county 
purposes  and  continued  to  be  so  joined  until  1850, 
when  a  call  was  sent  out  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  Starke  county  for  a  mass-meeting  for 
the  purpose  of  talking  over  county  organization 
and  formulating  a  plan  whereby  it  could  be  con- 
summated. This  meeting  was  held  as  near  the 
center  of  the  county  as  was  convenient,  and  after 
some  deliberation  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
locate  and  lay  out  a  county  seat,  which  was  done 
on  April  1,  1851,  by  a  locating  committee  consist- 
ing of  the  following  named  persons:  William  C. 
Barnett,  L.  Chamberlain,  William  M.  Patterson, 
and  named  Knox  in  honor  of  General  Henry  Knox 
of  Revolutionary  fame.  The  committee  then  pro- 
ceeded in  the  usual  way  to  perfect  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county  and  the  following  named  people 
who,  of  course,  seemed  to  be  the  prime  movers  in 
the  process  of  organization,  were  appointed  the 
first  officials  of  the  county :  Stephen  Jackson,  coun- 
ty clerk;  Jacob  G.  Black,  county  auditor;  Jacob 
Bozarth,  county  recoi'der;  Jacob  Tilman,  county 
treasurer;  James  B.  Prettyman,  county  coroner; 
Jacob  S.  Wampler,  county  sheriff;  William 
Parker,  George  Esty,  John  W.  Hopkins,  county 
commissioners;  John  S.  Bender,  county  surveyor. 
It  happens  that  Starke  county  was  settled  princi- 
pally by  men  who  were  leaders  in  the  Jefferson 
principles  of  Democracy.  So  far  as  can  be  learned 
there  was  no  Democratic  organization  or  central 
committee  as  we  have  today.  It  seems  that 
Charles  S.  Tibbets  can  be  spoken  of  as  the  first 
Democratic  county  chairman  or  leader.  In  all  prob- 
ability and  from  the  best  records  obtainable  he 
shared  this  honor  at  succeeding  elections  with 
James  H.  Adair,  John  Good,  Solon  Whitson,  Jacob 
Black,  M.  T.  Hepner  and  others  between  the  years 
1850  and  1874,  at  which  time  W.  C.  Boyles  became 
county  chairman,  who,  in  1876,  was  followed  by 
Sylvester  McCrackin.  In  1878  Robert  H.  Bender 
was  chosen  and  served  until  1884,  when  Samuel 
S.  Bonner  was  selected,  who  was  followed  in  suc- 
cession by  the  following  named  men:  1886,  John 
G.  Kratli;  1888,  William  B.  Sinclair;  1890,  Jacob 
Bozarth,  who  served  until  1898,  when  James  C. 
Fletcher  became  county  chairman  and  served  until 
1902,  when  he  was  followed  by  Robert  D.  Peters, 
who  in  1904  gave  way  to  George  Rogers,  who  in 


turn  was  succeeded  by  James  C.  Fletcher,  who 
served  until  1908,  when  Clarence  M.  Fuller  be- 
came the  leader  and  served  until  1914,  when  Au- 
gust H.  Knosman,  our  present  county  chairman, 
was  chosen.  Starke  county,  though  sparsely  set- 
tled and  small  in  size,  was  considered  a  Demo- 
cratic county  with  a  great  degree  of  certainty 
from  1850  to  1894,  when,  for  the  first  time  in  its 
career,  it  was  carried  by  the  Republicans  on  the 
State  ticket.  Most  of  its  county  officers  have  been 
Democrats:  in  fact,  it  was  a  very  strange  thing 
that  a  Republican  was  elected  to  office  in  Starke 
county  from  1850  to  1894;  however,  occasionally 
one  was  successful. 

Starke  county  has  never  been  entitled  to  a  rep- 
resentative in  the  State  Legislature,  but  has  al- 
ways been  joined  with  some  other  county  for  leg- 
islative purposes.  However,  the  following  named 
men  from  Starke  county  have  several  times  rep- 
resented the  district  in  the  State  Lesislature: 
Lloyd  Glasebrook,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn, 
was  the  first  one,  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Dr.  Lorenzo  Glasebrook;  who  was  followed,  pos- 
sibly not  in  succession,  by  William  Perry;  who 
gave  way  to  James  Peele,  and  he  to  Sylvester 
Bertram,  and  he  to  Lon  E.  Bernethy.  These  men, 
from  the  best  information  obtainable,  served  their 
districts  with  credit  to  it  and  honor  to  themselves. 
They  were  also  found  steadfast  in  the  cause  which 
they  represented  and  ready  and  willing  to  sup- 
port any  worthy  cause  for  the  best  interest  of  the 
State.  The  only  representative  in  the  upper 
branch  of  the  State  Legislature  that  Starke 
county  can  lay  claim  to  is  the  Hon.  Chester  A. 
McCormick,  who  was  elected  Joint  Senator  from 
Jasper,  Newton,  White  and  Starke  counties  in 
1912.  He  made  a  very  enviable  record  for  him- 
self in  both  the  68th  and  69th  sessions  of  the 
Legislature.  The  most  prominent  Democrats  in 
county  affairs  that  Starke  county  can  claim  are 
perhaps  in  the  order  of  prominence  named  as 
follows:  Solon  0.  Whitson,  James  H.  Adair,  R. 
H.  Bender,  John  S.  Bender,  M.  T.  Hepner,  A.  P. 
Dial,  Wingate  Prettyman,  Jacob  Bozarth,  James 
C.  Fletcher  and  Henry  Schricker,  of  Knox,  and 
Jacob  Keller,  Charles  W.  Weninger,  Lon  E.  Ber- 
nethy, Chester  A.  McCormick  and  others,  of  North 
Judson.  The  Hon.  George  W.  Beeman  was  also 
one  of  the  very  prominent  Democrats  of  Knox. 
He  was  the  first  and  only  Democratic  Judge  of  the 
Forty-fourth  Judicial  District  who  lived  in  Starke 
county.  Of  the  above  named  gentlemen  Mr.  Keller 
perhaps  was  the  most  widely  known.  He  was  an 
energetic  merchant  and  politician  and  always  fa- 


(776) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


vored  any  movement  which  would  benefit  his  na- 
tive to\vn  or  county.  When  the  new  tax  law  was 
passed  he,  against  his  wishes,  was  prevailed  upon 
to  serve  his  county  in  the  capacity  of  county  as- 
sessor. Starke  county  has  had  the  honor  of  hav- 
ing one  candidate  on  the  State  ticket  since  its 
origin  in  1850,  namely.  Prof.  William  B.  Sinclair, 
who  was  the  choice  of  his  party  on  two  different 
occasions  for  the  office  of  State  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction.  As  has  been  said  before, 
Starke  county  has  been  a  Democratic  county  from 
its  origin  until  quite  recent  years.  It  has  invari- 
ably returned  a  Democratic  majority  in  state  and 
national  tickets  varying  from  50  to  300,  the  cause 
of  the  variation  being  the  increase  in  population. 

The  first  newspaper  in  Starke  county,  strong  in 
the  support  of  Democratic  principles,  was 
launched  in  Knox,  the  county  seat,  in  the  summer 
of  1861  by  J.  A.  Berry,  its  editor  and  publisher. 
This  paper  was  known  as  the  Starke  County  Press 
and  was  ably  edited  until  its  suspension  near  the 
close  of  the  war.  The  next  frontier  journalist  to 
link  his  fortunes  with  a  newspaper  in  the  county 
was  Oliver  C.  Musselman,  who  launched  the 
Starlx-e  County  Ledger  in  Knox  druing  the  early 
months  of  1867.  Mr.  Musselman  continued  to  edit 
and  publish  the  Ledger,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
son,  Clum  Musselman,  until  1892,  when  he  sold 
the  plant  to  J.  Don  Gorrell,  who  changed  the  name 
of  the  paper  to  the  Stark-e  County  Democrat  and 
modernized  it  in  many  respects.  Mr.  Gorrell  was 
an  enthusiastic,  energetic  Jeffersonian  Democrat, 
who  brought  new  life  and  vigor  to  the  forces  of 
his  party  in  the  county.  In  189.3  he  was  succeeded 
by  his  brother,  Samuel  M.  Gorrell,  who  continued 
as  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Democrat  until  Sep- 
tember 1,  1908,  when  Henry  F.  Schricker,  a  native 
son  of  the  county,  purchased  and  took  charge  of 
the  plant.  Mr.  Schricker  is  still  at  the  helm  and 
his  strong  advocacy  of  Democratic  doctrine  has 
been  a  source  of  strength  to  his  party  throughout 
the  district.  Much  can  be  said  m  regard  to  the 
efficient  work  of  the  Democratic  paper  of  this 
county.  In  fact,  many  prominent  Democrats  be- 
lieve that  it  was  a  very  eflicient  means  by  which 
the  Democratic  candidates  were  able  to  win  the 
confidence  of  the  citizens  of  the  county,  thus  se- 
curing their  success  at  the  polls.  The  following  is 
the  list  of  Democratic  officeholders,  both  appointed 
and  elected,  from  1850  to  1914: 

CLERK  OF  CIRCUIT  COURT. 

Stephen  Jackson,  appointed  1850. 
Jacob  Bozarth,  appointed  1851. 
Charles  Humphreys,  elected  1852. 
John  S.  Bender,  elected  1856. 
Oliver  H.  P.  Howard,  elected  1860. 
Andrew  W.  Porter,  elected  1864  and  1868. 


Willoughby  McCormick,  elected   1872  and  1876. 
Mathias  T.  Hepner,  appointed  and  elected  1877 
and  1878. 

Jeremiah  Good,  elected  1882  and  1886. 
James  C.  Fletcher,  elected  1890  and  1894. 
Henry  E.  White,  elected  1898  and  1902. 

COUNTY  AUDITORS. 
Jacob  S.  Black,  appointed  1850. 
Charles  S.  Tibbets,  appointed  1850. 
Charles  Humphreys,  elected  1852. 
John  S.  Bender,  elected  1856. 
James  H.  Adair,  elected  1860  and  1864. 
Robert  H.  Bender,  elected  1868  and  1872. 
William  Perry,  elected  1880  and  1884. 
Robert   H.   Bender,  appointed   ami   elected   1887 
and  1888. 

August  H.  Knosman,  elected  1892  and  1896. 
John  W.  Kurtz,  elected  1900. 
Charles  W.  Weninger,  elected  1912. 

COUNTY  RECORDERS. 
Jacob  Bozarth,  appointed  1850. 
William  D.  Calkins,  elected  1855. 
Willoughby  McCormick,  elected  18.59. 
Sylvester  McCrackin,  elected  186.3. 
Austin  P.  Dial,  appointed  and  elected  1867  and 
1870. 

Michael  Kelley,  elected  1874  and  1878. 
Jacob  Bozarth,  elected  1882  and  1886. 
Henry  Seegrist,  elected  1890  and  1894. 
Jacob  Quigley,  elected  1898  and  1902. 

COUNTY  TREASURERS. 
Jacob  Tilman,  appointed  1850. 
Adam  Lambert,  appointed  1853. 
Willoughby  McCormick,  elected  1853. 
Solon  O.  Whitson,  elected  1857  and  1859. 
Wingate  Prettyman,  elected  18G1  and  1863. 
John  Good,  elected  1865  and  1867. 
Mathias  T.  Hepner,  elected  1870  and  1872. 
Austin  P.  Dial,  elected  1878  and  1880. 
Franklin  Whitson,  elected  1884  and  1886. 
Andrew  O.  Castleman,  elected  1888  and  1890. 
Oratio  D.  Fuller,  elected  1892  and  1894. 
Wilbert  Pierson,  elected  1900  and  1902. 
Frank  Joseph,  elected  1910  and  1912. 
Henry  Luken,  elected  1914. 

COUNTY  CORONERS. 
James  B.  Prettyman,  appointed  1850. 
John   Lindsey,  elected   1852. 
Adam  Lambert,  elected  185C  and  1858. 
J.  K.  Crites,  elected  18.59. 
Samuel   Smith,  elected   1861. 
Elijah  Wood,  elected  1864. 
David  Favorite,  elected  1865  and  1867. 
Wingate  Prettyman,  elected  1870. 
George  W.  Schoficld,  elected  1872. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


Israel  Uncapher,  elected  1874  and  1876. 

Wilson  Loringr,  elected  1878. 

Joseph  Hiler,  elected  1880  and  1882. 

Thomas  R.  Lambert,  elected  1884  and  1886. 

Leander  Connei',  elected  1888. 

Mark  R.  Wright,  appointed  1889. 

Mark  R.  Wright,  elected  1890  and  1892. 

Thomas  J.  Agnew,  elected  1898. 

Samuel  Bonner,  elected  1900. 

Albert  Fisher,  elected  1908  and  1910. 

Frank  Eatinger,  elected  1912. 

Thomas  C.  Hite,  elected  1914. 

COUNTY  SHERIFFS. 
Jacob  S.  Wampler,  appointed  1850. 
A.  W.  Porter,  appointed  1852. 
Solon  0.  Whitson,  elected  1852. 
William  P.  Chapman,  elected  1854. 
Wingate  Prettyman.  elected  1856  and  1858. 
Mathias  T.  Hepner,  elected  1860  and  1862. 
William  Elmandorf,  elected  1864  and  1868. 
George  Savery,  elected  1874  and  1876. 
William  Elmandorf,  elected  1877  and  1878. 
William  Seagraves,  elected  1880  and  1882. 
John  W.  Seagraves,  appointed  1884. 
Mathew  Kays,  elected  1884. 
Jacob  VanDerweele,  elected  1890  and  1892. 
William  Harter,  elected  1896  and  1898. 
Sidney  Uncapher,  elected  1900  and  1902. 
Gabriel  Doyle,  elected  1908  and  1910. 
George  E.  Pettis,  elected  1912  and  1914. 

COUNTY  ASSESSORS. 
William  P.  Stanton,  appointed  1874. 
Jacob  Keller,  appointed  1891. 
Albert  C.  Wolfram,  elected  1892. 
George  W.  Harkins,  elected  1896. 

COUNTY  SURVEYORS. 
John  S.  Bender,  appointed  1850. 
Robert  H.  Bender,  elected  1856  and  1858. 
John  P.  Kelley,  elected  1860  and  1862. 
William  C.  Boyles,  elected  1864,  1866  and  1868. 
John  E.  Short,  elected  1870  and  1872. 
Joseph  McCormick,  elected  1874  and  1876. 
William  C.  Boyles,  elected  1878,  and  1880. 
George  Fisher,  elected  1882. 
Albert   L.   Purcell,  appointed  and  elected   1883 
and  1884. 

Joseph  McCormick,  elected  1888  and  1890. 

John  W.  Good,  elected  1892  and  1894. 

Adam  F.  Seider,  elected  1898. 

Leo  M.  Kelley,  elected  1900. 

Charles  A.  Good,  elected  1912  and  1914. 

COUNTY  SCHOOL  EXAMINERS. 
Andrew  W.  Porter,  appointed  1861. 
H.  T.  Howard,  appointed  1864. 
Samuel  Jacobs,  appointed  1866. 


John  E.  Short,  appointed  1868. 
Willoughby  McCormick,  appointed  1871. 
Uziah  Kline,  appointed  1872. 
Oliver  Musselman,  appointed  1876. 

COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS  OF  PUBLIC 
INSTRUCTION. 
Henry  C.  Rogers,  elected  1883. 
William  B.  Sinclair,  elected  1885  and  1887. 
William  B.  Sinclair,  elected  1889,  1891  and  1893. 
William  A.  Foust,  elected  1897. 
George  E.  Butcher,  elected  1899. 
J.  Walter  Dunn,  elected  1903. 
Carroll  W.  Cannon,  elected  1911. 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 
William  Parker,  elected  1850. 
Georg-e  Esty,  elected  1850. 
John  W.  Hopkins,  elected  1850. 
Andrew  Long,  elected  1851. 
Edwar.d  Smith,  elected  1852. 
Abram  Welsh,  elected  1853. 
George  Feldon,  elected  1855. 
John  Good,  elected  1856. 
William  P.  Chapman,  elected  1858. 
John  Fry,  elected  1858. 
George  Feldon,  elected  1858. 
William  Swartzell,  elected  1859. 
Isaac  Reed,  elected  1859. 
Jacob  Kelver,  elected  1859. 
Eli  Brown,  elected  1860. 
Amasa  Green,  elected  1860. 
Jacob  Kelver,  elected  1861. 
Jesse  Jackson,  elected  1863. 
Jacob  Kelver,  elected  1864. 
Madison  Jones,  appointed  1865. 
Elijah  W.  Geiselman,  elected  1865. 
Madison  Jones,  elected  1865. 
Mathias   Hepner,  elected   1866. 
Madison  Jones,  elected  1866. 
Samuel  Lafever,  elected  1867. 
Elijah  W.  Geiselman,  elected  1868. 
Samuel    Lafever,    elected    1870. 
Henry  Bender,  elected  1870. 
Ed.   Tucker,   elected   1872. 
Christian   Kreis,   elected   1872. 
Elijah   W.   Geiselman,  elected   1874. 
Jefferson    Seagraves,   elected    1876. 
Christian   Kries,  elected   1876. 
Richard  Gibbs,  elected  1878. 
William  L.  Scudder,  elected  1878. 
Oratio  D.  Fuller,  elected  1880. 
O.  D.  Fuller,  elected  1882. 
George  Stoker,  elected  1882. 
Richard  Gibbs,  elected  1884. 
George  Stocker,  elected   1884. 
Joseph  Hiler,  elected  1886. 
James  M.  Tuker,  elected  1888. 
Daniel  H.  Stanton,  elected  1888. 


(778) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


Daniel  Lafever,  elected  1888. 

Jacob  Kries,  elected  1898. 

Daniel   Lafever,   elected    1890. 

Jacob  Kries,  elected  1890. 

Daniel    Stanton,   elected   1892. 

W.  T.  Collins,  appointed  and  elected  1892 


Christian  Borchardt,  elected   1898-1900. 
Henry  C.  Short,  elected  1900. 
Henry  Luken,  elected   1908. 
O.  D.  Fuller,  elected  1908. 

Lee   Wolfe,   elected   . 

Peter  Mosher,  elected  . 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
STEUBEN  COUNTY 

By  Frank  B.  Van  Auken 


A  REPUBLICAN  chairman  once  exclaimed, 
"Where  the  hell  is  Steuben  county?"  Well, 
it  is  in  the  cool  corner  of  Indiana  adjacent 
to  Michigan  and  Ohio.  Yet,  when  fifteen  hundred 
Democrats  impinge  against  twenty-five  hundred 
Republicans  in  campaign  times,  the  heat  becomes 
torrid. 

To  explain  these  age-long  contests  with  some 
account  of  the  captains  who  have  led  the  fray 
need  not  take  very  long.  The  results  have  been 
so  distressing  that  within  the  last  fifty  years  only 
a  very  few  live  Democrats  have  caught  any 
glimpse  of  the  promised  land.  Does  this  seem 
d'scouraging?  Not  so.  The  contest  for  an  equal 
and  just  government  bequeathed,  like  "freedom's 
cause,"  "from  bleeding  sire  to  son,"  has  produced 
a  body  of  men  not  lured  by  the  bribe  of  office,  but 
held  together  by  abiding  faith  that  "ever  the 
truth  comes  uppermost  and  ever  is  justice  done." 
Time  has  seemed  long,  but  the  reward  of  victory 
great,  for  Wilson  has  written  "in  letters  of  living 
light,  no  question  is  ever  settled  until  it  is  settled 
right." 

The  earliest  teachers  of  Democracy  in  this  cor- 
ner of  Indiana  was  a  band  of  Maumee  Indians. 
They  taught  by  example.  Was  not  every  warrior 
the  equal  in  privilege  of  every  other  save  as  wis- 
dom in  council  or  prowess  in  war  gave  him  pres- 
tige? So  Democratic  were  they  that  a  red  man 
wearing  a  white  man's  coat  was  driven  from  the 
tribe  in  disg-ac3.  They  called  Steuben  county 
their  "good  hunting  ground."  And  why  not?  Did 
not  its  many  kinds  of  forests,  its  prairies  and 
marshes,  waving  with  luxuriant  grasses,  its 
streams  dammed  with  great  jam  piles  and  much 
more  imposing  then  than  now;  and  almost  a 
hundred  enchanting  lakes  surrounded  with  shaded 
hills — a  land  abounding  with  ;great  nut-bearing 
trees,  wild  fruit,  fish  and  game — who  doubts  that 
this  was  to  the  child  of  the  forest  a  paradise  of 
repose?  Resentment  against  the  pale  intruders 
caused  the  "Great  Father"  to  lead  the  last  rem- 
nant of  these  wild  people  forever  toward  the  set- 
ting sun.  They  had  already  heard  the  tramp  of 
Anthony  Wayne's  pale  warriors  as  they  marched 
through  the  magnificent  region  from  Detroit  to 
Fort  Wayne,  and  Tecumseh,  the  mighty,  had  read 
his  doom  in  the  dark  waters  of  Tippecanoe. 

Between  May,  1837,  when  the  county  was  or- 
ganized, and  the  Civil  War  the  Democrats  car- 
ried the  county  twice  only.  Lewis  Cass,  Democrat, 
for  president  in  1848  over  Taylor  and  Van  Buren 


by  a  plural'ty  of  37,  and  Franklin  Pierce  in  1852 
over  Winfield  Scott  and  John  P.  Hale  by  a  plu- 
rality of  56,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  1,163.  These 
were  the  only  candidates  who  ever  carried  the 
county  in  a  general  election  and  their  success  was 
due  probably  to  the  division  of  the  Whigs  on  the 
quest'on  of  slavery  and  the  question  of  free 
schools.  At  all  other  general  elections,  before  or 
since  the  war,  the  Whigs  or  the  Republicans  have 
been  Iriumphant. 

In  1874  the  Democrats  and  Liberal  Republicans 
in  a  coalit'on  elected  part  of  the  county  ticket. 
In  1912,  thanks  to  Taft  and  "Teddy,"  the  usual 
majority  of  800  to  1,000  was  almost  annihilated. 

The  pioneers  of  the  county  came  from  Vermont, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  bringing  very 
strong  anti-slavery  sentiments  with  them  and  this 
has  t'nged  the  politics  of  the  county  to  this  day. 

The  two  most  prominent  pioneer  families  were 
the  Stayners  of  Jackson  Prairie  at  the  west,  and 
the  Powers  family  who  laid  their  family  altars 
among  the  sugar  groves  at  the  east.  The  im- 
press of  these  noted  families  can  still  be  i-ead  in 
the  community  life  about  them.  John  Stayner, 
man  of  property  and  first  settler,  represented 
Steuben  and  Dekalb  in  the  Legislature  of  1850. 
All  four  brothers  of  the  Powers  family,  Clark, 
Stephen,  Winn  and  Calvin,  were  noted  men, 
Stephen  having  been  surveyor  at  different  times; 
Calvin,  county  commissioner,  and  Clark,  repre- 
sentative in  the  General  Assembly  of  1845-6.  In 
1888  Stephen  A.,  son  of  Clark  Powers,  was  chosen 
after  a  remarkable  contest,  Circuit  Judge  by  a 
majority  of  7,  the  district  being  Steuben,  Dekalb 
and  Noble,  and  m  1908,  after  a  house-to-house 
canvass,  he  was  elected  Joint  Senator  from  Steu- 
ben and  Dekalb.  In  the  Assembly  he  was  noted 
as  chief  opponent  of  the  "Marshall"  revision  of 
the  constitution.  His  long  gray  hair  led  to  much 
merriment  about  the  capitol,  the  boys  giving  him 
the  soubriquet,  "Quaker  Oats."  He  was  widely 
known  as  president  of  the  "Old  Settlers,"  whose 
meeting  became  an  institution.  This  fine  citizen 
and  patriot  died  in  1913.  His  eulogy  should  be 
"One  of  the  Kindest  of  Men." 

Frank  M.,  son  of  Calvin  and  cousin  of  Stephen 
A.  Powers,  was  chosen  to  the  Circuit  Court  bench 
of  Steuben  and  Dekalb,  the  Thirty-fifth  Judicial 
District,  in  1910,  and  elevated  to  the  Appellate 
Court  of  Indiana  in  1914.  His  premature  death 
from  pneumonia,  after  a  few  weeks  at  the  capital, 
cast  a  pall  of  sadness  over  the  entire  State.     His 


'(  780  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


1  9  1 


fame  as  a  jurist  was  based  upon  an  insight  of 
justice  which,  like  that  of  the  ancient  patriarch, 
rose  above  the  written  statute  and  made  him,  to 
the  humble  and  the  great,  a  plain,  wise,  just 
judge. 

Cyrus  Cline,  of  Angola,  a  lawyer  and  banker 
by  profession,  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1908, 
re-elected  in  1910,  1912  and  1914,  and  is  the  only 
Steuben  county  Democrat  who  ever  became  a 
member  of  that  body. 

At  the  election  of  1912  two  young  Democrats 
of  thiC  county  were  successful,  James  R.  Nyce  as 
Prosecuting  Attorney  of  the  Judicial  District  of 
Steuben  and  Dekalb,  and  Glenn  Van  Auken  as 
Joint  Senator  for  the  same  counties. 

Among  the  noted  Democrats  who  have  presided 
over  the  Steuben  County  Court  are  Charles  W. 
Ewing,  Henry  Chase,  John  W.  Wright,  Elza  Mc- 
Mahon,  James  L.  Worden,  Edwin  R.  Wilson,  Rob- 
ert Lowry,  Hiram  Tously,  Charles  A.  O.  McClel- 
lan,  F.  M.  Powers,  and  last,  but  not  least,  our 
present  Circuit  Judge,  Daniel  M.  Link. 

Distinguished  Democratic  lawyers  who  have 
graced  the  county  bar,  so  far  as  the  writer  can 
learn,  have  been  Edward  R.  May,  William  G. 
Croxlon,  George  B.  Adams,  S.  A.  and  F.  M.  Pow- 
ers, Benjamin  F.  Dawson,  Cyrus  Cline,  Alphonso 
C.  Wood  and  Charles  A.  Yotter,  for  many  years 
able  speakers  and  workers  for  the  county  Democ- 
racy. 

Democrats  who  have  represented  the  county 
in  the  State  Senate  have  been  Madison  Marsh, 
1846;  Reuben  F.  Dawson,  1849;  Stephen  A.  Pow- 
ers, 1908,  and  Glenn  Van  Auken,  1912. 

Democrats  in  the  State  House  of  Representa- 
tives, as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  have  been 
George  W.  Balding,  1846;  George  W.  McConnell, 
1851,  and  Lewis  Price,  of  Lagrange  county,  in 
1912. 

A  list  of  Democratic  chairmen  is  more  or  less 
incomplete,  as  some  of  the  early  names  seem  cov- 
ered with  the  dust  of  oblivion.  Within  forty 
years  the  list  is:  Harmon  Freygang,  George  E. 
Young,  John  Somerlott,  Cyrus  Cline  and  A.  C. 
Wood. 

To  Harmon  Freygang  the  writer  awards  the 
palm  as  our  greatest  Democrat — faithful,  wise, 
adroit,  fearful  to  the  enemies  of  Democracy,  yet 
gracir.us  to  all  and  trusted  by  all.  "Honor  and 
the  good  repute  which  follow  faithful  service  as 
its  fruits  be  unto  him  whose  memory  we  salute." 

In  medicine  and  surgery  four  brothers,  A.  C, 
H.  D.,  T.  F.  and  F.  Wood,  have  given  prestige  to 
the  county.  Three  of  them  have  been  noted  Dem- 
ocrats. Alphonso  C,  killed  in  a  runaway  in  1868, 
was  mourned  as  our  first  citizen.  In  this  sketch 
belong  the  names  of  Doctors  M.  F.  Morse.  T.  B. 


Williams,  G.  W.  McConnell  and  Thomas  J.  Creel, 
present  Mayor  of  this  beautiful  city  of  Angola. 

The  first  and  only  Democratic  paper,  the  Aji- 
gola  Herald,  was  founded  in  January,  1876,  by 
Isaac  L.  Wiseman,  and  still  enjoys  modest  pros- 
perity. July,  1877,  W.  K.  Shetfer  became  owner 
and  editor,  continuing  for  twenty-nine  jears,  to 
1906.  C.  C.  Klink  and  H.  W.  Morley,  present 
proprietor  and  editor,  complete  the  list  to  the 
present  time.  W.  B.  McConnell  was  for  two  years 
part  owner  and  editor.  Mi-.  Sheffer  still  abides 
among  the  faithful  as  reporter  for  the  Fort 
Wayite  Journal-Gazette. 

Some  account  of  the  campaign  of  1848  may  be 
of  interest.  Cyrus  G.  Luse,  who  settled  on  a 
wild  farm  and  with  his  own  hands  split  the  rails 
to  fence  it,  said  to  the  writer:  "I  made  a  furious 
campaign  in  Steuben  and  Dekalb  counties  on  a 
platform  of  Free  Schools  and  lost."  Reuben  F. 
Dawson  and  Mr.  Luce  rode  from  place  to  place  on 
horseback  and  in  their  joint  debates  abuse  played 
as  great  a  part  as  aigument.  The  same  Mr.  Luce 
was  afterward  twice  Governor  of  Michigan.  How 
public  opinion  changes!  A  leading  Republican  of 
those  days  said  to  a  friend  now  living,  "You  don't 
know  what  you're  doing.  This  free  school  law 
would  be  the  ruination  of  the  country." 

The  campaign  of  1841  sounds  like  an  Indian 
story,  but  it  is  true  and  illustrates  mightily  the 
importance  of  getting  out  the  last  Democratic 
vote.  Dr.  Madison  Marsh,  noted  Democrat  of 
the  county,  lost  on  the  face  of  the  returns  by  one 
vote  to  his  Republican  opponent.  Captain  Beall. 
On  a  contest  it  was  decided  that  one  vote  for  Mr. 
Marsh,  that  of  Henry  Shoemaker,  whose  ballot 
had  been  received  after  the  time  limit  but  before 
the  box  was  closed,  had  been  improperly  thrown 
out  and  he  was  declared  elected  to  the  Legislature. 
Edward  A.  Hannegan  was  elected  United  States 
Senator  by  one  vote,  Dr.  Marsh  casting  the  decid- 
ing vote.  Texas  was  admitted  to  the  Union,  it 
is  declared,  by  a  majority  of  one,  Hannegan  being 
(he  man  of  destiny  to  decide  the  momentous  issue. 
The  Mexican  war  ensued  as  well  as  other  mighty 
consequences  and  all  is  traced  to  Steuben  or  De- 
kalb county's  careless  Democratic  voter,  and  as 
the  boys  say,  "What  do  you  know  about  that?" 

It  may  be  interesting  to  some  Democrats  far- 
ther south  to  hoar  something  about  an  "under- 
ground railroad,"  some  of  which  traversed  Steu- 
ben county.  One  of  the  three  main  lines  through 
Indiana  started  at  Cincinnati,  running  to  Rich- 
mond, Winchester.  Portland,  Decatur,  Fort  Wayne 
and  through  Steuben  county  to  Coldwater  and 
Battle  Creek,  the  objective  point  being  Windsor, 
Canada.  Of  course,  their  operation  was  forbid- 
den by  both  Federal  and  State  law,  and  therefore 
their   operation    was    carried    on    with    great    se- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


crecy.  I  mention  one  station  on  the  State  road 
through  this  county — Farnam — where,  to  the 
writer's  knowledge,  a  secret  basement  was  made 
under  the  feeding  floor  of  a  cattle  barn,  where 
"colored  gentlemen"  were  hid  and  fed  during  the 
day  and  at  night  taken  in  a  close  carriage,  or 
more  ofren  in  a  wagon  partly  filled  with  straw, 
covered  with  blankets,  and  delivered  in  record 
time  to  the  next  station,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  far- 
ther north.  For  a  Democrat  to  turn  the  darkies 
back  or  cause  their  arrest  would  lead  to  intense 
denunciation  and  sometimes  to  mob  violence  by 
the  anti-slavery  zealotry  whose  hot  rancor  has 
hardly  cooled  to  this  half  century  day.  But  the 
war  settled  the  "Impending  Crisis,"  the  interne- 
cine strife  of  a  country  "half  slave  and  half  free" 
for  all  time  and  made  what  was  a  tragedy  to  one 
generation  an  amusing  story  to  the  next. 

Does  this  have  to  do  with  the  Democratic  his- 
tory of  a  county?  Yes;  much  with  the  party  his- 
tory of  every  county  in  Indiana.  These  things 
were  done  under  the  doctrine  that  "the  end  jus- 
tifies the  means."  Did  not  Lincoln  teach  his  party 
that  on  a  moral  question  "one  is  a  majority,"  and 
did  not  Sumner  say  "on  slavery  there  is  no  other 
side?"  Democracy  was  antagonized  by  a  great 
party  ruled  by  no  consideration  but  expediency. 
If  the  constitution  or  Supreme  Court  got  in  the 
way  it  was  treated  with  defiance  just  as  Webster 
said  it  would  be.  becaupe  did  not  their  ends  jus- 
tify any  means  to  their  accomplishment?  Wit- 
ness  the    throwing   out   of    States   to    usurp    the 


Presidency  in  1876,  the  buying  of  an  election  in 
1880,  "blocks  of  five"  in  1888,  and  in  1896  advo- 
cating free  silver  before  election  and  gold  stand- 
ard after. 

The  writer  organized  the  first  graded  schools 
in  the  county.  Professor  H.  H.  Keep,  now  head 
of  Science  Department,  Angola  High  School;  C. 
C.  Sherrard,  Dean  of  the  Department  of  Phar- 
macy, and  Willis  A.  Fox,  of  the  Tri-State  College, 
are  prominent  and  strong  Democrats  of  the  pres- 
ent day. 

Steuben  countj'  is  about  twenty  miles  square, 
the  contour  undulating  and  picturesque,  the  soil 
responsive  and  fertile.  It  was  once  covered,  ex- 
cept Jackson  Prairie,  by  magnificent  forests. 
Mroiy  of  the  handsomest  lakes  in  Indiana  abound. 
Lakes  James,  Crooked,  Clear,  Gage  and  Fish  are 
widely  known  as  resorts,  and  increasing  in  fame 
from  year  to  year.  Clear  Lake  was  the  scene  in 
July,  1858.  of  the  most  distressing  accident  in  the 
county's  history.  Sixteen  young  people  in  a  pleas- 
ure boat  were  capsized  and  eleven  were  drowned. 
The  pilot  was  in  his  cups. 

The  county  lies  some  thousand  and  twenty  feet 
above  the  gulf — a  glacial  drift  hundreds  of  feet 
thick — producing  the  finest  grains  and  fruits,  a 
county  of  great  railways,  schools  and  churches. 
Its  13.000  progressive  people  descended  from  the 
brave  pioneers 

"Who  cleft  the  forest  down 

And  planted  in  the  wilderness 
The  hamlet  and  the  town." 


HISTORY  OF   THE    DEMOCRATIC   PARTY    OF 
SULLIVAN  COUNTY 

By  John  S.  Taylor 


ORIGINALLY  the  lands  through  the  Mid- 
dle West  were  peopled  and  controlled  by 
the  American  Indian.  The  French  govern- 
ment, through  its  agents,  acquired  much  land  by 
treaty  from  these  Indians.  In  1742,  by  treaty, 
certain  Frenchmen  acquired  a  vast  amount  of 
territory  in  the  vicinity  of  Vincennes,  Ind.,  later 
known  as  the  Vincennes  district.  The  general 
description  of  the  Vincennes  district  at  that  time 
was — "lying  between  the  point  above,  Pointe 
Coupee  en  haut,  and  the  river  Blanche,  below  the 
village,  with  as  much  land  on  both  sides  of  the 
Wabash  as  might  be  comprised  within  the  said 
limits."  Pointe  Coupee  was  a  mile  or  so  above 
the  mouth  of  Busseron  Creek,  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  what  is  now  Gill  township,  in  Sullivan 
county.  The  village  referred  to  in  the  treaty  was 
Vincennes,  and  the  river  Blanche  was  White  river. 
The  treaty  of  1742  thus  comprised  practically  all 
of  Knox  county  and  the  southern  portion  of  Sulli- 
van county,  besides  some  lands  west  of  the  Wa- 
bash river. 

By  the  treaty  of  June  7,  1803,  General  Harri- 
son concluded  an  agreement  with  a  number  of 
Indian  tribes  whereby  more  lands  were  ceded. 
The  line  ran  in  a  southeasterly  direction  from 
Point  Coupee.  This  boundary  is  the  "Old  Indian 
Boundary"  which  figures  in  land  descriptions 
in  the  south  part  of  Sullivan  county.  The  south 
part  of  Gill  and  Jefferson  townships  and  most  of 
Haddon  township,  in  Sullivan  county,  were  in- 
cluded in  this  cession  of  1803.  The  present  town 
of  Carlisle  was  also  included. 

By  the  Indian  treaty  of  September  30,  1809,  the 
Indians  ceded  all  the  country  between  the  boun- 
dary line  established  by  the  treaty  of  1803,  the 
Wabash  river,  and  a  line  drawn  from  the  mouth 
of  Raccoon  creek  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to 
White  river.  Raccoon  creek  is  a  few  miles  above 
Terre  Haute.  By  this  treaty  the  United  States 
public  domain  was  extended  from  about  the  local- 
ity of  Carlisle  to  about  the  northern  limit  of  Vigo 
county.  The  area  gained  by  this  treaty  was 
called  the  "New  Purchase,"  in  distinction  from 
the  "Old  Purchase,"  which  lay  south  of  the  In- 
dian boundary  line. 

An  act  of  the  State  Legislature  in  January, 
1816,  directed  that  the  townships  of  Palmyra  and 
Busseron,  in  Knox  county,  be  extended  north  to 
the  Harrison  Purchase  line,  meaning  thereby  the 
line  of  the  purchase  of  1809.  This  placed,  tem- 
porarily,  all   of  the  territory  later  comprised   in 


Sullivan  and  Vigo  counties  in  the  two  townships 
named,  and  so  it  remained  until  the  organization 
of  the  new  county. 

In  December,  1816,  an  act  was  passed  providing 
for  the  organization  of  Sullivan  county  in  the  fol- 
lowing January,  Section  1  thereof  being  as  fol- 
lows: "Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  Indiana,  That  from  and  after  the 
15th  day  of  January  next,  all  that  part  of  the  coun- 
ty of  Knox  contained  within  the  following  bounda- 
ries shall  constitute  and  form  a  separate  county, 
viz. :  Beginning  on  the  Wabash  river  where  the  line 
dividing  Townships  Five  and  Six  crosses  the 
same;  thence  running  east  with  said  line  until  it 
strikes  the  west  fork  of  White  river;  thence  up 
the  said  fork  to  the  Orange  county  line;  thence 
with  said  line  to  the  Indian  boundary  line;  thence 
with  said  boundary  line  crossing  the  Wabash 
river  to  the  line  dividing  the  State  of  Indiana  and 
the  Territory  of  Illinois;  thence  with  said  line 
south  to  the  Wabash  river;  thence  down  the  said 
river  With  the  meanders  thereof  to  the  place  of 
beginning."  The  following  section  of  the  Act 
states  in  part  that  said  new  county  shall  be  known 
and  designated  by  the  name  and  style  of  Sullivan. 
The  north  and  east  boundary  lines  of  the  county 
have  been  changed  from  time  to  time  and  conse- 
quently the  area  has  been  somewhat  reduced;  oth- 
erwise there  has  been  ro  material  change  since 
its  organization  in  1816. 

In  the  early  days  there  was  no  county  organi- 
zation, so-called,  but  a  few  ardent  Democrats 
planned  together  for  the  cause  of  Democracy. 
The  first  known  county  organization  took  form 
in  1860. 

The  first  Democratic  county  chairman  in  Sulli- 
van county  was  Dr.  Michael  Branson.  Some 
members  of  the  committee  were  A.  Van  Fossen, 
W.  W.  Owens  and  S.  G.  Burton. 

There  was  never  a  man  who  could  remember 
far  enough  back  to  establish  the  fact  or  show  any 
well-developed  symptom  that  Sullivan  county  ever 
was  any  but  a  stanch  Democratic  county.  Occa- 
sionally, as  must  of  course  happen,  the  enemy 
would  train  its  guns  on  one,  or  perhaps  two,  coun- 
ty candidates  and  slip  in  a  local  official,  but  all 
Democratic  state  and  national  candidates,  and  as 
a  general  rule  all  the  county  candidates,  have 
always  won  in  Sullivan  county  by  wide  margins. 
This  splendid  record  has  been  largely  due  to  quali- 
fied and  active  county  chairmen,  a  list  of  whose 
names  follow: 


(  783  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


1860.  Dr.  Michael  Branson. 
1862.  Willis  G.  Neff. 
1864.  Michael  Malott. 
1868.  W.  E.  Catlin. 

1870.  S.  S.  Coffman. 
1872.  Lafayette  Stewart. 
1876.  S.  S.  Coffman. 
1878.  David  Crawley. 
1880.  David  Crawley. 
1882.  David  Crawley. 
1884.  W.  C.  Jamison. 
1886.  Thomas  J.  Mann. 
1888.  Charles  L.  Davis. 
1890.  W.  C.  Jamison. 
1892.  William  H.  Hawkins. 
1894.  Thomas  J.  Mann. 
1896.  James  M.  Lang. 
1898.  Wake  Giles. 
1900.  Robert  Taylor. 
1902.  James  M.  Lang. 
1904.  Abe  Frakes. 
1906.  Fred  F.  Bays. 
1908.  William  H.  Bridwell. 
1910.  Gilbert  W.  Gambill. 
1912.  Gilbert  W.  Gambill. 
1914.  Charles  H.  Bedwell. 
1916.  David  N.  Curry. 

Sullivan   county  has  sent  the  following  Demo- 
crats as  Representatives  to  the  State  Legislature: 
1820.  John  McDonald. 
1822.  Henry  D.  Palmer. 
1824.  Josiah  Mann. 
1825-30.  George  Boon. 
1831-32.  John  W.  Davis. 

1833.  James  DePauw. 

1834.  Joseph  Latshaw. 

1835.  Seth  Cushman. 
1838.  George  Boone. 

1840.  George  Boone. 

1841.  John  W.  Davis. 

1842.  John  W.  Davis. 

1843.  Thomas  Turman. 

1845.  John  H.  Wilson. 
Silas  Osburn. 

1846.  Benjamin  Wolfe. 
Silas  Osburn. 

1847.  Benjamin  Wolfe. 

1848.  Benjamin  Wolfe. 
Silas  Osburn. 

1849-50.  James  O'Haver. 

1850.  John  H.  Wilson. 

1851.  John  W.  Davis. 
Theophilus  Chowning. 

1853.  Squire  McDonald. 

1857.  John  W.  Davis. 
Michael  Brown. 

1858.  David  Usrey. 

1861.  W.  W.  Owens. 


1863.  S.  G.  Burton. 
1867.  Benjamin  Wolfe. 
1869.  N.  D.  Miles. 
1873.  S.  S.  Coffman. 
1875.  James  L.  Nash. 
1877.  S.  S.  Coffman. 
1879.  John  C.  Briggs. 
1881.  Charles  T.  Akin. 
1883.  Charles  T.  Akin. 
James  B.  Patton. 
1888.  John  T.  Beasley. 
1890.  John  T.  Beasley. 
1894.  John  Higbee. 
1898.  Ira  H.  Larr. 
1902.  David  N.  Curry. 
1908.  James   Hedrick. 
1910.  James   Hedrick. 

1912.  Charles  H.  Bedwell. 
1914.  Charles  H.  Bedwell. 
1916.  David  Giles. 

Sullivan   county  has  sent  the  following  Demo- 
crats to  the  State  Senate: 
1818.  William  Polke. 
1834.  George  Boone. 
1843.  Ransom  W.  Akin. 
1849.  James  M.  Hanna. 
1855.  Michael  Combs. 
1861.  Henry  K.  Wilson. 
1865.  B.  W.  Hanna. 
1869.  James  M.  Hanna. 
1871.  Joshua  Alsop. 
1875.  Henry  K.  Wilson. 
1883.  Joshua  Ernest. 
1890.  Charles  T.  Akin. 
1902.  Dr.  George  W.  Thralls. 
1906.  Charles  T.  Akin. 

1913.  Charles  T.  Akin. 

The  only  representative  Sullivan  county  ever 
had  in  Congress  was  Hon.  John  W.  Davis.  He 
first  went  in  1835,  and  was  returned  three  times. 

John  W.  Davis  was  speaker  of  the  twenty-ninth 
session  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives. 
He  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  of  three 
Indiana  men  who  served  in  that  high  capacity. 

Mr.  Davis  also  served  six  times  in  the  State 
Legislature  and  was  three  times  speaker  of  that 
body. 

In  a  county  wherein  Democrats  have  thrived  so 
abundantly  it  is  painful  to  attempt  to  choose  be- 
tween them  for  this  bit  of  honorable  mention. 
Would  that  it  were  possible  to  write  volumes  upon 
their  deeds  and  valor.  It  is  not  that  others  were 
less  worthy,  but  that  those  here  named  chanced 
to  be  the  first  called  to  mind,  that  their  names  and 
sketches  of  their  public  careers  are  here  given : 

Ransom  W.  Akin.  1804-1880.  From  Virginia. 
The  pioneer  member  of  the  Akin  family  in  the 
county  all  of  whom  are  Democrats.  A  son,  Charles 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


T.  Akin,  has  served  three  times  with  honor  in  the 
State  Senate. 

Joshua  Alsop.  1807-1876.  Born  in  England. 
Helped  construct  the  first  railroad  through  the 
county  and  he  later  became  a  director  of  the  com- 
pany. He  repeatedly  refused  to  accept  public 
office  but  accepted  the  nomination  and  was  elected 
to  the  State  Senate  in  1870. 

Ferdinand  Easier.  Born  in  Switzerland.  In 
1885  elected  Justice  of  the  Peace;  was  county 
auditor,  1864  to  1868;  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture  in  1872,  and  was  appointed 
by  that  Board  a  Delegate  to  the  Vienna  Exposi- 
tion of  1873. 

William  Bledsoe.  1826-1905.  A  Hoosier  and 
pioneer  Democrat.  With  a  record  of  having  killed 
sixteen  deer  on  three  consecutive  mornings,  he 
was  the  most  famous  hunter  the  county  ever  pro- 
duced. It  is  said  that  he  killed  the  last  wild  deer 
ever  seen  in  the  county. 

George  Boone.  1784-1841.  A  descendant  of  the 
great  Daniel  Boone.  He  was  sheriff  of  the  county 
in  1821;  State  Senator  in  1834;  Representative 
in  1838  and  1840.  He  was  nearly  seven  feet  tall 
and  had  very  large  feet.  It  is  said  of  him  that, 
while  visiting,  he  undertook  to  wash  his  feet  in 
an  iron  kettle,  was  unable  to  get  his  feet  out,  and, 
in  order  to  release  him  it  was  necessary  to  break 
the  kettle. 

Murray  Briggs.  1830-1896.  The  pioneer 
newspaper  man  of  the  county.  He  edited  the 
Democrat  from  1854  to  1896,  a  record  in  the  State 
for  continuous  service  on  the  same  paper.  He 
and  his  paper  formed  the  backbone  of  Sullivan 
County  Democracy  during  the  trying  times  of 
the  Civil  War.  During  his  busy  career  he  was 
school  examiner,  county  auditor  and  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Indiana  State  Normal 
School  of  Terre  Haute. 

John  W.  Davis.  1799-1859.  Sullivan  County 
Democrats  and  citizens  generally  are  proud  to 
own  such  a  renowned  statesman  as  was  this  man. 
He  was  the  equal  of  any  of  his  time  and  the  su- 
perior of  many.  Well  he  wrought  for  his  State 
and  Nation  and  they  are  pleased  to  honor  his 
name. 

He  graduated  from  the  University  of  Maryland 
as  a  physician  in  1821,  went  West  immediately, 
and,  with  three  cents  in  his  pocket  and  a  young 
wife  to  support,  arrived  at  Carlisle.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  for  some  years  and  entered 
politics  in  1828,  becoming  probate  judge.  He 
served  in  the  State  Legislature  six  terms,  and  was 
three  times  speaker;  was  sent  to  Congress  four 
times  and  was  Speaker  of  the  twenty-ninth  ses- 
sion of  the  National  House  of  Representatives.  In 
1847  President  Polk  appointed  him  Commissioner 
to  China.    In  June,  1852,  he  was  chairman  of  the 


Democratic  National  Convention  at  Baltimore. 
Cass  and  Buchanan  were  the  principal  candidates 
for  the  nomination.  A  deadlock  developed  and 
Mr.  Davis  came  within  one  vote  of  defeating 
Franklin  Pierce  of  Virginia  for  the  nomination 
for  President.  Later  President  Pierce  appointed 
Dr.  Davis  Governor  of  Oregon.  His  last  public 
appointment  was  by  the  Secretary  of  War  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  to  the  West 
Point  Military  Academy,  and  he  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  board. 

It  is  said  of  him  that  during  a  campaign  an 
auditor  inquired  of  him  regarding  the  advocacy 
of  certain  Democratic  measures,  and  he  answered: 
"My  friend,  to  save  you  trouble  and  me  annoy- 
ance, I  will  say  now  that  I  endorse  everything  the 
Democratic  party  ever  has  done,  and  everything 
that  it  ever  will  do." 

James  DePauw.  In  1883  he  represented  Sulli- 
van county  in  the  State  Legislature.  He  was 
among  the  first  legislators  to  favor  an  ad  valorem 
tax  rather  than  a  specific  tax.  He  was  largely 
responsible  for  the  passage  of  the  first  ad  valorem 
tax  in  the  State.  It  was  his  son,  Washington  De- 
Pauw, for  whom  DePauw  University  was  named. 

Alonzo  F.  Estabrook.  1814-1892.  Born  in  Ver- 
mont. A  physician  and  surveyor.  He  helped 
survey  the  Wabash  and   Erie  canal. 

William  H.  Griffin.  1816-1893.  A  saddle  manu- 
facturer. Was  county  commissioner  during  the 
Civil  War.  Was  county  treasurer  in  1866  and 
was  re-elected  in  1868. 

Maj.  William  C.  Griffith.  1798-1892.  He  re- 
cruited a  company  of  volunteers  for  the  war  of 
1812  and  was  chosen  major.  He  helped  burn  the 
brick  for  and  lay  stone  in  the  court  house  in  this 
county,  and  later  served  as  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court,  1867. 

William  Hosea  Hawkins.  Was  county  sheriff 
from  1888  to  1892.  Under  Cleveland  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  United  States  Marshal.  During  the 
American  Railway  Union  strike  he  lead  a  posse 
of  deputies,  on  a  special  train  given  him  for  the 
purpose,  to  Hammond,  Indiana,  read  an  order  of 
the  court  to  the  angry  mob  and  brought  the  lead- 
ers to  Indianapolis.  He  later  became  prominent 
in  State  politics  and  served  as  Secretary  of  the 
State  central  committee  for  four  years.  He  was 
widely  and  familiarly  known  for  his  ready  wit 
and   ability  as  a  "story  teller." 

Thomas  Holder.  A  pioneer  Democrat.  He  is 
thought  to  have  built  the  first  cabin  put  up  by 
a  white  man  north  of  Knox  County. 

Thomas  J.  Mann.  A  prominent  Democrat.  He 
was  twice  county  chairman  and  was  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court  one  term. 

William  W.  Owens.  1809-1903.  He  was,  in  his 
later  years,  known  as  "Uncle  Billy."     It  is  said 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1 


that,  as  a  boy,  he  worked  in  a  butcher  shop 
patronized  by  Andrew  Jackson.  He  was  an 
ardent  Democrat  and  held  county  office. 

William  McKendree  Springer.  1836-1903.  He 
was  a  native  of  the  county  and  a  life-long  Demo- 
crat. He  graduated  from  Indiana  University 
in  1858  and  shortly  thereafter  moved  to  Illinois. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
for  Illinois;  was  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1872, 
and  in  1874  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Springfield  district  and  served  in  the  Forty-fourth 
and  Fifty-third  Congresses.  He  is  credited  with 
leading  the  fight  against  the  McKinley  tariff  which 
resulted  in  the  election  of  Grover  Cleveland  a 
second  time. 

Henry  K.  Wilson.  1815-1882.  A  Tennesseean. 
He  came  to  this  county  in  1831.  While  a  mere 
lad  he  served  as  deputy  clerk  under  Benjamin 
Wolfe  when  the  county  seat  was  in  Merom.  In 
1843,  when  the  seat  was  changed  to  Sullivan, 
where  it  has  since  been,  he  was  appointed  clerk 
of  the  circuit  court.  Later  he  was  twice  auditor; 
was  also  county  recorder  and  served  in  the  State 
Senate  in  1861  and  1875. 

John  Harvey  Wilson.  1811-1904.  He  was  also 
a  Tennesseean.  On  attaining  his  majority,  be- 
fore leaving  for  Indiana  to  make  his  home,  his 
father,  as  was  customary  at  a  son's  majority,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  suit  of  clothes  made  by  a  poor 
tailor  of  Greenville,  named  Andrew  Johnson,  who 
was  afterward  President  of  the  United  States. 
Wilson  was  a  useful  citizen,  an  ardent  Democrat 
and  held  many  county  offices. 

'Benjamin  Wolfe.  1799-1868.  A  Virginian.  He 
served  many  years  as  postmaster  at  Merom  and  at 
Bloomington;  was  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  two 
terms;  served  four  terms  in  the  State  Legislature 
and  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
—1851-1852. 

The  first  newspaper  in  the  county,  a  Democratic 
paper,  the  Jacksonian  Democrat,  was  established 
in  1844.  Jeremiah  Young  was  the  editor.  It  con- 
tinued through  only  a  few  numbers. 

James  C.  Allen  and  Thomas  Marks  used  the 
same  plant  for  the  publication  of  the  Carlisle 
Messenger.  Later  George  W.  Bee  &  Co.  were 
editors  and  publishers.  A  copy,  No.  41,  of  Volume 
1,  dated  November  19,  1845,  is  preserved  by  the 
Helms  family  of  Carlisle. 

In  1854  J.  J.  Mayes  of  Vincennes  came  to  Sulli- 
van and  proposed  to  start  a  paper.  Five  Demo- 
crats, Joseph  W.  Wolfe,  John  S.  Davis,  Isaac 
Stewart,  Joseph  Gray  and  William  Wilson  ad- 
vanced $25.00  apiece  to  make  payment  on  the 
press  and  material  and  endorsed  notes  for  the  re- 
mainder. Mayes  proved  unsatisfactory  and  left 
shortly.  In  September  of  the  same  year  the  Demo- 
cratic leaders  got  out  two  more  issues,  Samuel  R. 


Hamill  writing  the  editorials.     When  the  election 
was  over  publication  was  again  suspended. 

In  1854  Murray  Briggs,  then  a  printer  in  Terre 
Haute,  chanced  to  see  an  advertisement  in  the 
Democrat,  over  the  signature  of  Joseph  W.  Wolfe, 
"An  editor  wanted."  Mr.  Briggs  soon  came  to 
Sullivan,  bought  the  office  and  from  that  time  for- 
ward was  proprietor  and  publisher  of  the  Sullivan 
Democrat.  Mr.  Briggs  continued  as  editor  until 
his  death,  September  18,  1896.  No  other  editor 
in  the  State  had  a  record  of  so  long  continuous 
service  on  the  same  paper.  For  about  a  year  Mr. 
Briggs'  sons  issued  the  Democrat  and  on  July  20, 
1897,  S.  Paul  Poynter  of  Greencastle  took  over  the 
paper  and  has  since  conducted  the  Democrat.  On 
July  17,  1905,  the  Sullivan  Daily  Times  came 
forth  from  the  same  plant  and  is  now  a  thriving 
daily. 

In  February,  1878,  George  W.  Basler,  publisher, 
together  with  Colonel  Taylor,  editor,  begun  issu- 
irg  the  True  Democracij.  In  1881  Dr.  J.  C.  Bart- 
lett  took  over  this  paper  and  named  it  the  Sulli- 
van Times.  D.  O.  Groff  next  had  it  and  passed  it 
on  in  1885  to  C.  W.  Welman,  who  continued  as 
editor  and  manager  until  1896.  At  that  time  John 
A.  Curry  took  charge  of  the  Times  and  continued 
it  for  a  few  months  when  it  was  sold.  Publica- 
tion was  soon  discontinued  and  the  plant  con- 
solidated with  the  Sullivan  Democrat. 

In  July,  1876,  the  Carlisle  Register  was  estab- 
lished in  Carlisle  by  William  Herron.  E.  H. 
Bailey  took  over  the  paper  and  changed  the  name 
to  the  Carlisle  Democrat,  and  his  brother,  W.  W. 
Bailey,  became  editor.  In  1879  they  moved  the 
plant  to  Vincennes  and  consolidated  with  the  Re- 
)orier. 

Sullivan  County  has  given  Democratic  majori- 
ties to  Presidents,  as  far  back  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, as  follows: 

1856.  James  Buchanan   980 

1860.  Stephen  A.  Douglas 1,002 

1864.  George  B.  McClellan 1,400 

1868.  Horatio  Seymour 1,070 

1872.  Horace  Greeley   740 

1876.  S.  J.  Tilden 1,320 

1880.  W.  S.  Hancock 1,350 

1884.  Grover  Cleveland 1,488 

1888.  J.  D.  Williams   1,392 

1892.  Grover   Cleveland    1,375 

1896.  William  J.  Bryan   1,693 

1900.  William  J.  Bryan   1,682 

1904.  Alton  B.  Parker   621 

1908.  William  J.  Bryan   1,686 

1912.  Woodrow  Wilson 2.301 

1916.  Woodrow  Wilson    1,350 

The  present  Democratic  officials  are: 

Judge  Circuit  Court — William  H.  Bridwell. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


Representative  to  State  Legislature — E 
Curry. 

Prosecuting  Attorney — Martin  L.  Pigg. 
Sheriff— Orville  Hale. 
Clerk  Circuit  Court— David  Giles. 
Auditor — Frank  M.  Daniels. 
Treasurer — Robert  Gambill. 
Recorder — Roy  Drennan. 


Assessor — Frank  Hiatt. 
Surveyor— William  L.  Sisson. 
Coroner — James  H.  Neff. 


Comm 
Comm 
Comm 


oner,  First  District — John  A.  Mattix. 
oner,  Second  District — John  Scott, 
oner,  Third  District— John  H.  Walters, 


County  Superintendent — Richard  Park. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
SWITZERLAND  COUNTY 


THE  county  of  Switzerland,  with  Vevay  as 
the  county  seat,  was  organized  by  an  act 
of  the  Legislature  approved  September  7, 
1814.  It  was  taken  out  of  what  was  then  Dear- 
born and  Jefferson  counties. 

The  political  complexion  of  the  county  has  been 
by  no  means  entirely  one  way,  although  the  Demo- 
crats have  had  more  than  an  equal  division,  and 
in  later  years  the  majority  has  always  been 
counted  as  safely  Democratic. 

Governor  Thomas  Posey  appointed  the  several 
olScers  who  first  served  the  new  county. 

The  first  election  under  the  constitution  of  the 
new  State  was  held  on  the  3d  day  of  February, 
1817.  There  was  no  political  division  between  the 
political  parties,  as  such  in  this  election. 

William  Cotton  and  James  McClure  were 
elected  associate  judges,  John  Francis  Dufour 
clerk,  John  Francis  Siebenthal  sheriff,  Frederick 
Waldo  coroner,  James  Rous,  Caleb  Mounts  and 
Isaac  Stanley  county  commissioners. 

The  first  term  of  the  circuit  court  was  held  on 
the  17th  of  March,  1817,  with  John  Test  sitting 
as  presiding  judge.  The  county  commissioners 
held  their  first  meeting  seven  days  after  their 
election  in  Vevay.  They  ordered  that  an  election 
be  held  in  the  several  townships  on  Saturday,  the 
23d  day  of  February,  1817,  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  justices  of  the  peace.  There  were  various 
changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners,  brought  about  through  resigna- 
tion, appointments  and  new  elections,  until  1824, 
when  the  office  of  county  commissioner  was  abol- 
ished and  justices  of  the  peace  took  over  the 
duties  which  had  previously  been  assigned  to  the 
commissioners.  This  board  of  justices  elected  a 
president  and  held  regular  stated  meetings,  in  ad- 
dition to  attending  to  the  regular  duties  which 
still  attach  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 
The  law  was  very  strict,  requiring  that  the  clerk 
report  to  the  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county 
any  justices  who  did  not  attend  these  regular 
meetings,  so  it  was  seldom  they  met  without  hav- 
ing a  quorum  or  a  full  attendance. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1824  wherein 
John  Quiney  Adams  was  elected  sixth  president  of 
the  United  States,  Switzerland  county  cast  250 
votes  for  the  Democratic  ticket  and  126  for  the 
Republican  national  ticket.  Again  in  1828  and 
1832  the  county  returned  a  safe  Democratic  ma- 
jority. 

In  the  first  election  in  which  William  Henry 
Harrison  became  a  candidate  for  the  presidency, 
that  of  1836,  Switzerland  county  gave  him  a  ma- 


jority over  Martin  Van  Buren,  the  Democratic 
candidate. 

In  1840,  the  memorable  campaign  in  which  the 
Whigs  were  so  intensely  interested  in  electing  In- 
diana's favorite  son,  William  Henry  Harrison, 
Switzerland  county  joined  in  returning  a  major- 
ity of  400  for  the  Republican  nominee. 

In  1844  the  majority  returned  to  the  Demo- 
crats and  remained  so  until  the  campaign  of  1860, 
when  Lincoln  had  a  small  plurality  over  Douglas 
and  Breckinridge. 

In  the  1844  campaign  Polk,  the  Democratic  nom- 
inee, received  but  45  majority  in  the  county  over 
Clay,  while  in  1848  Cass  led  Taylor,  the  Repub- 
lican nominee,  by  even  less  than  this.  Pierce 
added  to  the  Democratic  majority  in  1852,  and  in 
1856  it  grew  even  larger  with  Buchanan  as  the 
Democratic  nominee. 

In  1860  Lincoln  received  734  votes,  while  Doug- 
las, representing  the  northern  wing  of  the  Democ- 
racy, received  476;  Breckinridge,  Southern  Dem- 
ocrat, 499,  and  Bell  of  the  Union  party  510.  Thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  vote  was  pretty  evenly  dis- 
tribifted  among  the  four  candidates. 

In  1864,  however,  the  county  became  strongly 
Republican,  and  it  was  twenty  years  later  before 
the  Democrats  again  carried  the  county  in  a  pres- 
idential campaign. 

In  1864  Lincoln's  vote  was  1,440  against  855 
for  McClellan.  In  1868  General  Grant  received 
1,466,  against  1,209  for  Pendleton.  In  1872  there 
was  no  Democratic  improvement.  Grant  receiving 
1,444  to  1,116  for  Greeley. 

In  1876,  when  Hayes  and  Tilden  appeared  as 
the  contending  candidates,  the  Democrats  received 
1,396  votes  and  the  Republicans  1,495,  the  Repub- 
licans' lead  having  been  reduced  to  but  99. 

In  1880  the  Democratic  vote  for  presidential 
electors,  with  W.  S.  Hancock  as  candidate,  was 
1,430,  as  against  1,549  for  James  A.  Garfield,  the 
Republican  nominee. 

In  1884  came  the  change,  and  for  the  first  time 
in  twenty  years  the  Democrats  had  a  majority  in 
the  county,  although  their  lead  was  only  10  votes. 
The  Democratic  vote  for  Grover  Cleveland  was 
1,576,  against  1,566  for  James  G.  Blaine. 

In  1888  Benjamin  Harrison  of  Indiana  was 
chosen  to  head  the  Republican  ticket,  but  Grover 
Cleveland  increased  his  lead  in  Switzerland  county 
over  that  of  1884,  polling  1,637,  to  1,560  for  Ben- 
jamin Harrison.  The  Democratic  lead  has  never 
been  lost  since  that  year,  and  in  1892,  v/hen 
Grover   Cleveland   and   Benjamin   Harrison   were 


(  788) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


again  the  candidates,  Harrison  received  1,497,  to 
1,589  for  Cleveland. 

The  presidential  vote  in  the  years  following  and 
to  1912  has  been  as  follows: 

1896— Bryan  (D.),  1,742;  McKinley  (R.),  1,637. 

1900— Bryan  (D.),  1,713;  McKinley,  (R.),  1,631. 

1904— Parker  (D.).  1.554;  Roosevelt  (R.),  1,461. 

1908— Bryan   (D.),  1,537;  Taft  (R.),  1,444. 

1912— Wilson  and  Marshall  (D.),  1,342;  Taft 
(R.),  882^  Roosevelt  (Progressive),  322. 

This  is  one  of  the  counties  in  which  the  Pro- 
gressive party  did  not  make  a  very  large  impres- 
sion. 

Switzerland  .county  is  in  the  fourth  congres- 
sional district.  Only  occasionally  since  the  county 
was  organized  has  a  Republican  ever  succeeded  in 
representing  the  district,  and  less  seldom  has  a 
Republican  congressional  candidate  secured  a  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  in  Switzerland  county. 

The  Democrats  who  have  represented  the  dis- 
trict of  which  Switzerland  county  is  a  part  are  as 
follows:  Amos  Lane,  Thomas  Smith,  John  L. 
Robinson,  James  H.  Lane,  Cyrus  L.  Dunham, 
James  Hughes,  Henry  W.  Harrington,  William  S. 
Holman,  Jeptha  D.  New,  Leonidas  Sexon,  William 
S.  Holman,  Francis  Marion  Griffith  and  Lincoln 
Dixon. 

Lincoln  Dixon  was  first  elected  in  1904,  and 
each  two  years  thereafter  in  his  re-election  his 
majority  increased  as  the  people  recognized  his 
special  qualifications.  Always  during  his  term 
Washington  recognized  him  as  one  of  the  big- 
gest men  in  the  Congress. 

These  Democrats  have  served  in  public  office 
since  the  organization  of  Switzerland  county: 

Territorial  officials  named  by  Governor  Thomas 
Posey  in  September,  1814. 

Associate  judges,  William  Cotton  and  Jam.es 
McClure. 

Sheriff,  John  Francis  Siebenthal. 

Coroner,  Ralph  Cotton. 

Clerk,  John  Francis  Dufour. 

Recorder,  John  Francis  Dufour. 

Surveyor,   Elisha   Golay. 

Prior  to  1830  more  thought  was  given  to  men 
than  to  politics,  there  being  fewer  from  whom  to 
choose.  The  government  then  was  mixed  politi- 
cally. Since  that  date,  so  far  as  can  be  de- 
termined at  time  of  publication,  this  list  is  in- 
tended to  contain  the  names  of  none  but  Demo- 
crats who  have  served  in  office  since  the  county 
was  formed. 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 

1817 — James  Ro'^s,  1  year;  Isaac  Stanley,  2 
years;  Caleb  Mount,  3  years. 

1818— Thomas  Gilliland. 

1818 — George  Craig  (vice  Stanley,  resigned). 

1818 — Dr.  John  Mendenhal. 


1819— William  Campbell. 

1820- William  Ross. 

1821— Henry  Banta. 

1822- Thomas  Gilliland. 

182.3- William  Card. 

1824 — Commissioners  were  abolished  and  justi- 
ces of  the  peace  assumed  the  duties,  organizing  as 
a  board  with  this  membership: 

1824— William  C.  Keen,  president;  John  Smith, 
Samuel  Jack,  Caleb  Mount,  Joseph  Pugh,  Joseph 
McHenry,  Thomas  Wiles. 

1825 — Edward  Patton,  president;  members  in 
addition  to  those  attending  1824  meeting  were: 
Johnson  Brown,  John  Elam,  Samuel  Beal,  Edward 
Patton,  William  J.  Stewart. 

In  1S26  the  legislature  substituted  a  board  of 
supervisors  in  place  of  a  board  of  justices,  but 
nevertheless  composed  of  justices  of  the  peace. 
This  board  was  composed  as  follows: 

1826 — Samuel  Beal,  Amos  A.  Brown,  Joseph 
Pugh,  John  Elam,  Johnson  Brown. 

During  the  years  until  1831,  v;hile  this  law  last- 
ed, these  citizens  served  as  supervisors:  Samuel 
Jack,  John  Gibbons,  Aribert  Gazley,  Pruit  Harvey, 
George  E.  Pleasants,  Joseph  McHenry. 

The  legislature  of  1831  changed  the  law,  return- 
ing to  the  board  of  three  commissioners,  this  law 
remaining  in  force  since.  Switzerland  county  has 
since  been  served  by  these  commiissioners: 

1831-34— Lyman    W.    Mix,   William    Scudder. 
Enos  Littlefield. 

1834-37— Eden  Edwards. 

1835-38- Philip  Bettens,  Jr. 

1836-39- Colin  McNutt. 

1837-40— Eden  Edwards. 

1838-41— Philip  Bettens,  Jr. 

1839-42 — Andrew  Stewart. 

1840-43— David  Henry. 

1841-44— John  J.  P.   Schenck. 

1841 — David  Henry,  chosen  president  of  the 
board,  and  the  duties  of  clerk  placed  upon  John 
M.  King,  the  county  auditor,  as  provided  under  new 
law. 

1842-45 — Andrew  Stewart. 

1842-43 — William  Flynn,  succeeding  David 
Henry,  resigned,  and  John  J.  P.  Schenck  was  chos- 
en president. 

1843-46- David  Shull. 

1844-47— Lewis  W.  Beal. 

1845-48— Arthur  Humphrey. 

1846-49— Harvey  Littlefield. 

1847-50 — Daniel  Ramseyer. 

1848-51— William  Howe. 

1849-52— Jacob  Shull. 

1850-53— John  Weaver. 

1851-54 — James  S.  Ferguson. 

1852-55— Jacob  Shull. 

1853-56— John  Weaver. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


1S54-57— Charles  A.  Gary. 
1856-71— William  Anderson. 
1872-75— William  M.  Patton. 
1854-75— Philip  Bettens,  William  Stewart. 
1857-75 — Benjamin  L.  Simmons,  Harvey  Little- 
field. 

1876-79— Philander  Morrison. 

1878-84— William  Stewart. 

1879-82— Dilliard  R.  Drake. 

1882-84— William  Brindley  and  Luther  C.  Buck. 

1884 — John  F.  Houze  and  David  Armstrong. 

SHERIFFS. 
1814— John    F.    Siebenthal,   appointed    by   Ter- 
ritorial Governor  Posey. 

1816-20— John  F.  Siebenthal. 
1820-22— Israel  R.  Whitehead. 
1822-26— John  F.  Siebenthal. 
1829-33— Henry  Banta. 
1837-41— Henry  McMakin. 
1843-45— Henry  McMakin. 
1845-47— John  R.  Morerod. 
1851-53— John  W.  Gray. 
1853-55 — Samuel  W.  Howard. 
1859-63— William  Mead. 
1878-80— John  P.  White. 
1888-92— Oscar  Williamson. 
1892-96— David  Dyer. 
1896-1900— Ira  N.  Banta. 
1900-04— Edward  C.  Shull. 
1904-08— Thomas  Pickett. 
1912-16— John  C.  Heady. 
1916— Thomas  Pickett. 

CLERKS. 

1814 — John  Francis  Dufour,  appointed  by  Terri- 
torial Governor  Thomas  Posey. 

1816-24 — John  Francis  Dufour. 

1824-30— Israel  R.  Whitehead. 

1830-49 — Edward  Patton,  serving  until  time  of 
death  and  succeeded  by  William  Patton,  by  ap- 
pointment to  fill  temporary  vacancy. 

1849-52 — Charles  T.  Jones,  elected  to  unexpired 
term. 

1871-79— Joseph  H.  Netherland. 

1879-87— Robert  T.  F.  Abbott. 

1891-95— Walter  C.  Benedict. 

1903-11— Clarence  R.  Drake. 

1915-19— Jesse  P.  Curry. 

TREASURERS. 

From  1817  to  1841,  when  the  office  was  made 
elective,  the  following  men  served  the  county  as 
treasurer  by  appointment  from  the  county  com- 
missioners: 

1817-21— Samuel  Fallis. 

1821-25 — Joseph  Malin. 

1825-30— Ira  Mendenhall. 

1830-41— George  G.  Knox. 


1841-43 — Frederick  L.  Grisard,  first  treasurer 
elected,  resigned;  James  S.  Carter,  appointed  and 
declined;  William  Hall,  named  and  accepted. 

1843-49— William  Hall. 

1849-53— John  F.  Doan. 

1853-55— George  H.  Kyle. 

1855-59— John  R.  Morerod. 

1859-61— Ira  N.  Malin. 

1871-73— Joshua  D.  Griffith. 

1875-77— Francis  M.  Griffith. 

1879-81 — Americus  Benedict. 

1889-93— William  Tait. 

1893-97— Joseph  D.  Froman. 

1897-1901— James  P.  Orem. 

1901-05— Albert  B.  Douglass. 

1905-09— Napoleon  Miller. 

1913-17 — John  L.  Cunningham. 

1917-19 — Charles  Panghorn. 

RECORDERS. 
1814 — John  Francis  Dufour,  appointed  by  Ter- 
ritorial Governor  Posey. 

1816-24 — Thomas  Armstrong. 
1824-31 — Abraham  B.  Dumont. 
1831-45— Ira  Mendenhall. 
1845-52— Ira  N.  Malin. 
1853-55— James  H.  Titus. 
1855-59— William  H.  H.  Kelso. 
1867-71— John  T.  Schroder. 
1871-79— John  P.  White. 
1879-87— James  P.  Orem. 
1891-95 — Daniel  V.  Seavers. 
1895-1901^ohn  W.  Barnes. 
1901-09— James  D.  Miller. 
1913-17— Oliver  P.  Courtney. 

AUDITORS. 
1841-45-^ohn  M.  King. 
1875-83— John  Gill. 
1883-87— Philip  C.  Holland. 
1891-99— Joseph  E.  Hart. 
1899-1901— John  F.  Houze. 
1901-09— Levin  J.  Woollen. 
1913-19— John  W.  Smith. 

1918 — Joseph  D.  Froman,  appointed  to  fill  un- 
expired term  of  John  W.  Smith. 

COLLECTORS. 

Prior  to  1841,  collectors  of  taxes  were  appointed 
by  the  county  boards,  the  collection  since  1840  be- 
ing part  of  the  duties  of  the  treasurers. 

These  men  served  as  collectors: 

1814-20— John  F.  Siebenthal. 

1820-22— Israel  R.  Whitehead. 

1823— Garrett  Perkins. 

1824-27— John  F.  Siebenthal. 

1828— Henry  Banta. 

1829— William  McCullough. 

1830— Henry  Banta. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


1831— Pruit  Harvey. 
1832-33— Henry  Banta. 
1834— Ralph  B.  Cotton. 
1840— Henry  Mc:\Iakin. 

STATE  SENATORS 
Switzerland  and  Jefferson  Counties,  Joint  Senators 
Switzerland  and  Ripley  Counties. 
1822-24— George  Craig. 
1828-30— Stephen  C.  Stevens. 

Switzerland  County,  a  District  by  Itself. 
1837-39— Martin  Green. 
1840-41— Joseph  C.  Eggleston. 
1842— Daniel  Kelso. 
1843-45— David  Henry. 

Switzerland  and  Ohio,  One  District. 
1846-48— Martin  R.  Green. 
1849-51— John  Woods. 
1852-53— William  H.  Powell. 

New  Constitution  Adopted. 
1859-61 — Benjamin  L.  Robinson. 
1863-65— Alexander  C.  Downey. 

Switzerland  and  Ripley,  One  District. 
1871-73— Moses  K.  Rosebrough. 
1875-77— William  Culbertson. 

Switzerland,   Dearborn  and  Ohio  Counties, 
One  District. 
1879-81— Dr.  L.  J.  Woollen. 
1883-85— Columbus  R.  Johnson. 
1887-95— Francis  Marion  Griffith. 
1895-97 — Columbus  R.  Johnson. 

Switzerland,  Jefferson   and   Ripley.   One  District. 
1901-05-James  M.  Singer. 
1911-17— Rowland  H.  Jackson. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 
1819— Samuel  Merrill. 

1824— Stephen  C.  Stevens  and  William  Card. 
1825— William  Card  and  William  C.  Keen. 


1826— Stephen  C.  Stevens  and  William  Cham- 
berlain. 

1828 — John  Dumont  and  John  F.  Dufour. 

1829— Samuel  Jack. 

1830— John  Dumont. 

1832— William  Bradley. 

1833-34— Daniel  Kelso. 

1835-36— Joseph  C.  Eggleston, 

1837-38— James  M.  Cotton. 

1839— Elwood  Fisher. 

1840— Hosier  J.  Durbin. 

1842— Perret  Dufour. 

1845— Edward  Burns. 

Switzerland  and  Ohio  Counties 

1846— John  Tait,  Jr. 

1847 — Samuel  F.  Covington  and  Charles  T. 
Jones. 

1848— Daniel  Kelso. 

1850 — Thomas  Armstrong. 

1851— Samuel   Porter. 

1853— Oliver  Dufour  and  Hazlett  E.  Dodd. 

1855 — George  W.  Harryman. 

1858-59— William  H.  Gregory,  the  1858  session 
being  special. 

1861— Hugh  T.  Williams. 

1871— William  G.  Holland. 

1875— William  T.  Pate. 

1885-87— George  S.  Pleasants. 

Switzerland,  Ohio  and  Dearborn  Counties. 
1889— George  S.  Pleasants. 
1891— Thomas  M.  Kyle. 
1893— H.  D.  McMullen. 
1895-97— Andrew  J.  Bowers. 

Switzerland  and  Ohio  Counties. 
1899— Cornelius  D.  Green. 
1903— William  M.  Green. 
1905 — Benjamin  S.  Potter. 
1907— Henry  B.  Steele. 
1909— D.  E.  Douglass. 
1911 — George  H.  Keeney. 
1913-15— Stephen  J.  Dibble. 


HISTORY   OF  THE    DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
TIPPECANOE  COUNTY 


THE  history  of  the  county  of  Tippecanoe  is 
so  rich  in  historical  association  that  it  be- 
comes almost  a  matter  of  impossibility  to 
render  any  account  of  its  various  political  phases 
without  touching,  thoug-h  briefly,  upon  some  of  the 
main  facts  having  to  do  with  its  existence  as  a 
county.  That  Tippecanoe  county  is  a  portion  of 
that  great  northwestern  tract  of  land  opened  up 
by  the  company  of  Captain  Clark  and  his 
pioneers  is  a  matter  too  generally  known 
to  permit  the  indulgence  of  repetition  in 
this  work.  That  the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe, 
occurring  on  the  7th  day  of  November, 
1811,  when  the  American  forces,  commanded 
by  Gen.  William  H.  Harrison,  at  a  point 
adjoining  the  present  town  of  Battle  Ground, 
struck  the  final  blow  which  forever  quelled  the 
power  of  the  Indians  in  this  territory,  is  also  a 
fact  that  is,  or  should  be,  familiar  to  every  school 
child  as  well  as  to  the  older  people  who  have  pride 
in  the  advancement  of  the  State,  and  particularly 
that  portion  thereof  which  forms  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  On  that  date  the  precipitancy  of 
"The  Prophet,"  the  brother  of  the  great  Indian 
chief,  Tecumseh,  permitted  the  Paging  of  the  bat- 
tle that  wrecked  the  plans  of  Tecumseh,  laid  low 
the  hopes  of  the  Indian  tribes,  and  gave  into  the 
hands  of  the  whites  the  undisputed  ascendancy 
and  control  of  the  most  fertile  portion  of  this  fer- 
tile State.  It  marked  the  last  great  contest  on 
Indiana  soil  as  between  the  white  man  and  the 
red,  and  settlement  and  civilization  continued 
their  onward  progress  even  to  the  present  day. 

The  county  of  Tippecanoe  embraces  territory  on 
both  sides  of  the  Wabash  river  and  in  area  is  com- 
posed of  504  square  miles.  To  the  north  lie  the 
counties  of  Carroll  and  White;  to  the  south,  Mont- 
gomery; on  the  west,  Warren,  Fountain  and  Ben- 
ton, and  to  the  east,  Clinton  and  Carroll.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  productive  agricultural  counties  of 
the  ninety-two  in  the  State,  and  at  this  writing  in 
population  approximates  40,000  souls.  Its  county 
seat  is  Lafayette,  now  embracing  a  population  of 
25,000. 

As  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained  by  research,  the 
first  settler  in  Tippecanoe  county  proper  bore  the 
name  of  Peter  Weaver,  and  he  at  a  period  vari- 
ously given  as  1822  or  1823  established  a  home  on 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Wea  plains.  Around 
him  gathered  the  intrepid  spirits — the  real  pio- 
neers of  the  locality — forming  the  nucleus  of  the 
present  population.  The  separation  of  the  ter- 
ritory comprising  Tippecanoe  county  from  its 
early  amalgamation  with  other  lands  occurred  on 


the  26th  of  January,  1826,  at  which  time,  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  there 
was  passed  "An  act  for  the  formation  of  a  new 
county  out  of  the  county  of  Wabash,  and  for  es- 
tablishing the  county  seat  thereof."  This  act  also 
specified  that  the  new  county  bear  the  name  "Tip- 
pecanoe." Since  that  period  there  has  been  no 
alteration  in  county  boundaries  then  established, 
the  act  going  into  form.al  efi'ect  in  May  of  1826, 
whilst  in  the  following  month  of  July  what  may 
be  said  to  have  been  the  first  important  act  rela- 
tive to  county  government  occurred.  William 
Bash,  Levi  Thornton,  Stephen  Kennedy  and  John 
Russell,  provided  with  commissions  from  the 
Governor  of  the  State,  who,  at  that  time,  was  J. 
Brown  Ray,  after  subscribing  to  certain  oaths, 
assumed  their  titles  as  members  of  a  board  of  jus- 
tices and  chose  William  Bush  as  their  president. 
Under  the  supervision  of  this  board  returns  were 
received  which  chose  Lafayette  as  the  county  seat, 
and  tracts  of  lands  given  over  by  patriotic  indi- 
viduals were  platted,  and  the  beginning  of  a  city 
as  well  as  a  county  was  made.  In  the  year  1829 
a  court  house  was  built,  the  two-story  structure 
serving  as  the  county  seat  of  the  government  un- 
til 1845.  A  more  commodious  structure  then 
placed  upon  the  same  site  did  duty  until  in  1881- 
84  the  present  pretentious  structure  took  its  place 
— a  building  which  cost  almost  twice  the  amount 
of  the  original  contract  before  completed. 

From  the  beginning  in  a  political  way  Tippe- 
canoe seems  to  have  assumed  great  interest  in 
events.  With  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  came  the  intense  feeling  that  has  charac- 
terized each  separate  campaign — in  most  of  which, 
it  may  be  said,  the  government  of  county  affairs 
has  remained  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Repub- 
licans, though  on  exceptional  occasions  the  cus- 
tomary majority  has  been  disposed  of  and  given 
partial  Democratic  successes.  As  far  back  as  1836 
the  future  of  the  county  was  indicated,  though 
probably  not  then  realized,  by  the  vote  for  Presi- 
dent, wherein  William  H.  Harrison  received  1,244 
votes  and  Martin  VanBuren  1,044  votes  in  Tippe- 
canoe. 

The  list  of  Tippecanoe  Democrats  who  have 
achieved  distinction  is  not  so  large,  perhaps,  as 
those  in  localities  more  given  to  the  returning  of 
Democratic  majorities,  yet  in  its  compilation  one 
finds  names  that  have  made  their  impress  upon 
the  history  of  the  land  as  well  as  upon  local. and 
state  affairs.  Of  the  notables  in  these  lines  John 
Pettit  may  be  mentioned,  he  being  chosen  to  Con- 
gress in   1843  from  the  district  to  which  Tippe- 


(  792  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


canoe  then  belonged,  though  it  has  since  been  al- 
tered as  politicians  dictated.  Mr.  Pettit  was  three 
times  elected  in  the  congressional  capacity  and 
later  on  advanced  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
serving  with  distinction  during  1853-55.  Presi- 
dent James  Buchanan  in  1859  chose  this  distin- 
guished citizen  to  be  chief  justice  for  the  district 
then  known  as  the  Territory  of  Kansas,  he  serving 
there  for  two  years.  The  President's  choice  fell 
upon  him  by  reason  of  the  signal  ability  he  had 
shown  as  district  attorney  in  Indiana  from  1839 
to  1843.  He  was  likewise  a  member  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Convention  in  Indiana  in  1852.  Many 
local  positions  were  his  to  command,  his  years  of 
official  life  being  unusually  extended  and  varied 
in  their  nature. 

Joseph  E.  McDonald,  one  of  the  most  talented 
men  in  Indiana  history,  lived  in  Lafayette  during 
his  youth,  mastering  his  trade  as  a  saddler,  and 
while  his  political  honors  came  later  in  life,  after 
he  had  left  Tippecanoe,  his  legislative  honors  were 
ever  admired  by  those  who  knew  him  long  before 
he  aspired  to  become  a  lawmaker,  orator  and  dip- 
lomat. 

Daniel  Mace  served  in  the  Lower  House  of  Con- 
gress during  1851-57.  He  also  occupied  the  posi- 
tion of  United  States  District  Attorney  for  Indi- 
ana District  in  the  years  1845-47  and  occupied 
local  positions,  his  career  finally  terminating  by 
death,  at  his  own  hand,  while  postmaster  at  La- 
fayette. 

Daniel  Voorhees,  "The  Tall  Sycamore  of  the 
Wabash,"  for  some  years  a  leading  light  in  the 
Congress  and  Senate  of  the  United  States,  was 
temporarily  located  in  this  county,  his  higher  hon- 
ors coming  later  in  life,  during  the  Civil  war 
period,  but  he  always  retained  a  kindly  feeling  for 
Tippecanoe  and  her  people. 

Thomas  B.  Ward,  a  favorite  of  the  people,  who 
held  many  local  positions,  being  an  attorney  of 
ability,  was  in  Congress  during  1882-86,  he  being 
the  last  one  to  occupy  that  position  until 
1911  of  Democratic  persuasion,  when  John  B. 
Peterson,  of  Crown  Point,  was  chosen  from  the 
district  to  which  Tippecanoe  at  present  belongs — 
the  Tenth.  Mr.  Ward  was  somewhat  prominent  in 
Washington  and  at  this  writing,  though  some 
years  deceased,  still  has  numerous  admirers. 

John  S.  Williams,  mayor  of  Lafayette  at  one 
time,  banker  and  newspaper  man,  was  Third 
Auditor  of  the  Treasury  under  President  Cleve- 
land. 

A  unique  figure  in  local  politics  is  Furman  E. 
D.  McGinley,  on  seven  different  occasions  chosen 
mayor  of  Lafayette,  at  times  when  the  city  was 
of  Republican  cast.  Mr.  McGinley  celebrated  his 
eighty-sixth  birthday  this  year  (1915).  He  never 
sought  higher  honors,  but  was  never  denied  when 


before  the  people  for  their  suffrage  for  the  mayor- 
alty. 

Francis  Johnson,  a  German-born  citizen  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability,  served  as  a  Democrat  in  the 
State  Senate  from  1881  to  1885,  and  was  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  offered  a  foreign  post  in  France 
(now  occupied  by  J.  B.  Milner,  of  this  county,  it  is 
the  writer's  belief),  but  refused  the  same.  He 
held  also  various  minor  offices. 

John  F.  McHugh,  State  Senator  and  Democratic 
leader,  1893-95.  Conceded  to  be  one  of  the  tal- 
ented men  of  the  State.  Held  several  local  posi- 
tions. 

George  R.  Durgan,  three  times  mayor  of  La- 
fayette, 1904-14.  Frequently  spoken  of  for  State 
offices,  but  never  up  to  this  time  an  aspirant  for 
other  positions. 

Charles  H.  Ball,  present  postmaster,  appointed 
by  President  Wilson. 

John  B.  Ruger,  postmaster  during  Cleveland's 
first  term. 

Michael  H.  Kennedy,  postmaster  during  Cleve- 
land's second  term. 

David  Turpie,  circuit  judge  in  1855  and  common 
pleas  judge  in  1854.  Afterwards  served  with 
distinction  in  United  States  Senate.  Highly  re- 
spected and  loved. 

James  Murdock,  sheriff,  warden  prison  north, 
banker,  capitalist  and  member  of  Democratic  Na- 
tional Central  Committee.  One  of  the  most  prom- 
inent men  in  the  State  during  the  Hearst-Parker 
campaign,  and  his  advice  sought  by  Democratic 
managers  all  over  the  country. 

Owing  to  the  political  strength  of  Republican- 
ism in  Tippecanoe  county  the  government  has  on 
all  save  two  occasions  rested  in  Republican  hands, 
but  this  condition  does  not  at  present  prevail.  In 
1912  Peter  J.  Wall  and  Thomas  J.  Gwin,  both 
Democrats,  were  elected  county  commissioners. 
Mr.  Wall  is  serving  now  the  third  year  of  his 
term  and  Mr.  Gwin  has  one  year  to  serve  after 
January  1,  1916.  In  November,  1914,  John  C.  F. 
Redinbo  was  elected — a  Democrat,  who  will  go 
into  office  when  Mr.  Wall  retires,  January  1,  191G 
— leaving  the  board  still  Democratic  thereafter. 
The  county  also  has  a  Democratic  sheriff  at  the 
present  time,  Mel.  Slayback,  re-elected  in  1914, 
and  a  Democratic  surveyor,  Henry  Kessener, 
elected  in  1914,  and  succeeding  another  Democrat, 
Clyde  Richards.  The  joint  representative  in  the 
Indiana  House,  Perry  Davis  (second  election),  is 
also  a  Democrat,  representing  this  and  Montgom- 
ery counties.  There  are  also  five  Democrats  in 
the  thirteen  trusteeships  of  the  county.  The  pres- 
ent county  road  superintendent,  D.  M.  Boyle,  and 
present  superintendent  of  the  county  farm,  Steven 
Campbell,  are  Democrats.  The  rest  of  the  county 
and  township  offices  (with  the  exception  of  several 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


township  assessors)  are  Republicans.  The  city  is 
normally  Democratic,  but  change  in  sentiment 
from  local  causes  led  to  the  defeat  of  George  R. 
Durgan  at  the  time  of  his  fourth  race  in  1913,  and 
with  his  defeat  the  city  for  four  years  passed  out 
of  Democratic  control.  There  seems  no  reason  to 
doubt,  however.  Democratic  city  success  in  1917, 
as  with  one  exception  every  Democrat  on  the 
county  ticket  carried  the  city  in  the  county  elec- 
tion of  1914.  An  illustration  of  the  vagaries  of 
the  Tippecanoe  county  vote,  however,  may  be 
given  in  mentioning  that  in  1912  John  B.  Peter- 
son, Democratic  candidate  for  Congress  in  this 
district,  carried  the  county  by  a  plurality  of  1,073. 
As  a  candidate  for  re-election  in  1914  Mr.  Peter- 
son lost  the  county  by  60  votes,  while  one  Repub- 
lican county  candidate  was  elected  by  1,510. 

In  the  elections  of  1917  the  city  of  Lafayette 
again  became  Democratic,  George  R.  Durgan  be- 
ing chosen  as  the  chief  executive  by  a  stupendous 
majority.  With  the  mayoralty  Democratic  so 
went  every  other  city  elective  office — clerk,  judge 
and  all  of  the  ten  members  of  the  common  coun- 
cil. They  found  a  bankrupt  city  in  so  far  as  the 
general  fund  was  concerned,  an  inheritance  from 
the  previous  administration,  and  are  now  (1918) 
striving  to  place  the  city  of  Lafayette  once  more 
in  the  solvent  column. 

The  newspaper  history  of  Tippecanoe  county  is 
an  interesting  one,  and  might  be  made  the  subject 
of  an  article  of  greater  extent  than  permissible 
here.  The  oldest  paper  in  Lafayette  that  sur- 
vives is  the  Lafayette  Morning  Journal,  and  next 
is  the  Evening  Courier.  The  Sunday  Leader  is 
next  in  point  of  age  and  is  the  oldest  exclusive 
Sunday  publication  in  the  State.  Briefly  para- 
graphed, they  may  be  mentioned  thus: 

Lafayette  Free  Press  and  Commercial  Adver- 
tiser, established  September  29,  1829,  by  Major 
John  Seamans.  The  oldest  paper  in  the  State  ex- 
cept one,  The  Potawatomie  Times,  begun  in  1828, 
in  Logansport,  long  since  deceased.  Major  Sea- 
mans  ran  this  paper  until  1841,  when  he  consoli- 
dated his  plant  with  the  Tippecanoe  Journal, 
which  was  started  because  Seamans  was  not  suffi- 
ciently pronounced  a  Whig.  John  D.  Smith  &  Co. 
were  publishers.  In  1849  the  Journal  became  a  daily 
paper,  printed  by  Bausman  &  West,  and  by  them 
sold  to  James  P.  Luse  &  Bro.  In  1853  it  became 
the  property  of  W  G.  Terrell,  and  he  took  in  as 
partners  W.  S.  Lingle  and  C.  M.  Terrell,  a  brother. 
The  Terrells  conducted  the  paper  until  1858,  when 
James  Luse  and  Alexander  Wilson  purchased  the 
plant.  Mr.  Wilson  sold  his  interest  to  W.  H. 
Schuyler  and  J.  C.  Batchelder,  who,  with  Mr.  Luse, 
ran  the  paper  for  years.  February  22,  1864,  the 
plant,  with  all  files,  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
Batchelder  then  sold  his  part  to  S.  B.  Woolworth. 


In  1866  John  Purdue,  founder  of  Purdue  Univer- 
sity, bought  two-thirds  of  the  plant  from  Luse, 
under  the  impression  that  it  would  aid  him  in  a 
race  for  Congress.  Schuyler  and  Woolworth  had 
gone  out  of  the  firm  and  C.  D.  Emmons  and  D.  A. 
James  were  given  one-third  interest.  Purdue  was 
beaten,  and  put  Emmons  and  James  in  charge  of 
the  plant,  later  on  taking  in  Joseph  Odell.  Pres- 
ently all  of  the  others  pulled  out  and  left  Purdue 
the  white  elephant  again  on  hand.  He  sold  to  S. 
Vater  and  Benjamin  Barron  (both  without 
money),  the  latter  dying  in  a  short  time,  leaving 
Vater  in  charge.  In  1876  Mr.  Vater' and  Albert  B. 
White  bought  fi'om  Purdue's  administrators  and 
ran  same  for  years,  though  Mr.  White  soon  moved 
to  Parkersburg,  W.  Va.  In  1882  Harry  L.  Wilson, 
of  Crawfordsville,  bought  the  plant.  He  did  not 
make  a  success  of  it,  and  sold  to  Florence,  Bonnell 
&  Gregory,  but  later  dispossessed  them  and  again 
took  charge.  In  1885  he  sold  to  Walter  Fraser. 
In  1887  James  W.  French  and  W.  Bent  Wilson 
bought  the  plant  at  sheriff's  sale.  It  had  been  Re- 
publican until  this  time  and  the  new  firm  made  it 
Democratic.  French  withdrew  in  three  years  and 
was  made  warden  of  the  prison  north.  He  was 
killed  in  Texas  in  an  automobile  accident  on  the 
15th  of  March,  1915.  Wilson  ran  the  paper  alone 
until  June  of  1902,  when  Thomas  Burt  and  Frank 
Terry  combined  their  plant  with  his.  Then  the 
paper  became  Republican  again,  and  is  still  so. 
Wilson  sold  to  George  P.  Haywood.  Mr.  Terry 
sold  out  and  Mr.  Burt  died.  Mr.  Haywood  and 
his  sons  bought  the  plant  and  sold  it  eventually 
to  Henry  W.  Marshall,  present  proprietor.  It  is 
the  leading  Republican  paper  in  this  part  of  the 
State. 

In  1841  the  Lafayette  Advertiser  was  started 
by  Mathias  Peterson.  In  a  few  months  he  sold 
to  Ellsworth  &  Co.  and  they  in  turn  to  James  P. 
Jenks.  Mr.  Jenks  changed  the  name  to  the  Cou- 
rier. Upon  his  death  Wm.  R.  Ellis  bou9:ht  the 
plant  in  1851,  running  it  as  a  Democratic  paper 
some  years.  W.  S.  Lingle  bought  the  plant  in 
1857  and  made  the  paper  Republican  with  a  large 
"R."  On  his  death  in  1884  the  widow  and  M.  M. 
Mayerstein  bought  in  the  plant.  Mr.  M.  later  on 
purchased  the  entire  plant  and  ran  it  until  his 
death  in  1900.  A.  A.  Mayerstein,  his  brother, 
conducts  the  paper  at  present.  From  the  time 
of  the  Lingle  ownership  until  the  1912  presiden- 
tial fight  the  paper  had  been  strongly  Republican. 
In  that  campaign  it  joined  the  Progressive  party. 
It  is  a  very  prosperous  plant. 

The  Sunday  Leader  was  begun  March  1,  1872, 
John  A.  Carr  being  its  progenitor.  It  was  pur- 
chased in  November  of  the  same  year  by  F.  E.  D. 
McGinley,  and  in  1883  was  purchased  by  Charles 
F.     Williams    and     Ross    Gordon.      Mr.     Gordon 


(794) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191G 


bought  his  partner's  interest  and  took  in  his  son. 
Mr.  Williams  remained  as  editor  of  the  paper 
and  on  the  death  of  both  the  Gordons  purchased 
the  plant  from  the  estate,  and  still  conducts  the 
same.  Recently  the  paper  removed  to  its  own 
building  on  Ferry  street.  It  is  independent  po- 
litically and  prosperous.  Of  almost  equal  age  is 
the  Lafayette  Leader,  produced  at  the  same  plant 
and  conducted  as  a  Democratic  paper,  issued  each 
Thursday  by  Charles  F.  Williams,  Jr. 

The  S»»f^ai/ Timts  was  started  by  Fred  S.  Wil- 
liams in  April,  1879.  Colonel  John  S.  Williams, 
his  father,  once  third  auditor  of  the  Treasury 
under  Cleveland  (first  term),  was  associated  with 
the  plant.  Mr.  J.  S.  Williams  died  in  1900,  his  son 
preceding  him  to  the  grave.  The  widow  continued 
the  publication  until  March,  1914,  her  brother, 
Charles  H.  Ball,  being  in  charge.  When  Mr.  Ball 
was  appointed  postmaster  by  President  Wilson, 
he  conducted  a  sale  of  the  Times  to  Henry  Mar- 
shall. The  latter  shortly  after  became  owner 
of  the  Daily  Journal  and  began  the  issuing  of  a 
seven  days  a  week  paper.  The  result  was  not 
satisfactory,  and  with  the  last  Sunday  in  Janu- 
ary, 1915,  the  Sunday  paper  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence. 

The  Daihj  Dispatch  was  started  in  April,  1869, 
by  John  C.  Dobelbower,  who  came  here  with  am- 
ple means  from  Illinois,  at  the  urgent  request  of 
local  Democrats  to  produce  a  daily  Democratic  pa- 
per of  force.  He  was  an  experienced  newspaper 
man,  but  the  business  for  a  Democratic  paper  was 
not  what  it  should  have  been,  and  when  Cle^fe- 
land  was  elected  he  was  at  about  the  end  of  his 


resources.  It  was  conceded  that  the  post  office 
should  go  to  Mr.  Dobelbower,  but  through  the  non- 
understandable  meanderings  of  politics  he  was  de- 
ceived, the  place  upon  which  he  was  building  to 
recuperate  went  to  another,  and  Mr.  D.  died  of 
grief.  The  paper  stopped  at  this  time,  the  sub- 
scription list  being  turned  over  to  the  Bidlctin, 
which  was  short-lived,  published  by  Parsons  and 
Meek. 

The  Call,  established  in  188.3  by  Joseph  L.  Cox, 
was  a  morning  paper.  It  was  sold  in  1885  to  S. 
Vater,  who  made  it  an  evening  paper  and  was 
quite  successful;  sold  to  John  George,  Jr.,  in  1896; 
sold  to  James  Walker  and  George  Snyder  and 
George  Gray  in  1899;  sold  in  March,  1902,  to 
Messrs.  Letcher;  sold  in  1904  to  A.  E.  Blunck; 
sold  in  1905  to  the  Evening  Courier  to  get  it  out 
of  the   way,   and   was   discontinued. 

The  Tippecanoe  County  Democrat  was  estab- 
lished in  April,  1908,  by  John  F.  Metzger;  in  a 
few  months  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  R.  M.  Isher- 
wood,  the  present  possessor  and  publisher. 

Other  papers  that  have  joined  the  great  major- 
ity are:  Home  Journal,  1874-1902;  Mo}~ning 
News,  1887  (lasted  five  months)  ;  Deutseh-Ameri- 
kaner,  1874  to  1903;  Daily  Democrat,  started  in 
March,  1903,  by  Leroy  Armstrong  and  James  K. 
Risk,  perished  November,  1904;  Daily  Republican, 
1875  (ran  six  months)  ;  Our  Herald,  1881-1884, 
sold  and  moved  to  Chicago;  Quohosh,  later  Herald, 
run  by  W.  S.  Haggard,  later  Lieutenant-Governor. 
1890-1899;  Spencer's  Paper,  1874,  seven  months; 
The  Comet,  1885,  Orth  Stein,  editor,  lasted  twenty- 
six  issues;  Labor  Woi-ld,  1886-1888,  discontinued. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
TIPTON  COUNTY 

By  Wm.  R.  Dunham 


TIPTON  COUNTY  lies  in  the  north  central 
portion  of  the  State.  By  an  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  1843  and  1844  it  was  organized 
as  a  distinct  county  of  its  own.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Howard  county,  on  the  east  by  Grant 
and  Madison  counties,  on  the  south  by  Hamilton 
and  on  the  west  by  Clinton  county.  It  is  twenty 
miles  long  from  east  to  west  and  thirteen  miles 
from  north  to  south  and  contains  two  hundred 
and  sixty  square  miles.  When  organized  it  was 
considered  a  howling-  wilderness,  infested  with 
bear,  wolves,  panthers,  wildcats,  deer  and  many 
fur-bearing  animals.  Today  it  is  considered  the 
garden  spot  of  Indiana  and  is  first  in  the  State 
and  third  in  the  United  States  in  agriculture. 

On  March  27,  1844,  William  Harrington  was 
commissioned  sheriff  by  Governor  Whitcomb  and 
empowered  to  order  an  election  of  the  necessary 
officers  to  organize  the  new  county  of  Tipton. 
The  27th  day  of  May,  1844,  was  selected  as  the 
day  upon  which  the  first  election  in  the  county 
should  be  held.  Elections  were  advertised  for 
three  Commissioners,  two  Associate  Judges,  one 
Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  and  one  Recorder  for 
the  county.  The  result  was  as  follows:  Clerk, 
N.  J.  Jackson,  Democrat;  Recorder,  Sylvester 
Turpen,  Democrat;  Associate  Judges,  Silas 
Blound,  Democrat,  and  Joseph  Goar,  Republican ; 
County  Commissioners,  Thomas  Jackson,  Demo- 
crat, John  D.  Smith,  Republican,  and  Robert  E. 
Davidson,  Democrat.  On  Monday,  June  3,  1844, 
the  three  County  Commissioners  who  had  been 
elected  met  at  the  house  of  Jesse  Brown  to  set 
the  official  machinery  of  the  county  in  motion. 
N.  J.  Jackson  was  appointed  temporary  County 
Auditor  and  Jesj=e  Brown,  County  Assessor.  Wil- 
liam H.  Nelson  was  appointed  County  Agent  and 
directed  to  lay  out  the  new  county  seat  after  the 
design  of  a  plat  furnished  by  the  Locating  Com- 
missioners. In  December,  1844,  Charles  Thur- 
man  was  appointed  County  Surveyor.  He  and 
his  associates  laid  out  the  town  of  Canton  (now 
Tipton)  early  in  1845.  Jesse  Brown  was  ordered 
to  advertise  for  sealed  bids  for  a  court  house 
20  by  24  feet,  two  stories  high,  and  to  be  com- 
pleted by  June  1,  1845.  In  February  of  that  year 
the  contract  was  awarded  to  George  Tucker,  who 
completed  the  building  late  in  the  fall  of  1845  for 
the  sum  of  $235.50.  It  had  a  hall  running  through 
from  east  to  west  and  on  each  side  of  the  lower 
story  were  two  rooms  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  county  officials.     The  upper  story  was  occu- 


pied by  the  court  room.  In  September,  1846, 
James  Gassier  contracted  to  clear  the  court  house 
square  for  $13.12.  At  the  same  time  George 
Tucker  under  orders  secured  twelve  chairs  for 
the  couit  house.  In  the  autumn  quite  an  exten- 
sive addition  was  built  to  the  court  house  at  a 
cost  of  several  hundred  dollars.  This  was  ren- 
dered necessary  owing  to  the  crowded  condition 
of  the  offices.  In  December,  1855,  Samuel  Deal 
and  Harvey  Goodj-koontz  were  appointed  to  see 
after  the  construction  of  additional  county  offices 
on  the  public  square,  the  building  to  be  of  frame, 
14  by  28  feet,  9  feet  high,  with  a  partition  in  the 
center,  the  rooms  to  be  ceiled  and  plastered.  The 
building  was  completed  in  June,  1857,  at  a  cost 
of  $329.09.  Soon  after  this  the  court  house  was 
unfortunately,  or  fortunately,  destroyed  by  fire 
and  the  county  courts  were  forced  to  meet  in  the 
Methodist  church,  which  had  been  erected  about 
three  years  previously. 

In  June,  1858,  Nelson  Daubenspeck  of  Nobles- 
ville,  Ind.,  contracted  to  build  a  new  court  house 
for  Tipton  county  within  two  years  for  $10,000. 
The  first  story  was  ten  feet  high  and  the  second 
story  seven  feet  high.  A  hall  extended  north 
and  south  through  the  first  story,  on  the  sides  of 
which  were  the  county  offices.  The  upper  story 
contained  the  court  room.  This  structure  served 
the  public  for  many  years,  but  as  the  county 
grew  the  demand  was  greater  for  better  quarters 
for  our  countv  officers,  so  in  February,  1888,  the 
citizens  of  Tipton  county  prepared  and  presented 
a  petition  asking  the  County  Commissioners  to 
proceed  toward  the  erection  of  a  new  court  house 
and  jail.  The  petition  was  signed  by  over  one 
thousand  taxpayers.  The  board  considered  the 
petition  and  immediately  granted  permission  for 
the  work,  the  plans  to  be  made  and  other  prepara- 
tions to  be  executed  at  once.  The  contract  for 
the  erection  of  the  building  was  entered  into  by 
the  board  with  Messrs.  Pearce  and  Morgan  on 
the  5th  day  of  November,  1892,  at  the  contract 
price  of  $143,760  and  for  all  other  contracts,  in- 
cluding furniture,  heating,  grading  and  numer- 
ous other  small  contracts,  the  sum  of  $39,651.30, 
making  a  grand  total  of  $183,411.30.  Work  was 
begun  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1893,  and  com- 
pleted on  the  1.5th  day  of  October,  1894,  and  the 
building  was  occupied  by  the  officers  on  that  date. 
The  building  is  sixty-six  feet  to  top  of  cornice 
and  the  tower  is  206  feet  to  top  of  flarjstaff.  The 
building  is  of  the  best  quality  Berler  stone,  the 


(796) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  9  1  G 


foundation  bein^  of  St.  Paul,  Ind.,  limestone. 
There  are  forty-five  rooms  in  the  building:,  all  of 
which  are  heated  by  steam  and  the  entire  build- 
ing: is  supplied  with  water  by  the  county's  own 
water  works,  located  in  the  basement  with  the 
heating:  machinery.  The  first  floor  above  the 
basement  is  occupied  by  the  various  county  offi- 
cers. The  second  floor  is  occupied  by  the  judi- 
ciary; the  two  court  rooms,  the  judge's  private 
room,  the  library  room,  the  grand  jury  rooms, 
the  witness  rooms,  the  consultation  rooms,  which 
are  all  elegantly  furnished  and  supplied  with 
modern  conveniences.  The  third  floor  is  occupied 
by  large  and  commodious  rooms  and  halls.  The 
wainscoting  from  the  entrance  to  the  attic  is  of 
the  finest  Tennessee  marble.  Taken  all  in  all,  Tip- 
ton county  has  one  of  the  most  elaborate,  com- 
modious and  best  arranged  court  houses  in  central 
Indiana. 

In  1855  Drs.  A.  M.  Vickrey  and  Rooker  of  Tip- 
ton bought  an  old-fashioned  Franklin  press  and 
a  small  quantity  of  type  and  began  issuing  a 
small  six-column  folio  newspaper,  called  the  Tip- 
ton County  Democrat.  The  first  printer  was 
James  Mahaftie,  who  was  succeeded  by  Archibald 
Ramsey,  who  was  one  of  the  most  valuable  jour- 
nalists in  the  history  of  the  county.  He  was  a 
man  of  incredible  energy  and  his  devoted  labors 
to  the  eountv  press  were  in  a  large  measure  re- 
sponsible for  its  success.  In  1857  the  name  of 
the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Western  Dominion, 
with  O.  P.  Baird  as  editor.  Again,  in  1858,  the 
paper  was  sold  to  G.  W.  Fisher,  who  changed  the 
name  again  to  that  of  the  Tipton  County  Times, 
and  began  issuing  the  sheet  with  John  Chambers 
as  piincipal  editor  and  A.  Clark  as  local  editor. 
Ten  of  the  foremost  Democrats  now  owned  the 
paper,  among  whom  were  John  Chambers,  Wil- 
liam Stivers,  A.  J.  Redmon,  Hugh  Dickey,  James  'V. 
Cox,  A.  Clark,  Barnabas  Geltner  and  A.  M.  Vick- 
rey. In  1860  interest  in  the  enterprise  became  lax 
and  the  publication  was  suspended  for  six  months. 
Early  in  1861  the  paper  was  again  issued  with 
James  V.  Cox  in  the  role  of  editor-in-chief.  Cox 
wrote  the  headlines,  while  the  remainder  of  the 
composition,  typesetting,  printing,  etc.,  was  done 
by  the  faithful  Archibald  Ramsey,  the  printer. 

Late  in  the  year  1861  Judge  Nathan  R.  Over- 
man secured  an  interest  in  the  paper  and  con- 
tributed a  few  short  paragraphs.  In  1862,  for 
partisan  reasons,  the  name  of  the  paper  was 
changed  to  the  Democratic  Union,  the  paper  still 
being  Democratic  in  "color."  Early  in  1864  the 
office  was  sold  to  William  J.  Turpin,  who  was  at 
the  time  in  the  army  and  who  contributed  very 
interesting  letters  from  the  firing  line.  He  was 
mustered  out  before  the  close  of  the  war  and  re- 
turned to  take  personal  charge  and  control  of  the 


paper.  One  of  his  first  moves  was  the  changing 
of  the  name  to  the  Tipton  County  Timas.  He  con- 
ducted the  paper  very  successfully  until  1869, 
when  he  sold  out  to  J.  C.  Brady  and  removed  to 
Nashville,  Tenn.  Brady  was  fairly  successful 
with  his  new  possession  and  he  installed  the  first 
job  press  ever  in  the  county.  In  1874  he  sold 
out  to  Judge  N.  R.  Overman,  who  employed  J.  T. 
Cox  to  edit  the  paper.  In  the  spring  of  1875 
Enisley  A.  Overman  bought  a  half  interest  in 
the  paper.  At  this  time  the  first  cylinder  power 
press  ever  in  the  county  was  bought  for  $400 
and  placed  in  the  office.  E.  A.  Overman  became 
editor  and  financial  manager.  In  January,  1876, 
William  Haw  bought  the  office  and  issued  the 
paper  until  January,  1877,  when,  being  unable  to 
pay  for  it,  he  relinquished  it  and  the  office  went 
back  to  the  Overmans.  E.  A.  Overman  conduct- 
ed it  until  September,  1878,  when  he  purchased 
the  interest  of  Judge  N.  R.  Overman  and  then 
became  sole  owner  and  proprietor.  Early  in  1880 
the  office  was  sold  to  Perry  and  John  O.  Behymer, 
but  a  year  later  reverted  to  E.  A.  Overman,  who 
continued  it  until  November,  1881,  when  it  passed 
to  A.  Ray  Williams,  who,  in  January,  1882,  took 
as  a  partner  David  A.  Alexander.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1882,  Williams  retired,  leaving  Alexander 
the  sole  owner,  but  on  April  1,  188.3,  the  latter 
was  joined  by  Jeremiah  Fish,  who  continued  with 
th?  paper  until  May,  1883,  when  he  retired. 
Shortly  afterward  the  paper  became  the  property 
of  John  O.  Behymer,  who  for  over  a  third  of  a 
century  has  conducted  it  in  a  business  way  so 
as  to  gain  many  friends  from  all  parties.  The 
circulation  became  so  large  that  Mr.  Behymer 
changed  from  a  weekly  to  that  of  a  daily.  This 
change  was  consummated  early  in  1910.  An  evening 
paper  is  issued  for  the  city  and  a  morning  edition 
is  sent  to  the  country.  A  large  amount  of  job 
printing  is  done  at  present  at  the  Times  office. 

The  early  newspaper  was  often  a  "one-man" 
afl'air;  with  a  hatful  of  type,  a  hand  press  and 
radical  ideas,  the  first  journalist  worked.  The 
individuality  of  the  editor  of  the  early  newspaper 
was  more  pronounced  than  it  is  today.  The  ed- 
itor was  known  and  his  opinions  were  quoted  as 
authority  on  questions  of  public  importance.  The 
editor  was  a  molder  of  public  sentiment,  but  since 
rapid  transit,  frc-e  city  and  rural  mail  delivery, 
the  farm  and  the  city  are  brought  closer  to- 
gether, and  the  personality  of  the  editor  has  not 
the  commanding  influence  that  it  once  had.  The 
newspaper  of  today  is  almost  exclusively  given 
over  to  publicity  of  current  events,  rather  than 
creating  public  sentiment.  Efficiency  is  the  key- 
note of  modern  journalism;  no  sooner  does  an 
event  occur  than  it  is  the  knowledge  of  the  world. 

The   first   educational     work    done    in     Tipton 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


county  was  shortly  after  the  completion  of  the 
old  log  court  house.  This  occurred  in  the  winter 
of  1846-47  and  the  first  teacher  was  William  F. 
Brady.  The  next  was  Joseph  M.  Askren.  School 
was  next  held  in  the  cabin  of  Jackson  Reed.  Un- 
til 1852  the  school  term  covered  a  period  of  two 
or  three  months  out  of  the  year.  Teachers  were 
paid  by  subscription,  and  were  very  poorly  paid, 
too,  some  of  them  "boarding  around"  at  the 
homes  of  different  pupils  in  an  endeavor  to  make 
both  ends  meet.  Among  the  men  who  took 
most  prominent  parts  in  education  in  these  early 
days  were  George  Kane,  A.  B.  Goodrich,  N.  J. 
Jackson,  Dr.  Isaac  Parker,  Rev.  John  Dale,  John 
E.  Rumsey,  M.  P.  Evans  and  Joseph  Wilson. 

In  18-52  a  new  frame  school  house  was  built  in 
Tipton,  but  was  very  poor  in  convenience  and 
capacity.  Joseph  M.  Askren  was  the  first  teacher 
to  occupy  the  new  school  house,  which  was  occa- 
sionally used  for  religious  purposes.  Then  fol- 
lowed John  E.  Rumsey,  who  was  there  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  from  1853  to  1869.  The  terms 
not  taught  by  Mr.  Rumsey  were  under  the  charge 
of  Albert  Barnett,  M.  V.  B.  Newcomer  and  a  Mr. 
Lockwood.  Rumsey  was  a  teacher  who  did  not 
favor  the  application  of  the  "hickory"  to  induce 
study.  Other  teachers  of  the  period  would  lam- 
bast  a  pupil  with  a  floor  puncheon  and  if  this  did 
not  have  the  required  effect,  would  follow  it  with 
a  sound  flogging.  These  teachers  were  mission- 
aries, in  a  sense,  working  for  the  progress  and 
uplift  of  humanity,  and  they  did  this  on  a  salary 
of  eight  and  ten  dollars  a  month  with  a  free  will 
and  whole-souled  motives.  Barnett  was  an  eccen- 
tric teacher,  little  caring  which  way  the  wind 
blew.  His  English  was  not  very  choice,  nor  did 
he  refrain  from  using  any  word  that  came  to  his 
mind.  He  cared  less  whether  the  pupils  wore 
their  hats  in  school  or  not.  He  was,  neverthe- 
less, a  very  successful  teacher  and  was  accounted 
one  of  the  best  mathematicians  of  the  day. 

As  Tipton  increased  in  population  the  need  of 
larger  school  quarters  became  imperative.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  1867,  the  erection  of  a  high  school 
building  was  begun  and  finished  in  1869.  In  1890 
another  eight-room  school  building  was  erected  on 
North  Main  street  that  is  a  model  of  complete- 
ness; the  vocational  department  is  fully  equipped. 

While  Tipton  has  been  alive  to  educational  in- 
terests the  county  at  large  has  caught  up  the 
spirit  and  we  find  high  schools  at  Windfall,  Sharps- 
ville,  Goldsmith,  Hobbs  and  Curtisville.  So,  after 
a  long  and  steady  pull,  Tipton  county  takes  front 
rank  in  the  educational  interests  with  her  sister 
counties  in  the  State.  Much  credit  is  due  our 
County  Superintendents,  i.  e.,  B.  M.  Blount,  J.  M. 
Clark,  Frank  B.  Crockett,  A.  H.  Pence,  George  C. 
Wood,  Jerrv  Fish  and  L.  D.  Summers  for  the  able 


manner  in  which  they  have  handled  the  educa- 
tional affairs  in  Tipton  county  up  to  the  present 
time. 

The  year  1844  was  the  first  presidential  year 
in  the  history  of  Tipton  county.  The  Democrats 
cast  ni  votes  for  Polk  and  Dallas,  while  the 
Whigs  cast  100  votes  for  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen. 
The  Democrats  carried  the  county  over  the  Whigs, 
and  with  one  exception  the  Democrats  of  Tipton 
county  have  carried  the  county  over  the  Repub- 
licans for  President  and  Vice-President  from  its 
organization  to  January  1,  1917,  covering  a  period 
of  seventy-two  years.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  there 
is  another  county  in  the  State  that  can  show  such 
a  record.  While  the  Democrats  have  been  true  to 
their  faith  in  national  politics,  they  have  not  been 
unmindful  of  State,  county  and  township  affairs. 
Until  recent  years  we  have  always  been  joined 
with  Howard  county  for  Circuit  Court  judges,  but 
be  that  as  it  may,  we  have  been  able  to  elect 
James  O'Brien,  C.  N.  Pollard,  N.  R.  Overman, 
Lex  J.  Kirkpatrick  and  James  M.  Purvis.  While 
the  county  has  not  been  able  to  have  a  Senator 
of  her  own,  we  have  been  able  with  our  majorities 
to  elect  the  Hon.  George  H.  Gifford  and  the  Hon. 
George  C.  Wood  as  Democratic  Joint  Senator, 
while  in  the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature  the 
Democrats  have  been  more  successful,  electing  the 
following  State  Representatives:  Carter  T.  Jack- 
son, James  O'Brien,  William  Stivers,  George  Ham, 
A.  M.  Vickrey,  James  I.  Parker,  Benjamin  F. 
Legg,  James  M.  Fippen,  James  A.  Purvis,  James 
A.  Hedgcock  and  William  R.  Dunham. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  county  in  1844 
the  Republicans  have  only  been  able  to  elect  two 
auditors,  two  recorders,  three  clerks,  six  treas- 
urers, five  sheriffs  and  one  surveyor.  The  pres- 
ent Democratic  officials  in  the  county  are  Hon. 
James  M.  Purvis,  Judge;  Clyde  Porter,  Clerk; 
Oscar  Vanesse,  Auditor;  Christy  Haskett,  Treas- 
urer; Solomon  D.  Adams,  Recorder;  Fred  Recobs, 
Sheriff;  Jesse  Bowlin,  Surveyor;  L.  D.  Summers, 
County  Superintendent,  and  Richard  Rayles, 
Harvey  Bess  and  John  Lininger,  County  Commis- 
sioners. 

There  is  a  reason  for  the  county  being  Demo- 
cratic from  its  organization  to  the  present  time. 
Each  township  is  well  organized.  Out  of  six  trus- 
tees the  Democrats  have  five,  i.  e.,  Madison  town- 
ship, Mr.  Julius;  Cicero  township,  Fletcher  Orr; 
Jefferson  township,  Oliver  D.  Weed;  Prairie 
township,  Beecher  Rayles,  and  Libei-ty  township, 
James  L.  Romack. 

We  might  mention  some  of  our  old  reliable 
Democratic  workers  in  the  county,  i.  e.,  Hon. 
George  C.  Wood,  John  and  Aaron  Zehner,  John 
Baker,  Benjamin  Legg,  John  McCreary,  Dr.  Long- 


(798) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


fellow,  Ed.  Todd,  Philander  Scudder,  Morjjan 
Wright,  Lemuel  Darrow,  James  Grove,  George 
Myrely,  Granville  Hobbs,  J.  P.  Kemp,  S.  D. 
Adams,  J.  O.  Behymer,  Arch  Ramsey,  Ira  O'Ban- 
ion,  William  Rvan,  R.  L.  Porter,  James  M.  Pur- 
vis, Jesse  Coleman,  W.  L.  Berryman,  M.  Shields, 
Joseph  Moore,  N.  R.  Overman,  L.  T.  Bunch,  Sen- 
eca Young:,  Philip  Wymer,  A.  L.  Joyce,  Add 
Hinkle,  Lewis  Vandevender,  Charles  Hinkle,  Jesse 
F.  Mott,  O.  D.  Weed,  Harry  Henderson,  Tilman 
Fisher,  A.  J.  Griffith,  J.  B.  McCarthy,  T.  J.  Ree- 
sem,  W.  R.  Dunham.  Elmer  Mitzenburg,  J.  C.  Mc- 
Mullen,  Drs.  W.  F.  and  G.  C.  Dunham,  James  L. 
Romack,  Felix  Mott,  Al.  Miller  and  many  others 


noL   merjtioned  here  have   done  much   to  keep  did 
Tipton  county  in  the  Democratic  column. 

In  concluding-  the  chapter  of  the  history  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Tipton  county,  we  wish  to 
state  that  from  the  beginning:  of  its  organization 
to  the  present  time  the  Democratic  party  has  al- 
ways taken  the  public  into  its  confidence  and  no 
court  houses,  jails,  public  school  buildings,  gravel 
roads,  ditches  or  any  public  improvements  have 
ever  been  built  but  what  all  parties  were  consid- 
ered before  any  improvements  were  consum- 
mated. With  this  kind  of  a  spirit  the  party 
deserves  to  be  continued  in  power,  and  the  people 
see  to  it  that  they  are-  kept  m  power. 


iM^b 


(799) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
UNION  COUNTY 

By  G.  W.  Robertson 


UNION  COUNTY,  located  in  the  southeast- 
ern part  of  Indiana,  was  first  settled  in 
1804;  organized  as  a  county  in  1821; 
county  seat  was  at  Brownsville  until  1824,  since 
then  Liberty.  Size,  12  by  14  miles;  area,  168 
square  miles;  population  (1910),  6,260;  number 
of  votes  cast  for  President  in  1912,  1,789;  num- 
ber of  registered  voters  October,  1914,  1,877. 

The  county  was  first  settled  by  colonists  from 
South  Carolina  under  the  leadership  of  Robert 
Hanna  and  Robert  Templeton.  The  members  of 
this  Carolina  colony  must  have  been  Democrats, 
as  nearly  all  of  their  descendants  have  uniformly 
voted  the  Democratic  ticket. 

John  Templeton,  who  married  a  daughter  of 
Robert  Hanna,  was  a  member  of  the  territorial 
legislature  at  tht  time  of  the  formation  of  Wayne 
and  Franklin  counties  and  is  said  to  have  be- 
stowed the  name  of  Franklin  upon  the  latter. 
Union  county  was  said  to  have  been  formed  from 
territory  taken  from  Wayne,  Franklin  and  Fay- 
ette counties.  He  was  one  of  the  first  Justices 
of  the  Peace  of  Union  county  and  served  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Justices  when  the  govern- 
ment of  Union  county  was  trusted  to  them.  He 
was  a  stanch  Jeffersonian  Democrat  and  grand- 
father of  Thomas  Jefferson  Templeton,  the  effi- 
cient clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Union  county. 

John  Hanna,  "Big  John"  as  he  was  called,  son 
of  Robert  Hanna,  entered  land  and  settled  just 
east  of  Dunlapsville,  in  Union  county,  in  1804. 
He  was  a  prominent  Democrat  and  took  a  lead- 
ing part  in  the  conventions  of  his  party.  That 
he  was  a  prominent  member  of  his  party  and  an 
esteemed  and  worthy  citizen  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  elected  as  the  first  Treasurer  of 
Union  county  and  served  in  that  capacity  in  1823 
and  1824. 

James  Livingston  was  a  native  of  Charleston, 
S.  C,  where  he  was  born  on  the  17th  day  of 
March,  1791.  He  was  twice  married.  His  last 
wife  was  Nancy  Templeton,  daughter  of  Hon. 
John  Templeton.  Although  he  possessed  only  a 
common  school  education,  he  was  an  excellent 
mathematician  and  by  much  reading  he  became 
a  well-informed  man.  Mr.  Livingston,  upon  the 
organization  of  Union  county,  was  chosen  its  first 
Clerk  in  1821  and  served  until  1828,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Edgehill  Burnside,  a  Whig.  In  1828 
and  1829  he  represented  Union  county  in  the 
State  Legislature.  He  served  as  State  Senator 
in  the  decade  between   1850  and   1860.     He  sur- 


veyed and  laid  out  the  town  of  Brownsville  in 
1815.  He  was  a  modest  and  unassuming  man 
and  made  no  pretentions  to  public  speaking.  He 
was  a  forcible  writer — his  power  was  with  his 
pen,  which  he  wielded  when  occasion  demanded 
in  defense  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party,  of  which  he  was  an  honored  and  useful 
member. 

WILLIAM  WATT. 

Mr.  Watt  came  to  Brownsville  from  Greens- 
burg,  Pa.,  in  1822.  He  was  a  strong  and  influen- 
tial Jackson  Democrat  and  took  a  very  promi- 
nent part  in  public  aff^airs,  serving  as  County 
Commissioner  of  Union  county  three  terms,  a 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture from  1831  to  1844,  and  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate  for  two  terms.  He  was  also  a  dele- 
gate to  the  State  constitutional  convention  held 
in  Indianapolis  in  1850  when  the  State  constitu- 
tion was  revised.  He  served  with  the  rank  of 
major  in  the  State  militia.  His  public  and  pri- 
vate lifs  alike  were  above  reproach.  Major  Watt 
was  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Lee  J.  Cully, 
the  well  known  Brownsville  politician  and  mer- 
chant who  was  State  Representative  from  1904 
to  1908. 

WELLINGTON  W.  DAWSON. 

Mr.  Dawson  was  born  in  Lynchburg,  Va.,  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1820,  and  came  with  his  parents  to 
Union  county  in  1831.  He  taught  school  for 
many  years  before  and  after  his  marriage  to 
Mary  Crist  in  1855.  He  was  elected  County  Au- 
ditor in  1851  and  re-elected  in  1855,  serving  as 
Auditor  for  eight  years  and  seven  months.  Some 
years  later  he  was  a  merchant  at  Clifton  and  was 
elected  Township  Trustee  of  Brownsville  town- 
ship. In  1876  he  moved  back  to  Liberty,  where 
he  died  very  suddenly  April  19,  1892.  He  was 
a  Master  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  a  strong  and  influential  Demo- 
crat, who  wielded  great  influence  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  Democratic  party  of  his  county 
and  State. 

ADAM  PIGMAN. 

Adam  Pigman,  the  founder  of  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  influential  families  in  Union  county, 
was  born  in  Green  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
year  1789.  He  helped  to  build  Fort  Meigs,  in 
western  Ohio.  In  1814  he  erected  the  first  frame 
house  ever  put  up  in  Union  county,  which  dwell- 
ing is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Edward  Tay- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


lor.  In  1817  Mr.  Pigman  married  Mary  Eli,  a 
daughter  of  Adam  Eli.  He  became  a  prosperous 
farmer,  taking'  an  interesting  part  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  county  and  loyally  aiding  in  the 
structure  of  the  commonwealth  of  Indiana.  He 
was  a  Jackson  Democrat  and  served  his  party  as 
delegate  in  many  local  and  State  conventions, 
aiding  by  his  counsel  and  influence  the  Democrats 
to  win  many  times  by  putting  good,  strong,  clean 
candidates  on  the  ticket.  Eli  Pigman,  his  son, 
was  born,  lived  and  died  in  Harmony  township. 
He  was  a  man  of  intense  patriotism  and  public 
spirit,  active  in  the  councils  and  conventions  of 
the  Democratic  party.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate 
the  influence  for  success  that  he,  his  father  and 
their  descendants  have  wielded  for  the  Demo- 
cratic party  of  the  county  and  State. 

Eli  Pigman  married  Rebecca  Wilson,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Garrett  Wilson,  who  was  a  successful  farm- 
er and  owned  a  farm  about  two  miles  west  of 
Liberty.  He  was  a  popular  and  influential  Dem- 
ocrat and  served  as  County  Commissioner  of 
Union  county  from  1851  to  1861.  His  son,  John 
T.  Wilson,  a  prominent  and  useful  member  of 
the  Democratic  party,  served  fourteen  years  as 
Trustee  of  Liberty  township,  and  Eli  Pigman 
Wilson,  his  son,  was  the  first  Democrat  ever  elect- 
ed County  Superintendent  of  Union  county,  filling 
that  oflice  from  June,  1907,  until  June,  1911. 

Eli  Pigman  was  the  father  of  George  W.  Pig- 
man, the  eminent  lawyer  and  Democratic  politi- 
cian of  Liberty,  who  was  Prosecuting  Attorney 
of  the  Thirty-seventh  Judicial  Circuit  from  1888 
to  1892.  Dr.  Garrett  Pigman,  a  prominent  and 
successful  physician  of  Liberty,  who  is  named 
for  Garrett  Wilson,  his  maternal  uncle,  is  also  a 
son  of  Eli  Pigman.  The  influence  of  Adam  and 
Eli  Pigman  during  their  lives  and  through  their 
descendants  has  been  and  shall  ever  be  a  great 
factor  for  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  of 
Union  county. 

THE   SNYDER   FAMILY. 

One  of  the  prominent  old  pioneer  Democratic 
families  of  Union  county  is  that  of  the  Snyders, 
well  represented  in  Brownsville  township  since 
the  year  1807,  when  Michael  Snyder,  the  founder 
of  this  family,  entered  land  and  settled  near 
Clifton. 

They  have  ever  borne  their  part  in  the  upbuild- 
ing and  development  of  this  part  of  the  State  and 
have  invariably  been  exponents  of  progress,  be- 
lieving that  the  best  interests  of  county.  State 
and  nation  depended  upon  the  success  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  They  have  used  their  influence  for 
and  uniformly  voted  the  Democratic  ticket.  Isaac 
Snyder,  a  son  of  Michael  Snyder,  was  one  of  the 
County  Commissioners  of  Union  county  from  1848 


to  1858.  The  voters  of  the  Snyder  family  have 
served  their  party  in  many  county,  district  and 
State  conventions. 

THE  STEVENS  FAMILY. 
The  Stevens  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  worthy  Democratic  families  of  eastern  In- 
diana. Spencer  Stevens,  the  first  pioneer  of  the 
family,  settled  in  Abington  township,  Wayne 
county,  Indiana,  emigrating  from  North  Carolina 
in  1814.  His  son,  William  Stevens,  after  his 
marriage  to  Mary  Fouts,  located  in  Brownsville 
township  about  one  mile  northeast  of  Browns- 
ville. Of  his  nine  sons  and  one  daughter  all  but 
one  reached  mature  years,  married  and  raised 
families.  William  Stevens  was  an  honorable  and 
just  man  and  an  earnest  believer  in  the  superior- 
ity of  the  Democratic  party  and  in  1833  served 
in  the  oflice  of  County  Commissioner,  acquitting 
himself  with  credit.  His  sons  and  grandsons 
have  uniformly  voted  with  and  served  their  party 
as  delegates  to  political  conventions  and  as  com- 
mitteemen through  victory  and  defeat.  A  great 
grandson,  Jesse  E.  Stevens,  is  now  chairman  of 
the  Democratic  Central  Committee  of  Union 
county,  which  shows  that  a  man's  influence  lives 
long  after  his  death. 

THE  RUDE  FAMILY. 

It  is  but  putting  truth  on  the  pages  of  history 
when  we  record  that  among  the  families  whose 
lives,  business  activities  and  sterling  qualities 
have  placed  Union  county  in  its  present  high  posi- 
tion among  the  counties  of  the  State,  none  occu- 
pies a  more  conspicuous  place  than  the  Rude  fam- 
ily and  thoir  lives  have  been  so  intermingled  and 
intertwined  that  the  sketch  of  either  is  to  a  de- 
gree the  sketch  of  the  others. 

The  Rude  brothers  were  descendants  of  David 
J.  and  Maria  Rude,  who  came  from  Hamilton 
county,  Ohio,  and  located  on  a  farm  near  Liberty 
in  1842.  Of  the  six  brothers  all  are  dead  except 
Lafayette  M.  Rude,  who  lives  on  a  farm  near 
Clifton.  They  were  all  natural  mechanics  and 
established  the  Rude  Manufacturing  Company, 
which  has  been  a  most  potent  factor  in  the  in- 
dustrial development  of  Liberty  and  Union  coun- 
ty. The  Rude  corn  and  wheat  drills  are  known 
and  used  by  farmers  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

The  father  and  each  of  his  six  sons  were  ster- 
ling Democrats  and  voted  the  Democratic  ticket 
during  the  Civil  War  period  when  it  was  almost 
dangerous  to  vote  that  ticket,  as  party  feeling 
ran  so  high  in  Union  county. 

One  of  the  Rude  brothers.  Squire  B.  Rude,  on 
account  of  his  ability  as  a  man  of  aff'airs,  was 
solicited    repeatedly   to   accept   public   oflice.     He 


26— History 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6 


was  elected  and  served  two  terms  as  Joint  Rep- 
resentative to  the  State  Legislature  for  Union 
and  Franklin  counties  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Indiana  assembly  of  1891,  when  Dan  W.  Voor- 
hees  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate. 
Squire  B.  Rude  married  Anna  C.  Perkins  Novem- 
ber 25,  1875,  and  died  April  11,  1914.  J.  Frank 
Rude,  his  only  son,  is  president  and  general  man- 
ager of  the  Rude  Manufacturing  Company  of 
Liberty,  Ind. 

THE  MAZE  FAMILY. 

One  of  the  most  influential  and  esteemed  Dem- 
ocratic families  of  Union  county  is  the  Maze  fam- 
ily, who  are  descendants  of  David  Maze,  whose 
ancestor  came  from  Pennsylvania  and  founded 
the  city  of  Maysville,  Ky.  In  1811  David  Maze 
emigrated  to  Union  county,  Indiana.  He  married 
Sarah  Pigman  and  entered  land  in  Section  8, 
Harmony  township,  living  in  the  first  frame 
house  erected  in  the  county,  built  by  Adam  Pig- 
man,  brother  of  Mrs.  Maze,  in  1814. 

A  son  of  David  Maze,  John  W.  Maze,  after  an 
active  life  of  toil  on  the  farm,  now  lives  in 
Brownsville,  Ind.  He  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  a 
good  and  useful  citizen,  and  first  of  all  an  hon- 
est man.  Although  an  octogenarian,  he  is  still 
hale  and  strong."  He  is  the  father  of  eight  stal- 
wart sons,  all  of  whom  are  Democrats,  and  have 
served  their  party  faithfully  as  voters,  delegates 
to  local  and  State  conventions,  and  in  official 
capacities.  His  son  George  is  now  the  efficient 
Township  Trustee  of  Brownsville  township,  while 
another  son,  William,  is  Trustee-elect  for  his  sec- 
ond term  as  Trustee  of  Waterloo  township,  in 
Fayette  county,  Indiana. 

JOHN  M.  BELL. 

John  M.  Bell  was  a  son  of  William  and  Mary 
(Berry)  Bell  and  was  born  in  Juniata  county, 
Pennsylvania,  February  21,  1823.  Both  his  ma- 
ternal and  paternal  grandfathers  served  in  the 
colonial  army  in  the  revolution.  He  was  reared 
on  a  farm  and  received  only  such  an  education 
as  the  common  schools  of  the  day  afforded.  By 
the  death  of  his  father  he  came  into  possession 
of  IGO  acres  of  fertile  land  in  Union  township, 
Union  county,  Indiana,  on  which  he  and  his  wife, 
who  was  Mrs.  Mary  Luse  of  Milton,  Ind.,  settled 
in  1848.  To  them  were  bom  six  children,  five 
sons  and  one  daughter.  James  A.  Bell  resides 
at  College  Corner,  Ohio;  Albert  F.  on  the  home 
farm,  and  Joseph  E.  Bell  was  Mayor  of  Indian- 
apolis. Mr.  Bell  was  a  stanch  Democrat,  as  are  his 
sons,  who  have  served  their  party  faithfully  as 
committeemen  and  delegates  to  conventions,  Mr. 
Bell  serving  as  Joint  Representative  in  our  State 
Legislature  for  Union  and  Franklin  counties. 

Judging   from   the   politics     of    the    men   who 


served  as  public  officials,  we  conclude  that  the 
voters  of  Union  county  were  almost  equally  di- 
vided into  Whigs  and  Democrats  from  the  first 
settlement  of  the  county  until  the  Civil  War  and 
that  a  big  majority  of  the  Whigs  lived  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county,  while  the  greater 
number  of  Democrats  resided  in  the  western 
part.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  the 
Democratic  and  Republican  parties  have  been  the 
leading  parties. 

In  1860  the  Democratic  party  was  split  in 
Union  county  as  elsewhere  in  the  United  States 
and  slavery  was  the  wedge  that  split  it  asunder. 
The  Whigs  changed  to  Republicans  and  many 
Democrats  became  Republicans,  some  from  prin- 
ciple and  some  from  lack  of  moral  courage,  some 
because  others  did  and  some  from  fear  because 
partisan  feeling  was  so  fierce  that  a  man's  life 
was  in  danger  if  he  openly  advocated  the  prin- 
ciples of  Democracy.  The  result  was  that  the 
Republican  party  gained  control  and  elected  Re- 
publicans to  office  with  few  exceptions  until  1910, 
when  the  Democrats  elected  the  Sheriff,  the 
Clerk,  the  Auditor  and  the  Recorder. 

A  FEW  EXCEPTIONS. 
William  M.  Clark,  a  Democrat,  was  elected 
County  Treasurer  and  filled  that  office  from  1865 
to  1867,  which  showed  his  popularity,  for  Union 
county  then  was  Republican  by  several  hundred 
majority.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board,  of  which  he  was  treasurer  for  several 
years,  being  elected  by  a  Republican  town  council. 
He  was  a  generous,  honest,  Christian  gentleman 
and  an  ideal  citizen,  and  while  not  off'ensive  in 
politics  he  was  a  firm,  consistent  Democrat,  who 
was  very  useful  to  his  party  during  and  just 
after  the  Civil  War. 

THE  DRULEY  FAMILY. 

The  Druley  and  Stanley  families  are  so  re- 
lated that  the  history  of  one  cannot  be  well  re- 
lated without  that  of  the  other.  They  are  both 
descendants  from  parents  who  emigrated  from 
North  Carolina  and  settled  in  Harrison  township. 
Union  county,  in  1811. 

Few  of  the  family  have  aspired  to  political 
office,  being  content  to  serve  the  Democratic 
party  as  voters  and  workers  in  the  ranks.  Zack 
Stanley,  Jr.,  however,  was  nominated  by  his  par- 
ty for  County  Auditor  in  1898  and  was  so  popu- 
lar with  the  voters  that  he  was  defeated  by  only 
eleven  votes  by  an  able  and  worthy  Republican 
when  the  norma!  Republican  majority  was  not 
less  than  300  in  the  county. 

Nicholas  Druley,  Jr.,  a  descendant  of  Nicholas 
Druley  and  Sarah  Stanley  Druley,  was  a  popular 
and  influential  Democrat,  who  was  elected  as 
State  Representative  to  the  Legislature  in  1852, 


(  802  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


having  defeated  Hon.  John  Yaryan  by  twenty- 
eight  votes.  Mr.  Druley  served  his  party  as  a 
candidate  .'several  times,  but  was  defeated  many 
times  owing  to  the  large  majority  of  the  opposite 
party. 

A  DEMOCRATIC  LANDSLIDE. 

In  1889  the  Republican  County  Commissioners 
undertook  the  building  of  a  new  court  house  in 
Liberty  and  when  the  structure  was  nearly  ready 
for  the  roof  the  wall  all  tumbled  down  about  10 
o'clock  one  night,  owing  to  too  much  weight  being 
placed  over  the  window  and  door  spaces,  which 
was  a  defect  in  the  plans  and  specifications  of  the 
architect  and  not  of  the  contractor,  who  refused 
to  be  responsible  for  what  might  happen  if  the 
plans  of  the  architect  were  carried  out  in  building 
the  court  house.  The  commissioners  insisted  that 
the  contractor  build  it  accordingly  and  the  conse- 
quence was  that  it  fell  down  and  it  cost  the  tax- 
payers $19,000  to  rebuild  it,  which,  of  course, 
raised  the  tax  levy  of  the  county.  This  touched 
the  voters  in  the  tender  spot  called  the  pocket- 
book  and  they  voted  for  a  change  at  the  election 
of  1890. 

With  the  help  of  the  Republicans  the  Democrats 
elected  Isaac  E.  Druley  County  Commissioner, 
Ase  Braderick  County  Clerk  and  Joseph  LaFuse 
County  Treasurer,  each  of  whom  filled  the  office 
to  which  he  was  elected  with  credit  to  himself 
and  to  his  party. 

THE  PRESS  OF  UNION  COUNTY. 

The  press  is  a  powerful  factor  in  any  county, 
as  it  is  an  exponent  of  the  social,  industrial,  edu- 
cational, religious  and  political  conditions  of  its 
people  and  is  an  uplifting  force  to  a  higher  state 
of  enlightenment  and  civilization. 

The  first  newspaper  printed  in  the  county  was 
the  Flying  Roll  and  Union  Advertiser,  the  first 
number  of  which  was  issued  from  the  press  in 
Brownsville  in  May,  1825.  It  was  a  four- 
column  folio  edited  by  Carson  Buckhalter  for 
John  Swayze.  It  flew  the  motto,  "The  Unity  of 
Government,  which  constitutes  you  one  people,  is 
a  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independ- 
ence." Like  all  pioneer  papers,  it  devoted  much 
space  to  foreign  news  and  little  space  to  local 
affairs. 

The  Sentinel  and  Star  in  the  West  was  pub- 
lished at  Philomath  for  several  years^the  first 
issue  in  1832 — each  number  containing  eight 
quarto  pages,  published  in  the  interest  of  the 
Universalist  church,  and  had  a  circulation  in  ten 
States.  It  was  edited  and  published  by  Samuel 
Fizzard  and  J.  Kidwell.  The  Star  and  Cove- 
nant, published  now  in  Cincinnati  and  Chicago, 
is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Sentinel  and  Star  in 
the  West. 


For  a  time  during  the  Civil  War  a  Democratic 
paper,  the  Slucld,  was  published  at  Liberty. 

Jeff  Higgs,  brother  of  John  Higgs,  who  owned 
and  published  the  Connersville  Examiner  for 
many  years,  established  the  Union  County  Times, 
a  paper  which  advocated  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  1876.  This  paper  was  pub- 
lished but  a  short  time  until  the  office  and  equip- 
ment were  destroyed  by  fire. 

THE  UNION  COUNTY  DEMOCRAT. 

On  Saturday,  January  7,  1882,  the  first  copy 
of  the  Union  County  Democrat  was  issued  to  the 
citizens  of  Union  county  from  their  office  in  Lib- 
erty by  the  Hill  brothers,  Charles  B.  and  Hewitt 
A.  Hill  of  Oxford,  Ohio.  The  Democrat  at  first 
had  but  a  limited  circulation,  but  by  prudent  edit- 
ing and  careful  management  its  circulation  grad- 
ually increased  to  1,000  copies.  It  was  an  eight- 
column  folio,  which  strenuously  advocated  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

The  Union  County  Democrat  was  succeeded  by 
the  Liberty  Revieiv,  a  Democratic  paper  owned 
by  a  joint  stock  company  in  which  Squire  B. 
Rude.  Spencer  L.  Stevens,  Wall  Snyder,  Lafe 
Rude  and  Denis  Egan  were  the  stockholders,  with 
Squire  B.  Rude  president  and  Denis  Egan  editor. 
Denis  Egan  was  a  stanch  Democrat  of  Irish  de- 
scent, who  put  pepper  as  well  as  great  ability 
into  his  editorials,  which  were  so  much  appre- 
ciated by  his  party  that  he  was  chosen  postmaster 
of  Liberty  during  the  first  administration  of 
Grover  Cleveland. 

In  1888  Charles  Drapier,  who  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  Clark,  bought  the  interest  of  each 
of  the  stockholders  in  the  Review  and  became 
editor  and  proprietor,  continuing  to  advocate  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  not  so 
fiercely  as  his  predecessor. 

In  1903  Mr.  Drapier  suspended  the  publication 
of  the  Liberty  Review  and  P.  L.  Behymer  and 
son  started  publication  of  the  Liberty  Express. 
In  1906  P.  L.  Behymer  severed  his  connection 
with  the  paper  and  his  son,  F.  L.  Behymer,  and 
C.  C.  Goodrich,  both  hustling  young  men  of  great 
ability,  became  editors  and  proprietors  of  the 
Liberty  Express.  They  organized  and  put  into 
operation  the  Express  Printing  Company,  which 
publishes  the  Express  and  does  a  large  amount 
of  job  work,  printing  many  pamphlets,  books, 
magazines,  catalogues  and  much  commercial 
printing.  In  1908  C.  C.  Goodrich  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  Express  Printing  Company.  In 
1909  the  firm  put  in  additional  equipment,  includ- 
ing a  linotype  machine,  and  Herbert  Hughes,  a 
native  of  Liberty  and  a  graduate  of  Miami  Uni- 
versity, was  chosen  business  manager.  He  is 
honest,   reliable  and  competent  to  fill  his  respon- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


sible  position.  The  Express  Printing  Company 
now  owns  a  printing-  establishment  valued  at 
$25,000,  with  a  gross  annual  income  of  $50,000. 
They  employ  fifteen  people  and  do  by  far  the 
largest  and  most  successful  publishing  business 
ever  done  in  Union  county  and  publishes  one  of 
the  best  Democratic  weekly  newspapers  in  the 
State.  P.  L.  Behymer,  the  hustling  editor,  re- 
cently acquired  a  half  interest  in  the  Rushville 
Jacksonian  on  condition  that  he  accept  the  posi- 
tion of  business  manager  of  that  paper,  but  still 
continues  his  connection  with  the  Express  Print- 
ing Company  of  Liberty.  In  1917  he  sold  the  Lib- 
erty Express  to  A.  Somers  and  moved  to  Con- 
nersville,  and  is  now  editor  and  chief  oviTier  of 
the  Connersville  Examiner,  which  he  edits  in  con- 
nection with  his  printing  establishment,  the  Ex- 
press Publishing  Company. 

LONGEST  LANES  MUST  HAVE  A  TURNING 
With  the  few  exceptions  we  have  mentioned 
the  county  officials  have  been  Republicans  and 
many  of  them  ex-union  soldiers  since  the  Civil 
War,  but  in  the  election  of  1910  the  Democrats 
elected  the  Clerk,  the  Auditor,  the  Sheriff  and 
the  Recorder,  and  re-elected  the  Sheriff,  William 
O.  Line,  in  1912.  In  1914  they  also  re-elected  the 
recorder,  the  clerk,  the  auditor,  and  elected  E.  E. 
Post,  a  hustling  Democrat,  sheriff. 

On  May  25,  1914,  the  Democratic  voters  met 
in  the  coliseum  in  Liberty  for  the  purpose  of 
nominating  candidates  for  the  various  county 
offices.  Joseph  Leach  was  chosen  chairman.  G. 
W.  Robertson  read  and  moved  the  adoption  of 
rules  governing  the  convention  in  nominating 
candidates.  These  rules  were  adopted  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  these  rules  the  chairman  appointed 
L.  J.  Cully  inspector  and  Glen  Heard  and  Jesse 
E.  Stevens  tellers  to  receive  and  count  the  votes. 
The  chief  contest  was  in  nominating  a  candidate 
for  Sheriff,  as  there  were  three  candidates  for 
the  nomination.  On  the  second  ballot  Elmer  E. 
Post  having  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast, 
was  declared  the  nominee;  Robert  Quick  was 
nominated  by  ballot  for  County  Assessor.  Each 
of  the  other  candidates  was  nominated  by  ac- 
clamation. It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  that 
this  convention  was  the  largest,  most  enthusiastic 
and  the  best  managed  political  convention  ever 
yet  held  in  Union  county. 

At  the  election  held  November  3,  1914,  Thomas 
J.  Templeton  was  re-elected  Clerk,  George  Wray 
was  fc-elected  Auditor  and  Edmund  Fogerty  was 
re-elected  Recorder.  Elmer  E.  Post  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  Sheriff  and  Dr.  Garrett  Pigman 
Coroner,  all  of  whom  are  Democrats.  The  above 
victory  was  won  largely  by  the  men  in  the 
trenches  whose  names  and  organization  is  as  fol- 
lows: 


UNION  COUNTY  DEMOCRATIC  CENTRAL 
COMMITTEE. 

Chairman — Jess  E.  Stevens,  Liberty. 

Secretary — G.  W.  Robertson,  Liberty. 

Treasurer — Jas.  P.  O'Toole,  Liberty. 

Precinct  Committeemen — Center  township,  Pre- 
cinct No.  1,  James  P.  O'Toole,  Liberty;  Center 
township.  Precinct  No.  2,  George  Stevens,  Lib- 
erty; Center  township.  Precinct  No.  3,  Ed.  Shend- 
ler,  Liberty,  R.  R.  7;  Center  township.  Precinct 
No.  4,  Albert  John,  Liberty,  R.  R.  2;  Liberty 
township,  Thomas  Moore,  Liberty,  R.  R.  5;  Har- 
mony township,  Samuel  Henry,  Liberty,  R.  R.  4; 
Brownsville  township.  North  precinct,  Charles 
Stevens,  Brownsville;  Brownsville  tovynship, 
South  precinct,  John  Maher,  Brownsville;  Union 
township.  West  precinct,  Bert  Bell,  College  Cor- 
ner, Ohio;  Union  township.  East  precinct,  J.  C. 
Barkley,  College  Corner,  Ohio;  Harrison  town- 
ship, George  Crosby,  Kitchel,  R.  R.  9. 

A.  T.  Sering,  ex-county  chairman,  an  earnest 
and  efficient  worker  for  the  Democratic  party,  is 
now  serving  as  postmaster,  having  been  recom- 
mended for  that  position  by  Hon.  Finley  Gray, 
Congressman  from  the  Sixth  district. 

THERE  ARE  OTHERS. 
We  are  the  heirs  of  all  that  has  gone  before 
and  the  condition  of  the  Democratic  party  in  na- 
tion, State  and  county  is  very  largely  the  result 
of  the  efforts  put  forth  by  the  voters,  leaders  and 
editors  who  have  lived  and  worked  for  the  party 
in  the  past.  Besides  the  several  individuals  and 
families  whose  labors  and  lives  we  have  briefly 
sketched  there  are  many  others  who  are  worthy 
of  mention  had  we  the  time  and  space. 

CONCLUSION. 
The  word  Democracy  is  from  two  Greek  words, 
demos,  people  kratos,  rule;  therefore,  the  word 
Democracy  means,  literally,  the  power  or  rule  of 
the  people.  If  a  man  believes  that  the  supreme 
power  of  government  should  be  vested  in  the 
citizens,  or  that  the  people  should  rule  by  means 
of  a  free,  fair  expression  of  their  wishes  by  means 
of  the  ballot,  he  is  a  Democrat,  regardless  of  the 
party  to  which  he  may  claim  to  belong.  The 
mightiest  force  at  work  in  the  world  in  the  minds 
of  the  people  today  is  the  principle  of  Democracy, 
or  rule  of  the  people.  This  force  wrested  the 
rule  of  the  American  colonies  from  England  and 
placed  the  power  in  the  hands  of  the  people;  it 
freed  Mexico  from  the  rule  of  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal; it  freed  Switzerland  and  the  South  Amer- 
ican colonies,  and  made  France  a  repub- 
lic. As  a  result  of  the  terrible  war  now  raging 
in  Europe  doubtless  more  republics  will  be  added 
to  the  list. 


(804) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY  OF 
VANDERBURG   COUNTY 

By  Hon.  John   J.  Nolan 


THE  Democracy  of  Vanderburg  county  pre- 
sents a  fine  example  of  steadfast  but  rarely 
requited  devotion  to  principle.  The  influx 
of  negroes  following  the  war  and  the  war's  preju- 
dices on  the  border  made  Vanderburg  a  reliably 
Republican  county.  Always,  however,  a  Spartan 
band  of  Democrats  contested  every  inch  of  the 
field,  winning  an  occasional  notable  battle  until 
finally,  in  1910,  a  complete  and  apparently  perma- 
nent victory  was  won,  for  during  the  last  eight 
years  every  county  office  has  been  held  by  a  Demo- 
crat. 

The  city  of  Evansville,  the  county  seat,  is  also 
governed  by  Democrats,  with  Benjamin  Bosse 
mayor. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  Democracy  in  the  ante- 
bellum days  was  John  Law,  lawyer  and  scholar, 
who  served  in  Congress  from  the  First  District 
with  distinction  just  before  the  war. 

His  immediate  successor  was  William  E.  Nib- 
lack  of  Knox  county,  which  was  then  in  the  First 
District. 

Among  the  notable  Democratic  leaders  of  the 
early  days  were  Benoni  Stinson,  Morris  Johnson, 
George  W.  McBride,  C.  R.  Rudd,  A.  T.  Whittles. 
James  D.  Saunders,  Sr. ;  George  L.  Dixon,  who 
was  county  chairman  during  the  first  successful 
campaign  after  the  war,  and  the  four  Walkers, 
Dr.  George  B.,  Dr.  John  H.,  James  T.  and  Wil- 
liam H. 

The  Walker  family  is  still  a  virile  force  in  Van- 
derburg county  and  the  name  is  one  of  the  most 
honored  among  our  citizens.  William  H.  Walker 
was  mayor  of  Evansville  in  the  early  days,  while 
Dr.  John  H.  Walker  held  a  commission  as  surgeon 
in  the  Union  army.  His  son,  Jesse  Walker,  now 
deceased,  was  one  of  the  first  Democrats  elected 
to  office  in  Vanderburg  county,  being  chosen  clerk 
of  the  circuit  court  in  1876  and  again  in  1880. 
Dr.  Edwin  Walker,  a  surgeon  of  widely  recog- 
nized ability  and  owner  of  the  Walker  Hospital, 
in  Evansville,  and  his  brother,  James  T.  Walker, 
a  leading  member  of  the  Evansville  bar,  are  sons 
of  James  T.  Walker. 

The  Civil  war  recruited  not  only  a  full  quota  of 
Democrats  to  the  ranks  of  the  Federal  army,  but 
drew  many  Democrats  to  the  leadership  of  the 
Union  forces.  The  first  Indiana  officer  to  fall  in 
battle  was  Major  John  Smith  Gavitt  of  the  First 
Indiana  Cavalry,  who  was  shot  from  his  horse 
while  riding  far  in  advance  of  his  troops  in  a 
charge  at  Pilot  Knob,  Mo.,  in  1862.     Major  Gavitt 


was  a  picturesque  figure  in  Evansville  for  many 
years  prior  to  the  war  and  his  name  was  a  house- 
hold word  and  the  synonym  of  courage  and  chiv- 
alry for  a  generation. 

He  was  sheriff  of  the  county  while  the  Erie 
canal  was  under  construction  and  when  the  steam- 
boat "roustabouts"  were  recruited  from  the  "bad 
men"  of  the  cities  up  the  river,  and  when  it  re- 
quired courage  to  keep  the  peace.  The  State  of 
Indiana  should  long  since  have  erected  a  monu- 
ment to  this  gallant  officer.  His  son,  William 
Gavitt,  who  still  resides  in  Evansville,  was  gov- 
ernor of  the  Islands  of  St.  George,  in  the  Arctic, 
during  Cleveland's  second  administration.  Charles 
Denby  was  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  42d  Indiana 
and  was  a  leader  at  the  Vanderburg  bar  and  one 
of  Democracy's  ablest  champions.  President 
Cleveland  appointed  him  minister  to  China  in 
1885,  in  which  post  he  was  retained  by  his 
personal  friend.  President  Harrison.  Later 
Colonel  Denby  served  with  Dewey  as  commissioner 
to  the  Philippine  Islands,  where  he  labored  in  es- 
tablishing and  stabilizing  the  first  American  gov- 


Other  Democrats  holding  high  rank  in  the 
Union  army  were  Colonel  James  Shanklin  of  the 
25th  Indiana,  and  Colonel  John  Rheinlander  of 
the  24th  Regiment.  Colonel  Rheinlander,  after  the 
war,  engaged  in  business  in  Evansville  and  was 
for  many  years  and  until  his  death  president  of 
the  People's  Savings  Bank. 

Colonel  Shanklin,  who  died  during  the  war,  was 
a  brother  to  John  Gilbert  Shanklin  and  George  W. 
Shanklin,  editors  for  many  years  of  the  Evans- 
ville Courier  and  stalwart  leaders  of  Democracy-, 
well  known  among  the  Democrats  all  over  Indiana. 
These  two  brothers  were  men  of  remarkable  intel- 
lectual power.  Nature  had  been  prodigal  in 
building  these  two  splendid  specimens  of  man- 
hood. They  were  giants  in  stature  and  their 
hearts  and  minds  were  typical  of  their  bodies. 

Both  were  writers  of  great  power  and  they 
wielded  a  fearless  pen.  They  were  journalists  of 
the  old  school.  Uninfluenced  by  the  counting- 
room,  they  stood  for  what  they  believed  were  the 
best  interests  of  the  people.  George  believed  that 
he  could  best  serve  the  people  and  fulfill  his  mis- 
sion outside  of  public  oflice  and  he  refused  to  ac- 
cept any  kind  of  place. 

John  Gilbert  Shanklin  was  a  brilliant  orator 
and  in  every  campaign  his  services  were  in  de- 
mand from  the  lake  to  the  Ohio  river.     He  was 


(805) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


elected  secretary  of  state  in  the  historic  campaign 
of  1876,  when  "Blue  Jeans"  Williams  was  elected 
governor  and  when  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  on 
the  ticket  for  Vice-President  with  Tilden. 

Mr.  Shanklin  aspired  to  be  governor  of  Indiana 
and  his  opportunity  seemed  to  present  itself  in 
1892,  but  his  vigorous  insistence  that  Grover 
Cleveland  be  given  the  support  of  the  Indiana  De- 
mocracy for  the  presidential  nomination  ariayed 
the  leaders  of  the  organization  against  him  and 
he  was  defeated  in  convention  by  Claude  Mat- 
thews. However,  his  bold  stand  for  Cleveland 
succeeded  and  Indiana  instructed  her  delegates 
for  him  at  a  crisis  in  the  campaign  which  his  sup- 
porters were  making  for  him  and  probably  had 
more  influence  in  nominating  him  than  any  other 
circumstance  of  that  memorable  fight. 

President  Cleveland  offered  Mr.  Shanklin  a  high 
place  in  the  diplomatic  field,  but  because  of  ill 
health  and  a  desire  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of  home 
he  declined  it.  He  was  an  ardent  champion  and 
friend  of  William  Jennings  Bryan- and  the  cause 
of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  in  the  great  campaign 
of  1896. 

These  men  are  dead,  but  the  example  of  their 
unselfish  devotion  to  their  city,  their  party  and 
their  friends  will  long  endure. 

Thomas  B.  Byrne,  a  friend  and  contemporary 
of  the  Shanklins,  was  another  Democrat  worthy 
of  note.  He  was  twice  nominated  in  the  early 
"eighties"  for  treasurer  of  state,  but  was  de- 
feated with  the  ticket.     He  died  in  1891. 

The  Vanderburg  Democracy  is  proud  of  its 
dead  and  proud  of  those  who  still  remain  at  the 
helm.  Ten  years  ago  John  W.  Boehne,  a  manu- 
facturer, who  had  come  to  Evansville  from  the 
country  a  poor  boy,  and  who  had  made  him.self 
into  a  man  of  affairs,  was  called  by  his  party  to 
lead  a  fight  for  cleaner  government  and  purer 
politics.  On  a  platform  of  fearless  challenge  to 
vice  and  lawlessness  and  a  promise  of  better 
things  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Evansville.  He 
carried  out  his  pledges  and  before  he  completed 
his  term  the  Democracy  of  the  district,  seeing  in 
him  a  hope  for  the  recovery  of  the  district  from 
the  Republicans,  who  had  held  it  for  16  years, 
nominated  him  for  Congress.  He  was  elected  in 
1908  and  again  in  1910,  but  declined  to  go  further 
in  a  career  which  held  no  attraction  for  him.  He 
was  appointed  and  now  holds  the  office  of  director 
of  the  Federal  Reserve  Bank  of  the  district  of  St. 
Louis. 

Another  of  Vanderburg's  favorite,  though 
adopted,  sons  is  John  W.  Spencer,  now  a  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana.  Judge  Spencer, 
who  was  born  in  Posey  county,  was  elected  prose- 
cutor of  the  First  Judicial  Circuit,  then  consisting 
of  Vanderburg  and  Posey  counties,  in  1890,  and 


came  to  Evansville  to  administer  that  office  in 
1891.  His  fearless  conduct  of  this  office  and  the 
striking  ability  which  he  brought  to  it  at  once 
impressed  the  people  of  southern  Indiana.  His 
uncompromising  attitude  toward  the  lawbreaker 
regardless  of  his  strength  and  influence,  struck 
terror  to  a  class  that  had  long  held  sway  in  the 
county  and  made  young  Spencer  a  leader  from  the 
start. 

Judge  Spencer  upon  retiring  from  the  prose- 
cutor's office  engaged  with  his  erstwhile  deputy, 
John  R.  Brill,  in  the  practice  of  law.  This  was  a 
virile,  fighting  pair  and  they  were  rarely  "beaten" 
in  the  court  room  or  elsewhere  during  the  16  years 
of  their  partnership. 

Governor  Marshall  appointed  Spencer  to  fill  a 
vacancy  on  the  circuit  bench  of  Vanderburg, 
where  his  practicality  and  his  contempt  for  beaten 
paths  at  once  aroused  the  admiration  of  the  bar 
and  the  public. 

While  thus  serving  the  Democratic  state  con- 
vention nominated  him  for  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  to  which  post  he  was  elected  in  1912,  but 
before  the  election  a  vacancy  occurred  on  the  su- 
preme bench  and  Governor  Marshall  appointed 
Spencer  to  the  place.  Judge  Spencer  therefore 
enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of  having  been  twice 
appointed  to  a  judgeship  by  Governor  Marshall. 
Judge  Spencer,  unlike  the  generality  of  men  who 
reach  the  bench,  has  never  lost  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  his  party,  thus  proving  that  the  dignity 
of  the  bench  may  be  maintained  by  one  who  re- 
fuses to  give  up  his  party  interest  for  the  toga. 

Other  jurists  who  were  Democrats  were  Judge 
William  F.  Parrett,  who  served  for  30  years  on 
the  circuit  bench  and  closed  his  career  by  serving 
two  terms  in  Congress,  from  1888  to  1892;  Judge 
Robert  D.  Richardson,  deceased,  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Gray  to  a  vacancy  on  the  circuit  bench 
in  1888  and  was  afterward  elected  and  served 
with  marked  ability. 

Hon.  Azro  Dyer  was  thrice  elected  judge  of 
the  superior  court,  in  1878,  1882  and  1886,  and 
served  with  distinction.  Judge  Dyer  maintains  an 
office  downtown,  where  he  gives  attention  to  his 
personal  affairs,  and  while  he  is  not  active  at  the 
bar,  maintains  a  lively  interest  in  the  profession. 
He  has  traveled  the  world  over,  is  widely  read 
and  splendidly  typifies  the  retired  jurist.  He  is 
cultured,  a  fine  raconteur  and  would  distinguish 
himself  in  any  company. 

The  present  occupants  of  the  bench  are:  F.  M. 
Hostetter,  judge  of  the  superior  court,  and  Dun- 
can C.  Givens,  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  both  of 
whom  are  able  jurists.  The  other  Democratic  in- 
cumbents in  the  county  are:  Charles  P.  Beard, 
auditor;  Newton  W.  Thrall,  treasurer;  William  E. 
Wilson,   clerk;   William   Habbe,   sheriff;    Fred   T. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


Stritter,  recorder;  Paul  DeKress,  assessor; 
Charles  Erskine,  senator,  and  Eugene  Eisterholdt 
and  Louis  Waltz,  representatives.  The  county 
commissioners  are:  John  Wimberg,  Henry  Hel- 
frich  and  Fred  W.  Buente. 

Lane  B.  Osborn  is  the  prosecuting  attorney, 
having  been  twice  elected  to  that  office.  No  man 
in  Vanderburg  county  holds  in  a  higher  degree 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  people  than  Al- 
bert J.  Venemann,  present  county  attorney.  He 
has  always  given  active  and  loyal  support  to  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  while  making  no  demand 
for  office,  has  been  called  to  some  important  places. 
He  was  city  attorney  in  the  administration  of 
John  W.  Boehne  and  was  chosen  speaker  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana  during 
the  session  of  191 L  Mr.  Venemann,  anticipating 
a  constitutional  convention  in  Indiana,  has  made 
an  exhaustive  investigation  of  the  subject  of  con- 
stitutional law.  Had  the  convention  been  held 
Mr.  Venemann  would  certainly  have  gone  as  a  del- 
egate from  Vanderburg  county  by  practically  a 
unanimous  vote. 

The  success  of  Democracy  during  the  past  few 
years  is  in  a  large  measure  due  to  the  leadership 
of  Benjamin  Bosse,  the  present  mayor  of  Evans- 
ville  and  chairman  of  the  First  Congressional  Dis- 
trict. Mr.  Bosse  is  a  fine  example  of  the  self-made 
man.  Coming  to  Evansville  from  an  outlying 
township  twenty  years  ago,  without  money  or  in- 
fluence, he  has  steadily  risen  until  he  is  recog- 
nized to  be  the  leading  spirit  and  most  potent  fac- 
tor in  the  commercial  life  of  Evansville.  His 
dynamic  energy  is  ceaseless.     Every  public  enter- 


prise demands  his  leadership,  and  no  man  in 
Evansville  has  given  so  generously  of  his  time  and 
!iis  money  for  the  public  welfare. 

While  mayor  Mr.  Bosse  has  made  many  splen- 
did public  improvements.  To  his  energy  we  owe 
the  beautiful  Coliseum,  the  Stadium,  a  modern 
market  house,  Garvin  Park  and  the  nucleus  for 
a  park  and  boulevard  system. 

Our  congressman  is  George  K.  Denton,  who  was 
elected  to  his  first  term  in  1916.  Mr.  Denton  is 
a  native  of  Kentucky  and  came  to  Evansville 
twenty-five  years  ago.  He  is  a  lawyer  of  ability, 
a  student  of  political  economy  of  the  progressive 
school  and  a  man  who  believes  in  the  people.  Mr. 
Denton  has  given  loyal  support  in  Congress  to  the 
policies  of  Woodrow  Wilson. 

The  Democracy  of  this  section  believe  the 
Evansville  Courier  to  be  the  leading  Democratic 
newspaper  of  Indiana.  In  1897  three  young  men, 
Henry  C.  Murphy,  Percy  P.  Carroll  and  Howard 
Roosa,  came  to  Evansville  and  bought  the  Courier 
at  sheriff's  sale.  They  put  brains,  energy  and 
money  into  it  and  have  today  as  fine  a  newspaper 
property  as  can  be  found  in  any  city  of  100,000  in 
the  country. 

Mr.  Murphy  is  president,  Mr.  Carroll  business 
manager  and  Howard  Roosa  the  editor  of  the 
Courier.  It  is  the  only  morning  paper  published 
in  Evansville  and  circulates  widely  in  Indiana,  Il- 
linois and  Kentucky,  where  it  exerts  a  powerful 
influence  upon  the  political,  social  and  commercial 
life  of  the  people.  The  Courier  under  the  present 
management  has  been  clean  and  wholesome  and 
the  people  believe  in  it. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC 
VERMILION  COUNTY 


PARTY   OF 


VERMILION  COUNTY  is  situated  in  the 
middle  western  part  of  the  State,  being  a 
very  narrow  strip  of  territory  between  the 
state  line  of  Illinois  on  the  west  and  the  Wabash 
river  along  the  east  side.  It  is  in  congressional 
townships  fourteen,  fifteen,  sixteen,  seventeen, 
eighteen  and  nineteen  north  and  principally  in 
range  nine  west,  being  about  forty  miles  long  north 
and  south  and  averaging  about  six  miles  wide  east 
and  west.  The  county  was  formerly  a  part  of  Vigo 
county,  but  in  1821  Vigo  was  divided  and  Parke 
county  was  organized  therefrom,  and  what  is  now 
Vermilion  became  a  part  of  Parke  county.  Parke 
county  was  divided  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
January  2,  1824,  when  Vermilion  county  was 
formed  and  commissioners  were  appointed  by  the 
Legislature  to  locate  a  county  seat.  They  chose 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Newport,  where  the  same 
has  remained  ever  since. 

Being  geographically  located  and  shaped  as  it 
is,  the  people  have  very  greatly  diversified  inter- 
ests and  gathering  places  and  hence  there  has 
never  been  as  close  a  bond  between  the  different 
localities  as  there  should  have  been  for  close  or- 
ganization. 

Being  such  a  long,  narrow  county,  the  north 
part  of  the  same  is  situated  close  to  the  large  city 
of  Danville,  Illinois,  and  the  south  part  close  to 
the  city  of  Terre  Haute.  The  very  south  part  of 
the  county  has  the  city  of  Clinton,  which  is  a 
city  of  10,000  inhabitants.  The  county  seat,  which 
is  situated  about  the  center  of  the  county,  has 
only  700.  Hence  there  is  not  that  commingling  of 
the  population  into  one  common  center  which 
would  induce  a  close  acquaintance  of  the  general 
populace  and  make  co-operation  and  organization 
easy. 

So,  writing  the  history  of  the  Democratic  party 
before  the  last  twenty-five  years  or  so  is  a  great 
deal  like  the  old  farmer  said  upon  seeing  a  giraffe 
for  the  first  time.  To  him  it  was  a  very  curious 
sight,  and  after  looking  at  the  creature  for  some 
time  he  walked  away  and  said,  "Gosh,  there  ain't 
no  sich  durned  animal." 

Up  to  the  present  decade  the  county  was  con- 
sidered a  perfectly  safe  Republican  county;  con- 
sequently the  organization  of  the  Democratic 
party  was  loose  and  disconnected,  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  the  population  was  small  and  the  Demo- 
cratic vote  was  light  and  by  the  further  reason 
that  we  have  been  connected  in  a  district  with 
Vigo  county,  which  has  a  large  city.  Vermilion 
county  has  never  been  able  to  cut  much  figure  in 
district  or  state  politics;  but,  thanks  to  the  untir- 


ing efforts  of  the  unterrified  few  who  have  worked 
night  and  day  to  overcome  the  long-standing  con- 
ditions, the  county  court  house  was  practically 
filled  with  Democrats  at  the  election  of  1912. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Democrats  did  not 
have  a  look-in  and  the  consequent  loose  organiza- 
tion of  the  party  in  the  county,  and  because  of 
which  facts  no  Democratic  newspapers  were  able 
to  stem  the  tide,  very  little  can  be  found  out  about 
the  party  affairs  in  the  early  history  of  the  county. 
We  find  that  even  up  to  the  eighties  the  Democrats 
had  very  little  organization;  generally  a  handful 
of  the  faithful  would  meet  on  campaign  years  at 
some  law  office  in  Newport  and  select  a  county 
committee  and  probably  chairman  and  also 
"select"  a  county  ticket.  We  find  from  the  files 
of  an  old  newspaper  that  the  Democrats  of  the 
county  met  at  the  law  office  of  James  C.  Sawyer  in 
Newport  in  1876  and  selected  a  committee  and 
county  ticket.  This  is  the  first  appearance  of  Mr. 
Sawyer  in  county  politics.  He  was  at  that  time  a 
struggling  young  lawyer,  afterward  was  elected 
trustee  of  Vermilion  township,  and  of  late  years, 
until  his  death  in  1910,  was  associated  with  the 
Hon.  John  E.  Lamb  in  the  practice  of  the  law  in 
Terre  Haute.  Even  in  1882  and  1884  we  find  that 
the  county  conventions  were  held  in  law  offices  and 
selected  commttees  to  draft  a  county  ticket. 

While  all  the  above  is  true  and  nomination  upon 
the  Republican  county  ticket  was  considered 
equivalent  to  an  election,  yet  there  have  been  a 
very  few  Democrats  elected  to  county  office,  owing 
to  the  unusual  popularity  of  some  candidate  or 
unpopularity  of  the  Republican  candidate,  or  to  a 
split  in  the  Republican  ranks,  mostly  about  the 
time  of  the  Greenback  movement.  This  move- 
ment, by  the  way,  worked  to  the  great  perma- 
nent advantage  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the 
county,  as  many  who  went  from  the  Republican 
party  into  the  Greenback  afterward  voted  the 
Democratic  ticket.  By  reason  of  the  movement 
William  Gibson,  Democrat,  was  elected  circuit 
clerk  in  1870  by  a  majority  of  42,  and  W.  F.  Bales 
was  elected  the  same  year  as  commissioner  by  96. 
Mr.  Gibson,  being  a  very  popular  man  and  official, 
was  re-elected  clerk  in  1874. 

H.  O.  Peters,  of  Eugene  township,  who  was  a 
dyed-in-the-wool  type  of  Democrat  of  the  old 
school,  a  great  "mixer,"  popular  and  a  good  cam- 
paigner, was  elected  county  treasurer  in  1880  by 
(he  small  plurality  of  20,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1882.  Mr.  Peters  was  a  most  genial  business  man 
and  banker  of  Cayuga  and  was  afterward  elected 
township  trustee  of  Eugene  township. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


In  1890,  John  B.  Groves,  of  Newport,  was  elect- 
ed county  recorder  by  the  remarkably  small  plu- 
rality of  two  votes  and  the  same  year  Michael 
Maher,  of  Clinton,  was  elected  sheriff.  Mr. 
Groves  made  a  popular  and  accommodating  official 
and  was  elected  trustee  of  Vermilion  township.  So 
far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  determine  the 
above  is  the  entire  extent  of  the  Democratic  suc- 
cess in  the  county  up  to  1910.  Notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  it  was  safely  Republican,  the  county, 
through  being  at  different  times  placed  with  Dem- 
ocratic counties  in  representative  districts,  has  had 
a  few  representatives  to  the  Legislature. 

Hon.  Claude  Matthews,  later  Governor  of  In- 
diana, was  elected  in  1876,  and  served  one  term; 
Hon.  E.  A.  Lacey,  of  Highland  township,  was  elect- 
ed in  1888;  John  Redman,  of  Dana,  was  elected 
in  1892;  Hon.  G.  D.  Sunkel,  of  Dana,  was  elected 
in  1908,  and  served  two  terms,  being  re-elected  in 
1910;  Hon.  Mark  W.  Lyday,  of  Clinton,  was  elect- 
ed in  1912,  and  re-elected  in  the  fall  of  1914.  And 
for  the  same  reason  we  have  been  able  to  elect 
one  joint  senator.  Dr.  J.  F.  Adams  of  Clinton  was 
elected  to  the  senate  in  1912,  and  is  the  present 
holder  of  the  office. 

The  first  Democratic  prosecuting  attorney  of 
this  judicial  circuit,  composed  of  this  and  Parke 
county,  was  W.  A.  Satterlee,  of  Clinton,  who  was 
elected  in  1910.  He  was  defeated  by  George  D. 
Sunkel  for  the  re-nomination  in  1912.  Mr.  Sun- 
kel was  elected  in  the  fall  election,  served  one 
term,  and  was  defeated  in  the  election  of  1914. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  county  was  so  solid- 
ly Republican  and  consequently  there  being  no 
Democratic  patronage,  there  has  been  a  dearth 
of  Democratic  newspapers  in  the  county.  The 
Perrysville  Banner  started  out  as  the  Democratic 
organ  in  1838,  printed  on  an  old  press  said  to 
have  been  brought  to  Vincennes  in  1804  and  then 
brought  to  Perrysville,  but  under  the  existing  con- 
ditions could  not  live  and  died  in  a  very  short 
time.  In  1872  Harrison  Jump,  brother  of  Joshua 
Jump,  who  was  at  one  time  judge  of  the  Vermilion 
circuit  court  and  now  of  Terre  Haute  and  Trustee 
of  the  Indiana  State  Normal  school,  started  a 
Democratic  newspaper  in  the  county  seat  which 
went  under  the  name  of  the  Vermilion  Transcript; 
lived  only  one  short  year,  in  which  the  publisher 
lost  considerable  money  in  the  venture.  In  the 
early  nineties  D.  B.  Gibbons  began  the  publication 
of  the  Cayuga  Tribune,  but  the  paper  was  of  short 
duration  and  soon  ceased  publication.  About  1901 
Bob  Osborne,  known  as  "Fighting  Bob"  and  "Old 
Blue  Pencil,"  began  the  publication  of  a  Demo- 
cratic sheet  under  the  name  of  the  Blue  Pencil, 
published  at  Cayuga  in  pamphlet  form.  He  was 
of  the  radical  say-as-he-pleased  sort  and  after  a 
short  publication  moved  the  plant  to  Perrysville, 


where  his  attitude  and  sayings  got  him  into  sev- 
eral difficulties,  causing  fights,  drawn  revolvers 
and,  later,  some  one  shot  through  his  window  at 
him.  He  soon  left  Perrysville,  going  to  Clinton, 
where  he  continued  the  publication  for  a  short 
time,  and  then  went  "West".  At  present,  there 
are  four  Democratic  papers  in  the  county.  The 
Saturday  Argus,  printed  and  published  at  Clin- 
ton, was  established  by  the  present  editor,  L.  O. 
Bishop,  who  has  published  the  same  since  about 
1881.  The  Vermilion  Democrat,  edited  and  pub- 
lished at  Clinton  by  Mont  Casey,  was  established 
in  1914.  The  Dai2a  News,  printed  and  published 
Dana  by  J.  H.  Jordan,  was  established  October 
1,  1885,  by  M.  L.  Griffith,  by  him  sold  to  J.  L. 
Smith,  and  by  him  sold  to  Miss  Beatrice  Taylor, 
by  her  sold  to  G.  W.  Sturm,  and  from  him  trans- 
ferred to  the  present  owner,  who  has  successfully 
operated  the  same  for  several  years.  The 
Cayuga  Herald  was  established  in  1889  and  was 
published  by  numerous  persons  for  several  years 
as  an  independent  paper  until  the  acquisition  by 
the  present  editor,  A.  Carter  Hutchinson,  who 
purchased  the  same  and  came  out  on  the  side  of 
Democracy,  and  has  continued  to  operate  the  same 
successfully  as  a  Democratic  paper  ever  since. 

As  said  before,  the  early  organization  was 
loose,  but  we  find  that  in  the  seventies  one  John 
Stakley  was  at  times  the  county  chairman.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventies  and  eighties 
Joshua  Jump,  an  attorney  of  Newport,  headed  the 
party  and  acted  as  county  chairman,  and  upon  the 
formation  of  the  present  circuit  was  appointed 
judge  and  served  till  the  next  election.  From 
1890  till  1896  Chas.  W.  Ward  was  county  chair- 
man; John  Redman  from  1896  till  1900;  M.  J. 
Tucker  1900  to  1902;  Dr.  W.  P.  Darroch  in  1902; 
J.  D.  Smith  1904  and  1906;  H.  M.  Booe  1908;  W. 
A.  Satterlee  1910;  F.  W.  Kaufman  was  elected 
county  chairman  in  1912  and  Charles  N.  Fultz  wa» 
elected  in  1916. 

The  county  is  divided  into  five  townships,  all  in 
a  string  north  and  south,  being  from  north  to 
south,  respectively,  Highland,  Eugene,  Vermilion, 
Helt  and  Clinton.  While  the  county  has  been 
strongly  Republican,  there  has  been  a  majority  of 
Democratic  trustees  elected  in  the  county  at  times 
which  gave  us  the  county  superintendent  of 
schools.  A.  J.  Johnson  was  elected  to  fill  an  un- 
expired term,  1882,  and  was  re-elected  in  1883, 
and  again  in  1885.  John  A.  Wiltermood,  of  Clin- 
ton, was  elected  in  1891,  and  re-elected  in  1893. 
Prof.  John  R.  Stahl  was  elected  in  1895,  and 
served  one  term.  John  B.  Butler  was  elected  in 
1907  for  a  four-year  term,  and  was  re-elected  in 
1911,  although  the  Republicans  had  a  majority  of 
the  trustees. 

During  the  last  decade  the  Republicans,  having 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


everything  their  own  way,  carried  everything  in  a 
high-handed  manner,  and  the  organization  bosses 
ran  things  to  suit  themselves  rather  than  the  peo- 
ple, till  they  became  dissatisfied  and  began  to  pull 
away;  so  in  the  campaign  of  1908  the  Democrats 
made  great  gains  and  in  1910  elected  almost  the 
entire  county  ticket:  Steve  McCown,  sheriff; 
Frank  R.  Johnson,  county  recorder;  A.  J.  Hux- 
ford,  treasurer;  J.  A.  Booe,  surveyor;  J.  H.  Cole, 
county  assessor;  Frank  Shew  and  James  Cossey, 
county  commissioners,  making  the  board  of  com- 
missioners Democratic  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  county.  In  1912  A.  J.  Huxford  was 
re-elected  treasurer;  J.  A.  Booe,  surveyor,  Steve 
McCown,  sheriflf;  Frank  Shew,  commissioner;  Roy 
Slater  was  elected  county  auditor  and  Thomas 
Catlin  was  elected  a  new  commissioner,  thus  mak- 
ing a  complete  Democratic  board  of  commission- 
ers. Thus  the  year  1912  completely  filled  the 
court  house  with  Democrats,  with  the  exception 
of  county  clerk,  who  held  over  and  was  not  elect- 
ed that  year. 

The  city  of  Clinton  was  so  strongly  Republican 
that  the  Democrats  did  not  always  put  out  a 
ticket,  but  at  the  city  convention  of  1909  the  Re- 
publican machine  carried  things  in  such  a  high- 
handed way  to  put  over  the  machine  candidate  for 
mayor  that  the   Democrats  put  out  an  excellent 


ticket  and  elected  H.  M.  Ferguson,  a  coal  oper- 
ator of  Clinton,  mayor,  by  a  large  majority,  giv- 
ing Clinton  its  first  Democratic  administration, 
which  was  liked  so  well  that  M.  J.  Tucker,  an  old- 
time  Democrat,  was  elected  mayor  in  1913  and 
is  the  incumbent. 

Vermilion  county  has  many  Democrats  of  whom 
she  is  proud,  but  standing  out  from  the  rest  is  one 
whose  name  is  cherished  and  memory  revered — 
the  late  Hon.  Claude  Matthews.  Claude  Matthews 
lived  on  a  farm  in  the  west  part  of  Clinton  town- 
ship a  few  miles  west  of  the  city  of  Clinton.  He 
was  always  identified  with  the  Democratic  activi- 
ties of  the  county,  being  one  of  the  few  who 
stayed  with  the  party  under  adverse  circumstances, 
but  lived  to  reap  the  harvest  for  his  labors.  As 
has  been  said,  he  was  once  elected  to  the  Legis- 
lature from  this  county,  was  nominated  by  Ihe 
Democratic  state  convention  in  1890  for  secre- 
tary of  state,  and  in  1892  was  elected  governor  of 
Indiana  upon  the  Democratic  ticket.  Mr.  Mat- 
thews died  several  years  ago,  leaving  his  wife  to 
mourn  him.  Mrs.  Martha  A.  R.  Matthews,  the 
widow,  had  the  honor  and  distinction  of  having 
been  the  daughter  and  also  the  wife  of  an  Indi- 
ana governor,  having  been  the  wife  of  Governor 
Matthews  and  the  daughter  of  Governor  Whit- 
comb. 


(810) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC 
VIGO  COUNTY 


PARTY  OF 


ALTHOUGH  the  first  Democratic  convention 
in  the  United  States  was  held  in  1832,  it 
was  not  until  about  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War  that  there  was  much  of  note  doing  in  politi- 
cal circles  in  Vigo  county.  During  the  war  and 
immediately  thereafter  the  Republicans  had  held 
sway  in  Terre  Haute.  In  1865,  when  Albert  Lange, 
Republican,  and  Colonel  Cookerly,  Democrat,  were 
candidates  for  the  mayoralty  of  the  city,  there 
was  but  one  Democratic  ward,  the  Third.  There 
were  but  five  wards  in  the  city  at  that  time. 
Colonel  Cookerly  was  unterrified  by  his  defeat  in 
this  compaign  and  again  became  a  candidate  in 
1867.  Although  two  of  Terre  Haute's  papers  at 
that  time — the  Express  and  the  Journal — opposed 
him,  one  of  them  announcing  on  the  eve  of  elec- 
tion that  D.  A.  Conover  would  be  elected,  Cook- 
erly comfortably  won  the  office  with  a  majority 
of  252.  It  was  under  Mayor  Cookerly's  adminis- 
tration that  the  cornerstone  for  the  Normal  In- 
stitute was  laid. 

At  the  Democratic  convention  of  Vigo  county  in 
1867  Chambers  Y.  Patterson  was  nominated  for 
judge;  G.  B.  Hanna  for  prosecutor;  John  B. 
Meyer,  recorder;  D.  Hollingsworth  and  Benjamin 
Mewhinney,  county  commissioners.  Patterson 
was  elected  by  less  than  .300  votes. 

It  was  in  1868  that  Daniel  W.  Voorhees  entered 
the  political  arena,  coming  out  at  that  time  for 
Congress.  He  was  nominated  at  the  Democratic 
convention,  receiving  the  votes  of  all  present  ex- 
cept seven,  who  cast  their  ballots  for  Hon.  B.  W. 
Hanna.  George  H.  Pendleton  was  the  choice  of 
Vigo  Democracy  for  President  at  that  time. 

Perhaps  those  of  later  days  think  there  were 
dull  sessions  of  political  meetings  back  in  the  six- 
ties and  early  seventies.  Not  so.  There  were 
stirring  times.  Feeling  ran  high  among  the  men 
who  were  Democrats  because  they  just  naturally 
couldn't  be  anything  else  and  the  men  who  were 
Republicans  because  they  were  bom  that  way. 
During  a  campaign  of  this  period,  in  1868,  the 
Democrats  held  a  rally  at  Early's  Grove.  One  of 
the  speakers  was  their  candidate  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Gen.  Frank  P.  Blair.  In  his  speech  he  de- 
nied that  he  had  ever  said  he  would  "rather  sleep 
with  a  nigger  than  a  Democrat."  Voorhees  was 
elected  to  Congress  that  year. 

The  campaign  of  1870  found  Voorhees  seeking 
renomination  without  opposition.  The  Democratic 
convention  of  this  year  adopted  a  resolution  op- 
posing the  taking  back  of  the  Wabash  &  Erie 
canal,  at  that  time  a  very  prominent  political 
question.     The  election  in  1870  was  generally  fa- 


vorable to  the  Democrats  in  Vigo  connty,  that 
party  electing  its  entire  ticket  save  one  member. 
Samuel  Royse  beat  William  Paddock  for  auditor; 
W.  H.  Stewart  won  over  Gordon  Lee  for  sheriff; 
J.  M.  Sankey  was  elected  over  M.  C.  Rankin  for 
treasurer;  John  B.  Meyer  over  Theodore  Marxen 
for  recorder;  Dr.  Gerstmeyer  over  David  L. 
Christy  for  coroner;  S.  C.  Davis  over  I.  N.  Pierce 
for  prosecutor.  That  year  the  Democrats  carried 
the  State  by  about  2,000.  The  year  following, 
however,  brought  losses  to  this  party. 

An  important  question  accompanied  the  year 
1872,  when  the  problem  of  whether  or  not  Indiana 
should  endorse  Horace  Greeley  for  the  Presidency, 
came  up.  In  Vigo  county  the  voters  were  divided. 
Mr.  Voorhees,  then  in  Congress,  telegraphed  to 
his  friends  in  Terre  Haute  the  following: 

"The  Democratic  party  will  meet  as  usual  in 
national  convention  and  through  its  authorized 
delegates  nominate  its  candidates  and  declare  its 
policy.  Until  then  no  man  has  the  right  to  com- 
mit the  party  as  to  its  future  action.  Its  organi- 
zation and  principles  should  be  maintained  at  all 
hazards." 

This  was  interpreted  as  an  act  of  hostility  to- 
wards Greeley,  and  on  May  13,  1872,  Voorhees 
made  his  celebrated  speech  in  Congress  against 
Greeley. 

The  Democratic  national  convention  at  Balti- 
more on  July  9,  1872,  endorsed  Greeley  and 
Brown,  the  Liberal-Republican  nominees.  A  part 
of  the  Democracy  in  Vigo  county  openly  rebelled. 
The  Terre  Haute  Journal  refused  to  be  absorbed 
in  the  liberal  movement  and  attacked  Greeley  bit- 
terly. The  Gazette  with  equal  warmth  espoused 
the  Greeley  cause. 

At  the  congressional  convention  in  Spencer, 
Ind.,  that  year  Voorhees  was  unanimously  renomi- 
nated and  there  followed  the  hottest  campaign 
that  had  ever  been  waged  in  Vigo  county.  The 
Democrats  erected  a  wigwam  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  Eighth  and  Ohio  streets  on  Dr.  Reed's 
vacant  lot.  On  August  7  the  Greeley  wigwam 
was  opened  by  a  big  meeting.  Hendricks,  Voor- 
hees and  Hanna  spoke.  In  this  campaign,  for  the 
first  time,  appeared  the  name  of  John  E.  Lamb, 
who  became  second  lieutenant  for  the  Greeley  es- 
cort. 

After  Voorhees'  nomination  the  third  time  he 
would  not  retract  nor  qualify  a  word  he  had  said 
about  Greeley,  but  stated  that  he  fully  recognized 
that  the  Baltimore  convention  at  which  Greeley 
was  nominated  had  "legitimate  authority  and  ulti- 
mate control."     So  when  Horace  Greeley  came  to 


(811) 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


Indianapolis  to  address  a  big  meeting  Voorhees 
presided  at  the  meeting.  A  train  of  eleven  coaches 
carried  the  Vigo  county  followers  to  hear  Greeley. 
Voorhees  was  defeated  in  this  campaign,  however, 
by  Hunter,  whose  majority  was  700. 

H.  C.  Bradsby's  History  of  Vigo  County  says: 

"The  Democracy  of  Vigo  county  was  badly  de- 
moralized after  the  Greeley  campaign  and  prob- 
ably partly  from  this  cause  just  after  that  time 
Terre  Haute  had  quite  a  craze  on  the  subject  of 
female  suffrage.  The  Gazette  said,  'It  sported  the 
liveliest  kind  of  woman  suffrage  club,  of  which  0. 
J.  Smith  was  the  recognized  head  and  front.'  " 

In  1873  the  Democrats  of  Teire  Haute  nomi- 
nated John  T.  Scott  for  mayor  and  later  elected 
him.  In  October  of  that  same  year,  in  the  election 
for  the  prosecuting  attorney  in  Vigo  and  Sullivan 
counties,  Samuel  R.  Hamill  was  elected  over 
George  W.  Buff  by  six  votes. 

It  was  in  1874  that  a  mighty  temperance  cru- 
sade came  on,  and  through  it  the  Vigo  county  Re- 
publican ticket  was  crushed  from  top  to  bottom. 
The  Republicans  v.-ere  denounced  in  a  mass-meet- 
ing for  their  fanatical  tendencies  and  resolutions 
endorsing  the  Democratic  party  were  adopted  at 
that  time.  The  Democratic  majority  on  the  state 
t'cket  in  the  county  was  840. 

Voorhees'  name  appeared  again  as  a  candidate 
for  Congress  in  1875,  but  he  withdrew  before  the 
election.  Joseph  E.  McDonald  was  elected  in  his 
stead. 

In  1876  the  Democrats  nominated  Col.  W.  E. 
McLean  for  Congress,  endorsed  A.  B.  Carlton  for 
judge  of  the  supreme  court,  and  John  E.  Lamb 
for  county  prosecutor.  The  Vigo  county  Demo- 
crats made  nearly  a  clean  sweep  for  their  ticket 
at  this  election,  although  Hunter  beat  McLean  in 
the  county  by  67  votes.  Lamb  was  elected  prose- 
cutor. 

Spring  elections  of  1877  resulted  in  a  substan- 
tial Democratic  success.  James  B.  Edmunds,  ed- 
itor, was  elected  mayor  a  second  time.  Tom 
Harper  was  elected  city  attorney.  Edmunds  died 
about  two  months  after  his  election.  Henry 
Fairbanks  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  and  after 
nine  months  in  office  he,  too,  died. 

The  never-to-be-forgotten  judicial  contest  in 
Vigo  and  Sullivan  counties  occurred  in  1878.  Sul- 
livan had  no  candidate  and  Vigo  had  two — C.  Y. 
Patterson  and  Sidney  B.  Davis.  Judge  Carlton 
was  chairman  of  the  convention  which  was  to  de- 
cide the  nomination  question.  Followers  of  both 
Candida' es  were  present  in  large  numbers.  Con- 
fusion re'gned  after  the  session  had  been  called. 

Davis'  men  saw  they  were  outwitted  and,  ac- 
companied by  their  leaders,  went  to  another  hall 
and  nominated  their  man.     Both  conventions  de- 


clpred  the  other  irregular.  In  the  election  which 
settled  the  question,  however,  Patterson  was 
chosen  by  a  small  majority. 

It  was  along  in  the  70's  that  confusion  over 
the  settlement  of  certain  legal  cases  became  most 
evident  in  this  section  and  through  an  appeal  to 
the  Legislature  a  criminal  court  was  established. 
Judge  Thomas  B.  Long,  a  Democrat,  was  judge 
of  this  court  for  many  years  until  the  superior 
court  was  established.  There  are  still  many  of 
the  older  residents  who  will  remember  that  Judge 
William  Mack  was  for  many  years  Circuit  Judge 
in  Vi^o  county. 

One  of  the  figures  that  stand  out  prominently 
in  Judge  Davis'  memory  is  Bayless  W.  Hanna, 
who  ran  for  Congress  but  was  defeated,  but  who 
later  became  Attorney-General  and  still  later  was 
sent  as  a  minister  to  Argentine  Republic. 

Judge  Cyrus  McNutt  was  judge  of  the  supe- 
rior court  for  many  years,  but  he,  according  to 
Judge  Davis,  belonged  to  the  later-day  Demo- 
crats. The  judge  is  strong  in  his  praise  of  those 
early  founders  of  the  Democratic  party,  believing 
firmly  in  the  principles  which  they  represented. 

Only  once  did  Vigo  fail  to  support  the  elected 
President.  In  1908  William  Jennings  Bryan  car- 
ried the  county  by  a  small  majority,  but  was  de- 
feated for  the  Presidency.  With  the  exception  of 
that  one  time  since  1860  every  time  the  Demo- 
cratic party  carried  the  county  a  Democratic 
President  was  elected.  It  was  the  same  with  the 
Republican  party. 

From  1860  until  1894  the  Democratic  party 
elected  one  or  more  city  or  county  officials  every 
year.  In  1886  the  Democrats  carried  both  the 
county  and  city.  In  1888  the  Republicans  carried 
the  county,  but  several  Democratic  oflficials  were 
elected  to  office. 

The  Democrats  carried  the  county  and  city  in 
1890  and  in  1892  a  Republican  mayor  and  a  Dem- 
ocratic city  council  was  elected.  The  Democrats 
carried  the  county. 

The  Republicans  carried  the  county  and  city 
in  1894.  In  1896  the  Republicans  again  carried 
the  county  and  city,  but  a  Democratic  sheriff  and 
treasurer  were  elected.  In  1898  the  Democrats 
elected  the  mayor,  sheriff  and  treasurer. 

In  1900  the  Democrats  carried  the  county  and 
re-elected  Henry  C.  Stegg  mayor  of  the  city.  In 
1902  the  Republicans  again  carried  the  county. 

In  1904  the  Democrats  carried  the  county  and 
city  and  in  1906  a  Democratic  mayor  and  half  of 
the  city  officials  were  Democrats.  In  1908  and 
1910  the  Democrats  carried  the  county  and  in  1912 
the  city.  In  1914  they  again  carried  the  city  and 
in  1916  Democrats  elected  all  officers  with  the  ex- 
ception of  county  prosecutor. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC 
WABASH   COUNTY 

By  Arthur  N.  McCracken 


PARTY  OF 


WABASH  COUNTY  is  composed  of  seven 
political  townships,  each  of  which  is 
much  larcer  than  the  civil  township  cre- 
ated by  the  ordinance  of  1787  of  six  miles  square 
and  lies  about  eighty-four  miles  north  of  Indian- 
apolis, and  a  little  east  of  the  center  line  of  the 
State,  and  its  lands  are  drained  by  the  famous 
Wabash  river,  with  its  various  tributaries,  being' 
bi-sected  by  the  Wabash  river,  which  runs  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  through  the  central  por- 
tion of  this  county,  while  the  tributaries  known 
as  the  Eel  river  and  the  Mississinewa  river  again 
cross  it  from  northeast  to  southwest,  while  the 
Salamonie  river  is  a  tributary  of  the  Mississinewa 
river  and  enters  its  border  between  the  Wabash 
river  and  Eel  river,  forming  a  junction  with  the 
Wabash  river  at  LaGro. 

The  land  of  this  county  is  very  fertile,  mostly 
of  black  loam,  except  in  the  northwestern  and 
extreme  eastern  portion  and  the  portions  trav- 
ersed by  the  various  rivers  that  cross  it,  which  is 
hilly  and  rolling. 

This  county  was  organized  at  the  beginning  of 
the  State's  history  and  at  one  time  included  the 
territory  of  what  is  now  the  county  of  Miami,  and 
both  counties  at  that  time  were  in  a  judicial  cir- 
cuit, but  the  legislature  has  seen  fit  to  create  in 
each  a  judicial  circuit  and  now  each  maintains 
its  own  separate  government,  the  county  seat  of 
Wabash  beins  located  at  the  city  of  Wabash, 
which  is  located  on  the  Wabash  river  about  the 
central  portion  of  the  county,  and  is  a  city  of  ap- 
proximately 10,000  people. 

The  resources  of  Wabash  county  have  been  va- 
ried. About  1890  natural  gas  was  found  in  abun- 
dance and  this  was  piped  into  the  city  of  Wabash 
and  used  in  its  factories  as  fuel,  as  well  as  for 
domestic  purposes,  and  after  about  fifteen  years' 
usage,  the  flow  of  natural  gas  ceased,  and  since 
that  time  there  has  been  little  or  no  gas  found 
other  than  in  the  vicinity  of  LaFontaine.  Oil  was 
also  struck  in  somewhat  paying  quantities  along 
the  banks  of  the  Wabash  river,  but  this,  too,  has 
not  held  out  in  recent  years.  However,  there  are 
a  few  wells  left  at  this  time  which  are  being- 
pumped. 

The  farmers  of  Wabash  county  are  prosperous. 
There  are  many  fine  farms  and  fine  homes.  The 
land  in  general  is  very  productive,  particularly 
adapted  to  the  raising  of  corn,  oats  and  wheat, 
and  many  a  farmer  has  become  wealthy  in  the 
pursuit  of  raising  these  cereals,  and  now  one  can 


see,  as  he  rides  about  this  county,  many  beauti- 
ful homes  and  residences  as  a  result  of  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  soil  and  the  industry  of  its 
people. 

The  early  history  of  Wabash  county  was  more 
01'  less  of  a  struggle.  It  was  occupied  by  the 
Miami  tribe  of  Indians,  and  at  this  late  date  there 
are  many  evidences  of  this  race  still  found  within 
its  holders.  The  city  of  Wabash  is  entirely  laid 
out  upon  a  section  of  land  donated  by  the  Federal 
government  to  Chief  Charley  and  John  B.  Rich- 
ardville,  chiefs  of  the  Miami  tribe  of  Indians,  and 
they  have  ever  since  retained  their  identity  in 
honor  of  the  men  to  whom  the  government  grant- 
ed this  land. 

The  location  of  the  county  seat  of  Wabash 
county  in  the  early  history  was  an  intense 
struggle  between  the  then  town  of  LaGro  and 
what  is  now  the  city  of  Wabash,  it  being  decided 
in  favor  of  the  town  of  Wabash  by  popular  vote 
and  the  city  winning  by  one  vote  over  the  town 
of  LaGro.  This  momentous  struggle  resulted  in 
all  the  county  buildings  being  located  in  the  town 
of  Wabash,  and  this  undoubtedly  gave  impetus 
to  the  fact  that  the  city  of  Wabash  is  the  princi- 
pal city  within  the  county.  However,  North  Man- 
chester, located  in  a  beautiful  farming  district  on 
the  banks  of  the  Eel  river,  is  a  town  of  about 
twenty-five  hundred  inhabitants,  with  beautiful 
paved  streets,  many  churches  and  a  fine  college, 
and  with  its  various  attractions  makes  it  a  very 
desirable  place  to  live,  it  being  situated  almost 
due  north  of  the  city  of  Wabash  and  connected 
therewith  by  the  Dixie  highway,  which  also  passes 
through  Wabash  county,  north  and  south,  strik- 
ing the  southwestern  border  at  LaFontaine,  and 
leaving  it  six  miles  northwest  of  North  Manches- 
ter. 

LaFontaine  takes  its  name  from  a  Miami  In- 
dian and  is  an  incorporated  town  of  about  one 
thousand  people,  having  its  electric  lights  and 
paved  streets,  school  system  and  many  churches. 
LaGro  also  takes  its  name  from  a  Miami  Indian 
known  as  LaGros,  and  is  a  town  northeast  of 
the  city  of  Wabash  on  the  Wabash  railroad  and 
Ft.  Wayne  and  Northern  Indiana  traction  line 
and  has  a  population  of  about  seven  hundred  and 
is  in  the  center  of  one  of  the  largest  townships  of 
the  State.  In  the  western  end  of  this  township 
is  another  prosperous  town  known  as  Urbana, 
having  two  banks  and  many  churches  and  is  a 
town  of  som.e  three  hundred  inhabitants  situated 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


in  the  center  of  a  very  fertile  farming  district, 
while  Roann  is  at  the  west  extremity  of  Paw  Paw 
township  and  near  the  west  line  of  Wabash  coun- 
ty on  the  banks  of  the  Eel  river.  Roann  is  a 
town  of  approximately  eight  hundred  people  and 
has  an  electric  light  and  water  system.  Somer- 
set and  Liberty  Mills  are  each  old  towns  situated 
respectively  in  the  southern  and  northern  ex- 
tremities of  the  county,  are  each  situated  in  a 
fertile  farming  district  and  surrounded  by  many 
fine  farms  of  great  fertility. 

The  unincorporated  town  of  Laketon  is  situated 
about  four  miles  southwest  of  North  Manchester 
and  is  surrounded  by  many  fertile  farms,  and 
Pleasant  township,  the  northwest  township  of 
the  county,  is  dotted  with  many  fine  lakes,  afford- 
ing fishing  and  pleasure  to  those  who  seek  recrea- 
tion along  their  shores. 

Wabash  county  has  four  hundred  amd  fifty 
miles  of  pike,  much  of  which  has  been  built  under 
the  three-mile  road  law,  and  has  bridges  crossing 
its  various  streams  and  rivers  which  have  been 
erected  at  great  expense  to  the  public,  the  city  of 
Wabash  having  three,  one  of  which  is  just  now 
being  completed  at  a  cost  of  approximately  forty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  The  city  of  Wabash  has 
various  industries  and  is  a  manufacturing  tovra 
of  considerable  extent.  There  are  about  two 
thousand  people  employed  in  its  various  factories, 
which  have  afforded  a  great  deal  of  employment 
to  laborers  in  times  past,  as  well  as  at  present. 

The  political  history  of  Wabash  county  began, 
of  course,  with  its  creation,  and  has  always  been 
steadfastly  Republican  except  within  the  past  ten 
years.  The  first  Democrat  elected  to  office  was 
Ora  Whiteneck,  who  had  the  distinction  of  being 
elected  county  surveyor.  However,  he  was  sub- 
sequently defeated,  and  in  1912  the  Democrats 
elected  their  entire  county  ticket,  including  a  rep- 
resentative in  the  legislature,  and  a  joint  senator 
from  this  county  and  Fulton.  In  1914  the  Demo- 
crats again  elected  their  entire  county  ticket, 
save  and  except  the  offices  of  county  coroner  and 
county  assessor. 

The  early  history  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
Wabash  county  up  until  recent  years  has  been  a 
history  of  struggle,  lack  of  organization  and  a 
spirit  of  being  licked  before  the  campaign 
opened,  but  in  later  years  this  spirit  has  been 
replaced  by  better  organizations,  more  interest 
and  a  firmer  determination  to  win.  In  1912  A.  N. 
McCracken  was  chairman  of  the  county  central 
committee,  and  perfected  an  organization  that 
won  every  office  in  the  county  and  who  was  fol- 
lowed two  years  later  by  Dr.  James  Wilson  who 
also  maintained  the  organization  to  a  high  degree 
of  standard,  electing  the  Honorable  Nelson  G. 
Hunter  Judge  of  the  Wabash  Circuit  Court,  A. 


N.  McCracken  as  Prosecuting  Attorney  for  the 
twenty-seventh  Judicial  Circuit,  Norva  P.  Laven- 
good  as  Treasurer,  Frank  P.  Kircher  as  Auditor, 
Earl  E.  Roby  as  Clerk,  Merrit  Bannister  as  Com- 
missioner of  the  Southern  district,  William  H. 
Custer  as  Commissioner  of  the  Northern  district 
and  Jesse  P.  Bell  as  Surveyor.  This  was  done 
without  the  aid  of  any  newspaper  and  the  first 
two  officers  were  elected  without  any  opposition 
other  than  the  Republican  candidates,  while 
George  Rauch,  who  has  ably  represented  the 
Eleventh  congressional  district  in  Congress  for 
ten  years,  carried  the  county  by  a  safe  margin, 
while  the  vote  for  President  Wilson  and  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  in  1912,  was  a  tie. 

The  city  of  Wabash  has  had  three  Democratic 
mayors  in  its  history.  Dr.  Crabill  being  the  first, 
who  was  elected  many  years  ago,  and  later  Horace 

D.  Bannister  received  the  honor  of  an  election 
while  Dr.  James  Wilson  was  elected  in  1911,  and 
four  years  later  re-elected,  and  is  now  the  candi- 
date of  his  party  for  re-election  the  third  time. 
The  history  of  politics  in  this  county,  as  far  as 
Democracy  is  concerned,  points  back  with  pride 
to  some  pioneers  who  were  steadfast  in  their 
faith  and  the  principles  of  Jefferson,  and  never 
faltered  in  their  duty  to  their  party,  notwithstand- 
ing the  Democratic  party  was  a  party  of  the 
minority  and  election  after  election  came  and 
went  and  not  a  Democrat  was  elected  to  an  office. 
Meredith  H.  Kidd  was  one  who  always  carried 
the  banner,  while  William  A.  Elward,  Charles 
Freshour,  Frank  Ramsey,  Frank  Ireland,  John 
Isenbarger,  Charles  Wright,  Nelson  G.  Hunter, 
John  Hipskind,  V.  A.  Mattern  and  James  A. 
Earley  were  always  found  at  their  post  under  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  doing  everything  in  their 
power  for  the  furtherance  of  Democratic  success. 
In  1898  Gilford  M.  Naber  and  A.  N.  McCracken 
were  their  party's  choice  for  Representative  and 
Prosecuting  Attorney,  respectively,  and  each  made 
a  vigorous  campaign  through  Wabash  county,  as- 
sisted by  Judge  Hunter,  Milo  Meredith,  Edward 

E.  Eikenbary  and  many  others  and  reduced  the 
Republican  majority  that  then  existed  of  over 
twenty-five  hundred  to  less  than  a  thousand. 

The  Wabash  Times-Star  is  a  Democratic  news- 
paper putting  out  daily  copies  upholding  the 
hands  of  Democracy  in  a  very  able  manner  under 
the  management  of  James  E.  Almond,  the  editor 
and  manager,  a  young  man  of  sterling  ability  and 
of  the  highest  integrity.  The  Democracy  of  this 
county  is  in  every  way  a  success.  It  never  pre- 
sented a  better  organization  and  more  consistent 
unity  of  purpose  than  at  the  present  time,  and 
the  leaders  believe  that  in  the  future  Wabash 
county  will  return  frequent  majorities  for  the 
Democratic  party. 


(814) 


HISTORY  OF   THE    DEMOCRATIC 
WARREN  COUNTY 


PARTY  OF 


ONCE  in  a  while  a  legislative  body  will  pass 
a  law  with  the  direct  purpose  of  setting  off 
to  themselves  a  bunch  of  citizens  who  in- 
sist upon  voting  unanimously  for  this  party  or 
that  political  organization.  Whether  any  such 
purpose  was  intended  in  the  creation  of  Warren 
county  by  the  legislature,  the  boundaries  of  that 
county  were  certainly  made  to  include  an  aggre- 
gation of  Republicans  that  no  circumstances  or 
conditions  have  ever  been  able  to  change.  A 
history  of  the  Democracy  of  Warren  county  is  a 
h'story  of  one  defeat  following  another. 

In  the  earlier  days,  the  county  having  been  or- 
ganized by  election  of  its  first  set  of  officers  on 
the  23rd  day  of  June,  1827,  there  appeared  to  be 
a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  majority  to  be 
not  too  severe  with  the  Democratic  minority.  So 
in  those  days  the  majorities  against  Democracy 
were  kept  within  moderate  limits.  In  later  years, 
however,  and  reaching  down  to  the  present  time, 
anything  less  than  two  to  one  in  favor  of  Repub- 
licans has  been  rather  unusual. 

In  1832,  in  which  campaign  Jackson  and  Van 
Buren  were  the  Democratic  nominees  and  Clay 
and  Sargent  were  the  Whig  nominees,  the  first  de- 
cided political  division  was  represented  in  the  vot- 
ing in  Warren  county.  In  this  election  the  Whig 
ticket  received  301  votes,  and  the  Democrats  267. 
That  was  not  so  bad  but  that  the  Democrats 
might  some  time  in  the  future  hope  to  turn  the 
majority  to  the  other  side. 

In  1834  and  1836  all  parties  became  pretty  well 
united  under  the  two  banners,  that  of  Democracy 
and  that  of  the  Whigs.  Local  candidates  stood 
fairly  on  party  platforms  and  divisions.  In  the 
presidential  contest  of  that  year,  Harrison  and 
Granger  heading  the  Whig  ticket,  and  Van  Buren 
and  Johnson  the  Democratic  ticket,  Warren  cast 
its  vote  541  for  Harrison,  and  329  for  Van  Buren. 

The  campaign  four  years  later  was  the  one, 
however,  in  which  the  most  intense  partisan  spirit 
was  demonstrated.  This  was  the  famous  cam- 
paign in  which  Harrison  and  Tyler  headed  the 
Whig  forces,  and  Van  Buren  and  Johnson  again 
contended  as  the  Democratic  nominees.  Harri- 
son received  more  than  two  votes  to  Van  Buren's 
one,  the  relative  strength  being  740  to  348. 

The  question  of  extending  the  slavery  territory 
was  a  decided  issue  in  1844,  when  Texas  was 
seeking  admission  to  the  Union.  The  Whigs  nom- 
inated Henry  Clay  and  the  Democrats  selected 
James  K.  Polk  as  their  standard-bearer.  While 
the  country  went  strongly  to  Polk  and  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket,  Warren  county  remained  firmly  and 


decidedly  Republican,  giving  779  votes  to  Clay, 
and  470  to  Polk. 

The  campaign  of  1848,  while  still  bitterly  con- 
tested, did  not  show  the  interest  in  Warren  coun- 
ty that  had  prevailed  in  previous  e!ec' ions.  While 
the  population  of  the  county  was  increasing  ma- 
terially, the  vote  was  considerably  less  than  in 
1844,  Taylor  and  Fillmore,  the  Whig  candidates, 
receiving  708,  to  460  for  the  Democratic  candi- 
dates. 

Advancing  still  nearer  to  the  time  when  the 
question  of  slavery  must  be  decided  one  way  or 
the  other,  interest  in  the  subject  among  the  peo- 
ple of  Warren  county  waxed  warmer  all  the  time, 
so  in  1852  there  was  a  fair  increase  in  the  vote 
when  Scott  and  Graham,  the  Whig  candidates,  re- 
ceived 850  votes,  against  552  for  Pierce  and  King 
of  the  Democracy. 

Republican  majorities  continued  to  grow,  and 
in  1856  Fremont  and  Dayton  were  given  1,167, 
to  767  for  Buchanan  and  Breckinridge. 

However,  Warren  county  was  not  always  with 
the  winning  side,  for  many  presidential  candi- 
dates repudiated  by  the  voters  of  Warren  county 
spent  comfortable  years  in  the  White  House. 

In  1860  and  1864  the  Republican  majorities  still 
continued  to  grow,  and  in  the  election  of  1864  Lin- 
coln and  Johnson  were  given  1,373,  against  761 
for  McClellan  and  Pendleton. 

All  the  new  voters  who  appeared  in  the  next 
four  years  appear  to  have  been  Republicans,  for 
while  the  Democratic  vote  failed  to  increase,  the 
Republican  total  and  majority  grew  apace. 

Grant  and  Wilson  received  1,504  votes,  against 
775  for  Greeley  and  Brown. 

In  1876,  had  Hayes  and  Wheeler  done  as  well 
in  ths  rest  of  the  country  as  they  did  in  Warren 
county,  there  would  have  been  none  of  the  un- 
pleasantness growing  out  of  the  settlement  of 
the  election.  In  this  county  Hayes  and  Wheeler 
received  1,590,  against  880  for  Tilden  and  Hen- 
drcks.  Garfield  and  Arthur  drew  still  further 
strength,  adding  materially  to  the  proportionate 
majority  in  1880,  the  Republican  ticket  receiving 
1,850,  against  901   for  Hancock  and  English. 

In  1888  Benjamin  Harrison  was  given  a  major- 
ity of  829  votes,  and  in  1896  William  McKinley 
added  to  this,  making  the  majority  945. 

Coming  down  to  the  later  elections,  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1908  when  Bryan  and  Kern  were  the 
Democratic  nominees,  another  favorite  son  was 
being  placed  before  the  voters  of  Indiana.  Taft 
received  in  Warren  county  2,092  votes,  while 
Bryan  and  Kern  were  given  but  1,017. 


(815) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  OF 
WARRICK  COUNTY 

By  Philip  Lutz,  Jr. 


THE  history  of  the  Democracy  of  Warrick 
County  centers  itself  largely  about  the  ac- 
tivities of  certain  prominent  Democratic 
families,  the  members  of  which  have  been  as  true 
to  the  principles  of  the  party  and  as  loyal  to  its 
welfare  as  the  needle  of  the  compass  has  been  in 
pointing  the  direction  to  the  North  Pole.  Now 
and  then,  some  differences  would  arise  between 
members  of  the  party  resulting  from  ambitions  for 
party  honor  or  public  office,  but  it  can  hardly  be 
said  that  the  party  harmony  or  party  success 
has  ever  been  endangered  by  any  factional  differ- 
ences. The  Democracy  has  no  factions  such  as 
have  ruined  the  organization  in  many  counties  of 
the  State.  Warrick  county  Democrats  have  been 
bitter  partisans  in  past  years  and  today  they  stand 
loyal  to  the  cause  of  the  party,  which  they  revere 
and  love.  Warrick  county's  democracy  has  never 
been  questioned  and  she  can  always  be  counted  on 
for  a  good  round  Democratic  majority  for  the 
State  and  district  ticket  in  every  election. 

The  management  of  the  party  has  been  good. 
For  many  years  past,  nominations  have  been  made 
for  the  county  offices  by  means  of  the  township 
unit,  the  old  Democratic  doctrine  of  home  rule, 
and  by  this  system  which  has  always  been  fair 
to  the  candidates,  nominations  have  always  been 
made  according  to  the  dictates  of  party  will.  No 
machine  rules  theparty.  The  party  has  no  ma- 
machine  rules  the  party.  The  party  has  no  ma- 
chine. The  men  who  have  led  the  party  to  battle 
have  been  the  chosen  leaders  of  the  party,  and  the 
cry  of  "boss"  and  "bossism"  and  "machine"  and 
"ring  rule"  is  not  known  in  the  county.  So  much 
cannot  be  said  for  the  Republican  party. 

By  a  poll  of  the  county.  Democracy  has  the  best 
of  it  by  a  narrow  margin.  But  the  margin  is  so 
small  that  for  many  years  past,  excepting  the 
years  of  the  Bull  Moose  divergency,  every  cam- 
paign has  been  a  hot  contest.  One  of  the  main 
reasons  for  this  is  easily  apparent  when  mention 
is  made  of  Boonville  as  the  home  of  James  A. 
Hemenway,  former  United  States  Senator, 
and  a  Republican  leader  in  the  nation.  Senator 
Hemenway  belongs  to  the  old  school  of  politicians, 
who  hobnobbed  with  Mark  Hanna,  and  who 
knows,  therefore,  how  to  do  things  and  does 
them.  In  Boonville  he  is  regarded  as  a  good 
citizen,  cares  a  great  deal  for  his  home  town,  loves 
the  people,  and  has  built  up  a  host  of  friends. 
Not  only  this,  but  he  remembered  his  friends 
and  his  friends  remembered  him,  especially  on  elec- 


tion day,  and  this  fact  always  cut  deep  when  the 
influence  of  Hemenway  was  against  Democracy. 
He  began  his  career  as  a  prosecutor,  then  was 
honored  by  election  to  Congress  for  six  terms, 
and  was  then  elevated  to  the  United  States  Senate 
for  four  years.  Some  believe  Senator  Hemenway 
has  even  bigger  things  in  waiting,  but  the  Senator 
says  he  is  done  for  public  office,  and  devotes  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  to  his  private  affairs, 
which  are  now  extensive. 

The  Democrats  are  fortunate  in  having  as  their 
party  organ  The  Boonville  Enquirer,  a  weekly,  ed- 
ited by  that  stanch  and  fearless  democratic  war 
horse.  Senator  G.  H.  Hazen.  The  motto,  "Demo- 
cratic at  All  Times,"  stands  at  the  masthead  of 
the  Enquirer,  and  indicates  the  true  and  pro- 
nounced party  organ  that  Senator  Hazen  is  edit- 
ing. In  his  life  as  editor.  Senator  Hazen  has  seen 
the  party  meet  many  obstacles  tending  to  hinder 
party  progress,  but  the  Enquirer  has  faithfully 
upheld  the  party  with  honor  and  fidelity.  In  the 
days  when  the  shrewd  Republican  politicians 
brought  the  latest  political  methods  of  Washington 
and  the  East  to  work  them  upon  the  innocents  of 
this  section,  none  were  better  able  to  cope  with 
the  party  problems  than  the  fearless  editor  of  the 
Enquirer. 

The  Enquirer  began  its  existence  in  Newburg, 
Warrick  county,  where  it  was  known  as  the  Trib- 
une, but  it  was  moved  to  Boonville  in  1857.  At 
first  it  was  owned  by  a  stock  company.  Edward 
White  was  its  editor  for  a  while,  but  he  was  soon 
succeeded  in  that  capacity  by  Charles  Dalrymple, 
who,  after  a  short  time,  sold  the  Tribune  to  John 
Fleming,  a  printer,  and  Judge  J.  W.  B.  Moore. 
The  name  of  the  paper  was  then  changed  to  the 
Boonville  Enquirer,  and  Judge  Moore  assumed 
editorial  control.  The  paper  advocated  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democratic  party  thereafter  and  ac- 
cordingly prospered.  In  December,  1865,  John 
Fleming  was  succeeded  by  E.  L.  Crawford,  the 
paper  being  then  conducted  by  the  firm  of  Moore  & 
Crawford.  In  January,  1868,  Judge  Moore  being 
in  feeble  health,  he  retired  from  the  editorial 
management  of  the  Enquirer  and  sold  his  interest 
in  it  to  Thomas  H.  Martin.  Crawford  and  Martin 
continued  its  publication,  with  Martin  as  editor. 
In  March,  1870,  William  Swint  purchased  the  En- 
quirer from  them  and  assumed  full  control  as  edi- 
tor and  publisher.  Mr.  Swint  owned,  operated 
and  edited  the  paper  for  several  years,  when  G.  H. 
Hazen,  then  a  young  laviryer,  purchased  the  stock 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


and  has  been  its  owiier  and  manager  ever  since. 
The  paper  is  fearless  and  prosperous  and  influ- 
ential and  no  one  has  ever  dared  to  begin  or  even 
suggest  a  competitor.  It  is  the  only  democratic 
paper  in  the  county,  and  the  counsel  of  its  edi- 
torials has  assisted  in  shaping  the  destinies  of  the 
Democracy  in  Warrick  county  for  the  last  forty 
years. 

Not  only  has  the  Democracy  of  Warrick  county 
had  an  able  party  organ  to  pilot  it  through  the 
gloomy  as  well  as  the  bright  days  of  campaign 
strife,  but  the  party  was  fortunate  in  having  wise 
leaders  to  direct  the  party  activities.  Such  old 
families  as  the  Moores,  the  Harts,  the  Roths,  the 
Taylors,  the  Fullers,  the  Scales's,  the  Wilsons,  and 
many  others,  were  pronounced  in  their  belief  in 
the  principles  of  the  party  of  Jefferson  and  they 
fought  year  in  and  year  out  for  the  success  of 
their  beloved   party. 

Some  biography  of  prominent  Democrats  of  the 
early  days  is  essential  in  a  work  of  this  kind, 
and  one  of  the  early  leaders  of  the  party  was 
Judge  J.  W.  B.  Moore.  Judge  Moore  was  born 
near  Waterloo,  Seneca  county.  New  York,  on  No- 
vember 5,  1801,  but  moved  to  Rockport,  Spencer 
county,  in  1827,  later  moving  to  Warrick  county, 
where  in  the  course  of  years  he  was  elected  Pro- 
bate Judge  of  the  county,  which  he  held  until 
elected  Clerk  of  the  Warrick  Circuit  Court.  In 
1844  he  was  re-elected  Clerk  and  Recorder  for 
seven  years,  and  it  was  universally  conceded  that 
he  was  the  best  Clerk  in  Southern  Indiana.  In 
1856  he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas 
District,  composed  of  Warrick  and  Vanderburgh 
counties,  and  served  a  term  of  four  years.  In 
1861,  when  President  Lincoln  issued  his  first  proc- 
lamation for  75,000  men,  it  created  intense  excite- 
ment in  Warrick  county.  The  President  was  pro- 
nounced a  tyrant  and  a  usurper,  and  the  call  was 
characterized  as  unconstitutional  and  an  outrage 
upon  the  South.  Judge  Moore  took  the  side  of 
his  country,  procured  posters  to  be  struck  and 
put  up,  calling  meetings  all  over  the  county,  at 
which  he  appeared,  justified  the  action  of  the 
President  and  urged  young  men  to  enlist  to  main- 
tain the  integrity  of  the  Union.  In  1862,  notwith- 
standing his  age,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Cap- 
tain Pace's  Company,  First  Indiana  Cavalry,  Gov- 
ernor Baker  commanding,  and  went  with  his  regi- 
ment to  the  Southwest  and  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Fredericktown.  He  remained  with  his 
regiment  nearly  two  years,  but  a  soldier's  life 
proved  too  much  for  his  constitution,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  accept  a  discharge,  much  against  his 
wishes.  He  was  a  man  of  great  firmness  of  will 
and  energy  of  purpose  and  strong  intellect,  and 
was  one  of  the  types  that  gave  courage  and 
strength  to  the  Democracy  of  the  county.     He  left 


two  sons.  Isaac  S.  and  R.  D.  O.  Moore,  both  promi- 
nent in  later  politics,  as  will  appear  in  this  his- 
tory, and  the  latter  being  the  father  of  Robert  S. 
Moore,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Boonville,  who 
died  following  a  sudden  illness  in  July,  1915,  in 
the  prime  of  life  before  he  had  a  full  opportunity 
to  give  to  his  community  the  fruits  of  his  educa- 
tion, training  and  experience.  R.  D.  O.  Moore, 
the  youngest  son  of  Judge  J.  W.  B.  Moore,  was 
born  in  Boonville,  February  25,  1848,  and  his  per- 
sonality in  Democratic  politics  in  the  county, 
though  less  active,  is  as  forceful  in  counsel  today 
as  it  was  strong  in  energy  ten  and  thirty  years 
ago.  His  education  was  limited  to  such  advan- 
tages as  were  afforded  by  the  local  schools  of  that 
time,  which  were  comparatively  poor,  owing,  in 
part,  to  the  unsettled  condition  caused  by  the 
war.  However,  he  spent  one  year  at  Asbury  Uni- 
versity, now  DePauw  University.  In  1869,  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  his 
brother,  Hon.  Isaac  Moore,  one  of  the  ablest  law- 
yers in  the  State,  and  in  1872  was  admitted  to  a 
partnership.  In  1878  he  was  nominated  by  the 
democratic  primary  election  for  Clerk  of  Warrick 
county  and  was  elected.  In  1904  he  was  elected 
Auditor  of  Warrick  county,  winning  in  the  face  of 
pronounced  opposition,  and  he  made  an  obliging 
and  careful  officer.  Among  the  minor  offices  he 
held  was  that  of  Clerk  of  Boonville  in  1869; 
Town  Treasurer  from  1871  to  1875,  and  Town 
Attorney  two  or  three  years.  He  wielded  great 
influence  in  the  councils  of  his  party. 

There  is  no  better  democratic  blood  in  the 
county  than  that  found  in  the  well  known  Scales 
family.  Hansel  M.  Scales,  Treasurer  of  Warrick 
county  from  1880  to  1884,  deserves  special  men- 
tion as  a  prominent  democratic  leader.  He  was  a 
self-made  man.  He  was  born  in  Lane  township, 
Warrick  county,  on  November  30,  1841.  His 
father,  John  Scales,  was  a  son  of  William  Scales. 
William  Scales  was  a  very  prominent  man  in 
his  day.  He  was  twice  Assessor  of  Warrick  county. 
In  1843  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  the  county  and 
held  the  office  two  years.  He  was  elected  Treas- 
urer in  1847  and  was  holding  that  office  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  reared  a  family  of  sixteen  chil- 
dren. Hansel  M.  Scales  was  elected  Township 
Assessor  two  or  three  times,  and  later  elected 
Trustee.  He  is  the  father  of  Luther  M.  Scales, 
Clerk  of  the  Warrick  Circuit  Court  at  this  time, 
and  one  of  the  stanchest  Democrats  of  the 
county.  Raymond  Scales,  a  close  relative,  served 
as  Sheriflf  of  the  county  from  1906  to  1910,  and  it 
has  been  said  that  never  was  there  a  more  popu- 
lar or  obliging  man  in  office.  The  Scales  family 
also  includes  another  prominent  man  in  the  State 
in  the  person  of  Dr.  T.  D.  Scales,  of  Boonville, 
State  Tax  Commissioner.     Dr.   Scales  began  his 


(817) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


political  career  as  one  of  the  best  county  chairmen 
the  county  ever  had  and  was  elevated  to  the  dis- 
trict chairmanship.  As  an  evidence  of  his  wonder- 
ful power  as  an  organizer  it  may  be  stated  that 
when  he  assumed  work  as  district  chairman,  near- 
ly every  county  and  city  officer,  the  Congressman 
and  all  legislative  officers,  were  Republicans,  and 
when  he  laid  down  his  work  as  District  Chairman, 
every  county  and  city  officer,  including  the  Con- 
gressman and  every  legislative  officer,  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat. Dr.  Scales  has  long  been  worthy  of  a 
seat  in  Congress  and  his  friends  say  that  he  shall 
go,  as  the  county  is  in  need  of  a  lavirmaker  of 
the  caliber  of  Dr.  Scales,  whose  ability  and  in- 
tegrity is  of  the  highest  grade. 

As  a  producer  of  high-grade  lawyers,  Warrick 
county  has  taken  a  front  rank  among  the  counties 
of  the  State.  Some  have  gone  to  Indianapolis, 
others  to  Evansville,  while  still  others  have  gone 
to  faraway  States.  "Abe"  Martin,  of  the  Indian- 
apolis News,  in  commenting  on  this  fact,  once 
said,  "Lots  o'  good  men  come  from  Boonville.  None 
o'  them  ever  stay  there."  But  among  the  leading 
lawyers  and  jurists  who  felt  that  Boonville  was 
good  enough  should  be  mentioned  John  Bracken- 
ridge  Handy,  as  able  a  jurist  as  could  be  found 
anywhere  in  his  day.  He  began  the  practice  of 
law  with  George  W.  Brackenridge,  in  1862,  but 
the  partnership  lasted  only  a  year,  Mr.  Bracken- 
ridge removing  to  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  where  he 
has  amassed  an  immense  fortune  as  a  banker  and 
ranchman.  In  October,  1872,  Mr.  Handy  was 
nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  and  elected 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  dis- 
trict comprising  the  counties  of  Warrick,  Van- 
derburgh, Gibson  and  Posey.  In  1876  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  and  elected 
Judge  of  the  Second  Judicial  District,  composed 
then  of  Warrick,  Spencer,  Perry  and  Crawford 
counties.  He  wielded  great  power  as  a  Democratic 
leader  in  his  day. 

A  character  who  stood  out  prominently  in  his 
day  as  one  of  force  and  influence  was  John  L. 
Taylor,  a  lawyer,  of  Boonville,  and  a  member  of 
a  very  influential  democratic  family.  He  was  born 
August  30,  1850,  in  Anderson  township,  Warrick 
county,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  Peter  and  Jane 
Taylor.  Following  a  course  at  Indiana  University 
he  returned  home  and  during  the  winter  of  1875- 
76  taught  the  graded  school  at  Lynnville,  this 
county.  During  the  intervals  of  school  hours  he 
read  law,  and  at  the  close  of  his  school  in  the 
spring  of  1876  he  entered  the  office  of  Judge  John 
B.  Handy  and  pursued  the  study  of  law  with 
avidity. 

It  was  during  this  year  that  he  first  took  an 
active  interest  in  politics,  canvassing  the  county 
in  company  with  Hon.  Benoni  S.  Fuller,  then  a 


candidate  for  re-election  to  Congress,  and  speak- 
ing in  the  interest  of  Tilden  and  the  Democratic 
party.  Following  this,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
and  formed  a  partnership  vidth  John  T.  Thomp- 
son, with  whom  he  studied  law  in  Judge  Handy's 
office.  After  practicing  about  a  year  the  partner- 
ship was  dissolved,  and  in  October,  1877,  Mr. 
Taylor  entered  the  Cincinnati  Law  School,  which 
he  attended  regularly  until  his  graduation  on 
the  20th  of  May,  1878.  He  returned  home  and 
two  weeks  afterward  was  nominated  by  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  for  representative  of  Warrick  coun- 
ty. He  was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
Returning  home,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  W. 
H.  Patterson.  He  held  the  office  of  Clerk  of  Boon- 
ville for  two  terms.  In  1876  he  was  appointed 
deputy  prosecutor  for  Warrick  County  by  G.  L. 
Rheinhart,  but  on  entering  law  school  in  1877,  re- 
signed. On  his  return  home  from  the  legislature 
in  1879  he  was  reappointed  to  the  position.  In 
1880  he  was  appointed  contingent  president  elec- 
tor for  the  First  Congressional  District  by  the 
Democratic  State  Convention.  He  served  the  party 
as  county  chairman  and  gave  a  good  part  of  his 
life  to  the  democratic  cause.  Later  in  life  he  fell 
into  habits  which  led  away  from  the  field  of 
active  work.  His  party  nominated  him  Prose- 
cutor, but  he  was  defeated.  He  died  in  1915  at 
Newburgh,  after  living  several  years  of  retired 
life. 

The  Taylor  family,  as  previously  mentioned, 
always  has  been  and  is  today,  one  of  the  main 
spokes  in  the  wheel  of  the  Warrick  county  De- 
mocracy. The  Taylors  of  today  are  the  same  set 
of  brilliant  and  influential  men  that  the  old  ones 
were,  such  as  Robert  Taylor  and  Gurley  Taylor, 
each  of  whom  were  honored  by  their  party  with 
county  offices  and  enjoyed  a  wide  range  of  influ- 
ence. 

Today  we  have  such  prominent  members  as 
Isham  Taylor,  who  represented  the  county  in  the 
lower  house  of  the  State  legislature,  with  credit 
and  honor;  Levns  Taylor,  his  brother;  Simon  W. 
Taylor,  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture; Charles  H.  Taylor  and  William  Taylor. 

The  county  democracy  has  furnished  one  Con- 
gressman to  the  district  in  the  person  of  the 
Hon.  Benoni  S.  Fuller.  He  was  born  in  1825  in 
Warrick  county.  His  father  was  elected  Repre- 
sentative from  Warrick  county  in  1842  and  held 
the  office  for  six  consecutive  years.  Benoni  S. 
Fuller  began  his  public  life  when  he  was  about 
thirty  years  old.  At  this  time  he  was  elected  Sher- 
iff of  the  county  and  served  two  terms  from  1857 
to  1861.  In  1862  during  the  beginning  of  the 
troubles  in  the  South  he  was  sent  to  the  State 
Senate.  After  this  he  was  twice  elected  to  the 
Lower   House,   once   in   1866   and   again   in   1868. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


The  last  time  he  went  he  was  unanimously  chosen 
Democratic  Caucus  Chairman.  In  1872  he  was 
again  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  In  1874  he  was 
chosen  Congressman,  and  again  elected  two  years 
later.  In  1878  he  declined  renomination.  Only 
one  other  man  before  him  from  Warrick  county 
had  ever  represented  the  district  in  Congress  and 
he  was  Ratliff  Boon.  Therefore,  the  election  of 
Fuller  was  a  remarkable  victory  for  the  Democ- 
racy, and  it  had  great  influence  in  cementing  the 
party  members  into  a  compact  organization  for 
future   political   conquests. 

Most  of  the  old  Democratic  leaders  of  forty, 
thirty,  yes,  twenty  years  ago,  are  either  gone  to 
the  great  beyond,  or  else  are  retired  to  private 
life,  and  have  left  the  political  work  for  younger 
minds.  There  is  one  exception  in  the  person  of 
Senator  G.  H.  Hazen,  the  veteran  editor  of  the 
Boonville  Enquirer,  who  takes  great  pride  in  say- 
ing that  he  is  a  better  man  and  a  better  Demo- 
crat today  than  he  ever  has  been  before.  Senator 
Hazen  was  born  on  October  26,  1847.  He  began 
reading  law  with  Galen  Spencer  in  Newburg  in 
1868.  He  entered  the  law  office  of  Warren  and 
Mattison,  of  Evansville,  in  1869,  and  remained 
with  them  one  year.  He  entered  the  law  school 
of  the  State  University  in  October,  1870,  and  grad- 
uated with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  the 
class  of  1871.  In  1880  Mr.  Hazen  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Boonville,  forming  a  partnership 
with  the  Hon.  S.  B.  Hatfield.  In  1885  Hatfield 
withdrew  from  the  firm.  Hazen  continued  the 
practice  until  1893  when  he  bought  the  Boonville 
Enquirer  which  he  has  been  editing  ever  since.  He 
held  the  following  positions  of  trust:  Prosecuting 
Attorney,  twelve  years;  he  was  Probate  Commis- 
sioner one  term  under  G.  L.  Rheinhardt;  served 
seven  years  as  County  Attorney  for  Warrick  coun- 
ty and  one  year  as  attorney  for  the  town  of  Boon- 
ville. He  was  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  Prose- 
cuting Attorney  of  the  Second  Judicial  District  in 
1888  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  but  went  down  in 
defeat  with  his  party.  In  1914  he  was  nominated 
for  Joint  Senator  from  Warrick,  Spencer  and 
Vanderburg    counties,    and    was    elected,    leading 


his  ticket  in  every  county.  Senator  Hazen  is 
prominent  in  State  politics. 

Another  such  character  and  companion  is  Sid- 
ney B.  Hatfield,  of  Boonville,  who  is  still  actively 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  Mr.  Hatfield  lived 
in  Perry  county  before  removing  to  Warrick,  but 
when  he  came  he  brought  all  his  energy  and  per- 
sonality with  him.  He  preferred  the  free  lance 
work  in  politics  seldom  seeking  political  office, 
and  being  defeated  when  he  was  honored  by  his 
party  in  making  the  race  for  Judge  of  the  Second 
Judicial  District  by  a  narrow  margin  of  six  votes. 
Mr.  Hatfield  feels  the  burden  of  declining  years, 
but  his  wise  counsel  and  weighty  influence  still 
continues  in  the  personalities  of  his  two  sons, 
Frank  H.,  of  Evansville,  and  William  S.,  of  Boon- 
ville, two  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  of  South- 
ern Indiana. 

The  history  of  politics  of  a  generation  ago  and 
of  today  are  different  in  many  ways.  The  lead- 
ers of  the  old  days  are  gone  and  sons,  grandsons 
and  great-grandsons  are  now  carrying  on  the 
gospel  of  Democracy  which  was  begun  back  in  the 
days  of  Jefferson  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago. 
Warrick  county  had  her  share  of  spellbinders,  a 
worthy  press,  and  able  leaders,  and  has  left  a 
heritage  of  great  worth  to  the  generation  of  to- 
day. The  work  is  in  good  hands  and  includes  such 
persons  as  the  following:  Frank  Phillips,  Sheriff 
and  County  Chairman;  Ivor  Robinson,  Ray  Cher- 
ry, Ex- Auditor;  Dr.  J.  T.  Samples,  William  Sam- 
ples, Frank  Koegel,  ex-Deputy  Treasurer;  Jacob 
Eifler,  Postmaster;  Melborn  Gebtry,  Sheriff;  Hen- 
ry Fulling,  Caleb  Lindsey,  Ora  Davis,  James  R. 
Wilson,  Thomp  Owens,  Rufus  Cherry,  Dr.  N. 
Spradley,  Gaines  Bass,  County  Auditor;  Charles 
H.  Bone,  County  Assessor;  William  H.  Putler, 
County  Treasurer;  Raleigh  Perigo,  County  Re- 
corder; Andrew  J.  Hopkins,  County  Superintend- 
ent; John  W.  Wilson,  Dr.  P.  E.  Wilson,  Henry 
Whittinghill,  Dr.  N.  M.  Spradley,  Dr.  Walter  P. 
Robinson,  Louis  Meyer,  and  many  others.  In 
short,  the  Democracy  of  Warrick  county  is  on  the 
firing  line  and  let  the  enemy  come,  she  is  pre- 
pared. 


(819) 


HISTORY  OF   THE    DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
WASHINGTON  COUNTY 


AN  act  of  the  Legislature,  approved  Decem- 
cember  21,  1813,  permitted  the  organiza- 
tion of  Washington  county,  and  pursuant 
to  that  act,  on  the  17th  day  of  January,  1814, 
Washington  county  was  created  from  the  territo- 
ries of  Harrison  and  Clark  counties.  At  the  time 
of  its  creation  it  was  composed  of  much  of  the 
territory  which  is  now  contained  in  the  counties 
of  Jackson,  Orange  and  Scott. 

In  1850  and  1851  the  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Central  Committee  was  Jehu  Hungate  and 
the  other  members  composing  such  committee 
were  D.  C.  Shanks,  0.  Thomas,  John  Hardin,  Jr., 

C.  Prow,  David  Mull,  T.  D.  Weir  and  Evans 
Wright. 

Other  chairmen  of  the  Democratic  Central  Com- 
mittee were  W.  J.  Brown,  J.  A.  Cravens,  John  L. 
Menaugh,  Hamilton  S.  McRae,  Christian  L.  Payn- 
ter,  Lewis  N.  Smith,  Samuel  B.  Voyles,  Virgil 
Hobbs,  Andrew  B.  Davis,  Eli  W.  Menaugh,  Sam- 
uel H.  Mitchell,  John  R.  Sutherland,  George  M. 
Morris,  William  H.  Paynter,  Warder  W.  Stevens, 
Charles  T.  Schlagal,  Char'.es  R.  Morris,  Lewis  C. 
Smith;  present  chairman,  Harry  C.  Barnett. 

The  county,  shortly  after  it  became  active  as 
a  part  of  the  State,  began  to  send  to  the  Legisla- 
ture representatives  the  greater  part  of  whom 
were  Democrats.  The  following  list  are  Demo- 
crats who  were  members  of  the  lower  branch  of 
the  Legislature:  Samuel  Milroy,  Alexander  Lit- 
tle, Marston  G.  Clark,  Noah  Wright,  Robert  Mc- 
Intire,  Abraham  Sargent,  John  DePauw,  John 
Kingsbury,  Ezekial  D.  Logan,  Rodolphus  Scoon- 
over.  Henry  C.  Monroe,  Woodbridge  Parker,  Gus- 
tavius  Clark,  Levi  P.  Lockhart,  Valentine  Baker, 
John  L.  Morrison,  William  Shanks,  George  May, 
John  Kelly,  Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  Thomas  Green, 
James  A.  Cravens,  William  Thompson,  John  L. 
Menaugh,  James  T.  Campbell,  Henry  Paynter, 
John  Hartley,  John  A.  Bowman,  William  Han- 
cock, Christian  Prow,  Horace  Heffron,  Jamison 
Lee,  Aaron  L.  Hardin,  John  Lemon,  Erasmus  W. 
Shanks,  Frederic  W.  Matthis,  John  C.  Lawler, 
John  H.  Oatley,  James  Rudder,  Alfred  B.  Collins, 
Samuel  H.  Mitchell,  William  E.  Patton,  Aaron  A. 
Cravens,  Asa  Elliott,  Zach  M.  Scifres,  Robert  C. 
Brown,  Emmet  C.  Mitchell,  and  the  present  rep- 
resentative is  John  Ryan. 

In  the  Senate  the  county  has  been  represented 
by  the  following  resident  Senators:  John  De- 
Pauw, Marston  G.  Clark,  Samuel  Milroy,  Ezekial 

D.  Logan,  Henry  W.  Hackett,  William  Shanks, 
John  I.  Morrison,  James  A.  Cravens,  Horace  Hef- 
fron, John  A.  Bowman,  Samuel  B.  Voyles,  Eras- 


mus Shanks,  Jeptha  H.  Garriott,  John  C.  Lawler 
and  William  E.  Patton;  Wm.  A.  Arnold,  Senator- 
elect. 

James  A.  Cravens  was  sent  from  this  county 
as  a  representative  in  Congress  for  two  terms, 
during  which  time  he  was  an  associate  of  Vories 
and  Hendricks. 

On  two  different  occasions  Washing^ton  county 
has  furnished  the  candidate  for  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor for  the  State  of  Indiana,  being  John  C. 
Lawler  and  Warder  W.  Stevens.  At  the  present 
time  one  of  the  State  offices  is  filled  by  a  resident 
of  Washington  county,  being  Hon.  Milton  B.  Hot^ 
tel  of  the  Appellate  bench. 

Among  the  prominent  Democrats  of  the  earlier 
period  we  find  Isaac  Blackford  and  John  I.  Mor- 
rison. Blackford  was  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  for  thirty-five  years.  John  I.  Morrison  was 
Treasuier  of  State  and  was  one  of  the  foremost 
educators  of  the  time.  He  was  the  founder  of 
Morrison  academy  at  Salem,  Ind.,  which  bore  a 
national  reputation  and  where  many  noted  schol- 
ars sought  an  education.  He  was  the  tutor  of 
such  scholars  as  John  Hay,  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior; Newton  Booth,  who  was  elected  Senator 
from  California  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and 
later  made  Governor  of  the  State  of  California. 

The  first  Democratic  newspaper  published  in 
the  county  began  about  January  1,  1827,  and  was 
known  as  the  Avnotator.  It  was  edited  by  John 
Allen  until  1829,  when  William  Tannehill  be- 
came the  owner  and  it  was  changed  to  the  Salem 
Literary  Register,  a  literary  paper.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1847,  Morrison  and  Taylor  founded  the 
Washingtoji  Democrat  and  sold  it  in  1849  to  Wil- 
liams and  Owens.  T.  W.  Jordon  was  editor  for 
a  few  issues,  then  Williams  became  the  sole  own- 
er. In  1852  Horace  Heffron  became  associated 
with  Williams  as  joint  editor  and  remained  so 
until  after  the  presidential  election.  Z.  S.  Gar- 
riott then  became  joint  editor  and  in  1857  he  be- 
came the  proprietor  and  editor  and  sold  the  paper 
to  Levi  D.  Maxwell,  who  later  disposed  of  it  to 
Horace  Heffron,  and  Thomas  Telle  became  pub- 
lisher. In  1861  G.  Y.  Johnson  took  charge  of 
the  paper  because  of  army  service  of  the  owners 
and  issued  the  paper  under  the  name  of  Demo- 
cratic Banner  of  Liberty. 

The  title  of  Washington  Democrat  was  resumed 
in  1862,  when  O.  T.  Kennedy  associated  himself 
with  Heffron  as  editor  and  publisher.  In  1863 
George  Fultz  and  William  P.  Green  became  the 
proprietors  and  in  1872  Stevens  and  Cravens  be- 
came the  owners,  and  in  1874   Cravens  disposed 


(820) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


of  his  interest  to  Warder  W.  Stevens,  who  then 
became  the  sole  owner,  and  after  which  time  the 
paper  has  been  known  as  the  Salem  Democrat. 
In  1883  Stevens  sold  the  paper  to  Dr.  R.  J.  Wil- 
son, who  for  eight  years  was  the  sole  owner  and 
editor  of  the  Salem  Democrat,  known  as  the  Dem- 
ocratic organ  of  the  county.  After  successfully 
running  the  paper  during  that  period  he  disposed 
of  the  same  to  David  A.  Jennings,  who  ran  it  for 
six  years.  The  paper  was  then  bought  by  Men- 
augh  brothers,  who  were  the  publishers  and  ed- 
itors for  more  thau  ten  years,  during  which  time 
the  circulation  continued  to  increase  until  it  car- 
ried the  principles  of  Democracy  into  nearly 
every  household  of  the  county. 

On  December  21,  1898,  Henry  E.  Smith  and 
Charles  R.  Morris,  two  of  the  hustling  young 
Democrats  of  the  county,  purchased  the  paper 
with  Morris  as  editor  and  Smith  as  business  man- 
ager. The  paper  is  still  in  the  hands  of  Smith 
and  Morris,  being  the  Democratic  organ  of  Wash- 
ington county  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
leading  Democratic  newspapers  of  southern  In- 
diana. 

Washington  county  has  always  given  a  Demo- 
cratic majority  for  the  presidential  electors,  and 
since  1844,  with  but  one  or  two  exceptions,  has 
filled  the  county  offices  with  Democrats.  Close 
organization  was  a  rule  back  in  the  forties  and 
fifties,  with  each  township  having  a  Democratic 
chairman  and  committee,  who  had  frequent  meet- 
ings to  further  Democracy,  hence  the  Democratic 
majorities  in  the  county. 

In  1844  Polk  and  Dallas  received  a  majority 
of  511. 

In  1848  Cass  and  Butler  received  a  majority 
of  495. 

In  1852  Pierce  and  King  received  a  majority 
of  509. 


In  1856  Buchanan  and  Breckinridge  received 
a  majority  of  656. 

In  1860  Douglas  and  Johnson  received  a  ma- 
jority of  531. 

In  1864  McClellan  and  Pendleton  received  a 
majority  of  557. 

In  1868  Seymour  and  Blair  received  a  major- 
ity of  388. 

In  1876  Tilden  and  Hendricks  received  a  ma- 
jority of  716. 

In  1880  Hancock  and  English  received  a  ma- 
jority of  811. 

In  1888  Cleveland  and  Thurman  received  a  ma- 
jority of  539. 

In  1892  Cleveland  and  Stevenson  received  a 
majority  of  206. 

In  1896  Bryan  and  Sewall  received  a  majority 
of  232. 

In  1900  Bryan  and  Stevenson  received  a  ma- 
jority of  515. 

In  1904  Pai-ker  and  Davis  received  a  majority 
of  113. 

In  1908  Biyan  and  Kern  received  a  majority 
of  505. 

In  1912  Wilson  and  Marshall  received  a  ma- 
jority of  284. 

In  1916  Wilson  and  Marshall  received  a  ma- 
jority of  543. 

At  the  present  time  the  county  offices  are  all 
filled  with  Democrats.  William  H.  Paynter  is 
Judge  of  the  Forty-second  Judicial  Circuit  and 
Thomas  P.  Masterson  is  Prosecuting  Attorney 
for  the  same  district.  William  A.  Arnold  is  Clerk 
of  the  Circuit  Court;  Eli  E.  Batt,  Auditor;  Otto  C. 
Zink,  Treasurer;  Thomas  J.  Walker,  Recorder; 
Harry  C.  Barnett,  Sheriff;  Dr.  James  F.  Kelley, 
Coroner;  John  C.  Prow,  Surveyor;  William  B. 
Wright,  James  S.  Hall  and  James  B.  Brown, 
County  Commissioners. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
WAYNE  COUNTY 

By  Joshua  H.  Allen 


WAYNE  COUNTY  lies  on  the  eastern 
boundary  line  of  Indiana,  directly  east 
of  Indianapolis,  the  State  capital. 

Wayne  county  was  born  in  the  early  dawn  of 
the  last  century  and  was  settled  by  a  people  whose 
love  of  peace  and  the  principles  of  arbitration  was 
equaled  only  by  their  aversion  to  war  and  human 
slavery,  i.  e.,  by  so-called  Quakers — members  of 
the  religious  Society  of  Friends.  The  name  of  the 
county,  however,  was  chosen  in  honor  of  that  fear- 
less and  desperate  Indian  fighter  known  in  his- 
tory as  General  Wayne,  but  then  famous  as  "Mad 
Anthony,"  who  had  so  recently  succeeded  General 
St.  Clair  in  command  of  the  United  States  forces 
and  precipitated  the  decisive  battles  which  re- 
sulted in  the  Greenville  Treaty. 

The  articles  of  peace  were  signed  by  General 
Wayne  and  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, August  3,  1795.  Indiana  Territory  was  cre- 
ated pursuant  to  the  act  of  Congress  of  May  7, 
1800,  dividing  the  Northwest  Territory,  and 
Wayne  county  was  formed  in  1810  from  part  of 
Dearborn,  the  county  seat  of  which  was  at  Law- 
renceburg.  It,  with  Clark  and  Knox,  then  consti- 
tuted the  single  trio  of  counties  in  the  Territory. 

The  discovery  of  the  White  Water  valley,  that 
runs  north  and  south  through  the  eastern  part  of 
the  county,  has  been  credited  to  Judge  Peter  Flem- 
ing and  Joseph  Wasson,  a  revolutionary  soldier, 
who  accompanied  the  former  from  Kentucky  in 
1804,  and  the  first  settlement  in  the  valley  was 
made  in  1805  by  George  Holman,  Richard  Rue  and 
Thomas  McCoy. 

Wayne  county  has  had  three  county  seats.  The 
first  was  at  a  place  called  Salsbury,  which  was 
located  about  midway  between  the  now  city  of 
Richmond  and  the  town  of  Centerville.  The  town 
of  Salsbury  was  once  the  largest  town  in  the 
county,  but  it  is  now  extinct  and  the  land  on 
which  it  was  located  is  under  cultivation.  In  1817 
the  county  seat  was  removed  to  Centerville.  There 
it  remained  until  1873,  when  the  county  seat  was 
removed  to  Richmond,  where  the  county  govern- 
ment is  located  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  com- 
modious and  well-built  court  houses  of  any  in  the 
State  of  Indiana. 

With  the  removal  of  the  court  house  from  Sals- 
bury to  Centerville  began  the  decadence  of  Sals- 
bury, which  latter  now  has  only  a  place  in  mem- 
ory, where  it  may  be  worthy  of  note  to  relate  that 
at  just  this  time,  August  4,  1823,  there  was  born 
there  the  most  distinguished  personage  in  the  his- 


tory of  the  State.  This  was  the  Hon.  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  whose  name  will  be  associated  with  the 
leaders  of  the  United  States  Senate,  but  whose 
chief  distinction  was  attained  as  Indiana's  war 
governor.  Oliver  Hazard  Perry  Throck  Morton 
(for  thus  the  name  stands  in  the  family  register) 
was  the  fourth  child  of  James  Throckmorton  and 
Sarah. 

Throckmorton  is  an  old  English  name.  In  the 
ship  with  Roger  Williams  came  John  Throckmor- 
ton, who  settled  and  lived  in  Providence,  in  the 
house  next  to  Roger  Williams,  but  his  sons,  John 
Throckmorton,  Jr.,  and  Job,  went  to  New  Jersey, 
where  they  are  recorded  among  its  earliest  set- 
tlers. It  is  not  known  why  the  family  name  was 
changed,  but  a  sufficient  reason  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  Morton  is  more  convenient. 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  Mr.  Morton's  adult 
life  he  was  a  Democrat.  On  the  day  of  the  presi- 
dential election  a  young  man  of  large  frame  with 
high  forehead,  dark  eyes  and  with  clothes  that 
fitted  him  none  too  well,  rode  into  Centerville  upon 
a  gray  horse  bespattered  with  mud.  It  was  "Ob" 
Morton,  then  a  student  at  Miami  University,  who 
had  come  home  from  Oxford,  twenty-eight  miles 
away,  to  cast  his  first  vote  for  James  K.  Polk,  the 
candidate  of  the  Democratic  party.  For  ten  years 
after  that  he  continued  to  act  vidth  the  Democracy, 
but  he  was  among  those  who  feared  the  dangerous 
tendencies  toward  slavery.  And  he  left  the  De- 
mocracy, but  did  not  then  join  another  party.  The 
supporters  of  the  Free  Soil  movement,  who  in 
most  of  the  Northern  States  now  bore  the  name  of 
Republicans,  had  as  yet  no  national  organization. 
Oliver  P.  Morton  was  elected  a  delegate  from 
Wayne  county  to  the  preliminary  convention  held 
in  Pittsburgh,  so  that  he  was  present  at  the  birth 
of  the  Republican  party. 

The  fact  that  Richmond  was  one  of  the  earliest 
settled  communities  in  Indiana,  was  on  the  Na- 
tional road  and  on  the  only  railroad  that  con- 
nected Indianapolis  with  the  east,  together  with 
the  character  of  her  citizens,  made  her  the  center 
of  many  stirring  political  events  in  the  early  days. 
Politics  in  this  locality  were  always,,  as  they  are 
now,  very  exciting.  The  county  in  its  early  his- 
tory was  strongly  Whig.  The  most  exciting  inci- 
dent of  the  ante-bellum  days  in  this  vicinity  oc- 
curred in  the  fall  of  1844.  It  was  on  the  first  Sat- 
urday in  October,  1844,  that  Henry  Clay,  the  can- 
didate for  President  on  the  Whig  ticket,  arrived 
in  Richmond  on  his  way  from  Dayton,   Ohio,  to 


(  822) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


Indianapolis,  he  then  being  on  a  speech-making 
tour  in  his  own  behalf.  His  appearance  here  was 
known  ahead  of  time  and  the  town  was  the  scene 
of  a  wonderful  multitude  of  people,  greater  than 
ever  before  in  its  history.  The  Abolitionists  had 
determined  to  petition  him  for  an  interview  rela- 
tive to  the  freeing  of  his  slaves.  A  petition  with 
over  2,000  names  had  been  prepared  and  had  been 
signed  by  the  committee  having  it  in  charge. 

Excitement  ran  high  and  threats  of  violence 
were  made  against  any  man  who  would  insult 
Henry  Clay  by  oflFering  him  such  a  petition,  for  so 
the  Whigs  called  the  action.  The  privilege  to  pri- 
vately present  their  petition  was  denied  the  Abo- 
litionists, it  not  being  supposed  they  would  have 
the  courage  to  do  it  openly.  The  speaking  oc- 
curred on  North  Eighth  street,  between  A  and  B 
streets,  from  a  temporary  stand  on  the  west  side 
of  the  street.  Upon  the  meeting  being  called  to 
order  the  chairman  asked  that  anyone  having  pe- 
titions to  present  to  Mr.  Clay  would  please  bring 
them  forward.  This  was  done  to  force  the  Abo- 
litionists either  to  back  down  or  else  incur  the 
anger  of  the  hostile  crowd  of  bitter  partisans.  It 
was  also  made  known  that  any  petition  would  be 
replied  to  by  Mr.  Clay  at  that  time.  When  this 
announcement  was  made  the  Abolitionists,  through 
Hiram  Mendenhall,  a  fearless  and  stalwart 
farmer,  sent  their  petition  to  the  stand.  When  he 
started  with  it  cries  of  "Mob  him,"  "Stab  him," 
"Kill  him,"  arose  from  the  crowd,  the  vast  major- 
ity of  whom  were  Clay  partisans.  Seeing  the  seri- 
ousness of  the  occasion.  Clay  stepped  to  the  edge 
of  the  platform  and  importuned  the  crowd  not  to 
resort  to  violence.  It  is  said  that  only  his  plea 
saved  Mendenhall's  life.  The  petition  was  handed 
to  the  chairman  (Clay  refusing  to  touch  it)  and 
was  read  by  him.  Then  Clay  made  answer.  For 
over  an  hour  he  poured  down  upon  the  heads  of 
the  Abolitionists  in  general  and  the  petitioners  in 
particular  a  storm  of  eloquent  sarcasm,  ridicule 
and  argument  such  as  was  probably  never  heard 
in  Richmond  before  or  since,  because  it  was  only 
such  as  Henry  Clay  could  give.  He  even  became 
abusive  and  finished  by  telling  the  petitioners  to 
"Go  home;  go  home  and  mind  your  own  business." 
Of  course  the  speech  was  a  strong  one  in  the  eyes 
of  the  crowd,  but  it  is  said  that  this  very  same 
Richmond  speech  defeated  Clay  and  elected  Polk. 

The  Democracy  of  Wayne  county  had  been  de- 
pendent upon  outside  newspapers  for  many  years 
for  the  source  of  their  political  information.  Pos- 
sibly one  of  the  strongest  Democratic  newspapers 
the  county  has  ever  had  was  the  Jeffersonian,  a 
newspaper  established  in  Richmond  in  1836  by  a 
Democratic  association  called  the  "Hickory  Club." 
Samuel  E.  Perkins,  afterwards  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Indiana,  and  a  Mr.  Talcott,  a 


young  lawyer,  were  its  editors.  It  was  bought  in 
1837  by  Lynde  Elliott.  It  ceased  to  appear  in 
1839,  but  Mr.  Perkins  revived  the  paper  in  1840. 
The  same  year  James  Elder  took  charge  and  it 
was  continued  until  1864. 

In  1880  The  Democrat  was  published  by  Wil- 
liam Thistlewaite  as  a  campaign  paper,  but  was 
suspended  after  the  election.  In  January,  1881, 
it  was  revived  by  Mr.  Elder,  who  published  it  as 
The  Richmond  Democrat  for  ten  years.  Milton  C. 
Benham  was  editor  and  proprietor  of  it  for  a  time. 
He  afterwards  sold  it  in  1891  to  Benjamin  F. 
Wissler  and  George  W.  Mickel.  Mr.  Mickel  after- 
wards retired  and  it  was  operated  in  the  campaign 
of  1896  as  the  Daily  Sun.  Mr.  Wissler  sold  out  in 
1907  to  the  PalladiKm  and  retired  from  newspaper 
work.  Since  that  time  the  Democracy  of  Wayne 
county  has  not  had  a  local  newspaper. 

In  passing  it  might  be  said  for  Milton  C.  Ben- 
ham  and  Benjamin  F.  Wissler  that  they  are  both 
residents  of  Wayne  county  and  stand  high  in  the 
councils  of  the  Democratic  party.  In  all  local  con- 
ventions where  Milton  C.  Benham  is  able  to  at- 
tend the  privilege  is  always  accorded  to  him  with 
the  greatest  of  acclaim  to  make  the  formal  motion 
that  the  rooster  in  the  attitude  of  crowing  shall 
be  the  emblem  of  the  party  on  the  ticket  at  the 
election. 

Wayne  county  has  never  been  a  fertile  field  for 
the  Democrat  seeking  to  hold  county  office.  The 
exceptions  to  the  rule  have  been  few,  Andrew  F. 
Scott,  who  was  clerk  of  the  county  in  1845,  being 
one  of  the  first  to  break  into  public  office.  He  was 
followed  by  an  unbroken  line  of  Republican  clerks 
until  in  1914  the  genial  and  afl'able  son  of  the  Em- 
erald Isle,  Michael  W.  Kelly,  was  elected  to  the 
office.  Charles  Marlatt  was  elected  as  a  Democrat 
in  1890  to  the  sheriff's  office  and  at  the  same  time 
John  M.  Lontz  was  elected  auditor  of  Wayne 
county.  This  county  was  represented  in  Congress 
for  one  term  by  W.  S.  Holman,  the  "watch-dog  of 
the  treasury,"  for  two  years.  He  and  Finley  H. 
Gray  have  been  the  only  Democrats  to  represent 
this  county  in  Congress. 

Henry  U.  Johnson,  who  was  congressman  from 
the  Sixth  District  from  1891  to  1899,  was  elected 
as  a  Republican,  but  disagreed  with  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  the  McKinley  administration  with 
reference  to  their  foreign  policy.  He  retired  from 
office  at  the  end  of  his  term  and  has  identified  him- 
self with  the  Democratic  party  since  that  time. 
At  the  Democratic  convention  in  Richmond  in 
1910  for  the  nomination  of  congressman  he  was 
sought  after  by  many  Democrats  to  receive  the 
nomination  and  would  no  doubt  have  received  the 
nomination  if  he  had  not  discouraged  his  friends 
by  giving  them  to  understand  that  even  though  he 
might  be  nominated  he  would  refuse  to  accept  it. 


(823) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


Finley  H.  Gray  was  nominated  and  was  elected  for 
three  successive  terms.  He  was  defeated  in  1916 
by  Judge  Comstock  by  a  small  majority,  and  at 
the  death  of  Judge  Comstock  soon  after  the  be- 
ginning of  his  term  Mr.  Gray  was  again  a  candi- 
date. Henry  U.  Johnson  was  chairman  of  the  con- 
vention and  in  his  keynote  speech,  in  taking  up  the 
questions  of  the  war  which  had  so  recently  been 
thrust  upon  us,  he  made  an  appeal  to  the  patriot- 
ism of  our  citizenship  that  swept  the  convention 
with  a  wave  that  made  them  feel  the  great  debt 
we  owe  to  our  forefathers  for  the  great  govern- 
ment we  now  enjoy  and  to  appreciate  the  burdens 
we  now  must  carry  in  order  that  free  govern- 
ment may  endure,  and  that  the  military  despotism 
of  old  world  dominion  must  now  once  for  all  be 
ended  and  wiped  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  At 
the  end  of  his  address  the  convention  stood  ready 
to  nominate  him  for  Congress,  but  his  refusal  to 
accept  even  if  nominated  again  discouraged  his 
friends  and  the  nomination  afterward  fell  to  Fin- 
ley  H.  Gray,  who  was  defeated  at  the  special  elec- 
tion. 

No  story  of  the  Democracy  of  Wayne  county 
would  be  complete  without  a  reference  to  the  life 
of  the  Hon.  Thomas  J.  Study,  who  died  in  the 
summer  of  1914.     At  the  time  he  was  the  Demo- 


cratic nominee  for  judge  of  the  Wayne  circuit 
court  and  he  was  engaged  in  an  active  campaign 
for  the  election  when  he  was  stricken  by  an  ill- 
ness that  proved  fatal.  In  his  youth  he  was  a  Re- 
publican, but  changed  early  to  be  a  Democrat. 
He  was  judge  of  the  Wayne  circuit  court  by  ap- 
pointment in  1896  for  a  short  time.  He  was  one 
of  Wayne  county's  best  lawyers,  he  was  honest 
and  courageous  and  was  always  willing  to  stand 
up  and  be  counted  in  defense  of  any  position  that 
he  might  assume.  The  history  of  Wayne  county 
Democracy,  as  far  as  holding  local  offices  is  con- 
cerned, is  one  that  is  not  pleasant  to  think  about. 
The  officeholders  have  been  few  and  far  between. 
Successive  defeats  have  not  in  any  sense  broken 
the  spirit  of  the  party  in  the  county.  They  always 
have  another  fight  in  them.  They  might  be 
likened  to  the  Kentucky  patriot  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  who  was  about  to  be  shot  at  a 
court-martial.  He  was  commanded  to  turn  his 
back  to  the  firing  squad  and  kneel,  to  which  he  re- 
plied that  a  Kentuckian  never  turns  his  back  upon 
an  enemy  and  kneels  only  to  his  God.  Just  so  the 
Democracy  of  Wayne  county  may  be  defeated,  but 
its  spirit  never  was  and  never  will  be  broken  so 
long  as  the  Democratic  party  remains  the  potent 
tool  for  good  that  the  present  day  and  the  past 
decade  have  proven  it  to  be. 


(824) 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY   OF 
WELLS  COUNTY 


AN  EARLY  history  of  Wells  county  tells  us 
that  Colonel  John  Vawter,  of  Jennings 
county,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  new 
counties  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
State,  introduced  a  bill,  which  passed  and  was 
approved  February  7,  1835,  which  provided  for 
the  laying  out  of  the  counties  of  Wells,  Jay,  De- 
kalb, Steuben,  Whitley,  Kosciusko,  Fulton,  Mar- 
shall, Starke,  Pulaski,  Jasper,  Newton  and 
Porter. 

Wells  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Captain 
William  H.  Wells,  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians 
at  Chicago.  An  act  was  passed  and  approved 
February  2,  1837,  to  organize  the  county.  David 
Bennett  was  appointed  sheriff  by  the  Legislature 
to  notify  the  electors  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Rob- 
ert C.  Bennett  to  elect  three  commissioners.  The 
first  election  for  commissioners  was  held  in  June, 
1837,  and  Solomon  Johnson,  James  Scott  and  R.  C. 
Bennett  were  elected.  The  board  met  at  the  home 
of  R.  C.  Bennett  on  July  21,  1837,  in  accordance 
with  the  above  recited  act  and  produced  their  cer- 
tificates to  the  sheriff,  showing  they  had  been 
duly  elected.  David  Bennett  produced  his  com- 
mission as  sheriff,  signed  by  Governor  Noble. 
Bowen  Hale  also  produced  a  similar  document  ap- 
pointing him  clerk  of  Wells  county.  Both  were 
certified  to  and  the  board  organized  by  electing 
Solomon  Johnson  president. 

The  first  order  of  the  first  board  of  commis- 
sioners of  Wells  county  was  "That  W.  H.  Parme- 
lee  be  appointed  agent  of  the  3  per  cent,  fund  do- 
nated to  the  county  by  the  State  for  roads  and 
bridges."  Second,  "Adnah  Hall  be  appointed  treas- 
urer of  Wells  county;  bond  $300."  Third,  "David 
Whitman  be  appointed  assessor  and  collector  of 
revenue  " 

While  the  county  is  now  "dry  as  a  bone"  and  has 
been  sines  1906,  John  Casebeer  was  the  first  sur- 
veyor for  the  county. 

The  first  court  was  organized  in  1837  with  Hon. 
C.  W.  Ewing  as  judge;  Bowen  Hale,  clerk;  Isaac 
Covert,  sheriff;  Thomas  Johnson,  prosecuting  at- 
torney. There  was  no  business,  and  the  court  ad- 
journed. 

Wells  county  contains  about  372  sections  of 
land,  the  Wabash  river  traversing  the  county  from 
east  to  west.  The  Salamonie  runs  through  the 
southwest  part  of  the  county. 

The  first  paper  published  in  the  county  was 
the  Republican  Bugle,  a  democratic  paper,  regard- 
less of  its  name,  the  Republican  party  not  having 
been  born  at  that  date,  1847.     In  1849  the  Banner 


was  launched  and  still  remains  in  the  newspaper 
field,  publishing  both  daily  and  weekly.  The  Ban- 
ner was  started  by  S.  G.  Upton  and  L.  S.  Grove, 
and  has  since  been  edited  by  T.  J.  McDowell, 
George  McDowell.  James  G.  Smith,  D.  J. 
Callen,  T.  B.  Gutelius,  J.  H.  Smith,  Theo. 
Horton  &  Co.,  J.  G.  Smith,  Wm.  J.  Craig, 
E.  A.  K.  Hackett,  E.  Y.  Sturgis,  P.  A.  Allen, 
John  H.  Ormsby,  Geo.  L.  Saunders,  Cecil  E. 
Elliott,  and  at  present  by  Geo.  L.  Saunders,  he 
having  returned  to  Bluffton  in  1913.  The  Bluff- 
ton  Chronicle,  the  other  remaining  paper  in  Bluff- 
ton,  was  established  in  185.5,  and  was  known  as 
the  People's  Press.  D.  H.  Swaim  is  the  present 
publisher  and  also  issues  the  E renin;/  News,  a 
daily  paper,  neutral  in  polities. 

Wells  county  has  been  Democratic  since  organi- 
zation, and  only  in  a  very  few  instances  have  the 
Republicans  succeeded  in  getting  a  man  in  office. 
Their  greatest  success  was  in  1898,  when  they 
made  a  determined  campaign  on  an  "open-the- 
books"  platfoi-m.  They  succeeded  in  electing  two 
commissioners,  the  treasurer  and  clerk.  They 
opened  the  books  and  found  them  correct  almost 
to  a  cent — simply  some  little  irregularities.  Since 
that  cam.paign  just  one  man  on  the  Republican 
ticket  has  succeeded  in  being  elected  to  office,  Mr. 
O.  D.  Garrett  being  elected  county  auditor  in  1908. 
The  city  of  Bluffton  is  also  safely  Democratic. 

The  city  and  county  have  furnished  some  notable 
men  to  the  party  in  the  State's  existence,  and  at 
this  date  feels  proud  of  the  record  made  and  being 
made  by  Frank  C.  Dailey,  who  as  District  Attor- 
ney, so  successfully  conducted  the  cases  against 
the  Terre  Haute  election  fraudists,  thus  gaining 
fame  as  a  lawyer  throughout  the  United  States. 
His  father,  Joseph  C.  Dailey,  served  the  State  on 
the  supreme  bench.  In  the  1917  session  of  the 
Legislature  we  have  the  Hon.  Abram  Simmons, 
who  has  been  considered  one  of  the  leaders  in  that 
body;  especially  has  he  been  active  in  state-wide 
prohibition,  woman  suffrage  and  constitutional 
convention.  The  present  county  judge,  the  Hon. 
W.  H.  Eichhorn,  has  established  a  reputation 
throughout  the  State  as  a  jurist,  lawyer  and  ora- 
tor that  does  his  county  proud.  W.  A.  Kunkel, 
our  present  district  chairman,  has  been  in  the 
same  office  for  three  terms,  his  work  has  been  of 
the  best,  and  his  counsel  for  the  state  committee  is 
valuable.  Mr.  Kunkel  has  long  been  in  the  Demo- 
cratic politics  of  the  county. 

The  present  Democratic  chairman  is  the  Hon. 
A.  M.  Hamilton,  while  the  present  county  officials 
are:     Abram  Simmons,  joint  state  senator  for  the 


(825) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


counties  of  Adams,  Blackford  and  Wells;  John  A. 
Bonjam,  joint  representative  for  the  counties  of 
Blackford  and  Wells;  W.  H.  Eichhorn,  judge  for 
the  counties  of  Blackford  and  Wells;  Orville  A. 
Pursley,  prosecutor  for  the  counties  of  Blackford 
and  Wells;  Herman  F.  Lesh,  clerk  of  the  court; 
O.  E.  Lesh,  treasurer;  C.  T.  Kain,  auditor;  D.  T. 


Brinneman,  recorder;  J.  A.  Johnston,  sheriff;  T. 
C.  Guldin,  surveyor;  A.  R.  Huyette,  county  super- 
intendent of  schools;  H.  Thoma,  coroner;  John  A. 
Prough,  William  A.  Redding  and  Henry  Sw^aim, 
commissioners,  and  Harry  Grant,  county  agent, 
all  Democrats.  B.  A.  Batson,  an  ex-chairman,  and 
a  Democrat,  is  the  present  postmaster. 


(  826  ) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   OF 
WHITE  COUNTY 

By  James  P.  Simons 


WHITE  COUNTY  was  organized  in  1834 
in  pursuance  of  an  Act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1834,  it  having  been  a  part  of 
Carroll  county  prior  to  that  date.  As  the  Tippe- 
canoe river  flows  through  the  county  and  also 
forms  part  of  the  east  boundary  line,  it  was  given 
the  name  of  White  county,  in  honor  of  Major 
Isaac  White,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Tip- 
pecanoe in  1811.  The  county  occupies  a  unique 
position  in  that  the  Tippecanoe  river  here  forms 
the  boundary  line  between  what  was  formerly  the 
great  timber  region  of  the  country,  reaching  east- 
ward to  the  Allegheny  mountains,  and  the  Grand 
Prairie  region,  stretching  westward  to  the  Rock- 
ies. Most  of  the  county  lies  in  the  Prairie  region, 
being  a  part  of  the  following  tract  ceded  to  the 
government  by  the  Pottawatomies  in  a  treaty  con- 
cluded at  St.  Mary's,  October  2,  1818: 

"Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe 
river  and  running  up  the  same  to  a  point  twenty- 
five  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the  Wabash  river, 
thence  on  a  line  as  nearly  parallel  to  the  general 
course  of  the  Wabash  river  as  practicable  to  a 
point  on  the  Vermilion  river  twenty-five  miles 
from  the  Wabash  river,  thence  down  the  Ver- 
milion river  to  its  mouth  and  thence  up  the  Wa- 
bash river  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

The  earliest  record  of  a  division  on  political 
lines  was  in  the  November  election,  1832,  when 
that  portion  of  White  county  west  of  the  Tippe- 
canoe river  still  formed  a  part  of  Carroll  county. 
In  this  election  twenty-three  votes  were  cast, 
eighteen  votes  for  the  Whig  electors  and  five  for 
the  Democratic.  It  was  several  years  after  the 
organization  of  the  county  before  political  party 
organizations  cut  much  figure,  men  being  selected 
to  local  offices  without  regard  to  politics.  As  one 
old  settler  puts  it,  "The  settlers  would  meet  at  a 
house  or  barn  raising,  a  husking  bee  or  a  log  roll- 
ing and  discuss  possible  candidates  in  a  casual 
way,  the  matter  being  taken  up  at  the  next  gath- 
ering of  the  kind  until  finally  a  ticket  was  made 
up;  and  frequently  no  opposition  ticket  was 
named." 

However,  in  presidential  years  party  lines  were 

more  closely  drawn.     The  vote  of  the  county  in 

all  these  years  was  as  follows: 

Years.  Democrat. 

1836 106 

1840 No.  Rec. 

1844 No.  Rec. 

1848 305 

1852 536 

*1856 746 


Whig.     Free  Soil. 
109 


Years. 

tl860 

1864 

Democrat 
811 

Rep.     Free  Soil 
993 

1868 

1,173            

1872 

1876 

1880 

1884 

1888 

1,003 

1,450 

1,591 

1,829 

2,017 

1,260 

1,502            .... 

1,610 

1,723 

1892 

1896 

1,896 

1,807 

2,383            

2,562 
2,679 
2,423 
1,613 

1900 

1904 

1908 

tl912 

2,510 

2,096 

2,326 

2,059 

268 
510 


*American,  42.  fBreckinridge  Dem.,  67.  JPro- 
gressive,  822. 

From  this  table  it  is  seen  that  White  county 
has  always  been  very  close  politically,  with  the 
Democrats  seeming  to  have  a  little  the  better  of 
the  votes  down  to  1860.  In  the  six  presidential 
elections  between  1856  and  1884  the  Republicans 
carried  the  county  by  small  pluralities.  Then  the 
Democrats  were  in  the  majority  in  four  elections 
and  the  Republicans  again  in  three.  In  the  cam- 
paign of  1912  it  appears  that  both  parties  lost 
votes  to  the  Progressives,  but  the  Democrats  car- 
ried the  county  by  a  plurality  of  446.  However, 
by  1914  many  of  the  Progressives  had  returned 
to  the  Republican  fold  and  that  party  had  a  plu- 
rality of  five  on  Secretary  of  State;  but  United 
States  Senator  Benjamin  F.  Shively,  who  headed 
the  State  Democratic  ticket,  carried  the  county 
by  a  plurality  of  84.  In  this  election  the  Demo- 
crats also  elected  the  County  Treasurer,  Surveyor, 
Coroner  and  two  Commissioners. 

In  the  fifty-four  years  since  1860  Democrats 
have  occupied  the  various  county  offices  as  fol- 
lows: 

Clerk— Daniel  D.  Dale,  1867  to  1875;  Samuel 
P.  Cowger,  1879  to  1887;  Jones  Brearley,  1887  to 
1895;  Samuel  L.  Callaway,  1899  to  1907,  and  Wal- 
lace Atkins,  1907  to  1911. 

Auditor— David  M.  Carson,  1885  to  1893;  Mor- 
ris J.  Holtzman,  1893  to  1901,  and  Albert  G.  Fish- 
er, 1909  to  date. 

Treasurer— Joseph  Rothrock,  1862  to  1866; 
same  again,  1868  to  1872;  Madison  T.  Didlake, 
1880  to  1884;  Robert  R.  Breckenridge,  1884  to 
1888;  Hiram  A.  B.  Moorhous,  1888  to  1892;  Julius 
W.  Paul,  1892  to  1894;  James  C.  Stockton,  1898 
to  1902;  William  F.  Brucker,  1902  to  1904,  and 
Otto  C.  Middlestadt,  1912  to  date. 

Recorder— John  S.  Hurtt,  1862  to  1866;  James 


(827) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  1 


P.  Simons,  1883  to  1891;  Bernard  A.  Vogel,  1891 
to  1895;  Charles  H.  Kleist,  1903  to  1911. 

Sheriff— Matthew  Henderson,  1860  to  1864; 
same  again,  1866  to  1870;  William  E.  Saunderson, 
1870  to  1874;  Joseph  W.  Stewart,  1882  to  1886; 
James  P.  Gwin,  1888  to  1892;  Robert  F.  Dobbins, 
1892  to  1894;  John  W.  Warner,  1898  to  1902; 
George  W.  Stephens.  1902  to  1906;  James  H.  Mc- 
Cully,  1906  to  1908;  Thomas  F.  Downey,  1913  to 
1915. 

Judge  of  White  Circuit  Court— Alfred  W.  Rey- 
nolds, 1888  to  1894. 

Prior  to  1860  a  number  of  Democrats  prominent 
in  the  early  history  of  the  county  had  filled  vari- 
ous local  offices,  among  these  being  Hon.  David 
Turpie,  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  Court,  who 
resigned  his  office  in  1854  after  holding  court  but 
one  term;  Thomas  M.  Thompson,  Ranson  Mc- 
Conahay,  Joseph  D.  Cowden,  Hugh  B.  Logan, 
Jonathan  Harbolt,  who  was  known  as  "The  Hon- 
est Squire;"  James  C.  Reynolds,  Michael  A. 
Berkey,  Elisha  Warden,  James  K.  Wilson,  George 
Cullen,  Andrew  Hanna,  Sothy  K.  Timmons  and 
Thomas  Downey,  Sr. 

The  present  Democratic  county  officers  are: 
Albert  G.  Fisher,  Auditor;  Otto  C.  Middlestadt, 
Treasurer;  Paul  Ward,  Surveyor;  Dr.  Homer  B. 
Gable,  Coroner;  Andrew  F.  Nagle  and  Marshall 
Personett,  Commissioners,  and  Henry  J.  Reid, 
County  Superintendent  of  Schools. 

The  following  White  county  Democrats  have 
been  elected  to  legislative  offices:  Rowland 
Hughes,  David  Turpie,  Thomas  Davis,  Robert 
Davis,  John  Green  Timmons,  Charles  J.  Murphy 
and  Patrick  Hays  to  the  Legislature;  Emory  B. 
Sellers  and  Thomas  W.  O'Connor  to  the  State 
Senate;  Dr.  William  S.  Haymond  to  Congress, 
and  Hon.  David  Turpie  to  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate. Of  these  Messrs.  Murphy,  Hays,  Sellers  and 
O'Connor  are  still  residents  of  the  county.  Mr. 
Murphy  has  become  prominent  in  State  politics, 
has  been  the  Tenth  district  representative  on  the 
State  Central  Comm.ittee  for  some  years,  and  is  at 
present  (1915)  a  member  of  the  Public  Service 
Commission.  Mr.  Sellers,  after  the  expiration  of 
his  senatorial  term,  was  appointed  United  States 
Di&trict  Attorney  by  President  Cleveland  and 
after  that  returned  to  the  practice  of  law  in  Mon- 
ticello.  Mr.  O'Connor  is  president  of  the  Monti- 
cello  National  Bank  and  in  1914  was  a  prominent 
candidate  before  the  Democratic  State  convention 
for  Treasurer. 

By  far  the  most  prominent  Democrat  ever  re- 
siding in  White  county  was  Hon.  David  Turpie, 
late  United  States  Senator  from  Indiana.  Mr. 
Turpie  came  to  Montieello  in  1849  and  in  his 
autobiography,  "Sketches  of  My  Own  Times," 
published  in  1903,  he  has  added  very  materially 


to  the  published  history  of  White  and  adjoining 
counties.  He  early  engaged  actively  in  politics, 
being  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1852.  He  was 
not  a  candidate  in  1854,  when  the  high  tide  of 
Know-Nothingism  swept  Indiana  Democracy  from 
power,  but  engaged  actively  in  the  campaign  of 
1856,  which  resu'ted  in  the  overthrow  of  this  un- 
American  cult  and  the  triumphant  election  of  Ash- 
bel  P.  Willard  as  Governor.  In  1858  Mr.  Turpie 
was  again  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  in  1860 
was  r'ominated  for  Lieutenant-Governor  on  the 
ticket  headed  by  Thomas  A.  Hendricks.  In  this 
campaign  he  made  an  extended  joint  canvass  with 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  Republican  candidate  for  the 
same  office.  In  1862  Mr.  Turpie  was  nominated 
for  Congress  in  his  district  and  held  a  series  of 
joint  debates  with  his  Republican  opponent,  Hon. 
Schuyler  Colfax.  In  1863  he  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  to  fill  out  the  unexpired 
term  of  Senator  Bright.  In  1864  Mr.  Turpie, 
still  a  resident  of  Montieello,  enjoyed  the  unique 
distinction  of  being  nominated  for  two  important 
offices.  He  was  again  nominated  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor  on  the  ticket  headed  by  Hon.  Joseph  E. 
McDonald,  and  while  making  his  canvass  for  that 
office  was  again  nominated  for  Congress  by  the 
Democrats  of  his  district.  He  decided  to  again 
try  conclusions  with  Mr.  Colfax  and  resigned  from 
the  State  ticket,  his  place  being  filled  by  General 
Mahlon  D.  Manson.  Mr.  Colfax  was  re-elected. 
Still  again,  in  1866,  was  Mr.  Turpie  nominated, 
and  m.ado  a  third  joint  canvass  of  the  district  with 
Mr.  Colfax,  then  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
.'■.entatives,  only  to  again  go  down  in  defeat.  These 
three  successive  nominations  as  the  candidate  of 
iha  minority  party  and  against  the  same  success- 
ful competitor,  not  only  illustrates  the  high 
esteem  in  which  Mr.  Turpie  was  held  by  the  Dem- 
ocrats of  his  district,  but  it  is  probably  unique  in 
the  political  history  of  the  State.  Some  time  after 
this  Mr.  Turpie  removed  to  Indianapolis,  where, 
in  1874,  he  was  again  elected  to  the  Legislature; 
and  later,  in  1887,  he  was  again  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  serving  two  full  terms;  but 
this  later  career  belongs  more  properly  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  Democracy  of  the  State.  White 
county  and  Montieello  Democrats  have  always 
been  proud  of  the  fact  that  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century  they  were  privileged  to  claim  this 
distinguished  Democrat  as  one  of  their  number. 
The  history  of  White  county  Democracy  cannot 
be  written  without  a  brief  reference  to  a  few 
Democrats  of  the  Jacksonian  type  who  figured  in 
its  eai'ly  history.  Among  these  were  P.  M.  Kent 
of  Brookston,  George  W.  Chamberlain  and  Benja- 
min Reynolds  of  Chalmers,  Theodore  J.  Davis  and 
Harrison  S.  Stine  of  Jackson,  Isaac  and  James  C. 
Reynolds,  Rowland  Hughes  and  Daniel  D.  Dale  of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1  9  IG 


Monticello.  Of  these  Mr.  Dale  was  probably  the 
best  orgranizer  and  the  most  tireless  political 
worker  the  county  ever  had.  He  died  in  1885. 
AH  these  and  many  others  served  the  county  in 
the  capacity  of  county  chairman  in  the  earlier 
years.  Those  serving  as  chairman  since  1880,  so 
far  as  their  names  could  be  ascertained,  were  as 
follows:  William  E.  Uhl,  Dr.  M.  T.  Didlake,  R. 
R.  Breckenridge,  A.  S.  Bordner,  D.  M.  Carson,  J. 
P.  Simons,  M.  J.  Holtzmau,  A.  D.  Gow,  L.  T.  Kent, 
G.  F.  Marvin,  Samuel  L.  Calloway,  A.  A.  Anheier 
and  W.  F.  Brucker.  During  the  presidential  cam- 
paigns of  1876,  1880,  1884  and  1888  much  stress 
was  laid  on  large  "rallies,"  pole  raisings,  march- 
ing clubs  and  torchlight  processions,  and  many 
large  and  enthusiastic  gatherings  of  these  various 
kinds  were  held.  Since  1892,  however,  more  at- 
tention has  been  given  to  thorough  organization, 
getting  an  accurate  poll  and  getting  out  the  vote 
on  election  day. 

The  first  newspaper  in  White  county  was  called 
the  Prairie  Chieftain,  founded  in  1849  by  John  K. 
Lovejoy  and  Abram  V.  Reed.  The  Chieftain  died 
in  1854  for  lack  of  sustenance.  It  was  followed 
shortly  by  the  Register,  Benjamin  F.  Tilden  ed- 
itor, and  the  Political  Frame,  R.  W.  Sill  editor, 
but  both  these  soon  joined  the  Chieftain  in  the 
happy  hunting  grounds,  to  be  succeeded  by  the 
White  County  Jacksonian  in  1857.  The  editor, 
Mr.  John  H.  Scott,  was  a  practical  newspaper  man 
and  tJie  Jacksonian  grew   rapidly   in   circulation 


and  influence.  In  1858  Mr.  Scott  died  and  the 
plant  was  sold  to  Mr.  James  W.  McEwen,  who 
changed  the  name  to  the  White  County  Democrat. 
Some  years  later  the  name  was  changed  to  The 
Constitutionalist  and  its  publication  was  contin- 
ued under  the  editorship  of  Mr.  McEwen,  A.  J. 
Kitt,  W.  B.  Hoover  and  Jasper  Keys  until  the 
plant  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1880,  when  it  sus- 
pended for  a  short  time,  to  be  succeeded  by  the 
Monticello  Times.  Cleveland  J.  Reynolds  editor. 
This  paper  ceased  publication  in  January,  1882, 
and  for  a  few  months  the  party  was  without  a 
paper.  In  June,  1882,  Harry  P.  Owens  and  W.  E. 
Uhl,  two  young  Monticello  lawyers,  resurrected 
the  paper  and  again  named  it  the  White  County 
Democrat,  and  under  this  name  the  paper  still 
continues.  Those  having  editorial  charge  since 
that  time  are  W.  S.  Hartman,  1883-4;  A.  D.  Hart- 
man,  1884-6;  John  A.  Rothrock,  1886  to  1894; 
James  P.  Simons,  1894  to  1914,  when  he  sold  his 
interest  to  Mr.  C.  F.  Foster,  who  is  the  present 
editor  (1915).  Ever  since  its  final  resurrection 
in  1882  the  Democrat  has  been  under  able  and 
aggressive  editorial  management,  enjoying  the 
confidence  of  a  large  list  of  readers  and  taking 
rank  as  one  of  the  cleanest  and  best  party  papers 
in  northern  Indiana,  and  the  publishers  have  al- 
ways had  reason  to  take  a  pardonable  pride  in  the 
belief  that  to  the  aggressiveness  and  fairness  of 
the  Democrat  could  be  attributed  much  of  the 
local  success  of  the  party,  sometimes  under  very 
adverse  circumstances. 


(  829) 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  OF 
WHITLEY  COUNTY 


BESIDES  being  distinguished  among  the  coun- 
ties of  Indiana  for  its  consistently  good 
Democratic  behavior,  Whitley  county  has 
the  honor  of  having  furnished  a  candidate  for 
governor  who  wrested  the  state  from  the  control 
of  Republicans,  where  it  had  remained  for  a 
number  of  years.  This  in  the  person  of  Thomas 
Riley  Marshall,  who  also  has  the  distinction  of 
being  twice  elected  vice-president  of  the  United 
States,  and  serving  as  presiding  officer  of  the 
senate  through  the  troublous  times  of  the  war 
with  Germany. 

Whitley  was  organized  as  a  county  in  1839,  and 
it  has  very  rarely  returned  anything  but  Demo- 
cratic majorities,  although  these  majorities  have 
been  usually  nothing  large  enough  to  brag  about, 
and  frequently  have  been  so  small  as  to  cause  a 
great  anxiety  pending  the  completion  of  official 
counts  and  tabulations. 

Although  William  Henry  Harrison  carried  the 
county  against  Van  Buren  in  1840,  when  all  In- 
diana was  exerting  herself  in  behalf  of  her  dis- 
tinguished citizen,  the  Harrison  majority  was 
only  7,  the  vote  being  98  to  91.  That  was  the 
only  Whig  majority  ever  given  by  the  party  in 
a  presidential  election,  and  up  to  now  (1918)  the 
only  Republican  majority  ever  given  in  a  presi- 
dential election  was  to  Roosevelt,  in  1904,  when 
he  carried  the  county  by  78. 

At  least  one  historian  has  figured  that  the  av- 
erage majority  of  the  Republican  successes  was 
42.  Only  twice  in  the  first  ninety  years  in  the 
history  of  Whitley  county  did  the  Republicans 
elect  their  entire  county  ticket,  but  on  several  oc- 
casions in  purely  local  elections  where  no  national 
candidates  were  being  voted  for,  and  the  office  of 
governor  was  not  being  filled,  some  scattering  Re- 
publicans were  placed  in  office.  When  this  hap- 
pened it  was  always  the  result  of  extreme  per- 
sonal popularity  or  vastly  superior  ability  over 
the  opposing  candidate. 

This  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Democratic 
majorities  have  been  exceedingly  small,  except- 
ing in  one  instance  which  all  writers  of  county 
history  have  seen  fit  to  mention  as  standing  out 
especially  prominent.  That  was  in  1870,  when 
Col.  I.  B.  McDonald,  Democratic  candidate  for 
representative,  was  elected  over  Ambrose  M. 
Trumble,  Republican.  McDonald  carried  every 
precinct  in  the  county,  a  thing  which  the  records 
show  was  never  done  before  or  since,  and  his 
majority  was  831.  The  small  Republican  major- 
ity of  1840  of  only  7  which  was  given  to  William 
Henry  Harrison,  was  reversed  into  a  majority  of 


3  for  James  K.  Polk  over  Henry  Clay  in  1844, 
Polk  receiving  219  votes  and  Clay  216.  The  vote 
of  the  county  had  increased  as  shown  by  the  re- 
turns from  189  to  435  in  the  four  years.  Where 
the  majority  was  so  very  small  it  would  not  be 
unreasonable  to  see  the  general  results  changed 
from  year  to  year,  but  the  Democrats  held  their 
lead. 

In  1848  Cass,  the  Democratic  presidential  nom- 
inee, received  355  votes,  to  318  for  Taylor,  the 
Democratic  majority  having  increased  to  37.  Con- 
sidering the  newness  of  the  territory,  the  in- 
crease in  population  and  voting  strength  was 
fairly  rapid,  and  in  1852  Pierce  was  given  568 
votes,  against  497  for  Scott,  another  Democratic 
majority  of  71. 

The  bitterness  and  intense  interest  attending 
the  election  of  1856,  because  of  the  slavery  issue, 
had  little,  or,  in  fact,  no  effect  on  the  voting  in 
Whitley  county,  party  lines  being  drawn  as  on 
ordinary  occasions.  Buchanan,  the  Democratic 
nominee,  received  851  and  Fremont  797,  the  Dem- 
ocratic lead  being  reduced  to  54,  or  a  loss  of  17  in 
four  years. 

Whitley  did  not  divide  her  vote  on  any  side 
issues  in  the  campaign  of  1860  and  only  cast  3 
votes  for  Breckinridge,  who  represented  what  was 
known  as  the  southern  wing  of  the  Democratic 
party.  Douglas  was  recognized  as  the  regular 
Democratic  nominee  and  received  1,133  votes, 
against  1,067  for  Lincoln.  In  that  year  there 
were  2,203  votes  cast  in  the  county,  a  considerable 
increase  over  four  years  before  and  raising  the 
Democratic  majority  from  54  to  66.  From  that 
time  on  the  Democratic  majorities  continued  to 
grow  and  were  large  enough  to  remain  absolutely 
safe  until  1900,  when  they  again  dropped  to  less 
than  100. 

In  his  second  election  in  1864  Lincoln  received 
in  Whitley  county  1,074  votes,  to  1,337  cast  for 
McClellan,  the  Democratic  majority  being  263. 
And  from  that  time  until  1916  the  presidential 
elections  show  results  as  follows: 

1868 — Seymour,  Democrat,  1,628;  Grant,  Re- 
publican, 1,372;  Democratic  majority,  256. 

1872 — Greeley,  Democrat,  1,650;  Grant,  Repub- 
lican,  1,401;   Democratic  majority,  249. 

1876— Tilden,  Democrat,  2,052;  Hayes,  Republi- 
can, 1,660;  Democratic  majority,  392. 

1880— Hancock,  Democrat,  2,229;  Garfield,  Re- 
publican, 1,941;  Democratic  majority,  288. 

1884 — Cleveland,  Democrat,  2,365;  Blaine,  Re- 
publican, 2,007;  Democratic  majority,  358. 


(  830) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  G  -  1  9  1  G 


1888— Cleveland,  Democrat,  2,325;  Harrison,  Re- 
publican, 2,133;  Democratic  majority,  192. 

1892— Cleveland,  Democrat,  2,222;  Harrison,  Re- 
publican, 1,951;  Democratic  majority,  271. 

1896— Bryan,  Democrat,  2,494;  McKinley,  Re- 
publican, 2,242;  Democratic  majority,  252. 

1900— Bryan,  Democrat,  2,361;  McKinley,  Re- 
publican, 2,271;  Democratic  majority,  90. 

1904— Parker,  Democrat,  2,281;  Roosevelt,  Re- 
publican, 2,359;  Republican  majority,  78. 

1908— Bryan,  Democrat,  2,493;  Taft,  Republican, 
2,302;  Democratic  majority,  191. 

1912— Wilson,  Democrat,  2,206;  Taft,  Republi- 
can, 1,082;  Roosevelt,  Progrressive,  990; 
Democratic  plurality,  1,124;  Democratic 
majority,  134. 

1916— Wilson,  Democrat,  2,510;  Hughes,  Repub- 
lican, 2,191;  Democratic  majority,  319. 

The  election  in  1904  was  the  first  time  any 
change  had  come  since  1840.  The  Democrats  had 
carried  fifteen  straight  presidential  elections,  the 
lowest  majority  in  any  one  being  3  and  the  highest 
majority  being  392,  in  1876. 

In  1878  the  Democrats  elected  a  county  treasur- 
er by  only  four  majority  and  a  county  commission- 
er by  3.  In  1848  candidates  for  county  treasurer 
tied.  In  1890  the  Republicans  elected  a  clerk  by 
two  votes,  and  in  1900  one  Democratic  candidate 
for  county  comm'ssioner  was  defeated  by  four 
votes,  while  the  candidate  for  county  assessor  was 
elected  by  only  one  majority. 

In  the  landslide  of  1904,  when  Roosevelt  defeat- 
ed Parker,  the  Republicans  had  a  much  smaller 
majority  for  their  state  ticket  than  that  given  to 
Roosevelt.  Whitley  county  elected  a  Republican 
candidate  for  sheriff  at  that  time  by  97,  while 
the  Democrats  had  a  majority  of  65  for  Robinson 
for  congress  and  a  good  safe  majority  for  all  the 
other  local  Democratic  candidates. 

In  Whitley  county  both  parties  have  been  thor- 
oughly organized.  Party  machinery  has  been 
most  efficient  on  both  sides,  which  accounts  more 
than  anything  else  for  the  consistency  with  which 
the  relative  voting  strength  has  been  recorded. 

With  the  slender  majority  recorded  by  the  Dem- 
ocrats in  1844  and  continued  down  to  1874,  the 
Republicans  were  not  allowed  to  hold  a  single 
county  office. 

In  1874  the  citizens  decided,  being  an  off  year, 
to  nominate  a  non-partisan  ticket,  and  both  Demo- 
crats and  Republicans  were  placed  upon  this  ticket 
under  the  name  of  the  "People's  Party."  It  lasted 
only  through  three  campaigns  with  dwindling  sup- 
port, and  in  1878  disappeared  entirely,  the  old  par- 
ties going  back  into  their  original  positions  with 
the  Democrats  in  the  lead. 

In  1882,  being  an  off  year,  the  Republicans  de- 
cided to  make  a  real  campaign  in  an  attempt  to 


overthrow  the  Democratic  majority.  The  Demo- 
crats were  too  well  organized,  however,  and  the 
largest  Democratic  majority  for  any  candidate 
was  222,  and  the  lowest  45. 

In  1888  the  Republicans  succeeded  in  electing 
their  candida'e  for  sheriff,  W.  W.  Hollipeter,  by  a 
majority  of  67,  as  they  did  until  1894. 

In  1892  William  F.  McNagny,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  congress,  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  337.  The  lowest  Democratic  majority  on  the 
ticket  that  year  was  191.  Only  two  years  later, 
1894,  the  entire  Republican  county  ticket  was 
elected  by  majorities  of  over  100,  while  the  state 
ticket  had  a  majority  of  64. 

In  1896  the  entire  Democratic  ticket  was  again 
elected  by  safe  majorities,  excepting  for  one  can- 
didate, and  in  1898  the  Democratic  majorities  were 
very  large. 

In  the  three  elections  following  this  the  tickets 
were  divided,  partly  Democrats  and  partly  Repub- 
licans, the  honors  being  about  even.  In  1906  the 
Republicans  elected  everything  excepting  coroner 
and  surveyor. 

These  Democrats  have  held  public  office  through 
the  votes  of  the  electors  of  Whitley  county  from 
the  first  election  to  the  present  time;  as  nearly 
as  can  be  established  by  public  records  and  news- 
paper files: 

CONGRESSMEN. 

1837-41 — John  H.  Rariden. 

1841-4.3 — Andrew  Kennedy. 

1842-47 — Andrew  Kennedy. 

1847-49— William  Rockhill. 

1849-51— Andrew  J.  Harlan. 

1851-53— Samuel  Brenton. 

1853-5.5— Ebenezer  M.  Chamberlain. 

1855-59— Samuel  Brenton. 

1859-61— Charles  Case. 

1861-63— William  Mitchell. 

1863-65— Joseph  K.  Edgerton. 

1865-67— Joseph  H.  Defrees. 

1875-79— Andrew  H.  Hamilton. 

1879-83— Walpole  G.  Colerick. 

1883-87— Robert  Lowery. 

1889-93— Charles  A.  O.  McClellan. 

lg93.95_William  F.  McNagny. 

1897-05 — James  M.  Robinson. 

1906-16— Cyrus  W.  Cline. 

STATE  SENATORS. 
1838-41— James  Trimble. 
1845-47— A.  Cuppy. 
1848-51— Henry  Day. 
1851-53- T.  Washburn. 
1853-55— S.  D.  Hall. 
1855-58— John  Weston. 
1858-63— James  R.  Slack. 
1863-69— A.  J.  Douglas. 


(831) 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


1881-85— Robert  C.  Bell. 
1885-87— E.  W.  Brown. 
1887-89—1.  B.  McDonald. 
1889-93— Fred  J.  Hayden. 
1893-97— Ochmig  Bird. 
1897-99— Louis  J.  Robilya. 
1899-1903— F.  J.  Heller. 
1911-15 — Jacob   S.  Lament. 
1915-19— Marion  H.  Maston. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

1838-39— William  Vance. 
1840-41 — Morrison  Rulon. 
1841-42— Peter  L.  Runyon. 
1842-44— Abraham  Cuppy. 
1844-45— Stephen  H.  Combs. 
1845-46— David  Rippey. 
1846-47 — James  Gilleece. 
1847-48— Henry  Swihart. 
1848-49— Samuel  Jones. 
1849-50— John  S.  Cotton. 
1850-51— Henry  Swihart. 
1851-53— David  Litchfield. 
1855-57— John  S.  Cotton. 
1857-59— Lewis  Adams. 
1859-61— John  B.  Firestone. 
1861-63— John  S.  Collins. 
1863-65— Samuel  McGauhey. 
1865-67— John  R.  Coffroth. 
1867-69— A.  J.  Douglas. 
1869-71— John  S.  Cotton. 
1871-73— L  B.  McDonald. 
1873-75— Cyrus  B.  Tulley. 
1875-77 — Thomas  Washburn. 
1877-79— William  E.  Merriman. 
1879-81— Cyrus  B.  Tulley. 
1881-85— William  Carr. 
1885-89— Martin  D.  Garrison. 
1889-93 — Andrew  A.  Adams. 
1893-95— Jacob  S.  Schrader. 
1897-99— Solomon  Wiener. 
1901-05— Levi  R.  Stookey. 
1911-15— Carlin  Myers. 
1915-17— Phil   M.   McNagny. 

COUNTY   CLERKS. 

1838-42 — Abraham  Cuppy. 
1855-59— L  B.  McDonald. 
1859-63 — William  E.  Merriman. 
1863-71— James  B.  Edwards. 
1871-75— Eli  W.  Brown. 
1879-87— James  M.  Harrison. 
1887-91— Samuel  P.  Kaler. 
1899-04— Walter  J.  Tyree. 
1910-14 — Joseph  R.  Harrison. 
1914-19— Otis  E.  Plattner. 


COUNTY  AUDITORS. 
1841-42 — Abraham  Cuppy. 
1844-55 — Thomas  Washburn. 
1859-63— John  S.  Cotton. 
1863-69— Simon  H.  Wunderlich. 
1869-74— Theodore  Reed. 
1877-81— William  H.  Rutter. 
1881-82— William  E.  Merriman. 
1882-86— Manford  D.  Yontz. 
1886-90— Chauncey  B.  Mattoon. 
1890-94 — Christopher   Souder. 
1898-1903— W.  H.  Carter. 
1910-14— Charles  E.  Kiser. 
1914-16 — Thomas  A.  McLaughlin. 

CUNTY  RECORDERS. 
1838-42 — Abraham  Cuppy. 
1859-63— Henry  Swihart. 
1863-67 — Casper  W.  Lamb. 
1867-71— David  A.  Quick. 
1871-75 — Jeremiah  S.  Hartsock. 
1883-87— Casper  W.  Lamb. 
1887-91— John  H.  Shilts. 
1891-95— John  W.  Golden. 
1899-04— Frank  Raber. 
1912-14— Joseph  F.  Yontz. 
1914-20— Albert  Bordner. 

COUNTY  SHERIFFS. 
1838 — Richard  Baughan. 
1840-44 — James  B.  Simcoke. 
1844-46 — Jacob  Thomson. 
1846-50 — Jacob  Wunderlich. 
1850-54 — James  B.  Edwards. 
1854-58— William  H.  Dunfee. 
1860-62— Adam  Avey. 
1862-66— John  Wynkoop. 
1866-70— Oliver  P.  Koontz. 
1870-74— Jacob  W.  Miller. 
1880-84— Franklin  P.  Allwein. 
1884-88 — Leander  Lower. 
1890-94^ohn  W.  McNabb. 
1896-1900— Benjamin  F.  Hull. 
.  1900-05— Edward  L.  Gallagher. 
1909-13 — Henry  A.  Schumaker. 
1913-17— Marion  Egolf. 
1917-19— James  M.  Bodly. 

COUNTY  TREASURERS. 
1840-48— Benjamin  Grable. 
1848— Joseph  H.  Pratt. 
1851-52— Jacob  Wunderlich. 
1854-56— James  T.  Long. 
1856-58— Robert  Reed. 
1858-60 — Jacob  Wunderlich. 
1862-64— John  S.  Cotton. 
1864-66— William  Reed. 
1866-70 — John  Q.  Adams. 
1870-74— Henry  McLallen. 


(  832  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18   16-1916 


1874-78— Jacob  A.  Baker. 
1878-82— Joseph  Clark. 
1882-86— Oliver  P.  Stewart. 
1886-90— Joshua  P.  Chamberlain. 
1890-Jacob  A.  Ruch. 
1890-94— John  Gross. 
1896-1901— William  E.  Myers. 
1901-05— Melvin  Blain. 
1905-07— John  W.  Brand. 
1909-13— Marion  H.  Maston. 
1913-17— Oliver  E.  Long. 

COUNTY  CORONERS. 
1838-41— Seth  A.  Lucas. 
1841-47— Asa  Shumaker. 
1847-49— David  Richmond. 
1849-51— William  Guy. 
1853-55— Adam  Avey. 
1855-63 — Benjamin  F.  Beeson. 
1863-65— William  Walter. 
1867-70— Abraham  Y.  Swigart. 
1870-74— John  B.  Firestone. 
1874-78— John  Richards. 
1878-82— William  Yontz. 
1882-94— Charles  S.  Williams. 
1896-1905- Charles  S.  Williams. 
1907-13— Jesse  H.  Briggs. 
1913-15— B.  Frank  Stickler. 
1915-19 — Jesse  H.  Briggs. 

COUNTY  SURVEYORS. 
1838-42— John  H.  Alexander. 
1842-46— Stephen  Martin. 
1846-48— George  Arnold. 
1848-50— John  H.  Alexander. 
1850-51— Jonathan  Miller. 
1856-58— Amasa  W.  Reed. 
1858-64— Eli  W.  Brown. 
1864— John  H.  Tucker. 
1864-65— Thomas  B.  Hathaway. 
1865— D.  A.  Quick. 
1865-67— Edward  A.  Mossman. 
1867-70— Cyrus  B.  Tulley. 
1870-72— Charles  D.  Moe. 
1872-74— James  E.  Dorland. 
1874-76— Herman  Thiele. 
1876-80— Levi  Adams. 


1880-82— R.  A.  Kaufman. 
1882-88— Herman  A.  Hartsock. 
1888-92- Edward  W.  Lilly. 
1892-94— Arvillus  N.  Miller. 
1894-96— Henry  Lahm. 
1896-1900— Morton  A.  Gillespie. 
1900-03— Oscar  T.  Sehinbeckler. 
1903-05— Alpheas  C.  More. 
1905-09— David  A.  Walter. 
1909-13— Henry  G.  Bollinger. 
1913-17— J.  Earl  Plummer. 
1917-19— David  A.  Walter. 

COUNTY    COMMISSIONERS. 

First  District — Joseph  Parrett,  Jr.,  Lorin 
Loomis,  James  L.  Henderson,  John  S.  Cotton, 
Henry  H.  Smith,  Price  Goodrich,  Christian  H. 
Creagen,  Alfred  J.  Koontz,  William  Dunlap,  John 
Snodgrass,  William  Dunlap,  Benjamin  F.  Thomp- 
son, Henry  Snyder,  Samuel  B.  Albright,  John 
Trier,  Henry  Norris,  Stephen  A.  Martin,  George 
A.  Bowers,  Thomas  H.  Irwin. 

Second  District — Nathaniel  B.  Gradeless,  John 
G.  Braddock,  Adam  Creager,  Henry  Knight,  Adam 
Egolf,  Adam  Creager,  Henry  S\vihart,  Andrew 
Adams,  George  Eberhard,  George  W.  Hollinger, 
Milton  B.  Emerson,  Jacob  A.  Ramsey,  William 
Tannehill,  Peter  Creager,  Henry  W.  Miller,  Peter 
S.  Hess,  Jacob  Paulus,  Robert  B.  Boyd,  Noah 
Mullendore. 

Third  District— Otho  W.  Gandy,  Joseph  Pierce, 
Daniel  B.  Rice,  Thomas  Neal,  Jacob  Nickey,  Rich- 
ard M.  Paige,  James  H.  Shaw,  George  W.  Law- 
rence, William  S.  Nickey,  William  Walker,  Fred- 
erick Nei,  Edward  Geiger,  John  M.  Mowrey. 

PROBATE  JUDGES. 
1838-46— Christopher  W.  Long. 
1848-52 — Price  Goodrich. 

COMMON  PLEAS  JUDGES. 
1852-1872— Stephen  Wildman,  James  C.  Bodley. 

CIRCUIT  COURT  JUDGES. 
Circuit  including  Whitley  and  Noble  counties- 
Charles  W.  Ewing,  John   W.   Wright,  James  W. 
Borden,   Elza   A.    McMahon,   Edward    R.   Wilson, 
Robert  Lowry,  Elisha  V.  Long,  Joseph  W.  Adair. 


(833) 


Brief  Biographies  of  Prominent 

Democrats  in  the  Several 

Counties  of  Indiana 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


PHILIP  D.  ABELL 

Mr.  Abell  has  served  as  recorder  of  Pike  county  and  has  for  many 
years  been  a  prominent  factor  in  the  educational  affairs  of  this  district  and 
is  known  throughout  the  county  as  a  man  of  sterling  qualities. 

Mr.  Abell  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Dubois  county  on  the  4th  day  of 
February,  1877.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  and,  after 
completing  the  high  school  course,  entered  Oakland  City  College  for  work  in 
the  higher  branches.  A  complete  teachers'  course  was  also  taken  at  Indiana 
State  Normal  School  of  Terre  Haute,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1901. 
Prior  to  taking  this  latter  course  of  study,  however,  he  had  been  engaged 
in  educational  work,  teaching  in  the  common  schools  of  Pike  county,  in  all. 
ten  years.  So  successful  was  he  in  this  field  of  work  that  he  later  became 
an  instructor  in  the  high  schools  of  Coe  and  Velpen,  and  here  for  seven  years 
he  taught,  continuing  a  successful  career. 

In  the  year  1912  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  recorder  for 
a  term  of  four  years,  and  at  present  his  energies  are  devoted  to  this  work. 
He   is,  however,  also  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  finding  time  to  superintend  the  cultiva- 
tion of  his  farm. 

Fraternally  he  is  allied  with  Velpen  Lodge,  No.  275,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  numbers  among  it.s  mem- 
bers many  loyal  friends. 

On  the  16th  day  of  April,  1903,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Ri.ggle,  and  she  has 
since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home  and  a  worthy  second  in  his  various  undertakings,  as  well 
as  a  charming  hostess  to  their  many  friends. 


HERMAN  F.  ADAM 
Herman  F.  Adam,  one  of  the  most  active  workers  in  the  Marion  county  Demo- 
cratic organization  and  former  chief  inspector  of  scales,  weights  and  measures  for 
the  city  of  Indianapolis,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  his  birth  having  occuiTed  in  Buecke- 
burg  on  the  24th  day  of  January,  1866,  the  son  of  William  and  Dorothea  Adam.  At 
the  age  of  nine  months,  however,  he  was  brought  to  this  country  by  his  parents,  who 
settled  in  Indianapolis.  There  he  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  and  at 
an  early  age  became  engaged  as  a  commercial  traveler,  a  work  in  which  he  was 
engaged  for  twenty  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1912  Mr,  Adam  was  elected  representative  from  Marion  county  to 
the  legislature,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Assembly  of  1913. 
The  following  year  he  was  appointed  inspector  of  weights  and  measures,  which  position  he  filled  with 
credit.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club,  the  Indianapolis  Academy  of  Music,  the 
United  Commercial  Travelers,  the  Indiana  Commercial  Travelers'  Insurance  Company,  and  is  vice- 
president  of  the  American  Travelers'  Association, 


CHARLES  A.  AITKEN 

Charles  A.  Aitken  has  served  as  clerk  of  the  Elkhart  circuit  court  and 
Elkhart  superior  court,  has  for  many  years  been  well  known  to  the  leaders 
of  the  Democratic  party  of  Goshen,  working  zealously  during  the  various 
campaigns,  sparing  neither  his  time  nor  strength  in  promoting  the  best 
interests  of  the  party. 

He  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  14th  day  of  October,  1875,  and  in  this 
State  his  childhood  and  youth  were  passed.  He  attended  the  common  schools 
of  his  district  and  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  Bristol,  later  going  to 
Chicago,  where  a  course  of  study  was  pursued  in  the  Metropolitan  College 
of  that  city. 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  1897,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Orleeta  Stoutenour 
was  solemnized  and  their  home  was  established  in  the  city  of  Goshen,  where 
they  have  since  dwelt,  gathering  about  them  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and 
acquaintances. 

Mr.  Aitken  in  the  fall  of  1910  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Elkhart  circuit 


(837) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

and  superior  courts,  assuming  the  duties  of  his  office  on  the  first  day  of  the  following  January,  his 
tenure  of  office  to  expire  on  the  31st  of  December,  1914.  In  assuming  the  duties  of  this  position  he 
applied  himself  with  conscientious  zeal  to  the  administration  of  the  affairs  in  his  charge,  using 
advanced  methods  wherever  possible,  and  in  every  way  striving  for  increased  efficiency  in  his  de- 
partment. 

Throughout   his   career  he  has  been   a   consistent  Democrat,  voting  the  ticket  and  engaging  in 
the  various  movements  for  the  promotion  of  the  principles  promulgated  by  Jefferson. 


REV.  CORNELIUS  L.  AIRHART 

Having  held  various  positions  of  responsibility  in  the  service  of  the 
commonwealth,  and  for  many  years  having  been  closely  identified  with  both 
commercial  and  religious  affairs  of  the  county,  the  Rev.  Cornelius  L.  Airhart 
is  well  known  to  the  citizens  of  Greencastle  and  vicinity. 

Mr.  Airhart  was  born  in  Boone  county,  Indiana,  September  10,  1860;  in 
the  schools  of  that  locality  received  his  education  and  at  twenty-five  years  of 
age  entered  the  university.  At  an  early  age  he  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
agriculture  and  as  a  successful  tiller  of  the  soil  he  continued  until  1912,  at 
which  time  he  retired  from  the  farm. 

On  the  10th  day  of  June,  1883,  Mr.  Airhart  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Adda  May  Canine  of  Montgomery  county,  and  their  home  was  estab- 
lished in  Boone  county,  which  remained  their  abiding  place  until  1901,  in 
which  year  they  located  in  Putnam  county. 

In  the  year  1885  Mr.  Airhart  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  the  old- 
iichool  Baptist  church,  and  in  this  field  he  has  labored  constantly  throughout 
the  succeeding  years.  While  a  resident  of  Boone  county  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  for 
three  years,  and  later  at  Roachdale,  Putnam  county,  he  was  proprietor  of  a  store. 

In  November,  1900,  Mr.  Airhart  was  elected  to  represent  Boone  county  in  the  Indiana  state  legis- 
lature and  served  in  the  following  assembly.  Four  years  previously  he  had  entered  the  race  for  joint 
senator,  but  withdrew  before  the  election.  In  the  year  1912  he  was  elected  auditor  of  Putnam  county 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  in  that  position  served  the  public  with  zeal  and  loyalty. 

On  September  20,  1911,  Mr.  Airhart  married,  secondly.  Miss  Evelyn  Van  Cleave  of  New  Market, 
Montgomery  county. 


CHARLES  T.  AKIN 

The  name  of  Akin  is  highly  esteemed  in  Sullivan  county,  being  that  of 
honored  public  officials  for  many  years  and  comprising  several  generations. 
The  present  representative  of  the  family,  Charles  T.  Akin,  was  born  in 
Carlisle,  Indiana,  on  the  27th  day  of  October,  1848.  His  grandfather,  a 
native  of  Virginia,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  state,  and  his  father,  an 
ardent  worker  in  the  early  Democracy  of  the  state,  was  the  first  native-born 
Hoosier  to  occupy  a  seat  in  the  state  legislature — serving  in  the  twenty-fifth 
session  of  this  body  and  later  being  returned  for  the  twenty-eighth,  twenty- 
ninth  and  thirtieth  general  assemblies. 

Charles  T.  Akin  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district 
and  later  continued  his  studies  at  Merom  College.    In  the  year  1880  he  repre- 
sented Sullivan  county  in  the  state  legislature.    He  was  returned  for  the  fol- 
lowing session  and  in  1890  was  elected  state  senator  from  his  district,  hav- 
ing been  nominated  by  acclamation,  and  in  the  deliberations  of  the  assembly 
which  followed  he  was  an  active  participant.    Again,  in  1910,  he  was  elected 
to  this  position,  and  served  with  characteristic  zeal. 
Since  the  days  of  his  youth  Mr.  Akin  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  during  the  campaigns  from  1882  to  1890   was   a   member   of  the   county  committee.     In 
municipal   affairs,  also,  he  has   been   vitally  interested,  having  served  on  the  school  board  and  as  a 


(838) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1  9  16 

member  of  various  organizations  for  the  betterment  of  the  community.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club  of  Carlisle — and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  Masonic  order  since  the 
year  1872. 

Mr.  Akin  is  known  as  a  successful  agriculturist  and  breeder  of  live  stock,  and  is  also  largely  in- 
terested in  general  merchandising.  On  December  18,  1890,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
M.  C.  Brace. 


JOSHUA  H.  ALLEN 

Among  the  younger  workers  in  the  ranks  of  Wayne  county  Democracy,  few  are  more  enthusiastic 
or  more  loyal  to  the  interests  of  the  party  than  Joshua  H.  Allen,  a  leading  attorney  of  Richmond. 

Mr.  Allen  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  on  the  31st  day  of  January,  1882.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  of  his  district  and  continued  his  studies  in  the  high  school  of  Hagerstown,  from 
which  he  graduated  with  the  class  of  1900.  A  course  in  law  was  pursued  at  the  University  of  Indi- 
ana Law  School  in  Indianapolis,  his  graduation  from  this  institution  occurring  in  190.5.  In  the  same 
year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Wayne  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Hagerstown.  Here  he  remained  until  the  year  1912,  at  which  time  he  located  in  Rich- 
mond, his  present  home.  From  the  22nd  day  of  Augrust,  1912,  to  January  1,  1913,  he  served  as  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  Wayne  county,  by  appointment  of  the  governor,  and  to  this  work  his  abilities  and 
energies  were  conscientiously  applied. 

He  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  an  active  and  enthusiastic  worker  in 
this  organization. 

Mr.  Allen  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  to  Democratic  principles,  and  during  the  various  campaigns 
through  which  he  has  passed  his  time  and  energies  have  been  devoted  without  stint  to  the  service  of 
the  party. 

GEORGE   ARTHUR   ALLISON 

Our  present  subject  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  24th 
day  of  March,  1876,  in  Nashville,  Brown  county,  where  he  still  resides.  His  education  was  obtained 
in  the  common  schools  of  Nashville.  His  father,  Alonzo  Allison,  has  for  more  than  twenty  years  been 
the  editor  of  the  Broken  County  Democrat,  and  from  him  the  son  imbibed  the  principles  of  Democracy. 
His  father  taught  him  the  printer's  trade,  and  he  has  since  proved  an  able  assistant  ih  the  office  of 
the  Democrat. 

When  but  thirteen  years  of  age  George  Arthur  AlRson  was  page  in  the  Indiana  state  senate.  On 
the  4th  day  of  January,  1907,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Helen  Adams,  and  to  them  has  been  born  one 
child. 

Mr.  Allison  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  and  is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Demo- 
cratic ancestors. 


GEORGE  RUST  ALSOP,  M.  D. 

Dr.  George  Rust  Alsop,  a  well-known  banker  of  Vincennes,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Virginia, 
born  on  the  19th  day  of  December,  1851.  He  attended  private  schools  in  Rappahannock  and  Spot- 
sylvania counties,  Virginia,  and  in  1873  entered  the 'Indiana  Medical  College  of  Indianapolis.  His 
studies  in  medical  science  were  continued  in  1874  and  1875  in  the  University  of  Louisville,  and  after 
his  graduation  from  this  institution  he  located  in  Knox  county,  where  his  interests  have  since  centered. 
In  April,  1878,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  township  trustee  and  in  this  capacity  served  until  1882. 
Two  years  later  he  became  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of  Knox  county,  and  in  this  position  remained 
four  years. 

In  the  year  1888  he  was  instrumental  in  organizing  the  German  National  Bank  of  Vincennes, 
and  since  that  date  has  been  cashier  and  president  of  this  institution. 

Mrs.  Alsop,  to  whom  he  was  married  April  20,  1875,  was  formerly  Miss  Nancy  Jane  McClel- 
land. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

T.  WAYNE  ANGLIN 
The  name  of  T.  Wayne  Anglin  is  familiar  to  the  citizens  of  Kosciusko  county 
as  that  of  a  leading  attorney  of  the  city  of  Warsaw. 

Mr.  Anglin  was  born  in  Kosciusko  county  on  the  14th  day  of  January,  1874,  and 

received  his  schooling  in  the  public  schools  of  the  county.    Later,  however,  his  studies 

were  continued  at  North  Manchester  College  and  at  Valparaiso   Normal  Institute. 

He  taught  in  the  public  schools  of  the  county  four  years,  and  finally  took  a  course  in 

law  at  the  Indiana  University  Law  School  at  Indianapolis,  his  graduation  from  this 

institution  occurring  in  the  year  1899.     The  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 

of   Kosciusko  county  and  entered   into  the   active  practice  of  his   profession.     His 

qualifications  for  success  in  his  chosen  work  were  marked,  and  in  the  year  1906  he 

was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  54th  judicial  circuit  for  a  term  of  two  years;  and  again  in 

1912  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  position  (being  the  only  Democrat  elected  on  the  county  ticket  that 

year),  serving  with  great  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents. 

On  the  25th  day  of  December,  1902,  his  marriage  to   Miss   Pearl   V.   Lehman  was   solemnized,  and 
her  companionship  has  since  been  of  great  worth  to  him  in  his  career. 


EDWARD  AUGUST  AUBRY 

Edward  August  Aubry  has  served  as  city  comptroller  of  Hammond,  has  been  identified  with  Lake 
county  in  various  capacities  for  a  number  of  years,  and  always  has  enjoyed  a  reputation  for  integ- 
rity and  good  service  in  whatever  relation  he  has  sustained,  either  to  private  business  or  public 
affairs.  He  was  born  at  Canton,  Ohio,  December  24,  1871,  a  son  of  August  and  Mary  Aubry.  His 
parents  were  substantial  farming  people.  In  1890  the  family  moved  to  White  county,  Indiana. 
After  a  public  school  education,  which  was  finished  while  he  lived  in  Ohio,  Mr.  Aubry  followed 
various  lines  of  work  until  August,  1895.  He  then  entered  Valparaiso  University,  where  he  spent 
one  year  in  the  department  of  pharmacy,  and  graduated  in  1897.  His  home  has  been  in  Lake  coun- 
ty since  1902.  After  coming  to  Indiana  he  worked  for  two  years  in  the  drug  business,  taught 
school  from  1892  to  1896  and  again  from  1898  until  1902,  and  in  the  latter  year  once  more  entered 
the  drug  business  as  a  pharmacist.  In  1903  he  became  a  clerk  for  the  railway  company  at  Chicago 
Junction,  and  in  1905  went  with  the  Indiana  Harbor  R.  R.  at  Calumet  Park,  remaining  until  March 
9,  1911.  On  the  latter  date  Mayor  Smalley  appointed  Mr.  Aubry  city  comptroller,  and  in  1914  he 
was  again  confirmed  in  this  position.  During  1913  Mr.  Aubry,  as  a  side-line,  built  the  Aubry  thea- 
tre at  253  Hohman  street.  This  is  one  of  the  small  but  handsome  and  well-equipped  places  of  amuse- 
ment of  the  city,  seating  300  persons. 

Mr.  Aubry  married  Miss  Mary  Paschall  of  Rochester,  Ind.,  a  daughter  of  Rachel  and  Henry 
Paschall,  a  farmer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aubry  are  members  of  All  Saints  church.  Since  1898  he  has 
been  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Maceabee,  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Hammond  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


JUDGE   H.   CLARENCE   AUSTILL 

Holding  a  position  in  the  front  rank  of  the  legal  profession  of  Madison  county  and  having  spent 
many  years  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth.  Judge  H.  Clarence  Austill  has  fairly  won  the  high 
reputation  which  he  holds  throughout  the  county  of  Madison  and  in  the  legal  profession  of  the  state. 

Judge  Austill  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  in  1876.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Elwood 
and  continued  his  studies  in  the  legal  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor.  Pol- 
lowing  his  graduation  from  that  institution  in  the  year  1898,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Madison 
county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  In  the  following  year  his  marriage 
to  Miss  Gloy  L.  Anderson  was  solemnized,  and  the  home  then  established  by  them  has  extended  hos- 
pitality to  many  friends  throughout  the  county. 

In  the  year  1898,  soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  Judge  Austill  was  appointed  deputy  prose- 
cuting attorney,  a  position  he  occupied  for  two  years.  Pour  years  later  he  was  elected  city  attorney 
of  Elwood.  He  has  also  served  as  judge  of  the  superior  court  and  in  all  these  positions  of  trust  he 
established  a  reputation  for  conscientious  service. 


(840) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


LEONARD  MORGAN  BANE 

Leonard  Morgan  Bane  is  a  prominent  young  attorney  of  Ft.  Wayne,  who,  though 
he  has  practiced  but  six  years  in  this  city,  has  won  for  himself  a  place  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  legal  profession  of  the  community  and  is  permitted  to  practice  in  the 
various  state  courts  and  the  United  States  circuit  court  for  his  district. 

He  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  8th 
day  of  November,  1880.  There  his  childhood  was  spent,  and  he  attended  the  common 
schools  of  his  locality,  later  graduating  from  Madison  Academy  at  Uniontown,  Pa. 
The  ensuing  six  years  were  spent  as  a  teacher  in  the  common  schools  of  that  State, 
and  at  the  close  of  his  period  he  entered  the  university  at  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  for  the 
purpose  of  studying  law.  After  his  graduation  from  this  institution  he  located  in 
the  city  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  here  his  practice  has  been  built  up  and  his  interests  centered. 

He  has  proved  an  active  citizen,  zealous  in  his  support  of  the  various  movements  which  have 
risen  for  the  betterment  of  the  community,  physically  and  morally,  and  at  all  times  a  loyal  worker 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  Democratic  party.  In  the  year  1914  he  was  candidate  for  the  nomina- 
tion for  state  senator  from  Allen  county. 

Mr.  Bane  is  an  attendant  of  the  Christian  church  and  an  active  member  of  the  Ft.  Wayne 
Commercial  Club,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Order  of  Moose,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Buffalos. 

Mr.  Bane  is  unmarried,  but  is  well  known  socially  in  the  city  and  has  among  his  many  ac- 
quaintances a  large  circle  of  friends. 


rman  of 


ELMORE  BARCE 

Elmore  Barce  was  born  in  Will  county,  Illinois,  on  the  5th  day  of  De- 
cember, 1872,  and  his  parents,  Lyman  M.  Barce  and  Rebecca  F.  Barce,  were 
of  the  old  Puritan  stock  of  Massachusetts.  The  grandfather  came  west  in 
the  year  1857  and  settled  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  having  lost  four  sons 
who  were  followers  of  the  sea.  Two  of  his  remaining  boys  entered  the  Union 
army  in  the  100th  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Benton  county  in  the 
spring  of  1875,  settling  on  the  prairies  north  of  the  present  to\vn  of  Fowler. 
He  was  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  an  honored  and  respected  man  in,  his  community 
and  became  trustee  of  Union  township. 

Elmore  Barce  received  a  common  school  education  and  later  graduated 
from  the  high  school  in  Goodland.  After  some  apprenticeship  served  in  a 
law  office,  and  after  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  Newton  and  Benton 
counties  for  six  years  and  being  editor  of  the  Fowler  Republican  for  three 
years,  he  entered  the  practice  of  law,  in  the  fall  of  1903,  at  Fowler,  where  he 
has  resided  ever  since. 

About  eight  years  ago  he  entered  the   Democratic  ranks  and  was  later  selected 
the    Democratic   party   of   Benton   county. 

Mr.  Barce  is  a  Mason,  a  Knight  of  Pythias,  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Historical  Society  and 
the  American  Historical  Association,  and  is  a  contributor  at  times  to  the  Indiana  Magazine  of  His- 
tory. He  is  married  and  resides  at  Fowler.  His  only  son,  Joseph  Edward  Barce,  is  now  in  Culver 
Military  Academy. 

JOSEPH  K.  BARCLAY 
Descended  from  a  long  line  of  Democratic  ancestors  and  being  the  nephew  of  nine  illustrious 
Democratic  uncles,  Joseph  K.  Barclay  has  maintained  the  traditions  of  the  family  and  is  recognize<l 
as  a  leader  in  the  Democracy  of  the  state.  He  was  born  in  Vernon,  Indiana,  on  the  18th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1883,  and  received  his  schooling  in  the  city  of  Bloomington.  Following  his  graduation  from 
the  high  school  he  entered  Indiana  University  for  continued  study,  taking  a  four  years'  course  and 
graduating  in  1905.  The  following  year  he  entered  the  University  of  Minnesota,  but  in  1908  re- 
turned to  Indiana  University  for  a  course  in  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  year  following. 
Immediately  thereafter  he  engaged  in  active  practice  in  Bloomington,  and  at  once  evinced  marked 
ability  and  zeal  in  his  work.  In  the  year  1912  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  Monroe 
county,  running  six  hundred  votes  ahead  of  his  ticket  and  carrying  the  county  by  nearly  thirteen 
hundred  votes. 


(841) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Mr.  Barclay  has  ever  been  active  in  the  service  of  the  party,  and  was  secretary  of  the  county  com- 
mittee in  1908  and  1910,  and  chairman  of  that  body  in  1912.  During  his  college  days  he  was  a  noted 
athlete  and  champion  mile  runner  for  the  Chicago  and  Philadelphia  clubs. 

On  September  17,   1913,  Mr.  Barclay  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eleanor  Bowles. 


FRED  BARNETT 

Mr.  Barnett  has  served  with  credit  as  city  judge  of  Hammond.  He  is  one  of  the  most  active 
workers,  not  only  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  in  municipal  affairs  as  well.  He  was 
born  in  Hallsville,  Dewitt  county,  Illinois,  March  19,  1881.  His  legal  education  was  received  at  the 
niinois  College  of  Law  of  Chicago,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1907.  On  the  29th  day  of 
October,  of  the  same  year,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Edna  McKinney,  and  their  home 
was  established  in  Hammond.  In  1909  he  was  elected  city  judge  of  Hammond  for  a  four-year 
term,  and  at  the  expiration  of  this  period  was  re-elected,  his  present  term  to  expire  with  the  close 
of  1917.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  chamber  of  commerce  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Modem 
Woodmen  of  America,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Chapter,  Knights  Templar  and  the  Mystic  Shrine. 
Is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church. 


COLONEL  JOHN  T.  BARNETT 

Col.  John  T.  Barnett,  while  born  in  Hendricks  county,  is 
really  claimed  by  Marion  county  on  account  of  his  residence 
and  various  business  interests  in  Indianapolis.  The  colonel 
was  the  first  man  in  Hendricks  county  to  graduate  from  the 
United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  N.  Y.;  the 
second  to  command  a  regiment  in  a  war,  and  the  only  Demo- 
cratic colonel  in  the  Spanish-American  war  from  the  State 
of  Indiana.  He  has  had  a  long  and  varied  career  in  the  serv- 
ice of  his  country,  and  since  his  retirement,  on  account  of 
physical  disability,  he  has  been  no  less  active  in  civil  life. 

The  colonel  was  born  three  miles  west  of  Danville,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1851,  on  the  farm  which  his  father,  William  Bar- 
nett, entered  from  the  Government.  His  parents  were  Wil- 
liam and  Nancy  (Buchanan)  Barnett,  his  father  a  native  of 
Virginia  and  his  mother  a  direct  descendant  of  George  Bu- 
chanan, the  eminent  Scottish  scholar,  historian  and  poet. 
His  father  lived  to  the  age  of  71  and  his  mother  79. 

Colonel  Barnett  received  his  early  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  township  and  the  old  Danville  Academy. 
After  teaching  school  a  year  he  entered  Asbury  (now  De- 
Pauw)  University  in  1871,  completing  the  freshman  year 
with  the  class  of  1875.  Receiving  an  appointment  to  the 
U.  S.  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  upon  the  reconamendation  of  Gen.  John  Coburn,  then 
Congressman,  he  entered  the  academy  June,  1873,  graduating  in  June,  1878,  number  fourteen  in  his 
class,  standing  especially  high  in  mathematics  and  allied  subjects.  Colonel  Barnett  was  obliged  to 
remain  out  of  the  academy  for  one  year  on  account  of  severe  illness  from  typhoid  fever.  He  was 
assigned  to  5th  U.  S.  Cavalry  as  2nd  lieutenant. 

After  the  customary  graduating  leave  of  absence  he  joined  the  5th  U.  S.  Cavalry,  October  1st, 
1878,  at  Fort  D.  A.  Russell,  near  Cheyenne,  Wyo.  He  was  in  active  service  during  the  next  eight 
years  and  served  at  various  posts  and  on  detached  duty  in  Wyoming  and  Texas. 

In  1886  he  was  compelled  to  retire  from  active  service  on  account  of  disability  incurred  in  the 
line  of  duty,  and  is  now  on  the  retired  list  of  the  U.  S.  Army. 

After  his  retirement  he  settled  in  Danville,  and  in  1893  removed  to  Indianapolis.  His  health 
having  somewhat  improved,  he  moved  to  Piqua,  Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1894;  and,  engaging  in  the 
hardware  business,  became  the  principal  owner,  president  and  manager  of  the  Barnett  Hardware 
Co.  at  Piqua,  remaining  as  such  until  1899,  when  he  disposed  of  this  business  and  returned  to  In- 
dianapolis, where  he  has  since  resided.     Upon  his  return  to  Indianapolis  he  engaged  in  the  pharma- 


(842) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

ceutical  business  until  a  return  of  his  old  disease  caused  him  to  give  it  up.  Improving  again  in 
health,  he  engaged  in  his  present  real  estate,  loan  and  insurance  business  at  50  North  Delaware 
street,    Indianapolis. 

In  1893  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Matthews  assistant  inspector-general  of  the  Indiana  Na- 
tional Guard,  with  the  rank  of  major,  which  position  he  held  until  1894,  resigning  on  account  of 
absence  from  the  state. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  Colonel  Barrett  offered  his  services  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  and  the  Governors  of  Indiana  and  Ohio.  The  Governor  of  Indiana  gladly  availed 
himself  of  his  valuable  services,  appointing  him  colonel  and  commander  of  the  l.')9th  Indiana  Volun- 
teer Infantry  in  May,  1898,  and  he  at  once  took  his  regiment  to  Camp  Alger,  Va.  The  regiment 
was  stationed  at  Camp  Alger,  Va.,  Thoroughfare  Gap,  Va.,  Cainp  Meade,  Pa.,  and  was  mustered  out 
of  service  at  Camp  Mount,  Indianapolis,  about  the  middle  of  November,  1898.  While  at  Camp  Al- 
ger, Colonel  Barnett  commanded  the  2nd  Division  of  the  Second  Army  Corps  for  a  short  time  and 
his  brigade  for  about  half  of  the  time  he  was  in  the  service. 

On  December  18,  1879,  Colonel  Barnett  married  Emma  Charlotte  Piersol.  the  only  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Elizabeth  Piersol,  a  prominent  family  of  Hendricks  county,  Isaac  Piersol  being  a  suc- 
cessful merchant  and  banker  of  Danville,  Indiana.  To  Colonel  and  Emma  C.  Barnett  two  children 
were  born,  Wm.  P.,  who  died  at  birth,  and  Chester  P.,  born  January  14,  1887.  Emma  C.  Barnett 
died  in  May,  1892,  and  the  following  year  Colonel  Barnett  married  Cora  B.  Campbell,  daughter  of 
L.  M.  Campbell,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Danville,  Indiana. 

Chester  P.  Barnett,  son  and  only  child  of  the  colonel,  is  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father, 
having  graduated  at  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  and  is  now  a  2nd  lieutenant 
in  the  15th  U.  S.  Cavalry,  stationed  at  Fort  Bliss,  El  Paso,  Texas.  Chester  commanded  a  battalion, 
with  the  rank  of  major,  in  the  1st  Indiana  National  Guard  in  the  border  warfare  with  Mexico.  He 
has  an  estate  of  some  sixty  thousand  dollars  in  Hendricks  county.  He  was  married  in  1911  to  Kath- 
erine  Davis  Brown,  granddaughter  of  ex-Senator  Henry  Gassaway  Davis  of  West  Virginia.  To 
their  union  a  son,  Davis   Piersol   Barnett,  was  born  in  February,  1913. 

Colonel  Barnett  was  a  member  of  the  Sigma  Chi  Greek  letter  fraternity  while  in  DePauw  Uni- 
versity, and  was  president  of  the  Alumni  Chapter  at  Indianapolis,  for  one  year.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Sons  of  Revolution  and  served  as  its  president  and  has  been  on  the  board  of  managers  since 
1899;  has  belonged  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  since  he  was  21  years  of  age.  As  a  member  of  the  cham- 
ber of  commerce  he  is  chairman  of  its  military  committee.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Military  Order  of 
Foreign  Wars,  Spanish  War  Veterans  and  Spanish  War  Camp,  of  all  of  which  he  has  been  the  com- 
mander. In  politics  the  colonel  has  always  been  identified  with  the  Democratic  party  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Democratic  club.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Central  Christian  church.  Colonel  Barnett  leads  a 
very  busy  life  and  useful  career  and  has  made  a  name  for  himself  in  his  profession. 


HENRY  A.  BARNHART 
Henry  A.  Barnhart,  Democrat,  of  Rochester,  was  born  at  Twelve  Mile, 
Ind.,  September  11,  1858,  the  son  of  a  German  Baptist  minister,  and  his 
family  consists  of  two  sons.  Deal  L.  Barnhart,  editor  and  publisher  of  the 
Rochester  Sentinel;  Lieut.  Hugh  A.  Barnhart,  of  the  Regular  Army;  and  a 
foster  daughter,  the  wife  of  Attorney  Henry  Stewart  Bailey,  of  Peru,  Mrs. 
Barnhart  having  died  in  1916.  After  finishing  his  education  he  taught  school 
several  years,  was  then  elected  surveyor  of  Fulton  county,  and  a  year 
later,  in  1886,  purchased  the  Rochester  Sentinel,  of  which  he  is  still  owner. 
He  has  been  president  of  the  Rochester  Telephone  Company  since  its  or- 
ganization in  1895;  president  of  the  National  Independent  Telephone  .As- 
sociation; director  of  the  Indiana  Bank  and  Trust  Company;  director  of 
the  Indiana  State  Prison;  trustee  of  the  Northern  Hospital  for  the  Insane; 
president  of  both  the  Democratic  and  the  Northern  Indiana  Editorial  Asso- 
ciations; and  was  long  a  member  of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Com- 
mittee and  executive  committee  thereof.  He  was  elected  in  1908  to  fill  a 
vacancy  in  the  Sixtieth  Congress,  caused  by  the  death  of  Hon.  A.  L.  Brick,  and  was  re-elected  to  the 
Sixty-first,  Sixty-second,  Sixty-third,  Sixty-fourth  and  Sixty-fifth  Congresses,  and  for  six  years  of 
this  service  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Printing  and  always  active  in  progressive  legislative 
endeavor.     He  never  had  opposition  for  any  of  his  seven  nominations  for  Congress  and  was  defeated 


(843) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191G 

in  his  party  disaster  in  1918,  although  he  ran  considerably  ahead  of  his  party  ticket  in  the  district 
Which  has  always  been  largely  Republican.  In  addition  to  his  newspaper,  telephone  and  political 
activities,  Mv.  Barnhart  has  always  been  interested  in  farming  and  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  near 
Rochester  to  which  he  gives  a  good  deal  of  his  time  and  attention.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  and  of  the  orders  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  for  the  latter  of  which 
he  was  long  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  auditors.  He  has  always  been  active  in  public  affairs 
and  constantly  an  advocate  for  better  conditions  in  the  public  service  and  better  possibilities  for  the 
people  generally. 

H.  S.  K.  BARTHOLOMEW 

H.  S.  K.  Bartholomew  was  born  in  Elkhart  county,  October  8,  1862.  He  attended  the  district 
schools  until  he  was  sixteen.  He  also  attended  Middlebury  high  school  two  winters  and  three  terms 
of  ten  weeks  each  at  Valparaiso  normal  school,  after  which  he  taught  school  several  terms. 

From  1887  to  1899  he  engaged  in  farming  and  from  August,  1899,  to  March,  1901,  was  a  member 
of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  South  Bend  Times.  From  March,  1901,  to  June,  1904,  he  was  the  owner 
and  editor  of  the  Warsaw  Union,  Warsaw,  Ind.  From  September,  1905,  he  served  about  six  years  on 
the  staff  of  the  Goshen  Democrat.     At  the  present  time  he  is  engaged  in  farming. 

For  twelve  years  Mr.  Bartholomew  has  been    president   of   the    Elkhart   Historical    Society. 


JUDGE  PLINY  WEBSTER  BARTHOLOMEW 

For  more  than  a  score  of  years  the  name  of  Pliny  W.  Bartholomew  has  been  a 
familiar  one  to  the  citizens  of  Indianapolis,  and  his  reputation  as  a  jurist  and  judge 
is  so  firmly  established  that  no  introduction  is  needed. 

He  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  that 
State  on  the  4th  day  of  August,  1840.  In  1864  he  lived  in  Saratoga  county.  New 
York.  His  education  was  received  in  the  schools  of  the  East,  and  he  attended  Union 
College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  where  he  graduated,  receiving  the  degrees  of  A.  B. 
and  A.  M. 

In  the  year  1866  he  came  to  Indianapolis,  and  on  the  30th  day  of  January,  1873, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Belle  Smith  of  Crawfordsville,  Ind.  Since 
1866  he  has  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  and  so  successful  has  he  been  that  in  the  year  1890  he  was 
elected  judge  of  the  superior  court,  a  position  which  he  held  until  October  26,  1896.  In  November,  1908, 
he  was  again  elected  judge  of  the  superior  court,  and  served  in  this  capacity  until  December,  1914.  He 
is  an  elder  in  Memorial  Presbyterian  church,  past  grand  representative  and  past  chancellor  of 
Marion  Lodge  No.  1,  Knights  of  Pythias;  on  the  committee  of  education  in  the  Indianapolis  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce;  a  member  of  the  American  and  Indiana  State  Bar  associations,  Indiana  Demo- 
cratic Club;  past  grand  dictator  and  grand  treasurer  of  the  Knights  of  Honor. 


FRED   E.   BARRETT 

It  was  not  until  Fred  E.  Barrett  of  Indianapolis  began  his  work  of  obtaining  state-wide  recog- 
nition for  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club  that  he  became  known  in  the  circles  of  Democracy,  but  it  was 
only  a  short  time  thereafter  until  he  had  fought  his  way  to  the  position  of  Democratic  county  chair- 
man. And  the  future  holds  much  in  store  for  Mr.  Barrett  and  for  Democracy  in  Indiana,  for  Mr. 
Barrett  is  one  of  the  aggressive  young  Democrats  of  the  state. 

Fred  Barrett  got  his  first  peep  at  the  world  in  Greenfield,  Ind.,  on  January  12,  1882.  His  life 
was  that  of  the  average  boy  of  the  small  city,  but  he  had  determined  to  become  an  attorney,  and  it 
was  with  this  determination  that  he  fought  his  way  through  school.  As  is  the  result  of  such  am- 
bition and  endeavor  in  most  instances,  Mr.  Barrett  was  successful,  and  success  has  continued  to 
shine  upon  him  in  his  private  law  practice  in  Indianapolis. 

Probably  the  most  distinctive  work  for  which  Mr.  Barrett  has  become  known  is  his  work  with 
the  Indiana  Democratic  Club.  Until  his  election  to  the  presidency  the  club  had  not  obtained  general 
recognition  as  a  state-wide  organization  and  Indiana  Democracy  suffered  to  this  extent  in  its  fight 
with  the  opponents  of  the  great  cause.  But  Mr.  Barrett  went  to  work,  gave  his  time,  his  study  and 
his  effort  to  the  club  and  concluded  an  administration  as  president  which  started  the  club  forward. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


Mr.  Barrett  makes  his  home  in  Indianapolis  at  the  present  time.  He  served  his  party  as  city 
attorney  for  the  city  of  Indianapolis  until  his  private  practice  compelled  him  to  give  his  attention 
to  this  work.  His  effort  will  be  known  to  future  Democrats,  as  his  period  of  service  extends  a  long 
distance  into  the  future. 


HOWARD  E.  BARRETT 

A  leading  attorney  of  Rush  county  and  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Democracy  of  this  locality  is  Howard  E.  Barrett  of  Rushville. 

Mr.  Barrett  was  born  in  Hancock  county,  Indiana,  on  the  23d  day  of 
March,  1862.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  the  Spice- 
land  Academy  and  later  entered  Valparaiso  University,  where  both  the 
commercial  and  law  courses  were  taken.  Following  his  graduation  from 
this  institution  on  the  27th  day  of  May,  1885,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Rush  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  the  law. 

On  the  14th  day  of  April,  1887,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Mi.ss 
Catherine  Veatch  of  Oaklandon,  and  their  home,  then  established  in  Rush- 
ville, has  extended  hospitality  to  many  friends. 

In  the  year  1910  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  attorney  for  a  term  of 
four  years,  and  in  this  capacity  he  has  demonstrated  his  abilities  as  a  jurist 
and  his  loyalty  to  the  community  which  he  serves.  The  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  this  office  has  been  conducted  with  the  same  conscientious  zeal 

which  has  characterized  his  work  in  private  practice,  and  he  has  fairly  won  the  high  esteem  ren- 
dered him  by  his  constituents  and  the  community  at  large.  At  the  primary  election  in  1916  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Democrats  for  the  position  of  senator  of  the  district  composed  of  Rush,  Hancock 
and  Decatur  counties,  receiving  a  majority  of  the  votes  in  these  counties.  He  was,  however,  defeated 
at  the  November  election. 

In  some  things  Mr.  Barrett  is  known  as  a  conservative  man,  but  in  movements   affecting  the 
progress  and  development  of  Rush  county  and  its  moral  uplift  he  is  in  the  front  rank  of  the  workers. 

Politically  he  has  consistently  adhered  to  the  tenets  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  sought  to  promul- 
gate these  principles  by  precept  and  by  example. 


OTTO  C.  BASTIAN 

Otto  C.  Bastian  was  bom  in  New  York  state  June  8,  1864,  and  received 
a  public  school  and  normal  school  education  in  that  state.  He  then  took  up 
the  drug  business  at  Danville,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1887  opened  his  store  in  South 
Bend,  Indiana. 

He  has  been  very  active  in  both  party  and  civic  affairs  during  the  past 
fifteen  years,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  public-spirited  men  in  the 
city.  He  was  president  of  the  board  of  public  works  from  1910  to  1914,  and 
during  that  time  great  projects  that  had  been  in  contemplation  were  carried 
out.  A  new  water  station  was  built,  two  trunk  sewers  constructed,  and  new 
streets  opened.  The  Washington  street  elevation  was  constructed  and  a 
vast  saving  was  made  through  using  gravel  instead  of  concrete  for  street 
foundations. 

Mr.  Bastian  was  president  of  the  old  South  Bend  Business  Men's  Asso- 
ciation, and  it  was  directly  through  his  efforts,  seconded  by  other  enterpris- 
ing men,  that  the  chamber  of  commerce  was  established;  and  he  served  in 
the  board  of  directors  for  four  years.    No  man  has  the  welfare  of  South  Bend  more  at  heart. 

Mr.  Bastian  is  always  an  active  Democrat.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  notable  state  convention  of 
1888,  and  has  attended  nearly  all  state  and  congressional  conventions  since,  as  well  as  judicial  con- 
ventions.    He  is  always  active  in  campaigns  and  a  loyal  supporter  of  his  party. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  Elks,  the  Indiana  Club  and  several  German  organizations..  He 
is  married,  his  wife's  maiden  name  being  Una  Bier  hart. 


(  845) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


JUDGE  CHARLES  S.  BATT 

Throughout  the  state  of  Indiana,  Judge  Charles  S.  Batt  is  known  as  a  brilliant  light  in  the 
legal  profession  and  the  author  of  improved  methods  of  procedure  in  the  courts  of  Terre  Haute  and 
Vigo  county. 

Judge  Batt  was  born  in  Salem,  Washington  county,  Indiana,  on  the  second  day  of  February, 
1872.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  New  Albany,  graduating  from  the  high  school  of  that 
city.  In  the  year  1901  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor, 
graduating  three  years  later,  having  taken  post-graduate  work.  In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  Vigo  county  and  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession   at  Terre   Haute. 

In  the  fall  of  1909  he  was  elected  city  judge  of  this  place  with  a  majority  of  over  twelve 
hundred  votes  in  a  normally  Republican  community,  and  his  ability  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
pertaining  to  this  office  is  well  known.  In  the  year  1914  he  was  appointed  city  attorney,  and  in  this 
capacity  is  demonstrating  anew  his  zeal  in  the  public  service. 

Since  he  attained  his  majority,  he  has  been  a  consistent  adherent  to  Democratic  principles,  and 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  various  campaigns  through  which  he  has  passed,  being  much  in  de- 
mand as  a  political  speaker  throughout  his  congressional  district.  In  the  year  1912  he  was  elected 
alternate  to  the  Baltimore  convention  and  served  in  the  place  of  the  regular  delegate  to  this  notable 
gathering.  He  is  also  an  extensive  farmer,  being  one  of  the  largest  land  owners  in  the  county,  spe- 
cializing in  feed  cattle. 

He  is  affiliated  with  the  Indianapolis  Consistory,  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  32d  degree; 
Zorah  Temple  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  of  Terre  Haute,  and  is  past  eminent  commander  of  the  Terre 
Haute  Commandery  No.  16,  Knights  Templar. 

Mrs.  Batt,  to  whom  he  was  married  July  10,  1907,  was  formerly  Miss  Florence  M.  Wyeth.  By  her 
gracious  manner  and  charm  in  dispensing  the  hospitality  of  their  home,  she  has  been  a  large  factor  in 
drawing  about  them  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 


FRED  W.  BEAL 

Fred  W.  Beal,  Democratic  candidate  for  the  nomination 
of  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Vigo  county,  was  reared  in 
Vigo  county.  He  is  the  son  of  Mark  and  Margaret  A.  Beal, 
and  the  grandson  of  Uncle  Jerry  Beal,  a  pioneer  settler  of 
Vigo  county.  Mr.  Beal  received  his  early  education  in  the 
country  and  city  schools  of  Vigo  county  and  graduated  from 
the  Terre  Haute  high  school  in  1889,  winning  the  scholarship 
to  Wabash  College.  He  attended  the  Indiana  State  Normal 
School  and  afterwards  taught  school  in  this  county.  He  was 
a  resident  of  Otter  Creek  township  when  admitted  to  the  bar. 
He  attended  the  University  of  Michigan  Law  School  and 
graduated  therefrom  in  1893.  Mr.  Beal  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1892,  a  year  before  his  graduation.  He  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  the  office  of  Davis,  Reynolds  &  Davis,  and 
continued  with  them  until  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Sant 
C.  Davis,  who  was  a  brother  of  Judge  S.  B.  Davis,  and  this 
partnership  continued  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Davis  in  1897. 
In  1898  Mr.  Beal  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Vigo 
county  and  held  the  office  from  1899  to  1903.  In  1908  Mr. 
Beal  was  nominated  by  his  party  as  a  candidate  for  state 
senator  when  it  was  found  that  Louis  P.  Seeburger  was  not 
eligible  to  make  the  race,  and  was  elected. 
While  in  the  Legislature  Mr.  Beal  was  assigned  to  some  of  the  most  important  committees  in 
the  senate.  He  was  a  member  of  the  finance,  judiciary,  mines  and  mining  and  labor  committees.  On 
the  latter  committee  he  served  as  chairman.  Some  of  the  most  important  labor  legislation  came  up 
during  the  sessions  while  he  was  there.  Mr.  Beal  introduced  for  organized  labor  a  bill  known  as  the 
employers'  liability  act  and  he  succeeded  in  having  it  passed  in  1911.  This  law  eliminates  the  fellow- 
servant  rule  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  laws  for  the  protection  of  life  and  limb  of  the  laboring  people 
of  this  State.     Mr.   Beal  supported   all  measures  in   favor  of  labor,   and   on   the  mining  committee 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


gave  his  support  to  the  weekly  wage  law,  the  ventilation  bill  and  other  measures  directed  towards  the 
safety  and  welfare  of  the  miners  of  the  State.  He  supported  measures  also  for  the  protection  of  the 
railroad  men,  introducing  the  switchmen's  bill  and  being  instrumental  in  having  it  pass.  He  sup- 
ported all  measures  for  the  benefit  of  public  health  and  for  the  benefit  and  development  of  the  agri- 
cultural interests  of  the  State.  As  a  member  of  the  finance  committee  he  succeeded  in  getting  neces- 
sary appropriations  for  the  proper  maintenance  of  the  Indiana  State  Normal  School.  He  was  in- 
strumental in  having  a  bill  passed  changing  the  method  of  electing  school  trustees  of  Terre  Haute, 
procuring  the  enactment  of  a  law  whereby  school  trustees  for  Terre  Haute  are  elected  by  the  direct 
vote  of  the  people. 

His  grandfather,  Jeremiah  Beal,  came  from  Virginia,  and  was  a  lifelong  Democrat,  with  which 
party  all  of  his  descendants  have  been  affiliated  and  have  been  enthusiastic  workers.  Mr.  Beal  has 
always  been  a  great  admirer  of  William  Jennings  Bryan.  He  attended  the  Democratic  national  con- 
vention in  Chicago  in  1896  and  heard  Mr.  Bryan  deliver  the  famous  speech  which  caused  his  nomina- 
tion at  that  convention.  Mr.  Beal  also  attended  the  Democratic  national  conventions  at  Chicago  in 
1892  and  at  St.  Louis  in  1904,  and  in  1912  he  attended  the  Democratic  national  convention  at  Balti- 
more where  Woodrow  Wilson  was  nominated.  Mr.  Beal  has  always  been  a  great  admirer  of  Woodrow 
Wilson  and  exerted  himself  in  behalf  of  his  nomination.  Mr.  Beal,  with  the  Indiana  Democratic 
Marching  Club,  made  the  trip  to  the  inauguration  at  Washington  and  saw  Mr.  Wilson  take  the  oath  of 
office. 


STUART  A.  BEALS 

In  these  days  of  advanced  thought  and  scientific  educational  methods  the 
man  who  has  in  his  charge  the  task  of  training  the  infant  minds  of  the  com- 
munity and  guiding  the  later  studies  of  incipient  manhood  and  womanhood 
must  be  one  of  proven  worth  in  various  directions.  Not  only  must  he  be 
well  educated  in  the  actual  studies  taught  in  the  classroom,  but  must  have 
that  broader  education  which  comes  of  ripe  experience  and  constant  contact 
with  the  practical  mental  and  physical  problems  of  youth.  That  such  a 
man  has  been  found  by  the  citizens  of  Crawford  county,  Indiana,  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  he  has  served  for  eleven  years  as  county  superin- 
tendent of  schools.  This  gentleman  is  Stuart  A.  Beals,  a  native  of  Indiana, 
whose  birth  occurred  on  the  31st  of  October,  1871.  On  the  28th  of  May. 
1899,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louisa  E.  McCullum.  Mr.  Beals 
attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  the  county,  later  taking  the  full 
normal  course.  He  was  for  a  term  of  years  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
Leavenworth  schools,  thus  demonstrating  his  eminent  fitness  for  the  position 
which  he  now  holds.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  Crawford  Lodge  No.  470,  F 
Wyandotte  Lodge  No.  268,  K.  of  P. 


id  A.  M.,  and  with 


THOMAS  O.  BECK 

Thomas  O.  Beck,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Boone  county  and  resident  of  the  city 
of  Lebanon,  was  born  in  the  Hoosier  State  on  the  24th  day  of  November,  1858.  His 
childhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  Boone  county,  and  on  the  1st  day  of  August,  1881, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Luella  Phillips,  whose  home  was  also  in  Lebanon.  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Beck  received  their  education  in  the  schools  of  Lebanon,  he  graduating  from 
the  high  school.  He  has  for  many  years  been  successfully  engaged  as  a  farmer  and 
stock-raiser,  and  is  in  touch  with  the  various  new  movements  for  the  aid  of  the  mod- 
ern, scientific  farmer. 

He  has  always  been  a  stanch  Democrat  and  from  the  year  1904  to  1914  (e.xcept- 
ing  one  term  of  two  years)  he  served  as  the  county  chairman  of  that  party.  He  is 
now  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Lebanon,  appointed  for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  is  an 
of  the   Indianapolis   Democratic  club. 

Mr.  Beck  is  the  father  of  four  sons — Dr.  Herma  A.,  Ora  O.,  Arthur  and   Thomas 
three  daughters — Lola  I.,  Lavona  L.  and  Nina  B. 


hon< 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


CHARLES  BENTON  BECK 

Charles  Benton  Beck,  now  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Rich- 
mond, came  to  his  work  after  a  broad  experience  in  the  edu- 
cational and  commercial  fields;  and  the  efficiency  of  his  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  this  office  has  demonstrated  his  fit- 
ness for  the  work. 

Mr.  Beck  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Burlington,  Indiana, 
on  the  18th  day  of  .June,  1861,  and  here  his  boyhood  was  spent 
and  his  early  education  received.  Later  he  attended  the 
Indiana  State  Normal  at  Teri-e  Haute,  and  for  sixteen  years 
following  his  graduation  he  taught  in  the  schools  of  Cass, 
Carroll,  Vigo  and  Fulton  counties. 

On  the  16th  day  of  February,  1884,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Inez  Louise  Cockayne. 

He  became  engaged  as  a  traveling  salesman,  and  for 
se\enteen  years  sold  shoes  and  rubber  goods  in  the  central 
states.  Afterward  he  located  in  the  city  of  Richmond,  and 
soon  became  identified  with  the  local  organization  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  During  the  campaigns  of  1907  to  1911  he  served 
as  county  chairman,  and  was  a  member  of  the  state  central 
committee,  acting  as  district  chairman,  from  1911  to  1913.  In 
1910  he  was  a  candidate  for  representative  to  the  state  legis- 
lature. 

Mr.  Beck  is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Democratic  ancestors  on  both  sides  of  the  family,  one 
grandfather  being  a  loyal  Virginia  worker,  and  the  other,  Isaac  Patty,  being  descended  from  the 
French  Huguenots. 


LAWRENCE  BECKER 

Lawrence  Becker  was  born  August  10,  1869,  in  Westphalia,  Germany.  He  attended  the  German 
public  schools  until  the  family  emigrated  to  America,  in  April,  1879,  and  settled  in  Tolleston,  now 
Gary,  Ind.  In  August,  1879,  the  family  moved  to  Hammond,  where  young  Becker  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools.  In  May,  1883,  the  family  moved  to  Montana.  Here  he  worked  on  ranches  during  the 
summer  and  attended  the  public  schools  during  the  winter,  until  November,  1892,  when  he  entered  Val- 
paraiso University,  at  Valparaiso,  Ind.,  and  for  two  winters  prepared  himself  for  the  study  of  law. 
In  the  fall  of  1894  he  entered  the  law  school  of  that  institution,  which  he  finished  in  June,  1896,  when 
he  opened  a  law  office  and  settled  in  Hammond. 

In  March,  1898,  he  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Democratic  city  central  committee,  and  in  May 
was  elected  city  attorney  of  Hammond,  which  (ffice  he  held  until  September,  1902.  In  1903  he 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Hammond  Public  Library  and  was  a  member  of  the  library  board 
until  his  removal  to  Washington,  D.  C.  In  May,  1904,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Ham- 
mond, re-elected  in  190.5  and  1909.  In  March,  1911,  Governor  Marshall  appointed  him  judge  of  the 
Lake  Superior  Court.  In  1912  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Baltimore  convention.  He  represented  Indi- 
ana on  the  committee  of  rules  and  joined  the  members  of  that  committee  who  favored  the  abolition  of 
the  unit  rule,  and  when  beaten  signed  the  minority  report  which  provided  that  the  unit  rule  should  not 
apply  to  delegates  who  had  been  elected  under  a  statutory  primary  election,  which  was  adopted  by  the 
convention.  In  the  election  of  1914  he  was  defeated  for  judge  of  the  superior  court  by  the  smallest 
plurality  of  any  candidate  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  On  March  1,  1915,  he  was  appointed  solicitor  of 
the  U.  S.  Treasury  by  President  Wilson. 

Judge  Becker  is  known  as  a  student  of  municipal  government  and  political  science,  and  has  draft- 
ed many  of  the  laws  of  our  state  concerning  municipal  corporations  and  elections.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  the  American  Political  Science  Associa- 
tion, and  other  civic  organizations.  He  has  farm  interests  in  Indiana  and  Montana  and  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Shropshire  Sheep  Breeders'  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Elks,  Odd  Fellows 
and  Masons,  and  also  of  several  insurance  orders. 

On  September  8,  1898,  he  married  Agnes  D.  Eaton  of  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  who  was  a  student 
at  Valparaiso.  They  have  three  children:  a  son,  Eaton,  born  in  1901;  and  two  daughters,  Inez  and 
Rose. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


CHARLES  H.  BEDWELL 

Charles  H.  Bedwell  has  attained  a  position  of  distinction  and  promi- 
nence in  the  legal  profession  of  Sullivan  county,  and  is  highly  esteemed  as  a 
legislator  and  as  a  public  official  of  this  commonwealth. 

Mr.  Bedwell  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  16th  day  of  March,  1884. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district  and  later  entered  Cen- 
tral Normal  College  at  Danville  for  study  in  the  higher  branches  and  in 
pedagogy.  Later  a  course  in  law  was  taken  at  Indiana  University,  and  after 
his  gi-aduation  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Sullivan  county  and  engaged 
in  the  general  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  city  of  Sullivan.  There  he 
soon  established  an  enviable  reputation  as  an  attorney  of  ability  and  in  the 
year  1910  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  deputy  prosecuting  attorney,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  for  a  period  of  two  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1912  Mr.  Bedwell  was  elected  to  represent  Sullivan  county 
in  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legislature,  and  in  the  68th  general  assembly 
he  served  with  rare  zeal  and  intelligence.     During  the  years  of  1913  and 
1914  he  served  the  party  in  the  capacity  of  county  chairman,   and    in    that    capacity    rendered 
service  to  the  local  organization. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Bedwell  is  allied  with  the  order  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  and  with  the  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

On  March  22,- 1913,  Mr.  Bedwell  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lulu  M.  Cain,  who  has  since  been 
the  presiding  genius  of  his  home  and  his  able  assistant  in  the  various  undertakings  which  have 
marked  his  career. 


:iluable 


JOHN  E.  BELDING 

John  E.  Belding  is  a  familiar  one  to  the  citizens  of  Jackson  county,  being  that 
!  merchant  of  Brownstown  and  former  treasurer  of  Jackson  county, 
born  on  the  24th  day  of  August,  1870,  on  a  farm  in  Grassy  Fork  township, 
n  that  locality  his  life  has  been  spent.  He  attended  the  public  schools,  includ- 
ing the  high  school  of  Brownstown,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  mercantile  lines.  He  is  a  faith- 
ful Democratic  worker,  and  served  one  term  as  county  treasurer. 


The  name  of  Mi 
of  a  leading  hardwa 

Mr.  Belding  wa 
Jackson  county,  and 


LON  E.  BERNETHY 
Few  citizens  of  Starke  county  are  not  familiar  with  Mr.  Lon  E.  Bernethy,  the 
present  station  agent  and  operator  at  North  Judson  for  the  Pennsylvania  railroad. 
Mr.  Bernethy  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Logansport,  Cass  county,  on  the  21st 
day  of  January,  1856.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Cass  county,  and  in  the  year 
1872  located  in  North  Judson,  Starke  county.  In  the  fall  of  1888  he  was  elected  to 
represent  Laporte,  Starke  and  Pulaski  counties  in  the  state  legislature,  and  in  the 
assembly  of  1889  was  an  active  participant.  He  was  returned  also  to  the  assembly 
of  1891,  and  in  1914  was  a  candidate  for  nomination  for  treasurer  of  state,  but  with 
five  others  was  defeated  for  this  office.  He  has  been  a  diligent  worker  in  the  party 
ranks  since  in  his  youth,  and  has  rendered  valuable  service  to  the  local  organization 
in  the  various  campaigns. 


JUDGE  HARRY  BERNETHA 

A  prominent  attorney  in  the  city  of  Rochester  and  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  is  Judge  Harry  Bernetha.  He  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  12th  day  of  May,  1867,  and 
attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district.  After  completing  his  course  of  study  in  the  high  school 
he  continued  his  work  as  a  teacher  in  common  schools,  looking  forward  to  the  law  as  his  chosen  pro- 
fession. 

In  the  year  1890,  in  August,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Rhoda  Delp  was  solemnized,  and  in  the  same 
year  he  began  the  active  practice  of  law  in  the  city  of  Rochester.     In  1896  he  assumed  the  duties  of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


prosecuting  attorney  of  the  41st  Judicial  District,  serving  in  this  capacity  for  four  years;  and  so 
zealous  was  he  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  office  that  he  was  nominated  in  1902  for 
the  still  greater  responsibilities  of  judge  of  the  same  district.  He  was  elected,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office  was  re-elected  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  year  1914. 

Judge  Bernetha  is  now  successfully  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Holman,  Bernetha  &  Bryant;  and  still  retains  that  clearness  of  vision  and  grasp  of  various  phases 
of  intricate  legal  problems  which  characterized  his  decisions  for  so  many  years  from  the  bench. 


ANDREW  TULLY  BITTERS 

For  many  years  an  honored  official  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth 
and  a  leading  journalist  of  the  community,  Andrew  Tully  Bitters  is  well 
known  throughout  Fulton  county. 

He  was  born  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  on  the  16th  day  of  January, 
1841.  Here  he  attended  common  school,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  Peru.  Mr.  Bitters  was  a  member  of  the  87th  Indi- 
ana Volunteers  and  the  Mississippi  Marine  Brigade  from  1862  to  1865.  In 
1869  he  located  in  the  city  of  Rochester,  and  here  his  interests  have  since 
centered.  In  the  same  year  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace,  serving  in  this  capacity  until  the  close  of  1870.  Later,  also,  he  held 
this  position  for  several  years.  During  the  period  from  1886  to  1890  he 
served  as  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
city  council  for  a  term.  On  the  first  day  of  May,  1910,  he  was  appointed 
attendance  and  probation  officer,  and  in  this  capacity  has  since  served. 

His  career  as  a  journalist  began  in  the  year  1872,  at  which  time  he 
owned  and  edited  the  Rochester  Sentinel,  and  for  fourteen  years  thereafter  he  was  largely  respon- 
sible for  the  molding  of  public  opinion  in  the  community  through  the  influence  of  this  organ.  In  the 
year  1886,  however,  he  sold  to  Mr.  Barnhart. 

Mr.  Bitters  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  January  23,  1867,  being 
Miss  Sarah  J.  St.  Clair;  and  the  present  Mrs.  Bitters,  to  whom  he  was  married  April  28,  1901,  hav- 
ing been  formerly  Miss  Eliza  Chatten,  a  native  of  London,  England. 


and  largest  banking  institutions 


GEORGE  A.  BITTLER 

Successful  and  popular  both  in  politics  and  business, 
knowing  that  friends  are  a  far  greater  asset  than  money  in 
this  life  that  is  full  of  things,  setting  the  pace  by  becoming 
the  youngest  man  who  ever  held  the  office  of  treasurer  of 
state  in  Indiana,  George  A.  Bittler  stepped  from  one  place  to 
another  in  the  business  world  with  remarkable  speed ;  all  the 
time,  in  politics,  being  filled  vnth  enthusiasm  and  working  for 
the  party  success,  whether  as  one  of  the  candidates  or  merely 
as  a  private  citizen,  believing  in  the  righteousness  of  the  party 
principles. 

George  A.  Bittler  was  a  bank  cashier  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-seven, and  four  years  later  was  nominated  and  elected  on 
the  Democratic  ticket  as  treasurer  of  state,  with  nothing  but 
his  own  bootstraps,  thousands  of  personal  friends  of  all  politi- 
cal affiliations  and  his  ability  and  character  to  bring  him  over 
Ihe  top.  These  things  all  combined  to  not  only  secure  for  him 
the  nomination  in  a  strong  field,  but  enabled  him  to  march 
into  the  office  with  3,000  votes  ahead  of  his  ticket. 

Coming  from  Fort  Wayne,  where  he  originally  held  the 
position  of  bank  cashier,  serving  his  term  as  state  treasurer, 
he  stepped  into  the  position  of  vice-president  of  the  Mer- 
chants' National  Bank  of  Indianapolis,  one  of  the  strongest 
the  State,  being  placed  in  direct  charge  of  the  bond  department. 


(  850) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

and  in  this  place  represented  this  strong  concern  in  all  the  war  financing  drives  in  the  war  with  Ger- 
many, in  addition  to  being  in  full  charge  of  one  of  these  early  and  speedily  successful  campaigns  for 
the  community. 

The  progress  made  by  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club  in  the  accumulation  of  members  from  all 
over  the  State,  and  at  the  same  time  the  construction  and  enlargement  of  the  handsome  club  house, 
was  due  to  the  energy,  well  directed,  of  Mr.  Bittlcr  while  he  was  treasurer  of  state. 

George  A.  Bittler  came  of  a  well-known  family.  The  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Bittler,  he  was 
born  in  Fort  Wayne,  May  10,  1881.  Was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city  and  graduated  from 
the  normal  school  at  Woodville,  Ohio,  in  the  year  1900,  entering  the  profession  of  teaching.  He  was 
thus  engaged  at  Michigan  City  for  a  time.  Leaving  this  profession,  he  took  employment  in  the  mo- 
tive power  office  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  at  Fort  Wayne,  later  entering  the  banking 
house  of  Nuttman  &  Co.  as  teller  and  assistant  cashier. 

Shortly  after  he  was  promoted  to  cashier,  which  position  he  held  at  the  time  he  was  appointed 
in  1908  by  Governor  Thomas  E.  Marshall  as  deputy  state  examiner  on  the  state  board  of  accounts  to 
fill  the  unexpired  term  of  William  M.  Fogarty,  who  had  organized  the  Fidelity  Trust  Company  of  In- 
dianapolis and  became  its  head.  As  a  member  of  the  board  of  accounts  he  was  reappointed  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1910,  for  a  term  of  four  years,  serving  until  September,  1914,  after  he  had  been  nominated  by 
the  Democratic  state  convention  over  a  field  of  eight  candidates  for  state  treasurer.  He  resigned  his 
office  held  by  appointment  to  make  this  race.  In  the  election  which  followed,  as  already  stated,  he 
led  the  remainder  of  the  ticket  by  over  three  thousand  votes.  He  took  charge  of  the  office  of  treasurer 
February  10,  1915. 

That  he  made  good  in  a  big  way  as  state  treasurer  is  shown  by  the  public  records.  During  his 
term  he  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  signing  the  check  that  paid  off  over  three  millions  of  state  debts 
which  had  been  inherited  from  the  Republican  administration.  The  Vincennes  University  bonds 
amounting  to  ?120,548  (not  due  until  1917)  and  Indiana  University  bonds  amounting  to  $340,000  (not 
due  until  1921)  were  paid  in  full  in  1916,  and  the  entire  foreign  and  domestic  debts  were  liquidated, 
stopping  all  interest  charges  and  freeing  the  State  from  all  debt  for  the  first  time  in  eighty-four 
years. 

At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1917  the  state  debt  sinking  fund  was  abolished.  Inasmuch  as 
the  State  was  out  of  debt  there  was  no  further  need  for  this  fund.  Thus  the  state  tax  rate  of  40.1 
cents  on  each  $100  of  taxables  was  reduced  by  1^  cents,  making  the  rate  38.6  cents  on  each  $100, 
and  the  lowest  tax  rate  of  any  State  in  the  Middle  West. 

Mr.  Bittler  was  treasurer  of  the  Teutonia  Loan  and  Savings  Association  of  Fort  Wayne,  secre- 
tary of  the  Fort  Wayne  chapter  of  the  American  Institute  of  Banking  and  secretary  of  the  Jefferson 
Club  of  Fort  Wayne,  the  oldest  and  most  active  Democratic  club  of  the  State.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  advisory  committee  of  several  financial  institutions,  a  director  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club,  a 
member  of  the  Pen  and  Pencil  Club  of  Indianapolis,  member  of  the  University  and  Commercial 
clubs  of  Fort  Wayne  and  a  trustee  of  St.  Matthew's  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of  Indianapolis. 


ADOLPH  BLICKWEDEL 

Adolph  Blickwedel  was  born  in  the  province  of  Saxony,  Germany,  April  3,  1861,  a  son  of  Fred- 
erick J.  and  Mary  (Schultz)  Blickwedel.  He  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  schools  of  his 
country,  learning  the  trade  of  cabinet  maker,  which  he  followed  until  he  came  to  America,  coming 
direct  to  Richmond,  arriving  February  21,  1882.  He  continued  to  follow  the  career  of  cabinet  maker 
for  about  ten  years,  then  going  to  the  employ  of  the  Panhandle  railway  as  car  repairer.  After  an 
accident,  which  nearly  cost  him  an  arm,  he  embarked  in  the  grocery  business  in  1892,  occupying 
the  same  quarters  that  he  now  has,  and  being  known  as  a  progressive  and  reliable  man. 

Mr.  Blickwedel  is  secretary  of  the  Minck  Brewing  Co.,  president  South  Side  Improvement  Co., 
president  German  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Association,  and  treasurer  of  the  German  Maennerchor 
Society.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Business  Club  of  Richmond.  He  takes  a  lively 
interest  in  politics,  but  has  never  desired  office.  He  represented  the  4th  ward  in  the  city  council  1896 
to  1900,  and  again  1904  to  1906.  On  February  21,  1881,  he  married  Mary  M.  Wieharke,  who  died 
in   1889,  leaving  two  children.     On  April  29,   1890,  Mr.  Blickwedel  married  Anna   Randkoph. 

Mr.  Blickwedel  is  an  active  member  of  St.  John's  Lutheran  Church  and  a  member  of  St.  John's 
Benevolent  Society. 


(  8.51  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


BENTON  J.  BLOOM 

The  name  of  Benton  J.  Bloom  is  familiar  to  the  citizens  of  Whitley  county,  being  that  of  a  prom- 
inent attorney  of  Columbia  City  and  formerly  an  honored  public  official  of  that  place. 

Mr.  Bloom  was  born  in  this  state  on  October  29,  1879,  and  received  his  early  schooling  in  the 
public  schools,  graduating  from  the  high  school.  He  attended  Indiana  University  for  a  course  in 
law,  in  due  time  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Whitley  county,  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Columbia  City,  his  ability  as  an  attorney  and  his  loyalty  to  his  clients  soon  winning 
for  him  a  large  and  lucrative  practice. 

In  the  year  1910  Mr.  Bloom  assumed  the  duties  of  mayor  of  his  home  city,  and  during  his  four 
years  of  service  in  that  capacity  established  an  enviable  record  as  an  official  of  ability  and  integrity. 

On  the  15th  day  of  May,  1912,  Mr.  Bloom  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Marie  A.  Meyers,  who 
has  proved  an  able  second  in  his  career  and  a  charming  hostess  to  their  many  friends. 


MICHAEL  C.  BLUE 

Mr.  Blue  is  best  known  in  Indiana  as  the  "Father  of  the 
Wells  County  Democracy,"  inasmuch  as  he  has  always  been 
called  upon  to  cement  slightly  fractured  friendships,  settle 
disputes,  party  quarrels — and,  although  not  a  lavryer,  has  fre- 
quently even  been  called  upon  to  adjust  family  differences, 
hence  the  cognomen  of  "Father." 

He  was  born  in  Ohio  on  the  16th  day  of  April,  1836,  and 
God  has  spared  him  to  a  useful  and  ripe  old  age,  which,  to 
his  credit,  he  has  used  in  helping  others  rather  than  helping 
himself.  His  parents  moved  to  Indiana  in  1840,  and  he  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  country  schools  and  Roanoke  Col- 
lege. 

On  May  1,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rhoda  Richey, 
and  in  1857,  while  but  21  years  of  age,  was  appointed  con- 
stable, and  two  years  later,  in  1859,  was  elected  township  as- 
sessor. In  1866  he  was  elected  county  surveyor,  serving  until 
1870,  and  then  was  elected  county  auditor,  serving  from  1870 
to  1874.  In  1881  he  surveyed  and  admirably  laid  out  the  town 
of  Tocsin,  and  taught  the  first  term  of  the  Tocsin  school,  as 
well  as  being  instrumental  in  securing  a  postoffice  and,  with 
others,  in  inducing  the  C.  &  E.  R.  R.  to  put  a  station  at 
Tocsin. 

In  1892  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature,  and  re-elected  in  1894;  both  times  proving  his 
popularity  and  worth  to  Democracy  by  running  ahead  of  his  party  ticket  by  large  majorities.  In 
1894  he  was  one  of  the  fifteen  Democratic  representatives  who  survived  the  fierce  legislative  cam- 
paign  waged  by   the   Republican   party  while   Claude   Matthews    was    in   the    governor's    chair. 

Since  his  last  term  in  the  legislature  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  his  large  farming  inter- 
ests, being  an  extensive  raiser  and  shipper  of  hogs;  and  yet  has  never  been  too  busy  to  give  his 
party  his  best  efforts,  financial  support  and  counsel  at  the  primaries  and  on  election  day. 

In  these  days  of  Democratic  success,  we  cannot  lose  sight  of  the  stalwarts  like  Michael  C.  Blue 
who  have  made  our  present  supremacy  possible  by  their  eternal  vigilance  in  the  days  gone  by,  when 
"corrupt  political  practices"  had  to  be  fought,  even  in  the  face  of  a  forlorn  hope. 

Mr.  Blue  is  a  prominent  layman  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  always  active  in 
benevolent  and  local  commercial  circles  until  his  age  and  large  farming  interests  forced  his  retire- 
ment.    Wells  county,  the  state  and  Democratic  party  are  proud  of  him. 


DR.  FELTY  A.  BOLSER 

Dr.  Felty  A.  Bolser  was  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  in  1858,  and  moved  with  his  parents  to 

Henry  county,  Indiana,  about  1870.     During  the  eighties  he  attended  veterinary  college  at  Toronto, 

Canada,  and  took  a  very  thorough  course.     Setting   up   an   office   in   Newcastle  his   practice   soon 

took  him  in  many  parts  of  the  state.    During  the  administration  of  Governor  Matthews  he  was  made 


(852) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-19  16 

state  veterinarian,  a  position  he  held  for  nearly  six  years.  Dr.  Bolser  was  several  times  chair- 
man of  the  Henry  county  Democratic  committee  and  has  used  his  splendid  organizing  ability  in 
every  campaign  for  the   last  thirty  years. 

Soon  after  the  election  of  Governor  Ralston  he  was  made  assistant  state  veterinarian  and  served 
four  years  in  that  capacity.  It  was  during  this  term  that  the  foot-and-mouth  plague  took  hold  in 
Indiana  and  Dr.  Bolser  in  connection  with  federal    agents   was   given   the   task   of  stamping   it   out. 

For  the  last  year  or  more  the  name  of  Dr.  Bolser  has  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
state  committee  and  when  that  body  reorganized  last  May  he  was  elected  vice-chairman.  He  is 
married  and  has  one  son,  Dr.  Harry  W.  Bolser,  who  is  his  business  associate  at  Newcastle. 

LEWIS  W.  BORDERS 

Mr.  Borders  is  a  native  of  Hendricks  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Franklin  township  on 
the  6th  day  of  October,  1863,  and  is  esteemed  as  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Danville.  His 
education  was  received  in  the  common  schools  of  the  county,  and  he  has  since  remained  in  the  home 
of  his  birth,  loyal  to  Hendricks  county  and  proud  of  the  progress  she  has  made  in  the  many  years 
of  his  residence  within  her  borders. 

Since  his  youth  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  and  is  a  successful  breeder 
of  live  stock.  In  October,  1907,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eva  Worrell.  In  the  fall  of  1911 
he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  auditor  of  Hendricks  county,  and  so  conscientiously  did  he  perform 
the  duties  of  his  position  that  he  was  renominated  in  1914,  serving  until  January  1,  1916.  Always 
a  zealous  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  he  served  as  precinct  committeeman  for  a 
number  of  years  and  attended  state  conventions  as  delegate.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Demo- 
cratic Club  and  of  the  order  of  Masons. 

AUGUST  C.  BORGMAN 

August  C.  Borgman,  one  of  the  best  known  business  men  of  Ft.  Wayne,  is  a  native  of  that  city 
and  has  lived  there  all  his  life.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  German  parochial  schools  and 
at  Concordia  College,  which  he  attended  for  a  short  time.  When  but  a  boy  he  began  to  work  for  his 
father,  who  was  engaged  in  the  excavating  busin3ss,  and  was  so  employed  until  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority. At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Elizabeth  Horstmeyer  and  began  to  shape  his  own 
cai-eer. 

For  seven  years  Mr.  Borgman  was  a  member  of  the  Ft.  Wayne  police  force,  but  resigned  to  go 
into  the  trucking  business  with  his  brother,  Captain  William  F.  Borgman.  Subsequently  he  was 
appointed  chief  of  police  by  Mayor  Grice,  but  resigned  after  two  months'  service.  He  was  tendered 
the  same  position  by  Mayor  Hosey  in  January,  1914,  but  declined  the  office.  In  1910  he  was  a  can- 
didate of  sheriff  of  Allen  county. 

Mr.  Borgman  has  for  years  taken  an  active  part  in  local  affairs  and  is  one  of  the  strong  Demo- 
crats of  Ft.  Wayne,  with  many  influential  friends  and  a  host  of  adherents.  He  has  been  delegate 
to  several  conventions  and  is  always  active  in  campaigns.  He  is  an  upright  and  successful  busi- 
ness man  and  has  a  clean  record  in  every  way. 

JAMES  BOUSLOG 

A  roster  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  the  city  of  Newcastle  would  be  incomplete  were  mention  not 
made  of  the  present  sheriff  of  Henry  county,  Mr.  James  Bouslog.  This  gentleman  is  a  native  of 
the  Hoosier  state,  and  most  of  his  life  has  been  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture.  His  birth  oc- 
curred on  the  2.5th  day  of  June,  18.54,  and  his  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  Henry 
county.  In  the  year  1880  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lenora  Bunner,  and  three  children  have 
come  to  brighten  their  home. 

Mr.  Bouslog  has  since  his  youth  been  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  in  the  year  1911  was  appointed 
chief  of  police  of  the  city  of  Newcastle.  This  position  he  held  until  the  fall  of  1914,  at  which  time 
he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Henry  county.  During  his  incumbency  of  these  important  offices,  Mr.  Bous- 
log has  shown  conscientious  zeal  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  in  his  charge,  and  has  served 
with  great  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents.  Though  not  interested  in  fraternal  affairs,  he  has 
a  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  county  and  has  won  a  high  position  in  the  esteem  of  the  com- 
munity at  large. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

FRANCIS  EDWARD  BOWSER 

Judge  Francis  Edward  Bowser,  for  many  years  an  honored  official  of  Kosciusko  county,  is  a  true 
product  of  this  county.  He  was  born  in  Kosciusko  county,  and  here  his  life  has  been  spent  and  his  in- 
terests are  firmly  established.  His  birth  occurred  on  the  1st  day  of  February,  1861,  and  in  all  the 
years  which  have  passed  since  his  loyalty  to  Warsaw  has  not  wavered.  Here  he  attended  the  public 
schools,  taking  both  the  elementary  and  high  school  grades;  but  when  he  wished  to  fit  himself  for  his 
chosen  profession,  the  law,  a  course  of  study  was  taken  at  Indiana  University,  at  Bloomington.  In 
1885  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Kosciusko  county  and  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  law.  In 
the  fall  of  1908  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  54th  Judicial  Circuit  (Kosciusko  county),  and  re-elected 
in  November,  1914. 

Mrs.  Bowser,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  20,  1894,  was  formerly  Miss  Regina  Bitner,  and  to 
her,  as  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home,  much  credit  is  due  for  the  success  of  her  husband. 

Judge  Bowser  is  a  stanch  Democrat  and  has  adhered  consistently  to  the  tenets  of  his  party. 


JOHN  P.  BOYD 

John  P.  Boyd  was  bom  on  a  farm  in  Penn  township.  Jay  county,  on  March 
28,  1869.  His  father.  Amor  Boyd,  located  in  Montpelier  in  1877,  where  he  is  still 
in  active  business,  and  the  son  John  has  been  a  resident  of  Montpelier  ever  since. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Montpelier  and  was  married  to  Miss  Minnie  Arnold. 
Two  sons  have  been  born  to  them,  Robert  A.,  born  October  31,  1893,  and  Francis  D., 
born  December  18,  1899. 

Mr.  Boyd  chose  the  legal  profession  for  his  activities,  studied  law,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Blackford  county  bar.  He  was  made  city  attorney  from  1902  to  1906, 
and  again  from  1910  to  March  1,  1913,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of  pressure  of 
other  duties.  He  also  served  as  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Blackford  county  from  1904  to 
June  1,  1913,  when  he  resigned.     He  was  also  county  attorney  in  1911  and  1912. 

On  January  1,  1909,  he  was  appointed  receiver  of  the  Montpelier  Light  &  Water  Company,  which 
position  he  held  until  December,  1913,  when  the  company  was  re-organized  and  he  was  appointed  as 
manager  of  the  new  company— the  Montpelier  Util  ities  Co.  He  is  also  treasurer  of  the  corporation. 
Mr.  Boyd  is  president  of  the  board  of  school  trustees  and  member  of  the  library  board  and  also 
continues  his  practice  of  law.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in  his  party  politics,  having  been  Democratic 
township  chairman  for  the  past  twelve  years,  and  continues  in  that  position.  Fraternally,  he  is  a 
member  of  No.  625  Elks  Lodge. 


P.  S.  BRADLEY 

Closely  identified  with  the  political  and  business  life  of  the  city  of  Elwood,  and  one  of  the  most 
faithful  and  zealous  of  the  party  workers  in  that  city  and  vicinity,  P.  S.  Bradley  is  familiarly  known 
to  the  citizens  of  Madison  county. 

Mr.  Bradley  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  born  in  Brooklyn,  May  14,  1854.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  public  and  parochial  schools  of  the  city  of  Troy;  and  in  the  year  1887,  when  the 
natural  gas  fields  were  opened  in  Indiana,  came  to  this  state  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the 
business  of  laying  natural  gas  mains. 

Mr.  Bradley  is  descended  from  a  line  of  Democratic  ancestors  and  throughout  the  family  no 
other  political  faith  is  known.  He  has  often  served  as  precinct  committeeman  and  delegate  to  county, 
district  and  state  conventions.  He  also  has  been  a  member  of  the  city  council,  elected  in  a  Republi- 
can stronghold. 

After  twenty-five  years  of  service  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  laying  pipe  lines,  Mr.  Bradley 
organized  the  Home  Storage  and  Manufacturing  Company,  a  thriving  concern,  of  which  he  was  pres- 
ident.    He  died  December  22,  1917. 


(854) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


DR.  GEORGE  BALES  BREEDLOVE 

Dr.  George  Bales  Breedlove,  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon  of  Morgan 
county,  Indiana,  who  has  had  charge  of  the  Barnard,  Colonial  and  Highland  sani- 
tariums of  Martinsville,  Ind.,  but  who  is  now  confining  himself  to  the  general  prac- 
tice of  medicine  and  surgery  in  Morgan  county,  was  born  in  Marion  county  on  the 
18th  day  of  May,  1868.  He  attended  the  public  and  high  schools  of  Marion  county 
and  later  entered  Purdue  University  for  further  study,  and  after  graduation  en- 
tered medical  college  and  received  his  medical  degree  from  the  University  of  Ten- 
nessee at  Nashville.  His  post-graduate  work  in  medical  science  and  surgery  was 
taken  in  Chicago  Post-Graduate  School  and  in  Cornell  and  Bellevue  hospitals,  New 
York  City. 

He  established  himself  in  Morgan  county,  where  he  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  medicine 
and  surgery  with  marked  success.  He  is  now  county  health  commissioner  and  a  member  of  the  county, 
state  and  American  medical  associations,  having  served  as  president  of  the  former  and  was  twice 
delegate  to  the  American  Medical  Association. 

He  is  now  Democratic  county  chairman,  and  politically  has  rendered  valued  service  to  his  party 
since  his  youth. 

Fraternally  he  is  allied  with  the  Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Red  Men  and  Eagles. 
He  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  best-informed  Mason  in  his  county. 

He  has  been  very  active  in  fighting  the  great  white  plague,  tuberculosis,  in  his  county  and  in 
rendering  conditions  sanitary.  He  is  on  the  advisory  board  of  the  Anti-Tubercular  Society  and  has 
always  been  a  very  prominent  worker  in  behalf  of  the  cause. 


ADJUTANT-GENERAL  FRANKLIN  LANDERS  BRIDGES 

Franklin  Landers  Bridges,  by  appointment  of  Governor  Samuel  M. 
Ralston,  served  as  adjutant-general  of  the  Indiana  National  Guard  from 
January,  1914,  to  January,  1917.  Born  in  Indianapolis  in  1878,  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana  University  and  Butler  College,  he  en- 
listed in  the  Indiana  National  Guard  in  1895  and  served  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  receiving  promotion  to  quartermaster  sergeant  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  158th  Indiana,  and  serving  until  the  regiment  was  mustered 
out. 

While  he  served  as  adjutant-general  the  efficiency  of  the  guard  was  con- 
siderably raised,  calling  several  times  for  special  compliments  from  General 
A.  L.  Mills,  then  in  charge  of  the  militia  division  of  the  Federal  War  Di'- 
partment.  It  was  during  the  service  of  Adjutant-General  Bridges  that  for 
the  first  time  under  peace  conditions  the  national  guard  was  called  upon  to 
qualify  under  the  standard  of  the  regular  army.  When  called  to  service  on 
the  Me.xican  border,  with  most  of  the  men  and  officers  new  in  service,  Indi- 
ana was  complimented  with  oflScial  recognition  several  times  on  its  comparatively  high  standard  in  or- 
ganization, personnel,  equipment  and  ability  to  adapt  itself  to  conditions  in  the  field.  Its  field  hos- 
pital was  declared  the  best  on  the  border  by  representatives  of  the  Saturday  Evening  Poxt  when  all 
the  troops  arrived  at  the  border  for  service. 


JUDGE  GEORGE  W.  BRILL 

A  lifelong  worker  for  the  cause  of  Democracy,  a  delegate  to  many  state  conventions  and  to  the 
national  conventions  of  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati  and  Baltimore,  and  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic 
Club  is  Judge  George  W.  Brill  of  the  Hendricks  circuit  court. 

He  was  born  in  Hendricks  county,  December  6,  1859,  and  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  dis- 
trict, later  continuing  his  studies  in  the  Central  Normal  School  of  Danville.  Read  law  with  the  well- 
known  firm  of  Hadley,  Hogate  &  Blake.  Following  his  graduation  in  1883  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  and  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  law,  bringing  to  his  work  keen  intelligence  and  unflag- 
ging zeal.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  deputy  prosecutor  for  Hendricks  and  Martin  counties  under 
James  F.  Mitchell,  and  in  1912  was  elected  judge  of  the  Hendricks  circuit  court,  the  first  Demo- 
crat to  hold  this  position  since  1887.     His  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Emma  L.  Gregg. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


JUDGE  WILLIAM  HADEN  BRIDWELL 

The  name  of  William  Haden  Bridwell  is  well  known  throughout  Sullivan 
county  and  its  environs  as  that  of  a  public-spirited  citizen,  a  brilliant  jurist 
and  an  able  and  just  judge. 

Judge  Bridwell  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Owensburg,  Ind.,  on  the 
14th  day  of  October,  1871,  and  descended  from  sturdy  pioneers  of  this  State. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Owensburg,  graduating  from  the  hi^h 
school  of  this  place  with  the  class  of  1888.  Then  followed  a  course  of  study 
at  the  normal  school  of  Bloomfield,  and  in  the  year  1893  he  entered  the  law 
department  of  Indiana  University.  The  following  year  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Greene  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  this  pro- 
fession. In  1895  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  deputy  prosecutor  of 
Sullivan  county,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a  term  of  two  years. 

In  1898  he  completed  the  interrupted  course  of  his  legal  education  and 
graduated  from  the  university.     He  was  again  appointed  as  deputy  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  Sullivan  county  in  the  year  of  1900  and  served  for  a 
period  of  two  years. 
In  1895  he  located  in  the  city  of  Sullivan,  and  has  ever  since  resided  in  said  city. 
In  1901  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  attorney  of  Sullivan  county  and  served  continuously  in 
said  capacity  until  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Marshall  to  the  higher  responsibilities  of  judge  of 
the  14th  Judicial  Circuit,  in  February,  1911.     In  the  following  year  he  was  nominated  without  oppo- 
sition for  a  further  term  in  this  office,  and  was  elected  with  a  majority  of  1,891  votes. 

Judge  Bridwell  was  secretary  of  the  Democratic  central  committee  of  Sullivan  county  in  1904, 
treasurer  in  1906  and  chairman  in  1908. 

Judge  Bridwell  has  been  for  many  years  in  the  van  of  all  movements  for  the  betterment  of  the 
community,  and  is  also  highly  esteemed  in  the  various  fraternal  orders  to  which  he  belongs,  includ- 
ing all  Masonic  bodies  in  Sullivan,  Terre  Haute  Temple  Mystic  Shrine,  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  B.  P.  0.  E. 


THOMAS   DRAKE   BROOKSHIRE 

Though  still  in  the  prime  of  life  and  actively  engaged  in  the  various 
movements  which  arise  from  time  to  time  for  the  betterment  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives,  Thomas  Drake  Brookshire  of  Roachdale  has  at- 
tained the  goal  toward  which  he  started  in  his  youth,  and  has  retired  from 
the  arduous  labors  of  the  farm  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  earlier  toil. 

Mr.  Brookshire  is  a  native  of  Montgomery  county,  Indiana,  born  on  (he 
15th  day  of  October,  1861.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  and 
after  completing  the  high  school  course  continued  his  studies  at  the  Normal 
School  of  Ladoga.  His  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  the  wholesome  en- 
vironment of  farm  life,  and  after  leaving  school  he  returned  to  the  life  of  the 
farm  and  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  with  renewed  vigor  and  in- 
creased knowledge.  Here,  by  the  application  of  unbounded  energy  and  pro- 
gressive methods,  he  was  enabled  to  amass  a  competence  for  his  later  years, 
and  before  age  overtook  him.  wisely  retired  to  a  less  strenuous  life. 

In  the  year  1898  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  commissioner  and  for 
over  nine  years  his  best  energies  were  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  commonwealth  in  this  capacity. 
Prior  to  this,  from  1893  to  1895,  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  construction  board  to  oversee  the  con- 
struction of  Putnam  county's  new  court  house,  and  in  this  position  won  the  high  esteem  of  his  fellow 
citizens.     In   1913  he  served  on  the  famous   Dynamite  Jury  at  Indianapolis. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Greencastle  commandery    Knights    Templar,    among    whom    he    is 
held  in  high  esteem. 

Mrs.  Brookshire,  to  whom  he  was  married  November  27,  1884,  was  formerly  Miss  Emma  Myers. 


(856) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

THOMAS  W.  BROLLEY 
The  present  state  statistician,  Thomas  W.  Brolley,  has  been  for  a  number  of 
years  prominently  identified  with  the  workings  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Indiana. 
Mr.  Brolley  was  born  in  Newport,  Ky.,  on  the  10th  day  of  February,  18,54;  but 
at  the  age  of  six  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  Jennings  county,  where  they  lo- 
cated and  where  he  has  since  resided.  Here,  in  the  schools  of  North  Vernon,  he  re- 
ceived his  schooling,  and  in  his  youth  learned  the  stonecutters'  trade,  engaging  in 
this  work  in  the  year  1872.  After  working  several  years  as  a  journeyman  he  branched 
out  for  himself  and  was  soon  a  general  contractor  in  stone  building.  Many  prominent 
buildings  in  North  Vernon  and  vicinity  are  now  evidence  of  his  handiwork. 

In  the  fall  of  1906  he  was  elected  representative  for  Scott  and  Jennings  counties 
to  the  state  legislature,  and  in  the  session  of  1907  was  an  active  participant.  In  the  session  of  1909, 
also,  he  represented  his  district  in  this  body.  In  1910  he  was  elected  to  the  higher  responsibilities  of 
state  statistician,  assuming  the  duties  of  office  early  in  the  following  year  and  discharging  them  with 
credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents.  In  1912  he  was  re-elected  to  this  position,  and  still  remains,  an 
honored   official   and   fitting  representative  of  Indiana  Democracy. 

CLINTON  T.  BROWN 

Clinton  T.  Brown,  attorney-at-law  at  Tipton,  occupies  a  high  position  in  his 
profession.  Born  in  Switzerland  county,  October  28,  1877,  a  son  of  Hiram  R.  and 
Susan  R.  Brown,  he  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm  near  Bennington,  Switzerland 
county,  and  secured  his  education  at  the  district  schools.  He  began  teaching  at 
eighteen  and  for  fifteen  terms  continued  thus  engaged.  He  meanwhile  took  up  the 
study  of  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  on  December  3,  1902.  He  began  to  practice 
at  Sharpsville,  Tipton  county,  in  1904,  where  he  .remained  until  1912,  when  he 
moved  to  Tipton.  He  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Tipton  county  in  1912. 
In  this  office  he  established  a  remarkable  record. 

Mr.  Brown  married  Cora  Land  on  December  5,  1897,  and  they  have  three 
children,  Willie   O.,   Robert  W.,  and   Eva  Hazel. 

Mr.  Brown  is  a  lifelong  Democrat  and  has  taken  mujh  interest  in  politics.  During  his  residence 
in  Sharpsville  he  filled  an  unexpired  term  of  one  year  as  justice  of  the  peace. 

JOHN  W.  BROWN 

Former  auditor  of  Elkhart  county,  Mr.  John  -W.  Brown  has  been  long  in  the  service  of  the  pub- 
lic in  this  county,  and  is  known  throughout  its  confines  as  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity. 

He  was  born  on  the  29th  day  of  December,  18  GO,  and  spent  his  childhood  in  Elkhart  county,  this 
state,  beginning  his  schooling  in  this  locality.  On  the  14th  day  of  July,  1881,  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Lizzie  Brumbaugh  was  solemnized;  and  in  the  year  1885  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Gravelton, 
Indiana,  serving  in  that  capacity  until  1889.  In  1895  he  received  the  appointment  of  postmaster  of 
Nappan'ee,  which  position  he  filled  with  much  credit  until  the  year  1899.  In  1906  he  was  elected  city 
clerk  of  Nappanee,  and  served  until  1910.  In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  elected  to  the  high  position 
of  auditor  of  Elkhart  county,  assuming  the  administration  of  affairs  of  this  office  on  the  first  day  of 
January,  1912.  As  in  his  former  positions,  Mr.  Brown  served  the  public  with  conscientious  zeal, 
continually  striving  for  increased  efficiency  in  his  department. 

Throughout  his  career,  Mr.  Brown  has  been  a  consistent  Democratic  voter  and  worker,  and 
has  done  much  in  his  locality  to  further  the  cause  of  the  Jeffersonian  party. 

L.  J.  BROWN 

L.  J.  Brown,  son  of  Christian  and  Maria  Stoll  Brown,  was  born  in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana, 
January  4,  1854.  He  received  a  common  school  education,  attending  the  Dearborn  county  .schools, 
and  took  up  farming,  which  pursuit  he  followed  until  about  thirty  years  ago.  He  then  engaged  in 
the  lumber  and  grain  business  in  New  Trenton,  Indiana,  and  was  successfully  thus  engaged  there 
until  the  flood  of  1913  washed  nine  of  his  buildings  away,  with  a  loss  of  $30,000.  He  then  moved  to 
Cedar  Grove,  beginning  again,  and   has  been  successful. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


1  6 


On  October  17,  1878,  Mr.  Brown  was  married  to  Miss  Himalaya  Bower.  To  this  union  seven 
children  have  been  born. 

Mr.  Brown  has  always  been  interested  in  the  politics  of  his  county.  He  served  as  trustee  of 
Whitewater  township  from  1900  to  1905;  was  county  commissioner  for  several  years,  and  has  acted 
as  precinct  committeeman   in   1914,  also  served   as  delegate  to  the  state  convention. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

THEODORE  H.  BROWN 

Theodore  H.  Brown  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  the  son  of  Christian  and  Maria  Stoll  Brown, 
October  6,  1845.  At  the  age  of  five  years  his  parents  brought  him  to  this  country,  going  to  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  where  his  early  education  was  acquired.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a-  mason  and  in  1868 
moved  to  Brookville,  where  he  continued  to  ply  this  trade  until  1899,  when  he  moved  to  a  farm, 
where  he  still  lives. 

Mr.  Brown  has  always  been  active  in  pohtics,  and  in  1908  was  elected  trustee  of  Brookville 
township,  serving  until  1915.     He  was  also  a  member  of  the  city  council  for  fifteen  years. 

In  1868  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Schaeffer,  who  died  in  1891.  He  was  again  married 
in  1899  to  Miss  Harriet  Bonwell.     Of  his  first  marriage  four  children  were  born. 

AUSTIN  BRUMBAUGH 

One  of  the  most  active  and  popular  workers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  organization  of  Mad- 
ison county,  and  a  leader  in  municipal  affairs,  is  Austin  Brumbaugh  of  Elwood. 

Mr.  Brumbaugh  is  a  native  of  Huntington  county,  Indiana,  born  September  20,  1868.  His 
schooling  was  received  in  Huntington  in  the  grammar  and  high  schools.  Early  in  life  he  became 
actively  interested  in  political  affairs,  and  many  times  served  as  delegate  to  the  various  conventions 
of  the  party.  In  the  year  1888  he  engaged  in  the  creamery  and  ice  cream  business,  and  in  this  busi- 
ness he  has  since  remained,  at  one  time  operating  several  thriving  factories  and  spending  much  of 
his  time  traveling  about  from  one  to  the  other.  In  1904  he  located  in  Elwood  for  the  purpose  of 
operating  an  ice  cream  plant,  and  here  he  has  since  remained.  In  the  year  1910  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  Elwood,  serving  with  distinction  until  1914. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Masons,  Odd   Fellows,  Elks,  and  United  Commercial  Travelers. 

Mrs.  Brumbaugh,  to  whom  he  was  married  April,  1900,  was  formerly  Miss  Anna  Henry. 


in  the  gener 


WILLIAM  BUEHRLE 

Having  long  since  passed  the  allotted  span  of  man's  days,  the  proverbial  three 
score  years  and  ten,  William  Buehrle,  of  Monterey,  is  still  progressive  in  his  ideas 
and  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  county. 

He  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  born  November  17,  1840.  He  received  his  schooling  at 
New  Riegel,  Ohio,  where  he  resided  for  a  time.  In  the  year  1869,  however,  he  came 
to  Pulaski  county,  and  this  has  since  remained  his  home.  In  the  year  1861  he  en- 
listed in  the  army,  but  was  wounded  in  battle  and  this  resulted  in  his  disability  for 
further  service. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1868,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Philomena 

Riemen,  and  she  has  been  his  faithful  helpmate.     He  was  for  many  years  engaged 

mercantile  business,  but  is  now  retired  from  active  labor.     He  served  the  county  as 


treasurer  for  two  terms  of  two  years  each,  and  was  elected  county  commissioner  for  three  years. 


ROLLIN  H.  BUNCH,  M.  D. 

Dr.  RoUin  H.  Bunch  has,  for  a  number  of  years,  been  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
professional,  business  and  municipal  life  of  the  city  of  Muncie.  He  is  a  native  of 
Indiana,  born  on  the  12th  day  of  December,  1881.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Muncie  and  took  a  course  at  Culver  Military  Academy.  His  medical  studies  were 
then  pursued  at  Bennett  Medical  College  and  the  American  Medical  College,  both 
Chicago  institutions;  and  after  his  graduation  he  returned  to  Muncie,  entering  into 
partnership  with  his  father.  Dr.  Robert  A.  Bunch,  his  brother  Fred  L.  Bunch  and 
Morrel  M.  Bunch,  the  latter  now  of  Oshkosh,  Wis.  This  partnership  continued- 
until  the  death  of  the  father  in  1912. 


(858) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


In  the  year  1902  Dr.  Bunch  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ruth  Racer,  who  has  since  pre- 
sided over  his  home  and  dispensed  its  hospitality. 

In  the  fall  of  1909  he  was  elected  city  councilman,  his  term  of  office  expiring  with  the  close  of  1913, 
at  which  time  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  most  important  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people  of  Muncie, 
that  of  mayor  of  the  city,  his  tenure  of  office  to  cover  a  period  of  four  years.  Throughout  his  career 
he  has  shown  the  spirit  of  a  conscientious  and  progressive  citizen,  and  is  a  man  eminently  fitted  for 
the  great  responsibilities  in  his  care. 


HENRY  WASHINGTON  BULLOCK 

The  name  of  Henry  Washington  Bullock  is  known 
throughout  the  state  a.s  that  of  an  authority  on  legal  and  leg- 
islative affairs. 

Mr.  Bullock  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Jackson  township, 
Clay  county,  Indiana,  on  the  10th  day  of  September,  1866. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  later  con- 
tinued his  studies  at  the  University  of  Valparaiso. 

After  he  located  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  his  interests 
centered  there  and  his  activities  were  marked  with  success. 
He  took  a  vital  interest  in  movements  for  the  public  welfare, 
and  many  of  the  most  effective  laws  on  our  statute  books  were 
drawn  by  him,  notably  the  law  to  establish  free  employment 
bureaus,  in  1909;  to  regulate  private  employment  agencies, 
in  the  same  year;  the  employer's  liability  bill  and  the  dan- 
gerous occupation  bill,  both  passed  in  1911.  In  1913  he  was 
chairman  of  a  commission  appointed  by  Governor  Ralston  to 
draft  a  workman's  compensation  act,  and  in  1915  and  1916  he 
was  a  member  of  the  national  commission  on  uniform  state 
laws.  In  this  connection  also  he  was  a  frequent  contributor 
to  magazines,  and  an  annotator  of  law  books. 

The  workmen's  compensation  law  was  passed  by  the 
Democratic  Indiana  legislature  among  the  first  of  all  the 
states,  and  afterwards  held  its  reputation  as  being  one  of  the  best  laws  on  the  subject  adopted  by  any 
legislature  anywhere.  It  stood  the  test  of  time  and  its  reputation  was  such  among  liability  insur- 
ance companies  of  the  country,  with  whom  the  compensation  board  has  to  deal,  that  other  states  sent 
their  commissioners  and  secretaries  to  Indianapolis  to  study  not  only  the  law,  but  its  workings  under 
the  first  Indiana  board.  Most  of  these  other  states  not  only  adopted  the  law  but  also  adopted  the 
rules  under  which  the  Indiana  Board  worked. 

Mr.  Bullock  descended  from  a  long  line  of  patriotic  American  ancestors,  his  great  grandfather, 
Nathaniel  Bullock,  having  served  in  Captain  Bryan's  company  of  infantry,  McDonald's  regiment  of 
N.  C.  militia,  war  of  1812;  in  service  under  command  of  Col.  John  Bowman  in  1780  and  Col.  Ben- 
jamin Logan  of  Virginia  in  1782,  under  General  George  Rogers  Clark  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  On 
his  mother's  side  he  is  the  greatgrandson  of  Peter  Helton,  of  Benj.  Goo's  company,  Austin's  regiment, 
S.  C,  war  of  1812. 

Mr.  Bullock  is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Bar  Association,  the  Commercial  Law  League  of  Amer- 
ica, the  Press  Club  and  numerous  civic  bodies,  and  prominent  in  the  fraternal  order  of  Masons. 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Odd  Fellows,  Elks,  Moose  and   Red  Men. 


HENRY  BULTMAN,  JR. 

Henry  Bultman,  Jr.,  a  native  of  Ripley  county,  and  known  throughout  its  confines  as  an  active 
party  worker  and  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  sheriff,  needs  no  introduction  to  the  citizens  of  that 
locality.  He  was  born  in  Delaware  township  on  November  19,  1870,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
public  schools.  Early  in  life  he  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  for  himself  and  is  now  the 
owner  of  a  fine  farm  in  Delaware  township. 

On  April  26,  1893,  Mr.  Bultman  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Virginia  Baylor,  who  has  proved 
a  faithful  helpmate  and  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Elected  to  the  position  of  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1914,  Mr.  Bultman  was  candidate  for  re-elec- 
tion to  this  position.  He  has  been  an  active  party  worker,  serving  for  several  years  as  precinct 
committeeman,  and  attending  many  county  congressional  and  state  conventions.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  orders  of  Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 


JOHN  W.  BURNS 
Mr.  John  W.  Burns,  a  leading  citizen  and  honored  public  official  of  Bartholomew 
county,  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  born  in  Jackson  county  on  the  27th  day  of 
March,  1866. 

His  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  Jackson  county,  where  he  received  his 
schooling,  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district.  In  the  year  1882  he  came  to  Bar- 
tholomew county,  and  here,  in  the  city  of  Columbus,  his  interests  are  centered. 

On  the  24th  day  of  September,  1903,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary 
J.  Stader,  and  their  home,  then  established,  has  extended  hospitality  to  many  friends 
throughout  the  county. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1912  Mr.  Burns  was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county,  his 
term  of  service  extending  until  January  1,  1915.  During  his  tenure  of  this  office  he  displayed  un- 
usual ability  and  zeal  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  involved.  Indeed  it  has  been  stated  by 
those  in  position  to  judge  that  it  is  agreed  by  his  Democratic  constituents  and  conceded  by  the  Repub- 
licans of  the  county  that  Mr.  Burns  proved  the  best  official  in  this  position  which  Bartholomew  county 
ever  had. 

He  has  been  a  loyal  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  since  his  youth,  and  has  ren- 
dered valued  services  to  the  local  organization. 


ROBERT  A.  BUTLER 

Robert  A.  Butler  needs  no  introduction  to  the  citizens  of  Warren  coun- 
ty, having,  for  many  years,  been  closely  identified  with  the  business  and  po- 
litical life  of  the  community,  and  noted  among  his  constituents  as  being  the 
only  Democrat  to  hold  office  in  the  county,  having  been  elected  to  this  office 
with  a  majority  of  over  two  hundred. 

Mr.  Butler  is  a  native  of  this  locality,  born  in  Warren  county  on  the 
24th  day  of  September,  1868.  His  education  was  received  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  district,  and  on  the  11th  day  of  November,  1897,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Milligan  and  their  permanent  home  was  estab- 
lished. During  the  years  which  have  since  intervened,  Mrs.  Butler  has 
been  his  able  assistant  in  his  many  and  varied  undertakings. 

In  the  year  1904  he  was  elected  township  trustee,  and  in  this  capacity 
served  with  diligence  for  a  term  of  four  years.    In  1908  he  was  elected  to  the 
still  greater  responsibilities  of  county  commissioner,  and  for  three  years 
these  duties  were  faithfully  discharged. 
Mr.  Butler  is  well  known  as  an  extensive  farmer,  owning  and  managing  several  hundred  acres  of 
land;  and  his  abilities  as  an  auctioneer  of  farms  and  other  utilities  are  known  throughout  western  In- 
diana and   eastern  Illinois.     For  six  months  he  was  president  of  the  Warren  County  Bank,  but  re- 
signed in  order  that  his  full  time  might  be  given  to  private  affairs. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  Warren  Lodge  No.   38  F.  and  A.  M.,  is  also  affiliated  with  the  B.  P.  O. 
Elks,  No.  143,  of  Lafayette,  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Jackson  Club  of  that  place. 


FRANK  CALLAHAN 

Frank  Callahan's  election  in  1913  as  mayor  of  East  Chicago  was  the  elevation  to  chief  executive 
position  of  a  man  whose  accomplishments  in  business  had  thoroughly  justified  the  honor. 

He  was  born  at  Flint,  Mich.,  December  11,  1876,  son  of  James  and  Ellen  Callahan. 

After  completing  his  schooling  he  entered  his  father's  office  as  a  contractor,  until  coming  to 
Indiana  Harbor  in  March,  1904,  where  he  engaged  in  the  same  business,  building  many  of  the  prom- 
inent structures  of  that  locality. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Mr.  Callahan  is  secretary-treasurer  of  the  Calumet  Laundry;  president  of  the  Commercial  Club 
Auxiliary  association  and  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Commercial  Club. 

It  was  as  a  Democrat  in  politics,  though  more  particularly  in  recognition  of  his  qualifications,  that 
he  was  elected  mayor. 

He  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Marwick  of  Chi  cago  on  April  6th,  1905,  and  to  them  have  been  bom 
four  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Mr.  Callahan  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church  and  is  affiliated  v.-ith  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
and   Elks. 

VICTOR  CAMP 

The  present  treasurer  of  Lagrange  county,  Mr.  Victor  Camp,  bears  the  record  of  having  been  a 
most  efficient  official,  zealous  in  the  performance  of  his  duty  and  progressive  in  his  methods  of  work. 

Mr.  Camp  was  born  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  near  Dundee,  on  the  12th  day  of  September,  1864,  but 
at  the  age  of  six  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  Indiana. 

He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  the  high  school  of  Lagrange  and  later  graduated 
in  the  commercial  course  at  Valparaiso  University,  Valparaiso,  Ind. 

In  the  year  1901  he  assumed  the  duties  of  assessor  of  Clay  township,  Lagrange  county,  and  in  this 
capacity  he  served  a  four-year  term  with  much  credit.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1914,  he  became  the 
treasurer  of  the  county,  the  first  Democrat  to  hold  this  position  of  responsibility,  and  so  well  did  he 
serve  that  he  was  renominated  in  the  fall  of  that  year. 

Mr.  Camp  finds  his  greatest  pleasure  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  and  in  this  work  also  he  has 
been  successful. 

Mrs.  Camp,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  5,  1911,  was  formerly  Miss  Bertha  Stine. 

BARTLETT  H.  CAMPBELL 

Bartlett  H.  Campbell,  a  native  of  Madison  county,  and  now  a  prominent  attorney  of  Elwood,  was 
born  April  14,  1862.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Anderson,  graduating  from  the  high  school  in 
June,  1879,  and  later  studied  law  with  the  firms  of  Schwin  &  McMahon  and  Robinson  &  Lovett,  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  May,  1892. 

In  1884  he  was  appointed  assistant  postmaster  of  Anderson,  serving  for  four  years,  after  which 
he  became  deputy  sheriff  under  James  Etchison.  He  was  a  member  of  the  school  board  for  six  years, 
resigning  in  1892  when  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county.  In  1896  he  served  as  presi- 
dential elector  from  the  Eighth  District;  and  from  1898  to  1900  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
county  central  committee.  In  1900  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  central  committee.  From 
1902  to  1906  he  was  city  attorney  of  Anderson  under  Mayor  John  L.  Forkner.  In  1907  he  located  in 
Elwood,  and  three  years  later  was  elected  city  attorney,  serving  until  1914. 

Mr.  Campbell  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  and  is  known  throughout  the  State  as  an 
able  attorney  and  active  worker  for  the  cause  of  Democracy.  For  the  past  twenty-five  years  he  has 
attended  all  county  and  state  conventions  of  the  party.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Indiana  Demo- 
cratic Club  and  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Masons,  B.  P.  O.  Elks  and  Royal  Arcanum. 

Mrs.  Campbell,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  July  7,  1883,  was  formerly  Miss  Luella  Wright. 

FRANK  E.  CAMPBELL 

Mr.  Frank  E.  Campbell,  a  well  known  member  of  the  Jay  county  Democracy,  has  been  for  a  number 
of  years  closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  Redkey  and  vicinity. 

He  was  born  in  Jay  county  on  the  2nd  day  of  December,  1869,  and  attended  the  schools  of  Red- 
key.  Following  his  graduation  here,  he  entered  Valparaiso  Normal  School,  completing  a  business 
course. 

Returning  to  his  home  at  Redkey,  he  engaged  in  contracting,  and  very  successful  has  he  been  in 
his  chosen  work,  many  of  the  leading  business  buildings  and  residences  of  the  community  being  evi- 
dence of  his  handiwork. 

Mr.  Campbell  has,  since  attaining  his  majority,  been  a  loyal  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Demo- 
cratic organization,  and  for  the  past  eighteen  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  county  committee.  He 
has  been  a  regular  attendant  at  the  district  conventions  of  the  party,  and  in  the  year  1912  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  state  convention.     He  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Redkey  January  12,  1915. 

Mrs.  Campbell,  to  whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  on  the  8th  day  of  March,  1911,  was  formerly 
Miss  Augusta  A.  Kehrer. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

CARROLL  W.  CANNON 

Carroll  W.  Cannon,  a  native  and  life-long  resident  of  Starke  county,  has  demonstrated  his  ability 
in  various  lines  of  endeavor,  but  in  the  educational  field  his  career  has  been  noteworthy. 

Mr.  Cannon  was  born  in  the  town  of  Knox,  Starke  county,  on  the  17th  day  of  December,  1883,  and 
here  his  life  has  been  spent.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Knox,  graduating  from  the  high  school 
with  the  class  of  1902.  Later  a  course  in  the  higher  branches  was  pursued  at  the  university  of  Val- 
paraiso. Returning  to  Starke  county,  he  entered  the  field  of  education,  teaching  in  the  schools  of  the 
county  with  marked  success. 

On  the  21st  day  of  September,  1907,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Edna  Myers,  and  their 
home,  established  in  Knox,  has  extended  hospitality  to  many  friends  during  the  intervening  years.  A 
little  daughter,  Eleanor  Edna,  born  in  1914,  also  adds  interest  to  their  home. 

In  1911  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  superintendent  of  schools,  and  his  labors  in  this 
field  have  been  marked  by  a  vital  interest  in  his  work,  rare  tact  in  meeting  the  many  perplexing  prob- 
lems connected  with  the  development  of  the  youthful  mind  and  progressive  methods  which  have 
placed  the  schools  in  his  care  on  a  high  plane  of  scholarship. 

Mr.  Cannon  is  an  active  member  of  the  Knox  Christian  church  and- an  enthusiastic  worker  in  the 
Sunday-school.     He  is  also  heavily  interested  in  farming. 

Fraternally,  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Knox  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  No.  639;  Order 
Eastern  Star,  Tippecanoe-Winamac  No.  96,  and  the  Yellow  River  Lodge,  L  0.  0.  F.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  an  old  and  prominent  family,  the  men  of  whom  have  all  consistently  stood  for  the  principles  of 
Democracy. 


THOMAS  C.  CARMICHAEL 

The  name  of  Thomas  Carmichael  is  familiar  to  every  citizen  of  southeastern  Indiana,  being  that 
of  the  present  mayor  of  the  city  of  Aurora  and  a  prominent  worker  in  the  Democratic  party  in  this 
section  for  many  years.  He  is  a  native  Hoosier,  his  birth  occurring  on  the  first  day  of  February, 
1878.  He  attended  the  public  and  high  schools  of  his  district,  graduating  in  1902.  On  the  third 
day  of  May,  1905,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Clara  A.  Barkley,  and  in  their  home  life  they 
have  gathered  about  them  a  wide  circle  of  friends.  On  the  15th  day  of  September,  1910,  he  assumed 
the  duties  of  mayor  of  Aurora,  his  term  of  office  expiring  January  1,  1914;  and  in  the  fall  of  1913 
was  re-elected  to  this  important  position  for  a  further  term  of  four  years. 

Mr.  Carmichael  is  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Masons,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Red 
Men. 

C.  E.  CARNEY,  M.  D. 

Dr.  C.  E.  Carney  was  born  in  Logansport,  Indiana,  on  the  23rd  day  of  May,  1868,  and  in  this  city 
his  schooling  was  received.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  public  schools,  he  attended  the  Indi- 
iina  Medical  College,  in  Indianapolis,  graduating  in  the  year  1895,  taking  up  the  active  practice  of 
medicine  in  the  town  of  Pyrmont  in  the  same  year.  Later  a  post-graduate  course  was  taken  in  the 
Hush  Medical  College,  and  in  the  year  1903  he  moved  to  Delphi.  On  the  10th  day  of  November,  1898, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Delia  Pettigean  of  Tippecanoe  county,  and  to  them  have  been  born  three 
children,  all  of  whom  are  now  living.  He  has  always  been  an  active  Democratic  worker,  and  in  the 
year  1904  was  elected  coroner  of  Carroll  county  on  this  ticket.  His  father  was  also  an  energetic 
worker  in  the  cause  of  Democracy,  and  the  son  assisted  at  the  polls  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years.  Dr. 
Carney  has  many  times  been  a  delegate  to  county,  district  and  state  conventions,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club  of  Indianapolis,  the  order  of  Masons  and  Knights  of  Pythias. 


CHARLES  E.  CARROLL 

Charles  E.  Carroll  of  Hartford  City  is  known  as  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of  Blackford 
county.  He  was  born  in  Blackford  county,  May  17,  1870.  His  father  was  one  of  the  "Forty-niner" 
emigrants  to  California  and  invested  his  earning  from  the  California  gold  fields  very  wisely  in 
Indiana  land.  Mr.  Carroll  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Hartford  City,  and  since  his  ma- 
jority has  served  upon  the  Democratic  county  committee.  In  1910  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
county  council  of  Blackford  county,  but  resigned  when  elected  joint  representative  for  Blackford  and 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Grant  counties  in  1912.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on  highways  in  the  legislature  of  191:5, 
and  was  known  as  one  of  the  hard  working  members  of  the  committee.  One  of  the  notable  meas- 
ures reported  by  this  committee  at  that  session  was  the  Spencer-Hawkins  bill.  Mr.  Carroll  is  known 
as  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  successful  farmers  of  the  state,  having  managed  a  farm  of  900  acres 
since  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  high  class  Poll-Durham  and  Hereford 
cattle  and  Duroc-Jersey  hogs. 

Mr.  Carroll  was  appointed  by  the  governor  in  1904  as  Indiana  delegate  to  the  Farmers'  National 
Congress,  and  has  been  re-appointed  biennially  since  that  time.  In  1913  he  delivered  an  address  to 
that  body  which  attracted  much  attention.  He  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  Wool  Growers'  As- 
sociation and  of  the  Indiana  Cattle  Feeders'  Association  for  the  past  fifteen  years.  Notwithstand- 
ing Mr.  Carroll  has  always  found  many  duties  to  perform  as  a  large  farmer  and  stock  breeder,  and 
also  through  his  devotion  to  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  he  has  found  time  for  social  and 
fraternal  aflFairs,  being  an  active  member  of  the  Elks,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Eagles. 


JOHN  A.  CARTWRIGHT 

One  of  the  ablest,  as  well  as  the  oldest,  citizens  of  Carroll  county  is  John  A. 
Cartwright.  He  was  born  in  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  November  17,  1830,  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  at  Mt.  Union  Seminary;  and  after  moving 
to  Wells  county,  Indiana,  in  1851,  attended  Indiana  University,  graduating  in  1855. 
In  1856  he  began  his  career  as  a  school  teacher,  taking  charge  of  the  schools  of 
Delphi  in  1859,  which  position  he  held  for  three  years.  In  1860  he  was  married  to 
Susannah  Hiett,  of  Tippecanoe  county,  and  to  them  were  born  five  children,  three  of 
whom  are  now  living.  For  fifteen  consecutive  years,  1872  to  1887,  he  served  as 
Democratic  county  chairman,  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  many  conventions  of  the 
party.  Was  mayor  of  Delphi  one  term,  county  auditor  eight  years,  representative 
one  term,  and  has  the  honor  of  being  the  oldest  Mason  in  the  county.  He  has  been  in  the 
ness  twenty  years,  and  is  now  president  of  Delphi  State  Bank. 


MARVIN  H.  CASE 

Closely  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Parke  county  and  vicinity 
and  for  many  years  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party  is  Marvin  H. 
Case,  of  Rockville. 

Mr.  Case  is  essentially  a  Parke  county  product,  born  within  its  confines 
on  the  10th  day  of  July,  1835.  He  received  his  schooling  in  the  country 
schools  of  his  district  and  later  attended  Bloomingdale  Academy.  Early  in 
life  he  entered  into  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  for  himself,  tilling  the  soil 
with  characteristic  diligence  and  energy  and  breeding  fine  cattle,  hogs  and 
sheep  extensively.  His  holdings  grew  steadily,  and  before  the  coming  of  the 
years  when  the  heavy  labors  of  the  farm  became  a  burden,  he  had  amassed 
a  competence.  He  is  now  the  holder  of  about  two  thousand  acres  of  land 
abundantly  stocked  with  fine  live  stock.  He  is  also  vice-president  of  the 
Rockville  National  Bank  and  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  McKeen  National 
Bank  of  Terre  Haute. 

His  father,  who  emigrated  to  Indiana  from  New  York,  was  a  Whig  and 
late  cast  his  lot  with  the  Republicans,  but  he  has  always  been  an  old-line  Democrat,  adhering 
strongly  to  the  principles  promulgated  by  Thomas  Jefferson.  In  the  year  1880  Mr.  Case  was  elected 
township  trustee,  and  in  this  position  served  for  two  years.  His  position  in  the  locality  now  is  one 
of  influence,  and  disagreements  among  various  families  of  the  neighborhood  are  frequently  brought 
to  him  for  adjustment  and  settlement. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  being  an  active  member  of  the  Catlin 
Lodge  No.  402. 

Mrs.  Case,  to  whom  he  was  married  March  28,  1863,  was  formerly  Mi 


Sarah  E.  Hartmar 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

GEORGE  LEO  CASSIDY 

George  Leo  Cassidy,  a  loyal  worker  in  the  cause  of  true  Democracy  and  an  active  member  of 
the  legal  profession  in  Indianapolis,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred in  that  state  on  the  19th  day  of  February,  1888.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Woonsocket,  R.  I., 
and  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  that  place.  He  also  took  a  commercial  course  in  his  na- 
tive state  before  he  came  to  Indiana.  In  the  year  1910  he  entered  the  University  of  Valparaiso, 
Indiana,  and  after  a  course  there  entered  the  American  Central  Law  School,  where  his  legal  studies 
were  completed.     He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state  in  1912. 

In  the  short  time  devoted  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  Mr.  Cassidy  has  evinced  keen  insight 
into  the  various  phases  of  questions  before  him,  and  has  been  diligent  and  loyal  to  the  interests  of 
his  clients,  characteristics  which  inevitably  make  for  success. 

In  the  year  1914  Mr.  Cassidy  was  candidate  in  the  primaries  for  the  legislature,  and,  although 
defeated,  made  a  splendid  race. 

Mr.  Cassidy  is  a  member  of  the  Marion  county  and  state  bar  associations  and  is  taking  a  deep 
interest  in  municipal  affairs. 

WALTER  SCOTT  CHAMBERS 

Walter  Scott  Chambers  was  born  in  Newcastle,  Ind.,  in  June,  1870,  and  has  never  strayed  from 
the  town  of  his  nativity;  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  city  and  graduated  in  1888.  Later  he 
attended  Indiana  University  and  Wisconsin  University.  Not  having  been  born  in  a  log  cabin,  nor 
reared  on  a  farm,  nor  having  taught  school,  he  had  none  of  the  qualifications  of  greatness,  so  settled 
down  to  the  life  of  a  country  editor,  although  educated  for  the  law.  His  father  was  David  W.  Cham- 
bers, an  attorney,  a  captain  in  the  Civil  war,  twice  a  member  of  the  Democratic  state  central  commit- 
tee during  the  eighties  and  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  1876. 

In  1895  the  subject  of  this  sketch  bought  the  Newcastle  Democrat  and  struggled  along  with  it 
for  several  years.  In  1909  he  started  the  Daily  Times  and  is  still  publishing  these  papers.  Has  been 
president  of  Democratic  Editorial  Association,  was  appointed  by  Governor  Marshall  as  a  trustee  of 
Central  Insane  Hospital  and  served  until  1914,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate.  There  he 
served  four  years,  and  at  this  time  is  a  candidate  for  re-election.  He  was  several  times  chairman  of 
the  Henry  County  Democratic  committee  and  for  the  past  six  years  has  been  the  Sixth  District  mem- 
ber of  the  Democratic  state  committee. 

He  was  married  in  1903  to  Adaline  Beam,  of  Newcastle.  Four  children  came  to  brighten  the  home 
—Harriett,   Scott,   Ruth   and   Mary— but  Ruth   died  in  1911. 

In  addition  to  newspaper  and  political  positions  Mr.  Chambers  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  a 
director  of  the  Central  Trust  and  Savings  Company  of  Newcastle  in  1902,  and  remained  with  it  until 
the  first  of  1918,  when  he  resigned  to  take  the  presidency  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Newcastle. 

ALBERT  T.  CHAPMAN 
Has  served  as  representative  from  Howard  county  in  the  general  assembly 
of  the  State  (elected  November  5,  1912);  enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of 
being  the  first  Democrat  ever  elected  to  office  in  this  county;  and  this  gen- 
tleman received  a  plurality  in  the  last  election  of  491,  truly  an  enviable 
showing. 

Albert  T.  Chapman  is  one  of  the  young  men  who  are  forming  so  strong 
an  element  in  the  present  success  of  the  party;  and  his  zeal  and  loyalty  have 
placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  influential  workers  in  Howard  county.     He 
was  born  near  the  town  of  West  Middleton,  his  present  home,  on  the  16th 
day  of  January,  1887;  and  attended  the  public  schools  of  the  township,  grad- 
uating with  the  class  of  1903.     Later  a  course  of  study  was  taken  at  the 
Marion  Normal  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1909.     The 
ensuing  years  were  spent  in  teaching  in  the  county  schools,  and,  though 
so  young,  he  has  for  some  time  held  the  position  of  principal  of  the  schools 
of  Alton,  the  former  home  of  Senator  John  W.  Kern. 
Mr.  Chapman  is  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  and   finds   his    greatest   pleasure   in   the   labors   of  the 
farm,  the  pursuit  in  which  he  is  at  present  engaged.     Fraternally,   he   is   allied   with   the   Order   of 
Masons,  and  the  Red  Men,  in  both  of  which  orders  he  is  well  known  and  highly  esteemed. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ALBERT  A.  CHARLES 

Albert  A.  Charles,  a  well-known  business  man  of  Kokomo,  belongs  to  that  element  of  society 
which  forms  the  bone  and  sinew  of  our  society  anJ  our  body  politic,  the  sterling  business  man  who 
is  yet  deeply  interested  in  civic  affairs  and  seekin;;:  the  best  for  the  community. 

Mr.  Charles  was  born  in  Brighton,  New  Jersey,  December  3,  1852,  and  there  his  youth  was 
spent  and  his  schooling  obtained.  In  the  year  1887  he  came  to  Indiana  and  located  in  Kokomo, 
where  his  interests  have  since  centered. 

Prior  to  her  marriage,  Mr.   Charles'  wife  was  Miss  Lydia  Reiley. 

Mr.  Charles  is  now  president  of  the  Kokomo  Steel  Wire  Company,  and  is  well  known  in  the  busi- 
ness life  of  the  city.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  a 
trustee  of  the  Grace  Methodist  church. 

JOHN  C.   CHENEY 

John  C.  Cheney,  rated  as  one  of  the  most  active  and  effective  workers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  Shelby  county,  like  many  of  the  other  leading  Democrats  of  that  section  was  born 
and  always  lived  there.  The  date  of  his  birth  was  November  29,  1867.  He  was  the  son  of  John  C. 
Cheney,  a  Shelbyville  merchant. 

He  completed  his  education,  after  the  Shelbyville  graded  and  high  schools,  at  the  Indiana  Law 
School  of  the  University  of  Indianapolis,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1897,  opening  his  office 
at  Shelbyville,  where  he  remained  in  continuous  practice.  He  married  Minnie  B.  Boyd  of  Shelby- 
ville, in  1894. 

Mr.  Cheney  served  for  several  years  as  secretary  of  the  Democratic  committee  of  Shelby  county. 
He  served  as  city  attorney  of  Shelbyville  from  1904  to  1908  and  in  the  latter  year  was  elected  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  Shelby  county,  being  re-elected  in  1910  and  1912,  retiring  in  1914.  In  both  offices 
he  made  a  splendid   record,'  as  testified   in  the  two  return  terms  by  popular  vote. 

As  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  event,  the  people  remember  the  part  taken  by  Mr.  Cheney  in 
one  of  the  historical  political  rallies  in  Shelby  county,  this  being  in  1896,  when  David  B.  Hill  insisted 
on  seeing  one  of  the  barbecues  for  which  the  Shelby  Democracy  had  become  famous.  It  is  described 
as  "one  of  the  grandest  affairs  ever  staged  and  one  in  which  the  whole  county  took  part,  eliminating 
political  lines  to  hear  David  B.  Hill  speak." 


CHARLES  N.  CHRISTEN 
The  name  of  Charles  N.  Christen  is  so  well  known  to  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  as 
to  need  little  introduction.  A  native  of  Indiana,  he  was  born  on  the  17th  day  of  Febru- 
ary, 1872,  and  was  married  August  12,  1903,  to  Miss  Amelia  Smith.  His  education 
was  received  in  the  schools  of  Adams  county,  and  later  he  became  identified  with  the 
business  life  of  the  city  of  Decatur  through  his  services  as  an  architect  and  build 
contractor.  He  is  also  president  of  the  plumbing  firm  of  Christen  &  Smith,  and  in 
the  year  1906  he  was  elected  councilman  of  the  city,  which  position  he  filled  conscien- 
tiously and  loyally  until  the  fall  of  1913,  at  which  time  he  was  called  to  fill  the  office 
of  mayor  of  the  city  of  Decatur,  taking  office  January  1,  1914. 


FRANK  P.  CHRISTOPH 

Frank  P.  Christoph's  name  stands  conspicuously  forth  as  that  of  an  official  of 
St.  Joseph  county.  Mr.  Christoph  was  born  in  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  December  14,  1858, 
a  son  of  Frank  and  Magdalena  Christoph,  both  natives  of  Germany,  who  came  to 
this  country  in  their  early  life.  Mr.  Christoph  received  his  early  education  in  Erie, 
attending  a  Catholic  school.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  engaged  in  railroad  work, 
and  has  since  been  in  the  employ  of  many  of  the  big  companies  from  New  York  to  San 
Francisco.  For  two  years  he  was  with  the  Mishawaka  Woolen  Company.  In  1906 
he  was  elected  clerk  of  St.  Joseph  county.  He  previously  had  served  as  marshal  of 
Mishawaka.  In  1884  he  was  married  to  Miss  Minnie  Smith  of  Mishawaka.  They 
have  two  children.  Hazel  F.  and  Frank  H. 

Mr.  Christoph  has  always  been  an  active  Democrat,  laboring  earnestly  for  the  adoption  of  the 
principles  which  he  believes  will  best  advance  good  government.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,   Knights   of  the   Maccabees,   and   Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  CHOLER 
Having  achieved  success  in  educational  work  and  demonstrated  his  ability  in 
the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  George  Washington  Choler  has  also  proved  his  versatility 
by  being  a  most  efficient  incumbent  of  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of 
Lagrange  county. 

Mr.  Choler  was  born  in  Lagrange  county,  Indiana,  on  the  24th  day  of  June,  1870, 
and  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district.  In  the  year  1890  he  graduated  from 
the  Lagrange  high  school. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  August,  1898,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Maude  May  Long  was 
solemnized,  and  the  home  then  established  in  Lagrange  county  has  extended  hospital- 
ity to  a  host  of  friends. 

For  ten  years  after  leaving  high  school  he  was  engaged  as  instructor  in  the  schools  of  his  home 
county,  later,  however,  devoting  his  energies  exclusively  to  farming,  in  which  profession  he  excelled. 
In  the  fall  of  1912  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of  Lagrange  county,  and 
assumed  the  duties  of  office  on  the  first  day  of  the   following  January. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  an  active  party  worker  and  has  served  as  delegate  to 
several  state  conventions. 


JOHN  H.  CLAMME 

John  H.  Clamme,  of  Hartford  City,  was  born  in  Black- 
ford county,  September  12,  1876,  and  was  married  to  Miss 
Bessie  E.  Grooves,  the  only  daughter  of  Aaron  Grooves,  Janu- 
ary 25,  1902.  Mr.  Clamme  is  of  French  origin,  his  father 
having  emigrated  from  France  to  the  United  States  in  the 
year  1872.  From  early  years  Mr.  Clamme  has  taken  an  ardent 
interest  in  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party.  In  1906  he 
was  elected  sheriff  of  Blackford  county,  being  at  that  time 
the  youngest  sheriff  in  the  State  of  Indiana.  So  general  was 
the  satisfaction  which  he  gave  to  the  people  of  Blackford 
county  in  his  official  capacity  that  in  1908  he  was  re-elected 
by  the  largest  majority  ever  given  in  the  county  to  any  can- 
didate of  either  party  for  any  county  office.  From  1909  to 
1913  he  served  as  secretary  to  the  Democratic  city  central 
committee. 

After  his  retirement  from  office  he  returned  to  the  farm, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  breeding  of  high-class  Polled  Dur- 
ham cattle  and  Poland  China  hogs,  in  which  business  he  is 
widely  known  in  northeastern  Indiana. 


CHARLES  J.  CLAMME 

Charles  J.  Clamme  of  Hartford  City  was  born  in  Blackford  county, 
March  8,  1878.  He  was  educated  in  the  county  schools  of  Blackford  county, 
and  on  December  21,  1901,  was  married  to  Miss  Arminda  Emshwiller. 

Mr.  Clamme  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics,  and  has  been  an 
ardent  Democrat  since  attaining  his  majority.  In  fact,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Democratic  county  committee  of  Blackford  county  before 
he  became  of  voting  age.  He  served  faithfully  as  a  member  of  this  com- 
mittee for  about  eight  years.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  county 
council  in  1910,  and  was  unanimously  renominated  for  the  same  position 
in  1914. 

The  name  of  Clamme  Bros,  is  well  known  among  live  stock  breeders 
and  farmers.  Charles  J.  Clamme  is  the  largest  feeder  and  shipper  of  cattle 
and  hogs  in  Blackford  county.  He  is  also  general  manager  of  the  firm  of 
Clamme  Bros.,  who  are  general  contractors  in  road  and  ditch  building,  and 
have  the  reputation  of  being  the  largest  contractors  in  their  line  in  north- 


(866  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  ()  -  1  9  1  6 


em  Indiana.  Mr.  Clanime  has  been  very  successful  in  a  financial  way.  He  was  one  of  the  first  or- 
ganizers of  the  Farmers'  Co-operative  Club,  and  was  elected  the  first  treasurer  of  that  organization. 
He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

DAVID  M.  CLARK 

David  M.  Clark  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Bedford,  Lawrence  county, 
Indiana,  on  the  23rd  day  of  March,  1867.  Here  his  childhood  and  youth  were 
spent,  and  his  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Katie  Armbruster,  and  in  the  year  189.5 
emigrated  to  Boone  county,  taking  up  his  residence  on  a  farm  near  James- 
town. In  1900  he  entered  the  hardware  business  at  Jamestown.  Since  that 
time  he  has  been  very  closely  identified  with  the  business  and  political  life 
of  the  place,  working  zealously  for  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
winning  many  friends  in  the  community.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  1910  he 
was  elected  to  the  responsible  position  of  auditor  of  Boone  county  for  a 
term  of  four  years;  and  is  now  living  in  the  city  of  Lebanon,  devoting  him- 
self diligently  and  conscientiously  to  the  duties  of  this  office. 

Mr.  Clark  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  fraternal  affairs,  and  is  affiliated 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Encampment  of  Jamestown  and 
Canton  No.  2,  Indianapolis;  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Order  of  Red 
Men  of  Jamestown. 


SALEM  D.  CLARK 

To  those  who  have  taken  an  active  interest  in  legislative  affairs  in  Indi- 
ana the  name  of  Salem  D.  Clark,  state  senator  from  Marion  county  in  the 
assemblies  of  1909  and  1911,  needs  no  introduction,  for  his  active  participa- 
tion in  the  affairs  of  those  bodies  and  the  clean  record  then  established  are 
well  known. 

Senator  Clark  was  born  in  the  year  1872  on  a  farm  in  Washington  town- 
ship, Hendricks  county,  and  here,  in  the  environment  of  God's  out-of-doors, 
his  boyhood  was  spent.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  district,  graduating 
in  the  year  1889,  and  continuing  his  studies  at  the  Central  Normal  College 
of  Danville.  Then  followed  a  course  of  study  at  Valparaiso  University,  and, 
finally,  his  legal  studies  were  taken  up  at  the  Indiana  Law  School,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1898.  While  pursuing  his  studies  in  this 
latter  institution,  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  he  decided  to  locate  in  this  city, 
and  accordingly  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Marion  county  and  entered  into 
active  practice.  Here  he  has  since  remained,  building  for  himself  a  lucrative 
clientele  and  establishing  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  legislator. 

In  the  fall  of  1908  he  was  elected  senator  for  Marion  county  in  the  general  assemblies  of  1909  and 
1911.  During  his  attendance  at  the  deliberations  of  these  bodies  Senator  Clark  was  instrumental  in 
passing  the  registration  law,  corrupt  practices  act,  employer's  liability  law,  child  labor  law,  bi-monthly 
pay  law.  and  many  other  measures  of  benefit  to  the  public. 

Senator  Clark  is  a  member  of  the  Broadway  Methodist  church.  Odd  Fellows  Lodge  No.  465, 
the  Independent  Turnverein  and  the  Indiana  Democratic  club.  Mrs.  Clark,  to  whom  he  was  married 
in  1899,  was  formerly  Miss  Emma  Pence. 

WILLIAM  F.  CLEVELAND,  M.  D. 

The  name  of  Dr.  William  F.  Cleveland  is  widely  known  throughout  Vanderburg 
county  and  vicinity  as  that  of  a  prominent  physician,  a  public-spirited  citizen  and 
a  legislator  of  note. 

He  was  born  in  Gibson  county,  Indiana,  on  the  23rd  day  of  November,  18.5.5. 
He  attended  the  schools  of  his  district  and  graduated  from  the  Ft.  Branch  High 
School  in  the  year  1874.  In  the  same  year  he  entered  the  educational  field,  and 
taught  in  the  schools  of  the  county  for  fifteen  years,  spending  the  summer  months 
in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture.  In  the  year  1889  he  entered  the  Kentucky  School  of 
Medicine,  at  Louisville,  and  graduated  from  this  institution  with  the  class  of  1892. 
Locating  in  the  city  of  Evansville  he  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  medicine. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

and  in  this  field  has  proved  himself  a  master,  soon  establishing  himself  in  the  front  rank  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

Dr.  Cleveland  takes  an  active  interest  in  political  and  municipal  affairs  and  v»ras  a  member 
of  the  city  council  of  Evansville  for  ten  years.  He  served  in  the  1913  and  1915  general  assembly  as 
senator  for  Vanderburg  county. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Hendricks  club,  the  Ohio  Valley  Medical  Association  and  the 
Vanderburg  County  Medical  Society,  and  is  allied  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Red  Men,  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  the   World. 

Mrs.  Cleveland,  to  whom  he  was  married  November  21,  1882,  was  formerly  Miss  Mary  E. 
Prichett. 


JOHN  J.  CLEARY 

An  active  member  of  Vigo  county  Democracy  since  his  boyhood  and  a 
member  of  various  committees  in  almost  every  campaign  since  before  he 
attained  his  majority,  also  closely  identified  vrith  the  business  life  of  Terre 
Haute  for  many  years,  the  present  postmaster,  John  J.  Cleary,  is  well 
known. 

He  was  born  in  Terre  Haute,  March  23,  1874,  and  here  he  received  his 
schooling,  graduating  from  Wiley  High  School  in  June,  1893.  Three  years 
later,  on  the  12th  day  of  August,  1896,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Margaret  Louise  Hammerstein. 

At  the  age  of  less  than  twenty  years,  in  1893,  he  assumed  the  duties 
of  deputy  county  clerk,  and  in  this  capacity  served  four  years.     In  1899  he 
became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hoermann  &  Cleary,  in  the  seed  business, 
and  afterward  organized  the  Cleary  Coal  &  Supply  Co.     In  June,  1904,  he 
disposed  of  his  holdings  in  this  company  and  became  proprietor  of  the  St. 
Nicholas  Hotel,  where  he  continued  until  appointed  postmaster  by  President 
Wilson,  March  23,  1914. 
He  is  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Elks,  Knights  of  Columbus,  Young  Men's  Institute 
and  Travelers'  Protective  Association,  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Terre  Haute  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 


JOHN  CLEARY 

John  Cleary,  for  many  years  a  prominent  Democratic  worker  of  Vigo 
county,  was  born  in  Ireland  near  the  town  of  Limerick,  March  27,  1844. 
Here  he  attended  school,  and  later  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  butcher 
business  in  the  town.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  he  emigrated  to 
America,  locating  in  Terre  Haute,  and  here  the  remainder  of  his  life  was 
spent.  After  a  brief  interval  in  the  meat  business,  he  became  a  member  of 
the  police  force  of  the  city,  and  later  served  as  deputy  sheriff  under  George 
Carrico  and  Lewis  Hay,  demonstrating  in  marked  manner  his  efficiency  and 
zeal  in  this  capacity.  In  1882  he  was  elected  sheriff  by  a  handsome  majority 
in  a  Republican  county,  and  two  years  later  was  re-elected  with  a  large 
majority. 

He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians;  and  in 
the  local  Democratic  organization  was  a  valuable  worker"  for  many  years, 
serving  through  many  campaigns  and  nearly  always  a  delegate  to  the  state 
conventions, 
day  of  April,  1892,  death  claimed  him,  and  his  loss  was  mourned  by  many  friends. 


(  868  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-19  16 

JOHN  CLERKIN 

John  Clerkin  is  a  man  of  unusual  attainments,  having 
won  a  position  of  distinction  in  the  educational  field  before 
entering  the  legal  profession.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Jen- 
nings county,  one  mile  east  of  Butlerville,  January  22,  1873. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  and  graduated  from  Butler- 
ville High  School  in  1893.  He  continued  his  studies  in  Frank- 
lin College,  Danville  Normal  School,  Valparaiso  College  and 
Indiana   University  at  Bloomington. 

In  June,  1903,  while  a  student  at  Bloomington,  he  was 
elected  county  superintendent  of  Jennings  county  schools,  be- 
ing the  first  Democrat  elected  to  this  office  in  Jennings  county. 
His  first  term  was  highly  successful,  and  in  June,  1907,  he 
was  re-elected  for  a  second  term  of  four  years,  although  a 
majority  of  the  trustees  were  Republicans.  In  1911  he  was 
offered  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  board,  but  declined  a  third 
term  for  the  purpose  of  entering  the  practice  of  law,  his  am- 
bition since  boyhood. 

Mr.  Clerkin's  general  education,  his  experience  as  super- 
intendent of  schools,  and  extensive  acquaintance  have  been 
most  valuable  to  him  in  building  up  a  legal  practice.  In  1913 
he  was  appointed  county  attorney  of  Jennings  county,  and  was 
reappointed  in  1914  and  1915. 

Mr.  Clerkin  comes  from  a  family  of  old-time  Democrats  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  politics. 
In  October,  1903,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Grace  Gant,  and  they  now  live  in  their  home  on 
State  street  in  North  Vernon. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  COBLE 

A  well-known  and  loyal  worker  in  the  ranks  of  Wabash  county  Democracy  is  William  Henry 
Coble,  a  representative  citizen,  successful  farmer  and  the  incumbent  of  various  positions  of  trust  in 
the  public  service. 

Mr.  Coble  is  a  native  of  this  county,  born  on  the  5th  day  of  April,  1869.  He  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  district,  and  from  his  youth  engaged  in  farming.  Descended  from  a  long  line  of 
Democratic  ancestors,  however,  he  has  been  true  to  the  traditions  of  the  family  and  has  worked  at 
all  times  zealously  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  in  his  community.  For  several  years  he  served 
as  township  and  precinct  committeeman,  and  in  the  year  1912  was  elected  to  the  position  of  sheriff 
of  the  county.     At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  two  years  he  was  again  nominated  for  this  position. 

Mrs.  Coble,  to  whom  he  was  married   September  22,  1892,  was  formerly  Miss  Emma  R.  Crumrine. 


JOHN  A.  CODY 

A  roster  of  the  loyal  Democratic  workers  of  New  Albany  would  be  incomplete  were  mention  not 
made  of  John  A.  Cody,  one  of  the  most  zealous  citizens  of  that  place  in  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
party. 

Mr.  Cody  is  a  native  of  the  city  of  New  Albany,  born  in  that  city  on  March  4,  1872.  He  at- 
tended Holy  Trinity  parochial  school  in  his  youth  and  after  his  graduation  became  connected  with 
the  office  force  of  the  Louisville,  Henderson  and  St.  Louis  Railroad.  At  the  present  time  he  holds 
the  position  of  chief  clerk  in  the  auditor's  office  of  that  company. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Cody  has  worked  unceasingly  for  the  success  of  the  Demo- 
cratic pai'ty,  was  for  eighteen  years  a  member  of  the  city  committee,  and  for  twelve  years  acted 
as  chairman  of  that  organization.  For  ten  years  he  served  upon  the  county  central  executive  com- 
mittee, and  in  1908  was  elected  president  of  the  Floyd  County  Democratic  Club.  In  all  of  these  po- 
sitions of  responsibility  his  conscientious  zeal  anl  capacity  for  organization  have  stood  him  in  good 
stead,  and  he  has  uniformly  served  with  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents.  In  the  year  1914 
he  was  recommended  by  Congressman  W.  E.  Cox  for  the  position  of  postmaster  of  the  city  of  New 
Albany. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

On  October  28,  1903,  Mr.  Cody  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Arnold  and  their  home 
in  the  years  since  has  extended  its  hospitality  to  a   host  of  friends. 

Mr.  Cody  is  an  active  member  of  the  Knights   of  Columbus  and  a  deputy  in  that  order. 


WILLIAM  L.  COFFEY 
William  L.  Coffey  was  born  in  Nashville,  Ind.,  September  17,  1866. 
His  father,  Judge  Richard  L.  Coffey,  was  born  and  reared  in  Monroe 
county,  this  State;  educated  at  Franklin  College  and  Indiana  University, 
graduating  from  the  law  department  of  the  latter  Mai-ch  1,  1859.  He 
came  to  Brown  county  during  the  Civil  war,  soon  won  a  commanding  posi- 
tion at  the  Nashville  bar  and  continued  to  practice  his  profession  until  his 
death,  May  1,  1901.  Julia  M.  Mason,  his  wife,  was  a  native  of  Bedford, 
Ind.,  and  bore  her  husband  five  children,  the  subject  of  this  review  being 
the  eldest. 

William  L.  Coffey's  youth  was  spent  in  Nashville,  where  he  enjoyed 
the  best  educational  advantages  the  town  afforded.  After  completing  the 
public  school  course  he  wa.s  assisted  and  tutored  by  his  father  in  special 
subjects.  In  1882  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine,  to  which  he  devoted 
five  years.  Returning  from  college  in  1888,  he  was  elected  county  coroner, 
serving  two  years.  In  1893  he  was  induced  to  take  charge  of  the  Nashville 
schools,  and,  finding  enjoyment  in  the  profession  of  teaching,  abandoned  the  pursuit  of  medicine  and 
began  preparation  for  his  new  work. 

Mr.  Coffey  was  at  the  head  of  the  Nashville  schools  ten  years.  His  success  here  won  him  high 
honors,  and  in  1903  he  was  elected  county  superintendent. 

In  1905  he  made  a  campaign  in  every  school  district  in  the  county,  demanding  that  the  people 
give  attention  to  the  matter  of  providing  high  school  training  for  their  children.  This  effort  bore 
fruit.  In  1906  a  convention  of  teachers  was  called  which  decided  to  petition  the  trustee  of  Wash- 
ington township  asking  for  a  joint  high  school  at  Nashville;  and  in  the  spring  of  1907  a  beautiful 
building  with  full  equipment  for  high  school  work  adorned  the  town.  This  building  stands  as  a  monu- 
ment to  Mr.  Coffey's  fidelity  to  the  educational  interests  of  his  county,  and  it  is  fitting  that  he  bear 
the  title  of  "Father  of  Nashville  High  School." 

In  1907  Mr.  Coffey  was  unanimously  re-elected  county  superintendent.  It  is  said  that  he  dismissed 
more  inefficient  teachers  and  revoked  more  licenses  than  all  his  predecessors  together.  A  state  super- 
intendent said,  "No  county  in  the  State  has  shown  such  marked  progress  in  its  schools  as  has  Brovwi 
county  under  Mr.  Coffey's  supervision." 

Declining  to  serve  further  as  superintendent  in  1911,  after  twenty-five  years'  connection  with  the 
schools,  he  withdrew  to  devote  his  time  to  business  enterprises  with  which  he  was  connected.  In  1908 
he  was  chosen  president  of  the  Nashville  State  Bank,  which  position  he  held  until  1911,  when  he  as- 
sumed the  duties  of  cashier,  which  position  he  now  holds.  He  has  proven  a  capable,  efficient  banker, 
thoroughly  familiar  with  all  details  of  the  banking  business. 

Mr.  Coffey  has  been  a  lifelong  Democrat  and  always  enthusiastic  about  his  party's  success.  He  is 
president  of  the  city  school  board,  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  superintendent  of  the  federated 
Sunday-schools  of  Nashville,  member  of  the  Masons,  K.  of  P.  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

On  July  2,  1893,  Mr.  Coffey  was  married  to  Rosa  B.  Clark  of  Brown  county,  the  union  resulting  in 
the  birth  of  five  children,  two  girls  and  three  boys — L.  Marie,  William  Wendell,  Alton  Powell,  Arthur 
Livingston  and  Eugenia  Marguerite. 


CHARLES  A.  COLE 

Charles  A.  Cole,  a  leading  attorney  of  Miami  county,  and  the  holder  of  various  positions  of 
trust  during  the  years  since  he  attained  his  majority,  is  highly  esteemed  throughout  the  legal  pro- 
fession of  the  state  as  legislator  and  jurist. 

He  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  born  on  the  21st  day  of  March,  1855.  He  attended  the  district  school 
of  Peru  township,  Miami  county,  and  later  graduated  from  the  Peru  High  School  with  the  class  of 
1872.  Then  followed  a  course  of  study  at  Indiana  University.  He  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Lyman 
Walker  at  Peru,  Indiana,  and  in  the  year  1878  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  entered  the  practice  of 


(  870) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

his  profession  in  Peru.  In  1880  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  Indiana  as  representative  from 
Miami  county.  He  also  served  as  county  attorney  for  four  years,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Peru 
School  Board  from  1904  to  1907.  In  1908  he  became  the  senior  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Cole  and 
Cole,  the  junior  member  being  his  son,  Albert  Harvey  Cole.  He  is  now  judge  of  the  Miami  Circuit 
Court,  to  which  position  he   was   elected  in    1914. 

Mrs.  Cole,  to  whom  he  was  married  December  3,  1884,  was  formerly  Miss  Elizabeth  Shirk. 


HUGH  COLVIN 

An  honored  public  official  of  Scott  county  for  many  years,  Hugh  Colvin  is  well  known  in  this 
locality. 

He  was  born  in  this  county  on  the  11th  day  of  December,  1856,  and  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Scott  and  Clark  counties.  On  the  17th  of  September,  1877,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Annettia  Hartman  and  their  home  was  established  in  Scottsburg,  where  he  became  the  proprietor 
of  a  thriving  blacksmith  and  implement  business.  In  the  year  1886  he  was  elected  township  trustee, 
and  in  this  position  served  until  1890,  at  which  time  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  treasur- 
er; and  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  was  re-elected  to  this  position.  Again,  on  the  1st  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1913,  he  assumed  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  this  position,  and  in  the  campaign  of  1914 
was  the  candidate  for  re-election. 

He  has  been  an  active  party  worker  and  has  missed  but  two  state  conventions  in  the  past  twenty- 
five  years. 


JOSEPH  COMBS 

The  ancestors  of  the  Combs  family  were  of  Holland  descent,  and  set- 
tled in  New  Jersey  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war.  One  of  the  earliest 
known,  John  Combs,  served  as  a  captain  in  the  struggle  for  independence. 
Joseph  Combs  is  a  native  of  Clinton  county,  Indiana,  and  was  born  on  a 
farm  in  Washington  township,  November  15,  1860.  His  father  was  Nathan 
B.  Combs,  Sr.,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  that  county,  locating  there  in 
1856,  when  the  country  was  one  vast  forest.  He  came  from  Butler  county, 
Ohio.  The  family  has  been  Democratic  from  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
the  party  under  Thomas  Jeflferson. 

Joseph  grew  up  on  the  farm  and  became  used  to  all  of  the  hardships  of 
the  early  pioneer.  About  nine  months  of  every  year  was  spent  in  helping  to 
clear  and  improve  the  farm,  and  about  three  months  in  the  district  school, 
where  he  obtained  a  common  school  education.  He  attended  several  terms 
of  the  local  county  normal,  and  the  state  normal  school  at  Terre  Haute,  and 
prepared  himself  for  teaching.  He  taught  in  the  district  schools  for  six 
years,  "and  then  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  J.  C.  Suit,  in  Fiankfort,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1886.  In  1890  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  45th  Judicial  Circuit,  and  served 
in  that  office  for  two  years,  making  a  very  creditable  record  for  efficiency  and  ability.  Later  he  entered 
the  practice  of  law  in  the  firm  of  Brumbaugh  &  Combs,  which  continued  for  eight  years,  and  where 
he  was  successful  as  a  lawyer.  From  1901  to  1908  he  practiced  law  alone,  and  was  city  attorney  for 
Frankfort  from  1906  to  1908. 

In  June,  1908,  he  was  nominated  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  judge  of  the  Clinton  Circuit  Court, 
after  a  hard  contest  with  four  members  of  the  Clinton  county  bar.  The  county  was  then  very  close  po- 
litically, and  after  a  spirited  and  exciting  campaign  he  defeated  Judge  Claybaugh,  the  Republican  can- 
didate, for  re-election,  by  a  plurality  of  100.  From  the  first  his  record  on  the  bench  has  been  creditable 
to  himself  and  his  party.  He  at  once  gave  evidence  of  his  desire  to  be  fair  and  impartial  to  all,  re- 
gardless of  whether  they  had  been  for  or  against  him  in  the  contest  for  election.  He  became  a  hard 
worker  and  gave  close  attention  to  all  of  the  business  of  the  court,  and  long  before  his  first  term  ex- 
pired he  had  practically  the  unanimous  support  of  his  own  party,  and  many  warm  friends  in  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  was  re-nominated  by  acclamation  by  the  Democrats  in  1914,  and  re-elected  by 
over  900  plurality,  the  first  judge  to  be  re-elected  in  the  district  for  forty  years.  He  received  the  sup- 
port of  many  Republicans,  Progressives,  and  other  parties,  leading  all  the  other  candidates  by  many 
hundreds. 


(871) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ISAIAH  CONNER 

Isaiah  Conner,  one  of  the  most  favorably  known  citizens  of  Fulton  county,  was  born  near 
Marion,  Ind.,  August  4,  1838,  the  son  of  Nelson  and  Sarah  (Boots)  Conner,  the  father  being  born 
in  South  Carolina  and  the  mother  in  Scotland.  They  had  seven  children  who  survived  infancy,  Isaiah 
being  the  third.  He  was  brought  up  mostly  on  a  farm.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the 
Quaker  school  near  Marion,  a  school  supported  by  subscription  funds,  and  unquestionably  the  best  in 
the  county.  After  leaving  here  he  took  an  academic  course  at  Marion,  following  which  he  began 
the  study  of  law  at  Marion  with  the  firm  of  Van  Devanter  &  McDowell,  and  was  there  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  chose  other  pursuits,  however,  until  1867,  at  which  time  he  took  up  the  practice  of  law, 
locating  in  1869  in  Rochester,  where  he  soon  had  a  large  clientage  and  won  a  good  reputation  as  a 
lawyer. 

In  November,  1884,  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Forty-first  Judicial  Circuit,  composing  the  coun- 
ties of  Fulton  and  Marshall.  He  held  the  office  one  term,  six  years,  and  upon  retiring  from  the  bench 
in  November,  1890,  the  bars  of  both  counties  adopted  resolutions  in  which  the  high  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held  was  expressed,  and  on  the  same  occasion  he  received  from  the  Marshall  county  bar  a 
gold-headed  cane  and  from  the  Fulton  county  bar  a  fine  oflice  desk  and  chair.  Since  retiring  from  the 
office  of  judge  he  has  continued  in  the  active  practice  of  law  and  became  the  head  of  the  well-known 
firm  of  Conner  &  Rowley,  which  for  many  years  stood  in  the  front  of  the  law  practice  of  northern 
Indiana. 

Mr.  Conner  has  always,  since  he  was  old  enough  to  take  any  part  in  politics,  been  a  Democrat, 
and  is  a  great  admirer  of  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  democratic  presidents  who  ever  filled  that 
office — Woodrow  Wilson. 

On  January  26,  1862,  Mr.  Conner  married  Miss  Talitha  Line,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Nancy  (Wallace)  Line.  She  was  born  near  Marion,  October  15,  1841,  and  died  at  Rochester,  July  18, 
1895,  having  been  an  invalid  for  many  years.  No  children  were  born  of  this  marriage  and  therefore 
the  husband  bears  alone  the  sorrows  of  the  greatest  grief  which  can  come  upon  anyone  in  this  world. 

JAMES  MILO  CONAWAY 

The  name  of  Conaway  is  familiar,  not  only  to  the  adherents  of  Democracy  in  Dearborn  county, 
but  to  the  community  at  large;  for  the  family,  consisting  of  the  father  and  five  sons,  have  for  many 
years  been  active  in  the  councils  and  work  of  the  party.  One  of  the  brothers,  James  Milo  Cona- 
way, a  prominent  business  man,  with  whom  this  review  has  to  deal,  has  given  generously  of  his  time 
as  well  as  his  means  to  further  the  Democratic  cause  in  his  community.  He  was  born  on  the  9th 
day  of  February,  1882,  in  Ohio  county,  Indiana,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Ohio  and  Dearborn  counties.  In  the  year  1904  he  cast  his  first  vote  for  William  J.  Bryan  and  since 
that  time  has  served  his  party  actively  in  each  campaign,  attending  the  various  conventions  held  in 
the  county,  district  and  state,  and  laboring  diligently  for  the  success  of  the  cause. 

In  March,  1907,  Mr.  Conaway  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lyda  Phillips  and  they  have  gath- 
ered about  them  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

Mr.  Conaway  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  fraternal  affairs  of  Aurora,  and  is  now  presi- 
dent of  the  fraternal  order  of  Eagles,  and  an  active  member  of  the  Mutual  Aid  association. 
Throughout  his  career,  whether  in  his  own  affairs  or  in  the  affairs  of  the  public,  he  has  been  ag- 
gressive and  progressive,  keeping  abreast  of  the  times  and  evincing  a  deep  interest  in  all  movements 
tendin,°:  toward  the  betterment  of  the  community. 

HOMER  L.  COOK 

The  official  records  during  his  term  as  secretary  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  dur- 
ing all  the  time  he  served  the  people  as  a  public  official,  are  sufficient  commenda- 
tion for  the  good  work  of  Homer  L.  Cook  of  Indianapolis.  An  investigation  of  the 
records  for  the  administration  of  Mr.  Cook,  and  a  comparison  of  these  with  the  rec- 
ords of  others  in  the  same  place,  makes  the  Cook  service  stand  out  conspicuously  for 
its  excellence  in  line  of  efficiency  and  economy  of  management. 

Homer  L.  Cook  was  born  in  Wabash,  Indiana,  in  1867,  a  member  of  a  large 
family.  It  was  due  to  his  individual  effort,  work  and  ambition  that  success  came  to 
Jiim.  When  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Indianapolis,  the  same  industry,  energy, 
amoition  and  vision  carried  him  forward.  He  became  interested  in  school  work  and 
was  e'ected  county  superintendent  of  schools. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

This  work  led  into  other  fields.  He  was  always  an  active  worker  for  the  Democratic  party.  He 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1911  and  1913,  where  he  served  as  speakfi 
during  a  session  in  which  there  was  more  constructive  legislation  placed  upon  the  statutes  of  Indi- 
ana than  during  any  other  term  of  any  legislature  ever  assembled.  It  was  all  good  Democratic  leg- 
islation, the  result  of  the  best  thought  and  combined  efforts  of  the  Marshall  and  Ralston  adminis- 
trations. 

Mr.  Cook  became  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  secretary  of  state  and  was  elected  to  the  term 
beginning  in  1914.  Following  his  retirement  from  this  office  he  returned  to  the  management  of 
Cook's  Educational  Agency  in  Indianapolis. 


WALTER  DOUGLAS  COOK 

Since  his  great-grandfather  journeyed  from  Guilford  county,  North  Carolina,  the  family  of  Wal- 
ter Douglas  Cook  has  been  numbered  among  the  representative  citizens  of  Wayne  county. 

Mr.  Cook  was  born  on  a  farm  in  this  county  on  the  28th  day  of  October,  1885.  Here  he  attended 
the  schools  of  his  district,  graduating  from  the  high  school.  Later  he  graduated  from  the  Univer- 
sity of  Valparaiso  with  the  degree  of  B.  S.,  and  continued  his  work  with  a  three-year  course  at  the 
State  Normal  School  of  Terre  Haute.  Special  work  was  also  taken  at  Earlham  College,  and  he  en- 
tered the  educational  field  well  equipped  for  the  work.  For  twenty-eight  years,  in  Indiana,  Michigan 
and  Wisconsin,  he  taught  in  the  public  schools,  but  in  1911  became  a  traveling  salesman. 

In  1898  he  was  elected  representative  for  Wayne  county  to  the  legislature,  polling  the  largest 
vote  ever  given  this  official  in  the  county. 

Mrs.  Cook,  to  whom  he  was  married  October  28,  1885,  was  formerly  Miss  Cora  Lycan;  and  as 
the  presiding  genius  of  their  home  she  has  drawn  about  them  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 


ALLEN  F.  COOPER 

Has  served  as  county  trea.surer  of  Hancock  county,  coming  to  the  position  well 
equipped  for  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  and  conversant  with  municipal  mat- 
ters and  their  requirements. 

Mr.  Allen  F.  Cooper  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  in  Hancock  county  on  the  10th 
day  of  November,  1862.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Greenfield,  and  has  since 
remained  in  the  home  of  his  childhood.  In  the  year  1893  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Anna  Conn,  and  she  has  been  his  faithful  helpmate  through  the  years  that  have 


In  1899  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  city  council,  serving  in  this  capacity  for 
two  years,  assuming  the  duties  of  the  position  with  the  beginning  of  the  following 
year.     In  1912  he  was  elected  county  treasurer,  his  term  of  office  to  extend  for  two  years,  begir 
with  1918.     He  was  re-elected  in  1914,  thus  serving  four  years  in  this  capacity. 

During  his  long  residence  in  Greenfield,  he  has  won  a  large  circle  of  friends,  and  his  devoti 
the  duties  entrusted  to  him  is  a  matter  of  note  in  the  community. 


WALTER  G.  CORY 

Walter  G.  Cory  was  born  in  Marion  county,  Indiana,  July  23,  1874.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  and  was  employed  as  a  messenger  boy  in  Indianapolis.  In  this  capacity  he  had  the  honer  of 
carrying  to  Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison  the  notice  of  his  nomination  to  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States  in  1888.  Later  Mr.  Cory  found  employment  in  a  grocery,  but  at  the  age  of  twenty-four 
years  located  upon  a  farm  in  Jefferson  township,  Boone  county.  Here  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Eva  Hill,  also  a  resident  of  Boone  county,  and  here  their  permanent  home  was  established.  The 
grandfather  of  Mr.  Cory  was  the  first  judge  in  the  old  court  house;  his  father  was  in  the  mail 
service  under  President  Cleveland;  and  he  himself  was  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  tax  re- 
view, appointed  by  Judge  Parr.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  orders  of  F.  and  A.  M.  an<i  the  Knights 
of  Pythias. 


(  873  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


JUDGE  CHARLES  E.  COX 

In  politics  one  of  the  most  earnest,  active  and  best 
grounded  in  reasons  for  the  faith,  as  an  attorney  one  of  the 
ablest,  as  a  judge  recognized  by  the  people  of  all  parties  as 
one  of  the  best  jurists  who  ever  sat  as  a  member  of  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  state  of  Indiana.  Nothing  could  better 
describe  the  recognized  standing  of  Judge  Charles  E.  Cox,  and 
the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  people. 

Charles  E.  Cox  was  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  a  farm 
in  Hamilton  county,  February  21,  1860.  His  paternal  great- 
grandfather was  one  of  the  patriotic  fighting  Quakers  of 
North  Carolina  and  a  warm  friend  of  General  Greene.  The 
family  conducted  a  water-power  mill  on  Deep  river  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolutionary  war  and  before. 

At  this  mill  "The  Regulators,"  an  organization  bom  to 
resist  the  tyranny  of  the  royal  governor  of  North  Carolina, 
was  formed  and  was  responsible  for  the  "Tryon"  rebellion  in 
1769.  As  a  result  this  great-grandfather,  with  others,  was 
arrested  and  charged  with  treason  to  the  English  government. 
A  maternal  great-grandfather  was  a  Virginia  surveyor  and 
moved  into  Kentucky  with  Daniel  Boone. 

The  immediate  ancestors  of  Charles  E.  Cox  were  Aaron 
Cox  and  Mary  A.  Skaggs,  who  were  married  in  Ohio  in  1844 
and  shortly  thereafter  came  to  Indiana,  where  they  reared  a  large  family  and  died  in  the  fullness  of 
years  with  the  respect  of  all  who  had  known  them.  Among  the  children  were  three  who  especially 
made  their  impress  on  the  history  of  the  state  as  Democrats,  lawyers  and  judges.  These  were  Jabez  T. 
Cox  of  Peru,  Indiana,  the  oldest,  who  served  two  terms  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Miami  county; 
Millard  F.  Cox,  one  time  judge  of  the  criminal  court  of  Marion  county  and  long  actively  connected 
with  the  publicity  bureau  of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee;  Charles  E.  Cox,  of  whom  this 
brief  historical  sketch  is  written. 

Charles  E.  Cox  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Indiana,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  moved 
from  the  farm  to  Indianapolis  to  study  law.  For  this  career  he  had  had  aspirations  which  persisted 
from  the  time  when,  as  a  very  small  boy,  he  haunted  the  court  rooms  at  every  opportunity  to  listen  to 
trials.  Shortly  after  locating  in  Indianapolis  he  became  a  reader  of  records,  briefs  and  law  books  per- 
taining to  cases  before  the  supreme  court.  This  work  he  did  for  Judge  William  E.  Niblack,  then  a 
justice  of  the  state  supreme  court,  this  service  being  required  because  the  sight  of  the  judge  was  greatly 
impaired. 

Judge  Niblack  became  the  kindly  and  able  preceptor  in  the  law  of  his  young  aid  and  the  mutual 
help  formed  a  friendship  which  continued  very  close  till  the  death  of  Judge  Niblack.  Through  this 
friendship  and  the  young  man's  interest  in  the  supreme  court  library,  Charles  E.  Cox  was  made  su- 
preme court  librarian  and  served  in  this  capacity  from  1883  to  1889,  in  which  latter  year  he  began  the 
practice  of  law. 

From  1891  to  1894  he  was  chief  deputy  under  Prosecuting  Attorney  John  W.  Holtzman  in  Marion 
county.  In  1895  he  was  elected  city  judge  of  Indianapolis,  the  same  election  in  which  Thomas  Tag- 
gart  was  first  elected  mayor  of  Indianapolis.  He  was  elected  for  a  second  term,  but  declined  a  third 
terra  as  he  wished  to  return  to  the  practice  of  his   profession. 

In  1910  he  was  elected  a  judge  of  the  Indiana  supreme  court,  serving  in  that  judgeship  for 
six  years.  He  was  nominated  for  a  second  term  by  the  Democratic  party,  but  that  was  the  year  in 
which  the  entire  Democratic  ticket  went  to  defeat  in  Indiana,  and  he  lost  with  the  others. 

Among  the  many  important  cases  decided  by  the  supreme  court  during  this  period,  cases  in 
which  Judge  Cox  wrote  the  opinions,  there  were  two  that  attracted  especially  wide  attention,  these 
being  the  so-called  "Marshall  constitution"  and  the  "Technical  Institute"  case. 

An  intense  patriotism,  a  belief  in  our  governmental  structure  as  being  the  most  effective  for 
the  common  good  ever  devised,  and  in  the  Democratic  party  as  the  most  effective  instrument  to  ad- 
minister it  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  instituted,  always  characterized  Judge  Charles  E.  Cox. 

Charles  E.  Cox  and  Emma  M.  Cooley  were  married  in  1884  and  have  three  children:  Mrs.  Elinor 
C.  Karsten  of  New  York,  and  two  sons,  both  of  whDm  volunteered  in  the  war  against  Germany  in  the 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191  (5 

first  month  after  the  declaration  of  war  and  served  until  its  close — Samuel  L.  Cox  as  an  infantry 
lieutenant  in  the  National  army  and  Charles  E.  Cox,  Jr.,  as  a  lieutenant  pilot  of  a  combat  plane  in 
the  air  service. 

IRVIN  A.  COX 

The  subject  of  this  brief  review  is  a  well-known  Democrat  and  prominent  business  man  of  Co- 
lumbus, Indiana.  His  birth  occurred  on  the  25th  day  of  October,  1868,  near  the  city  of  Noblesville, 
in  Hamilton  county.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Columbus,  taking  the  full  high  school  course,  and 
later  attended  the  normal  school  of  that  place.  He  married  Miss  Hallie  E.  Hunt,  of  Bartholomew 
county. 

That  Mr.  Cox  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  his  constituents  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  was 
twice  chosen  sheriff  of  his  county,  serving  in  that  capacity  for  four  years.  For  five  years  he  was 
marshal  of  the  town  of  Hope.  Later  he  served  as  local  statistician  for  the  United  States  Agricul- 
tural Bureau.     For  the  past  seventeen  years  he  has  been  carrying  on  a  large  business  in  live  stock. 

In  the  various  positions  to  which  he  has  been  called  Mr.  Cox  has  served  conscientiously  and 
faithfully,  and  has  at  all  times  consistently  stood  for  the  principles  of  Democracy. 


JUDGE    JOHN    E.    COX 

In  the  legal  profession  of  Indiana  the  name  of  Judge 
John  E.  Cox  is  recognized  as  that  of  a  leader;  while  his  de- 
cisions from  the  bench  have  won  for  him  an  enviable  repu- 
tation for  strict  integrity  and  broad  knowledge  of  judicial 
procedure. 

Judge  Cox  is  a  true  son  of  Vigo  county,  born  within  its 
borders  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Terre  Haute, 
graduating  from  the  high  school  of  that  city  in  the  year  1886. 
In  the  same  year  he  entered  DePauw  University  for  work  in 
the  higher  branches,  and  three  years  later  was  graduated 
from  that  institution.  During  his  years  in  college,  he  also 
read  law  with  the  firm  of  Smiley  &  Neff,  and  later  entered 
the  office  of  I.  N.  Pierce  of  Terre  Haute.  In  1889  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  Vigo  county  and  entered  upon  the  active 
practice  of  the  law,  later  forming  a  partnership  with  Ora  D. 
Davis.  His  ability  as  a  jurist  soon  became  apparent,  and  his 
loyalty  to  the  interests  of  his  clients  won  for  him  a  rapidly 
increasing  and  lucrative  practice. 

In  the  year  1906  John  E.  Cox  was  elected  to  the  position 
of  judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  He  assumed  the  duties  of 
that  office  with  the  beginning  of  the  following  year  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  four  years 
was  re-elected,  his  conscientious  zeal  in  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the  public  having  won  for  him 
an  enviable  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  people. 

Judge  Cox  retired  from  the  bench  January  1,  1915,  and  again  began  the  practice  of  law,  form- 
ing a  partnership  with  Henry  Adamson,  the  firm  name  being  Cox  &  Adamson.  Business  came  to  such 
an  extent  that  in  1917  T.  P.  Gallagher  became  the  junior  member  of  the  firm,  with  offices  in  the 
Star  Building. 

In  the  campaign  of  1918  Judge  Cox  again  became  a  candidate  for  judge  of  the  Superior  Court 
of  Vigo  county  against  his  wishes,  being  drafted  by  his  party,  and  was  easily  elected.  He  again  went 
on  the  bench  January  1,  1919,  for  a  term  of  four  years. 

Politically,  Judge  Cox  has  stood  firmly  for  the  principles  promulgated  by  Jefferson,  and  has 
consistently  labored  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Democratic  cause.  He  was  one  of  the  original  or- 
ganizers of  the  Jackson  Club  in  1884,  a  unique  organization  which  did  excellent  work  for  the  cause 
of  Democracy  between  the  years  1884  and  1900,  changing  uniforms  each  campaign,  but  invariably 
distinguished  by  the  carrying  of  hickory  canes  by  its  members.  During  the  campaigns  of  1900  and 
1902  he  served  as  county  Democratic  chairman. 

During  his  years  in  college  Judge  Cox  became  affiliated  %vith  the  Greek  letter  fraternity  Delta  Tau. 
He  is  an  Elk  and  belongs  to  a  number  of  orders. 

Judge  Cox's  hobbies  are  farming  and  pure  bred  cattle,  hogs,  sheep  and  bird  dogs. 


(  875  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191  G 

JABEZ  THOMAS  COX 

Holding  high  rank  among  the  leaders  of  Indiana  Democracy  is  Judge  Jabez  Thomas  Cox,  of  Peru. 
He  is  a  native  of  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  but  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Indiana  in  the  year  1850,  at 
which  time  they  located  in  Hamilton  county.  He  attended  the  public  schools,  Westfield  Academy  and 
later  received  his  legal  training  at  Noblesville  and   Tipton. 

In  the  year  1864  he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  136th  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  until 
his  regiment  was  mustered  out.  In  1867  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Jennie  Price,  of  Tipton, 
and  in  1875  their  home  was  established  at  Hutchinson,  Kansas.  Four  years  later  they  emigrated  to 
Colorado,  where  Mrs.  Cox  was  called  from  his  side  by  death.  During  his  residence  in  Kansas  he  was 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  attorney-general  and  ran  more  that  30,000  votes  ahead  of  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  governor  of  that  state.  Returning  to  Peru  in  1883  he  resumed  his  practice,  and  four 
years  later  became  a  member  of  the  state  legislature.  In  1884  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Meinhardt,  of  Peru,  who  died  in  1893.  In  1890  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Miami 
county  for  a  term  of  six  years,  and  in  1896  was  re-elected  to  that  oflSce. 

The  present  Mrs.  Cox,  to  whom  he  was  married  July  9,  1905,  was  formerly  Miss  Addie  Alleman 
of  Huntington. 

He  has  two  children  living:  Edward  E.  Cox,  postmaster  at  Hartford  City  and  editor  and  proprietor 
of  the  News  and  Telegram,  and  Mary  Elizabeth  Cox,  who  is  a  kindergarten  teacher  at  Indianapolis. 


JAMES  COX 

James  Cox  was  born  on  the  8th  of  October,  1837.  He  was  a  native  Hoosier.  Early  in  life  he 
was  married  to  Mary  Engle  and  they  were  the  parents  of  John  E.  Cox,  who  was  afterwards  elected 
judge  in  Vigo  county.  James  Cox  was  one  of  the  best  known  men  and  members  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  the  early  days  of  Vigo  county. 

He  spent  his  boyhood  in  Parke  county,  attending  the  district  schools  of  the  locality,  moving 
later  in  life  to  Vigo  county,  where  he  continued  to  reside. 

He  was  elected  and  served  a  term  as  treasurer  in  his  county.  During  his  incumbency  of  his 
office — in  fact,  prior  to  his  election — because  of  his  scrupulous  business  methods  he  became  known 
as  "Honest  Uncle  Jimmy  Cox,"  a  title  which  went  with  him  through  his  entire  life. 


WILLIAM  ELIJAH  COX 

William  Elijah  Cox  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  political  figures  in 
the  state  of  Indiana,  holding  public  offices  of  importance  from  the  time  he 
began  practicing  law.  His  most  conspicuous  services  were  as  prosecuting 
attorney  of  the  57th  Judicial  District  composed  of  DuBois,  Pike  and  Gibson 
counties,  and  for  12  years  in  the  Congress.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  near 
Birdseye,  DuBois  county,  September  6,  1861.  His  father  being  James  Cox. 
He  was  one  of  eleven  children,  four  boys  and  seven  girls,  he  being  the  sev- 
enth child.  He  attended  the  country  school  and  entered  the  normal  school 
for  a  while,  retiring  to  teach  in  1880.  He  taught  six  years  in  a  country 
school  and  graduated  in  the  law  department  of  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  in  June, 
1887,  taking  a  post-graduate  course  in  law  at  the  University  of  Michigan, 
Ann  Arbor,  which  he  completed  in  June,  1889. 

He  immediately  began  the  practice  of  law  at  Jasper,  the  county  seat 
of  DuBois  county,  this  being  his  native  county.  He  was  elected  prosecuting 
attorney  in  1892  and  re-elected  again  in  1894  and  1896.  He  was  elected 
district  chairman  of  the  third  congressional  district  in  1898  and  1900,  serving  through  these  four 
years  as  a  member  of  the  State  Central  Committee.  He  was  first  elected  to  Congress  in  1906,  en- 
tered the  sixtieth  congress  and  was  re-elected  for  five  successive  terms  thereafter,  serving  full  six 
terms  or  12  years  from  the  third  congressional  district  of  Indiana. 

As  prosecuting  attorney  many  important  cases  which  were  of  far  more  than  local  interest  were 
handled  by  him,  and  handled  successfully.  The  most  noted  cases  which  he  conducted  were  against 
what  were  known  as  the  "White  Caps,"  who  predominated  in  that  part  of  the  state.  He  succeeded 
in  securing  the  conviction  of  the  first  "White  Caps"  who  were  prosecuted  and  found  guilty  in  Indi- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191  fj 

ana,  and  broke  up  the  organization  by  sending  a  large  number  of  them  to  the  penitentiary.  During 
his  public  life  he  was  very  prominent  in  the  councils  of  his  party  in  the  state  and  nation  and  became 
a  leader  of  much  strength  in  his  party  councils,  on  congressional  committees  and  in  other  activities 
connected  with  his  position  as  congressman.  Throughout  the  state  he  was  generally  known  as 
"Lige"  Cox. 

HON.  MILLARD  FILLMORE   COX 

A  history  of  the  Democracy  of  Indiana  would  be  iijcomplete  were  honorable  mention  not  made 
of  Judge  Millard  Fillmore  Cox,  a  man  of  remarkable  brilliance  of  intellect,  unusual  attainments  and 
loyal  service  to  the  state. 

Judge  Cox  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Hamilton  county,  Indiana,  and  attended  the  common  and  high 
schools  of  Hamilton  and  Tipton  counties.  Having  completed  his  school  work  he  came  to  Indianap- 
olis and  entered  the  law  offices  of  Buel  &  Bartholomew,  and  here,  under  their  tutelage,  he  studied 
for  the  legal  profession;  later  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Marion  county  and  entered  into  practice. 
From  1885  to  1889  he  served  as  deputy  reporter  of  the  supreme  court  of  Indiana  under  Hon.  John 
W.  Kern,  and  the  following  year  was  elected  judge  of  the  criminal  court  of  Marion  county  for  a 
four-year  term.  He  was  secretary  and  legal  adviser  of  the  state  board  of  accounts  from  its  crea- 
tion until  his  death,  on  the  16th  day  of  March,  1914.  He  was  also  for  some  time  chief  editorial 
writer  for  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel  and  was  director  of  the  press  bureau  of  the  Democratic  state 
committee.  He  was  also  widely  known  as  the  author  of  "The  Legionaries,"  a  romance  of  Morgan's 
raid.     He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  church. 


OTTO  LORENZO  COYLE 

Otto  Lorenzo  Coyle,  son  of  Thomas  J.  and  Jessie  (Green)  Coyle,  was 
born  in  Shelby  county,  November  11,  1878,  his  parents  having  been  born 
in  the  same  county  and  having  always  lived  there.  He  was  reared  on  the 
farm  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  the  township  high 
school,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1896.  He  attended  the  Central  Normal 
College  at  Danville,  where  he  graduated  as  a  bachelor  of  science  in  1889. 
Later  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  Uni- 
versity at  Valparaiso,  completing  this  course  in  1900. 

He  taught  school  and  for  six  years  was  principal  of  the  high  schools. 
He  quit  teaching  to  become  deputy  clerk  of  the  Shelby  county  court,  in 
which  place  he  served  four  years,  from  1906  to  1911.  In  the  latter  year  he 
became  clerk  and  served  in  that  office  until  1915.  While  serving  as  clerk  he 
was  also  Democratic  county  chairman,  and  one  of  the  most  efficient  who 
ever  headed  the  organization. 

He  was  always  most  active  in  all  farmers'  organizations  and  served  as 
both  secretary  and  chairman  of  the  Farmers'  Agricultural    Institute    of    Shelby    county,   as    well    as 
general   superintendent  of  the   Shelby  County  Fair  Association  for  three  years. 

He  always  kept  a  lively  interest  in  educational  affairs  and  served  as  a  member  of  the  township 
board  of  education  after  retiring  as  a  teacher  and  as  principal.  After  retiring  from  the  office  of 
county  clerk  he  devoted  his  attention  to  his  extensive  farming  interests  and  attending  to  his  city 
properties,  owning  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  Shelby  county,  located  at  the  edge  cf  the  city  of 
Shelbyville. 

CHAS.  C.  CRAMPTON,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Charles  C.  Crampton,  son  of  A.  B.  Crampton,  was  born  in  Logansport  on  the  15th  of  June, 
1872,  and  accompanied  his  parents  to  Delphi  in  1879.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Logansport 
and  Delphi,  and  spent  one  year  at  Notre  Dame.  In  1891  he  graduated  from  the  pharmacy  depart- 
ment of  Purdue  University,  following  which  he  took  a  two  years'  course  in  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons,  Chicago,  and  received  a  diploma  from  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine  in 
Louisville  in  1893.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was  appointed  pension  examiner  under  Cleveland, 
the  youngest  person  on  record  to  hold  this  position,  and  honored  by  receiving  the  appointment  di- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


rect  from  the  President.  He  is  now  president  of  ttie  C.  I.  &  L.  Railway  Surgeons'  Association  and  is 
their  local  surgeon ;  president  of  the  county  medical  society,  president  city  board  of  health,  member 
various  other  societies  and  Masonic  and  K.  of  P.  lodges. 


JOHN  WILLIAM  CRAVENS 

John  William  Cravens,  of  Bloomington,  Indiana,  is  a  son  of  William 
Reece  and  Sarah  Ruth  (Bray)  Cravens,  and  was  bom  on  a  farm  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  Hendricks  county,  Indiana,  October  1,  1864.  He  was  married 
October  1,  1891,  to  Miss  Emma  Lucille  Rrueger,  who  died  February  12,  1898. 
To  this  union  was  born  a  daughter.  Miss  Ruth  Ralston  Cravens. 

Mr.  Cravens  was  educated  in  the  country  schools,  Danville  High  School, 
Central  Normal  College  (B.  S.  1884),  and  Indiana  University  (A.  B.  1897). 
While  attending  the  country  school  he  worked  on  the  farm;  while  attending 
the  high  school  he  clerked  in  his  father's  store;  while  attending  normal  col- 
lege he  was  bookkeeper  for  the  First  National  Bank;  and  while  attending 
Indiana  University  he  was  registrar  of  that  institution. 

Mr.  Cravens  was  editor  of  the  Danville  Gazette,  1884-85;  superintendent 
Monroe  county  schools,  1887-90;  secretary  Monroe  county  Democratic  cen- 
tral committee,  1886-90;  chairman,  1890-94;  clerk  Monroe  county  court, 
1890-94;  editor  Bloomington  World,  1894-1906;  registrar,  Indiana  University, 
-1914;  secretary  of  Indiana  University,  1914;  member  of  Indiana  legislature,  1899-1903;  presi- 
dential elector  on  state  Democratic  ticket,  1912 ;  vice-president  National  Association  of  Collegiate  Reg- 
istrars, 1912;  president,  1913;  member  of  First  Presbyterian  church  and  for  ten  years  superintendent 
of  the  Sabbath-school  and  president  of  the  board  of  deacons;  member  of  Phi  Gamma  Delta,  Masons, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Odd  Fellows  and  Elks. 


JOSEPH  MARSHALL  CRAVENS 

Among  the  loyal  workers  for  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Indiana,  perhaps  none  have 
worked  more  faithfully  than  has  Joseph  Marshall  Cravens,  of  Madison,  and  to  his  efforts  the  success  of 
the  organization  in  Jefferson  county  is  largely  due. 

Mr.  Cravens  was  born  in  this  state  on  the  9th  day  of  February,  1859,  and  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  district,  later  continuing  his  studies  at  Wabash  College,  from  which  he  graduated  with 
the  class  of  1882.  Returning  from  college,  Mr.  Cravens  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  and  he 
has  since  continued  in  this,  his  chosen-  vocation.  He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs  and 
also  in  all  movements  for  the  development  and  progress  of  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  In  the 
fall  of  1902  he  was  elected  to  represent  Jefferson  county  in  the  state  legislature,  and  with  such  zeal 
and  intelligence  did  he  discharge  the  duties  entrusted  to  him  that  he  was  returned  to  the  assemblies  of 
1905,  1907,  1911  and  1913. 


J.  N.  GULP 

James  N.  Culp,  postmaster  at  North  Vernon,  was  born  in  Bartholomew  county,  October  28, 
1877.  At  an  early  age  he  entered  the  field  of  journalism  and  in  1901  purchased  the  Verno7i  Jour- 
nal. After  conducting  this  paper  successfully  for  several  years  during  which  time  the  politics  of 
the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Democratic  faith,  Mr.  Culp  purchased  the  North  Vernon  Sun  and  for 
eight  years  was  its  editor.  In  July,  1913,  however,  he  relinquished  his  newspaper  business  to  be- 
come postmaster  of  North  Vernon  and  to  this  work  he  has  since  devoted  his  energies  with  con- 
scientious zeal.  He  is  also  chairman  of  the  county  library  board  and  the  secretary  of  the  Jennings 
county  chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross. 

Mrs.  Culp  was  formerly  Miss  Myra  A.  Hinchman,  the  daughter  of  Henry  Hinchman,  one  of  the 
best  known  citizens  in  Jennings  county. 


(878) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1910 

J.  C.  CUMMINS 

Well  known  to  the  traveling  public  of  eastern  Indiana  for  many  years,  and  later  a  familiar  fig- 
ure in  political  and  municipal  affairs  of  his  home  community,  J.  C.  Cummins  of  Middletown  needs 
no  introduction  to  those  of  our  readers  living  in  that  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Cummins  was  born  on  March  4,  1878,  and  received  his  schooling  in  the  public  schools  of 
Middletown.  On  the  4th  day  of  July,  1910,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ethel  May  Critten- 
berger  and  established  his  home  in  this  city. 

For  seventeen  years  Mr.  Cummins  was  local  freight  and  ticket  agent  for  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
way Company,  working  at  various  points  on  the  Richmond  division  of  the  line.  In  the  year  1912  he 
became  a  member  of  the  city  council.  For  a  time  he  also  was  connected  with  the  township  advisory 
board.  In  the  year  1914  he  was  nominated  for  the  position  of  township  trustee.  In  the  years  1911 
and  1914  he  was  delegate  to  the  state  Democratic  convention. 

GEORGE  F.  R.  CUMMEROW 

An  active  party  worker  and  for  many  years  a  leading  attorney  at  law,  practicing  in  Ft.  Wayne, 
Hammond  and  Gary,  is  George  F.  R.  Cummerow. 

He  was  born  in  the  State  of  Ohio  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1877.  At  the  age  of  six  months  "he 
suggested  to  his  people"  that  they  move  to  Indiana.  They  located  in  Ft.  Wayne  and  for  many  years 
his  father.  Otto  Cummerow,  published  a  daily  Democratic  paper  there.  The  son  attended  the  schools 
of  Ft.  Wayne,  later  attending  the  Kent  College  of  Law  at  Chicago,  graduating  in  the  year  1898.  He 
was  at  once  admitted  to  the  bar  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  at  Ft.  Wayne. 
In  1900  he  came  to  Hammond  and,  finally,  in  1913,  located  in  Gary.  Here  he  has  been  an  active  worker 
in  the  Democratic  ranks  and  is  at  present  secretary  of  the  Democratic  central  committee  of  this  city. 

JOSEPH  S.  DAILEY 

An  enumeration  of  those  men  who  have  won  honor  and  public  recognition  for  themselves,  and  at 
the  same  time  honored  their  native  state,  must  of  necessity  place  at  the  head  of  the  list  such  men  as 
Joseph  S.  Dailey.  He  held  distinctive  precedence  as  an  able  lawyer  and  judge,  having  served  with  sig- 
nal ability  as  associate  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  as  a  judge  in  other 
courts.  A  man  of  affairs,  who  wielded  a  wide  influence.  A  strong  mentality,  an  invincible  cour- 
age, a  determined  individuality — these  have  so  entered  into  his  make-up  as  to  render  him  a  natural 
leader  of  men  and  opinion.  A  native  son  of  Wells  county,  and  this  the  scene  of  the  greater  part  of  his 
life's  labors,  his  home  being  in  the  city  of  Bluffton,  where,  excepting  while  sitting  as  judge,  he  was 
actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law. 

Joseph  S.  Dailey  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Lancaster  township,  Wells  county,  Indiana,  on  the  21st  of 
May,  1844,  a  representative  of  one  of  the  worthy  pioneer  families  of  the  state.  He  was  the  fifth  ir 
order  of  birth  of  the  nine  children  of  James  and  Lydia  (Garton)  Dailey,  and  of  these  children  four 
died  in  infancy.  His  brother,  Lewis  W.,  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  while  in  command  of  a  company 
of  the  Twenty-second  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  during  the  Civil  war.  His  sister,  Mary  A.,  died  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  the  other  sister  being  Mrs.  Rachel  L.  Sowards. 

As  has  been  said  in  a  previous  published  article  referring  to  Judge  Dailey:  "His  paternal  ances- 
tors were  plain,  unpretentious  men  who  performed  their  several  duties  modestly  and  without  osten- 
tation. They  were  content  to  earn  an  honest  living  on  the  farm  or  in  the  shop,  without  seeking  official 
honors  or  public  favor.  He  is  of  the  fifth  generation  by  direct  lineage  from  Dennis  Dailey,  who  was 
a  native  of  county  Sligo,  Ireland,  and  who  emigrated  to  America  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  settling  in  New  Jersey.  Both  of  Judge  Dailey's  grandfathers  attested  their  courage  and 
patriotism  by  honorable  service  in  the  war  of  1812.  Both  of  them  were  natives  of  New  Jersey;  both 
removed  to  Indiana  and  became  early  settlers  of  Franklin  county.  Here  his  father  and  mother  were 
married  and  lived  until  their  first  three  children  were  born;  they  then  removed  to  Allen  county,  where 
the  fourth  was  born;  thence  to  Wells  county,  which  became  their  permanent  home." 

Joseph  S.  Dailey  secured  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Bluffton  and  then  began  his 
technical  preparation  for  his  chosen  profession  by  entering  the  law  office  of  Newton  Burwell,  of  this 
place,  under  whose  direction  he  continued  his  studies  for  two  years.  In  order  to  secure  the  funds  neces- 
sary to  defray  his  course  in  the  law  department  of  the  state  university,  he  devoted  a  portion  of  his 
time  to  teaching  in  the  district  schools  of  Wells  county  and  also  in  the  public  schools  of  Bluffton.  In 
1865  he  matriculated  in  the  law  department  of  the  university,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1866,  being 


(879 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

admitted  to  the  bar  of  Indiana  in  that  year.  He  entered  into  a  professional  partnership  with  George  S. 
Brown,  who  later  removed  to  the  state  of  Kansas,  his  death  occurring  in  its  capital  city  a  number  of 
years  later. 

In  October,  1866,  within  the  first  year  of  his  active  practice  in  Bluffton,  Judge  Dailey  was  elected 
district  attorney  for  the  court  of  common  pleas,  and  in  1868  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  the 
district  in  which  Judge  Lowry,  of  Fort  Wayne,  presided.  He  was  re-elected  in  1870,  1872  and  1874, 
serving  four  consecutive  terms.  As  a  public  official  he  acquired  a  reputation  in  the  legal  profession  that 
brought  him  a  splendid  practice  when  he  again  retired  from  public  office. 

Mr.  Dailey  was  not  without  ambition.  In  1878  he  was  nominated  and  elected  a  member  of  the 
state  legislature.  His  record  in  that  body  was  that  of  a  conservative  working  member — always  per- 
sistent, always  moderate,  yet  courageous  in  the  expression  of  his  views.  As  a  member  of  important 
committees  and  in  support  of  measures  on  the  floor  he  was  influential  in  formulating  and  securing 
the  passage  of  much  legislation.  His  uniform  courtesy  and  firmness  won  for  him  the  esteem  of  po- 
litical opponents.  His  conscientious  regard  for  public  duty  secured  to  him  the  confidence  of  all  his 
colleagues  and  associates.  Once  afterward  he  yielded  to  the  importunities  of  partisan  friends  and 
became  a  candidate  for  political  office.  In  1882  he  accepted  the  Democratic  nomination  for  Congress 
and  made  a  race  that  was  hopeless,  because  of  the  adverse  partisan  majority,  though  his  canvass 
was  highly  creditable  and  entirely  honorable.  Settling  down  again  to  the  practice  of  law,  he  secured 
a  valuable  clientage,  extending  over  a  large  district. 

In  1888  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Twenty-eighth  Circuit,  comprising  the  counties  of  Hunting- 
ton and  Wells,  for  a  term  of  six  years.  His  service  on  the  bench  was  alike  acceptable  to  the  bar  and 
the  populace.  He  exercised  wise  discretion  and  commendable  humanity  in  dealing  with  youths  con- 
victed of  violating  penal  statutes.  In  most  instances  of  first  offense,  if  the  accused  had  previously 
borne  a  good  reputation,  sentence  was  withheld  and  he  was  allowed  to  enjoy  liberty,  after  timely 
advice  and  warning  by  the  court,  so  long  as  good  deportment  was  maintained.  In  this  way  boys 
were  reclaimed  and  saved  for  good  citizenship  instead  of  a  life  of  crime. 

Before  the  expiration  of  his  term  in  the  circuit.  Judge  Dailey  was  appointed  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state,  by  Governor  Matthews,  receiving  his  commission  to  this  office  July  25,  1893.  His 
qualifications  for  the  office  of  judge,  whether  in  the  trial  of  causes  or  in  the  court  of  last  resort,  were 
unquestionable.  First  of  all,  he  had  the  integrity  of  character.  He  possessed  the  natural  ability  and 
essential  acquirements,  the  acumen  of  the  judicial  temperament.  He  was  able  to  divest  himself  of  prej- 
udice or  favoritism  and  consider  only  the  legal  aspects  of  a  question  submitted.  No  labor  was  too 
great,  however  onerous;  no  application  too  exacting,  however  severe,  if  necessary  to  the  complete  under- 
standing and  correct  determination  of  a  question. 

His  career  on  the  bench  and  at  the  bar  offer  a  noble  example  and  an  inspiration,  while  he  never 
was  known  to  fail  in  that  strict  courtesy  and  regard  for  professional  ethics  which  should  ever  charac- 
terize the  members  of  the  bar.  Faultless  in  honor,  fearless  in  conduct  and  stainless  in  reputation,  his 
career  reflects  credit  upon  the  judiciary  and  bar  of  one  of  the  sovereign  commonwealths  of  the  Union. 
Follovnng  his  retirement  from  the  bench  Judge  Dailey  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  Bluffton,  though  his  range  of  professional  labor  far  transcends  local  limitations,  as  a  matter  of 
course.  He  has  as  associates  in  practice  his  eldest  son,  Frank  C.  Dailey,  and  Abram  Simmons,  the  large 
and  important  business  being  conducted  under  the  firm  name  of  Dailey,  Simmons  &  Dailey.  The 
writer  from  whose  signally  able  and  appreciative  estimate  we  have  hitherto  liberally  quoted  continues 
further,  as  follows:  "The  judge  is  favored  in  the  possession  of  a  healthful,  vigorous  constitution,  ro- 
bust energy  and  marked  vitality.  He  is  in  the  prime  of  middle  life,  which  is  conducive  to  the  most 
effectual  utilization  of  all  the  mental  resources.  Candid,  earnest  and  sincere,  he  is  a  reliable  coun- 
selor. His  popularity  as  a  citizen  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  confidence  in  his  ability,  integrity  and 
sound  judgment." 

The  domestic  chapter  in  the  history  of  Judge  Dailey  has  been  one  of  ideal  character.  On  the  15th 
day  of  March,  1870,  Judge  Dailey  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Gutelius,  of  Bluffton,  who 
is  of  French  extraction,  tracing  back  to  a  distinguished  surgeon  in  the  French  army.  She  was  born 
in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  being  a  daughter  of  John  P.  and  Henrietta  Gutelius.  Judge  and  Mrs. 
Dailey  were  the  parents  of  four  children — Frank  C,  who  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  is  associated 
with  his  father  in  practice;  Lewis  W.,  who  was  graduated  in  the  Indianapolis  Dental  College  in  1884, 
and  who  established  an  excellent  practice  in  Bluffton;  Charles  Gutelius,  who  became  principal  of  the 
Bluffton  high  school,  and  Blanche. 

Frank  C.  Dailey,  the  eldest  son,  gained  more  than  a  state  reputation  during  his  term  as  district 
attorney  for  the  federal  district  of  Indiana.     He  had  many  cases  of  unusual  importance  that  attracted 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

even  national  repute;  and  he  justified  all  that  the  best  of  his  friends  might  have  wished  for  him. 
While  always  consistent  in  his  Democracy,  as  district  attorney  he  knew  only  his  duty  under  the  law 
and  followed  it,  but  always  willing  in  his  practice  to  temper  justice  with  mercy  to  the  full  limit  justi- 
fied by  the  facts. 

When  Frank  C.  Dailey  decided  to  retire  from  public  office,  he  stepped  into  an  unusually  fine  legal 
practice,  the  result  of  public  confidence  in  his  integrity  and  ability.  He  was  one  of  the  most  active 
and  effective  workers  and  speakers  participating  in  the  drives  for  contributions  and  loans  for  the 
carrying  on  of  the  war  with  Germany.  More  than  this  he  gave  two  sons  who  volunteered  and  went 
to  France  in  the  active  fighting  classes  and  saw  service  in  the  thickest  of  the  great  battles. 

JUDGE  WILLIAM  DARROCH 

Known  throughout  Newton  county  as  one  of  the  most  substantial  citizens,  and  a 
leading  attorney,  is  Judge  William  Darroch,  of  Kentland. 

He  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  Slst  day  of  December,  1848,  and  attended  the 
public  schools.  Later  the  regular  course  in  law  was  taken  at  Asbury  University, 
Greencastle,  from  which  he  graduated,  and  in  the  same  year  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  Newton  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  this  profession. 

On  the  23rd  day  of  June,  1878,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  V. 
Sammons,  of  Donovan,  111.,  and  their  home  was  established  at  Morocco.  In  the 
same  year  he  was  elected  township  trustee  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a  term 
of  four  years.  In  1890  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Matthews  to  the  position  of 
judge  of  the  30th  Judicial  Circuit.  He  is  an  active  party  worker,  and  one  of  the  best  informed  men 
in  the  county. 

JAMES  POWHATAN  DAVIS 

In  business,  political  and  religious  circles  of  the  city  of  Kokomo  the  name  of  James  P.  Davis  is 
well  known  and  highly  esteemed,  his  activity  in  these  varied  walks  of  life  having  placed  him  in  a  posi- 
tion of  prominence. 

Mr.  Davis  was  born  in  Henry  county,  Virginia,  and  here  his  education  was  received  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  county.  Here  also,  on  the  20th  day  of  December,  1883,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  Finney  and  their  first  home  was  established.  In  the  year  1892,  however,  the  health  of  Mr.  Davis 
failed,  and  he  sought  the  benefit  of  a  change  of  climate  and  came  to  Indiana  on  the  third  of  December, 
locating  in  Howard  county.  The  last  two  years  of  his  residence  in  Virginia  were  spent  in  discharging 
the  duties  of  justice  of  the  peace;  and  in  the  years  1908  and  1912  he  was  elected  joint  representative 
from  the  counties  of  Miami,  Howard  and  Carroll  to  the  66th  and  68th  General  Assemblies  of  the  state 
of  Indiana,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  that  body. 

Since  his  residence  in  Kokomo,  Mr.  Davis  has  built  up  a  lucrative  business  as  general  contractor 
and  builder,  and  is  at  this  time  devoting  his  energies  to  this  profession.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Primi- 
tive Baptist  church;  is  not  interested  in  fraternal   affairs. 

PEARLE  A.  DAVIS 

Since  the  Spanish-American  war  the  name  of  Pearle  A.  Davis  has  been 
a  familiar  one  to  those  interested  in  military  affairs  in  Indiana;  and  when,  on 
the  first  day  of  the  year,  1914,  he  received  from  Governor  Ralston  the  ap- 
pointment to  the  position  of  quartermaster-general  of  the  state  militia  it 
seemed  but  a  fitting  reward  for  his  years  of  zealous  service. 

Mr.  Davis  was  born  in  Clinton  county,  Indiana,  on  the  8th  day  of  May, 
1880,  and  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district.  His  studies  were 
later  continued  in  the  high  schools  of  Frankfort  and  Kokomo;  but  when  the 
call  came  for  volunteers  in  the  war  against  Spain,  he  left  school  to  enlist  in 
158th  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry  and  was  accepted  on  the  9th  day  of  May, 
1898.  In  August,  1900,  he  enlisted  in  the  U.  S.  Army,  and  for  three  year."; 
he  served  in  Troops  F  and  K,  2nd  Cavalry.  On  the  23rd  of  August,  1903, 
he  received  his  discharge  from  Troop  F,  with  the  rank  of  corporal.  On  the 
30th  day  of  December,  1907,  he  enlisted  in  Battery  A,  Indiana  National 
Guard,  and  here  he  served  until  August  5,  1908,  when  he  was  commissioned 
1st  Lieutenant  of  Infantry.  On  April  29,  1909,  he  was  commissioned  Captain  of  Infantry,  and  served 
until  appointed  quartermaster-general. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Davis  is  allied  with  the  North  Park  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  .Masons,  Keystone 
Chapter  No.  6,  Raper  Commandery  No.  1,  and  Murat  Temple,  Mystic  Shrine.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
prize-winning  team  of  Raper  Commandery  in  the  conclave  held  in  Denver  in  1913  and  is  at  present  sec- 
ond lieutenant  of  this  team. 

Politically,  he  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Jeffersonian  party  and  has  consistently  adhered  to  these 
principles.  For  four  years  he  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club;  and  is  at  all 
times  a  loyal  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party. 

Mrs.  Davis,  to  whom  he  was  married  March  7,  1905,  was  formerly  Miss  Portia  V.  Schwartz;  and 
her  abilities  as  a  hostess  have  drawn  to  their  home  a  host  of  cultured  friends. 

JOSIAH  P.  DAY 

Josiah  P.  Day,  an  active  party  worker  at  Versailles,  for  many  years  a  precinct  committeeman 
and  attendant  at  state  and  congressional  conventions,  is  also  widely  known  as  the  incumbent  of  va- 
rious positions  of  trust  in  the  public  service. 

Mr.  Day  was  born  in  Miami  county,  Indiana,  July  29,  1861.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Marion 
and  Ripley  counties  and  later  entered  Moores  Hill  College  for  further  study.  On  January  31,  1886, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Rudie  Livingston  and  established  his  home  in  Versailles. 

For  eighteen  years  Mr.  Day  served  as  deputy  clerk  of  Ripley  county,  and  in  the  fall  of  1912 
was  elected  county  clerk,  leading  his  ticket.  Later  he  assumed  the  responsibilities  of  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court,  and  in  this  capacity  still  serves. 

He  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  and  is  an  active  member  of  the 
church. 


W.  A.  DEHORITY 

Closely  identified  with  the  business  and  political  life  of  Elwood  for  many  years,  and  bearing  the 
distinction  of  being  that  progressive  city's  first  mayor,  W.  A.  Dehority  is  well  known  not  only  in 
Madison  county,  but  throughout  the  state. 

Mr.  Dehority  was  born  in  the  city  of  Elwood  on  October  24,  1868,  and  received  his  schooling 
in  the  public  schools  of  that  city.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  his  studies  were 
continued  at  Earlham  College.  Subsequently  he  took  a  commercial  course  at  the  Bryant-Stratton 
Business  College  in  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

In  June,  1888,  Mr.  Dehority  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Frances  E.  Metts  and  established 
his  permanent  home  in  the  city  of  his  birth.  In  the  year  1890  he  was  appointed  deputy  treasurer  of 
Madison  county,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  in  that  position  in  1891  he  assumed 
the  responsibilities  of  the  office  of  mayor  of  the  city.  In  this  latter  capacity  he  served  until  Sep- 
tember, 1894,  since  which  time  he  has  been  connected  with  the  Citizens  Gas  and  Mining  Co.  He  also 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Elwood  State  Bank,  and  is  at  present  associated  with  the  Elwood 
Lawn  Mower  Manufacturing  Co. 

Particularly  noteworthy  has  been  Mr.  Dehority's  work  as  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  ac- 
counts from  1909  to  1913,  this  body  being  considered  a  model  in  its  field  and  attracting  attention 
throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada,  as  well  as  in  foreign  countries.  Prior  to  his  connection 
with  this  body,  Mr.  Dehority  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  public  works  of  Elwood,  and  also  was 
connected  with  the  county  board  of  review.  His  work  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  equalization  in 
1896-7,  the  years  of  the  first  high  valuation,  is  also  worthy  of  note. 

JOHN  W.  DEMOSS 

Before  assuming  the  duties  pertaining  to  his  present  responsible  position,  that 
of  sheriff  of  Decatur  county,  John.  W.  Demoss,  of  Greensburg,  was  known  throughout 
the  county  as  one  of  its  most  successful  farmers.  He  is  a  native  of  this  locality, 
born  on  the  27th  of  August,  1856,  the  son  of  Benjamin  L.  Demoss.  When  he  was 
only  seven  years  old  his  father  died  a  martyr  to  his  country.  He  had  one  brother 
and  a  sister,  and  the  three  went  out  into  the  world  to  earn  a  living  for  their  widowed 
mother.  The  boy  John  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools;  and  was  married 
April  12,  1877,  to  Miss  Martha  A.  Jackson,  who  died  January  1,  1906.  Six  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  all  now  married  and  living  in  the  county:  Benjamin  W., 
Grover  C,  Irdo,  Birdie  Borden,  Delia  Styers  and  Belle  Vanderber.  Mr.  Demoss  is 
quarter-section  of  fine  land,  all  bought  and  paid  for  by  his  own  labor  and  effort.     He 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


was  elected  sheriff  of  Decatur  county  in  November,  1912,  assuming  the  duties  of  his  office  January  1, 
1913;  was  renominated  for  the  same  office  in  April,  1914,  without  opposition  and  is  at  present  serv- 
ing his  second  term  in  this  position,  and  is  a  candidate  for  re-election.  Mr.  Demoss  is  a  fine  and 
striking  type  of  the  self-made  man  and  has  made  one  of  the  best  sheriffs  Decatur  county  ever  had. 
His  term  expired  January  1,  1917. 


JOHN    DAY    DEPREZ 

Born  October  1,  1872,  at  Shelbyville,  Indiana,  the  son  of  John  C.  DePrez,  who 
owned  and  operated  a  woolen  mill  at  the  edge  of  the  city,  John  Day  DePrez  was  a 
member  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  Shelby  county.  In  1874  the  woolen  mill  was 
converted  into  a  furniture  factory  owned  by  Conrey,  Waller  &  DePrez,  one  of  the 
pioneer  furniture  factories  in  the  state. 

John  Day  DePrez,  after  completing  the  high  school  course  in  Shelbyville,  at- 
tended Hanover  College,  and  for  ten  years  after  leaving  college  he  was  with  the 
Shelby  Bank,  afterwards  the  Shelby  National  Bank. 

At  the  end  of  his  ten  years  in  the  bank  he  organized  a  company  and  bought  and 
became  the  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Shelbyville  Demoerat,  a  prosperous  publication 
that  under  his  direction   advocated  unrelentingly  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

He  was  always  a  leader  among  the  Democrats  in  his  county  and  an  adviser  with  the 
mittee  at  campaign  times.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  and  of  the 
cil,  being  elected  from  what  had  always  been  one  of  the  strongest  Republican  city  wards, 
several  years  as  Democratic  city  chairman. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club,  with  headquarters 
apolis,  he  became  an  active  member  and  worker  in  the  organization  and  for  several  years 
a  member  of  the  board  of  directors.     Mason,  Elk,   Knight  of  Pythias  and  Red  Man. 

Married    Emma    Senour   of   Shelbyville,   October  28,  1903. 


state  com- 
city  coun- 
He  served 

at  Indian- 
served  as 


ARTHUR  LEROY  DENISTON 

Arthur  LeRoy  Deniston,  the  secretary  and  general  manager  of  The 
Rochester  Bridge  Company,  is  one  of  the  young  workers  in  the  Democratic 
party  of  Fulton  county,  and  has  forged  to  the  front  so  rapidly  that  he  i.s 
well  known  throughout  his  section  as  a  leader  in  the  party,  and  a  promi- 
nent business  man  of  the  community. 

He  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  9th  day  of  September,  1882,  near  his 
present  home.  His  childhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  the  city  of  Rochester, 
and  he  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  the  place,  later  attending 
Purdue  University,  and  finally  taking  a  course  at  Wabash  College.  On  the 
24th  day  of  June,  1903,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ada  Rannells  was  solemnized, 
and  their  permanent  home  established  in  his  home  city. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1910,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  council- 
man, serving  in  this  capacity  for  a  term  of  four  years,  showing  a  remarkable 
grasp  of  municipal  affairs  and  conscientious  diligence  in  the  performance  of 
the  duties  pertaining  to  this  position. 

In  the  fall  of  1914  he  received  the  nomination  for  joint  representative  to  the  general 
Cass  and  Fulton  counties,  and  was  elected  in  November. 

Since  attaining  his  majority,  he  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  principles  of  Democracy,  con- 
sistently voting  the  ticket,  and  serving  the  party  loyally  during  the  various  campaigns.  For  this 
and  his  many  sterling  qualities  as  a  citizen,  he  has  won  a  host  of  friends  throughout  the  county  of 
Fulton  and  vicinity,  and  a  brilliant  future  may  be  expected  for  him. 


sembly  for 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


0.  T.  DICKERSON 

O.  T.  Dickerson,  a  life-long  resident  of  Owen  county,  was  born  one  mile  south  of 
Spencer  on  the  23rd  day  of  January,  1852,  and  on  this  farm  he  resided  for  fifty-six 
years.  He  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  Spencer,  and  in  his  twentieth 
year  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  M.  Workman,  this  event  occurring  on  July  31,  1871. 
To  them  were  born  four  daughters  and  one  son,  all  of  whom  are  now  living  and 
married.  The  mother,  however,  was  called  from  her  family  by  death  in  1908.  On 
the  21st  day  of  December,  1911,  he  was  again  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Rosalie 
Buzzaird  of  Spencer,  Indiana. 

Mr.  Dickerson's  father,  O.  B.  Dickerson,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Owen 
county,  coming  from  Shelbyville,  Ky.,  in  1830,  at  which  time  he  moved  all  his 
personal  effects  on  horseback  to  Owen  county.  Mr.  Dickerson  has  been  an  active  party  worker,  serv- 
ing as  county  chairman  from  1884  to  1890,  and  as  delegate  to  many  conventions.  From  1883  to  1887 
he  was  auditor  of  the  county,  and  from  1893  to  1897  was  postmaster  of  Spencer.  For  the  past  five 
years  he  has  been  employed  as  a  commercial  salesman.  His  early  years  were  spent  as  a  farmer, 
being  a  live  stock  shipper  for  twenty  years,  and  the  first  breeder  of  pure-bred  Poland  China  hogs  in 
the  county. 

He  is  affiliated  with  the  F.  &  A.  M.  and  Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church. 

LINCOLN  DIXON 

Lincoln  Dixon,  during  all  his  service  in  the  congress,  held 
the  position  of  leader,  not  only  in  his  ewn  delegation,  but  re- 
spected and  looked  up  to  by  all  the  members  of  that  body,  be- 
cause of  his  exceptional  ability  and  excellent  judgment  and 
capacity  for  handling  the  larger  questions  which  came  before 
that  legislative  assembly  for  consideration. 

He  had  many  qualifications  fitting  him  especially  as  a 
member  of  the  congress  and  these  made  him  stand  out  most 
conspicuously.  He  served  for  several  years  without  interrup- 
tion from  the  foui-th  Indiana  congressional  district.  Few 
men  of  this  or  any  other  state  have  rendered  more  efficient 
service  for  the  people  or  in  promulgating  and  promoting  the 
interests  and  principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

Lincoln  Dixon  was  born  on  the  9th  day  of  February,  1860. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  and  afterward  graduated  from 
the  high  school.  He  continued  his  studies  at  the  Indiana  State 
University,  where  he  graduated  from  the  law  department.  He 
was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Jennings  county  bar,  and 
located  his  office  at  North  Vernon,  where  he  continued  to 
practice. 

He  first  entered  public  life  when  he  was  elected  prosecut- 
ing attorney  for  Jennings  county,  in  1884,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four,  serving  in  that  office  by  re-election  until  1892.  He  retired  at  that  time,  but  only  con- 
tinued his  private  practice  for  two  years,  when  he  was  first  nominated  in  1894  and  elected  congres- 
sional representative  from  the  fourth  congressional  district  of  Indiana,  returning  always  by  increased 
majorities  until  March  4,  1919. 

During  his  first  six  years  in  congress,  Lincoln  Dixon  was  chairman  of  the  pension  committee,  be- 
ing then  promoted  to  the  important  committee  on   ways  and  means. 

While  always  a  Democrat,  and  one  of  the  strongest  members  of  the  party,  he  never  had  any  of 
the  characteristics  of  a  narrow  partisan.  He  always  dealt  with  broad  questions  on  a  broad  and 
patriotic  basis,  dealing  with  such  matters  entirely  on  their  merits  as  public  measures  and  in  view 
of  the  benefits  and  interests  of  all  the  people. 

Upon  retiring  from  congress,  Mr.  Dixon  resumed  practice  of  his  profession  at  North  Vernon. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Kate  Story,  October   16,  1884. 

During  his  years  in  college  he  was  affiliated  with  the  Sigma  Chi  fraternity. 

While  in  the  congress  he  always  displayed  a  lively  interest  in  the  affairs  of  his  own  county  and 
city,  and  was  a  leading  spirit  in  promoting  and  developing  important  civic  undertakings. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191  G 

GEORGE  W.  DONALDSON 

Closely  identified  with  business  and  educational  affairs  in  Knox  county  is  Mr.  George  W.  Donald- 
son, of  Vincennes. 

He  was  born  in  Knox  county  on  the  11th  day  of  February,  1856,  and  attended  the  common  and  high 
schools  of  Vincennes.  Following  his  graduation,  he  entered  the  state  normal  school  at  Terre  Haute, 
and  after  completing  his  work  at  this  institution  entered  the  educational  field,  teaching  in  Bicknell, 
where  he  was  principal  for  two  years. 

On  the  8th  day  of  October,  1878,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Gilmore,  and  to  their 
home  have  come  three  daughters  and  a  son:     Myrtle,  Bess  and  Madie,  and  George  R. 

In  the  year  1888  he  assumed  the  duties  of  treasurer  of  Knox  county,  and  in  this  capacity  served 
four  years.  He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  civic  affairs  and  has  attended  various  state  and  county 
conventions  of  the  party. 

He  organized  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Vincennes  in  the  year  of  1893  and  was  president  of 
same  for  thirteen  years  but  had  to  give  up  the  banking  business  on  account  of  ill  health. 

He  has  been  a  student  of  our  financial  system  for  years,  and  as  far  back  as  1908  advocated  a  sys- 
tem of  currency  almost  identical  to  the  one  adopted   by  the  last  Democratic  congress. 


CHARLES  P.  DONEY 

Among  the  loyal  Democratic  workers  of  Wayne  county,  Charles  P.  Doney  holds  a  prominent 
position,  having  been  active  in  the  service  of  the   party  since  he  was  a  lad  of  twelve  years. 

Mr.  Doney  is  a  true  son  of  Wayne  county,  born  in  Cambridge  City  and  educated  in  her  schools, 
graduating  from  the  high  school.  The  son  and  grandson  of  loyal  Democrats,  he  was  early  taught 
the  principles  promulgated  by  Jefferson  and  has  consistently  labored  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause. 
Soon  after  he  attained  his  majority  he  served  as  precinct  committeeman  at  various  times,  and  in 
the  campaigns  of  1912  and  1914  was  county  chairman  of  the  Democratic  organization. 

He  is  engaged  in  the  insurance  business,  selling  both  life  and  fire  policies,  and  was  actively 
identified  with  business  affairs  of  Cambridge  City  until  September,  1914,  at  which  time  his  political 
efforts  were  rewarded  by  an  appointment  to  the  Income  Tax  Department  in  the  oflice  of  the  Col- 
lector of  Internal  Revenue  at  Indianapolis.  He  was  later  placed  in  complete  charge  of  that  department 
until  his  resignation  in  December,  1917,  when  he  opened  offices  in  Indianapolis,  acting  as  consultant 
on  federal  tax  matters,  specializing  on  federal  tax  laws,  being  the  originator  of  this  special  kind  of 
service  to  federal  taxpayers  within  a  radius  of  several  hundred  miles,  his  business  extending 
throughout  Indiana  and  adjoining  states. 


CHARLES  B.  DONOVAN,  JR. 

The  present  postmaster  of  East  Chicago  has,  since  attaining  his  majority,  been 
an  active  party  worker  and  has  contributed  valued  service  to  the  local  organization 
during  the  various  campaigns  through  which  he  has  passed. 

Mr.  Charles  B.  Donovan,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Chicago  on  the  26th  day  of  April,  1880. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  this  city  until  he  reached  the  age  of  ten  years,  at 
which  time  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  East  Chicago  and  entered  the  schools  of 
that  place.  After  finishing  school  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  ofliice  of  The  Grasselli 
Chemical  Co.,  and  held  same  until  taking  up  the  trade  of  iron  molder.  He  held  the 
position  of  assistant  foreman  for  the  Green  Engineering  Co.  until  the  summer  of 
1913,  at  which  time  he  received  the  appointment  to  the  postmastership  of  East 
Chicago,  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office  on  the  1st  day  of  July. 

On  the  25th  day  of  November,  1903,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Katherine  Farrington,  and 
their  home,  then  established  in  East  Chicago,  has  extended  hospitality  to  a  circle  of  devoted  friends. 

As  a  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  he  has  been  zealous  and  loyal  and  was  for  a 
number  of  years  secretary  of  the  local  organization,  resigning  only  to  accept  his  present  position. 


(885) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


WILLIAM  V.  DOOGS 
Among  the  progressive  agriculturists  of  Perry  county,  the  name  of  Wil- 
liam V.  Doogs  holds  high  rank. 

He  is  essentially  a  product  of  this  locality,  born  near  the  site  of  the 
present  home  and  educated  largely  in  its  schools.  Following  his  graduation 
froiTi  the  district  schools,  however,  a  course  of  study  in  the  higher  branches 
was  taken  at  St.  Meinrad  College,  in  Spencer  county.  His  father,  whose 
death  occurred  in  1882,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Germany  in  the 
early  fifties,  and  it  was  from  him  that  he  learned  the  love  of  the  soil  and 
its  cultivation. 

In  the  fall  of  1906  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  clerk,  and 
served  in  this  capacity  for  a  four-year  term.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
period,  he  was  re-elected  and  served  for  a  further  term,  bringing  to  his 
work  characteristic  enthusiasm  and  unflagging  zeal. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Doogs  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  of 
the  tenets  of  Democracy,  and  has  labored  during  the  various  campaigns  for 
the  fui  tht  I  aiKf  of  the  cause.  During  the  campaign  of  1914  he  served  as  secretary  of  the  county  Demo- 
cratic committee. 

He  is  essentially  a  self-made  man,  laboring  since  boyhood  for  the  success  which  is  his.  He  is  now 
the  holder  of  extensive  farming  interests  and  is  also  a  stockholder,  director  and  assistant  cashier  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Cannelton. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  being  an  active  member  of  Cannelton  Coun- 
cil No.  1172. 


HUGH  DOUGHERTY 

Hugh  Dougherty  was  born  in  Darke  county,  Ohio,  July  28,  1844,  the  son 
of  William  and  Margaret  (Studebaker)  Dougherty  and  the  grandson  of 
Hugh  Dougherty,  a  native  of  Ireland  who  immigrated  to  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1818,  subsequently  removing  to  Darke  county,  Ohio.  His 
mother  was  a  relative  of  the  famous  Studebaker  family  of  Indiana. 

Hugh  Dougherty  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  while 
living  on  his  father's  farm,  and  became  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  at 
the  age  of  seventeen.  After  teaching  for  one  term  he  enlisted  in  the  Union 
army  and  fought  during  the  Civil  war  with  the  94th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
participating  in  some  of  the  most  important  battles.  He  was  made  a 
prisoner  of  war  at  Stone  River  in  1862. 

He  began  his  business  career  in  Indiana  at  Bluffton,  in  1865,  being 
employed  by  his  uncle  in  the  grain  business.  Later  he  entered  the  exchange 
bank  of  John  Studebaker,  his  uncle,  and  was  a  partner  in  the  bank  until 
1888,  when  he  became  president  .of  the  institution.  In  1904  he  resigned  the 
presidency  of  that  bank  to  take  the  same  office  with  the  Marion  Trust  Company  of  Indianapolis, 
which  position  he  held  until  the  merger  of  this  bank  with  the  Fletcher  Trust  Company,  a  much  larg- 
er institution,  of  which  he  became  vice-president. 

He  was  one  of  the  leading  financiers  of  the  Middle  West,  and  was  identified  with  the  Independ- 
ent Telephone  Corporations  of  Indiana,  organizing  one  of  the  first  independents.  When  the  inde- 
pendent telephone  companies  organized  their  national  association,  Mr.  Dougherty  served  on  their 
most  important  committees,  looking  after  their  contest.s  with  the  Bell  companies.  Mr.  Dougherty 
subsequently  was  made  national  president  of  the  independent  telephone  companies.  It  was  through 
Mr.  Dougherty's  eff'orts  that  the  independent  companies  in  many  parts  of  the  country  were  permit- 
ted to  secure  long  distance  service  over  the  Bell  lines  into  territories  which  the  independents  did 
not  reach. 

Mr.  Dougherty  was  always  a  strong  and  influential  member  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  served 
as  state  senator  from  1871  to  1873,  and  from  that  time  on  until  the  second  election  of  Woodrow 
Wilson  he  was  prominently  identified  with  the  Democratic  state  central  committee,  serving  a  number 
of  vears  as  their  treasurer. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-19   10 

He  was  a  delegate  to  several  national  conventions.  He  also  served  as  a  member  of  many  im- 
portant boards  in  the  management  of  state  institutions.  He  was  married  at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  Oc- 
tober 25,  1877,  to  Emma  Gilliland,  of  Indianapolis,  and  they  had  one  daughter,  Elizabeth,  who  mar- 
ried   Charles   W.   Jewett,   mayor   of   Indianapolis. 


CHARLES  P.  DRUMMOND 

Hon.  Charles  P.  Drummond  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  northern  Indiana,  and  Democrats 
all  over  the  state  recognize  him  as  one  of  the  stanchest  members  of  the  party.  He  was  born  in 
Charleston,  Clark  county,  Indiana,  and  educated  in  the  literary  department  of  Michigan  University. 
There  also  he  began  the  study  of  law,  which  he  completed  in  the  office  of  M.  A.  0.  Packard,  being 
admitted  to  practice  in  1885.  He  quickly  attracted  public  notice  and  was  elected  prosecuting  attor- 
ney for  Marshall  and  Fulton  counties  in  1886.  In  1888  he  was  re-elected  and  served  two  full  terms. 
In  1894  he  was  appointed  mayor  of  Plymouth,  to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term,  and  filled  that  office 
for  two  years.  In  1896  he  was  elected  state  senator  for  Marshall  and  Fulton  counties,  and  served 
four  years.  In  1900  he  accepted  the  nomination  for  attorney-general,  but  suffered  the  fate  of  the 
whole  Democratic  ticket  in  that  year.  In  1902  Mr.  Drummond  settled  in  South  Bend,  where  he  has 
since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  In  1914  he  was  put  forward  as  Democratic 
candidate  for  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  and  had  a  strong  following  from  all  parts  of  the  state, 
but  the  desire  to  give  a  complimentary  vote  to  favorite  sons  defeated  him  at  the  Indianapolis  con- 
vention. 

He  has  always  been  active  in  the  support  of  the  party  and  his  worth,  ability,  and  character  are 
highly  appreciated  all  over  the  state. 

Mr.  Drummond  married  Stella  H.  Packard  and  they  have  a  daughter,  Hortense,  and.  a  son, 
Donald  P.,  who  is  associated  with  his  father  in  the  law  firm  of  Drummond  &  Drummond. 


FRANK  R.  DULIN 

Frank  R.  Dulin  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  young  attorneys  of  northeastern 
Indiana,  but  is  a  scion  of  one  of  the  oldest  American  families.  His  ancestors  were  residents  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  his  grandfather  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Indiana.  His  father  was  a  farmer 
and  Frank  R.  Dulin  was  born  near  Lebanon,  this  State,  November  6,  1880.  After  leaving  high  school 
he  entered  the  Indiana  Law  School  and  was  graduated  in  1902.  In  that  year  also  he  was  admitted  to 
practice.  In  1903  he  settled  in  Fort  Wayne,  where  he  has  since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession. 

Mr.  Dulin's  ability  and  personality  carried  him  quickly  to  the  front,  and  in  1907  he  was  appointed 
attorney  for  the  juvenile  court  by  Judge  O'Rourke,  at  that  time  judge  of  that  court.  Mr.  Dulin 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  position  ably  for  five  years,  until  1912,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  the 
position  of  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  tendered  to  him  by  Mr.  Hilgeman.  In  this  responsible  office 
he  has  proved  himself  an  able  lawyer  and  a  splendid  public  official.  Mr.  Dulin  has  always  been  a 
stanch  Democrat,  as  were  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him.  The  Dulins  have  been  Democrats 
ever  since  the  party  came  into  existence.  He  takes  warm  interest  in  his  party's  success  and  is  active 
in  all  campaigns.     He  was  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  of  1912. 

On  August  28,  1912,  he  was  married  to  Delia  Hughbanks,  and  they  have  one  son. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Jefferson  Club;  is  a  32d  Degree  Mason,  Scottish  Rite;  a  member 
of  the  Sol  D.  Bayless  Lodge  No.  359.  F.  &  A.  M.;  the  Fort  Wayne  Consistory,  and  Mizpah  Shrine, 
A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S. 


JOHN  S.  DUNCAN 

A  veteran  in  the  service  of  the  Democratic  party,  a  substantial  citizen  of  Howard  county  and 
an  honored  member  of  the  commonwealth  is  the  subject  of  this  review,  John  S.  Duncan. 

Mr.  Duncan  was  born  in  Rush  county,  Indiana,  on  the  10th  day  of  October,  1842,  and  in  that 
locality  he  received  his  education.  On  the  30th  day  of  August,  1866,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  D.  North,  and  she  has  been  his  faithful  companion  throughout  life's  journey.  Since 
taking  up  his   residence   in   Kokomo,   Mr.   Duncan's   activities   and    interests    have   centered    in   that 


(887) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


city.  He  has  served  as  township  trustee  of  Taylor  township,  and  to  the  duties  of  that  office  brought 
a  conscientious  zeal  and  active  intelligence.  Since  his  youth  he  has  worked  faithfully  and  loyally 
for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  true  Democracy,  and  has  been  sent  as  delegate  to  the  state  con- 
vention of  the  party. 


ZACHARIAH  T.  DUNCAN 

Zachariah  T.  Dungan,  prominent  attorney  of  Huntington,  formerly 
mayor  of  that  city  and  closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  the  com- 
munity, was  born  in  Huntington  county,  December  7,  1859.  He  attended 
the  country  schools  of  his  district,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  began 
teaching.  For  eleven  years  he  continued  in  this  work,  teaching  in  winter 
and  engaging  in  newspaper  work  in  the  summer.  A  course  of  study  was 
also  taken  at  the  Danville  Normal  School,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the 
year  1878.  On  the  8th  day  of  December,  1880,  the  day  following  his  twenty- 
first  birthday,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Huntington  county  and  entered 
into  the  practice  of  the  law. 

On  the  11th  day  of  May,  1881,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Lina  C.  Close,  and  their  permanent  home  was  established  in  Huntington, 
and  here  they  have  since  drawn  about  them  an  ever-widening  circle  of 
friends. 

In  the  general  assembly  of  the  state  of  Indiana  in  1883  he  was  one 
of  the  assistant  clerks  of  the  senate  and  in  1891  received  the  united  minority  vote  of  all  Democratic 
voters  for  chief  clerk  of  the  senate. 

In  the  year  1892  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Huntington  and  in  this  capacity  served  two  years  and 
six  months.  Later  the  law  was  changed  and  a  four- year  term  was  authorized.  In  1898  he  was  again 
elected  to  this  position  and  served  for  the  full  term  of  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Wabash  Railroad  Company  as  assistant  general  claim  agent,  and  this  position  he 
still  holds.  He  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  business,  municipal  and  civic  affairs,  and  is  at  pres- 
ent second  vice-president  and  director  of  the  Huntington  Commercial  Club  and  first  vice-president  and 
director  of  the  Huntington  Young  Men's  Association.  He  is  also  secretary  and  member  of  the  city 
board  of  education  and  is  at  present  a  member  of   the  National  Tax  Association. 

Fraternally,  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Red  Men,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America; 
served  as  delegate  to  the  court  of  honor,  and  for  th  ree  years  was  one  of  their  supreme  directors. 

He  has  but  two  children:  Harry  O.,  assistant  cashier  of  the  Citizens  State  Bank,  Huntington, 
and  Carl  M.,  assistant  claim  agent  of  the  Wabash  railroad,  Moberly,  Mo. 


W.  R.  DUNHAM 

He  to  whose  life  history  we  now  direct  attention  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  pio- 
neer families  of  Tipton  county,  his  grandfather  having  entered  government  land  along 
with  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  county. 

W.  R.  Dunham,  the  present  grand  high  priest  of  the  grand  encampment  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  of  Indiana,  and  a  member  of  the  Democratic  state 
central  committee  from  the  ninth  congressional  district  of  Indiana,  was  born  near 
Kempton,  Indiana,  February  1,  1856.  His  parents  were  Samuel  G.  and  Matilda 
(Reese)  Dunham.  W.  R.  Dunham  received  his  early  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  township  and  later  graduated  from  Valparaiso  University,  at  Valpa- 
raiso, Ind.  He  then  took  up  the  profession  of  teaching  and  followed  it  very  success- 
fully for  many  years,  making  an  enviable  record  for  himself  as  an  excellent  instructor.  His  seven  years 
as  superintendent  of  the  Kempton  schools  show  that  he  was  a  success  as  a  teacher.  During  the  summer 
months  he  worked  on  a  farm  and  clerked  in  a  dry  goods  store.  In  1912  the  Democrats  of  Hamilton 
and  Tipton  counties  selected  him  as  the  party's  candidate  for  state  representative,  and  at  the  Novem- 
ber election  he  was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  plurality.  His  record  in  the  legislature  was  such  as 
to  commend  him  to  the  best  citizens  of  his  district. 

Mr.  Dunham  was  married  April  8,  1881,  to  Belle  Allen,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Harriette 
Allen,  of  Sabina,  Ohio.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  children— Dr.  W.  F.,  Dr.  G.  C.  and 
Bonnie,  the  wife  of  Vernon  Peters. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


In  his  political  faith  Mr.  Dunham  has  always  been  a  stanch  and  unwavering  supporter  of  the 
Democratic  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masons,  K.  of  P.,  Odd  Fellows  (encampment  and  cantons). 
Mr.  Dunham  is  a  good  example  of  the  self-made  man,  and  in  everything  he  has  undertaken  he  has 
applied  all  those  qualities  which  characterize  successful  men.  As  a  teacher,  as  a  county  official,  as  a 
salesman  and  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  he  has  been  true  to  the  best  impulses  within  him,  and 
the  result  is  that  he  is  highly  respected  and  honored  by  all  who  know  him.  He  is  a  man  of  pleasing 
personality,  which,  united  with  his  other  good  qualities,  renders  him  an  influential  factor  in  the  social 
and  business  life  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 


WILLIAM  BOYER  DURBOROW 

William  Boyer  Durborow,  the  son  of  Allen  C.  and  Elizabeth  Boyer  Dur- 
borow,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1855,  mov- 
ing with  his  parents  to  Williamsport,  Indiana,  in  the  year  1863,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  his  death,  which  occurred  October  28,  1914. 

He  received  his  primary  education  at  the  schools. of  Williamsport,  later 
attending  Wabash  College,  at  Crawfordsville,  and  finishing  his  collegiate 
course  at  Indiana  University,  graduating  in  the  class  of  1876,  and  graduating- 
from  the  law  department  of  the  university  in  the  class  of  1877.  Mr.  Dur- 
borow was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  Warren  Circuit  Court,  October  14,  1877, 
and  at  once  entered  actively  upon  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession.  He 
continued  to  devote  all  his  time  and  energy  to  his  business  until  compelled  by 
failing  health  to  relinquish  it  a  few  weeks  prior  to  his  death. 

He  was  a  prominent  and  active  member  of  the  Masons,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  order  of  Maccabees. 

Although  a  leader  of  the  political  party  with  which  he  affiliated,  and 
taking  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  local  politics,  and  though  he  stood  high  in  the  counsel  of  the 
leaders  of  the  party  and  in  the  confidence  of  the  rank  and  file,  yet  he  never  sought  or  held  a  public 
office. 

When  Governor  Hanly  discovered  evidences  of  malfeasance  in  the  offices  of  certain  state  officers 
during  his  administration  as  governor  he  sought  for  men  whose  character  and  standing  was  well 
known  and  was  such  as  to  command  the  confidence  of  the  public  to  make  investigation  and  report 
upon  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  offices  affected  by  the  misconduct  of  the  corrupt  officers.  At  his 
earnest  personal  solicitation  Mr.  Durborow  consented  to  serve  upon  this  important  commission.  The 
work  of  this  commission  has  gone  into  the  history  of  the  State.  It  was  done  so  conscientiously  as  to 
be  above  criticism  from  any  source  and  to  meet  with  uniform  approval.  In  the  accomplishment  of  this 
result  Mr.  Durborow  bore  with  the  other  members  of  the  commission  his  full  share  of  the  responsi- 
bility and  labor  involved. 

He  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  vice-president  and  active  head  of  the  Warren  County  Bank, 
and  had  a  very  large  clientage  in  his  profession. 

Mr.  Durborow  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Lawrence  of  Williamsport,  April  21,  1881,  and  to  them 
were  born  two  children — H.  L.  Durborow,  now  of  the  faculty  of  Culver  Military  Academy,  and  Mrs. 
Fred  Stevenson  of  Youngstown,  Ohio,  both  of  whom  survive  him. 


ADAM  R.  EBERT 

Adam  R.  Ebert  needs  no  introduction  to  the  citizens  of  Lake  county.  He  is  a  native  of  Germany, 
born  in  Kurhessen,  on  the  21st  of  December,  1851.  He  attended  the  common  schools  in  Germany,  and 
in  1868  emigrated  to  America,  locating  in  Chicago,  where  he  remained  until  August,  1872.  At  this 
time  he  took  up  his  residence  in  North  township.  Lake  county.  On  the  29th  day  of  August,  1880,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sophia  Brunswick,  and  she  has  ably  seconded  his  efforts  at  all  times. 

In  1887  he  became  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Hammond,  serving  in  that  body  until  1891. 
In  1890  he  was  elected  representative  from  Lake  county  to  the  state  legislature  of  1891.  January  1, 
1894,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Hammond  for  a  term  of  four  years,  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  in  1900  to  1914,  and  in  May,  1908,  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  board  of  public  works,  serv- 
ing until  1912.    Since  1907  he  has  been  president  of  the  Hammond  Savings  and  Trust  Company. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

CHARLES  A.  EDWARDS 

Prominently  identified  with  public  affairs  and  with  the  mercantile  life  of  Huntington  county, 
Charles  A.  Edwards  is  familiarly  known  throughout  that  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Edwards  was  born  in  northern  Indiana  on  April  22,  1866,  and  received  his  schooling  in  the 
schools  of  Rochester.  Miss  Ella  Rauch  of  Warren,  Indiana,  became  his  wife  and  Huntington  county 
his  permanent  home. 

Mr.  Edwards  has  been  connected  with  a  number  of  prominent  business  enterprises  in  the  city 
of  Huntington.  He  has  always  been  deeply  interested  in  the  doings  of  the  Democratic  organization 
in  his  locality  and  was  appointed  president  of  the  board  of  public  works  of  the  city,  a  position  he 
occupied  but  sixty  days,  resigTiing  to  accept  a  position  as  member  of  the  Indiana  state  public  serv- 
ice commission,  to  the  labors  of  which  commission  his  time  is  still  devoted.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  serving  his  party  with 
the  same  zeal  which  he  has  displayed  in  the  conduct  of  his  private  affairs. 

Mr.  Edwards  is  a  stockholder  in  a  bank  at  Huntington  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Commer- 
cial club.  He  is  also  connected  with  the  Factory  Fund  association,  and  is  closely  identified  with  the 
various  movements  which  have  arisen  from  time  to  time  in  behalf  of  civic  betterment  and  the  gen- 
eral progress  and  improvement  of  the  community  with  which  he  is  so  closely  associated. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Edwards  is  allied  with  the  Masons,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  Socially,  he  and  Mrs.  Edwards  hold 
an  enviable  position  and  are  esteemed  by  an  ever- widening  circle  of  friends. 

LOUIS  EITEL 
A  loyal  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party  in  Jennings  county  is  Louis  Eitel,  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Vernon.  Mr.  Eitel  is  a  native  of  this  county,  having  been 
born  in  Vernon  on  the  21st  day  of  February,  1862.  He  obtained  a  common  school 
education  in  the  Vernon  High  Schools.  His  calling  has  been  that  of  a  salesman  and 
merchant  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  He  is  at  the  present  time  a  partner  in  the 
firm  of  Eitel  Brothers,  general  merchants,  in  Vernon. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  March,  1911,  he  was  elected  town  recorder  of  Vernon, 
and  assumed  the  duties  of  this  office  the  same  week  in  which  he  was  elected,  he 
being  the  only  Democrat  elected  on  the  ticket  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Eitel  has  always  given  freely  of  his  time  and  energy  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  cause  of  Democracy,  and  during  the  campaign  of  1912  was  treasurer  of  the  county  central 
committee. 

EDWARD  P.  ELSNER 
Senator  Edward  P.  Eisner  of  Jackson  county  bears  a  state-wide  reputation  as 
an  able  and  zealous  legislator  and  has  long  been  known  as  a  leading  attorney  and 
able  public  official  of  Seymour. 

He  was  born  February  7,  1879,  in  Jackson  county,  and  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Seymour,  graduating  from  the  high  school.  His  studies  were  continued  at 
Indiana  University,  where  he  took  two  years  in  the  liberal  arts  department  and 
graduated  in  the  law  department  in  1904.  Immediately  after,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Jackson  county  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  On  the 
first  day  of  January,  1910,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  attorney,  serving  in  this 
capacity  for  a  term  of  four  years.  In  the  fall  of  1912  he  was  elected  state  senator, 
and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  assembly  of  1913  and  that  of  1915. 

Mrs.  Eisner  was  formerly  Miss  Mayme  McDonald  of  Seymour;  and  two  daughters,  Dolores  Mae 
and  Mentoria  Mabel,  have  added  greatly  to  his  home  inspiration. 

FREDERICK  A.  EMERSON 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Angola,  Mr.  Frederick  A.  Emerson,  has  been  for  many 
years  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party  in  Steuben  county. 

He  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  20th  day  of  December,  1865,  in  Steuben  county.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  later  entered  Tri-State  College  for  a  course  of  study  in  the  higher 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


branches.     On  the  9th  day  of  May,  1894,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ina  L.  Craig,  and  their  home  was 
established  in  Angola.     Here  they  have  drawn  about  them  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

Mr.  Emerson  was,  for  seventeen  years,  employed  as  a  traveling  salesman;  but  on  the  19th  day 
of  March,  1914,  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  postmaster  of  the  city,  and  to  this  work  has  since 
devoted  his  energies  with  conscientious  zeal.  He  is  well  known  among  the  active  Democratic  workers 
of  the  county  and  has  rendered  valued  service  to  the  local  organization. 


FRANKLIN   A.   EMRICK 

Franklin  A.  Emrick  was  born  in  Pleasant  township,  Allen 
county,  Indiana,  and  received  his  early  education  in  the 
public  schools.  He  then  took  a  two-year  literary  course  in 
Ann  Arbor,  followed  that  with  a  "year's  course  in  law,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  September,  1899.  Immediately  after 
his  admission  he  came  to  Ft.  Wayne  to  take  the  position  of 
deputy  prosecuting  attorney  under  his  brother,  E.  V.  Emrick. 
That  position  he  filled  from  October  22,  1899,  to  December 
31,  1903.  During  the  past  fifteen  years  he  has  achieved  a 
high  reputation  in  his  profession  and  has  also  made  a  host  of 
friends.  In  1907  he  was  selected  as  a  member  of  the  town- 
ship advisory  board.  At  the  Democratic  primary,  on  April  S. 
1914,  he  was  nominated  for  prosecuting  attorney  for  Allen 
county  by  a  splendid  majority  and  his  election  assured. 

Mr.  Emrick  has  always  been  a  Democrat  and  a  stanch 
one,  as  was  his  father  before  him,  and  is  always  ready  to  do 
his  best  for  party  success.  His  recent  nomination  is  a  clear 
expression  of  the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow 
Democrats.  He  is  affiliated  with  many  social  and  fraternal 
organizations,  among  them  being  the  Elks,  Eagles,  Buffalos, 
Moose,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Masonic  fraternity,  in 
which  he  has  taken  the  32nd  degree,  Scottish  Rite,  and  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Shrine.  His  clubs  are  the  Jefferson  Club,  the  Commercial  Club  and  the  German 
Athletic  Club. 

Franklin  A.  Emrick  married  Mary  E.  Hill,  also  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  they  have  two  children. 


MARION  A.  EMSHWILLER,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Marion  A.  Emshwiller  is  a  native  Indianian  and  may  likewise  be  called  a  native  in  the 
cause  of  Democracy.  Dr.  Emshwiller  was  born  on  October  25,  1869.  After  a  course  in  the  Mont- 
pelier  high  school  he  attended  DePauw  University  in  1885  and  1886.  He  then  took  up  the  study 
of  medicine,  attending  the  Medical  College  of  Indiana,  now  a  part  of  the  University  of  Indiana, 
and  received  his  diploma.  This  training  for  his  chosen  profession  he  followed  in  1911  with  a  post- 
graduate course  at  the   Chicago   Polyclinic,   an   institution  known  for  its  thoi-oughness. 

Dr.  Emshwiller  is  a  member  of  the  Blackford  county  medical  society  and  of  the  Indiana  state 
medical  society.  In  1892  he  was  elected  coroner  of  Blackford  county,  being  the  first  Democrat  ever 
elected  to  that  office.     For  the  past  three  years  he  has  been  physician  for  Harrison  township. 

On  October  8,  1891,  Dr.  Emshwiller  was  married  to  Miss  Maggie  E.  Patterson,  who  passed  away 
on  April  1,  1895.     In  September,  1896,  he  married   Miss  Leota  E.  Adams. 

Dr.  Emshwiller  has  ever  taken  a  deep  interest  in  furthering  the  principles  of  Democracy.  As 
an  active  worker  for  the  party  he  is  a  familiar  figure  in  the  councils  of  party  workers,  is  always  a 
delegate  to  the  county  convention,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  last  state  convention. 


WILLIAM  ESPENSCHIED 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above  is  well  known  to  the  citizens  of  Mt.  Vernon  and 
vicinity,  he  having  been  a  resident  of  that  locality  for  many  years  and  the  holder  of  various  posi- 
tions of  responsibility  and  trust  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth. 

William  Espenschied  was  born  in  the  state  of  Kansas  on  the  27th  day  of  April,  1876,  but  at  the 
age  of  two  years  came  with  his  parents  to  Indiana,  the  family  locating  at  Mt.  Vernon,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  early  schooling,  graduating  from  the  high  school.     Later  he  pursued  a  course  of  study  at 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


1  9  1 


Indiana  University,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  laws. 
In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Posey  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Mt.  Vernon. 

In  the  year  1899,  Mr.  Espenschied  was  appointed  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  11th 
Judicial  District,  and  in  that  capacity  served  until  1901,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of 
prosecuting  attorney  of  the  same  district  for  a  two-year  term.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period 
he  was  re-elected  to  the  position  of  prosecutor,  serving  until  1905  with  much  credit  to  himself  and 
his  constituents.  He  later  served  as  city  attomsy  of  Mt.  Vernon,  displaying  in  this  capacity  his 
characteristic  energy  and  intelligence. 

On  the  30th  day  of  October,  1901,  Mr.  Espensithied  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Katherine 
Gounerman,  Fraternally,  he  is  an  active  member  of  Beulah  Lodge  No.  578,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, and  of  Mt.  Vernon  Lodge,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of -Elks. 


MOSES  EPSTEIN 

The  name  of  Moses  Epstein  is  widely  known  among  the  citizens  of 
Frankfort  and  of  Clinton  county,  for  he  has  been  a  substantial  member  of 
the  community  for  thirty-eight  years,  closely  identified  with  the  business 
and  civil  life  of  the  place,  and  belonging  to  the  class  of  men  who,  by  their 
stability  and  conservative  methods  add  dignity  and  weight  to  the  various 
interests  with  which  they  are  identified. 

Mr.  Epstein  was  born  on  the  5th  day  of  July,  1852,  in  Dearborn  county, 
Indiana,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky.    Miss  Henrietta  Gradwohl  became  his  wife  and  the  mother  of  his 
two  children,  a  son  and  daughter.    In  the  year  1876  he  established  his  home 
in  Frankfort,  and  since  that  time  has  shown  an  unusually  keen  interest  in 
civil  affairs,  particularly  those  movements  which  tend  to  alleviate  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  unfortunate.     He  is  at  this  time  a  trustee  of  the  Northern 
Indiana  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  having  been  appointed  in  1911  for  a  term 
of  four  years.    He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Charities  and  the  Board 
of  Children's  Guardians,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Elks  and  Knights  of  Pythias.     In 
all  these  various  relations  he  has  proven  himself  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  unquestioned  integrity. 
Politically  he  is  a  stanch  Democrat  and  an  active  worker  for  the  success  of  the  party,  giving  lib- 
erally of  his  time,  as  well  as  his  means,  to  promote  the  principles  of  true  democracy. 


WILLIAM  H.  EVERROAD 

William  H.  Everroad,  a  prominent  attorney  of  the  city  of  Columbus,  Indiana,  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Everroad  &  Cooper,  was  born  in  the  state  of  Illinois  on  the  27th  day  of  June,  1858.  In 
childhood  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Bartholomew  county,  Indiana,  and  here  his  schooling  was 
received  until  he  entered  Hartsville  University.  On  the  25th  day  of  December,  1883,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  B.  Sweeney,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Greencastle,  Indiana,  on  the  2nd  day  of 
February,  1864.  Six  years  later  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  9th  Judicial  Circuit  of 
Indiana,  which  position  he  held  until  the  expiration  of  his  term  in  1891.  In  the  year  1908  he  was 
elected  as  delegate  to  the  national  Democratic  convention  at  Denver  for  the  4th  Congressional  Dis- 
trict. 

WALTER  J.  FARING 

Though  still  a  member  of  the  younger  element  in  the  party,  Walter  J.  Fabing 
of  Valparaiso  has  been,  for  a  number  of  years,  a  valued  worker  in  the  ranks  and  has 
established  an  enviable  reputation  among  the  legal  fraternity  of  this  section. 

Mr.  Fabing  was  born  March  15,  1890,  in  Porter  county,  and  attended  the  schools 
of  Valparaiso.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  he  entered  Valparaiso 
University,  and  completed  a  course  in  law.  After  graduation  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Porter  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  this  profession.  In 
this  work  he  has  evinced  marked  ability  and  unflagging  energy  and  on  the  6th  day 
of  March,  1913,  was  honored  by  receiving  the  appointment  to  the  position  of  prose- 
cuting attorney  for  the  county.  Prior  to  this  period  he  was  a  law  partner  of  D.  E. 
Kelly. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  an  active  party  worker,  and  in  the  campaign  of  1912 
was  president  of  the  Woodrow  Wilson  Club  of  Valparaiso. 

Mrs.  Fabing,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  Srd,  1913,  was  formerly  Miss  Kathryn  Reagan;  and 
she  has  proved  a  worthy  second  in  his  career  and  a  charming  hostess  to  the  friends  whom  they  have 
drawn  about  them. 

JAMES  W.  FALCONBURY 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  heading  of  this  article  has  for  many  years  been  a 
prominent  member  of  the  community  and  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party. 

James  W.  Falconbury  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  born  on  the  18th  day  of  April,  1852.  His  life  has 
been  spent  near  the  site  of  his  present  home,  and  his  education  was  received  in  the  common  schools 
of  Marshall  county.  He  has  been  thrice  married  and  is  the  father  of  eighteen  children,  sixteen  of 
whom  are  now  living,  nine  sons  and  seven  daughters.  His  first  marriage,  to  Miss  Nancy  A.  Moffitt, 
occurred  September  17,  1871;  his  second,  to  Miss  Hattie  Rowan,  was  solemnized  November  29,  1875; 
and  on  the  7th  of  May,  1886,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Fannie  Badgley. 

In  the  year  1884  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Rutland,  serving  for  a  term  of  four  years,  and 
again,  during  the  period  from  1892  to  1896,  he  discharged  the  duties  of  this  office.  Twice,  also,  has 
he  been  elected  to  the  position  of  sheriff  of  Marshall  county,  his  first  term  beginning  January  1, 
1911,  and  his  second  two  years  later,  when  he  was  re-elected  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  year 
1914. 

Mr.  Falconbury  has,  throughout  most  of  his  life,  found  his  pleasure  as  well  as  his  profit  in  tilling 
the  soil,  and  his  sons  have  been  taught  the  independence  of  the  life  of  the  agriculturist. 


JOSEPH  A.  FAUST 
Joseph  A.  Faust  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  born  at  Lafayette, 
June  15,  1851,  the  eldest  son  of  Joseph  A.  and  Elizabeth   (Buffert)    Faust, 
both  natives  of  Germany. 

Mr.  Faust  was  educated  in  the  Catholic  and  public  schools  of  Peru  and 
was  one  of  the  seven  members  of  the  first  graduating  class  of  the  Peru  High 
School,  that  event  occurring  in  1870. 

After  his  graduation,  Mr.  Faust  taught  German  in  the  school  he  had 
just  left,  also  teaching  the  philosophy  and  astronomy  classes,  but,  not  caring 
to  continue  in  educational  work,  he  became  a  dry  goods  salesman,  then  a 
book  agent,  and  afterwards  worked  at  his  trade,  that  of  cooper,  which  he 
had  learned  while  working  with  his  father.  At  this  time  he  took  up  the 
study  of  law,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  April,  1877.  With  the  exception 
of  a  brief  time  when  he  was  located  in  Cincinnati,  Mr.  Faust  has  been  a 
continuous  resident  of  the  city  of  Peru,  practicing  his  profession,  and  by  his 
integrity,  accomplishments  and  good  citizenship,  has  taken  a  prominent 
place  in  the  community.  At  the  present  time  but  two  members  of  the  Miami  county  bar  antedate  the 
admission  of  Mr.  Faust  to  the  bar. 

Mr.  Faust  was  twice  a  member  of  the  school  board,  serving  each  time  as  secretary,  being  elected 
each  time  without  his  knowledge  or  consent,  and  resigning  each  time  to  accept  the  city  attorneyship, 
which  office  he  held  for  three  terms,   aggregating  a  period  of  eight  years  and  three  months. 

While  serving  his  second  term  on  the  school  board  the  question  of  erecting  a  new  high  school  was 
before  the  board,  one  of  the  trustees  being  for  and  the  other  against  razing  the  old  building.  Mr. 
Faust's  vote  caused  the  razing  of  the  school  from  which  he  had  graduated,  and  which  is  replaced  by 
the  present  magnificent  structure,  the  pride  of  Peru,  equipped  with  all  the  improvements  applicable  to 
modern  schools.  Mr.  Faust  devoted  a  great  deal  of  his  time  to  this  end,  being  retained  by  the  school 
board  as  clerk  after  his  resignation  until  the  building  was  completed. 

Mr.  Faust  has  always  been  a  Democrat.  He  served  as  secretary  of  the  central  committee  in  1884, 
chairman  of  the  same  in  1886  and  vice-chairman  a  number  of  times  since.  On  all  occasions  he  has 
devoted  his  time  and  energy  to  further  the  interests  of  his  party. 

Mr.  Faust  was  married  May  13,  1879,  to  Mary  Jane  Comerford,  and  to  them  have  been  born 
seven  children — Mary  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Charles  A.  Gosselin,  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.;  Mary  Agnes; 
Anna  Louisa,  deceased;  Mary  Josephine;  Clara  Gladys;  Joseph  Anton,  and  Rose,  deceased. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

EDWARD  WEBSTER  FELT 

Judge  Edward  Webster  Felt,  for  many  years  a  representative  citizen  of  Hancock  county,  is  a 
man  of  wide  acquaintance,  deep  experience  and  unusual  attainments;  noted  among  his  constituents  for 
his  broad-minded  policies,  progressive  ideas  and  just  decisions.  In  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties 
he  has  shown  a  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  the  public  combined  with  the  utmost  fairness  in  rendering 
decisions  from  the  bench,  and  his  position  in  the  legal  profession  of  the  State  is  an  enviable  one. 

Judge  Felt  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  7th  day  of  No- 
vember, 1859.  When  less  than  one  year  of  age,  however,  his  parents  came  to  Indiana,  and  it  was  in 
the  schools  of  the  Hoosier  State  that  his  education  was  received.  After  graduating  from  the  public 
schools  of  Hancock  county  he  entered  the  educational  field,  teaching  school  in  the  winter  from  the 
years  1880  to  1886,  except  the  school  year  of  1883-84.  In  the  meantime,  when  not  teaching  he  pur- 
sued his  studies  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville,  Ind.,  from  which  he  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1884.  The  following  year,  on  the  17th  day  of  April,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Mattie  L.  Thomas 
was  solemnized  and  their  home  established  in  the  city  of  Greenfield,  where  he  continued  to  teach  and 
study,  reading  law  with  James  A.  New  of  that  place,  and  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  year  1887. 

Henceforth  Judge  Felt  entered  with  characteristic  energy  and  zeal  into  the  active  practice  of  law, 
and  so  well  did  he  succeed  that  but  three  years  elapsed  before  he  held  the  responsible  position  of  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  Hancock  county,  his  term  of  office  extending  over  two  terms,  from  1890  to  1894. 
Two  years  later  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  attorney,  serving  in  this  capacity  for  three  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1900  he  was  elected  to  assume  the  still  greater  responsibilities  of  circuit  judge  of  the  18th 
Judicial  Circuit,  and  in  this  position  he  remained  for  the  ensuing  six  years.  In  the  year  1910  he  was 
elected  to  the  position  of  judge  of  the  appellate  court  of  Indiana,  First  District,  and  in  1914  was  re- 
nominated without  opposition  and  re-elected. 

Throughout  his  career  Judge  Felt  has  administered  the  affairs  of  the  various  positions  of  re- 
sponsibility with  conscientious  zeal  and  loyalty,  and  richly  deserves  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the 
entire  community  of  Hancock  county  and  the  State  of  Indiana. 

Politically,  he  has  consistently  adhered  to  the  tenets  of  the  Jeffersonian  party,  taking  an  active  part 
in  the  counsels  of  the  county  organization  and  acting  as  county  chairman  during  the  years  of  1894, 
1896  and  1898.  He  has  also  evinced  a  deep  interest  in  the  various  movements  which  have  arisen 
from  time  to  time  for  the  betterment  and  development  of  the  community  at  large,  and  has  been  an 
active  member  of  all  "booster"  organizations  in  his  section  of  the  State.  He  is  also  a  communicant 
of  the  Methodist  church,  and  for  many  years  has  taught  a  men's  bible  class. 

In  fraternal  circles  he  is  also  widely  known,  being  an  active  member  of  the  leading  orders  of 
Greenfield  and  Indianapolis,  including  the  Irvington  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Greenfield 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Greenfield  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar;  Eastern  Star,  Indianapo- 
lis Consistory,  32d  degree;  Murat  Temple  Chapter,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  of  Indianapolis; 
Greenfield  Lodge  No.  135,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  Eureka  Lodge  No.  20,  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias  of   Greenfield;    Order   of   Red    Men;    Woodmen  of  the  World,  and  Maccabees. 

Five  children  have  come  to  the  home  of  Judge  and  Mrs.  Felt,  three  of  whom  are  now  living. 


HULBERT  M.  FERGUSON 

To  the  miners  of  the  state  of  Indiana  the  name  of  Hulbert  M.  Ferguson  is  a  household  word, 
his  activities  as  an  operator  and  a  man  who  at  all  times  seeks  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  the 
men  employed  in  this  work  being  known  to  all.  As  a  citizen  of  Vermilion  county  he  is  equally  well 
known,  having  served  the  commonwealth  as  an  honored  official  and  having  been  closely  identified 
with  business,  political  and   fraternal  affairs   in  this  community  for  many  years. 

Mr.  Ferguson  is  a  true  Hoosier,  born  in  this  state  on  the  third  day  of  October,  1869.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Terre  Haute,  and  early  in  life  became  interested  in  coal  mining  in  the 
surrounding  fields.    In  Clinton  his  interests  have  centered  and  his  activities  have  been  most  marked. 

On  the  thirteenth  day  of  June,  1904,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Leora  Campbell.  Their  home,  then 
established  in  this  community,  has  extended  hospitality  to  a  host  of  friends  throughout  the  state; 
and  in  the  various  enterprises  which  have  been  in  his  care  she  has  proved  a  worthy  second. 

In  November,  1909,  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  mayor  of  Clinton,  and  the  responsibilities 
of  this  office  were  assumed  early  in  the  following  year.  During  his  incumbency  of  this  office  its  af- 
fairs were  carried  on  with  characteristic  energy  and  zeal.  Finding,  however,  that  his  private  af- 
fairs must  suffer  if  his  full  duty  were  accomplished  in  his  public  capacity,  he  resigned  at  the  expi- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

ration  of  his  second  year  of  service,  and  has  since  devoted  his  energies  to  carrying  forward  the 
work  of  the  Clinton  Coal  Company,  of  which  he  is  general  manager  and  a  heavy  stockholder.  For 
twelve  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  executive  board  of  the  Indiana  Coal  Operators'  Asso- 
ciation. This  position  has  brought  him  in  close  touch  with  work  for  the  rescue  of  miners  and  first 
aid  in  mine  accidents,  and  in  this  connection  he  has  contributed  valued  service  in  behalf  of  the  em- 
ployes and  operators. 

When  a  movement  was  instituted  for  establishing  a  public  library  in  Clinton  Mr.  Ferguson  was 
one  of  the  most  active  promoters,  and  the  consummation  of  the  plan  in  the  fine  library  which  this 
community  now  enjoys  has  been  a  source  of  unmixed  satisfaction  to  him.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the   executive  board   of  this   institution   since   its   organization. 

In  fraternal  circles  Mr.  Ferguson  is  perhaps  best  known  through  his  connection  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  he  having  been  an  active  member  of  this  organization  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years,  and  a  member  of  the  Uniform  Rank,  Terre  Haute  Company,  for  eleven  years.  His  work  as 
captain  of  the  Clinton  Company  Uniform  Rank,  for  the  past  nine  years  has  won  high  honor  and  dis- 
tinction for  himself  and  his  company  at  the  various  national  and  state  encampments  at  which  they 
have  drilled.  He  also  enjoys  membership  in  the  Illinois  Athletic  Club  of  Chicago,  having  been  asso- 
ciated with  this  organization  for  the  past  ten  years. 

Politically,  Mr.  Ferguson  has  been  a  consistent  adherent  to  the  principles  of  Jefferson,  and  has 
been  actively  interested  in  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  Democracy  in  his  home  community. 


THOMAS  FERGUSON 

The  career  of  Thomas  Ferguson,  elected  auditor  of  Vigo  county  in  1914, 
is  unique  and  interesting,  and  his  rapid  rise  from  miner  to  county  auditor  is 
evidence  of  his  remarkable  energy  and  ability. 

Mr.  Ferguson  is  a  native  of  this  county,  born  on  the  first  day  of  Febru- 
ary, 1874;  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  district. 
When  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  his  father  passed  from  this  life,  and  it  fell 
to  the  lot  of  the  two  sons  to  support  themselves  and  the  mother  and  sister; 
so  Thomas  found  employment  in  a  coal  mine,  and  here  he  labored  until  the 
fall  of  1908. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Stella 
May  Baker,  their  union  being  solemnized  on  the  26th  day  of  April,  1893. 
On  the  15th  day  of  May,  1908,  however,  death  claimed  her.  On  the  26th  of 
November,  1908,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Blanch  E.  Moore. 

In  the  fall  of  1907  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  city  councilman  of 
Seelyville,  and  the  following  year  assumed  the  duties  and  greater  responsi- 
bilities of  township  trustee.  In  the  fall  of  1914  he  received  the  nomination  for  county  auditor,  and 
in  the  election  which  followed  was  elected  to  this  position.  When  he  became  township  trustee  the 
Democratic  poll  showed  a  Republican  majority  in  the  township  of  165;  but  Mr.  Ferguson  received 
a  majority  of  44  votes. 

Fraternally  he  is  allied  with  Brazil  Lodge  No.  264,  F.  and  A.  M.;  K.  of  P.  Lodge  No.  .391,  and 
I.  0.  O.  F.  No.  865  of  Seelyville;  and  the  Eagles  and  Loyal  Order  of  Moose  of  Terre  Haute. 


J.  A.  FIELDS 

A.  J.  Fields  is  the  scion  of  a  long  line  of  sterling  ancestry,  his  forebears  having  participated  in 
the  Revolutionary  war  and  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Mr.  Fields  was  born  in  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  August  26,  1879,  and  his  early  education  was 
received  in  Martin  county.  He  was  graduated  from  the  Shoals  high  school  and  then  entered  Indi- 
ana University,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1904  with  the  degree  of  bachelor  of 
laws.  In  September  of  the  same  year  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law  and  has  since  been  thus 
successfully  engaged. 

In  1909  Mr.  Fields  was  elected  mayor  of  Bedford  and  during  his  administration  the  city  made 
great  strides,  there  being  made  valuable  additions  to  the  water  works  system,  new  lighting  con- 
tracts more  favorable  to  the  city,  an  increase  in  street  lighting,  the  installation  of  boulevard  lights, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  improvements,  more  than  $25,000  of  Bedford's  indebtedness  was  paid   off. 


'  S95  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


Mr.  Fields  was  the  second  Democratic  mayor  to  have  been  elected  in  Bedford,  and  in  1913  he  was 
re-elected.     His  sound  business  judgment  has  earned  him  the  commendation  of  his   fellow  citizens. 
Mr.  Fields  is  a  Mason,  a  Noble  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Elks  and  the 
Moose. 


J.  C.  FISHEL 

J.  C.  Fishel  has  attained  prominence  in  his  native  state  by  unusual  business 
ability,  coupled  with  aggressive,  untiring  labor  at  his  chosen  vocation,  that  of  a 
breeder  of  fine  poultry.  He  was  born  in  Hope,  Bartholomew  county,  Indiana,  on  the 
9th  day  of  July,  1858,  and  here  his  education  was  obtained  and  his  life  has  been 
spent.  In  the  year  1879  he  was  married  to  Miss  Miranda  Sehultz,  a  graduate  of 
the  female  seminary  of  the  place.  A  splendid  family  have  come  to  bless  the  home 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fishel,  and  now  five  sons  have  added  their  names  to  the  list  of  loyal 
Democrats,  and  three  daughters  are  their  mother's  faithful  assistants.  Mr.  Fishel 
has  consistently  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  throughout  his  life  and  is  held  in  high 
regard  by  his  constituents,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  was  for  four  years  a 
member  of  the  town  council  of  Hope  and  was  appointed  as  postmaster  of  Hope  by  President  Wilson, 
in  which  capacity  he  is  now  serving  the  public.  As  a  business  man  he  has,  together  with  his  brother, 
Ulysses,  demonstrated  the  possibilities  of  their  chosen  vocation,  breeders  of  fine  poultry,  and  each  in 
his  particular  breed  of  stock  is  surpassed  by  none.  Diligent,  skillful  and  aggressive,  he  has  added 
much  to  the. prestige  of  his  native  town,  and  has  gained  a  national  reputation. 


ULYSSES  R.  FISHEL 

The  name  of  Ulysses  R.  Fishel  is  known  throughout  Indiana  as  that  of  a  man 
loyal  always  to  the  principles  of  Democracy,  and  also  as  an  active  and  aggressive 
business  man.     His  birth  occurred  on  the  23rd  day  of  November,  1866,  in  the  little 
town  of  Hope,  and  here  he  passed  through  the  various  stages  of  childhood  and  man- 
hood, attending  the   public   schools   of  the   place,   and   finally   developing   with   the 
growth  of  the  place  into  a  man  of  affairs.    As  breeders  of  high  grade  poultry  he  and 
his  brother  have  become  known  not  only  throughout  this  state,  but  throughout  the 
United  States,  and  in  farming  sections  particularly  the  name  of  Fishel  is  a  house- 
hold word.     His  stock  has  won  prizes  in  five  international  expositions  and  28  large 
poultry  shows  throughout  this  country. 
Mr.  Fishel  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Atkesom.     Politically,  he  has  never  failed  to  vote  and 
work  for  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  feels  that  his  principles  are  so  firmly  established  in  this  regard 
that  the  rest  of  his  life  will  be  spent  in  the  ranks  of  this  party.    He  holds  no  public  office  and  wants 
none,  but  is  always  anxious  to  assist  his  friends  secure  the  offices  to  which  they  aspire. 


JAMES  R.  FLEMING 
James  R.  Fleming  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Sulphur  Springs,  Henry  county, 
Indiana,  November  8,  1881,  his  parents  being  George  R.  and  Sarah  Fleming.  He 
graduated  from  the  country  schools  of  Henry  county,  Elwood  High  School  and  from 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  class  of  1904.  Soon  after  his 
graduation  he  entered  the  practice  of  law  at  Portland,  Indiana,  and  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  of  Jay  county  in  1906  on  the  Democratic  ticket  and  re-elected 
in  1908. 

He  was  the  Democratic  representative  from  Jay  county  in  the  68th  General 
Assembly  and   was   elected   to   the   state   senate  from   the   district  comprising   the 
counties  of  Jay  and  Randolph,  serving  in  that  capacity  in  the  69th  General  Assembly. 
He  was  married  in  1906  to  Miss  Jennie  Adair  of  Portland,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Marian. 
Mr.  Fleming  is  a  member  of  the  Masons,  Elks,  Eagles  and  K.  of  P.  lodges. 

He  is  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  enjoys  an  extensive  legal  practice. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

HARVEY  H.  FLORA 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Frankfort  is  a  man  of  wide  acquaintance  and  broad  experi- 
ence with  men;  eminently  fitted  for  the  important  position  to  which  he  has  been  called.  Harvey  H. 
Flora  is  a  native  Hoosier,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  8th  day  of  October,  1866,  in  Carroll  county. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  and  later  the  high  school  in  the  little  town  of  Flora.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  two  years'  course  in  DePauw  University  at  Greencastle.  He  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Emma  T.  Dorner.  Throughout  his  career  he  has,  by  his  genial  manner  and  kindly  sympathy, 
bound  to  himself  many  friends;  and  he  has  never  ceased  to  labor  for  the  welfare  of  true  Democracy 
in  his  locality.  On  the  2d  day  of  February,  1914,  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  postmaster  of 
the  city  of  Frankfort. 

Mr.  Flora  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  fraternal  affairs  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Order  of  Red 
Men,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Travelers'  Protective  Association;  and  it 
is  a  source  of  pride  vnth  him  that  he  has  passed  through  all  the  degrees  of  the  Masonic  order. 


WILLIAM  MICHAEL  FOGARTY 

William  Michael  Fogarty,  extensively  known  and  liked  as  well  over  the 
state,  was  born  in  Lima,  Ohio,  November  29,  1873.  He  lived  in  Indianapolis 
almost  continuously  since  1878.  His  has  been  an  experience  rather  out  of 
the  ordinary.  His  father  died  at  an  early  age,  and  the  young  man  made 
his  own  way.  Carrying  every  newspaper  in  Indianapolis,  shining  shoes 
on  the  streets,  bell-hop  in  every  Indianapolis  hotel  of  any  size,  messenger 
boy  for  the  Western  Union,  Postal,  the  old  Baltimore  &  Ohio  telegraph,  and 
the  old  District  Telegraph  company,  he  earned  his  way  through  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Fidelity  Trust  Company  of  Indianapolis,  to  which  office 
he  has  been  continuously  elected. 

He  spent  sixteen  years  in  the  telegraph  business,  the  last  ten  years  of 
which  was  as  press  operator  for  the  different  press  associations.  As  a 
telegrapher  he  was  known  throughout  the  country  as  one  of  the  experts. 
He  won  the  first  prize  in  a  telegraph  speed  contest  in  1891.  He  was  en- 
tered in  both  sending  and  receiving  speed  contests,  but  after  winning  the 
first  receiving  prize,  which  is  considered  the  most  important,  he  withdrew  from  the  sending  contest 
as  a  courtesy  to  the  other  contestants.  As  a  writer  of  marked  ability  Mr.  Fogarty  has  contributed 
much  verse  to  newspapers  and  magazines.  When  he  was  elected  city  clerk  of  Indianapolis  he  was 
prevailed  upon  by  numerous  friends  and  published  a  small  volume  of  verse  known  as  "Giggle  Time 
and  Others." 

He  was  married  in  1895  to  Miss  Ida  Justine  Smith.  To  this  happy  union  have  come  nine  chil- 
dren, five  boys  and  four  girls. 

Mr.  Fogarty  was  elected  county  chairman  by  the  Democrats  of  Marion  county  in  1908.  when  the  en- 
tire Democratic  county  ticket  was  elected.  When  Thomas  R.  Marshall  was  elected  governor  of  Indiana 
he  appointed  Mr.  Fogarty  as  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Accounts.  The 
organization  of  the  Fidelity  Trust  Company  was  at  that  time  in  Mr.  Fogarty's  hands  and  after  a 
year's  service  for  the  State  he  resigned  from  the  accountant  board  to  devote  all  his  time  to  the  trust 
company.  From  a  capitalization  of  $100,000  the  company  in  ten  years  grew  to  resources  of  approxi- 
mately   $1,. 500, 000,    attesting   to   the   attention    given  the  business  by  Mr.  Fogarty  and  his  associates. 

Mr.  Fogarty's  nomination  for  the  office  of  treasurer  of  Marion  county  in  1918  was  unopposed. 
He  served  several  years  as  treasurer  of  the  Democratic  state  committee.  He  has  worked  and  worked 
hard  since  he  was  a  mere  boy  of  eleven  years.  He  attended  St.  Patrick's  school  in  Indianapolis  and 
graduated  from  the  American  Central  Law  School  in  1914. 

Shortly  after  the  United  States  entered  the  war  with  Germany,  attesting  his  intense  American- 
ism, he  offered  his  services  to  the  Government  signal  corps  and  was  at  once  accepted.  In  September, 
1917,  he  organized  a  school  for  wireless  telegraphy  under  the  supervision  of  the  Government  and  the 
Indianapolis  public  school  authorities.  An  equipment  was  rigged  up  in  one  of  the  buildings  at  the 
Technical  High  School  and  he  devoted  three  nights  a  week  to  this  work.  Later  he  was  transferred  to 
the  Manual  Training  High  School  and  from  there  to  the  Indianapolis  Board  of  Trade  building,  where 
the  classes  were  held  nightly  until  all  the  25  men  in  the  class  were  called  by  the  Government.  This 
"was  the  nightly  offering  to  our  Government  of  something  he  could  do,  and  do  well. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       D  E  M  0  C  R  A  C  Y  —  1  8  1  6  -  1  9  1  6 

Mr  Fogarty  now  receives  about  25  letters  a  month  from  as  many  young  men  scattered  over  the 
world  who  were  given  a  lift  prior  to  entering  the  service.  To  understand  what  this  meahs  one  must 
know  that  the  wireless  code  of  telegraphy  is  not  that  used  by  the  commercial  telegraph  companies  in 
the  United  States.  It  is  the  code  used  by  the  European  countries  both  on  land  and  sea.  Mr.  Fogarty 
had  experience  in  the  use  of  wireless  telegraphy  on  the  Atlantic  ocean.  He  realized,  perhaps  better 
than  many  of  the  Government  men  not  actually  in  the  signal  corps  service  how  long  it  takes  to  tram 
men  for  this  work,  even  though  they  were  actually  in  the  telegraph  business  m  this  country,  on  ac- 
count of  the  use  of  the  different  code,  and  he  began  early.  As  a  result  25  men  entered  the  service 
during  1918  with  months  of  advance  practice  in  the  work  they  were  about  to  take  up,  all  a  tribute  by 
Mr.  Fogarty  to  his  country's  cause. 


MICHAEL  E.  FOLEY 

Soon  after  Michael  E.  Foley  first  began  to  talk  he  was  talking  politics.  He  talked  Democracy. 
When  he  began  to  read  he  would  read  political  history,  and  he  knew  the  reason  for  the  faith  that  was 
in  him.  He  knew  why  he  was  a  Democrat  and  why  all  other  people  ought  to  be,  and  he  never  enjoyed 
anything  more  than  the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  his  audiences  and  telling  them  these  reasons.  So  it 
was  perfectly  natural  that  he  should  become  and  continue  to  be  one  of  the  most  attractive  campaign 
speakers  in  his  party,  and  he  always  maintained  and  was  able  to  impart  the  enthusiasm  of  his  youth 
through  all  the  campaigns  of  maturer  years. 

A  native  of  Indiana,  born  in  Crawfordsville,  graduated  from  Wabash  College  and  from  Columbia 
University  Law  School,  ]he  practiced  law  at  Crawfordsville  for  ten  years  as  the  partner  of  A.  D. 
Thomas,  at  the  afe«S"tlJirty-six  becoming  the  principal  trial  lawyer  for  the  Indiana  traction  com- 
panies and  locating  his  headquarters  at  Indianapolis. 

Aside  from  his  activities  as  a  campaigner  he  served  from  1908  to  1912  as  a  member  of  the  Demo- 
cratic state  central  committee.  He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  state  prison  board  by  a  Repub- 
lican governor  in  1907,  and  continued  to  serve  under  other  Democratic  and  Republican  governors  in 
the  same  position,  one  in  which  efficiency  rather  than  politics  controlled. 

During  the  war  with  Germany  the  call  came  to  him  to  accept  the  position  of  chairman  of  the  In- 
diana State  Council  of  Defense,  a  place  to  which  no  salary  attached,  but  where  much  service  could  be 
done  toward  the  winning  of  the  war.  The  offer  of  the  position  came  from  a  Republican  governor  and 
Mr.  Foley  at  once  retired  from  his  legal  practice  to  undertake  the  chairmanship,  giving  the  work 
his  exclusive  time  and  attention  to  the  conclusion  of  the  war. 

Under  the  direction  of  Chairman  Foley  the  Indiana  council  maintained  a  position  recognized  and 
officially  acknowledged  by  the  national  council  at  Washington  as  leading  all  the  states  in  doing  things 
effectively  and  with  the  promptness  and  earnestness  that  are  factors  in  driving  to  victory. 


WILLIAM  H..  FOLEY 

The  present  messenger  of  the  appellate  court  of  Indiana  has  been  for  a  number 
of  years  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party,  and  to  the  members  of  the  local 
organization  his  name  is  a  familiar  one. 

He  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  born  on  the  18th  of  August,  1886.  He  at- 
tended the  parochial  schools  of  Indianapolis,  later  continuing  his  studies  at  Manual 
Training  High  School. 

After  completing  his  school  work  he  studied  telegraphy  and  for  a  number  of 
years  was  operator  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  Co.  He  has  always  been  an  en- 
thusiastic worker  for  party  success  and  served  as  precinct  committeeman  for  two 
years.  Twice,  also,  he  was  delegate  to  congressional  conventions,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  state  convention  of  1914.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  club  and  of  the  Irish- 
American  Democratic  club  also. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1914,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  messenger  of  the  appellate  court  for 
a  term  of  four  years. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

PETER  A.  FOLLMAR 

Though  a  native  of  the  "Fatherland"  Peter  A.  Follmar  has  been  for  many  years  an  honored 
citizen  of  Indiana  and  a  trusted  official  in  the  service  of  the  public  at  various  times  since  his  youth. 

Mr.  Follmar  was  born  on  the  6th  day  of  August,  1851,  at  Blissranch  Bach,  Germany,  but  at  the 
age  of  nine  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  Indiana,  they  settling  in  Fulton  county,  two  miles  east 
of  Monterey.  Here  he  continued  his  education,  begun  in  Germany,  in  the  schools  of  Plymouth  and 
Monterey. 

In  the  year  1873,  on  the  14th  day  of  October,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Josephine  Kietzer, 
and  their  home  was  established  on  a  farm  east  of  Monterey  until  1880,  when  Mr.  Follmar  moved 
to  Monterey. 

In  1872  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  of  Tippecanoe  township  and  in  this  capacity  he  served 
for  a  period  of  eight  years,  winning  the  esteem  of  the  community  by  his  strict  justice  to  all.  During 
President  Cleveland's  last  administration  he  served  as  postmaster  for  the  full  term  of  four  years.  He 
also  held  the  position  of  county  commissioner  of  Pulaski  county  for  a  term  of  six  years,  and  in  this 
capacity  also  his  sterling  qualities  were  demonstrated. 

In  the  fall  of  1912,  also  1914,  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  counties  of  Starke,  Pulaski  and  St. 
Joseph  in  the  legislature  of  the  state,  and  in  this  position  he  served  with  conscientious  zeal  for  the 
welfare  of  the  community  and  his  constituents  and  was  asked  to  make  a  race  for  a  third  term,  but 
declined. 

GEORGE  FORD 

A  resident  of  the  city  of  South  Bend  for  nearly  seventy  years,  Mr.  George  Ford  is  well  known 
throughout  the  county  and  vicinity.  His  career  as  attorney  at  law,  prosecuting  attorney  and  con- 
gressional representative  has  been  of  such  a  character  as  to  establish  an  enviable  reputation  in  the 
community  as  a  man  of  marked  ability  and  sterling  qualities. 

Mr.  Ford  was  born  on  the  11th  day  of  January,  1846,  in  South  Bend,  and  here  his  life  has  been 
spent.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  the  city  and  law  school  of  Michigan  University.  In  the 
year  1873  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Hendricks  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  Laporte  and  St.  Jo- 
seph circuit  courts,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a  period  of  one  year.  In  1874  was  elected  prosecut- 
ing attorney  for  same  circuit,  and  continued  to  hold  the  office  for  the  period  of  ten  years.  In  the  fall 
of  1884  he  was  elected  representative  from  the  Thirteenth  district  of  Indiana  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  the  49th  Congress  he  was  an  active  participant.  In  1914  he  was  elected  judge 
of  St.  Joseph  superior  court,  and  is  now  serving  in  that  office. 

Politically,  he  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  to  Democratic  principles  and  has  rendered  valued  serv- 
ice to  the  party. 

ERNEST  E.  FORSYTHE 

Ernest  E.  Forsythe  was  born  April  2,  1873,  at  Nineveh,  Johnson  county,  Indi- 
ana, and  educated  in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  that  town  and  at  Central  Nor- 
mal College  at  Danville,  Indiana. 

As  a  profession  he  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  and  continued  that  line 
of  work  for  sixteen  years.  He  became  known  over  the  entire  State  of  Indiana  through 
his  extensive  real  estate  transactions.  His  business  was  always  conducted  on  a  high 
standard  and  in  all  his  many  years  of  experience  it  is  said  that  he  never  had  occa- 
sion to  engage  in  a  single  lawsuit,  so  common  to  that  line  of  business.  In  1902  he 
moved  to  Odon,  Daviess  county,  Indiana,  and  began  the  development  of  a  large 
tract  of  marsh  lands  in  that  county  and  here  his  extensive  business  ran  into  many 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  was  here  he  became  active  in  politics.  He  removed  to  the  county  seat, 
Washington,  in  1907,  and  was  made  Democratic  city  chairman  in  the  campaign  of  1908.  As  an  or- 
ganizer he  has  few  equals,  and  in  that  hard  fought  city  election  he  successfully  carried  the  entire 
Democratic  ticket  into  power.  He  was  then  made  county  chairman  and  through  his  close  organiza- 
tion, the  entire  Republican  office  holdings  were  replaced  with  Democrats.  He  was  re-elected  county 
chairman  with  like  results.  State  Chairman  Bernard  Korbley  commended  Mr.  Forsythe  for  his  or- 
ganization work  as  one  of  the  best  of  any  county  chairman  in  the  state.  His  political  activities  were 
of  a  clean  character  and  he  won  his  victories  by  close  organization.  Mr.  Forsythe  was  appointed 
postmaster  of  the  city  of  Washington  by  President  Wilson,  July  13,  1913,  with  no  opposition,  hav- 
ing the  solid  and  undivided  support  of  the  Democratic  party  of  his  county.  He  was  re-appointed 
for  a  second  term  of  four  years  more,  January  1,  1918,  and  was  the  first  postmaster  of  the  new 
federal  building  of  that  city,  costing  $60,000. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1816 


Mr.  Forsythe  was  married  to  Mabel  C.  Fisher  of  Franklin,  Indiana,  June  1,  1900,  and  has  two 
sons.  Mr.  Forsythe's  activities  are  not  confined  to  politics.  He  is  an  active  worker  in  the  church 
life  of  his  city  and  is  a  member  of  the  official  board  of  the  Christian  church  of  his  city.  He  has 
been  a  leading  factor  in  the  Bible  school  work  and  gives  unsparingly  of  his  time  and  money  in  sup- 
port of  that  work. 

He  also  is  interested  in  the  educational  work  of  the  city  and  served  as  a  member  of  the  Wash- 
ington city  school  board  of  education  and  during  his  term  of  office  a  manual  training  building  was 
erected,  costing   $70,000,   which   is  the   pride   of  his  city. 

As  a  war  postmaster  he  has  been  one  of  the  hardest  workers  in  support  of  the  government  in 
all  its  war  work,  being  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Defense  committee.  Red  Cross,  and  chairman  of 
the  county  on  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

He  owns  a  beautiful  residence  known  as  Graham  Place,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington. 

FRANK  P.  FOSTER 
Mr.  Foster  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  in  Orange  county  on  the  8th 
day  of  January,  1856.  He  attended  the  public  schools  in  early  youth  at 
Paoli,  later  at  Mitchell,  and  then  at  Bloomington,  where  he  finished  the  high 
school  branches  in  1876.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  enrolled  as  a  student  at 
Indiana  State  University,  choosing  the  classical  course,  and  graduated  in 
1879.  Then  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Howell  D.  Thompson 
at  Anderson,  Indiana,  and  after  three  years'  preparation  was  admitted  to 
practice  at  the  Madison  county  bar,  in  the  supreme  court  of  Indiana  and 
the  federal  district  court.  In  his  work  as  an  attorney,  he  has  evinced  abil- 
ity, conscientious  zeal  for  his  clients  and  the  success  which  usually  comes 
to  the  faithful  practitioner. 

He  represented  Madison  county  in  the  lower  house  of  the  general  as- 
sembly of  1877  where  he  was  influential  in  helping  to  achieve  the  nomination 
and  election  of  David  Turpie  to  the  United  States  Senate;  when  also  he 
introduced  the  first  bill  submitted  to  an  Indiana  legislature  to  do  away  with 
the  fee  system  for  county  officers.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  legislature  of  1879,  when  he  gave  active 
and  effective  support  to  the  reform  and  progressive  measures  of  that  memorable  session,  among  which 
were  the  Australian  ballot  law,  the  Indiana  school  book  law  and  the  penal  law  aimed  at  corrupt  prac- 
tices at  elections. 

In  December,  1891,  Mr.  Foster  happily  claimed  as  his  wife  Miss  Diadema  E.  Murphy,  daughter 
of  William  V.  T.  Murphy  of  Mitchell,  Indiana.  Thereupon  they  established  their  home  in  Anderson, 
where  two  years  afterward  a  son,  Frohman,  was  born  to  them,  and  where  the  family  continued  to 
reside,  in  the  full  joy  of  domestic  affection  and  the  sure  delight  of  a  genuine  hospitality  to  their  legion 
of  friends,  until  the  death  of  Mrs.  Foster,  1911. 

Mr.  Foster  became  the  mayor  of  Anderson  in  1910  by  the  preference  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
voters.  The  record  of  his  administration  as  such  for  economy,  progress  and  high  devotion  to  civic 
morals  and  advancement  has  never  been  surpassed  in  his  home  city  or  in  any  municipality.  The  mer- 
its of  his  work  in  this  field  grow  as  time  leaves  it  behind  us,  and  to  which  the  citizens  of  Anderson 
without  distinction  of  party  bear  witness. 


INMAN  HENRY  FOWLER 
Inman  Henry  Fowler  was  born  June  7,  1834,  at  Lewisburg,  Ohio,  eighteen  miles 
from  Richmond,  Ind.,  the  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Kesler)  Fowler.  His  great- 
grandfather, Jacob  Fowler,  came  from  Germany  to  this  country  about  1750.  Jacob 
Fowler  married  an  English  lady  by  the  name  of  Sarah  Inman,  whose  maiden  name 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  bears.  January  1,  1831,  John  Fowler  married  Sarah  Kesler, 
daughter  of  George  and  Catherine  Kesler  of  Lewisburg.  George  Kesler,  the  grand- 
father of  Inman  H.,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  with  Jackson  at  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans.  John  and  Sarah  had  born  to  them  five  children,  four  sons  and 
one  daughter.  Inman  H.  was  the  third  son.  In  1836  John  Fowler  with  his  family 
moved  from  Lewisburg  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  August  25,  1839,  the  father 
of  Inman  H.  died,  and  on  September  19th,  following,  an  older  brother  died.     After  this  the  mother 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

with  the  remainder  of  the  family  returned  to  Tippecanoe  county,  settling  on  a  farm  near  Lafayette, 
from  there  moving  to  Clinton  county,  where  she  died  December  3,  1887. 

Inman  H.,  having  been  thrown  upon  his  own  resources  early  in  life,  had  to  struggle  with  many 
adverse  fortunes;  yet  he  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  to  acquire  an  education,  which  he 
did  by  alternately  attending  and  teaching  school.  He  entered  Wabash  College  in  1852,  remaining  for 
three  years.  In  1858  he  located  in  Owen  county  at  Spencer,  teaching  school  in  that  town  the  first 
year.  In  1859  he  entered  the  clerk's  office  of  the  Owen  circuit  court  as  deputy  under  Basil  Meek, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years,  until  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Meek's  term.  On  July  4,  1861,  Inman 
H.  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  convention  of  Owen  county  for  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  to 
succeed  Mr.  Meek.  His  opponents  were  Philip  Buck  of  Quincy  and  William  S.  Bullet  of  Cataract.  On 
the  first  ballot  Inman  H.  was  nominated,  receiving  all  the  votes  but  five.  His  opponent  before  the  peo- 
ple was  John  J.  Cooper.  Mr.  Cooper  had  just  finished  an  eight-year  term  as  county  auditor  and  had 
made  a  very  efficient  officer,  was  very  popular  with  his  party,  was  conservative  and  had  a  host  of 
warm  personal  friends  among  the  Democrats.  The  Civil  war  had  just  broken  out.  Lifelong  friends 
engaged  in  personal  abuse  of  each  other,  and  in  bitter  denunciation  and  arraignment.  The  election 
came  off,  the  Democrats  were  successful,  the  entire  ticket  being  elected.  In  1865  Inman  H.  was  re- 
nominated by  his  party  for  a  second  term  without  opposition.  The  republican  candidate  for  clerk 
was  Major  Harry  Woodsmall.  Again  the  Democratic  party  was  successful,  and  Mr.  Fowler  was 
elected  to  a  second  term.  Those  who  remember  the  canvass  of  1861,  as  the  Civil  war  opened,  and  that 
of  1865,  as  it  closed,  remember  them  as  the  most  remarkable  political  contests  in  the  history  of  Owen 
county  politics.  Excitement  and  party  zeal  were  such  as  had  never  been  witnessed  in  Owen  county  in 
any  political  contest  before  or  since. 

Inman  H.  served  as  clerk  until  October  28,  1870,  holding  the  office  for  one  year  longer  than  the  term 
for  which  he  was  elected.  This  was  because  the  general  assembly  in  1869  changed  the  election  law 
from  annual  to  biennial.  Mr.  Fowler's  term  would  have  expired  the  fall  of  1869  had  there  been  an 
election;  there  being  no  election  until  the  next  fall,  he  held  over  until  his  successor  was  elected  in 
October,  1870.  Meantime,  he  prepared  himself  for  the  practice  of  law,  having  determined  to  make 
that  his  profession  and  to  make  every  other  interest  subservient  to  that  one  purpose.  After  retiring 
from  the  clerk's  office  he  immediately  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Indiana  University,  graduat- 
ing in  1871  in  a  class  of  thirty-two,  the  largest  law  class  that  had  ever  graduated  from  the  institu- 
tion. He  returned  to  Spencer,  entering  upon  the  practice  of  the  law  with  the  Hon.  John  C.  Robin- 
son. This  partnership  continued  until  the  fall  of  1876,  when  Mr.  Robinson  was  elected  judge  of  the  Fif- 
teenth Judicial  Circuit,  and  at  the  same  election  Mr.  Fowler  was  elected  state  senator  for  the  district 
of  Owen  and  Clay.  His  opponent  in  this  contest  was  Dr.  David  M.  McDonald,  of  Quincy,  Owen 
county.     Mr.  Fowler's  majority  in  the  two  counties  was  over  700. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  senate  during  the  regular  and  special  sessions  of  1877  and  1879.  Dur- 
ing his  senatorial  term  he  was  an  active,  energetic  working  member.  Placed  on  some  of  the  most 
important  committees,  he  always  had  an  eye  single  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents.  Some  of  the 
most  important  bills  introduced  at  these  sessions  were  framed  by  him,  and  are  now  upon  the  statute 
books  of  the  State.  Among  the  bills  which  became  laws,  which  originated  in  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, one  was  to  compel  coal  operators  to  ventilate  their  coal  mines.  This  bill  for  four  or  five  pre- 
vious sessions  had  passed  the  house  without  opposition,  but  always  met  with  bitter  opposition  and 
defeat  in  the  senate.  At  the  regular  session  of  1879,  after  the  bill  had  passed  the  house,  it  came  to 
the  senate  and  was  taken  in  charge  by  Senator  Fowler.  Although  there  was  an  organized  opposition 
of  the  operators,  after  a  heated  and  bitter  contest,  it  passed  the  senate,  was  approved  by  the  governor, 
became  a  law  and  yet  remains  upon  the  statute  books. 

In  1875  Mr.  Fowler,  with  other  stockholders,  organized  the  Exchange  Bank  of  Spencer,  and  was 
elected  president  and  attorney  for  the  bank,  which  position  he  has  ever  since  held ;  and  the  success, 
standing  and  confidence  enjoyed  by  the  bank  are  largely  due  to  his  management  of  the  finances  of  the 
institution. 

In  1884  Mr.  Fowler  was  again  nominated  for  state  senator  in  the  old  district  of  Owen  and  Clay. 
Mr.  Barty  Cusick,  a  coal  miner  in  Clay  county,  was  his  opponent.  Mr.  Cusick  had  made  a  special 
study  of  the  tariff  question  and  was  well  informed  on  the  subject.  He  was  a  protectionist  of  the 
strictest  sort;  an  extremist — so  much  so  that  some  of  his  party  friends  refused  to  support  him.  The 
tariff  question  was  the  main  issue  in  the  canvass.  There  was  the  election  of  a  United  States  senator 
involved  and  Mr.  Cusick  went  down  in  defeat.  Senator  Fowler  served  in  the  sessions  of  1885  and 
1887,  and  no  senator  in  the  body  stood  higher  nor  one  whose  opinions  were  more  respected  by  his 
fellow  senators. 


HISTORY 


NDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


Senator  Fowler  has  passed  the  meridian  of  life;  though  past  eighty-one  he  does  not  look  to  be 
over  sixty,  if  that;  is  in  perfect  health  and  as  active  as  at  any  time  in  his  life.  He  is  actively  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  the  law.  He  has  large  farming  interests  which  he  superintends,  as  well  as  super- 
intending other  business  and  financial  interests.  He  is  a  Mason,  Odd  Fellow,  Knight  of  Pythias,  a 
member  of  the  association  of  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution  and  a  member  of  the  Greek  fraternity 
of  Phi  Kappa  Psi.  September  20,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lovina  Hollembeak,  daughter  of  A. 
A.  and  Emily  Hollembeak,  of  Springboro,  Pa.  By  this  union  there  have  been  four  children,  only  one 
of  whom  is  living,  Mrs.  John  H.  Smith,  of  Spencer. 


WALTER  J.  FRANK 

Walter  J.  Frank  is  descended  from  a  line  of  stanch  Democratic  ancestors,  and  in  his  political 
faith  he  has  lived  true  to  the  traditions  of  his  family.  His  father  was  a  lifelong  worker  for  the 
principles  of  the  JeflFersonian  party,  and  the  cause  of  Democracy  has  no  stronger  adherent  than  the 
son  to  whom  we  refer.  Since  he  attained  his  majority  he  has  labored  zealously  in  each  campaign, 
giving  freely  of  his  time  and  means,  serving  at  times  as  precinct  committeeman  and  as  delegate  to 
the  various  county  and  state  conventions.  He  is  a  native  of  Dearborn  county,  having  been  born  in 
the  city  of  Aurora  on  the  twenty-first  day  of  December,  1885,  and  receiving  his  education  in  the 
schools  there,  attending  the  common  and  high  schools.  In  March,  1899,  he  was  united  in  the  bonds 
of  matrimony  to  Miss  Anna  Cox,  and  they  have  since  resided  in  his  home  city,  gathering  around 
thom  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 

Twenty-six  years  ago  his  father  established  himself  in  the  bakery  business,  and  the  son,  Walter, 
has   proven   first  a   faithful   assistant  and   later  a  successful  proprietor  of  this  concern. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1913  he  was  elected  city  councilman,  his  tenure  of  office  to  expire  Janu- 
ary 1,  1918;  and  in  this  capacity  he  has  shown  a  clear  understanding  of  municipal  affairs,  progres- 
sive in  his  ideas,  yet  conservative  in  his  actions  on  questions  of  large  moment  to  the  commonwealth. 
In  whatever  capacity  we  find  him  he  is  diligent  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  in  his  charge,  a  true 
servant  of  the  people,  as  well  as  a  successful  business  man. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  order  of  Eagles,  among  whom  he  is  widely  acquainted  and 
highly  esteemed. 


ALVA  OTIS  FULKERSON 

The  position  of  county  superintendent  of  schools  is  one  which  requires 
peculiar  abilities  in  its  incumbent;  and  in  the  person  of  Alva  Otis  Fulkerson 
Daviess  county  has  happily  solved  this  problem.  A  man  of  broad  education, 
high  character  and  rare  tact,  he  has  placed  the  schools  of  this  county  upon  a 
high  plane  of  scholarship. 

Mr.  Fulkerson  was  born  in  Daviess  county,  Indiana,  on  the  18th  day  of 
March,  1868.  Here  he  received  his  schooling  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
district,  and  later  continued  his  studies  at  the  Indiana  State  Normal  School 
of  Terre  Haute,  graduating  from  this  institution.  Later  he  graduated 
from  Indiana  University.  Following  his  graduation  he  entered  .the  edu- 
cational field,  and  as  an  instructor  in  the  schools  was  very  successful,  be- 
ing progressive  in  his  methods  and  diligent  in  his  work.  On  the  7th  day 
of  January,  1911,  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  superintendent 
for  the  unexpired  term,  and  in  June  of  that  year  was  elected  for  the  fol- 
lowing term,  receiving  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  trustees.  In  this  position 
he  continued  until  August,  1917,  constantly  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  school  system  under  his 
control.     He  is  now  principal  of  the  Washington  high  school. 

On  the  .5th  day  of  September,  1900,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie  E.  Casey,  and 
her  interest  and  assistance  have  perhaps  been  a  large  factor  in  his  success.  Their  home  is  well  known 
throughout  the  community  and  its  hospitality  has  been  extended  to  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

Mr.  Fulkerson  has  been  actively  interested  in  tbe  local  Democratic  organization,  and  has  repre- 
sented his  district  in  several  state  conventions. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


CHARLES  E.  FULLER 

Charles  E.  Fuller  is  a  man  who  has  truly  "risen  from  the  ranks"  by  virtue  of  his 
own  unflagging  energy  and  innate  ability. 

Mr.  Fuller  was  born  on  the  27th  day  of  August,  1867,  on  a  farm  three  and  one- 
half  miles  southwest  of  Worthington,  Indiana.  He  attended  the  district  schools  of 
the  county,  and  after  his  graduation  from  the  grammar  grades  attended  the  Worth- 
ington High  School,  and  later  graduated  from  commercial  college  at  Terre  Haute. 

For  three  years  thereafter  Mr.  Fuller  held  a  position  in  a  mine,  where  he  labored 
digging  coal,  and  here  he  learned  the  practical  side  of  the  mining  industry.  At  the 
expiration  of  this  period,  however,  he  became  employed  as  weighmaster  for  the 
Shirley  Hill  Coal  Company,  holding  this  position  also  for  a  period  of  three  years. 
He  was  then  promoted  to  the  office  as  bookkeeper  and  paymaster,  and  served  in  this  capacity  until  the 
fall  of  1910,  when  he  made  the  race  for  county  recorder  and  was  elected  to  this  position,  assuming  the 
duties  of  office  on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1912,  and  being  re-elected  in  1914  for  the  second  term. 

On  the  15th  day  of  April,  1890,  his  marriage  to   Miss   Nellie   Spainhower   was   solemnized,   and 
their  home  has  been  the  meeting  place  of  many  friends  during  the  years  which  have  since  elapsed. 


JOHN  LEWIS  FULLING 

Known  throughout  the  state  as  an  educator  of  ability  and  a  public  official  of  un- 
usual attainments,  John  Lewis  Fulling  is  deserving  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  i.s 
held  by  his  fellow  citizens  of  Gibson  county. 

Mr.  Fulling  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  ninth  day  of  August,  1876,  and  attendei 
the  public  schools  of  Gibson  county,  graduating  from  the  Snake  Run  graded  school 
and  normal  school  of  Princeton.  This  was  followed  by  a  commercial  course,  and  in 
this  latter  branch  he  has  developed  unusual  ability.  For  nine  years  Mr.  Fulling 
taught  in  the  schools  of  Gibson  county,  and  for  eight  years  he  held  the  responsible 
position  of  county  superintendent  of  schools,  an  office  demanding  unusual  qualifica- 
tions. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1911,  he  was  appointed  field  examiner  of  the  state  board  of  accounts,  and  this 
position  he  held  until  July  29,  1913,  at  which  time  he  assumed  the  duties  of  accountant  for  the  Pub- 
lic Service  Commission  of  Indiana,  with  headquarters  at  the  Capitol  in  Indianapolis. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  actively  interested  in  the  success  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  for  six  years  served  as  secretary  of  the  county  central  committee. 

Mrs.  Fulling,  to  whom  he  was  married  March   (i,  1901,  was  formerly  Miss  Mabel  D.  Shanner. 


CHARLES  N.  FULTZ 

One  of  the  well-known  leaders  in  the  Democratic  organization  of  Ver- 
milion county,  and  a  prominent  attorney  of  Newport,  is  the  gentleman  whose 
portrait  appears  herewith,  Chas.  N.  Fultz. 

Mr.  Fultz  is  a  true  son  of  Vermilion  county,  born  on  the  21st  day  of 
December,  1879,  near  Eugene,  where  his  ancestors  settled  about  1827  and 
have  ever  since  lived.  He  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  Eugene, 
the  academic  and  the  law  departments  of  Indiana  University  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Vermilion  county  bar  in  1903.  He  was  united  in  marriage 
April  9,  1902,  to  Goldie  Smith  of  Georgetown,  Illinois,  who  came  from  a 
good  Kentucky  Democratic  parentage. 

Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  located  in  Newport,  where  he  has 
become  identified  with  the  business  and  political  life  of  the  community,  giv- 
ing freely  of  his  time  and  energies  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  De- 
mocracy, and  the  promotion  of  the  various  movements  instituted  from  time 
to  time  for  the  general  progress  of  the  community.  In  1908  he  served  the 
party  as  vice-county  chairman,  and  is  the  present  Democratic  county  chairman. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Fultz  is  allied  with  the  orders  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  Ki 
No.  209;  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Vermilion  Chapter  No.  12.5,  and  Riverside  Lodge  No.  2-1 
Pythias  of  Newport. 


I'port   Lodge 
Knights  of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

JUDGE  JAMES  F.  GALLAHER 

The  name  of  Judge  James  F.  Gallaher  is  familiar  to  the  citizens  of  Laporte  county  and  particu- 
larly to  the  residents  of  Michigan  City,  where  he  has  long  been  an  honored  citizen. 

Judge  Gallaher  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  22d  day 
of  October,  1860.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  and  later  entered  the  University 
of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor  for  the  purpose  of  studying  law.  Graduating  from  this  institution  in  the 
year  1885,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Michigan,  but  later  came  to  Laporte  county  and  engaged 
in  the  active  practice  of  his  chosen  profession.  In  this  he  has  demonstrated  marked  ability  and  con- 
scientious zeal  for  the  interest  of  his  clients. 

In  the  year  1910  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Laporte  circuit  court,  his  term  of  office  to  expire  in 


HARRY  M.  GARDNER 

Harry  M.  Gardner,  Logansport,  Ind.,  was  born  in  Dunkirk,  N.  Y.,  September  15,  1880.  He  came 
to  Indiana  February  19,  1905,  to  work  as  reporter  on  the  Logansport  Reporter,  independent  daily 
newspaper.  He  became  city  editor  and  continued  as  such  until  the  fall  of  1912,  when  the  paper  be- 
came the  Bull  Moose  organ  of  Cass  county,  so  he  resigned. 

When  the  Reporter  and  Logansport  Pharos  (Democratic  organ)  consolidated  in  1913  he  became 
city  editor  of  the  Democratic  organ. 

Mr.  Gardner  was  elected  to  the  1913  General  Assembly,  representing  Cass  and  Fulton  counties. 
Was  not  a  candidate  for  renomination  in  1914,  but  instead  was  candidate  for  county  auditor,  being 
defeated  by  a  small  vote  in  the  convention.  He  was  candidate  for  assistant  clerk  of  the  1915  House 
of  Representatives. 

Mr.  Gardner  is  at  present  employed  on  the  Logansport  Chronicle;  is  a  member  of  the  Elks 
No.  66  of  Logansport;  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  Democratic  politics;  prior  to  coming 
to  Logansport  was  on  newspapers  in  Denver,  Los  Angeles,  Buffalo  and  other  cities;  is  a  contributor 
to  the  magazines. 

ANDREW  A.  CAST 

One  of  the  most  active  party  workers  of  Fulton  county,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  aggressive 
and  prominent  business  men  of  the  community,   is  Andrew  A.  Gast,  a  citizen  of  Akron. 

Mr.  Gast  was  born  on  September  14,  1855,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  home  district.  In  the  year  1879  he  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  A.  Ball,  but  death  deprived  him 
of  her  companionship  five  years  later.  In  the  year  1886  his  marriage  to  Miss  Flora  E.  Bitters  was 
solemnized,  and  she  has  since  been  his  helpmate  and  the  mistress  of  his  home. 

In  the  year  1885  Mr.  Gast  received  the  appointment  of  postmaster  of  the  town  of  Akron,  serv- 
ing in  that  capacity  until  1888,  in  which  year  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Fulton  county  for  a  term 
of  four  years.     He  also  served  his  party  at  one  time  as  county  chairman. 

Mr.  Gast  has  engaged  in  numerous  business  enterprises,  showing  remarkable  ability  in  this  direc- 
tion, and  is  now  the  owner  of  the  Akron  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company,  a  manufacturer  of  drain 
tile  and  brick,  a  successful  farmer,  and  general  contractor. 

LOUIS  J.  GAST 

Louis  J.  Gast  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  in  Porter  county  on  the  2nd  day  of 
March,  1875.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  and  in  March,  1895, 
came  to  Valparaiso  without  a  dollar  and  began  working  for  J.  W.  Wood  &  Son  in  a 
grocery  store  at  $5  per  week.  Here  he  remained  a  year,  leaving  to  go  with  Fred 
Beyer  in  a  general  store,  where  he  stayed  fifteen  years,  after  which  he  went  into 
business  for  himself  in  a  general  store  and  grocery,  also  dealing  in  real  estate,  ac- 
cumulating a  fortune  of  about  forty  thousand  dollars  and  owning  besides  his  business 
block,  a  flat  building,  his  residence  and  two  fine  farms  west  of  Valparaiso. 

Politically,  Mr.  Gast  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  and  has  labored  zealously  for 
the  cause  in  this  section.    In  1910  he  was  elected  city  councilman  for  four  years,  and 

re-elected   in   1914,  his   term  to  expire  in    1918.     Mrs.  Gast,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  1,  1897, 

was  formerly  Miss  Anna  Henderlong. 


(904) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


JOHN  GAUCK 

An  active  party  worker  of  Ripley  county  and  closely  identified  with  the  business 
life  of  the  community  is  John  Gauck  of  Batesville.  He  is  a  native  of  Ripley  county, 
born  in  Adams  township  on  the  2nd  day  of  March,  1856.  He  attended  the  common 
schools  of  his  district,  and  in  the  year  1881  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Clara 
Holtel,  and  has  a  family  of  six  children,  four  girls  and  two  boys. 

Early  in  life  he  entered  into  commercial  life,  and  later  established  the  Western 
Furniture  Co.  He  also  held  the  position  of  assistant  postmaster  of  Batesville  during 
President  Cleveland's  second  administration.  He  was  city  treasurer  for  a  term  of 
four  years,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  FMrst  National  Bank  of  Batesville.  He  is  now 
the  proprietor  of  a  thriving  general  merchandise  store  and  actively  interested  in 
civic  affairs.  He  has  been  an  active  party  worker  and  attended  county,  district  and  state  conven- 
tions. He  is  affiliated  with  the  Catholic  church  and  an  active  member  of  the  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus; was  nine  years  treasurer  of  the  board  of  education  and  is  now  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  St.  Louis  cemetery  committee. 


JAMES  W.  GENTRY 
Mr.  James  W.  Gentry  needs  no  introduction  to  the  people  of  Hendricks  county, 
for  he  is  a  native  of  this  locality  and  has  for  many  years  held  a  position  of  influence 
in  the  community.  He  was  born  in  Center  township,  November  4,  1866,  and  received 
his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  county.  In  January,  1890,  was  solemnized 
his  marriage  to  Miss  Nettie  M.  Neaville. 

For  four  years  he  served  as  deputy  sheriff  of  Hendricks  county  under  John  W. 
Ador,  and  in  the  fall  of  1912  was  elected  to  the  position  of  sheriff  and  re-elected  in 
1914. 

Mr.  Gentry  has,  since  his  first  vote  was  cast  for  Cleveland  in   1888,  been  an 
active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  been  in  close  touch 
with  affairs  of  the  county  organization,  attending  many  conventions  as  delegate.     He  is  a  membe 
of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 


GEORGE  WALLACE  GILL 

George  Wallace  Gill  is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Democratic  an- 
cestors, and  has  since  boyhood  been  an  enthusiastic  worker  in  the  cause  of 
Democracy. 

He  was  born  in  Huntington  county,  on  February  11,  1857.  His  grand- 
father Gill  emigrated  from  Virginia  in  the  early  days,  and  his  mother 
came  from  Tennessee  in  1838,  being  one  of  five  families  to  settle  in 
Huntington  county  at  that  time.  The  son  attended  the  country  schools  of 
the  locality,  and  at  an  early  age  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  which 
he  conducted  for  a  period  of  twenty-two  years. 

On  the  11th  day  of  February,  1882,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ella  Dow- 
ney was  solemnized,  and  to  her  faithful  companionship  much  of  his  success 
in  material  things  and  religious  work  is  doubtless  due.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gill 
are  the  parents  of  two  sons,  Harmon  W.  Gill,  assistant  cashier  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  and  Earl  E.  Gill,  secretary-treasurer  of  the  Thermos  Silo 
Company  at  Huntington. 

In  the  year  1878  he  was  nominated  for  justice  of  the  peace  of  Lancaster  township,  being  de- 
feated by  14  votes,  reducing  the  normal  Republican  majority  of  85  to  this  figure.  In  later  years 
he  was  nominated  for  county  treasurer,  and  was  again  defeated  by  only  92  votes,  at  a  time  when 
the  county  went  Republican  by  500  majority.  In  1910  he  was  again  nominated  for  county  treas- 
urer, this  time  being  elected  by  a  majority  of  67;  and  in  1912  was  re-elected  by  a  majority  of  466 — 
truly  a  remarkable  record  in  a  Republican  stronghold.  He  has  also  been  a  delegate  to  several  state 
conventions,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  county  committee  in  1914,  serving  faithfully  in  the 
campaign  of  that  year.  __ 

Mr.  Gill  is  an  active  member  of  the  First  Christian  church  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  Huntington. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6 


COURTLAND  C.  GILLEN 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  article  is  a 
true  product  of  this  locality,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Putnam  county, 
Indiana,  on  the  3rd  day  of  July,  1880.  He  received  his  schooling  also  in  the 
common  and  high  schools  of  the  county,  and  following  his  graduation  from 
the  latter  in  the  year  1897,  he  entered  DePauw  University  for  a  year's  addi- 
tional study.  Later  he  attended  the  Indiana  Law  School  at  Indianapolis, 
graduating  in  the  year  1905. 

In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Putnam  county  and 
located  in  Greencastle,  entering  at  once  into  the  active  practice  of  the  law. 
In  this  profession  he  demonstrated  unusual  capability,  evincing  a  keen  in- 
sight into  complicated  questions  and  working  with  unflagging  energy  for  the 
interests  of  his  clients;  and  soon  a  lucrative  and  steadily  increasing  prac- 
tice came  to  him. 

In  the  year  1909  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  attorney  for  his  dis- 
trict, and,  save  for  one  year  and  six  months,  has  held  this  position  until  the 
present  time,  devoting  himself  conscientiously  and  zealously  to  the  service  of  the  commonwealth. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1914,  he  became  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  the  city  of  Green- 
castle, his  term  of  three  years  to  expire  in  August,  1917. 

He  has,  since  attaining  his  majority,  been  an  enthusiastic  worker  for  the  cause  of  true  Democ- 
racy, and  during  the  campaign  of  1914  held  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  Putnam  county  Demo- 
cratic central  committee. 

Mrs.  Gillen,  to  whom  he  was  married  November  28,  1900,  was  formerly  Miss  Nellie  B.  Gough, 
who,  as  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home  and  hostess  to  their  many  friends,  has  proved  an  able  help- 
mate. 


AMIEL  C.  GLADIEUX 

Among  the  many  Democrats  of  the  state  of  Indiana  who 
have  given  unselfishly  of  their  time  and  service  for  the  furth- 
erance, growth  and  strength  of  their  party,  the  name  of  Amiel 
Gladieux  is  a  familiar  one,  this  gentleman  having  taken  an 
active  part  in  politics  since  he  cast  his  first  vote,  working 
loyally  and  conscientiously  at  the  various  elections  and  adher- 
ing stanchly  at  all  times  to  the  principles  of  true  Democracy. 
In  fact,  the  truths  promulgated  by  Thomas  Jefferson  were  in- 
stilled into  his  mind  in  childhood,  as  his  father  was  a  life- 
long Democrat,  an  active  worker  in  the  party  ranks,  and  at 
one  time  held  the  office  of  county  commissioner  for  nine  years. 
Mr.  Amiel  C.  Gladieux  was  born  in  Jefferson  township, 
Allen  county,  on  a  farm,  the  son  of  Francis  and  Mary  Gla- 
dieux. His  birth  occurred  on  the  7th  day  of  March,  1870,  and 
here,  in  the  wholesome  atmosphere  of  the  farm,  his  child- 
hood and  youth  were  passed.  Here  he  attended  the  district 
school,  and  as  he  grew  in  years  and  stature  he  mastered  the 
many  details  of  the  science  of  farming  and  entered  the  pro- 
fession of  agriculture  for  himself,  giving  to  this  work  the 
same  zeal  and  attention  to  detail  which  has  characterized  his 
career  in  later  life. 

On  the  29th  day  of  February,  1894,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Ida  Urbine,  and  four  children  have  come  to  bless  their  home,  three  daughters  and 
a  son.  Until  the  year  1909  Mr.  Gladieux  successfully  carried  on  the  labors  of  his  farm,  and  his 
children,  in  turn,  were  given  the  advantage  which  he  had  enjoyed  as  a  child  of  living  in  God's  free 
out-of-doors;  but  in  that  year  he  became  interested  in  the  insurance  business  and  organized  the 
Wayne  Health  and  Accident  Insurance  Company  of  Ft.  Wayne,  of  which  he  is,  at  the  present  time, 
secretary  and  treasurer. 

In  the  fall  of  1912  he  was  nominated  for  the  position  of  sheriff  of  Allen  county  and  elected  for 
a  term  of  two  years,  assuming  the  duties  of  this  position  with  the  beginning  of  the  following  year. 


(906  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DE.AIOCRACY—  1816-1 


At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  was  re-elected  to  this  responsible  position.  During  the  years  he 
has  served  in  this  capacity  he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  study  of  criminology  and  of  the 
latest  methods  employed  by  others  in  his  position.  To  this  end  he  has  organized  the  Allen  County 
Sheriffs'  Protective  Association,  one  of  the  strongest  organizations  in  the  state,  of  which  he  is  presi- 
dent.    He  is  also  president  of  the  State  Sheriffs'  Association  and  the  Tri-State  Sheriffs'  Association. 

Although  taking  so  active  a  part  in  the  work  of  his  party  for  so  many  years,  his  present  posi- 
tion is  the  first  political  position  to  which  he  has  aspired;  but  he  has  brought  to  the  administra- 
tion of  the  affairs  connected  with  it  the  most  untiring  zeal  and  devotion  to  duty,  seeking  to  improve 
the  condition  of  those  unfortunates  in  his  charge  with  due  consideration  to  the  rights  of  the  taxpay- 
ers and  the  public. 

During  their  long  residence  in  Allen  county  and  in  their  stay  in  Ft.  Wayne,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gla- 
dieux  have  won  for  themselves  a  large  circle  of  friends,  many  of  whom  have  enjoyed  the  hospital- 
ity of  their  home  and  the  delightful  companionship  of  the  family. 


FRANK  GILMER 

Born  in  Charlottesville,  'Va.,  May  4th,  1891,  Frank  Gilmer  resided  in 
that  state  until  190P.  He  graduated  in  law  at  Valparaiso  University  with 
the  class  of  1911.  In  the  spring  of  1912  he  opened  his  law  office  in  South 
Bend  and  was  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  has 
been  active  in  the  Democratic  party  since  coming  to  South  Bend,  and  in 
1917  was  elected  judge  of  the  city  court  of  South  Bend,  being  one  of  the 
few  Democratic  candidates  who  were  successful  in  that  election.  He  is 
junior  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Shively  &  Gilmer. 

Mr.  Gilmer  is  a  member  of  the  Eagles,  the  Modern  Woodmen,  the 
Masonic  fraternity.  Blue  Lodge  Chapter  and  Council,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Loyal  Americans  and  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose,  in  which  he 
has  held  the  office  of  dictator  in  South  Bend  Lodge  No.  555. 

The  Gilmers  have  been  Democrats  since  the  days  of  Governor  Gilmer, 
who  was  governor  of  Virginia  and  secretary  of  the  navy  under  Andrew 
Jackson.  Frank  Gilmer  (father)  was  prosecuting  attorney  in  Virginia  for 
twenty  years  and  Mr.  Gilmer's  brother  George  now  holds  that  office. 


B. GLAZEBROOK 

B.  Glazebrook  was  born  December  10,  1864,  in  San  Pierre,  Starke  county,  Indiana,  a  son  of  Dr. 
Lorenzo  and  Addie   Bender  Glazebrook.     The  family  came  originally  from  England. 

Mr.  Glazebrook  had  the  advantages  of  a  good  education.  After  finishing  a  course  at  the  pub- 
lic schools  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  with  the  late  Judge  George  W.  Beeman  at  Knox,  being  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1894.     He  also  attended  normal  schools  and  Valparaiso  University. 

Early  in  his  career  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  44th  Judicial  Circuit,  and  after 
completing  his  term  was  re-elected.  During  his  practice  in  Knox  he  was  county  attorney  of  Starke 
county  and  also  city  attorney  of  Knox. 

In  1911  he  located  in  Indiana  Harbor,  forming  a  partnership  with  Nevrton  A.  Hembroff.  On 
January  5,  1914,  he  took  up  his  duties  as  city  attorney  of  East  Chicago  and  Indiana  Harbor,  be- 
ing appointed  to  this  position.     He  is  a  member  of  the  bar  of  the  United  States  supreme  court. 

Mr.  Glazebrook  is  a  stockholder  and  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  First  State  Trust 
&  Savings  Bank  of  Indiana  Harbor.  He  is  a  Master  and  Royal  Arch  Mason,  Knights  Templar  and  a 
member  of  the  Mystic   Shrine. 

On  March  26,  1911,  he  married  Viola  Summers  Baker  of  Knox. 


(907) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


CHARLES  L.  GOETZ 

A  son  of  Casper  and  Mary  (Holderied)  Goetz,  Charles  L.  Goetz  was  born  in  Rome,  N.  Y.,  on 
January  22,  1859.  He  received  his  education  in  the  district  and  parochial  schools  of  Rome,  and  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  began  the  trade  of  cigarmaker.  He  engaged  in  this  trade  until  his  removal  to 
South  Bend  on  April  29,  1881,  and  for  four  years  thereafter.  He  then  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  cigars,  and  at  the  present  time  has  a  large  plant  employing  over  forty  employes  and  in  ad- 
dition is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  city  blocks  in  South  Bend. 

In  1883  Mr.  Goetz  was  married  to  Emma  E.  Klingel,  also  a  resident  of  South  Bend,  and  they 
have  one  son,  Philip  K. 

Mr.  Goetz  has  always  been  active  in  public  affairs  in  South  Bend.  For  four  years  he  served  as 
deputy  oil  inspector,  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  public  works  and  a  member  of  the  county  coun- 
cil. He  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  his  public  duties  have  always  been  discharged  with  promptness  and 
fidelity,  and  he  has  supported  all  measures  for  the  public  good.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 


JOHN  C.  GORMAN 

John  C.  Gorman  is  a  product  of  Gibson  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  within 
its  borders  on  the  12th  day  of  December,  1866.  His  education  was  received  in  the 
schools  of  Owensville,  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  taking  place  in  the  year 
1883.  On  the  30th  day  of  September,  1891,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary 
L.  McGinnis. 

It  is,  perhaps,  through  his  work  in  the  field  of  journalism  that  he  is  most  widely 
known,  for  he  has  been  engaged  in  this  work  since  the  year  1888.  In  1895  he  became 
the  proprietor  of  the  Princeton  Democrat,  a  paper  published  daily  and  semi-weekly. 
For  several  years  he  has  borne  the  honor  of  being  secretary  of  the  Democratic  edi- 
torial association  of  the  state;  is  also  well  known  as  an  active  member  of  the  Prince- 
ton Commercial  Club.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Owensville  Lodge  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
a  charter  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks  and  Sons  of  Veterans,  Princeton,  Ind.  In  the  years  1896 
and  1898  he  served  as  secretary  of  the  Democratic  county  committee,  and  in  1914,  on  the  19th  day 
of  May,  received  from  President  Wilson  the  appointment  to  his  present  position,  postmaster  of 
Princeton. 


WILLIAM  B.  GRAY 

Few  members  of  the  order  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  throughout  the 
state  are  not  familiar  with  the  name  of  Brigadier-General  Gray,  commander 
of  the  Indiana  brigade,  U.  R.,  and  the  same  spirit  of  loyal  endeavor  which  has 
characterized  his  work  in  this  order  has  also  been  manifest  in  his  business 
and  political  career. 

He  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Indiana,  on  the  2nd  day  of  Decem- 
ber, 1862,  and  attended  the  public  schools  at  Wesley  and  Waynetown,  later 
taking-  a  course  at  Ladoga  Normal  School  and  Purdue  University.  In  the 
year  1900  he  was  elected  the  first  mayor  of  Veedersburg  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  this  place  being  at  that  time  a  strong  Republican  stronghold,  he  being 
the  second  Democratic  officer  in  this  community  for  thirty  years.  In  1902 
he  was  re-elected,  and  in  1906  was  elected  county  auditor.  In  1910  he  was 
re-elected  to  this  position,  this  time  receiving  a  majority  of  600  votes,  a 
large  gain  over  his  first  majority  of  160.  Thus  he  demonstrated  his  ability 
in  the  service  of  the  public. 
Mr.  Gray  is  also  successfully  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Covington  and  has  for  many 
years  been  prominently  identified  with  fraternal  affairs,  being  an  active  member  of  the  Elks,  Vee- 
dersburg Lodge  F.  and  A.  M.,  Indianapolis  Consistory  Scottish  Rite,  Murat  Temple  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  Order  of  Red  Men,  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  this  latter  order  he  has  been  very 
actively  engaged  since  1894  in  building  up  its  military  department,  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  mosc 
successful  commanders  in  the  order,  receiving  the  title  of  brigadier-general  in  1911. 

His  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  19,  1912,  was  formerly  Miss  Zoe  V.  Jones. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

WILBUR  ALLEN  GRAY 

Wilbur  Allen  Gray  is  essentially  a  self-made  man,  and  as  an  aggressive  business  man  and  pro- 
gressive citizen  he  has  made  for  himself  an  enviable  reputation  and  position  in  the  community. 

He  was  born  near  Oskaloosa,  Iowa,  on  the  31st  day  of  May,  1879,  and  came  to  this  state  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  years,  residing  upon  a  farm  with  his  grandfather  in  Cleveland  township,  Elkhart 
county.  He  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  St.  Joseph  county,  Indiana.  Politically  he  is 
a  stanch  Democrat,  and  has  given  freely  of  his  time  to  assist  the  workers  of  the  party  in  his  dis- 
trict. In  the  year  1910  he  assumed  the  duties  of  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Elkhart,  which  position 
he  held  until  the  close  of  1912,  resigning  that  position  on  account  of  being  elected  to  the  position 
of  treasurer  of  Elkhart  county  for  a  term  of  two  years,  assuming  the  duties  of  office  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1913.  On  November  3,  1914,  he  was  re-elected  for  a  period  of  two  years  with  an  increased 
majority. 

On  the  16th  of  March,  1909,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Edna  J.  Funk;  and  the  ensuing  two  years, 
while  acting  as  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Elkhart,  he  studied  law  in  the  evenings,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  October,  1911. 


FRANCIS  MARION  GRIFFITH 

In  the  roster  of  prominent  members  of  the  Indiana  Democracy  few  names  are  found  of  more 
loyal  workers  than  Francis  Marion  Griffith,  native  of  Switzerland  county.  Having  distinguished 
himself  in  various  fields  of  endeavor,  he  has  justly  won  the  enviable  reputation  which  he  bears. 

Mr.  Griffith  was  born  on  the  21st  day  of  August,  1849,  and  attended  the  common  and  high 
schools  of  Vevay.  Following  his  graduation  from  this  latter  institution,  he  entered  Franklin  Col- 
lege for  the  purpose  of  continuing  his  education.  Having  completed  his  work  here  he  entered  the 
educational  field,  and  in  the  year  1873  was  elected  county  superintendent  of  schools,  but  resigned  at 
the  expiration  of  a  year's  service.  On  the  first  day  of  September,  1875,  he  assumed  the  duties  of 
county  treasurer  of  Switzerland  county,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a  term  of  two  years,  estab- 
lishing a  record  for  zealous  and  splendid  services.  In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
the  county  and  entered  into  the  practice  of  law,  having  acquired  his  legal  education  during  the  pre- 
ceding years.  In  this  profession  he  has  since  remained,  demonstrating  marked  ability  as  a  jurist 
and  early  in  his  career  building  for  himself  a  lucrative  practice. 

In  the  year  1887  he  was  elected  state  senator  from  Ohio  and  Dearborn  counties,  and  in  the  as- 
semblies which  followed  until  1895,  inclusive,  he  was  an  active  and  valued  participant.  In  the  fall 
of  1896  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  fourth  district  in  the  United  States  Congress,  and  in  this 
position  remained  until  1905.  He  has  also  served  the  party  as  a  member  of  the  state  central  com- 
mittee for  eight  years,  and  in  1914  was  nominated  by  acclamation  as  the  candidate  for  judge  of 
the  Fifth  Judicial  District  of  Indiana. 

Mrs.  Griffith,  to  whom  he  was  married  December  24,  1874,  was  formerly  Miss  Josie  D.  Sadday, 
and  she  has  been  a  worthy  second  throughout  his   career. 


WILLIAM  E.  GRINER 
Mr.  William  E.  Griner  is  well  known  to  the  residents  of  the  town  of  Middlebury, 
Indiana,  and  throughout  the  county  of  Elkhart  as  well.  He  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born 
on  the  6th  day  of  February,  1864,  and  spending  the  years  of  his  life  within  the 
boundaries  of  our  state.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  Elkhart 
county;  and  on  the  22nd  day  of  March,  1885,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Frances  L.  Bedford,  and  their  permanent  residence  was  established  in  the  home  of 
his  childhood.  Later  he  engaged  in  the  retail  lumber  and  coal  business,  and  he  has 
labored  diligently  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  concern,  which  is  evidenced  by  its  growth 
as  the  years  have  passed.  On  the  first  day  of  January,  1900,  he  assumed  the  duties 
of  township  trustee  of  Middlebury  township,  serving  in  this  capacity  until  the  close 
of  1904.  On  the  1st  of  October,  1913,  he  took  upon  himself  the  greater  responsibilities  of  county 
commissioner  of  Elkhart  county,  in  which  position  he  has  remained  until  the  present  time. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  a  loyal  Democrat,  losing  no  opportunity  to  further  the 
cause  of  true  Democracy  in  the  community. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


FRED  C.  GRISCHOW 

An  active  party  worker  for  many  years,  and  the  incumbent  of  various  positions 
of  responsibility  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth,  Mr.  Fred.  C.  Grischow  is  also 
closely  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Michigan  City. 

He  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  born  in  Michigan  City,  Laporte  county,  on  the  15th  day 
of  May,  1859.  He  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Michigan  City,  and  at  an 
early  age  entered  into  the  commercial  and  political  life  of  the  place. 

On  the  22nd  day  of  January,  1880,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Clara 
A.  Hill,  and  their  home  was  established  in  this  city,  and  here  their  business  interests 
have  centered  and  their  friendships  have  been  made. 

In  July,  1906,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  police  commissioner,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  three  years  in  this  position  was  elected  city  treasurer  for  a  four-year  term.  In  the 
fall  of  1913  he  was  re-elected  to  this  office,  being  the  only  Democrat  elected  at  this  election,  and 
with  an  increased  majority  over  1907,  and  entered  with  renewed  enthusiasm  upon  the  duties  of  this 
position  for  a  further  term,  to  expire  January  5,  1918. 


AVERY  Mcdonald  groves 

Avery  McDonald  Groves,  political  editor  of  the  Fort  Wayne  Journal-Gazette,  was  born  July  9, 
1886,  in  Milford,  Kosciusko  county,  Indiana,  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Milton  B.  Groves.  He  at- 
tended the  common  schools  at  Milford,  finished  high  school  and  completed  his  education  in  Illinois. 

After  leaving  school,  Mr.  Groves,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  took  up  newspaper 
work  and  for  many  years  worked  on  various  papers  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  districts.  For 
some  time  he  was  managing  editor  of  the  Garrett  Daily  Press,  and  later  took  charge  of  the  Lagrange 
Democrat,  now  the  Lagrange  Democrat-Call. 

Eight  years  ago  he  accepted  a  position  with  the  Fort  Wayne  Journal-Gazette  as  a  proofreader 
and  soon  afterward  was  given  a  place  on  the  reportorial  staff.  In  1913  he  began  writing  politics  for 
his  paper  and  has  continued  in  that  capacity  ever  since. 

Mr.  Groves  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  Democratic  political  affairs  and  much  of  his 
time  during  campaign  years  is  spent  on  the  stump  as  a  public  speaker. 


FRANK  V.  GUTHRIE 

The  name  of  Frank  V.  Guthrie  is  perhaps  familiar  to  every  reader  of  this 
article,  being  that  of  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Logansport,  and  for  many  years  a 
prominent  attorney  of  this  place.  His  birth  occurred  on  the  19th  day  of  August, 
1865,  in  the  Hoosier  state.  His  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
district,  and  later  in  Logansport  High  School.  Since  reaching  maturity  he  has  con- 
tinued to  study  and  inform  himself  upon  all  questions  of  interest  to  the  community 
at  large.  From  1906  to  1912,  inclusive,  he  was  chairman  of  the  Cass  county  Demo- 
cratic central  committee,  and  served  as  county  attorney  for  four  years,  beginning 
January  1,  1909.  In  November,  1913,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city,  his  term 
of  office  to  expire  January  1,  1918. 


HAROLD  GUTHRIE 

Many  of  our  most  prominent  citizens  were  reared  in  the  wholesome  atmosphere  of  the  farm, 
and  the  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above  is  a  worthy  representative  of  these.  He  was  born  on 
a  farm  in  Ohio,  a  descendant  of  a  line  of  Democratic  ancestors,  one  of  whom,  his  grandfather, 
fought  in  the  battle  of  Ft.  Wayne  with  General  Anthony  Wayne  during  the  war  of  1812. 

Mr.  Guthrie  attended  the  county  schools,  and  accompanied  his  parents  to  Indiana  in  1864.  In 
the  year  1880,  on  the  14th  day  of  November,  occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss  Elma  Kelsey,  and  their 
home  was  established  in  Huntington  county.  In  1902  he  was  nominated  for  county  auditor  and  de- 
feated, and  in  1906  was  re-nominated,  but,  after  being  declared  elected,  was  defeated  by  a  recount  of 
votes  before  a  Republican  judge,  losing  by  three  votes.  In  1910  he  was  again  nominated  and 
elected,  and  has  continued  in  the  office  till  the  present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and 
the  B.  P.  O.  Elks. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18   16-1916 


FABIUS  GWIN 

Fabius  Gwin  was  born  July  1,  1867,  in  Martin  county,  Indiana,  the  son 
of  Jesse  and  Cassandra  Reeve  Gwin.  Reared  on  farm  and  attended  country 
district  school  in  winter  and  did  farm  work  during  spring',  summer  and  fall. 
After  completing  study  in  district  schools,  attended  Marengo  Academy,  at 
Marengo,  Indiana,  in  1886  and  1887.  Parents  not  financially  able  to  pay  ex- 
penses at  school,  so  he  got  through  by  working  Saturdays  on  farm,  and  at 
stone  quarry  and  unloading  stone,  and  by  cutting  wood  nights  and  morn- 
ings and  sweeping  college  buildings. 

After  leaving  Marengo  Academy,  taught  school  during  the  winter  school 
term  in  district  schools,  and  attended  Central  Indiana  Normal  College  at 
Danville,  Indiana,  during  spring  and  summer  terms  of  1888  and  1889. 

Took  law  course.  Was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Martin  county  bar  in 
the  year  1890,  and  has  continued  topractice  at  same  place  ever  since,  occupy- 
ing the  same  office. 

Was  a  Democrat  from  infancy,  having  been  born  in  a  Democratic  home 
and  of  Democratic  parentage.  While  in  his  'teens,  became  very  much  interested  in  politics  and  be- 
came a  leader  in  his  township  before  he  was  a  voter.  Before  beginning  the  practice  of  law  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  at  Shoals  and  served  in  this  capacity  for  about  one  year.  Soon  after  the  begin- 
ning of  his  career  as  an  attorney  he  was  appointed  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Martin  county 
and   held   this   position   for  some   six   years. 

In  the  campaign  of  1892  he  became  the  leader  of  his  party  in  Martin  county  and  was  urged  to 
accept  the  chairmanship  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee  for  the  following  campaign, 
in  the  year  1894;  served  in  such  capacity  for  14  years,  and  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  Democratic 
state  committee  for  four  years,  and  as  vice-chairman  of  same  for  two  years. 

Married  Miss  Bertha  Reichman  and  has  one  daughter,  Ruth,  and  two  sons,  Fabius,  Jr.,  and 
Thomas  Taggart  Gwin. 


EUGENE  HAASE 

The  present  sheriff  of  Morgan  county  has  for  many  years  been  a  resident  of  that  locality;  in 
fact,  his  life  has  been  spent  within  the  confines  of  Morgan  county,  and  there  his  interests  are  cen- 
tered. 

Eugene  Haase  was  born  on  the  10th  day  of  June,  1868,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Jackson  township.  From  his  youth  he  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  meeting 
with  success  in  this  work.  In  the  year  1900,  however,  he  accepted  the  agency  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Co.  at  Martinsville,  and  in  that  work  continued  until  the  year  1911,  laboring  with  conscientious  zeal 
for  the  interests  of  the  company  which  he  represented. 

On  the  19th  day  of  February,  1902,  Mr.  Haase  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cora  M.  Adams, 
and  their  home  was  established  in  Martinsville,  where  they  have  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

Elected  sheriff  of  the  county,  Mr.  Haase  demonstrated  his  ability  as  an  official.  He  is  a  strong 
adherent  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  in  the  various  campaigns  has  rendered  such 
service  as  lay  in  his  power  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  in  his  home  locality. 


CHARLES  A.  HACK 

Charles  A.  Hack,  a  prominent  attorney,  educator  and  public  official  of  Shelby 
county,  was  born  in  Hancock  county  on  the  25th  day  of  April,  1868.  At  the  age  of 
five  years  his  parents  located  in  Shelby  county,  and  here  his  schooling  was  received. 
Later,  however,  a  course  of  study  was  taken  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Dan- 
ville, from  which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1894.  Early  in  life  he  entered  the  edu- 
cational field  as  a  teacher  and  continued  in  the  work  nine  years. 

Following  his  graduation  from  the  normal  college,  he  entered  the  law  office  of 
Hord  and  Adams,  and  in  the  year  1896  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Shelby  county. 
Later  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney,  in  which  capacity  he  served  four  years. 
He  was  also,  for  three  years,  a  member  of  the  Shelbyville  school  board.  He  is  now 
serving  his  third  term  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic  committee  of  Shelby  county 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


19  1 


In  1899  he  was  married  to  Etta  May  Walker.  They  have  two  children,  Maurice  C.  Hack  and 
Ruth  Jane  Hack. 

Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  Masons,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Red  Men  and  Ben- 
Hur. 


WILLIAM  HABERMEL 

The  man  whom  the  citizens  of  Harrison  chose  to  represent  them  in  the 
general  assembly  of  1914-1915  is  certainly  well  chosen,  having  had  a  broad 
experience  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  needs  of  the  commonwealth 
whicli  he  represents. 

William  Habermel,  whose  home  has  for  many  years  been  in  the  city  of 
Corydon,  was  born  in  Bradford,  Indiana,  on  the  29th  day  of  October,  1882, 
and  here  his  childhood  and  youth  were  passed.  The  foundation  of  his  edu- 
cation was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  Bradford,  and  in  the  year  1900  he  en- 
tered the  Valparaiso  Normal  School  for  a  two  years'  course  of  study.  The 
year  1902  was  passed  at  the  Ohio  Valley  Normal  School  of  Corydon,  the 
ensuing  five  years  being  spent  as  an  instructor.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
period  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  road  building,  and  for  four  years  he 
was  thus  profitably  engaged,  meanwhile  gaining  valuable  experience  in 
county  affairs  and  extending  his  acquaintance  among  representative  men. 
In  the  year  1909  he  was  appointed  assistant  clerk  of  the  Indiana  House  of 
Representatives;  and  in  the  year  1914  he  was  elected  representative  for  Harrison  county  to  this 
assembly. 

Throughout  his  career  Mr.  Habermel  has  been  a  zealous  worker  in  the  cause  of  Democracy,  in 
this  respect  following  in  the  footsteps  of  several  generations  of  Democratic  forefathers;  and  in  the 
year  1908  he  acted  as  secretary  of  the  county  central  committee,  serving  his  constituents  with  the 
■zeal  which  has  characterized  his  work  in  other  lines   perhaps  more  profitable  to  himself. 

His  marriage  to  Miss  Kathryn  A.  Baker  was  solemnized  November  10,  1903,  and  together  they 
have  won  a  large  circle  of  friends,  many  of  whom   have  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  their  home. 


OREN  STEPHEN  HACK 
Born  and  reared  in  the  Democratic  faith,  descended  from  a  long  line- 
of  Democratic  ancestors  and  himself  a  strict  adherent  of  the  principles  of 
Jefferson,  it  is  but  fitting  that  the  name  of  Oren  Stephen  Hack  should  hold 
a  high  position  in  the  roster  of  the  party  leaders  of  Indiana. 

Mr.  Hack  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Shelby  county,  and  in  this  wholesome 
environment  he  remained  until  he  reached  the  age  of  seventeen,  attending 
the  district  schools  and  later  graduating  from  the  high  school  of  Boggstown. 
His  studies  were  then  continued  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1896,  and  entered  the  educational  field. 
For  two  years  he  taught  in  the  district  schools,  and  later  accepted  a  posi- 
tion in  the  Boggstown  High  School,  where  he  remained  for  four  years.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1897  he  served  as  president  of  the  Shelby  County  Teachers'' 
Association. 

In  1898  he  received  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  from  the  Central  Normal  Col- 
lege, and  in  1901  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  from  the  University  of  Indianapolis, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1898  he  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  law,  and  in  this  pro- 
fession he  has  displayed  unusual  ability.  In  November,  1903,  he  was  appointed  deputy  city  attorney 
for  the  city  of  Indianapolis  and  served  in  this  position  until  the  year  1906.  The  following  year  he 
was  appointed  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Marion  county,  and  for  three  years  he  administered 
the  affairs  of  this  office. 

On  the  16th  day  of  June,  1908,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Miller,  the  gifted 
author  of  "The  Yoke,"  "Saul  of  Tarsus,"  "City  of  Delight,"  "Daybreak,"  etc.,  and  she  has  since  pre- 
sided over  his  home  and  extended  hospitality  to  an  ever-widening  circle  of  friends.  Two  daugh- 
ters and  a  son  have  come,  also,  to  add  to  the  inspiration  of  their  home  life. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Mr.  Hack  is  a  member  of  the  Indianapolis  and  State  Bar  Associations,  the  Contemporary  Clul), 
German  House  and  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Indianapolis,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  F.  and  A.  .M. 
and  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Murat  Temple  Mystic  Shrine,  Knipht  Templars  and  Knights  of  Pythias. 

GEORGE  RL  HAEHL 

The  present  chief  of  police  of  Shelbyville,  George  M.  Haehl,  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  April  21, 
1849.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Cincinnati,  and  in  his  youth  worked  at  the  jewelers'  trade. 
Tiring  of  this,  however,  he  ran  away  from  home  and  joined  the  U.  S.  Navy,  sei-ving  three  years  with 
the  Mississippi  Squadron,  seeing  active  service  at  Hickman,  Ky.,  Island  No.  10,  Fort  Peller,  Mem- 
phis, Haynes  Bluff,  Vicksburg,  Tallahatchie  river.  Red  river,  etc.  At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  in 
1865,  he  received  his  honorable  discharge,  and  four  years  later  located  in  Shelby  county,  where  lie 
has  since  become  known  as  a  representative  citizen. 

Mr.  Haehl  is  affiliated  with  the  Red  Men  an:l  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  In  191,5  he  was 
elected  chief  of  police  for  a  tei-m  of  four  years. 

FRANK  D.  HAIMBAUGH 

Frank  D.  Haimbaugh  is  a  Muncie  Democrat  always  on  the  job.  He  was 
born  in  Ohio  in  1856,  and  when  his  parents  moved  him  over  to  Indiana,  in 
1863,  about  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  commence  working  with  the 
Hoosier  Democrats.  He  never  quit  it.  He  liked  it  even  if  he  never  enjoyed 
the  excitement  of  being  a  candidate  for  an  elective  office. 

After  graduating  from  the  high  school  at  Rochester  he  finished  the 
scientific  course  at  Valparaiso  University.  After  graduation  he  was  super- 
intendent of  schools  for  Fulton  county  for  two  years,  1885-1887.  He  was 
chief  doorkeeper  of  the  Indiana  house  of  representatives  in  the  sessions  of 
1889  and  1891. 

From  1900  to  1904  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  police  commission- 
ers of  Muncie.  Served  as  field  man  for  the  state  board  of  accounts  from 
1913  to  1915.  Under  the  Woodrow  Wilson  administration  was  named  post- 
master for  Muncie,  taking  the  office  in  March,  1916.  During  1917  and  1918 
he  served  as  fuel  administrator  for  his  county,  this  position  being  without 
compensation   and  held   during  the   war  with   Germany. 

Mr.  Haimbaugh  spent  twenty  years  as  publisher  of  Democratic  newspapers  and  was  a  delegate 
to  a  Democratic  state  convention  before  he  was  old  enough  to  vote.  His  first  newspaper  venture  was  as 
a  partner  with  a  cousin  in  publishing  the  Miami  Comity  Seittinel  at  Peru.  That  was  in  1889.  Two 
years  later  he  bought  an  interest  in  the  Muncie  Daily  and  Weekly  Herald.  As  editor  he  worked  for 
the  Democracy  constantly  and  won  many  victories.  He  founded  the  Muncie  Press  in  1905  and  man- 
aged it  for  four  years  as  an  independent  Democratic  paper  and  lived  to  see  it  become  a  radical  Re- 
publican sheet. 

Mr.  Haimbaugh  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  F.  Elginfritz  in  1890,  and  their  only  son  served  in 
the  war  against  Germany.  This  son,  Paul  A.  Haimbaugh,  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  from  the 
first  officers'  training  camp  at  Fort  Benjamin  Harrison  in  Au^st,  1917.  He  landed  in  France  a 
month  later  and  saw  active  service  in  the  heavy  fiald  artillery,  until  at  his  own  request,  June,  1918, 
he  was  transferred  to  the  tank  service,  remainin;?  there  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

FRANK  J.  HALL 

Frank  J.  Hall  is  a  son  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  substantial  families  of  Rush  county,  his 
parents  being  the  Hon.  Wm.  S.  and  Nancy  M.  Hall.  He  was  born  February  16,  1844;  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  Rush  county  and  attended  Indiana  University,  from  which  he  graduated, 
later  taking  a  law  course  at  the  same  institution.  He  then  became  a  resident  of  Rushville  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1869. 

In  1904,  in  the  face  of  an  overwhelming  Republican  majority,  his  popularity  was  demon- 
strated when  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Rushville,  serving  until  1906.  In  1908  he  was  elected 
lieutenant-governor   of   Indiana,   which   position   he  held  for  four  years. 

Mr.  Hall  is  still  practicing  law  in  Rushville. 


(913) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

MARSHALL  H.  HALL 

The  commonwealth  of  Posey  county  is  fortunate  in  having  secured  for  the  office  of  sheriff  a  man 
of  known  integrity  and  sterling  worth. 

The  incumbent,  Mr.  Marshall  H.  Hall,  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Posey  county  on  the  16th  day 
of  December,  1859.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  and  here  his  interests  have  cen- 
tered. 

On  the  20th  day  of  February,  1884,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ruth  Russell,  and  she  has 
since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home  and  his  faithful  assistant  in  his  undertakings. 

In  the  year  1893  he  was  appointed  custodian  of  the  county  court  house,  and  for  twenty  years  the 
duties  of  this  position  were  discharged  faithfully  and  loyally.  In  the  fall  of  1913  he  was  elected  to 
the  larger  responsibilities  of  sheriff,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  office  on  the  first  day  of  the  year  1914. 


AUGUSTUS  W.  HAMILTON 

To  the  citizens  of  Wells  county,  Augustus  W.  Hamilton  needs  no  introduction,  having  been  an 
honored  public  official  of  Bluffton  for  a  number  of  years,  and  a  prominent  attorney  of  this  commu- 
nity since  1902. 

Mr.  Hamilton  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  30th  day  of  August,  1873.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  district,  and  after  completing  his  work  in  high  school  entered  North  Manchester  Col- 
lege for  the  purpose  of  continuing  his  education.  In  the  year  1902  he  graduated  from  the  law  depart- 
ment of  Indiana  University,  and  in  the  same  year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Wells  county  and  en- 
tei-ed  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  at  Bluffton  in  May.  In  his  chosen  work  he  was  very 
successful,  bringing  to  it  untiring  energy,  patience  in  research  and  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  his 
clients. 

In  1906  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  mayor  of  ihe  city  of  Bluffton,  assuming  the  duties  of 
office  early  in  1907,  and  for  four  years  his  time  and  energies  were  given  to  the  service  of  the  public. 

Since  attaining  his  majority,  Mr.  Hamilton  has  been  a  loyal  adherent  to  the  principles  of  De- 
mocracy, and  has  worked  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  in  Wells  county.  During  the  campaign 
of  1913  he  served  the  party  as  county  chairman,  and  has  at  various  times  represented  Wells  county 
Democracy  in  the  state  conventions  of  the  party. 

Mrs.  Ham.ilton,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  30,  1904,  was  formerly  Miss  Blanche  M.  Small; 
and  as  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home  she  has  helped  to  win  for  them  both  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 


WILL   HAMMELL 

Among  the  younger  workers  within  the  ranks  of  the  party  in  Adams  county  the  subject  of  this 
article  is  well  known  as  a  loyal  and  aggressive  Democrat.  A  native  of  Adams  county,  Indiana,  he 
was  born  on  the  9th  day  of  February,  1887.  A  resident  of  Decatur,  he  acquired  his  schooling  in  this 
city,  graduating  from  the  high  school  in  1908.  The  ensuing  four  years  were  spent  in  the  study  of 
law  under  the  capable  guidance  of  Judge  D.  E.  Smith,  since  which  time  he  has  practiced  in  the  county 
and  is  recognized  as  a  rising  lawyer  of  the  community.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  campaign 
work,  and  was  the  successful  candidate  for  clerk  of  the  Adams  circuit  court  of  Adams  county,  Indi- 
ana, upon  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1914.  Mr.  Hammell  is  unmarried,  an  enthusiastic  and  conscientious 
worker  and  he  has  shown  a  remarkable  grasp  upon  the  possibilities  of  his  profession. 


WILLIAM  ADELBERT  HAMMOND 

The  name  of  William  Adelbert  Hammond  is  probably  familiar  to  every  citizen  of  Miami  county, 
serving  as  mayor  of  the  city  of  Peru.  Mr.  Hammond  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania, 
born  in  Armstrong  county  on  the  13th  day  of  November,  1864.  In  the  year  1898  he  emigrated  to 
Indiana,  employed  as  a  locomotive  engineer  by  the  Wabash  Railroad  Company.  Since  attaining 
his  majority  he  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  serving  on  the 
city  committee   and  as  delegate   to  numerous   conventions. 

He   has   also   continued    an   active   member   of  the   Brotherhood   of   Locomotive   Engineers,   and 


(914) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

shortly  after  establishing  residence  in  Peru  was  made  chairman  of  this  organization.  In  the 
year  1911  he  was  elected  representative  from  Miami  county  to  the  state  legislature,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1913  was  elected  to  the  position  of  mayor  of  the  city  for  a  term  of  four  years. 

Mrs.  Hammond,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  26,  1911,  was  formerly  Miss  Norah  Almeda 
Murphy. 

STEPHEN  J.  HANNAGAN 

Stephen  J.  Hannagan,  an  active  party  worker  of  Lafayette,  is  a  native  Hoosier,  descended  from 
early  pioneers  who  settled  in  this  State  in  1844.  He  was  born  on  the  25th  day  of  May,  1863,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  parochial  schools  of  Tippecanoe  county. 

In  the  year  1885  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Foley,  and  their  home  was  estab- 
lished in  Lafayette. 

In  the  year  1889  he  was  elected  city  clerk,  and  in  this  capacity  served  until  1894.  In  1896  he 
assumed  the  duties  of  city  councilman,  which  position  he  held  for  many  years.  During  the  adminis- 
trations of  Governor  Marshall  and  Governor  Ralston  he  served  as  state  oil  inspector,  and  is  the  in- 
cumbent of  this  position. 

He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  various  campaigns  through  which  he  has  passed,  rendering 
valued  service  to  the  local  organization. 

ALFRED  R.  HARDESTY 

A  life-long  Democrat,  an  unusually  versatile  man,  and  one  distinguished 
in  various  lines  of  endeavor,  Alfred  R.  Hardesty  is  justly  held  in  high  es- 
teem in  his  home  town,  Valparaiso. 

Mr.  Hardesty  was  born  in  Boone  county,  Indiana,  on  the  17th  day  of 
January,  1860.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and,  after  his  graduation 
from  high  school,  entered  the  university  for  continued  study  in  the  higher 
branches,  and  for  the  courses  in  law  and  commerce. 

Following  his  attainment  of  the  degree  of  B.  S.,  he  entered  the  educa- 
tional field,  and  for  many  years  was  an  instructor  in  the  public  schools,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  held  the  position  of  superintendent  of  schools  at  Chester- 
ton for  a  period  of  nine  years,  leaving  there  of  his  own  accord  to  accept  a 
similar  but  better  position  at  Hobart,  where  he  remained  six  or  eight  years 
and  where,  at  that  time,  was  the  largest  commissioned  township  high  school 
in  the  state.  For  two  years  following  this,  under  the  superintendency  of 
the  late  Frank  E.  Cooper,  he  acted  as  assistant  county  superintendent  of 

Lake  county,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  counties  in  the  State  from  the  educational  point  of 
view.  During  his  incumbency  of  these  positions  his  progressive  methods  and  rare  tact  in  dealing 
with  the  various  problems  involved  in  the  training  of  the  youthful  mind  won  for  him  the  high  esteem 
of  the  community.  He  successfully  passed  the  examination  for  and  is  the  holder  of  a  life  state  license 
to  teach  in  any  of  the  schools  of  the  State.  He  was  also,  for  a  few  years,  an  instructor  in  the  uni- 
versity of  Valparaiso. 

Wishing  to  enter  a  new  field  of  work,  however,  he  passed  the  examination  for  accountants,  un- 
der the  public  accounting  act,  and  served  two  years  as  public  accountant  under  the  administration 
of  Governor  Marshall.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business,  and 
now  does  a  general  insurance  and  brokerage  business  as  well.  Though  a  member  of  the  bar  of  Porter 
county,  Mr.  Hardesty  has  never  practiced  law,  but  has  kept  in  touch  with  legal  affairs. 

On  the  25th  day  of  August,  1887,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Belle  E.  Fish  of  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  and  their  home  in  Valparaiso  has  been  the  meeting  place  of  many  friends,  who  rejoice  to  accept 
their  hospitality. 

HARVEY  HARMON 

Harvey  Harmon,  a  native  and  lifelong  citizen  of  Gibson  county,  is  well  known  throughout  the 
county  as  a  zealous  Democratic  worker  and  a  prominent   attorney-at-law. 

Mr.  Harmon  was  born  at  Owensville  on  the  12th  day  of  August,  1873,  and  attended  the  schools 
of  that  place,   graduating  from   the   high    school.     His  studies  were  continued  at  the  Indiana  Uni- 


(915) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

versity  at  Bloomington,  and  he  later  entered  the  law  school  at  DePauw  University,  from  which  he 
was  graduated. 

On  the  14th  day  of  June,  1901,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Nora  McGinnis  was  solemnized  and  their 
home  was  established  in  the  city  of  Princeton,  where  he  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  law.  So 
successful  was  he  in  his  chosen  profession  that  in  the  year  1911  he  was  elected  county  prosecutor,  as- 
suming the  duties  of  office  on  the  first  of  January,  1912.  In  the  exercise  of  the  duties  pertaining  to 
this  office  Mr.  Harmon  has  shown  the  same  conscientious  zeal  which  has  characterized  his  private 
undertakings. 

He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  fraternal  affairs  and  has  membership  in  Prince  Lodge  361,  F. 
and  A.  M.;  the  Princeton  Commandery  Knights  Templar;  the  B.  P.  0.  Elks;  Hadi  Shrine  of  Evan«- 
ville;  the  Delta  Tau  Delta,  Tau  Epsilon  and  Phi   Phi  Delta  Phi  educational  societies. 


JOHN    G.    HARRIS 

John  G.  Harris,  for  many  years  a  leading  attorney  of  Bloomington  and  mayor  of  this  city,  was 
born  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  on  the  12th  day  of  October,  1869.  In  the  year  1876  his  parents  lo- 
cated in  Monroe  county,  where  he  received  his  schooling.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high 
school  he  entered  Indiana  University,  graduating  from  this  institution  in  June,  1896.  In  the  year 
1901  he  emigrated  to  Oklahoma  for  his  health,  and  in  the  same  year  was  elected  police  judge  of  the 
city  of  Hobart.  This  position  he  held  until  1905,  at  which  time  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Bloom- 
ington. In  the  fall  of  1908  he  was  elected  joint  representative  from  Monroe  and  Brown  counties  to 
the  state  legislature,  and  the  following  year  was  elected  to  the  position  of  mayor  of  the  city  for  a 
four-year  term.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period,  in  1913,  he  was  re-elected.  From  1890  to  1894  he 
served  as  secretary  of  the  Democratic  county  committee,  and  was  county  chairman  from  1906  to 
1910,  and  also  in  1914. 

Mrs.  Harris,  to  whom  he  was  married  April  22,  1889,  was  formerly  Miss   Florence  Barnes. 


COL.  JOSEPH  RICHARD  HARRISON 
Joseph  Richard  Harrison  needs  no  introduction  to  the  citizens  of  Whitley  county, 
having  been  the  holder  of  various  positions  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth,  and 
for  many  years  a  leading  citizen  of  the  community. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  born  in  Green  township,  Noble  county,  Indiana,  on  the  28th 
day  of  May,  1862.  In  his  childhood,  however,  he  was  brought  to  Whitley  county  by 
his  parents,  and  here  his  schooling  was  received  in  the  common  schools  of  his  dis- 
trict, and  later  in  the  Churubusco  High  School. 

On  the  10th  day  of  February,  1881,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Jennie 
E.  Stough,  but  death  deprived  him  of  her  companionship  in  the  year  1905. 

In  the  year  1879  he  assumed  the  duties  of  deputy  county  clerk  of  Whitley  county 
and  in  this  capacity  served  for  eight  years.  During  the  first  administration  of  President  Cleveland 
he  held  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  United  States  court  of  the  Fourth  District,  New  Mexico;  and  four 
years  were  spent  as  clerk  of  the  Whitley  circuit  court.  He  is,  perhaps,  best  known  for  his  service  as 
mayor  of  Columbia  City,  a  position  which  he  held  for  eight  years,  entering  upon  the  duties  of  this 
office  in  the  year  1902. 

Upon  retiring  from  office  January  1,  1916,  he  entered  the  profession  of  the  law,  having  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  Whitley  county  bar  in   1891. 

Colonel  Harrison  is  a  Spanish  war  veteran  and  for  20  years  was  an  officer  in  the  Indiana  National 
Guard,  retiring  in  1915  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  2d  Indiana  Infantry.  He  has  been  a  Shetland  pony 
breeder  for  20  years  and  is  past  president  of  the  national  club. 


CHARLES    L.    HARTING 

A  true  product  of  Madison  county,  serving  as  city  treasurer  of  Elwood,  Charles  L.  Harting  is 
well  known  and  highly  esteemed  by  the  entire  community. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Elwood,  March  6,  1876,  the  son  of  Harmon  G.  Harting  and 
Josephine  Mock  Harting,  both  natives  of  Johnson  county.    When  he  was  three  years  of  age  the  family 


(  916  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

moved  to  Elwood,  and  here  the  son  received  his  schooling,  graduating  from  the  high  school.  Later 
a  course  in  electrical  engineering  was  taken  at  Purdue  University,  after  which  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Elwood  Electric  Light  Co.,  now  known  as  the  Indiana  General  Service  Co.  Here 
he  remained  for  twelve  years,  resigning  to  assume  the  duties  of  city  treasurer,  a  position  to 
which  he  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1913.  He  has  often  served  the  party  as  precinct  committeeman 
and  delegate  to  the  various  conventions.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Masons,  Elks, 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  Moose. 

Mrs.    Harting,   to    whom    he    was   married    June  22,  1904,  was  formerly  Miss  Roxana  Moore  of 
Kokomo. 


BAYLESS    HARVEY 

The  responsibility  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  publisher  of  a  newspaper  is  great,  as  the  mold- 
ing of  the  sentiment  of  the  community  is  largely  in  his  hands;  and  seldom  is  this  responsibility 
borne  by  one  of  greater  ability  or  having  more  interest  in  the  community  than  the  publisher  of  the 
Paoli  Neirs,   Bayless    }Iarvey. 

Mr.  Harvey  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  12th  day  of  November,  1873.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  his  district  and  graduated  from  the  high  school.  Later  he  entered  Indiana  Uni- 
versity at  Bloomington  for  study  in  the  higher  branches,  and  received  the  degree  of  bachelor  of 
arts  in  1895.  The  following  year  he  returned  for  the  study  of  law  and  in  1896  received  the  degree 
of  LL.  B. 

In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Orange  county  and  entered  into  the  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Paoli.  The  following  year  he  was  appointed  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Orange  county,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  nine  years,  rendering  efficient  service  to  the  com- 
munity and  establishing  a  reputation   for  marked  ability    in    the    legal    profession. 

In  the  year  1912  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  attorney,  and  was  the  incumbent  of  this 
position  until  1915.  He  is  now  the  publisher  of  the  Paoli  News,  and  in  this  venture  has  demonstrated 
a  marked  intelligence  in  administration. 

On  the  28th  day  of  November,  1898,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Erma  King,  and  to 
them  has  been  born  a  daughter. 

During  his  years  in  college  he  became  allied  with  a  Greek  letter  fraternity  and  is  now  affiliated 
with  the  Royal  Arch  Masons  No.  134  at  French  Lick  and  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  Lodge  119, 
of  Paoli,  and  Bedford  Commandery  No.  42,  Knights  Templar.  In  1918  he  was  elected  Democratic 
county  chairman  of  Orange  county. 


SIDNEY    B.    HATFIELD 

Few  citizens  of  Warrick  county  are  better  known  or  more  highly  es- 
teemed than  Sidney  B.  Hatfield,  for  many  years  a  prominent  attorney  of 
Boonville. 

Mr.  Hatfield  was  born  in  the  state  of  Kentucky,  but  at  an  early  age  was 
brought  by  his  mother  to  Indiana,  his  father  having  purchased  and  located 
upon  a  farm  in  Perry  county,  near  the  Ohio  river.  There  he  remained  until 
he  attained  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  when  he  entered  Indiana  University. 
Following  his  graduation  from  the  literary  department  of  that  institution  in 
1864,  he  matriculated  in  the  law  department,  from  whv:h  he  was  graduated 
in  1866.  Immediately  thereafter  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Perry  county 
and  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  at  Cannelton.  On  the 
10th  day  of  March,  1872,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  clerk  of  the  Perry  circuit 
court,  and  in  that  capacity  served  for  four  years.  In  the  fall  of  1879  he 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  Perry  county,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
a  two-year  term,  in  1882.  was  re-elected  for  further  service  of  two  years. 
Later  he  located  in  Boonville,  where  he  has  since   been  engaged  in  practice. 

During  his  college  days  Mr.  Hatfield  became  a  member  of  the  Phi  Delta  Theta  Greek  Frater- 
nity, and  during  his  residence  in  Cannelton  became  affiliated  with  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows.  He 
is  a  member  of  Strangers'  Rest  Lodge  No.  240,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  Hebron  Ix)dge,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  both  of  Boonvi  He. 


(917) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Throughout  his  career  Mr.  Hatfield  has  stood  for  the  principles  promulgated  by  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, and  has  consistently  voted  the  Democratic  ti  cket  and  given  his  support  to  the  various  organ- 
izations of  the  party.  Mr.  Hatfield  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  Southwestern  Indi- 
ana, and  also  is  regarded  as  one  of  the   best  citizens. 


FRED   A.    HAUSHEER 

For  many  years  the  incumbent  of  various  positions  of  responsibility  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  commonwealth,  FVed  A.  Hausheer  needs  no  introduction  to  our  readers. 

Mr.  Hausheer  is  essentially  a  product  of  the  Hoosier  state,  having  been  bom  in 
Indiana  on  the  14th  day  of  March,  1861.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Laporte 
county  and  early  entered  into  the  business  life  of  Laporte. 

In  the  year  1889  Mr.  Hausheer  was  appointed  deputy  treasurer  of  Laporte  county 

and  for  five  years  he  remained  in  that  position,  working  with  conscientious  zeal  and 

intelligent  effort.    In  1906  he  was  appointed  deputy  auditor  of  the  county  and  in  that 

capacity  acted  for  a  term  of  four  years.     He  then  was  elected  county  auditor  and  on 

the   first  day  of   the   following   January   assumed   the   duties   of  the   office,   amply 

qualified  by  his  years  of  service  as  deputy  and  thoroughly    prepared    to    administer    the    affairs    of 

the  office  in  an  efficient  manner.     In  the  fall  of  1914  he  was  again  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic 

party  for  this  position. 

On  April  22,  1882,  Mr.  Hausheer  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Susie  Held. 


CHARLES  H.  HAVENS 

Charles  H.  Havens  was  born  in  Kokomo,  May  4,  1858,  a  son  of  Henry  Bascomb 
Havens,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Howard  county,  and  a  grandson  of  the  Rev.  James 
Havens,  noted  pioneer  Methodist  preacher  and  contemporary  of  Peter  Cartwright. 
He  was  carrier-boy  for  the  RaHical  Democrat  (afterward  the  Kokomo  Dispatch) 
when  it  was  established  in  Kokomo  by  Jap  Turpin  in  1872.  Entering  a  printing  office 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  he  was  identified  with  newspaper  work  as  printers' 
"devil,"  printer,  reporter  and  editorial  and  political  writer,  with  the  exception  of 
half  a  dozen  years  in  which  he  was  engaged  in  the  theatrical  business,  until  his  ap- 
pointment as  postmaster  for  Kokomo,  March  1,  1914.  He  succeeded  J.  O.  Henderson 
as  managing  editor  of  the  Kokomo  Daily  Dispatch  in  1890,  on  the  election  of  Mr. 
Henderson  to  the  office  of  auditor  of  state.  He  never  sought  official  position,  and  was  recommended 
for  appointment  as  postmaster  for  Kokomo  by  Congressman  Martin  A.  Morrison  at  a  time  when  .Mr. 
Havens  was  earnestly  advocating  the  selection  of  another  Democrat  for  this  position. 

In  1880  Mr.  Havens  married  Lou  Ewing  Coate  of  Paducah,  Ky.,  who  died  four  years  later,  the 
issue  of  the  union  being  one  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Paul  M.  Gerhard  of  Kokomo.  In  1886  he  mar- 
ried Orpha  D.  McKinsey  of  Kokomo.  There  were  born  to  them  two  children,  a  son  who  died  at  the 
age  of  five  years,  and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  George  Carl  Yearling  of  Kokomo.  There  are  three  grand- 
children, by  whom  Postmaster  Havens  sets  great  store — Master  Charles  Logan  Gerhard,  Master  Daniel 
Havens  Gerhard  and  Mary  Louise  Yearling. 

Mr.  Havens  devotes  his  entire  time  to  his  duties  as  postmaster  and  has  been  energetic  in  the 
promotion  of  the  newer  features  of  the  postal  service — the  parcel  post,  the  postal  savings  system  and 
the  organization  of  the  Kokomo  postoffice  under  the  "two-division"  plan  in  operation  in  offices  of  the 
larger  cities. 


THOMAS    HAWKINS 

A  representative  Indiana  citizen  of  the  higher  type  is  Thomas  Hawkins.  Born  on  a  farm,  he 
has  mounted  steadily  upward  in  business  and  political  circles  until  he  holds  the  highest  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  people  of  Shelbyville,  and  his  administration  proved  the  wisdom  of  voters  who,  normally 
Republican,  swung  away  from  party  lines  and  placed  him  in  office  with  a  huge  majority  as  an  ex- 
pression of  their  confidence. 

Mr.  Hawkins  was  born  in  1859  in  Washington  township,  Shelby  county.  Educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools,  he  longed  for  further  insight  into  the  rules  which  governed  business,  and  attended 
commercial  schools  of  Indianapolis.  After  finishing  his  course  there  he  returned  to  his  father's  farm 
and  for  a  few  years  turned  his  attention  to  tilling  the  soil.     Later  on  he  purchased  a  farm  of  his 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6  -  1  9  1  f) 


own,  buying  eighty  acres  in  Washington  township,  and  in  1882  married  Ella  M.  Easley,  one  of  the 
county's  most  popular  young  ladies.  In  1893  Mr.  Hawkins  left  the  farm  and  moved  to  the  town  of 
Flat  Rock,  where  he  bought  out  a  large  store  own3d  by  Wesley  Nading.  After  conducting  this  busi- 
ness for  nine  years,  during  which  time  he  showed  remarkable  business  ability,  he  sold  out  to  O.  R. 
Miller.  In  1902  Mr.  Hawkins  was  elected  county  auditor,  and  moved  with  his  family  to  Shelby- 
ville  in  1903.  He  served  four  years  in  this  position  of  trust  ami  was  elected  county  chairman  in 
1906  and  1908. 

On  November  3,  1909,  the  crowning  act  of  conlidence  which  the  community  felt  in  him  was  shown 
when  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Shelbyville.  Although  Mr.  Hawkins  was  a  Democrat  in 
a  Republican  community,  he  received  a  majority  of  356  votes. 

A  man  of  pleasing  personality,  Mr.  Hawkins  makes  friends  quickly  and,  it  may  be  said  to  his 
credit,  holds  them  long.  His  business  ability  has  been  demonstrated  in  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
conducted  the  affairs  of  the  city  since  taking  hold  of  the  reins  of  government  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  no  chief  executive  ever  justified  the  confidence  imposed  in  him  more  fully  than 
has  Mayor  Hawkins.  He  is  one  of  the  solid  citizens  of  the  community  in  his  home  life,  spending 
much  time  with  his  family,  which  numbers  three,   his  wife,  his  son   Perry,  and  his  daughter  Hazel. 


BAILEY  HAWKINS 

The  present  representative  to  the  legislature  from  Hamilton  and  Tipton  counties 
is  eminently  fitted  for  the  duties  involved  in  this  position  of  responsibility,  having 
been  in  the  service  of  the  public  for  many  years  prior  to  the  election  of  1914. 

Mr.  Bailey  Hawkins  is  a  native  of  this  state,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the 
22nd  day  of  April,  1869,  in  Sullivan  county.     He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Sulli- 
van county,  later  taking  a  course  of  study  at  the  Indiana  State  Normal  School  of 
Terre  Haute.     In  the  year  1897  he  assumed  the  duties  of  deputy  auditor  of  Putnam 
county,  and  this  position  was  retained  until  the  beginning  of  1905.     On  the  25th  day 
of  September,  1906,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  W.  Wilkinson  was  solemnized, 
the  following  year  they  established  their  residence  in  Hamilton  county,  where 
Hawkins  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture.     In  1912  he  was  elected  representative  from 
county.      Besides  his  occupation  as  farmer  he  is  also  cashier  of  the  Citizens'  State  Bank  of 


Hamilton 
Carmel. 


GAINES  HOMER  HAZEN 

Gaines  Homer  Hazen  was  born  in  Newbuig,  Indiana,  on 
October  26,  1847.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Albert  and  Eliza 
A.  Hazen.  He  received  a  common  school  education.  Gradu- 
ated in  the  Wells  &  Kliner  Commercial  College  of  Evansville, 
Indiana,  in  1866.  Began  reading  law  with  Galen  Spencer  in 
Newburg  in  1868.  Entered  the  law  office  of  Warren  &  Matti- 
son  of  Evansville  in  1869,  and  remained  with  them  one  year. 
Was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Evansville  in  the  spring  of  1869. 
Entered  the  law  school  of  the  State  University  at  Blooming- 
ton,  Indiana,  in  October,  1870,  and  graduated  with  the  degree 
of  bachelor  of  laws  in  the  class  of  1871.  Located  in  Bloom- 
ington  and  practiced  law  for  two  years. 

Was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Emma  J.  Beatly,  of 
Bloomington,  on  June  24,  1873.  They  then  removed  to  New- 
burg, where  he  practiced  law  until  November,  1880,  when 
they  removed  to  Boonville  and  he  formed  a  law  partnership 
with  Hon.  S.  B.  Hatfield  on  November  15,  1880.  Mr.  Hatfield 
withdrew  from  the  firm  on  March  31,  1885.  Mr.  Hazen  con- 
tinued in  the  practice  of  law  until  July  10,  1893,  when  he  pur- 
chased the  Boonville  Enquirer,  withdrew  from  the  law  and 
devoted  his  whole  time  to  its  publication.  Starting  in  life 
poor,  he  and  his  wife  met  many  obstacles,  but  by  push  and 
•energy  they  have  succeeded  fairly  well. 

He  has  held  the  following  positions  of  trust:  Treasur 


of  Newburg  for  one  year;   deputy  prose- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

cuting  attorney  twelve  years,  under  the  following  prosecutors:  E.  R.  Hatfield,  two  years;  G.  L.  Rhein- 
hardt,  four  years;  S.  B.  Hatfield,  four  years,  and  William  Land,  two  years.  He  was  probate  com- 
missioner one  term  under  G.  L.  Rheinhardt.  Served  seven  years  as  county  attorney  for  Warrick 
county  and  one  year  as  attorney  for  the  town  of  Boonville.  He  was  the  nominee  of  his  party  for 
prosecuting  attorney  of  the  Second  Judicial  District  in  1888,  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  but  went  down 
in  defeat  with  his  party. 

He  joined  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Encampment  in  Bloomington  in  1871,  passed  through  the 
chairs  and  represented  both  branches  in  the  Grand  Lodge. 

Joined  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in  Newburg  in  1874,  passed  through  the  chairs  and  represented 
his  lodge  in  the  Grand  Lodge.  Served  one  year  as  member  of  committee  of  subordinate  lodge  returns 
and  one  year  on  committee  on  the  state  of  the  order.  Served  one  term  each  in  the  offices  of  grand 
inner  guard,  grand  master  at  arms  and  grand  prelate. 

Joined  Boonville  Court  No.  59,  Tribe  of  Ben-Hur,  on  February  14,  1896,  and  was  made  past  chief 
on  the  institution  of  the  lodge.  He  was  elected  representative  from  the  State  of  Indiana  to  the  Su- 
preme Lodge  in  January,  1900. 

He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Supreme  Tribe  on  August  16,  1901, 
and  has  been  re-elected  by  the  Supreme  Lodge  three  times  since. 

He  joined  Boonville  District  Court  No.  519,  Court  of  Honor,  on  November  3,  1897,  and  passed 
through  the  chairs  of  that  lodge. 

He  joined  Evansville  Lodge  No.  116,  B.  P.  O.  Elks,  on  March  9,  1904,  and  at  this  time  is  a  member 
in  good  standing  in  all  of  the  above  orders. 

His  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  J.  Beatly  was  blessed  with  one  child,  a  daughter,  Nellie  A.,  born 
October  25,  1874.  She  received  a  common  school  education,  graduated  in  the  Boonville  High  School 
and  later  attended  college  at  St.  Mary's,  Terre  Haute,  Ind. 

She  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mr.  Eugene  H.  Gough  on  May  10,  1900.  This  union  was  blessed 
with  three  sons — Harold  Hazen,  born  April  10,  1901 ;  Eugene  LeRoy,  born  January  9,  1904,  and  Gaines 
Homer,  born  May  31,  1912. 

HORACE  H.  HELLER 

Among  the  leaders  in  the  Democratic  organization  of  Parke  county  is 
Horace  H.  Heller,  of  Rockville. 

Mr.  Heller  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  born  in  the  city  of  Quincy 
on  the  2nd  day  of  June,  1871.  He  attended  the  schools  of  this  city  and  later, 
accompanying  his  parents  to  Springfield,  completed  his  schooling,  graduat- 
ing from  the  high  school  with  the  class  of  1885. 

After  leaving  school,  he  went  west  and  was  interested  in  the  cattle 
business  in  the  state  of  Kansas;  but  when  his  father  passed  from  this  life, 
in  1888,  Mr.  Heller  returned  to  his  home  in  Illinois  and  learned  the  trade  of 
a  miller,  and  in  this  work  has  continued  with  marked  success  until  the 
present  time.  In  this  capacity  he  became  connected  with  the  firm  of  Rohm 
Bros,  of  Parke  county  in  the  year  1902,  and  in  this  locality  his  interests 
have  since  centered.  He  is  now  a  member  of  this  firm  which  holds  interests 
in  various  parts  of  Parke  county,  doing  an  extensive  milling  and  grain 
business. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  June,  1905,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Grace  M.  Hatfield,  and  she 
has  since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  their  home  in  Rockville  and  dispensed  its  hospitality. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  an  active  worker  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of 
Democracy  and  holds  a  high  position  in  the  councils  of  the  party.  During  the  campaign  of  1914  he 
was  vice-chairman  of  the  county  committee,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  for  the 
past  twenty  years. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Royal  Arch  Masons  and  the  I.  O.  O. 
F.  Encampment. 

FRANKLIN    J.    HELLER 
Franklin  J.  Heller,  a  Buckeye  by  birth,  came  to  Indiana  with  his  parents,  Hamilton  and  Lovina 
Heller,  when  a  small  boy,  and  grew  to  manhood  in  Jay  county.     After  graduating  from  the  Penn- 
ville  schools  he  taught  for  five  years.     He  graduated    from    the    University    of   Valparaiso    in    the 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


scientific  course  in  1889  and  from  the  law  department  in  1891.  He  immediately  began  his  chosen 
profession  at  Columbia   City  and  has  been  successful  as  a  lawyer. 

In  1898  he  was  elected  joint  senator  for  the  counties  of  Huntington  and  Whitley,  then  a  Re- 
publican stronghold,  by  a  majority  of  143.  He  served  as  county  attorney  for  many  years  and  also 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board  for  his  city. 

He  is  widely  known  as  a  fraternalist,  especially  as  a  Knight  of  Pythias,  and  was  their  Grand 
Chancellor  for  Indiana  in  1917-18. 

He  was  always  a  stanch  Democrat  and  at  all  times  faithful  to  William  J.  Bryan.  He  was  a 
faithful  and  regular  attendant  at  his  party's  conventions,  county,  state  and  national,  giving  coun- 
sel and  assistance  in  promulgating  the  principles  of  Democracy. 

He  was  born  February  14,  1865,  and  was  married  June  3,  1891,  to  Miss  Florence  Pence  of 
Columbia  City,  and  she  has  been  the  presiding  genius  of  the  home  then  established.  Three  daugh- 
ters have  blessed  their  home,  Kate,  Grace  and  Lois.  Kate  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Chicago  in  1918  and  has  been  a  successful  teacher  of  English  in  the  high  schools  of  Fort  Wayne 
and  Pueblo,  Colorado.  Grace  is  married  and  is  living  in  Aberdeen,  South  Dakota,  and  Lois  is  at 
home  and  in  the  high  school. 


JOHN  HERBERT  HELLER 

The  present  managing  editor  of  the  Decatur  Daily  Democrat,  John  Herbert  Heller,  is  widely 
known  throughout  the  State  as  a  stanch  Democrat  and  active  party  worker,  but  also  as  a  newspaper 
man  of  unusual  intelligence  and  ability,  who  has  made  his  paper  a  real  power  in  the  community.  He 
was  born  on  the  4th  day  of  May,  1873,  and  attended  the  schools  of  Decatur,  graduating  from  the 
high  school  of  that  city  in  June,  1890,  continuing  his  studies  in  the  Indianapolis  Law  School,  Indiana 
University,  graduating  therefrom  in  May,  1897.  On  the  29th  day  of  November,  1899,  his  marriage 
to  Miss  Martha  A.  Peterson  was  solemnized,  and  in  the  same  year  he  became  connected  with  the 
paper  which  he  now  controls. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  various  movements  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  in  this  respect  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  Judge  D.  D.  Heller.  In  the  year 
1910  he  was  appointed  assistant  secretary  of  the  Democratic  state  convention,  and  in  1912  and  1914 
he  served  as  secretary  of  these  gatherings.  In  1912,  also,  he  served  as  alternate  delegate  to  the  na- 
tional convention  at  Baltimore.  Despite  his  interest  in  the  doings  of  the  party,  however,  the  only 
political  position  which  he  has  ever  held  has  been  that  of  file  clerk  in  the  legislature  of  1909.  He  i.s 
at  present  the  Eighth  District  member  of  the  managing  committee  of  the  Democratic  Editorial  Asso- 
ciation, and  holds  an  influential  position  among  the  newspaper  men  of  the  State. 


PHILIP  BERNARD  HEMMIG 

Philip  Bernard  Hemmig  was  born  on  a  farm  one  mile  west  of  Rad- 
nor, Carroll  county,  Indiana,  January  4,  1873.  He  lived  there  with  his 
father,  brother  and  grandmother  until  1894,  when  he  moved  to  Ockley,  Ind. 
He  completed  the  common  school  course  and  attended  the  C.  N.  C.  College. 
He  completed  the  scientific  and  law  courses. 

At  eighteen  Mr.  Hemmig  began  teaching  school.  In  1903  he  was 
elected  county  superintendent  of  schools  and  has  twice  since  been  re-elected. 

As  soon  as  he  became  of  age  he  took  an  active  interest  in  politics  and 
under  his  management  Madison  township  gave  the  largest  majorities  for 
the  Democratic  ticket. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Red  Men,  L  0.  0.  F.,  Knights  of  Pythias  lodges, 
also  of  all  the  Masonic  bodies.  In  1900  he  was  married  to  Nora  Joy,  a 
native  of  Indiana.  They  have  a  family  of  six  children:  Eva,  Floyd,  Melvin, 
Dorthea,  Dora  and  Arline. 

He  has  been  remarkably  successful  as  scholar,  school  officer,  musician 
and  politician.     In  politics  he  has  always  been  considered  a  true-blue  Democrat 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


JOSEPH  P.  HEMPHILL 

Having  served  the  commonwealth  for  sixteen  years  in  the  capacity  of  county 
auditor,  and  having  held  other  positions  of  responsibility  within  the  gift  of  the 
people,  Joseph  P.  Hemphill  is  too  well  known  in  southeastern  Indiana  to  need  an 
introduction. 

Mr.  Hemphill  was  born  near  the  scene  of  his  present  home  on  the  2nd  day  of 
September,  1853,  and  his  schooling  was  received  in  the  schools  of  Rising  Sun.  Later, 
however,  a  commercial  course  was  taken  in  Cincinnati.  Returning  to  his  home  in 
Rising  Sun,  he  became  identified  with  the  business  life  of  the  place,  reading  law 
under  the  late  Judge  A.  C.  Downey,  and  soon  thereafter  became  a  prominent  factor  in 
political  affairs.  He  was  elected  for  four  terms  of  four  years  each  as  auditor  of  Ohio 
county  and  three  terms  as  city  treasurer  of  Rising  Sun.  He  has  also  served  the  Democratic  party  as 
county  chairman,  and  was  for  years  a  member  of  the  county  central  committee.  In  the  fall  of  1914 
he  was  elected  joint  senator  to  represent  the  counties  of  Dearborn,  Franklin  and  Ohio,  and  in  the  as- 
sembly of  1915  was  a  prominent  member.  His  political  activities  are  well  recognized  throughout  south- 
eastern Indiana.  Aside  from  his  political  connections,  he  has  been  prominent  in  business,  for  25 
years  the  leading  druggist  of  his  city  and  at  all  times  identified  with  the  uplift  of  Rising  Sun  and  the 
promotion  of  her  business  interests  and  the  well-doing  of  her  people. 


EB.  HENDERSON 

One  of  the  most  interesting  members  of  the  Indiana  Democracy  is  Eb. 
Henderson,  a  pioneer  of  Morgan  county,  born  June  2,  1833,  on  a  farm  north- 
east of  Martinsville,  and,  after  four  score  years  of  residence  in  the  county, 
still  living  in  the  old  homestead.  His  wife,  formerly  Ann  E.  Hunt,  to  whom 
he  was  married  in  October,  1856,  is  still  .his  faithful  companion,  now  seven- 
ty-seven years  of  age. 

Following  his  graduation  from  the  country  schools  of  the  county  he 
attended  Indiana  University  three  years,  taking  a  scientific  course.  In 
1854,  a  year  before  leaving  college,  he  drove  from  Bloomington  to  Martins- 
ville to  cast  his  first  Democratic  vote,  making  the  trip  in  one  day.  In  1860 
he  was  elected  county  treasurer  for  a  two-year  term,  the  only  Democrat 
elected  in  the  county.  In  1868  he  was  elected  joint  senator  from  Johnson 
and  Morgan  counties,  and  in  the  following  assembly  was  one  of  two  Demo- 
crats detailed  to  stay  and  register  a  protest  against  the  enfranchisement  of 
the  negro,  all  other  Democratic  members  resigning.  He  was  returned  also 
to  the  legislature  of  1871,  and  in  1874  was  elected  auditor  of  state  over  seven  other  candidates  for 
nomination,  including  Hon.  John  B.  Stoll,  and  in  this  capacity  served  two  terms.  During  Cleveland's 
first  administration  he  held  the  post  of  assistant  commissioner  of  internal  revenue;  and  in  1910  was 
elected  county  assessor,  being  nominated  fifty  years  to  a  day  after  his  first  nomination  to  the  position 
of  county  treasurer.  He  is  perhaps  better  remembered  by  the  present  living  Democracy  of  Indiana 
as  chairman  of  the  state  central  committee  in  the  Cleveland  and  Blaine  campaign  of  1884. 


JOSEPH  E.  HENSLEY 

Joseph  E.  Hensley.  treasurer  of  Monroe  county,  has  won  and  maintained  his  posi- 
tion by  virtue  of  his  sterling  qualities  and  energetic  methods  of  work. 

Mr.  Hensley  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  Indiana,  February  24,  1869.  After  his 
graduation  from  the  common  schools  of  Bloomington  he  took  a  course  at  the  Central 
Normal  College  at  Danville. 

On  the  22nd  day  of  April,  1894,  Mr.  Hensley  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Rhoda  J.  Jacobs,  and  to  her  he  attributes  a  great  share  of  his  business  success.  Be- 
fore he  attained  his  "majority  he  entered  the  educational  field,  engaging  in  teaching 
and  farming,  and  is  now  the  owner  of  two  fine  farms  and  a  handsome  home;  also 
the  father  of  two  charming  daughters,  of  whom  he  is  naturally  proud. 
'ear  1910  Mr.  Hensley  was  nominated  for  county  commissioner,  but  he  was  defeated  by 
a  Republican  stronghold.     Two  years  later    he    was    unanimously   nominated    for    county 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


treasurer  and   was  elected   by  a   majority  of  666.     In  1914  he  was  again  nominated  without  opposi- 
tion and  was  elected  for  a  second  term. 

Mr.  Hensley  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  party  ranks,  serving  eight  years  as  township 
committeeman  and  otherwise  rendering  valued  seivice.  Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  order  of 
Red  Men. 

WILLIAM  B.  HENRY 

A  representative  citizen  and  successful  farmer  of  Pulaski  county  is  Wil- 
liam  B.  Henry;  and  as  a  public  official  and  leader  in  the  ranks  of  Democracy, 
his  record  is  most  creditable. 

Mr.  Henry  was  born  in  Boone  county,  Ind.,  on  a  farm,  on  the  ninth  day 
of  January,  186.5.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  and  later 
pursued  his  studies  at  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville.  A  course  was 
also  taken  at  the  State  Normal  School  of  Terre  Haute.  Following  his  gradu- 
ation he  entered  the  educational  field,  and  later  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  Lebanon.  Here  he  remained  for  eleven  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  he  came  to  Pulaski  county  for  residence,  where  he  soon  became  identi- 
fied with  the  business  and  political  life  of  the  community.  In  1908  he  wa.^ 
elected  to  the  position  of  county  recorder,  and  in  1912  was  re-elected. 

Mrs.  Henry,  to  whom  he  was  maj-ried  at  Paris,  Illinois,  in  the  year  1884, 
was  formerly  Miss  Emma  A.  Harper;  and  she  has  proved  a  worthy  helpmate 
throughout  his  career. 


CHARLES  R.  HERTENSTEIN 

The  incumbent  of  the  position  of  superintendent  of  schools  of  Ripley  county, 
Charles  R.  Hertenstein,  is  eminently  fitted  by  education,  by  experience  and  by  his 
natural  qualifications  for  the  position  which  he  occupies. 

He  is  a  native  of  Indiaua,  born  on  the  1.5th  day  of  March,  1879.  He  attended  the 
common  schools  of  Ripley  county,  and  at  an  early  age  entered  the  educational  field, 
teaching  in  the  schools  of  the  county.  In  the  year  1899  he  entered  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Terre  Haute  for  a  course  of  study  in  the  higher  branches  and  in  pedagogy, 
and  following  his  graduation,  in  1909,  he  was  the  superintendent  of  the  commissioned 
high  school  at  Amo,  Indiana,  two  years  and  then  returned  to  Ripley  county  for 
further  work  in  his  chosen  field. 

In  the  year  1911  he  was  chosen  for  the  responsibilities  of  county  superintendent,  and  in  this 
pacity  he  has  since  served,  placing  the  schools  in  his  care  upon  a  high  plane. 

Mrs.  Hertenstein,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  the  year  1909.  was  formerly  Miss  Grace  Evans, 
Terre  Haute. 

Mr.  Hertenstein  and  family  now  reside  in  Versailles,  Ind. 


JOEL  WILLIS  HIATT 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Indiana,  June 
10,  1850.  He  is  the  son  of  Harmon  and  Mary  (Harris)  Hiatt.  He  is  of  un- 
broken anti-Revolution,  Quaker  lineage.  At  eight  years  of  age  he  moved 
to  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and 
at  Wabash  college.  He  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1873,  with 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  Subsequently  he  was  a  student  at  Harvard  Divinity 
School.  In  1873  he  moved  to  Mount  Vernon,  Indiana,  where  he  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  high  school  and  later  was  superintendent  of  the  schools  at  New 
Harmony. 

In  1885  he  was  appointed  document  clerk  of  the  U.  S.  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, through  the  influence  of  Hon.  John  J.  Kleiner.  He  held  this 
position  until  1895,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  years  of  the  50th  con- 
gress, which  was  Republican,  and  went  out  of  office  in  December,  1895, 
with  his  party.  In  1889,  fifteen  years  after  graduation,  he  was  given  the 
degree  of  A.  M.  by  Wabash  College  on  account  of  the  reputation  which  he 
had  gained  for  knowledge  of  public  documents. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

He  has  been  secretary  and  chairman  of  the  Democratic  central  committee  of  Posey  county  and, 
since  13  years  of  age,  has  been  an  unswerving  Democrat.  He  is  interested  in  farming,  and  has  con- 
cerned himself  with  the  public  parks  of  New  Harmony  and  its  public  library.  For  the  latter,  which 
embraces  about  20,000  volumes,  he  succeeded  in  securing  an  up-to-date  organization  and  management. 


DAVID    A.    HIGGINS 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above  is  a  native  and  lifelong  resident  of  Hendriclts 
county,  and  has,  since  attaining  his  majority,  been  prominently  identified  with  the  business  and 
political  affairs  of  the  community. 

David  A.  Higgins  was  born  in  Marion  township,  Hendricks  county,  on  the  30th  of  June,  1850. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  the  county  and  later  continued  his  studies  at  Hopkins  Academy, 
Ladoga. 

On  December  1,  1881,  Mr.  Higgins  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Angeline  Hunt  and  estab- 
lished his  home  in  Danville. 

Mr.  Higgins  served  his  party  as  county  chairman  for  ten  consecutive  years,  beginning  this 
work  in  the  year  1904.  Appointed  deputy  oil  inspector  for  the  state  of  Indiana,  this  position  he 
now  holds.  Mr.  Higgins  is  a  lifelong  Democrat  and  has  attended  many  conventions  as  delegate 
since  casting  his  first  vote  in  1872.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club,  the  Masonic 
order  and  the  Christian  church  of  Danville. 

WRIGHT   J.   HINKLE 

Wright  J.  Hinkle,  one  of  the  most  zealous  workers  in  the  ranks  of  Indiana  Democracy,  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Jasper  county,  on  the  15th  day  of  October,  1863.  When  he  was  but  two  years 
of  age  his  parents  moved  to  White  county  and  in  the  schools  of  that  locality  his  education  was 
received. 

On  December  23,  1884,  Mr.  Hinkle  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  E.  Horner,  and  to 
this  union  have  been  born  three  daughters. 

Mr.  Hinkle  is  a  successful  farmer  and  stock  raiser  and  the  proprietor  of  a  furniture  and 
undertaking  establishment  in  Monon,  his  home  town.  He  is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Demo- 
cratic ancestors,  and  he  himself  is  a  most  zealous  worker  for  the  cause,  though  refusing  to  accept 
office.  For  twenty  years,  however,  he  has  served  the  party  as  committeeman.  He  is  affiliated 
with  the  orders  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Red  Men  and  has  a  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the 
state. 

JOHN   HIPSKIND 

John  Hipskind,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Wabash,  and  native  of  Bavaria,  Germany,  was  born  on 
the  17th  day  of  November,  1850.  In  1854  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  America,  the  family  lo- 
cating in  Wabash.  There  he  attended  school,  and  early  became  a  building  contractor,  erecting 
most  of  the  prominent  buildings  in  that  city  between  1874  and  1907.  Since  the  latter  date  he  has 
been  engaged  in  the  heating  and  plumbing  business. 

In  1888  Mr.  Hipskind  was  elected  a  member  of  the  city  council  for  a  two-year  term,  and  again, 
in  1909,  he  was  elected  to  membership  in  that  body  for  a  term  of  four  years.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee  for  twenty  years,  beginning  in  1884. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Hipskind  is  allied  with  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America,  the  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  has  been  treasurer  of  the  Home 
Telephone  Company  since  its  organization,  treasurer  of  a  building  and  loan  association  for  sixteen 
years  and  of  the  county  central  committee  for  eight  years. 

On  May  28,  1873,  Mr.  Hipskind  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Barbara  S.  Fleck. 

JOSEPH    M.    HIRSCH 

One  of  the  most  successful  business  men  in  Perry  county,  Joseph  M.  Hirsch  is  a  native  of 
Germany  and  a  self-made  man.  He  was  born  on  the  6th  day  of  August,  1875,  and  attended  the 
schools  of  Amberg,  Nuremberg,  Munich  and  Heidalberg,    Germany.      At   the   age   of   twenty   years, 


(924) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

however,  he  came  to  America,  arriving  here  without  funds,  but  managed  to  continue  his  studies  at 
St.  Meinrad,  Indiana. 

On  the  22nd  day  of  November,  1900,  Mr.  Hirsch  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Katie  B. 
Snyder  and  established  his  home  in  Cannelton,  where  he  has  since  remained  and  where  his  business 
interests  have  centered. 

Mr.  Hirsch  is  an  extensive  holder  of  real  estate  in  Cannelton  and  a  stockholder  in  the  Cannel- 
ton National  Bank,  of  which  he  is  assistant  cashier.  He  is  also  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Cannelton  Sewer  Pipe  Company,  one  of  the  largest  concerns  of  the  kind  in  the  state. 

Politically,  Mr.  Hirsch  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  having  allied  himself  with  this  party  soon  after 
his  arrival  in  this  country,  and  he  has  contributed  valuable  service  to  the  local  organizations.  In 
the  fall  of  1914  he  was  nominated  for  joint  senator  from  Perry,  Crawford  and  DuBois  counties 
and  served  in  the  assembly  of  1915  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituency. 

Mr.  Hirsch  is  an  active  miinber  of  the  Kni{rhts  of  Columbus,  its  state  trea-surer,  and  the  only 
fourth  degree  member  of  that  organization  in  Perry  county.  He  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Loyal 
Order  of  Moose. 

PETER   L.   HIRSCH 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  article  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  his  birth 
having  occurred  on  the  10th  day  of  December,  1876;  but  in  his  childhood  he  was  brought  to  the 
city  of  Cedar  Grove,  Indiana,  where  he  has  since  remained.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Cincinnati 
for  a  time  and  later  continued  his  studies  in  Cedar  Grove.  During  the  years  from  1900  to  1904 
he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  Cincinnati,  but  at  the  expiration  of  this  period  resumed 
his  residence  in  Cedar  Grove  and  became  the  proprietor  of  a  saloon.  He  was  united  in  marriage 
to   Miss   Katherine   Werstefeld.     Both   are   communicants  of  the   Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Hirsch  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  and  of  the  Catholic  Order  of  For- 
esters and  enjoys  a  vnde  acquaintance  throughout  the  county  of  Franklin.  Since  attaining  his 
majority  he  has  uniformly  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  and  is  known  as  a  loyal  party  worker. 

SAMUEL  V.   HITE 

Samuel  V.  Hite,  surveyor  of  Huntington  county,  was  born  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  on  the 
16th  day  of  August,  1866.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  later  continued  his 
studies  at  the  Fairfield  Union  Academy  and  the  National  Normal  University.  Then  followed  a 
term  in  the  Northwestern  Business  University,  which  he  left  to  assume  the  duties  connected  with 
his  mother's  farm  in  Huntington  county.  Two  years  later,  on  the  .3rd  day  of  January,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Ella  L.  Broyles,  of  Fairfield  county. 

For  twelve  years  Mr.  Hite  was  engaged  in  managing  various  oil  properties  for  large  foreign 
corporations,  retiring  from  this  field  to  accept  the  position  of  county  surveyor,  to  which  he  was 
nominated  without  his  knowledge  or  consent  and  elected  in  1912.  In  1914  he  was  renominated  by 
acclamation  and  again  elected. 

Mr.  Hite  is  an  active  member  of  the  Huntington  Commercial  Club  and  has  passed  through  all 
of  the  chairs  in  the  local  lodge  of  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias. 

JOSEPH   O.   HOFFMAN 

The  juvenile  court  in  its  methods  and  results  differs  from  all  other  courts,  seeking  primarily 
to  accomplish  constructive  work  in  bringing  together  the  warring  elements  of  home  life  which  work 
to  the  detriment  of  children.  In  this  work  peculiar  characteristics  are  demanded  of  the  attaches  of 
the  court;  and  in  the  present  prosecutor  we  find  a  man  eminently  fitted  for  the  position. 

Joseph  O.  Hoffman  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  7th  day  of  November,  1889.  He  attended  the 
local  schools  of  his  home  district,  continued  his  studies  at  St.  Mary's  College,  Kansas,  and  then  took 
a  course  at  Georgetown  University,  from  the  legal  department  of  which  he  was  graduated.  Soon 
afterward  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Marion  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  law 
in  Indianapolis.  In  this  work  he  has  evinced  conscientious  zeal  and  loyalty  to  his  clients.  On  the 
14th  day  of  June,  1914,  he  assumed  the  position  of  prosecutor  for  the  juvenile  court  of  Indianapolis. 

Politically,  Mr.  Hoffman  has  been  a  stanch  and  loyal  Democrat,  rendering  efficient  service  to 
the  local  organizations  and  in  every  possible  way  contributing  to  the  success  of  the  party. 


(925) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


EDWARD  GEORGE  HOFFMAN 

Edward  George  Hoflfman,  Democratic  national  committee- 
man for  Indiana  for  several  years  from  1916,  was  bom  in  this 
state,  October  1,  1878.  His  early  education  was  secured 
through  the  public  schools  and  included  a  course  in  the  Harlan 
high  school,  .\fter  his  graduation  there  he  took  a  course  at 
Valparaiso  College  and  then  entered  the  law  department  of 
the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1903.  Taking  up  his 
residence  in  Fort  Wayne,  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion and  soon  took  a  high  rank  at  the  bar,  becoming  a  mem- 
ber of  the  well-known  firm  of  Barrett,  Morris  and  Hoffman. 
This  firm  was  engaged  in  much  of  the  most  important  litiga- 
tion of  northeastern  Indiana. 

Interested  from  his  earliest  manhood  in  politics,  Mr.  Hoff- 
man became  active  in  the  organization  work  of  the  Democratic 
party  at  an  early  age  and  in  1906  served  as  county  chairman 
in  Allen  county.  Two  years  later  he  was  made  a  member  of 
the  state  committee  for  the  twelfth  congressional  district,  and 
such  was  the  energy  and  ability  he  displayed  in  this  connec- 
tion that  he  was  re-elected  in  1910,  1912  and  1914.  From  1909 
to  1914  he  served  the  commonwealth  as  county  attorney. 
In  the  senatorial  contest  of  1909,  when  Senator  Shively 
was  the  caucus  nominee,  Mr.  Hoffman,  then  but  thirty-one  years  of  age,  was  presented  as  the 
candidate  of  the  12th  district,  and  the  dignified  manner  in  which  his  candidacy  was  urged  made  a 
favorable   impression   on   the   state   and   served   to  fix  his  status  in  Indiana  politics. 

In  1916,  on  the  retirement  of  Senator  Thomas  Taggart  from  the  national  committee,  Mr.  Hoff- 
man was  unanimously  elected  as  his  successor,  and  he  carried  to  his  new  position  the  zeal  which 
characterized  him  in  all  the  positions  he  ever  held.  In  1918  he  was  appointed  by  the  national  alien 
property  custodian  the  attorney  for  Indiana,  a  position  in  which  he  served  the  government  without 
compensation. 

A  33rd  degree  Mason,  an  Elk,  and  a  Knight  of  Pythias,  Mr.  Hoffman  also  is  a  member  of  the 
Fort  Wayne  University  club,  Country  club  and  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the  Indiana  Demo- 
cratic club  of  Indianapolis.  He  is  actively  engaged  in  business  enterprises  and  is  vice-president  of 
the  Tri-State  Trust  Company  and  secretary-treasurer  of  the  Fort  Wayne  Journal-Gazette  Company, 
also  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Deister  Machine  Company. 

Mr.  Hoffman's  wife  was  Miss  Emily  R.  Hoffman,  of  Fort  Wayne,  their  marriage  having  been 
solemnized  on  the  7th  of  May,  1912,  and  in  her  he  has  found  a  worthy  second  in  the  various  responsi- 
bilities and  undertakings  which  came  to  him. 


PETER  HOLZER 

In  the  hands  of  the  newspaper  editor  lie  great  responsibilities  to  the  community  in  which  he  lives 
and  works,  and  the  influence  wielded  by  a  man  of  sterling  qualities  in  this  position  is  great.  Appre- 
ciating this  fact,  the  subject  of  this  article,  Peter  Holzer,  has  been  a  great  force  for  good  in  Ripley 
county  and  vicinity. 

Mr.  Holzer  is  a  true  product  of  Ripley  county,  born  in  Shelby  township  on  the  4th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1870.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  later  pursued  his  studies  at  the  Indi- 
ana State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute. 

On  the  12th  day  of  November,  1899,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Adda  Adams,  and  their 
home  was  established  in  Batesville. 

In  the  state  general  assembly  of  1911  he  held  the  position  of  journal  clerk,  and  in  this  work 
formed  many  friendships  with  noted  persons.  Since  the  year  1905  Mr.  Holzer  has  held  the  position 
of  editor  of  the  Democratic  Herald  of.  Batesville,  a  paper  whose  principles  are  declared  by  its  name. 
In  February,  1908,  a  corporation  was  formed  including  Mr.  Charles  V.  Hert  and  Mrs.  Adda  Holzer, 
and  it  is  now  being  published  under  this  management. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Holzer.  now  nearing  the  age  of  three  score  years  and  ten,  is  also  a  lifelong 


(926) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

Democrat.  The  son.  Peter  Holzer,  has  been  a  frequent  attendant  of  county,  district  and  state  con- 
ventions and  in  1914  was  precinct  committeeman.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Masons  at  Bates- 
ville;  also  a  member  of  the  Eastern  Star,  Red  Men  and  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles. 


ISAAC  HOLTON 

Isaac  Helton,  a  well  known  hotel  proprietor  of  the  city  of  Plainfield,  Indiana, 
and  prominently  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  the  town,  was  born  in  the 
state  of  Ohio  on  the  12th  day  of  October,  1853 — on  a  farm — and  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  that  state,  coming-  to  his  present  home  in  his  youth.  On 
the  7th  day  of  October,  1875,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Christiana  Trichler 
of  Bloomington,  and  she  has  since  been  his  faithful  companion.  Following  his  re- 
moval to  Plainfield  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business,  and  in  this  field  he  has  continued 
until  the  present  time,  being  the  proprietor  of  the  Commercial  Hotel.  He  also  served 
as  postmaster  of  the  city  during  President  Cleveland's  last  administration.  He  has 
been  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  serving  many  times  as 
delegate  to  congressional  and  state  conventions;  and  was  also  alternate  delegate  to  the  national 
vention  at  Denver  in  1908. 


THOMAS  M.  HONAN 

Born  in  Seymour,  Indiana.  After  graduating  at  Indiana  University  he  entered  into  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  his  native  city.  Was  appointed  city  attorney,  elected  three  times  to  the  office  of 
prosecuting  attorney  in  the  judicial  district  comprising  Jackson,  Washington  and  Orange  coun- 
ties. Afterwards  he  was  three  times  the  representative  of  Jackson  county,  serving  as  speaker  of 
the  66th  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana.  Attorney-general  of  the  State  of  Indiana 
from    1911    to    1914    inclusive.      Is   now   practicing  law  at  Seymour,  Indiana. 


FRANK  ASBURY   HORNER 
Frank  Asbury  Horner  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Indiana,  in  the  town  of 
Fredericksburg,  April  18,  1849.     He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Jacob  S.  Horner.     He  gradu- 
ated from  the  University  at  Greencastle  in  the  class  of  1870,  and  began  the  practice 
of  law  at  New  Albany.     He  moved  to  Brazil  in  1871  and  made  that  his  permanent 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee  as  chairman  lu 
the  fifth  congressional  district  from  1896  to  1900.  From  1898  to  1902  he  was  a 
member  of  the  State  senate.  In  1890  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Clay 
county,  serving  for  four  years,  at  the  same  time  being  county  chairman  in  the  party 
organization. 

He  was  a  candidate  of  his  party  for  Congress   and  was  defeated  in  the  election.     H 
was  Attorney  Holliday,  his  law  partner  for  eighteen  years. 


WILLIAM    0.    HORTON 

William  O.  Horton  not  only  has  always  been  one  of  the  livest  Democi:«tic'  workers 
in  Hamilton  county,  but  when  in  public  office  he  was  both  popular  and  efficient.  He 
served  many  years  as  a  member  of  different  political  committees  and  as  a  delegate 
to  conventions,  bui  was  not  a  candidate  for  any  office  until  1912,  when  he  was  chosen 
auditor  of  the  county.    He  was  re-elected  in  recognition  of  his  efficient  service. 

Mr.  Horton  was  born  and  reared  on  the  farm,  receiving  most  of  his  education  in 
the  neighboring  schools,  and  spent  most  of  his  successful  life  as  a  farmer  and  in  buy- 
ing and  selling  live  stock,  doing  the  largest  business  in  the  county  in  this  line.  His 
farm  is  one  of  the  models,  not  only  of  the  county,  but  of  the  state.  His  success  in  both 
business  and  politics  has  been  far  above  the  average. 

Mr.  Horton  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Sumner  on  September  14,  1881. 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 
JUDGE   MILTON   B.   HOTTEL 

Recognized  throughout  the  state  as  an  authority  in  the  legal  profession,  now  a  resident  of 
Indianapolis  and  one  of  her  prominent  citizens,  Judge  Milton  B.  Hottel  is  best  known  in  Washing- 
ton county,  where  most  of  his  life  has  been  spent,  and  which  locality,  to  him,  is  "home." 

Judge  Hottel  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Indiana,  May  1,  1860.  During  his  boyhood  he 
accompanied  his  parents  to  Washington  county,  where  the  family  located.  Following  his  graduation 
from  the  high  school  of  Salem,  he  became  engaged  in  educational  work,  teaching  school  for  a  year. 
Later  he  matriculated  at  Indiana  University  and  in  1882  was  graduated  from  that  institution. 
He  spent  the  following  two  years  in  a  store  with  his  father,  in  Salem,  and  then  entered  the  law 
office  of  John  A.  Zearing  for  the  purpose  of  reading  law.  A  year  later  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Washington  county  and  formed  a  partnership  with  his  preceptor,  under  the  firm  name  of  Zearing 
&  Hottel,  an  association  which  continued  until  the  death  of  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  in  1898. 
These  years  Judge  Hottel  has  always  regarded  as  valued  years  of  growth  and  development  in  his 
profession.  From  this  time  forward  his  rise  in  the  legal  profession  was  rapid,  and  his  abilities  as 
an  attorney  were  soon  recognized  beyond  his  home  community. 

In  the  year  1910  Judge  Hottel  was  elected  to  the  position  of  judge  of  the  Appellate  court  of 
Indiana  for  a  term  of  six  years,  and  upon  assuming  the  duties  of  this  office  he  located  in  Indian- 
apolis, establishing  his  residence  in  Woodruff  Place,  a  beautiful  and  exclusive  residence  district  of 
the  capital.  Judge  Hottel's  administration  of  the  affairs  in  his  charge  evidenced  efficiency  and  con- 
scientious zeal,  and  his  decisions  from  the  bench  were  characterized  by  just  discrimination  and  fair- 
ness to  the  various  parties  in  litigation.  Renominated  by  his  party,  he  was  elected  for  a  further 
term  of  six  years,  and  in  this  capacity  is  still  serving. 

On  January  17,  1888,  Judge  Hottel  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cora  H.  Harris,  who  has 
been  a  worthy  second  in  her  husband's  labors.  Five  children  born  to  this  union  are  living  to  add 
inspiration  to  their  home  life,  and  two  have  been  called  from  the  family  circle  by  death. 

Notwithstanding  his  success  in  the  legal  profession  and  in  the  social  world,  Judge  Hottel  has 
found  time  to  engage  in  farming  upon  a  large  scale,  and  his  large  apple  orchard  and  persimmon 
orchard  of  three  thousand  trees  bear  evidence,  in  their  close  and  successful  culture,  that  a  master 
hand  controls  the  estate  near   Salem,  in  Washington  county. 

During  his  years  in  college  Judge  Hottel  became  affiliated  with  the  Greek  letter  fraternity, 
Phi  Gamma  Delta.  He  also  is  an  active  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  Politically,  he  has  consistently  adhered  to  the  principles  promulgated  by  Jefferson,  and  his 
influence  and  service  have  been  highly  valued  in  the  counsels  of  the  local  and  state  organizations  of 
the  Democratic  party. 


E.  M.  HOWARD 
The  gentleman  named  above  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  town  of  Oxford,  Benton  county, 
Indiana,  this  event  occurring  on  the  24th  of  April,  1848.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Benton 
county,  but  entered  the  army  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen  years,  enlisting  in  the  155th  Indiana  Volun- 
teers. For  the  past  forty-seven  years  he  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  hold- 
ing the  position  of  claim  agent  on  the  Logansport  Division  for  fourteen  years.  His  father  was  a  promi- 
nent Democrat  of  Benton  county,  serving  as  county  clerk  for  three  terms,  also  as  auditor,  treasurer 
and  recorder.  Mr.  Howard  is  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R.  He  has  always  been  active  in  the  counsels 
of  the  Democratic  party,  serving  as  chairman  of  the  county  committee  for  two  years,  and  for  many 
years  a  delegate  to  county  and  state  conventions  and  a  visitor  to  all  Democratic  national  conventions. 


WILLIAM  F.   HO  WAT,   M.   D. 

A  native  of  Prince  Edward  Island,  Canada,  born  in  that  province  on  the  2nd  day  of  June,  1869,  and 
educated  in  its  schools.  Dr.  Howat  is  none  the  less  a  loyal  Hoosier  and  a  valued  citizen  of  the  city  of 
Hammond. 

Following  his  graduation  from  the  Prince  of  Wales  College,  Canada,  he  entered  upon  the  study 
of  the  medical  profession  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  graduating  from  this  institution  in  the 
year  1892.    The  same  year  he  located  in  Packerton,  Kosciusko  county,  and  for  three  years  engaged  in 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

the  active  practice  of  medicine.  In  this  year,  also,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  A.  Webb, 
who  has  since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home. 

In  1895  they  came  to  Hammond,  and  here  their  social  and  business  interests  have  since  centered. 

In  1896  he  was  candidate  for  coroner.  Later  he  became  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  Lake 
county  and  for  more  than  six  years  devoted  his  efforts  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  school  system.  He  has 
also  been  a  member  of  the  library  board  since  its  organization  in  1904.  During  the  years  1911-12 
he  served  as  president  of  the  state  medical  society,  marked  evidence  of  his  high  standing  in  the  medi- 
cal profession  of  the  State.     He  was  a  candidate  for  mayor  in  the  primaries  of  191.3. 

Dr.  Howat  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  order  (.32nd  degree  and  Knights  Templar)  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 


JAMES  H.  HUMPHREYS 

James  H.  Humphreys  was  born  in  Greene  county,  Indiana,  July  22,  1853,  being 
a  member  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  families  in  the  county.  His  father, 
Andrew  Humphreys,  settled  in  Greene  county  in  1842  and  was  one  of  the  best  known 
public  men  in  Southern  Indiana,  having  served  more  times,  either  as  a  representative 
or  a  senator  in  the  general  assembly,  and  voted  for  more  United  States  senator.<^, 
than  perhaps  any  other  man  of  his  day.  He  served  his  first  session  in  1849  and  hi.s 
last  session  in  1897.  In  addition  to  his  long  service  as  a  legislator,  he  was  Indian 
agent  for  the  territory  of  Utah  under  President  Buchanan's  administration  and  was 
elected  and  served  as  a  member  of  Congress  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  James  D. 
Williams,  who  was  elected  as  governor  of  Indiana  before  his  term  as  congressman 
expired. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  James  H.  Humphreys,  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Mattie  Jackson,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1877.  Mrs.  Humphreys  died  in  the  spring  of  1879.  His 
second  wife  was  Miss  Eva  Schloot,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1883.  He  has  six  children,  four  sons 
and  two  daughters. 

Mr.  Humphreys,  like  his  father,  has  always  been  an  old-time  Jeffersonian  Democrat,  believing 
always  in  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  and  in  the  perpetuity  of  the  same.  He  was  born  and 
reared  on  a  farm,  taught  school  in  his  early  days,  was  in  the  mercantile  business  for  several  years, 
and  was  cashier  of  the  Linton  bank  for  seventeen  years. 

He  has  never  held  but  one  political  office,  and  that  is  the  one  he  now  holds,  a  member  of  the 
senate  of  Indiana,  being  elected  for  the  counties  of  Greene,  Owen  and  Monroe,  on  the  third  day  of 
November,  1914. 


LORENZO    B.    HUMPHRIES 

Having  been  an  active  worker  in  the  party  ranks  since  his  youth  and 
for  many  years  the  incumbent  of  various  positions  of  responsibility  and 
trust  in  the  public  service,  Lorenzo  B.  Humphries  is  well  known  to  the 
citizens  of  Parke  county. 

Mr.  Humphries  was  born  in  Virginia  on  October  6,  1853.  He  attended 
the  county  schools  of  his  home  district  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years 
came  to  Indiana,  an  orphan  seeking  employment.  The  following  year,  on 
the  12th  day  of  October,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Rachel  E.  Lam- 
bert, and  she  has  been  a  faithful  second  in  all  his  efforts  for  advancement. 

Since  he  attained  his  majority  Mr.  Humphries  has  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  activities  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Owen  county  and  in  1892  was 
county  chairman.  During  President  Cleveland's  administration  he  held  the 
position  of  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Rockville  throughout  the  term  of  four 
years,  and  in  1908  was  elected  township  trustee.  During  this  campaign  he 
was  forced  on  the  ticket  to  fill  it  up,  the  township  being  a  Republican  strong- 
hold, but  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  78  and  in  this  position  remained  until  March  15,  1914.  On 
this  date  he  received  his  appointment  from  Pres  dent  Wilson  to  the  postmastership  of  Rockville, 
and  to  this  work  his  energies  are  now  devoted. 

Mr.  Humphries  has  served  the  party  as  dele  gate  to  many  state  and  congressional  conventions, 


30— History 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

and  was  for  four  terms  chairman  of  the  county  organization.  Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  or- 
der of  Knights  of  Pythias,  among  the  membership  of  which  order  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance  and  is 
held  in  high  esteem. 


CHARLES   EDGAR   HUDSON 

The  city  of  Connersville  is  the  home  of  many  citizens  in  whom  it  takes  just  pride, 
men  of  progressive  ideas  and  methods  who  labor  zealously  for  the  public  good.  To 
this  element  belonged  Charles  Edgar  Hudson. 

This  gentleman  was  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  at 
Fairfield  on  the  17th  day  of  July,  1870.  His  education  was  received  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  county.     His  wife  was  Miss  Lola  Murray  of  Matamora. 

Mr.  Hudson,  since  his  youth,  had  been  an  energetic  worker  for  the  success  of  the 
Democratic  paj-ty,  and  in  the  fall  of  1913  was  nominated  by  that  party  for  the  posi- 
tion of  city  treasurer  of  Connersville,  and.  being  elected,  assumed  the  duties  of  office 
January  5,  1914. 

Mr.  Hudson  died  on  July  13,  1918. 


BURDGE  H.  HURD 

Burdge  H.  Hurd  has  won  distinction  as  a  leading  attorney  of  Huntington  county 
and  also  in  the  educational  field  in  Iowa  and  Indiana. 

He  was  born  in  Coesse,  Whitley  county,  Indiana,  on  the  26th  day  of  August, 
1864,  and  attended  the  schools  of  this  locality  until  he  completed  the  high  school 
course,  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Iowa  and  entered  Tilford  Academy  at 
Vinton.     Following  his  graduation  here  in  1886  he  studied  at  Cornell  College,  Mt. 
Vernon,  Iowa,  and  finally  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  Ann  Arbor  Uni- 
versity in  1890.    A  period  of  ten  years  in  South  Dakota  followed  his  graduation,  and 
here  he  was  married  to  Miss  Alice  Penney  of  Parker,  on  the  6th  day  of  March,  1892. 
Here  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  and  was  for  four  years  postmaster  of  the 
city  of  Parker. 
In  1902  Mr.  Hurd  came  to  Huntington  and  continued  his  legal  work;  and  in  1910  was  appointed 
president  of  the  board  of  education  of  Huntington   for  a  term  of  three  years.    In  1914  he  assumed  the 
duties  of  county  attorney,  which  position  he  still  holds  with  great  credit.     He  is  affiliated  with  the  I. 
O.  O.  F.,  the  State  A.  O.  U.  W.  and  the  National  Union. 

Mr.  Hurd  was  county  chairman  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee  in  1903,  is  a  stanch 
and  loyal  Democratic  worker,  and  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  that  party  in  the  county;  has  attended 
every  state  convention,  as  a  delegate,  since  his  location  in  Huntington  county.  No  Democrat  in  the 
state  is  more  loyal  to  the  true  principles  of  Democracy  than  he,  and  he  is  a  tireless  worker  for  their 
advancement. 


OSCAR   JAY 

A  true  son  of  Elkhart  county,  born  and  reared  within  its  confines  and  recognized  throughout 
the  community  as  a  representative  citizen  and  the  incumbent  of  various  positions  of  responsibility 
'and  trust  in  the  service  of  the  public,  is  the  present  prosecuting  attorney,   Oscar  Jay,  of   Elkhart. 

Mr.  Jay  was  born  on  October  5,  1871,  and  his  childhood  was  spent  near  the  little  town  of 
Wakarusa.  He  received  his  early  schooling  in  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district,  later  taking 
up  the  study  of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Elkhart  county. 

On  July  16,  1902,  Mr.  Jay  was  united  in  mai-riage  to  Miss  Viola  R.  Hess,  who  died  on  No- 
vember 24,  1908. 

In  January,  1911,  Mr.  Jay  assumed  the  duties  of  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  34th 
judicial  circuit,  and  devoted  a  year  zealously  to  this  work.  Retiring  to  private  practice  for  a  sea- 
son, he  again  entered  the  public  service  as  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  same  district,  assuming  the 
duties  of  this  office  on  January  1,  1914. 

Politically,  Mr.  Jay  has  been  a  consistent  adherent  to  the  principles  of  Democracy,  giving  free- 
ly of  his  time  during  the  various  campaigns  through  which  he  has  passed  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  cause. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  18  1(5-1916 


URIAH  STOKES  JACKSON 

Uriah  Stokes  Jackson  was  born  in  Vernon  township,  Han- 
cock county,  Indiana,  July  6,  1846.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  county  and  resided  in  the  county 
continuously  until  his  death,  June  22,  1912. 

On  March  8,  1864,  he  was  married  to  Mary  J.  Thomas, 
who  died  in  1910.  To  them  were  born  seven  children,  four 
of  whom  survive  him:  Earl  and  Omer  S.  Jackson,  and  Mrs. 
Horace  Boyd  and  Mrs.  Ora  Myers,  all  of  Greenfield,  Indiana. 

In  1911  Mr.  Jackson  was  united  in  marriage  with  Grace 
Gardner. 

In  early  life  Mr.  Jackson  engaged  in  farming  and  the 
buying  and  selling  of  live  stock.  In  1889  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Greenfield,  in  partnership  with  Edward  W.  Felt, 
at  present  one  of  the  judges  of  the  appellate  court. 

He  continued  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  was 
for  many  years  in  partnership  with  Robert  L.  Mason,  until 
the  latter  became  circuit  judge  in  1906.  He  then  formed  a 
partnership  with  Earl  Sample  (now  the  judge  of  said  court) 
which  continued  until  1911. 

In  1876,  Mr.  Jackson  was  elected  township  trustee  of  his 
native  township  and  was  re-elected  in  1878  and  served  two 
terms. 


in    1886,   when   the   rest   of  the 
man  of  the  Democratic  organiza- 


ved  as  a  member  of  the  Demo- 


•  He  was  elected  sheriff  of  Hancock  county  in  1884.  and  re-elected 
Democratic  ticket  was  defeated.  In  1888  he  was  elected  county  chair 
tion  and  was  continued  through  three  successful  campaigns. 

He  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Sixth  congressional  district  and 
cratic  state  committee  through  three  campaigns. 

In  1908  he  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee  and  was  re-elected 
in  1910.  He  was  also  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  congress  in  1904  and  made  a  good  race  in  the  days 
when  no  Democrat  could  win  in  the  Sixth  District. 

On  January  8,  1911,  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  National  House  of 
Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C.,  which  position  he  continued  to  hold  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  from  his  early  manhood  a  leader  of  men.  He  had  a  passion  for  politics  and 
whether  in  defeat  or  success  never  suffered  his  zeal  for  the  cause  of  Democracy  to  abate.  He  worked 
incessantly,  and  in  the  campaigns  of  1908  and  1910  led  his  party  to  victory  in  the  State  after  many 
years  of  defeat. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  a  strong  personality  and  a  lovable  character.  He  had  an  intuitive  knowledge  of 
men  which  served  him  well  in  both  politics  and  business.  He  was  a  hard  fighter  and  a  worthy  antago- 
nist. He  kept  his  face  turned  toward  the  future  and  cherished  no  ill  will  toward  his  fellow  men  on 
account  of  things  said  or  done  in  the  many  contests  in  which  he  was  a  leading  figure. 

When  he  could  not  trust  a  man  he  quietly  let  him  alone,  but  he  clung  tenaciously  to  his  many  tried 
and  true  friends  and  associates. 

He  never  gave  up.    To  him  a  defeat  only  marked  the  beginning  of  another  contest. 

He  had  a  host  of  friends  in  his  native  county  and  was  one  of  the  best  and  most  favorably  known 
Democrats  in  Indiana.  He  was  a  delegate  to  several  national  Democratic  conventions  and  had  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  many  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  national  affairs.  For  many  years  he 
never  missed  a  district,  state  or  national  convention.  He  believed  in  the  principles  of  Democracy  and 
strove  earnestly  all  his  life  to  place  Democrats  in  public  office  to  carry  those  principles  into  effect. 

He  richly  earned  all  the  honors  that  came  to  him,  and  his  many  friends  in  his  own  and  other  par- 
ties rejoiced  in  the  recognition  of  his  loyalty  and  ability  when  the  National  House  of  Representatives 
honored  him  with  the  position  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

His  untimely  death  was  mourned  by  many  loyal  friends,  who  sincerely  regretted  that  he  could 
not  continue  to  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  high  office  to  which  he  had  so  worthily  attained. 


(  931  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

WM.  B.  JENNINGS 

The  name  of  William  B.  Jennings  is  a  familiar  one  to  the  citizens  of  Johnson  county,  as  he  has 
for  a  number  of  years  been  the  holder  of  positions  of  responsibility  in  administering  the  affairs  of  the 
commonwealth. 

Mr.  Jennings  is  a  native  of  Johnson  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  White  River  township 
on  the  fourth  day  of  January,  1852.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and  later  continued  his  studies 
at  Hanover  College.  In  the  year  1895  his  marriage  to  Miss  Claudia  B.  Cutsinger  was  solemnized  and 
their  home  established  in  Franklin. 

For  eight  years,  beginning  with  1879,  he  served  as  auditor  of  Franklin  county,  and  in  the  year 
1896  he  was  elected  county  treasurer,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  four  years.  Then  followed  an- 
other term  of  four  years  as  auditor,  after  which  he  retired  from  public  life.  His  father,  William  H. 
Jennings,  also  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Johnson  county,  having  served  as  sheriff,  county  treasurer, 
joint  senator  from  Johnson  and  Morgan  counties,  and  finally  as  mayor  of  Franklin,  which  position  he 
held  until  his  death. 


FREDERICK  H.   JESSUP 

Since  the  beginning  of  its  political  history,  Howard  county  has  been  noted  as  a  Republican 
stronghold,  and  few  indeed  have  been  the  official  positions  held  by  Democrats;  so  it  is  a  matter  of 
no  small  moment  and  a  cause  for  congratulation  when  the  important  position  of  prosecuting  attor- 
ney of  the  county  is  held  by  a  young  Democratic  worker.  Frederick  K.  Jessup,  of  Kokomo,  is 
perhaps  the  first  Democratic  incumbent  of  this  position,  and  is  justly  proud  of  the  honor.  He 
assumed  the  duties  of  the  office  on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1913. 

Mr.  Jessup  was  born  in  the  village  of  Greentown,  Howard  county,  and  attended  the  schools  of 
his  home  town.  Later  he  took  a  full  law  course  at  the  law  school  of  Indiana  University  at  Bloom- 
ington.     On  January  20,  1912,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ina  Velaer. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Jessup  has  taken  an  unusual  interest  in  political  and  munici- 
pal affairs,  and  is  deeply  interested  in  the  various  movements  for  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  community  in  which  he  lives.  During  the  various  campaign  activities  he  has  given  freely  of 
his  time  and  services  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  Democracy,  and  is  recognized  as  a  coming 
factor  in  the  councils  of  the  party  organization  in  Howard  county. 


JOSEPH    L.    JOHANNIE 

Joseph  L.  Johannie,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Laporte  county  and  a  well-known  public  official,  is 
a  true  son  of  northern  Indiana  and  devoted  to  the  interests  of  his  community. 

Mr.  Johannie  was  born  in  Indiana  on  March  31,  1873,  and  here  his  boyhood  was  spent.  He 
attended  the  schools  of  his  home  district,  and  at  an  early  age  mastered  the  principles  of  agriculture 
and  engaged  in  its  pursuit.  Since  then  Mr.  Johannie  has  found  his  greatest  pleasure  in  tilling  the 
soil,  and  even  when  engaged  in  the  greater  responsibilities  of  public  life  maintained  his  interest  in 
agricultural  affairs  and  takes  pride  in  the  fact  that  he  has  "split  more  rails  than  Abraham  Lincoln." 

In  the  year  1902  Mr.  Johannie  assumed  the  duties  of  township  assessor,  serving  in  that  capacity 
for  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period  he  was  elected  township  trustee  for  a  further  term 
of  four  years,  this  period  of  service  ending  in  1910.  In  the  fall  of  the  following  year  he  was  elected 
county  treasurer  for  a  two-year  term,  assuming  the  duties  of  office  on  January  1,  1912.  At  the  close 
of  this  period  he  was  re-elected  to  this  position  to  serve  until  January  1,  1916. 

On  September  9,  1909,  Mr.  Johannie  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Grace  E.  Ward. 


JOHN  W.  JOHNSON 

The  present  treasurer  of  Greene  county  has,  .since  his  youth,  evinced  remarkable  energy  and  abil- 
ity to  accomplish  an  unusual  amount  of  profitable  work  for  himself  and  for  the  community  in  which 
he  resides. 

This  gentleman,  Mr.  John  W.  Johnson,  is  a  native  of  Greene  county,  having  been  bom  within  its 
confines  on  the  20th  day  of  May,  1854.  Here,  also,  his  education  was  received,  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  district  and  later  at  the  Bloomfield  Normal   School.     Following  his  graduation  from  this  latter 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


1  9  1  G 


institution  he  engaged  in  educational  work,  teaching  school  in  the  winter  and  farming  in  summer; 
nor  was  this  double  labor  all  of  the  accomplishment  of  this  young  man,  for,  out  of  the  fifteen  years 
thus  employed,  six  years,  from  1880  to  1887,  were  devoted  also  to  the  performance  of  the  duties  of 
township  assessor  of  Cass   township. 

On  the  6th  day  of  December,  1890,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Caroline  Blackmore  was  solemnized. 

In  the  fall  of  1912  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  Greene  county,  assuming  the  duties  of  his  posi- 
tion on  the  first  day  of  January,  1913. 

Throughout  his  life,  Mr.  Johnson  has  been  a  consistent  Democrat,  voting  the  ticket  and  laboring 
zealously  for  the  furtherance  of  the  interests  of  the  party. 


BENJAMIN  B.  JOHNSON 
Perhaps  no  man  in  the  state  could  be  found  who  is  better  equipped  for  the  posi- 
tion of  private  secretary  to  the  governor  than  is  the  incumbent  of  this  position,  Ben- 
jamin B.  Johnson. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Marlboro,  Stark  county,  Ohio,  but  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  Kokomo,  where  he  completed  his 
schooling  in  the  high  school  of  that  city.  In  the  year  1875  he  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Mis.s  Clara  C.  Albaugh,  and  to  them  have  been  born  two  children.  Miss  Edna  and 
Fred  Bates  Johnson. 

During  their  residence  in  Kokomo  Mr.  Johnson  served  for  three  and  one-half 
years  as  deputy  postmaster,  and  for  six  years  as  bookkeeper  of  the  First  Nation 
Bank.  For  six  years,  also,  he  discharged  the  duties  of  deputy  and  county  treasu 
and  proprietor  of  the  Kokomo  Tribune  for  over  two  years.  In  the  year  1891  he  ass 
Richmond  Item  and  for  eight  years  was  editor  of  this  paper.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Richmon<l 
board  of  works  for  three  and  one-half  years  and  president  of  the  commercial  club  of  that  city.  He 
became  affiliated  with  Indiana  Democracy  in  1900,  opposing  high  tariff  and  imperialism;  and  in  Janu- 
ary, 1913,  was  appointed  private  secretary  to  Governor  Ralston. 


nd  was  editor 
control  of  the 


McCLEAN  JOHNSON 

McClean  Johnson  was  born  in  Putnam  county,  Indiana,  September 
12,  1864.  While  still  a  small  boy,  his  father,  Oliver  B.  Johngon,  moved  to 
Clay  county,  where  he  resided  the  rest  of  his  life. 

McClean  attended  the  public  school.  He  was  a  bright,  apt  pupil  and 
learned  readily.  He  later  attended  the  Indiana  State  Normal  at  Terre 
Haute,  fitting  himself  for  teaching,  which  profession  he  followed  from  the 
time  he  was  sixteen  years  old  until  within  five  years  of  his  death. 

When  a  mere  boy  of  eight  years  he  acquired  a  fondness  for  politics 
and  a  political  career  by  often  making  the  trip  to  Bowling  Green  with  his 
father,  who  was  then  county  commissioner,  and  loitering  around  the  various 
rooms  of  the  old  court  house.  He  often  attended  the  various  sessions  of 
court  and  intently  listened  to  the  men  and  their  discussions  of  political 
situations. 

He  was  married  to  Margaret  L.  Boyd  in  1886.  To  this  union  three  girls 
were  born,  only  one  of  which  is  now  living.     In  1888  he  settled  on  a  farm 

adjoining  his   father's,   where   he   lived,   managing  the   farm,   and   teaching   during   the   winter   until 
1910,   at  which    time   he   moved   to   Brazil   to   assume   his  official   duties. 

During  his  entire  life  he  was  a  loyal,  stanch  Democrat  and  a  hard  worker  for  the  party  of  his 
choice.  For  years  he  was  precinct  committeeman  and  certainly  watched  everything  carefully. 
In  1907  he  made  the  race  for  recorder,  but  was  defeated  in  the  primar>'.  only  to  rise  above  it  and 
be  elected  county  treasurer  in  1910  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  He  was  re-elected  treasurer 
in  1912  with  a  still  larger  majority. 

He  died  December  3,  1915,  of  angina  pectoris.  He  had  finished  his  day's  work  and  lacked  just 
four  weeks  of  having  completed  his  second  term  as  county  treasurer.  By  his  death  the  county  lost 
a  good  citizen,  active  in  civic  and  political  affairs  and  always  supporting  those  things  which  were 
honorable  and  upright.     He  was  a  progressive  man   and   one  of  high   ideals   and   sterling  worth. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-  1  9  1  :6 


WILL  H.  JOHNSTON 
For   many   years    a   prominent   attorney   of    Montgomery   county   and 
known   throughout  the  legal  profession  of   the   state  as  jurist  and   legis- 
lator, the  name  of  Will  H.  Johnston  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  citizens 
of  his  home  county. 

Mr.  Johnston  is  a  native  of  this  state,  bom  on  the  9th  day  of  June, 
1858,  in  Putnam  county.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district 
and  the  academy  of  Darlington.  Later  a  special  course  and  a  course  in 
law  was  taken  at  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1881.  In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Montgomery  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession 
at  Crawfordsville.  His  firm  has  acted  as  county  attorney  continuously 
since  1907.  To  this  work  he  brought  unflagging  energy,  keen  insight  into 
complicated  questions  and  conscientious  loyalty  to  his  clients,  which  soon 
placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  the  profession. 

In  the  year  1886,  on  the  20th  day  of  January,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Ella  May  McMullen,  and  their  home,  then  established  in  Crawfordsville,  has  since 
extended  hospitality  to  many  devoted  friends. 

Politically,  Mr.  Johnston  has,  since  his  boyhood,  been  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  cause  of  Democ- 
racy, and  has  loyally  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  the  promulgation  of  the  principles  taught  by 
Jefferson.  He  has  served  the  party,  at  various  times,  as  precinct  committeeman,  as  chairman  of  the 
county  committee  (from  1890  to  1892);  and  in  the  campaigns  of  1896  and  1898  was  a  member  of  the 
state  central  committee.  In  the  year  1900  he  was  elected  state  senator  from  Montgomery  and  Put- 
nam counti-es  and  in  the  assemblies  of  1901  and  1903  was  an  active  participant,  rendering  efficient 
service.  He  is  an  exceptionally  fluent  speaker,  and  both  as  politician  and  jurist  ranks  as  a  leader. 
Indeed,  he  is  known  as  the  leading  Democrat  of  Montgomery  county.  January  5,  1916,  Mr.  Johnston 
was   appointed   postmaster   for   the   city   of   Crawfordsville,   Indiana,   which   position   he   still   holds. 


JOHN  F.   JOYCE 

Few  adherents  to  the  cause  of  Democracy  have  contributed  more  largely  toward  its  advance- 
ment in  Vigo  county  in  past  years  than  has  John  F.  Joyce,  clerk  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Joyce's  life  has  been  spent  in  his  present  environment.  Born  in  Vigo  county,  December  20, 
1863,  his  education  was  received  in  St.  Joseph's  parochial  school  at  Terre  Haute.  On  June  1,  1891, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  May  Levan. 

In  the  fall  of  1906  Mr.  Joyce  was  elected  to  represent  Vigo  county  in  the  state  legislature,  and 
in  the  assembly  which  followed  and  in  the  special  session  of  1908  he  was  an  active  participant,  in- 
troducing more  bills  which  became  enacted  into  laws  than  any  other  member,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  it  was  a  Republican  body.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  sub-committee  which  drew  up  the 
public  depository  law.  In  November,  1908,  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  county,  and  after  four  years 
of  service  in  this  capacity  was  elected  for  a  further  term  of  four  years.  He  enjoys  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  Democratic  incumbent  of  this  office  in  sixteen  years. 

During  the  past  twenty  years  Mr.  Joyce  has  been  a  delegate  to  nearly  every  state  convention 
of  the  party,  and  has  at  all  times  labored  diligently  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  throughout  his 
district.  Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  orders  of  Knights  of  Columbus  and  Red  Men.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  church. 


JOHN   P.   KEMP 

John  P.  Kemp,  son  of  David  and  Mary  A.  (Price)  Kemp,  was  born  in  Jefferson  township, 
Tipton  county,  December  14,  1854.  He  had  the  advantage  of  being  reared  on  a  farm,  attended 
the  neighboring  schools,  later  going  to  DePauw  and  the  Normal  College  at  Valparaiso,  from  which 
latter  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1878.  After  teaching  school  five  terms  he  located  at  Tipton, 
where  he  began  the  study  of  law  under  Judge  Dan  Waugh,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1880, 
from  which  time  he  has  continued  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

On  April  11,  1882,  Mr.  Kemp  was  married  to   Miss  Belle   Cox,  a  sister  of  Judge  J.  E.   Cox  of 


(934) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

Peru  and  of  Judge  Charles  E.  Cox  of  Indianapolis,  justice  of  the   Supreme   Court.     To  this  union 
have  been  born  three  children — Charles,  Walter  J.  and  Ralph. 

Mr.  Kemp  has  been  a  director  of  the  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Tipton  since  its  organization. 
He  is  a  member  of  Austin  Lodge  No.  128,  F.  &  A.  M.;  Kcmpton  Lodge  No.  482,  L  O.  O.  F.,  and  of 
the  Elks,  and  is  a  stanch  Democrat. 


HORACE  MILTON  KEAN 

Horace  Milton  Kean,  son  of  Milton  W.  and  Virginia  C.  Kean,  was  born 
at  Ireland,  Dubois  county,  Indiana,  on  April  29,  1868.  He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  and  taught  school  in  Dubois  county  for  nine  years. 

He  read  law  during  his  spare  time  while  he  taught  and  in  1899  grad- 
uated from  the  Chicago  Correspondence  School  of  Law,  and  practiced  his 
profession  in  Jasper,  Indiana,  until  December  1,  1914. 

He  served  for  10  months  as  county  assessor  of  Dubois  county.  For 
twelve  years  he  was  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  of  that  county.  He  was 
elected  joirt  representative  for  the  counties  of  Dubois  and  Pike  for  one 
term  and  served  in  the  1905  session  of  the  general  assembly  of  Indiana.  He 
was  grand  master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  of  Indiana  in  1908- 
1909,  and  was  grand  representative  to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
World. 

He  was  married  June  14,  1908,  to  Lula  B.  Miller  (nee  Bretz)  of  Hunt- 
ingburg,  Indiana.  They  have  one  son,  Horace  M.  Kean,  Jr.,  who  was  born 
October  12,  1913.     Mrs.  Kean  was  president  of  the  Rebekah  Assembly  (I.  0.  0.  F.)  of  In 
1911.  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  Association  of  Rebekah  Assemblies  at  Winnipeg.  Canada, 

Mr.  Kean  was  appointed  assistant  attorney-general  of  Indiana  January  1,  1915,  by 
Milburn,  attorney-general.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Milburn  he  was  retained  in  said  posit 
Evan  B.  Stotsenburg,  who  was  appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  Milburn. 


ana,  1010- 
in  1912. 
Richard   M. 
on  by  Hon. 


SENATOR  JOHN  WORTH  KERN 

The  story  of  John  Worth  Kern  is  necessarily  the  history  of  the  In- 
diana Democracy  for  at  least  seventeen  years;  also  of  the  first  administra- 
tion of  President  Wilson,  during  which  he  was  leader  of  the  United  States 
Senate.  To  even  skim  the  surface  of  such  a  crowded  life  in  less  than  a 
volume  is  impossible.  His  early  life  and  struggles  and  triumphs  in  Howard 
county,  where  he  was  born,  his  commanding  position  at  the  bar  first  in 
the  county  of  his  nativity  and  later  at  Indianapolis,  his  brilliantly  promis- 
ing political  activities  in  early  manhood  must  be  dismissed  with  a  mere 
mention.  In  1884  he  first  became  a  state  figure  when  he  was  elected  reporter 
of  the  supreme  court,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  four  years,  and  the 
seventeen  volumes  of  the  reports  bearing  his  name  are  a  monument  to 
this  period  of  his  life.  Even  this  early  he  was  marked  for  leadership. 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  about  this  time  predicted  a  future  of  distinction, 
predicated  upon  the  young  man's  eloquence,  courage,  political  acumen,  and 
ardent  attachment  to  the  principles  of  his  party.     On  the  termination  of  his 

term  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Leon  O.  Bailey  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Indian- 
apolis. In  1892  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate;  where  his  commanding  political  capacity  was  in- 
stantly conceded  and  where  he  especially  distinguished  himself  in  the  fight  for  the  employer's  liability 
law.  On  the  election  of  Mayor  Taggart  he  was  appointed  corporation  counsel,  in  which  capacity  he 
was  called  upon  to  deal  with  many  knotty  problems  and  enhanced  his  reputation  as  a  lawyer  by 
the  manner  in  which  he  met  them.  This  closes  the  first  or  preparatory  period  of  his  great  career — 
a  period  rich  in  historical  incidents  that  cannot  be   touched  upon  in  an  ordinary  sketch. 

In  1900  Mr.  Kern  reluctantly  consented  to  make  the  race  for  governor  at  a  time  when  there  was 
little  hope  of  carrying  the  state.  He  was  easily  nominated  and  immediately  plunged  into  the  cam- 
paign with  characteristic  vigor  and  enthusiasm,  stumping  the  state  from  lake  to  river,  and,  while 
suffering  defeat  along  with  the  rest  of  the  ticket,   running   ahead   of   the   national    ticket.      In    1904 


(935) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

there  was  another  practically  unanimous  demand  that  he  head  the  ticket  in  Indiana.  He  steadfastly 
adhered  to  his  determination  to  fight  in  the  ranks  until  Alton  B.  Parker,  the  nominee  for  President, 
summoned  him  to  New  York  and  made  an  urgent  personal  appeal  on  the  ground  that  no  other  man 
would  add  so  much  strength  to  the  party  in  Indiana.  Again  he  consented  to  the  sacrifice.  In  1908 
he  was  nominated  at  Denver  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  Bryan  and  in  that  campaign 
he  covered  the  country  in  a  speaking  tour  which  made  him  friends  and  admirers  who  were  to  serve 
him  later.  From  that  year,  and  some  time  before,  he  came  to  be  accepted  as  Mr.  Bryan's  chief  lieu- 
tenant in  Indiana  and  as  one  of  the  Nebraskan's  principal  champions  in  the  nation. 

In  1910,  at  a  time  when  he  had  firmly  determined,  for  financial  reasons,  to  retire  from  politics, 
and  notwithstanding  his  positive  declination  personally  expressed  twice  to  the  convention,  he  was 
nominated  for  the  United  States  Senate.  In  response  to  the  urgent  pleas  of  all  the  candidates  voted 
for  in  the  convention  he  again,  with  reluctance,  resumed  his  old  position  as  the  head  of  the  ticket; 
and  in  a  campaign  brilliantly  contested  by  Senator  Beveridge,  his  opponent,  was  elected.  This  marked 
the  beginning  of  his  career  as  one  of  the  nation's   leaders. 

No  other  man  has  ever  attained  so  soon  the  commanding  position  that  was  instantly  accorded 
Senator  Kern  in  the  senate.  He  became  immediately  the  nucleus  around  which  all  progressive  move- 
ments within  the  party  in  the  senate  gathered.  Within  a  week  he  was  leading  the  fight  against  the 
then  reactionary  organization  of  the  party,  and,  while  he  failed  this  time  by  a  narrow  margin,  he 
forced  a  personal  recognition  in  his  selection  as  one  of  the  members  of  the  steering  committee 
charged  with  the  duty  of  determining  party  policies  and  plans.  During  the  first  congress  in  which 
he  served  he  particularly  distinguished  himself  as  the  leader  in  the  long-drawn-out  battle  to  unseat 
Lorimer,  planning  the  uncovering  of  the  evidence  of  corruption,  acting  as  leading  cross-examiner  of 
witnesses,  preparing  in  large  part  the  minority  report,  and  in  a  three-days'  speech  summing  up  the 
evidence  with  such  mastery  that  no  other  speeches  were  made  and  Lorimer  was  expelled. 

He  carried  the  prestige  thus  won  to  the  Baltimore  convention,  where  he  was  to  play  a  dramatic 
and  important  part  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  platform  and  as  Mr.  Bryan's  candidate  for  tem- 
porary chairman.  He  became  one  of  the  potential  forces  working  for  progressive  principles  and  a  pro- 
gressive ticket,  and  when  the  inner  story  of  that  remarkable  convention  is  finally  written  it  will  be 
found  that  no  man  played  a  more  important  part  in  the  result. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  third  year  in  the  senate  he  was  elected  without  any  effort  on  his  part  to 
lead  the  Democratic  majority — a  meagre  majority,  upon  which  rested  the  heavy  responsibility  of  en- 
acting the  Woodrow  Wilson  policies  into  law.  The  next  four  years  of  his  life  were  years  of  ceaseless, 
life-sapping  activity,  and  the  story  of  these  years  is  the  history  of  the  greatest  constructive  admin- 
istration in  the  life  of  the  republic.  But  for  his  diplomacy,  tact,  patience,  tireless  energy,  sleepless 
vigilance,  genius  at  conciliation,  many  of  the  Wilson  measures  now  indelibly  stamped  upon  the  coun- 
try would  have  failed  of  passage.  Upon  no  man  in  public  life  did  the  President  lean  more  heavily,  to 
none  did  he  turn  more  frequently,  and  the  senator's  nights  as  well  as  days  were  given  ungrudgingly 
to  the  public  service.  The  story  of  the  part  he  played  during  these  four  years  in  the  nature  of  things 
was  not  given  to  the  public,  but  time  will  disclose  the  intimacy  of  his  connection  with  the  phenomenal 
success  of  the  first  Wilson  administration.  It  was  he  to  whom  the  President  turned  to  pilot  the  child- 
labor  law  through  the  senate,  and  upon  him  that  the  President  depended  for  the  management  of  the 
eight-hour  law,  which  prevented  the  most  disastrous  railroad  strike  in  history.  His  greatest  personal, 
as  differentiated  from  party,  triumph  during  these  four  years  was  his  successful  fight  for  an  investi- 
gation into  the  unthinkably  brutal  conditions  in  the  coal  mining  district  of  West  Virginia — the  first 
signal  triumph  ever  scored  by  labor  in  the  senate  when  all  the  powerful  interests  were  aggressively 
arrayed  upon  the  other  side.  In  six  years  he  made  a  record  in  actual  achievement  surpassing  that 
of  many  who  have  served  a  generation. 

But  he  paid  the  penalty  in  a  physical  breakdown  which  came  upon  him  a  little  before  the  cam- 
paign of  1916,  when  he  came  up  for  re-election.  He  went  through  the  fight  in  a  sadly  broken  condition 
and  was  defeated  along  with  the  rest  of  the  ticket  in  Indiana. 

Broken  in  health,  his  voice  almost  gone,  he  returned  to  Washington  for  the  short  session  begin- 
ning in  December  with  the  intention  of  resigning  the  leadership,  but  upon  the  insistence  of  his  col- 
leagues and  the  president  he  retained  his  post  and  fought  the  good  fight  through  to  the  expiration  of 
his  term,  leaving  the  senate  with  the  affectionate  admiration  and  respect  of  his  colleagues  on  both 
sides  the  chamber. 

Although  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  giving  up  all  labors  and  recovering  his  health,  his  rest- 
less nature  would  not  acquiesce,  and  in  May  he  started  out  to  deliver  a  patriotic  war  message  in  a 
lecture  given  on  thirty-one   consecutive  nights   in   eight   southern   states.     This   was  followed   by  a 


(936) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


collapse  from  which  he  never  recovered.  He  died  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  in  August,  1917,  and 
his  body  was  taken  to  his  country  home  in  the  foothills  of  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains  in  Virginia, 
where  he  had  hoped  to  spend  his  closing  years  in  the  seclusion  of  "Kerncliffe."  On  the  edge  of  a 
cliflf,  the  termination  of  his  favorite  walk,  he  was  buried  with  simple  and  impressive  services,  just 
as  the  sun  dropped  behind  the  mountains. 

Of  all  the  leaders  of  the  Indiana  Democracy  since  the  Civil  war.  Senator  Kern  was  the  only  one 
who  occupied  the  position  of  leadership  in  the  national  congress  when  his  party  carried  the  responsi- 
bility of  power  in  every  branch  of  the  government,  with  the  exception  of  Voorhees  during  the  dis- 
astrous last  Cleveland  administration.  Where  Voorhees  failed,  Kern  succeeded.  That  this  was  not 
due  to  mere  accident  but  to  his  personal  qualities  of  leadership  will  be  disclosed  in  due  time  when 
the  historian  pushes  back  the  curtains  for  the  truth. 

JOSEPH  C.  KIMMELL 

A  prominent  citizen  of  Noble  county,  a  loyal  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party 
and  a  trusted  official  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth  is  Joseph  C.  Kinimell  of 
Ligonier. 

Mr.  Kimmell  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  on  the  28th  day  of  April,  1872.  He 
attended  the  common  schools  of  Noble  county  and  later  entered  the  Tri-State  Normal 
College  of  Angola  for  work  in  the  higher  branches  and  along  educational  lines. 

On  the  18th  day  of  IVIay,  1893,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Lena  A. 
Keehn  of  Ligonier,  and  she  has  since  presided  over  his  home  and  extended  its  hos- 
pitality to  the  many  friends  which  they  have  drawn  about  them. 

In  the  year  1906  he  was  elected  representative  from  Noble  county  to  the  legis- 
lature of  the  State  and  served  in  the  following  assembly,  and  also  in  the  special  session  of  1908.  In 
1911  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  auditor,  having  been  elected  to  this  position  for  a  term  of  four 
years. 

Mr.  Kimmell  has  maintained  his  interest  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  and  is  the  owner  of  a  quar- 
ter-section of  fine  land  near  Ligonier,  the  cultivation  of  which  he  personally  superintends. 

FRANK    H.    KIRKHOFF 

Frank  H.  Kirkhoff,  an  active  worker  for  the  furtherance  of  the  interests  of  the  Democratic 
party,  was  born  in  Hancock  county  on  the  18th  day  of  March,  1863.  He  attended  the  schools  of 
his  home  district  and  later  pursued  his  studies  at  the  German  Science  School.  On  June  20,  1886, 
he  married  Miss  Annie  Eagan  of  Cambridge  City,  and  established  his  home  in  the  city  of  Indian- 
apolis, where  he  became  engaged  in  business  as  a  steamfitter.  In  this  work  he  has  been  quite  suc- 
cessful, building  up  a  lucrative  business  and  establishing  a  reputation  as  an  expert  in  his  line.  In 
the  year  1914  he  was  appointed  engineer  of  the  state  house,  a  position  requiring  real  ability. 

Mr.  Kirkhoff  is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  club  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 
Engineers  and  Firemen.     His  entire  family  are  stanch  Democrats. 

JUDGE  LEX  J.  KIRKPATRICK 

"A  just  judge"  is  a  term  truly  applicable  to  the  subject  of  this  article,  this  repu- 
tation having  been  won  by  the  fairness  of  his  decisions  from  the  bench. 

Judge  Lex  J.  Kirkpatrick  was  born  in  Rush  county  on  the  6th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1853,  but  was  brought  to  Howard  county  when  but  three  months  of  age,  his 
parents  settling  upon  a  farm  near  Greentown.  In  1871  he  came  to  Kokomo.  He  at- 
tended the  common  schools  of  the  county  and  Howard  College,  later  pursuing  his 
studies  at  the  College  of  Oskaloosa,  Iowa,  and  finally  graduating  from  the  Central 
Law  School  of  Indianapolis  in  1875.  In  the  year  1881  was  solemnized  his  marriage 
to  Miss  Emma  Palmer  of  Holloway,  Michigan.  In  1890  he  was  elected  circuit  judge 
of  the  Thirty-sixth  Judicial  Circuit,  composed  of  Howard  and  Tipton  counties,  serving 
in  this  capacity  for  six  years.  In  1909  a  new  court  was  established  in  this  circuit,  Howard  county  be- 
ing made  the  Sixty-second  Judicial  Circuit,  and  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  new  circuit  by  Gov- 
ernor Marshall,  serving  for  two  years,  since  which  time  he  has  practiced  law,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Bell,  Kirkpatrick  and  Voorhis. 


(937) 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

MATTHIAS  KIRSCH 
Matthias  Kirsch  was  born  on  the  17th  day  of  August,  1856,  in  the  village  of  Dossenheim,  near 
Heidelberg,  Germany.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  was  brought  by  his  father  to  this  country  and 
settled  with  the  family  in  Adams  county,  Indiana,  where  his  education  was  continued.  October  6,  1878, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Amanda  Langenbacher,  and,  though  not  a  holder  of  political  office,  has  since 
been  closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  the  county.  He  is  now  president  of  the  firm  of  Kirsch, 
Sellemeyer  &  Sons  Company,  dealers  in  lumber  and  building  material;  cashier  of  the  People's  Loan 
and  Trust  Company;  treasurer  of  the  Ward  Manufacturing  Company;  president  of  the  German  Build- 
ing and  Loan  Association ;  member  of  the  county  council,  and  holds  numerous  other  offices  of  trust 
for  the  county  and  for  the  German  Reformed  church  of  Decatur,  of  which  he  is  a  member. 


CHARLES  E.   RISER 

Widely  known  as  a  successful  farmer  of  Whitley  county  and  honored  as  a  public  official  for 
integrity  and  zeal   is   Charles   E.   Kiser,  former   auditor  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Kiser  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  25th  day  of  December,  1867.  His  schooling  was 
received  in  the  public  schools  of  Whitley  county  and  later  at  the  Valparaiso  Normal  School,  from 
which  he  was  graduated.  He  married  Miss  Mittie  L.  Livensparger  and  established  his  home  at 
Columbia  City. 

In  the  fall  of  1910  Mr.  Kiser  was  nominated  for  the  position  of  county  auditor  and  was  elected. 
During  the  four  years  which  followed  he  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  the  commonwealth  with 
conscientious  zeal.  Politically,  he  has  stood  firmly  for  the  Democratic  party  and  its  principles,  and 
his  influence  during  the  various  campaigns  has  been  a  factor  in  the  success  of  the  local  organization. 


EDWARD  S.  KITCH 

For  many  years  a  well-known  citizen  of  Marshall  county,  and  having  served  the  commonwealth  as 
a  trusted  official  in  various  capacities  in  the  past,  the  name  of  Edward  S.  Kitch  is  a  familiar  one  to 
the  residents  of  Plymouth  and  vicinity. 

Mr.  Kitch  was  born  in  northern  Indiana  on  the  6th  day  of  February,  1868.  He  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  district,  and  later  continued  his  s  tudies  at  the  Valparaiso  Normal  School. 

On  the  18th  day  of  December,  1892,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Delia  E.  Bates,  and  the 
home  then  established  by  them  has  extended  hospitality  to  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

In  the  year  1894,  Mr.  Kitch  assumed  the  duties  of  town  clerk  of  Bremen,  and  in  this  capacity 
served  for  two  years.  Later  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  German  township,  and  the 
duties  of  this  position  were  faithfully  and  conscientiously  discharged  for  a  term  of  ten  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1910,  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  and  he  assumed  the  administration  of  af- 
fairs connected  with  this  position  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1912,  this  term  of  service  to  expire  on 
the  first  day  of  the  year  1916;  and  the  record  which  Mr.  Kitch  is  daily  establishing  for  progressive 
methods  and  conscientious  service  is  testified  to  by   a  wide  circle  of  acquaintances. 


THOMAS  F.  KNOTTS 

/  The  first  mayor  of  Gary,  Ind.,  Thomas  F.  Knotts,  has  been  so  closely  identified  with  the  city  that 
t(/ many  people  mention  of  Gary  suggests  Mayor  Knotts;  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  consider  the 
history  of  Gary,  either  as  a  municipality  or  as  a  business  center,  without  reference  to  that  enterprising 
and  far-sighted  citizen  who  about  ten  years  ago  stood  in  the  midst  of  sand  barrens  and  scrub  oaks 
and  helped  plan  and  plat  the  lines  along  which  the  city  has  since  grown. 

Born  in  Highland  county,  Ohio,  son  of  F.  D.  and  Margaret  K.,  who  in  1866  by  team  and  wagon 
left  Ohio  and  established  a  new  home  on  farm  four  miles  from  Laporte  and  later  in  Medaryville,  Ind. 
Thos.  F.  Knotts  received  a  common  school  education  in  Indiana  and  taught  eight  terms  in  this  state 
and  four  years  was  superintendent  of  Indian  school  of  Dakota  territory;  superintendent  high  schoola 
at  De  Smets,  Dakota  territory.  1879  to  1884  Mr.  Knotts  studied  at  Valparaiso  University  and  com- 
pleted work  in  commercial,  teachers'  and  scientific  courses.  Was  a  successful  teacher,  that  work, 
like  all  his  undertakings,  being  pursued  with  a  thorough  energy  and  ability  to  get  results  which  is 
characteristic  of  him. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

IiT  1891  he  became  identified  with  Lake  county,  when  he  went  to  Hammond  and  en^ra^ed  in  real 
estate  and  fire  insurance  business.  While  in  Hammond  he  was  on  police  force  and  also  police  com- 
missioner. He  was  one  of  the  first  on  the  ground  after  plans  had  been  formulated  for  establishment 
of  a  great  industrial  center  at  Gary.  Resigning  his  position  as  police  commissioner  at  Hammond  he 
established  his  home  at  Gary.  On  May  4,  1906,  his  brother  A.  F.  Knotts,  who  was  connected  with  the 
steel  corporation,  opened  the  first  real  estate  oflice  and  bought  the  first  land  outside  that  acquired 
by  the  steel  corporation,  and  in  July,  1906,  Mr.  Knotts  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster  of  Gary, 
then  fourth-class,  sei-ving  only  a  few  dozen  patrons.  Held  this  for  over  three  years,  being  in  the 
meantime  otherwise  honored.  Elected  member  first  town  board,  July,  1906;  president  of  the  board, 
till  November,  1906,  when  was  elected  mayor  of  the  new  city  corporation.  Was  repeatedly  honored 
with  the  office  until  1915.  Head  of  Knotts-McRoberts  Real  Estate  &  Insurance  Co.,  oldest  of  the  kind 
at  Gary  and  one  of  the  largest. 


JACOB  C.  KOLSEM 

Jacob  C.  Kolsem,  prominent  in  business  circles  of  Terre 
Haute,  Vigo  county,  and  known  throughput  the  State  as  an 
efficient  and  progressive  legislator,  is  a  native  of  Cologne, 
Germany.  Here  he  was  born  on  the  24th  day  of  July,  1849, 
but  when  he  reached  the  age  of  four  years,  was  brought  by 
his  parents  to  America.  They  settled  in  the  city  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa.,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  public  and 
German  schools  of  that  city.  While  still  in  his  boyhood,  he 
obtained  employment  driving  a  mule  in  an  adjacent  coal  mine, 
and  later  worked  in  the  iron  nai!  mills  of  that  city.  In  the 
year  1868  he  came  to  Greencastle,  Ind.,  and  here,  also,  he 
worked  in  the  nail  mills,  going  later  to  Terre  Haute,  which 
has  since  remained  his  home. 

In  1878  he  entered  the  employ  of  a  firm  of  clothiers  and 
four  years  later  was  manager  of  the  When  Clothing  Store  of 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  later  known  as  Pixley  &  Co.,  Clothiers. 
In  this  position  he  continued  for  a  period  of  twelve  years. 
Meanwhile  he  had  taken  an  active  interest  in  municipal  affairs 
and  in  1881  was  elected  to  membership  in  the  common  coun- 
cil of  Terre  Haute.  Two  years  later  he  was  re-elected  for  a 
further  term.  In  1885  the  high  honor  of  being  elected  Mayor 
of  the  city  was  conferred  upon  him,  and  after  two  years'  in- 
cumbency of  this  office,  he  was  re-elected.  Following  his  retirement  from  this  position  in  1889,  he 
was  appointed  chairman  of  the  metropolitan  police  board  by  Governor  Matthews,  and  for  four  years 
he  discharged  the  duties  of  this  office  with  characteristic  diligence.  Then  followed  his  appointment 
to  a  commission  to  revise  and  codify  the  mining  laws  of  the  State;  and  these  laws,  arranged  during 
the  incumbency  of  Governor  Durbin,  are  still  in  effect. 

In  the  year  1890  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Terre  Haute  Water  Works  Co.,  and  for  two 
or  three  years  he  discharged  the  duties  in  connection  with  this  position.  Later,  while  still  manager 
of  the  Pixley  &  Co.  store,  he  invested  a  small  amount  of  money  in  the  coal  business,  and  at  a 
reorganization  of  the  company  in  1894  was  elected  secretary  and  treasurer  and  general  manager  of 
the  Jackson  Hill  Coal  and  Coke  Co.,  a  corporation  organized  about  1890  and  incorporated  for  $500,- 
000,  paid-up  capital.  This  position  of  great  responsibility  he  has  since  held,  administering  the  com- 
pany's affairs  in  such  manner  as  to  promote  a  healthy,  steady  growth  and  increase  in  the  business 
of  the  company. 

For  ten  years,  also,  he  served  as  president  of  the  Indiana  Bituminous  Coal  Operators'  Associa- 
tion, but  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  refused  to  continue  in  the  office.  During  this  time  he 
presided  over  several  international  conventions  of  operators  and  miners,  and  at  these  times  succeeded 
in  maintaining  harmony  among  the  members  and  achieving  satisfactory  results.  He  has  been  a 
strong  advocate  of  union  labor  and  the  mutual  carrying  out  of  all  contracts  entered  into. 

In  the  fall  of  1912  he  was  elected  to  represent  Vigo  county  in  the  State  Senate,  and  in  the  as- 
semblies of  1913  and  1915  his  work  was  noteworthy.     In    the    former    session    he    was    chairman    of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining,  and  was  the  author  of  a  bill  to  protect  the  lives  and  property 
of  workmen  engaged  in  the  mining  industries.  This  bill  was  known  as  the  "Kolsem  Bill."  He  was 
also  the  author  of  a  bill  passed  for  the  improvement  of  roadways  from  the  city  limits  to  the  town- 
ship line.  He  also  was  the  author  of  a  bill  in  the  State  Senate  authorizing  the  Governor  to  appoint 
a  commission  of  four  men,  two  who  are  familiar  with  the  mining  industry  from  an  operators'  stand- 
point, and  two  who  are  familiar  with  the  mining  industry  from  a  miners'  standpoint,  to  re-codify 
the  present  mining  laws  to  fit  the  improved  and  modern  methods  of  mining  of  the  present  day,  which 
was  passed  and  signed  by  the  Governor.  He  was  otherwise  active  in  forwarding  party  measures. 
Mrs.  Kolsem,  to  whom  he  was  married  May  18,  1874,  was  formerly  Miss  Mary  F.  Stakemann, 
and  she  has  since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home. 

JUDGE  JOHANNES  KOPELKE 

.Judge  Johannes  Kopeike,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Crown  Point  and  hold- 
ing high  rank  in  the  legal  profession  of  northern  Indiana,  is  a  native  of 
Germany.  He  was  born  in  the  province  of  Pomerania  on  the  14th  day  ol 
June,  1854.  Here  his  youth  was  spent  and  his  schooling  received.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen,  however,  having  nearly  completed  a  course  in  college, 
he  emigrated  to  America  and  completed  his  collegiate  work  in  the  University 
of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  taking,  the  full  course  in  the  law  department. 

Following  his  graduation,  in  1876,  he  located  in  Crown  Point  and  en- 
tered into  the  active  practice  of  the  law,  and  soon  demonstrated  marked 
ability  in  his  chosen  profession.  In  the  year  1884  he  was  chosen  presidential 
elector  from  his  district  and  in  the  fall  of  1890  was  elected  state  senator 
from  Lake  and  Porter  counties,  serving  with  conscientious  zeal  in  the 
assemblies  of  1891  and  1893,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  and 
work  of  this  body.  In  1898,  he  was  a  candidate  on  the  Democratic  state 
ticket  for  judge  of  the  appellate  court.     On  the  23rd  day  of  February,  1911, 

he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Marshall  a  judge   of  the  superior  court  of  Lake  county,  and  at  the 

expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  in  November,  1914,  was  a  candidate  for  election  as  circuit  judge  on 

the  Democratic  ticket. 

Politically,  Judge  Kopeike  has  been  a  stanch   adherent    to    the    principles    of    the    Jeffersonian 

party  and  has  given  valuable  service  to  the  local  and  state  organization. 

BERNARD  KORBLY 

When  Bernard  Korbly  left  Madison,  Indiana,  in  1895,  making  the  move  to  Indianapolis  with 
his  father,  Charles  A.  Korbly,  who  had  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Alonzo  Green  Smith,  it  was 
for  Bernard  Korbly  the  beginning  of  the  building  of  one  of  the  best  legal  businesses  enjoyed  by  any 
attorney  in  the  state,  and  at  the  same  time  the  start  of  one  of  the  most  active  and  continuous  Dem- 
ocratic political  workers  in  Indiana. 

He  had  no  sooner  landed  in  Indianapolis  than  he  became  precinct  committeeman.  He  served 
in  this  capacity  in  two  different  wards  in  which  he  located  during  the  campaigns  when  Thomas  Tag- 
gart  was  three  times  candidate  for  mayor  of  the  city,  each  time  being  elected  by  a  larger  majority 
than  the  campaign  preceding. 

After  five  years'  service  as  precinct  committeeman,  Mr.  Korbly  became  ward  committeeman, 
where  he  served  another  five  years,  becoming  chairman  of  the  district  and  a  member  of  the  state 
central  committee  from  1906  to  1910,  after  that  time  succeeding  Joseph  Fanning  as  Democratic  state 
chairman.  He  served  through  the  three  campaigns  of  1912,  1914  and  1916  as  chairman  of  the  state 
central  committee,  all  being  most  interesting  campaigns,  the  first  two  resulting  in  the  success  of  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  the  last  being  a  close  race  in  results  against  the  largest  campaign  fund  which 
was  ever  spent  in  the  state,  the  Republicans  oflScially  reporting  a  campaign  fund  of  approximate- 
ly a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars. 

Because  it  was  impossible  for  Mr.  Korbly  to  give  his  attention  longer  to  the  state  chairman- 
ship, on  account  of  his  extensive  legal  practice,  he  resigned  as  head  of  the  Democratic  state  commit- 
tee in  July,  1917,  being  succeeded  by  Charles  A.  Greathouse. 

When  the  elder  Korbly  associated  with  Alonzo  Green  Smith  as  a  legal  firm,  under  the  style  of 
Smith  &   Korbly,  Bernard  Korbly  took  a   position   in    the    office,    remaining    in    these    same    offices 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


through  several  reorganizations  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  At  the  time  of  his  father's 
death  in  1900,  the  firm  name  remained  the  same,  Bernard  Korbly  becominj!:  the  junior  partner.  This 
same  association  continued  until  a   short  time  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith  in  1907. 

After  this  time  and  until  1909,  Mr.  Korbly  carried  on  the  practice  by  himself,  at  this  time 
forming  a  partnership  with  Judge  Willard  New  in  order  to  take  care  of  the  increasing  business. 
From  that  time  the  firm  of  Korbly  &  New  became  and  continued  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  suc- 
cessful in  the  entire  state. 

When  Mr.  Korbly  first  moved  to  Indianapolis  he  was  very  proficient  in  stenography,  as  his 
father  had  been,  appreciating  the  advantage  of  this  accomplishment  in  the  practice  of  the  legal 
profession. 

Mr.  Korbly  has  attended  most  of  the  national  conventions  as  a  state  delegate  since  his  first  en- 
trance into  politics.  He  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  organizers  and  directors  of  political  campaigns 
in  the  state  which  has  produced  the  greatest  of  political  generals.  In  his  capacity  as  delegate  to 
national  conventions  he  was  associated  with  Thomas  Taggart,  who  has  always  been  one  of  the  most 
influential  factors  in  such  gatherings  in  the  line   of  shaping  policies  and  selecting  the  candidates. 


STANLEY  MICHAEL  KRIEG 

Stanley  Michael  Krieg,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Petersburg  and  an  honored  official 
in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth,  is  a  native  of  Pike  county,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred within  its  confines  on  the  16th  day  of  July,  1872.  He  is,  however,  of  German 
parentage,  his  father  having  come  to  this  country  in  the  year  1851  and  his  mother 
in  1839.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  district  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age. 
Later  he  entered  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville,  where  he  remained  three 
years,  and  after  completing  the  law  course  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Pike  county 
and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  Here  he  has  since  remained, 
building  for  himself  a  lucrative  practice  and  establishing  a  reputation  for  honesty, 
ability  and  sterling  worth. 

On  the  30th  day  of  November,  1904,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Effa  Tislow,  who 
since   presided   over   his   home   and   dispensed   its   hospitality. 

On  the  3rd  of  November,  1914,  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  prosecuting  attorney  for  the 
.57th  Judicial  Circuit  for  a  term  of  two  years.  He  has  been  an  active  party  worker,  connected  with 
the  county  organization  since  1896. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men; 
in  religion  he  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 


DR.  EDWARD  HERMAN  KRUSE 

The  name  of  Dr.  Edward  Herman  Kruse  is  well  known  throughout  Al- 
len county  and  to  the  medical  profession  of  the  state,  being  that  of  a  lead- 
ing physician  and  surgeon  of  Ft.  Wayne  and  an  honored  official  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  county. 

Dr.  Kruse  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  15th  day  of  June,  1884.  He 
attended  Concordia  College,  Ft.  Wayne.  In  the  year  1902  he  entered  the 
Indiana  Medical  College  at  Indianapolis  for  a  course  in  medical  science, 
and  after  his  graduation  from  this  institution  pursued  his  studies  abroad, 
attending  medical  colleges  of  Berlin  and  Vienna.  This  course  was  com- 
pleted in  the  year  1907  and  in  the  same  year  he  entered  into  the  active 
practice  of  his  profession  in  the  city  of  Ft.  Wayne.  Here  a  lucrative  prac- 
tice soon  came  to  him  and  a  reputation  was  established  for  skill  and  con- 
scientious service. 

In   the  fall   of   1912   he   was   elected   to  the   position  of  coroner   of  the 
county,  his  term  of  service  to  expire  in   1916.     In  this  work  also  he  has 
maintained  the  i-eputation  established  in  his  private   practice,   serving   the   public   with 
diligence. 

Politically,  he  is  an  adherent  of  the  tenets  of   Jefferson,  voting  and  working  fo 
of  the  cause  of  Democracy. 

His  marriage  to  Miss  Geneva  Maxfield,  of  Angola,  Ind.,  was  solemnized   in   the   year   1912, 
together  they  have  drawn  about  them  a  circle  of   charming  friends. 


conscientious 


the  furtherance 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


PETER  J.  KRUYER 

Peter  J.  Kruyer  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  born  in  Plymouth,  March  27,  1861. 
After  receiving  a  common  school  education  he  took  a  commercial  course.  For 
22  years  Mr.  Kruyer  was  connected  with  the  Hon.  Daniel  McDonald  in  the 
printing  business  in  Plymouth.  Mr.  Kruyer  was  tvdce  elected  city  clerk  and 
once  to  the  city  council.  In  1884  was  nominated  without  opposition  for  clerk 
of  the  circuit  court  in  Marshall  county  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  At  the 
election  there  was  a  Republican  landslide  and  Mr.  Kruyer  was  defeated  as 
was  the  entire  ticket.  Mr.  Kruyer  served  as  a  jury  commissioner  in  Marshall 
county  for  fourteen  years. 

On  January  19,  1914,  Mr.  Kruyer  received  from  President  Wilson  the 
appointment  of  internal  revenue  collector  for  the  sixth  district  of  Indiana, 
and  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  federal  appointee  in  the  history 
of  the  nation  who  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate  within  fifteen  minutes  after 
the  nomination  was  reported. 

Mr.  Kruyer  was  married  in  Plymouth  May  2,  1882,  to  Jennie  M.  Schoner. 
There  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kruyer  seven  children,  four  of  whom  survive — one  daughter,  Lor- 
etto,  and  three  sons,  Cletus  H.,  Wilfred  and  Walter.  Mr.  Kruyer  with  his  family  resides  at  615  Port- 
age avenue.  South  Bend. 


JOHN   W.    KURTZ 

John  W.  Kurtz,  who  is  prominently  identified  with  municipal  and  business  affairs  in  the  town 
of  Knox,  was  born  in  the  state  of  Ohio  on  December  2,  1862;  but  was  brought  by  his  parents  in 
infancy  to  Starke  county.  His  early  schooling  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  that  county 
and  he  later  pursued  a  college  course. 

In  the  year  1901  Mr.  Kurtz  assumed  the  duties  of  auditor  of  Starke  county,  and  in  this  capacity 
served  until  1904.  The  following  year  he  became  connected  with  the  Farmers'  State  Bank  of  Knox, 
holding  the   position  of  cashier  of  that  institution,  and  in  this  capacity  has  since  served. 

In  1890  Mr.  Kurtz  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Eigenmann. 


MOSES    B.   LAIRY 

Judge  Moses  B.  Lairy,  formerly  of  Logansport,  now  a 
resident  of  Indianapolis,  is  a  man  of  extended  education  and 
broad  experience  and  has  marked  the  imprint  of  his  influence 
upon  his  surroundings  and  upon  the  legal  profession  through- 
out the  state. 

Judge  Lairy  was  born  in  this  state  on  the  13th  day  of 
August,  1859,  and  spent  his  childhood  upon  a  farm,  attend- 
ing the  district  schools  and  laying  the  foundation  for  that 
clearness  of  vision  and  soundness  of  judgment  which  has 
characterized  his  decisions  from  the  bench.  Following  a 
course  at  the  normal  school  at  Valparaiso  he  taught  school 
for  a  period  of  ten  years,  beginning  in  1878,  during  which 
time  his  vacations  were  spent  largely  in  the  law  office  of 
Judge  Dudley  H.  Chase  of  Logansport,  reading  law,  and  in 
June,  1889,  he  was  enabled  to  graduate  from  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor.  The  en- 
suing six  years  were  spent  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Logans- 
port and  so  rapidly  did  he  advance  in  his  chosen  profession 
that  in  1895  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Matthews  to  fill 
the  unexpired  term  of  Judge  D.  B.  McConnell,  retiring  in 
1896.  The  succeeding  fourteen  years  were  spent  in  active 
practice,  in  partnership  with  M.  F.  Mahoney,  a  part  of  which 
time  he  served  as  county  attorney  of  Cass  county. 
In  the  year  1910  Judge  Lairy  was  elected  to  the  Indiana  appellate  bench  for  the  second  district. 


(942) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

During  his  tenure  of  office  Judge  Laiiy  devoted  his  time  conscientiously  and  diligently  to  the  duties 
of  the  bench,  giving  to  each  case  his  best  thought  and  unbiased  judgment,  bringing  to  his  work  a 
singleness  of  purpose  and  withal  a  dignity  of  conduct  which  raised  him  to  a  high  plane  in  the  es- 
timation of  the  profession  and  of  the  people  at  large.  Therefore,  in  1914,  it  was  no  occasion  for  sur- 
prise to  his  friends  when  he  received  the  nomination  and  was  subsequently  elected  to  the  position 
of  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 

Although  Judge  Lairy  has  been  honored  with  positions  of  great  responsibility,  he  has  still  found 
time  to  take  an  active  interest  in  all  movements  tending  to  the  betternitnt  of  the  community  at  large; 
and  in  this  connection  it  may  be  noted  that  he  is  a  member  of  the  Commercial  Club  of  Indianapolis. 
The  feeling  of  brotherhood  which  is  inspired  by  the  associations  of  the  fraternal  organization  has 
also  made  its  appeal  to  him,  and  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  Masonic  order,  and  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

In  all  these  various  relations,  we  find  him  to  be  a  man  of  culture,  honor  and  integrity,  keenly 
alive  to  his  opportunities  and  his  responsibilities,  performing  to  the  best  of  his  ability  the  duties 
that  fall  to  him  in  the  various  phases  of  his  life  and  work. 


SAMUEL  A.  LAMBERT 

Samuel  A.  Lambert,  for  many  years  an  active  and  enthusiastic  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Laporte  county,  is   also  widely  known  as  a  successful  contractor  and  builder. 

Mr.  Lambert  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  on  the  13th  day  of  August,  1857.  His  education 
was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  Fulton  county.  Later  he  located  in  Laporte  county  and 
there  engaged  in  business,  ever  since  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  business  life  of  the  community 
and  enlarging  his  own  interests  as  the  years  have  passed.  In  the  year  1886  he  married  Miss  Lydia 
Parker. 

In  the  year  1898  Mr.  Lambert  was  elected  city  councilman  for  a  term  of  two  years,  and  in  this 
capacity  served  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents.  In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  elected 
to  the  still  greater  responsibilities  of  county  commissioner,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office  on 
the  first  day  of  the  following  January. 


GEORGE  L.  LANEY 

Geoi-ge  L.  Laney  enjoys  the  political  distinction  of  being  the  first  Dem- 
ocratic clerk  elected  in  Parke  county  for  65  years,  and  receiving  the  largest 
vote  ever  cast  for  a  Democrat  for  a  Parke  county  office.  He  was  born  in 
Illinois,  April  8,  1863,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Parke  county,  finishing  at  the  Central  Normal  at  Ladoga  in  1884.  He  then 
taught  in  the  county  schools  for  eight  years,  worked  in  the  coal  mines  at 
Rosedale,  Ind.,  for  five  years,  and  then  became  a  builder  and  contractor. 
After  this  he  became  supervisor  of  agencies  for  the  Meridian  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  Indianapolis  from  1900  to  1904.  Was  elected  township  (Flor- 
ida) trustee  in  1904,  and  at  the  same  time  ran  a  small  farm.  He  resigned 
as  township  trustee  to  run  for  clerk  of  Parke  county,  being  elected  by  the 
largest  vote  ever  given  a  Democrat  in  this  county.  He  refused  a  renomina- 
tion  for  clerk,  in  1912.  He  was  elected  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  town  of 
Rockville  in  1913.  to  serve  from  January,  1914,  to  1916.  _ 

Mr.  Laney  has  a  strong  and  pleasing  personality,  and  enjoys  the  fullest 
confidence  of  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances,  being  one  of  the  promoters  and  builders  of 
the  Rockville  opera  house,  and  has  been  secretary  of  the  company  since  its  organization.  He  might 
be  aptly  termed  a  "jiner,"  which  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  his  popularity,  for  he  is  an 
active  member  of  Parke  Lodge  No.  8,  F.  &  A.  M.;  Parke  Chapter  No.  37,  Indianapolis  Consistory  A. 
and  A.  Rite;  32nd  degree  member  Murat  Temple  Nobles  Mystic  Shrine,  Indianapolis;  I.  O.  0.  F., 
Rockville  Encampment;  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Pythian  Sisters  and  Rebekahs. 

Mr.  Laney  married  Miss  Rosanna  Parker  October  9,  1888.  He  is  at  present  engaged  extensively 
in  the  lumber  industry,  owning  and  operating  a  saw  and  planing  mill,  and  is  a  large  operator  in  North- 
ern Michigan  and  Southern  States  timber.  He  is  thoroughly  in  tune  with  the  high  principles  of  his 
party  and  ever  ready  to  give  it  his  best  aid  financially   and   otherwise. 


(943) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191Q 


JOHN  B.  LAWLER 

The  gentleman  whose  photo  appears  herewith  is  well  known  in  the  city  of  Madi- 
son, having  been  for  a  number  of  years  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  Jefferson  county,  and  having  held  various  positions  of  responsibility 
in  the  service  of  the  public. 

Mr.  John  B.  Lawler  was  born  on  the  22nd  day  of  March,  1864,  at  Kent,  Jefferson 
county,  Ind.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Jefferson  county  and  later  continued 
his  studies  at  the  Independent  Normal  School  at  Lexington,  Ind.  On  the  3rd  day  of 
October,  1900,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jennie  Mershon,  but  eight  years 
later  death  claimed  her  and  she  passed  away  on  the  29th  day  of  July,  1908. 

Mr.  Lawler  has  devoted  much  time  to  the  service  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
from  1908  to  1914,  inclusive,  he  filled  the  position  of  county  chairman  for  Jefferson  county.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  city  board  of  health  for  several  years,  and  served  as  jury  commissioner  for  the 
county  for  two  or  three  years.  In  the  year  1911  he  assumed  the  duties  of  deputy  state  oil  inspector, 
and  in  this  field  he  was  engaged  until  April  1,  1914,  at  which  time  he  resigned  to  assume  the  duties  of 
postmaster  of  the  city  of  Madison,  a  position  to  which  he  was  appointed  by  President  Wilson,  March 
27,  1914.  In  addition  to  these  political  positions  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  mattress  and  upholstering 
business  at  Madison  for  a  number  of  years. 


B.  W.  LEADER 

The  position  of  county  sheriff  is  one  of  great  responsibility,  requiring  of  its  incumbent  the  com- 
bined qualities  of  firmness  of  character  and  humane  attitude  toward  the  unfortunate.  In  the 
person  of  B.  W.  Leader  the  citizens  of  Elkhart  county  have  found  a  man  eminently  qualified  to 
assume  the  responsibilities  involved  in  this  important  position. 

Mr.  Leader  was  born  in  this  state  on  the  25th  day  of  August,  1869,  and  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Elkhart  county.  In  the  year  1896  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Carrie  Brindley, 
since  which  time  their  home  has  been  established  in  the  city  of  Elkhart,  where  they  have  a  wide 
circle  of  friends. 

In  the  fall  of  1910  Mr.  Leader  was  elected  to  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Elkhart  county,  and  on  the 
first  day  of  the  following  January  he  took  up  the  duties  of  his  position  and  labored  zealously  in  the 
service  of  the  people  who  had  thus  honored  him. 

Mr.  Leader  has,  for  many  years,  worked  diligently  for  the  success  of  the  Jeffersonian  party  in 
his  community,  giving  liberally  of  his  time  as  well  as  his  means  to  further  the  principles  to  which 
he  has  himself  so  strictly  adhered. 


ANDERSON  B.  LEE 
During  the  past  twenty  years  Anderson  B.  Lee  has  been  one  of  the  most 
active  party  workers  in  Madison  county,  sei-\'ing  as  secretary  of  township  and  city 
organizations,  precinct  committeeman  several  times,  chairman  of  township  commit- 
tee and  delegate  to  county,  district  and  state  conventions.  He  was  born  on  a  farm 
in  Madison  county,  December  24,  1867,  and  there  he  was  reared  and  received  his 
early  schooling.  Later  he  pursued  a  course  of  study  at  Fairmount  Academy.  In 
1894  he  entered  the  livery  business  in  Alexandria,  and  this  he  successfully  conducted 
for  thirteen  years,  later  dealing  extensively  in  live  stock.  Then  he  became  the 
proprietor  of  a  buggy  and  implement  concern,  and  in  this  business  remained  until 
June  25,  1914,  at  which  time  he  assumed  the  duties  of  postmaster  of  the  city  of 
Alexandria. 
On   November   12,   1891,  Mr.  Lee  was  united   in  marriage  to   Miss   Minerva  Jeanette  Vinson  of 

Alexandria.    He  is  afl^iliated  with  the  orders  of  Knights   of  Pythias   and   Elks,  and   is  actively  allied 

with  Alexandria  commercial  organizations. 


CHARLES  C.  LEISURE 
Charles  C.  Leisure,  a  well-known  citizen  of  Earl  Park,  Indiana,  was  born  December  10,  1867,  in 
the  state  of  Indiana.     He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Grant  county,  but  later  emigrated  to  Benton 
county,  where  his  permanent  home  was  established.     On  the  28th  day  of  June,  1911,  he  was  united  in 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

marriage  with  Miss  Mellie  Flinn.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  a  successful  dealer  in  hardware,  but 
in  June,  1913,  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  postmaster  of  Earl  Park,  assuming  the  duties  of  his 
olHce  on  the  18th  day  of  the  month.  He  has  been  an  active  worker  for  the  success  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  is  at  present  secretary  of  the  township  committee. 


CHARLES  LIEB 

The  old  saying,  "It  is  hard  to  keep  a  good  man  down," 
seems  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  subject  of  this  article,  Mr. 
Charles  Lieb,  of  Rockport,  a  gentleman  whose  career  in  Amer- 
ica began  as  a  lonely  immigrant  of  fourteen  years,  and  con- 
tinued to  the  seat  of  a  leader  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  and  a  highly  honored  guest  of  the  President. 

Mr.  Lieb  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  Flemingen  on 
the  20th  day  of  May,  1852.  Here  his  childhood  was  spent 
and  here  the  foundation  of  his  education  was  laid.  Hearing 
of  the  opportunities  for  advancement  in  the  new  world,  how- 
ever, and  seeing  the  rose-hued  visions  of  enthusiastic  youth, 
he  started  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  for  the  shores  of 
America  and  entered  the  United  States  alone.  Coming  di- 
rectly to  the  state  of  Indiana  he  found  employment  and 
continued  his  education.  After  completing  the  course  in  the 
public  schools  he  entered  Rockport  Collegiate  Institute  and 
graduated  from  this  institution  in  the  year  1872. 

In  the  year  1877  his  marriage  to  Miss  Katherine  Mohr 
was  solemnized  and  their  home  was  established  in  Rockport. 
Here  they  have  since  remained,  gathering  about  them  a  wide 
circle  of  friends,  and  becoming  substantial  and  influential 
members  of  the  community.  Mr.  Lieb  has  one  daughter, 
Mrs.  Archibald  C.   Stevenson. 

In  his  early  youth,  he  became  a  firm  adherent  to  the  principles  promulgated  by  Thomas  .Jefferson, 
and  from  the  time  when  he  attained  his  majority  his  vote  was  cast  and  his  influence  thrown  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  cause  of  Democracy.  For  more  than  forty  years  he  has  been  an  influential  fac- 
tor in  the  organization  of  Spencer  county  and  the  First  Congressional  District,  giving  freely  of  his 
time  and  energy  during  the  various  campaigns  and  working  zealously  and  loyally  for  the  cause. 

In  the  fall  of  1906  he  was  elected  representative  from  Spencer  county  to  the  legislature  of  the 
state,  and  in  the  deliberations  of  the  assembly  of  1907  and  of  the  special  session  of  1908  was  an 
active  participant.  In  1910  also  he  was  elected  to  this  oflice,  and  in  the  legislature  of  1911  held  the 
position  of  Democratic  caucus  chairman.  During  this  term  of  service,  he  was  elected  to  the  still 
higher  responsibilities  of  congressman  from  the  First  District  of  Indiana.  At  the  time  of  this  election, 
in  November,  1912,  he  received  the  largest  plurality  ever  given  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  his  dis- 
trict; and  his  services  in  the  63rd  Congress  were  marked  by  such  loyalty  and  zeal  that  he  was  re- 
turned to  the  64th  Congress  with  an  increased  vote.  In  both  of  these  elections  he  carried  every 
county  in  his  district,  and  his  labors  in  Washington  have  amply  justified  the  confidence  reposed  in 
him  by  his  constituents  and  fellow  citizens.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  first  term  in  Congress,  he  was 
called  to  the  White  House  and  personally  thanked  by  President  Wilson  for  his  unfaltering  support  of 
the  administration  in  its  fundamental  policies. 

As  a  business  man,  also,  he  has  evinced  marked  capabilities,  and  is  the  holder  of  extensive  manu- 
facturing and  farming  interests  in  Spencer  county.  His  interest  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  is 
intense,  and  in  the  various  movements  which  have  arisen  for  the  development  of  the  farming  commun- 
ity he  has  been  an  active  leader.  He  also  holds  the  position  of  president  of  the  Farmers'  Bank  of 
Rockport,  a  concern  noted  for  its  sound  business  policies  and  conservative  methods.  Other  busi- 
ness enterprises  in  the  community,  also,  have  felt  the  impetus  of  his  investment  and  influence.  A 
32nd  Degree  Mason,  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Elks,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


JOHN  A.  LINKE 

John  A.  Linke,  federal  agent  for  vocational  agricultural  education,  was  born 
March  6,  1871,  in  Bartholomew  county,  Indiana.  He  graduated  from  Indiana 
University  in  1903  and  received  his  master  degree  in  1904.  He  taught  school  for 
a  number  of  years  and  was  superintendent  of  schools  at  North  Salem,  Brownstown 
and  Seymour,  afterwards  entering  Purdue  University,  receiving  his  B.  S.  A.  in 
1915.  After  his  graduation  he  was  employed  in  the  agricultural  extension  service 
for  two  years  in  Indiana. 

In  October,  1917,  he  was  appointed  federal  agent  for  vocational  agricultural 
education  for  the  states  of  Indiana,  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  Iowa,  Missouri  and  Minnesota,  these  states  comprising  the 
greatest  and  richest  agricultural  area  of  the  world.  This  position  is  one  of  the  most  important  in 
the  gift  of  the  Federal  Vocational  Educational  Board,  and  he  was  appointed  for  his  special  abili- 
ties more  than  for  any  political  consideration,  although  he  happened  to  be  one  of  the  livest  Demo- 
crats in  the  state  of  Indiana,  along  with  his  unusual  ability  in  business  lines. 


NEHEMIAH  LITTLEFIELD 

Mr.  Littlefield  has  served  as  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Rensselaer  and  has 
been  since  his  infancy  a  resident  of  Jasper  county,  and  is  closely  identified  with 
the  business  and  political  life  of  the  locality. 

Nehemiah  Littlefield  was  born  in  LaSalle  county,  Illinois,  on  the  23rd  day  of  July, 
,  but  at  the  age  of  two  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  Jasper  county,  Indiana, 
where  he  received  his  schooling,  attending  the  public  schools.    On  the  31st  day  of  De- 
cember, 1894,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Gertrude  Erwin  was  solemnized,  and  their  home 
established  in  Rensselaer. 

For  many  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business,  and  has  taken  a 
deep  interest  in  the  various  movements  for  the  progress  and  development  of  the  com- 
munity. He  has  also  been  an  active  worker  for  the  success  of  Democracy  in  Jasper  county,  and  dur- 
ing the  period  from  1908  to  1914  served  the  party  as  county  chairman.  On  the  first  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1913,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  postmaster  of  the  city,  and  to  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
this  office  all  his  energies  have  been  devoted,  giving  to  the  public  the  same  whole-hearted  service 
which  has  been  characteristic  of  his  private  undertakings. 


FRED  C.  LOCKWOOD      • 

In  summing  up  the  career  of  Fred  C.  Lockwood,  his  whole  life-story  is 
told  when  you  state  that  he  is  a  self-made  young  man.  His  education  was 
perfected  in  the  schools  of  Jennings  county,  supplemented  with  a  special 
course  in  journalism. 

In  1892  he  was  given  a  position  on  the  North  Vernon  Republican  in 
the  capacity  of  "devil"  and  cub  reporter.  Later  he  was  employed  on  the 
Venion  Journal  under  the  supervision  of  James  N.  Gulp.  When  that  paper 
was  merged  with  the  North  Vernon  Sun  in  1905  with  Mr.  Gulp  as  its  editor, 
he  joined  the  editorial  staff  as  a  feature  writer  for  the  Sun,  and  has  been 
continuously  associated  with  that  paper  since  1905,  with  the  exception  of 
four  years  in  the  confectionery  business  at  Vernon  and  one  year  on  the 
Caruthersville  Republican  and  the  Cariithersville  Argus,  at  Caruthersville, 
Missouri. 

When  James  N.  Gulp  was  appointed  postmaster  at  North  Vernon,  in 
June  of  1913,  Mr.  Lockwood  was  recalled  from  Missouri  to  take  charge  of 
the  editorial  management  of  the  North  Vernon  Sun,  and  he  has  edited  the  paper  since  that  time. 

Mr.  Lockwood  is  twenty-four  years  of  age  and  the  youngest  editor  the  Sun  has  ever  had  since  it 
was  launched,  forty-three  years  ago. 


(946) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


was  re-elected 

ated  with  the  frater 

tist  church. 


J.  FRANCIS  LOCHARD 

J.  Francis  Loehard  is  a  member  of  a  prominent  Democratic  family,  himself,  hii 
lather  and  four  brothers  consistently  voting  the  ticket  and  laboring  for  the  further- 
ance of  the  cause. 

He  was  born  in  Decatur  county,  eight  miles  south  of  Greensburg,  and  here  at- 
tended the  common  schools.  Later  a  course  was  pursued  at  the  Ripley  County  Normal 
School  and  he  finally  entered  the  State  Normal  at  Terre  Haute. 

On  the  11th  day  of  June,  1903,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  R. 
Spencer,  who  has  proved  a  worthy  helpmate  in  all  his  undertakings,  and  the  presid- 
ing genius  of  their  home  in  Versailles. 

In  the  year  1910  he  was  elected  auditor  of  Ripley  county,  and  in  the  fall  of  1914 
He  has  been  an  attendant  at  county,  congressional  and  state  conventions,  and  is  affili- 

1  orders  of  Masons  and  Knights  of  Pythias.     He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Bap- 


HON.  HIRAM  M.  LOGSDON 

Hon.  Hiram  M.  Logsdon,  a  native  of  Indiana,  a  descend- 
ant of  one  of  that  type  of  sturdy  pioneer  families  which  have 
placed  this  state  in  the  front  rank  of  the  nation,  was  born  in 
Spencer  county  about  60  years  ago.  He  was  the  oldest  of 
the  several  children  of  Samuel  and  Cyrene  Osborn  Logsdon. 
He  finished  his  education  at  the  Indiana  State  University, 
graduating  in  the  class  of  1875,  attaining  a  high  standing  in 
his  class  and  in  the  University.  He  commenced  the  practice 
of  law  at  Rockport,  Indiana,  in  1877;  entering  into  partner- 
.ship  with  the  late  Hon.  Henry  Kramer,  he  continued  the  prac- 
tice there  until  1891.  By  reason  of  his  earnest  devotion  to  his 
profession,  his  recognized  ability  and  integrity,  his  merit  and 
power  as  an  advocate,  he,  during  that  time,  won  a  fine  prac- 
tice and  became  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  profession 
in  that  part  of  the  state.  In  1885  he  made  an  extended  Euro- 
pean tour  over  the  countries  of  the  continent,  and  in  Eng- 
land, Scotland  and  Ireland,  interesting  accounts  of  which 
were  given  in  letters  published  in  his  home  papers. 

In  May,  1891,  he  married  Miss  Kate  Hyland,  daughter  of 
Wilmer  Hyland,  a  leading  merchant  of  Rockport,  Ind.,  and 
they  removed  to  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  where  he  practiced  law 
for  over  two  years.  Returning  to  the  state  of  his  nativity, 
they  located  at  Evansville,  Ind.,  where  he  continued  in  the  successful  practice  of  his  profession  until 
January,  1913,  when  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  probate  court  of  Vanderburg  county,  Indiana, 
which  office  he  still  occupies,  discharging  his  duties  therein  with  great  ability,  painstaking,  and 
marked  success. 

Politically,  Mr.  Logsdon  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  a  firm  believer  in  Democratic  principles, 
and  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  his  party.  His  father  was  an  ardent  and  uncompromising  Demo- 
crat, and  during  the  Civil  war,  the  time  "that  tried  men's  souls,"  who  were  of  the  Democratic  faith, 
so  outspoken  was  he  in  his  espousal  of  his  political  creed  that  he  was  arrested,  as  were  many  other 
Democrats  in  Indiana,  and  was  tried  by  court-martial  at  Indianapolis,  an  account  of  which  was  given 
in  a  book  published  soon  afterwards,  entitled  "The  Arbitrary  Arrests  of  Indiana."  The  son  has 
always  been  as  ardent  politically  as  his  father,  but  it  has  never  yet  been  charged  against  him  as  a 
crime.  Attention  was  invited  to  him  early  in  his  professional  career  on  account  of  his  ability  and 
good  judgment  of  men  and  affairs;  and  by  reason  of  his  being  gifted  in  speech  and  powers  of  persua- 
sive argument— so  much  so  that  he  was  called  the  silvery-tongued  orator  of  his  county,  and  his  serv- 
ices on  the  rostrum  and  otherwise  were  soon  in  demand  by  his  party;  and  he  ever  responded  to 
its  call,  ready  and  willing  for  every  emergency. 

In  1886  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  Indiana  as  state  senator  from  Spencer  and  Warrick 
counties,  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  in  this  his   popularity  was  evidenced,  as  he  was  thus  elected 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

over  Dr.  Samuel  F.  Johnson  of  Spencer  county,  a  former  captain  in  the  Union  army,  an  experi-inced 
Republican,  politician,  and  a  strong  and  popular  candidate,  although  the  remainder  of  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  in  both  counties  went  down  in  defeat.  It  is  interesting  to  note  here  the  preat  result* 
that  sometimes  may  flow  from  apparently  small  causes.  It  was  during  Mr.  Logsdon's  first  session  that 
almost  the  entire  session  of  the  legislature  was  occupied  in  the  fierce  contest  for  the  United  States 
Senate  between  the  cohorts  of  Benjamin  Harrison  and  David  Turpie,  those  intellectual  giants  of 
their  day,  and  favorite  gladiators  of  their  respective  parties,  in  which  finally  Senator  Turpie  v;as 
elected  by  only  a  bare  majority.  Had  Dr.  Johnson  defeated  Mr.  Logsdon  in  their  race,  it  is  probable 
that  General  Harrison  would  have  been  elected  to  succeed  himself  in  the  United  States  Senate,  of 
which  he  was  then  a  member,  and  in  that  event  his  party  would  hardly  have  nominated  him  for 
President,  as  Isaac  P.  Gray,  a  Democrat,  was  then  the  Governor  of  Indiana,  and  in  case  of  a  vacancy 
in  the  U.  S.  Senatorship  he  would  have  appointed  a  Democrat  in  Senator  Harrison's  place.  So  it 
would  seem  that  except  for  the  election  of  Mr.  Logsdon  to  the  state  senate  Benjamin  Harrison  would 
not  have  become  President  of  the  United  States. 

By  reason  of  his  first  experience  in  the  legislature  in  this  protracted  election  of  United  States 
Senator,  Mr.  Logsdon,  being  progressive  and  alert,  and  recognizing  the  necessity  of  such  reform,  in- 
troduced during  that  session,  and  procured  its  passage  by  the  Indiana  senate,  a  concurrent  resolu- 
tion favoring  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  providing  for  the  election  of 
United  States  Senators  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  people.  This  is  said  to  be  the  first  time  such  reso- 
lution ever  passed  a  legislative  body.  His  foresight  and  wisdom  in  this  has  been  since  vindicated  ■ 
by  such  an  amendment  of  the  constitution,  and  this  wholesome  provision  is  now  the  law  of  the  land, 
nnd  legislatures  may  now  devote  themselves  to  the   business  for  which  they  are  designed. 

Mr.  Logsdon  also  participated  actively  in  other  important  legislation  during  his  term  of  office, 
among  which  might  be  mentioned  the  bill  to  repeal  the  so-called  intimidation  act,  the  school  book  law, 
the  Australian  ballot  law,  etc. 

Both  before  and  since  his  occupancy  of  the  bench,  Mr.  Logsdon  has  on  numerous  occasions  been 
called  upon  to  serve  as  special  judge  and  judge  pro  tem  in  both  the  circuit  and  superior  courts 
of  Vanderburg  county,  and  in  other  courts,  where  his  courteous  bearing,  his  legal  learning,  his  judi- 
cial temperament,  his  fair  and  impartial  disposition,  his  cool  head  and  warm  heart  have  made  him 
signally  successful,  and  won  the  praise  of  the  observing,  and  a  high  place  among  the  judiciary  of 
the  state. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Sigma  Chi  fraternity,  and  also  of  the  Masonic  order,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  Elks. 

Though  now  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  Mr.  Logsdon  is  still  young,  and  his  life  gives  promise  of 
yet  rendering  valuable   services   to   his  party   and   state,  and  of  his  being  still  useful  to  his  fellow- 


GEORGE  W.  LONG 

George  W.  Long,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Brown  county,  was  born  on  November  20,  1877,  at 
Edinburg,  Johnson  county,  Indiana.  In  the  year  1880  his  parents  moved  to  Brown  county,  and 
settled  upon  a  farm  four  miles  west  of  Nashville.  George  received  his  elementary  education  in 
the  schools  of  the  latter  county  and  remained  on  the  farm  until  he  reached  the  age  of  eighteen 
years.  In  1901  he  was  graduated  from  the  law  dspartment  of  Indiana  University.  He  served  as 
deputy  prosecuting  attorney  from  August  23,  1902,  to  January  1,  1907;  and  was  elected  state 
senator  for  the  term  1909  to  1911.  He  was  Democratic  county  chairman  for  Brown  county  from 
1906  to  1914,  and  was  many  times  elected  as  delegate  to  various  Democratic  conventions. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  are  both  members  of  old-line  Democratic  families,  and  were  married  on 
June  14,  190-3.  Two  sons  and  a  daughter  have  come  to  them.  Mr.  Long  is  a  member  of  the  Masons, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Modern  Woodmen.  He  has  always  been  an  active  Demo- 
cratic worker. 

GROVER   C.   LONG 

The  present  surveyor  of  Carroll  county  was  born  and  reared  in  that  county,  his  birth  having 
occurred  on  the  9th  day  of  June,  1885,  in  the  town  of  Cutler,  where  his  boyhood  was  spent,  and  in 
the  schools  of  which  place  his  education  was  largely  received.  After  graduating  from  the  high  school 
in  1902,  he  attended  Purdue  University  for  two  and  a  half  terms.     While  but  a  boy  he  learned  the 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

carpenter's  trade,  and  later  engaged  in  the  contracting  and  building  business.     His  wife  was  for- 
merly  Miss  Olga  Trobaugh,  and  they  have   drawn  about  them  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Long  is  associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  having  gone 
through  all  the  chairs;  belongs  to  the  Uniform  Rank  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  a  Royal  Arch 
Mason. 

RALPH    H.   LONGFIELD 

Ralph  H.  Longfield,  superintendent  of  schools  lor  St.  Joseph  county,  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  but 
is  much  better  known  as  an  educator  than  as  a  politician. 

Mr.  Longfield  was  born  in  Madison  township,  St.  Joseph  county,  Indiana,  March  18,  1886,  and 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  the  high  school  at  Bremen,  Indiana,  and  the  state  normal 
school  at  Terre  Haute.  He  taught  in  both  common  and  high  schools,  and  was  teaching  a  district 
school  when  the  office  of  superintendent  of  schools  for  St.  Joseph  county  became  vacant,  in  1909. 
Young  as  he  was,  he  had  already  taken  out  a  superintendent's  license,  and  his  record  as  a  teacher 
was  so  high  that  the  board  elected  him  to  fill  the  vacancy.  His  ability  and  energy  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  schools  of  the  county  and  the  affairs  of  his  office  speedily  became  the  best  endorsement 
of  the  board's  action,  and  in  1911  he  was  re-elected  by  unanimous  vote. 

Mr.  Longfield  is  an  ardent,  though  not  obtru.sive  Democrat,  and  is  highly  popular,  not  only  be- 
cause of  his  splendid  success  as  school  superintendent,  but  because  of  his  character  and  fine  person- 
ality. He  married  Anna  Rush,  a  member  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  America,  a  family  that 
traces   its  ancestry  direct  to  Benjamin   Rush,  one   of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

WILLIAM    EDWARD    LONGLEY 

William  Edward  Longley  was  the  first  man  to  fill  the  position  of  fire  marshal  of  the  state  of 
Indiana,  being  named  for  the  place  by  Governor  Samuel  M.  Ralston  in  March,  1913,  when  the  law 
first  went  into  eff'ect.  This  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  beneficial  positions  in  the  state  govern- 
ment, having  been  created  by  a  Democratic  legislature  in  response  to  the  demand  of  the  insurance 
companies  as  well  as  the  people  who  are  insured,  but,  far  ahead  of  any  of  these  considerations,  for 
the  people  generally.  It  extends  protection  to  lives  and  property  by  insuring  preventive  measures 
that  are  effective. 

Under  Marshal  Longley  the  department  was  organized  in  a  first-class  business  manner  that  at 
once  accomplished  efficiency.  In  connection  with  the  actual  workings  of  the  department  he  estab- 
lished a  department  of  information  and  publicity,  which  kept  the  people  informed  through  all  the 
newspapers  of  the  state  on  the  things  required  and  the  things  that  were  being  accomplished.  In  the 
working  out  of  the  legal  provisions,  safety  appliances  were  provided  to  cover  cases  where  large 
numbers  of  people  were  employed  and  where  any  considerable  number  of  people  were  housed  to- 
gether. The  efficiency  of  the  department  was  on  a  par  with  the  efficiency  and  thoroughness  with 
which   Mr.   Longley  had  always  conducted  his  own  successful  business  affairs. 

William  Edward  Longley  was  bom  in  Noblesville,  Indiana,  September  26,  1854.  He  was  reared 
and  educated  at  the  same  place,  later  attending  Ladoga  Academy  and  entering  the  office  of  the  Ham- 
ilton County  Register  as  an  apprentice,  with  a  view  of  remaining  in  the  newspaper  field.  At  the  end 
of  three  years  he  retired,  however,  to  accept  a  place  as  clerk  in  a  furniture  store,  but  in  1875  went 
to  Indianapolis,  where  he  remained  for  three  years.  It  was  while  in  Indianapolis  he  married  Miss 
Clara  V.  Wright  of  that  city,  and  one  of  their  sons,  William  R.  I^ongley,  after  graduation,  accepted 
the  position  of  professor  of  mathematics  at  Yale. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Longley  returned  to  Noblesville  and  opened  a  hardware  store  of  his 
own,  remaining  in  the  business  for  thirty  years  and  building  up  one  of  the  most  substantial  business 
houses  in  Hamilton  county.  Mr.  Longley  was  also  a  director  in  the  Indiana  Loan  Association  and 
for   many   years   president   of  the   American    National    Bank   of   Noblesville. 

He  was  always  prominent  in  Democratic  politics  in  his  county  and  in  the  state.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  ninth  congressional  district  Democratic  committee,  was  vice-chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee  and  was  delegate  to  the  Democratic  national  conven- 
tion in  1904.  In  1912  he  was  the  personal  representative  of  Samuel  M.  Ralston  as  his  campaign 
manager,  and  it  was  after  the  election  of  Governor   Ralston  that  he  was  made  state  fire  marshal. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Longley  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  being  the  treasurer  of  the  state  Odd 
Fellows'  home  at  Greencastle  for  several  years.  He  also  is  a  32nd  degree  Mason  and  a  Tnember  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Red  Men. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


CLYDE  R.  LOTTICK 

The  gentleman  whose  photo  appears  herewith  is  a  prominent  member  of 
the  bar  of  Harrison  county  and  has  for  many  years  been  closely  and  prom- 
inently identified  with  legal  affairs  of  that  section  of  the  state. 

Clyde  R.  Lottick  was  born  in  this  state  on  the  20th  day  of  March,  1880; 
and,  after  graduating  from  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  attended  the 
Central  Normal  College  of  Danville,  taking  the  scientific  and  law  eoursei 
of  that  institution.  After  his  graduation  he  entered  the  active  practice  of 
law,  and  has  distinguished  himself  by  energetic  work  and  clear-sighted 
understanding  of  legal  problems  involved  in  his  work.  In  the  year  1908  he 
was  elected  to  the  position  of  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  Third  Judicial 
District  of  Indiana,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Harrison,  Crawford  and 
Perry,  and  he  assumed  the  duties  of  this  office  on  the  first  day  of  the  follow- 
ing January,  serving  for  the  ensuing  four  years. 

At  the  present  time  he  is  engaged  in  private  practice,  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Zenor  &  Lottick,  of  Corydon. 
In  fraternal  circles  of  his  district  he  is  well  known  and  highly  esteemed,  acting  as  present  consul 
of  the  local  camp  of  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.     He  is  also  a  member  of  the  R.  &  S.  fraternity  of 
Central  Normal  College  and  president  of  the  Presbyterian  Brotherhood  of  Corydon. 

Throughout  his  career  he  has  consistently  labored  for  the  promulgation  of  Democratic  principles, 
and  is  active  in  the  counsels  of  the  party,  being  at  this  time  secretary  of  the  Democratic  central  com- 
mittee of  Harrison  county. 

In  whatever  capacity  we  view  him,  Mr.  Lottick  stands  as  a  conscientious  worker,  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  welfare  of  the  community  at  large. 

WALTER  J.  LOTZ 

A  valued  member  of  the  legal  profession  of  Indiana  and  an  active  worker  for 
the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  since  he  attained  his  majority,  the  name  of 
Walter  J.  Lotz  is  a  familiar  one  throughout  Lake  and  Delaware  counties. 

He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Muncie  on  the  17th  day  of  March,  1880,  and  here  his 
schooling  was  received.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  with  the  class 
of  1899,  he  entered  the  Indiana  Law  School  at  Indianapolis,  receiving  his  diploma 
from  this  institution  in  1901.  The  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Delaware 
county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1910,  however,  he 
went  to  Hammond,  and  there  he  has  continued  to  advance  in  the  ranks  of  prominent 
attorneys  of  the  state. 

During  the  campaigns  of  1906  and  1908  he  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  attorney-general.  Mr. 
Lotz  has  always  been  an  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party,  having  been  taught  its  principles  in  youth 
by  his  father,  Judge  O.  J.  Lotz,  ex-judge  of  the  Delaware  circuit  court,  and  formerly  a  member  of  the 
appellate  court. 

Mrs.  Lotz,  to  whom  he  was  married  August  25,  1903,  was  Miss  Bessie  Bunch,  daughter  of  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Robert  Bunch,  and  sister  of  Mayor  Rollin  H.  Bunch,  all  of  Muncie. 

ALBERT  LUEDTKE 

Mr.  Luedtke  has  served  as  auditor  of  Jackson  county  and  has  been  for  many 
years  a  leading  contractor  and  builder  of  southern  Indiana,  and  many  buildings 
and  bridges  bear  evidence  of  his  handiwork. 

Albert  Luedtke  was  born  on  the  29th  day  of  August,  1848.  He  received  his 
schooling  in  the  schools  of  his  native  land,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  left  its 
shores  in  a  sailing  vessel  and  for  seven  weeks  journeyed  westward  to  America. 
After  his  arrival  in  this  country  he  made  his  way  to  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  here 
he  learned  the  trade  of  stone-cutter.  In  the  year  1870  he  came  to  Jackson  county 
and  this  locality  has  been  the  center  of  his  interests. 

In  the  year  1900  he  was  elected  trustee  of  Carr  township,  and  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  the  office  with  conscientious  zeal.  In  1912  he  was  elected  auditor  of  Jackson  county,  in  which 
capacity,  also,  he  has  served  the  public  faithfully  a  nd  well,  his  term  of  office  to  expire  with  the  close 
cf  1916. 

Mrs.  Luedtke,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1869,  was  formerly  Miss  Caroline  Wright  of  Indianapolis. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  1 


1  9  1  G 


CORNELIUS   LUMAREE 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Wabash,  Cornelius  Lumaree,  has  been  for  many  years 
closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  the  community,  and  has  come  to  his  present  position 
well  qualified  for  the  duties  and  responsibilities  which  devolve  upon  him. 

Mr.  Lumaree  is  a  native  of  Wabash  county,  born  in  the  city  of  Wabash  on  the  28th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1854.  On  May  16,  1899,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lida  Leroy  and  their  home 
was  established  at  Wabash. 

For  fifteen  years  Mr.  Lumaree  was  known  as  a  prominent  banker  of  Wabash,  and  in  the  past 
seventeen  years  he  has  been  in  the  real  estate,  loan  and  insurance  business.  On  March  24,  1914, 
he  assumed  the  duties  of  postmaster,  and  in  this  work  has  continued  to  the  present  time.  He  is 
affiliated  with  Wabash  Commandery  No.  ;37,  Knights  Templar. 


PETER  THOMAS  LUTHER 
Peter  Thomas  Luther,  Brazil,  Clay  county,  Indiana,  was  bora  in  the  state  of 
Indiana,  October  18,  1844,  on  a  farm  in  Harrison  township.  Clay  county,  Indiana. 
Farmed  and  taught  school  until  twenty-four  years  old.  Married  August  29,  1867,  to 
Mary  Elizabeth  Crist,  who  was  born  March  7,  1847,  in  Lewis  township.  Clay  county. 
Was  educated  principally  in  the  common  schools  of  Clay  county;  attended  State 
University  at  Bloomington,  but  did  not  graduate.  Was  elected  county  surveyor  of 
Clay  county  in  October,  1866;  served  as  such  two  years.  Was  elected  recorder  of 
Clay  county  in  October,  1868;  served  as  such  four  years.  Was  nominated  in  1872  by 
the  Democrats  for  clerk  of  the  Clay  Circuit  Court;  with  Greeley  on  the  Democrats' 
back  was  defeated  with  the  rest  of  the  Democratic  ticket.  Served  as  deputy  clerk  ore 
year,  from  the  fall  of  1877  to  the  fall  of  1878,  and  deputy  sheriff  two  years,  from  October,  1878,  to 
October,  1880.  Lawyer  by  profession;  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Luther  &  Luther  (Peter  T.  Luther 
and  William  P.  Luther,  father  and  son).  Lived  in  Clay  county  all  his  life.  Has  three  children  living: 
Mrs.  Minnie  Luther  Barton,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana;  William  Pitt  Luther  and  Nellie  Luther  Wein- 
land,  both  of  Brazil,  Indiana.  Was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  state  convention  from  Harrison 
township,  Clay  county,  January  8,  1868  (and  has  attended  the  Democratic  state  conventions  ever 
since,  with  very  few  exceptions),  and  assisted  to  nominate  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  for  governor. 
Edited  the  Brazil  WeeK-hj  Echo,  a  Democratic  newspaper  in  Brazil,  from  April,  1875,  to  the  fall  of 
1877;  used  the  paper  in  1876  in  support  of  Tilden  and  Hendricks  for  President  and  Vice-President. 
Voted  the  Democratic  ticket  all  his  life. 


PHILIP  LUTZ,  JR. 

Though  still  a  young  man,  Philip  Lutz,  Jr.,  is  well  known  in  Warrick 
county  as  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  at  the  Boonville  bar. 

Mr.  Lutz  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  born  in  Boonville  on  the  28th 
day  of  August,  1888.  He  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  Boonville, 
graduating  from  the  latter  in  1907.  In  the  same  year  he  entered  Indiana 
University,  completing  both  the  literary  and  law  courses,  and  graduating  in 
1912.  Having  been  previously  admitted  to  the  bar  in  his  home  city,  Mr. 
Lutz  began  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  immediately  following 
graduation  with  Judge  Roscoe  Kiper.  In  1914  he  formed  a  partnership 
known  as  Lutz  &  Youngblood  for  the  practice  of  law,  which  has  been  highly 
successful.  In  his  work,  Mr.  Lutz  is  known  as  a  man  of  progressive  ideas 
and  unbounded  energy,  and  he  possesses  a  keen  insight  into  complicated 
questions  such  as  usually  come  before  attorneys  for  attention. 

On  the  17th  day  of  June,  1914,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Lois  Vane  Ryse,  of 
Decatur  county,  was  solemnized  as  result  of  a  college  romance.  In  the  same 
year  Mr.  Lutz  was  nominated  and  elected  representative  to  the  general  assj 
ty,  leading  the  state  and  local  tickets. 

While  in  college  and  in  his  home  town,  Mr.  Lutz  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  pol 
and  social  movements.  He  holds  membership  in  various  college  clubs,  including  Delta 
Gamma  Eta  Gamma,  Press  Club  and  others.  He  is  a  member  of  Scottish  Rite  Masons, 
men  of  World  and  Owls. 


itical  affairs 
Sigma  Rho, 
Elks,  Wood- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

MARK  W.  LYDAY 

To  those  who  have  kept  in  touch  with  the  career  of  the  brilliant  young  representative  from  Ver- 
milion county  nothing  seems  impossible  of  achievement  by  him. 

He  is  a  native  of  this  county,  born  on  the  14th  day  of  November,  1889.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Clinton.  After  completing  the  common  school  grades  it  seemed  that  his  education  must  stop, 
but  with  characteristic  energy  he  set  about  to  earn  his  way,  and  by  selling  papers  and  shining  shoes 
on  the  streets  of  Clinton  he  was  enabled  to  help  defray  his  expenses  through  high  school,  from  which 
he. graduated  in  1908.  The  following  year  he  entered  Indiana  University  Law  School,  but  soon  left 
this  institution  and  pursued  his  legal  studies  at  the  Cincinnati  Law  School. 

In  the  year  1910  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Vermilion  county,  but  it  was  not  until  the  follow- 
ing year  that  he  entered  actively  into  the  practice  of  the  law.  In  the  year  1911  he  was  appointed 
deputy  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county,  and  in  this  capacity  served  until  December  31,  1913,  in  the 
meantime  being  admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  and  federal  courts.  In  the  year  1912  he  was 
elected  representative  to  the  state  legislature,  where  he  rendered  brilliant  service  in  the  assembly  oi: 
1913.  In  the  fall  of  1914  he  was  re-elected  to  this  position,  and  again,  in  the  assembly  of  1915  his 
activities  were  notable. 

In  the  year  1914  he  was  elected  city  attorney  for  a  term  of  four  years. 

In  1913  he  was  chairman  of  the  city  committee,  and  has  at  all  times  been  in  close  touch  with  the 
various  local  organizations.  He  is  also  an  active  member  of  the  Phi  Alpha  Delta  law  fraternity;  the 
F.  &  A.  M.,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Indianapolis  A.  &  A.  Scottish  Rite,  32d  Degree;  Murat  Temple, 
Nobles  Mystic  Shrine;  the  I.   O.   O.   F.   and   B.   P.  O.  Elks. 

Mrs.  Lyday,  to  whom  he  was  married  December  18,  1912,  was  formerly  Miss  Huldah  Tursher. 


DR.    FRANK    P.    LYONS 

Descended  from  a  line  of  Democratic  ancestors.  Dr.  Frank  P.  Lyons  has  been  true  to  family 
traditions  and  is  recognized  as  a  party  leader  in  his  home  town.  Flora.  He  was  born  October  26, 
1852,  in  Fayette  county,  and  received  his  early  schooling  in  the  schools  of  Fayette,  Henry  and 
Howard  counties,  later  entering  Valparaiso  University.  In  1876  he  was  married  to  Miss  Julia 
Billings. 

After  reading  medicine  in  Kokomo  for  a  time  Dr.  Lyons  attended  the  Medical  College  of  Indi- 
ana and  was  graduated  in  1881.  The  following  year  he  moved  to  his  present  home  at  Flora,  in 
Carroll  county,  where  he  has  since  held  a  lucrative  medical  practice.  He  was  county  coroner  from 
1894  to  1898,  and  has  several  times  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  and  town  board;  is  now  a 
member  of  the  Democratic  executive  committee  and  county  committee,  and  has  often  served  as 
delegate  to  the  various  conventions  of  the  party.  Dr.  Lyons  is  the  owner  of  two  farms,  director  in 
the  First  National  Bank,  an  active  Mason  and  is  interested  in  the  contracting  business. 


J.  E.   McARDLE,   M.   D. 

J.  E.  McArdle,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Monroe  township,  Allen  county,  Indiana,  and  has  always 
been  a  resident  of  that  county.  He  prepared  himself  for  college  at  the  Monroeville  high  school, 
after  which  he  entered  the  medical  department  of  Indiana  University  and  was  graduated  with  the 
degree  of  M.  D.  from  this  university  in  the  class  of  1907.  After  graduating,  Dr.  McArdle  spent 
two  years  in  the  hospitals  of  Ft.  Wayne,  acquiring  practical  experience,  and  then  became  associ- 
ated in  the  practice  of  medicine  with  the  celebrated  Dr.  L.  P.  Drayer.  During  the  years  1912, 
1913  and   1914  he  served  as  deputy  coroner  under  Dr.  Edward  H.  Kruco. 

Dr.  McArdle  has  taken  an  active  part  in  Democratic  affairs  in  Allen  county  and  was  nomi- 
nated for  county  coroner  at  the  Democratic  primary,  April  3,  1914,  his  majority  being  a  very  flat- 
tering one.  He  was  successful  in  the  November  election  and  served  two  years  as  coroner  of  Allen 
county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Elks,  Moose,  and  the  Jefferson  club.  His  father,  Peter  McArdle, 
has   long  been   an   ardent   and   faithful    Democratic  worker  in  Allen  county. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

FRANK  R.  McCARTER 

A  leader  among  the  workers  in  the  Democratic  party  in  Fulton  county  is  Prank 
R.  McCarter,  a  native  of  the  county  and  for  many  years  identified  with  business  and 
political  life  of  the  place. 

He  was  born  on  the  16th  of  February,  1872,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  Rochester,  where  he  still  resides.  October  15,  1893,  his  marriage 
to  Miss  Anna  M.  Gregson  was  solemnized  and  their  residence  established  in  the  home 
of  his  childhood. 

In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  county  and  assumed  the  duties 
of  this  office  on  the  first  of  the  following  January,  serving  for  a  term  of  four  years. 
He  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  an  active  party  worker,  serving  at  one  time  aa 
county  chairman.     He  is  now  connected  with  the  First  National  Bank  of  Rochester  and  is  widely  knowi 
among  the  business  element  of  the  city. 


PATRICK   M.   MCCARTY 

Patrick  M.  McCarty  of  Huntington  is  a  man  of  wide  experience  with  men  and  affairs  and 
fitted  by  temperament  and  training  for  the  high  positions  which  he  has  held. 

Mr.  MeCarty  was  born  in  Huntington  on  the  22nd  day  of  July,  1862,  of  Irish  parentage,  his 
father  and  mother  having  emigrated  from  County  Wexford,  Ireland,  in  the  year  18.50  and  settling 
in  Huntington,  which  remained  their  home  until  death  claimed  them.  The  son  attended  the  Catho- 
lic schools  of  Huntington  and  in  1880  and  1881  completed  his  studies  with  the  Brothers  of  the  Holy 
Cross  at  Lafayette.  In  1888  he  was  elected  city  marshal  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  a  term  of 
four  years.  In  1902  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Huntington  county  for  a  term  of  two  years.  The 
following  year  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Erie  Railway  Company  in  the  capacity  of  captain  of 
their  detective  department,  his  work  being  between  Chicago  and  Marion,  Ohio.  At  the  expiration 
of  four  years  in  this  service  he  again  assumed  the  duties  of  sheriff  and  served  another  term  of 
two  years. 

During  the  session  of  the  Indiana  general  assembly  of  1913  Mr.  McCarty  was  appointed  as- 
sistant doorkeeper  of  the  senate;  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  to  the  highest 
office  within  the  gift  of  the  people  of  Huntington,  mayor  of  his  home  city. 

Throughout  his  career  Mr.  McCarty  has  never  ceased  to  labor  for  the  success  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  for  many  years  has  been  influential  in  the  counsels  of  the  organization,  acting  as  county 
chairman  in  1912.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Modem  Woodmen  of  Amer- 
ica and  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks;  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Commercial  Club  of  Huntington. 

On  June  26,  1894,  Mr.  McCarty  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Gorman,  of  Logansport. 


RALPH  W.  MCCONNELL 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  review  is  well  known  in  the  town  of 
Oxford,  Benton  county,  where  he  resides,  as  an  active  attorney  and  a  broadminded  citizen.  He  is 
a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state  and  was  born  on  the  20th  day  of  November,  1876.  In  his  youth  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Lela  E.  Baum,  also  a  native  of  Indiana.  Mr.  McConnell  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  his  home  district,  later  attending  the  University  of  Indiana  at  Blooniington 
and  finally  graduating  from  the  Indiana  Law  School.  He  is  not  an  aspirant  for  political  position, 
but  has  been  for  fifteen  years  a  diligent  worker  in  the  cause  of  true  Democracy. 


ELAM  M.  McCORD 

Elam  M.  McCord,  son  of  Rev.  Elam  McCord,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  minister,  and  Jane  Free- 
land  McCord,  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana.  Afterwards  his  parents  removed  to  western 
Indiana  and  settled  in  Putnam  county;  later  to  Bloomington,  where  he  graduated  from  the  State  Uni- 
versity. Taught  school  three  years,  returned  and  graduated  from  the  law  school.  Located  in  Mar- 
tinsville. Was  elected  prosecutor  for  the  Fifteenth  judicial  circuit  in  1884;  was  again  elected  for  same 
circuit  in  1908;  renominated  and  elected  in  1910;  again  renominated  for  same  office  in  1914. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


CHESTER  ARTHUR  McCORMICK 

Chester  Arthur  McCorniick  has  served  as  state  senator  from  the  coun- 
ties of  Jasper,  Newton,  Starke  and  White,  son  of  William  G.  and  Mary  E. 
McCormick,  was  boin  in  Hamlet,  Starke  county,  Indiana,  June  29,  1884. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Starke  county,  high  school  (Knox)  and 
normal  school,  after  which  he  taught  several  years.  He  made  his  own  way 
through  school  by  selling  newspapers  and  acting  as  local  correspondent  for 
several  Chicago  and  Indianapolis  papers.  While  a  high  school  student  he 
wrote  and  published  a  hook  dealing  with  the  history  of  Starke  county.  He 
has  also  devoted  some  attention  to  literary  work,  some  of  his  contributions 
having  appeared  in  some  of  the  leading  newspapers  and  magazines. 

At  the  age  of  17  he  was  the  author  of  a  poem  on  the  "Hoosier  School 
Master,"  which  was  accepted  for  publication  in  a  large  volume  on  "Indiana 
Writers."  Mr.  McCormick  served  two  terms  as  clerk  of  North  Judson,  one 
year  as  deputy  clerk  of  the  Starke  Circuit  Court  and  two  terms  as  secretary 
of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee.  For  the  past  eight  years  he 
has  been  editor  and  publisher  of  the  North  Judson  News,  one  of  the  leading  weeklies  of  northern  In- 
diana. 

In  the  fall  of  1914  he  was  elected  joint  senator  from  the  counties  of  Jasper,  Newton,  Starke  and 
White,  being  the  first  Democrat  to  represent  that  district  in  a  regular  session  of  the  legislature,  carry- 
ing the  district  by  nearly  700,  whereas  it  is  normally  from  1,800  to  2,800  Republican.  Although  the 
youngest  member  of  the  senate  in  the  session  of  1913,  he  was  the  only  member  to  represent  as  many 
as  four  counties.  He  has  the  distinction  of  having  carried  his  town,  his  township  and  his  county  by 
the  highest  vote  ever  accorded  to  anyone. 

He  belongs  to  the  K.  of  P.,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  M.  W.  of  A.,  F.  O.  E.,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  I.  O.  F.  of  A.,  Re- 
bekahs  and  Royal  Neighbors,  and  the  National  Editorial  Association,  Indiana  Democratic  Editorial  As- 
sociation and  the  Northern  Indiana  Editorial  Association. 


SHULER  McCORMICK 
Shuler  McCormick  of  Vincennes  is  knovm  to  its  citizens  as  a  leading  at- 
torney at  law  and  a  man  of  unusual  mental  attainments. 

He  is  a  product  of  Kno.x  county,  having  been  born  within  its  confines  on 
the  6th  day  of  February,  1886.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  the 
county,  graduating  from  Vincennes  University  with  the  class  of  1906.  A 
three  years'  course  in  law  was  then  completed  in  two  years  at  the  Cincin- 
nati Law  School  under  the  able  instruction  of  Honorable  William  H.  Taft 
and  Judson  Harmon,  Having  received  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  from  this  in- 
stitution, he  returned  to  Vincennes  to  engage  in  the  active  practice  of  his 
chosen  profession,  and  a  lucrative  practice  was  soon  established.  In  the 
fall  of  1910,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  he  was  elected  to  the  position 
of  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  twelfth  judicial  district,  and  in  this  capacity 
he  served  from  January,  1911,  to  January,  1913.  During  this  period  he 
established  the  record  of  but  five  felony  cases  lost  out  of  fifty-six  tried. 
Since  this  time  he  has  returned  to  his  practice,  and  he  is  now  the  holder 
of  an  enviable  position  in  the  legal  profession,  with  offices  in  the  Hellert  building. 

On  the  26th  day  of  November,  1908,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Edythe  Pinkstaff,  and  two 
sons  have  come  to  brighten  their  home  and  lend  inspiration  for  new  achievements.  These  are  Charles 
Donald  and  Chester  Lee. 

Mr.  McCormick  has,  since  his  boyhood,  been  a  constant  worker  for  the  cause  of  Democracy,  giv- 
ing freely  of  his  time  during  the  various  campaigns  and  at  all  times  losing  no  opportunity  to  further 
the  principles  of  the  Jeffersonian  party. 


ERASTUS    W.    MCDANIELS 
The  incumbent  of  various  positions   of  responsibility   in   the   public   service   and   a  resident  of 
Shelby  county  since  early  childhood,  Erastus  W.   McDaniels   should  be  accorded  a  prominent  place 
in  the  roster  of  Shelby  county  Democracy. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


Mr.  McDaniels  was  born  in  Jasper  county,  Illinois,  on  the  28th  day  of  February,  18G8-,  but  at 
the  age  of  four  years  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Shelby  county,  where  they  located  for  perma- 
nent residence.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  home  district  and  later  entered  the  Central 
Normal  College  of  Danville  for  a  full  teacher's  course,  graduating  from  that  institution  in  the 
year  1884.  Following  his  graduation  he  entered  the  educational  field,  teaching  for  a  time,  and 
later  took  up  the  study  of  law  as  a  profession. 

Admitted  to  the  bar  of  Shelby  county  and  entering  into  the  active  practice  of  law,  later  Mr. 
McDaniels  *was  appointed  to  the  position  of  county  attorney.  In  this  capacity  he  served  for  five 
years',  bringing  to  his  work  a  conscientious  zeal  and  loyalty  which  placed  him  high  in  the  esteem  of 
the  community  at  large.  He  also  served  as  assistant  reporter  of  the  supreme  court  of  Indiana, 
with  his  office  in  Indianapolis. 

Throughout  his  career  Mr.  McDaniels  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  various  movements  for 
the  improvement  of  the  community  at  large;  and  for  five  years  served  as  seci-etary  of  the  Shelby 
county  fair  association.  He  is  now  one  of  the  prominent  attorneys  of  Shelbyville,  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  McDaniels  &  Rass. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  McDaniels  is  allied  with  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks,  and  his  been  through  all  the  chairs 
of  the  I.  0.  O.  F.    He  also  ranks  as  major  in  the  Patriarchs  Militant. 

Mrs.  McDaniels  was  Miss  Eva  Lautz,  also  of   Shelby  county. 


A.   J.    MCDONALD 

Dr.  A.  J.  McDonald  is  of  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  His  father  was  Logan  McDonald  and 
his  mother  Elizabeth   Fitzpatrick. 

Dr.  McDonald  was  born  at  Orleans,  Indiana,  January  16,  1860,  and  moved  with  his  family  to 
Mitchell  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  where  he  graduated  from  the  schools.  He  then  taught  for  one  year 
and  entered  Louisville  Medical  College,  receiving  his  degree  on  March  22,  1882.  While  studying 
he  won  a  gold  medal  for  his  researches  in  materia  medica  and  therapeutics. 

Dr.  McDonald  practiced  for  seven  and  a  half  years  at  Mitchell  and  in  1889  went  to  New  York 
and  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  the  Polyclinic  Hospital.  Upon  the  completion  of  this  course, 
Dr.  McDonald  located  in  Bedford,  where  he  has  since  practiced  and  where  he  is  now  in  the  front 
rank  among  medical  men.  He  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  surgeon  for  the  Monon  Railroad 
and  is  examiner  for  a  number  of  life  insurance  companies.  He  is  a  close  student  and  is  highly 
regarded  because  of  his  attainments. 

Dr.  McDonald  is  a  member  of  the  Lawaence  County  Medical  Association,  member  of  the  United 
States  Board  of  Pension  E.xaminers,  Indiana  State  Medical  Society  and  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. He  is  an  active  supporter  of  the  Democratic  party,  although  he  has  never  aspired  for  po- 
litical honors.     He  is  both  a  York  Rite  an.l   Scottish  Rite  Mason  and  is  also  a  Shriner  and  an  Elk. 

On  June  26,  1886,  Dr.  McDonald  was  united    in  marriage  to  Hattie  Overman  of  Mitchell. 


MALCOLM  A.  McDONALD 
For  many  years  a  pillar  of  the  Democratic  party  and  at  one  time  one 
of  the  best-known  railroad  men  in  the  state,  Malcolm  A.  McDonald  needs 
no  introduction  to  most  of  our  readers. 

He  was  born  in  Crawfordsville  on  the  28th  day  of  April,  1848,  but  dur- 
ing his  childhood  accompanied  his  parents  to  Indianapolis,  where  his  school- 
ing was  received.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  of  this 
place  with  the  class  of  1864  he  entered  Indiana  University,  leaving  this 
institution  at  the  close  of  his  junior  year,  however,  to  accept  a  position  with 
the  engineering  corps  of  the  Indianapolis  &  St.  Louis  Railway  Co.  Later 
he  held  the  position  of  traveling  auditor  for  the  Indianapolis,  Bloomington 
&  Western  Railroad,  running  to  Peoria,  Illinois;  and  still  later  held  similar 
positions  with  the  Te.xas  &  Pacific  and  Wabash  railways,  after  which  he 
rose  to  the  position  of  general  manager  of  the  Pittsburg  &  Western,  the 
Champaign  &  Havana,  and  the  Cairo,  Vincennes  &  Chicago  roads.  In 
1891  he  retired  to  his  farm  near  Williamsport,  Ind.,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided, making  a  specialty  of  Jersey  cattle  and  standard-bred  harness  horses. 


(  9.5.5  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


Mr.  McDonald  was  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  agriculture  for  four  years,  from  1893  to  1897, 
and  also  served  as  president  of  the  Jersey  Cattle  Breeders'  Association  of  Indiana.  In  1903  he  wai 
appointed  as  one  of  the  Indiana  commissioners  for  the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair.  He  has  been  county 
chairman  of  Warren  county  for  eight  years.  In  his  youth,  also,  he  served  as  captain  of  the  Hickory 
Sprouts,  an  organization  of  boys  during  the  campaign  of  1860.  He  is  now  affiliated  with  the  West 
Lebanon  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  M.;  the  Royal  Arch  and  Knights  Templar  lodges  of  Danville,  111.,  and  the 
A.  A.  32d  Degree  Chicago  Consistory  and  Madina  Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 

Mr.  McDonald  has  been  twice  married,  his  first  wife,  who  was  formerly  Miss  Jessie  Sfcott,  and  to 
whom  he  was  married  March  31,  1874,  having  been  called  by  death  January  6,  1879.  On  the  30th  day 
of  November,  1881,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Miriam  Noble  was  solemnized,  and  she  has  since  presided  over 
his  home. 

His  five  sons  and  one  daughter  are  all  Democrats. 


DR.  MORDECAI  M.  McDOWELL 

A  physician  of  note,  a  distinguished  legislator,  a  successful  stock- 
breeder and  agriculturist,  father  of  the  city's  mayor,  and  withal  a  citizen  of 
unusual  worth  was  the  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this 
article,  Dr.  Mordecai  M.  McDowell,  of  Vincennes. 

He  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  on  the  10th  day  of  March, 
1845,  but  accompanied  his  parents  to  Indiana  in  infancy.  School  facilities 
at  that  period  being  limited,  he  was  deprived  of  early  schooling,  but  with 
brave  determination  acquired  for  himself  an  education  by  .studying  at  odd 
moments  and  at  night.  While  but  a  boy  he  entered  the  army,  in  the  year 
1862,  serving  in  Company  G,  13th  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry,  and  participat- 
ing in  several  important  engagements.  He  was  at  Appamattox  Court 
House  when  Lee  surrendered.  The  years  following  the  war  were  spent  in 
the  study  of  medicine  in  the  office  of  his  father.  In  1867  he  entered  the 
Medical  College  of  Louisville  and  the  following  year  received  his  degree 
from  this  institution  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession. 
In  1878  he  graduated  from  the  Hospital  College  of  Medicine  of  Louisville. 

In  the  year  1887  he  was  appointed  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  the  county  sheriff,  whom  death 
had  called;  the  following  year  was  elected  to  this  office  for  a  two-year  term  and  re-elected  in  1890.  In 
1906  he  was  elected  state  senator  from  Knox  and  Sullivan  counties,  and  in  the  assemblies  which  fol- 
lowed rendered  distinguished  service,  being  chairman  of  several  important  committees  and  active  in 
the  general  affairs  of  the  body. 

He  was  an  extensive  landowner,  holding  nearly  nine  hundred  acres  of  fine  Knox  county  ground, 
stocked  with  fine  stock,  notably  light  harness  horses,  his  reputation  as  a  breeder  of  these  animals 
being  national. 

Fraternally,  he  was  allied  with  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Knights 
Templar,  B.  P.  O.  Elks,  the  Knox  County  Medical  Society  and  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association. 

Mrs.  McDowell  was  formerly  Miss  Sarah  B.  McConnell,  to  whom  he  was  married  September  29, 
1870,  and  she  was  an  able  second  in  all  his  undertakings.  On  the  8th  day  of  November,  1913,  death 
called  him,  but  many  friends  are  left  to  revere  his  memory.  His  son.  Dr.  James  D.  McDowell,  was 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Vincennes  from  1910  to  1914. 


JOHN  A.  McFARLAND 

John  A.  McFarland,  proprietor  of  a  leading  grocery  of  Rensselaer,  is  well  known  also  as  a 
prominent  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  was  born  in  the  State  of  Kentucky  on  the 
25th  day  of  March,  1852,  but  at  the  age  of  ten  years  accompanied  his  mother  to  Indiana  (his  father 
having  enlisted  in  the  Union  army),  settling  in  Parke  county.  Here  he  remained  until  the  year  1884, 
at  which  time  he  came  to  Jasper  county. 

His  education  was  received  during  his  boyhood  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  and  later  con- 
tinued at  Wabash  College,  and  finally  a  course  was  taken  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville. 

On  the  8th  day  of  September,  1881,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Hendrix. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

In  the  year  1887  he  assumed  the  duties  of  trustee  of  Jordan  township  and  continued  in  this  ca- 
pacity for  a  term  of  two  years ;  and  he  has  since  that  time  served  as  treasurer  of  the  Democratic  cen- 
tral committee  of  the  county  and  chairman  of  the  city  Democratic  committee.  He  has  also  been  a  can- 
didate for  sheriff,  clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  mayor  and  alderman  of  the  city  of  Rensselaer. 


JOHN  S.  McFADDIN 

John  S.  McFaddin,  a  prominent  member  of  the  legal  profession  of  the 
state,  is  a  product  of  Parke  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  at  Rockville, 
May  21,  1869.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Rockville  and  graduated  from 
the  high  school  in  1887.  Later  his  studies  were  pursued  at  Wabash  College, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1891,  receiving  the  degree  of  B.  S.  and  later 
the  degree  of  M.  A.  February  3,  1892,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  law.  In  1896  he  was  a  candidate  for  prosecutor 
of  the  47th  circuit,  and  the  following  year  was  appointed  county  attorney,  a 
position  which  he  held  until  the  year  1900.  In  1904  he  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  circuit  judge  for  the  47th  judicial  circuit,  but  was  defeated. 
Two  years  later  he  became  a  member  of  the  Rockville  school  board  and 
served  until  1913,  during  which  time  the  new  high  school  building  was 
erected  and  the  present  standard  of  the  schools  established.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  State  Tuberculosis  Hospital,  and  in  this 
work  his  interest  and  his  sympathies  are  deeply  enlisted. 

Politically,  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  active  workers  in  the  ranks  of  Indiana  Democracy.  .A.t 
the  Democratic  state  conventions  for  the  years  1906,  1908  and  1910  he  was  a  member  of  the  commit- 
tees which  drafted  the  state  platforms,  and  in  1912  was  delegate  from  the  Fifth  district  to  the  na- 
tional convention  at  Baltimore.  In  the  year  1908  he  was  offered  the  appointment  of  judge  of  the 
Parke  and  Vermilion  circuit  courts,  but  this  honor  was  declined,  and  recently  on  the  creation  of  the 
new  separate  circuit  for  Parke  county  he  declined  to  consider  the  appointment  as  judg.e 

On  the  15th  day  of  January,  1896,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Cora  Mehurien,  and 
their  home  has  been  blessed  with  three  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Modern  Woodmen  and  different 
Masonic  bodies,  including  the  Knights  Templar,  Scottish  Rite  Masons  and  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is 
president  of  the  Indiana  Alumni  Association  of  the  Phi  Kappa  Psi  college  fraternity. 


THOMAS  H.   McGEORGE,  Jr. 

One  of  the  most  widely  known  and  most  highly  respected  citizens  of  the  city  of  Covington  is 
Thomas  H.  McGeorge,  Jr.,  not  alone  by  virtue  of  the  offices  he  has  held,  but  because  of  his  accom- 
plishments in  the  business,  fraternal  and  political  affairs  of  the  community  and  the  active  part  he 
has  taken  in  forwarding  the  various  movements  for  the  growth  and  development  of  his  home  city 
and  of  Fountain  county. 

Mr.  McGeorge  was  born  in  Covington  on  the  19th  day  of  August,  1868,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  that  place.  On  the  30th  day  of  December,  1891,  he  was  united  in 
marriage   to   Miss    Elizabeth   Slattery,   and   together  they  have   won  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

In  the  year  1894  Mr.  McGeorge  was  elected  city  clerk,  which  position  he  held  until  1906.  In 
the  fall  of  1909  he  was  elected  mayor  by  a  very  large  majority,  his  term  of  office  expiring  in  191.'!. 
at  which  time  he  was  re-elected  for  a  further  term  of  four  years.  Since  he  attained  his  majority 
he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  politics,  and  in  1914  was  delegate  to  the  state  Democratic  conven- 
tion. He  has  for  many  years  dealt  in  farm  machinery,  vehicles  and  harness,  and  holds  the  position 
of  president  of  the  Tri-State  Implement  and  Vehicle  Dealers'  Association.  He  is  also  president  of 
the  Young  Men's  Commercial  club  and  a  director  in  the  Covington  Fair  Association;  and  is  affili- 
ated with  the  I.  0.  O.  F.,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Order  of  Ben  Hur  and  F.  and  A.  M. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


occupied  the  position  of  superin- 
varied  one  and  his  versatility  has 


WILLIAM  A.  McILVAINE 

The  career  of  William  A.  Mcllvaine,  who  ha 
tendent  of  police  of  the  city  of  Muncie,  has  been  ; 
been  thoroughly  demonstrated. 

He  was  born  in  Zanesville,  Ohio,  on  the  14th  day  of  February,  1852,  and  his  edu- 
cation was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  this  place.  Here,  also,  on  the  3rd  day  of 
August,  1870,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Rosa  Berry  and  their  home  es- 
tablished. 

He  came  to  Muncie  in   1892  as  a  puddler  in  the  Darnell  rolling  mill  and  was 
selected  as  a  patrolman  on  the  Muncie  police  force  in  1893,  and  one  year  later  was 
promoted  to  captain  of  police. 
In  1914  he  resigned  from  the  force  to  enter  in  business  for  himself. 

On  February  1,  1910.  he  was  again  appointed  captain  of  the  police  department,  and  on  February 
14,  1914,  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  superintendent. 


ANDREW   V.   McKAMEY 

A  valued  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democracy  of  Putnam  county  is  Andrew  V.  McKamey 
of  Cloverdale. 

Mr.  McKamey  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  born  on  a  farm  in  Putnam  county  on  the  4th 
day  of  December,  1863.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  and  later  continued  his 
studies  at  the  normal  school  at  Danville.  Leaving  this  institution,  however,  he  entered  the  nor- 
mal at  Ladoga,  and   here  his  studies  were  completed. 

On  the  16th  day  of  September,  1886,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  M.  Hood  of  Cloverdale  was 
solemnized,  and  their  home  was  established  on  a  farm  three  miles  east  of  Cloverdale,  where  they 
resided  until  1895,  at  which  time  they  moved  to  Cloverdale. 

In  the  year  1894  he  was  elected  assessor  of  Cloverdale  township,  and  in  this  capacity  served 
for  six  years.  On  the  2nd  day  of  February,  1914,  he  received  from  President  Wilson  the  appoint- 
ment to  the  position  of  postmaster  of  Cloverdale  for  a  term  of  four  years.  Mr.  McKamey  is  an 
old-line  Democrat,  and  stanchly  adheres  to  the  principles  of  Jefferson. 


BEN  F.  McKEY 

To  the  citizens  of  Boone  county,  the  name  of  Mr.  Ben  F.  McKey  needs 
no  introduction,  being  that  of  a  life-long  citizen  of  this  community  and  the 
editor  of  the  leading  paper  of  Lebanon  for  many  years. 

Mr.  McKey  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Montgomery  county,  near  the 
town  of  Darlington,  on  the  5th  day  of  December,  1857.  In  his  early  child- 
hood, however,  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Boone  county,  where  they 
located;  and  here  his  schooling  was  received  in  the  common  schools  of  the 
county. 

Early  in  life  he  became  interested  in  the  newspaper  field,  and  on  the 
first  day  of  January,  1889,  assumed  control  of  the  Lebanon  Pioneer,  as 
editor  and  publisher.  In  the  years  which  have  since  intervened,  Mr.  McKey 
has  met  with  continued  success  in  this  work,  and  his  paper  has  become 
known  as  one  of  clearly  defined  principles,  conservative  in  expression  and 
far  removed  from  the  theories  of  so-called  "yellow  journalism." 

Politically,  he  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  to  the  tenets  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  has  been  of  highly  valued  service  to  the  local  organization  in  the  various  campaigns  through 
which  he  has  passed. 

Mr.  McKey  has  been  twice  married,  his  first  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  March  31,  1881,  having 
been  formerly  Miss  Jennie  Dyson.  On  the  28th  day  of  April,  1902,  death  deprived  him  of  the  compan- 
ionship of  this  lady;  and  on  the  14th  day  of  July,  1904,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Mrs.  Phronia 
B.  Shaw. 


(958) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


DANIEL  E.  McKINZIE 

A  prominent  worker  in  the  Democratic  party  since  he  cast  his  first  vote  for 
Cleveland  in  1882,  Daniel  F.  McKinzie  has  won  for  himself  a  wide  acquaintance  and 
many  friends  throughout  the  community.  His  birth  occurred  on  the  27th  day  of 
March,  1863,  in  Dearborn  county,  fourteen  miles  east  of  Aurora.  His  education  was 
received  in  the  schools  of  Center  township  and  Aurora,  and  he  has  since  been  prom- 
inently identified  with  the  business  life  of  this  city,  engaging  at  various  times  in  the 
livery,  ice  and  restaurant  business.  In  the  year  1910  he  was  a  candidate  for  sheriff, 
being  defeated  by  the  narrow  margin  of  98  votes;  but  in  1914  he  was  chosen  for  this 
responsible  position  with  a  majority  of  738  at  the  primary,  and  at  the  general  election 
in  November  he  received  the  flattering  majority  of  976,  having  the  distinction  of 
leading  his  ticket. 

He  was  married  in  1886  to  Miss  Ella  Co.x  and  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Eagl 
.■\rcanum. 


and  the  Royal 


HENRY  DeWITT  McLALLEN 

A  representative  citizen  of  Whitley  county,  and  one  of  her  loyal  Democratic  workers,  is  Mr. 
Henry  DeWitt  McLallen. 

He  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Whitley  county  on  the  3rd  day  of  January,  1870.  Here,  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  district,  his  schooling  was  received,  his  graduation  from  the  High  School  of 
Columbia  City  occurring  in  the  year  1887.  A  course  of  study  was  then  pursued  at  the  Indiana 
State  University  at  Bloomington. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  September,  1896,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Mabel  Liggett,  and 
she  has  since  presided  over  his  home  and  dispensed  its  hospitality. 

For  many  years  Mr.  McLallen  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  Columbia  City, 
and  now  holds  the  position  of  vice-president  of  the  First  National  Bank  and  secretary  of  the  Provi 
dent  Trust  Company  of  that  place.  He  is  also  a  director  in  several  manufacturing  corporations  of  im- 
portance in  the  twelfth  district. 

Although  a  stanch  adherent  to  Democratic  principles,  and  a  loyal  worker  for  the  cause,  Mr.  Mc- 
Lallen  has   never   asked    or   accepted    any   favors   from  the  party. 


J.  C.  McMULLAN 

One  of  the  most  active  party  workers  in  Tipton  county  is  J.  C.  McMuUan,  a 
leading  undertaker  and  furniture  dealer  of  Kempton. 

Mr.  McMullan  was  born  August  21,  1860,  on  a  farm  one  mile  west  of  Arcadia,  in 
Hamilton  county.  Here  he  attended  common  schools,  and  early  in  life  engaged  in  the 
pursuit  of  agriculture.  On  the  11th  day  of  January,  1890,  however,  he  came  to 
Kempton  and  engaged  in  his  present  business,  and  here  he  has  been  an  active  factor 
in  the  business  life  of  the  town. 

On  the  26th  day  of  November,  1888,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lula 
Rodenbeck,  and  she  has  since  presided  over  his  home  and  been  his  faithful  assistant. 

Politically,  he  has  been  an  active  Democratic  worker,  serving  on  the  election 
board  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  acting  as   delegate  to  various  conventions.     He  is 
the  fraternal  orders  of  Masons,  Odd  Fellows  and  M  odern  Woodmen. 


JAMES   R.    McREYNOLDS 

James  R.  McReynolds,  more  familiarly  known  to  the  citizens  of  Kokonio  as  "Bob"  McReynolds, 
has  for  many  years  been  closely  identified  with  the  workings  of  the  Democratic  organization  in 
that  section.  He  was  born  in  Tipton  county  on  the  7th  day  of  August,  1858.  Upon  leaving  the 
common  school  he  took  a  normal  course.  His  first  vote  was  cast  in  Tipton  county.  He  later  moved 
to  Howard  county,  residing  in  Harrison  township.  In  the  year  1886  he  was  elected  trustee  of  that 
township,  a  position  which  he  filled  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents.  Later  he 
made  the  race  for  county  sheriff,  and  was  defeated  by  the  Republican  nominee  by  only  850  votes, 
and  this  in  strong  Republican  territory. 

Mr.  McReynolds  married  Miss  Rachel  S.  Pence. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

PHILIP  L.  MACKLIN 

Philip  Macklin  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Indiana,  on  the  2nd  day  of  June,  1882.  Here  his 
childhood  was  spent,  and  his  education  was  received  largely  in  the  schools  of  the  county.  After  his 
graduation  from  the  common  schools,  he  attended  the  normal  school  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana.  On  the 
12th  day  of  September,  1904,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lola  Jackson.  Later  he  became  engaged 
in  the  clothing  business  in  Decatur,  and  was  soon  prominently  identified  with  the  business  life  of  the 
community.  He  has  at  all  times  been  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
on  the  first  of  January,  1913,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  surveyor  of  Adams  county. 


GEORGE    MACOMBER 

George  Macomber,  superintendent  of  the  Masonic  Home  at  Franklin,  is  a  native 
of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  that  state  on  the  2nd  day 
of  December,  1869.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district,  and  later 
continued  his  studies  at  the  State  Normal  School  in  Shippensburg,  Pa.  This  was 
followed  by  a  course  at  the  State  College,  at  Belfonte,  Pa. 

In  the  year  1894,  after  having  engaged  in  educational  work  in  his  home  state, 
Mr.  Macomber  came  to  Indiana  to  accept  a  position  as  instructor  in  the  Indiana 
Boys'  School  at  Plainfield,  and  in  this  work  he  remained  for  twelve  years.  During 
this  period  he  was  chosen  superintendent  of  a  state  institution  in  Missouri. 

In  the  year  1908  he  returned  to  Indiana  and  was  elected  treasurer  of  Hendricks 
county,  breaking  into  a  Republican  stronghold  and  being  the  first  Democrat  ever  elected  to  this  posi- 
tion in  that  community.  So  ably  did  he  administer  the  affairs  of  the  office  and  with  such  conscien- 
tious zeal  did  he  labor  that  he  was  re-elected  in  1912  with  an  increased  majority  for  a  further  term 
of  two  years. 

On  November  2,  1899,  Mr.  Macomber  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mattie  E.  York,  of  Hen- 
dricks county. 


FRANCIS   W.    MACOUGHTRY 

Few  citizens  of  Fountain  county  are  so  well  known  as  Francis  W. 
Macoughtry,  who  for  many  years  has  occupied  various  positions  of  responsi- 
bility in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth,  and  has  served  with  distinction 
and  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents  in  whatever  capacity  he  has  been 
found. 

Mr.  Macoughtry  was  born  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  May  18, 
1842.  Bereft  by  death  of  his  father  in  infancy  he  was  brought  to  Indians 
at  the  age  of  seven  years  by  his  mother,  who  married  James  Hamilton  of 
Warren  county,  and  their  home  was  established  in  West  Lebanon,  where 
the  boy  Francis  attended  his  first  school.  Later  his  studies  were  continued 
in  the  public  schools  at  Waveland. 

In  the  summer  of  1862,  Mr.  Macoughtry  enlisted  in  the  86th  Indiana 
Volunteer  Regiment,  going  to  the  front  with  Company  E,  from  Warren 
county,  and  served  in  the  army  of  the  Cumberland  under  Generals  Buell 
and  Rosecrans.  He  received  his  discharge  before  the  close  of  the  war  on 
account  of  ill  health.  On  the  23rd  of  May,  1871,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rachel  Plowman,  but 
death  deprived  him  of  his  companion  in  January,  1901.  On  October  22,  1913,  he  married  Miss 
Frances  Petit,  who  is  now  the  mistress  of  his  home. 

In  1882  Mr.  Macoughtry  was  elected  to  the  position  of  city  councilman  O'f  Attica,  and  two  years 
later  became  mayor  of  that  city.  In  1890  he  wras  elected  clerk  of  the  Fountain  circuit  court,  and 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  Attica,  February  28,  1914.  He  has  attended  most  of  the  county,  state 
and  national  conventions  since  1872,  and  served  six  times  as  county  chairman  of  Fountain  connty 
Democracy.     Mr.  Macoughtry  has  been  an  active   Mason  since  1869. 


(  960) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  6  -  1  9  1  (i 


BERNARD  M.  MADDEN 

The  lately  retiring:  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Alexandria  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  the 
incumbent  of  various  positions  of  trust  in  the  service  of  the  community  and  also  of  the  Democratic 
or.g-anization  of  the  county. 

Bernard  M.  Madden  was  born  in  Rushville  on  the  29th  day  of  January,  1871.  In  the  public 
and  parochial  schools  he  received  his  schooling,  and  at  an  early  age  learned  the  trade  of  marble 
cutting.  This  trade  he  followed  in  Rush  county  and  later  in  Connersville,  until  the  spring  of  1897, 
when  he  located  in  Alexandria  and  entered  into  the  grocery  business  with  his  father.  Later  he  also 
conducted  a  meat  market. 

Since  the  days  of  his  youth  Mr.  Madden  has  been  active  politically  and  has  served  the  party 
as  precinct  committeeman  and  secretary  of  the  township  committee.  In  the  year  1906  he  was  elected 
councilman-at-large  and  in  that  capacity  served  till  1910,  when  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  clerk, 
for  a  four-year  term.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  was  elected  city  treasurer,  his  term  ex- 
piring in  1918.     He  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Elks. 


H.  A.   MAKER 

H.  A.  Maker  was  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Indiana,  July  21,  1864.  He  was  born  in  the  same 
house  in  which  his  mother  was  born  twenty-five  y3ars  before,  and  still  stands  the  same  place  as  one 
of  the  interesting  landmarks  of  the  county.  He  is  the  son  of  Seth  R.  and  Nancy  J.  (Hamble) 
Maker,  and  was  reared  on  a  farm,  later  attending  Central  Normal  College,  where  he  was  a  class- 
mate of  Governor  Samuel  M.  Ralston,  Judge  Edward  W.  Felt,  Thomas  Duncan,  E.  E.  Barrett  and 
other  good  Democrats. 

After  leaving  school  Mr.  Maker  taught  for  a  time  and  then  returned  to  the  farm,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  death  of  his  father,  removing  to  Noblesville  in  1907.  Mr.  Maker  is  best  known 
for  his  literary  productions,  especially  the  writing  of  poems  of  worth,  and  gave  up  the  study  of 
law  to  give  most  of  his  time  to  this  work.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Western  Association  of 
writers  during  the  life  of  that  organization.  He  for  some  time  was  secretary  of  the  Hamilton 
County  Historical  Association  and  is  generally  regarded  as  the  best  informed  man  in  the  county  on 
local  history. 

Mr.  Maker  delivered  the  closing  exercise  of  the  Western  Association  of  Writer.s — the  selection 
follows: 

"OF  THE  MAKING  OF  BOOKS  THERE  IS  NO  END" 

iTo  ChnrU-s   Kii^'i-nr   B;niks.    lTrsicI,-iit   \Y,-Morn   Asso.-i;ilii.n   ..f  Writfi-sl 

"Of  the  making  of  books  there   is   no   end;" 

Since  the  very  moment  when   time  began 
With    a    master   hand    to    mix  and  blend 

Material  things   as   time  but  can, — 

Wherever  we  search   the   infinite  span. 
The   hand   of  nature   the  facts  extend. 

To  clearly  prove  to  the  mind  of  man, 
"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end." 

"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end;" 

The  very  hills  with  their  strata  lines. 
And  their  deep  ravines  that  downward  wend 

Through    ragged    shrubs    and  tangled  vines. 

Past   stately   oaks   and   slender  pines. 
With   their   tuneful   birds,   for  aye  contend 

With  an  eloquence  more  than  of  great  divines, 
"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end." 

"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end;" 

As   the   soft   sweet   summer  breezes  blow, 
Making  the  trees  to  wave  and  bend 

And  their  shades  on  the  green  sward  come  and  go, 

Or   their   picture   change   in  the  lake  below, — 


31— History 


f  961  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 

Each  several  change  doth  a  pajre  append 

To   the   world    of   books,   to  clearly  show 
"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end." 

"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end;" 

When   the   frost  king   reigns,  and  the  winter  snows 

In  their  mighty  majesties  descend. 
And  their  mantle  white   o'er  the  whole  scene  throws, 
•  Bringing  man  and  beast  the  train  of  woes 

That  ever  upon  their  wake  attend. 
All  reveal  the  truth,  and  the  fact  disclose, 

"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end." 

"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end;" 

Each    one    that    inhabits    this  earthly  sphere. 
With   a   fervor   he   scarce   can  comprehend, 

As  he  lives  through  each  succeeding  year 

And  adds  new  phases  to  his  career. 
With  his  every  act  doth  outward  send 

The    evidence    proving,   full  and  clear, 
"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end." 

"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end;" 

As  time  elapses  from  age  to  age. 
And  the  eras  that  go  in  their  turns  append 

To    history's    bulk    another  page. 

Dispensing  more  light  to  savant  and  sage, — 
"To  the  ending  doom"  they  ever  bend 

Their  tale  to  proclaim  at  every  stage, 
"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end." 

"  "Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end;" 

And   when   we   have   passed  to  the  end  of  time, 
To  the  place  where  our  souls  in  Akasa*  blend, 
Or    enter    oblivion's    sphere  sublime, 
Or  wander  athwart  some  ethereal  clime, — 
Methinks  some  tone  will  there  attend. 

And    proclaim    more    loudly   than    this    poor    rhyme, 
"Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end." 

November  25th,  1904. 

*Akasa  is  an  untranslated  and  untranslatable  Sanskrit    word.      Its    nearest    English    equivalent 
"ether."     It  differs  from  ether  in  the  fact  that  ether  is  atomic,  while  Akasa  is  not. 


R.  H.  MALONE 

R.  H.  Malone  has  been  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Alexandria  and  actively  identified  with 
the  business  and  political  affairs  of  the  place.  He  served  as  city  clerk— making  a  record  for 
business    administration. 

He  was  born  in  Alexandria  on  the  13th  day  of  October,  1885,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  district.  Early  in  life  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  American  Plate  Glass  Co., 
and  here  he  remained  for  a  number  of  years,  later  forming  a  connection  with  the  Lippincott  Glass 
Co.  where  he  served  as  timekeeper  for  six  years. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  an  active  worker  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of 
Democracy  and  was  at  various  times  delegate  to  the  county  conventions  of  the  party..  In  the  fall  of 
1913  he  was  elected  city  clerk  of  Alexandria,  assuming  the  duties  of  office  on  the  first  day  of  the 
following  January,  his  term  of  service  to  expire  in   1918. 


(962) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-19  16 


GOLDEN  DAVID   MANN 

Golden  David  Mann,  one  of  the  active  party  workers  of  South  Bend,  is  a  native 
of  that  section  of  the  state  and  was  born  on  the  2nd  day  of  July,  1884.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  South  Bend  and  at  an  early  age  became  an  enthusiastic  worker 
for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  Democracy.  On  March  31,  1904,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Blanche  Norris  and  established  his  home  in  South  Bend,  whfie 
he  since  has  resided. 

Mr.  Mann  is  the  proprietor  of  a  thriving  cigar  store  and  pocket  billiard  hall, 
and  has  a  wide  acquaintance  in  local  business  circles.  He  is  an  active  worker  in 
the  ranks  of  the  party  and  has  rendered  valued  service  to  the  local  organization. 


CURTIS  MARSHALL 

Curtis  Marshall,  former  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  fifth  judicial  district 
and  prominent  attorney  of  Jefferson  county,  was  born  in  the  state  of  Kentucky  on  the 
10th  day  of  March,  1868.  At  the  age  of  three  years  he  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Jefferson  county,  and  here  he  was  reared  and  his  interests  have  centered.  He  at- 
tended the  schools  of  his  district,  later  continuing  his  studies  at  Paris  Academy,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1885.  He  taught  school  and  in  189.5  he  was-admitted 
to  the  bar  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  the  law,  and  in  this  profession  he  has 
demonstrated  marked  capability. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  labored  zealously  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
cause  of  Democracy  in  his  section  of  the  state,  in  1902  serving  as  chairman  of  the 
county  committee.  In  1904  he  held  not  only  this  position  but  that  of  chairman  of  the  city  commit- 
tee of  Madison  as  well.  Throughout  ten  campai 'ins  he  was  a  member  of  the  central  committee,  giv- 
ing freely  of  his  time  and  energy  to  further  the  work.  During  the  period  from  June  1,  1897,  to 
June  1,  1900,  and  again  from  May  15,  1907,  to  January  1.  1912.  discharged  the  duties  of  school  trustee 
of  the  city  of  Madison;  then  he  became  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  5th  judicial  circuit,  which  posi- 
tion he  continued  to  hold  until  his  term  of  office  expired,  January  1,  191(3.  In  the  year  1914  he  was 
nominated  for  judge  of  this  district,  but  declined  in  the  interest  of  party  harmony  to  make  the  race. 

On  September  1,  1914,  Mr.  Marshall  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Daisy  Ernst  of  Madison,  and 
they  live  in  a  modest  but  beautiful  little  home  on   West  Main  street  in  that  city. 


JOHN    MARSHALL 

The  element  of  youthful  workers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  of  Kokomo  has  found 
a  valuable  recruit  in  the  person  of  John  Marshall;  for,  when  but  three  years  out  of  college,  he 
reached  a  position  of  influence  in  the  party  counsels  and  in  1914  was  candidate  for  prosecuting 
attorney  of  Howard  county. 

Mr.  Marshall  was  born  in  Cass  county  on  the  8th  of  July,  1888,  and  in  that  locality  received 
the  foundation  of  his  education,  attending  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  graduating  from  the 
high  school  in  the  year  1907.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  established  his  residence  in  Kokomo,  at 
the  same  time  attending  the  State  University  at  Bloomington,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1912.     While  there  he  became  affiliated  with  the  Gamma  Eta  Gamma  fraternity. 

Since  his  graduation  Mr.  Marshall  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  political  and  municipal  af- 
fairs, and  is  particularly  zealous  for  the  promotion  of  movements  for  the  public  good. 

John  Marshall,  after  graduating  in  law  with  the  class  of  1912  from  the  State  University  at 
Bloomington,  Ind.,  entered  into  the  practice  of  law  at  Montpelier,  Ind.,  in  the  year  1912,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Jump  &  Marshall.  The- firm  of  Jump  &  Marshall  consists  of  Forrest  E.  Jump  and 
John  Marshall.  They  moved  their  law  offices  to  the  city  of  Kokomo  in  March,  1913,  and  John  Mar- 
shall has  since  that  time  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  under  this  firm  name  until  July,  1918. 
at  which  time  he  enlisted  in  the  military  service  and  was  in  France,  a  private  in  the  325th  Field 
Artillery,  84th  Division.     He  still  retains  his  interest  in  the  law  firm  of  Jump  <Sr  Marshall. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


THOMAS  RILEY  MARSHALL 

There  have  been  other  men  elected  to  the  office  of  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  from  Indiana,  but  Thomas 
Riley  Marshall  was  the  first  native  of  the  State  to  hold  that 
position.  His  grandfather,  Riley  Marshall,  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  and  his  father.  Dr.  Daniel  M.  Marshall,  was 
born  near  Winchester,  in  Randolph  county,  March  5,  1823. 
The  grandfather,  Thomas  Marshall,  was  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  and  a  cousin  of  Chief  Justice 
Marshall.  He  came  to  Indiana  from  Greenbrier  county, 
Virginia,  and  after  some  years'  residence  in  Randolph  county, 
located  in  Grant  county,  where  he  served  as  county  clerk 
from   1832  to  1838. 

After  the  usual  course  in  the  common  schools,  Daniel  M. 
Marshall  began  reading  medicine  with  Dr.  J.  S.  Shively,  of 
Marion,  and  then  went  to  Rush  Medical  College,  where  he 
graduated  in  1845.  He  entered  the  practice  in  Northern  In- 
diana, and  remained  there  with  the  exception  of  a  brief 
sojourn  in  Missouri,  before  the  Civil  war.  His  anti-slavery 
views  made  him  unpopular  there,  and  he  returned  to  his 
state,  where  he  acquired  an  extensive  practice  in  several 
counties.  He  finally  located  at  Columbia  City,  where  he  died 
October  13,  1892,  survived  by  the  wife  of  his  youth.  Her 
maiden  name  was  Martha  E.  Patterson,  and  she  was  a  descendant  of  the  Carrolls,  of  Carrollton. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Marshall  had  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  the  latter  now  deceased.  The 
son,  Thomas  Riley,  was  born  at  North  Manchester,  Wabash  county,  March  14,  1854.  He  attend- 
ed the  public  schools,  and  then  entered  Wabash  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1873,  with  the 
degree  of  B.  A.  He  then  located  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  began  reading  law  with  Judge  Walter  Olds, 
later  of  the  supreme  bench  of  Indiana.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  on  his  twenty-first  birthday, 
and  began  practicing  at  Columbia  City,  being  successful  in  the  law  from  the  start.  He  formed 
a  partnership  with  W.  F.  McNagny  and  P.  H.  Clugston,  and  the  firm  of  Marshall,  McNagny 
&  Clugston  became  known  as  one  of  the  strongest  in  northern  Indiana,  Mr.  Marshall  attaining  not^ 
able  rank  as  a  jury  lawyer. 

Mr.  Marshall's  appearance  in  public  life  was  somewhat  meteoric.  He  was  a  Democrat  from 
principle,  and  always  took  an  interest  in  politics,  but  without  aspiration  for  office.  In  1880  he 
was  induced  to  take  the  nomination  for  prosecuting  attorney  in  a  hopelessly  Republican  district, 
and  was  defeated  as  a  matter  of  course.  He  was  in  demand  as  a  campaign  speaker,  and  rendered 
material  service  in  that  way.  From  1896  to  1898  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic  com- 
mittee for  the  12th  Congressional  District.  In  1908  the  active  candidates  for  the  Democratic  nom- 
ination for  Governor  were  Samuel  M.  Ralston  and  L.  Ert  Slack.  Mr.  Marshall  announced  himself 
as   a   candidate,   but   made   no   active   canvass    for  the   nomination. 

In  the  convention  Ralston  had  the  lead,  but  could  not  command  enough  votes  to  nominate; 
and  after  several  ballots  he  withdrew,  and  his  supporters  went  to  Marshall,  nominating  him  for 
Governor.  The  campaign  which  followed  was  exciting  and  peculiar,  state  issues  having  an  unusual 
force  in  a  presidential  year.  The  Republicans  nominated  Congressman  James  E.  Watson  for  Gov- 
ernor. The  presidential  candidates  were  Taft  and  Bryan.  Taft  carried  the  state  by  348,993,  to 
Bi-yan's  338,2(52;  but  Marshall  defeated  Watson  by  348,849,  to  334,040.  The  only  other  Democrats 
elected  on  the  state  ticket  were  J.  Frank  Hall  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  with  a  plurality  of  1,672, 
and  Robert  J.  Aley  for  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  with  a  plurality  of  762.  The  Demo- 
crats carried  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  the  Republicans  had  enough  hold-over  senators 
to  make  the   Senate   Republican. 

This  victory,  after  a  long  period  of  Republican  rule,  indicated  a  remarkable  personal  popu- 
larity for  Governor  Marshall;  and  his  administration  was  apparently  popular,  for  in  1910  the 
Democrats  carried  the  state  by  more  than  12,000,  electmg  a  legislature  that  was  Democratic  in  both 
branches.  By  this  time,  Governor  Marshall  had  become  impi-essed  with  the  necessity  of  amend- 
ments of  the  constitution  of  Indiana,  and  with  the  impossibility  of  amendment  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed by  it.  There  are  a  number  of  amendments  that  have  been  held  to  be  in  effect  by  the  Su- 
preme Court,  tut  no  one  of  them  was  adopted  by  "a  majority  of  the  electors  of  the  state,"  as  re- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

quired  by  the  constitution.  They  were  sustained  on  the  lejal  fiction  that  when  voted  on  at  a 
special  election  the  court  has  no  means  of  knowing-  that  there  were  more  voters  in  the  state  tlian 
voted  at  the  election;  and  yet  the  court  takes  judicial  notice  of  general  elections,  and  at  the  gen- 
eral election  preceding  the  "adoption"  of  each  of  these  amendments  there  were  more  than  twice 
as   many  votes   cast  as   were   cast   for   the  amendment. 

In  1911  there  was  a  special  complication  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  court  had  held  that 
when  an  amendment  was  submitted  to  the  people,  and  was  not  rejected,  but  failed  for  lack  of  a 
constitutional  majority,  it  was  still  "pending-"  and  might  be  voted  on  at  the  next  election.  The 
constitution  provided  that  when  one  or  more  amendments  were  "pending"  no  other  amendment 
should  be  introduced;  and  at  that  time  "the  lawyers'  amendment"  had  been  voted  on  several  time3, 
and  was  still  pending  under  this  rule.  But  the  Supreme  Court  had  also  said:  'The  people  of  tlie 
state  niay  form  an  original  constitution,  or  abrogate  an  old  one  and  form  a  new  one  at  any  time, 
without  any  political  restriction  except  the  constitution  of  the  United  States."  (State  vs.  Swift, 
69  Ind.  505.)  And  this  accords  with  the  express  declaration  of  the  constitution  itself,  that  "the 
people  have,  at  all  times,  an  indefeasible  right  to  alter  and  reform  their  government." 

As  is  generally  understood,  most  constitutional  provisions  are  not  self-operating;  and  provis- 
ion for  their  operation  is  a  legislative  function.  For  example,  it  is  provided  that "all  elections 
shall  be  free  and  equal,"  but  elections  could  not  be  held  at  all  unless  a  law  provided  for  their  con- 
duct. Governor  Marshall  adopted  the  idea  of  the  legislature's  submitting  a  new  constitution  to  the 
people  for  adoption;  and  the  legislature  passed  a  law  for  that  purpose.  The  reactionary  forces  of 
the  state  were  at  once  aroused;  and  it  must  be  apparent  to  anyone,  by  this  time,  that  there  are  very 
strong  influences  in  Indiana  opposed  to  any  change  in  the  constitution  that  is  beneficial  to  the  pub- 
lic.    An  injunction  was  obtained  to  prevent  the  submission  of  the  question  to  the  people. 

The  Supreme  Court  sustained  this  ruling  that  the  legislature  could  not  submit  to  the  people  a 
question  which  the  constitution  provided  the  people  alone  could  decide,  and  which  they  had  at  all 
times  an  indefeasible  right  to  decide.  (EUingham  vs.  Dye,  178  Ind.  336.)  Governor  Marshall  ap- 
pealed to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  on  the  ground  that  our  Supreme  Court  was  de- 
stroying our  republican  form  of  government  by  usurping  and  obstructing  legislative  powers.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  did  not  decide  the  question,  but  dismissed  the  case  on  the 
ground  that  Governor  Marshall  appealed  in  his  official  capacity,  and  not  as  a  private  individual, 
who  claimed  that  he  had  been  injured  by  the  decision.     (Marshall,  Governor,  vs.  Dye,  231  U.  S.  250.) 

The  violence  of  the  opposition  to  "the  Tom  Marshall  constitution,"  as  it  was  called,  adver- 
tised Governor  Marshall  throughout  the  land,  for  it  was  denounced  by  the  capitalistic  press  every- 
where. But  the  denunciation  was  confined  chiefly  to  the  mode  of  submission,  for  although  the 
real  objection  was  to  the  proposed  changes,  they  were  of  a  character  that  made  open  criticism  in 
advisable.  The  chief  one  was  for  the  purification  of  the  suffrage.  Indiana  had  been  disgraced 
by  election  frauds  for  years,  and  Governor  Marshall  saw  that  the  only  remedy  was  in  t'.^e  quali- 
fication of  voters.  The  constitution  allows  aliens  to  vote — even  alien  enemies.  It  has  no  restric- 
tions of  education  or  payment  of  taxes.  It  throws  the  door  wide  open  to  the  purchasable  cla-s 
of    voters;    and    the    proposed    changes    corrected  these  evils. 

But  the  violence  of  the  opposition  was  a  recommendation  to  intelligent  and  progressive  vot- 
ers everywhere;  and  it  gave  Governor  Marshall  a  national  standing  as  a  broad-minded,  progres- 
sive man,  and  a  man  of  courage  and  originality.  It  was  the  chief  factor  in  causing  the  Indiana 
Democracy  to  present  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  1912,  and  in  causing  the  na- 
tional convention  of  that  year  to  select  him  as  the  running  mate  for  Woodrow  Wilson.  Their  tri- 
umphant election  in  that  year,  and  re-election  in  1916,  as  well  as  Mr.  Marshall's  thoroughly  accept- 
able service  as  Vice-President  are  well  known  matters  of  national  history. 

On  October  2,  1895,  Mr.  Marshall  was  married  to  Miss  Lois  I.  Kimsey,  of  Angola,  Ind.. 
whose  grace  and  tact  have  added  greatly  to  his  success  in  the  social  relations  of  official  life.  She, 
also,  is  of  an  old  Indiana  family.  Her  grandfather.  Dr.  Joseph  C.  Kimsey,  was  one  of  the  earli- 
est and  most  successful  practitioners  of  northeastern  Indiana.  Her  father,  William  E.  Kimsey, 
was  bom  in  Allen  county  in  1851,  and  later  removed  to  Angola,  where  M  became  one  of  the  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Steuben  county,  and  served  as  clerk  of  the  county  from  1891  to  1895.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Marshall  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but  are  much   devoted   to  an  adopted   child. 

Vice-President  Marshall  is  a  consistent  Presbyterian,  an-J  has  served  for  years  as  a  trustee 
of  Wabash  College.  He  has  always  retained  his  interest  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  fraternity,  an  1 
is  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason.  He  is  a  popular  platform  speaker,  a  great  reader,  and  an  agreealle 
conversationalist.  His  personal  qualities  have  given  him  the  successes  that  have  placed  him  amon^ 
the  notable  men  of  Indiana. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

VALENTINE  A.   MATTERN 

Valentine  A.  Mattern,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Wabash,  was  born  in  Wabash  county,  Indiana, 
August  23,  1858,  the  son  of  a  Bavarian  who  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  Indiana. 

On  the  18th  day  of  October,  1880,  Mr.  Mattern  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Caroline 
Lauzer.  Three  years  later  he  became  connected  with  the  general  merchandise  firm  of  J.  W.  Busick 
&  Son,  and  at  the  expiration  of  four  years  entered  the  firm  of  Young  &  Herring,  grocers.  Later  he 
became  interested  in  the  dry  goods  business  and  in  1894  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Connor, 
Mattern  &  Connor,  jewelers.  Six  years  later  this  concern  embarked  in  the  dry  goods  business  and 
eventually,  the  firm  dissolving  partnership,  Mr.  Mattern  and  his  brother  became  the  proprietors  of 
the  dry  goods  business.  In  1905  Mr.  Mattern  became  the  sole  proprietor  and  in  1913  his  son,  Cecil 
H.  Mattern,  became  a  partner  and  the  name  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  V.  A.  Mattern  &  Son. 

Mr.  Mattern  was  a  member  of  the  city  hospital  board  for  two  years,  for  some  time  a  member 
of  the  Wabash  school  board,  and  has  served  as  precinct  committeeman  since  1902.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  orders  of  Elks,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Maccabees  and  Foresters.  He  is  widely  known  through- 
out the  county  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Mattern  &  Tomson,  breeders  of  Chester  White  hogs. 


THEODORE  T.  MARTIN 
Mr.  Martin  served  for  a  number  of  years  as  superintendent  of  schools  of  Hen- 
dricks county;  is  a  man  eminently  fitted  for  the  position,  combining  tact  and  culture 
with  progressive  ideas  and  a  desire  for  the  best  methods  in  his  work. 

Theodore  T.  Martin  was  born  in  Orange  county,  August  25,  1882.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  and  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  Danville.  His  studies  were 
later  continued  at  the  Central  Normal  College,  and  finally  a  course  was  taken  at  the 
state  normal  at  Terre  Haute,  from  which  he  graduated  with  the  class  of  1909.  Since 
boyhood  he  has  evinced  an  interest  in  educational  affairs,  and  engaged  in  teaching 
for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  election,  in  June,  1911,  to  the  responsibilities  of 
his  present  office. 

He  is  a  life-long  Democrat,  having  cast  his  first  vote  for  William  J.  Bryan  and  has  served  as 
delegate  to  a  number  of  state  conventions.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  order  and  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  church. 

His   marriage   to   Miss   Marie   Osborn  was   solemnized   in  the  year  1906. 


EDGAR  MAUCK 

Edgar  Mauck,  a  leading  citizen  of  Gibson  county,  wits  born  at  Owensville  on  the  4th  day  of 
January,  1854.  His  forebears  were  of  Irish-German,  Revolutionary  stock  and  settled  in  Indiana 
at  Mauckport,  Harrison   county,  in   1801. 

His  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  Princeton  until  he  completed  the  high  school 
course,  after  which  he  attended  the  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute.  Immediately  thereafter 
he  began  his  work  in  the  educational  field,  teaching  school  in  the  winter  and  working  on  the  farm  in 
summer,    continuing    in    this    manner   for    fifteen   years. 

On  the  4th  day  of  April,  1883,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Angeline  Fitzgerrell,  of  Posey- 
ville,  Posey  county,  and  she  has  remained  his  faithful  helpmate.    They  have  three  children. 

In  1908  he  was  elected  county  treasurer,  and  re-elected  in  1910,  being  one  of  the  few  Demo- 
crats elected  in  twenty  years  in  Gibson  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  county  fair  association,  direc- 
tor in  Princeton  commercial  club  and  a  member  I.  O.  O.  F.  At  present  Mr.  Mauck  is  chairman  of 
the  Gibson  county  Democratic  central  committee.  He  resides  on  a  splendid  farm  five  miles  east  of 
Princeton. 

GEORGE  ALVA  MAXEY 

George  Alva  Maxey  is  an  old-line  Democrat,  descended  from  Democratic  ancestors,  and  the  son 
of  a  Union  soldier,  his  father  having  fought  four  years  in  the  Union  army. 

Mr.  Maxey  was  born  in  Marshall  county,  Indiana,  on  the  8th  day  of  November,  1854.  His  edu- 
cation was  received  in  the  common  schools  of  Pulaski   and   Marshall    counties,   where   his   childhood 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


was  spent.  In  the  year  1877  he  located  permanently  in  Marshall  county,  and  here  he  has  since  re- 
mained and  his  business  and  social  interests  are   centered. 

On  the  16th  day  of  May,  1880,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Rachel  A.  Barr  was  solemnized,  and  she  has 
since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home. 

Mr.  Maxey  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  affairs  of  the  commonwealth,  and  has  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  Democratic  party  in  his  section  by  stanchly  adhering  to  its  tenets  and  en- 
deavoring at  all  times  to  further  its  principles.  In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  elected  county  treasurer 
on  this  ticket,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  office  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1912,  being  again  elected 
in  November  of  1912,  his  second  term  expiring  December  31,  1915. 


THOMAS   S.   MEEKER 

A  prominent  citizen  of  the  city  of  Indianapolis  and  closely  identified 
with  its  financial  and  political  affairs,  Thomas  Meeker  is  also  known  as  a 
loyal  worker  for  the  cause  of  Democracy. 

Thomas  S.  Meeker  was  born  in  New  Albany,  Indiana,  on  the  first  day 
of  June.  1880,  and  there  his  boyhood  was  spent,  attending  the  public  schools 
of  the  place.  Later,  however,  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  St.  Louis  and 
his  education  was  continued  in  the  high  school  there,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  the  year  1898.  Later  he  came  to  Indianapolis  and  here  his 
friendships  have  since  been  largely  formed  and  his  business  interests 
established.  He  is  now  the  president  of  the  Meeker  Hotel  Company  and 
is  a  stockholder  in  the  Continental  National  Bank  of  this  city. 

Mr.  Meeker  has  been  an  adherent  of  Democratic  principles  since  child- 
hood, having  come  from  a  long  line  of  prominent  Democrats  and  having 
the  tenets  of  Jefferson  instilled  into  his  mind  from  childhood.  He  is  a 
nephew  of  James  H.  Rice  and  of  former  Treasurer  of  State  James  B.  Ryan. 

In  the  year  1910  Mr.  Meeker  organized  the  Old  Hickory  Club,  of  which  he  is  now  president, 
an  organization  which  has  contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  the  party  in  this  section.  He  is 
also  an  active  member  of  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks,  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  and  the  Indianapolis 
Academy  of  Music. 

On  the  17th  day  of  November,  1909,  Mr.  Meeker  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Nellie  Joitlan, 
and  a  little  son,  Thomas,  Jr.,  is  now  an  important  member  of  the  household. 


WILLIAM  MELCHIOR 

Mr.  Melchior  was  county  superintendent  of  schools  of  Dubois  county 
for  a  number  of  years,  bringing  to  his  work  a  broad-minded,  progressive 
spirit,  combined  with  learning,  culture  and  a  wide  experience  in  the  needs 
of  the  human  mind. 

William  Melchior  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  born  on  the  6th  day 
of  November,  1869.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Jasper,  his  present 
home,  and  after  graduating  from  the  schools  of  this  place,  continued  his 
studies  at  Indiana  University,  later  taking  a  course  at  Purdue  University. 
He  taught  for  14  years,  in  three  different  states.  He  traveled  extensively 
and  lived  for  four  years  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

On  the  29th  day  of  June.  1903,  Mr.  Melchior  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Nellie  Beck,  and  they  have  since  continued  their  residence  in  the  home 
of  his  childhood,  the  town  of  Jasper.  In  the  same  year,  he  was  elected  coun- 
ty superintendent  of  schools  of  Dubois  county,  and  since  assuming  the  duties 
of  his  position,  has  worked  zealously  and  conscientiously  to  give  to  the 
youthful  minds  of  his  community  the  best  instruction  to  be  obtained;  continually  seeking  for  im- 
proved methods  and  instilling  within  them  the  progressive  spirit  demanded  by  their  time.  His  term 
of  office  expired  in  August,  1917. 

During  the  years  1907  and  1909  he  served  as  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  County  Superin- 
tendents' Association  of  Indiana;  and  notwithstanding  the  arduous  duties  of  his  office,  found  time  to 
serve  the  Democratic  party  as  secretary  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee  in  the  years 
1904,  1906  and  1908. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ALBERT  E.  MELCHING 

The  gentleman  whose  photo  accompanies  this  article  has  been  for  nearly  three 
score  years  a  resident  of  the  city  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  is  known  and  respected  by  a 
host  of  friends  throughout  the  county.  The  birth  of  Mr.  Melching  occurred  on  the 
17th  day  of  March,  1885,  in  Mahoning  county,  Ohio;  but  while  but  a  year  old  his 
parents  came  to  Fort  Wayne,  then  but  a  village,  and  here  the  son  grew  to  manhood, 
being  closely  identified  with  the  growth  and  business  life  of  the  place.  His  education 
was  received  in  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  school. 

On  the  17th  day  of  November,  1878,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Carrie 
Engelking,  and  together  they  have  drawn  about  them  a  circle  of  devoted  friends. 
Always  a  zealous  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  he  was  elected  in 
1896  to  the  position  of  sheriff  of  Allen  county,  serving  in  this  capacity  for  a  term  of  four  years,  ad- 
ministering the  affairs  of  the  position  in  a  conscientious,  conservative  manner.  He  was  also  city 
cha'rman   1905-1909,  and  is   at   present   committeeman  of  the  5th  precinct,  2nd  ward. 

Mr.  Melching  has  for  fourteen  years  been  engaged  in  the  undertaking  business,  being  the  jun- 
ior partner  in  the  firm  of  Klaehn  &  Melching,  the  largest  establishment  in  Northern  Indiana.  He 
has  always  shown  a  deep  interest  in  the  various  movements  for  the  welfare  of  the  community,  and 
has  taken  great  pride  in  watching  the  growth  and  development  of  his  home  city.  Being  of  German 
parentage  he  is  popular  with  that  class,  holding  membership  in  four  different  societies  of  Fort 
Wayne,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  commercial  club. 


CORNELIUS  S.  MERCER 

Cornelius  S.  Mercer,  widely  known  among  journalists  throughout  the 
state  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  city  of  Seymour,  is  a  native  of  the 
state  of  Ohio,  having  been  born  in  Guernsey  county  on  the  27th  day  of  June, 
1868.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county, 
and  there  he  learned  the  printers'  trade  at  an  early  age.  When  but  nineteen 
years  of  age  he  came  to  Brownstown,  Indiana,  to  assume  the  publication 
of  the  Brownstown  Banner,  and  notwithstanding  his  youth,  he  proved  a  suc- 
cessful editor. 

On  the  first,  day  of  May,  1890,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alice 
Borcherding,  and  their  residence  was  later  established  in  the  state  of  Iowa, 
where  Mr.  Mercer  held  the  position  of  editor  of  the  Iowa  State  Press,  of 
Iowa  City.  Here  he  remained  for  several  years,  returning  to  Indiana  to 
assume  control  of  the  Seymour  Daily  Democrat.  Later  he  engaged  in  the 
printing  business  and  is  now  president  of  the  C.  S.  Mercer  Co. 

Mr.  Mercer  is  a  life-long  Democrat,  has  attended  a  number  of  county 
r.nd  state  eonvenfons,  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  most  of  the  national  conventions  since  the  year 
1^92.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  the  Masons,  having  become  associat3d  with  the  latter  organization  in  1892. 


JUDGE    ROBERT   W.    MIERS 

The  name  of  Robert  W.  Miers  stands  out  distinctly  among  the  members  of  the  southern  Indiana 
bar. 

Born  in  Decatur  county,  January  27,  1848,  son  of  Thomas  S.  and  Mahala  Braden  Miers,  Judge 
Miers  received  his  early  education  in  the  schools  of  Decatur  county,  and  was  for  five  or  six  seasons 
a  student  at  Hartsville  College.  In  1867  he  entered  Indiana  University,  graduating  from  the  literary 
department  in  1870  and  from  the  law  department  in  1871.  He  then  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law, 
and  of  those  who  were  admitted  for  practice  at  that  time  he  is  the  only  survivor.  He  has  been  en- 
gaged in  active  practice  for  forty-four  years. 

Judge  Miers  was  appointed  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  serving  two  years,  and  then  was  elected 
to  serve  the  full  term  of  six  years,  and  was  again  elected  circuit  judge  in  1914,  and  is  now  judge 
of  the  tenth  judicial  circuit,  thus  holding  this  position  fourteen  years.  From  1875  to  1879  he  was 
prosecuting  attorney.     He  has  always  stood  high  in  his  profession,  having  shown  a  profound  knowl- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

edge  of  the  law  and  a  desire  to  apply  it  impartially.  From  1896  to  1904  he  represented  his  district 
in  Congress.  He  was  twice  nominee  for  secretary  of  state,  but  each  time  met  with  defeat.  From 
1879  to  1891  he  served  on  the  board  of  Indiana  University. 

He  is  an  Elk,  also  a  member  of  Beta  Theta  Pi.     On  May  9,  1871,  he  was  man  led  to  Belle  Ryors. 
They  have  two  children.  Bertha,  now  the  wife  of  Oscar  Cravens,  and  Daniel  K. 


RICHARD  M.  MILBURN 

Few  members  of  the  legal  profession  in  the  state  have  the  depth  of 
learning  ard  the  clear  insight  into  legal  problems  which  belonged  to  Rich- 
ard M.  Milburn;  and  his  wide  experience  touching  affairs  of  the  common- 
wealth enabled  him  to  grasp  the  various  phases  of  legal  problems  which 
were  in  his  care  with  remarkable  skill  and  accuracy. 

He  was  born  on  the  24th  of  September,  1866,  and  attended  the  common 
school  of  his  district,  later  taking  a  course  in  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Terre  Haute.  This  was  followed  by  a  course  in  law  at  the  Cumberland  Uni- 
versity of  Lebanon,  Tennessee.  He  held  the  degree  of  master  of  arts  from 
the  Indiana  University,  in  which  institution  he  was  for  several  years  an  in- 
structor in  the  law  department. 

In  the  year  1903-1905  he  represented  Dubois  and  Daviess  counties  in 
the  state  senate,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  that  body.  In 
the  year  1914  he  was  elected  attorney-general  for  the  state  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket. 

Mr.  Milburn  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lizzie  Fowler  of  Porters- 
ville,  Ind.,  on  the  25th  day  of  December,  1887,  and  to  their  home  came  five  children--Miss  Norma  Mil- 
burn,  a  teacher  of  English;  Lieutenant  Frank  W.,  Raymond  F.,  Donald  S.  and  Harold  R.  He  took 
great  interest  in  fraternal  affairs  In  his  home  town,  Jasper,  having  been  affiliated  with  the  Royal 
League,  Order  of  Ben-Hur,  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks,  and  was  a  member  of  the  grand  tribunal  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  of  this  State. 


DICK  MILLER 

There  are  those  whose  peculiar  fitness,  combined  with  an  earnest  inter- 
est in  public  affairs,  naturally  forces  them  into  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
political  world,  no  matter  to  what  particular  party  they  belong.  This  fact 
is  especially  true  when  the  individual  has  been  successful  to  an  unusual  de- 
gree in  the  world  of  business,  and  when  the  business  achievements  have  been 
the  result  of  personal  force  after  surmounting  obstacles  at  which  others  have 
stopped. 

All  of  this  may  be  applied  to  Dick  Miller,  one  of  the  Democrats  of  In- 
diana who  was  always  ready  to  fight  for  the  faith  that  was  in  him.  He 
would  meet  the  hard  contest  in  politics  just  as  he  confronted  and  overcame 
business  opposition  of  any  sort.  He  never  balked  at  what  appeared  a  hard 
job,  no  matter  what.     He  liked  it. 

His  birthplace  happened  to  be  in  Parke  county,  but  he  would  have  been 
the  same  so)t  of  business  and  political  pusher  no  matter  where  he  started. 
His  education  was  in  the  public  schools,  Bloomingdale  Academy,  Indiana  Uni- 
versity and  the  Indiana  Law  School,  for  he  started  as  a  practicing  lawyer  a 
his  base  of  operation  for  four  and  a  half  years. 

His  entry  into  politics  was  as  a  candidate  for  member  of  the  state  legislature  from  Parke  county 
in  1897,  being  the  first  Democrat  to  represent  the  county  in  sixty  years.  He  did  hot  win  this  success 
without  showing  the  stuff  that  was  in  him,  and  the  introduction  which  this  gave  him  to  men  worth 
while  in  the  State  was  an  important  element  in  his  future  successes  as- a  man  of  affairs.  The  acquaint- 
ances and  friends  formed  during  that  term  as  a  legislator  were  not  only  helpful,  but  he  never  lost  one 
of  these  friends. 

He  removed  from  Terre  Haute  to  Indianapolis  in  1901,  and  engaged  in  the  business  of  buying  and 


chose  Terre  Haute  as 


(  969  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  6 


selling  bonds,  soon  establishing  one  of  the  leading  houses  of  the  sort  in  the  State.  In  this  business  espe- 
cially did  the  friendships  over  the  whole  State  prove  their  worth.  He  had  established  a  reputation 
that  was  most  valuable.  His  word  was  accepted,  and  those  with  whom  he  did  business  were  there 
for  the  next  call. 

In  1917,  having  been  busy  as  a  working  Democrat  ever  since  he  had  been  living  at  the  capital,  he 
became  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  mayor  of  Indianapolis.  He  entered  the  race  at  the  solicitation 
of  men  worth  while  not  only  in  the  Democratic  party,  but  in  the  Republican  party  as  well.  Conditions 
for  Democratic  success  were  not  looked  upon  as  promising,  even  with  the  most  popular  of  candidates, 
but  he  consented  to  make  the  race.  It  was  especially  recognized  that  before  the  Democratic  candidate 
could  start  he  must  face  the  handicap  of  several  thousands  of  colored  voters,  who  would  support  the 
Republican  ticket  with  no  question  or  thought  of  comparative  values. 

In  the  brief  campaign  which  followed  Dick  Miller  added  most  materially  to  his  already  excellent 
reputation  and  especially  multiplied  favorable  acquaintances  and  friends,  and  after  his  defeat,  for  he 
was  not  elected,  he  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  workers  in  all  the  war  activities  during  the  war 
with  Germany.  He  was  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  speakers  on  all  occasions,  especially  in  the  numer- 
ous drives  for  funds  in  the  many  calls  which  came  and  were  met  by  the  people  of  Indianapolis. 

Following  his  political  campaign  Dick  Miller  became  president  and  head  of  the  City  Trust  Com- 
pany, a  new  and  immediately  prosperous  financial  establishment,  transferring  his  bond  and  securities 
business  to  that  institution. 


ANDREW  S.  MILLER 

An  active  Democratic  worker  and  leading  citizen  of  Middletown,  Henry  county,  is  Andrew  S. 
Miller.  He  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  born  on  the  18th  day  of  December,  1856.  He  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Indiana  in  infancy,  however,  and  his  schooling  was  received  largely  in  this  State. 
After  graduating  from  the  public  schools  a  course  was  taken  in  the  Norma)  School  of  Lebanon,  Ohio. 
In  the  year  1882  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Virginia  Moore,  of  Middletown,  and  their  home 
has  since  been  among  the  friends  of  her  childhood.  Mr.  Miller  has  been  for  many  years  successfully 
engaged  in  the  drug  business  and  other  interests,  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  municipal  affairs. 
From  1882  to  1886  he  served  as  township  trustee,  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents,  and 
is  now  president  of  the  town  board.  Politically  ho  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  has  represented  this 
party  in  state  convention  and  also  at  the  national  convention  at  Chicago  in  1894. 


HON.  FRED  C.  MILLER 

Hon.  Fred  C.  Miller  is  perhaps  known  to  every  citizen  of  Laporte  county, 
having  for  many  years  been  a  prominent  member  of  the  community  and 
holding  the  unique  distinction  of  having  held  political  elective  position  in 
the  county  for  fifteen  years  and  four  months,  consecutively.  Needless  to 
add  that  his  reputation  as  a  citizen  of  sterling  worth  has  long  since  been  es- 
tablished. 

Mr.  Miller  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  on  the  28th  day  of  August, 
1866.  At  the  age  of  six  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  America,  locating  in 
Northern  Indiana.  His  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  Mich- 
igan City  and  the  parochial  schools  of  St.  John's  Lutheran  church. 

Early  in  life  he  took  an  active  interest  in  political  atfair§,  and  in  the 
year  1898  he  was  elected  Democratic  councilman  of  the  third  ward  of  Mich- 
igan City,  and  was  re-elected  for  two  more  consecutive  terms,  serving  as 
councilman  up  to  the  time  that  he  assumed  the  duties  as  mayor  of  Michigan 
City,  Indiana,  being  elected  to  this  office  with  the  highest  majority  ever 
received  by  any  candidate. 
Mr.  Miller  devoted  his  entire  time  to  the  office  of  mayor,  and  is  considered  today  by  the  citizens, 

regardless  of  party  politics,  as  one  of  the  few  men  who  successfully  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  city; 

and  when  Mr.  Miller  retired  from  office,  January  5,  1914,  he  had  served  the  people  for  seven  years  and 

four  months  as  mayor,  and  had  fulfilled  his  original   promise  to  the   people   of   Michigan   City,   that 

when  he  retired  as  mayor  he  would  leave  the  city  free  from  indebtedness. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


GEORGE  T.  MILLER 

George  T.  Miller  is  a  native  of  Boone  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  7th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1872.  His  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Lydia  Etchison,  and  to  her  helpful  companionship  much  of  his 
success  is  no  doubt  largely  due.  -         ■      i  u- 

Mr.  Miller  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  county,  and  has  identified  him- 
self closely  with  the  growth  and  development  of  the  community.  Always  a  stanch  Democrat,  he  has 
worked  zealously  at  all  times  for  the  succcess  of  his  party  and  the  promulgation  of  its  principles, 
but  has  not  himself  aspired  to  hold  office  within  the  gift  of  the  public,  politically  or  otherwise. 


JAP  MILLER 
Jap  Miller,  the  best  known  man  in  Morgan  county  and  immortalized  by  James 
Whitcomb  Riley  in  the  well  known  poem  "Jap  Miller,"  was  born  on  a  farm  in 
Shelby  county,  February  22,  1857.  In  the  year  1876  he  located  in  Martinsville,  where 
he  entered  high  school  after  but  two  winters  of  schooling  in  Shelby  county.  Though 
Mr.  Miller  has  contributed  valued  service  to  the  cause  of  Democracy  he  has  not  been 
an  office  seeker,  devoting  his  energies  rather  to  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of 
clean  politics  in  his  community.  In  1890,  however,  he  became  a  member  of  the  city 
council,  and  in  this  work  he  rendered  efficient  service  until  1892.  After  twenty  years' 
residence  in  Martinsville  he  located  in  Brooklyn,  where  he  has  since  conducted  Jap 
Miller's  Famous  Store,  dealing  in  hardware  and  general  merchandise.  He  was  also 
the  proud  possessor  of  the  famous  cat,  "Mr.  Tug,"  which  once  saved  his  store  from  burning  and  finally 
died  of  old  age  in  May,  1914. 

Mr.  Miller's  family  consists  of  himself  and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Eliza  Dalton. 


SAMUEL   J.   MILLER 

An  active  member  of  the  Marion  county  Democratic  organization  and  favorably  known  through- 
out the  state  for  the  service  he  has  rendered  the  cause,  Samuel  J.  Miller  is  worthy  of  honorable  men- 
tion. 

Mr.  Miller  is  essentially  a  product  of  Marion  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  within  its  confines 
on  the  26th  day  of  June,  1881.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Indianapolis  and  was  graduated  from 
Shortridge  High  School.  In  the  year  1904  he  married  Miss  Katherine  Light  and  established  his 
home  near  the  city  of  Indianapolis. 

Mr.  Miller  is  deeply  interested  in  agricultural  affairs  and  is  one  of  an  ever-increasing  number 
of  men  who  are  raising  this  pursuit  to  the  dignity  of  a  profession  by  the  practice  of  scientific  and 
progressive  methods. 

In  the  fall  of  1912  Mr.  Miller  was  elected  representative  to  the  state  assembly  of  1913,  and  in 
this  body  took  an  active  part.  The  following  year  he  served  as  secretary  of  the  Marion  county 
Democratic  committee  and  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  trustee  of  Wayne  towmship.  Frater- 
nally, he  is  allied  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the  order  of  Eagles.  He  also  is  a 
member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club.  He  attended  the  national  convention  in  Baltimore  in 
1912  and  is  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  present  administration. 


MARVIN  M.  MINNICK 
Marvin  M.  Minnick,  a  native  of  Cass  county,  was  born  near  Walton,  December 
21,  1867,  the  son  of  Elizabeth  and  Elias  A.  Minnick.  His  youth  was  spent  on  the 
farm  and  his  education  received  at  the  public  schools  and  the  American  Normal  Col- 
lege. He  later  entered  Hall's  Business  College  at  Logansport,  and  upon  his  gradu- 
ation taught  school  for  a  period  of  seventeen  years.  He  became  widely  known  in  this 
profession,  resigning  to  take  position  as  cashier  in  a  bank  at  Bunker  Hill  and  later 
at  Walton,  which  two  positions  he  occupied  for  six  years.  In  1910,  while  a  resident 
of  Walton,  he  was  Democratic  candidate  for  county  treasurer,  and  in  the  campaign 
which  followed  was  elected.  After  an  excellent  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this 
position  he  was  again  elected  in  1912. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  18i6-1916 

September  15,  189(5,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lavina  H.  Green  of  Walton,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren-Dallas   D.,    Dorothy   L.    and    Dorris    P. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Minniek  is  a  Knight  Templar,  Knig-ht  of  Pythias  and  Odd  Fellow. 


OSCAR  C.  MINOR 
Among  the  enthusia.stic  and  loyal  workers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  Indiana  should  be  numbered  Oscar  C.  Minor,  a  prominent  at- 
torney at  law  of  Cannelton. 

Mr.  Minor  was  born  in  Peiry  county  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1872,  and 
in  this  locality  his  youth  was  spent.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his 
district  and,  after  receiving  a  common  school  education,  entered  Central 
Normal  College  of  Danville,  Indiana,  taking  a  complete  law  course  and 
graduating  in  the  year  1892.  The  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Perry  county  and  entered  into  the  duties  of  his  chosen  profession  with 
zeal. 

Immediately  after  he  attained  his  majority  he  launched  into  the  polit- 
ical field,  working  zealously  for  the  cause  of  Democracy;  and  in  the  fall  of 
1898  he  was  elected  joint  senator  from  the  counties  of  Perry,  Spencer  and 
Crawford,  and  in  the  state  legislatures  of  1899  and  1901  he  was  an  active 
member.  During  these  sessions  he  established  a  reputation  for  zealous  work 
and  loyalty  to  his  constituency  and  demonstrated  his  ability  as  a  legislator. 

On  the  25th  day  of  September,  1901,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Conway  of  Cannelton,  Ind., 
was  solemnized,  and  their  home  was  established  in  Cannelton.  Here  they  have  remained,  drawing 
about  them  an  ever-widening  circle  of  devoted  friends,  many  of  whom  have  accepted  the  hospitality 
of  their  home. 

Mr.  Minor  is  affiliated  with  the  James  Lodge  No.  100,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  among 
the  members  of  which  he  is  highly  esteemed. 

JOHN  F.  MITCHELL 

The  gentlerran  whose  name  heads  this  article  has  for  many  years  been  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
field  of  journalism  in  eastern  Indiana,  and  has  been  largely  responsible  for  the  molding  of  the  political 
opinion  of  the  citizens  of  Hancock  county. 

John  F.  Mitchell,  son  of  the  late  William  Mitchell,  a  prominent  journalist  and  worker  in  the  ranks 
of  Indiana  Democracy,  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  on  the  11th  day  of  April,  1853.  When  but  three 
years  of  age,  however,  he  was  brought  by  his  father  to  the  city  of  Greenfield,  where  he  has  since  re- 
mained. He  attended  the  public  schools  in  Greenfield  and  early  in  life  became  interested  in  the  work 
of  the  Hancock  Democrat,  a  paper  established  in  1859  by  his  father,  and  now  enjoying  the  distinction  of 
being  the  oldest  Democratic  newspaper  in  eastern  Indiana  and  the  property  of  the  Mitchell  family 
since  its  foundation.  As  Mr.  Mitchell  grew  to  manhood  he  gradually  grew  into  the  work  of  the  news- 
paper office,  and  in  the  year  1899  assumed  the  editorship  of  the  publication,  a  position  which  he  has 
since  held  with  credit.  In  this  labor  he  has  not  lost  sight  of  the  great  responsibility  which  lies  in  the 
hands  of  the  editor,  that  of  molding  public  opinion  in  large  measure,  and  has  conscientiously  adhered 
to  the  principles  which  seemed  to  him  just  and  right,  those  promulgated  by  Thomas  Jefferson  and  car- 
ried out  by  the  Democratic  party. 

The  Democi-at  is  owned  by  Mr.  Mitchell,  and  in  connection  with  it  he  has  one  of  the  largest  print- 
ing and  binding  establishments  in  Indiana.  His  son,  John  F.  Mitchell,  Jr.,  is  associate  editor  of  the 
Democrat  and  also  manager  of  this  large  printing  plant.  He  attended  the  city  schools,  from  which 
he  graduated.  He  also  graduated  from  Butler  and  Yale  colleges,  and  will  make  newspaper  work  his 
life  work.  He  has  written  several  plays  and  has  a  number  of  them  with  some  of  the  leading  producers 
of  the  country  now.     When  a  small  boy  he  had  a  full-page  article  appear  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal. 

Mrs.  Mitchell,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  the  year  1879,  was  formerly  Miss  Minnie  B.  Alexander, 
a  native  of  Mission  Valley,  Texas,  now,  however,  a  loyal  Hoosier.  She  has  a  great  literary  taste  and 
has  written  a  number  of  short  sketches,  for  which  she  has  been  complimented  by  some  of  the  best  lit- 
erary talent  of  the  country,  James  Whitcomb  Riley  being  one  of  the  many.  Her  stories  are  published 
in  children's  magazines. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

CARL   MISHLER 

Cai-1  Mishler,  long  a  well-known  citizen  of  Laorange  and  at  present  holding  a  position  of  respon- 
sibility in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth,  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  23rd  day  of  November,  1882. 
He  attended  the  schools  of  Topeka  and  Shipshewana   and   completed   a   course   in   civil   engineering. 

On  the  3rd  day  of  July,  1910,  Mr.  Mishler  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Virginia  Wolfe  and 
established  his  home  in  Lagrange. 

Mr.  Mishler  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  in  his  country  and 
has  given  freely  of  his  time  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause. 

On  the  first  dav  of  January,   1913,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  surveyor. 


EMMET   C.    MITCHELL 

Though  still  a  young  man,  Emmet  C.  Mitchell  has  won  for  himself  a 
position  of  large  influence  throughout  Washington  and  adjacent  counties, 
being  one  of  the  best  known  attorneys  in  that  section  of  the  state,  and 
had  sei-\'ed  the  commonwealth  with  gTeat  credit  as  a  public  official. 

Mr.  Mitchell  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  4th  day  of  April,  1883. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district  and  was  graduated  from 
the  Salem  high  school.  His  studies  were  continued  at  Indiana  University 
and  in  the  Indiana  Law  School  at  Indianapolis.  In  the  year  of  his  gradu- 
ation from  the  latter  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Washington  county 
and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  He  now  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  law  firm  of  Mitchell  &  Mitchell,  Salem,  Ind.,  and  enjoys  a  largo 
and  lucrative  practice. 

Politically,  Mr.  Mitchell  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  an  active  worker  for  the  furtherance  of  its  principles  in  state 
and  national  affairs.     In  the  fall  of  1908  he  was  elected  joint  representative 
for  the  counties  of  Clark  and  Washington  to  the   state   legislature,    and    in    the 
rendered  such  valued  service  to  the  party  and  his    constituents  that  he  was  retuinej  for 
of  1911  and  1913. 

On  November  26,  1914,  Mr.  Mitchell  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Edith  B.  I 
a  son,  Samuel  Lewis  Mitchell. 


HENRY  W.  MOCK 

The  town  of  English  has,  perhaps,  no  citizen  of  wider  experience  and 
greater  intelligence  than  the  gentleman  commemorated  in  this  article.  A 
native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  Mr.  Henry  W.  Mock  was  born  in  Crawford 
county  on  the  7th  day  of  September,  1877.  After  completing  his  studies  in 
the  public  school.s  of  the  county,  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  business  af- 
fairs and  practical  commercial  work  in  the  New  Albany  Business  College. 
Then  followed  a  couise  of  study  in  the  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1902,  and  finally  a  course  in  Indiana  University 
at  Bloomington,  Ho  was  reared  upon  the  farm,  but  left  it  in  his  youth  to 
take  up  the  work  of  a  school  teacher.  In  this  manner  he  was  employed 
for  eleven  years,  continually  advancing  in  his  chosen  profession.  He  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  schools  of  Alton,  Indiana,  which  position  he 
held  for  two  years,  and  later  served  the  town  of  English  in  the  same  capacity 
for  a  period  of  six  years.  In  1910  he  was  elected  county  clerk  of  Crawford 
county  for  a  term  of  four  years;  and  before  the  expiration  of  the  term  was 
renominated  for  the  same  office  without  opposition  and  elected,  the  first  clerk  who  had 
self  since  1887.     December  31,  1903,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Robertson. 

He  is  affiliated  with  the  Crawford  Lodge  No.  470,  V.  and  A.  M.;  New  Albany  Chapter  No.  17, 
Royal  Arch  Masons;  Indiana  Council  No.  1,  Royal  and  Select  Masons;  New  Albany  Commandery  No. 
5,  Knights  Templar ;  Indianapolis  Consistory,  32d  Degree,  Scottish  Rite,  and  English  Chapter  No.  387, 
Order  of  Eastern  Star. 


1  him- 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


JUSTIN  J.  MOLONY 

The  Democracy  of  Indiana  numbers  in  its  ranks  a  legion  of  young  men, 
bright,  active  and  alert,  who  are  as  loyal  to  the  principles  promulgated  by 
Jefferson  and  as  energetic  in  the  support  of  the  party  as  were  their  fore- 
fathers; and  to  this  element  belongs  Justin  J.  Molony,  a  well  known  at- 
torney of  Crawfordsville. 

Mr.  Molony  is  a  native  Hoosier,  bom  in  Montgomery  county  on  the  third 
day  of  October,  1886.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Crawfordsville  and 
graduated  from  the  high  school  of  this  city  with  the  class  of  1907.  Later 
his  studies  were  continued  at  the  University  of  Notre  Dame,  from  the  law 
department  of  which  he  graduated  in  June,  1911.  In  the  following  Septem- 
ber, he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Montgomery  county  and  entered  upon  the 
active  practice  of  the  legal  profession  at  Crawfordsville.  Here  he  has  con- 
tinued in  his  work,  bringing  to  the  service  of  his  clients  youthful  enthusiasm, 
untiring  diligence  in  research  and  a  keen  intelligence  which  reaches  to  the 
foundation  and  solution  of  intricate  questions.  These  characteristics,  com- 
bined with  conscientious  loyalty,  have  brought  him  the  reward  of  success  in  his  work  and  placed  him 
in  the  forefront  of  the  ranks  of  his  profession  in  this  locality. 

Politically,  he  has,  since  attaining, his  majority,  been  a  faithful  adherent  to  the  tenets  of  true 
Democracy,  and  has  worked  with  zeal  for  the  success  of  the  party  during  the  various  campaigns 
through  which  he  has  passed. 


JUDGE  JAMES  J.  MORAN 

Judge  Moran  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Indiana,  November  12,  1873.  His  common  school  educa- 
tion was  supplemented  by  a  course  of  training  in  Portland  Normal  College,  Tri-State  Normal,  Angola, 
Ind.,  and  University  of  Ada,  Ohio.  In  May,  1896,  he  graduated  from  the  Indiana  Law  School  of 
Indianapolis,  Ind.     On  June  28,  1898,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Somers  of  Pennville,  Ind. 

After  graduating  from  law  school  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Jay  county.  In  November,  1910, 
he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Jay  circuit  court,  serving  in  this  capacity  until  appointed  to  the  appellate 
bench.  His  decisions  were  characterized  by  the  same  breadth  of  vision  and  fair-minded  policies  he 
had  evinced  as  a  jurist.  On  February  11,  1914,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  appellate  court  by  Gov- 
ernor Ralston,  and  in  this  capacity  still  serves.  He  is  known  as  a  forceful  speaker,  both  politically 
and  legally,  conservative  in  thought,  but  powerful  in  the  expression  of  his  convictions. 


CHARLES  R.  MORRIS 

Charles  R.  Morris  needs  no  introduction  to  the  people  of  Washington  county, 
having  been  for  many  years  a  representative  citizen  of  Salem  and  closely  identified 
with  the  business,  civil,  political  and  fraternal  life  of  this  locality. 

Mr.  Morris  was  born  in  Washington  county  on  the  8th  day  of  July,  1874,  and 
here  he  received  his  early  schooling  in  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district.  Fol- 
lowing his  graduation  from  the  common  schools  he  attended  the  Southern  Indiana 
Normal  College  at  Mitchell  and  later  continued  his  studies  at  the  Central  Normal 
College  at  Danville,  Indiana.  A  commercial  course  was  then  taken  at  the  New 
Albany  Business  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  year  1896. 

On  August  15,  1900,  Mr.  Morris  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie  E. 
Doyle  and  established  his  home  in  Salem. 
In  the  year  1903  Mr.  Morris  assumed  the  duties  of  deputy  auditor  of  Washington  county  and  in 
that  position  continued  until  1907.  On  April  6,  1914,  he  received  from  President  Wilson  the  com- 
mission which  appointed  him  postmaster  of  Salem,  and  on  the  1st  day  of  May  following  he  assumed 
the  duties  of  this  office.  He  was  re-commissioned  September  5,  1918,  for  another  term  of  four  years. 
In  this  work  he  has  demonstrated  his  efficiency  in  the  public  service. 

Politically,  Mr.  Morris  has  been  a  zealous  worker  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  Democ- 
racy, and  as  the  editor  of  the  Salem  Democrat  has   performed   valuable   service   in   molding   public 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

opinion  throughout  the  community.  Mr.  Morris  was  for  four  years  vice-president  and  director  of 
the  Salem  Building  Loan  Fund  and  Savings  Association,  and  for  the  past  ten  years  has  served 
as  secretary  of  the  Salem  Fair  Association.  He  also  is  a  member  of  the  Salem  Booster  Club.  Fra- 
ternally, he  is  allied  with  Salem  Lodge  No.  21,  F.  and  A.  M.;  Chapter  No.  38,  Royal  Arch  Masons; 
Council   No.  61,  R.  &  S.  M.,  and   Salem   Lodge  No.  67,  L  O.  O.  F. 


WILLIAM  Z.  MORGAN 

Descended  from  a  line  of  Democratic  ancestors  extending  back  for  many  generations,  it  is  small 
wonder  that  William  Z.  Morgan  has,  since  attaining  his  majority,  been  closely  allied  with  the  doings 
of  this  party  in  Howard  county  and  is  an  active  factor  in  its  councils. 

Mr.  Morgan  was  born  on  the  11th  day  of  November,  1876,  in  Howard  county,  Indiana.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  his  district,  graduating  from  the  high  school  in  the  year  1895,  after  which 
a  course  of  study  at  Franklin  College  was  taken. 

In  the  year  1903  his  marriage  to  Miss  Estella  B.  Wright  was  solemnized  and  their  permanent 
residence  established  in  Kokomo.  Mr.  Morgan  has  for  a  number  of  years  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
political  affairs,  acting  as  chairman  of  his  home  precinct,  also  as  chairman  of  the  Center  township 
committee,  and  served  as  police  commissioner  during  the  years  1912  and  1913.  For  several  years  he 
acted  as  delegate  to  the  various  conventions  of  the  party.  His  father,  William  B.  Morgan,  was  a 
prominent  Democratic  worker  also;  and  his  great-grandfather  was  a  cousin  of  Vice-President  Hen- 
dricks, and,  like  him,  a  stanch  adherent  to  the  tenets  of  the  Jeffersonian  party.  Mr.  Morgan  enjoys 
an  extended  acquaintance  throughout  the  county,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  a  host  of  friends  in  and 
out  of  the  Democratic  party. 


JUDGE  DOUGLAS  MORRIS 

Judge  Douglas  Morris,  a  representative  citizen  and  lead- 
ing- lawyer  of  Rush  county,  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Henry 
county,  Indiana,  on  the  5th  day  of  January,  1861 .  He  is  ;i 
son  of  John  and  Hannah  Scovell  Morris.  His  ancestors  were 
of  Revolutionary  stock,  and  his  grandfather  Morris  was  one 
of  the  early  Indiana  pioneers  who  came  to  the  unbroken  forest 
and  opened  the  way  for  the  present  civilization  and  culture 
of  the  state.  The  land  then  entered  by  him  from  the  Gov- 
ernment in  1833 — and  where  the  Judge  was  born — is  still  in 
the  possession  of  Judge  Morris,  now  a  beautiful,  productive 
farm  in  Henry  county;  and  the  high  ideals  and  sterling  qual- 
ities of  the  sturdy  pioneer  have  descended  in  like  manner  to 
the  grandson.  His  grandfather  Scovell  was  a  Rush  county 
pioneer,  and  was  active  in  its  early  industrial  and  political 
life. 

Judge  Morris  attended  the  schools  of  his  district,  and 
graduated  from  the  high  school  of  Knightstown  with  the 
class  of  1878.  The  following  year  he  entered  Asbury  College, 
now  DePauw  University,  in  the  sophomore  class,  and  completed 
a  three-year  course  in  this  institution,  graduating  in  1882. 
In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  he  entered  the  law  office  of 
Harrison,  Hines  &  Miller  of  Indianapolis,  and  under  their 
guidance  completed  a  course  in  law.  In  1883  he  located  in  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  engaging  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  but  two  years  later  decided  to  return  to  the  Hoosier  State,  where,  in  the  city  of  Rush- 
ville,  he  has  since  remained,  building  for  himself  a  lucrative  practice,  won  by  the  application  of  un- 
bounded energy,  conscientious  zeal  in  the  interests  of  his  clients  and  an  active  intelligence  and  keen 
insight  into  intricate  problems  brought  to  him  for  solution. 

In  1898  he  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  more  than  2,000  to  the  position  of  judge  of  the  Eighth 
judicial  circuit,  then  embracing  Decatur  and  Rush  counties,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  one  year. 


(975) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

In  1899,  however,  his  circuit  was  changed  to  the  Sixteenth,  composed  of  Rush  and  Shelby  counties, 
where  he  served  the  remainder  of  his  six-year  term.  During  this  service,  in  1902,  his  brother,  John  M. 
Morris,  was  elected  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Henry  county,  thus  producing  a  rare  coincidence — two 
brothers  serving  at  the  same  time  as  elected  judges  in  adjoining  circuits.  In  the  year  1910  he  was 
elected  to  the  bench  of  the  supreme  court  of  Indiana. 

During  his  career  on  the  supreme  court  bench  Judge  Morris  evinced  the  same  industry  and  con- 
scientious zeal  in  the  service  of  the  public  that  characterized  his  former  labors  as  a  jurist. 

He  is  an  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party.  In  1884,  while  a  resident  of  Knoxville,  he  made  cam- 
paign speeches  for  Cleveland  and  Hendricks  in  the  mountain  counties  of  east  Tennessee.  In  1892  he 
was  acting  chairman  of  the  Democratic  central  committee  of  Rush  county.  In  1888  he  was  the  nomi- 
nee of  the  Democratic  party  for  congress  in  the  then  Republican  stronghold  of  the  Sixth,  or  old 
"Burnt"  district. 

His  uncle,  Isaac  Morris,  elected  to  the  legislature  of  1850,  was  the  only  Democrat  serving  in  such 
capacity  from  Henry  county  prior  to  1913. 

During  his  years  in  college  he  became  identified  with  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity,  and 
in  this  organization  he  still  takes  a  friendly  interest.  He  is  also  an  active  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Rushville,  where  he  and  his  family  are  held  in  high  esteem. 

On  the  6th  day  of  October,  1892,  occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss  Pamela  A.  Spann,  daughter  of 
Hon.  Jesse  J.  Spann,  state  senator  and  distinguished  lawyer.  Their  home  life  has  stood  for  the 
highest  ideals  and  refinements  of  thought.  To  them  have  been  born  a  son  and  daughter,  who  have 
assisted  in  drawing  about  the  family  a  wide  circle  of  cultured  friends  and  in  dispensing  the  hospitali- 
ties of  their  charming  home. 

RALPH   W.   MOSS 

During  the  first  four  years  of  the  Woodrow  Wilson  administration,  Ralph  W.  Moss  was  more 
closely  identified  with  the  progressive  legislation  advocated  by  the  President,  than  any  congressman 
from  Indiana.  In  fact,  there  were  few  members  of  either  the  Congress  or  the  Senate  who  were  in 
closer  touch  with  the  views  of  the  President,  and  assisted  him  more  materially  in  promoting  the  pas- 
sage of  important  bills,  than  was  Congressman  Moss. 

In  1913  he  was  sent  to  Europe  on  a  commission  to  secure  data  for  drafting  the  Rural  Credits 
Law,  which  was  one  of  the  most  important  bills  passed  during  the  first  term  of  President  Wilson. 
He  was  appointed  member  of  the  special  committee  which  framed  the  present  farm  credit  law  and 
introduced  the  bill  in  the  House.  Following  the  passage  of  the  bill  he  was  consulted  by  the  Presi- 
dent in  the  appointments  and  in  completing  the  organization  of  this  very  important  feature  of  gov- 
ernmental work. 

Mr.  Moss  was  first  elected  to  Congress  in  1908,  being  re-elected  for  three  more  terms,  serving 
four  terms  of  eight  years.  He  was  a  nominee  of  his  party  without  opposition  four  terms  following, 
when  the  Republican  majority  in  the  district  was  so  large  it  was  impossible  even  with  a  lead  for 
him  to  overcome  it. 

Another  important  committee  on  which  Congressman  Moss  was  appointed,  was  that  which  in- 
vestigated the  Wiley  scandals  in  the  pure  food  controversy. 

He  was  born  in  Sugar  Ridge  township.  Clay  county,  April  21,  1862,  spending  his  life  in  the  same 
place.  After  completing  the  course  in  the  local  district  schools  he  went  two  years  to  Purdue,  after 
which  he  taught  school  for  several  terms.  His  entrance  into  politics  was  when  he  was  nominated 
and  elected  into  the  State  Senate  in  1904  from  Owen  and  Clay  counties.  That  was  in  the  famous 
Roosevelt  year  and  there  were  but  three  other  Democratic  state  senators  elected  in  Indiana  that 
year.  In  addition  to  his  political  work  he  was  always  most  actively  identified  with  farmers'  organ- 
izations and  became  very  much  interested  and  active  in  that  branch  of  vocational  education  under- 
taken under  the  Federal  Government.  In  the  campaign  of  1918,  he  served  as  chairman  and  direc- 
tor of  the  Democratic  League  of  Indiana  which  organized  with  several  thousand  members.  He  was 
well   known   throughout   the   state    and   popular   as  a  campaigner. 


CHARLES   W.    MOUCH 

Charles  W.  Mouch  of  Newcastle  is  closely  identified  with  the  business  and  political  life  of  the 
city  and  has  a  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  county. 

Mr.  Mouch  was  born  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  July  6,  1863,  and  received  his  education  in  the  schools 


(  976  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

of  VVapakoneta.  In  his  youth  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  I.  B.  &  W.  Railway  Company,  anil  came 
to  the  town  of  Mooreland,  Henry  county,  to  assume  the  duties  of  station  a^ent.  In  October,  1893, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Hattie  F.  Moore  of  Mooreland  and  that  place  was  for  many  years 
their  home.  During  the  period  from  1895  to  18 J9  he  served  as  postmaster  of  the  town;  but  later 
moved  to  the  town  of  Newcastle.  There  he  serve  1  in  the  city  council  from  1910  to  1914,  and  there 
also  his  business  interests  have  centered.  He  is  now  president  and  manager  of  the  Indiana  Rolling 
Mill  Co.  and  president  of  the  Farmers'  National  Bank. 

ALBERT    R.    MULKINS 

Albert  R.  Mulkins,  the  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Edinburg,  has  been  for  many  year.^; 
a  resident  and  well  known  citizen  of  that  community. 

Mr.  Mulkins  was  born  at  West  Point,  Harlan  county,  Kentucky,  September  28,  1871,  and  early  in 
life  accompanied  his  parents  to  the  state  of  Illinois,  where  his  schooling  was  largely  received.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district  and  the  high  school  of  Chrisman,  Illinois.  His  stud- 
ies were  later  continued  at  the  technical  school  at  .lacksonville,  Illinois,  and  this  was  followed  by  a 
year  at  an  academy.  A  course  also  was  taken  at  Wabash  College.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he 
came  to  Indiana  for  permanent  abode,  and  later  hs  marriage  to  Miss  Catherine  P.  Warner,  of  Edin- 
burg, was  solemnized. 

On  April  14,  1914,  Mr.  Mulkins  received  his  appointment  to  the  position  of  postmaster  of  Edin- 
burg, and  he  is  still  devoting  his  time  to  the  duties  involved. 

Mr.  Mulkins  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  Democratic  affairs  and  has  served  on  the  county  execu- 
tive committee,  representing  Blue  River  township. 


LEONIDAS   H.    MULL 

In  every  locality  we  find  a  few  citizens  of  sterling  worth 
who  are  recognized  as  leaders  in  the  various  movements 
which  arise  from  time  to  time  for  the  betterment  of  the 
community  at  large,  both  in  its  physical  features  and  in  its 
moral  uplift.  To  this  class  belongs  the  subject  of  this  arti- 
cle, Leonidas  H.  Mull,  a  lifelong  citizen  of  Rush  county  and 
closely  identified  with  its  business  and  social  interests. 

Mr.  Mull  was  bom  in  Manilla  township,  Rush  county,  on 
the  8th  day  of  October,  1866,  and  in  the  wholesome  environ- 
ment of  farm  life  his  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Manilla  and  aftei  his  gradu- 
ation from  the  common  school  entered  the  normal  school  at 
Lebanon  for  work  in  the  higher  branches  and  in  pedagogy.  A 
commercial  course  in  an  Indianapolis  business  college  was 
also  taken,  and  his  work  in  this  institution  has  since  proved 
of  great  value  in  the  transaction  of  his  large  business 
interests. 

From  his  youth  he  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  and  is  recognized  as  a  progressive  farmer  and 
an  authority  in  the  breeding  of  fine  live  stock.  He  is  now 
the  holder  of  extensive  farming  interests  and  yearly  markets 
fine  stock  in  large  quantities.  In  the  development  of  the 
various  branches  of  this  work  he  has  displayed  unflagging  zeal  and 
with    intelligent    method    and    efficient    administration  of  his  affairs. 

He  is  also  the  holder  of  stock  in  the  Manilla  Bank,  and  has  for  a  number  of  years  held  the  re- 
sponsible   position    of   vice-president    of   this    institution. 

Mr.  Mull  is  descended  from  a  line  of  Democratic  ancestors,  and  he  has  consistently  followed 
in  their  footsteps,  working  loyally  and  zealously  in  the  various  campaigns  through  which  he  has 
passed  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause.  He  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  local  organ- 
ization for  many  years,  serving  as  precinct  committeeman  and  as  delegate  to  the  various  con- 
ventions of  the  party,  county,  state  and  congress  onal. 

In  the  year  189S  he  was  elected  to  represent  Rush  county  in  the  state  legislature,  and  in  the 
assembly  of  1S99  his  services  were  invaluable  to  tie   people   of   the    state.      During   the    fierce    fight 


harac-teristic  energy,  combined 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

which  occurred  during-  that  session  for  the  cause  of  county  reform  Mr.  Mull  and  one  other,  Syl- 
vester Titus  of  Boone  county,  were  the  only  Democrats  who  stood  stanchly  for  the  measure,  and 
by  their  firm  stand  for  what  appeared  to  them  the  honest  and  just  thing:  for  the  people  the  measure 
was  carried.  The  nomination  for  this  office  came  to  him  unsought,  and  his  conduct  as  a  legislator 
justified  the  confidence  reposed  in  him. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Mull  is  allied  with  the  orders  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  which  he  has 
passed  through  the  thirty-second  degree;  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Red  Men;  andhe  is  also  an  active  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club.  In  all 
of  these  various  orders  he  is  widely  known  and  highly  esteemed;  and  the  reputation  he  has  estab- 
lished, not  only  in  Rush  county,  but  throughout  the  state,  as  a  citizen  of  sterling  worth  is  an  en- 
viable one. 


CHARLES  B.  MULVEY 

One  of  the  successful  and  popular  practitioners  of  Blackford  county  is  Dr.  Charles  B.  Mulvey 
of  Montpelier.  He  was  born  at  Auburn,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  July  21,  1868.  Coming  to  Indiana 
in  1888  on  a  pleasure  trip,  he  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  State  and  with  the  people  he  met  that  he 
remained  to  become  a  citizen  of  Indiana.  Having  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  Auburn,  N.  Y., 
he  entered  the  Indiana  Medical  College  in  1890  and  graduated  therefrom  in  1894.  Following  this  thor- 
ough medical  course  he  formed  a  partnership  with  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine  with  Dr.  John 
Sellers  at  Montpelier. 

Dr.  Mulvey,  in  addition  to  careful  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  profession,  has  taken  an  active  inter- 
est in  public  affairs.  He  has  adhered  steadily  to  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  was 
elected  coroner  of  Blackford  county  for  1896-98,  being  re-elected  for  1900-1901.  In  addition  he  has 
been  secretary  of  the  city  board  of  health  since  1898,  was  elected  to  the  city  council  in  1908  and  served 
•-iritil  his  re-election  in  1908  for  a  four-year  term.     He  is  also  deputy  health  commissioner. 

Dr.  Mulvey  was  married  on  August  1,  1894.  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Miller.  He  is  a  member  of  Camden 
Lodge  No.  112,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  the  Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Fort  Wayne,  of  the  Indianapolis  Consistory, 
A.  A.  Scottish  Rite  No.  3290. 


CHARLES   J.   MURPHY 

The  men  in  the  trenches  have  been  the  real  strength  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  Indiana.     This  is  true  especially  of 

«\^  those  who  have  fought   with   that  enthusiasm   and  earnest- 

^^         \  ness  born  of  faith  in  the  party  principles,  minus  first  thought 

^^^  \  of  personal  reward  in  the  emoluments  of  office. 

^  \  Among  these    fighters,   always   working   with   an    effect 

^^1  \        worth    while,    from    before    his    twenty-first    birthday,    was 

^^1  \       Charles  J.  Murphy,  of  Brookston,  or  more  properly,  of  the 

\      tenth  congressional  district. 
'  \  Mernber    of    the    Indiana    house    of    representatives    at 

■H  twentj'^-four,  this  being  in  1899,  succeeding  himself  in  1901 

and  at  this  second  session  being  chosen  caucus  chairman,  he 
/k  retired  from  office  holding  to  devote  himself  to  his  large  farm- 

"  ing  interests  and  operations  in  White  county. 

Later  he  served  six  years  as  Democratic  district  chair- 
man, retiring  from  this  when  Governor  Ralston  named  him 
as  a  member  of  the  first  public  service  commission  of  In- 
diana. The  election  laws  made  it  impossible  for  the  holder 
of  an  appointive  state  office  to  serve  as  a  part  of  any  political 
organization. 

As  district  chairman  Mr.  Murphy  acquired  the  reputation 

of  being  one  of  the  hardest  workers  and  most  efficient  leaders 

in  the  state  when  it  came  to  "bringing  home  the  bacon."     Both  with  his  party  and  among  workers 

of  the  opposition  he  was  also  and  always  reputed  as  "one  of  the  fairest  sort  of  political  warriors." 

As  a  public  service  commissioner  his  efficiency  was  of  the  same  sort,  characterized  by  hard  work 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


19  16 


and  results  accomplished:  seeking-  conscientiously  in  all  that  he  did  to  treat  fairly  all  parlies  in  in- 
terest in  his  adjudications,  and  aiming  never  to  forget  that  most  concerned  third  party,  the  ultimate 
consumer.     He  always  advocated  adherence  to  the   letter  and  spirit  of  the  public  service  law. 

In  this  service  the  cases  that  he  adjudicated  were  so  correctly  adjusted  that  none  of  the.>;e  have 
since  been  reviewed  by  the  commission.  He  tried  and  worked  out  the  first  electric  rate  case  worked 
out  in  Indiana,  tried  and  adjudicated  the  first  and  only  natural  gas  rate  case  ever  heard  in  the 
United  States,  also  the  only  municipal  purchase  case  worked  out  in  Indiana  up  to  the  date  of  hi.s  re- 
tirement. 

Mr.  Murphy  retired  from  the  public  service  commission  in  the  midst  of  the  discussion  and  set- 
tlement of  the  question  of  allowing  one  of  the  public  utilities  of  the  state  to  capitalize  and  issue  se- 
curities with  the  stamp  of  state  approval,  and  for  amounts  which  Commissioner  Murphy  declared 
were  some  millions  in  excess  of  any  values  or  investment  of  money  actually  shown. 

As  a  member  of  the  commission  he  insisted  in  all  cases  upon  adherence  to  figures  that  he  be- 
lieved were  justified  by  investment  and  values  really  existing.  The  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the 
law,  by  his  interpretation,  so  anticipated  and  dictated.  He  maintained  that  the  utility  or  business 
that  sought  to  go  beyond  this  limit  must  suffer  in  the  end,  meaning  that  stockholders  and  security 
holders  eventually  must  lose.  He  declared  this  to  be  of  far  more  concern  to  the  general  public  than 
the  matter  of  tossing  some  temporary  advantage  in  dollars  and  cents  or  stock  control  of  public 
properties   to   some   specially   selected   individuals. 

Since  the  controversy  at  the  particular  time  was  one  in  which  it  appeared  that  the  sincere  and 
conscientious  opposition  of  one  member  of  the  commission  might  modify  or  prevent  the  granting  of 
the  concessions  asked,  Mr.  Murphy,  insisting  upon  thorough  inquiry  into  facts  and  values,  retired 
from  the  commission.  This  was  the  direct  result  of  his  attitude  on  the  point  involved.  He  refused 
to  recede  in  this  or  any  adjustment  from  what  he  considered  the  right  and  equitable  position,  thus 
following  one  of  his  fixed  business  and  political  principles. 

Mr.  Murphy,  upon  leaving  the  commission,  became  the  active  vice-president  of  the  State  Sav- 
ings and  Trust  Company  of  Indianapolis,  as  well  as  continuing  ownership  and  personal  direction  of 
his  large  farming  and  manufacturing  interests. 

"Charlie"  Murphy  never  "used"  a  friend  nor  did  he  ever  betray  a  friend.  No  temptation  could 
ever  be  strong  enough  to  develop  in  his  make-up  the  slightest  trace  of  disloyalty  or  questionable 
dealing. 


JOHN  BERNARD  NIEZER 

John  Bernard  Niezer,  now  deceased,  was  throughout  his 
life  closely  identified  with  the  business  and  political  growth  of 
Allen  county,  and  many  years  were  spent  in  the  service  of  the 
public. 

He  was  born  in  Milan  township,  Allen  county,  on  the  21st 
day  of  July,  1846,  but  in  his  early  childhood  his  mother  came 
to  Ft.  Wayne  for  residence  and  the  boy's  education  was  re- 
ceived in  the  schools  of  this  city.  Here  he  remained  until  the 
year  1865,  at  which  time  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business 
in  the  town  of  Monroeville,  and  this  place  was  henceforward 
the  scene  of  most  of  his  business  and  political  activities. 

On  the  28th  day  of  April,  1868,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Sarah  T.  Eyanson  at  Ft.  Wayne,  and  their  home 
was  established  at  Monroeville. 

He  was  president  of  the  Citizens'  State  Bank  of  Monroe- 
ville, the  first  banking  institution  in  the  county  outside  of  Ft. 
Wayne,  its  organization  taking  place  in  the  year  1892.  He 
was  also  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  German-American 
National  Bank  and  German-American  Trust  Company  of  Ft. 
Wayne,  and  a  director  in  both  of  these  institutions  from  the 
date  of  their  organization  until  his  death. 

In  1876  he  was  elected  school  trustee  and  treasurer  of 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  1 


Monroeville,  serving  until  1879;  and  in  1880  was  elected  township  trustee  of  Monroe  township  for  a 
period  of  four  years.  In  the  year  1886  he  assumed  the  duties  of  auditor  of  Allen  county,  serving  in  this 
capacity  until  1890;  and  at  the  expiration  of  this  period  was  again  elected  school  trustee  of  Monroeville, 
this  time  serving  for  a  period  of  eight  years. 

He  was  also  organizer  and  president  of  the  firm  of  Niezer  &  Co.,  conducting  an  extensive  shipping 
business  and  operating  grain  e'.evators. 

In  the  year  1908  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Ft.  Wayne,  retaining  his  business  interests  in  Mon- 
roeville;  and  on  September  15,   1912,  occurred  his  death  at  his  residence,  524  West  Wayne  street. 


THOMAS  L.  NEAL 

Among  the  younger  element  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Indiana,  perhaps  none 
has  accomplished  more  than  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  article.  A  native 
of  Boone  county,  his  birth  occurred  on  the  19th  day  of  June,  1884.  He  attended  the 
schools  of  Lebanon,  graduating  from  high  school  with  the  class  of  1902;  and  followed 
this  with  a  three-year  course  at  Franklin  College,  graduating  with  the  class  of  1905. 
In  the  spring  of  1906  he  became  assistant  general  superintendent  of  the  K.  of  P.  Life 
Insurance  Company,  covering  the  states  of  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Virginia, 
the  year  1908  he  returned  to  Indiana,  and,  although  but  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
assumed  the  position  of  general  superintendent  of  the  same  company,  which  office 
he  held  until  he  was  elected  state  senator  in  1912.  This  has  been  his  only  venture 
into  political  affairs,  but  he  proved  an  active  worker  during  his  term  of  office,  and  has  won  distinction 
as  the  author  of  the  rural  credits  law  in  Indiana.  He  was  also  the  first  president  of  the  local  company 
organized  under  this  statute,  the  company  being  capitalized  at  $1,000,000.  He  is  affiliated  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  a  32d  Degree  Mason. 


DAVID  J.  NORRIS 

For  many  years  the  holder  of  various  positions  of  responsibility  in  the  service  of  the  public  in 
Lagrange  county,  David  J.  Norris  needs  but  little  introduction  to  the  citizens  of  this  commonwealth. 

He  was  born  in  Huntington,  Pa.,  on  the  1st  day  of  February,  1847,  and  received  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  district.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  the  wholesome  atmosphere  of  the  farm, 
and  when  he  came  to  Indiana  in  the  year  1876  he  continued  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture.  In  the  year 
1890  he  assumed  the  duties  of  trustee  of  Clay  township,  in  Lagrange  county,  serving  in  this  capacity 
until  1895.  Eight  years  later  he  was  again  elected  to  this  position  and  served  for  a  term  of  four 
years,  retiring  in  1907.  In  the  fall  of  1913  he  was  elected  county  commissioner,  and  this  office  he  as- 
sumed on  the  1st  day  of  the  following  January,  his  term  of  service  to  expire  January  1,  1917. 

Mrs.  Norris,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  the  6th  day  of  January,  1870,  was  formerly  Miss  Mary 
A.  Heffner  of  Pennsylvania. 

He  has  been  a  delegate  to  all  state  conventions  of  the  party  except  the  last  for  the  past  twenty- 
five  years. 


ELDER  WILLIAM  R.  NOWELS 

To  the  citizens  of  the  city  of  Rensselaer  the  name  of  William  R.  Nowels  is  a 
familiar  one;  for  his  labors  in  the  ministry  in  Jasper  county  have  extended  over  a 
period  of  thirty-five  years.  He  was  born  in  this  state  on  the  2nd  day  of  August, 
1846,  near  the  site  of  his  present  home,  and  his  interests  have  centered  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  and  later  pursued 
his  studies  at  the  Battle  Ground  Seminary,  from  which  he  graduated  with  the  class 
of  1866.  He  was  so  fortunate  as  to  spend  his  childhood  in  the  wholesome  environ- 
ment of  the  farm,  and  after  his  schooling  was  completed  he  returned  to  the  farm, 
where  he  remained  until  the  year  1904.  cultivating  the  land  and  preaching  in  the 
Baptist  church. 

On  the  14th  day  of  March,  1867,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  A.  Rock,  and  she  has 
since  presided  over  his  home  and  been  his  faithful  ally  in  the  labors  to  which  he  has  given  his  time.     In 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1   !)1G 

later  years,  however,  he  has  retired  from  active  labor  in  the  field  and  in  the  ministry,  and  fur  the  past 
six  years  has  found  the  time  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  counsels  of  the  Democratic  organiziition,  to 
which  he  has  been  a  devoted  adherent  since  his  youth.     In  the  year  1914  he  was  candidate  for  town- 


JACOB  L.  O'BANNON 

A  true  product  ot  Harrison  county,  Jacob  L.  O'Bannon  has,  since  his 
youth,  been  prominently  identified  with  municipal,  educational  and  legal  af- 
fairs of  Corydon  and  its  surroundings.  He  is  a  native  of  the  county,  having 
been  born  near  his  present  home  on  the  10th  day  of  March,  1860.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Corydon,  and  later  his  studies  were  continued 
iit  the  normal  schools  of  Corydon  and  Elizabeth.  Since  this  time  his  life 
has  been  a  singularly  active  one,  filled  with  accomplishments  along  varied 
lines,  demonstrating  remarkable  energy,  intelligence  and  xeal  for  the  pub- 
lic good. 

For  twenty  years  Mr.  O'Bannon  was  actively  engaged  in  educational 
affairs,  teaching  in  the  schools,  and  in  the  meantime  reading  and  practicing 
law.  For  fifteen  years,  also,  he  held  the  position  of  general  traveler  for 
ihe  Osborne  division  of  the  International  Harvester  Co.,  gaining  in  this  work 
a  broad  experience  of  men  and  affairs. 

In  the  years  189fi  and  1898  he  was  elected  representative  to  the  state 
legislature  from  Harrison  county,  and  was  appointed  by  Governor  Claude  Matthews  to  act  as  delegate 
to  the  good  roads  convention  at  Nashville,  Tenn.     In  the  year  1912,  also,  he  was  elected  county  auditor 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  to  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  office  he  is  devoting  his  best 
enei-gies. 

Mr.  O'Bannon  is  a  lifelong  Democrat,  and  before  he  attained  his  majority  began  the  practice  of 
making  campaign  speeches,  and  this  he  has  continued  till  the  present  time.  He  has  been  active  in  the 
counsels  of  the  county  organization  and  is  now  county  chairman.  He  is  also  actively  allied  with  the 
fraternal  order  of  Ben-Hur. 

Mrs.  O'Bannon,  to  whom  he  was  married  December  30.  1885,  was  formerly  Miss  Cairie  Fox.  To- 
gether they  have  won  an  enviable  social  position. 


LEW  M.  O'BANNON     ■ 
Harrison   county  has  produced    few   citizens   with   claims   to   distinction    along 
such  varied  lines  of  work  as  the  gentleman  whose  photo  appears  herewith. 

Lew  M.  O'Bannon  was  born  in  this  county  on  the  18th  day  of  August,  1864,  and 
his  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district.  In  the  year  1887 
he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  surveyor,  serving  in  this  capacity  until  the  fall  of 
1890,  at  which  time  he  was  elected  county  recorder,  this  term  of  office  expiring  in 
1894.  During  the  years  1896  to  1898  he  served  the  Democratic  party  as  county 
chairman. 

In  1897  occurred  two  important  events  in  his  career,  the  first  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Lillian  Keller  of  Corydon,  on  the  27th  day  of  October;  and  the  second  his 
assumption  of  the  duties  of  private  secretary  to  Congressman  William  T.  Zenor.  In  this  position  he 
remained  for  ten  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  took  up  the  active  practice  of  law  and  also 
became  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Corydon  Democrat.  In  connection  with  this  enterprise  he  is  the 
president  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Editorial  Association.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  orders  of 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  secretary  and  attorney  for  tho  Pavings  and 
Loan  Association  of  Corydon. 


WILLIAM  H.  O'BRIEN 

Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  is  the  most  consistently  and  most  persistently  Demociatic  county  in 
the  State.  It  was  ever  so.  William  H.  O'Brien,  more  than  any  other  man,  was  responsible  for  this 
condition  and  for  its  perpetuity.     When  the  great  Liberty  Loans,  the  Red  Cross  drives,  the  War  Sav- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ings  campaigns,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  funds  and  all  the  other  moves  for  financing  the  war  with  Germany 
were  on,  Dearborn  was  the  county  that  always  went  "over  the  top"  quicker  and  bigger  than  any  other 
of  the  ninety-two  counties  in  Indiana.  William  H.  O'Brien  was  in  all  instances  the  one  man  of  the 
county  that  did  it. 

When  men  were  called  to  fight  the  war  with  Germany  the  home  of  William  H.  O'Brien  furnished 
four  of  the  best  young  officers  who  went  to  the  front,  two  sons  and  two  sons-in-law,  and  of  this  one 
thing  William  H.  O'Brien  was  prouder  than  of  anything  else  he  ever  accomplished. 

But  to  recite  the  things  that  William  H.  O'Brien  did  in  his  home  county  in  a  political,  business  or 
patriotic  way  would  be  hardly  touching  the  surface  in  enumerating  the  things  that  should  be  said  of 
him  and  what  he  accomplished.  The  head  of  a  national  bank  in  his  native  town  of  Lawrenceburg,  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  ablest  and  shrewdest  financiers  far  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  State,  his  reputa- 
tion always  fully  sustained  and  justified  in  what  he  did  working  at  the  business,  both  as  a  public  offi- 
cial and  in  his  financial  operations  in  the  business  world. 

In  politics  always  looked  to  as  one  of  the  cleverest  men  in  the  Democratic  party  anywhere,  though 
this  came  far  from  being  in  any  sense  his  business.  He  liked  politics,  and  it  was  always  simply  one 
of  the  things  in  which,  as  a  man  of  large  affairs,  he  found  diversion  and  real  pleasurable  recreation. 

Born  in  the  city  of  Lawrenceburg,  he  always  lived  there.  In  his  younger  days  he  was  editor  of  the 
Lawrenceburg  Register,  a  Democratic  newspaper  that  he  made  successful,  as  he  always  did  all  other 
things  that  came  under  his  direction.  He  served  for  six  years  as  secretary  and  fourteen  years  as 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee  of  Dearborn  county.  For  the  next  six  years  he 
was  the  member  of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee  from  his  district  and  for  eight  years  was 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee.  He  was  also  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee  for  six  years,  and  in  1908  he  served  as  treasurer  of  the 
Democratic  national  committee. 

The  people  of  Lawrenceburg  made  him  mayor  of  the  city,  for  in  electing  a  man  of  his  standing, 
while  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate,  the  people  did  the  work  of  providing  the  majority  at  election 
time.  He  also  served  his  district  as  a  member  of  the  Indiana  state  senate,  and  for  two  terms  he  was 
auditor  of  state. 

It  was  as  auditor  of  state  that  William  H.  O'Brien  became  best  known  by. his  good  works  to  the 
people  of  the  whole  State  of  Indiana.  He  accomplished  more  for  the  good  of  all  the  people,  for  the 
State  at  large,  than  any  other  man  who  ever  occupied  any  office  under  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  building. 
If  governors  got  the  credit  for  much  that  he  accomplished  by  his  unusual  ability  as  a  financier  and 
sound  business  man,  William  H.  O'Brien  was  the  one  man  who  really  did  it.  It  is  not  detracting  from 
what  others  did,  then,  to  state  the  facts. 

When  William  H.  O'Brien  took  office  as  auditor  of  state  and  as  the  head  of  the  financial  affairs  of 
Indiana  no  man  ever  met  with  a  more  deplorable  condition.  It  was  at  the  end  of  the  first  two  years  of 
the  term  that  Thomas  R.  Marshall  was  governor.  Republicans  had  for  some  years  been  in  charge  of 
the  State  finances.  It  was  not  because  he  was  a  Democrat  that  William  H.  O'Brien  was  able  to  take 
charge  of  the  condition  which  existed  and  put  things  on  a  sound  basis.  It  was  because  he  was  a  man 
of  unusual  ability  in  the  handling  of  such  things,  and  it  was  because  the  Democratic  party  had  the  good 
judgment  to  name  such  a  man  for  the  important  office  that  he  had  the  chance  to  do  what  he  did.    . 

The  State  was  more  than  $3,000,000  in  debt  the  day  William  H.  O'Brien  became  auditor.  The 
condition  to  the  average  politician  of  any  party  who  might  take  charge  under  such  circumstances 
would  have  not  only  appeared  but  would  have  been  hopeless.  On  his  desk  were  current  bills  amount- 
ing to  about  $300,000  and  in  the  treasury  was  less  than  $10,000  with  which  to  pay  these  bills  and 
keep  the  state  government  going.  The  counties  had  all  been  drawn  upon  for  all  they  could  possibly 
raise  for  the  State,  and  the  State's  resources  of  all  kinds  had  been  anticipated  and  spent  for  a  year 
in  advance. 

The  State  was  absolutely  bankrupt,  and  the  only  thing  that  kept  it  out  of  the  bankruptcy  court 
was  the  fact  that  it  was  the  State  and  not  an  ordinary  business  institution  or  corporation.  Of  course 
the  first  thing  to  do  was  to  borrow  some  money  to  operate  upon,  and  this  was  done,  while  the  Repub- 
lican partisan  press  set  up  an  awful  howl  that  the  "first  thing  Democrats  do  when  they  get  into  office 
is  to  borrow  money."  Never  a  word,  of  course,  of  why  the  borrowing  was  made  necessary.  Nothing  to 
tell  the  public  what  the  Republicans  had  been  doing  to  make  borrowing  a  thing  unavoidable  and  the 
only  business  thing  to  do. 

But  William  H.  O'Brien  had  been  too  smart  to  listen  to  such  things  as  attacks  from  the  partisan 
press,  or  to  try  to  answer  them  save  to  keep  his  course  and  let  the  results  tell  the  story  when  it  was 
all  over.     So  he  set  about  at  the  job.     There  were  institutions  to  be  built  for  the  better  care  of  the 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181   (J  -1   DIG 

State's  dependents.  There  were  three  such  state  institutions  that  must  be  looked  after  at  once.  These 
were  of  the  charitable  class.  Most  of  the  others  had  been  allowed  to  deteriorate  to  such  an  extent  that 
repairs  almost  amounted  to  rebuilding.  The  unfortunates  in  the  charitable  institutions  and  hospitals 
for  the  insane  and  others  were  not  properly  housed,  clothed  or  fed. 

The  schools  of  the  State  were  not  cared  for  as  they  should  be.  The  legislature  had  been  called 
upon  for  so  much  for  "general  purposes,"  which  meant  "taking  care  of  the  boys"  of  the  party  in  con- 
trol, that  these  more  important  things  had  been  neglected. 

One  result  had  been  that  each  time  the  legislature  met  the  people  of  the  State  must  witness  the 
really  disgraceful  picture  of  the  heads  of  the  state  educational  institutions  and  the  other  boards  and 
heads  of  the  state  charitable  homes  and  hospitals  pleading  as  lobbyists  for  some  support.  But  these 
were  no  match  for  "the  boys"  who  had  made  their  living  lobbying  as  politicians,  and  legitimate  calls 
usually  got  what  the  politician  machinists  did  not  demand.  In  this  Indiana  was  not  different  from 
other  states. 

The  William  H.  O'Brien  plan  eliminated  the  necessity  for  the  heads  of  all  these  institutions  to  be- 
come lobbyists.  He  calculated  their  needs  and  with  the  co-operation  of  other  Democratic  state  offi- 
cials, when  he  showed  the  way,  ample  provision  was  made  for  them  all.  It  was  done  because  it  was 
right,  because  it  was  good  business,  because  it  was  humane,  because  it  was  economical,  because  it  was 
using  the  money  of  the  taxpayers  for  the  things  for  which  it  had  always  been  intended,  and  to  which 
it  had  not  in  the  past  been  applied. 

With  the  elimination  of  this  lobby  it  might  also  be  stated,  incidentally,  that  the  next  Democratic 
legislature  eliminated  the  other  lobbyists  also,  in  the  same  year  when  the  national  congress  under 
Woodrow  Wilson  drove  them  from  Washington. 

Under  the  William  H.  O'Brien  financial  plans  the  institutions  that  were  needed  were  built.  The 
others  were  rebuilt  or  repaired  and  put  in  habitable  shape.  The  State's  dependents  were  properly 
housed  and  amply  clothed  and  fed.  The  educational  institutions  were  provided  with  the  funds  neces- 
sary to  place  them  in  a  position  in  the  nation  second  to  none.  The  public  schools  of  the  State,  so  far 
as  the  State's  end  of  the  work  was  concerned,  never  lagged.  In  all  these  things,  ascribed  to  the  ad- 
ministrations of  Governors  Marshall  and  Ralston,  the  financial  and  business  head  and  hard  work  of 
William  H.  O'Brien  deserves  all  the  credit,  save  what  the  others  did  by  way  of  co-operation.  The  pur- 
pose of  any  history  is  to  tell  the  facts,  and  this  is  the  record  here  recorded. 

But  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter.  The  result  of  the  William  H.  O'Brien  policy  in  its  working 
out.  He  spent  four  years  in  the  office  of  auditor  of  state.  At  the  end  of  his  second  year,  which  was  the 
end  of  his  first  term,  he  insisted  upon  the  Democratic  platform  promising  the  accomplishment  of  cer- 
tain results  during  the  next  two  years.  The  planks  upon  which  he  insisted  went  into  the  platform. 
The  people  supported  the  platform  and  men.  The  governor  and  the  members  of  the  legislature  kept  the 
pledges  and  passed  the  laws  making  the  redemption  of  the  promise  possible. 

The  one  result  which  embraces  all  the  others  was  the  exhibit  on  the  day  when  Governor  Ralston 
left  office  and  turned  over  the  state  government  and  finances  to  his  successor.  All  the  State  institu- 
tions that  had  to  be  repaired,  as  already  described,  had  been  repaired  or  rebuilt.  All  the  new  institu- 
tions had  been  built  and  were  occupied.  The  original  debt  of  more  than  three  millions  of  dollars  had  been 
fully  paid.  The  State  had  ceased  to  anticipate  and  spend  its  resources  a  year  or  more  in  advance. 
There  was  no  longer  any  talk  of  the  State  being  bankrupt,  for  on  the  day  when  the  Democratic  gov- 
ernor stepped  out  of  office  there  was  in  the  treasury  in  round  figures  about  five  millions  of  dollars,  with 
not  a  bill,  not  a  debt,  not  a  claim  of  even  a  penny  against  the  State  anywhere. 

This  is  the  record  of  the  holding  of  one  office  by  William  H.  O'Brien.  His  whole  business  life  was 
shaped  in  the  same  sane  and  thorough  fashion.  Whatever  he  undertook  he  finished.  He  undertook 
nothing  that  was  not  worth  finishing.  He  never  quit  till  he  got  to  the  end  of  the  job,  and  he  traveled 
by  the  most  direct,  practical  route. 

From  politics  and  business  to  domestic  affairs.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  H.  O'Brien  reared  one  of 
the  finest  families  on  earth.  It  was  the  model  to  which  the  people  of  Lawrenceburg,  or  anywhere  else 
where  they  were  known,  referred  to  as  exceptional.  Three  sons  and  three  daughters.  Cornelius  O'Brien, 
asiociated  with  his  father  in  business  in  Lawrenceburg.  Major  Robert  E.  O'Brien  of  the  United 
States  Army,  in  the  war  with  Germany.  Lieutenant-Commander  William  H.  O'Brien  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  in  the  war  with  Germany.  Captain  Calvin  W.  Verity,  United  States  Army,  a  son-in- 
law,  in  the  war  with  Germany.  Lieutenant  Daniel  R.  Ingwersen,  Aviation  Section,  Signal  Corps. 
United  States  Army,  another  son-in-law,  in  the  war  with  Germany.  The  other  daughter  is  Frances 
O'Brien. 

The  story  of  William  H.  O'Brien  as  a  business  man,  as  a  politician,  as  a  public  official,  as  an 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


individual,  as  the  head  of  a  family,  all  these  are  fairly  illustrated  in  the  few  things  that  have  been 
recited.  Many  others  might  be  told,  but  they  vk^ould  be  only  repetitions  of  the  same  general  principles, 
only  differing  in  details.  What  is  told  serves  only  to  show,  in  so  far  as  recital  can  convey  it,  why  his 
reputation  for  all  that  is  good  and  right  and  substantial  in  the  world  of  men  and  affairs  has  been  on 
the  good  side  of  the  ledger. 


CORNELIUS  O'BRIEN 

Closely  identified  with  the  political,  business  and  financial  life  of  the  place, 
Cornelius  O'Brien  is  well  known  in  his  home  city,  Lawrenceburg,  and  throughout 
Dearborn  county.  He  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  born  on  the  12th  day  of  February,  1883, 
c  nd  received  the  foundation  of  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Lawrenceburg. 
Following  this  he  attended  Moores  Hill  College  for  two  years  and  later  spent  one 
year  in  Purdue  University.  Since  attaining  his  majority  and  casting  his  first  vote, 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee,  and  is  at  present 
treasurer  of  that  body.  In  business  he  is  associated  with  A.  D.  Cook,  manufacturer 
cf  deep  well  pumps,  and  is  assistant  cashier  and  director  of  the  Peoples'  National 
Bank,  and  a  member  of  the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture.  On  the  14th  of 
April,  I'JOO,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Belle  Cook,  and  to  them  has  been  born  one  daugh- 
ter. Mr.  O'Brien  is  past  master  of  Lawrenceburg  Lodge  No.  4,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  past  chancellor  of 
Dearborn  Lodge  No.  49,  K.  of  P.;  member  of  Indiana  Delta  Chapter  of  the  Phi  Kappa  Psi  fraternity. 


VICTOR  OBERTING 

To  the  citizens  of  Dearborn  county  the  name  of  Victor 
Oberting  is  a  familiar  one,  as  he  has  for  a  number  of  years 
been  closely  identified  with  the  business,  political  and  social 
life  of  the  city  of  Lawrenceburg. 

Mr.  Oberting  was  born  in  the  state  of  Indiana  on  the  2nd 
day  of  February,  1858,  and  most  of  his  life  has  been  spent  in 
the  home  of  his  childhood,  Lawrenceburg,  and  here  his  inter- 
ests are  centered.  He  attended  its  schools,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three  years  his  name  was  linked  with  that  of  one 
of  the  leading  families  of  the  city,  for  on  the  2nd  day  of  Aug- 
ust, 1S81,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Garnier, 
the  daughter  of  John  B.  Garnier,  the  founder  of  the  Garnier 
brewery.  At  this  time  Mr.  Oberting  was  a  trusted  employe 
of  this  great  plant,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  book- 
keeper for  Mr.  Garnier.  Following  the  death  of  this  gentle- 
man, Mr.  Oberting  assumed  the  management  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  under  his  direction  the  business  of  the  concern  has 
tripled  itself  since  the  year  1897,  truly  a  remarkable  record. 
Shortly  after  he  assumed  control  of  the  business,  the  manu- 
facture of  ice  was  added  to  their  activities,  and  much  valu- 
able machinery  was  installed  in  both  departments.  An  ice 
plant  of  20  tons  daily  capacity  at  Aurora,  Ind.,  was  also  added 
to  their  holdings,  and  the  business  has  continued  to  expand  and  improve  each  year  to  the  present 
time. 

However,  Mr.  Oberting  is  not  a  man  of  but  a  single  talent,  but  has  developed  capabilities  in  vari- 
ous directions.  He  has,  throughout  his  career,  taken  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs,  being  a 
stanch  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party;  and  in  the  year  1905  he  served  as  representative  in  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  the  State  for  Dearborn  county,  being  returned  also  in  1907  to  1909. 

Mr.  Oberting  has  also  given  freely  of  his  time  and  money  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  De- 
mocracy, and  has  held  a  position  of  influence  in  the  councils  of  the  party. 

His  business  activities  have  reached  out  in  various  directions,  and  his  investments  in  real  estate 
in  Lawrenceburg  and  surrounding  territory  have  been  unusually  successful  and  heavy.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  three  banks,  a  director  of  a  gas  plant  and  of  the  county  fair  association,  a  member  of  the 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1   8   1   6  -  1   9  1   G 


cemetery  board  and  interested  in  a  thriving  carriage  factory.  In  all  of  these  undertakings  he  has 
proved  himself  a  leader,  a  good  commander  and  director  and  fearless  in  his  transactions,  evincing  a 
progressive  spirit  and  aggressive  methods,  which,  combined  with  unflagging  energy,  inevitably  make 
for  success. 

He  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  various  movements  for  the  betterment  of  the  community,  and 
has  taken  an  active  interest  in  civil  and  municipal  affairs,  serving  at  the  present  time  as  chief  of  the 
fire  department.  He  is  also  a  liberal  contributor  to  religious  and  charitable  institutions  and  move- 
ments. 

Mr.  Oberting  has  traveled  very  extensively,  both  in  his  home  country  and  abroad,  having  visited 
the  chief  places  of  interest  in  the  United  States  and  taken  four  extensive  tours  through  the  various 
countries  of  Europe.  He  is,  as  a  result,  cosmopolitan  in  his  acquaintance,  cultivated  in  his  tastes  and 
broad-minded  in  his  judgments  of  others  and  in  his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men. 

To  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oberting  have  come  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  aged  respectively 
thirty-one,  twenty-two  and  sixteen  years,  and  the  charm  of  youth,  together  with  unbounded  hospi- 
tality, has  brought  to  their  fireside  a  host  of  friends. 


J.  C.  ODELL 

John  C.  Odell  was  born  in  Carroll  county,  Indiana,  December  6,  18.38.  He 
was  the  oldest  son  of  the  Hon.  James  Odell,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  pio- 
neer settlers  of  Carroll  county,  and  who,  during  a  period  of  sixty  years,  was 
called  to  till  public  office  as  follows:  County  commissioner,  representative 
in  the  general  assembly  in  1848,  state  senator  from  Carroll  and  Clinton 
counties  in  1860,  and  clerk  of  the  Carroll  circuit  court  from  1871  to  1879.  He 
cast  his  first  vote  for  General  Jackson  for  his  second  term  for  President, 
and  was  a  consistent  Democrat  all  his  life.    His  death  occurred  June  4,  1891. 

John  C.  Odell  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  one  year  at  the  Bat- 
tle Ground  Collegiate  Institute  and  two  years  at  Asbury  University  (now 
DePauw).  In  1863  and  18(34  he  published  the  Delphi  Times,  the  Democratic 
organ  of  the  county.  He  was  engaged  for  several  years  in  teaching  public 
schools,  and  in  1871  entered  the  clerk's  office  as  deputy  under  his  father, 
serving  two  terms,  after  which  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  has  ever 
since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  In  1896  he  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  for  Carroll  and  White  counties,  and  since  has  served  as  deputy  prosecuting  at- 
torney for  ten  years  for  Carroll  county.  In  1915  he  published  a  new  history  of  Carroll  county,  embrac- 
ing the  entire  civil  history  for  91  years,  and  the  history  of  the  early  settlements.  As  a  Democrat  he 
rendered  service  to  his  party  as  a  campaigner  and  writer. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Noland  of  Loudon  county,  Virginia,  September  11,  1873,  and 
has  one  son  and  a  daughter. 


BERNARD  E.  O'CONNOR 

Piominently  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Indianapolis  for 
many  years,  and  having  since  his  boyhood  taken  an  active  part  in  political 
affairs  in  Indianapolis,  the  name  of  Bernard  E.  O'Connor  is  familiar  to  the 
citizens  of  Indianapolis  and  vicinity. 

Mr.  O'Connor  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  on  the 
24th  day  of  April,  1876.  He  attended  St.  Joseph's  School  of  Indianapolis, 
and  later  pursued  his  studies  at  St.  Viateur's  College,  Kankakee,  Illinois. 

On  the  22nd  day  of  April,  1908.  his  marriage  to  Miss  Clementine  Martha 
Cazeneuve,  ef  Bay  St.  Louis,  Mississippi,  was  solemnized  and  their  home  es- 
tablished in  Indianapolis.  Here  they  have  gathered  about  them  a  wide  circle 
of  friends  to  whom  the  hospitality  of  their  home  has  been  extended  by  its 
charming  mistress. 

Mr.  O'Connor  is  an  enthusiastic  adherent  to  the  principles  of  true  De- 
mocracy. He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Wilson-Bryan  League  of 
Indiana  and  when  the  league  was  organized  at  Indianapolis,  December  30, 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191(3 

1913,  he  was  unanimously  chosen  as  secretary  and  executive  officer,  which  position  he  still  holds.  This 
league  led  by  Mr.  O'Connor  and  other  Democrats  was  the  powerful  force  behind  the  Jones  direct  pri- 
mary election  bill  which  became  a  law  in  the  general  assembly  of  1915.  Probably  without  the  active 
work  of  the  league  the  primary  bill  would  never  have  become  a  law. 

Some  of  the  most  important  work  has  been  done  by  Mr.  O'Connor  in  Marion  county  and  Indian- 
apolis. He  was  a  member  of  the  grand  jury  which  indicted  fifteen  Progressives  and  Democrats  for 
fraud  in  connection  with  the  primaries  that  nominated  the  Democratic  county  ticket  which  was  de- 
feated in  the  last  election.  It  was  due  to  the  active  work  and  investigation  of  Mr.  O'Connor  that  this 
clean-up  in  Marion  county  was  started,  it  being  his  position  that  political  corruption  should  be  up- 
rooted, no  matter  in  what  party  it  existed,  and  that  the  best  thing  to  do  for  his  own  party  would  be  to 
make  it  clean. 

This  investigation,  started  in  Marion  county,  resulted  in  a  clean-up  movement  which  extended  to  all 
parts  of  Indiana.  Within  about  one  year  from  the  time  the  ball  was  set  rolling  by  Mr.  O'Connor  in 
Marion  county  116  political  corruptionists  of  Vigo  county,  including  the  mayor  of  Terre  Haute,  had 
either  pleaded  guilty  to  crooked  election  work  or  had  been  found  guilty  in  the  federal  court.  Also  in- 
vestigations of  a  similar  kind  had  been  started  in  many  other  cities  in  the  State. 

Mr.  O'Connor  is  secretary-treasurer  of  the  wholesale  grocery  firm  of  M.  O'Connor  &  Co.,  a  leading 
concern  of  the  wholesale  district  of  Indianapolis. 


JOHN   T.    OLIPHANT 

■John  T.  Oliphant,  a  leading  citizen  of  the  city  of  Vin- 
cennes,  is  also  well  known  throughout  the  state  as  a  suc- 
cessful, aggressive  man,  one  of  influence  in  the  business 
and  political  world. 

Mr.  Oliphant  is  a  native  of  this  state,  his  birth  having 
occurred  in  Monroe  county  on  the  10th  day  of  February, 
1867.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district 
and  was  graduated  from  the  high  school.  Later  his  studies 
were  continued  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville, 
which  he  attended  for  a  term  of  three  years,  following  which 
he  entered  the  educational  field  and  taught  school  for  three 
terms,  one  of  which  was  at  Cadiz,  Indiana.  He  later  made 
his  home  at  Vincennes,  where  his  business  interests  have 
since  been  centered,  his  friendships  have  been  formed  and  his 
permanent  home  established.  On  July  7,  1892,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Etta  R.  Newby  of  Newcastle,  Indiana. 
Throughout  his  life,  Mr.  Oliphant  has  been  an  energetic 
worker,  bringing  to  his  business  affairs  a  definiteness  of 
purpose,  combined  with  aggressive  methods,  which  have 
made  for  unusual  success.  As  president  of  the  Vincennes 
Bridge  Co.,  the  Wasson  Coal  Co.  and  the  Oliphant-Wasson 
Coal  Co.,  he  has  been  an  active  force  in  bringing  these  con- 
cerns to  their  present  standard  of  efficiency  in  administration;  and  the  characteristics  which  have 
accomplished  so  much  in  the  management  of  these  institutions  have  placed  him  in  the  directorate 
of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Vincennes.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  several  other  large  financial  in- 
stitutions, located  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  Bruceville  and  Vincennes,  Indiana.  He  also  is  deeply  inter- 
ested in  agriculture  and  is  a  heavy  investor  in  farm  lands,  as  well  as  having  heavy  holdings  in  the 
oil  fields  near  Sullivan,  Indiana,  and  in  the  state  of  Oklahoma. 

Though  he  has  borne  such  heavy  responsibilities  in  a  business  way,  Mr.  Oliphant  has  main- 
tained the  deepest  interest  in  municipal  affairs  and  all  movements  touching  the  progress  and  de- 
velopment of  the  city  and  the  moral  uplift  of  the  conim.unity  at  large.  He  is  on  the  directorate  of 
all  the  commercial  bodies  of  Vincennes  and  has  been  an  enthusiastic  worker  in  the  interest  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  contributing  in  a  large  way  of  his  means  as  well  as  his  time  to  make  possible  the  erec- 
tion of  the  building  now  occupied  by  this  organization.  He  has  also  for  a  number  of  years  served 
as  trustee  of  Vincennes  University,  and  has  for  many  years  been  deeply  interested  in  the  financial 
affairs  of  that  institution.  He  has  also  for  some  time  held  a  position  on  the  official  board  of  the 
Methodist  church,  of  which  he  is  an  active  member. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


16-1 


1  6 


Fraternally,  Mr.  Oliphant  is  allied  with  Vincennes  Lodgre  No.  1,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons; 
the   Chapter,  the   Knights   Templar   Commandery  and  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Oliphant  has  been  a  loyal  and  conscientious  worker  for  the 
cause  of  Democracy  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  a  number  of  state  conventions.  In  the  local  organiza- 
tions his  influence  has  been  weighty  and  he  has  lost  no  opportunity  to  assist  in  promulgating  the 
principles   of  Jefferson. 


OSCAR    OLIVER 

For  many  years  the  name  of  Oscar  Oliver  has  been  a  familiar  one  in  the  business  circles  of 
Jefferson  county  and  his  activities  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  organization  have  contributed  in 
no  small  measure  to  its  success  in  that  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Oliver  is  a  native  of  Jefferson  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  1.5th  day  of  April, 
1860.  His  education  was  received  in  the  schools  of  the  county,  and  in  the  year  1880,  on  the  16th 
day  of  November,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Fannie  Armstrong  and  their  home  was  estab- 
lished in  the  city  of  Madison.  In  the  fall  of  1913  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  city  councilman 
and  assumed  his  duties  with  that  body  on  the  first  day  of  the  following  January,  his  term  of  office 
to  expire  with  the  close  of  1917.  For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Oliver  has  been  engaged  in  the  pro- 
duce business  under  the  firm  name  of  O.  Oliver  &  Son.  At  one  time  he  was  candidate  for  trustee 
of  Milton  township,  but,  though  he  led  his  ticket,  no  Democrat  was  that  year  elected  in  the  county, 
so  he  was  defeated. 


DENNIS    O'RILEY 

The  name  of  Dennis  O'Riley  is  a  familiar  one  in  every  household  in  the  town  of  Remington, 
for  he  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  business  and  political  interests  of  the  place  for  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Mr.  O'Riley  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  15th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1868.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Van  Wert,  Ohio,  in  which  town  his  youth  was  spent; 
but  in  the  year  1889  he  moved  to  Frankfort,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  until  1893,  at  which  time 
he  settled  in  Jasper  county.  Two  years  later  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Janie  Shearer, 
and  she  has  since  been  a  large  factor  in  his  success. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival  in  Jasper  county  Mr.  O'Riley  engaged  in  the  bakery  and  restau- 
rant business  in  Remington,  and  conducted  the  business  until  the  year  1912,  when  he  disposed  of  the 
concern.  He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  party  and  municipal  affairs,  having  served  as  city 
councilman  for  a  term  of  twelve  years,  retiring  on  January  1,  1914.  Three  months  later  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  of  Remington,  which  position  he  still  holds.  In  the  year  1914  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  south  precinct  Democratic  committee. 


JUDGE   CHARLES   J.   ORBISON 

He  was  Judge  Charles  J.  Orbison,  sitting  on  the  superior  court  bench 
at  Indianapolis  at  thirty-six.  He  might  have  led  political  preferment  at 
an  earlier  period,  but  he  chose  to  confine  himself  to  building  his  personal 
law  practice. 

Born  in  Indianapolis,  September  28,  1874,  the  "age  of  discretion"  found 
him  gaining  the  principles  of  Democracy,  and  his  regret  was  that  he  had 
to  wait  until  he  was  twenty-one  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket. 

When  he  consented  to  become  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  superior 
court  judge  of  Marion  county,  in  1910,  he  was  elected  and  served  four 
years.  He  had  graduated  from  the  Indianapolis  high  school  in  1893  and 
from  the  Indiana  Law  School,  which  was  a  part  of  the  University,  in 
1896.  Before  he  was  judge  of  the  superior  court  he  had  been  named  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Indiana  state  board  of  charities,  a  position  which  he  held  under 
several  reappointments. 

From  1916  to  1917  Charles  J.  Orbison  served  as  special  counsel  of  the 
state  board  of  tax  commissioners. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

Beine  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason,  Shriner  and  Kiipht  Templar,  serving  also  in  the  offices  of  the 
grand  lodge  of  Masons,  he  also  identified  himse'f  with  the  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Red 
Men  and  Eks.  With  these  he  found  time  to  serve  as  president  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  club 
end  under  his  direction  successful  membership  drives  were  made  over  the  state  and  many  exten- 
sions   and    improvements    were    made    in    the    club   house. 


EDWARD  O'ROURKE 

Judge  Edward  O'Rourke  is  one  of  the  grand  old  men  of  the  Democratic 
l)arty  in  Indiana.  In  Allen  county  he  is  not  only  respected,  but  revered.  He 
was  born  in  New  Jersey,  October  13,  1841,  but  came  to  Indiana  in  his  youth, 
and  after  receiving  his  literary  education  at  the  old  Methodist  College  studied 
law  with  Worden  <%  Morris.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866,  and  has 
been  actively  associated  with  legal  affairs  in  Allen  county  since  that  year. 
From  1867  to  1872  he  was  prosecuting  attorney  in  Fort  Wayne  and  in  1876 
was  elected  to  the  bench  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  a  position  which  he 
filled  for  the  long  term  of  36  years.  Since  retiring  from  the  bench,  he  has 
been  occupied  in  the  practice  of  law.  Judge  O'Rourke  has  always  been  a 
Democrat,  and  if  not  as  active  as  some  it  was  because  while  he  sat  upon  the 
bench  he  considered  his  judicial  position  incompatible  with  political  activity. 

In  1887  Edward  O'Rourke  married  Ada  L.  Abrams,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and 
they  have  four  grown-up  children. 


MARTIN   HOMER   ORMSBY 

The  molding  of  the  sentiment  of  a  community  lies  largely  in  the  hands  of  its  press.  Therefore 
in  the  hands  of  the  journalist  lies  a  responsibility  which  should  be  borne  only  by  those  of  ster- 
ling worth  and  integrity. 

In  the  county  of  Huntington  this  fact  has  been  demonstrated  by  the  Huntington  Prc^H,  a  paper 
published  in  the  interest  of  true  Democracy,  whi:h  has  been  an  important  factor  in  every  political 
battle  and  prior  to  1914  won  every  political  contest  waged.  Its  editor,  Martin  Homer  Ormsby, 
is  a  native  of  Indiana  and  was  born  on  the  17th  diy  of  November,  1875.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Bluff^ton  and  later  continued  his  studie;  at  Boston  Latin  School,  Boston. 

On  the  17th  day  of  November,  1899,  Mr.  Ormsby  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Erdine  Bock, 
the  ceremony  being  solemnized  at  her  home  in  Arjos,  Indiana.  Their  home  was  established  in  the 
city  of  Huntington,  where  they  have  remained  an  1  gathered  about  them  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

Mr.  Ormsby  ha=;,  throughout  his  career,  labored  zealously  and  loyally  for  the  general  upbuild- 
ing and  progress  of  the  community,  forwarding  the  various  movements  which  have  arisen  from  time 
to  time  to  this  eni  and  voicing  through  his  paper  those  principles  which  make  for  clean  citizenship 
c.nd  right  thinking. 


GEORGE  R.  OSBORN,  M.  D. 

Few  citizens  of  Laporte  county  are  not  familiar  with  the  name  of  Dr.  George 
R.  Osborn,  one  of  the  most  skillful  physicians  and  surgeons  of  that  locality. 

Although  the  parents  of  Dr.  Osborn  were  natives  of  this  state,  he  himself  was 
born  in  Iowa  on  the  17th  day  of  February,  1875.  At  the  age  of  two  years,  however, 
he  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Laporte  county,  and  here  he  was  reared.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  later  continued  his  studies  at  Valpa- 
raiso University.  Then  followed  a  course  in  the  science  of  medicine  at  the  College 
of  Physicians   and   Surgeons,   University  of  Illinois. 

Following  his  graduation  in  the  year  1906,  he  returned  to  the  city  of  Laporte 
and  entered  into  active  practice. 
During  the  year  1908  he  served  as  secretary  of  the  city  board  of  health,  but  on  the  first  day  of  the 
following  January  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  coroner,  a  position  to  which  he  had  been  elected 
twice,  serving  four  years.  So  efficient  were  his  services  in  behalf  of  the  public  during  these  years  that 
at  the  expiration  of  his  two  terms  as  coroner  he  was  immediately  appointed  to  the  office  of  countj 
health  commissioner  for  a  term  of  four  years,  this  period  to  expire  January  1,  1918. 

Mrs.  Ofborn,  to  whom  he  was  married  December  24,  1895,  was  formerly  Miss  Adel  Bunnell. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-19  16 

JOHN  E.   OSBORN 

John  E.  Osborn,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Greensburtr,  is  a  product  of  Decatur  county,  his  birth 
having  occurred  witliin  its  confines  on  the  25th  day  of  August,  1872.  There  also  his  childhood  and 
youth  were  spent,  his  education  being  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district.  Later  he  took 
a  course  in  law  and  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  May,  1897.  During  the  period  from  December. 
1891,  to  March,  1896,  he  served  as  deputy  county  auditor  of  Decatur  county;  and  throughout  his 
career  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  various  movements  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic cause  in  his  community.  A  man  of  unusual  ability  as  an  organizer  and  director,  he  was 
early  recognized  as  such  by  the  leaders  of  his  party  and  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  state  central 
committee,  assuming  his  duties  on  the  fii'st  of  January,  1908,  and  serving  until  January,  1912,  repre- 
senting the  sixth  congressional  district.  In  the  year  1910  he  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  campaign 
of  Finley  Gray  as  candidate  for  congressman  from  his  district,  Visiting  all  the  counties  and  building 
up  the  working  organizations  of  the  party. 

Mr.  Osborn  in  manner  is  sincere  and  direct,  a  convincing  speaker  and  an  able  thinker.  His 
wife  was  Miss  Grace  Gullifer,  and  they  have  won  for  them.selves  a  wide  circle  of  friends  since  their 
marriage.  Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Elks  Lodge  of  Greensburg,  among  whom  he  has  a  vride 
acquaintance  and  numerous  friends. 


CHARLES    A.    PADDOCK,    M.    D. 

Dr.  Charles  A.  Paddock,  of  Portland,  was  born  in  Randolph  county  on  the  7th  day  of  March, 
1874,  and  attended  the  public  schools  of  Winchester.  After  his  graduation  there,  a  two  years' 
course  was  taken  at  the  Ridgeville  College.  Thi?  was  followed  by  a  course  at  the  Physio-Medical 
College  of  Indiana,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  year  1901.  Six  years  later  he  filled  the  chair 
of  anatomy  in  the  same  college,  teaching  until  1938.  Following  his  graduation  from  this  institu- 
tion. Dr.  Paddock  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  medicine,  and  is  at  the  present  time  a  successful 
physician  of   Portland,   notwithstanding   the   various  other  duties  which  he  has  assumed. 

In  the  year  1909  Dr.  Paddock  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Portland,  receiving  a  majority 
of  320,  the  largest  ever  received  by  any  candidate  of  either  party  in  this  city.  At  this  time,  also, 
the  poll  of  the  city  showed  a  Republican  majority  of  120.  At  the  expiration  of  his  four-year  term 
of  ofltice,  in  1913,  he  was  again  nominated,  the  election  being  bitterly  fought  and  his  opponent  being  a  life- 
long Democrat  who  headed  a  citizens'  ticket  composed  of  all  opposing  factions,  and  at  this  time  Dr. 
Paddock  increased  his  majority  by  five  votes,  beini;  elected  for  a  further  term  of  four  years. 

Dr.  Paddock  is  a  member  of  the  Portland  Commercial  Club,  a  member  of  the  Jay  County  Medi- 
cal Society,  and  in  the  year  1912  served  as  treasurer  of  the  Physio-Medical  Association.  He  is 
also  affiliated  with  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose,  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  Knights  of  the  Macca- 
bees and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Mrs.  Paddock,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  December  21, 
1894,  was  Miss  Pearl  M.  Edwards. 


JOHN   R.   PAINE 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Clinton,  John  R.  Paine,  came  to  his  position  well  qualified 
for  the  fulfillment  of  the  duties  involved,  and  ha?  throughout  his  service  maintained  a  high  stand- 
ard of  efficiency  in  his  office. 

Mr.  Paine's  life  has  been  spent  in  this  locality.  He  was  born  on  October  15,  18()9;  attended 
the  common  schools  of  his  home  district,  and  later  entered  Clinton  high  school,  from  which  he  was 
graduated.  His  youth  was  spent  upon  the  farm,  until  he  attained  the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  but 
he  was  compelled  to  leave  school  before  completing  his  education  to  assist  in  the  support  of  his 
father's  family.  While  but  a  boy  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Claude  Matthews  to  the  position  of 
messenger  to  the  secretary  of  state. 

In  the  year  1900  Mr.  Paine  assumed  the  duties  of  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Clinton, 
serving  in  this  capacity  for  a  term  of  two  years;  and  in  the  fall  of  1909  was  elected  councilman-at- 
large,  and  for  four  years  took  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  city  council.  On  March  10,  1914,  he 
received  the  postmaster's  commission  from  President  Wilson,  and  his  ability  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  pertaining  to  this  office  is  well  known. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Paine  was  a  retail  hardware  merchant  at  Clinton  and  has  been  active  in 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

the  business  life  of  the  place.  He  is  a  member  of  Clinton  Commercial  Club  and  is  affiliated  with  the 
fraternal  orders  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Jerusalem  Lodge  No.  99;  Royal  Arch  Masons,  Ver- 
milion Chapter  No.  125;  Clinton  Commandery  No.  148,  Knights  Templar,  and  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Eagles.  On  the  19th  day  of  October,  1898,  Mr.  Paine  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ella 
Scott. 


JUDGE  JOHN  M.  PARIS 
To  any  citizen  of  Floyd  county  the  name  of  John  M.  Paris  is  a  familiar 
one,  as  he  was  actively  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth,  holding  various 
positions  of  prominence  for  many  years. 

Judge  Paris  was  born  in  the  little  town  of  Leavenworth,  Indiana,  on 
the  7th  day  of  March,  1878,  and  his  schooling  was  largely  received  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  place.  Following  his  graduation  here  he  entered  the 
jw  department  of  the  University  of  Louisville,  and  completed  the  course 
in  1899,  taking  up  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  and  meeting  with 
unusual  success. 

Six  years  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  was  elected  city  judge, 
serving  in  this  capacity  until  the  office  was  abolished  by  act  of  the  legis- 
lature four  years  later.  At  the  time  of  his  election  to  this  position  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  mayor  and  city  clerk  were  defeated,  but  Judge 
Paris  ran  1,050  votes  ahead  of  his  ticket  and  won  the  contest.  In  the  year 
1912  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney,  and  served  for  two  years,  being 
renominated  in  the  fall  of  1914  for  the  same  position,  but  resigned  in  order 
that  he  might  make  the  race  for  judge,  his  nomination  to  this  position  having  taken  place  at  a  spe- 
cial primary  held  August  14,  1914. 

Judge  Paris  was  affiliated  with  the  Jefferson  Lodge  No.  104,  F.  and  A.  M.;  Chapter  No.  7, 
Royal  Arch  Masons;  New  Albany  Commandery  No.  5,  Knights  Templar;  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks;  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  Manzinetta  Tribe  No.  276,  Red  Men,  and  Friendship  Lodge 
No.  10,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

He  was  a  self-made  man,  paying  his  college  expenses  largely  through  his  own  efforts.  His  wife 
was  Miss  Lucile  Denton,  and  their  marriage  took  place  May  31,  1908. 


ISAAC  KANE  PARKS 
Isaac  Kane  Parks,  one  of  the  most  prominent  attorneys  of  northern  Indiana,  was 
born  September  10,  1879,  on  the  old  Santa  Fe  Trail  in  eastern  Kansas.  After  com- 
pleting his  studies  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  state,  Mr.  Parks  entered  Kan- 
sas University,  where  he  graduated  from  the  law  department  in  1897.  Coming  to 
South  Bend  shortly  after,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  the  late  Senator  B.  F.  Shively. 
where  he  remained  for  about  three  years.  He  then  entered  upon  his  journalistic 
career  in  the  office  of  the  Mishawaka  Democrat.  In  April,  1907,  he  was  appointed 
assistant  prosecuting  attorney  for  St,  Joseph  county  by  Joseph  E.  Talbot,  prosecuting 
attorney.  Mr.  Parks  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Kansas,  and  after  coming  to  Indiana, 
though  under  legal  age,  he  was  allowed,  through  courtesy  of  the  court,  to  continue 
his  practice  here.  His  first  case  in  Indiana,  tried  before  his  majority,  was  against  three  leading  law- 
yers, now  holding  responsible  positions,  one  being  on  the  federal  bench  and  one  a  past  attorney- 
general  of  Indiana.  The  suit  involved  a  question  of  technical  practice.  The  lawyers  settled  for  the 
loss  of  their  client. 

Mr.  Parks  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order.  He  has  always  stood  high,  in  the  councils  of  his 
party  and  been  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of  his  community.  He  recently  served  as  city 
attorney  of  Mishawaka. 


JUDGE  WILLIAM  H.  PAYNTER 

Among  the  leaders  in  the  Democracy  of  Washington  county  the  name  of  William  H.  Paynter 
holds  high  rank.  A  man  of  broad  experience,  deep  culture  and  unquestioned  integrity,  his  influ- 
ence in  the  councils  of  the  party  has  been  marked. 

Judge   Paynter  is  a   native  Hoosier.     His  childhood   was  passed   and  his   schooling   received   in 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


the  public  schools  of  Indiana.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school,  he  entered  Indiana 
State  University,  matriculating  in  the  law  department,  and  graduating  in  1880.  In  the  same  year 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Washington  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Salem.  Here  his  loyalty  to  his  clients,  keen  perception  in  regard  to  intricate  questions 
involved  and  patience  in  research  won  for  him  a  rapidly  growing  and  lucrative  practice. 

On  the  1st  day  of  May,  1884,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Maggie  Hobbs,  the  daugh- 
ter of  G.  B.  Hobbs,  and  their  permanent  home  was  established  in  Salem.  Two  children  have  been 
born  to  them,  a  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Ora  V.  Leridan,  and  a  son,  La  Rue;  and  they  have  drawn  about 
them  a  wide  circle  of  devoted  friends,  who  have  enjoyed  their  hospitality. 

In  the  year  1880  he  assumed  the  duties  of  prosecuting  attorney  and  in  this  capacity  served  for 
four  years.  In  1895  he  became  county  attorney,  and  this  position  was  held  until  1912,  a  remark- 
able record.  Later  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  judge  of  the  42d  Judicial  Circuit  of  Indiana, 
and  the  responsibilities  of  this  position  have  been  discharged  with  rare  zeal. 

Fraternally,  he  is   allied  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 


WILLETT  H.  PARR 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  article  is  a  representa- 
tive citizen  of  Lebanon,  Boone  county.  He  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  State,  born  on 
the  24th  day  of  December,  1878.  His  childhood  was  spent  in  Boone  county,  where  he 
attended  the  public  schools,  later  continuing  his  studies  at  the  State  Normal  School 
at  Terre  Haute  and  the  Marion  Normal  School  of  Marion,  Ind.  On  the  16th  day  of 
July,  1899,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Carrie  B.  Billingsly.  In  the  fall  of  1908  he  was 
elected  to  the  responsible  position  of  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Boone  county  for 
a  term  of  six  years,  and  this  position  he  has  filled  conscientiously  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  his  constituents,  who  showed  their  faith  in  him  by  re-electing  him  to  this 
office  in  November,  1914,  for  another  term  of  six  years. 


WILLIAM  T.  PATTEN 

William  T.  Patten  was  born  in  Sullivan  county,  Indiana,  August  10,  1867.  Fol- 
lowing the  county  graded  and  high  schools  he  graduated  with  a  bachelor  of  arts  de- 
gree from  Indiana  University  in  1893.  Prior  to  his  attending  college  he  taught  school 
in  Sullivan  county,  in  1887  and  1888.  He  moved  from  Sullivan  county  to  Indianapolis 
in  1895  and  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  until  1908,  when  he  was  appointed 
chief  deputy  auditor  of  Marion  county,  serving  for  four  years  under  Auditor  Albert 
Sahm. 

In  1910  he  was  elected  auditor  of  Marion  county,  taking  office  in  1912  and  serving 
until  1916.  He  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  officers  who  ever  held  the  position  in 
Marion  county. 


EDGAR  ALMON  PERKINS 

From  1890  and  for  a  good  many  years  following,  Edgar  Almon  Perkins  was  one  of  the  leading 
Democratic  workers  of  the  State.  For  these  same  years  he  was  also  most  conspicuous  among  organ- 
ized laboring  forces,  serving  from  1893  to  1913  as  president  of  the  state  federation  of  labor  for  In- 
diana.    He  resigned  in  the  latter  year. 

Two  of  his  sons  were  in  the  war  with  Germany,  Harry  B.  Perkins  being  commissioned  a  lieuten- 
ant of  infantry  at  twenty-four,  and  Edgar  A.  Perkins,  Jr.,  enlisting  as  a  private  at  twenty-two.  A 
third  son  who  wished  to  go  with  his  brothers,  although  married  and  the  head  of  a  family,  was  re- 
fused because  of  defective  sight,  having  shot  himself  in  one  eye  when  a  youngster. 

Edgar  Almon  Perkins  was  born  in  Indianapolis  in  1866.  He  began  work  as  a  printer  in  1879, 
when  but  thirteen  years  of  age.  and  this  remained  his  business  all  his  life,  working  steadily  at  the 
trade  until  1913,  when  he  was  named  to  his  first  political  office  by  Governor  Samuel  M.  Ralston. 

He  was  named  the  chairman  of  the  legislative  committee  of  the  state  federation  of  labor  in  1893. 
and  two  years  later  was  elected  president  of  tlie  same  organization.  From  1893  to  1913,  at  which 
time  he  retired  as  a  federation  official,  all  labor  legislation  that  was  proposed  was  either  drafted  by 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY 


16-191 


him  or  passed  through  his  hands.  Even  after  1913,  while  in  public  office,  he  was  consulted  on  all  such 
matters  though  not  in  active  charge.  It  was  during-  these  years  that  important  labor  legislation  was 
enacted,  Indiana  taking  the  lead  of  the  states  in  all  such  matters. 

In  191.3  he  was  named  chief  of  the  bureau  of  inspection  of  Indiana  by  Governor  Ralston,  having 
drawn  the  bill  under  which  the  bureau  was  formed.  Two  years  later,  in  1915,  he  was  named  a  member 
and  president  cf  the  state  industrial  board  for  one  year,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  named  for 
four  years  to  the  same  position.  He  had  also  had  an  active  part  in  the  framing  of  the  bill  creating 
this  department,  and  in  drafting  the  rules  under  which  the  board  worked,  the  Indiana  board  was 
recognized  throughout  the  Union  as  a  model,  a  large  number  of  the  states  sending  their  members 
and  working  forces  to  Indianapolis  to  copy  the  rules  and  methods. 

Mr.  Pel  kins  was  a'so  president  for  eight  consecutive  terms  of  the  Indianapolis  Typographical 
Union. 


CHARLES  HAMILTON  PETERS 

A  resident  of  Starke  county  since  his  early  childhood  and  for  many  years  a 
prominent  attorney  at  law  in  the  town  of  Knox,  Charles  Hamilton  Peters  needs  no 
introduction  to  the  citizens  of  that  locality. 

Mr.  Peters  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Virginia,  born  in  Harrisonburg,  Rocking- 
ham county,  October  8,  1861.  In  infancy,  however,  he  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Indiana.  They  located  in  Starke  county,  where  his  boyhood  was  spent  and  where 
liis  schooling  was  received.  After  a  comprehensive  course  of  study  of  the  law,  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Starke  county  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of 
this  profession. 

On  April  9,  1882,  Mr.  Peters  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ada  Bell  Dukes,  of 
Ind.     Mr.  and  Mrs.   Peters  have  a  son,  Glenn  D.  Peters,  now  also  a  practicing  attorney, 
located  at   Hammond,   Ind. 

Mr.  Peters  has  ever  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  principles  of  Democracy,  and  has  always  ex- 
erted the  weight  of  his  influence  in  behalf  of  the  cause. 


HAL  C.  PHELPS 

Hal  C.  Phelps,  a  valued  worker  in  the  Democratic  party,  was  born  at  Bennett's  Switch,  Miami 
county,  on  the  24th  day  of  December,  1876.  His  schoohng  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  district,  and  later,  in  189.5,  a  year's  course  of  work  was  taken  at  the  Marion  Normal  College,  of 
Marion.  Then  followed  continued  work  at  the  Tri-State  Normal  College  of  Angola,  and  later  a  course  of 
study  at  Hull's  School  of  Manatan,  Ohio.  In  the  year  1900  he  entered  Vories'  Business  College  at 
Indianapolis;  and  in  1907  he  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Valparaiso. 
In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court,  and  his  work  since  as  an  attorney 
has  evidenced  marked  ability  in  the  profession. 

During  the  period  from  1908  to  1911  he  served  as  acting  deputy  prosecuting  attorney,  and  on 
the  2nd  day  of  May,  1912,  was  appointed  by  Governor  Marshall  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  the  51st  judicial  district  of  Indiana,  comprised  of  Miami  county.  In  the  fall  of 
this  year  he  was  elected  to  this  position,  and  in  this  capacity  has  since  served,  having  been  again 
elected  to  the  same  office  on  November  3,  1914. 


WILLIAM  PICKETT 

William  Pickett  has  proven  himself  an  active,  aggressive  citizen,  a  capable  offi- 
cial and  always  a  loyal  Democratic  worker.  He  was  born  in  Logansport  on  the  30th 
day  of  June,  1873;  and  here  his  education  was  received  in  the  public  and  parochial 
schools  of  the  place.  In  his  youth  he  was  engaged  in  the  clothing  business,  continu- 
ing until  January,  1910,  when  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  clerk.  So  ably  did  he 
administer  the  affairs  of  this  office  that  he  was  re-elected  in  the  fall  of  1913,  his  ten- 
ure of  office  to  expire  January  1,  1918. 

Mr.  Pickett  is  unmarried,  the  son  of  Patrick  and  Mary  Pickett,  the  former  de 
ceased.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Elks,  Knights  of  Columbus  and 
Eagles. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191G 


BERTRAM  W.  PICKHARDT 

The  name  of  Pickhardt  is  a  familiar  one  to  the  residents 
of  Huntingburg  and  vicinity,  the  family  being  a  prominent 
one.  Ernest  W.  Pickhardt,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
article,  is  the  popular  editor  of  the  H  tinting  burg  Signal;  and 
in  the  literary  atmosphere  of  a  refined  home  the  young  man 
larid  the  foundation  for  a  life  of  culture  and  usefulness. 

Bertram  W.  Pickhardt  was  born  on  the  30th  day  of  July, 
1889,  in  the  city  of  Huntingburg.  Here  his  childhood  was 
spent,  and  here  he  received  his  first  schooling,  attending  the 
common  and  later  the  high  school  of  the  town,  his  graduation 
here  being  followed  by  a  course  in  law  at  the  Indiana  Univer- 
sity at  Bloomington.  In  the  winter  of  1913,  when  but  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  he  received  the  honor  of  being  appointed 
enrolling  clerk  for  the  legislature;  and  the  following  June 
received  from  President  Wilson  the  appointment  of  postmas- 
ter of  the  city  of  Huntingburg,  he  being  at  that  time  the 
youngest  man  ever  appointed  to  a  third-class  office.  Mr.  Pick- 
hardt, like  his  father,  has,  since  attaining  his  majority,  striven 
for  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party,  being  much  in  de- 
mand during  the  campaign  as  a  speaker,  and  considered 
throughout  this  congressional  district  as  a  great  orator.  He 
is  also  an  active  member  of  the  order  of  Woodmen  of  the 

World,  among  whom  he  is  widely  known  and  highly  esteemed.  The  legal  profession  of  the  district 
has  gained,  in  this  young  man,  a  brilliant  recruit,  and  in  his  chosen  work  he  will  in  all  probability  con- 
tinue to  bring  credit  upon  himself  and  his  constituents. 


ERNEST  W.  PICKHARDT 

Few  residents  of  Dubois  county  and  its  vicinity  are  not 
familiar  with  the  name  and  the  work  of  Ernest  W.  Pickhardt, 
the  present  editor  of  the  Huntingburg  Signal,  and  deputy  oil 
inspector. 

He  was  born  at  Huntingburg  on  the  24th  day  of  May, 
1861,  and  his  entire  life  has  been  spent  as  a  citizen  of  this 
commonwealth.  His  education  was  received  in  its  schools,  and 
here  his  work  has  been  accomplished.  On  the  11th  day  of 
December.  1884,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Caroline 
Moenkhaus,  and  to  their  home  have  come  a  daughter  and 
three  sons,  completing  a  family  circle  which  has  stood  for  the 
best  and  noblest  in  life,  true  culture  and  refinement. 

During  the  year  1885  he  served  as  town  clerk  of  Hunting- 
burg; and  in  the  fall  of  1888  was  elected  as  representative  to 
the  legislature  of  Indiana  from  Dubois  and  Martin  counties. 
In  1890  he  was  re-elected  to  this  position  from  a  district  com- 
posed of  Dubois,  Orange  and  Lawrence  counties.  In  the  year 
1893  he  was  appointed  a  director  of  the  southern  prison  at 
Jeffersonville  by  Governor  Claude  Matthews,  serving  for  a 
term  of  two  years,  and  has  for  four  terms  served  as  a  member 
of  the  school  board. 

He  is  perhaps  best  known,  however,  by  his  work  as  editor 
of  the  Sigiuil,  which  he  published  in  German  from  the  year  1889  to  May  1,  1914,  at  which  time  the 
E.  W.  Pickhardt  Printing  Co.  was  formed  and  the  publication  of  the  paper  in  English  was  established. 
During  the  period  between  1890  and  190.5  Mr.  Pickhardt  was  also  the  publisher  of  the  Huntingburg 
Neivs,  this  being  issued  in  English. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  and  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Woodmen 
of  the  World. 


-History 


(993  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


WILL  H.  PIGG 

Having  attained  success  in  the  educational  field  and  later  distinguished  himself 
as  an  attorney  at  law,  the  name  of  Will  H.  Pigg  of  Martinsville  needs  no  introduction 
to  the  citizens  of  Morgan  county. 

He  was  born  in  Sullivan  county,  Indiana,  on  the  20th  day  of  November,  1871, 
and  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  en- 
tered the  business  world,  and  earned  his  way  through  the  higher  departments  of 
school.  A  course  was  later  pursued  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville,  and 
his  work  in  the  educational  field  covered  a  period  of  nine  years.  A  two-year  law 
course  was  completed  by  him  in  seven  and  one-half  months,  and  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Morgan  county  in  1896.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1910,  he  assumed  the 
duties  of  county  attorney,  a  position  which  he  held  until  1915,  with  great  credit  and  satisfaction  to 
his  constituents  and  the  community  at  large. 

His  grandfather  was  born  and  reared  in  Tennessee. 

Mrs.  Pigg  was  formerly  Miss  Julia  A.  Reeves,  of  Hyde  Park,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


C.  R.  POLLARD 

Seldom  is  it  the  good  fortune  of  an  individual  to  be  honored  by  the 
offer  of  various  positions  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth  until  so  many 
years  of  his  life  are  spent  in  the  service  of  the  public  that  he  is  driven  to 
refuse  further  honors.  Such  has  been  the  unique  experience  of  Judge  C.  R. 
Pollard  of  Delphi. 

Judge  Pollard  is  a  true  son  of  the  South,  born  in  Alabama,  August  9, 
1845,  the  son  of  Robert  P.  Pollard  and  Lydia  Garrett  Pollard.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  of  the  city  of  Mobile,  and  later  attended  the  Tuscaloosa 
Military  Academy,  being  at  the  latter  school  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
war.  He  fought  in  the  Confederate  army,  engaging  in  many  of  the  great 
battles,  and  surrendering  at  Meridian,  Miss.,  to  Gen.  U.  S.  Canby. 

In  1865  he  came  to  Delphi  and  served  as  deputy  clerk  from  1865  to 
1867,  inclusive.  On  March  18,  1868,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lillie  M.  Pig- 
man  of  Delphi,  and  three  children  were  born  of  this  union,  one  of  whom, 
Mrs.  R.  M.  Isherwood,  is  now  living.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  prosecuting 
attorney  of  his  county  by  Governor  Hendricks,  and  in  1870  was  elected  to  the  same  position,  serving 
until  1872.  In  1892  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  which  nominated  Grover  Cleve- 
land to  the  Presidency,  and  in  1895  was  appointed  associate  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  Montana. 
Following  his  term  of  service  there,  he  returned  to  Delphi,  Indiana,  and  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  law,  in  which  profession  he  has  met  with  remarkable  success.  During  his  career  he  has  been  em- 
ployed as  attorney  in  24  murder  cases,  including  the  famous  Mabbitt  case  at  Indianapolis  in  1892, 
and  assisted  in  the  prosecution  of  the  only  man  ever  hung  in  Carroll  county. 

Judge  Pollard  is  affiliated  with  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  K.  of  P.  lodges,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Epis- 
copal church.  He  is  also  one  of  the  most  popular  members  of  the  Jackson  club  at  Lafayette;  and 
was  for  many  years  city  and  county  attorney.  Judge  Pollard  has  a  large  practice,  being  engaged 
upon  one  side  of  every  important  civil  and  criminal  case  tried  in  his  county,  a  great  orator,  and 
cne  of  the  best  lawyers  in  the  Wabash  valley. 


ROBERT  E.  PROCTOR 

Robert  E.  Proctor  was  one  of  the  young  men  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Indiana  who  early  came 
to  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  state.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state 
senate  in  1908,  the  same  year  Thomas  R.  Marshall  was  chosen  governor,  succeeding  a  long  list  of  Re- 
publicans at  the  head  of  the  state  government. 

In  the  two  sessions  of  the  general  assembly  in  which  he  represented  the  Elkhart  district,  Sen- 
ator Proctor  was  prominent  as  a  leader,  and  his  ability  a?  a  speaker  kept  him  constantly  to  the  front. 
Because  of  this  prominence,  and  for  his  independence  of  action  on  all  subjects,  he  was  a  special 
mark  for  the  Republican  press  of  Indianapolis  and  the  state.     He  was  always  a  Democrat  who  be- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191 


lieved  in  the  party  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and   was   ready  to   fight   for   the  things    for   which    it 
stood. 

Robert  E.  Proctor  first  acquired  an  acquaintance  in  state  politics  as  the  campaign  manager  for 
Colonel  Conn  of  Elkhart,  who  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  for  governor  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  in  1908.  Colonel  Conn  not  being  the  choice  of  any  part  of  the  regular  party  organization,  young 
Proctor  resorted  to  the  use  of  printer's  ink.  He  filled  the  newspapers  of  Indiana  with  lavish  ad- 
vertisements setting  out  the  claims  of  his  candidate  to  the  support  of  the  state  delegates.  But  he  fell 
short  of  the  mark  in  results  when  the  convention  came  to  voting,  for  the  delegates  were  not  in 
sympathy  with  many  of  the  advanced  notions  which  the  Colonel  had  advocated.  To  the  members  of 
the  party  who  were  selecting  the  candidate  he  looked  too  much  as  Governor  Hanly  had  looked  to  the 
Republicans — one  who  might  be  the  cause  of  much  internal  striving. 

But  Proctor  succeeded  in  being  elected  to  the  state  senate  and  was  always  one  of  the  most  active 
and  effective  advocates  in  that  body.  He  was  an  able  young  attorney  and  successful  in  forcing  many 
of  his  ideas   on   important  legislation  on  his  associates. 

Robert  E.  Proctor  was  born  in  Elkhart,  February  15,  1883.  His  father  was  Robert  T.  Proctor,  a 
native  of  Ohio,  and  his  mother  had  been  Miss  Catherine  Cavanan,  a  native  of  Ireland.  He  was  educat- 
ed at  St.  Vincent's  parochial  school  and  the  Elkhart  high  school,  and  secured  his  degree  in  law 
from  the  University  of  Notre  Dame  in  1904.  Twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  began  practicing  law  at 
Elkhart,  the  year  of  his  graduation.  For  eighteen  months  he  was  associated  with  C.  C.  Raymer,  and 
then  until  1912  he  practiced  alone,  forming  a  partnership  in  the  latter  year  with  Verne  G.  Cawley, 
under  the  style  of  Proctor  &  Cawley. 

He  acquired  the  habit  of  hustling  for  himself  while  going  through  school,  getting  through  the 
university  by  waiting  on  tables,  acting  as  correspondent  for  various  newspapers,  serving  as  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  Notre  Dame  Scholastic,  the  college  weekly,  and  being  employed  in  various  capa- 
cities by  the  New  York  Central  Railroad.  The  remainder  of  his  time  was  spent  in  study  and  reci- 
tation. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Indiana  State  Bar  Association,  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club,  Knights  of 
Columbus,  Elks,  Eagles  and  Moose. 

He  was  married  in  1905  to  Miss  Evalyn  A.  Smith,  of  Huntington,  Indiana. 


JAMES  S.  PRITCHETT 

For  many  vears  an  honored  official  of  the  city  of  Vincennes  and  a  leading 
citizen  of  Knox  county,  the  late  James  S.  Pritchett  was  a  native  of  this  State, 
born  in  Warrenton,  Gibson  county,  July  18,  1844.  In  his  infancy,  however, 
his  parents  moved  to  Illinois  and  there  he  remained  and  attended  the  schools 
of  his  home  district  until  he  reached  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  when  he 
moved  to  Knox  county  with  his  family. 

Following  his  graduation  from  the  public  schools  Mr.  Pritchett  entered 
and  was  graduated  from  Hanover  College.  Then  followed  three  years  of 
work  at  the  University  of  Vincennes,  during  which  time  he  completed  the 
regular  four- year  course  of  study. 

On  September  11,  1872,  Mr.  Pritchett  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Ella  Wise.     To  that  union  were  born  three  children,  two  of  whom  are  now 

'""  Prior   to  his   entrance   to   Vincennes   University   Mr.   Pritchett   taught 
school  for  eighteen  months.    After  his  graduation  he  became  engaged  in  the 

practice  of  law.  He  evinced  marked  ability  in  the  practice  of  this  profession  and  became  more  than 
Lcally  known  as  an  orator.  Indeed,  it  is  said  he  was  recognized  as  the  leadmg  speaker  in  h.s  home 
coun  y,  and  his  services  as  an  orator  were  greatly  in  demand  on  patriotic  occasions,  soldiers  re- 
unions and  the  like,  as  well  as  during  political  campaigns.  He  also  was  well  known  as  a  f n en d  of 
union  labor,  and  often  was  called  upon  to  speak  at  Labor  day  celebrations  and  similar  gatherings. 

For  a  period  of  sixteen  years  Mr.  Pritchett  served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council     He  later  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  mayor  of  Vincennes  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  six  years  with  great  credit 
Fraternally,  Mr.  Pritchett  was  allied  with  the   Odd  Fellows.   Red   Men.  Knights  of  Pythias  and 
Elks.     He  often  was  a  delegate  to  party  conventions. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

ROYAL   E.   PURCELL 

Royal  E.  Pureell  was  for  forty-two  years  editor  of  the  Western  Sun,  published  at  Vincennes. 
He  was  born  July  26,  1849,  in  a  small  farm  house  in  Johnson  township,  Knox  county,  two  miles 
east  of  Pnrcell  Station,  which  was  named  for  his  father's  uncle,  Andrew  Pureell,  who  lived  on  a  farm 
at  that  point.  He  was  the  youngest  of  four  children.  His  father  died  in  1850,  less  than  one  year 
after  his  birth.  His  education  was  secured  in  the  very  crudest  of  country  schools.  They  were  not 
public  schools,  but  of  the  old  subscription  class  where  a  teacher  or  an  individual  with  small  qualifi- 
cations would  secure  a  number  of  pupils  and  teach  them  for  very  small  pay  for  two  or  three 
months  of  the  year.  When  he  was  able  to  finish  his  common  school  education  he  attended  the  first 
public  school  in  that  section  of  the  country  at  Sand  Hill.  He  finished  this  part  of  his  studies  at 
home  preparing  himself  for  a  higher  education,  securing  a  license  to  teach  and  getting  a  position 
at  $1.75  per  day,  riding  on  horse  back  from  his  home  to  the  school  house  where  he  taught.  Between 
working  on  the  farm  and  teaching  this  school  he  was  able  to  secure  enough  money  to  take  him 
through  Hanover  College.  Upon  leaving  college  young  Purcell's  ambition  was  to  engage  in  news- 
paper work  or  journalism.  Seeing  no  possible  chance  of  entering  immediately  upon  that  work  he 
went  to  Vincennes  and  studied  law,  later  being  admitted  to  the  bar  and  taking  the  partnership 
with  W.  B.  Robinson  under  the  firm  name  of  Robinson  &  Pureell.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he 
found  himself  practicing  alone  and,  according  to  his  own  story  many  years  afterwards,  he  was  earn- 
ing approximately  $100  per  month,  which  made  life  worth  while.  It  was  at  this  point  that  he  had 
an  opportunity  to  enter  journalism.  Several  friends  came  to  him  and  announced  that  the  Western 
Sun,  the  newspaper  which  he  was  destined  to  own  for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  was  for  sale.  The 
price  was  $6,000.  His  former  partner  and  two  other  men  agreed  to  advance  the  money  and  allow 
him  to  pay  it  back  out  of  the  profits  of  the  business.  He  began  as  the  editor  of  the  Sun  in  1876.  It 
was  a  weekly  paper  at  the  time  he  acquired  ownership  and  in  1879  he  established  it  as  a  daily,  put- 
ting up  a  building  in  which  to  publish  it  in  1881. 

When  Mr.  Pureell  retired  a  few  years  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1918,  his  son.  Royal 
E.  Pureell,  Jr.,  succeeded  him  as  the  editor  and  head  of  the  paper.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Democratic  organization  in  Knox  county  all  his  life.  He  served  as  president  of  the  State  Editorial 
Association,  many  times  was  chosen  on  the  executive  committee  of  the  National  Editorial  Associa- 
tion and  was  an  Indiana  member  of  the  Chicago  World's  Columbian  Exposition  in  1892  and  1893. 
He  was  postmaster  at  Vincennes  in  1893  and  1897  and  served  two  seasons  as  state  senator,  being 
elected  in  1899  and  1901.  He  was  trustee  of  the  Vincennes  University,  member  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees at  Hanover  College,  president  and  director  of  the  Second  National  Bank  at  Vincennes,  director 
of  the  Vincennes  Light  and  Power  Company,  director  of  the  Knox  County  Home  Telephone  Com- 
pany, and  connected  with  many  other  business  enterprises. 

0.  A.  PURSLEY 

Orville  Andrew  Pursley  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Ohio,  November  6,  1885. 
His  parents  moved  to  Indiana  when  he  was  an  infant  and  resided  on  a  farm  near 
Hartford  City.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  laboring  on  his  father's  farm  in  the 
summertime  and  attending  the  rural  school  in  the  winter.  At  an  early  age  he  gradu- 
ated from  the  rural  schools  of  Blackford  county,  where  all  of  his  early  training  was 
procured,  and  began  at  once  to  work  his  way  through  college  in  an  effort  to  prepare 
for  the  legal  profession.  His  preparation  extended  over  a  period  of  eleven  years,  as 
he  was  forced  to  spend  part  of  his  time  in  the  schoolroom  teaching  in  an  effort  to 
obtain  money  to  defray  his  expenses  in  college.  He  attended  the  Marion  Normal 
College,  from  which  place  he  obtained  his  high  school  training,  his  B.  S.  degree  and 
a  diploma  in  the  law  and  scientific  course.  He  later  completed  his  college  training  by  obtaining  the 
degree  of  bachelor  of  laws  in  the  McKinley  University  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 

He  became  active  upon  the  side  of  Democracy  with  his  majority  and  has  been  since  that  time 
precinct  committeeman.  In  1913  he  was  appointed  deputy  prosecutor,  and  in  1914  was  elected  city 
attorney  by  the  common  council  of  the  city  of  Montpelier,  Indiana,  for  a  period  of  four  years. 

He  is  known  as  one  of  the  most  active  workers  in  the  party,  as  well  as  one  of  the  leading  young 
attorneys  of  his  home  county. 

Mr.  Pursley  was  married  to  Miss  Crystal  Van  Gordon,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  M. 
Van  Gordon,  on  November  8,  1907. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-19  16 

SAMUEL  GORDON  PURDY 

Samuel  Gordon  Purdy  is  an  active  worker  among  the  younger  element  of  the  Indiana  De- 
mocracy and  is  also  actively  interested  in  the  commercial  life  of  Valparaiso,  where  he  is  well 
known  as  a  leading  electrical  contractor. 

Mr.  Purdy  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  on  the  5th  day  of  August,  1884.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  Valparaiso  and  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  that  city.  Early  in  life  he  be- 
came interested  in  the  science  of  electricity  and  perfected  himself  along  this  line  of  work.  In  the 
year  1909  he  was  appointed  electrical  inspector  for  the  Indiana  Inspection  Bureau,  serving  in  this 
capacity  until  1911.  In  the  fall  of  1913  he  was  elected  to  membership  in  the  city  council  and  has 
been  an  active  member  of  this  body  since. 

Mrs.   Purdy,  to  whom  he  was  married  January  4,  1908,  was  Miss  Maud  M.  Crowther. 

ALEXANDER  N.  PURSLEY 
One  of  the  best-known  party  workers  in  Hartford  City  is  Alexander  N.  Pursley, 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee,  who  has  always  been  a  Demo- 
crat, actively  participated  in  politics  even  before  he  became  a  voter,  and  has  since 
maintained  an  unflagging  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  party. 

Mr.  Pursley  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Ohio,  March  3,  1878,  his  parents  being 
natives  of  Ohio.  When  he  was  nine  years  of  age  they  moved  to  Indiana  and  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Blackford  county.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the  county  schools, 
and  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Sloan  on  September  26,  1896.  They  have  seven 
children,  all  of  whom  have  unusual  natural  musical  ability. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pursley  moved  from  the  farm  to  Hartford  City  in  1897,  when  Mr. 
Pursley  entered  the  retail  grocery  business,  to  which  he  gave  the  same  thoughtful  and  energetic  atten- 
tion that  he  had  given  to  farming,  resulting  in  an  ever-growing  business.  To  an  engaging  person- 
ality, Mr.  Pursley  adds  the  natural  qualities  of  a  "booster"  and  evident  executive  ability.  For  the 
past  three  years  he  has  been  elected  general  manager  of  the  Hartford  City  Merchants  and  Farmers' 
Festival  Association.  Served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  from  1906  until  1909  and  as  township 
trustee  from  1908  to  1914.  He  was  also  elected  county  chairman  in  1912,  and  re-elected  in  1914,  and 
IS  president  of  the  Indiana  Trustees'  Association.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Hartford  City  Com- 
mercial Club,  Knights  of  Columbus,  K.  O.  T.  M.,    Red  Men,  Elks,  Eagles  and  Moose. 

JUDGE  JAMES  M.  PURVIS 

Judge  Purvis  has  served  with  distinction  on  the  circuit  bench  of  the  36th 
judicial  circuit,  and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  an  honored  official  in  the  service 
of  the  commonwealth;  and  in  the  various  positions  to  which  he  has  been  called  he 
has  demonstrated  a  keen  intelligence,  loyalty  to  the  public  interest  and  unflagging 
energy,  which  have  placed  him  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  community. 

Judge  Purvis  was  born  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1863.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Tipton  county  and  later  continued  his  studies  at  the  Central  Normal  Col- 
lege of  Danville.  A  course  in  law  was  acquired  in  local  offices  in  the  city  of  Tipton, 
Ind.,  and  in  the  year  1888  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Tipton  county  and  entered 
into  the  practice  of  this  profession  in  the  city  of  Tipton. 

On  the  14th  day  of  April,  1897,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Adonis  B.  Clark,  to  which 
union  were  born  five  boys,  all  now  living,  and  their  permanent  home  was  established  also  in  this  city; 
and  in  the  same  year  he  served  his  county  as  repesentative  in  the  "state  legislature.  In  the  year 
1907  he  was  appointed  city  attorney,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  three  and  one-half  years,  and 
later  served  as  county  attorney  for  a  term  of  two   years. 

On  the  30th  day  of  August,  1912,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  his  present  high  position,  and  as 
circuit  judge  has  established  an  enviable  record.    His  term  of  service  expires  January  1,  1919. 

PERRY  A.  RANDALL 
Perry  A.  Randall  is  known  all  over  Northeastern  Indiana  as  the  great  advocate  of  the  proposed 
Chicago  and   Lake   Erie  canal,  but  his  intense  advocacy  of  the  project  is  directed  toward  having  the 
canal  pass  through  Fort  Wayne. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


He  has  addressed  committees  of  Congress  on  this  subject  and  is  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  edu- 
c;ite  the  people  of  his  city  and  county  on  the  canal  and  its  value  to  commerce.  Mr.  Randall  was 
prepared  for  college  at  the  Fort  Wayne  High  School,  entered  Michigan  University,  and  was  gradu- 
ated in  1871  after  completing  the  classical  course. 

He  then  entered  the  law  department  of  his  alma  mater  and  graduated  in  1873,  in  which  year, 
also,  he  was  admitted  to  practice.  In  April,  1873,  he  settled  in  Fort  Wayne,  where  he  is  one  of  the 
leading  attorneys.  He  is  also  proprietor  of  the  Randall  hotel.  He  is  a  highly  educated  man,  an  able 
speaker  and  one  of  the  most  public-spirited  men  in  the  state. 

He  has  always  taken  a  keen  interest  in  the  city  of  Fort  Wayne  and  was  one  of  the  principal 
organizers  of  the  electric  works  for  the  city. 


WILLIAM  F.  RANKE 
William  F.  Ranke  has  served  as  treasurer  of  Allen  county,  and  has  long  been 
recognized  as  a  representative  citizen  of  Ft.  Wayne  and  has  held  various  positions  of 
responsibility  and  trust  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth. 

Mr.  Ranke  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Allen  county  on  the  20th  day  of  January, 
1865.  He  was  educated  in  the  German  Lutheran  schools,  entered  the  M.  E.  College 
of  that  place  for  a  commercial  course  and  later  entered  the  University  of  Michigan, 
matriculating  in  the  pharmacy  department. 

In  the  fall  of  1906  he  was  elected  state  senator  from  Allen  county  to  the  Indiana 
legislature,  and  in  the  assembly  which  followed,  and  in  the  session  of  1909  was  an 
active  participant.     In  1908  he  assumed  the  duties  of  deputy  county  treasurer,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1915  was  elected  county  treasurer. 

In  military  circles  he  is  widely  known  as  captain  of  the  Indiana  Battery  Spanish- American  War, 
and  captain  39th  Infantry  U.  S.  Volunteers,  1899,  and  post  department  commander  of  United  rSpaniaii 
War  Veterans. 


SAMUEL  MOFFETT  RALSTON 

Samuel  Moffett  Ralston  was  born  December  1,  1857,  on 
a  farm  at  New  Cumberland,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  the  son 
of  John  and  Sarah  (Scott)  Ralston.  In  1865  his  parents 
moved  to  Owen  county,  Indiana,  living  there  for  eight  years. 
They  afterwards  moved  to  Fontanet,  Ind.,  where  the  father 
took  a  coal  lease  and  sunk  a  shaft  with  the  assistance  of  his 
son,  but  a  short  while  afterwards  they  moved  back  to  Owen 
county,  near  Lancaster,  the  postoflfice  being  Patricksburg, 
where  they  resided  on  a  farm. 

In  1876,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  the  younger  Ralston 
began  teaching  school,  afterwards  spending  one  term  at  Val- 
paraiso, and  graduating  from  the  Central  Normal  College  at 
Danville  in  1884.  In  this  year  he  began  reading  law  with 
Robinson  &  Fowler  at  Spencer,  Owen  county,  Indiana,  and 
January  1,  1886,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  located  at 
Lebanon,  Ind.,  in  June,  1886,  forming  a  partnership  with 
John  A.  Abbott,  these  two  practicing  together  for  two  years. 
He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  Michael  Keefe,  this  part- 
nership existing  until  Mr.  Keefe's  death  in  1899,  from  which 
time  Mr.  Ralston  practiced  alone. 

Mr.  Ralston  was  a  presidential  elector  in  1892  and  cast 
one  of  Indiana's  electoral  votes  in  1889  for  the  re-election  of 
Grover  Cleveland  as  President  of  the  United  States.  While  living  in  Lebanon  Mr.  Ralston  was 
President  of  the  Lebanon  School  Board  from  1908  to  1911. 

He  was  a  candidate  for  Governor  of  Indiana  before  the  Democratic  state  convention  in  1908,  but 
was  defeated  for  the  nomination  by  Thomas  R.  Marshall,  now  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  At 
the  Democratic  state  convention  in  1912  Mr.  Ralston  was  practically  the  unanimous  choice  of  his 
party  for  Governor  and  was  nominated  and  elected  Governor  in  that  year.     He  was  inaugurated  on 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-19  16 

the  13th  day  of  January,  1913,  his  term  expiring  on  the  9th  day  of  January,  1917.  During  his  admin- 
istration the  State  debt,  long  a  subject  of  discussion  by  political  parties,  was  liquidated  in  full  and 
the  State  for  the  first  time  in  82  years  put  out  of  debt;  and  upon  leaving  the  office  of  Governor  he 
turned  over  to  his  successor  a  cash  balance  largely  in  excess  of  three  million  dollars.  Mr.  Ralston 
takes  pride  in  the  character  of  the  legislation  enacted  during  his  administration.  It  was  progres- 
sive. He  is  content  to  let  his  record  as  Governor  speak  for  itself.  He  was  Indiana's  first  Cen- 
tennial Governor. 

On  December  30,  1889,  he  married  Jennie  Craven  of  Hendricks  county,  Indiana.     To  them  three 
children  have  been  bom,  Emmet  Grattan,  Julian  Craven  and  Ruth. 


EDWARD  B.  RAUB 

For  many  years  a  prominent  attorney  of  Indianapolis  and  actively  engaged  in  municipal  af- 
fairs, Mr.  Edward  B.  Raub  has  also  contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  the  Marion  county  democ- 
racy. 

He  was  born  on  the  23rd  day  of  December,  1371.  at  Chalmers,  Indiana.  He  entered  DePauw  Uni- 
versity, receiving  the  degree  of  Ph.  B.  in  1894.  In  the  following  year  he  graduated  from  the  Indiana 
Law  School  and  entered  into  the  practice  of  law  in  Indianapolis.  In  1903  he  was  appointed  city  at- 
torney for  a  term  of  two  years,  and  in  the  years  1910  and  1911  and  again  in  1915  held  the  position 
of  county  attorney  for  Marion  county.  From  1905  to  1909  he  also  served  the  party  as  chairman.  At 
present,  in  addition  to  his  work  as  county  attorney,  he  continues  his  practice,  serving  also  as  gen- 
eral counsel  for  the  Indianapolis  Life  Insurance  Company. 

He  is  afliliated  with  the  college  fraternity  Delta  Upsilon  and  the  legal  fraternity  Delta  Chi;  also 
the  Scottish  Rite  Masons,  Indianapolis  Consistory;  Murat  Temple  Mystic  Shrine;  Raper  Command- 
ery   Knights  Templar;  and  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  governors  of  the  board  of  trade. 

Mrs.  Raub,  to  whom  he  was  married  December  28th,  1898,  was  formerly  Miss  Martha  Drapier, 
of  the  city  of  Indianapolis. 

JOHN  RAUCH 

Closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  Indianapolis  for  many  years 
and  later  the  incumbent  of  a  position  of  great  responsibility  in  the  service 
of  the  commonwealth,  the  name  of  Mr.  John  Rauch  is  well  known  through- 
out Marion  county  and  vicinity. 

Mr.  Rauch  is  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  Indiana,  his  birth  having 
occurred  within  its  confines  on  the  4th  day  of  August,  1850.  Here,  in  the 
little  town  of  Southgate,  in  Highland  township,  he  received  his  schooling. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  however,  he  entered  into  the  cigar  man- 
ufacturing business  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis,  and  here  he  has  since  re- 
mained, his  business  increasing  in  volume  as  the  years  have  passed,  and  his 
influence  as  a  business  man  of  integrity  and  sterling  worth  growing  also. 

On  the  18th  day  of  May,  1875,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  Catherine  Schoen  of  Cincinnati,  and  their  home,  then  established  in 
Indianapolis,  has  never  ceased  to  extend  hospitality  to  many  devoted  friends. 

In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court  of  Marion  county,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  office  on  the  first  day  of  the  following  January. 
In  this  capacity  he  served  for  a  term  of  four  years,  bringing  to  the  work  conscientious  zeal  and  pro- 
gressive methods. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  a  consistent  adherent  to  the  principles  of  Democracy, 
and  has  labored  faithfully  and  loyally  during  the  various  campaigns  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause, 
rendering  especially  valued  service  to  the  local  organization  in  late  years. 

HERMAN  RAVE 

If  variety  lends  spice  to  life,  Herman  Rave  must  have  been  filled  with  peppeiy  things  that  kept 
stirring.  He  said  of  himself  that  he  was  so  accustomed  to  putting  off  until  tomorrow  that  but  for 
the  interest  manifested  by  his  friends  he  would  probably  not  have  been  a  candidate  for  sheriff  of  Clark 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 


county  until  after  election  days  had  passed  in  1898  and  1900.  Since  the  friends  interested  themselves 
in  his  behalf  he  was  elected  and  re-elected  to  the  office  by  majorities  which  were  unusual  even  in  this 
county  of  Democrats.  He  declared  the  Republicans  and  Democrats  seemed  to  have  united  to  make 
him  keep  up  with  the  days  of  the  month. 

Mr.  Rave  was  born  in  the  city  of  Kiel  of  "well  born  and  honest  parents"  by  his  own  admissions. 
He  first  attended  the  preparatory  school  of  the  university  "where  they  tried  to  pound  Latin"  into 
him.  In  his  own  story,  told  in  his  easy  chair  and  smoking  his  pipe,  he  explained  this  was  not  among 
the  possibilities.  "There  must  have  remained  some  drop  of  the  old  Pirates  of  Kiel,  the  Victuallers  of 
Victual  Brothers  as  they  were  called,  who  very  often  went  to  assist  the  Baltic  princes  in  their  quar- 
rels, or  of  the  old  rovers  who  made  it  uncomfortable  for  King  Arthur  and  others,  for  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  I  was  permitted  to  go  to  Mexico.  Had  to  return  at  sixteen  and  put  in  my  martyrdom  with 
tutorship  in  mathematics  and  learning,  or  supposed  to  be  learning  bookkeeping. 

"United  state  next  in  1867.  Horrified  Mother  Steinway  by  declaring  my  intention  of  shipping  on 
a  lumber  schooner.  Instead,  went  to  railroading  with  shovel  and  pick,  and  laughed  at  my  indignant 
relatives,  who  thought  I  ought  to  be  a  railroad  president,  but  gave  me  up  for  incurable.  All  this  time 
I  had  a  notion  that  the  writing  of  verses  was  my  mission,  but  my  old  habit  of  waiting  until  the  next 
day  saved  the  public  that  time. 

"Cincinnati  was  next  made  happy,  and  there  I  worked  at  a  number  of  things,  until  finally  I  went 
broke  one  winter  and  took  a  job  to  milk  cows  for  Reuben  Dailey,  then  owner  of  the  Jeffersonville 
News,  with  whom  I  remained  over  twenty  years.  I  turned  the  hand  press  in  the  afternoons  and  the 
rest  of  the  time  wrote  the  news  of  the  town  in  verse  and  prose,  and  got  subscribers.  One  day  I  woke 
up  and  found  the  Democrats  had  nominated  me  for  sheriff,  against  my  wishes,  but  was  elected  by  the 
biggest  majority  cast  in  many  years.  They  nominated  and  elected  me  again,  this  time  the  Repub- 
licans joining  in  the  conspiracy  to  keep  me  working. 

"It  was  funny,  very  funny.  Instead  of  my  treating  the  boys,  they  treated  me  and  treated  each 
other  for  me.  I  had  no  money  in  either  campaign,  so  the  boys  spent  theirs.  I  made  my  campaigns 
mostly  on  a  bicycle,  pitched  hay  for  the  farmers,  told  stories  and  talked  very  little  politics,  forget- 
ting very  often  to  tell  them  my  designs  on  the  office.  Then  the  Democrats  in  the  legislature  gave 
me  an  extra  six  months'  term.     Watchaknowaboutthat  ? 

"I  quit  politics  to  take  a  job  firing  a  battery  of  boilers  at  Speers  cement  mills.  Who  ever  heard 
of  an  officeholder  doing  a  thing  like  that  before?  When  I  had  got  good  and  strong  with  a  year 
of  this  the  Netv  Albany  Ledger  called  me  to  handle  some  heavy  editorials.  Then  I  resigned  and  spent 
my  time  looking  over  some  fool  stocks  that  I  bought  with  my  salary  when  I  was  sheriff,  because 
somebody  who  was  a  smart  salesman  told  me  how  much  money  they  would  make  for  me.  They  all 
refused  to  rise  by  any  ingredients  I  could  ever  inject  into  them;  but  why  should  I  not  always  be 
happy  with  my  pipe  and  arm  chair,  with  no  clock  to  order  me  around  by  striking  the  hours?" 


JOHN  M.  RAWLEY 

Few  among  the  workers  in  the  Democratic  party  in  Indiana  are  more 
widely  knovra  or  more  highly  honored  by  their  constituents  than  Judge 
John  M.  Rawley  of  Brazil.  Judge  Rawley  is  essentially  a  Clay  county 
man,  having  been  born  within  its  borders  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1862, 
attending  its  common  schools,  and  eventually  identifying  himself  closely 
with  the  political  and  business  life  of  the  community.  He  attended  the 
Central  Normal  College  of  Danville,  and  on  Christmas  Day  in  the  year 
1901  was  married  to  Miss  Lenore  Scofield.  One  child,  a  daughter,  has  come 
to  their  home,  her  birth  occurring  also  on  Christmas  Day,  1903. 

In  the  year  1896  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  and  re-elected  in  1898.  The  ensuing  eight  years  were  spent 
in  the  practice  of  law,  and  during  this  period  his  acquaintance  widened  and 
his  influence  grew  in  the  community.  In  1906  he  was  elected  circuit  judge 
from  Clay  and  Putnam  counties,  and  in  1912  was  re-elected  for  a  term  of 
six  years,  at  this  time  receiving  the  remarkable  majority  of  2,160  votes  in 
bis  own  county, 
self-made  man,  having  earned  his  education  largely  by  teaching  in  the  winter, 
spending  his  summers  for  eight  years  in  school,  studying  diligently  to  perfect  himself  in  the  knowl- 


Judge  Rawley 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


cdpe  of  his  profession.  He  has,  throughout  his  career,  labored  for  the  success  of  his  party,  and  in 
1902  and  1904  was  county  chairman  of  the  Democratic  committee.  During  the  last  state  convention 
he  represented  the  5th  Congressional   District  on  the  resolutions  committee. 


OREN  A.  RAWLINS 

So  closely  has  Oren  A.  Rawlins  been  identified  with  the  business  and  political  affairs  of  Jay 
county  for  the  past  score  or  more  of  years  that  his  name  is  familiar  to  the  majority  of  the  residents 
of  that  community.  He  was  born  in  Randolph  county,  March  5,  1871,  and  received  his  schooling  in 
the  district  schools  of  that  county. 

On  October  19,  1893,  Mr.  Rawlins  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  G.  Winters.  He  es- 
tablished his  home  in  Portland,  which  has  since  remained  the  center  of  his  interests. 

Mr.  Rawlins  for  many  years  has  been  a  successful  contractor  and  builder.  He  has  been  an  act- 
ive party  worker  since  he  attained  his  majority,  has  been  a  member  of  the  county  committee  for 
nearly  twenty  years  and  served  as  county  chairman  in  1912.  On  July  1,  1914,  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  of  Portland  by  President  Wilson.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks. 


JAMES  J.  REEDER 

James  J.  Reeder  is  a  man  of  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  county 
and  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  development  and  growth  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Mr.  Reeder  was  born  in  Howard  county  on  the  29th  day  of  July,  1856, 
but  came  to  Carroll  county  when  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  since  this 
time  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  municipal  and  civic  affairs  of  his 
home  township  and  county.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Howard 
county,  and  later  the  common  schools  of  his  district  in  Carroll  county,  resid- 
ing upon  the  farm  of  his  parents  in  boyhood,  and  later  engaging  in  the  pur- 
suit of  agriculture  for  himself. 

In  the  year  of  1900  he  was  elected  township  trustee  of  Carrollton  town- 
ship, his  term  of  office  expiring  in  1905.  In  December,  1909,  he  left  the 
farm  and  moved  to  Camden,  where  he  sold  automobiles  until  June,  1910.  At 
this  time  he  assumed  the  duties  of  cashier  of  the  Farmers'  State  Bank,  and 
later  became  manager  of  the  Farmers'  Elevator.  In  1912,  however,  he  was 
elected  clerk  of  Carroll  county,  a  position  which  required  his  undivided  attention, 
in  this  position  will  expire  at  the  close  of  1916. 

Mr.  Reeder  is  prominent  in  fraternal  circles  in  Delphi  and  vicinity,  having  taken  the  degrees  of 
Masonry  up  to  the  thirty-second,  both  ways;  all  degrees  save  the  canton  in  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows;  the  subordinate  and  uniform  rank  of  Knights  of  Pythias. 

In  January,  1885,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lilly  C.  Cornell,  of  Carroll  county;  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  became  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Five  years  later,  however,  his  member- 
ship was  changed  to  the  Lutheran  church  where  he   is  now  an  elder. 


His  term  of  office. 


NORMAN  W.  C.  REEVES 

Many  of  our  leading  citizens  have  laid  the  foundation  of  a  vigorous  manhood  in 
the  life  and  labor  of  the  agriculturist,  and  the  subject  of  this  article,  Norman  W.  C. 
Reeves,  is  a  representative  of  this  class.  He  was  born  on  the  16th  day  of  June,  1855, 
on  a  farm  in  Rush  county,  this  State,  and  in  this  environment  he  remained  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  thirty  years.  Here  he  received  his  schooling  in  the  common  schools 
and  later  attended  the  high  school  of  Knightstown,  Ind. 

In  the  year  1885  he  entered  the  drug  business  at  Knightstown,  and  here  his  in- 
terests have  since  centered.  Mr.  Reeves  is  a  lifelong  Democrat  and  is  descended  from 
a  line  of  Democratic  ancestors.  Although  an  active  party  worker,  he  never  aspired 
to  any  office;  but  in  the  year  1912  he  was  elected  representative  to  the  legislature  of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

the  state  from  Heniy  county.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Knightstown  lodge  of  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  has  held  the  position  of  master  of  exchequer  since  the  organization  was  founded,  in 
the  year  1889;  truly  a  remarkable  record.  He  is  also  a  charter  member  and  treasurer  of  the  uniform 
rank.  Knights  of  Pythias. 


JAMES  REID 
Judge  James  Reid  needs  no  introduction  to  most  of  our  readers,  being  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Logansport,  and  for  sixteen  years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  re-elected 
November  3,  1914,  receiving  the  largest  majority  on  his  ticket.  In  his  official  ca- 
pacity he  has  performed,  in  that  time,  many  marriage  ceremonies,  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five  prior  to  November  1,  1914;  and  has  for  this  reason  become  known  through- 
out the  community  as  "the  marrying  'squire."  And  the  majority  of  lawsuits  are  filed 
in  his  court,  more  than  seven  hundred  having  been  filed  in  the  year  1914.  Judge  Reid 
was  born  and  reared  in  White  county,  Indiana,  moving  to  Logansport  in  the  year 
1882,  since  which  time  he  has  made  this  place  his  home.  His  birth  occurred  on  the 
27th  day  of  July,  1856,  and  he  has  been  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Miss  Sarah 

J.  Smith,  to  whom  he  was  united  on  the  20th  of  February,  1879;    and    the    second    Miss    Mary    L. 

Keis,  whom  he  married  October  19,  1903.     He  has    for  many  years  been  actively  engaged  in  the  real 

estate,  loan  and  insurance  business,  and  at  the  present  time  is  very  actively  engaged  in  colonizing 

and  selling  land  in  the  fruit  belt  of  Western  Central  Michigan. 


JOHN  G.  REIDELBACH 

An  educator  for  fifteen  years,  an  attorney  at  law  for  a  decade,  a  practical  agri- 
culturist since  his  youth  and  a  lifelong  Democrat,  is  the  record  held  by  John  G. 
Reidelbach,  joint  senator  from  Cass  and  Pulaski  counties. 

Senator  Reidelbach  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  on  the  19th  of  August,  1872.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  this  State  until  he  reached  the  age  of  thirteen  years, 
at  which  time  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Pulaski  county.  Following  his  gradua- 
tion from  the  public  schools  of  Pulaski  county  he  entered  the  State  Normal  at  Terre 
Haute,  and  here  laid  the  foundation  of  his  work  as  an  educator.  Returning  to  his 
home  county,  he  entered  the  educational  field  and  taught  in  the  county  schools  until 
the  year  1904,  at  which  time  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  entered  the  active  prac- 
tice of  law,  having  studied  this  profession  at  Valparaiso,  Ind. 

Born  and  reared  on  a  farm,  he  has  never  lost  his  interest  in  agricultural  affairs,  and  takes  great 
pride  in  superintending  the  cultivation  of  three  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Pulaski  county. 

At  the  Democratic  convention  held  by  Cass  and  Pulaski  counties  at  Logansport  in  April,  1914,  he 
was  nominated  for  joint  senator  by  acclamation. 

Mrs.  Reidelbach,  to  whom  he  was  married  August  28,  1894,  was  formerly  Miss  Anna  Higgins,  and 
she  has  proven  a  worthy  second  in  his  various  undertakings. 


CHARLES  G.  REIFEL 

The  list  of  zealous  Democratic  adherents  and  prominent  people  of  Franklin  county  would  be 
incomplete  were  mention  not  made  of  Charles  G.  Reifel,  a  lifelong  resident  of  this  section  and 
present  auditor  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Reifel  was  born  on  the  24th  day  of  April,  1865,  at  Peppertown,  Ind.,  and  spent  his  child- 
hood in  this  town,  attending  the  schools  of  the  place  until  he  reached  the  period  when  a  university 
course  should  be  decided  upon.  At  this  time  he  entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute, 
taking  a  teacher's  course  of  study. 

On  the  24th  day  of  October,  1888,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Strasburger, 
and  their  home  has   since   extended   its   hospitality  to  numerous  friends. 

In  the  fall  of  1910  Mr.  Reifel  was  elected  to  the  position  of  auditor  of  Franklin  county,  his  ten- 
ure of  office  to  expire  in  1914.  At  this  time  he  was  again  nominated  for  this  important  service  and 
again  elected.  During  this  period  he  has  served  with  conscientious  zeal,  showing  a  progressive 
spirit  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  his  office. 

He  has,  throughout  his  career,  been  a  stanch   Democrat,  consistently  voting  the  ticket  and  la- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

boring  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  at  all  times.     He  is  secretary  of  the  Democratic  club  of  But- 
ler township,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Indiana   Democratic  Club. 


PATRICK  REILLY 

Patrick  Reilly,  one  of  the  veteran  business  men  of  Hammond,  was  born  in  Verplanck's  Point, 
N.  Y.,  January  1,   1848,  the  son  of  James  and  Bridget  Reilly,  who  were  born  in  the  old  country. 

Mr.  Reilly  received  his  early  education  in  New  York  State.  On  October  23,  1863,  at  the  age 
of  fifteen,  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States  marine  corps  and  saw  service  for  over  five  years  as  a 
drummer.  He  then  re-enlisted  and  served  four  years,  during  which  time  he  went  to  Europe  on  the 
Guerriere.     On  returning  he  continued  in  service  as  an  employe  in  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard. 

In  1884  he  came  to  Hammond  to  take  a  position  as  a  superintendent  in  the  Hammond  Packing 
Company.  Twelve  years  later  he  started  in  business  for  himself  as  a  plumber,  and  was  also  con- 
nected with  his  sons,  James  and  Edward,  in  the  grocery  business. 

Mr.  Reilly  has  been  prominent  in  politics,  representing  the  Democrats  as  councilman  from  the 
third  ward  for  eight  years,  served  as  acting  mayor  for  eighteen  months,  and  was  elected  mayor  of 
Hammond,  which  office  he  held  for  four  years. 

He  is  a  membei-  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters,  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters  of  Indiana,  A.  0.  United  Workmen  and   tlio  Elks. 

He  married  Miss  Mary  A.  McSweeney,  and  to  this  marriage  have  been  born  thirteen  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  living. 


JUDGE  CHARLES  REMSTER 

To  the  citizens  of  Marion  county  and  throughout  the  State  the  name  of  Judge  Charles  Rem- 
ster  is  a  familiar  one.  He  served  the  people  of  Indianapolis  and  Marion  county  for  a  number  of 
years  as  an  honored  public  official. 

Charles  Remster  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Veedersburg,  Ind.,  on  the  28th  day  of  July,  1862.  His 
boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  on  this  farm,  attending  the  common  and  high  schools.  '  Following 
this  he  took  a  course  at  Purdue  University,  remaining  there  for  three  years  and  three  months. 

After  a  course  in  the  law,  in  1889,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Fountain  county  and  engaged 
in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  He  demonstrated  his  abilities  as  a  jurist  and  his  name 
became  known  among  attorneys  beyond  the  limits  of  his  county.  So  in  1895,  six  years  after  he 
began  practicing,  he  removed  to  Indianapolis,  and  here,  with  greater  opportunities,  he  soon  ac- 
quired a  very  lucrative  practice. 

On  the  1st  day  of  April,  1907,  he  was  appointed  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Marion  county 
and  for  eighteen  months  served  in  that  capacity.  He  brought  to  his  work  a  clear  insight  into  legal 
problems  and  an  abounding  energy  which  has  always  characterized  his  work  and  which  established 
for  him  an  enviable  record. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  service  as  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  Mr.  Remster  was  elected  judge 
of  the  Marion  circuit  court,  where  he  remained  for  a  term  of  six  years.  He  discharged  the  duties  of 
this  position  with  conscientious  loyalty  to  the  public  interests,  administering  justice  as  he  saw  it  with 
no  consideration  other  than  impartiality  and  absolute  fairness  under  the  law.  While  it  is  sometimes 
a  custom  among  writes  to  laud  men  extravagantly  who  have  served  in  public  office,  and  to  incline  to 
exaggeration  of  the  good  qualities,  the  service  of  Judge  Charles  Remster  could  hardly  be  spoken  of 
too  highly. 

Few  men  have  served  in  so  important  a  capacity  and  gained  in  the  years  of  service  a  reputation 
for  ability,  an  unswerving  effort  to  administer  justice  tempered  with  real  human  knowledge  and  sym- 
pathy, and  left  behind  a  cleaner  page  than  did  Judge  Remster.  His  political  opponents  were  most 
outspoken  in  their  regrets  when  he  retired  from  the  bench  in  1914  to  engage  in  private  practice. 
He  left  a  record  that  makes  it  no  easy  task  for  others  to  maintain  the  same  standard  of  efficiency,  he 
having  let  it  be  known  early  in  service  that,  while  he  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  of  all  the  follow- 
ers of  Jefferson  in  his  political  beliefs,  this  should  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  consideration  of  perform- 
ance of  duty  as  a  public  official. 

In  private  practice  he  is  a  member  of  the  legal  firm  of  Smilh,  Remster,  Hombrook  and  Smith. 
He  is  an  active  and  enthusiastic  member  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Club  and  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

Mrs.  Remster  was  Miss  Isabelle  McDaniel.     The  marriage  was  in  1894. 


(  1003  ) 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

FRANK  J.  RETTERATH 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  town  of  Goodland  has  been  a  resident  of  Newton  county  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  and  during  this  period  has  won  the  esteem  of  the  community  in  which  he  re- 
Frank  J.  Retterath  was  born  in  the  state  of  Ohio  on  the  10th  day  of  March,  1860,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Newton  county  for  residence.  Here  he  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools,  enjoying  meanwhile  the  wholesome  environment  of  farm  life  and  early  learning  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  science  of  agriculture. 

On  the  18th  day  of  February,  1885,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  E.  Lewis;  and 
their  home  was  established  on  a  farm,  and  she  has   since  been  his  faithful  helpmate. 

Throughout  his  life  he  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  to  the  principles  of  Democracy  and  has  ren- 
dered valued  service  to  the  party.  On  the  first  day  of  April,  1914,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  post- 
master. 


GEORGE  J.  RICHMAN 

Hancock  county  has  been  singularly  fortunate  in  her  choice  of  superin- 
dent  of  schools,  for  the  incumbent  of  this  high  office  possesses  in  a  marked 
degree  those  qualities  of  learning,  culture  and  aggressive  policies  which  are 
requisite  for  the  successful  administration  of  its  affairs. 

George  J.  Richman  was  born  in  Hancock  county  on  the  1st  day  of  March, 
1875,  and  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district.  Following  his  gradua- 
tion from  the  public  schools  of  Hancock  county,  in  the  year  1891,  he  entered 
the  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute,  and  continued  his  studies  at  Butler 
College.  Finally  a  course  was  taken  in  the  Indiana  Law  School,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1908,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Hancock  county.  He 
was  then  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  the  law  in  partnership  with  Sam- 
uel J.  Offutt  of  the  Hancock  bar  until  his  re-election  as  county  superintend- 
ent of  schools  in  June,  1911. 

Since  his  youth  Mr.  Richman  has  taken  an  interest  in  educational  affairs, 

and  in  the  year  1903  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Hancock 

county,  serving  in  this  capacity  for  a  term  of  four  years.     In  1911,  after  a  retirement  of  four  years, 

he  again  assumed  control  of  the  school  system  of  this  community,  and  his  success  is  evidenced  by  the 

high  plane  upon  which  the  schools  are  conducted. 

In  the  year  1900,  on  the  25th  day  of  June,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  Meek,  and  their 
home  in  Greenfield  has   extended  hospitality  to  a  host  of  friends. 

Mr.  Richman  is  also  interested  in  fraternal  affairs  in  his  community  and  is  an  active  member  of 
the  Masons,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 


JAMES   REED   RIGGS 

Prominently  identified  with  the  agricultural  and  commercial  life  of  Sul- 
livan county  and  vitally  interested  in  municipal  and  political  affairs  of  the 
community,  the  name  of  James  Reed  Riggs  is  well  known  throughout  the 
district. 

He  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  17th  day  of  February,  1865,  and 
educated  in  the  schools  of  Sullivan  county,  having  graduated  from  the  Sulli- 
van high  school  in  May,  1882. 

On  the  11th  day  of  September,  1895,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Bessie  L.  Lewman,  and  she  has  since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his 
home  and  the  able  assistant  in  his  various  undertakings.  To  this  union 
four  daughters  were  born. 

In  March,  1896,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  auditor  of  Sullivan  county, 
continuing  in  this  position  for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  establishing  an 
enviable  record  for  business  judgment  and  efficient  administration. 

Since  his  youth  he  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  agricultural  affairs,  and 
is  known  as  a  progressive  and  successful  farmer  and  a  judge  of  live  stock. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1 


-19  16 


He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  a  bank  of  Sullivan,  a  member  of  its  directorate,  and  is  the  owner  and 
manager   of   a   modern   clay   products   factory. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Riggs  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  a  member  of  the  Indianapolis  Consistory 
and  also  of  the  Terre  Haute  Commandery  No.  16.  He  is  also  allied  with  the  orders  of  Elks,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  and  Red  Men,  and  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  many  friends  he  has  won  in  these 
organizations. 

Throughout  his  career  he  has  been  known  as  a  stanch  adherent  to  Democratic  principles  and  a 
loyal  worker  for  the  cause. 


HON.  JOHN  WESLEY  RINEAR 

For  more  than  three-score  years  the  name  of  Rinear  has  been  closely 
interwoven  with  the  history  of  Wells  county,  and  many  members  of  the  fam- 
ily have  held  positions  of  influence  in  various  departments  of  the  common- 
wealth. Charles  Rinear,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  Indiana,  was  a  man 
well  grounded  in  the  attributes  of  true  manhood;  being  a  man  of  deep  reli- 
gious convictions,  his  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond.  He  leaves  a  record  of 
which  few  can  boast,  of  having  had  two  sons  in  the  state  senate. 

Hon.  John  Wesley  Rinear,  the  oldest  of  these  brothers,  who  is  now  an 
influential  citizen  of  Wells  county,  was  born  March  4,  1842,  near  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  In  1847  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Huntington  county,  Indiana,  re- 
moving to  Wells  county  in  18.54,  where  he  was  reared  on  the  old  home  farm, 
attending  school  in  the  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood. 

On  September  25,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  47th  Indiana  Volun- 
teer Infantry.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  New  Madrid  and  Riddles  Point,  Mo., 
and  Fort  Pillow,  Tenn.,  being  severely  wounded  at  the  mouth  of  White  river. 
He  was  discharged  from  the  army  soon  after  being   wounded. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  April,  1863,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  C.  First,  and  in  1913  they 
celebrated  their  golden  wedding  anniversary.     They  have  one  daughter,  Hattie,  the  wife  of  J.  B.  Funt. 

Mr.  Rinear  laid  out  the  village  of  Liberty  Center,  in  which  he  lives,  in  November,  1878.  He 
served  twelve  years  as  justice  of  the  peace  of  his  township,  and  from  May  2,  1877,  until  January  1, 
1880,  acted  as  postmaster  of  Liberty  Center.  In  the  year  1894  he  was  elected  joint  senator  from 
Huntington  and  Wells  counties,  serving  in  the  assemblies  of  1895  and  '97.  He  also  served  twelve 
years  as  a  member  of  the  county  council,  of  which  body  he  was  president.  In  1906  he  was  appointed 
trustee  of  the  State  Soldiers'  Home  at  Lafayette,  which  position  he  still  holds,  having  acted  as 
treasurer  of  this  institution  during  these  years.  He  has  for  many  years  been  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,   I.   O.   0.   F.   and   Grand   Army  of  the   Republic. 


HON.  ELIAS  MONTGOMERY  RINEAR 

Prominently  identified  with  the  business  and  political  life  of  the  county 
of  Wells  is  the  second  brother,  Hon.  Elias  Montgomery  Rinear. 

He  was  born  near  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  the  9th  day  of  March,  1844,  com- 
ing with  his  parents  to  Indiana  in  1847.  His  education  was  received  in  the 
common  schools  of  Wells  county. 

On  August  20,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  101st  Indiana  Volunteer 
Infantry,  in  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

On  the  28th  day  of  September,  1865,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  J.  Hupp.  In  February,  1901,  death  claimed  her.  On  September  15, 
1904,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Laura  E.  Mentzer  Campbell.  He  had  two  chil- 
dren, one  daughter,  Nettie,  deceased,  and  one  son,  Dr.  Edwin  Rinear,  of  Mt. 
Vernon,  Ind. 

Mr.  Rinear  was  twice  elected  commissioner  of  his  county,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1914  he  was  elected  joint  senator  from  the  counties  of  Blackford,  Grant 
and  Wells.     On  the  opening  of  the  legislature  in  1915  Mr.  Rinear  immedi- 
ately took  a  leading  part  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  senate.     He   was  the  author   of  the   Rinear   state- 
wide primary  election  bill.     He  also  led  in  opposition    to    the    adoption    of    the    Strenberg    amend- 


(  1005  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


1  9  1 


ments  to  the  constitution.  On  June  6,  1915,  Mr.  Rinear  died  at  the  age  of  71,  death  being  caused 
by  a  biealvdown  from  his   worlc  in  the   session  of  the  1915  state  senate. 

Mr.  Rinear  was  for  many  year^  a  successful  druggist  in  the  towns  of  Liberty  Center  and  War- 
ren, Indiana,  but  finally  retired  from  active  business  life,  except  as  a  director  of  the  Wells  County 
Bank,  of  which  he  was  a  stockholder. 

He  was  a  past  commander  of  Grand  Army  Poit  No.  33  of  BlufFton,  Indiana,  and  was  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  Blue  Lodge. 


GEORGE  FRANKLIN  RINEAR 

George  F.  Rinear,  another  member  of  this  interesting  family,  is  a  native 
of  Wells  county,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  27th  day  of  May,  1859. 
During  his  boyhood  he  attended  the  schools  of  Liberty  Center,  and  here  his 
youth  also  was  spent.  On  the  23d  day  of  February,  1883,  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Nannie  Daugherty  was  solemnized,  and  their  home  was  later  estab- 
lished in  the  city  of  Bluffton,  where  Mr.  Rinear  has  been  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  business  and  political  life  and  growth  of  the  place. 

In  the  year  1902  he  became  a  member  of  the  city  council,  and  this  chair 
he  has  held  continuously  until  the  present  time,  being  re-elected  twice.  For 
twelve  years,  also,  he  served  upon  the  county  central  committee  for  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  having  been  always  a  consistent  adherent  of  true  Democracy. 

At  the  present  time  Mr.  Rinear  is  active  in  the  management  of  one  de- 
partment of  the  Red  Cross  Manufacturing  Company,  a  stockholder  in  the 
Studebaker  Bank,  the  Evening  Banner  and  the  interurban  railroad,  and  is 
also  an  investor  in  the  moving  picture  business.  He  has  for  many  years 
been  an  active  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  io  affiliated  with  the  Bluffton  Lodge  F.  and  A.  M., 
I.  O.  O,  F.  and  the  Royal  Order  of  Moose. 


EMSLEY  ROBERTS 

Emsley  Roberts,  the  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Mooresville,  is  a  native  of 
Morgan  county,  born  in  Eminence,  on  the  19th  day  of  December,  1881.  His  schooling 
was  received,  however,  in  Owen  county,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools  and 
later  entered  the  Spencer  Normal  College.  Following  his  graduation  from  this  in- 
stitution he  returned  to  Morgan  county  and  became  identified  with  the  political  and 
business  life  of  Mooresville.  In  the  years  which  have  since  elapsed  he  has  been  em- 
ployed variously — in  the  hardware  and  grocery  business,  by  the  D.  M.  Parry  Buggy 
Company  of  Indianapolis  and  as  a  railroad  brakeman.  On  the  4th  day  of  March, 
1914,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  postmaster  of  the  city,  and  his  energies  have  since  been 
devoted  to  this  work. 
Since  attaining-  his  majority  he  has  worked  faithfully  and  loyally  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic 

party,  serving  during  two  campaigns  as  precinct  committeeman,  and  at  other  times  as  delegate  to 

county  and  district  conventions. 

In  October,  1908,  was  solemnized  his  marriage   to  Miss  Hallie  Suter,  also  of  Morgan  county.    His 

parents,  B.  F.  and  Tamar  Roberts,  are,  happily,  both  living.     Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Odd 

Fellows  Lodge  of  Mooresville. 


WILLIAM   B.   ROBINSON 

William  B.  Robinson,  a  pioneer  of  Knox  county,  has  been  closely  identified  with 
the  growth  of  the  Democratic  party  since  he  cast  his  first  vote  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
in  1860.  He  was  born  on  September  9,  1839,  near  Wheatland,  attended  the  county 
schools  and  New  Lebanon  Academy,  and  was  graduated  from  the  State  University 
in  1867,  receiving  the  degree  of  LIj.  B. 

Upon  his  return  from  the  university  Mr.  Robinson  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law 
and  presently  was  appointed  deputy  prosecuting  attorney.  Two  years  later  he  was 
elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Vincennes  and  served  in  this  capacity  for  two 
terms,  or  until  1873.  From  1876  to  1884  he  discharged  the  duties  of  clerk 
of  the  circuit  court.  He  also  acted  as  president  of  a  bank  for  some  years.  His  later 
years  have  been  spent  in  farming,  and  six  hundred  acres  of  grain,  fifty  acres  of  fruit 


(  1006  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

and  a  fine  herd  of  stock  evidence  his  success.  He  has  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  at  every  election, 
and  has  attended  conventions  for  nearly  forty  years,  being  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  at 
Denver  in  1908. 

Mrs.   Robinson,   his  able   second,  was   Miss   Margaret   LaHue,   daughter   of  ex-Sheriff  James   C. 
LaHue. 


GILES  W.  ROBERTSON 

Giles  W.  Robertson  was  born  near  Christiansburg,  Montgomery  county, 
Virginia,  May  20,  1852.  His  paternal  ancestors  were  Scotch  and  his  mater- 
nal ancestors  came  from  England.  Being  left  an  orphan  by  the  death  of  both 
of  his  parents  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  brought  his  two  younger  sisters  to 
Union  county,  Indiana,  where  he  worked  on  a  farm  in  the  summer  and  at- 
tended district  school  during  the  winter,  completing  his  education  at  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute.  He  was  an  industrious  and  apt  stu- 
dent, and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  became  a  teacher.  He  now  holds  a  life  state 
license  and  has  taught  in  the  counties  of  Wayne,  Fayette  and  Union.  In  1891 
he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of  Fayette  county  and  re-elected  in 
1893.  In  1878  he  was  married  to  Mary  E.  Heider  of  Lyons  Station,  Ind.,  and 
they  made  their  home  in  Liberty.  Mr.  Robertson  was  nominated  for  auditor 
of  Union  county  in  1902  and  was  defeated  with  the  rest  of  his  ticket,  owing 
to  the  then  large  Republican  majority  in  the  county.  He  is  now  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Union  county  Democratic  central  committee  and  has  ever  taken 
an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  party  and  the  political  affairs  of  his  county,  state  and  na- 
tion, holding  this  to  be  the  duty  of  every  citizen,  since  a  free  and  enlightened  republic  like  the 
United  States  can  only  be  governed  through  and   by  means  of  political  parties. 


RICHARD  M.  ROBINSON 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Vincennes,  Richard  M.  Robinson, 
is  a  true  product  of  Knox  county,  and  is  honored  in  his  home  community  as 
an  efficient  and  trusted  public  official. 

He  was  born  in  this  county  on  the  6th  day  of  July,  1864,  and  attended 
the  country  schools  of  his  district.  From  his  boyhood  he  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  and  breeding  of  fine  live  stock,  and  now 
operates  extensively  along  these  lines. 

On  the  11th  day  of  February,  1891,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Anna  Donahue,  and  she  has  proven  a  worthy  second  in  his  various  under- 
takings. 

In  the  year  1888  he  was  elected  township  trustee  for  a  term  of  four 
years,  the  term  being  extended  for  a  further  year  of  service,  and  in  1904 
assumed  the  duties  of  county  treasurer.  In  this  capacity  he  served  for  four 
years.  In  1910  he  became  Democratic  county  chairman,  and  this  position  he 
held  until  February  18,  1914,  at  which  time  he  resigned  to  assume  the  duties 
of  postmaster  of  the  city,  a  position  to  which  he  was  appointed  by  President  Wilson  in  January. 

He  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Vincennes  and  president  of 
the  Citizens'  National  Bank  of  Bicknell  since  its  organization  in  1896.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in 
the  German  Bank  of  Vincennes,  and  president  of  the  Vincennes  Mississippi  Land  Co.,  an  organization 
of  Knox  county  farmers  owning  eight  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  Yazoo  valley  on  which  cotton  is 
largely  cultivated.  He  also  holds  numerous  other  interests  throughout  the  states  of  Indiana  and 
Texas. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Vincennes  board  of  trade  and  the  Pastime  club  and  is  affiliated 
with  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks. 


(  1007  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

JOHN  L.  ROBLYER 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  town  of  Flora  has  been  an  active  Democratic 
worker  since  his  boyhood.  This  gentleman,  John  L.  Roblyer,  was  born  May  6,  1874, 
on  a  farm  in  Carroll  county,  where  he  remained  until  he  reached  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  attending  the  common  schools  of  his  district  and  the  high  school  of  Delphi.  On 
the  3d  day  of  July,  1898,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Grace  Bowser,  and  to  their  home 
have  come  two  daughters. 

After  leaving  school  Mr.  Roblyer  entered  mercantile  life,  in  the  year  1893,  as  a 
clerk,  and  continued  vnth  the  same  firm  until  1905,  when  he  engaged  in  the  general 
mercantile  business  for  himself,  being  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Koonsman  & 
Roblyer. 

He  comes  of  an  old-line  Democratic  family,  his  grandfather  having  served  Carroll  county  as 
sheriff  for  two  terms  when  this  county  was  comparatively  new,  being  elected  both  times  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  and  has  himself  been  a  delegate  to  county,  district  and  state  conventions  of  the 
party.  In  June,  1913,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  postmaster  of  Flora,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
He  is  affiliated  with  the  orders  of  Masons  and  Knights  of  Pythias,  by  whom  he  is  well  known  and 
highly  esteemed. 


JUDGE   JOHN  J.   ROCHFORD 

Nothing  ever  pleased  Judge  John  J.  Rochford  so  much  as  a  good  squared-away  fight.  It  was 
sort  of  "born  in  him"  and  he  never  did  anything  to  discourage  or  lessen  the  instinct.  He  never 
bragged  about  it  and  probably  never  fully  realized  it,  but  it  "just  came  natural-like,"  and  ad- 
vancing age  never  kept  him  from  "wading  in." 

He  was  born  a  Democrat,  never  changed,  and,  most  natural  to  expect,  he  was  a  fighting  Dem- 
ocrat all  the  time  and  always.  He  explained  that  he  came  by  his  belligerency  and  his  Democracy 
in  perfectly  honest  fashion,  for  while  he  was  born  on  a  farm  in  St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York 
State,  both  his  father  and  his  mother  were  natives  of  county  Cork,  Ireland.  His  mother  came  over 
in  1846  and  his  father  three  years  later,  and  they  were  married  in  New  York,  making  their  first 
settlement  on   the  Lawrence  county  farm   on  which  Judge  Rochford  was  bom  January  13,  1863. 

The  parents  never  moved  from  the  farm,  but  John  J.,  who  was  the  youngest  of  the  family, 
spent  most  of  his  time  away  at  school  until  he  graduated  at  Lawrence  College  in  his  twentieth  year 
and  at  once  "went  on  the  road"  as  a  traveling  salesman  for  a  Dayton,  Ohio,  house. 

Young  Rochford,  even  before  becoming  of  voting  age,  took  a  live  interest  in  politics,  and  his 
ambition  was  to  become  a  lawyer;  so  he  spent  but  two  years  traveling,  but  began  reading  law  with 
Judge  William  H.  Martin  at  Greenfield,  Ind.,  beginning  his  practice  of  law  in  1888  in  Hancock 
county.  Three  years  afterward  Mr.  Rochford  removed  to  Indianapolis,  and  three  years  after  his  ar- 
rival he  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for  prosecuting  attorney,  being  defeated  by 
Charles  S.  Wiltsie. 

He  became  county  chairman  for  Marion  county  in  1896,  in  the  first  Bryan  campaign,  and  never 
after  was  he  divorced  from  the  Democratic  party's  organized  activities,  being  for  the  first  time  elected 
to  the  bench  in  1910,  his  first  term  continuing  to  1919  as  judge  of  the  Marion  county  superior  court. 

In  a  political  campaign,  if  Judge  Rochford  had  been  given  the  field  as  a  candidate  with  no  oppo- 
sition, for  the  sake  of  a  good  campaign  contest — if  he  knew  he  would  lose — he  would  probably  have 
called  a  convention  of  some  sort  to  insure  opposition. 


CORNELIUS  RODEMACKER 

Cornelius  Rodemacker  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  born  on  the  22nd  day  of  June,  1862,  in 
Decatur,  Adams  county,  Indiana,  where  his  education  was  received  in  the  public  and  Catholic  schools. 
While  a  young  man  he  married  Miss  Lena  Ardner. 

In  June,  1914,  Mr.  Rodemacker  removed  to  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana,  where  he  still  resides  and  is 
engaged  in  business  on  Calhoun  street.  Throughout  his  life  Mr.  Rodemacker  has  been  a  consistent 
Democrat,  having  imbibed  these  principles  from  his  father,  who  was  also  prominent  in  the  councils 
of  the  party  and  served  as  district  committeeman  at  Decatur.  The  son,  Cornelius,  has  also  at- 
tended county  and  state  conventions  of  the  party  and  taken  an  active  part  in  each  campaign  for 
the  furtherance  of  its  principles. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  8  1  6  -  1   9   1   (5 


GEORGE  ROGERS 

Closely  identified  with  the  business  and  municipal  life  of  Knox,  George  Rogers  i3 
well  known  throughout  Starke  county  as  one  of  its  representative  citizens. 

Mr.  Rogers  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  on  the  6th  day  of  November, 
1861.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Marshall  county,  and  in  1880  entered  the  high 
school  of  Plymouth. 

On  December  23,  1888,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Laura  Stull,  and  their 
home  was  established  in  Knox.  Here  they  gathered  about  them  a  circle  of  friends, 
his  business  career  was  started  and  his  interests  have  since  centered. 

In  the  year  1892  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in  this  city,  and  he  is  at  pres- 
ent the  sole  proprietor. 

In  1901  he  was  elected  to  membership  of  the  town  board  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  two 
terms.  In  1904  he  served  as  county  chairman  of  the  Democratic  organization,  and  in  1908  was  elect- 
ed to  the  position  of  township  trustee  of  Center  township  for  a  term  of  six  years.  During  this  term 
the  township  voted  to  centralize;  so  in  1910  he  built  a  modern  centralized  school  building,  the  first 
centralized  school  in  Starke  county,  and  in  1914  was  compelled  to  build  an  additional  building,  the 
immigration  to  Center  township  making  it  necessary  to  provide  more  room.  This  school  is  a  com- 
missioned high  school,  full  four-year  course. 

Mr.  Rogers  is  a  progressive  as  well  as  public- spirited  man,  and  during  his  term  of  service  on 
the  town  board  introduced  the  ordinance  which  provided  for  brick  streets  for  the  town. 


JUDGE  FRANK  B.  ROSS 

As  judge  of  the  probate  court  of  Marion  county  Frank 
B.  Ross  acquired  a  reputation  throughout  the  State  of  Indiana 
as  one  of  the  ablest  judges  who  ever  sat  on  the  bench.  He 
served  in  this  position  for  six  years,  after  ten  years  of  active 
and  successful  practice  in  Indianapolis,  and  at  the  time  he  was 
elected  he  was  one  of  the  youngest  judges  who  had  ever  been 
chosen  to  so  important  a  position  in  the  county. 

His  success  and  the  splendid  record  which  was  made  in 
this  court  during  his  incumbency  he  modestly  ascribed  to  hard 
work  and  nothing  more.  "Any  lawyer  with  a  reasonable 
knowledge  of  the  profession,"  he  would  always  explain,  "would 
give  full  satisfaction  as  a  judge  in  this  or  any  other  court  if 
he  would  sit  all  day  hearing  cases  and  spend  the  time  when 
other  men  were  sleeping  in  study  of  the  causes  at  issue  and 
trying  conscientiously  to  reach  right  and  equitable  conclu- 
sions. If  I  ever  came  near  establishing  a  good  record,  such 
as  some  of  my  enthusiastic  friends  have  been  kind  enough  to 
say,  it  was  in  my  case  nothing  more  than  six  years  of  the 
hardest  work  a  man  ever  put  in,  this  manual  part  supplying 
what  was  lacking  otherwise.  Other  men  might  have  got  along 
with  much  less  labor  and  accomplished  far  better  results." 

However  that  may  be,  at  the  end  of  his  term  of  office  the 
newspapers  which  had  opposed  Frank  B.  Ross  on  political  grounds  when  he  was  a  candidate  were 
loudest  in  his  praises  when  he  had  reached  the  end  of  the  six  years,  and  during  the  time  he  was  serv- 
ing. When  he  retired  from  the  bench  to  again  resume  his  law  practice  he  was  selected  a  member  of 
the  faculty  of  the  Indiana  Law  School,  lecturing  on  probate  law. 

Aside  from  his  service  in  public  office  Mr.  Ross  was  always  an  active  Democrat.  He  was  always 
one  of  the  workers  in  the  organization  whether  a  ca  ndidate  or  not.  He  believed  in  the  principles  of  the 
party  of  .lefferson  and  Jackson  and  Woodrow  Wilson.  As  a  speaker  in  local  state  campaigns  he  was 
one  of  the  most  in  demand,  and  during  the  many  drives  for  finances  for  the  winning  of  the  war  with 
Germany  both  as  a  speaker  and  organizer  he  was  one  of  the  most  efficient,  and  so  one  kept  most  busy. 

Frank  B.  Ross  was  born  at  Monticello,  Indiana,  September  24,  1875.  His  education  was  from  the 
schools  of  his  native  city  and  the  University  of  Valparaiso  and  University  of  Indianapolis.  His  fiist 
work  after  leaving  school  was  as  a  teacher  in  the   country  schools  in  1894  and  1895. 


tllSTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

He  graduated  from  the  Indiana  Law  School  of  the  University  of  Indianapolis,  class  of  1898,  and 
began  the  practice  of  law  in  the  office  of  John  Worth  Kern.  In  such  an  association  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  have  long  lacked  interest  in  politics  or  in  the  active  work  of  helping  the  Democratic 
party  win.  Aside  from  the  time  while  on  the  bench,  he  was  nominated  for  judge  of  the  criminal 
court  of  Marion  county  by  the  Democrats  in  190C;  and  was  defeated  with  the  rest  of  the  ticket.  It 
was  two  years  later  that  he  was  nominated  for  judge  of  the  probate  court  and  elected,  serving  for 
six  years.  From  1902  to  1904  he  was  secretary  of  the  Marion  county  Democratic  central  committee 
and  for  several  years  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  city  committee  of  Indianapolis. 

Frank  B.  Ross  and  Miss  Gertrude  Paetz  were   married  in  1905. 


HOMER    L.    ROGERS 

The  position  of  county  superintendent  of  schools  is  one  which  requires  judgment  and  educa- 
tional qualifications  and  the  man  who  successfully  carries  on  the  work  of  training  the  minds  of  the 
children  of  a  county  is  deserving  the  highest  esteem  of  his  constituents  and  the  community  at  large. 

In  the  person  of  Homer  L.  Rogers  we  find  a  man  who  has  discharged  the  duties  of  this  position  in 
a  highly  creditable  manner  for  the  past  seven  years.  He  was  born  on  the  30th  day  of  September, 
1885,  and  received  his  schooling  in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  the  city  of  Knox,  Indiana.  Later 
his  studies  were  continued  at  the  University  of  Valparaiso  and  the  Indiana  State  Normal  at  Terre 
Haute.  Following  his  graduation  from  this  institution  he  entered  at  once  into  the  educational  field, 
teaching  in  the  schools  of  the  county.  At  the  early  age  of  twenty-three  years  he  was  elected  county 
superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Pulaski  county,  assuming  the  duties  of  the  position  December  26, 
1908.  In  1911  he  was  re-elected  by  unanimous  vote;  anfl  his  progressive  policies  and  good  sense 
have  placed  the  schools  upon  a  high  plane  of  service  to  the  children  and  the  community. 

On  the  12th  day  of  August,  1907,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Grace  M.  Leighty  was  solemnized,  and 
their  home,  then  established  in  Winamac,  has  been  a  center  of  hospitality  and  culture. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Rogers  is  allied  with  the  Winamac  Lodge  No.  262,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons; 
the  North  Judson  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  North  Judson  Council,  Eastern  Star;  Tippecanoe 
Chapter,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  Rebekah  Lodge  No.  122.  He  is  also  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist 
church. 

He  is  very  active  in  boys'  and  girls'  club  work  and  has  accompanied  five  classes  to  Purdue,  three 
to  Chicago  Stock  Show  and  one  class  to  Washington,  D.  C. 

He  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  last  two  state  Democratic  conventions  and  an  active  member  of 
these  bodies. 


JOHN  F.  RUSSELL 
John  F.  Russell  was  born  in  Indiana  on  February  14,  1870.     On  November  22, 
1891,  he  was  married  to  Ella  E.  Doles. 

Mr.  Russell  graduated  from  the  Greensburg  High  School  in  the  class  of  1888. 
During  the  whole  of  his  active  life  he  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  business, 
political  and  social  life  of  the  city  and  county. 

He  has  been  connected  with  the  Democratic  city  and  county  organizations  in 
various  capacities  for  twenty  years.  For  eight  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  county 
organization  and  he  is  now  serving  his  eighth  year  as  treasurer.  In  1911  he  was 
elected  to  the  city  board  of  education  by  the  common  council.  In  1914  he  was  re- 
elected. He  was  secretary  of  the  board  until  late  in  1914.  It  was  while  he  was  a 
member  of  the  school  board  that  Greensburg's  handsome  new  high  school  building,  the  finest  in  the 
.=tate,  was  built. 

Mr.  Russell  represented  the  fourth  (-ongress  ional  district  on  the  resolutions  committee  in  the 
Democratic  state  convention  of  1914.  On  September  1,  1914,  he  resigned  from  the  school  board  to 
accept  the  appointment  by  Governor  Ralston  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  South- 
western Hospital  for  the  Insane,  at  Madison.     He   is  secretary  of  the  board. 

Mr.  Russell  is  president  and  manager  of  the  Garland  Milling  Company,  has  been  a  trustee  of 
the  Greensburg  lodge  of  Elks  nine  years,  and  served  two  terms  as  president  of  the  Indiana  Millers' 
Association.  He  is  a  director  of  the  local  charities  and  was  president  two  terms.  He  was  also 
president  for  two   terms   of  the  local   commercial   club. 


(  1010  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1 


JULIUS    C.    SACHS 

An  active  member  of  the  Marion  county  organization  and  a  loyal  worker  for  the 
success  of  the  party  is  Julius  C.  Sachs  of  Indianapolis. 

Mr.  Sachs  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  in  Indianapolis  on  the  12th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1873.  He  attended  the  Sixth  Ward  school  and  later  became  engaged  in  the  liquor 
business,  for  some  time  conducting  a  saloon  on  South  Meridian  street.  He  married 
Miss  Minnie  Hoffman,  also  of  Indianapolis,  who  has  ably  assisted  him  in  his  various 
affairs. 

Mr.  Sachs  has  labored  zealously  at  all  times  for  the  success  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  has  served  as  precinct  committeeman  during  a  number  of  campaigns.  He 
has  also  acted  as  delegate  to  county  and  state  conventions  and  is  an  active  member 
of  the  13th  Ward  Democratic  Club. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Eagle  and  Druid  lodges. 


JAMES    RUSSELL    SAGE 

The  present  postmaster  of  Milroy,  James  Russell  Sage,  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  an  active 
party  worker  and  is  known  as  a  leader  among  the  younger  element  of  the  party,  which  forms  so 
great  a  factor  of  its  fighting  strength. 

Mr.  Sage  was  born  in  Dubois  county,  Indiana.  In  childhood,  however,  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Rush  county,  and  in  Milroy  his  schooling  was  received.  Following  his  graduation  from  the 
Milroy  high  school  he  entered  Winona  Technical  Institute  for  further  study  in  the  higher  branches. 
His  father,  Horace  Sage,  was  an  active  Democratic  worker,  and  the  son  has  followed  in  his  foot- 
steps. He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  of  Milroy  and  is  affiliated  with  the  order  of  Ma- 
sons. 

On   September   14,   1910,   Mr.   Sage  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Root. 


ALBERT    SAHM 

"He  never  won  his  way  by  treading  upon  the  prostrate  form  of  a  competitor,"  is  the  comment 
of  one  writer  in  discussing  Albert  Sahm's  career  of  success.  "He  has  occupied  the  position  of  a 
good  and     worth-while  American  citizen,"  was  the  testimony  of  still  another  writer. 

"Our  glorious  victory  was  only  accomplished  by  the  unselfish  and  patriotic  devotion  of  men 
like  you,  who  made  sacrifices  for  the  great  cause  of  Democracy  and  the  ideal  of  true  American- 
ism," was  wired  by  Vance  McCormick,  chairman  of  the  Democratic  national  committee,  to  this  same 
Indiana  Democrat  following  the  election  of  Woodrow  Wilson  in  1916. 

The  compliments  to  Albert  Sahni  were  all  deserved.  His  fight  for  Democracy  and  American- 
ism as  a  member  of  the  personal  advisory  committee  to  Woodrow  Wilson  in  the  campaign  which 
merited  the  McCormick  appreciation,  was  followed  by  a  greater  sacrifice  for  Democracy  and  true 
Americanism  a  few  months  later  when  Albert  Sahm  sent  a  son  and  son-in-law  to  France  as  mem- 
bers of  Uncle  Sam's  army.  Too  young  to  fight  in  the  Civil  war,  being  but  two  years  of  age,  his 
two  brothers  went  to  the  front.  Too  old  himself  to  go  in  1917,  he  contributed  two  boys — a  son 
and  a  son-in-law,  who  both  left  their  wives,  babies,  business  and  all  future  prospects — waiving  all 
and  any  claims  to  exemption.  In  other  ways  Albert  Sahm  served  the  people  well  and  was  himself 
a  successful  man  of  business. 

He  was  but  twenty-five  when  he  was  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  responsible  position  of  county 
commissioner  of  Marion  county.  He  made  such  an  excellent  record  as  a  stickler  for  economy  and 
square  dealing  that  he  was  elected  to  a  second  term  by  an  increased  majority.  He  resigned  because 
of  the  press  of  personal  business  demands  upon  his  time — being  engaged  for  a  number  of  years  in  the 
manufacture  of  furniture;  for  over  thirty  years  he  was  a  merchant  and  manufacturer. 

As  a  good  Democrat  and  as  a  business  man  of  marked  distinction  and  sterling  qualities,  he  was 
selected  and  appointed  postmaster  at  Indianapolis.  After  four  years  he  retired,  in  1898,  to  attend  to 
his  personal  business. 

In  1900  he  was  again  serving  the  people  as  chairman  of  the  Indianapolis  Board  of  Public  Works. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  he  made  a  record  that  will  be   of  permanent  value  to  the  people  of  Indianapolis. 

It  was  in  1908  that  he  became  auditor  of  Marion  county,  and  it  was  here  that  his  eflficiency  was 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

demonstrated  to  a  marked  degree  through  his  introduction  of  many  reforms  in  all  the  more  im- 
portant county  auditing  oflfices  of  Indiana. 

He  retired  from  this  office  to  take  the  position  of  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  State  Life  Insur- 
ance Company  of  Indianapolis  and  was  entitled  to  a  full  share  of  the  responsibility  for  the  building 
up  of  this  splendid  institution. 

His  belief  in  the  principles  of  Democracy  was  sufficiently  sincere  to  always  place  his  services 
and  resources  at  the  disposal  of  his  party  with  an  enthusiasm  that  carried  conviction  to  others. 

Starting  with  an  education  that  ended,  so  far  as  schools  were  concerned,  at  fourteen,  he  was 
one  of  the  best  educated  of  men  in  all  the  things  that  count  for  success.  While  he  did  not  count  or 
measure  success  by  the  dollar  mark,  he  at  the  same  time  gained  a  competency. 


HUME  L.  SAMMONS 

The  name  of  Hume  L.  Sammons  is  familiar  to  the  citizens  of  Newton  county,  being  that  of  a 
leading  attorney  and  business  man  of  the  town  of  Kentland. 

Mr.  Sammons  was  born  at  Morocco,  Indiana,  on  the  second  day  of  April,  1871.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  Newton  county,  and  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  Milford,  Illinois,  with  the 
class  of  1889. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1897,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Fenwick  of  Kankakee,  Illinois, 
was  solemnized,  and  their  home  was  established  in   Kentland,  where  his  interests  have  since  centered. 

He  has  served  in  the  capacity  of  trustee  of  the  town  of  Kentland  for  two  terms,  and  on  the  first 
day  of  July,  1913,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  postmaster  of  this  place,  having  received  his  appoint- 
ment from  President  Wilson  in  June. 

Throughout  his  life  he  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  to  the  principles  of  Democracy,  and  has  given 
freely  of  his  time  and  energy  for  the  furtherance   of  the  cause. 


WORDEN  J.   SANDERSON 

The  Democratic  party  has  been  well  represented  in  Carroll  county,  and  to  the  efforts  of  its 
country  chairman,  Worden  J.  Sanderson,  its  success  has  been  largely  due.  Mr.  Sanderson  was  bom 
on  the  9th  day  of  March,  1888,  in  Michigan,  accompanying  his  parents  to  Carroll  county  when  eight 
years  of  age;  and  here  he  attended  school,  graduating  from  the  high  school  at  Flora.  During  the 
years  1909  to  1912,  inclusive,  he  acted  as  deputy  treasurer,  assisting  his  father,  prior  to  which  he 
was  engaged  in  the  life  and  fire  insurance  business.  His  wife  was  Miss  Edythe  L.  Clawson  of  Car- 
roll county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Blue  Council,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  the  I.  O.  0.  F.  Encamp- 
ment; the  Uniform  Rank,  Knights  of  Pythias;  also  a  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  the  Sab- 
bath school  of  which  he  has  taught  since  the  age  of  seventeen  years. 

GEORGE    W.   SANDS 

George  W.  Sands  is  a  young  lawyer  who  has  not  only  risen  to  the  front  rank  among  the  at- 
torneys of  northern  Indiana,  but  is  known  all  over  the  state  as  a  legislator  and  an  orator  of  force 
and  power. 

He  was  born  in  Ohio,  February  22,  1889,  took  both  his  literary  and  law  courses  at  Notre  Dame, 
and  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  in  1910.  In  June  of  that  year  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  immediately  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  South  Bend.  In  the  years  that 
have  elapsed  since  his  majority  he  has  been  very  active  in  the  Democratic  party;  has  been  the 
chairman  of  his  ward;  delegate  to  the  state  convention,  and  sat  in  the  state  legislature  during  the 
year  1913.  He  takes  an  active  part  in  campaigns  and  is  always  in  demand  as  a  speaker  in  St.  Jo- 
seph county.  Mr.  Sands  is  a  member  of  the  B.  P.  0.  E.,  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  Loyal  Order  of 
Moose,  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  A.  0.  H. 

WILLIS    A.    SATTERLEE 

The  loyalty,  energy  and  executive  ability  of  Willis  A.  Satterlee  have  been  prominent  factors 
in  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Vermilion  county  during  the  past  few  years. 

Mr.  Satterlee  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  born  on  the  ninth  day  of  February,  1878;  but 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-19  10 

at  the  age  of  two  years  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Vermilion  county,  Indiana,  and  here  his 
schoohng  was  received.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  he  en- 
tered Clinton  high  school,  graduating  therefrom.  Later  a  year  was  spent  in  Indianapolis  at  the 
Voris  Business  College,  where  a  broad  knowledge  of  business  pi'actice  and  commercial  law  were 
acquired.  On  the  20th  day  of  December,  1909,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Vermilion  county 
and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  law.  A  thriving  real  estate  business  has  also  been  carried 
on  in  this  connection. 

During  the  campaign  of  1908  he  served  as  Democratic  chairman  of  Clinton  township,  and  in 
1909  was  chairman  of  the  Clinton  city  organization.  In  1910  and  1911  he  served  as  county  chair- 
man, and  in  1914  was  vice-chairman  of  the  county.  In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  elected  to  the  posi- 
tion of  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  47th  Judicial  District  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a  period 
of  two  years,  being  the  first  Democratic  incumbent  of  this  office;  and  his  majority  of  135  votes  was 
received  in  an  overwhelming  Republican  district. 

On  the  16th  day  of  June,  1904,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Jessie  M.  Foltz,  and  she 
hag  since  dispensed  the  hospitality  of  their  home  w  ith  rare  grace  and  charm. 


HENRY    FRED    SCHAAL 

The  present  postmaster  of  Michigan  City,  Henry  Fred  Schaal,  though  a  native  of  Germany, 
has  for  many  years  been  an  honored  resident  of  this  locality. 

Mr.  Schaal  was  born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  on  the  second  day  of  June,  1851.  There  he  was 
reared  and  received  his  schooling,  attending  the  graded  schools,  and  later  continuing  his  studies  at 
the  Ann  Real  Schule,  a  college  of  Dresden.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  however,  he  came  to  Amer- 
ica and  settled  in  the  city  of  South  Bend.  In  May,  1877,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Au- 
gusta Raatz  and  their  home  was  established  in  that  city.  In  the  year  1886,  however,  they  moved 
to  Michigan  City,  and  this  has  since  been  their  home.  Here  their  interests  are  centered  and  their 
friendships  have  been  made. 

In  the  fall  of  1896  Mr.  Schaal  was  elected  to  represent  Laporte  county  in  the  le^slature  of  the 
state,  and  in  the  assemblies  of  1897  and  1899  he  was  an  active  member,  representing  his  community 
and  his  constituency  with  great  credit.  Having  received  the  appointment  to  the  position  of  postmas- 
ter of  Michigan  City,  Mr.  Schaal  continues  to  render  efficient  service  in  that  position. 


CLARENCE    E.    SCHAEFFER 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  town  of  Howe,  Lagrange  county,  has  for  many  years  been  known 
as  a  successful  and  progressive  farmer  of  this  locality. 

Clarence  E.  Schaeffer  is  a  native  of  this  state,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  7th  day  of 
October,  1883.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  graduating  from  the  high  school  at 
Lima.  Then  followed  a  commercial  course  at  Valparaiso  College;  but  his  preference  for  the  life  of 
the  agriculturist  drew  him  to  the  farm,  and  here  he  has  achieved  his  greatest  success.  On  the  first 
day  of  September,  1913,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  postmaster  of  Howe.  He  has,  throughout  his 
life,  been  an  active  worker  for  the  interests  of  the  Democratic  party,  serving  upon  election  boards 
and  contributing  liberally  of  his  time  and  means  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause. 

Mrs.  Schaeffer,  to  whom  he  was  married  August  12,  1912,  was   Miss  Fannie  Kingsbury. 

FRANK    M.    SCHNEIDER 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above  is  a  well-known  citizen  of  Cedar  Grove  and  a  life- 
long resident  of  Franklin  county.  Frank  M.  Schneider  was  born  on  the  9th  day  of  April,  1876,  in 
the  southern  part  of  Highland  township,  his  father  being  George  M.  Schneider,  a  well-known  Dem- 
ocratic w-orker  of  that  section.  He  attended  the  district  school  of  the  community,  and  was  reared  in 
the  Catholic  faith,  to  which  he  still  adheres.  Mr.  Schneider  is  a  man  of  genial  manner  and  wide 
acquaintance,  and  among  his  colleagues  bears  the  name  of  "Laughable  Schneider,"  due  to  his  na- 
tive wit  and  ready  appreciation  of  humor  in  others.  Since  he  attained  his  majority  he  has  voted  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  party  organization  of  his  section,  and  has 
attended  various  conventions  of  the  party  as  delegate,  including  many  state  conventions  at  Indi- 
anapolis. 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ISAAC    C.    SCHOONOVER 

Judge  Isaac  C.  Schoonover  of  Fountain  county  has  for  so  many  years  been  the  incumbent  of 
various  positions  of  prominence  and  responsibility  that  his  reputation  is  more  than  state-wide,  and 
he  is  favorably  known  in  the  legal  profession  both  as  judge  and  jurist. 

Judge  Schoonover  was  born  in  Warren  county  on  the  22nd  day  of  October,  1849,  and  in  boy- 
hood he  attended  the  county  district  schools,  later  continuing  his  studies  at  the  academy  at  Wil- 
liamsport.  In  the  year  1871  he  entered  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  the  active  practice  of  his  profession. 

On  the  18th  day  of  March,  1869,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  J.  Yaeger  was  solemnized,  and 
their  home  has  since  been  the  meeting  place  of  a  host  of  friends. 

In  the  year  1877  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Atti:a  for  a  term  of  two  years,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office  was  re-elected  three  consecutive  times,  serving  in  this  capacity  in  all  eight 
years.  Later  he  was  elected  city  attorney,  serving  for  a  period  of  six  years;  and  in  the  year  1906  was 
elected  judge  of  the  61st  Judicial  Circuit,  discharging  the  duties  of  this  position  for  a  term  of  six 
years,  and,  being  re-elected,  has  continued  in  this  office  until  the  present  time.  At  the  time  of  the  elec- 
tion of  1906,  he  was  one  of  three  Democrats  elected  in  a  Republican  county,  and  in  1912  was  the  re- 
cipient of  12-5  more  votes  than  any  other  Democrat   on  the  county  ticket. 

In  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  judge  he  has  taken  a  particular  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
juvenile  court,  and  has  established  the  custom  of  paroling  first  offenders. 

Judge  Schoonover  is  a  member  of  the  state  and  national  bar  associations  and  of  the  Covington 
Meicliants'  Association;  is  affiliated  with  the  Attica  Blue  I^dge  F.  and  A.  M.  and  the  Order  of 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Lodge  No.  95,  Covington  Chapter. 

He  has  for  many  years  occupied  a  position  of  influence  in  the  party  counsels,  serving  as  delegate 
to  numerous  state  conventione. 

LOUIS  S.  C.  SCHROEDER 

Louis  S.  C.  Schroeder,  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Ft."  Wayne, 
has  spent  many  years  in  the  service  of  the  public.  He  is  a  product  of  Allen 
county,  having  been  born  within  its  borders  on  the  10th  day  of  September, 
1857;  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  and  parochial  schools  of  his 
district. 

In  the  year  1879  his  marriage  to  Miss  Loretta  Bradway  was  solemnized, 
and  their  home  in  Ft.  Wayne  has  known  the  presence  of  a  host  of  friends 
among  the  influential  people  of  the  place. 

During  the  period  from  1884  to  1888  Mr.  Schroeder  was  revenue  col- 
lector in  the  stamp  department,  receiving  his  appointment  under  the  admin- 
istration of  Grover  Cleveland;  and  in  1911  he  took  upon  himself  the  duties 
of  president  of  the  city  council,  serving  for  a  term  of  three  years  in  this 
capacity.  At  present  he  is  the  superintendent  of  the  Indiana  free  employ- 
ment office. 

Throughout  his  career  he  has  been  a  zealous  worker  for  the  cause  of 
Democracy,  serving  one  term  upon  the  city  central  committee,  and  giving  six  years  of  his  time  as  sec- 
retary of  the  county  central  committee. 

Fraternally,  he  is  a  32nd  degree  Mason,  belonging  to  the  Mystic  Shrine;  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  B.  P.  O.  Elks;  and,  by  no  means  least  among  the  positions  of  honor  which 
he  has  held,  he  is  president  of  the  musicians'  unior  of  Ft.  Wayne. 

ALBERT  J.   SCHUH 

Closely  identified  with  the  business  and  municipal  life  of  Kentland  is  Albert  J.  Schuh. 

He  is  a  native  of  this  state,  born  on  the  14th  day  of  July,  1879.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Newton  county,  graduating  from  the  high  school.     Later  he  attended  Purdue  University. 

On  the  24th  day  of  June,  1902,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  Larkin,  and  their  home, 
then  established  in  Kentland,  has  extended  hospita  Hty  to  many  friends  throughout  the  county. 

In  the  year  1909  he  assumed  the  duties  of  county  treasurer,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a 
term  of  four  years,  since  which  time  he  has  conducted  a  garage  under  the  firm  name  of  Schuh  & 
Son.  He  has  been  a  valued  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party,  gi^ang  freely  and  loyally  of  his  serv- 
ices.    He  has  always  been  regarded  as  one  of  Newton  county's  most  substantial  citizens. 

(  1014  ^ 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


EDWARD  C.  SCHUETZ 

In  the  year  1914  President  Woodrow  Wilson  appointed  for  the  city  of 
Brazil  a  new  postmaster,  a  man  who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  public 
for  more  than  a  score  of  years,  receiving  thereby  a  training  which  has  ren- 
dered him  unusually  efficient  in  the  administration  of  his  present  important 
duties. 

Edward  C.  Schuetz,  the  gentleman  to  whom  we  refer,  is  a  native  of  the 
Blue  Grass  State,  born  on  the  5th  day  of  December,  1867,  in  Cadiz,  Ky.  Mr. 
Schuetz  at  the  age  of  five  years  was  left  by  the  death  of  his  father 
with  a  widowed  mother  and  several  brothers  and  sisters.  He 
completed  the  course  in  the  common  schools  of  Kentucky  at  Cadiz,  and  later, 
when  time  and  means  would  permit,  continued  his  studies  at  night  schools. 
At  the  age  of  16  years  he  began  learning  the  printers'  trade  in  the  office  of 
the  Kentucky  Telephone,  then  published  at  Cadiz,  at  which  office  he  continued 
until  1889,  when  he  came  to  Evansville  and  accepted  a  position  in  the  com- 
posing room  of  the  Evansville  Journal,  where  he  was  enabled  to  grasp  the 
many  phases  of  journalism  which  a  true  newspaperman  must  know. 

In  1891  Mr.  Schuetz  established  the  Cannelton  Telephone,  a  Democratic  paper,  which  assisted 
materially  in  carrying  Perry  county  for  Cleveland  in  1892.  In  1893  occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Hester  C.  Tevlin,  at  Cannelton;  and  four  children,  two  boys  and  two  girls,  have  come  to  bless  their 
union  and  brighten  their  home. 

In  1894  they  established  their  home  at  Carbon  in  Clay  county,  where  Mr.  Schuetz  launched  the 
Carbon  Chronicle,  a  Democratic  newspaper,  continuing  the  publication  until  1907,  when  he  sold  the 
plant  and  moved  to  Brazil. 

In  1903  Mr.  Schuetz  was  appointed  truant  officer  of  the  county  by  the  trustees.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  the  first  year,  however,  he  resigned  this  position  to  make  the  race  for  representative  to  the 
general  assembly  of  the  state.     In  1905  he  was  appointed  to  the  postmastership  of  Brazil. 

Mr.  Schuetz  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  business  life  of  the  community,  and  a  few  years 
ago,  during  the  commercial  boom  of  Brazil,  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Brazil  Factory  Club. 
For  three  years,  also,  Mr.  Schuetz  represented  the  Southern  Surety  Company  of  St.  Louis,  as  spe- 
cial agent,  with  headquarters  at  Brazil.  His  duties  for  this  company  carried  him  into  eleven  differ- 
ent states. 

For  the  past  eighteen  years  Mr.  Schuetz  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  order  of  Red  Men 
and  Knights  of  Pythias. 


WILLIAM  C.  SCHWIER 

William  C.  Schwier,  the  incumbent  of  numerous  positions  in  the  service 
of  the  public  of  Allen  county,  has  been,  since  his  youth,  closely  identified 
with  the  business  and  political  life  of  Ft.  Wayne. 

He  is  a  native  of  this  county,  born  and  reared  within  its  confines;  in 
fact,  in  the  same  ward  in  Ft.  Wayne  in  which  he  now  resides.  He  attended 
St.  Paul's  Parochial  School  and  later  pursued  his  studies  at  Prof.  White- 
leather's  Business  College.  At  the  early  age  of  fifteen  years  he  entered  the 
grocery  business,  and  for  thirty  years  continued  in  this  occupation  upon  the 
same  lot  on  which  he  was  born.  In  the  year  1913,  however,  he  retired  from 
this  work,  and  since  then  much  of  his  time  has  been  spent  in  the  public 
service. 

He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  city  council,  and  in  the  year 
1906  he  assumed  the  duties  of  president  of  this  body,  continuing  in  this 
capacity  until  1910.  In  the  fall  of  1912  he  was  elected  commissioner  of  Allen 
county  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  so  efficient  were  his  services  that,  at 
the  expiration  of  this  period,  he  was  re-elected  for  a  further  term  of  service. 

Mr.  Schwier  has  resided  in  the  first  ward  of  the  city  all  his  life,  and  has  represented  this  dis- 
trict in  four  state  Democratic  conventions.  Among  his  neighbors  in  this  locality  and  throughout  the 
county  he  is  known  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  honor,  standing  for  clean  politics  and  clean  methods 
of  government  administration;  and  it  is  upon  this  basis  that  he  has  been  elected  to  the  various  posi- 
tions which  he  has  so  worthily  filled. 


(  1015  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


1  6 


CURTIS  GILES  SCOFIELD 

The  city  of  Brazil  has  produced  many  citizens  of  sterling  worth  and  has 
given  to  the  Democratic  party  of  the  State  many  loyal  and  enthusiastic 
woi-kers,  but  few  of  these  hold  a  more  enviable  position  throughout  the  com- 
munity than  the  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above.  Mr.  Scofield  was 
born  in  Avena,  111.,  on  the  2d  day  of  December,  1878.  When  he  was  six 
years  of  age,  however,  his  parents  came  to  Clay  county,  Indiana,  establishing 
their  home  in  Brazil,  and  here  the  son  grew  to  manhood,  receiving  his  edu- 
cation and  graduating  from  the  high  school  in  the  year  1896.  Later  he 
graduated  with  honors  from  the  Indiana  Law  School  of  Indianapolis.  He 
was  married  to  Miss  Anna  Brattin. 

In  the  year  1901,  when  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Clay  and  Putnam  counties,  and  at 
the  expiration  of  three  years  in  this  position  he  was  elected  prosecuting 
attorney  for  the  two  counties,  serving  until  1907.  He  served  from  1908  to 
1915  as  county  attorney  of  Clay  county,  being  appointed  by  the  board  of 

commissioners.     In   November,  1918,  he  was  elected  circuit  judge  for  a  term  of  six  years. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Masonic  order,  taking  the  Royal  Arch  degree,  and  is  also  a 

member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  of  the  order  of  Elks. 

Though  still  a  young  man,  he  has  attained  an   influence  and   prestige  in  the  community  accorded 

to  few,  and  hopes  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his   life  in  the  city  of  Brazil  practicing  the  profession 


CLARENCE   0.   SEFTON 
Clarence  O.  Sefton,  a  lawyer  of  broad  experience  and  successful  practice,  has 
been  identified  with  the  Gary  bar  since  1907. 

Born  in  Louisville,  Ills.,  December  9,  1876,  he  had  the  advantage  of  being  reared 
on  a  farm.  His  parents  were  James  S.  and  Elizabeth  Sefton.  His  education  was 
acquired  at  Orchard  City  College,  Austin  College,  and  in  1905  he  graduated  from  the 
law  department  of  Valparaiso  College.  During  seven  years  of  this  time  he  taught 
school  and  his  earnings  from  this  defrayed  most  of  his  expenses  while  preparing  him- 
self for  the  law. 

He  practiced  one  year  in  Louisville,  Ills.,  followed  by  a  year  in  South  Bend, 
and  in  1907  came  to  Gary.  In  1912  Mr.  Sefton  was  Democratic  candidate  for  the 
office  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  Lake  county,  and,  while  he  failed  of  election,  he  ran  far  ahead  of 
the  ticket,  which  was  a  great  compliment  to  his  personal  standing. 


ALBERT  T.  SERING 
Albert  T.  Sering,  the  present  postmaster  of  Liberty,  has  been  for  many  years  an 
active  and  effective  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  organization  of  Union 
county,  and  is  well  and  favorably  known  in  Union  and  adjoining  counties  as  one  of 
the  minute  men  of  his  party  and  a  sterling  citizen  of  his  community. 

Mr.  Sering  was  born  in  Union  county  on  the  19th  day  of  November,  1852.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  common  and  academic  schools  of  his  county,  and  is 
known  as  a  capable  business  man  and  farmer.  He  had  served  his  community  as  trus- 
tee of  the  Liberty  corporation  schools  and  in  other  positions  of  trust  before  he  was 
appointed  as  postmaster. 

On  the  27th  day  of  October,  1903,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cordelia 
Barnes,  and  she  has  since  presided  over  their  home   in  Liberty. 

Mr.  Sering  is  a  man  of  sterling  character.  He  belongs  to  a  family  of  good  old  Jeffersonian  De- 
mocracy. An  older  brother,  William  D.  Sering,  was  a  gallant  Union  soldier,  and  lost  his  life  in  the 
service  of  his  country. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Sering. has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  cause  of  Democracy, 
serving  for  a  number  of  years  as  county  chairman    with    great   efficiency   and    good    results   to   his 


(  1016) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


16-1916 


party.  He  has  also  attended  every  state  conven'.ion  of  his  party  for  the  past  twenty-five  years 
and  several  of  the  national  conventions.  In  the  year  of  1914  he  was  appointed  by  President  Wilson 
postmaster  of  Liberty,  and  the  duties  of  this  office  have  been  discharged  with  conscientious  zeal  and 
results  that  are  most  satisfactory  to  the  patrons  of  the  office,  and  with  an  eye  single  to  the  efficiency 
of  the  postal  service.  He  holds  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens,  irrespective  of  par- 
ty, because  of  his  known  integrity  as  a  citizen  and  his  courtesy  as  a  neighbor  and  friend. 


WILLIAM  A.  SERVICE 

William  A.  Service  has  for  many  years  held  a  position  of  influence  in 
the  business  and  political  life  of  Hancock  county. 

Mr.  Service  is  a  native  of  this  State,  born  on  the  30th  day  of  September. 
1866.  He  was  reared  in  the  wholesome  environment  of  the  farm  and  attended 
the  country  schools  of  his  district.  In  the  year  1888  he  entered  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute,  and  here  for  four  years  his  studies  were 
pursued.  Following  his  graduation  from  this  institution  in  the  year  1892, 
he  taught  in  the  Greenfield  High  School  for  a  term  of  three  years,  having 
previously  spent  some  time  as  instructor  in  the  country  schools.  Later,  also, 
a  course  of  study  was  taken  at  the  State  University. 

In  the  year  1906  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Hancock  circuit  court,  and 
for  four  years  he  administered  the  affairs  of  this  office  with  much  credit. 

On  September  14,  1898,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ella  M. 
Corr.  and  two  children  have  come  to  brighten  their  home — William  Corr, 
now  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  Mary  Helen,  four  years  his  junior. 

Mr.  Service  was  actively  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  the  city  of  Greenfield  for  seven- 
teen years,  dealing  in  shoes  and  furnishings,  and  is  also  the  holder  of  large  farm  interests.  On  the 
6th  of  April,  1914,  he  received  from  President  Wilson  his  appointment  to  the  postmastership,  which 
he  now  holds,  and  in  this  capacity  he  has  served  with  zeal  and  intelligence. 

He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  Democratic  affairs  and  served  as  county  chairman  in  the  cam- 
paigns of  1912  and  1914.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  orders  of  Knights  of  Pythias,  Red  Men,  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  and  is  a  communicant  of  the  Christian  chui-ch. 


JUDGE  JOSEPH  HOOKER  SHEA 

Jackson  county  has  produced  many  citizens  who  have  at- 
tained positions  of  prominence  in  various  lines  of  endeavor, 
but  perhaps  none  has  gone  forth  from  her  boundaries  of  whom 
she  is  more  justly  proud  than  Judge  Joseph  Hooker  Shea,  for 
as  citizen,  legislator,  jurist  or  judge  he  has  never  failed  to 
uphold  the  dignity  of  the  position  held  by  him  and  to  add 
luster  to  the  fair  name  of  the  community  from  which  he 
sprung. 

Judge  Shea  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  having  been  born  in 
Scott  county.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district 
and  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  Lexington  with  the 
class  of  1883.  A  course  was  then  taken  at  the  Indiana  Uni- 
versity, from  which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1889,  receiving 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  In  January  of  this  year  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Scottsburg,  and  here  he  began  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  bringing  to  his  work  that  abounding 
energy  and  clear  insight  into  complicated  questions  which  are 
requisite  for  success  in  the  legal  profession. 

In  the  year  1891  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of 
the  Si.xth  judicial  circuit,  and  this  position  he  held  for  the 
ensuing  four  years,  administering  the  affairs  of  the  office  vrith 
characteristic  diligence.  In  the  fall  of  1896  he  was  elected 
state  senator  from  Scott,  Clark  and  Jennings  counties   and   in   the   deliberations   of  the   assembly   of 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-191 


1897  he  was  an  active  participant.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  next  assembly  also,  and  held  a  position  of 
still  greater  influence  in  this  body. 

In  the  year  1906  he  assumed  the  duties  of  judge  of  the  fortieth  judicial  circuit,  and  the  ensuing 
six  years  were  spent  in  administering  the  aflfairs  of  this  position;  and  so  ably  did  he  discharge  the 
duties  of  the  office  that  he  steadily  rose  in  the  esteem  of  his  constituents.  Therefore,  it  was  a  mat- 
ter of  congratulation,  but  not  of  surprise,  when  he  received  the  nomination  to  the  still  higher  position 
of  judge  of  the  appellate  court  and  assumed  these  greater  responsibilities  in  the  year  1912.  Here 
he  remained,  dispensing  justice  with  conscientious  impartiality  and  keen  intelligence,  and  exercising 
daily  those  qualities  which  prove  him  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity,  until  his  appointment  by 
President    Wilson   as   ambassador   to    Chile. 

Judge  Shea  has  at  all  times  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  various  movements  which  have  arisen 
for  the  betterment  of  his  home  city,  Seymour,  and  the  community  at  large,  and  is  closely  identified 
with  the  commercial  and  civic  organizations  of  the  place.  He  is  also  interested  in  farming  and  an 
advocate  of  good  roads,  farmers'  institutes  and  the  many  movements  and  methods  advanced  for  the 
improvement  of  the  agricultural  community  and  profession.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  one  of  the 
leading  banks  of  Seymour. 

Not  the  least  of  the  honors  which  has  come  to  Judge  Shea  is  the  position  of  trustee  of  Indiana 
University,  his  alma  mater,  a  position  which  he  has  held  continuously  since  the  year  1893.  Par- 
ticularly near  to  him  are  the  needs  and  progress  of  this  institution,  and  the  character  of  its  student 
body. 

Needless  to  add.  Judge  Shea  enjoys  a  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  state  and  holds  a  high 
position  in  the  legal  profession  of  Indiana;  and  in  the  counsels  of  the  Democratic  party,  to  which  he 
has  stanchly  arlhered  since  his  boyhood,  he  holds  a   position  of  influence. 


EMORY  B.  SELLERS 

The  name  of  Emory  B.  Sellers  is  widely  known  throughout  the  legal  profession  of  the  state,  be- 
ing that  of  an  authority,  the  incumbent  of  various  positions  of  responsibility  and  trust  in  the  service 
of  the  commonwealth  and  the  author  of  several  laws  now  on  the  Indiana  statute  books. 

Mr.  Sellers  was  born  in  Perry  county,  Ohio.  He  came  to  White  county,  Indiana,  in  1865,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  senate  of  the  state  assembly  of  1885 
and  again  in  1887,  and  succeeded  David  Turpie  as  United  States  attorney  upon  the  latter's  election 
to  the  United  States  senate.  He  was  also  appointed  by  Governor  Marshall  a  member  of  the  national 
conference  on  uniform  laws.     Mr.  Sellers  is  a  member  of  the  American  and  state  bar  associations. 


ANDREW  J.  SHELBY 

Andrew  J.  Shelby,  one  of  the  loyal  workers  in  the  Democratic  party  of 
Boone  county,  is  a  native  of  Hancock  county,  Indiana,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred on  the  17th  day  of  September,  1866,  near  the  city  of  Greenfield. 
Here,  in  the  schools  of  the  district,  he  received  the  basis  of  his  education, 
later  attending  the  normal  school  at  Danville.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four 
years  he  came  to  Boone  county  and  established  his  home.  His  wife,  who  was 
formerly  Miss  Pearl  Ball  of  Rush  county,  was  called  from  his  side  on  the 
6th  day  of  May,  1909,  by  the  grim  reaper.  Death. 

Mr.  Shelby,  though  a  conscientious  citizen  and  loyal  party  worker,  has 
never  aspired  to  hold  political  office.  He  has,  however,  taken  an  interest  in 
fraternal  affairs,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Order  of  Elks,  Odd  Fellows  and 
Red  Men,  among  whom  he  is  widely  known  and  highly  respected.  Mr. 
Shelby  is  a  gentleman  of  broad  intelligence,  interested  in  the  various  move- 
ments for  the  physical  and  moral  uplift  and  development  of  the  community, 
and  always  a  firm  adherent  to  the  principles  of  true  Democracy. 
Mr.  Shelby  is  one  of  the  leading  and  best  known  lawyers  in   Central  Indiana,  is  counsel  for  all 

of  the  corporations  doing  business  or  having  business  in  the  courts  of  his  county,  and  has  for  many 

years  enjoyed  a  very  lucrative  practice. 


(  1018  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


JOHN  B.  SHELBY 

Always  an  enterprising  citizen  and  a  leader  in  the  business  life  of  the  city  of 
Lebanon,  John  B.  Shelby  has  demonstrated  what  can  be  accomplished  by  ceaseless 
energy  well  directed.  This  gentleman  was  born  in  Greenfield,  Ind.,  on  the  1st  day 
of  April,  1873,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  this  State  since  birth,  receiving  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  his  district. 

In  the  year  1900  he  served  as  district  attorney  for  Boone  county,  and  has  always, 
since  attaining  the  age  of  maturity,  been  an  enthusiastic  worker  for  the  cause  of  De- 
mocracy. For  the  past  twelve  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  hardware  business, 
gradually  enlarging  his  line  to  include  general  merchandise,  automobiles  and  other 
vehicles.  In  the  fall  of  1913  he  was  nominated  and  elected  for  the  mayoralty  of  the 
city  of  Lebanon.    His  tenure  of  office  covered  a  period  of  four  years,  beginning  Janua 


BENJAMIN   F.   SHIVELY 

Benjamin  F.  Shively,  United  States  senator,  was  a  na- 
tive of  St.  Joseph  county,  Indiana,  where  he  resided  all  his 
life.  His  father  was  Rev.  Joel  Shively  and  both  his  father 
and  mother  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  settling  in  In- 
diana in  1854.  Benjamin  F.  Shively  was  bom  March  20,  1857. 
His  early  experiences  were  those  of  the  average  farm  lad. 
After  completing  his  course  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
neighborhood,  he  attended  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal 
School  at  Valparaiso,  also  graduating  subsequently  from  the 
law  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan.  He  taught 
school  from  1875  to  1880  after  which  he  engaged  in  newspaper 
work. 

In  1889  he  married  Miss  Laura  Jenks,  daughter  of  the 
Hon.  George  A.  Jenks  of  Brookville,  Pa.,  who  was  solicitor- 
general  of  the  United  States  under  the  first  administration 
of  Grover  Cleveland. 

In  redistricting  the  state  for  congressional  representa- 
tion, in  1881,  the  Republican  majority  in  the  general  assembly 
formed  the  13th  Indiana  District  to  be  "reliably  Republican." 
When,  in  1884,  Major  William  H.  Calkins  received  the  Re- 
publican nomination  for  governor  and  resigned  his  seat  in 
the  congress  to  make  the  race,  Mr.  Shively  was  nominated 
for  the  unexpired  term  in  the  congress  and  as  the  Democratic 

candidate  carried  the  district  by  a  majority  of  2,275.    He  again  carried  his  district  in  1886  by  1,046, 
in  1888  by  355,  and  in  1890  by  2,705. 

In  each  of  these  campaigns  the  district  was  considered  safely  Republican.  In  all  his  contests  his 
opponents  were  strong  men  and  some  of  them  men  of  rare  force  and  ability.  In  his  memorable 
series  of  joint  meetings  with  Gen.  Jasper  Packard  Mr.  Shively  splendidly  vindicated  the  record  and 
policies  of  his  party  and  inspired  the  rank  and  file  with  his  courage  and  enthusiasm. 

In  1892  he  declined  further  congressional  honors.  However,  the  memory  of  his  wise,  capable 
and  aggressive  leadership  was  never  dimmed.  In  1896,  in  face  of  the  overwhelming  defeat  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Indiana  two  years  before,  confronted  with  widespread  commercial  panic  and 
business  depression,  facing  apparently  hopeless  division  in  his  own  party,  Mr.  Shively  accepted  the 
nomination  for  governor  and  conducted  a  canvass  which  for  courage,  dignity,  ability  and  brilliant 
aggressiveness  recalled  the  best  traditions  of  the  old  party  leaders. 

He  was  defeated,  but  his  party  recovered  four  congressional  districts,  nearly  tripled  its  repre- 
sentation in  the  legislature  and  recovered  over  twenty  counties  which  had  been  lost  two  years  before. 

In  1904  the  Thirteenth  congressional  district  nicorded  a  Republican  majority  of  7,000.  In  1906 
Mr.  Shively  was  prevailed  upon  to  again  take  the  congressional  nomination  for  what  seemed  a  hope- 
less race,  but  he  succeeded  in  reducing  the  district  Republican  majority  from  7,000  to  216,  carrying 
Kosciusko  county  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  and  made  possible  the  recovery  of  the  district  by 
the  Democrats  in  the  election  which  followed. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

In  the  first  two  terms  in  the  congress  he  was  the  youngest  member  of  that  body.  In  the  first 
week  he  addressed  the  house  on  an  important  measure  of  general  legislation  and  at  once  commanded 
the  respectful  attention  if  that  body.  His  capability,  forceful  and  attractive  manner  in  handling  the 
subject  enabled  him  to  receive  applause,  breaking  the  precedent  which  demanded  that  "new  mem- 
bers keep  quiet."  As  evidence  of  the  confidence  and  good  will  inspired  from  the  beginning  in  his 
first  term,  he  was  elected  secretary  of  the  national  congressional  committee,  a  position  which  he  held 
for  succeeding  terms. 

He  was  selected  to  accompany  Allan  G.  Thurman  on  his  first  speaking  tour  as  candidate  for 
Vice-President  in  1S88,  and  in  all  campaigns  while  in  Washington  he  was  called  upon  by  different 
States  to  campaign  for  the  Democratic  party.  Whether  in  the  committee  room,  in  the  executive  de- 
partments, in  legislative  work,  on  the  floor  of  the  house  or  in  party  council,  he  was  always  strong 
and  effective. 

He  rose  to  membership  on  the  committee  on  ways  and  means  at  a  time  when  the  tariff  question 
was  paramount,  and  at  once  became  conspicuous  in  shaping  the  tariff  policy  of  the  52d  Congress.  At 
the  speaker's  request,  near  the  close  of  the  first  session  of  that  congress,  he  prepared  tariff  argu- 
ments which  were  used  during  the  campaign  in  all  the  States.  Mr.  Shively's  addresses  in  congress  on 
the  tariff  were  of  such  a  character  as  to  challenge  comparison  with  the  best  standard  treatment  of  the 
subject  within  fifty  years.     The  record  itself  justifies  this  statement. 

In  all  his  life  Mr.  Shively  never  conducted  a  defensive  campaign.  His  campaigns  were  always 
aggressive.  He  never  misstated  the  position  of  an  opponent.  His  analysis  of  any  subject  treated 
was  most  complete  and  convincing.  His  knowledge  of  science  and  philosophy  was  profound.  His 
advocacy  was  always  dignified  and  vindicated  and  .strengthened  the  cause  of  Democracy.  He  was 
never  known  in  any  speech  to  make  a  special  appeal  for  votes  for  himself.  He  put  his  party  and 
party  principles  first,  and  took  his  chances  with  the  humblest  man  on  his  ticket. 

When  elected  to  the  United  States  senate  in  the  legislative  session  of  January,  1909,  the  tariff  and 
kindred  questions  were  paramount.  He  proved  to  be  a  thorough  student  of  these  subjects  and  he 
was  recognized  upon  his  entrance  into  the  senate  as  the  best  equipped  man  in  that  body  to  handle 
these  questions  from  the  Democratic  standpoint.  He  had  a  vast  fund  of  information.  Immediately 
upon  his  entrance  into  the  senate  he  was  selected  to  lead  in  tariff  debates.  His  speeches  were  circu- 
lated as  the  strongest  Democratic  doctrine  obtainable. 

Unfortunately,  Senator  Shively's  health  failed  while  he  was  serving  as  senator  and  he  was  unable 
to  participate  in  many  debates.  Had  his  health  not  failed  and  his  death  followed,  while  he  was  yet 
senator,  his  political  career  appeared  by  no  means  ended.  He  was  freely  spoken  of  by  members  of 
the  senate  as  presidential  timber,  his  mental  ability  being  sustained  and  enforced  by  a  splendid 
presence  before  the  people.  His  death,  occurring  shortly  after  taking  his  seat  at  the  opening  of  his 
second  term,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  popular  vote,  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  State  and  to  the 
nation  as  well. 


WISE  W.   SHOW  ALTER 

To  the  agricultural  element  of  a  community  it  must  look  largely  for  its 
wealth;  and  likewise  the  foundation  of  its  manhood  lies  in  the  free,  out-of- 
door  life  given  its  youth  upon  the  farm. 

Mr.  Wise  W.  Showalter  is  an  example  of  the  type  of  man  produced 
under  the  ideal  conditions  of  an  agricultural  life — clean  minded,  conscien- 
tious and  zealous  in  the  performance  of  works  which  tend  toward  the  best 
interests  of  the  community  at  large. 

He  was  born  on  the  8th  day  of  March,  18.56,  a  native  of  Indiana,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Lagrange  county.  On  the 
23rd  day  of  March,  1883,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ellen  E.  Schmidt  was  solem- 
nized, and  she  was  ever  his  helpful  companion  until  death  claimed  her  on 
the  29th  day  of  June,  1910. 

Most  of  the  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture; 
but  in  the  fall  of  1904  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  township  trustee  of 
Jefferson  township,  Elkhart  county,  assuming  the  duties  of  that  office  on 
the  1st  of  the  following  January,  serving  in  this  capacity  until  January  1,  1908.  In  the  fall  of  1910 
he  was  elected  to  the  still  greater  responsibilities  of  county  commissioner,  his  term  of  office  to  expire 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1917. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


ATWELL  J.  SHRINER 

Atwell  J.  Shriner  has  spent  many  years  of  his  life  in  the  service  of  the  public, 
and  in  each  official  position  to  which  he  has  been  selected  he  has  served  with  loyalty 
and  zeal.  He  was  born  at  Andersonville,  Franklin  county,  Indiana,  on  the  15th  day 
of  November,  1858,  and  attended  the  schools  of  Franklin  county.  On  the  15th  day 
of  May,  1884,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jennie  W.  Spilman,  and  they  have 
since  abode  in  the  county  of  his  birth. 

Under  Cleveland's  administration  he  held  the  position  of  postmaster  at  Ander- 
sonville. and  was  superintendent  of  the  Franklin  county  infirmary  from  September  1, 
1901,  to  January  1,  1909.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  assumed  the  duties  of 
recorder  of  Franklin  county,  which  position  he  held  for  four  years. 

In  the  spring  of  1913  he  received  from  President  Wilson  the  appointment  to  the  position 
master  of  Brookville,  and  on  the  16th  day  of  June  of  that  year  began  his  work  in  the  postal 
He  has  for  many  years  been  an  active  Democratic  worker,  serving  as  precinct  committeeman  i 
township  and  in  Brookville,  in  all,  sixteen  years;  and  as  county  chairman  from  1906  to  1913 
affiliated  with  the  orders  of  Masons,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Red  Men. 


of  post- 
service. 


EDWARD  SIMON 

A  well-known  party  worker  and  prominent  public  official 
of  Lake  county  is  Edward  Simon  of  Hammond. 

Mr.  Simon  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  New  York,  born  on 
the  16th  day  of  March,  1873.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Buffalo  and  later  entered  the  preparatory  school  of  St. 
Joseph's  College  of  that  city.  In  the  year  1892  he  emigrated 
to  Indiana,  locating  in  Lake  county,  and  later  entered  into  the 
work  of  the  Democratic  local  organization,  giving  freely  of 
his  time  and  energy  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause.  Four 
years  later  he  was  selected  Democratic  county  chairman  of 
Lake  county,  and  in  this  capacity  served  throughout  the  cam- 
paigns of  1904,  1906  and  1908.  In  the  year  1907  he  was  the 
representative  from  this  county  to  the  legislature  of  Indiana 
and  served  with  distinction  in  the  following  assembly. 

In  the  year  1912  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  auditor 
of  Lake  county,  and  in  this  capacity  has  demonstrated  marked 
efficiency,  progressive  methods  and  conscientious  zeal  for  the 
interests  of  the  public.  He  has  also  taken  a  deep  interest  in 
the  business  affairs  of  Hammond,  his  home,  where  he  is  well 
known  also  as  the  manufacturer  of  La  Vendor  cigars. 

Mrs.  Simon,  to  whom  he  was  married  April  24,  1894,  was 
formerly  Miss  Jessie  E.  Flaherty  of  Liverpool,  Lake  county, 
and  as  the  presiding  genius  of  their  family,  she  has   dispensed  its  hospitality  to  a  host  of  friends. 

Mr.  Simon  is  a  member  of  the  progressive  element  of  the  community,  deeply  interested  in  the 
various  movements  for  the  betterment  of  the  physical  conditions  of  the  locality  as  well  as  its  moral 
uplift. 


JAMES  P.   SIMONS 

The  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  article  is  well  known  throughout  the 
county,  having  been  for  many  years  closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  the 
community,  and  having  also  been  the  incumbent  of  various  positions  in  the  service 
of  the  commonwealth. 

James  P.  Simons,  of  Monticello,  is  a  true  son  of  White  county,  born  there  on 
November  9,  1856.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and  completed  his  studies  at  the 
Burnettville  high  school. 

For  two  years  Mr.  Simons  served  as  township  assessor,  the  duties  of  that  posi- 
tion being  discharged  with  conscientious  zeal.  He  then  was  elected  to  the  larger 
responsibilities  of  county  recorder,  and  in  this  latter  capacity  served  for  two  terms 


(  1021  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

of  four  years  each,  establishing  an  enviable  record  for  ability  and  fidelity  in  the  conduct  of  the  af- 
fairs of  his  office.  In  February,  1916,  on  the  recommendation  of  United  States  Senators  Kern  and 
Shively,  President  Wilson  appointed  him  postmaster  at  Monticello.  He  also  is  widely  known  through 
his  connection  for  twenty  years  with  the  White  County  Democrat,  published  at  Monticello. 

While  serving  as  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Indiana  Democratic  Editorial  As- 
sociation Mr.  Simons  prepared  and  presented  to  the  association  at  its  mid-winter  meeting  in  Febru- 
ary, 1908,  the  following  resolution: 

"With  a  firm  belief  in  the  righteousness  of  the  Democratic  principle  of  the  rule  of  the  majority, 
as  expressed  in  a  free  and  untrammeled  ballot,  we  would  add  to  the  present  laws  regulating  the 
liquor  traffic  a  local  option  law  giving  to  the  people  of  each  community  opportunity  to  express  their 
sentiments  regarding  the  sale  of  liquor  in  their  midst,  freed  from  the  turmoil,  annoyances  and  busi- 
ness disturbances  in  many  instances  attending  the  operations  of  the  present  remonstrance  law." 

This  was  the  first  local  option  resolution  presented  in  Indiana,  and  the  law  here  suggested  was 
intended  to  be  supplementary  to  the  remonstrance  law  then  in  force.  The  resolution  was  adopted  by 
the  Democratic  Editorial  Association  and  the  principle  was  incorporated  in  the  Democratic  state  plat- 
form a  few  weeks  later.  It  created  much  discussion  all  over  the  State,  led  to  the  calling  of  the  spe- 
cial session  of  the  legislature  in  the  summer  of  1908,  forced  the  Republicans  to  take  a  more  radical 
position  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  Thomas  R.  Marshall  as  governor  in  November. 

Mr.  Simons  is  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Masons  and  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  in  the 
former  has  attained  the  Chapter  and  Council  degrees. 

Mrs.  Simons  was  formerly  Miss  Sallie  E.  Johnson,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  B.  Johnson,  who  wa« 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Jackson,  Miss.,  during  the  Civil  war.  They  had  two  sons,  Walter  A.  and 
George  B.,  soldiers  in  the  great  world  war,  both  sergeants  in  Battery  C,  137th  field  artillery,  in  the 
famous  "Cyclone  Division." 

HOMER   J.    SKEETERS 

The  present  incumbent  of  the  office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools  of  Parke  county.  Ho- 
mer J.  Skeeters,  is  well  qualified  by  nature  and  by  education  for  the  position  which  he  holds.  A 
man  of  good  education,  rare  tact  in  his  dealings  with  young  and  old,  a  thorough  understanding  of 
the  various  needs  of  the  youthful  mind,  combined  with  an  earnest  desire  for  the  best  in  methods 
of  imparting  knowledge — truly  Parke  county  is  to  be  congratulated  in  her  choice  of  this  official. 

Mr.  Skeeters  was  born  in  Indiana,  on  the  28th  day  of  April,  1884.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  home  district,  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  Marshall  and  from  Bloomingdale 
Academy,  after  which  he  entered  the  Indiana  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute.  Following  his 
graduation  from  this  latter  institution  he  entered  the  educational  field,  teaching  school  with  marked 


In  February,  1911,  Mr.  Skeeters  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  schools 
of  Parke  county — and  in  June  of  the  same  year  was  elected  for  a  further  term  of  four  years.  Dur- 
ing his  incumbency  of  this  office  the  schools  in  his  charge  have  been  maintained  upon  a  high  plane 
of  scholarship   and  progressive   methods  have  been  adopted. 

During  his  years  in  the  State  Normal  School  Mr.  Skeeters  became  a  member  of  the  Forum  Liter- 
ary Society  of  that  institution.  He  is  also  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Modem  Woodmen  of  America.  On  November  9,  1901,  Mr.  Skeeters 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Madge  K.  Harrison. 


SAMUEL    SKEETERS 

Samuel  Skeeters  of  Montezuma  is  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Parke  county  and  is  largely  inter- 
ested in  its  growth  and  development.  He  was  bom  in  Mercer  county,  Missouri,  on  the  30th  day  of 
August,  1851.  When  he  was  six  months  of  age,  however,  his  parents  came  to  Indiana,  locating  in 
Parke  county,  where  he  was  reared,  attending  the  common  schools  of  the  county.  At  an  early  age 
he  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agriculture,  and  has  labored  with  such  success  that  he  is  now  the  owner 
of  several  hundred  acres  of  choice  land.  He  was,  for  a  number  of  years,  president  of  the  First  Na^ 
tional  Bank  of  Montezuma,  but  sold  his  stock  on  account  of  other  interests. 

In  the  year  1894  Mr.  Skeeters  was  elected  township  trustee,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a 
term  of  six  years.  In  1914  he  was  nominated  for  county  commissioner  for  the  Second  district,  Parke 
county. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


1  9  1  G 


DE   FOREST   L.   SKINNER 

De  Forest  L.  Skinner,  a  pioneer  in  the  ranks  of  Indiana  Democracy  and 
for  more  than  seventy  years  an  honored  resident  of  Porter  county,  has  con- 
tributed in  no  small  measure,  in  the  many  years  that  have  passed,  to  the 
success  of  the  party  in  his  district  and  in  the  state. 

Mr.  Skinner  was  bom  in  Hardwick,  Caledonia  county,  Vermont,  on 
November  1,  1835.  When  eleven  years  of  age  he  accompanied  his  parentis 
to  Valparaiso,  Porter  county,  Indiana,  where  the  family  residence  was  es- 
tablished. There  he  attended  the  common  schools  and  later  entered  into 
the  business  and  political  life  of  the  community. 

On  April  19,  1861,  Mr.  Skinner  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Rachel 
Maxwell,  a  native  of  Wayne  county,  this  state. 

During  the  sessions  of  the  Indiana  General  Assembly  in  1874  and  1878, 
Mr.  Skinner  was  an  active  participant  in  legislative  affairs,  serving  the 
state  as  representative  from  Porter  and  Lake  counties.  In  1882  he  again 
was  nominated  for  this  position,  but  was  defeated  by  a  small  majority, 
both  counties  going  Republican.  In  1886  he  declined  the  honor  of  a  further  nomination.  In  1882  the 
late  Governor  Porter  appointed  Mr.  Skinner  a  member  of  the  board  of  commissioners  to  construct 
three  additional  hospitals  for  the  insane,  these  now  being  located  at  Evansville,  Richmond  and  Lo- 
gansport.  He  served  upon  this  board  during  the  administrations  of  Governors  Porter,  Gray  and 
Hovey.  Later  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Chase  to  the  position  of  trustee  of  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Terre  Haute,  but  this  honor  he  declined.  In  1893  he  represented  this  State  at  the  World's 
Congress  of  Bankers,  which  met  in  Chicago  during  the  Columbian  Exposition,  having  been  appointed 
to  this  position  by  Governor  Claude  Matthews. 

Mr.  Skinner  has  held  prominent  rank  among  th  leaders  of  the  Democracy  in  this  State,  and  in  1880 
served  as  delegate  to  the  national  convention  at  Cincinnati,  and  in  1888  to  the  convention  at  St. 
Louis. 


L.   ERT   SLACK 

L.  Ert  Slack,  who  served  the  people  of  Indiana  in  various  county,  dis- 
trict; state  and  federal  offices,  both  by  appointment  and  election,  a  native 
Hoosier,  born  October  8,  1874,  in  Johnson  county,  was,  from  the  time  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  favorably  and  extensively  known  throughout  the 
state  through  his  political  activities.  He  obtained  his  early  education  in 
the  schools  of  Johnson  county,  afterwards  attending  Indiana  Law  School 
and  graduating  in  1897,  when  twenty-three  years  of  age. 

September  6,  in  the  year  of  his  graduation,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Franklin,  the  county  seat  of  Johnson  county,  and  at  once  appointed 
deputy  prosecuting  attorney.  He  held  that  position  only  one  year,  however, 
resigning  November  15,  1898. 

He  stumped  Johnson  county  for  the  Democratic  ticket  in  the  canii)aign 
of  that  year  and  never  missed  participation  in  a  state  campaign  after  that 
time.  Following  his  resignation  as  deputy  prosecuting  attorney,  he  was  ap- 
pointed county  attorney  for  Johnson  county  December  4,  1899,  and  served 
in  that  office  for  six  consecutive  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1900  he  was  elected  a  representative  from  Johnson  county  and  served  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  general  assembly  in  the  session  of  1901.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  same  position  in  1902 
and  in  the  session  of  1903  received  the  complimentary  Democratic  vote  for  speaker  of  the  house. 

He  was  nominated  for  joint  senator  from  Johnson  anl  Shelby  counties  June  7,  1904,  being  elected 
and  serving  in  the  state  senate  during  the  sessions  of  1905  and  1907  and  in  the  special  session  of  1908. 
His  splendid  record  in  both  the  house  and  seriate  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Democrats  of  the  State 
and  made  him  a  conspicuous  candidate  for  the  Democratic  nomination  for  governor  in  1908.  While  at 
that  time,  preceding  the  assembling  of  the  convention,  and  during  the  campaign,  Samuel  M.  Ralston 
seemed  most  likely  to  receive  the  nomination,  L.  Ert  Slack  was  conceded  to  be  his  most  dangerous 
opponent  in  a  large  field  of  candidates.     In  that  historic  convention,  after  the  second  ballot,  the  Slack 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


stock  gradually  rose,  and  when  the  fourth  ballot  had  been  taken  it  was  apparent  to  everyone  that  the 
fifth  was  sure  to  be  a  Slack  stampede,  unless  some   very  decided  action  was  taken  to  prevent  it. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  Ralston  withdrew,  the  Ralston  forces  not  concealing  the  fact  that  they 
were  favorable  to  Thomas  R.  Marshall.  The  Ralston  withdrawal  resulted  in  all  other  candidates,  save 
L.  Ert  Slack  and  Thomas  R.  Marshall,  doing  the  same  thing.  This  left  but  the  two  candidates  and  by 
general  agreement  they  withdrew  from  the  hall  during  the  call  of  the  roll  on  the  fifth,  and  what 
proved  to  be  the  final  ballot.     Marshall  led  by  just  fifty-six  votes. 

When  the  candidates  returned  to  the  hall  to  hear  the  announcement  the  whole  convention  rose  to 
greet  and  cheer  Slack  when  he  was  called  upon  to  speak.  In  the  final  vote  76  of  the  92  counties  of 
the  State  gave  some  votes  to  Slack.  He  led  in  4Z  countie?  and  was  given  an  equal  division  in  many  of 
the  others. 

In  the  senatorial  contest  in  the  legislative  session  of  1909,  when  Benjamin  F.  Shively  was  elected 
United  States  senator,  L.  Ert  Slack  received  nineteen  votes  on  the  fifth  ballot. 

Mr.  Slack  was  appointed  United  States  Attorney  for  the  district  of  Indiana,  serving  through 
the  administrations  of  Woodrow  Wilson. 


JUDGE  THEODORE  ELLIS  SLINKARD 

Born  one  mile  south  of  Newberry,  Ind.,  October  1,  1866;  received  his  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  Greene  county,  Indiana,  and  at  the  normal  schools  of  the 
county;  taught  school  and  began  study  of  law  with  his  brother,  William  L.  Slinkard, 
in  1893.  Was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  practiced  law  in  Greene  and  surround- 
ing counties  until  November  15,  1912,  when  he  qualified  as  judge  of  the  Greene  cir- 
cuit court,  having  been  elected  at  the  election  held  that  month. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Mattie  Brawand  of  Linton,  Ind.,  September  1,  1889,  and 
they  have  a  family  of  four  girls. 

Judge  Slinkard  opens  court  every  court  day  at  8:30  a.  m.  and  closes  at  6:00  p.  m., 
and  is  always  to  be  found  at  his  post  of  duty. 

I  West  Main  street  in  Bloomfield,  where  any  and  all  persons  who  desire  to  visit  his 
ayal  welcome. 

Judge  Slinkard  has  always  been  an  active  worker  in  the  Democratic  ranks  and  in  the  party  coun- 
sels, and  has  a  high  standing  with  the  rank  and  file  of  that  party,  as  well  as  the  confidence  of 
opposing  party  organizations. 


His  home  is  < 
family  receive  a 


JOHN  D.  SMALLEY 
John  D.  Smalley,  present  mayor  of  Hammond,  has  been  a  resident  of  Indiana 
for  more  than  twenty  years,  is  a  veteran  of  railway  service;  has  been  an  official  of 
the  city  nine  years,  leaving  city  comptrollership  to  take  present  position.  His  admin- 
istration has  been  more  than  praiseworthy  and  many  improvements  in  municipal 
affairs  can  be  traced  to  him. 

Born  at  Upper  Sandusky,  Ohio;  graduating  from  high  school  there  in  1878,  he 
went  to  Nashville,  Tenn.;  returned  to  Ohio  in  1880  and  entered  employ  of  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad,  being  promoted  from  one  position  to  another.  In  1892  he  came  to 
Hammond  as  agent  for  the  Erie  railroad;  in  1903  was  promoted  to  be  supervising 
inspector  joint  rates  bureau  office,  Chicago;  retaining,  however,  his  residence  in  Ham- 
mond. May  1,  1905,  he  was  appointed  comptroller,  and  held  this  position  until  March  8,  1911,  when 
he  filled  vacancy  as  mayor  on  resignation  of  Judge  Lawrence  Becker,  and  was  regularly  elected  mayor 
in   November,   1913. 


J.   W.    SMITH 

For  many  years  J.  W.  Smith  has  been  a  successful  farmer  and  a  stock  man  and  is  now  closely 
identified    with    the    commercial    affairs    of   the    city  of  Gosport. 

Mr.  Smith  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Owen  county,  October  2,  1859.  In  this  wholesome  environ- 
ment his  youth  and  boyhood  were  passed,  and  he  attended  the  schools  of  Gosport.  Early  in  life 
he   entered   the   pursuit   of   agriculture   for   himself. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

On  February  23,  1883,  Mr.  Smith  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Rosa  Vickery,  also  of 
Owen  county.  He  established  his  home  on  a  farm  and  there  remained  until  the  year  1911.  He  is 
well   known   throughout   the   county   as   a   successful  stock  raiser  and  a  shipper  of  grain. 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  an  aggressive  party  worker  and  has  served  as  township  committeeman 
and  as  delegate  to  county,  district  and  state  conventions.  Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  order 
of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

GLENN  A.  SMILEY 
Glenn  A.  Smiley  is  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  popular  of  the  young  lawyers  of 
Fort  Wayne,  and  is  also  regarded  as  one  of  the  stanchest  Democrats  in  Allen  county. 
He  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Indiana,  April  24,  1885,  and  was  graduated  from 
Indiana  University  in  1907  with  an  arts  degree,  and  in  1910  with  an  LL.  B.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1908  and  has  since  February  11,  1911,  been  actively  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  in  Fort  Wayne. 

Mr.  Smiley  takes  a  warm  and  lively  interest  in  all  public  affairs,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  executive  board  of  the  state  branch  of  the  American  Peace  Society,  first 
president  of  the  Associated  Christian  Works  of  Fort  Wayne,  president  of  the  Indiana 
University  Alumni  Association  in  Allen  county,  was  the  principal  organizer  of  the 
Association  of  the  Fort  Wayne  Coterie  Club,  and  is  first  president  of  the  Young  Men's  Forward 
Congress,  of  Fort  Wayne,  an  organization  which  has  for  its  aim  civic  betterment.  His  high  char- 
acter and  recognized  ability  induced  many  of  his  friends  to  urge  him  to  enter  the  Democratic  primary 
in  the  spring  of  1914  as  candidate  for  state  senator,  and  he  received  the  second  highest  vote  in  a 
field  of  six  candidates.  It  is  believed  by  many  that  he  could  easily  have  had  the  nomination  if  he  had 
pledged  himself  to  oppose  legislation  favorable  to  state-wide  prohibition.  Such  a  stand  would  have 
been  opposed  to  his  principles,  his  Democracy  and  his  freedom  of  action;  and  his  refusal  upon  this 
occasion  to  interfere  with  the  trend  of  public  sentiment,  even  for  his  own  benefit,  must  eventually 
redound  to  his  credit  in  the  promising  career  that   lies  ahead  of  him. 

EDWARD  SMITH 

It  is  seldom  the  good  fortune  of  a  man  to  conduct  successfully  a  business  concern  for  forty  years, 
but  this  is  the  record  of  Edward  Smith,  a  leading  citizen  of  Newcastle  and  proprietor  of  a  thriving 
drug  store  since  the  year  1874.  Mr.  Smith  was  born  in  this  state  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1859,  and 
received  his  schooling  in  the  public  schools  of  his  present  home  city.  On  the  25th  day  of  September, 
1882,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Bouslog,  and  their  home  has  extended  its  hos- 
pitality to  many  friends  and  acquaintances  throughout  the  years  that  have  passed.  Six  children  were 
born  to  this  union,  the  only  son,  Howard  R.,  being  a  lieutenant  in  the  aviation  section,  now  with 
the  United  States  forces  in  Europe. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Smith  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  furtherance  of  the  cause 
of  Democracy,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  at  Denver  in  1908.  In  this  year,  also, 
he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  the  city,  serving  in  this  capacity  for  two  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1909  he  was  elected  councilman,  and  this  position  he  has  since  held,  until  his  appointment, 
in  1914,  to  the  greater  responsibilities  of  postmaster  of  the  city. 

JOHN  W.  SMITH,  M.  D. 

The  present  Auditor  of  Switzerland  county  has  evidenced  his  versatility  by  having  achieved  dis- 
tinction in  various  lines  of  endeavor.  Dr.  John  W.  Smith  is  a  native  of  Ontario,  Canada,  born  on  the 
third  day  of  February,  1867.  Here  he  received  his  schooling,  and  after  completing  the  grammar 
grades,  attended  St.  Catherine's  Collegiate  Institute.  Later  a  course  in  medicine  was  taken  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Buffalo,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  after  his  graduation  from  this 
institution  he  located  in  the  city  of  Vevay  and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  medicine  in  Febru- 
ary, 1885. 

On  the  29th  day  of  April,  1891,  he  was  united   in  marriage  to  Miss  Bettie  DuFour. 

Since  coming  to  Indiana,  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  various  campaigns,  laboring  loyally 
for  the  furtherance  of  Democratic  principles.  On  the  first  day  of  January,  1913,  he  assumed  the 
duties  of  auditor  of  Svdtzerland  county,  and  in  this  position  still  serves  with  credit  and  distinction. 


33— History  (  io25  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY—  181 


19  16 


JOHN  LAWRENCE  SMITH 
John  Lawrence  Smith  was  born  in  Connecticut,  November  30,  1860.  His 
father,  a  Union  soldier,  was  killed  in  the  Civil  war  in  1864.  His  mother  died 
in  Bellevue  Hospital,  New  York,  in  1866.  In  May,  1867,  the  boy  was  one 
of  two  hundred  orphan  children  sent  out  from  New  York  to  find  a  home  in 
the  West.  The  first  stop  made  by  the  train  was  at  Williamsport,  Ind.,  where 
the  boy  found  a  home.  After  much  privation  and  many  hardships  he  at- 
tained self-dependence  and  sought  earnestly  to  acquire  an  education.  Until 
nineteen  years  of  age  he  worked  on  the  farm  and  worked  in  the  winter 
months  for  his  board  and  attended  three  months'  terms  of  school.  In  1881 
he  attended  the  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute,  and  in  1882  began 
teaching.  He  taught  for  five  years,  and  in  1887  bought  the  Vermilion  County 
Democrat,  editing  the  paper  for  five  years.  In  1893  he  was  appointed  post- 
master at  Dana,  Ind.,  by  President  Cleveland.  In  1895  he  bought  the  Win- 
chester Democrat,  which  he  published  two  years,  then  sold  out  and  bought  a 
half  interest  in  the  Richmond  (Ind.)  Sun.    In  1899  he  returned  to  Winchester 

and  again  edited  the  Democrat  until  November,  which  he  has  pursued  up  to  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Smith  is  devoted  to  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  and  no  campaign  passes  that  does 

not  call  for  a  defense  from  his  pen  for  the  faith   that  is  in  him.     He  is  credited  with  owning  the 

largest  private  library  in  the  state,  a  good  proportion  of  which  is  made  up  of  books  by  Indiana  authors 

and  pertaining  to  Indiana. 


OMAR  B.  SMITH 

Omar  B.  Smith,  who  bears  the  distinction  of  having  been  the  first  mayor  of  the  city  of  Rochester, 
Indiana,  has  been  for  many  years  closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  that  place.  He  was  born 
in  Indiana  on  the  1st  of  November,  1868,  and  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  Rochester. 
On  the  29th  day  of  December,  1891,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Leila  N.  Copeland,  and  they 
have  since  made  this  city  their  home. 

In  the  fall  of  1909  the  city  of  Rochester  held  its  first  municipal  election  under  its  present  form  of 
government,  and  Mr.  Smith  was  chosen  mayor,  his  term  of  office  extending  from  January  1,  1910,  to 
December  31,  1913. 

He  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  engaged  in  the  banking  business,  and  is  at  present  cashier  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Rochester,  and  president  of  the  Fulton  State  Bank  of  Fulton,  Indiana. 


REUBEN  E.   SMITH 

Reuben  E.  Smith  was  born  in  Owen  county,  Indiana,  September  6,  1879,  movinfj 
with  his  family  to  Clay  county  in  1882.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
and  in  the  Brazil  Business  University,  graduating  in  the  class  of  1910.  He  was  one 
of  the  weighers  at  the  coal  mines  when  he  was  elected  in  1912  to  the  office  of  re- 
corder in  Clay  county,  serving  in  this  position  for  four  years.  While  he  was  re- 
corder he  was  also  secretary  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee,  and  was 
always  an  active  worker  in  the  party. 


R.  CHANNING  M.  SMITH 

R.  Channing  M.  Smith  of  McCordsville,  Ind.,  has  for  many  years  been  identified 
with  public  affairs  of  Marion  and  Hancock  counties  and  enjoys  the  esteem  of  a  wide 
circle  of  acquaintances  and  friends  in  this  section  of  the  State. 

He  was  born  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  near  the  birthplace  of  Patrick  Henry 
and  of  Henry  Clay,  on  the  30th  day  of  January,  1844.  He  attended  the  schools 
of  this  State  until  he  reached  the  age  of  sixteen,  at  which  time  his  parents  came  to 
Marion  county,  Indiana,  settling  upon  a  farm  near  the  town  of  Acton,  and  here  the 
son's  schooling  was  continued.  On  the  3d  day  of  June,  1875,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  A.  Teague.  During  their  residence  in  Marion  county  he  served  as  trustee 
of  Franklin  township  one  term  and  as  assessor  three  terms.     In  the  year  1891  he 


(  1026  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

moved  to  McCordsville,  where  he  has  since  remained.  Here  he  conducted  a  general  store  until  fire 
destroyed  his  stock  in  1906.  He  held  the  position  of  township  trustee  of  Vernon  township,  Hancock 
county,  for  six  years,  retiring  in  1914.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  life-long  Democrat  and  descended  from  a  long 
line  of  Democratic  ancestors. 

JAMES  P.  SNODGRASS 

James  P.  Snodgrass,  an  active  Democratic  worker  of  Hendricks  county  and  resi- 
dent of  Danville,  was  born  in  Clinton  county,  where  his  early  schooling  was  received. 
Later  his  studies  were  continued  at  the  Indiana  State  Normal  of  Terre  Haute  and 
Central  Normal  College  of  Danville.  After  his  graduation  from  the  latter  institu- 
tion he  engaged  in  educational  work,  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  and  later  occupy- 
ing the  position  of  principal  of  the  Danville  public  schools,  where  he  remained  from 
1909  to  1913.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  of  service  he  assumed  the  duties  of 
prosecuting  attorney  for  the  55th  judicial  district,  being  elected  to  this  position  in 
1912,  and  re-elected  in  1914. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  held  a  position  of  influence  in  the  county 
organization,  first  in  Clinton  county  and  later  in  Hendricks,  attending  the  various  state  and  congres- 
sional conventions. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church,  the  Indiana  Democratic  club  and  the  fraternal  orders 
I.  O.  0.  F.  and  Masons. 

J.  FRANK  SNYDER 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  moulding  of  public  opin- 
ion in  the  community  in  which  he  has  served  as  a  newspaper  writer  and  editor  much  of  the  time  for 
the  past  thirty-five  years.  He  has  always  stood  for  the  highest  ideals  of  morals  in  the  community, 
fearless  yet  considerate  in  advocacy  of  things  for  the  community's  welfare  and  uplift. 

He  was  born  in  the  state  of  Ohio  on  the  14th  day  of  December,  1852,  but  in  his  childhood  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Kosciusko  county,  Indiana.  Here  he  attended  the  public  school,  completed  his 
education,  taught  for  several  years,  and  later  became  interested  in  newspaper  work.  In  the  year 
1879  he  came  to  Lagrange  county  and  established  the  Democrat,  the  leading  organ  of  the  party  in 
that  section  of  the  state.  During  the  first  administration  of  President  Grover  Cleveland  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  Lagrange  and  held  the  position  for  nearly  five  years.  Most  of  the  time  since 
his  entry  into  the  county  has  been  spent  in  newspaper  work.  During  all  these  years  he  has  been  a 
consistent  adherent  of  the  tenets  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  has  sought  through  the  organs  which  he 
has  controlled  to  promulgate  the  principles  of  true  Democracy  at  all  times.  He,  for  a  time,  was  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  Lagrange  Democrat-Call,  which  stands  as  the  Democrat  newspaper  of  the  coun- 
ty, and  which  he  established  and  has  been  running  continuously  in  party  service  since  1879,  thus  ex- 
erting a  marked  influence  in  the  community. 

Mrs.  Snyder,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  Kosciusko  county  in  the  year  1878,  was  formerly  Miss 
Gertrude  Hoover,  and  as  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home  her  influence  has  been  of  inestimable  as- 
sistance to  him  in  his  work.  Together  they  have  won  a  large  circle  of  friends  in  the  city  where  they 
have  spent  so  many  years  of  life. 

ALBERT   SPANAGEL 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Lawrenceburg  has  been  for  many  years 
closely  identified  with  the  business  and  political  life  of  the  place.  He  was  born  in 
Lawrenceburg  on  the  20th  day  of  June,  1873,  and  there  his  education  was  re- 
ceived. 

On  the  14th  day  of  Septembebr,  1902,  Mr.  Spanagel  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Jeanette  Emmerson.  To  this  union  have  been  born  four  children,  George,  Lewis, 
whom  death  called  at  the  age  of  four;  Emmerson  G.,  Elizabeth  and  Harry  B. 

For  twelve  years  Mr.  Spanagel  was  engaged  in  the  men's  furnishings  business. 
During  the  period  between  1910  and  1914  he  served  in  the  city  council,  and  in  the 
latter  year  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Lawrenceburg. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


WILLIAM   W.    SPENCER 

William  W.  Spencer,  who  for  many  years  has  been  a  prominent  figure  in  Demo- 
cratic politics  in  Indiana,  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  this  state,  October  7,  1851. 
He  came  of  a  family  which  had  showed  its  loyalty  and  love  for  the  principles  of  De- 
mocracy, so  it  was  only  natural  that  he  should  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  those  who 
had  pone  before. 

Mr.  Spencer  served  his  first  political  apprenticeship  as  a  ward  committeeman  in 
Marion  county  in  1880  and  the  value  of  his  work  in  that  capacity  led  to  a  demand 
that  he  become  a  candidate  for  the  position  of  Democratic  county  chairman.  He 
was  successful  as  a  candidate  and  successful  as  a  chairman,  so  successful,  in  fact, 
that  he  was  re-elected  wthout  trouble.  He  served  his  party  again  as  city  chairs- 
man  on  two  different  occasions.  And  not  rogardin  g  this  service  as  sufficient  to  a  cause  he  loved,  he 
gave  his  time  and  effort  to  the  work  of  legal  advisor  to  the  Democratic  state  committee  for  many 
years. 

Reward,  the  only  reward  he  ever  sought  in  the  way  of  official  position,  came  when  the  Democrats 
sent  Mr.  Spencer  to  the  Indiana  house  of  representatives,  and  when  they  returned  him  to  this  posi- 
tion to  give  further  service  to  the  cause.  The  value  of  Mr.  Spencer's  service  in  this  connection  was 
so  widely  recognized  that  he  has  since  repeatedly  been  appointed  by  Democratic  and  Republican  offi- 
cials to  assist  in  the  interpretation  of  laws  and  in   other  Iceal  work  along  civic  lines. 

Mr.  Spencer  for  many  years  has  made  his  home  in  Indianapolis,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law. 


ALFRED    A.    SPRUNG 

Alfred  A.  Sphung,  a  well-known  citizen  of  North  Judson,  has  had  a  somewhat 
varied  career,  but  throughout  his  life  has  stood  for  the  principles  of  Democracy 
and  for  the  best  in  municipal  government.  Mr.  Sphung  is  a  native  of  the  Dominion 
of  Canada,  born  on  the  15th  day  of  February,  1853,  but  was  reared  in  the  States, 
having  moved  with  his  parents  in  his  boyhood  to  the  state  of  Michigan,  where  he 
received  his  schooling.  As  a  youth  he  entered  the  employ  of  a  steamship  company, 
serving  on  the  Great  Lakes.  During  a  shore  leave  spent  in  Chicago  he  made  a  hasty 
trip  to  Valparaiso  and  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  place  that  he  decided  to  remain 
in  Indiana. 

In  the  year  1880  Mr.  Sphung  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elmira  Jane 
Adams.  After  their  marriage  he  and  his  wife  established  their  home  in  Starke  county,  and  there 
they  have  since  remained.  Mr.  Sphung  served  for  some  time  as  a  member  of  the  town  board  and  in 
1909  was  elected  trustee  for  a  term  of  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period  he  was  re-elected. 
During  this  term  of  service  he  ever  evinced  the  most  conscientious  zeal  and  loyalty  in  the  service  of 
the  public  and  conducted  the  affairs  of  his  office  in  a  clean,  progressive  manner. 
Mr.  Sphung  is  widely  known  as  a  successful  dealer  in  biological  material. 


WILLIAM   F.   SPOONER 

To  the  citizens  of  Porter  county  William  F.  Spooner  needs  no  introduction,  the 
various  positions  of  responsibility  he  has  held  in  Valparaiso,  including  that  of  mayor 
of  the  city  for  a  period  of  eight  years,  having  given  him  a  wide  and  agreeable  ac- 
quaintance throughout  that  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Spooner  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  born  on  the  25th  of 
May,  1848.  He  attended  the  parochial  schools  of  his  home  district,  later  entering 
Holy  Cross  College  at  Worcester,  for  a  course  of  study  in  the  higher  branches.  In 
the  year  1869  he  came  west  and  located  in  Chicago,  where  he  became  actively  in- 
terested in  the  political  affairs  of  the  old  second  ward.  In  1882  he  moved  to  Val- 
paraiso, entering  there  the  grocery  business  in  partnership  with  his  brother-in-law, 
M.  S.  Harrold,  who  then  was  city  treasurer,  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  Mr.  Spooner  soon  be- 
came actively  engaged  in  the  business  and  political  life  of  the  place  and  in  1899  was  elected  alderman 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

for  a  two-ycai-  term.  In  1902  he  was  elected  to  the  high  office  of  mayor  of  the  city,  and  in  that  ca- 
pacity served  until  1906.  In  1910  he  again  was  elected  to  this  position  for  a  further  term  of  four 
years,  and  served  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  party.  During  the  period  from  1908  to  1914 
Mr.  Spooner  served  also  as  county  chairman  for  the  Democratic  organization,  and  has  in  every  possible 
way  been  true  to  the  traditions  of  Massachusetts  Democracy,  it  having  been  said  of  him  that  he  is 
unchangeable  in  his  party  fealty. 

On  August  18,  1874,  Mr.  Spooner  was  married   to  Miss  Anna  Harrold  of  Chicago,  who  has  been 
a  worthy  second  in  the  labors  that  have  shaped  her  husband's  career. 


ALEXANDER  SPYCHALSKI 

An  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  and  one  who  has  con- 
tributed valuable  services  to  the  local  organization  is  Alexander  Spychalski,  the  pres- 
ent clerk  of  Michigan  City. 

He  is  a  native  of  this  State,  born  on  the  3rd  day  of  December,  1888,  in  Laporte 
county.  His  education  was  received  in  the  St.  Stanislaus  school  of  Michigan  City, 
and  since  his  graduation  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  business  and  political  affairs 
of  this  community.  During  the  various  campaigns  through  which  he  has  passed 
since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Spychalski  has  lost  no  opportunity  to  labor  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  interests  of  Democracy. 

On  the  5th  day  of  January,  1914,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  clerk,  his  term 
of  office  to  expire  January  1,  1918.     Prior  to  his  election  to  this  position  of  responsibility  he  was  em- 
ployed  as  bookkeeper  with  the   Midland   Chair   &   Seating  Co. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,   Catholic    order    of    Foresters    and    member    of    St. 
Stanislaus  church. 


JOSEPH  H.  STAHL 

Prominently  identified  with  the  educational  and  political  life  of  Foun- 
tain county  is  Joseph  H.  Stahl.  Mr.  Stahl  was  born  in  Owen  county,  Ind., 
on  the  9th  day  of  January,  1879,  and  there  his  boyhood  days  were  spent.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  Patricksburg  and  after  completing  the  course 
offered  there  entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute,  graduating 
in  1906.  In  the  meantime  he  taught  in  the  public  schools  of  Owen  county, 
and  later  was  assistant  in  German  and  chemistry  in  the  Martinsville  High 
School,  principal  of  the  Hymera  and  Thorntown  high  schools  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  Newtown  schools,  and  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  educational  advancement. 

In  the  year  1911  he  entered  the  Indiana  Law  School  at  Indianapolis, 
and  the  following  year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  the  active  practice 
of  law,  finding  in  the  legal  profession  a  broad  field  for  the  exercise  of  his 
keen  intelligence  and  abounding  energy. 

In  1912  he  was  elected  representative  for  Fountain  county,  receiving  a 
majority  of  thirty-six  above  the  combined  vote  of  two   other   opponents.      During   his   service    in   the 
legislature,  he  was  active  in  its  deliberations,  serving  on  important  committees  and  as  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  education.    He  was  widely  known   as  the  father  of  the  Stahl-Yarling  vocational  edu- 
cation bill. 

He  was  appointed  as  business  manager  of  the  teachers'  and  young  people's  reading  circle  in  1914 
and  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  this  work. 

On  the  22nd  day  of  June,  1906,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Luella  Riffle,  and  she  has  since  pre- 
sided over  his  home,  extending  its  hospitality  to  their  many  friends.  They  have  a  daughter,  Gayle 
Katrine,  to  share  the  comforts  and  add  cheer  to  their  home. 

Mr.  Stahl  is  an  adherent  to  the  Lutheran  faith  and  a  past  chancellor  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
lodge  at   Newtown. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 
WILLIAM  H.  STEMM,  M.  D. 

The  name  of  Dr.  Stemm  is  a  familiar  one  to  the  citizens  of  Jennings  county,  being  that  of  one 
of  their  number  who  has  won  distinction  as  a  physician  and  surgeon,  and  also  as  an  honored  public 
official. 

Dr.  Stemm  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Maryland,  having  been  born  in  the  town  of  Hancock,  sit- 
uated on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  During  his  boyhood  he  attended  a  private  school  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  Fredericktown,  Ohio,  with  the  class  of  1880. 
His  studies  were  further  continued  at  the  University  of  Cincinnati,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the 
medical  department  in  March,  1887. 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  1885,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  New  of  Vernon,  Ind.,  was  solemn- 
ized, and  their  home  was  established  in  the  city  of  North  Vernon.  To  this  union  two  children  were 
born:  Mrs.  Victor  C.  Lochard  and  John  Dudley  Stemm.  He  entered  into  the  active  practice  of 
his  profession  and  has  won  a  position  of  prominence  in  medical  circles  of  the  state.  In  1907  he 
was  unanimously  elected  first  vice-president  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  the  executive  and  finance  committees  of  the  association  for  the  past  ten  years.  He  is 
president  of  the  Jennings  county  society  for  the  study  and  prevention  of  tuberculosis. 

In  1910  he  was  elected  mayor  of  North  Vernon,  serving  for  a  term  of  four  years.  In  April, 
1910,  he  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Jennings  county  Democratic  central  committee  and  was  elected 
to  succeed  himself  twice;  he  has  given  freely  of  his  time  and  energy  to  discharge  the  duties  of  this 
position. 

Dr.  Stemm  is  a  life-long  Democrat  and  has  attended  county,  congressional,  state  and  national 
conventions.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  orders  of  Masons,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Odd  Fellows, 
amongst  whom  he  has  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

His  son,  John  Dudley  Stemm,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years,  was  nominated  and  elected  to 
the  office  of  county  surveyor  in  1914. 


JOHN    WESLEY    STEVENSON 

To  the  citizens  of  the  town  of  Knox  and  vicinity  the  name  of  John  Wesley  Stevenson  is  a 
familiar  one,  its  bearer  being  a  former  official  of  the  township  and  a  business  man  of  the  place. 

Mr.  Stevenson  was  born  in  this  state  on  March  6,  1863.  His  schooling  was  received  in  the 
public  schools  of  Knox  and  he  has  since  remained  in  that  town,  where  his  friendships  have  been 
formed  and  where  his  business  has  been  built  up. 

On  October  20,  1895,  Mr.  Stevenson  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Florence  Montgomery, 
who  has   proved  a  faithful   assistant   in   her  husband's  various  undertakings. 

For  a  period  of  six  years  Mr.  Stevenson  served  as  assessor  of  his  home  township,  while  thus 
serving  bringing  to  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  that  office  conscientious  zeal  and  energy. 
In  th"  year  1914  he  was  again  a  candidate  for  this  position.  He  also  is  widely  known  as  a 
local  dealer  in  metropolitan  newspapers,  serving  the  people  of  his  home  town  with  Chicago, 
Indianapolis    and    South    Bend    papers. 

Politically,  Mr.  Stevenson  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  consistently  voting  the  ticket  and  working  for 
Ihe  cause. 


JAMES  L.   STEWART 

James  L.  Stewart,  whose  residence  is  near  the  city  of  Kokomo,  is  a  loyal  worker  in  the  cause 
of  Democracy  in  Howard  county. 

Mr.  Stewart  is  a  native  of  Johnson  county,  Indiana,  bom  on  July  18,  1865.  He  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Howard  county  in  his  childhood,  ^nd  there  his  schooling  was  received.  After  his  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Lillie  J.  Sedan  he  established  his  home  near  the  site  of  his  former  abode.  Mr.  Stewart 
was  reared  in  the  wholesome  environment  of  the  farm  and  is  still  interested  in  the  pursuit  of 
agriculture. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Stewart  has  been  a  zealous  worker  for  the  cause  of  Democracy 
and   has   served   faithfully   as   precinct   committeeman  and  as  committeeman  of  the  second  district. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

GEORGE  W.  STIDGER 

George  W.  Stidger  of  Kokomo  was  born  in  the  State  of  Ohio  on  the  6th  day  of  January,  1839, 
but  in  his  childhood  accompanied  his  parents  to  the  State  of  Iowa  and  later  to  Tennessee,  in  both  of 
which  States  he  attended  school.  On  the  11th  day  of  June,  1877,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
L.  L.  Henderson.  He  has  been  a  diligent  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  and  served 
in  the  city  council  for  five  and  one-half  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  assumed  the  duties 
of  mayor  of  the  city.  His  administration  was  marked  by  progress,  always  keeping  in  mind  the  best 
interests  of  the  people,  and  many  reforms  were  undertaken  and  completed. 


H.    E.    STINGER 

One  of  the  most  active  Democratic  workers  of  Franklin  county  for  many  years  is  H.  E.  Stinger, 
a  citizen  of  Brookville  and  a  native  of  the  county.  He  was  born  June  6,  1866,  on  a  farm  nine  miles 
east  of  Brookville,  and  attended  the  district  schools  of  Springfield  township.  On  the  first  day  of 
January,  1891,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Clara  C.  Kimball,  and  to  them  have  been  born 
nine  children,  the  youngest  of  whom  bears  the  name  Woodrow  Wilson.  In  November,  1905,  Mr. 
Stinger  was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county,  assuming  the  duties  of  office  January  1,  1906,  his  term 
of  office  expiring  with  the  close  of  1909.  He  served  his  party  as  precinct  committeeman  for  twenty- 
five  years.  He  served  as  doorkeeper  of  the  house  of  representatives  of  the  general  assembly  of  In- 
diana for  three  sessions,  and  has  been  a  regular  attendant  at  the  state  conventions  of  the  party. 
Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  among  whom  he  has  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 


J.    M.    STINSON 

J.  M.  Stinson  was  born  in  Missouri  on  March  27,  1875.  When  but  a  lad  he  moved  with  his  parents 
to  Kentucky,  where  he  grew  up.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  borrowed  twelve  dollars  to  get  to  Val- 
paraiso, Indiana,  where,  without  funds,  he  entered  the  college  at  that  place.  Working  his  way 
through,  he  was  graduated  at  the  end  of  four  years,  in  1897.  In  that  same  year  he  located  in 
Hammond  and  has  there  won  success  in  both  law  and  business.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  federal  court  June  5,  1901. 

Mr.  Stinson  represents  several  banks  and  other  large  businesses  as  an  attorney.  He  is  president 
of  the  Gary  Granite,  Brick  &  Stone  Co.,  president  of  the  Clarence  I.  Hoffman  Construction  Co. 
and  president  of  Employes  Real  Estate  &  Investment  Co.  at  Indiana  Harbor.  Mr.  Stinson  is  a 
member  of  the  Hammond  Country  Club,  the  Garfield  Club,  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Ham- 
mond Motor  Boat  Club.  He  is  prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  being  a  Knight  Templar  and  Mystic 
Shriner.  He  also  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Elks,  Modern  Woodmen  and  Royal 
League. 

On  August  11,  1897,  Mr.  Stinson  married  Florence  Anna  Wolcott  of  Glidden,  Iowa,  and  to  this 
union  two  children  have  been  born. 


DR.   CHARLES   I.    STOTELMYER 

Dr.  Charles  I.  Stotelmyer,  a  prominent  physician  of  Hagerstown,  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Fred- 
erick county,  Maryland,  September  7,  1859.  There  he  received  his  early  schooling,  and  after  his 
graduation  from  the  high  school  entered  the  state  normal  school  for  further  work.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  he  entered  the  educational  field,  and  for  eight  years  taught  in  the  public  schools. 
In  the  year  1885  he  became  engaged  in  newspaper  work,  publishing  a  weekly  paper  in  Wolfsville, 
Md.,  and  there  served  as  postmaster  under  President  Cleveland.  Three  years  later  he  entered  the 
University  of  Maryland,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1892.  He  also  took  a  clinical 
course  at  Johns  Hopkins  University.  Upon  the  completion  of  this  medical  course  Dr.  Stotelmyer 
came  to  Indiana,  locating  at  Hagerstown,  where  he  has  since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession. 

In  the  year  1884  Dr.  Stotelmyer  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ellen  Hayes,  who  died  in  Janu- 
ary, 1886,  leaving  two  children.  In  1892  the  Doctor  married,  secondly,  Miss  Sarah  A.  Brown  of 
Wayne  county. 

In  the  fall  of  1909  Dr.  Stotelmyer  was  elected    trustee  of  Jefferson  township,  his  home  township. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

for  a  term  of  six  years.     At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  entered  the  field  as  candidate  for  joint 
senator  from  Wayne  and  Union  counties. 

Dr.  Stotelmyer  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  order  and  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  is  a  member  of  the  Wayne,  Western  Wayne  and  Jefferson  township  Democratic  clubs. 


EVAN  B.  STOTSENBURG 
Evan  B.  Stotsenburg  was  born  at  New  Albany,  Indiana,  May  16,  1865, 
the  son  of  John  H.  and  Jane  F.  (Miller)  Stotsenburg.     His  father  had  been 
a  practicing  attorney  at  New  Albany  since   1852,  continuing  there  to  his 
death,  which  occurred  June  7,  1909. 

Evan  B.  Stotsenburg,  after  completing  the  grade  and  high  school 
course  at  New  Albany,  attended  the  University  of  Louisville  and  Kenyon 
College,  Ohio.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  May  17,  1886,  practicing  after- 
wai-d  with  his  father  at  New  Albany.  Following  his  father's  retirement 
and  death  he  continued  to  practice  alone  until  1900,  when  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  John  H.  Weathers  which  still  continues.  He  represented 
his  county  in  the  59th  General  Assembly  and  was  state  senator  from  1905 
to  1913,  in  1911  being  president  pro  tem  of  the  senate.  His  excellent  judg- 
ment made  him  always  a  leader  in  the  two  bodies  during  his  terms. 

In    1915    Governor    Ralston    appointed    Mr.    Stotsenburg    as    attorney- 
general,  to  fill  out  the  term  of  Richard  M.  Milburn,  who  died  while  in  office. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Floyd  county  and  State  bar  associations,  a  Mason, 
E'k,  Knight  of  Pythias  and  one  of  the  best  Democrats  in  the  State  of  Indiana.     He  was  always  one 
of  the  strongest  campaigners  in  the  State  for  the   Democratic  cause  and  in  several  campaigns  was 
selected  to  make  the  keynote  addresses. 

Mr.  Stotsenburg  was  married  to  Zenobia  Bordsn  in  1892. 


WILLIAM  MARTIN  STROBEL 

A  gentleman  who  has  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  cause  of  Democracy 
in  Clay  county  is  William  Martin  Strobel.  He  was  born  in  Jackson  township.  Clay  county,  on  the 
19th  day  of  September,  1881,  the  date  of  the  burial  of  President  Garfield.  His  education  was  re- 
ceived in  the  public  schools  of  the  county,  and  later  in  the  State  Normal  School  at  Valparaiso.  After 
his  graduation,  he  taught  school  for  a  number  of  years,  later  taking  up  clerical  work,  which  he  has 
followed  for  the  past  twelve  years.  He  was  formerly  city  councilman  for  the  first  ward  in  Brazil, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1912  was  elected  clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  his  term  of  office  to  expire  in  1916.  His 
wife  was  formerly  Miss  Mary  E.  Salladay  and  to  them  has  been  born  one  son.  Mr.  Strobel  is  affili- 
ated with  the  Masonic  and  Elks  lodges. 


FREDERICK  STRITTER 

Frederick  Stritter,  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democracy  of 
Vanderburg  county  since  the  year  1890  and  the  very  efficient  incumbent  of 
the  office  of  county  recorder,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred on  the  23d  day  of  March,  1849,  in  Wetterau.  When  but  two  and  one- 
half  years  of  age,  however,  he  was  brought  to  America  by  his  parents,  at 
which  time  they  located  in  the  East.  After  a  short  interval  they  emigrated 
to  the  State  of  Kentucky  and  still  later  settled  in  Mt.  Vernon,  Ind.  Here 
the  son  Frederick  received  his  schooling,  but  his  education  has  continued 
until  the  present,  as  he  is  by  nature  studious  and  seeking  at  all  times  to  en- 
large his  fund  of  knowledge. 

On  the  16th  day  of  January,  1884,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Amelia  K.  Schmitt,  and  later  their  home  was  established  in  Evansville. 

During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Stritter  was  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the 
cause  of  the  Union,  and  during  the  years  immediately  following  this  struggle 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  running  for  the  office  of  Secretary 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

of  state  in  1887.  However,  in  1890,  being  a  strong  adherent  of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only  and  not 
being  in  sympathy  with  the  Republican  high  tariff  ideas  of  the  day,  he  returned  to  the  ranks  of 
Democracy,  and  since  this  time  has  labored  zealously  for  the  advancement  of  the  cause. 

Although  a  stanch  adherent  of  Democratic  principles,  he  has  not  been  known  as  an  office  seeker, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  year  1910  that  he  actively  entered  the  race  for  public  office.  In  this  year 
he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  recorder,  and  in  this  capacity  is  now  serving  his  second 
term,  and  so  far  the  affairs  of  the  office  have  been  administered  with  great  efficiency  and  loyalty 
to  the  interests  of  the  public. 

FREDERICK  V.   STUCKY,   M.   D. 

Dr.  Frederick  V.  Stucky,  physician  and  druggist  of  Gosport,  was  born  in  that  city  February  12, 
1862.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  home  town  and  after  graduating  from  the  high  school 
entered  Earlham  College  for  work  in  the  higher  branches.  Later  a  course  in  medicine  was  pursued 
at  the  University  of  Louisville,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  year  1884.  Returning  to  Gos- 
port he  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  and  there  he  has  since  remained. 

Dr.  Stucky  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of  pension  examiners.  Three  times  he  was  elected  to 
the  office  of  coroner,  but  in  each  instance  refused  to  qualify  for  that  service.  He  holds  membership 
in  the  county  and  state  medical  associations  and  in  the  state  pharmaceutical  society.  He  also  is  affili- 
ated with  the  Methodist  church  and  with  the  Masons  and  Knights  of  Pythias. 

On  December  27,  1888,  Dr.  Stucky  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Magnolia  Campbell. 

SILAS  E.  SWAIM 

Silas  E.  Swaim,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  editor  and  publisher  of 
the  Hammond  Daily,  is  known  throughout  northern  Indiana  as  a  leader  in 
the  ranks  of  the  Democracy  of  that  section  and  the  consistent  promulgator 
of  the  principles  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 

Mr.  Swaim  was  born  in  Boone  county  on  "the  6th  day  of  January,  1865, 
and  attended  the  public  schools  of  Zionsville,  and  later  the  Ladoga  Normal. 
Early  in  his  career  he  launched  into  the  field  of  journalism  at  Zionsville,  and 
finding  here  the  profession  for  which  he  seemed  best  fitted,  he  has  remained 
with  rare  tenacity  of  purpose.  In  the  year  1890  he  established  the  Hammond 
Daily,  and  this  organ  has  been  long  known  and  respected  for  its  unvarying 
position  on  the  side  of  right  and  justice  and  its  progressive  attitude  on  ques- 
tions affecting  the  development  of  the  community. 

On  the  1st  day  of  February,  1911,  Mr.  Swaim  was  appointed  deputy 
oil  inspector,  and  in  this  field  he  has  also  rendered  valuable  service  to  the 
commonwealth. 

Mrs.  Swaim,  to  whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  on  the  15th  day  of  September,  1888,  was  former- 
ly Miss  Flota  B.  Wood,  of  Zionsville,  Ind.,  and  has  been  associated  with  Mr.  Swaim  and  a  co-worker 
in  all  his  newspaper  career. 

Politically,  Mr.  Swaim  has  never  wavered  from  the  Democratic  principles,  and  in  the  various  cam- 
paigns through  which  he  has  passed  his  services  to  the  party,  by  personal  effort  and  through  the  col- 
umns of  the  press,  have  been  invaluable.  He  is  considered  the  best  informed  man  in  regard  to  Demo- 
cratic affairs  in  Lake  county. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  K.  of  P.,  I.  O.  O.    F.,  Maccabees  and  Woodmen. 

ALLEN  SWOPE 

For  many  years  a  public  official  of  Seymour  and  a  leading  citizen  of  Jackson  county,  Allen 
Swope  is  so  well  known  that  little  introduction  is  needed  in  speaking  of  him  in  that  community. 

Mr.  Swope  was  born  in  Vernon  township,  Jackson  county,  on  the  14th  day  of  January,  1856. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district  and  later  continued  his  studies  at  Wabash  College. 
After  his  marriage  to  Miss  Laura  Bain,  also  a  native  of  Jackson  county  and  Vernon  township,  he 
established  his  home  in  the  city  of  Seymour. 

In  the  year  1880  Mr.  Swope  was  elected  trustee  of  Vernon  township,  and  so  faithfully  did  he 
perform  the  duties  of  that  office  that  he  was  twice  re-elected.  In  the  year  1892  he  was  elected 
representative  from  his  county  to  the  state  legislature,  and  again  the  faithful  performance  of  the 
duties  involved  gained  his  re-election  twice.  In  November,  1909,  he  was  elected  mayor  and  in  1914 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  Seymour. 

(  1033  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY  —  181 


19  16 


ANDREW   M.   TAFF 


A  true  representative  of  Jefferson  county,  bor 
identified  with  the  business  and  political  life  of  the 
as  a  representative  citizen. 

Mr.  Tatf  was  born  on  the  16th  day  of  January, 
lie  schools  of  Jefferson  county,  later  continuing  hi 
counties.  He  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  i 
prietor  of  a  successful  livery  and  undertaking  bus 
April,  1878,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  E 

On  the  1st  day  of  January,  1911,  Mr.  Taff  as 
and  for  three  years  his  time  was  devoted  to  this  w 
work  of  the  Democratic  organization  in  his  com 
for  the  best  interest  of  his  party. 


n  and  reared  within  its  borders  and  for  many  years 
community,  Andrew  M.  Taff  is  highly  esteemed 

1855,  near  his  present  home,  and  attended  the  pub- 
s  studies  in  the  high  schools  of  Scott  and  Clark 
n  farming  and  has  for  many  years  been  the  pro- 
iness  in  the  town  of  Deputy.  On  the  25th  day  of 
mma  Mills. 

sumed  the  duties  of  auditor  of  Jefferson  county, 
ork.  He  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
munity  and  has  given  freely  of  his  time  and  means 


SENATOR  THOMAS  TAGGART 

If  nothing  were  ever  written  of  the  accomplishments  of 
Senator  Thomas  Taggart  in  a  political  or  in  any  other  way 
until  he  were  induced  to  talk  of  them  or  discuss  them  person- 
ally, then  nothing  would  ever  be  written.  A  great  part  of  his 
schooling  in  a  successful  political  and  business  career  was  to 
keep  his  own  counsel,  to  talk  of  these  things  only  when  he 
talked  to  some  purpose  looking  to  accomplishment.  Once  ac- 
complished, he  was  ever  too  busy  with  new  efforts  to  stop  to 
discuss  what  was  in  the  past. 

So  it  happened  that  whatever  was  to  be  told  must  be  from 
those  who  had  associated  with  him,  or  whatever  the  memory 
of  the  writer  might  revive.  With  all  this  there  never  was  in 
this  or  in  any  other  State  a  more  interesting  personage  or 
career  in  either  business  or  politics  to  the  general  reader, 
whether  acquaintance  or  not. 

It  would  be  overlooking  the  greatest  element  that  shaped 
his  career  of  success  if  the  writer  did  not  stop  long  enough  to 
observe  that  his  spirit  of  absolute  unselfishness  and  his  efforts 
to  serve  others,  without  ostentation,  were  one  of  the  most 
potent  factors  in  his  phenomenal  success.  Few  men  ever  had 
so  many  friends  who  were  always  happy  to  claim  such  friend- 
ship. To  these  he  assigned  a  large  part  of  the  credit  for  what 
he  was  able  to  do.  But  while  he  exaggerated  this  notion  in  his  own  mind,  he  was  never  inclined  to 
discuss  it  for  the  one  reason,  no  doubt,  that  it  might  presuppose  he  had  accomplished  something 
unusual. 

Sufficient  of  early  history  to  recite  that  when  he  started  his  business  journey  at  Xenia,  Ohio, 
cleaning  out  the  depot  lunch  room  and  beating  the  old-fashioned  gong  "when  the  train  comes  in,"  he 
started  as  a  bare-foot,  dirty-face  lad,  for  in  that  day  they  were  not  known  as  "kids."  He  was  just  a 
plain,  uninteresting,  freckle-face  youngster,  when  the  freckles  could  be  seen  under  the  foreign  sub- 
stance— for  one  thing  he  freely  admitted,  always,  was  far  from  caring  whether  his  face  was  ever 
washed. 

One  day  some  nice  woman  who  thought  she  saw  .something  out  of  the  ordinary  in  young  Taggart 
took  the  trouble  to  tell  him  how  much  nicer  he  would  look  if  he  had  a  clean  face.  It  sort  of  set  him 
to  thinking,  and  he  began  to  "spruce  up"  and  he  became  the  cleanest  "fixture"  in  the  lunch  room. 
About  the  same  time  the  man  who  was  bossing  the  place  told  him  about  the  corners  of  the  room  not 
being  scrubbed  clean,  and  from  that  time  he  got  busy  cleaning  the  corners  and  found  how  much 
nicer  things  looked. 

He  learned  something  then  that  stayed  '.vith  him  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  he  never  forgot  the 
importance  of  impressing  the  same  notion  upon  his  employes  at  the  French  Lick  Springs  hotel.     One 


(  1034  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

of  the  greatest  of  the  characteristics  of  that  place  i?  the  absolute  cleanliness  of  the  grounds  and  mag- 
nificent buildings.  They  are  not  only  so  clean  that  they  would  make  the  gold  dust  twins  or  the  sun- 
bonneted  Dutch  maidens  with  mops  and  brooms  really  ashamed  of  their  untidiness,  but  the  peculiar 
thing  is  that  the  guests  about  the  place  never  saw  any  of  the  cleaning  being  done.  Just  how  he  man- 
ages that  part  of  it  is  the  Taggart  invention  which    is  different  from  most  other  hotels. 

But  to  return  to  the  individual.  Naturally,  in  such  a  publication  as  this,  a  great  part  of  the 
history  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Indiana  must  reflect  and  recite  the  individual  doings  of  Thomas 
Taggart.  He  is  a  large  part  of  the  party  history.  He  must  be  so  from  the  very  nature  of  things. 
Yet  were  the  publication  incomplete  without  some  direct  reference  after  this  fashion  to  some  of  the 
things  he  did,  taking  largely  some  of  those  which  more  than  anything  else  serve  to  illustrate  the 
character  and  business  superiority  of  the  man. 

Briefly,  forced  to  earn  in  order  that  he  might  live,  education  of  the  school-room  variety  must 
take  the  second  place.  It  was  because  a  certain  young  public  school  teacher  thought  she  saw  some- 
thing unusual  in  the  youngster's  ability,  and  his  wish  to  be  taught,  that  she  agreed  to  give  him  her 
evenings,  or  a  part  of  them,  for  study  and  recitation  of  the  common-school  branches.  While  work- 
ing in  the  Xenia  depot  lunch  room  he  got  through  this  teacher  whatever  he  got  in  the  nature  of 
"school  learning."    The  rest  of  his  substantial  and  practical  education  came  from  hard  knocks. 

When  this  young  man  had  grown,  and  when  he  became  United  States  senator  from  Indiana,  one 
of  the  first  letters  to  reach  him,  and  one  of  the  "lost  prized,  was  from  that  school  teacher.  "She 
is  married  now  and  has  a  fine  family  of  her  own  "  he  remarked  as  he  re-read  the  letter,  "but  I 
will  address  her  by  her  maiden  name — the  name  by  which  I  knew  her  in  my  kid  days."  This  letter 
was  laid  aside  to  be  answered  with  pen  and  ink. 

From  gong-beater  and  the  freckle-face  pusher  of  brooms  and  mops,  he  went  by  various  stages 
to  the  management  of  the  lunch  room  and  was  glad  to  raise  himself.  Then  he  was  transferred  to 
northern  Indiana  as  manager  of  a  larger  lunch  room,  and  still  later  to  Indianapolis  to  run  the  lunch 
room  in  the  union  depot.  That  was  not  only  an  important  step  upward,  but  it  was  where  he  started 
to  interest  himself  in  the  active  political  game.  The  old  depot  was  a  sort  of  center  for  the  leaders 
who  formed  the  working  organization,  and  Thomas  Taggart  was  soon  one  of  them.  Sooner  than 
they  had  anticipated  he  was  their  leader.  They  were  glad  to  follow  him,  for  he  had  shown  them 
how  to  do  things  that  spelled  success. 

His  ambition  extended  beyond  the  management  of  the  lunch  room  even  of  the  Indianapolis 
union  depot,  and  he  opened  the  Grand  hotel,  which  not  only  remained  the  center  of  the  Democratic 
party  activities  of  the  state  for  a  number  of  years,  but  also  was  a  most  successful  hotel  property 
under  the  Taggart  management.     It  was  the  beginning  of  the  Taggart  hotel  successes. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Mr.  Taggart  decided  to  become  a  candidate  for  oflice  on  his  own  ac- 
count. He  had  spent  a  number  of  years  and  much  eff'orts  putting  others  into  official  positions. 
That  had  been  his  pleasure.  He  became  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  office  of  auditor  of  Ma- 
rion county.  Twice  he  was  elected;  each  time  with  an  increasingly  bitter  fight  from  the  opposition 
press,  since  his  popularity  was  developing  into  a  dangerous  thing  for  the  opposing  party  to  meet. 

When  first  nominated  for  auditor  he  was  none  too  flush  with  funds.  So  the  story  has  been 
told  that  one  of  those  big-hearted,  old-fashioned  and  frugal  Irish  women  who  had  been  in  his 
employ  for  a  long  time,  one  much  older  than  himself,  and  at  least  more  thoughtful  for  the  future 
comforts,  had  saved  a  good  part  of  her  earnings;  that  she  came  forward  and  placed  her  savings 
at  his  disposal  with:  "Tommy,  my  boy,  you  have  no  money  to  make  your  race.  You  have  always 
spent  all  your  money  to  get  things  for  the  other  boys.  You  are  going  to  be  elected  sure.  Use  this 
to  help  make  it  sure." 

He  took  the  money.  He  probably  never  useS  a  cent  of  it,  but  put  it  in  the  bank  to  keep  for  her. 
He  would  not  have  hurt  her  feelings  by  refusing  her  the  happiness  of  participating  in  his  success. 
When  he  became  United  States  senator  there  was  another  letter  in  the  mail  to  congratulate  him.  It 
carried  a  postmark  from  some  place  over  in  Illinois.  He  read  it  through  several  times,  for  it  was 
brief,  and  his  only  comment  was,  "There  is  a  dear  old  soul,"  as  he  laid  it  aside  for  a  special  answer. 
It  has  been  told,  though  not  by  Senator  Taggart,  that  the  woman  who  wrote  the  letter  is  living  in  a 
pretty  little  home  over  in  Illinois,  in  the  town  of  her  nativity. 

In  his  last  race  for  county  auditor  Mr.  Taggart's  opponent  was  a  friend  and  neighbor  and  one 
who  could  ill  aff'ord  the  expenses  of  his  campaign.  The  morning  after  election  day  the  two  of  them 
met  on  the  rear  platform  going  down  town.  "How  much  did  it  cost  you.  Bill?"  was  one  of  the  Tag- 
gart questions.  They  rode  on  down  town  together.  They  went  to  the  bank  together  and  in  some  man- 
ner "Bill,"  no  matter  about  his  real  name,  knew  that  his  bank  account  had  been  made  whole.  He  went 
to  his  .iob  that  morning  feeling  much  better  satisfied  with  the  outlook  for  the  wife  and  kiddies. 

(  1035  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

During  his  second  term  as  auditor  Mr.  Taggart  became  candidate  for  mayor  of  Indianapolis,  re- 
signing his  county  office  to  malce  the  race.  Three  times  he  was  elected  mayor,  and  each  time  with  in- 
creased newspaper  abuse  and  increased  majorities.  The  newspaper  comment  on  the  result  on  one 
occasion,  following  the  campaign  in  which  President  Benjamin  Harrison  was  called  upon  to  take  part 
and  did  take  part  in  the  fight  against  him,  was  that  "it  was  impossible,  even  with  the  influence  of  the 
president  thrown  into  the  fight,  to  break  the  solid  vote  of  the  Democrats  or  to  keep  hundreds  of  Re- 
publicans who  are  special  friends  and  admirers  of  Thomas  Taggart  from  voting  for  him.  He  led 
his  ticket  by  at  least  several  hundred."     This  from  the  paper  that  fought  him  most  bitterly. 

When  Mr.  Taggart  decided  for  the  time  being  to  retire  from  holding  office  and  devote  himself  to 
his  personal  affairs,  taking  over  the  French  Lick  Springs  hotel  properties,  the  newspapers  which  had 
fought  him  politically  rejoiced  in  the  clearing  of  the  political  situation  and  proceeded  to  do  all  in 
their  power  to  destroy  or  prevent  his  business  success.  Nothing  known  to  the  art  of  destroying  other 
men's  legitimate  business  was  ever  overlooked  by  these  agencies  to  make  whatever  he  did  a  failure. 
He  never  knew  a  business  failure.  The  abuse  by  the  press  was  because  he  would  not  retire  from  polit- 
ical activities  of  all  sorts.  Despite  the  destructive  methods  used  against  him,  and  because  of  the  busi- 
ness acumen  of  Thomas  Taggart,  his  success  grew  to  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  rapidity  and 
size  of  development  that  has  ever  been  accomplished  in  the  hotel  world. 

His  power  in  political  things  never  decreased.  His  one  diversion  was  politics  and  doing  things 
for  his  friends.  He  liked  "to  help  the  boys  along,"  as  he  expressed  it.  His  influence  in  party  affairs 
for  years  was  national.  No  other  man  was  ever  more  continuously  and  conspicuously  a  factor  in 
shaping  the  doings  of  both  state  and  national  conventions.  No  other  man  ever  did  these  things  more 
successfully  or  with  so  little  ostentation  or  apparent  effort.  He  always  chose  to  make  himself  the 
least  conspicuous  worker  about  any  convention,  but  his  hand  was  the  deciding  power  in  shaping  re- 
sults. In  the  conventions  which  named  Grover  Cleveland,  the  men  who  attended  from  other  states 
have  told  many  times  how  "Tom  Taggart  was  the  general  who  kept  things  moving  to  results." 

In  1904  at  St.  Louis,  where  Parker  was  named  as  the  party  candidate,  Mr.  Taggart  incurred 
some  eternal  enmities  because  of  his  opposition  to  others  who,  he  believed,  would  be  less  desirable  to 
the  voters  of  the  nation  than  Alton  B.  Parker. 

In  1908  Mr.  Taggart  was  again  the  recognized  leader  of  the  Democratic  national  convention  at 
Etenver.  That  was  when  John  Worth  Kern  was  named  as  the  running  mate  of  William  Jennings 
Bryan.  At  the  time  of  holding  the  convention  Mr.  Taggart  was  national  chairman.  As  a  token  of 
their  appreciation  of  his  "know-how"  in  doing  things  that  amount  to  something,  the  other  Waders  who 
had  followed  presented  him  a  Rocky  Mountain  "canary" — one  having  the  largest  ears,  the  most 
determined  looking  disposition  and  the  loudest  "hee-haw"  of  the  species.  They  delivered  it  to  his 
room  on  the  ninth  floor  of  the  Brown  Palace  hotel  during  his  absence,  and  tied  it  to  the  bed. 

The  convention  at  Baltimore,  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  history  of  the  country,  as  later 
developments  demonstrated  beyond  any  chance  of  dispute,  is  best  described  by  William  F.  McCombs, 
to  whom  was  ascribed  the  credit  for  nominating  Woodrow  Wilson,  and  to  whose  persistent  efforts  the 
results  were  of  course  due,  notwithstanding  all  that  was  said  of  the  Bryan  performances.  But  Mc- 
Combs did  not  claim  it  all  by  a  whole  lot.    He  paid  tribute  to  the  generalship  of  Thomas  Taggart. 

Sitting  in  the  lobby  of  the  big  French  Lick  Springs  hotel,  some  months  after  Woodrow  Wilson 
had  been  elected  and  when  the  second  nomination  was  the  thing  before  the  people,  Mr.  McCombs 
pointed  to  the  little  office  away  across  the  big  space  and  remarked :  "There  is  the  real  general 
who  made  Woodrow  Wilson  president  and  Thomas  R.  Marshall  vice-president.  I  was  there  and  I 
ought  to  know.  I  was  given  lots  of  credit  for  nominating  Wilson  because  I  had  carried  on  the  fight 
long  before  the  convention  met.  Without  the  seasoned  generalship  of  Tom  Taggart  in  the  convention 
it  might  never  have  happened  as  it  did.  He  knew  when  and  how  to  make  the  move  and  turn.  He 
had  worked  through  the  long  hours  and  days  and  nights,  being  never  far  in  the  foreground,  shap- 
ing things  in  such  a  way  that  at  the  proper  moment  he  could  control  the  finishing  moves.  The  big  con- 
vention had  never  got  to  the  point,  in  all  the  excitement  and  turmoil,  where  the  proper  thing  to  do 
could  not  be  shown  them. 

"The  night  before  the  nomination  was  made  I  had  gone  to  my  room  entirely  worn  out.  Sleep 
had  been  the  last  thing  to  think  about.  I  was  afraid  if  I  went  to  sleep  something  might  happen  to 
my  candidate's  chances.  It  was  about  ten  o'clock  that  night  when  a  boy  came  to  my  room  and  asked 
if  I  would  please  go  to  the  room  of  William  Jennings  Bryan.  Of  course  I  went,  wearing  only  my 
bathrobe.  When  I  went  in  I  shall  not  forget  the  sight.  Bryan  standing  with  his  profile  facing  me; 
and  never  turning.  His  hair  was  all  in  a  frenzy.  Suspenders  down..  Big  trousers  bagging  at  the  knees 
and  sagging  from  the  belt.  Loose,  spreading  carpet  slippers.  Brown  Nebraska  undershirt.  You  can 
imagine  the  picture  as  the  army  of  stenographers  and  secretaries  scurried  to  cover. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

"Without  turning  his  face  toward  me  he  drew  his  lips  in  a  tight  straight  line  and  proceeded: 
"  'McCombs,  Wilson  can  never  be  nominated.     Clark   can   never   be   nominated.     Marshall   surely 
can  never  be  nominated.     We  must  put  forward  a  progressive  Democrat  for  the  presidency.' 

"  "Bryan,'  I  answered  him,  'I  could  reach  out  my  hand  and  touch  the  progressive  Democrat  you 
mention.  You  have  sent  for  the  last  man  in  the  convention  you  ought  to  have  called.  If  this  is  all 
you  have  to  say  it  is  not  even  interesting.  Good  night.'  He  made  no  response  and  I  left  him  stand- 
ing looking  at  the  wall. 

"I  went  straight  to  the  room  of  Tom  Taggart.  I  told  him  what  had  passed  between  Bryan  and 
me.  Then  I  simply  said:  'How  does  Wilson  look  to  you  at  this  time  as  our  man  for  president?' 
His  answer  was:  'McCombs,  how  does  Tom  Marshall  look  to  you  for  vice-president?'  'Fine,'  I  as- 
sured him,  'as  the  running  mate  of  Woodrow  Wilson.'  We  agreed.  The  next  day,  Taggart  having 
his  forces  entirely  ready  for  action,  Wilson  was  soon  nominated. 

"Then,  as  we  had  agreed,  and  as  both  of  us  like  to  keep  our  agreements,  I  walked  through  the 
aisles  of  the  convention,  visiting  each  delegation,  and  passing  the  word  that  Wilson  wanted  Tom 
Marshall  for  his  running  mate,  having  Wilson's  word  to  that  effect  in  advance,  and  the  whole  job  was 
soon  over.  It  was  over  and  a  good  job,  because  Tom  Taggart  is  the  sort  of  general  that  knows  how, 
and  who  does  things  in  the  proper  way  and  at  the  proper  time." 

Added  to  this  testimonial,  here  is  a  part  that  comes  by  repetition  from  neither  of  the  principals, 
but  is  related  by  one  of  two  others  present.  Mr.  Taggart  was  at  lunch  in  the  Denison  hotel  at  Indi- 
anapolis with  two  of  the  Indiana  delegates  to  the  Baltimore  convention.  They  had  just  reached  home. 
Thomas  R.  Marshall,  who  was  still  governor  of  Indiana,  and  had  just  been  nominated  for  vice-presi- 
dent, crossed  the  dining  room  to  shake  hands  with  the  party,  saying  as  he  did  so:  "I  want  you  to 
know,  Tom  Taggart,  that  I  know  and  fully  appreciate  that  you  nominated  me  for  vice-president; 
that  it  was  your  work  alone  that  placed  me  on  the  ticket;  and  I  want  to  thank  you  most  heartily." 
Mr.  Marshall  also  appreciated  that  his  first  entrance  into  politics  as  the  party  nominee  for  gov- 
ernor of  Indiana  was  due  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Taggart.  The  effort  had  been  to  nominate'  Samuel 
M.  Ralston  in  the  state  convention  of  1908,  and  Mr.  Taggart  had  believed  it  a  good  thing  to  give 
the  several  candidates  some  preliminary  votes  of  a  complimentary  kind.  In  doing  so  the  combina- 
tions were  slipping  and  Mr.  Ralston  was  prevailed  upon  to  retire  from  the  contest,  Mr.  Taggart 
taking  the  floor  for  Thomas  R.  Marshall  and  nominating  him  on  the  next  ballot.  Mr.  Taggart  was 
the  power  dominating  and  organizing'  the  forces  that  made  possible  the  election  of  Marshall  that 
same  year.  It  is  violating  no  confidence  to  say  that  Governor  Marshall  fully  expected  the  nomina- 
tion for  the  presidency  at  Baltimore  in  1912,  when  Mr.  Taggart  led  his  forces.  He  set  his  mind  on 
the  bigger  job  the  day  he  became  governor  of  Indiana.  The  effort  to  make  him  the  presidential 
nominee  resulted  in  his  nomination  for  second  place. 

In  the  Democratic  organization  Thomas  Taggart  has  served  in  all  capacities,  from  precinct  com- 
mitteeman to  national  chairman.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Democratic'  na- 
tional committee   and   he   served   as  chairman   from  1904  to  1908. 

In  1916,  upon  the  death  of  United  States  Senator  Benjamin  F.  Shively,  Governor  Samuel  M.  Ral- 
ston named  Thomas  Taggart  his  successor.  In  a  few  months  Senator  Taggart  attracted  more  fa- 
vorable national  attention  than  many  senators,  accounted  great,  have  attracted  to  themselves  in  years 
of  service.  He  did  it  by  taking  hold  of  the  affairs  of  the  government  in  the  same  manner  he  had  been 
used  to  doing  things  in  his  own  business.  He  opposed  wasteful  extravagance  wherever  and  when- 
ever he  found  it,  and  there  was  little  of  it  that  he  did  not  see. 

He  opposed  the  use  of  appropriations  intended  as  "fence  building"  schemes,  no  matter  for  what 
party  or  for  what  member.  The  fact  that  Democrats  or  Republicans  opposed  or  supported  a  bill 
was  not  his  reason  for  doing  so.  He  looked  upon  it  as  business  and  took  pride  in  doing  things  in 
business  fashion.  People  who  expected  him  to  do  politics  in  his  public  duties,  where  such  a  course 
v;ould  conflict  with  business  principles,  were  mistaken.  He  was  commended  by  the  press  of  the 
whole  country  with  no  regard  to  politics.  Even  his  bitterest  political  press  opponents  at  home  had 
to  recognize,  and  did  recognize,  his  good  work  and  gave  him  commendation. 

The  bitterness  with  which  certain  partisan  newspapers  fought  and  abused  Thomas  Taggart  was 
unabating  for  years,  and  was  a  tribute  to  his  power  and  success  as  a  great  leader.  On  one  occasion, 
in  1914,  when  Mr.  Taggart  protested,  with  some  determination  in  his  protest,  to  assaults  by  the  In- 
dianapolis News  which  he  considered  beyond  all  limits  of  legitimate  journalistic  license,  that  news- 
paper was  constrained  for  the  time  being  to  desist  and  was  good  enough  to  give  editorial  expression 
to  the  editor's  honest  convictions,  a  leading  editorial  saying,  among  other  kind  things: 

"In  such  a  campaign  as  that  in  which  we  are  now  engaged  people  are  in  danger  of  losing  their 
sense  of  proportion,  and  of  comparative  values.     The  personal  element,  for  instance,  is  likely  to  be 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


very  considerably  exaggerated.  There  are  voters  who  favor  a  certain  ticket  simply  because  they 
like  the  men  supporting  it,  or  who  oppose  another  ticket  because  they  dislike  its  backers.  There  are 
few  men  in  Indiana,  to  take  one  case,  who  have  a  greater  asset  in  their  personal  qualities  and  char- 
acteristics than  Mr.  Taggart.  He  is  widely  popular,  stands  high  in  business  relations,  is  of  kindly 
disposition,  and  true  to  his  friends  in  personal  relationships.    And  all  these  are  admirable  qualities." 


ARTHUR   W.   TAYLOR 

Arthur  W.  Taylor,  of  Stillwell,  is  a  prominent  business  man  and  faithful  worker  for  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Democratic  party. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  a  true  product  of  Laporte  county,  having  been  born  in  the  locality  of  his  present 
home,  November  10,  1873.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  home  district,  and  when  he  attained 
manhood's  estate  entered  into  the  business  life  of  Stillwell. 

On  January  6,  1896,  Mr.  Taylor  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mollie  M.  Tobin. 

In  the  fall  of  1908  Mr.  Taylor  was  elected  county  commissioner  for  a  term  of  six  years,  assum- 
ing the  duties  of  the  position  in  a  similar  line  of  work,  having  served  as  township  trustee  of 
Pleasant  township  from  January   1,   1905,  to  January  1,  1909. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  business  growth  and  development  of  his 
home  community  and  is  the  proprietor  of  a  flourishing  general  store  and  grain  business. 


JOHN  S.  TAYLOR 
John  S.  Taylor,  a  well-known  attorney  of  Sullivan  and  an  active  worker 
in  the  party  ranks,  is  known  as  a  leader  in  the  younger  element  of  Sullivan 
county  Democracy. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Sullivan  county  on  the  22d  day  of 
March,  1887.  Here  his  boyhood  was  spent,  and  his  schooling  was  received  in 
the  public  schools  of  Sullivan.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high 
school  of  this  place  he  entered  Indiana  University  for  further  study,  and  in 
the  year  1910  received  from  that  institution  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts. 
Returning  the  following  year,  he  completed  a  course  in  the  Law  Depart- 
ment, graduating  in  1911  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  In  the  same  year  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Sullivan  county  and  entered  into  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  demonstrating  from  the  first  marked  ability  in  the  in- 
terpretation and  application  of  the  law  and  unremitting  energy  in  research 
for  the  benefit  of  his  clients. 

In  the  year  1913  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  deputy  prosecuting 
attorney  of  the  Sullivan  circuit  court,  and,  at  the  expiration  of  a  year,  was  reappointed  to  the  same 
office.     In  this  work  also  he  established  a  record  for  efficient  and  loyal  service. 

Politically,  he  has,  since  boyhood,  been  a  strong  advocate  of  Democratic  principles  and  has  ren- 
dered valued  service  to  the  local  organization,  serving  in  1912  as  secretary  of  the  county  central 
committee. 

Religiously,  Mr.  Taylor  is  an  active  and  consistent  member  of  the  Christian  church.  Frater- 
nally, he  is  a  member  of  Alpha  Tau  Omega,  the  college  fraternity,  and  is  also  allied  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Lodge  147,  and  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
Lodge  911. 


MICHAEL    CHARLES    THORNTON 

It  has  often  been  said  that  the  self-made  man  is  the  successful  man,  and  the  truth  of  this  has 
few  more  fitting  exemplifications  than  that  furnished  by  the  career  of  Michael  Charles  Thornton, 
of  New  Albany.  Mr.  Thornton  is  a  native  of  Floyd  county,  and  was  bom  on  the  21st  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1871.  He  attended  the  parochial  schools  of  New  Albany;  but  at  an  early  age  was  compelled 
to  give  up  his  studies  for  a  time  and  enter  the  arduous  struggle  of  life  in  a  factory.  His  father 
died  when  he  was  but  nine  days  of  age  and  the  duties  of  a  bread-winner  fell  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
son  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  bear  them.     He  learned   the   trade   of  glassblower,   and   his   inherent 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ability  as  a  leader  was  soon  demonstrated,  as  he  became  prominent  in  labor  circles  at  an  early  age. 
Later  he  entered  a  law  office,  for  five  years  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  legal  profession,  and  became 
actively  interested  in  political  life  and  political  activities. 

On  the  31st  day  of  December,  1895,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Edith  W.  Tuley  was  solemnized,  and 
their  permanent  home  was  established  in  New  Albany.  In  the  years  190(i,  1908,  1910  and  1912  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature  as  representative,  and  while  a  member  of  that  body  was  distinguished 
as  an  active  and  original  worker.  He  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  member  of  the  cities  and  towns 
committee,  and  was  known  as  the  father  of  the  street  improvement  law,  the  Lincoln's  birthday 
law,  and  numerous  other  measures  for  the  general  good  of  the  community  at  large.  In  the  year  190G 
he  delivered  the  nominating  speech  which  placed  Senator  Shively's  name  before  the  house  as  United 
States  senator. 

In  the  fall  of  1914  Mr.  Thornton  was  nominated  for  joint  senator  from  Floyd  and  Harrison 
counties.  He  is  at  present  engaged  in  the  life  insurance  business  and  is  affiliated  with  the  B.  P.  O. 
Elks,  Red  Men  and  Knights  of  Columbus. 

WILLIAM  J.  TEN  BARGE 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Poseyville  is  a  member  of  an  old- 
line  Democratic  family,  one  which  at  present  contributes  6  votes  to  the 
party  at  each  election.  These  are  Mr.  Ten  Barge  and  five  brothers.  Their 
father  was  a  Democrat  before  them. 

William  J.  Ten  Barge  was  born  in  Gibson  county  on  the  15th  day  of 
January,  1882.  He  attended  the  schools  of  this  county  and  graduated  from 
the  high  school  of  Haubstadt  in  the  year  1899. 

On  the  30th  day  of  November,  1905,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Henrietta  Dewig,  and  their  home  was  established  in  Poseyville.  Here  they 
have  since  resided,  drawing  about  them  an  ever-widening  circle  of  friends. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Democracy  of  Indiana,  and  in  the  various  campaigns  through  which 
he  has  passed  has  rendered  valued  service  to  the  local  organization.  For 
six  years  he  served  as  district  committeeman,  giving  without  stint  of  his 
time  and  energy  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause. 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  1913,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Poseyville,  being  the  first  Demo- 
cratic postmaster  appointed  in  this  district  under  the  Woodrow  Wilson  administration.  In  this  posi- 
tion he  has  served  with  characteristic  energy,  devoting  his  entire  time  to  the  position  and  striving 
for  the  best  in  mail  service. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  Evansville  Council,  and  the  Catholic 
Knights  of  America;  and  is  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Conservative  Life  Insurance  Company  and 
the  Columbian  Life  Insurance  Company  of  Indiana. 

B.    W.    TILFORD 

B.  W.  Tilford,  city  clerk  of  Martinsville,  is  a  true  product  of  Morgan  county,  born  within  its 
confines  on  the  8th  day  of  November,  1859.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Martinsville  and  was 
graduated  from  the  high  school.  Later  he  entered  the  Indiana  Medical  College  at  Indianapolis  and 
was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  the  year  1881.  Immediately  thereafter  he  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  medicine,  but  after  a  few  years'  practice  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business,  and  was  for 
twenty  years  thus  employed.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  became  superintendent  of  the 
Colonial  Sanitarium,  which  position  he  still  holds.  From  1886  to  1888  he  discharged  the  duties  of 
city  clerk,  and  in  the  fall  of  1913  was  again  elected  to  this  position.  He  is  also  keeper  of  records 
and  seal  for  the  local  lodge  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Martinsville. 

In  August,  1887,  Mr.  Tilford  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Laura  J.  Drake. 

JUDGE   JOSEPH    NEWTON   TILLETT 

The  son  of  a  Virginia  Democrat  who  came  to  Indiana  in  1834  and  became  a  pioneer  in  Indiana 
Democracy,  Judge  Joseph  Newton  Tillett  has  also  consistently  adhered  to  the  tenets  of  the  party  and 
has  rendered  valued  service  to  the  organization. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  1 


1  9  1 


Judge  Tillett  was  born  in  Miami  county,  Ind.,  November  25,  1865.  His  early  schooling  was 
received  in  the  schools  of  Peru  and  following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  there  in  1883  he 
entered  Wabash  College.  In  1888,  following  his  graduation  from  that  institution,  he  began  the  study 
of  law  in  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor.  In  1890  this  course  was  completed  and  he 
entered  the  practice  of  law  at  Peru.  Two  years  later  he  was  elected  prosecutor  and  in  1894  was 
re-elected  to  that  position.  In  1902  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Miami  county  for 
a  six-year  term,  and  at  the  expiration  of  this  period  was  re-elected. 

On  August  10,  1893,  Judge  Tillett  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Baldwin,  of  Wash- 
ington, Indiana. 


M.  C.  TOWNSEND 
M.  C.  Townsend,  of  Hartford  City,  takes  a  place  in  the  foremost  ranks 
of  educators,  his  efficient  work  being  recognized  by  his  election  as  the  super- 
intendent of  schools  of  Blackford  county  in  1909,  and  by  his  re-election  in 
1913.  His  present  term  will  extend  until  1917.  Mr.  Townsend  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Blackford  County  Chautauqua  Association.  He  is  also  well 
known  among  educators  as  the  author  of  the  "Co-Operative  School  Regis- 
ter," which  is  used  in  a  large  per  cent,  of  the  schools  of  the  Central  States. 
He  taught  school  eight  years  before  his  election  as  county  superintendent  of 
schools. 

Mr.  Townsend  was  born  August  11,  1884,  and  is  a  native  of  Indiana. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of  Blackford  county  and  at 
the  Marion  Normal  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1907. 

On  December  25,  1910,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Nora  Adele  Harris,  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  C.  Harris,  of  Marion,  Ind.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren— a  boy,  Maxwell,  born  January  10,  1913,  and  a  girl,  Lucile,  born  De- 
cember 29,  1914.  Since  he  was  quite  young,  Mr.  Townsend  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  advancing 
the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  been  an  industrious  worker  in  its  behalf.  In  1912  he 
was  secretary  of  the  Blackford  county  Democratic  central  committee,  and  in  1913  was  chairman  of 
the  Hartford  City  campaign.     He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  Elks  lodges. 


MORGAN    J.    TUCKER 

The  roster  of  prominent  Democrats  of  Vermilion  county  would  be  in- 
complete were  mention  not  made  of  Morgan  J.  Tucker,  the  present  mayor  of 
Clinton. 

Mr.  Tucker  was  born  in  Tipton  county,  Indiana,  on  the  10th  day  of 
April,  1849,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  district. 
At  the  age  of  four  years  he  was  left  fatherless,  and  the  mother  was  left 
with  ten  children.  Hence,  at  an  early  age  young  Morgan  was  compelled 
to  shift  for  himself,  and  his  first  position  was  upon  a  farm,  with  the 
munificent  salary  of  eight  dollars  per  month,  with  board  and  washing. 
Thus  launched  upon  a  business  career,  however,  his  rise  was  rapid.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  came  to  Terre  Haute,  taking  employment  with  the 
firm  of  T.  B.  Johns,  working  in  charge  of  a  gang  of  men  cutting  timber 
on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash  river.  At  the  expiration  of  seven  years  he 
located  in  Clinton,  and  this  has  since  been  his  home  and  here  his  interests 
have  centered.  For  thirty-two  years  he  was  in  business  for  himself  in  this 
city,  but  finally  retired  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  labors,  living  upon  the  income  of  his  investments 
in  farm  lands  and  bank  stocks. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  year,  1912,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  mayor  of  Clinton,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1913  was  re-elected  for  a  term  of  four  years  by  a  majority  of  sixty-six  in  a  Republican  stronghold. 
During  the  past  twenty- five  years  he  has  represented  Clinton  Democracy  at  the  state  conventions, 
and  came  within  three  votes  of  being  elected  to  the  Baltimore  convention  in  1912. 

He  was  elected  to  the  national  convention  at  St.  Louis  in  1916,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Delia 
Day  Jan.  26,  1916,  of  this  city. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  K.  of  P.  Lodge. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 


SAMUEL    L.    TRABUE 

Samuel  L.  Trabue,  Rushville,  Indiana,  son  of  Samuel  H.  and  Mary  McKee 
Trabue,  was  born  in  Rush  county,  June  29,  1878. 

He  was  educated  in  the  local  schools,  later  attending  Valparaiso  College,  re- 
ceiving his  LL.B.  degree  in  1900.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Rush  Cir- 
cuit Court  and  in  the  Supreme  and  Appellate  Courts  of  Indiana,  and  the  United 
States  Supreme  and  Circuit  Courts  in  1901. 

He  voluntarily  enlisted  and  was  inducted  into  the  F.  A.  C.  0.  T.  S.  at  Camp 
Zachary   Taylor,   being   honorably  discharged  December  5,  1918. 

He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Scottish  and  York  Rite  Masonic  bodies  as  well 
as  the  Shrine,  Elks,  Odd  Fellows  and  Knights  of  Pythias  lodges  and  the  Presby- 
terian church. 

He  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs. 


DR.  THOMAS  S.  TURNER 
Dr.  Thomas  S.  Turner  is  an  honored  member  of  the  medical  fraternity  of  Boone 
county  and  an  active  citizen  of  Lebanon.  He  was  born  in  Madison  county,  Indiana, 
on  the  14th  of  May,  1863.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Grant  county  and, 
after  reading  medicine  with  Dr.  D.  B.  Snodgrass  at  Marion,  attended  the  Indiana 
Eclectic  Medical  College,  completing  his  medical  course  in  the  Eclectic  College  of  Cin- 
cinnati. Before  completing  his  medical  course  he  entered  the  practice  of  medicine  at 
Milledgeville,  Boone  county,  and  located  there  permanently  in  1885.  Meeting  with 
success,  he  took  a  keen  interest  in  politics,  casting  his  first  vote  in  1884  for  Cleveland 
and  Hendricks.  He  was  afterward  elected  trustee  of  Harrison  township  and  served 
in  that  capacity  for  five  years. 

Dr.  Turner  located  in  Lebanon  about  eighteen  years  ago,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  Lebanon 
ever  since.  He  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  as  councilman  from  the  second  ward,  and  served 
two  years  in  that  capacity.  In  September,  1913,  he  was  appointed  pension  examining  surgeon  for 
Boone  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  and  of  the  Indiana 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  serving  as  president  of  the  latter  organization  in  1912.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  of  the  Central  Christian  church  of 
Lebanon,  Ind. 


HARRY  L.  UNGER,  LL.  B. 

Harry  L.  Unger,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Plymouth,  Marshall  county,  In- 
diana, was  born  at  Etna  Green,  Kosciusko  county,  Indiana,  a  son  of  S.vlva- 
nus  S.  and  Frances  M.  Unger.  His  father  was  born  in  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  married  to  Mary  Stauffer.  To  this  union  there  were  born 
two  children:  Mary,  who  passed  away  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  and  J. 
Francis,  who  is  now  a  railway  conductor  and  resides  in  Pittsburgh.  Their 
mother  passed  away  when  they  were  quite  young,  and  the  father  came  to 
Marshall  county,  Indiana,  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  south  of 
Bourbon.  He  married  Frances  M.  Helsel,  who  was  born  at  Johnstown,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  settled  near  Bourbon  with  her  parents  when  she  was  quite 
young.  After  their  marriage,  they  took  up  their  residence  in  Etna  Green. 
To  this  union  were  born  Harry  L.,  the  subject  of  this  review,  and  Dottie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Jesse  A.  Zehner,  proprietor  of  the  Zehner  Mills,  Plymouth, 
Indiana. 

When  Harry  L.  Unger  was  five  years  of  age,  his  parents  moved  with 
him  to  a  farm  east  of  Etna  Green.  The  dwelling  on  this  farm  was  made  of  logs  and  Mr.  Unger  is 
proud  of  the  fact  that  his  home  during  his  childhood  was  a  "log  cabin."  While  living  on  this  farm  he 
entered  school  and  in  his  class  with  him  was  only  one  pupil,  Ernest  Lutes,  and,  strange  to  say,  this 
class  of  two  produced  a  laviryer  and  a  preacher. 

When  Mr.  Unger  reached  the  age  of  eight  his  parents  moved   with  him   to  a   farm   about   seven 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

miles  west  of  Plymouth,  Marshall  county,  Indiana,  near  Donaldson,  where  he  attended  school  until 
he  graduated,  and  he  then  took  up  the  teachers'  course  and  a  commercial  course  at  the  University  of 
Valparaiso,  Valparaiso,  Ind.     He  taught  school  in  Marshall  and  Kosciusko  counties  for  six  yeai's. 

While  Mr.  Unger  was  quite  young  his  father  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  lawsuits  were 
held  at  his  home.  It  was  these  lawsuits  and  the  arguments  of  attorneys  participating  therein  that 
created  a  desire  in  him  to  become  a  lawyer,  and  he  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  he  could  take  the 
part  and  assume  the  duties  of  a  lawyer.  Mr.  Unger  has  always  been  a  great  student,  a  hard  and 
industrious  worker  and  a  lover  of  good  books.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  splendid  private  library  in  his 
home  and  a  splendid  law  library. 

Upon  leaving  the  farm  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Jacob  O.  Kantz  at  Nappanee,  Ind., 
where,  owing  to  the  large  office  business  of  Mr.  Kantz,  he  gained  much  practical  knowledge  and  valu- 
able experience.  He  entered  the  Indiana  Law  School  of  the  University  of  Indianapolis,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  and,  after  completing  the  course,  graduated  with  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  laws  in  1904,  and  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  and  appellate  courts  and  the  United  States  district  court  of  the 
State  of  Indiana.  He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  his  former  preceptor,  Jacob  0.  Kantz,  at  Nap- 
panee, was  admitted  to  the  Elkhart  county  bar  and  continued  with  Mr.  Kantz  until  July,  1905,  when 
he  decided  to  cast  his  lot  in  the  West.  He  started  out  in  search  of  a  suitable  location;  but  after  looking 
about  for  some  time,  decided  to  return  to  his  old  home  county,  and  on  October  24,  1905,  opened  his  law 
office  in  the  city  of  Plymouth,  Marshall  county,  Ind. 

He  had  all  the  experiences  common  to  young  lawyers,  but  his  friends  gave  him  their  business  and 
he  succeeded.  In  1906  the  Democratic  county  central  committee  used  his  office  for  headquarters.  The 
campaign  was  a  busy  one.  He  made  friends  and  acquaintances  all  over  the  county,  and  at  this  election, 
in  compliance  with  the  unwritten  law  of  the  legal  fraternity  of  Marshall  county,  that  young  attorneys 
must  take  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  he  was  elected  to  that  office. 

In  1908  he  resigned  his  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  after  being  nominated  prosecuting  attorney 
for  the  41st  judicial  circuit  of  the  State  of  Indiana  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  to  which  office  he  was 
elected,  and  re-elected  in  1910.  He  filled  this  office  two  terms  with  credit  to  himself  and  honor  to  his 
party. 

In  public  office  as  in  his  daily  life  and  business  affairs,  he  has  always  been  a  man  whose  honor 
and  credibility  was  unquestioned  and  whose  word  is  truth.  He  is  numbered  among  Marshall  county's 
leading  lawyers  and  has  a  large  and  growing  practice.  He  has  always  been  very  active  in  political 
affairs,  a  conscientious  believer  in  the  principles  of  Democracy.  His  ancestors  came  to  America  be- 
fore the  Revolution  and  he  is  a  true,  loyal  and  patriotic  American  citizen. 

In  the  year  1903  Mr.  Unger  was  united  in  marriage  with  Zora  A.  Rosenberger  of  Nappanee,  Ind. 
They  are  the  parents  of  one  girl,  Beatrice  Marcelle,  and  three  boys,  Harry  L.,  Jr. ;  Robert  A.  and 
Dale  F. 

Mr.  Unger  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  lodge,  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Court  of  Honor,  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  grand  domain  of  Indiana,  and  at  the  present  time 
deputy  grand  chancellor  for  the  second  district  of  the  grand  domain  of  Indiana,  order  of  Knights  of 
Pythias. 


FRANK    S.    VAWTER 

The  name  of  Frank  S.  Vawter  is  familiar  to  the  citizens  of  Tipton,  being  that  of  a  leading 
druggist  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  the  present  postmaster  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Vawter  was  born  on  the  2d  day  of  April,  1879,  four  miles  west  of  Tipton,  in  the  same 
county.  He  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of  this  city,  graduating  from  the  latter.  Early 
in  life  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business,  and  for  twenty-five  years  continued  in  this  work. 

On  the  1st  day  of  December,  1896,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Lena  B.  Green,  and 
their  home,  then  established  in  this  city,  has  been  a  center  of  hospitality. 

Receiving  the  appointment  to  the  position  of  postmaster  of  the  city,  in  this  capacity  he  has  served 
with  conscientious  diligence  and  zeal. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  an  active  party  worker,  serving  through  numerous  cam- 
paigns as  precinct  committeeman  and  delegate  to  county  and  district  conventions. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  orders  of  Masons,  Elks  and  Odd  Fellows;  is  also  an  active 
member  of  the  Tipton  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  state  and  national  associations  of  druggists. 


(  1042  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


19  16 


FREDERICK  VAN  NUYS 

Having  once  decided  to  go  outside  its  own  membership  in 
selecting  a  state  chairman,  the  Democratic  state  central  com- 
mittee in  1918  looked  about  for  the  livest  wire  available  in 
Indiana  for  the  job.  The  man  selected  must  possess  a  peculiar 
combination  of  ginger,  the  sort  of  pep  that  meant  keeping 
things  stirred  and  boiling  in  every  part  of  the  party  machin- 
ery from  the  bottom  up,  coupled  with  an  ability  for  efficient 
organization  that  was  built  to  win. 

That  was  no  easy  task  that  the  committee  set  to  do.  To 
find  all  these  peculiar  qualifications  covered  by  one  hat  was 
the  primary  task.  When  located  he  would  be  a  man  of  more 
than  average  success  in  his  own  business,  and  so  he  had  to 
have  one  other  peculiarly  fitting  ingredient  in  his  make-up. 
He  must  be  so  thoroughly  enthusiastic  in  his  grounded  belief 
in  the  principles  on  which  the  Democratic  party  is  builded 
that  he  would  be  willing  to  sacrifice  personal  interests  for  the 
time  being  and  devote  his  time,  thought  and  energies  getting 
the  fighting  forces  together  for  victory. 

That  was  a  whole  lot  to  find  and  a  whole  lot  to  expect. 
But  he  was  found  and  he  was  willing  when  unanimous  de- 
cision went  to  Frederick  Van  Nuys.  He  brought  all  that  was 
originally  required  in  the  specifications,  and  more,  to  the  big 
job.  For  he  was  also  one  of  the  best  public  speakers  in  Indiana.  He  knew  why  he  is  a  Democrat,  and 
when  he  was  through  telling  it  to  his  audience  the  members  of  that  audience  usually  knew  why  they 
ought  to  be  good  Democrats  if  they  were  not. 

He  always  had  a  message  worth  while  and  he  always  delivered  it  with  peculiar  force.  His  capacity 
for  personal  work  was  limited  only  by  the  number  of  hours  in  the  day,  and  he  possessed  that  peculiar 
characteristic  of  being  able  to  impart  his  enthusiasm  to  the  other  fellow. 

One  result  early  developed  was  that  the  Republicans  had  thrown  all  their  carefully  mapped-out 
and  published  campaign  plans  into  the  scrap  heap  thirty  days  after  Chairman  Van  Nuys  started,  and 
they  had  to  adopt  an  entirely  new  method  of  procedure  to  meet  the  Democratic  offensive.  For,  as  chair- 
man. Van  Nuys  was  on  the  offensive  from  the  moment  the  engine  started.  His  policy  at  the  bottom 
of  the  whole  business  was :  "Always  make  the  Democratic  party  deserve  to  win  and  leave  the  people 
to  finish  the  job." 

Mr.  Van  Nuys  had  been  previously  induced  to  become  the  secretary  of  the  Democratic  state  central 
committee,  working  with  Chairman  Charles  A.  Greathouse,  this  position  not  anticipating  or  requir- 
ing the  same  continuous  and  strenuous  performance  demanded  of  the  chairman.  Chairman  Great- 
house  had  then  been  called  upon  by  President  Woodrow  Wilson  to  undertake  one  of  the  most  important 
war  duties,  that  of  managing  the  federal  vocational  educational  department  which  should  equip  the 
wounded  and  maimed  members  of  the  American  fighting  forces,  during  and  after  the  terrible  world  war, 
for  positions  in  the  industrial  and  commercial  world  where  their  injuries  would  be  the  least  possible 
impediment  to  success.     So  Charles  A.  Greathouse  retired  from  politics  to  enter  war  work. 

Previous  to  assuming  the  chairmanship  of  the  Democratic  state  central  committee,  the  understand- 
ing being  that  he  might  retire  at  the  end  of  the  1918  campaign  to  devote  all  his  energies  to  war  activi- 
ties, Mr.  Van  Nuys  had  acquired  a  State  acquaintance  and  reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  party  leader. 
He  had  an  extensive  law  business  at  Anderson,  Ind.,  where  he  had  resided  and  practiced  his  profes- 
sion for  a  number  of  years.  He  had  served  four  years  as  prosecutor  for  Madison  county,  and  in  1912 
he  was  sent  to  the  state  senate  from  the  same  county,  serving  through  the  sessions  of  1913  and  1915, 
in  the  last  session  being  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  Democratic  majority  for  president  pro  tem.  of  the 
senate  and  majority  floor  leader. 

In  both  these  sessions  Senator  Van  Nuys  was  conspicuous  as  a  leader,  always  standing  for  or 
against  any  proposed  legislation  as  he  measured  it  for  the  general  good.  It  must  be  a  measure  that 
"deserved  to  win"  if  it  received  his  support,  just  as  he  made  it  known  as  state  chairman  that  the 
Democratic  party  "must  deserve  to  win." 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  service  as  state  senator  Mr.  Van  Nuys  removed  to  Indianapolis,  where 
his  legal  practice  continued  to  grow,  he  being  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders  among  successful  and 
able  lawyers  of  the  State. 


(  1043  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

During  the  term  of  his  service  as  state  chairman  Mr.  Van  Nuys  was  one  of  the  most  active  men 
in  the  State  in  all  war  work.  He  added  to  his  political  exertions  the  additional  task  of  making  speeches 
all  over  the  State,  and  wherever  and  whenever  called  upon  to  do  so,  in  war  loan  drives  of  all  sorts,  for- 
getting politics  in  his  appeals  to  patriotism,  whether  connected  with  the  raising  of  war  loans  or  contri- 
butions or  otherwise.  No  man  in  the  State  made  a  greater  number  of  such  speeches  or  spoke  to  larger 
audiences,  for  his  oratorical  abilities  resulted  in  unusual  demands. 

Mr.  Van  Nuys  graduated  from  Earlham  College,  at  Richmond,  Ind.,  and  from  the  Indiana  Law 
School  at  Indianapolis,  beginning  the  practice  of  law  in  1900. 

Without  being  exact  in  recording  the  date  of  this  writing — July,  1918 — it  would  not  be  safe  to  as- 
sume that  this  information  would  remain  historically  accurate,  "Mr.  Van  Nuys  is  a  bachelor." 


H.  KARL  VOLLAND 

H.  Karl  Volland,  the  popular  mayor  of  Columbus,  Ind., 
was  born  in  the  city  over  which  he  now  presides  as  chief  ex- 
ecutive on  the  20th  day  of  May,  1875. 

He  is  the  son  of  Frederick  and  Mary  Volland,  two  of 
Columbus'  most  highly  respected  German  citizens.  In  public 
and  private  schools  of  the  city  of  Columbus  H.  Karl  Volland 
obtained  his  education  and  was  graduated  with  honors  on  the 
completion  of  the  high  school  course  in  the  spring  of  1896. 
He  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  his  father's  hardware  store, 
now  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  State,  from  that  time — 1896 — 
until  the  1st  day  of  September,  1902,  when  he  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  city  clerk  of  Columbus,  having  been  elected  to 
that  office  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  the  month  of  May  of 
that  year,  all  of  the  other  city  officers  elected  being  Repub- 
licans. The  Democratic  candidate  for  mayor  that  year  was 
defeated  by  80  votes  and  Mr.  Volland  was  elected  by  142, 
which  shows  that  he  ran  222  votes  ahead  of  his  ticket.  This 
is  certainly  a  splendid  compliment  to  his  personal  worth  and 
the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow  citizens. 

In  1905  he  was  unanimously  elected  by  the  common  coun- 
cil for  a  term  of  three  years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation of  Columbus,  serving  with  distinction  and  in  turn  as 
secretary,  treasurer   and   president  of   said  board.     He  was  the  first  alumnus  to  hold  membership  on 
the  board  of  education.    He  is  the  life  president  of  the  High  School  Alumni  Association  as  well  as  of 
the  class  in  which  he  graduated  in  1896. 

It  is  conceded  that  he  has  done  more  to  stimulate  interest  in  the  educational  advantages  offered 
by  his  alma  mater  than  any  graduate  who  ever  left  its  portals. 

In  1896,  while  attending  school  and  before  reaching  his  majority,  he  was  elected  a  Democratic 
committeeman  and  helped  carry  his  precinct  and  ward  for  the  Democratic  candidate  for  alderman  by 
a  large  majority.  In  1898  he  was  elected  secretary  of  the  Democratic  city  central  committee.  In  1906 
he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  bookkeeper  of  the  People's  Savings  and  Trust  Company  of  Columbus 
by  the  directors  of  said  institution,  holding  that  position  with  credit  and  honor  until  June,  1907,  when 
he  was  obliged  to  resign  on  account  of  ill  health.  Having  recovered  his  health  sufficiently,  Mr.  Vol- 
latid  returned  to  the  hardware  business  in  1908  an  d  was  connected  with  it  until  the  spring  of  1^13, 
when  he  announced  himself  a  candidate  for  the  Democratic  nomination  for  mayor  of  his  native  city. 
In  the  nominating  primary  which  followed  in  May  of  that  year  he  was  opposed  by  two  other  can- 
didates, but  he  was  easily  nominated,  receiving  twice  as  many  votes  as  his  opponents  combined.  In 
the  election  that  followed  in  November  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  mayor  by  one  of  the  largest  votes 
ever  given  a  candidate  for  that  office.  With  four  opponents  of  as  many  different  parties,  he  received 
a  handsome  majority  over  all,  carrying  every  candidate  on  the  ticket  into  office  with  him. 

Mr.  Volland  is  one  of  the  youngest  mayors  Columbus  has  ever  had.  The  policy  of  his  administra- 
tion is  business,  economy  and  law  enforcement,  and  he  is  fulfilling  every  campaign  pledge  so  made. 
His  administration  of  the  city's  affairs  is  giving  universal  satisfaction  and  is  receiving  the  endorsement 
of  all  good  citizens. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

He  helped  organize  the  first  Indiana  mayors'  association  and  is  a  member  of  its  executive  com- 
mittee. At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Indiana  Municipal  League,  held  July  6,  7  and  8,  1915,  he  was 
unanimously  elected  as  president.  He  is  the  local  treasurer  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  Peter's 
Church,  with  which  church  he  has  been  affiliated  since  his  birth.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Commercial 
Club  and  the  Retail  Merchants'  Association  and  many  other  clubs  and  organizations  of  his  city,  and  he 
always  displays  a  deep  interest  and  is  active  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  progress  and  welfare  of 
his  native  city.  In  1910  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lillian  Marie  Rost,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Her- 
man L.  Rost,  of  the  same  city.  One  child  has  been  born  of  this  union,  a  son,  who  has  been  named  H. 
Karl  Volland,  Jr. 

Mr.  Volland  has  always  endorsed  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  and  has  labored  earn- 
estly and  faithfully  for  its  welfare  and  for  the  adoption  of  its  platform.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
Woodrow  Wilson-for-President  admirers  and  Democrats  in  Indiana. 

He  has  a  bright  future  before  him.  He  comes  of  a  family  closely  connected  with  the  aristocracy 
of  Germany.  Mr.  Volland  is  a  true  American  patriot,  a  great  admirer  of  his  country's  flag  and  all 
that  that  emblem  represents  and  stands  for. 

Should  he  decide  to  devote  much  of  his  time  to  political  labors  he  will  undoubtedly  win  further 
successes  and  distinction,  because,  added  to  his  keen  insight  and  capability  as  a  political  manager,  are 
a  stalwart  devotion  to  the  general  good  and  unquestioned  loyalty  to  the  right. 


WILLIAM  H.  VOLLMER 

Few  men  who  have  ever  lived  anywhere  have  been  possessed  of  so  many  excellent  qualities  that 
accumulated  and  perpetuated  warm  friendships  such  as  those  enjoyed  by  William  H.  Vollmer  of  Vin- 
cennes. 

Starting  as  a  farm  hand  on  the  "thin  lands"  of  Knox  county,  with  nothing  to  depend  upon  but  his 
meager  wage,  with  few  educational  advantages  outside  of  the  "school  of  hard  knocks,"  he  rose  to  a 
position  of  wealth  and  influence  and  leadership  in  the  community. 

His  friends  were  in  number  corresponding  with  his  acquaintances.  There  was  a  sincerity  and 
genuineness  in  all  he  did,  a  cordiality  unassumed  in  all  his  intercourse,  a  business  and  personal  integ- 
rity and  stability  from  which  he  never  swerved,  and  ^vith  it  all  a  generosity  and  the  heart  of  a  big 
man  of  human  sympathy  and  charity  for  all  men  that  drew  others  to  him. 

While  his  business  interests  were  concentrated  largely  at  Vincennes,  thus  holding  him  pretty 
closely  to  his  home  city,  he  had  a  large  acquaintance  and  was  deservedly  popular  all  over  the  State. 
He  was  a  consistent  and  constant  Democrat  in  politics  always,  but  not  of  the  narrow  sort  who  would 
view  with  suspicion  or  distrust  the  men  of  the  opposition.  He  respected  the  honest  opinions  of  others 
in  politics  as  in  all  other  things,  just  as  honest  men  of  opposing  views  respected  his. 

It  was  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  the  administration  of  Governor  Thomas  R.  Marshall  that 
William  H.  Vollmer  was  elected  treasurer  of  state.  The  same  year  William  H.  O'Brien  was  elected 
auditor  of  state.  Two  abler  and  more  conscientious  men  could  not  have  been  found  in  the  State  of 
Indiana  to  undertake  the  difficult  task  of  straightening  out  a  deplorable  condition  of  state  finances. 
They  were  also  lifelong  and  congenial  friends. 

The  retiring  Republican  administration  had  accumulated  a  debt  of  three  millions  of  dollars,  had 
allowed  all  the  state  institutions  to  become  dilapidated,  both  as  related  to  buildings  and  equipment. 
The  state  institutional  and  educational  accounts  were  all  overdrawn,  all  the  state  revenues  had  been 
anticipated  and  disbursed  a  year  in  advance,  and  there  was  not  $10,000  cash  in  the  treasury. 

William  H.  Vollmer  and  William  H.  O'Brien  put  their  joint  ability  to  the  task.  In  the  six  years 
following  their  induction  into  office  the  State  made  greater  strides  than  in  any  period  in  its  hundred 
years  of  history.  State  institutions  were  rebuilt  and  properly  equipped  and  the  State's  unfortunates 
were  cared  for  as  they  should  be,  and  as  they  had  not  been  for  years  before.  New  institutions  were 
built,  equipped,  paid  for  and  occupied.     The  Republican  debt  of  three  millions  was  entirely  wiped  out. 

With  the  co-operation  of  Charles  A.  Greathouse,  who  was  state  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, the  three  worked  together  to  a  development  of  a  system  of  schools  and  educational  advancement 
in  Indiana  which  has  no  equal  in  any  other  State  in  the  Union,  and  it  was  all  paid  for  and  a  surplus 
of  appropriations  remained  in  the  treasury. 

It  is  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  William  H.  Vollmer  and  his  service  to  the  people  as  state 
treasurer  that  at  the  end  of  the  six  years  mentioned  these  institutions  were  turned  over  in  first- 
class  shape,  in  better  condition  than  they  had  ever  been,  with  better  buildings  and  better  equipment 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

than  ever  before,  all  on  a  financial  basis  that  would  perpetually  sustain  them,  if  not  disturbed ;  that, 
with  not  a  penny  of  debt,  the  James  P.  Goodrich  administration  came  into  office  with  five  millions  of 
accumulated  cash  balance  on  hand.  The  master  financial  ability  of  William  H.  VoUmer  and  William 
H.  O'Brien  had  done  this  much  for  the  people  of  Indiana. 

William  H.  Vollmer  was  born  near  Freelandsville,  Knox  county,  Indiana,  on  the  24th  day  of  Oc- 
tober, 1856.  He  was  the  son  of  Frederick  and  Hannah  (Baker)  Vollmer.  After  leaving  school  in  1872. 
having  in  the  meantime  worked  as  a  farm  hand,  he  entered  the  grocery  business  as  a  clerk.  In  1888 
he  embarked  in  the  firm  of  Vollmer  &  Recker.  In  1896  he  was  elected  county  treasurer  of  Knox 
county  and  re-elected  in  1898.  He  formed  a  co-partnership  with  C.  C.  Winkler  in  the  commission 
business  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  they  conducted  the  largest  melon  commission  firm  in  the  country. 
To  their  credit  is  largely  due  the  development  of  the  melon  industry  in  Knox  county.  This  firm  han- 
dled the  crop  of  several  counties. 

Mr.  Vollmer  was  married  May  3,  1882,  to  Miss  Julia  Ritterskamp.  One  son  was  born  to  them 
December  25,  1895,  dying  at  the  age  of  six  years. 

Mr.  Vollmer  was  interested  in  many  forms  of  business.  He  was  vice-president  and  director  of  the 
Aetna  Trust  Company  of  Indianapolis,  was  a  director  of  the  American  Oil  and  Gas  Company  of  Okla- 
homa, was  president  and  director  of  the  Citizens'  Trust  Company  of  Vincennes,  a  large  stockholder 
in  the  German  National  Bank  of  Vincennes,  director  of  the  Vincennes  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  trustee  of  the  Vin- 
cennes University,  president  of  the  Blackford  Window  Glass  Company,  director  of  the  Vincennes  Fur- 
niture Manufacturing  Company,  director  and  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Reel-Osterhage  Lumber 
Company  and  of  the  Brock-Willis  Monument  Company,  president  and  director  of  the  Southside  Ele- 
vator Company,  a  former  member  of  the  Vincennes  School  Board,  serving  a  term  as  its  president;  a 
former  director  and  president  of  the  Vincennes  Board  of  Trade  and  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  and  held  stock  in  numerous  other  corporations.  He  held  large  farming  interests  in  Knox 
county  also. 

Mr.  Vollmer  was  a  lifelong  member  of  the  German  Evangelical  Church,  a  member  of  the  Elks, 
of  the  Pastime  Club,  Rotary  and  Harmonie  Verein  clubs.  He  was  elected  to  Masonry,  but  died  before 
he  was  able  to  take  his  initiation. 

In  politics  Mr.  Vollmer  was  always  an  active  Democrat.  He  served  as  county  chairman  for  three 
campaigns.  After  his  service  as  county  treasurer  he  was  called  upon  by  his  friends  to  enter  the  race 
for  state  treasurer.     He  did  this  and  was  elected  in  1910  and  re-elected  in  1912. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Archer,  the  chairman  of  the  Second  congressional  district,  Mr.  Vollmer  was 
elected  district  chairman  by  the  Democratic  central  committee.  He  was  a  thorough  organizer  and  a 
most  efficient  chairman.     His   persistency   to   details  made  his  campaigns  victorious. 

Mr.  Vollmer  died  at  the  Good  Samaritan  Hospital  in  the  city  of  Vincennes,  Ind.,  on  January  6. 
1917,  following  an  operation.     He   was   sixty  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death. 


HON.  S.  E.  VORIS 

S.  E.  Voris  was  born  in  the  city  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  in  1854.  His  schooling  was 
received  in  the  common  schools  of  Butler  county,  Ohio,  and  here  the  early  years  of 
his  business  career  were  spent. 

In  1887  he  removed  to  Indiana,  locating  in  Crawfordsville,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  insurance  business.  With  characteristic  zeal,  energy,  and  indomitable  per- 
severance he  entered  into  the  business  life  of  the  place,  and  took  an  active  interest  in 
political  and  municipal  affairs. 

In  1893  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Crawfordsville,  serving  in 
this  capacity  until  1897.  In  1904  he  was  elected  to  the  high  position  of  mayor,  and 
for  six  years  his  best  efforts  were  given  to  the  work,  carrying  on  a  progressive  and 
very  efficient  city  government.  Mr.  Voris  was  the  first  Democrat  to  be  elected  to 
this  high  office.  In  1910,  and  again  in  1912,  he  was  elected  to  represent  Montgomery  county  in  the 
state  legislature,  and  served  in  the  sessions  of  1911  and  1913.  Here  he  took  an  active  part,  serving  with 
credit  to  himself  and  constituency,  and  one  of  th  e  crowning  achievements  of  his  labor  was  the  intro- 
duction and  passage  of  the  bill  which  made  the  penal  farm  a  reality. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Elks,   is   a   32nd   degree   Mason,   Knight 
Templar,  member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  supreme  treasurer  of  the  Tribe  of  Ben  Hur. 


(  1046  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

HON.  FRANCIS  J.  VURPILLAT 

Descended  from  a  line  of  Democratic  ancestors,  and  the  son  of  a  leader  in 
party  affairs,  Hon.  Francis  J.  Vurpillat  has  continued  the  work  and  has  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  party. 

He  was  born  on  the  26th  day  of  August,  1871,  and  received  his  schooling  in 
the  public  schools  of  Winamac.  Later  he  attended  Notre  Dame  University,  graduat- 
ing in  1891  with  the  decree  of  bachelor  nf  laws;  and  the  following  year  returning  to 
receive  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  letters. 

On  the  5th  day  of  .Tune,  1894,  was  .solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss*  Iva  Bunnell 
of  Frankfort,  Indiana,  and  the  home  then  established  by  them  in  Winamac  has  been 
a  center  of  hospitality  and  culture. 

In  the  year  1896  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  44th  judicial  circuit,  and  was  twice  re- 
elected, devoting  six  years  to  this  work.  Later  he  was  appointed  county  attorney  for  Pulaski  county, 
and  was  also  city  attorney  of  Winamac  for  one  term. 

In  the  fall  of  1908  he  was  elected  to  the  bench  of  the  44th  judicial  circuit,  including  Starke  and 
Pulask'  counties,  and  his  decisions  as  judge  have  been  rendered  with  justice  and  impartiality.  He  is  a 
son  of  Joseph  D.  Vurpillat,  ex-county  treasurer  and  a  pioneer  in  the  Democracy  of  the  state. 

Judge  Vurpillat  is  now  a  resident  of  South  Bend,  Indiana,  having  accepted  a  permanent  position 
a.s  judge  of  the  court  and  lecturer  in  the  law  department  of  Notre  Dame  University. 


JAMES   S.   WALES 

James  S.  Wales,  the  present  mayor  of  Alexandria,  has,  for  many  years,  been  prominently  iden- 
tified with  business  and  municipal  affairs  of  this  locality.  He  was  born  in  Kosciusko  county,  Indiana, 
but  during  his  boyhood  accompanied  his  parents  to  Union  county,  where  his  schooling  was  received. 
In  1893  they  located  in  Madison  county,  and  here  his  interests  have  centered.  In  1894  he  was  elected 
city  treasurer,  and  in  this  capacity  served  until  1910,  at  which  time  he  was  appointed  deputy  county 
treasurer.  In  1914  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  for  a  term  of  four  years.  He  has  been 
actively  interested  in  the  business  life  of  the  place,  serving  for  a  number  of  years  as  assistant 
cashier  of  the  Alexandria  Bank  and  conducting  a  thriving  real  estate  and  insurance  business.  He 
has  served  the  party  many  times  as  precinct  committeeman  and  as  delegate  to  the  various  conven- 
tions. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  Orders  of  Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  Elks  and  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  has  held  official  position  in  all. 

JOHN  J.  WALSH 

For  many  years  a  leader  in  labor  circles  of  the  state,  and  at  present  a  member  of  the  state  bureau 
of  inspection,  the  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  article  is  a  well-known  figure  in 
the  city  of  Indianapolis. 

John  J.  Walsh  was  born  at  Vincennes,  Indiana,  on  the  27th  day  of  April,  1874.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  parochial  schools  of  that  city  and  graduated  therefrom  in  the  year  1888. 

On  the  6th  day  of  June,  1900,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Daisy  A.  Davis,  and  she  has 
since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home. 

Early  in  life  he  became  interested  in  mechanics,  and  so  rapidly  did  he  advance  in  the  knowledge  of 
machinery  that  he  soon  became  known  as  an  expert  and  was  the  holder  of  several  important  positions  in 
the  mechanical  departments  of  railroads  entering  this  state.  He  also  took  a  vital  interest  in  problems 
affecting  the  laboring  men  of  the  state,  and  their  confidence  in  him  and  his  judgment  was  soon  evi- 
denced by  his  election  to  important  positions  in  their  organizations. 

During  the  1911  session  of  the  legislature  he  served  as  chief  doorkeeper  of  the  house  of  represen- 
tative.s;  and  on  the  first  day  of  July  of  that  year  he  was  appointed  head  of  the  department  of  build- 
ings, factories  and  workshops  of  the  state  bureau  of  inspection,  his  term  of  office  to  continue  for  a 
period  of  four  years. 

Mr.  Walsh  is  an  active  member  of  the  order  of  Knights  of  Columbus  and  of  the  International  As- 
sociation of  Machinists.  He  has,  throughout  his  career,  been  an  enthusiastic  worker  in  the  interests 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  has  rendered  valuable  .service  to  the  various  local  organizations  of  the 
community. 


(  1047  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

ESTAL   E.   WALKER 

The  name  of  Estal  E.  Walker  of  North  Vernon  is  a  familiar  one  to  the  citizens  of  both 
Jennings  and  Brown  counties,  for  he  has  held  positions  of  trust  in  both  counties.  He  was  born  in 
Brown  county  January  5,  1879,  attended  the  common  schools  of  his  native  county  and  continued  his 
studies  at  Lexington,  Ky.     He  married  Miss  Kathryn  Rubottom  of  Columbus,  Ind. 

During  his  residence  in  Nashville,  Brown  county,  Mr.  Walker  held  the  position  of  city  clerk  for 
a  term  of  four  years  and  for  two  years  also  discharged  the  duties  of  deputy  treasurer  and  deputy 
auditor  of  that  county.  Later  he  made  his  home  in  North  Vernon,  and  there  also  he  held  the  position 
of  city  clerk  for  a  term  of  four  years.  He  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  engaged  in  the  hardware 
business  in  that  city. 


WILLIAM  WALKINSHAW,  M.  D. 

Dr.  William  Walkinshaw,  though  a  native  of  Canada,  has  for  many  years  been  a  distinguished 
resident  of  the  town  of  Stillwell,  Laporte  county,  and  his  interests  in  and  labors  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  community  in  which  he  resides  are  worthy  of  note. 

Dr.  Walkinshaw  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  Canada.  After  completing 
his  studies  in  the  regular  school  grades  he  entered  Queen's  University,  where  he  pursued  his  studies 
in  medical  science  and  was  graduated.     ^ 

On  January  18,  1893,  Dr.  Walkinshaw  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Maude  Copley,  and 
together  they  came  to  Indiana  and  established  their  home,  he  entering  into  the  active  practice  of 
his  profession,  in  which  he  has  been  successful. 

On  January  1,  1913,  Dr.  Walkinshaw  assumed  the  duties  of  coroner  of  Laporte  county  and  in 
that  capacity  served  until  the  beginning  of  the  year  191.5,  since  which  time  he  has  devoted  his  time 
and  energies  to  his  large  and  growing  practice. 


JAMES  B.  WALLACE 

James  B.  Wallace  of  Newcastle  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  but  he  received  his  schooling 
in  the  schools  of  Union  City,  Ind.  He  was  born  on  July  25,  1872,  and  in  1901  became  a  permanent 
resident  of  Henry  county.  Mr.  Wallace  has  been  twice  married,  his  present  wife,  to  whom  he  was 
married  in  the  year  1913,  having  been  Miss   Margaret  New,  a  resident  of  Hancock  county. 

On  December  22,  1909,  Mr.  Wallace  assumed  the  duties  of  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Newcastle, 
and  so  efficiently  did  he  administer  the  affairs  of  this  office  that  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
service  he  was  elected  to  discharge  the  still  greater  responsibilities  of  treasurer  of  the  county.  The 
fact  is  worthy  of  note  also  that  he  is  the  first  Democratic  treasurer  ever  elected  in  the  city  or 
county.  Mr.  Wallace  has  been  an  active  Democrat  and  has  further  served  his  party  as  a  delegate 
to  the  state  convention.     He  is  also  widely  known  as  a  successful  dealer  in  general  merchandise. 


AARON  M.  WALTZ 

Aaron  M.  Waltz  of  Hartford  City  was  born  at  Hagerstown,  Indiana,  May  6,  1864.  Following  a 
public  school  education,  he  attended  Valparaiso  Normal  College  in  1882-83.  He  read  law,  was  elected 
a  justice  of  the  peace  and  was  appointed  prosecut  ing  attorney  by  the  Republicans.  Coming  to  Black- 
ford county  in  1890  he  became  Democratic  county  chairman  in  1891.  Was  roll  clerk  in  the  Indiana 
state  senate  in  1893,  and  was  again  county  chairman  in  1896  and  in  1898.  He  was  elected  prosecuting 
attorney  the  same  year  and  re-elected  in  1898.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  in  1900 
and  contingent  elector  in  1912.  He  was  county  attorney  in  1912-13  and  re-appointed  for  1914-15. 
Since  1891  Mr.  Waltz  has  been  connected  with  the  Democratic  county  committee  as  chairman  or  as  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee.  He  has  been  frequently  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  state  con- 
vention, and  has  served  on  the  committee  on  rules  and  organization,  and  the  committee  on  creden- 
tials. He  is  an  active  member  and  past  exalted  ru  ler  of  the  Elks  and  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 
and  the  Modern  Woodmen. 


(  1048  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

FRANK  E.  WATSON 

The  present  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Corydon,  appointed  by  President  Wilson  April  21,  1914, 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  is  a  man  eminently  fitted  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  this  position, 
being  a  man  of  broad  experience  and  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  community  and  its  needs. 

Mr.  Frank  E.  Watson  was  born  in  Indiana  on  the  11th  day  of  July,  1877,  and  attended  the 
public  schools  of  his  district,  later  taking  a  course  of  study  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of 
Danville,  from  which  he  graduated. 

On  the  19th  day  of  November,  1903,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Henrietta  Marshall  was  solemnized, 
and  their  home  has  since  extended  its  hospitality  to  a  host  of  friends.  In  the  same  year,  also,  he  was 
appointed  county  auditor,  serving  under  this  appointment  for  a  term  of  nine  months,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  he  was  elected  to  this  position  for  a  term  of  four  years,  being  at  that  time  the 
youngest  auditor  elected  in  the  State.  Later  he  became  interested  in  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Corydon,  and  is  now  a  director  in  this  institution.  His  energies  at  present,  however,  are  centered 
in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  postal  service,  in  which  he  finds  deep  interest. 

Mr.  Watson  is  a  lifelong  adherent  to  Democratic  principles,  and  has  devoted  his  time  and  serv- 
ices for  the  furtherance  of  the  influence  of  this  party,  attending  the  various  state  conventions  as  dele- 
gate for  many  years.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Ralston  as  delegate  to  the  good  roads  con- 
vention at  St.  Louis  in  April,  1914. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,  among  the  membership  of  which  he  has   a   wide  acquaintance. 

LOUIS  LATOUR  WATSON 

Louis  Latour  Watson,  an  early  pioneer  of  the  state  of  Indiana  and  a 
loyal  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party  for  three-quarters  of  a  century,  still 
lives  in  the  memory  and  in  the  hearts  of  many  citizens  of  Vincennes. 

He  was  born  in  Vincennes,  then  but  a  trading  post,  on  the  13th  day  of 
April,  1809.  Here  his  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent,  sharing  the  hard- 
ships and  joys  of  the  early  settler,  knowing  nothing  of  our  present  school 
system,  but  managing  to  acquire  an  education  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
compete  with  the  more  fortunate  younger  generation. 

On  the  6th  day  of  November,  1832,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Lydia  E.  Fellows,  and  their  home  was  established  in  Vincennes.  Here  their 
lives  were  spent,  loyal  to  the  home  of  their  birth  and  rejoicing  in  its  growth 
and  progress  until  death  called  them. 

After  the  coming  of  the  railroad  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Evans- 
ville  and  Cravs'fordsville  road,  serving  as  station  agent  and  contractor,  and 
was  later  purchasing  agent  for  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  railroad.     During 

the  administration  of  President  Taylor,  1849  to  1853,  he  held  the  position  of  postmaster  of  Vin- 
cennes, and  was  later  elected  county  assessor  and  city  councilman,  in  both  of  which  capacities  he 
served  the  commonwealth  efficiently  and  loyally. 

Always  a  devoted  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  he  rendered  valued  service  to 
the  local  and  state  organizations,  and   his  memory  is  reverenced  by  a  host  of  younger  workers. 

On  the  4th  day  of  May,  1902,  death  called  him  from  his  home  at  Vincennes;  but  the  record  of 
his  work  and  his  sterling  qualities  will  long  continue  in  the  community  where  his  life  was  spent. 

He  was  born  and  died  at  Vincennes,  and  at  his  death  was  the  oldest  native. 

S.  HORACE  WEBER 

S.  Horace  Weber  was  born  on  the  13th  day  of  April,  1889,  at  Oakville,  Delaware  county.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  Muncie  and  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  with  the  class  of  1906. 
A  com-se  of  work  was  then  taken  at  Indiana  University,  followed  by  teaching  school  in  Delaware 
county  for  seven  years,  five  of  which  were  as  principal.  He  then  located  in  Muncie  and  engaged  in 
his  chosen  work,  surveying.  In  1912  he  was  elected  surveyor  of  Delaware  county,  the  first  Demo- 
cratic surveyor  ever  elected  there,  and,  though  but  twenty-four  years  of  age,  his  work  in  this  de- 
partment was  so  efficiently  administered  that  he  was  re-elected  at  the  close  of  a  two-year  term. 

On  December  10,  1914,  Mr.  Weber  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Helen  C.  Stephens.  Mr. 
Weber  is  a  member  of  the  Elks  lodge  at  Muncie  and  is  a  32d  degree  Mason. 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191 


SAMUEL  B.  WELLS 

A  leader  in  the  Democratic  organization  of  Scott  county,  for  many  years  a  prom- 
inent attorney  of  Scottsburg,  and  a  journalist  of  wide  influence,  Samuel  B.  Wells 
needs  no  introduction  to  the  citizens  of  Scott  county  and  vicinity. 

He  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  Indiana,  on  the  28th  day  of  September,  1860. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  district,  and  after  his  graduation,  in  the  year 
1885,  entered  De  Pauw  University  at  Greencastle  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  course 
in  law.  Graduating  from  this  institution  with  the  class  of  1887,  he  was  in  the  same 
year  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Jefferson  county,  and  in  1889  removed  to  Scott  county 
and  entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession. 

In  the  year  1887  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Rachel  P.  Marshall  of 
Olney,  111.,  and  their  home  was  established  in  Madison  until  they  removed  to  Scottsburg.  Here  their 
friendships  have  been  made  and  their  interests  centered. 

During  the  period  from  1900  to  1904  he  held  the  position  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  sixth 
judicial  district,  and  discharged  the  duties  involved  with  much  credit.  In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was 
elected  representative  from  Scott  and  Jennings  counties  to  the  state  legislature,  and  in  the  assembly 
of  1911  was  an  active  participant. 

Mr.  Wells  is  widely  known,  also,  as  the  editor  of  the  Scott  County  Journal,  a.  paper  whose  prin- 
ciples are  proverbially  sound  and  progressive. 


CHARLES  W.  WENINGER 

The  present  auditor  of  Starke  county,  Charles  W.  Weninger,  has  been  for  many 
years  closely  identified  with  the  business  life  of  North  Judson  and  is  a  recognized 
leader  in  all  movements  for  the  betterment  of  the  community  in  which  he  resides. 

He  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  23rd  day  of  May,  1873,  and  educated  in  the 
schools  of  North  Judson.    At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  was  appointed  deputy  post- 
master of  North  Judson,  and  in  this  capacity  served  for  a  term  of  four  years.     He 
also  held  the  position  of  town  clerk  for  two  terms  and  was  a  member  of  the  North 
Judson  school  board  for  a  term  of  two  years.     In  the  year  1900  he  served  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  township  trustee,  and  in  the  fall  of  1912  was  elected  to  the  position  which 
he  now  holds,  that  of  county  auditor. 
Aside  from  his  labors  in  the  public  service,  he  has  taken  a  very  active  part  in  the  business  life 
of  the  place,  and  is  now  president  of  the  First  State  Bank  of  North  Judson,  president  of  the  Perpet- 
ual Building  and  Loan  Association,  and  an  active  real  estate  and  insurance  man. 

On  the  29th  day  of  September,  1897,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Maude  Collier,  and 
she  has  since  been  the  presiding  genius  of  his  home,  dispensing  its  hospitality  to  their  many  friends 
and  creating  the  true  home  atmosphere. 


RICHARD  A.  WERNEKE 

The  name  of  Richard  A.  Werneke  is  known  throughout  the  State  as 
one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient  workers  in  the  ranks  of  the  party. 

He  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  State,  born  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1883, 
and  his  schooling  was  received  in  the  public  and  parochial  schools  of  Terre 
Haute. 

On  the  10th  day  of  September,  1910,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Nina  C.  Wynn,  and  she  has  since  presided  over  their  home  with  rare 
grace,  dispensing  hospitality  to  a  host  of  friends. 

At  the  early  age  of  twenty  years  he  served  the  party  in  the  capacity 
of  precinct  and  county  committeeman,  and  again  in  1905  was  connected 
with  the  local  organization.  In  the  year  1912  he  was  elected  to  the  im- 
portant position  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  Terre  Haute,  and  the  year 
following  he  assumed  the  duties  of  chairman  of  the  city  central  committee. 
During  his  incumbency  of  this  position,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
Vigo  county,  every  candidate  on   the  Democratic  ticket  was   elected.     Al- 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

though  one  of  the  youngest  public  officials  ever  elected  to  office  in  the  county,  his  abilities  as  prose- 
cuting  attorney  were  so  marked  that  he  was   re-elected  in  1914. 

Throughout  his  career,  since  he  attained  his  majority,  Mr.  Werneke  has  borne  a  prominent  part 
in  every  Democratic  movement  in  the  county,  and  has  served  the  party  as  delegate  to  all  conven- 
tions, being  recognized  as  one  of  the  strongest  leaders  in  the  organization. 


JESSE  F.  WEISMAN 

Jesse  F.  Weisman,  a  leading  attorney  of  the  city  of  Linton,  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  well 
known  to  the  citizens  of  Greene  county.  He  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  State,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred near  the  city  of  Anderson  on  the  15th  day  of  May,  1881.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
and  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  later  attending  Miami  University,  and 
completing  his  legal  education  at  the  Cincinnati  Law  School,  followed  by  his  admission  to  the  bar  of 
Greene  county  and  his  entrance  upon  the  active  practice  of  his  profession. 

On  the  22d  day  of  December,  1906,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Bertha  A.  Riddle  was  solemnized,  and 
she  has  since  presided  over  his  home  and  dispensed  its  hospitality. 

In  1906  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  attorney  of  I,inton,  which  position  he  held  for  eight  years, 
retiring  in  1914.  In  the  fall  of  1912  he  was  elected  representative  from  Greene  county  to  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  the  state  and  in  the  legislature  of  1913  he  was  an  active  member,  always  guarding 
the  interests  of  the  people  in  legislative  matters. 

Since  boyhood  he  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Democratic  party,  working 
with  the  locai  organizations  and  at  all  times  seeking  to  promulgate  the  principles  of  true  Democracy. 


FERNANDO  WOOD  WESNER 

Fernando  Wood  Wesner,  whose  photo  appears  herewith,  is  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington county,  as  were  also  his  parents,  and  is  of  German-Irish  descent.  For  many 
years  he  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  political  life  of  Jackson  county  and  es- 
teemed as  one  of  her  worthy,  progressive  citizens. 

Mr.  Wesner  was  born  and  reared  on  a  farm,  attending  the  country  schools  until 
the  age  of  17,  when  he  became  a  teacher.  For  several  winters  he  followed  this  pro- 
fession with  great  success.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Eikso  Academy,  Salem,  Indiana,  class 
of  1892,  in  the  scientific  course.  For  a  time  he  attended  the  Normal  College  at 
Mitchell,  Indiana,  taking  a  teachers'  course,  and  did  two  years'  work  in  the  law  and 
literary  departments  of  Indiana  University,  in  a  special  course.  He  has  been  in  the 
active  practice  of  law  at  Seymour,  Ind.,  since  February,  1899.  During  his  residence  in  Seymour  he 
has  held  the  offices  of  city  commissioner,  city  judge,  and  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Jackson 
county. 

On  the  17th  day  of  June,  1903,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lura  Maude  Hamer,  a  native  of  Seymour, 
and  a  most  estimable  and  intelligent  young  woman.     To  this  union  a  daughter  and  son  have  been  born. 

Mr.  Wesner  is  a  sterling  Democrat  and  stands  high  in  his  party  councils. 


JOHN  WESSEL,  JR. 

John  Wessel  is  well  known  to  the  leaders  of  Democracy  in  Allen  county  and  In- 
diana as  one  of  the  most  active  among  the  younger  workers  in  the  party.  He  has 
also,  by  his  progressive  policies  and  aggressive  methods,  won  for  himself  an  enviable 
position  in  the  business  life  of  the  community.  He  was  bom  on  the  19th  day  of 
November,  1882,  and  after  graduating  from  the  common  and  high  schools,  attended  I 
St.  Joseph's  College  at  Rensselaer,  Indiana,  graduating  with  the  class  of  1902.  I 

Later,  after  having  taken  up  his  business  life,  he  showed  a  deep  interest  in 
political  matters;  and  was  appointed  reading  clerk  of  the  house  of  representatives  of 
the  66th  and  67th  general  assemblies  of  the  state  of  Indiana.  During  the  campaign 
of  1912  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  Allen  county  central  committee,  working 
zealously  and  loyally  for  the  success  of  Woodrow  Wilson  and  the  other  candidates 
cratic  ticket. 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY—  1816-1916 

As  a  business  man  he  has  been  remarkably  successful,  shewing  throughout  his  career  unusual 
ability  in  organization  and  management,  and,  though  still  a  young  man,  holds  the  responsible  position 
of  secretary  and  manager  of  the  Ft.  Wayne  Municipal  Electric  Light  and  Power  Works. 

HENRY  E.  WHITE 
The  career  of  Henry  E.  White  has  been  a  varied  one,  and  his  versatility  has 
been  demonstrated  in  a  marked  degree  by  his  successful  endeavors  in  various  lines. 

He  was  born  in  Pulaski  county,  Indiana,  on  the  18th  day  of  December,  1866,  and 
his  schooling  was  received  in  the  public  schools  of  Starke  county.  Later,  however,  a 
course  of  study  in  the  higher  branches  and  in  law  was  taken  at  Valparaiso  Univer- 
sity. For  a  period  of  five  years  he  taught  in  the  public  schools  of  Starke  county,  and 
for  one  year  was  the  proprietor  of  a  store.  Later  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness in  North  Judson,  Indiana,  and  for  six  years  his  energies  were  devoted  to  this 
work.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  the  first  cashier  of  the  Fountain  Square 
State  Bank  of  Indianapolis,  and  for  one  year  was  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Starke 
County,  of  Hamlet.  He  has  been  actively  interested  in  the  municipal  affairs  of  North  Judson,  and  was 
for  two  terms  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  that  place.  In  the  year  1898  he  was  elected  clerk  of 
the  Starke  circuit  court  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  first  term  of  four  years  was  re-elected  to  this 
position.     For  six  months,  also,  he  served  as  deputy  in  the  circuit  court  of  Kosciusko  county. 

Mrs.  White,  to  whom  he  was  married  August  3,  1893,  was  formerly  Miss  Estelle  E.  Collins  of 
Wayne  township.     They  have  three  sons:  Rex  Seymour,  Victor  Ehdy  and  Maxwell  Richard. 


RICHARD  WHITE 

Since  attaining  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  Richard  White  has  been  closely  allied  with  the  work- 
ings of  the  Democratic  party  in  Dearborn  county  and  has  served  as  precinct  committeeman  in 
every  campaign  since  the  year  1895,  as  well  as  attending  every  state  and  district  convention  and 
finally  being  present  at  the  Baltimore  convention  which  nominated  Woodrow  Wilson  for  President  in 
1912. 

He  is  a  product  of  Dearborn  county,  born  in  the  city  of  Aurora  on  the  15th  day  of  December, 
1876.  In  his  childhood  he  moved,  with  his  parents,  to  the  town  of  Cochran,  and  here  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  and  parochial  schools  of  his  district.  Here  also  he  held  his  first  position  in  the 
service  of  the  public,  being  elected  clerk  of  Cochran  for  two  terms.  Later  he  served  as  deputy  as- 
sessor, and  in  the  year  1906  was  elected  sheriff  of  Dearborn  county,  which  position  he  filled  with 
great  satisfaction  to  the  people,  and  much  credit  to  himself.  The  ensuing  three  years  were  spent 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C,  having  received  the  appointment  of  assistant  sergeant-at-arms  under 
Stokes  Jackson  for  the  62nd  and  63rd  Congressional  Assemblies.  At  present  he  holds  the  position 
of  pure  food  inspector. 

Mr.  White  enjoys  an  exceedingly  wide  acquaintance  and  numbers  among  his  friends  many  of 
the  most  prominent  statesmen  of  our  state  and  country. 

DAVID    VOORHEES    WHITELEATHER 

The  name  of  David  Voorhees  Whiteleather  is  a  familiar  one  to  the  citizens  of  Columbia  City 
and  vicinity,  being  an  attorney-at-law  with  an  extensive  practice  in  Whitley  and  the  surrounding 
counties. 

Mr.  Whiteleather  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  December  4,  1866,  where  he 
attended  the  common  schools  of  his  neighborhood,  after  which  he  attended  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity at  Ada,  Ohio,  and  subsequently  Mt.   Union  College  at  Alliance,  Ohio. 

He  became  a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Indiana  in  1889,  when  he  was  selected  principal  of  the 
public  schools  at  Larwill,  Indiana,  which  position  he  held  for  a  period  of  five  years.  After  reading 
law  in  the  law  offices  of  Eph.  K.  Strong  and  P.  H.  Clugston,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Septem- 
ber, 1894,  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  on  January  1,  1895,  and  has  continued  in  his  profes- 
sion since  said  time. 

In  1895  he  married  Miss  Keturah  H.  Essick.  During  the  political  campaigns  of  1896,  1898  and 
1900,  Mr.  Whiteleather  served  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Central  Committee  for  Whitley  county. 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


-19  1 


In  1898  he  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  for  the  counties  of  Whitley  and  Noble,  and  was  re- 
elected to  said  office  in  1900.  He  was  selected  as  chairman  of  the  County  Council  of  Defense  for 
Whitley   county   and   served   in   that   capacity   during:   the   continuation   of  the   world's   war. 


JUDGE  HUGH  DEVINE  WICKENS 
Judge  Hugh  Devine  Wiekens  stands  in  the  foremost  rank  not  only  among  the 
representatives  of  Democracy,  but  in  the  legal  profession  as  well,  of  Decatur  county. 
He  is  a  native  of  Jennings  county,  born  in  1870,  and  here  he  attended  common 
schools,  later  graduating  from  the  high  school  of  North  Vernon.  His  legal  education 
was  received  in  the  Indiana  Law  School.  In  the  year  1910  he  assumed  the  duties  of 
judge  of  the  ninth  judicial  district,  including  Bartholomew  and  Decatur  counties,  en- 
joying the  unique  distinction  of  being  the  first  Democratic  candidate  for  judge  carry- 
ing Decatur  county  since  the  Civil  war,  and  the  first  Democrat  elected  in  the  circuit 
for  twelve  years.  For  four  years  he  has  devoted  his  time  with  conscientious  dili- 
gence to  the  affairs  of  his  office,  gaining  an  enviable  reputation  in  the  legal  profession 
of  the  section.  His  wife,  formerly  Miss  Adele  Gallagher,  has  also  a  wide  circle  of  friends 
home  city,  Greensburg. 


HENRY  A.  WIEBKE 

Well  known  throughout  the  business  section  of  Ft.  Wayne  is  Henry  A.  Wiebke, 
the  proprietor  of  The  Hof  Brau  restaurant  and  bar  on  the  corner  of  Calhoun  and 
Columbia  streets.  Mr.  Wiebke  is  a  native  of  the  Hoosier  state,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred on  the  first  day  of  Septem.ber,  1867.  He  attended  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  parochial 
school,  and  after  he  attained  his  majority  became  prominently  identified  with  the 
Democratic  organization  of  this  city,  having  many  times  attended  the  various  con- 
ventions of  the  city,  county  and  state  in  the  capacity  of  delegate.  During  the  years 
1902  to  1905,  inclusive,  he  served  the  city  as  councilman,  showing  an  unusual  grasp 
of  the  business  affairs  of  the  city,  giving  his  support  only  to  those  measures  which 
appeared  to  him  for  the  real  good  of  the  community. 

On  the  1.3th  day  of  January,  1896,  his  marriage  to  Mrs.  Louise  Mosshammer,  formerly  Miss  Ritter, 
was  solemnized;  and  their  home  has  extended  its  hospitality  to  numerous  friends.  Mr.  Wiebke  comes 
of  a  Democratic  family,  his  father  and  brothers  having  always  been  stanch  adherents  of  this  party. 


CHARLES  F.  WILLIAMS,  JR. 

Known  throughout  Tippecanoe  county  as  the  editor  of  the  Sunday  and 
Thursday  Leader,  and  fully  equipped  by  nature  and  by  training  for  the  re- 
sponsibilities-which  rest  on  the  newspaper  man,  is  Charles  F.  Williams,  Jr. 

He  is  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  born  within  its  confines  on  the  30th 
day  of  December,  1869.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Lafayette,  and  later  en- 
tered Purdue  University  for  work  in  the  higher  branches. 

On  the  12th  day  of  June,  1889,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Frances  V.  Sullins,  and  their  home,  then  established  in  Lafayette,  has  been 
a  center  of  hospitality  extended  to  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

In  September,  1902,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  city  clerk,  and  in  this 
capacity  served  until  September,  1904.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period 
he  re-entered  the  field  of  journalism,  and  in  it  has  found  an  occupation  to 
which  he  is  eminently  adapted.  In  his  work  as  editor  of  the  Sunday  and 
Thursday  Leader  he  has  shown  marked  capability. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  orders  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
Odd  Fellows,  Red  Men,  Druids,  Elks  and  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

Politically,  he  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  to  the   principles   of   Democracy,   and   in   the   various 
campaigns  through  which  he  has  passed  has  consistently  labored  for  the  success  of  the  cause. 


(  105S  ) 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

FRANCIS  M.  WILLIAMS 

Francis  M.  Williams,  who  in  1911  was  elected  auditor  of  Delaware  county,  was  born  in  Indiana 
on  February  3,  1872.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Grant  county,  and  later  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Howard  county,  where  his  schooling  was  continued.  In  September,  1893,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Ada  Spradling. 

In  the  year  1911  Mr.  Williams  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  auditor,  and  in  that  ca- 
pacity served  with  marked  ability. 


HARRY  B.  WILLIAMS 

Harry  B.  Williams  was  born  on  February  13,  1872,  on  a  farm  in  Owen  county.  His  grandfather 
was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Indiana,  his  birth  having  occurred  at  old  Fort  Knox,  the  present 
site  of  Vincennes.  This  gentleman,  William  Williams,  a  cousin  of  Governor  "Blue  Jeans"  Williams, 
settled  in  Owen  county  eighty  years  ago. 

Harry  B.  Williams  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Owen  county  and  after  his  graduation 
entered  the  educational  field,  teaching  in  the  county  schools  for  two  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
this  period  he  entered  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  and  in  this  field  labored  successfully.  He  has  been 
an  active  party  worker,  serving  as  precinct  committeeman  and  delegate  to  many  conventions.  He 
was  elected  county  treasurer  in   1910  by  a  majority  of  98,  and  again  in  1912  by  546. 

On  November  16,  1898,  Mr.  Williams  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Maud  Plew.  He  ia  affil- 
iated with  the  Masons,  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  Red  Men. 


H.  THORNTON  WILLIS 

A  leading  name  in  the  roster  of  the  Indiana  Democracy  is  that  of  H.  Thornton 
Willis,  of  Knox  county. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Bruceville,  Knox  county,  and  attended  the  schools 
of  his  district.  Later  a  course  of  study  was  taken  at  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Terre  Haute,  after  which  he  entered  the  educational  field,  teaching  in  the  schools  of 
the  county  for  six  years.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  became  city  editor  of  the 
Vincennes  Daily  Snn  and  here  remained  for  five  years.  He  was  also  widely  known 
as  the  manager  of  the  Union  Depot  hotel  for  thirteen  years.  After  a  year's  service 
with  the  Second  National  Bank  he  returned  to  the  newspaper  field,  becoming  general 
manager  of  the  Vincennes  Daily  and  Weekly  Sun,  resigning  this  position  in  February, 
1911,  to  accept  the  appointment  to  the  position  of  deputy  state  treasurer,  serving  two  terms,  being  re- 
appointed in  February,  1915,  for  a  second  term  under  the  new  treasurer. 

He  was  for  three  years  a  member  of  the  Vincennes  school  board,  and  secretary  of  the  county 
Democratic  committee  for  four  years.  He  also  served  as  secretary  of  the  Vincennes  board  of  trade 
for  fourteen  years,  and  is  still  active  in  this  organization. 

Fraternally,  he  is  allied  with  the  order  of  Ben  Hur,  Royal  Arcanum  and  Travelers'  Protective  As- 
sociation. 

Mrs.  Willis,  to  whom  he  was  married  June  17,    1896,  was  formerly  Miss  Grace  Burnet. 


THOMAS  E.  WILLSON 

The  grandson  of  the  first  treasurer  of  Ripley  county,  elected  in  1818,  and  the 
son  of  the  first  county  associate  judge,  Thomas  E.  Willson,  an  attorney  of  Osgood, 
is  also  widely  known  and  highly  esteemed  as  an  active  party  worker,  and  former 
holder  of  various  positions  of  trust  in  the  public  service. 

He  was  born  at  Versailles,  Indiana,  on  the  16th  day  of  December,  1845,  and  at- 
tended the  public  schools  at  that  place.  August  22,  1862,  at  the  age  of  16,  he  en- 
listed, as  a  private,  in  Company  A,  83rd  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry;  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1863  he  was  transferred  to  the  5th  regiment,  Veteran  Reserve  Corps, 
and  was  honorably  discharged,  as  a  sergeant,  July  5,  1865,  by  reason  of  expiration 
of  term  of  enlistment.  For  two  and  one-half  years  after  the  war  he  was  a  student 
of  Moores  Hill  College. 


HISTORY       INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-191(5 

On  the  22nd  of  November,  1870,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Melvina  H.  Francis,  and  one  month  later 
their  home  was  established  at  Osgood.  Here  they  have  since  remained  and  are  now  the  parents  of 
three  children. 

In  the  year  1875  he  was  elected,  without  opposition,  as  one  of  the  members  of  the  first  board  of 
town  trustees  of  Osgood  and  served  two  terms.  In  J  866  he  was  elected  to  the  position  of  county  auditor 
of  Ripley  county,  and  after  the  expiration  of  his  term' of  four  years  was  re-elected. 

Hi  is  a  member  of  the  Ripley  county  bar  and  a  member,  in  good  standing,  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  Odd 
Fellows  and  Knights  of  Pythias. 


WILLIAM  0.  WILSON 

To  the  citizens  of  Posey  county  the  name  of  M'illiam  O.  Wilson  is  a  familiar  one  and  one  held 
in  high  esteem,  this  gentleman  having  served  the  commonwealth  in  various  positions  of  responsi- 
bility and  trust. 

Mr.  Wilson  is  a  native  Hoosier,  born  on  the  22nd  day  of  September,  1878,  and  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  district.  Following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  of  Mt.  Vernon  he  entered 
the  Indiana  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute,  and  after  receiving  a  year's  work  in  this  institu- 
tion entered  Indiana  University  for  further  study.  Following  his  graduation  here  after  having  com- 
pleted a  three  years'  course  of  work,  he  entered  the  educational  field,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
taught  in  the  schools  of  Posey  county  with  marked  success.  On  the  24th  day  of  August,  1905,  he 
was  elected  county  superintendent  of  schools  and  in  this  capacity  served  until  February  16,  1914. 
During  this  period  his  work  was  characterized  by  marked  intelligence  and  zeal  for  the  advancement 
of  the  school  system  and  the  progress  of  the  children  of  the  community,  and  the  high  plane  of 
scholarship  which  was  set  before  the  youthful  mind  as  a  standard  did  much  to  place  the  schools  of 
the  community  upon  their  present  foundation. 

In  the  year  1914  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  postmaster  of  Mt.  Vernon,  and  in  this  ca- 
pacity has  continued  to  render  efficient  and  intelli  gent  service. 

On  the  29th  day  of  June,  1910,  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet  Brinkman,  and 
their  home,  then  established  in  Mt.  Vernon,  has  extended  hospitality  to  a  host  of  interesting  friends. 

During  his  years  in  college  he  became  affiliated  with  the-  Sigma  Alpha  Epsilon  fraternity;  is 
now  affiliated  with  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Royal  Arch  Masons  and  B.  P.  O.  Elks,  all  of  Mt. 
Vernon. 

HENRY  WIMBERG 

Closely  identified  with  political  and  business  affairs  of  the  city  of  Evansville  for 
many  years,  the  name  of  Henry  Wimberg  ranks  high  in  the  roster  of  prominent 
Democratic  workers  in  Vanderburg  county. 

Mr.  Wimberg  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  the  city  of  Oldenburg  on  the 
30th  day  of  December,  1851.  Here  his  boyhood  was  spent  and  his  schooling  received. 
In  1S75  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Emge,  and  she  has  proven  a 
devoted  companion  and  helpmate. 

Mr.  Wimberg's  residence  in  Evansville  has  been  fraught  with  various  activities 
in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth. 

He  was  elected  to  membership  in  the  city  council  and  for  six  years  took  an 
active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  that  body.  He  has  also  served  on  the  police  and  fire  board  for 
a  period  of  three  years,  and  has  been  actively  interested  in  the  various  movements  which  have  arisen 
from  time  to  time  for  the  general  progress  and  development  of  the  community. 

Mr.  Wimberg  is  also  widely  known  as  president  of  the  Evansville  Brewing  Association  and  as 
president  of  the  Vendome  Hotel  Company.  He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  progressive  business  men 
of  Evansville. 


HUGO  WINTERHOFF 

The  Fatherland  has  sent  to  our  shores  in  the  years  that  have  passed  many  citizens  who  have 
risen  to  prominence  in  our  own  country  through  their  interest  in  business  and  civic  affairs;  and  this  is 
clearly  exemplified  in  the  case  of  Hugo  Winterhoff.     This  gentleman  was  born  in  Germany  on  the  fifth 


HISTORY      INDIANA      DEMOCRACY  —  1816-1916 

day  of  June,  1864,  and  in  his  childhood  he  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  state.  In  the  year  1881, 
however,  when  a  lad  of  sixteen,  he  came  to  this  country  with  his  parents,  settling  in  the  city  of  Elk- 
hart, Indiana,  and  here  his  schooling  was  continued.  On  the  14th  day  of  September,  1894,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Clara  L.  Haslanger,  whose  home  was  in  South  Bend,  Indiana;  but  on  the 
7th  of  March,  191.3,  death  deprived  him  of  the  companionship  of  his  helpmate. 

In  the  fall  of  1911  he  was  elected  on  the  Derfiocratic  ticket  to  the  important  position  of  county 
recorder,  assuming  the  duties  of  his  position  on  the  first  day  of  the  following  January,  his  term  of 
office  expiring  on  the  31st  of  December,  1915. 

In  the  years  since  he  attained  his  majority  Mr.  Winterhoff  has  performed  much  valued  service  in 
the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  is  deserving  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  con- 
stituents and  the  community  at  large. 


FRANK  H.  WOLFE 

Any  reference  to  the  active  workers  in  the  ranks  of  Shelby  county  Democracy  should  include 
mention  of  the  name  of  Frank  H.  Wolfe. 

Mr.  Wolfe  was  born  in  Decatur  county,  Indiana,  May  22,  1881.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his 
home  district  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  years  he  located  in  Shelby  county,  where  his  perma- 
nent home  was  established  after  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ive  Pyle. 

During  the  Spanish-American  war  Mr.  Wolfe  served  as  a  sergeant-major.  Later  he  began 
the  study  of  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Shelby  county.  During  the  campaign  of  1914 
he  was  an  active  participant  in  the  work  of  the  Democratic  organization  and  was  the  party's  nomi- 
nee for  prosecuting  attorney. 


ALPHONSO  C.  WOOD 

Alphonso  C.  Wood  was  born  on  the  23rd  day  of  January,  1874,  in  Steuben  county,  Indiana. 

He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  county  and  later  continued  his  studies  at  the  Tri-State  College 
of  Angola,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  the  classical  course  in  July,  1895.  In  1896  he  en- 
tered the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  after  completing  a  three-year  course  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  and  has  been  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  law  ever  since.  In  1901  he  was 
elected  town  clerk  of  the  town  of  Angola  for  a  two-year  term,  was  re-elected  in  1903,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  this  term  of  office  he  was  appointed  city  attorney  for  the  city  of  Angola.  From  March, 
1909,  until  November,  1910,  he  held  the  position  of  secretary  to  Congressman  Cyrus  Cline,  of  the  12th 
district  of  Indiana.  In  February,  1911,  he  was  appointed  deputy  oil  inspector,  which  position  he  held 
until  March,  1915. 

He  is  an  active  party  worker,  holding  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  county  central  committee 
from  1900  until  1908,  at  which  time  he  was  elected   county  chairman,  which  position  he  has  since  held. 

His  marriage  to  Miss  Mayme  Moffett  occurred  June  28,  1899.  They  have  one  son,  Theodore  Thom- 
as Wood,  born  February  2,  1905. 


DE  VERE  YEOMAN 

The  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  h  ead  of  this  review  is  among  the  ablest  of  the  young- 
er workers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Jasper  county.  He  is  a  native  of  this  state,  bom 
on  July  25,  1887. 

After  his  graduation  from  the  public  schools  of  his  home  district  Mr.  Yeoman's  studies  were  con- 
tinued at  Purdue  University,  and  later  a  course  was  taken  in  civil  engineering  at  Valparaiso  College. 

On  July  1,  1911,  Mr.  Yeoman  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Blanche  McCarthy  of  Rensselaer, 
and  in  that  city  their  home  was  established.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1913  he  assumed  the  duties 
of  county  surveyor,  and  in  that  position  he  brought  to  his  work  that  abounding  energy  and  conscien- 
tious zeal  which  make  for  assured  success.  He  is  an  active  worker  for  the  success  of  Democracy 
and  is  well  known  among  the  members  of  the  county  organization. 


(  1056  ) 


HISTORY   INDIANA   DEMOCRACY 


18  16-1916 


CHARLES  A.  YOTTER 


The  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  review 
active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  party  and  a  sta 

Charles  A.  Yotter  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  I 
the  year  1887  he  came  to  Indiana  for  the  purpose 
lege  at  Angola,  having  previously  attended  Denm 
in  Iowa.  In  the  year  1892  he  was  admitted  to  the 
been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law, 

Mr.  Yotter  has  been  a  consistent  party  work 
not  been  an  aspirant  for  public  office. 

Mr.  Yotter  has  been  twice  married.  On  Oct 
Gussie  B.  Best,  who  died  in   1900.     On  January  1, 


has    long   been    known    in    Steuben    county    as    an 
nch  adherent   to   Democratic   principles, 
owa,  born  on  the   16th  day  of  January,   18(34.     In 

of  continuing  his  schooling  at  the  Tri-State  Col- 
ark  Academy  and  Iowa  Wesleyan  University,  both 

bar  of  Steuben  county  and  in  that  county  has  since 
liaving  his  home  and  office  at  Angola, 
er,   making  political   speeches  since   1888,  but   has 

ober  19,  1897,  he  was  united   in  marriage  to  Miss 
1902,  he  married  Miss  Rena  S.  Sears. 


PHILIP  ZOERCHER 

Since  the  year  1889,  when  Philip  Zoercher  was  little  more 
than  a  boy,  he  has  held  various  positions  in  the  service  of  the 
commonwealth,  and  in  all  of  these  has  demonstrated  unusual 
ability  and  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  the  community  at  large. 

He  is  a  native  of  this  locality,  born  in  Tell  City  on  the 
first  day  of  October,  1866.  Here  his  boyhood  and  youth  were 
spent,  attending  the  public  schools  of  his  district;  following 
the  completion  of  the  high  school  course,  his  studies  were 
continued  at  the  Central  Normal  College  of  Danville,  Indiana. 

In  the  fall  of  1888,  when  he  was  but  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  he  was  elected  representative  from  Perry  county  to  the 
legislature  of  the  state,  and  so  well  did  he  serve  and  such  abil- 
ity did  he  display  in  the  assembly  of  1889  that  he  was  re- 
turned for  the  session  of  1891.  In  this  same  year,  also,  he 
founded  the  T'ell  City  News,  and  this  thriving  paper  was  con- 
tinued under  his  control  until  the  year  1900,  when  he  dis- 
posed of  it  to  his  youngest  brother. 

From  boyhood  he  was  an  enthusiastic  worker  for  the 
cause  of  Democracy,  and  in  the  year  1892,  at  the  state  conven- 
tion, he  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention 
from  the  first  Indiana  district.  The  following  year  he  was 
appointed   postmaster  of  Tell   City   and   in  this   capacity  he 

served  for  four  years,  throughout  the  second  administration  of  President  Cleveland.  During  these 
years,  however,  he  again  found  time  to  take  up  the  study  of  the  law,  which  he  temporarily  dropped 
when  he  took  up  newspaper  work,  as  he  had  been  a  member  of  Judge  Clark's  law  class  at  Danville, 
Indiana,  in  1889-90;  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Perry  county  in  November,  1890.  In  1898  he 
was  appointed  deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Perry  county  and  in  the  year  1900  he  was  elected  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  the  second  judicial  circuit.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  two  years  in  this  of- 
fice, he  again  engaged  in  private  practice,  building  for  himself  a  lucrative  and  increasing  clientele. 

In  November,  1912,  he  was  elected  court  reporter  for  the  supreme  court,  and  his  services  in  this 
work  have  been  invaluable  to  the  court.  Judge  Monks,  formerly  on  the  supreme  bench,  stated  that 
the  reports  as  now  issued,  with  annotations,  are  the  best  ever  produced  in  the  history  of  the  state,  a 
rare  tribute  to  the  intelligence  and  conscientious  zeal  displayed  by  Mr.  Zoercher. 

Throughout  his  career  he  has  been  a  consistent  adherent  to  Democratic  principles  and  has 
sought  at  all  times  to  further  the  cause;  and  when  making  the  race  for  representative  in  1888  he  was 
a  most  eloquent  speaker  during  the  campaign,  meeting  his  opponent  in  joint  debates  and  otherwise 
rendering  valuable  service  to  the  local  organization.  His  debate  with  E.  T.  Franks  at  Cannelton  in 
1892  is  still  remembered  by  many. 

He  is  also  vitally  interested  in  fraternal  affairs,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Tell  City  Lodge  No. 
20.'3  Knights  of  Pythias;  Tell  City  Lodge  No.  206   I.  O.  O.  F.;  Allemania  Encampment  No.  156;  Tell 


HISTORY       INDIANA       DEMOCRACY—  1816-191G 

City  Lodge  No.  623  F.  and  A.  M.;  Indianapolis  Consistory  32nd   degree   A.  and   A.   Scottish   Rite  and 
Tell  City  Chapter  No.  272  O.  E.  S. 

Mrs.  Zoercher,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  the   26th  day  of  June,  1892,  was  formerly  Miss  Martha 
J.  McAdams,  and  their  home  life  has  demonstrated  her  true  worth  as  a  helpmate. 


LOUIS  ZOERCHER 

The  present  postmaster  of  Tell  City  has  for  many  years  been  a  prominent  citizen  in  that 
locality  and  an  important  factor  in  shaping  the  thought  of  the  community,  having  been  a  leader  in 
the  field  of  journalism  in  that  locality. 

Louis  Zoercher  was  born  near  the  site  of  his  present  home  on  the  16th  day  of  May,  1880.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Tell  City,  and  when  he  attained  to  manhood's  estate  engaged 
in  business.  He  entered  the  service  of  Congressman  W.  E.  Co.x  in  the  capacity  of  private  secretary, 
and  in  this  work  demonstrated  unusual  skill  and  tact. 

Later  he  assumed  control  of  the  Tell  City  News,  a  paper  founded  by  his  elder  brother  and  pub- 
lished by  him  until  the  transfer  was  effected.  He  is  also  proprietor  of  the  Jasper  Herald,  and 
through  these  organs  has  been  a  dominant  factor  in  political  affairs  in  the  community.  In  this  work 
he  has  pursued  progressive  policies,  standing  firmly  for  all  movements  which  make  for  the  better- 
ment of  the  community,  physically  and  morally. 

On  the  7th  day  of  June,  190.5,  Mr.  Zoercher  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  Patrick,  and 
their  home,  then  established,  has  extended  hospitality  to  a  host  of  friends. 

On  the  4th  day  of  April,  1914,  he  received  from  President  Wilson  his  appointment  to  the  post- 
mastership  of  Tell  City,  and  in  this  capacity  his  aggressive  methods  are  evident. 

He  is  affiliated  with  the  fraternal  orders  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Order  of  Eastern  Star, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Allemania  Encampment,  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 


FRED  E.  ZOLLARS 

Fred  E.  Zoliars  is  known  not  only  in  Fort  Wayne,  but  throughout  the  county  as  an  able  lawyer  and 
a  stanch  Democrat  who  is  always  ready  to  do  all  he  can  for  the  success  of  his  party,  but  never  looks 
for  any  personal  preferment.  He  was  born  in  Fort  Wayne,  received  his  literary  and  preliminary  legal 
training  at  Miami  University,  completed  his  legal  studies  with  Zoliars,  Worden  &  Zoliars,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  1897.  Mr.  Worden  dropped  out  in  1902  and  the  firm  became  Zoliars  &  Zoliars.  In 
December,  1909,  Judge  Zoliars  died,  and  in  April,  1910,  the  present  firm  of  Leonard,  Rose  &  Zoliars  was 
formed.  It  is  one  of  the  strong  legal  firms  of  the  state.  F.  E.  Zo!lars  gives  to  the  cause  of  Democ- 
racy what  time  he  can  spare  from  a  very  active  legal  career.  He  has  been  affiliated  with  Democratic 
committees  for  years  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  several  state  and  congressional  conventions.  His  ad- 
vice on  political  matters  is  highly  respected  by  his  fellow  Democrats,  and  he  is  held  in  constant  touch 
with  the  party  in  Allen  county.  He  is  a  32nd  degree  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Shrine;  also  of  the 
Elks  and  order  of  Moose. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ABELL,  PHILIP  D.  Page 

biographical   sketch 8S7 

ADAIR,  JOHN  A.  M. 

biographical   sketch 442 

congressman,   candidate   for   governor   and 

.     resident  of  Jay  County 646 

ADAM,  HERMAN  F. 

biographical   sketch 837 

ADAMS  COUNTY 

party  history  and  newspapers 521 

AIRHART,  REV.  CORNELIUS  L. 

biographical   sketch 838 

AITKEN.  CHARLES  A. 

biographical   sketch 837 

AKIN,  CHARLES  T. 

biographical   sketch 838 

BAKER,  CONRAD  Page 

elected    governor    1868 238 

BALDWIN,  JUDGE  DANIEL  P. 

critique  of  Indiana   Supreme  Court 389 

BALLOU,  OTIS  L. 

prominence  in  Lagrange  county  politics.  ..  .674 
BANE,  LEONARD  MORGAN 

biographical   sketch 841 

BANKS 

condition  of  United  States  and  State  banks 

1840    55,  56 

BARCE,  ELINORE 

biographical   sketch 841 

BARCLAY,  JOSEPH  K. 

biographical   sketch 841 

BARNETT,  COLONEL  JOHN  T. 

biographical   sketch 842 

BARNETT,  FRED 

biographical   sketch 842 

BARNHART,  HENRY  A. 

biographical   sketch 843 

congressman  and  resident  of  Fulton  county  606 
BARRETT,   FRED  E. 

biographical   sketch 844 

BARRETT,  HOWARD  E. 

biographical   sketch 845 

BARTHOLOMEW  COUNTY 

party    newspapers 531 

political    history 530 


A 

ALLEN  COUNTY  Page 

party   history 523 

ALLEN,  JOSHUA  H. 

biographical   sketch 839 

ALLEY,  DODDRIDGE 

early  leader  of  Decatur  county  democracy.  .  579 
ALLISON,  GEORGE  ARTHUR 

biographical   sketch 839 

ALSOP,  GEORGE  RUST,  M.  D. 

biographical   sketch 839 

ANGLIN,  T.  WAYNE 

biographical   sketch 840 

AUBRY,  EDWARD  AUGUST 

biographical   sketch 840 

AUSTILL,  JUDGE  H.  CLARENCE 

biographical   sketch 840 

B 

BARTHOLOMEW,  H.  S.  K.  Page 

biographical   sketch 844 

BARTHOLOMEW,  JUDGE  PLINY  WEBSTER 

biographical   sketch 844 

BASTIAN,  OTTO  C. 

biographical   sketch 845 

BATT,  JUDGE  CHARLES  S. 

biographical   sketch 846 

BEADLE,  JOHN  H. 

influence  on  Parke  county  politics 731 

BEAL,  FRED  W. 

biographical   sketch 846 

BEALS.  STUART  A. 

biographical   sketch 847 

BECK,  CHARLES  BENTON 

biographical   sketch 848 

BECK.  THOMAS  O. 

biographical   sketch 847 

BECKER,  LAWRENCE 

biographical   sketch 848 

BEDWELL,  CHARLES  H. 

biographical   sketch 849 

BELDING,  JOHN  E. 

biographical   sketch 849 

BELL,  JOSEPH  B. 

mayor    of    Indianapolis 686 

BENTON  COUNTY 

party  newspapers 532 

political    history 532 


INDEX 


BERNETHA,  JUDGE  HARRY  Page 

biographical  sketch 849 

BERNETHY,  LON  E. 

biographical   sketch 849 

BICKNELL,  GEORGE  A. 

congressman    and    judge    and    resident    of 
Floyd    county    600 

memorial    sketch 459 

BIDDLE,  HORACE  P. 

supreme  court  justice  and  resident  of  Cass 

county    549 

BIGGER,  SAMUEL 

governor  in   1840 51 

BITTERS,  ANDREW   TULLY 

biographical  sketch    850 

BITTLER,  GEORGE  A. 

biographical  sketch    850 

BLACKFORD   COUNTY 

party   newspapers    535 

political   history    534 

BLACKFORD,  JUDGE  ISAAC 

biographical  sketch   120 

jurist  and  Washington  county  democrat.  .  .   820 

judge  of  Knox   county 667 

BLAIR,  ALONZO 

political  career    771 

BLAKE,  THOMAS  WADSWORTH 

biographical   sketch   38 

BLICKWEDEL,  ADOLPH 

biographical  sketch    851 

BLOOM,  BENTON  J. 

biographical  sketch    852 

BLUE,   MICHAEL  C. 

biographical  sketch    852 

BOEHNE,  JOHN  W. 

political    career    806 

BOLSER,  DR.  FELTY  A. 

biographical  sketch    852 

BOON,  RATLIFF 

biographical    sketch    38,  43 

BOONE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    538 

political   history    537 

BORDERS,  LEWIS  W. 

biographical  sketch   : 853 

BORGMAN,  AUGUST  C. 

biographical    sketch    853 

BOUSLOG,  JAMES 

biographical  sketch 853 

BOWSER,  FRANCIS  EDWARD 

biographical  sketch    854 

BOYD,  JOHN  P. 

biographical    sketch    854 


BRADLEY,  P.  S.  Page 

biographical   sketch    854 

BRECKENRIDGE,  JOHN  C. 

organization  in  Indiana  in  1860 195 

BREEDLOVE,  DR.  GEORGE  BALES 

biographical  sketch    855 

BRETZ,  JOHN  L. 

prominence  in  Dubois  county  politics 592 

BRIDGES,  ADJ.  GEN.  FRANKLIN  LANDERS 

biographical   sketch    855 

BRIDWELL,  JUDGE  WILLIAM  HADEN 

biographical  sketch    856 

BRIGHT,  JESSE  D. 

enmity  toward  Wright  and  Marshall.  .  .105-112 

expelled  from  Senate,  1862 206 

leader  of  Jefferson  county  democracy 648 

State  and  United  States  offices  held 81 

BRILL,  JUDGE  GEORGE  W. 

biographical  sketch    855 

BROLLEY,  THOMAS  W. 

biographical  sketch    857 

BROOKSHIRE,  THOMAS  DRAKE 

biographical  sketch    856 

BROWN,  CLINTON  T. 

biographical  sketch    857 

BROWN  COUNTY 

party    newspapers    542 

political   history    539 

BROWN,  HENRY  B. 

leadership  in  Porter  county  politics 738 

BROWN,  JASON  B. 

memorial    sketch    461 

prominence  in  Jackson   county  politics....   641 
BROWN,  JOHN  W. 

biographical  sketch    857 

BROWN,  L.  J. 

biographical  sketch    857 

BRUMBAUGH,  AUSTIN 

biographical  sketch    858 

BROWN,   THEODORE    H. 

biographical  sketch   858 

BRYAN,  WILLIAM  J. 

Democratic  nominee  for  President,   1896..   371 

in   1900    387 

in   1908    408 

enthusiasm   for   leader   distinguished    state 

convention   in   1906 401 

BUCHANAN,  JAMES 

elected  President  in  1856 181,  182 

BUEHRLE,  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch    858 

BULLOCK,  HENRY  WASHINGTON 

biographical  sketch   859 


(  1062  ) 


INDEX 


BULTMAN,  HENRY,  JR.  Page 

biographical  sketch    859 

BUNCH,  ROLLIN  H.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    858 

BURNS,  JOHN  W. 

biographical  sketch   860 

BUSKIRK,  CLARENCE  A. 

attorney  general  and  Gibson  county  leader  609 


BUSKIRK,  THOMAS  B.  Page 

prominence  in  Orange  county  politics 718 

BUSKIRK,  SAMUEL  H. 

leadership   of  Monroe   county   democracy..    703 

BUTLER,  ROBERT  A. 

biographical  sketch    860 


CALDWELL,  FREDERICK  S.  Page 

prominence  in  Randolph  county  politics.  .  .   751 
CALLAHAN,  FRANK 

biographical  sketch    860 

CAMP,  VICTOR 

biographical  sketch    861 

CAMPBELL,  BARTLETT  H. 

biographical  sketch   86  ■ 

CAMPBELL,  FRANK  E. 

biographical  sketch    861 

CANNON,  CARROLL  W. 

biographical  sketch    862 

CARMICHAEL,  THOMAS  C. 

biographical  sketch    862 

CARNEY,  C.  E.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    862 

CARR,  GEORGE  W. 

early  leader  of  Jackson  county  democracy.   640 
CARR,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch   39 

CARR,  NATHAN  T. 

characteristics 530 

CARROLL,  CHARLES  E. 

biographical  sketch    862 

CARROLL  COUNTY 

political   history    545 

CARTWRIGHT,  JOHN  A. 

biographical  sketch   863 

CASE,  MARVIN  H. 

biographical  sketch    863 

CASS  COUNTY 

political  history    546 

party   newspapers    548 

CASS,  LEWIS 

nominated    for    President    on     Democratic 

ticket,   1848    94 

CASSIDY,  GEORGE  LEO 

biographical  sketch   864 

CATHCART,  CHARLES  W. 

biographical   sketch    155,  156 

CATHOLICS 

crusade  of  Know-Nothings  against. .  .169,  178 


c 

CATLIN,   SAMUEL   T.  Page 

prominence  in  Parke  county  politics 731 

CENTENNIAL  MEMORIAL 

vote  in   1914    425 

CHAMBERLAINE,  EBENEZER  M. 

early  Elkhart  county  political  leader 594 

CHAMBERS,  WALTER  SCOTT 

biographical  sketch    864 

CHAPMAN,  ALBERT  T. 

biographical  sketch    864 

CHARLES,  ALBERT  A. 

biographical  sketch    865 

CHEADLE,  JOSEPH  B. 

congressman  and  resident  of  Clinton  county  564 
CHENEY,  JOHN  C. 

biographical  sketch    865 

CHOLER,  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

biographical  sketch   866 

CHRISTEN,  CHARLES  N. 

biographical  sketch    865 

CHRISTOPHER,  FRANK  P. 

biographical  sketch    865 

CLAMME,  CHARLES  J. 

biographical   sketch    866 

CLAMME,  JOHN  H. 

biographical  sketch    866 

CLARK  COUNTY 

political    history     551 

CLARK,  DAVID  M. 

biographical  sketch    867 

CLARK,  SALEM   D. 

biographical  sketch    867 

CLAY    COUNTY 

political    history     556 

CLAY,  HENRY 

political  meeting  at  Richmond  in  1844 823 

CLEARY,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch    868 

CLEARY,  JOHN  J. 

biographical   sketch   868 

CLEMENTS,  HERDIS  F. 

politicaf  career  in  Posey  county 743 


(  1063  ) 


NDEX 


CLERKIN,  JOHN  Page 

biographical  sketch    869 

CLEVELAND,  GROVER 

nominated  for   President,   1884 305,  307 

in  1888    325 

in  1892  346,  347 

CLEVELAND,  WILLIAM  F.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    867 

CLINE,  CYRUS 

congressman   and  resident   Steuben   county  781 
CLINTON  COUNTY 

political   history    560 

party   newspapers    563 

COBB,  THOMAS  R. 

memorial    sketch    459 

COBLE,  WILLIAM   HENRY 

biographical   sketch   869 

CODY,  JOHN  A. 

biographical  sketch    869 

COFFEY,  WILLIAM  L. 

biographical  sketch   870 

COLE,  CHARLES  A. 

biographical  sketch    870 

COLERICK,  WALPOLE  C. 

memorial    sketch    464 

COLVIN,   HUGH 

biographical   sketch    871 

COMBS,  JOSEPH 

biographical  sketch    871 

COMMITTEE   ON   RESOLUTIONS 

see   elections 
CONAWAY,  JAMES  MILO 

biographical  sketch    872 

CONGRESS 

Indiana's     representation     from      1816     to 

to    1833    37-40 

from  1833  to  1841   75-80 

from  1843  to  1853   113-118 

political  complexion  from  1817  to  1861.  .186-187 

party  lines  since  1881 481 

representatives    elected    in    various    years, 
see  elections 
CONGRESSIONAL  CAUCUS 

nomination    of    President 14,  15 

CONNER,  ISAIAH 

biographical  sketch   872 

CONNER,  WILLIAM  W. 

diversified    political    career 620 

CONRAD,  WILLIAM 

leader  of  Kosciusko  county  democracy....   672 
CONSTITUTION,  FEDERAL 

theories   as  to   its   construction 12 

ratification    of    the    Fifteenth    Amend- 
ment     '.  .239-243 


CONSTITUTION  OF  1851  Page 
amended    in    1881    changing    date    of    elec- 
tions     299,  300 

appointment   of  judges   of   Supreme   Court 

by    Governor    119,  120 

changes  inaugurated  in  old  constitution.  131,  132 
discussion    leading    to    the    calling    of    the 

convention     131-139 

discussion  of  its  shortcomings 135-139 

personnel    of    convention 28 

ratification     136 

state  officers  chosen  by   Legislature   up  to 

1853 119 

CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENTS 

vote  in    1900    388 

CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION 

vote   in   1914    425 

CONVENTIONS 

discussion  of  system  as  applied  to  constitu- 
tions  and    political    parties 141-143 

state  and  national,  see  elections 
COOK.  HOMER  L. 

biographical  sketch    872 

COOK.  WALTER  DOUGLAS 

biographical  sketch    873 

COOPER,  ALLEN  F. 

biographical  sketch    873 

COOPER,  GEORGE  W. 

member  of  congress    530 

memorial    sketch    461 

CORY,  WALTER  G. 

biographical  sketch    873 

COUNTIES 

history  of  democratic  party  in  the  counties 

of   Indiana    .• 521-833 

named  in  honor  of  men  or  events 469-471 

COUNTY  CHAIRMEN 

membership  in  particular  counties 521-833 

COUNTY  OFFICERS 

incumbents   in  various   counties 521-833 

COURTS 

organization  and  membership  in  particular 

counties     521-833 

COX,  IRVIN  A. 

\       biographical  sketch   875 

VcOX,  JABEZ  THOMAS 

biographical  sketch   876 

COX,  JAMES 

j       biographical  sketch    876 

>Y  COX,  JUDGE  CHARLES  E. 

biographical  sketch    874 

COX,  JUDGE  JOHN  E. 

biographical  sketch   875 

i{COX,  JUDGE  MILLARD  FILLMORE 

biographical  sketch    877 


INDEX 


COX,  WILLIAM  E.  Page 

congressman  and  resident  of  Dubois  county  592 

biographical  sketch    87(i 

COYLE,  OTTO  LORENZO 

biographical  sketch    877 

CRAMPTON,  CHARLES  C,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch   877 

CRAVENS,  GENERAL  JAMES  A. 

memorial    sketch    459 

CRAVENS,  JOHN  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch    878 

CRAVENS,  JOSEPH  MARSHALL 

biographical  sketch    878 

D 

DAILEY,  JOSEPH  S.  Page 

biographical  sketch    879 

DARROCH,  JUDGE  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch 881 

DAVIESS  COUNTY 

party  newspapers  570 

political   history    56S 

DAVIS,  JAMES  POWHATAN 

biographical  sketch    881 

DAVIS,  JOHN  W. 

speaker  of  national   House  and   Sullivan 

county    democrat    785 

DAVIS,  PEARLE  A. 

biographical  sketch    881 

DAVIS,  THEODORE  P. 

jurist  and  leader  of  Hamilton  county  dem- 
ocracy        622 

DAY,  JOSIAH  P. 

biographical  sketch    882 

DEARBORN  COUNTY 

political   history    572 

DECATUR   COUNTY 

party   newspapers    579 

political   history    579 

DEHORITY,  W.  A. 

biographical   sketch    882 

DEKALB  COUNTY 

political    history     582 

DELAWARE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    588 

political    history     587 

DELEGATES 

to  national  conventions,  see  elections 
DEMOCRATIC  PARTY 

see  elections 

achievements    in    territorial    expansion    of 
the   United   States    125-129 

adherence  to  doctrine  of  indissoluble  union 
of   indestructible   states    197-206 


CRAWFORD  COUNTY  Page 

party   newspapers    568 

political   history    567 

CULLOP,  WILLIAM  A. 

congressman  and  resident  of  Knox  county  667 
CULP,  J.  N. 

biographical  sketch    878 

CUMMEROW,  GEORGE  F.  R. 

biographical  sketch    879 

CUMMINS,  J.  C. 

biographical  sketch    879 

CURTIS,  GEORGE  WILLIAM 

political  career  in  Posey  county 743 


Page 
attitude  toward  Know-Nothing  crusade...    177 
condemnation  of  seating  of  Hayes  as  Presi- 
dent,   1878    273 

discussion  of  elements  of  defeat  in  1854   163-168 

history  in  the  counties  of  Indiana 521-833 

in  Indiana  dated  from  1828 19 

leadership   of  Thomas    A.   Hendricks.  .  .189-196 

memorial  to  great  leaders 453-468 

merger  with  Liberal  Republicans  on  Presi- 
dent,   1872    251 

origin  and  early  history 9,  10 

rooster  first  used  as  emblem 64 

various  names   applied  to   it 11,  17-19 

war  record    225-228 

DEMOSS,   JOHN   W. 
biographical  sketch    882 

DENBY,  CHARLES 

prominence   in   Vanderburg  county   politic.^  808 

DENISTON,  ARTHUR  LEROY 

biographical  sketch    883 

DENNY,  JACOB  F. 

prominence  in  Jay  county  politics 645 

DENTON,  GEORGE  K. 

congressman    and    re.sident    of    Vanderburg 
county     807 

DE  PAUW,  WASHINGTON  C. 

memorial  sketch   458 

DE  PREZ,  JOHN  DAY 

biographical  sketch    883 

DICKERSON,  O.  T. 

biographical  sketch    884 

DIXON,   LINCOLN 

biographical  sketch    884 

DONALDSON,  GEORGE  W. 

biographical  sketch    885 

DONEY,  CHARLES  P. 

biographical  sketch    885 


(  1065  ) 


INDEX 


DONOVAN,  CHARLES  B.,  JR.  Page 

biographical  sketch    885 

DOOGS,  WILLIAM  V. 

biographical  sketch   886 

DOUGHERTY,  HUGH 

biographical   sketch    886 

DOUGLAS,  STEPHEN  A. 

death  in   1861 197 

endorsed     as     presidential     candidate     by 
Democratic   convention   in   1860 190-192 

last  speech  on  preservation  of  Union.  .  .197-199 
DOWLING,  COLONEL  THOMAS 

biographical  sketch    278 

DRUMMOND,  CHARLES  P. 

biographical  sketch    887 

DUBOIS  COUNTY 

party  newspapers  592 

political   history    592 

DULIN,  FRANK  R. 

biographical  sketch 887 

DUNCAN,  JOHN  S. 

biographical  sketch   887 


DUNGAN,  ZACHARIAH  T.  Page 

biographical  sketch   888 

DUNHAM,  CYRUS  L. 

early   democratic  leader  resident  of   Floyd 
county     599 

prominence  in  Jackson  county  politics 641 

DUNHAM,  W.  R. 

biographical  sketch    888 

DUNN,  JACOB  P. 

sketch  of  life  of  Thomas  Taggart 395 

DUNNING,  PARIS  C. 

member  of  Greene  county  bar 618 

succeeded  Governor  Whitcomb  as  Governor 

in   1848    91 

DUNTON,  FRANK  J. 

prominence  in  Lagrange  county  politics...   676 
DURBIN,  WINFIELD  T. 

elected   Governor  1900 388 

DURBOROW,  WILLIAM  BOYER 

biographical  sketch    889 


EARLY  LIFE  IN  INDIANA  Page 

described  by  David  Turpie  and   others..   22-24 

recounted  by  Daniel  W.  Voorhees 27,  28 

EAST,  JOHN  R. 

leadership   of   Monroe  county  democracy..    703 
EBERT,  ADAM  R. 

biographical  sketch    889 

EDGERTON,  ALFRED  P. 

memorial  sketch   461 

EDGERTON,  JOSEPH  K. 

memorial  sketch   460 

EDITORIAL  ASSOCIATION 

organized     after     Hancock-English     defeat 

298,    299 

EDWARDS,  CHARLES  A. 

biographical   sketch    890 

EITEL,  LOUIS 

biographical  sketch    890 

ELECTION  OF  1816 

Jennings  and   Posey  elected  Governor  and 
Lieutenant-Governor   29 

popular  vote  for  Governor 29 

state  officers  elected  by  General  Assembly     29 
ELECTION  OF  1819 

Jennings    and   Boon   elected   Governor   and 
Lieutenant-Governor    30 

popular  vote    30 

ELECTION  OF  1822 

William  Hendricks  elected  Governor 40 


ELECTION  OF  1824  Page 

One  political  party   16 

President    and    Vice-President    elected    by 

House  of   Representatives 16 

presidential  electors  chosen  by  Legislature     31 
election  of  Adams  by  House  of  Representa- 
tives           16 

popular  vote  in  Indiana  for  Jackson,  Clay 

and   Adams    17 

presidential  electors — popular  vote   32 

ELECTION  OF  1825 

James  Brown  Ray  elected  Governor 44 

ELECTION  QF  1828 

James  Brown  Ray  re-elected  Governor  and 

Milton   Stapp,   Lieutenant-Governor 44 

one  political  party 17 

state  convention  committee  to  prepare  ad- 
dress to  people   33 

conventions  for  Jackson  and  Adams 33 

general   superintendence   committee    33 

presidential    campaign    17 

presidential   electors    33 

ELECTION  OF  1831 

conventions  endorsing  Jackson  for  Presi- 
dent         33 

Noah  Noble  and  David  Wallace  elected 
Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  and 
vote    47 


INDEX 


ELECTION  OF  1832  Page 

convention  and  committees   33 

for  Jackson   33 

opposed  to  Jackson 31 

opposed  to  Jackson   34 

delegates  to  national  convention 33 

presidential   electors    33 

state  central  committee   34 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  75 

party  alignments  personal 17 

presidential  campaign  of  Jackson  and  Clay  33 

ELECTION  OF  1834 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  75 
Noble  and  Wallace  re-elected  Governor  and 

Lieutenant-Governor    47 

ELECTION  OF  1836 

convention    and    its    officers 35,  36 

delegates   to   national    convention 31 

General   William    Henry   Harrison   urged 

for    President    36 

presidential   electors    36 

Martin  Van  Buren  and  Richard  M.  John- 
son urged  for  President  and  Vice-Pre-i- 

dent    34 

state  central  committee   36 

popular  vote  for  Governor 50 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  76 

national  convention  in  Baltimore 34 

President   and  Vice-President  nominated  19 

party  alignments  personal    17 

presidential  campaign,  Van  Buren  and  Har- 
rison        34-36 

Van   Buren   and  Johnson  elected  President 

and   Vice-President    37 

ELECTION  OF  1837 

David    Wallace    and    David    Willis    elected 

Governor   and   Lieutenant-Governor 50 

ELECTION  OF  1838 

congressmen  elected,  biographical   sketches  77 
ELECTION  OF  1840 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  78 
Samuel    Bigger    and    Samuel    Hall    elected 

Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor 50,  62 

presidential   electors    63 

presidential    campaign    Harrison    and    Van 

Buren 19,  61 

"Tippecanoe    and    Tyler    too"    hard    cider 

campaign     61-63 

William    Henry    Harrison   and   John    Tyler 

elected  President  and  Vice-President....  64 
ELECTION  OF  1842 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  113 
Edward  A.  Hannegan  elected  United  States 

Senator    65 


ELECTION  OF  1843                                              Page 
James     Whitcomb     and     Jesse     D.     Bright 
elected   Governor   and   Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor         66 

ELECTION  OF  1844 

convention     69 

convention    used    name    "Democrat"    for 

first  time    19 

platform    69 

presidential   electors    69 

state  central  committee   69 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  113 
presidential    campaign    Polk    and    Clay... 70-72 

James   K.   Polk  elected   President 72 

ELECTION  OF  1846 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  114 
James    Whitcomb    and    Paris    E.    Dunning 
elected   Governor  and    Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor       66 

ELECTION  OF  1848 

convention  and  its  officers   101 

delegates   to   national    convention 101 

platform     152,  153 

presidential   electors    101 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  115 

national  convention  at  Baltimore 93 

platform    94-104 

Lewis  Cass  and  W.  O.  Butler  nominated 
for    President    and    Vice-President    by 

Democratic   party    94,  102 

convention  of  Free   Soil   Party 98,  99 

platform     99,  153 

Martin  Van  Buren  and  Charles  Francis 
Adams  nominated  for  President  and  Vice- 
President    by    "Barnburners" 99 

Zachary  Taylor  and  Millard  Fillmore  nomi- 
nated   for   President    and    Vice-President 

by  Whigs    93-97 

presidential   campaign   in   Indiana 100-104 

Zachary     Taylor     and     Millard      Fillmore 

elected  President  and  Vice-President 100 

ELECTION  OF  1849 

convention  and   its  officers    105,  106 

Joseph  A.  Wright  and  James  H.  Lane 
nominated  for  Governor  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor        lOG 

state   committee    106 

G-neral  Assembly   Democratic   108 

Joseph  A.  Wright  elected  Governor 91 

ELECTION  OF  1850 

congressmen  elected,  biographical  sketches  117 

ELECTION  OF  1852 

state  convention    145-150 

Joseph  Lane  urged  as  candidate  for  Pres- 
ident         151 

presidential   electors    146 


INDEX 


Page 

General  Assembly  Democratic   ...;. 149 

re-election  of  Joseph  A.  Wright,  1852.  .  .145-150 

congressmen   elected    149 

national   convention  at  Baltimore 151 

Franklin  Pierce  and  William  K.  King 
nominated  for  President  and  Vice- 
President    152 

national  convention  of  Free  Soil  Democrats 

at   Pittsburgh    153 

John  P.  Hale  and  George  W.  Julian 
nominated  for  President  and  Vice- 
President    153 

General  Winfield  Scott  and  William  A. 
Graham    nominated    for    President    and 

Vice-President   by   Whigs    153 

Franklin     Pierce     and     William     K.     King 

elected  President  and  Vice-President 152 

ELECTION  OF  1854 

state  convention   163 

platform    16g 

p'.atform  of  people's  republican  party 160 

campaign  in  Indiana  and  election  of  Fusion 

candidates    163-168 

ELECTION  OF  1856 

convention  and  committees   179 

platform    I79 

delegates  to  national  convention 180 

presidential   electors    180 

state    central    committee    180 

congressmen   elected    182 

Oliver  P.  Morton  and  Conrad  Baker  nomi- 
nated by  Republicans  for  Governor  and 

Lieutenant-Governor     181 

Ashbel  P.  Willard  and  Abram  A.  Hammond 
elected   Governor   and   Lieutenant-Gover- 

iior   182 

Official  vote  for  state  officers  and  members 

of  congress    182 

Buchanan  and  Breckinridge  nominated  by 
Democrats  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent       181 

Fillmore  and  Donelson  nominated  by  Amer- 
ican party  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent      181 

Fremont  and  Dayton  nominated  by  Repub- 
licans for  President  and  Vice-President.  .    I81 

presidential  campaign  in  Indiana   179-187 

James  Buchanan  and  John  C.  Breckinridge 

elected  President  and  Vice-President 181 

ELECTION  OF  1858 

convention    I83 

state  central  committee I85 

state  officers  elected    .  .  . .- 185 

congressmen   elected    186 

ELECTION  OF  1860 

convention  and  committees 189,  190 

delegates  to  national   convention.  ...  190,  191 


Page 

presidential   electors    191 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  and  Judge  David 
Turpie    nominated    for    Governor    and 

Lieutenant-Governor    191 

state    central    committee 190 

state  ticket  of  Republicans  in  1860 194 

congressmen    elected    194,  195 

Henry  S.  Lane  and  Oliver  P.  Morton 
elected  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor       194 

national  convention  at  Charle.ston 190,  191 

Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  Herschel  V.  John- 
son nominated  for  President  and  Vice- 
President    192 

presidential     campaign     of     Lincoln     and 

Douglas    190-195 

presidential    electors    of    Republican    party 

voting  for  Lincoln   195 

Abraham    Lincoln    and    Hannibal    Hamlin 

elected  President  and  Vice-President 194 

vote  in  Indiana  195 

ELECTION  OF  1862 

convention  and  committees  202 

platform   2OO 

two  state  conventions  and  platform 199-205 

state  central   committee  address 203-205 

state  officers  elected   205,  206 

congressmen   elected    206 

ELECTION  OF  1864 

state  convention  and  platform 207-211 

Joseph  E.  McDonald  and  David  Turpie 
nominated  for  Governor  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor       207 

delegates  to  national  convention 208 

presidential   electors 208 

state   ticket    207 

state  central  committee   208 

campaign  and  tickets 207-211 

Oliver   P.   Morton  elected   Governor 209 

congressmen   elected    210 

.  general  assembly   209 

republican  party  state  ticket 207 

presidential     campaign    Lincoln    and     Mc- 

Clellan     209 

Abraham  Lincoln  elected  President 209 

ELECTION   OF    1866 

convention    229,  230 

congressmen   elected    231 

general  assembly  Republican   231 

state  officers  elected   231 

ELECTION  OF  1868 

convention    233-238 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  and  Alfred  P. 
Edgerton  nominated  for  Governor  and 
Lieutenant-Governor    233 


(  1068  ) 


INDEX 


Page 
Thomas    A.    Hendricks   urged    for   Presi- 
dent       238 

congressmen   elected    238 

state  oflBcers  elected   238 

Conrad  Baker  and  William  Cumback  elected 

Governor   and    Lieutenant-Governor 238 

presidential  campaign  Grant  and  Sey- 
mour        235-242 

U.  S.  Grant  and  Schuyler  Colfax  elected 
President   and    Vice-President    236 

ELECTION  OF  1870 

convention     243-246 

congressmen   elected    246 

state    officers    elected     244-246 

ELECTION  OF  1872 

convention    249,  250 

presidential   electors    250 

state   ticket    260 

state  central  committee   251 

congressmen    elected    252,260 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  and  Leonidas  Sexton 
elected  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor     252 

state  officers  elected 252 

platform,  national    251 

Charles  O'Conor  and  John  Quincy  Adams 
nominated    by    straight    Democrats    for 

President  and  Vice-President   251 

Horace  Greeley  and  B.  Gratz  Brown  nomi- 
nated by  Liberal  Republican  merger  for 

President  and   Vice-President 248,  249 

Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  Henry  Wilson  elected 
President  and  Vice-President 255 

ELECTION  OF  1874 

state  central  committee   259,  260 

congressmen   elected    260 

general  assembly  Democratic   261 

state   ticket    260 

ELECTION  OF  1876 

convention  and  committees 265 

platform     267 

state  ticket   265,  266 

delegates  to  national  convention 265 

presidential    electors    nominated 265 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  urged  as  nominee 

for  President   267 

state  central  committee   265 

congressmen  elected    274 

James  D.  Williams  and  Isaac  P.  Gray 
electsd  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor      274 

national  convention   in   St.  Louis 268,  269 

Samuel  J.  Tilden  and  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks nominated  for  President  and 
Vice-President    269 


Page 

Presidential  campaign,  Hayes  and  Til- 
den       268-273 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  William  A. 
Wheeler  elected  President  and  Vice- 
President    271 

ELECTION    OF    1878 

convention  and  committee^ 279,  280 

platform     281 

state   ticket    280 

state  central  committee    280 

state  officers  elected    281 

congressmen  elected    281 

General  assembly,  Democrats,  Republicans 
and   Greenbacks— no   majority 281 

ELECTION    OF   1880 

state  convention   284 

platform    286 

contest  for  nominations  for  Governor.  . .  .   285 

delegates  to  national  convention 285 

presidential   electors    285 

state   ticket    2S6 

state  central  committee 284 

congressmen   elected    290 

general  assembly.  Republican 290 

Albert  G.  Porter  and  Thomas  Hanna  elected 
Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor.   289,  290 

state   officers   elected    289,  290 

national  convention   285 

platf '  rm     288,  289 

national  delegates  instructed  to  vote  for 

Thomas  A.   Hendricks  for   President..   284 
struggle  for  nominations  for   Presi- 
dent     286-288 

Winfield   Scott  Hancock  and  William   H. 
English   nominated    for   President   and 

Vice-President    287 

presidential  campaign  of  Garfield  and  Han- 
cock        285-290 

James  A.  Garfield  elected  President 290 

ELECTION  OF  1882 

convention  and  committees   296 

platform   297 

state   ticket    296 

state  central  committee   29(5 

congressmen   elected    298 

ELECTION  OF  1884 

convention   and  committees    302,  303 

platform    303 

.^^tate   ticket    303 

delegates  to  national  convention 304 

presidential   electors    303 

Joseph    E.    McDonald    urged   as   nominee 

for   President    304 

state  central  committee   302 

state  officers  elected    307 


(  1069  ) 


INDEX 


Page 
Isaac  P.  Gray  and  General  Mahlon  D.  Man- 
son    elected    Governor    and    Lieutenant- 
Governor     307 

general  assembly  Democratic  307 

congressmen   elected    307 

Grover  Cleveland  and  Thomas  A.  Hend- 
ricks nominated  and  elected  President 
and   Vice-President    305-307 

ELECTION  OF  1886 

state    convention    313 

platform     313 

Captain   John    C.   Nelson    nominated   for 

Lieutenant-Governor    314 

state  ticket    314 

state  central  committee  313 

congressmen   elected    315 

general       assembly — Senate       Democratic, 

House   Republican    316 

ELECTION  OF  1888 

state  convention   323 

platform     '. 324,  325 

Colonel  Courtland  C.  Matson  and  William 
R.  Myers  nominated  for  Governor  and 

Lieutenant-Governor    325 

state   ticket    325 

delegates  to   national   convention    at    St. 

Louis    323 

presidential   electors    323 

state  central  committee   323 

congressmen   elected    326 

Alvin  P.  Hovey  and  Ira  J.  Chase  elected 
Governor   and    Lieutenant-Governor 326 

state  officers  elected   326 

Grover  Cleveland  and  Allen  G.  Thurman 
nominated  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent       326 

Benjamin  Harrison  elected  President 326 

ELECTION   OF    1890 

state  convention   330 

platform   330  and  332 

state    ticket    330,  333 

state    central    committee 333 

congressmen   elected    336 

state  officers,   vote    335,  336 

ELECTION   OF    1892 

state  convention   341 

platform     345,  346 

state    ticket    342,  347 

delegates  to  national  convention 344 

presidential  electors  nominated 344 

state  central  comm"ittee    344 

Claude  Matthews  and  Mortimer  Nye  nomi- 
nated and  elected  Governor  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor        342,  347 

state  officers  elected   347 

Grover   Cleveland   and   Adlai   E.   Stevenson 


Page 
nominated    and    elected    President    and 

Vice-President    347 

presidential  campaign  Cleveland  and  Har- 
rison       345-347 

ELECTION  OF  1894 

convention  and  committees 355,  356 

platform    356 

state   ticket    355 

state   central    committee    355 

state  officers  elected   357 

congressmen  elected    357 

ELECTION   OF   1896 

convention  and  committees  367 

platform     368,  369 

Benjamin  F.  Shively  and  Captain  John  C. 
Lawler    nominated    for    Governor    and 

Lieutenant-Governor    369 

state   ticket    369 

delegates  to  national  convention  at  Chi- 
cago         367 

presidential  electors  nominated    367 

state  central  committee   370 

congressmen   elected    371 

James  A.  Mount  and  William  S.  Haggard 
elected  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor      371 

general  assembly.  Republican    371 

William  J.  Bryan  and  Arthur  Sewall  nomi- 
nated for  President  and  Vice-President  by 
Democrats     374 

Joshua  Levering  and  Hale  Johnson  nomi- 
nated for  President  and  Vice-President 
by   Prohibitionists    374 

William  McKinley  nominated  for  President 
by  Republicans   372 

presidential       campaign       McKinley       and 

Bryan    365-375 

ELECTION   OF   1898 

convention  and  committees   377 

platform    378 

state  ticket  377,  378 

state  central  committee   379 

congressmen   elected    380 

state  officers  elected  and  vote 379,  380 

general  assembly.   Republican    380 

ELECTION   OF    1900 

convention  and  committees    383,  384 

platform 384 

John  W.  Kern  and  John  C.  Lawler  nomi- 
nated for  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor    385 

state   ticket    385 

delegates     to     national     convention     at 

Kansas   City    383 

presidential  electors  nominated   384 

state  central  committee   385 


INDEX 


Page 

congressmen  elected    388 

Winfield  T.  Durbin  and  Newton  W.  Gilbert 
elected  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor      388 

state  officers  elected   388 

general   assembly,   Republican    388 

national  convention  and  nomination  of  can- 
didates       386 

William  J.  Bryan  and  Adlai  E.  Stevenson 
nominated    and    endorsed    for    President 

and  Vice-President 38C 

presidential       campaign       McKinley       and 

Bryan     386,  387 

William  McKinley  elected  President 387 

ELECTION  OF  1902 

state  convention   393 

platform    393 

state  ticket 394 

state  central  committee    39 1 

state  officers  elected   39(1 

congressmen   elected    396 

general   assembly.   Republican    396 

ELECTION    OF    1904 

convention  and  committees   398 

two    state    conventions    397-400 

platform     398,  399 

John  W.  Kern  and  Warden  N.  Stevens 
nominated  for  Governor  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor      398 

state   ticket    393 

delegates  to  national  convention 397 

presidential  electors  nominated   397 

endorsement  of  nomination  of  Alton  B. 
Parker  and  Henry  G.  Davis  as  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President   398 

state  central  committee   398 

J.  Frank  Hanly  and  Hugh  Th.  Miller 
elected  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor      399 

state  officers  elected    399 

congressmen  elected    399 

general  assembly,  Republican   400 

presidential       campaign,      Roosevelt      and 

Parker    397-400 

Theodore  Roosevelt  elected  President 399 

ELECTION  OF  1906 

state  convention  and  committees 401 

platform     401 

state   ticket    401 

.  state  central  committee   402 

state    officers    elected     402,  403 

congressmen  elected    403 

general  assembly.  Republican   403 

ELECTION   OF    1908 

state  convention  and  committees   405 

platform    405 


Page 
Thomas  R.  Marshall  and  Frank  J.  Hall 
nominated   for  Governor  and   Lieuten- 
ant-Governor        407 

state   ticket    406 

delegates  to  national  convention 405 

presidential  electors  nominated   405 

state  central  committee   407 

state  officers  elected    408 

congressmen  elected 409 

general  assembly  Senate  Republican,  House 

Democratic    409 

Benjamin  F.  Shively  chosen  United  States 

Senator   409 

Thomas  R.  Marshall  and  Frank  J.  Hall 
elected  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor     408 

presidential  campaign,  Taft  and  Bryan  407-409 
William  H.  Taft  elected  President 408 

ELECTION    OF    1910 

state  convention  and  committees 413,  414 

platform    414 

state    ticket     414 

state  central  committee   414 

state  officers  elected   416 

general  assembly.  Democratic 416 

congressmen  elected    416 

nomination  of  senators  by  state  convention 
issue    411-413 

ELECTION    OF    1912 

state    convention   and   committees 417-419 

platform     418,  419 

Samuel     M.     Ralston     and     William     P. 
O'Neill    nominated    for    Governor    and 

Lieutenant-Governor    419 

state   ticket    419 

delegates  to  national  convention 418 

presidential  electors  nominated    418 

state  central  committee    419 

congressmen   elected    422 

state  officers  elected  and  vote 421 

general  assembly  Democratic   422 

Samuel  M.  Ralston  and  William  P.  O'Neill 
elected  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor      421 

presidential    campaign    Wilson,    Roosevelt 

and  Taft  421 

Woodrow  Wilson  elected  President 421 

ELECTION    OF    1914 

state  convention  and  committees   423-425 

platform     424 

state  ticket  423-424 

state  central  committee   425 

state  officers  elected    425 

congressmen  elected    425 

general   assembly    Democratic    425 


INDEX 


ELECTION   OF  1916  Page 
convention    and    its    officers    and    commit- 
tees    435,  436 

platform    437 

John  A.  M.  Adair  and  Mason  J.  Niblack 
nominated  for  Governor  and  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor      438 

state  ticket    439 

delegates  to  national  convention 436 

presidential  electors  nominated   436 

John  W.  Kern  nominated  for  Senator. . . .   438 
central  committee  elected  by  chairmen  of 

county  committees   439 

nominations    for    Governor    and    Senator 

made  at  primaries  435 

keynote  sounded  by  Governor  Ralston.  .  .   443 
James    P.    Goodrich    and    Edgar    D.    Bush 
elected   Governor  and   Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor      473 

state  officers  elected 473,  474 

congressmen  elected    474 

vote  for  United  States  Senator 474 

nomination  and  election  of  Woodrow  Wil- 
son and  Thomas  R.  Marshall  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President 477 

vote  for  President    473,  478 

analysis   of  presidential  vote    478-481 

ELECTIONS 

date   changed   from   October   to    November 

by  constitutional  amendment   299 

ELLINGHAM,   LEWIS   G. 

prominence  in  Adams  county  politics 521 


ELSNER,  EDWARD  P.  Page 

biographical  sketch    890 

ELKHART  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    594 

political  history    594 

ELLIS,  DR.  ERASTUS  W.  H. 

biographical    sketch   as   doctor,   editor   and 

state  officer    119 

EMBLEM  OF  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY 

rooster 64 

EMERSON,  FREDERICK  A. 

biographical  sketch    890 

EMRICK,  FRANKLIN  A. 

biographical  sketch    891 

EMSHWILLER,  MARION  A.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch   891 

ENGLISH,  WILLIAM  H. 

prominence  in  Scott  county  politics 769 

EPSTEIN,  MOSES 

biographical  sketch    892 

ERWIN,  JUDGE  RICHARD  R. 

memorial  sketch   466 

ESPENSCHIED,  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch    891 

EVANS,  WALTER  N. 

leader  of  Hamilton  county  democracy 622 

EVERROAD,  WILLIAM  H. 

biographical   sketch   892 

EWING,  CORTEZ 

prominence  in  Decatur  county 580 


Page 


FARING,  WALTER  J. 

biographical  sketch   892 

FALCONBURY,  JAMES  W. 

biographical  sketch    893 

FAULKNER,  CHESTER  R. 

prominence  in  Ripley  county  politics 754 

FAUST,  JOSEPH  A. 

biographical  sketch    893 

FAYETTE   COUNTY 

political   history    598 

FELT,  EDWARD  WEBSTER 

biographical  sketch    894 

jurist  and  resident  of  Hancock  county....  626 
FERGUSON,  HALBERT  M. 

biographical  sketch    894 

FERGUSON,  THOMAS 

biographical  sketch 89-5 

FIELDS,  J.  A. 

biographical  sketch   895 

FINANCIAL  CONDITION  OF  INDIANA 

hard  times  in  1840 55-60 


FINNEY,  MAJOR  GEO.  E.  Page 

editorial  on  Democratic  patriotism.  ..  .225,  226 

memorial    sketch    466 

FISHEL,  J.  C. 

biographical  sketch    896 

FISHEL,  ULYSSES  R. 

biographical  sketch    896 

FITCH,   DR.  GRAHAM  N. 

succeeded   as    U.   S.   Senator   by    Henry    S. 
Lane 207 

United  States  Senator  and  resident  of  Cass 

county   549 

FLEMING,  JAMES  R. 

biographical  sketch    896 

FLEMING,  WILLIAM 

memorial    sketch    453 

FLORA,  HARVEY  H. 

biographical  sketch   897 

FLOYD  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    599 

political   history    599 


(  1072  ) 


INDEX 


FOGARTY,  WILLIAM  MICHAEL  Page 

biographical  sketch    897 

FOLEY,  MICHAEL  E. 

biographical  sketch    898 

FOLEY,  WILLIAM  H. 

biographical  sketch    898 

FOLLMAR.  PETER  A. 

biographical  sketch    899 

FORD,  GEORGE 

biographical  sketch    899 

FORKNER,  JOHN  L. 

leadership  in  Madison  county  politics 683 

FORSYTHE,  ERNEST  E. 

biographical  sketch    899 

FOSTER,  FRANK  P. 

biographical  sketch    900 

FOUNTAIN  COUNTY 

party  newspapers  601 

political   history    601 

FOWLER,  INMAN  HENRY 

biogTaphical  sketch    900 

FRANCE,  J.  FRED 

clerk    of    supreme    court    and    resident    of 

Huntington    county    639 

FRANK.  WALTER  J. 

biographical   sketch    902 

FRANKLIN  COUNTY 

birth  place  of  famous  men 603 

political   history    603 

G 

GALLAHER,  JUDGE  JAMES  F.  •  Page 

biographical  sketch    904 

CAREER,   MICHAEL  C. 

quarrel  with  Jesse  D.  Bright 649 

GARDNER,  HARRY  M. 

biographical  sketch    904 

GARFIELD,  JAMES  A. 

elected   President    290 

CAST,  ANDREW  A. 

biographical  sketch    904 

CAST,  LOUIS  J. 

biographical  sketch    904 

GAUCK,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch    905 

GEMS  OF  THOUGHT 

by  various  authors   506,  507 

GENERAL  ASSEMBLY 

see  elections 

last  United  States  Senator  elected 451 

members  from  various  counties 521-833 

review   of   United    States    Senators   chosen 
from  1861  to   1911 449-451 


FREE  COINAGE  OF  SILVER  Page 

issue   in    1900    386 

propaganda  circulated  in   1893 359-363 

FREESOIL  PARTY 
convention  to  nominate  President,  1852.  . .  .    153 
Van  Buren  and  Adams,  1848 98,  99 

FRENCH,  JAMES  W. 

memorial  sketch   465 

prominence  in   Posey  county  politics 742 

FREYGANG,  HARMON 

Steuben   county   leader 781 

FULKERSON,  ALVA  OTIS 

biographical  sketch    902 

FULLER,  BENONI  S. 
congressman     and     resident     of     Warrick 

county    818 

memorial  sketch   463 

FULLER,   CHARLES  E. 
biographical  sketch    903 

FULLING,  John  Lewis 

biographical  sketch    903 

FULTON   COUNTY 

party   newspapers    606 

political   history    606 

FULTZ,  CHARLES  N. 
.biographical  sketch    903 

FUSION  CONVENTION 

uniting   slavery   and   liquor   issues    against 
Democratic  nominees,  1854    164 

GENTRY,  JAMES  W.  Page 

biographical  sketch    905 

GIBSON  COUNTY 

political   history    608 

GILL,  GEORGE  WALLACE 

biographical   sketch    905 

GILLEN,  COURTLAND  C. 

biographical  sketch    906 

GILMER,  FRANK 

biographical  sketch    907 

GLADIEUX,  AMIEL  C. 

biographical  sketch    906 

GLAZEBROOK,  B. 

biographical   sketch    907 

GOETZ,  CHARLES  L. 

biographical  sketch    907 

GOODING,  DAVID  G. 

prominence  in  Hancock  county  politics....  626 
GORMAN,  JOHN  C. 

biographical  sketch    908 

GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

review  of   progress    483-490 


INDEX 


GOVERNORS  Page 

see  elections 

appreciation  of  service  of  Oliver  P.  Mor- 
ton     213-223 

Baker-Hendricks   campaign   in   1868 238-242 

elected  in   1816 — Jonathan  Jennings 29,  38 

1819 — Jonathan   Jennings    30 

1822— William    Hendricks    40 

1825— James  BroviTi  Ray   44 

1828— James  Brown  Ray   44 

1831— Noah   Noble    44,  47 

1834— Noah  Noble   47 

1837— David   Wallace    50 

1840— Samuel    Bigger    50,  62 

1843— James  Whitcomb    66 

1846— James  Whitcomb    66 

1849— Joseph   A.   Wright 91,  106 

1852— Joseph   A.   Wright 145-150 

1856— Ashbel  P.  Willard   182 

1860— Henry  S.  Lane 194 

1864— Oliver  P.  Morton    209 

1868— Conrad  Baker    238 

1872— Thomas  A.  Hendricks 252 

1876— James    D.    Williams 267,274 

1880— Albert   G.   Porter 289 

1884— Isaac  P.  Gray  307 

1888— Alvin   P.   Hovey 326 

1892— Claude  Matthews    • 347 

1896— James   A.   Mount 371 

1900— Winfield   T.   Durbin 388 

1904— J.  Frank   Hanly 399 

1908— Thomas  R.  Marshall 408 

1912— Samuel   M.  Ralston 421 

1916— James   P.    Goodrich 473 

message  of  Jonathan  Jennings — first  gover- 
nor         29 

GRANT  COUNTY 

political  history    611 

GRANT,  ULYSSES   S. 

elected  President,  1868  and  1872 236,  255 


GRAY,  ISAAC  P.  Page 

became    governor    at    death    of   James    D. 
Williams,   1880    291 

leadership  in  Randolph  county  politics 750 

memorial    sketch    456 

nominated  for  governor  1884  and 

elected    302,  303,  307 

GRAY,  WILLIAM  ALLEN 

biographical  sketch   909 

GRAY,  WILLIAM  B. 

biographical  sketch   908 

GREATHOUSE,  CHARLES  A. 

biographical  sketch   441 

early    participation    in    Hendricks    county 
politics    632 

political  career  in  Posey  county 743 

GREELEY,  HORACE 

denunciation  of  Taylor's  candidacy 96 

nominated  for  President  in  1872 248 

part  in  presidential  campaign  of  1872. .  .253-255 
GREENBACK  PARTY 

influence  in  Parke  county  politics 729 

GREENE  COUNTY 

party  newspapers 618 

political   history 613 

GRIFFITH,  FRANCIS  MARION 

biographical  sketch   909 

GRINER,  WILLIAM  E. 

biographical  sketch   909 

GROVES,  AVERY  McDONALD 

biographical  sketch    910 

GRISCHOW,  FRED  C. 

biographical  sketch    910 

guthrie:  frank  V. 

biographical  sketch    910 

GUTHRIE,  HAROLD 

biographical  sketch   910 

GWIN,  FABIUS 

biographical  sketch   911 


H 


HAASE,  EUGENE  Page 

biographical  sketch   911 

HABERMEL,  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch    912 

HACK,   CHARLES   A. 

biographical  sketch   911 

HACK,  OREN  STEPHEN 

biographical  sketch    912 

HACKNEY,  LEONARD  J. 

prominence  in  Shelby  county  politics 770 

HAEHL,  GEORGE  M. 

biographical  sketch 913 


HAIMBAUGH,  FRANK  D.  Page 

biographical  sketch    913 

HALL,  FRANK  J. 

biographical  sketch    913 

leadership  in  Rush  county  politics 758 

HALL,  MARSHALL  H. 

biographical  sketch    : . .   914 

HALL,  WILLIAM  S. 

prominence   in   Rush   county   politics 757 

HAMILTON,  ANDREW  H. 

memorial  sketch   460 

HAMILTON,  AUGUSTUS  W. 

biographical  sketch    914 


(  1074  ) 


INDEX 


HAMILTON  COUNTY  Page 

^      party  newspapers 620 

^4^olitical   history    619 

HAMMELL,  WILL 

biographical  sketch    914 

HAMMOND,  THOMAS 

memorial  sketch   464 

HAMMOND,  WILLIAM  ADELBERT 

biographical  sketch    914 

HANAN,  JOHN  W. 

prominence  in  Lagrange  county  politics...    676 
HANCOCK  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    627 

political   history    624 

HANCOCK,  GENERAL  WINFIELD  SCOTT 

democratic       candidate       for       President, 

1880    286-288 

HANLY,  J.  FRANK 

elected  Governor,  1904 399 

HANNA,  ROBERT 

biographical   sketch    39 

HANNAGAN,  STEPHEN  J. 

biographical  sketch    915 

HANNEGAN,  EDWARD  A. 

biographical  sketch    65 

United     States     senator    and     resident    of 

Fountain  county   601 

HARDESTY,  ALFRED  R. 

biographical  sketch    915 

HARRIS,  JOHN  G. 

biographical  sketch    916 

HARRISON,  BENJAMIN 

elected  President  in  1888 326 

elected    United    States    Senator   to    succeed 

Joseph  E.  McDonald   290 

HARRISON,  COL.  JOSEPH  RICHARD 

biographical  sketch    910 

HARRISON  COUNTY 

party    newspapers    63u 

political   history    630 

HARMON,  HARVEY 

biographical   sketch    915 

HARRISON,  WILLIAM  HENRY 

account  of  battle  with  Tecumseh 469 

campaign  for   President    61-65 

elected  President,  1840   62 

state   action    concerning,    1835 36 

HARTING,  CHARLES  L. 

biographical   sketch    916 

HARVEY,  BAYLESS 

biographical  sketch    917 

HATFIELD,  SIDNEY  B. 

biographical  sketch   917 

HAUSHEER,  FRED  A. 

biographical  sketch    918 


HAVENS,  CHARLES  H.  Page 

biographical   sketch    918 

HAWKINS,   BAILEY 

biographical  sketch   919 

HAWKINS,  THOMAS 

biographical  sketch    918 

HAYES,  RUTHERFORD  B. 

Republican  candidate  for  President   1876..   271 
HAYES  AND  TILDEN  CONTROVERSY 

for  President  in   1876 268-273 

HAZEN,  GAINES  HOMER 

biographical  sketch    919 

HAZEN,  GEORGE  H. 

leadership  in  Warrick  county  politics.  .816,  818 
HELLER,  FRANKLIN  J. 

biographical  sketch    920 

HELLER,   HORACE  H. 

biographical   sketch    920 

HELLER,  JOHN  HERBERT 

biographical  sketch    921 

HEMMIG,  PHILIP  BERNARD 

biographical  sketch    921 

HEMPHILL,  JOSEPH  P. 

biographical  sketch    922 

HENDERSON,  EB. 

biographical  sketch    922 

HENDERSON,  J.  0. 

participation  in  Howard  county  politics.  ,  .  .   636 
HENDRICKS  COUNTY 

party  newspapers  635 

political   history    632 

HENDRICKS,  THOMAS  A. 

attitude   on    war    227,  228 

chairman     of     two     state     conventions     in 
1862    199-202 

defeated  for  Governor  in  1868 238 

elected   Governor   in    1872 252 

nominated  for  Governor  1860 191 

nominated    for    Vice-President   at   national 
convention,  1876   269 

nominated  for  Vice-President,   1884 307 

political  career  in  Shelby  county 771 

refusal  to  make  second  race  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent, 1879 283 

tributes   paid   by   Daniel   W.   Voorhees  and 

others,   1886    308-310 

HENDRICKS,  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch   37,  41-43 

elected  Governor  without  opposition,  1822. .     40 

Governor,  United   States  Senator  and  par- 
ticipant in  Jefferson  county  politics 648 

HENRY  COUNTY 

political   history    63 1 

HENRY,  WILLIAM  B. 

biographical  sketch    923 


INDEX 


HENSLEY,  JOSEPH  E.  Page 

biographical   sketch    922 

HERTENSTEIN,  CHARLES  R. 

biographical  sketch    923 

HIATT,  JOEL  WILLIS 

biographical  sketch    923 

HIGGINS,  DAVID  A. 

biographical  sketch    924 

HINKLE,  WRIGHT  J. 

biographical  sketch    924 

HIPSKIND,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch    924 

HIRSCH, JOSEPH  M. 

biographical  sketch    924 

HIRSCH,  PETER  L. 

biographical  sketch    923 

history  of  Democratic  party  in  the  counties 

of  Indiana  521-833 

HITE,  SAMUEL  V. 

biographical   sketch    925 

HOFFMAN,  EDWARD  GEORGE 

■  biographical  sketch    926 

HOFFMAN,  JOSEPH  O. 

biographical  sketch    < 925 

HOLMAN,  WILLIAM  STEELE 

memorial    sketch    455 

HOLTON,  ISAAC 

biographical  sketch    927 

HOLZER,  PETER 

biographical  sketch    926 

HONAN.  THOMAS  M. 

biographical  sketch    927 

HOPKINS,  MILTON  B. 

educator  and  resident  of  Howard  county.  .    636 

superintendent  of  instruction  under  Gover- 
nor   Hendricks    620 

HORD,  FRANCIS  T. 

attorney   general    531 

HORNER,  FRANK  ASBURY 

biographical  sketch    927 

HORTON,  WILLIAM   O. 
•biographical   sketch    927 


INDIAN  WARFARE  Page 

responsible    for   names    of    counties.  .  .  .469-471 

INDIANA 

admission  into  the  Union 27 

beginnings  of  state  government 29,  30 

counties    named    in    honor    of    men    or 

events    469-471 

David   Turpie's   account   of   early   life.  ..  .22-24 
early  political  history   9-19 


HOTTEL,  JUDGE  MILTON  B.  Page 

biographical  sketch   928 

HOVEY,  ALVIN  P. 

biographical  sketch    327 

elected  Governor  in  1888 326 

prominence  in  Posey  county  politics 742 

HOWARD  COUNTY 

party  newspapers 637 

political   history    636 

HOWARD,  E.  M. 

biographical  sketch    928 

HOWARD  FAMILY 

influence  in  Clark  county  politics 553 

HOWARD,  JONAS  G. 

memorial    sketch    465 

HOWARD,  TIMOTHY  E. 

account  of  Indiana  legislature  which  re- 
fused to  seat  Lieutenant-Governor  Rob- 
ertson,  1886    315-321 

account  of  legislature  concerning  municipal 

code    348-353 

memorial    sketch    466 

opinion   of   Indiana   tax   law 336-340 

HOWARD,  TILGHMAN  A. 

biographical   sketch    51-53 

influence  on  Parke  county  politics 728 

member   of  Greene   county  bar 618 

HOWAT,  WILLIAM  F.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    928 

HUDSON,  CHARLES  EDGAR 

biographical  sketch    930 

HUEY,  ROBERT 

early  leader  of  Jay  county  democracy 645 

HUMPHREYS,  JAMES  M. 

biographical  sketch   929 

HUMPHRIES,  LORENZO  B. 

biographical   sketch    929 

HUNTINGTON   COUNTY 

party  newspapers 639 

political   history    639 

HUNTINGTON,  ELISHA   M. 

early  leadership  in  Perry  county  politics..    732 
HURD,  BURGE  H. 

biographical  sketch    930 

Page 

first  state  government    .,     23 

part  in  campaign  of  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler 

too"   in   1840    61-65 

pioneers  in  Democratic  party   21-25 

population  when  admitted  to  the  Union ....     27 
representatives   in   Congress   from   1816   to 

1833    37-40 

from    1833   to    1841 75-80 

1843   to   1853 113-118 


INDEX 


JACKSON,  ANDREW  Page 

influence  on  state  politics,   1828-1831 32,  33 

state   conventions  nominating   in   1828  and 
1831     33 

JACKSON  COUNTY 

political   history    640 

JACKSON,  JOHN 

early  leader  of  Elkhart  county  democracy.   594 

JACKSON,  URIAH   STOKES 

biographical  sketch    931 

JASPER   COUNTY 

party   newspapers    644 

political   history    643 

JAY  COUNTY 

political    history     645 

JAY,  OSCAR 

biographical  sketch    930 

JEFFERSON  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    652 

political   history    648 

JEFFERSON,  THOMAS 

exposition   of  character   of  Washington...   515 
organized   Republican  party   in   1792 10 

JENNINGS  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    656 

political   history    656 


J  •        : 

JENNINGS,  JONATHAN  Page 

biographical  sketch    38 

elected   Governor   in    1816 38 

resident  of  Clark  county 551 

JENNINGS,  WILLIAM  B. 

biographical  sketch    932 

JESSUP,  FREDERICK  H. 

biographical  sketch    932 

JOHANNIE,  JOSEPH  L. 

biographical  sketch    932 

JOHNSON,  ANDREW 

supported   by   Governor   Morton   in   his  re- 
construction policy  213-223 

JOHNSON,  BENJAMIN  B. 

biographical  sketch    933 

JOHNSON  COUNTY 

political    history     657 

JOHNSON,  HENRY  W. 

political  career  in  Wayne  county 823 

JOHNSON,  JOHN  W. 

biographical   sketch    932 

JOHNSON,  McCLEAN 

biographical  sketch    933 

JOHNSTON,  WILL  H. 

biographical    sketch     934 

JOYCE,  JOHN  F. 

biographical  sketch    934 


K 


KANSAS-NEBRASKA  BILL  Page 

discussion    at    Democratic    convention    in 

1858    184,  185 

KEAN,  HORACE  MILTON 

biographical   sketch    935 

KEEFE,  PATRICK 

prominence  in  Newton  county  politics 710 

KEMP,  JOHN  P. 
biographical  sketch    934 

KERN,  SENATOR  JOHN  WORTH 

biographical   sketch    935 

death  and  biographical  sketch 433,  434 

early     participation     in     Howard     county 

politics    636 

elected  United  States  Senator  in  1911 416 

nominated   for    Governor,    1900 385 

nominated    for    United    States    Senator    by 

convention,  1910   415 

secretary  to  Democratic  convention,  1878..   279 
tribute  paid  by  Samuel  M.  Ralston 434 


KERR,  MICHAEL  C.  Page 

biographical   sketch    275,  276 

congressman  and  resident  of  Floyd  county.    599 
death  while  speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives,   1876    274 

KIMMELL,  JOSEPH  C. 

biographical  sketch    937 

KIRKHOFF,  FRANK  H. 
biographical  sketch   937 

KIRKPATRICK,  JUDGE  LEX  J. 

biographical   sketch    937 

campaign  methods  in  election  for  judge  in 
Republican   stronghold    636 

KIRSCH,  MATTHIAS 

biographical  sketch    938 

KITCH,  EDWARD   S. 

biographical   sketch    938 

KISER,  CHARLES  E. 

biographical  sketch    938 

KLEINER,  JOHN  JAY 

memorial    sketch    465 


(  1077  ) 


INDEX 


KNOTTS,  THOMAS  F.  Page 

biographical  sketch   938 

KNOW-NOTHINGISM 

discussion  of  crusade  against  Catholics 

and  foreign   born    169-178 

effect  upon  defeat  of  Democratic  party 

in    1854    163,  164 

KNOX  COUNTY 

party    newspapers     666,  668 

political   history    661 

KOLSEM,  JACOB  C. 

biographical    sketch     939 

KOPELKE,  JUDGE  JOHANNES 

biographical  sketch   940 

LAGRANGE  COUNTY  Page 

party   newspapers    675 

political   history    674 

LAIRY,  MOSES  B. 

biographical  sketch    942 

LAKE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    678 

political   history 677 

LAMB,  JOHN  E. 

memorial    sketch    465 

LAMBERT,  SAMUEL  A. 

biographical  sketch    943 

LANDERS,  FRANKLIN 

memorial    sketch     462 

nominated  for  Governor,  1880 285 

LANE,  HENRY  S. 

elected  Governor,   1860   194 

LANE,  JOSEPH 

Indiana's  choice  for  President,  1852. .  .  .151,  152 
LANEY,  GEORGE  L. 

biographical  sketch    943 

LAPORTE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    679 

political    history     679 

LAWLER,  JOHN  B. 
biographical  sketch    944 

LAWRENCE  COUNTY 

political    history     680 

LEADER,  B.  W. 

biographical  sketch    944 

LEE,  ANDERSON  B. 

biographical  sketch    944 

LEEPER,  DAVID  R. 

leadership  in  St.  Joseph  county  politics.  ...    761 


KORBLY,  BERNARD  Page 

biographical  sketch   940 

KOSCIUSKO  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    672 

political   history    670 

KRIEG,  STANLEY  MICHAEL 

biographical  sketch    941 

KRUSE,  EDWARD  HERMAN,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    941 

KRUYER,  PETER  J. 

biographical  sketch   942 

KURTZ,  JOHN  W. 

biographical  sketch    942 

L 

LEGISLATION  Page 

enacted  during  administration  of  Governor 
Marshall    428 

secured   during   incumbency   of  Charles   A. 
Greathouse   as   superintendent   of   public 

instruction    441 

LEGISLATURE 

see  elections 

procedure  of  first  session    31 

LEISURE,  CHARLES  C. 

biographical  sketch    944 

LIBERAL  REPUBLICAN  MOVEMENT 

formed    in    1870    247 

LIEB,  CHARLES 

biographical  sketch    945 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

see  elections 

action  of  legislature  in  refusing  to  seat 

Robertson     315-321 

election  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  resigna- 
tion of  Manson   313 

LINCOLN,  ABRAHAM 

appearance  in  courts  of  Fountain  county..   601 

elected  President,  1860  and  1864 195,  209 

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS  DEBATES 

arguments    and    effect 411,  412 

LINKE,  JOHN  A. 

biographical  sketch    946 

LITTLEFIELD,  NEHEMIAH 

biographical  sketch   946 

LOCHARD,  J.  FRANCIS 

biographical  sketch    947 

LOCKWOOD,  FRED  C. 

biographical  sketch    946 

LOGANSPORT  PHAROS 

power  in  Cass  county  politics 548 

LOGSDON,  JUDGE  HIRAM  M. 

biographical  sketch    947 


INDEX 


LONG,  GEORGE  W.  Page 

biographical  sketch    948 

LONG,  GROVER  C. 

biographical  sketch    948 

LONGFIELD,  RALPH  H. 

biographical  sketch    949 

LONGLEY,  WILLIAM  EDWARD 

biographical   sketch    949 

LOTTICK,  CLYDE  R. 

biographical  sketch   950 

LOTZ,  O.  J. 

prominence  in  Delaware  county  politics...  589 
LOTZ,  WALTER  J. 

biographical  sketch    950 


LOWRY,  ROBERT  Page 

congressman   and   resident   of   Elkhart 

county    594 

memorial  sketch   463 

LUEDTKE,  ALBERT 

biographical  sketch   950 

LUMARBE,  CORNELIUS 

biographical  sketch    951 

LUTHER,  PETER  THOMAS 

biographical  sketch    951 

LUTZ,  PHILIP,  JR. 

biographical   sketch    951 

LYDAY,  MARK  W. 

biographical  sketch    952 

LYONS,  DR.  FRANK  P. 

biographical  sketch   952 


M 


McAllister,  august  s.  Page 

leadership  in  Madison  county  politics 683 

McARDLE,  J.  E.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch   952 

McCARTER,  FRANK  R. 

biographical  sketch    953 

McCARTY,  PATRICK  M. 

biographical  sketch    953 

McCLELLAN,  CHARLES  A.  0. 

memorial   sketch    461 

McCLURE,  COLONEL  A.  K. 

account    of    Bryan's    second    campaign    for 
President,  1900   387 

account    of    convention    nominating    Cleve- 
land       325 

review    of    Polk-Clay    presidential    cam- 
paign     70,  71 

McCONNELL,  RALPH  W. 

biographical  sketch    953 

McCORD,  ELAM  M. 

biographical  sketch   953 

McCORMICK,  CHESTER  ARTHUR 

biographical  sketch    954 

McCORMICK,  SHULER 

biographical  sketch    954 

McDANIELS,  ERASTUS  W. 

biographical  sketch    954 

McDonald,  a.  j. 

biographical  sketch    955 

Mcdonald,  daniel 

leadership    in    Marshall    county 692 

McDonald,  david 

eminent    jurist     and     resident     of    Greene 
county    618 


McDonald,  JAMES  Page 

prominence  in  Noble  county  politics 711 

McDonald,  joseph  e. 

chosen  United  States   Senator   1872 261 

democratic  nominee  for  Governor  1864....   207 

early  life  in  Tippecanoe  county 793 

endorsed  for  President  by  state  convention, 

1884    304 

memorial  sketch   454 

nominated    for    President    by    Thomas    A. 

Hendricks,   1884    305 

resident  of  Fountain  county 601 

Mcdonald,  malcolm  a. 

biographical  sketch    955 

McDonell,  dr.  MORDECAI  M. 

biographical  sketch    956 

McDowell,  james  f. 

memorial    sketch    458 

McFADDIN,  JOHN  S. 

biographical  sketch    957 

McFARLAND,  JOHN  A. 

biographical  sketch    956 

McGEORGE,  THOMAS  H.,  JR. 

biographical  sketch    957 

McILVAINE,  WILLIAM  A. 

biographical   sketch   958 

McKAMEY,  ANDREW  V. 

biographical  sketch    958 

McKEY,  BEN  F. 

biographical   sketch   95S 

McKINLEY,  WILLIAM 

elected    President,    1896 371 

re-elected   President,   1900 387 

McKINZIE,  DANIEL  E. 

biographical  sketch   959 


INDEX 


McLALLEN,  HENRY  DeWITT  Page 

biographical  sketch    959 

McMULLAN,  J.  C. 

biographical  sketch    959 

McREYNOLDS,  JAMES  R. 

biographical  sketch    959 

MACKLIN,  PHILIP  L. 

biographical  sketch    960 

MACOMBER,  GEORGE 

biographical  sketch    960 

MACOUGHTRY,  FRANCIS  W. 

biographical   sketch    960 

MADDEN,  BERNARD  M. 

biographical  sketch    961 

MADISON  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    681 

political  history    681 

MAGEE,  RUFUS 

prominence  in  Cass  county  politics 549 

MAJOR.  CHARLES 

author  and   democratic   leader 771 

MAKER,  H.  A. 

biographical  sketch    • 961 

MALONE,  R.  H. 

biographical   sketch    962 

MANN.  GOLDEN  DAVID 

biographical  sketch    963 

MANSON,  MAHLON  D. 

appointed  collector  of  internal  revenue.  .  .  .   313 

memorial  sketch   460 

MARION  COUNTY 

political   history    685 

MARSHALL  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    692 

political  history    690 

MARSHALL,  CURTIS 

biographical   sketch    963 

MARSHALL,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch    963 

MARSHALL,  JOSEPH  G. 

biographical   sketch    109-112 

MARSHALL,  THOMAS  RILEY 

biographical    sketch    427,  964 

elected  Vice-President,   1916 478 

nominated     for     Governor     in     1908,     and 

elected    406 

MARTIN  COUNTY 

political  history    695 

MARTIN,  AUGUSTUS  N. 

memorial  sketch   462 

MARTIN,  THEODORE  T. 

biographical  sketch    966 


MASS  CONVENTION  Page 

report   of   meeting   in   Hanv  9ck   county   in 

1843     624 

MATSON,  COURTLAND  C. 

biographical    sketch     327 

leadership  in   Putnam   county  de -locracy.  .    746 

memorial  sketch   465 

MATTERN,  VALENTINE  A. 

biographical   sketch   966 

MATTHEWS,  CLAUDE 

memorial  sketch   456 

nominated    for    Governor    and    elected 

1892    344,  347 

political  career  in  Vermilion  county.  .  .809,  810 
MAUCK,  EDGAR 

biographical  sketch    966 

MAXEY,  GEORGE  ALVA 

biographical  sketch    966 

MAYNARD,  COL.  J.  B. 

influence  in  Perry  county  politics 733 

MEEKER.  THOMAS  S. 

biographical  sketch   967 

MELCHING,  ALBERT 

biographical  sketch    968 

MELCHIOR,  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch    967 

MEMORIAL 

to  great  democratic  leaders 453-468 

MENZIES,  GUSTAVUS  V. 

leadership  in  Posey  county  politics.  ..  .741.  742 
MERCER,  CORNELIUS  S. 

biographical  sketch    968 

MIAMI  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    700 

political   history    699 

MIERS.  JUDGE  ROBERT  W. 

biographical  sketch    968 

prominen-e  in  Monroe  county  politics 703 

MILBURN    RICHARD   M. 

biographical  sketch    969 

MILLER,  ANDREW  S. 

biographical  sketch    970 

MILLER,  DICK 

biographical   sketch    969 

MILLER,  FRED  C. 

biographical   sketch    970 

MILLER,  GEORGE  T. 

biographical  sketch   971 

MILLER,  JAP 

biographical  sketch    971 

MILLER,  SAMUEL  J. 

biographical  sketch   971 

MINNICK,  MARVIN  M. 
biographical  sketch   971 


INDEX 


MINOR,  OSCAR  C.  Page 

biographical   sketch    972 

MISHLER,  CARL 

biographical  sketch    973 

MISSOURI  COMPROMISE 

discussion    159-162 

MITCHELL,  EMMET  C. 

biographical  sketch    973 

MITCHELL,  J.  A.  S. 

biographical    sketch    334,  972 

democratic    nominee    for    supreme    judge, 
1890    333 

supreme  court  justice  and  resident  of  Elk- 
hart county    596 

MOCK,  HENRY  W. 

biographical  sketch    973 

MOLONY,  JUSTIN  J. 

biographical  sketch    974 

MONROE  COUNTY 

political   history    702 

MONTGOMERY  COUNTY 

party  newspaper    705 

political   history    704 

MOONY,  SAMUEL  P. 

prominence  in  Jackson  county   politics....   641 
MORALITY 

early  laws   to   establish 25 

MORAN,  JUDGE  JAMES  J. 

biographical  sketch    974 

jurist  and  resident  of  Jay  county 646 

MORGAN  COUNTY 

political   history    704 

MORGAN,  WILLIAM  Z. 

biographical  sketch    975 

MORRIS.  CHARLES  R. 

biographical  sketch    974 

MORRIS,  JUDGE  DOUGLAS 

biographical  sketch    975 

prominence  in  Rush  county  politics 758 


MORRISON,  MARTIN  A.  Page 

congressman  and  resident  of  Clinton  county  564 

MORSS,  SAMUEL  E. 
memorial    sketch    461 

MORTON,  OLIVER  P. 

appreciation  of  service  as  governor.  ..  .213-215 

biographical  sketch    275 

death  while  United  States  senator,   1877..    275 

elected  governor  in  1864    209 

political  career  in  Wayne  county 822 

republican  nominee  for  governor,  1856....    181 

Richmond   speech    215-223 

United  States  senator  in  1867 239 

MOSS,  RALPH  W. 
biographical   sketch    976 

MOUCH,  CHARLES  W. 

biographical  sketch    976 

MOUNT,  JAMES  A. 
elected  governor,   1896    37] 

MULKINS,  ALBERT  R. 

biographical  sketch    977 

MULL,  LEONIDAS  H. 

biographical  sketch    977 

MULVEY,  CHARLES  B. 
biographical   sketch    978 

MUNICIPAL  CODE  OF  INDIANA 

account    of    legislation    concerning    by 

Timothy  E.   Howard 348-353 

MURDOCK,  JAMES 

leadership  in  Laporte  county  politics 679 

memorial    sketch    464 

political  career  in  Tippecanoe  county 793 

MURPHY,  CHARLES  J. 
biographical  sketch    978 

MYERS,  WILLIAM  R. 

leadership  in  Madison  county  politics 683 

memorial    sketch    463 


N 


NATIONAL  REPUBLICANS  Page 

opponents   of  Jackson — convention   in   1831     34 

NEAL,  THOMAS  L. 

biographical  sketch    980 

NEFF,  JOHN  ENOS 

leadership  in  Randolph  county  politics 750 

NEGRO  SUFFRAGE 

ratification  of  15th  amendment 239-243 

speech  of  Governor  Morton  concerning  215-223 

NEWSPAPERS 

party  organs   in  various   counties 521-833 


NEWTON  COUNTY  Page 

political   history    709 

NIBLACK,  MASON  J. 

member  of  legislature  and  speaker 667 

NIBLACK,  WILLIAM  E. 

judge   of   supreme    court 667 

member  of  congress  and  resident  of  Knox 

county    667 

memorial  sketch   455 

NIEZER,  JOHN  BERNARD 

biographical  sketch    979 


(  1081  ) 


INDEX 


NOBLE  COUNTY  Page 

party   newspapers    711 

political   history    711 

NOBLE,  JAMES 

biographical  sketch    39 

NOBLE,  NOAH 

elected    governor    in    1831 47 

in  1834   47 


NORRIS,  DAVID  J.  Page 

biographical  sketch    980 

NOWELS,  ELDER  WILLIAM  R. 
biographical  sketch    980 

NYE,   MORTIMER,  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 
leadership  in  Laporte  county  politics 679 


O'BANNON,  JACOB  L.  Page 

biographical  sketch   981 

O'BANNON,  LEW  M. 

biographical  sketch    981 

OBERTING,  VICTOR 

biographical   sketch    984 

O'BRIEN,  CORNELIUS  H. 

biographical  sketch    984 

O'BRIEN,  WILLIAM  H. 

biographical    sketch    440,  981 

O'CONNOR,  BERNARD  E. 

biographical  sketch    985 

ODELL,  J.  C. 

biographical  sketch    985 

OFFICERS 

county  officers  in  various  counties.  ..  .521-833 
OHIO  COUNTY 

political  history    713 

OLIPHANT,  JOHN  T. 

biographical  sketch    986 

OLIVER,  OSCAR 

biographical  sketch    987 

O'NEALL,  JOHN  H. 

memorial    sketch    463 


o 

ORANGE  COUNTY  Page 

party   newspapers    717 

political   history    716 

ORBISON,  JUDGE  CHARLES  J. 

biographical  sketch    987 

O'RILEY,  DENNIS 
biographical  sketch   987 

ORMSBY,  MARTIN  HOMER 

biographical  sketch    988 

O'ROURKE,  EDWARD 

biographical  sketch    988 

OSBORN,  GEORGE  R.,  M.  D. 
biographical  sketch    988 

OSBORN,  JOHN  E. 

biographical  sketch    989 

OWEN  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    723 

political   history    719 

OWEN,  ROBERT  DALE 

biographical  sketch    73 

demand  for  nomination   as   superintendent 

of   public    instruction    147 

headed   electoral    ticket,    1848 101,  102 

leadership  in  Posey  county  politics 741 


PADDOCK,  CHARLES  A.,  M.  D.  Page 

biographical   sketch    989 

PAINE,  JOHN  R. 

biographical  sketch    989 

PANIC  OF  1893 

reviewed  by  Gen.  Thomas  E.  Powell.  .  .359-363 
PARIS,  JUDGE  JOHN  M. 

biographical  sketch    990 

PARKE  COUNTY 

party  newspapers    729,  731 

political   history    728 

PARKS,  ISAAC  KANE 

biographical  sketch    990 

PARR,  WILLETT  H. 

biographical  sketch    991 


PARRETT,  WILLIAM  Page 

memorial    sketch    460 

PATRIOTISM 

element   of   Americanism 491-505 

views   and    definitions    of   public    men    and 

women    508-510 

PATRONAGE 

distributed    to    democratic    party    workers 

under   Cleveland    311-312 

POTTER,  WILLIAM  T. 

biographical  sketch    991 

PAYNTER,  JUDGE  WILLIAM   H. 

biographical  sketch   990 

PERKINS,  EDGAR  ALMON 

biographical  sketch    991 


INDEX 


Page 
.   733 


PERRY  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    

political    history     ''32 

PETERS,  CHARLES  HAMILTON 

biographical  sketch    992 

PETTIT,  JOHN 

biographical    sketch    86,  87 

United     States     senator     and     Tippecanoe 
county   democrat    793 

PHELPS,  HAL  C. 

biographical  sketch    992 

PICKETT,  WILLIAM 
biographical  sketch   992 

PICKHARDT.  ERNEST  W. 

biographical   sketch    993 

PICKHARDT,  WILLIAM 

biographical  sketch    993 

PIERCE,  FRANKLIN 

elected  President,  1852 151-154 

PIGG,  WILL  H. 

biographical  sketch    994 

PIKE   COUNTY 

party   newspapers    737 

political   history    735 

PIONEERS 

in   settlement  of   Indiana 21-25 

PLATFORMS 

see  elections 

adopted    by    whigs     in     mass     convention, 

1848     97,  98 

POLITICAL  PARTIES 

see    Democratic    Party;    electi 


Republican 
181 


Party 
American  party 

"Barnburners"     99 

Crusade   of   Know-Nothings   against   Cath- 
olics     169,  178 

doctrine  of  Union  of  States 197-206 

emblem  of  democratic  party 64 

free  coinage  of  silver  issue 359-363,  380 

Free    Soil    party     98,99,153 

fusion  candidates    163-168 

fusion  of  Populist  with  Democratic  party  in 

1896    374 

Greenback   party    72v1 

in  early  days  of  Indiana 9-19 

Know-Nothings     163,  164,  169-178 

Liberal    Republican   merger 248,  249 

organization  and  caucus  in  Indiana  in  1824     31 

origin  and  early  history 9,  10 

party  relationships  ironically  defined...   24,  25 

People's   Republican   party    16(; 

prohibition    issue    163,  164,   167 

reforms   considered   and    suggested 483-49(1 


slavery  issue,  see  slaveri/  Page 

tariff   issue 89,  97 

Whigs    51-63 

POLK,  JAMES  K. 

elected  President  in  1844 72 

inaugural  address  on  the  tariff 89 

POLLARD,  C.  R. 

biographical  sketch    994 

POPULIST  PARTY 

fusion   with    democratic    party,    1896 374 

PORTER,  ALBERT  G. 

elected   governor,   1880 289 

PORTER  COUNTY 

party    newspapers    73S 

political  history    738 

POSEY  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    741 

political    history     741 

POSEY,  THOMAS 

resident  of  Clark  county 55 1 

POWELL,  GENERAL  T.  E. 

account   of   presidential    campaign    of    Mc- 

Kinley  and  Bryan,  1896 371-375 

PRESIDENT 

see  elections 

Andrew    Johnson's    accession    at    death    of 
Lincoln    213,  214 

odd  facts  about  Presidents  and  Vice-Presi- 
dents       ■'^11 

review   of   early   administrations 10-19 

review  of  methods  of  nomination  and  elec- 
tion     12-15 

unique  campaign  of  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler 

too"   in    1840    61-65 

PRIMARY  LAW 

nomination  of  governor  and  United  States 

senator  at  primary   435 

PRITCHETT,  JAMES  S. 

biographical  sketch    995 

PROCTOR,  ROBERT  E. 

biographical  sketch    994 

PROHIBITION 

issue  in  state  campaign,   1854....  163,  164,  167 
PUETT,  SAMUEL  D. 

leadership  in  Parke  county  politics 731 

PULASKI  COUNTY 

political   history    745 

PUNTENNEY,  GEORGE  H. 

prominence  in  Rush  county  politics 757 

PURCELL,  ROYAL  E. 

biographical  sketch    990 

PURDY,  SAMUEL  GORDON 

biographical  sketch    997 


(  1083  ) 


INDEX 


PURSLEY,  ALEXANDER  N. 

biographical  sketch 

PURSLEY,  O.  A. 

biographical  sketch    


Page 


RALSTON,  SAMUEL  MOFFETT  Page 

biographical  sketch    998 

leadership  in  Boone  county 537 

nominated     for     governor     in     1912     and 
elected     417-419 

review  of  administration  as  governor 445 

RANDALL,  PERRY  A. 

biographical  sketch 997 

RANDOLPH  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    751 

political    history     748 

RANKE,  WILLIAM  F. 

biographical  sketch    998 

RATIFICATION  OF  15TH  AMENDMENT 

opposition   in   Indiana 239-243 

RAUB,  EDWARD  B. 

biographical  sketch    999 

RAUCH,  GEORGE  W. 

congressman    and    resident    of    Huntington 

county     639 

RAUCH,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch    999 

RAVE,  HERMAN 

biographical  sketch    993 

RAWLEY,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch    1000 

RAWLINS,  OWEN  A. 

biographical  sketch    1001 

RAY,  JAMES  BROWN 

biographical    sketch    44,  45 

elected  governor  in  1825  and  1828 44 

READ,  JAMES  G. 

commended    for    devotion    to    principles    of 

democracy     73 

REEDER,  JAMES  J. 

biographical  sketch    1001 

REEVES,  NORMAN  W.  C. 

biographical  sketch    1001 

REID,  JAMES 

biogTaphical  sketch    1002 

REIDELBACH,  JOHN  G. 

biographical  sketch    1002 

REIFEL,  CHARLES  G. 

biographical  sketch    1002 

REILLY,  PATRICK 

biographical  sketch    1003 


PURVIS,  JUDGE  JAMES  M.                            Page 
biographical  sketch   997 

PUTNAM  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    747 

political   history    746 

p 

REMSTER,  JUDGE  CHARLES  Page 

biographical  sketch    1003 

REPUBLICAN  PARTY 

description    in    1912 421,  422 

landslide   in   1894 356 

organization  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in  1792     10 

plurality   in   1896 371 

restoration  to  power  in   1916 473-475 

state  ticket  inaugurated,  1856 181 

RETTERATH,  FRANK  J. 

biographical  sketch   1004 

RICHMAN,  GEORGE  J. 

biographical  sketch    1004 

RIGGS,  JAMES  REED 

biographical  sketch   1004 

RINEAR,  ELIAS  MONTGOMERY 

biographical  sketch    1005 

RINEAR,  GEORGE  FRANKLIN 

biographical  sketch    1006 

RINEAR,  JOHN  WESLEY 

biographical  sketch   1005 

RIPLEY  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    755 

political   history    753 

ROBERTS,  EMSLEY 

biographical  sketch    1006 

ROBERTSON,  GILES  W. 

biographical  sketch    1007 

ROBERTSON,  COLONEL  R.  S. 

elected  lieutenant-governor  at  special  elec- 
tion, 1886   315 

ROBINSON,  RICHARD  M. 

biographical  sketch   1007 

ROBINSON,  WILLIAM  B. 

biographical  sketch    1006 

ROBLYER,  JOHN  L. 

biographical  sketch    1008 

ROCHFORD,  JUDGE  JOHN  J. 

biographical   sketch   1008 

RODEMACKER,  CORNELIUS 

biographical  sketch    1008 

ROGERS,  HOMER  L. 

biographical  sketch 1010 

ROGERS,  GEORGE 

biographical  sketch   1009 


INDEX 


ROOSEVELT,  THEODORE 

1904... 


?age      RUSH  COUNTY 


elected    President, 
ROOSTER 

origin  of  application  to  democratic  party.  .      (5, 
ROSS,  JUDGE  FRANK  B. 

biographical   sketch   1009 


party   newspapers 
political   history    .  . 


Page 
.  756 
.   756 


RUSSELL,  JOHN  F. 

biographical  sketch    1010 


SACHS,  JULIUS  C.  Page 

biographical  sketch 1011 

SAGE,  JAMES  RUSSELL 

biographical  sketch   1011 

SAHM,  ALBERT 

biographical   sketch   1011 

ST.  JOSEPH  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    764 

political   history    760 

SAMMONS,  HUME  L. 

biographical  sketch    1012 

SANDERSON,  WORDEN  J. 

biographical  sketch    1012 

SANDO,  GEORGE  W. 

biographical   sketch   1012 

SATTERLEE,  WILLIS  A. 

biographical   sketch    1012 

SCHAAL,  HENRY  FRED 

biographical   sketch   1013 

SCHAEFFER,  CLARENCE  E. 

biographical  sketch    1013 

SCHNEIDER,  FRANK  M. 

biographical  sketch   1013 

SCHOONOVER,   ISAAC  C. 

biographical  sketch    1014 

SCHROEDER,  LOUIS  S.  C. 

biographical  sketch    1014 

SCHUETZ,  EDWARD  C. 

biographical  sketch    1015 

SCHUH,  ALBERT  J. 

biographical  sketch    1014 

SCHURZ,  CARL 

campaign  in  Indiana  in  1872 255-258 

experience  at  seance    257,  258 

identified    with    Liberal    Republican    move- 
ment  in    1872    248 

SCHWIER,  WILLIAM  C. 

biographical  sketch    1015 

SCOFIELD,  CURTIS  GILES 

biographical  sketch   1016 

SCOTT  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    769 

political   history    769 


SECRET  ORDERS  Page 

effect  on  gubernatorial   campaign   in 

1864    209-211 

SEFTON,  CLARENCE  O. 

biographical  sketch    1016 

SELLERS,  EMORY  B. 

biographical  sketch    1018 

BERING,  ALBERT  T. 

biographical  sketch    1016 

SERVICE,  WILLIAM  A. 

biographical  sketch    1017 

SHANKLIN  BROTHERS 

influence  in  Vanderburg  county  politics...   805 
SHANKLIN,  JOHN  G. 

commendation  of  Cleveland  as  presidential 

candidate    342,  343 

SHEA,  JUDGE  JOSEPH  HOOKER 

biographical  sketch    1017 

SHELBY,  ANDREW  J. 

biographical  sketch    1018 

SHELBY  COUNTY 

party    newspapers    770 

political   history    770 

SHELBY,  JOHN   B. 

biographical  sketch    1019 

SHIELDS,  MEEDY  W. 

early  leader  of  Jackson  county  democracy  640 
SHIVELY,  BENJAMIN  F. 

biographical  sketch    1019 

chosen  United  States  senator  in  1908 409 

death  and  biographical  sketch   42.')-431 

political  career  in  St.  Joseph  county 763 

re-nominated  for  United  States  senator, 
1914  and  elected 423,  425 

tributes  paid  by  President  Wilson,  Vice- 
President  Marshall  and  Governor  Ral- 
ston     430,  431 

SHOEMAKER,  JOHN  C. 

prominence  in   Perry  county   politics 733 

SHORT  LIVES 

of  men  in  high  office    516 

SHOWALTER,  WISE  W. 

biographical  sketch    1020 

SHRINER,  ATWELL  J. 

biographical  sketch   1021 


INDEX 


SIMON,  EDWARD  Page 

biographical  sketch   1021 

prominence  in  Lake  county  politics    677 

SIMONS,  JAMES  P. 

biographical  sketch    1021 

SKEETERS,  HOMER  J. 

biographical  sketch   1022 

SKEETERS,  SAMUEL 

biographical  sketch    1022 

SKINNER,  DE  FOREST  L. 

biographical  sketch    1023 

SLACK,  GENERAL  JAMES  R. 

memorial    sketch    457 

SLACK,  L.  ERT 

biographical  sketch    1023 

SLAVERY 

discussion   of  question   and   compromises..    157 

effect  upon  presidential  campaign,  1848.  .93-104 

issue  in  state  campaign,  1854 163,  164 

message  of  Governor  Jennings  concerning     30 
SLINKARD,  JUDGE  THEODORE  ELLIS 

biographical  sketch    1024 

SMALLEY,  JOHN  D. 

biographical  sketch    1024 

SMART,  JAMES  H. 

memorial    sketch    462 

SMILEY,  GLENN  A. 

biographical  sketch    1025 

SMITH,  EDWARD 

biographical  sketch    1025 

SMITH,  J.  W. 

biographical  sketch    1024 

SMITH,  JEREMIAH 

prominence  in  Randolph  county  politics...    749 
SMITH,  JOHN  LAWRENCE 

biographical  sketch    1026 

SMITH,  JOHN  W.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch   1025 

SMITH,  OLIVER  H. 

biographical  sketch    39 

SMITH,  OMAR  B. 

biographical  sketch   1026 

SMITH,  R.  CHANNING  M. 

biographical  sketch   1026 

SMITH,  REUBEN  E. 

biographical  sketch   1026 

SNODGRASS,  JAMES  P. 

biographical  sketch    1027 

SNYDER,  J.  FRANK 

biographical  sketch    1027 

SPANAGEL,  ALBERT 

biographical  sketch    1027 


SPENCER  COUNTY  Page 

political  history    773 

SPENCER,  JUDGE  JOHN  W. 

judicial  career 806 

SPENCER,  WILLIAM  W. 

biographical  sketch   1028 

SPHUNG,  ALFRED  A. 

biographical  sketch   1028 

SPOONER,  WILLIAM  F. 

biographical  sketch   1028 

SPYCHALSKI,  ALEXANDER 

biographical  sketch   1029 

STAHL,  JOSEPH  H. 

biographical  sketch   1029 

STARKE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    777 

political  history    776 

STATE  OFFICERS 

see  elections 

chosen  by  legislature  under  constitution  of 
1816     31,  119 

compensation    in    1852    145 

STEMM,  WILLIAM  H.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    1030 

STEUBEN  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    781 

political   history    780 

STEVENSON,  JOHN  WESLEY 

biographical  sketch   1030 

STEWART,  JAMES  L. 

biographical  sketch   1030 

STIDGER,  GEORGE  W. 

biographical  sketch   1031 

STINGER,  H.  E. 

biographical  sketch    1031 

STINSON,  J.  M. 

biographical  sketch    1031 

STOLL,  JOHN  B. 

beginning   of   newspaper   career   at    South 
Bend    766 

member  prison  and  parole  board 764 

prominence  in  Noble  county  politics 711 

STOREN,  MARK 

prominence   in   Scott   county  politics 769 

STOTELMYER,  CHARLES  L,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    1031 

STOTSENBERG,  EVAN  B. 

attorney    general    and    resident    of    Floyd 

county    600 

biographical    sketch    1032 

STRITTER,  FREDERICK 

biographical    sketch    1032 

STROBED,  WILLIAM  MARTIN 
biographical    sketch    1032 


INDEX 


STUART,  WILLIAM  Z. 

supreme  court  justice  and  resident  of  Cass 

county    549 

STUCKY,  FREDERICK  V.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch   1033 

STUDY,  THOMAS  J. 

jurist  and  Wayne  county  democrat 824 

SULLIVAN  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    786 

political   history    783 


SUPREME  COURT  JUDGES 

appointed    by   governor   under   constitution 

of    1816    119,  120 

SUPREME  COURT  OF  INDIANA 

critique  by  Judge  Daniel  P.  Baldwin 389 

SWAIM,  SILAS  E. 

biographical  sketch    1033 

SWITZERLAND  COUNTY 

political   history    788 

SWOPE,  ALLEN 

biographical    sketch    1033 


TAFF,  ANDREW  M. 

biographical  sketch    1033 

TAFT,  WILLIAM  H. 

elected    President,    1908    408 

TAGGART,  THOMAS 

appointed  senator  to  succeed  B.  F.  Shively, 
1916    435 

biographical    sketch    395,  1034 

leadership  in  Marion  county  politics 686 

urged  as  chairman  of  Democratic  national 
committee,  by  state  convention,  1902.  . .  .   394 
TARIFF 

campaign  issue  in   1844 89 

views  of  President  Fillmore   97 

TAX  LAW  OF  INDIANA 

opinion  of  Timothy  E.  Howard 336-340 

TAYLOR,  ARTHUR  W. 

biographical  sketch    1038 

TAYLOR,  JOHN  L. 

leadership  in  Warrick  county  politics 818 

TAYLOR,  JOHN  S. 

biographical  sketch    1038 

TAYLOR,  WALLER 

biographical   sketch    39 

TAYLOR,  ZACHARY 

elected  President  in  1848   100 

TEN  BARGE,  WILLIAM  J. 

biographical  sketch   1039 

TEST,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch   38 

THORNTON,  MICHAEL  CHARLES 

biographical  sketch   1038 

TILDEN,  SAMUEL  J. 

opposition  in  national  convention  and  in  In- 
diana, 1876    268,  269 

TILFORD,  B.  W. 

biographical  sketch    1039 

TILLETT,  JUDGE  JOSEPH  NEWTON 

biographical  sketch    1039 


"TIPPECANOE  AND  TYLER  TOO" 

unique   campaign   in    1840 61-65 

TIPPECANOE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    794 

political   history    792 

TIPTON  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    797 

political  history    796 

TIPTON,  JOHN 

biographical  sketch   39 

U.   S.  senator  and  resident  of  Cass  county  549 

"TIPTON  SLASHER" 

editorial  work  in  Howard  county 637 

resurrection     of     party     organ     in     Boone 
county   537 

TOWNSEND,  M.  C. 

biographical  sketch    1040 

TRABUE,   SAMUEL  L. 

biographical  sketch    1041 

TRISSAL,  FRANCES  M. 

leader  of   Hamilton   county   democracy....   622 

TUCKER,  MORGAN  J. 

biographical  sketch    1040 

TURNER,  THOMAS  S.,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch    1041 

TURPIE,  DAVID 

account    of    Bright-Fitch     senatorial    con- 
test      84-86 

account  of  early  life  in  Indiana 22-24 

account  of  Know-Nothing  crusade 171 

elected    United   States   senator,    1887 319 

judicial  career  in  Tippecanoe  county 793 

memorial    sketch    455 

political  career  in  White  county 828 

residence  in  Cass  county 549 

TYLER,  JOHN 

defection  from  Whig  party 64 


INDEX 


u 


UNGER,   HARRY  L.  Page 

biographical  slcetch   1041 

UNION  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    803 

political   history    800 

UNION  OF  STATES 

doctrine   of    Democratic    party 197-206 

UNITED  STATES 

dates  of  admission  to  Union  of  the  several 

states    472 

ratification  of  constitution  by  thirteen  orig- 


V 


VAN  BUREN,  MARTIN  Page 

elected  President,  1836   37 

endorsement   for    President    36,  37 

nominated  on  Freesoil  ticket  in  1848.... 98,  99 
visit  to   Indiana,   1843    63 

VANDERBURG  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    807 

political   history    805 

VAN  NUYS,  FREDERICK 

biographical  sketch    1043 

VAWTER,  FRANK  S. 

biographical   sketch    1042 

VERMILION  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    809 

political  history    808 

VICE-PRESIDENT 
see  electio7is 

odd  facts  about  Presidents  and  Vice-Presi- 
dents        514 

VIGO  COUNTY 

political   history    811 

VINCENNES 

early  history   661 

VITAL  QUESTIONS  BEFORE  AMERICAN 

PEOPLE    491-505 

Alcohol— Dr.   T.   D.   Alderman. 496 

Alien    ignorance    of    ideals — E.    E.    Ritten- 

house    .  .  .,. 501 

Amendment  of  constitutions — Thomas 

Jefferson    503 

Americanizing    aliens — Dr.    William     Nor- 
man  Guthrie    498 

Awakening  from   complacency — Prof.  Har- 
old C.  Goddard   505 

Despotism — Mark  Twain   501 

Legislation— William   Howard  Taft    492 

Liquor    Traffic — National    Liquor    Dealers' 

Journal    497 

Loyalty     to      constitution — Cardinal      Gib- 
bons     491,  492 


inal   states    472 

review   of   progress    483-490 

territorial  expansion  from  1803  to  1854.125-129 

UNITED  STATES  SENATOR 
see  electio7is 
chosen    by    Indiana    legislature    from    1861 

to    1911    499-451 

nomination  by   state   conventions   issue   in 

1910    411-413 

vigorous    campaign    in    1868   for    successor 

to  Thomas  A.  Hendricks   239-242 

Page 

Men    working    together — John     D.    Rocke- 
feller, Jr 492 

Multiplication  of  elective  offices — Woodrow 

Wilson     503 

Negroes — George  F.  Burba   500 

Rev.   Charles   Stelzle 502 

Patriotism — Dr.  Frank  Crane  and  others..   491 

William  Roscoe  Thayer   499 

Prevention  of  war  by  force — A.  Lawrence 

Lowell,  president  of  Harvard  university  493 
Promotion   of  agriculture — A.   0.  Eberhart  495 

Race  problem— Charles  G.   Sefrit 501 

Results  of  war— Berliner  Tageblatt 502 

Sanctity  of  United  States  supreme  court — 

the   democratic   review 495 

Spirit   of   German   organizations — Rt.   Rev. 

Charles  David  Williams   493 

Study  of  political  science— Charles  H.  Betts  504 

Success    493 

Squandering    public    funds — Thomas    Tag- 

gart    497 

Standards    of    judgment    of    schools — Prof. 

John  A.  H.  Keith   496 

Superficial  school  education — Silas  Evans..   495 

Thrift— S.  W.   Straus   493 

The  man  before  the  dollar — Governor  Jas. 

M.   Cox 494 

Treatment  cf  friendly  aliens — Miss  Frances 

A.   Kellor    499 

Weakness  of  man  power — Judge  Harry  B. 

Tuthill    494 

Waste  of  resources — Frederick  W.  Keough  494 
VOLLAND,  H.  KARL 

bioeraphical   sketch    1044 

VOLLMER,  WILLIAM   H. 

biographical  sketch   1045 

VOORHEES,  DANIEL  W. 

address   before    state    convention 229,  233 

address  on  the  admission  of  Indiana  to  the 

union     27,  28 


INDEX 


Page 
appointed    successor   to    Morton    in    United 

States  senate.  1877    279 

career  in  Tippecanoe  county 793 

political  career  in  Vigo  county 811 

memorial    sketch    454 

resident  of  Fountain  county 601 

third    election    as    United    States    senator, 


Page 


tribute  to  Governor  Williams,  at  his  death  291 

VORIS,  S.  E. 

biographical  sketch    1046 

VURPILLAT,  FRANCIS  J. 

biographical   sketch    1047 


w 


WABASH  AND  ERIE  CANAL  Page 

indebtedness    compromised    in    Whitcomb's 

administration     91 

proposition  for  building    47,  48 

WABASH  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    814 

political   history    813 

WALKER,  ESTAL  E. 

biographical   sketch    1048 

WALES,  JAMES  S. 

biographical  sketch    1047 

WALKINSHAW,  WILLIAM,  M.  D. 

biographical  sketch   1048 

WALLACE,  DAVID 

biographical  sketch    50 

governor  in  1836 51 

WALLACE,  JAMES  B. 

biographical   sketch    1048 

WALLACE,  LEW 

resident   of   Fountain   county 601 

WALSH,  JOHN  J. 

biographical  sketch    1047 

WALTZ,  AARON  M. 

biographical  sketch    1048 

WARREN  COUNTY 

political    history     815 

WARRICK  COUNTY 

party    newspapers     816 

political   history    816 

WASHINGTON  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    820 

political   history    820 

WASHINGTON,  GEORGE 

exposition    of    his    character    by    Thomas 

Jefferson    515 

WATSON,  FRANK  E. 

biographical  sketch    1049 

WATSON,  LOUIS  LATOUR 

biographical  sketch    1049 

WAYNE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    823 

political    history     822 

WEBER,  S.  HORACE 

biographical  sketch    1049 


.1050 


WEISMAN,  JESSE  F.  Pa^e 

biographical  sketch   1051 

WELLS  COUNTY 

party    newspapers    825 

political   history    825 

WELLS,  SAMUEL  B. 

biographical  sketch    

WENINGER,  CHARLES  W. 

biographical  sketch    1050 

WERNEKE,  RICHARD  A. 

biographical   sketch    1050 

WESNER,  FERNANDO  WOOD 

biographical  sketch    1051 

WESSEL,  JOHN,  JR., 

biographical  sketch    1051 

WHIGS 

reasons  for  rise  to  power  in  1840 51-63 

WHITCOMB,  JAMES 

early  residence  in  Monroe  county 702 

elected  governor,  1843   65,  66 

elected   United   States   senator,   1849 67 

member  of  Greene  county  bar 618 

re-election  to  office  of  gove.'nor,   1846.  ..  .89-91 

tribute  paid  to  his  memory  by  Thomas  A. 

Hendricks    68 

WHITE,  ALBERT   S. 

biographical  sketch    40 

WHITE  COUNTY 

party   newspapers    829 

political   history    827 

WHITE,  HENRY  E. 

biographical  sketch    1052 

WHITELEATHER,  DAVID  VOORHEES 

biographical  sketch    1052 

WHITE,  RICHARD 

biographical   sketch    1052 

WHITLEY  COUNTY 

political   history    830 

WICK,  WILLIAM  W. 

congressman  and  political  methods 598 

WICKENS,  JUDGE  HUGH  DEVINE 

biographical  sketch    1053 

WIEBKE,  HENRY  A. 

biographical   sketch    1053 


INDEX 


WILLARD,  ASHBEL  P.  Page 

death  during  term  of  office  as  governor 196 

elected  governor  in  1856 180,  181 

elected  lieutenant-governor,  1852   145-148 

governor  and  resident  of  Floyd  county.  . .  .   599 

WILLIAMS,  CHARLES  F.,  JR. 

biographical  sketch    1053 

WILLIAMS,  FRANCIS  M. 

biographical  sketch   1054 

WILLIAMS,  HAJftRY  B. 

biographical  sketch   1054 

WILLIAMS,  JAMES  D. 

biographical    sketch 291 

death  while  governor,  1880   291 

early  participation  in  Knox  county  politics  667 
nomination     and     election     for     governor, 
1876     267,  274 

WILLIAMSON,  GARLAND  D. 

prominence  in  Randolph  county  polities.  .  .  .   750 

WILLIS,  H.  THORNTON 

biographical  sketch   1054 

WILLSON,  THOMAS  E. 

biographical  sketch   1054 

WILSON,  WILLIAM  O. 
biographical  sketch   1055 

WILSON,  WOODROW 

elected  President,  1912   421 


WIMBERG,  HENRY  Page 

biographical  sketch   1055 

WINTERHOFF,   HUGO 

biographical  sketch   1055 

WISE,  HENRY  A. 

account  of  Know-Nothing  crusade 173-177 

WOLFE,  FRANK  H. 

biographical  sketch   1056 

WOLFE,  SIMEON  K. 

memorial  sketch  458 

WOOD,  ALPHONSO  C. 

biographical  sketch   1056 

WOOLEN,  WILLIAM  W. 

biographical  sketches  of  Indiana 

pioneers     41,  44,  67,  110,  210 

WORDS  OF  WISDOM  AND  TRUTH 

extracts  from  various  sources 511-513 

WRIGHT,  JOSEPH  A. 

appointed  ambassador  to  Berlin  by  Presi- 
dent Buchanan    186 

appointed    senator    by    Governor    Morton, 
1862    206 

elected  Governor  in  1849 108 

influence  on  Parke  county  politics 728 

leadership  as  governor  for  seven  years. 105-108 

nomination    and    re-election    for    governor, 
1852    145-148 


YEOMAN,  DEVERE 
biographical   sketch 


Page      YOTTER,  CHARLES  A. 
.  1056  biographical  sketch    .  . 


Page 
.1057 


ZOERCHER,  LOUIS  Page 

biographical  sketch    1058 

ZOERCHER,  PHILIP 

biographical  sketch    1057 

prominence  in  Perry  county  politics 733 


ZOLLARS,  FRED  E. 
biographical  sketch 


•7431