The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-06-05

Pierce, of Massachusetts, jumped to his chair,
while Senator Hoar and dozen others vainly
cried for recognition. Mr.. Pierce obtained the
floor and spiritedly denounced the resolution as
having bad parentage, and being introduced
for bad purpose. Then Mr.. Knight, of Cali
fornia, young man with good presence and a
splendid voice, made fiery speech in its sup
port, in the course of which he per sonally, and,
almost by name attacked Geo. William Curtis.
The speech was coarse and brutal and did very
much to turn the tide of feeling against the
proposition, which, at the first seemed likely to
carry with no other opposition than that of the
recognized Edmunds men. Mr.. Curtis took the
floor amid loud cries for Curtis" and made
dignifed, manly address, saying he had come
into the convention Republican, and free man,
and Republican, and free man and he pro
posed to go out of the convention. Turning
toward Mr.. Knight, he told him the resolution
was stigma and an insult, and he begged the
convention~to vote it down.
The Blaine tactics were bold, but ill-advised.
Had the resolution been longer debated and
vote taken upon it, it would most likely have
failed. Frank B. Posey of our own delegation,
took the floor but as he announced himself
against the resolution Mr. Lynch declined to
recognize him if there was any one who wished
to speak in its favor, holding that speeches must
be made alternately, in accord with the custom
of the House of Representatives. With this
markable ruling, and no one caring to speak on
the proposition, the Tennessee man withdrew it,
after stating that both Chester A. Arthur and
James A. Garfield had voted for it in 1880.
THE OBJECT OF THE RESOLUTION.
,I,,A Al
men in introducing the resolution was is
hard to say, seeing that it was so
quickly withdrawn; but it looks as though the
design was to compel the Edmunds men to show
their hands, to compel Mr. Curtis to acknowledge
himself as their leader, and to use their attitude
of independence to weaken their influence
with the convention. In short, it was
to put them in the position of bolters
in advance. In so far that was its object, it
was not particularly successful, but the very
boldness of the assault and the aggressive tone
assumed by Mr.. Knight, of California, rather took
away the breath of the convention, and gave
whatever of prestige there might be to the little
stir in the Blaine cause Had the resolution
been debated and opposed by such men as Sena-
tor Hoar, Governor Long, Mr. Lodge Mr.. Roose-
second thought of the convention, to which Mr..
Curtis so eloquently appealed, would have given
another and most decisive defeat to the tactics
of few men who assume to lead the Blaine
forces on the floor. Imagine men like Frye and
Hale indulging in such talk as came from
Knight of California, to-day!
This was the only incident of the morning
session specially noteworthy, except the Blaine
demonstration when Mr. Henderson mentioned
his candidacy in his auctioneer list when again
and again was the cheering renewed the galle-
ries, which are full of the local Blaine feeling
catching and prolongng the response until most
of the convention were their feet simply to
look at the sea broken into such tumultuous
waves of excitement. Viewed from the stage it
was grand sight, but to one cool enough to
look beneath the surface it did not appear that
anything like majority of the convention
proper united in the ovation. The galleries do
not make the nominee, as has been demonstrated
both in 1876 and $780, If they did, the nom
inees in both instances would have been other
than those who led the party to victory
CAN A COMBINATION BE MADE?
STILL it will not do to belittle the strength of
Mr.. Blaine, nor to avoid the fact that he has
this writing, unless there is combination and
concentration of forces, his nomination is quite
likely. Whether this can be effected is the
problem for the opponents of Mr. Blaine during
the next few hours. There are rumors that
Ohio will go largely for Blaine, which, if true
will use up the chances of John Sherman as
possibility Mr. Edmunds is out of the oues
ton, if he ever was in it. General Logan
would get much of the Southern vote but there
is feeling that Logan is being used as a bridge
over which to bring votes to Blaine, not by his
own wish, but by the tactics of his assumed man
ayers, and because of the seemingly prevalent
Blaine sentiment in Illinois, and particularly in
Chicago What can be done with Harrison is
yet unsolved but there is a lack of earnestness
on the part of his State which breaks his force.
From the outside there is and has been, from
the first, strong and earnest effort in his favor
but these have not been properly seconded by
Indiana, but have been treated as of little ac-
count, if not actually repelled. Whether any
thing can come of General Harrison now must
be determined entirely outside of his own State
Of course, this attitude of the In
diana delegation precludes the idea of
a combination in favor of General Gresham.
The Arthur managers feel that the talk about
General Gresham on the part of alleged friends
of the President has weakened General Ar
thur, and it has demonstrated that there is no
strength in the South for either Harrison,
Gresham or Hawley while the bulk of the Ed
munds vote will not be attracted toward
Gresham. 1t is notat all improbable that Indiana
will suffer the fate of the ass between two
bundles of hay, because it could not make mn
its mind which to take. 1t does not seem posi-
BILE to use Hawley as foil to Blaine, because
the Southern delegates do not know him, and in
this contingency there is growing talk of Gen
Sherman and Bob Lincoln as the men who
could prevent a stampede Blaineward Gen.
John B. Henderson has teegraphed Sherman,