The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-23

izised by some Of the party workers, who insist
on it as a statesmans first principle that a man
should never overlook his friends similar
mistake over the postoifce question at Danville
has resulted in the nomination OF an antl-Harrl-
son candidate for the State Senate from that
neighborhood who will be holding over when
HarTisOns term is out.
The question as to the personal popularity of
the two Indiana leaders is one that has been
much discussed. 1t is suggested on the one hand
that, while brainy and pure man, Harrison IS
aristocratic. 1.-The grandson of his grandfather
and ''as cold as a snake, and that the measure
of his popularity was taken when
he was beaten for Governor in
1876, by Blue Jeans" Williams. There is an
other side to all this. 1t begins by sweeping
away all but the last utterly absurd as we'll as
untrue, and therefore unworthy of serious con
sideration, and insists that the disadvantages
under which Harrison labored as a
committee candidate to replace Ortiz, who
was withdrawn, were such as to prevent
fair test although as it was, he ran
1900 votes on an average ahead of the rest of the
State ticket and polled 173 more votes in Marion
county than Hayes did month later While
the Senator's champions freely admit that he
isn't the hale fellow" that Gresham is, they
qualify it by the explanation that that isn't bis
way but that he has fully as warm place IN the
popular affection.
Gresham's wounded leg which he brought
home from the army, has given him pull among
the soldiers which is hard to overcome. His
much to do with making him favorite. Some
of the lawyers don't like him overmuch, but |
find they of the class whom, while United
States Judge he had occasion once in while to
reprove from the bench when they presumed on
their own self-importance and the Indulgence of
the court. The story which has been whispered
about that, when qispQsng Of the railroad rioters
ii 1911, ne gave decision which practically de-
MED the rights of laboring men to meet together
and take proper steps to redress their grievances,
denounced those
the OCCASION as an outrageous SANDER which no
one dare repeat in Greshams presence without
being convicted by the records Of willful and de-
hberate lying That decision was directed to the
then popular amusement of bulldozing people
who wanted to work, stopping trains, interfering
with the mails, and destroying property, If not
lives, and sought in no way to deny
or abridge the right to meet agitate,
did not interfere with others who were
willing to work. Having discharged his duty as
judge, Gresham surprised the disturbers
themselves by making their punishment-m
ly fines-as light as possible, and admonishing
them not to engage in such doings again. Prob
ably the best answer to the story is the fact
that some of those very rioters in 1871 are now
among Greshams most pronounced supporters.
They like his style-and his sense of justice,
too.
The men in Indiana who have anything to do
with the postoffices and the postal service are
much more devoted to Gresham, apparently, than
complaints against him of needless reduction of
salaries Even the postoffice inspectors admit
that his ruling in their case was fair AS the
government enforces the old limit as to theireX-
penses, it certainly isn't any worse off than be
fore, and, assuming that the inspectors are hon
est it saves something. The only complaint
against Gresham among the postal people-and
then only from comparatively few-grows out of
his retention of c. j. French, the assistant SUI
perintendant of the railway mail service for
this division, who was investigated awhile ago
by a special commission on the general
charge of tyranny, favoritism, neglect
to hear complaints etc. Col. Hollo-
way the eXpostmaster, who is an
enthusiastic Gresham man, is authority for the
statement that but seventeen out of the 600 men
who appeared before the commission testified
against French. The other side intimate that
French who had been keeping books on the
boys while the latter carried matters in their
heads, able to tangle them up and come out
ahead on techncalites. However that may be,
the commission found that the charges were not
sustained Their report was sent on to Gresham,
before whom it is still pending. The expectation
is that he will concur in it, though some who are
not his warmest admirers insinuate that he will
forget all about it until after the Sd of June.
These arc the two sides of the French case in a
few words AT this date nobody seems to be
very violently agitated over it either way.
In contradiction to the Harrison claim of
three-fourths the deegaton-or twenty-five for
Harrison and seven for Gresham-Colonel Hol-
lOWdy bOlu me WllH apparently euudl coHilU6llCe
that Gresham would certainly get eighteen and
Harrison eleven, not counting himself If all
the delegates are as uncertain as one of the
thirty l have in my mind, who is a Harrison
man when he meets a friend of Harrison and
Gresham man when he meets friend of
Gresham, somebody will be fooled. The Gresham
men claim him because Gresham befrended him
in days gone by, and the Harrison men because of
an alleged recent falling out with his benefactor.
If anybody can predcC to-day, with any show of
reason, how this particular delegate will vote,
should the question of Harrison Gresham
ever come before the delegation he can do some
thing that many a long-headed politician here
has given up as bad job. Colonel Holloway,
like all the Gresham men, insists that Gresham
is not a candidate while Arthur has show
His name will never be mentioned said he,
'as long as Arthur is a candidate and no dele
gate from Indiana will vote for him as long as
Arthur is in the field. What some outside fellow
may do, l don't know
The hope of the Gresham men, of course, is
that there may be lot of outside fellows"
particularly in New York who will raise the
Gresham signal at the right time and give the
Indiana delegates a chance to respond Judge
Denny, of Vincennes, who was here to-day, put
it in This way: There is no doubt Gresham is
the brains Of Arthurs Cabinet He is loyal to
his chief, and his chief knows it. What more
likely than that Arthur, finding the nomination
slipping from him, will use his influence for
Gresham! When New York or any considerable
number of her delegates, ask for Gresham, you
will find that Indiana won't be backward in
giving them what they want. And 1 am free to
say that they would as easily unite Harrison
if New York should prefer him, though I'm not
for him and don't think she is"
Governor Porter sits quietly in his Office these
days attending to the routine work which falls
upon Governer, and not very sorry. imagine,
that the Indiana constitution prohibitsa Govern
orS re- election without an intervening term. An
Indiana campaign is not picnic excursion, and
Governor Porter had ample opportunities for
finding it out four years ago. He is not candi-
date this year for anything Several of his ad-
mrers have suggested his name for President or
Vice president, but he has steadily set the sug-
gestion one side. He esteems Harrison and
Gresham as his personal friends, and declines to
discuss their chances with everybody, though
conversations with intimate friends have brought
out the fact that he considers Harrison the favor