The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-03-08
TUE ALLEN COUNTY GRUMBLERS.
An Emphatic Denial Of Certain Charges Pre-
ferred by Fort Wayne Newspaper.

To the Editor OF the Indianapolis Journal
The Fort Wayne Gazette of the 5th inst.
contained in o long article of abuse of the
Auburn convention, held onthe 10th, to elect
delegates to the national convention, the
following:
The app0rtionment was made on the vote Of
1890. thus Furnishing all tho anti Harrison coun-
ties, but Allen county most of all This done,
the administration machine. including the chair
man OF the State central committee, was trained
upon the counties OF this district outside OF Allen
So far as Steuben county is concerned,
the imputation that Its action at the con-
vention was inspired or induced by any
outside influence whatever is incorrect
No federal office-holder or member of the
State central committee either visited the
county or wrote to any delegate or citizen
of the county expressing any wish or de-
sire to indicate or control the action of it's
delegates, and no postmaster was elected q
delegate, or accompanied the delegation to
the convention. There was an entire
unanImity on the part of our delegation in
the support of President Harrison as can
didate to succeed himself, and our desire
was to elect delegates to the national con-
vention who would represent our views on
that question. We were determined that
should not be through the treachery of our
delegates. We succeeded in getting the
kind of men that we wanted-good men
and true. who not only are men OF ability,
but have the courage to carry out their
convictions, and will do their whole duty.
The Allen county delegation offered q
series of resolutions censuring the State
central committee for adopting the vote OF
1890 as the basis of representation, and
claiming that il dIsfranchised 1900 Repub-
licans In Alien county, because their vote
was that much short in 1890 Of what lie was
In 1883. and they asked the convention to
grant them twenty additional delegates to
the thirty-iive they already had. They
did not propose that the balance of the dis
trlct should be reapportioned also and re-
ceive an increase of delegates II entitled to
them-nOt at all; that would have spoiled
their little game, and the convention
promptly tabled 1t. After tho delegates
were elected, the Allen county delegates
filed protest and notice of appeal, because
the convention refused to censure the State
central committee and give them twenty
candidate " for delegate telsSrapSsd
the national committee that he appealed
from the action of the convention. IL the
vote of 1883 had been adopted instead of
that or 1890. Steuben county would have
been entitled to five more delegates. and
am informed that outside of Allen county,
the increase would have reached twenty
two: this would have oheckmated Allen
county. hence her appeals for justice were
confined to her own limits; they did not
extend to the whole district. According to
q practice that has obtained for many
years. the counties of DeKalb and Noble
claimed that they were each entitled to
delegate to the national convention this
year. This was conceded by all the other
counties except Allen. 1t was In carrying
out this understanding and securing tho
election of delegates who would represent
the almost unanimous sentiment of the
people of this district, that constitutes the
machine politics" of which they complain
JOSEPH A. Woodruff
ANGOLA, Ind, March 2.