Evening star., 1896-09-18
Spread Of Sound Money Democratic
Sentiment.
WAGE FARMERS FOR MKINLEY
What a Personal Canvass of In
dianapoIis DiscIoses.
A NlANUFACTU Z URER VIEW
Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.

that Is exceedingly startling. Iney began
Immediately after the gold convention. and
have been growing in frequency as time
flies. The democrats held their state con-
vention shortly before the one assembled at
Chicago. A free silver platform of the most
pronounced type was adopted almost unan-
imously. and candidates for electors were
named. 1t was supposed that clean-cu. sill
verites had been chosen. and no one antici-
pated q break in that direction. The chair
man Of the state committee selected his eX-
ecutive committee after the Chicago conven-
ton, and all Of its members were supposed
to be in hearty sympathy with the Bryan
ticket and platform. About the time the gold
convention was to meet party leaders were
stricken dumb by the public withdrawal OF
one of the silver candidates for elector. and
his announcement that he could not sup
port either ticket or platform named at
Chicago. This was speedily followed by
the designations of several members or the
executive committee for the same cause
The disease seemed to be catching, and
from almost every part of the state came
cards from hitherto prominent democrats
announcing their detection. These cards
were from men who had been looked upon
as stanch for free silver.
The Gold Democrats.
When Mr.. Bynum first started his move
ment for a gold convention it was gener-
ally regarded with derision. even the re-
pubicans laughing at it. and the silver
democrats declared he could not find gold
democrats enough in the state to act as
delegates to fill Indiana's quota. The sur
prise came when the delegates appeared
Then the silver democrats declared that
the Palmer ticket would not receive 700
votes III the state. They have been grad
ually raising this estimate, until now they
place the figures at 1000. or five times as
many as they first thought. For forty
hag az 10
democratic county of the state. with q ma
jority ranging from 1000 to 600. week
ago the democratic state committee burst
up, and new chairman had to be selected.
He has been trying to get his hand fairly
fastened on the bellows, and thought things
were beginning to shape up in better style,
when the startling news was brought TO
him that unless something was speedily
done in old Allen 10 settle the party diff
culties there the democratic majority would
be thing of the past Up in that strong
| hold of democracy a rebellion has broken
out. The German Lutherans have a very
strong vote in the county. and they have
| decided for sound money, and most of them
| for Mckinley. The German Catholics are
also very strong. and they have followed
| the example of the Lutherans
workingmen for Mckinley.
Fort Wayne is large manufacturing
place, and heretofore operators and men
have worked in political harmony for the
democratic ticket. 1t looks now as If they
| had gone over in body to the republicans.
| Mr.. John Bass. one of the heaviest manu-
| facturers in the state, and one OF the
wealthiest men. is openly advocating the
| election Of Mckinley and the entire repub-
| lican ticket. The sound money railroad
! club composed largely of democrats, now
| numbers nearly LOO members.
| AS an evidence of the feeling in this city,
it may be cited that personal canvass has
| been made of some of the wards. This
| canvass is outside of the polling hat has
| been conducted by the two parties. and has
| been made in different manner. Every
| democrat has been seen and talked TO by
| some of his neighbors. to get at his
| real opinions. In the precinct in which
| Gen. Harrison resides there are but fifty
| eight democrats. of these Bryan will get
| but ten. All the others will either vote for
| Mckinley or for Palmer. the most of them
| for Mckinley. In the adjoining precinct Of
| the same ward there are forty-seven DEM
| ocrats. of which number only eleven adhere
| to Bryan. The northern half of the city
| stands in about the same proportions. In
| the southern half the Bryan sentiment is
| stronger, but even there the feeling for
| sound money is much greater than it was
| supposed to be. In one large factory all
| the democrats but one have announced
| themselves for Mckinley. and he Is for
Palmer. In another. employing about eigh,
| hundred men. with G5 per cent OF them
| democrats. nearly ~ per cent have declared
| for sound money.
| Terre Haute also furnishes its surprises
| L
| the railroad men now numbers $50 mem
| bers. nearly half of whom are democrats
| They will vote the republican ticket
| straight through. The sound money dem
ocrats will have their speakers in the field
next week. and expect to have one or more
| speeches in each county every day unit
the election.
| In the Gas Belt.
A tour through the gas belt of the sta te
emphasizes the statement hitherto made
that the wage earners are rapidly turning
away from free silver. Madison county
has been one of the great beneficiaries OF
the natural gas find. Before the discovery
Of gas. it was always regarded as reliably
democratic, and boasted of its ability te
give that ticket from 500 to 1900 majority
at any time. Two years ago, in the land
slide. 1t went republican. The great glas
works of the state are situated there, anG
as there has been considerable trouble be
! tween the operators and the workinsmen
the democrats felt confident 1t would thi.
year be again found in their column. II
this hope they are to meet with a terrible
disappointment A careful canvass of tht
county has been made by those interested
In knowing the facts. outside of the po
litfcal committees Tho result is that tn,
| county Is now set down safe for Nc
kinley by LOO. There are several hun
dred democrats who are openly advocatins
| the election of Mckinley. The tin plat,
and plate glass workers are almost unani
| mouSly for the republican ticket
One Manufncturer's Views,
Maj. Charmes T. Doxey is more largel,
interested in the manufacturing industrie
of the county than any other one man. o
the situation he said I'm my opinion, tn
country never was in as critical a condi
ticn as at present. Industry is tied ham
ard foot, and hundreds of thousands O
honest workingmen are out Of employment,
and. what is worse, they are out of money
Their little savings have all gone to sup
port their families. and winter is coming O.
with but little hope of a betterElent of tn
situation. Capitalists even are finding
! hard to get money to meet their daily ex
penses. Unless something is done to ope
| up the factories and furnish employment
to the starving We will have bread riot
before the winter Is over. l am a protec
. tionist. believe that American working
men should manufacture everything neede
for the use Of our people. We have tn
workingmen. and they ought to be en-
ployed. If Mckinley is elected, and a rea
1 sonable tariff law is assured, 1 will Civ
y bond to open every factory in this count
within sixty days, and furnish employment
at remunerative wages to every working
man in the county. The people of TIL