Evening star., 1896-10-27
OUT IN THE CAMP PAICN:s. =.
AN EXCITABLE STATE.
Indiana wofkinxmen ana Farmers
Expected to Oppose Bryan.


Expected to Oppose Bryan.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, October 26, 1896.
In politics Indiana has always been an
excitable state, but this year the excite
ment is more intense and more general than
ever before. Business is practically sus-
pended. Politics Is the sole topic of conver-
sation. In other campaigns 1t mattered not
how strong the surface indications might
be. there was still feeling of doubt and
unrest in the minds of the people until the
ballots were finally counted. There Is no
such feeling now among the republicans.
1t may be that Indiana will cast her elec-
toral vote for Bryan, but IL SO it will be
contrary to every indication, and no one
Will be more surprised at 1t than the Bryan
leaders themselves. Indiana is q state of
sudden and startling changes. 1 remember
that In 1884 up to within ten days Of the
election it was a foregone conclusion that
MIR. Blaine would carry the state Mr..
hendricks, who was candidate for Vice
President. once told me that had the election
that year taken place any time before the
last week in October 1t would have gone
for tine republicans. but the last two weeks
witnessed marvellous change, and MIR.
Cleveland came in an easy winner. Again
in 1888 all the indications were that Har-
rison would have large plurality, and had
the election come off two weeks earlier
than it did his plurality would have been
10000 or more. During the last two weeks
the tide turned and he finally only squeezed
through.
The leaders have SO rapidly abandoned
MIR. Bryan during the last week that there
are now only a few more to go over. 1t Is
true that the rank and file do not always
follow the leaders, and 1t Is also true that
the rank and file sometimes desert their
party when the leaders remain steadfast.
This was notably the case two years ago.
1t was then the voters who left democracy
for lepublicanism, or for populism. The
leaders stuck ty the old party. But all the
evidences this year go to show that the
rank and file were even in advance of their
leaders In declaring against free silver. To-
day the most active, persistent and earnest
opposition to Bryanism In the state comes
from the workingmen.
SO great has been the change during the
past week that the republicans are now
claiming that they will again be able to
make complete sweep Of the congress
slonal districts. and also control both
houses OF the legislature. The districts
In a precarious condition for the repub-
Icans. and some Of them may slip away
from them. They are sure of nine, and
may possibly secure one or two more.
The democrats are beginning to feel that
Governor Matthews was actuated solely by
his desire to go to the Senate in forcing
the party into fusion with the populists.
1t will be remembered that the populist
state ticket Is still in the field. and that
the fusion was only on electors and on
legislative tickets. The democrats have
been expecting to pull through by the
Populist vote, and they charge that had
Governor Matthews not interfered and in
duced the democratic committee to consent
to fusion so soon the populists would have
yielded and taken off their state ticket
This feeling against Matthews has grown
q ov,dv to-
the legislative calculations. The republi-
cans have nineteen Of the hold-over sena-
tors against six for the democrats Twenty
five are to be elected, and of these the
republicans claim they will elect sixteen
giving them thirty-five to fifteen
OF the one hundred representative dis
tricts the republicans claim forty-four are
sure for them. eighteen doubtful and that
they will carry majority Of the doubtful
districts. The democrats will have to have
at least twelve majority in the house to
give them control on joint ballot and it
looks now as II they would fall short
little. AS Senator Is to be elected both
parties are anxious to win in the legislative
fight. and are now paying a great deal Of
attention to it.
The democrats still claim that the farm
Ing community is largely with them, but
all the indications are that they will meet
with sore disappointment in that direction.
The experience of former campaigns has
been that the same trend Of thought has
the country. There have always been
fewer changes in the country than in the
cities. but the changes have always been
uniform. No one now puts the sound money
democratic vote of the state at less than
10000. and every one admits that Mckinley
will get from IS to 80 per cent of it. That
would mean a dead loss to Bryan of 10000,
and gain to Mckinley of not less than
10000. making difference of 10000. To
offset that and the republican plurality Of
1900 Of two years ago, the democrats have
250OO populists and what free silver re-
publicans they can get, and in their most
sanguine figures they have never claimed
more than 10000 free silver republicans
Even $4,000 plurality in Indiana may be
looked upon as something phenomenal, for
1t has not given any such a plurality at
a presidential election since 1872, when the
democrats deserted Mr. Greeley but unless
every Indication, both on the surface and
under the surface, is false, the plurality of
Mr.. Mckinley over the combined populist
and democrat vote Of this year will greatly
exceed those figures.