The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-21
DIDN'T MAKE THE BLUFF
FEW LOCAL POPS ABANDONED
THEIR PROPOSED MEETING.
Were Going to Repudiate Committee
of Thirteen's Misunderstanding
over the State This Week.

iAC OpuilSt IiitSttliS CdiitQ lOi ySSlGEddg
afternoon at the English Hotel did not
cur. The original purpose of it was to
repudiate the action of the committee Of
thirteen and issue address to the Popu-
lists of the State, signed by the Indianap-
oils leaders, declaring that the committee
of thirteen sold out and had represented
only a small percentage of the State. It
was thought this would break the force Of
the refusal to fuse and bring to the Bryan
and Sewall ticket great many of the Pop
ulists. AT the conference with Martin
Shanklin and other Popocrats at the Grand
Saturday night however. it was decided TO
wait two or three days to see if the Sem
tinels charges of bribery would not drive
the committee of thirteen into accepting
the Popocratic proposition of four electors.
The Popocrats have no present intention of
offering anything more.
II doubt whether there will be any more
conferences" said Chairman Martin yes
terday. I'VE have gone about as far as we
can go, and have met them more than
half way considering the fusions that have
been effected on legislative nominees and
congressman throughout the State, and /
do not think 1t likely that we shall offer
anything more
Their failure to arrange a fusion with
the Populists on the electoral ticket has
proven a very heavy disappointment TO the
Bryan managers in Indiana. They had an
ticipated no particular trouble in patching
up the fusion on the electoral ticket, and
even thought it would be an easy matter
to accomplish the withdrawal of the Popu-
list State ticket. They might have known
better, for the character of the Populist
State convention, held on July IS, which
demonstrated very clearly that, outside of
the Seventh district including Indianapolis
and two or three scattered leaders outside,
the Indiana Populists were anxious to keep
in the middle of the road When the State
convention put UP State ticket and left
the matter of electoral fusion in the hands
of committee of thirteen, this committee
was selected by the convention from stead
fast "roaders,' with the evident intention
that no fusion should be made unless the
Democrats were willing to grant equal
terms Since the State convention the agi-
tation for the withdrawal of Sewall from
the national ticket has arisen and carried
with it most of the powerful Populist lead
ers of the country 1t has been pushed to
the utmost by the editors of the Populist
organs, led by Charles * Matthews, of the
NonconformiSt, which has long stood at
the head of the Populist press. These edit
ors are convinced that if the Populist party
should be ultimately swallowed up by the
new political organization born at Chicago.
their occupation would be some and their
newspaper properties ruined They there
fore have the strongest motives for their
efforts to preserve the identity of the party.
The Bryan managers utterly failed to I'M
derstand this situation and were completely
taken aback when upon the failure of the
subcommittee of the two organza tons to
agree upon a plan of fusion, the Popuiist
committee of thirteen. within hour put
a full electoral ticket in the field. They i'm
medately began to charge that the men,
bers of the committee. majority of
it, had been purchased with Republic
an money. In this charge they were
the Seventh district, who were sorely dis
appointed over the fact that they could not
carry out their promises to the Bryan man
ayers and deliver the goods. Through
these men an effort was made to induce
the Popuist State committee to usurD the
power delegated by the convention to the
committee of thirteen and overturn its ac-
ton, but they discovered that the State
committee was as fully determined as the
left by which the fusion might yet be
formed, and the Bryan mana gers are now
pursuing the suplect with femarkable zeal
The committee of thirteen, before adjourn
ing, delegated to a subcommittee power to
call it together again in case the Bryan
people should make any proposition it
might deem worthy of consideration. This
means, however, that no proposition will
be deemed worthy that does not presup-
pose either the withdrawal of Sewall from
the national ticket or the pledging of the
whole fifteen electoral votes of Indiana to
Watson. The Popocratic national commit
tee on Saturday sent John Gilbert Shank
lin, the Indiana member of the committee,
" lHuldld-)OiS " Try anu pdlCn matters
up. He and Chairman Martin. of the State
committee. were closeted until a very late
hour at night with the Indianapolis leaders
of the PopuliSts, and when they got
through they announced that they thought
the fusion deal would yet be made, but
members of the committee of thirteen de.
clare that they may dicker and trade all
they please with the Indianapolis leaders
and ii will not change a vote in the COM
mittee. They declare that the men who
have led the Populst party of Indianapolis
no longer Populists. but Democrats
pure and simple. and have no business in a
Populist conference.
The situation for the Bryan managers is
made extremely embarrassing by the prop
osition of the National Democrats. These
gold-standard men have as yet put no State
ticket in the field. and are being begged
daily by the candidates on the silver State
ticket not to put one in. While they will
not promise not to put UP a State ticket
they declare to these candidates that
gold ticket will be put out the moment that
fusion is arranged between the silver Dem
ocrats and Populsts The State candidates
thus turn upon the Bryan managers and
object strenuously to any plan of fusion
that does not include the withdrawal of the
Pcpulist State ticket, and inasmuch as the
candidates are about the only ones who
are contributing to the campaign funds
their objection has to be taken into consid-
Grafton.