The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-04-20
VOORHEES, COMBINE
DEMOCRATS AND POPULIsTs HAVE A
FUSION SCHEME ON FOOT.
His Stand for Free Silver Makes Him
a Good Enough Populist-scene
OF Operations.

1t is no secret to the public at large that
the Democrats of Indiana will concentrate
all their energies this year upon the effort to
carry the Legislature and r~e-elect Voorhees,
to the Senate, but the manner in which
they hope to do it is being kept a dark Sc
cret. OF course they hope to expend a
great deal Of money and energy In the eff
fort to carry the close counties of Marion,
Vigo, vanderburg and st. Joseph and
they expect valuable aid from the Nicholson
law in making their attack upon these coun-
ties. But 1t will require more thar the thir-
teen votes these counties control to over
balance the strong lead the Republicans
have in their hold-over Senator's. Therefore
they have figured out a scheme by which
they hope to carry such counties as Daviess,
Warrick, Spencer. Perry, Harrison. Ripley
and in fact, all of the comparatively close
counties in the southern part of the State.
The plan is nothing more or less than a
scheme of fusion with the Popnlists on the
legislative question alone. This is not such
a very difficult matter, for the cardinal prin-
'ciple in the Populist doctrine
this year is free silver, and the
radical position taken by voor-
hees on the silver question makes him a
good enough Populist for them to support.
The idea is not to work the plan Uniform
ly, but upon a give and take basis. Where
the Populist leaders will consent to indorse
the Democratic nominee this will be done, but
where they will not the Democrats intend
to hold their county conventions after the
Populists, on the understanding that IL the
Pops will nominate a man for the Legisla-
ture of somewhat Democratic antecedents
and tendencies or one who will pledge him.
self to vote for VOORHEES, they will Endorse
him and put his name on their ticket. At
torneys for the Democratic State committee
have made a careful study of the election
law and find nothing in the way of placing
the same name upon two tickets and declare
that wherever the election commissioners de-
cline to do this they will compel them by
mandamus.
If both the Democrats and Populists
should be able to hold their people to such
a fusion it would prove dangerous in the
extreme, for in every one OF the counties
mentioned, as well as in a number of others,
the combined Democratic and Populist vote
was sufficient to swamp the Republican vote,
even in the general landslide of 1894. If the
scheme were for fusion on the whole ticket
they could not possibly accomplish results
by ii, for men of both parties would break
away. But the Democratic leaders believe
that with the name of but one man and
that a nominee for what is usually consid-
cred a very unimportant Office, having his
name on both tickets, the scheme will att
tract comparatively little attention among
the Individual workers and when they get
into the booth they will vote their party
tickets straight without taking the trouble
to mark every other name on the blanket
sheet for the sole purpose refusing 10
vote for this one. Should the scheme go
through, as the Democratic leaders have
planned IL, the Republicans would have no
summer picnic i'm carrying the Legislature
under any of the apportionment laws now
on the statute books, or even under a new
one tina would make a fair division. IL the
free-silver propaganda were made to believe
that there were only a fair chance OF elect
ing Voorhees,, they would send a very con-
siderable amount of money into Indiana to
help the scheme along and thus retain their
grip upon the United States Senate.