The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-25
DON'T KNOW PRECINCTS
SILVERITES IN THE DARK AS TO
THE PRIMARIES TONIGHT.


In calling it's hurried primaries to elect
| chairman to succeed Captain Curtis the
! Taggart administration has given a beauti-
full example of Democratic methods. 1t
| develops that most of the primaries are
| called at private houses, many of them
! outside the precincts for which they are
called, and if the tried and true silver
Democrats succeed in finding where any Of
them are to be held before they are all over
they will be very lucky But the luckIess
silverites don't know where they are att
| in the literal sense-that is to say, they
| do not know what precincts they are in.
The only precinct maps in existence under
the new apportionment are some blue
| prints made at the city engineers office and
carefully placed in the hands of the admin
| istratons heelers. None of the silverites
have been able to get a peep at them, and
if their votes are challenged by the heelers
! tonight they will have no data to prove
| their right to vote. AS may be imagined,
| all this puts them somewhat at a disadvan-
| tage.
| The executive committee of the Demo-
| cratic Silver League met yesterday after
| noon to consider these things, and, after
! long discussion, came to the conclusion
! that Spencer was likely to be made chair
! man, in spite of all they could do, and de-
| clded to make the best of a bad situation
| by holding a push" meeting in the evening
| and adopting resolutions expressing their
| belief that both candidates for chairman
are tried and true and otherwise salts
| factory, so that if Spencer should be chos-
en-, as seems probable, it would not
have such a demoralzng influence as de-
feat always has upon forces like theirs.
| Accordingly the clans gathered at the
| Iron Hail. in numbers something over one
| hundred, last evening, and Henry Nesom
| offered the following resolution, which was
| adopted
Whereas, it is now and ever has been
| the highest purpose of the Democratic Sill
! yer League to further the interests of the
| DEMOCRATIC party as embodied in the Chi
| cago platform, first by selecting for it's
| leaders true and tried Democrats only and
! secondly, by nominating as candidates for
all offices such men only as truly and thor
oughly represent the principles of our par
Resolved, That either of the gentlemen
! prominently mentioned as candidates for
| chairman of the city committee or any
other good silver Democrat who may be
elected to such position. will have our
| hearty and undivided support so long as
he uses his position for the best interests
| of the whole Democratic party and not in
| the interest of any individual. person or
candidate who may seek a nomination for
| any office"
All this. sounded very pretty. but, some
| how or other, it left an aching void in the
meeting 1t looked like a surrender. and
! the idea left a bad taste in the mouths of
! the young braves who We're so anxious to
| fight and die for the cause of silver. Frank
| a. Bruce hnally arose to the occasion by
! Offering the following
Whereas, The matter Of selecting the
| committee on credentials by other than the
| convention is not in accord with the usages
| of the Democratic party and has a tendency
| to deprive the candidates of their rights in
| convention by placing in the hands of the
| chairman of the city committee the power
! to favor one candidate to the exclusion of
| all others; therefore be il
| Resolved, That the Democratic Silver
League denounces the appointment of such
| ing unjust and undemOcratic, and enters it's
! earnest protest against such arbitrary
! methods, and be 1t further
Resolved. That the appointment on such
| committee of a person who led a mob in
! breaking up a lawful meeting of citizens is
an outrage and fair illustration of the
| effect of the one-man power which we
| herein denounce."
MR.. BRUCE'S POETRY.
| Mr.. Bruce's resolution was received with
tumultuous applause, and he made fiery
speech in support of it, in which he de-
| nounced Flynn as the leader of the gang of
basement buns who had assailed meet
| ing of the league some weeks ago and
! driven the tried and true" from the hall.
! He even launched into poetry and de-
| clared:
''You may wash, you may dress the bum,
If you will,
| But the stink of the basement will cling to
! him still"
This burst of poetry brought out bowls
of delight "Cadi' Buskirk got it into his
! head that the resolution attacked Messrs.
! Kern and Cooper, and opposed it upon that
! ground. 1t was explained that he was la
| boring under a mistake and the resolution
| was adopted.
Charles NJ. Cooper made rambling adj
| dress, advising them all TO go to the pri
| maries and see that their friends were
| elected delegates, for most of the delegates
! elected tonight would be appointed COM
! mitteemeu. He predicted that if the gold
! bugs endeavored to run the meetings there
would be plenty of Democrats on hand 70
| take care of them
! Then one after another Of the members
| began popping up and asking what precinct
| he was in and where his primary was to be
| held, and these questions soon developed
| the fact that the tried and true" are
| pretty much at the mercy of the bugs" in
| the matter OF official information. The
| "Cadi'' gave it as his opinion that the only
| way to do was to get copies of the ordi-
nance fixing the precinct noundar1es and
| his own precinct. That was the way he
| had done it,
thing of calling Bill Flynn bum He
had respect for Fynn's Democracy. and he
| talked for all the world as though Mr.. rag
! CART had been talking to him, though he
| asseverated loudly that he was still for sill
! YER He also remarked that he did not see
much use in making a tempest in a teapot
about these little primaries tonight. This
! brought out some remarks from Chairman
| Gold. The press, he said. had announced
! that the push" was against Spencer, and
he deemed it necessary to defend the
push and let it define its position, as it
! had done by resolution THAT is the kind
/ of name the press has applied to us" he
said with sarcasm. Even the Sentinel.
supposed TO be for silver. abuses US and
| calls US the push, and declares we must be
pushed outi'
A little gentleman named Miller closed
! the meeting with a speech that struck
| popular chord. we say they are all good
/ men but / know what / shall do tomorrow
1 night / know EN- by their company. /
! could not pretend to be scholar, a gentle
! man. a Democrat and a good judge of
4 whisky and associate with thieves. / was
! against Taggart two years ago, and we all
/ know what he has done TO us and 1t has
| been a plenty. We all know which OF these
/ candidates has been monkeying around
with the administration, but amt naming
/ no names.