The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-28
THREE DAYS OF FIGHTING
TAGGART WILL MAKE HIS HARDEST
CAMPAIGN THIS WEEK.
Strong Forces RaIIying Against His
Ring-The Silver "Push" In
Arms Against Him.


to unbottle all the wrath that is ferment-
ing among Democrats and they are going
to make three days bout of it, From the
very strained conditions that exist, it will
be rather remarkable if the city passes over
those three days without trouble. To begin
with, the primaries for the election Of pre-
cinct committeeman and delegates to the
county convention will be held on wednes-
day, at p. m. in the city and 2 p. m. in
the country precincts. On the day follow
ing the county convention will be held In
Tomlinson Hall at 10 o'clock a. M, and
continuing no one knows how long, as there
is to be one of the most memorable strug-
giles through which Taggarts ring has ever
passed. A most unusual precedent in the
matter of reorganizing the county conven-
ton is provided for in the call made ten
days ago. The county committee will not
be organized until Friday, the day after
the convention, when the new precinct COM
mitteemen will meet in the Cleveland Club
at o'clock p. m. to organize the county
committee and elect a chairman to sue
coed John ]. Rockford.
1t is usually customary to elect precinct
committeeman and reorganize the county
committee before the delegates are Sc
arranging things as he did, Mr.. Rockford
strengthened his chances for keeping the
convention from falling into Taggart's
hands. Had the new chairman been elected
before the convention, it would have de-
volved on him to appoint the credentials
committee. and unless Rockford had won
at the preliminary struggle, his chances for
nomination as prosecuting attorney would
nil Al 4 tr &c
desperate for him, but he is to certain
extent master of the situation. Hardly
anyone believes, however, that the Taggart
ring will be defeated. Back of it is the
horde of officeholders and several ''barrels, -
and the word went out Saturday that the
ring would have the convention and dictate
the election of the new chairman, If all the
money in it's control had to be used.
At the convention on Thursday candidates
Tor the following offices are to be nomi-
mated: Three judges of the Superior Court,
one criminal judge, prosecuting attorney
commissioners of the First and Second dis
tricts, county clerk, auditor, treasurer, sher-
III recorder, surveyor and coroner The
candidates for these offices are not as anx-
lous Tor the, nomination as they were a
month ago. but there is still a legion of
them ready to go on the ticket There is,
of course, a Taggart slate, although that is
vigorously denied by the riag. No longer
ago than yesterday councilman who ia
yors the nomination of one of the candi-
was no slate, and the funny part of it is
that he believed it. But he was like the
deluded friends of all the other candidates
who are not on the slate, and was deceived
by assurances that the ring was going to
play fair," and let the convention Itself
choose the candidates. The Sentinel, few
days ago, printed the slate under a very
thin veil. The candidates have all been Sc
lected by the officeholding ring.
THE TAGGART SLATE.
Among those who are on the slate are E.
M. Johnson, Mayor Taggart's city con-
troler; Charlie Mcguire, Mayor Tag
CARTS figurehead on the Board of Safety
and all the others on the slate have held
something of a political place ever since
the Taggart ring was formed in the county
offices a half dozen years ago.
If all the work that has been done by
city employees in the last month accom-
plishes what has been intended, a strong
Taggart delegation will be selected Wednes-
gay night, the slate will be put through at
the convention on Thursday, and on Friday
q new chairman that can be led with a
Taggart tether will be selected. That will
I I. Ue albert Sahm. Neither will it be ex
Judge Ayers, according to the latest re-
ports. 1t is to be no one else than Joseph
E. Bell, who, as deputy city attorney, has
another fat city job. under Taggart. The
plan outlined above is what the Taggart
ring hopes to accomplish. To accomplish
1t nothing has been left undone and Moth
next three days.
But the programme will not be carried
through like that of a Sunday-school con-
" Hochford, the present chairman,
Iaggart has ever dealt with, and there is
back OF him a very strong following that
cannot be bribed with promises of place
nor intimidated with threats of political os-
tracism into deserving its leader This fol-
lowing is the original "stalwart" 16-to-1 sill
Yer push that has not forgotten how he
became chairman in xuba
chances of success were woefully slim, and
who think that he is asking nothing more
than he is entitled to when he seeks the
nomination for prosecuting attorney and
seeks to place his friend, Edward Little, a
silver Democrat of the type that shines on
both sides, in control of the county organ
ization as chairman. The "push5 is per
fectly well aware that with Taggart's tri-
umph now silver and Organism will be a
ready. They know that Taggart's silver
shine is only a snare and a delusion, and
that beneath the silver lacquer he is at
heart a gold Democrat. If anything were
the attitude of the men on his slate. E.
NJ, Johnson is only a ..'half-breed,' .
form for the sake Ike of 'e regularity RfS
as did Charlie" Mcguire who the next
day or so after the Chicago convention,
consented to be interviewed and then an
nounced himself as favoring sound money.
Taggart came home and put an end to all
that, and Mcguire was the only member
OL the city administration WHO met Bryan
al. the Union Station with the mayor. All
efforts to drive DR.. Morrison, president of
the Board of Health, and NJ. A. Downing
president of the Board of Works, into the
'half-breed'' camp were unavailing, and
they flocked with the gold Democrats, vot-
ing either for Palmer and Buckner or Will
liam Mckinley They were rewarded for
their course, it is claimed by the silver
push, by being reapponted by the mayor
when he was elected a second time. Tag
CART is being accused by the push of hav-
ing voted for the gold Democratic ticket
himself He and his whole slate are classed
by the ''stalwarts" as being in the same
class as Judge Hackney against whose re-
nomination by the state convention for
judge of the Supreme Court such strong
fight is being made by the .'stalwarts" OF
small coterie, but they have been brow
beaten and fooled with false promises time
and again. A few of them say If they per-
NIT Rockford and Little to be downed now
they might as well surrender the whole
field TO the gold Democrats and be done
with it, they realize Taggart is only
waiting favorable opportunity to repu-
diate all the doctrines he embraced in 1885,
selfish ends.
THE ROUNDUP TO-DAY.
To-day the roundup begins and will con-
tinue until the convention ends Thursday
night. AS the convention goes. so goes the
county Craftsmanship. Taggart's men have
been all over the city and county trading
on the names of Albert Sahm and ex-Judgt
Ayres, and men have consented to fix pre-
cinct states for these men, not knowing il
is the programme at present to turn every
Sahm and Ayers vote 10 Bell when the time
arrives. 1t is asserted that Sahm not only
does not want the nomination. but favors
Little, because the later has shown in the
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