The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-22
FUSION IN THE SADDLE
1T SEEMS RIO HAVE CAPTURED THE
PoPULIsT STATE COMMITTEE.
District Meetings. Last Night and Con-
ventiOn To-Day-The PrOhis and
Gold Democrats.

English's Hotel lobby was crowded all
afternoon and evening, yesterday, with the
old guard of the Populist camp the dere-
licts of an organization that is fast disap-
pearing The fusionists and anti-fusionists
We're there in force, and went at each other
like Kilkenny cats These two wings of the
party are constantly getting wider apart,
the fusionists dropping into the Democratic
ranks and the middle-of- the-roaders into a
disorganized element that does not seem
large enough to form nucleus of new
party. The fusionists are under the leader
ship of JulMs Rosenheimer, state chairman;
Editor Win cent, of the Nonconformist; S. NJ.
Shepard, of this city, and other leaders who
fused with the Democracy in 1896 The flu
sionists are not to be understood as being
Democrats out and out, for they are intent
upon keeping up party organization and
nominating tickets which will be used as
| clubs to enforce Democratic compliance
with their demands They stand by Marion
Butler, the national chairman, and to
| man will vote for Bryan whether there is
fusion not in 1900.
The mddle-of- the-roaders are led in this
State by N. T. Motsinger, of Shoals, and A.
H. Allen, of Terre Haute. These men are
committeeman for this State, representing
the middle-of-the-road organization that
was formed at Nashville last year. They
are seeking to disrupt the present organiza-
ton and form new one which will not
| owe allegiance to the present national COM
mittee. They are seeking to have reso-
luton passed by the convention denouncing
the action of the leaders in 1896 for fusing
! and declaring against fusion for the coming
! year on state, county and township tick
cts. Ihey also want to bounce the three
natlohal commltteemen OF the state, D. RI.
| Fernandez, Joshua Strange and A. Austin,
and elect three new committeeman, the OBJ
Ject being reorganization of the national
committee so as to bring about the down.
fall of Chairman Butler, and the nomina-
! ton of a straight national ticket in 1900.
Motsinger has come to the convention with
| a large following at his back, the delega-
ton from the Second district his own dis
| trict being about fifty in number. it being
the largest in the convention. The fusion
lists, however, seemed to have an equal, If
| not greater strength in the lobby They
denounced Motsinger in not overly choice
! language, and charged him with paying the
expenses of the whole Second district
crowd. Some called him the Svengah of
| the party-that is, the literary end of the
| concern did, which is not a very big end
NEW STATE COMMITTEE.
The contest between the two elements
eliminated in the district meetings held
| III the evening at the. hotel, Some of the
| meetings, and particularly that of the Thir
| teenth, were warm affairs. These meetings
| selected new state committeeman and
members of the committees on resolutions,
credentials and order OF business for the
convention to-day. The new state commit
tee as elected was as follows:
First District-P H. Carroll, Evansville.
Second District-Samuel w. Williams,
| Vincennes
Third District-J. C. Stewart, West
| Baden.
Fourth District-C. C, Bryan, Versailles.
Fifth District-L. D. Snider, Greencastle.
Sixth District-Elam Leary.
Seventh Dstrict-John Medert Indianap-
| oils.
Eighth District-Thomas Marshall, New
| Burlington.
Ninth District-A p. Hanna, Waveland.
Tenth District--J. NJ. Zion, Tippecanoe.
Eleventh District--L. Z. Collier, Kokomo.
Twelfth District-Calvin Husselman Au-
| burn.
| Thirteenth District-J. r. Korner. OF Pu-
lasd county. sA 81
| There are but two old members on this
| committee, Carroll and Marshall. OF these
committeeman the fusionists claim nine
certain, those Of the Fifth. Sixth, Seventh,
| Eighth, Ninth Tenth and Twelfth districts.
| L. r. Collier is said by them to be the only
| positive middle-of-the-roader on the COM
| mittee. The position Of the rest is either
| heimer highly elated over the result
of the selections and regarded it as a vim
dication of the policy of fusion. But Mot
singer refused to acknowledge a defeat and
| set up a claim that the First, Second,
Third. Fourth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, Elev-
readers of his, way of thinking, while the
rest were doubtful.
The committee on resolutions held a pro-
| tracted meeting late at night in which Mot
| singer and those against him fought for
| supremacy. The platform will contain the
| usual planlxs peculiar to Populism. The
| members of the committee on resolutions
| were selected as follows
First District-T. ]. Robb, of Gibson
Second District-N. H. Motsinger, Shoals.
Third District. c. Steward, West
| Baden.
Fourth District-Dr. w. II. Carmichael,
Fifth District-Fred S. Robinsin. Brazil.
Sixth District-John GIMP. of Rush
Seventh District-E. S. Barker of Frank
lin.
Eighth District-D H. Fernandes, Ander-
son.
Ninth BBiistrict-A. 6. Burkhardt, Upton.
Eleventh Decentralization Bull, Ko-
| komo.
Twelfth Districts. Harding. Corona.
fourteenth District. r. Korner, of Pu-
laski county.
Committees on credentials and order of
business also met late last night. 1t was
| announced that there were no contests The
| Seventh district meeting chose j. Y De-
m mar or johnson IN county as chairman of
as member of the committee on credentials
| and Harrison Ogborn as member of the
committee on rules and order of business
Silas M. Shepard retired as the member of
the State committee, being succeeded by
John Medert The committe will meet this
morning at the Criminal Coupt room All
the districts are represented but some of
them very poorly. The Twelfth where pop
| ulism has been strong heretofore has only
two. representatives. and the Third is SINH
iarly represented. full State ticket viii
pc nominated, but there are no candidates
for the nominations. Rosenheimer will re-
tire from the Craftsmanship. and among his
| possible successors are e. S. Barker of
| Franklin, and l.. W. HubbelI
WARD COMNITvrErNuw