Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-24
Observations of b. L. 0verstreet in
Indiana.
ENTHUSIASM EVERYWHERE FOUND
Exodus From the Democratic to
the Republican Party.
STATE SURELY M'KINLEY'S

'Indianas contribution to the electoral
college will be fifteen votes for Mckinley
and Roosevelt, and the plurality will be
from twenty to thirty thousand is the
estimate of the situation in the hoosier
state by Mr.. H. L. Overstreet, assistant
chief clerk of the House of Representatives
and brother of Representative Jesse Over
street, as expressed to a reporter for The
Evening Star.
Mr.. Overstreet has spent the past two
weeks in various parts of Indiana, chiefly
in the vicinity of Indianapolis, and from
his point of view the situation has begun to
take on the symptoms of a landslide. Con-
tinuing, Mr. Overstreet says:
APATHY has entirely disappeared and the
greatest enthusiasm everywhere prevails
I attended meetings every afternoon and
evening for ten days, many of them held
in the country districts, and the attend
ance was far in excess of the meetings IN
1896; in fact, there was double the attend
ance. The reports that 90 per cent OF the
sound money democrats are in line Tor
BRYAN is without foundation. A hberai
estimate would place 20 per cent in the
Bryan list, while those who IN 1876 voted
for Palmer and Buckner will. almost 10 a
man, vote this year for Mckinley ana
Roosevelt.
81 believe ninety per cent of the BUSH
ness men throughout the state will vote
the republican ticket without reference to
past party affiliations. In one county
one of the largest in the state-which
prior to 1896 always gave democratic
ma iority, there are but two business men
in the county seat of 10000 people who
will support Bryan. This county gave
Mckinley plurality of &C in 1896 This
fall the republican ticket VIII nave ooo
plurality The same conditions exist in
all parts of the state In my town of
5000 inhabitants Eranklin) there is not
one business man who has been heard TO
utter sentence in favor of Bryan, ana
it is needless to say that many of them
are democrats in fact, Franklin county
is democratic county. One business man
il. my town told me the past year had
been the most profitable one for him dur
ing his long business career in the city.
He told me merchants. whether they were
democrats or republicans. would take no
chances that could possibly upset such
prosperous condition of affairs.
1.-THE populiStS are not so radical or out
spoken in favor of Bryan as they were four
years ago. They are compelled TO ADMIT
that these are the most prosperous tunes
ever known and many of them Will secretly,
If not openly, support Mckinley. An able
attorney of my home town. who In 1896
identified himself with the popuhst party
and stumped the county for Bryan, Is now
stamping the county for the republican
ticket.
Exodus From the Democrats.
"A few nights ago | attended republican
meeting in the lower part of the seventh
district. 1t was said by residents of the
town to have been the largest political
gathering ever held in the county. One of
the chief speakers at this meeting was an
other able lawyer, who followed Bryan's
leadership in 1896. He is a resident of the
fourth congressional district, which will elect
Nathan Powell. a republican. to Congress,
in place of F. NJ. Griffith, democrat, who
represented the district in the Fifty-ffth
and F'ifty-sixth Congresses. The attorney
said he only one of many who were
leaving the sinking ship Of populized de-
mocracy. and that his county, which gave
BRYAN a plurality of 600 in 1896, would re-
verse its decision this fall.
1.-THE exodus from the democratic to re-
publican party in the country districts is
truly remarkable 1t is not unusual to hear
daily of from ten to Il dozen in a township
who voted for Bryan in 1896 who will sup
port Mckinley and Roosevelt this year
The Vote in the Cities.
'"The condition of affairs in the city dis
tricts has been very much misrepresea1 led,
as the vote one week from Tuesday will
prove. 1t has been reported that the re-
publicans would lose heavily in the cites.
While there may be slight losses, they will
be trifing compared with the tremendous
gains in the country. The situation is
daily improving in the cities, and | shall
be surprised if the vote does not hold up to
that of 1896.
The German vote, which, early in the
campaign was claimed to be very largely
in favor of Bryan is practically where it
always was. Germans who voted the 1e-
publican ticket in 1896 will vote the same
ticket this fall. The imperialistic issue has
not caught them. In fact, / know of COM
munities where there will be a republican
gain among the Germans They say they
are tired of the false prophecies Of The
democratic party.
Summing the situation in Indiana in
a nutshell" said Mr.. Overstreet, in con-
clusion. the republicans of the state are
in the finest condition for a campaign since
1850. Harmony prevails throughout the
state. and even the usual local fights have
been declared off this year; the republicans
are ready to vote We will carry eleven of
the thirteen dstricts-a gain of two repre-
sentatives-and l should not be surprised If
we carried them all The democrats are
without hope, and are working principally
to keep up appearances and their organiZa-
ton. The state will, AT the least calcula-
ton. give Mckinley and Roosevelt 2OmG
plurality, and l firmly believe 1t will be
30 600"
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