Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-30
.sTAY-AT=H9AE VOTE
What Indiana Republicans
Are Afraid Of.
A LACK OF ENTHUSIASM
POLLS TAKEN SATISFACTORY TO
BOTH PARTIES.
Very Large Number Of Men Put Down
as observation-disclosures in Con-
gressiona1 Districts.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.


INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, October ., 1902.
Even those democratic leaders who re-
| manned optimistic through two disastrous
| campaigns. and entered on the third with
| their hope deeply rooted in a. conviction
| that the party ticket would be successful,
| are beginning to admit reluctantly that In
| diana this year will give another republican
| majority. They assert THAT the margin by
| which the republican ticket will be victo-
| rious will be much smaller than that ma
| jority which was accorded the state ticket
| four years ago, and they maintain that at
| least one or two congressional districts
| which the republicans now claim will not
! be counted In republican ranks after cleo
| ton day. The republican leaders and cam
| paign managers. on the other hand, declare
| that the republican majority will not be
less than 10000 votes, although some little
| apprehension is felt because of the lack of
| interest and enthusiasm unusually appar-
| ent throughout the state at this time.
From viewpoint entirely unbiased, how
| ever, it is safe to predict that, while the
| republican assertions are in the main Cor
| rect, there is less cause for democratic pes
| simism than would be naturally supposed
| under the existing circumstances. Consid-
ering the fact that democratic hopes ran
| high at the beginning of the campaign 1t is
not to be wondered at that, finding the
tables irretrievably turned, conservative
| democratic prognosticators allowed their
| disappointment to cloud their sight At the
| same time, there is as little cause for the
| extraordinarily sanguine predictions of the
| republicans. There Is no reason to believe
| that the state will give larger republican
| majority than it gave In the last state cleo
| ton, and there is. in fact, every reason to
| believe that the majority will not be so large
In other words, if the margin of II. 900 votes
! which carried the republican ticket to
| triumph four years ago. is given 1t again
I 10 nlan he >nli ct,
| diana must take upon itself an immediate
| and radical change.
Polls by Both Parties.
The polls taken by both the republican
and democratic state committees show, ac-
| cording to members Of each, that the state
| is going largely both republican and demo-
| cratic. The republican leaders are claiming
| the state by $4,000 and the democrats are
| equally assertive in saying they will cap
| ture Indiana by from 1900 to $4,000.
The poll books show, however. a state of
| is an unusually larS el number of men in
| every county of the state who will not tell
| how they intend votinsX and they are put
on the books as Doubtful" Most of these
in one Of the stronger republican counties
| in the state said that he has polled his pre-
cinet five times, and-sses cannot tell how it
| will go, because of the men who decline to
| The republican managers admit this con-
| dition, but say it is no reason for alarm.
They assert l,, that the sep9bicans are salts
! dependents and doubIfuE' voters cast their
ballots for the repubrcan party, as the
managers say they witt is asserted that
! republicans will carry the state by not less
| than $4,000. The more conservative repub-
| licans, however. do not take this rosy view
of it. They speak Of factional differences
| all over the state, 'of local fights that will
| injure the local tickets, and they know.
| they say. that there is large element of
the republican party that may not go to the
| polls at all.
| The stay -at-home'' vote is what the re-
publcans are afraid of. They declare that
| If they can get out the vote they will be
| successful in carrying the state. There is
| a great deal of Indifference and apathy
| among the republicans. and the managers
| will make stupendous efforts to overcome
| this lack of interest and force the voters
| to the polls
| 1t is well understood by the political man
ayers that the "scratchers'' are not SO liza
| BILE to injure the state ticket as they are
| the congressional and legislative tickets
and 1t Is not an uncommon thing for one
party to elect its state ticket and lose its
| county ticket at the same time. AS, for
| instance, Jennings county has been repub-
| lican the state ticket for years. but the
democrats have been capturing the county
| ticket right along. Competent judges say
| they do not believe there will be as heavy
| a vote cast this year as there was in 1898
/ or 1900