The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-11
ADDICKS'S LONG FIGHT
BRIEF REVIEW OF THE GAS MANS
STRUGGLE FOR A sENATORSHIP.
Large Sums of Money Spent and the
Republican Party in Delaware
Split I'm Factions.

is interesting, but 1t reflects no credit on
the principal in the struggle.
81 shall be a candidate for the United
States Senate as long as live, or until L
am elected
That was the declaration made by Mr..
Addicks in 1901. after the Legislature Of
Delaware had adjourned without electing
him to the Office. which. it is declared. he
has made four five attempts to pur-
chase, says the Boston Herald.
This is the telegram which Addicks sent
to his supporters in the Legislature after
his last defeat: "Pick yourselves UP. get
at em and prepare to wipe the earth up
with them. / am with you to the last ditch
and have only fairly got Interested"
About three weeks ago, after a visit to
the White House, Addicks said to the
Washington reporters: There will be two
Republican senator's elected from Delaware
and will be one of them
The story of the long campaign which
Addicks has waged in Delaware shows the
cold blooded and careful planning of a
shrewd, rich man of great ambition, the
gradual breaking down and winning over
Of opposition until success seemed certain,
and then the foiling of all these plans by
tors.
Addicks began life sixty years ago as a
poor boy in Philadelphia. He early de-
veloped the qualities which have since dis
tinguished him. He was shrewd, calculat-
ing, persuasive, persistent and not too
scrupulous as TO the measures Something
over twenty years ago he turned his at
tentfon to gas and in a short time became
very wealthy and acquired a national repu-
tation as promoter and wrecker of gas
companies. In addition to this he soon came
to be known as daring Spectator on the
exchanges of New York, Philadelphia and
Chicago.
STARTED OUT TO BE SENATOR.
Then, in 1885. he made up his mind that
he would like to buy himself a United
States senatorship. The first thing to do
was to pick out the shop at which he was
likely to get the best bargain. With his
usual shrewdness Addicks selected Della
ware. Next he was called upon to decide
whether he would be a Republican or a
Democrat. 1t probably made little or no
difference to j. Edward Addicks to which
party he claimed allegiance. With him it
was all a matter of dollars and cents.
He happened to own a country place in
the State and that enabled him to claim a
residence there He had a little expert
ence with the little Legislature of Della
in the matter of getting franchises for his
various companies. There were only q
few members of the Delaware legislature
of them than it would be- for instance, to
influence and control the much larger
Legislature of Massachusetts. 1t was easy
to see. too, that while Delaware had been
a Democratic State forces were now at
work which were likely to make it Repub-
lican. Therefore. 1t seemed shrewd to Adj
dicks TO go into politics as a Delaware
Ing tide of party supremacy in the State,
and claiming for himself great share of
credit for the change.
So the year 1885 j. Edward Addicks
LAUGHED in a political way. At once he
showed his audacity by announcing that he
wanted to be United States senator. At
more or less aristocratic people of Della
ware a joke. The thought of the i'm
pudent upstart, without social position, as
piring to the seat of the Bayards and the
SaulsburyS struck them as simply anus
ing. They laughed at Addicks and made
Higgins senator.
But Addicks simply went down a little
deeper into his pocket and raised the bid.
He organized his forces all over the State,
attracting to his cause, In one way or an
other a considerable number of otherwise
respectable people. Some of these respecta-
BILE and even prominent Addicks supporters
have been paid for their support with a
profitable dictatorship in one of the many
Addicks companies. Others have been
given tips on coming chances in the stock
market, by following which they have
made more money over night than they
had been able to save in lifetime of toll.
Still other local Addicks leaders get, 1t is
declared, a regular salary retainer. At
any rate, in various ways, a considerable
army of influential supporters has been or
ganiZed.
In the campaign of 1892 Addicks got his
second chance at the senatorship 1t is
said that he put $4,000 into the campaign,
but he was struck and overwhelmed by
the Democratic tidal wave, and all he had
to show for his money was two Republic
ans out of thirty members of the Legisla-
ture
In 1894 came the reaction from the Demo-
cratic landslide of the year before. Again
Addicks was increasingly busy and con-
spicuous. Again he is said to have put
$4,000 into the campaign, which resulted in
a clean Republican sweep, for the first time
in the history of the State This was Ad-
dicks's opportunity.
ASKED FOR HIS REWARD.
He promptly and publicly declared that
it was his money which had redeemed"
Delaware, and he demanded that he be
made United States senator in payment of
the debt The Legislature met, and Ad-
dicks, for the first man, developed the
policy of "Addicks or nobody" which he
has since followed. Six of the Republican
members voted for Addicks through thick
and thin, but the remaining thirteen OPP
posed him. and many ballots were taken
without result An attempt was made to
unite both factions and select Col. Henry
A. Du Pont. but Addicks would not allow
his men to vote for anybody else, and fin
ally the session expired without a choice
being made.
After the Legislature had adjourned.
leaving one of Delawares seats in the
upper house of Congress unoccupied, Adj
dicks went to one of the leaders in the
tight against him and said holly:
"You have robbed me of $40,
What he meant was that he had spent
$4,000 in electing Republican Legislature
with the idea that ii would elect him sena-
tor and that the men who opposed his
candidacy had made the expenditure Of
the money useless.
About the same time Addicks sent the
following telegram to Senator Washburn.
of Minnesota: 1.-The Republicans will carry
Delaware next year, pledged TO Addicks
an. If the Republican party is the party
of treachery L will bury 1t 10000 fathoms
deep"
In 1896 the fight between the Addicks
Republicans of Delaware and those who
opposed him was taken into the national
convention, where the anti-AddfckS faction
was recognized. In the same year a ma
iority of the members of the new State Leg
islature were Democrats, and they elected
Richard X. Kenney TO fill the seat In the
United States Senate which Addicks had
kept vacant because he could not occu-
py it himself.
In 1898 the Republicans won the Legisla-
ture again. They had thirty-one of the
fifty-two members. and eighteen of the
He thus started with two-thirds of the
necessary votes. and he used every pos
sibe vile 10 get the rest. He found Ii i'm
possible TO win over any more than eight
cen of the Republicans. so he decided to
make arrangements with enough Demo-