The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-05-19
THAT STATE CONVENTION
suIIdozing Methods Score Triumph
for the Reoreanizers' Candidate.

The political history of Indiana af-
fords no parallel for the high-handed,
dishonest and unrepublican methods
adopted at the recent Indiana Demo
cratic state convention. They were
employed by a coterie of politicians
who had entered into contract with
New York parties to deliver this state
to the ill-Parker-Belmont combine,
and were determined to deliver the
goods regardless of the proprieties or
even the decencies of politics.
A great deal has been said about the
liberal use of money by the Hearst
contingent in Indiana, and doubtless it
was we'll supplied. 1t required no de-
tecrive work to determine, however,
that the reorganizers were even better
equipped with funds. Where this
money came from may be imagined
by those who know the relation of the
Parker candidacy to certain interests
which are dissatisfied with the merger
decision and the general attitude of
President Roosevelt's administration
toward such combinations of capital as
are illegal and oppressive, and desire
as president a man that they can USE
The caucuses preliminary to the con-
vention of May 18th were character
lied by the widest disorder, precipi-
tated by the bulldozing tactics of the
Democratic machine, which, though in
alliance with David B. Hill, was un-
mindful of his maxim; There's no
sense in cheating when there's no use
of it," The action of the state COM
mittee in calling snap state cOnven-
ton, separate from the convention for
the nomination of a state ticket, the
sudden and secret caucus of the Sew
enth district delegates a month ago,
the use of such methods as the Tag
CART machine is capable of adopting,
eliminating in personal assaults and
the burning of ballots in Allen county
and the creation of contestirg delega-
lions in several communities where
liminary plans for organization adopt
ed by the state committee-all this
made certain the triumph of the re-
organizers, but, not content with all
this, they proceeded to use their en-
bszzled power for the purpose of need
lessly humiliating that element in the
Indiana Democracy which is foolish
enough to believe that the Democratic
party ought to represent something
more than the hunger of a political
machine for a plethoric campaign
fund and for the spoils of office.
During the Indianapolis convention
there was not moment when the
Bryan element of the party stood the
slightest show of exercising any infiu-
epce upon the business Of the meeting.
The galleries were Systematically
packed with Parker partisans. The
tickets were distributed through the
Parker organization Hearst men
we're denied tickets to the hall, despite
the fact that there were scores of emp
ty seats, and Parker badge was a
sufficient "open sesame" to doorkeep-
ers. The proceedings of the convention
were one continuous shrek from start
to finish, the machine doing it's work
relentlessly. The character OF the
proceedings may be judged from the
statement of Henry Colerick, prom
inent Allen county anti-Taggart leader.
on the floor of the convention, that
three hundred Hearst delegates had
been robbed of their right TO SIC in the
convention by the state committee, by
the refusal of Senator Kopelke OF
Lake county. former Democratic can