The Springfield herald., 1904-10-21
They Are Certain to Rebuke the Hill Sheehan
machine" Affront and Insult to Their Leader.
RESENTMENT IN INDIANA IS VERY STRONG
Some Will Vote for Popuist Watson, Others Will
Support President Roosevelt and Many
Will Stay Away From the Polls
on November g.
Especial Correspondence.l

indianapolis. Ind. Oct. IL.
The decision of the Democratic man
ayers to inaugurate whirlwind cam
paign in this State. with William len
nings Bryan as the star orator. and their
still later decision to push him to the
front constantly and to double the num-
her of his speeches. has revealed at last
an extraordinary situation, which has
thoroughly alarmed the leaders. Bryan
has been brought to Indiana for the sole
purpose of seeing il his personal iniu-
ence could not he relied OIL to stop
wholesale rebellion on the part of the
old line Democrats. 1t has been an open
secret for some time, but until now the
Democratic managers have constantly
denied it. that the rank aud file of the
1ndiana Democracy, the men who voted
for Bryan because they loved him. the
snen who worked for silver because they
believed in it, have been thoroughly dis
Eusted with the one-sided reorganization
of the Democratic party. 1t is to bring
these men back into tNe fold that Bryan
has been brought here, but it is not be-
sieved that the brillant Nebraska leader
will do more than make perfunctory
speeches for Parker, because in every
country town are to he found leaflets eS-
pressing what Bryan's real opinions are.
and just what he thinks of Parker and
the desperate politicians who secured his
nomination at st. Louis.
b The old line Democrats OF Indiana are
naturally peculiarly loyal and straight
forward class of men. They represent in
their party the bone and sinew of the
great manufacturing class and more par
ticnlarly the thoughtful. rOck-ribbed, in
telligent portion of the farming com
munity. They voted for silver in 1896
and in 1900 because they believed that
the system of free coinage advocated by
Bryan and the great mass OF the West
ern Democratic leaders would put an
end to their poverty and give them a
chance to compete on even terms with
the Wall street magnates, who, they were
told, were stealing away from the people
the wealth of the country.
Object to Being Called Traitors.
Conditions have changed since then.
Undeniable prosperity has come to all
classes. and there is no longer disposi-
ton to press the silver question to the
front These old line Democrats. how
ever, do not relish the idea of being
called lunatics or traitors. and still less
do they relish the development of party
politics which has absolutely turned over
the control OF the Democracy to the very
mcn who bolted the party in 1896. They
Aave never believed it right that the tail
should attempt to Wig the dog, and they
cannot forget here in Indiana that the
men who are now seeking to ostracize
the faithful Democratic masses, and who
are doing everything in their power TO
create Wall street control of the Demo-
cratic party, are the same ones who open
~, only eight years ago, left the Demo-
cracy and voted direct for the Republi-
can candidate for the Presidency.
There are no more loyal Bryan Demo-
Gratis in the country than those of In
diana. This is particularly true of the
country districts. The people loved and
believed in their splendid leader. and it
is a significant thing that when the
other States through the Mississippi val
ana ajority, Indiana kept the plurality
down to narrow margin. Mr.. Bryan
made campaign in this State that year
which made friends wherever he went.
1t is these warm friends and admirers
of William Jennings Bryan who, in the
present campaign, have been disgusted
and insuted by the men who are now
in control OF the Democratic machine.
They cannot forget that in 1896. here
IN this city of indianapolis. there was
held a convention to organize an inde-
pendent Democratic party. The gold
Democrats of Indiana led the movement
against Bryan. They were foremost in
nrging the nomination of Palmer and
Ruckner. They urged all gold Demo-
Gratis to vote for these two old generals.
and not to cast ballot for William
Jennings Bryan, who was denounced
much more severely by the gold Demo-
Gratis than ever he was by the Republ-
cans. There was an appearance of 10y
atty to the old party, because Palmer and
Buckner were both old-time Democrats
and they conducted their campaign on n
Democratic basis. Yet every one knows
what happened The gold Democrats,
instead of maintaining a show of regu-
larity by voting for Palmer and Buck
ner, voted by thousands for Mckinley.
The Palmer and Buckner vote in In
diana was mere shadow, and did not
begin to indicate the real strength of the
bolt.
Bryanites Wore Generous.
Throughout all the campaign of 1896
the gold Democrats. not only in Indiana
but in the country at large. abused Bryan
and Organism in the most savage terms.
lie received much better treatment from
the Republicans who made their fight
on an honest basis, who flooded the coun-
try with literature in behalf of the gold
standard, but who never assailed the
personal character or the integrity of the
beloved Democratic standard bearer. In
the convention at St. Louis the gold
Democratic men were in control, al
though not in the majority. There was
q sentiment in the party that some kind
of reorganization was absolutely neces-
sary to success. The Bryan men We're
clearly in the majority not only in the
Al. Al.
Yet they were generous. and they were
willing to kill the fatted calf for the
prodisal son. But they expected him
90 ent only his own share of the bar
h.cuA. and had no no''"u that after he