The sun., 1908-08-03
NATIONAL FREIGHT IN INDIANA
HAULED By STATE TICKET. o..

HAULED By STATE TICKET. !.
| INDIANAPOLIS. July 3I.-The Democrats
situation in Indiana is one that may b
easily defined-it is harmony induced b.
hope. The Democrats, the Taggarts, thu
| anti-Taggarts and the plain or garder
variety Of Democrats see q chance to win
the first in o sad series Of years. and ths
prospect Of the promised land OF patronage
IL good to the hungry hence this peace
To DO sure thsre 10 nothing ovmaFdsnt, nc
superabundanoe Of bFotheTfy love about
this Affection OF Democrat for Democrat
perhaps ardent affection 10 too much .te
expect oven from Democrats IN Mr. Pair.
banhs's State. IL is just determination.
unusual snsong Democrats anywhere 10
vote the ticket. This is the beginning Of
tho Democratic situation In Indiana.
In the second place. Mr. Bryan 10 only a
side issue. in the Hoosier oiFcus-a small
tent o long way from the big show =
Netther In John w. Kern, sfavorits SON
though he may be. the csntreo Of attraction.
Such hope a. the Democrats have In Indi-
ann, and thoy have q good dsAl. 10 based
neither upon Bryan nor Kern. The brutal
truth 10 that both promise TO be 'also rans'
In Indiana, and arc destined 10 be pushed
still further In the background % the oam-
paign progresses.
Indiana II o doubtful State because Of
the State campaign, the State issues and
the State candidates. II there were no
State ticket to be voted upon In November
Mr.. Bryan would have no moro show In
Indiana than In Massachusetts,. II thsre
were no national campaign the Democratic
State ticket would be about % certain Of VIC
tory here 40 In Texas. It 10 this double
pull. backward and forward. that makes
the Indiana situation real.
To begin With, II may be we'll TO eliminate
certain mistaken notions 90 to this Indiana
situatiou. MIR. Bryan In 1908 h the Same
old Bryan Of 1893 In Indiana. His follow
ing, 30 far as 1t is . personal following, rep
resents q fraction Of the party long ON
whiskers and short ON sanity.
they amt lot Of damn fools. because
Indiana 10 the kind Of State where lot
couldn't last. said one scornful anti Bryan
Democrat. But these 'ninety-sixers' tn
George Fred Williamses Of New England.
mere survivale, In the main, with modi-
hcation tn degree only. Indiana loves its
Bryan with an the ardor that New York
feels for the Eebfaskan. and no moro.
SHOWS himself to DO . twelve years
older ass than he was in 1so6.' was one
statement Of tho case by q Democrat.
Again. a. haa been suggested In previ-
ous letter. there 10 no radical wave in In
diana amounting to moro than q ruffie.
There is no vast concourse Of radicals who
are standing first on one foot and then on
the othsr trying to decide whether Taft or
Bryan In the true prophet Of tho progress
sive. So far a. the national campaign 10
concerned 1t 10 the New York situation with
no suggestion that Bryan has grown
What 10 nsw in the situation and marks it
a. different from New York's is that the
anti-Bryan Democrat says:
Il am going to vote . straight Democratic
Ticket this year because don't want to
take any chance with tho State ticket
In many cases he makes o wry face about
II. but teIls you frankly that this means d
larger Democratic vote for Mr.. Bryan than
ever before. II 10 the universal Judgment,
too, that whatever OF hope there is for Mr..
Bryan In Indiana rests entirely upon the
amount Of benefit he may derive from this
State situation. To all intents and purposes
Mr.. Bryan and the thrioe estimable Kern
are freight, mere dead weight to be hauled
by the State ticket. This is the national
situation In Indiana
Il b whom tho State situation 10 oonsid-
cred, however. that the Republican danger
becomes manifest. II tbs Democrats in
New York had nominated for Governor q
Democratic Charles e. Hughes and the
Republicans had named Tim Woodruff an
,v.,~-.tHl. -
Now York would then have a situation
fairly analogous. At least there would be
the same problem for the voter. the same
conflicting desire TO hit Bryan and to smash
the Republican machine. All things con-
sidered. the latter is the dominant emotion
in Indiana in July.
The Republican party in Indiana has been
more or less a stencil In the nostrils Of
decent citizens. One State official has been
sent to the penitentiary. others have re-
signed under fire. There Is similar situa-
ton In the Republican administration in
Marion county. In which indianapolis Ia
situated. Accordingly all over Indiana
there Ia to be heard the suggestive sound
Of the whetting OF knives. turn the
rasoals out sounds a. often on the banks
OF the Wabash as It did once along the
Hudson. Republican politicians have seen
the storm signals too.
In this posture Of affairs the Democrats
have nominated for Governor q man salts
factory to all factions OF their own party
but without the handicap that might come
II he were faotional candidate. It is this
nominee. T. r. Marshall. and not Mr.. Bryan
or the homo grown Kern. who Ia actually
running in Indiana,
II the Democrats nominated well. the
Republicans nominated badly. They named
Congressman Watson. q spoke in the Cannon
machine In tho House OF Representatives.
who In the unpopular candidate Of an un-
popular party In Indiana. Watson Just
slipped In at the last Congressional election.
Tho shave was 90 close that the Democrats
say unkind things about 1t. and this hurts.
But the main difficulty 10 that although
Watson 10 not associated in any way with
the State graft issue. he is associated with
the State machine and carries its burden.
All In al. Congressman Watson is the Bryan
Of the Republican situation.
To forestan the danger OF defensive
campaign Mr.. Watson has seized upon
local option as q life saving issue. But