The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-10-13
CAMPAIGN IS
A PUZZLE To
POLITICIANS
MEETINGS ARE NOTED FOR
LACK OF NOISE INDICAT-
ING PEOPLE DEEP IN
THOUGHT.
Only Real Enthusiasm so Far ARGUS
ed in Indiana Has Been Caused
by Addresses of Senator
Beveridge.

I~ndianapoliy Oct. 12.-According
to reports from over the state this is
a most peculiar campaign in one re-
spect the crowds attending the polit-
zeal meetings fail to make much noise.
This popularity has been noted here
as well as elsewhere in the state. and
1t has set the politicians TO guessing.
They do not know what to make of
it.
Generally at political meetings
there is a great deal of noise. Crowds
generally applaud and yell and whoop
things up to show their enthusiasm.
If the enthusiasm does not show up
in this manner then it is the time
IGNORED duty of the local leaders to
arrange to have a gang of fellows
there to start the applause. in order
TO make sure that there will be some.
But this year the people apparent
ly are not in a mood to yell and make
noise. 1t looks like they go to listen
and not to shout and applaud. Now
he question is this: Does this denote
a lack of enthusiasm or does it imdi-
cate that the people are too deeply
interested in the presentation of the
issues to waste time in Yelling?
Cheering for Beveridge.
II seems to be the general opinion
that the latter is the true reason for
the quiet that prevails at the meet
inc to reports the only meetings thus
far which have aroused much enthu-
siasm and brought forth much noise
have been those of Senator Beveridge
in his trip over the state. Reports
from the south part of the state
where he spoke last week were thai
enthusiasm was at a high pitch and
that the people gave him a great re-
eeptior all along the line.
But at the meetings where other
speakers have addressed the crowds
the result has been entirely different
For instance, when Gov. Marshall
made his keynote speech here the
other night he had a good sized crowd
but there was little noise. The gov
ernor was cheered when he appeared
on the platform and there was APP
rlause now and then. but it was not
OF the vociferous and spontaneous
kind that one might expect under
he circumstances.
This unusual psychological feature
of the meeting was remarked by
many persons who attended. The
speech was a good one from a DEM
%ocratic standpoint and the speaker
was one of the best the democrats
have. He presented the democratic
theories as well as any man could but
yet there was not that noisy demon
stratiOn that might have been ex-
pected. The people just sat there
and listened. 1t is difficult to explain
tilS dctioh VII any II tltOIN tud1
that they wanted to hear the discus
sion and wanted to know where the
governor stood on the questions at
issue.
A similar incident occurred a night
cr two later. when Linton A.. Cox, the
republican candidate for congress in
the Seventh district, made a speeci
at an open air meeting in this city,
opening the local republican cam
paign. The weather was bad, but
fully a thousand people turned out
and stood for an hour and a half list
en'ng to the speeches that were made
They did not make any noise. Only
two or three times was there anv
applause, but they stood there and
drank in every word that was said. II
was plain that thev wanted informa-
ton. Even when w. ID. Headrick, a
fire eating orator, who always stirs
up a crowd made a speech following
Cox the crowd did not make any
nose, but they stayed and listened.
The crowd was fully as large at the
close of the meeting as at the open
ing.
Voters are Silent.
This psychological feature of the
campaign is n that stumps the old
politician. He has never seer my
thing like it before. One labor lead
err was talking the other day about
this same condition. He said il was
very difficult this year 20 oct a labor