The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1910-09-07

CRUSHING
DEFEAT
w. v. Booker, Prominent
Democrat, Declares Brew
ers Will Ruin the Party's
Chances - Marshall Only
Only Hope of Faithful.
TIMES BUREAU,
AT STATE CAPITAL.

AT STATE CAPITAL. |
Indianapolis, Ind, September wi
liam v Rocker, of Noblesville, one OF
the most prominent and best known
Democrats in central Indiana, has
thrown a scare into the Democratic
state organization by declaring in
published interview that the Demo
cratic party is bound to be defeated
this year because it has undertaken TO
fight the battle \of the brewers AND
he saws that Governor Marshall Is the
only man in the state that can ward
off this overwhelming defeat which
stares the party in the face Rocker !
proposes a plan by which Marshail
could do this, but there is not the
slightest ground for belief that he Will
do 1t.
For many years Rocker was the at
torney for nearly all of the labor or
CARNATIONS in the country. He form
erly lived here. He has fought the |
legal battles for the American Fedora
ton of Labor through the Supreme
Court of the United States, and has al
ways been counted as the ablest labor
lawyer In the United States. 1t was
he who carried the famous Bessette-
Conkey contempt case from Hammond
through the United States Supreme
court and secured a new ruling on the
matter in labor injunctions. There
fore. his words have great weight. es-
pecially among the trades unionists
Must Correct Jokes.
Rocker believes the Democratic
party will suffer overwhelming defeat
unless 1t takes steps TO correct a
Joker which he says was smuggled
into the liquor plank of the Demo
cratic state platform. He is of the
opinion that the laboring people of
the state will refuse to vote the Demo-
cratic ticket when they understand the
| full purport of this plank.
/ AS a means of saving the party from
! what he regards as very menacing
situation he has taken occasion, before
the campaign opens actively, to start
a movement looking to the issuance
| of q statement, which he thinks, will
| tend to inspire confidence and perhaps
save the party from an ignominious
/ defeat. If his plans ire carried out this
| statement will be issued by Governor
Marshall over his signature and will be
a pledge to the people of Indiana that
/ If the next Legislature should repeal
| the county option law and substitute
for it the alleged joker provision of
the Democratic platform he (the Gov
ernor) would veto the repeal bill.
Rocker has not yet laid the plan before
the Governor. although he made a call
at the Governors Office during the lat
| ters absence.
Must stand By The Platform.
OF course, the Governor will not
make any such a statement as the one
contemplated by Rocker. He would be
foolish to do so, for the only thing
the governor can do is to stand the
Democratic platform, liquor plank and
all.
But Rocker says in his interview
The Governor will not violate any
party precedent If he issues such a
statement as / have outlined. Such a
declaration on his part would be simon
pure Democracy. The liquor plank of
the Democratic state platform is not
Democratic. 1t Is infamous"
II think that our party has been mis-
guided on this question: Mr.. Rocker
continued. The truth is that the ex-
preston of the Democratic state plat
form is not the expression of the party
at all but of two elements in the party
: machine. One of these elements which
, includes worthy men is composed OF
that class of politicians who live in
fond remembrance of Thomas A Hen
bricks and who fail to comprehend the
change in conditions since Hendricks
was our leader. The other element is
made UP of a bunch of political grafters
and buccaneers who fatten on the
[ piiiage they are able to extort from
the liquor interests under the guise OF
having brought the Democratic party
to serve those interests. To this latter
? class belong the machine politicians
: and their wealth is augmented in ever,
) campaign by contributions from brew
ers and distillers who wish to return
to the old system of government b,
j the saloon
5 Spirit Is Destructive.
The controlling spirit of the Demo
cratic state committee is to destro,
everything that does not serve il
Q which means everything that is no
9 bad. The state committee wants 4
carry the Legislature. but cares yer,
little for the election of the stat,
q ticket, in my opinion. We have a,
admirable state ticket. composed @
good men from top to bottom, and
should hate to see 1t go down to de
feat. The state committee is ogranizet
to punish the party for its nomination
of Thomas r. Marshall two years ag,
and to vindieate the. position taken b,
d Thomas Taggart then by bringin.
about the nomination of Samuel NJ
Ralston for Governor two years hence
, Under the county unit law man,
q elections have been held and Indian,
n mas gone so percent dry, only 20 per
a cent remaining wet. In the face of tina
experience the Democrats at the rece =
, state convention adopted a platform
r. that contains a joker and the purnos
l. of which is to disfranchise every Chris
tan ffreside outside of the cities i
the state. 1t is well known that unde
1.-THE operation Of theounty oDtion la,