The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1910-11-19

the assurances OF la8garT Inat IL ne
was nominated and elected he would
be the Taggart man for speaker. for
Spencer has always been a strong Tag
CART man and has done the bidding OF
the French Lick boss.
When Spencer's candidacy was an
nounced soon after the election. how
ever. the anti-Taggart element in the
party got busy and there was some
sharp political work done. According
to the reports which are in circulation
now plans were made to head off Spen-
Ger and to stop Taggart's onward
march to dictatorship. Cravens came
out as a candidate for speaker and then
Seidensticker came out also. Cravnes
Is dry democrat and voted dry at a
local option election held in Floyd
county. This, of course, did not suit
the Taggart crowd, and this element
of the party is against Cravens for
speaker. regardless OF who else may
run for the place. Cravens has been at
war with the brewers Of the state for
several years. He did not want to do
what they wanted him to do In the ses-
sion of 1907 when he was a member.
and when, in 1908, he wanted to be a
candidate for congress from his dis
trict the brewers put the kibosh on
| his aspirations.
Seidenslfcker is a German and a lib
eral, but 1t is believed that he could
not be handled by the Taggart crowd
Friends of the governor got behind him
| and pushed him into the race. As
| stated above, either Cravens or Seiden-
| sticker would be satisfactory to the
/ governor. but one or the other would
| lose out. of course. Therefore, it is
| said that a plan was agreed by
| which Cravens and Sedensticker were
| to both stay in the race and get all the
| votes they could. Then the one max
| ing the poorest showing was to drop
| out and the other was to receive his
| support. 1t was hoped thus to break
up the Spencer boom and prevent Spen-
GERS election.
| But something has happened. Just
| what 1t was no one seems able to tell
But the story is out now that Steve
| Fleming of Fort Wayne had con-
ference with Governor Marshall on
Thursday afternoon and that soon aft
erward he announced that Representa-
tive Wise would make a good speaker
and that he would support him. This is
taken here as a reflection of the senti-
ment of the governor. and those who
train with him in politics, because the
governor and Fleming work close to-
gether. 1t is said that the governor
assured Fleming that the election OF
Wise as speaker would be entirely sat
isfactory to him.
The governor has insisted all along
that he would not take any active hand
! In the selection of a speaker of the
, house, and he has been equally posi-
tive in his declarations that everybody
!, else outsid ethe house should keer
outside the house. All that the gov
! ernor demands is that the speaker
shall be a man that will stand square
ly on the democratic platform.
1t is said that Cravens, Seidenstickel
. and Wise are all agreed on the govern
| or's plan for economical legislation ant
to his plan for reforms.
Inasmuch as Wise is liberal in hi
views and stands squarely on the demo
cratic state platform, it Is easy to SCI
that Taggart is playing safe in tn
speakership game. He would lashe
have Spencer in the chair because h
] knows he could depend on him abso
lutely. But with Wise in the chair h
would be assured that his enemies il
the party would not be able to pu
anything over on him, and that the lib
: eral interests would be taken care &
all right.
: Just what Cravens and seidensticke
will think of this new lineup on tn
part of Fleming and the governor an
his friends remains to be seen, but
not expected that they viii shout wit
JOY There is even a story to the effec
that Spencer may Withdraw AMI thu
open the way for Taggart and tn
governor to compromise and agree o
Wise but this story has not yet bee,
verified If this happened it is a ques
= ton whether Seidens ticker aud Cray
ems could be induced to get on the Wis
band wagon. They might get the no
ton that they had been double crosse
in the race.
At all events it is evident that tn
plot is thickening for the democrats
and that they will remain true to thei
record for fighting among themselve
when the Legislature opens.
1t is said here that Steve Fleming ha
resigned as president of the Associa
ton of Indiana Brewers, which offic
he has held for year and half. Elem
ing is senator from Allen county, an
it is said that he resigned because h
did not wish to head the organizatio
at the time that liquor legislation wa
under consideration the next session
He took the presidency of the brewer
association for the sole purpose of car
rying on a campaign for the electio
of a legislature which would repeal tn
county option law and substitute
more liberal law in it's place. and sine
the liberal legislature has been electe
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