Imperial Valley press., 1912-10-22
TAGoAar THE CASINO ROss
IBy VIII Trivial

We've cast out the BOSSES" says
Woodrow Wilson. Certainly he has.
Assuredly he has. Tom Taggart of
French Licks Springs, Ind, and nearly
everywhere, including Paris, for exam
pie. To show it's utter freedom from
bosses, it's population of the worst
elements in American democracy, the
Democratic party has suffered him to
control a candidate FOR vice-president
and to be a national committeeman
from Indiana.
IT you do not know who Taggart is,
what position he occupies in Indiana,
1t is tribute to your decency. He
is primarily the keeper of casino,
that being a pretty name for a gam
bling resort, at French Lick Springs,
and secondarily head Of the state ma
chine. His private business, in short,
is to corrupt youth, just as his public
business is to corrupt politics. And he
shows admirable team work in making
each of these branches Of his activi-
ties help the other. The funds by
which he maintains his Democratic ma
chine are raised by the old, familiar
method. They are gathered, in the be-
ginning, in the dregs of society, from
which they are passed up to him, re-
ceiving increments on the way from
near-respectable gentlemen who have
an interest in seeing the laws over
looked
Gov. Thomas r. Marshall of Indiana,
Democratic nominee for vice president
figured in the beginning as an oppon-
ent of Taggart. His opposition was
never effective; the casino boss con-
tinued to get just about what he want
ed when he wanted it. Then Marshall
was stung by the presidential bee.
Taggart took charge Of his campai gH
and bossed the Indiana delegation to
Baltimore. In fact, the observer would
have thought that it was Taggart, not
Marshall, who was hunting the nomi
nation. After Taggart had carried
through his program, which included
na,ying corporation-bo bossed state
tiC.et and drafting a corporation-in- =
spected platform at home, the time
came to choose national committee
man for Indiana. Taggart announced
that he would retire" Marshall was
delighted. He knew Taggart well
enough to understand how that name
would look on the committee. He pre-
pared Representative Dixon for the
place. But when the time came the
tame national delegates unanimously
called" Taggart to the job. That is
an old trick, worked time and again
by Boss Cox of Cincinnati, the Repub-
lican prototype of Tom Taggart. Then
Taggart deliberately humiliated Mar
shall. He resigned from the commit
tee, and the well rehearsed gang set
up such howl that Marshall, yield
ing to force, requested him to recon
slider SO Marshall acknowledged pub
licly his allegiance to his boss And
finally, we find Woodrow Wilson, the
Embossed, calling Taggart the boss to
Seagirt for a pleasant conference on
Indiana affairs, consorting with him on
his trip through Indiana, accepting him
as chairman of the Wilson meeting at
Indianapolis.
He conducts his great gambling es-
tablishment unmolested in the heart of
a decent commonwealth. BY virtue OF
sympathetic cooperation with the Re
publican state boss, he does the work
of the corporations with one hand and
traffcS in vice with the other. And
he is commit ecman, counselor adviser
TO party which has east out tn
bosses"