The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1912-06-20
HOLSTERS LAUGH
AT STEAM ROLLER
Severe Charges Are Made by the
Colonel's Backers as to the
Marking of B allots and
Fraudulent Methods of
Taft Supporters.


district delegates. 1t was known when
the national committee met that the
Roosevelt men would pursue a mill
tant policy. Ten prominent Hoosier
gentlemen stood directly in the path
of the steam roller, when Engineer
Victor Rosewater climbed to his seat
for the daily joy ride.
Two other HOosiers, less thoughtful.
who had stood with the ten, stepped
out of the way before the whistle
sounded. In the rooms just outside
the headquarters of the National Re-
publican Committee were enough In
dianans to fill three pages of the In
dianapOlis directory.
The Roosevelt men admitted Gre
gretfully) that If the steam roller con-
tinued its work as smoothly as it had
been doing. quite number of notables
would land among the cOlonelS dele
gates who had been tossed into
Wabash Avenue.
Among those slated for the Taft
forces for political slaughter, were
former Senator Albert j. Beveridge.
former Congressman Frederick Ian
dis, former Indiana State Chairman
Edwin NJ. Lee and Charles H. Camp
bell, members from Indiana, Of the
Roosevelt national committed These
four came here as the Roosevelt dele
gates at large.
The Taft delegates at large are
Harry S. New, former Vice President
charles Fairbanks, former Congress-
Oliver.
Contests are to be heard from the
First District, where Roosevelt is try
ing to unseat former United States
Charles f. Heilman; from the Third
District, where the Roosevelt men are
alleged to have "a good case" and
from the Thirteenth District
Interest i'm Roller.
The contest from the Fourth Dis
trlct has been dismissed
me interest in both factions in the
Dig republican fight centered in the
ooings OF the national committee
Boss Bill Finn and his vigilantes
the doings Of Clifford Pinchot Fran
els j. Heney and George c. Pardee.
ana the expected arrival of William
Barnes. Jr., boss of New York, were
lost sight Of in the general scramble
TO be near enough the COMMITTEES
rooms to hear the roller bump over
the bit of rough road the Indiana
doings afforded.
The contest over delegates-at-large
promised the sensation of the day.
1t was the test case for the Roose-
welt men.
The fight hinged on the commit
tees review Of the primary in Marion
county = including Indianapolis - at
which delegates were elected to the
state convention that named the Taft
delegates-at-larEe.
Charges of gross fraud, manipula-
ton, buying Of votes, use of repeat
erS stuffed ballot boxes and fix
counting were the basis of the Roose-
Welt contests.
The primary election was charac-
terized by Roosevelt, soon after II oc-
CURED, as the crookedest ever held
in this country" The briefs filed by
the colonels supporters were prepared
with view OF sustaining the former
Presidents charge.
The Marion county delegation CON-
-.
diana. The whole contest in the con
vention practically centered on secur-
ing the votes of delegates. According
TO the Roosevelt men, the Taft forces
decided TO make the primary -one of
the soap box" brand. There is an
optional primary law over party or
ganization in Indiana, The optional
part allows the machine men who
have the say to deSfde not to hold
the election under the law.
To choose these delegates they de-
cided to hold a primary under their
own rules and regulations. Under
these rules the county chairman.
Harry Wallace. 8amed the election
Ballots Were Prepared.
pl RooseVelt-1nen say they were ex-
Guided from any representation. They
were not allowed to have watchers at
the polls or the count. The Austria
liam ballot was tabooed and the old
fashioned ballot prepared outside and
handed the voters was substituted.
Under these rules. the Roosevelt men
assert in their aff1davits filed with the
national committeeman, the machine
proceeded to hold the election in its
own way.
Several auto truck loads of negroes,
some 200 in all, il is asserted. were
driven from one polling place to an
other and voted for the Taft delegates
In some places ballots had to be
handed in through a window. The
voters did not see that they were
dropped into the ballot boxes.
The Taft men make a general de-
NAL of the charges. They admit that
under primary, governed by the
rules the committee adopted, there
was some chance for frauds. Recog-
nizing this, they say, they followed a
custom as old as the party primary
in Indiana.
special committee was appointed
Ito near any charges brought after the
Voting. This was done, it was as
Aerted, in order to give the contestants
a more complete hearing than any
convention credentials committee
could. Martin Hugg. law partner of
JoEeph d. Healing. mead of the new
TAFT vigilante committee. was chair
man of this committee.
The brief filed by the Taft men as
serted that while there was some
fraud, which they themselves endeav-
ored to discover and counteract. the
case silould go against the Roosevelt
men on the prima facie evidence of
the returns.
Roosevelt received 1,4sO and Taft
6,16S votes. a plurality for the Presi-
~@nt OF 1853 votes in this particular
.dl SlGlINfst from the Fourth Cali
let was scheduled 10 cause
II 0x,ora Jday.
LII UUtl Il lfornia case" was put over
with the opening of the
~ scheduled to be called
lecfior { { VIII ctat;stplanned to de-
aiken up this
by the last Legislaturteemen were
} effect on June Is and r" the entire entire
HE that all fine r,oO,,la was strong
PNOplO the commit
united with its prOViSiO ay, however
his law provides that conflict be-
n mary law and