The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1913-12-26
DEMOCRATS GATHER
TO DEFEAT GRAY
Township Meeting Tonight
Will Fight Taggart
Delegates.
GRAY is UNPOPULAR
Opposition to Wilson We'd
ding Gift Belittles District
Assert Leaders.


mass meeting of Wayne township
Democrats will be held this evening
at the city hall for the purpose of cleo
in gdeIegates to the district
convention, which will be held at
Connersville, December 20, for the pur-
pose of electing district chairman to
succeed Charles Beck, of Richmond,
resigned.
Meetings also will be held tonight
by Democrats in the other townships
of the county for the same purpose.
1t is said that an effort will be made
to secure a Wayne county delegation
to the Connersville meeting which will
be hostile to any plan to elect Tag
gart man as district chairman.
Will Fight Gray.
It was generally reported today in
Democratic circles that Congressman
Finly Gray is not favored by the
state organization at the present time
any more that he has been by the
anti-Taggart faction in the Sixth dis
trct the last several months, and
that his congressional career is now
dra wing to a close, to terminate, in
fact, at the close of his present term,
a year hence.
Some of the Gray henchmen have
been busily engaged the last few days
spreading the report that the most
popular candidate for district chair
man, Walter Chambers, of Henry
county, was supported by Gray. but
Chambers friends in this city are in
dignantly denying this rumor, and in
siSt that Chambers is not entangled
with any clique of faction of the party
in the state or district.
Excuses Sentiment.
A Richmond Democrat, who is an
important factor in state Democratic
politics and who has keen insight
into party affairs in the Sixth district,
said today:
"If anybody thinks that all the OPP
ponents of Finly Gray are opposed to
Walter Chambers for district chairman
he has another think coming. So far
as I know, every Democrat who is
opposed to the nomination of Gray is
in favor of Chambers as chairman
The truth is that Chambers is not any
bodys man, and that is the reason he
will make good chairman.
Il understand Gray is trying to play
both sides of the fence so far as the
state organization is concerned. His
selection for the Richmond postoffice
probably pleased the organization but
that is about the only thing in his
puDi1c career tnat mas pleased IL from
the start. His course in congress has
been erratic, and he always seemed to
try harder to please the insurgent Re-
publicans than the members of his
own party. His attitude on the dona-
ton to the presidents daughter was
more that of a cheap demago than
that of a well-balanced citizen.
Criticize Stand.
"If he did not want to contribute
S. to that purpose he could have de-
clined and said nothing about it, thus
saving embarrassment to his district
Ii not to himself.
"The truth is the district chairman
ship ought not to have and does not
have any connection with Finly Gray's
race for congress next spring. Cham
bers will be fair to all aspirants for
that honor, and that is all any can
didate has any right to ask
For any man to oppose Chambers
on the theory that he is showing his
opposition to Gray will be putting
himself in a very false position, how
ever sincere his motive may be in SO
doing.
in view of the above the live ques-
tion Is, is Finly Gray trying to double
cross the Wayne county Democrats on
the district Craftsmanship like he was
charged with doing in the matter of
the Richmond postoffice?"