The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-10-30
IN BACKGROUND,
FORMER ''WHIP"
DIRECTS MOVES
Sincere Leaders Made New
Castle Man District Chair
man Because of Desire to
Eliminate Bosses.
PAT BALKS COMSTOCK

PAT BALKS COMSTOCK
Republicans Become Aware
of Old Machines Opera
ti0n When Convention Re-
jects Wayne County Man.
The striking feature of the congress
sional campaign now being waged in
the Sixth district has been the recon
struction of the old Watson machine,
demolished four years ago.
But the same machine is now in
operation again and running very
smoothly, which at the time the work
OF rebuilding it began, last spring, ap-
peared to be an impossibility. even in
the opinion of many astute Republican
leaders.
The owner Of the reconstructed ma.
chine is still James E. Watson OF
Rushville, but he no longer acts as
his own chauffeur. He has turned
this work over to Patrick Joseph
Lynch of New Castle. Republican can
didate for congress, G. o. p. chair
man of the Sixth district and Watson's
self-appofnted handy man. who will
hold his proxy in congress-. II elected.
How the scraps of the old Watson
machine were picked up and used for
the construction of the one now in
operation is the story of how Jim Wat
son cleverly replied to the confident
assertions of his enemies that he was
politically dead" 1t is an Interest
ing tale
Watson Begins His Work.
Watson realized after his crushing
defeat in the last gubernatorial cam
paign that his career as public Of
ficial was ended. However. 1t did not
In the slightest degree diminish his
ambition to continue as factor in pol
itics, SO while he WAS being pronounc-
ed politically dead he was quietly at
work restoring his fallen political for
tunes. He played a prominent part
in the wrecking of the Republican par
ty in Chicago in 1912. and was again
pronounced politically dead" But he
wasn't. He and his few fellow reac-
tionary bosses, having saved the Re-
publican party from falling into the
hands of the progressive rank and
file of the party by means of the Chi
cago "holdup." Watson set to work
reconstructing the party fences in his
own district. He conducted this work
secretly. and the few sincere Repub-
licans who were at work trying to
revive their party under new leader
ship and with new aims and principles,
so that it would be quickly responsive
to the demands of the people for
new order of things. were ignorant
that their purposes were being cross
ed by the old boss. In their innocense
and ignorance they fondly believed
that their party was to be born again
without the birthmark of Watsonism
and all that it stands for.
Movement Strong Here.
In Wayne county particularly it was
the desire of leading Republicans that
the new Republican party of the dis
trict be one that Progressives could
return to with confidence that in the
future it would represent the will of
the people, as it once did. instead of
the will of the political bosses and the
special interests. 1t was hard work
these men attempted, trying TO infuse
life into an almost dead party. but
they worked hard. and last spring,
with the congressional convention only
few days off, they believed their
aims were about to be accomplished.
They had selected Patrick J. Lynch as
district chairman, a young man who
had impressed them by his hustling
qualities and by his apparent keen de-
sire to place in the field a Republi-
can party free from the taint of affili-
alton with corrupt business interests
and bossism. AT that time they did
not know that Lynch was the tool Wat
son was using 10 reconstruct the Re-
publican party for his own special use
and convenience.
Launch Ccmstcck Boom.
These anti-WatSon Republicans had
selected a man of irreproachable char
acter and with a distinguished record
as public official. Judge d. W. Com
stock of Richmond. to be the Repub-
lican candidate for congress. He prom
ised to be the standard bearer of the
new party. providing it was not neces-
sary for him to make a contest for
the nomination. p. j. Lynch, who had
been casually spoken of for this NOM
ination by some of the Anti-Watson
faction. and who in reality was at that
time the man selected by Watson as
chauffeur for his reconstructed ma
chine. when told of Judge Comstock's
decision blandly and with much Irish
oratory announced his support OF the
Comstock candidacy and said he would
at once get out in the district and see
to ii that there would be no opposition
to the judge.
Lynch got out in the district. all right.
but in the capacity as booster for
himself Delegate after delegate he
met personally. and to each one he
set forth his own qualifications as a
candidate for congressman. not for
getting frequently to refer to his
pleasing personality" Lynch, in this
little tour about the district. sped first
to the home of Captain Jack Gowdy.
who dwells on his fat acres in Rush
county. and is Watson's political chief
of STAFF. Lynch told Gowdy the news
Of tho Com stock candidacY and asked