The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-03-19

legislature.
The state primary resolution reads:
I'VE declare in favor of a state
wide primary election law, carefully
guarded as to simplicity and economy,
at which the people shall nominate all
candidates for office, that the provis-
ion of the corrupt practices act and
general election laws shall be made to
apply to such primary elections the
state convention to be retained for
the purpose of counsel, organization
and declaration of party principles.
and precede the nominating primary"
Another plank favors the creation Of
a board to provide for mediation.
Just before the platform commit
tee got down to work at Q o'clock
last night, the Tenth district meeting
in the senate chamber at the state
house had witnessed the unheard of
before scene of Charles J. Murphy of
the public service commission of In
diana, eating out of the hand of Judge
Lawrence J. Becker, his arch political
enemy. and saying that the political
provender proffered by Judge Becker
was palatable and pleasing.
Tenth Gets Busy.
The Tenth district organization meet
ing adopted resolutions calling on it's
representative in the platform COM
mittee to stand for statewide direct
primary plank, and in case the plat
form committee did not so report to
the convention, to bring in minority
report.
The battle for the motion carried
by vote of 551a to 441a. Lake coun-
ty. Commissioner Murphy's county,
nd 1fS-
gave IS votes for and > against the
primary election plank resolution Of
fered by Mayor George r. Durgan
of Lafayette. Tippecanoe county, Dur
gan's county, voted 2S to 1 for the
Durgan resolution. Porter county,
led by ]. Fl. McGill. the Valparaiso
manufacturer, gave its entire nine
votes for the resolution. White, Jas
per. Newton, Warren and Benton each
voted solid against the resolution.
Emory Sellers, former United States
district attorney for Indiana, who had
been elected to a place on the COM
mittee on resolutions and platform,
was called to the platform by Chair
man Murphy before the vote was an
nOunced. Mr.. Sellers told the Tenth
district delegation that if he had to
go before the convention with a mi
nority report and thereby defeat the
candidacy of his friend. T. w. 'O'Con-
nor, who is candidate for state treas
urer, that he would never enter the
committee on resolutions and platform.
Murphy Gets Busy.
Continued shouts for the vote, the
vote" for the Becker, Durgan McGill
forces drowned Judge Sellers voice,
!,
vote amid yells and hurrahs from the
winners, who had put it over on the
''regulars." Murphy saw that to allow
the convention to get further into the
issue, and factional fighting would split
the Tenth district on O'COnnor and he
told Judge Sellers in an aside tone to
go and accept the place and then put
a motion for adjournment. f. p. Ho-
nan and other reactiOnarieS, who were
leading the fight against Judge Becker,
Durgan and other of the sO-called pro-
gressives, as much as against the pri-
mary election plank, simply gasped
for breath.
Could it be that Murphy had at
least yielded to the Becker wing of
the party and were they back in the
saddle again? The organization meet
ing was at an end. and Chairman
Murphy and McGill went to stem
ographer to have the resolutions sent
up to the platform by Durgan put in
typewriter shape. The Murphy fol-
lowers were left to figure the thing out
for themselves, an dthey did so by
concluding that Murphy had sacrificed
his power and personal ambitions in
the Tenth district simply to purchase
the support of the entire Tenth dis
trict for O'ConnOr for treasurer, and
they were right. The Durgan-Becker-
McGill men went out and at once DOM
ed O'ConOr badges. and went to work
for OCOnnor, where they had before
been lukeWarm.
The news of the Tenth district ac-
ton spread like wildfire at the Denni-
son hotel, and went direct to the con-
ference of Senator Kern and Senator
Shlvely, Governor RalstOn, Tom Tag
CART and the Indiana congressman.
Those present say that Senators Kern
and Shiveley smiled blandly. Governor.
it is said, could hardly believe that
Murphy had been 'rolled" and that at
the hands of Judge Lawrence J. Beck
er. Contests for seats in the con-
ventioH, as heard by the credentials
committee last night We're compara-
lively few.
The suffragist league Of Indiana was
represented by Mrs. Grace Julian
Clark Mrs. Meredith Nicholson and
other suffragist leaders, who appeared
to plead for an equal suffrage plank
in the platform. The committee re-
ceived the suffragist representatives
very SraciOusly, but it is understood
that suffragist principles will get but
scant mention in the platform when
it is presented today.