South Bend news-times., 1915-01-18
PRIMARY BILL Is
DUE TO REACH
ASSEMBLY TODAY

CONTINUED PROM PAGE ONE.)
best under a convention plan. Ralston
is believed to favor strongly the can
didacy OF O'Brien, yet O'Brien will
not be a candidate if there is much OF
a fight against il.
Meanwhile the trend towards cen
traliZatlOn of his power, which Raj
ston has exemplified almost daily in
his appointments during the two years
he has been in office, point Conclu-
siVely. according TO many, TO mis- de-
sire for further political honOTs for
himself The governor repeatedly has
said, publicly and privately, that he
is through with politics when his term
expires. At the same time there are
many boosting him for the nOmina-
ton for senate. Such offices as the
state oil inspectOrship, the state fish
and game department, the public SER
vice commission, and now the state
board of tax commissioners, WELD vast
influence as OrganiZatiOnal political
bodies throughout the state. Ralston
would have a. mighty good start to-
wards a convention nomination for
senator two years hence, if he de-
cided to make the race against his
apparent friend. John W. Kern.
And so some say that the governors
newly prepared bills, providing for the
abolition of the present system of
electing tax assessors and placing the
power of rigid supervision Of these
men in the state board of tax com
missiOners, are intended TO further the
organizations power, which gradu-
ally, he is amassing-the trend being
towards building a personal organiza-
ton. the purposes of which could be
several.
Bull Moose Meet
Another political feature of the
o. . lot ac ion
larly pregnant with meaning That
was the meeting here and the ex-
pressed attitude-Or lack of attitude
of the progressive state central COM
mittee. That committee met here this
week. conferred with its lone repre-
sentative and it's Ionesomer senator,
and then decided that there was moth
ing for publication. Which meant
everything is usual in political
I silence situations.
Prest Woodrow Wilson, in his In
dianapohs speech. sounded the key
note of the democratic party's attitude
/ towards the progressive party-invita-
/ tion to stand behind the democratic
party. as what he termed the most
| effective method towards progressiv-
ism. The attitude of the Indiana state
/ central committee of the prOgressiveS
/ tailed with this condition exact
/ ly. The progressiveS in Indiana
/ speaking of them as still a political
| unit-are awaiting the best PROPOSE
| ton, generally speaking, that they can
get from either of the two old parties
| There hardly Will be a progressive
state ticket in Indiana in 1916, yet it
/ seems apparent that the prOgressives
| of the state will have something TO say
about the makeup of the state tickets
and the principles of perhaps both old
parties in that year. The democratic
/ party. because il is in power in the
Legislature, just now has the better
| chance TO send out an acceptable in
vitation TO the progressives of the
! state-and yet the majority OF the
progressives in Indiana are former re-
publicans. To such an extent the acts
Of the 1915 legislature will have very
| material effect on the political history
| of the state. Intrinsically the 1915
legislature does not amount to much
lin a statewide way-yet
What's On Tap This Week.
The legislative developments of this
/ week probably Will be the introduce
ton Of the governors tax bills; the
! introduction Of a bill seeking TO legal
| ize the par.-mutual system OF betting,
/ SO as 10 open the old Mineral
/ Springs race track in Porter county;
the action of both houses on stringent
/ anti-lnbby bills that have been intro-
/ duced; possible operations OF the
| farmers organization. composed of 40
/ members OF the house; the introduce
ton of a bill giving circuit judges
power to remove county officers tor
I misfeasance or malfeasance in Office
4 and the introduction of several of the
more important platform measures,
Got n he n