South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-04-02
DEMOCRATS HOPEFUL
OF VICTORY IN CITY
No Cause for 0iSCOuragement
Seen When Vote is Prop
erIy Analysed.

ELKHART Ind April 2-Tem-
porary defeat Of the democratic
party In Elkhart couDty i'm the gem
eral election last fall. a defeat due
primarily 20 improper organization
and the absence OF q democratic
newspaper. has not put the party
out OF the running. With clean,
strong tckst against which no word
of honest cens.ure can be spoke. the
democrats OF this city expect 20 be
back ia their old form for the com
ing municipal campaign.
The success Of tne republican
ticket INV the county last fall the
democratic leaders point out, was
due in large measure 10 the fact
that A. III. Beardsley, republican
candidate for state senator. was at
that time a heavy stakeholder in a
corporation that controlled the city's
only democratic paper. The paper
was signed. sealed and delivered so
far as local politics was concerned
Ii could do 4Othing IN the way Of
making "A campaign i'm county af-
fairs. Through this circumstance,
the democratic campaign lack d its
oid-time, winning pep
Organization Dishcartcned
The loss Of the publicity medium
disheartened organization workers
The men who had been leaders in
the past failed 10 exert the activity
that successful campaign required.
The organization work was left al
most entirely i'm the hands of Rich
ard @. Lake. jefferson township
farmer. who. while possessing most
admirable personal qualifications
was so unfamiliar with political or
galizatiOn that ne was unable 20
cope with the clever schemes of the
old guard republican wheel horses.
One of the fatal mistakes in an
organization way was made when
the central committee failed 10 Sc
cure proper poll OF the voters i'm
advance of registration day on oct
9. Having preserved all registration
records from the previous registra-
ton year, IL was rce-Sary to have
only a partial reg tration IN 1916.
From illy-compiis' poll books. il
was determined q very large
number CT 1@mOC- tic voters were
unregistered. : these supposedly
unregistered - n)crats 1000 circu-
lar letters ce mailed on the eve Of
registrau', day. Eight hundred
others we're mailed 10 men in the
railroad service. the vas- percentage
of whom were lined up with the
democrats on account II that party's
attitude toward the iar,ring men.
Very few OF these letters. stating
specifically 10 the voter addressed
that he would be ineligible TO vote
unless he re-reGiste~ed on oct. Q.
reached the designated persons until
after registration day. as there had
been delSy:ir preparing and mailing
them. As result nearly 1000 dem
ocrats. many of them legal voters in
Elkhart city precincts. failed TO go
10 the polls TO cast their ballots in
the November election That one
misstep alone was sufficient 10
change n strong democratic senti-
ment into a republican victory 10y
am extremely narrow margin.
success seen This Fail.
An analysis of the vote during the
last several elections shows that the
democratic voters are i'm The ma
iority in this city. When properly
organized, with proper support and
"A good ticket. such as they have this
year the democrats have nothing 90
fear from their opponents. This has
been demonstrated for the last .
To "A years. During that time the
democratic party in the city of Elk
through the county ticket I'm every
election beginning i'm 1908.