Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-03-16
PRECINCT LINES
GIVE HOWE MEN
HARD PROBLEM
Machine Would Try Gerry
mander if Sure of Hold on
City Council.
OTHERS OPPOSE CHANGE

To change or not to change the pre-
cinct boundaries in Indianapolis before
the coming municipal primary election
is a problem that is causing furrowed
brOws and many consultations in the
ranks of the News-Jewett organization,
which is backing Mr.. Thomas c. Howe,
former president of Butler College, for
the Republican nomination for mayor.
Irving W. Lemaux, Republican city
chairman, announced Monday that a con-
ference would be held within a day or
so with Thomas Meeker, Democratic city
chairman; Samuel Ashby, corporation
counsel, and Harry Hendrickson. county
attorney, participating, at which it would
be decided what would be done about
redistricting the precincts. Meanwhile
it is understood the forces of Edward J.
Robson and Samuel Lewis Shank, also
mayOralty candidates, are in favor of
letting the boundaries stand as they are.
The administration group has not quite
made up its mind what it wishes to do,
supporters of Robson and Shank assert,
or the conference would have been called
and something done long ago.
If anything is done, it is agreed, the
administration will have to bring II
about. The city council has the power
to change precinct boundaries. The
Democrats do not have a single member
in the council The administration has
control Of FIVE and the anti-administra-
ton forces four members. DR.. o. B. Pet
titohn, one of the administration men,
bers. is seriously i'll in a hospital and
therefore for the present the council
stands equally divided.
TIGHT GRIP WOULD
BRING GERRYMANDER,
The fact that they do not have per-
feet control of the council was under
stood to be causing the Howe hackers
much trouble. If there were plain sail
ing ahead, it is said, they probably
would have forced gerrymander through
the council a week or two ago. A little
more than two weeks ago Charles o.
Roemler, Republican chairman of the
Seventh district and member of the Jew
EFT Lemcke- Roemler triumvirate. which
has ruled Marion County politically for
the last four years, is quoted as having
said that there would be no need tC
change the boundaries. A few days later
he had a different song to sing, it is said
stating that what the Shank and Robi-
son hackers had done in the way OF
knocking the Organization" all out OF
line had made it necessary that some
changes be made so that recalcitrant pre-
cinct committeeman could be ousted and
City Chairman Lemaux have an oppor-
tunity to appoint men who will do the
bidding of the JeWett-Lemcke-R oemleI
combine.
The present city precinct boundaries
are those in force in the last city cam
paign. Under this division there are III
precincts in the city. 1t is reported that
II the reorganization" could see its way
around the obstacle presented by the
four nti-administration members of the
city council it would seek to have the
city cut up further so as to add forty
precincts. With this many to be added
the Organization" could so manipulate
the boundaries as to leave precinct com
mitteemen who are refusing to heed the
crack of the Jewett-LemckeR oemlel
whip outside the precincts which they
were chosen to represent and so make
them ineligible. Then the city chair
man could appoint whom he pleases tc
take their places.
5000 TO BE ADDED
TO ELECTION COST.
If the Howe hackers are able to put
through a program like this it will ado
greatly to the election expense to b,
borne by the taxpayers. The admins
tration, no doubt, would attempt Il
cloak Its movement for more precincts
under the pretext that the additiona
voting places were necessary to take care
of the electorate increased through woman
suffrage. Persons familiar with primary
elections, however, point out that poll,
never have been congested on primary
day in Marion County. They set fortl
that the highest total primary vote eVel
cast in the county was last spring, wher
81 per cent of the registered strength o.
the Republican party and a slightly
smaller per cent of the Democratic votes
were cast for presidential candidates TIL,
voting at the fall elections always i:
much heavier. With the women voting
IN the presidential election last fall there
was no congestion at any voting place
and so economically minded persons car
see no reason, from the standpoint Of
the public welfare, why such a grea
number Of voting places should be added
Forty new polling places would cos
$1,000 extra on election day, they esti
mate
Some Republican politicians were Of
the mind that a few precincts ought to
be added and a few miscellaneous
boundary changes made to bring terri
tory added to the city by annexation in
the last four years within precinct bound
aries. Others thought the three Repub-
lcan factions and the Democrats Nigh;
compromise on the change of the city
precincts to conform with the boundaries
OF. the present county precincts, as es-
tablished by the county commissioners
last year. There are 154 of the county
precincts inside the city limits.
TOO MANY FOR
CITY PRECINCTS.
If this were done It would straighten
out the tangle in which many precinct
committeeman find themselves when they
try to figure out their status in the light
of the territory in the city precincts
While the committeeman represent then
precincts in both the county and city
elections they are elected at county cleo
tons and hence were chosen by the vOt-
ers residing within the boundaries as es-
tablished by the county commissioners
With the city precinct boundaries differ
ent some hardly know what their stand
ing is. There being 154 county precincts
inside the city, there are thirteen more
committeeman than there are city pre-
cincts.
Whatever is done VIII have to be &C.
complished on or before April 2, the law
providing that the boundaries must be
published not later than thirty days be-
fore the primary, which is May 8.
Woodburn Mason, attorney and Demo
cratic election commissioner for the
presidential election last year, has beer
watching the moves in the redistricting
tangle for City Chairman Meeker, who
has not yet named his Party's member OF
the board of election commissioners fol
the city primary and election.
SAY NOW ASSURED OF
FAIR TREATMENT.
Shank leaders are jubilant over the
perfection of plans to obviate unfair cleo
finn dav tacfics r.ai ct their candidafa