Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-03-02


factions are:
1. The old Jewett crowd consist
ing of the group which was beaten
in the spring primaries by the Shank
crowd. many Of whose members de-
serted the party in the city election
rather than become allied with Sam
ueI Lewis Shank.
2. The COLLABORATION crowd which
consists of the personal followers of
George v. COnin and includes ex-
sheriffs DOdson and Miller, Judge
James A. Collins. Commissioners ii.
ID. Tutewiler and Carlln Shank and
their retinue of smalI-caIibre poll
ticians. This is the faction which
has just been made powerful by the
appointment of Coffin as county
clerk.
3. The shank organization, which
was composed Of the personal follow
ing of samuel Lewis Shank and a
great many men and women who were
unalterably opposed to the Jewett
regime. Its leader at the present
time Is william II. Armitage, who Is
working day and night to strengthen
1t and whose efforts in that direc-
ton have provoked a jealousy and
discOrJ that is now threatening to
disrupt the Shank administration.
STILL ANOTHER
FACTION EXISTS.
Added to these natural divisions IN tn,
Republican ranks is the division on tn,
question OF the support Of Albert J. Bev
eridge and Harry s. New for the sena
torial nomination. No two factions are
unit in this fight and each faction ha.
its adherents Of both the senatorial can
dldates
How these several groups Of hepub
licsns can be united into one organized
effort to nominate and elect a Republican
ticket this year Is the problem that con.
fronts the leaders Of the Republican
party and they are frankly admitting
that with any kind Of opposition from
Democratic sources they stand a fin,
chance to fall.
Privately, the- are discussing the Ques
ton Of how tired the public has become
Of their failures in Office. They declare
the Hartman fasco did not DO them g
great deal Of damage, but they beiiev,
that fact can be attributed to the mis-
handling OF the affair by the opponent.
Of shank, who created sympathy for the
ticket by their unwarranted efforts t.
Shank and his supporters.
But the coming Of the Sipe episode Is
another matter entirely and is admittedly
one that has shaken tho public confidence
in the whole Republican regime.
THEN COMES BLUNDER
OF NAMING COFFIN.
Added to that is the very obvious pc.
litical blunder OF appointing Coffin t.
the clerkship. In so doing Tutewtlei
and Carlin Shank chose to ignore com
pletely the fact Coffin was practically
istratiOn and Is trusted in political af
fairs by no one except the two county
commissioners.
Appearing in the oning as an add
dOnal menace to party success is the
dismissed from Office by the Jewett board
Of safety when it was found he was In
danger Of being exposed in an unsavory
deal for the granting of a special priv
ilege. They chose also to ignore the
fact that Coffin was the principal hacker
Of Robert Miller. the sheriff whose con.
duct Of the jail resulted in his indict
ment and denunciation in Federal Court
They chose to ignore the fact that Coffin
is ''in bad" with the entire Shank admin.
for a third term Of Judge
James \. Collins of the Criminal Court
whose record has heretofore escaped much
scrutiny, but who is expected to be the
storm center OF any C Ipaign in which
he appears as a cam ate.
The more practical Of the pc i.ical lead
Frs Of the party are of the opinion that
only through the city administration can
an organization be perfected with suffici-
ent strength to accomplish anything in
the coming campaign and they are doubt
full Of that proposition.
For. it is no longer q secret that Mayor
Shank does not possess the happy fam
.ly spirit in his administration that he
would like to have. In the first place,
the greater part Of the women who
helped elect him to office have retired
from his support in disgust over his
failure to give them any recognition
In the second place, there is a feeling
that Shank. ia his efforts to further po
liticaI advantage through William II.
Armitage has given Armitage 100 free
4 rein in the city hall where Shank in
stalled him in his private office.
There are, about the city hall, many
evidences Of a tension that will not last
forever. There may be a break in the
ranks OF the Shank administration before
the week is over. If not that soon, q
break is inevitable.
And with a break in the ranks of the
only semblance Of an organization thai
might control the county, Republican
leaders will have to pin their hopes Of
success this year to the possibility that
the Democratic party will be unable 20
nominate a ticket whose members are
not involved in some scandal.