The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-05-02

apparently SluBBSu Ny UuI 3 lGb1S lIC
surprised preparing to break into
his home shortly before midnight,
Wilbur Anderson, 81, of 1922 Laurel
St., remained unconscious by the
side of the house until he was dis
covered by his mother at a. IN.
today.
His mother, Mrs. Della Davis,
alarmed at his failure to return
home had started a search for him
and saw him through a smashed
window, lying on the ground.
According to Sergt. Frank Reilly,
in charge of the police emergency
No dirty money has touched him,
no bride, no unfair emolument.
Very likely, Senator Watson is
not much interested in money any
way His is that genial, expansive,
temperament which like honor,
applause, power, the esteem, how
ever won, of his neighbors and
friends, the satisfaction of manip
ulating things. Yet from first to
last, through election after election
he has stood without exception as
candidate of the machine, repaying
its present benefits by the prOmise
of future favors from Washington.
He has delivered the goods too.
Favor for favor, he has helped to
keep the machine in power and the
machine has kept him in power.
What the boys do with their power
is perhaps none of his business.
Certainly the senior Senator from
Indiana has behaved as though it
were none of his business.
Through all the epidemic Of in
dictmentS, he seemed concerned
only with seeing that he drew the
skirts Of his own senatorial toga
away from the mess. Putting him
self in a position to prove that he
never had any political traffic with
Stephenson probably involved hard
and wearisome work. But for all
practical purposes, he accomplished
, that.
/ Indictment after indictment, ex-
/ posture after expoSure-and the Sen
ator held his peace. Finally the
State chairman of his party-a posi-
| ton most important to the machine
was indicted, charged with serious
financial irregularities. At this
/ point, the besmirched official should
have play the game and resigned
/ But he held on; and to save the
ship it was necessary to throw this
Jonah overheard.
On that occasion the Senator did
void his just wrath-on the one
man. A few days of this, until the
embarrassing official took the dive
and after that, no more moral
| indignation.
Coffin, the machine boss of Ma
rion County, indicted with the Gov
ernor for bribery, chose also the
underground method Of getting his
indictment quashed on a legal tech
nicality. And Coffin, INDICATED, ="
is now brigading the vote of Indi-
annapolis for Watson. Report has
it that he will round up $4,000 to
10000 votes.
Silence is a cheap price to pay
for such service as that
Watson Missed His Chance
Will Rogers, remarking on Senator
! WatsonS appearance as candidate
for the Republican presidential
nomination, said, "and they call me
a humoristp That is the reaction
everywhere outside OF the Srate-a
smile for the hopeless audacity of
the performance.
OF course, the Senator has an OBJ
ject; but it isn't the White House.
And the pity of it is that with his
personality, eloquence and legisla-
tive skill, he might have been a SER
iouS contender. He alone, probably
possessed the combination of politi-
cal ability, experience and following
to take the lead in abolishing this
system. He might have gone to the
1923 convention as "the man who
cleaned up Indiana
The ball dropped into his hands
and he muffed it. And now, he who