The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-11-30

have to be a special session
be the only chance Of stoppin
You've got to do some
thing to head off these Town
sendites," said the legislator,
who shall be nameless because
FIAT may or may not be his
public view and he wasn't
talking for publication.
They're crying for beefsteak," he
said, and you've got to throw EN-
something.
"A stale bun?" suggested a by
stander.
Well" grinned the legislator,
you'd better make it bone, just to
keep the allegory straight. Any
how, something has to be done to
head off these Townsendites."
Whether or not the legislator
really regards the social security
program as "a bone to be tossed the
Townsendites" is beside the point.
What is important is that he put
into words understandable to the
man in the street the way many
leaders of both parties eValuate So
cial security and their fear of the
fast growing Townsend movement.
Political leaders, if they remain
such for any length of time, do not
have any ostrich-blood in their
veins. They may refuse to recog-
nize a political menace publicly, but
never when they let down their
hair"
There apparently is little doubt
that the Townsend pension plan
vote is going to be an important
factor in the next congressional
elections.
The Townsend adherents are not
at all backward in letting any one
know that the movement will place
its own tickets in the field wherever
satisfactory assurances are not
forthcoming from congressional can
didates of the two major parties.
The Townsends can muster lot
of votes.
Jan. l probably will see the final
touches given the impetus to unseat
George V. Cap Coffin, untitled but
actual head Of the Marion County
Republican Party for years.
Some time ago a reform group
u,;tl,;,, tho nor+,, announced rolaD-
to force the resignation of Wayne
Zimmerman, county chairman and
Coffin henchman, and to reduce
Caps voice in future party councils
to an occasional whisper.
Little has been said since, but the
organization with which the re-
form group hopes to supplent Mr..
Zimmerman with John BookWalter is
said to be taking concrete form.
Prospective announcement of E.
Kirk Mckinney for Governor still
is hanging fire, but the candidacy
of the Indiana manager of the
Home owners Loan Corp. is taken
for granted in political circles.
The state administration may be
torn with political dissension over
the Governor candidates. in the adj
ministration, but its spokesman,
particularly in the Greenlee faction,
already are mot fearing" Mr.. Nc
Kinney'S candidacy.
There is no doubt that the state
administration factions have been
trying to make extensive inroads
into the big Marion County conven-
ton delegation which Mr.. Mckinney
has controlled and presumably will
control again next June.
In deprecating the Mckinney
candidacy, the Statehouse boys
bring up a subject that is very dis
tasteful to the VanNuys- Mckinney
group. That is the handling Of the
Marion County delegation in the
last senatorial convention.
Ever since the nomination of now
Senator Sherman Minton and the
maneuvers that preceded the ILL
fated candidacy of then Mayor
Pcsinald H. Sullivan, Mr. Mckinney
has been charged with poor han
ding of the delegation.
Marion County, it will be recalled,
chung to Mr.. Sullivan to the last,
even when it was obvious that he
hadn't chance, and that convention
strategy clearly called for trading.
Mr.. McKinney's defenders declare
that his apparently poor handling
of the delegation was because of too
deep a personal LOYALTY to Senator
Frederick VanNuys and that Mr..
Mckinney, like any good soldier,
merely was carrying out his orders.
Now the Mckinney ants are
saying that the Hole leader vii!
not be able to control the 231 Mar
ion County delegates in June in his
own cause and that he will get fewer
votes for the Governor nomination
than Mayor Sullivan did for Sem