Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 September 1886 — MORE OF THE KEY-NOTE [ARTICLE]

MORE OF THE KEY-NOTE

Indianapolis Sentinel: Senator Har risen, when sounding the kcv-note at the recent Republican Convention, posed cleverly in the attitu ’e of a martyr at what be called the disfranchisement of the Republican party by the last Democratic Legislator-''. The Sentinel this morning asks of ihe Senator the careful consideration of the “apportionment b ! ll” passed by the Republic n Legislature (extra oession) of 1872- Does he not remember that the bill wa so infamous that the Republican Governor (Baker) hesi’ated to Jgn it. T ie bill declared that an “emerg ency” existed, and that “emergency ’• was that Governor Baker’s time was nearly out. Governor Hendricks was about to be inaugurated Governor, and that Legislature knew he would veto t h e bill. Hence the liveliest sort of an “emergency” was on hand. Lit* tie did they think that their own Governor would hesitate tu sign the bill. Let us look at some of its prominent features. Take, for instance, Ran' dolph county, strongly Republican, with a population of 5 895. To this county was given one Senator, and to the Democratic counties of Pulaski, Marshall and Fulton, with i voting population oi 10,463, only one Senator was allowed. That is 5,895 voters in Republican Randolph equalled 10,463 voters in the three Democratic eounties named.

To Parke and Vermillion, both Re-= publican counties, with a voting population of 7,267, one Senator was allowed, and to the Democratic counties of Knox and Sullivan, wit'"* 10,«000 voters or.lv one was allowed. Republican Lawrence and Monroe, wi’h 6,953 vo r ers, were given one Senator, and only one was allowed to the Democratic counties of Johnston and Shelby, with their 10,000 voters. Here then was a voting population of only 20,000 in five Republican coun ties to which wers given three Senators, and on the other hand only the same number of Senators were given to seven Democratie counties with a vo lug population of more than 30,000. According ,to this Republican algebraic rascality 20,000 equalled 30 000. The Republican county of Jefferson, with a voting population of 5.957, was given one Senator, while Democratic Cass, with 6.621 voters, was not allowed even one, but another Democratic county (Carroll), with a voting population of 4.348 was swallowed up with Cass and both together, with 11.000 voters, were only allowed one Senator between them. To the small Republican county of Vermillion, with a voting population of 2.539, one Representative was apportioned, while the same was refused to the large Democratic county of Barthoiomew with her 5,000 voters, and Brown county was tacked on and swallowed up with her 2,000 voters, and one Representative was allowed between them. That is, 2,6(9 voters in Vermillion county were made to equal 7,000 in Bartholomew and Brown. Floyd county Demo cratic witn her 5,000 voters was forced to equal Republican Veimillion in the same way with about oneshalf the number of voters. The Democratic counties of Fulton, Pulaski and Starke with 6 500 voters were given one Representative while the Republican county of Howard was allowed one for 4,600 voters and an additional Representative with Miami which was slightly Democratic. Miami was thus beautifully and artistically allowed to contribute a part of ano her Republican Representative to the Legislature. Thus Howard and Miami contributed two Republican legislators. The t ick was enhanced by an adroit gulp of Howard in swallowing up Miami’s 250 Democratic majority. Hamilton was made to play the sama trick with Tipton county and Gram with Blackford. Senator Harrison canvassed the State in 1876 as th® candidate for Governor of the Republican party, ■bur, it is safe to say he made no outcry concerning the thousands of Democrats who had been “disfranchised” by the acts of the Republican 'Legislature of a few years previous tto that canvass. So infamous was the Republican apportionment of 1872 that Governor Baker not only hesitated, but refused to sign the bill—it became a law with out his approval Ic 1876 Senator Harrison eavassed the State for Governor, but raised no objections against it. Like our Simon today, he was anxious to im* press upon the minds of his Republican followers that he was “so good a Republican;” an “aggressive epubMoan;” Intact he was the grandson ■of his gcamdfather, vociferously jpioiested; 4 Ttn glad I am not a Dem-

ocrat!” Poor fool! the Democracy rejoked over that fact equally with himself, and elevated to the chief magistracy of the State the humble, honeer . citizen “Blue Jeans—whe rejoiced that he was a Democrat-