Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1912 — Lively Squabble Started in Democratic State Politics. [ARTICLE]

Lively Squabble Started in Democratic State Politics.

Congressman John W. Boehne, of the Indiana first district, is one Indiana democrat who does not propose to quietly s’lhuiit to the control of his z party by brewery and game ling interests of the state. On the eve of his departure from his home in Evansville for Washington Wednesday he gave out an interview in which he tore into th*. Crawfol d-Fairbanks-Tag-gart machine in dead earnest. He 'announced his intention of opening up headquarters in Indianapolis for the purpose of wrenching control of the party from Fairbanks and placing the better element of democracy on top. He did not mince words a particle and said in part: “The fight for the control of the democratic party in the state of Indiana is now on. On one side' is the little clique of self-seeking machine polititian, who, for twenty years, have led the party to defeat after defea; who for twenty years have ruthlessly run the steam i oiler over every democrat within the ranks who has dared to. oppose their will; who h’.ve. time after time delivered the party into the hands of its -memies—special privilege, who iu u e had no concnn for party platform or party policy, but whose sole ambition has been to control the machinery of the p;rty without regard to success. “On the other side is the rank and file of ordinary, plain, everyday, mat-ter-of-fact democrats, who are praying for the means with which to destroy the vampire that is sucking out their party’s vitality. “Unorganized and without leadership the rank and file of the party has met defeat after defeat. “The machine has ignored the will of the majority and defeat at the polls has followed swift and sure. “In the last two'state conventions the rank and file of the party demonstrated that the days of boss rule were numbered—that if a means of centralization could be found the oligarchy that has dominated the party for twenty years would be destroyed. .“Every opportunity has been given to this, machine to heed the warning thus given, but to no purpose. Glutted with power, they have thrown down the gauntlet. “Governor Thomas R. Marshall; the choice of a majority of the Democrats o£ Indiana for presidents, has been humiliated. The wishes of the majority have been spat upon. “Only one link remains to be forged to complete the chain whereby the democratic party in Indiana is bound Irrevocably in the coming contest to the machine’s steam roller. They must control the democratic state convention or they will not be able to deliver the votes of Indiana democracy in the next national convention to their friend of long standing—special prlvilege. , “I do not believe that a majority of the party proposes to submit to this outrage. I believe they are willing and ready to protest against further boss} domination, and believing this. I am going into the fight to overthrow and destroy the domination of this ring in the affairs of our party.

“I am going to fight this battle to the last ditch—io the end. From this time on there will be no cessation of the battle for the freedom of the party. I expect at once to open state headquarters at Indianapolis. I expect to use every honorable means at my command to organize the rank and file of the party for the overthrow of this machine, whose success in the control of the party means sure and certain defeat at the polls. i “My friend, Chairman Bosse, of the First District, will be in IndianapolK within a few days to arrange the details of the battle that is coming. “We might as well look things squarely in. the face and not try to deceive ourselves, because the lawabiding people of Indiana, who stand for honestty, decency and respectability will not be deceived in the future by any sort of pretense. “If the democrat party of Indiana is to be under the leadership and control of a Terre Haute brewer, who is known for his antagonism to law enforcement and openly stands for a socalled wide-open and lawless policy, and who absolutely refused to cooperate with all the brewers of the state in their determination to enforce strictly the liquor laws of the commonwealth, then, in that event, the democratic party will be so handicapped as to make a nomination for governor or any state office an empty honor for any one who might obtain it. For I have too much faith in the rank and file of our party, when properly aroused, to believe that they willpermit such a calamity to happen- ' ' ■ - '

"If my conception of the present temper of the law-abiding people in the state of Indiana be correct, then I venture to say that they will repudiate any par<y or any candidate® who stand for the principles that the Terre Haute brewer stands for. “And again, the electorate. of. Indiana will not place in power any party or man that is dominated by him and other bosses that stand for those principles. 7 * « “The only hope for the Democratic party in our state, as I see it, is for a militant democracy, the rank and file, to wake up before it .is too. late, rise up in their might and extricate their party from the incubus that is now threatening to humiliate and lead to political disaster the grand old party of Jefferson, Jackson nd Bryan. “I want our party to win, but I want it to win right-4 would not have the nomination for governor if I could get it without effort should the party see fit to approve and adopt ideals and principles for which the Terre Haute brewer stands, because a fight for supremecy at the polls on such a platform would not lead to victory, but, instead, to ignominous and merited defeat.” ~ ~