People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1894 — LEGISLATIVE GOSSIP. [ARTICLE]

LEGISLATIVE GOSSIP.

ADVANCE TALK ABOUT THB AFFAIRS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. VMferenee bn the A r> portionment Bin. BeMri ption of Dan O'Leary, Roby‘» Lob—OoVefllor MattheWl* Forthcom111* Race. tepeciAl Cotteßpandcnce.'l IXMANAPoua, Doc. 18.—The senate teembers appointed by Republicans on df legislative and cdngTessiOhal districts Will meet in the Denison house this afternoon—the Republican part of it, I mean. Democratic members, as I said last week, will ignore the appointment of such a committee and wiH even contest its right of existence when the tim* combs, elaiming that tinder senate rules no one other than the lieutenant governor has authority tc name committees, and that such rules can not be changed except ih open session. Despite thil, hoWeVor, Republicans are going ahead with other plans marked Out. lam lead to suspect that every member Of the committee Attending the conference today has in his inside pocket a carefully marked map of the state, in which it is being sought to “protect hii own'locality and work no Injustice to any other quarter.” In fact, it is my information that the members separated after the last conference with ah implied agreement that each should arrange the districts according to his own views and submit the result to the others at this meeting, and that from this start un effort should be made to reach a harmonious end. The legislative apportionment is not expected to create much difficulty, except it is thought that there will be A determined effort to cut down Marion county’s representation in the lower house. On cdngtessional lines smooth sailing is not predicted and sdmebody is likely to be disappointed—not, however; to the extent that twd counties from which there are at present congressmenelect will be thrown into the same district. I mention this because it was recently said in a local paper that Wayne county, from which Henry U. Johnson hails, was likely to be tacked on to the Fourth district for the benefit of James E. Watson. lam assured that no such political cruelties will be practiced. -*»*- “What are you going to do if the Democratic senators resist your programme of appointing committees in caucus?” I asked Senator Wishard. “Well, we will simply exercise our right and change the rule which gives to the lieutenant governor the appointive power. The people gave the Republicans a majority in the senate, and with that majority goes the right to control. We are to be responsible for the record and we want to start right. Our purpose in naming committees has been to expedite business by getting matters well in hand, so that instead of spending the first half of the session in preliminaries we may be able to advance the legislation expected.”

Dan O’Leary! That name has not become familiar in the political circles of Indiana. It bids fair, however, to become known to Indiana legislators as belonging to a thorough lobbyist. Dan is from Chicago. He is aged no one knows how much. Back in the early history of baseban I remember him as a player and manager. He looked then as he does now. His face is possibly a trifle more wrinkled than 12 years ago, but his heavy, stubby mustache and bushy hair are as raven black as ever and his eyes as piercing. He has the same active step, the nervous gesture, the twiching of the head and the general characteristics of years ago. His dress is faultless and in the lapel of his coat he usually wears a bouttonaire. He walks with a slight stoop, but not of the shoulders. The stoop begins at the small of the back and is gradual to the head. It is a position contracted, doubtless, when on the ball field he used to stand with his hands on hi “knees and watch for a chance to spoU basehits. Dan came here nearly a month ago. With its usual nack of finding out things, the city press announced that he had come down to see the governor in behalf of Roby. He saw the governor. He talked to him 15 minutes, and found out what he didn’t want to know—that the governor was unalterably opposed to winter races at that point. But Dan didn’t pack up his baggage and hurry back to Chicago. He is here yet, and is going to stay for some time. He is not bothering the governor much these days, but an opportunity to meet a member of the next legislature isn’t thrown over. To these he talks horse—the advantages Roby has reaped and the vast amount of money turned into Lake county. He isn’t asking for legislation—all he wants is that present statutes be let alone. If the representative doesn’t care to talk horse Dan will regale him with stories of Chicago’s greatness and of his own accomplishments, and in some instances will tell that he is the son of the woman who owned the cow that kicked over the lamp that caused the historic fire—even though there is now a large belief that the cow of Mrs. O’Leary had nothing to do with the blaze. Beware of Dan if you do not want winter racing at Roby or elsewhere. -***- Govemor Matthews is at work on his message to the legislature. It will be an exhaustive review of state affairs under his administration and -will call attention to the extraordinary incidents of the miners’ and the railroad strikes, in which it became necessary to employ the mflitia to suppress riotous outbreaks. In this connection the governor will recommend an appropriation of $40,000 to reimburse him for having paid the soldiers for the service, he having borrowed the money from city banks on his own responsibility. The governor has always felt that, whatever was to be the political complexion of the coming general assembly, he was safe in negotiating this loan. Several Republican members to whom I have mentioned the matter say there will be no opposition to the appropriation. In a general way the governor will discuss questions of state finance, election laws, fee and salary measures, management of and benevolent insti-

tutions, etc., and two of his special re' quests will be for the r -peal of the McHugh law which made Roby prizefights possible and for an enactment which Will dose winter racetracks, =-*<*-*• The Republicans of the senate hafe determined ilpou a new fee find salary law. They say first, that the suprtinfi Court has made such action fiecessary by declaring parts of the law Of 1891 uni bonstitutional. They say further that that law Was ttnfair to Republican, Bounties, Democrats, however, deny the latter assertion and declard that there is ho necessity fdf a rifcW tf&ctInent—that the did IAW cAn be itifidfl thoroughly effective by alight amendblent. But the aUegations do not Change the fact that a new law will be framed and offered. The senate Republicans have nauiud for that comtttittw MSsSrs. Cranor, Bozeman, Self, Dullban, Boord, Haggard; CoHett, LaFolJett; Baker, Humphries, Alexander, Kefri and Parker, but as this is regarded As A political question, And As It is the policy of the Democratic members to resist the Elite-session work of the majority, the minority members are not going to take part in the preliminary Work. , One of the members Of this committed said to me yesterday: “The apportion* ment And other committees tea/ talk All they warit td About arduous duties; but they ain’t in it with us. Wb will have to arrange the salary of every officer in every county in the st.#e, and will have to base that salary on the population and business of the county. The latter cahnot be foutid out except At great labra. If we summon the county officers and ask them to give us ad estl l mate of the value of the service We Will be accused Of surrendering to thd sddalled cbdiity officers’ organization, and if we don’t ask them we wiH t}e accdsed bf going at our work blindly. But what-' e ver may be the committee recommendations in detail, you can say that the principle of paying pnbHc servants Stipulated salaries instead of allowing them fees will be adhered to. Mb committee will have to contend with such a strong' lobby as will labor with this one. It ffiakes no difference whether a countyofficer belongs to the Democratic or Republican party, he is interested in his salary and wiH make as hard a fight as he knows how to have that made a good one. The struggle has already begun. Each representative and senator has the subject talked to him in his own county by local officers, and when he reaches here he will find almost an army of supplicants for the cause of the officeholders and those who expect to hold office. It’s a sorry task we have, and I should like to trade jobs with some man on some other committee, I don’t care which one it be.”

—%*-

It is not known to have been premeditated, but it was a ludicrous situation in which several candidates for speaker found themselves the other day when they responded to Superintendent Charlton’s invitation to spend the day at the Indiana reform school. Thinking that the invitation was general to memberselect, Messrs. Adams, Merritt, Leedy, Statesman, Moore, Willoughby and Stakebake, all seeking the speakership, were on the scene in the hope of turning the affair to advantage. When they cast about for members to work upon they found only five other representatives there, with a candidate for house clerk and doorkeeper on the scene demanding a division of time. *_* <? “Up in northern Indiana Democrats are talking about nominating ex-Con-gressman Shively for governor in 1896,” said Hon. Charles F. Griffin to me a day or two ago. “They say he has many elements of strength, is young and active and would make an aggressive campaign.” “What about your own candidacy on the opposing ticket,” I asked. “On, I don’t know about that. It is too early to launch booms. I would prefer that my friends hold off awhile rather than begin now to talk about me for that nomination.” It is now just about three weeks until the Republican caucus will determine who its subordinate officers will be. Jan. 10 is the date of the meeting of the legislature, and the caucus will be held on the night prior. Unless there are some changes in the situation on speaker, doorkeeper and the assistant clerkship it is not. likely that the selections can be made short of an almost all night meeting, but there are changes predicted. Some of the present aspirants are certain to get out of the way. For the speakership the race is conceded now to be between about four men, but the conditions are so likely to change that I do not care to go on record just yet with regard to which I think will win.

I asked Tom Taggart yesterday who the Democrats v ere likely to honor with their vote for the speakership. He smilingly answered: “I haven’t heard a word on the subject, my boy. We will have so few of our fellows in the house that they might determine this by drawing straws.” —***- Even the small boy has caught the infection of hunting a place in the legislature, members being burdened with applications for appointment as pages. I have seen a copy of a letter from one city youth who wants to be page to the speaker. The same letter has been sent to all the candidates, and an apparently sincere hope is expressed by the youthful applicant that each be elected speaker and appoint the writer as page. Even the older heads have not shown shrewdness enough to hedge thus, although from the claims made by candidates for speaker I am constrained to think that there has been a duplication of promises —else how could each of the 12 aspirants feel so sure that he is going to get a majority of the 82 votes in caucus. -***- The leaders in educational affairs of the state have decided to urge that school enumerations be made by teachers in each district, so that incorrect and padded returns can be prevented; that townships have the optional right to decide whether school books shall be free; that a new system of licensing superintendents be adopted, and also a law providing for a county institute instructors’ license. State Superintendent-elect Geeting and Messrs. Study, Mott and Llewellyn will specially look after these matters before the legislature. Vw,