People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1895 — OUR CAPITALLETER [ARTICLE]

OUR CAPITALLETER

interesting GOSSIP ABOUT THE INCOMING INDIANA LEGISLATURE. »peaker»f,ip Contest Something; Abont the “Third House”—Vigorous Kick on the Merlon County Hog—Editors Will Ask For New Libel Lew. [Special Correspondence. 1 Indianapolis, Jan. .I.—Although ft is over a week yet before the assembling of the legislature, the '‘push” has already began to form and it begins to look as though the attendant crowd would almost equal that of a state convention. There is scarcely a county in the state that has, not at least one candidate for some one or more of the various positions at the disposal of the lawmakers, and each candidate will marshal as many of his friends as possible at the capital. Naturally, the candidates for speaker are the first on the ground, and they will all be here before the week is over. Ail the rooms on the parlor floor of the Denison have been rented by speakership aspirants as headquarters and the hotel will bear very much the appearance of convention time. Since you printed a list of candidates a month ago bat two have dropped oat of the race, but there are still 12 who are “mentioned.” As the friends of two of them claim over 25 votes each and others expect to start with followings ranging from five to 15, while there are but 82 votes in the caucus, it is evident that somebody is likely to be more or less disappointed when the “show down” comes on the first ballot. And do you know that it is the easiest thing in the world for a candidate for office to deceive himself? One of his friends hears B make a remark favoraable to him, and immediately the friend sets B down as his warm supporter and so reports him to the candidate, who henceforth counts upon B’s vote and influence. Now, the fact is, that B is pledged to another candidate, but he nevertheless has a kindly feeling for the man In question. He means to speak well of him, and nothing more. But the candidate and his friends are perennially hopeful and they interpret every indication in its rosiest light. The plain, harsh truth is that the only man you can depend on through thick and thin when in pursuit of office, is the man who is bound to you by personal interest—who has some object to accomplish through your success. You will find many others who will help you most unexpectedly and disinterestedly, but that is one of the unknown qualities not to be counted upon beforehand. The representatives have been slow to pledge themselves on the speakership and the great majority of them will come here unpledged, preferring to wait until they can view the field thoroughly and then get on the wagon that seems most likely to lead the procession. As yet it is distinctly anybody’s race. -%*- The personnel of the “third house" of the coming legielature has not yet been printed, a fact which probably arises from the innate modesty of the members of this angnst body. They are not elected by the people and do not ddurt publicity in any shape, yet they are usually more numerous and sometimes fully as powerful as the membership of either of the regulary constituted branches. At the last session the political complexion of the “third house” was distinctly different from what it will be this year. It is not unlikely, however, that the corporation interests having “pork in the pot” will have workers on the scene and will be able to bring together an equally prominent lot of Republicans this year, for by the time a man grows to wealth and prominence he is usually found to have acquired stock in some corporation or other which he desires to protect. The railroads, the natural gas syndicate, the county officers, the insurance companies, the state institutions, all have interests that are likely to be more or less affected by legislation, and all will send strong lobbies here to influence legislation. John E. Lamb, who has been by oommon consent “speaker of the third house” ever since “Jim” Rice passed away, will probably be missed. It will likely be necessary to select some Republican to this position this time, and it is likely that the County Officers’ association will furnish the man. There is a general impression that this association will send a strong lobby here to prevent legislation on the question of fees and salaries, and thus leave the old fee system in vogue. It is not likely that they will succeed in this. There is a disposition to deal with them fairly and equalize official salaries on a fairly liberal scale, but the sentiment of the legislature is claimed to be in favor of a salary system throughout, based partly upon population and partly upon the amount of busines transacted. -***- I ran across a congressman-elect the other evening in the Denison house lobby and in a chat with him he said: “Much has been said in the Indianapolis newspapers about congressmen-elect endeavoring to work the apportionment committee to ’fix’ their districts for them. This is unfair as well as untrue. From personal knowledge I know that the great majority of the new congressmen have not asked anything «f the new committee, and the only requests that have came have been intimations from two or three who were elected in strongly Democratic districts that they would like to be given no harder fight than they had in the last campaign. -***- "Is there no end to the applicants for place from Marion county?” This question was put to me rather testily this morning by a representative from the southern part of the state. "It is a howling disgrace,” he continued. “Here you have two candidates for speaker, one for clerk, two or

three for doorkeeper, at least two for state librarian, three that I know of for custodian of the capitol building, two for engineer of the same building and an innumerable swarm after the minor positions abont the house and senate, not to speak of those who are asking for clerkships under the state officers. ” Then he took breath and started in again. “Now, the friends of both your candidates for speaker are declaring that if the speakership goes to Marion county that will end the demand from Indianapolis right there. That may do to tell new people, but it don’t go down with me. I’ve been here before and 1 know that Marion county is never satisfied until there is nothing more left to give oul arid then there is a 'kick' because there is nothing left.” The legislative committee of the Republican Editorial association, at its session here last week, decided to ask for little from the legislature, but to make a strenuous effort to obtain that little. Although much possible legislation of benefit to the schools was discussed, the editors decided to pin their faith to a new libel law. Indiana has the worst libel law of any state in the Union, say the newspaper men. It puts the newspaper entirely at the merch of any irresponsible attorney who is hnnting for damage suits on “contingent fees.” There is scarcely an editor in the state who has not suffered a species of blackmail rather than go to the expense and trouble of defending a suit under a law which makes the slightest error in statement prima facie evidence of malice They favor the Minnesota law. which gives fair opportunity for the correction of an error and gives both sides an even chance before the law. The committee will meet again on Jan. 8 in joint session with committees from the other editorial associations of the state. The legislature of 1893 seemed to suffer from a sort of ''pressaphobia. ’ There were a number of men in it who seemed to “have it in for” the newspapers, and whenever they found an opportunity to hit an editorial head or curoff a source of newspaper revenue they hastened to do it. It is gratifying to the newspaper fraternity to note that without exception these men failed of renomination by their parties in their home districts.

The arrangements are progressing handsomely for the big Democratic banquet on Jackson day, Jan. 8 No invitations were extended except to the speakers and everybody is free to attend who can raise the price of a ticket, which will cost but 50 cents The prime object of the gathering is to form a state league of clubs, modeled somewhat oil the plan of the Lincoln league, which has proven so valuable to the Republicans of late years. There has been a vast amount of gossip about it being for the purpose of launching the Matthews presidential boom, but I notice that Gray and Voorbees are both down for speeches and that plenty of their friends will be on hand to see that the gathering is no" made a one-man affair Friction on th« presidential question is not feared by the party leaders. As it is purely \ voluntary assemblage, the party could not be bound by any action by resolution. -*#*- Much interest was aroused !ds(t-wook hy the little dinner given to the con-gressmen-elect by the dean of the delegation, Hon. Geo W. Steele, at Marion. Eleven members attended and about ail they accomplished was to get acquainted with each other and exchange social amenities. The subject, nearest their hearts, that of the congressional reapportionment, was not mentioned, so they allege, for the obvious reason that on this question their individual interests conflict not a little. -vWhile a heap has been said on the subject of the proposition to move the State University from Bloomington to Indianapolis by our local newspapers, 1 have not yet discovered any members of the legislature who feel interested in the subject except Senator Duncan of Bloomington, who is very much against it. In is more or less doubtful whether even the Marion county delegation will unite in asking for it. They are just now so deeply interested in gathering in all the offices in sight for applicants from this county that they have not had time to give the subject much consideration. -*#*- One of the most utterly dumbfounded men in Indiana at the result of the last election was George W. Self, the new senator from the Harrison, Crawford and Orange district. He demurred when the convention nominated him. and was thus forced into a fight in an agricultural district where the hope of making great changes was very slight After he was in for it, it became a matter of pride with him and the tireless energy with which he climbdd through the hills of his mountainous district was something remarkable. He was elected by 1,100. Some Republican has been mean enough to suggest that Tom Taggart conceived the idea of the big Democratic Jackson Day feast for rhe benefitof his hotel, the Grand. This is. of course, nothing but t> libel upon the urbane chairman of the Democratic state ticket. A 1 Wishard (everybody who knows him calls him Al) is accused of having very peculiar looking eyes, and there have been occasion? when he was sns peoted of passing the wink But that is an unfair accusation. He possesses mismated eyes, which give him ar. expression hard to describe and seldom solved. It is a fact, however, that one of his orbs is gray and the other a decided brcwn. -***- Anderson promises to send a big lobby down to the legislature in behalf of the creation of a superior court for that county. The claim is that the legal business of the county has outgrown the circuit court’s capacity Jerome Huff, of Peru, announces himself flatly in favor of Matthews as the next Democratic presidential nominee. Governor Matthews himself believes it a little early to discuss the subject. UNO,