Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1908 — THE REASONS FOR THE DEFEAT OF HALLECK [ARTICLE]

THE REASONS FOR THE DEFEAT OF HALLECK

> The Republican Investigates and Refutes Some False Charges Against j. Losing Candidate.

The Republican has waited a long time to answer the Jasper County Democrat’s report of the cause of Abraham Hallecks ’ defeat for the state senate at the special election held Thursday,. Sept.. 17th. The delay was occasioned In order that we might ascertain the real cause of Mr. Halleck’s defeat, and in order that we might investigate some of the caue% ascribed by the Democrat. To„ begin with, it should be understood that the Jasper County Democrat has held a most profound hatred for Mr. Halleck and that it has left no stone unturned to do Mr. Halleck injury for many years. This being the case, it is not surprising that the Democrat takes great delight in his defeat and misrepresents the reason for his defeat. There were, in fact, three reasons for Mr. Halleck’s failure to be elected. The first was a lack of concerted and organized effort to get out the republican vote; the second was the fact that the saloon interests demanded the election of a man that would not support a county option measure; and the third was the indisputable fact that Mr. Halleck has some personal enemies in some localities, as every, practicing attorney has. The democrats locally and in Newton county made a very strong effort to get out the democratic vote, those persons who have a grievance against Mr. Halleck working with an especial vim. It Is not true that automobiles in Rensselaer were brought into service to bring out the Republican voters, and it is not true that the inmates of the county asylum were brought out and voted for Mr. Halleck. As a matter of fact the inmates of the Jasper county poor farm were brought in by Edward P. Honan, democrat, in the hack, and while it is not probable that they all voted for Mr. Law, that was the intention of bringing them in. It is an imputation on these unfortunate men to say that they we: e “broug t in and voted.’’ They are men of fair intelligence and able to do their own voting the way they believe. It is a fact that many voters remained at home, attaching but little importance to the election, but they did not remain away because of any indifference toward Mr. Halleck.

It is true that many voters who desire the reinstatement of the saloons voted against Mr. Halleck, not because it was Halleck but because he was pledged to stand on the republican platform and vote for a bill that would let the people of the county decide whether there should be saloons in the county. There was money used and freely used in the saloon towns to influence the frequenters of saloons to vote against Mr. Halleck, and they were told at Lake Village and at other places that if Halleck was elected they could not get a glass of beer In any of the four counties. Life long republicans, men who had never voted the democratic- ticket, voted for Mr. Law, not because they had any objection to Mr. Halleck, but because they favor the reinstatement of saloons and wanted to vote for the party that was pledged in its platform to a proposition that the brewers believe will reinstate them. The Republican has always contended that this was a question that would be settled outside of party lines and has conceded the democratic candidates the votes of the liberal republicans, and has said that the hope of the republican ticket laid in getting the sincere temperance democrats to vote the republican ticket. The liberal republicans, many of them, did vote for Law, but the temperance democrats did not counteract this by voting for Mr. Halleck, in sufficient numbers to make up his losses among the liberal republicans. Any other republican .in the district, who had pledged himEelf to vote for county local option, would have lost the same votes that Mr. Halleck lost in the districts sympathetic to saloons. And the votes that went from Halleck to Law on this account were enough to amount to several times the number by which be was defeated.

And uow we come to the last proposition, the fact that Mr. Halleck lost some rotes because persons were opposed to him. It is a fact that every kind of argument was used against Mr. Halleck to aggravate this feeling. Many malicious stories were started against him, and* many persons were influenced to vote against him by these stories. At Morocco It was told that Mr. Halleck bad been

at Roselawn under the influence of liquor four times within the last month. As a matter of fact Mr. Hal,leck is a teetotaler, using liquor in no form, being a total abstainer in the use of both intoxicating liquor and tobacco. Farmers in Newton township were told that Mr. Halleck was engaged in a scheme to dredge the Kankakee river and that if it succeeded they would be taxed 60 cents an acre to help pay for it. Whereever Mr. Halleck’s connection with the Kankakee drainage plan could be worked to his disadvantage it was done, and yet the persons who used it knew that his Connection with that ditch was wholly in the capacity of an attorney. And they knew also that his connection with the drainage oftte lower Iroquois was wholly as an attorney and that in the latter he represented the remonstrators and in the former the petitioners. • There have been mean things said about Mr. Halleck, plenty of them, but the man who can prove any wrong against him does not exist. And new let us see about Mr. Halleck’s vote where he is best known. During most of his life he resided at DeMotte, in Keener township, and of the 104 votes cast in that township, he received 84, or more than four-fifths. Does this look like he was turned down where he was best known? Those who know Abe Halleck best like him the best, and those who know his true character recognize the real worth of a real man. And here we wish to relate one or two little acts of this man that show his manliness. Last spring Everett Merrill was arrested in this county .':nd taken to Chicago, charged with complicity in the kidnapping of the little Wolfe girl. Mr. Halleck became convinced of Merrill’s innocence and without any pay other than his expenses he appeared in Merrill’s behalf and succeeded with great difficulty in getting him free. He did this solely because he believed Merrill guiltless and did not want to see him sentenced to the penitentiary or possibly to the gallows. Another case that he has taken without prospect of pay and one in which Rensselaer people have a deep interest, is that of defending Mrs. Florence Peacock agains the effort instituted by her husband to procure a divorce. In this too he was successful, and he is still Mrs. Peacock’B attorney.

And there is another charge, a flimsy one, but one that has been frequently used, and that is the argument that Mr. Halleck has a political machine that must be consulted in case any one wants office, and that has dictated who should hold office. There is nothing further from the truth. The present incumbents of office in this county will say that they were hampered by no machine when they sought office, and defeated candidates for nominations will say the same thing. The officers of this county are selected with an equal division from the various townships and there is not now and never has been in the republican party in this county any factionalism. The present county officers, and the Jasper County Democrat has said so itself within the past egiht months, has the very best officials the county has ever had. Ring rule means graft and corruption and there were never a cleaner set of men in any court house than the ones now holding office here. '

Abraham Halleck is a studious, thoughtful, clean and conscientious man, and the falsehocds that have be n told about him by the Jasper County Democrat should cause no republican voter to withdraw his support. If he is sent to the legislature, as he no* doubt will be in November, the district will have no apologies to make for him.