USA > Indiana > History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916 > Part 118
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John Gilbert Shanklin was a brilliant orator and in every campaign his services were in de- mand from the lake to the Ohio river. He was
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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
elected secretary of state in the historic campaign of 1876, when "Blue Jeans" Williams was elected governor and when Thomas A. Hendricks was on the ticket for Vice-President with Tilden.
Mr. Shanklin aspired to be governor of Indiana and his opportunity seemed to present itself in 1892, but his vigorous insistence that Grover Cleveland be given the support of the Indiana De- mocracy for the presidential nomination arrayed the leaders of the organization against him and he was defeated in convention by Claude Mat- thews. However, his bold stand for Cleveland succeeded and Indiana instructed her delegates for him at a crisis in the campaign which his sup- porters were making for him and probably had more influence in nominating him than any other circumstance of that memorable fight.
President Cleveland offered Mr. Shanklin a high place in the diplomatic field, but because of ill health and a desire to enjoy the comforts of home he declined it. He was an ardent champion and friend of William Jennings Bryan-and the cause of the free coinage of silver in the great campaign of 1896.
These men are dead, but the example of their unselfish devotion to their city, their party and their friends will long endure.
Thomas B. Byrne, a friend and contemporary of the Shanklins, was another Democrat worthy of note. He was twice nominated in the early "eighties" for treasurer of state, but was de- feated with the ticket. He died in 1891.
The Vanderburg Democracy is proud of its dead and proud of those who still remain at the helm. Ten years ago John W. Boehne, a manu- facturer, who had come to Evansville from the country a poor boy, and who had made himself into a man of affairs, was called by his party to lead a fight for cleaner government and purer politics. On a platform of fearless challenge to vice and lawlessness and a promise of better things he was elected mayor of Evansville. He carried out his pledges and before he completed his term the Democracy of the district, seeing in him a hope for the recovery of the district from the Republicans, who had held it for 16 years, nominated him for Congress. He was elected in 1908 and again in 1910, but declined to go further in a career which held no attraction for him. He was appointed and now holds the office of director of the Federal Reserve Bank of the district of St. Louis.
Another of Vanderburg's favorite, though adopted, sons is John W. Spencer, now a judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana. Judge Spencer, who was born in Posey county, was elected prose- cutor of the First Judicial Circuit, then consisting of Vanderburg and Posey counties, in 1890, and
came to Evansville to administer that office in 1891. His fearless conduct of this office and the striking ability which he brought to it at once impressed the people of southern Indiana. His uncompromising attitude toward the lawbreaker regardless of his strength and influence, struck terror to a class that had long held sway in the county and made young Spencer a leader from the start.
Judge Spencer upon retiring from the prose- cutor's office engaged with his erstwhile deputy, John R. Brill, in the practice of law. This was a virile, fighting pair and they were rarely "beaten" in the court room or elsewhere during the 16 years of their partnership.
Governor Marshall appointed Spencer to fill a vacancy on the circuit bench of Vanderburg, where his practicality and his contempt for beaten paths at once aroused the admiration of the bar and the public.
While thus serving the Democratic state con- vention nominated him for judge of the Supreme Court, to which post he was elected in 1912, but before the election a vacancy occurred on the su- preme bench and Governor Marshall appointed Spencer to the place. Judge Spencer therefore enjoys the unique distinction of having been twice appointed to a judgeship by Governor Marshall. Judge Spencer, unlike the generality of men who reach the bench, has never lost interest in the wel- fare of his party, thus proving that the dignity of the bench may be maintained by one who re- fuses to give up his party interest for the toga.
Other jurists who were Democrats were Judge William F. Parrett, who served for 30 years on the circuit bench and closed his career by serving two terms in Congress, from 1888 to 1892; Judge Robert D. Richardson, deceased, was appointed by Governor Gray to a vacancy on the circuit bench in 1888 and was afterward elected and served with marked ability.
Hon. Azro Dyer was thrice elected judge of the superior court, in 1878, 1882 and 1886, and served with distinction. Judge Dyer maintains an office downtown, where he gives attention to his personal affairs, and while he is not active at the bar, maintains a lively interest in the profession. He has traveled the world over, is widely read and splendidly typifies the retired jurist. He is cultured, a fine raconteur and would distinguish himself in any company.
The present occupants of the bench are: F. M. Hostetter, judge of the superior court, and Dun- can C. Givens, judge of the circuit court, both of whom are able jurists. The other Democratic in- cumbents in the county are: Charles P. Beard, auditor; Newton W. Thrall, treasurer; William E. Wilson, clerk; William Habbe, sheriff; Fred T.
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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
Stritter, recorder; Paul DeKress, assessor ; Charles Erskine, senator, and Eugene Eisterholdt and Louis Waltz, representatives. The county commissioners are: John Wimberg, Henry Hel- frich and Fred W. Buente.
Lane B. Osborn is the prosecuting attorney, having been twice elected to that office. No man in Vanderburg county holds in a higher degree the confidence and respect of the people than Al- bert J. Venemann, present county attorney. He has always given active and loyal support to the Democratic ticket and while making no demand for office, has been called to some important places. He was city attorney in the administration of John W. Boehne and was chosen speaker of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana during the session of 1911. Mr. Venemann, anticipating a constitutional convention in Indiana, has made an exhaustive investigation of the subject of con- stitutional law. Had the convention been held Mr. Venemann would certainly have gone as a del- egate from Vanderburg county by practically a unanimous vote .-
The success of Democracy during the past few years is in a large measure due to the leadership of Benjamin Bosse, the present mayor of Evans- ville and chairman of the First Congressional Dis- trict. Mr. Bosse is a fine example of the self-made man. Coming to Evansville from an outlying township twenty years ago, without money or in- fluence, he has steadily risen until he is recog- nized to be the leading spirit and most potent fac- tor in the commercial life of Evansville. His dynamic energy is ceaseless. Every public enter-
prise demands his leadership, and no man in Evansville has given so generously of his time and his money for the public welfare.
While mayor Mr. Bosse has made many splen- did public improvements. To his energy we owe the beautiful Coliseum, the Stadium, a modern market house, Garvin Park and the nucleus for a park and boulevard system.
Our congressman is George K. Denton, who was elected to his first term in 1916. Mr. Denton is a native of Kentucky and came to Evansville twenty-five years ago. He is a lawyer of ability, a student of political economy of the progressive school and a man who believes in the people. Mr. Denton has given loyal support in Congress to the policies of Woodrow Wilson.
The Democracy of this section believe the Evansville Courier to be the leading Democratic newspaper of Indiana. In 1897 three young men, Henry C. Murphy, Percy P. Carroll and Howard Roosa, came to Evansville and bought the Courier at sheriff's sale. They put brains, energy and money into it and have today as fine a newspaper property as can be found in any city of 100,000 in the country.
Mr. Murphy is president, Mr. Carroll business manager and Howard Roosa the editor of the Courier. It is the only morning paper published in Evansville and circulates widely in Indiana, Il- linois and Kentucky, where it exerts a powerful influence upon the political, social and commercial life of the people. The Courier under the present management has been clean and wholesome and the people believe in it.
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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF VERMILION COUNTY
V ERMILION COUNTY is situated in the middle western part of the State, being a very narrow strip of territory between the state line of Illinois on the west and the Wabash river along the east side. It is in congressional townships fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen north and principally in range nine west, being about forty miles long north and south and averaging about six miles wide east and west. The county was formerly a part of Vigo county, but in 1821 Vigo was divided and Parke county was organized therefrom, and what is now Vermilion became a part of Parke county. Parke county was divided by an act of the Legislature January 2, 1824, when Vermilion county was formed and commissioners were appointed by the Legislature to locate a county seat. They chose what is now the town of Newport, where the same has remained ever since.
Being geographically located and shaped as it is, the people have very greatly diversified inter- ests and gathering places and hence there has never been as close a bond between the different localities as there should have been for close or- ganization.
Being such a long, narrow county, the north part of the same is situated close to the large city of Danville, Illinois, and the south part close to the city of Terre Haute. The very south part of the county has the city of Clinton, which is a city of 10,000 inhabitants. The county seat, which is situated about the center of the county, has only 700. Hence there is not that commingling of the population into one common center which would induce a close acquaintance of the general populace and make co-operation and organization easy.
So, writing the history of the Democratic party before the last twenty-five years or so is a great deal like the old farmer said upon seeing a giraffe for the first time. To him it was a very curious sight, and after looking at the creature for some time he walked away and said, "Gosh, there ain't no sich durned animal."
Up to the present decade the county was con- sidered a perfectly safe Republican county; con- sequently the organization of the Democratic party was loose and disconnected, by reason of the fact that the population was small and the Demo- cratic vote was light and by the further reason that we have been connected in a district with Vigo county, which has a large city. Vermilion county has never been able to cut much figure in district or state politics; but, thanks to the untir-
ing efforts of the unterrified few who have worked night and day to overcome the long-standing con- ditions, the county court house was practically filled with Democrats at the election of 1912.
Owing to the fact that the Democrats did not have a look-in and the consequent loose organiza- tion of the party in the county, and because of which facts no Democratic newspapers were able to stem the tide, very little can be found out about the party affairs in the early history of the county. We find that even up to the eighties the Democrats had very little organization; generally a handful of the faithful would meet on campaign years at some law office in Newport and select a county committee and probably chairman and also "select" a county ticket. We find from the files of an old newspaper that the Democrats of the county met at the law office of James C. Sawyer in Newport in 1876 and selected a committee and county ticket. This is the first appearance of Mr. Sawyer in county politics. He was at that time a struggling young lawyer, afterward was elected trustee of Vermilion township, and of late years, until his death in 1910, was associated with the Hon. John E. Lamb in the practice of the law in Terre Haute. Even in 1882 and 1884 we find that the county conventions were held in law offices and selected committees to draft a county ticket.
While all the above is true and nomination upon the Republican county ticket was considered equivalent to an election, yet there have been a very few Democrats elected to county office, owing to the unusual popularity of some candidate or unpopularity of the Republican candidate, or to a split in the Republican ranks, mostly about the time of the Greenback movement. This move- ment, by the way, worked to the great perma- nent advantage of the Democratic party in the county, as many who went from the Republican party into the Greenback afterward voted the Democratic ticket. By reason of the movement William Gibson, Democrat, was elected circuit clerk in 1870 by a majority of 42, and W. F. Bales was elected the same year as commissioner by 96. Mr. Gibson, being a very popular man and official, was re-elected clerk in 1874.
H. O. Peters, of Eugene township, who was a dyed-in-the-wool type of Democrat of the old school, a great "mixer," popular and a good cam- paigner, was elected county treasurer in 1880 by the small plurality of 20, and was re-elected in 1882. Mr. Peters was a most genial business man and banker of Cayuga and was afterward elected township trustee of Eugene township.
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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
In 1890, John B. Groves, of Newport, was elect- ed county recorder by the remarkably small plu- rality of two votes and the same year Michael Maher, of Clinton, was elected sheriff. Mr. Groves made a popular and accommodating official and was elected trustee of Vermilion township. So far as the writer has been able to determine the above is the entire extent of the Democratic suc- cess in the county up to 1910. Notwithstanding the fact that it was safely Republican, the county, through being at different times placed with Dem- ocratic counties in representative districts, has had a few representatives to the Legislature.
Hon. Claude Matthews, later Governor of In- diana, was elected in 1876, and served one term; Hon. E. A. Lacey, of Highland township, was elect- ed in 1888; John Redman, of Dana, was elected in 1892; Hon. G. D. Sunkel, of Dana, was elected in 1908, and served two terms, being re-elected in 1910; Hon. Mark W. Lyday, of Clinton, was elect- ed in 1912, and re-elected in the fall of 1914. And for the same reason we have been able to elect one joint senator. Dr. J. F. Adams of Clinton was elected to the senate in 1912, and is the present holder of the office.
The first Democratic prosecuting attorney of this judicial circuit, composed of this and Parke county, was W. A. Satterlee, of Clinton, who was elected in 1910. He was defeated by George D. Sunkel for the re-nomination in 1912. Mr. Sun- kel was elected in the fall election, served one term, and was defeated in the election of 1914.
Owing to the fact that the county was so solid- ly Republican and consequently there being no Democratic patronage, there has been a dearth of Democratic newspapers in the county. The Perrysville Banner started out as the Democratic organ in 1838, printed on an old press said to have been brought to Vincennes in 1804 and then brought to Perrysville, but under the existing con- ditions could not live and died in a very short time. In 1872 Harrison Jump, brother of Joshua Jump, who was at one time judge of the Vermilion circuit court and now of Terre Haute and Trustee of the Indiana State Normal school, started a Democratic newspaper in the county seat which went under the name of the Vermilion Transcript; lived only one short year, in which the publisher lost considerable money in the venture. In the early nineties D. B. Gibbons began the publication of the Cayuga Tribune, but the paper was of short duration and soon ceased publication. About 1901 Bob Osborne, known as "Fighting Bob" and "Old Blue Pencil," began the publication of a Demo- cratic sheet under the name of the Blue Pencil, published at Cayuga in pamphlet form. He was of the radical say-as-he-pleased sort and after a short publication moved the plant to Perrysville,
where his attitude and sayings got him into sev- eral difficulties, causing fights, drawn revolvers and, later, some one shot through his window at him. He soon left Perrysville, going to Clinton, where he continued the publication for a short time, and then went "West". At present, there are four Democratic papers in the county. The Saturday Argus, printed and published at Clin- ton, was established by the present editor, L. O. Bishop, who has published the same since about 1881. The Vermilion Democrat, edited and pub- lished at Clinton by Mont Casey, was established in 1914. The Dana News, printed and published Dana by J. H. Jordan, was established October 1, 1885, by M. L. Griffith, by him sold to J. L. Smith, and by him sold to Miss Beatrice Taylor, by her sold to G. W. Sturm, and from him trans- ferred to the present owner, who has successfully operated the same for several years. The Cayuga Herald was established in 1889 and was published by numerous persons for several years as an independent paper until the acquisition by the present editor, A. Carter Hutchinson, who purchased the same and came out on the side of Democracy, and has continued to operate the same successfully as a Democratic paper ever since. .
As said before, the early organization was loose, but we find that in the seventies one John Stakley was at times the county chairman. In the latter part of the seventies and eighties Joshua Jump, an attorney of Newport, headed the party and acted as county chairman, and upon the formation of the present circuit was appointed judge and served till the next election. From 1890 till 1896 Chas. W. Ward was county chair- man; John Redman from 1896 till 1900; M. J. Tucker 1900 to 1902; Dr. W. P. Darroch in 1902; J. D. Smith 1904 and 1906; H. M. Booe 1908; W. A. Satterlee 1910; F. W. Kaufman was elected county chairman in 1912 and Charles N. Fultz was elected in 1916.
The county is divided into five townships, all in a string north and south, being from north to south, respectively, Highland, Eugene, Vermilion, Helt and Clinton. While the county has been strongly Republican, there has been a majority of Democratic trustees elected in the county at times which gave us the county superintendent of schools. A. J. Johnson was elected to fill an un- expired term, 1882, and was re-elected in 1883, and again in 1885. John A. Wiltermood, of Clin- ton, was elected in 1891, and re-elected in 1893. Prof. John R. Stahl was elected in 1895, and served one term. John B. Butler was elected in 1907 for a four-year term, and was re-elected in 1911, although the Republicans had a majority of the trustees.
During the last decade the Republicans, having
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HISTORY INDIANA DEMOCRACY-1816-1916
everything their own way, carried everything in a high-handed manner, and the organization bosses ran things to suit themselves rather than the peo- ple, till they became dissatisfied and began to pull away; so in the campaign of 1908 the Democrats made great gains and in 1910 elected almost the entire county ticket: Steve McCown, sheriff; Frank R. Johnson, county recorder; A. J. Hux- ford, treasurer; J. A. Booe, surveyor; J. H. Cole, county assessor; Frank Shew and James Cossey, county commissioners, making the board of com- missioners Democratic for the first time in the history of the county. In 1912 A. J. Huxford was re-elected treasurer; J. A. Booe, surveyor, Steve MeCown, sheriff; Frank Shew, commissioner; Roy Slater was elected county auditor and Thomas Catlin was elected a new commissioner, thus mak- ing a complete Democratic board of commission- ers. Thus the year 1912 completely filled the court house with Democrats, with the exception of county clerk, who held over and was not elect- ed that year.
The city of Clinton was so strongly Republican that the Democrats did not always put out a ticket, but at the city convention of 1909 the Re- publican machine carried things in such a high- handed way to put over the machine candidate for mayor that the Democrats put out an excellent
ticket and elected H. M. Ferguson, a coal oper- ator of Clinton, mayor, by a large majority, giv- ing Clinton its first Democratic administration, which was liked so well that M. J. Tucker, an old- time Democrat, was elected mayor in 1913 and is the incumbent.
Vermilion county has many Democrats of whom she is proud, but standing out from the rest is one whose name is cherished and memory revered- the late Hon. Claude Matthews. Claude Matthews lived on a farm in the west part of Clinton town- ship a few miles west of the city of Clinton. He was always identified with the Democratic activi- ties of the county, being one of the few who stayed with the party under adverse circumstances, but lived to reap the harvest for his labors. As has been said, he was once elected to the Legis- lature from this county, was nominated by the Democratic state convention in 1890 for secre- tary of state, and in 1892 was elected governor of Indiana upon the Democratic ticket. Mr. Mat- thews died several years ago, leaving his wife to mourn him. Mrs. Martha A. R. Matthews, the widow, had the honor and distinction of having been the daughter and also the wife of an Indi- ana governor, having been the wife of Governor Matthews and the daughter of Governor Whit- comb.
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HISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF VIGO COUNTY
A LTHOUGH the first Democratic convention in the United States was held in 1832, it was not until about the close of the Civil War that there was much of note doing in politi- cal circles in Vigo county. During the war and immediately thereafter the Republicans had held sway in Terre Haute. In 1865, when Albert Lange, Republican, and Colonel Cookerly, Democrat, were candidates for the mayoralty of the city, there was but one Democratic ward, the Third. There were but five wards in the city at that time. Colonel Cookerly was unterrified by his defeat in this compaign and again became a candidate in 1867. Although two of Terre Haute's papers at that time-the Express and the Journal-opposed him, one of them announcing on the eve of elec- tion that D. A. Conover would be elected, Cook- erly comfortably won the office with a majority of 252. It was under Mayor Cookerly's adminis- tration that the cornerstone for the Normal In- stitute was laid.
At the Democratic convention of Vigo county in 1867 Chambers Y. Patterson was nominated for judge; G. B. Hanna for prosecutor; John B. Meyer, recorder; D. Hollingsworth and Benjamin Mewhinney, county commissioners. Patterson was elected by less than 300 votes.
It was in 1868 that Daniel W. Voorhees entered the political arena, coming out at that time for Congress. He was nominated at the Democratic convention, receiving the votes of all present ex- cept seven, who cast their ballots for Hon. B. W. . Hanna. George H. Pendleton was the choice of Vigo Democracy for President at that time.
Perhaps those of later days think there were dull sessions of political meetings back in the six- ties and early seventies. Not so. There were stirring times. Feeling ran high among the men who were Democrats because they just naturally couldn't be anything else and the men who were Republicans because they were born that way. During a campaign of this period, in 1868, the Democrats held a rally at Early's Grove. One of the speakers was their candidate for Vice-Presi- dent, Gen. Frank P. Blair. In his speech he de- nied that he had ever said he would "rather sleep with a nigger than a Democrat." Voorhees was elected to Congress that year.
The campaign of 1870 found Voorhees seeking renomination without opposition. The Democratic convention of this year adopted a resolution op- posing the taking back of the Wabash & Erie canal, at that time a very prominent political question. The election in 1870 was generally fa-
vorable to the Democrats in Vigo county, that party electing its entire ticket save one member. Samuel Royse beat William Paddock for auditor; W. H. Stewart won over Gordon Lee for sheriff; J. M. Sankey was elected over M. C. Rankin for treasurer; John B. Meyer over Theodore Marxen for recorder; Dr. Gerstmeyer over David L. Christy for coroner; S. C. Davis over I. N. Pierce for prosecutor. That year the Democrats carried the State by about 2,000. The year following, however, brought losses to this party.
An important question accompanied the year 1872, when the problem of whether or not Indiana should endorse Horace Greeley for the Presidency, came up. In Vigo county the voters were divided. Mr. Voorhees, then in Congress, telegraphed to his friends in Terre Haute the following:
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