LaPorte County, Indiana - Chapter 33: Politics, 1904

LaPorte county was organized the same year that Andrew Jackson was a candidate for a sec¬ ond term of the presidency. The county was sparsely settled and there was but little political excitement. The attention of the settlers was centered on the more pressing necessity of ob¬ taining a livelihood and providing homes for themselves and their families. An election was held on April 9, 1832, under the special act for the incorporation of the county, but there was not much interest in party politics. In August, 1832, an election was held for the purpose of elect¬ ing a state senator, a representative in the state legislature, one sheriff, one coroner, one probate judge, one justice of the peace, and one school commissioner. Seventy-seven votes were cast in the county, and where party lines were drawn on any candidate it resulted in a slight majority for the Whig, Samuel Hannah receiving a few more votes than his Democratic competitor, Pleasant Harris. Elisha Egbert and George Crawford were the opposing candidates for representative to the state legislature. At the presidential election in November one hundred and fifteen votes were cast, of which fifty-nine were for the electors for Henry Clay and fiftysix for those for Andrew Jackson.

The next annual election was held on the 5th day of August, 1833. Edward A. Hannegan was the Democratic, and Albert S. White the Whig, candidate for Congress, and White re¬ ceived a small majority in the county. There were several candidates for representative to the state legislature, among them George Craw¬ ford, who led all the rest.

At the election on August 4, 1834, Noah Noble, Whig, received three hundred and twentyeight votes for the office of governor, and James G. Reed, Democratic, one hundred and fifty, which shows the relative strength of the two parties at that time. The largest vote cast for any candidate was that cast for governor, which could not have been controlled by local inter¬ ests as was the vote for county officers.

At the annual election in 1835 the Whig can¬ didates for county officers were elected, but the county went Democratic on candidates for Con¬ gress, state senator, and representative to the state legislature. For Congress E. A. Hanne¬ gan, Democratic, received six hundred and twelve votes; and James Gregory, Whig, one hundred and sixty-three ; for state senator D. H. Colerick, Democrat, received two hundred and ninety-three votes, and William G. Ewing, Whig, two hundred and seventy-seven; for rep¬ resentative to the state legislature, Charles W. Cathcart received four hundred and thirty-three votes, Samuel Miller two hundred and twelve, and J. A. Liston, one hundred and thirty-four. Why should the county which was naturally Whig go Democratic for state and national of¬ ficers? Because of local issues, the chief of which concerned the settlers' possession of their homes. Many of the settlers had settled on and improved government lands in 1834, but, not hav¬ ing secured any pre-emption right, their lands were about to be bought at the approaching sales by those who would bid higher than the govern¬ ment prices, thus securing the lands already set¬ tled upon and compelling the settlers either to vacate and give up their improvements, or else pay more than the sum at which the lands were held by the government. Not only so but there were many Indian "floats" which were in the nature of land warrants issued to half-bred In¬ dians and which, being negotiable, found theif way for the most part into the hands of specula¬ tors who were thus enabled to "oust" the set¬ tlers from their lands notwithstanding the im¬ provements they had made upon them. The set¬ tlers must be dispossessed or else pay an ex¬ orbitant price to the speculators who held the "floats." Take heed, ye who look back to for¬ mer days and say that they were better than these. We are apt to forget the bad of those days and remember only the good, and this argues well for human nature.

In this contention of the settlers against their oppressors, Charles W. Cathcart was the cham¬ pion of the settlers' rights, and he was a power ; it was his nature to be on the side of the wronged. It was he who went to Washington to advocate their case before President Jackson. Mr. Hannegan was already the representative to Con¬ gress, and his nomination in 1835 was for a sec¬ ond term. The Democratic nominees were strongly and avowedly on the side of the set¬ tlers in their contention for their homes. On the other hand the Whig candidates were the nomi¬ nees of the active business men, lawyers, poli¬ ticians, etc., into whose hands had fallen the Indian claims, and of the speculators who wished to bid against the settlers in the land sales, and of course these candidates were on the side of their constituents. It was this which, though the county was Whig, elected the state and national nominees. Political feeling ran high. By ridiculing the movement as a new and un¬ precedented thing, the Whigs sought to dissuade the settlers from holding meetings in different parts of the county to agitate the sub¬ ject. The Democrats also had an advantage in possessing as an organ, the only paper then pub¬ lished in the county - the recently established Michigan City Gazette. Though the presiden¬ tial election was not to occur until the following year, that paper displayed at the head of its columns the names of Martin Van Buren fcr president, and Richard M. Johnson for vice pres¬ ident, and ablv championed the settlers in their practice of holding meetings and contending for their rights.

But in the following year, 1836, at the annual election on the first day of August, the Whig candidates were generally successful. Gustavus A. Everts received four hundred and sixty-eight votes for state senator, and David Evans four hundred and sixty-seven. There were six candi¬ dates for sheriff, and Sutton Van Pelt received three hundred and twenty-four votes, and Dud¬ ley Avery three hundred and one, while the vote for the others was small. But in the presidential election in November, the Martin Van Buren electors received four hundred and ninety votes, and the Harrison electors four hundred and fiftytwo. Captain A. P. Andrew, Jr., was one of the electors on the Whig ticket. There was also an election this year for associate judge, at which Elisha Newhall received one hundred and sixtytwo votes, and Gustavus A. Rose two hundred and eight votes. Thus it appears that the coun¬ ty was Whig again ; Whig locally, but Demo¬ cratic nationally. The LaPorte Herald , the sec¬ ond paper published in the county, said editorial¬ ly that there was no need of a one-sided politi¬ cal paper in the county, and therefore it took an independent stand. It said also that probably many qualified voters would remain at home and not attend the polls.

In the August election of 1837 the Whigs were successful. David Wallace was elected governor by a large majority over John Du¬ mont, Albert S. White was elected to Congress by about as large a majority over Nathan Jackson, John H. Bradley was elected state senator by a small majority over Charles W. Cathcart, and for county officers all the Whig candidates but two were elected.

In the August election of 1838 the Whigs were successful with the exception that C. Mc¬ Clure, the Democratic candidate for state rep¬ resentative, was elected by a majority of four

In the August election of 1839 all the Whig candidates were successful. J. M. Stuart had taken charge of the Michigan City Gazette and had changed its politics from Democratic to Whig, and the LaPorte County Whig had been established in LaPorte. The Democrats, how¬ ever, were not without an organ, for the second Herald had been established in LaPorte. The campaign was one of intense vituperation and personal abuse. The campaign slogan of the Democrats was, that the Whigs were "the aris¬ tocratic party." Upon this the changes were continually rung. On almost every editorial page of the LaPorte Herald , then published by Joseph Lomax and edited by W. F. Storey, may be found the most offensive expressions. That paper made sport of the editor of the Whig for being pious, sanctimonious, hypocritical, and used the most biting sarcasm against the gen¬ tlemen of the opposing party. The Michigan City Gazette and the LaPorte County Whig were conducted with a little more dignity, but even in their columns there appeared such expres¬ sions as "whining brawlers," etc. Some think that the conduct of political campaigns has not improved ; but if such articles and expressions should be published as were used then, they would not be tolerated by the public. In 1839 the Whigs lost in the state.

As the campaign of 1840 drew near, politics were at fever heat. On December 28, 1839, at the call of the Whig central committee, a con¬ vention was held at the court house in LaPorte. John C. Reid was appointed president, J. M. Barclay and J. Bigelow vice presidents, and J. M. Stuart secretary. Mr. John B. Niles stated the object of the meeting, and a committee was appointed to formulate a preamble and resolu¬ tions. That committee consisted of J. H. Brad¬ ley, J. M. Stuart, O. A. Barker, Garland Rose, A. P. Andrew, Jr., D. Closser, and Charles W. Henry. The committee retired for a few moments and then returned and reported a long preamble and resolutions which were unanimous¬ ly adopted. The document had evidently been prepared beforehand, was in dignified terms, and showed much ability. It referred to the wide¬ spread depression of business, the prostration of trade, the derangement of finance, extravagant national expenditures, the destruction of the tariff, etc., by the administration of President Van Buren; it glorified General Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe, and highly commended the nomination of Harrison and Tyler, which had recently been made. In the next issue of the LaPorte Herald , Saturday, January 4, 1840, that paper editorially and repeatedly called the Whig convention one of aristocrats, referred to their boasted patriotism in courting the abolition fac¬ tion declared that the preamble and resolutions "hypocritically and ignorantly" attributed the depression of the times to the administration* blamed the Branch Bank at Michigan City as the cause of it, and called the leaders of the convention "black-hearted falsifiers," "ignorant brawlers," "long-faced hypocrites," and "foulmouthed slanderers."

The next issue of the LaPorte County Whig was taken up with the president's message: but in the issue of January 18, Captain A. P. Andrew, editor, replied to the Herald as follows: -

We would ask in all candor if it is looked upon as a necessary qualification that an editor of a party newspaper should indiscriminately abuse all who do not agree with him or his party in politics : and if so we will, sell out and start an anti-political society. We never will so far forget the respect due ourself, and the respect due from us to others, as to bandy epithets or attempt to arouse the baser passions of man's nature against his neighbor because they happen to differ in poli¬ tics. That we do differ, and with a large majority it is an honest difference, all must accede. That being the case, is it not mean, is it not contempt¬ ible, to trv to enlarge the breach by bandying epi¬ thets ? We say, therefore, to all who are seeking to recover their neighbor to the right faith, whether in religion or politics, it is poor policy to commence by calling them hard names, such as "black hearted falsifier," "ignorant brawler/'' "liar," "long-faced hypocrite," "foul mouthed slanderer," etc.

The campaign of 1840 was a hot one. It is familiarly known as the "log cabin and hard cider campaign." The township conventions of the Whig party were called by "vigilance com¬ mittees." The LaPorte County Whig secured a wood-cut of a log cabin, made by Dr. John S. Fosdick, who is referred to elsewhere and who was a very ingenious man. Every issue of the Whig throughout the campaign had that woodcut at the head of its columns. It was the pic¬ ture of a typical log cabin surmounted by a staff on which was what was designed to repre¬ sent the American flag ; the length of the cut was nearly the width of one of these columns, and the height of it, atmosphere and all, was two inches and a half.

The Whig candidates were, for president, Gen¬ eral William H. Harrison; vice-president, John Tyler ; Congress, Henry S. Lane ; senatorial elec¬ tors, Jonathan McCarty and Joseph G. Marshall ; district electors, first district, John W. Paine; second district, Richard W. Thompson; third district, Joseph L. White; fourth district, James H. Cravens ; fifth district, Caleb B. Smith ; sixth district, William Herod; seventh district, Henry S. Lane. The candidates for the August elec¬ tion were, for governor, Samuel Bigger, lieu¬ tenant governor, Samuel Hall ; senator ; Sylvanus Everts ; representative, Daniel Brown ; sheriff, William Allen ; county commissioner, Henly Clyburn ; school commissioner, Abel Lomax.

The Democratic candidates were, for presi¬ dent, Martin Van Buren ; vice president, Richard M. Johnson ; senatorial electors, William Hen¬ dricks and George W. Ewing ; for the seven dis¬ tricts respectively, Robert Dale Owen, George Boon, T. J. Henly, John L. Robinson, Andrew Kennedy, W. J. Peaslee, John M. Lemon. For the August election the candidates were, for governor, Tilghman A. Howard ; lieutenant gov¬ ernor, Benjamin S. Tuley; Congress, Edward A. Hannegan ; state senator, Charles W. Cathcart ; representative, Willard A. Place; sheriff, Wil¬ liam M. Patterson; school commissoner, Abram Fravel ; county commissoner, Dr. DeWitt Strong.

The two great parties were the Whig or Federalist party, and the Democratic or Demo¬ cratic Republican party. There were also a few avowed abolitionists. There were those in both the other parties, especially the Whig party, who secretly sympathized with them; but as yet the abolitionist movement was in its infancy. The name abolitionist was odious, it was a term of great reproach and few had the courage to take it upon themselves. In this county there were only a few who did so, not a sufficient number to induce either political party to court their favor. If they had been of sufficient strength, one party or the other would have made a bid for their votes; but instead of this each party fought shy of having anything to do with them. An aboli¬ tionist was a moral leper whom it was dangerous to touch. One week in March, 1840, the LaPorte Herald declared that the Whig newspaper had said not one thing condemnatory of abolition; and the Whig , not relishing the implication, re¬ plied, "Nor one commendatory of abolition/' The Democratic party was an open and avowed enemy, the Whig party refused to be a friend.

On Saturday, April nth, the Whig county convention was held at the court house, and after the nominations were made a committee of six was appointed to address an invitation to Gen¬ eral Harrison to meet the young men of Indiana on the 29th day of the following April on the old Tippecanoe battle ground.

On the following Monday the Democratic county convention was held, at which it was resolved that the Whig or Federal party of 1840 was identically the same with the Federal party of 1798, and parallels were drawn to prove it. The Whig party was unsparingly condemned, and its principles repudiated. Martin Van Buren was commended. The resolutions dealing with the issues before the people were numerous, and some of them were very long; they fully set forth the platform principles of the Democratic party, in opposition to those set forth by the Whig convention on the 28th of the preceding December. The Democratic resolutions were fol¬ lowed by counter resolutions passed by the Whig young men of Center township, in a convention held on the 16th of April.

On Tuesday, April 21, 1840, the first gun of the campaign in LaPorte county was fired in Michigan City at the charter election. The battle cry was "Harrison and Reform/' At an early hour, before the opening of the polls, the "Brig Constitution" passed through the streets, ap¬ propriately decorated with banners and mottoes and manned by a crew representing Whig tars under the command of Mr. James P. Pendill. From the foremast streamed the broad banner of W. H. Harrison. From the main mast floated a flag bearing the motto "Harrison and Tyler/'

At the stern of the brig was a flag bearing the words, "United we stand, divided we fall;" "Go the straight ticket." The stars and stripes waved over all. As the brig passed through the streets, the people cheered. A brass band was in the brig followed a long procession of Harrison a sailor crying, "Land ho." In the rear of the brig followed a long procession of Harrison voters. The brig led the procession to the polls/ where the voters marched in and deposited their votes and marched out again in their order. The entire Whig city ticket was elected by great majorities. John Francis, mayor; William H. Goodhue, recorder; Chauncey B. Blair, James Macadoo, George R. Selkirk, Daniel E. Gamsey, and Reynolds Cowden, aldermen; Fisher Ames, treasurer ; Horace Burr, Willis Peck, and Henry R. Carter, assessors; Joshua S. McDowell, col¬ lector and constable.

The Whig papers of the county now began to advertise the Whig convention to be held on the 29th of May on the old Tippecanoe battle ground. The LaPorte County Whig devoted a whole page to it. At the top of the page there was a large wood-cut, nine inches long and six inches high, of a side-wheel steamer plunging over the waters with flags flying, whose name was "Tippecanoe." The page was further illus¬ trated with the usual log cabin wood-cut, and an American flag with a Harrison and Tyler streamer, and the cut of a four-horse emigrant wagon as a hint for the people to come by that means to the rally. The whole page was spread over with large display type glorifying the com¬ ing meeting and urging the people to attend it.

Several LaPorte citizens did attend it as dele¬ gates. and in the LaPorte Herald of June 6, Mr. W. F. Storey editorially says that according to report the attendance was between twenty and fortv thousand, and then he says, "The conduct of the people was indecent, disgusting, black¬ guard-like, ruffian, and wholly unbecoming an* enlightened and civilized community." He says further that when the LaPorte and. other dele¬ gates were on the way tQ the battle ground, they asked men, women and children their politics; and if they found them to be Democrats "they brayed at them like jacks." The next issue of the Herald was reduced to a half sheet, as the editor says for want of money, and his enemies made much sport of his misfortune. In that issue Mr. Storey said that a victory over those enemies "was like a victory over a skunk - a de¬ feat to the victor." He refers again to "the vile wickedness of delegates to the Tippecanoe cele¬ bration," and even accuses the LaPorte delega¬ tion of braying and crowing at ladies while on the way to Tippecanoe, of seeking disorderly houses in Logansport, of using indecent lan¬ guage to a lady there, and while passing down the canal below Logansport of indecently black¬ guarding a lady who was sitting in her house.

. In the next issue of the LaPorte County Whig Mr. John H. Bradley, one of the dele¬ gates, published a dignified denial of these accu¬ sations. Other citizens also took up the cudgel against the Herald in articles and items some of which were sarcastic and severe.

The writer has no motive whatever in writ¬ ing thus save to state the facts as they occurred. Mr. Storey became a historic character of very wide interest; he became the editor and pro¬ prietor of the Chicago Times . But he laid the foundation of his career in LaPorte. The edi¬ torials which he published in the Herald, as Mr. T. H. Ball says in his "History of North¬ western Indiana," "indicated full well the spirit of the man whose utterances in the Chicago Times, in the opening years of the Civil war, needed to be suppressed by the strong arm of power at Washington." In thus referring to the LaPorte Herald we have not selected and grouped isolated and exceptional instances. The Whig was not free from severe and injudi¬ cious expressions, but they were the general tone of the Herald. The campaign of 1840 ended in a complete victory for the Whigs. It was a part of the wave which swept over the country. The fact was that the people were weary of business depression and many other objectionable things, and the time had come for a change of administration at Washington.

Political affairs went along without unusual interest until 1848. The county was generally Whig unless local interests changed the natural complexion of things. Sometimes the Whig majority was large, sometimes small ; and some¬ times the Democrats were successful, either in electing a certain candidate or by certain town¬ ships going Democratic. Meanwhile the troubles in Kansas were preparing for the formation of a new party. On Saturday, July 29, pursu¬ ant to call, the Free Soil citizens of LaPorte county met on the public square. The meeting was composed of quite a number of men from the other political parties. Samuel Treat was chosen president,, Jonathan Burr and Charles W. Pomeroy vice presidents, and Dwight Deming secretary. The convention was addressed by E. B. Crocker, of South Bend, John J. Deming, of Mishawaka, and Henry T. Niles, of La¬ Porte. Resolutions were passed declaring that Congress had the power to prohibit the exten¬ sion of slavery, that this question was para¬ mount to all others, that the nominees of the Whig and Democratic parties were opposed to Free Soil views, and delegates were chosen to attend the Free Soil convention to be held in Buffalo on the following Wednesday. The del¬ egates were Jonathan Burr, Willis Peck, Henry T. Niles, and Benjamin Butterworth. 'me con¬ vention was held at Buffalo, at the appointed time and was known as the "Barnburners' con¬ vention," which adopted a Free Soil platform and nominated Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams as their presidential candidates. The candidates of the Whig party were Zach¬ ary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. Those of the Democratic party were Lewis Cass and Benja¬ min F. Butler. Thus there were three parties in the field. There was great political excite¬ ment. Evidently a change, a redistribution of forces was going on. The August elections were bad for the Whigs. Many of them split their tickets and voted for the Democratic can¬ didates. In the next issue after the election the Michigan City Neivs said: -

LaPorte county, the banner Whig county in the state in 1840, has at last surrendered to the Democracy. It met its Waterloo on Monday last, suffering a defeat from which it will never re¬ cover. The fruits of this victory on our part are a representative, auditor, county commissioner, probate judge and prosecuting attorney, by ma¬ jorities ranging from one hundred to one hun¬ dred and six. The Whigs have the poor consola¬ tion of knowing that they have a Whig represen¬ tative, sheriff, and assessor elected bv Demo¬ cratic votes.

the defeat and made the best of it. At the national election in November the Whig electors received one thousand and thirty-three votes, the Democratic electors eight hundred and seventyfour, and the Free Soil electors two hundred and twenty-six.

The Whig electors won the day by a major¬ ity of only one hundred and fifty-nine, which should have been much greater but the Free Soil party naturally drew from the Whigs many more votes than from the Democrats. In the Free Soil party thus formed we see the first nucleus of those forces which eight years later were to crystalize into the Republican party. The great question whether the United States are a loose confederation like a bundle of sticks, or a unit like an animal endowed with a com¬ mon life, was about to be decided, and the occa¬ sion was to be slavery and secession.

In 1849 county went Whig by a small majority. In 1850 some of the candidates of each of the two parties were elected, and also delegates to the constitutional convention. In the election of 1851 the Whigs carried the coun¬ ty again by small majorities. Both district con¬ ventions had been held at Plymouth. The Democrats had nominated again Graham N. Fitch for Congress, and reaffirmed the princi¬ ples of the old Democracy pledging themselves to stand by the compromises, even to the de¬ livering up of fugitive slaves. The Whigs had nominated Schuyler Colfax for Congress, and declared against the extension of slavery into the free states, accepting the compromises of the preceding Congress and commending the administration of President Fillmore. This was the first nomination of Mr. Colfax for Con¬ gress. He was elected by the narrow majority of seven votes ; indeed the Whigs carried the county only by a small majority, averaging less than a hundred votes.

During the campaign of 1851 much interest was taken in politics. Messrs. Colfax and Fitch held a joint discussion at the court house in LaPorte on Saturday, July 19, in which each argued the principles and deeds of his party in an able manner, and the newspapers of each party made their champion get the better of the argument, and the other appear disconcerted.

was voted upon. LaPorte county gave one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine votes for its adoption, to one hundred and thirty-two votes against it. The section of this constitution which provided for the exclusion of negroes and mulattoes from the state, was submitted to a separate vote. LaPorte county gave one thousand three hundred and thirty-eight votes in favor of it, and only six hundred and thirty-five against it. And yet this vote against it was larger in proportion to the whole vote cast than in many other parts of the state, and shows that the principle of freedom and equal rights was taking root and would spread. Under the new constitution the general county election was to be held in October in¬ stead of in August as heretofore.

The year 1852 was an important one politi¬ cally. General Winfield Scott was the Whig candidate for president, Franklin Pierce the Democratic candidate, and John P. Hale the Free Soil candidate. The Democratic electors received a majority of one hundred and eleven votes. The Free Soil electors received one hundred and thirty-six votes. If these had been given to the Scott electors the Whigs * would still have had a majority in the county. But this was not to be. A Democratic tidal wave swept the country. This sounded the knell of the Whig party. It was broken up, and never again rallied. Mew departures were taken. Out of the disorganized material of the Whig party, and accessions from the anti-slavery senti¬ ment of the Democrats, the Free Soilers, and the Abolitionists, the Republican party was at length formed, and parties became divided squarely upon the issues which were occasioned by slavery. In the local election of 1852 the only candidates which the Whigs elected were Thomas S. Stanfield as circuit judge, Mulford K. Farrand as common pleas judge, William Allen as sheriff, Volney W. Bailey as county clerk, and Edmund S. Organ as county treasurer. The Democrats elected their candidates for gov¬ ernor, congress, state senator, representative, county commissioner, surveyor, and coroner.

In the October election of 1853 the only officers elected were a reporter of the supreme court, a county auditor, and two commissioners. The field was yielded to the Democrats without a struggle.

In 1854 there arose new questions growing out of the Know-Nothing excitement, and the agitation which attended the passage of the Nebraska bill, and repeal of the Missouri com¬ promise. There was formed in LaPorte county as elsewhere what was called the People's party. The convention met at the court house on Sat¬ urday, September 16. N. W. Closser was chair¬ man, B. Elliott and S. M. Wilson vice presi¬ dents, and R. Holmes secretary. Jacob R. Hall was unanimously nominated for representative, E. S. Organ for county treasurer and collector, William H. H. Whitehead for sheriff, D. Mc- Leming for county surveyor, O. F. Piper for county commissioner for the first district, and H. W. Fox for coroner. The convention cor¬ dially approved and endorsed the platform of principles adopted by the state convention held at Indianapolis on the 13th of July preceding, and supported its nominees for state offices, and the district convention's nomination of Schuyler Colfax for Congress. The meeting was ad¬ dressed by John B. Niles and W. J. Walker, and adjourned. In the October election the Peo¬ ple's, or Anti-Nebraska-Bill, party swept the board.

In 1855 there were only a recorder and three commissioners to elect, little interest was taken, but few votes were cast, and the majorities were Democratic.

In 1856 the case was different. The anti¬ slavery sentiment of the country had become consolidated. For years the agents of the anti¬ slavery society had been at work. The LaPorte Herald had openly advocated mobbing them and driving them out of the county. But in spite of this their cause had prospered, and now there was a strong anti-slaverv sentiment which took the form of opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories of the United States, and resulted in the organization of the Repub¬ lican party. On May 1, 1856, a mass conven¬ tion met at Indianapolis and organized the party in Indiana. The convention nominated O. P. Morton for governor, Conrad Baker for lieu¬ tenant governor, a full state ticket, and ap¬ pointed delegates to the Philadelphia national convention, which met in Philadelphia on the 7th of June following and nominated candidates for president and vice president. Prior to these dates there was no organized Republican party either in state or nation. There had been in In¬ diana a fusion party which was sometimes but not otten successful, but the Republican party had no existence before. The larger portion of the Whigs found themselves naturally in the new party, most of the Free Soilers united with it, and also the anti-slavery element of the Democratic party, which was considerable. The national convention nominated John C. Fre¬ mont for president, and William L. Daton for vice president. Buchanan and Breckenridge were the Democratic candidates for president, and Fillmore and Donaldson the Free Soil can¬ didates. The Republican candidate for Con¬ gress was Schuyler Colfax, and W. Z. Stewart the Democratic candidate. Morgan H. Weir was the Republican candidate for state sena¬ tor, and Herman Lawson the Democratic can¬ didate.

If space allowed, an interesting story might be made of the campaign in LaPorte county. When the county convention was held the court house would not begin to hold the people, and the meeting was adjourned to the public square. A. L. Osborne, T. S. Stanfield, D. Laird, J. B. Howe, J. E. White, and many others declined serving on the electoral ticket of the Free Soil party. Some of the strongest speakers of the country spoke here, among whom were O. P. Morton and Nathaniel P. Banks. On August 6 a meeting was held to organize a Fremont glee club. William P. Andrew was nominated and elected chairman. F. Roberts, J. B. Fravel and M. H. Weir were chosen a committee to select permanent officers, and the outcome was, William P. Andrew, president; M. Allen and T. Higday, vice presidents ; Richard Holmes, secretary ; F. Roberts, treasurer ; D. G. Rose, A. H. Robinson, C. Frederickson, I. Moore, and William H. H. Whitehead, executive commit¬ tee. William P. Andrew addressed the meeting, and the club sang some of their soul-stirring airs. This was the campaign glee club that sang for Fremont in 1856.

The Republicans were victorious. The vote was the largest that had ever been cast in the county, the total being four thousand five hundred and sixty-three. The Republican can¬ didates were all elected by majorities ranging from fifty to one hundred and forty-nine. After the county election the campaign for national of¬ ficers was continued, and in November the county cast a still larger vote than in October, the whole number of votes being four thousand eight hundred and (Seventeen. Daniel D. Pratt was the Republican elector, and Orpheus Everts the Democratic elector. Pratt's majority was two hundred and ninety-four. Only forty-five votes were cast for the Free Soil electors, show¬ ing the decadence of that party, which did not again put a ticket in* the field. Fremont was not elected, but he would have been if all coun¬ ties had been like this one.

The election of 1857 was without special incident; it was for county officers and judge of the circuit court. But in 1858 the political pot began to boil again. The people were in¬ terested in "Kansas," "Border Ruffianism," "The Lecompton Constitution," "The Freedom of the Territories," "The non-Extension of Slavery," and "The Dred Scott Decision." All these entered into the campaign. All the state officers except governor were to be elected, and the Republicans gained the day by heavy major¬ ities in every instance. The off year of 1859 brought out a light vote, only three local offices were to be filled, of which the Republicans cap¬ tured two and the Democrats one.

In i860 the country was becoming deeply stirred over the issues between the north and the south. The storm had been gathering ever since the repeal of the Missouri compromise. The troubles in Kansas had intensified the feel¬ ings of the northern people, and John Brown's attempt upon Harper's Ferry had aroused and heated the people of the south. The north had determined that slavery should not be extended into the territories, and the south, seeking an enlargement of political power, had determined that it should not be restricted. Thus the north and the south were becoming more and more hostile to each other, and all things were point¬ ing to war. In this state of the pubic mind the Republican party met in national convention in Chicago, and nominated Abraham Lincoln for president, and Hannibal Hamlin for vice presi¬ dent. The Democratic party met at Charleston, Sbuth Carolina, and the extreme element of the south broke up the convention. The party afterwards met in Baltimore, and there the same element divided the convention, and the result was the nomination of two Democratic tickets. Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson were the presidential candidates of the Union Democrats, and John C. Breckenridge and Joseph Lane were the presidential candidates of the secession Democrats. Besides these there was- at that time a Union party which had put John Bell and Edward Everett in the field. Thus there were four presidential tickets.*

In the October election the Republicans elected every candidate; their average majority on the state ticket was nine hundred and eightyfive, on the county ticket from seven hundred to one thousand. Colfax's majority for Con¬ gress was one thousand and five. Egbert's majority for judge was four hundred and sev¬ enty. Teegarden's majority for the state senate was one thousand and three. But the great event, the presidential election in November, was still to occur. And when it did occur the Re¬ publican majority over all was one thousand and seventy-one, over the Douglas-Democratic elec¬ tors it was one thousand five hundred and sixtysix, over the Breckenridge-Democratic electors it was two thousand four hundred and ninety-two, while the Bell-Union electors received only twen¬ ty-five votes. On the night of the election a great crowd assembled at Huntsman's hall to receive the dispatches, and as telegram after telegram came, showing how the election had gone, there was enthusiastic and wild rejoicing.

The election of 1861 was not very important; the attention of the people was fixed on the war. The election of 1862 was more important. The Union arms had met with reverses, a gloomy feeling pervaded the minds of the people, and when the election came party lines were again closely drawn. County and state officers, except governor and lieutenant governor, were to be elected, and also a representa¬ tive to Congress. Schuyler Colfax and David Turpie were the candidates, both fine speakers. Turpie especially was a man of great edu- % cation and culture. They both canvassed the district thoroughly. Charles W. Cathcart identified himself with the Republi¬ can party because of its staunch and pronounced Union principles ; he made campaign speeches, and, as he was a power on the stump and had great influence in the county, it was largely through his efforts that Mr. Colfax received his majority of three hundred and fifty-eight in the county.

In 1863 the people of the county gave more thought to the war and its prosecution than to any other subject. The political questions were such as grew out of the great rebellion and the method the government was pursuing to crush it out and restore peace and unity. In the election the Republicans secured all the offices - circuit judge, sheriff, recorder, appraiser, and county commissioner.

The campaign of 1864 was one of much earn¬ estness and depth of feeling. Lincoln and Johnson were the presidential candidates of the Republican party. Oliver P. Morton, elected by the Republicans lieutenant governor in i860, had become governor by the election of Henry S. Lane to the senate, and was now the Repub¬ lican candidate for re-election. McClellan and Pembleton were the Democratic presidential candidates, Joseph E. McDonald the Demo¬ cratic candidate for governor, while Colfax and Turpie were again the congressional candidates of their respective parties. The Republicans were overwhelmingly -successful in both the October and November elections.

The off year of 1865 was unimportant but Republican. The election of 1866 had for its issues the questions growing out of the recon¬ struction of the south; party feeling ran high. State officers, except governor and judges, were to be elected, a member of Congress, and county officers. Colfax and Turpie were again pitted against each other. The Republicans were wholly victorious. The Republicans gained the day also in the unimportant election of 1867. The year 1868 brought with it another presiden¬ tial campaign. Grant and Colfax were the Re-, publican candidates for the presidency, Seymour and Blair were the Democratic candidates. Jas¬ per Packard took the place of Mr. Colfax on the Republican ticket as the nominee for Con¬ gress. Opposed to him was M. K. Farrand. Morton was the Republican candidate for gov¬ ernor, Hendricks the Democratic candidate. The Republicans elected all the national, state and county officers by small majorities in every case.

except that the Democrats elected Simon Wile state representative by twenty majority, and Truman T. Harris county treasurer by five majority. The next general election was in 1870, when a full state and county ticket, except governor and lieutenant governor, was elected and every Republican candidate received a large majority.

And now we behold a most remarkable thing. LaPorte county which from the beginning had been generally Whig and then Republican, sud¬ denly became Democratic and has remained gen¬ erally Democratic ever since, though surrounded by Republican counties. In 1872 candidates for all the state offices - except judges of the su¬ preme court - for judge of the common pleas court, for prosecutor of both courts, for state senator, for two congressmen-at-large, for rep¬ resentative in Congress of the eleventh district, for state representative, joint representative, and for all the county officers, were to be voted for. It was also the year of the presidential election. All the Democratic candidates were elected, and that too with generally large majorities. The presidential election was the only exception, which was won by the Republicans ; but even that was with a decreased majority - one hun¬ dred and twenty. It was a great and suduen reverse.

In the election of 1876 the Democrats of the county won by large majorities on the county, state and national tickets. The Democrats of the county again secured every office in the state and county election of 1878, with the exception that the Republicans elected William H. Calkins representative to Congress, and J. H. Smart state superintendent of public instruction. And now, with great jumps, as with the fabled sevenleagued boots, we may get the general run of political events in the county from that day to this.

In 1880 the Democrats swept the board as to the national, state and county offices ; in 1882 they did the same as to state and county. In 1884 the county went Democratic for president, congressman, prosecutor, clerk, sheriff, treasurer, coroner, surveyor, state senator, representative, and commissioners of first, second and third dis¬ tricts. In 1886 the Democrats elected the sheriff, treasurer, and surveyor, but the Re¬ publicans gave Governor Noble two hundred and fifty-seven majority. In 1888 LaPorte county Democracy won on the national, state and county tickets. In 1890 the Republicans secured the first and fourth districts of the county council, sheriff, representative joint representative, joint senator, governor and president. The Democrats got all the rest.

In 1892 the outcome was mixed. The Dem¬ ocrats of the county elected Cleveland for presi¬ dent, with one thousand one hundred and fiftyfive majority; Matthews for governor, with one thousand and sixty-seven majority; Mortimer Nye lieutenant governor, with one thousand and seventy-four majority; C. G. Conn to Con¬ gress, with one thousand and ninety-four major¬ ity ; M. O. Cunningham prosecuting attorney, with nine hundred and seventy-eight majority; J. B. Collins joint representative, with one hun¬ dred and twenty-three; and H. W. Salwasser clerk, with four hundred and ninety-two.

The Republicans of the county elected J. W. Crumpacker to the state senate, with one hun¬ dred and twenty-one majority; John C. Richter state representative, with one hundred and seventy ; A. J. Henry sheriff, with seventy-three ; H. A. Schwager treasurer, with two hundred and twenty-five; George S. Dennison commissioner of second district, with two hundred and seven¬ teen ; Robert Ansley surveyor, with thirty-four ; E. Z. Cole coroner, with eighty-three ; and W. W. Fuller assessor, with eighty-seven.

As the Hon. Jonathan William Crumpacker here comes to view, we give a biographical sketch. He was born in New Durham township, LaPorte county, September 6, 1854. His father was the late Shepherd Crumpacker, and he was named after his grandfather, a Quaker preacher. He had always lived in this county except during the time of his service as judge in New Mexico, a period of four and a half years.

His education was commenced in the local country schools and continued in the Westville high school and Prairie Home Academy, in Henry county, Illinois, and he graduated in the civil engineering department of the University of Michigan. He subsequently entered the law department of the same institution but withdrew before completing the course and went into the office of Judge Talcott at Valparaiso. For a few years he taught a country school and served as a civil engineer on the Canada Southern and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, then, April 1, 1875, he opened a law office at Westville and was ad¬ mitted to the bar September 6 following, that being the day he attained his majority.

From the beginning Judge Crumpacker showed remarkable ability in his chosen profes¬ sion and in 1877 he was invited to a partnership with S. E. Williams, this relationship lasting through fourteen years. Since 1891 he has had no partner until recently, when his son became associated with him.

September 17, 1881, Mr. Crumpacker was married to Miss Maggie Regan, who died in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in May, 1898. Two children were bom to this union, Katherine and Thomas, both of whom survive their parents. After remaining a widower more than a year he married Miss Margaret Murray, of Woodstock, Canada, who is left to mourn his loss.

Throughout his adult life Mr. Crumpacker was affiliated actively with the Republican party and enjoyed the confidence of the local, and later of the state, leaders of that party. At the outset of his professional career he declined a nomination for prosecuting attorney, but in 1882 he was persuaded to become a candidate for mayor, being defeated by a greatly reduced ma¬ jority. In 1888 he was a delegate to the national convention of his party at Chicago. In 1892 he was nominated for state senator and elected, running 1,300 votes ahead of his ticket, and he was the first Republican senator elected in the county in twenty-eight years. In the general assembly at the sessions of 1893 and 1895 was recognized as one of the leaders on his side of the chamber and the record he made was a good one. Indeed he possessed ability which if he had held other things subservient to it might have enabled him to attain to almost any honorable and responsible office in the gift of his country. The Republicans of the county had confidence in and submitted to his leadership.

In November, 1897, President McKinley honored Mr. Crumpacker with an appointment as associate justice of the territory of New Mex¬ ico. This position he held with honor until the early part of last year, when he returned to this city to resume the practice of law. Shortly after his return, however, his health began to fail and he did not establish himself in an office or engage in business to any large extent. As a lawyer he was employed in many prominent cases and as a judge he rendered numerous de¬ cisions of note, particularly those involving ques¬ tions growing out of the old Spanish land grants that have given rise to so much import¬ ant litigation.

Judge Crumpacker was a member of the several Masonic bodies in this city, also of the Elks, Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows. He was a genial, liberal, big-hearted man, always good natured and generous to a fault. He made many warm friends and never forgot an obliga¬ tion. In business he was faithful to the inter¬ ests placed in his charge and his integrity was never questioned. He died at noon, March 15, 1904, at his late residence in LaPorte after a brave struggle with a lingering illness, and re¬ ceived the honorable burial which was befitting his rank and station.

In November, 1894, the Republicans gained everything; national, state, and county. There was a general reaction against the administra¬ tion of President Cleveland, and even the char¬ ter elections in this and other counties were gained by the Republicans. In 1896 the Demo¬ crats carried everything again, except that the Republicans of the county gave a majority to President McKinley and Governor Mount. And here be it remembered that in this chapter we deal with the results in LaPorte county alone, not those in the state or nation. In 1898 the Dem¬ ocrats carried everything except F. H. Doran, auditor, and John C. Richter, judge of circuit court, who were elected by the Republicans. In 1902 the Republicans secured the county council of the fourth district, and the Democrats all the rest in state and county. Since 1880 the county and state elections have occurred in November, as the national election does.

Even the charter elections have followed largely the trend of the county. For instance, the charter election was held in LaPorte in August, 1852, and William J. Walker was elected the first mayor by the Whig party, which controlled the city till 1856, when the Democrats elected Benjamin Kress mayor. In 1857 the Democrats were again successful and elected

Frederick McCollum mayor, and Benjamin Kress city judge. Then the Republicans gradu¬ ally gained control, many Whigs and others coming to their support, and in 1859 they elected William H. H. Whitehead mayor, and got control of the city council. Daniel Noyes was next chosen mayor by the Democrats, since which time the city has been mostly, under Democratic control. Occasionally there has been a turning over, as in 1894, when the Democrats elected only the marshal, and even him by the narrow majority of fifty-eight. Occasionally the Repub¬ licans have decreased the Democratic majority, as in 1900 ; or gained a councilman, as in '92 and '94. Occasionally also the results have been mixed, as in 1875. But in general the city holds Democratic.

For city judge, Ferdinand Roberts; for mayor, Benjamin P. Walker; for marshal, Charles Cochran ; for treasurer, Derrick Brinkerhoff; for clerk, W. B. Biddle; for assessor, J. P. Boyd; for engineer, E. L. Bennett; for city attorney, A. L. Osborn; for councilmen, fourth ward, N. T. Place, Samuel Organ; for school trustees, G. Hathaway, A Clark.

There was a splendid ticket! The very best men in the community were drafted in those days to serve the public. Benjamin P. Walker, the candidate for mayor, was the son of one of the first settlers of LaPorte ; W. B. Biddle, after¬ wards able lawyer, major in the army, city at¬ torney, judge; A. L. Osborn, a leading attorney of the LaPorte county bar, member of state su¬ preme court, consulting counsel for the Michi¬ gan Central Railroad; N. T. Place, prominent railroad official and enterprising citizen; Gilbert Hathaway, shining light at the bar, lover of literature, brilliant speaker, gallant colonel in the army, who bravely gave up his life for his country.

In reviewing the political history of the coun¬ ty, which we have been able to give only in out¬ line, it presents a subject well worthy the study of the profoundest minds. The sudden, general , and persistent change in the politics of the coun¬ ty in the early seventies, must have some good cause. What is it? We do not feel competent

First, there was at that time much dissatis¬ faction with the administraion of President Grant, who, great man though he was - and his greatness is hardly appreciated - nevertheless had too much confidence in his political friends, and was too ready to take and act upon their advice, instead of seeking, as Lincoln did, to learn the sentiment of every section of the country, and then form his own conclusions. The consequence was that the Republicans had much soiled linen to wash.

Again, the Democratic press was a great power. The LaPorte Argus , especially, gave forth no uncertain sound. Its blows were the re¬ peated, unremitting, strong, sledge-hammer blows of a stalwart. It had brains, and it never compromised, never was afraid of speaking out for fear of losing favor. We may see here a lesson as to the utility of an astute, assertive, uncompromising, fearless party paper.

Whether the removal of the railroad shops at that time had any effect to change the political current of the county, is a question. But proba¬ bly the main cause is to be found in the temper¬ ance crusade. At that time an intensely enthu¬ siastic anti-saloon wave swept over the middle west. Ladies knelt and prayed on the sidewalks and on the pavement in front of the saloons, they crowded around the doors of the saloons and sang hymns, they invaded the saloons and im¬ portuned the proprietors to stop their business. The bartenders could not avoid nor overcome them, the police could not deal with them ; they were too many and too respectable. These things happened right here in the towns and cities of LaPorte county. Prominent citizens and Republicans took the matter up and espoused the cause of the ladies. Meetings were held in public halls, which were addressed by influen¬ tial citizens, and not always wisely. There was a strong effort to commit .the Republican party to the cause of the temperance crusade. Now La-' Porte county has and always has had a large German vote. Moreover, the Germans love their beer, they see no harm in it. To their beer gar¬ dens they take their, wives, daughters and sweet¬ hearts, and this is far preferable to the English and American clubs where the members do not take their wives, daughters and sweethearts.

The Germans are very sensitive concerning any- be seen from the politics of Milwaukee and other thing that threatens to deprive them of their places. Here we express no personal approval beer. They were sensitive over the temperance or condemnation, for these pages are not the crusade and the Republican party's espousal of place for such things; we only seek to state it. And this drove them to the Democratic party, the plain facts of history, although they are naturally Republicans, as may