

INDIANA. 



337 



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In March the Supreme Court decided that the law 

 providing penalties for the wasting of natural gas 

 is constitutional and may be enforced. 



The Versailles Lynching. Two grand juries 

 in Ripley County examined witnesses in regard to 

 the lynching of five men at Versailles, Sept. 15, 

 1897 (see " Annual Cyclopaedia " for 1897, page 411), 

 but found no indictments. The Attorney-General 

 then took up the matter, but witnesses would not 

 tell what they knew. Local public sentiment was 

 on the side of the lynchers. One of the accused, 

 Hezekiah Hughes, was among those examined be- 

 fore Justice Craig of Cross Plains. The man was 

 not bound over, and a Methodist minister of the 

 county delivered a sermon in Versailles on "How 

 God delivered Hezekiah Hughes," in which he said : 

 " God showed 'Squire Craig, in answer to prayer, that 

 Hezekiah Hughes was innocent. He showed 'Squire 

 Craig he held the destiny of a human being in his 

 hands. God answered : ' 'Squire Craig, if you bind 

 him over to court, you bind me over to court. Put 

 him in the Ripley County jail, you put me in the 

 Ripley County jail. What you do unto me or my 

 children, even so you do it unto me.' What did it 

 mean when 'Squire Craig said the evidence was not 

 sufficient to convict him? It meant glad hearts, a 

 happy home, a wife's embraces, children's kisses, 

 and the approbation of almost the population of 

 Ripley County. It meant joy unspeakable to all. 

 I felt like saying, ' All glory to God for the release 

 of Hezekiah Hughes.' " 



The Attorney-General made a report to the Gov- 

 ernor, in which he said that the only hypothesis 

 left to him by the evidence was that one of the 

 five prisoners named Levi broke jail without being 

 detected, broke into a store and got a certain revolv- 

 er that figured in the killing, broke back into jail 

 again without being seen, shot himself and then 

 killed two other men whom he hanged, then 

 hanged the two remaining men and himself, and, 

 further : " It is clear that, except as to Levi, no- 

 body was abroad that night. It is clear that every- 

 body, especially in Versailles, Osgood, Napoleon, 

 and Milan, condemns, in the strongest language, 

 the conduct of Levi in thus summarily putting an 

 end to the lives of his companions in crime, im- 

 prisonment, and death. Every one in the county, 

 especially the men (other than Levi) suspected of 

 the crime, the lawyers, the officials, and the justices, 

 condemns in unmeasured terms the unlawful taking 

 of life. I know of no crime that they regard as 

 worse than that, unless it be the crimes of which 

 these five men were suspected, and on account of 

 which they were incarcerated. It will doubtless be 

 a great relief to your mind, as it is to mine, to know 

 that the sentiment of Ripley County is a unit, out- 

 side of the five men who were hung, and I had no 

 opportunity to discoyer what their sentiments on 

 that subject were, against the commission of any 

 such crimes as the community outside of Ripley 

 County has heretofore, without any just cause, 

 charged upon the good citizens of the county. In 

 this feeling the Methodist minister in charge at 

 Versailles measurably coincides, but only within 

 limits." 



Another lynching was reported as having taken 

 place at Scottsburg, Dec. 24. The victim was in 

 jail awaiting trial for an attempt to kill his wife. 

 The sheriff was overpowered by a mob and forced 

 to give up the keys. 



Political. No Governor was elected this year, 

 but other State offices were filled at the election 

 Nov. 8, 



The Democratic State Convention was in session 

 .t Indianapolis. June 22. The resolutions declared 

 Allegiance to the National Democratic platform of 

 1890, and favored a vigorous prosecution of the 

 VOL. xxxvin. 22 A 



war and a permanent strengthening of the navy 

 and coast defenses. 



The following also was adopted: "We express 

 our undiminished confidence in William Jennings 

 Bryan, our peerless leader in the national campaign 

 of 1896, and we note with much gratification his 

 patriotic course in leading to the defense of his 

 country a regiment of citizen soldiers." 



The ticket follows: For Secretary of State, Samuel 

 M. Ralston : Auditor, John W. Minor ; Treasurer, 

 Hugh Dougherty; Attorney-General, John G. Mc- 

 Nutt ; Clerk of the Supreme Court, Henry Warrum ; 

 Superintendent of Instruction, W. B. Sinclair ; Stat- 

 istician, James S. Guthrie ; Geologist, Edward Bar- 

 rett; Judges of the Supreme Court, Leonard J. 

 Hackney, James McCabe, and Timothy E. Howard; 

 Judges of the Appellate Court, Edwin Taylor, C. J. 

 Kohlmeyer, Edgar A. Brown, W. S. Diven, and 

 Johanna Kopelke. Judge Hackney declined the 

 nomination. 



The State Republican Convention was held in 

 Indianapolis, Aug. 3 and 4. The platform declared 

 for the gold standard, approved the national ad- 

 ministration in its conduct of the war, approved 

 the revenue law, the issue of bonds, and the annex- 

 ation of Hawaii, and recommended early construc- 

 tion of the Nicaragua Canal, and restriction of 

 immigration. On State affairs it said : 



" We commend the administration of Gov. Mount 

 and the Republican State officials, under which, 

 with a reduction of 25 per centum in the State tax 

 rate within the last eighteen months, $920,000 of 

 the State debt has been discharged; an army of 

 over 7,000 men has been equipped and placed in 

 the field at an expense of over $200,000 ; the laws 

 have been enforced and the name of Indiana hon- 

 ored throughout the land. 



" Believing that there is need of reform in county 

 and township government, and that a vast saving 

 of the public money can be made by better meth- 

 ods, we favor early and thorough revision of the 

 laws upon this subject, to the end that the people, 

 of Indiana may have the best and most economical 

 management of local affairs. 



" We favor, as a supplement to our present elec- 

 tion law, the enactment by the next Legislature of 

 such a primary election law as will secure to the 

 people a full and free expression in the selection of 

 their candidates for office." 



Following are the nominations : For Secretary of 

 State, Union Banner Hunt ; Auditor of State, Wil- 

 liam II . Hart; Treasurer of State, Leopold Levy; 

 Attorney-General, William L. Taylor; Clerk of the 

 Supreme Court, Robert A. Brown ; Superintendent 

 of Public Instruction, F. L. Jones ; State Statisti- 

 cian, John B. Conner: State Geologist, Willis S. 

 Blatchley ; Judges of the Supreme Court, Second 

 District, Alexander Dowling ; Third District, J. V. 

 Hadley ; Fifth District, Francis E. Baker. 



The Populists, in convention Feb. 22, declared 

 against fusion by a close vote, and condemned 

 government by injunction ; favored free silver, 

 woman suffrage, prohibition, and abolition of the 

 issue of money to national banks. The candidates 

 were : For Secretary of State, Dr. H. H. Morrison ; 

 Auditor of State, W. H. H. Parks; Treasurer of 

 State, Frank M. Brown ; Clerk of the Supreme 

 Court, Robert W. Todd ; Superintendent of Public 

 Instruction, Edward Packard. 



The Prohibitionists also had a ticket in the field. 



The election gave all the State offices to Repub- 

 licans. For Secretary of State, Hunt, Republican, 

 had 286,641, and Ralston, Democrat. 269,125 votes. 

 The Legislature will have a Republican majority 

 which will elect a United States Senator. The 

 4 Democratic members of the Fifty-fifth Congress 

 were re-elected ; the other 9 are Republicans. 



