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142 LAW AND LOCAL POLITICS
split in two. In Indiana a Democrat became governor and carried with him a Democratic legislature. In my own county Democrats elected the entire ticket. Since this was the nadir of our Republican fortunes, I want to record the Indiana vote: the Democrats polled 281,890 for Wilson; the Progressives 162,007 for T.R.; the Republicans 151,267 for Taft. It was a new and disheartening experience to find our party running a poor third in such a momentous race.
One of the most important results of the 191 2 election was that the Progressives of Indiana, fired up by their good showing, were encouraged to think they could win in 1914. There was no question about the determination and militancy of their party organization early in 1914, just before my election as state chairman. In at least ten enthusiastic district conventions held in January, Progressive sentiment against any fusion with the Republicans showed up clearly. The influence of leaders like Hiram Johnson of California and our own Albert J. Beveridge was strong. Loyalties were intense.
The Progressives in our state had the leadership of an able team: Beveridge, the orator; Lee, the organizer; and Toner, the strategistall knowing how to put on a good show and keep sentiment up to high pitch. And they developed some strong appeals to the voters, one of which was their use of women speakers like Mrs. Medill McCormick. Another was the passage of strong resolutions, in almost every district convention, favoring the enactment of initiative, referendum, and recall. Experience shows that such tactics attract attention more than they win votes.
In some instances the new party seemed to offer a method of circumventing local party machines; the appeal of strong personalities occasionally overleaped party machinery. A striking instance was the case of Benjamin Shively, who had been a Democratic senator from the Eleventh District. In 19 14 he announced his intention of seeking the Progressive nomination for representative from that district and was named their candidate in April. However, he ultimately ran on the Democratic ticket and was re-elected U.S. senator in November. I think this could justly be called an illustration of the unstable foundations and position of the Bull Moose party.
Their State Convention in Indianapolis in April 19 14, with Progressive opinion well shaped, was the high-water mark of their strength in Indiana. Teddy Roosevelt's picture looked out over a mass of faithful followers. When the convention was called to order in Tomlinson Hall on the nineteenth, Beveridge was unanimously nominated for senator amid much high-flown oratory, singing, and cheering. The platform endorsed a long list of progressive reforms. Cold judgment might have said that it was too far ahead of the times to win wide support. It seemed to reflect the Progressive idea of current evils or needed reforms in almost