25.
The Democrats were prepared. Hastily, all fifteen of them who
were present (two others were ill and absent) "bolted" their
legal confines and took refuge in the neighboring state of Ohio.
Most of the "bolters" made the trip in a bus rented ahead of
time. They wound up in Dayton, where they took up residence in a
hotel owned, curiously, by Hoosier Lieut. Gov. Van Orman, a
Republican. In a "spirit of bipartisanship," the latter
telegraphed the runaways to "be my guest."
Another Democrat, Senator Harrison, left the next day secluded in
an Overland Moving Van. Pap's transit was courtesy of his
railroad pass. The train deposited him in Cincinnati, and he went
on to Dayton from there.
The Minority Leader, Senator Joseph M. Cravens of Madison,
Indiana, halted the escape bus briefly on its way to Ohio to
order a barrel of apples to be forwarded to the Indiana Senate,
accompanied by a note--"Compliments of the Minority Members." The
erudite Senator Cravens (known informally as "Uncle Joe") was the
bachelor scion of perhaps the most distinguished and aristocratic
families in Indiana at that time.
The Indianapolis Star and other newspapers had a field day
covering the Democratic "bolt," which brought official
undertakings to a complete halt.
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