John N. Wilkinson, Obituary/Death NoticePorter County obituaries and death notices . . . .
John N. Wilkinson
A DISGRACEFUL SCRAMBLE.
Over Possession of Center Township Trustee's Office, Rendered Vacant By The Death of Trustee Wilkinson.
The death of Trustee John N. Wilkinson, which occurred last Thursday morning at his residence in Valparaiso, created a vacancy which devolved upon Auditor Elam to fill. Mr. Wilkinson had been ill but a week, and his death was unexpected, but not withstanding this fact, a host of applicants sprang up and made such a deisgraceful scramble for the dead man's shoes before his body was even laid away in the grave that the Democratic Central Committee was compelled, for decency's sake, to take hand. Mr. Wilkinson was a young man, 30 years of age, and was elected on the Democratic ticket last Spring. Applicants besieged the Auditor and overwhelmed the people with petitions, but, in their indecent haste, overstepped the bounds of public patience. The Democratic Central Committee met in their rooms in Valparaiso on Dec. 20, and passed the following resolutions, an exact copy of which we publish, as received from the chairman and secretary:
DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE ROOMS.}
VALPARAISO, Ind. Dec. 20, 1890.
the following resolutions were moved and adopted by the Democratic Central County Committee at their room the day and date above written.
RESOLVED, That it is the sense of the meeting that the County Auditor in excercising the appointing power to fill the vacancy filled by the death of the late lamented John N. Wilkinson, trustee of Center tp., obey the will of the people of Center township, and stamp his positive disapproval on the action of the hungry applicants who circulated petitions for offices before the funeral obsequies were observed, by not appointing to said office, any of the place seekers who engaged in this disgraceful scramble.
RESOLVED, That public decency and propriety and respect for the relatives of the deceased recommend the above course, and that appointment be deferred till all the funeral obsequies have been duly observed before the appointment be made.
RESOLVED, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the County Auditor, and to all the county papers, with request for publication.
JOHN BRODIE, Chairman.
S. ROSS MARTIN, Sec'y.
On Monday Auditor Elam appointed E. E. Burns as Mr. Wilkinson's successor. What influenced this appointment we are at a loss to know, but had Mr. Elam followed the course of Gov. Hovey, he would have named the Republican nominee, Aaron Parks, who ran against Mr. Wilkinson last spring, as was done in the appointment of Judge Mitchell's successor, and which received the general approval of the public. Mr. Burns may be a splendid man, but all precedent under such circumstances made it the plain duty of the Auditor to his party and the people to have but one choice in the matter, and unless Mr. Parks positively refused the appointment, a grave mistake has been made.
Newspaper: The Tribune
Date of Publication: December 25, 1890
Volume Number: 7
Issue Number: 37
Page: 1
Column(s): 2
Key to Newspaper Publication Locations:
Newspapers Published in Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana
Chesterton Tribune
The Tribune
Westchester Tribune
Newspapers Published in Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana
Porter County Vidette
Practical Observer
Valparaiso Practical Observer
Vidette and Republic
Western Ranger
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Obituary/death notice transcribed by Steven R. Shook