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14
The Commoner.
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 49
THE ANTI-TRUST PLANK OF
PROGRESSIVES
(Continued from Page 12.)
Q. It is also true, is it not, that
various progressive orators and cam
paign speakers, even including the
former president himself, supposing
the final paragraph that had been
eliminated remained as a part of
the platform, dwelt upon it fre
quently and with great emphasis in
their addresses? A. Everybody did.
Of course, nobody had the printed
platform for at least two weeks.
The result was that every man was
talking around the country upon the
platform as it was passed by the con
vention, including the specific
. amendment to the Sherman act. In
fact, some of them have told me that
It was the strongest thing that they
used throughout the country. They
' had, of course, typewritten copies
which they spoke from not printed
copies. I believe all were astonished
when the printed copy came out
without this paragraph on the Sher
man act. Many of them wrote to me
and no one could find out why it was
left out.
Q. Did Colonel Roosevelt write you
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Lincoln, Neb.
regarding this mystery? A. Yes, he
wrote to me some time after he was
shot Oct. 26 as follows:
"Someone, I think it was Heney,
spoke to me of the matter and told
mo what was cut out, and I there
upon put it into one of my speeches
so much has happened since, in
cluding the Bhooting, that I can not
remember which speech it was. As
a matter of fact, I am more radical
than the platform and have steadily
grown more radical as I grow older.
That there may be no misunder
standing, let me say explicitly that
I believe in embodying in the law
the prohibition of agreements to di
vide territory or limit output or re
fusing to sell to consumers who buy
from business rivals, or agreements
or practices to sell below cost in
certain areas while maintaining
higher prices in other places, or us
ing the power of transportation to
aid or injure special business con
cerns, and, in short, all other unfair
practices. I believe in embodying
theso and similar prohibitions into
law, including therein all prohibi
tions which will put a stop to all
tendencies toward monopoly."
This was practically the plank that
was cut out of the printed platform.
Q. Apparently, then, the progres
sive leaders, including Colonel
Roosevelt, were considerably dis
turbed over the secret elimination of
this important provision? A. Very
much disturbed, as they were losing
tremendously in the country. On
account of the misunderstanding, it
gave opportunity for Mr. Bran dels
and Mr. "Wilson and others, including
Mr. Hapgood of Collier's "Weekly, to
attack the plank effectively and to
excite suspicion in the minds of the
voters relating to it.
Q. You are aware, of course, that
democratic orators in all the states
dwelt with great emphasis on the
"weakness of the business section of
the progressive platform," are you
not? A. Yes. No one thing did so
much to gain votes for the demo
crats, in my opinion. Hundreds of
thousands of votes were lost to the
progressives, including whole states,
because of this unfortunate omission
from the printed platform.
Q. Is it apparent that the large
corporations must have objected to
that eliminated provision? A. I can
not say, as I have no evidence on
that point.
Q. Have you any evidence as to
how the provision was cut out of the
platform as sent out by the various
press associations? A. I have in my
possession a letter which is the only
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evidence that I have on the matter.
The letter, from a delegate to the
progressive national convention, held
in August in Chicago, to Dr. Charles
McCarthy, Madison, Wis., under date
of Chicago, Nov. 15, 1912, follows:
"Dear Mac: As a result of my in
vestigations in reference to the dis
appearance of a plank (Sailing for the
strengthening of the Sherman law by
specified amendments, I have some
startling disclosures to make to you.
I will be as pjain and matter-of-fact
as possible. "
"At the Chicago offices of the As
sociated Press I saw the copy of a
platform as given to the press for
transmission over the wires to the
newspapers of the country. Accord
ing to Paul Cowles, manager of the
central division of the Associated
Press, the Sherman law plank, to
which I am referring, was sent out
the same as the rest of the platform,
and of which it was a part conclud
ing the section under the subheading
of 'Business.'
"Now comes the interesting fea
ture. It contained the Sherman law
plank exactly as you have it. At
tached to the copy was a message
calling attention to the Sherman law
plank and explaining that this plank
was a 'mistake.' The story connected
with this message is that O. K. Davis
secretary of the convention and ac
credited press representative, ap
peared in the Associated Press quar
ters and requested that this plank
be left out. They were loath to take
any action at first, but finally sent
the message that I have described
and which I will now give as far as
I have got it. I copied only the last
two lines.
"This message (possibly it is the
handwriting of Davis himself), after
specifying the plank by introductory
quotation of the same, says that it
was 'in the draft of the platform as
presented to the convention. It was
later announced that the inclusion
was a mistake.'
"The Associated Press scratched
out the word 'announced' and used
'said tonight' in its place, so as not
to convey the idea that there was
official action by the convention. Mr.
Schuler, Mr. Hatton, and a number
of the Associated Press staff were
present when Davis was on this job
of changing the platform.
"This message went to the night
editors and telegraph editors of the
various papers and left it to their
discretion to print it or leave it out.
I do not think the Associated Press
is at all to blame under the circum
stances. "Evidently Davis, or some other
person got busy in Chicago, for none
of the Chicago later editions con
tained the plank. -
"The notice sent out at the re
quest of Davis is vital in so far that
it admits that the plank was adopted
by the convention.
"As a delegate to the convention,
and city member of the provisional
national committee, I feel I have
some rights in the matter and shall
write you later along these lines."
Q. You do not desire to give the
name of the writer of the latter be
cause you are inclined to believe
that he wrote you personally and
confidentially? A. Yes.
Q. However, he is a thoroughly
reliable man, is he not? A, Yes, in
deed he is.
Q. It is rumored in Chicago politi
cal circles that among the prominent
progressives present at the conven-
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tion in Chicago, George W Partu
probably directed the eliminat on 0?
the paragraph at the last moment
Do you know anything about thit
A. I have no-evidence on that nnfnV
Q. You talked with Mr. PerkS
about this plank, did you? o wSh
any representative of Mr. Perkins on
the resolutions committee? A. The
is no doubt that Mr. Perkins w
greatly interested in the plank and
talked with many persons in the con
vention about it. I had no personal
conversation on this particular plank
with Mr. Perkins, but, as I say i
have no evidence that Mr. Perkins
interfered with the matter in any
way whatever. I certainly can not
accuse Mr. Perkins of cutting out
this plank.
Q. Was there anv othrr nii0f,j
representative of great corporations
in the Chicago progressive conven
tion who would be, in your opinion
more interested in such a plank than
George W. Perkins? A. Mr. Perkins
showed as much interest in it as any
other man there.
Q. After Oscar King Davis, press
agent of the progressive convention,
visited the Associated Press office in
Chicago, and, according to the fore
going, had the plank omitted, did
you see him or Mr. Perkins or any
body else who had any information
on the subject? A. No. I tried to
find out from the New York head
quarters why the plank was cut out,
but never received any answer from
the headquarters on that point.
Q. You have copies of your letters
to the New York headquarters, have
you? A. I think probably I have
them at home.
Q. Did you .address the letters to
the New York headquarters to any
particular person or just to the gen
eral headquarters? A. No, just to
the headquarters. "
Q. You do not know whether your
letter or inquiry, then, fell into tho
hands of Mr. Davis or into the hands
of some one else at those head
quarters? A. I have no idea.
Q. Do you know Mr. Davis' present
whereabouts? A. I do not. I do
not know the man at all, nor do I
know what authority he had in tho
matter.
Q. As a man who believes in pro
gressive principles and in the ad
vancement of the right way of tho
progressive cause in the United
States, do you not think that this
matter should be fully explained ana
that the progressive party itself
should take the initiative in the mat
ter? A. Of course, there may be a
question of misprint in New York.
That might be the charitable way to
look at it, but it does not look like
It, and certainly every progressive
in this country ought to be satisfied
as to what became of that plank. It
ought to be run down If possible.
Mr. Davis ought to be questioned afl
to what authority ho had in the mat
ter, and the progressive party owea
it to the country thoroughly to in
vestigate the whole subject. A lot
of good men went around this coun
try talking on this plank, supposing
it was in, and they were deceived.
When a matter is so serious that it
loses whole states and hundreds or
thousands of votes for the progres
sive cause, certainly the men who
have done this injury to the progres
sive cause ought to be exposed.
Neither Mr. McCarthy nor anyone
who has looked carefully into tn
case thinks the theory of a misprini
or a printer's error is the right one.
If not, progressives throughout
tho country desire the man wno
knows to rise and speak his mina.
They will not rest until he does.
ONE ON PA
"Pa, what's a genius?" .
"Ask your mother, she marriea
"Why, I didn't know ma had beo
married twice." Houston Post ...
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