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The Commoner
VOL, 16, NO. 9
20
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Heney Will Support Wilson
, Among tlio prominent progressives
,who havo announced tlioir support
'of tho democratic tlckot Is Francis J.
'Honey of California, who attained
national prominonco for his vigorous
prosecution of the boodlors, gamblers
and graftors of San Fraricisco. Mr.
Honey rcoontly sent tho following
Btatomont to Prosidont Wilson:
Honorablo Woodrow "Wilson,
White House Washington, D. 0.
Ab one of tho delegates who loft
tho republican canvontion in Chicago
four years ago and participated in
tho organization of the national pror
gresslvo party, I desire to assure you
that It is now my intontion oarnestly
and actively to work for your re-election
as President. My admiration
and affection for Theodoro Itoosovolt,
and my respect for tho opinion of
thoso ropublican delegates with
whom I participated in organizing
tho national progressive party, and
tho more than four million voters
who endorsed our action at tho polls,
constrains mo to stato with some
fullness my reasons for refusing to
support Mr. Charles E. Hughes as
tho republican candidate for presi
dent. Like tho platform of tho national
progressive party, that of tho demo
cratic party, four years ago, con
tained a plank declaring In favor of
tho direct presidential preference
primary, and in one of your first
messages to congress you rocom
monded its enactment. In the press
of a vast volume of Important reme
dial legislation, your recommenda
tion has not yet been carried out by
congress, and tho various party plat
forms arc silent on tho subject this
yoar. I have full faith, however, that
you will ultimately bring about the
enactment of this great reform into
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law. Tho democratic party of which
you aro tho head is not, liko the re
publican party, in tho unfortunate
position of having the balance of
power In its national convention
vested in delegates from a group of
states which never havo helped to
elect its presidential nominee, and
which is not expected to do so at any
timo in tho near future. Through
your personal efforts as President,
most of tho other important planks
of tho national progressive platform
of four years ago have already been
enacted into law by congress, con
sequently, I feel confident that you
can be relied upon, if elected, fur
ther to exert your great influence to
securo federal legislation which will
rcquiro a presidential preference
primary election to bo hold on the
same day In every stato In the union,
for every political party, under the
safeguards of law.
Four years -ago, after the .fiasco
of nominating Mr. Taft, with the aid
of dishonestly seated delegates, and
of delegates who were representa
tives of a mere handful of office
holders in the southern states, had
been perpetrated against them, a
majority of the republican delegates
who had boon legally elected from
thoso Btates having a preponderate
republican vote, reassembled In Chi
cago and organized the national pro
gressiva party.
Tho primary and paramount pur
pose of tho organization of tho na
tional progressive party was to place
in tho hands of tho voters of each
and every political party, through
tho instrumentality of a national di
rect presidential preference primary
law, tho power for a majority of the
voters of each political party to nom
inate its candidate for the presi
dency. All thoughtful men among
tho 'republican delegates who organ
ized that progressive movement real
ized that the manipulation of nation
al political conventions by corrupt
methods of tho invisible government
through political bosses, constitutes
an ever continuing menace to the
very existence of tho republic itself.
Every serious minded person must
realize that a republican government
in fact can not conthvuo to exist un
der such political conditions. Polit
ical freedom is a mockery under a
system which permits a few unscru
pulous manipulators and corruptors
to dofeat tho will of millions of voters
In any political party by substituting
the will of thoso few for the will of
tho voters. To continue such a polit
ical system means to invito and pro
mote tho ultimate destruction of the
republic.
By depriving Roosevelt of tho re
publican nomination four years ago,
Senator Boiso Penrose of Pennsyl
vania, Murray Crane, then senator, of
Massachusetts, and William H.
Barnes of New York, with the aid of
such men as Elihu Root, who was the
permanent chairman of tho conven
tion, continued their control of the
ropublican national committee, and
thus prolonged tUeir power again to
dofeat tho will of tho majority of the
ropublican voters. And they have
now once more Insured their control
of the republican national committee
for another four years, with the con
tinuance of their power to again de
feat the will of the ropublican voters
in 1920, and thereafter, indefinitely,
so long as wo aro without a presi
dential preference primary law.
Under the circumstances I can not
follow Theodore Roosevelt back into
the republican party while it is still
controlled by those same men. if
he had accopted the nomination of
the progressive party at Chicago this
year, I would have loyally and vigor
ously supported him, because he then
would have represented tho basic
principle upon which the progressive
party was founded, to-wit: The right
of tho majority of voters of each po
litical party to nominate its own
candidate for president, without any
few mon possessing tho power to
prevent it.
It is reasonably certain that Mr,
Hughes was not the first choice of a
majority of the aggregate of repub
lican and progressive voters in tho
United States. Mr. Hughes repre
sents merely the consent of Penrose,
Crano and Barnes to permit the re
publican party to. have as its candi
date a man selected by themselves,
who, therefore, if elected president,
would bo disinclined to attempt to
destroy the continuance of their con
trol of tho nominating machinery of
the republican party, and their power
th'us to reward him with a renomin
ation for another term. To my mind,
the nomination of Mr. Hughes repre
sents the fruition of the political cor
ruption which was so successfully
practiced by the republican -national
committee four years ago under the
guidance of the men I have named.
For that reason I can not vote for or
support him. I do not question the
personal Integrity or character of
Mr. Hughes, but I do condemn him
unqualifiedly for permitting profes
sional political tricksters to make a
nation-wide canvass for his nomina
tion while he was a member of the
supreme court of the United States
under an appointment for life, with
tho vast potential power which ac
companies that position.
Personally I shall not vote for any
republican candidate for president
hereafter as long as the corrupt con
trol of the nominating machinery of
the republican party . is permitted
thus to continue in existence.
Please permit me also at this time
to offer my heartiest approval of the
policy of your administration towards
mexico. it seems to mo- that von
havo consistently, and amid reat
difficulties and discouragements,
striven to treat that unfortunate
neighboring nation with that pa
tience and forbearance which one
powerful and enlightened nation
ought to exercise toward a much less
powerful and much less enlightened
nation, and from which it has al
ready acquired, partly through con
quest and partly through purchase, a
magnificent empire of territory and.
natural resources, and in the minds
of whoso people, therefore, there
must naturally exist apprehension as
to the unselfishness of our motives
and the disinterestedness of our ac
tions. This must be apparent to any
citizen of our own country who stops
for a moment to consider the fact
that under the dictatorship of Diaz,
Americans, as well as other foreign
capitalists, acquired tho control and
ownership of vast natural resources
of fabulous value in Mexico. No pat
riotic citizen can fail to pray that we
shall be delivered from the necessity
of entering into a war with the dis
tracted people who inhabit Mexico;
but finally, if no other course shall
lie open to us, I shall realize that
you, in the full performance of your
duty, have done everything that lies
within your power properly to pre
vent such an issue.
Your temperate, restrained, but
lofty exercise of the powerful weap
ons of diplomacy have kept this
country safely out of the terrible
struggle in Europe without-any sac
rifice of American honor or prestige
and you have wrung the most im
portant concessions from belligerent
foreign rulers, while steadfastly
maintaining the dignity, peace and
safety of the United States. Argu
ments that we should replace experi
ence with inexperience in this vital
field will be without avail.
The legislative accomplishments of
your administration constitute a rec
ord little short of marvelous in fchrer
short years. Your administration has
wrested the financial control of the
it with the people, thus rendering
turo trust-created panics and m
ipulation practically impossible Yn
have provided an income tax for the
raising of revenue, thus placing the
burdens of government where thev
belong and where they can best be
borne. You aro providing a non
partisan tariff commission, as advo
cated in the national progressiva
Platform of 1912, that will tike Jo
tariff out of partisan politics, where
It has long been, an agency for evil
I might also speak of other important
enactments, such as tho trade com
mission law, the Clayton anti-trust
law, the agricultural expansion act
the industrial employees arbitration
act, the extension of the parcels post
system, the driving of the notorious
lobby out of Washington, the con
summation of the constitutional
amendment providing for election of
United States senators by the people
and scores of other peices of import
ant legislation for which the country
is largely indebted to you and your
administration.
I trust that you will feel free to call
upon me to aid In any way that I can
in your re-election to the presidency
next November. Sincerely,
FRANCIS J. HENEY.
MR. HUGHES AND THE HOUSE
The fact that many of the chair
manships of tho house, committees
arc held by southern representa
tives is distressing to - Mr Hughes.
He says the house is "sectionally or
ganized." Just now he would go
about changing this, if he should
becomo president, he doesn't say. It
is presumed, though, he would fa
vor reorganization of the house after
the fasnion that prevailed when his
party was in power:
The house, organization under the
republican party's rule was unique.
Sectional doesn't describe it. Its
Whole authority was vested in a
picturesquo' old gentleman from
Vermillion county, Illinois. Mr.
Cannon was the speaker. He was
the chairman of all the committees.
Ho was tho house. The members
wero mere marionettes. Those of
them that danced when Cannon
pulled tho string wero taken caro oi'.
Thoso that didn't wero ignored. So
far as serving his constituency, un
der tho republican party's scheme of
houso organization, a congressman
might just as well have remained
back home.
Back of Cannon were powerful
figures. They got what they wanted.
They never appeared in tho flesh.
Out of that condition came the term
"invisible government." They were
strongly entrenched. It seemed im
possible to drivd them out. Yet, they
were finally driven out, but only
over the mangled remains of the re
publican party. Cannonism fell. The
houso of representatives again be
camo such in fact.
Does Mr. Hughes want Cannonism
restored. Would ho remove south
ern representatives of legislative ex
perience from committee chairman
ships and replace tliem-with auto
mata? Would- he dress the speaker
again in the robes of czardom which
were ripped from the shoulders of
Uncle Joe? Is it Mr. Hughes's idea
to so reorganize tho houso as to re
establish invisible government?
Oklahoma City Oklahoman.
SOMEBODY
Somebody did a golden deed;
Somebody proved a friend in need;
Somebody sang a beautiful song;
Somebody .'smiled the whole day
long
Somebddv'.tliought, "Tis sweet to
live";;,f . . .
Somebody ad, "I'm glad to give ,
Somebody, fought a valiant fight;
Somebody lived. to shield the rlgnt.
Was that "somebody" you?
Author Unknow;
.?
