Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-08-02

Trusting to your wisdom and discre-
tion and con6ding fully in your deyo-
tion to your duty, your constituency |
and your cause, we have the honor to
remain, Most respectfully yours,
JOHN STEWART,
GEORGE W. MERRICK,
GEORGE JUNKIN,
LEVI BIRD DUFF.
THE COMMITTEES REPORT.
THOMAS V. COOPER. ESQ,
Chairman Republican State
CommiHee.
DEAR SIR: / am instructed to ad-
wise you that the Independent Repub-
lican State Committee have consider
ed the four suggestions contained in the
minutes of the proceedings of your
Committee, forwarded to me by you
on the 18th inst.
am directed to say that this Com
mittee find that none of the four are
methods by which harmonious and
an honorable unity of the Republl-
can voters of Pennsylvania could be
obtained. All of them are inadequate
to that end, for the reason that they
afford no guarantee that, being accept
ed, the principles upon which the
Independent Republicans have taken
their stand would be treated with re-
spect or put into action. All of them
contain probability that an attempt
to unite the Republicans of the State
by their means would either result
in reviving and strengthening the
political dictatorship which we con-
denim, or would permanently distract
the Republican body and insure the
future and continued triumph OF our
common opponent, the Democratic
party.
Of the four suggestions, the first,
second and fourth are so inadequate as
to need no separate discussion; the
third, which alone may demand at
tention, has the fatal defect of not in
cluding the withdrawal of that
slated" ticket which was made up
many months ago, and long in ad-
vance of the Harrisburg Convention,
to represent, and to maintain the
very evils ofcontrol and abuses of meth
cd, to which we stand opposed. This
proposition, like the others, supposing
| it to have been sincerely put forward,
clearly shows that you misconceive the
causes of the Independent Republican
movement, as well as it's aims and
| purposes You assume that we de-
sire to measure the respective num-
bers ofthose who support the Harris.
burg ticket, and those who find their
principles expressed by the Philadel-
phia Convention This is complete
and fatal misapprehension. We are
organized to promote certain reforms,
and not to abandon them in pursuit of
votes. Our object is the overthrow OF
the "boss system" and the "spoils sys-
tenn" In behalf of this we are willing
and anxious to join hands with you,
whenever it is assured that the union
will be honestly and earnestly for that
purpose. But we cannot make allls
ances or agree to compromises that on
their face threaten the very object of
the movement in which we have en-
gagged. Whether your ticket has the
support of many or few, OF a majority
or a minority of Republican voters.
does not effect in the smallest degree
the duty of every citizen to record
himself against the abuses which it
| .epresents. Had the gentlemen who
compose it been willing to withdraw
themselves from the field, as they
were invited to join in doing, for the
common good, by the Independent
Republican candidates, this act
would have encouraged the hope that
a new convention, freely chosen by
the people, and embarrassed by the
claims of existing candidates, might
have brought forth the needed guarantee
of party emancipation and public re-
form. This service, however they
have declined to render their party :
they not only claim and receive your
repeated assurances of support, but
they permit themselves to be put for.
ward to secure the use OF the lnde-
pendent Republican votes, at the
same time that they represent the
"bossism, the "spoils" methods, and
the machine" management which we
are determined no longer to tolerate.
The manner in which their candidacy
was decreed, the means employed to
give it convention formality, the obli-
cations which they incur by it, the
political methods with which it identi.
ies them, and the political and person
al plans for which their official infu-
ence would be required, all join to
make it the most imperative public
duty not to give them support at this
election under any circumstances.
In closing this note, tho Committee
must express its regret thai. having
considered it desirable to make over
lures to the Independent Republicans,
you should have 80 far misapprehend-
ed the facts of the situation. 1t is our
desire to unite the Republican party on
the sure ground of principle, in the
confidence that we are thus serving it
with the highest fidelity, and preserv.
ing for the future service of the Com
monwealth that vitality of Republican
ism which has made the party useful
in the past, and which alone confers
upon it now the right of continued
existence. The only method which
promised this result 10 tho approach
ing election was that proposed by the
Independent Republican candidates In
their letter of July l3, 1882, which
was positively rejected by your Com
mittee.
On behalf of the Independent Re-
publican State Committee OF Pennsyl-
yania. /. ID. MCKEE,
Chairman.
THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.
The committee met again in execu-
tive session at quarter past four
O'Clock to make arrangements for the