Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-04-27
BRooKrNes, S. d., APRIL II, 1906.

In view OF the continued ana per-
sisent failure of the Argus Leader to
reply to the matters contained in my
letter to it April 4th, and the con
tinuance of the machine press to
ignore the real issues and attempt to
conceal them by showing mud" |
have decided to address this letter to
the republicans of the state for their
consideration. In my letter to the
Argus Leader / saidin part as follows:
II consider the real issue TO be whether
we shall retain or abolish the machine
system of politics in the republican party
and state, and incident thereto, the dis
cussion of the following effects of machine
domination of the republican party in
thiss state which have been frequently as
serted and never satisfactorily answered,
but always evaded by you and the other
machine papers.
The present campaign within the party
arises from the fact that the great body
composed of the rank and file of the re-
publican party in this state denies the
right of the machine to dominate the
party and through it the state govern
ment. They assert, and it has not vet
been denied, that the machine for the last
ten years has secretly made the states of
candidates and prepared the party plat
forms and forced them upon an unwilling
but defenseless body of delegates. By
the machine / mean "a handful of men
composed of two or three public officers
and one or two known agents of the prin-
Cipal railway companies in the state.
TIL al they nave themselves and through
their sub~ordinates organized our legisla-
lures and packed legislative committees
so as to secure favoritism to corporate
allies. That the machine has caused un
just discrimination in favor of corpora
tions and against individuals in the mat
ter of taxation. That it and a few of it's
subordinates have met in midnight cabal
and by the methods of the Black Hand
secretly and treacherously sought to politi-
cally assassinate a colleague in the United
States senate. That in its desire to pre-
vent the fire and uncontrolled expression
of popular will it last winter caused the
denial of the constitutional right of the
people to decide for themselves whether
they desired to adopt the primary system
of nominations and caused their COVER
nor TO ODtfuue MS views III MS uleSSaSe
to the legislature in that regard hat it
has caused numerous bills i~njuriously af-
fecting corporate interests introduced in
the legislature to be consigned to packed
committees and there suppressed, That
it has prevented the discussion and even
the reading of resolutions offered by dele
gates in state conventions affecting cor
porate interests. That it has cajoled, Sc
I-.- .Al Aa-,a Aao - H. axr
when they interefered with machine can
didates or schemes, and termed the re-
suit of these coercive methods harmony.
That it has exerted it's influence against
the use of domestic building stone in the
capitol building in order to secure a long
haul for the railroads. That it opposed
the passage of the anttcompact law
which is a law to prevent combinations
between insurance companies concerning
rates of insurance, thus destroying COM
petition, etc. That it opposed the passage
of the valued policy act. That it has
systematically s~afeguarded corporate in
terests in legislative and administrative
affairs where they conflicted with the in
terest and rights of individuals. That
uniformly the local attorneys for the rail
road companies are active lieutenants for
NAN iAth ~ ~
teution of the pass system with it's insid-
ious influence in conventions and legisla-
lures. That it assumed the autocratic
authority to force upon the people of this
state a caucus law when nine thousand
electors petitioned the legislature under
the constitution of this state for the op-
portunity to decide for themselves
tthe people) the question of adopt
inu thn urinary system of NOM
nations. 1t is further asserted by
tn e rank and file of the republican party
that the machine has entrenched itself
against the people by the power of pat
rouage, state and federal. by the appoint
ment of favorites as officers and members
of boards, That it is levying tribute upon
public officers and member of boards.
That it is levying tribute upon public of
ficers and employees to raise money to fight
the rank and file of the republican party
in this pre-convention campaign. That
il has secured the personal services of
personal organs by the systematic APP
poiutment of editors as postunasters, not
withstanding popular protest in many
instances. That it has purchased the
Argus-Leader, paid for its gratuitious
circulation among thousands of voters
and causes it to support machine men
and measures and to to oppose all republi-
can men or measures antagonistic to the
machine. That it has subsidized nunier-
Gus newspapers SO as to secure personal
support. That it has sume the author
ity to call itself the organization of the
party although not endowed with power
nor selected as such by the party, but
has coerced aud dominated it. That it
has arrogatcd to itself the right TO call it
self the republican party and to dominate
as insurgents all republicans who re-
fuse to submit to it's domination. Thattbe
present campaign is to determine wheth-
er we as republicans shall surrender our
rights as republicans and citizens and
bow the knee and subject the neck to the
yoke of this b-oss-corporate combination or
whether we shall stand up and be count
ed among those who declare their indie
pendence and insist upon the right of
seIf-goyernment which is the heritage of
all American citizens. That the republic
can party is ~exemplified by those advo-
Gates of the people, Lincoln, Garfield.
Blaine, Mckinley, Roosevelt and LaFol-
lette, and not by the machine type such
as Depew, Piatt, Cox, Aidrich, Spooner,
ct al.
These charges re praferred against the