The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-05-03
SHALL We ABOLISH MACHINE
DOMINATION OF PARTY AND STATE?
By HON. PHILO HALL.
BOOKINGS. S. D.. APRIL II, 1906.

In view of the continued and 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 l saidin part as follows:
EXTRACT FROM ETTER TO AR~GUS-LEAD-
Err OUTLINING ISSUES.
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
this 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.llas secretly made the states of
candidates and prepared the party plat
forms and forced them uDOp an luwilliup
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.
That they have themselves and through
their subordinates 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
tons and against individuals in the mat.
ter of taxation. That it and a few of its
subordinates have met in midnight Cabal
and by the methods of the Black Hand
secretly and treaCherOusly sought to politi-
cally as~sassinate a colleague in the United
States senate. That in its desire to pre-
vent the free and uncontrolled expression
VI popular Will IL liSl "lilltI CdllScu III
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 obtrude his views in his message
to the legislature in that regard. hat it
has caused numerous bills iujuriOusly 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.
duced and coerCed CandidatestO withdraw
when theyiinterefered with machine can,
didates or schemes. aud termed the re-
suit ofthese Coercive methods harmony
That it has exerted its 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 anti-Compact law
which is a law to prevent combination
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
systenIaticall Safeguarded 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 Iieutenants for
the machine. That it advocates the re-
tention of the pass system with its insid'
ious influence in conventions and legisla.
lures. That it assumed the autocratic
authority to force upon the people of this
state a auCus law when nine thousand
electors petitioned the legislature under
the constitution of this state for the OPP
%portunity to decide for themselves
(the people, the question of adopt.
ing the primary 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
ronage, state and federal, by the appoint.
ment of favoriteS as officers and members
ofboards, That it is levying ribute upon
public officers and members of boards
That it is levying tribute upon public of
tiCers and employees to raise money to figh.
the rank and file of the republican party
in this pre~-convention campaign. That
it has secured the personal services Of
personal organs by the systematic APP
pointment of editors as postmasters, not
withstanding popular protest in many
instances. That it has purchased the
Argus-Leader, paid for it's %gratuitious
circulation among thousands of voter:
and causes it to support machine mer
and measures and to to oppose all republi
can men or measures antagonistic to the
machine. That it has subsidized numer
Gus ewspapers so as to secure personal
support. That it has ssuned the author
ity to call itself the organization of the
party although not endowed with powe,
nor selected as such by the party, but
has coerced and dominated it. That II
has arrogated to itself the right to call it
self the republican party and to denomin
ate as insurgents" all republicans who re
fuse to submit to its domination. That the
present campaign is to determine wheth
er we as republicans shall surrender oul
rights as republicans and citizens and
bow the knee and subject the neck to the
yoke of this boss-corporate combination OF
whether we shall stand up and be count
ed among those who declare their ind