Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1908-08-01
DENIES HEARST
OWNS new
PARTY
JOHN TEMPLE GRAVES
REPLIES TO TOM WATSON
Brilliant Georgian Advises Pop
uliSt Remnant to Wake Up
and Get on the independence
League BandWagon.
IBy Morning journal sDse,a1 E.ased wire.


IBy Morning journal sDecnS Hsased wIre.l
New York, July 31.--In a signed
statement handed to the Associated
Press tonight, John Temple Graves,
candidate of the independence party
for the vice presidency, makes reply
to recent utterance of Thomas Wat
son in which the presidential candi-
date of the peoples party described
the independence party as owned and
controlled by w. r. Hearst.
In the course of his expression,
which was published here yesterday,
Mr. Watson said:
I'm my judgment political party
owned and controlld by one man, no
matter how rich and good and great,
can ever amount to much in Ameri-
can politics, The so-called Indepen-
dence party is a copyrighted affair,
financed and steered by Mr.. Hearst.
Its so-called leaders are his editors
and employees. Almost without excep-
ton those who are prominent in the
movement are upon the Hearst pay
roll,
I'm a country like ours. where the
sense Of Individual freedom is so
strong, the people will never consent
to compromise their own liberty of ac-
ton by becoming members of a per-
sonally conducted and privately owned
political organization.
The democratic party changes its
creed every four years, but the inde-
pendence party has already changed
its creed twice during this year When
it met in indianapolis some months
ago 1t was in favor of a ship subsidy
and the Wall street system Of finance;
in Chicago it adopted practically every
zone of the planks which have so long
been the platform of the populist par
ty II populst principles are correct
there would seem to be no good rea-
son why the popuIist national ticket
should not receive the votes of those
who believe in populism.
To the foregoing Mr.. Graves takes
exception In the following language:
Il ask the courtesy of the Associated
Press to express my regret that
Thomas E. Watson should have rushed
so swiftly into hostile criticism of the
independence party with which SO
large a number of the populists are in
active sympathy and which, in sim
pie consistency. he should be glad to
endorse
eIt Is, to say the least, ungracious
in Mr. Watson to speak of the inde-
pendence party as one man party
He has made of the populists far more
a one man party than the Independents
have ever been or ever will be- He
has been as many times the defeated
candidate of the populists as Mr.. Bry-
an has been of the democrats. he
seems to be by the official record the
one man In it---as absolute as Roose-
welt. as distatorial as Bryan-and as
unsuccessful as the last He prescribe'
its tenets, dictates its policies IN
things personal and otherwise, and il
invariably named as its candidale.
There has not been in fifty years
a convention freer from the bos anc
the steam roller than the one Just ad-
journed Mr. Hearst was three thou
sand miles across the sea during al
the preliminaries that led up to II. HI
reached the convention twenty-foul
hours before its opening He did no
lift his hand to dictate a plank in 1T
platform or to name the least of IT.
candidates. He went down into III
convention room ON equal terms, an'
no more than equal terms. He wran
gled for thirty-six hours over the plat
form. winning some Of the things h'
advocated and losing others, and ac
eepting successsand defeat with equa
temper like the genuine Independent
that he Is.
mo fair and truthful man can den,
10 the independence convention tn
merit Of freedom worthy of Its name
"And II was as representative as
was free. Seven hundred delegate
present from all sections, from ever
state and from all races. Cancasiar
African and Indian-among them a
there were not dozen men dlrectl
or indirectly connected with the Hears
newspapers.
Il am perfectly sure that Mr.. Wat
son. in his eager criticism, speaks TO
himself and not for the populisti
There Is no dlscountlng the characte
and purpose of that great old part,
They bettered the entire tone Of tn
political era in which they flourisheC
Nc stronger effort was ever made |
It's history to reform the old demo
cratic party within the ranks. than tn
popullsts made. If they failed the
there Is not a shadow of encourage
meni for any other organization
try
"But the brave old populists has
shot their arrow now and should IA
In with new friends under a new an
larger name. They have gone dow
under Mr.. Watson's leadership In SUI
cessive presidential years. steadily loi
ing their numbers, but never their Il
tegrity.
IN the last national campaign tbs
polled about 114,000 votes. The ind
pendence party polled twice that nun
Der in the city Of New York alone.
"The hope Of the populist IS in Il
independence party, and beyond u
diminishing few who cling to the fal