The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-01
SICK HIM NOW TIGEl
HEARsT-wArsoN PRESS BUREAU
 WAR ADVANCE STUFF.
The Batteries of the Two Demecratio Marty Renegades Open Up en Their Own Impotent
 Efflgfex

New York, July sl.-(special.)- )-In . signed statement handed to the Asso- ciated Press tonight John Temple Graves candidate of the Independence party for the vlce-Presidency. makes reply t. a recent utterance of Thomas E. Watson in which the presidential candidate of the Populist party de- scribed the Independence party as owned and controlled by William R. Hearst.
 In the course of his expression, which was published here yesterday MT. Wat son said:
 'Tn my judgment q political party owned eld controlled by one man. no matter how rich and good and great can never amount to much in Ameri- can politics. The so-called Independ- ence party Is q copyrighted affair, financed and steered by Mir. 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.
 'In q country like ours. where the sense of individual freedom is so strong the people will never consent to conn promise their own liberty of action by becoming members of personally con- ducted and privately owned political organization.
 'sThe Democratic party changes it's creed every four years, but the Inde- pendence party has already changed its creed twice during this year. When 1t met in Indianapolis some months ago 1t was in favor of a ship subsidy and the Wall Street system of finance. In Chcago 1t adopted practically every one of the blanks which have so long been the platform of the PopulIst party. If popular principles are correct there would seem to be no good reason why the Populist national ticket should not receive the votes of those who believe in populism.y
 exception in the following language:
 T ask the courtesy of the Associa- ted Press to express my regret that the Hon. Thomas E.. Watson should have rushed so swiftly to hostile criticism of the Independence party, with which so large a number of the Popuiists are in active sympathy and with simple consistency he should be glad to en- dorse.
 Tt is. to say the least ungracious in Mfr. Watson to speak of the Independ- ents as a one-man party. He has made of the Popuiists far more onc-Inan party than the Independents have ever been or will ever be- He has been as many times the defeated candidate of the Populists as Mir. Bryan has been of the Democrats. He seems to be by the official records the one man in It. as absolute as Roosevelt as dictatorial as BFyan--and as unsuccessful as the last.
 He prescribes It's tenets, dictates it's policies in things personal and other wise. and is invariably named as it's candidate.
 There has not been in fifty years a convention freer from the boss and the steam roller than the one just adjourn ed. Mir. Hearst was 5000 miles across the sea during all the preliminaries that led up to it. He reached the con vention twenty-four hours before It's opening He did not lift his hand to dictate . plank of its platform or to name the least of It's candidates. He went down into its committee room on equal terms, and no more than equal terms. He wrsngIed for thirty-six hours ever the platform, winning some of the things he advocated and losing others. and accepting success or de- feat with equal temper. like the gen uine independent that he Is. T am perfectly sure that Mir. Wat son in his eager criticisms speaks for himself. and not for the Populists. There is no diseounting the character and purpose of that great old party There was never an honester and truer political organization In America. They bettered the entire tone of the present era In which they fourished. No stronger effort was ever made in It's history to reform the old Dem ocratic party within the ranks than the Pop ullsts made. If they failed. then there IS not shadow of encouragement for any other organization to try.'