The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1910-10-13
THE "CALL FOR HELP.
Two Insurgent Republicans Respond
BY Criticism to The Hawk-Eye
But Offer No Arguments
to Gain Voters.

Editor of the Hawk-Eye: We
note your call for help in the Sun
day issue of your paper and venture
few suggestions. You describe
the progressives as the dominant
wing of the party in Iowa" Now
did it ever occur to you that the
dominant wing. has the right to
make the platform and that all
regular" republicans ought to de-
fend that platform after it is made.
1t would help some if you would
get squarely upon that platform af-
ter it is made? 1t would help some
If you would get squarely upon that
platform and fill your paper with
eloquent and truthful material in
it's support. The Hawk-Eye ought
to be able to find out for itself when
it is whipped and make a few manly
admissions. 1t is sadly deficient in
this class of attainment. Come in,
brother, and say the best man won,
and the progressive are 'it.''
There were certain differences up
on the tariff question between the
The Iowa convention hau the right
to pass upon these differences, and
it chose to exercise that right. By
a majority of some $50 it decided to
sustain the senators. The editor of
The Hawk-Eye was a delegate in
the minority If he were good
regular republican he would SUBJ
nit and advise the president to
adopt the views of the senators. But
the Hawk-Eye is naughty insurgent,
and bolted the platform and acted
as independently as &c. B. & O."
1t would help lots if the Hawk-Eye
would be broad minded and surrend-
er it's little selfish opinions and
heartily support Iowa's two great
senators until the end of the cam
paign. 1t would be a fine habit to
acquire, and once acquired it might,
yes, surely would, restore harmony
to the great republican party in Iowa.
President Taft has acquired this
habit in marked degree since the
west went progressive, and he is
now standing squarely upon the Iowa
idea, and promising everything the
progressives demand upon the tariff
and throwing in few postoffices
besides. Get in line; it will help
immensely.
You say, "The Hawk-Eye has
fought the fight this far by denying
the truthfulness of the testimony of
our senator's" This statement is,
of course, direct insult to every
progressive in the state if they had
the spare time to get insulted. How
ever, they have been so busy drying
out fresh scalps recently taken from
standpatters that they never even
thought of getting insulted, but just
went right on getting prouder every
day of 1owa's great senator's When
1T comes to a question of truthful
ness we all know what spectacles the
Hawk-Eye wears. Take them off, it
will help amazingly. Porter is no
hard nut to crack. If the Hawk-Eye
would only print his standpat
speeches of four years ago in par
allel columns with his progressive
speeches now, it would have Porter
going south right away. We know
this would be some embarrassment
because four years ago the Hawk
Eye supported Porter, and it would
revive unpleasant memories, as Port
er was beaten. Invite Carroll and
Kennedy to Burlington. Tell them
to stand by the republican platform
and the republican senator's, which
it endorsed, and they will get every
progressive vote in the First district,
and a regular" republican never
bolts. OF course, if you keep on de-
nouncing the platform and abusing
the senator's, and leave Porter mo-
nopoly OF praising them, he may get
some progressive votes, especially
since he was good enough for
regular" four years ago.
You say the democratic speeches
ARE composed chiefly of extracts
from public addresses by prominent
republicans like Cummins, Dolliver,
Hubbard, Bristow, Murdoch, Roose-
welt, LaFollette and insurgents of
other states" You say these gentle
men are quoted verbatim to prove
by confession that the republican
party is corrupt, that it is dominat-
ted by trusts and by special interests
etc. We would like to inquire if this
'insurgent," Roosevelt, is the same
man who led the republican party
to the greatest and most popular
victory it ever achieved? Is he the
same Roosevelt who was famous for
my policies" who wrote the last
republican national platform, and
who nominated Taft president? We
are inclined to think he is the same
man as his speeches sound just like
the message he used to send to con-
gress. He also carried a certain big
stick which made noise over the
heads of certain standpatters like
Aldrich, Cannon, Smith and Tawney,
something like it recently made over
the head of Standpatter Lorimer. If
he is the same man you will have
to admit that he is some gazabo"
himself when it comes to republic
canism. He might not be as "regu-
lar" as you, or in other words, he
may not bolt as regularly as you do
when you lose in the primaries, but
he always has more folks on his side
than anybody else ever had When
he says there is rotten spot in the
republican party everybody around
here believes it and is ready to
carve it out without sending for any
other doctor. When he says the
trusts" and interests control a
large part of the public press to cor
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