Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-11-17
A CHARMING FALSEHOOD.
Which Calls for Little Bit of Poll
tical History Not Without In
tereSt Now.

| Roberts former secretary TO Senator
kittredge assumes to tell The cause
or the antagonism TO hlttredge on
the part of the Canton LEADER. AS
the story goes, Editor Linn was form
erly strong supporter or kittredge,
and the latter was pulling the wires
hard TO get special pension for Linn
About that time Linn was invited to
attend The christening OF a big ship
down east, accepted and was one or a
party which included Senator McCum-
ber, or North Dakota, chairman oil
the senate committee on pensions.
| Linn has none Of the traits or cheap
skate. In fact, he possesses \ distin-
gulShed personality which might
easily enable him 10 pass as Il case
hardened putOcrat when far enough
away from print shop. McCum per,
according to Roberts, concluded that
the distinguished soldier WASH / en-
Titled To a special pension and that
was the beginning of Linn,S Violenu
denunciatiOn Of kittred2e. But what
a scOrching Roberts Will get II Linn
concludes to tell what he THINKS
| about 1t.
Had it not been for the thoughtful
cons Slderat ion Of Editor Reeves OF the
G rotor independent, the canton
LEADER man mightneVe have known
how strongly he supported Senator
Kittredge. but the yarn will do no one
any harm now.
Tom Roberts was Senator Kit
| Lredge's private secretary and Iom
| splurged amazingly on the +. ). honor,
| and threw some mean things at those
who Jumped onto the hig boss once IN
:. while, and one Of those political
| brickbatS was hurled at the LEADER
| man. who caught Toms foul and re-
turned it catching Tom between
bases, and Tom has always felt that
40 one had a right to compare tbe
pits on his face to his character, ana
at this distance we can see no reason
why we should deny Tom the right to
| class US a strong supporter Of Mr.
<ittredge, but we fear the effect OF
such information upon our progress
sive republican friends who used to
regard US as a bold, daShing. fearless,
| progressive. even before Bob La Fol
lette broke into the sacred progress
sve enclosure.
| The LEADER man has searched the
| files of the LEADER away back to 1896
TO learn the extent Of the LEADER
mans support of the big Senator who
made Sioux Falls his home, but we
failed 20 lind that "Support' any.
where so far as the LEADER is con-
cerned.
On January 18th, 1906, the Editor
Of the LEADER received a brief note
from Washington which read:
my Dear Colonel Linn.
| have just read the LEADER.
What's the matter?'
A. b. Kittredge.
A Young fellow up at Brookings
named Allen, who published paper,
managed to write an article giving
the reformers fits for daring to ques-
tion the right of the bosses to do as
they pleased, and to this article the
LEADER responded in plain straight
| forward language which Allen failed
to answer for some reason.
That was the article that surprised
Mr.. Kittredge and opened the cam
paign that unfortunately landed Mr..
Gam Bile in the senate.
Senator Kittredge and eleven other
bosses, big and little, met behind
| locked doors and brick walls in Aber-
deem in the summer of 1905, and pro-
ceeded to read r. j. Gamble out or
| the boss end Of the party. A month or
so after that famous meeting the
writer happened TO spend day in
| aberdeen and while there was In
formed of the meeting OF the bosses
and of their action by a gentleman
who was not in the meeting, but he
had the walls Of the room wired in
advance so that he could hear all that
was said. We kept that information
out of the LEADER for sometime, but
meeting Col. Greene on the train at
Mitchell on our way home, said to
him:
'sColonel, what sort of secret meet
ing did YOU hold at Aberdeen when
you read Gamble out Of the party"'
The Colonet's face showed amazing
surprise for he didn't think living
soul knew any thing about that meet
ing but those who were there anC
they were bound by solemn obligation
not to reveal what transpired or who
was there.
John W. Brenner of Canton, was
sitting in the seat opposite Col
Greene when he answered:
well, dam 'em, let them tight,
I'm going to the coast, and the sub
ject was dropped.
In the latter part Of Novem Der 1903
SenatorKittredge wrote the Editor O
the LEADER, asking for an interview
at his office in Sioux Falls. We re
ponded and the interview lasted fol
two hours We discussed the Panama
canal and many other things includ
ing local politics. He was very anxiou:
to have the LEADER IS support, claim
ing among other things that Gamble
was not worthy of any honest mans
support, and we are now convinced
that Kiutredge was right and the
opinion we had formed Of Gamble wa!
wrong, as proved by results. We part
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