The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1911-01-30
HOW OWENS THUNDER WAS
STOLEN BY PROGRESS|VES


aesday's issue says
ne Honorable Robert Lathza
Owen. A. N, L. D. a senator frou
Oklahoua. has been frizksd-
Bat a fsE shorS and aestag lays
agoae. the Hon Owen vas fuu u po-
.HticaI doctrine and dogma Of Easch be
vas the Endisputed proprietor u
.bulged from his sssry pocket. il Hiled
his utterances from the forum. and.
'safsguarded by the potent espionage
of his senatorial frank. Il more er less
clattared up the United States mails
The Hoa- Owen. be it known. WIS
the originator OF the modern manifest
.atfou Of that school OF political aastriRe|
which has become known as the peo-
pies rule He vas for ths people
when nobody else knew they existed;
at least, when nobody else recognized
them as an available asset that could
be cashed in at the central hank Of Do
litical exchange
He was head OF an advisory CON
mittee~ which long ago put forth liter
ature proposing that the leaders Of
democracy organize themselves INTO
a great national movement for the pro
mitigation Of certain reforms calculated
to restore to the people the right to
run the country. He wrote literature.
circulated it. talked il into the Record
so that it could be franked. and got
busy in a myriad OF ways. He didn't
say much about his organized aetiyi-
ties. but he was busy all the time
Talked to Both Sides.
He talked to republicans and demo
Gratis alike about the desirabnity of
having the people take a larger part
in the government He was fer real
primaries, for popular election OF SEN.
ators. for the initiative. referendum.
recall. short ballot and all those things
before anybody else had thought Of
mentioning them in public
But today. the Hon. Owen is a
bankrupt He has been held up. and
the entire scheme Of popular govern
ment has been taken of his person
The National Progressive Republi-
can League has done the business. X
appropriated the Owen program. put
an insurgent label on 1t. and flashed It
forth to the country as the project Of
the progressive wing of the republican
party. Senator Owen is wondering Just
what is left for him But he doesn't
worry much.
Willing to Furnish the Thunder.
Haven't these progressive republi-
cans stolen all your thunder?@ was ask
ed of Senator Owen. just after the new
league had thundered forth its declara-
ton of intent to fix things right.
Perhaps they have. was the sor-
rowful reply. hut 1 am always willing
to have anybody steal the text of the
Ten Commandments from me. They'll
do him more good than the theft can
possibly do me harm"
Senator Owen has been a peoples
rule advocate since before the Hodges
were hung, whoever they were and
wherever that was. He made speeches
about it before Jonathan Bourne had
started propagating the idea. And.
oddly enough, he doesn't claim that
the democratic party had copyright
on the idea. He isn't concerned be-
cause the first formal organization to
take up the idea and make big splash
over it is a republican. He is pleased
half TO death because a new crowd has
discovered his scheme OF making the
people the real bosses of this count
try.
The Owen program was put out
many months ago. and the fact that it
is now being pushed forward by a
group of republicans is regarded by