Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-06-29
Wisconsin Senator Blames
Colonel for Defeat of Pro-
gressives in Their First
National Contest.
! CHALLENGES HIS
RIGHT AS LEADER

p
sives After Movement hao
Grown Without His Help
Washington, D. c., June 2S.-Sena
tor LaFollette has written the 1oi
lowing editorial in the current mum
Der of LaFollette's Weekly:
Until Roosevelt came into the open
as a candidate for the presidency 1lVe
months ago, there was strong ano
rapidly growing progressive move
ment within the republican party: II
was based upon clearly defined iprlncl
pies. 1t stood forth as the representa-
tive of modern political thought on
fundamental democracy. 1t had as
sumed national proportions. 1t was
united.
.Into this movement. when 1t gave
promise of national success. Hoose
welt projected his ambition to be presl'
dent third time. He spent weeks
carefully planning spontaneous call
for himself. He responded by announc'
Ing that he would be receptive can
didate. His candidacy began to drag
He and his friends were in despair
Then came his defeat in North DakoIa'
He became desperate.
i Il "Re9eptive Candidate" Campaign.
"An enormous campaign fund was
raised Headnuarters were opened IN
New York, Washington, Chicago and
states east and west. NewspapeI
writers were engaged at large prices
to boom his candidacy. Special trains
were hired and the receptive cand1'
date started in frantic pursuit OF the
nomination In the history OF Amerl'
can politics there has never been IN
primary campaign for presidential
nomination, an approach to the extra
VACANT expenditures made in his cam
paign. Men notoriously identified with
the steel trust and the harvester trust
became his most active supporters.
Leading reactionaries, stand-patters,
and political bosses of the Hanna and
QUAY sort became his closest political
friends and representatives in many
states.
Movement Grew With T. r. Away.
"A number of the newer recruits to
the republican progressive cause, men
who, before 1909, with three or four
exceptions, had either been Indifferent
or opposed to the progressive move
ment. became the noisiest supporters
of Roosevelt, the winner 1t mattered
not to them that Roosevelt had CO.
operated with Aldrich on legislation
during the entire seven years he was
president. They forgot that it was only
when Roosevelt was out of office and
In Africa, through the united efforts
Of men who for years had been fight
ing special interests that the progress
sive cause became national move
ment. That Roosevelt was for Taft in
1910 when Taft was deqOunctng all
progressives as pirates and traitors,
that he waited until little more than
year ago, balancing the chances, be-
fore deciding whether to cast in his
lot with the progressives in this presi-
dental year, counted for nothing with
the class of progressiyes who wanted
to 'win'-not real progressive vic
tory-just victory
Colonel Carried Stand-Pat States.
"And they did win precisely that
kind of a victory They carried over
whelmingly the great stand-pat states
of Illinois and Pennsylvania. That
stamped the Roosevelt candidacy with
sts true character. No real progressive
could have secured anything like such
vote in either Of those two states. It
mad, however, the outward seeming Of
success, the sort Of success that in
toxfcates-that catches the crowd. 1t
enabled Roosevelt to win in two or
$braa roa1lv nrOqressiye states For
tunately. it did not enable him to
secure the nomination which would
have compromised the progressive
movement and defeated real achieve
ment for years.
Roosevelt Blamed for Defeat.
"Upon Theodore Roosevelt and his
followers rests the responsibility Of
having divided the progressives in
their first national contest. Stimulated
by an overmastering desire to win,
thev denounced loyalty to conviction
and principle as stubborn selfishness.
In the convention they put forward no
platform-no issues. They made no
fight against the reactionary platform
adopted. They substituted vulgar per-
sonalities and the coarse epithets Of
the prize ring for the serious consider
alton of the great economic problems
and for the time being brought ridi-
cule and contempt upon a great cause.
"But the progressive movement
does not consist of few self-consu-
tuted leaders. It consists of millions Of
thoughtful citizens drawn together by
. common be- in certain principles