The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-07-15
ODD ORGANIZATION
FOR PROGRtSSNES
Will Form Clubs to Secure
Campaign Funds from
the Rank and File.
BY CARL MOTE.

progressiyes will develop a form of
organization in this state altogether
foreign to anything known in the two
old parties. 1t is the progressive club
with permanent organization to car
ry on it's campaign of education and
for membership in season and out. 1t
will be the evolution of the political
boss who works 365 days out of each
year. @*<
Eventually progressive clubs are to
be organized in each county, township
and city of the state. They will be
federated into a state organization, &C
cording to present plans, with state
headquarters and state officers. Prob
ably these clubs will become the pro-
gressive party in due time and it is
the plan of their originators that a
nominal fee shall be collected for mi
tfation and a nominal fee collected
monthly for dues to maintain the or
ganization and the campaign,
In this way, we'll known progress
sives who are espousing the plan ex-
pect to obviate the necessity each
campaign of calling upon the corpora
tons for campaign funds. The cam
paign funds will be raised from the
rank and file and when the party sue
ceeds to power it will have done SO
without any entangling alliances with
favor-seeking corporations or obliga-
tons to Big Business of Special Privi-
lege That corporations which contrib
ute to the campaign fund of political
parties have right to expect quid
pro quo when the candidates to whom
they have given financial support are
elected to Office is admitted by the
progressives and they purpose to
strike directly at the seat of the evil
by changing the system.
To Provide Lecturers.
When a sufficient number of pro-
gressive clubs have been formed that
their federation into district leagues
is feasible it is probable that we'll
known progressives will be engaged
by a lecture bureau maintained by
the state organization and that these
lecturers will be sent from one club
to another to preach the gospel of pro-
gressivism. 1t is designed that each
club shall hold regular monthly meet
ings throughout the year and that
their order Of business will have COM
pretended everything having to do
with good government, in which the
community is interested-civic affairs,
cooperative effort in agriculture and
trade, improvement of schools, public
morals, libraries, parks, public amuse-
ments and recreation, wages, SANTA
ton and health, political economy and
economy discussion of progressive
doctrines. sf
The proposed plan of progressive or
ganization will be given trial in
Wayne county and the Sixth district.
Rudolph G. Leeds, Sixth district mem
Der of the progressive executive COM
mittee, was given permission to form
such an organization on behalf of the
progressive party at the recent meet
ing of the progressive executive COM
mittee in Indianapolis. Mr.. Leeds be-
lieves implicitly in the efficacy of this
system and will proceed at once to Or
ganize the Sixth district in accordance
with the proposed plans.
1t will not be surprising if the plan
is well developed by the time the pro-
gressive state convention is held. A
militant progressive organization of
shop men already exists in Richmond
and this organization includes Repub-
licans, Democrats. and Socialists. 1t
was formed asst spring when the Re-
publican county central committee re-
fused to entertain officially Senator
La Toilette on the occasion of his Wis
it to Richmond.
Lee Lends Support.
State Chairman Edwin M. Lee of the
progressives is encouraging the for
nation of progressive clubs and TWEEN
ty-five militant organizations have
been formed already. Their formation
will be prompted for the present by
the vampaign to be waged in Indiana
in behalf of the progressive state and
national candidates.
The complete overthrow of the boss
system is anticipated in this latest
plan of the progressive executive state
committee. The members of the COM
mittee, having been connected with
the Republican party. recognize that
the power of the political boss has
rested mainly upon the Indifference of
the people. They recall that the bosses
have never been able to accomplish
anything against an aroused public
sentiment that the victories of the
bosses and the political machines have
been won when the people hguratively
were asleep or by manipulation of pri-
maries. When the primary laws are
strengthened in accordance with a
declaration to be made in the progress
sive state platform. the proletariat
will be protected in his electoral rights
and the plutocratic boss will be ousted