The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-12-04
IAN OPEN LETTER
TO DEMOCRATIC
Co. COMMITTEE
HON. KELSEY BLANT0N DlSAP.
PROVES OF ACTION IN REGARD
TO FEDERAL OFFICES.

Lakeland, Fla. Dec. 2. 1912.
Messrs. G. T. Hill. Fort Meade; B. J.
Mayo. Tiger Bay: J. E. Lancaster.
Chicora. L. N. Pipkin. Mulberry:
c. A. Boswell. Barlow: w. G.
Jones. Auburndale; J. T. Miller,
Haines City: A. T. Currie. El0ise;
o. J. Pope. Lakeland:
Gentlemen-As a member. along
with yourselves. Of the recently elect.
ed Democratic executive committee
Of Polk county, am writing this
letter as Il protest against thc action
of the old committee at Its special
meeting at Barlow on the 18th, ult.
According to the published report Of
this meeting appearing in the Lake.
land News of Nov. -, the old COM
mittce is assuming to act in the mat
ter of making recommendations for
appointments to the federal Offices
under the Wilson administration;
and at the meeting above referred to
agreed that the members of the
committee as individuals would not
endorse any one applicant for an Of.
flee. but that at Il later date, prob
ably Dec. ~, the committee would
hold Il ffll meeting and officially en-
dorse one person for each federal Of
flee in the county,
desire to explain that was
present when the committee cam
vassed the reports of the last pri-
mary election at which our commit
tee was elected. There were few
present and no one seemed to know
what procedure was best and proper
to follow for the organization of the
new committee. 1t appeared to me
that the few who were present should
not undertake to organize, and not
anticipating that the old committee
would assume to act unnecessarily IN
any matter, suggested that the
members of the new committee go
into Barlow in January, 1913, and
organize at the same time the other
county officials elected were to be
il stalled. This suggestion seemed to
meet with the approval of those pres
eEt. Since that time Woodrow Will
son has been elected president and
this scramble for appointments to
federal Office has ensued. The new
president will not be inaugurated un
til March 4, 1913. There Is, there
fore, no sufficient reason for any Of
fetal action of the Democratic com
nittee in this county between nov
and Jan. I, ii 1t be proper for it t
act at all. - -.
shall oppose. and resist to tn
r uttermost any action of the old com
: mittee in this matter. do not SUP
: pose there is any other county in tn
I State in which the old committee
e assuming to act in this manner; an
t MY suggestion that the organizatio
o o: the new committee be postpone
Until the first of January shall no
with my consent, be used to cOntinu
r in active authority the members {
n the old committee beyond the perio
for which they were elected. 1t
true that the greater number of tn
members of the old committee wei
, reelected and are members of tn
new committee. Still, that is M
true of myself and others of the ne
committee, and the principle is tt
same applied to all members of II
!, new committee. Fixing the 9th I
. December as the day for the holdiu
o. this most extraordinary "fu
Meeting" is manifestly to secure a
ton before the new committee o
ganizes. This is against the pr
gressive spirit of the day. The R
publican party went to pieces in Oh
- cago because an old committee o
= ganized a new convention: and Il
U Democratic convention at Baltimol
formally endorsed the propositic
that hereafter the newly elected con
n mittee shall organize its nation;
be convention. The action of the o.
of committee of this county violate
" this principle: and predict that tt
It. endorsement by the old committee
K any applicants for federal Offices I'll
i'd der the circumstances above state
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