Arizona republican., 1912-12-11
Calls On Newly Elected Senators, Congressmen and State Legislators to Work for Principles of the Party Platform. GOES AFTER
 IDAHO COURT Characteristics Decision Denying Right of New. Party Electors to Appear on Ballot As Ubiquitous and Without Justice.
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPAroHl

CHICAGO. Dec. 10-COlonel Roose welt and George W. Perkins, of New York, were the leading figures today at the national conference of the pro sressive party. Colonel Roosevelt di eressing from his prepared address, made a vigorous attack on the Idaho supreme court for a decision in the recent campaign regarding presidential electors Perkins took the center of the stage when it became known that certain fellow prOgressives had started d movement to oust him from the na- tional executive committee because of his former corporation connections.
 Colonel Roosevelt took up the fight for Mir. Perkins. Pointing out Per kins and calling him by name Roose- welt declared that the New York if nancier was one man he was proud to have as a fellow worker in the progress sive party Later in the day Perkins made a speech in which he asserted he always had been for progressive meas ures and resented an intimation that he was convert to the cause.
 Taking up the Idaho supreme court decision Colonel Roosevelt said:
 T have asked by J. H Gipson. pro- gressiVe state chairman of Idaho. on his behalf, to present to you few words. d concrete illustration in which q court has done the greatest injus- tie to the people and is seeking to do d worse injustice.
 In Idaho, the election law makes no provision for the election of presiden- tial electors. The supreme court con strued it so as to permit republican and democratic electors to be put on the ticket by construng the provision which provided for the election of con- stables and other officers to include the presidential electors. I think quite right such a construction; a very loose construction, but necessary.
 But when it came to the progress sive party, the court made the tightest kind of a tight construction. It was so constructed that the progressive party could not get on the ticket be- cause under the section providing for the nominations by petitions the high est number of votes declared to be necessary for the establishment of a ticket by petition was 300 in the case of the state officials
 
 state officials and therefore the repub- lican and democratic electors could go cn the ticket under the provisions which permitted the election of con stables and other officers, vet the pro- gressive ticket could not be nominated ty petition because the highest number @of votes necessar to nominate by pc titiOn was 300 for state officials They said the electors were not state offi- Cials.
 The supreme court of the United States has held more than once that electors are not national officials and has distinctly held that although they exercised a function in national politics they eercised it exactly as the le gisla- tors who elected United States sena- tor.
 "I defy any honest and intelligent man to read that decision of the su- preme court of Idaho and compare the 1axty of the construction by which they construed that statute. which does not make provision for electors at all, to permit the republican and democratic parties to vote on electors and the quibbling and technical con struction with which they construed the statute. prohibiting the progressive party from getting electors. I defy any man to read that decision without feel ing the keenest indignation at reac- tionary court, which, following the ac- ton taken by the reactiOnary machine of Idaho, prevented what undoubtedly would have been a large plurality of the citizens of Idaho from having a ticket to vote for president
 Progressives in Idaho had to write in on the election ballot the names of the presidential electors and the ex- traordinary thing is that over 25.0OO men did write them in. over 25,O0O men and women, I should say"
 I am not stating it strongly enough. over 25.OOO wrote them n correctly and enough additional thousands wrote them in Tith mis- takes so that if the puriose had re- ceived recognition. Idaho would haI cast an electoral vote for the prog ressive party.
 Now the Capitol News of Boise criticised the decision hold 4 would have been mark of lov servility not to criticise such an out rageous and iniquitOus decision. The most offensive criticism it did make was to include telegram from m. in which l spoke of the decision with guarded moderation, but still wiIh