The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-09-19

1 al committee was lost. sight of. A 1 town chairman was named by the 1 state central committee members l though I know that there was no for
 nal meeting of the local state com mittee members at which time MT. l Melfus was formally voted upon. Dis
 trict chairmen were then tentatively 1 appointed and from then on the work
 of organizing has been going forward,
 with the original committee having
 nothing to do with it except in so far
 as individual members of that origin
 al committee are recognized by the To- | cal state committee members.
 T was dissatisfied from the first but
 >snothered my feelings because want
 ed to see harmony prevail. I worked
 as hard as any one and hoped more l than many that the movement would | go along all right.
 There seemed a lack of organiza- l tion. and little was done in an order
 however, that everything was pushing 1 ahead so fast that it was almost i'm | possible to do things as they should | be done in so short time and I was contented to wait I was among many
 who got dissatisfied now and then with the way things were going. tried
 things out but it looked funny at | times to see the inactivity of some of | those who we had begun to look to as l the real leaders. '-~1 | 4-.sFinalIy the matter of Col Roose- Veft's visit to Bridgeport came up. I l was made chairman of the cornn1it- tee to arrange. for his coming
 Earle Bartram did a great deal of work
 about that time with his automobile; gave much of his time and worked hard, Because of that, when the question arose as to who should motor the Colonel to the park came up. I 1 favored MT. Bartram. We informally 1 talked that matter over and nearly 1 everyone was of the same mind. MT.
 Melius, the town chairman felt the
 same way when approached and
 greed that MT. Bartram should be the 1J1V %f 6 1af fcaV>= IlfV ever, he said that MT. Bartram could not be the man. This didn't look to
 me to be a square deal for MT. Barr tram.
 ssI felt that Mir Bartram deserved
 the privilege and wanted to see him
 get 1t and was ready to do what I
 To my best knowledge every member
 Of that committee of which was chairman was favorable to MT. Bar tram. Finally when trouble seemed
 to be brewing MT Bartram said that she didn't care to have the privilege
 That attitude on his part, I am sat-
 fshed- came about through influence
 that was brought to bear upon him.
 MT Bartram was too much of a gen
 tleman to let any trouble arise over
 him and he withdraw.
 tI felt that an injustice had been
 done to the committee that I was
 chairman of and also that there was
 far too much unfairness mixed up m
 the whole matter for me to remain in the movement as worker. there
 fore dropped the work as chairman of
 the committee arrangements ana man of the Seventh district to which I was appointed. I felt as though wanted to wash my hands of the whole business. I had hoped that there would be no machine smethods used in this movement locally and looked for a square deal all around I became satisfied that there wouldn be any square deal and consequently
 withdraw believe that was jus tified in doing SO. .A T remained out of the organization work and because of my absence from the headquarters people began to ask if there was trouble. told them all, with perhaps few exceptions when spoke conf1dentially to friends, that there was no trouble and have 1 endeavOreds to hush up whatever i'll feeling has developed.
 Then came the convention last Fri day night when delegates were to be elected to the state convention in | Hartford. There was good deal or | suspicion here and there as to what | be employed in electing the delegates I favored an open conyention, having n or11 ina tions come absolutely from the | floor and having them elected in the manner in which they were. was given to understand, however, thaI some attempt might be made to nave a. nominating committee appointed or elected and this nominating commit tee be instructed to bring in a list of | nominees of delegates to Hartford l was opposed to that plan and under stood that others who were active workers in the movement, were also opposed to it.
 I tookS sides with that faction which stood for an open convention and which wanted to have nominations | made from the floor. We anticipat- l ed trouble and prepared for it by hav- ing slips printed with names of men who would be acceptable delegates | from all districts. This was done so that we might be prepared in case a resolution was introduced asking for a nominating committee. It was the object to use these printed slips in getting before the voters of that con yention the names of men who would be most desirable as delegates We wanted to stall any possible attempt at getting a slate before that. sconven- tion These slips were not to have been presented as a slate of delegates They were to have been presented as to at the will of the convention, and from which the voters at that conven- | ton could select their choices.
 Apparently the town chairnen and those with him decided that it would be advisable to have nominations made direct from the floor, in view ofI the opposition to the plan of naV1ng 2 nominating committee. At any rate that was the method adopted and it worked handsomely with some excep- Eions The idea of a nominating com nittee didn't appeal to me because it was similar to methods employed by f political ma chimes. I wanted con- vention run absolutely by the voters and I consider that those who stood for that same plan won victory in l. getting that method adopted. That city and town convention would not have been run by the voters as it was but would have been a machine affair if we hadn't worked against the plans of MT Stoddard,. MT. Taylor and MT. Melius who desired the nominating committee.
 After the meeting had started MT. I,oWrae who felt the same way did