The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-07-18
BIG FIGHT OVER PLATFORM
Modified Demand for Income Tax Re
peal is Placed in Platform Bryan
Draws Endorsement from Convention
Local Delegates Split on Nominee.


Democracy of Wisconsin at the state
convention held in Milwaukee on
Thursday after one of the most mem
orable sessions ever held by the party
in Wisconsin. His lead over "A. j.
Schmitz of Milwaukee was such mar
row one that it was declared that
Schmitz would disregard the action of
the convention and place petitions in
circulation in order to fight it out
with Judge Karel at the primaries to
be held in September. Judge Karel
received total of 1913 votes while
A. j. Schmitz received 375. The Ke-
nosha county delegation, which had
been counted as certain to be in the
schmitz column gave Karel eight
votes and Schmitz two, the younger
men of the delegation all swinging to
Karel None of the favorite son can
didates figured in the balloting and
the names Of Judge KareI and Schmitz
were the only names presented to the
convention
The ballot which resulted in the
nomination Of Karel was taken late
Thursday night after the opposition
to the Milwaukee jurist had exhaust
ed every parliamentary move to pre-
vent the delegates being placed on
record. Thomas M. hearney Of Ra-
cine, who was permanent chairman of
the convention, finally ruled that I'M
der the call Of the convention it was
necessary for the convention to bal
lot on the nomination of a candidate
for governor and this ruling brought
an end to the struggle of the anti
Karel men. The vote for Karel was
a surprise and his friends had expect
ed that he would receive much larg-
er percentage Of the votes of the dele
gates. The Milwaukee county delega-
tion We're almost unanimous for Karel,
Schmitz receiving but four votes from
Milwaukee county. Schmitz gained
his strength from the up state coun-
ties and most of the delegates who
had gone uninstructed to the conven-
ton dropped into the Schmitz column.
When the fight for the nomination
of governor was over Chairman
Kearney declared the convention ad-
iourned until this morning when the
nomination of the remainder of the
ticket and the adoption of the plat
form was taken up. The fight be-
tween the Karel and Schmitz men is
much in evidence over the question
of the adoption of the platform and
the only thing that the two factions
are agreed upon is the endorsement of
Wilson and Marshall. The big FIGHT
on the platform is over the question
of treatment of income tax legisla-
tion. The Karel men are demanding
an unqualified demand for the repeal
of the income tax law while the
Schmitz men are favorable to mid
die of the road course which would
provide for the submission of the
question of repeal to the people.
The committee on resolutions COM
pleted the work on the platform Just
after midnight this morning and the
most salient points of the platform
were as follows:
We hereby ratify and affirm the
platform adopted by the Democratic
national convention held at the city of
Baltimore, and pledge to the princi-
pies therein enunciated and to the
candidates nominated at that conven-
ton our hearty and unqualified support
We again affirm our confidence in that
great Democratic leader, w J. Bryan.
and commend him for his ceaseless eff
forts in behalf of the party.
We reaffirm our belief IN the prin-
ciple Of a graduated income tax as
eminently just and equitable. We crit
icise the present law as imperfect and
lnequltable in many respects. We
therefore pledge ourselves to amend
the present law at the 1913 session of
our legislature so as to remove the OBJ
noxious features complained Of and to
make its provisions simple and equit-
able, and to submit the law as so
amended to the people of our state for
their approval or rejection at the first
general election after its amending.
We condemn the practice of unnec-
Icessarily multiplying commissions and
appointive officers in the state of Wis
eonsin not in any sense directly re-
sponsible to the people either for their
conduct in office or the expenses in
eldent to the administration OF af-
fairs through them. Government by
appolntlve officers is not government
by the people. It is not contemplated
I'm the constitution of the state or of
the country. It is subversive to pop