The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-08-30
Takes Exception to the In
sinuation that the Pro-
gressive Party Is Being
Led by New Bosses.
INSISTS REYNOLDS
is NOT ACCEPTABLE
Because He Does Not Stand
for Progressive Principles.
Mr.. Nicholson Injuries
His Own Case.
BY r. G. LEEDS.

eY n. G. LEEDS.
Mr.. Timothy Nicholson, In q COM
munication to the Palladium yester-
day, has taken a stand against the
Progressives nominating q county tick
ct. Such a communication from q
man of Mr.. Nicholson's standing in
the community deserves an answer.
and as Progressive who believes our
party should nominate a complete
county ticket i am very glad of the
opportunity to reply specifically to the
arguments Mr.. Nicholson uses In main
tanning his contention.
Mr.. Nicholson says. From the re-
ports in the city papers those who
attended the recent meeting OF the
Progressive party were about evenly
divided upon the question OF nominat-
ing a county and legislative ticket"
The meeting Mr.. Nicholson refers to
was that of the Progressive county
central committee in this city a week
ago Tuesday. At that meeting after
| hearing from each of the precinct COM
mitteemen present as to the sentiment
| in his precinct regarding a county and
! legislative ticket, action concerning
the former was postponed until the
meeting that is called for this Satur-
! day. and a motion was passed unani-
| mously in favor of a legislative ticket
A Leader But Not Boss.
Continuing. Mr.. Nicholson says. 'Tt
seems. however. the leaders tcalled
bosses in other parties) insist upon
nominating Progressive party ticket.
notwithstanding probably at least
ninety per cent of its members voted
at the primary which nominated the
present county and legislative ticket"
Inasmuch as / have been the author
Of the series of editorials in the Palla-
dium favoring a complete Progressive
county ticket and have worked TO that
end in my capacity as district chair
man of the Progressive party. I must
conclude Mr.. Nicholson refers to me
as one of the leaders or bosses. With
all due modesty i am willing to plead
guilty to attempting to be q leader
in our party. but will ask Mr.. Nichol-
son to specify wherein I have been
guilty of any action that would lay me
open to the charge of being a boss.
Had been a boss would have con-
trolled the precinct meetings at which
the Progressives elected their preeinct
committeeman. Then. when the COM
mitteemen held their meeting the
question of a county ticket would have
been decided as l ordered. This was
not the case. however. az everyone
knows who attended his precinct
meeting. or who remembers the ac-
ton taken on the question at the meet
ing of the county central COMMITTEES.
have not attempted to boss in my
editorials favoring a county ticket. /
have argued the case with my readers
among the Progressives. / have pre-
sented the situation as IL appeared to
me and tried to influence Progressives
by such means as these to see the
question in the same light as I do.
Had / been a boss IL would not have
been necessary for me to take Progress
sives into my confidence In this man.
ner-to reason with them I would
only have had to issue orders and q
Progressive county ticket would have
resulted.
Injuries His Own Case.
Mr.. Nicholson Injuries the case he
seeks to present when he implies the
Progressive leaders are the same a.
the bosses of the old party lines.
When read or hear the word boss"
think of Barnes. who held the bridge
at Chicago; of "Pussyfoot" Crane.
Of Penrose. who now admits to being
the. dirtiest kind of political crook in
vain attempt to besmirch the man
feared of all the bosses. Theodore
Roosevelt; of Murphy, the boss of
Tammany, that hideous organization
that draws a part of it's contributions
from the despoiied bosoms OF the
White Slave girls; Of Taft who pre-
dicted he would be renominated be-
cause the Republican national COM
mittee was composed of men who be-
lieyed in constitutional government"
and who now cracks his whip over the
backs of the federal ofYiceholders for
election day purposes. just az he did
when he forced them to labor for his
denomination I would rather that
God would strike me dead than that
anyone ever could justly accuse me
of working for such ends and by such
means as these thoroughly wicked
men, a desire feel sure ever Progress
| sive shares. in application to himself
Il IL Is true that a large per cent
of those who now constitute the Pro
gressive party in this county partici-
pated in the primary last spring at
which the present Republican county
ticket was nominated. II no more
: necessarily follows, however. for this
reason the Prcgressives should not
fCoutfuued On pn4e afxa