Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-12-10
Editorial Comment
1t RambIes.
portland Press.A


In reply to a correspondents query
anent the senatorial situation the Lew
iston Journal just rambles and rambles
without getting anywhere except up
against a wall of obstruction The
correspondent said he was wondering
IF You would rather see Mr. Gardner
go to the Senate instead of Mr.. Bur-
leigh" Personally he said he was not
in favor of Mr.. Burleigh, although he
voted for him in the primary, but
cannot see where we would gain as
Progressives by helping to elect Gard
ner" And he asked whether there
was any other outcome. In reply he is
told that In our judgment it is set
tied that MIR. Burleigh can be elected
TO the Senate only if he gets Demo-
cratic votes in the Legislature. The
Progressives will hold the balance of
power. They will have their own can
didates, and in no event will they vote
for the Democratic candidate, nor for
the Penrose party candidate for the
Senate. The House will be deadlocked
at the start, unless Mr. Peters retires,
etc, etc. "A deadlock" it is said ora
cularly. lis better than betrayed
trust
However. this does not answer the
question of the correspondent very
satisfactorily. He asks whether there
was any other way out, and he is told
that it will he neither Burleigh nor
Gardner, but a deadlock, which can be
broken only by Democrats voting for
Burleigh. That seems to be the
amount of it. There is rambling talk
about TORY plots, presidential pre-
ference primaries, the stealing of the
unstolen Chicago convention, ''the ST.
lent Government" and the Powers of
Pillage." all of which has nothing to
do with the case. AS to Mr.. Peters, he
is as progressive as the next, and he
stands on the platform enunciated by
the Bangor convention, which includes
presidential preference primaries. 1t
is simply that he exercised his right
and followed his judgment to stand by
his party that he is marked for re-
venge. And the same in regard to Mr..
Burleigh, who has not changed a whit
since he carried the Senatorial pri-
maries. He is not the candidate of
1.-The Penrose party" if by that is
meant the Republican party, any more
than he is of what has since become
the Progressive party; for both Taft
men and Roosevelt men participated
in the primaries and supported him
as Sthe Journals correspondent con-
coded he did for one. Both parties
stood together in support of the pri-
mary nominations up to September
and later, and it was not until after
the presidential election that the prop
osition was seriously advanced to re-
pudiate the senatorial primary Moth
ing has occurred, however, to excuse
the breaking of faith 1t makes no diff
ference whether Taft got many or few
votes. AS Messrs Hichborn, irving
and Dunnack, three prominent mem
bers of the Progressive party, account
in their letter to members of the Leg
! islature. the Progressive convention
| last July deliberately voted to sup
port the Republican candidates, ant
voted down a resolution to ask then
where they stood as to the questions
which the Progressive party has since
adopted" 1t is the conviction of thes'
J gentlemen, buttressed by unassailabl
logic, that the party is bound in homo
to respect the primary decision.
That is the sole issue. whether TIN
| primary shall be respected or repudi
ated And it is not to be obscured b,
throwing dust and making endless re-
liberation of unrelated things,