The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-08-05
(National News Association


idge. the gubernatorial nominee OF the
Indiana Progressive party, sounded
the key note of the National Progress
sive party at the national convention
today. His address in part follows:
Like other free people. most of us
Americans are progressive or reaction
airy, liberal or conservative. The neu-
trails do not count Yet today neither
of the old parties are either wholly
Democratic politicians and office seek
ers say to reactionary Democratic vot-
ers that the Democratic party is reac-
tionary enough TO express reactionary
views: and they say 10 progressive
Democrats that the Democratic party
is progressive enough to express pro-
gressive views. At the same time, Re
publican politicians and office seekers
say the same thing about the Repub-
lican party to progressive and reac-
tionary Republican voters.
Sometimes in both Democratic and
Republican States the progressives
get control of the party locally and
then the reactionaries recapture the
same party in the same state; or this
process is reversed. So there is no
nationwide unity of principle in either
clear-cut and sincere program of one
party at frank and open war with an
equally clear-cut and sincere program
of an opposing party.
This unintelligent tangle is seen in
Congress. Republican and Democratic
Senators and Representatives, believ-
ing alike on broad measures affecting
the whole Republic, find it hard to
vote together because of the nominal
difference of their party membership.
When, sometimes, under resistless con-
viction, they do vote together, We
have this foolish spectacle: Legisla-
tors calling themselves Republicans
and Democrats support the same poll
cy, the Democratic legislators declar-
ing that that policy is Democratic and
Republican legislators declaring that
it is Republican; and at the very same
time other Democratic and Republican
legislators oppose that very same pol
icy, each of them declaring that it is
not Democratic or not Republican.
This condition makes it impossible
most of the time. and hard at any time
for the peoples legislators who be-
lieve in the same broad policies to en-
act them into logical, comprehensive
laws 1t confuses the public mind. 1t
breeds suspicion and distrust 1t ena-
bles such special interests as seek un-
just gain at the public expense to get
what they want. 1t creates and fosters
the degrading boss system in Ameri-
can politics through which these spe-
cial interests work.
This boss system is unknown and
impossible under any other free gov
eminent in the world. In it's very ma
ture it is hostile to the general well
fare. Yet it has grown until it now
is controlling influence in American
public affairs. At the present mo-
ment notorious bosses are in the sad
die of both old parties in various i'm
portant states which must be carried
to elect president. This Black Horse
Cavalry is the most important force in
the practical work of the Democratic
and Republican parties in the present
campaign. Neither of the old parties
nominees for president can escape OBJ
legation to these old party bosses nor
shake their practical hold on many and
powerful members of the National
Legislature
"Under this boss system, no matter
which party wins, the people seldom
win; but the bosses almost always
win. And they never work for the PEG
pie. They do not even work for the
party to which they belong. They work
only for those anti-public interests
whose political employees they are. II