Norwich bulletin., 1912-12-11
Assai|S Idaho
 Supreme Court
ROOSEVELT CALLS ITS DECISION
 OUTRAGEOUS.
AID FOR NEWSPAPER
Colonel Asks Progressives to Retain
 Able Lawyers and Pay Fine of Boise Journalists Charged With Contempt.

Chicago, Dec. 10.-Colonel Theo- dore Roosevelt and George W. Per- kins of New York were the leading figures at the national conference of the new progressive party here to- day. Colonel Roosevelt digressing from a prepared address, attacked the Idaho state supreme court for it's de- cision during the recent campaign re- garding presidential electors. MT. Per- kins took the center of the stage when it became known that certain of his fellow progressives had started movement to oust him from the na- tional executive committee because of his former corporate connections.
 Roosevelt Fights for Perkins.
 Colonel Roosevelt waged the fight for MT. Perkins during an address to delegates at the conference. Pointing out MT. Perkins and calling him by name, Colonel Roosevelt declared that the New York financier was one of the men that he WAS proud to have as fellow worker in the progressive par ty.
 MT. Perkins later made a speech in which he asserted that he always had been for progressive causes and meas ures and that he resented an intima- tion that he was a new convert to the cause.
 Attacks Idaho Supreme Court.
 Taking up the subject of the Idaho supreme courts elector decision Col onel Roosevelt said:
 "In Idaho the election law makes no provision for the election of pres idential electors. The supreme court permitted republican and democratic electors to be put on the ticket by construing a provision for the election of constables and other officers to in- clude presidential electors, but held that the progressive ticket could not be nominated by petition because the highest number of votes enumerated as necessary to nominate by petition was 300 for the election of state off, cials. They said that the electors were not state officials. The supreme court of the United States has held more than once that they are not na- tional officials.
 Had to Write Names of Electors.
 T defy any honest and intelligent man to read that decision of the su preme court of Idaho and compare the laxity of the construction by which they construed a statute which did not make any provision for electors at all to permit the republican and demo- cratic parties to vote on the electors and the quibbhng and the technical- ity of construction by which they con- 5trued the statute to prohibit the pro- gressive party from getting electors.
 "The progressives of Idaho had to write in on the election ballot the names of the presidential electors and the extraordinary thing that over 25,- 900 men did so write them in. Over 25,000 men and women, I should say. l am using the term men in the gen eric sense as it always must be used in a gathering of progressfves.
 An Outrageous Decision.
 Now the Capital-News of Boise, the leading progressive paper of Idaho, criticized that decision. The most of- fensive criticism they made was to include a telegram from me In which 1 spoke of the decision with guarded moderation, but still with frankness.
 T hold that decision was an out rageous decision. I hold that it was the duty of every honest citizen to protest against 1t and to denounce 1t in the strongest terms.
 Have Power to Ruin Paper.
 And now that Idaho court contin- uing to serve the cause of reaction has summoned MT. Sheridan, the edit or of the paper. and others, before 1t for contempt,
 They have it in their power now by the infiiction of sufficiehtly heavy fine to ruin the only paper with the independence to stand up against such a monstrous perversion of justice in Idaho.
 Proeressives Should Pay Fine.
 'T will advocate that the progress sive party make good any fine and I hope that we will send out the ablest lawyers to fight that case and that we give the widest publicity to our reproduction of the conduct of that court.
 "The people of the United States should with one voice join in condemn ing what has been done and prevent the consummation of the outrage
 Colonel Roosevelt's discussion of the Idaho case was received with cheering by the delegates that con- tinued for several minutes