Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1913-02-13
Z Bask Z Lands Hard
On Coe |. 5 Kidneys
M. r. Baskerville In Statement Re
sents Uncalled For Attack BY
Z. Senator Crawford.


Watertown, s, D., Feb. 13, 1913.
MY attention was recently called TO
an interview sent broadcast ever the
Northwest by the peanut politician,
Coe /. Crawford, now occupying seat
in the United States senate represent
ing the great state Of South Dakota.
Mr.. Crawford in that interview shows
his true calibre and his uncalled for
and malicious attack upon citizens Of
our state places him upon the low
plane Of political denagogue and
brands him as one unworthy Of the
confidence of those who have SO high
ly honored him.
So far as l am personally concerned,
it requires no political Office to make
republican out Of me- I have al
ways been a republican, am now and
shall continue to be a republican, be-
lieving that the party is great enough,
big enough and broad enough to solve
the political questions Of the day and
| solve them right, no matter what
cheap politicians, temporarily station
ed in Washington, may think or say.
/ Those who know me best know that
| the time will never come when will
be found chasing rainbows or follow
!. ing in the wake of the Bull Moose
party Notwithstanding the shining ex-
ample set by lot of cheap politicians
1 in our state.
No republican in South Dakota can
be honestly criticized for not voting
| for Bull Moose electors at the No
vember election. The Huron conven.
tion, controlled by men who had but
one object in view, the annihilation
I and absolute destruction of the re-
publican party, selected electors and
placed them at the head Of the repub-
lican ticket, who were pledged to
vote for. and support Roosevelt for
, president; repudiated the national re
; publican platform and candidates and
then had the nerve to ask all true
; republicans to walk up and take Their
medicine. I was one of the men who
: refused to do this, and am not offering
, any excuses for my action.
DISTINGUISHED by these men by theii
action at Huron, there was but ont
course open for republicans, and thai
: was to repudiate the steal perpetratet
+ by the self appointed custodians o
J. the republican party. One OF thest
Il self appointed custodians at the Hu
: ron convention was Mr.. Sterling. Al
8 a member of the committee on reso
< lutions, he voted against the resolu
e ton endorsing the republican platform
}. adopted at Chicago and the candidate
g nominated there. When the resolu
l. tons were presented upon the foe
e Of the convention and minority re
s port was presented upon the floor o
,. the convention, Mr.. Sterling ducke
and was absent. Is that creditabl
position for Mr. Sterling to take an
then come before a republican legi.
= lature and demand its support?
The candidate supported for pres
dent was Theodore Roosevelt. A ma
e who openly and above board denoun,
e ed the republican party, claiming ths
S. mo honest man could belong to it,
u gathered around him as his politics
Is advisors and financial hackers sue
e men as Mr.. Perkins, Mr.. McCormic
u and others equally as close to the bi
n trusts, men who do not devote tim
and money to any cause unless the
know absolutely that they are going
get value received for their time an
money. 1t was Mr.. Sterling's pri
ilege to support Mr.. Roosevelt, b,
II had he been honest, he would hay
told his followers that he was no lon
II er member Of the republican part
I'd released any and all claims he rnigl
IS think he had upon republican meI
s., bers Of the legislature and cast h
p fortunes with the Bull Moose par
anu uepeHusu UPON tueH ~; suppoi
Not doing that, no republican memb'
mt of the legislative body was under ar
lis obligations whatever to support hiI
be and had / been a member of the lie
all islature when the United States Sc
ator was elected the 22nd day of la
he month, I certainly should not ha'
en- voted for Mr.. Sterling until he h;
re first, unqualifiedly, openly and abo
N, board declared himself regarding b
be position. This he refused to do al
ed no honest republican, having the VI
.er fare Of the republican party at hea
i'll and believing in its future, could he
4 orably do anything but vote again