Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-06-05
POLITICS, LENRooT, FREAR AND
THE OTHERS.

Republican caucus which Mr.. Len
root. Mr.. Frear and other Wisconsin
congressman who call themselves
Progressive Republicans attended. 1t
is even said that Mann owes his sue
cess to Lenroot, acting as a Progress
sive Republican. April 8, President
| Wilson read to the house his message
on tariff revision. On April p, the
ways and means committee Of the
house reported the Democratic tariff
bill
Therefore, before the presidents
message en- the tariff had been read
to the house and two weeks before
the Underwood bill was reported, be
| fore it had even been agreed on, FreaI
and Lenroot and the other Progress
sive Republicans abandoned the Erin-
ciDles of Progressive Republicanism
by supporting Mann for Republican
| leader and by binding themselves to
a caucus ruled by the old Cannon ma
chine. Their action paved the way
for united Republican opposition to
the Democratic tariff bin, the defeat
of which would, of course, mean the
retention of the Payne-Aldrich tar
if with all it's iniquities and eX
tortiOn.
Here We have proof that before
| they knew what the president would
advise in tariff reform; before the
ways and means committee had pre-
scented it's measure for tariff reduc-
ton, Frear, Lenroot and other PRO
gressive Republicans had entered
| the Republican caucus and assisted
in the choice of a leader who, as
they could not but know, did mott
stand for the things for which they
had declared, who was to be counted
against such tariff reduction as even
| hey advocated. Does it look as
though their objections to the I'm
derwood bill had arisen after its pre-
sentation and because of it's con-
tents? Rather their course was de
| termined before they had any know
ledge of what that bin would be.
They had gone in with the Stand
patters. They had neglected their
own platform, they had forgotten thei
own speeches and their constituents.
| They were committed to opposition,
or what reason unless that was the
political game that appealed to
them? 1t is not the old kind of
politics in which a representative
uses his office as his personal as
set, regardless of his obligations to
the people at home? Is it not the
kind of politics which we'll nigh de
lstroyed representative government
and to end which Progressive Re
publicanism was raised up? Why do
these men hunt for flaws in the I'm
derwood bill to serve as excuses for
their course when that course was
determined before there was any I'm
port of Mann as Republican leader?
Could there be stronger evidence of
conscious guilt?
Then what is the situation today?
What good could Mr.. Frear and Mr..
Lenroot expect to come to Progress
sive RepubliCaniSm or TO the coun-
try from such an alliance? Did they
expect that Mann as leader would
further the things for which they
stood pledged to their Wisconsin
constituents, the platform offered b.
Senator LaFollette to the Republican
national convention, and rejected by
that body?
such schedules" said LaFollette's
platform, las are generally reccgniz-
ed to be excessive shall he immediate
Iy reduced without waiting further
report from the commission or any
body else. Did Frear and Lenroot
expect Man to advance this idea?
Again: 1--WE condemn the dol
lar diplomacy which has reduced our
state department from its high place
as a kindly intermediary Of defense
less nations into a trading outpost
for WalIst interests, aiming to ex-
plot those who would be cur friends.
Did Messrs. Frear and Lenroot judge
from the past course Of James R.
Mann that he would fall in with this
idea?
I'VE pledge support to the initia-
tive, referendum and recall in nation
and state" So ran the LaFollette
platform. Did Mr.. Frear and Mr.
Lenroot regard. Mr.. Mann as a friend
of these hings, who would help bring
them about? President Taft, lead
ler of the Mann kind Of Republicans,
said only the other day in lecture
at Yale that the initiative and refer
en6um ARE very much like legislation
during the French revoluticn-the
work of political cranl1s and directly
contrary to the spirit of the consu-
tuition" What reason was there to
lsuppCse tina Mann and he res OF
the Tory Republicans held any diff
ferent view?
Again LaFollette's platform says:
I'VE pledge a direct national pri-
: mary for the nomination OF candidate
for president, vice-president and re
. presentatives in congress, the ques-
ion of closed or open primaries to be
determined by state statutes. Mr..
Taft said the other day: Statewide
primaries are extreme measures for
{ political reform. Presidential prl-
maries are almost beyond thought.
. L. i thi