Barton County democrat., 1914-01-02
zTH. DISTRICT PRoeREssIvEs.
hold Anti-Harmony Meeting In Hutch.
Inson Monday Of This Week.

No fusion!
No harmony! f
No compromise!
That was the keynote Of the Sew
enfh district progressive conference
mat met in Hutchinson on Mon
Gay. That was the substance Of the
resolutions; that was the tenor Of al
0e speeches; that was the suggestion
Of the leaders and the approval Of
the rank and file.
About 400 or 500 persons attended
the afternoon and evening meetings
most of them from Hutchinson and
Reno county, to be sure, but quite a
sprinkhng from out over the district
The speeches at the afternoon meet
ing were all of home production, ex.
cept that of U. S. Sartin, chairman
OF the state committee, and ]. NJ.
VanOrdstrand of Mcpherson, and
the resolutions were drafted before
the leaders arrival, so they may be
said to be spontaneous and repre-
sentative.
At the evening meeting the state
leaders spoke Congressman Victor
MurdOck of the Eighth congressional
district, Henry ]. Allen, of the Wich-
ita Beacon, and j. L. Brady, of Law
renee, former state senator and can
didate for congress last year. The
speeches differed in subject matter
and language, but were all of the
same purport-that the progressive
party was a separate and distinct
political entity from the republican
party, that there was no occasion for
and no reason in fusion or 'har-
mmy,' as the standpatters phrase. it,
and that the thing for the new party
to do was to have its own ticket
and fight its own battle, without re-
gard to what republicans or demo
Gratis should do and invite progres-
siVes Of all parties to come with them
and make one progressive party that
would appeal to the north and the
south, the east and the west alike.
Evidently this is the sort Of talk
the rank and file wanted to hear, for
every impassioned declaration Of pro
gressive principles was received with
tumOltuous cheers, every shaft OF
ridicnle Of the standpat plea for har-
mny was received with laughter and
jeers and every thrust at the demo
cratic party in state and nation and
every prophecy that the democratic
party would itself eventually split In
to progressievs and standpats was
acknowledged with enthusiasm 1t isl
a goit-alone, middle-in+the-road, in
dependent course for the progreSSives
Of the Sevnth district, if yesterday g
nesting meant anything.
Ora w. Dawson, former mayor OF
Great Bend, and chairman Of the
Seventh district progressive commit
tee, presided at the meeting. Daw-
son was frequently mentioned as the
party's prospective congressional
candidate, but he would go no
further than to say he was thinking
about it and had not made up his
mind. Dawson spoke briefly in open
ing the meeting in the Afternoon, en-
bodying in his remarks the speech
made by Theodore Roosevelt before
he left for South America. His talk
was frequently punctuated with ap-
plause and the Roosevelt utterances
regarding feaky to the cause were
vigorously applauded.
At the conclusion of Dawson S
moved the appointment Of commit
tee ON resolutions. Dawson appoint
ed Metz of Reno, IseE of Gray coun-
ty and Ripley Of Stafford as the COM
mittee. Before they retired each
was called and responded with a
brief speech in which independent
action was advocated.
While the resolutions committee
was out, Dawson called on various
men in the audience for speeches.
John Van Ordstrand, of Mcpherson,
an old soldier, alluded to his years of
repubhcanism and how he had final
ly to leave the party he loved so
we'll.
They talk of harmony he said, al
@1ding to the republicans. If we lis
ten to their proposition of us going
oyer and joining them, it is case
of the tail Wagging the dog.
Once, down at Fort Doneison,
there was a southern commander who
had harmony scheme. When ne
proposed it to Ulysses S. Grant, his
reply was, 4 will accept nothing but