Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1914-02-24
PARTY BEING RUN
FROM THE OUTSIDE
Indications are That Leaders Of Bull
Moosers are not Trusting
the People.

to run the progressive party and the
young party seems to have about as
many political pirates among its
leaders as either the republican or
democratic party. # the progressive
party is in that condition so soon
where will it be if it ever gains
power and has rewards to dole out
to the faithful? The following Des
Moines dispatch indicates the trend
of events in the progressive camp
and also calls attention to recent
happenings that lead to a suspicion
that the new party is not in fact
party Of the people:
Already in the year 1914 some re-
markable disclosures have been
made as to the nature of machine
made politics and the practical pur-
poses to be served thereby. A study
of the record as it has been written
by sympathetic hands is interesting.
A plain statement will be sufficient.
1t has not been difficult for the
reader of the newspapers of Iowa to
discover that the progressive party
in this state is able to finance
campaign of publicity That such
publicity is costly is well known.
The fact that the bull moosers get at
it so early is fairly taken to indicate
that the appeal for funds has not
been in vain. They are writing
their own history of their movement
as they go along. 1t is easy to read;
but not always do the readers get
the proper perspective.
There has been great deal of
mystery about the recent so-called
conference held in law Office in
this city. The story as written by
those on the inside lacks some de-
tails. But enough was heralded to
the world to show some things. And
they are enlightening.
1t will be recalled that the con
! ference" was on before outsiders
knew it was called. The rank and
file Of the bull moose party was not
there. The first information was an
announcement under the startling
Slug head National Leaders Aid
Progressives." The report stated
that o. X. Davis, secretary of the
national progressive committee,
was here from New York City; also
Walter Brown, national organic
err" Victor Murdoch and some local
leaders named. But here was the
kernel of it all, as shown by their
own report:
"The candidate to be brought out
against Senator Cummins was dis
cussed yesterday to some extent, but
the choice Of the man was left en-
tirely to the Iowa committee"
All, that was kind and gracious
and condescending of Messrs. Davis.
Brown, Murdoch, ct al. Why didn't
the other-than-Iowa committee not
only decide there should be an
against Cummins" candidate, but
decide who it should be?
Those who read this sentence, in
the chosen avenue of publicity Of
the committee from Wall street,
paused to reflect. In Iowa the meth
cd Of making a ticket is not the
same as in New York. The old sys-
TEN of having a committee choose
who shall or shall not be candi-
date was abolished some time ago.
in fact early in the movement for
political reform. A primary law has
been in force some time providing
! that the members of a party shall
have the right to name their candi-
dates. And it has been supposed, in
Iowa, that this right of the mem
lbership of the party to control was
the very essence of progressiveism
But here was secret conference,
the national leaders" dominating.
(which spent two whole days trying
to decide on the man who should be
the candidate against Cummins."
Then came the sequel. From the
same authoritative source, the rec
ognized organ of the movement. the
following day came this solemn an
nouncement:
The conference over the selec-
ton of candidates for the chief
places on the progressive ticket, it
was rumored, failed of definite re-
suits. National leaders were con-
cerned, according to the report, in
securing a strong former progressive
republican to enter the race for the
progressive nomination for senator.
With such man nominated, the
hope of beating Senator Cummins
would be much more concrete than