The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-10-27
Howe, Senter and Others Do
Not Relish Nomination
OF c. A. PrOuty
COMMITTEE ACTED
WITHOUT WARRANT

Letter to Democratic Voters Urges
Them to Turn Him Down - Some saw
They Will Vote for DILLINGHAM;
Object to Party Being Made Catspaw.
Whatever else the candidacy Of Charles
A. Prouty for the United States senate
may have accomplished II has succeeded
apparently in wreeking the Democratic
party, 50 far as this years campaign is
concerned. Certainly ii has widened the
breach between the Burke faction and the
anti-Burke faction. and concerted effort
Is being made by the anti-Burke men,
among whom are many Of the leading
Democrats of the state, to induce the
members OF the Democratic party To cur
Prouty at the polls and 70 write IN the
name OF some member of the party as a
candidate for senator and vote for him.
Many OF the Democrats opposed to Proutv
even 90 50 lar to state that they will
vote Tor Dillingham;, the Republican nomi-
nee, to offset possible Democratic votes
for Prouty
| Ever SINCE the state committee substi-
| tuted, without consulting the other candi-
| dates, the name OF AIr Prouty for that
1oi the regular nominee. Mr. Watson OF
tSt. Adams. whom the opposition claims
was forced to withdraw by Prouty manip-
ulators after the convention, a consider
able portion Of the party has openly ex-
pressed its dissatisfaction. The rupture
evidently was deeper than appeared on
the surface, and now a letter prepared BY
anti Burke men IS being sent to Demo
Gratis all over the state urging them not
to cast their votes for Prouty who thev
say hitherto has denounced the party and
lls now seeking its aid only to get himself
into Office
| They assert that in his campaign Mr..
| Prouty not only fails TO support the
| Democratic nominees for state office, but
that he has made statements in opposition
to them: that he has asked Democratic
speakers 10 champion his cause, but re-
fuses 70 speak in behalf OF the Democratic
ticket: that hr Proutv has been asked
ito contribute 10 the Democratic campaign
ltund, but declines to do So whereby Ii
lappeaIs that he is seeking Democratic aid
but is not aiding the Democratic party
in any way.
1t is said that many of the leading
Democrats, including Harland b. Howe of
st. Johnsbury. the nominee Tor governor.
John Fl. Senter of Montpelier, the nomi-
nee for attorney general. and numerous
lothers felt that the party had an excep-
nonai opportunity this year Of electing
Ieither a senator or governor until the
state committee. dominated by the Burke
faction. threw away the chance, and that
they are heartily in accord with the
movement to induce Democratic voters all
over the state to register their disapproval
OF the state committees action by voting
against Prouty
Following Is a copy OF the letter Just
:
Vermont"
we. the Democrats. interested solely
. in the Democratic party and principles.
protest against the attempt Of a faction
5 controlling the Democratic state commit
tee to foist Charles A. Prouty upon the
I ticket, rs candidate of the Democratic
lparty, for United States senator Mr.
; Prouty is not a candidate OF the Demo-
! cratic party. Some of his friends sought
to secure for him the Democratic nomina-
t tion IN our state convention He was de
cisiyey defeated The discussion in the
convention was that we ought to nomI-
nate a Democrat and the vote as taken
was in reality to determine whether we
should nominate Mr.. Prouty or Demo-
crat. There were no personalities IN 1t
other than Mr. Prouty's. The convention
voted that we ought 10 have Democrat
as our candidate for senator 1t was an
! anti-Prouty vote. and expressed the wish
OF the Democratic representatives assem-
, bled in convention.
There never was any warrant for the
= Democratic state committee to put his
7 name on the ticket.
Mr. Prouty Is not a Democrat; he has
: never supported the Democratic party:
!, he is not supporting the Democratic ticket
now; he has hitherto denounced rs and
been opposed TO our policies: he seeks our
aid now to get himself into office If We
must vote for Republican for senator.
each individual Democrat ought to have
his own individual choice as to which
= Republican he votes for. But the Demo
cratic party should not be made any
mans catSpaw We ought not to permit
& e,frselves to be used to aid the ambitions
: OF any Republican We ought 10 stand
= squarely for Democratic ideas and DeInu-
. cratic principles Every Democrat in
Vermont should write in the name of a
: Democrat for United States senator and
= put an \ opposite the name We ought
TO stand by our coiors We ought not to
vote for Prouty The Democratic state
committee. controlled by a faction, acting
against the express wish of the Demo
cratic state convention, has put Us in a
position where it seems we cannot hope
I'd to elect Democratic senator. but we
can at least take our stand as Democrats
and vote for a Democrat. Let rs make
er our protest against Prouty and the Prouty
o kind of politics We have had something
ii put over us. Win you stand for it,
Brother Democrat"