Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-03-12
a. Z. Fontaine, Publisher.
"GETTING TOGETHER"

In many states an effort is being
made to unite Republicans and Re
store party harmony. The plan OF
procedure seems to be generally tie
same. The Standpat leaders and
the Progressive Republican lea~e-
are invited in evenly balanced mum
bers. The speakers are carefully Sc
lected and the speeches impaftlaEy
sandwiched. Everything moves
smoothly and with precision The
reyered names and great achieve
ments of another generation are re
membered. Many events Of more
recent date are forgotten. Soft words
prevail throughout, together with
much applause. And then having
duly and formally assembled ANA
manifesuy gotten together that
fact is declared and published to
the country.
The task which confronts the Re
publican Party is a tremendous ONE.
1t is not to be accomplished by
honeyed words and tlimsy pretext.
1t was no trivial and accidental cir
cumstance which wrenohed asunaef
the greatest political organization OF
modern times. The events which
TRANSFERRED at Chicago were the in
evitable consequences OF a deca@e
Of betrayal by bad party leaders.
The Republican Party had fought
every battle for human rights wag-
ed ON this continent for forty years.
But from Lincoln, Sherman, and
equal rights to Roosevelt, Aidrich
and industrial monopoly, was d steep
descent.
The rank and file of the old party
still held to it's sacred memories and
it's lofty IDEALS. At every call t1eJ
still followed the old flag. The fight
was no longer to free the black ma
from chattel slavery and restore
broken and divided country 1t was
to free all men from industrial ser
yitude, free every business from
destructive monopoly and resto
equal opportunity to an. oppressed
country.
Again and again that great army
Of seven million, fought and Won
to find its leaders in close fellow
ship with the captains OF oIoly
in transportation and industry, their
campaigns financed by the Mongans,
the Harrimans, the tricks, the Perk-
inses. and the Hanras.
Promised tariff revision was juggl-
ed for ten years. Combinations
trusts monopoIies, holding compa-
MES, interloeking directories, the
control of credit and capital-the
monster evils with which we are now
grapplfng-came into being and grew
to lulsty power, almost wholly with
the period of the two last RepubIl-
can administrations. and while Re
publican leadership was dominant in
both branches of Congress.
These are ugly facts. But they
are the facts with which the RepubIl-
can Party must deal openly, frankly,
fearlessly, before it can win back
the confidence of the millions OF
men comprising the body OF that par
ty.
For these conditions the Standpat
Republican leadership must bear the
responsibility. Not an act tina
STRENGTHENED monopoly had the ap-
proval of the seven million Republic n
voters.
The first organized opposition o
these evils was formed in the Pro
sressive Republican states. From
one state TO another it swept across
the country until it gathered so
much power that, undivided. it would
have controlled the Republican party
In 1912. Progressive Republican con-
troll would have given the country
Republican admirstra ion
in 1912
Because that Republican leaiersh p
which was directly resp onSi Bile for
wrongs under VIII CHI the
suffers, divided and desea-
ed progressive Republican control,
he people protested and registered
heir disapproval in the national
lection of 1912. Unless the Repub-
lean party recognizes and accepts
these self-evident and indisputable