The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1914-09-03
BULL MOOSER
QUITS RICHARDS
CHAIRMAN Or PROGRESSIVE
PARTY EXECUTIVE COMMIT
TEE REPUDIATES CANDID
ACY OF HURON MAN.

AeAASs NJ III lS lCliO lllS lClleT.
from John Sutherland, one of the
leaders in the Bull Moose organiza-
ton IN this state, and at the head OF
the executive committee of that or
~ganizatioa would indicate that all is
not harmony in the ranks of that or
~ganization, and he takes the occasion
to charge r. O. Richards as attempt
ing to sail under false colors in his
claim of being the Bull Moose choice
for governor at the November cleo
ton. The letter is as follows:
Hon. r. o. Richards,
Huron, 5. ID.
Il am in receipt of your letter of
August 18th. AS a member of the
Progressive Campaign committee, and
also of the Executive Committee i
desire to call your attention to the
following matters.
You say in your letter that you
are a non-partisan candidate for gov
ernor contained in the same enclos-
ure with your letter was a circular
headed, Richards to run for Gov
ernor. r. o. Richards
himself ~non-partisan candidate This
| assume is to be read as a supple
ment to your letter, from which l
quote the following: L was an indie
pendent candidate for governor in
the primaries or my own platform
and will be an Independent candidate
at the fall election. standing on the
same platform, with no partnership
with any individual, faction or party.
| am therefore a ~non-partisan candi-
date for governor At the bottom
of your letter you have printed a
resolution alleged to have been
adopted officially by the executive
committee Of the Progressive party
at a meeting held at Huron last
week, referring to a meeting OF the
campaign committee composed of
Messrs. Wright, Van Meter and
Sutherland.
N resolution of the character
contained in your letter was present.
ed to or adopted by the campaign
committee or executive committee.
The question of endorsing you aud
Mr.. Loucks was preached several
times during the 9Th and 7th of Aug
ust, the date of the meeting; but the
campaign committee, (there being no
other members of the executive COM
mittee presently unanimously agreed
not to endorse you or anybody else
on the ground that neither the cam
paign committee nor the Executive
committee was authorized by the
state convention to make an endorse
ment. The statement which you are
sending out is false and fictitious.
The Progressive Party was or
ganized in this state primarily for
the purpoe of securing a legal or
ganization so that the names of it's
candidates in 1916 could appear on
the ballot. To accomplish this pur-
pose it was believed by the legal adj
visers of the party that it was nee
essary this year to have one or more
candidates, including a candidate for
governor. At the state convention it
was decided that the delegates and
candidates, in order to qualify as
such, should sign the following
pledge:
believing in the principles of the
Progressive party as set forth in its
contract with the people, l hereby en-
roll as a member of the Progressive
Party in South Dakota and pledge
my support to its principles and or
ganization.
"'Name
Address 1888.
"You have not done this. You are
not a Bull Mooser. If the Bull
Moose party is not good enough for
you you are not good enough for the
Bull Moose party. You arc standing
on your own platform and not on the
Bull Moose platform. AS far as any
one knows you arc an enemy of the
Progressive party. In 1912 at the
republican state convention you were
a stard-pat candidate as elector fol-
Mr.. Taft, but were defeated. From
that time until the state convention
at Pierre, in January, 1914, you
were affiliated with the stand-pat.
tiers. During the primaries you were
running on your own platform and
are now doing the same. You were
running as an independent republi-
can. NO announcement has eve beer
made that you have changed your
faith"
From your headquarters at HUI
ron your name is being sent out as
a candidate for governor Of the pro-
gresslye party. In this another meth
cd adopted to deceive the progress
slyes by attempting to lead them TIC
believe that by voting for you the
progressive party may get a legal
standing in 1916? You, not being
the party's candidate, cannot assist
as a n~on-partisan candidate in Civ.
ing the party a legal standing. The
Progressive party convention adopt
ed as its motto, National Progressive
Part and all it's candidates are to
run under that motto. Do you pro-
pose to run under that motto, claim
Ing to be a candidate of the progress
siye party and at the same time an
nouncing that you are a %non-parti-
a with no partnership with any
faction or part?'
"In all decency you should with
draw from circulation the false state
ment that the executive committee
at the meeting referred to Endorsed
you as an independent candidate, and
You should suppress the fictitious res
o~lution asserted to have been passed
by the executive committee at such
meeting.
Il am not unmindful that certain
of the Progressive organization are
sending out your name as a candidate