Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-04-17
a VoiIey of Facts.

The Ellsworth American. hlts the
political nail squarely on the head
when ii declares in substance that the
man who votes the Progressive ticket
this year knows exactly what he is do.
ing-he knows that he is throwing his
vote away, so far as his candidates or
his principles are concerned, and that
he is worse than throwing it away by
increasing the possibilities of election
of those candidates of party stand
ing exactly opposite to many of the
principles professed in the Progressive
platform The silly pretense used in
every election since the Roosevelt vote
in 1s12-that the Roosevelt vote was
the Progressive vote-has been shown
in every instance ID be as unreliable as
was its inspiration dishonest. The
asinine mouthings of the Lewiston
Journal have been disproved and dis
credited in every instanee-and yet it
goes on with its idiotic pretense.
In every municipal election and in
the Third district election the false
pretensions of these misleaders have
been shown to Progressive voters and
to the people. over and over we have
pointed out these things, and still those
same dishonorable methods and braz-
only false claims are made, obviously
for no other purpose than to deceive
enough voters to secure the election of
Democratic nominees-revenge pure
and simple, and in many cases strongly
marked for years before the Progress
sive party was born.
The flimsy fiction that Progressive
candidate can beat Pattangall; Peters
can't" has been exploded. The tao
tics used by the Progressive party or
gans in last years Third district spe-
cial election Disguised every honest
man, either before or after election,
because the slowest of comprehension
knew when the vote was counted, that
any NEWSPAPER must have known
before; that any newspaper making
such wholly false assertions day after
day must be dishonest and wilfully
misleading its readers for a selfish or
vengeful purpose.
The same methods had been adopted,
the same brazenly false claims had
been used in all the municipal cleo
tons; and they are being uncorked
again for use right through this cam
paign-a few disappointed and bitter
ones deliberately pretending to stand
for holy cause while just as deliber-
ately misleading every voter possible
as to the chances OF Progressive nomi-
nees. Some of these stoop to studied,
deliberate, carefully thought out false
hood. like the assertion that free de-
bate" was allowed in the Bangor Pro-
gressive convention. The writer has
been attending State conventions of all
political parties for 20 years and never
beheid elsewhere such a demonstration
of overbearing intolerance of honest
criticism, or such pitiful example of
the smothering of free speech and
abuse of a good man and highly re-
spected member who had good views
to impart, and that was free debate"
of the Armageddon. square deal,
Damascus Road, Rule of the People or
der. God pity the rest.
This year they will tell you that
Thompson can beat Pattangall;
Peters can't" and what will they found
it upon? Mr.. Thompson is a good citi-
zen, an honest man--who will never
set the world afire-and we have as
much respect for him as for any man
in the Progressive party; but how will
he defeat Peters? In the spring of
1913 Mr.. Thompson was in high favor
in the Progressive party. He was the
biggest and cieanest man in his party
in Maine. He was candidate for
mayor Of Augusta He had all the
ylan1or OF the Roosevelt favor of the