The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1916-03-21
Twin Falls Attorney Receives
Encouragement to Enter Race
HAS MATTER UNDER ADVISE
MENT AT PRESENT TIME.
Declares That He Is Not FactiOnalist
and Made Fight in Boise fer Ma
tiOnal Platform.

All that l can say with reference
to my becoming a candidate for the
position of national committeeman is
that l have had much encouragement
from different parts of the state to
enter the race; that have told some
of my friends that under certain cir
cumstances l would become a candi-
date; that l have the matter under
Amusement, and that have not finally
decided whether l shall enter the race
or not" said Arthur NJ Bowen, when
interviewed Monday relative to the
announcement in the Capital News
OF Sunday hat he would be a candi-
date
Democrats here seem to want me
to enter" continued Mr. Bowen, land
l am convinced that / could get the
support of adjoining counties and have
encouraging letters from other parts
of the state, but l have not finally
made up my mind to do so. The re-
port in the Capital News was prob
ably the result of letters sent out
from here by my friends, which led
that paper to conclude that l was in
the race, which was a mistake. 1
shall probably know in the compar-
atlvely near future whether l shall
get IN or not. For various reasons
there is feeling becoming manifest
among many democrats that there
should be a change, and there will
be a fight made for one at Pocatello.
Personally, l am not a factionalist in
any sense of the word All that 1
stood for at the meeting of the COM
mittee was the carrying out of the
. pledges of the national platform of
the democratic party. 1 believe in a
popular primary, allowing the people
to come out and vote if they desire
to do so; that is my idea of democ-
racy. l had not expressed any pref
erence for either of the two men then
most prominently mentioned for ma
tional committeeman and have not
yet expressed myself on that ques-
ton. l believe in putting such mat
tiers up to the people. l am per-
sonally on friendly terms with both. u
The statement in the Capital News
which Mr.. Bowen declared was the
result of jumping at a conclusion
reads as follows:
Arthur M. Bowen of Twin Fails
one of the most prominent attorneys
in the state, is a candidate for national
committeeman, subject to the will OF
the next democratic state convention
to be held at Pocatello May Is. This
was the authentic information re-
ceived by leading democrats of Boise
7 last night. The fight for the com
mitteemanship is therefore Just be-
ginning, for it is understood that Mr.
Bowen will probably not have the
| field to himself Robert H. Elder o.
/ Occur d'Alene, present national com
mitteeman, is a candidate to succeed
| himself and it is said several favorit,
sons will be brought out by counties
4 over the state. Some of them pro
pose to carry on the fight for Senator
Jerome J. Day, in spite of the FAC
he announced his withdrawal
4 "Mr. Bowen has been PROMINENT,
d identified with democratic party af
1 fairs for a number of years H
n served one term in the state senat
from Blaine county and took a prom
inent part in the enactment of i'm
portant legislation During the re
cent meeting of the democratic stat
& central committee he made a strenu
g Gus fight on behalf of the rank an
\ file for preferential primary and
i party primary, but was unsuccessful
q owing to the manner in which tn
q Pence-Nugent-Elder machine jamme
r their reactionary proxy program
& through. Apparently this action La
q aroused more revolt in the Democrat
n party in this state than it has see
= for some years. 1t is understood tn
Il reactionary program is to be carrie
= out in detail in every county in tn
81 state by refusing to hold party pr
q maries for the selection of delegate
s. to the state convention"