St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1916-10-21

"tIf there had been during Liis
wear. or any time since 1912. any
Indication that the owners OF the
Republican party had in the slight
esf dregree recognized their errors
and reactionary inclinations, then
fhe question of returning to that
narty might be a debatable one, but
every one of us knows that they
have shown no such inclination,
and on the contrary. wherever they
have had a chance, have been more
reactionary than ever. Indeed. the
very fact of our returning now.
with all the things that the Repunoo
liean party has done since 1917
would have had to be construed as
indorsing all these actions. n as
. comnIete surrender on our part
and an acknowledgment that we
were wrong in 1912 and would
knuckle under and obey the men
whom. up to date, we nave oe-
n0unced.
the assurance of the chairman Oh
our executive committee were az.
cepted at par by a trusting body OF
men and women who mpllcltiy De
lieyed in our leaders. The Tragedy
of the great gathering at Galcago
from June Z to June 40, inclusive,
is a matter of history. Turning the
spotlight on these days, the follow
ing letter from Judge Barton vance
formerly a leader of the Republl--
cans in Kentucky and now national
committeeman of the Progressive
party from that setate. tells a sad
story:
ROOSEVELT MADE MOVES
"His letter reads:
ION the morning of the last day
of the Progressive convention, |
sat beside Mr.. Perkins on the stage,
and being deeply concerned by
what seemed to me the useless
waste of time in making the noml-
nations. | turned and asked hlm
what purpose was to be conceived
by the delegates and who was re-
| sponsib'e for it, and he replied I'D
| substance that every move OF the
| convention was being approved or
decided by Roosevelt personally
| over the telephone. and that eveery-
thing would be all right. In a few
minutes, or shortly after this. the
| chairman, Robins, seemed to take
the matter in his own hands and
| the nomination of Roosevelt fol-
lowed. The distinct impression
| Perkins gave me was that Roose-
welt was in direct control and that
| he, Perkins. and the other leaders
were obeying his orders IN the con-
| duct of the convention. Yours truly,
"sBURTON VANCE
| q ErEI- 49, x,yba InvaIIu yJOpkad
for the Progressive party n the
Progressive principles were kept IN
ignorance as to the motives OF de-
lay at Chicago. 1t was my mlsfor-
tune to have been appointed q mem
Der Of the committee of five on con-
ference. Ny suspicious of some
thing unusual were first awakened
when, with Hiram Johnson. who
was also a member OF the commit
tee. we went to the committee
rooms and met Victor Murdoch
chairman of the national committee
who like ourselves was kept wait
ing until some action had beer
taken by the committee in confer
ance before allowing us to be pres
emit
mo final report Of that confer
ence committee was ever made tf
the convention and on Saturday
morning at an early hour, WheI
Mr.. Perkins presented a reques'
from Colonel Roosevelt to suggest
to that committee the name of Sen
ator Cabot Lodge for president,
emphatcaliy declined to be
messenger to carry any suggestion.
to the Republican committee, as
recognized the right of no man tx
turn US over body and soul to those
same Republican wolves agains
whom lifelong Republicans had re.
volted in 1912 and who again il
1916 showed they had a copper
riveted control Of the Republican
convention. The balance of tn,
Progressive gathering Up. to tn,
dent is matter of history.
MERE SCRAPS OF PAPER
THE business man has to NEE
his note promptly at maturity O.
it is protested. A solemn and earn.
est assurance of our leaders. thei
pledged words of honor to remain
loyalty with the Progressive part.
md for the Progressive principles
and the pledge of the chairman o
the executive committee of the i'm
possibility of uniting with the Re
publican party. were mere scrap
of paper and practically show tina
political honor is as little regardev
as in the peace treaty of nations.
Il was not present in the conven
ton. did not seek nor desire tn
somination for vice-president, bu
realizing instantly that if de
clined the nomination everyon
would have thought that [ was
party to the betrayal of the prinei
pies which had brought together a
Chicago one of the most useful an
impressive gatherings which it ha
ever been my privilege to witnes!
Every state and territory in th
union was represented by abb
thinking people. who had come a
their own expense to discuss an
work out great national matters an
for that reason only | immediatel
accented the nomination. with tn
certainty that it amounted to moth
ing politically except a good deal G
work. considerable expense and
large volume of both Fidicule an
vituDeration. | do not in th
slightest degree. regret my actor
and infinitely prefer to have bee
one Of those who were duped b
Over-confidance rather than bein
put in the position of violating
sacred trust and again work arm i
arm with men bitterly denounce
in 1912 as guilty Of most Of the pc
litical crimes on the calendar. an
as men who were a menace to til
future welfare of America.
THE sad and pitifu1 feature t
me of these conditions is that non
of those men seem to think ths
they have done anything RADICAL