The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1916-07-20
HENEY FOR WILSON, CAN'T FOL
LOW T. II. INTO G. o. +.

washington, July l.-r IdHClS q.
Heney, the California progressive
leader, has addressed a letter to
President Wilson expressing his pur-
pose to work for the latters election
He says he cannot support Mr..
Hughes because he was nominated by
a convention controlled by the men
who dominated the dishonesty seat
ed delegates" that nominated Mr.
Taft four years ago.
Heney was one Of the most active
of the Roosevelt leaders during the
1912 campaign. He openly charged
Barnes, Crane and Penrose with be-
ing crooks and burglars. and
stirred up something closely approx
mating riot on several occasions. In
his letter to the president Heney has
this to say about the same men:
''By depriving Roosevelt of the re-
publican nomination four years ago
Senator Boies Penrose of Pennsyl-
vania, Murray Crane, the Senator
from Massachusetts, and William
Barnes of New York, with the aid OF
such men as Elihu Root, who was
the permanent chairman of the con-
vention, continued their control OF
their republican national committee
and thus prolonged their power again
ITO defeat the will of the majority OF
the republican voters.
"And they have now once more in
sured their control of the republican
national committee for another four
years with the continuance Of their
power to again defeat the will of the
republican voters in 1920 and there
after indefinitely, so long as we are
without presidential preferential
primary law.
Can't Follow 4. II.
y s'Under the circumstances l can
not follow Theodore Roosevelt back
into the republican party While 1t is
still controlled by these same men. II
he had accepted the nomination OF
athe progressive party at Chicago this
year | would loyalty and vigorously
have supported him, because he then
would have represented the basic
principles upon which the progress
sive party was founded, to-wlt, the
right of the majority OF voters OF
each political party to nominate It's
own candidate for president, without
any few men possessing the power TO
prevent it.
lit is reasonably certain that Mr..
Hughes was not the first choice OF
the majority of the aggregate OF re-
publican and progressive voters IN
the United States. Hughes repre-
sents merely the consent OF Penrose'
Crane and Barnes to permit the re-
publican party to have as It's candl-
date a man selected by themselves,
who, therefore, if elected president
would be dsinclined to attempt to
destroy the continuance OF their con-
troll of the nominating machinery OF
the republican party, and their pow
er thus to reward him with renoml-
nation for another term.
81 do not question the personal in
tegrity or character of Mr.. Hughes,
but do condemn him unqualifiedly
for permitting professional political
tricksters to make nation wide
canvass of his nomination when he
was member of the Supreme Court
of the United States under an ap-
pointment for life, with the vast po-
tential power which accompanies
that position. Personally, l shall not
vote for any republican candidate Tor
president hereafter as long as the cor
rupt control of the nominating ma
chine of the republican party is per-
mitted thus to continue in existence.
Lauds Mexican Policy.
"PIease permit me also at this
time to offer my heartiest approval
of the policy of your administration
toward Mexico. 1t seems to me that
YOU have consistently and amid great
difficulties and discouragements
striven to treat that unfortunate
neighboring nation with that patience
and forbearance which one powerful
and enlightened nation ought to exer-
else toward a much less powerful and
much less generally enlightened ma
ton and from which it has already
acquired partly through conquest
and partly through purchases a mag
nificent empire of territory and nat.
ural resources, and in the minds OF
whose people therefore there must
naturally exist apprehension as to the
unselfishness of our motives and the
disinterestedness of our actions.
"Your temperate, restrained but
lofty exercise of the powerful Wea-