The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1918-10-15

lished in Mondays Republican in
which he criticised the league and he,
Penldebury, said he did not think il
was fair to have men of Mr.. Allred's
standing and record in the commun-
ity giving out their views against the
league as if they were fair measure
| of public opinion. He disbelieved
| that Mr. Alfred was not a man of
high standing in the community and
| that If he remembered correctly ALL
red had been the defendant in some
criminal prosecutions in the courts
within the past few years, and he
was going to look up his record and
see if people shall judge of the league
| by what Alfred says to them. He
did not like to stir up that kind of
fights, but he would at least look
him up and see what type of man
was cirticising the league.
We replied that Alfred had been
| the defendant in some prosecutions
and SO had many other people includ-
ing the editor of this paper, but that
lit had been shown that when the per-
sonal elements and spite element had
been accounted for, there was slight
basis left for them to stand on. That
it would be their privilege to bring
Allred's or any mans record into the
campaign if they chose, the same as
the record Of league leaders is being
brought into it. That mans re-
cord for deeds and citizenship and
who and what he had helped or OPP
posed would help to establish his
correct measure for the problems
now confronting the public.
Then the editor and his callers in
dulged in discussion of league lead
ers and their records, and they
claimed that the much criticised
Arthur LeSeur has nothing to do
with the league, and that men high
in the government vouch for the
rectitude of their work and pur-
poses. They said that they were the
men who talked to Paul Alfred about
joining the league, spent two hours
telling him of it's principles, and that
he turned in his membership to their
organizer when he came along, act
ing apparently entirely on the infor-
nation they had given him, so they
felt rather keenly his imputation that
the league is not clean, legal, loyal
organization. They said that so far
as they had gone in its political activ-
tiles it was clean, open and above
board, and were much impressed
with it at the state convention at
Boise in the selection of candidates
for office. The Offices sought the
mon in most cases, and. nobody
seemed eager to be on the ticket; on
the contrary they had hard time
to get men to accept the nominations,
to make the race for con-
gress.
Ye editor told his guests that If
they were satisfied with the leader
ship of the league and satisfied with
what it is working to accomplish, 1t
was all right for them to continue
the work, but that for the past year
the writer had not shared in the
leadership. He had not been favor
ably impressed with speakers and Or
ganizers he had met, nor with the
sentiment expressed by the radical
element that joins the league. They
had shown too much tendency to de-
cry everything and everybody that
did not agree with them and cooper
ate with them. That they had al
ways denounced the newspaper men
as whole, not even making excep-
tons of the fairminded editors who
had given them space and publicity
right along, the same as others who
were trying to do something. They
slur all newspapers as the Kept
press" until they get hold Of the
papers themselves, and then it be-
comes just the kind of kept press
they complain of in others they have
been condemning. They denounce
bankers because they are doing a
banking business, and then open
banks themselves. They have not |
upon the methods or prin-
,iples of doing business and show the
same spirit that is manifested by the |
in demanding that every
,ody agree with them or be crushed. |
II the leagures were right they |
would ultimately fail.
They said that SO far as their activ-
ties go, it shall be a contest Of rea-
son and fair dealing, standing on
heir merits. |