The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-01-20
A REALLY GREAT EVENT

a REALLY GREAT EVENT
Word just comes from Washington
of an occurrence of the greatest i'm
portance. If this press dispatch is
confirmed as having reported an ac-
tual occurrence, then this is the great
est event in Washington for seventy
years. In fact, it is the greatest
event since Thaddeus Stephens, Ben
jamin F. Wade and their associates
made the beginnings of reorganiza-
tion of the American Congress. Back
of the beginnings of the Republican
party handful of Congressman un-
der their leadership, representing
both the upper and lower Houses, re-
fused any longer to be controlled by
the party caucuses of the Whig and
Democratic parties.
The caucuses of both these organ
izations were under the joint control
of the New England gamblers in
Western land and the plantation
owners of the Southern states.
These men refused any longer to sub
nit to the dictation of caucus act
ing under the control of these great
private interests. They stood for
the limitation of slavery and for the
contention that public lands should
be withdrawn from speculative pur-
chasers and held for free homesteads
for actual settlers; that neither the
Shareholder nor the land gambler
should be permitted any longer to
monopolize the Western lands.
When these men took this position,
it was the beginning of the move
ment that meant ultimate emancipa-
tion for all slaves and will yet mean
the ultimate redemption of all lands
from the grip of land gamblers and
slave drivers of every possible vari-
ETY.. That was real event.
The dispatches tell us that the
other day Senator LaFollette OF Wis
consin, Senator Norris of Nebraska,
and the newly elected Nonpartisan
League Senator from North Dakota,
DR.. Ladd- together with certain Con-
gressmen, and in connection with the
representatives of the railway broth
erhoods and other economic organiz-
ations representing farmers and
wage-workers, held conference to-
gether to agree on a legislative pro-
gram for their joint support in Con-
gress, and before the country.
Eleven years ago l went to WASH
ington and spent some time in an ef-
fort to find members of Congress in
either or both Houses who would be
willing to take that very action, that
is, to refuse any longer to take their
political program ready made" in
Wall Street and delivered to them
through party caucus in Washing
ton. Among those with whom l dis
cussed this matter were Senators La
Toilette, Chamberlain, then supposed
to be progressive, Gore, Newlands
and others. 1t was my wish that
there should be created Congression-
al group of "wilful men, who would
refuse to be bound by the Wall Street
driven caucus of either party; that
they should outline a progressive po-
litical program of their own, back of
which the real progressives of the
country could rally in order to force
a division both in Congress and
among all of the people along the
lines of the living issues of our own
day.
1t was admitted without any ques-
tion in these interviews that the
party caucuses were under control of
the big interests; that the party or
ganizations represented hatreds, pre-
] judices and traditions inherited by
this generation from the controver-
sizes of century ago. 1t was agreed
that it was very desirable that such
reorganization should be effected,
but there was no one who could see
his way towards taking any step at
that time. l was convinced myself
that the movement would need to
start among the people, they to Gre
ate their own organizations and these
to be heard from in Congress after
wards
The intervening years have demon
strated that the Congressman of that
day were probably correct in their
judgment and that the reference of
this matter to the people themselves
independent of Congress was the
wiser course. At that time there
was no general political movement
representing the great industries of