The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-09-24
Adams Attack on Watson'S
Record Cited by State
Chairman.

chairman.
BIZ Times Specta1
HAMMOND, Ind, Sept. 24.-An-
swer was made In an address here
Thursday night by r. Earl Peters,
Democratic State chairman, to the
query made by Republican leaders,
why change from the Watson Ste
phenson- Wheatcraft poison squad
regimen"
Peters quoted from sharp attacks
made on Watson's public record IN
the primary last spring by Clarls
Adams, opponent of Senator James
E. Watson for the long term Repub-
lican senatorial nomination.
Democrats are willing" Peters
said, "that a prominent Republican,
Claris Adams answer the query
made by Republican leaders, Why
change from the stephenson
Wheatcraft 4 regime?' Adams Is
young attorney.
His campaign was based almost
entirely upon charges against the
public record of Senator Watson.
Although he had no organization to
match the boosted 100000 workers
of Watson, Adams was supported by
an influential element of the Repub-
lican parry and received approx
mately 127,00 votes.
Watson in Lobby
"Let Adams answer the question:
why changes? In a speech at Gin
ton on April %, 1926, Claris Adams
! said: The only time that Senator
Watson has been out of public office
during the last thirty years he was
employed as a lobbyist. His activity
in behalf of his employers, a sub
sidiary of the National Man
ufacturers Association, was the
subject of a congressional investiga-
ton
1.-The committee, a majority of
which were Republicans, questioned
the propriety of one who had been
member of Congress capitalizins
that influence in pressing legisla-
tive propositions on Congress for
hire by personal contact and per-
sonal effort with members as was
done in this case, and confessed to
feeling of regret that upon any
question, whatever its merits a
lobbyist for it should be able to say
as Watson said in this case: I had
various members of Congress com
ing to report to me about how
their delegates stood.
Turned Deaf Ear
"In an address at Goshen April
20, 1926, Claris Adams said Why
did Senator Watson turn a deaf ear
to the plea of the farmers for aid
as they were slipping into ruination
and bankruptcy? Apparently this
situation was unknown to Senator
Watson until March, when he an
nounced that he had been too busy
to cosider the farm situation until
that time, but proposed TO study the
situation While this great agricul-
tural problem was under considera
ton. Senator Watson threw the
weight of what his friends call his
mighty influence upon the Senate
and obtained the passage of a bill
forcing those who deal in I've to
write the word poison on the can.
2 Perhaps the farmers will be sat
isfied with a bag of peanuts, as
Senator Watson is quoted as saying
in the Indiana Farm Federations
official bulletin, but I doubt it. The
farm situation has been in the crti
cal stage for at least two years in
America and yet Senator Watson
not only did not offer anything con
structive of his own to help solve the
agricultural problem, but did not
even commit himself to any definite
plan suggested by others until just
upon the eve of the primary within
the last few days
Attacks Machine
'In a speech at Marion, March "a,
1926, Adams said: The Watson
machine Is designed not only to per-
petuate the Senator in office, but TO
dominate the party organization and
so distribute public offices to po-
ltical favorites as we'll When the
party organization is used by those
entrusted with temporary control in
playing personal favorites, to en-.
trench themselves in power, to per-
petuate favorites in office, to distrib-
ute public places as a matter of po-
lltical favor in return for personal
allegiance, we have feudalism and
not democracy
I'm the same speech Adams
summed up Senator Watson's record,
as follows: W
1.-The Watson-P Parker bill which
Senator Watson did not wlite
An eleventh-hour right-about
face on the Haugen farm measure,
which he promised to support after
the primary, but the principle OF
which he has vigorously opposed un'
til within the last week.
"'TIis political vote against
Americas adherence to the world
court, which proposal, he confessed
to a prominent Republican of In
diana, he helped persuade others to
vote for and aided in its passage
although voting against his own
conviction on account OF public sen
timent at home, He has not dared
to deny this fact
"In an address at Terre Haute,
April 27, Claris Adams said; 'Ac-
cording to the record of Senator
y Watson, as compiled by his own
managers, the one bill of importance
which he introduced or sponsored in
all of his thirty years of public serv-
Ice is the act known as the Watson
Parker bill. 1t seems now that the
Senator is only the godfather of this