Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 55, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 October 1914 — PROGRESSIVE PARTY COLUMN. [ARTICLE]

PROGRESSIVE PARTY COLUMN.

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C. W. Fairbanks says; “A standpatter is a man who stands by a sure thing.” Everybody knows that a “sure thing” in Indiana means, "heads the bosses win, tails the people lose.” Progressives are not “sure thing” confidence men. Progressives are willing to take their chances 'with the people. Mr. Fairbanks is welcome to his “sure thing.” Standpat machine fakers say the “primary vote” in Lake county indicated a 3 per cent. Progressive strength. Of course if this were true the standpat machine would not be paying the least bit of attention to the Progressives, but would shoot at the Socialists. The polls in all the industrial centers show the Republican machine falling back very heavily toward the Socialist position. - Jbe K eali n g has 6uste3~the TtepuKican organization as it was made in Marion county at the spring primary, repudiating that primary result, and has appointed Kealing men to be precinct committeemen in many precincts. This is strictly in line with the policy of the Republican national committee standpat machine, which, following the 1 912 primaries in Republican states, expelled the Republicans elected by the voters of those states and put in their places the state bosses who had been repudiated by the rank and file. The machine learns nothing. It is a “sure thing” outfit, as C, W. Fairbanks well says. In the Thirteenth ward of Indianapolis, the biggest Democratic ward, an accurate poll taken by independent organizations shows the Democratic vote slumping from 2,846 for Ralston in 1912 to 2,244 for Shively in 1914. While the Progressive vote ot 693 for governor in 1912 has increased this year to 1,076 for Beveridge for senator. At the same time the state ticket shows such wonderful gains, the Progressive bounty ticket polls this year 1,245 in this ward', as against 2,121 for the Democratic county ticket. The standpat machine ticket shows a falling off in this ward from 492 for Durbin to 323 for the senatorial candidate this year, and the county ticket is still behind that showing, with 288. ————: o: . It turns out that Homer L. Cook, Taggart candidate for Secretary of State, has been something of a letter writer. In the time of the legislative session of 1913, when he. was Speaker of the Cook wrote to a copybook concern offering his influence and power for sale to enable the book concern to compel Indiana people to buy new copy-books for.the next five years. While Speaker Mr. Cook wrote to men who were trying to get a garnishee bill through and pledged himself to the bill, asserting that he had broken the rules anci the law in helping the bill, and at the same time Cook was telling the foes of the bill that he was against it. He double-crossed both sides, according to hi§ letter. LattfV, Mr. Cook wrote letters to county superintendents demanding that they help him get the nomination for Secretary of State. In this, letter, dated March 5, 1911, Cook told the county superintendents, "I have always come to your assistance when you needed me, I need you now and hope that you will get busy and do all you can for my nomination for

Secretary of State.” What has Cook done to assist county superintendents? He actually stood in his place as Speaker of the House and asked members to vote for a bill to extend for two years the term of office of the county superintendents, saying he would deem it a favor to himself if the House passed the bill. This measure disfranchised the people as to their county superintendents, and a similar bill urged by Cook two years before had disfranchised the people in the matter of their township trustees. Then, too. Cook, in other letters, called on county superintendents to urge a change of school books and the adoption of certain new books in which a relative of Tom Taggart was interested. When the wage-earner with four or five children in school finds that he must buy them all new school books this .vear~tiraT“ now on hand in his home must be thrown away, all at his expense, he knows who to thank. He knows that Cook and the Taggart machine put this outrageous injustice over on him. His only adequate answer is to smite Cook, the ready letterwriter and smite the whole Taggart ticket from top to bottom. The Progressive party means free school books and laws to prevent the grafting and bribe-solicitation that go with machine rule.