Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1914 — Another Boomerang of the Rensselaer Republican's. [ARTICLE]

Another Boomerang of the Rensselaer Republican's.

The Rensselaer Republican says that “It has probably been noticed that Congressman Peterson has not been billed to speak here this fall. It is rumored that Editor Babcock defied the committee to bring him here, proposing to make a direct fight on him if he made a speech in Jasper county.” Now ‘“Editor Babcock” and Overy member of the “committee” knows that the above is a blank falsehood manufactured out of whole cloth. “Editor Babcock” is one of the twenty precinct chairmen composing said “committee” —an honor, by the way, that neither of the editors of the Republican have ever had conferred upon them by their party to our knowledge—and is also a member of the county executive committee, composed of five members of the democratic party in Jasper county. The question of asking or of trying to get Mr. Peterson to speak in Jasper county or of mentioning the

matter at all never came nor has never been discussed at any time to our knowledge, and we have not at any time thought.of or intimated that we would make any “fight'* on

him should he be brought here. Also, if the editors of'the Republican want to vote for Mr. Peterson —Which it is “rumored” they will—we shall not enter the slightest protest. In fact, we think they are in duty bound to do so. Now, so far as we have been able to learn'from our exchanges over the district, Mr. Peterson has not spoke in either Jasper, Newton,, Tippecanoe, Warren or White counties in this campaign. He has spoke in Lake and Porter. Why this is so we are not prepared to say, but the fact is that he is receiving very lukewarm support all over the district, and no one knows this better than the state committee, which has sent two U, S. Senators and Gov. Ralston into the district to help him out during the last week—Shively here Tuesday, Kern at Gary Wednesday, Valparaiso Thursday and last night at Lafayette, and Ralston at Monticello Thursday—and also sent Bryan here but recently, and it has been currently asserted and never denied to our knowledge, that Peterson did not support Bryan Jn his campaigns, too.

'No one is to blame for this condition except Mr. Peterson himself, who forced an obnoxious district chairman on the democrats, who al-

ligned himself with the machine politicians rather than the democrats who cast the votes, and who has stood for measures in congress ( that are particularly obnoxious to democrats, who believe in the cardi-; nal principles of the democratic party—especially is true of his action, on retaining the 20 cents' per mile mileage graft, when all the other Indiana congressmen voted! to abolish it, and his efforts in behalf of retiring government employes on a pension. Also, his ignoring of precedent of both democrats and republicans, of permitting postmasters to serve out the terms* of their; commissions, but ousting them to put hungry orficeseekers in their place, has been condemned, as the Republican once said, by the decent democrats everywhere. Mr. Peter-; son has shown himself less of aj statesman than a spoilsman, and if the democrats are not very enthusiastic over his re-election it is his own fault.