Progressive Party Member and Candidate

Fred is noted in the American Falls Press in multiple places as belonging to the short lived Progressive Party (symbolized by the Bull Moose). For those not familiar with the Progressive Party, it is one of several "third parties" that have sprung up in the United States' history. It was originally established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, after he lost the Republican presidential nomination. The progressive party advocated several government reforms, some of which at the time were radical.

Some examples of items that platform called for, which would have been of interest to Fred:
- A national health service to include all existing government medical agencies.
- Social insurance, to provide for the elderly, the unemployed, and the disabled
- A minimum wage law for women
- Farm relief
- Workers' compensation for work-related injuries (He'd recall this from his injury working at the Union Pacific/OSL)
- Women's suffrage (which Ella would end up advocating heavily for in Arizona)

Some of the Progressive Party's platform to provide "direct democracy" are also interesting:
- The recall election (citizens may remove an elected official before the end of his term)
- The referendum (citizens may decide on a law by popular vote)
- The initiative (citizens may propose a law by petition and enact it by popular vote)
- Judicial recall (when a court declares a law unconstitutional, the citizens may override that ruling by popular vote)

The party dissolved fairly quickly after Roosevelt's failed attempt at the presidency (although on the Progressive Party ticket, he was the first third party candidate to gain more of the popular vote than a major party member -- securing 27.4% of the vote) in 1918. Fred in the April 27, 1916 issue of the AFP is noted as an alternate delegate for the Progressive Party at that time. Alternate delegates are substitutes for normal delegates. if there are delegates that don't show up on the designated day, alternates are seated in their place. if a delegate has to leave, an alternate is supposed to be seated in their place. I'll capture in a later post how Fred one time ran for the Power county assessor office on the Progressive Party ticket.