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[[preprinted]] 118 EAST 54TH STREET
NEW YORK [[/preprinted]]

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and woke up the whole audience, as well as ourselves.  It makes a tremendous difference. I ran away from the hearings, after this, and went to Chicago to take part in the National Conference, just for the sake of getting an inspiration, and seeing what it was like, and it was a great thing. At the meeting on Tuesday morning, there was gathered about one thousand people, from all over the United States, with just as much enthusiasm as if they had won, and it made it perfectly clear that the Progressive Party is by no means dead, and that they had no idea of fusing with any other party, especially as had been suggested by the Republicans. As T. R. said, "there is only one way to fuse, and that is, if they believe our way, to come in with us, and we wont exclude anybody except, perhaps, one or two hundred whom we wont want whatever they may profess."  They had a series of speeches which were very high class, and the thing that was disappointing about it was that there was no discussion as to the proposed plan of work which was really to be discussed.  The trouble was that the people wanted to hear speeches, and the chairman did not put over the proposed program of discussion because others jumped on him for wanting to boss this conference. However, it was well worth while.

They had a dinner in the evening to which eight hundred people sat down, and from which three hundred were turned away, and again they had speeches and a happy time.