The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-12
Letter of Theodore Roosevelt Accepting the
 Republican Nomination for the Presidency

. . 4~OAN~AAAI 1 merger suit--undertaken by the De- partmeht of Justice. were acts because | of which. the present administration should be thrown from power | Yet they dare not openly condemn either act. They dare not in any au- | thoritative or formal manner say that l in either case wrong was done or error | committed in the method of action. or | in the choice of instruments for put. | ting that action into effect But what l they dare not manfully assert in open day, they seek to use furtively and l through special agents. It is perhaps | natural that an attack so conducted | should be made sometimes on the | the ground that too little, has been done. Some of our opponents com plain because under the antitrust and interstate commerce law suits were undertaken which have been success | full; others, because suits were not un- l dertaken which would have been un. l successful.
 Used weapons at Hand. The Democratic State convention in New York dealt with the Anthracite coal strike by demanding in deliberate and | 10Imdl IdSutOu tndt the natlOnaI government should take possession of the coal fields; yet champions of that convention's cause now condemn the fact that there was any action by the president at all-though they must know that 1t was only this action by the president which prevented the movement for national ownership of the coal fields from gaining what might well have been an irresistible impetus. Such mutually destructive criticisms furnish an adequate meas ure of the chance for coherent action or constructive legislation if our op- ponents should be given power. So much for what our opponents openly or covertly advance in the way of an attack on the acts of the admin fstration. When we come to consid- CT the policies for which they profess to stand we are met with the difficulty always arising when statements of policy are so made that they can be interpreted in different ways. On some of the vital questions that have confronted the American people in the last decade our opponents take the position that silence Is the best possi- ble way to convey their views.
 Hot for Gold Standard.
 They contend that their lukewarm atbituuS ot par dCQuleSCenCe Tn what others have accomplished en- titles them to be made the custodians of the financial honor and commercial interests which they have but recently sought to ruin. Being unable to agree among themselves as to whether the gold standard Is a curse or a blessing. and as to whether we ought or ought not to have free and unlimited coinage of silver, they have apparently thought 1t expedient to avoid any committal on these subjects. and individually each to follow his particular bent.
 Their nearest approach to a majority judgment seems to be that 1t Is now inexpedient to assert their convictions one way or the other. and that the es- tablishment of the gold standard by the Republican party should not be disturbed unless there is an alteration in the relative quantity of production of silver and gold. Men who hold sim cere convictions on vital questions can respect equally sincere men with whose views they radically differ; and men may confess a change of faith without compromising their honor or their seIf-respect.
 No Respect for Shirlxers.
 But 1t is difiicult to respect an atti- tude of. mind such as has been fairly u0pCTlDcu dUONe1 anu WHcTc L1cE6 IS nO respect there can be no trust. A policy with so slender a basis of prin- ciple. would not stand the strain of a single year of business diversity.
 We. on the contrary, believe in the gold standard as fixed by the usage and verdict of the business world, and in a sound monetary system as matters of principle; as matters not of mo- mentary political expediency. but of permanent organic policy. In 1898 and again In 1900 far-sighted men. without regard to their party fealty in the past, joined to work against what they regarded as a debased mon- etary system. The policies which they championed have been steadfast- ly adhered to by the administration; and by the act of March 14, 1soG, Con- gress established the single gold stand ard as the measure of our monetary value. This act received the support of every Republican in the House, and of every Republican except one in the Senate.
 Of our opponents. eleven supported 1t in the House and two in the Senate; and one hundred and fifty opposed 1t in the House and twenty-eight in the Senate. The record of the last seven years proves that the party now in power can be trusted to take the ad- ditional action necessary to improve and strengthen our monetary system. and that our opponents cannot be so trusted.
 Not Irrevocably Fixed.
 The fundamental fact is that in q popular government such as ours no policy is irrevocably settled by law unless the people keep in control of the government men who believe in that policy as a matter of deep rooted conviction. Laws can always be re- voked; 1t Is the spirit and the purpose of those responsible for their enact ment and administration which must be fixed and unchangeabke. It is idle to say that the monetary standard Of the nation is irrevocably fixed so long as the party which at the last election cast approximately 46 per cent of the total vote, refuses to put in It's plat form any statement that the question Is settled.
 A determination to remain silent can not be accepted as equivalent to a re- cantatioR. Until our opponents as party explicitly adopt the views which we hold and upon which we have acted and are acting. in the matter of sound currency, the only real way to keep the question from becoming un- settled is to keep the Republican Party in power.
 Capital and Labor.
 AS for what OpDoDents