The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-05-10
WOULD SET BAD PRECEDENT.
Elk Senator Edmunds Does Not Believe
in Third Term Idea.

George +. Edmunds is not one OF those
who believes that President Roosevelt VIII
be compelled to accept another nomina'
ton next year, This venerable statesman
represented Vermont in the United States
senate for many years; he was mem
Der of the Electoral commission IN 1875
he has long been one OF the wheel horses
of the republican party. Although he Is
not active today in politics he takes a
keen interest in the affairs OF the coun'
try. Mr.. Edmunds is spending lew
DAYS at the national capital, and when
asked by the correspondent OF the Dos
ton Transcript what he thought about the
thirdterm movement Tor MIR. Roosevelt,
he said:
81 do not think Mr.. Roosevelt can be
persuaded by any amount OF what may
be termed popular emotion TO allow him
self TO be candidate for the presidency
again and to take a third-term election,
for that is what it is, although some peo'
pie may say that he has only been elect
ed as president once. President Roose'
welt is a man of wide and patriotic
views: however strongly he may be call
ed upon to carry on the government ioI
another four years | believe he would
see what enormously great precedent It
would establish ii he responded TO this
demand. By and by the man who might
90 up for third term might take a
majority of the voters OF the country
with him and it would then require a
revolution to get rid of him or else, like
some of our southern republics, we would
have to take him as president for lite
lust as Diaz is in Mexico the supreme
ruler Diaz is the absolute master ol
the situation in Mexico and has been for
years and years;
Roosevelt cannot be forced into setting a
precedent of going beyond two terms.
When General Grant, as deservedly popu-
lar and as beloved as he was, was put
forward by his misguided friends for a
third term he had so many real friends
that they would not let him consent 10
be renominated for the very reason that
have here suggested. Ii Grant had
been nominated | have not the slightest
doubt he would have been badly defeat
ed because the sensible and thinking pa
triotic people of this country do not wish
under any circumstances which can be
reasonably expected to happen to have
continuous run of more than two presl-
dental terms. Therefore | am sure that
President Roosevelt cannot be bullied
into it"
DO you think any republican candi.
date can be nominated as the legatee OF
the Roosevelt policies?"
The general ideas that President
Roosevelt has advanced cannot be a
legacy because, broadly speaking, there
have been no inventions of principles by
him. The application of them has been
carried in some instances too far and the
administration has from time to time felt
compelled to modify its position, not be
cause the general principles were mistaken
but because they were applying general
principles in an incorrect and probably
in some cases an unconstitutional way. So
believe that the great masses of the
sensible people of this Countrywide com.
mercial men, the laboring men and all
the others--who have become sufficiently
educated in the theory OF real liberty and
real personal rights viii find themselves
supporting a conservative liberty which
can stand any wind from any direction.
They will be for the principle that the
real purpose of peoples rights is that
every man shall have the right to be his
own master so long as he does not in
terfere with. similar rights of anybody
else"