The Red Cloud chief., 1908-07-10
IN FULL RETREAT.

The Republicans who attended the
rational convention as spectators and
luincd in the demonstration in favor OF
President Roosevelt aud Senator La
Toilette must have felt indignant as
they watched the panic stricken dele.
gates running over each other in their
effort to get away from the La Toilette
reforms. some OF which had been in.
dcrscd by the president himself. Con.
g,c;Sman Cooper of Wisconsin. repro
GCntirg the La Toilette men. brought
i'm a minority report signod by himself
alone. FHfty.two members Of the com.
mittec signed the majority report, and
one signed the minority report. Tho
Republican rarity will find the ratio OF
% 20 ono n very embarrassing one to
deal with in the coming campaign. Mr..
Ccorcr's report contained a dcclara.
ton in favor of publicity as to cam
paign funds. II was lost by a vote OF
$50 to "a, more than nine to one. and
yet the president has been advocating
legislation in favor Of publicity as TO
campaign contributions. and Secretary
TAFT wrote n letter to- Mr.. Burrows ad.
voCatinG the passage of a publicity
bill. How fortunate II was that Secre.
tary Taft's letter was finally discoy.
cred and published! Senator Burrows,
the nan to whom TIE Taft letter was
addressed. was the temporary chair.
man of the convention. and the con.
ventiun over which he presided turned
down the publicity plank by Il vote of
nine to- one, Who will deny that, on
this subject. the Republican party Is
retrenting?
Another plank of the La Toilette
platform authorized the asccrtainlng
of the value Of tho railroads. This
plank was lost by Il vote CT 9l1 to G3
nearly IL to une-and yet President
Roosevelt has advocated this very
proposition. Here is a retreat on the
railroad question.
In another column reference Ia made
to the injunction PLANK. The injunc'
ton plank adopted by the Republican
convention is 4 retreat from the posi-
tion taken by the president and from
the position taken by Secretary Taft
in his speeches. although neither OF
them went as far az they ought to have
COMO In their effort to prevent what Is
known as government by injunction.
Here is the third retreat.
The president has advocated the in.
come tax rs "A means OF preventing
swollen fortunes and of equalizing the
burdens of government. The Repub.
lican platform Is silent or the sub.
ject. Was the president right In the
position he took? II 40. then the con-
ventiou was wrong In not indorsing
him. VIII the Republican voters fol
low the president in this just demand
or will they follow the Republican or
ganization In retreating from 1t?
The president advocated al inner
itance tax. but the Republican conven'
ton Is silent on that subject. Was the
president ahead of the Republican
} party In advocating this reform, or has
the Republican party receded from the
presidents position? Did the president
! give a false alarm on this question or
has the party sounded n retreat?
! In the presidents message to con
sress last spring he presented an in
> dictment against the conspiracy formed
among the great lawbreakers to pre-
: vent the enforcement Of the law and
to evade the punishments provided b,
: law. The platform adopted by the Re
:. publican convention contains no init
nation of danger. II there are an!
. conspiracies. the convention did no
g see them: II there are any combina
u lions, II had not heard of them:
I there are any dangers ahead. 1t wa
I unconscious OF them. Was the presi
y dent mistaken when he issued his de
: iance, or are the Republican manager
{ deceived when they think that a
aroused public will calmly contemplat
Z the encroachments of %predator
wealth. This Is retreat number six,
q The convention, by vote of S66 I
y l44-morc than seven to one-vote
'e down the plank In favor of the popula
n election OF United States senators.
a. Is true that the president and Seer,
H. tary Taft have never advocated tn
III popular election OF senators. The
Or seem to take the Hamiltonian rattle
n than the Jeffersonian view, but tn
most popular reform In the Unite
It States to-day is the reform that ha
'@. for its object the election of Unite
on States senators by direct vote. II hi
five times been Endorsed by the II
tional house OF representatives-thrt
IA. times when the house of represent
nd tives was Republican. II has been |
ar dorsed by nearly two.thirds of Il
ce ate of the union, and there Is pro
he ably not a state In the union In whi'
se II would not be Endorsed AT a popul
les election and yet in spite of the reco'
made in the house OF representative
rk and by the various states, this refor
to is rejected by a seyen-to-one vote in
so Republican national convention.
ire There are seven propositions up
en- which the Republican party, In I
on. tional convention assembled, has
mt treated from the position taken by II