The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1908-07-10
IN FULL RETREAT.


President Roosevelt and 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
dorsed by the president himself. Con-
gresham Cooper of Wisconsin, repre-
senting the La Toilette men, brought
In Il minority report signed by himself
alone. Fffty.two members OF the com
mlttee signed the majority report, and
one signed the minority report. The
Republican party will find the ratio OF
50 to one a very embarrassing one 10
deal with In the coming campaign MIR.
| Cooper's report contained a declara'
| ton in favor of publicity as to cam
paign funds II was lost by vote or
| $50 to "a, more than nine to one, and
yet the president has been advocating
| legislation in favor of publicity MS to
campaign contributions, and Secretary
Taft wrote a letter to Mr. Burrows ad.
vocating the passage of publicity
bill How fortunate II was that Sccre-
tary Taft's letter was finally discov.
cred and published! Senator Burrows.
the man to whom the Taft letter was
addressed was the temporary chair
man of the convention, and the con
veution over which he presided turned
down the publicity plank by a vote oil
nine to one! Who Will deny that, on
this subject the Republican party is
rctrcatng?
Another plank Of the La Toilette
plat(orm authorized the ascertaining
Of the value of the railroads. This
plank was lost by vote Of 9lI to 90
nearly IS to one and yet President
Roosevelt has advocated this very
proposition. Here Is retreat on the
railroad question.
, In another column reference is made
, to the injunction plank. The inlunc
, ton plank adopted by the Republican
convention is retreat from the posi-
, ton taken by the president and IRON
: the position taken by Secretary Tan
4 in his speeches, although neither Of
. them went as far as they ought to have
gone in their effort to prevent what II
=, known as government by Injunction
a Here Is the third retreat.
< The president has advocated the In
come tax AS means OF preventing
Il swollen fortunes and of equalizing TIT
II burdens of government The Repuh
a lican platform is silent on the sur
r. icct. Was the president right In tn
# position he took? II so, then the cor
If yention was wrong in not indorsin
n. him. VIII the Republican voters 10
70 low the president In this just deman
T or will they follow the Republican o.
Y Eanzation in retreatng from 1t?
in The president advocated an inhe
@. itance tax, but the Republican CONVEX
le ton is silent on that subject. Was tn
+ president ahead of the Republica
ID marty in advocating this reform. or ha
IL the Republican party receded from IN
al presidents position? Did the presidet
Ill give a false alarm on this question
" has the party sounded n retreat?
ed In the presidents message to co
n. eress last spring he presented an !
% dictment against the conspiracy formt
n among the great lawbreakers to pr
be vent the enforcement of the law M
In. To evade the punishments provided
al law The platform adopted by the X
* publican convention contains no III
II nation of danger If there are al
ne conspiraCies, the convention ala II
We see them. II there are any compln
hid lions. il had not heard of them;
he there are any dangers ahead, 1t "
We unconscious OF them. Was the pre-
or dent mistaken when he issued his
re- fance, or are the Republican manage
be deceived when they think that
de aroused public will calmly contemplf
we the encroachments of predatc
wealth. This Is retreat number SIX.
the The convention. by vote of 500
,ay t44-more than seven to one-Vo'
tee down the plank in favor OF the popu
on. election Of United States senators.
la. is true that the president and Sec
raj tary Taft have never advocated
ven popular election of senators. IT
for seom to take the Hamil.onian rati
in. than the Jeffcrsonian view, but
most popular reform In the UNI
at. states to-day is the reform that
be. for its object the election of UNI
CON State. senators by direct vote. II
find five times been Endorsed by the
tional house of representatives-th
fa. times when the house OF represei
and tiyos was Republican. 1t has been
,ear dorsed by nearly two-thirds OF
nee states of the union. and there Is pI
the ably not a state in the union in WI
use II would not be indorsed at popl
,ses election and yet in spite OF the rec
made in the house of representa-
,ork and by the various states, this ref
10 is rejected by seven'to'one vote
q so Republican nat nal convention.
fore There are seven propositions Il
,ven which the Republican party, In
con. tional convention assembled, has
rent treated from the position taken by
the party In congress or from the posi-
pre. taken by the president What !