Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-20
WHERE 7. R. STANDS
Col. Roosevelt Declares He Is
Not Presidential Candidate.
REAL SUPPORTERS ARE FEW
Says It Would Be Cruel Injustice
for Friends to Urge Him to
Head Ticket.
EAL SUPPORTERS ARE FEW

NEW YORK. April 2o-The Saturday
interview with Theodore Roosevelt in
by Henry Beach Needham, who has long
known the colonel. 1t is entitled ''Where
Roosevelt Stands Today" A few Of its
best parts are given below:
1 am not acandidate for the presi-
dency. And my real friends will do me
cruel injustice IL they seek to make
me such.
"Of the LOIS delegates at the Saratoga
convention perhaps not more than Is.
certainly less than 100, were real sup
porters Of mine.
Most of the delegates did not agree
with me on the tariff question. and dis
trusted me as being too radical in other
matters, but they wished to fight for
honesty and popular government and
against boss rule. They knew that they
could win only under my leadership. but
they made no secret that they were
against ME personally.
Take the committee on resolutions. In
their first draft of the platform there was
mild tribute to me, which welcomed me
back to public life as the exponent of
honesty, but the committee finally struck
this out-a majority would not stand for
1t. They We're determined to keep out
or the platform any allusion to me per-
sonally. This by itself shows the utter
absurdity Of thinking l could influence
them on the tariff
Could Not Reward or Punish.
II hadn't it in my power as they knew,
to reward human being or to punish
human being. Not one man who voted
against me at Saratoga had anything to
fear from me for so doing: not one man
who voted for me at Saratoga had any
thing to expect from me for his support.
1 got out OF that convention every ounce
of progressive action that it was hui
manly possible to get out OF 1t.
Gov. Hughes and his supporters were
entirely responsible for my appearance at
Saratoga 1 didn't get them into the fight.
They were IN tie fight. All I did was to
try to hels them out in fight in which
they were right. AS long as they were in
it couldn't stay out.
When l got home from Europe I want
ed to go home and be quiet 1 didn't
want to mix in politics. But I was i'm
portuned on every hand-by the insur-
gents of the west and by the progress
sives of my own state-to help along the
movement for honesty in high places in
the political and financial world. 1t
seemed to me that IL was my DUTY 10 Try
to help them in the fight for popular
government without any regard to what
the effect might be to me personally. l
didn't see how 1 could keep out OF the
fight and retain my self-respect, SO l
went into it.
Gov. Baldwin Falls in Line.
Even Gov. Baldwin Of Connecticut
with whom, you remember. I had a pas
sage-at- arms in the campaign-has recon-
mended to the legislature careful con-
sheraton of direct primaries.
Each state must determine for itself, by
testing the scheme in practice. whether
all elective officers are to be nominated
directly by the people or by certain stip-
ulated officers
Asked about the initiative. referendum
and recall. Col. Roosevelt said:
More antagonism is excited by these
three proposals. and especially by the re-
call, than by any of the other planks in
the National Progressive Republican
League platform. With these three de-
vices it is particularly case of means
to an end
Mr. Needham quotes Col. Roosevelt's
ellow-rough rider. John G. Greenway, as
saying: col. Roosevelts greatest ambi-
ton is to be shot on the field OF battle. I"