The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1912-05-24
ROOSEVELT PICKS
HIMSELF TO WIN
COLONEL DECLARES NO OTHER
PROGRESSIVE CAN BEAT PRES.
DENT TAFT AT POLLS

NEW YORK, May 10. - Tho Roose.
welt committee today gave out the fol.
lowing copy of a letter from Col. Theo-
dore Roosevelt to R. A. Caswell of Min.
neapolis:
81 wish it had been possible for me
to go again to Minnesota. Unfortunate
ly 1t is physically impossible. Nine
States have now held presidential
primaries, or their equivalent - North
Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylva-
mia, Nebraska, Oregon, New Hamp-
shire, Massachusetts, and Maryland.
These States, the only ones in which
there has been a free chance for the
expression of the popular will, are to
be represented by 256 delegates in the
Chicago convention. Forty of these
delegates are instructed for President
Taft, and ZIG are against him.
He has carried but two of the nine
States-New Hampshire and Massachu-
setts-while in Massachusetts the Roos-
evelt delegates at large were elected by
over twice the majority which Mr.. Taft
vote.
General Situation.
I'm Maryland the majority against
Mr.. Taft was about the same, propor-
tionately as the majorities for him in
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In
the other seven States the maiorities
against him range from two to one to
twenty to one. In all the States topeth-
er about three out of every four of the
republicans who voted at the primaries
were against Mr.. Taft. If primaries
could be held in all the States there
would undoubtedly be NO substantial
variation from these figures, and Mr..
Taft could by no possibility have two
hundred votes in the Chicago conven-
tion.
Mr.. Taft s chance of denomination
lies solely in securing at Chicago dele
gates who will misrepresent the will of
the people. He can get these delegates,
not in the primary States, but in the
convention States, where delegates are
chosen under the old system, and even
in these States he can only get them
where the State is ruled by boss.
After prolonged experience of me
as President, practically all of the big
bosses in the Republican party dislike
me so heartily that they opposed Mr..
Taft s nomination because favored it.
They were afraid that Mr.. Taft would
give them the same kind of trouble I
had given them. After three years and
half experience of Mr.. Taft Stree he
has been elected these same men have
turned around and heartily favor his
denomination.
eight Is on Bosses
"They were opposed to me four years
ago, and they are opposed to me now.
They were opposed to Mr.. Taft four
years ago, when they had not tried him
as President, and they heartily support
him now. These men include, for in
stance, Mr.. Gallinger, in New Hamp-
shire; Mr.. Aldrich, in Rhode Island;
Mr.. Penrose, in Pennsylvania; Mr..
Healing, in Indiana; Mr.. Lorimer, in
illinois; Messrs. Guggenheim and
Evans, in Colorado; Mr.. Calhoun and
the Southern Pacific railway crowd, in
California, and the Amalgamated Cop
per crowd in Montana, and in your
own State they include Mr.. Smith and
Mr.. Tawney.
"The fight is a nationwide fight of
the plain people against the bosses.
| There is just one candidate whom it is
possible to nominate against the bosses,
and that is myself. Every vote for
every other candidate from now on is
in reality a vote for Mr.. Taft. The
| fight is against the boss in Minnesota,
as it is everywhere else. A vote for
Mr.. Taft is a vote for the bosses; it is
a vote for Lorimer, for Penrose, for
Guggenheim, for Gallinger and for all
the rest of them; and it is a vote for
these men whether it is cast in Mime
sofa, or in Massachusetts, or in Ohio,
or New Jersey, or California.
Why He Is Candidate.
"I became a candidate only when I
became convinced that no other pro-
gressive candidate could by any posi-
bility be nominated against Mr.. Taft.
The contest has gone so far as to make
it now evident that I certainly can be
nominated against Mr.. Taft, and that
either I shall be nominated or else a
reactionary will be nominated.
at is also evident that not only
every progressive Republican, but every
man who believes in decency and hon
esty in politics, who is against boss
rule and for the genuine rule of the
people, and is for the elimination of
special privilege and for efficient en-
deavor to secure social and industrial
justice can achieve his purposes only by
supporting my candidacy.
"My personal interest is of no con-
Germ one way or the other, but it hap
pens that at this time typify and en-
body the great cause which can only
be furthered by supporting me. Al
most everywhere have been able to
appear personally in this campaign and
fight the bosses we have beaten them,
and I ask that Minnesota stand beside
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