The Sentinel=record., 1912-06-18
ROOSEVELT
 TEARS 'EM UP
ADDRESSES IMMENSE THRoNG AT AUDITORIUM THEATER AND
 OUTLINES PLAN OF FIGHT.
GIVEN 4 HOUSING RECEPTION
Declares That Contested Delegates Must Not be Given a Vote in the Organization of the Repuh-
 lcan Convention.

|
 Chicago, June 17.--On the eve of the
 republican national convention. Colo
 mel Roosevelt tonight disclosed the | line of attack he will make. He laid down two principles. He said the delegates whose selection he contests must not vote in the organization Of
 the convention or upon the settlement of the contest, and made it clear that
 he would resist it. He declared that
 no action of the convention based on
 the votes of these "fraudulently seat
 ed delegates would be binding upon | the republican party"
 It was at the Roosevelt rally in tho Auditorium Theater that the ex-presl- dent made his challenge. He was
 facing a cheering throng, which jam
 med the huge building as tightly sas
 the fire marshal would permit. Pres
 ent were delegates from every part of the country, Roosevelt leaders and a host of privates in the Roosevelt army. They gave the ex-president q mighty welcome.
 Colonel Roosevelt made a fighting speech. His hearers were iii fighting
 moods. They cheered him on as he denounced his opponents and shouted
 to him:
 "Go at them, Teddyi' Knockout
 the SteamrolIer!,' Hit 'em Again." Mir Roosevelt said in part.
 T address you as my fellow republi-
 cans. but I also primarily address you as fellow Americans. fellow citizens for this has now become much more than an ordinary party fight. The issue is both simpler and larger than
 that involved in the personality of any man, or than that involved in any factional or in any ordinary party l contest. We are standing for the great fundamental rights upon which all successful free government must
 be based We are standing for ele- mentary decency in politics, We are | fighting for honesty against naked robbery; and where robbery is con cerned the all important question is not the identity of the man robbed, but the crime itself
 'tAs far as Mir. Taft and 1 are per sOnally concerned, it little matters what the fate of either may be. But with Mir Taft's acquiescence, or by his direction and in his interest, his l followers have raised an issue which
 is all important to this country. It Is
 not q partisan issue it is more than a political issue; 1t is a great moral | issue If we condone political theft ! if we do not resent the kinds of wrong and injustice that will injuriously af- | feet the whole nation, that not merely our democratic form of government but our civilization itself can endure. | If methods adopted by the national committee are approved by the con- yantion, which is about to assemble. great crime will have been commit ted The triumph of such proceed | ings at the moment would mean the wreck of the republican party and if such proceedings become habituai, 1t | would mean the wreck of popular gov
 ernment. The actions of the Init leaders in the national committee.
 taken with the active aid of Mfr. Taft's
 sss.,s. e ~ :.a e s Taft's cabinet officers are monstrOus and they should be indignantly con demned by the moral sentiment of the
 whole country Tonight We came to- gether to protest against q crime
 which strikes straight at the heart of every principle of political decency and honesty. a crime which represents treason to the people, and in the usur- l patton of the sovereignty of the peo- | pie by irresponsible political bosses, | inspired by the sinister influences of moneyed privilege. We are here in l this hall, are engaged, not only in q ] fight for the rights of every decent
 republican, we are engaged in fight for the rights of every decent Ameri-
 can whatsoever his party may be. And oh, my friends, for one thing at least we should be profoundly grateful. We are more fortunate than our fathers
 in that there is no slightest tinge of 1 sectionalism in the fight We are now waging The principles for which we stand are as vital for the south as for the north. for the east as for .She
 west. We make our appeal to all
 honest far sighted and patriotic Ameri- cans no matter where they may dwell Our opponents here in Chicago to- day have waged such a bitter and
 interruptions fight for the very reason
 that this is no ordinary factional con test. The big bosses who control the
 national committee represent not ! merely the led captains ef mareanaev I politics. hut the great cnnalsaa finan-
 ciers who stand behind these led cap-
 tains. These political bosses are oh- noxious in themselves, but they are
 even more obnoxious because they
 represent privileges in it's most sor-
 did and dangerous form, The major ity of the national committee in de-
 ciding the cases before them have praetieed political theft in every form
 from highway robbery to petty larceny
 and the political theft is as dishonest | Continued on Page Fiye,)