Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-04-27

farmers of the country against reel
procity with Canada. He said ~
would not object to this but for tn
fact that he consulted Col. Roose
welt ten days before he made thu
agreement with Canada and that the
latter approved the agreement In the
most enthusiastic terms. Mr.. Tar
quoted a letter from Col. Roosevelt
dated January IL, 1911, in which NJ
said:
Dear Mr.. Presidential seems
to me that what you propose 10
| do with Canada is admirable from
every standpoint. I firmly be-
lieve in free trade with Canada
for both economic and political
reasons. AS you say, labor cost
is substantially the same In the
two countries, so that you are
amply justified by the platform.
Whether Canada will accept such
reciprocity I do not know, but 1t
is greatly to your credit to make
the effort. 1t nav damage the re
publican party for a while, but it
will surely benefit the party In the
end, especially If you tackle WOOL,
! cotton, etc., as you propose.
Theodore Roosevelt"
The president added:
Nov in the exigency Of his contest
for the nomination and with the pur
pose of accentuating the supposed feel
ing of the farmers against me he re-
cants his approval Of the agreement
on the ground that it would not have
been a square deal for the farmers, a
circumstance which, he intimates
escaped him when he, in a desire to
support my administration, he had ap'
proved the agreement. I submit that
Mr.. Roosevelt's course on reciprocity
is not in accord with the square deal"
Fraud in EIeeting Delegates.
President Taft next referred to Mr..
Roosevelt's charges that the president
had been receiving/'stolen goods and
had profited "by the use Of dirty in
struments" to secure delegates.
mo instance" said the president,
has been brought to my attention in
which specifications Of fraud have
been sustained by any evidence what
ever. The charges made by Senator
Dixon as to Kentucky in an hysterical
and insulting open letter to me We're
shown to be wholly without foundation
in the Kentucky convention and by
the statement Of Senator Deboe."
Mr.. Taft said that IL there had been
fraud in the New York primaries, the
courts were open to the Roosevelt
supporters for redress. They failed,
he said to take advantage of this
fact. He inferred from this that the
charges of fraud elsewhere likewise
no foundation fhn
policy Of the Roosevelt campaign Mr..
to meet reports Of adverses by charges
Of fraud and the bringing Of "trumped
up contests"
The Use Of Federal Patronage.
AS to Mr.. Roosevelt's charges of the
shameless use of federal patronage
by the president, Mr.. Taft said that
seventy per cent of the federal Office
holders now In the service were ap-
pointees of Mr.. Roosevelt and as a
natural result large percentage OF
them favored the former president for
denomination. No man, he said, had
been dismissed because he favored
Mr.. Roosevelt and there was every in
dication that at the Chicago conven-
ton the influence of the federal office
holders would be less effective for any
history Of the party.
Mr. Taft said Mr. Roosevelt was not
only enjoying the support Of many
federal Office holders but the patronage
of number of state governors which
was being used for him with bust
ness-like manipulation that lacks moth
ing in effectiveness" He said the
patronage Of Gov. Hadley, in Mis-
souri,; of Gov. Stubs in Kansas; Gov.
Glasscock in West Virginia, Gov. o.
born in Michigan, and Gov. Johnson in
California, all was being used for Mr..
Roosevelt.
Dealing with Mr. Roosevelt s
charges that in his administration Mr..
Taft had deserted the progressives
and become reactionary, the presi.
dent said that it was on Mr.. Roose'
velt's advice that he had his first
meeting with Speaker Cannon.
81 had been afraid that Mr.. Cannon
might oppose revision of the tariff
and | looked about Immediately after
my election to see whether It would
be possible to secure votes enough in
the caucus to elect another speaker.
l found that 1t was not. At the re,
quest of President Roosevelt had an
interview with Mr.. Cannon in which he
agreed he would help redeem the
promises of the republican platform
+ This arrangement with Mr.. Can.
non was with the knowledge and en-
phatic approval of Mr.. Roosevelt
The Payne Tariff Bill.
Speaking of the Payne tariff bill Mr.
Taft again defended his course in sign
ing it and declared that to have vetoed
it would have broken up the republi'
can party.
Has Mr. Roosevelt ever condemned
the Payne bill?" he asked. Does he
say he would not have signed it II 1t
had been presented to him under con
ditions that had to meet? He has
never said that as far as I know, and
the New York platform Of 1910, adopt
ed by the convention of which he
was a part, endorsed the pending bill
and approved its passage Is 1t q
square deal therefore, for him to
charge me with not being a progress
siye when all that I did was to deal