The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-08-15
A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT.

A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT.
President Taft's speech of accept
ance will, for several reasons STAND
out in political history as very
remarkable utterance. 10 begln
with, he accepts Senator Roots
guarantee of regularity without
smile and even adds his Endorsement
of the proceedings which resulted in
his nomination. This OCCASION
he saws, lis appropriate for the ex-
preston of profound gratitude at
the victory at Chicago. BY that
victory, the republican party was
saved for future usefulness.
What an astounding indifference
to the intelligence of the public!
How completely has his conscience
been scared, not to be sensitive IN
regard to the methods employed at
Chicago! Both he and Senator
Root know that he was not the
choice of majority of the republic
can voters; they know that the
presidents administration was re-
pudiated by those who elected him.
They know that a hold-over commit
tee deliberately and contemptuously
and changed the character OF the
convention by the seating of Ta1t
delegates. Hold-over committee
men who had been repudiated IN
their states knowingly, even exult-
ingly, thwarted the expressed Will OF
the republican voters of their rcspec-
tive states in order to give an appar-
emit Endorsement to the admlnlstra-
tion-and President Taft is willing
to accept this shadow as if it were
substantial The president knows
that the republican committeeman
from a number Of the southern
states represent mythical constltu-
encies and yet he accepts, with ex-
pressions of gratitude, a nomination
that was only possible because
southern republicans had many
times as much influence in the con-
vention in proportion to their num-
bers, as northern republicans had.
And he accepts the nomination with
out any suggestions as to improve
ment in method He neither in
Gorses the Baltimore plan of hay
ing committeeman begin to serve as
soon as elected-thus having new
committee organize a new conven-
tion-nor does he outline any plan
for protecting the republican party
from the scandal brought upon it's
conventions by it's patronage-cOn-
trolled delegates from the southern
states.
The next thing in the presidents
speech that attracts attention is the
marked contrast between his point
of view four years ago and his point
of view to-day. In 1908, he was
condemning the malefactors of great
wealth and crying out against dis
honest methods in business. He
held himself out as a reformer and
appealed to the progressive senti-
ment of the country. Now he is hor-
rified at the "demagogue,' the
''muck-raker" and the political dis
turber. He says, I'm the work of
rousing the people to the danger
that threatens our civilization from
the abuses of concentrated wealth
and the power 1t is likely to exer-
else, the public imagination was
wrought upon and a reign of sensa-
tiona1 journalism and unjust and
unprincipled undertaking has fol-
lowed, III which many an injustice
Demagogues had seized the oppor-
tuity to further inflame the public
mind and have sought to turn the
peculiar conditions to their advan-
tage" He commended that 1T is
far better to await the diminution
of this evil by natural causes than
to attempt what would soon take
on the aspect of confiscation or to
abolish the principles or institution
of property and to change to soci-
alism''
What a difference in the tone of
the two speeches.! Four years ago
he was alarmed for fear the country
was going to suffer at the hands OF
the predatory interests; now, every
exploiter is pleasing, and only the
reformer is vile. His speech of four
years ago must have been delivered
during a mental alteration. Sur
geons tell us that mans eccen-
tricities are sometimes due to a
pressure on the brain at some point;
is it possible that Doctors Root, Pen
rose and Barnes have restored his
mind to normal action by removing
the Roosevelt pressure?
Mr.. Taft is so sOlicitous about
the people-who have failed Ito de-
vote as much time as is necessary
to political duties" that he is afraid
to burden them with responsible
ties three times greater than 1.-THE
people have been willing to assume"
He is afraid to cohcede the reforms
demanded will result in new duties
that will tire them (the people) in
to such an indifference as still
further to remand control of public
affairs to a minority" To find an
argument as absurd as the above
one must go back several centuries
and consult the reasons that kings
gave for not admitting the people
to participation in government, and
then to add insult to injury, he has
the audacity to present the aristo-
cratic argument that it is bread, not
votes, that the people need; work,
not constitutional amendments;
money to pay house rent, not refer
endums; clothing, not recalls; en-
ployment, not initiatives! Modern
literature presents no parallel to