Evening star., 1912-11-16
Republicans Tell Taft Why
They Voted for Wilson.
DESIRED COEONEL'S DEFEAT
President Deeply Interested in Let.
ters to White House.
BULL MoosERs REPENTING
Chicagoans Declare They Were
Duped and Made Tools to Further
Roosevelt's Ambition.

To President Taft the most deeply in
teresting feature of the great mass Of
correspondence pouring into the White
House since election day has been the
assertion of several thousand writer's. re-
publicans and democrats, that they voted
for Wilson to insure the defeat of Roose-
welt and that at heart they desired to
support Taft for another term in the ex-
ecutive offices.
The President has pondered consider
ably over the facts brought out in this
correspondence, which has been SO heavy
since election day as to require the
steady work of a large number of clerks
to keep up with it. His declarations to
friends that the republican party is much
stronger than the actual vote In Novem-
ber indicated are borne out by the let
ters. The belief is that between 5OOOOO
and 1,OO0,O0O voted for Wilson to make
particularly so in New York. Massachu-
setts and other eastern states, and in
some of the western states like Kansas,
Nebraska and the DakOtas, and in Cali
fornia.
Problem for Republicans.
Just what this unmeasurable nucleus
for the future strength of the republican
party amounts to in addition to the
known vote received by the President Is,
of course, problem to the republicans.
The Presidnt has stated to friends that
from the very beginning of the CAM
paign Chairman Hilles wrestled day aft
er day with the problem Of Taft's friends
voting for Wilson in the belief that the
New Jersey governor alone, and not TAFT,
could defeat Roosevelt.
1t is the firm belief of the President and
his friends that if the actual votes cast
for Taft could be added to the unknown
number of Taft men voting for Wilson
the republican ticket would have run
many thousands ahead of the bull moose
ticket in the popular vote for the three
candidates.
While the President has made it known
that he will do all he can for the future
of his party, he wants it distinctly under
stood that his own denomination is not to
be thought Of
Thousands of friends writing him pre-
dict his denomination and election four
years from now. He plainly discourages
this, believing that the good of the party
should be put far above the personalities
of its leaders. He doesn't want to see 1t
become one-man party or in the same
position as the bull moose organization.
He has had enough of the White House,
and will leave 1t without the slightest re-
gret. He will do nothing to encourage
the idea that he wants to get back.
Reaction Now Evident.
The party, the President thinks, must
stand for it's time-honored principles,
brought up to date to fit modern condi-
tions and advanced thought. II 1t does
so there will return to it the majority Of
the men who were lured away to the
third party movement by big promises
impossible, as the President has put it,
of fulfilllment. That there Is already
reaction against the bull moose party
is evident in the correspondence, where
writer's who voted for Roosevelt say that
they are beginning to have their eyes
opened.
One man asserts that at meeting of
eighty-five republicans in the thirty-sec
ond ward of Chicago, held since election
night, lit was decided that we. supp osed
to be voters of more than the ordinary
intelligence, had been duped and made
tools of to promote the personal ambi-
ton Of Roosevelt and that We would re-
turn to the fold sadder but wiser men,
The writer speaks Of himself, with re-
gret, as a victim Of Roosevelt's ambi-
tion.
The President grows more confident each
day, he has said privately to friends. that
the one-man party of Roosevelt will dis
integrate rapidly, as the voters Of the
country have plenty of time for reflection.
and the White House mail indicates that
this is already going on.