Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-05-11

New York, May 10.-The Roosevelt
Committee, today, gave out the fol-
lowing copy of letter from Col.
Theodore Roosevelt to |. A. caswelI
of Minneapolis:
New York, May 10. 1912
Hon. I. A. caswell. chairman Of
the Roosevelt committee and clerk of
the supreme court Minneapolis MINI.
Il wish IT had been possible for me
to go again to Minnesota. Unfortu-
nately it is physically impossible. Nine
states have now held Presidential
primaries, or their quivaIent-North
Dakota, Wisconsin. Illinois, Pennsyl-
vania, Nebraska, Oregon, New Hamp-
shire. Massachusetts and Maryland.
These states. the only ones in which
there has been d 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 in
structed for President Taft and ZIG
are against him. He has carried but
two of the nine states New Hamp-
shire and Massachusetts, while in
Massac husetts the Roosevelt dele
twice the majority which Mr. Taft OBJ
tanned on preferential vote. In Mary
land the majority against Mr. Taft
was about the same, proportionately
as the majorities for him in Massa-
ehusetts and New Hampshire. In the
other seven states the majorities
against him range from two TO one to
twenty to one.
I'm all the states together about three
out of every four of the Republicans
who voted at the primaries We're 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 posi-
biIity have 200 votes in the Chicago con-
vention. Mr.. Taft's chance of renomi-
nation lies solely I'm securing at Chicago
delegates who will misrepresent the will
of the people. He can get these dele
gates, not In the primary states, but In
the convention states where delegates
are chosen under the old system, aud
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..
Tafts nomination because I favored it.
They We're afraid that Mr.. Taft would
give them the same kind of trouble that
| had given them. After three years and
a half experience of MIR. Taft since he
has been elected, these same men have
turned around and heartily favor his re-
nomination. 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 sup
port him now. These men include, for
instance, Mr.. Gallinger in New Hamp-
shire. Mr.. Aldrich in Rhode Island, Mr..
Penrose in Pennsylvania, Mr.. Healing
in Indiana, Mr.. Lorimer in Illinois,
Messrs. GuggenheH and Evans In Colo
RADIO. Mr.. Calhoun and the Southern Pa
cific Railway crowd in California and
the Amalgamatea-.C Copper crowd in Mon
tana, 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 Il
is possible TO nominate against the
bosses and that is myself Every vott
for every other candidatef rom now on
is in reality a vote for Mr.. Taft Ths