The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1912-05-02
THE CRISIS.

great crisis of its history, and the
result will be determined largely by |
the Massachusetts primaries.
The World long believed that Mr..
Roosevelt's nomination at Chicago
would be impossible. We are by no
means SO sure as we were. Our con-
fidence in Republican sanity and Re-
publican intelligence is not so strong
as it was. The Roosevelt madness has
seized upon the Republican party
much as the free-silver madness seiz-
ed upon the Democratic party in 1896.
If Massachusetts, with its loosely
drawn primary law under which Dem
ocrats can vote for Republican dele
gates, should be carried by Mr.. Roose-
welt, it will be difficult, indeed, to pre-
vent his nomination. If the Taft lead
ers in other states make such mess
of things as they made in Missouri IT
will be impossible to prevent Mr.
Roosevelts nomination.
The Roosevelt campaign has been
managed on the same lines as the 16-
toll campaign in 1896. 1t has been as
lavishiy financed by the Perkins Pro-
gressives as the free-slver campaign
was financed by the Western mine
owners. All the most eloquent dema-
gogues in the Republican party have
been enlisted under the Roosevelt BAN
ner, as all the most eloquent dema-
gogues in the Democratic party were
enlisted under the 16-to1 banner,
Popular appreciation of the serious
ness of the issue is inert now, as it
was in the spring of 1896.
The same sort of men who were de-
nouncing Grover Cleveland sixteen
years ago as the corrupt tool of Wall
street are now denouncing William
H. Taft as the corrupt tool of Wall
street. The same system of dema-
gogy and SANDER and falsehood is EN-
ployed for the benefit of Roosevelt
that was employed for the benefit OF
| the SllNeI-ulHe OWHcIo' ihV ~ hP'
thetic alliance between a free-silver
Democracy and Populism in 1896 now
finds its parallel in the sympathetic
alliance between Roosevelt Republi-
canism and Socialism.
Between the two the Roosevelt cam
paign is UNNECESSARILY more of a
menace to the Republic than the 1ree-
silver campaign. The 16-to-1 issue at
most involved only question OF the
standard of value and the related ques-
ton OF national honor, but the Roose-
welt campaign involves the very stabil-
ity of American institutions. II Mr..
Roosevelt believes what he pretends
to believe, if his supporters believe
what they profess to believe, his cleo
ton would mean the reputation of
the American Constitution and all it
signifies. 1t would mean that in the
opinion of majority of the American
people the Republic is a lie and a
fraud, and has been a. lie and fraud
since the day the Constitution was or
dained and established.
Free silver turned the Government
of the United States over to Hannaism
and corruption, over to Wall street
and the trusts and the protected in
dustries. The country has not yet re
covered from the evil consequences o
that campaign, and it would not soor
recover from the evil consequences o
Roosevelt campaign, however disas
trously the third-term candidate nigh
be beaten at the polls.
, The Republican party can find it
, own lesson in the fate of the Demo
cratic party. In 1896 the Chicago Con
vention repudiated Democratic Pres
idents it repudiated Democratic Ad
ministration, it turned its back upo
its record and it's traditions and it
I principles to worship the idols of den
agogy. 1t has been discredited eve
since, and only since the menace c
|. Rooseveltism appeared has the Demo
v cratic party succeeded in rehabilita
s ing itself.
g Have the Republicans learned notl
= ing from Democratic folly and DEM
: cratic madness? Are they ready
A go before the country as the party
/ demagogy, dictatorship and disaster
New York World