The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-05-06
AGAIN He FLAYS
ONE TINE FRIEND
This Time The Colonel's
Charge is That President
Taft is Useless
land DISHONORABLE
is HIS CONDUCT"
Further Explanations Roll
Forth from Oyster Bay
About That Harves-
Ter Trust Affair


In dangerous, in the opinion OF Taft
and in the opinion OF Roosevelt, TAFT
In usless. This Is how each Republi-
can candidate regards the other, as
set forth In q statement issued today
by Col Roosevelt The colonel also
says Taft Is now denying what he
cannot possibly help remembering.
In Connection with the Harvester trust
decision, aud charges the President
with crockedness in selecting dele
gates. His statement In part follows:
with Mr.. Taft's personal opinion
about me ] have no concern beyond
pointing out the sufficiently obvious
fact that he never discovered that
was dangerous to the people until
j had been obliged to come to the
conclusion that he was usiess 10 the
people.
But his specific statements as to
the trusts, the crochedness in select
ing delegates and the Lorimer incl
dent, shall once again answer. al
though / have already answered spe-
cificaily In Massachusetts.
Mr.. Taft knew all the facts abon.
the Harvester trust decision and he
VAS present at that cahient meeting
where they were all discussed. and
also at private converse tons with me
ne repeated that ne approved the
course actually taken just AS he re-
peateiy and emphatically proved the
ros1rse taken sss-rrEartfs the = tttt--s--r
Coal and Iron Company.
Knew What Went On.
OF course, as a member of my cab
inent, who at that time l was sup
porting for the presidency. he knew
and could not avoid knowing every
thing Of any Importance that went on.
IT Is impossible to reconcile his pres"
ent position with any standard OF hon.
orabie conduct, whether we accept the
view that he then approved what he
believed to ba wrong, or whether We
accept the only alternative which IL
that ne now denies wha, he cannot
possibly help remembering.
II saw Mr.. Perkins in tnis matter
precisely as ! saw MIR. Morgan at tho
time OF beginning the Northern Sc
curities suit, and as ! saw representa-
tiyes Of the Standard Oil again and
again at the time OF the beginning Of
the Standard OIL suit. just AZ In the
case Of every large suit | saw any
party Interested who asked TO appear
before me.
Mr.. TAFT says have changed my
mind about the antitrust law. lie
well knows that the position | take
now Is precisely the position ! took
again and again in speeches and In
messages 10 Congress while | was
President. He was then in my cabt-
net. and repeatedly expressed sppfo-
val OF what | thus said,
Trust Law MOI Sufficient.
Il have always said, and now say,
that by Itself Law will never salve the
problem of dealing with the great
corporations. and that to control the
great industrial interstate corporations
We should have law akin to the
present interstate commerce faw--but
without the mischievous Interstate
Commerce Court.
MIR. Taft says that ] criticised him
because he prosecuted the Standard
oil and Tobacco companies to the
Supreme Court and got decisions there.
an tho ettn .eria fr Mi Taft knows we'll
that / criticised him. not for having
,t}fas continued the prosecution Of the
suits that l had begun. hut because
after he had gotten these decisions
he then, permitted the Department OF
Justice so to shape matters that the
result vas d complete nuilisGaijon af,5
all the good Of his suit,
His conduct in this respect Is quite
Incompatible with any sincere purpose
really TO enforce the antitrust law.
"Evidcntly Wall street has made its
mind that Mr.. Taft's prosecutions are
Jake prosecutions. whereas the bitter
hostility OF Wall Street to me shows
how lively Is its memory Of the fact
that my prosecutions were really prose
cu.ions and hurt the persons prose
cuted.'
About Judge Archibald.
Colonel Roosevelt refers to the pend
ing investigation of Judge Archibald,
of the Commerce. Court. and asserts
that the, Judge had been appointed TO
piacate a PENNSYLVANIA politician. al
though the alleged unfitness for the
Office Of the appointee had already been
called to. President Taft's attention.
The statement continues:
In Kentucky and Indiana. in New
York City and elsewhere Mr.. Taft
knows well that the delegates elected
for him represent barefaced frauds.
He stands guilty. OF conntvance at and
of these frauds; he stands
fraud which express their Will as to
who shall lie Nominated deprives the
people of their right.
y~ And About lorimsr.
"As for the Lorinner case. the facts
are these: I fought Mr. Lorimer hard
and In the open for eighteen months.
ORIGINALLY Mr.. Taft was secretly
against Lorimer. As the Illinois pri-
S,laries approached Mr.. Tafts oppo-
sition vanished. Almost all of Mr..
Taft's followers In the Senate sup
ported Mr.. Lorimer. Mr.. Lorimer was
the leading Taft worker In Illinois.
..As long as there was hope that Mr..
I nriiner might carry the State for
TAFT. Mr., Taft kept silent about Lori
mer., but rs soon az Illinois was lost
Mr.. Taft rushed to Massachusetts
whore. there were no Lorimer follow
ers and repudiated Mt. Lorimer."
COLONEL SWEEPS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN. TEX, May Sit IL now
defnttely known that Roosevelt brac-
ticaily swept the State in the pre-
cinct conventions held yesterday. AL
though early reports indicated that
TAFT was In the lead Colonel Cecil
Lyon. the Roosevelt manager. who IL
also State and national Republican
oommtttosrnan Claims solid Roosc-
toentl @ea second psgs.J