Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-05-09

is the effect Of TT Don't you remember
that in Kentucky they had night riders
| and they tore up tobacco plants. They
killed people and they drove them off Of
their farms In order to reduce The supply
Of hurley tobacco. beeSGs" they could
not get any price for IL, and that was be-
cause the tobacco trust went in there
and bought waat they wanted and paid
the price they wanted. Now. what is the
result of the tobacco decree Why bur
ley tobacco has gone up under the COM
petitions that have come in there by
the various companies in which this
tobacco trust has been divided. hurley
tobacco has never been so high. You talk
to the Kentucky farmers and ask whether
they do not approve the decree in the
tobacco trust.
Answering the Roosevelt charge Of a
Taft alliance with bosses. the president
criticized his predecessor for tempting
to inject into a national campaign ques-
tons which properly concern the states
and with which a president mas no d.
rect concern.
favor OF an aristocracy and obligarehy,
but he said l was in favor of an oligarchy
Of bosses. that ] approved that kind OF
government and that made the issue. the
people against the bosses ana that all
the bosses were for me, and they were
says today" asserted Mr.. Taft. That
is the issue. II he is elected there won't
be boss in the country, and II he is not,
they viii just own me at Washington
and run the government. Well. am not
in favor OF the machine politics. They
are abuses Of our government, We have
TO have organization We cannot very
well get along without those. but am
Just as much opposed to bosses, In the
sense that Mr.. Roosevelt wishes TO use
that term, as he is.
Roosevelt and the Bosses.
Now there must be a good deal OF
vagueness and misunderstanding about
this business of bosses. The president
has very little TO do with the establish.
ment of a boss or his disenthronement.
He takes at Washington the congressman
and senators that are sent there by the
people and II is the people who are 10
disenthrone the boss. the president has
no power TO refuse TO recognize them
when they come with the mandate Of the
people. Now, II is to inject something
into national campaign that does not
exist. and to give the impression that the
president can with a wave Of his hand
abolish all bosses. II is not for him to
put his nose into state politics and take
up all his energy which ought to be de-
voted to national politics, in reforming
each local community. The people must
do that themselves. am not criticisins,
but would like to know how many
bodies Of dead bosses were strewn along
the path OF Theodore Roosevelt when he
was seven years president OF the United
States. l don't criueise him for that,
II was not within his function TO go about
with q sword cutting off the heads Of
dragons like that. What he did, and
what he has defended himself time and
time again for doing was to use those
men TO get good legislation and good
government. II he could. have not done
any differently in that respect, and |
don't promise YOU IL am elected that
all the bosses will die. | have recon.
mended something that will assist In
ending the abuse Of that system. but |
have not heard any approval from any
booy that was so loud that could hear
II. That is. have recommended that all
those officers which are now treatsd as
political offices, be put In the classified
civil service and that the congressman
and the president be relieved from their
appointment. / have done that with
three congresses, but have not heard
any Macedonian call either from Mr.