Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1912-07-25
BRIDGETON. N. j., THURSDAY JULY % 1912

dore Roosevelt as their choice for pres
ident of the United States. What
New Jersey did at that time every
other state having the direct primary
also did. By majority of over 1.500,-
600 votes the states that are surely
Republican and which could surely
give their electoral votes for a Re
publican president all declared 1or
Theodore Roosevelt BY any fair
count of delegates duly elected to that
convention Colonel Roosevelt would
have been nominated. But the will of
the people, thus forcibly expressed at
the polls, was defeated. and by the
fraudulent action of the national COM
mittee. composed largely of men re-
pudiated at the primaries, another
nomination was made. For the first
time in its history the Republican par
ty stands pilloried before the nation
as the receiver of stolen goods. No
amount of excusing or explanation can
remove this crime or wash away it's
stain. 1t is so burned into its record
that neither time nor repentance can
ever efface it. And this is the party
with which most of us here have al
ways been associated and by which
some of us have been greatly honored.
To you your delegation at Chicago
comes today to give an account of it's
stewardship and to submit for your
consideration its conduct in repudiat-
In fhn frotJ g
vention and to ask your condemnation
of the action of that convention for it's
fraudulent subversion of the popular
will.
Chicago Convention Repudated.
1t is not my purpose at this time to
go into the details of the fraudulent
seating of over seventy delegates in
that convention who were not legally
or morally entitled to their seats.
have in my possession a clear. con-
vincing statement made by John Boyd
Avis, the New Jersey member on the
committee on credentials of that con-
vention, giving the facts as to the un-
seating of forty-five of the honestly
elected delegates to that convention
which, at my request, he prepared.
These f0rty-five alone would have re-
duced the vote of Mr.. Taft in that con-
ulent delegates, to number far below
that required to nominate. Mr. Avis
paper demonstrates what your dele
gates all know-that Mr.. Taft was not
the nominee of that convention, and no
Republican is bound in law or morals
to support him at the polls A Repub-
lican- convention has been held in the
great Republican state of Iowa and by
vote of 773 to 343 it has repudiated
the action of the Chicago convention
and its nominee. South Dakota has
done the same. California, Kansas,
Nebraska, Maine, Pennsylvania, Min
nesota. Maryland, New Jersey, West
Virginia and other states will do like
wise. Before November the Chicago
convention Will be a stencil in the nos
trils of every honest man.
Moral forces are counting for more
in public life today than ever before.
Party zeal and partisan spirit awake
ilV CNhCCo' pdlly uO 1OIgtE uuS
any potentiality.
1t has been suggested we should have
compromised at Chicago. Compromise
what? Is it not perfectly apparent to
every intelligent person that the two
wings of the Republican party do not
think alike? Let us give the reaction
aries credit for being as honest in their
opinions as we are. What results ?
We favor and they oppose the election
of United States senators by the peo-
pie. We favor and they oppose the
physical valuation of railway property
by commission to secure thereby a
basis for fixing rates. We favor and
they oppose the taking over of all eX-
press matter and delivering it by the
government as a part of its parcels
post system. We favor and they op-
pose the direct primary for the selec-
ton of all nominees for public office.
We favor and they oppose economic
legislation looking to the regulation of
the hours of labor and the issuance of
the injunctive process of the courts in
all labor controversies. We favor and
they oppose restrictive constitutional
provisions on the power of the appel
late courts to declare acts Of the iegis-
lature unconstitutional. We fav0~ and
they oppose under reasonable cOnstitu-
tional provisions the initiative of legis-
lation and popular referendum.
Wha< Prosressives Demand.
We favor stricter control of the
banking business of the country and
a definite defining by statute of what
interstate business may or may not
do to prevent further controversy over
its legality. We favor more speedy
| accountability of the judiciary to the
popular will and trial by jury in pro-
ceedings for contempt not committed
in the presence of the court if de-
manded by the accused We favor the
compulsory arbitration of all disputes
between employer and employee aris-
ing out of any matter involving any
business which affects commodities
entering into common use and neces-
Il