The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-06-28
senatorEditor LaFoiIette Says Roose.
Welt Has Injured the Great
Cause Of Progress
sivcs.
RIDICULE AND CONTEMPT
Cause VIII Win In Time After Sci.
fish Ones Have Been Put
High Upon tho
Shelf.

limited Press Leased Wire Service ]
MADISON, Wis. June 2S.--An edi-
torial signed by Senator LaFollette,
dealing with his views on Theodore
Roosevelt and the progressive cause,
is the feature of the senator's weekly
published today. LaFollette says:
Until Roosevelt came into the
open as a candidate for the presidency
five months ago, there was strong
and rapidly growing progressive move
ment within the republican party. It
was based upon clearly defined prin-
ciples. It stood forth as the repre-
sentative of modern political thought
1t had assumed national proportions.
It was united
Into this movement when 1t gave
promise of national success, Roose-
Welt projected his ambition to be pres
| fdent third time. He spent weeks
carefully planning spontaneous CALI
for himself He responded by announc-
ing that he would be receptive can
didate.' His candidacy began to drag.
He and his friends were in despair.
Then came his defeat in North
Dakota. He became desperate An
enormous campaign fund was raised.
Headquarters We're opened in New
York, Washington, Chicago and states
1 east and west. Newspaper writer's
were engaged at large prices to boom
Il his candidacy. Special trains were
hired and the candidate started In
, quest of the nomination. Men motor
iously identified with the steel trust
and the Harvester trust became his
4 most active supporters. Leading re-
!. dictionaries, standpatters and political
bosses Of the Pennsylvania and Quay
sort became his closest political
states
"A number of the newer recruits to
the republican progressive cause, men
who before 1909 with three or four
4 years experience had been Indifferent
or opposed, became the noisest sup
porters of Roosevelt, the winner It
mattered not to them that Roosevelt
had co-operated with Aldrch on leg
islation during the entire seven years
he was president. They forgot that
when Roosevelt was out of office and
in Africa, through the united efforts
of men who for years had been fight
. ing special interests, that the progress
sive cause became national move
ment. That Roosevelt was for Taft
in 1910, when Taft was denouncing all
progressives as pirates and traitors.
that he waited until little more than
: year ago, balancing the chances be-
!, fore deciding whether to cast in his lot
with the Srogressives in this presi-
dental year, counted for nothing with
t the class of progressives who wanted
a to 'win'--not a real progressive victory
victory. And they did win
e precisely that kind of victory They
4 carried overwhelmingly the great
i standpat states of Illinois and Penn
|, sylvania. That stamped the Roose-
g welt candidacy with its true character.
h No real progressive could have secur-
|. ed anything like such vote in these
two states 1t had, however, the. out
ward sign of success-that catches the
n crowd. It enabled him to win In two
q Or IHFee TedIiy progressive states. tJ
!, did not enable him to secure the nom
. ination which would have compromis-
ed the progressive movement and de-
: feated real achievement for years.
Upon Theodore Roosevelt and his
/. followers rests the responsibility of
having divided the progressives in
:, their first national convention test
:, Stimulated by an overma stering de-
,, sire to win, they denounced loyalty to
conviction and principle as stubborn
selfshness In the convention they
. put forward no platform-no issues
They made no fight against the reac.
~ tionary platform adopted They sub
'r stituted vulgar personalities and the
- coarse epithets of the prize ring for
the serious consideration of greai
at problems and for the time being
in brought ridicule and contempt upon q
~ great cause.
10 'But the progressive movement does
OF not consist of few self-constitutet
ey leaders. 1t consists of millions o
ct thoughtful citizens drawn together b,
Id common belief in certain principles
IN They will permit no comb nadon o
to special interests and political es
IL pediency to secure control of tn
,n progressive cause, which is ultimatel
= to redeem democracy and restore goy
ernment to the people,