Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-03-15
BEVERIDGE'S GREAT SPEECH
FOR ROOSEVELT.
From Boston Journal

Indianapolis, Ind, March 10. CAS-
party men we want to win. AS citizens
we want the great forward movement
in American life to go on.
That is why we want, as our candi-
date for President, the leader of that
movement and the man who surely can
be elected, Theodore Roosevelt"
These were the opening sentences of
former Senator Beverage at a great
meeting in this city tonight, when he
entered the presidential campaign of
1912.
In ringing speech he reviewed
Roosevelt's record, the antagonism of
the interests to him, the obstacles
sought to be put in his path, and stated
the great need of him as a candidate of
the nation was to end all of the business
robberies which check ed business calam-
ity and prosperity.
What Republican do Democratic
politicians most fear? asked Mr.. Bev-
erldge. The mere prospect of Roose-
velt's nomination scared the Demo-
cratic politicians so badly that they
actually proposed to put off the date of
the Democratic national convention.
Before then, they believed that they
would have walkaway next November.
But this is no mere struggle for po-
ltical Office. 1t is no ordinary party
contest. The welfare of a nation is
wrapped up in this fight.
The prosperity of honest business and
the daily bread of wage earners is in
volved.
If we nominate a candidate who will
be beaten, the result will be what hap
pened to the country once before under
the same conditions. Republican defeat
in 1912 would mean just what it did in
1892
Choosing party candidate is the
sole and sacred right of the party's
voters. And when any man, machine,
newspaper or other power tries to take
that right away they try to take away
citizenship itself.
Yet just this is being done to keep
the Republican voters of the country
from nominating Theodore Roosevelt as
our candidate for President.
The other day in the third Missouri
district convention was held to choose
delegates to the Chicago convention.
By an overwhelming vote the Republi-
cans of most of the counties in this
district elected Roosevelt delegates.
These Roosevelt delegates were regu-
larly certified by the legal authorities
of their respective counties.
Yet to keep them out of the conven-
ton hall every entrance but one was
nailed up and men with clubs and base
ball bats stood at the only door left
open. Finally boss-ruled credentials
committee declared that the Roosevelt
delegates, who were overwhelmingly
elected and regularly certified. never
theless could not legally sit in the con-
vention.
All this was done as a part of that
desperate fight now being made on
Roosevelt by all the dark influences in
the nation-a fight that long since has
resorted to falsehood against this strong
man, and now is resorting to violence to
keep Republican voters from naming
him as our leader.
The truth is that the powers of pill
age do not intend to let Republican
voters nominate Theodore Roosevelt.
These forces are not partizan. They
are for any man of any party as against
Roosevelt.
They know if Roosevelt is nominated
he will be elected
The real struggle is to keep Repub-
lican voters from nominating Roose-