The Oskaloosa herald., 1912-07-18
LA TOILETTE ON ROOSEVELT.

La Follette's Weekly: Bryan at
Baltimore, foregoing all chance of
his own nomination, marshaling all
his forces, Drawing Tammany and the
trusts, to rescue his party from their
domination, carrying the convention
for the adoption of the most progress
i've democratic platform yet offered,
and the nomination of the most pro-
gressive candidate available, was a
towering figure OF moral power and
patriotic devotion TO civic righteous
ness.
Roosevelt at Chicago, backed by
money derived from the stockwater-
ing operations of the steel trust and
the harvester trust, organizing what
are now confessed to have been fake
contests as to nearly two hundred
delegates in order to control the re-
publican convention and secure his
own nomination, refusing to aid in
making progressive platform,
bound to have the nomination or de-
stroy the republican party, was a
most striking example of misdirected
power and unworthy ambition.
Roosevelt had as great an Oppor-
tunity to serve the progressive cause
at Chicago as Bryan had at Balti-
more But Roosevelt was serving
the man, not the cause He wanted
one thing-he wanted the nomina-
ton. And yet he did not have enough
votes to nominate himself upon any
honest basis. He did have enough
delegates in that convention ulti-
mately to have nominated a real pro-
gressve and adopted a strong pro-
gressive platform. He could even
have nominated Hadley on such a
platform and progressive republicans
could have supported Hadley in much
the same spirit as hundreds of thous-
ands of them will now support Will
son. Neither Hadley nor Wilson are
veterans in the progressive ranks.
Neither of them has been tried by
the severest tests. Both appear to
be men OF high ideals whose records,
though short, give promise.
But Roosevelt would not consider
Hadley. He would have no one but
himself At the first suggestion of
Hadley he ordered the third party
maneuvers, lest he lose his followers.
II he had the evidence to prove
that Taft could not be honestly and
fairly nominated, why did he not d.
rect his lieutenants to present that
evidence to the national committee
and then to the convention and the
country so clearly that the conven-
ton would not have dared to nomi-
nate Taft, and that Taft could not,
in honor, have accepted the nomina-
ton, If made.
The reason is obvious. An analy-
sis of the testimony will, am con-
WINGED, show that neither Taft nor
Roosevelt had a majority OF honestly
or regularly elected delegates. This
the managers upon both sides well
understood. Each candidate was try.
ing TO seat a sufficient number of
fraudulently crerentialed delegates,
added to those regularly chosen to
support him to secure control of the
convention, and steam roll" the
nomination. II was proceeding
with which each was acquainted and
which each had sanctioned in prior
conventions.
This explains the extraordinary
conduct OF Roosevelt. He could not
enter upon such an analysis OF the
evidence as would prove Taft's regu-
larly elected delegates in the minor
ity, without inevitably subiectiDg his
own spuriously credentialed delegates
to an examination SO critical as
would expose the falsity OF his own
contention that he had an honestly
elected majority OF the delegates. He