The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-04-26
PRESIDENT FLAYS
COL. ROOSEVELT
IN SPEECHES
Accuses Him In Plain Terms
Before Crowds
REGRETTED THE NECESSITY
Says Roosevelt Appeals to Glass Ha-
tired and is not Living Up to
Square Deal

Boston, April 25-After remaining
silent for weeks under the repeated
attacks of Col Roosevelt, President
Taft came into Massachusetts today
and returned the fire of the man who
is admittedly the Presidents bitter
est political enemy. In dozen
speeches, Mr.. Taft struck at the
Colonel by name.
President Taft charged his prede-
cessor with being false to his self
made policy of the square deal' He
asserts that his own speeches had
been distorted by Col. Roosevelt and
that he, the Colonel, had violated his
solemn promise to the American peo
pie not to be a candidate for the
Presidency again.
THAT promise and his treatment of
it," declared the President, only
throw an informing light on the value
that ought to be attached to any
promise of this kind that he may
make for the future
The President made his first speech
at Springfield to crowd that packed
the public square. Other speeches
were made at Worcester, Natick,
South birmingham and other towns
and cities along the route to Boston
where he spoke to a throng in the
Arena tonight
In his first speeches the President
seemed to utter his attacks on Col.
Roosevelt with reluctance.
unbia rt,r,prhne ,,U cnu1 - m cold
once.
81 am extremely sorry my mission
to Massachusetts is unpleasant" he
said another time. II am here TO
reply to an old and dear friend of
mine, Theodore Roosevelt, who has
made many charges against me-
deny those charges. deny all OF
them. | do not want to fight Theo-
| dore Roosevelt, but then sometimes a
man in a corner fights. am going
to fight"
AS the day wore on, Mr.. Taft grew
more aggressive in manner. He EN-
phasized his words with gestures and
apparently laid aside any feeling OF
regret he may have felt at this evi
dence that the long friendship was
| broken.
In beginning his speech President
Taft said:
in 1908 Theodore Roosevelt
recommended to the people of the
United States that |, then the Secre
tary OF War, be nominated by the Re
publican Party and be elected. He
labored hard and long to bring this
result about and he succeeded.
have felt the deepest gratitude tC
him.
Neither in thought nor word nol
action have been disloyal to tn,
friendship owe Theodore Roosevelt
When the time came for this cam
paign to begin let the people know
that | would like to have my Admin
istration approved by their giving m,
another term. At that time Theodor,
Roosevelt said he was not a candi
date and that il would be a calamlt,
II he were nominated. Since theI
he has changed his mind"
Declaring that Mr.. Roosevelt
ought not to be selected as candi
date of any party" Mr.. Taft sal,
that the former President might nov
be paving the way, II successful II
the present campaign to remain IN,
Chief Executive OF the Nation for al
many terms as his natural life woul,
permit.
III he is necessary now TO tn
Government, why not later?" asket
the President. and continued: "On
who so lightly regards constitutions
principles, and especially the indie
pendence OF the judiciary, one who 1
so naturally impatient of legal re
straints and OF due legal proce, ure
and who has so misunderstood wha
liberty regulated by law is, could no
safely be intrusted with successiy
Presidential terms say this sol
rowfully, but | say II with the ful
conviction of its truth"
Mr. Taft referred to some OF MI
Rooseyelts charges against him a
the loose and vague indictment q
one who does not know and who d,
Ponds only upon secondhand Info,
nation for his statement"
The President said that his speec
!
was one OF the most painful duties Q
MS life; that II was in response to a
. obligation that he owed the Republ
can Party, which selected him as Il
candidate, and to the American pc,
= pie who elected him President.
1T grows" he said. "out of
phase OF National politics and M
tonal life that believe to be unpr,
cedented in our history. SO unusu,
. Is the exigency that the ordlnar
/ rules ofpropriety that limit and r
strict President In his public a,
2 dresses must be laid aside. and IN
! cold, naked truth must be stated
I such a way that Il shall serve as
3 warning to the people Of the Unite
1 States" '''
3 Mr.. Taft said that Col. Roosevelt
Columbus speech, accepted as h