Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1912-07-26
4 REPUBLICAN OPINInN

Roosevelt look upon him as the
purest ard best American in
public lie. notwithstanding his
record as a falsifer and his
ignorance Of the truth in dealing
with public men of his own party.
But this coming from US may be
considered a prejudiced opinion.
IL so We invite their attention to
the following article from the
Kansas City Journal, one of the
stalwart republican journals of
the Middle West:
The few newspapers of infiu-
ence in the country that are back
lnZ Roosevelt for a third term are
very busy nowadays defending
their candidate against two serious
charges -drunkerness and Excess
i've egotisn. AS to the charge of
drunkenness, little need he said.
The prohibitionists eliminated
Roosevelt from the list of presid-
entail possibilities when they de-
cared that his confessed personal
habits %estrsnYed him from the
prohibition fold. To say that a
candidate for the highest office in
the world is not an alcoholic drunk
ard is to assert a negative virtue.
Many of the acts of Roosevelt
could better be explained upon the
theory that he was drunk than in
any less charitable way. Wheather
il is is better to be drunk with
out or drunk with a craze for
power is a matter of individual
opinion.
But to maintain that Roosevelt
is apatriot fred by unsclfsh zeal
for his couniry's good is to state
a proposition that his most init
mate friends know to be false.
Roosevelt is the greatest egotist
of his time. He is fairly con-
su ned with his own ambition.
Every act of his since he returned
from Africa indicate plainly that
he has fixed his mind upon Con-
tinuing ir the office of president
as long as il suited his vanity to
dominate American politics. Had
Roosevelt been truly solicitous for
the country's welfare he would
have taken a different course. He
would have used his great in
fiuence in a less selfish way. He
would not have proven false to
Taft and stulen the issues Of La
Toilette. n" would have remained
in the republican party and helped
draft a progressive platform.
Later. at Chicago, he would have
been willing to help Hadley get
the nomination al compromise pro.
gressive candidate. He woul I not
have tied up with Wall street and
allowed George W. Perkins and j.
P%ierpont Morgan 10 finance his
campaign.
To say that Roosevelt is the only
man fit to lead the progressive
movement is to say that Hadley.
Borah, La Toilette. Cummins and
all the rest of the progressive
leaders are either incompetents or
hypocrites. To say that Roosevelt
honestly desires the. triumph of
progressive ideas above his own
personal ambitions is to gainsay the
facts of very recent history. To
say that Roosevelt is actusted by
high moral motives is to condone
some of the dirtiest political
tirickery that was ever attempted
in partisan politics. Roosevelt has
surrounded himself with an
unssvory lot of political grafters.
bosses trust agents and men who
have been kicked out of office f1r in
competency. lie has degnerated
from II position Of high respect
and Influence TO the level of the
rule-or-ruin 0tf~ice-seeker. His
seconds and bottle-holders declare
that he is no drunkard. Perhaps
not. Under the circumstances,
that would be a minor delinquency
III contrast with some Of his other
grave faults"