Arizona republican., 1912-07-12
The Contributing Editor Reiterates That He Was Roughly and Unfairly Handled by the Republi-
 can National Convention
INJURY DONE HIM
 ASSAULT ON NATION
Among the Violations of "Thou Shalt Not Steal, MT. Roosevelt Cites the Case of Theft of Arizona Delegation
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPATCH1


 NEW YORK, July 11.-ROosevelt fur ther discusses the seating of the con- tested delegates to the republican na tional convention at Chicago in an el itorial entitled: Thou shalt not steal" which appears in the current issue of the Outlook. He says in part:
 "The American people are entitled to know that the charge of stealing the Chicago convention of 1912 is more than a campaign of recrimination and that the crimes complained of are much more serious than a mere repe- titiOn of the loose practices which might have unfortunate precedents in some of the previous conventions of both parties. Seriously and literally Taft's renomination raises a critical is sue whether votes obtained by fraud shall determine the selection of Amer icain presidents.
 Taft was renominated by major ity of barely twenty votes and two of these were publicly raped at the last moment from Massachusetts. If therefore more than nineteen or twenty one of his votes were demOnstrably fraudulent all claim to an honest ma iOrity disappears. Demonstration can be made of as to many more than this without touching on a singIy honestly debatable case.
 Tt is sufficient to consider only four cOnfessediy indefensible cases. CalifOr- nia. Arizona. Washington and Texas which alone wipe out all the margin. All that could be added from the oth CT cases would only increase the Roosevelt majority in an honest con- vention but I wish it understood that many of these other cases were IS clear as the California case. itself These cases were direct assault on our own delegates to the primary since in them few score of politicians have 1 decided that the voters as a whole had no right themselves to decide whom 1 they wished to see nominated. In the l California case the delegates to the national convention will be elected by l a direct Y ote at state wide preferential 1 primaries The national committee 1 first, then the national republican convention nullified the state law and therefore by inference-all the state primary laws.
  i trol of the state convention depend ed on which of two rival delegates were seated from certain counties, the one set elected by republican voters at 1 primaries regularly called, and the oth- CT set arbitrari1 appointed by boltlng i the minorities. The state committees ] in each case seated the appointed dele 1 gates and the national committee ap- i proved that action.
 | Taft was nominated by tWenty-one votes to nineteen, if two from Massa = l chusetts are omitted, counted by the | extraordinary ruling of Root that | when a delegate anWers present and | rot voting his alternate shall be called to vote. always provided that | the alternate is a Taft man and the ! delegate a ROoevelt man. The cases l here discussed cover in their narrow | est application thirty votes, California 2 Arizona 6, Washington IA, Texas | at large s. A change of these 5V would have defeated Taft and would have reversed all the important ac- l tons of the convention. Several dls- | trict cases from Texas are involved | in the same ruling as that which l was made in the case of the dele | gates at large and were quite flag- rant.
 have merely cited a few cases and they are so conspicuous that the facts cannot be truly disputed. They are sufficient in numbers to show by actual figures that the nomlna l. tion of Taft could not have been pro- cured except by their inclusion. The men responsible are for the interests and are not for the peoples rule When the people are denied their only thoroughly efficient weapon, the direct primary, against this usurpa- ton as was done by the ruling Tn the California case. then under the sys- fem thus established the people can not rule.
 The only remedy is to break rom the system. The same arbitrary pow CTS have been conferred upon tht national committee that were eXer- cised this time, and that committee 1 which is to act in 1916 IS alreadS elected. It is composed of men, | majority of whom, under the lead ol one of their members, Barnes, nave i already shown by their votes In the convention that they are prepared tc repeat in 1916 the usurpation of 1912 If the American people are really Ill for self government they will instant
 ly take up the challenge which the
 political conspirators have so nso- lIently thrown down.