The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-06-11
THE COLONEL IS BITTER.
He Continues to Cry Fraud Regarding
Committee Action.

| New York. June 11-Theodore Roose-
Welt discussed present conditions at
Chicago in an article entltled =,
made public and to appear in the cur
rent issue of the Outlook. Mr.. Roose-
welt says in part:
The contest for the Republican
nomination has now narrowed down to
a naked issue of right and wrong; for
the issue Is simply whether or not we
shall hermit a system of naked fraud,
of naked theft from the people, to
triumph.
Properly speaking. the national
committees only function is honestly
to judge what delegates have prima
facie the right to a seat and to suggest
the name of a temporary chairman,
who shall call the convention to order
Practically the attempt is being made
by the Taft managers to use the pres
ent national committee for the purpose
of unseat ting honestly elected delegates
and of seating enough fraudulently
elected delegates. especially from the
states where there is no real Republf
can party, to secure the nomination for
Mr.. Taft.
Il fail myself to see how an honest
man can profit by or take part in such
piece of trickery as this Ohio state
convention victory" he says. I'm
the same way. I fail to see how an
honest man can profit by or connive
at or approve of the farcial New York
county primaries. But the case was
worse in Washington, in Indiana, IN
Michigan. In many of these cases the
Taft delegates represent absolutely
nothing but fraud as vulgar. as brazen
and as cynically open as any ever
committed by the Tweed regime in
New York 40 odd years ago.
Mr.. Taft cannot be dominated I'M
less he gets the overwhelming majority
of the rotten borough states which
never cast Republican electoral vote
and in which the delegations represent
only the officeholders. Even If he gets
practically all the delegates from these
states. he cannot be nominated unless
by deliberate fraud, in such states as
Indiana, Michigan and Washington,
not to mention others, the Republicans
are defrauded of their right to express
their preference as to who is to get
their votes. Under such circumstances
his nomination would represent the
overriding of the expressed will of the
people by Messrs. Barnes. Penrose.
Guggenhein, Powell Clayton and the
rest.
But 1 wish to call attention to the
fact that it is Messrs. Barnes, Nc
Kinley and their associates, on behalf
of Mr.. Taft, who are engaged in the
effort to perpetrate the gravest wrong
upon the Republican party and upon
the people of the United States, and
lEdI III SucE action uney SUan0, not as
the representatives of the Republican
PARTY, but as individuals misrepresent-
ing that party, with no claim to loyalty
from it anG whom it is the bounden
duty of that party to repudiate. I
wish also to call the attention of the
honest men who have hitherto support
ed Mr.. Taft that the issue is now one
of naked right and wrong. and that
they cannot support or acquiesce in the
action of those who under the circum-
stances given above, are asking to
nominate Mr.. Taft without being false
to the principles of good citizenship"
Doesn't Know the Particulars.
Oyster Bay. N. Y, June Ill told
Senator Dixon and the other Roose-
Welt leaders in Chicago that L did not
wish them to support any of the con-
tested Roosevelt delegates except
they would support them II they were
Taft delegates"
Colonel Roosevelt stated his position
in regard to the contests before the Re-
publican national committee in these
words. On the action of the committee
in seating the four Taft delegates at
large from Indiana, he would not say
word except that he did not know the
particulars of the case. The contest
committee over the California delega-
ton, Colonel Roosevelt said would
hardly be decided against him as he
bSIAeNeu lHe pOSlIlOIl OF the Roosevelt
delegates was plainly in the right since
he had carried the state by about 60 600
ma Jorlty. The national committee, he
said, might, of course, rule against the
delegates on technicality.
But they can't get away with the
swag," he added
Colonel Roosevelt said that in his |
opinion the convention would not be |
bound by the action of the national |
committeeman whose terms expire |
next Tuesday"