Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1912-03-15

slIngshot or sticking KNIFE lnto nun,
or hurting a dynamite bomb At his
neighbor's house.
It should be possible for republicans
to advocate the selection of this man as
presidential candidate, or that, without
trying to secure a strangle hold on each
other.
But while we favor Taft and you may
favor Roosevelt and another wants some
other candidate, we must all recognize
the far.Ieaching fact that principles are
more important than candidates. "Men
may come aud men may CO." hut
worthy causes go on forever.
1t is more important that the politics
for which the Republican party stands
prevail for the welfare of the country
than that any particular man win the
nomination in June, only to have di-
vded party follow him to the polls in
November.
As the canvass for the republican
nomination is now being conducted in
many directions, the party is very likely
to be divided and with continuation
of present tactics up to the time of the
Chicago convention, the republican can
didate will be in imminent danger Of
defeat.
Indeed the chief question with many
thinking republicans is no longer
whether we can nominate Taft or Roose-
welt at Chicago, but whether we can
keep the bitterest followers of each from
bringing about conditions that will
mean defeat for whichever one is NOM
mated, and the dragging down of the
party into an abyss from which it will
not be able to extricate itself for years,
Not few republicans are now rang
ing themselves in bitterly hostile camps
and clutching at each others Threats
and trying to deal each other thrusts
the wounds of which may not heal by
November.
In short, there is grave danger that
our grand party may never recover from
the split which is being promoted with
in the republican ranks, as result Of
the apparent determination of some
men, especially in New York, to rule OF
ruin.
As matter of fact some of the lead
ing republicans in the Empire State
have stated that they would perfer dem
ocratic victory to the,..supremacy of thu
candidate to whom they are opposed.
That is not party loyalty or fealty Il
principle.
Can the republicans of Vermont atfor'
to engage in this sort of warfare anC
, precipitate a struggle which will divid
our party Into permanently hostile
, camps?
, Should the Green Mountain follower
of Lincoln and Grant and Mckinle,
and Roosevelt and TAFT draw their pc
l,tical knives on each other, and ihfic
/ wounds which, even il healed, will sure
ly leave ugly scarsP
Will it be profitable for us to fight t
Q the death now under conditions whic
may be completely changed in Jun
when the national convention meets?
!, We believe the record of the Presi
dent is so closely the record of the re
cord of the Republican party for tn
past three years that we can not rejet
Mr.. Taft without putting strong arg,
. ments in the hands of the democrats fc
the rejection Of the party by the nation
1t seems to us that party consistenc
and good faith demand the renominatio
of President Taft unless in the mear
time the fight between Mr.. Taft an
u Mr.. Roosevelt becomes so bitter as :
make it practically certain that tn
8 party will be defeated.
If that contingency should arise it
J. practically safe to say that the Chicag
convention would never nominate ma
/ fore-ordained to defeat, if some otht
man can win, and it would be PRACTICAL
i certain in that case to search for DO
sible winner.
: We recognize the right of any neigl
J, Dor to advocate the nomination of til
d man of his choice and we concede to til
d champion of Mr.. Roosevelt the sam
Q right we claim for ourselves.
i We are not unmindful of the ia,
v that if we are right and Mr.. TAFT
J. renominated, we shall want the votes
Roosevelt republicans and that If "
Q are wrong and Mr.. Roosevelt should
# nominated, you will want the support
# Taft republicans.
J., But while we may agree among on
1t selves to work in harmony, whichev
,. candidate is nominated, the danger
is the Republican party arises from Il
Or fact that host of men can not take
j. temperate position on any subject, b
70 must become bitterly partisan to
y, point where they are ready to scrat'
in the ticket unless their man wins Il