The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1912-09-14

mated and elected. President Taft
continued in his cabinet nearly every
officer who had been in the Roose.
welt cabinet but in the course OF
time he got rid of Mr.. James A. Gar
field, secretary of the interior, and
put Mr.. Ballinger, who had been APP
pointed commissioner of the general
land office by President Roosevelt in
to the cabinet as Garfield's success.
or. He deposed Clifford Pinchot for
gross and insulting insubordination
These men were the pet friends of
Mr.. Roosevelt. Immediately began
the effort to destroy Taft. Had the
president been weak man, he would
have made his peace at the cost of
his independence and self respect, but
being strong man, assured of the
tinued to be president in fact as well
as in name.
Points Out Broken Pledges
In the most deliberate manner, Mr..
Roosevelt had twice given his solemn
pledge to the American people that
he would neither seek nor accept
another nomination to the presidency
Within the last six months he has
just as deliberately broken and scat
tered these pledges to the winds. His
friends encouraged, and as 1t would
now appear, treacherously encourag-
ed. Senator Lafollette TO become a
candidate against Taft
Ihev openly declared for Lafol.
lette in preliminary contest, and
then at the Psychological moment, as
Taft had been betrayed Lafollette was
betrayed. Roosevelt ceased to be a
secret, aspirant and became an open
and avowed candidate for the nomi-
nation which he had twice declared
he would never again seek Men who
were not utterly hypnotized, stood
appalled, at this breach of an unquali.
fed and solemn pledge, which was
all the more binding because volun.
tarily given.
Then began the mad scramble to
secure the nomination, not at the
hands of a new party. for none WAS
then contemplated, but at the hands
of the Republican party Then be-
gan the attempt for third term, and
thereby to set aside the wise proceed
ent established by Washington and
affirmed by jefferson and to secure an
honor for him which a grateful peo
pie had refused to confer upon even
Grant, and just as Grant found him.
self short of a majority in the conven.
ton, but, lacking the self restra mt
OF Grant he refused to abide by the
decision and set about the task of try.
ing to destroy the party which he
was unable to control, upon the pre-
tense that Taft's nomination had been
secured by dishonest means.
Contest over Delegates
Il propose, as briefly as possible to
review the acton of the convention
in seating contested delegates be-
cause it is upon this question that the
whole claim Of dishonesty rests; and
first | call attention to the fact that
the contested delegates were seated
by the overwhelming vote Of the ma
tional committee, the credentials COM
mittee and finally by the convention
itself To say that all these tribunals
OF party were dishonest Is to assert
the dishonesty of the party itself. A
great political party does not sudden
ly become dishonest any more than
an individual who has led an upright
and honorable life, suddenly turns
dishonest. In the main, the national
committee was the same as that
which decided the contests before
the convention of 1908 in which fraud
was charged quite as strenuosuly as
in 1912, but there was no word from
Mr. Roosevelt then save Of apprecia-
ton and approval.
For the first time in the history
of the party, these contests were
conducted before the public. Nothing
was hidden and nothing suppressed.
The facts, therefore, are at the com.
mand of any one who will take the
trouble to read the record. The din.
Guilty, however is that so many pep.
pie accept the bald assertion Of big.
oted partisans, instead of investigat.
ing the facts for themselves. was
member OF that convention and vo-
ted upon every contest which was
presented. listened with care and
with an open mind to the presenta
ton of the respective cases, and I
assert here and no what in my dc.
hberate judgment every one OF those
contests was fairly and honestly de.