The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-08-11
Colonel Says Two Old Parties
Not Honest in Dealing
With Question
STATES TO DECIDE
WHO CAN VOTE
Hedges on Former Stand and
Will Not Exclude all
the Darkies in
South

~ - i@'N IA n as tTh W -
or lose. we have put the third party
upon a solid working basis. Whats
ever the outcome Of the campaign, We
start with the conviction that We are
heading the right way"
In these words Colonel Roosevelt
alluded today to the Progressive party
as a move for untainted politics. Adj
! hitting that the party faced a momen-
tary crisis in Chicago over the negro
problem, the ex-president observed
that the obstacle facing the Leaders
had been overcome in way to in
spire confidence for the future.
Casts Out the vicious. q
II felt that the time sad come to
put party in the field that was un-s
sullied by the faint Of the vicious, sei-
nsh type of negro, said the colonel.
When | got 10 Chicago | found that
We were on the verge of the breaking
point because Of the stand had taken.
1T was advised by some of the sup
porters In the third party eause-men
who had come with us for our work
in the social and economic phases OF
it~-that IL was wrong to attempt any
discrimination against the negro"
Why they said to me gravely,
mere you nave party that processes
to stand for equal rights, that looks
to the advancement of all the people
OF the country. 1t is unwise, not to
say inconsistent, to say to any element
/ Oh the population that 1t cannot come
! IN with the party 1t is fatal to think
| of it
To these we'll meaning people re-
pied that the new party had to face
the problem OF holding out against
the type of negro who stood for MOTH
! ing IN our political life but selfish
once -seeking. who fastened himself to
a party for what he could get out OF Ii.
Ihey told me that If + attempted to
snua on. the southern negro from our
convention We would be making a
local issue Of the race problem, which
they considered wrong
Ihey argue that Lincoln had made
the race issue a national one. whpre-@
upon | replied, No you are wrong.
AoFananl LAncoln made it a local issue
III refusing TO take any stand as tn in.
dividual States. He applied the broad
principle. but left it To the States 10
decide what to do about IT, In exactly
me same words / told them were to
leave II to the Southern States n. orr
| party advanced. to determine what
negroes out to be allowed in and wbor,
| We were TO exclude
IL was no easy matter to convinra
tlem 10 my way / insisted that the
matter must be threshed out on fhA
spot ana not leave IL as ghost to
come up later II We failed to purity
our park at the start and Let the cour
w know our position, | maintained
mat we would be ma king a fatal mis-.
take. Aits
Yield To Roosevelt.
AFTER serious conference there IN
Gn,caso' those who had opposed me
toah TO see mat l was right. and we
| .ook - sohd stand in the convention
The break that threatened was 800.
60 Now we have g. party thar M
IKE the other parties. has n wair-an
Ahed attitude for decency in noItSss-
IL may be that the stand We tnnl
WIN cost us some votes among certafn
OF the negroes of the South. ont ar
sure TO attract to our cause men who
oeneNe mat the negro can best be
heiped by putting him on his hon =,
and upon his own footing. Us
fhe Democratic and RenuhiIc.
parties are In a false position rcspect-
/ ing the negro. They did not dara ~
what the Progressive party did am
what every man who loves decencv
in political life knows We are striyinr.
TO attain.
In the stand I have taken I havn
followed out my theory OF what Z
leader should be. Mr.. Taft Ia not !
leader MIR. Wilson is not leader.
| felt that as the leader OF the thfrA
party. | must take the initiatipS in
the negro problem and / did it, IfT
had shrunk from it would Consider
myself lacking in the courage that 81
leader must show.
II our party Ia successful, and am
not prophesying anything as to whax
the outcome OF the fight is to be-
people may say. in six months. that
we have failed to do for the negro
what we aimed at. Very well. you
cannot accomplished much In six
months or year with this kind 81
problem 1t may take ten years befOruS
we can show actual results. But IN
the meantime we will be fighting with
a definite purpose and eventually We
will prove our theory Is rignt.''
The ex-president plunged into an
analysis of the great party moves
since the War Between the States.
It's the same with Organism ~
with Watson and Populism." he g.
clared. Whatever they have .
vanced for improving our pO1ftfG63
condition they have invariably sp0tls
ed by fanaticism. It was free stlvN
with Bryan, while Watson has haHs
equally fanatic ideas. In every con-
spicuous move in recent times, whn4S
ever had been obviously good has 49,
vitiated by some quack doctrine. OuE3
party has steered clear of everythi1%
savoring of tomfooiery. We go hefo&IH
the country with platform that fa
10 hesitating fashion tackles the bux1
ing problems and suggests sOluttQ
that are capable OF being worked oM
No other party today stands In tAM7
relation to the people.
Others Are LanattcA.
Mr.. Bryan accuses you OF h4N1
stolen the Democratic party thuN
in YOUR speech in Chicago ana III
third party platform" WAC euggep&M
yes. very WE'LL chucki&d thu ~
oneI, we have stolen all tNs DAM
cratic ideas. except those NJ ~
mates Of Iunatie aSyluu. thn
1nya lofA for ~ D6nnAeFnr1