The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-18

themselves to themselves for what they are now doing on the ground that they are not committing what the law rec ognizes as crime. It may well be doubt ed whether on the whole our country does not suffer more from the risdeeds of men who recognize as binding on their conscienees only the obligations of law honesty than it suffers from the misdeeds Of actual criminals. Men like Messrs Crane of Massachusetts, Brooker of Con neetfeut and Nagel of Missouri, who trail behind their bolder associates, such as Messrs. Penrose, Murphy and Mulvane are doubtless genuinely shocked at the misconduct of a defaulting bank cashier or at the action of some small election official. who, on election day. falsifies the returns. Yet, the wrong to the Amer ican people, the damage to the country. by such action these national com mltteemen have taken in deliberately seeking to nullify and overthrow the will of the people legitimately expressed as to their choice for President Is in hn1teiy greater than the wrong done by the tempted cashier. or the bribed election officials. It has to me been both A sad and strange thing. to see men hitherto esteemed reputable, take part in such action and to see 1t sustained by similar men outside. I suppose the explanation must be found in the fact that in the slow but general moral advice certain men lag little behind the rate of progress or the community as a whole; and where their own real or faneied interests are concerned, such men fail to recognize generally accepted standards of right and wrong until long after they have been recognized by the majority of their fell oWs There was a period when piracy and Wreeking were esteemed honorable occupations, and long after the commun- " as a whole had grown to reprehend them there were still backward persons who failed to regard them as improper.
 Sentiment Has Changed
 In the same way, as late as 30 years ago. there were many men in public life who, while they would refuse to receive brlbe, did not think it obieetionable 70 give a bribe; although now the sen lment In the community has grown so trong that it is no longer possible to aNeuse the bribe-giyer any more than ne bribe-talSer. In the same way there ire still In certain parts of this country representatives of a class far from un common a quarter of a century ago. A class which regards an election as a game without rules in which it is mare1v a 3ign of cleverness to swindle and cheat evidently the majority of the men whose letons we complain of on the national -'tiifiiAttC sun occupy I1lS attitude fn- ward nominations, although some of them nay have passed beyond it. as regards elections. But on the committee and associated with men who assume to be sespectable, there are certain represen- atives of MT. Taft whose presence gives g cause to wonder whether there are lot far worse influences behind the ac ion of the committee than any at which
 nave guessed Mr. Stevenson of Colo hn 1
 now holding the proxy of one of MT fafts delegates, now that of anotber fudge Ben B. Lindsey. in his book. .'The Beast and the Jungle" has given a very Eraphic account of Mr. Stevenson,s po- litical activities In Denver. I very great Y wish that every decent man in this country. every plain. right-thinlSing cit zen, who Is in doubt as to what the rep
 esentatives of MT. Taft have done on ne national committees, would read this book of Judge Lindsey's.
 Tn especial, let him study the part in which Judge Lindsey refers to Mir. Ste Venson, and then let hum think for him self just what 1t means when Mr. Taft and his associates accept the help of MT Stevenson, and import him from his own state of Colorado to act for other states on the national committee in which one or the ablest men engaged in the
 
 Q rule themselves
 Reason for Bitter Fight
 Our opponents here in Chicago today rave waged such bitter and unscrunu- ous fight for the very reason that this TO ordinary factional contest. The big 1osses who control the national commit co represent not merely the led captains if mercenary politics, but the great. rocked financiers who stand behind these ed captains. The political bosses are oh noxious because they represent privi- lege in its most sordid and dangerous form. The majority of the national com mittee in deciding the cases before them. have practiced political theft in every form, from highway robbery to petty larceny, and political theft Is as dis honest as, and more damaging than ordinary theft. There is no law to reach the offenses they have committed. but morally these offenses are far more se- rious from the standpoint of national in- terest than any of the ordinary commer- aial or political offenses which exnose the aerpetrators to be brought before inc courts of justice. The committeeman re- soonslole Tor such action need to be taught that the national committee was created to be the servant and not the master of the plain men and women who make up the bulk of the republican party The party belongs to the millions of the -ank and file. Ii does not belong to he handful of politicians who have as- sumed fraudulently to upset the will of Inc rank and file. The action of these men is In no sense regular as they claim It to be- They. in no way, rep resent the people; they in no way rep resent the rank and file of the republican party. and theft and dishonesty cannot give and never shall give a title to reg ularity. One thousand and seventv-eignt men are to meet here in convention to decide the future of the republican party At least seven out of eight of those among them who really represent the people are against the nomination of MT. Taft. It is the duty of all of them their first duty. to throw out of the con- vention every man frauduently seated there by the national committee.
 Committee Deliberately Dishonest
 '''rhe majority of the national commit- tee have acted with deliberate dishonesty; q majority composed nearly half of poli- ticans from territories and states that never cast republican electoral vote and nearly half Of politicians who have just been repudiated at open primaries by the people of their own states. has stolen from the rank and file of the republicans from 60 to 50 lawfully elected delegates, has substituted for them an equal number of fraudulent delegates, not elected by the people. and claims the right to nullify the will of the people by placing these fraud ulent delegates on the temporary roll call Of the national convention with the hope of thereby controlling it in the interest of