davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
The Roosevelt Candidacy.

In Boston last night Mr.. Roosevelts
response to appeals for some word in
regard to his statement in the letter
was, 81 have no plans beyond this
night. For tomorrow and afterwards
no one knows what is in store"
mo one knows what is in storei"
That's what the country feared for
seven years and will most fear in the
event of a return of Roosevelt, who
admits that he has no plans beyond
those of night.
Unpopular policies and inefficient
leadership are charged against the
Taft administration by the leaders of
the movement to renominate Roose-
vel. The expressed willingness of
of the charge against the president
whose nomination Roosevelt forced
upon his party at whose hands he
would seek further honors and trust
Roosevelt picked his secretary of war
to be his successor, forced the nominal
ton on the party and the administra-
ton of Taft upon the country. and he
gloried in it that with Taft the OPPOSE
ton had been beaten to a FRAGILE, -
which well describes the Republican
party of today.
Roosevelt must accept responsibility
for the Taft administration which an
element in his party repudiates, or in
repudiating it he must go before the
country with the admission that he
was deceived, an admission which
would support the charge in the gov
of the Tennessee Coal and Iron inter
eStS Roosevelt was deceived into Civ
lDg his sanction.
Thus is seen that ssvaultine aunbf-
ton which o'erIeaps itseIf"AYoungs-
town indicator.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02

The issue of the day is that of the
preservation of the no-third- term
principle, the salvation of the nation
from personal government. Should
Roosevelt, by any conceivable ma
neuvers, be named as the candidate
of the Republicans, that party would
thereby set aside the tine-honored
principle of American stability;
should he be elected, the American
people would have thereby given him
a commission to retain the office as
long as he might care to.
The imperial acts of Roosevelt when
president are as nothing to the i'm
perial ambitions of Roosevelt seeking
a third term. The American people
are not ready to prostitute themselves
before the Wanting mbitions of one
who breaks his troth with his party
and with the nation-the greatest re-
pudiator that the country has ever
produced. The issue of the present is
as mighty as that prior to the Civil
war. The issue then was that of
states rights; it is now that of per-
Sonal government.
Roosevelt says he will adhere to his
willingness to accept the nomination
until the convention has expressed its
choice. For tomorrow and after
wards no one knows what is in store"
1t is the tomorrow and. afterwards
that concerns the nation when a
would-be dictator rises.-Baltirnore
American.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02

against the Constitution, holding up to
rId1cuie the supreme court of the lane,
proved that Roosevelt is no longer d
republican He has read himself out
OF the party, and the strong men or
the party will rejoice at it. They know
now where Roosevelt stands, know what
manner of man he is, know that he
cannot be trusted.
RooSevelt's announcement will add
to the strength of Taft. The people are
AFRAID of this reckless agitator, this
irresponsible trouble-mal1er, and will
take this opportunity of administering
to him a well-deserved rebuke. 1t
should be such a rebuks as will elimi-
nate him from American politics for
all time. In his letter to the governors
he declares his firm belief in the doc
trine that the people should decide
The people will decide. They will de-
eide that they want no more Roose-
welt. They will decide that they have
no use for such demagogy as he stands
for. They will decide that they want
safe and sane administration at
Washington. They will decide that
they want William Howard Taft for
president for four years more.-Balti-
more American.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
No Stampede.

AS piece of Napoleonic politics Mr..
Roosevelt's third-term proclamation
missed fire.
The Little Corporal returns from
Elba. but the populace refuses to re-
spond.
No stampede has followed Mr.. Roose-
velt's announcement of his candidacy.
There is no break in the Taft forces.
There is no terror among the Demo-
Gratis. So far as The World can ascer-
tain, no new voices have been added to
the chorus that has been chanting Mr.
Roosevelt's praises since the day of his
return from Africa. Our own Judgment
is that his third-terIn statement has
weakened him rather than strengthen
ed him
AS candidate under cover he was a
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
Col. RooseveIt,s Candidacv.

In conversation with friends months
ago Colonel Roosevelt indicated that
as far as honor was concerned the
presidency had no attractions for him.
1t was this fact. as much as any other
that persuaded his admirers to be-
lieve that he would not again become
a candidate. He had behind him an
exceptional public record, had volun-
tarily given up a great office, and
had received both at home and
abroad all the honor that a man can
reasonably desire or claim. Why, it
was asked, under these circumstances,
should Mr.. Roosevelt again plunge
into the heat and bitterness of a po-
litical campaign, exposing himself to
mereiless attacks by his foes, and
come out possibly, not the conqueror,
but the vanquished?
Those who reasoned this way failed
to take into account Mr.. ROOSEVELT
nature. The same question was asked
on his return from his trip abroad.
But a few weeks after his landing
he was in a political fight, giving and
receiving blows, fighting members of
his own party who got his p1anks in
the New York state convention, and
then going out against the common
enemy to be finally beaten, and ap-
parently discredited. To stay out of
a contest in the issues of which he is
interested is not Mr.. Roosevelt's way
Other men who like to achieve success
dislike the fight which is necessary TO
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02

had regard for the substance and not
the form, and having had two terms,
he would not entertain the thought of a
third. He has sacrificed his honor 10
his ambition
. He has betrayed his friend, because 1t
was at his earnest and continued solicit
tation that Mr.. Taft gave up the jul
dicial ambition of a lifetime and sought
the presidency. 1t was Mr. Roosevelt
who used the presidential patronage
to procure the nomination of the man
he had selected for his political heir.
The ong-established political practice
entities Mr.. Taft to a denomination at
the hands of his party, and all the OBJ
legations of honor and friendship forbid
Theodore Roosevelt from seeking to de-
prive the president of the denomination.
He has sacrificed his friend to his am
bition.
He has betrayed his party, for no
party can refuse to give its president a
second nomination without creating a
division in it that must imperil it's sue
cess at the polls He is deliberately
creating a dissension that must greatly
affect the party's prospects. Mr.. Roose-
Welt says he will adhere to his present
decision until the convention has ex-
pressed it's preference Medin McCor-
mick indicates plainly enough what will
happen after that if the preference
shall not be for Mr.. Roosevelt.
This man Mccormick, who betrayed
Senator LaFollette, is the fit manager
of the headquarters of the man who has
betrayed himself, his friend and his
party. We learn from McCormick's
statement that the proposition has been
made to Mr.. Roosevelt that in the event
of his failure to get the Republican
nominatio he should form a third or
Peoples party. Mr.. Mccormick says:
From an authoritative source it was
learned today that Colonel Roosevelt
did not look upon the proposition with
favor, and in effect stated that such d
proceeding was out of the question"
Did Caesar put away the offer of the
crown upon the Lupercal more lam
guidly than that? How does this lam
guage compare with that in which he
declared he would not be a candidate
for third term? And yet that declara-
ton has gone to the waste basket.
Nothing in political action is more
treacherous than to go into a conven-
ton and seek it's nomination with the
purpose, in the event of failure, of
seeking a nomination elsewhere and
to defeat the selection of
the convention. This is a fit program
of duplicity and turpitude for Theodore
Roosevelt and Medill Mccormick, who
used Senator LaFollette as blind until
the time came for opening Roosevelt
headquarters.-Ph Record.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
A Serious Risk,

Colonel Roosevelt has had all the po-
litical honor any man could desire. He
must know that he is running a serious
risk in again consenting to become
candidate for president. He accepts the
chance of being repudiated by his own
party; if not, of being repudiated by
the people in the general election. In
the light of all of the facts, it is impos-
sible to doubt that, in permitting the
use of his name he is answering a call
to what he believes to be a high public
duty.-Baltimore News.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
The Voice of a Remnant.

In trying to measure the strength of
the demand for Colonel Roosevelt's
nomination, voiced in the letter sent
him by seven Republican governors,
it is we'll to consider what proportion
of the vote in the electoral college is
represented by these states for which
those governors assumed to speak. In
the electoral college of 1912 there will
be 531 members. The states of West
Virginia, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
Wyoming, Michigan, Kansas and
Missouri will have sixty-six members
"a little more than one-eighth of the
whole. The seven governors, there
fore, assuming that they really repre-
sent their own people, are entitled to
speak with authority for the voters of
only one-eighth of the Union, and
they go far beyond the sphere of
their own Official observation and
into the realm of mere conjecture
when they declare their belief that "a
large majority of the Republican vot-
ers of the country favor your (Co1-
oneI Roosevelt's) nomination and a
large majority of the people favor
your election as the next president
of the United States
The seven governors may be firm
ly convinced that it was confided to
them to read the hearts of the voters
and to unravel the secrets of the flu
ture. But to the cautious observer
it must seem as if they had over
worked the gift of divination.-New
York Tribune.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02

as these, in themselves, would not ordi-
narily hurt a candidate, for the per-
sonal hostility of one man is usually
compensated for by the personal friend
ship of another. But there is at least
one fundamental weakness in RooSe-
yelt's candidacy. 1t is that, judging by
his latest announcements, he is not a
Republican. He has discarded all the
historic doctrines of the party and has
taken a position that encroaches on the
Democratic border where it does not
lap into Populism. Baltimore Evening
Sun.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
Roosevelt,s Candidacy.

When we ventured as u possible
explanation of Roosevelt's mystify-
ing conduct the statement that the
seeming encoura cement he was CIV
ing to some political soreheadS was
killing off the LaFollette and all other
booms, and when the field was who'll
ly cleared would declare himself un-
reServedly for Taft, we realized that
we were flying in the face of over
whelming evidence to the contrary
Because of sincere appreciation of
Mr.. RooSevelt'S past public service
and because we still wished to believe
in him we were unwilling to take his
actions at their face value. We there
fore evolved a theory that would
square his performance with what his
admirers might rightly expect of him.
The positive announcement of his
candidacy completely skaters that
theory. His hat is in the ring" just
as his clamorouS friends and no less
clamorous enemies hoped it would be.
The excuse for Mr.. Roosevelt's can
didacy exists only in the imagination.
There is no failure of the Taft adj
ministration that justifies it. That
administration has been chara cterized
by great good sense, resolute courage.
infinite patience and substantial
achievement. 1t has been consistently
and sanely progressive. Yet, from the
very beginning it has been misunder-
stood and misrepresented.
That Roosevelt believes q genuine
call exists for him we do not doubt,
nor can we question his courage, when
we consider all he has to lose. His
defeat for the nomination would be
humiliating, for the election a ter
rible blow to his vanity. He can add
nothing to his prestige whatever the
outcome, and he may easily dim the
luster that attaches to his name-if
he has not done that already with
the mere announcement of his can
didacy.
He could not have given better
proof of his greatness than by telling
the western governors that he was
true to his pledge of 1904 and 1907
Under no circumstances will 1 be
candidate for or accept another nomi-
nation''-and true to the man he per-
sonally selected to succeed him,
which man has abundantly demon
strated all the greatness of farseeing
craftsmanship then ascribed to him.
The immediate and growing effect of
Mr.. Roosevelt's unwise candidacy will
be to strengthen Mr.. Tafts position
and the regard in which he is held by
the vast majority of his countrymen.
Springfield (Mass.) Union.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
The Mask Is on.

Theodore Roosevelt has betrayed him
self. his friend and his party.
He has betrayed himself, for he
pledged his honor the night of the cleo
T. n in 1904 that he would under no cir
curnstances again be a candidate for
president. Although his first term was
not one to which he had been elected
yet he declared on his honor that he
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
The ..Heavy Responsibilities

Mr. Roosevelt declares that he real
ICES ito the full the heavy RESPONSE
bility'' which he assumes i'll announc-
ing that he will be a candidate for the
presidency. But does he? Can he be
entirely aware of the full weight of the
grievous burden which he is binding on
his own back? We doubt it. We should
hate to think, for example, that he mad
deliberately considered and coolly dis
regarded the fact that he was about to
shatter the ideal of Roosevelt which
has been admiringly, however mis-
takenly, cherished all over the country
For in that ideal one element has been
the conception of him as man fit to
stand on the holy hill because he
sweareth to his own hurt and changeth
not. But now he is seen to be false to
his plighted faith. What he had volun-
tarily and solemnly assured the people
that he would do under no circun-
stances, he now proposes to do without
explanation or a glin1mer of remorse.
Thousands of his truest friends have
been vehemently asserting for three
years past that Theodore Roosevelt was
incapable of doing this thing. Whatever
else he might be, he was a man of his
word. But this trust in him he has
now dashed to the ground.
First, he was not a candidate and
would not be. He wrote last year that
any movement to win the nomination
for him would be a genuine calamity"
lie Asserted JnaJ no Ir1enQ OIL MS cOulu
possibly countenance anything of the
kind Then came the time of his stand
ing on his dignity. He would not do
thing or say a word. After that came
the period of contingencies. Roosevelt
would not lift his hand, but, of course,
if the united voice of a mighty people
summoned him as the lone man in
sight," he could not refuse. But pres
emily even those professed hesitations
and Scruples were abandoned: the Col
umbus address was an open bid for the
presidency; and now comes his accept
ance of the first formal proposal that
he be a candidate for the nomination
an acceptance tantamount to a frank
avowel that he wants the presidency
consumedly and will move heaven and
earth to get it. What light all this
throws upon the long and despieable in
trigue in which this frankest and most
generous of men has for months been
up to his necki
Another aspect of the heavy RESPONSE
bility which Mr.. Roosevelt light-heart-
eddy assumes is that of splitting asun-
der the party which has sllowered
honors upon him and to which he has
professed gratitude and devotion.-New
York Evening Post
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
The Campaign opens.

Mr.. Roosevelt has followed his hat
into the ring. He is now an avowed
candidate for the Republican presi-
Dental nomination.
Il will accept the presidential nom
nation if it is rendered me-" are the
words of his reply to the eight gov
errors, and will adhere to this de-
cision until the convention has ex-
pressed its preference
Mark that last clause-''until the
convention has expressed its prefer
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
Not a Republican.

While Roosevelt is strong in his party
and strong in certain sections Of the
country generally, there are some
things that will weaken him in the No
yember election. He will have the hos
tflity of the Taft men to reckon with
for one thing; and, in all probability
the hostility of the Simonpure progress
sives of the I.aFollette type also, for
the latter think that Roosevelt betrayed
them in the fall of 1910. Such factors
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
Rooseve1t's Candidacy.


There are more than 100000 Repub-
hcan voters in the United States.
Theodore Roosevelt cannot be noml-
mated for president by the Republican
national convention next June unless
a majority of these Republicans favor
his nomination.
If nominated, he cannot be elected
next November unless fully $500, 900
American citizens vote to make him
president again.
1t is not Theodore Roosevelt but the
American people who are on trial The
issue at stake is not his qualifications
for a third term in the White House
but their fitness for popular self gov
eminent under constitutional re-
StraintS.
Mr.. Roosevelt has torn up his SOL
eInn promise of November 8, 1904, that
under no circumstances will 1 be
candidate for or accept another nomi-
nation" But the promise remains as
valid as it was on the day it was writ
ten. Mr.. Roosevelt cannot nullify it.
Only the American. people can nullifJ
it.
In an article printed in the North
American Review for June, 1910, a few
weeks before Mr.. Roosevelt returned
from Africa, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise
gave the following account of an extra
ordinary interview:
MOT long ago it fell to the writer to
discuss the inexhaustible theme Of
Rooseveltism with two men, one of
whom had been in RoOSeVeltS cabinet.
the other being a Wall street mag
nate. Each unWittingIy INDUCED i'll
prophecy.
His former lieutenant unhesitating-
ly predicted the reelection Of Roose
Welt and a subsequent change in the
constitution which would enable him
to retain Office while he lived. Nor
was this spoken in jest, for the speak
er was in grim, almost panicky earn
est. But he added significantly,
Roosevelt will do this not in the in
terests of his own fortune, but to save
his countrY!' -
We reproduce this statement not be-
cause we believe that Mr.. Roosevelt
is plotting to become president for life.
but because it reveals the characters
tic attitude of mind of his most enthusl-
aStic supporters. AS a class they are
the weak and unstable and emotional
elements of American politics who have
mistaken their own hysteria for ma
tiOnal crisis.
Allied with them is a cold, selfish,
calculating element in American poll
ties which concerns itself with spoils
rather than principles, and which be-
ieves that Mr.. Roosevelt's nomination
would keep more Republicans in office
than would Mr.. Taft's nomination.
Back of them is a group of f1nanciers
and corporation managers who know
that Mr.. Roosevelt is a practical man.
who have done business with him III
the past, and who find in his candidacy
their only hope of breaking down the
Sherman antitrust law, which Mr..
Taft is SO effectively enforcing
Together these elements make up the
third term army whose adu1ation has
turned Mr.. Roosevelt's head, infiamed
his reckless ambition and fashioned
him into the instrument of another
crusade against constitutional gov
eminent of checks and balances.-New
York World.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
In the Ring.

Well, Mr.. Roosevelt has followed
his hat into the ring. Now we shall
see whether he is in his old fighting
form and can come back. He has al
ready trimmed and used up his insur
gent sparring partner. Senator La
Toilette. But he will have to put up
n fierce and furious fight to regain
the presidential belt.
First of all, he must knock George
Washington, Thomas jefferson and
Andrew Jackson over the ropes and
punch a hole through their precedent
against a third term. At the same
time he will have to smash his own
Endorsement of the rule which he an
nounced election night in 1904. Next,
he will have to face President Taft.
Mr.. Taft is not much of sprinter
and sidestepper. and his footwork
generally is poor, but he has plenty
of grit and is built from the ground
up like a brick house. If the ex-
president should down the president,
he would have to meet the Great I'M
known which the Great Unterrified
will bring against him:
o, yes, Mr.. Roosevelt is in for a
perfectly corking time, and so are all
the rest of usi
Mr. Roosevelt's announcement is sur
prisingIy brief and contains nothing
that had not been discounted. He does
not so much as allude to the third term
and his change of attitude toward Il.
But he never has lost much time in
holding joint debates with himself and
polishing the jewel of consistency.
The definite announcement of his
candidlcy will no doubt call many 10
his standard with a rush. 1t will be the
signal too, for an uprising against him
and the third term. 1t may even i'm
part some warmth to the sentiment for
Mr.. Taft and excite real human sym
patty with our much-admired, highly
respected and well-lil1ed but uninspir-
ing chief magistrate.
What viii be left of the Republican
nomination after these two forces have
finished their fight over II we do not
venture to say.-Boston Globe.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-02
No More Roosevelt.

1t is relief to the country and to
the Republican party to know just
where Roosevelt stands, for now he can
be dealt with as he deserves. This m an
who has prated much about the square
deal in politics has for months been
conducting an underhand fight against
the. administration, seeking in every
way to embarrass it, even going so far
as to repudiate his own work in the
White House in the hope of furthering
his personal ambitions.
That Columbus speech, a TRADE