Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-06
ROOSEVELT TO MUNSEY.
Continued from Page One.)


terest. > . . If at this particular
crisis with the particular problems
ahead of us at this particular time
| the people feel that l am the one mar
in sight to do the job then | should
| regard myself as Sinking a plain duty
if | refused to do it. If the
people should feel that ] was the in
strument tn be used at this time,
should accept even although ! knew
that | should be broken and east
aside in the using. . g " q
In short | am not concerned with
the welfare of any one man in this
matter, not with Mr. Taft's welfare
nor Mr. La Follettc's, and least of
all with my own. | am concerned only
with the welfare of the people of tho
United States.
Now your point is that when ] feel
thus l ought to he willing to state
openly what | feel instead Of answer
ing as | have hitherto answered L.
those who have asked me whether
would accept il nominated that in the
words of Abraham Lincoln | was not
required to cross that bridge until
came to it. The reason is that in maxi
ing any statement it is not only nee
assary Ia consider what the mar
actually means and actually says, and
will be understood as saying by peo-
pie who intelligently accept his state
ment ut it's face value, but also t.
consider what the statement Will be
held to mean BY the great mass OF
people who are Obliged to get their
information more or less at second
hand and largely through iHstrumen.
talities like most OF the New York
iailics whose one purpose, as far as
| am concerned, * to invent falsehoo6
md to distort truth. II at this tim,
{ announce that would accept e
nominated it would he blazoned abroad
~ all my enemies and ultimately be
lieXed by large portion even of m
rood friends and we'll wishers that 7
1ad ii my own interest announced ms
candidacy. that | was an active can
'idate that | was striving by ever
means to secure the nomination foI
resident. 1t is simply a case where
he language would not be accepted a.
Us exact face value and would in
Vitably be given false construction
nd this being so it seems to be wise
lot to use the language in which after
he election of 1904 l announced tina
would not be a candidate fer re
domination. All the time good friends
II mine suggested that l should us
some such formula as stating that
you'd not be candidate in 1908 be
'ause of the custom that had grown
ip not TO elect man as President
or a third consecutive term. lint n.
milking it over | became convinced
nat II | used such language it woule
inevitably be taken as an announce
nent that | would be candidate fo
mother term in 1912 and this in spite
II the fact that, of course. the Ian.
5uaGe IL taken literally would only
AVE referred to 1908, and have hae
10 more bearing on 1912 than on 1917
II i94s. Accordingly | used language
which simply stated that | paid heed
the essence and not the form o
he wise custom of our forefathers in
eference to the third term. the es-
'ence, of course being that the Gus
ON applied Just as much when M.
lrst term was the filling out of an I'M
'Xpired term Of my predecessor as il
IL mad been an elective term and thai
IN the other hand it had no applica-
ton whatever to the candidacy of {
man who was not at the time in office
whether he had or had not been Presi-
lent before. Now nv
lear sir. ii seems to me that the home
" common sense with which Lincoln
spoke can be applied
now. Nothing / could say, no state
ment or explanation by me, would
avail to prevent deliberate misrepre
sentation by bad men. designed to
puzzle and mislead good men who
from the nature of the case could not
DC expected to have first hand infor
nation. They now misreprescnt my
position designedly and purposefully.
Iiiey would merely nsrcpresent it
wen more effectively il | should at
this time make the statement you de.
sire. 1t may be that in the end il will
DC necessary to- make such a state
ment or some other public statement:
out the time is not now. | am well
aware of the disadvantage of not
making such a statement but [ think
the disadvantage of making it would
be greater. The position is a hard
one it is hard for me, in some WAYS
harder for disinterested men, like
Yourself, who believe that could do
service as President and who, natural
" feel indignant that | do not come
forward in "a way which as they thin!,
would enable them to make me Presi-
dent and, of course. the fact that
10 not make it amply warrants you
and all who think as you do, in at any
time supporting amy other man instead
OF me.
If my position We're only pose !
should certainly act differently from
the way [ am acting for | am well
aware that the way / am acting is not
the way in which to act if desire to
be made President, But my attitude
is not a pose, l am acting as | do be-
cause, according to my lights | am
endeavoring, in not too easy posi-
ton to do what | believe the interests
of the people demand. From this
standpoint | am convinced that, al
though ii is entirely proper for other
men to seek the Presidency, it Is