The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-06-19
ROOSEVELT SAYS FIGHT;
HIS HEARERS APPLAUD

Taft delegates whom the nationa
committee seated, for instance from
| California, from Washington, from
Indiana, from Kentucky, from Michi
| gan, from Arizona, from Alabama
from Texas, represent nothing but the
deliberate attempt by certain dis.
credited bosses to upset the free anc
| honest expression of the peoples will
These fraudulent Taft delegates were
beaten by the voters of Washington
| of California, of Texas. of Arizona
\ of Indiana, of Kentucky--and ther
they were seated by the discredited
| political bosses who had just them
selves been beaten by the people OF
their own states, in Massachusetts, in
New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, in West
Virginia, in Kansas in Missouri
Messrs. Crane, Penrose and Company
were so discredited in the eyes Of the
republicans of their own states that
they were beaten as delegates to the
convention; and yet they arrogate to
themselves the right to seat In the
convention the delegates whom the
states of Washington. California. Ari-
IONA. Texas and the rest have just
beaten at the polls. If the conven-
ton proves false to the cause of the
people If 1t records the will of the
bosses, whether yet unbeaten as in
New York and Colorado or beaten, as
in Massachusetts and New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Kansas. 1t will
wreck the republican party, 1t Will
put back the cause of dem ocracy, II
will be false to every principle OF
honor and justice. 1t cannot, with
honesty or propriety, stand in any
shape or way for the action of the
national committee. neither by &C.
cepting that committees nominee for
temporary chairman. nor by accept
ing it's decision as to the seating and
unseating of contested delega tions
There never has been a clearer lineup
than this between the plain people OF
the country on the one side and on
the other the powers that prey. the
representative of special privilege in
the world Of business and their tools
and instruments in the world of pol
tiles.
No Compromise in Such Contest
There can be no compromise In
such a contest 1t is natural that the
representatives of special privilege
who know that special privilege can
not continue. If the people really rule
should RESORT unblushihglyi to every
kind Of trickery and dishonesty Ia
order to perpetuate their hold upon
the party and should be. eager cal
lousy to destroy the party If. neces..
by it's rank and file. But for this
very reason we feeliw have right
solemniy to appeal, to all honest .ner
to stand with us on what has now be.
come a. naked issue of right ano
wrong. There can be no yielding, ne
flnching on our part. We have tht
people behind us overwhelmingly
We have justice and honesty on oui
side. We are warning against boss
= r;x,i
dustrial; we are warning for the ele'
mental virtues of honesty and decen'
cy, of fair dealing as between mar
and man; we are warning to save tn'
republican party; and the only re
ward. for which we ask Is to put oul
party in such shape that it shall be O.
the highest possible service to thu
people of the United States.
! Now let us consider what this figh
has been for. The issue mas neel
sharply drawn not merely by tn
words of Mr.. Taft and of myself ant
of our supporters. but by our severa
actions. have stood for the right o
the people to rule and for their. dut.
so to rule as to work for moral, pc
litical and industrial justice. Mr.
Taft has no less explicitly stood TO-
government of the people by WHICH
he calls "a representative part Q
the people, and while he has o
course stated in perfunctory fashion
the he favors industrial justice he ha
violently opposed every practica
method advanced for, actually d9ini
away With Industrial Justice, for actu
ally driving privilege out of its en-
| trenchments and for actually equaiiz
ing opportunity. At the present mo
ment we have before our eyes her
In Chicago just exactly what Mr.
Taft's doctrine of. government by
Representative part of the peopl
really amVunt to.
Taft is Repudiatcd
Eight years ago / received electora
votes from thirty-three states. II
twenty OF these states direct prima
ries have been held, or if not direc
primaries at least primaries sufficien
to give the people reasonably
chance to express their preference. y
these twenty states, where the ranl
and file of the republican party na'
a chance to express their preference
won 3s5 delegates, Mr.. Taft 81, MI
LaFollette S6. That is, in thos
states which went republican .eigh
years ago Mr.. Taft obtained one
seventh and one-eighth of the dele
gates where the people had chanc
to express their WILL These primar
states are scattered everywher
! throughout the country from Main
to California, and II is impossible T.
doubt that they give an accurat
measure of what the vote in all tn
republican states would be If tn
people had been allowed chanc
to vote. But Mr.. Taft's representa-
tives wherever possible, prevented tn
adoption of the primary law. The
prevented 1t in Michigan, for instance
they prevented it in Montana. With
out question Montana and Michigan
would have gone for us at least
strongly as IllinSis and Oregon. ha'
there been a primary law. Befor
the people of those states Mr.. Tai
did not stand the chance to get sin
gle delegate. His led captains recog
nized this fact and prevented tn
people from voting; he and they dis
trusted the people, with reason; and
with equal reason they trusted tn
professional politicians; and in Mon
tana and Michigan Mr.. Taft won del
egates, to the snickering delight
every friend of privilege and bossisn
In the land, whose relish is peculiarly
keen in seing delegates won agalns
the will of the people.
Two7thirds of Republican Vote
These republican primary state
cast over two thirds of the republi
can vote in the electoral college. Il
them the people spoke. They wen
overwhelmingly for me and still NOR
overwhelmingly against Mr.. Taft Ii
the other states that went republican