Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-06-18

people are against the nomination oil
Mr. Taft II Is the duty of all of
them, their first duty, to throw out of
the convention every man fraudulent
| ~ seated there by the national COM
Imittee. The fraudulent Taft dele
gates whom the national committee
seated for instance from California,
| from Washington, from Indiana, from
| Kentucky. from Michigan, from
| Arizona, from Alabama, from Texas.
represent nothing but the deliberate
iatttmpt by certain discredited bosses
! to upset the free and honest express
7, sion of the peoples will.
Eight years ago | received electoral
votes from 33 states. In 20 of these
states direct primaries have been held.
/ or If not direct primaries at least
primaries sufficient to give the people
a reasonable chance to express their
! preferences. In these 20 states where
the rank and file from the Republican
party had a chance to express their
preferences. won 295 delegates, Mr.
| Taft 81, Mr.. La Toilette So That is.
lin those states which went Republican
Ieight ytars ago, Mr.. Taft obtained be
tween one-seventh and one eighth of
the delegates where the people had a
chance to express their will These
primary states are scattered every
where throughout the country, from
Maine to California, and it is impos-
sible to doubt that they give an ae-
curate measure of what the vote in all
the Republican states would be if the
Ipeople had been allowed chance to
lvote. But Mr.. Tafts representatives.
wherever possible, prevented the adop-
ton OF a primary law.
They prevented it in Michigan. for
| instance; they prevented it in Monta-
ma. Without question Montana and
| Michigan would have gone for us at
| least as strongly as Illinois and Ore
gon, had there been a primary law.
Before the people of either state MIR.
| Taft did net stand the chance to get Il
single delegate His led captains rec
ognized this fact and prevented the
people from voting; he and they dis
trusted the people, with reason; and,
with equal reason they trusted the
professional politicians; and in Monta
ma and Michigan Mr.. Taft won dele
gates to the sniekering delight of ev
cry friend of privilege and bossism in
the land. whose relish is peculiarly
keen in seeing delegates won against
the will of the people
These Republican primary states
cast over two-thirds of the Republic
can vote in the ELECTORAL college. In
them the people spoke. They went
overwhelmingly for me, and still more
Overwhelmingly against Mr.. Taft. In
the other states that went Republican
eight years ago no primaries were
held, and in all but one the politicians
had nearly complete sway. In these
states Mr. Taft secured 176 votes, | Sc
cured 40, Mr.. Eummins ten. OF the
Republican states. therefore l received
the overwhelming majority of the del
egates wherever the people could eN-
press themselves and taking these
states all told in spite of Mr.. Taft's
triumphs in the state where there
were no real primaries, l received 49,
delegates Gncluding those which the
natnionaI committee has stolen) as
against the 2S4 for Mr.. Taft, the So for
Mr. LaFollette and the ten for Mr..
Cummins. To put it in another way;
| euuarelv carried 81 of the old Re
publican states and these states cast
a63 votes in tie electoral college
within three of a majority of the total
eleetiral vote.
Mr.. Taft carried enough states
lwhere there were no primaries). 70
give him 81 electoral votes: Mr.. La
Toilette carried two states with Il
electoral votes; Mr.. Taft and Mr.
Cummirs divided one state with 10
votes There remain states which al
though Democratic at the last election
contain a genuine Republican party,
states like North Carolina and Okla
homa, where there were primaries and
where l carried every delegate except
three. 1t thus appears that in the Re
publican states Mr.. Taft was beaten .
10 1, and that in the Republican states
which hold primaries where the people
could express their desires, he was
beaten by over to l.
| call your attention to one signifi-
cant feature in the attitude of the
Taft papers in chronicling Mr. Taft s
victories and defeats. Whenever their
headlines announced a defeat for Mr.
Taft it meant that there had been 2
vote by the people themselves in q
primary state Whenever during the
last ten days they have announced
victory for Mr.. Taft it has meant that
Mr. Tafts representatives in the Ma
tional committee have thrown out Dell
egates elected by the people at large
to represent them. My victories have
been won before the people and by the
people. Mr.. Taft's have been won by
the bosses and by the representatives
of special privilege; by the National
committee and by boss controlled con-
ventions of machine politicians.
carry Washington at the polls; he
carried it before the National commit
tee. He never has had, and has not
nov, a chance with the people; and
| have just as little chance wherever
the crooked type of politician has
power.
If am nominated it will be because
whenever they have had a chance, the
verdict of the people, expressed in
millions of votes. has been over no
! in my favor. If Mr.. Taft were nom
mated it would mean the ruin of the
Republican party; for the roll call of
his delegates as prepared by the Ma