The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-06-18

| Ben. B. Lindsey, in his book, The
Beast and the Jungle has given a
very graphic account of Mr.. Steven
sons political activities in Denver.
Hot Shot for Stephenson.
81 very greatly wish that every de-
cent man in the country, every plain,
right thinking citizen who is in doubt
as to what the representatives OF Mr.
Taft have done on the national COM
mittee, would read this book of
Judge Lindsey's. In especial. let him
study the part in which Judge Lind
sey refers to Mr.. Stevenson and then
let him think for himself just what 1t
means when Mr.. Taft and his assoc1-
ates accept the help of Mr.. Steven
son and import him from his own
state of Colorado to act for other
states on the national committee, as
one of the ablest men engaged in the
movement to rob the people or their
right to rule themselves.
Political Theft Is Worse.
Our opponents here in Chicago to-
day have waged such a bitter and I'M
scrupulous fight for the very reason
that this is no ordinary factiona1 con-
test. The big bosses who control the
national committee represent not mere
" the captains of mercenary politics,
but the great crooked fnanciers who
stand behind those led captains Those
political bosses are obnoxious in them
selves, but they are even more obnoN-
it's most Sordid and dangerous form.
The majority of the national committee
in deciding the cases before them have
practiced political theft in every form,
from highway robbery to petty lar
ceny And political theft is as dis
honest and more damaging than ord1-
nary theft. There is no law to reach
the offenses they have committed, but
morally these aoffenses are far more
serious from the standpoint of the ma
tlonal interest than any of the ordinary
commercial or political offenses which
expose the perpetrators to be brought
before the courts of Justice The COM
mitteemen responsible for such action
need to be taughtsa that the national
committee was created to be the SER
want and not the master of the plain
men and women who make up the bulk
of the Republican, party. The party be-
longs to the millions of the rank and
file 1t does not belong to the handful
of politicians who have assumed
fraudulently to upset the will of the
rank and file. The action of these men
is in no sense regular as they claim
il to be- They in no way represent
the people, they in no way represent
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 seventy
eight men are to meet here in conVen-
ton to decide the future of the Repub-
lican party. At least seven out of eight
of these among them who really repre-
sent the people are against the nomin-
alton of Mr.. Taft. 1t is the duty of all
OF them. their first duty, to throw out
of the convention every man fraudu-
lcntly seated there by the national
committee. The fraudulent Taft dele
gates, whom the national committee
Sc ted, for instance. from California
from Washington. from Indiana, from
Kentucky, from Michigan. from Ari-
IONA, from Alabama, from Texas,
represent nothing but the deliberate
by certain discredited bosses
to upset the free and honest expression
of the peoples will. These fraudulent
Taft delegates were beaten by the vot-
er: of Washington, of California, of
Texas, of Arizona, of Indiana, of Ken
tucky-and then they We're seated by
the discredited political bosses who ha 4
just themselves been beaten by the
people of their own states, in Massa-
cEusetts, in New Jersey, in Pennsyl-
vania, 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 dele
gates to the conventions; and yet they