Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-06-12

has been repudiated In Kansas; Mr..
Penrose, who has been repudiated In
Pennsylvania, Mr.. Mckinley, who has
been repudiatea in Illinois. Mr.. Gug~
eenheim of Colorado. In short, prac~
ltieally every big boss in the country,
every representative of the combina-
tion of privilege in politics and privi-
llege in business is in person or by
deputy now working at Chicago to
overthrow the will of the people III
Mr.. Taft's interest and this in the
face of that fact that in the states
where the people have voted they
have repudiated Mr.. Taft by astound-
ing majorities.
How do these bosses hope to nomi-
nate Mr. Taft? What they did in the
18th Indiana district, Yesterday. sup
plies the answer. | have said-and
the acts of my supporters have made
good my words-that | do not wish
one delegate seated for me il there is
a reasonable doubt in his case.
The members of the National COM
mittee who are my supporters, have
leaned backwards in every case where
there was so much as shadow of claim
/
They have divided only where the
case was so clear that no honest man
could doubt. In the 18th and 14th In
diana districts the convention which
assem hled to elect two delegates to
Chicago contained clear and uncon-
tested majority of Roosevelt men. But
the chairman, a Taft man, refused
roll call and declared the Taft dele
gates elected on viva voce whereupon
the majority of the convention elect
ed two Roosevelt delegates. Atfidavits
of all the members of the majority
were laid before the committee. show
ing that a clear majority of the mem
hers of the convention by their own
sworn statements had voted for
Roosevelt and three other affidaVits
of members were submitted showing
that these three men had voted neith-
er for Roosevelt nor Taft. so that the
proof was absolute that its Taft dele
gates had obtained only a minority
of the convention. Yet the National
committee seated the two men, the
frauduleney of whose claims had been
thus shown.
UNFORTUNATELY there is no law to touch
the astounding misconduct of which the
national committee has been guilty and
which it has sanctioned in the cases
which have come before it. If the con-
test was one for the nomination of an
alderman in New York City and obscure
men in the Democratic and Republican
parties who were acting as election Of
ficials in a given district were guilty of
such conduct and their guilt was proven,
they would be sent to the penitentiary.
But the great and powerful politicians.
the representatives of bossism in poll
ties and special privilege in business,
who are now perpetrating the same kind
of wrong on an infinitely larger scale,
are immune because as yet, unfortunate
". the law does not touch nominating
conventions.
Nevertheless the wrong the commit
against the people is far greater than
the wrong done the people by the little
politicians such as those 1 have spoken
of for these men are engaged in thwart-
ing the right of the people to express
their will as to who shall hold the high
est office in the gift of the people, the
Presidency of the United States.
Mr.. Taft assumes and Messrs Barnes.
Penrose. Mulvane and company as
SufnSS That the fTeslueneS Is u nc
treated as a gift within the bestowal
of the politicians in defiance of the
duly expressed wish of the people.
Such conduct comes dangerously be-
ine treason to the whole spirit of our
institutions. to the whole spirit OF
Democratic free government. | do not
believe that the people will tolerate
such conduct nor do l believe that so
Der Republicans will consent TO see the
Republican party sacrificed t0z~please
the bosses whom the party has repu-
dated. This is more than a mere par
ty light. We are fighting for the cause |
of every decent citizen who is a Re- |
publican, but we are also fighting for |
the cause of every decent citizen in |
the republic no matter what his poll
tics may be. We are fighting for the |
fundamental principle of American |
democracy. the right of the people To |
be their own masters and to nominate |
their own public servants.
IF the National committee continues |
as il has begun, l beiieve its actions |
will pc repudiated by the convention"