Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-01
LIE B|RTHR|CHT
Of tn. 'SPARTY'
Representative BarthoIdt De-
tends Taft's Nomination and
Scores Roosevelt.

WASHINGTON, Aug. LIN the second
OF a series of campaign speeches now be-
ing made in congress by Taft Republicans
against Theodore Roosevelt. Representa-
tive Bartholdt of Missouri, charac-
terized the leader of the Bull Moose party
as man who had tried to club the presi-
Dental nomination out of his party and
whose Progressive organization had 'Iie
for its birthright."
The Mssourian charged the Roosevelt
men had attempted to contest elections of
delega tions where there was no valid
reason for such action He cited Cali
fornia and Washington as two states
where it had been indisputaby shown
that the Taft delegates had been honestly
elected.
Representative Bartholdt explained his
knowledge of the cases by stating that he
had held the proxy of Secretary of Com
merce and Labor Nagel in the national
committee
when we are unjustly assailed we have
right, not only to defend ourselves, but
to inquire into the motives of the assail-
ant" he said. Let me open the inquiry
with this question: Do you believe the
national committee would have devoted
ten days to their painstaking and exhaust
ing work if they could have realized that
there was but one real Republican candi-
date before the convention? Would wide
publicity have been allowed? Would all
of the meetings heen held openly?
misplaced Confidence"
MANY delegates had their misgivngs.
They remembered that in the widely ad
vertised Columbus speech the name Re
publican was not even mentioneu.
they still felt confident that no man woult
have the audacity to ask for presiden-
tial nomination a the hands of Repub-
lican convention when at heart he was no
longer a Republican. In the light of later
events we know that this was case of
misplaced confidence; in other words that
Mr.. Roosevelt never intended to abide by
the decision of the convention, except he
himself should be the nominee.
we know now that it was an ordinary
hold-up not even without the customary
threat: Your money or your life, which
was changed to Give me the nomination
or I'll kill you We can go further and
say when the oyster Bay candidate made
up his mind to violate all American tradi-
tons of political decency and go to Chi
eago at the very moment when he knew
he was beaten that he expected to save
the day by personal appeal to the dele
gates through persuasion, promises, coer-
con or threats. He came with treachery
in his heart and thoroughly determined to
bolt If things went against him. The cry
of fraud was premeditated and the
shameful ejaculation of thieves with
which he shocked his audience in his en-
trance into Chicago was the battle cry
of the new party
Ali Entitled TO Seats
If the national committee had needed
the injunction, Thou shalt not steal eX-
eept for me, a!i would have been well
but its determination to do its work con-
scientiously brought all the pre- arranged
plans of party treachery to their full
bloom. new party was born, but is 1t
not bound to be still born? Can a party
live or ought 1t to live with lie as its
brthright? The national committee is not
entitled to any credit for the faithful per-
Torrance of its duty. There was not
single delegate at the Chicago convention
who was not thoroughly entitled to a seat
there and consequently President Taft
was honestly nominated"