The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-03-09
TEDDY DRAWS DISTINCTION.
FINDS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
CANDIDATE AND NOMINEE.
Admits saying He Would Not be Can
didatc, Also Telling Some Inquirers
"Ycs"

Oyster Bay, March 4.-Col. Roose-
welt said today that it was perfectly
| true that he had said he would not be
a candidate in 1912.
He had made that statement to
| many persons he said, but had not
declared he would not accept the
nomination If it were rendered him.
He drew a distinction between becom-
ing a candidate and being willing to
accept the nomination.
The colonel made it plain that he
saw nothing in the Van Valkenberg
letter in which he said he would not
be candidate in 1912, to conflict with
his recent statement that he would
become the nominee Of the party if
his party asked it.
Col. Roosevelt's position in the
matter is set forth in a statement
which he gave out today. explaining
the circumstances which induced him
to write Mr.. Van Valkenburg. This
Is the statement:
AT that time persistent efforts had
been made from Washington to con-
vince the progressives that I was real
ly supporting Mr.. Taft. On this par
ucular occasion the statement was
made with the greatest explicitness.
promptly denied the statement and
had been inspired from the White
House. and assured on the other hand
that it had not been. but on. the con-
trary was made purely on the initia-
tive Of the Associated Press. The AS
sociated Press has assured me that
they were not responsible for the false
statements, and as it will be seen by
reference to the letter itself, Mr..
Noyes was quoted as having got the
Information from Independent sources.
l do not know who gave out this let
ter, but / am certain that it was not
Mr.. Van Valkenburg, for I know him
to be an honorable man.
ITO all who were at that time writ
Ing to me to be candidate / answer.
ed that I would not be. To all who
asked whether I would accept If NOM
mated i answered yes If knew them
sufficiently we'll to be sure that they
would understand me- otherwise I
said simply that would cross that
| bridge when / came to 1t, and in most
| cases II the man was at all a close
personal friend I told him that /
counted on his doing everything pos
sible to prevent any movement look
ing to my nomination.
1T was not until the last three or
four months that was finally obliged
to come to the conclusion that there
was a real demand among the people
as whole for my nomination, which
did not come in any way from any
personal friends of mine and was
neither inspired nor engineered by
| them.
When i became convinced that this
popular demand was real and was
considerable. and when the governors
Of several States, increased by this
| time to ten, 1 may mention incident
ally, asked me whether I would ac-
cept II nominated, I answered. Yes
l added an expression Of my wish that
wherever possible open presidential
premaries might be held. so as to
find out who the republican voters
wished to have nominated.
IF the people do not wish me to
serve, most ceretainly I do not wish
to serve. If they do desire me to
| undertake in their interest a great
task. I shall do so and shall perform
1t with whatever courage and ability
I possess. Whether there will be such
an expression Of the popular will,
can not say, as where there are no
presidential primaries it unfortunate
ly seems too often to be the case that
the effort OF the political leaders is
not to give expression to the popular
will, but to thwart it in every way
possible"