New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-06-21
"CUSSTNG" THE COURT

It is recognized as the privilege OF
defeated litigant TO adjourn to the
tavern and "cuss" the court. So, after
the sessions at the Coliseum, the shouts
sent UP each day from the Congress
Hotel about thieves and robbers
and assassination" were what might
be expected from bad losers. And
little study Of the way these whole
sale claims of outrage have shrunk IN
the face of facts shows that they are
merely the cry of bad losers.
The national committee began It's
sessions with about go contests before
It. and Mr. RoOsevelt's friends loudly
proclaimed that their men in every case
represented the voice Of the people
and were being robbed Of their rights
by BOSSES After the hearings most OF
the Taft delegates were seated with the
approval Of the Roosevelt members OF
the committee. and then it was con-
feSSed that the Roosevelt faction all
along knew that there was no merit In
many Of their contests, but that they
Idu bttu DIOuSuI lbl pcNNhOi' sAN'A
effect 10 fool voters. Still, Mr.. Roose-
welt complained Of an irreducible mini
mum of "stolen delegates" after his list
had been purged of its admittedly bogus
claims, whose presence in the COnven-
ton laid upon all decent citizens the
duty Of bolting There were, he said,
eighty or ninety with no claim whatso-
ever in law or morals TO seats. few
hours later these had evaporated to
siyty-four whose cases he had examined
himself. and he could give the people
his assurance that ANY honest man
could have no doubt" about them. An
other boiling down process reduced the
number Of plain frauds to fifty. Mr.
Roosevelt declared that he could not &C.
Cept a nomination, even II II came to
him. from a convention Of delegates
with tainted titles But his friends
We're ready TO accept the convention
with a challenge Of only fifty as being
beyond the pale.
So many only did they have to take
before the credentials committee. Among
them was tho case Of the 9th Alabama,
which from The beginning had been one
Of the distinctly horrible examples Il
was an instance Of naked robbery. No
decent man could have any doubt about
it. Honest differences Of opinion could
not exist concerning It. That district
was early taken up by the commit
tee. What was the result? According
to The Evening Mail" the organ Of Mr.
Perkins and an ardent supporter Of Mr..
Roosevelt, "a motion TO seat the two
Roosevelt delegates from the 9th Ala
"bama District was defeated "a to II.
&C. ST. Clair, Of Idaho, known as
Roosevelt man. and S. H. Cady, of Wis
"consin, voted against the Roosevelt
delegates" So It seems that this case
Of plain theft was one about which
honest men among Mr.. Roosevelts own
trusted supporters differed. That is, II
was not a case Of plain theft at all.
After reviewing the evidence, neither
the La Toilette member of the commit
tee nor this one Of Mr.. Roosevelt's own
men believed Mr.. Tsft's delegates were
wrongfully seated.
No man in face Of the conflicting evil
dence can say that absolute justice has
been done IN every case. Probably there
is no such thing as absolute justice IN
some cases, for there have been mis-
takes on both sides. But when the
repeated claims OF fraud are put to the
test as in Alabama, It becomes clear
that honest men may, and do, differ
about them, that Mr., Roosevelt's own
leaders discredit his vehement asser-
ticns