Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-06-27
Roosevelt Decides to Gut Entire.
ly Away from His Old
Affiliations.
CLASHES With LIEUlENANYS
Gives Out Thrilling Story of How
He Refused Nomination on
Last Day of Con-
vention.

Cleveland, June ga new party from
the ground up is the Roosevelt program
After a series of discussions with his
lieutenants to-day before leaving Chi
| cago, in which there were several sharp
clashes Colonel Roosevelt decided to
cut entirely away from the party with
which his whole public career has been
identified. His decision was a disap-
pointmcnt to those who favored the or
ganzation of what might be consider
ed an Independent Republican party
with which various state organiza lions
might cooperate and still maintain, It
was hoped. a nominal regularity.
There must he no compromise, no
stradde' Colonel Roosevelt said. AS
an indication of his determination he
said that when he returned to Oyster
Fay he would communicate with a num-
Der of democrats. who. he thought.
ni;,ht wish to join the new party.
When he had left Chicago with the
first plans completed. Colonel Roose-
Welt expressed himself as pleased with
the OUTCOME of convention week. He
said that the way In which his action
had been received was encoura ging.
and that he had mass Of letters and
kilograms from all parts of the coun-
try from both democrats and r1puhli-
cans. offering support
The republican nomination for presi-
dent. Colonel Roosevelt asserted to-
night, was his for the asking on the
day that President Taft was renomin-
ated. He declined to accept 1t. he said,
on the terms under which the offer
was made
SECRET HISTORY REVEALED.
ON his way back to oyster Bay the
former president gave a glimpse into
the secret history of the last day of
the convention when it was apparent
that the tide of battle had turned
against him. 1t was q plan to seize
control of the convention at the last
moment by a sudden move. overtuln
the Taft majority and make r, ,sevelt
the nominee. This is the story as he
! told it:
! Early Saturday morning a group of
! delegates from southern States arranged
private interview with Colonel Roose-
welt They told him they had come to
offer him the nomination. They had with
them "A list of the known Roosevelt dele
gates and stated that they were author
lied to speak for a block Of Taft dele
gates who were willing to swing over to
| Roosevelt to avert a rupture in the party
The number of these delegates. they as
sured Colonel Roosevelt. was large enough
to nominate him or any other candidate
he might name.
one provision was made. Colonel Roose-
Welt continued. 1t was that he must ac-
cept the nomination from the convention
as then composed. and not insist upon the
removal of the IS delegates whom he con-
| tended were fraudulent before he would
| recognize any act of the convention The
| delegates told Nm, he said, that their
| band would stand together on the roll
| call for the presidential nominee, but that
1t would be hopeless for them to attempt
to combine with the Roosevelt minority to
unseat the Is delegates
HIS ANSWER TO EMIssARIEs
| Colonel Roosevelt said he informed
these emissaries that if he should be
nominated under these conditions he
would not accept the nomination. He told
them to go to the delegates whom they
represented and bring back to him a
pledge signed by 30 delegates, agreeing
to combine with the Roosevelt delegates
and make the attempt to start all over
again to organize the convention and to
unseat the IS contested delegates The
attempt failed. Colonel Roosevelt said
that considerable number of signatures
to the pledge We're obtained but that It
mad proved impossible to hold a
sufficiently large part of the delegates
in line for the course of action upon
which he insisted to give 1t the chance
| of success.
The chief point of interest to Colonel
Roosevelts supporters to-day was
whether they would re able to carry
with them the strength of the follow
ing which Colonel Roosevelt has here
tofore had within the Republican party.
some of them said frankly that the
movement was inaugurated on the as
sumption that. since Colonel Roosevelt
had been the choice of the party in n
number OF the republican States, 1t
would be possible to bring these States
In line for the new party. No plan has
yet been decided upon by which It would
be possible to effect such a transfer OF
workable organizations from the Repub-
lican party 10 the new enterprise II is
recognized that there exists the danger
of so many defections that in some
cases the machinery he either badly
| damaged in the process or left In the
hands of the regular republicans
Colonel Roosevelt expressed conf
dence that a way should be found lie
believed that he would have ulti-
mately the support of the substantial
part of the organizations which were
with him in the campaign of the last
four months. 1t is his opinion that
while there may be numerous defec-
lions, 1t will be possible to fill the
gaps with volunteers.
In cases in which the republican
state organizations as whole are
against him. 1t Is his plan to set up
new machinery with complete State
and national tickets
| With the announcement in Chicago by
| Governor Hiram Johnson of California of
the committee on organization. the move
ment assumed more definite shape and II
| was said that in several States the leaders
had begun their work. Governor johnson
| said the national convention would be
held late in July or early in August The
place has not been selected. A report that
the convention mi<ht decide to give NJ
the fight this year, should the democratic