The Irish standard., 1912-10-19
kerr HARD|E ON
THE CAMPAIGN
The British Socialist Thinks the
Democratic Candidate Will be
Next President.
Ulster Opposition to Home Rule
Movement is Largely Bluff Of
Religious Bigots.
Rooseveltism Will Fizzle Out in
American Politics-No Need for
a Third Party.

James Kerr Hardie, Socialist leader
of the Labor party in the British
House of Commons, has just return
ed from strenuous six weeks
speechmaking campaign for the So
cialist party in the West. thoroughly
convinced from his observations he
says. that Roosevcltism is going to
tizzlc out bodily" and that DIR. Wilson
is going to be the first man in the
race. He said to New York Sun
reporter:
II made it n point to talk with the
and city that ] visited. In response
| to my statement that what I had seen
in my travels through the country led
me to believe that Roosevelttsm
seemed to be izzling out, his own
| men agreed that II was so. The
movement depended altogether on the
that has not proved strong enough.
The forces haven't rallied us he
thought they would.
ut has always seemed to me that
| such movement had to go with Il
| rush or so under completely. From
my experience in politics, Roosevelt
| Will continue TO lose strength frop,
now on. Why? Because faith in his
personality has been rudcly shaken.
There was time when the Republic
can organization and the papers were
all with him. The average man then
thought that he was Il demigod. Now
| the average man finds that he gets
hoarse like other people and that he
calls folks liars.
| "The campaign was started With
| the impression that Roosevelt would
! take a lot of votes from the Socialist
party, but you will find that he won't
| get the vote of a single real Social
| list. The situation in the States is
too serious for u third party. There
is no room for 1t. 1t is utterly i'm
possible for it to win. Roosevelt's IS
supporters remind me Of the story of
the pot of gold at the end Of the rain
bow. The more the boy ran after 1t
the further he got away from 1t.
when | reached St. Louis and
asked about the situation the Pro-
gressivcs said. 'Ilooseveltism isn't
strong here. but you'll find it in Kan
City. they said, There's no excite
mcnt here, but wait until you get to
Denver, and then you'll find real
Roosevelt enthusiasm But ] didn't
see it in Denver. However, they as
sured me that the Mecca for Roosc-
vcltism was on the Pacific coast.
whether ] would have found 1t or not
But do know that the working
classes will not support Roosevelt III
all the six weeks that 1 was away
found only one trade union official
who said that he was supporting
him."
MIR. Hardic admitted that he had
no love for the Colonel, whom he once
denounced in Parliament for his anti
Egyptian speech at banquet in the
city of London after his return from
his African hunting trip. but he said
he tried to look into the Roosevelt
movement with as unbiased mind as
possible and didn't permit his lack OF
affection for the Colonel to interfere
with his judgment.
Nowhere, he said, did he find that
Roosevcltism is attracting any meas
ure Of support from the working class
and the only folk backing the Pro-
gressivc party are mainly well mean.
ing, middle class people" He said he
did not question their sincerity ir
the least, but he felt "a certain ele.
ment Of pity at tho disillusion r1ent
ahead Of them" He predicted that
before the Congressional election.
two years hence "the Bull Moose par.
ty will have disappeared and the ole
element in the Republican party viii
again be supreme"
u Asked who he thinks will be elect.
= ed president, Mr.. Hardie replied:
The universal opinion is that vii