Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-07-13
Senator Declares Colonel's
Course at Chicago Exam
pie of "Misdirected Power
and Unworthy Ambition
BOUND TO WIN OR
DESTROY THE PARTY
Wanted Convention Roll
Purged but Would Not
Purge Own Candidacy Of
Tainted Contests.

washington, u. c., July 12-Under
the caption "The Case of Mr.. Roose-
welt" Senator La Toilette has written
the following editorial in the current
number of La Follette's weekly:
Bryan at Baltimore foregoing all
chance Of his own nomination, mar
shaling all his forces, Drawing Tam
many and the trusts, to rescue his
party from their domination, carrying
the convention for the adoption OF the
most progressive democratic platform
yet offered and the nomination Of the
most progressive democratic candidate
available, was towering figure Of
moral power and patriotic devotion to
civic righteousness
Roosevelt Brought Fake Contests.
Roosevelt at Chicago, backed by
money derived from the stock-water.
Ing operation Of the steel trust and
the harvester trust, organizing what
are now confessed to have been
fake contests as to nearly 200
delegates in order to control the re.
publican convention and secure his
own nomination, refusing to aid In
making q progressive platform, bound
to have the nomination or destroy the
republican party, was most striking
example of misdrected power and un.
worthy ambition.
Roosevelt had as great an oppor.
tunity to serve the progressive cause
at Chicago as Bryan had at Baltimore
But Roosevelt was serving the man,
not the cause. He wanted one thing
he wanted the nomination. And yet
he did not have enough votes to nom.
mate himself upon any honest basis.
He did have enough delegates in that
convention ultimately to have nomin.
ated a real progressive and adopted
strong progressive platform. He could
even have nominated Hadley on such
platform and progressive republicans
could have supported Hadley in much
the same spirit as hundreds OF thou.
sands OF them will now support Will
son. Neither Hadley nor Wilson are
veterans In the progressive ranks.
Neither Of them has been tried by
the severest tests. Both appear to be
men Of high ideals whose records.
though short. give promise.
Would Have No Candidate But Self.
"But Roosevelt would not consider
Hadley. He would have no one but
himself. At the first suggestion OF
Hadley he ordered the third party
maneuver lest he lose his followers
If he had the evidence to prove that
Taft could not be honestly and fairly
nominated, why did he not direct his
lieutenants to present that evidence
to the national committee and then to
the convention and the country so
clearly that the convention would not
have dared to nominate Taft. and that
IY,1r$ L. Z, =
the nomination, If made.
"The reason Is obvious. An analysis
OF the testimony will, am convinced,
show that neither Taft nor Roosevelt
had a majority of honestly or regu-
ayers upon both sides we'll under.
stood. Each candidate was trying to
seat sufficient number OF fraudu-
lently credentialed delegates. added to
those regularly chosen, to support him
to secure control of the convention
and steam roll the nomination. It
side was acquainted and which each
had sanctioned in prior conventions.
"This explains the extraordinary
conduct Of Roosevelt. He could not en-.
ter upon such an analysis OF the evi.
luCliCC dO WouAu PAoNC 1dlI IOeuAdIly
elected delegates in the minority with
out inevitably subjecting his own
spuriously credentialed delegates to an
examination 80 critical as would ex-
pose the falsity of his own contention
that he had an honestly elected ma
jority Of the delegates
Cried Fraud and BuIIied Committee.
"He therefore deliberately chose to
claim everything, to cry fraud to bully
the national committee and the con-
vention and having thus created con-
dition which would make impossible
a calm investigation OF cases upon
merit, carry the convention by storm.
"That this is the true psychology of
the Roosevelt proceedings becomes
perfectly plain. He was there to force
his own nomination or smash the con-
vention. He was not there to preserve
the integrity Of the republican party
and make It an instrument for the pro-
motion of progressive principles and
the restoration of government 70 the
people. Otherwise he would have di-
rected his floor managers to contest