El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-26
TAFT STARTS
ANbNIIS
CLUB
Enters Roosevelt as Charter
Member Openly Answers
ROOSEVELT Charges.
SPEECH TEENS WITH
POINTED PARAGRAPHS

Boston, Mass, april 25.-President
Taft last night cast aside his policy OF
avoiding personalities in his campaign
for denomination and devoted his en-
tire speech to an attack upon colonel
Roosevelt and a defence Of himself
and his administration against charges
colonel Roosevelt recently made on
the stump
Mr.. Tafts speech bristled with coun-
ter charges against his predecessor IN
the white house. He declared that Mr..
Roosevelt had wilfully misrepresented
himself. had falsely distorted some OF
his public utterances, had failed 20
live up to his policy Of q square deal,
and had violated a solemn promise TO
the American people not TO be can
didate for a third term
Promises Unreliable.
That promise and his treatment OF
it" said Mr.. Taft, only throws an in
forming light on the value that ought
to be attached TO any promise Of this
kind he may make for the future"
Declaring that Mr.. Roosevelt ought
not to be selected as candidate Of any
party" Mr. Taft said the former prest-
dent might now be paving the way, II
successful in the present campaign, to
remain the chief executive OF the ma
ton for as many terms as his natural
life would permit.
IF he is necessary now TO the gov
president, and continued:
Lightly Regards Principle.
zone who so lightly regards COnsti-
tutional principles and especially the
independence OF the judiciary, one who
is 50 naturally impatient Of legal re-
straints and Of due legal procedure
and who has so misunderstood what
liberty regulated by law is, could not
safely be intrusted with successive
presidential terms 7 say this sorrOW-
FULLY. but 7 say It with the fun con-
victiOn Of its truth
Mr.. Taft referred to some OF Mr..
RoOsevelts charges sgalIst MIN as me
loose and vague Indictment Of one
who does not know and who depends
only upon secondhand Information for
his statements
Performed Painful Duty.
The president said that his speech
last night was one Of the most pain
full duties Of his life that ii was in
response to an obligation he owed the
Republican party which selected him
as its candidate and to the American
DeopIe who elected him president.
1T grows he said. "Out Of a phase
of national politics and national life
that I believe to be unprecedented in
orr history So unusual Is the ext
gencv that the ordinary rules Of pro-
Drietv that limit and restrict presi-
dent in his public addresses must be
laid aside. and the cold, naked truth
must be stated in such a way that It
shall serve as warning 10 the people
of the United states
Mr.. TAFT said that colonel Roose-
velfs Columbus speech. accepted as his
platform. sent a thrill of alarm
through all the members Of the com
munftv" Mr. Roosevelt, he said, then
found that if the nomination we're to
come to him. he must minimize the
Importance of this charter OF democ-
racy'' and must find some other issue
upon which to succeed
without giving up the principles an
in his Columbus address, the
president said, Mr.. Roosevelt relegated
them to an incidental place and
changed his campaign to one Of criti-
cism of Taft and the Taft administra-
ton.
Deals With Charges.
One by one the president took up
the charges made against him by col
one1 Roosevelt and sought to refute
them In two instances he quoted
from correspondence between himself
and Col. Roosevelt and said he was
prepared to make other letters public
II 1ir. Roosevelt should desire
BY excerpts from my speeches, Mr..
has sought to show and has