The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-04-16
ROOSEVELT AND STATE ISSUES.

/
In large measure, Colonel Roose-
velt's success in the Pennsylvania pri-
maries can only be properly attributed
to his projection of purely state issues
such a victory cannot be held as dis
paraging to President Taft and his adj
ministration and his righteous claim
that he is entitled to a denomination
at the hands of his party.
More than nine-tenths of all of Col
onel Roosevelt's speeches are devoted
to the short ballot, the initiative, the
referendum, the recall and the recall
of judicial decisions. These are state
issues He has never suggested that
the initiative and the referendum be
applied to federal legislation. Nor has
he advised that the recall of decisions
be applied to the national supreme
court.
That the people in several states
should be interested in giving these
proposed systems of government at
least a trial is only natural. That they
will give their votes to champions of
votes to Colonel Roosevelt for this
reason they are losing sight Of the fact
that while he is urging these advant-
ages of state government he is solicit
ing their support in a national cam
paign. In other words he is obtaining
their support for a presidential nomina-
ton under false pretenses. This is true
because if his campaign for the Re
publican presidential no lination is
successful as might be his subsequent
campaign for the presidential Office he
would not be in a position, as presi-
dent, to help the people of any state
attain their desires for the initiative,
the referendum, the recall and the re-
call of decisions.
In this respect Colonel Rooseve1t's
campaign is unusual. 1t is unique in
the annals of American politics. No
other man has ever asked the people to
elevate him to the presidency on his ad-
vocacy of Issues that can only be
brought about by legislative action or
constitutional amendment in the indi-
vidual states.
The issues on which Colonel Roose-
welt has been winning an endorsement
in a few states are purely local to the
states. And the sincerity of Colonel
Roosevelt's attitude on these issues is
open to question. During the two terms
of his incumbency in the presidential
office all Of his tendencies were in the
direction of increasing the scope of
the activities of the federal government
and at the expense of state rights.
But because Colonel Roosevelt gets a
popular Endorsement of his state issues
in two or more commonwealth, that's
no sufficient reason for accepting the |
verdict of these states as the Judgment |
of the members of the republican party
throughout the entire country. The
Republican party will have to go be-
fore the people next fall, not on state I
issues, but on national issues. They
will have to have candidate who is
known to have a definite policy on all
of the big public issues of national mo-
ment And they will have such a can
didate in President Taft.
Much of the opposition among the
'insurgent" Republicans to President
Taft originated with the enactment of
the Payne-Aldrich tariff law and his
defense of the measure as
being the best tariff legislation he
could obtain and the best that had
been achieved as yet by the Republic
can party. Now the tariff is a ma
tional issue, one of the biggest,-per-
haps the biggest. And on this issue
Of tariff revision Colonel Roosevelt, al
though not devoting very much atten-
ton to it in his campaign for the presi-
1ential nomination, takes a stand
IDENTICAL with the one that has been and
S being pursued by President Taft.