The Washington herald., 1912-06-23

er. Fastener and westerner, Republican
and Democrat alike, in the name of our
common American citizenship.
willing to Step Aside.
If you wish me to make this fight I
will make it even If only one State
should support me. The only condition
1 impose is that you shall feel entirely
free when you come together to substi-
tute any other man in my place if you
deem it better for the movement, and in
such case I will give him my heartiest
support.
Wherever in any State the Republican
party is trIe to the principles of its
founders and is genuinely the party of
justice and progress, I expect to see
it. come boldly into the new move
ment for the convention that has just
sat in this city is in no proper sense of
the word Republican Convention at all
1t does not represent the masses Of the
Republican party. 1t was organized in
cynical defiance OF their wishes, and II
has served the purpose only Of a group
Of sinister political bosses, who have
not ole shadow OF sympathy with the
spirit and purpose Of the Republican
party Of fifty years ago. and many of
whom have used the party merely as an
adjunct to money making for the great
crooked interests which they serve. The
bosses who irsJ stole enough delegates
TO enable them to dominate this con-
ventiOn and then did their will in it
have no kinship of soul or spirit with
the men who staFed the Republican
party on its career Vas an agent Of lib
eTty ana justice.
Fling Mt barnes.
Imagine for yourselves how Messrs.
Barnes and Penrose and GugEenheim
would have looked standing under the
historic oaks in that Michigan city
where the Republican party was born
fifty-s.X years ago You, my friends,
who are here before me, you are the
heirs in the spirit Of Abraham Lincoln
when he refused longer to be bound by
the shackles Of the past and faced the
new issues in the new spirit that the
times demanded. But We are more for
tunate in one respect than our prede-
cesors for We who stand for the pro-
gressive cause, the progressive move
ment have done forever with all sec
tonalism, and we make our appeal
equally to the sons of the men who
fought under Grant, and TO the sons
OF the men who fought under Lee, for
the cause We champion is as emphatic
ally the cause Of the South as it is the
cause Of the North.
1 am in the night for certain prinCi- |
pies, and the first and most important
Of these goes back to Sinai, and is en-
bodied in the commandment Thou shalt |
not steal Thou shalt not steal a nomi- |
nation. Thou shalt neither steal in poll
tics nor in business. Thou shalt not |
steal from the people the biTthrigkt Of |
the people to rule themselves. hold, in |
the language Of the Kentucky Court of |
Appeals that Stealing Is stealing No |
people is wholly civilized where a dis |
tinction is drawn between stealing an /
Office and stealing a purse. No truly /
honest man should he honored with an /
ONCE to which his title is not valid as
that Of the homestead which shelters his /
family.
Face a Great Crisis.
7 do not know whether our country
men fully realize the gravity of the |
crisis which we at this moment face.
There is no use in holding primaries,
no use in holding elections. If we per-
nit a small group OF interruptions
men. some OF whom are certainly act
Ing in the interest of big crooked busi-
ness, to exercise the veto power over
these primaries and election by upset
ting the results at their own pleasure.
The convention which to-day closes
Its discreditable career here in Chicago
represents a negligible minimum OF the
rank and file Of the Republican party.
But what II has done and what II has
provided for the future offer material
for very serious consideration. The old
National Committee, chosen by the poll
dcians four years ago, made up a tenn
porary roll, including some ainety
fraudulent delegates who had not been
elected by the people, and thereby con-
trolled a majority OF the convention.
This fraudulent temporary roll in turn
chose a fraudulent credentials commit
lee, AMI all the fraudulent delegates vot- II
ng on one another's case thereby made