Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-06-25

these goes back to Sinai and is embodied
in the commandment Thou shalt not
steal" Thou shalt not steal a nomina-
ton; Thou shalt neither steal in politics
nor in business. Thou shalt not steal
from the people the BIZ thright of the peo-
pie to rule themselves. l hold, in the
language Of the Kentucky court of APP
peals, that stealing is stealing. No people
is wholly civilized where a distinction is
drawn between stealing an office and
stealing a purse. ~
81 do not know whether our country
men fully realize the gravity of the
crisis which we face. There is no use
in holding primary elections If we per-
nit a small group of inscriptions pol
iticians, some of whom are certainly
acting in the interests of big, crooked
business, to exercise the veto power
over these primaries and elections by
upsetting the results at their own
pleasure.
'sThe convention which today closes
its discreditable career here in Chicago
represents a negligible minimum of the
rank and file of the Republican party.
But what it has done and what it
has provided for the future offer ma
terial for very serious consideration.
FRAUDULENT DELEGATES.
THE old national committee, chosen
by the politicians four years ago, made
up a temporary roll including some 80
fraudulent delegates, who had not been
elected by the people, and thereby they
controlled a majority of the convention.
This fraudulent temporary roll in turn
chose a fraudulent credentials commit
tee, and all the fraudulent delegates,
voting on one another's cases, thereby
made up the permanent roll, which
constituted the fraudulent convention.
Then this fraudulent convention
chooses a new and not less fraudulent
national committee. Now, gentlemen,
there are those who ask us to stay in
the party. which has just fraudulently
nominated for the presidency a man
who inspired and profited by the
fraud.
They ask us to submit to infamy in
the present on the ground that perhaps
we may be able TO prevent such infamy
in the future.
"They seem to forget that the circle
has been completed and that this fraud
ulent convention has provided in its
fraudulently chosen national committee
means whereby they can hope once
again, four years hence and with like
impunity, to overthrow the will of the
majority of the voters at the primaries.
FRAUDULENT. FRAUDULENT.
THE national committee, over whose
selection and retention in Office the vot-
ers have no control whatever, makes up
the fraudulent temporary roll call which
controls the convention. The national
convention. thus fraudulently made up,
names another national COMMITTEES; and
the new national committee constituted
by the same element that constituted
the old one. has already shown by its
actions that it can be trusted four years
hence to repeat the misbehavior of the
Did one.
The vicious circle must be. broken.
The powerful crook, political bosses,
have and ought to have no feeling but
contempt for the honest man who sub
mits to their violent and INSCRIPTIONS
dishonesty.
IF we permit fraud of this kind to
triumph. we do shameful thing and
show either that we are faint at heart
or dull OF conscience.
"As for the principles for which !
stand. L have set them forth fully in
the many speeches 1 have made during
the last four months while making an
active contest for the nomination. which
won. and out of which have been
cheated.
PRINCIPLES OF PEOPLE.
Fundamentally these principles are,
first. that the people have the right to
rule themselves, and can do so better
than any outsiders can rule them, and,
second that IL is their duty so to rule
| in a spirit of justice toward every
man and every woman within our bor-
ders. and to use the government, so far
as possible, as an instrument for OBJ
tanning not merely political but indus
trial Justice. We stand for honesty and
fair play,
I'VE practically apply the command
ment, Thou shalt not steal 1 hold
that we are performing a high duty in
inaugurating this movement, for the
permanent success of the practice such
as has obtained in the fraudulent con-
vention that has just closed its sitting
would mean the downfall of this re-
public; and we are performing the most
patriotic of duties when we set our
faces like flint against such wrong"