Norwich bulletin., 1912-06-21
ROOSEVELT DECLARES HE IS
 WILLING TO RUN INDEPENDENTLY.
Will Accept Nomination on Progressive Platform if There is Sentiment For it Among Progressive
 Members of the Party.

Chicago, June 20.-Theodore Roose- welt, before his political advisers and a personally selected number of dele gates instructed for him, late this aft ernoon read a statement of his posi- tion in the republican nomination fight and left it to them to decide what position they would take in the strug- gle.
 MT. Roosevelt called before him two delegates from each of the states which has supported him, and the leaders in his campaign. After outlining his po- sition, declaring that he would con tinue his fight on principles, he had outlined from the beginning, the col onel left the room and the delegates and leaders sat down to deliberate what should be done
 Rooseveles Statement.
 Following is the statement in part, issued by MT. Roosevelt:
 ''The time has come when l feel that I must make certain statements, not merely to the honestly elected members of the republican national convention, but to the rank and file of the republican party and to the honest people of the entire nation. went into this fight for certain great principles. At the moment l can only serve this principle by continuing to bear the personal responsibility which their advocacy has brought to me. "On behalf of these principles I made my appeal straight to the people themselves. I went before them, 1 made my argument in full, and every move I made was in the open, with out concealment of any kind. The opposition to me was extraordinarily 1,sA lNxy tta | tically solid phalanx of the biz con scienceless political bosses, with back of them the practically solid phalanx of the big, conscienceless benefciaries i of special privilege in every form, and, | of course, the many big newspapers which are controlled by or in the tn- terest of the bosses and special priyi- lege.
 Beat Taft Two to One in Primaries.
 Nevertheless, in the appeal to the people, l won, In many of the repub- lican states and of the democratic states where there Is a large and real republican party, primaries of different kinds were held, and substantial ex- pression of the will of the people was obtained In these primary states, some three million voters. the rank and file of the republican party, cast their votes beat MT. Taft considera- bly over two to one. In these states I obtained about six delegates to MT Taft's one. Nearly three -fourths of my delegates came from these primary states where the people had a chance to express themselves. MT. Tafts strength as indicated by the two roll calls already taken, consisted chiefly 1 (aside from his 90 stolen delegates), of i t,a arIrr D1i 4. territories and from the southern states in which there is no real re- publican party-South Carolina. Geor- gia, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Mis- sissippi, Louisana-and of northern states like New York, where the peo- pie had no chance to express them selves at primaries, and where the deI- egates were picked by the bosses.
 Cheating People Out of Victory.
 Tn spite of these odds against me obtained clear majority of all the delegates elected to the convention In my campagin l again and again stated that if the people decided against me I would have nothing to say; but thai if they decided for me, and the poH- ticians then robbed me of the victory l would not silently and tameIy acqli- esce. It was already evident that my opponents, with MT. Taft's encourage ment, intended to beat me by foul means if they could not do so by fair means.
 The crucial. but not the only ster in the concerted, and hitherto success ful, effort, to cheat the people out oj the victory they had fairly won. was taken up by the now defunct national committee, which, without one show ot justification and with cynical conternpi of the most ordinary rules of decency in making up the temporary roll cal
 unseated ninety fairly elected Roose- welt delegates and substituted for then- ninety Taft delegates, who in the con. Yentton represented nothing whatever but successful fraud.
 Successful Rascality.
 '1 was clearly entitled to all thes.
 ninety delegates; all the ninety ros. sessed. for instance. clearer title thar
 the Uncontested Taft delegates fror
 New Fol'k city. and as 10 seventy n
 them. their titles were as fawless 2,
 those of any other delegates in th,
 convention.
 MT. Root was elected and Governo,
 Deneen's motion for partially cleans.
 ing the roll of fraud was defeated. h,
 the vote of these ninety fraudulent dei