The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-29
BITTER INDICTMENT OF COL. ROOSEVELT. He Murdered Progressive
 ism, Says LaFollette IS NOT PROGRESSIVE Says That Roosevelt Leaders Thought Only of Victory-Any Kind of Vic
 tory and Abandoned Argument
 for Vulgar Invective
IS NOT PROGRESSIVE

Washington, June 2S-Senator LaFollette has published the following editorial in the current number of LaFollette s Weekly:
 Until Roosevelt came Into the open as a candidate for the presidency five months ago there was a strong and rapidly grow ing progressive movement within the re- publican party. It was based upon clear y defined principles. It stood forth as the representative of modern political thought on Fundamental democracy. It has assumed national proportions. It was united.
 Into this movement when it gave prom ise of national success Roosevelt pro- jected his ambition to be President third time He spent weeks carefully planning a spontaneous call for himself. He re- sponded by announcing that he would be receptive candidate
 His candidacy began to drag. He and his friends were in despair. Then came his defeat in North Dakota. He became desperate. An enormous campaign fund was raised. Headquarters were opened in New York, Washington, Chicago and states east and west Newspaper writers
 
 candidacy. Special trains were hired and the receptive candidate started in frantic pursuit of the nomination.
 Has No Equal
 Tn the history of American politics there has never been in a primary cam paign for presidential nomination an ap- preach to the extravagant expenditures made in his campaign. Men notoriously identified with the Steel trust and the Harvester trust became his most active supporters. Leading reactionaries, stand patters and political bosses of the Hanna and Quay kind became his closest polit- ical friends and representatives in many states
 "A number of the newer recruits to the republican cause, men who before 1909 with three or four exceptions had either been indifferent or opposed to the pro- gressive movement became the noisest supporters of Roosevelt the winner It mattered not to them that Roosevelt had co-operated with Aldrich on legisla- ton during the entire sessions he was President. They forgot that only when Roosevelt was out of office and in Africa that efforts of men who for years had been fighting special interests it was that the progressive cause became a national candidate. That Roosevelt was for Taft in 1910, when Taft was denouncing all progressives as pirates and traitors. That he waited until little more than a year ago balancing the chances before decid- ing whether to cast in his lot with the progressives in this presidential year., counted for nothing with the class of progressives who wanted to win-not real progressive victory just victory.
 And they did win precisely that fashion of victory. They carried overwhelmingly the great standpat states of Illinois and Pennsylvania. That stamped tho Roose- welt candidacy with it's true nature. No real progressive could have secured any thing like such a vote in either of those two states.
 Tt has, however, the outward semblance of success, the sort of success that in- toxcates, that catches the people on words. He has been heralded as real progressive in two or three states. It did not enable him to secure the nomi- nation. But it compromised the progress sive movement and defeated real achieve ment for some time.
 Upon Theodore Roosevelt and f1is fol- lowers rests the responsibility of having divided the progressives in their first na- tional contest.
 stimulated by an overmastering desire to win, they renounced loyalty to connive for victory. In convention they put for ward no issues, no platform They made no fight against the reactionary platform adopted They substituted vulgar person. alities and the coarse epithets of the prize ring for the serious consideration of great economic problems and for the time being brought ridicule and contempt upon a great cause.
 But the progressive movement does not consist of a few self constituted leaders. It consists of millions of thoughtful citi- zens drawn together by a commmon belief in certain principles. They will permit no combination of special interests and political expediency to secure control of the progressive cause which Is ultimately to redeem democracy and restore govern ment to the people,