The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-05-10
But One Progressive Who Can
Win Against Taft.
And That One Is Col. Roosevelt
of oyster Bay.
SAYS so HIMSELF IN LETTER
to His Campaign
Manager in Minnesota.
Declares All the Big Bosses
Are Against Him.

New York, May 10.-The Roosevelt
committee today gave out the following
copy of a letter from Col Theodore
Roosevelt to r. A. Caswell of Mime
apolis:
New York, May 10, 1912
Hon. r. A. Caswe1l, Chairman Roose-
welt Committee and Clerk of the Su-
preme Court, Minneapolis, MINI.
II wish it had been possible for me TO
go again to Minnesota. Unfortunately
it is physically impossible.
Mine states have now held presi-
Dental primaries, or their equivalent
North Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Oregon. New
Hampshire Massachusetts and Mary
land. These states, the only ones In
which there has been free chance for
the expression of the popular will, are
to be represented by 256 Cllegates in
the Chicago convention.
Forty of these delegates are in
structed for President Taft and PIG are
against him. He has carried but two
of the nine states-New Hampshire and
misunderstanding in Massachusetts
the Roosevelt elegates-at-large were
elected by over twice the majority
which Mr.. Taft obtained on prefer
entail vote.
'In all the nine states. together about
three out of every four Republicans
who voted at the primaries were
against Mr.. Taft. If primaries could be
held in all the states there would un-
doubtedly be no substantial variation
from these figures and Mr.. Taft could
by no possibility have 200 votes in the
Chicago convention.
Taft's Chances.
Mr.. Taft's chance of denomination
lies solely in securing at Chicago dele
gates who will misrepresent the will
of the people. He can get these dele
gates, not in the primary states but
convention uv6 IoIa
gates are chosen under the old system
and even in these states he can only
get them where the state is ruled by a
boss.
After a prolonged experience of
me as president practically all of the
big bosses in the Republican party
dislike me so heartily that they op-
posed Mr.. Taft's nomination because
/! Favored 1t. They were afraid that
Mr.. Taft would give them the same
kind of trouble that mad given them.
After three years and a half ex-
perience of Mr.. Taft since he has
peen elected, these same men have
turned around and heartily favor his
reelection. They were opposed to
me four years ago and they are op-
posed to me now. They were opposed
to to Mr: TAFT four years ago when they
had not tried him as president, and
they heartily support him now.
These men include for instance,
Mr.. Gallinger, in New Hampshire, Mr..
Aldrich in Rhode Island. Mr.. Penrose
in Pennsylvania, Mr.. Healing in In
diana, Mr.. Lorimer, in Illinois,
Messrs. Guggenheim and Evans in
Colorado; Mr.. Calhoun and the
Southern Pacific railway crowd In
California and the Amalgamated COP
per crowd in Montana; and in your
own state they include Mr.. Smith and
Mr.. Tawney. The fight is a nation
wide fight of the plain people against
the bosses.
He Is the Only Man.
There is just one candidate whom
it is possible to nominate against the
bosses, and that is myself. Every
vote for every other candidate from
now on is in reality a vote for Mr..
Taft.
1.-THE fight is against the bosses in
Minnesota, as it is everywhere else.
A vote for Mr.. Taft is a vote for the
bosses; it is a vote for Lorimer, for
Penrose. for Guggenheim, for Gal
lfnger, and for all the rest of them;
and it is vote for these men wheth-
er it is cast in Minnesota or in Massa-
chusetts or in Ohio or New Jersey or
California.
1 became convinced that no other pro-
gressive candidate could by any pos
sibility be nominated against Mr. Taft
The contest has gone so far as to make
it now evident that 1 certainly can be
nominated against Mr.. Taft and that
either 1 shall be nominated or else a
reactionary will be nominated.
1T is also evident that not only
every progressive Republican but ev-
cry man who believes in decency and
honesty in politics who is against boss
rule and for the genuine rule of the
people and is for the elimination of
special privileges and for efficient en-
deavor to secure special and industrial
justice can. achieve his purposes only
by supporting my candidacy
My personal interest is of no con-
Germ one way or the other but II hap
pens that at this time typify and em-
body the great cause which can only
be furthered by supporting me. AL
most everywhere where 1 have been
able to appear personally in this cam
paign and fight the bosses we have
beaten them and I ask that Minnesota
stand beside Oregon and Illinois and
Pennsylvania and Nebraska and Maine
and Kansas and Maryland in this fight
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"