The Progressive West Virginian. [volume] (Williamson, W. Va.) 1911-1913, 1912-07-18
BEST REMEDY
IS TO GO IT ALONE
Roosevelt in Thou Shalt Not Steal
Editorial Defends Bolt.
Useless to Counsel Patience He Pos,
itiyely Declares.

Theodore Roosevelt further dis
cusses the seating of contested dele
cations in the Republican national
convention at Chicago in an editorial
entitled Thou Shalt Not Steal, =
which appears in the current issue
| of the Ouelook.
He says in part:
| The American people are enti-
tied to know that the charge of
stealing the Chicago convention of
1912 is more than campaign recrimi-
nation. and that the frauds complains
ed of are much more serious than
the mere repetition Of loose prac-
tices which might have found unfor-
tunate presidents in some previous
conventions of both parties.
President Taft was renominated
by majority of barely twenty-one
votes. If, therefore, more than TWEEN
ty-one of his votes were demonstrate
ed fraudulent all claim to an honest
majority disappears
| THE cases here discussed cover,
| in their narrowest application, thirty
votes California 2, Arizona 6, Wash
ington IA and Texas at large s. The
change of these thirty votes would
have defeaeed Taft; they would have
reversed all the important actions of
! the convention Several of the dis
ltrict cases from Texas are involved
lin the same ruling as that which
was made in the case of the dele
gates-at-large and are quite as fla
grant.
mo free people can afford to sub
NIT to government by theft. II the
will of the people is defeated by
fraud then the people do not rule.
If those who are thus foisted on
them represent the special interests
instead of the people, then the in
terests and not the people rule.
When the people are denied their
only thoroughly efficient weapon, the
direct primary, against this usurpa-
| ton, as was done by the ruling in
1.-THE California case, then under the
system thus established the people
cannot rule. The only remedy is to
break from the system. It Is USE
less to counselApatience until the next
convention.
'"The same arbitrary powers have
L been conferred on the national COM
mittee that were exercised this time,
and that committee, which Is to act
| in 1916, is already elected. 1t is COM
posed of men the majority of whom,
under the lead of one of their num-
Der, Mr.. Barnes, have already shown
by their votes in the convention that
they are prepared to repeat in 1916
the usurpation of 1912. Every state
| in the union might pass presidential
primary laws, and all these states
might vote for the same candidate.
but If that candidate were not salts
factory to the national committee
now in Office it could and would re-
verse the action of the people. The
organization has frankly abandoned
the pretense of making the will OF
the people effective.
.tIf the American people are really
fit for self-government they will in
stantly take up the challenge which
knot OF political conspirators have
SO insolent1y thrown down. Nonre-
sistance to such treason against pop
ular government would be almost as
reprehensible as active participation
therein. Both great moral issue
and fundamental principle OF self
government are involved in the ac-
|tion Of the so-called Republican con-
vention at Chicago; and we cannot
submit to that action without being
false both to the basic principles Of
American democracy and to that
spirit of righteousness and honesty
which must underlie every form of
successful government"