Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-05-03

| attorney general, in the bill which, b.
direction Of Mr.. Roosevelt, he filet
against the Standard Oil company hat
asked that 1t be drawn.
With characteristic boldness ant
lack Of facts or evidence, and restin,
on his false and distorted construction
Of my language as to government by {
representative part Of the people, Mr.
Roosevelt charged that I stand for th'
ico-called interests and special privi'
Ileges. If nothing else would serve, tht
record Of my administration, as to suit.
against railways to stop increase o.
rates, and suits against trusts Of al
kinds to dissolve them and to punish
Itheir directors, must show a fair.
minded public that this administration
has no favorites among lawbreakers, ol
those seeking special privileges.
Zone Of the real reasons why Mr.
Roosevelt ought not to be selected as 9
candidate of any party is the natural
distrust that the whole business COM
munity will have in respect to the
measures which Mr.. Roosevelt will pro-
pose in order to effect a revolution In
the interest of social justice which he
advocates 80 strongly and defines SC
vaguely.
1T is true that, under the inspiration
of the filing Of the bill against the steel
trust he took such strong ground
against the antitrust law that for a
time some Of the big business commu-
nifty approved him; but he went to Co
lumbus, while he used these same ex-
pressions In order to hold this element
to his support, he at the same time and
in the same address advanced such rad
ical views as to change Of the funda-
mental principles Of our government
that the general business community
lost sight Of his promise to avoid injury
to big business, and could only con-
template the danger to the security of
all business by this threatened under
mining of our constitutional govern
ment, and his attack upon the inde-
pendence Of the judiciary.
II affirm that the nomination Of Mr..
Roosevelt would extend through the
business community a feeling Of such
distrust as to the future as to interfere
with the good times which II business
Is let alone and present conditions con-
tinue, will expand into the most en-
couraging prosperity; and this will
bring happiness to wage-earners
who are more injuriously affected by
disturbance of business than any other
members of the community.
"Mr. Roosevelt ought not to be nomi-
mated at Chicago, because in such NOM
ination the Republican party will vio-
late our most useful and necessary gov
ernment tradition-that no one shall be
permitted to hold a third presidential
term"
Mr.. Taft quoted from Mr. Roosevelt's
statement In November, 1904, the fol-
lowing:
/ 1.-THE wise custom which limits the
president to two terms regards the
dIlu lilC lOiihb oiiu ohoSi
no circumstances will / be a candidate
for or accept another nomination"
He now says. although his Ian
guage does not bear such construc-
ton, that ne meant he would not ac'
cept a nomination for a consecutive
third term" said the president. HE
says so in face of the fact that the
most noteworthy precedent In which
the tradition was asserted and main
tanned was that Of 1880, when Gener-
al Grant was denied third term four
years after he had left the preslden-
tial office. It Is not for me to enter
into discussion Of the plain meaning
Of the language he used. If he had
frankly announced that he had chang
ed his mind no one would be disposed
to hold him to a promise Of that sort
merely because he had made 1t. The
promise and his treatment Of 1t only
throw an informing light on the value
that ought now to be attached to any
promise Of this kind he may make
for the future. The important fact
Is that his declaration was the state
ment Of a principle essential to the
welfare of the republic"