The Washington times., 1912-06-09
PARTY DISRUPTED
=. BY STEAM ROLLER,
SAYS ROOSEVELT
Discredited Bosses Warned
That Accounting Must
Be Given.

welt this morning said he had nothing
to add to his statement of last night
except to make the protest against the
action of the National Committee nt
Chicago stronger. He insisted that un-
less fair play was shown there would
pe such an exodus as to leave the party
In shreds.
The colonel served notice upon his
opponents that in his opinion, the
party as whole, would repudiate d
nomination in defiance Of Justice
He declared that every man who
wishes to see the party continue to
exist should protest at once against
those who are deliberately trying to
wreck it."
Colonel Roosevelt's statement is as
follows:
"In view of the action taken by the
national committee yesterday In un-
seating the two duly elected delegates
placing them by men who have no more
titlc to sit in the Republican conven-
tion than they have to sit in the DEM
ocratic convention, / would like to make
every good citizen who regards the Re-
q, can party as an instrument for
good government which 1t Is wicked
lightly to destroy.
Warning to Party.
Now, I wish to call the attention not
only to all good Republicans. but of all
good citizens, to just what this type of
action means. AS yet there is no law
to govern national nominating conven-
tions as there is to govern national cleo
tions. although in certain States the
nomination of candidates Is carried on
under the law Of those States precisely
q a
Because of this lack OF Federal law
ats, which, u done to influence cleo
tions. would be criminal. can be perpe-
trated with impunsty so far as nGtional
nomnat lions are concerned. But this IL
u difference in legality. and not In
morality. Again and again we have sent
to the penttentiHry election officials for
dsCds morally not one whit worse than
what was done by the meTbers OF the
rational committee who unseated the
two properly elected delegates In this
Ninth district of Alabama, ard subStt-
tnted for them men who have no moro
right to vote in the national convention
than repeater has to vote at an
election.
No Legal Right There.
The majority Of the committeeman
thus voted to seat In the Republican
convention men who have no shadow Of
right 70 represent any portion OF the
Republican party anywhere. and who
have no more tight to sit in that con-
venion than ay other two outsiders.
Nine of these committeeman came from
the Republican states Of Illinois, kon-
sas, Missouri. New Jersey, North Da.
kota, Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania. and
West r,irglnia-
Everyone of these nine national
committeeman has been repudiated py
his home voters. Not one Of them VIII
| mittee. Each of them represents
state which at the recent primaries has
declared Overwhelmingly against Mr..
Taft. The nine States, in the aggrC-
gate, have 3O2 delegates in the conven--
ton. OF which 25S are for Roosevelt and
only 81 for Taft. The nine committee
| men are for Mr.. Taft. the delegates
1T is in view Of these facts and OF
what these facts foreshadow that I
wish to make my appeal to the sober
| Judgment of all men who believe that
| the usefulness of the Republican party
| has not ended. Every man who wishes
| to see the Republican party continue to
exist should at once protest against
| wreck It. The leaders speak as II they
were the regular Republicans. l don't
| concede that theft is test of rcgu-
| larity.
All Have Been Repudiated.
1.-The Republican party is not in COM
]
| ceivers the nine repudiated committee
| men l have mentioned nor their other
colleagues who have in similar fashion
been rcpudiated by the popular vote of
the Republicans of their States.
| Nor is the question now at issue one
as to the personal preference of any
Republican for any particular man for
President or for the doctrines which that
man embodies. The question Is now
| merely whether the deliberately eX-
| pressed Judgment of the great majority
| of the rank and file of the Republican
| party is to be no less deliberately nulli-
| fed by the very men whose leadership
| has just been repudiated by this same
majority.
"A nomination obtained by the votes
| of delegates seated in utter defiance of
| Justice as two Alabama delegates have
Just been seated, would be worthless 10
the man obtaining 1t, and would be in
dignantly repudiated by the party as a
whole. Apparently certain national
committeeman and certain of the bosses
| who from outside influence the national
committee have yet to learn that the
rank and file of the Republican party
must be treated as the masters and not
the servants of their representatives,
The Republican party cannot continue tC
exist unless its official action is de-
termined b. the expression OF the sober
and deliberate judgment of the majority
Of the DartV.p