Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1912-06-07
A DICTATORSHIP
FOR COL. ROOSEVELT
With w. M. o. Dawson as the Chief
Lieutenant to Run Affairs in West
Viruinia
Especial Correspondence

'2PtIidi VII GSpClutAlCtj
Washington. June 3. Life tenure
of all the good offices within the gif
of the state and the nation by Thee
dore Roosevelt and his friends anC
the building up Of a powerful machine
to control all future nominations ant
elections, after the order OF the Dias
Government in Mexico, is apparently
the purpose Of Mr.. Roosevelt and his
followers, including those in West Vir
ginia,
Should Mr.. Roosevelt be elected
President the chances are strong that
at the end of four year term he
would declare that he had not had the
opportunity to carry out his policies
and put his program into effect and
that another term would be necessary
for him to complete the work which
he had outlined Then all the power
and influence of his oppomtees to fed.
eral Office would be brought to bear,
as was done in 1908, when President
( Roosevelt was trying to force the
nomination of William II. Taft, to con
troll the delegates to the national con-
vention. When in the White House
j Mr.. Roosevelt did not fail to use his
power to control politics and the pres
/ idential nomination through the use of
the federal patronage ara men whom
/ he had appointed to Office were driven
into line and made to bow their heads
while the steam roller was driven over
them. There is every reason to be-
lieve that should he again be entrust-
ed with power he would become even
more dictatorial than he was before
and If he desired another term would
use the entire force of his administra-
ton to bring about his own renomina-
ton. II is even possible that If he
thought it necessary he would press
the army into service to bring about
this result for it is well remembered
that at the time of the Brownsville af-
fair when the negro regiment was
dismissed from the service without q
hearing that Mr.. Roosevelt said that
he as President was the Commander
in Chief of the Army and Navy of the
United States and could and would do
as he saw fit in regard 10 them with
out regard to Congress or its laws
In. order to place Mr.. Roosevelt in
the White House and start him upon
his career, which it is believed he
would terminate only with a perma-
nent dictatorship, all Republicans who
have had grievances against their own
party and those in other parties who
have been dissatisfied or disappoint-
ed have been urged to unite. 1t has
not been simply union of those who
believe in the policies or principles
of the new leader, but has been rather
the gathering together of an aggrega-
ton of disappointed Office seekers
and aspirants for future preferment.
Whatever else may be said of the
supporters of Mr.. Roosevelt in West
Virginia it certainly cannot be said of
them that they are advocates of the
policies which he announces as his
own. William P. Hubbard, the Roose-
Williamson candidate for Senator
from West Virginia even denounced
the doctrine of the recall Of judges
and judicial opinions in the Roosevelt
state meeting at Parkersburg. OF
course a little thing like principle
makes little difference with some of
the Roosevelt following in West Vir-
ginia. No mere matter OF principle
stood in the way of the ambition of W.
NJ. o. Dawson or his greed for Office
when he conducted the famous Kan
awha county primary election of 1904
or when he and William p Hubbard
contrived to abolish the committee on
credentials at the Wheeling State Con-
vention in 1904 and permitted his CON
testing delegates to vote that they had
a right to sit in the convention.
Apparently the majority of the
Roosevelt workers in West Virginia
and those who are directing the affairs
of the Roosevelt party are following
the new leader largely in order to OBJ
tain revenge upon President Taft or
in order to obtain federal appoint
ments under Mr.. Roosevelt, which
they have not been able to obtain un-
der President Taft
Sam B. Montgomery, the original
/ Roosevelt man in West Virginia, an
nounced his support of Mr.. Roosevelt
Immediately following demotion in
/ the Census Bureau with a reduction
in salary which practically compelled
him to resign.
/ William p. Hubbard. one of the most
active of all the Roosevelt leaders in
the State has an ak to grind because
his recommendations for postmasters
when he was a member of Congress
were ignored by the President and
I persons known to be unfriendly to him
were retained in Office over his pro
( test because they had made good rec
ords for efficiency and because there
was no reason for their removal ex-
cept the personal wish of Mr.. Hub
bard.
Adjutant General Charles d. Elliott
is one of the most active Roosevelt
SuDnOrters He was turnad doUn nv,