Evening journal., 1912-07-29
ROOSEVELT
COMES BACK
WITH DEFENSE
ReiterateS in Public Statement
That Taft Re-NOminatiOn
Was Stolen"
NOT A CASE FOR HONEST
DISCUSSION" HE SAYS
By The United Press.

2
OYSTER BAY, n. Y, July 29-Col-
tonel Roosevelt to-day took direct issue
with the statement issued from the
White House last night, justifying the
action OF the Republican National
Committee and the Convention creden-
tials committee in connection with the
lcontests decided at the recent national
convention. Roosevelt declared that
lSenator Root had said that there was
INERT in the Texas contests and that
lhe (RooD would have voted TO seat
THE Roosevelt contestants there. He
lalso referred to the fact that Nicholas
Murray Butler said the Roosevelt
delegates in Washington should have
been seated and that many Taft men
admitted the seating Of the Taft dele
igates from the fourth California was
a steal" From all OF this. he argued,
the Taft defence was in contradiction
iof the facts.
, The Roosevelt statement follows:
Il saw in the papers that Mr.. Root
said he would have voted for the
Texas cases. DR.. Butler IS declared
ito have said he would have voted for
THE Washington cases. Several are
reported TO have said they would
have voted for the California cases.
If these cases alone had been re-
lseryed-eyen if the Texas cases alone
had been reversed-Mr Taft could not
have been nominated.
If honestly organized, the conven-
tion would have been against Mr..
Taft by over 100 majority Moreover,
aside from the stolen ninety delegates
(which gave the fraudulent majority
lMr Taft's vote was made up three
fourths by the delegates from those
southern states, where there is no real
Republican party. and which have
never cast Republican electoral
vote. and from the hand-picked dele
gates of Messrs. Barnes, Penrose, Gug-
genheim and Company from the nortn.
Il wish to state with all emphasis
that there is no room for honest
doubt as TO what happened at the
Chicago convention II is not a
case for honest discussion. The fraud
was as barefaced and shameless as
any fraud ever committed at cleo
tions by the Tweed machine in those
DAYS when there was no pretense al
holding a fair election in New York
city
In private conversation. the real
leaders of the Taft forces merely dc
not deny this. but glory in it, and
sometimes they incautiously express
the same sentiments in pubic. Mr.
Tafts Cleveland Leader. Mr.. Dough
erty. was reported in the papers the
other days as exulting in the success
of the steam roller methods Mr.
Hilles was reported the other day al
expressing enthusiastic gratitude or
behalf Of Mr. Taft to Mr.. Barnes fol
the way he held the bridge at Chi
cago. Il is nonsense to suppose thai
Mr. Hiiles and Mr.. Taft do not know
just exactly how that particular
bridge was held. It is no mere coin.
cidence that at least nine-tenths o.
the senatorial leaders in the theft o.
the Chicago convention were alsC
leaders in the fight to retain Mr.. Lor
inner in his seat in the Senate, Messrs
Penrose, Guggenheim. Gallinger an,
Crane. for instance.
The fraudulent nomination of Mr.
Taft can be defended only upoI
grounds which would also justify Mr.
Lorimer's election to and his reten
tion in the Senate"