The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-06-24
| CRIME AGAINST LIBERTY

A CkIME AVyA1NSl klDENl
 Every voter in the United States regardless of the party label he pre- sers. has a vital interest that there shall not again be such usurpatlon of power as has been practlced by he Republican national committee, in Chicago.
 By the agency of this committee the will of some 100000 Republican .yeteusvaatwe Q ,tevonag aaajoFityy of the Rsbhbntahs tf6dng r' in 1T the recent pEpesa sGe9ii9 Iisis rthrown The theory of rtnis government is i. the rule of the majority. The the .orv of party government is rule by majority.
 Majority has reference to voters. and not to conventions and commit tees.
 There may be occasions where the itfftude of the majority of voters is unknown. But at Chicago no such situation existed.
 The great Republican states gave clearly conclusive credentials to dele gates in numbers sufficient to consti- ute a majority of the national con vention.
 Enough of these delegates were un- seated by the national committee to rive the Taft forces a majority of the convention.
 The committee was controlled by a number. of Republican politicians, many of whom had just been repu- diated by the Republican voters of their states, and all of whom were discredited by the rank and file of their party.
 The foundation of legal strength upon which this committee relied to carry out it's will represented, even in theory, no considerable number of Republicans The legal portion of : the Taft convention was derived from the Southern states and from the territories in which no considerable Republican party exists. These delegates represented not the suffrages of Republicans. but the desire of office holders to be perpet- uated in power.
 Not before in the history of this country has there been such a fla grant repudiation of the principles of popular government.
 Never before have asnfere handful of discredited bosses, politicians lob byists and henchmen of power con spired to. ignore the legally delivered mandate of millions of party voters substituting therefor by fraud of the grosseet their own desire to perpet- E uate themselves and. their masters in control of the resources. of the nation.
 If such a, thing may happen once without exciting the people to resent ment: it may happen twice and thrice
 This year a Republican national committee assumes arbitrary oligar- chicaI command of party destinies.
 If the rebuke of the nation is not immediate, and conclusive, the prece- dent may be followed in some other yeap FSlysaa HDeH6&caldAtiHtT Thaaatfo national com -.t+~x a>Eovicyf ,~sss.Tets.sY mlttee.-f. .-f..-.1~s.-~ ,Sasssxs ~ss+
 There is little fear that the people will withhold from punishment, or delay 1t.
 The proceedings of the Republican national committee constitute a CRQIE AGAINST LIBERTY, such 6 { prime as in earlier and rougher days would have led to bloodshed and the block.
 But; fortunately for us ali the da, : of universal suffrage is here The ballot is a more effective weapon t. do the will of freemen than rifles o1 axes of executioners ever were.
 The crime of Chicago will be pun. ished at the ballot box.
 The punishment will be the strip ping of the guilty individuals of theil r political power, and their abandon ment to the contempt which all hon est Americans will entertain for them