Daily Kennebec journal., 1912-05-24

ed Boss Barnes, " said Col, Roosevelt
| I'm another part of his speech. is read
| ing me odt OF the party. II he puts out
everybody Who is opposed 10 the ratc
of the bosses he Will have To put out n
majority of the Republicans IN good
many states
Theodore Roosevelt delivered here.
this afternoon. the first speech ia his
campaign for the national delegates
frem New Jersey. He said in part
IN its essence this is very sim
pie fieht and yet | think il is fight
of mere fsr-reaching Importance to
the people OF our country than any
that has taken place since the days
OF Lincoln. for il is a fight TO restore
aud strengthen the simple, healthy
iaealism which characterized the men
who. a century and quarter ago,
made this union and the men who.
half century age. restored and per-
petaated it,
We have against us in this fight
practically every representative and
beneficiary of the old systems of priv
ilege both in politics and in business.
The imrleuse majority of the bosses
are against us. The immense major
it's OF the hig business concerns
which profit by unfair and improper
conditions in the business world are
against US Above all, we have
against Us practically every represen-
tatsve of the alliance between crook
ed business and crooked politics which
has been the most fertile source of
corruption in American life We also
have against Us all that portion of
the press including the majority OF
the great New York dailies which.
whether from conviction or for less
proper reasons. represent Wall street
For instance. it is a curious fact and
illustrates how entirely indifferent tn
any policies except those of the till
the newspapers of this type, are, that
the same papers. including the great
majority OF the big metropolitan
daiIies. which as Democrats. cham
nioned Judge Parker for the Presi-
deney against me in 1904 in the cleo
tion. are now ehampioning Mr.. Taft
against me for the nomination within
the Republican party
Bat we also have against US many
sincere and we'll meaning men who are
misled because the channels Of infor-
nation are choked or who are fright
ened because they do not entirely un-
derstand our position. These men have
no cause for fear and they should be
with us. We are revolutionary only in
the sense that Washington and Lin
coin and their colleagues We're revo-
lationary. We preach hatred of no class
except the class of crooks and even in
that case, we hate the ereokedness and
do not wish to hurt the crooks unless
it is absolutely necessary in order to
stop the erookedness. We preach dis
content only with injustice and wrong
doing.
I'VE wish the people to rule. That
means that we wish direct primaries for
nominations. We are against the con-
vention system because in actual prac-
tice at this very moment the men who
manage the conventions have shown that
they use them, not to represent but ii
the voters behind them. In
the same way, we wish to see senators
elected by popular vote. SO as regards
industrial justice In the tariff, for m
stance, ] believe in a protective tariff,
but / wish to see the benefit get into
the pay envelope of the working man as
we'll as appear among the dividends. For
this reason | advocate the creation of
4 national bureau whose business it shall
be to investigate protected industries
and see that the protection does really
benefit the working man. So we believe
in workmen's compensation laws, in laws
to secure better conditions in tenement
houses, laws to prevent women from
working over hours or children working
at all. Therefore, we believe in estah-
fishing over all big industrial enterprises
engaged in interstate commerce a super
vision similar to that which now obtains
over all big business concerns engaged
in interstate transportation aud over ma
tional banks"