The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-04-18
THE PEOPLES VOICE.

II is one Of the poculiarities Of the
Roosevelt campaign that when he wins
a victory, that victory is the people Is
voice and is precisely what il ought
to be. Whenever he loses, the victory
is not of the people, but of the bosses,
of the "iutercsts, and Of scoundrel-
ism generally. His blatant self.con.
ceit and inordinate greed disqualify
him from considering any questions OF
this kind dispassionately OF upon their
merits. The measure with him is al
ways his own advantage; wbatever
tends to that is good and whatever
works against it is evil
And yet the evidence is clear that
there is no greater participation by the
people IN the primaries which yield
Roosevelt delegates than in those which
yield Taft delegates. In Illinois, for
instance, the Republican vote at the
last Presidential election. amounted to
$4,000. OF these, 100000 sufficed to
give Roosevelt a tremendous victory
over President Taft in Illinois. That
is to say, a little more than one-third
of the total Republican vote cast for
Roosevelt gives him "A majority of up.
wards of 100000. Results like this
can hardly he considered conclusive in
favor of primaries, or in favor of the
proposition that the people are better
represented in primaries than in eau
cuses and conventions. We doubt very
much whether any political contest
which has been decided by caucuses
and conventions where the interest was
as keen everywhere as it is this year.
was ever participated in by so small
number of the party voters with such
tremendous results for the successful
candidate, When but little more than
one-third of the total party vote will
give majority like that to any can
dldate, there is good ground for chal-
longing the proposition that the people |
speak through primaries more directly |
than through caucuses and conventions
On the general proposition that the
Presidential primaries are the correct |
thing, and that whenever they are for
Roosevelt they are good and whenever |
they arc against him they arc bad, the |
New York Sun, under the title ''Thus
Spake Iarathustra. - has the following
biting bit of irony:
am for presidential preference pri-
maries In every State where I know |
can't get them. Presidential preference
primaries that show a preference for
anybody else than me arc the tyranny
OF an INSCRIPTIONS minority over an
honest majority There is but one alb
solutely trustworthy and wholly moor
ruptible presidential preference pri-
mary; II is In my mind and my count. It
to oppose a presidential preference prl-
mary that does not produce A plurality
for me as 10 support any district or
other convention that produces dele
gates for me.
And We are to have this sort Of
thing indefinitely prolonged, according
to the Colonels most recent talk. 81
think we are going to win the fight
this year, but if we don t we are In
for three years of the war; said he
at Creston, Iowa, on Tuesday It's a
dismal outlook, Clearly. il is Roose-
vclt's idea TO intreDch himself in his
relation to the Republican party in the
same position that Bryan has so long
occupied toward the Democratic party,
and then we are to have a party die
tator and agitator in each of the Two
great parties, and the people Will have
no rest from their aggressive clamor
ID