El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-12
NOMINATION Of
TAFT WAS STOLEN
Plain Statement of RoOse-
welt in the Outlook;
Statement Of Case.

New York, n. Y. July 12.-Theo-
dore Roosevelt further discusses the
seating of contested delegations in the
Repu blican national convention at
Chicago in an editorial entitled, Thou
shalt not steal" which appears In the
current issue of the Outlook
He says IN part
The American people are entitled
to know that the charge Of stealing
in the Chicago convention Of l91Z IS
more than a campaign recrlm1naIlOn
and that the frauds complained of are
much more serious than the mere rep
etition of loose practices which might
have found unfortunate precedents
in some conventions OF both partles-
Seriously and literally, president
Taft's denomination was stolen 1or
him from the American people
Majority OF TAFT Was Fl.
Mr. Taft was renOminated by a ma
jority of barely p votes and two OF
these were publicly raped at the last
moment from Massachusetts II,
therefore, more than 10 or p of ms
votes were demonstrably fraudulenIs
all claim to an honest majority dlsaP-
pears. The demonstration can be made
as to many more than this number
without touching on single honestly
debatable case.
1T is sufficient to consider only the
four cOnfessedly indefensible cases OF
California, Arizona, Washington ana
gin. But 1 wish it distinctly under
stood that many of these other cases
were as clear as the California case
Itself
Calls 1t Assault On Rights of People.
Three OF these cases were q u4recI
assault on the right of the people 10
elect their own delegates at prlmar-
les, since in them a few score pontlcl-
ans decided that the voters as
whole had no right TO decide whom
p nvr ~fe1,a fn NJ ma
California case the delegates were
elected by direct vote at state VIDE
preferential primaries. The natlonat
committee first, and then the nauonaI
Republican convention nulltlsd the
state law and thereafter, by inference
all state primary laws.
In Arizona and Washington the
control of the state conventions de-
pended on which Of two rival oelega-
lions were seated from certain coun-
ties. the one set elected by the Repuo-
lican voters at primaries regularly
and the other arbitrarily appointed by
boiling minorities Of both committees
The state cOmittees in each case seat
ed the appcinted delegates, and the
national coumittee approved that ac-
ton.
81 votes-or s-by 10, If the two from
Massachusetts are omitted which were
counted only by the extraordinary rul-
ing of chairman Root that when
delegate answers present and not
voting" his alternate shall be called 10
vote. always provided that alternate is
a Taft man and the delegate a Roose-
welt man.
Thirty Votes Involved.
THE cases here discussed cover In
their narowest application so votes
California two, Arizona six, Washing
ton Il, and Texas at large eight The
change of these so votes would have
defeated Taft; they would have re-
versed all the important actions of the
convention. Several of the district
cases from Texas are involved in the
same ruling as that which was made
in the case of the delegates at large
and are quite as fragrant
NO free people can afford to sub
nit 10 government by theft If the
will of the people is defeated by
fraud, then the people do not rule. II
those who are thus foisted on them
represent the special interests instead
of the people, then the interests and
not the people rule.
IF the American people are really
fit for self government they will in
stantly take up the challenge which
a lot of politicians have so insolent-
" thrown down"