The Princeton union., 1912-07-04
BOSSES AND DOODLE
Fearless Senator La Toilette Tells How
the Trusts Backed Roosevelt
With Unlimited Doodle.
The Real Leader of the Progressive
Cause Rejoices Over Roose. ~
velt's Defeat at Chicago.

editorial IN .Gne CurrenJ numDer OF
La Follette's Weekly.
'''Until Roosevelt came into the
open as a candidate >for the presi-
dency, five months ago. there was a
strong and rapidly growing progress
sive movement within the republican
party. 1t was based upon clearly
defined principles. It stood forth as
the representative of modern polit-
.ical " thought on fundamental
democracy. 1t had assumed national
proportions. 1t was united
In this movement, when it gave
promise Of national success, + Roose-
velt projected his ambition to be
president third time. He spent
weeks carefully planning a 'spon-
taneous call for himself. He re-
sponded by announcing that he
would be : 'receptiye' candidate.
His candidacy began to drag He
and his friends were in despair.
Then came his defeat in North Da-
kota. He became desperate.
An enormous campaign fund was
raised. Headquarters were opened
in New York, Washington, Chicago
and states east and west News
paper writer's were engaged at large
prices to boom his candidacy.
Special trains were hired and the
receptive candidate started in
frantic pursuit Of the nomination.
In the history Of American politics
there has never been in a primary
campaign for presidential nomination
an approach to the extravagant ex-
penditures made in his campaign.
Men notoriously identified with the
steel trust and the harvester trust
became his most active supporters.
Leading reactionaries, standpatters
and political bosses Of, the~2Hanna.
and Quay sort became his closest
political friends and representatives
in many states.
"A number Of the newer recruits
to the republican progressive cause,
men who, before 1909, with three or
four EXCEPTIONS had either been in
different or opposed to the progress
slve movement, became the noisiest
supporters of Roosevelt, the win
ner.' 1t mattered not to them that
Roosevelt had co-operated with
Aldrich on legislation during the
entire seven years he was president.
They forgot that it was only when
Roosevelt was out Of office and in
Africa, that through the united
efforts Of men who for years had
been fighting special interests, the
progressive cause became a national
movement. That Roosevelt was for
Taft in 1912 when Taft was denounc-
ing all progressives as pirates and
traitors, that he waited until little
more than year ago, balancing the
chances before deciding whether to
cast in his lot with the progressives
in this presidential year, counted for
nothing with the class of progress
sives who wanted to 'win'-not a
real progressive victory-just a
victory.
And they did win precisely that
KIND of a victory. They carried
overwhelmingly the great standpat
states of Illinois and Pennsylvania.
That stamped the Roosevelt candi-
dacy with its true character.
mo real progressive could have Sc
cured anything like such vote in
either of those two states. 1t had.
however, the outward seeming Of
success that intoxicates- that
catches the crowd. 1t enabled
Roosevelt to win in two or three
really progressive states. Fortunate
ly, it did not enable him to secure
the nomination which would have
compromised the progressive move
ment and defeated real achievement
for years.
upon Theodore Roosevelt and his
followers rest the responsibility of
having divided the progressives in
their tirst national contest. Stimu-
lated by an overmastering desire to
win, they denounced loyalty to con-
Viction and principle as stubborn
selfshness.
I'm the convention they put for
ward no platform-no issues. They
made no fight against the reactionary
platform adopted. They substituted
vulgar personality and coarse epi-
thets of the prize ring for the serious
consideration of the great economic
problems and for the time being
brought ridicule and contempt upon
a great cause. ..r-,
But the progressive movement