The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-08-02

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it also exhibits afresh Roosevelt s intol~
erable arrogance. This quality of his,
joined with the unreliability Of his
character and the lack of trust that is
to be put is his words, promises, ana
declarations. make him an outlaw in
American politics. And yet, it is later
said that Roosevelt agrees to Finn s
scheme.
Roosevelt contends that he knows
nothing about any steam roller processes
adopted In the National Republican
Convention in Chicago in 1908. "when
Mr.. Taft WAS fairly nominated - And
yet the very term ''steam roller dated
from that convention, and it was APP
piled to the processes of the Republi,
can National Committee the nfor the
first time, and precisely as it has been
applied this year. A competent author
ity, writing at that time Of the events
Of the year, speaks of the uniform ac
tion of the committee in deciding the
216 contests with practical unanimity
in Taft favor in these terms: "The
machlne-like regularity with which the
contests were settled won for the COM
mittee, and especially for its chairman,
Frank H. Hitchcock, the sobriquet of
the steam roller. That was written
directly after the convention had been
held, and, Of course, could have no pos.
sible reference to the events Of this
year; but it Enthusiastically fixes the
term "steam roller" as applied to the
National Committee methods and de-
cisions, upon the processes then and
there adopted, which Col. Roosevelt
now declares to have been entirely fair.
Writing in The Independent, "Side-
lights on the Contests Mr.. Victor
Rosewater, who was a member of the
committee and heard its deliberations
in 1908. and this year was chairman of
that committee. says that the contests
were practically identical this wear
with the contests Of four years ago.
when, as he says:
The fact soon developed that OF the PIG
contests presented TO the National Com
rnittee, the vast majority of them-I
should say nine-tenths OF them-were alb
solutely fictitious and trumped UP by In
splration OF trouble breeders That the
Same was true TO almost as great an ex-
tent this year. when the number OF con-
tests totaled 262, likewise quickly berame
apparent. AS case after case was either
withdrawn or fell OF its own weight under
the unanimous vote OF the committee the
Roosevelt men and the Taft supporters
joining in condemnation II was Inevits-
BILE that suspicion should attach to all
OF the cases champloned by the same con-
test attorneys who had practically con-
fessed to the preparation of these fakes
1t may be said. without fear Of contra
diction, that most OF the contests in the
Southern States followed the appearance
OF r mysterious stranger who had by
some occult power or covert influence set
in motion unsuccessful place hunters and
other discordant elements for some rea-
son dissatisfied with what the regular or
ganizatlons and their conventions had
done.
Any one who has clear recollection
Of the two conventions must be aware
of the practical identity Of conditions
the present year with those of four
years ago. That Roosevelt knew of
those conditions at that time does not
admit Of the least doubt. He was en-
tlrely satisfied with them then, be.
cause they carried out his own pur.
poses. He was viciously dissatisfied
with identical processes this year be.
cause they resulted in his defeat. Tha.
is the only possible difference between
the action of the National Committee
this year and its like action four years
ago.
Comparing the presence OF Roosevelt
at the National Republican Convention
this year with the presence of BRYAN at
the National Democratic Convention in
Baltimore last month, the Springfield.
(Mass.) Union makes the following con.
else summing up: