The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-06-18

| with the fortunes of any particular
man only as means for secur-
| these facts and refrain in this crisis
from playing into the hands of our
| enemies.
He Flags the President.
| MIR. Taft at first denied that he
represented the bosses. His denial
was of little consequence for his deeds
| belied his words. But / doubt If at
| present he would venture to repeat the
| denial. AS it has become constantly
| more and more evident that the peo-
pie are against him he has more and
| more undisguisedly thrown himself
| into the arms of the bosses. Here in
| Chicago at this moment he has never
| had one chance of success save what
| was given him by the actions of
| Messrs. Crane, Barnes, BROKER, Pen
rose, Murphy, Guggenheim, Mulvane,
| Smoot, New and their associates in
! cheating the people out of their rights.
| He was beaten so overwhelmingly by
the people themselves in the states
where primaries were held that in the
| last state in which he spoke, in New
| Jersey, he permitted himself to be
! betrayed into the frank admission that
! he expected to be nominated because
he believed the national committee
would stand by him. One member of
his own cabinet, represen ting a state
that has just repudiated him, has been
working hand in glove with the other
Taft members of the national commit
tee. under the lead of Mr.. Penrose, of
Pennsylvania. Mr.. Crane of Massachu-
sets, Mr.. Mu1vane of Kansas, Mr..
Murphy of New Jersey and Mr.. Scott
of West Virginia, all of whom have
just been repudiated by their own
states. to steal from the people the
victory which the people have won.
Last February it was evident that Mr..
Taft was the accepted representative
of the bosses of the men who upheld
the combination of crooked politics
and crooked business which has been
the chief source not only of our po-
litical but of our social and industrial
upton. 1t has now, alas, become
evident that Mr.. Taft is willing to
acquieSee in and to -condone and to
accept the fruits of any course of ac-
ton on which these men embark, even
though such action represent treason,
as well as destruction, to the Republic
can party, to which they nominally be-
long, and also treason to the cause of
the American people as a whole.
Among the national committeeman
who have taken part in this con-
spiracy there are number of men
who in the ordinary relations of life
are doubtless decent and reputa BILE.
Probably these men excuse themselves
to themselves for what they are now
doing on the ground that they are not
committing what the law recognizes
a crime. It may well be doubted
not suffer more from the misdeeds of
men who recognize as binding on their
consciences only the obligations of law
honesty than it suffers from the mis-
deeds of actual criminals.
Men like Messrs. Crane of Massa-
chusetts, BROKER of Connecticut and
Nagel of Missouri who trail behind
their holder associates such as Messrs.
Penrose. Murphy and Mulvane, are
doubtless genuinely shocked at the
misconduct of a defaulting bank
cashier or at the action of some small
election official who on election day
falsifies the returns.
Great Wrong Done America.
yet the wrong to the American
people. the damage to the country,
by such action as these national COM
mitteemen have taken in deliberately
seeking to nu1lify and overthrow the
will of the people 1egitimately ex-
pressed as to their choice for presi-
dent is infinitely greater than the
wrong done by the tempted cashier
or the bribed election official 1t
has, to me, been both sad and a
strange thing to see men hitherto es-
teemed reputable take part in such
action, and to see it sustained by
similar men outside. I suppose the
explanation must be found in the fact
that in the slow but general moral
advance certain men lag a little be-
hind the rate of progress of the COM
munity as a whole; and where their
own real or fancied interests are con-
cerned such men fail to recognize
and wrong until long after they have
been recognized by the majority of
their fellows. There was a period
when piracy and wrecking were es-
teemed honorable occupations and
long after the community as a whole
had grown to reprehend them there
were still backward persons who
failed to regard them improper.
In the same way, as late as thirty
years ago, there were many men in
public life who. while they would re-
fuse to receive a bride, did not think
it Objectionable to give a bride; al
though now the sentiment in the
community has grown so strong that
it is no longer possible to excuse the
bride giyer any more than the bride
taker. In the same way there are
still in certain parts of this country
representatives. of a class far from
uncommon quarter of a century ago,
a class which regards an election as
a game without rules, in which it is
merely a sign of cleverness to swim
ity of the men whose actions we COM
plain of on the national committee
still occupy this attitude toward
nominations although some may even
have passed beyond as regards cleo
ton. But on the committeeman as
sociated with the men who assume to
be respectable there are certain rep
resentatives of Mr.. Taft whose pres
ence gives us cause to wonder
ences behind the action of the COM
mittee than any at which l nave
guessed. Mr.. Stevenson of Colorado
has appeared on the committee now
holding the proxy of one of Mr. Taft's
delegates now that of another. Judge