The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-03-07

beneficient and truly progressive 20
licies for which Roosevelt is RESPONSE
pie, n conservation policy stands, in
my Judgment. at the head.
Columbus Speech.
"A mar who has stood for the peo.
pie as Roosevelt has, and has proved
his worth by his works. as Roosevelt
has, is a genuine progressive in the
eyes of he American people, and can
be nothing else. But II you prefer
to judge Roosevelt by what he q v
rather than by what he has done, take
the Columbus speech, his own state
ment Of his own position, and listen
n he read the following extract from
Colonel Roosevelt's address:
4 believe in pure democracy. With
Lincoln, / hold that this country with
It's institutions, belongs to the people
VINO inhabit it. Whenever they grow
weary OF n existing government, they
can exercise their constitutional rights
or amending 1t. We progressives be-
IeYe that the people have the right.
the power, and the duty to protect
themselves and their own welfare:
that human rights are supreme over
all other rights: that wealth should
be the servant, not the master, of the
people. We believe that unless repre-
sentative government does absolutely
represent the people it is not repre-
sentative government at all. We test
the worth of all men and all
by asking how they contribute to the
welfare of the men, women and chill
dren of whom this nation is composed.
We are engaged in one of the greatest
battles Of the 6 long contest waged
against privilege on behalf Of the com :
mon welfare. We hold 1t a prime duty
of the people to free our government
from the control of money in politics.
For this purpose we advocate, not as
in ends themselves put as in
the hands of the people, all govern
mental devices which will make all
the representatives Of the people more
easily and certainly responsible to the
| peoples will
IF this is not true progressiveism
don't know what the word means" de-
clared the former chief. forester, re-
Stunning his speech.
The Third Term.
Much has been made of the third
term cry. The answer is simple and
strong and clear. Colonel Roosevelt
did not want to be considered. He
asked his friends, myself among them,
to discourage all talk of his becom-
ing a candidate, and he did so vigor-
ously and repeatedly. He said there
was nothing he could gain from an
other term in the presidential chair
and UnryH VYn11Ph 10 lnSo I a ovroo1 u,;4I
him fully, and repeatedly talked it
over with him. He yielded only in the
face of tremendous pressure from all
over the United States, and when it
had become his clear duty not to
refuse the task his fellow citizens were
urging him to undertake. Instead of
breaking the traditions long establish
ed among us, which deals wholly with
"a third consecutive term, he took the
exact position taken by Washington
when he said:
/ can see no propriety in precluding
ourselves from the sources of any man
who in some great emergency shall be
deemed universally most capable of
serving the public .
The people themselves are respon-
s1ble for the position in which Roose-
Welt finds himself today. If any one
is trying to remain in the presidency
in defiance Of the will of the people,
it surely is not Roosevelt.
What is there for Roosevelt to gain,
in honor, place or power, that the
American people. have not already
given him? Nothing whatever. There
is nothing in it for him but the burden
Of a great fight, a burden which the
people are asking him to carry once
more for their sake.
Taft and Reciprocity.
"The principle of reciprocity is fair
and right. But to approve the prin-
ciple of just and equal reciprocity is
very different from approving an I'M
just n unequal application Of that
principle. Reciprocity as a princi-
pie is right. The reciprocity bill, to
speak plainly, was an. a~bomination.
The farmers are the only people Of
whom it has not been said that they
had too much protection. The reci-
procity bill proposed to take away
most of what little protection they
had. Under 1t the prices of what the
farmer had to buy were raised by pro-
lection, but the prices OF what he had
to sell were reduced by taking the
tariff off. Under it the farmer would
buy in a dear market and sell in a
cheap one. There is neither Justice
nor common sense in that. Further
more the reciprocity bill was a poIiti-
cal measure of a very dangerous kind.
If YOU will remember who was hit by
1t n who was not, you will see that
the farming regions from which Taft
could expect few delegates were those
whose products were deprived of pro-
lection, while the east and the south.
which his delegates were ex-
pected to come, were affected little
or mo- at all.
Question or Tngratitude.
''The charge that Roosevelt is un-
grateful to Taft would be worth GET
ting angry at If it were not so entirely
ridiculous. In the first place, what did
Taft ever do for Roosevelt that de-
gratitude? 1t IS as clear
as crystal that Taft owes graft
and loyalty to Roosevelt, who
made him governor of the Philippines.
and secretary of war, offered him more
that once a place in the supreme court
of the United States, and finally
brought about his nomination and
to the presidency. What fol
No sooner had Taft been
than he abandoned the man
and the policies that had made his
possible and threw himself
the arms Of Tawney, Cannon,
Aldrich, Penrose and Crane, Roose-
velt's enemies were chosen by Taft
for his friends, the special interests
regained the control Of our govern
they had lost while Roosevelt |