Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1912-11-05
N. D. O'CONNEL['S
POLITICAL ADDRESS
( Greeted by Fair Sized Audience
But Little Enthusiasm in
Evidence.

The republican meeting at the
court house Friday night address
ed by Hon. M. D. O'Connell of Fort
Dodge was fairly we'll attended. Mr..
o'Connell is a good campaigner and
Succeeded well in entertaining his
audience, though not much enthus-
iasm was manifest.
Chairman j. D. Porter made a short
address Of about 20 minutes. The
burden of Mr.. Porter's remarks was
that Roosevelt stood no show of
election and that republicans who
wanted to defeat Wilson should vote
for Taft. Mr.. Porter gave few rea-
sons why Wilson should be defeated,
but directed his observations almost
wholly against Roosevelt. It is a
noticeable fact in this campaign
that the supporters of Mr.. Taft,
while insisting that Roosevelt is not
in it, devote nearly their entire ar
guments against him. Supporters
OF Mr.. Wilson pursue the same
course and it is little wonder that
the mass of the, people have been
led to. believe that Roosevelt is the
man whom both Wilson and Taft
fear.
Mr.. O'Connell spoke for nearly an
hour and half and like Mr.. Por-
ter, gave nearly all of his time to
denunciation of the ex-president He
argued against Roosevelt for just
one hour and ten minutes, then he
said he had some suggestions to Of
fer against Wilson. But it was i'm
possible for him to stick to the text
and there was as much anti -Roose-
welt as anti-Wilson in the last twen-
ty minutes of his address.
Mr.. O'Connen ought to ridicule
the claim of unfair methods in the
nomination of Taft by reading from
an editorial in the Washington
Times, owned by Frank Munsey and
edited by such men as Jud Welliver.
The Times said there were more
than 100 delegates elected from the
south when Roosevelt decided to be-
come candidate, which was as
early as February. That the Roose-
vylt supporters, in order to make a
showing, trumped up number of
contests from the states that had al
ready held conventions. Mr.. O'Con-
nell did not tell what great farce
a republican convention is in such
a state as Alabama, for instance,
where eight or ten negroes will as
semble and in the name of the great
republican party elect is or 90 or
rs delegates to the national conven-
ton. At every national convention
there are hundreds of contests from
the south. Oftentimes the contest
ants favor the same presidential
candidate. They are simply in the
game for the authority to distribute
the patronage OF their section and
the delegation that succeeds in get
ting seat in the national conven-
ton Is 1T for the next four years.
There is no semblance OF really rep
resenting anybody by any of these
delegates from such states as Ala
Rama. Not one person in hundred
lnows or cares when the so-called
hate conventions are held and one
ne legation Is about as regular" as
tnfi bther. The supporters of Roose-
veit sought to have the matter Of
the selection of delegates settled by
primary this year and were success
full in number of states, with the
result that in nearly every state
where the people had chance to
record their Judgment Mr.. Taft was
overwhelmingly defeated. 1t was not
because the Taft delegations We're
seated from such states as Georgia
and Alabama that the supporters Of
Roosevelt rebelled. but because the
expressed will OF the people, as re-
corded in such states as California,
Arizona and Washington were over
turned by the national committee
and because the national convention
gave absolutely no heed to the pro-
test OF the 100000 republicans
rho said at the ballot box that they
"a not want Taft re-nominated,
~--lle the 100000 who declared for
Taft We're permitted to name the
nominee. Even In Ohio, where
Roosevelt received a., majority of
$4,000, Taft secured, by manipula-
Lion, the six delegates-at-large from
that state. 1t Is such methods as
these that turned millions away
from the support OF the republican
ticket this year and It is these meth
DDS that will be responsible for the
defeat Of the head OF the ticket. It
is not question OF whether the
pooauveIf G,nnOrforo wc,,Id boya