Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1912-08-20

methOuS is In ACCORDANCE with the
custom of nominating conventions
for the past forty years. That may
be granted, but are we to refuse to
accept improved methods in this de-
partment of government while in
sisting upon them in other depart
ments? What we want now is
right principles, regardless of what
has been the custom in the past.
President Taft is showing a re-
markable degree of courage for a
presidential candidate on the eve of
election. There are two ways of
looking at this nervy exhibition of
the president: One is that he looks
for defeat anyhow, and the other is
that he feels that an exhibition of
fighting qualities at this stage of
the game might retrieve his fort
unes. Whatever the motive, the
Freeman-Tribune likes the way the
president goes after the ways and
means committee in his veto mess
ages.
The Herald, which is supporting
Wilson, is very anxious for the pro-
gressive party to put a state and
county ticket in the field. The Her
AIDS attitude in this matter smacks
demagogery. 1t is not an unfair i'm
putation to presume that it's editor
is playing politics and dirty politics
at that. Will the Herald support a
third ticket if one is nominated ? 1t
might not be impairment to also
ask why it is not supporting Roose-
welt if it is interested in his success.
If not interested in his success why
presume to advise his friends?
That the Roosevelt movement is
formidable was demonstrated by the
Ivote in Kansas at the primaries
last week. 1t was put up to the
voters to select Taft or Roosevelt
electors and the Roosevelt electors
won by some 10000 majority. The
Freeman Tribune doesn't know how
the division was made-how it is
possible for Roosevelt to get on the
republican ticket in that state, but
the fact that he swept the primaries
by tremendous majorities shows
the people are for him, and there
should be some way for the people
to win.
Col. Chantland is condemning the
democratic national house of repre-
s~entatives for retarding trust prose-
cutions by refusing to make neces-
sary appropriations for that depart
ment. In this matter, as in nearly
every other, the democratic party as
constituted in congress is a hypo-
critic. Members of the party in con
gress are always playing for advant-
age. They 10 think they can in
lure Taft by refusing to furnish the
sinews to carry forward the war
against illegal trusts. Whatever may
be said of the Taft administration
it has made honest effort to enforce
the Sherman antitrust law and has
succeeded admirably. Roosevelt
started the movement and this is
one of the Roosevelt policies" that
the president has carried out in
good faith.
The Freeman-Tribune doesn't agree
with the sentiment that American
ships should pass through the Panama
canal free of charge. That waterway
was built at the expenditure of vast
sums of money and Uncle Sam ought
to realize at least enough from its
income TO pay interest on what it
cost. There is no more reason why
a ship should go through it free
than there is that the government
should build a railroad and permit
the companies to run trains oyer it
without remuneration. 1t is all
right and proper to give American
vessels advantage over foreign yes
sells, If ii can be done without VIC