Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-06-28
A Fraudulent Nomination in SIGHT
at ChIcaqo.

at Chicago.
The Republican party's nomination
for the Presidency this year is Roose-
velt's. 1t belongs to him. 1t was
given to him by majority of the vot-
ers of the party. No matter what
action a majority of the seated dele
gates in the Coliseum take, they Gao
not alter the fact. They may rob him
of his title, bnt they cannot rob him of
his right to it.
If man owns the B. & o. Building
and the Courthouse burns down, de-
stroying the record and the deed, it
remains his property nevertheless. If
thieves break TIN ough and steal the
deed it still remains his property. If
the thieves take their stolen deed to
court and have him elected, the right
to the property is still his. So with
the Republican nomination. If Taft is
named at Chicago, or Hadley, or
Hughes, or anyone else, by virtue of
the votes of the delegates from Cali
fornia and Washington and Texas, he
will be a fraudulent candidate, oper-
ating under a fraudulent title. For
the American people to elect such a
man President would be for them to
become pdrticeps crlminis The thing
is impossible and everyone knows it.
Roosevelt, by some extraordinary up
heaval, might be made President; Taft,
or any other nominee of the Chicago
convention never could.
The action of the convention is con-
nection with the California contests
yesterday shows to what lengths the
opponents of Roosevelt will go. Re-
porter William Jennings Bryan's sum-
mary of Governor Johnson's speech on
the subject is so concise that we re-
produce it here:
He told how the predatory interests
had controlled his State for genera
ton; how at last the tide of reform had
swept them out of office and given the
progressives control; how the progress
sives, instead of using the party ma
chinety to secure delegation to the
National convention, passed primary
law that uested control in the voters
how the reactionaries, to escape from
the influence of the State organization,
then in the hands of the progressives,
unitedly supported the primary law
how both sides selected list of dele
gates in accordance with the law how
President Taft himself gave to his list
of delegates the written approval re-
quired by law; how all these steps hat
been taken without objection and with
out protest; and then. how these two
delegates, after having been defeated
by II, 000 in the State, sought to repu
date their own act and the action OF
the President and claim election in {
district in spite of the fact that it wa!
impossible to ascertain the exact mum
Der of votes cast in their districts, be
cause of IA precincts which were partly
in one district and partly in another.
He convinced the audience that HI
udu JuollSe VII Hlo Slue, DuI lHe nuui
ence was not in position to follow it
convictions. A number of delegate
told me that they had to vote for tn
two Taft delegates in order to save tn
Taft forces from the modification o
defeat, but that the contest ough
never to have been made.
That last sentence is most signifi
cant. AS a matter of fact, the franl
Taft men do not deny that they hav'
robbed Roosevelt of his delegates
They justify the act on the groun
that it was necessary to suppress
demagogue. Eyes" they say, 1--WE RAJ
the steam roler-over him, but he is
dangerous man." That is the gist O
their argument in private. They wer
working for God and country, and
in the process they had to use tn
weapons of the devil-why, it was ur
fortunate not necessary.
That is the situation. Nothing bu
similar reputation of the people b
: the Baltimore convention can proven
: a glorious Democratic victory next Nc
vember. Baltimore Sun.