The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-03-10
7. R. OUT OF
THE FIGHT
Neither Will He Permit a
Fight in His Be-
half
GREAT ISSUES, HE SAYS,
BEFORE THE NATION
To Nominate Him Might
Even Be a Mis-
take

New York, March l0.-Colonel Theo
dore Roosevelt, who is now at Trinidad
British West Indies, in a statement Civ
en- out yesterday through the New Yorl
Evening Mail, emphatically declines T.
be a candidate in the primaries of Mas
sachusetts or of any other state.
81 will not enter into any fight for the
nomination. the colonel says, "and
will not permit any fractional fight to be
made in my behalf. Indeed, | will &C
further and say that it would be mis-
take to nominate me unless the country
has in its mood something heroic, unless
it feels not only like devoting itself to
ideals, but to the purpose measurable
to realize those ideals in action.
"This is one of those rare times which
come only at long intervals in a nations
history when the action taken deter
mines the basic of the life of the gen
erations that follow. Such times were
those from 1916 to 1889, in the days of
Washington, and from 1858 to 1865, in
the days of Lincoln.
1T is for us of to-day to grapple with
the tremendous national and interna
tional problems of our own hour in the
spirit and with the ability shown by
those who upheld the hands Of Washing
ton and Lincoln.
whether we do or do not accomplish
this fact will largely depend on the ac-
ton taken at the Republican and Pro-
gressive national conventions next June.
Nothing is to be hoped from the present
administration. All that they
offer us ia a choice between degrees Of
hypocrisy and degrees of infamy. But
disgust with the mmanly failure of the
present administration ! believe does
not, and / know ought not to, mean that
the American people will vote in spirit
of mere protest. They ought not to and
/ believe they viii not be content merely
to change the present administration for
one equally timid, equally vaeillating,
equally lacking in vision, in moral integ-
rity and in high resolve.
1--WE must clarity and define our pol
icies. We must show that our belief in
our governmental ideals is so real that
we wish to make them count in the
world at large and to make the neces-
sary sacrifice in order that they shall |
count surely. We Of this great republic |
have a contribution to make to the cause |
Of humanity, and we cannot make it I'M |
less we first show that we can secure |
and fair dealing among our
own men and women.
II believe that in a crisis so grave it |
S impossible too greatly to magnify the
needs of the country, or too strongly to
lwell on the necessity of minimizing and
the desires of individuals
The delegates who 60 to Chicago will /
rave it in their power to determine the
haracter of the administration which is
o do or leave undone the mighty tasks
II the next four years. That admins
ration can do an incalculable amount to /,
make or mar our country's future. The
men chosen to decide such a question
ught not to be politicians of average
ype and parochial outlook. Still less
hould they be politicians controlled by
mister influence from within or without.
hey should be the very best men that
an be found in our country, whose one !
reat mission should be to declare in I'M
quiyocal terms for a programme OF
lean-eut, straight-cut national Amer !
,ansm, in deeds not less than in words, |
nd in internal and international mat c
ars alike, and TO choose as candidate a '
IAN who will not merely stand for such c
programme before election. but will a
and in good faith, put it /
arough if elected. /
"June is a long way off Many things a
lay occur between now and then. 1t is Il
tterly impossible to say now with any
egree of certainty who should be g.om- S
lated. The crying, the vital need now t
that the men who next June assemble t
Chicago from the As states and mingle b
ne views of the entire country, shall t
It with the sane and lofty devotion to Ii
ne interest of our nation as a whole, e
hich was shown by the original CONT t
entail Congress. They should approach
leir task unhampered by any pledge,
Icept to bring to its accomplishment
-ery ounce of courage, intelligence and il
tegrity they possess" CT