Arizona republican., 1916-06-10
The Republican National Platform

No fault can be found with the republican national platform. It is brief concise plain. criticism or the democratic administration is well founded in every instance. Its proposed plans for reforms good though the part of them relating the subjects of Americanism and preparedness may be regarded as open to the charge of being indefinite general But it is impossible to be specific always a declar- aton of principles especially where the subject is complicated one It may be argued that in the good faith and wisdom the party must be ac- oepted the good faith of the nominee the party and the members of congress the party upon whom II may be supposed the platform shall be binding as on the members of the national ticket.
 In the past national party platforms have been so accepted and that they were not always regarded binding on the dominant party first regarded as joke. which gave rise to the witty epigram the platform of a party is like platform of a railway car something by which get the but not to stand on" The violation of the republican platform of 1908 became something than a joke. It was followed by the disruption and defeat repubi- can party The people nothing funny in the joe ular explanation that congress had complied faith Fully with the mandate for the revision of the tariff that the mandate had neglected to state whether the revision should be upward downward.
 We have more lately witnessed the violation of the democratic national platform in two particulars where specific declarations had been made; one in favor of free Panama canal for American yes sells, and the other in favor a single presidential term The violation of the first committed on the insistence of President Wilson who had not only ac- cepted the platform but had strongly endorsed the free tolls clause in his campaign speeches The vo- lation of the single provision was committed first by the neglect of overwhelming. democratic congress to propose constitutional amendment lm- itng the presidential tenure to term and by the candidacy of the president with the approval of the party leaders, for second term.
 Thus experience has taught that we can have no assurance that platform merely because party has solemnly adopted it, will be regarded as binding It's binding character depend largely, if not wholly upon the character of the who is nominated on the platform and his sympathies with it's declarations
 There is who has clearly expressed himself than Colonel Roosevelt every essential principle of the republican platform Many of those principles are not new and the older already translated by him into action while he president The records also prove that he sought translated into laws.
 There is now the apparently principle of Amercanism and preparedness though was declared by Colonel Roosevelt more than years ago. It is now the foremost issue before the people and Colonel Roosevelt alone of all prominent leaders has made a definite and specific declaration concerning it. It may be feared that almost any other republican candidate for the presidency, if nominated and elected would construe such indefinite plank the preparedness plank is, to mean any increase of our army and navy however slight faithful redemption of the pledge who would regard the slightest strengthening of our present invertebrate foreign policy all the demon straton of Americanism called for by the platform
 The platform have meaning, therefore, until who shall stand on it and we have req to believe that the in November will not ac- cept its worlds that it will be accepted by them only when they assured that it will be a party policy and party declaration