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Show A PERIL TO THE PARTY. Senator Keams. on his Tcliirn to this citv from his Eastern visit, voices the sentiment current in the country, that thero is danger to tha success of tho Republican warty in the personal and vituperative campaign which Col. Roosevelt, forced into the present situation. sit-uation. President Taft remained silent under the Roosevelt assaults as long as human nature could be expected to do, and then, in order to defend himself effectively he was obliged to expose tho treachery, falsehood, and double-dealing double-dealing ,of Roosevelt. ' An opinion has beeu expressed from time to timo during the progress of this unfortunate controversial personal turn to the campaign that tho developments develop-ments were furnishing political ammunition ammu-nition for the .Democrats, and that it was being furnished in such form that it could not bo denied by the Republicans Repub-licans and in such quantity as to form ample material for Democratic use. There is no doubt about this aud there is no doubt, further, of the fact that it is the preferential primary system that gives riw io this result. The primary system is undoubtedly well calculated to tear down partios and to advance personal interests to tho front. It compels the candidates to go before tho people and fight not for the principles of their party because be-cause among Republicans these prin ciples arc supposed to be held alike by all candidates. The point of difference differ-ence then between Republican candidates candi-dates or Democratic candidates is chiefly personal and the warmer the canvass gets the moro damaging are the personalities and recriminations that arc injected into the fight. It was the opportunity of his life for Col. Roosevelt to build up a personal, following fol-lowing at the expense of. the Republican Repub-lican nart3 and especially at 'the expense ex-pense of President Taft, He availed himself of this opportunity with the utmost recklessness, and assailed the President and prominent Republicans who wero standing by the President, with a venom and vindictivenoss that had never been known before within the ranks of any party. Col. Roosevelt Roose-velt has directed none of his attacks against. tho Democrats. His quarrel was exclusively with Republicans, and this was so' principally because he had to anneal to the Republicans for votes a? against Republicans, and not as auainst Democrats. The primary system, therefore, is a party wrecker. It was urged as a moans .whereby the peoplo could declare de-clare their preferences on principle, on public measures, and upon their desires with respect to public questions. It turns out to be nothing of the kind, but a fosterer of calumn, vituperation, vitupera-tion, and abuse, and all this within the party, not as against tho common foe, but as against the solidarity of the party itself, and against the party loaclerp.. The attacks of Col. Roosevelt j illustrate this inevitable phase of the ; primary system most pertinently. JIc has had practically nothing to say on nartv principles, ayd very little on partv measures. He has avoided the tariff altocethcr. he has played fast and loose with the trusts, and has endeavored en-deavored to convince the people that he was against all combinations of capital, cap-ital, while, in fact, availing himself of tho help of the greatest combination of all. Putting the matter concretely and concisely, it can fairly be said of tho primary system that it is a system well calcultaed to allow demagogues to air their opinions and present their claims irresponsibly and without any regard to truth, party priuciple, or past friendships. Everything has been sacrificed sac-rificed to a mere personal ambition The craving of Col. Roosevelt for tho Presidential office has-been tho great feature of the campaign, and to allow himself such opportunity as is possible for success he has permitted no point to cscano him, has presented every possible plea that he thought, would help his personal canvass, regardless of tho welfare of tho party or of the dominanco' of the pnrt3's principles and ideals. He has dragged tho gTeat record of tho Republican party into the dust, and has spit upon it. His campaign has been vigorous, it is true, but vigorous only in his own interests, and in tho attacks which ho has made upon the President and other leaders of tho Republican, party. The same general tendency of tho preferential primary system has been manifest in other campaigns throughout through-out the country. They have'" all taken on a truculent personal phase that is hurtful to tho party and damaging to its prospects and success. This evil offect' of the primary system, coupled with the further undoubted fact that Democrats have very largely partici-dated partici-dated in the Republican primaries throughout tho country, ought to he enough to convince the partv leaders of both parties of tho danger of the primary system: for tho evil effects of it uuon the Republican party this year are cortain to be but little greator than the liko effects upon the Democratic Demo-cratic party. The system will wreck-any wreck-any partv that is in power, and necessarily neces-sarily 8o, because the strifo for nomination nom-ination in every case is personal, and the animiia is directed against the party itself, whichover it may be, and is a fire-in-thc rear proposition, absolutely abso-lutely destructive to party, unity, and in which party harmony is bound to be stamped out. |