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Show i 1 Says He Stands for Great Fundamental Rights I Upon Which All Successful Free Government I Must be Based Decency in Politics j HGHTK6 FPU HONESTY AGAINST ROBBERY 1' Declares It Matters Little What Becomes of Either I Candiate; But Civilization Cannot Endure If Such Wrongs Go Unresented I 14 Chicago. June IS. On the evo of the Republican national convention, Col- ? onel Theodore Rooseelt last night disclosed his lino of attach, lie laid down two principles. He said the delegates whose selcc- tlon he contests must not vote In the organization of the convention or sct- tlemeut of the contest, and made it I clear that he would resist it. Ho said a no action of the convention based upon I- : i the votes of these "fraudulently seated ,f delegates would bo binding upon the J, Republican party." $ It was at the Roosevelt rally In the j . Auditorium that the ex-president made his challenge He was facing a : cheering throng which jammed the ; huge building as tightly as the fire j marshal would permit. Reaching far S to the rear, to the last lino of seats, and to the top of the topmost bal- j - cony wore solid rows of men and vo- J i men: delegates from every part of the "- L country, Roosevelt leaders and a host f j of privates in the Rooseelt arnij 3 They gave the ex-president a mighty I welcome. L s Colonel Roosevelt made a fighting !; j speech. His hearers wero in a flght- l j , ing mood. They cheered him on as flf ho denounced his opponents and ! jjj! shouted to him: I i ! "Got nt them, Teddy; knock out the j ' steamroller," "Hit them again." Borah Holds Crowd. ;', Long before Mr. Roosevelt reached :,i the Auditorium every seat was taken. ' ' Outside the building were thousands j ' ' who were unable to gain admission. j Two hundred policemen held them back. ! Senator Borah made a speech while j the crowd wa6 waiting for Roosevelt ' His remarks were brought to an un- timely end when the people leaped , to their feet with a yell. The colonel s had come. X It was nearly four minutes later I-1 . -when the uproarious welcome subdu- j : ed. The colonel stood on the plat form, -waved his hands and smiled. The crowd was eager to cheer Colonel Col-onel Roosevelt was constantly inter-' inter-' rupted during his speech with storms of applause. He frequently departed ' from his prepared speech for an ex- " temporanoous thrust which brought i. - the people to their feet, shouting and ' waving the flags which were handed to each person on entering the hall. : "l made my fight square and fair in the open, and I won, ho said. "I don't Intend that my opponents shall cheat me out of It," Score6 Committee. The colonel gave a new definition of the national committee. "The national committee," ho explained, ex-plained, "who are they? About fifty people with the ratio of honesty ranging from about fourteen to twen-i twen-i ty. and the remaining thirty are Bure- J thing men." k. Colonel Roosevelt began to call the ' jj roll of some of his most prominent ' ' .opponents. At the first name he V . , ' mentioned, a groan camo from the Vj v, crowd. With the next name the 1 r groan became a roar. I i To preserve the peace the colonel " gave up his rollcall. He said his chief opponents on the national committee were men who had been repudiated in their own states. When Colonel Roosevelt said that any action of the convention, if brought about by the votes of the dole-gates dole-gates fraudulently seated, would not be binding upon tho party, there camo tho wildest outburst of applause of the evening. The. crowd leaped up with a shout and refused to bo quieted despite de-spite the colonel's attempt to continue. con-tinue. Threatens the Sword. "If they ask for the sword," said he, when at last ho could make himself him-self heard, "they shall have it." Colonel Roosevelt made it plain, in a sentenco which he interjected, that the decisive test in the convention probably would be made on Uie vote for temporary chairman. "It is perfectly possible," said ho, "that under parliamentary ruling the one way to vote upon these fraudulent fraudu-lent delegates on the rollcall will be by voting for the temporary chairman chair-man Any. man who i-nder these circumstances cir-cumstances accepts the nomination of the national committee for temporary chairman becomes the representative of the men who have been guilty of these Infamous frauds." He appealed to "every delegate elected for Mr. Taft, who is an honest hon-est man," to stand with his supporters in organizing the convention. William J. Bryan sat in reporters' row in the orchestra pit. He was choered loudly when be appeared, but refused oven to make a bow. "I am a newspaper man tonight," he explained. Mr. Roosevelt's speech follows: Speech In Full. My friends and felloe citizens I address you as my fellow Republicans, Republi-cans, but I also and primarily address ad-dress you as fellow Americans, fellow fel-low citizens, for this has now become be-come much more than an ordinary party flghL The issue is both simpler sim-pler and larger thau that of tho personality per-sonality of any man or that invohed in any factional or In any ordinary party contest. We are standing for the great fundamental rights upon which all successful freo government must be based We are standing for elementary decency In politics. We aro fighting for honesty against naked robbery; and where lobbery Is concerned the all-important question ques-tion is not the identity of the man robbed, but the crime Itself. As far as Mr. Taft and I are personally per-sonally concerned, it little matteis what the fate of either may be. But with Mr. Taft's acquiescence or by his direction, and in his Interest, his followers have raised an Issue which is all-Important to the country. It Is not a partisan Isbuo, it is more than a political Issue; it is a great moral issue. If we condone political theft, if we do not resent the kinds of wrong and Injustice that injuriously injuri-ously affect the whole nation, not merely our democratic form of government gov-ernment but our civilization itself, cannot endure. If the methods adopted by tho national committee aro approved by the convention which Is about to assemble, that crime will have been commlttted. The triumph of such proceedings at the moment would mean the wreck of the Republican Repub-lican party and, if such proceedings became habitual, It would mean the wreck of popular government The actions of the Taft leaders In the national na-tional committee, taken with the active ac-tive aid of Mr. Taft's private secretary secre-tary and one of Mr. Taft's cabinet officers aro monstrous and thay should bo Indignantly condemned by the moral sentiment of the whole country. Are Come to Protest. Tonight we corao together to protest pro-test against a crime which strikes Btraight at tho heart of every principle princi-ple of political decency and honesty, III nil li in 1 1 i i ii n i in i 1 1 i i I'" '- Miiiibii jrsmm, n. i j.ifit ir.TLwumT wii nil1 jjl. mcaatagigataglBi a crime which represents treason to the people and tho usurpation of the sovereignty 01 the people In lrrc-sionsIble lrrc-sionsIble political bosses inspired by the sinister Influences of moneyed privilege. We here in this hall are engaged not only In a fight for the rights of every decent Republican, but of every decent American, whatsoever what-soever his party may be. And oh, my friends, for one thing at least we should be profoundly grateful. We aro more fortunate thnn our fa-thors fa-thors In that there Is not the slightest slight-est tlnse of sectionalism In the tlgftt we are naw waging. The principles for which we stand are as vital for the south as for tho north, for the east as for the west. We make our appeal to all honest, far-sighted and I patriotic Americans, no matter where they may dwell When In February last I made up ray mind that it was my duty to enter thiB fight, It was after long and careful deliberation. I hnd become be-come convinced that Mr. Taft had definitely and completely abandoned the cause of tho people and had surrendered sur-rendered himself wholly to the biddings bid-dings of the professional political bosses and of the great privileged interests in-terests standing behind them. I had also become convinced that unless I did make a fight It could not be mado at all and that Mr Taft's nomination would come to him without serious opposition. The event has justified both my beliefs. I very earnestly ask our fellow fel-low progresBhes who have supported other candidates to remember that one of the cardinal principles of the doctrines doc-trines which we hold In common Is our duty normally, loyally and In good faith to abide by tho well-thought-out and honestly expressed action of a majority. The overwhelming majority of the Republican progressives have declared for me. It has become clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that If I had not made the piogresslve fight It would have completely broken down and there would have boon no substantial sub-stantial opposition to tho forces of reaction and of political crookedness. Let those progressives who stand for principle and who are concerned with the fortunes of any particular man only as a means of securing the triumph of principle ponder these facts and refrain in this crisis from playing Into the hands of our enemies. ene-mies. Names Smoot,as a Boss. Mr. Taft at first denied that he rep- rcscmeu tue uosses riis nemui was of little consequence, for his deeds belied his woids. But I doubt if at present ho would venture to repeat his denial. As it has become constantly con-stantly more and more evident that the people are against him, he has more and more undisgulsedly thrown himself into the nrms of the bosses Here in Chicago at this moment he has never had one chanco of success, save what was given him by the actions ac-tions of Messrs. Crane, Barnes, Brook-er, Brook-er, Penrose, Murpb, Guggenheim. Mulvane, Smoot, New and their associates as-sociates In cheating tho people out of their rights. Ho was beaten so overwhelmingly over-whelmingly by the people themselves in the states where primaries were held that in the last state In which he spoke, in New Jersey, he permitted himself to be betrayed Into tho frank admission that he expected to be nominated because ho believed the national committee would stand b him One member of his own cabinet, cabi-net, icprobentlng a state that had repudiated re-pudiated him, has been working hand-in-glove with the other Taft members mem-bers of the national committee, under the lead of Mr. Penrose of PennsjI-vania, PennsjI-vania, Mr. Crane of Massachusetts, Mr Mulvane of Kansas, Mr. Murphy of New Jersey and Mr. Scott of West Viiginia, all of whom have just heen repudiated by their own states, to steal from the people the - ictory which the people have won. i.ast Feb-ruaiy Feb-ruaiy it was evident that Mr. Taft would be the accepted representative of the bosses, of the men who uphold the combination of crooked politics land crooked business which has been the chief source not only of our political po-litical but of our social and industrial indus-trial corruption. It has now, alas, bo-conic bo-conic evident that Mr. Taft is willing to acquiesce in and to condono and to accept tho fruits of any course of action on which these men embark, ecn though such action represent treason, as well as destruction, to the Republican party of which they nominally nom-inally belong, and also treason to the cause of the American people as a whole. Not Illegal, But Wrong. Among the national committeemen who have taken pait in this conspiracy con-spiracy there arc a number of men who in the ordinary relations of life are doubtless decent and reputable. Probably these men excuse themselves them-selves for what they are now doing on tho ground that they aro not committing com-mitting what the law recognizes as a crime. It may well be doubted whether on the whole our country does not Buffer more from the misdeeds mis-deeds of men who recognlzo as binding bind-ing on their consciences only the obligations ob-ligations of law honesty than It suffers from tho misdeeds of actual criminals. Men like Messrs. Crane of Massachusetts, Massa-chusetts, Brookor of Cannectlcut and Nagel of Missouri, who trail behind their bolder associates, such as Messrs. Penrose, Murphy and Mulvane, Mul-vane, are doubtless genuinely shocked at the misconduct of a defaulting bank cashier or at the action of some small election official who on election elec-tion day falsifies tho returns Yet the wrong to tho American people, the damage to the country, by such action as these national committeemen com-mitteemen havo taken In deliberated seeking to nullify and overthrow the win oi mo peopie, icgicimaieiy expressed ex-pressed in their choice for president, is infinitely greater than the wrong that is done by the tempted cashier or tho bribed election official. It has to me been both a sad and a strange thing to so men hitherto esteomed reputable take part in such action and to seo It sustained by similar men oulBlde. Game Without Rules, t suppose the explanation must be found In the fact that in their slow but general moral advancement certain cer-tain men lag a little behind tho rate of progress of the community as a whole, and fall to recognize generally accepted standards of right and wrong until long after they have been recognized rec-ognized by the majority of their fellows. fel-lows. There was a period when piracy and wrecking were esteemed honorable occupations and long after the community as a whole had grown to reprehend them there wero still backward persons who failed to regard re-gard them as improper In the same way, as late as thirty years ago, there were many men in public life while thev would refuse to receive a brlbo did not think it objectionable to give a bribe, although now the sentiment In the community has grown so strong that It is no longer possible to excuse the bribe giver any more than the bribe taker. In tho same way there arc still in certain cer-tain parts of this country representatives represen-tatives of a class far from uncommon uncom-mon a quarter of a century ago. a class wheich regards an election as a game without rules lu which it is merely a sign of cleverness to swln- die and cheat Evidently the majority ma-jority of the men whose actions we complain of on the national committee commit-tee still occupy this attltudo toward nominations, although some of them may even hae passed beyond it as regards elections. But on the committee com-mittee and associated with the men who assume to be respectable there are certain representathes of Mr Taft whose presence ghes us cause to wonder whether there are far worse influences behind the action of the committee than any at which l have guessed. Stevenson of Colorado. Mr. Stevenson of Colorado has appealed ap-pealed on the committee, now holding the proxy of one of Mr Taft's delegates, dele-gates, now that of another. Judge Ben R. Lindsey in his book, ''The Beast and the Jungle." has given a vory graphic account of Mr Steven-son'se Steven-son'se political activities In Denver I very greatly wish that every decent de-cent man in the country, every plain, right-thinking cltlzon who is In doubt as to what the representatives of Mr. Taft hao done on the national committee, would read this book of Judge Llndsey's. In especial, let him study the part in which Tudge Lindsey Lind-sey refers to Mr. Stevenson, and then let him think for himself just what it means when Mr. Taft and his associates as-sociates accept the help of Mr. Stevenson Stev-enson and Import him from his own state of Colorado to act for other states on the national committee, as one of the ablest men engaged in the moxoment to rob the people of their right to rule themselves. Our opponents here In Chicago today to-day havo waged such a bitter and unscrupulous fight for tho very reason rea-son that this is not ordinary factional contest. The big bosses who control tho national committee represent not merely tho captains of mercenary politics, but the great crooked financiers finan-ciers who stand behind those led captains Those political bosses are obnoxious in themselves, but thoy aro ovn more obnoxious because they represent privilego in its most sordid and dangerous form. The majority ma-jority of the national committee in deciding tho cases before them, have practiced political theft in every form, from highway robbery to potty larceny. lar-ceny. And THtll theft Is as dishonest dis-honest and more damaging than ordinary ordi-nary thoft. There Is no law to reach the offenses they hare committed, but morally these offenses are far moro serious from the standpoint of nntionnl Intorfisr than anv of tho nr- idinary commercial or political offenses of-fenses which expose the perpetrators perpetra-tors to be brought before tho courts of justice. Says Lesson Is Needed. Tho committeemen responsible for such action need to be taught that the national committee was created to be the servant and not the master of tho plain men and women who make up the bulk of the Republican party. The party belongs to the millions mil-lions of the rank and file. It does not belong to the handful of politicians politi-cians who have assumed fraudulently to upsot the will or tho rank and file. The action of those mon is In no son8o "regular," as they claim it to be, Thoy In no way represent tho people, they in no way represent the rank and file of the Republican party; par-ty; and thoft and dishonesty can not give and never shall give a title to regularity. One thousand and seventy-eight men are to meet hore in convention to decide the future of the Republican party. At least seven out of eight of those among them who really represent the people arc agalnBt the nomination of Mr. Taft. It is the duty of all of them, their first duty, to throw out of tho convention con-vention every man fraudulently seated thero by the nntlonal committee. The . fraudulent Taft delegates whom the I national committee seated, for instance, in-stance, from California, from Washington, Wash-ington, from Indiana, from Kentucky, from Michigan, from Arizona, from Alabama, from Texas, represent nothing noth-ing but the deliberate attempt by certain discredited porsons to upset the plans of tho people Those fraudulent fraud-ulent Taft delegates were beaten by the votors of Washington, of California, Cali-fornia, of Texas, of Arizona, of Indiana, In-diana, of Kentucky and then they wero seated by the discredited political politi-cal bosses who had just themselves been beaten by the people of thoir own states, In Massachusetts, In Now Jersey, in Pennsylvania, In West Virginia, Vir-ginia, in Kansas, In Missouri, Messrs. Crane, Penroso and company were so discredited in the oyes of the Republicans Re-publicans of thoir own states that they were beaten as delegates to the convention the delegates whom the, states of Washington, California, Arl-1 zona, Toias and the rest havo just beaten at tho polls. Means Wreck of Party. If the convention proves false to the cause of the people If it records the will of the bosses," whether yet unbeeXen as in New York and Colorado, Colo-rado, or beaten as in Massachusetts Massachu-setts and New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kansas, it will wreck the Republican Repub-lican party, it will put back the cause of Democracy, It will be false to every ev-ery principle of honor and justice. It cannot with honesty or propriety stand in any shape or way for the action ac-tion of the national committeemen, neither by accepting that committee's nominee for temporary chairman nor by accepting its decision as to the seating and unseating of contested delegations The majority of the national committee com-mittee have acted with deliberate dishonesty ;a majroity of the committee, com-mittee, composed nearly hal fof politicians poli-ticians from territories and states that never cast a Republican electoral vote and nearly half of politicians who have just been repudiated at open primaries oy me jjkuijio ui their own states, has stolon from the rank and file of the Republicans from sixty to eighty lawfully elected delegates, del-egates, has substituted for them an equal number of fraudulent delegates not elected by the people, and claims the right to nullify the will of the people by placing those fraudulent delegates on the temporary rollcall of the national convention in tho hope of thereby controlling it in the Interest In-terest of the condidate and of the bosses, whom the people have just now emphatically repudiated. This attempt to bind the convention by an act of deliberate dishonesty, this attempt at-tempt to defraud of their rights the plain citizenB of the Republican party, par-ty, by the bosses whom that party has just repudiated, brings in question ques-tion certain elementary principles, which lie at the foundation not only of party procedure and party organization, organiza-tion, but of free government, of social order. Right to Judge. I hold that the convention in itself is of right the only judge of tho qualifications quali-fications of its own members. From Washington, California, Arizona. Texas, Tex-as, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama and certain other states, the people elected elect-ed certain delegates who are legally and morally entitled to sit in tho convention. con-vention. The discredited politicians making up the majority of the national na-tional committee with the determination determi-nation to nullify the will of the people, peo-ple, have substituted for these men certain others who have not tne slightest claim to seats in the convention. con-vention. I havo carefully examined the facts in tncBo cases myscu ana i say ' to you that there is no oloment of J JjjKl doubt thnt the mon in question were S'' honorably and lawfully chosen by the 25 ' people and that tho effort of the raa- S, jority to unseat them represents noth- ': JlffoU Ing but naked theft. ; JJ It is for the convention Itself to de- l cldo these cases, and by tho conven- ) jwi tlon I mean tho lawfully elected mem- " Jol hers of tho convention Tho men j j&P fraudulently put on the temporary v: x roll by tho dishonest action of the na- "jitf tlonal committeo must not be allowed dfi to vote on their own cases and t0 , jfii allow the beneficiaries of theft to '; OiS vote on one another's caseB Is, or - jtli course, to allow them really to vote on Vji their own cases. ,- jy By every consideration of real Jus- ' TjA tlce we are entitled to have these of 'e$s whom I speaK, who wore elected hj im the people, put on the roll call at tfr once. But we do not ask this. Al- , Tj though we are doprlvod of our Juat J i rights when those men are not al- 5 lowed to vote from the beginning, wo - & ask. merely that nelthor Bet of con- ; ' testants be allowed to vote on any yj? question before the convention until , l, the 1000 members of the convontlon ) Mj whoso seats have not been contest- if& ed shall themselves decide which of f the contested delegates are entitled to v . membership. V $ Has a Majority. P I believe that even with the addi- LJ fd tion of these fraudulently seated del- j3 cgates Mr. Taft's supporters are in a W substantial minority of the conven- ; ' tion, and I do not merely believe, I Jjj$ know, that wo have a largo major- t iicl Ity of the legally elected members of $b the convention fS I The whole system of the corrupt J alliance between crooked business and f3 crookod politics is at stake in the ;. j making up of this temporary roll; it ft has been made up crookedly by the , & l majority of the national committee lT with the purpose of perpetuating the j( f& l rule of the corrupt political boss even ,v j6 when the people have declared against 4 0 ' him. If these methods were al- W lowed to prevail the Republican party tt ' would come to an end, for it would $ ' cease to be the party of the people. f, l If this action by the majority of the f && national committee Is allowed to I ' stand, primaries are a fcrce and elec- t & tions the Idle exercise of a useless ti d privilege. p Wo refuse to recognize or abide by - t this theft of the rights of the people ttld by the national committee. It is the liel duty of all honest members of the Kjste convention to fight that action from jrk the moment the convention assem- . SstH bles, J The man nominated by the national ?. y63 committee as temporary chairman, i ' whoever he may be, must under these gfpj circumstances be considered as mere- s& ly an instrument chosen by them to ljm nnt in effect their DurDOSes. V -.r Duty of Chairman. & If such a man whether he be Mr. Vi Root or any one else, and whatever ' his previous career 1b willing to ac- j - cept an election by the aid of those tT , SOt fraudulently elected delegates, he at ;( a once becomes tho representative of '-t forces which no honorable man, no j j loyal Republican can afford to see tri- umph. whether within tho party or In gj our national life. ji We ask that, before the convention I c proceeds to organize, the groups of Vj contested delegates stand aside and , p allow their title to be passed upon by cs; the remaining uncontested delegates. it This will not only be in accordance 5 with common sense nnd justice, but in V Tp, accordance with the practice prevail- ipE Ing under the rules of congress In the V. nj organization of the house in the mat- f; ,ls ter of contested seats. We will abide by the decision of the j . 3 fatal Jfi bon?8t a?d ,mPartIal tribunal In thl M r1" ,Ut we wUI not pcrmU the gSI I fraudulently seated delegates to sit a judges of their own cases and per I SI J ?haps,' ,aB a result t0 overthrow- In gg tho beneficiaries of privilege, the j clearly and deliberately expressed f JJSP"ent f the P'n citizens wno 1 ft make up the rank and file or the Re- 1 ? Publican party. $1. J i,V-Rm.ltn0Ur CaS0- not onl' bofore 1 ' the Ropublican voters, but before tno Mi mer,,can People, upon tho propositi proposi-ti j tlon, first, that tho national commlt-5l commlt-5l I ,teo not defeat tho wishes of the M f ;f-UC ? ,?,onte3t II ls natural that rank and file of the Republican vot- M ersbJ unseating delogates honestly V1l fi C,and,M80C0IV1, th03e who 1 are dishonestly substituted for thora ijj j by tho national committee must not , bo permitted to vote on their own U." I case? and to bo the beneficiaries of S frad committed In their own bc- i j half. iq There nover has been a clearer 3 f hneup than this, the plain people 3 , L of tho country on the one side and on Lj the other tho powers that prey, tho jjj 1 representatives of special privilege rn ithe world of business and thoir tools and Instruments In the world of politics. poli-tics. There can be no compromise 4j In such a contest It Is nat- j : ural that tho representatives of ' ; special privilege, which knows that special privilege cannot j ;! continue If the people really rule, 1 Bhould resort unbluBhlugly to every 5 ty kind of trickery and dishonesty in or- der to perpetuate thoir hold upon the f convention; and yet they arrogate to 4 I themselves tho right to seat in the j I party, and should be eager callously J I to destroy tho party if necessary to ; prevent its bolng controlled by its ; . rank and file But for this very rea-; rea-; son we feel wo have a right to ap- j" peal to all honest men to stand with ,, ; us on what has now become a naked 1 issue of right and wrong. Thero can J be no yielding, no flinching on our j j : part. "We have the people behind us ovorwhelmingly. We have justice and honesty on our side. Wo are warrlns against bossism, against privilege, social so-cial and industrial; we are warring for the elementary virtues of honesty hon-esty and decency, of fair dealings as between man and man, we are warring war-ring to save the Republican party; 1 Is to put our party In Buch shape that t It shall bo of the highest possible ft service to the people of the United States. I Iscue Sharply Drawn. l Now let us consider what this fight has been for. The issue has been sharply drawn not merely by the words of Mr. Taft and of myself and of our supporters, but by our several actions. I have stood for the right of the people to rulo and for their duty so to rule as to work for moral, political aud industrial Justice. Mr. Taft has no less explicitly stood foi-a foi-a government of the people by what he calls a "representative part" of , l the people, and while he favors Industrial Indus-trial Justice, he has violently opposed ' every practical method advanced for actually doing away with industrial injustice, for actually driving privl-1 privl-1 lego out of Its intrenchmonts and for actually equalizing opportunity. At the present moment wo sec before onr eyes hero ln-K3hIcago just exactly ! what Mr. Taft's doctrine of govcrn-. govcrn-. ment of the people by a "representa-f "representa-f tlve part" of the people really amountB I to. Eight years ago I received elec-r elec-r toral votes from thirty-three states f In twenty of these states dnect pri- marles have been held, or, If not di-r di-r rect primaries, at least primaries suf-i suf-i flcient to give the people a reasonable reason-able chance to express their prefer-; prefer-; ences. In these twenty states whero the rank and fllo of tho Republican party had a chance to express thoir preference, I won 395 delegates, Mr Taft 67, Mr. La Follette 3C That is. ' In those states which went Republican eight years ago, Mr. Taft obtalnod between be-tween one-seventh and one-eighth of f the dolegatos where the people had i a chance to expreBB their will Result In Primary States. These primary states are scattered .everywhere througnout tho country, ) from Maine to California, and It Is i Impossible to doubt that they glvo an aiCiCnt0omca1G,Vro of what the tc in , all the Republican states would be II : the people had nocn allowed a chance i to vote But Mr. Taffs representatives, representa-tives, wherever possible, preventod the adoption of a primary law. They pro-vented pro-vented St in Michigan, for Instance; they prevented it In Montana. Without With-out question Montana and Michigan would hae gone for us at least as strongly as Illinois and. Oregon had there been a primary law. Beforo tho peoplo of either Btato Mr. Taft did not stand tho cnanco to get a Blngle delegate. His lead captains recognized this fact and prevented tho peoplo from voting. Ho and they distrust tho peoplo wiiu reason, and, with equal reason, thoy trusted tho professional profes-sional politicians; and in Montana and Michigan AW. Taft won delegates, to the snickering delight of ovory friend of privilege and bossism In tholand whose relish is peculiarly keen in seeing see-ing delegates won against the will of the people. Anatysis of Votes. These Republican primary states cast over two-thirds of the Republican Republic-an vote in the electoral college. In them the people spoke They went overwhelmingly for me and still more overwhelmingly against Mr Taft In the Othfl nfntsa lio . t i-ii - --... mm. ncm ivepuoiican eight yearB ago no primaries wore held, and in all but one the politicians had nearly complete sway. In those states Mr. Taft secured 176 votes, I secured 40, Mr. Cummins 10. Of the Republican states, therefore, I received re-ceived the overwhelming majority of the delegates wherever the people could express themselves, and, taking these states all told in spite of Mr Taffs triumphs in the states where thero were no real primaries, I receded re-ceded 435 delegates (including thoae which the national committee has stolen) as against tho 213 for Mr Taft, the 36 for Mr. La Follette and tho 10 for .Mr Cummins. To put It In another way, I squarely square-ly carried twent)-onc of the old Republican Re-publican states, and theso states cast 2C3 votes in tho electoral college within three of a majority of the total to-tal vote Mr Taft carried enough states (where there were no primaries prima-ries )to give him b2 electoral votes. Democratic States. There remain states which, although al-though Democratic at the last election, contain a genulno Republican party, states like North Carolina and Oklahoma, Okla-homa, where there were primaries and where I carried every delegate except ex-cept three. It appears that in tho Republican states Mr. Taft was beaten two to one, and that In tho Republican Repub-lican states which held primaries where tho people could express thoir desires, he was beaten by over seven to one. I call your attention to ono significant feature in the attitude of the Taft papers in chronicling Mr. Taft's victories and defoatB. Whenever When-ever their headlines announced a defeat de-feat for Mr Tatt, It meant that there had been a voto by the people them-sphes them-sphes in a prlmarj state. Whenever rilirlncr thn Inst Ion rlnvo thov l... announced a victory for Mr. Taft It has meant that Mr. Taft's representatives representa-tives In tho national committee have thrown out delegates elected by the people at largo to represent "them My victories have been won before the peoplo by tho people, and Mr. Taft's tunc been won by tho bosses and bj the representatives of special privilege, by the national committee, and by tho boss-controlled comen-tions comen-tions of machine politicians I carried Washington at the polls, he carries It bofore the national committee He never has had, and has not now, a chance wlh the people, and I have just as little chance wherever the crooked typo of politician has power If I am nominated It will bo because, whenever they have a chance, the verdict ver-dict of the people oxprcssod In millions mil-lions of votea, has been over two to one in my favor. If Mr. Taft were nominated nom-inated it would moan tho ruin of tho Republican party, for tho roll call of his delegates as prepared by the national na-tional committee consists, first of , delegates from slates that never casl i a Republican electoral vote; second, of boss controlled delegates froni states whero tho Republican roters were not allowed to express their preference; third, of delegates stolon from me, and fourth, and least in Importance, Im-portance, of tho delegates given him by tho peoplc tho last, who are the only delegates to whom ho has any claim in right or morals, representing represent-ing but one-eighth of his stiength, the other seven-eighths representing tho unprincipled machine politicians in the north, and tho naked thefts of tho national committee, Colls Attention to Ohio. Let me glvo you two striking Illustrations Il-lustrations of how Mr. Taft's theory Iof government of the pooplo by a "representative part" of tho people actually turns out to bo In practice. In Ohio, a primary was held for tho district delegates; but the Taft managers man-agers who had control of tho state central committee refused our requeat that thero should also bo a primary voto for the delogates-at-large. At tho primary I beat Mr. Taft by 47,000 In a voto which waa about SO por cent of that polled at tho last election for govoruor. It was an overwhelming repudiation of Mr. Taft by tho plain peoplo, by tho rank and fllo of tho Republican party of Ohio. But this did not affect the state convention. Mr. Taft was not abovo sending an appoal to his leaders In the stato convention con-vention begging them to give him the voto anyhow, In spite of the way in which he had been repudiated at tho polls. In that convention tho county In which tho city of Clovcland stands had some fifty delegates. That county coun-ty had gone against Mr. Taft about threo to ono; ho had even run behind Mr. La Follette. His repudiation by tho people of tho county had been so complote that It is to mo literally Incomprehensible how any man with any pretensions to honorable feeling could fall to accept the verdict. But Mr Taft's lieutenants, headed by Senator Burton, undertook to steal from the people their rights to do-liver do-liver what verdict they chose Their task v,as no more reputablo than any form of burglary, and was far more damaging to the community than burglary They were successful. Thoy succeeded in gotting from the city of Cleveland, which had repudiated Mr Taft threo to one at tho polls, a delegation of politicians which was ten to ono in his favor. This delegation delega-tion turned the scale at the state convontlon and earned Mr Taft's cffusle gratitude by stealing for him from tho people of Ohio tho six dele-gates-at-large. Ho was not entitled to theso delegates. Tho peoplo of Ohio who wcro defrauded in his interests in-terests were entitled to thorn. Tho people wero cheated out of their rights becauso they wore misrepresented misrepre-sented by the convention Mr Taft asked the Ohio state convention to misrepresent tho people, and it did misrepresent the people Mr Taft need never again explain what he means by government of the people by "a representative p.Trt" of the people. He has shown in actual prac- the people by politicians who shall misrepresent them In the selfish interest in-terest of someone else. His Second Example. My second example is the national committee itself. The recent action of the national committee Illustrates well what has happened In our country coun-try In the twisting of nominal representative rep-resentative government nway from Its original purpose until It becomes thoroughb "unrepresentative and mis-representative mis-representative All this party machinery ma-chinery was originally designed simply sim-ply In order o mako the will of the party genuinely effective. It had no other purpose then It can have no other legitimate purpose now Until n ithin a very few years no man would have boon brazen enough openly to announce that this was not its pur-poae. pur-poae. It has boon reserved for Mr Taft and his friends in this crisis openly to act on such a campaign Th( other day thlrty-Boven of Mr Taft's adherents on the national committee com-mittee stole from tho peoplo of Cali- : fornia their right to give the rotes , of California to the men of their . choice. Theso thirty-seven polltl-: polltl-: ciana, none of whom lived In Cali- fornia, assumed to override the will of the quarter of a million of California Cali-fornia voters who had recorded their will at the primary. Tho thirty-seven thirty-seven men who do not live in California Cali-fornia havo given seats to two Taft men whom tho quarter of a million California voters had rofUBcd to scat. These two Taft delegates havo no more right to sit in tho Republican convention than they havo to sit in the Democratic convention Thoy woro defeated In Californlaby about 77,-000 77,-000 majority; a majority greater than Mr. Taft's entlro voto. Under the act of the legislature all tho delegates ran on ono ticket, the Taft and Rooso-elt Rooso-elt delegates alike binding themselves them-selves to abide by the result. No delegates were elected by districts. Robbery In Evidence. Mr. Taft sent an urgent appeal to California Just bofore primary election, an appeal which showed his complete acquiescence In what was done and unless he wos prepared then to protect it was dishonorable to protcBt afterward. Yet on tho plea of a henchman of .Mr Patrick Calhoun, Cal-houn, thirty-eoven adherents of Mr Taft on tho national committeo robbed tho people of Culifoinia of Calhoun delegates. Of theso thirty-seven thirty-seven men, four represented the territories of Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines and Porto Rico. Twelve represented states that wont Demo-ciatlc Demo-ciatlc four years ago. Fourteen camo from Republican states, every one of which had repudiated Mr. Taft and his committeemen at tho primaries held this spring. In other words, of tho thirty-seven Taft men who In Mr. Tafl'B Interest robbed tho overwhelming over-whelming majority of tho Republican voters of the great Republican Btato of California of thoir rights, sixteen represented no Ropublican doctoral vote whatever, and fourteen Tepre-aonted Tepre-aonted Republican states whore voters by overwhelming majorities had repudiated re-pudiated Uio mon themselves and Mr. Taft also at the primaries hold thlB spring. Thero remain out of the twenty-nlno only seven men, bIx of theso representing statos whero the Republican voters have had no chanco io exijrcas uieir pruiuruuue xor president. presi-dent. In other words, out of tho thirty-seven men on the national committee who in Mr. Taft's interest inter-est disfranchise California so far as two of Its delegates ar concerned, but ono single man represented a state whore tho majority was Republican Re-publican and where, when It had had a chanco, It had not repudiated both the man himself and Mr. Taft himself. him-self. Blames Taft. The action ot tho committee In seating tho Taft dolegates from Washington was even worse, and in tho othor states I have named It was at least as bad This Is Mr. Taffs theory of government of tho people by a "rcprcsentatho part" of tho people when It is reduced to practico From the practice of this thcon. under tho protenso of heeding tho forms of democracj. It Is but ono step farther to cast aside all pretense whatever, and Mr Taffs nontenants hae takon this step again and again, from swindling tho iooplo by sharp political politi-cal tricks they havo gone to tho point of deliberate theft. Mr. Taft in encouraging en-couraging what was done in the Ohio stato convention showed his anxious desire to dofeat the will of the people peo-ple by shady trickery which kept just within the law But in electing and seating tho delegates whom the Taft national committeemen hao put on tho temporary roll of the convention from California, Washington, Arizona, Ari-zona, Kentuckj, Indiana, Toxas and other statos, a much longer slop towards to-wards dishonesty has boon takon Theso delegates represent deliberate thoft, deliberate robbery. Tho action of Mr. Taft's supporters In those cases raises a question ovon more vital than thoao that havo legitimately legitimate-ly been raised In thlB campaign. Before Be-fore discussing questions dealing with the right of tho people to rule and to socure social and industrial Justice, It Ib ncccsaary to sottle onco for all that when the decision has beon made by tho peoplo It shall not bo reversed by force and fraud. Wo havo a right to ask eory honest man among our opponents, whatever may bo his vIcwb as to the principles wo advocate, heartily to support ua In this light for tho elementary, the fundamental honesties hon-esties of politics. Tho QrBt and greatest great-est issue before ub is the Ibsuo of theft Every honest citizen should Join with us in the fight for honesty against thoft and corruption. Ted of Democracy. It Is not to be wondored at that our oppononts have been vorv bitter; for tho lineup in this crisis" Ib ono that cuts deep to tho foundations of government. gov-ernment. Our democracy is now put to a vital test; for tho conflict Is ho-tweon ho-tweon human rights on tho -one side and on tho other special prlvllegeB asserted as-serted as a property right. The parting part-ing of the ways baa come. The Republican Re-publican party must deflnltely stand on one side or tho othor. It muBt stand by deeds and not merely empty phrases, for tho rights of humanity, or else it muBt stand for special privilege. priv-ilege. Our opponents are fond of calling call-ing themsohes regular Republicans. In reality they havo no title to membership mem-bership In any party that 1b true to the principles of Abraham Lincoln. inoy are lighting for the cause of special privilege, and their chief strength Ib drawn from tho bonoQ-clarlos bonoQ-clarlos of Intrenched economic and social injustice. I do not in the least mean that thoy aro all of them, or even a majority of them, lnfluonced by lmpropor motives any more than I would Bay tho flame thing of tho men In the north who, during the civil war, wore favorable to slavory and hostile to the union. But most of the master Bplrjts among them have a strong selfish Interest in resisting the campaign against Industrial wrong. Real Masters In Rear. The real masters among our opponents oppo-nents aro often by no moans those nominally In the forefront Theso real masters of the reactionary forces have a tremondouB personal interest in perpetuating the rulo ot the boss In pjolitlcs, with, as Its necessary ac-companimont, ac-companimont, the safeguarding of privilege, and tho enlarging of the oyuuiu ui a. ajiuuiai liuorc&i. rney aro tho men who stand back of tho ordinary ordi-nary political IcaderB who aro against us. They aro tho men who directly or Indirectly control tho majority of the great dally newspapers that are against us. Behind them comos tho host of honest citlzons who, becauso the channels of their Information aie choked, misunderstand our position and boliovo that In opposing us they aro opposing dlsturbors of the peace. In addition, thero are tho men who now, as In every ago, are intellectually intellectual-ly and tompcramontally Incapable of consenting to progress and who wor-ahlp wor-ahlp at the shrine of tho sanctity of property even though that property be Illicitly acquired and used to the detriment of the community. All of theso honest men are sedulously tnlirrllt hv llln llir- alnlcU mn Vinf revolution Impends If we strike at tha Injustice. They aro taught to believe that change means destruction. They aro wrong The men who temperately and with aelf-rcBtralnt but with unflinching un-flinching resolution and efficiency, strike at Injustice, right grievous wrong and drive intrenched privilege from Its sanctuary, arc the men who prevent revolutions. Life means change, where thore is no change, death comes Wo who fight sanely for the rights of the people, for industrial indus-trial Justice and social reform, arc aleo flghtlug for material well being, for Justice Is the handmaiden of prosperity, pros-perity, and without Justice thero can bo no lasting prosperity. Wo pledge ourselves not only to strive for prosperity pros-perity but to bring It about, for It can only como on a basis of fair treatment treat-ment for all, and on such a basis it shall come, If the people intrust power pow-er ot us. Aware of Result. When I undertook this contoat 1 was well aw aro of tho Intense bitterness bitter-ness which my ro-ontry into politics YVnills? fi'JIlCA T 1nmi. tliA . . that prey would oppose me with tenfold ten-fold the bitterness thej would show In opposing any other progressive candidate, simply becuueo thoy do not fear any other progresshc candidate, wheieas thoy ry greatly fear me I know also that thoy would directly or Indirectly Influence many men who prldo themselves upon bolonglng to and indeed typifying what they regard re-gard as the educated and respectable classes But It has been to me a matter of melancholy concern to soe the effect these Influences havo produced pro-duced upon so many men In tbo northeaBt and in cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia, who lend Ihes that arc on the whole rather pleasant, rather soft, and who are freo from all possibility of the pressure of actual want It has been a matter of concern to mo to see how bitter and Irrational has been the opposition to us among a very large proportion of theso men, the men who aro to bo found in most of tho noted clubs, In the contors of big business, and in tho places especially resorted to by thoso whoso chlof desires aro for easo and pleasure Wo havo with us a small perconLngo of tho heads of great corporation lawyers, Including, I bollovc, nlmost oery man of either class sufficiently high-minded and fnr-slghtod to soo that In tho long run privilege spells destruction, not only to tho claBs harmed by It but tho class possessing It. Wo wolcomo the prosonco of theso men. Every honest hon-est man, whatover hla fortune, should be our ally. Saye Cnpltallcta Hostile. Tho great majority of capitalists, howovor, and of tho big corporation lawyers ao lntlmatoly connoctcd with them, aro naturally hostile to us. Thoir hostility did not surprise mo. Tho men who aro most benefitted by prlvllogo, unless they aro exceptionally exception-ally disinterested and far-Blghtod, aro not friendly towards thoso who' assail as-sail privilege. But associated with them aro many mon whoso selfish In. tercsts In privilege Is far loss obvious. I gonuinoly regret that wo have had with us so small a porcentage of tho mon for whom life hos boon cobv, who belong to or aro lntlmatoly associated as-sociated with the lelBuro and monied classes; so small a proportion of tho cIsbb which furnlshos tho bulk of tho membership In tho larger social, so-cial, business nd professional clubs and which supplies tho majority of the heads of our great educational institutions in-stitutions and of the mon generally who take tho lead of upholding tho cauBo of vlrtuo whon only the minor moralities and tho elegancies of llfo aie at issue. My concorn and regret over thoir action aro not primarily Cor our sakes, for tho Bnko of tho people My concern and rcgrot are primarily for these men themselves. They could do us good by joining ub, for it Is earnostly to bo wished that this movomont for social justice shall number among Its leaders at least a goodly proportion of men whoso lead, ershlp 18 obviously disinterested, who will themselves roccivo no material benefit from the changes which as a matter ot Justice thoy advocate. Yet tho good to tho people would bo small compared to the good which theso mon would do to thoir own class by casting In their lot with us as wo battlo for the rights of humanity, hu-manity, as wo battlo for social and industrial in-dustrial Justice, aa wo champion tho causo of those who most need champions cham-pions and for whom championB have, beon too few. Fear the People. I have been puzzled at tho attitude of tho men in question. Thoy are often men who In the past have been very sovoro In their condemnation of corruption, in their condemnation of bossism, and in railing at injustice and demanding higher Ideals of public pub-lic service and private life. Yot when tho supremo test comes thoy prove false to all their professions of the past They fear tho people so Intensely In-tensely that thoy pardon and uphold oory species of political and business crookedness in tbo panic-struck hopo of strengthening tho boss and special privllego and thereby raising a pow-orful pow-orful shield to protect their own soft personalities from lb public. The) aro foolish creatures, tho people would never harm them; 3-et thoy still dread tho people. They stand with servile acquiescence behind tho worst lepreacntatives of crooked business and crooked politics In the country, and by speech or by silence the now encouragb or condono tho efforts of our opponents to steal from tho people peo-ple the victory they have won and to oubstltuto boss rulo for popular rule. Cnm nf tViacrt mrtn llnvn (n IllA nnct assumed to be teachers of their fellow fel-low mon In political matters. Never . again can they speak In favor of a high Ideal of honesty and decency In political life, or of the duty to oppose op-pose political corruption and business wronkdolng. for to do so would expose ex-pose them to the derision of all who abhor hypocrlcy and who condemn fine words that aro not translated into in-to honorable deeds. Class Consciousness. Apparently these men aro Influenced Influ-enced by a class consciousness which I had not supposed existed in any such strength. They Hvo softly. Circumstances for which thoy aro not responsible havo removed" their lives from tho fears and anxieties of tho ordinary men who toll When a movement is undertaken to make life a littlo easier, a little better, for tho ordinary man, to give him a bettor chanco, theso men of soft life seem cast Into panic lest something that Ib not rightly theirs may bo taken from thorn In unmanly fear thev stand against all changes, no matter how urgent such change may bo, thoy not only come far short of their duty when they thus act but thoy show a lanicntablo short-sightedness. In this country of ours no man con permanently leave to his descendants de-scendants the right to Hvo softly. nnH if ho pmild loavo such a right It would In tho end provo to bo a right not worth having. Tho inheritance really worth while which wo can transmit to our children and to our children's children, Ib tho ability to do work that counts, not tho means of avoiding work tho ability for efficient ef-ficient efforts, not the opportunity for tho slothful avoidance of all efforts. ef-forts. The leaders In the fight for Industrial and social justice today should bo the men to whom much has been given and from whom we havo a right to expect in roturn much of honesty and of courage, much of disinterested and valorous effort for tho common good. The multimillionaire multi-millionaire who opposes us Ib tho worst foe of his own children and chlldron's children, and, little though ho knows It, wo nro their benefactors when wo strivo to mako this country coun-try ono In which juatlco Bhall prevail, pre-vail, for it Ib they themselves who would In tho end suffer moat if in this country wo permitted tho average aver-age man gradually to grow to feel that fair play was denied him, that JuBtlce was denied to tho many and privllego accorded to tho few. Corrupt Preoa. We, who In thin contest are fighting for the rights of the plain people, wo who aro fighting for tho right of tho peoplo to rule themselves, nood offer no bettor proof of the fact that wo nro fighting for all citizens, no mat- ' IH ter what their politics, than that ' IH which is afforded by the action of IH that portion of the press which Is con- l trolled bj privilege, by the- great H bpccial interests In business. News- H papers of this typo aro found in ev- M ory part of the country, in San Francisco. In Cincinnati, in Chicago H and St Louis. In Boston and Phlla- M dolpbla. But "thoy aro strongost In j M Now York. Some of theso nowspa- ,i H pons aro nominally Independent But jj H in reality they are truo only to tho lj roal or fancied interests of tho great J capitalist class by certain of whose n H members they arc controlled Some- 1 H times the Interests of this capitalist j class are Identical with those of tho H country as a whole, and In that case, H theso papors serve the interests of the ' H commonwealth But nolther their H acting favorably to nor their acting H adversely to the Interests of tho com- f H monwcallh is anything more than au , H Incident to their support of the inter- H est to which thov aro bound. H Evil Is Disclosed. ' H The great and far-reaching ovil of ' H their action Is that they choke and , H foul tho only channels of lnforma- H tlon open to bo many honest and well- H meaning citizens. Tho most promt- I jH nent representatives of these p&pers ' H in Now York and Massachusetts sup- J H ported Mr. Parker against mo in j H 1904. Mr. Parker was a Democrat, j H but he was entirely satlBfactory to H thoir masters, and for tho timo being H they ardently did all they could to . H overthrow the Ropublican party and H to olect a Democratic prosldont But H when I began to be seriously talked I H about for tho Republican nomination H this year, 'thoso papers, ono and all, i H turned Republican to the extent of I H becoming my furious opponents and i H tho furious championB of Mr. Taft j H Thero Ib an clement of puro comedy 1 jH in reading in theso papers continual ) IH lamentations nbout the likelihood of IH my candidacy breaking up tho Re- IH publican party. Thoy thcmsolvcs did ) H nil they could to boat the Republican ,, H party whon they thought thoy could H elect Mr. Purkor, Now theso papers H would eagerly champion tho Ropublt- j H can party if thoy could keep Mr Toft H ns Kb nomlnco for president In tho H past thoy have not concealed their H contempt for Mr. Taft, and nono ol H them regard him In any way as a H leader. H IH |