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Show ROOSEVELT'S UNSOUNDNESS. In considering the unscrupulous ferocity fe-rocity with which Col- Roosevelt has been conducting his Presidential campaign, cam-paign, especially in Massachusetts, The Tribune on Sunday last spoke of hirn in a headline as "The Political Maniac." Man-iac." This was objected to by certain of Col. Roosevelt's friends in Utah, but it seemed to n to be a fair and fitting characterization of him, judged by the methods used by Col. Roosevelt in his attacks upon Prosident Taft and upon Republicans and the Republican party general-. The occasion arose from the heated canvass in Massachusetts, where the President plainly and sorrowfully showed the mendacity of Col. Roosevelt's Roose-velt's charges,' the shifty character of his utterances, and the falsity and ferocity fe-rocity of his charges personally against the President. The article was written in view of Roosevelt's attempted reply to President Taft, where at Worcester Roosevelt addressed himself to the President's showing, but in place of meeting the issues as presented, f airl3 and manfully, he evaded all the points at issue, and indulged in the wildest vituperation vi-tuperation and aspersions upon the President, his motives, and his acts. The Roosevelt outburst was stated in advance of its utterance to be a complete com-plete answer to President Taft, but it answered him not at all. On the contrary, con-trary, it shirked everything and turned upon personal vituperation and ravings as of a lunatic. We find that the idea which we gathered gath-ered from the Roosevelt rantings on that occasion was shared by others in the East at the same timo. Thus, the New York Journal of Commerce & Commercial Bulletin quoins a Latin adage, "Ira furor brovis est," to the 'effect that "anger is a brief madness,'' mad-ness,'' ap describing Roosevelt's out burst of wrath whenever he is opposed j or criticised. And it suggests that Roosevelt is ' subject to intermittent madness" which is in danger of be coming chronic. It refers to his at tempted reply to President Taft as " wild and whirling words," and as au alarming symptom of the temporary madncds indicated. Henry Watterson, in the Louisville Courior'joumal. speaks thus of Roosevelt Roose-velt in his campaign: "The man is a maniac. He knows not clearly what he does or says. Never an utterance of hia will bear discussion or dissec-1 tion. Never an act of his can be defended." de-fended." The Kentucky editor thiuks Mr. Taft might better have "taken a shorter cut to the truth," and merely said "I. personally know that Theodore Theo-dore Roosevelt is of unsound mind and I refuse to fight a madman." Thus we note that in the judgment which we expressed upon Col. Roosevelt Roose-velt we were by no means alone; iti fact, any one noting carefully the flood of vituperation which Col. Roosevelt indulged in in that Worcester speech, while he pretended to answer President Pres-ident Taft, but, in fact, did nothing but assail him with scurrilous abuse, must have come practically to the same conclusion. And when Col. Roosevelt cuded his abusive tirade by saying "1 care nothing for Mr. THft's porsoual attitude toward me," one sees at once that Col. Roosevelt put3 his whole campaign cam-paign on the personal basis, and docs not in the least make it a matter of principle or of public concern. We therefore adhere distinctly to the opinion expressed that Col. Roosevelt Roose-velt is of unsound mind in the rant-iugs rant-iugs in which he indulges. That the disorder of his mind is temporary we concedo as altogether probable; but that a man in soundness of mind would indulge in the sort of talk that Col. Roosevelt has frequently indulged in during his present enmpaign, it is impossible im-possible to beliovo. |