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Show STOLE THE CONVENTION Roosevelt Explains the "Nomination by Theft" System of Regulars New York, July 12. Theodora Roosevelt further discusses the seating seat-ing of contested delegations in the Republican national convention at Chicago in an editorial entitled "Thou Shalt Not Steal," which appears in the current Issue of the Outlook. He says in part: "The American people are entitled to know that the charge of stealing tho Chicago convention of 191.2 1b more than oampaign recrimination and that tho frauds complained of are much more serious than the mere repetition of loose practices which might have found unfortunate precedents in some previous conventions of both parties. "Seriously and literally Presidont Taffs renomination was stolen for him from the American people and the ratification or rejection of that nomination raises the critical issue whether votes or fraud shall determine deter-mine the selection of American presidents. "President Taft was renominated by a majority of barely twenty-one votes and two of these were publicly raped at the last moment from iMassnchu-aetts iMassnchu-aetts If, therefore, more than nineteen nine-teen or twenty-one of his votes were demonstrably fraudulent, all claim 'o an honest majority disappears. The demonstration can be made as to many more than this number without touching touch-ing on a single honestly debatable case "It is sufficient to consider only the four confessedly indefensible cases ot Arizona, California and Texas, which alone wipe out the margin. All that could bo added from the other cases would only increase the Roosevelt majority ma-jority of the honest conention. But I wish it distinctly understood that many of these other cases were as cjear as the California case itself Nullified State Law. "Three- of' these cases were a direct di-rect assault on the tight of people to elect their own delegates at primaries, primar-ies, slnco in' them a few scora politicians-decided that the oters-os a TvlioleL had ntf right themselves- ud- 'dfde whb'hi they wished to see nominated nomi-nated In the California case the delegates del-egates to the national convention wore elected by direct vote ni state-wide preferential primaries The national committee first and then the national Republican convention nullified the state law and therefore by inference all state primary laws. "In Arizona and Washington tho contro lof the state convention depended de-pended on which of the two rival delegations del-egations were seated from certain counties, tho one set selected by the voters at primaries regularly called or the set appointed by bolting minorities of both committees. The state committees com-mittees in each case seated the appointed ap-pointed delegates and the 'national committee approved that action "President Taft was nominated by twenty-one otes or by nineteen, if tho two from Massachusetts are omitted omit-ted which were counted only by the extraordinary ruling of Chairman Root that when a delegate answers "present "pres-ent and not voting" his alternate shall be called to vote, always provided that alternate is a Taft man and the delegate dele-gate a Roosevelt man. "The cases, here discussed discover in their narrowest application thirty votes California two, Arizona six Washington fourteen and Texas at largo eight. The change of these thirty thir-ty votes would have defeated Tatt; they would have reversed all the Important Im-portant actions of the convention. Several Sev-eral district cases from Texas are Involved In-volved in the same ruling as that which was made In the case of the delegates at large, and are quite as flagrant. Secured by Theft. "1 have merely cited a few cases, so conspicuous that the facts cannot be truthfully disputed, and sufficient In number to show by actual figures that the nomination of President Taft could uot have been procured except by theft. The men responsible for tho theft of the delegates In question cared car-ed not one rap for the rights or wrongs of any of the cases. They were concerned only with getting the requisite number of delegates. They did steal as many as were needed; they would have stolon as many more as might have been needed. "No free people can affordto submit sub-mit to government by theft. If the will of the people Is defeated by fraud thon the people do not rule. If thoBe who are thus foisted on thorn represent repre-sent the special interests Instead of the people, then the Interests and not the people rule Then the people arc denied their only thoroughly efficient weapon, the direct primary, against this usurpation as was done by the ruling In the California case, then under tho system thus established the people cannot rule. The only remedy rem-edy is to break from the system. "The same arbitrary powers have been, conferred on tho national committee com-mittee that were exercised this time, and that committee, which lo to act in 1916 Is already elected. It Is composed com-posed of men the majority of whom, under the lead of one of their number, num-ber, Mr. Barnes, have already Bhown by their votefl In the convention that they are propared to repeat In 1S16 the usurpation of 1912. "If. the American people are really fit for 6lf-govcrnment they will Instantly In-stantly take up the challenge which a kntl of politicians bav to insolently |