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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1912)
12 VOLUME 12, NUMBER 17 . The Commoner, r t h an ft fc- IV. !! MWr t r. United Statoa that I bo tho nominee. IIo laborod hard and succeeded in electing mo and I havo felt deeply gratified ovor since. Noithor in thought, word or act havo I over boon disloyal to tho friendship I havo had with Thcodoro Roosevelt. "Bui, like other presidents, I have been willing to have the people ap prove my first term by re-electing mo for a second. I signified this and Mr. Roosevelt said ho did not intend to become a candidate. Hut his res olution grow less and less, and final ly upon tho solicitation of a number of stale governors, ho annouiicod that ho would be a candidate. "Then he wont out to Ohio and gavo out what ho called a charter of democracy, offoring propositions which strike at tho roots of the in dependence of the courts and of our liborties. "I was impersonal in my judgment. I said to myself I shall nover attack Roosevolt. I lo can not make a quar rel with me because I won't quarrel with hi m. "But the charter of democracy was not so effective as lie thought it would provo to bo and so he departed from the courso and took up my ad ministration and myself for attack. And over sinco he has boon engaged in an abuso of my administration and mysoir. "So far as my personal feelings aro concerned, I would rather never reply to him. I am willing to let tho future show whether or not I havo been sincere in my administra tion of the laws. But I represent tho cause, the element in the party of which bolieves in the sacreduess of tho constitution. "Mr. Roosevelt .has misled many honest people to believe his charges against mo. The cause I represent is entitled to havo my defonse. "Ho sayB I favor an oligarchy of bosses; that I represent tho special interests; that my administration has not boon product! vo of anything pro gressive; that I am a reactionary and other charges so numerous I can not think of them all." Tho president then proceeded to answer thoso charges, one by one, practically anticipating tho speech ho had planned to deliver first at tho Boston meeting tonight. The crowd applauded enthusiastically and seemed to delight in seeing for tho first time tho president in the rolo of a fighting man. The presi dent spoke for nearly an hour to a crowd which filled tho central square or me town, cutting short his re marks just in time to get to the sta tion for tho Boston train. lie de clared: "Tho renomination or re-election of ex-Presidont Roosevelt for a third term would bo dangerous. "He has forgotten the standards of the square deal," said Taft. The president pointed out how his position, he said, had been misrep resented by Colonel Roosevelt. "Mr. Roosevelt said I had tho support of the bosses," declared Taft. "His definition of a boss depends upon whom tho boss is supporting. If he is supporting Colonel Roose velt, he is a loader; if he is support ing me, ho is a boss." In a voice choking with emotion Taft concluded his speech with a solemn warning to tho people of tho United States that in Roosevelt thoy "wore in danger of a dictator, who, once he received a third term, would cling like a leech to the white house and nover leavo it until death re moved him." "I am sorry to Lay it," said Presi dent Taft, "but Mr. Roosevelt is a man of strong personality. He is a loader of men and is a man of much strength of purpose, and has so little regard for the constitution or legal procedure and the courts that he is not to be trusted with the presidency I am sorry to say it, but I believe it in my soul, and must stato my con victions." Mil. ROOSEVELT'S REPLY Worcester, Mass., April 26. Merciless denunciation of President Taft was Colonel Roosevelt's reply tonight to tho president's attack upon him yesterday. Somo of Colonel Roosevelt's assertions were: That President Taft had not given the people of tho country a "square deal," but owing to a "quality of feebleness" he had "yielded to the bosses and to the great privileged interests." That ono part of the president's attack upon him was "the crookod est kind of a deal," and "deliberate misrepresentation." That tho president "has not mere ly in thought, word and deed been disloyal to our past friendship, but has been disloyal to every canon of ordinary decency and fair dealing which should obtain in even dealing with a man's bitterest opponents." That tho president's statement re garding tho influence of federal officeholders in the campaign was "not only an untruth but it is an ab surd untruth." That Mr. Taft convicted himself of insincerity when he signed the Payne-Aldrich tariff bill. That in speaking of Colonel Roose velt's position in regard to the trust problem, President Taft "is himself guilty of a crooked deal." Colonel Roosevelt took up Presi dent Taft's attack on him point by point, assailing the president in one scathing sentence after another. When Colonel Roosevelt reached here at the beginning of his Massa chusetts trip ho found the streets thronged. A band and a torchlight procession escorted him to Mechan ic's hall, where he delivered his main speech. Later he addressed an over flow meeting. Colonel Roosevelt said in part: "Jn this campaign I regard the issues at stake as altogether too im portant to permit it to be twisted into one of personalities between President Taft and myself. But Mr. Taft's speeches yesterday contained statements that I must answer. Most of what he said needs no comment from me. When, for instance, he said that I havo endeavored to mini mize the importance of my Columbus speech ho says what he must know to be untrue; he can not have read my yarnegie uall speech; my speech before the Massachusetts lower house; my noonday speech at St Louis; my Philadelphia and Pitts burgh and Louisville speeches with out knowing that I have elaborated and emphasized what I said at Columbus. "Again, when Mr. Tuff in speech, speaks of me directly or ob liquely as a neurotic or a demagogue or in similar terms, I shall say noth ing except that to point out that if he is obliged to use such language he had better preserve his own self respect by not protesting that it gives him pain to do so. No man resorts to epithets like these if it really gives him pain to use them. I have never alluded to him in terms even re- iiiuiwy rosomimng those. I have never quoted his private letters 'or private communications. I have dis cussed exclusively his public actions Even whore I was obliged to be se vere I was always parliamentary and never hypocritical. Nor do I intend today to deviate from this standard, although the president's speech makes it necessary for me ot speak moro plainly on certain subjects than I have yet spoken." Colonel Roosevelt referred to President Taft's explanation of his statement "that ours is a govern ment of all the people by a repre sentative part of the people." nn,PPi!lIm.ut0 try'" said Colonel Roosevelt, "to escape the conse quences of his statements by say ing that he alluded only to women and children, is trifling with the in telligence of the people. To speak of such action on his part as a 'square deal' is Itself the crookedest kind of a deal. He is trying to dodge tho consequences of his state ment by deliberate misrepresenta tion of that statement." Colonel Roosevelt defined the political "boss" as "the man respon sible for the alliance between crook ed politicians and crooked business, which has been responsible for nine tenths of the corruption of Ameri can political life. "If there is any such man among my supporters," he continued, "I do not know him. Mr. Taft says that Mr. Flynn of Pittsburgh is a very bad boss. There is an element of grim comedy in Mr. Taft weeping over the thought of Pennsylvania being put under the rule of a boss through Mr. Penrose being ousted from control of the party organiza tion." The bosses, Colonel Roosevelt de clared, were on .the president's side. "Mr. Taft says he continued, "that in my various campaigns I accepted the assistance of these bosses. So I did, when they chose to gq my way and to support the cause of the people. The trouble with Mr. Taft is that he gets their assistance at the price of going their way and opposing the cause of the people. "Mr. Taft said yesterday that never in thought or deed had he been disloyal in his friendship for mo. It is hard for me to answer such a statement save by calling it the grossest and most astounding hypoc risy. When Mr. Taft made that statement he had just sent to the United States senate on half an hour's notice, obviously in collusion with the Lorimer democratic sena tor who made the request, papers which were intended to convey the impression that I had improperly favored the harvester trust by de clining to prosecute it in 1907. "When Mr. Taft, obviously to in fluence the Massa-chu setts primary and obviously In collusion with one of Mr. Lorimer's senatorial sup porters of the opposite political party, takes tho action he did he has not merely in thought, word and deed been disloyal to our past friend ship but has been disloyal to every canon of ordinary decency and fair dealings such as should obtain even in dealing with a man's bitterest opponents. Such conduct represents the very crookedest kind of a crook ed deal. "This is not an exceptional in stance of how he has behaved to me. The same course was followed last summer in connection with the Ten nessee Coal & Iron company. The assaults upon me by Mr. Taft's cam paign managers made in Washing ton under Mr. Taft's very eyes have been foul to the verge of indecency. But, remember, I am not complain ing of these things; I care nothing for Mr. Taft's personal attitude to ward me; I allude to it only in pass ing and merely because Mr. Taft lays such emphasis on the matter." RETURNS TO THE ATTACK Newark, N. J., April 26. Presi dent Taft renewed in Newark to night his attack on Colonel Theo dore Roosevelt. Carrying his "fighting" campaign Into Now Jersey, the president spoke to several thousand persons in the armory here, declaring it was with tho utmost reluctance that he had decided to answer Mr. Rooso velt's criticisms. He did not renlv to Mr. Roosevelt's charges in detail but endeavored to make it plain thnt Mr. Roosevelt knew most of th charges to be groundless. "If I consulted my own wish " Baid the president, "I would he silent under Mr. Roosevelt's attack, i represent the republican party that stands for wise progress under the constitution and stands for liberty regulated by law. I must do my duty and answer the charges of Colonel Roosevelt. It is not a pleasant thing to do. But I am forced against the wall with my back to it and I'm bound, if I havo any manhood, to fight." The president spoke with evident emotion. He walked the platform, pounded the rail in front of him and as he warmed up to his subject, grew red in the face with anger. Ho referred briefly to many of Mr. Roosevelt's charges, which he - an swered in Boston last night; his al leged friendship for Senator Lorimer and for the "bosses" in several states; to the declaration that he was in favor of an oligarchy and against government by the people and to many others. "The thing that sinks deepest into my heart," said the president, "is the charge that I am oligarch and don't believe in the ability of the United States to govern themselves. If there is anything I have to pride in, it is that I am an American citi zen and a party of the American government that has shown itself to be the finest and- most beneficial in the world." Taking up the charge that he was not a progressive, Mr. Taft said he did not think a progressive could be judged by his looks or his apprecia tion of poetry. "I think progressiveness is deter mined by what is done and not by what is said," cried the president. In reply to Mr. Roosevelt's accu sation that the president had gone into the White house a "progres sive," but became a reactionary by association with former Speaker Can non, former Senator Aldrich and others, Mr. Taft explained that it was at Mr. Roosevelt's suggestion that he consulted these men. "Of all the men in the world who advocate practical work in politics, Theodore Roosevelt is a notable ex ample. Read his works and see how he defends himself for his associa tion with bosses because he said they wore the men who do things." In closing the president called at tention to what he called "the dan ger of a third term." "Are the conditions so peouliar," asked the president, "that he is needed to do the job, as he calls it? Then why not a fourth term and a fifth?" All through his speech the presi dent voiced his belief that Mr. Roose velt had not given him a "square deal." Mr. Taft came to Newark from New York by automobile. His trip across the New Jersey meadows was uneventful, and he was only recog nized by a few thousand persons who saw him pass. TAFT DENIES IT Washington, April 28. President Taft, before leaving the White house today on his return to Massachusetts, Issued a personal statement denying Colonel Roosevelt's allegation that Mr. Taft, while secretary of war, had at a cabinet meeting approved Mr. Roosevelt's decision not to immedi ately prosecute the International Harvester company. President lait s statement says ho never heard the International Harvester company discussed at any cabinet meeting and that the records of the war de partment will show that he was out ot the country when the incident re lerred to by the colonel occurred. President Taft's statement was issued as follows: "The following personal statement ?xn ,1 President was issued from the White house this evening: Mr. Roosevelt, in his speech at 'ZJT SJfSSH "SB vri ""--r-itn r"t ms"i'. ""-OSKffiV & siW'l4 IY