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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1912)
i . ( .1'.,S Y- n it 16 The' Commoner. Volume 12, "number 21 . and aro pormlttod to apeak thoir fcol inga freely to each othor. Statea aro divided by narrow alaloa, and thoao antagoniats soo oach othor at cloao range Mr. Barnos, who la not ablo to produco a cortlficato o character from Mr. Roosevelt less than a year old rubs agalnat Mr. Fllnn, whom Prosldont Taft can not regard with any degree of allowance, and yet thoro ia no physical combat. The Massachusetts delegation Is dlvidod half and half; eighteen "dema gogues" and a group of eighteen more made made .up of "bosses," "corrupt politicians," and '.'represen tatives of predatory wealth," and yet thoro has not beon a light. Sovoral of the delegations are divided, some In the middle, and somo on the edge, but tho best of decorum prevails. Even Senator Bradley of Kentucky, and Mr. Honey of California, can ap poar upon the same platform with out disturbing tho peaco. They havo thoir differences, and thoy are fight ing them out, but they aro doing it in a most creditable way. I am hot now passing upon tho morits of tho decisions rendered', neither am I in dorsing tho parliamentary methods employed, but I congratulate tho re publican party on the splendid proof It has given of tho ability of a largo number of pooplo, intensely in earn est, to discuss thoir dlfforoncos calm ly and settle tho questions involved without recourse to violence. It not only indicates self-restraint, but faith in the incorruptibility of the people, tho court of last resort, in a republic. This report must bo put on tho wires before the convention opena at 11, and it is impossible at this time to forecast tho action that the convention will take. Mr. Roosovelt's statement has not changed tho attitude of the Taft forces in tho least. The credentials committee is entirely in tho hands of the administration and the "Taft delegates aro- being seated as rapidly as tho cases can be disnosed of. The 'contest over the length of time to be given to oach case was really "much ado about nothing," because tho ac tion of the committee is sure to bo the Bame whether much or little time is given in each case. The facts are thoroughly understood by both sides, and tho hearings are merely a mat ter of form. Unlesa something un expected happens, the Taft delegatea will be seated, and it looks now as if the regular convention would renominate tho president. Some of his delegates, It is said, would pre fer a compromise candidate, but tho amiable gentleman in the White House is showing that he can sit tight when necessary. His fighting blood Is aroused, and If anybody says "enough" the word is not likely to come from anyone living west of the Alleghanles. , At present Mr. Taft has the best of the situation, and it looks as if ho naa maao up uis mind to run the ex president out of tho republican party, or make him swallow his words. Mr. Roosevelt is apparently facing the crisis in his political Career. Bolting is easy whore one is not a candidato, but jit is a more difficult thinT Where followers nr TirtPAaonmr If Mr. Roosevelt could take his dele gates with him, he could organize a convention that would represent a majority of the republican voto of. the country, but he can not do so. A considerable number of his delegates will not bolt and his convention, therefore, would not carry with it tho moral force that goes with the majority, Ho can not tell until the split comes exactly how many will walk out, for somo are unwilling to decide the question until the time arrives for action. If the president's followers bolt-and nominate him, he can not tell whether to accept or not, until after the regular convention aots, and even thou he will likely be ' Influenced by the action pf tjio demo cratic national convention. Ho may be put in tho attitude, theroforo, of refusing to lead a bolt after ho has encouraged It. If tho democrats aro guilty of tho criminal folly of nomi nating a reactionary, thoy will sup ply Mr. Roosevelt with tho ono thing needful, in case ho becomos an in dependent candidate, namely, an is buo, and with two reactionaries run ning for president, ho might win, and thua intrench himself in power. This convention, therefore, may exert a powerful Influence upon the Balti more convention. W. J. B. CALIFORNIA has its day Chicago, Juno 21. This was Cali fornia's day. Tho state occupied the center of the stage and came nearer breaking through the Taft line than ariy other stato has done. Governor Hadloy had charge of tho case for California, but ho yielded to Mr. Heney to open and to Governor John son to close. Mr. Honey's speech was a strong, clear argumentative appeal and he raised the Roosevelt followers to thoir feet when, after describing the president's participa tion in tho selection of tho delegates In accordance with the letter of the primary law, he charged him' with treason to popular government when ho attempted to re'pudlato the law for tho sake of two delegates. Governor Johnson, 'however, was the hero of the day. His speech was, all things concerned, the gem of the convention so far. He is a young man, prepossessing in appearance, all of earnestness, and his speech has the ring of sincerity. He made a plea for the progressive cause that surpassed In effectiveness anything heretofore presented to the delegates. His prophecy of victory for progres sives this fall, thrilled his hearers. Ho , dealt with all phases of the subject, condensing what he had to say on each point into a sentence. Ho told how the predatory interests had controlled his state for genera tions; how at last tho tide of re form had swept them out of office and driven tho progressives into con trol; how the progressives instead of using the party machinery to secure a delegation to the national conven tion, passed a primary law that vested control In the voters; how the reactionaries, to escape from the in fluence of state organization then in the hands of progressives, unitedly supported the primary law; how both- sides selected a list of dele Kates in accordance with ia inw.- how President Taft himself gave to his list of delegates the written ap proval required by law; how all these steps had been taken without objec tion and without protest, and then how; these two delegates, after hav ing been defeated by '77,000 in the state, sought to repudiate their own act and tho action of the president and claim election in a district in spite of the fact that it was impos-1 siuio to ascertain tne exact number of votes cast In their district because of fourteen precinct's which wore partly in one district and partly in anothdr. He convinced the auiHonoA timf i, had justice on his side, but the audience was not iu a position to follow its convictions. A number of delegates told me that they had to vote for tho two Taft delegates In order to save the Taft forces from the mortification of defeat, but that the contest ought never to have been made. Governor Johnson had the satis faction of seeing the Taft majority whittled down to thirteen, and the administration will find thirteen a very unlucky number out in California this fall. It Is surprising that men as intelligent as the leaders of the Taft forces would make tho tactical mistake that they have in this case. In some of the contests they have guch a strong showing that even tfie Roosevelt members of the committee havo voted with them, but one case like tho California case imparts its weakness to all tho others. If it had been purely a question of principle, there would havo been standing ground on both sides of tho issue. Governor Johnson emphasized the right of a state to regulate its own affairs, and insisted that tho stato law should take precedence over a rule of. tho national conven tion. Mr. Watson of Indiana, represent ing the Taft forces,, laid great stress onvtho rules adopted' by the national convention recognizing the congres sional district as tho unit. There -is strength in both arguments, and it is notfdifllicult to reconcile the argu ments. If I were dociding the case, I would say that tho state law ought to be respected, but that the state made a mistake in substituting a state wide delegation for tho district system. Tho California caso really estab lishes a unit rule by law, whereas the republican party has come near to the people in giving each district a chance to name ,and instruct its dele; gates. It is no argument against the primary system to say that. a pri mary law ought to recognize a dis trict system' other' than a state wide system in the selection of delegates. While the Taft men were strong in asserting opposition to the unit rule, they were t weak in attempting to overthrow 'the law after they had acquiesced in it and secured the president's approval of it, and they were weak also because of their in ability to show with exactness the number of votes cast in the district which they claimed to. have carried by a very small majority. ..The convention wasin good humor today. The roll call was demanded only in tho case of a few states, and the delegates who wore being de feated seemed to enjoy themselves about as much as those who were winning. Sometimes all delegates would jdin in shouting "aye" on a viva voco vote, and then all would join in shouting, "no," when the question was, put. It was Impossible for Chairman Root totell on which side tho majority wajtijbut he knew what it would be onMl call and so declared. M, "The ayes have and then tho audience would bidak out into laughter. ' "M: . The machine has worked beauti fully today; it has noMipped a cog. When it, was runnin&kt- full speed, tOOt." f'tOOt." WOllld;'. nnnaaUnnllTr .. ' r - Tr.Tin wwwMHivuuii.r come from the audleMfcfe Sometimes spends, aroso that rambled escap Ingsteam, but I am gri&sfied that no steam escaped. It isjfcll being used and 'at all pressure, jfoov The platform is stfffito be ready, but 'there is very littlq discussion of the platform. The figM has centered in men rather than,in;tmeasures. Rumors have it thaVthe Taft men having won out on pverything else are inclined to make some conces sions to progressives in the wordlnc of the platform. From present indications Mr. Taft will be nominated on the first ballot or upon the second, If not upon the first. The president discountenances compromise and seems prepared to stake his all upon the result, it is probable, therefore, that the plat form will be to his liking, and that ue wui nave tne privilege of trying the realities of an election. Nearly half of the convontlon will feel like concluding his nomination as a judge concludes the death sen tence of a prisoner, "And may the juoru uuve mercy on your soul." W. J. B.. THE FINALjpAY Port Wayne, Ind.fJune 22. -The break has come and tho progressives wore happy in their selection of the time. They waited until the -creden tials committee Had made its last report, until the committee-made ma jority had voted itself into the con vention, until it was .demonstrated that no amount of fact or argument availed to reverse the decisions based upon tho exigencies of tho caso rather than upon tho merits of tho contests and then Delegate Allen of Kansas read Mr. -Roosevelt's state ment and enforced its. pungent para graphs with pointed remarks of his own. As Mr. Roosevelt's .statement will bo published in fall I need only re fer to it here. It. will prove an his toric document. Never before, in American politics has a' committee witnessed such a scene: a man, ono of tho most forceful figures of his time, twice a president, once by tho accident of death and o.nce by tho largest majority ever given to a president, contending against, an ad ministration that he created, for tho honor of a republican nomination. In spite of patronage, in spite of tho powerful organization of the dominant party and in spite of great -commercial influences he actually secures an undisputed majority of the republi can vote. . Contrary to all precedent ho goes &) the convention city and conducts his own fight'. Ho' find3 himself hedged about by a force with which he can not cope. If he' may bo likened to a caged lion confined in a cage constructed of regularity, for mality and orderly procedure, it must be admitted that he' was un able with all his Samson like strength to bend a single bar. But here the simile ends. Man is more than an animal; ho lauglis at tho limitations of the flesh," He can 'appeal to a power greater than tho political and Mr. Roosevelt has made his appeal. Ho brings against the convention such an indictment as no party has, ever had to meet before. Ho appeals from leaders inebriated by prolonged power to the voters who can dispas sionately weigh policies and meas ure methods from Philip drunk to Philip sober. Tho platform, as might be ex pected, is for Mr. Taft.; It- points withprlde to what'haas done and V.ie$Hvith' alarm alt'ifkt Mir. Rooso- YSKMtands for andtltreatens to do. TttSurious may read may,,a very small palgn. In the repi TOiranas como to p&Hirm and Mr. Rdl $$tvism and thdfj nMiWfc any nice cal( eidrag between theim j republican $ thrOUeh tho Bnmn Hn'i tKffd'emocratic part3 ?i$feeii years ago, wl democracy was bornP oun, party the moth present both a nhvai j- - ..-.. v. geon are in atte:idaff and it will be gome months before'- the fate of the patient will be known. I was compelled to leave just before for mer Vice President Fairbanks con cluded reading the platform .but from what took place,4he renomina tion of the president Seemed a fore gone, conclusion. 'If' As was to be expeci$dthO Chicago convention will exera marked in fluence upon the democratic conven tion about tO be held in RalHmnffl. The fact that more than hatf of, tho republican party .has been shownv to be militant in its progressivenesa would seem to make it even more Imperatively necessary ' than before that the" democratic convention should in its platform and with its nomination respond to the demands of the progressives of tho nation, and -thus make a ttfird party un nccessary, , This- is way ifr-ldolc from va distance. I can make a bet ter'ffforecast after reaching Balti more. " W. j, B? - But it will pn the cam kan mind Mr. ulj for stand jfelt for- pro pter will not iittone at do- 'i f - 1 Yj is pusamg usions which Kssed through Ijrofji eaaivo the caseof ftiVefl.' In the tn, ana a sur- ; --- 0 o -
