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The Commoner.
7
OCTOBER 25, 1912
representative's was elected. In May, 1911, the
house authorized the creation of a special com
mittee, of which Representative A. O. Stanloy,
of Kentucky, was made chairman, to investigate
alleged violations of the Sherman anti-trust rict
by the United States Steel corporation.
Three months later; as a first result of this
investigation, President Taft was forced to order
Herbert Knox Smith, United States commis
sioner of corporations, to publish evidonco of
tho guilt of the steel corporation and Smith's
own positive conclusions that it was a monopoly
in restraint of trade.
In October, 1911, President Taft ordered tho
attorney-general, as a result of this investiga
tion by a committee of a democratic house, to
prosecute the United States Steel corporation for
violations of the Sherman anti-trust act. In the
government's petition, filed October 26, it was
charged that President Roosevelt had been de
ceived by Messrs. Frick and Gary.
Colonel Roosevelt is reported to have become
very angry. Tho newspapers quoted him as say
ing that ho could never forgive that act in Mr.
Taft. Herbert Knox Smith resigned as com
missioner of corporations and is now a moving
spirit in tho third term party.
in March, 1912, Colonel Roosevelt threw his
hat into tho ring. George W. Perkins enlisted
to see that it remained there.
On June 18, 1912, tho anniversary of the
battle of Waterl6o, the republican national con
vention opened at Chicago with President Taft
arid Theodore Roosevelt battling for negro dele
gates from the south and the presidential
nomination. Perkins was there with luxurious
headquarters and his check book. Taft won.
On August 7, Theodore Roosevelt and George
W. Perkins went again to Chicago and organized
the third term party, with Roosevelt and Perkins
candidate for president and chairman of the
executive committee respectively.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Casting the fierce light of relentless investiga
tion bohirid the scenes of Colonel Roosevelt's
theatrical struggle for the republican, nomina
tion,; .then to become the nominee. -of a. third
party,' has left him in a sorry plight in the minds
of" impartial lookers-on.
, .If the colonel had not been so eager to de
no.unce.evfcryone who contradicted him as -liars,
and to stand before tho country as the one;
brave, unpurchasable and unconquerable enemy
of predatory wealth, and defender of the in
terests of the plain people, tho expose might not
have been so fatal to his claims.
Faith in Colonel Roosevelt was badly weak
ened When several years ago it was developed
that at-his personal solicitation shortly before
the election of 1904, then being a candidate for
the presidency, E. H. Harriman, dictator of the
great Union Pacific monopoly, collected from a
few other great railroad magnates the enormous
sum of $250,000 with which to carry the state of
New York f6r him and tho republican state
ticket. It was on 'a visit to the White House,
solicited' by the then President Roosevelt, that
Harriman agreed to get this money. Of the sum,
he contributed $50,000 himself. Colonel Roose
velt's explanation was that he made the request
at the solicitation of Mr. Bliss, treasurer of tho
republican national committee, not to help his
own candidacy for his election was then ag
aured Dut for use in New York for the state
ticket, the success of which was at that time
doubtful. Ho does not deny tho request, nor
does he deny the contribution from the Harri
man crowd. He simply eliminates his own can
didacy as a necessary beneficiary and has it, all
donated for the benefit of the New York local,
ticket. Mr. Harriman in his lifetime took issue
with Colonel Roosevelt as to the uses for which
the vast sum was solicited. According to him
It was to make certain that New York was car
ried for not only the state but for the national
ticket.
The investigation that was resumed at Wash
ington the other day gives to the country other
startling Information. In the spring of 1904
"when Roosevelt was hard at work to insure his
own renomination 'Harriman was repeatedly and
urgently invited to lunch and dino wit;h Roose
velt at tho White House and, Harriman was as
earnestly attempting to avoid going there. Both
letters and telegrams from CploneJ Roosevelt
and his private secretary to. Harriman were put
in evidence and their authenticity -not denied.
Following the .Chicago "convention which nomi
nated Roosevelt, Harriman declined to return
to New York by way pi Washington, lest it might
do' Roosevelt's candidacy some harm, and Colo-
The Case of Mr. Roosevelt
Senator La Folletto handles "tho cnso of
Mr. Roosevelt in this way: Bryan at Bnltimoro,
foregoing all chances of his own nomination,
mnrphalling all his forces, braving Tammany
and the tniats to rescue his party from thoir
domination, carrying tho convention for tho
adoption of tho most progressive democratic
platform yet offered, and tho nomination of tho
most progressive democratic candidate available,
was a towering figure of moral power and pa
triotic devotion to civic righteousness.
Roosevelt at Chicago, backed by money do
rived from the stock watering operations of tho
steel trust and the harvester trust, organizing
what are now confessed to have boon "fako"
contests as to nearly two hundred delegates In
order to control tho republican convention and
secure his own nomination, refusing to aid In
making a progressive platform, bound to havo
the nomination or destroy the republican party,
was a most striking example of misdirected
power and unworthy ambition.
Roosevelt had as great an opportunity to
serve the progressive cause at Chicago, as Bryan
had at Baltimore. But Roosevelt was serving
tho man, not tho cause. Ho wanted one thing
t ho wanted the nomination. And yet ho did
not havo enough votes to nominate himself upon
any honest basis. Ho did Have enough dele
gates in that convention ultimately to havo
nominated a4 real progressive and adopted a
strong progressive platform. Ho could even
havo nominated Hadley on such a platform, and
proerresslvo republicans could havo supported
Hadley in much the same spirit as hundreds of
thousands of them will now support Wilson.
Neither Hadley nor Wilson aro veterans in tho
progressive ranks. Neither of them has boon
tried by the severest tests. Both appear to bo
men of high ideals whose records, though short,
give promise.
But Roosevelt would not consider Hadley. Ho
would have no one .but himself. At tho first
suggestiop of Hadley. he ordered the third party
maneuvers, lest he lose, his followers.
If he had ;tho evidence to prove that Taft
oould not be honestly and fairly nominated, why
did he not direct his lieutennnts to presont that
evidence to the national committee, and then to
tho convention and tho country, so clearly that
the convention would not have dared to nomi
nate Taft and that Taft could not, in honor, havo
acceptod the nomination, if made?
The reason is obvious. An analysis of tho
testimony will, I am convinced, show that
neither Taft nor Roosovolt had a majority of
honestly or regularly elected delegates. This
tho managers upon both sides well understood.
Each candidate was trying to scat a sufficient
number of fraudulently crodontinlod delegates,
added to those regularly chosen to support him,
to secure control of tho convention, and "steam
roll" tho nomination. It was a proceeding with
which oach was acquainted and which each had
sanctioned In prior conventions.
This explains tho extraordinary conduct of
Roosevelt. Ho could not enter upon such an
analysis of tho ovldenco as would prove Tnft's
regularly elected delogatos In tho minority,
without inevitably subjecting his own spuriously
credontlaled delegates to an examination so criti
cal as to expose tho falsity of his own conten
tion that ho had an honestly elected majority
of tho delegates. Ho thoroforo dollboratoly
chose to claim every thing, to cry fraud, to bully
tho national committeo and tho convention, and
sought to crea'to a condition which would make
impossible a calm investigation of ensos upon
merit, and to carry the convention by storm.
That this is tho true psychology of tho Roose
velt proceedings becomes perfectly plain. Ho
was there to forco his own nomination or to
smash the convention. Ho was not thoro to pre
serve the integrity of tho republican party, and
make It an instrument for tho promotion of pro
gressive principles and tho restoration of gov
ernment to tho peoplo. Otherwise ho would
have directed his floor managers to contest ovory
Inch of tho ground for a progressive platform
before tho committeo on resolutions and In tho
open convention.
But Mr. Roosevelt was not governed by a sug
gestion of that spirit of high patriotic and un
selfish purpose of which Bryan furnished such a
magnificent example one week later in tho demo
cratic convention at Baltimore. Instead, he
filled tho public ear with sound and fury. Ho
ruthlessly sacrificed everything to tho ono idea
of his being tho ono candidato. Ho gagged his
followers In the convention without putting upon
record a'ny fdety upon which the public could
baso a definite. Intelligent judgment regarding
tho validity of Taft's nomination. Ho sub
mitted no suggestion as to a platform of progres
sive principles. Ho clamored loudly for purging
tho convention roll of "tainted" delegates, with
out purging his own candidacy of his tainted
contests and his tainted trust support. Ho
offered no reason for a third party excepting his
own overmastering craving for a third term.
nel Roosevelt reluctantly accepted the excuses
of Harriman. '
But leaving tho Harriman episode out of tho
question tho sourceB frera which the money
cam for Roosevelt's campaign for tho republi
can nomination at Chicago this year and his or
ganization of the third party upon his defeat in
Chicago, leads, to the conclusion that his sources
for financial bdlp aro polluted, arid that the vast
sums used 'in his behalf havo not been con
tributed from either disinterested or patriotic
reasons.
Twenty-orip Individuals contributed $278,
458 to alone secure his nomination, and of that
amount William Flinn, tho Pittsburgh boaB of un
savory reputation, gave $144,308, Georgo W.
Perkins contributed $22,500, and Dan R. Hanna
$25,000. Hanna is an Indicted rebater, his trial
is yet to be held. . George W. Perkins Js the
organizer arid, controller of the Harvester trust,
under whose exactions the agriculturists of tho
entire land are groaning. Why 'should a man
like William Flinn of Pittsburgh pay out of his
own pocket $145,000 to secure any man's nomi
nation for the presidency?
This man Flinn was put under oath by thejn
vestigaing committee. He was forced to tell
how but a few years ago fn Senator Quay's life
time he entored into a contract signed, sealed
and delivered for their mutual business and poli
tical advantage. In this contract Flinn agreed
in. cold bipod to d olivor delegates to both state
and national conventions in exchango for certain
legislation at Harrisbnrg, Pennsylvania's capital,
which related,, to Flinn's. contracts in Pittsburgh
and out of which he expected to make heavy
sums of money. Then Flinn waa 'forced to tell of
his own.ambitipn to, succeed Senator Quay in the
United Statea;sqpate and how through friends
hg.sfliicfted ttte support, of the notorious 'ArebV
boh? of tho Standartl Oil company to 'support
him. In the Jigbt b! these .developments, . not
orid of which is denied, it will' he qnlCe difHcult
to convince many of tho hitherto ardent sup
porters of Colonel Roosevelt that he Isn't made,
so far as his political aspirations go, of very com
mon clay. Posing au a monument of political
chastity, denouncing from overy platform tho
boss and tho trust magnate, ho In secret solicits
from this very class of nefarious interests ira
menso sums which were expended to procure
for him a nomination that ho lost, and then to
help him in bis efforts to destroy the republican
party becauso ho failed to control it that an
other might bo organized, of which he was to
bo made tho idol.
Tho News refers to these developments of
Colonel Roosevelt's insincerity with genuine
sorrow. It has learned to esteem and admire
him. Even now it gives to him tho credit of
having done more than any other agency to
forco into tho public mind a conviction of evils
that had to bo remedied before the country and
tho people could be independent and prosperous.
But whatever may bo said In that regard it
can no longer be claimed that he Is a sincere
man, and that many of his pretentions of vir
tue and disinterestedness are not more hypoc
risies. Denver News.
WIIERE DID HE GET IT?
At Staples, Minn., Mr. Bryan attacked Mr.
Roosevelt's claim to be a friend of labor. "Four
years ago ho fastened on the American people
the greatest enemy of labor that over sat on tho
United States bench," said Mr. Bryan. '"His
convention rejected the demands of labor in tho
platform four years ago. Now ho is demanding
a labor representation Jn tho cabinet. Whore
dfd he get that plank? From my platform four
years ago.
Collier's offers pretty strong evidence that
Senator Warren considers public office a private
snap.
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