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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1912)
THE MORNING OJtEUOMAX, FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 1912. ROUS T. R. DANGE DECLARES TAFT Colonel Paving Way to Be President for Life, Says Executive. SQUARE DEAL MADE ISSUE Lrllrr Quolrd Show Ins Tuft Was jaint Ixrlnirr nnd That Kmigh Kldrr Ktifn It Campaign Method Arr Vphrld. .ntlwu1 F-fn Trl ra.. ' By excerpts from my speeches Mr. Roosevelt ha sought to show and has charged that I am one who has pub licly announced that I am In favor of an aristocracy of political bosses and "that I am linked with political bosses In seeking my re-nomlnatlon. lie charges that the patronage of the Gov ernment Is being shamelessly used to tecure my renomlnatlon and that In the conventions and primaries which have been held fraud and violence havo been systematically used to defeat the will of the people and to secure dele Kates for me. lie says I am not a pro gressive but a reactionary: that I was nominated by progressives and after election Joined the ranks of those who opposed me for nomination and he In timates that 1 have not the spirit of toe progressive or the imnglnatinn or the clear heall purpose essential to the makeup of such a person. lie says that I am a friend of the interests and an upholder of special privileges and that a vote for me Is a vote for the interests and agalnat the people. lie minimizes and flouts the importance of the laws enacted and the executive action taken during my Administra tion. "If In this contest there were at stake only my own reputation or the satisfaction of my own ambition I would without the slightest qualm and without care ns to the result, continue my silence under these unjust attacks. would do so because of the personal relations that have existed between Mr. Roosevelt and me. my debt of gratitude to him. and my Inclination, because of the office I hold, not to Indulge In per sonal controversy. I would hope that the future, near or distant, facts would disclose themselves showing the In justice of the course he Is pursuing toward me and the merciless truth con cerning his motives and his sincerity of statement and purpose. "But 1 am presented with this diffi culty. I represent a cause. I stand for wise progress In Governmental affairs and In the improvement in con dition of all the people that the Re publican party stands for. 1 am the titular leader of that movement and the substantial and sane legislation of my Administration vindicates Its ex istence and continuance. t4aal.Ltr.tlaa Ma.t Be Isefearfed. "The supporters of this cause look to me to see to it that It Is not seriously Injured by the unjust, unfounded charges against me and by the adroit appeals to discontent and class hatred that Mr. Roosevelt Is now making to the public They feel that by such charges and appeals Mr. Roosevelt baa avoided the real and critical Issues of the campaign and has misled a great many good and patriotic people of tha country to his support because no one has answered them aa they ought to be ansm'ered. "They think I am the only one whose position Is such as to make an answer effective: that as the President whose Administration Is attacked, as the titular head of the Republican party, whose Integrity Is threatened, and as the man whose character Is aspersed 1 must meet Mr. Roosevelt's attacks, however unpleasant may be a personal 4,-ontroversy with one whom In the past I have greatly admired and loved and whose present change of attitude Is the source of the saddest disappointment. -qr leal Qaeatlaaed. "Mr. Roosevelt prides himself on be ing a true sportsman and he likes to take from the rules and language of sport maxims to be applied to life In general The maxim which he has ex alted above all others, to which he has givencurrenry the country over and which he. himself. In his conduct of life wishes to have thought he exempli fies. Is that every man Is entitled to a square deal. I propose to examine the charges he makes against me and t ask you v-hether In making them he Is giving me a square deal." In detail Mr. Taft dealt first with the statement by Colonel Roosevelt In his t'arnegle Hall address. In which the Colonel said: "Mr. Taft fairly defines the Issue when he says that our Government is and should be a Government of all the people by a representative part of the people. That Is an excellent and moderate description of an oligarchy. It defines our Government as a Gov ernment of all the people by a few of the people." xeert la taraled. In reply Mr. Taft said: The excerpt which Mr. Roosevelt uses Is taken from my speech at To ledo. It Is garbled. I did not say this 'should be' a Government of all the people by a representative part of tha people. I said. 'It Is thus apparent that ours Is a Government of all the peo ple by a representative part of the people.' and It Is. The context shows clearly what I meant. I had pointed out that the Government was by pop ular vote, that the voters did not in clude the women and children; that In number the voters were less than Lne-fourth of all the people and that their action was the action of their majority; so that the Government was rontrolled not by all the people, but by a representative part of the peo ple, to wit. a majority of the adult males. Does Mr. Roosevelt deny this fart? I pointed out the fact that this popular Government of ours la a Gov ernment by the adult voting males in order to show 'the necessity for constitutional restriction to protect tlie non-voters among the people against tiie possible Injustice and ag gression of the majority of the voters. Hssaevelfa Falraeaa Assailed. "Was It honest, was It fair, of Theo lore Roosevelt to seise one sentence from a speech, to garble It and then to give it meaning which he knew 'rom the context It could not bear? Do .he Just people of .Massachusetts approve such method o' warfare? Do they think that In cairying It on Mr. Roose- TWO SNAPSHOTS OF THE PRESIDENT IN CHARACTERISTIC J J SPEAKINO ATTITUDES. f : H - H vvi i : v 1 . t . . 1 i : .. t . : : . . i -N . . , - . , -k t. ? v. i r f" r'-i - :.U'H ii' tmiiij.ifiiiiwiiiWiM .ii mn n isaoi mJttfLm . ,rM.i t ' ' ' ' " ' ' " v"' "'h' .s : ..:.',.- ' I r- v , V 1 - - v t t 1 - - : ! -' t i ' " r , . :; f " f ' " - i ,; ' -N: , - s ? " " y - is- . . . I r ' ' , i f ' " ' -' ;; i fcSr i laaiTusflfjnfca faa aiy.iiiiftr nwnwuiawirT mit iiwMfftiulSiiliiSoMiitriflin i1 Copy right by George Grantham Bain. HII.MAM HOWARD T.U'T, .... ISSSSSSSSSS-TTTTTTTT velt Is giving to his successor a square deal?".. Mr. Taft took up what lie termed the "unfair" charge that ho was in favor of an oligarchy of bosses. "He (Colonel Roosevelt! says that all the bosses are In my favor and all of them auainst him. That is not true. Hy his association with William Fllnn. of Vltlslmrg, there is being restored to power In that city and In Pennsyl vania one of the worst municipal bos ses that the history of that state knows. Mr. Roosevelt's chief supporter in Ohio today Is Walter Brown, the only boss In full commission In that state and who Is looking forward to state control uirdcr Mr. Roosevelt's ad ministration. Deal With Ward Told Of. He charges me with association with Mr. Barnes, of New York, while he is silent as to the support he Is re ceiving from William Ward, of the same state. Mr. Roosevelt knows that In- 1S10. but for the support he re ceived from my friends as against Mr. Barnes and Mr. Ward, he would not have been nominated as1 temporary chairman of the New York con'en tlon." The President said Mr. Roosevelt re cently had dragged In the name of Sen ator Crane, of Massachusetts, in an unfriendly way. He warmly defended Mr. Crane and said that three times Mr. Roosevelt had Invited Mr. Crane Into his Cabinet and that furthermore I Mr. Roosevelt had invited Senator t. rane to manage nis fresiocnuai cam paign In 1904. Mr. Taft added: "But Mr. Crane does not support Mr. Roosevelt and must be eondemned. ('loaeIa Kageraeaa Soaatrloae. "The truth with respect to me Is the same as it is with respect to Mr. Roosevelt. When I am running for the Presidency I gratefully accept such support as comes to me. Mr. Roose velt has done so In the past: ha Is doing so now. I am making no bar gain. 1 am agreeing to no conditions that would embarrass or hamper me In the administration of the Government should I be re-elected. I don't say that Mr. Roosevelt has done so or Is doing so. but then I consider the eager ness with which Mr. Roosevelt has ac cepted In his. various campaigns the assistance of Mr. Aldrich. Mr. Cannon. Mr. Penrose. Mr. Quay. Mr. I'latt, Mr. Poraker and many other men promi nent and Influential in Congress and politics whatever - their designation, whether leaders or bosses. I don't hes itate to say that It involves the most audacious effrontery on his part to at tack me because men he characterizes as bosses are now supporting me apd to charge me on that account with helping machine politics. "This Is peculiarly unfair n his part In view of hla well known political his tory and is another instance of his de parting from the rule of the square deal." Taft Mot l.laked With Urinrr. Mr. Taft charged that Mr. Roosevelt and bis supporters during their recent campaign in Illinois linked his name with that of Senator lorlmer In such a wsy aa to give the Impression that a vote for Taft was a vole for Lorlmer. "I have not seen Mr. Uorlmer for two years and have had no communication with or from him. In Illinois Mr. Lor Imer was conducting a campaign of his own. 1 did not ask his support. He did not tender It to me. Any influence he may have given in my favor was not because he liked me. but because he felt more bitter toward Mr. Roose velt. Without further circumstance or knowledge It would have been unfair and unjust for Mr. Roosevelt to at tempt to draw down on me the popular Indignation against Senator Iorlmer and thus to carry the State of Illinois against me; but It was peculiarly un fair in Mr. Roosevelt to do this when he knew what he did know as to my actual attitude toward Senator Lorl mer." Preldeat Agalast Leiimer. Mr. Taft then read a letter ha wrote to Colonel Roosevelt ' on January . 1511. In which he said he wanted the movement to oust Senator Lorimer to succeed. The letter marked "personal" fol lows: "The White House. Washington, Jan uary . "My Dear Theodore: It comes to me perhaps without foundation that you are going to write a strong article on the Larimer case and publish It In the Outlook. I have been doing everything I could legitimately to have the closest examination made Into the Lorimer rase. I have read as much of the evi dence as I could get at and am con vinced that there was a mess and mass of corruption upon which his election wss founded that ought to be stamped with the disapproval of the' Senate. But I want the movement to oust him to succeed. I have urged different Sen ators to read the record carefully and after a talk with Rose and Burton and Knute S. Nelson and Crawford and some others, I believe we are going to line up a good many of the regular Republicans on the side of what I con sider decency and honesty in politics. Taft Stands For Decency. "It has leaked out tiiat I have been taking some interest In the matter nd 1 fear It has not nelpe-I the sit uation generally because of that strong feeling of clubdom In the Senate and resentment against oi.iside interfer ence which nobody who Is r.ot inti mately acquainted with the situation can understand the weight of. 1 was tr'king with Borah this mort.lng. I have consulted a good deal with him on the siihject. and he and I agree that it would be unwise either for you or for nie to come out no-.v against Lori mer and in favor of his being ousted, that It would enable those who are determined to keep hli.i In, especially among the Democrats, Bailey and oth ers, to use an argument against out side interference that would move s number of Democrats and would de prive us of the streng'h we should get by a representation of the full facts on the floor of the Senate from the Senate Itself. Root is going to make a speech. So Is Burton, and I believe that Lodge will do the same thing. Now, nothing would have stronger weight than speeches . from them, whereas If you or I came out with an sttack It would enable the friends of Lorimer to shift the subject from the tainted character of his seat to tha in dependence of the Senate in acting as the Judge of the quaiiflcatlopg of its own members. Coloael Asked lu Dla. "I suggest, therefore, that If jou have an article on this subject, you hold It until after the Issues are made more plainly by speeches on the floor of the body. In which the contest is to be won. I want to win. So do you. "This Is my excuse for writing you. Sincerely yours. "WILLIAM H. TAFT," "P. S. Of course I may be misin formed as to your purpose In this mat ter. Since dictating the above I have had the telephone conversation with you. but I let it go." Mr. Taft added that by the telephone conversation and by subsequent cor respondence which he would not pub lish unless Mr. Roosevelt desired, he learned that no such article, was con templated, but that Mr. Roosevelt Indi cated that he would assist In the mat ter In other ways. "I have never given Mr. Roosevelt nor anyone else tha slightest reason to suppose that I had changed my at titude." T. R. Favored Reciprocity. Mr. Taft charged that Mr. Roosevelt was now seeking to take advantage of the supposed feeling among the farm ers of the country against reciprocity with Canada. He said he would not object to this, but for the fact that he consulted Mr. Roosevelt ten days before he made the agreement with Canada and that the latter approved the agreement In the most enthusiastic terms. Mr. Taft quoted a letter from Colonel -Roosevelt dated January 12, 1911. in which he said: "Dear Mr. President: It seems to ma that what you proposo to do with Can ada Is admirable from every standpoint. 1 firmly believe In reciprocal trade with Canada for both economic and po litical reasons. As you say labor cost Is substantially the same In both coun tries, so you are amply Justified by the platform. Whether Canada will accept such reciprocity I don't know, but it Is greatly to your credit to make the effort. It may damage the Republican party for a while, but It will surely benefit the party In the end and espe cially If you tackle wool, cotton, etc.. as you propose. Ever yours, ' "THEODORE ROOSEVELT." Sqaare Deal Agala Violated. - The President added: "Now in the exigency of his contest for the nomination and with the pur pose of accentuating the supreme feel ing of the farmers against me. he re rants his approval of the agreement on the ground that It would not have been a square deal for the farmers, a cir cumstance which, he Intimates, escaped him when he. In a desire to support my Administration, had approved the Ad ministration. I submit that Mr. Roose velt's course on reciprocity la not in accord with the square deal." President Taft next referred to Mr. Roosevelt's charges that the President had been "receiving stolen goods" and ! had profited "by the use of dirty In struments to secure delegates. "No Instance." said the President, "has been brought to my attention In which specifications of fraud have been sustained by any evidence whatever. The charges made by Senator Dixon as to Kentucky, in an hysterical and In sulting open letter to me, were shown to be wholly without foundation in the Kentucky convention and by the state ment of Senator Deboe." T. R. Has Chance la Court. Mr. Taft said that If there had been fraud In the New York primaries, the courts were open to the Roosevelt sup porters for redress. If they Called, he said, to take advantage of this fact, be inferred from this that the charges of fraud elsewhere had no real founda tion. It was the policy of the Roose velt campaign, Mr. Taft said, to claim everything and then to meet reports of reverses by charges of fraud and the bringing of "trumped-up" charges. As to Mr. Roosevelt's charges of the "shamelessness" of Federal patronage by the President, Mr. Taft said that TO per cent of the Federal officeholders now In the service were appointees of Mr. Roosevelt and as a natural result a large percentage of them favored i the ex-President for renomination. No man. he said, iiad been dismissed be cause he favored Mr. Roosevelt and there was every Indication that at the Chicago convention the influence of the Federal officeholders would be less effective for any one candidate than ever before In the history of the party. Colonel Enjoys Patronage. Mr. Taft said Mr. Roosevelt was not only enjoying the support of many of the Federal officeholders but the pat ronage, of a number of state Governors, which was being used for him "with businesslike manipulation that lacks nothing in effectiveness." He said the patronage of Governor Hadley, of Mis souri; of Governor Stubbs, in Kansas; Governor Glasscock, In West Virginia; Governor Osborn, In Michigan, end Gov ernor Johnson, in California, all was being used for Mr. Roosevelt. Dealing with Mr. Roosevelt's charges that in his Administration Mr. Taft had deserted the progressives and become a reactionary,, the President said It was on Mr. Roosevelt's advice that he had his first meeting with Speaker Cannon. "I had been vifraici that Mr. Cannon might oppose a revision of the tariff and I looked about Immediately after my election to see If it were possible to secure votes enough in the caucus to elect another Speaker. I found that It was not. At the request of Mr. Roosevelt I had an Interview with Mr. Cannon. In which ha agreed he would help redeem the promises of the Re publican platform. . . . This ar rangement with Mr. Cannon was with the knowledge and emphatic approval of Mr. Roosevelt." Party's Welfare Considered. Speaking of the Payne tariff bill. Mr. Taft again defended his course in signing It and declared to have vetoed It would have broken up the Republican party. "Has Mr. Roosevelt ever condemned the Payne bill?" he asked. "Does he say he would not have signed It If it had been presented to him under con ditions that I had to meet? He has never said that, as far as I know, and the New York platform of 1910. adopted by the convention of which he was a part, indorsed the pending bill and approved its passage. Is It a square deal, therefore, for him to charge me with not being a progressive when all that I did was to deal with the party as It was In Congress and to get as much as I could of the legislation prom ised out of that party, torn, as It was, by faction? Of course I conferred with the regular Republican leaders in the Senate and House and through them we redeemed the promises of the Re publican platform to an extent that no political platform had,: ever been re deemed before. T. R.'a Kxample Folloired. "In all Mr. Roosevelt's history he never failed to use as instruments for his purpose those whom he found i power. Indeed, throughout his life he has defended that course as .the only sensible course to pursue. I have merely followed his example and don't hesitate to point with satisfaction to the legislation which has been enacted In my three years." Mr. Taft referred to the strengthen ing of the Interstate commerce act. Certain amendments urged by the Ad ministration were defeated. These amendments Mr. Roosevelt had de nounced as vicious. As a matter of fact, Mr. Taft said, all the things con tained in these amendments "had been recommended by Mr. Roosevelt and had been promised in the platform of the Republican party." "In view of his support of these very provisions in his messages and else where." said the President, "is it a square deal for him now to describe them as vicious?" Mr. Taft warmly defended the Com merce Court, saying it had reduced judicial delays from two years to six months. If it exceeded Its Jurisdiction or made a wrong decision, he said, the Supreme Court was at hand to remedy 1 If the Commerce Court were abol ished the cases brought before it would sgaln be thrown by the railroads into 60 or 70 United States courts all over the country with consequent long de lays. Colonel's Attitude Changes. Taking up Mr. Roosevelt's anti-trust record. Mr. Taft said he had warmly approved It on the stump for the ex President. He said Mr. Roosevelt had Instituted the proceedings against the Standard OH and the American Tobacco Company, and they had been carried to a successful conclusion In the Supreme If You Break Your Glasses Phone the Accident. We'll have new uuos ready when you call. Our lens-grinding plant is the most modern on the Coast. THOMPSON Eyesight Specialist 2d Floor Corbett Bldg., Fifth and Morrison. Portland's Exclusive Op tical Place. Court under the present Administra tion. Mr. Taft continued: "Now I find Mr. Roosevelt coming; the other way, denouncing the anti-trust law and denouncing prosecutions under It. He says that the decision In tho Standard OH Company Is Ineffective; that the price of the stock has gone up and In some way or other I am re sponsible for the fact that the price did go up and that my Administration Is to be condemned because that decree was confirmed in the Supreme Court. The truth is that the decree as finally entered and enforced was drawn ex actly as Mr. Roosevelt's Attorney-General, In the bill which, by direction of Mr. Roosevelt, he filed against the Standard OH Company, had asked that it be drawn. Administration Record Cited. " "With characteristic boldness and lack of facts or evidence, and resting on his false and distorted construction, of my language as to government by a representative part of the people. Mr. Roosevelt charges 'that I stand for the so-called Interests and support privi leges. If nothing else would serve, the record of my Administration as to suits against railways to stop increase of rates and suits against trusts of all kinds to dissolve them and to punish their directors must show a fair minded public that this Administration has no favorites among law-breakers or those seeking special privileges. "One of the real reasons why Mr. Roosevelt ought not to be selected as a candidate of any party is the natural distrust that the whole business com munity will have In respect to the measures which Mr. Roosevelt will pro pose in order to effect a revolution In the Interest of social Justice which he advocates so strongly and defines so vaguely. "Mr. Roosevelt ought not to be nomi nated in Chicago, because in, such a nomination the Republican party will violate our most useful and necessary Governmental tradition that no one shall be permitted to hold a third Presi dential term." Mr. Taft quoted from Mr. Roosevelt's statement in November, 1904, the fol lowing: "The wise custom, which limits the President to two terms, regards the substance and not the form; and under no circumstances will I be a candidate or accept another nomination." "He now says, although his language does not bear such a construction that he meant, hewould not accept a nomi nation for a consecutive third term," said the President. "He says so in face of the fact that the most noteworthy precedent in which the tradition was asserted and maintained was that of 1880, when General Grant was denied a third term four years after he had left the Presidential office. "It is not for me to enter Into a dis cussion of the plain meaning of the language he used. If he had frankly announced that he had changed his mind, no one would be disposed to hold him to a promise or" that sort merely because he had made it. The promise and his treatment of It only threw an informing light on the value that ought now to be attached to any promise of this kind he may make in the future. The important fact is that his declara tion was the statement of a principle essential to the welfare of the Republic." Towing of Hafts Xot Prohibited. ORKOONIAN NEWS Bt'RKAt-. Wash- va r t KEEP everlastingly at it. The more you advertise judiciously and in telligently the more valuable your ad vertising grows. The cumulative effect continually reduces the cost. If you want more business; come in and talk it over. . JrankjT.7&der GJj)er1isinf Counsel kjAizS tOlWilcaxMJff. PhoT,eain3&05 -1 mm THE GREATEST PROTECTION against fire, burglary or accident is A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX ' Why run any riskt Rent a box today at the SECURITY SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANY t ' MORRISON AT FIFTH STREETS I .. $3.00 PER YEAR AND UPWARDS FOR THE NEWEST VISIT THE EASTERN MEW IDEA The last few days have brought striking addi tions to our displajs of Avomen's Spring and Summer fashionable apparel. Fresh beauty is here in new creations that we shall take pleasure in showing you. Prices, as usual, are modest and terms of credit liberal. ii SUIT $19 We've selected a number of $25, $27.50 and $30 suits and Avill place them lit 1 A on sale Tociav ana to morrow foT only The assortment comprises exquisite models of fine serges, stunning novelty and mannish . suitings, Shepherd checks and very handsome diagonal " weaves. The matchless collection of stA'les embraces every idea from the extreme novelty to the strictl' man-tailored effects. The range of colors is com plete and there are all sizes for the lady or miss. STYLISH SHOES Pumps and Oxfords, new Spring and Summer lasts. Black, tan, white canvas and nubuck, 4 and $5. CHARGE ACCOUNTS SOLICITED Not necessary to pay cash. Select what you need and an-angre for such easy weekly and monthly payments as best suits your convenience. Xo charge for credit simply a courtesy. EASTERN The Big Credit Institution . OUTFITTING CO. The Store With Twenty-two Show Windows 405 Washington At Tenth int'ton, April 25. Representative Hum- I succeeded in having- struck from ti phrey today appeared before the com- I seaman's bill the clause which prohibi mittee on merchant marine and fisher- e(J tho towing of log rafts at sea. ies and, nfter considerable argument. 1 LINGERIE WAISTS FOR $1.35 Special Sale of Lingerie Waists for Friday and Saturday. Ten Styles Batiste, Voile, Marquisette, Crepe Voile and Embroidered. Lawn, With. 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