AMERICAN AFFAIRS. He Refused the nomination for the Presidency by the Republican convention in Chicago last month, Mr. Roosevelt "bolted" the convention and his party, announced that he was "through" and was willing to be the nominee of a new party if his adherents so desired. was immediately provisionally nominated, and he is now at work endeavoring to establish a new party, whose convention it is stated will be held next month, when Mr. Roosevelt will be formally nominated as its Presidential candidate; a Vice-Presidential candidate will also be nominated and a platform of principles will be adopted. What happened was not a great surprise to those persons who have closely studied the drift of affairs for a long time back. It was their firm belief that unless Mr. Roosevelt could force the convention to nominate him he would cut loose from his former political affiliations and place himself at the head of a new party. What justification is there for his course and by what right is he warranted in attempting to destroy the party that has honored him as it has no living man? for his success can only be brought about by the destruction of the Republican party. To answer these questions and enable the reader to reach his own eonclusions a concise summary of the events of the last few years must be given. In 1904 Mr. Roosevelt was elected President. He had already served some three years and a half as the successor of Mr. McKinley, so that when his term expired in 1908 he would have served nearly eight years, the traditional length of service that no President has been permitted to exceed. On the night of his election Mr. Roosevelt issued a formal statement in which he said "wise custom" limited the Presidency to two terms, that observing the spirit of that custom his period of service about to draw to a close constituted his first term and he had now been given a second full term. That being the case under no circumstances, he added, would he again be a candidate or accept another nomination for the Presidency. There was no reason why Mr. Roosevelt should have issued that statement except to satisfy his own sense of propriety, and perhaps he was inspired by the recollection of what Mr. McKinley had done under somewhat similar circumstances. Mr. McKinley was extremely popular in his first administration, and after his second election some of his overenthusiastic and injudicious admirers nominated and elected him four years later. Mr. McKinley knew as well as did every other sensible man that the American people would not sanction a third term, but to put an end once and for all to the talk of his further nomination he officially announced that he would not permit the unwritten law to be violated, and with the conclusion of his term he would retire forever from the Presidency. Mr. McKinley was applauded, and his pledge was accepted by the country as meaning neither more nor less than the words conveyed. Mr. Roosevelt had won a great popular victory by his defeat over Judge Parker, the Democratic candidate for the Presidency. Mr. Roosevelt's admirers were jubilant, and, as had happened four years earlier, their enthusiasm outran their discretion. Just as they had re-nominated and re-elected Mr. McKinley, so they re-nominated and reelected Mr. Roosevelt even before the counting of the ballots had ended. Mr. Roosevelt put a curb on enthusiasm by announcing his purpose never again to be a candidate for the Presidency or to accept another nomination. The country applauded his respect for the "wise custom" and accepted his pledge as meaning neither more nor less than the words conveyed. In fact, to have done otherwise would have been to insult Mr. Roosevelt. His language was direct, his words were unambiguous. About the middle of his term, that is sometime in 1906, some of his admirers again suggested his renomination, saying that although Mr. Roosevelt had declared he would never again be a candidate or accept another nomination, yet if he should be nominated against his will and without his consent he could not refuse to be a candidate, for he would be in duty bound to obey the demand of his party. Mr. Roosevelt took formal notice of this in answering a correspondent, who asked if he had changed his views, by saying that he adhered to his declaration made on the night of election, and the letter was officially made public with the purpose of putting a stop to further discussion. Twice Mr. Roosevelt denied that he was a candidate and reiterated his refusal to accept a nomination (of course at that time, it must be understood, Mr. Roosevelt was refusing something that had not been offered, as no one had authority to tender him a nomination and no delegates had been elected), going so far on one occasion as to declare that he should regard his nomination as "a calamity." Mr. Taft was nominated four years ago. He owed his nomination solely to Mr. Roosevelt. Several candidates competed with Mr. Taft for the nomination, but Mr. Roosevelt's popularity, combined with his control over federal patronage and his domination of the national committee, never put the issue in doubt. The customary methods were used. Mr. Frank Hitchcock, now a member of President Taft's Cabinet as Postmaster-General and then one of the Assistant Post masters-General by virtue of Mr. Roosevelt's appointment, and Mr. Ormsby McHarg, a member of the legal staff of the Department of Justice by appointment of Mr. Roosevelt, devoted themselves to seeing that Taft delegates were sent to the convention from the South. The whole power of the federal machine was directed to this end and the recognized tactics were employed. Postmasters, collectors of inland revenue, district attorneys, and all other federal appointees were put to work to "persuade" primaries and district and state conventions to elect delegates subject to Mr. Roosevelt's instructions, and where this could not be done the delegates elected were contested so as to furnish the national committee a pretext for throwing out anti-Taft delegates. It was at that time, that is four years ago, when Mr. Roosevelt was in complete control of the party machine, that the picturesque term of the "steamroller" was coined and incorporated into the terminology of American politics. Mr. Hitchcock having done his work excellently well in the South was sent to Chicago and placed in command. The contests came up before the national committee, a majority of whose members were Rooseveltians, and were decided in short order. Mr. Hitchcock ran his steamroller over everything and everybody that got in his way. Even the victims, after they had recovered from their pain and surprise, were compelled to admire Mr. Roosevelt's audacity and Mr. Hitchcock's courage. Everything was quite regular, that is regular according to the American idea of politics, that a majority may do anything it pleases and a minority must play the game by standing up to the rack. Mr. Taft was duly nominated, and Mr. Taft's opponents, now that the contest was over, had no fault to find. Mr. Roosevelt went abroad shortly after Mr. Taft was inaugurated, that is in 1909, and remained away until the following year. It is said that even before Mr. Roosevelt sailed the relations between the President and his predecessor were no longer so cordial as formerly, and it is asserted that Mr. Roosevelt attempted to have Mr. Taft make certain appointments and was greatly annoyed when Mr. Taft refused. Whether this was the beginning of the break I do not know, but it is well known that Mr. Garfield, Mr. Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior and protégé, felt himself badly treated because he had not been retained in the Cabinet, and there were other men who thought that if Mr. Roosevelt had found their services valuable certainly Mr. Taft could do no less. Then, while Mr. Roosevelt was shooting big game in Africa, Mr. Taft had to do a little gunning at home. He was compelled to dismiss Mr. Gifford Pinchot, the Chief Forester and one of Mr. Roosevelt's intimates, for insubordination. That was the beginning of an open attack on the part of Mr. Roosevelt's friends on Mr. Taft. They made bitter war on the President. The Republican party was divided into hostile factions, Taft and anti-Taft, and every anti-Taftite was pro-Rooseveltian, who no longer made any secret of their intention to defeat the renomination of Mr. Taft (and under the unwritten law a President is entitled to a second term) and to nominate Mr. Roosevelt. Whether they did this with Mr. Roosevelt's consent is not known; what is known is that Mr. Roosevelt never by word or act checked the ardor of his friends. When Mr. Roosevelt returned to the United States in 1910, publicly the relations between the President and his predecessor were "correct," although Mr. Roosevelt so far forgot official etiquette and the respect due from an exPresident to a President that he did not come to Washington to call upon Mr. Taft, and this neglect was a violation of official intercourse. Mr. Roosevelt had gone to London as Mr. Taft's special ambassador, and it was incumbent upon him on his return, after having discharged his mission, to make a personal report to the President. Instead of coming to Washington, Mr. Roosevelt went to his home at Oyster Bay, which soon became the Mecca of the dissidents. Every politician whom Mr. Taft had offended hastened to Oyster Bay and found in Mr. Roosevelt a sympathetic listener. Soon Mr. Roosevelt was persuaded to plunge into the New York gubernatorial campaign, and the reason he gave was that he desired to purge politics of the bosses and to break the power of the "old guard." Mr. Roosevelt won a partial victory by forcing the convention to nominate Mr. Stimson (since then appointed by Mr. Taft Secretary of War), but in the election a few months later Mr. Stimson was defeated, Republican candidates in Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and other States where Mr. Roosevelt had made speeches were defeated, and the Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives. For these disasters Mr. Roosevelt was blamed by the Taftites, while his adherents shifted the blame on the President. To any one neither blind nor carried away by personal prejudice it was plain that the Republican party was fast drifting on the rocks. It was made up of antagonistic elements. Mr. Taft represented the Conservative wing, Mr. Roosevelt the Radical. In the autumn of that year Mr. Roosevelt had in Kansas delivered a speech on "The New Nationalism," which shocked and horrified Conservatives of the East. When Mr. Stimson lost New York and Republican candidates for Governor and Congress were defeated in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and other States, Conservatives held Mr. Roosevelt responsible; and undoubtedly at that time feeling was strongly aroused against Mr. Roosevelt, as it was believed, despite his selfdenying ordinance of election night 1904, he intended to be a candidate for the Presidency; and as a considerable number of Americans are opposed to a third term they took the first opportunity that offered to remind Mr. Roosevelt of their opposition; certainly so far as New York was concerned it was Mr. Roosevelt and not Mr. Stimson who constituted the issue. On the other hand, the Radical followers of Mr. Roosevelt saw in Republican defeats not opposition to Mr. Roosevelt but dissatisfaction with Mr. Taft. Republicans were defeated, the Radicals said, because the country at heart was Radical, but there was no encouragement to them to support Republican candidates, as Republican victories would be construed as proof of the country's satisfaction with Mr. Taft, and that would ensure Mr. Taft's nomination, which was the thing of all others the Radicals were determined to prevent. The Republican reverse instead of closing the ranks widened the breach. The Radicals put pressure on Mr. Roosevelt to be a candidate and did everything to make his candidature possible by disparaging Mr. Taft and attacking his policies, but Mr. Roosevelt neither denied that he would accept a nomination nor admitted that he was a candidate. He had, however, told and written intimate friends, or as he expressed it, "persons who had a right to know," that he would not be a candidate, and they naturally accepted his declaration without qualification. Senator Root was Mr. Roosevelt's Secretary of State and for years had been one of his intimate friends and confidential advisers; Secretary Meyer was a member of Mr. Roose velt's Cabinet and had long enjoyed his friendship; Secretary Stimson was his candidate for Governor of New York and familiarly spoken of as "Harry"; Senator Lodge was Damon to Mr. Roosevelt's Pythias. To these men and to others in 1911 and at the beginning of the present year Mr. Roosevelt said he would not be a candidate for the Presidency, and when on February 27 last he formally announced his candidature there were no persons so shocked and mortified as these men, who had discredited the rumors of Mr. Roosevelt seeking the nomination, and considered they were justified in discrediting them in view of the statements Mr. Roosevelt made to them. But to go back a few months. In the autumn of last year apparently Mr. Roosevelt had abandoned any idea of becoming a candidate, if he ever entertained it, for he gave his encouragement and support to Senator La Follette, of Wisconsin, as the candidate of the Radical wing of the Republican party to defeat Mr. Taft for nomination. Mr. La Follette began an active and vigorous campaign. He was financed by Mr. Pinchot and other men in Mr. Roosevelt's confidence. In a letter made public by Mr. La Follette shortly after Mr. Roosevelt announced his candidacy, he asserts that he was induced by Mr. Roosevelt to become a candidate, that Mr. Roosevelt promised his support, and that Mr. Roosevelt declared he would not be a candidate this year. What finally induced Mr. Roosevelt to become a candidate is not known, but it was on February 27 that he crossed the Rubicon. Mr. Roosevelt said that he yielded to an overwhelming demand to make the battle. "Overwhelming demand" may be regarded as permissible poetic, or rather political, licence.' That there was a strong demand for Mr. Roosevelt's can |