Debs took almost 900,000 votes that year. But not his own. He was so busy campaigning elsewhere, particularly in the West, that he failed to register for the election in his home town of Terre Haute, Indiana, and instead spent the election eve at home, celebrating his 57th birthday.
In California, Debs did better thatn Taft, pulling 79,000 votes for his Socialists while Prohibitionist Chafin took 23,000 and Taft managed only 4,000. In Arizona, Debs brought in 3,163, Taft followed with 2,986 and Chafin only 265.
Fyi, in those days, candidates and their supporters were differentiated by colours, often used for backgrounds on campaign buttons and posters and on speech platform bunting. Roosevelt's was Green; Taft's Red. Wilson was White and I'm not certain about Debs, but some of his campaign buttons from that period are a buff-yellow. [I know Seidel was his 1912 running mate; I don't know of a pic of a 1912 Debs button online]
I don’t have a source for your quotation, “Why spoil the beauty of a thing with legalities?” It reminds one of this:
At a meeting to discuss the Panama Canal, Roosevelt asked the Cabinet about the legality of his actions, which were under attack in Congress. “No, Mr. President, if I were you I would not have any taint of legality about it,” replied Attorney General Knox. Roosevelt exclaimed, “Have I answered the charges? Have I defended myself?” Secretary of War Elihu Root settled the matter with, “You certainly have, Mr. President. You have shown that you were accused of seduction and you have conclusively proved that you were guilty of rape”
I don’t recall offhand the source, but a quick check finds it described in “T. R.: The Last Romantic,” by H. W. Brands, pg. 488. I think Henry Pringle first dug it up, but I’m not sure.
Oh, I mispoke with this: many of Debs' closest advisers helped prepare the Bull Moose platform.
That’s called typing before thinking. The socialist who helped TR was Bruere (can’t remember first name), and he helped edit Roosevelt’s Bull Moose nomination acceptance speech, not the platform. In public, Debs credited himself for the Progressive plank. Word of the Bruere assistance to Roosevelt upset not the Progressives but the socialists who called Bruere a traitor.
Yep, Taft took only a few thousand votes in CA, and Debs some 80,000. That says more about California than Taft (he, he). Hiram Johnson had that state wrapped up. Interestingly, Debs scored 50,000 votes in Oklahoma, almost as many as Taft. I don’t know OK politics, although it was Democratic then (home of the “blind Senator” Gore – who was also corrupt; maybe he figured he couldn’t be accused of things he couldn’t see...). Btw, my list has Taft taking almost 5,000 in AZ, which had a far lower vote total than CA. They hated Taft in AZ because he vetoed the first constitution which had judicial recall in it. Taft said he wrote his heart into that veto.
1912 was a wild year. My next work will be a closer study of it. Can’t wait to start, which means finishing this other one first.
Again, thanks, and I hope I’ve at least got you thinking about TR and the judiciary.
PS Indeed, Roosevelt's "strenuosity" paid off in Oct/1912. His doctor said his huge chest muscles saved his life and that he'd never seen such a strong man.