The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-01
IGNORES PARTY BOSS.
ROOSEVELT STRIKES BLOW AT
 RICHARD KERENS
Defies Committee of Which Senator Hanna is Head-Declares He ' Will Name Boyd Appraiser
 at St Louis

Washington Special to Chicago Chronicle.
 President Roosevelt this afternoon gave the Republican National Committee the hardest blow that he has yet adminis- tered to that organization. The President assured Representatives Bartholdt and Jenney of St. Louis that he would ap- point w. c. Boyd appraiser for the port of St. Louis to succeed the incumbent Mir Smith. sf
 Primarily this is victory for Secretary Hitchcock and crushing defeat for Richard kerens. Republican National Committeeman for Missouri.
 It is al-o a defeat for the committee of which Senator Hanna Is chairman, and which. during the life time of the late Pre- sident Mckinley, was all-powerful in national political affairs. The effect of the Presidents decision upon the Ma tional Committee is emphasized by the fact that practically every member of the committee voluntarily indorsed Mir. Kerens and urg:d the President to sus- tain the Missouri committeeman as against Secretary Hitchcock upon the ground that Kerens represented the Re- pub ican sentiment of Missouri.
 No such array of influence has been presented in behalf of any candidate or
 
 became Chief Executive of the nation. The National Committee chose to make MT. Kerens's fight it's own. Every mena- Der of 1t whose influence was likely to count at the White House voluntarily went on record as Kerens's champion. The President, with full knowledge of the consequences that would ensue to himself if he decided contrary to the de- mands of the National Committee, has s~ e. appraiser and appointed the candidate backed by Secretary Hitchcock.
 The effect of the decision can hardly be otherwise than to precipitate a bitter and prolonged feud between the Ma tiGhai Committe on one hand and the Pr esident on the other. Leading members of the committee with few exceptions have for some time past regarded the Presidents attitude toward them with sl: picion and dstrust. The manner in v'"'"h Pfesident Roosevelt turned down National Committeeman Hawley of Tex" as National Committeeman Yerkes of Kentucky and the national committeeman of North Carolina, Florida and Alaba- ma was accepted by Senator Hanna's as- scciates as a challenge to the commit tee.
 The only member of the committee who arp-ars to possess any real influence at the White House Is Henry c. Payne of Wisconsin. whose name Is being per- sistenty associated with future Cabi- net appointment. Mir. Payne was visit or at the White House today a short time before the President announced his deciscn in the Missouri contest and 1t was believed by some of the Missourians that he came for the purpose of making a personal appeal to the President to sus- tain MT. Kerens It can be stated that Mir. Payne had nothing to say to the President about the Missouri place. He has not mixed up in the fight for req sons which are satisfactory to himself.
 The policy of the President, so far as it can be determined by observation. has been to ignore national committeeman He has not missed an occasion in turn requests emanating from members of tl,a committee. He seems to have made ur his mind to invite an open quarrel with Senator Hannas organizationS That he will get in, and probably in the very near future, is conceded even by his most earnest friends. Tn turning down Mir. Kerens the President has struck a blow at the political prestige of one of the wealthiest and most influential Repub- lican leader5 in the country. It is doubt full if he has succeeded in establishing Secretary Hitchcock as the Republican leader of Missouri, because that result would seem to be nearly impossible.