The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-09-16
coNcERNlNe NEW YORK EN-
DoRsEMENT.
the PRESIDENT'S Own WISH.
True. Reason Why Empire State viii
Not Declare Tor Roosevelt.
Candidacy in 1904.

Washington, Sept. 12.-Eastern po-
liticians who do not like the presi-
dent are trying to make capital out Of
the statement made recently by Sen
ator Plat that the New York state
convention, soon to be held, would
content itself with simply Endorsing the
Roosevelt administration, and would
not go to the length or declaring for.
him as the nominee Of the party in
1904. 1t should not be difficult to
understand that the business OF in
structing delegates for a presidential
nominee falls properly to the state
conventions of the presidential year.
No such instructions made now will
have any binding force, and might
lead to unpleasant complications; be-
sides which, coming from the presi-
dents state, they would be highly in
delicate. The question was thorough
|ly discussed between the. president
and Senator Plat and Governor Ode1l,
during their several conferences this
summer at Oyster Bay, and it was the
presidents personal wish, and he in
sisted upon it with considerable EN-.
phasis, that the convention in his
own state should be modest and not
set a pace which might seem like ar
invitation to other states to do some.
thing which ought not to be done un-
til two years hence.
At first 1t was the opinion Of Gov
ernor Odell that the convention should
declare for Roosevelt, but Senator
Platt thought otherwise, and the pres
ident earnestly Endorsed him. State
conventions which have this year de-
clared fer Roosevelt have done so
on their own motion. No a word Of
suggestion has come from the admin
declarations, coming unsolicited, will
have a strong moral effect in favor of
the presidents candidacy, but this
would all be lost were his own state,
as the result of careful planning, to.
pursue a similar course. RESPONSE
bility for it would be charged straight
to the president, and a storm of crit.
icism would result, which would do
his cause more harm than good. Be-
sides, from the presidents point Of
view, such a proceeding would be i'm
proper and unfair. 1t may be said
with authority that the New York
convention would declare for Rocse-
welt if Roosevelt wanted it to do so.
During his little speech at Augusta.
president referred incidentally and
briefly to the Monroe doctrine, which
Blaine had championed during his life
time, but the reference was intended
as a compliment to the memory of
the great statesman, and nobody in
this country looked at it in any other
light. 1t remained for the daily news.
papers Of the old world to find in this
reference a new and aggressive asser-
ton of the doctrine, and an intima-
ton that the Roosevelt administra-
ton was thinking Of occupying ad-
vanced and dangerous ground as a
disturber of the worlds peace.
The president made up his mind
that it vas UP to him to make his
meaning more clear, and SO 1t happen
ed that he made a. later address in
which he confined himself to the Mon
roe doctrine. 1t is well enough for
the ether side of the water to knows
just how the United States feels, and
that it Endorses to the last word the
statements of President Roosevelt.
1t should be said that the greater por-
ton of the extended speech was ca
bled to Europe, since which time the
newspapers there have preserved a
discrete silence.
The Alaskan boundary disputes will
be miminized in Importance should
the decrease in the supply of gold
prove to be the beginning Of the end
Of the gold excitement there. AS has
already been published, the output fer
the past fiscal year was only about
$4,000, 900, as compared with $26,OO0,-
900 for the year before. Should the
decline be permanent, the boundary
will not be worth any serious dis
pute, and 1t is predicted that the
United States will have no great diff
ficulty in having her claims substan-
TALLY acknowledged by Great, Britain.