Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1902-05-03
MOONS PHASES.
THE REPUBLICAN OUTLOOK.

Not in ten years has there been a time
when the situation in national politics
was 40 threatening for the Republican
party. We are just preparing to go be-
fore the country for the election of new
House of Representatives. Apparently
10 will be1S90 over again. How are wepre-
pairing for it2 We seem TO have no leader
The Republicans in the House are leader
less mob A minority of the Republicans
there combine with the Democrats, and
that is an end OF party responsibility and
party discipline. Exactly the same situa-
ton prevails in the Senate. There is no
leader, and a few Senators who are elected
as Republicans stand ready to form an
alliance with the Democrats-if indeed
healliance has not been formed already
20 overthrow the policy of the Admins
tration and bid defiance TO party author
ity. How il il TO end2 Unless the big
men OF the party come TO their senses it
will end in disaster after disaster and the
loss Of the Presidency in 1904"
This statement was made by a very
prominent Republican, who was ask
ed for his opinion az TO what the signs
of the times in the partylmeant. His ex-
pressions are only in line with what can
bo heard whenever two or three leading
politicians get together. On all the
gravity OF the situation is growing.
Sentiment for tariff revision, Democratic
unity and Republican discord-that is
the situation in a nutshell Since the
break down OF party power in the House
on Friday there has been almost a panic.
This has been intensified by the duplica-
tion of this situation in the Senate.
In some quarters is a disposition to
criticisc the President and to throw much
of the blame on him for the condition
prevailing, Republican representatives
say that Mr. Roosevelt had not
been as firm as he should have been in
insisting on given remedy for the
Cuban situation from the first. Instead
of that, they said that he had not only
once or twice, but several times, declared
that the Cuban difficulty was not one of
his making, but that il was something
which he had inherited from the late
President Mckinley. One prominent
Republican said that the trouble in the
House was to be laid primarily at the
door of Representative Babcock, of Wis
consin, who stirred up the question of
tariff revision. This, said he, made the
first trouble, because it famed the flame
of revenue reduction. The Babcock bill,
he said, was really introduced, not in
good faith, but to brighten the steel COM
panios now merged in the Steel Trust for
refusing in 1900 TO contribute to the
Republican Congressional Committee.
Nearly all the Republican leaders, how
ever, fail to discern that at the root of
all the trouble lies the demand for re-
duction of the tariff, by revision or by
reciprocal legislation. Much of the diff
fculty in the House is laid by leading
Republicans to the unpopularity of the
Speaker.
No disguise is made of the feeling
among veteran Republicans that the
party is in critical state, The Con-
gressional Committee, it is said on good
authority, is feeling very nervous, and is
looking TO the National Committee to
take hold of the coming Congressional
campaign and help'out. 1t is doubtful if
they can get any help from the National
Committee. The House has from the
outset of the present session ignored the
National Committee.
The outlook is bad for the Republicans
all over the country. This statement is
made not on the authority of idle gossip,
but on reports gathered by members of
Congress, who have been in close touch
with the public. Washington Cores
pondent Nc,o Yourk Herald.