The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-10
NOT A PLAT GAME
Why N. Y. Does Not Declare for the
Presidents Candidacy
in 1904.
The President Considers Such Pre-.
mature Action Of His State
as Indelicate.

.----
Fron, The Journal B,.reos.. Room A5, Posi-
BWttdi's0,! Washington. s5 h.
Washington, Sept. 1O-Eastern politi-
clans who do not like the president are
trying, to make capital out Of the state
ment made recently by Senator Plat that
the New York state convention, soon TO
be held, would content itself with simply
indorsing the Roosevelt administrations,
and would nos go, to the length OF declar-.
ing for him as the nominee of the party
in 1904. It should not de difficult to un-
.derstand that: the business of sinstructing
delegates for 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 complica-
:tions; besides which, coming from the
presidents state, they would be highly
indelicate The question was thoroughly
discussed between the president and Sem
ator Plat and Governor Odell, during
their several conferences this summer at
Oyster Bay, and it was the presidents
personal wish, and he insisted upon it
with. considerable emphasis, that the con-.
vention in his own state should be modi-
est, and not set a pace which might seem
like an invitation to other states to do
something which ought not to be done
until two years hence. At first it was the
opinion of Governor Odell that the con-
vention should declare for Roosevelt, but
Senator Platt thought otherwise, and the
president earnestly Endorsed him. State
conventions which have this year declared
for Roosevelt have: done so on their own
motion. Not a word Of suggestion has
come from the administration or any Of
its friends These declarations, coming
unsolicited, will have strong moral eff
feet in favor of the presidents candidacy
but this would all be lost were. his own
state, as the result of careful planning, to
pursue similar course. Responsibility
for it would be charged straight to the
president, and a storm of criticism would
result, which would do his cause more
harm than good. Besides, from the presi-
dents point of view, such proceeding
would be improper and unfair. 1t may be
said with authority that the New, York
convention would declare for Roosevelt if
Roosevelt wanted it to do so. &: T..
During his little speech at Augusta, the
home of Blaine last week, the president
referred incidentally and briefly to the
Monroe doctrine, which Blaine had cham
pioned during his life time, but the refer
ence was intended as a compliment to the
memory Of the great statesman, and no.
body in this country looked at it in any
other light. It remained for the daily
newspapers of the old world to find in
this reference a, new ana aggressive asser-
ton of the doctrine, and an intimation
that the Roosevelt administration was
thinking Of occupying advanced and dan
gerous ground as disturber of the
worlds peace.
I The president made up his mind that it
was up to him to make his meaning more
clear, and so it happened that he made a
later address in which he confined him
self to the Monroe doctrine 1t is well
enough for the other side of the water to
know just how, the United States feels
and that it indorses to the last word the
statements of President Roosevelt. II
should be said that the greater portion of
the. extended speech was cabled to Europe
since which time the newspapers there
have preserved .discrete silence. 80 q
The Alaskan boundary disputes will be
rnln1lnazed IN Importance should the de-
| crease sin the supply of gold prove to be
the beginning of the end of the gold ex-
cltement there. AS j u I n a l&readers
already know, the output for the past ifs
cal year was only about st4, 900 900, as
compared with $26, 90, 600 for the year be-
fore. =, Should the decline be permanent
the boundary will not be worth any seri.
GUS dispute, and it is predicted that the
| United States will have no great difficulty
| In having her claims substantially ac-
acknowledged by Great Britain Notwitn-
standing the decrease in output, the
search for gold has been unceasing, and
multitudes of men have braved the wealth
| er and rfgors of a far northern winter tc
make it thorough. But the results have
been very unsatisfactory No new fields
worth speaking of have been discovered
while those already being worked show
unmistakable signes of playing out With
( the, failure of the gold supply nobody need
care a cent whether the boundary line is
| a few miles this side or the other side OF
| the lines marked out by the modus vi
dendi. T: ..s =. So ~ ~ r. =. z.sS5e
| - ,,%%: w. W. Jermane. =