The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-21
THE EMPIRE STATE
NEW YORK STRONG CARD TO
 DEFEAT ROOSEVELT.
Effort Will Be Made to Keep Delega ton from Him-Railroad and h. dustrial Interests May SprIng
 Candidate.

Washington Special to N. o. Times-Dem- oerat.
 The Empire State will be the strong card in the next Presidential campaign. 1t will have thirty-nine votes in the Eiec- toral College. The fact that the State elected Juoge Parker to be Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals in lSsi and gave Mr. Roosevelt onIy about lSUOO pIurahty for Governor in 1898 and Governor Odeil less than 5000 last year, has caused New York to be set down in the "eStremely doubtful column.
 Republicans, when figuring on the out come of the next presidential election. leave New York entirely out of their calculations. and declare they will be able to elect their candidate without Its aid Another important thing Is that many prominent Republicans are becom- ing convinced that an effort Is likely 10 be made in the next national convention to defeat MT. Roosevelt. They believe the great railroad and industrial inter ests will at an Opportune time spring a candidate of their own. There Is thought to be good ground for the suspicion that an effort will be made to prevent MT. Roosevelt from getting the New York delegation, notwithstanding the pledges which the last State Convention made.
 Several men are spoken of as "cark horses" in the race. Among these are Senator Spooner of Wisconsin, Senator Hanna of Ohio, and Senator Fairbanks Of lnciana. IneSe men SldHu wen NiIl the captains of industry" and none of them Is helping along Mir. Roosevelt 3 trust regulating policy.
 An effort was made to defeat Mir. Mc- Kinley in 1896 through having numerous candidates hold their own State delega- tions away from him MT. Platt was to hold New York through MT. Morgan, Mir Reed was to hold New England, Mir. Quay Pennsylvania. Mir. Allison Iowa, and Mir CulIom Illinois. Some of these candidates failed to hold their own States, and MT. McKinley's nomination was a foregone conclusion because he held practically all of the delegates from the South.
 Grave doubts are entertained by the Presidents friends of his ability to hold the delegates from the South. partlcu- larly If such an experienced politician as Senator Hanna should reach out for them, himself Under the new apportion- ment there will be 952 delegates in the next National Convention. The South furnishes 304 or nearly one-third. The solid South would need only 173 votes from elsewhere to own the convention, as AT would be majority. Some friends of the President have recently expressed the opinion that most of the Southern delegates are already lost to the admin istra ton. This belief may or may not have had anything to do with the recent activity of the administration in sound ing the situation in the South through James s. Clarkson.
 The franchise tax situation in New York is interesting Democrats here very much, as 1t may affect the availability of Judge Parker as a. candidate. Dem ocrats everywhere are committed to the principle of a tax on franchises. If the law is not repealed. it is quite prob able that Judge Parker, as one of the judges of the Court of Appeals. will be called upon to express an opinion either for or against this law. If he should sustain the law he would incur the en- mity of very powerful influences in New York now interested in defeating Presi- dent Roosevelt. If he should join in de- claring the new law constitutional, he would endanger himself with the rank and file of the Democracy.
 Democrats of the South and West, who are industriously grooming Judge Parker for President, hope the Republicans will repeal the law, and that the cases will not go to the Court of Appeals for de- cisiOn.