The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1903-06-12
PROSPECTS
PRESIDENT Roosevelt Will be
RenOminated.
Sourthern Democracy Holds Key
to Their Own Situation, but
Will Hardly Use IL.

President Roosevelt's denomination
next year is already settled. Nobody
but himself or a tremendous revolution
OF popular sentiment can prevent II Tn
to this time his candidacy has been in
dorsed by the republican conventions in
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut. Iowa
Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri. Mime.
sofa, New York, Rhode Island. Texas
| Utah, Washington, Illinois, Ohio and
| Pennsylvania. Those States will have
in The national convention 496 votes
and az the total number of delegates will
be 967, it will be seen that a majority is
| already pledged to Roosevelt, 30 far as
the conventions of this year can bind
| those of the year to come.
On the democratic side the diacussion
OF ways and means of making a cam
paign without leader or a platform
goes on apace. The eastern factions Of
the party appear to be rapidly forming
round the band of stalwarts that have
declared for the denomination of Cleve-
land, but the west still rings with the de-
liant shouts of the Bryanites declaring
for anybody to beat Grover. The sitn-
alton promises to give the south n
chance to dictate the nomination. but il
is doubtful if they have the political sa-
gacity or courage to profit by it. At
any rate the southern press is far from
having definite platform to propose or
candidate to recommend.
The Louisville Courier j ournal has for
long time been denOuncing Cleveland
and Bryan with an equal and impartial
vehemence, and of late other southern
papers have followed the lead. Thus the
Atlanta Constitution said recently:
The first premise of the democratic
campaign for 1904 must be the absolute
unaVailabllity OF both Cleveland and
Bryan. They have served their oppor
tunltles, and the good or i'll of their
activities have been charged upon the
party ledger to the account of profit
and loss. Their accounts as candidates
for the presidency are closed and bal
anced."
Whether it will be possible for the
party to get rid of both Bryan and
Cleveland, or either of them, may be of
large interest to the party, but to the
outsider 1T seems OF no political mpor-
tance whatever. Turn the figures az
they may, no political expert has been
able as yet to calculate any way in
which a democratic candidate will have
next year a sufficiently good show of
winning to make the race exciting.
In 1900 the 2S states that went for
Mckinley cast an aggregate electoral
vote OF 292. Under the new apportiOn-
ment those states will cast next wear an
electoral vote of Bill. The seventeen
states that went for Bryan in 1900 cast
I55 votes. Under the new rule thew
will cast 165. Should the states vote
next year as they did in 1900 the repub-
llcan majority in the electoral college
will be Increased under the present an
pOrtiOnment from 1877 in 1900 to 146 in
1904. In other words, the increase of
vote under the new census has been ia
VOrable to the republican cause. and
democracy has harder fight before it
than 1t had IN the previous campaign.
On the present appOrtionment the
Democrats might carry a good many
states that went republican in 1900 and
still be defeated next year. For example,
they might carry New York. Delaware,
Maryland, New Jersey, West Virginia
and Utah, in addition to the vote of the
last election, and yet fall short of a ma
lority. Should the republicans, as is
likely, carry next year the western
states, Montana, Idaho and Nevada,
that went for Bryan in 1900, the demo.
Gratis might then carry even such COM
bination of states as New York, New
Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut and Indi-
ana and still be defeated.
In short, there was probably never q
time since the days of Monroe when the
succession to the presidency was so we'll
assured a year before the election. 1t
would seem, indeed, as if the best thing
democracy could do next year would be
to indorse Roosevelt and give the coun-
try the satisfaction of electing a presi-
dent without the cost OF a useless and
fruitless campaign.