Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-06-18
Second Place on Roosevelt $ Ticket.

CcIt III lelleT pOStdBt'
Second Place on Roosevelt $ Ticket.
The practical certainty that President
Roosevelt will be nominated without OPP
position to head the republican ticket
next year having been established, inter-
est in the national conventions work Will
largely center on the selection of the
Presidents running mate. Not long since
the choice of a candidate for the VICE
presidency would have been regarded as
Of minor importance but the results fol-
lowing the nomination of Theodore Roose-
welt as William McKinleys running mate
have been so momentous that no one
now regards an election to the Office in
question as putting one on a political
shelf. The nomination of man for the
second highest office within the gift of
the people of the United States has taken
its proper place in the estimation of the
public. and there is likely to be more
care than formerly with reference to the
presidential qualifications of the individ-
ual who aspires to be the chief executives
understudy.
Two men have been seriously discussed
thus far in connection with the republic
can nomination for the ce-presidency.
Senator Beveridge of Indiana has been
mentioned for the position in a way to
suggest that some of the close friends Of
President Roosevelt might possibly favor
the senator from the Hoosier State but
the President has given no indication of
his choice. and it is evident that no one
has spoken for the administration. In
this connection it is not to be for
gotten that Senator Fairbanks of
Indiana has presidential aspirations of
his own, and it is to be taken for grant
ed that he would regard the selection Of
his senatorial colleague for second place
on the national ticket as we'll calculated
to inevitably postpone the contamination
of his own political ambition. There will
therefore be strong opposition to the Sc
lection of Beveridge for the vice-presi-
dency, outside Of his own State as we'll
as within.
A national ticket which finds favor with
many people is Roosevelt and Taft, and
it must be admitted that there are not
few strong arguments in favor of the
choice of the governor of the Philippines
for second place on the ticket. 1t is argued
in the first place that Governor Taft
would be an ideal candidate personally.
He is a strong man in every way, with
a magnificent presence, and he would be
an effective campaigner. In the second
place it is pointed out that he would well
represent on the ticket the expansion
policy of the government as opposed tc
| anti-imperialism, which the democrats are
expected to raise as one of the chief issues
record in the Philippines, where he has
put into effect the American policy, has
stamped him as an executive officer OF
a high order of ability, tact and efficiency.
lie has handled the delicate questions
connected with the religious orders and
possessions with a degree of Skill that
has commended him TO the ecclesiastics
as well as to the Filipinos themselves
Another consideration connected with
the choice of Taft for second place on
the national ticket would be its bearing
on the situation in Ohio. Politicians have
not failed to note the emphatic resolu
ton in praise of Governor Taft's ad.
minstration in the Philippines, adopted
by the Ohio State convention, and some
| have been inclined to regard it rs the first
official note of the Taft boom. 1t is also
| significant that some of the men close
to the administration heartily approve OF
the resolution.
There have been few republican ad
ministrations without their prominent
Ohio men, and it is taken for granted tina
the nomination of Governor Taft for The
e-presidency would settle the question
of the craftsmanship of the republican ma
tional committee. Senator Hanna in tina
case would unquestionably manage thu
national campaign, provided his health
should permit.
1t can be seen, therefore. that tn
choice Of a republican candidate for tn
vice presidency will be of more thai
usually import in and of itself ant
! that it will also involve important con
! siderations in connection with the man
agement of the national campaign.