The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-04-27
Roosevelt and New York.

Try as they may, the republicans
cannot conceal the fact that they are
in danger of losing New York state IN
the next national election if Roosevelt
is the party's nominee for president.
And, as matters now stand. there IS
hardly any chance to keep MIN from
| getting the nomination.
in the first place, the republican
party in New York is split all to
pieces. with practically no hope OF
bringing the warning factions together
between now and the 1904 campaign.
Both the Platt and Odell factions nave
! at last thrown off the mask and gone
| at each other in earnest. That IN IL
self is enough to make the situation
| in New York state anything but pleas
| ing from republican standpoint;
but the trouble is more far-reaching
than that.
| Ii will be recalled that Roosevelt
was once governor of New York. lie
rode into office. in true rough rider
style. on the Spanish-Amerlcan war
craze. upsetting all the plans OF the
recognized party leaders and dong
nothing after assuming the governor
shin to placate them. He was never
until lately-very much Of a party
man" and throughout his admlnistra-
ton he showed no respect for his par
ty or its leaders. He gave Offense
right and left. and never once took
the trouble to heal any OF the wounds.
Roosevelt's friends have always
claimed that he singly dealt deadly
III al
Thomas c. Plat was the high priest
in New York state. Governor Odel,
it seems, has kept up that policy, and
commercial politics., as the Odell
people are pleased to term the meth
DDS Of the Plat crowd, has not had
full swing in New York for several
years Nevertheless. the Plat fac
ton have controlled nearly everything
except the governor, and they are still
strong. The easy boss is not yet
ready 10 pass in his checks, politically
speaking, by any means. He proposes
10 fight it out. if he pulls the house
down in doing so.
Since Roosevelt became president,
Plat has tried to conceal his antago
nism as much as possible. but the in
ent phase it is a clash between Plat
and Odell but Roosevelt is involved to
an extent that is calculated to make
him feel anything bat comfortable
The leaders OF the Plat faction no
longer make any effort to conceal their
hostility toward President Roosevelt,
and one OF the most prominent of
their number. Lou +. Payn, a Plat
lieutenant who has always welded
considerable influence among New
York republicans, in an interview
published in The New York World on
Monday boldly proclaims that if
Roosevelt is nominated for the presi-
dency he Will fail to carry New York
state He is quoted as follows:
NJ matter who ruus for governor he
VIII 70 down in defeat The republican
party hasn't a man strong enough 70 h"
elected governor if Roosevelt Is to be the
presidential candidate. suppose we viii
All haVr 10 support Mr.. Roosevelt, buJ
he l. = beaten man.
or course. i men like Bryan control
the democratic convention there Will ne
= chance. mat as it stands today the pres
iCent couldn't make any sort OF race
That Pittsliold trolley car accident was
a fortunate thing for MI Roosevelt II
that hadn't happened he would have gone
on aking those dangerous spec ches up
in Now England and would have ruined
himself and the party. He went nome
and the wise men IF the party went down
In oyster Bay and called him off. You
notice that his western speeches are en-
tirelv different from his New England
trust speeches. He has got around to the
right side at last
OF course there are other New York
republicans who are doing all III their
power to discount this sort OF talk,
but the fact is apparent that there is
an open revolt against Roosevelt in
that state.
Not only is his party badly disrupt
ed. as above shown but the c0nserya-
tive business clement OF New York is
afraid of him. and would be glad Of an
opportunity TO support some cOnserVa-
tive democrat in 1904 There is no
denying the fact that everything looks
more favorable for the democrats in
New York state than it has looked in
ten years. and if the party will only
profit by the confusion that now exists
in the republican ranks, it is by no
means improbable hat New York will
fall into the democratic column next
year.