The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-01-13
HE is AN ADEPT At WORKING
POLITICS AND READY TO
TAKE ANY ADVANTAGE.
He Hopes to Be Renominated and Is
Building His Fences in Strong
Substantial Way.

has a way of appealing to his people
which for frankness and spontaneity is
extremely refreshing in comparison
| with the methods of many of the
| statesmen who do politics" in the
| state for living. Last winter when
| the legislature was in session Cush-
| man, confident that it would be to
his interests, politically, and to the
| advantage of the state. for that or
other reasons, to have the state d.
vided into congressional districts, for
mulated a plan for such division
| had a map of the state setting it forth
prepared and printed, and sent copy
| Of the map and circular letter on
| the subject to each member Of each
, branch of the legislature. For open
ness, fairness and franknesS the APP
peal was the cleanest piece of lobby
| ing with which the members of the
Legislature came into contact during
! the entire session. For political reas-
ons the republican majority in the
| legislature decided not to district the
| state, but from the beginning every
member knew exactly where Cushman
stood on the proposition, and that
| knowledge was an element of light
| IA the discussion which ensued.
Last month B. D. Croker, a politi-
cal lieutenant of Senator Ankeny
while in attendance at meeting Of
| the republican national committee
meeting in Washington with the proxy
Of Committeeman Charles Baker of
| this state made a plea for Il late date
| for the national convention 50 as to
enable the republicans of this state to
| name delegates to the national con-
vention and nominate state and con-
gressonal ticket at one and the same
p: convention. The suggestion that the
| party hold but one state convention
| this year instead of two as is tradition
| ally customary, met with little criti-
| cisln on the part Of republicans who
desire the acts of their conventions
to b free expressions of the members
of their party, but not one of them
| came FORWARD 10 express tIl'il CTItl-
cism in terms which would be properly
| circulated and understood. 1t had
| almost begun to appear that the Crock
| er motion would be accepted by de-
fault when Congressman Cushman
| took the matter up and in a clear
| concise letter pointed out the disad-
vantages of the plan proposed. The
| most important of these is that a
| convention held prior to the repub-
| iican national convention would have
| to endorse the platform Of the nation
al convention blindly, or adopt a plat
| form of it's own on national matters,
| which might be found to be in serious
| conflict with the one adopted by the
| national convention. This would
| then necessitate the state and con-
gressional candidates running on two
platforms. Apparently Mr.. Cushman,
who hopes to be one Of the congression-
al nominees, does not care to run the
| risk of having to do this, and so he
has come forward to speak his mind
on the subject.
| Naturally this expression, in COM
mon with most of the expressions OF
| Congressman Cushman, has met with
opposition and ridicule at the hands
| of the Ankeny press of the state. The
| Olympia Olympian, always prompt to
boost an Ankeny policy, FASTENED to
! endorse the one convention idea, as did
also the Walla Walla Union, Mr.. An
keny's own paper. The Union goes
on to declare that the reason Cushman
| favors two conventions is that the one
convention suggestion came from the
| source it did IF the republicans OF
the state who are in favor Of one
convention" the Union says, had ad-
vocated two conventions, Cushman
would have demanded one" Even as
Stunning this to be true, which there is
no possible excuse for doing, the con-
gresham would have a much better
reason for his position than have his
opponents. The methods which have
in the past been employed in politics
by Senator Ankeny, D. B. Croker, S
A. Madge, J. TB. Scobey, and others
who have approved of the one conven-
ton idea, have been such as to justify
the suspicion of Interior motives ir
this instance, and to justify a man who
desires the state conventions to ex.
press, to as great degree as possible
the will of the republicans of the
state, in opposing the plan. The
action of Congressman Cushman doe:
not mean that the traditional two con
Iventions idea will be adhered to-, bu
it does indicate that the two conven
ton plan will not be overthrown with
out an effort being made to retain it.
i Conditions in the democratic rank
at Seattle are a little more honefu]