The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-28
Gossip From the
 Nations Capital
By R. H. Watkins

SASSeAO&As ceAVWAA8 Ah eno uknL. He iS said to be stronger with the Demo- cratic organizers in the State than either of the other candidates, al- though Mir. Willard's strength with the party leaders has been growing steadily of late.
 The race for Governor should be an extremely intereSttng affair. What with the choice of . Democratic State standard bearer and the selection of d candidate for the United States Senate old Virginia will not lack for the liye- Hest kind of diversion this year and the children of the old Dominion wh., dwell all over the country will watch the battle with captfvated interest.
 The Extra Session.
 A group in which were two Demo- cratic Congressmen ran upon the sub- ject of the achievements of the re- cent short session. especially with re- gard to the wishes of the administra- tion. It was unanimously agreed that President Roosevelt got nothing any, where commensurate with the so- called vote of national confidence given him last November.
 Tt is a little late to summarize the work of the short session." said one of the Congressmen. but the people will soon recognize and ponder about the little that has been done following the much that had been promised. with heavy laundering in the index" How do you size up what Teddy got?" asked the other Congressman. Just two battleships-out of the three months of the short session and the two weeks of the special session or the Senate--just two battleships." was the answer.
 "Correct," added the other: "and 1t was hard work for the President to get the two battleships. It might not be generous to say that he had to pay for them in a way. but there Is an in- teresting coincidence touching this particular success of the administra- tion. One of the Democratic members of the Naval Affairs Committee who broke with his party in the House has been offered an important Federal po- sition. He was asked beforehand If he would accept a on-political office and he said he would. A naval officer closely related to another Democrat on the committee who supported the two- battleship proposition has just been raised to one of the leading positions on the naval staff. A Republican lead CT of the committee who has fought valiantly for all the administration asked, notwithstanding he has had little experience and no reputation as a lawyer. has been appointed a Federal judge"
 The kind of judicial appointments the President has lately made has subject ed him to no little criticism, and the adverse comments are not all confined to Democrats. Some of the leading Re- publican Senators have openly spoken their disapproval of the selections made for the bench. The appointment of Aston G. Dayton, the West Vir- ginia Congressman, to succeed Judge John Jackson, one of the very best men who has been on the bench in half century. as well as the appoint ment of Landis. a brother of the two Indiana Congressmen-Fred and Charles Landis--are severely criticised. Both are reputed to lack legal capac- ity and judicial character There are said to be a dozen Republican lawyers in West Virginia who would have far better filled the vacancy left by the resignation of Judge Jackson. The Landises of the House, neither of whom Is strong in that body. have by unfail- ing obedience to the administration succeeded in landing their brother Landis in the Chicago judgship.