Middletown transcript., 1905-04-15
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

WASHINGTON, D. c., April Sth, 1905.
THE presidential candidacy to be settled
in the Republican national conven-
ton three years from the coming summer
is being discussed in Washington to a
surprising extent, result. perhaps, oil
the absence of other topics of more absorb
ing interest, but also promoted by the
incipient presidential booms which have
already made their appearance. Among
the men who have avowed their aspira-
tions, privately or publicly, are Vice
President Fairbanks, Senator Foraker,
Secretary Shaw and the latest of the aspir-
ants-though not avowed, Postmaster
General Cortelyou. Two others names
are mentioned in this connection, those
Of Elihu Root, former Secretary of War,
and William H. Taft, present Secretary
of War. Of the field, Vice President
Fairbanks is regarded by the public as
the most likely candidate and there is no
doubt that he is playing the game OF
politics with a master hand. On the
other hand, there are many shrewd
politicians who say that Mr.. Fairbanks
boom is premature and that, like most
premature things, it is likely to get nip
ped by frosts. A facile speaker and a
suave conversationalist, the Vice Presi-
dent makes many friends but few OF the
''thick and thin' variety, for the reason
that he possesses too little magnetism to
draw men to him in that way. His
enemies tell ugly stories of Wall street
domination and an unholy alliance with
J. P. Morgan and E. H. Hartman, sue
cessively, based lio doubt on the fact that
the Vice President made his fortune as
railroad attorney and probably on little
else. But aspiring candidates can. m
fortunately, never escape unwarranled
insinuations from those opposed to them.
~
Secretary Shaw is good speaker,
good fellow" and would doubtless have
the confidence of the businessmen of the
country. On the other hand, he is a
man of little culture and of far narrower
calibre, than for instance, President
Roosevelt, while his recent decision
granting the millers drawback on i'm
ported Canadian wheat when mixed with
domestic wheat and exported as -four has
lowered the price of wheat by several
cents and is claimed by westerners to
have ruined the Secretary's vote getting
ability among the wheat raisers of the
great west. Senator Foraker promises to
be a strong candidate. He has served
his State creditably as Governor and in
Senate for eight years and has host of
friends. Judging by the predictions of
those who ought to know, he is candi-
date who will play an important part in
the next Republican convention. Post
master General Cortelyou's boom is too
new to be accurately gauged as yet. 1t
is based, of course, on his very successful
conduct of the last national campaign and
the fact that he has been the right ha nd
OF three presidents and knows the bust :
ness. His boom is automatic; he is not
urging it. Had Secretary Root accept ed
the nomination for Governor of New
York he would doubtless have been the
Republican presidential candidate to sue
ceed President Roosevelt. He would
have carried his State last fall by as large
a majority as did the President. He is a
man of exceptional ability and fine char
acter and he enjoys the confidence of the
Republican leaders, including President
Roosevelt, one of whose closest friends
and most loyal supporters he is. All this
was pointed out to Mr.. Root when he was
urged to accept the gubernatorial nomi-
nation but he insisted that he had no
political ambitions and that he owed it
to himself and his family to apply him
self to the accumulation of fortune. He
went about this by accepting a 100000
retaining fee as counsel of the Northern
Securities Company and it is believed
this fact would injure his prospects, even
if he were willing to enter the race,
which is by no means certain. 1t can be
stated on the highest authority that Sec
retary Taft does not wish the nomination
He has one ambition in life and that is to
become Chief Justice of the United States
Supreme Court and if that position be-
comes vacant during President Roose-
velt's term Mr.. Taft will achieve his am
bition.
~
There is one man who is not a Landi-
date and who has no intention of becom-
ing one, who is regarded by many of the
abIest politicians in both parties as the
most probable nominee. His name is
Theodore Roosevelt. No one who knows
the President questions the sincerity of
his assertion that under no conditions
would he accept the nomination for
another term. On the other hand, it is
pointed odt that no man can refuse the
insistence of national convention and
that President Roosevelt would be power
less to stem the tide, whatever might be
his wishes. if it were once turned in his
favor. Those who predict that President
Roosevelt will succeed himself declare
that the next national Republican eonyen-
ton will be the scene of tremendous
factional activity, that finally it will be-
come evident that no one of the candi-
dates whose name has been considered
can be nominated and that, eventually
someone will name Roosevelt and that he
will be nominated by acclamation.
~
Apropos of the possibility, or prob
ability, OF President Rooseyelt's succeed
ing himself, attention is called to the
ovations he is this week receiving in the
South. He has already carried Missouri
into the Republican column. How many
more Southern States may he not be