Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-10-26
a STARTLING SUGGESTION.

That Hon. Robert NJ. La Toilette of
Wisconsin cannot hold on to a United
States senatorship and the governor
ship of his state at the same time is a
fact known of all men. That he must
There has been much guessing as to
which he would give up. Now comes
his brother with the startling sugges-
ton that he may resign both and de-
vote his time to urging reform and pu-
rifcation in politics. If he does that
his fame will be secure and he will
write his own among "the few, the
immortal, names that were not born
to de- But seeing is believing in this
case, as in many others. Thomas JEFF
ferson once declared that federal Office
holders seldom die and never resign,
but he was speaking of appointiye Off
Gals, not of elective In fact, there
has been much ingenious argument to
prove that senators and representa-
tives in congress are not federal. but
state, officials. Nevertheless Jefferson's
mot applies to them to a large degree.
Up to the present time Governor Sena-
tor La Toilette has, publicly at least,
given no hint of what he intends to do.
1t is generally believed that he is
candidate for the Republican presiden-
tial nomination. If So he may have to
forego the senatorship and hold on to
the governorship to make sure of the
Wisconsin delegation, for the anti-La
Toilette faction, headed by Senator
John G. Spooner and Congressman
Babcock, is very strong in the state.
and the governor-senator is their pet
aversion, their bette noire. 1t is safe to
say that the anti-La Toilette Republic
ans in Wisconsin would prefer a Dem
ocratic president to him; consequently
it will be hazardous if not ruinous for
him to relinquish to any degree his
hold on the Wisconsin machine which
he has built up during his three terms
in the gubernatorial chair. Perhaps he
might retain control of it while serving
in the senate; but, while distance lends
enchantment to the view. it is not con-
ducive to a retention of control of state
machines. OF course there are United
States senators who are state bosses
Boies Penrose of Pennsylvania, Ste
phen Benton Elkins of West Virginia.
Thomas Collier Platt of New York ana
Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts.
for instance-but Washington is close
to their baliwiclSs. and they can make
frequent visits to their henchmen and
line them up by talking with them face
to face. It's a long journey from
Washington to Wisconsin. and Govern
r-Senator la Toilette may discover
that the absent treatment is a failure.
Suppose, however, that he resi- ns the
governorship and hangs on to the sena-
torship Then what. If he expounds in
the senate the radical opinions be has
been expounding on the stump and the
Chautauqua platform, be is certain to
have a war ON his hands that will at
tract the attention Of the entire coun-
try. Some of his most enthusiastic ad-
inirers assert that he VIII at once be-
come the leader Of the Roosevelt Re-
rublicansv and straightway surge to
the front That's a very fetching pro-
gramme if it cali be carried out. But
there are preeisely eigltsy-nine other
grave and reverend seigniors who viii
object to that, for. while they differ
about everything else, they are thor
onghly agreed that new senator must
tarry at Jericho TIL bis head IS grown
before he participates actively in the
doings of the .most august body on