The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-03-20
SOME STORMY SCENES
IN THE WHITE HOUSE


as, PRESIDENT in ms own right, but tney
also consented to make contributions to
the campaign fund.
SENATORS ARE BITTER.
The names of the Republican Sena.
tors, who brought all this about, ar.
in the list of five Republicans in the
Interstate Commerce Committee, Ell
kins, Aldrich, Crane, Foraker and
Kean, who a few days ago voted
against reporting the Hepburn rate bill
unamended. In that list, too, are the
Senators, who for weeks have been
going to the White House offices, al
most daily, and importuning the Presi.
dent to consent to broad judicial
amendment to the Hepburn bill. When
he would not yield to their importuni.
ties, stormy scene finally occurred
and very angry words were exchanged.
These Senators, back of all, are more
angered because they could not per.
suade the President to listen to their
councils, in return for whatever debt
the Republican party owed them for
corporation support in 1904. That is
why the fight in the Senate over rate
legislation is now so bitter and may be
prolonged for months.
Every little while one hears some
thing here in Washington about the
prospects that the Democrats will con-
troll the next House of Representatives
Many of the Republicans are counting
on it. Speaker Cannon has said in
private that he expected that would be
the outcome of the next November
.n1
by many other Republican leaders who
fear that the pendulum is swinging and
that the people are ready to rise up
and take vengeance on the Republicans
because of the many unfavorable dis
closures of the last wear or two.
POLITICAL PESSIMISM.
Yet just the cause for such political
pessimism is not altogether apparent
when one analyses the situation. To be
sure the unexpected overturning in the
last election, by which Ohio, for eX-
ample, went Democratic and gave an
example of Independent voting, has en-
couraged such belief. Then the in
surance disclosures have not only
shown, the demoralized condition of the
Republicans in New York state, but
has affected the party nationally and
given the Democrats something to
make forceful plea on to the people.
Every election, state and municipal,
since 1904, has, on the whole, had un-
favorable elements for the Republicans.
Pittsburg, only n few days ago, elected
"a Democratic mayor, who will probably
blossom forth next summer as the
Democratic nominee for governor, and
the Democrats think the Republicans
are in such disorganized condition in
Pennsylvania, especially after the poll
teal revolution of last fall, when a
Democratic state treasurer was elected,
that there is some chance for victory
in that Republican stronghold.
But where the Democrats can get the
votes to control the National House is
quite another question. In the first
place their gains must all come from
northern states. Every district in the
South, except two in the mountains of
Tennessee, and one in the mountains of
Virginia, is now held by Democrats.
Two or three seats might be gained in
Maryland, two or three in West Vir-
ginia, two or three in Kentucky, and
six or eight in Missouri. But those are
border states rather than Southern
states.
Some Democratic hope is based on
prospects in New York state. A stall
wart Republican member from a New
York district, said here this week that
he should not be surprised to see lot
of Republican Congressman go down in
the Empire State this year. The party
there is undoubtedly badly demoral-
ized In New England there is little
hope of any material gains. AT the
outside the Democrats could elect but
two or three more Democratic members
from Massachusetts than they now
have. They had majority of the
members from the Bay State in some
of the landslides of the early 90s. New
Hampshire was then sending two Demo.
Gratis to the House and Connecticut
was sending about three. Neither OF
those states is likely to go back on the
Republicans next autumn.
CAMPAIGN WITHOUT FUNDS.
OF course the Democrats should win
back some of the seats they have lost
in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois, but they will have to elect an
three states to stand any show of hav.
ing majority of the three hundred
and eightysix members of the Sixtieth
Congress. They might win back two
or three seats in California, but hardly
any of the other far western states
offer them an inviting battle ground.
The elections of recent years have
shown that most of the Northern
Democrats come from the cities. The
rural communities have remained stead
fastly in the Republican column and
even the rural communities that have
long been Democratic have been going
over to the Republicans 1t is hardly
to be supposed that the Democrats will
sweep away any of the country dis
tricts in the next Congressional cleo
tions, but they must look for most of
whatever gains they make in such
cities as New York, Chicago and San
Francisco. OF course, the Republicans
will be shorter in campaign funds this
year than ever before since the flush
days of Mark Hanna in 1896. That
will be something Of a factor, but, in
spite of that and many other disad-
they will have, as compared
with previous campaigns the chances