Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-15
Bourke Cochran Gives
His Views of the
Situation
New York Leader Says
Bryan Is Choice
OF Today
Declares If Convention Called Tomor-
row it Would Simply Ratfy Me-
braskan's Name-Roosevelt
Will Be Candidate
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
SANTA BARBARA, July 14.-Con-
gresham w. Bourke Cochran was in
terviewed by an Associated Press rep
resentative this morning just before
his departure for Lake Tahoe where
he expects to camp for about three
weeks. When asked to give his views
on national and New York state poll
tics, Mr.. Cochran said:
ITO commence with the presidential
possibilities on the Republican side,
there seems to be one candidate worth
considering. His name is Theodore
Roosevelt. Now l do not mean that
he is a candidate in the sense of de-
string the nomination. | am quite con-
WINGED that he desires to return to
private life on the 4th of March, 1909,
but, in my Judgment when the Re
publican convention assemblies 1t will
be perfectly clear that there will be
but one man with any chance of cleo
tion, and that man will be Theodore
Roosevelt. With no other likely candi-
date seeking nomination, with a con-
veution imperatively demanding that
he accept, now he could refuse the use
of his name in it's emergency to a
party which has honored him in its
prosperity is more than l can conceive.
1t Would Be Bryan
IF nominations were to be made
within the next three months there
would be but one candidate considered
by the Democratic convention, and in
fact it would be merely the use of a
conventional term to call it a conven-
ton; it would be a mass meeting to
ratify the nomination of William j.
Bryan, already made by the unanimous
voice of the whole party. But two
years in American politics constitutes
a very long and potentially ,eventful
period What may occur in the inter
val no man can foresee. | can imagine
conditions where the entire trend of
popular thought might be changed
from the channels i'll which it now
flows to entirely new directions.
IF, for instance, Democrat were
elected governor of New York state
who used all the power of his Office
TO uncover and lay bare the methods
of administration of any great corpor-
alton exercising political or quasi-po-
litiCal functions and enforce the law
against high and low to the extent of
showing that it was possible to send
a rogue worth millions to the peniten-
tiary it is very doubtful if such quail
ties would not appeal very strongly to
the conscience of the American peo-
Pile aroused as it would be by a reVe-
lation of crime, to conclusion and
determination that the prime necessity
of our political system was the purifica-
ton of our civic and industrial life
from the corruption which is dscre1
iting 1t and threatens to ruin it.
Reply Is Uncertain
t.Tbo icci1ps of he fut1re are now in,
process of formation. On every issue
already formed Mr.. Bryan is the logical
candidate. On the issues which may be
made by future developments every
thing is uncertain and problematical."
What do you think would be the
outcome if Bryan and Roosevelt headed
the tickets?" was asked.
LAS between Mr.. Bryan and Mr..
Roosevelt it is difficult to see how any,
one could doubt the result" replied MIR.
Cochran. Mr.. RooseVelt's undoubted
strength before the country is due to
the fact that he has adopted Demo-
cratic policies. In tine last session of
congress the support upon which he
could rely with absolute certainty was
the Democratic vote. The extent to
which he could secure the Republican
vote was full of speculation. There was
never a time that he could not COM
mand substantially the entire Demo-
cratic vote on every Important issue
that he had formulated: the Philippine
tariff bill, the railroad rate bill, the
pure food bill.
"Moreover the Republican vote
actually cast for the measures which he
advocated furnish no measure of the
support he would have received under
different circumstances. The fact that
he was sure of the Democratic vote
made certain the success of his meas
ures and therefore made Republicans
vote for him who if there had been any
prospect of defeating him would un-
doubtedly have been found i'm oppos-
ton If, therefore, the issue should be
between Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Bryan
it would seem to be between Democratic
policies enforced by a Republican and
Democratic policies enforced by a
Democrat. When to all this is added
the strong probability amounting al
most to a certainty that if Mr. Roose-
welt should continue in power the next
question which he would force upon
the reluctant, not to say indignant,
attention of his own party, would be
tariff revision, 1T is easy to see what
dynamic forces are operating now to
change the relations of the parties to
each other
People Oppose Socialism
"In the face of such issues and such
changes all political prophecy is extrav-
agant and is speculative and unrea-
sonable. When the country is called
upon to decide such a question it is hard
TO tell whether the south would remain
solid, or whether Vermont would re-
main Republican"
Asked for his views on the politics of
his own state. Mr.. Cochran said:
1.-THE paramount issue in New York
Continued on page two.