The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-12
ROOSEVELT CANNOT
Be TOO EMPHATIC
Determined to Leave White
House When Term Expires
BRYAN IS NOT DANGEROUS
In Spite of Recent Appearance of Eric
ton Taft Is Still RooseveIt's
Favorite for the Noml-
nation.
BRYAN IS NOT DANGEROUS

Chicago, December IA special dis
patch to the Record-He from Wash
ington says:
President Roosevelt has announced his
Intention of taking vigorous steps to put
a stop to the movement which has seemed
to be dragging him, against his will, into
another race as leader of the republican
party.
In talks with public men the President
has outlined to some extent the plans he
has in mind to make his friends and adj
mirers call halt in their attempt to
stampede the country into demanding that
he stand for reelection in 1908. But he
has not unfolded his plans in their en-
trety, being content to assert that the
thing he seeks can be accomplished and
that he will see to it that 1t is.
Bryan Not Dangerous.
One of the reasons brought to bear on
the President by those who insist that he
will be the logical candidate to succeed
himself is that William ]. Bryan is GER
tain to be the democratic nominee, and
that no republican aside from the pres
ent White House occupant can defeat him
at the polls. President Roosevelt how
ever, does not believe Mr.. Bryan Is so
strong that 1t may be said there is only
one republican leader who can stand any
show against him, and he is not willing
to admit that victory over Bryan would
be a difficult matter in the abstract as
matters are now trending.
The President again has called atten-
ton to the fact that when his present
term expires he will have served seven
and one-half years, which will be within
few months of the White House career
ever accorded to any American executive.
lie also has proclaimed that he finds it
enhances the prospect of carrying out his
administrative programme to be able to
realize that he will not have to go before
the country again as the republican STAN
dard bearer.
May Be Senate.
The President does not intend to retire
from public life by any means, and his
friends believe that some time he would
like to come to Washington as a senator
of the United States to help the Empire
state regain the position in the legislative
councils of the nation that it once en-
joyed 1t is not regarded as certain.
from the White House to the Senate
chamber, as would be the case were
Thomas c. Plat to fill the entire term
in the Senate which he now is serving
and Mr.. Roosevelt be chosen by the New
York legislature to succeed him.
Secretary of War Taft still is regarded
as the choice of the administration to
succeed President Roosevelt, although no
open effort will be made to bring about
his nomination. Such an attempt, it is
felt, would be liable to be resented and
react against the candidate.
Taft Still Favorite.
What looked like a difference between
the President and his Secretary of War a
little while back, relative to the discharge
without honor of battalion of the
Twenty-fifth (colored) infantry, turns out
to have been nothing that will Jar the re-
lations of the executive and his cabinet
adviser In the slightest degree, and Judge
Taft remains as much of a favorite as
ever.
IL the next republican national conven-
ton does not nominate Secretary Taft for
President the latter will be sure to round
out his career on the supreme bench of
the United States. Two things prevailed
to prevent his appointment to succeed
Justice Brown in place of Attorney Gem
eral Moody. One was the Secretary of
Wars desire to complete his programme
with respect to the Philippines The
other was the prospect of the nomination
for the presidency.