The Washington herald., 1906-12-30

burden imposed by recent pUbIiea-
tiOnS upon some of nay friends among
/ the Washington newspaper CORE
spOndeBts of putting further inquIr-
| les to me Wish 70 say that my am
bitiOn il not political; that / am not
seeking the Presidential nomination;
that ] do not expect To be the Re-
publican candidate, If for no other
reason because OF what seems TO
me 10 be objections TO my avaiIabiI-
ity which do rot appear 10 lessen
/ with the continued discharge Of my
OTn official duty; but that I am not
foolish enough 10 say that IN the i'm
probable event that the opportunity
To run for the great Office of PresI-
dent '~ere to come 10 me- J should
decline IL, for this would not be
true
In this statement, dictated by him. and
given out from his office in the War De-
partment yesterday. William Howard
/ Taft, Secretary OF War. confirmed tho
story Of his tentative candidacy for the
/ Republican Presidential nomination. which
! appeared in The Washington Herald yes
terday morning The story furnished the
principal topic Of conversation in political
circles during the day. and Secretary Taft
felt imgelIed TO make a statement con-
cerning it in order 10 satisfy the nUmer-
Gus friends WHO asked him about IT,
/ While the Secretary's statement was ac-
cepted in some quarters as "a denial Of the
story Of his tentative candidacy. the gem
eral impression regarding it was that hs
had said in 80 words about the same thing
/ that the Washington correspondent Of tbs
/ Cleveland Leader had said in approxl-
mately 1550 words. II was not 10 be ex-
peCtcd that Air. Taft would declare him
self a candidate for the nomination. II
/ course. While he asserted that his ambi-
ton is not political. and hiuted that there
were objections 10 his availability. he also
/ let it be understood that If the nomination
came to him he would not decline il; and
that was the whole story
Secretary Taft probably had thres
things in mind when he referred 10 the
/ objections to his availability. one was
/ the circumstance that, rs d Federal judge.
+ he issued injuncuons against labor unions
/ to prevent them from interfering with
! The business of blacklisted concerns. and
saw that those injuuctions We're enforced.
/ Another was his connection with the dis
/ charge of the three companies Of :he
( Twenty-GfJh Infantry which were sta
! toned al Brownsville when the trouble
/ occurred there. and the third was his
/ attitude on the Cox machine ia 49, The
/ labor element unquestio1ably is opposed
/ 90 Mr. TAFT, and 50 are the negroes Of
/ the country. These TWO facts undoubtedly
/ constitute objections u lis availability
/ AS Presidential candidate or as "a candl-
/ date for the Republican nomination. rni
+ 1ir. Taft knows it as wei AS anybody
: else The fesHls which the aId-Iiue re
+ publican leaders IN Ohio entertain for him
/ rs well known.
Does N"t Eliminate Himself.
+ The statement viii at least give Mr.
. Tafts friends throughout the country. and
f. particularly in Ohio To understand that
I be is not eliminated as "a Presidential
/ possibility, and that. If they think they
1 see "a chance To- nominate him. they ara
+ a. liberty to make the gtIempc Had the
/ Secretary desired TO put himself dcnniteIy
! out of tile running DE doubtless would
/ have declared that under uo circumstances
I would hc 0e candidate. President
! Roosevelt used some such language In
making il clear that he would not be a
/ candidate 90 succeed himself and had
/ Mr. TAFT wished 10 eliminate himself Us
thoroughly as his chief has done I'm that
/ connection he unquestionably would hav.
made his statement. less ambiguous ;bau
/ il was
/ The doubts as to his own availability
| to which the Secretary refers are shared
/ in other quarters. As was shown in the
resume of conditions in the Southern
States. and others. printed i'm The Wash
! ingtou Herald yesterday morning. the
/ old guard of the Republican party is
stronger than it has been al any time
since the death of William Mckinley. II
is not only opposed 10 any candidate
favored by President Roosevelt but il is
| opposed TO Secretary Taft per Sc. Senti-
ment might bring about the nomination
of Mr.. Taft in spite of the control of
state organizations by the Conservative
| element, and then it would be up TO the
I Republican party 20 overcome the han
dicap of the opposition from the Iaboring
men and the negroes Of the country in
order to elect him. The Republican partv
| is naturally anxious To place its most
available man at the head of the ticket.
{
20 say whether MIR. Taft's personal p8pu-
larity in many quarters. and his unde-
niably attractive personality. would over
come those handicaps to such an extent
as 20 make him stronger candidate than.
for instance, Vice President Fairbanks or
Senator Foraker.
Feeling on the PHCific Coast.
A well-informed legislator who is IN
close touch with political conditions on
the Pacific Coast, was asked last night If
Mr. Taft would make "A popular candi-
date out there. The answer was that he
would, in spite of the feeling against
President Roosevelt because Of the Jap
anesc matter. The legislator was then
asked as 10 Mr. Fairbanks strength. and
he said that the Vice President. too was
very popular on the Coast. and would
prove 10 be a vote-getter there Before
he concluded his discussion of the mat
ter he gave his hearers the impression
that of the two men the one from In
diana would be the stronger.
II has been known in Washington for
a long time exactly how Mr. Taft stood
with reference 10 the aIluring prospect