The Jersey City news., 1906-03-15
National Bodies Prepare to
Wage a Strenuous Con-
gressioaal Campaign To
the Fall
DEMOCRATS ARE CONFIDENT
REPUBLICANS ARE HAMPERED
IN MANY STATES BY FACTION
AL sQUABBLEs, WHILE THEIR
FOES ARE GROWING TO
GETHER.

WASHINGTON, March Is, 1906
Both the great parties are making pre-
liminary preparations for the next Con-
gressional campaign, which is only eight
months away, so fraught with big possi-
bilities. The different spirit in which
their respective national leaders and
workers are entering upon the task is,
however, remarkable.
Among the men who in past years have
been recognized Republican leaders there
is a pessimistic sentiment difficult to an
alyze, but as general as is the air of OPP
timism, amounting almost to enthusiasm,
which prevails among the men who will
guide the future policies of the Democ-
raey.
1t is significant Of the contrasting
views of the leaders on both sides that
the Republicans are already conceding
Democratic gains of from thirty, to forty
Representatives in the next Congress,
while the Democrats are talking of John
Sharp William for It's Speaker. While
the Republicans are having hard work
to find chairman for the Congressional
campaign committee, the Democrats are
considering candidates for chairmanships
Of the big House committees in the Six
tieth Congress.
The size of the whole business is that
the leaders of the old Republican organ
ization, the former big men of the party,
are afraid of this coming campaign. They
are not at all in sympathy with the re-
form element that has in the past two
Years been rapidly gaining The ascendan-
cy in their own party, .and they would
rather see the next Congress. and even
the next administration, in the hands of
the Democrats than to see continued Re
publican success under the leadership OF
the reformers in their own ranks. They
don't understand the independent idea
that is so. rapidly gaining control in the
Republican party, but they are afraid of
it--more afraid than they are of Demo-
cratic vietory-for the election Of re-
form Republican Congress means the
nomination Of Republican Of the re-
form OF independent wing of the party
in 1908, and that. means their own down
fall.
In the Democratic ranks the leaders
are drawing inspiration and hope from
practically the same sources which con-
tribute to the making of Republican
gloom. They see in the popularity and
policies of Roosevelt the awakening of in
ferest in taxation and tariff questions,
and the widespread condemnation of trust
domination, vindication of the issues Of
their own party in 1896 and 1900, which
were then overshadowed by the silver
question, and they count upon the repug-
nance of the old time Republican leaders
to these ideas to prevent their being
made successful Republican issues. They
propose going before the people this fall
with the statement that all the best
things of the Roosevelt administration
have been taken from the Democratic
platform; that Roosevelt has been steal
ing Democratic thunder, but is not able
to carry to complete success any of the
issues he has thus appropriated, because
of the trust affiliations of the leaders in
his own party. Starting with Republi-
can concessions of probable Democratic
gains of forty members next fall which
would mean change of eighty votes and
reduce the present Republican majority
of 112 to thirty-two. there isn't minor
ity member but can prove eonclusively
that at least another twenty or thirty
members will be gained by the present
minority.
The Democrats have already begun to
make states. Williams for Speaker is
the almost unanimous idea, although La
mar and Shackleford haven't subscribed
to it. Then their next step viii be to
put Presidential material on some Of the
big committees. Of course a new tariff
bill will be the first thing. and they are
going to make one, irrespective of a GER
tain Republican Senate and President.
Champ CLARK is. perhaps, the most anx-
ious TO make the rariff bin, which would
naturally come from the Committee on
Ways and Means. So the big Missourian
wants to be chairman Of ways and
means.
From the Clark point Of view, tariff
bill looping off the shelters to monopoly,
defeated By Republican Senate on the
eve Of Presidential election, would