The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-20
SOME WRONG coNcLusroNs.

SOME WRONG CONCLUSIONS. Commenting on the third term talk that is becoming SO comnspn and wids. spread, The Richmond News-Lsadsr says:
 If President Roosevelt, any possi-
 biiity. should accept renoinlnation for tue Presidency. we would be glad from q Democratic standpoint. because we | believe he would be beaten by almost anybody. We would be sorry from patriotic standpoint, because a very
 big man would be d;scredited and tine
 would be shaken. MT. Rooseveit's one 1 possible excuse for acceptance, in the face of his repeated declarations that
 ne will not secept, would be that the necessary for the welfare of the coun- try, and that he isNthe only man who could lead that party to victory. This ceit so intense that the President would | become an object of contempt and dA- rision. The overwhelming power Of enlisted against him. Instead of the very big and brainy man most of us believe him to be, he would shrink in. stantly. to q very small. weak and vain his dimensions from the gigantic to the | absurdly little. As a candidate for q third term. he could not attain to the | dignity of a menace. He would be
 beaten not because sne country would i be afpaid of him, but because the l country would laugh at him and De
 ashamed of him.
 We are forced to disagree with our contemporary on several points But first. as to his accepting the nomina- ton, which The Leader seems to con- sider an impossibiiity. Both in the ex- tract quoted and in other portions of the same editorial that paper aIIudes to tho repeated declarations of Roosevelt that he will not accept another nomi- nation. as if that settled the matter ir- revocably, which it does not. A news- paper as well informed as The Leader cannot help being aware that Roose- welt Gan change his mind with about as much facility and complacency as any public man who has ever held high | position in this Government. He has given such repeated evidence of this propensity that there is no reason for any one to be surprised at any new exhibition of 1t.
 If. then, he can shift his sails so read- l fly on other matters. why not on this? To be again elevated to the Presidency would be a crowning glory to his am bition. and would be looked on by him as personal triumph. That his &C., ceptance of another nomination would be looked on as an evidence of arro. gance and self-conceit is true enough, but why be surprised at that? He has given so many evidences of the pos- session of these attributes that no one should wonder at q new exhibition of them. It will not be difficult mat ter for his admirers to convince him that not only the good of the party but the welfare and safety of the Govern ment depend on his continuance in power. Convincing him of that will be easy.
 And wermust dissent very decidedly from our contemporary's positive as- sertion that ''he would be beaten by almost anybody" That Is fatal de- fusion for an army Sr political party to fall into. If the Democratic Party adopts and acts on the belief that any body can beat Roosevelt It may be pre- pairing for the worst fall that any po- litical party has received in many long years. Roosevelt is not weak man before the people, despite his failings and faults He is just the sort of man to carry the populace his way. He Fas enemies in his party. of course, There are strong and patriotic Republicans who fear and distrust him, but they cannot prevent his nomination if he wants it, and if he iG nominated the Democrats will have their work cut out for them. It will not do to listen to and be governed by the idea that anybody can beat him. That means disaster from the start.
 And people should not allow them selves to be deceived into the belief that he does not want the nomination. for that belief would not be well fonnd- ed. Not only does he want 1t, but he is continually giving evidences that he is laying plans to seeurs'it. His re-