Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-19

VI TAsHINGTON, March s.-Poli~
wv ucians are looking forward to
a Republican national conven-
ton in 1908 for which the historians
will have to go back twenty years to
find a parallel At least eight states
of the east and middle west will pre-
sent favorite sons. There has not been
a situation that has offered opportun-
ty for the same large field of entries
since the Chicago Auditorium conven-
tion Of 1888, although prior to that,
since the time of Grant, favorite sons
In large Plumbers had been in the rum
ming.
Unless popular sentiment shall crys-
tallize around one of the candidates
for the presidential nomination suffi-
ciently to insure a choice on the first
ballot or come pretty close to 1t, the
expectation, therefore, Is for an old
time contest of some length. Mean
while the personalities of the various
candidates will be subordinated In a
sense to the campaign for supremacy
of ideas-the campaign that is to de-
eide whether the progressiveness OF
the Roosevelt school or the so-called
conservatives are to control.
The booming of favorite sons, which
has taken on new impetus since con-
gress adjourned, is being watched with
great interest by all factions here, be-
cause the splitting of the national con-
vention between several candidates at
the start will develop schemes for deals
that will have much to do with the
solution of the problem confronting the
Republicans. 1t is taken for granted
that some of the favorite sons are
being pushed to the front not so much
in expectancy that lightning will strike
them as for the purpose of holding
certain of the convention forces In
check until the leaders can diagnose
the situation and make their strategic
moves.
A striking illustration of this phase
Of the matter is the boom just started
for Senator w. Murray Crane of
Massachusetts. Senator Crane is a
very remote presidential possibility,
but the western members of the Massa-
chusetts Legislature have indorsed him,
and if he can get his state delegation
it is figured that New England as a
whole will fall in behind him. Then,
If plans succeed, the New England
strength will be thrown at the proper
time to the candidate from some other
section in whom the leaders close to
Senator Crane see the best chance to
boost their own political fortunes.
There will be a great scramble to
gain credit for nominating the success
full candidate, the post-election advan-
tage likely to accrue therefrom being
the incentive.
The most serious attention attracted
by any of the recent favorite son booms
attaches to that of Senator Philander
c. Knox of Pennsylvania. There Is a
strong effort, cleverly engineered from
Washington, to make the Knox boom
something bigger than a mere favorite
son affair.
Senator Knox has among his admir-
ers several self-appointed press agents,
who are diligently keeping him in the
public eye. 1t is expected he will have
the delegation from his state, which,
next to that from New York, will have
the greatest numerical strength of any
in the convention. With this nucleus,
it is declared, Senator Knox will not
be a stalking horse for any other can
didate, and in this connection it may
be stated that his boom is not con-
ducive to great happiness to the sup
porters of Vice President Fairbanks.
Fairbanks does not seem to be over
strong with the senatorial clique, or
steering committee, as it is generally
known. Knox and his friends would
marshal their forces to prevent the
nomination of an ultra-radical of the
middle western type, but under the
spur of public sentiment they might
see the wisdom of turning to a con-
progressive, like Secretary
Taft. If such action helped to NOM
mate Secretary Taft or some one like
him, who would carry forward the
policies, Mr.. Knox would be-
come one of the few positive leaders
under another Republican administra-
tion.
New York, it is believed, will send a
Hughes delegation to the convention,
the New York state politi
clans now at war with the new gov
ernor may try to upset this. New
York, without a favorite son, would
furnish an anomaly under circum-