The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-10
PREDICTING THINGS


 It is a great accomplishment to know things. To know what's what, as well as whats not what is a gift vouch- safed to but few mortals. When we find a man who can tell you just what is going to happen in the political world you have a treasure beyond val uation. and occasionally we run up with one of that class. A recent ex- ample is Hon. Henry T. Rainey of the Twentieth Congressional District of Illinois. He Is a Democrat, but even a Democrat is sometimes permitted to behold future events, and to cast polit- teal horoscopes. He was one of the speakers at a re- cent Tammany Hall celebration, and had been slated to stampede the braves to Bryan" as one expressed it,. but the leaders of Tammany, either be- cause they did not think the time or the occasion a proper one. or for some other reason. shunted off any action or expression on that line. This did not. however, prevent MT. Rainey .tackling the Republican situation, and among other things he said:
 It is not difficult to tell who the can didates in the coming campaign are going to be. It Is apparent already that, on one hand, the present occu- pant of the White House proposes to again lead the conservative party in this country Why whenever great State indorses or apparently will in- dorse one of its favorite sons 1t meets immediately-his candidacy-with the approval of the President of The United States! And whenever he indorses one of them he drives nall in the coffin of every one of them; they will all go into the next national convention fur ther apart than they have ever been.
 Now. we freely admit that there is one point in this statement that is not exactly clear, and that is the intima- ton or assertion that Roosevelt will be selected to lead the conservative" wing of the Republican party against the radicals. Heaven save the term if Roosevelt is to be called conservative, as we understand the word. If he Is not a thorough radical in politics as in other things we don't know where to look for one.
 But we think the conclusions arrived at by the speaker regarding the policy and ultimate designs of Roosevelt Is well founded. Divide and govern" was one of the favorite maxims of Machiavelli, and he acted on 1t when ever possible. The President seems to be following 1t. The New York Com mercial is apparently unwilling to be- lieve this and gives it's views thus:
 Now. Congressmap Rainey would have us believe that President Roose- welt is deliberately scheming to create situation in the Republican National 1 Convention of such a sort that it's only solution would lie in the throwing overheard of all the other aspirants for the nomination, the slaughter of all the "favorite sons," and grand rush to Roosevelt as the delegates one and only Moses All this may be true: 1t must be admitted that the Presidents tactics have that look; and thousands of people cannot be driven away from the holding of this view. But there iE the positive, unequivocal Roosevelt dec- laration of election night, 1904-and tc credit him, after that with plotting for the nomination or to only imagine him accepting 1t is to brand him as a po- ltical rascal Then there are men of the presidential size in the Republican party "conservative" men fit to lead 'conservative" party. who would ac- cept the nomination If tendered-and il Is almost an insult to the intelligence and the political acumen of the rank and file of that party to tell them to- day that they will be unable a year from now to shake off radical from their conservative shoulders.
 The Commercial Is trying to believe in Roosevelt. but the strain is a severe one. Times change and men change with them. our contemporary should remember. Let us admit that Roose- welt was thoroughly sincere when he declared that he would not be a candi- date for another term, but he can easi- ly And reasons for not adhering to his