Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-12-24
SCRAMBLE IS ON.
Southern Politicians Climbing Into
 the Taft Band Wagon.

Washington, D. C., Dec. 23.- Southern politicians of the office hold ing class are beginning to fall over each other in their efforts to get on to the Taft band wagon. It is almost a rout.
 For long time they have preached the third term and prepared to go to the Chicago convention to vote as ex- pediency deemed best. Most of them, as already known, were for Secretary Cortelyou. Following the final an nouncement of President Roosevelt that he was not in the race they were befuddled to the point of almoY wild ness. Slowly the whole thing dawned upon them and now they are tumb- ling on as fast as possible. Unless the anti-Taft combination is able to check the rush, practically every southern state will instruct for Sec retary Taft in the next three or four months. There has been desire on the part of the Taft managers to avoid forcing instructions, the fear being that the country would dislike the spectacle of office holders pouring so many votes into the column. But the decision has been reached that in structions will be better than to trust uninstructed men liable to persua- sions and influences that have in the past proved mighty tempting to poli- ticians of the south.
 The principal obstacle in the path of clean sweep for Taft in the south is the strong feeling among negroes of that section for Senator Foraker. If the negroes in nearly all the south ern states should take the bits in their mouths and become aroused they could easily run away with the white office holders who have domi- mated conventions for many years and elect delegates for the Ohio senator. In some sections of the south an in- tention to do this is now manifest. The office holders feel able to check this movement, however. One out come of it all may be eight or ten con- testing delegations, the seating of which must be fought out in the convention. In fact there are all ready dark hints that the anti-Taft combination will play the contesting delegation game for all it is worth. In the few southern states where the white man rules the conventions ! by reason of numerical strength, like ! Tennessee and North Carolina, it is { declared that all the Taft opposition | has vanished. Tennessee has an in- teresting case. There the controlling powers have been Representative | Hale of the Knoxville district; State Chairman Saunders and H. Clay Ev- ans, former commissioner of pensions. This combination had everything in perfect shape for an early convention to elect Roosevelt third term dele gates. Somehow or other the ad- ministration got an idea that the third term cry merely covered in- tentions to support somebody else not down on the card of presidential favorites. Then a tip went out that possibly the administration had better lthrow some patronage to Representa- tive BrownIow and others who are supporting Taft In spite of the fact lthat they had previously been turned down by the administration in pat lronage matters. The effect was al- lmost instantaneous. Mir Hale is now one of the strongest Taft boomers in 1.-the south and so is MT Saunders. Mir Evans has been somewhat slow in Iclimbing aboard and what he will Eventually do Is not known.
 What has occurred in Tennessee iF Ia sample as to what is taking place lin other states of the south.