Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-12-28
Office Holders in The South Rush.
Ing Tor The Band Wagon.
Ole OBSTACLE TO CLEAN SWEEP
That Is Foraker's Hold on Negroes
Practically Every Southern State
win instruct for Taft This Winter
If Stampede Is Not Checked.


WASHINGTON, D. c., Dec. 27--
southern politicians of the Office
holding class are beginning to fall
over each other in their efforts N
get on to the Taft band wagon n
lis almost rout.
For a long time they have nreacb-
ell the third term and prepared 70 po
70 the Chicago convention to vote
as expediency deemed best. Most of
them as already known, were for
Secretary Cortelyou, Following the
linal announcement of President
Roosevelt that he was not in tho
race they were befuddled to the polnt
OF almost wldness Slowly the whole
thing dawned upon them and now
they are tumbling on as fast as pos
sible. Unless the anti-Taft con,bi
nation is able to check the rush.
practically every Southern state will
Instruct for Secretary Taft In Tho
next three or four months. There
mas been desire on the part of the
Taft managers to avoid forcing in
structions, the fear being that the
country would dislike the spectacle
or offlce-holders pouring so many
votso into the caldron. But the de-
cision has been reached that instruc
tons will be better than to trust nm
Instructed men Liable to persuasions
and influences that have I'm the mast
proved mighty TEMPTING TO polite
ians of the South.
The principle obst,cle in the path
of clean sweep for Taft In the
South Is the strong feeling among
negroes of that section for Senator
Foraker. II the negroes in nearly
ali the Southern states should take
the hits In their mouths ana become
aroused they could easily run away
with the white officeholders who
have dominated conventions for many
years and elect delegates for the
Ohio Senator. In some sections OF
the South an intention to do this Is
now manifest The officeholders.feel
able to check this movement, how
ever. One outcome of 1t all may be
eight or ten contesting delegations,
the seating of which must be fought
out in the convention. In fact there
are already dark hints that the an
ti-Taft combination will play the
contrasting game for all ir is worth.
In the few Southern states where
the white man rules tho conventions
by reason of numerical strength, like
Tennessee and North Carolina, 1t is
declared that all the Taft opposition
has vanquished. Tennessee has an
interesting case. There the controll-
ing powers have been Representative
Hale OF the Knoxville district; State
Chairman Saunders, and II. 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 admin
istrttion got mn idea that the third
term cry merely covered Intentions
to support somebody else not down
on the card for presidential favorites
Then q tip went out that possibly
the administration had better throw
some patronage to Representative
Brcwnlow and others who are sup
porting Taft in spite of the fact that
they had previously been turned
down by the administration in pat
ronage matters. The effect was al
most instantaneous. Mr.. Hale is
now one of the strongest Taft boom
ers In the South and so is Mr.. Saun-
ders. Mr. Evans has been somewhat
slow in climbing aboard and what
he will eventually do Is not known
What has occurred in Tennessee
ia q sample as to what is taking
place in other States OF tho South