Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-12
STATEMENT FORCED
FROM PRESIDENT,
BY CORTELYOU MEN
White House Announcement
Earlier Than Expected.
DEEP GAME OF POLITICS
Causes Which Led to Mr.. Roosevelt's s
Final Decision.
HITCHCOCK's SOUTHERN WORK
Republican National Committee at
Recent Meeting Showed Hos
tility to Administration
and to Taft.
DEEP GAME OF POLITICS
Causes Which Led to Mr.. Roosevelt's
Final Decision,
HITCHCOCK's SOUTHERN WORK

In view of the issuance OF the
call OF the republican national
committee for the convention, the
President makes the following
statement:
On the night after election l
made the following announce
ment:
Il am deeply sensible of the
honor done me by the American
people in thus expressing their
confidence in what | have done
and have tried to do. | appreciate
to the full the solemn responsible
ity this confidence imposes upon
me, and | shall do all that IN my
power lies not to forfeit it. On
the fourth of March next | shall
have served three and a half years,
and this three and a half years
constitute my first term. The
wise custom which limits the
President to two terms regards
the substance and not the form,
and under no circumstances will
/ be candidate for or accept an
other nomination
Il have not changed and shall
not change the decision thus an
nounced. The Presidents An
nouncement.
The capdrASsr of George b. corteiyou
@-sers tasesfepubliean presidential NOMINEE
tion and certain things that happened at
the meeting of the republican national
committee were the direct and definite
motives that prompted President Roose-
Welt to officially announce last night that
he must not any longer be talked of for
another nomination by his party.
AS an outgrowth of the situation that
has existed and may arise from the an
nouncement. there will be no great sur
prise should Mr.. Cortelyou retire from
the cabinet before the expiration of the
present term of the President, although
the President has not said a single word
for publication to indicate that there is
any feeling between Mr.. Cortelyou and
himself.
Forced an Announcement.
Summed up briefly. it may be stated that
Mr.. Cortelyou's friends have played a
game that has forced the President to
make an announcement that lie had in
tended delaying until Secretary Taft got
back to this country. That he had plan
ned to make the announcement is fore
shadowed in his personal statements to a
,Ia,- Of i, ~ laef fax alxc
that he would not be a candidate. AL
though these statements were declared to
be unofficial, they were known to repre-
sent the state of mind of the President.
The President had no objection to making
them in view of the intention he had
formed to make an early official an
nouncement.
But some things happened. Word
reached the White House that some OF
the great financial interests of New
York-interests heretofore hostile to every
move of the President-had sent ennis
saries into Taft territory in the west 10
play the candidacy of Mr.. Cortelyou
claiming that he was the second choice
of the President and would be as accept
able to the chief executive as Mr.. Taft
that they could beat Taft with Cortelyou,
who was unobjectionable to them.
The President didn't know how far Mr..
Cortelyou was cognizant of the work be-
ing done in his name. Supposedly he did
not know anything OF it at all. But it
placed the President in the position of
being disloyal to Taft, who, as stated in
The Star last week, he believes will be
nominated and elected 1t made people
believe that he was playing double with
Taft He didn't propose to do that.
Hitchcock's Southern Work
The second evidence of the same sort
sf thing was found in the work that had
Been dore in the south by Assistant Post
master General Hitchcock and others un-
der him. Down there a Cortelyou plan
was working in much the same way. The
only difference was that the southern Of
fceholders and their hackers were yelling
Tor Roosevelt for a third term, but at the
same time were preparing to elect dele
gates who would vote Tor Corteiyou when
the President was eliminates 1t was a
splendidly worked game too and was 60
ing along in great shape. The President, 1t
Is said, tried privately to check ii by in
directly letting it be understood that he
was willing TO have delegates named for
him. intending to use them later as he
saw fit. But that was really helping along
some things. Then the President came
out with his injunction to federal office
holders against working for him. Even
that uidn't help much, they arranged
10 work their plans through somebody
| else. He made it palmer as late as Tues
day. when he directed cabinet officers to
send the ordffs out at once.
Hostile National Committee.
The third thing that caught the Presi-
dents attention was the manner in which
certain things worked in the republican
national committee. 1t is now thoroughly
understood at the White House that the
national committs, in practically every
action 1t took. showed hostility to the ad