The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-02
ANTI-ROOSEVELTMEN
PLANNING TO UPSET HIS PLANS
 FOR NAMING SUCCESSOR.
Insurgents Capture South--Campaign Already Under Way for Contrci of l Convention--Oid Gusrd Ex-
 pected to Refake New York.

succession down to Secretary Taft CT some other man chosen by himself has begun Before January is far ad- vanced the developments in the ante convention contest will probably have uncovered the situation to a consider able extent.
 No candidate has been agreed upon now will any be. The present move- ment is started by the old guard to prevent the Presidency from being treated as legacy. It is the field against the heir apparent.
 Senator Foraker's use of the Brownsville incident was a move in the first part of the game, the attempt to capture that great asset of the Repub- ican Convention--the vote of the Southern delegates. The debate on the Foraker resolution is likely to uncover to some extent those of the anti Roosevelt-Taft combination who are net afraid of publicity at this stage of the game.
 However, it has come to light that the plan to hold the convention open has proceeded much further. In fact, so well has the work been done that President Roosevelt has already lost control of the organization in the South. The old Hanna guard has cap tured 1t while the Roosevelt men slept.
 Old Crowd Is Lining Up.
 The sudden change in the tactics of conservative Republicans has brought the little politicians of thes country, and some of the big ones, tumbling into Washington to see what it means. Reduced to the ranks by Roosevelt, compelled to accept new rules of war fare, ordered to turn their weapons on their old allies of many campaigns, the corporations, these Republican veterans of the Hanna days have been watching impatiently for the time when 1t would be safe and profitable to desert to the insurgents.
 But the insurgent leaders. Foraker, Aldrich, Scott Elkins, Hartman, Cox of Cincinnati, Blythe of Iowa, the reb- els in the Senate and the insurrectos out of it. gave no open encouragement to recruiting. They were operating with small bands and under cover of the jungle, raiding the rate bill one day attacking meat inspection at far distant point on another, and dis banding. hiding their arms and parad- ing into town as peaceful amigos the next to meet in State convention and take the stump with eloquent indorse- ment of Roosevelt in their mouths.
 But with the meeting of Congress after a successful campaign conducted in the name of Roosevelt to insure their party a majority in the next House, there was a sudden lombard ment of the White House with heavy batteries firing Brownsville ammuni- tion. This bombardment has in- creased in violence every day.
 Foraker and the faithful "Scotty," the West Virginia Senator, who was one of Hanna's Field Marshals, have hoisted what they assert Is the real royal Republican standard on Capitol Hill. And the focking politicians have been assured the real war for control in 1908 has begun. Cox of Cincinnati was one who came and departed satis- fled.
 Capture of the South.
 The situation, as described to these induiring visitors by the Republican rebels, is as follows:
 The President Is not a candidate, but will try to make Taft his successor; Foraker. Dick and Cox have Ohio sewed up so that Taft cannot secure its in- dorsement; the old guard will recap ture New York shortly. Fairbanks has Indiana, Cannon Illinois, and the crowd has quietly taken possession of the South; no decision has been reached as to a conservative candidate. but within year will be found com bination of their forces to get together against the common enemy until the convention meets, when the plum will be awarded by a caucus or some other method.
 The capture of the South is the most interesting part of the preliminary campaign, so far revealed, and Ala bama particularly furnishes a beauti- ful insight into the methods of the men whom Hanna taught to play politics all the time. The Administration is serenely confident that 1t controls the Republican organization of Alabama. Twenty-Five members of the State Com mittee that sent delegates to Chicago in 1904 are postmosters For after Postmas .er General Cortelyou an nounced his rule that postmasters must sever their connection with organiza- ton politics First Assistant Secretary Hitchcock sent forth quietly letter which explained that postmasters could be members of political com mittees if that service did not inter fere with their duties. So the twenty five members of the Alabama Com drew their resignations from that com mittee which they had written.
 It was then that the old Hanna guard in that State quietly organized a bolting organization. Last fall the Roosevelt men feared to put their tenure of power to the risk of a State Convention and neglected to cali one. NUT Qlu lhSy lAhO OLISl to put ticket in the field. The Hanna Republicans took prompt advantage of this tactical error.
 They nominated a ticket by means of a mass convention, and by the deci- sion of the election authorities of Ala bama, it went on the ballot as the regular Republican ticket. The tnsur- gent organization, therefore, has legal authority of the highest for demand ino HR1Ppafinn n the Ma tional Convention in 1908 be recog- nized as regular.
 In Mississippi. another State which the Administration is satisfied it con trols, an anti Roosevelt bolting organi- zation has been formed on the Ala bama pattern, although progress has been slower. Tennessee is in the hands of H. clay Evans. who has no friendly feeling for Roosevelt. His lieutenants have been keeping elbow touch with the work of the old guard elsewhere in the south. Arkansas is held by Gen. Powell Clayton, who was pried loose from the fat Mexican Ambassador ship by President Roosevelt, much to his disgust.
 Shaw still q Factor.
 Strange as it may seem, Shaw con trols Virginia and Florida. Represen- tative Slemp, too, who is boss of the Virginia Republican organization, is with the old guard as against Roose- welt Republicanism. And while Shaw has been eliminated from the race by losing control of Iowa, he will be ir a position and in a mood to help de- liver his goods to the enemies of the man who unceremoniously hustled him out of the Cabinet.
 Yerkes. Commissioner of Internal Revenue under Roosevelt. but an old lieutenant of Hanna, has Kentucky The old crowd says he will march with