The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-12-13

He will not try to force Taft or any
one else upon the country. The
President hopes Taft may be chosen.
He believes the outlook for this is
| good and likely to get constantly
| better. In teh opinion of Mr.. Roose-
welt Taft is man big enough to
grow upon the affections and con-
| fidence of the country on his own
merits as we'll as in his position as
a representative of the administra-
ton.
But suppose the party refuses to
accept Taft; suppose the convention
at Chicago, instead of nominating
the Secretary of War, the under
study, the favored one, takes the bull
by the horns and names the Presi-
dent himself. What will Mr.. Roose-
welt do? He will accept. There. will
be nothing else for him to do unless
some extraordinary and improbable
conditions should then present them
selves.
This statement that Mr. Roosevelt
will accept if nominated, | make on
my own responsibility. Mr.. Roose-
velt is not responsible for it, He
has not said SO. But he does not
need to say so. There are some
things in this world that do not re-
quire the saying. Moreover, it would
be an improperly for Mr.. Roosevelt
to say anything of the sort He is
not eager to be nominated. He is
eager for the nomination of his
friend, the Secretary OF War, to
whom he stands committed in honor
to give loyal support.
1t is no secret Within the 'inside"
circle here at Washington that Mr..
Roosevelt is trying within the limits
of propriety, for which he is stick
Ter to see to it that he and his friends
control the Republican national
convention at Chicago. If he can help
it, Mr.. Roosevelt does not intend
to permit his enemies to gain control
of that convention. Whether dele
gates are chosen for Taft or Cor
telyou, or for the President himself,
it little matters from the broad
administration viewpoint, so they
are friendly to the administration
and amenable to its influences.
The President looks with disfavor
upon the effort to nominate Cover
nor Hughes, not so much from per-
sonal consideration as because of the
fact that the men who are pressing
Hughes to the front do so avowedly
as anti-administration men and ac-
companied by attacks upon the adj
ministration and the President him.
self. 1t is hardly necessary to sayl
that 1t is not in Mr.. Roosevelt's nal
ture to lie down and be run over by
his enemies.
Unless the President and his adj
visers are very much mistaken, the
convention at Chicago, will be AM
administration convention. 1t will
be friendly to the President and his
policies. But IL is easily conceivable
that 1t might be convention of that
spirit and yet unwilling to name Mr..
Taft for President. Mr.. Roosevelt
hopes the convention will see things
as he sees them and be ready to |
make Taft the nominee. But lie Is |
forced to face the possibility that in
stead of doing that the delegates may
with a rush and shout name Mr.. |
Roosevelt himself The President
hopes it will not come to this, and
will do all he reasonably can to avert
it. But as practical man he can
not disguise from himself, in COM
mon with all the rest of us, that it
is certainly a large possibility, one
could almost say probability
Mr.. Roosevelt could check, If not
entirely stop, talk of his renomina-
ton by coming out with another
declaration that under no circum-
stances would ne accept If nominal
ed but he has no intention of MAXI