The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-01-28
WILL Be CRUCE
OR HASKELL
HOMER sAssFoRo OF ST LOUIS
REPUBLIC ON SITUATION.
TURNER AND OWEN, SENATE
Thinks They VIII Be Democratic
Senators-Bassford Thinks cruce
and Haskell viii Fight It Out
For Governor.

/ Homer Bassford, in the ST. Louis Re
/ public, one Of the ablcst political writ
'ers in America. takes the ground that
/ the constitutional convention has
/ brought out the future statesmen ON
the Democratic side and those who
though they were the leaders last
summer have been relegatcd to the
| rear. Under a Guthrie date line he
says
The lines Of statesmanship are be-
/ ing rather more sharply defined down
| here now than they were six weeks
| ago The men who are 10 run things
are getting away out in the open and
| the chaps who thought last summer
+ that they were the future great poll.
titcians are slowly retroating into nor.
NAL obscurity.
The gubernatorial fight has develop.
ed some good material, and the
D y
however, that the contest has narrow
ed down to Doctor Fitc Of Muskogce,
Lee Cruce of Ardmore and Charles y.
Haskell Of Muskogea.
There was a report abroad the
other day that pointed in the direc-
tion of a retirement for Doctor Fitc,
but when | talked to him he wouldn't
admit for minute that he wasn't
in the contest to a finish.
There is not great dea;i Of gen
eral talk about the Haskell chance for
the big state position, but there does
not appear to be much doubt about
the undercurrent that is setting in to-
ward his candidacy.
Haskell is a big man. He has stood
all of the shot and shell that have
occupying the important place as his
party's boss up at the convention nall
and he seems to be coming out or the
row with more glory than he took
into it, And that is saying a great
deal for Haskell came over here to
Guthrie fairly shimmering with p1lit
ical glory. II Is HasKell who has dis
covered the danger Of the race-separa-
ton clause and 1t is he who will win
on the proposition to leave 1t out OF
the constitutional anyone wins along
this line.
If the black and white separation
paragraph is kept out Of the consti-
tuition it will not be kept out Of the
Democratic platform and this will
mean that this state, which is not
as strongly Democratic as some OF the
; candidates claim, will be oyerwhelm-
q ingly Democratic. The Republicans
will be beaten worse than they -gere
the last time If the Democrats let a
declaration for separate railway
coaches and separate waiting rooms
get into the platform.
: Those of us who do not know the
offensive black in large numbers
\ travelling with much noise, great in
science and intolerance of the rights
of the whites, who are often in the
I minority in the trains, do not know
how much of an issue this question II
n down here. The Democrats and man!
\ white Republicans are almost to
man in favor of the separate coacl
l law. They all realize that there Is
grave danger that there will be neith
er constitution nor state If the presi
II dent sees fit TO refuse proclamation
and II is said to be the Haskcll mel
j who dared to leave the paragraph ou
of the constitution, with the idea o
taking the matter up later as a purel
party proposition in the platform. MI
| Roosevelt, it is argued, cannot d
| much to head off plan Of this sort
for II then becomes a question FOR tn
people to decide. They will decid
against the black.
II has been whispered that the hi
Doctor Fite OF Muskogae, one OF IN
men running for the goyernorshiI
| would as soon go to the senate fror
the eastern side of the territory. Abou
this the friends of Doctor fite ar
very coy. The signs, however, seer
| to point that way despite the coynes
| and the implied denials. This woul
y mean that Haskell and Cruce woul
: fight It out. This also would mean tn
I. elimination of Morton Rutherfor
& from the fight for he has up to thi
+ time been regarded as the likelie'
4 Of the east side senatorial possibil