The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1907-12-20
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
WARRINGTON. D. G. DEC. Ia, 1907.

MR. EDIT0R:-PreS1Qent nOoSeVeIg
has precipitated remarkably interest
ing situation in his party by the reiter-
alton Of his Election Night declaration
that he will not again be q candidate
for the Presidency. By his declaration
and his subsequent talks with leaders
of his party he has made . split in the
party inevitable, split which may g
far toward Democratic success. It is
the purpose Of the Prssident-and
within his own party his purposes are
usually successful-to draw sharp line
between that faction Of the party which
opposes hem. Those who sspouse his
pouci.s h. will line up solidly behind
William II. Taft, while those who OPP
pose his policies will be compelled to
choose one of the other possible candi-
dates for their standard bearer. The
8who now seems to stand the best
chance OF being chosen by the ''reac-
tionaries'' as tho President calls them,
is Governor Hughes Of New York, with
George B. Cortelyou, Secretary of the
Treasury, the second choice of the Old
Hanna Guard Mr.. Roosevelt does not
hesitate to tell his friends thst Taft is
the logical choice Of those who support
his style of Republicanism. who wish
continuation Of his policies, and the
men who are sincerely In sympathy
with Roosevelt are entirely ready to
support Taft.
The weak point in Mr.. Roessvelt's
political calculations, howsvsr-and in
the opinion Of some of the ablest Dem
ocrats here it is fatal one-is he does
not realize that his policies are not Re-
publican; that they have no place in
the party which has always stood for
the special interest, the highly protect
ed manufacturer, the Standard Oil, the
trusts a. d all that Galaxy of plutocratic
institutions Of which the late Senator
Hanna was the areh-champion. BY the
force of his own dominant personality,
Mr.. Roosevelt ~as able to sngraft on
the p - N party policies which
wers essentially Democratic in their es-
sence. How repugnaat these policies
are to typical, old line Republicans may
be easily seen from the covert but not
the less intense opposition which the
Old Guard Is displaying toward Taft.
Purity in politics and the interests of
plain people are strsnches in the nos
trils of such men as Senators Scott,
Foraker, Crane, Hale, Gallinger and
others in the upper honse of Congress,
and to the men who compose the Re-
publican National Committee, from
Chairman Harry New down through
the list. The jolly Fairbanks, the
blatant Foraker, the sscrstive Cortsl-
you, the stealthy Hughes are the type
Of men whom the Old Guard werships
and there seems to be little deubt that
the President has backed losing game
in Withdrawing his own name from con-
sideration an casting his fortunes in
with Taft and the Taft Roosevelt poll
cies.
The Democrats in Washington be-
lieye that Taft would make the hardest
candidate to beat at the polls, but they
declare he will be the most easily beat
On in the Republican convention, where
there will be no sympathy with his pol
icies or with his frank and fearless
style of politics. Moreover. there is
every reason to believe that the corpo-
rations VIII ich have always contributed
s literally in the past to Republican
campaign funds would refuse to give
dollar toward the election of q man of
tie Roosevelt-Taft stamp, and Repuh-
lican politicians have no precipitation
to engage l. campaign which is not
| to be we'll larded with funds. II was,
in fact, the promise of Cortelyou's
friends thai the bankers whom he had
favored would contribute literally
which gained fer him such temporary
strength with the "colorsd brothers"
who make up the Southern delegations
to Republican national conventions.
MIR. Roosevelt seems destined to find
that he can talk of the purity and high
character of his friend Taft and all his
eloquence will not 60 one tenth a. far
with the practical Republican politician
as single dollar of good Hughes or
Cortelyou money.
The omination of Mr.. Bryan by the
Democrats is conceded by the vast ma
jority of the members Of the Democrat.
ic National Committee which met in
Washington this week and decided on
Denver as the place and July 2 as the
date of the Democratic National Con.
vention. Denver is in the heart of the |
Bryan country and there is no doubt
that the great auditorium at that city
will be packed with men who will shout |
the name of the Peerless Leader on |
every possible occasion. Mayor John
son of Cleveland, who has just won
such signal victory over Rep. Theo-
dore Burton III the Cleveland nun ioip pal
campaign, attended the meeting Of the
committee sd liked Bryan to every
one lie Aayor johnson, who pos
sesses charming personality besides
being man of great force, made many
converts to his belief that Mr.. Bryan