The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-01-04
aNTI-RoOsEvELT CAMPAIGN.

There can be little doubt that a cer-l
tain element in the republican party
has already organized for the purpose
of making a fight against MIR. Roose-,
ve1t The men of that Clique fear that
he may at the last moment decide thai
the conditions political IN home and
foreign affairs require that he should
again be a candidate for reelection 30
the presidency and they are preparing
to forestaI any such contingency. Sen
ator Foraker Of Ohio is at the head of
this combination He has as his lieu
tenants such men as Messrs. Aldrich,
Elkins, Hartman, Scott and Cox.
Sentor Foraker opened the campaign
when he introduced his resolution for
a senate investigation Of the Browns
Vile affair This was a bid on his
part as presidential candidate. for the
negro vote in the next republican ma
tional convention. The resolution, we
suppose, will be adopted almost, if not
quite, unanimously, by the senate. We
look for the democratic senators to
vote for it. That will not mean that
they censure the president for his ac-
ton, but that they, approving OF his
order, wish all the circumstances con
nected with the case to be laid before
the public in order that there a no
longer be any doubt, in the opinion of
any fair-minded person, as to the le-
gality and propriety of the presidents
action
Mr.. Foraker and his followers need
| not think that all the senators who
| vote with them on this question are
with him in his effort to secure a ma
tienal censure of the president on his
| conduct in this case. The object of the
| senators of the south who will vote for
| the resolution will be t secure OppOr-
tunity to demonstrate to the nation the
many objections to the organization of
and t show that Mr.. Roosevelt was
right when he disbanded the three COM
| panies of the T~wenty-f1fth regiment.
Mr. Foraker may win some friends to
his side by his crusade against the
president as the champion of disorder
ly and riotous negroes, but for every
single adherent of this class he secures
he will make two friends for Mr..
Roosevelt, especially among the white
| people Of the south.
This Foraker combination is not
made for the sole purpose of d~efeatingI
the possible attempt to secure the
nomination of Mr.. Roosevelt, but to-
counterfeit any influence of the ad-
ministration in favor Of any candidate|
it may endorse. 1t looks now as if Mr. !
Taft would be the choice of Mr.. Roose-I
welt as his successor and the Foraker
fight against Mr.. Roosevelt on the
negro question will be turned against
Mr. Taft or n other candidate the
president nay favor
The indications are that there is 60
ing to be a lively fight in the repuoli-
car camp from now until the ~convsningi
of the national convention.
If Mr.. Roosevelt is losing popularity
in his party, as is stated by some, he
has gained at the south because of the
stand he has taken in the Brownsville
affair, and he viii continue to grow in
favor with our people if he will refrain
from appointing negroes to office in
this section and will realize the fact
that, though he sees no difference be-
tween a white man and a negro in GER
tain respects, that the people of this
section do recognize the difference and
that he should pay all due aspect to the
feelings and sentiments of our people
on that subject.