The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-08
NEXT YEARS FIGHT.

year will be perhaps the nest spirited
and the most hotlv contested in the
history of the party. There will be a
battle between 1.-The interests and the
people for its control-betwecn the
Roosevelt policies and the Hartman
ideas.
Since 1896 Republican national con-
ventions have been tame affairs, there
being no contest over the presidential
candidates and but little over policies
either in 1900 or in 1904. But prior to
1900 for many years there had always
been something doing in these con-
ventions. Away back in 1864, 1868,
and 1872 the nominations were made
by reclamation, but at Cincinnati IN
1876 there were seven candidates in
the field and in 1880 there were twice
as many.
Four years later only eight men
came forward for the distinguished
honor, but in 1888 there were no less
than thirteen, while in 1892 there were
five, and in McKinley's first campaign,
in 1896, the number was six, with the
Ohioan and Mr.. Reed of Maine as the
leaders in the popular eye. Since then
all the nominations have been settled
long before the convention, and that
adoption of a platform and the ratifi-
cation of the nomination of the man
whom the people wanted for president
But IL Mr.. Roosevelt will not con-
sent to run again the next conven-
ton will see a larger school in the
running than has been seen in any
convention of either party since 1888.
Those whose names are being men
toned and who have more or less of
a following, outside the president, are
these:
Charles E. Hughes. of New York.
Elihu Root, of New York.
George B. Cortelyou, of New York.
William H. Taft, of Ohio.
Joseph B. Foraker, of Ohio.
Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois.
Charles w. Fairbanks. of Indiana.
Albert B. Cummins, of Iowa.
Leslie M. Shaw. of Iowa.
Robert M. LaFollette, of Wisconsin.
Philander c. Knox, of Pennsylvania.
Winthrop Murray Crane, of Massa-
chusetts.
In case the president is not forced
to take a denomination 1t is therefore
not unlikely that there may be as
many as a dozen balloted for in the
convention, and that the event may
be one of the longest and most strongly
contested in the history of the party.
Certainly the corporation candidates.
such as Fairbanks and Foraker, will
not go into the convention prepared to
permit an easy victory for any one of
the type" the president would sug-
gest for the honor.
The corporations believe that if the
name of President Roosevelt himself
Il he ion
they stand a good chance of controll-
ing the nomination. A Washington
dispatch on this subject says:
1.-THE one man the so-called money
powers have most fear of, according
to the talk heard in Washington, is
LaFollette. That peripatetic wonder
is known to be the most vigorous cam
paigner seen in this country in many
years, with the possible exception of
Mr.. Bryan, and while they do not ap-
pear to be in any great and over
towering dread of him, they do admit
that he is dangerous to an extent on
account of the following he is surely
working UP for himself. That is, if
they feel that if any man is liable to
stampede the convention through the
strength of his popularity with the
common people LaFollette is the man.
1.-The truth is that they have found
out during the past winter that those
Chautauqua talks here, there and
everywhere about the country have
given the Wisconsin man a remark
able hold upon the voters. In addi-
ton they have also learned that La
Toilette is not a mountebank, but an
exceedingly level-headed person, and
one who makes mighty few mistakes
in the things he advocates. so far as
hitting the popular chord is con-
cerned.
"Outside of LaFollette the corpora
ton candidates feel that they have as
good a show to control the convention
of 1908 as they ever had of any con-
vention, and they are working to the
end of achieving that control while
the rest of the country is still sleep
ing. And that with such a flock of
candidates in the race they believe
they have a first-class prospect of die
ia iua