The morning journal-courier., 1908-07-20
THE L,LIEY CANDIDACY.

THE LILLEY CANDIDACY.
 It is at least refreshing to find some of the newspapers of the state at last willing to take notice of the rising tide of opposition to the proposed nomna- ton of Congressman Lilley, though abuse of the Journal Courier is scarcely an effective way of bearing Lilley wares to the market. IL would be more helpful If some of our ever esteemed contem- porarles would tell their readers why Mir Lilley should be made governor, if that Ia possible, and why the people should be asked to ratlfy bargain made more than year and half ago at the deliberate sacrifice of Il man In office, who has kept the faith and has work yet to do?
 The Waterbury American tells It's readers that the conduct of The Jour nal-Courler Is Irritating and unfair enough to bind all the republicans of MT. Lilley's home together In his be- half. and to drive even the lukewarm and the unfriendly into his band wagon" We shall expect at once to read in the columns of the excellent American a list of the business and professional men of Waterbury, who believe that Mir. Lilley should be the candidate of his party for governor this fall, or at any other time. The Journal Courier is laborlng under no delusion at all as to the opinion of the repre- sentative men of Waterbury as yet only privately expressed. Whether later it will find public expression, or be re- served for adverse application at the polls we do not know We do feel con fident that the American will never print such list as we suggest. It would have as hard time as The Reg ister will have in demonstrating that the demand for Woodruff Is sly move ment to land Lake It was this same Register, which chided "the Yale claque" for advancing what 1t then held to be doubtfully planned candidacy of MT. Taft, Q gentleman vociferously to- day in the good graces of that news paper.
 The Hartford correspondent of the Springfield Republican Is another who labors under no delusion as to the pop larity of Governor Woodruff and the undesirability of Congressman Lilley He asserts that in his judgment, which is based as ours is upon the speech o men, the people would nominate Wood ruff for a second term If they knew how to beat the politicians at their owr game, which is not an easy thing tc do. Says he. "The whole situation is { reflection on the political machinery O the state. It lends itself readily to tn, purposes of political schemers and | hampers enormously the honest expres sion of public opinion. A good prlmar, election law would remove much of th difficulty
 It Is the merest hypocrisy to attemp to confuse the issue raised by the Lil ley candidacy by wondering If tn Woodruff movement Is a Lake move ment In disguise So far as either MT Woodruff or Mir Lake Is concerned both could be eliminated without dis turbing in the slightest degree the dem onstrated unftness of MT. Lilley fo the office of governor. That is the mai question at issue, which is made tn more conspicuous by the demonstrate, fitness of Governor Woodruff and tn probable superiority of Mir. Lake as candidate. There Is nothing personal | the uprising against Lilley He is alon responsible for that His lamentable ex perence at Washington last winter which seriously humiliated the state 0 Connecticut and exposed him as a dan gerous man to be entrusted with politi cal power, is reason enough to say the state against his threatened candi dacy, If, however, in the opinion c his friends he is entitled to vindica tion from the people of Connecticut, h should seek 1t through another candi dacy for congress and not through
 movement to drive into private life me who are in every conceivable way hi superiors as faithful servants of tn people.
 The candidacy of MT Lilley unde the circumstances would not stand
 moment under system of caucusin which gave the people the chance freely express their feeling, It woul not under those conditions stand mir ute upright in any of the social cluf of Waterbury, or business offices An no one but MT Lilley is to blame, I swallow him whole because the ms