The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-05
mail Special to the Advertiser.)

WASHINGTON, D. c., July 90
Each week measures a little progress
toward the designation of our next
President. The candidates have been
taking few short steps during the
last seven days. 1t will yet be long
before they will reach full walking
stature. The long suffering political
public must have patience and note
the slow progress with fortitude. In,
FAINT nominees do not run at a swift
pace when they are less than month
old, but rather when they are three
months old.
For it is well to bear in mind that,
while the Presidential campaign is now
about a year old, the preliminary
stages have really not been passed.
Candidates are designated just before
the sultry hot weather of July and
August sets in. They do not enter
the lists for giving and taking heavy
thumps till September. This year
they win put on their thick mail hard
| ly before the middle of September and,
perhaps, not till the early part of Oct
| ober.
| And yet the week just passing has
been full of interesting preliminaries.
/ Bryan is still cropping about for a
| National Chairman. He is having just
the experience that Taft had. The
men he wants to manage his campaign
do not want to undertake the job. It
looks as though he would have to throw
the lariat for some one, or take some
young man, as Taft did, who can make
the National craftsmanship a stepping
stone in his career.
Taft started lap ahead in getting
the nomination of his party trio of
weeks before Bryan got his. There
fore he is now in the throes of his
speech of acceptance. Bryan is more
nonchalant about his acceptance. He
has written other speeches of accept
anee. 1t behooves him to be very
cautious, for the success of his cam
paign before the American people is
likely to depend considerably ION his
ability to avoid making mistakes.
None the less Mr.. Bryan is very jaunty
about it and says he will give thought
occasionally to what he is going to say.
On the other hand Taft, at his fine
summer resort in Hot Springs, Vir-
ginia, has been sitting up early and
late and, as the saying goes, "sweat-
ing blood ~ about his speech. He wrote
tanned 10000 words. He has been
warned not to make it too long There
are many advantages in short speeches,
especially in short speeches by Pres
idential candidates. The less a can
didate of either party writes the less
fubbdub he is likely to hand out the
much imposed upon political public
aforementioned, and the less likely he
is to say something that will return to
roost over his headboard as he sleeps
at night. Then the newspapers have
been Dining it into the ears of Taft
that his speech should be short Now
adays it is well known that acceptance
speeches are not made for the little
company that gathers about candi-
date when he delivers it but for the
millions who read the evening and
morning issues of the daily newspapers
But the readers do not take kindly TO
long newspaper articles, whether they
- oil %
or articles about the latest homicide
in the community So the newspaper
editors and owners want short speech
from Taft and they viii probably get
it for the nominee has been ''boiling
down.
And when the voters of the United
States of America get Taft s speech |
of acceptance, as they win on the
afternoon of July % and the morning
of July %, they must remember that |
he must also write letter of accep |
lance. \ week or two after the Taft !
speech of acceptance they viii have the !;
Bryan speech of acceptance, to be de- |
ilvered. as matter of fact, at Fair !
view. Nebraska, August u. Then after
the Bryan speech of acceptance viii !
come the Taft letter Of acceptance. |
which viii probably be one of the few |
campaign documents 1t
will be longer and more studied than
the speech Of acceptance. Soon there
after look for another advance in the !
slow but sure progress toward cam.
paign in earnest and a hotly contested |
Bryan letter of accept
anee. 1t will be well along toward
The last of August before rhe eandi-
lates put down their pens and take up
it would be better to
'ay open their mouths.