The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-02-10
TAFT'S OPPONENTS
FIND SITUATION
NOT So CHARMING
Some Suspect They
Might Gain Another
Roosevelt Term.
Conditions Little Chang
ed Over Country.
Many New Claims.

What are the allied opponents Of Sec
retary TAFT 70 gain II they succeed in
rendering his nomination impossible?
Well. for one thi-s, they are begin
nlng 10 suspect that they might gain an
other term OF Theodore Roosevelt In the
| White House, and they have doubt
whether the game is worth the candle.
The average opponent Of Taft lnclines
10 the opinion that TAFT would be quite
a desirable President compared m
/ Roosevelt for another term. And vet
/ the probability that II Taft is rendered
Impossible Roosevelt will be the alter
hauNe' Is recognized as growing stronger
every day.
The alliance Of anti-Taft forces counts
on getting control Of New England,
( splitting the South or tying IL IN with
contests, holding New York for Hughes
New Jersey the same. Pennsylvania and
Delaware and West Virginia for Knox.
letting Wisconsin be cared FOR by tho
/ La Toilette people. trusting Illinois 20
Cannon, and hoping that Governor Cum
Minis forces VIII a. length interest them
selves enough 20 attend 70 Iowa If
former Secretary shaw cannot do n
Indiana for Fairbanks.
Indiana viii be safe for Fairbanks and
| against the Taft combination. and I'm
various parts Of the country a consid-
erable number OF votes may be picked
Up for the anti-Taft force.
But where can all these heterog zDeous
clements unite 20 nominate an,.bodyq
Ihey may make TafCs nomination a
mathematical hnpOssibuity; they sav
they expect to do so.
But nobody has seriously undertaken
YET 10 calculate on whom they. car. hone
70 unite their forces.
IN making UP a combination of arti-
Iatt strength big enough to prevent bts
domination. Z is absolutely neceese,-, -
70 Jake In a considers ble number Of
yEe OF the s1-chAed reactfors,v e,,.1Iiy az
uates- II Tart can't get enough TO nom
mate nobody else can yet count So
many as he can.
Roosevelt to Be Presented.
The answer is that Roosevelt's name
VIII at some stage or other be pre-
sented TO the convention and viii
prove to be the one. the only one
with winning magic IN It, This is tba
very contingency on which the allied
powers are just now bestowfng earnest
consideration They don't Ike the
prospect. They freely admit that tbis
Danger IS serious. They have had the
impression OF its imminence strength
ened IN their minds By recent events.
They know that the fighting disnost-
tloh or the President has been aroused
oy the long series Of bitter attacks ON
AlnseI. Iney suspect that, smiling the
hattie from afar, he yearDz to bs il,
the thick OF Il, fighting for himself.
with his own weapons. They know
that his name viii mean staniue.le- 70
y is sprung in the right way ana at
the right time,
But beyond all this. the Presidents
enemies know that his nomination is
almost certain to be the last reliance
OF the beaten Taft forces II tbe-y a.
last find themselves beaten. To non7I- /
nate Roosevelt would be 10 save their
own pohtlc2l faces. to get away with
sHe ~ ,..ll IIui's u Aol lhe forms OF victory;
10 keep their own organization In con-
troll thEr own influence in domi9a-
uon, their retainers IN office
Ihe President IS not going to the
convention. He fastened TO announce
that much. fOllOwig q report that he
would attend. He will be far enough
away 70 give opportunity for effective
arFansenent OF stampede by his !
friends and the Taft people.
Congress Holding Back.
Congress. after getting a bad scare
from the recent message, is settling
back in the traces. determined to do as
little as possible this session toward |
enacting the Roosevelt policies into
law. The convention will meet at |
time when the country viii be fairly
realizing how little has been done: when |
the Democrats viii be taunting the Re- |
pubucans with their failure, and ex-
ulttng in confidence that the November /
election viii reverse the political Situ-
alton. The President will look-aIv-avs
Of course assuming that Taft Will be I'm /
possible by that time-like the one as
surance OF party victory, The TAFT
people, sore end disgusted will have no 1
stomach for any candidate Inside the
alliance of hostile powers. They will /
want revenge, and they will know that /
in Ro0sevelts nomination they can get l
both revenge and the substance of VIC 4
tory, while suderinS only the appearance /
Of defeat.
And the realization that Roosevelt &c
likely to be the alternative NAV at last /
prove the very thing that will Nominate
Taft after he has been defeated.
To defeat him would make possibla
negotiation for terms, arrangernent ,of |
a series of political protocols governinp
the course Of the new Administration
Then, to nominate him, with something
like assurance that he was bound t0
hear and heed the people VINO onnosaI /
the Roosevelt policies would not he so /
humiliating 10 those who had opDOsed /
him.
WILL SPEAK