The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-11-15
Roosevelt, Bryan, Root and
Kern May Eventually Be
In Upper Mouse.
WOULD MARK AN EPOCH.
ROOSEvELT'S SELECTION FOR
SENATE WOULD BE STRIKING
DEMONSTRATION THAT REAc-
TIONARIEs MUST GO.
Especial to Palladium

Washington, Nov. 14.-It is a
mighty inviting picture Dame Rumor
paints for us, that of Theodore Roose-
welt, William J. Bryan and John w.
Kern as members of the United States
senate, but it is not to be realized yet
a while, at least. The Dame had it
planned that Kern should succeed
James A. Hemenway and Roosevelt
Thomas c. Plat on March next, and
that two years later Bryan should join
them as the successor of Elmer J.
Burkett. Kern may come from In
diana to the senate, but Roosevelt is
out of it, SO far as succeeding Plat is
concerned. 1t is learned from the
highest authority" and. in the past
that has not infrequently meant Sec
rotary Loeb, that election as Platt's
successor does not fit in with Roose-
yelt's plans.
Besides, President Roosevelt is COM
mitted to Elihu Root, his chief of cab
met, as the next senator from New
York, Mr.. Roosevelt frankly admits
that the success of his administration
has been due in large measure to
the help of two men, William Howard
Taft and Elihu Root. Taft has his
reward in election to the presidency,
and Mr.. Roosevelt feels that he is
bound by every moral obligation to
further any ambition of Mr.. Roots,
and that ambition just now leads to
the senatorship.
1t will be remembered that Mr..
Roosevelt's original plan of reward
was to elect Root as his successor in
the White House and appoint Taft
chief justice of the supreme court.
Fate and the American people stepped
IN and decreed otherwise. With that
most to second sight, the president
discerned that Root would not be
strong as a presidential candidate and
though Root was ambitions for the
nomination and Roosevelt was under
heavy obligation to help him, he had
the courage to throw the weight of his
Influence to Taft. This step was ia
ken only after many long and earnest
conferences with the secretary of
state, and Root at last came to view
the situation as the president saw it
and to accept the verdict with good
grace Now Root wants to be SEN
ator and all men must see how impos-
sible it is for the president not to give
him every assistance in his power, to
say nothing of the impossibility of Mr..
Roosevelt himself accepting the of
flee.
DePew Not Good Enough.
But things may be different when it
comes to the election of a successor to
Chauncey M. Depew, whose senatorial
term expires March 3, 1911. That
Depew will not be elected to succeed
himself goes without saying. New
York decided quite number Of years
ago that Plat and Depew were not
the calibre of men who ought to rep
resent the Empire state in the senate,
and their retirement at the end of
their present terms has been regarded
as matter of course. Platt has rec
ognized the impossibility of retaining
his seat and is not seeking reelection.
There is every reason to believe De-
pew will see things in the same light
There is no reason now known why
Roosevelt should not aspire to be De-
pew's successor. He then will have
finished his African hunt and his pro-
gram of absenting himself from the
country until the Taft administration
will hou
carried out. 1t is impossible to see
how his duties as associate editor of
The Outlook would interfere with his
duties as senator, and Mr.. Roosevelt
has made no secret of the fact that he
regards the United States senate as a
fitting field for the activities of an ex-
president. Politics would only be fol-
lowing a normal course, therefore,
should Theodore Roosevelt take the
oath as senator from New York on
March 4, 1911.
Mr.. Bryan's chances of succeeding
Senator Burkett would have to de-
pend in the first instance on the abil-
fly of Nebraska democrats to elect
a majority of the legislature two
years hence. They did it this year,
burt the legislature elected this year
will not elect senator. so the aues-
ton will have to be regarded as an
open one. Although not formally
a candidate. it was we'll understood
when Burkett was elected to the SEN
ate that the race was between him
and Bryan, and Burkett won The
results in Nebraska on November 8,
indicated that Bryan has grown in the
esteem of his own state and the result
might be different in another race be-
tween him and Burkett.
Should Bryan be elected to succeed
Burkett and Roosevelt to succeed De-
pew, they would take their oaths as
senators on the same day. and the
event would be one OF the most signi-