The San Francisco call., 1908-09-09
.CHAF|N SAYSHE
WILL OCCUPY
WHITE HOUSE
prOhibitionist Candidate for
President Talks of his
Chances
Predicts AnnihiIation for One of
Present Great Political Or
ganiZatiOns
Says Congress Will Abolish In
terstate Shipment of
Liquors
By George Van Smith


great fight between the republican
and democratic parties. One of them is
going out of business Immediately af-
ter the November election. 1t will be
reorganized and assimilated by the
prohibiionists."
Eugene w. Chain of Chicago, pro-
aibition candidate for president of
these United States, smiled when he
let me in on that political secret yes
terdsy afternoon. So did 1. thought
bis smile was permission TO laugh at
his Joke. We both smiled again when
1 discovered that as far as Chain was
concerned il was no joke.
Few men could so smilingly at the
job Of wiping off the map one Of the
great parties. Chain is one of the few
he could smile If he had to annihilate
ooth the democratic and republican par
lies. Chain smiles nearly all the time
When he is not smiling he laughs, and
his laugh is even better than his smile
He laughed several times yesterday al
ternoon and the passengers in the
Southern Pacific coaches Immediately IN
enlivened by the presence of the candi-
date were caught up in a volume OF
nirthful sound that went the rumble of
the train several better. The prohibl-
tionists call him Genial Gene"
Chain refused TO tell me which OF
the great old parties is 10 be retired
from the political arena in November,
but he did IL with a smile. He was
getting warm when he said il would be
He party that went down TO defeat at
the polls but he almost dropped his
smile when I tried TO get him TO say
whether the defeated party would be
led by William II. Taft or William Jen-
nings Bryan. I thought he was giving
me q broad hint when he told me that
IN the reconstruction the prohibition
lists would get the solid south, but he
gidestepped my insistent question with:
We are going to elect the issue in
November, whether We elect any candi-
dates or not And at that, we have
marked down 80 prohibition candidates
for the Illinois legislature that will be
elected There may be more, but we
have picked out 30"
Chain is unequivocally committed TO
the idea that the cause of prohibition
viii not triumph until its national
ticket is elected.
We do not expect TO win state by
state" said Chain. That is a fall
lacy. The redemption Of state helps,
but IL is no solution. We want na-
tionsl action" Then he smiled again
as he informed me that congress viii
prohibit interstate shipment of liquors
next year II I can control it"
asked him about the prohibition
platform declaration for the abolition
OF the internal revenue
I wrote the first eight planks of
that platform" said Chain, and am
right proud OF them, too The re-
peal OF the internal revenue and the
prohibition of interstate shipment OF
liquors will come together" added the
prohibition candidate, with possibly
unconscious humor and a most en-
gaging smile "Oh, yes, and they will
ask you how we are going to re-
place the tremendous loss of revenue.
See that income tax plank2 The in
come tax Will do il. The receipts from
q proper income tax Will more than
replace the internal revenue taxes.
CONSTITUTIONAL Well, it will be con-
stitutionaI the next time. Roosevelt
is packing the supreme court now with
ymen who believe in the constitutional
a ity Of an income tax. and If am presi-
dent l viii not appoint anybody who
IS not right on the income tax. Four
Of the justices Will retire for age
pretty soon, and counting one to go
by accident. that makes a total of
FIVE places on the supreme bench to
Chain was willing to tell me that
Swallow polled 25S.000 votes. but he
declined TO make an estimate of his
own probable vote
Cant tell about things this year.
smiled Genial Gene There are a
sufEcient number of voters who have
not yet made up their minds about
how they viii vote, to change the re-
suit.
DO I expect TO live long enough to
see the prohibition national ticket
elected2 Certainly I am the oldest
candidate running for president, but 1
am only 55 years old and I have better
health than any man in the world.
made 555 speeches last year and never
went 10 bed tired I have visited l3
states already and expect TO visit
them all before election day. Fortu-
nately. they are not all so big as Cal
ifornia- I am having the time of my
life. Everywhere I go I meet old
friends whom ] knew in Wisconsin and
Illinois.
This is my little girl Desdemona.'
doomed the big voice. and a softer
light shone IN the twinkling gray blue
eyes as he proudly exhibited a photo-
graph. She was is years old last St
Pstrick's day. That may not get me all
the Irish vote. but she fully expects TO
20 20 the White House. Ny wife is
three years my Junior She will be a
worthy successor 70 Martha Washing
ton"
Chain was in earnest when he said
he was having the time of his life. as
~-he was in earnest when he told the
prohibition convention at Columbus he
would rather have its nomination than
be elected president on either the re-
publican or democratic ticket. He has
been beaten for every other Office and
when the votes are counted in Novem-
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