The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-10-31

give the Democrats very close to con
! tr2l. 1t confirms, too, the statements
! that Bryan is making a remarkably
successful campaign for nominee who
was pronounced by many men in his
| own party three months ago to be the
weakest man as vote-getter that
| could be named. The Republican man
ayers have had hard fight to retain
some of the districts that are normally
Republican by good majorities. One
of these is the district represented by
Speaker Cannon. He has been staying
right at home, attending to his own
campaign, but there is authentic in
formation now that he is in good way
to pull through and appears to be in
little or no danger of being defeated
because of opposition from organized
labor or from the members of the Meth
odist Church, who resented his manner
of receiving a committee of bishops
who called to ask the enactment of the
LittlefieId liquor bill into law.
The so-called issue of Cannonism,
which fiared up throughout the West
for a season, seems to have been abat-
ing. The demand for the Speaker s re-
tirement and the government of the
House of Representatives by less auto,
cratic methods, methods that have pre-
vailed since the Fifty-first Congress,
when Reed first became speaker, and
through two Democratic Congresses,
seems to have been subsiding. In a
number of Western districts constitu-
ents have forced pledges from Repub-
lican candidates for Congress that they
would not vote for his reelection as
presiding officer, but while these
pledges may afford some annoyance
wler the next House organizes, if it
be Republican, as now is probable,
there can be little question about the
Speaker s reelection. The great body
of Republican merlers would not al
low small minority to dictate the
speakership or TO retire a veteran Re
publican leader who has served so long
and, in many particulars, very accept
ably.
A deadlock for time over the cleo
tion of Speaker may be possible, but
it apparently could have but one out
come.
One other feature of the campaign,
although of immediate interest only in
this Empire State, has taken on almost
national Importance. That is Govern
or s Hughes canvass for reelection. He
is going up and down the State, max
ing quite as remarkable a tour in his
own behalf as he made in the West in
behalf of Taft. The Republicans
thought for while that the Governor
was doomed to defeat, but he has been
carrying his cause before the people as
probably no other man in America
could do. There is a tremendous re-
serve vote which is expected to come
out for him, and if it does, although he
is expected to run behind Taft, it is
hard to believe that he can be beaten.
President Roosevelt, who has been Sc
cretly fighting the Governor at every
opportunity, is now working for him
with might and main. He has declared
to friends that after the Governor IS
splendid canvass in the West, it has
become a matter of honor with him
(the Presidency to do all in his power
to secure for Hughes another term.
If the Governor wins his fight this
time, he will become the great Repub-
lican figure in the East, overshadow-
ing all others except a Republican ex-
President. 1t will almost certainly as
sure his election to the United States
Senate in two years, if he will accept,
and will make him a promising candi-
date for the presidency. Of course, if
he should be beaten it would probably
terminate his public career, for the lit
tie bosses would be on top in New
York. as far as the. Republican party
is concerned, and they would see to it
that he was never returned to political
I"wer. 1t is one of the strange coin
cidenees of politics that while the
President and Governor Hughes do not
drive their horses together at all, they
are constantly cooperating. The Pres
ident has undoubtedly nominated Gov
ernor Hughes twice for the highest of
fee in New York, and without the
President he would probably be only
a New York lawyer. famous chiefly for
having conducted the insurance inves-
tigation.
Today the West, that refused to in
terest itself in his presidential aspira-
lions last spring, is fred with enthu-
siasm for him, and if he demonstrates
his supremacy again in New York, he
will loom large on the national horizon
in the next few years.