The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-25
MOVEMENT TO
RETIRE SMOOT
GATHERS FORCE
Senator to Have a Real Fiiuht
on His Hands if He
Persists.
PLANS FORMING FOR
A MASS CONVENTION
CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF FIF.
TEEN MEMBERS MAY BE
ANNOUNCED TODAY.

Senator SmOOt is to have the pleas
ure of real fight in his own party il
he persists in his purpose to be again
candidate for United States senator.
Also, his bOss-ship of the Republican
party is to be challenged by lifelong
Republicans, who insist that they can
get along without 2 boss and, further
more, that they intend to worry along
without being compelled to take orders
from Apostle Smoot.
At the meeting of independent Re
publicans held in this city last week.
the temporary chairman of the organ
ization, John Q. CritchlOw. was au-
thor1Zed to name a committee of fif-
teen who should issue a call for a state
mass convention of men who are op-
posed to the continuation of the SmOot
political dynasty. 1t is likely that this
committee will be named today and the
call issued within a short time
Movement State Wide.
According to men who are interested
in this movement to eliminate Mr..
SmOOt as dictator of the Republican
party, support will be forthcoming from
every corner Of the state one of. the
leaders of the Republican party said
yesterday: I'VE started this movement
more than a year ago. but we did not
go on with it. Senator Shoots friends
came TO us and told us we were treat
ing him unfairly to attack him while he
was under fire at Washington. II
didn't seem exactly fair at that time
and we stopped. not because we were
favorable to his political ambitions.
but because he was Republican who
had been elected to office, and whose
claim TO that Office was aSsailed We
won't stop again. His being an apostle
will not prevent our waging as power
ful a fight as we can against him.
When we stopped the fight before, we
had at least an implied assurance that
at the end of his term he would quietly
drop out of politics. This, it seems, is
not to be kept"
Howell Is Willing.
Senator Sutherland. it is stated. is in
clined to- be sympathetic to the new
movement, but it is regarded as doubt
full if he will give the enemies of his
colleague open support, if he is in fact
lined up with them Congressman
Howell also is spoken of as more than
willing to have Mr.. Shoots ambitions
nipped. Mr.. Howell has in mind a gen.
tleman from Cache county whom he
would like to see in the senatorial place
now occupied by the tall man from
Provo.
The fight on the SmoOt dictatorship
is scheduled to begin right away, and
not TO end until the party has been
purified, which, to the unbiased OBJ
server. would indicate a somewhat pro-
lOnged scrap. First of all, an effort will
be made to prevent Mr.. Smoot from
naming the delegation to the Republi-
can national convention. The plan Of
the party bosses at present is to send
to Chicago the two senator's. SmOOt and
Sutherland. Congressman Howell and
three dOcile followers who viii stand
without hitching while Mr.. Smoot is
away from home in Washington. This
plan the Independents propose to upset
They want the selection left to the
state convention without dictation from
SmOOt or any other person.
State Convention Plans.
After the national convention dele
gates have been chosen, the next item
on the Independent program will be the
preparation for the state convention to
name a state ticket. If the sindepen-
dents have their way they viii endorse
a candidate for senator at the state
convention, who will not be Mr. Reed
Smoot At the same gathering they in
tend TO name a state ticket themselves.
This duty. delegated to Mr.. Smoot and
his little circle of intimate advisers by
the state convention of 1904. they intend
to perform themselves this year. II
they are able to muster the necessary
votes to control the convention, Gov
ernor John c. Cutler will not find the
next four years filled with official du-
ties, So far as can be learned, the in
dependents have no present candidate
for state Office, though undoubtedly
there are plenty in the background
mOdestly awaiting the clarion call OF
duty and the granolparty.
PERFUNCTORY VOTE.
Frankfort KY, Feb. 24.-By agree
ment only a perfUnctOry ballot was ia