Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-02-28
HEARST As A FACTOR
If Bryan and His Party Tempo
rize on Public Questions Rad
icals May Secede
INDEPENDENT VOTE UNCERTAIN
Will Be Either Nonentity in Campaign
or Strong Factor = Hearst Candi
dacy in New York Would CompIi-
cate Presidential Situation-PoIiticat
News.

News
Washington, Feb 2S.--With the pro-
hibitionists planning TO poll a million
votes and Mr.. Hearst's independent
party in the field with a presidential
ticket, the coming campaign is going
to be one of perplexity for the old
party managers. They will have to
guess, they cannot foresee, just where
the prohibition and Independent can
didates will get their votes. While
this uncertainty will lend interest to
content OF the republican and demo-
cratic national chairmen.
In the days when the populists We're
the most formidable third party it was
comparatively easy to tell where their
vote would weaken and where it
would strengthen either Of the old par
ties, and the same was true in the
days of the greenbackers. The CAM
paign managers may be able to guess
with something approaching accuracy
where the prohibitionists will get their
extra votes this year, but no man will
be able to forsee where nor to what
extent the voting strength Of the
independent party will develop.
A good many politicians, both repub-
licans and democrats, are willing to
concede that should Mr.. Hearst him
self be the candidate of the independ-
ent party he may get good deal
more than the million votes the pro-
hibitionists expect to poll There are
several congressional districts, it is
declared. where the Independence
league would stand a chance Of elect
ing members of congress, but there
has been no announcement as to
whether the new party expects to
make congressional nominations. The
course of the national party which
has grown out of Mr.. Hearst's per-
sonal organization in New York will
be largely determined by what the old
parties do at Chicago and Denver.
"reactionary' candidates or adopt
"reactonary" platforms, Mr.. Hearst,
it is said, would regard it as incum-
bent upon himself personally to take
the field as the candidate Of the new
party.
1t is announced by followers of Mr..
Hearst that Mr. Bryan's personal views
are sufficiently radical to meet the
demands Of the Independent party, but
that if Mr.. Bryan temporizes with the
opposition in the matter of platform or
accepts a non-radical as a running
mate he need expect no help from
those who have enlisted under the
banners of Hearst. While Mr.. Taft is
not ordinarily counted among the ere
dictionaries" he is declared to be far
ments of the Independence league;
nor is there any other man mentioned
for the republican nomination. unless
it be LaFollette, who could hope for
any Hearst support.
1t generally is admitted that should
Hearst become a presidential candidate
it would SO complicate the situation in
New York state that the result could
not be forecasted. Campaign managers
would stay awake nights trying to fig
ure out whether he would draw more
votes from the republican or the
democratic ticket.
Representative Bob Henry of Tex
as. feels that he has been INDICATED
by the demand Of Indiana democrats
that their state convention shall en-
dorse President Roosevelt is so far as
the president has advocated enactment
into law of democratic policies Hen
ry wanted the democrats in congress
to hold caucus for that very purpose,
but the proposition did not meet with
the favor of his colleagues.
Henrys idea was that it would en-
barrass the republicans in congress and
be good democratic politics, but other
democrats feared it might embarrass
the democratic more than the republic
can party, SO the thing was dropped.
1t was this plan of Henry's, which was
given wide publicity when he adj
vanced it, which led to reports that
democrats in congress favored the
nomination of Roosevelt as the demo-
attic candidate for president. The
story caused so much trouble that sew
eral prominent democrats have felt
called upon to make speeches from the
floor severely criticising the president.
**x
That paper out in California which
has started a petition canvass for the
nomination of Roosevelt for a third
term, isn't likely to create much of a
sensation in the political arena. Several
months ago it might have attracted at
tention, but there no longer is any
serious thought of Mr.. Roosevelt as a
1908 possibility. If there ever was a
time when he might have been pre-
vailed upon to accept the nomination.
things have gone too far now in the
opposite direction.
There remains the possibility. of
course, that there may be stampede
for Roosevelt in the convention at Chi
cago, but a situation which would re-
suit in such a stampede would not be
brought about by petitions.