The National tribune., 1908-07-23
THE POLITICAL" =, Il 4
BATTLE-GROUND.
Senatorial Battles to BE- Fought Out With
the Presidential Contest inllihe Middle
West, t ;U= ~,

Politically the Westn wills be much
! more than a Presidential battle-ground
in this campaign. While,sTaft and
Bryan are clashing spdar onEshield and
making tiltyard of the upper Missis-
| sippi Valley and of the Trans Missouri
country, the complexion of the next
House of Representatives will be de-
cided by the voters of those same sec
| tons. Moreover, of almost equal i'm
portance with the Western contest for
the control of the House are the Sena-
to-ial campaigns in eight OF 10 Western
States. For if the radical spirit which
possesses the West every decade or
Whereabouts is now rising and. not re-
ceding-a point on which many men
differ-the present movement threat
ems to bring in q crop o. Democratic
Senators and to whittle down the pres
ent Republican majority of 80 in the
upper branch of Congress.
The Western Democrats who came
to the Senate on the silver wave of 1896
been retired to private life They were
and succeeding years have nearly all
from South Dakota, Montana, Idaho,
Washington, Utah. Nevada, Colorado,
Kansas and Nebraska. Only Newlands,
of Nevada, and Teller, of Colorado, re-
~ Republican State in this campaign
Senator Teller will probably be dis
placed by a Republican after next
March. >'"" -...
Strangely enough, hawexer. many
Western States that the optimistic
Bryanites now claim in July will be for
their candidate in November in the
main chose United States Senators this
Winter. AS only one-third of the Sem
ate is elected every two years, it is
somewhat noteworthy that Ohio, In
diana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Missouri, Utah, Colorado,
Nevada, North and South Dakota, Ore
gon and California-nearly all in the
Bryan storm belt-each elect a Senator
to take his seat March 4 next. They
are Ii States out of 81 that send a new
Senator to the next Congress, and only
three of the IA Senators whose terms
now expire are Democrats.
fractional Fight In the States.
The most eastern of these States
Ohio-is still the scene of an ugly fac
tional quarrel, which may not only
defeat Senator Foraker for reelection,
but make it impossible for any but
Democrat to have his place. If the
Democrats can carry Hamilton and
Cuyahoga Counties in which Cincinnati
and Cleveland respectively are located,
they will probably be able to make ex-
Gov. ]. Z. Campbell, of Hamilton,
whom the Democratic State Convention
has Endorsed, Senator for six years. 1t
is improbable, of course, that Ohio will
elect Democratic Legislature in a
Presidential year, but the last Buckeye
Legislature had a Republican, majority
of only two on joint ballot and the
dominant, party is in quite as much-Uf
a factional quarrel now, as II was three
years ago, when that Legislature was
elected.s ,.-cou &C., nc, - -
have some 2G-odd Hold -over members
in the "a Indiana. Legislature, they are
openly conceding that they viii have
a fight on their hands to elect a Re-
publican Legislature this year, and to-
send Senator James A. Hemenway, the
foremost Republican III the. southern
part of the State, back TO Washington.
In Illinois, another Influential Repub-
lican State, the result Is not at all in
doubt, for the Democrats, even by
electing all the candidates they have
filed for nomination at the August pri-
maries, could not control the Legisla-
ture at Springfield. Senator Hopkins
may be defeated by Representative
George E. Foss, Chairman of Housed
Naval Affairs, now canvassing the State
for the primary nomination. Iowa, in
the same, tier of States, has renominat-
ca sceHdlOT Aliisoi, lie iedueI VI TIC
Senate, till his health compelled him
to relinquish much, of his legislative ac-
tivities. Ordinarily nomination would
be equivalent too an election in Iowa, !
but that State is so torn with quarrels
between the Cummins (progressive) and
the Allison (standpaD factions that. the
possibility of a Democrat, Claude n.
Porter, getting the seat is recognized.
New men will succeed Senator Hans
brough, of North Dakota, and Senator
of South Dakota. That has