The Ketchikan miner., 1908-05-30
WILL IT BE ROOSEVELT?

WILL IT BE ROOSEVELT?
 Undre the above caption the Vic es the belief that the Taft boom is not of sufficient proportions to remove all doubt as to who will be the Re- publican candidate for president, and that there is possibility of Mr. Roosevelt being forced by popular opinion to withdraw his objections to what he styles "a third term" and be- come candidate for reelection. Commenting on the situation as it ap pears to them the Colonist says:
 "For man who has placed his pres idential aspirations in cold storage, Mir. Theodore is keeping himself very prominently in the limelight. The nent qualities. Possibly it was started too soon, but whatever may be the cause the people of the Uuited States do not appear to look upon his pros- pective candidature with any degree of enthusiasm. To an outsider it looks as if Mir. Bryan were gaining in pop ularity, and as though Mr. Taft, il not losing ground, were at least stand- ing still. And amid all the doubt and uncertainty the picturesque figure Of MT. Roosevelt appeals to the popular | i'm agination, not for what he has done, but for what he promises to do No one can successfully deny that the President stands at home and abroad for conservatism in foreign policy and aggressiveness in dealing with dCmes- tic questions. Millions of people love him for the enemies he has made il the ranks of predatory wealth and con scienceless monopoly, aud there is not the remotest doubt that, if it were not for the third-term bogie, he would be the choice of the voters by an unpre cedented majority. Whether the peo- pie will permit what they regard as the national welfare to be imperiled out of deferepce to a custom which has nothing but usage, founded upon an accident, to sanction it, or will in- sist that Mr. Roosevelt shall brea k away from political traditions and serve for another term, it is at present too soon to say, but the tendency is il | favor of the latter alternative. We have said the aversion to thirG presidential term is founded upon an accident, by which we mean that there is nothing in the constitution oi the United States limiting the num- Der of tel ms for which d man may oc- cupy the presidential chair. Wash ngtun declined a third nomination, and every one since hisday, who has had an opportunity of receiving such an expression of popular favor, has declared himself adverse to it. But Washington really spoke only foi himself, and it is impossible to know what were the influences determining his action. To his contemporaries tn, first President of the United Stat, was not the demi-god which latei generations have agreed to consider him. He had enemies just as hostile as any of those whose ire Mr. ROose- welt has excited. Even his loyalty to a repuuiican form of government was called into question. Contemporary correspondence shows that he by DO means shared the unstinted confidence of those associated with him in found- ing the government Mr. Roosevelt no doubt fully appreciates these things, but he also appreciates how very large tradition plays in determining pop ular opiniou. Hence he is naturally averse to being the first to set new precedent. We need Lot hesitate to 'dmit that he would prefer to avoid the exceedingly difficult task involved in the carrying out of the policies with which his name is ident fled. But he is too good cit zen not to listen to the demands of his fellow citizens, if they call him to any task, however difficult it might be, or to violate precedent, il by so doing he can rem der his country service. For the above reasons we are unable yet to look upon Mr. Roosevelt as out of the question as successor to himself.