The morning journal-courier., 1908-10-03

THE MACHINE CANDIDATE.
 The voters are beginning to see more clearly the difficulties which be- set q political situation that has an uneasy foundation 10 rest on. Our esteemed contemporaries in the state, which are devoted to the political ad- vancement of Mir. Lilley, continue their consideration of his remarkable talents but they do 1t in manner that suggests embarrassment. Being forced to explain and defend all of the timo. they find no opportunity to give real reasons for the faith which is in them. It would all be amusing if 1t were not tragic in its implied mort gage to machine domination,
 Tho Journal-Courier has endeavored to induce these newspaper supporters of MT. Lilley to explain certain phases of the Washington investiga- ton, such as his astonishing inaccur- acies in statement when under oath his amazing retention in his service of the man whom he charged with hav- ing signed his (Lilley's) name to de- famatory letters and finally the phil osophy of his attempt to barter with MT. Sherman, the republican candi- date for vice-president, in order that competition In submarine boat build ing might be renewed. These are things which determine the fitness or the unfltness of q man for high office and they are presumably susceptible of friendly treatment. if they are with out foundation in fact. The only re- ply that we have been able to get from our contemporaries is that Mr. Lilley was denied fair show at the Investigation, that he was opposed at every turn by the congressional graft CTS and was driven into nervous pros tration by cruel and abusive treat ment. We have been unable to fin1 the slightest proof of these assertions, while we have been able to find abundant testimony showing that he went into his enterprise from the wrong end, depended entirely upon hearsay evidence and street gossip for his facts and finally ran away from the scene of the Investigation an unsuccessful and discredlted man, though given every conceivable chance to make good.
 Nor are we any more successful in attempting to get our contemporaries to discuss the machine made qualities of the Lilley candidacy. The esteem- ed Hartford Courant meets our ob1ec- tions with the frank admission that the machine has been in business for many years Of Governor Woodruff 1t says that he was as complete ma chine candidate as the state ever vot- ed for. It goes on in naive manner to say: Tho attacks on Mir Lilley for the manner of his nomination are at- tacks on Rollin S. Woodruff, on Henry Roberts, on Ablram Chamberlain, and on all the governors who have been backed by the state central commit tee" This confession on the part of the Courant, that the state central committee of the republican party has been for years engaged in the self-im- posed task of grooming men for tho governorship, brings the discussion down necessarily to the political char acter of this particular machine can didate. We are not dealing with q new evil but with an old evil, which is none the less an evil because, on the whole, the machine has done vel with its appropriated power. The state central committee of the repub- lican party, which Is an instrument created for the express purpose of carrying out the instructions of the republican voters of the state, but not for the purpose of excluding the re- publican voters Of tho state from tho control of the party, has so broaden ed its duties, that for years 1t has itself determined who the candidate for governor should be. They have done 1t in Lilleys case, in Wood huff's case, in Roberts case and so on.
 The offcnse committed this year by the machine is not for q moment to be compared with its offensive con- duct tn the past Until now, at least II has selected as candidate men against whose usefulness nothing of importance could be alleged There has been disappointment expressed