Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-13
GREEK MEETING GREEKAT THE WHITE HOUSE
Republican Situation in New UneaSiness Over Political Sit
York Clearing Up. uation in the South
POSITION OF THE FACTIONS HITCHCOCK TO INVESTIGATE
Hughes Several Disquieting Reports Will
Things Reserve. Long Tour
ODELL NOW FOR ROOSEVELT MORE THIRD TERM TALK
Progress What
Of Organization of
Month' Primary. Their
POSITION OF THE FACTIONS
Hughes Chances and Several
Things in Reserve.
0DELL NOW FOR ROOSEVELT
Slick Work in Progress for Control
Of State Organization in Next
Months Primary.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, February 13.-Whenever
in the court of political events political
leaders and bosses and would-be leaders
and bosses get talking about each other.
saying something today in strict conf
dence and tomorrow repeating 1t In print.
then the plain voter may begin to learn
some facts. Without further preface. 1t
may be said that the situation in the
republican party in this state is beginning
to clear. and this is the situation:
If Messrs. Woodruff, Parsons ct al. can
retain control of the state organization
through the March primary and the April
state convention the delegates at large
to the national convention will receive
merely perfunctory instructions to vote
for the nomination of Gov. Hughes for
President. They will present the name
of the governor to the convention. and
in mild tones of voice they will vote for
him on the first ballot, and after that
every man Jack Of the seventy-eight del
egates will become a political jumping
jack worked by strings pulled from the
White House in Washington.
If the Woodrun-Parso faction is
beaten at the primary and in the state
convention and Mr.. B. b. Odell. jr.. and
seventy eight delegates to the Chicago
convention from this state will go there
to help stampede that convention into
the nomination Of President Roosevelt.
Mr.. Odell. who was the original Hughes
boomer, Is for the President. 1t was
President Roosevelt and the power of the
| federal patronage that overthrew Odell
| and his machine In the state.
Odell a Clever Acrobat.
But there are many changes in politics
in year. and two years in the game is
an age If Mr.. Odell has not yet received
message from the White House. one is
probably on the way.
Since he got into the political game
again. after his long illness. Mr. Odel
has been telling his friends every day
In strict confidence. Of course, that moth
ing could prevent the nomination of Pres
ident Roosevelt and that there was nc
use fighting the inevitable. He has gone
even further and told his friends that the
President is the only man who can carry
the state Of New York against Bryan.
Mr.. Odell has enemies in the republican
party, but his enemies agree that he can
see a political bandwagon and guess the
color of 1t when 1t is a mile away. So 1t
has come to be perfectly well understood
| in all the inner circles Of republican poll
tics in this state that II Mr.. OdeN and
his friends control the delegation to the
national convention that delegation Will
| go to Chicago with but one real purpose in
| view. that purpose to force a stampede of
| the convention to the nomination of Presi-
dent Roosevelt.
Woodruff a Smooth Article.
Chairman Woodruff of the state COM
mittee is a mild-speaking man. In his
mild and genial way he has been saying
| to his friends for several days that the
| New York delegation would be for
| Hughes. His friends. however. are not
| overlooking the fact that the Kings coun-
| ty organization, which Mr.. Woodruff con-
| trolls, has not indorsed the governor and
| is not going to do so.
| His friends also recall that Gov. Hughes
| has never recognized Mr.. Woodruff as
state chairman In making appointments.
1t is now a matter of plain open talk In
| republican circles that Gov. Hughes has
| not one sincere. .die-in-the-last-ditch friend
| in the republican party organization Of this
state. majority of the so-called Hughes
boomers. the men who shout for him when
newspaper reporters are near. are men
| who have as much influence in the party
organization as unremoved snow left over
| from last year. It is a matter Of general
knowledge in the inner circles Of republican
| politics that Gov. Hughes is in no sense a
serious issue as a candidate for the nomi-
nation for President: that the one issue In
the March primary and the April con-
vention will be the man In the White
House.