Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1908-02-12
WHO WILL BE NOMINEE!
Mr.. STILLMAN DISCUSSES PRESIDENT.
lAL POSSIBILITIES.
The Presidents Recent Message and
Chances Of Various Candidates for
: President as Viewed in Washington.

Washington. ID. c., Feb. 10. Spec
| ial Correspondence The effect of the
Presidents vigorous message of last
| week has in large measure worn off
in Congress, and more particularly in
the Senate. The more the document
is analyzed and digested and contem-
plated the more it is, in the opinion
of a large number of statesmen and
politicians. regarded as primarily in
The nature OF political agency.
This is not saying that the President
does not believe what he says, or that
he is not very much in earnest in his
recommendations to Congress. His
sincerity is not questioned, but the
politicians here take the view that the
President, who is keen politician.
as we'll as fearless executive. did not
lose sight of the opportunity to play
a little politics at the same time he
strongly directed the attention of
Congress to important national affairs.
The President considers that it is
just as important that certain we'll
defined policies which he has strenu-
ously advocated should be carried for
ward by his successor, as that these
policies should be advocated at the
present time. He evidently considers
that he is rendering the country as
important and beneficent service by
undertak ing to ensure continuance
of his policies. as he is in advocating
them himself To this end he is busy
ing himself i'll the interest of his Sec
retary of War w. H. Taft, upon whom
he desires mis- official mantle to fall
year hence.
In the accomplishment of this end
the President does not regard himself
barred from the employment OF fair
political agencies of the accepted
type and it is the expectation here in
Washington that he will play the
politisal game from now until the
convention is assembled.
The fact that the Presidents mes
sage was read in the Senate and House
only few hours prior to the speech
of Governor Hughes. of New York, in
which the letter defined his attitude
and declared his platform of princi-
Piles. has probably been noted by Iowa
people. Ii may be suggested that this
was mere coincidence; that it is
significant of nothing worth mention
ing. However. there is reason to be-
lieve there was significance in it. and
that the President tuned his message
with view to over shadowing the
declarations of Gov. Hughes.
Everybody knows the President is
not for Hughes He is for Taft. so of
course he wants Hughes defeated.
The way to defeat him is to head him
off III his struggle for delegates, and
to inject ginger and enthusiasm into
the Taft boom. Hughes speech had
been extensively heralded. Ii was ex-
pected it would be the beginning of a
great Hughes wave that would sweep
the country with constantly increas-
ing force. To devise meanG to min
imize the influence and to destroy the
force of the wave was the proposition
in hand. How could it be done! One
way was to employ the tactics made
use of in yacht race get your boat
between the wind and your rival;
take the wind from Lis tails; becalm
him. That is exactly what Roosevelt
did. 1t would be presuming to say
the President had this in mind, yet
this is current talk in high quarters
and, as l said, there are many sign
boards which point in that direction.
At any rate that is what happened.
Hughes made speech and great
speech; one that ordinarily would
have commanded the critical attention
of the nation. But what was the re-
suit? Few people read it because the
papers and the public mind were filled
with the Presidents message to Con.
gress. The Hughes speech was simp
ly eclipsed; it was lost in the shuttle.
and by the time the excitement Incl
dent to the Roosevelt bomb had sub
sided, the Hughes speech, the ex-
pected advance herald of an over
whelming boom, had fallen fiat. 1t
now looks as though it had been dealt
solar plexus blow by the President
message.
Immediately following the reading
of the message the feeling was quite
general that the President had again
forced himself into the race for the
1908 nomination. This opinion has
given way to the belief that the effect
of the message will be to narrow the
list of probabilities to two men. Taft
and Cannon, with chances favoring
the former. There is still to be con-
sidered the possibility of the Presi-
dent. This everybody admits. The