River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-06-25

poses to take the stump for him III his
district. After the nomination Mr..
Handy said to me:
'You know that I was for Roosevelt.
of course. 1 was for him when he
was just a kid in the police commits
sion in New York. What's more, #
we could have put him on the ticket
this year he would make Garrison
county solid for the whole ticket.
But then, you know, he's impulsive
and cratic, and we've got to get down
| to business"
Mrs. Handy's boarding house in our
| town has felt the stress of the times,
and Handy, whose business it is to
bring home the things from the gro
Gerry when they are late for dinner,
has had ample opportunity to study
national questions, and his return to
the vortex of American politics gave
| the party the benefit of his valuable
reflections. He was notable figure
in the Annex, and his pockets were
bullying with 25-cent Henry Clays,
which he got from the John Hays
Hammond vice-presidential headquar-
tiers. At one time he regarded Mr..
Hammond as a commanding figure"
in the situation.
No Politics, All Reform.
It was on Monday that l met my
friend from the Ninth district again.
He was in the Pompeian room of the
Annex when l found him.
| (fgTyJ-- Ii, h. a H.
waved proudly for the boy and ordered
a split of water-'the only true thing
about this convention is that nothing
is true"
AS he slipped the fuzzy water and
recalled his promise to Mrs. Handy
before he left home, Abner added re-
fectively: "The trouble with this con-
vention is there is no politics in it.
There are no politicians here. I've
looked at this man Hitchcock-noth-
ing but a card index, that's all there
is to him. And I've looked over Vorys
he won't do; he's perfectly frank.
Haven't heard him called liar since
I've been here. No man gets far in
politics until his enemies call him a
liar
Say" added the colonel, as he
| leaned across the mosaic on the table
top, "say-now honest-why did your
paper cut the Hon off in front of my
name? I like it, Tell them to put it
on. 1 was around when the New York
delegation held a meeting to-day, and
say! They don't know any more poll
tics than rabbit They decided to do
nothing. Imagine a convention where
the New York delegation is such
four spot that they have to debate
three days to decide whether they will
take the vice-president! And, what's
more, imagine convention where the
most serious item of interest is the
nominee for vice-president! And now
the New York delegation is going to
have it's palm read to find out whether
it will take Hughes for vice-president
or rally around Jim Sherman, the peo-
pies choice, or commit hara-kiri with
Tim Woodruff"
Mr. Handy reflected for a time and
sighed. tits h-l!-it's certainly
h-l!-but what else could you ex-
pect of convention where people all
paid their railroad fare. You re-
formers will get this country sewed up
in sack so that there won't be
any politics any more. They'll nomi-
nate the delegates by direct primaries,
instruct them on the chief planks of
the platform-and where will the pal
ladium of our liberties be them"
There is something in Abner
Handy's view of it. The alternate
from the Ninth Kansas district has
been drifting around to-day looking for
the old familiar faces, and he finds
they are not here. There aren't a
dozen bronze buttons in all the throng.
Young men with stiff straw hats and
boyish faces are dominating the
crowd
What can you expect" asked the
colonel, earnestly, as he drifted out of
the Taft headquarters, ''of gang like
that? No whispering-no one coming
out of the consultation room like a
man from dentists office-with his
teeth in his hands-a sadder and wiser
man; nothing but idle speculation
about the vice-presidency."
Signs for the Old Days.
The colonel waved for the waiter
and sighed and shook his head and