The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-01-10
THE PRESIDENT
AND THIRD TERM
fMail sneeinl 70 the Adrertiser.

(Mail Special to the Advertiser.)
WASHINGTON, D. c., Dee. TO-
There has been a reiteration. 1t came
about almost like a clap out of the clear
sky. Now the politicians are running
to and fro. Why in the world did he
do itl What is going to happen' Some
are pleased Some are intent upon
bitter quarrels. Was the President
striking at Secretary of the Treasury
Cortelyou' Perhaps Secretary Loeb, a
stauneh aud aggressive Taft boomer, is
to blame.
At any rate things political have
been in a topsyturvy condition, ever
since Wednesday evening, December IL,
when President ROOSEVELT reiterated. 1t
was very brief reiteration. There are
Just twenty-three new words in it. The
frse eleven read: ''On the night after
my election l made the following an
nouneemept:' whereupon the Presi-
dent repeats exactly what he gave out
that night 1t was no impulsive state
ment that he drew ont of his pocket,
written on erumpled paper and in fact
formulated two or three months prior
thereto. But after the President quotes
the language of that statement he adds
the twelve other new words: 81 have
not changed and shall not change the
decision Tins announced -
That is all there is to it and yet those
twenty-three words have set the entire
Republican party by the ears. Wash
ingtOn has been throbbing with political
gossip ever since 1t woke up Thursday
morning to read the announcement and |
the comment Herewith spread upon the
front pages of its newspapers.
First there was search for "the /
acute cause That phrase, ''the acute
cause, - was quickly framed and seems
TO have quickly passed into current use.
1t was taken for granted that there
must have been such a cause for it is !
known that the President did not in
tend to issue the reiteration just ar |
present. Secretary Taft had a talk
with the President at Oyster Bay last
August. The third term was then ram
pant, although men who know the Presi-
dent were at loss TO understand why /
there should have been as much third /
term talk as there was and had been.
BIT the President and Secretary Taft !
saw then that it was a factor and the
President then told Secretary Taft that
he would reiterate' in due season but
not until the Secretary had returned
from the Philippines.
The Saturday before he did reiterate
the President had a few newspaper Wis
itors to whom he remarked that he did
not intend to put out the statement for
some weeks. He wanted the situation
TO develop a little further. 1t was not
long after that, however, before Rep
resentative Clayton, of Alabama, intro
duced resolution in the House of Rep
resentatives. 1t was in the identical
language OF a resolution introduced by
Representative William Springer, of
Illinois. December Is, 1875, declaring it
the sense OF the House that no Presi-
dent should serve for more than eight
years The House adopted Mr.. Spring
er s resolution, which was aimed at the
third tern, rail-, sb0ut President Grant |
But the House was Democratic then
and it is Republican now, which, of
course, makes a difference.
Nevertheless, the Democrats were
working with all their ingenuity to
bring that resolution to a vote. For
obvious reasons Speaker Cannon would
not have been expected to fight and
kick and bite should the resolution be
brought to a vote, provided the Demo-
Gratis could find some way under the