The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-02-21
ROOSEVELT COULD
WIN OVER ALL
CANDIDATES
Washington Correspondent Says
president is Strongest Factor.
NEGROES ARE AGAlNST-.TAFT
Brownsville Incident VIII Serve to Cut
War Secretary's Strength In
The South.
NEGROES ARE AGAlNST-.TAFT

led to the situation as we now find II.
Crediting President Roosevelt with
honesty of purpose and generally OF
disinterested motives. it is neyerthe-
less true that he is DESTROYS of turning
lover the executive administration of
! the government only to successor
whom he can trust to carry out. in
general way the ideas for which he
! has so long and strenuously conten-
ded. He wants to feel assured that
these principles will, in the main, be
those of his successor. He is jealous
of the welfare of his policies as
father for the welfare OF his child
Beyond all else he wants to leave them
J as Secretary Taft. He had summer
I ed as other than human and reason
able desire IL is both natural and
proper.
Right here is where William II. Taft
comes in. With all his wide acquain-
lance and analysis of the capacities OF
public men, the president found no
man in whom he could as safely trust
as in Secretary Taft He midsummer.
ed and wintered Mr.. Taft. he had eXer'
cised his capacity and abilities inm many
ways and in many fields, and in every
! case he had measured up to the high
est standard and most creditably filled
every requirement. They had worked
together for many months toward the
same ends. and to the war secretary
belonged in large measure the credit
of having attained them. They differ
ed only in non-essentials, and the pre-
sident knew as he does to-day, that In
every essential policy of government
| the present course would, under Mr..
| Taft, be fearlessly and unswervingly
maintained In the above | have
given you the Presidents point Of view,
which submit is justified by recent
history.
Secretary Taft's strength before the
people lies i'm their consideration OF
these facts. Also in their appreciation
of them. The republican party mean
ing those whom Hearst caricatures
as the common people want Roose-
welt another four years. II they cam
not possibly have him, they want some
| body who is sound on the Roosevelt
| doctrines. Therefore when he names
/ Taft as the man who can be most de-
pended on to carry out these policies,
his word is accepted. This may be
called Taft's inherited strength before
the people.
But that he has great intrinsic
strength Of his own is undeniable. He
comes of eminent judicial and admin
strative stock. AS member OF the
cabinet under this administration he
has been given free hand in many
fields of effort In the Philippines, in
Porto Rico, in Cuba, in Panama, he
has done great work and done II
wonderfully we'll Like Dewey, he
was told to go, and he went, and, again
like Dewey, he found other things to
do and he did them. He has been
continually in the public eye, and that
eve has never yet seen him lying
down on his job He has had vast
training and experience in public mat
tiers, and the people know what he can
do and what to expect OF him.
The two above reasons for the Taft
movement" contain the history OF 1t to
date. In the first reason large part
of his strength is properly credited as
Roosevelt strength. In the second, he
stands well and solidly on his own
bottom. submit these considera-
tions as a fair statement of the Roose-
vet-Taft point of view. They are,
too, in every way sufficient to justify
the strength which is being indicated
for him.
II is alleged in behalf of two or
three, at least, of the opposing candi-
dates that they are also as fully In ac-
cord with the presidents policies as is
Taft There is also a considerable
lement In influence II not numerical
ly which desires considerable modifi.
candidates in opposition, too, are
cation of the presidential program.
But over and beyond all is the tremen-
dous majority who want Roosevelt and
nobody but Roosevelt.
A fair analysis of the situation rem
ders it necessary to state that hereto
fore the greatest source of weakness
in Taft is the objection of great num-
| Der of Thoughtful members of the party
to the principle, or the establishing
of precedent, that any president
might dictate or practically appoint
his successor. Undoubtedly this Is
having much weight. The leading
candidate in opposition, too, are
strong, steady, reliable men, in whom
the party properly has confidence, and
it knows that either Of them would
give the country safe. sane, and at
the same time a progressive admin
stration. They admire and respect
: Roosevelt, and at the same time, If
they cannot have him, they wish en-
tire freedom of choice for the conven.
ton of the peoples delegates. They
want the convention to nominate the
candidate and the committee on reso-
buttons to write the platform of the
party.
Outside of all this, there has recent.
lily risen another cloud on the horizon;
q very black one. 1t is fact that the
colored voters from one end of the
country to the other are arraying
themselves solidly against the admin.
stration including, incidentally, Taft
OF course the friends of the various
opposition candidates have taken ad
vantage of the opportunity offered
them, and are using this weapon to
prevent the naming of Taft delegates