The National tribune., 1908-05-14

they made the PreS1denl a little less en-
thusiastic about such legislation.
The kilograms of protest were also
turned loose upon Representative Town
send, of Michigan, the Republican who
undertook to lead the recalqitrant Re-
publicans of the House, into a combina-
ton with the militant minority. Every
business organization in his district
seemed to have awakened suddenly to
the fact that there was a great menace
in the proposed legislation, That made
Mr.. Townsend quit. He decided that
bills. He had also been 1abaring with
officials of the Department ef Justice,
and eventually quit in, disgust, as he
realized that satisfactory bills could not
be drawn till after there had been long
study of the subjects. Accordingly, that
feature of the legislative activity seems
to have collapsed for this session.
Negotiations With the President.
Speaker Cannon has been transact
ing a lot of business with the White
House by proxy during the continue
ton of party hostilities. The grim old
Illinoisan, while on speaking terms with
the White House, has nevertheless pre-
ferred to conduct some of his official
affairs with a go-between-none other
than the young, psalm-singing, teller
of-strong- affable Jim" Wat
son, Republican whip of the House and
Republican nominee for Governor in
Indiana.
The Speaker has an affection for the
Hon. Jim like unto that which a
father has for his own son. He trusts
the Hoosier's judgment as much as the
late Speaker Reed used to trust the
judgment of Representative Lacey, of
Iowa, who came from a district where
the legion of miners, of tickle political
allegiance, sufficed to compel a Con-
greSsman to keep his ear to the ground
always. Watson has fine singing
voice, too, which in action reminds the
Speaker of the old days when he at
tended meetings in the Indiana malaria
district s .,,
Possibly the Speaker is willing to put
Mr.. Watson forward In the conduct
of negotiations between the White
House and the National House quite as
much for the political advantage which
will accrue to the Indiana nominee as
because of his own Indifference to en-
saging in the scrimmage of words with
the Chief Executive. For, in spite of
the fact that Indiana is supposed to be
a strong Republican State, the Repub-
licans have their trouble in Indiana this
year, and acknowledge that they are
in danger of losing the State to the
down to the White House offices every
morning or two, after he has stopped
at the Speakers residence en- route, and
by-and-by he will be heralded to the
Hoosier voters as a distinguished peace
maker who helped President Roosevelt
to get his legislative program thru.
There is many an observer in Washing
ton who can even now see the Hoosiers
throw up their hats and rend the welkin
Il tIan h mt 10
porated in the speeches introducing Mr..
Watson to his audiences this Summer
and Autumn. GH es
The late Speaker Reed used to con-
duct many negotiations with Presidents
thru. a go-between. He did, not get
along with the White House as well as
Mr.. Cannon has been doing 1t is a
matter of history that Mr.. Reed and
President Harrison could mot get, along
together Then Cleveland became Pres
ident, and Mr.. Reed could differ with a
Democratic, President without having
any personal ruction, but heiand Nc
Kinley had a falling out due chiefly to
the methods that Hanna, employed, and
Mckinley is claimed to have sanctioned,
for securing Southern delegates. So
Reed and Mckinley spoke when they
met only in the most formal way. When
1t became essential for the Republican
to communicate it was only In dhe most
frigidly formal manner.nM .dtt $50 IL
Jim Watson has proved a very sat
isfactory go-between for the Speaker
and the President During his visits to
the White House offices Mr.. Watson has
incidentally talked about a number OF
things other than the legislative pro-
gram. He has. for instance, warned the
President of the danger of the labor
opposition. to Secretary Taft, and has
cited his own experience in support OF
his statement. Since the Indiana Re-
pubIicans nominated Mr.. Watson .fnI
Governor the labor unions of that State
have been giving him gowdy because OF
his. close relations to Speaker Cannon
| whom the labor people regard as theiI
arch foe. Mr.. Watson has told the
| President that to nominate man like
Mr.. Taft, who is liked none too well by
organized labor, for President will SIM
ply aggravate the situation in Indiana
and increase the prospect that the Re-
publicans will fail to carry the State
] for either the local or the ,.Nationa
| tickets.
| To all such observations the Presi-
dent replies that nevertheless and not
| withstanding he knows of no other Re-
| publican aspirant for the Presidency
who would be as strong with the voter:
as Secretary Taft will be. and Therefore
he proposes to stand by him to the
very last ditch. He is willing to strike
hands with whip Watson and Speak
er Cannon to fix up the legislative pro-
gram, but he will sound no retreat
whatever in his efforts to make Secre-
tary Taft the Presidential nominee.