The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-04-19

his high official rating. That would be
a high old time, indeed-for these harp
loving allies.
The same Democratic tune of 3He
can not VIM is, of course, for the
benefit of William Jennings Bryan. He
seems to be nearing the Democratic
nomination even more certainly than
William Howard Taft is nearing the
Republican nomination. But the Demo-
cratic musicians have been striking up
in the hope of putting one Gov. John
A. Johnson, of Minnesota, upon the
pinnacle of delegate favor at Denver.
Just at the moment the Johnsonites
and the Grayites and other Democratic
ties are making quite as much noise in
the rendering of FHe can not win -
as all the allies are making on their
harps. But the allies propose that
April and May shall be exceedingly
musical months and that the tune they
play shall drown out all the strains of
SO He can win, which the White House
musicians and number of allied harp
lists of the White House faith are pre-
pairing to render in tremendous volume.
Of course the allies will play in a sad
and minor key. The White House
Ad1 pACtS +" pay Al q AAAOct JVyOuC anu
triumphant major key. In that connec-
tion one might remark what residents
of the South know wei that for some
peculiar reason the negroes like minor
music. Your old colored Nanny. if she
sings over the washtub or in the
kitchen, sings a minor air.
What does it all amount to2 AS the
haFpers harp and the fun loving public
enjoys the hilarity and the vaudeville
features of the great campaign, the
politicians win be asking themselves
that question with more or less serious
ness. 1t is not so great stretch of
the imagination to think of William
Howard few months hence bearing
the standard aloft, with those same
harpists joyfully gathered under it's
folds. Senator Foraker, one can easily
think of, as fastening from stump to
stump, praising his fellow townsman,
William Howard, and urging the
negroes of the country to forget
Brownsville with assurance that his fell
low townsman will make it all right for
them when the White House has been
arranged for his occupation. And it
might not bel doing violence to the
imagination to think of that short and
stubborn little fellow, Samuel >Gompers,
shorter in stature than he ought to be
because so many of his Dutch ancestors
sat during all their lives making cigars,
allowing that he would not dip his edi-
torial pen in gall and that he would not
illuminate on the hustings against Re
publican candidates, but simply prefer
to stay out of politics for another year
Instead of devoting his summer and
autumn to laying cornerstones, address
ing Sunday schools and preaching
sound civic doctrine to many peoples
far and wide, President Fairbanks
might go whooping it up for the same
Taft. of whom the. harpists are now
harping that ''He can not win.' And
SO all along the line. The forces that
are now antagonistic, because antag-
onism at this stage goes toward pre-
Guiding nomination, might" become ag-
gressively friendly about election time.
Stranger things have happened before.
And it may happen again-if Taft is |
nominated. The "if'y is still spelled
in quite large letters The Taftites
think it is unnecessary now to spell
9 it, in such large letters as formerly. |
They are reducing the size of the type
every time they put out bulletin and
by and by may print the word in ordi-
nary type, so confident are all their
managers of good places with the Ma
tional Committee during the campaign
and of nice fat offices after the election |