Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-15

- HE movement to force a third
- term upon President Roosevelt
had begun to assume not only
~ a great and swelling volume,
but also an organized and deti-
mite character, when 1t was checked ana
probaby thwarted by formal announce
ment from the White House on Decem-
her IL In the vicinity of New York city,
It is true, there were many who Deiieved
that Mr.. Roosevelt's popularity was fast
waning, and that the third-term senti-
ment could not have carried If the pres
ident had given It his tacit encourage
ment. But this Wall street notion that
the presidents strength with the people
was abating did not have much evidence
to support It, Several of the states were
preparing for very early Republican con-
ventions in which delegates pledged to
President Roosevelt were to have been
chosen by way of example to the rest
of the country. Attempts to fasten upon
the president culpable responsibility for
the financial panic had only resulted In
the clear bringing to light of a contrary
opinion; for 1t became more and more
evident that Republicans and Democrats
alike throughout the length and breadth
of the land were disposed to lay all the
blame for the country's financial difficult
ties upon the managers of great corpo-
rate and financial interests. Undoubtedly
public opinion went much too far in pro-
nouncing its verdiets of guilt upon Wall
street and upon trusts and corporations
in general. Everybody had helped to
build up the great ediflce of expanded
credit and the reaction in some form
or other was bound to come. But here
our question is, How was the reaction
affecting the political strength of Pres
ident Roosevelt? And the answer is, ac-
cording to the Best evidence we can
gather, that the country was standing
with the president very solidly, and was
overwhelmingly anxious to keep him in
office.
But Mr.. Roosevelt all his life has been
close student of American political
history. And he has never for a moment
wished or intended to go counter to the
established tradition that forbids third
consecutive term. His declaration on
election night in November, 1904, was a
mature and convincing statement that
the country fully accepted. Unquestion-
ably that statement has helped to give
strength and weight to the presidents s
policies; for no one has been able to say
that he was acting with reference to a
control of the next convention in his own
interest. But although the PRESIDENT s
own personal position has been clear and
unamblguous, it is not strange that the
third-term movement should have seemed
for a time to have been beyond any pos
sible checking or control. Hundreds and
thousands Of the most experienced politi-
cal observers in the country were saying
in private, II not in public, that the next
national convention would beyond doubt
be stampeded for the president: that he
would be nominated and elected in spite
of himself, and that he could not on any
proper ground decline to take the oath of
office and serve as president If the cleo
toral college chose to continue him in the
White House for four years more.
This feeling was due to several causes.
First of al was the presidents marvellous
popularity regardless of party lines, and
the eager conviction of the masses of