The National tribune., 1909-09-02

visit Fort Meigs to attend the dediea.
ton of monument to the soldiers of
the War of 1912. 1t seemed harmless
enough to those two Buckeye officers,
and at first Mr.. Taft was inclined TO go.
He had not been informed of the details
of the program, however. and some of
his more cautious friends advised him
strongly to stay away. At the last mo-
ment he decided to follow their advice.
Senator Foraker was one of the ora
tors of that occasion. In the course of
his remarks he made some reflections
upon President Roosevelt. If Mr.. Taft
had been present he would have felt
compelled under the circumstances.
probably. to reply. If he had remained
silent, his silence would have been ca
pable of wrong Interpretation. Had
he spoken it would have provoked
controversy which at that stage of the
campaign could have had no good re-
suit
There will be hardly political cam
paign worthy of the name in the States
the President is to traverse. Conse-
quently he cannot be accused of making
a stumping tour, which, of course, Pres
idents are careful to avoid. Massachu-
sets, Rhode Island and Virginia Will be
electing Governors and Legislatures. A
few of the Western States will elect
minor officials in November. The Pres
ident will be we'll out of Western terri
tory before any campaigns there as
sumo lively Importance, and will not
get up into Virginia, on the home
| stretch from the South, till after the
polls have closed. The season for his
| journey has accordingly been we'll chos-
en- to avoid any political broils. He can
discuss issues pertaining to his. Admin
istration with little fear of criticisms on
| other than broad National lines.
There will undoubtedly be efforts to
| interest the President In the Mayoralty
| fight in New York City this Autumn. 1t
will be the campaign of towering i'm
| portance to be decided in November,
and possibly the most significant elec-
| ton to be held since Mr.. Taft was chos-
en- for the Presidency. That situation
| has led to speculation over the pres
ence of George r. Sheldon, Treasurer
of the Republican National Committee,
on his yacht in the waters adjacent to
Beverly and over the game of golf he
played the other day at the Myopia
| links with the President. Mr.. Sheldon
| is by no means dominant party lead
er in New York City, but at this time
! the Republicans there and in New York
State are considerably demoralized.
They are without any coherent organ
| ization. In New York City there are
six or seven active candidates for the
very important office of Census Super
visor. Representatives Bennett, Olcott
and Parsons, all prominent city Repub-
| licans, are each pressing for the selec-
| ton of a favorite. Secretary of Com
| merce and Labor Nagel is expected al
| most any day to advise the President
whom to select in New York City and
| in several upstate districts, as well as
| in numerous other districts thruout the
| country.
| Whatever the chance may be of de-
| feating Tammany in the Mayoralty
campaign, it is regarded as sufficiently
good to be worth improving to the ut
| most. Taft carried New York City,
probably as tickle political constitu-
| ency as there is in the world If the
Republicans should carry the city this
| Autumn it would immensely strengthen
| their position and also the Presidents
position in the Empire State. A tre-
mendous Tammany majority, on the
other hand, might make a question as
| to the political future of the State more
apropos than it would be now.
| There Is no authority for saying that
| the President and Mr.. Sheldon talked
| further than to exchange pleasantries
| about their game of golf. but the possi-
bilities of reference to New York poll
| tics under the peculiar circumstances
now existing were not lost sight of by
the politician. OF course, the Presi-
dent is not likely to show his hand in
that contest, but as the leader of his
| party he would naturally welcome in
| formation about conditions and pros
poets in the Metropolis.