The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-29
WHO WILL PICK ALABAMA PLUMS Answer Soon Will Be
 Given. REPUBLICANS ARE AT ODDS Thompson And Barker Active in
 Washington. Uneasiness Caused By Rumor That Taft and Cabinet Contemplate sAake-sp of Federal official.
 N.meS by Former Presi-
 dent Roosevelt.
ny AIFREp ,. sToFER.

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 Washington. Nov. .--(Special)--It will not be long before some moves will be made that win determine def initsiy who are to be the recognized men upon whom the Taft administra- tfon win lean in Alabama for guid- ance when future appointments are to be made.
 As previously wired The Advertiser. Collector Joe Thompson arrived here last Wednesday to look over the field and get an idea of what the appoint ing powers going to do when the time comes for making changes in .sev- eral of the more important Federal of- fices in the State.
 National Committeeman Barker of Mobile came on to Washington about, ten days in advance of MT. Thomp- son. A number of the lesser lights among the Alabama Republicans have also been turning up. and altogether it begins to look as if the time Is near at hand for settling matters.
 There is a great deal of uneasiness among Republicans in many of the States. and particularly the Southern. as to what the policy of this admin Istration is going to be with regard to the offices. Whether true or not. a report has been going the rounds tor the past two weeks that President Taft and the members of his cabinet are getting ready for a shake-up among the Federal officers all along the line. That unusually long cabf- net meeting last Tuesday gave rise to rumors that caused a large number of anxious ones to either hurry on to Washington or have their friends look into the situation with view of try- Ing to find out what really is going to happen.
 May DispIace Roosevelt Men.
 An idea has gotten abroad that probably the men who stood in with the Roosevelt administration will have to give way to new set. This has been a disturbing piece of news If not puzzling, for the average fel- low who received his appointment from the last administration cannot be made to see how President Taft can carry out the Roosevelt policies, as he recently declared in a speech he would certainly carry out. than by official who owes his appointment to the favor of the great lion hunter now sojourning In Africa.
 Erastus J. Parsons was appointed United States attorney for the Mid- dIe District of Alabama. February 8, 1908. In securing that position he had the distinction of being the youngest man in>his official class--in- deed when he was proposed for the place the opposition was based chief iy on the allegation that he was too young.
 Captain Charles H. Scott of Mont gomery was then the head referee of the Roosevelt administration for Ala bama. This title was at times disput- ed. for the followers of Collector Joe Thompson insisted that he was chief spokesman for the administration in the state. However. 1t was certainly Scott who stood up in season and out Of season for Parsons, and he landed him, in spite of the opposition and to the utter disappointment of former District Attorney Reese, who claimed to have had absolute assurances from the appointing powers here that he was going to have another term.
 Scott Had Good Pull.
 While Scott was Republican Ma tionai Committeeman from Alabama he undoubtedly had a pretty good pull in Washington. for the convention of 1908 was coming on, and the admins tration people thought 1t was wise thing to look after. that vote in com mittee when the roll of delegates was to be made up. But Captain Scott, as Is so well known. went over to the allies" who were trying to form combination to prevent Roosevelt and his followers from controlling the Chicago convention, and Scott was one of the men who was@run over by the political "steam roller" engi- neered by Frank Hitchcock in the in- terest of William Howard Taft. Col lector Thompson atoted" to the satis- faction or Hitchcock at Chicago, and now that MT. Hitchcock is in the Taft cabinet the friends of Thompson cannot see how he Is going back on him if he is crowded down in Alabama by the other fellows.
 All the talk here Is that Postmaster General Hitchcock likes Thompson and wants to stand by him and help him down his political rivals. But