Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-03

has been attempted by any nation.
Few presidential campaigns have de-
veloped so little uncertainty as to who
should lead the two great
PRESIDENTIAL parties and which candi-
Eloc+;o, date should be elected. At
4 the very beginning Will
liam H. Taft, having behind him the
support of the chief executive. appeared
as the only republican possibility In
like manner Bryan dominated the demo-
cratic party.
OF all the republican aspirants Taft had
the longest and most varied training to
fit him for the post. He had been judge
of the superior court of Ohio, solicitor
general of the United States a United
States circuit judge, president Of the
Philippine commission. first governor of
that archipelago, and the representative
OF the President in pacifying Cuba. set
ting Panama difficulties and gaining
from Japan her promise to prevent coolie
emigration to the United States. AT the
time of his nomination he was Secretary
of War
Charles E. Hughes. the reform Governor
of New York; Philander c. Knox, United
States senator from Pennsylvania: Vice
President Fairbanks of Indiana, Speaker
Cannon of Illinois and Senator La Fol-
lette of Wisconsin were doomed by their
keep apace with the Taft movement.
Taft was nominated June Is, in Chi
cago. On the first ballot he obtained 7O2
votes out of the total of $50. Hughes
Knox. Fairbanks, Cannon and La Fol-
lette received the votes of their respective
states James S. Sherman of Utica. N.
Y. was nominated for thu vice presidency.
obtaining SIG on the first ballot. Mr..
: Sherman in 1884 was mayor of Utica,
and since 1856 he has served his district as
a mt jIQ yuyifh ha
one term.
William Jennings Bryan was nominated
the third time by the democrats as their
standard bearer at the Denver conven-
ton July TO- Bryan had nine-tenths of
the votes on the first ballot. Judge Gray
of Delaware and Gov. Johnson of Min
nesota receiving even less support than
the ''also rams" of the republican conven-
ton. John w. Kern of Indiana was
F., nominated for Vice President.
| Labor was a more prominent factor in
| the ensuing campaign than ever before In
a presidential contest because of Bryan's
ability to incorporate in the democratic
| platform the now famous anti-injunction
| plank which President Gompers of the
| American Federation of Labor wanted.
| Yet the appeals of Mr.. Gompers to labor
to support the democratic ticket did not
seem to have helped much on election
| day. Mr. Gompers had said that he
would influence 1000 600 votes. AS a mat
| ter of fact, Bryan ran behind Parker in
eastern labor union cities, like New York
Boston and Baltimore, and with only
slight gains in western industrial centers
| like Chicago, Cleveland, st. Louis and
| Minneapolis. The campaign showed con-
| clusively that workingmen prefer to vote
according to their own individual convic-
| tons.
Another plank in the democratic plat
! form, which republicans say cut down the
Bryan vote in eastern industrial centers,
| advocated the guarantee of bank deposits.
Oklahoma has law to this effect, which
is said to have proved satisfactory. At
various bankers conventions, however,
the proposition as national reform was
| almost unanimously condemned.
Taft was elected November 3 by an
overwhelming majority. obtaining 321
electoral votes. Bryan got 1872. The pop
ular plurality of the republican candidate
was 1,162 200. Bryan ran behind his
ticket in most states. with the result that
five elected democratic governors, al
though giving their electoral votes to
| Taft. These five governors are John A.
Johnson of Minnesota, Judson Harmon of
Ohio, Thomas r. Marshall Of Indiana,
Edwin Norris of Montana and John
Burke of North Dakota. Other democrat
| ic governors elected are John F. SHAFT
Florida. Ashton c. Shallenberger of Ne
braska. w. w. Kitchen of North Caro-
ina, Martin F. Ansel of South Carolina.
Malcolm r. Patterson of Tennessee and
! 1noHldS M CdIupDell Oh Texas.
Republican governors elected are George
r. Lilley of Connecticut, Simeon S. Pen
niwell of Delaware, James H. Brady of
Idaho. Charles S. Deneen of Illinois. B. f.
Carroll of Iowa, Walter r. Stubs of
| Kansas Eben s. Draper of Massachu-
sets, Fred M. Warner of Michigan, Her
bert S. Hadley of Missouri Henry b.
Quinby of New Hampshire. Charles E.
Hughes of New York. Aram j. Pothier of
Rhode Island Robert S. Vessey of South
IF Ga
Cosgrove of Washington William f.
Glasscock Of West Virginia and James o.
Davidson of Wisconsin.
The race track ana allied interests tried
hard to defeat Hughes for Governor OF
| New York because he had called a spe-
cial session of the legislature to prohibit
race track betting. Taft carried the state
by about 100000, Hughes by 10000. Taft
even carried the Tammany stronghold,
New York city. Bryan carried only three
northern states. Colorado, Nebraska and
Nevada, while Taft got two of Maryland S
six electoral votes and all of Missouri's.
Democrats however. regard their party
as having come out Of the fight stronger
than it went in. 1t cut down the repub-
lican majority in the House by eight. AT
the converting of the Sixty-first Congress
there will be 218 republicans and 172 dem
ocrats. In the Senate the democrats also
won seat, to be filled by Indiana, the
home state of the democratic vice pres-
Dental candidate.
During the campaign the Independence
League, founded by William r. Hearst,
caused CONSERVATION in the demOc attic
camp by attacking Charles n. Haskell,
the democratic treasurer, alleging that he
was an old tool of the Standard Oil. MIR.
I Haskell resigned under fire. Herman Rid
DIR of New York took his place. The
leagues candidate for President was
Thomas L. Hisgen OF Massachusetts.
Others involved in Standard Oil letters
read by Hearst were Senator Bailey of
Texas, former Senator McLaurin of South
Carolina, Senator Foraker of Ohio. former
Representative Joseph Sibley of Pennsyl-
vana and certain judges of that state.
John D. Arch bold wrote the letters for the
oil company which Hearst made pub. lie.
proving conclusively. Hearst said, that
this corporation made a business of buy
ing public officials to enlarge still further
it's vast enterprises.
elected as its second president Miguel
Gomez.
the governments suit to dissolve the
Stan ard Oil on the
War on ground that it is mo-
r. nopoly. John d. RocKe-
Teller, its chief mentor
took the stand in New York in November
voluntarily and told how he built up the
corporation from $4,000 to a $685.. 900 UOl
concern. mostly on borrowed money. He
was forced to confess that the STANDARD
profited hugely by taking rebates ano
| ~ Ic ol,o