The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-01-04
FORAKER A POWER
IN AFFAIRS Of
STATE
HIS LOSS WILL BE NOTICEABLE
IN UPPER BRANCH OF CON-
GRESS-ABIliTY SHOWN IN
PORTO RICO AFFAIR.

WASHINGTON. Jan. when Geo.
B. Cox made certain the election OF
Theodore L. Burton 10 be senator from
Ohio by pledging TO him the votes
originally destined for G.. y. TAFT he
wrote the denouement for a political
tragedy which the national leaders of
both parties have been watching with
intense interest, says Raymond, In a
dispatch TO the Chicago Tribune.
The rise OF Burton necessarily means
the fall of Foraker. and so another
of the old wheel horses of the Repub'
lican party passes into private lie
and probably forever.
Thomas c. Plat. Chauncey NJ.
Depew. and Joseph b. Foraker are an
IN the senate today and all are SER
ing their last terms. Plat and FOR
aker will go out with the present adj
ininistratlon, and Depew IS slated Tor
retirement two years later.
Neither Mr.. Depew nor Mr.. Platt
made his mark publicly in The senate.
In spite OF the fact that the former
was a famous after.dinner speaker
and a general all around silver tongued
orator. he has at no time distinguished
himself IL the senate either by virtue
Of his ore tory or his committee work.
Senator Plat has been physically
incapacitateG for real work for years.
and his influence has been OF mega
tive character as. for instance, whoa
he put his foot down on the parcels
post proposition and thus protected the
EXPRESS trust of which he was an iE.-
portant member.
Foraker's Loss Hurts Senate.
In the case OF Foraker. however, the
senate suffers distinct loss. How
ever people may differ with him as 20
his attitude toward the policy OF the
Roosevelt administration, and IN spite
OF the unfortunate revelations during
the campaign connecting him with the
Standard Oil company in an unfavor-
able way. Senator Foraker In other
respects mas been one OF the marked
mer of the upper house OF congress,
and his committee work entitle MN
TO a certain measure OF credit "hich
should be set over against The blocker
marks on his record.
II is fortunate thing for the state
OF Ohio that II has not taken 5aca-
Representative Burton. OF Cleveland,
IL has substituted for one senator or
towering intellectual capacity another
who promises 10 be equally great.
Mr.. Burton is progressive without
being radical. Mr.. Foraker wac IN
tensely radical in his partisanship. but
extremely conservative in his treat
ment OF commercial questions. Whom
he was engaged in something in which
neither his partsanship nor his corn
nercial lcanings were involved there
was hardly a man in the senate WHO
was his superior in constructive states
manship.
Porto Rico His Monument
His worx on the Porto Rican gov
eminent. TO- instance. was model OF
what his industry, intelligence, and
rare legislative genius could produce.
He created a model government, ready
made. with all the necessary safe
guards o. American institutions. but
modified Skillfully To meet the ab-
solutely new conditions grown out Of
our recently acquired insular posses
sions Pore Rico today in moving FOR
ward with leaps and bounds and much
Of its prosperity is due 10 the wise
supervision 81 Senator Foraker.
This passing OF Foraker from tie
politician horizon. which Is soon to We
come an accomplished fact. calls at
.ention onCc more to the raDidity With
which tao senate nowadays changes
It's personnel A small number o. tie
old senators still control things but
they are rapidly passing away. and tie
new men are actually In the majority
IN the senate itself and in the c8u.
cuses Of the two parties.
II is astonishing TO find that AZ the
present time there are no less than
ffty.one senators who have taken their
seats since Roosevelt was sworn in a.
,he president OF the United States In
other words. In seven years good
deal more than half the whole senate
has been changed.