Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-07-22
Who Will Be the Next PreSi-
dent?

We will be called on as a nation to Sc
lect a successor to President Taft in the
year 1912 Those who will live to see 1t,
/ and to engage in the selection, may con-
/ clude to give Mr.. Taft second term, but
from my viewpoint, / think it will be
| somebody else.
Why do 1 say so?
Not because Mr.. Taft is not a nice
, gentleman and qualified to fill the office.
! If he was allowed to follow the bent OF
( his wishes but because he allows his
advisers to pull him away from his own
! first and sane intentions and thus he Is
( too easily led into difficulties, especially
with his own party
He made many and emphatic promises
/ in regard to tariff revision before he was
elected, but when the test was applied to
| him he yielded to the men who determine
| ed there should be no tariff revision.
! except to increase the already high tar
! If rates. There were dozens of Republic
| can congressman who secured their own
reelection by pointing to this particular
promise in Candidate Taft's campaign
| speeches.
The excessive railroad rates especially
| in the west, where millions of acres OF
! government land have been donated to
| railroad syndicates. weie a great griev-
ance to shippers and they demanded that
I
\ allow the shippers a living price. These
things were promised in good faith by
! number of these Republican congress-
men and they expected President Taft
| to take up the subject just where Mr..
1 Roosevelt laid 1t down, and everybody
expected a reform on these two lines
and a reform was pledged and they were
| all satisfied that the new administration
| would be a popular one in the far west,
1 IQ,,S he old at n
derstood that II would be difficult to
raise campaign money, IL the railroad
| syndicates and the money autocrats were
displeased with congressional legislation
so pressure was applied TO President TART
| and he was made to believe that the
Democrats would surely come in II the
administration did not sustain these own
ers of predatory wealth." and he yielded
| to the pressure.
Therefore, 1 believe Mr.. Taft Will re-
tire on the 4th of March, 1913, and his
successor will be some man, either Demo
crat or Republican who will give the
same pledges herein mentioned, but the
candidate who succeeds will be compelled
| to put II down in black or white and ne
will not be able to pull the wool over the
eyes of those who have been so often
deceived.
Now. who is II that stands out most
conspicuously in the forefront? whose
name, do you hear most often in gem
eraI conversation and discussion of ma
F, tional politics?
I do not need to write 1t down-for I'M
| less Mr. Roosevelt makes a good many
glaring mistakes during the next Two
years he is as certain OF nomination
| by the Republican party, or some other
marty. with reform attachment, as he
lives. He has headed that way ever since
he landed in New York city last month
I do not mean to say that he has plan
ned the trip to the white house, all by
himself but he is on the top OF the
wave and will allow himself floated so
long as he sees the tide is favorable and
flowing in the right direction.
The hope of the country lies In the
formation of reform party, where insur-
gent Republicans and level-headed Demo-
Gratis can unite and compel legislation,
where some show will be given to labor
and some curb placed on the combinations
of capital so that THE country can be
relieved from the tyranny Of predatory
wealth"
Mr.. Roosevelt may be more welded to
party than to reform, and IL he is he will
weaken Just as President Taft has weak
ened. and thus give the Democrats a
winning chance; but IL he unites with in
surgent Republicans ne will pull to his
support tens Of thousands of voters who
will feel 1t a duty to support principle
rather than party.
b There never has been a time when
party obligations were so easily put
aside II the bloody shirt is kept in the
background.
/ There has never been time since the
war when voters were so Indifferent to
sectional debates in congress. There has
never been a time when the negro was
more indifferent to politics or maybe l
should say when politicians were so in
different to the negro in politics.
Unless Mr.. Roosevelt makes some
gross and glazing plumbers, he Is riding
along on a smooth track and under full
steam for the white house In 1912. We
may not like to admit it, but facts are
utrhhnrr things