Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-02-27
WESTERN REPUBLICAN EDITORS
DISAPPOINTED WITH TAFT.

Clyde H. Tavener, Washington cor
respondent who is forging to the front
has been investigating the reason why
so many Western Republican editors
are dissatisfied with the record of the
Taft administration up to this time
and inclined to assume an antagonis-
tic attitude toward the course it has
so far pursued. Recently, it will be
recalled, a poll was made of the ed
itors Of Republican journals IN the
West and the response showed that
1,944 ont of 3037 disapproved of
Taft as President, so far as his official
course up to this time is concerned.
The fact that considerably over one
half of the managers of the news
papers of his own party should, II
not openly condemning, at least fail to
endorse the administration first
year, was regarded as indicative OF
conditions that might, unless checked
prove fatal to the party in the con-
gressional elections this year.
In order to get better insight into
the reasons for this change of attitude
on the part of these representatives oil
the party Mr.. Tavenere took the trou-
bic to make study of the editorial
columns of many of them for some
days. The result he summarizes in
one of his recent letters as follows:
In the first hour of investigation ]
found that the majority of the editors
condemn Mr.. Taft mainly because OF
the company he keeps. They resent
his policy of close cooperation with
such men as Aldrich, Cannon, Hale
and DalzeIl. They feel, furthermore
that insult is added to injury when the
President, while listening tentively tc
the advice of the re-actionaries, insol.
emily refuses to consider the sugges-
tons of such Republicans as La Fol
lette, Clapp, Cummins, Dolliver anG
Bristow. And tIan the insult assumes
the proportions @ an outrage, in the
estimation of i-Taft Republicans
when the Presi int goes so far as tx
charge from tn public platform tina
the progressively and insurgents arr
| not Republicans, and therefore ough
not to receive either patronage or con
| f1dence from the party leaders.
! The editors take the position tina
he progressives and insurgents &ap
%Rsent the sentiment of theA
cans of the Lake, Prarioaas NJ ". a
Pacific and Southwesternf5sp 51,s 6 ne,
reason therefore, that wh1a4 Pres
ident refuses to hear the lzNface o
these statesmen the seoWgAs which
they represent are practically and il
reality deprived of representation.
The attitude a6sthe average Repub
lican editor W isapproves of MI
Taft's administrator. toward tn
President personally, IL interestin,
and inssSsYctive TherNea> PRACTICAL,
no biFa, Hess toward Nh Presiden
himse6fzf he question integrit
or intel-iit may be said, ~ geraised
The wYEe burden of the e9..ss@ls-ssq i
disapl@ tatment. The editors 9A&ss,e /
realiz$that Mr.. Taft is permitting 9TH
ers to guide him. In his message the
see the handiwork of Aldrich; in hi
public speech they understand he
simply endorsing legislation conceive
by the Aldrich's and the Cannon's.
The anti-Taft Republican editor
see no reason to hope that Mr. Tai
will give up his present associations
They have already grown weary Q
hoping. They have come to believ
that he is so hopelessly entang1ed thai
strive as he may, he cannot extricat
| himself. The die was cast when Nh
Taft selected his cabinet.