Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-04
COLD COMFORT FOR
STANDPATTERS

" of our Republican morning con-
temporary to get some kind of COM
fort for itself and the standpatters
with which it aligns itself, out of the
present situation in it's party. In this
difficult job it seems to proceed on the
| theory that shutting its eyes to fact
and keeping that fact from the atten-
tion of its readers destroys the fact.
For instance, it will fail to give place
in its columns to an Associated Press
dispatch containing a dcnunciation by
Republican Congressman Murdoch of
Kansas of that patron saint of the
standpatters, Mr.. Aldrich, and an eX-
PLANTATION of how Mr.. Aldrich used his
great power in the United states sem
ate to unjustly tax the people of the
United States in favor of the rubber
industry in which he and his son are
largely interested.
1t also seems to find some comfort
in Mr. Roosevelt's communications
concerning the gubcrnatorial situation
in California, but to an unprejudiced
onlooker it appears that Mr.. Roosevelt
in these communications has distinctly
served the cause of Mr.. Johnson more
than he has that of our standpat con-
temporary's candidate, Mr.. stanton.
Mr. Roosevelt says, Il refuse posi-
lively to make any statement in favor
of Stanton, IN SPITE OF HIS PAST
SERVICES IN THE JAPANESE
MATTER" which apparently means,
;e ty-it h
standing the fact that Mr. Stanton at
one time co-operated with him in
matter of great public Importance, he
does not feel that he can, for some
reason which he does not state, indorse
Mr. Stantons candidacy. And then
Mr. Roosevelt adds, And it is equally
impossible to make a statement on the
side of johnson, THOUGH l FULLY
APPRECIATE JOHNSON'S ATTI-
TUDE."
If, in this last quotation, the word
appreciate" was not Synonymous in
Mr.. Roosevelts mind with approve"
then we are badly mistaken in the
man and in his use of the language.
Note how he puts it: He cannot make
a statement favorable to Mr.. Johnson,
THOUGH l fully appreciate john
sons attitude" What he undoubtedly
means is that having stated that he
would not take sides in any of the
internecine fights of his party he must
live up to that statement though he
finds something in Mr.. Johnson's at
titude in the present contest which
gains his appreciation.
If Mr.. Roosevelt's dispatch left any
doubt as to his attitude being favor
able to Mr.. Johnson's candidacy, that
doubt would be very quickly resolved
by the fact that Clifford Pinchot, prob
ably Mr.. Rooseyelt's most intimate po-
litical friend and follower, and a man
who would not think of taking any
course in politics that MI. Roosevelt
did not distinctly favor, Immediately
after a call upon Mr.. Roosevelt at
/ oyster Bay announced his intention of
/ coming to California to take part in
/ the canvass OF an insurgent Republi-
| can candidate for congress and of Mr..
Johnson, an insursent Republican cam
! didate FOR governor.
| our standpat contemporary issue
of yesterday morning furnishes anoth-
er good example of the desperate
straits to which it is reduced in its
efforts to find comfort. Under the
heading "Faddists Hard Hit in the
largest display type that it uses, it
prints a special dispatch that de-
scribes how Mr.. Morgan, the standpat
candidate in the Fifteenth congress
sional district Of Missouri was renom-
mated. Yet the very terms of the dis
patch show that M Morgan was re-
nominated in a district whose great
est interest consists in the protection
of zinc and because he used his influ-
ence with his standpat high tariff col
leagues in congress to secure big
tariff on that article.
And then our contemporary on its
second page uses Small type for the
heading "Iusurgent Cain i'll Kansas, "
and follows. that with the Associated
Press dispatch which shows that four
out of the six standpat congressman
of that state have lost out in the pri-
maries.
While there is absolutely no sig
nificance of a national character in the
fate of a standpat congressman in a
strongly protected district of the large
ly Democratic state of Missouri, there
is an immense significance in the fact
that in that rock-rbbed Republican
stronghold, Kansas, out of eight con-
gressmen nominated six We're insur-
gents, and that the Insurgents sue
eeeded in nominating their candidate
for governor.
Surely our standpat contemporary
has fallen upon evil days when it is
reduced to such methods Of finding
comfort for itself and those of it's
readers who profess its obsolete po-
Iitical faith.
UNFORTUNATE MR.. STAN