The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-13
Former Governor Of Mis-.
souri, Looking Toward
White House.
HIS CANDIDACY is
ALL BUTDECLARED
Champ Clark Leading supportc
and Advocate of New Demo-
cratic Richmond Dee
Waterway Improvement
Will Be Feature of
Platform.
I lsneciolto mic Timcs-plspatcb

tSpccial to The Timcs-Dispatch.I
Washington, d. c., February L.
David r. Francis, former Governor of
| Missouri. is all but n declared can
| didate for the Democratic nomination
1 for President of the United States, to
| be made two years hence. Further
more. Champ Clark, minority leader
of the House of Representatives, is
to be his leading supporter and ad
| vocatc.
Both OF the above facts cropped out
/ to day because OF n visit Mr.. Francis,
Is paying to the capital The excuse
1 for that visit Is the meeting of the i
Southern Commercial Congress. which
Is gathered to talk over plans for the
erection of the so-called Southern
Temple here. as a sort of. connecting
| link between the South and New York. |
commercially speaking.
The real reason of the Missourian's
| presence, however. Is to sound out
| Democratic members of Congress upon
his prospective candidacy for tho
nomination that has been monopolized
| by William Jennings Bryan of recent
years. And his candidacy for the Sen
| ate in Missouri is only Il part and
| parcel of his higher ambition. If heI
can win out in his own state, 1t is
believed by his friends that the pres
tlge resulting therefrom will aid ma
terialiy in the achievement of his real
hearts desire.
Il Part of CnmpniKn.
| The former Governor of Missouri
! and former Secretary of the Interior
under President Cleveland really has
q better excuse for his presence than
the Southern Commercial Congress,
but he seems not to care to use it.
| That second reason is the rivers and
harDors bill. which was reported to
! the House last night and will come
4 up for debate Monday. Mr.. Francis
Is here to urge the enactment of that
bill, and to help work through both
i the House and tho Seuate the particu.
lar portions which provide for the iln-
/ provcment of the Mississippi River
and make provision for the ultimate
a construction of the lakes to the Gulf
Il deep waterway. And his advocacy OF
i that measure IS also a part and parcel
of his campaign for the presidential
nomination.
II 1t is the intention of Mr.. Francis
to make the deep waterway project one
], of the leading features of his platform
when. he shall come out In the Or
as candidate for the presidency. but
; he is not standing for the deep water
. way alone, but for ali internal river
j improvements as the best way to fight
the Injustice of railroad rates. And
, he Will use every ounce of influence
? he possesses to induce the enactment
of the pending bill, meanwhile advo-
eating the Improvement of every river
in the country that is wide enough and
can be deep enough to float barge.
: NSr3lI Aou.or c....,.
That sort Of platform will appeal es.
pecally to the South as means of cot
ton transportation and because the riv-
ers there are open the year around
Representative Clayton cited an in
: stance to-day when he said that by
providing a four-foot channel in one
river in his district cotton could be
taken to the seaboard for so cents a
bale, whereas it costs $2.5S bale now
by railway transportation. 1t is his
advocacy of the development of the
Mississippi River that Mr.. Francis re-
lies upon chiefly for support. IIe is
!. generally supposed to have been the
!. author of the now famous New Orleans
declaration of Independence, by which
the business men of all the Middle
:. West pledged themselves and their pri-
vate honor. each for himself and to
each other" to support no man for
public Office who would not favor a
generous policy for river and harbor
Improvement and for the central val
ley proposition in particular.
:, That Champ Clark is to be one of
the supporters of his compatriot has
y been made plain by his association with
. Mr.. Francis to-day and the quiet work
, that has been passed to the intimate
= friends of the minority leader. None of
:, them will talk for quotation thus far,
: but in private it Is declared that Fran
!, els is "a big man and that the country
= might go far and fare worse when it
. .icomes time to pick a President.
i, Cool Head Directing.
: Also there is evidence that some ono
with a cool head Ii Ike that of Francis Is
t directing the minority these days. TIL,
: Seneralship of the Democrats is be,
coming noteworthy. The utter lack oil
Ihystcria when the occasion for blow
: ing off steam occurs is causing com
{ ment.
: The absence or any excitement in the
: House whoncvcr the tariff and the cost
s of living aro under discussion shows
S real organizations. Another striking
u example of a genuine leadership some
@ where In tho background was given
! the other day in the Senate, when Sem
: ator Hepburn blew up over the pro-
S posa to lend the Confederate veterans
somo army tents and saddles Time
was when Tillmun and other nrebrands
s would have simply Jumped up and down
: and howled upon such an occasion, but
: they sat quiet and licked Hepburn
o, with votes
y The quite remarkable thing in the
t Francis candidacy Is the old Cleveland
!, Democracy, With Franois IN the field.
a the two leading candidates for the
n nominations, which Nh. Bryan grabbed
& three times, are himself and Governor
" Judson Harmon, OF Ohio, and both OF
II them were members of President CleVe-
@ lands Cahinet--Francis as Secretary OF
n tho Interior and Harmon as Attorney
lCcneral---nnd still further, the only
: other candidate considered important.
= ! -------- lC,cni iinucIl on Second IaEcl