The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1911-09-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Special Washington Correspond
ent of The Times.

/
ent of The Times.
BY Clyde H. Tavenner.
Washington, D. C.-Has Taft COM
mitted suicide? Has he, in renewing
his warfare on the insurgents, COM
mitted fatal political blunder, both
for himself and the Republican party
generally?
These queries have aroused dis
cussions that are raging like blizzard
of words in political circles all over
the United States.
Still another question that is being
asked and re-asked, especially by Re-
publicans, is: If the President does
succeed in driving the progressives
out of the Republican party, where
will he drive them to?
And the conclusion most generally
reached is that it is written on the
cards that the next President is to be
a Democrat. It is practically agreed
that if standpatter is nominated, the
progressives will smash him; and if a
progressive is nominated, the stand
patters will smash him.
What makes the situation still more
hopeless for the Republicans is that
the 1912 campaign issue is to be the
tariff, the one subject on which the
two factions can not get together.
La Toilette After Taft's Scalp.
Senator Robert M. La Toilette will
give President Taft hard race for
the 1912 nomination. 1t is declared
that the Wisconsin senator believes
absolutely that he will win.
The progressive Republican or La
Toilette headquarters in Washington
is beehive of industry. From this
headquarters the progressives are be-
ing organized in every nook and
corner in the country. It is possible
to present today the substance of the
claims which the insurgents make.
They declare they expect to control,
we'll in advance of the Republican
national convention, the delegates
from: Wisconsin, Minnesota, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, California, Wash
ington, Kansas, Nebraska, South
Dakota, Montana, Oregon, Iowa lin
part.
There will be big aggressive fights
for Illinois, Indiana, Wyoming and
Nevada.
The southern states will be pressed
to take up the anti-Taft fight, on the
ground that Taft's nomination will be
equivalent to defeat, and that if the
party hopes for continuance of the
loaves and fishes of patronage of
southern states, it must give its sup
port to the nomination of man with
a chance to win.
A Kept Promise.
When the Democratic House of
Representatives convened Speaker
Champ Clark announced that a saving
of 1882, 600 would be effected by the
application of economical business
methods in the running of the House.
The Republicans scoffed at the idea
They said it couldn't be done. But
on the day of adjournment Chairman
Fitzgerald of the Committee on APP
preparations, announced that instead
of the promised 1882, 600 having been
saved, the amount was $685. 600. 1--WE
do not believe that we crippled the
House by abolishing a place in the
House organization which had been
held for years BY l6 year old girl
who never came to the CAPITOL de-
clared Congressman A. Mitchell Palm
err of Pennsylvania in explaining the
methods by which the $228,0OO was
saved. We do not believe we Grip
pied the operations of the House by
the positions of couple
of telegraph operators who had not
put their hands to an instrument in
years. We do not believe we Grip
pied this house by abolishing 20
policemen who never could be- found
around the capitol or by abolishing
places supposed to be held by men in
this building and carried on the pay
rolls, drawing $500 to $1,000 year,
who were working at the same time
in real estate offices in the city of
Washington. We have simply made
the operation of this House honest.
Taft's Record ''Indefensible.