The Cairo bulletin., 1911-05-20
ILLINOIS MAY
TAKE THE LEAD
PRESIDENT TAFT'S CAMPAIGN
FOR SECOND TERM TO
OPEN SOON.
LAF0LLETTEA THON R
Cannon and Deneen Also important
Factors in Presidential Cam
paign-lnsurgency Trou-
biesome.

Washington, May 19-The TAFT
second-termers are considerably CON
cerned over the spread of progressive
sentiment in all t9etions and the
growth of Senator La FolIettes presi-
Dental boom. While the president Is
not a radical standpatter by any
means, he has not given any signs OF
being able to swallow all the progress
sive doctrines and the Wisconsin SEN
| ator has not been on friedIy political
>terms with the chief executive for
| some time The turing down of the
| progressiyes in the organization of
| the Senate has widened il breach that
| became quite noticeable when the
president declined Is appoint LaFol-
| lette's man as United States attorney
for the Wisconsin, district.
While President Taft has not an
| nounced himself a candidate for Ye-
| nomination there is no DOUBT enter
| tanned here Of his willingness to run
and his desire to be nominated. 1t
! is growing more apparent each day
that he will have strong opposition
| and that the platform of the progress
sives viii be satIer radical, with
special stress laid upon the need FOR
| wider control and regulation of the
big corporations.
Tho lawyer-julicial side Of the
preSidents character makes him lean
towards the regulation of public serv-
ice corpopraiona Through ale ma
ehlhery OF the courts The Wisconsin
senator, though a lawyer, is very
mach in favor of the permanent com
mission plan, as more effective and
expeditions, the plan which has been
put to such good use in his own state
and which has recently received the
heads, including James j. Hill, the
Northwest railway king, Theodore N.
Vail, president Of the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph company the
Rell system, who voiced this in his
annual report, George NJ Reynolds,
the Chicago banker, Stuyvesant Fish,
and others.
The commission control method OF
solving the corporation problem may
fairly he called a child of the pro-
gressiyes. Therefore, to nave corpor-
alton men, previously @:~lcn SUP
porters of the more conservative re-
publicans, take their stand with the
progressive wing, has made the TAFT
second termers, if not the president
himself realize the magnitude of the
battle before them.
One of the interesting phases or
recent events is the promise that
Illinois, SO long playing only a minor
part in the national political drama,
may awaken and take the leading role
to which her population and wealth
entities her. She has no progressive
of sufficient reputation to put forward
as candidate in apposition to the
President, but one of her younger re-
publicans has suddenly snot into the
limeight as progressive with con
siderable strength. This is Charles
e. Merriam, the defeated candidate
for mayor of Chicago and an enthu-
siastic LaFollette man.
1t has been some, time since Illinois
had national leader, either in the
republican or democratic ranks. I'm.
Gle Joe Cannon has been the nearest
approach to it, Goveror Charles S.
Deneen started out several years ago
to achieve this distinction, but fell by
the wayside. He is semi-progres.
sive, but has pursued a middle-of-the-
road policy, hoping and trying TO bring
about reform along progressive lines
within the party, and without coming
to an open break with the older lead.
ers
Deneen has always been very
strong in the state outside his home
clty-Chicago, Marian. admittedly
stronger since his defeat than before
is rapidly maturing his plans to cap
ture Chicago for the progressive wing
OF the party-and his defeat through
the agencies Of the older leaders
win help him in this task.
So the passing Of Lorimer, the age