The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-11-06
HUGHES SELECTED
TO DISPLACE TAFT.
Faction OF Republican Party
Frightened at Presidents
Weakness.
SEEKS STRONG CONSERVATIVE
Will Be Presented as Candidate
to Prevent Election of Ex-
IRENE Progressive.

Washington. November 5.-Big, DO.
! tent. silent influences within the Re.
publican party are organizing a move
ment to displace President Taft as the
party's PRESIDENTIAL candidate, and to
| substitute for him no less person than
Supreme Court Justice Charles b
Hughes, Says Judson c. Welliver in
the Washington Times.
The Hughes proposal is not a boom
and II Is not intended to be boom.
1T is being kept just as quiet as pos
sible. More is talked and known
about 1t in New York than anywhere
else, yet 1t gets no publicity in New
York. In New England IT is recog-
nized as well-developed propaganua.
yet the public prints know it not In
political circles III the Middle Nest il
Is talked. but quietly and under the
rose The time IS not come 20 give il
notriety. That time may never come;
but the people operating the scene
shifting devices believe they will be
able before three moro months TO turn
the calcium suddenly on the centre OF
the stage and reyesl new hgure
there.
Conservatives Seek Man.
Fearing that MI. Taft cannot be
elected il nominated. and the; Mr.
WILSON'S nomination caAnoI De pre-
vented, the conservative interests in
politics, which in general are non par
tisan, are casting about for a means
TO secure control through the aonnna-
ton OF different Republican.
year ago the conservative plan
was to let MIR. Taft be nominated, ana
then be defeated by NJ. harmon. Tha,
plan has been spoiled by the rise OF
MIR Wilson. Mr.. Wilson is REGARDED
by the old-line Republicans and the
Parker sort OF Democrats as no better
than Mr. Bryan. So IL has become
necessary 10 transfer allegiance back
to the Republican party. in the hope
OF displacing Mr. Taft by some man
whom it will be safe TO support as
against Mr.. Wilson.
Justice Hughes. all things consider
ed has appealed as the man most
likely to win at both convention and
polls It is calculated that Mr. Taft
Is now SO Tar broken down under the
assaults OF the Progressive Republic
cans that II serious schism should
develop In the East, he would soon
be forced out of serious consldera-
ton. And Justice Hughes is the man
now being tried out in the larger con-
slderatlons of strategy and tactics
Can Justice Hughes be induced to
permit the use of his name? That ia
the big question at this moment. The
people who are engineering the deal
for him don't care, they would not
ask him; they would go ahead and put
over their plan and feel secure in the
conviction that no man is going to
refuse his party's nomination for pres
ident.
There is, however disturbing re-
port that when Mr.. Justice Hughes
was named for the Supreme bench,
f0r MI
to interfere with the future of Mr.
Taft. The story-and it is related on
such high authority that great con-
fidence is entertained that IL WIN not
be denied with show of confirmatory
documents-that when Mr.. Hughes was
rendered the judicial post he now
holds. 1t was through a letter which
in substance said:
Having heard that you intend to