The citizen., 1911-09-22
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Gem
eral Topics from
the Capital.
Washington, September IL, l9l1.

If President Taft is renominated he will
be defeated, according to a statement
given out here from the LaFollette pro-
gressive Republican headquarters. He
can only win by bringing back into the
Republican column the Eastern States the
Republicans lost to the Democrats in 1910
and by holding the Western States where
progressive Republicansm dominates.
This is the statement issued from the
LaFollette headquarters intimates to be
impossible, because the progressive Re-
publicans of the West will not tolerate the
stand-pat policies by which alone it is
assumed, the Eastern States the Republi-
cans lost in 1910 can be won back TO Re-
publlcanism. Therefore, if Taft is re-
nominated. he may be able 10 WIN back
to Republicans the Eastern States that
turned to the Democrats last year. but in
doing so he will lose in the West group
of States dominated by Progressives hav-
ing electoral votes about equal in number
to the electoral votes of the Eastern States
in question, and thus he will fall short Of
the requisite total of electoral votes to
land him again in the White House.
But the statement issued from the La
Toilette headquarters does not concede
that Taft can recover the Eastern States
formerly Republican which went Demo
cratic in 1910. The Republican party in
those States is dominated by stand-pat
Republicans, but the fact that they turned
their back on the Republican party last
year proves that a considerable proper
ton of the Republican voters there are
disguised with stand-patism, and, pre-
sumably, with TAFT. Democrats general
ly will, of course, heartily acquiesce in
these conclusions OF the Progressive Re-
publicans.
The statement issued from the LaFol-
lette headquarters says:
I'm 1910 the Democrats carried 27
States, of which "a have Democratic
Governors, while % States now have a
majority of Democrats in Congress. But
it must be noted that although the stand
patters lost some So seats in Congress in
the landslide, the progresslves doubled
their representation in the lower House"
The statement then gives a list of the
States with their electoral vote as il will
be under the new apportionment show
ing that on the basis of the returns Of
1910. the result Of the Presidential cleo
ton next year would be that the Demo-
cratic candidate for President would re-
ceive 32S electoral votes and Taft but 2o3.
The statement continues:
Taft must recover not less than 6S cleo
toral votes from States carried by the
Democrats in 1910 without losing any
votes in the progressive States which then
STAYED in the Republican column. Can
he do il? Can he get back his native State
of Ohio? Can he develop any strength i'll
the States on the Atlantic coast which left
him last year, without making correspond
in6 losses in the West?
''Not counting his own State, there are
only FIVE States, all on the Atlantic sea
board. where he can expect TO make any
considerable recovery Maine. Massachd-
seus, Connecticut New Jersey and New
York But there are nine States in the
Middle West and Far West where the re-
volt against the Payne Aldrich Tariff. the
Wickersham railroad policy. Ballingerism
and IorrimeriSm menace the success of
any standpat candidate for any Office.
These States are Washington, Oregon,
California, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Ne
braska. North Dakota and Wisconsin.
Now the number OF electoral votes IN the
two groups is nearly equal and IT IS TO the
Western group that the President is turn
ing his energies. He has paid scant at
tention to New England, he barely stops
IN New York and PENNSYLVANIA. Ohio
and Indiana he does not consider at all
Breathing defiance, he is going into the
enemies country on another tour Of
apology
Two years ago he apologized for the
PAYNE Aldrich law and now he will apolo-
sze to the farmers for removing the pro.
tective duties on their products through
the Canadian reciprocity law, while he
maintained the cost of clothing. blankets
and carpets by his veto of the LaFollette
Wool Bill. For six weeks he will lay
aside his Executive duties to invite the
West to repudiate the course of its pro-
gressive Representatives in Congress.
The last tour was followed by increased
progressive strength in Congress and the
State capitols. Is it likely that the voters
have so changed that the result this time
can be other than 1t was beforeF
A saving to the Government of fully
| s., 900 600 on the transmission of periodi-
cal mails by fast freight was estimated by
Postmaster General Hitchcock after a
two weeks trial of this method of ship
ment. The plan was put IN effect Sep
! tember /.
The magazine shipments now being
made BY fast freight go chiefly from Buffa-
10 and Pittsburg in the East to Chicago,
ST. Paul, Omaha and Kansas City in the
West. They are carried in storage cars
on the regular mail trains as far as Buffalo
or Pittsburg, where they are transferred
to the fast freight trains, which run from
Bnffalo to Chicago in 81 hours and from
| Pttsburg to Chicago in 80 hours The
| time from Buffalo TO ST. Louis is IS hours
and from Buffalo to Omaho about so
hours.
The War Department will assign colo
nels instead Of officers of lower rank to
command the five big recruiting depots
and these appointments have so far been
made: Colonel George w. Van Deusen,
Field Artillery, Fort Logan. Colonel Ed
win P. Andrus, cavalry, Fort Slocum;
Colonel George A. Dodd Twelfth Cav
airy, Columbus Barracks; Colonel Will
liam Pitcher, Twenty-seventh Infantry,
Fort Mcdowell; Colonel Thomas F.
Davis, Eighteenth Infantry, Jefferson
Barracks.
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