Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1911-06-09
Is alive" was the rejoinder OF my
n c,,r0on4 friend

Somewhat dazed, because I thought
that in the general Republican drift
away from Roosevelt the insurgents
at least were still loyal. asked some
thing about LaFollette
"Oh, if he keeps on the way be has
been acting IN this congress" said
my friend contemptuously, his name
won't be mentioned in the conVen-
ton"
That is the way it goes today IN
Washington. Few, if any, Of the Re
publicans want Taft again, but the
insurgents, who alone could raise the
colors about which the anti-Taft forces
might rally, are split into hostile
camps, incapable Of harmony. The
sentiment on the Republican side OF
both house and senate is that it is
Taft by default in the convention, and
Taft in defeat at the election.
People for Wilson.
On the Democratic side it is still
Champ Clark, Judson Harmon and
Woodrow Wilson about whom the
fires Of controversy burn most fierce
ly. In the country as whole, Gov.
Wilson is at this moment undoubted-
ly the leading aspirant, That is not
the case in Washington, however, par
t1cularly not the case about the cap
itol. A very shrewd senator, wholly
uncommitted to any candidate, said
to me the other day: you will find
hof ~ {1,@ lor nd
date. His newspaper campaign has
been admirably managed, and in his
tours be has made a multitude of
friends. In meeting people he is &C.
NAL without being ELUSIVE and tact
full without appearing to be over eau
tious But he will not be the candi-
date of the politicians, the men who
make up conventions and elect dele
gates. Wilson Is too new, too untried
for this political element. Believing
victory assured with any good candi-
date, they would rather have one who
knows politics and is used to handling
men, than one who knows Greek and
has spent his life handling school
boys. Among this class you will find
Uncle Jud Harmon the favorite.'
This is a fair statement of the case
today. Among senators and represen-
tatives Harmon is far in the lead.
This is not to say that Governor Will,
son has not made great gains and
Harmon suffered some losses, but it is
to be remembered that seven months
ago Harmon had everything and Will
son nothing. Moreover, the Ohio gov
errors preOccupation with affairs in
his own state has resulted In the COM
plete abandonment Of any national ac-
tivities in his behalf Doubtless this
will be corrected, but it has already
hurt.
AS for Champ Clark, the third of
the chief Democratic candidates, there
is apprehension that the curious sit
uation in his own state may defeat
his aspirations. It is hardly remem-
bered now that "Joe" Folk won the
states endorsement for the presi-
dency both in the popular primaries
and in the state convention. For Clark
to have the Missouri delegation would
necessitate repudiating the action of
the state convention and ignoring the
will of the people as expressed in the
primaries In this day when nomina-
tion by direct primaries is one of the
pet popular issues such action would
be disastrous 1T would make Mis-
souri, a Republican state in the next
presidential election" said a Demo
cratic representative and a friend of
Clark's whose district borders on the
Missouri line.
Fun in Congressional Record.
They who think the congress
SIGNAL record a dismal publica-
ton given over to partisan poll
tics and personal squabbles do that
interesting publication a grave injus-
tice. 1t may not be quite as viva
cious as the parti-colored comic week
lies chiefly seen in barber shops, but
there are many who prefer it's humor
talented editor Of comic supple
ment" could do great things with the
humorous material in its columns.
Here for example comes Hon j.
Hefin, Of Alabama, to talk about the
farmers free list bill One might as
well expect to find humor in a Calvin
lst1c sermon. But reproaching the
Republicans for their boasts of what
they have done for the farmer, Mr..
Hef1in contributes this anecdote-you
have to hear tom" tell it in his mi
mitable darkey dialect to fully appre-
ciate it:
The farmer feels your tariff bless
ings about like the old negro did the
possum. Old Rastus went out one
night and caught big fat possum
He cleaned him good and put the
oven on bed of rosy Goals And he
laid the possum in the oven and put
some yam potatoes around him and
some butter and pepper and salt
Then old Rastus said: I'm gwine
ter lay down here little while and
I'm gwine to dream erbout eatin' dis
possum, and den I'm gwine ter eat