The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-05-08
PROGRESSIVES POLICIES NOT
YET REALIZED BY TAFT BUT
PLATFORM WILL WAKE HIM.
CORPORATE CONTROL THE NUB
President's Preference for Court Reg
ulation Instead of BY Commission
His Handicap Especially Since Some
of Corporation Fleet Talked.
Washington, May S.-The Taft sec


are considerably concern
ed over the spread of progressive SEN
timent in all sections and the growth
of Senator LaFollettes presidential
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 progressive doc
trines, and the Wisconsin senator has
not been on friendly political terms
with the chief executive for some
time. The turning down OF the pro
gressives in the organization of the
senate has widened a breach that be
came quite noticeable when the presi-
dent declined to appoint LaFollette's
man as United States attorney for,the
Wisconsin district
While President Taft mas not an
nounced himself a candidate for re
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 will be rather radical, with spe
cial stress laid upon the need for
wider control and regulation of the
big corporations.
The lawyer-judicial side of the pres
dents character makes him lean to-
wards the regulation of public service
corporations through the machinery of
the courts. The Wisconsin senator,
though a lawyer, is very much in fa-
vor of the permanent commission 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 approval of
many big corporation heads including
James ]. Hill, the northwest railway
king. Theodore n. Vail, president of
the American Telephone & Telegraph
company (the Bell SYSTEM who voiced
this in his annual report, George NJ.
Reynolds, the Chicago banker, Stuyve'
SAINT Fish, and others.
The commission control method OF
solving the CORPORATION problem may
fairly be called a child of the progres
sives. Therefore, to have corporation
men, previously staunch supporters OF
the more conservative republicans
take their stand with the progressive
wing. has made the Taft second term
ers if not the president himself, real
ize the mangitude of the battle before
them.
One of the interesting phases of re
cent events is the promise that Hi
nois, so long playing only minor part
in the national political drama. may
awaken and take the leading role tc
which her population and wealth en-
title her. She has no progressive ol
SNnltltul ItpultllOU W puI IOi " al y
as candidate in opposition to the
president, but one of her younger re
publicans has suddenly shot into the
limelight as a progressive with consid
cradle strength. This is Charles f
Merriam, the defeated candidate fol
mayor of Chicago, and an enthusiastic
LaFollette man.
It has been some time since lilli
nois had a national leader, either il
the republican or democratic ranks
| Uncle Joe Cannon has been the near
est approach to it. Governor Charles
| S. Deneen started out several years
ago to achieve this distinction, but fel
by the wayside. He is a semi-progres
sive. but has pursued a middle-of-th'
road policy hoping and trying to brins
about reform along progressive line'
within the party, and without comm!