The Penn's Grove record., 1911-06-09
is alive" was the reJoinder OF my
ipcurOopf friopd

is alive" was the reJoinder OF my
insurgent friend.
Somewhat dazed, because l 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-" sale
my friend contemptuously, his name
won't be mentioned in the conven
tion."
That is the way it goes today In
Washington. Few, If any, of the he
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. Inc
sentiment on the Republican side OF
both house and senate is that 1t Is
Taft by default in the convention, and
Taft in defeat at the election.
People for Wilson.
On the Democratic side 1t is still
Champ Clark, Judson Harmon and
Woodrow Wilson about whom the
fires of controversy burn most fierce
ly. In the country as a whole. GOV.
Wilson is at this moment undoubted-
ly the leading aspirant. That Is not
the case in Washington, however. par
ticularly not the case about the cap
itol. A very shrewd senator, wholly
uncommitted to any candidate, aid
to me the other day: "You will find
that Wilson will be the popular candi-
date. His newspaper campaign has
been admirably managed, and in his
tours he has made a multitude OF
friends. In meeting people he is ge-
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 n who
knows politics and is used to handling
men, than n who knows Greek n
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 1t ID
to be remembered that eve months
ago Harmon had everything and Will
son nothing. Moreover, the Ohio gov.
errors p~reoccupation with affairs in
his own state has resulted in the COM
plete abandonment Of any national &C
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. 1t is hardly remem-
bered now that "Joe" Folk won the
bLdlG b GuuOl SSl1SAI lOA tAO PAOoi-
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-
ton by direct primaries is n Of the
pet popular issues such action would
be disastrous. st 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
sional record a dismal publica-
ton given owe 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 ~particolored comic week
lies chiefly seen in barber shops, but
there are many who prefer its humor
to that of London Punch. A really
talented editor of a comic supple
ment" could do great things with the
humorous material in its columns.
Here for example comes Hon. ].
Hefin, of Alabama, to talk about the
farmers free list bill. One might as
well expect to find humor In a Calvin
istic 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 ini-
mitable darkey dialect to fully appre-
ciate 1t:
THE farmer feels your tariff bless
ings about like the old negro did the
possum. Old Rastus went out one
night and caught a big fat possum.
He cleaned him good and put the
oven on a 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 a little while and
I'm gwine to dream erbout eatin' dis
possum, and den I'm gwine ter eat
i'm shore enuf, and I'll enjoy i'm
twice So old Rastus fell asleep.
Sambo came along and smelt the
possum cooking. He looked in and
saw old Rastus sound asleep. He lift
ed the oven lid and took the possum
out. He was baked brown, smoking
and smelling good. Old Sambo ate
him. He took some of the grease and
smeared 1t on the mustache of old
Rastus and put a little on his chin,
a little on his hands, and piled the
bones down beside Rastus' head. and
departed. Rastus awoke. and said:
Sholy / amt eat dat possum. Sholy
l amt eat i'm. But heah's grease on
my lips, and on my hands, and heah's
de bones lynn by me. Then, press
ing his hand gently against his stom-
- Hrc = 81 ~