The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-24
EFFECT OF THE BREACH.

VI lHc hcpuDllcdn party IN lne Scu'
ate appears TO be complete, with raw
edges on either side that arc liable to
make difficult the healing of the sore.
II is an unfortunate year in which
10 have anything of this kind occur.
Next year will be the Presidential
election, If the Republican party goes
into that election divided, the Demo
Gratis will have pretty certain pros
Gratis have been counting on success
even before the Republican split in
the Senate widcncd. And with that
split ripping all the time, and the feel
ing that made it becoming more and
more angry. il will be quite impossi-
bic to rally the party's full strength in
the campaign.
1t is evident that such portion of tho
progressive Republican faction aS can
he controlled by Senator La Toilette
will be absolutely and positively
against Taft from FIRST TO last. This
is all the more anomalous from the
fact that the progressive Senators.
when the tariff revision wa, on. plant
cd themselves squsrely on President
Taft s attitude toward that revision,
demanding that it should he down.
ward as President Taft said il would
be, instead of upward as the Aldrich
faction made it. One would naturally
have supposed. therefore that the pro
grcssive Republicans would have stood
by President Taft more firmly than
would the standpattcrs. But, as IT
turns out. neither tho progressives nor
the Stsndpattcrs arc with Taft, and
Of the two the ipsGrGcni faction -
more cmbittcrcd against HIM than ls
the other faction. This is probably
because President Taft did not active
ly interfere early in the tariff revi.
sion game. and insist that the party
pledge be maintained, and that tho
revision Of the tariff should he down
ward. And then, President Taft signed
the upward revision bill. thus sppar,
entity Stultifyiug his own declarations
in mis- speeches during the campaign
on this question. There is that reason.
therefore. for the progreSsvcs oppos-
ing President Taft The standpatters,
however. have even more reason TO
oppose him than have the progrcsslvcS,
because President Taft has been, so
far as the tariff is concerned, a keen
and severe critic Of the standpat mcth
ods from the first.
still. the President has, as a party
proposition. stood IN with the stand
patters moro than he has with the
and he has boen winning
out, too. until this breach came. II
looked right along as though all Of the
factions would be for Taft next year
for President. without any opposition.
One after the other Of the leaders
on both sides was giving in his adher
eucc 10 President Taft. and declaring
for his denomination. La Toilette was
the conspicuous instance Of progres.
sive Senator, standing out firmly in
positive and active opposition to Pres
ideut Taft.
The stsndpstters 90 to Taft because
there is nowhere else for them to go.
They dread Roosevelt far more than
tbev do Taft. and il looks as though
IL must he either Taft or Roosevelt;
therefore the stsudpatters are for
Taft. The progressives arc Just as
much opposed to Roosevelt as the
6tandpatters are, and consequently
have been rallying around Taft. THIS
breach. however, may make a radical
change in that attitude land II rs GER
tain 10 do so rs far as Senator La
Toilette can make it..
II is 2 curious situation to develop
Iusl before the year of the Presiden-
tial campaign. II is certainty that
the break viii cause the Republican
leaders the greatest anxiety. and I'M
less something is done speedily 10 heal
the breach il is liable to become so
serions as 10 threaten disaster II has
seemed TO us all along incredible that
4 real breach Of this kind should oc
cur. but here il is, and u will be
question Of the deepest partisan soIlci-
lude. and viii call for the highest
qualities Of party leadership. TO bring
the two factions together after this
explosion,