The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

From the Charleston Post.
 The candidacy of Representative Under- wood of Alabama for the democratic nom- nation for the presidency, has asumed a reality that 1t did not seem it would reach when first the suggestion was made that the southerner be put forward for leader ship of the party. The Underwood vic- tory in Georgia, in a hard fought battle with the well organized Wilson forces, and also in Florida, against a strongly supported Wilson candidacy, to which MT. Bryan lent his strength, has given substance and stability to the Alabama mans presidential prospect The chief weakness of the Underwood candidacy thus far has been the belief that it was only sentimental. The south, in which his strength would naturally lie. has been disposed to believe that a southern man could not be nominated, and that, If he were nominated, he could not be elected. The south is more obsessed with the idea that prejudice against southern man is fatal to such a candidacy before the na- date of the right sort would probably lose surprisingly small percentage of north ern support because of sectional consider ation. There is every reason to believe for example, that Underwood, with his sound principles of government, his rec ord of constructive statesmanship in the handling of the tariff question. and his broad view of business conditions, would carry New York state and have the sup rnr rf nf fba so1o ment of the east generally, against Roosevelt, with all his crazy ideas of ab- solute government.
 If the republican party is captured by Roosevelt, contingency that is still re- mote, despite the terrific onslaughts the colonel has made upon the Taft citadel, the democrats could scarcely hope to match the enemy in the field of radical ism, except, perhaps, with Bryan, and the business element of the country would probably prefer to take it's chances with an absolutist like Roosevelt, trusting to win his favors after the manner the Morgan interests" won them, than with stubborn idealist like Bryan-and, in consideration of availability only, they should seriously turn to the issue of con stitutionalism and the fundamentals of the government as the paramount issue of the campaign, leaving the refinements of administrative policy to future con- tention. The republicans shifted the whole ground of their campaign in 1S96 almost overnight, from the tariff to the curerncy issue, as soon as it appeared that the democrats were making straight for the free silver fallaey, and they brought the business element of the coun- try solidly to their support and won the election on that issue. The democrats could do the same thing in the face of a Roosevelt candidacy, representing Caes- arism and the overthrow of constitutional government. But they would have to do it under a conservative leadership. Un- derwood would give such leadership. He might have the opposition of Bryan though it is questionable if Bryan would bolt the nomination of any democrat-but a large proportion of the Bryan following would vote for Roosevelt in the radical states, anyway, against any candidate other than Bryan himself, and the con- servative gains that would be made from the republican ranks would probably more than offset this loss, and they would be made chiefly in the states which have large electoral votes.
 The Wilson candidacy has sagged wo- fully, and it's sagging is doubtless due in large measure to the overshadowing radicalism of Roosevelt and the feeling that the colonel is the first and foremost in that department and none others need be considered as competitors. The Roose- welt candidacy has confused the whole political situation and new combinations must be considered by the democrats as we'll as by the republicans. and one of these is a strictly conservative candida cy, in which development lies the possi- blity of Oscar Underwood.
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