The Washington times., 1912-02-14
ANTETAFT MEN
/ WILL FIGHT TO
h RESCUE c. 0. P.
Col. Roosevelt's Columbus
Speech to Be Foreword in
Struggle for Control.
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(Contihued from First Page)
as he 0orimer) was elected. The tie
up OF these four factors in the Fedora
machine of Illinois is well understood.
A PhOney Convention.
a few days ago the Lincoln Protective
League held pl1oney convention" al
Springfield and indorsed Taft for Presi.
dent, Small fOr governor and Cullom
Tor Senator. The Lincoln Protective
League-save the mark lis the latest
lsorirner organization in that State. II
Is ont to save the institutions o. rcpre.
sentative government" which Lorin,er
fears are n'enaced by the new pro-
gressive ideas of popular election of
SENATORS, popular primaries, initiative
and referendum. and the like. In short,
II Is the voice of Lorimer-and 1t in
dorsed Taft for President!
About the same time, TAFT made
MCKINLEY manager of his campaign,
Then the Lorimer bribery inquiry was
stalled off by the pro-Lorimer and pro-
administration members of the investi-
eating committee, 70 that no Senatorial
action IN II can possibly be taken TIL
held. 80 ''+ l'' ''"'e "ee'i
The skein unravels; the tangled
threads may be traced out. The Aid
iich-Csrnon crowd has obtained con-
troll of the Taft campaign nationally
The Cannon-Mc Kinley-L -Lorirner crowl
has pledged itself to Taft in Illinois.
The Iorimer-Lincoln Protective League,
just to make the thing palmer, in
Illinois, Len is thick-and-tnin I orl
iner supporter.
Small represents the worst Illinois
elements: Nominated and elected, he
would be Lorimer's governor. His whole
power would be used to obtain the re-
eleotion OF T.orimer, provided Lorlmer
should be unseated. 49,. -.
The Other Candidates.
Tho other candidates are Deneen. the
m.d-roader; McGiiI, an uninlportant
figure; and Jones, the outspoken PRO-
Ercssive. Small is the candidate of
l4orimer: and the same Lorimer "eon-
vertlon" that indorEed Small also in
dorsed Taft!
So much for Illinois. whose local con-
dItions make 1t possible to give rather a
more detailed view of these relation
ships.
In Indiana the old Hemenway-w WAT
SON Kealing- Fairbanks organization is
looking out for Taft. True, that or
sanitation was opposed to him four
years ago, when Taft was supposed to
he a progressive. 1t knows better now
and Is for him.
Pennsylvania machine. albeit rather
rlckety since the late Philadelphia cleo
tlon., is hpstling to the same end. IT
wants Taft: Taft is Penrose's man
Crane is managing the Taft fight in
New England, Scott in West Virginia,
the officeholders in the Southern States.
Smoot has pledged Utah, and nobody
doubts that he will deliver It, Warren
Will bring Wyoming into line, If he can.
The old and battered Southern Pacific
eutfit In California Is trying to save
something for Taft in that State. The
ancient Organization of railroads and
Bourbonism that Cummins retired from
circulation in Iowa Is trying to galvan-
ize itself back into life and seize two
or three districts for Taft.
= Roll Call of Interests.
In short, summary of leaderships in
the Taft nomination campaign reads
like a roll call of the interests and
statesmen that backed AldrIch when he
fought the railroad legislation: that
supported him when he fought Roose-
Welt policies first and last that helped
him force the fatal tariff bill into the
statutes; that bound themselves to-
gether in tho fight for control OF the
party four years ago, and that won
when they thought they had lost!
There might be some possibility of
Taft giving quarter to the progressives,
at least, treating them with the honors
of war, II he were going to run this
campaign that reactionism is making for
restoration of its control. But progress
siVes have no uncertainties about the
portion that will be meted to them
under the rule OF Cannon, Aldrich. Lori
mer, and Mckinley. They are to be put
down with the mailed first. If Taft
can be nominated he is to be elected by
the utmost employment of the powers
that these man know how to organize,
and II elected, his Administration from
1912 to 1917 will be completely in the
hands of the forces that brought about
the nomination and election.
To Prevent Disaster.
Hitter, relentless, vengeful, Cannon
will be the Speaker of the power behind
the Speaker in a House elected with a
j Taft Presidential ticket. That is the
thing which progressives are coming to
understand. They see their finish. and,
seeing II, they arc preparing for such a
fight as they have never made before,
to prevent such disaster to themselves
and their movement.
RooSeTelt's Columbus speech, now
awaited with intense interest because il
is known to be the foreword, the plat
: form and the pledge of the Roosevelt
campaign for delegates, will be the sig
nal for the opening of the fight. 1t will
be a platform on which all the progress
sives can stand, and II is already as
sured that practically every progressive
port to the fight which will instantly
be opened, and that will not end till
the nominating ballot has been cast in
the national convention. The progress
sive movement is fighting for it's life,
and feels that it is also fighting for the
life of the Republican party.