The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1912-05-03
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Gem
eral Topics from
the Capital.
Especial Correspondence to the Citizen.l
Washington, April 30, 1912.

I the nation, who went down on the steam
ship Titanic and the news columns of all
the papers are filled with nothing else.
The only person that | knew on that
fated ship was Major Archibald w.
Butt, the personal aide of the President
OF the United States. | have known
"Archie" Butt, as every body called him
who knew him and loved him, for over
fifteen years. He was a contemporary
OF mine in the Congressional press gal
leries for more than FIVE years until he
entered the military service as a Lieu
tenant and 0uartermaster General. He
not only made good in Cuba but also in
the Philippines, when he was called to
Washington, and on account of a mag
nifcent article that he wrote. President
/ Roosevelt admired it so much that he
made its author his military aide,
where he has been ever since. All that
| want to say is, thar all OF the beautiful
things that have been said and written
| about Archie" Butt, has been beauti-
fully deserved for there never lived a
man who was more generous, or kindly.
or chivalrous, or gentle, than Archie
Butt. He lived gentleman and died a
| hero.
The political situation from Presiden-
tial standpoint is certainly becoming
| acute. The latest phase of the situation
from Republican standpoint, is the
attitude OF Mr.. Roosevelt. His remarks
on the stump lately have become very
significant The other day he said, Il
think that we are going to win the fight
this year; but il we do not, we are in
| for three years OF the war"
Now, then, that means something to
| the Democrats OF this country and | want
TO tell them about IT. AT the present
writing, Mr. Roosevelt is engaged in a
! fight for the Republican nomination in
! Chicago. If he wins that, it will be
upon platform embodying the new pol
| icies that he is now advocating. He
could not afford to stand upon any other
kind OF a platform.
After the Chicago Convention will
| come the fight against the common en-
envy, which is the Democratic party.
| II nominated at the Republican National
| Convention in Chicago. Mr.. Roosevelt
must then try his fortunes with the cleo
| torate, not as au old-tashoned but as
a new fashioned Republican, and also
| as an assailant of the third term tradi-
| ton.
If Mr.. Roosevelt loses at Chicago, and
! MIR. Taft or another is nominated on a
| platform which does not embrace RooSe-
veltsm, will Mr. Roosevelt support the
| ticket or will the war go OH? Will he try,
either by inertia or by activity to defeat
| the ticket? That is the problem that
conIronts the Republican party today.
| They do not know what he is going to
do, and therefore, they cannot tell what
| the Republican party IS going 10 do in
! this year OF grace. The Republican
party. is really, and in fact, between the
| devil and the deep sea. If it does not
accept Roosevelt at the Chicago Con-
ventiun, he will defeat the candidate
If it does accept him. he is a defeated
man, for the simple reason that there are
| ,, DOC, 900 voters in this country i'll the
| Republican party who will vote against a
| third term candidate. That means a
| Democratic President, no matter who is
nominated at Baltimore.
| SO far as the Democratic Presidential
| politics are concerned, the shrewd POI
| litical guessers in the National Capital
all agree that they are really astonished
| at the success of the Honorable Champ
| Clark. They are basing this expression
OF astonishment upon the fact, as every
! body knows. that Governor Harmon and
/ Governor Wilson were really candidates
away last summer and that their press
! bureaus got busy last fall and were
! sending ont bushels of publicity
notices in the interest Of each of
these gentlemen. What the political
seers cannot understand is why the public
sentiment was not thoroughly crystal
! lied all during the months OF last fall in
the interest of one or the other Of those
candidates. Champ Clark was really
mot candidate, and not single thing
was done ia the interest Of his candidacy
until after the Missouri primaries last
February which were favorable to him,
and he then announced his candidacy,
having said previously that unless his
own State endorsed him he would not
be a candidate for the nomination. The
point that these political prognosticators
and old timers make is that there never
was ANYTHING seen in this country TO COM
pare with the rapidlty with which the
| Clark sentiment clvstalized all over The
country and which has given him the
votes of a number of States in the next
! National Convention and which seems
( to be growing and getting bigger all the
] time nave no means of knowing how
much either of the candidates have
spent in the way OF publicity or their
| expenses, but do know chat the
Champ Clark people have spent less than
anybody else, not only for the reason that
they have not had the time to spend it.
but for the simple reason that they did
not have the money to spend at any
time The politicians have about CON
cuded that the reason that the Champ
Clark sentiment has spread SO widely
and grown so rapidly, is because the
Democrats of this country have about
come TO the conclusion that he would
make the best candidate for President
after he is nominated |, Of course do
not put NV personal opinions against the
opinions of majority of the leaders oil
the Democratic party whom | have come
in contact with aud see almost every day,
and therefore, am inclined to think
that they are correct. There is no ques-
ton in any Democrats mind that any OF
the gentlemen whose names have been
mentioned as candidates before the Bal
timore Convention would make admir-
able Presidents of the United States.
believe that they would make better
Presidents than any Republican upon the
face of the earth il they were elected, but
now then the question arises, Can they
be elected if nominated, and that seems
to be the question that the Democratic
voters of this country are asking them
selves every day, and to me it seems tC
be the answer to the rapidly developing
strength OF the Honorable Champ Clark
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