The Washington herald., 1912-05-26
THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

The campaign for the Presidential
nomination is drawing to close. Dele
gates have been chosen in all but four
States, and in only one of these-New
JERSEYS the fight being wsged with
any degree of earnestness.
The Roosevelt victory in Ohio was
the principal event of the week just
ended. As The Washington Herald has
already stated, the result was not unex-
pected. 1t was evident some two weeks
ago that the Roosevelt sentiment in the
State was almost universal, while, upon
=. the other hand, the regard for Mr.. Taft
Sas Of the most lukewarm description.
It hqay be interesting, however, to brief
ly atualyze the conditions which placed
OhioN in the Roosevelt column.
In the first place, it must not be for
gotten that for nearly fifty years Ohio
has enjoyed almost a monopoly of sue
eessfuf cahdidates for the Presidency.
During this long period. it has become
accustomed to the fat things of Official
life, and each President except Taft has
dispensed his favors with especial re-
gard to his own fellow-citizens. Tafts
exception to the rule has had much to
do with the feeling in the State toward
him Taft has been so anxious to es-
cape the criticism of undue partiality
for Ohio that he has failed to do many
things which he might have done.
When, in addition to this, he appointed
Democrats to Cabinet positions the
Ohio politicians felt that the President
was hardly man after their own
hearts. They did not understand his
idea of politics. They had been petted
and spoiled, so to speak, in the past, and
it was a new and unpleasant experience
to find that with an Ohio man in the
White House, Ohio was more or less
ignored 1t is no wonder, then, that
when President Taft sought renomina-
ton many of the most active and
shrewdest politicians n the State were
against him. -
Then Taft's advocacy of reciprocity
alienated the farmers They constitute
very large proportion of the republi-
can voters in Ohio, and their antag-
onism was fatal They would not lis
ten to argument The facts that under
Mr. Taft's administration more money
had been appropriated for agriculture
than under any other President; that
the prices for farm products reached
their highest point under Taft, and that
Roosevelt's present opposition to reci-
procity was an eleventh-hour CONVEX
sion for the sole purpose Of winning
the agricultural classes made no appar-
ent impression upon their minds. There
was also opposition to the President
among the workingmen, even though
he had done much for the laboring men
in the matter of recommending and Sc
curing legislation in their behalf. The
business element of the State, whenever
it expressed an opinion, was favorable
to Taft but for the most part it was
Indifferent A very large percentage
of those who represented the profes-
sional and more intelligent class of
voters regarded the Tsft-Roosevslt con-
troversy with sbhorrsnce and did not
vote at all ..
All these were factors in the result.
and in any event, they would have been
overcome with difficulty. The trouble
was, however, that their importance
was not appreciated in due time. The
President and his managers were 50 GER
tain that his State would sustain him
that they allowed precious days and
weeks to slip by in fatal inaction. When
they -awoke to realization of the true
situation It was too late. Public sen
timent had been erystalIized in Roose-
velts behalf, and IT is always more
difhcult to change public sentiment than
it is to create it The effort was earnest
and thorough, but If was TOO late.
When President Taft entered the State
he had to make an uphill fight. When
Roosevelt began his tour he found con
ditions made easy for him. and his con-
hdent aggressive, and emphatic utter
anees were to the liking of the crowds
which everywhere gathered to meet him.
The die having been cast, so far as
Ohio is concerned, what is now to be
the outcomel
It is no exaggeration to say that five
months ago ninety-nine persons out of
every hundred who took enough inter
est in politics to hazard a prediction
was absolutely certain that Mr.. Taft
would be renominated No other Pres
ident who sought a renominstion had
ever been defeated in his desire-uot