The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-06-17
No One Knows Who Will Be
Nominated in the Opinion
of the Famous Political
Authority.
BOTH SIDES HOPEFUL
BY SAMUEL G. BLYTHE.


ton in Chicago, the one fact about
which the whole convention revolves,
il very simple truth. This is IL: No
man in this city, nor any man of this
hemisphere, or the other one knows,
absolutely. who will be nominated for
president by the convention that meets
next Tuesday.
Many; men say that they know
many men claim to know; but no man
Erows, for every claim put out is foun-
ded, not on fact, but on hope. Stripped
down to the bone, this is the condition
that exists: The Roosevelt managers
are certain they have secured some of
the Taft delegates, but they are unCer-
tain how many delegates the Taft
managers have secured The Taft
managers are in the same case. Each
each side secretly is scared stiff. The
but TO obtain them.
Taft Men Show Their Fears.
The Taft men say they have from
G55 to sos delegates no arguments or
inducements can take away from them.
Then they show their fears by assert
ing that if Roosevelt men do get any
Taft delegates they have pledged
Roosevelt delegates who are ready to
desert Roosevelt and come over to fill
the vacancies. The Roosevelt men talk
impressively of a certain number of
delegates counted for Taft on the rock
bottom, inside Taft list, who will vote
for Roosevelt on all ballots, but they
wonder if all their own men are tried
and true.
Thus the struggle has developed
from an ordinary political manipula-
ton to a question based on the mental
and moral stamina of a definite num-
Der of men. 1t isn't politics that over
shadows. 1t is the personal equation.
What will these men do when they
come to the doing time?
Will The Taft Men Hold Firm?
VIII the Taft men, bound by no 9TH
er ties other than loose party strands,
hold firm, or will they give in to the
arguments of the Roosevelt men that
the only way to win is 20 name Roose-
welt? The person who can, answer
that question can tell who will be
nominated, but that person hasn't ap-
peared in Chicago yet. The answering
of it involves the solution of some l,
o70 separate, individual psychological
problems, and most of the psycholo-
gists around the various headquarters
are rank amateurs.
Even the injection of one Bull Moose
into the situation this afternoon did
not change the aspect of affairs, ex-
cept to make the result more indeter-
inmate. Col. Roosevelt arrived and the
Clamor was tremendous, but the poll
ticians kept on working steadily and
the delegates remained mystery.
Something may break before Tues
day that will settle the fight in one of
the three ways it can be settled
with Taft, with Roosevelt, or third
nan-but nothing has broken yet, and
not many cracks are apparent.
Each Side Has Hopes ApIenty.
Neither side is sure. Each side has
ropes aplenty, but each side, also. has
supply of fears that hang around per
sistently as the negro brethren and are
Of the same color.
Naturally, each side has a plan of
campaign aside from the minor strate
gic details that always go with nation
al nominations. The plan of the Taft
men is broad and comprehensive The
Taft men are using Taft as candidate
merely because he is the only man
who fits in with their purpose Beyond
Il few personal retainers no Taft man
is sincerely. loyalty, last ditchedly for
Taft. In this game they would be for
Smith or Johnson or anybody else, II
Smith or Johnson or anybody else was
The person with whom TO operate.
The persons the Taft men are for
are themselves. The person they are
s gainst is Roosevelt. AS has been said,
they are not pro-Taft, but are anti
Roosevelt. Taft, is their available in
strument for obtaining their end. So
they are trying to nominate Taft.
Taft Leaders For Themselves.
The apparent Taft leaders have not
even party loyalty for Taft They do
not care whether Taft is president
again or not, except so far as their in
dividual political fortunes are concern
eli. Taft is handy in this contingency
and they are using him. Their plan is
this: They are convinced the Repub-
lican party is in for beating this fall
with Taft as a leader, and they have
already taken their losses, TO use a
Wall street phrase, and are looking
ahead to 1916.
They think that by naming Taft and
defeating Roosevelt they can force a
bolt and thus purge the party of what
they call, populism, and what Roose-
welt men call progressiveism. Thus.
with this element out, they retain con-
troll of the old machinery. and go
ahead and try TO build up something
for 1916 It is purely selfish, old time
Political program. being played by en-
tIrely selfish. old line politicians.
Hope to Force Roosevelt Bolt.
They know with Roosevelt they lose
everything, even If Roosevelt shall be
nominated and defeated
They contend if Roosevelt is not
nominated and they can force him to
bolt, he will take with him the ele-
E7ents Of the party opposed 10 their
views and policies. and leave them TO
gather up the wreckage and make an
ether machine out of the scraps They
realize the game ts desperate, but SO