The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-05-23

Continued from Page one.l
Taft and the nomination of Colonel
Roosevelt. If these presidential primar-
les are a fair barometer then it would
be reasonable to assert that the party
as a whole is almost equally divided
with respect to the candidacy of these
two.
The Real Reason.
That explanation, however is not ac-
cepted by politicians here as good
one After making allowance for the
fact that it always is the case that
considerable number of Republicans dc
not attend the caucuSes or primaries
there still remains very large Re
publican vote to be accounted for. II
is apparently silent vote, thinking
vote. 1t is not assumed here that Re
publicanss are Indifferent to the presi
Dental nomination, but it is believed
that good many Republicans nave
found that their allegiance is now very
slight. That, however, is believed tc
be equally true of the Democratic
party Whatever the explanation, the
momentous fact remains that the presi-
Dental primaries held in the name OF
the Republican party were neglected by
probably not less than six million Re
publican voters. These figures furnish
the unknown factor of the presidential
politics which is now under way. They
do seem to justify the belief that IL
is the silent, the undemonstrative vote
which is to decide not SO much the
presidential nomination as the issue
upon election day in November next.
Some of the politicians incline 20
the opinion that i, Republicans can
not be brought out on presidential pri-
mary day to any greater extent than
thew have been in the presidential poll
ties of this spring the question natur-
ally arises. Has there been any real
public demand for thi method OF ex-
pressing the wish of the public? Does
IT or does it not show that the people
are really tired of the domination of
the party organization or machine?
The Use of Money.
The politicians regard it as having
been demonstrated that this method OF
expressing the Will of the members of
the party respecting the nomination
of candidates for office involves much
greater expense than did the method
that has been criticised as that of the
bosses The aggregate expenditure en-
tailed by the politics which entered IN
the presidential primaries of both par
ties this spring rust reach a very
large sum- In this state we already
know that the presidential primaries
of New York City cost for one side
nearly fifty thousand dollars and for
the other side about ten thousand dol
lars or sixty thousand dollars in all
New York C:ty's primaries furnishes
a fair estimate for a judgment OF the
total expenses of presidential primaries
the United States, then the
amount will, when the primaries are
very Hell exceed. and
grea tly exceed. even tbs expenses en-
tailed by Mark Hanna. when he was
directing the politics which had the
first nomination of William McKin- |
le- for president view.
1t is sometimes said that the greater
the expenditure at the primaries, the |
less the need for expenditure for car |
rying on a campaign. But it is also |
said that while this DAY be true of |
states which ar Overwhelmingly Dem |
ocratic or Republican, 1t cannot be |
true of close state.
The Rich Mems Campaign.
While as. yet there is no Identified |
ton of men who possess very great |
wealth with the agitation now under |
way in favor of Taft's nomination. and |
while it is known that very little mon
ey has been secured in Wall Street for |
the expenses of the Taft campaign, !
yet several men o great wealth are /
identified with the Roosevelt campaign. |
There is a little group in Chicago |
which is understood to have subscribed |
literally for the Roosevelt campaign
fund The official statement made Dy
the state authorities of the individual
expenditures for the Roosevelt pri-
maries of New York City, show that
George w. Perkins, Frank A. AIunsey
and A S. Cochran, contributed each
fifteen thousand dollars. Although the
common estimate of the wealth of Mr..
Perkins. would. if true. make him the
leader of this group yet it is the I'M
lersta nding of those who should know
that Mr.. Munsey is not only she'