The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-23
ROOSEVELT CANNOT l SCARE DEMOCRATS Abbott Says Confidence Is
 Growing Every Day [ ATTITUDE OF SOUTH
We'll Known Political Writer Says If the South Gets Behind Under wood He Can Eeasily
 Be Nominated

Willis I. Abbott. one of the best known and best informed political writers in the United States, sends the following dispatch from Washington to the Chicago Daily News
 The proclamation of the so-called pro- gressive republicans in behalf of Roose- welt and denuneiation of Taft does not surprise political Washington materially. Neither does it impress seriously the men in power at the capital. It is not a sur prise because nearly every man in pol- tics looked upon the original conference at Chicago which declared for LaFo- lette as a mere skirmsh line for Roose- velt It was thought then that if the participants in the conference were wholly sincere they would have adopted ringing declaration of principles and refrained from selecting a candidate. In- date and now face the country as propo- nents of Roosevelt
 Democratic opinion here is not averse to meeting the Roosevelt challenge. Three months ago men were saying that demo- cratic success in November would be cer- tain unless Roosevelt should be the nomi- nee. Today that sentiment has changed. Democrats from the states west of the Mississippi river are still impressed by the Roosevelt strength. To them he ap- pears as an unconquerable giant. But none of their states ever gives its cleo toral vote to the democratic ticket. Even in the strongest days of Bryanism only .-I. Lat. F..I .A xr<,tA frN.. the states beyond Missouri. Today there is hardly a chance of carrying any of these commonwealths.
 Illinois Fight Center
 Calfornians here say that Governor Wilson could carry their state as against Taft, and nearly every republican repre- sentative from the Pacific slope admits that if Senator Chamberlain shall be put upon the ticket it would be possible to carry Oregon, California and possibly Washington. But the Chamberlain nom nation seems improbable and the fight of the democrats will be centered upon New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Indiana and Illinois. Those are precisely the states in which Roosevelt is weakest. In Hi nois he has a large following. but that state is likely to be lost to the repub- lican party, whoever may be the nomi-
  mer.
 In the other four states he is weaker than Taft, and all of the hullaballoo from the western states does not drown out the general expression of that opinion The conviction seems to be growing among democrats that Colonel Roosevelt not only can be beaten, but that in the pivotal state he is not even as strong as Taft
 Virginia Not for Wilson
 In Richmond the other day I talked other leaders of political opinion in Vr- ginia It is the fixed purpose Of the democrats in that state to send a dele gation to Baltimore instructed for Sen ator Martin. That means, of course, a delegation to trade with. But 1t means smore than that. It signifies that the Virginia delegation which has been claimed by the friends of Wilson. will not be in any sense a Wilson delegation Several of the southern states which have been proclaimed loudly as Wilson states are showing up signs of wavering fin that faith. I found in South Carolina a few days ago that the purpose was to send an uninstructed delegation, not wthstanding the general belief that the state was for Wilson.
 The true situation is that there has come certain neSllancy on the part Ol the men who control delegations to de clare for any candidate thus far in ad- vance. The chance of the proverbial dark horse looms large in the future and po- litical powers do not care to get toe closely tied to any individual.
 Underwood Growing Factor
 Two months ago few people would have looked upon Oscar Underwood as any thing but the recipient of compliment tary vote from his own state. Today every intelligent observer of politics appreciates the fact that Underwood is a candidate to be taken seriously. If the southern states should get behind his candidacy they easily could nominate him. and the democracy of New York would not be at all slow to fall in. Curiously enough, al the present moment the chief objections to Underwood come from the south. The southerners seem to be more afraid oi nominating southern man than the northerners are. and in the talk about the Underwood candidacy you will hear from southern representatives more apprehen- sion of the danger of putting a south ern man on the ticket than from any northern man.