The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-09-27
President Issues Statement On
She Political Situation.
DENIES BEING 0vERsANGuINE
Makes Public Carefully Prepared In
teryiew Giving Reason For BeIiev.
ing He Will Be Reelected.

New York, Sept. 25.-President Taft
In prepared interview declared that
his recent claims of strength were en-
titled to respect. He repeated that he
believed he would be elected and gave
his reasons for denying that he had
been overSanguine. He analysed the
political situation as he saw it, main.
tanning that the regular Republicans
would carry the solid East and hold
enough of the Central and Western
states to win.
The president made these state
ments at the home Of his brother,
Henry w. taft, where he went on his
arrival from Washington and received
number Of his friends and political
associates. The presidents interview
follows:
when declared a few weeks ago
that felt reasonably sure of my own
election in November and the success
of the Republican party | was regard
ed by some as entirely oversanguine
and unaware Of the situation. Today,
however, after a number of indica-
tons that the Republican party is
still the dominant party and that the
expected growth Of Democratic
strength has failed to materialize, my
early declaration is shown to be en-.
titled to respect.
THE Republicans necessarily will
have reduced majority over 1908 be.
cause of the presence of three tickets
IN the field. but the Democratic party
WIFI suffer also. The combined strength
Of the third term party will not be
enough TO change the ultimate result.
Middle West DebatabIe Ground.
"Five or six weeks ago 1 asserted
that the Republican party would Sc.
cure the vote of the solid East, in
Guiding all of the New England states,
with the exception of Maine and ver-
mont; that the Democratic party
would secure the solid West. leaving
only the Middle West as debatabls
ground -E
To-day, with the election still one
month away, the Republican party
finds itself with strengthened hold
on the solid East. having routed the
third term party In Vermont and the
Democratic party in Maine. ... g.
"The third term leaders recently
conceded that we would pick the state
of Utah out of the solid West and,
after comforting with Chairman Hilles
and others recently in the West, there
is every reason to believe that the Re-
publican party will carry Michigan,
Washington, Idaho and Wyoming.
Moreover. II the proper kind of a
campaign is waged, we will carry Ore
gon, Kansas and Minnesota, where the
third term party strength has rapidly
waned since the recent tour through
that section by the party's candidate.
ut is scarcely necessary for me to
point to the necessity of re-establish-
ing a Republican majority in the
house Of representatives. II this is
done I feel confident that will be
able to have placed on the statute
books the workingmen's compensation
which / urged upon the last session,
but which was sent to oblivion by the
Democratic house.
eff the country will give the Re-
publican party complete victory in
its congressional, as we'll as it's presi-
Dental ticket, proper tariff revision
will be speedily effected, with knowl
edge of the facts as collected by a
tariff commission, which will harm
no one and remove its present de-