The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-04-05
TEDDY" AND bob"
TO FIGHT IT OUT
La Toilette Boom Takes on New
Life - Senator WhaOks
Former President Hard.
BY Ernest @. walker.

1
of soft shell Progressives and reaction
aries Colonel Roosevelt, do you hear
that's Fighting Bob, who had ner.,
vous breakdown at a Philadelphia ban
quet three, or four, or five weeks ago,
is back in Washington. He has North
Dakota laurel over his pompadour.
"Fighting Bob" will not tarry long
at Washington with legislative tasks.
Away to the country with the presi-
Dental bannerl He will travel by fast
express to Massachusetts,, sound in New
England the slogan against soft shells
and reactionaries, and keep afield till
the last delegate is chosen. And the
colonel has also gone afeld, has already
chit OUT at Taft in New York, voy-
aged into Yankee land where the Maine
men dwell, and will soon be heading
westward for that section of the coun.
try where political thought is not
trammeled by hoary traditions and con-
sentative tendencies. And ont on the
western circuit those two-the Wiscon-
sin hardsholl and the New York soft
shell-will grunt and sweat in deadly
combat for delegates.
Taft Goes Down.
Meanwhile please notice that Presi-
dent Taft is slowing down, Although
campaign worries have not departed
the President finds contentment in thu
bulletins that are brought him at the
White House, in the words that dutifnl
Republicans speak as they call. and in
the newspaper comments of the hour.
Go it softshell, go it hardshell. what
does the President earei A trlfe, per-
hars, because both are destroyers They
, tried to beat him for the nomination,
,, apparently have failed ipgloriously, but
in fighting right on for principle, as
they claim, are quite plainly anticipat,
ing, aiding and abetting Democratic eff
forts to beat the President next No
vember. Thus these two eminent Re
publicans, soon to strive to set the
western country afame for modern In
surgency and the Progressive cause, are
cooperating in that one respect.
f North Dakota has given the La Fol
lette boom lots of stiffening. From a
moribund proposition at Washington, it
i springs overnight into interest. Those
g dormant headquarters in the Evans
!. building throw the doors wide open
once again, start the Monograph ma.
> chimes, and vie with Mckinley head.
quarters and Dixon headquarters. Tele
t grams and letters of "hearty congrat
L ulations upon your splendid victory il
X North Dakota" roll in voluminously
/ The ready bulletin writers hurry with
:. the output for the evening press and
with another output for the morning
press. They slam away at Taft and
they throw ink and paper at Roosevelt
once President of the United States
A and once probably the most popular
- man in the world.
Fine Old shindy.
. 1t makes fine shindy. Plenty Of
!. spice for the reporters; quips and jests
for the photographers; daily topic fol
the editorial writers. All in all Wash
lington likes it. But there are many
d who take a second thought ON the as
o pect of things and grieve. Colone
/. Roosevelt has many friends, who ad
- mired him for his substantial achieve
ments and whose admiration did no
depend particularly upon the sunshin,
! of his impetuous and changeful favor
They grieve to behold such an eminen
one, descending by the toboggan. A
4 great civic influence, which he nigh
have welded for years as our first pri
yate citizen, is being impaired. Whethe
he be fighting for principle or feedin,
fat grudge, the swift passage of al
r ex-President down the shute is just a
. regrettable.
: Washington men do not see how tn
trend of the nomination campaign i
2 now likely to change. After New Yorl
. believe the Republican campaign vii
1pa nd fn
mand attention, save in the tempest
! nous West. While Roosevelt and Il
Toilette clutch saydg"ly at each othe
A on the western hastings and devot
: spare moments to President Taft, tn
Z East will seemingly go about its owl
) business or turn out to watch the Demo
1 cratic candidates fight to finish.
4 Fight Not Yet Won.
Not that the President will have wo
. his fight altogether after New Yorl
. and Indiana have voted for him, a
!. they are confidently expected to do b.
=, Tuesday night. According to the est
: mates he will then have about rs
4 delegates, approximately half of all h
actually needs for denomination. Blu
? there is to be a bushwhacking cam
paign for weeks yet. The Taft man
. pushing the contest for more delegate
> and guarding against surprises. The
: will have to go through fight in som
; New England states, in Pennsylvania
8 New Jersey, West Virginia and tn
I middle West
D Illinois and Missouri have large dele
, cations. Colonel Roosevelt is going t
4 Chicago and st. Louis, which mean
7 that he proposes to carry the warfar
with all possible vim intp both States
: If the voting during the next ten day
goes strongly against Roosevelt, it wi
be easier for Taft to hold majorit
in Illinois and majority in Missouri
. Those States are not likely to be in
dispensible to the President, but the
are none the less important. The Sout
, and East can renominate the Presiden
but the middle West is very essentia
. | to his prestiQe in the convention Iarp