The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1912-10-21
ROOSEVELT FAILED TO GAIN
VOTES FOR HIMSELF IN
WESTERN sTATE2
TAFT Sentiment INCREASING
Weakness Of Third Term Candidate
Has been Emphasized by His Tour,
While Favorable Feeling Toward
Taft Manifested Everywhere.

ent of the Chicago Inter Ocean, has
just completed two weeks tour Of
the Pacific coast and western states
with ]. Adam Bede, former congress
man from Minnesota, and John M.
Harlan of Chicago. These speakers
were sent out by the national Repub-
lican committee to trail Colonel Roose-
welt in his tour of the west. The Taft
meetings were held on the nights fol-
lowing the Bull Moose rallies. Mr..
Schuette was commissioned to make a
critical study of political conditions
and report the facts as he found them.
BY OSWALD F. scHUETTE.
The Roosevelt sentiment in the
states west of the Mississippi river is
waning fast. The Taft strength is
growing, although weakness in the or
ganization in many states has pre-
vented the Republicans from taking
full advantage Of the situation. The
Wilson forces are still confident Of
victory, but the fading of the Roose-
welt strength has turned the brunt OF
the fight against the Democrats, and
fear of free trade and Democratic
hard times is turning the tide to Presi-
dent Taft.
This is the present situation, as
viewed from careful personal inves-
tigation of the political conditions that
prevail in the wake of Theodore Roose-
velt's tour of the west. 1t can be sum-
med up also in another sentence.
Roosevelt has scarcely won a vote at
any point ON his trip. He has had
large audiences, but none of them has
been as large as he had on either
of his last two trips through these
states. Compared to last springs pri-
mary campaign. or his tours of othe-
years, the meetings have been dds
heartening in their cooIness This a,
counts for the reports OF angry int
ludes that have beenAfrequent accom-
spaniments of his speeches. This re-.
resents a great change in the 81
uation since the middle of August.
F, Gained No Converts.
What cheering and applause h:
greeted the colonel on his presen
tour has come from men already c M
mitted to his cause. In no city visit
ed on his course has there been a. re-
port of new converts. gained. In al
most every instance the reports were
unanimous that he had hurt himself
and his cause either by his dictatorial
manner toward his audiences, his
angry treatment of the men around
him and the hosts who tried to show
him hospitality, his theatrical stage
tricks, or bis kaleidoscope changes Of
opinion concerning the issues.
Weakness Of Roosevelt Emphasized.
!. The weakness of the Roosevelt
cause was emphasized by the meet
ings which greeted John Maynard Ha--
Ian and ]. Adam Bede, who are still
on the colonels trail. At each stop
they made they were told by Repub-
licans that the Roosevelt meetings had
been anything but the rousing. sue
cesses they had been expected. and
the colonel's visit had not won him
a vote
1t was the same story throughout, the
trip-in Idaho, Oregon. Utah, Nevada,
California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colo
RADIO and Nebraska. Everywhere tn
Roosevelt leaders appeared disgrunt-
led, the Taft leaders were jubilant and
the Wilson forces fearful of the fact
that the campaign was turning against
their own candidate.