Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-21

sentiment The individual is to have
| steadily more weight and more power
| corporations. artificial persons, aggre
| gated individuals. are constantly to lose
| power.
| But the American people are progress
| sive. thoughtfully and deliberately, no
| rashly. impulsively and to radical ex
| tremes: and the politicians problem i:
| to locate that point in radicalism a
| which reaction will assert itself with the
average American, and public sentiment
will abruptly check itself and swing
| backward.
The Winning Presidential Candidate.
The rule of conservatism in radiealism
applies both to issues and to candidates.
Thus it may reasonably be predicted that
in the next presidential election which
ever party calculates most accurately the
particular stage or phase of progressive
ism that represents the American peo-
fple's average opinion and average wish
on the subject: and which occupies this
position and vantage point most quickly
and defends it most vigorously with a
presidential candidate who stands unmis-
takably for this average American senti-
ment without either falling short or
stopping over will win the campaign
of 1916 in so far as the battle is decided
on the issue of progressivism.
Applying this principle, the presidential
candidate. to be successful, must typify
conservative progressivism and suffer a
minimum of handicaps. For instance. If he
stands for a republican-bull moose re-
union he must be neither of the badly
defeated candidates in the recent election.
who in a personal quarrel divided and al
most destroyed the progressive republican
tparty. He must be neither too radical
for the moderate conservatives, nor too
conservative for the moderate radicals
He must be embarrassed neither by the
popular prejudice against reactionary or
anarchlstic tendencies, nor by popular
hostility to a third presidential term.
Though neither Taft nor Roosevelt. he
must receive the support of both of them.
or at least of a large percentage of the
millions of followers of each in the 1912
campaign.
| An unhandicapped and therefore sue
| cesSful democratic candidate must have
the support of both the Bryan and anti
Bryan camps. He must be neither reac-
| tionary nor anarchistic. Without Bryan 9
| financial heresies and his radical doc
trines concerning government ownership
of public utilities he must command the
hearty Bryanite support
This practical application of New Zea-
| land hints to American politics seems
with unparalleled presumption to bar the
future presidential candidates. of Taft,
Roosevelt and Bryan.
According to the political horoscope
| thus cast, Taft is not again to be Presi-
| dent. but if he lives until his party re-
| gains power he is to be a justice of the
| Supreme Court of the United States
| where his great judicial ability will serve
| the republic well, and where as perma-
| nent resident of Washington he can en-
| joy Chevy Chase golf and the social en-
| vironment of community which thor
| oughly appreciates him.
| Is it absolutely necessary that the de-
mocracy go out of power before this
| destiny may be fulfilled? Taft has all the
| qualities which fit him for this high
| office. When President he drew no par
| tisan lines in his own judicial appoint
| ments. He elevated democrats to the SUI
| preme bench and made a democrat Chief
| Justice. Perhaps there will be- through
| President Wilson'S nomination of Taft as
| justice, reciprocity in non-partisan judi
cial appointments
| Incidentally and Internationally his ap-
| pointment would be graceful apprecia-
| ton Of his involuntary contribution to
| Wilson's election in cooperation with
Roosevelt in dividing the opposition vote.
/ 1t is a debatable question whether Roose-
Welt. Taft or Bryan contributed most to
| Wilson's election. Many will place Taft
| ahead of Bryan, even though primacy In
| this competition must, perhaps be con-
! coded to Roosevelt
| In accordance with this same political
| horoscope. Roosevelt and Bryan are to be
| not Presidents, out President makers
| Warwicks. king makers. not kings.
Progressive Republican Reunion.
/ Speculation about the policies and can
/ didates of a republcan-bull moose re-
union assumes that such a reunion is
possible. The progressives in the two
4 camps might naturally and without diff
| Guilty come together and seize and con-
/ troll the republican standard. if Roose-
/ Welt could be induced not to stand in the
| way.
/ The "progressives' broke from the
i republican party on the ground that
] they were in truth the majority OF
| that party and controlled the Chicago
| convention and were cheated of that
| control by the minority; that this swim
| die was made possible by the eX-
| cessive representation in the conven-
/ ton of the south. a section which con-
/ trolled one-third of the convention
vote. though it cast no republican votes
| whatsoever in the electoral college. II
/ is obvious that in the next republican
| nominating convention the south will
be deprived of this excess of repre-
| sentative strength: that representa- ton
| in the convention will be approximated
to the potential republican vote in the
| respective states. and that the judg-
ment of those who represent the
doubtful and contested states will have
the greatest weight in deciding which
| candidate is the best vote etter in
| these disputed states. and on that ac-
| count entitled to nomination. If then
the claim of the progreSSives at the
| Chicago convention was made in good
faith; IL they really believed that they