The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-05-21
TOO EARLY FOR REUNION.

The harmony convention held in
Chicago recently did not prove 70 be
a harmony convention at all. The same
old antagonists which led 10 the Roose-
Welt split in the Republican party were
in evidence, and the rashest sort of
propositions were made by way of vim
dictive assaults upon the Republi-
can National COMMITTEES; so that the
general consensus of opinion regard.
ing that harmony convention is that
IL was a failure Probably II Is too
early yet TO expect any specially good
results from a formal convention Of
that kind It is probably too early for
the convention that was proposed for
next fall. Next wear, when new Con
gress is to elect. will probably be as
early as n harmony convention can
proftablv be held.
In the meantime. the signs that the
masses Of voters who broke away from
the Republican party are returning to
IL are urmistakable Governor Wood
bridge NJ Ferris OF Michigan, Demo.
crat. who was elected by reason of the
split in the Republican party, intimates
that he will not he candidate for re-
election because the chances of Demo.
cratic success are being so greatly les
sened by the drift Of the Progress.
sives back into the old party fold He
gives figures showing that as many as
IS per cent of the Progressives of
Michigan will be found voting the
straight Republican ticket next year.
He thinks that most Of the Progress
sives joined the new party because
they thought they saw chance to
win, and when that chance failed,
they drifted back to their old moor
ings
Another significant sign is that the
Chicago Tribune, which was the great
Roosevelt champion last year, is not
proclaiming any more that 4 reunion
of the two elements of the Republican
party is impossible, but admits that il
the Republican convention meets,
eliminates the corrupt bosses, -
and selects "leaders of advanced
thought, - these leaders and leaders of
the Progressives "can take counsel to-
gether how to promote the general vel
fare And II admits that "the
natural tendencies of multitudes ami
mated by the same purpose to work to-
gether would be stronger than the
efforts of individuals to hold them
apart. - This means, of course, that
the Republicans, standing for protec
tion, will attract 10 themselves, as
against the Democratic free trade or
low tariff ideas embodied in the tariff
revision, the mass OF the Progressive
vote on the principle of protection.
II is expected that by next year
when the full results of the Democratic
tariff revision will be manifest. the
country will be so disgusted with it
that the voters will be in a frame OF
mind determined TO reverse the Demo
cratic policies and restore protection,
The vote for protection at the election
last year was overwhelming, If we
count the Roosevelt and Taft vote
both for protection. as it is fair to do.
The Democratic vote, taken as a
gauge for the free trade or low tariff
sentiment in this country, was in a
hopeless minority compared with the
Joint vote for protection as expressed
in the support of Taft and Roosevelt.
IL is only necessary TO bring the bulk
Of this divided vote together on
straight protection lines TO elect a pro-
lection Congress next year as strong
rs the Democratic Congress is now
And that this will be tho prevailing
issue upon which the Progressives and
the Republicans can como together
next year is the most probable polti.
cal sign in sight.