The Oskaloosa herald., 1913-06-19
WILL NOT CALL
A CONVENTION
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN COMMIT
TEE WILL DELAY MATTER.
SEN. CUMMlNS DISAPPOINTED
organizing of the Party" Say
"let the Tariff Agitation Do the Re-
the Leaders-Democrats
Losing Ground


Washington, ID. c., June 1e-Sena-
tor Cummins no longer has much
hope that the national committee of
the republican party will call ma
+tional convention to be held next fall
There does not seem the slightest
possibility of the committee taking
any such action and the senator, it is
believed, knows this.
The men in control of the national
committee are not disposed to make
up their minds now as to what action
the committee shall take when its
members come together in the meet
ing that has been directed by the ex-
ecutiye committee to be held within
sixty days after the adjournment of
the present extra session of congress.
However, not one member of the com.
mittee has been found who thinks ii
would be good thing for the party
to hold national convention this
yea:
The wounds are too fresh" say
some. a....r
Let the tariff do the reorgani2ing,
say others.
Members of the committee declare
that every month that goes by, with
democracy in the saddle and free
trade ahead, makes easier and easier
the job of bringing together the regu
lars and the insurgents of the party
The political skies. these members
say, will be much clearer when the
national committee shall hold it's
meeting during the last quarter of this
year - probably In November II
will be time enough, then, national
committeeman say, to decide whether
1t would be wise to hold an extraordi.
nary national convention next year.
There is possibility that the legal
committee, which was appointed by
National Chairman Hilles, following
the meeting of the executive com
mittee May "a, in Washington, may
report to the full committee that IL,
as the supreme court of the party,
has the authority to change the basis
of representation in the national con
ventions and provide for other re-
forms in party procedure. II such
should be the report of the legal com.
mittee, then there would be no neces-
sity of a national convention being
called to do these things. But there
are a good many members OF the
national committee who are inclined
to the opinion that party unity would
be promoted by national convention
any time during the summer of 1914,
by which time party leaders would
have sufficient knowledge of what
the country thinks of the democratic
tariff, currency reform and possibly
other important legislation, to map
out a definite campaign for winning
back the house OF representatives In
November. So, it is not at all un.
likely, with nearly all the leaders de-
string harmony, that If Borah, LaFol-
lette, Hadley, Cummins and the 9TH
ers who have been classified as pro
gressive republicans, shall, when the
national committee meets in Novem-
Der, still believe that the restoration
of the party to it's former strength
and power can best be accomplished
by gathering delegates of the party
together in an extraordinary conven-
ton next year, then the committee
will respect this view and, in accord
ance Herewith, issue the call for the
convention.
- - -
The sentiment of republicans in
different parts of the country is indi
Gated by expressions of members of
the party who come to Washington on
business OF one nature and another
Charles ID. Hemenway, prominent
business man of Portland. Me-, who
has been in Washington this week,
predicted that il the democratic party
should fail by legislation to lower
the cost of living, ii would lose the
congressional election next year. up
in my state the farmers are not much
pleased with the way things are go
ing" Mr. Hemenway said, and there
are rumblingso discomfort in the cit
les. Maine went democratic, il will
be remembered, two years ago, but
there was revulsion last November
and the democrats were pretty lucky
to elect one member to the House. If,
therefore, the democrats fail in their
legislative program, | believe it will
be a long time before Maine elects an
other democrat TO congress"
Julius Whitman, a lawyer of Can
ton, o., and college mate of Colonel
Roosevelt at Harvard, is another
Washington visitor OF this week who
talked politics. Mr.. Whitman re-
marked that the republican party
would welcome amalgamation or re-
union with the progressive party If
that should not mean the initiative,
referendum and the recall OF the judi
ciary. THE republican party, in my
Judgment, does not represent such
principles of government. However,
| think there are signs of amalgama.
tion, and il the party that has been
dominant in government for more
than half a century does not belle ira
dition, the republicans will be up and
fighting In the next campaign. and
there will be a mighty good chance of
their winning, | believe"