The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-11-26
standpatter and Progressive.


Root and Bora"
weeks and Hadley."
Burton and Cummins. =
"Fairbanks and any good Pro-
gressive. =
This is the way the Republicans
are talking just now Two features
are conspicuous in the Presidential
gossip-one the increasing talk
about Elihu Root for first place, and
the other the tacit understanding
that pronounced Progressive must
be chosen for second place.
'And here is another bit OF POI
|litical gossip: Pennsylvania is go
ing to declare for Senator Penrose as
|herPresidential choice. Absolutely;
that's what's ON the cards, for q
verify. Not that Senator Penrose
has any illusions about his candidacy
nor seeks the glory Of honorary mem
ton; there are ultilitarian reasons
for the course
Never said turkey to the Pro-
gressives at all. why not "Borah
and Root?" why not "Hadley and
Weeks?" why not "Cummins and
Burton?'' To get down to the very
bottom of it, why not Murdoch and
Cannon? There's the stuff.
They say the Progressives have all
come back, and that the party Of
Lincoln, Grant, Blaine, and Sher-
man is again united. If that be SO,
the Progressives are in the majority,
and shall they lay down and be run
over by the stand -patters? 1t would
seem so if they are to be nothing but
hewers of wood and drawers of wa
ter, as the spirit of the article from
the Washington Star, partially quot
ed in the foregoing, would indicate.
And then there is the passage
about the Hon. Penrose, That's the
stuff, too! 1t is whispered in Gath
that it is not good politics for State
Republican convention to instruct"
for anybody. The office must seek
the man. say the bosses, and when
we all meet in the national powwow
the man will appear, and the nomi-
nation will seize on him. grab him
by the throat, throttle him, bind
him, and the. thing is done.
OF course, that means that when the
grand powow is held the bosses will
allow the convention to amuse itself
practicing fruitless balloting for a
day or so until the bosses can agree
on ticket, when they will come in,
and some innocent, guile1ess and eff
fective tool will spring the dark
boss" The thing will run thru the
convention like cyclone, and the
work will be done.
Penrose says the delegates must
come 'uninstructed." Instruction
for Sherman, of Illinois, meets that
program, for Sherman stands about
as much chance to be the nominee as
do to be a bishop of the Methodist
Church. Mention is made of Mr..
Fairbanks for first place" in the
article quote; but they dismiss the
suggestion for second place with
ANY good Progressive. Now, Fair
banks is admirable for second place.
If you were to stand up in a row all
the mediocrities, other than he, that
Indiana, of both parties, has pro-
duced, all of 'em put together would
not match Fairbanks for second
place. think it reflection on Mr.
Fairbanks that the Washington Star
could not suggest Progressive run
ming mate for him. / see the en-
barrassment of geography. The only
name possible as running mate In
the second degree for the Hon. Fair
banks is the Hon. Beyeridge. Fair
banks and Beveridge"-that's the
ticket. A heap of folk think it un-
constitutional; but the electoral col
lege can fix it SO that both the Presi
dent and yice-President may hail
from the same State if they have the
votes properly distributed.
But. what about the platform?
This Washington Star article deyotes
itself to the ticket only. We see
from it that the Standpatters are to
have the Presidency and the Pro-
gressiyes second place, which might |
make a devil of a kittle of fish, If
the President should die. Now, is
the platform to be plate of hash,
or what the Spanish call oilapodrida?
Are we to have streak of Penrose
and a streak of Cummins fried for
breakfast? Is slice of Borah to
be larded with slice of Root in the
sandwich for lunch? And are Joe
Cannon and Victor Murdoch to gnaw
on such victuals as "Ill be damned
if do and I'll be damned If don't?"
No, 1t won't do. The party will
be all Standpat, or all Progressive