The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-11-21
CONGRESS WILL
SHAPE ISSUES Of
1920 CAMPAIGN
Progressive Branch Proba.
bly, Will Control Re-
publican Party.
ruF mi 0llrp nn3 ne ~
THE COLONEL OUT OF It.
johnson Looms Large-Wil-
son May Make Third
Effort.
BY gibson GARDNER.

on StIoSN SftnSNcus
WASHINGTON. Nov. 21.-The Pres.
idential lineup in 1920 insists upon
forcing itself upon the attention OF pol.
iticians. 1t is far cry to 1920. and
men may die and issues may be born
between now and then, but specula.
ton based on the results of the re.
recent election will not down.
Mrs. Harriet Stanton Batch. who Is
better politician than most men poll.
ticians predicts third-term aspirations
on the part of Woodrow Wilson. She
says she has made study OF vii.
sons writings and finds therein a
statement that he considers the third
term tradition a senseless DOGGY and
quotes him to the effect that when a
President is good President he ought
to be returned as often as the people
want him. Certain it is that Wilson
did not feel bound by the plank in the
Baltimore platform, put there by Mr..
Bryan, committing the party candi.
date to one term. On the contrary
he wrote q letter to Mitchell Palmer,
then the Democratic House leader.
discouraging any attempt to amend
the Constitution for such Limitation.
II the third.term prejudice Is as.
sumed to eliminate Wilson, the Demo.
cratic party is left rather short of
Presidential timber. There Is Champ
Clark of course, who is getting on in
years. and Oscar Underwood, who rep.
resented the standpat element in his
party four years ago. Neither can be
regarded as growing candidate; their
booms are rather on the wane. Look.
ing to new and younger men, specu.
lation busies itself with possible de-
velopment of some present or future
member of the cabinet. Secretary of
War Newton d. Baker of Ohio, seems
the only possibility in the present cab
met.
Bryan Is not seriously considered,
and does not himself apparently seri.
ously consider the possibility OF ever
running again for President.
On. the Republican side the situa.
ton is interesting. Without question
Hiram Johnson Of California. looms
as the most promising candidate. The
scepter Of party control passed logi.
cally from the reactionary leadership
under the management of Penrose and
Wilcox. failed to win with as good
candidate as Hughes. It will be,
as in the case of the Democratic party
in 1904. after the Parker campaign,
when the radical element Of the party
resumed control. So the Progressive
element in the Republican party must
find candidate and party leadership.
The tradition that New York or Ohio
must furnish the candidate has forev.
er blasted. In this election, California
became the pivoted state. became so
spectacularly and dramatically. No.
body will forget the counting of the
California vote, and nobody will for
get that IIirman Johnson held the
fate Of the Presidency in the hollow of
his hand and that he handed the Pres.
idency TO Wilson instead of Hughes.
The reactionary leaders in the Re.
publican party will OF course cherish
grudGe against Johnson, but the
leaders are not the voters and the
rank and file of the Republican party
like the Hirman John kind Of can
didate better than the Hughes kind.
Roosevelt has passed naturally into
the Bryan class. 1t may be that some
unexpected development, new issues,
and new lines of political thought
may bring Colonel Roosevelt again
into a position Of leadership. It Is
unwise for anyone ever to consign
Roosevelt to political grave. He has
habit Of resurrecting to the discom.
fort of his enemies and the exulta.
ton of his friends. But at present
Roosevelt's best friends feel that he
is entirely unavailable as a candidate.
He could have won this recent cleo,