Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-22
ROOSEVELT FACTOR,
c. 0.P. MEN ADMIT
Believe 1t Impossible, How
ever, for Him to Stan-
pede Convention.
THINK HE WOULD FIGURE
IN SELECTION OF TICKET
Republican Leaders Say Colonel Has
That End in View by Efforts to
Increase His Prestige.

Increase His Prestige.
| Here is summarization of the cold
| judgment of some of the prominent re-
publican politicians in Congress as to
the purpose and probable effect of the
| latest effort in behalf of the nomina- l.
ton by the regular republicans of Col
| Roosevelt.
| First. they believe that it will be i'm
possible for the Roosevelt enthusiasts
| to stampede the regular convention for
him and they are not yet prepared to
| admit that his nomination by general
consent is advisable.
| Second, they think that Col Roosevelt
realizes this. but is sanctioning the eff
| forts in his behalf in order to increase
his prestige with the regulars. magni-
| fy his power in council between the
| regulars and facilitate his plan to DOM
| mate the framing of the platform, and
be a factor in the selection of the ticket.
| Regular republicans are willing that he
i should play a prominent part in both
roles: indeed, he will be consulted. as a
consideration of primary political COM
mon sense, with harmony in view.
| Kept Before the Public.
In the opinion Of these cool-headed
regulars. the Detroit speech of the colonel
| and the Meyer-Loeb pronunciamento is
sued yesterday are efforts calculated to
| keep the colonel prominently before the
public and to swell his Importance as a
| factor in republican politics.
l -
pretty to know, however. is in whose
favor will the colonel exert his admit
| ted influence when it comes to choosing
| a candidate for observation-disclosures or
Root, Fairbanks or Burton. Weeks or
| Mccall. Cummins or Harding 1t would
seem to be foregone conclusion that
| he will not throw it to Henry Ford.
| Mr.. Hughes friends expect him to
swing into line back of the justice when
the time is opportune. They say that
when President. Mr.. Roosevelt was
ton of Mr.. Hughes for the New York
governorship.. and that the entire rec
ord of Gov. Hughes is in line with pro-
gressive principles and ideals.
Other politicians, however, arguing
from analysis of human nature in gen
eral and the colonefs temperament and
characteristics in particular. say they
think that the colonel will be SO cha
grined over Justice Hughes having
thrust upon him support which the col
| onel could not win by effort, he may
/ prefer another. Politicians are con-
vinced that the colonel would gulp
! hard oyer having to swallow the nomi-
| nation of Mr.. Hughes.
May Find Root Acceptable.
| Elihu Root, then? Personally. so far
as his own feelings are concerned, it is
thought the colonel would find Mr.. Root
acceptable on a thoroughly progressive
platform. And right here let it be
said with emphasis that the republican
platfor-s. is to be a model of progress
sive thought. But, as stated in The
Star yesterday. the colonel is entertain
| ing doubt whether he could control his
| followers who remember the Maine
/ that is to say, the fact that Elihu Root
was chairman of the convention which
| nominated Taft and which the bull
| moosers bolted.
| 1t is said by republicans at the Cap
itol competent to speak that Root
would be acceptable outright to Utah
and Wyoming, among the western
| states; also to Kansas. and doubtless
| to other near-conservative states in
that region if the colonel indorsed him.
/ The Fairbanks people have their
| lightning rods up at all four corners
!
; la for the Roosevelt lightning of favor
/ and Endorsement. The recent talk of
Fairbanks for second place resulted in
| statements from the Fairbanks camp
Of course, that decision might be sub
ject to reconsideration if some one else
should be nominated for first place.
Colonel Comes Here Tomorrow.
| Col. Roosevelt will be in Washing
ton tomorrow to testify in the Riggs
Bank case. So far as known, no polit-
ical conferences have been arranged,
although he doubtless will be visited
by individual progressives.
| In his Detroit speech the colonel took
| occasion to raise a feud with the Illi-
nols Stats Zeitung. The colonel
said:
pers-I cannot call it a German-Ameri-
can newspaper-the Illinois Stats
Zeitung, has been engaged in active
| propaganda on behalf of both German
applauds and advocates Germany's en-
| barking upon a career of military strength
! unconditioned by any other consid-
! Grafton, and at the same time backs
| to keep the United States impotent for
| self-defense."
Contradicted by Newspaper.
| Whereupon the Staats-Zeitung came
| back as follows:
THAT is false. Even at the risk of
being condemned to membership In the
Roosevelt Ananias Club of 1911 we must
contradict the honorable ex-President of
\ the United States.
"The Illinois Staats-Zeitung never in
| dorsed any policy that tended to 'keer
the United States impotent for self de-
| fense' 1t is a vile falsehood il the colonel
really said that the Illinois Staats-Zeitune
backs any movement for that purpose
We print in the American-and Judge
| Lands of Chicago is our authority fol-
| calling our language the American in.
stead Of the English-language every
Sunday the principles of the Illinois
| Staats-Zeitung. One of the planks in that
platform of principles Is the nationalizina
of the manufacture Of arms and ammuni-
] tion.'
"Perhaps the colonel sees in that prin-
ciple the move to keep our country i'm.
potent. We don't. We see In it the move
| to save our taxpayers millions of graf
from the greed Of rapacious and dishon.
est ammunition sellers"
] The New York Stats Zeitung has
come out editorially for Justice Hughes
1t declares that "Justice Hughes plain
lily stands ahead in the list OF men upon
| whose candidacy the republicans and
lprogressives can unite" 1t also says
| that the war situation will. play a
4 prominent part in the campaign, and
that Wilson will be called upon to de-