Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-02-17
AS POLITICIANS VIEW THE SITUATION

The first gun of the national campaign has been fired
by the republicans of New York. and indicates pretty
strongly the course the party intends to follow. The
committee on resolutions of the state convention refused
to ndorse Senator Root the states choice cand
date for the presidency.
Chauncey Depew was there and exhorted the commit
tee in favor of Root but his voice no longer
charms It was claimed that Senator ROor did not want
the committee to ndOrse him, and the suggestion was
made that this Endorsement would be made later.
Politicians however recognize in this action the send
ing Of Root to the dump heap This is sop thrown to
Roosevelt who disikes Root with greater accent the
"dis than he does anyone who is presidential posi-
biIity
The situation is sized up by politicians about this way:
The turning down of Root is distinct concession to
Teddy and shows to what length the party is willing to
go to conciate that greatest of all dctatoS the party
has known The committee also refused to ndorse
Whitman but it intimated that this too might come
later.
1t looks as though the party leaders would go to any
length to keep the strenuous one in good humOr and on
the track They believe that he has strong following
and that his support is necessary to the parys success
Somehow they forget that eight years ago he forced
the party to nominate Taft picking him the best and
strongest in the party and also orgets that four
years ago he opposed Taft the worst man for the place
the party could select
With this record before it, it the party leaders
would be chary about permitting him to force another
candidate it especially if that candidate is Roose
velt but that seems to be what is going to happen
1t is probably not the intention OF the old leaders to
nominate Roosevelt only to conciliate him and rub his
hair the right way until can be found suitable
to him and the balance of the party Just who the old
guard has in mind for the place not known except to
few members of the inner circle but that the candidate
is already selected is not only possible but extremely
probable.
The program has all been made out the only question
is can it be made to work? There is only why
it will fail if it does fail and that reason is Roosevelt
He is the unknown quantity that makes the problem diff
fcut of solution Roosevelt hates Wilson for the same
reason he does Taft They occupied the position which
he feels and believes he alone of all the in the United
States is capable of filling without rafting around in it.
1t is the intent of certain of the progessives to force
the Roosevelt nomination. and it is also the firm intent
of the old guard to prevent this nomination.
certainly is badly mixed situation for the elephant.
If Roosevelt is not nominated the main body of the real
progressves will again bolt and if he is nominated a
large portion of the old guard will not stand for it, They
will support Wilson rather than Roosevelt They have
not forgotten and they will never forgive the man. who
having been given the presidency by them deliberately
put them out and democrat in for four years. The
politicians have missed the offices and big business has
been cutaed in of its most cherished explorations
They hold this against Roosevelt and will make of him
about the worst sample of the "aso ram seen in
captivity if he coras the nomination and makes the race
1t is claimed Germany has offered Belgium separate
nd hot has