The Alaska citizen., 1916-01-24
ROOSEVELT WILL RETUEN.


 ROOSEVELT WILL RETUEN.
 Tie Republican National comWi'. tee. which was in session in Wash. ineton. D. C.. during the early par of December for the purpose of fixing the time and place for the 1916 convention brought 10 light d tendency. even among the conEorya lives. to forgive Colonel Roosevelt all his sins of omission and commts. sion. and give him the glad hand should he really b. inclined 10 re- turn to his old party auegtauccs
 How it will come out nobody knows al tha time but il begins 10 appear to good many people that Roosevelt i- likely r3 cut a much larger figure in Republican affairs this year than has generally been assumed of late.
 Will 1t be possible for him to as piro 10 the nomination. Anybody who can answer that question ha~ a fortune awaiting him. The very fact that strong men are on oo. posing sides in an attempt to answ", the question indicates somethtng ol the unsettled state of party opin- ion.
 The very fact that the question cannot be answered gives it addo@ interest, and now that the RepubH can National committee has show a good deal of Roosevelt strcnPt' it may be taken for granted th.- the country will pay more attention than formerly to what is being said from Oyster Bay
 If the colonel should return to the Republican party. and try fer the nomination, it iS quite clear that his candidacy would rcnreH ant opposition to President Wilson' foreign policy and program of ma tional defense Already he has as stunned the leadership of all the Presidents opponents, other than those who follow Bryan. and seems 10 be working in conjunction with the New York Tribune one of the leading regular" Republican new. papers of the country, which has come out for strong measures to force Germany to make amends for the destruction of the Lusitania
 The conventions are only five months away The Democrats are to renominate Wilson; that is clear But what will the Republican, do As yet they have no avowed candi- date, although half dozen men Of more or less prominence are befOr~ the country as prospective candi- dates.
 The party is without a leader Of national strength and influence. such as Roosevelt was in the old days. and such a. President Wilson is now The men who aspire to the nomination. while known in a way nationally are, after all, mon Of local strength and reputation r. looks as though there was an open ing for some man who can make himself real leader and show ability to reshape the party ranks for the oncoming battle.
 Champ Clark speaker of the house, has been doing @ bit of ad vertising for MT. Roosevelt as presidential nominee. He has been saying in interviews that the Re publicans should think twice before declining to honor the colonel and of course it is quite natural tha' Republoan leaders should think about the Greeks bearing gifts" when they discuss Clark's utterances.
 It is pointed out that Clark was not born yesterday; that he is a very astute politician, and that he booms Roosevelt because he be- lieves Roosevelt would he the man Wilson could most easily defeat
 ti-Roosevet Republicans point out that his nomination would make quotable by the Democrats all the denunciation of the Republican par ty by Roosevelt since he left it, The Democrats would be able to prove by the candidate himself that the par ty for which he was standing was unworthy of public confidence and should never again be trusted with power.
 If guess were in order, it would