Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-01-06
QUESTION OF NATIONAL DE.
TENSE LOOMING UP LARGER
EVERY DAY.
WAR SITUATION CHANGE
CAN HEAD OFF QUESTION
Radicals Ready to Support Roosevelt
For President Unless Liberal Pro-
Z gram 10 Assured-Roosevelt Will
Dictate Nomination If Not Norni.
I
mated Himself.
Especial Correspondence

L
washington, Jan. els the coming
campaign to turn on the issue Of pre-
paredness?
This question is every day looming
larger on the vision Of the more astute
| politicians of the capital, both repub-
lican and democratic.
Just as today, the biggest proposition
confronting congress is preparedness or
national defense, SO there Is strong
| prospect that it will be the biggest is
/ sue before the national conventions
I and, after the conventions, confronting
the people at the November elections.
t Circumstances might alter the situa-
! ton. For instance, before the conven-
tons or before next November, there
might be war or the country might be
! on the verge of war. In that case, there
would be g. rush toward preparedness
| with a rapidity which would more than
equal the previous disposition to re-
| frain from it.
/ Or peace might come in war-mad
Europe. It is possible the peace con-
ference might see some steps toward
disarmament. In that event, the move
ment for greater national defense IN
America would receive check.
Will BE Issue Unless Change Comes.
/ But if conditions in this country ana
relations of this country to the rest OF
the world remain about as they have
| been for some months and the war still
goes on, there can be little doubt of the
paramount nature Of the defense issue
in the campaign.
And if the defense issue remains
l will he re
the republican situation and what on
the democratic?
Radicals For Roosevelt.
| Indications are growing rapidly that
the exponents Of preparedness in this
country, at least those who are not
1 completely bound up to the democratic
party, are turning to Theodore Roose-
welt as their candidate. This accounts
for the commentaries Of politicians OF
4 all brands here Of late that a strong
| tide Of sentiment has set in lately for
Roosevelt. This sentiment has un-
| doubtedly been growing in recent
/ weeks. Even politicians who are hos
| tile to Roosevelt do not seriously deny
| this.
Even. the Gary dinner, which hat
fbeene depi cted as meaning. numbek
Of things, represented in part at LEASE
the sentiment Of a number Of big finan-
ciers that Roosevelt had the correct
notions of defense and of the coun-
try's attitude toward the world.
To add to the discomfort of the dem.
Eocratic leaders, tales are borne in here
| from New York and other centers, es-
pecially of the east, that the Roosevelt
sentiment is growing, while the admins
istration is losing it's grip.
! Roosevelt to Influence Nomination. &
The one thing about the republican
situation which appears certain today
/ is that the Chicago convention will
nominate either Roosevelt or a man
| whom Roosevelt endorses. He has SO.
7 far endorsed only a few men whom he
considers progressive republicans, such
as Cummins, Hughes and Hadley.
From what is known of Mr.. Roosevelt's.
views on preparedness. it may be in-s
ferred thai he would not support any
republican on platform which was
weak on national defense.
President Wilson's position, should
Roosevelt be nominated, may be a cur
ious one Just now, the president is
being assailed by pacificists for IA
voring preparedness in too great de-
gree. But if Roosevelt should be the
republican nominee, the pacific ele-.
ments would either have to hold aloof'
from the two great parties or go to
Wilson as the milder exponent Of per-
paredness Bryan would presumably
be obliged to support the man he is
now fighting-Wilson-in a campaign
against Roosevelt He would do so on
the ground Wilson was the more in
clined to the pacific and that his ma
tional defense program was the more
20 HI Z