The Alaska citizen., 1916-07-31
HUGHES.

Pres ident the Republican party has paid 10 Woodrow Wilson the high est compliment II was capable oi paying to him
 It has selected as its own candi- date the Republican who in the popular mind most resembles Presi- dent Wilson in character, in ability, in temperament and in capacity for idealistic public service. T. has taken the Republican Wilson to be it's standard bearer. because it did not dare take anybody who present ed contrast to the Democratic Vii. son. l. has brought the Supreme ties because it was afraid to nomi- nate a candidate with a recent rec ord of opposition to the President. It has named Hughes in the blind belief that history may repeat it self
 Ten years ago the Republican par- " of New York was torn by fac tional strife and .,hed by the damning exposures ,f it's partner ship with insurance corruption and financial corruption. In despair the bosses turned to Charles E Hughes. who was counsel for the committee appointed by the legislature to in vestigate the life insurance scandals, and nominated him for governor.
 The character and public service of Hughes Were sufficient 10 suboG- dinate the Republican record of cor ruption. and the Republican bosses were doubly fortunate in having as Hughes opponent William K Hearst, who had accepted a stolen nomina- tion from Tammany after Grady had done the dirtiest days work of my Hfe'
 Hughes was elected. and from the 'av of hiz inau@uration the Repub- lican bosses became his bitterest foes. They fought him on every is sue on which they dared to fight him. They blocked every measure of reform with one exception, that he urged upon the legislature They would have defeated him for re nomination except for the interfer- ence of Roosevelt, then President and boss of the bosses, who feared that the rejection of Hughes might prejudice Tafts candidacy at the polls Hughes was unmercifully knifed in the election, and although Taft carried New York by POP 602, Hughes plurality was only 69,462
 No sooner were the votes counted than the Republican fight against the governor was renewed. At last in despair and disgust he resigned his office and accepted an appoint ment to the bench of the United States supreme court.
 A shattered and discredited Re publican machine has again turned to Charles E. Hughes, and invited him to provide a window dressing of character and responsibility for the Republican campaign The Re publican bosses hate him now as they hated him when he was gover- nor of New York They have taken him up as they took him up in 19O6, only in the desperate hope that he will win for them and establish them in power, If he should be elected. they will fight his national administration as bitterly as they fought his New York administration
 There was no good faith back of the nomination of Hughes for gover- nor. There is no good faith back of the nomination of Hughes for President. He is again the candi- date of a bankrupt party gambling for power this time with the aid of the German vote, which insisted upon Hughes nomination. His high character, his splendid record of public service, his spotless integrity and his devotion to duty are sordid- ly capitalized by an old guard that is in partnership with Privilege and Plutocracy for the re-establishment of reactionary government and by hyphenated Americans who are de termined to avenge themselves upon President Wilson for his patriotic re- fusal to submit to Germany's sub marine warfare
 The Citizen has the highest re- spect for Mr Hughes as a man and public servant, but we can find no reason why he should be elected President in place of Woodrow Will son. We can find innumerable req sons why the sinister and crooked and un-American interests that are trying to use him for their own pur poses should be overwhelmed at the polls. But even if the influences behind MT. Hughes were different, this is no time for the American people to make experiments in gov ernment This is no time to change administrations. This is no time to take needless risks. This is the worst of all times to give European