Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-05-03
Favorite Sons Rapidly Being
Discarded to Find Man Be-
lieved Able to Defeat Wood
row Wilson.
COLONEL PREFERRED BY
MANY MACHINE LEADERS
Remarkable Political Develop
ment Is Call for Man Who
Formerly Split Party as One
Best Able 10 Reunite It,
s,se,.l eo.sssro~osses 70 soss'ss JOURNAL

tspsciAL CORRESPONDENCE 70 MORNING JOURNAL
Washington, May THE coming
presidential campaign refuses to set
tie down. The bird OF promise will
not alight, but circles about high in
the heavens.
The politicians are craning their
necks like the I.ondoner with Zeppe-
limits, unablt to determine whether
the bird is about TO thrown down a
bomb on them or OH the other crowd.
! Oldtimers on the republican side
/ liken the situation to the preconven-
tion campaigns of 1875 and 1883. In
! both years there was a string of fa-
vorite sons. In each a compromise
candidate was chosen, Hayes in 1875
and Harrison in 1888. The former
had hard shedding. and the election
was in doubt for weeks after the bal
loting, and in fact was not decided
until in February of the following
year. when the famous SKI commits
sion made its report, seating Hayes,
Then he won only by one vote in the
electoral college.
Harrison had it easier in 1883. The
tariff issue elected him, but the inner
ent weakness of the man as leader
came out in 1892 when the Minneapo-
lis convention renomlnated him.
Grover Cleveland, running for the
third time. bowled him over easily.
The republican leaders now say
that II is unsafe, Judging from these
two instances. to take candidate
who is not known and adaptable 10 a
large portion of the party from the
start. In this judgment they rule out
all the favorite sons, Borah, Burton,
Cummins, Estabrook, Fairbanks and
Sherman, in alphabetical order. They
are too weak at the start, and the
candidate against them is too well
known and too well entrenched to
take a chance that their alleged vir-
tues may be painted in such glowing
eolors that the people will make their
names household words in three
months.
Want Fighting Leader.
The leaders agree that it must be
somebody who will begin the often
sive on Wilson from the start and
keep it up. Obviously, they say. this
will be impossible if the party has to
put in half of the campaign explain
ing who the candidate iss
On the other hand, they cannot
agree on q leader. who is guiltless of
obscurity. There are two men in
sight Theodore Roosevelt and Justice
c. T.. Hughes.
The fact of the matter is that a
large number of the old machine lead
ers otherwise known as Organization
men," want Roosevelt this time They
want him because the colonel can
be depended on to take the offensive
and keep it from the jump.
In 1912 he bolted the republicans,
had both parties on his back and yet
he kept them from defending them
selves up to the day of election. That
campaign gave the old guard men
like Penrose, Crane, Townsend OF
Michigan and host of others such
deadly fear of having to face Roose-
welt again that they want him ore are
willing to take him in order to have
this dynamic force on their side,
shooting shrapnel. high explosives
and asphyxiating gases at the opposi-
ton.
What Hughes Men Say.
The more conservative republicans,
the quieter type, the men Of party
fcalty who have not forgiven Roose-
velt's bolt, want Justice Hughes.
They picture him the ideal candidate.
They can see nothing to it but romp
into power with this man as their
leader.
And Hughes does advertise well. |
He was a vote-getter in New York |
He pleased the best element of the
community with a high-grade, clean, |
vigorous and effective administration. !
He showed power on the stump when
he went before the people on his |
racetrack glls. Again that national |
of 1908 when Taft was hav- |
ing n hard time with the labor vote, |
Hughes made a speech in Ohio which !
proved the proper irritant. 1t was |
a. cold cutting, destructive analysis OF I
william J. Bryan's proposals for cur
failing the trusts. 1t turned the eyes |
of the business world on Bryan ana
showed him up as the same Old inn
practicable. dangerous dreamer Of the /
16 TO days. 1t did much to smooth /
the path of william Howard Taft to
the White House.
Silence Embarrassing.
II is not necessary to say anything
about the difficulty Of getting Hughes
into the race. That has been debated
over and over. The only answer Is
that Hughes cannot decide before
hand. He can say after II Is done
whether ne will accept. This is the
residum of opinion as 10 the much
.-..a...a ....octlon ..1NIl unqhes run Y !