The Washington herald., 1918-03-19

II one T. R.'expects to run for the
Presidency in 1920 it will be the
easiest thing in the world to give
him a defeat. There are several
candidates whom the Democratic
party could use then. and any of
them could dash across the line
ahead Of him.
This Is the confident assertion of
one of the most astute political
seers in this city.
And there is one big gun which
the Democrats can fire several times
with deadly effect on the aggres-
sive Roosevelt-just one-and it
will be deadly enough in it's politi-
cal aim to bring a sad end to Roose-
yelt's ambitions.
The one gun, so this seer explains,
is the financial question, and ammu-
milton fired from it has only to be
7. RS handling of the financial
crisis of 1907, when he made a mis-
erable failure of the greatest in
ternal question which confronted
him in all his career as President.
And there are numerous Republi-
cans who grant that this is right
They say T. r. would unQuestiOn-
ably make better race If the DEM
ocrats had not given the country an
airtight financial law. But mas
much as the Democrats stepped into
the very situation which T. r. fail
ed to meet and conquered it COM
pletely, they say the chances of the
Oyster Bay gentleman going over
the Presidential top are very re-
mote, indeed.
Democrats would welcome the bat
tie They can go to the people and
get sympathetic hearings. They
have the ammunition to fire hard
and fire often and they say. through
their leaders in Congress. that they
could rout T. r. at every turn.
der-the-surface mutterings from
Congressional Republicans indicate
that this is not lost entirely on
them. They declare they would have
too heavy a load to bear, at this time
of reorganization of their party, to
defend all the Roosevelt record.
They say it would be better to have
some one as their leader whom they
would not have to defend-someone
whose future promises would be
more reassuring and whose past
would not rise up to haunt them
after every sundown of the cam
paign.
In spite of this though there is no
question but what some of the lead
ers of the party are looking to
Roosevelt to lead them out of the
land of bondage. They have been
making bricks without straw long
enough they admit, aud they think
they stand a better chance of escap-
ing their servitude to their political
enemies by following one who has
been through the mill before. These
men want a Moses-but these men
have forgotten temporarily that
Moses never reached the promised
land. The forward looking Repub-
licans are searching for Joshua.
So before long the contest will
narrow down to the followers OF
Moses and the followers of some
unnamed Joshua, with the chances
that the latter individual will take
definite form in some present ac-
ceptable leader Of the party and will
poll a stronger following than his
predecessor eventually. 1t is a sit
uation worth following and II you
| keep track of one Mister Hays, gen.
tie reader, you will be duly enlight-
ened on the developments.
Last July an editorial writer for
a big magazine penned a few lines
which he may or may not have
thought would show up months
later with some significance. He
said:
THE men and women whom we
elect to look after our welfare have
a right to know all the time what
is being done under the laws they
have enacted, and with the money
they have appropriated. The Presi-
dent and the executive officers owe
it to themselves and to the country
that Congress shall know what they
are doing and why. so that ignor-
ance shall not block the work or
suspicion cut Off their funds."F
Many members Of Congress felt
this way last July--and so did many
of the people of the nation who
knew what was going on. But it