Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-02-07
PRESIDENTIAL POSSIBILITIES
OUTLINED BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7:-Pennsyl-
vania products are varied and known
the world over, but the state has
| been sadly deficient in producing
Republican presidents, or even sue
! cessful candidates for the Republi-
can presidential nomination. This is
not because the state has been lack
ing in Republican leaders of nation
a. prominence and Of presidential
calibre. Many of the distinguished
sons of the Keystone State have
played influential parts in directing
Republican affairs. Some OF them
| have been president makers. and
others have been presidential possi-
! bilities. But when 1t comes to pull
| ing down the capital prize in the Re-
| publican national lottery, Pennsyl-
| vanians have simply been out sof
! luck.
The late Senator Matthew Stanley
Quay and the late Senator Boise
Penrose were conspicuous examples
of great party leaders. Few men
have welded a larger influence than
was theirs in shaping the destinies
of their party and in prom oting or
blasting the aspirations and ambi-
tions. of men who have sought the
White House. Indeed, the full ex-
tied by the general public. for it was
of the kind that is felt and not seen,
exerted largely behind the scenes.
They were president makers, but
they could not turn the trick with a
man from Pennsylvania. They had
| to get their raw material from other
states.
The late Senator Philander Chase
Knox was a notable example of a
Republican presidential possibility
from Pennsylvania who could never
land. He was recognized as a man
measuring up to the presidency from
the time he entered the cabinet in
1901 as attorney general and
throughout his career as senator, as
| secretary Of state and again as sena
tor. In 1908 he was actively can
didate for the nomination and was
regarded as the man upon whom the
opposition to Taft would unite, but
he fell far short of fulfilling the ex-
pectations of his friends and sup
porters, mastering only sixty eight
votes in the national convention.
Pennsylvania has the second
largest block of delegates in national
conventions and almost invariably
has delivered the second largest
block of electoral votes to the Re-
publican nominee for president.
Therefore it might seem surprising
that the state can not corral the
nomination for one of her Republt-
can sons, and it would be surprising
but for the very fact of her over
whelming Republican vote. Nomi-
nations, as a rule, have gone to
doubtful or pivotal states, and Penn
sylvania has never been in that cate
CORY.
Mag Take Another WIirl At 1t
Nevertheless, Pennsylvania Re-
publicans may take another whirl at
| the presidency. They have another
possibility in their midst. True, he
| is not a native product, having been
born in Connecticut, lived in New
York, and been much in Washington,
| but for the present he is holding
forth at Harrisburg and he has done
some demonstrating to the end Of
establishing the fact that he Is the
| great test individual force in the poll
tics of the state he has adopted.
Friends and fellow citizens, we
| present a man whose name is known
wherever trees bud and conserva-
tionists find aught to conserve-the
Honorable Clifford Pinchot, forester
emeritus, one-time Progressive, late
of the Roosevelt tennis cabinet, and
! now Republican governor OF tAe
| sovereign State Of Pennsylvania.
| 1t might be added that the face
| of Clifford Pinchot is almost as wide
| ly known as his name. Have you
| seen his picture lately in the public
| prints, or on the movie screen? Yes?
Frequently? Quite so! Take it from
those who claim to know, that is a
sign that Mr.. Pinchot is several
| jumps ahead of being q presidential
| possibility and is an actual candi-
date, with a publicity bureau that is
functioning like a symphony orches-
| ira under the direction of the man
who invented the crescendo.
There are several things that bring
Mr.. Pinchot prominently into view
when one is delving into White
House prospects. In the first place,
| he is so situated that he is abund-
antly able to devote all his time and
attention to a public career, and he
! has the inclination to do so, and
after mentioning this it is only nee
| essary to cite his most recent
achievement to make a clear case of
| his being a presidential possibility.
I Single-handed and alone he made a
fight against the Republican state
machine in Pennsylvania that has
landed him in the governors chair.
This is feat than which there is no