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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1907)
NOVEMBER 22, HOT. The Commoner! I Washington Letter Washington, D. C., November 18. The fall elections aro over arid the maneuvering for tho presidential nominations begins. In tho repub lican organization tho situation -is complicated by the indefinite, ono could say, unfair attitude of the president toward tho third term. Theo dore Roosevelt is above all else an astute poli tician. More than any other individual ho is responsible for the factional quarrel in Ohio. Tho fight waged upon Senators Foraker and Dick was originally his fight. How ho adroitly drew Secretary Taft and Congressman Burton into the lists and made his quarrel appear to bo theirs Is now political history. The president has not played fair with either Taft or Burton. Tho latter was pushed into a hopeless fight against Tom Johnson. If elected mayor of Cleveland the presldont would have removed an able congressman who has always opposed tho extravagance of tho present administration, whether It took the form of a huge navy, or vast Internal Improvements. If defeated, the influence of Burton in republican circles would be materially weakened. In either event tho president would be the gainer. It Is little won de therefore that he said the day after election that "the results have been extremely gratifying to me." But if the president's treatment of Burton was bad, his treatment of Taft has been worse. No sincere proponent of the presidential candidacy of Secretary Taft would have launched his boom so early and so inopportunely as did the president, and then have allowed -it to stag nate because of silence on the question of the third term. President Roosevelt could even now put an end to his own candidacy for re-nomination by an unequivocal declaration, and ho could insure the nomination of Taft by coupling with such a statement a more expression of opinion that the sqcrotary of war is best adapted of all republican statesmen to carry out his policies. Instead, he kills the Taft boom by his silence. Ho compromises his friend's chances by stir ring up trouble in Ohio, knowing full well that the republican national convention will be loath to nominate a man who comes with a factional difference to settle in his own a pivotal state. Secretary Taft has been used either with his consent or without realizing it, as the presi dent's stalking horse, to feel the third term sen timent of the nation. Everywhere that his pres idential aspirations have been pushed they have carried as a burdensome rider the possibility of a third term for Roosevelt. The result hps been that Taft's chances have waned, while Roose velt's have waxed fat. "What the president has done In Ohio, and to Ohio's presidential aspirants, I stated some time since, he -was trying to do in Now York. The seeming purpose of the president is to stir up factional feeling In any pivotal state where a likely candidate appears. The republican na tional convention will be as unwilling to nom inate Hughes, for Instance, if there Is factional warfare in New York state, as it will be to nominate Taft because of a like condition In Ohio. Ever since Governor Hughes loomed large on the presidential horizon, the president has shown a disposition to arraign the administra tion' faction in New York state against him. This opposition has even gone to the extent of presidential interference, at least indirectly, with proposed legislation-as witnessed the de feat of the Hughes direct nominations bill In the last legislature. In fact, back of all this anti Hughes activity can be found the presidential determination to control the delegation of his own state to the next republican national con vention. Such control, of course, would be fatal to the presidential aspirations of Governor Hughes. Within a week John A. Stewart, president of the New York League of Republi can clubs, Representatives Bennet", Olcott, and Herbert Parsons, State Chairman Timothy Woodruff, Speaker Wadsworth of the New York legislature, William Barnes, jr., the boss of Albany county, National Committeeman William L. Ward, and many others equally influential and prominent in New York politics will ap pear in Washington to confer with the presi dent. Mr. Barnes has been quoted as saying "the republican party In New York state can not afford to have a fight. We came out splen didly on election, but for all that we can not afford to have further factional differences." An of which, and much more that Barnes and others said, goes to show that a factional war between republicans in Now York stato is actu ally on. If tho republicans of Now York expect toemooth out their troubles by invoking tho aid of Presldont Roosevelt, thoy have not profit ed by tho experience in other Btatcs whoro tho presldont has taken a hand. In fact factional quarrels in tho different states aro tho vory means by which tho president hopes to Insure .his own nomination. Thus by a process of elim ination will tho posslblo republican nominoos bo rejected until but ono namo remains and that namo is Theodore Roosevelt. Anomalous as it may seem, thus tho arch-agent of all tho discord that will result in tho repudiation of all other candidates will in tho ond' bo turned to that harmony may bo restored. Under ap parent pressure he will accept the nomination tosavo his party and his country, and the Thco doro Roosevelt who, under no circumstances, would run again, will bo a candidate for a third presidential term. At least that Is tho kind of politics that a great majority of tho unpreju diced correspondents In Washington bollovq tho president Is playing. It may bo good pol flics from his standpoint to obtain a nomination, but he seems to forget that tho real reckoning after all must take place on election day. The story is current in Washington that whon the fleet of battleships leaves Hampton Roads on its tour around Cape Horn to San Francisco nnd thereafter to nobody knows where, President Roosevelt will personally re view It at tho start. It Is asserted that ho will go to tho Roads and dispatch tho fleet upon a mission which may bo ono of enormous Impor tance to tho nation. That ho should do so is not a matter of very great significance, except as it shows his strenuous inclination to make out of the United States a fighting power. Wo .can look back over tho wholo lists of our presi dents from George Washington to the "present Incumbent of that office and wo can find not one who did not stand emphatically for peace rather than for war. There have been men who had to face in that office vory grave conditions. As a rule they did all that could bo done to avoid armed conflict with foreign peoples. Thomas Jefferson encountered tho hostility of England and averted as far as he could actual war. But when the' war was forced upon us the nation gave a good account of Itself. An drew Jackson with whom the friends of tho president today are fond of drawing a parallel, averted another war. Every one who has studied the life and the public papers of Lin coln knows how that great statesman and patriot struggle! to prevent the war which rent the north and the south in twain. And as wo come to later days we find that William McKlu ley stood steadfastly against tho Spanish war and only entered upon it because of political forces which he could not control. Tho record of history declares that the great statesmen of this country have stood always for peace. The news of the day shows only too clearly that the president now in the White House is ready to Invite war. He may be checked. Only a few days ago two of tho most prominent finan ciers of New York came to Washington and told him bluntly that in the present condition of the American banks and trust companies a war would be disastrous. Indeed Mr. J. P. Morgan declared that a war could not be financed and that should one occur it would result In the gravest disaster to tho financial institutions of the United States. Mr. Morgan went on to say that the attacks of the administration upon commercial interests had done enough without the menace to international peace which would result from the transfer of the United States fleet from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. That menace Is not yet thoroughly deter mined. Nor Is the meaning of the transfer thor oughly understood. Diplomats aro necessarily courteous concerning it. Navy officers aro com pelled to bo silent. But it Is worth while calling attention to the fact that the admiral In com mand of the fleet, 'Robley D. Evans, at a banquet given Tilm by a New York club a few nights ago had so little sense of the responsibility of his position that he declared that whether tho fleet went Into the Pacific ocean for "a fight or a frolic" it would give a good account of itself. There is only one Pacific power with which a fight might occur. Admiral Evans' speech should put him in the same category with former Admiral Coghlan who, at the same club, recited some doggerel concerning the German emperor with the refrain at tho end of each line, "Me unt Gott.f A week ago it was announced that Secretary Taft, who Is wandorlng nbout tho world at tho exponso of tho American taxpayers, had changed the plana for his lour. It was thon said that instead of going from Asia to Europe and thus reaching tho United States by an eastern routo, ho would comq back directly. Now tho report is that ho will continue his plan for circum navigating tho globo, cross tho Slborlan plains and corao back through Moscow, Borlln, Paris and London. Incidentally tho peoplo of tho Unitod States pay tho frolght, which Is not small. Ono wonders what tho sudden change In tho Taft plan moans. An Ohio politician of somo prominence said to mo today that It meant that tho cloction results In Ohio had convinced Sec retary Taft of tho hopoIofianoHH of his cause, nnd that thoroforo. ho would comploto his tour of tho groat countrlos of tho world leaving his representatives In tho Unitod States to press his candidacy as thoy thought host. This seems plausible. On tho othor hund Senator Warner, of Missouri, told mo today that tho Taft move ment had attained such proportion's that there was no question of its success. Secrotary Taft can go whoro ho chooses, said tho senator, ho will bo nominated in the next republican national convention and will bo elected. Presldont Roose velt will not allow his namo to bo used. Thoro aro tho varying opinions. No ono can toll which is tho accurato ono. But It might bo worth while for the people of thq United States to consider why thoy havo members of tho cabinet, notably a secretary of war, to whom thoy pay twelvo thousand dollars a year, and who are of so little Importance to tho government that thoy can travol around tho world, drawing their sal aries, drawing their traveling expenses, fur nished all tho time with United Stntes men of war when an ocean trip Is necessary, nnd still tho department of which this particular official Is tho head, goes on without interruption to its business. Secretary Taft has boon secretary of war for practically two terms. During that time ho has been at tho war department for scarcely two months out of a year. It Is true that somo of his absences have been because of trips to Panama or to tho Philippines. But thoro has been no such a record of absonco from the office made by any olllcial of such standing. This last trip of his takes him away from American torrltory altogether. Tho war department &oon on vory comfortably in his absence. It scorns posslblo that tho peoplo of tho United Slates may wonder whether If the war department can bo run while Secretary Taft Is traveling on salary and expenses, It might not be run without him at all. Among tho politicians In Washington tho chief talk on Monday of last week centered about tho positive assertion of friends of Senator For aker that he would without question become a candidate for the republican presidential nom ination. -Senator Foraker Is not hero. Ills col league, and ndmlror, Senator Dick, smiles whon asked concerning this rumor. But Sonator Dick always smiles. He smiled whon I aBkod him today what ho thought about Tom Johnson's victory In Cleveland. A real true ,dovoteo of the Roosevelt administration, an admirer of Mr, Taft and of Secretary Garfield should have frowned bitterly at such maladroit question. It would appear that the tears shed for tho unfort unate Burton are not falling from the eyes of tho Foraker faction. The real Immediate Issue In the republican party is Mr. Roosevelt's ovn purpose. Tho Whito House reporters declare today that upon information coming direct from the executive office, they are able to say that the president will not re-iterate his expressed purpose of not being a candidate for some months possibly not until tho republican national convention meets. The correspondents of 'New York news papers and New Yorkers visiting in Washington declare that every step now being made by Mr. Roosevelt In that state Is directed toward pro venting the selection of a Hughes delegation or even tho Increase of the Influence of Governor Hughes in Us politics. Tho only . telegram of congratulation sent by the- president into New York stato was sent to an avowed antagonist of Governor Hughes. It Is fair to say, however, that the president's own personal representative, Herbert Parsons, was so badly beaten as a re sult of his fusion with the Independence League that there -was no good opportunity for a tele gram other than of condolence. However -the question arises, If the president Is not himself a candidate, why 13 all the New York talk for a Roosevelt delegation and not a Taft delegation? No one hero doubts that Mr. Taft is playing his (Continued dn Page Six) r ,a V-uiu' xitrnAi-ik '.".. -tii? ."'. y.. ,.i .