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The Commoner.
VOLUME 7, NUMBER EJ
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6NT Topics
FRIENDS OF Secretary Taft controlled the re
publican state convention which met re
cently at Columbus; Ohio. JamcB R. Garfield
was chosen as chairman for the state conven
tion. The primaries will be held February 11,
and the convention will meet at Columbus,
March 3.
WISCONSIN is the first state to call a demo
cratic state convention for 1908. The
Wisconsin convention will be held at Milwaukee,
February 13. A dispatch under date of Mil
waukee, December 2, says: "This was decided
on tonight at a meeting of the sub-committee of
the democratic state central committee, which
was empowered to select the time and place of
the state convention. There will be twenty-two
district delegates and four delegates-at-large.
The district delegates will be nominated at cau
cuses and ratified by the convention and delegates-at-large
will be nominated by the conven
tion. The delegates thus agreed upon in con
vention will go before the people at the primary
elections and will be elected without opposition."
EVERYONE WILL be interested in this dis
patch from the Washington correspondent
for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat: "The, repub
lican national convention, which assembles at
noon Tuesday, June 16, -will- consist of 980 dele
gates, 491 votes " being- necessary to nominate.
The last convention was composed of 994 dele
gates, but the national committee reduced the
representation of the territories and the District
of Columbia from six delegates to two. Okla
homa comes in with fourteen delegates. The
territories will ask for representation by six
delegates each, but it will rest with the conven
tion whether they are to be ceded or not. Under
the terms of the call issued by the national com
mittee, it will be in order to hold conventions
after January 7 for the selection of delegates
to the national convention upon the giving of
thirty days notice. It is expected that a number
of states will hold their conventions during Feb
ruary', and by that time there will be a practical
show-down of the strength of the opposing can
didates for the nomination. Practical politi
cians do not attach a great deal of importance
to the declarations which have been made by
state committees up to this time. The represent
ation of the several states and territories in the
national convention follows: Alabama 22, Ar
kansas 18, California 20, Colorado 10, Connecti
cut 14, Delaware 6, Florida 10, Georgia 26.
W Idaho 6, Illinois 54, Indiana 30, Iowa 26, Kan
sas 20, Kentucky 26, Louisiana 18, Maine 12,
Maryland 16, Massachusetts 32, Michigan 28,
Minnesota 22, Mississippi 20, Missouri 36, Mon
tana 6, Nebraska 16, Nevada 6, New Hampshire
8, New Jersey 24, 'New York 78, North Caro
lina 24, North Dakota 8, Ohio 46, Oklahoma
14, Oregon 8, Pennsylvania 68, Rhode Island
8, South Carolina 18, South Dakota 8, Tennes
see 24, Texas 36, Utah 6, Vermont 8, Virginia
24, Washington 10, West Virginia 14, Wiscon
sin 26, Wyoming 6, District of Columbia 2,
Alaska 2, Arizona 2, Hawaii 2, New Mexico 2
Philippine Islands 2, Porto Rico 2. Total 980.'
FORMER PRESIDENT Grover Cleveland has
written for the Youth's Companion an art
icle entitled "Our People, and Their Ex-Presidents."
In a dispatch from New York the Asso
ciated Press gives this synopsis of Mr. Cleve
land's article: "Referring to the poverty of
Jefferson after he left the presidency as a blow
to the national pride, Mr. Cleveland declares
deilnite linn Erflnfirnim Twtwialn-nt, ni...ij i. ,
for the maintenance of chief magistrates at the
end of their terms. He discusses the subject at
length and says he feels that he can do so with
out his sincerity being questioned, since he Is
5S2nS?Hnl taW fr091 the publlc easury.
The condition is by no means met,' Mr. Cleve
land writes, 'by the meager and spasmodic re
lief occasionally furnished under the guise of a
military pension or some other pretext: nor
would it be best met by making compensation
dependent upon the direct charge of senatorial
or other duty. Our people ought to make a
definite and generous provision for all cases
alike based on motives of justice "and fairness
and adequate to the situation.' Continuing Mr.
Cleveland writes: "There is a sort of1 vague,
but none the less imperative, feeling abroad in
the land that one who has occupied the great
office of president holds in trust for his fellow
citizens a certain dignity which, in his conduct
and manner of life he is bound to protect. Obe
dience to this obligation prescribes for him only
such work as, in the popular judgment, is not
undignified. This suggests without argument a
reciprocal connection between the curtailment of
opposition on one hand and reasonable indem
nification on the other.' "
SENATOR William B. Allison, of Iowa, chair
man of the committee on appropriations,
favors action by congress looking to the care
and support of ex-presidents of the United
States. In an Associated Press interview he re
ferred to the recent utterances of former Presi
dent Grover Cleveland on the subject and agreed
with him that some provision should be made in
this direction. The matter deserved considera
tion at the hands of congress, he said, and un
doubtedly would receive it. In the case of
Thomas Jefferson, who died poor, Mr. Allison
said the government would have done well to
pay his debts. At present Mrs. Garfield is re
ceiving an allowance from the government, and
he said to make provision for ex-presidents
would cause no considerable drain on the treas
ury, as rarely- have there been more than two
of them alive at the same time.".
REPUBLICAN-politlcians are Just a little un
easy about the conduct of the colored
brother in 1908. Down in Alabama they did
some peculiar things. The following dispatch
from Mobile explains: "Ten thousand colored
people gathered today and celebrated emanci
pation day with a monster meeting. Rev. B. F.
Wheeler was the principal speaker. The fol
lowing resolutions were adopted: 'Resolved,
That we, the .colored people of Mobile, Ala.,
pledge our continual allegiance to the fearless
leader and faithful champion of the third term
movement in the person of Hon. Frank Hitch
cock, first assistant postmaster general, and we
consider Secretary" of War Taft fortunate in se
curing such a man as Mr. Hitchcock to manage
his interests in the southern states. We will
now feel much more friendly In the future to
the Taft movement than we have in the past' "
This seems queer when it is remembered that
Mr. Hitchcock is supposed to be a Cortelyou
boomer rather than a Taft adherent. And so
strong were his anti-administration views that
he has been stripped of all power of political
appointments in the postoffice department.
ALL OVER the country there are signs of
the negro vote being crystalized. These
two telegrams are interesting: "Boston, Jan. 1
A call for a meeting of colored citizens to
be held at Philadelphia on April 7, was sent
out today to representative colored men all over
the country by Rev. H. M. Scott, president of
the Suffrage league of Boston. The calj says
the conference is to have special reference to
demands to be made of political parties as to
platforms for the next national election and
to determine what candidates for the presiden
tial nomination most deserve the support of the
colored voters." "Topeka, Kan., Jan. 1. At a
meeting of negroes from over Kansas today pri
marily to celebrate emancipation day, a resolu
tion was passed commending Senator J. B For
aker and pledging support to his 'aspirations
whatever they may be,' and calling on the
negroes of the south to join in supporting him."
WITH THE new year Georgia's prohibition
law became effective. An Atlanta dis
patch to the Sioux City (la.) Journal said: "The
law is very drastic In lta prohibition and pre
vents the keeping or giving away of liquors in
public places, and imposes a tax of $&00 on
.clubs whose members are allowed to keep drinks
of an intoxicating nature in their individual
lockers, 'ihere is some agitation to have the
law declared unconstitutional. This action mav
be brought in the United States courts in the
course of the next month. It was claimed to
day that Atlanta alone would lose in license
taxes $135,612 and that the property value of
saloons and breweries here which will go out
of business on January 1 is from $1,000,000
to $1,500,000. For the rest of the state the
property values involved are. about $5,000,000
It is estimated that 1,000 persons will lose their
employment when January 1 rings its bell on
the sale of intoxicating liquors. That the pro
hibition law will be enforced there is no ques-
tion. Governor Smith and the city court offi
cials have been frank in their statements that
they intend to enforce the laws. Many of the
more prominent clubs have declared that they
will go one better than the law and prohibit
the keeping of liquor within their doors. The
constitution of Georgia in its provision for school
maintenance is -very specific, according to one
Atlanta lawyer. The question now arises where
the funds for the maintenance of public schools
will come from, and it is said that a consider
able increase in the tax rate may result."
GOVERNOR Hoke Smith, referring to the
Georgia law made to the Associated Press
this statement: "There is nothing in the effort
to attack the prohibition law on account of the
provision of the constitution appropriating spe
cial liquor taxes to the schools. The consti
tution authorizes, but does not require, a special
liquor tax. , The concerns which quit the liquor
business are not lost. The breweries are pre
pared to manufacture ice and 'soft1 drinks, with
which they can pay a fair profit on their invest
ments. There is plenty of work in Georgia
for those who go out of the liquor business
and plenty of work all the time for those who
have wasted half their time through the use of
liquor."
A MARION, Ohio, dispatch to the Washington
Herald follows: "President Roosevelt was
flayed as arrogant, and as guilty of 'the unpar
donable sin of ingratitude.' This was in refer
ence to his opposition to Senator J. B. Foraker,
who is credited with having turned the Ohio
delegation to him in 1900, over Mark Hanna's
wishes. These remarks were made in an inter
view here this evening by William Z. Davis, the
Ohio supreme court justice. Justice Davis said:
'This Is not the first time in the history of the
republican party that a vice president who was
made president by the work of an assassin has
used all the power and influence of the govern
ment to avenge himself on those who have ven
tured to have views of their own, and to force
'my policy' on the party of the nation. Some of
us have not forgotten Andrew Johnson.' Justice
Davis turned to praise Senator Foraker and
slipped in a reference to the delivery of Ohio to
Roosevelt and his opinion of the president's op
position to Foraker. He said: 'If my vote
would make Senator Foraker president, he would
be chief executive, for I believe he would be
a safe and sane and big president, who would
engage in no wild crusades and would adminis
ter the high office in the interest of all classes.
He certainly would not be guilty of the unpar
donable sin of ingratitude.' "
A FORMER mistress of the White House,
Mrs. Letitia Tyler Semple, died recently,
age eighty-six years, at the Louise home, Wash
ington, D. C. A writer In the New York Even
ing Post says: "Mrs. Semple was the only sur
viving daughter of President Tyler. In 1839
she was married to Paymaster Semple of the
navy. Owing to Mrs. Tyler's ill-health, It was
necessary for some oth.er woman of the family
to represent her and to assume the social obli
gations of the White House. Dtirinff Mr.
Semple'a absence on duty at sea, Mr. Semple
went to Washington to assume the7 place of
executive hostess, remaining with her father un
tll hQ .piappled again. During the years
of Mrs. Semple's residence in the White House,
and throughout. the Tyler regime, Jeffersonian
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