AMERICAN PRESIDANCY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 186, 12 January 1912, Page 3

AMERICAN PRESIDANCY.

CHANCES OF CANDIDATES.

THE CLAIMS OF BEVERIDGE.

The threatened deadlock between tie Taft and La FoDette followings inspires the suggestion that Senator Albert J. Beyeridge may be the man to lead a reunited Republican party. From the age of 12 Mr. Beveridge suffered great privations, and his success is of the sort that appeals to the American mind. He was a railroad laborer at 14 years, a logger and teamster at 15, and then attended a high school. He managed to get into a law office, and in 1887 was admitted to the Bar. Succeeding, he became identified with many important cases, and is well known as an orator and Republican platform speaker. In connection with the Presidency he is being proposed as a compromise candidate, in much the same way as Mr. Bonar Law recently climbed to the leadership of the Unionist party in the House of Commons, between the more commanding figures of -Messrs Austen Chamberlain and Walter Long. REPUBLICAN DIVISIONS. An American correspondent writes:— Although President Taft, in his lengthy speech-making tour of the country, excited nothing approaching clamorous enthusiasm, it is very generally admitted that the Republican party is practically certain to nominate him as a candidate for the Presidency, and that the chances of Senator La Follette, despite bis strength in certain States, are so slight as to be almost negligible. Nevertheless, President Taft's speech-making trip from coast to coast must have been somewhat disappointing to him. He courageously visited most of the States in which Republican insurgency is rampant, and, generally speaking, his reception waß decidedly tepid. The officials of those States, many of whom are actively working against him and in favor of La Follette, treated the President with all courtesy and consideration. A typical instance of this occurred in CaliforniaGovernor Hiram W. Johnson, fresh from a speech-making tour of the State,..in which he nightly criticised in vigorous language the President's views on the "recall" as applied to judges, journeyed to the State's border to welcome' Mr. Taft, and accompanied him during his entire stay in California. No enthusiasm for the President was shown in California or in. any of the other western' insurgent States, although som'e of the ' newspapers supporting him labored, to show that it was so. Mr. Taft's trip ■was taken for the admitted purpose of attempting to 6top the rapid progress of insurgent sentiment in the Western. States. From this point of view the ] long journey has been a failure. Insurgency is growing in the West rather ithan receding. The insurgents are diligently fostering the belief that .the only chance of victory for the Republicans is' I to nominate an insurgent candidate. But j far-sighted political observers see no possibility of La Follette overcQmmg the solid support Taft will receive from dele, gates from all the Southern State's' and most of the Eastern States. Discussion of Vice-Presidential possibilities has be-,, gun. James Sherman, the present Vice'-,' President, will probably be renominated'' by the Republicans, along with Mr'.' Taft The Democrats are taking up the ; suggestion that General Nelson• Miles, a re-' tired officer of the United States'army', be nominated. Some of the leaders, j however, favor the selection of a'West-, em man, as tending to strengthen ''-the' ticket. • r ' : • WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE DOING. , V ,-..

Interest in the Democratic party's choice.of a candidate has been increased; by the activity of Mr. Oscar Underwood,, leader of the party in the House, of.Representatives. Underwood ;' Conservative wing of his party, .andrhis; ! appearance as a candidate probably ;will ' eliminate from the contest * Harmon, of Ohio. Harmon abso,is ; SUJI-' ning as a Conservative, and as suchfhae the uncompromising Ham Jennings Bryan, who still assumed J' to tell the Democratic party : what it<i should do. If, as seems likely,. Unddf-J • wood supplants Harman as the candid-' ' ate of the unradical wing of • the .part-y,j J the race for the Demorcatic-nomination' '■' will then lay between Underwood and' ■ '' Woodrow Wilson, Governor of New Jej«H sey, with Champ Clark, Speaker, of,.ijlp 3 House of Representatives, in a handy,." position in the event of • a deadlpcic, iin ' the convention. Underwood b.as.oe,e£ in, \ I Congress sixteen years. Until tM last' > •year he.has done little to attract the attention of the country at largo, although ' in Washington he has always'been, re- ! cognised as a capable, well-informed! l«g-'. ' islator. In his. capacity of f[oor-leader of his party, since the Democrats' .came into power in the House, of Representatives, he has occupied something, akin < to the position of Premier in a Ejrjtish • Cpuntry—that is, he lias to a large- ex ; tent controlled the order of business and . .; led the majority in debate. : Thp,year's, ■ work resulted ui vastly enhancing his .' reputation. Underwood on one occasion signalised .himself by intimating that William Jennings Bryan, had lied. . Bryan., in his newspaper, charged, that Underwood had used his position to sidestep the question of reducing iron .and steel Customs duties, 'because he was" , interested in the industry. Underwood; J showed that on the contrary' lie. tiad J pushed forward that matter. with particular vigor. The .new candidate',is stated by one of his newspaper admirerj? I to be "tlic strangest example in -modern I times of a thoroughly modest man get* ting a reputation without going 'after it-".. . • , ": ~ However, Governor Wo.odro,w Wilson still looms as the most likely of all the Democratic candidates. His party leaders favor him 'because they believe he would be more likely to defeat President' Taft than any other candidate. It is InOt an unusual thing to hear a. Republican say that, against Wilson, T:ift would lose, but that In: would be ccrtain'.'to defeat any other candidate the Republicans mi.'dit ii.-ijii» forth. Governor Wilson has no iv™ " ,J •■.in. !;"''ping liinisetf Tight in the public >"W'. His criticisms'of the actions of the Taft Adniinistratipn have ' been Widely quoted. At an assemblage of State Governors recently, lie was made the presiding oliicer. Under his direction, the Legislative of Xew Jersey is adopting a large body of useful and more or less Radical laws. All"these things cau°e him to be talked about, and to be talked about is not the least of the attributes a successful Presidential candidate must have.