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Show efc Politics and Things I DID it ever occur to you that the Republicans in this state have been rather slow to grasp the great national questions that hava rocked other states in the country for the last two or three years? Take, for instance, the presidential primary and the election of senators by di rect vote of the people. These have been burning questions in many other oth-er and larger states, but here in Utah the discussion of them has been slight. In fact, there has been little or no progressive political action in this state and in that particular respect re-spect the business men have far outstripped out-stripped the politicians. No banker, merchant or farmer Is backward in grasping a new idea. The banker adds all of the modern frills to his banking system, the merchant mer-chant keeps pace with the leader in another metropolis, the farmer reads and studies advanced methods of agriculture ag-riculture and keeps his farm in good tilth and his production on the increase. in-crease. In the line of thought, these men act independently. It cannot bo said that the same is true of the politician. The dominant party in this state has contented itself it-self for years with the threshing of petty problems, which, after all, simmer sim-mer down to conflicts between this and that candidate. No candidate has gone before the people on a progressive, progress-ive, outspoken platform in ten years. None of the great national problems cut much ice In the Utah campaigns and while other states were choosing choos-ing between issues ratner than be tween candidates, the politicians in this state were directing a fight along narrower lines. One may thank fortune, or something some-thing olse, that the situation is clearing clear-ing here. In this remarkable national nation-al campaign, Utah has reflected some of the spirit of progression, has caught some of the infectious ideas that have decided great struggles in many states where candidates and parties, as parties, were mere Incidents. Inci-dents. It is true that the absence of a generous adoption of progressive principles has been due to the domination dom-ination of a party machine that discourages dis-courages independence of thought, independence of action. This great machine, in Utah, has waxed powerful power-ful and has abused its power. It is the history of all great struggles that despots are strongest on tne very ev of their undoing. Is It not so here, where the federal machine, composed of men who are the servants of tho whole people, devotes Its entire time to the evolution of deals and tricks that will perpetuate the power it holds? If there is any gentleman in the audience who can point to a single time when any obnoxious member of the federal bunch initiated a movement move-ment for the general good, will he please rise and let us look him over? If there is in the house any man or woman who can look bnrk over the record of the last eight years and point to a single act that was in- spired for tho uplift of the community, commun-ity, and can at the same time lay authorship of this act at the door of any one of the present federal dictators dicta-tors of the Republican party policy, please step to the platform. Certain federal officeholders in this state have organized a poison squad which peddles poisonea pellets tho length and breadth of the state for the sole purpose of injuring the reputations repu-tations of good men wno happen to stand in the way of the federal machine. ma-chine. This iniquitous poison squad has been at work for two or three years, delivering a carton of cyanide here and a bundle of bacilli there, but always disclaiming responsibility and always professing to Know nothing noth-ing about said deliveries. , The moc-casined moc-casined monarchs of tho merciless machine are continuing their tactics right in the faco of impending disaster. disas-ter. And it is not surprising to note that they are getting ready for the biennial bi-ennial flip-flop, for evidence of this preparation has already appeared in the party organ which they control. It is easy to see how Independent political thought is stifled by this machine. ma-chine. Men who have dared oppose the will of the federal office , holders have been lambasted until their name was held up to the scorn and ridicule of a commonwealth. Issues of greatest moment that have interested inter-ested other states have, when they became discussed here and there within the Republican party of this state, received broadside after broadside broad-side from the outraged batteries manned by federal gunners because, forsooth, those groat questions involved in-volved a certain amount of thought that was neither directed, controlled nor inspired from that fount of all political wisdom which hovers above the kiosk and under the spreading wings of that great American bird. At any rate, it is altogether too hot to become intemperate. A prominent public official, of high station, wide experience and decided political leanings, met up with a friend whose prominence isn't so pinnacled, whose experience is not so wide, but whose political views are quite as decided. "I'll bet you a hat Roosevelt is nominated at Chicago," said tho less prominent man. "All right," said the prominent official. offi-cial. "I'll bet your way and now to make matters even, you bet mine. I'll bet you another hat that If he Is nominated and elected ho will bo impeached im-peached before tho end of his term." All of which makes an unusual bet and if wo were to toll .you who made it, you would laugh mightily. ' Wait till you hear the vote from Alabama. The presidential race has put all other political matters into total eclipse, ai copt for the occasional mention of a candidate in both par- H ties there hasn't been a political M thrill in Utah since tho Provo convon- H tion failed to instruct the delegation. M When Roosevelt started his race M along In the early part of the year he fl had few journalistic friends. Col- M lier's Weekly backed him and later M the Chicago Tribune Joined. Then tho M Philadelphia North American climbed M in and as the fight progressed one or M two other great independent Repub- lican papers supported the colonel. M Classed with tho most powerful pa- M pers in the country, naturally and of M course, not to say with all certainty, M is The Weekly. It has been its mis- M sion to demand a square deal and to M give to the people the actual facts M concerning tho great national race M which they could not get from any M other source within the state. South Dakota, New Jersey and fl Ohio have spoken their final word in 11 the matter. Coming on top of Ohio's 11 decided vote for Roosevelt, New Jer- El sey elected every Roosevelt delegate. 11 it is a familiar saying that New Jer- wA sey goes as New York goes, since tM there are so many commuters in that H state who work in the metropolis. 11 The powerful New York press, all op- WM posed to Roosevelt, has an influence IH upon New Jersey. Furthermore, the mM Taft candidacy n that state was not H identified with an odious political H machine, so that the odds were easily H in favor of the President. Against H these odds, Roosevelt Avon. The ma- Hi chine 'was in control at the Ohio jH state convention and Taft won the H six delegates-at-large, after being re- H pudiated by a tremendous majority H in the popular vote in his home state. H The rest of the work will be up to H the national committee and to the jjM Chicago convention. The Taft man- H agers are moving heaven and eartn H to encompass the defeat of the colo- H nel. This is a time for the great H Republican party, which has solved fM so many perplexing problems, to H show honesty, Integrity and moral fM courage, no matter what may be the M outcome at Chicago. M H Preparing for war in time of peace M is a precaution that is hardly evei M overlooked by the man seeking poll- M tical preferment. But it so happened M that Steve Love overlooked a bet in B Chicago. He was there on traffic M business, stopping at tho Annex. For M one week there was stopping at the fl Auditorium, directly across the M street, one Nephi L. Morris, who is M popularly supposed to be a strong 1 Love supporter. There was an ex- M cellent chance for these two war- H horses to compare notes and discuss M from afar the situation in Utah. But fM they didn't moot. They left Chicago H a few minutes apart on the same day H and Mr. Morris overtook Mr. Love at M Ogden. They had a chat all tho way H from Ogden and most of that time mM was consumed in comparing notes on HH how they missed each other in Chi- M cago. H Ht Elihu Root might bo justified in H feeling hurt. He will have to work H several nights in composing his key- H note speech; it will tarce a lot of hard H studying to got it committed to mam- H ory; then he will have to make his H throat all raw when ho delivers it, if H he expects it to be heard by the en- K tire audience; he will not get a cent H; for it, and now it appears that no- H body is going to give him a word of H thanks for it. Mr. Root should con- H suit the Toastmasters' union. pH H New York newspapers appear to H have wasted a large amount of advice H on the people of New Jersey. H H The Governor Spry club elected of- H fleers Wednesday night and from Hi now on will be one of the live auxil- H lary organizations of the campaign. m The club Avas organized in response Hr to a general demand for early action H in behalf of the Spry candidacy. H There If a lingering suspicion that H some members of the Republican Hj party, heretofore more or loss influ- H ential, do not desire the renomina- H tion of Mr. Spry and have made that Hji desire manifest by scattering here H and there a great deal of cyanide of H) potassium, bichloride of mercury and M other delicacies calculated to stunt H the growth of Spry sentiment. So a W great many friends of the governor m organized the club. H Frank Jordan, one of the best or- H ganizers in the state, was elected H president; Frank L. Hines, former H water master, vice president; Jesse H I. Burnett, treasurer; Charles A. BB Weaver, secretary, and Wright 'Pick- H ering, W. E. Schoppe and Burl M Armstrong, trustees. ' The club has a big membo. jhip H and will have more. It is the inten- H tion to do everything in the power H of the club and its members to fur- Hi ther the candidacy of Governor . Spry, before convention and before Hu election. B H Frank J. Hagenbarth, heretofore m claimed for Taft, has announced that H he will support Colonel Roosevelt at Wfm ' Chicago. Mr. Hagenbarth, well Ik known in Salt Lake, is a member of H the Idaho delegation. m H Fred T. Dubois, former senator H from Idaho, who is managing Champ H Clark's campaign, was turned down H by the Democrats of Idaho. He Hi wanted to go to Baltimore as a dole- K gate, but there were so many other 9 Democrats ir Idaho who didn't want Hill him to go that he was "left at E home." |