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Show Political Wiseacres Read This in His Recent Significant Move. CHOOSES BEST POLITICIAN TO MAKE WESTERN TRIP May Be Question of Weighing Sentiment for Him and That for Roosevelt. By Leased Wire to Tho Tribune. WASHINGTON. July 30. President Taffs determination to send Senator W, Murray Crane on a tour of the country and particularly through tho west Is regarded re-garded in Washington as a matter of unusual un-usual political importance. It is believed by the president's closest friends and officials of-ficials of tho administration that it is tho first step in the direction of sounding out tho country with a view to determining determin-ing tho wisdom of Mr. Taft becoming a candldato tor another presidential nomination. nomi-nation. In support of this It 1$. pointed out that the Republican convention In Ohio early thin week adds a plank Indorsing In-dorsing President Taft for the presidency again. That plank was submitted to tho president by Senator Dick before It "was presented to the convention and evidently It had tho presidential indorsement. Friends of the administration see in tho president's selection of Senator Crane as a political embassador a revival of tho presldcnt'n belief In his ability to bo re-elected. Real Object of Trip. No one in Washington believes that Senator Crane's journey through the west Is for tho exclusive purpose of sizing up the political situation as it concerns the congressional elections next Novembur. It is true that tho president Is mightily Interested and perhaps somewhat concerned, con-cerned, and wants to got first hand Information In-formation on the subject, but It is likewise like-wise believed that the primary object of Senator Crane's mission Is to ihid out what the Taft sentiment is. Another matter in which Senator Crane Is ex pected to interest himself is to dolor-mine dolor-mine Just what the Roosevelt sentiment Is In the west. There has been no attempt at-tempt on the part of the friends of the president to conceal tho fact that the Interview between the president and Colonel Roosevelt at Beverly was ns unsatisfactory un-satisfactory from a political standpoint as It well could be. Mr. Roosevelt left the presldonl. completely In tho dark so far as politics Is concorncd, and no fragment frag-ment of light has yet appeared. Where Teddy Figures. Senator Crano. In the opinion of Washington Wash-ington officials, will weigh the Roosevelt Roose-velt sentiment as against tho Taft sentiment senti-ment In his travels through tho country. Every one who knows the Junior senator from Massachusetts Is confident that he will bring back to President Taft a most comploto and impartial report ns to conditions con-ditions as he finds them. Senator Crnno Is today regarded as tho shrewdest politician In congress, Tho fact that the president has selected him for the present delicate mission makes It a foregone conclusion that if Mr. Taft again bocomcs a candidate for the presidency presi-dency ho will place his political futuro in the hands of Senator Crano and rely on him to manage the presidential campaign. cam-paign. It will bo recalled that although Frank II Hitchcock was national chairman chair-man in tho lost campaign, it was Senator Sena-tor Crane who was called In nt a critical stage to lake hold of the situation. H0 |