Life — October 8, 1908 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“While there is Life there's Hops No. 1384 VOL. Lt OCTOBER 8,19 Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY Lin, Sec"y and Treat. DA MITCHELL Prete A. 17 West Thiry-first Street, New Vork, D IED, suddenly, along out the middle of September, the Tarpidity of the Presi- dential Cam- paign of 1908. It is more de- corous ina pub- ) lic notice to say at it died, but we what nb all know really happened to it It was ruthlessly and brutally tomahawked by Wicked William Hearst. And this writing the air is still full of razors, and still quivers with vibrations pro- duced by pounding on the tom-tom with the Big Stick. Wicked Willie just whole middle of the stage and the at- tention of the audience for any piece he may care to speak. It is all tragie- ally funny, and noisy out of all pro- portion to its importance. It would seem as if nothing that could happen to Senator Foraker could very much affect Taft's candidacy one way or the other. In reply to the letters that Hearst has printed indicating Fora- ker's political helpfulness in time past to his Standard Oil clients, Senator Foraker declares that his relations with the Standard Oil Company were never secret, nor ever improper so long as they continued. We hope he may con- vince his Ohio constituents that he says true, for there is much about him and his recent record that inspires respect. There is a shadow of tragedy in Foraker’s predicament, but Governor Haskell’s case is all comedy. If he, too, turns out to have heen intimately mixed up with the Standard Oil Com- pany, all disinterested observers will For to Haskell, as Governor now has the laugh. "LIFE: of Oklahoma, builder of the Demo- cratic platform, treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, and right-hand man to Candidate Bryan, monopolistic corporations are officially abhorrent. That they should be un- officially abhorrent .is not deducible from the hest known incidents in Has- kell’s career. . Wall Street knows Oklahoma's Gov- ernor; knows him as an uncommonly persuasive talker, who can sell goods. It seems that he sold a railroad in Wall Street some years ago, and sold it for considerably more than it was worth. Morcover, he sold it to shrewd, grown-up men, who ought to have known what they were buying They do not complain of him; they complain of themselves for taking him seriously. There being no time before election for Governor Haskell to reno- vate his record, he has promptly effaced himself from the group of Mr. Bryan's official helpers, and turned over the Democratic dough-bag to Editor Her- mann Ridder Really, the Democratic party ought to be put back into office for the ex- press purpose of trying out its con- stituent folks, getting rid of its blatherskites and developing reputation and administrative capacity in its able men by putting upon them the respon- sibility of government. It ought to be done in the interest of party govern- ment, and with another candidate than Bryan there would have been a good chance to do it this year. But as it is, the more the need of doing it appears, the more the conservative voter shrinks from paying the price. M HEARST, as said, has shot for the moment into the most conspicuous place in the political picture. The situation now is the one that gives him his very best chance for effective activity. When he runs for office himself he is at a great dis- advantage because of his extreme vul- nerability as a candidate. But as a general fomenter of mischief and raiser of hob he is at his best, and in the hest position to make the most of his knowledge and his machinery. It does not look as though he were likely to combine with cither of the principal part He is credited with two in- tentions—to beat Bryan and to beat Chanler in New York. His grievance against Bryan is understood to be that after he had supported Bryan in sev- eral campaigns, Bryan would not help him get the Democratic nomination. His grievance against Chanler is un- derstood to be that after Chanler had been put by Hearst influence on the Hearst ticket in New York two years ago, and had been elected Lieutenant Governor, he ungratefully abandoned Hearst and took up with the other squad of the party. So we may ex- pect to see Hearst work his own Inde- pendent party hard in the country at large to beat the ungrateful Bryan, and in New York State to beat the ungrateful Chanler. That is all fair enough. Folks who are willing to take what Hearst can give, but are not willing presently to re: ciprocate, must put up their umbrellas HE Hearst candidate for Gover- nor of New York is Mr. Clar- ence Shearn, a clever man, who is Mr. Hearst’s private counsel and his Has- kell. Some of the wicked voters in New York State will doubtless vote for Mr. Shearn. The rest, of course, will vote with Conners and Murphy for Mr. Chanler. If Mr. Shearn wasn't running no doubt they would all vote for Chanler. For Governor Hughes is not strong, and can't expect to be, with the wicked voters. In that particular he is the political inferior of President Roosevelt, who has al- ways been able to endear himself to considerable numbers of wicked voters by his love of sport, including prize- fights, his abounding enjoyment of life, and his captivating manners. The one thing that everybody knows that Governor Hughes has accom- plished, is the ruin of the race-tracks around New York, That is far and away his most conspicuous achieve- ment, and chiefly upon that record he will go to the polls.