He has said more than once, however, that he will not be a candidate, averring that his ambition is bounded by the work of the Civic Federation, the remarkable voluntary arbitration committee on which are represented men, and college presidents, and which has achieved well for the industrial peace of the country. Nevertheless, his denials will not be accepted by the politicians, and he is constantly a possibility. The possibility might be changed into probability should there be a rupture in the existing pleasant relations betwoon Roosevelt and Hanna.
A Rift between Roosevelt and Hanna.
Opportunities for such rupture are not difficult of imagination—indeed, one is pretty constantly available. Rathbone, one of the men convicted of fraud in connection with the postal scandal in Cuba during American administration there, is a close personal friend of Hanna. Hanna believes that ho is innocent, that he was fairly convicted by the Cuban courts, and that Governor-General Wood is primarily responsible for his unjust treatment. Now Wood is a bosom friend of Roosevelt, who esteems him not only fas an able man but as a man of absolute probity. Wood has finished his work in Guba. Some other appointment for him would be natural. For most positions the consent of the Senate is necessary to complete appointment. Senator Hanna wields a very strong influence in that body. Should Wood's name come before it for indorsement, what Hanna would do and the result of what he might do furnish interesting subjects for speculation.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.