[EVENT] Bridging The Gap

Over the past five years, with causes running as far back as almost a decade, the Republican party has seen itself become further and further split along a divide between Conservatives led by President Taft and the Progressives under the lead of former President Roosevelt. This split is beginning to seriously show the Republican front, as the debate between both side become nearly as loud as the debate with the Democrats! As such, groups on both sides, though they dare not speak to each other, realize that this split may spell doom in the election of 1912. Thus, these groups have begun to try and establish compromise between conservative and progressive, thus far without success.

This has changed with the efforts of Elihu Root, elder statesman, former cabinet member, and current New York Senator. A moderate member of the conservative faction, he had served as Secretary of War and later Secretary of State for the progressive President Roosevelt. This put him in a unique position to effect real compromise. In a closed doors meeting, Mr. Root managed to convince President Taft to agree to an open and honest discussion on the adoptions of several of the progressives' policy suggestions, as well as combined ticket for the 1912 Presidential race. In exchange he was assured progressive support for his personal crusade for a 16th amendment to allow the collection of an income tax.