The Washington herald., 1910-10-14
By WILLIS j. ABBOT.

Columbus. Ohio. Oct 10. - When you
come into Columbus in these days you
enter directly into the heat and turmo'
OF national campaign Every journal
list knOws-and their tribe is represented
here by it's best types from all over the
/ land-that the gubernatorial fight in Ohio
is but the opening gun of the 1912 Presi-
Dental campaign.
! Every politician knows IIdson Har-
mon knows II, but sagaciously refuses TO
talk about it. His part to-day is 10 be
elected governor elected on his record
for the past two years, elected on State
issues. Wherefore whatever may be in
the back of that impressive head OF his
bearing upon the future he keeps it 10
himself
Opposes Presidential Endorsement.
True. the state convention which re-
dominated him for governor. also insist
ed on indorsing him for President.
/ happen 10 know that action was taken
against his judgment and despite his
protest. The argument OF those who in
sist on the Endorsement was that Mr..
Bryan had recently attacked him in the
! Commoner on the issue OF the nomina-
ton of a Senator By the state conven-
ton. and that failure 10 Immediately
place Harmon before the country as
Ohio's Presidential candidate would be
regarded as a surrender to the Bryan
assault Harmon did not hold 10 this
view. but his friends put through the
Endorsement, and as result the State
/ Ft, d. inf
woven with the future national politics.
Independent In state.
In considering the outlook in the state
campaign It is to be remembered that
Ohio of late years has been normally
almost abnormally Republican. Taft car
ried it by practically 10000; Roosevelt
four years earlier by $4,000 Yet Har-
mon, running the same year with Taft
carried the State by 10000 and Psttison.
the year after the Roosevelt landslide,
went into the Governorshlp by 1880 SO.
despite OhiO's well-established reputation
for answering Repubicanism In Presi-
Dental elections. its errancy. not 10 say
independence IL. State elections, IS equally
well established.
/ This year there is no Presidential cleo
tion; that helps Harmon. But the eX-
ceeding probability that II he shall be
elected he viii be a Presidential can
didate hurts. Perhaps the two balance
each other. His administration has been
admittedly a nonpoltical one-a strictly
II business administration. That has helped
lie has had little patronage 10 administer
as he and the State treasurer were the
only Democrats elected on the State
ticket That lack has not hurt him
Patronage to-day IS the thing that the
man in power most breads For every
gratifed appointee dozen applicants
are disgruntled.
\ Harmon Not Hurt.
Before came TO Ohio / heard in half
dozen States the apprehension ex-
pressed that the stand Gov Harmon had
been forced TO take IN the Columbus
street car strike might probably lead to
his undoing This opinion was expressed
quite as emphatlcally by his friends as
by his foes. But right here in Columbus
/ find no echo of that fear, not even
among Republicans. The street car strike
Is practically dead The violence which
accompanied its earlier days was checked
| by the state troops called out by Gov
| Harmon after the mayor and the police
had failed to suppress II. The governor
told me to-day that the troops had not
fired a single shot. had not injured a
single citizen. striker or otherwise They
had not touched a car nor helped the
street railroad company 10 turn wheel
But they did through the sheer moral
force Of their presence, check rioting and
restored order.
Doubtless there viii be among a GER
tain section of labor men, notably among
those who were engaged in the strike.
some active hostility 10 Harmon because
Of this incident. I have talked with
few such. and find them bitter. but their
bitterness seems 10 take the form OF go
ing over 70 the socialist ticket Such
friends. or enemies, Of Gov. Harmon's
later ambitions as there may be in other
States might just as well set aside the
strike episode as negligible II VIII
neither help nor hurt.
The saloon Factor.
When Harmon was elected the first
time it was said, and with some reason.
] N-i"-N 'i4N NANNNi'i4 was SClA dlutu ny
the wet faction in politics Every
where that perplexing problem Of saloon
regulation obuudes its hateful head. But
in office the governor has shown no IA
vors to the ''wets." Indeed. it is prob
able that among the more extreme of
that faction he has been set aside as
mot one OF US" But on the ether hand
the vigorous way in which he handled
THE FEAR OF HIrNJRUG