The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-11
WASHINGTON MAN
 TALKS ON POLITICS Ben Carter Tells of Significance of Results HARMON IS VERY STRONG Thinks the Governor Can Carry Ohio
HARMON IS VERY STRONG
Thinks the Governor Can Carry Ohio Against Taft or Anyone Else-Un- dervrood Attracts Interest
 in the North

Birmingham for a visit of a few days to his brother, J. Rivers Carter. He was in Europe last summer but came home in October, and having spent a week in New York and the. middle west. before the election, he talks enthusiastically of the democratic revival, especially of Governor Harmons great victory in Ohio and the satisfaction expressed by dem- ocratic leaders and business men every here, in Oscar w Underwood as tho predestined chairman of the ways and means committee of the House in the next Congress
 Most of Mir. Underwood's constituents, suspect, would be surprised to hear how widely he and his good work in Con- gress are known north of the Ohio river U said MT. Carter. Anywhere you go you may hear somebody naming him as first choice for speaker, and, if not speaker, everybody seems to want him made chair man of the committee that will have the chief responsibility for tariff legislation.
 "The last time I was in Birmingham many leading men were beginning to feel an interest in Governor Harmon of Ohio, and the prospects for his reelection, and 6 little later-the early part of last. Au- gust I believe-I wrote letter to The Age-Herald in which I recited some evil 6ences and some reasons of Harrnon's popularity. l am not going to claim any particular credit from that letter as a prophet, for l, did not foretell any such thing as that which actually happened in Ohio on November S. My conclusion was that Governor Harmon would inevitably be elected by a considerable increase over his 1908 plurality, of some 19.OO0 votes. This of course, reasonably pointed 10 some 3O,0o0 or 10000 votes. l had not dreamed that the governor would receive the largest plurality that Ohio ever gave to any candidate for any office in 40 years. The figures, we all know, are a little over 100000
 Prominent Republicans Review "The best review of this Ohio election that I have heard was given to me at Washington a few days ago by repup- lican who has had big hand in party management and campaigning and was
 
 next to the cabinet itself. He reminded me that he had lived some years in Ohio; this by way of explaining a remark he had made tooa friend in my hearing, that when Harmon was first nominated he (the speal<er) was satisfied that the jig was up with the republicans in Ohio, and that the late election was no great surprise to him. When I quizzed him q little he said:
 Harmon does not owe great deal to any tidal wave. New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and everything else might have gone republican, and Harmon still would have been elected by probably 50,000 or 60O0n votes. Of course Roosevelts S hysterical attack on him (for which no respectable republican newspaper in the state would stand) added many votes to lis tally. but he would have had an enor- nous vote in any case. The fact is there are some 50,0O0 republicans in Ohio who will vote for Harmon for any office over any candidate theirio party can name. They know him, as 1 know him, to be that square, straight-thinking, hard headed sort of a man that is needed. more at this time than ever ito administer d big public office,'
 Without New York
 Last week I was in Ohio, continued MT. Carter. What you hear there would not permit one to doubt that Harmon as a presidential candidate would carry Ohio against Taft and, of course, against any outsider. Level:headed democrats in my time have never laid any plans for elect ing a President without the vote of New York; and, for that matter, Harmon would no doubt carry New York by a vote as great as any other candidate could get or greater. But it will un- doubtedly be true in 1912 that with liar mon as the nominee, the democrats could lose New York and yet carry the electoral college.
 An advantage that Governor Harmon holds over any other possible nominee is that he has been so thoroughly tried out the home estimate of his career, both in office and private business, has been so clearly expressed. Colonel Roosevelt and the republican state organization be- tween them dragged into the campaign everything that afforded the slightest hope of turning votes away from him. He is now known and understood as few governors of states have been known, even by home people. If he Is nomi- mated there can be none of the surprises by which former presidential candidates, some fairly, some unfairly. have been hurt. The republicans will not dare take any liberties with his record
 . '1'he popular fore-choice of Harmon as his party's candidate for President is unique in this particular; it is absolutely spontaneous. I never knew anything like it before. There probably has not been a presidential nomination made by either party in 20 years without two years or more of management in advance. Some times this organized effort has failed, but more often it has succeeded. There is no such effort by Harmon democrats at this time. I do not believe that two or three men have yet gathered together outside of Ohio to. boom Harmon.
 As National Figure
 Tn the leading editorial of the Wash ington Post the morning after the elec- tion there was an odd comment on the Ohio result. After some fair discussion of the results in other states, the Post said that Harmon had won because his admin lstraton of his office had been good and because the local conditions were other wise favorable; that his triumph had no relation to national politics. The fact is, among the democratic victors it is Har- mon alone whose vote stands as a test of opinion on the national administration. President Taft wrote letter of that sort that the country has learned to expect of him-earnest to intensity. but in good taste and temper-asking Harding's cleo ton as an indorsement of his own ad- ministratiop. Three members of the cab inet went into Ohio and pleaded for the, defeat of Harmon as the alternative to