Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-17
MoADoo AS A CANDIDATE
His Chances for the Democratic Nom'
inatlon for the Presidency Next
Year as They Appear to an
Observer in Washington
by CLINTON w. GILBERT
Washington. ID. c.. Oct. L.
TIyIIE IDnn1orrnti, ,,a,.x II Inl


split the party or scare away voters from
it; who may even bring back some of the
voters who have already quit it. Moreover
1t has some one who will tell it whom to
nominate. And the candidate is the son in
law of the man to whose word the whole
party will listen. Too much in the family;
II might be if Mr.. NIcAdoo were not SO
much of n man himself. No one thinks Of
Mr.. McAdoo as Mr.. Wilson's son in law
The accident of marriage makes him that;
but he is primarily Mr.. McAdoo.
TNHE Democratic party thus is lucky. The
Republican party is not so lucky. II
has no one to tell it whom to nominate. And
it has lot of persons TO tell it whom not
to nominate. For example, there is
William Allen White, who is here covering
as a special correspondent the industrial
conference. Mr.. White has Just told the
Republican party in an article in his own
newspaper not to nominate Governor Low
den, of Illinois Mr.. White and his paper
viii not support Mr.. Lowdeu if he is named.
Mr.. Lowden has n marked copy of Mr..
Whites paper with Mr.. Whites article, and
all Of Mr.. Lowdcn's friends have written
letters to Mr. White telling him what a
mistake he Is making in rejecting so fine
a candidate for President as Mr.. Lowden.
Mr.. White is not discriminating against Mr..
Lowden There are several other Repub-
lcans whom Mr.. White will take equal
pleasure in not supporting. But Mr.. Low
den seemed TO be prominent enough to de-
serve Mr.. Whites editorial attention. The
others will be dealt with in turn, when they
attract enough support to justify the ex-
pendture of good white paper upon them.
YOU will observe that the Democratic
party has one man to tell It whom to
nominate and that the Republican party has
several mon, in fact, it is feared, great
many mon. TO tell it whom not to nominate.
1t proceeds from the fact that when the
people decided to make the President the
party leader they forgot that that would
leave one party without a leader, there being
at least two parties and only the President
Consequently the Republican party has 10
leader or rather it has great many leaders,
whom it will not follow any more than it
will follow Mr.. White in his opposition to
Governor Lowdcn and in bis prediction
for Hiram Johnson. The Republican has
more votes at present than the Democratic
party--at least the country is in oppo-
sition to Mr.. Wilson. But being in oppo
sition to Mr.. Wilson is not being in oppo-
sition to Mr.. McAdoo, and being in opposi-
ton to Mr.. Wilson is not necessarily being
the Republican party may name.
THINGS will begin soon, in January to be
4 precise, when the Democrats and prob
ably the Republicans. too, will hold a meet
ing of their national committee TO issue a
call for the national convention and to
choose a city in which to hold it. There will
be big national celebration of this event,
the whole Democratic party rejoicing over
the perfect simplicity Of its task, namely,
choosing out of two or three perfectly good
candidates the one who bears the presiden
tial preference.
In the meantime the Democratic politi
clans await the sign from Mr.. Wilson, and
the President being too sick to give the sign,
the candidacy of Mr.. McAdoo makes prog
ress. Perhaps Mr.. Wilson may shrink
from giving the sign in favor of his own
son in law. And perhaps it may not be
necessary. for in the absence of an indication
that the President prefers some one else Mr..
McAdoo is likely to win. His campaign
has made great progress since the Presi
dents illness. At the Atlantic City meeting
of the Democratic national executive com
mittee Bernard NJ. Baruch was present,
looking after Mr.. McAdoo's interests. The
Atlantic City gathering was the first open
had been taken i'll few days before and
the politicians interpreted his breakdown as
equivalent to an announcement that he was
definitely out of consideration for q third
term. So Mr.. Baruch went to Atlantic City
in the interests of his friend Mr.. McAdoo,
and Attorney General Palmer went there in
his own interests, and several other persons
were there looking the land over, unobtrusye
but hopeful. But at Atlantic City the
McAdoo boom led all the rest. And SO it
does in Washington talk. The signs of
McAdoo alliances are all about the capital,
combination being facilitated by the Presi-
dents illness.
THE family and White House connection
might be overdone for the American
public would be likely to resent anything
like making the presidency a hereditary
Office. But Mr.. McAdoo has apparently es-
capped that criticism by retiring from the
secretaryship of the treasury as soon as the
fighting was over in Europe. And he is
avoiding undue prominence now. He might
easily have come to Washington and stayed
here during the Presidents illness, becoming
what one foolish story called him the other
day the "coadjutor President But Mr..
McAdoo is not political innocent. He
does not even sit in the industrial conference,
ana Whatever udppeuS He VIII not De con-
spicuous as an adviser of the President. II
he is nominated, it will be upon his own
merits as Mr.. McAdoo and not as the heir
apparent of the Chief Magistrate.
A ND his merits as a candidate are con-
"A siderable. First, he has rather hap
pier relations with the business interests of
the country than has any other Democratic
candidate. He came to Washington sus-
pected and disliked. He had been in Wall
street and he did not belong to the right set.
He remained suspected and disiked until
the war began, when his handling of the
problem of financing the war won the ap-
proval of big business. And Mr. McAdoo
| has the support also OF the labor interests.
They regard with favor his treatment Of the
railroad employees. 1t is going to be exceed
| ingly convenient in 1920 to be agreeable alike
! to capital and labor. With the public Mr..
| NJ A. ha IilEelv IN stond -.