Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-05-17
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Americans are no sooner through
with one presidential campaign than
they begin to talk of the next. but un-
QUESTIONABLE there has been an eX-
traordinary amount of talk about
presidential candidates since the ar
mistice of last November reconvened
partisan politics in the United States
Judged entirely by the amount OF
enthusiasm displayed by the average
man encountered on my recent traNels
across country and by talks with lead
ers of both parties in state and ma
tlonal affairs. it would seem mat al
the present time-and that of course
has nothing to do with twenty months
hence-Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood is
talked of in more parts of the country
for the republican nomination ana
William Gibbs McAdoo is mentioned
more often for the democratic noml-
nation than any of the others.
Gov. Lowden Highly Regarded.
1t is apparent that Gov. Frank
Lowden of Illinois is looked upon ia :
vorably in areas in the central west
and may for the moment be considered
nomination. and that the strength IN
different sections of Senator Hiram
johnson. Senator Borah and Senator
Harding apd Senator Kenyon is large
ly local thus far. In the background
are such men as Gen. Pershing, Will
liam Howard Taft. Charles F.. Hughes
and Herbert Hoover, with their
strength somewhat in the ordtr
named.
Old line republican leaders are con
fident they can win with almost any
candidate. so they are disposed to let
it be sort of free-for-au until con-
vention time. Many of them. espe-
cially those who opposed any league
of nations. think Taft has no chance
and that Hughes is back number. On
the other hand, certain appreciation
from independent voters who liked
the former Presidents position on the
league of nations has caused some of
the old-line republicans to wonder if
a second Grover Cleveland were not in
sight. There is more Taft talk east
of the Mississippi than west.
In the central west and far west ad-
miration for Gen. Wood is pro-
the slogan They kept him out of
war that sympathy for Gen. Woods
aspirations has developed. The youth
of the country sees in him an agrees
siveness similar to that of the late
Col Roosevelt. Indeed, it is fully eX-
pected that Lieut.. Col. Theodore
Roosevelt, jr.. will soon declare for
Gen. Wood.
Arguments as to Gen. Wood.
1t is unfortunate for the general
that he is still in uniform and there
fore can make no active campaign,
as some republicans keep talking of
the unwisdom of nominating a mill
tary man. Others argue that his ad-
ministrative abilities as soldier may
be superb. but what the country needs
knowledge Of economics and business
to wrestle with tariffs, taxation and
finance.
Some of these very things are ad-
vanced by friends of Mr.. McAdoo
throughout the country as necessitat-
ing his nomination by the democratic
party. AS Secretary of the Treasury,
as director general of the railroads
during the war, as a business man,
the democrats contend that he is es
pecially equipped to be President of
the United States. Many of the demo-
Gratis who are impatient with Presi-
dent Wilson's lack of decisivehess
point to Mr.. McAdoo as the antithesis
of his father-in-law and doer of
things instead of a vacillating official
On the other hand. those democrats
who are still wovhipers of President
Wilson believe Mr.. McAdoo is the
BILE of carrying>> forward the demo-
cratic party's program in domestic
affairs. So Mr.. McAdoo has behind
him majority of the elements of
his party. and while in Ohio Gov. Cox
is mentioned and in some other parts
of the country there is an occasional
query about Secretary Baker. the
practical politicians of the democratic
party confidently expect Mr.. McAdoo
to win the nomination.
Republican comment on Mr.. McAdoo
is not as severe nowadays as it is on
Mr.. Wilson, though the leaders of the
republican party with whom ! talked
believed the son-in-law relationship
would insure the defeat of the former
Secretary Of the Treasury. The demo-
Gratis scoffed at this. saying the Presi-
dent probably would take no part in
the campaign either before or after
the convention. and that the country
would judge Mr.. McAdoo on his rec
ord in office and his campaign ut
terances.
West Still Is Progressive.
The west and far west is still pro-
gressive. and the fight being made by
Senators Borah and johnson and 9TH
ers against the selection of Senator
Penrose. for example. on the finance
committee is very important affair
out west. 1t was just such an Incl
dent that turned California in 1916
and tipped the scales for Mr. viii
son and it will be borne in mind by
Independent voters what the repub-
licans in Congress do when they are
up against such tests as are now be-
ing presented.
Bankers, business men, wholesale and
retail merchants and employers gener-
ally want business man, or at least a
man with business experience. to be
President of the United States next
time. If IT has to be democrat, thew
admit Mr.. McAdoo was the best of the
Wilson cabinet. especially because of
the part he played in setting up the fed
eral reserve system. the farm loan banks
and in managing the railroads and the
country's finances during the war
If it is going to be republican, they
would prefer a big business man or al
least somebody who would surround
himself with a business cabinet In this
connection. friends of Gen. Wood con-
tend he would certainly pick the best
business men in the country for his
cabinet. and they. therefore, give them
selves no further concern about that
Possibly if Gen. Wood announced his
cabinet ahead of time it would carry
conviction in many parts of the country.
Gov. Lowden of Illinois is being boost .
ed because he has made a splendid rec
ord as state administrator and is a
business man.
Common Folks Hard to Figure.
What the common folks. those not en-
Gagged in business the lahOrerS and tho