Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1920-05-20
CHOICE OF CANDIDATES
NOT YET DETERMINED

" aShiuStth- NaN li.-tncertatntv IN
"rcasps as to the presidential nomina-
ti"ns as the dates of the national con.
vcntionS draw nearer. The democratic
,'rCblem may be To some extent simpli.
fled by the outcome of the republican
gathering.
For instance. il tho republicans should
nominate Senator Johnson. of Califor.
mia. extreme radical with an especial
following of the foreign horn the
'hances of nomination of former Srcre-
tary W. g. McAdoo by the democrats
would be decidedly augmented. In
comparison to the wild radicalism of
johnson the mild radicalism of McAdoo
would probably impress the business
people of the country as conservative,
while the more conservative labor" ele-
ment would he for McAdoo anyhow.
Ii is no small advantage to the dem
"cratS that the republicans have to make
their decision rs to candidates and il.
-'IrS hcfnre the drmocrat> Iaeet ~ make
heirs. There may he some questions
II the public mind which both of the
treat parties will be willing to sidestpp
There are Others which cannot he avoid
cd The republicans have to take the
risk of error as to the sidestepping and
"f hlunders in the method of meeting
the unavoidable: the democrats will have
several weeks to study now public sen
timent seems to react with regard to
what the republicans do. And should
the republicans split at Chicago the
likelihood of democratic cohesion at San
Francisc" will be domhly greater.
On the surface, it would appear that
tie problem of what tn do with Hiram
Johnson is the most serious confronting
the G. q. p. Maybe it is, but some
very astute republicans of old guard per.
Suasion. and of mild progressive" per.
suasion "a well, are more disturbed
down in the bottoms of their hearts
about Senator William f.. Borah. of Ida
ho, than they are about the rampageous
Senator from California.
These students of the situation rea-
Ion that the thing that Senator John.
son is most in earnest about is high Of
flee and that with him the issues of the
day are means to that end. On the 9th.
or hand. they regard Borah rs deeply
in earnest about the league of nations.
To which he is opposed in its entirety
and To the point of fanaticism.
johnson is violently aggressive and
radical, but he is not fanatic. He is
paying politics all the time. Borah has
acted as if he intended to commit the
republican party absolutely against the
league of nations without reference to
the effect such step would have at the
polls. He believes the step would he
winning one. hut he would take it just
the same if he thought the contrary. He
is not candidate for any nomination,
either.
Now, the compromisers in the repub
lican party. the men who figure that
all is lost if there il split, are calcu-
latng on the acceptance of the vice
presidential nomination by johnson, in
spite of his declaration that he would
lot accept that honor. They know that
he is playing for the highest thing in
sight now, but they feel that his party
IAN less afford to give him the presi-
dental nomination than it could afford
| To give il to Roosevelt i'm l0i6-and
Roosevelt was u much stronger man than
johnson with the American people. They
think .Iohnson's friends can convince him
that his only chance to become President
is by the vice presidential route, which
Roosevelt had to take. Reasoning thus
the old guard men way up and way
back expect the California senator to
accept mild plank on the league OF ma.
tions if he gets the vice presidential
nomination. But they don't know wh2t
B"rah will do about this plank. any
more than the democrats know what
Bryan will do about certain matters at
the democratic convention.