Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-09-27
'IAR WEST SHOWING
little ENTHUSIASM
FOR CANDIDATES
People Disguised With Pol
itics-Cox Allows League
Flame to Flicker.
BY n. o. MESSENGER.

SALT LAKE CITY. Utah, September
R7.-Who remembers when about this
time before election and you were
travelling on the train how the pests
regular boil weevils, as Joe Tumulty
calls them, would come through the
train taking a straw vote. and how
in the smoking rooms you couidn'
hear yourself think for the loud
wrangling over politics?
Well. 1 dropped in here last nlght
after thirty hours on the Overland
Limited and some four days and even
ings prior thereto on other transcon-
tinental trains, and so help me, never
heard politics mentioned.
have been looked upon with amaze
gment In smoking room or observa- :
1ion car or wherever men gathered 10
smoke or gable or ask where De
you from, stranger? they discussed
NEARLY everything else under the
shining sun but presidential cam
ipaigns.
Which furnishes the text for few
observations in general on the Whoie
state of the Union west OF mere
before taking up the Utah situation
later. The truth of the whole affair
is the people of the far west are dls,
sgusted with politics and not enthused
over the personality of either OF the
candidates
Cox Short of Expectations.
Gov Cox. in my candid opinion. the
result of close observation and as
siduous inquiry. has not come up to
expectations of him nor measured up
to the ideals of craftsmanship set oy
the western people. who have pas
sionate political ideals when they
have any President Wilson was their
nf and Roosevelt OF
a politician and reformer- president
Wilson set a portion of the democrats
of the west aflame over his league OF
nations. and Gov. Cox has not famed
= lowed it to flicker while he blew the
bellows otherwise. Those democrats
who may have changed their minds
on the league have not heard Gov
Cox offer them any engaging policies
to intri que their interest
Senator Harding is unknown in the
west, beyond the introduction pro-
vided in his discussion of national
and International subjects meagerly
reported in the press The prevailing
would probably be that of dignifed
statesman of the old school and iden-
titled more prominently with the con-
servative wing of his party. There is
: no enthusiasm for the candidate, per-
sonally. The republican promise lies
in the fact that .progressives and reg
ulars, so long apart, are united at this
time to turn the democrats out. II
Harding is turned in. it is because he
is the head Of the ticket they want to
to them.
Drift to Landslide.
Even democrats admit. when talk
ing sincerely. the great undercurrent
of drift to the republicans. talk of
a republican landslide. Now that
ger to the republicans and of cor
responding hore to the democrats
Democratic leaders are counting
heavily on the republicans everyday.
ing their confidence. and many OF
them staying away from the polls,
as result of confidence coupled with
apathy. They say that the prevail
ing spirit of desperation among the
democrats will. on the other hand
drive every democrat to the polls on
way are relying upon this considera-
tfon as a drowning man clutches at a
straw, together with the hope that
between now and election day "some-
thing will happen to turn the tide.
People Talking Business.
You ask what people are talking
about, since they are not interested
in politics; they are talking business
the drop in prices and the outlook
for business in the near future. No
body fears a panic. Many big busi-
ness men are glad the drop is on,
figuring that the sooner it is over
the earlier we will get back to nor
NAL
One heavy California manufacturer
told The Star correspondent that he
and his friends realize that droI
81 must come, and are preparing to take
a loss for the time being. and until
readjustment sets in. This manufac-
turer, who sells as far east as Buf.
falo, says that from now on 1t will
be a buyers market''-that is to say
the seller Of goods cannot dictate
prices, while the buyer will look
about him. They also are talking
crops and prices Of food commodities
II the farmer gets hit pretty har6
which political party will he blame;
the politicians ask. The business mer
say they give it up.