The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-07-01
DEMOCRATS Put
ElLEM0TI0lnN
THEIR PLATFORM
Give Planks More Attention
Than Contest for President,
Says William Allen White,
Reviewing Situation.
BY WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE.
1920 by Wheeler Syndicate.

Ss0E0
BY WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE.
Copyright 1920 by Wheeler Syndicate.
San Francisco. June 2S.-Tho
democrats are putting more real emo
ton into their platform battle than
into the contest for president.
Usually the. platform in e national
convention is a sop for the might
brows just as the vice presidential
race is a "slow mule race for the
fourth ratcrs.
But this year the democratic heart
Is fired with a real issue. 1t is prohi-
bition. With the republican convention
prohibition ranked far below the Lea
u of Nations. As it's issue it was OF
less importance in the party council
than the railroad question mi far
less significant tha iabor.g NO lone
in he republican sub-committee on
resolutions nor in the general COM
mittees on resolutions offered q wet
plank nor threatened it. But here
are a dozen wet planks. Here a dozen
strong men are contesting for the
honor Of leading the wet" fight, and
only a few ~crusading souls are de-
nsndfng a dry" plank and they de-
lAAS oAAS asa Ao0AA6 PAOQOoA-
ton merely compromise on silent
on the prohibition question on the
surface.
Hear Much "Wet" Talk.
In the hotels talking casually to
uninformed n lonesome delegates
whose feet hur and who want to sit
down and be interviewed for the To-
cal papers, n seems to feel the ir-
resistable drift towards a declaration
for light wines and beers.
Internationally a majority Of the
delegates to the convention feel that
the prohibition law nowSon the books
is too drastic, Certainly a majority
of the delegates on principle oppose
prohibition.
Yet a "wet" declaration seems
hopeless, again one sees the psychol-
ogy of e of this issue ppear among
the delegates just as one find the
fear of candidates dominating per-
sonal preference. The same fear per-
vaded the republican convention. The
two conventions are i%rresolute be-
cause they are afraid, and they are
afraid because they have lost touch
with the ommon folks.
The politicians are mussing things
up, the whole institution of party
government is out Of gear, not func-
toning, making noise but not pro-
gress. The delegates are of one mind.
the people are Of another mind and
this does not mean the democratic
delegates alone. Republicans also
were detached from the public mind.
SO in the long run the fear of a wet
declaration here will produce silence
just as fear Of a dry declaration in
Chicago produced silence.
Afraid Of Woman Vote.
The shadow Of the coming event
is cast by the big leaders. They are
talking wet but counciling silence,
ostensibly, they are afraid of the
oma vote Of the middle west.
Go into any Of the thousands of
little groups of delegates which form
u bubble ana seen in the Hobbies Of
the glib hotels and listen. A thousand
times occurs this phrase ''the women
and the damned preachers" 1t is
spoken in wrath. "Are you going to
let the women and the damned
preachers rule this convention" or
this party or this country or this
world cry the little bosses, feeling
the sinister pressure from above as
some big boss decides to truckle to
what he calls "the God and morality
crowd and trade conviction for sue
cess.
And yet the pure immoral politics
Of the situation points to the wisdom
of democracy going wet" It is the
real hope of democrats.
1t is easily demonstrated that the
solid south will go to the democratic
candidate on any possible platform.
Prohibition appears strongest in rural
states.
1t is weakest in the rural states.
Given a strong labor platform and a
wet" plank inc the Atlantic sea-
board, minus possi@ Pennsylvania
and New Hampshireea nd Maine. will
go democratic. The south and east,
plus one middle state like Ohio, In
diana or Illinois, and one western
state, like California, which is nor
mally wet, would produce a majority
In the electoral college. There it lies.
the presidency for the picking. Yet
the leaders are afraid. Confidence is
the basis of successful action in poll
tics. Yet both parties are guided
by their fears, a most ]potentious
omen. The dynmite Of righteous CON |
vlction could, n surely sooner or
later, will smash and smear this /
whole craven cast of time serving
~rtualists into the adjacent contem- |
porary oblivion, SO that history will |
lave to dry clean the grease SPOT
where they were, to resurrect and ex- !
plain them to a puzzled posteritv.
one OF the curiously typical as
poets of the fear found in the success
the women are having with their |
among the presidential can
didates who are here. .5e:
"HOPkINS" IS IAlINcAEn