The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-24
OHIO FOR
HARDING AS END
OF FIGHT NEARS
$4,000 Plurality Shown in
Analysis of City and
Rural Vote.
cox LEADS lost CAUSE
Race Issue Injected in DeS-
perate Bid for Woman
Vote.
COX LEADS LOST CAUSE
G. o. P. CHIEFS CONFIDENT
Lines Expected to Hold Every
where Against Democratic
Onslaughts.

Special Despatch to THE NEW YoRK HEnAiD.
MARION. Ohio, Oct. 23.-The most in
teresting news of the Presidential
Of Ohio the last five days Of the fight.
Harding can win without Ohio. but
Cox can't. With Harding it IS a mat
ter Of personal pride not only to add
Ohio to his electoral column but to
win the State by a majority that will
obliterate the stained Republican rec
ord Of 1916. With Cox 1t is not only
a question Of personal pride; it is a
matter Of life and death.
In 1916 the detection Of Ohio from
Republicanisrn, plus the anti-war feel
ing in the West, elected Wilson. This
year Cox has nothing to look for west
OF the Mississippi, except from the
Southern States. This impels HIM tc
enter his own State in the closing
days of the struggle to make fight
and last ditch fght-that will be.
as the Democratic leaders frankly
promise, as desperate an effort to save
a lost cause as ever was attempted.
Unless there should come in Ohio
some unforeseeable reversal of form In
the next week, Senator Hard!ngs ma
joricy should be not less than 100000.
ard 1t might rise to a much more inn
pressive figure. A few weeks ago the
Democrats were dispirited. So far as
Trey were concerned. the fight was lost.
Then Gov. Cox came back to the State
and put new heart into them. He found
tremendous crowds to greet him In his
swing through the State. 1t gave to him
some new confidence. He ordered DEM
ocratic spellbinders into the State, and
they have been pouring In the last few
days, some Of them dividing their time
between Indiana, also battle ground,
and Ohio. IN
Harding Strength Gains.
All of this is producing surface
commotion. The surface waves are
dashing high and throwing UP a great
spray of Democratic boastfulness New
ertheless. II seems quite obvious that the
deeps of public purposes remain I'M
changed. On the whole, Senator Har-
ding will hold what ne had, and II may
be he Is actually stronger In his own
State now than he was Immediately
after his nomination. Some bitterness
has been smoothed since that period.
The Republicans have received this
last round rally of the Democrats with
considerable complacency Possibly too
much. They are all heated up over the
injection of the negro issue into the
fight. With wave of the hand they
say, "Oh. Cox may have picked up a
few thousand votes by this concentrated
effort. possibly $4,000 of them we
didn't expect them to lay down. Blu,
what's that amount to. In face of what
we will roll up?''
The inside view from the Republican
standpoint Is that for the most part the
situation Is frozen, the voters set and
determined and already made up In
mind what they are going TO do that
there are some fluid or open elements
still on the fence that might go one way
or the other and correspondingly make
the majority large or small, but not
sufficient to sway the election.
Polls Point Harding.
Every poll, and nearly every one in
Ohio is taking one OF some kind. still
shows Harding maintaining n big lead
ever Cox In about the proportion he did
a few weeks back. II these polls mean
anything Harding would have n land
slide. not victory. but even Republi-
cans discount them somewhat as reach
Ing a class OF voters more apt TO be
lined up with the Republican nominee
The final swing of the campaign
shows Cox making an unusual appeal
His past campaiehs in Ohio have beer
as wet" and with wet backing and
the church elements fighting him. Every
one In Ohio knows this. Yet Cox this
time comes back n dry and is making
his appeal largely TO the church ele-
nents and the women in this State
asking them to stand by the Wilson
league as an instrument OF peace and
Q certain panacea for all worlds Ills
and ailments. Preachers have beer
urged TO give sermons on II. although
few have responded Some OF the "old
timers get considerable amusement
about the sudden change OF front oil
Gov Jimmie" and say no even adopted
an evangelical tone In his tour through
the State. Due TO a peculiar situation
on the state fight, he Is attempting q
link 90 his league appeal with a genu
fne reform or church fight on the Re
publican candidate for Governor. Harry
L. Davis. three times Mayor OF Cleve
land.
or late the Democrats have privately
been quitting more effort behind the In
lection OF the negro Issue into tn.
fight. II was their hope that II would
Brighten the woman voter and inciin,
her 20 the Democratic ticket. SO theli
whole hope In Ohio lies in the woman
vote.
They are out pointedly 60 win II oyei
If they can. and are basing their ap
peal more especially to the women In
this State than anywhere else. Thu
Republicans, just az busy in trying q
hold their proportion OF the woman
vnte. say tho Democrats will be sadlj
rooled, and predict that the womef
feel on the league issue, for instance
lust as the men do. But II NJ more 9
hattie for women's votes than mems.
Taking tho state up BY districts ano
classes OF population, and especially
surveying the outlook In the big cities
n IA easily seen on what the Republican
confidence OF certain Harding victory
a based. II IL mathematically difficult
"a A. rttto. otand n they repre-