Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-11-10
DEMOCRATS JUMP
BACK INTO BATTLE
Seek National Chairman
Who Will Give Four Years
to Organization Work.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Leaders of the democratic party have
practically agreed upon course of
action looking to the capture of both
houses Of Congress in 1922 and the
presidency in 1924. -. e--,
Far from being dismayed by the
overwhelming defeat suffered, at the
polls last week. the democratic lead
ers have jumped back into the fight
with spirit that. is unlike anything
q defeated party has shown in a
generation. The principles on which
the Reorganization of the party will
be based are these:
First, the selection as national chair
man Of an organizer who will for the
next four years give his whole time
to the making of organizations in
every state, country and city in the
United States. Wherever there are
no democratic organizations. new ones
will be started.
Second, an effort to get unanimous
agreement upon the man who is to do
organizing so as to remove at the out
set any traces of factionalism.
Third, the new chairman must be a
man who has not been actively iden-
titled with any of the different fac
tions-he must be on friendly terms
with the Cox people, the friends of
Palmer, the followers Of McAdoo and
Wilson and be skillful enough to at
tract the friends of Mr.. Bryan and
western democracy.
Talk Of Candidates Taboo.
Fourth. all talk of candidates. for
1924 is strictly taboo. The effort is to
keep fractionalism outside the door
until the next national convention re-
Quires its Introduction.
In these principles the democrats
have taken leaf out of the repub-
lican book. All the talk about new
leader for the democrats, all the sug-
gestions about Mr.. Bryan or Mr.. Nc
Adoo or Mr. Cox assuming the leader
ship are being frowned upon. For the re-
publicans haven't had an outstanding
leader. but simply a good organizer
Will Hays. 1t was Mr.. Hays method
to travel about the country and keep
things harmonious. He gave the inn
preston for long time that he
booms. but merely in republican
solidarity. He got that solidarity.
How long it will endure depends now
on Warren Harding. The job of Hays
is done.
So the democrats who have been
in conference informally here in the
last few days have come to the con-
clusion that the wisest thing to do
now is to reorganize the party and
get everybody in it working together
for democratic success next time.
Loss Not Regarded N Slap.
Speaking of the spirit of the demo-
Gratis. they do not regard the defeat
as a slap at the league of nations, but
merely as the natural reaction Of the
American people to their war govern
ment, reaction parallel to the politi
in Europe. Indeed. the democrats
have not the slightest intention of
abandoning the league of pations as
an issue. They mean to. keep it alive
a<~I~ 60 "a
years. They plan to keep intact the
movement Of republicans and demo-
Gratis who, under Prof. Irving Fisher,
constituted an Independent pro-
league organization.
The democrats are joyful for another
reason. They couldn't get much money
during the early days of the campaign
and didn't begin to get funds in any
quantity until the last part of Septem-
ber, but checks keep flowing in even
after election. and the confident predic-
tion is made by the leaders that the
100000. will soon be collected and a
new fund for reorganization provided.
AS for leadership. the prospect Is
that Senator Underwood would be the
real leader in Congress. And he is a
man who believes in caucus and party
harmony and not in imposing his own
views. He gave an example of leader
ship in the days just before democratic
success in 1912, and won prestige
enough to be regarded as presidential
possibility. He is personally popular,
and will have little difficulty in getting
cooperation.
Question Ia Abstract.
Outside the halls Of Congress the
question of leadership of a defeated
party is more or less abstract anyway
Woodrow Wilson himself will have a
few things to say in print just as Theo-
dore Roosevelt used to do. and probably
the influence of Mr.. Wilson will not be
without considerable effect. Instead of
one gun bombarding the republicans, the
democrats expect to have several. The
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