Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-06-15

| tial nomination Is proceeding without
| acrimony. The Republicans are
fighting and hairpulling in an arena ena
cries of distress. If the public can
believe what the Republican candi-
dates are saying about each other
and they are all honorable men
none of them is fit for the office
to which they aspire.
How different the situation in the
peaceful as a pink tea; the candidates
are most ladylike in their treatment
| Of each other-it is, After you,
Alphonso," You first, CASTOR" Is 1t
| the lull before the storm, or is 1t be-
cause the prospects Of success are
not SO exciting?
That brings us to the second OBJ
vious characteristic Of the campaign,
viz, the shortage in Democratic
votes, as shown by, the primaries
and by the various straw ballots re-
Gently taken. Take Nebraska. for
carried the state by $1,000 majority;
this year. in spite of the spirited
fight over the liquor question, the
| democrats polled only about 76,o00
votes at the primaries, while the
Republicans polled about 10000, In
Michigan, the Republicans polled
more than twice as many votes as
| the Democrats. In Ohio, the Repub-
i licans polled considerably more than
twice as many votes as the Demo
Gratis, although the Democrats Den car =
holds goods-or should l say bad?-
in Indiana, California, Massachusetts
and other states where a vote has
been taken.
Scarcity Of Votes
The Literary Digest poll, the lar
| gest ever taken, reveals lamentable
more astounding than the scarcity of
Democratic votes is the apparent
| landslide of Democratic voters to Re-
publican candidates. The voters are
| asked to state their party athllatonS.
and, up to the publication which ap-
peared on the fifteenth Of May 49,
| 900 Democrats expressed prefer
ence for Republican candidates while
| the number Of Democrats expressing
| a choice for Democratic candidates
| was only a little greater. The pro.
portion is as great in the issue OF
| May %. 1t is quite unusual for more
| than tWo-fifths of the members OF
| party to indicate leaning toward
| the candidates of the opposite party
| at the beginning Of a campaign. OF
| clude all the voters-they are count -.
| ing upon only eleven millions out OF
| the total number of voters, and the
votes already in represent only about
| Cno-lentl OIL the LOldl SApeClON' IL
would not be fair, therefore, to re-
| gard the Republican trend as cou-
| elusive, but it is enough to exotic
alarm among the emocrats-enough
| to compel earnest consideration OF
| the problem which must be met In
| the campaign.
| The question which will be asked
with increased emphasis as the con-
vention approaches is, how can the
Democratic party rally to its stand
ards sufficient number or votes to
win? To win is the thought upper
most in the minds Of delegates at a
national convention, however much
thew NAV differ as to the methods to
| be employed. Some will insist on do
| ing anything that promises victory.
while others will insist that the pest
way to win is to deserve to win; but
these two groups are united in pur-
| pose.
Having in view this primary object
of winning, let US consider the rela-
and it must be remembered that
availability is not necessarily proper
tionate to merit.
TO begin with, the president need
not be considered. While vague hints
out occasionally, no one claiming to
speak for the president, or near
enough to him to be assumed to ex-
press his wishes, has announced his
| candidacy.
Need Not Consider Hoover
Mr.. Hoover need not be cons1d-
cred among the ava1lables. For a
time he seemed to hesitate about de-
claring his allegiance to any party
He was inclined to wait until the
platforms were written, with a view
to choosing the one which came near
est to his ideas. But this hesitation
did not last long. For some reason
whether he acted voluntarily or was
pushed by his hackers, I cannot say
he. plunged into the Republican
johnson for CALIFORNIA; instructions
Before he took the fatal plunge, many
Democrats joined his colors, ant
some of these would DOUBTLESS FOL
low him into the Republican party
if he were the nominee ace, But ne ap
the Republican convention and nom
at all at San Francisco.
The most active Of the avoWed can
y didates for the Democratic nomlna
, ton is Governor Edwards, of New
Jersey. The primary vote show
that he has a strong following amonl
the knights of Thirst. Democrats o
his variety thrive luxuriantly in tn
! wet cities. His propaganda, however
does not take root to any great exten
I in the agricultural sections, and hi
following in the convention will no
! be sufficient to make him a ser1ou
competitor for the nomination. BE
1 fore the convention the suprem
Il court is likely to demo1ish his plat
II form by affirming the right of tn
II people of the United States so t
] amend their constitution as to pro
| hibit the manufacture and sale o
II beverage liquors; and, second, by de
nying the right of his and othe
states to nullify the national enforce
ment law by state statute. His op
position to prohibition is so violen
that he would not be available eXcep
on a wet platform, and a wet plat
form is an impossibiIity.
Governor Cox, of Ohio, is likel
to be the residuary legatee of a
the other wet candidates, and ma
be regarded as the final rallying poin
for all Democrats who, either becaus
| of financial interest in the liquor trat
| fic or because of their own fondnes
for intoxicants, regard love for liquo
as the only legitimate affection an
the right to buy it as the only in
alienable right guaranteed by tn
constitution.
Will Urge Compromise
= Governor CoXs friends will. urg
II him as compromise between wet
n of the Edwards type and the bone
u drys. His supporters will max
). their fight under the false flag {
party harmony harmony in whic
- they would feel no interest whateve