Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-09
NEED BIG MAN
TO TOP TICKET
THIS CAMPAIGN
Democrats Thinking Most
Seriously of Hoover,
Lawrence Says.
By DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial to The ArgusD


pie who attend the jackson day
dinner and the meeting of the
Democratic national committee-or
for that matter the Republican ma
tional committee meetings-are es-
sentially politicians. Their CONVEX
sation is about delegates and con-
vention rules and booms and GER
tain success and the terrible faults
of the other party. Candidates have
their boosters on the job quietly
sounding out sentiment and extoll-
ing the virtues of the aspirants for
the presidency.
Look for Candidate.
But underneath it all, when YOU
get them away from the formal
stuff. the politicians who came here
for the Democratic assemblage have
some definite ideas of what is GO
ing to happen in the coming cam
paign. Far from being as comfort
able as the Republicans were in
their calculations that any Repub-
lican could win this time, the DEM
ocrats seem to be saying that it
will take some candidate"
just any candidate-to win on the
Democratic ticket. There's q sense
of impending responsibility for the
election Of big man to be- stand
ard bearer OF the party. but as
usual at this early stage of the
game, the friends of McAdoo, Pal
mer, Governor Cox, Senator Pom
creme. Senator Hitchcock, James
W. Gerard. and last. but not least,
William Jennings Bryan, have a
confident feeling that their man
measures up exactly to specifica-
tons. They talk about their indi-
vidual choices with the usual en-
thusiasm. but running through 1t
all seems to be a belief that the
Democrats will either have to have
a really big personality or a strong
issue. The more or less disinter-
ested Of the political delegates talk
about Herbert Hoover, and there is
no Understanding his possibilities
even by the delegates and commit
teemen here who have candidates
OF their own to espouse.
Friendly to Hoover.
Indeed, the most interesting bit
of political news in the Democratic
gathering is the pronounced friend
illness to Herbert Hoover.
"Is he Democrat?" is the ques-
tion which I overheard one COM
mitteeman ask another.
Il don't know" was the reply,
"but the people down my way don't
much care whether he is or not"
Strength for Herbert Hoover
comes not merely out of the west.
from which section he halls, but
from the south. One of the men
who has much to do with South
Carolina politics and delegations.
for instance. told me that if the
convention were held tomorrow. it
would not be a difficult matter to
swing South Carolina for Hoover.
But there are certain pledges
that always go for the first ballot.
One man who controls another
state said he was pledged to Nc
Adoo, but he thought in the end he
might be found swinging his dele
CATION toward Hoover.
1t is we'll to get perspective on
the Hoover candidacy, though he
has no organization or headquar-
ters. Nor are any friends who can
be counted as intimates of the for
mer food administrator busy talk
ing about him. His strength ap-
pears to be coming from the nom
political elements in various COM
munities, but it is of sufficient size
to cause the politicians to admit
even as early as this that Herbert
Hoover is a factor in the nomina-
ton contest in the Democratic par
ty. AS for issues, keep your eye on
William Jennings Bryan. Just at
the moment when liberals and rad
icals and labor votes and large sec
tions of the alien population have
been preparing to go over to the
Republican party partly as a pro-
test against some phases OF Presi-
dent Wilson's foreign policy such