Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-07-10


tour while he was IN California. This
feeling, no doubt. has a great deal
70 do with Hughes losing the cleo
tion fcur years ago. for. as II is well
known. It was the vote Of California
looming in several days late. that
finally gave the majority to Pres
ident Wilson.
It Is interesting to note that the
very men whose split four years ago
did so much to defeat Hughes were
working hand In hand for the nom-
fnation OF Senator johnson this year.
Four years ago Johnson and Spree
ke1s. the Southern Pacific railroad
representative, would not speak %
each other and were ready to cut
each others threats. politically. This
year Spreckels not only put mp
much of the money to back John
sons candidacy for the Republican
nomination. but rode in the auto
mobile beside johnson on the day he
made his grand entry into Chicago
just as the Republican convention
Opened.
And there is good reason for
Senator Harding to hesitate about
making a tour Of the country risk
ing a serious split in the party
ranks. 1t is well known that a
large number Of Republicans do not
approve of the stand taken by the
Republican senator's on the peace
treaty. Former President Taft is
one OF the strongest advocates of the
League of Nations. So is former At
torney General wickersham, former
Senator Murray Crane and other
men who have always been a tower
of strength in Republican ranks. In
our own state we have a decidedly
progressive element headed by such
men as Everett Colby who have been
most outspoken'i in their opposition
to the attitude that Senator Lodge
and other Republican leaders in the
senate have assumed on this great
issue.
On the one hand we have the
statement of Mr.. Taft to the effect
that "the Republican platform and
the assured Republican victory
mean that the United States will
enter the League of Nations with
the Lodge reservations. 1t follows
of course" he goes on to say, that
these resolutions repudiate the
vociferous attitude of Senator john
son. Senator Borah and the other
bitter-enders against any league or
association Of nations at all"
In contrast to this we have
Senator johnson who, in discussing
the came platform. says: The Re-
~pubdicans rejected the League of
Nations with reservations because
no reservations devised by the
human mind could anticipate the
contingencies which might arise in
the future from an instrument of
such potential possibilities for
harm"
With two such prominent Repub-
leans taking such opposite views of
the party's stand on this great issue,
and with a platform that is so mean
that it can be interpreted
any way. it is no wonder that
the Republicans, hesitate to have
their candidate go out and risk the
same trouble that Mr.. Hughes had
in trying to associate with all fac
But the Democrats have their
troubles also. They have the liquor
question to bother them. Cox has
been straddling the issues thus far
and although considered ''wet" he
has not so declared himself. 1t is
however. that he was
by the wet" crowd and
Il they had not stuck to him through
thick and thin he would never have
won. Naturally, he has got to take
this support into consideration.
But the prohibition element in the
ranks-and it must be re-
that most of the pro-
hibition states are the Democratic
states are determined to smoke
him out. Hobson has already put
question UP TO him and it is
well known that Bryan still has a
following in the middle
west where votes count big. Cox,
also, has his troubles.
Much will depend on the speech
Of acceptance that each candidate
makes. Until they have been heard
rom personally on the various issues
and until they have given their per-
sonal Interpretation of the various
in the respective platforms
which they stand it will be diff
cult to judge their attitude.
1t is pretty certain. however. that
the Democrats carrying on an
aggressive campaign with their
candidate on the stump the Repub-