New-York tribune., 1920-09-26
for
Harding Seen
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tremendous strength of the Republican
national ticket. or, perhaps it would be
mone accurate to say, the weakness of
the Dernocratic national ticket. 1t is
difficult to exaggerate the bitterness
in this, state against Woodrow Wilson
and his whole Administration. Wis
consin was not swept entirely off its
feet by the t"kept US out Of war" issue
I'M 1916 It cast its electoral vote for
Hughes, although Wilson piled up a
tremendous vote and lost the state by
much narrower majority than that
given Robert NJ. La Toilette. who had
q lead of $4,000.
But the. state is, intensely German,
with heavy Scandinavian sprinkling
in the western part: and Polish pop
ulation* large enough to support two
Lots of these. Germans and Scandina-
vians did vote for Wilson because they
thought he would prevent this country
going into war with Germany, and Will
sons solemn warning to the American
people. ,jusS before Election Dav that
Hughes If elected President would
leads the country into the war had q
profound effect.
All of which results now in an in
tense feeling against the present Ad-
ministration, feeling which Cox could
scarcely have avoided no matter what
his line Of conduct since his. nomina-
tion, but which he intensified by his
visit to President Wilson. shortly after
that he was Sat; pIiep with the Presi-
dent on the.leagne issue. ( <4= >.,.::.
Vets Losing Ground 4
Both Cox and Roosevelt have been
in Wisconsin on. their tours, and While
both seemed to' have enthusiastic re
ceptions they made no impression on
the situation which Il could discover.
At first, right after the Cox nonnina-
nan, Nugent and Sullivan, the vets here
took hope. 1t was the general impres s.
sion among Republicans as we'll as
Democrats throughout the country that
this suspicion of moisture on Cox's
part would put Wisconsin in the doubt
full column. Most calculations which
hopeful Democrats madeln demonstrate
ing how Cox could be elected ipcludcd
Wisconsin with New Jersey.
The cold facts are that Cox would
be better off in Wisconsin to-day if
he had been rabid dry and if his
nomination had been achieved by the
Anti.Saooh League. This. may" sur
prise any one who has not been in the
state since Cox reached California
but there is abundant evidence of it
f-A,S ,S.,xl,y l ,<rL3 - x
TO make another. surprising state
mnent, Wisconsin is. not haff 50 Vet
as it has always been painted. There
is serious doubt in the minds of some
Of the keenest politicians and busi-
ness men IN the state rs to whether
referendum would show Wisconsin
wet aor dry, Schlitz beer may have
made Milwaukee famous and Pabst
beer may have been Sold from Maine
to California, but beer was always a
side tne" even in ehis~ city and the
town is enormously prosperoas to-day.
1t is . still fairly: wet. Whisky, as
we'll as beer, is sold openly, though
of course at high prices; so cents a
20 cents for "a rather: skimpy glass Of
beer.
Fhe' most significant indication that
CoAs supposed moisture is not help
ing him14ny here, however, is not
based on a canvass-though that re-
veals the same thing-but Oh the atti-
tude of the Democratic workers, par
ticularly the women.
Denies Cox is Wet
~ think it is terribly unfair" said
Mrs. Maud Kennan, in charge of or
gaming the women for Cox, "the way
the Republicans are charging that Cox
is wet and was nominated by the wet
| bosses. 1t is not true, but it has
preached SO many of the women that it
lis making trouble for US all the time.
I am doing my best to convince the
women that Cox would not work for a
weakening of the Volstead act if
elected. l mean to say, after he is
htehpsen President"
.Mrs. kennan is a, .shrewd politician,
SO? considerable weight should be at
taehed to her openly expressed view
that the moist hint is not helping Cox
1 even . in Wisconsin. This view would
be.a big surprise to some of the Re-
publican and Democratic politicians to
WHOM talked in Washington and New
Yprkjust before coming West.
But, how about the beer-lovihg
Germahs that make UP the major part
Of the. population of the Eastern part
/ Of the state? Here again the stua-
! ton is bad for Cox. They feel that
ltRey have been betrayed. Had Cox
been nominated by the drys, or had
4 Booze not entered ito the fight at
! San Francisco at all, they would not
have been particularly concerned.
I They had practically abandoned hope
NIxome time before the conventions. But
dthey were filled with hope again at the
Isurprising victory of the wet bosses
who put Cox over at San Francisco
and listened eagerly for what he Nigh,
] have to say himself on the subject.
!. Right here it should be said tha
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