Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-13
WALSH THROT TIED
MASSACHUSETTS
BYlEAGUE
Irish Constituents Turn on
Democrats Because OF
Advocacy of Article X.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

trouble has been an unfortunate ham
! dicap to many campaign speaker,
but none seems to have developed u
case exactly like that of Senator
David Walsh of Massachusetts. He
didn't become speechless. as is gen.
| orally the case, by addressing OPEN
air meetings. No. he grew inartlcu-
late when he read that Gov. Cox oil
Ohio had embraced the league OF ma
tons in the Wilson sense after the
memorable meeting at the White
House.
The senator engineered the Massa-
chusetts delegation at the democratic
national convention and helped noml-
nate Cox; shortly lfterward he went
To Dayton and after Il long talk with
the nominee expressed the view that
the governor was all right on the
league issue.
Difficult to Follow.
But the visit to the White House
and the subsequent speeches by Gov.
Cox made it difficult for Senator
Walsh to follow the new standard
bearer of the party without leopard
izing his position in the democracy
of Irish birth or descent, and be-
lieves that the league of nations is
a British product and that even il
article y were cut out 1t would still
be of benefit to Great Britain. Indeed
the basic objection of the Irish to the
league is that it associates the United
States with England and if the Irish
had their way there would not be any
dealing with Britain, diplomatic or
otherwise. until the Irish republic
were recognized.
So Senator Walsh developed a case of
throat trouble and has not been heard
from in the national campaign since his
trip to Dayton, Ohio. And the demo-
cratic party in Massachusetts has gone
over almost wholly to the republican
campaign and will vote for Senator
Harding for President. Naturally. there
would be a large republican majority in
this state anyway on account OF Gov.
Coolidge's place on the national ticket,
but the acquisition of the Irish vote will
help swell the majority to something
like $50 900.
State Meeting Shrfnks.
The democrats of Massachusetts still
have a state ticket, yet the recent state
convention at Springfield. wherein the
democratic national platform of the
league of nations was Endorsed, had
about 200 votes as contrasted with the
two thousand normally represented. Not
a single Irish democrat of prominence,
with the exception of Michael OLeafy-
not even Senator Walsh himSef-at-
tended the convention. MI. OLeary
had been nominated for governor in
the primaries, but withdrew in favor OF
Marcus Coolidge, a democrat, who was
given a sort of Franklin Roosevelt NOM
ination. so as derive some beneht from
the name of Coolidge.
The democrats named as electors
q n O
party calls "highbrows," men like
Charles w. Eliot and Charles Francis
Adams but whoever was In charge OF
the business of picking electors to go
on the ticket slipped a cog by not con-
sulting Mr.. Adams. who, by the way,
owns the famous yacht Resolute and
is a descendant of John Adams. He
has announced that he will vote for
Harding but that if he is elected he
will abide by the desire Of the other
electors. There is no chance of his
being elected, but it illustrates the
awkwardness of the democratic posi-
ton in this state this year.
Most Will Submerge Feelings.
As matter of fact. there are some
Irish who will vote the party ticket
they have always voted and will on
election day submerge their inner
most Irish feelings. 1t will not be a
wholesale desertion.
z
partly responsible for this. as Senator
Harding has said publicly he didn't
believe America should NEEDLE in the
Irish question, and he remarked in
Ok lahoma the other day that he didn't
believe the American people would
permit the British government to tell
us to give the Philippines their indie
pendence. Strange how times do
change. Just a few years ago some
body got up in the House of Repre-
sentatives in Washington and de-
cIared that the Catholic Church had
fought the grant of Independence. and
in the same speech accused the Irish
of being inconsistent in not support
ling the movement for a Philippine
republic. Whereupon Representative
Gallivan, democrat, of Massachusetts,
delivered himself of an inVectiye
against the aforesaid somebody, de-
claring there was no comparison be-
tween the people of the Philippines
and the great Irish race. Yet SEN
ator Harding did use a comparison of
Irish and Philippine independence and
| it hasn't hurt vitality. Disgust with
the Wilson administration and the
alleged failure of the President to
wiring Irish freedom from the British
at the Paris conference is the first
and foremost thought of the Irish
democrats.
May Ask Intervention.
| They will punish Mr.. Wilson first
and attend to Brother Harding after
| ward. Probably the banners and dec
orations will not have been taken
down twenty-four hours after March
4th next, when a delegation of Irish
will be asking American Intervention
| in the Irish controversy. Also, it can
not be said that the republicans have
shown much hospitality to the new
Irish element coming their way this
year. The republicans of British or
| igin do not seen to fraternize at re-
publican gatherings with the Irish
democrats. The Irish are by no means a
permanent loss to the democrats OF
| this state. They will be back in the
party just as soon as they have ex-
pressed themselves on the league is
sue and matters Wilsonian.
| Copyright, 1920.)