Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-04-19
The Illinois Line-up
(BoSton Transcript

NDoolOll dhSSI1PtJ
The good record Mr.. Lowden has to
his credit as governor of Illinois, his
personal popularity among his constitu-
ents by the Illinois delegation at WASH
ington, and by a large majority of the
candidates for delegates-at-large and
district delegates, made it almost fore
gone conclusion that he would carry the
presidential primary of his party, as a
matter of State pride. That he did
yesterday by sixty odd thousand ma
jority and earned the first choice sup
port Of majority of the Illinois dele
cation. What was uncertain and what
fixed the attention of Republicans in
other states was the race between Wood
and Johnson for the Second choice of
Illinois Republicans for the Presidency.
This goes to General Wood by a large
majority throughout the state and by Il
smashing majority in the convention
city of Chicago, where he has APPARENTLY.
obtained a majority of 5000, beating
both Governor Lowden and Senator
Johnson, despite the fact that the Cali
fornia candidate APPARENTLY had the sup
port of Mayor Thompson and his organ
ization in the machine wards of the
city. Senator Johnson's name was not
on the ballot, but nearly half a hun
dred thousand Of his supporters wrote
it in.
In the Michigan prima' les last week
Johnson carried the cit Of D=troit by
an overwhe ming majority and Wood
was victorious elsewhere in the State,
Lowden coming out poor third in both
detroit and the state. In Illinois, John
on made the same sort of campaign
that he did in Michigan. and had he du-
plicated in Chicago his victory in De-
troit it might have put him in the lead
for the Republican nomination AS it
is, he has won enough votes to make
him, the country over, formidable op-
ponent of Wood in particular, and Low
den and Harding ct al. in general
Whether we like his campaign meth
DDS or not. whether we sympathize with
the sort of appeal he is making in these
difficult days of unrest, it would be
folly for Republicans to try to sidestep
the significance of his strength or I'M
derrate the power of his campaign abil-
ity, especially in the large centers of
population where the burden of rising
prices weighs heavily ard the feeling of
discomfort is on the increase.
One encouraging feature of the Illi-
nois primaries, however, is the failure
Of the attack on general training for
national citizenship and upon the effec-
tiveness of the Senate's reservations to
the treaty to receive the approval of q
majority of the electorate. Both Low
den and Wood have heartily endorsed a
general system of training for national
citizenship; both have endorsed the re-
fusal of the Senate to ratify the treaty
without the reservations adopted by the
SeHate's majority. johnson is opposed
to any form of general training for ma
tional citizenship and is also opposed
to the ratification of the treaty even
"oh reservations. The position of Low
den and Wood in favor of a system of
training and in favor Of the reserva-
lions has apparently been endorsed by
large majority both in Chicago and
throughput the state Of Illinois. Moro
and more the people, East and West. as
we believe. are coming to see that train
ing the youth of America for the duties
of national citizenship and making the