New-York tribune., 1920-09-26

them to vote for James Thompson. Ia
Follette's candidate for Senator, and
the rest Of the La Poilette ticket.
This action Of the railroad union
leaders was taken as q result of len
roots vote for the Cummins-Esch
railroad bill and his opposition to the
Plumb plan.
Lenroot met this issue squarely. He
dissected the Plumb plan pitilessly in
his speeches, especially in the railroad
centers. He discussed the railroad bill
as passed, defending it. And in that
series of speeches he did what practi-
cally no one in Wisconsin politics has
ever done before and emerged un-
| scathed-he defied La Toilette.
The chief attack Of La Toilette and
Thompson on the railroad bill was
their charge that 1t guaranteed divi-
of eight billion dollars. Lenroot said
if this were true he should be defeated,
but he denied its truth. Then he told
Of the attack on this line made by La
Toilette in a speech on the floor OF the
Senate. At its conclusion, he said, he
had gone over to La Toilette with the
draft Of an amendment aiming to pre-
vent this very thing. La Toilette, he
said, asked him not to introduce the
amendment because he was making che
fight and did not want it spoiled.
Lenroot yielded to his colleagues
wishes, but to mis- amazement La Fol-
lette contented himself with bitter
attack, and made no move to correct
the point to which he objected. There
upon, Lenroot told his audiences, he
managed to have his provision safe
guarding the public interest inserted
in conference.
La Toilette denied this whole story
categorically, whereupon Lenroot COM
mented that illness had affected the
senior Senator's recollection.
1t must be admitted that the thing
which probably saved Lenroot in the
H. McHenry, of Oshkosh. McHenry was
tie openly wet candidate, and his cam
paign was frankly financed by the
liquor men.
He rolled up about $4,000 votes,
| which probably would have, gone to
Thompson had McHenry not been a
| candidate, since Lenroot voted not only
for the prohibition amendment but to
pass the Volstead act over the Presi-
dents veto. 1t has been charged that
| friends of Lenroot were really respon-
were it was mighty good politics. Len
roots lead over Thompson in the pri-
mary was only about co. 600 votes.
1t was feared In the East by the Re-
publicans that La Toilette would carry
his fight to the election and defeat Len
root as he defeated Ex-Governor Fran
els E. McGovern six years ago. At that
time, also, La Follette's candidate for
Senator was beaten in the primary by
the regular Republicans, who named
McGovern. Paul o. Husting, the Dem
| al
suit. .Lenroot was elected to fill out
Husting's unexpired term after his
death.
Other elements, however, contributed
to the defeat of McGovern. He had
! been a candidate for chairman Of the
Bull Moose convention and many So
called Stalwarts cut him in addition to
the La Toilette cutting.
But the chances all seem to be that
there will be no open attack .by La
Toilette on Lenroot. La Toilette has
his eye on 1922, when he comes up for
| reelection.
He is said to realize that if he starts
cutting Lenroot, Lenroot's friends will
assuredly knife his candidate for Gov
ernor, Blaine. The defeat OF Blaine,
which would almost certainly follow,
would deprive La Toilette and his
friends of the state patronage during
| the next two years, and would mean,
therefore, that the La Toilette machine
would be pretty thoroughly disinte-
grated by the time the Senator comes
up for reelection.
Incidentally, the Lenroot crowd has
named sixty-seven of the candidates
for the State Legislature, as against
only thirty two La Toilette and Nom
Partisan League men, the six remain
ing members affiliating with the So
called Society of Equity.
La Toilette and his friends secured
the nomination for Governor, the Lieu
tenant Governor and the Secretary Of
State, while the Lenroot crowd OBJ
tanned, besides the Senatorship, the
Attorney General and the State Treas
urer. Obviously, observers here point
out, it is La tollette's game to permit
the whole ticket to be elected without
any further pickering, thus smoothing
the road for him two years hence
But even if La Toilette should do
his utmost against Lenroot, to the
point of taking the stump against him,
it is not thought he could reduce Len
roots maj jority to more than $4,000 less
than the national ticket. La Follette's
| health, also, is not such as to make
probable his going on the stump.
Lenroot seems TO be popular with
the women Of the state. Herbert G..